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When the Empire threatens Luke, the galaxies last remaining Jedi knight, he, Han, and Leia become the only hope for survival.

Hans’s mission is to track down the rebel spy from the Empire and Leia knows she can trust Han to get the job done. She knows he’ll do whatever it takes because this is the only thing they actually agree on.  Han thinks this job sounds simple enough; he’s done this kind of stuff before. What he doesn’t know is that he’s got a bounty on his head. 

When Han locates the rebel agent, Scarlet Hark, she runs behind enemy lines. Determined to find the vital weapon that’s

2015 has been a strange year for rock documentaries, biographies, and memoirs. The perennial  obsession with artists who died young spawned feature-length examinations of the lives of Elliott Smith, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, and Jimi Hendrix. This year also saw Chrissie Hynde, Kim Gordon, Patti Smith, and Kristin Hersh all publishing acclaimed music-themed memoirs. Add to this list Sleater-Kinney co-founder and Portlandia star Carrie Brownstein’s Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, an account of her life growing up in the Pacific Northwest through the first several years of the rise of one of the

Reading Brianna Karp’s memoir of losing her job, home, and family reminded me in many ways of Cheryl Strayed’s Wild. Except instead of embarking on a months-long solo hike, as Strayed did, Karp faces the challenges of living in a trailer in a Walmart parking lot. With no water or electricity. Frustration at Brianna’s “unwise” choices (surrounding her involvement with a fellow homeless gent) is always followed by a heart-wrenching family story that would have left me a gelatinous blob.

Most compelling are Karp’s explorations of her own potential racism, degree of homelessness, family history

I am in love with this book. I never intended to even read it . . . just use the index and pick and choose certain elements, and browse the pretty pictures. It is so lovely I read it cover to cover. And I want to do it again.

The Sundown Speech is the twenty-fifth Amos Walker novel by Loren D. Estleman, and he still has it.  He has set the story in Ann Arbor, a useful change of scenery for our private detective, who is usually based in Detroit. A married couple has invested money in a filmmaker’s latest venture, and they think they have been swindled. They hire Walker to get their money back, but when Walker investigates, he finds the filmmaker dead. Estleman has plenty of fun with the college town culture of Ann Arbor, and you’ll have plenty of fun with the characters, sparkling dialogue, and plot of this novel.

Let me share a secret with you. I'm ashamed to admit, but I'm a total snob when it comes to wealthy characters. I generally find them unlikable, which I know is awful judgy of me. No matter how great John Green says it is, I wanted to barf all the way through The Great Gatsby. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye, is a great character despite his upper-class upbringing, but he's had a mental breakdown, which makes him likable in my book. When I was still living at home, my mom used to try to get me to read her favorite romance novels about rich heiresses and their

Some memoirs are just necessary. They speak to some form of triumph that appeals to our own innate sense or hope that we, too, can overcome any kind of weird, unforeseen adversity life can hand us.  Such is the case with Anna Lyndsey’s remarkable Girl in the Dark: A Memoir, an exceptionally well-written and unforgettable book that takes the reader into some truly dark emotional and physical territory that most of us fortunately can only imagine.

The book chronicles Lyndsey’s descent into a rare form of light sensitivity that prevents her from exposing her bare skin to all forms of light. It

Leanne and Nichole are unlikely friends and confidants. When Leanne learns that her son Jake is cheating on his wife Nichole, she is sorely disappointed to find her son following in his father's footsteps. Sean, Leanne's husband has been cheating on her for years and up to this point she has just accepted and ignored his infidelity. After telling Nichole of Jake's indiscretion she admires the way Nichole instantly refuses to accept Jake's behavior and immediately moves to dissolve their marriage. Leanne draws courage from Nichole and leaves her cheating husband of thirty years. The two women

There are two things you know. One: You were there. Two: You couldn't have been there.

Wondering how that can be? So is Caden. Sometimes. When he stops to think about it. Often he just goes along and doesn't question things, just accepts that's the way they are. But other times he feels out of sync with his family, friends, and others around him. He feels confused.

Readers sharing Caden's story from inside his head will feel confused almost all of the time. It skips around from one place to another--one reality to another. Caden is a high school student living a typical life. Caden is on

Building up to the 2014 World Series, the Kansas City Royals were in third place in the American League Central, eight games out of first place with a losing record. But that was just the beginning. What followed was an amazing run toward their first World Series showing since 1985 and everyone's attention nationwide was on the 2014 Kansas City Royals. The team, led by manager Ned Yost, stepped up to the plate and captured a spot in the AL Wild Card game. Sharp and vibrant pictures stand out and bring Out of the Blue to life. Matt Fulks captures the true color of the Royals, and takes us

The House You Pass on the Way is a short novel--less than 100 pages--but it contains unusual depth and beauty. It's a pre-sexual love story about two fourteen-year-old cousins who don't yet know where they fit in. One girl, Staggerlee, is biracial--black and white. One girl, Trout, is adopted. Both girls are struggling with their budding sexuality. Are they gay? Are they straight? Does it matter? Woodson gracefully captures the confusion these two feel as they explore what it means to grow from girls to women. 

