The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

Pat has goals.  To work on being a kinder person, to get fit and stay buff, to read the great American classic works of literature that he didn't get around to when he was supposed to be reading them in high school, to keep his anger under control, and to get Nikki back.  Actually, all of his goals are really about getting Nikki back and ending apart time.

When Pat's mother comes and gets him from the neural health facility in Baltimore where he's been for... well, he doesn't actually know how long, but awhile, he knows the end of apart time has to be close.  He's out of the bad place and living at home in Philadelphia, where his mom has bought him pretty much a complete gym-in-a-basement, complete with the Stomach Master 6000.  He's got a new therapist, Dr. Patel, and even though his dad's not talking to him (unless it's specifically related to Eagles football), he's building a relationship with his brother and (who got him his old seat back at the Eagles home games) and hanging out with his best bud Ronnie again, even if Ronnie's wife Veronica is not exactly his favorite person.  Sure, his mom claims that all his and Nikki's wedding photos were stolen by a burgler (they were in very expensive frames), and all signs point to him having been in the bad place way longer than a couple of months, but he's pulling it together for Nikki.

So when Veronica's sister Tiffany is invited to dinner one night, Pat is confused.  Tiffany is angry, volatile, uncomfortably direct, swears like a sailor and is more than a little odd.  She's also in therapy, because her husband died a few years ago, and she's also living at home, because she got fired from her job.  Pat is a married man, so even though everyone seems to be encouraging him to cheat on Nikki with Tiffany, which is confusing, he knows he can't date her.  But he does decide to be her friend - after all, it's the kind thing to do.

This is the story of how friendship, love, raisin bran, a deep hatred of Kenny G., modern dance and serious Eagles football fandom all come together to heal two people who need each other.  Quirky, fun, heartbreaking and hilarious, Matthew Quick's first novel is fabulous.  Whether you saw the movie and loved it, want to read the book before you see the movie, or (like me!) are a huge fan of author Matthew Quick (check out our reviews of Sorta Like a Rock Star and this year's Milwaukee County Teen Book Award nominee Boy21!), you've got to add The Silver Linings Playbook to your reading list!  It's the perfect way to kick-start your weekend and ignore the fact that it's snowing... again.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Oskar Schell is nine years old, and his dad, Thomas Schell, died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11.  Awkward, smart, sad, funny, gregarious and determined, Oskar is on a quest to find the one lock in New York City that the key he found in a vase in his dad's closet will unlock, a key he is sure his dad left for him as one more puzzle to solve.  And since, by his calculations, there are approximately 162 million locks in New York, that's a lot of locks to try. Fortunately, the key was in an envelope with the word Black written on it.  Oskar deduces that Black is name, not a color, so the obvious solution is to talk to every person named Black in the city until he finds the one who knew his father - and has the lock that the key will open.

But the mystery of the lock is not the only mystery Oskar will investigate along the way.  There is also the question of what became of his grandfather, who left and disappeared before his dad was born.  And who the silent tenant is renting his grandma's spare bedroom - if he even exists, because no one has ever actually seen him.  Or why his mom thinks it's okay to fall in love again when Oskar still has such heavy boots about his dad.  And why it is that Oskar believes that finding the lock will let him find his dad again.  As Oskar meets more and more Blacks, more stories unfold and intertwine almost as quickly as the mysteries pile up.  Will Oskar find the lock?  What will he find when he does?  Or, perhaps more importantly, who will he find when he finds the answers?

If you're like me, you have rules about movies and books - namely, that the book must must must be read before you see the movie!  This one's been on my list for ages, and I'm so very glad I read it - so glad, I'm not sure how I feel about seeing the movie.  I think I would like Oskar and his family to stay in my heart just as I have them in my head.  Hilarious and heartbreaking, I loved the way the characters' stories unfold and connect in alternating voices, revealing the truth even as more questions arise.  Told with images, color, letters and voicemails, Oskar's journey across the five boroughs of New York and through his own heart will touch yours as you laugh and cry your way through this amazing novel.

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

Eli Sisters is a hired gun with a heart of gold. Riding through the American West of the 1850s, he is inclined to feed the hungry, shelter the shelterless, give his money away and share his delight in his newly learned skill of tooth brushing. Partnered with his older brother, Charlie (a more flint-hearted killer), he seeks out and kills men on the orders of his powerful boss, the Commodore, no questions asked. But on this particular trip to the hills of northern California, in pursuit of a gold prospector, Eli does question what he is doing and longs for the more peaceful existence of a storekeeper. Furthermore, the outcome of the mission will change the brothers’ relationship and way of life forever. Despite the Sisters Brothers many ruthless acts of violence to man and beast, Eli is a likeable narrator trying to make sense of his life in a violent land and time. This book is less a Western than a wry, dark comedy about the struggle between the forces of Evil and More Evil.  The Sisters Brothers was a big win with two of our librarians!

Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt

FACT: Winston Churchill suffered from depression his entire adult life and he referred to this depression as a “black dog.”

FICTION:  Churchill’s depression was an actual large, odorous, obnoxious black dog (Black Pat) who walked on two legs and spoke English. He was visible only to Churchill, and lurked ominously in all aspects of his life.  As Churchill prepares to retire from public life in July, 1964, Black Pat introduces himself to a young widow, Esther Hammerhans, seeking to move into her home. Esther, too meek and confused to resist Black Pat’s insidious advances, seems destined for a dark future. Well-drawn characters, humor and creative use of language help the author to succeed with this preposterous plot.  Check out Mr. Chartwell @the library!

The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady by Elizabeth Stuckey-French

The Radioactive Lady attempts to take revenge against the doctor who, in the 1950s, experimented by giving pregnant women a radioactive cocktail. This experiment resulted in the eventual death of her daughter. However, revenge proves to be less than satisfactory because, by the time she tracks the doctor down, he cannot remember the experiment due to Alzheimer’s disease. The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady is a dark story written in a light and witty style.

The Long Song by Andrea Levy

This is the story of a slave woman, July, who was born on a sugar cane plantation in Jamaica at the beginning of the 19^th century.  Although she lives through many hardships--slavery, violence, motherhood, a slave rebellion and the difficulties of life under newly-won freedom, the book describes the horrors of slavery with ironic wit. Humor makes The Long Song an enjoyable read.

The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall

Golden Richards is a man who has four wives and twenty eight children. The size of this family and financial worries due to a failing construction business leave him and other members of his family feeling lonely, alienated and misunderstood.  The Lonely Polygamist is a sympathetic and funny look at the lives of individual members of a polygamist family.