| By Gale Staff |
There’s likely never been a better time to get lost in a book and this month’s picks are a quirky trio of feel good tales. Collectively our hearts have both sunk and soared as we navigated uncharted territory the past few months. We opt to keep lifting spirits with stories that show just how resilient the human heart can be.
Bear Necessity, by James Gould-Bourn
ISBN: 9781432881399
Breaking through a pre-teen’s emotional barriers can be difficult even in the best of circumstances. When you’re eleven years old and your mother tragically dies, well – that’s pretty much the worse. Will reacts by ceasing to speak and his troubled dad, Danny – now broke and unemployed – reacts in a most unusual way. Donning a panda costume as a street performer, he’s able to anonymously connect with his son, creating a foundation for mutual healing.
“Refreshing … a well-written, speedy read that focuses on the love between a dad and his son and how it can lead to friendship.”
– Kirkus
“Reading it made me want to dance. An absolute gem of a book.”
– Katie Marsh, author of The Rest of Me
How the Penguins Saved Veronica, by Hazel Prior
ISBN: 9781432881344
If a panda costume can heal hearts, imagine the power of a penguin, an orphaned baby one at that. Eighty-five-year-old Veronica McCreedy has no intention of leaving her fortune to her family, opting instead to bequeath it to a penguin study in Antarctica. While visiting their operation, her closed heart is opened by a rescued baby penguin, allowing her to fully love once again.
“A light but enjoyable, optimistic tale.”
– Kirkus
“Prior’s lyricism feels like a warm song.”
– The Washington Post (Review of debut title, Ellie and the Harp Maker)
Miss Cecily’s Recipes for Exceptional Ladies, by Vicky Zimmerman
ISBN: 9781432881351
Food technician Kate Parker has taken to her bed with mammoth bowls of cheesy pasta trying to dull the pain of her broken heart. When she eventually surfaces and meets 96-year-old Cecily Finn, the two lonely women bond over a 1957 cookery manual, featuring menus for anything life can throw at “the easily dismayed.” Holding the secrets of Cecily’s own remarkable and heartbreaking story, the book heals what mac and cheese couldn’t.
“A can’t-miss title for fans of chick lit and modern women’s fiction.”
– Library Journal
“Zimmerman adeptly juggles entertainment with deeper themes of longing and loss in this appetizing novel.”
– Booklist
Large print titles are available to purchase through Thorndike Press and through all major wholesalers.
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