Title: “Secrets in the Palazzo”
By Kathleen Reid

Rose Maning is still on Cloud 9 over the sudden success of her gallery opening. She is so distracted by it and the new artists in town who seem to be having dueling mural competitions that she hasn’t even set a wedding date for her and Lyon. She is finally ready to get down to planning when Lyon tells her something he has been withholding that has the power to stop the wedding all together. In the meantime, Beatrice has fallen head over heels for one of the feuding artists, Mike. He makes her feel alive when they are together, but he has made it very clear that his work comes first. To take her mind off of Mike, Beatrice dives head-long into work and discovers something that could solve a 500-year old mystery surrounding Leonardo da Vinci’s lost mural – but can she can solve the mystery before someone beats her to it?

Title: “The Ballad of Lucy Whipple”
By: Karen Cushman

The Gold Rush is in full swing when twelve-year-old California Morning Whipple is up rooted from her Massachusetts home. While helping her mama run the boarding house out of a tent and tending to her younger siblings, California is determined to do two things. The first is to change her name to Lucy and convince everyone to call her that, and to save up enough money to make it back home to Massachusetts.

This is a great read for child or adult – it’s a wonderful story of trials and growth. There is great wit from a young girl just trying to make sense out of the life she’s been dealt. Lucy Whipple calls it like she sees it. Many parents have a hard time finding something clean and safe for their young readers and this is just that. Check out a copy at the library or read the eBook or audio book on Hoopla.