Their intense, platonic relationship reminds me of the two girls in Woodson's

"Challenging" was the first word I heard used to describe this book. I think "surreal" was the next. Following that was "impossible to describe." Even the author herself, when asked to describe the book, talked about the themes and ideas that led to its creation without attempting to describe the plot or characters.

Other descriptions they could have just as accurately used: captivating; insightful; imaginative; perceptive; funny; and enlightening. That this book is unusual isn't the first or most remarkable thing you need to know about it, but that it powerfully and effectively conveys

There will be two lies, [the coyote] says. Then there will be the truth. And that will be the hardest of all.

And what lies they are. Even more so, as the coyote promises, the lies exposed by the truth. Nothing will be the same.

Not ever.

And that's not even to mention the small surprises and little white lies along the way.

For all that she can remember of her nearly 18 years, Shelby has enjoyed a quiet, stable life. She and her mom live in a simple house, do simple things. She is homeschooled. They have a routine that never changes. And she has little contact with others. Shelby knows

In general, I like my superhero stories epic and idealistic. The "fresh take on superheroes" idea is getting pretty worn out, and I've grown tired of people deconstructing superheroes and trying to apply the genre to "real life." But Zeroes pulls it off and really does seem fresh and original, even when relying on some standard clichés of both superhero and YA fiction.

It doesn't hurt that I've always loved teen superheroes. Spider-Man, the X-Men, Teen Titans, Legion of Super-Heroes, the Young Justice animated series--the strange, transitional feeling of being a teenager mixes well with the

Anna Gordan manages the Value Lodge in the small town where she grew up and dreams of bigger things.   When her best friend from high school, Marley Ferris, tells her about a new boutique hotel opening up in New York City, Anna sends in her resume hoping this could be the opportunity she’s been waiting for.

Sheltered and naive. That's the narrator of this book. She's always lived a protected, easy life, and doesn't have much to be anxious about. Of course, she lives in a world without poverty. Where there has never been a murder in her lifetime. Where crime, accidents, and disease are minimal, and almost everyone lives happily and safely to old age. (As far as she knows, anyway.) So life is good and there's no reason to question anything.

Except that she's a human. A human teen, at that. There might be no reason to question anything, but it's human nature and impossible to avoid. Morgan worries

If you have a love for animals, this book will come as a treat. David Rosenfelt and his wife, Debbie, share a passion for rescuing dogs from animal shelters. Tara was Debbie’s dog when the couple met, and the one that inspired David’s love for dogs. Over the years, the couple has rescued and adopted out over 4,000 dogs. At any time, they keep between 30-40 dogs in their own home in a rural area in Maine. Of course, keeping this many dogs in a house results in many hilarious stories of the dogs’ quirks and tales of keeping the (mostly senior) dogs healthy. But there are just as many stories

Despite her best efforts, I love Mattie Wallace. She often behaves badly, and she knows it. But it’s who she believes she is, so she behaves badly.

Finding herself in a delicate condition with nowhere to turn, she embarks on an impossible journey to collect an unlikely inheritance. Immersed in the secret lives of her mother and the grandmother she never met, Mattie unwittingly starts to heal. The wounds of her past begin to scab over, and the broken places start to mend. As she skitters down the road of her family history, she drags an entire town, bucking and skidding, along with her.

Real

Sebastian Rudd, attorney at law, defends the impossible cases.  The ones where everyone knows that the defendant is guilty of the most heinous crimes.  The ones where no one else would even think of representing the defendant.  The ones where the public, the victims, and the jurors hate the defense attorney as if he is the one who committed the crime.  Sebastian Rudd is one of the few willing to represent the accused and ensure that they get a fair trial and sentence, even if it means putting his own life at risk.  Sebastian no longer works out of an office, since it was destroyed by a

Johnston weaves a beautiful tale of sisterhood and love, while re-creating the story A Thousand and One Nights. Similar to the original story, this is a desert setting and the king has taken 300 wives, one from each village, before coming to the village of our unnamed heroine. She asks her sister’s mother to help ready her for the king. She wants to take the focus off of her sister and offer herself to the king instead, in order to save her sister. She is swept away with the king, as he has chosen her, and taken to his palace. Each night the king comes to her to listen to her tell stories of

Jack Till is a private investigator who helped a woman disappear six years ago. Now the woman’s ex-boyfriend is being set up for her murder, and Till must find her to prove to the District Attorney that she is alive. I really enjoyed the intelligent plot (in many ways, it resembles Narrow Margin, the 1990 film written and directed by Peter Hyams and starring Gene Hackman). When Till finds her, they have to avoid several attempts on their lives as they make their way back to Los Angeles. It is nonstop action as Jack Till negotiates his way against a full cast of tawdry characters.

