Essex County: Volume 3: The Country Nurse

by Jeff Lemire, 125 pages

In this final volume of Lemire's Essex County trilogy, an official caretaker of the elderly (and unofficial caretaker of her small rural community's hearts) carries on in her ancestor's path as she works patiently to heal the hurts that don't get better with Band-aids.

For more information on this quietly powerful trio of graphic novels, please see my full series review on NoFlyingNoTights.com!

Essex County: Volume 2: Ghost Stories

by Jeff Lemire, 223 pages

As he's moved from his farm to a nursing home, an old man suffering from dementia looks back on his life and his relationship with his younger brother in this second volume in Jeff Lemire's moving Essex County trilogy.

Sad and yet ultimately hopeful, this.  Lemire excels at making me teary-eyed and yet not bitter about it.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

by Alison Bechdel, 232 pages

This is a memoir of the author's complicated childhood with her closeted gay father who may or may not have intentionally jumped in front of a bread truck when she was nineteen.

Bechdel relates the gaps between her father's public and private lives and how his secrets affected her and her family over the years.  Despite his many affairs (some possibly with minors) and lifelong obsessions (art, architecture, gardening, literature) that seemed to take priority over emotionally connecting with his wife and children, he was still her father, and losing him shortly after coming out, herself, has left a hole in her life.

This cuttingly honest and thoughtful analysis of an imperfect life through the author's memories made me cry when I got to the last page.

P.S. I Love You

P.S. I Love You
by Cecilia Ahern
375 pages

Holly Kennedy is 30 years old and has recently lost the love of her life, Gerry, to a brain tumor. She has no idea how she is going to get on with life, until she receives a series of notes from her husband that he had written before he died.

With the help of these notes, her friends, and her family, Holly finds the strength and courage to forge a life she never thought she'd have to...without Gerry.

I had seen the movie so of course I had to read the book.  The movie took some pretty creative license with the story, but the point is still the same.  The book was a little too detailed in some aspects, but still good none the less.

The Hidden

by Jessica Verday
387 pages

In the long-awaited conclusion to the bestselling saga of Abbey and Caspian, readers finally learn the truth about Kristen's untimely death, the dark destiny that links Abbey to Caspian and ties them both to the town of Sleepy Hollow, and the hard choices that Abbey must make if she is to accept Caspian's love and their unexpected fate. Beautifully spun, emotionally gripping, and irresistibly romantic, The Hidden will leave readers breathless.

Got answers in a one page rant from villain. Not all, but most. Other than making me obsessed with Sleepy Hollow, don’t know if I’m compelled to recommend this series.

The Haunted

by Jessica Verday
467 pages

After a summer spent reclaiming her sanity and trying to forget the boy she fell in love with--the boy who must not exist, cannot exist, because she knows that he is dead--Abbey returns to Sleepy Hollow, ready to leave the ghosts of her past behind. She throws herself into her schoolwork, her perfume-making, and her friendship with Ben, her cute and funny lab partner, who just might be her ticket to getting over Caspian once and for all. But Abbey can never get over Caspian, and Caspian has no choice but to return to her side, for Caspian is a Shade, and Abbey is his destiny. They are tied not only to each other, but also to the town of Sleepy Hollow, and to the famous legend that binds their fates--a legend whose dark truths they are only beginning to guess....

Still didn’t get answers.

The Hollow

by Jessica Verday
515 pages

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead…and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special.
Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

This book left everything, everything up in the air. No questions answered, just more questions. And I did not see one of the plot twists at the end. Maybe should have, but I didn’t, so I was like what? Even with all that, I still enjoyed it. I’ve already started the sequel so I can get to those answers!

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour

by Morgan Matson
343 pages

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

After I saw Chelsea’s review, I knew I had to read this, and soon. It was so cute. Road trips + awesome music + a scrapbook + not obviously falling in love (as Chelsea so accurately stated) = the most epic read :)

Walking Ollie

by Stephen Foster, 177 pages

Another dog memoir along the same lines as Marley and me, but set in England. Foster describes his rescue of a lurcher (sighthound mix, in this case, a Saluki) and the resultant mayhem this leggy puppy brings into his household. Ollie is a nervous wreck and impossible to control. Foster doesn't pull any punches, and I was sometimes horrified with his methods and Ollie's wildness. Foster has a lot to learn about owning a freakishly fast dog, and there are some dark moments before Foster and Ollie come to a loving (though still stressful at times) relationship. Still I had an optimistic feeling at the end of the book--there was definitely hope for Stephen and Ollie.

