Little Fires Everywhere (336 Pages)

This is a must read book! It is about family, and family expectations. It is about an Ohio town thought to be an Eden- a place of perfection. The family on which the plot is focused, is perfect. Mother ( a semi journalist), Father ( a lawyer) and four children: two boys and two girls. The secondary family isn't perfect. The mother, Mia, is a single mom with exceptional photography skills. Her daughter, Pearl, a bright high school achiever. Mia and Pearl have spent years vagabonding across the country in an old VW Bug. The reader learns about Mia's family, which I will not discuss here, but it is interesting and key to the book. The characters are wonderfully described. You will enjoy this read!

Picture Me Gone (239 PGS)

I really love the way Meg Rosoff writes. Her characters are so real. Mila and her Dad leave for a trip to the U.S. to visit his best friend, Mathew. Mila's mom is a concert violinist and has gone to Holland for a concert. Mila is a delightful young girl who has a funny BFF living in the same town outside of London. So, throughout the book there is delightful commentaries of typical teenage angst. Mila and her dad, Gil, arrive in America only to find Mathew has disappeared. There is a mystery running along, and it is about the tension between Mathew and his wife, Suzanne. They had a son who died in an automobile accident in which Mathew was driving. Mathew and Suzanne have since had another child. Mila is determined to find Mathew. She and her dad set off on a road trip to try to find him. The trip ends up, at Suzanne's suggestion, at a cabin that Mathew has used for hunting. There they discover, not Mathew, but an old girlfriend of both men. She's living there with her son. Son is a hottie and this is appreciated by Mila! It's a fun book to read; I enjoyed Mila's humor etc.!