Before Nightfall. Silvia Vecchini. 2024. 128 pages. [Source: Library] First sentence: The sea is all light.  Premise/plot: Emma loves, loves, loves her brother, Carlo, who is hearing and vision impaired. The two communicate through sign language [though not American sign language]. His one 'good' eye is failing and he will soon undergo a surgery with a chance to save what remains of his vision. The book follows their uncertain yet hopeful story as it unfolds. Emma has met a boy--whose name I can't recall and who isn't 'important' enough to get a mention in any blurb--and he also befrien ..read more

One Big Open Sky. Lesa Cline-Ransome. 2024. 304 pages. [Source: Library] First sentence: On the ride back from church every time Charly trotted faster or trotted out the way of a too-big hole in the road my head fell against Daddy's soft Sunday shirt blue as a clear sky Momma was humming the hymns to herself in the back of the wagon we just finished singing out loud in the pews Riding next to Daddy listening to Momma I asked Daddy What was your momma and daddy like? and he pulled back hard on the reins enough to make Charly start and lift his head wondering what Daddy wanted Charly knew ther ..read more

How To Solve Your Own Murder (Castle Knoll Files #1) Kristen Perrin. 2024. 368 pages. [Source: Library] First sentence: "Your future contains dry bones." Premise/plot: Frances Adams receives a fortune at a country fair that changes the lives of her and her friends in Kristen Perrin's newest mystery novel. The mystery has dual time periods. Frances' journal/diary is from 1965/1966. The present story is told from the point of view of her great-niece, Annie Adams. It seems that Frances' fortune that she would be murdered was accurate. It is up to Annie (and several others) to solve her murder a ..read more

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Suzanne Collins. 2020. [May] 439 pages. [Source: Library] First sentence: Coriolanus released the fistful of cabbage into the pot of boiling water and swore that one day it would never pass his lips again. ETA: I just reread The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes after watching the movie adaptation--twice. The movie (obviously) resonated with me. It helped in the reread that I knew exactly what was coming in regards to the end. Though to be fair the end is ambiguous both in the book and film. There are definitely differences between the book and film. I highli ..read more

Snowglobe. (Snowglobe Duology #1) Soyoung Park. Translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort. 2024. 384 pages. [Source: Library] [YA Dystopian; New Adult] First sentence: In the living room, Grandma is sunk in her chair in front of her favorite TV show, a heavy quilt draped over her lap. I look down at the weather ticker scrolling away along the bottom of the screen. I read the description of this one and that was enough of a hook to get me. I'm not sure I could do the book justice by trying to summarize it. You should know it is set in a futuristic dystopia. The world building was FANTASTIC. The char ..read more

Uprising. Jennifer A. Nielsen. 2024. 384 pages. [Source: Review copy] [J Historical Fiction; MG Historical Fiction] First sentence: If I'd known what was coming that morning, I'd have done things differently. I certainly wouldn't have fought with my mother. Premise/plot: Jennifer Nielsen's newest book is set in Poland during the Second World War. It is a fictionalized account inspired by a real teenager, Lidia Zakrzewski, a Resistance fighter. Lidia, our heroine, is outraged when Poland falls and the Nazis invade. Everything changes dramatically in such a short amount of time. Her home life ..read more

The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry. Anna Rose Johnson. 2024. 192 pages. [Source: Library]  First sentence: "What are we going to do with young Lucy?" Premise/plot: The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry is a children's historical fiction novel set in 1912. Lucy Landry is an orphan being sent to live with a new family--the Martins. The Martins live in a lighthouse and Mr. Martin is the lighthouse keeper. The family is already LARGE. They are strangers to one another. Lucy has a vivid imagination--especially when it comes to her identity and story. She is a girl on a mission. She wants to "comple ..read more

The Light That Shines Forever: The True Story and Remarkable Rescue of 669 Children on the Eve of World War II. David T. Warner. 2023. 32 pages. [Source: Library] First sentence: In the final months of 1938, the shadow of war was spreading across Europe. HItler's armies had marched into the borderlands of Czechoslovakia, forcing Jewish families, among others, to flee their homes and seek refuge inland. Premise/plot: This is a picture book for older readers--mid to upper elementary aged students through adults. This is the story of Nicholas Winton and his rescue of six hundred plus Jewish chi ..read more

You've Been Summoned. Lindsey Lamar. 2024. 376 pages. [Source: Library] [adult mystery, adult fiction] First sentence: Wear your best costume and tell your worst secret....you've been summoned. My thoughts (preview): This one definitely requires some suspension of disbelief. But if you go with the flow, you might get caught up and forget how unrealistic it is.  Premise/plot: YOU the reader are being asked to go through the files of a case and make a recommendation to the police on who to arrest for the crime. The files are unusual--hence why you will need to suspend your disbelief. You ..read more

Ferris. Kate DiCamillo. 2024. 240 pages. [Source: Library] [MG Fiction, J Fiction, Realistic, Historical] First sentence: It was the summer before Emma Phineas Wilkey (who everyone called Ferris) went into fifth grade. It was the summer that the ghost appeared to Charisse, the summer that Ferris's sister, Pinky Wilkey, devoted herself to becoming an outlaw, and the summer that Uncle Ted left Aunt Shirley and moved into the Wilkey basement to paint a history of the world. It was the summer that Ferris's best friend, Billy Jackson, played a song called "Mysterious Barricades" over and over aga ..read more