The Shipping News

by Annie Proulx

When Quoyle's two-timing wife meets her just desserts, he retreats with his two daughters to his ancestral home on the starkly beautiful Newfoundland coast, where a rich cast of local characters and family members all play a part in Quoyle's struggle to reclaim his life. As Quoyle confronts his private demons -- and the unpredictable forces of nature and society -- he begins to see the possibility of love without pain or misery.A vigorous, darkly comic, and at times magical portrait of the contemporary North American family, "The Shipping News" shows why Annie Proulx is recognized as one of the most gifted and original writers in America today.
(summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

What a brilliant work of fiction. The narration was exquisite and the story powerful and compelling. The characters were thoroughly believable. I just can't say enough good things about this book. Definitely goes into the category of "Just Read It."

Nation

by Terry Pratchett

Alone on a desert island — everything and everyone he knows and loves has been washed away in a storm — Mau is the last surviving member of his nation. He’s completely alone — or so he thinks until he finds the ghost girl. She has no toes, wears strange lacy trousers like the grandfather bird, and gives him a stick that can make fire.
Daphne, sole survivor of the wreck of the Sweet Judy, almost immediately regrets trying to shoot the native boy. Thank goodness the powder was wet and the gun only produced a spark. She’s certain her father, distant cousin of the Royal family, will come and rescue her but it seems, for now, that all she has for company is the boy and the foul-mouthed ship’s parrot, until other survivors arrive to take refuge on the island. Together, Mau and Daphne discover some remarkable things (including how to milk a pig, and why spitting in beer is a good thing), and start to forge a new nation.

Encompassing themes of death and nationhood, Terry Pratchett’s new novel is, as can be expected, extremely funny, witty and wise. Mau’s ancestors have something to teach us all. Mau just wishes they would shut up about it and let him get on with saving everyone’s lives!
(Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

I loved this book--obviously. I had so much fun reading it and finding the dramatized version of it on BBC Radio 4 Extra. Mau and Daphne are such great characters and it was great to see them grow and develop because of--and in spite of--quite dire circumstances. Seriously great book.

Bad Monkey

by Carl Hiaasen

Andrew Yancy--late of the Miami Police, soon-to-be-late of the Key West Police--has a human arm in his freezer. There's a logical (Hiaasenian) explanation for that, but not for how and why it parted from its owner. Yancy thinks the boating-accident/shark-luncheon explanation is full of holes, and if he can prove murder, his commander might relieve him of Health Inspector duties, aka Roach Patrol. But first Yancy will negotiate an ever-surprising course of events--from the Keys to Miami to a Bahamian out island--with a crew of equally ever-surprising characters, including: the twitchy widow of the frozen arm; an avariciously idiotic real estate developer; a voodoo witch whose lovers are blinded-unto-death by her particularly peculiar charms; Yancy's new love, a kinky medical examiner; and the eponymous Bad Monkey, who earns his place among Hiaasen's greatest characters with hilariously wicked aplomb.

(summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

I haven't read a book by Hiaasen I haven't loved, and this is no exception. It was a perfect mixture of hilarious, gross, mysterious, exciting, and lots of other adjectives that I'm not awake enough to think of. Any book by him, JUST READ IT.

Bone, Vol. 1: Out from Boneville

by Jeff Smith

After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone, are separated and lost in a vast uncharted desert.

One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filled with wonderful and terrifying creatures...

Humor, mystery, and adventure are spun together in this action-packed, side-splitting saga. Everyone who has ever left home for the first time only to find that the world outside is strange and overwhelming will love Bone.

(Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

One of the best parts of looking after other people's kids was reading books with illustrations again. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed it and how much I'd missed after I stopped. This graphic novel has it all and I would recommend it to any child, young adult, or adult-y adult. 

Turtle in Paradise

by Jennifer L. Holm

In Jennifer L. Holm's New York Times bestselling, Newbery Honor winning middle grade historical fiction novel, life isn't like the movies. But then again, 11-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple.

She's smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it's 1935 and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. So when Turtle's mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn't like kids, Turtle says goodbye without a tear and heads off to Key West, Florida to live with relatives she's never met. 

It's hot and strange, full of rag tag boy cousins, family secrets, scams, and even buried pirate treasure! Before she knows what's happened, Turtle finds herself coming out of the shell she's spent her life building, and as she does, her world opens up in the most unexpected ways. Filled with adventure, humor and heart, Turtle in Paradise is an instant classic both boys and girls with love.

(Summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

Though the protagonist is a child, I would recommend this book to folks of any age. The characters are tough and scrappy and creative as hell. The setting is as dynamic as the state of Florida itself. Great story.

Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker #1)

by Paolo Bacigalupi

In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota--and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life...
(summary retrieved from goodreads.com)

What a powerful book! I know post-apocalyptic stories are trending right now, but this is really the cream of the crop. The settings are vivid and the characters are all too believable and fall along the spectrum of sympathetic to terrifying. This is a world where there are no easy choices and though the wrong choice will likely kill you, trying to do the right thing might too. Truly, a great read.