Karin Kunstmann
 
   writer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reading Now

Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through The Seven Transitions Into Adulthood
by Lisa Damour, Ph.D.

Fevered Star
by Rebecca Roanhorse

The Beatrice Prophecy
by Kate DiCamillo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Recommended 
Adult Fiction
 
One For My Enemy
by Olivie Blake
~Another retelling of Romeo and Juliet? Nope. This tale quickly expands, revealing the love stories of three generations from the same two feuding families. As always, Olivie Blake's characters are on journeys of self-discovery that are painful, poignant and at times hilarious. The dialogue is spot on and there are twists that kept me reading. 

A Visit From The Goon Squad
by Jennifer Egan
~Not a quick read or for the faint of heart. Love the chapter written entirely in graphic organizers!

The Name Of The Wind
by Patrick Rothfuss
~This is how to write. His opening is pretentiously literary and you won't care. Loved the complex hero too. Gosh, I loved the whole tale. Can't wait to start Book 2.
Recommended 
Young Adult Fiction

Incarceron
by Catherine Fisher
~An amazing feat of world building. The setting is an actual character in this rich and visual fantasy.

Tithe
by Holly Black
~Not usually a fan of the romantic series but this has so much more to offer. Great suspense and smooth transition between the realistic and the fantastic. Holly Black's characters are always so fabulous you want to be part of that circle of friends.
Recommended 
Middle Grade Fiction

Red Butterfly
by A.L. Sonnichsen
illustrated by Amy Bates
~I've been wanting to read a novel in verse. This is the story of a girl and her mother, struggling through a complicated relationship both emotionally and politically. A complete narrative set in China and interspersed with emotional interludes, it brought back memories of my mom. The artwork is lovely and pairs perfectly.


A Single Shard
by Linda Sue Park
~A wonderful story about creativity and aspiration. In ancient Korea, the making of celadon pottery was a complicated and taxing art form. An impoverished young man seeks the secret of making celadon from a master potter and ends up learning just as much about the human spirit. I completely geek out over books like this, full of research and detail on how people work with their hands, preserving an amazing craft in words.