These first three books will likely go on my list of favorite novels for 2010.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

By Beth Hoffman

Pamela Dorman Books, 2010, $25.95

I’m so glad that I finally got a chance to read this wonderful book! Hoffman’s novel will really tug at your heartstrings. Hoffman will be in town tomorrow to sign copies of her book at The Country Bookshop.

CeeCee Honeycutt, now 12, has had it kind of rough. Her mother has mental health issues, and her father, a traveling salesman, stays away as much as possible so as not to have to deal with it.

After her mother’s death, CeeCee is invited to move to Savannah to live with her Great-Aunt Tootie. It’s through Aunt Tootie and her friends that CeeCee finds the answers she seeks about her mother and herself.

Hallmark or Lifetime should find movie fodder here if they are paying attention.

Looking for a Love Story

By Louise Shaffer

Ballantine, 2010, $15

I loved Shaffer’s earlier novels, “Serendipity,” “The Three Miss Margarets,” “Family Arts” and “The Ladies of Garrison Gardens.” “Looking for a Love Story” is a wonderful addition to the list.

Francesca and her husband have split. She gets the apartment and the dog, Annie. An author who is having writer’s block in a big way, she’s got to find work to pay her bills. She places an ad on the Internet, offering her services as a freelance writer. She hears from Chicky, a woman in her 80s, who wants Francesca to write the story of her parents’ lives.

Little does Francesca realize in the process she will examine her own life and end up with more than she ever expected out of life.

The Language of Sand

By Ellen Block

Bantam, 2010, $15

Abigail Harker is still grieving the deaths of her husband and son, who died in a house fire. In hopes of healing, she takes a job as caretaker of a lighthouse on an island in North Carolina. It is a place that her husband loved to visit as a child, a place they had hoped to bring their son.

The caretaker’s house is not in as good a condition as Abigail was led to believe, and she finds herself involved in all sorts of little projects. She soon discovers that she has friends among the islanders.

This book goes on my list of favorites.

Moore Tails

Rescuing Mutts in the South

By Maureen Burke-Horansky

Ink Stain Books, 2009, $15

The author, who “retired” from actively rescuing animals a couple of years back, recalls special animals and people she has come across — good and bad.

Moore County residents may recall some of the cases mentioned here because they were detailed in newspaper stories. The author will present a talk about trapping feral cats, overpopulation, animal cruelty and adopting animals at 3 p.m. Friday, April 9, at the Senior Enrichment Center on U.S. 15-501, two miles north of the Pinehurst Traffic Circle.

I Can Only Speak for Me

By Georgia Hooker McNeill

MJC Publishing, $13.95

Cameron resident Georgia McNeill puts it all out there in this Christian-based novel, somewhat based on her own life experiences. She is a mother of three adult children and is currently working on her fifth book. Her book is available at the Tree of Life Bookstore in Sanford.

Contact Faye Dasen at fdasen@thepilot.com or (910) 693-2475.