The Right Book at the Right Time

Title: Bent Road

Author: Lori Roy

Publisher: Penguin Group, March 2011

Summary: It’s 1967 and the Detroit race riots, among other things, have convinced Arthur Scott that it’s time to move his family back to Kansas and the town he fled more than 20 years before. Arthur and his older daughter, Elaine, adapt easily to life in the rural town of Arthur’s childhood, but his wife Celia and children Daniel and especially Evie have a more difficult time. Maybe it’s because Evie looks so much like Arthur’s dead sister Eve, for whom Evie was named. It seems the whole town is still haunted by the memory of Eve and her unsolved murder, even though 20 years have passed. When a little girl goes missing soon after the Scott’s arrival, fingers again point to Eve’s fiancé at the time of her death. The missing girl, Julianne Robison, looks strikingly similar to both Eve and Evie- a coincidence that does not go unnoticed by the townspeople. Are the two crimes related? Everyone seems to think so. Celia fears for her family, especially little Evie, since the prime suspect, now married to Arthur’s sister Ruth, is becoming more and more unhinged. Told from the point of view of different characters, sometimes without warning, the plot twists and turns while leading to a final, explosive showdown.

Who Might Like This?: Anyone who likes family drama with twists, turns, and some thrills thrown in.

If you like this, try this: Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

Recommended by: Sue B, Circulation Coordinator

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Title: Stitches

Author: David Small

Summary: David Small grew up in a cold house, with distant, nearly silent parents. He was born sickly – and as was par for the course at that time, his radiologist father gave him plenty of x-ray treatments to strengthen his lungs. When a growth developed on his neck, his parents thought little of it. Four years later, he finally had surgery to remove an aggressive malignant tumor. But no one told young David what was wrong with him, or why he was now voiceless.

That Small grew up to be a renowned artist and picture book illustrator (Imogene’s Antlers, So You Want to Be President?) seems miraculous, given the circumstances of his childhood. In this boldly designed, unforgettable graphic memoir, he pulls no punches. But what elevates this book above and beyond the popular ‘terrible childhood’ subgenre is his refusal to reduce his family to caricatures. A story of family horrors shown through the eyes of a young, creative child, Stitches will make an impact on all who read it.

Who will like this book?: Readers who like redemptive stories about painful childhoods. If you or your children have enjoyed Small’s award-winning picture book illustrations, you will be fascinated by his life story.

If you like this, try this: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel.  Why I Killed Peter by Olivier Ka. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.

Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian