by Talia Hibbert
Illness and disability are central to the U.S. debut novel from prolific British author Talia Hibbert. This first in a proposed series begins with Chloe Brown--a British woman of color who battles the invisible yet chronic and debilitatingly painful effects of fibromyalgia. As Chloe takes her daily walk--as prescribed by her physiotherapist--she witnesses a horrific car accident that nearly involves her. Shocked, the lovably eccentric, single computer geek walks away uninjured, and decides she wants more out
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by Mo Rocca, Jonathan Greenberg
A good obituary is a thing of beauty. With "the sweeping drama of a life packed into a few inches of print," an obit aims to give each one of us the sendoff we deserve. But not always, and that's where Mo Rocca comes in.
In Mobituaries, a companion to the podcast of the same name, Rocca shares "mobits" for people who didn't quite get their due initially. Consider Beau Brummell, who almost single-handedly changed men's fashion, but suffered from syphilis-induced dementia at the end and died penniless. Vaughn
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by Cheryl Minnema, illus. by Julie Flett
While driving home from the market, young Johnny asks his grandmother to pull over: he has spotted something by the side of the road. It turns out to be a pheasant; "Can I keep him?" he asks. Grandma is leery. She tells Johnny that she suspects that the bird has been struck by a car. Still, she acquiesces: "I can sure use his feathers for my craftwork." Johnny responds: "Hoot! Hoot!--the first of several such gleeful-goofy outbursts.
Once they've returned home, Johnny sets the pheasant in a box ("his bed until
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