From Rita: The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott  A young woman, Tess, is an aspiring seamstress who is hired by a famous designer to be her personal maid on the doomed voyage of the Titanic. Tess catches the eye of two very different men on the ship, one a sailor and the other a wealthy man from Chicago. This proves to generate problems for Tess throughout the book. Once the disaster is over and those who survive are on land, the rumors start on how the rescue was handled. Tess's employer is the main subject in the government hearings that follow the sinking. The behavoir of the designer and her husband are questioned throughout the hearings.

The timing of the release of The Dressmaker could not be more perfect as this is the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.  It is a page turning account of the aftermath of its sinking.  I now feel a differently about the Titanic and the manner in which those who survived handled themselves.  List Price: $25.95 Our Price: $20.76  ebook:  $12.99 

From Elizabeth:  Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich  This well researched historical novel unfolds through alternating chapters set in  Venice and the island of Malta in the 16th century.  Hannah Levi is a respected midwife in the Jewish ghetto of Venice.  Her husband, Isaac, gambled with fate when he borrowed heavily to buy silk he would sell in Constantinople where he planned to buy spices he would resell in Venice.  En route his ship was fired upon and he was imprisoned on Malta.  The gates to the Ghetto were locked at night but a wealthy Christian count managed to enter, desperate to reach the young Jewish midwife who had a reputation for being able to help at difficult births.  In need of ransom money to save her husband, Hannah defies her Rabbi and accepts the count's generous monetary offer.  She is quickly caught up in a complicated and devious family inheritance plot.  This story will hold your interest to the very last page and you will be happy to know there is a sequel in the works!  $15.00  ebook: $9.99 

From Karen:  Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison  

This latest gem from best-selling author Harrison is like peering into a Faberge egg. Our narrator is the daughter of the infamous Rasputin, confidant and suspected puppet-master of the Tsarina and her family, supposedly influencing the history of Russia. When the 'un-killable' Rasputin is finally murdered, his two daughters are sent to the Romanovs as the Tsarina believes that his daughter Masha has inherited his healing powers and hopes that she may heal hemophiliac Alexei. Masha and Alexei develop a very close relationship during their shared exile in Tsarskoe Selo.  This historical literary novel is a fascinating look into the world of the Romanovs and Rasputins, though of course tragic.  Did know Rasputin's daughter was a horseback trick rider in her adult life? I didn't!  List Price:  $27.00  Our Price:  $21.60  ebook:  $12.99

From Elisa: How It All Began by Penelope Lively  This is my first Penelope Lively book but I can assure you it won't be my last.  When Charlotte Rainsford, a retired schoolteacher, is accosted by a petty thief on a London street, the consequences ripple across the lives of acquaintances and strangers alike. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in this book especially the wise and sharp, Charlotte, who I will assume is Ms. Lively's alter ego.  This story maneuvers like a well oiled machine through twists and (not so sharp) turns as each character's life is changed.  I especially loved this quote near the end of the book: "An ending is an artificial defice; we like endings, they are satisfying, convenient, and a point has been made.  But time does not end, and stories march in step with time.  These stories do not end, but they spin away from one another, each on its own course."  So if your in the mood for a breezy yet engrossing novel...this is just the ticket! List Price:  $26.95  Our Price:  $21.56 ebook:  $12.99

From Vicky: Wonder by R. J. Palacio  This is a brilliant gem of a novel!   Remember how tough it can be to feel different in middle school?  Imagine what it would be like to really be different - to have a face so deformed that people turn from you in shock.  Brilliant, funny and heartbreaking. Wonder tells the story of Auggie Pullman, the boy behind such a face, as he enters school for the first time in 5th grade.  The first part of the book is told by Auggie and we put ourselves in his shoes as he makes friends and deals with the inevitable reactions of those around him.  The second part of the book is told, in turn, by his sister and classmates, and we put ourselves in their places as well.  You can't read this book without wondering how you would react to someone who is different.  Would you be a friend?  Would you walk away - or make fun of him?  This is a book you just have to talk about!  $15.99  ebook:  $10.99

