If you loved reading about Jo, Beth, Amy and Meg March as a child the way I did, you should check out Geraldine Brooks’ historical novel “March.” (And if you never read Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women,” now is the time!)

Brooks’ historical novel tells the story of Mr. March, the patriarch of the fictional March family (the girls’ dad) and his travails during the Civil War as a traveling pastor, a sometimes medic, a hopeful teacher, a former businessman and always a staunch abolitionist. The book met critical acclaim, winning the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, but somehow I missed it then.

As summer sneaks away, this is a great book to grab. It’ll renew your appreciation of the beauty in the language of a well-written letter and remind you of the history of our country’s painful racial divide.

-Deanna