The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner

The Nature of Fragile Things
A novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity…
(COMING FEBRUARY 2, 2021) 

“Susan Meissner is a USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction with more than half a million books in print in fifteen languages. She is an author, speaker and writing workshop leader with a background in community journalism. A California native, she attended Point Loma Nazarene University and is also a writing workshop volunteer for Words Alive, a San Diego non-profit dedicated to helping at-risk youth foster a love for reading and writing.” For more on her previous novels visit : https://susanlmeissner.com/books/

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

An Irish immigrant by way of Manhattan, a mail order bride, and an earthquake? What calamity will happen next? In this gripping “look back” on the epic San Francisco earthquake of 1906, Sophie Hocking recounts “for the record,” the story of how she and five-year-old Kat survived when 3,000 others did not-and the shocking discovery about her handsome, new husband, Martin Hocking. Like peeling the layers of an onion, Sophie slowly uncovers the mysterious lives of “Martin,” the man to whom she thought she was married.

Readers will experience the frightening moments of an earthquake, the fury of women scorned, and the love created between strangers; induced by fear and trauma. The blossoming love of a mother and daughter also adds immensely to the ‘unromantic” relationship that Sophie endures in order to restore lives destroyed-not only by earthquakes, but by human shortcomings. For lovers of historical/mystery The Nature of Fragile Things is five stars on the “Reading Richter Scale!”  

The Great San Francisco Earthquake topples buildings, killing thousands

On April 18, 1906, at 5:13 a.m., an earthquake estimated at close to 8.0 on the Richter scale strikes San Francisco, California, killing an estimated 3,000 people as it topples numerous buildings. The quake was caused by a slip of the San Andreas Fault over a segment about 275 miles long, and shock waves could be felt from southern Oregon down to Los Angeles.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-great-san-francisco-earthquake

The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

“Discover a garden lost to time and the story of five women whose lives are tied together by one very special place…”

Julia Kelly is the award-winning author of books about ordinary women and their extraordinary stories. In addition to writing, she’s been an Emmy-nominated producer, journalist, marketing professional, and (for one summer) a tea waitress. Julia called Los Angeles, Iowa, and New York City home before settling in London. Readers can visit JuliaKellyWrites.com to learn more about all of her books and sign up for her newsletter.

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” Marcus Tullius Cicero

The Last Garden in England reconstructs an abandoned historic garden, uncovers a mysterious locked gate, and reveals the lives of determined women, separated by generations and war but who grow connected by one famous garden designer.

Julia Kelly presents The Last Garden in England in triple timeline and the voice of five women, including the diary entries of the Edwardian garden designer, Venetia Smith.  Readers are introduced to original garden designs through the intricate details drawn and planted by Venetia in 1907, sketched by “land girl,” Beth in 1944, and recreated by Emma and the company crew of Turning Back Thyme in 2021.

Highbury House and its labyrinth of garden “rooms” in Warwickshire, England, becomes the “living” landscape for the nouveau riche Mr. & Mrs. Melcourt in the early 1900’s, Dr. and Mrs. Murry Symonds in 1944 war torn England, and Sydney and Andrew Wilcox in 2021. Each family is grafted into the history of this once breathtaking garden.

 Readers’ love for Venetia and her gift of visionary gardens will thrive as Julia Kelly’s tendrils of love and loss are intertwined amongst the thorn encrusted, vine covered locked gates and the seeds of new beginnings.  

Return to an early Victorian era and wander the rose petaled pathways in The Last Garden in England.

Julia Kelly has based Venetia Smith on the British horticulturist, Gertrude Jekyll. The information and links below will hopefully add to the readers’ enjoyment of English gardening.

