Books

J. Ryan Stradal’s debut novel Kitchens of the Great Midwest (Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, $25) follows a young and talented culinary prodigy named Eva. The novel explores, with tenderness and quality craftsmanship, the delicate balance between our insatiable desires and our unrelenting duties. The descriptions of these delectable dishes will leave you salivating for some of our favorite Midwestern meals.

—Matt Keliher, manager of SubText Books, 6 W. Fifth St.; 651.493.2791. Read more about In the Kitchens of the Great Midwest

When Justin M. Anderson of Minnetonka, now 14, found a cat and her kittens in the park near his house last summer, he made a conscious decision to help. After rounding up the cats with the help of his mom, Rachel, they brought them to the Animal Humane Society. And then, Justin started writing.

“When we first found the cats,” Justin says, “it felt like a story was unfolding in front of me. I remember saying to my mom, ‘This would make a great story.’ ” Read more about See Something, Do Something

Wayzata resident Kate Shannon wrote her first book when she was 5, but it wasn’t until she had a child of her own that she wrote her second. She realized that there were good books for children, but they could be better. So she wrote Hey, Baby, Look! Read more about Wayzata’s Kate Shannon Pens an Award-winning Children’s Book

There are some incidents in life that aren’t supposed to happen—37-year-olds shouldn’t have three forms of heart disease, marathon runners shouldn’t have heart attacks and mothers of young children shouldn’t have two heart attacks by the time they’re 38 years old. Jen Thorson can check each of those off her list. Done, done and done. Read more about Local Author Andy Steiner Provides a Guide to Overcoming Obstacles

What do you get when you combine modern architecture with a desire to help kids learn more about how to embrace nature? For two Excelsior married couples, Charles Stinson and Carol Eastlund, and David Paul Seymour and Shannon Seymour, only one thing comes to mind: a book series.

Stinson, the founder and principal architect of Charles R. Stinson Architecture and Design in Deephaven, and Eastlund, a former educator who now works at the architecture firm, met David and Shannon when David, an illustrator, began working with Stinson. Read more about Constructing the Story

Using more than 200 photos, some of which had never before been published, the lake area’s three historical societies recently teamed up to compile a short history of Lake Minnetonka. This collaboration, the first of its kind among the three organizations, brought Joanie Holst of the Wayzata Historical Society, Lisa Stevens of the Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society and Elizabeth Vandam of the Westonka Historical Society together as they dug through their archives to make Images of America—Lake Minnetonka happen. Read more about A New Book Celebrating the History Lake Minnetonka

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A debut novel by Catie Disabato, The Ghost Network (Melville House Publishing, 278 pages, $16.95), follows a self-appointed detective as she attempts to uncover the whereabouts of Molly Metropolis, a famous pop star, who has mysteriously disappeared. The story travels through the underbelly of Chicago and into the depths of a secret organization. This is a suspenseful and exciting thriller that you will not want to set down.

—Matt Keliher, assistant manager at SubText Bookstore, 6 W. Fifth St. Read more about The Ghost Network Brings Mystery to Chicago

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