From Elisa: The Survival Handbook: Essential Skills for Outdoor Adventure DK Publishing  Want the perfect book for father and son (and daughter for that matter)? From planning an expedition, to packing essential kits, to discovering what to do on a trail, The Survival Handbook is an invaluable tool when you're in the great outdoors. Among a myriad of outdoor skills, it teaches readers how to make shelters, find water, and spot, catch, and cook wild food. And if there's an emergency, it shows which essential first-aid techniques to use when, how to mount a rescue, and even how to get yourself found. In the usually beautiful style of DK books, the illustrations in this book jump out at you. Adults and children will be fascinated with the skills taught in the book as well as learn how to survive!  $17.95  

Write On, Mercy!  The Secret Life of Mercy Otis Warren by Gretchen Woelfle; illustrated by Alexandra Wallner  What a treat to read this beautifully written and fascinating new picture book about Mercy Otis Warren, a brave and independent young woman who played a role in and wrote a history about the American Revolution.  Mercy was born in West Barnstable and lived in Plymouth.  She wrote plays and political poems and served as her husband's secretary when he joined George Washington's army as paymaster general.  Throughout the book are quotes by Mercy, her husband and father, as well as a timeline of her life and list of additional resources at the back.   Ages 7-10.  $16.95

Fiction

The Thorn and the Blossom by Theodora Goss  One enchanting romance. Two lovers keeping secrets. And a uniquely crafted book that binds their stories forever. When Evelyn Morgan walked into the village bookstore, she didn't know she would meet the love of her life. When Brendan Thorne handed her a medieval romance, he didn't know it would change the course of his future. It was almost as if they were the cursed lovers in the old book itself . . .

$16.95

More Than Words Can Say by Robert Barclay $14.99 Chelsea Enright never expected to inherit her grandmother's lakeside cottage deep in the Adirondacks--a serene getaway that had been mysteriously closed up decades ago. This is no simple bequest, however, because when Chelsea finds her grandmother's WWII diaries, she's stunned to discover that they hold secrets she never suspected . . . and they have the power to turn her own life upside down. 

$14.99  ebook:  $9.99

Defending Jacob by William Landay

Andy Barber has been an assistant DA in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than 20 years. He is respected in his community and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But after a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His 14-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student. 

List Price:  $26.00  Our Price:  $20.80   ebook:  $12.99

Restoration by Olaf Olafsson  A blend of The Paris Wife and The English Patient--a sweeping story of love tested by the terrors and tragedies of war, set in the breathtaking landscape of Tuscany in the 1940s, from the critically acclaimed author of The Journey Home.  $14.99  ebook:  $9.99

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult 

Twenty-four-year-old Edward Warren, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: his dad lies comatose, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara. With her father's chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father's organs. Is he motivated by altruism or revenge? 

List Price:  $28.00  Our Price:  $22.40  ebook:  $14.99

Non-Fiction

Hard Knocks by Howie Carr   

Following the lead of Boston crime-thriller writers like Dennis Lehane and Chuck Hogan, New York Times bestselling author and radio sensation Carr delivers a hard-hitting tale of survival, betrayal, deceit, and murder . . . in other words, a fictional odyssey through the last 30 years of crime in Boston. 

List Price:  $24.99  Our Price:  $19.99  ebook:  $11.99 

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo List Price:  $27.00 Our Price: 

Annawadi is a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport, and as India starts to prosper, Annawadians are electric with hope. Abdul, a reflective and enterprising Muslim teenager, sees "a fortune beyond counting" in the recyclable garbage that richer people throw away. Asha, a woman of formidable wit and deep scars from a childhood in rural poverty, has identified an alternate route to the middle class: political corruption. With a little luck, her sensitive, beautiful daughter--Annawadi's "most-everything girl"--will soon become its first female college graduate. And even the poorest Annawadians, like Kalu, a fifteen-year-old scrap-metal thief, believe themselves inching closer to the good lives and good times they call "the full enjoy."  

With intelligence, humor, and deep insight into what connects human beings to one another in an era of tumultuous change, "Behind the Beautiful Forevers "carries the reader headlong into one of the twenty-first century's hidden worlds, and into the lives of people impossible to forget.

List Price:  $27.00  Our Price:  $22.39  ebook:  $12.99

Every Day by the Sun: A Memoir of the Faulkners of Mississippi by Dean Faulkner Wells  William Faulkner's youngest brother, Dean, died in a plane crash in 1935, four months before his daughter and namesake was born. The novelist, who had given his brother the plane, took it upon himself to help raise and support his niece. In this memoir, she presents a lively history of the Faulkner clan in Oxford, Mississippi, through the unrest of the 1960s.  While Wells recounts his caring relationships with his wife, Estelle, and his daughter, Jill, she does not shrink from commenting on Faulkner's legendary drinking bouts and extramarital affairs. The portrait of Faulkner that emerges is of a humane, decent, loving family man who struggled to satisfy the emotional as well as financial needs of his extended family.

