Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah

A young girl (age 5 or 6) arrives in a rural Washington town after having lived in very primitive conditions deep in a forest. She is mute and wild until a psychiatrist starts working with her and gradually re-connects her with the civilized world. That process and the mystery of the girl's identity and origin make for a page-turner and fun, light read.

Dickens by Peter Ackroyd

Charles Dickens led a full, active, and somewhat peripatetic life as chronicled by Peter Ackroyd in this beautifully written, comprehensive biography. It has a nice balance between Dickens' personal and professional lives and makes an effort to capture an overall portrait of who the man really was. He sprang from a poor family and was affected throughout his life by his father's financial irresponsibility. Working as both writer and editor, Dickens started at least three periodicals where his novels were published serially. His financial success allowed him to support a wife and ten children, often living abroad in France, Italy, and Switzerland. My objective in reading this book was to understand why he separated from his wife, but I really did not learn much more than is described in a novel I am reviewing for my book club.

The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich

A butcher from Germany runs out of money in North Dakota so he finds work there and settles into American life shortly after WWI. Eventually he has his own shop and a family in the small ND town. There he comes into contact with our heroine, an itinerant circus act performer, who also settles in the town and becomes an employee and best friend of the butcher's wife. The fate of the heroine and the butcher's family during WWII becomes a focal point in their story with a surprise twist at the end. Erdrich is an excellent writer even though she waxes a bit poetic at times, and this novel is a good read.