Bud, Not Buddy

Title: Bud, Not Buddy
Author: Christopher Paul Curtis

Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical drama

Summary: Amazon.com Review

"It's funny how ideas are, in a lot of ways they're just like seeds. Both of them start real, real small and then... woop, zoop, sloop... before you can say Jack Robinson, they've gone and grown a lot bigger than you ever thought they could." So figures scrappy 10-year-old philosopher Bud--"not Buddy"--Caldwell, an orphan on the run from abusive foster homes and Hoovervilles in 1930s Michigan. And the idea that's planted itself in his head is that Herman E. Calloway, standup-bass player for the Dusky Devastators of the Depression, is his father.
Guided only by a flier for one of Calloway's shows--a small, blue poster that had mysteriously upset his mother shortly before she died--Bud sets off to track down his supposed dad, a man he's never laid eyes on. And, being 10, Bud-not-Buddy gets into all sorts of trouble along the way, barely escaping a monster-infested woodshed, stealing a vampire's car, and even getting tricked into "busting slob with a real live girl." Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, once again exhibits his skill for capturing the language and feel of an era and creates an authentic, touching, often hilarious voice in little Bud. (Ages 8 to 12) --Paul Hughes

Rating: Excellent
Why I Like It: Very entertaining, laugh out loud funny!

Other: What made it so entertaining was I listened to it on Audio. It was read by James Avery, who did an outstanding job!
Reviewer: Patsy

All The Light We Cannot See

Title: All The Light We Cannot See
Author:  Anthony Doerr
Genre: Historical Fiction      

Summary: Story interweaves the lives of a blind girl from Paris and a young man from Germany before and during WWII.  Although the characters are fictional, there are events in the story that actually happened in France and Germany, especially the bombing of the city of Saint-Malo. 
Rating: Very good

Why I Like It:  The story takes place during a war, but is not your usual war story. 

Reviewer: Kathy 

A MAN CALLED OVE

Title: A MAN CALLED OVE          
Author:  Fredrik Backman
Genre: Fiction          

Summary: from back cover of book:  'At first sight, Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet, a curmudgeon with staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse.  People think him bitter, and he thinks himself surrounded by idiots.  Ove's well-ordered, solitary world gets a shake-up one November morning with the appearance of new neighbors, a chatty young couple, who announce their arrival by accidentally flattening Ove's mailbox with their U-Haul.  What follows is a heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unlikely friendships, and a community's unexpected reassessment of the one person they thought they had all figured out.
Rating: Very good
Why I Like It:  Interesting story, humorous. 
Other: Written by a Swedish author
Reviewer: Kathy