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Hamilton: the Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter

Although a hip-hop infused musical adaptation of Ron Chernow’s 800-page biography of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton probably seemed like an unlikely prospect at one time, Hamilton is now a Tony Award winner and the biggest show to hit Broadway in decades. With the box office sold out and tickets going for hundreds of dollars, this book by the show’s creative genius may be the closest any of us get to the magic for a while.

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s lyrics are printed here in their entirety, (including some tidbits that didn’t even make it onto the two-disc Bro...

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All Is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker

All is not as it seems in the upscale town of Fairview, Connecticut. After being violently attacked at a party, Jenny Kramer, is given a drug cocktail to erase her memory. The hope is that this will allow Jenny, her father, Tom, and her mother, Charlotte, to go on about their lives. But Jenny is left reeling as she struggles with her inability to remember the facts surrounding the attack that left her physically and mentally injured. Jenny isn’t the only one suffering. Her father, Tom, has devoted his life to finding her attacker, but keeps coming up empty-handed. Her mother, Charlott...

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Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in our All-About-Me World by Michele Borba

Borba is a world famous educational psychologist and the author of twenty-two books that have been translated into 14 languages.  She appears regularly on the Today show, and has also been featured on The View, Dr. Oz, and the NBC Nightly News among other programs.  She is an expert on parenting, bullying, and character development.

Borba’s studies have proven one thing to be clear.  Children who are raised to value understanding and respecting other viewpoints and the feelings of others end up with what she calls the Empathy Advantage.  Empathy fosters kind...

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The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer

Beth Wakeford is a nervous, overprotective mother, recently divorced after her husband’s affair. She is beset by a constant fear of losing her precious 8 year-old daughter, Carmel. Carmel is a day-dreamy child who has nearly been lost before.  She is at an age where she wants to be more independent, so she takes advantage of a moment of separation in a crowded, foggy festival to snatch a moment to herself.  Beth’s worst fear is realized when Carmel cannot be found.  This story follows Beth trying to live her life without her beloved child who seemed to simply vani...

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Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

The newest book by Liane Moriarty starts a little slower than her previous two, The Husband's Secret and Big Little Lies.  The two main characters are Erika and Clementine, who have been friends since childhood.  They are very different and it is not an easy friendship.  Erika’s neighbor impulsively invites them and their families to a barbecue.   Something goes very wrong at that barbecue.  Unfortunately, you won’t find out what that is until the middle of the book.   Some might want to peek ahead, especially those with vivid imaginations...

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Seinfeldia by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

“Yada, yada, yada.” “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” “No soup for you!”

Whether you faithfully watched Seinfeld back in the ‘90s, have caught it on reruns, or have never seen a single episode, chances are you know a few of its catchphrases anyway. Seinfeldwas such a dominant hit, advertising on its 1998 finale cost more than Super Bowl spots that year. The overall success of the show gave NBC the money to diversify, invest in new technologies, and secure long-term rights to the Olympics just before the Internet and on-deman...

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Missing Pieces by Heather Gudenkauf

Jack Quinlan has secrets. Lots of secrets. Upon returning to his hometown after a close relative suffers a serious accident, the reality Jack has created and shared with his wife, Sarah, for years quickly begins to unravel. What really happened to Jack’s parents all those years ago? Just how much is Jack hiding? Sarah Quinlan must find out. But will she be able to fill in all the missing pieces before it’s too late? Sarah enlists the help of locals to get to the bottom of Jack’s dark secrets, which all seem to lead to the cellar in Jack’s childhood home.

Revi...

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The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

This debut thriller by Mary Kubica has been proclaimed as the next Gone Girl.  While I don’t think it was quite that caliber, it did make for a good read on my weekend getaway.   I recommend the audiobook, which is available for download from the library overdrive site. 

Mia is a young  teacher  who is kidnapped by her supposed one-night-stand, Colin. Eve, her mother, is beside herself with worry while grappling with her daughter's disappearance. Gabe is the investigator assigned to Mia's case.  Mia’s story is told from the points of vie...

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All the President's Gardens: Madison's Cabbages to Kennedy's Roses - How the White House Grounds have Grown with American by Marta McDowell

Gardening season is in full swing and this charming book will appeal both to gardeners and to historians.

Beginning in the 1790s with George and Martha Washington and continuing through the 1990s and beyond, McDowell makes her historical canvas come alive through the paintbrush of flowers, plants, trees and shrubs.  Her ability to make what might have become a dull recitation of botanical facts fascinating lies not only in masterful writing but in her deep understanding of the human and family lives of the Presidents and how they influenced and developed the White House grounds....

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The Passenger by Lisa Lutz

This book starts with Tanya Dubois discovering her husband dead at the bottom of the stairs.  He fell while she was in the shower.  She knows the police will be suspicious and she doesn’t want them to look too closely at her past, so she packs a couple of suitcases and goes on the run.  She turns into Amelia and makes her way to Austin.  There she meets Blue, who convinces her to swap identities.  They go their separate ways.  It turns out Blue’s identity is a little more complicated than she let on, so she ends up on the run again.  She is rea...

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