Gertrude Jekyll -British Horticulturist

Gertrude Jekyll VMH was a British horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, and wrote over 1,000 articles for magazines such as Country Life and William Robinson’s The Garden.  November 29, 1843- December 8, 1932 

This book explores the life and work of Gertrude Jekyll, probably the most influential garden designer of the early twentieth century. First published in the UK by Sutton Publishing in 1996 (and by Timber Press in the US), this Pimpernel Classic edition has been redesigned and includes new photography. In this book Judith Tankard and Martin Wood explore her life and work at the home she created for herself at Munstead Wood in Surrey, England. Taking as a basis her own photograph albums, scrapbooks and notebooks, and the recollections of contemporaries from Edith Wharton and Vita Sackville-West to William Robinson and Henry Francis du Pont, they describe not only the building and development of the house and garden but also her skills both in the arts and as a businesswoman and her collaborations with architects – pre-eminently Edwin Lutyens, but also Oliver Hill and M.H. Baillie Scott.https://www.amazon.com/Gertrude-Jekyll-Munstead-Pimpernel-Classic/dp/1910258059

The restored Gertrude Jekyll garden at Manor House in Upton Grey, Hampshire
Upton House and Gardens in Warwickshire, England. Author, Julia Kelly visited this National Trust property for research on The Last Garden in England. Main character, Venetia Smith is an amalgamation of Kitty Lloyd-Jones and Gertrude Jekyll https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/upton-house-and-gardens/features/kitty-lloyd-jones-at-upton-house-and-garden
After a visit to this garden Julia Kelly decided to focus Venetia’s vision for Highbury House around a series of garden rooms. Take a virtual tour of Hidcote: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hidcote

Halfway to Harmony by Barbara O’Connor

Coming January 2021 for Middle Grades
Barbara O’ Connor-Now and as a first grader! https://www.barbaraoconnor.com/

“I now live in Asheville, North Carolina, with my husband and two dogs. I have one grown son. I love being a writer. I get to sit at my desk and pour my memories of my Southern childhood into my stories. Sometimes my characters eat boiled peanuts. Sometimes they go to the Smoky Mountains. Maybe they see kudzu vines covering up barns or listen to church music on the radio inside their trailers. They might catch crawfish in an icy cold stream or eat pickled okra from a jar. My stories have pieces of me in them – all mixed in with the made-up parts. That’s what writers do – mix in the real stuff with the made-up stuff. And they can wear their pajamas all day long if they want to. What could be better than that?”

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

A boy, a dream, and a truck.

Walter and his parents are grieving the loss of Tank, who joined the army and never returned to Harmony, Georgia. Tank’s younger brother, Walter, is drifting along the Chatahoochee River floating on his own despair while nightly tangled in a recurring dream. A new neighbor from Tennessee, Posey, moves in next door and just might be the kindred spirit Walter needs.

Posey is a gutsy girl with a three -legged dog named Porkchop and a near photographic memory. That phenomenal memory is an integral piece to the puzzling relationship that develops between Walter and Posey. Readers are treated to or maybe bombarded with trivia from Posey’s favorite books, Nuggets of Knowledge and Caesar Romanoff’s Rules for Making Friends. Walter and Posey become involved in the rescue and recovery of a man “that fell from the sky,” AKA “Banjo!” As the “not so subtle” Posey shares “rules for making friends” the lines of Walter’s anger and grief are slowly erased.

Readers’ hearts will ache at the quest for “normal” love and acceptance, motherly hugs and real smiles, that Walter is praying will return to his family since Tank “left.” Walter’s hopes and dreams for the future soar amidst a hot air balloon race and back to school nervousness. Meanwhile, Banjo’s eternally positive approach to life and quirky expressions along with Posey’s font of knowledge, helpful friendship hints, and determination will have young readers rushing online for a copy of Nuggets of Knowledge and practicing rules #1-7 for making friends.

“Good grief and grits” grab a copy of Halfway to Harmony for a chance to hear Tank saying, “Blow out them candles, little man, and I’ll show you my world.”

