Reviews

This collection of 24 short stories is written by different authors to benefit the owners of Once Upon A Crime, a mystery book store located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This book contains stories written by several award winning authors. I enjoyed the variety of mysteries which ranged from 5-25 pages in length. One of my favorite stories, Puck, is about a retired grifter couple living in the suburbs.

Spanning four generations and two continents, this is a captivating, atmospheric and very readable story that includes a foundling, an old book of dark fairy tales, a secret garden, a maze, an aristocratic family, a love denied and a mystery. Cassandra is 38 years old.

After reading this autobiography by former KU basketball coach, Roy Williams, I am very sorry I was so angry at him for leaving Kansas for North Carolina in 2003. It is evident that Coach Williams is a man who loves the young men he coaches and the influence he has on their lives weighs heavily on his mind.

So many authors get childhood wrong that when an exception comes along it seems like nothing less than a miracle. Among them: J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany, and Irish novelist Roddy Doyle's Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.

Set in Victorian London, Miss Margaret Prior, an upper-class woman, becomes a "Lady Visitor" at Millbank Prison as a diversion from suicidal thoughts. She meets Selina Dawes, a spiritualist-medium who has been sentenced to five years imprisonment for fraud and assault. Miss Prior becomes intrigued by Selina because she is young and lovely and because things occur that cannot be explained - flowers mysteriously appear in her bedroom as well as a cutting of Selina's hair. Miss Prior finds herself falling in love with her and Selina returns her affection.

Next month, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is featuring 19th century photography of Egypt. If you're planning to take young friends along, consider supplying them with some books that will pique their interest and prepare them for the experience.

Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling, is an enjoyable, quick read about the travels of a carved miniature canoe and indian. It begins its journey from Nipigon country in Canada with basic descriptions of the beautiful countryside. The canoe makes its way throughout the Great Lakes until its journey ends across the Atlantic in France.

I’ve always felt that the central beauty of Anne Tyler’s work is the way in which it ennobles the common man. Characters often fumble around in the existential darkness, but usually find their way.

In this first YA novel by author Michelle Rowen (known best for her light-hearted supernatural adult fiction), we meet Nikki Donovan, a just turned 16 year old who has recently started at another new school. Her mother, a writer, is continually moving them at the whim of her latest relationship.