Maria Semple. WHERE'D YOU GO BERNADETTE

I ADORED this book! It's wickedly funny. First of all, here is your quickie synopsis:

When Bee aces her report card she claims her reward, which is a trip to Antarctica, but her mother, Bernadette, disappears due to her intensifying allergy to Seattle and people in general, which has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands and Bee uses emails, invoices, school memos, private correspondence, and other evidence to try and understand why her mother has left.

The format is unique and captured my interest right away. It begins with Bea describing how she got her parents to agree to a family vacation in Antartica, then it jumps write into an email from Bernadette to her virtual assistant in India. Of course, you don't know this at first, so it's a bit curious. You think that maybe it's her actual secretary, in real life. Anyway, right away, you know this book was different because this is when you begin to glean the crazy-goodness that is Bernadette.

The book continues in emails and letters from various people to various other people like Bernadette's neighbor, a parent-teacher organization guru, police reports, hospital bills, etc. There is crazy-goodness from all directions! Really the only pretty normal characters are Bee and her father. But they are fabulous, rich characters too.

I adored this book because it is so uniquely funny and moving. There is so much more than I can describe here. If you like satire and wickedness sprinkled with a little unexpected warmth and truth, you'll love this!

In closing, the author's website is a sight to behold. For real. You must check it out for it's unique-ness. I promise, you've never seen anything else like it, ever. Go HERE.

This book is an Alex Award winner for 2013, meaning it's an adult book that has special appeal for teens.

Robin Sloan. MR. PENUMBRA'S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE **Updated**

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore was just awarded the Alex Award on the freshly released ALA Awards. The Alex Awards is a list of outstanding adult books recommended for teens. It's in the vein of THE WESTING GAME and THE DA VINCI CODE, sort of. It's acutally a pretty unique puzzle/mystery/fantasy book all in its own.

Clay Jannon wanders into Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore because of the "help-wanted" sign. Little does he know that the store will change his life forever. It's no ordinary bookstore. Behind the few shelves with new books are these other mysterious looking, extremely tall shelves filled to the ceiling with one-of-a-kind books. Not simply rare books, but books that are literally the only one with those words.

After getting hired, Mr. Penumbra gives Clay an unusual set of instructions. After each customer transaction, he must write down everything about that customer's actions, clothes, and state of mind in the log book. Although the term "customer" seems to be incorrect, since the customers are merely exchanging their books for other books off the shelves in the back. No one pass any attention to the "regular" shelves in the front.

Mr. Penumbra told Clay not to look inside the books in the back, under any circumstances. But as things get weirder, Clay may not be able to resist any longer. What's in those books, and who are these quirky characters who are reading them? And why is the store open 24-hours, but rarely has any customers?

I loved this unique adventure! It's filled with secret societies, rare books, puzzles and codes, as well as Google headquarters! I'm not sure whether or not the information about what Google is really like, but it sure was fun reading about it. I loved the weaving together of old books and new technology. I also enjoyed the cast of characters, who were charming and fun.

Highly recommended!!

Check out this video of the author. I love when he talks about people asking him to pick between Books or Cool Stuff. I agree with him that we can love both! Click and the link will open up to the video on Amazon.

**NEW** Check this out! Macmillan Audio has graciously allowed me to share the first 13 minutes of the audio book! Click here to listen. The narrater is perfect!