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Despite the cover, Maine is not a light beach read; it’s a multigenerational story featuring four complex (and not always likable) female characters. There’s Alice, the grandmother who feels responsible for her sister’s death decades earlier; Kathleen, Alice’s daughter, who broke with the whole family and moved to California; Maggie, Kathleen’s daughter, a semi-successful writer in Brooklyn who has just discovered she’s pregnant; and finally the “perfect” Ann Marie, Alice’s daughter-in-law, underappreciated by most and outright resented by some. They are truly “four unforgettable women who have nothing in common but the fact that, like it or not, they’re family.” The author writes from each character’s perspective with incredible insight and depth of feeling; this is truly a character-driven story that explores the nature of familiar bonds. Recommended for those who enjoyed Faith by Jennifer Haigh or The Widower’s Tale by Julia Glass.

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There are now three Flour locations in the Boston area, and this cookbook by the bakery’s owner/founder reveals how to make some of her scrumptious baked goods at home. There are sections on techniques, equipment, and ingredients, along with “Joanne’s Top 12 Baking Tips.” (Chang wisely explains the “why” along with the “what,” effective for convincing home bakers that yes, the recipe is that way for a reason.) Beginning bakers will probably find some recipes intimidating, but others manageable; Chang includes a little personal story before each recipe, and includes ingredient measurements in both volume and weight. The photos are gorgeous, too.

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Meet Flavia de Luce, a bright and devious eleven-year-old; often left to her own devices, she is an amateur chemist and avid student of poisons. Set at Buckshaw, the crumbling family house, in England in the 1950s, Flavia is intrigued rather than horrified when murder occurs nearby, and throws herself into the investigation with gusto. Being a mystery, the novel is plot-driven, but Flavia is a highly amusing character (though rather more capable, observant, and self-aware than most real-life eleven-year-olds). This is the first in a series of four (so far) mysteries in which Flavia stars, and if you like this one, you’ll almost certainly enjoy the rest: The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag, A Red Herring Without Mustard, and I Am Half-Sick of Shadows.

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Hadley Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway’s first wife (of five), narrates this tale of their relationship, their friends, and the city in which they live. Author Paula McLain does an impressive job of bringing not just the characters, but the atmosphere of the time and place to life as well: the Jazz Age of Paris in the 1920s. Readers encounter literary legends Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound. Hemingway’s second wife, Pauline, is also a character, and his final wife Mary makes a brief appearance as well. Hadley grows in strength and independence through the years, and as the title suggests, the story is more hers than Hemingway’s. This is a great book for fans of history and literature – and for those who like neat endings, an epilogue describes Hadley’s and Ernest’s last contact, in May 1961.