Here’s a mini version of my earlier condensed type of reviews (fewer books). I read these in the order they are listed, chosen at random, but they all have a similar theme of family: love, loss and the significance of relationships in our lives. When things get hard for you or someone you know, it it’s essential to remember the importance of each other and the positive roles we can play in the lives of others.

	Bloodroot, by Amy Greene In this beautifully told story of family legacy in a poor Appalachian setting, the bonds between family – especially those of mothers and daughters – is both haunting, sad and filled with the kind of love that shapes the histories of all to come. A intricate web of time and characters is used to tell the story of generations of blue-eyed children originating from a group of ‘witches’. There is a wonderful tie between the characters and the land that makes one yearn to experience a year in the Appalachians. And there is just enough magic to keep one guessing and intrigued.
	Lark and Termite, by Jayne Anne Phillips What an amazing job the National Book Award Committee does of bringing to the world’s attention amazing works of literature. Lark and Termite, a finalist in 2009, is no exception. The remarkable story of Lark, a young girl living with her aunt in West Virginia during the 1950′s is paired with the unforgettable short history of her brother Termite’s father in first months of the Korean War. Alternately told by each of the rich characters, including Termite, a disabled child who can’t speak but sees the world in a rainbow of color and sound. The richness of the prose and the depth of love between the characters is not to be missed.
	The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly I can’t gush enough about The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. This debut novel for middle readers is one of the best I have read in a long time. But don’t let the intended age put you off, this is a must read for anyone. Calpurnia Tate is the only girl growing up in a family of 6 brothers in a small Texas town at the turn of the 20th century. Her eleven year old self is entering into the time of her life where her gender and ambitions are at an impasse with the future expected of her. She discovers a treasure in the eccentric grandfather she has maintained a distance from since birth and he opens to her a world of plants, animals, weather and scientific discovery that will bring out the budding naturalist in anyone.
	The Red Garden, by Alice Hoffman Since first reading Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman years ago, I am always eager to read her latest titles. While The Red Garden wasn’t the story I envisioned, it was a fascinating journey through time and place during some of the most interesting and trying times in American history. Each chapter represented a different period of time with related but different characters in each. While it was frustrating at times to lose site of characters one was just beginning to know, it was interesting to be a part of the evolution of one place. And, there was even a little of the magic I first loved about Hoffman’s writing.

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