This month was heavy on excellent adult books. There were also a few books I started and didn’t finish, which aren’t listed here. (Remember, if you don’t like a book, and you’re not required to read it for school or work, put it down and find another. It’s okay! Good, even.) Standouts include eagerly awaited new books from Ann Patchett (Whistler) and Maggie O’Farrell (Land), two authors I’ve been reading for the last twenty years. Whistler and Land did not disappoint; both were phenomenal, though Whistler was more of a warm hug and Land was more of an extended gut punch (it’s set right after the Great Hunger in Ireland).

Elizabeth Strout’s newest, Things We Never Say, was quietly compelling, and Melissa Albert’s adult fantasy/horror book, The Children, reminded me a bit of Alix E. Harrow’s work (and Albert’s earlier YA books). Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers was a perfect vacation read; I love a mystery, and it reminded me of Clare Pooley’s Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting (not a mystery, but another book in which a disparate group of people form a community).

Middle grade novel Nell O’Dell Hates Quests is great fun whether you’re a fantasy/adventure fan or not. The hook is right there in the title: Nell is the daughter of two famous questers, but she has no inclination to go on a quest herself. Naturally, she’s forced on one, complete with questing companions, a ghost cat, a bridge troll, side quests, fairies, dragons…the whole nine yards. It is delightful, and the audiobook, narrated by Laura Knight Keating, is wonderful (she does Midge’s voice especially well).

I got to share picture book The Talking Eggs with my kiddo; I remembered it from childhood but realized we’d never read it together. The story stuck with me (obviously), and there’s a Jerry Pinkney exhibit coming up at the Carle Museum; maybe there will be some original art from the book. Axolotl-Ella is a Cinderella retelling in the very capable hands of author Kate Messner, paired with charming illustrator Lian Cho.

Last but really, really not least…I got an advanced reader’s copy of Audrey Niffenegger’s new book, the long-awaited sequel/companion to The Time Traveler’s Wife. I won’t write any details here, but I wrote about it a little on LibraryThing (still no spoilers).

Picture Books

• Nice Work by Nicholas Day, illustrated by Hala Tahboub
• The Talking Eggs by Robert San Souci and Jerry Pinkney
• Waffles & Julius: No Hugs Please! by Ed Vere
• Becca & Bubbe’s Bucket List by Laura Gehl and Sarah Lynn Baker
• Axolotl-Ella by Kate Messner and Lian Cho

Middle Grade

• Nell O’Dell Hates Quests by Emily B. Martin

YA

• As I Dream of You by Jennifer Lee and LeUyen Pham
• How to Survive the End of the World: A Graphic Exploration of How to (Maybe) Avoid Extinction by Katy Doughty

Adult

• The Clockwork Boys and The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon)
• You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar
• Mrs. Orwell by Andrea Chalupa and Brahm Revel
• Whistler by Ann Patchett
• Land by Maggie O’Farrell
• The Children by Melissa Albert
• Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
• Prestige Drama by Seamus O’Reilly
• The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 2 & 3, by Beth Brower
• Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger (ARC)
• The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
• The Best Dog in the World, edited by Alice Hoffman