Science Fiction and Fantasy by Bev DeWeese

Antieau, Kim. COYOTE COWGIRL.

When Jeanne Flambeaux's family takes a vacation from their restaurant business, Jeanne ( the non-cook) plans to relax. But then a family heirloom ( a ruby scepter) is stolen. Jeanne must retrieve it, though she still has the crystal skull, who is a real "chatty Cathy." As she and the skull track down the scepter, she discovers lots of secrets about herself and her family. Lots of fun with some magical realism and a few recipes thrown in.

*Atwood, Margaret. ORYX AND CRAKE.

In a dystopian future of social inequality, genetic technology, and catastrophic climate change, Jimmy ( the Snowman) struggles to survive. He also observes the strange, new "children of Crake," who have been taught how to live by Oryx ( who was previously an abused young girl herself). Well written, with provocative ideas. Top notch, as usual. Bev recommends.

Goodman, Alison. SINGING THE DOGSTAR BLUES.

17-year-old Joss Aaronson, a brilliant student who is always in trouble with the authorities, gets teamed up with an hermaphrodite Chorian, Mavkel. Mavkel's twin is dead, but it and Joss have some great adventures while each learns a lot about loneliness and accepting who one is. Excellent YA novel.

*Horsley, Kate. CHANGELING OF FINNISTUATH.

Gray, a 14th century peasant girl, was raised as a boy by her mother, so her father would not kill her. Then, when she becomes a monk's assistant and menstruation occurs, she is forced to accept the fact that she is a woman, subject to the terrible conditions women endured then. A very readable story of a young woman who had to recreate herself several times. Plus, she has to survive incredible poverty, the black plague, and ignorance. Like many Irish then, she was aware of the mysterious powers in the trees, streams, and the dark and sometimes trusts them more than the Christian God. So, this is history plus. Bev recommends.

*Johnson, Kij. FUDOKI.

As she waits for death, the Princess Harueme writes the story of a nameless tortoise shell cat who has lost her home, and her fudoki ( self and soul and shrine). The cat becomes a famous female warrior, Kagaya-hime, who is wiser than she knows, but who is never quite human. A fascinating, sometimes poignant story of a being who is very brave, successful, and respected, but who still believes she has no fudoki. Lovely Japanese mythology. Bev recommends.

*Moriarty, Chris. SPIN STATE.

UN peacekeeper Major Catherine Li has made 37 faster-than-light jumps, but she has paid for them with loss of memory and subjecting herself to the control of others. Now a physicist, who is her cloned twin, is dead on the ugly, often deadly world of Compson's World. Catherine has to find what is happening on Compson's World and why. Fast-paced adventure, fascinating world building, and an interesting look at the boundary between human and AI, not always easy to describe.Definitely hard sf. Bev recommends.

*Niffenegger, Audrey. TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE.
Henry ( a librarian at the Newberry in Chicago) suffers from Chrono-Impairment, a quasi-medical condition that catapults him from one random spot in time to another, with little warning. The jumps are sometimes life-threatening, as he is naked and often in unfamiliar places. But, on several jumps, he meets Claire, a lovely woman who is willing to accept his confusing unpredictable life. Obviously there is no science here, but there is a beautiful love story and a quite realistic look at what this kind of life would be like. Bev recommends.

Price, Susan. THE STERKARM HANDSHAKE.

A British corporation has built a time machine so it can procure 16th century gold and oil from the borderlands between England and Scotland. But the Sterkarm clan who live there at that time won't cooperate. Andrea, a researcher, is trying to study the clan, but she has fallen in love with the chief's son. When he becomes injured, she brings him back to the present to save him. However, a misunderstanding becomes a war. Unromanticized look at the pluses and minuses of living in the 1500's. Fast-paced. Good reading for adults and young adults.

*Thomson , Amy. STORYTELLER.

On the planet Thalassa, history is passed on by storytellers. And many inhabitants, including the Storyteller, are telepathically bonded to harsels, great sea-beasts who offer transportation and friendship on this watery world. Now Teller has adopted a young street boy, Samad. He will learn storytelling, and he will also learn about the self-sacrifice,courage, and love of the harsels. This is a beautifully told story and another fascinating re-creation of an alien species. Great reading. Bev recommends.

*Traviss, Karen. CITY OF PEARL.

When tough, hard-nosed Environmental Hazard Officer Shan Frankland comes to a planet in search of a lost human colony, she finds a remnant of the colony, but she also discovers an intelligent aquatic race, the bezeri. And another mysterious race, the wess'har, apparently is around to protect the bezeri and the planet's fragile eco-system. And it appears that yet another race, the isenj, is trying desperately to colonize the planet. . Great alien first contact story. Shan is a terrific protagonist. Reminiscent of Tepper. Bev recommends.

AND I HAD TO SNEAK A COUPLE OF GUYS IN:

*Eugenides, Jeffrey. MIDDLESEX.

This is a coming of age novel of a hermaphrodite and his Greek family, ranging from the 1920's in Asia Minor to the present day in Berlin, with a long stopover in Detroit. Callie started life as a girl. Later he/she becomes Cal. It certainly bends our notion of gender, but it is also a story of an unusual Greek family, overflowing with emotion and humor. It has been called " an affecting characterization of a brave and lonely soul." Probably my favorite book of the year. Bev recommends

Knipfel, Jim. BUZZING.

Roscoe Baragan is a cynical reporter for a local tabloid. Generally, Roscoe specializes in drinking with his weird friend from the morgue, watching Japanese B horror movies, and checking out offbeat stories, like UFO abductions and alien invasions. But then a radioactive body is brought into the morgue, and no one will tell him anything. Wow! What if some of his stories are true? Is it possible that Godzilla holds the clue to this mystery? This is a highly entertaining, wacky story that could probably only be pulled off by Knipfel. Knipfel is originally from Madison.