Read this book!!! Penn is an author who is a stay-at-home dad; Rosie is emergency room doctor who eventually changes her preferred specialty to accommodate her youngest child. The couple has 5 sons, but at 3 years old the youngest tells them that when he grows up, he wants to be a girl. This book does an incredible job of showing what it’s like when a member of the family was born with the wrong genitalia. The author tells how different family members and community members react, and the impact this has on the child, the parents, the siblings, the grandmother, and friends. It’s also a novel about parenthood in general. I did not want to put this book down. It's insightful, heartfelt, full of quotes that I highlighted, and a must read.

Jenny was in an unhappy marriage and ended up having an affair. She fell deeply in love and there were many missed opportunities and lost years. So sad. At least it had a happy ending.

I really liked this one. Sloane is a self proclaimed liar. She doesn't lie to intentionally hurt people, but more to make herself seem more important and interesting. Unfortunately, she does manage to get herself into trouble.

WILD HORSES by Dick Francis follows a proven formula - interesting story, people with problems, and, or course, a really good man as the main character!

This book was just what I needed for a summer read, light and breezy. Twin Olive announces to her very close family that she and her fiancé are going to elope in Hawaii so not to remind her sister, Amelia, of her failed marriage. The family plans to surprise the couple in Hawaii with a full blown wedding. Ami and her cousin Diego set off early to start the preparations. Ami is forced to plan the wedding with charismatic best man Brody and eventually they like each other. Was this whole elopement a ruse to get Ami out of her rut. Read and find out. I also recommend the audiobook, it is read with multiple actors and sound effects.

Everett dives into the very heart of Twain's Epochal odyssey, shifting the central view point from that of the unschooled , often credulous , but basically good-hearted Huck to the more enigmatic and heroic Jim, the Black slave with whom the boy escapes via raft on the Mississippi River.

The book is a true story of the notorious Nickel Academy inspired by the Dozier School for Boys in Florida, a reformatory with a history of abuse and unmarked graves. The novel takes place in the 1950’s, which shed light on racism, injustice of that time. There are two main characters and through their interactions, we see the psychological impact of the abuse through vivid descriptions and character interactions.

This was strange in the best way — atmospheric, a little eerie, and hard to put down. Some parts dragged, but overall it was good.

After watching the TV series on Netflix, I borrowed this book to clarify some of the family relationships. I did not intend to read the book, but after a few pages I was hooked, so decided to continue. The book has many differences from the TV show, so there were still plenty of surprises. Jackie is a teenager from NYC whose parents and only sibling are killed in a car accident. She goes to live with her mom’s close friend, who she does not know. The friend lives on a farm in Colorado and has 10 children, all boys except one young girl. Jackie struggles to get used to all of the changes in her life, and deal with her relationships with each of the people in her new family and school.

Sophie is celebrating her 16th birthday party at her father and step-mothers lavish but perhaps haunted home in the Texas Hill country. There is a large cast of characters that may initially seem unrelated, and many red herrings. I felt it was a bit slow in the beginning, but the stage had to be set. Slowly surprising secrets are revealed. Read for detail, but even so this one is so twisted I didn’t have a clue. Good guys and bad guys are not always obvious in this one. A good read.