January 2023

A friend gifted four of Brilliant’s books of Pot Shots to me, and I’m hungry for more. These brilliant cartoons with wise sayings of 17 words or less are sure to bring a smile to your face – or at least make you think.

A fictional collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905, about time, relativity and physics. As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his theory of relativity – a new conception of time – he imagines many possible worlds. In one, time is circular, so that people are fated to repeat triumphs and failures over and over. In another, there is a place where time stands still, visited by lovers and parents clinging to their children. In another, time is a nightingale, sometimes trapped by a bell jar. Poetic tale connecting the art and science of Einstein.

One September afternoon in 1999, teenagers Matthew, Zoe and Duncan Lang are walking home from school when they discover a boy lying in a field, bloody and unconscious. Thanks to their intervention, the boy’s life is saved. In the aftermath, all three siblings are irrevocably changed in this gripping novel.

When the YouTube-famous Ghost Gang (Chrissy, Chase, Emma and Kiki) visit a haunted LA hotel notorious for tragedy to secretly film after dark, they expect it to be just like their previous paranormal huntings… spooky enough to attract subscribers – and ultimately harmless. But when they stumble upon something unexpected in the former room of a gruesome serial killer, they quickly realize that they’re in over their heads. Not for the faint of heart.

Daddy duty. As I have a teenage daughter who is a fan of The Selection Stories, I decided to check it out for myself. And while I may not be captivated by an inside look the hearts and minds of the two men fighting to win America Singer’s love, I can assure you that this book series is a great way to start conversations with teenage girls. 

My older teenage daughter is into the Shadow and Bone trilogy (there’s a series on Netflix, if you’re a REALLY lazy reader), so we checked out collection of stories, beautifully illustrated by Daniel J. Zollinger.

And since I have a teenage son who is fascinated by war and the military, I had to include this entry for red meat readers. Danny Manion has been fighting his entire life. Sometimes with his fists; sometimes with his words. But when his actions finally land him in real trouble, he can't fight the judge who offers him a choice: jail... or the army. Turns out there's a perfect place for him in the US military: the Studies and Observation Group (SOG), an elite volunteer-only task force comprised of US Air Force Commandos, Army Green Berets, Navy SEALS, and even a CIA agent or two. With the SOG's focus on covert action and psychological warfare, Danny is guaranteed an unusual tour of duty, and a hugely dangerous one. Fortunately, the very same qualities that got him in trouble at home make him a natural-born commando in a secret war. Even if almost nobody knows he's there.

Jeffers provides his hopes and wishes for his own child, and – in doing so – gifts children and parents everywhere with a gently sweet and humorous missive about our world and those who call it home.

Rot is a mutant potato who wakes up feeling great, maybe even…the greatest in the world! But that only makes Rot’s brother Snot the grumpiest in the world. The only solution? An epic contest to prove who is the greatest once and for all, judged by the only impartial party they can find – their small fry little sister Tot. First installment in a funny “spud” series.

A good reminder for the new year, this extraordinary book focuses on the everyday moments that slow the world down for us: a hug from someone we haven’t seen in a long time, the soft spot behind a cat’s ear, a ladybug landing on your arm. And in the end, the answer to the question of what's sweeter rings truest of all.