ArcaMax

If "Murder at the Hotel Orient" were a film, it would be given an “R” if not an “NC-17” rating, as it is a quite naughty, although highly entertaining, murder mystery that would be unsuitable for church or library-based book clubs. The dedication attests to this:“For Mr. Husson, my fourth-grade teacher, who made me promise to dedicate ...Read more

'SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY'

Rated PG-13 for sequences of action/violence and some language.

What it’s about: Tom Holland's Peter Parker is all grown up and attempting to navigate adult life and the Spider-Man life with very few friends.

The kid attractor factor: The character and superhero spectacle.

Good lessons/bad lessons: We can't do ...Read more

It began as a whimsical idea that occurred to Daniel Leigh after an idyllic trip to the United States: Sell his family's five-bedroom home in England and travel the world with his wife, Lauren Vaknine, and their two children.

So he was surprised when, a few months later, Vaknine and their children, Braxton, 10, and Viva, 7, agreed to go along ...Read more

We’ve hit a rough patch over mowing the lawn this summer. The husband is temporarily sidelined with a knee injury and I cheerfully and enthusiastically (a slight exaggeration) volunteered to do the mowing.

We are now engulfed in turf wars. My mowing abilities are under intense scrutiny. The man has high standards. I call him the Sodfather.

...Read more

Q: I'm in trouble. My ex is very angry that I did not pass on a confidence that our child told me, but she asked me not to tell her dad. I want her to trust me, so I kept it a secret, but when her father found out, he hit the roof. Now he's angry and she thinks I breached her confidence. What's good ex-etiquette?

A: That's a great question ...Read more

Kristin Casey‘s "Casey Dancer" takes on subject matter most memoirists would soften or sanitize: a return to stripping at 39 after a stalled real estate career, a decade of dating in sobriety and an eventual pivot into professional companionship work. Casey refuses to flinch from any of it.

What makes the memoir sing is Casey’s voice — ...Read more

Some thrillers begin with a crime scene. "Dawn Before Darkness" begins with a woman trying to end a relationship without angering the man on the other end of the phone. That choice — careful, almost ordinary — tells readers exactly what kind of danger Liz Lazarus is interested in. Not the kind that announces itself all at once, but the kind ...Read more

Foster children will now have more support when they age out of the foster care system after a new law was signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that prevents the state from keeping children's full federal benefits to pay for the cost of their care.

The bill, spearheaded by state Rep. Kathy Schmaltz, R-Jackson, in 2023, was signed into law by Whitmer...Read more

'MOTOR CITY'

Rated R for strong bloody violence, some grisly images, drug content, sexuality/nudity and language.

What it’s about: Set in 1977 Detroit, a factory worker wrongly imprisoned goes on a revenge spree to win back his woman.

The kid attractor factor: This is a bloody thriller — for adults, not kids.

Good lessons/bad lessons: ...Read more

Q. My child’s mother recently moved in with her boyfriend, who has full custody of his three boys. Last time I picked up our son from his mother’s, I noticed suspicious bruises on his thighs and back. This is new. I don’t know if this is the result of discipline, which I absolutely do not agree with, or rough play, which is also ...Read more

When my husband was asked if he would help teach twin granddaughters how to parallel park, he immediately yelled, “Yes!” If there was a parallel parking competition, my husband could take first place — unless our son entered the competition, then he’d take first place.

Our son lived in Chicago for 10 years and none of his apartment ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- It was after the death of her son, Laith, that Esme Saleh decided to become a folk artist.

She had always been creative, experimenting with watercolors and learning to sew and embroider at a young age.

"I had a creative inkling," she said, "but I never pursued it."

Everything changed on Aug. 17, 2013.

When Saleh was nine ...Read more

It’s often assumed that to write a good memoir, a writer must have something happen to them. Something big, juicy, and traumatic. Something unbelievable that really happened to you. Emily LaBarge is here to critique this idea.

In her memoir, "Dog Days," LaBarge challenges the idea that writing a ‘trauma narrative’ is an act of healing, ...Read more

"Fast and Fastidious" is an absolutely smashing and highly entertaining genre-defying first novel by R.M. Caldwell, a pseudonym for New Zealand theater director and escape room puzzle designer.

The author has described it as a “mash-up of 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Fast and the Furious.'” Set in 1810 Regency England amid the Napoleonic ...Read more

'THE ODYSSEY'

Rated R for violence and some language.

What it’s about: An adaptation of Homer’s epic poem that follows Odysseus’ 10-year journey back home after a decade in the Trojan War.

The kid attractor factor: Teens and older kids might be drawn to the spectacle and story of this epic fantasy adventure.

Good lessons/bad lessons: ...Read more