Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray

Describes how Frances Perkins met a young lawyer named Franklin Delano Roosevelt in turn-of-the-century New York and, despite initially not getting along, the pair formed a historic partnership that led them both to the White House.

Perkins is a fascinating character. – WJ 5 stars

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

January Scaller, a ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, finds an ancient book containing tales of secret doors and truths about the world as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

A very good fantasy novel. – MH 4 stars

The Girl Behind the Gates by Brenda Davies

1939. Seventeen-year-old Nora Jennings has spent her life secure in the certainty of a bright, happy future--until one night of passion has more catastrophic consequences than she ever could have anticipated. Labeled a moral defective and sectioned under the Mental Deficiency Act, she is forced to endure years of unspeakable cruelty at the hands of those who are supposed to care for her. 1981. When psychiatrist Janet Humphreys comes across Nora, heavily institutionalized and still living in the hospital more than forty years after her incarceration, she knows that she must be the one to help Nora rediscover what it is to live. But as she works to help Nora overcome her past, Janet realizes she must finally face her own.

It's a good book but a heartbreaking story. – CW 5stars