“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” by Ransom Riggs

With such an intriguing title I wasn’t sure what to expect of this book, but what I found was an incredible fantasy/adventure filled with extraordinary vintage photographs which add a splash of exotic enigma and mystique to main character Jacob’s quest to find his sanity and the key to his grandfather’s past.  It is hard to describe this book without giving away the very secrets that make it such a colorful, imaginative tale but I can tell you that it is not a great literary masterpiece full of deep life lessons; not a gruesome horror story; not a beach read romance or a genre mystery; it’s an absorbing flight of fantasy that at least partially filled the hole I have felt since  the Harry Potter  series ended and it’s the first book I have read in a while that I simply could not put down.

PS.  Three other things you might be interested to know.

1. Don’t read this book by listening to it on CD,  the vintage photographs are an integral part of the story and wildly entertaining.
2. Tim Burton has already expressed interest in directing the movie of this book and Jane Goldman (X Men: First Class,The Woman in Black, Stardust) has already been hired as screenwriter.
3. The ending of the book while satisfying makes it obvious that a sequel is sure to be in the works.

“SARAH’S KEY” by Tatiana de Rosnay

I don’t say this very often but I could not put this book down. Told by 2 narrators, a young, French, Jewish girl who is forced into a concentration camp and a modern-day American journalist living in Paris who becomes obsessed with her story, the plot reminds us all to remember the atrocities done to the victims of genocide and the horrifying way that fear and hate lead apparently good people to do despicable things, or at the very least, to look the other way in the face of suffering.

“DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, Murder,Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed History”” by Erik Larson

This non-fiction account of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair so fascinating  I kept rechecking the genre to be sure it wasn’t fiction even as prominent leaders and celebrities like Frederick Olmsted, Buffalo Bill Cody,  Susan B. Anthony, Thomas Edison, and Teddy Roosevelt rubbed shoulders with belly dancers, Midway barkers, pickpockets, a delusional lunatic, and the occasional murderer.  Well documented and researched, the author presents a fascinating parallel of two men – David Barnum, chief architect and the driving force behind the immense undertaking which ultimately changed the world, and H.H. Holmes, a charming con-man, psychopath, and serial killer who finds 1890s Chicago the perfect setting for his criminal behavior.

“Heaven is For Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back” by Todd Burpo

Heaven is a hazy concept for many Christians, but Todd Burpo, a Nebraskan pastor whose 4-year-old son almost died on the operating table, reveals the amazingly vivid descriptions of heaven that were gradually related by his preschooler in the years following a near-death experience.  I found myself fascinated, touched, and inspired by this readable, heartwarming, and surprisingly scriptural account that provided new insights and left me deeply reflecting on my own view of what heaven will be like.

“THE DAY THE FALLS STOOD STILL” by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Set against the backdrop of Niagara Falls, Ontario at the onset of WWI, this wonderful, readable novel combines the history of the falls –its deadly majesty, numerous daredevils, greedy hydro-plant proponents, mystery and grandeur with the story of a young woman whose upper-crust family has lost both money and standing.  When she falls in love with a lower class riverman who knows the Niagara River like the back of his hand, the story of their lives and love is alternately tender and tragic.

“I STILL DREAM ABOUT YOU” by Fannie Flagg

With love and laughter I have turned the pages of almost all of Fannie Flagg’s books and this engaging, poignant, and wonderfully funny book about Maggie Fortenberry, a former Miss Alabama turned realtor, who tries to always do what it “right” and yet is somehow dissatisfied with how life turned out,  was certainly no exception; it was a delight. Maggie decides on a “plan”  for her unsatisfactory life but somehow things keep interrupting like unexpected real estate deals,  her best friend Brenda’s illness, a hair appointment with a 24 hour cancellation fee, too much goat cheese, and so many other things, and in the meantime, the reader meets a succession of eccentric characters oozing southern charm, is taken back in time to discover “the real story”,  giggles as Maggie goes through a series of hysterical escapades, and cheers for her as she  learns that all is not lost, and perhaps there are some perks to becoming a senior citizen after all.