Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Bernadette Fox is a prize-winning architect at the forefront of the "green" architecture movement. Then she and her husband, Elgin, move to Seattle. Elgin becomes a bigwig at Microsoft and Bernadette slowly starts to unravel. A trip to Antarctica--promised to their beloved daughter Bee after she got a perfect report card--threatens to totally undo Bernadette. While that description might lead you to believe that this is a depressing book, it's anything but. Because while Bernadette is hardly conventional (she calls the trailer in the backyard that she likes to escape to The Petit Trianon, ala Marie Antoinette), she is definitely a survivor. When Elgin tries to have her committed, Bernadette takes off, heads for Antarctica on her own--and disappears. Bee and Elgin try to find Bernadette while she tries to find her old self. For a book that's quirky, funny and engaging, check out Where'd You Go, Bernadette.