So when I went to find a cover image for this blog post, I was heartbroken to learn that Ollie had to be put to sleep when he got bone cancer a few years ago. By the time I listened to his story, he was already dead! I got all teary as I read Stephen's blog about Ollie's diagnosis. He tried so hard to keep Ollie well, but osteosarcoma is lethal and all too common in large sighthounds. Ollie didn't stand much of a chance, and Stephen would not let him suffer. I realized that around the same time our greyhound Rocket was diagnosed with bone cancer, and even though he was operated on and the tumor hopefully excised, we lost him the next year. (see above picture, right) So I could actually say I felt Stephen's loss.

Someone posted this poem on Stephen's blog:

Epitaph to a Dog by Sir William Watson

His friends he loved.
His fellest earthly foes–
Cats–I believe he did but feign to hate.
My hand will miss the insinuated nose,
Mine eyes that tail that wagged contempt at Fate.

Westu hal, Ollie!

Where She Went

by Gayle Forman, 264 pages

The sequel to the heartwrenching novel If I Stay. Three years ago, Mia survived a horrific accident that killed her family, and after her recovery, left her boyfriend Adam alone, confused, and heartbroken. Now, Adam is a successful rock star and spiraling out of control, never having come to terms with the death of Mia's family and their eventual breakup. When Adam and Mia connect unexpectedly in New York, Adam must face his heartbreak and do his best to understand this new Mia and relate her to his memories.

While this was riveting and emotional, it was on a different level from the anguish of If I Stay. Between the two books, Forman has managed to portray two types of grief: the sudden, horrifying pain of lives taken too soon, and the long, devastating pain of unexplained heartbreak.

Cross Game: Volume 5

by Mitsuru Adachi, 372 pages

Everyone's emotions are already stirred up due to the Koshien regionals, but life gets exponentially more complicated and stressful when they meet the daughter of the family opening the new soba noodle shop next door.

"Do ghosts get older, too?" Even Mr. Tsukushima drops whatever he's holding every time he sees her. How will this affect the slowly changing dynamics of the kiddos? I have to wait till January? I guess that's not soooo long.... *impatient grumble*

For more details, please check out my review of volumes 1-5 on NoFlyingNoTights.

Cross Game: Volume 4

by Mitsuru Adachi, 372 pages

Summer Koshien (the national high school baseball tournament) regionals are starting up and second-year Ko and the boys (since the girls, like Wakaba's year-younger sister and darn good pitcher Aoba, can't play in official games) gear up for the challenge to see how far they can get. But Ko had better watch out that he doesn't get beaten off the field as well as on when the Tsukushima girls' admiring cousin shows up and makes his intentions pretty clear.

Ah, competition. Makes you play a little more seriously, doesn't it? But first you have to admit you're even in the game. Hee hee.

Cross Game: Volume 3

by Mitsuru Adachi, 370 pages

It's another expendables vs. the official team match-up, but this time there's more riding on the outcome than the participants' pride.

Hee hee. Greedy, heartless, ambitious grown-ups beware, these kids play for bigger stakes than you can handle. Mean coach and his crony-in-a-suit are going to find they're out of their league (haha, sorry, couldn't help it).

Cross Game: Volume 2

by Mitsuru Adachi, 374 pages

Ko and the other kids on the "expendables" baseball team have a scrimmage game with the head-coach's hand-picked team supposedly to determine if any of them can make varsity, but the kids' goals are more about showing him up than showing him what they can do for him. So there, you jerk!

Just 'cause they don't win doesn't mean they don't "win." Muahahaha. Evil coach "Shades" and the interim vice-principal don't look quite so happy now, do they?

Cross Game: Volume 1

by Mitsuru Adachi, 572 pages

Fifth-grader Ko Kitamura's family's sporting goods store is just down the street from the Tsukushimas' batting center and coffee shop. The two families have always been connected by Ko and the Tsukushima's second daughter (of four), Wakaba, who were born on the same day in the same hospital. Indomitable Wakaba, convinced Ko will become an ace pitcher, takes it as a given that they'll transition into couplehood and Ko doesn't argue, transfixed by everything about her. But when tragedy strikes, Ko and all those left behind must learn how to move forward, taking upon themselves the responsibility of making sure their loved one's dream becomes reality.

Baseball, comedy, and impressively wrought depth. Pretty much wonderful, really. This first English volume contains the first three books of the Japanese series, which is good, because the reader needs to be able to move on from the sadness of the first book's conclusion as much as the characters do. And that's easier than you think it would be due to the thoughtful writing and hardwired-for-optimism personalities that fill the pages.