JUNE READING LIST

THE MYSTERY OF LUCY AND THE DARK WOODS
by D. Diana Kosmoski (2015)

     Lucy was born and raised in Ridgebury, in the mountains of Pennsylvania; an area steeped in superstition. When Lucy was 6 she discovered she had the gift of “sight”-the ability to see the future of others but not her own. Her “sight” is somehow connected to the Deep Woods on the back of her farm and makes her an oddity to other children. When her father mysteriously disappears when Lucy is 9, she enters the Deep Woods looking for answers to questions she is too young to ask. As a young girl, she marries into a religious order and eventually moves to the Valley towns of Athens, Sayre and Waverly . As a young wife, she is terribly unhappy and her life takes many twists and turns- including one of forbidden love, betrayal and abandonment. Her quest for love takes her to Florida and the Midwest, but ultimately takes her home to the mountains to seek answers to age-old questions. It is a story that will touch your heart.

This was written by my blog friend, Diana, whom many of you also know.  Well, if I know someone who wrote a book, you know I'm going to read it.  Whether it's good or not.  But this was good.  No, this was WONDERFUL.  The more I read the more I wanted to read.  I couldn't wait to get to the end.  And when it ended, I wanted it to go on.  I highly recommend this book.  And not just because I know the author.


THE CORPSE WORE TARTAN: A Liss MacCrimmon Scottish Mystery by Kaitlyn Dunnett (2010)


     The bagpipes are blaring at The Spruces, Moosetookalook's finest hotel, reopened just in time to host the Burns Night Supper, an annual celebration of Scotland's beloved poet, Robert Burns.  In the midst of the long Maine winter, the festivities are just the thing to give the hotel a much needed boost -- and to bring fresh business to Liss's shop.
     But when the Scottish Heritage Appreciation Society arrives on the scene, they bring more than a hunger for haggis and a passion for plaid.  The quarrelsome group harbors their share of long held grudges, and the animosity only grows as the whiskey flows.  Then a fierce blizzard hits, trapping everyone -- angry Scotsmen, hapless hotel staff, and Liss herself -- inside.
     It's a situation with all the makings for mayhem, and sure enough, it isn't long before a body is discovered, face down in a storage room, covered in tartan -- and blood.
     Lucky for Liss, she's got some good friends alongside her to help sort out the facts:  local police officer Sherri Willet, and Dan Ruskin, the man who's got Liss all tied up in Celtic knots.  But they'll have to work fast, before another body goes as cold as the snowstorm keeping them cooped up with a killer.

I'm loving these Scottish mystery books.  I thought I had figured it out about half way through.  Surprise!  I was WRONG.  Someday I will figure it out.

RODZINA by Karen Cushman (2003)

     In 1881, twelve-year-old Rodzina Clara Jadwiga Anastazya Brodski wishes she didn't have to board the orphan train in Chicago.  But she has no home, no family, and no choice.  Rodzina doesn't believe the orphans are on their way out West to be adopted by good families.  She's sure  they will become slaves to strangers.  Anyway, who would ever adopt a large, tough, stubborn girl from Poland?  As the train heads west, all Rodzina carries with her is a small suitcase and her memories of her family.  Will she ever step off the train to find the family that, deep in her heart, she's searching for?

This is the children's One Book, One Philadelphia selection.  It looked interesting so I picked it up.  So very good!  Although I figured out (sort of) how it would end, I was still happy with the ending.  I would recommend this book to adults as well as children..