The Invisible Wild

by Nikki Van De Car

In Nikki Van De Car's dazzling blend of myth and magic, The Invisible Wild, a Hawaiian teen who can see menehune endeavors to stop construction that endangers the forest spirits' sacred home.

Part-Hawaiian Emma Arruda, 16, and her family are busy preparing their Big Island home for her sister's wedding. Their chores, however, seem to be undone overnight. Emma, who has grown to believe that she imagined speaking to spirits as a child, is the one to catch the culprit: a strong, three-foot-tall man--a menehune.

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I Am Clarence

by Elaine Kraf

I Am Clarence, the first novel by Elaine Kraf (1936-2013), was originally published in 1969. This rediscovered classic was ahead of its time with its wrenching, kaleidoscopic account of a single mother struggling with mental health and raising a child with a disability.

The lion's share is narrated by this unnamed New York City woman, a would-be poet and devoted caregiver to Clarence, who has frequent seizures, poor eyesight, and aphasia. The woman has had many lovers, including Clarence's hematologist and

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The Bright Years

by Sarah Damoff

On its surface, Sarah Damoff's debut novel, The Bright Years, is about a nuclear family struggling with a present affected by past experiences. As a young woman, Lillian placed a baby for adoption. Meanwhile, Ryan hopes to escape the specter of his abusive, alcoholic father. When they meet, both are desperate to build something beautiful out of their pain. They fall in love in a glittering montage: "He looks at me... like pain can't touch us. Never mind that it has touched us all our lives, and our parents

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Frank's Red Hat

by Sean E. Avery

Frank's Red Hat is a hilarious tale of creativity--first scorned, then redeemed--as one inventive penguin tries to get his fellow seabirds to appreciate the finer qualities of his functional, fashionable way to keep warm.

Frank is known within the penguin community for "doing things differently" and being "full of ideas." Unfortunately, most of his ideas are not great. The penguins are understandably nervous when, one day, Frank wears a red hat. Not only had the seabirds never seen a hat before but they had

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The Family Dynamic: A Journey Into the Mystery of Sibling Success

by Susan Dominus

Artfully merging the author's formidable storytelling gifts with research findings, The Family Dynamic: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success by Susan Dominus examines the rare domestic alchemy that motivates siblings from the same household to reach great heights. An enduring fascination with the "rites and rhythms" of high-achieving families fuels Dominus's debut, offering readers an opportunity to hear directly from, among others, Ellis Marsalis Jr., father of acclaimed musicians Wynton,

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Dirty Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family

by Jill Damatac

In the Philippines, the outdoor "dirty kitchen" is where the heavy-duty cooking takes place, as opposed to the indoor show kitchen where the privileged keep Western-style appliances meant to impress guests. Dirty Kitchen is a perfect title for Jill Damatac's debut memoir, given the themes of deception and inequality that followed her traumatic path from the Philippines to 22 undocumented years in the U.S.

In 1992, Damatac, then nine, flew from Manila to Newark, N.J., with her mother and sister to

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