The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

by Tom Angleberger  160 pages

A group of sixth grade friends are trying to figure out whether Dwight, the class weirdo/outcast, really has an Origami Yoda that can use magical powers to give advice, or whether it's just Dwight talking in a funny voice with a green paper wad on his finger. The story is written in a notebook style with cartoons like the Wimpy Kid series. Tommy is collecting "case files" from his classmates to determine whether Origami Yoda is real. Are Yoda's magical powers the only way Dwight could give good advice? Tommy needs to know so he can decide whether he should ask a girl to dance at the PTA Fun Night. This is both a fun story and a good picture of the awkward, self-conscious middle schooler learning to make his way through friendship and how to talk to girls.

Whose Body?

by Dorothy Sayers  224 pages

Whose Body? is the first in the Lord Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy Sayers. We meet Lord Peter, who is much smarter than his mindless, foppish exterior would lead you to believe. He uses this to his advantage to work as an amateur detective: "assisting" Inspector Charles Parker of the Scotland Yard. It's a fun combination of quirky characters including Bunter, Lord Peter's valet, and his mother the Dowager Duchess, and a gruesome mystery.

The story begins with a dead man found in a bath tub, naked except for a pair of pince nez, and the adventure continues including a missing financier, anatomical dissection, and the best way to navigate across London rooftops.

The Peach Keeper

by Sarah Addison Allen  288 pages

Sarah Addison Allen combines romance, mystery, and magical realism in the small town setting of Walls of Water, North Carolina. The book alternates between the stories of two women: Willa Jackson runs a store in town and feels like an outsider, even though she grew up there. Paxton Osgood, who was the most popular girl in high school, is trying to find her place as an adult. The reader will enjoy the themes of women's friendship and coming to a relationship with a strong sense of self-worth. At the same time, there is a southern gothic mystery element when a body is discovered on the grounds of a restored haunted house. This is both a gentle read as well as an intriguing mystery.

Cutting for Stone

by Abraham Verghese  688 pages

Cutting for Stone's main focus is on Shiva and Marion Stone, twin brothers growing up in Ethiopa, but it is also an epic saga that includes the backstories of a variety of characters. We learn about their biological parents: Dr. Thomas Stone, an English physician who runs the Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa, and the late Sister Mary Joseph Praise, a nursing nun. We also meet their foster parents, neighbors, and the patients in the clinic. The novel takes place during the politically tumultous years of Hailie Selassie's rule and it includes a lot of Ethiopan culture and history. The two brothers both pursue medical careers in very different ways, and in different parts of the world. The author includes very vivid descriptions of medical procedures that might be too much for some readers. The reader will be compelled to see what happens to the vividly-described characters. There is foreshadowing of tragedy throughout that culminates in a dramatic ending.

School of Night

by Louis Bayard  352 pages

School of Night fits into a category I like to call Shakepearean adventure: a modern day thriller based on documents/clues from the Elizabethan era. The current caper story includes a lost letter from Sir Walter Raleigh, alchemists' gold, secret ciphers, and a treasure map. Henry Cavendish is an unsuccessful Elizabethan scholar, and finds himself in the middle of scholarly intrigue, ruthless antiquities collectors, and a mysterious, and beautiful, security consultant. Henry has to use his knowledge of the School of Night, a secret debating club formed by Christopher Marlowe, Raleigh, and the scientific genius/alchemist Thomas Hariot, to solve the mystery. The book builds suspense as it alternates between the present day and Elizabethan stories, and results in a dramatic ending.

Alone

by Lisa Gardner  480 pages

Alone begins with Bobby Dodge, Massachusetts police sniper, called to the scene of a hostage situation. After he kills a man who seems to be about to shoot his wife and son, Bobby deals with the psychological aftermath of the shooting, and is accused of colluding with the widow, Catherine Gagnon. She is dealing with her own psychological baggage as a childhood abduction survivor, and as the mother of a child suffering from a mysterious chronic illness. The suspense builds as we follow several story lines, including characters such as a crooked judge, the pedophile who abducted Catherine years ago, and D.D. Warren, the police detective who appears in several of Gardner's other books.

The Soul Thief

The Soul Thief by Cecilia Holland  304 pages

The Soul Thief is the first in Holland's series of Viking novels set in the tenth century. When an Irish coastal town is raided, nearly the whole town perishes. Corban, who had been banished for failing to fight for the High King, survives. He travels to Jorvik (York) in search of his twin sister, Mav. Their psychic connection, and other mystical elements, are found throughout Corban's series of adventures. He meets King Eric Bloodaxe, who was responsible for killing his family, and becomes wrapped up in the rivalries between kings and sorcerers. Corban matures over the course of his quest, and builds a group of friends that help each other survive the terrible conditions created by the brutal king. The author spends more time describing the life of the lower classes, though she also provides details about some of the actual Viking rulers of the period. This is the first of a six book series, and its ending leaves the characters ready for a new adventure.