$15.00  ebook:  $11.99

Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools 

by Donovan Hohn

Moby-Duck is a journey into the heart of the sea and an adventure through science, myth, the global economy, and some of the worst weather imaginable. With each new discovery, Hohn learns of another loose thread, and with each successive chase, he comes closer to understanding where his castaway quarry comes from and where it goes. In the grand tradition of Tony Horwitz and David Quammen, Moby-Duck is a compulsively readable narrative of whimsy and curiosity.  

$16.00  ebook:  $9.99

Gardening

Small-Space Container Gardens: Transform Your Balcony, Porch, or Patio with Fruits, Flowers, Foliage, and Herbs by Fern Richardson

Chances are your balcony, porch, or patio could use a major makeover. Fern Richardson, charismatic creator of the blog "Life on the Balcony," is here to walk you through the process of beautifying a small space -- even when your budget is just as small.

This exciting guide layers practical gardening fundamentals with creative solutions that encourage thinking outside the pot.  You'll also learn how to tackle unique challenges, like windy conditions when gardening several stories above street level, and how to care for plants and troubleshoot with the best of them. From design basics to essential plant picks, Small-Space Container Gardens proves you don't need a yard to have a garden. For anyone who wants more green in their life, it's time to get out there and start growing.  $19.95

Starter Vegetable Gardens: 24 No-Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens by Barbara Pleasant  Pleasant has turned her gift for language and her green thumb into an excellent recourse for the home vegetable gardener. Her No-Fail garden plans, including buying lists, suggested garden layouts, and recommendations for seasonal crop rotations, gently guide the reader. The plans progress through a three-year expansion that easily builds each year's garden off the previous one. Beyond the garden plans, Pleasant introduces necessary topics, such as mulch, watering, insects, and diseases, without intimidating the reluctant gardener. The result for gardeners, who will grow in knowledge and experience as their crops flourish, will be productive, low-maintenance, attractive vegetable gardens. The captivating pictures, detailed diagrams, and excellent appendix and glossary are all bonuses.  $19.95

Teen/Young Adult

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver  The follow-up to Delirium. After falling in love, Lena and Alex flee their oppressive society where love is outlawed and everyone must receive "the cure"--an operation that makes them immune to the delirium of love--but Lena alone manages to find her way to a community of resistance fighters. 

$17.99 ebook:  $9.99

Children's Fiction

Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo

Lizzie and Karl's mother is a zoo keeper; the family has become attached to an orphaned elephant named Marlene, who will be destroyed as a precautionary measure so she and the other animals don't run wild should the zoo be hit by bombs. The family persuades the zoo director to let Marlene stay in their garden instead. When the city is bombed, the family flees with thousands of others, but how can they walk the same route when they have an elephant in tow, and keep themselves safe? Along the way, they meet Peter, a Canadian navigator who risks his own capture to save the family.  $16.99  ebook:  $9.99

Curveball:  The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick $17.99

Sometimes, the greatest comebacks take place far away from the ball field. Meet Peter Friedman, high school freshman. Talented photographer. Former baseball star. When a freakish injury ends his pitching career, Peter has some major things to figure out. Is there life after sports? $17.99  ebook:  $9.99

Children's Picture Books

Giraffe's Can't Dance written by Andreae, Giles and Illustrated by Parker-Rees, Guy  The bestselling Giraffes Can't Dance is now a board book! Giraffes Can't Dance is a touching tale of Gerald the giraffe, who wants nothing more than to dance. With crooked knees and thin legs, it's harder for a giraffe than you would think. Gerald is finally able to dance to his own tune when he gets some encouraging words from an unlikely friend. With light-footed rhymes and high-stepping illustrations, this tale is gentle inspiration for every child with dreams of greatness. $6.99

 
Penny and Her Song by Kevin Henkes  When Penny comes home from school, she is ready to sing her song. But the babies are sleeping, and Mama and Papa are worried that Penny will wake them up. Oh, but it is a "good" song, a really "wonderful" song . . . and Penny wants more than anything to sing it.

What do you think will happen?  $12.99