Breakfast With Buddha by Roland Merullo is not a typical road novel, but road novel it is. After Otto Ringling's parents are killed in a car accident, he and his sister Cecelia (aka Seese) make plans to return to the family home in North Dakota to settle their parent's affairs.

Seese is non-conformist who makes a living performing past-life regressions and other spiritual offerings. In other words, she's what her brother would classify as a "flake". When Otto arrives in New Jersey to pick up Cecelia, she informs him that she is unable to accompany him because she is busy doing a regression with a client. Otto is far from thrilled when she volunteers Volya Rinpoche, a Mongolian monk and her good friend, to be his traveling companion on the trip from New Jersey to North Dakota.

These two very different men embark on what becomes a leisurely journey - experiencing all things Americana along the way. They play miniature golf, go bowling, attend a Cub's game at Wrigley Field and sample a variety of culinary treats (Otto is a bit of a foodie) and Rinpoche is delighted by it all.

Otto, on the other hand, isn't so mellow. Rinpoche repeatedly asks him, "Why so angry?" Otto doesn't think he's angry, but as time passes he begins to realize his view of the world is cynical and skeptical and that there just might be another way to live his life.

This witty and thoughtful book is spiritual without being preachy. At times I found Rinpoche's bits of wisdom so meaningful, I recorded them in my journal. It is a fun book to read, at times laugh-out-loud funny and if you read it, you just might learn a life lesson or too along the way.

Note: Merullo's latest novel, American Savior is on the shelves. In this book, Merullo paints a disturbing picture of America as a county bereft of spirituality. That is until Jesus returns to earth and becomes a third party candidate for President of the United States. What more can I say? Check it out. ~Carole

I am generally not a big fan of picture book biographies; they often try to include too much text and too many facts to be of any real interest to the intended audience of a picture book. Wangari's Trees of Peace by Jeanette Winter is an exception. Winter illustrates the very simple story of Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, who started the Green Belt Movement in Kenya in 1977 by planting nine trees in her own backyard. By getting local women to help, by 2004, more than thirty million trees had been planted! Each page is beautifully illustrated with just a few lines of text; but the message is powerful enough to create a big impact.~Patti

Sweetsmoke is a beautifully crafted novel set during the Civil War on a Virginia tobacco plantation. Part historical fiction and part mystery, the novel expertly draws the reader into the complicated and painful lives of slaves and the fragile line between being owned and being free.

Cassius, a carpenter and slave, has earned a favored position with plantation owner Hoke Howard thanks to his wood-working skills. When Cassius learns that Emoline, the woman who saved his life as a young boy, has been mysteriously murdered, he risks his life and position on the plantation in his determined pursuit to learn who has murdered his dear friend. Screenwriter and first-time novelist David Fuller creates a highly-evocative world where he explores the indignities of slavery and the subtle power struggle between slave and owner. I was immediately drawn into Cassius' life and his powerful need to find Emoline's murderer. In his quest, Cassius escapes the plantation in the dark of night and heads north in search of Lee's army. He encounters slave traders, those who risk their own lives for the Underground Railroad, and meets soldiers from both armies. Ultimately, Cassius struggles with the possibility of his own freedom and the irrepressible draw of the plantation and the only life he has known.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, but especially those with an interest in historical fiction. Sweetsmoke is a thoroughly satisfying story that leaves the reader with a deeper understanding of the daily life of both slave and slave owner. Evocative of The Known World by Edward P. Jones and The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron, Sweetsmoke will find its way into the growing collection of classic novels that explore issues of slavery with compassion and deep understanding. ~Wendee

Star-Crossed is a riveting and romantic seafaring adventure intended for teens but which kept me up reading way past my bedtime. Set in 1760, a time when a woman's future and fortune were tied to either her father or her husband, 17-year-old Patricia Kelly stows away on a British ship heading to the Barbados. Once there she plans to claim the plantation her father left her. She is soon discovered and taken to be trained by the ship's surgeon who says to her, "Come now, Miss Kelly, ye're not just a pretty winklot with batter for brains. Ye must put your mind to it. Apply yourself." And that she does. Bold and bright Patricia rises to the gritty demands of life at sea, disappointment in her dreams and the dilemma of choosing security over love.

A thoroughly enjoyable and captivating yarn! ~Anne

Just as WWII was ending, Wheeler Burden was born to a heroic father killed by the Nazis and a bold, smart and determined mother. His mother detested the waste of young lives in war and took young Wheeler to an isolated farm in California, far from her husband's Boston parents and their world viewpoint. Wheeler does everything well - baseball, philosophy and music. In fact as a young man of the 1970's he forms a successful rock band. Then in 1988, Wheeler is suddenly transported back to Vienna 1897. Yes, this is a novel about time travel and all of its complexities for not only does Wheeler meet Mark Twain and Sigmund Freud, but he also spends time with his father, Dilly Burden, and his mysterious grandfather.

Selden Edwards does a brilliant job of weaving together multiple storylines and narrators. Wheeler is an immensely likable character smart enough to know he can't go messing with history which may impact the future timeline. One of the subplots that really captivated me was the growth of anti-Semitism in Vienna and Dilly and Wheeler taking a trip to spy on the young boy, Adolph Hitler. After Dilly's experiences during WWII, he is more than a little tempted to take a chance on changing Hitler's fate.

Edwards also does a terrific job of feeding the reader clues about how lives and storylines will intersect - but they are subtle and the reader needs to pay attention (not a hard requirement). I recently had the opportunity to meet Selden and asked him how he managed to keep everything straight. He said the entire story was in his head! He didn't even use an outline to keep track of characters! To me, that's almost as magical as time travel. ~Patti

Wacky, wild adventure abounds in this rollicking tale for 'tweens and teens.

Jo Larouche is an orphan; not too surprising in fiction these days. But when a digestively-attuned Russian, a person-sized cockroach butler and mysterious box drop into her zany old Aunt Lily's annual Christmas costume party, Jo's life gets a heck of a lot more interesting!

Kennedy whisks us away to a world filled with knights and squires in pursuit of useless knowledge (one plays a scent organ, another specializes in dithering), bizarre animals like the foppish, paparazzi-plagued crew of cockroach butlers and a dark mythology about an All-Devouring Mother that will destroy everything when the right person returns to the city. Could Jo be the key to the end of the bizarre world she has come to love, or is she the one person who can save it? There are feuds, duels, twists and turns, so you'll have to read all the way to the end to find out! ~Tegan