Your new friends will thank you for reading Halfway to Harmony. Five friendly stars-***** GR

Gone To The Woods by Gary Paulsen

Publication Day is JANUARY 12! Register here:
https://americanwritersmuseum.org/program-calendar/gary-paulsen-gone-to-the-woods/

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“PLEEEEASE, DON’T STOP!”  This is the plea heard by the Grateful Reader from a class full of students when reading a Gary Paulsen novel aloud. Novels such as Hatchet, DogSong, The Winter Room, are all beloved; burned in the memory of students as all-time favorites. Gary Paulsen’s tales of survival in the wilderness, gloriously vivid descriptions and gut-wrenching situations are so understandable after reading this memoir.  Revealing his own struggles during childhood -from being dropped off at a train station as a 5- year-old, all the way to his revelation that the Army would be his destiny, keeps the reader in suspense, hanging on every word; even knowing that the storyteller survives to tell his story!

Time and time again, “the boys” grit, smarts, and determination to survive the unthinkable circumstances keep him alive. With neglectful parents who never cared or worried about him- he was fishing or “gone to the woods”- Gary feels deeply that he is “supposed to be here.” Readers will feel the same as they are transported to the edge of a stream to see a whitetail doe for the very first time. Spellbinding and magical.  New readers and those that have fond memories of listening to or reading Gary Paulsen’s books, will be blessed by the calling to share his action- packed life; his victory over “jobs of work,” sharks, Manilla, and living as a street rat. Gary’s “brain-pictures” and the smiling librarian that introduced him to reading the “whole book” as a thirteen- year-old, helped him see that “he didn’t want to live in his past, but to see ahead, see what was over the next hill…”

Some heartfelt passages will be read over and over; others so brazenly hard to read that skipping over is an option. But EVERY word, paragraph, and page, is one step closer to SURVIVING Gary Paulsen’s childhood. Be brave. “The boy” is victorious and readers will feel the same.                                                           Five star “Survival Badge” from the Grateful Reader.  

Blood and Silver by Vali Benson

Visit Vali’s website: http://valibenson.com/

Vali grew up in the Midwest. She now lives in Tucson with her husband, two sons and grandchildren.

After graduating from the University of Illinois, Vali started and sold two successful businesses before she decided to pursue her real passion of writing. She published several articles in a variety of periodicals, including History Magazine before she decided to try her hand at fiction.

In April of 2020, Vali published her first novel, “Blood and Silver”. That same month, she was also made a member of the Western Writers of America.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Welcome to Tombstone, Arizona, “where silver is lying in the streets for anyone to pick up!”

Vali Benson’s novel will lure readers right into the saloons and brothels cobbled like shoes in a closet, after silver has been discovered in 1877. The “boomtown” of Tombstone was born in 1880, and quickly grew in population from 250 to 15,000 by 1885. Blood and Silver opens as Miss Lucille and her ‘best girls’ have arrived in Tombstone, along with 12 -year-old Carissa and her sickly mother, Lisette Beaumont.

Lisette’s eye- opening journey leading to Tombstone began as a young Creole on a plantation south of New Orleans. Lisette is married at 16, and in a few years begins the perilous journey West, in a wagon train bound for California, with her husband and two children. After a cholera outbreak, Lisette eventually arrives in San Francisco; a widow desperately trying to support her daughter, Carissa. Singing in a stage show on the rough side of town known as Barbary Coast leads Lisette into more than just entertaining men with her beautiful voice. But this is not the life Lisette has dreamed of for herself and her daughter. Who will be the key to their survival?

Readers will be enthralled with the beauty of Arizona through Vali Benson’s historical background and descriptions. The character development of China Mary, who runs Tombstone and the Chinese population, is an authentic depiction based on the charismatic, historical figure who lived in Tombstone from 1879 until she died in 1903. China Mary’s niece, Mai-Lin, a fictional character but a true treasure, is paired with Carissa in a new job at the Grand Hotel. Readers will be delighted with Mai-Lin’s giggly, adventurous personality and new-found friendship with “White-White”, as China Mary lovingly names Carissa. Readers are taken up and down new trails running into questionable townsfolk, as the two friends become involved in some “mining” of their own.

As Lisette and Carissa get involved with the seedy characters of Tombstone, trust is built and faith in the idea that good will prevail is restored.

