It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street.

Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test. 

FYI:  Ms. Coppola knew I wanted to read this book and she left it in my mailbox to read over the summer.  It didn’t disappoint!  I hope you will enjoy reading it too.  Let me know!  😃

If you love New York, may I introduce you to Harlem?  Harlem Shuffle's ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City of the early 1960s. It's a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately a love letter to Harlem. 

Best line in the book:  “You went to College?” 

 “Yeah, I went to college.  Went to UCLA.  University at the Corner of Lenox Avenue!”  

Skipping Christmas, John Grisham

The rule of thumb I follow if recommending books to others is: did it bring out any emotions?  If it did, you can be sure I'll recommend it to others.  Let me tell you, this book was laugh-out-loud FUNNY!  Similar to Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation, this book dares to suggest:  What could go Wrong?  That's a definite recipe for disaster right there!  Imagine a year without Christmas. No crowded malls, no corny office parties, no fruitcakes, no unwanted presents.  

That’s just what Luther and Nora Krank have in mind when they decide that, just this once, they’ll skip the holiday altogether. Theirs will be the only house on Hemlock Street without a rooftop Frosty, they won’t be hosting their annual Christmas Eve bash, they aren’t even going to have a tree. They won’t need one, because come December 25 they’re setting sail on a Caribbean cruise. But as this weary couple is about to discover, skipping Christmas brings enormous consequences—and isn’t half as easy as they’d imagined.  

A classic tale for modern times.  John Grisham’s Skipping Christmas offers a hilarious look at the chaos and frenzy that have become part of our holiday tradition.

Fever 1793, Laurie Halse Anderson

COVID-19 wasn't America's first experience with an epidemic...During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out.

Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.

Adventures of the Horse Doctor's Husband, Justin B. Long

When he married a veterinarian, chasing horses down Florida's Interstates wasn’t in the vows…

Justin B. Long never dreamed he’d become a horse person. But marrying a passionate vet placed the self-confessed numbers nerd into the wild world of equine emergency care. And just when he thought he had a handle on his new life, his close-knit community gained Internet fame with a daring freeway horse rescue.

This outrageous collection of (true) uproarious exploits will tug at your heartstrings and laughter to your heart. Through vivid accounts, you’ll meet a whole host of new friends, including a blind horse stuck in a sinkhole, mayhem-causing rescue kittens, and Highway, the famous I-75 Miracle Horse who cheated death four times!

 If you love animals, you’ll adore this hilarious, delightful, and sometimes heartbreaking behind-the-scenes look at life in a rural vet clinic.