This book is a collection of stories that chronicle the history of Blackwell, a mythical town in Massachusetts. Each story takes place in a specific time period and focuses on different characters descended from the town founders. The stories are short and not directly related yet they piece together a fragmented picture of the town’s history. Recommended for those that like magical realism.

In this young adult novel, the story is centered on Octavian and his mother, Cassiopeia, an African princess, who were sold into slavery before the birth of Octavian during pre-Revolutionary War in America. Octavian is an experiment for the Novanglian College of Lucidity in Massachusetts to be studied for his African intellect and ethnicity in order to see if he can be successfully educated in comparison to white people. Anderson writes from the point of view of Octavian and we, the reader, see Octavian believing his life is normal to coming to the realization that his life is nothing more than a test. Octavian’s story, albeit fiction, really is an amazing account of the life of those living in slavery and their hope for freedom.

In this charming novel, retired civil servant, Mr. Ali, decides to open a marriage bureau to remedy his boredom. The accounts of his matchmaking for affluent clients in contemporary India are entertaining and humorous. He becomes so successful that he requires an assistant, Aruna, a poor hindu girl, who encounters a handsome young doctor that comes to the agency for a list of potential wives. Fans of Alexander McCall Smith’s Mma Ramotswe will likely find Mr. Ali to be a similarly engaging main character.