“Make new friends but keep the old. One is SILVER and the other gold.”  Readers will strike it rich and make many new friends in Blood and Silver by Vali Benson.

Five SILVER stars -GR

  • Images from Early days in Tombstone, Arizona
http://www.ok-corral.com/ http://www.ok-corral.com/pages/history.shtml

The Rembrandt Conspiracy by Deron Hicks

Published December 1, 2020-
Find out more about Deron Hicks and his other books! http://deronhicks.com/

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Rembrandt Conspiracy is Deron Hicks’ newest addition to the Lost Art Mystery series. The inclusion of QR codes enhances the National Portrait Gallery experience by bringing readers face to face with works of art by Rembrandt, Degas, Vermeer and others. This is a great techie hook for readers of all ages!

Art, the son of Dr. Hamilton, protector of the artworks, and new school friend, Camille, are excited to be invited to the Gala celebrating the opening of the Millennium Exhibit, the most important the National Portrait Gallery has ever hosted. On the anniversary of an unsolved theft from thirty years ago, Art has reason to believe a heist worth billions of dollars will occur on the night of the gala. Now to prove his suspicions!


Young readers will be introduced to scientific equipment that protects delicate art, techniques of restoration, and even a lesson on how to curtsy in case one is introduced to the Queen of England! Hone those prediction skills, follow Art’s observations and clues from the back of a scooter, and prepare for an exhilarating, rollicking tour of Washington D.C and the National Portrait Gallery. A Highly recommended “tour”!

  • Readers use QR codes to scan in works of art from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C.

The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/blizzard-brings-tragedy-to-northwest-plains

The School Children’s Blizzard narrated by U. S. Senator from Nebraska -Ben Sasse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C0dKNgJ8z0

Coming January 12, 2021 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088F2ZFDL/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Immigrants to the Great Plains of America survived twisters, grasshoppers, fires and hailstorms; but the Children’s Blizzard of January 12, 1888 was different.

The Dakota Territory, Nebraska, and Minnesota were populated by Norwegians, Swedes, and Germans-most were lured to leave their European homes, based on vastly exaggerated promises of fertile farmland that would remain in families for generations to come.  Melanie Benjamin’s account of the Children’s Blizzard, as it came to be known, honors the teachers and students whose lives changed forever on this unusually warm, breezy day in January 1888. Parents sent children off to school in light sweaters, capes, and little girls even in dresses, which gave mothers a chance to “air out” woolens, heavy coats, and pants. With temperatures plummeting and the blizzard rapidly approaching, extremely young and inexperienced teachers, Gerda and Raina Olsen, were called upon to make instant decisions: send the students out with instructions to hurry straight home or keep them and pray they survive the blizzard with the food and fuel on hand in the schoolhouse.

Melanie Benjamin tracks the footsteps through the snow as these two young sisters make different choices for their students and chilled readers learn how those decisions impacted students and families forever. Bundled into the wintery aftermath is a servant girl, Anette-abandoned by her family, who becomes the lifeline to redemption for newspaper journalist, Gavin Woodson. (Gavin was so gifted at convincing the European families that the journey across the ocean would be worth risking their lives.) Readers will relish his change in outlook as the warmth and love for another human alters the lives of so many.

Readers will be wrapped in a two-sided blanket; one a coarse scratchy side of dread and fear, guilt and regret; that flips to a soft, cuddly, cozy side of forgiveness and redeeming love. *****

Melanie Benjamin’s historical fiction account of The School Children’s Blizzard of 1888, is supplemented in her Author’s Note with facts regarding meteorology and the National Weather Service, the Homestead Act of 1862 and its impact on the Native Americans, and the post-Civil War Indian Wars and the railroads.

