The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo

 Kate DiCamillo is a wonderful storyteller and her books have won numerous awards including the Newbery Medal three times for: Because of Winn Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, and Flora & Ulysses. I have loved reading her stories and one of my favorites is a recent one called Raymie Nightingale. 

This story is very short, a mere 150 pages with large print. Marta lives at a hotel with her mother. Each day she does the same things while keeping her promise to her mother that she will not bother anything or anyone. Both of them are waiting for their father to come home from a war. Her days are the same until an eccentric older woman checks into the hotel and changes Marta and her mother's world in a beautiful way. 

Recommend: yes

Junior fiction, storytelling, family, hope

Olive You to Death by Lynn Cahoon

 This is number 16 in Lynn Cahoon's Tourist Trap mysteries. I have to admit they are formulaic, but I still enjoy reading them or listening to them. The characters have become comfortably familiar. The writing can be a bit tedious, but overall not a bad listen as I work online. 

All of the Tourist Trap mysteries take place in the fictional town of South Cove, California, a city on the coast in southern California. Jill Gardner runs the coffee shop and bookstore, Coffee, Books, and More and her fiance, Greg King, is the town's head detective. There are a cast of other regulars in each book and together they solve the cases of the dead bodies that end up there. 

Recommend: sure. 

Fiction, mystery, California, series

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

 Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorite books I read as a young teenager. I have read many of Montgomery's works included the Emily books and all of the Anne books. I saw this book by her on Spotify and thought I would give it a listen. 

It starts out slowly, really slowly. At one point I wanted to give up and not finish it, but my sister assured me it would be worth it. And it was!  Once things took off it was wonderful. The characters are developed extrodinarily well and by the end I loved it!  

Valancy Sterling is living in Canada in the early 1900s. She is turning 29 and not married nor does she have any prospects. Here family is horrified for her and treats her as if she is worthless. Due to some health issues she decides to break free from her family's grip on her and live. She leaves home and nurses a sick girl and makes friends and finds love. 

A wonderful story!

Recommend: yes

Fiction, romance, Canada, families, 1900s.