Jory Dean is the youngest of the Dean brothers, a family created by the Commander and genetically-enhanced to be super soldiers. They are also scheduled for termination in just a few days. Jory has been missing for two years and his brothers thought he was dead. However, he is being held by the Commander at a secret lab where his team is trying to disable the chip that was implanted by the Commander in Jory's spine five years ago and damaged during his capture. The Commander does not want to lose Jory's super soldier skills and believes that he can gain Jory's compliance by promising to save

Treasure in a Cornfield is a must-read for anyone who has ever dreamed of unearthing a ginormous time capsule that’s almost 160 years old or going on a treasure hunt that only asks you to lift a finger when the page needs to be turned.  Color photographs, muddy adventure, and juicy historical tidbits pack every single page. 

After searching for the perfect steamboat to excavate and discovering the whereabouts of the Arabia, Greg Hawley and his family invest all of their time, money, and energy into bringing the steamboat to the surface of the cornfield that protected and preserved it for many

The princess is soon to be married and not very excited about the prospect.  She believes a life of matrimony will be the end of her ability to live her own life and make her own choices; she will be required to live and choose for the king and the kingdom.

Three dwarves wind their way through tunnels beneath the mountains to reach a city on the far side. They are seeking the most beautiful fabric available to offer as a wedding gift to their beloved princess. When they reach the first village on the other side, terrible news awaits them. A sleeping sickness is slowly creeping across the land

A coworker turned me on to this 1953 Edgar Award-winning suspense novel, and I'm glad he did. Otherwise, this gem may never have crossed my path, as I do not habitually read suspense novels and tend to pick up recent publications. A Kiss Before Dying is fabulously twisted. Author, Ira Levin, offers a look inside the mind of a psychopathic college student hell-bent on marrying into a wealthy family and he will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. I could see his odd idiosyncrasies and his malicious, self-serving plotting and I wanted to scream “Run!” to his unknowing victims. With many well

Dealing with people is not always a pleasant experience. For Bernadette Fox, it's actually a form of extreme torture. The parents at the alternative school where her daughter, Bee, attends 8th grade are atrocious. For that matter, all Seattle residents (especially those transplanted from Idaho and Canada) are exhausting. She builds walls around her eccentric life, where she lives in a decaying former girls boarding school with Bee, her genius Microsoft-legend husband, and dog. A virtual assistant from India does her bidding, including making dinner reservations for a restaurant across town

Vango is a thrilling adventure mystery set in Europe on the cusp of the second World War, focused on the mysterious identity of a young man on the cusp of adulthood. Not even Vango, said young man, knows the mystery of his origins, and no one believes he is constantly watched and hunted by shadowy figures. They consider him paranoid. Talented, pleasant, and promising, but strangely paranoid.

The novel opens with Vango's seminary graduation ceremony, but moments before he is made a priest the police burst onto the scene. Suddenly, Vango is scaling the walls of the cathedral while being shot at

In a total departure from her usual fare of FBI profilers, Gerritsen takes the reader on a journey that starts in WWII Italy to present day Boston where Julia Ansdell lives with her husband and daughter.  While in Rome, Julia, a professional violinist, purchases a book of gypsy sheet music for her collection. Tucked inside the pages is a single sheet of hand written music, a waltz. Julia is immediately intrigued by the passion and complexity of the music. Upon returning to Boston, Julia sets out to master the haunting and difficult piece, titled Incendio, setting into motion something strange

I wish Kurt Vonnegut were alive to read this masterful literary homage. I'm not the only one who sees the connection. Margaret Wappler writes in the October 23, 2015 issue of the New York Times Book Review: "King’s devotion to a passionately experimental style, in a genre often beholden to formula, is inspiring. Kurt Vonnegut might have written a book like this, if he had ever been cyber-bullied on Facebook." 

I'm telling you: get your hands on this book. RIGHT NOW. Make yourself a drink and some snacks, grab your favorite blanket, and get ready for a sensational, surreal ride in which you

In the beginning, I loved Love Love. The ordinary, every day struggles of Judy Lee and her bother Kevin resonated strongly with me. Both divorced and drifting through their lives, they are separately blindsided with challenges that would set anyone on a downward spiral. Judy, having walked out of her temp job has unknowingly lost her insurance. When she's bitten by a rattlesnake, the hospital bills mount and Judy is burdened with crushing debt . . . and she's still unemployed. Kevin learns he is adopted when he tries to donate a kidney to his ailing father, leaving him to question everything