Resources to continue reading:

The Children’s Blizzard, David Laskin, 2004-Nonfiction

In All Its Fury, a History of the Blizzard of January 12, 1888; 1947 -a collection of memories of survivors and witnesses

The Family Ship by Sonja Yoerg

Sonja Yoerg grew up in Stowe, Vermont, where she financed her college education by waitressing at the Trapp Family Lodge. She earned her Ph.D. in Biological Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley, and studied learning in blue jays, kangaroo rats and spotted hyenas, among other species. Her non-fiction book about animal intelligence, Clever as a Fox (Bloomsbury USA) was published in 2001.
While her two daughters were young, Sonja taught fine arts, computer skills and science in their California schools, and became a novelist after they fledged. She is the author of four novels: House Broken (Jan 2015), Middle of Somewhere (Sep 2015), All the Best People (May 2017) and True Places (Jan 2019).
Sonja lives with her husband in a house overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Together they run, garden, climb mountains, travel the world, drink wine, then run some more. https://www.sonjayoerg.com/about

“An enlightening read on SO many levels.” Dorothy Schwab, Grateful Reader

Coming February 23, 2021 For Praise & Pre-Order: https://www.sonjayoerg.com/the-family-ship

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

This is the amazing family saga of Arthur and Maeve, whose love for each other carries them through the storms of life-from the birth of 9 children; Jude all the way to baby Nellie. There really is a “ship” in the backyard- not sea-worthy- but an excellent setting for the family game of Navy; created by Father and Verity, to teach discipline and responsibility. This is a great metaphor for life and reveals many lessons to the “mates” on board and to the readers. The story unfolds chapter by chapter-from both the parents’ and each child’s point of view, which is a wonderful way for readers to gain perspective on family events and personalities. So many human emotions are revealed: overwhelming joy and grief, pangs of sibling jealousy, love frozen in time by guilt, unjust hatred, the unearned love of little ones for older siblings, and on and on! Readers will remember the Vergennes family for many years to come. Follow orders: Be a good “mate” and read The Family Ship. *****

Come Tomorrow by Tess Thompson

Come Tomorrow (Castaway Christmas Book 1) Expected December 1, 2020 One chance meeting. A single act of kindness. Can young soulmates find each other in adulthood, or will hidden truths tear them apart?

Tess Thompson Romance…hometowns and heartstrings.
USA Today Bestselling author Tess Thompson writes small-town romances and historical romance.

She started her writing career in fourth grade when she wrote a story about an orphan who opened a pizza restaurant. Oddly enough, her first novel, “Riversong” is about an adult orphan who opens a restaurant. Clearly, she’s been obsessed with food and words for a long time now.
With a degree from the University of Southern California in theatre, she’s spent her adult life studying story, word craft, and character. Since 2011, she’s published 20 novels and 3 novellas. Most days she spends at her desk chasing her daily word count or rewriting a terrible first draft.
She currently lives in a suburb of Seattle, Washington with her husband, the hero of her own love story, and their Brady Bunch clan of two sons, two daughters and five cats. Yes, that’s four kids and five cats. 

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“Sometimes, when I was feeling sorry for myself, I would think that if I only had a book to read, a story to fall into and escape my problems and worries, then I could bear all this.” Luci Quick

Readers everywhere can relate to Luci’s sentiment during these anxious days of the pandemic and political stress. Come Tomorrow is a “rags to riches” story of a young girl, Luci, left with her new born sister and drunken father, living in poverty at the edge of the forest surrounding the grounds of the enormous manor of the Ford family. Fourteen-year-old Wesley Ford, and his faithful yellow lab, Atlas, are the answer to Luci’s prayers when Luci and Wesley’s paths cross one fateful Christmas Eve. When Wesley is confronted with the desperate, stark living conditions Luci and her baby sister must survive; he makes a promise to Come Tomorrow– with a basket of food. Readers will come to love Molly, the housekeeper, and her husband, Dax, the groundskeeper, as the couple becomes an integral link in the survival of Luci and Wesley. Will Luci learn to fend for herself and baby Sadie and what will happen to Wesley and his sister, Lily, as they are whisked away to boarding schools? Secrets and lies are slowly uncovered as this story of new- found love, soul mates, best friends, and the true meaning of giving unfolds over the years.

