You Want a Book for the Whole Family

Are craving a heist book or have ever told a lie

Hi friends,

Hope you’re doing well.

This weekend, I went to The Washington Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker. It was such an amazing production! I’d never seen a professional performance of the ballet before and left feeling festive and blown away by the artistry and athleticism.

And, now, what to read if…

You’re Looking for a Cozy Family Read

Greenglass House by Kate Milford

If you’re wondering what you’re going to do with the kids home from school for vacation, may I suggest a family read of Kate Milton’s charming and whimsical Greenglass House? Set at an inn that caters to smugglers in the days leading up to Christmas, this book will delight readers of all ages.

Twelve-year-old Milo is looking forward to spending a lazy, relaxing week with his adoptive parents. His plans are thrown off, though, when a series of mysterious visitors arrive at Greenglass House on the first night of his vacation. As Milo learns more about the guests — and items start to go missing — it becomes clear each of them is there to try and uncover a long-held secret about the inn that Milo and his parents call home. He joins forces with Meddy, the cook’s daughter, to hunt for clues, question guests and discover the truth about Greenglass House’s history.

It just looks like a house with secrets.

I first heard of this book when my pal Cassie at Reading Under The Radar recommended it earlier this year. When she compared it to The Westing Game and Truly Devious, I knew I had to check it out — and I’m so glad I did. It’s a cozy, intricate mystery with fun characters and a distinct setting.

You Loved Six of Crows

The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope

Fans of Leigh Bardugo’s popular magical heist book, Six of Crows, will want to check out The Monsters We Defy, a delicious tale of mystical thievery set in 1920s D.C.

I would wear this hat.

Clara Johnson can communicate with spirits. It’s a gift that saved her life when she hit her lowest point, but also left her burdened with a damaging curse and a debt to the underworld. When a powerful spirit, The Empress, offers to lift Clara’s hex if she steals a ring right off the finger of one of D.C.’s most prominent and wealthy women, the cursed woman quickly realizes two things. First, she’ll need help to pull this off and second, the ring is being used to kidnap and control impoverished District residents. She cautiously begins to build a team of other hexed people to reclaim the ring and release the hostages from its mysterious hold.

I picked up Monsters We Defy as part of my quest to read more fantasy. I love heist books (see my recommendations of Portrait of a Thief, Blacktop Wasteland and The Feather Thief), so I thought I’d try one with a magical twist. My plan worked — I adored it and am looking forward to diving into Leslye Penelope’s backlist. (Sidebar: She’s running a sale of signed paperbacks on her website right now if you’re looking for a gift for a fantasy-lover.) Penelope seamlessly weaves together the history of the 1919 D.C. race riots, African folk magic, romance and mystery in this gem of a novel.

You’ve Told Your Share of White Lies

To Be Honest by Michael Leviton

By the time Michael Leviton was 29, he had told just three lies. Raised in what he calls a “little cult of honesty,” Leviton was taught not only to always tell the truth, but also to share whatever he was thinking, no matter how hurtful or ill-timed the comment may be. The Levitons, particularly Michael’s distant father, were, in the words of Taylor Swift, “casually cruel in the name of being honest.”

As you can imagine, this approach makes it difficult for him to keep a job, maintain friendships and develop romantic relationships. In his early 20s, he moved to New York, where he met Eve, a people-pleaser he dates for years. His new girlfriend helped him to recognize that his family ethos — “silence was suffering, confession was connection, and criticism was love” — hurts others, especially her. So, Leviton set out to learn how to lie, or at least to not be completely honest.

In a time that prizes “authenticity” while obsessing over Instagram filters, Leviton’s memoir gets at the uncomfortable tension between being ourselves and fitting into a society. I listened to To Be Honest, and found Leviton’s narration added a layer to the story. He, at times, almost laughs at his former views — and the bizarre scrapes they got him into — while showing the emotional costs of his family’s honesty obsession.

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Thanks for reading, friends. I’ll be back next week with my last newsletter of the year. There’s still time to enter the giveaway for Maureen Johnson’s Nina Liars. Head over to the Q&A and leave a comment!

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