Happy New Year!

Welcome 2017! 

I suppose many of you took time to make a few resolutions for the new year. Well, if you haven't, here's a suggestion: "I will read more in 2017!" If you need a couple of book ideas, consider these . . .

All the Bright Places, by Jennifer Niven, is another book I have recently read that deals with mental health, this time specifically suicide. However, the topic is handled so carefully in this lovely story about Finch and Violet. This unlikely duo teams up to work on a project that takes them throughout their state, and in doing so both of them grow closer. Both Violet and Finch deal with their own fears past and present, but somehow bring out the best in each other - for a time. As Violet grows out of her own hole, Finch slides deeper into his. It is soon to become a movie, so make sure you read it before you see it in the theater. 

Another book that is coming out in a movie, A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, who wrote it in 2011 from an idea he received from the late Siobhan Dowd. Again, you should read it before you see the movie. It's been awhile since I have read it, but I remember being moved by this book that deals with grief, death, love and loss. The artwork is amazing and won the Kate Greenway Medal for illustrations. It also has won the Carnigie Medal for literature. Because it has illustrations, you might think this is a children's book, but anyone could read this book and be challenged by its amazing journey through Conor's nightmares as he deals with his mother's illness and father's remarriage.