The “perfect cottage setting” in the snow globe on the cover will draw readers into Wesley’s world; one that looks so perfect from the outside and is his solace and hope for the future. Readers will want their own snow globe to shake, swirl and stare into-dreaming of a peace-filled, quiet life. The genuine love and devotion of Wesley’s lab, Atlas, is an additional warm hearted, loving gift for readers.

Add Tess Thompson’s Come Tomorrow to your reading stocking on December 1st. Five “stocking stuffer stars!”

Popularity Pact-Book Two SCHOOL SQUAD by Eileen Moskowitz-Palma

“Eileen Moskowitz-Palma divides her time between novel writing and teaching First Draft from Start to Finish and Writing for Children and Young Adults at The Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College.

Eileen’s debut Middle Grade novel, Camp Clique, the first book in The Popularity Pact series, was published in April 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic.  As a result, all of her in-person events with schools, libraries and bookstores were cancelled. Rather than being discouraged, she created a solution by forming a free virtual writing camp and book club program to serve the kids affected by school closures. The response was overwhelmingly positive and the camps in high demand. She connected with kids from all across the country and caught the attention of institutions like the Providence Children’s Museum, Sarah Lawrence College, the Rhode Island Department of Education, Thalia Kids Book Club Camp based out of Manhattan’s Symphony Space, and the upcoming Orange County Children’s Book Festival. She will continue to serve kids during the 2020-2021 academic year with a variety of virtual writing and book club program options for schools, libraries, and parents. Email her at eileenmpalma@gmail.com for more information.

 Eileen lives in Westchester, NY, with her college sweetheart husband Douglas, their daughter Molly, and their Wire Fox Terrier Oscar, who is one snaggle-tooth away from being a doggy model. ”

POPULARITY PACT https://www.eileenmoskowitzpalma.com/about-1 School Squad- Available October 6, 2020

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

School Squad picks up right where Camp Clique left off. Maisy and Bea have endured the agonizing summer before seventh grade at Camp Amelia- together in the Sunflower Bunk. The camp has a huge competition at the end of the six-week session; the Sunflowers are the perennial winners. Bea and Maisy devise a plan where Bea will help Maisy not be a “loser” at camp, if Maisy will help Bea become a member of the coveted popular girls’ group, the “M&M’s.”

Maisy comes home from camp as the school year is about to start and finds out her mom, who’s been away in treatment, is coming home soon. Maisy’s family seems ready for the transition; especially Abby, her gymnast-Olympic driven sister. Mom might make it home for her next gymnastics meet! Maisy is having trouble coping with her mom’s return amidst fears of losing her mother-again. How will she ever be able to trust her mom and be sure she’s telling the truth?

Bea, on the other hand, comes home from camp to find that her recently divorced mom is dating her math teacher and her dad has proposed to his girlfriend, Monica, on Instagram! Her two darling daughters helped, of course. How will Bea find the “end” of this maze? How many roadblocks to happiness can one middle school girl handle?

Eileen Moskowitz-Palmer handles all the Snapchat, Instagram, texting, apps, and any other technology involved in being a seventh grader or parent of one, with all the aplomb of a seasoned middle schooler! She also hits all the emotional highs of receiving a snap from the “Glow up of the Year, or the M&M’s oohing and aahing over Bea’s new hair after the keratin treatment to the lows of Maisy finding out her grandmother has moved in! She will now share a room with her gymnastics obsessed sister; sweaty leotards included. It all feels so real and raw; the anxiety of being accepted, the fear of rejection, the grip of grief over losing a parent, or the heartwarming glow of finding a trustworthy friend.

“I had never felt lonelier than when I sat surrounded by all those fake friends.” Doesn’t that sentiment sum up the “middle school mindset” just perfectly? The Popularity Pact series holds treasures and lessons for all of us-child or parent-those life lessons we learn over-and over again.

Make a “Popularity Pact” – find a young or old reader who would appreciate joining the M&M’s, but also “feeling safe and seen.” 5,000 “likes,” 200 “shares” and 50-star emoji’s! GR