FINISHED:
Park, Linda Sue. (2016). Wing & Claw: Forest of Wonders. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Clarke, Susanna. (2004). Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. New York: Bloomsbury.

[I'm going to give it go!  The paperback - at just over 1000 pages - is daunting, but I'm intrigued by the BBC series and really want to read the source material first.  I gave it a shot years ago...  Don't remember why I couldn't finish it...]

*

FINISHED:
Cole, Henry. (2016). Brambleheart. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Park, Linda Sue. (2016). Wing & Claw: Forest of Wonders. New York: HarperCollins.

[A Single Shard is one of my favorite Newbery Medal winners.]

*

FINISHED:
Kibuishi, Kazu. (2016). Firelight [Amulet: Book 7]. New York: Graphix/Scholastic.

[An OUTSTANDING installment of a fantastic series.  SO glad that it's popular with the kids in the library - it's quality stuff that deserves to be read.]

STARTED:
Cole, Henry. (2016). Brambleheart. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Tyler, Anne. (2015). A Spool of Blue Thread. New York: Knofp/Random House.

[An Anne Tyler novel is always a refreshing change.  So many books these days are solely driven (at least, hopefully) by plot, with little character development. An Anne Tyler book is generally the exact opposite:  pure character study.  Sure, things "happen", but that's never really the focus.  Rather, they are about people - great "slice-of-life" novels that spend most of their time getting into the minds/habits/eccentricities of everyday folk.  I'd venture to say that it's almost a guarantee that you'll come across a character, or family situation, in one of her novels that reminds you of someone that you actually know, or of something that has actually happened to you or someone you know.  This one, like many of her tomes, deals with family - how families come to be, how they grow and change, how the develop vivid memories, and how they say hello and goodbye.  One NYT basically called it Anne-Tyler-by-numbers, but another was more favorable.  I'll side with the latter when it comes to an Anne Tyler novel, anytime.]

STARTED:
Kibuishi, Kazu. (2016). Firelight [Amulet: Book 7]. New York: Graphix/Scholastic.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Eagar, Lindsay. (2016). Hour of the Bees. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[(SPOILER!)  Not bad...  Tuck Everlasting is just one of the most ABSOLUTE classics in my eyes, so anything approaching this territory is under heavy scrutiny.  To me, it's just such a fantastic question to hit kids with:  if you could live forever, would you?  It's the kind of dilemma that can bring up so many fascinating discussions.  This one mines some of the same territory, but comes at it from a much more direct (ok, I haven't read Tuck Everlasting in awhile... so I'm kind of guessing here) message of "live in the now, not for the future".  Since this one takes place in modern day, there are questions surrounding how no one - especially those at the nursing home who surely would've given Grandpa a thorough medical check-up before admitting him - can tell that there are folks in this town that seem to be living a lot longer than usual.  Quibbles aside, this really could end up being one of the better novels of the year.]

STARTED:
Tyler, Anne. (2015). A Spool of Blue Thread. New York: Knofp/Random House.

[I love me some Anne Tyler, and normally I read new ones immediately upon their release.  BUT, last year was my Newbery year so anything beyond what was eligible for consideration of the award had to wait.]

*