June 15, 2014: Volume LXXXII, No 12

Featuring 325 Industry-First Reviews of Fiction, Nonfiction and Children's & Teen

KIRKUS VOL. LXXXII, NO.

INDIE

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REVIEWS

Investigating a death row case inspires Lori St. John to tell her own story. p. 132

CHILDREN'S & TEEN

Through the Woods

by Emily Carroll A collection of five folkloreinflected, oh-so-creepy graphic short stories— prepare to be up all night. p. 84

NONFICTION

The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs

by Greil Marcus The author does what he does best: makes us feel smarter about what we’re putting into our ears. p. 65

FICTION

Florence Gordon

by Brian Morton A cantankerous 1960s-era feminist is brought memorably to life. p. 20

on the cover

Tom Rachman follows

his best-selling debut, The Imperfectionists, with the haunting tale of a young woman reassessing her turbulent past. p. 14

from the editor’s desk:

Party Time B Y C la i b orne

Smi t h

Everyone likes to say they can’t stand BEA, but when you get down to it, there they are at all the good parties. Maybe it’s the daytime meetings they don’t like, or the Javits Center, which actually is a major pain, so boxy and unkind to human traffic—to anything human, really. The Javits Center is a vast, glass rectangle meant to contain people rather than accommodate them.

BookExpo America’s event director, Steven Rosato, wrote on his blog on June 2 that the number of book industry professionals Claiborne Smith at this year’s BEA had decreased by 1 percent from last year (the attendance total this year was 10,965). All 10,000 tickets to BookCon, the consumer part of the show, sold out within three months.

You could’ve fooled me that the deserters weren’t there. If you haven’t been to BEA, meeting tables are wedged into cramped spaces, and the other attendees hover over you, walking zombie-slow through whatever space you’re meeting in. Seated at those tables, talking with publicists who wanted to make sure this book or that writer was on Kirkus’ radar, I always saw healthy, long lines of people waiting to get a book signed by one or more of that publisher’s authors. I remember, because all those people were breathing on me, which people do when you’re sitting underneath them. Of course, the books they were getting were free, but let’s not hunt for extra opportunities to be cynical.

It’s at the BEA parties where you hear the real stories, though, not at those tight tables. It’s where you run into writers being a little more themselves (that’s not shorthand for saying I met a lot of drunk writers at this year’s BEA parties).

I know a writer who avoids BEA parties because he wants to ensure his vision stays pure, unalloyed by the scuttlebutt of royalty, advance, which writer isn’t getting any attention from his publisher, who has a major book tour and cruder industry gossip. I can see his point. But if there’s anything that the hustle of BEA spotlights, it’s that the art of literature is so inextricably linked to the money that gets the art Mitchell ’s The Bone into readers’ hands that trying to divorce the two feels futile. David Clocks was one of the fall titles Next week I’ll get on a plane to fly to the American Library being heavily promoted at this Association show in Las Vegas. I’m really looking forward to year’s BEA. the parties.

for more re vi e ws and f eatures, vi si t u s on l i n e at kirkus.com.

Chairman H E R B E RT S I M O N # President & Publisher M A RC W I N K E L M A N Chief Operating Officer M E G L A B O R D E KU E H N mkuehn@kirkus.com Editor in Chief C laiborne S mith csmith@kirkus.com Managing/Nonfiction Editor E R I C L I E B E T R AU eliebetrau@kirkus.com Fiction Editor L aurie M uchnick lmuchnick@kirkus.com Children’s & Teen Editor VICKY SMITH vsmith@kirkus.com Mysteries Editor THOMAS LEITCH Contributing Editor G R E G O RY M c N A M E E Senior Indie Editor KAREN SCHECHNER kschechner@kirkus.com Indie Editor RYA N L E A H E Y rleahey@kirkus.com Indie Editor D avid R a p p drapp@kirkus.com Assistant Indie Editor M AT T D O M I N O mdomino@kirkus.com Assistant Editor CHELSEA LANGFORD clangford@kirkus.com Copy Editor BETSY JUDKINS Director of Kirkus Editorial JIM SPIVEY jspivey@kirkus.com Director of Technology E R I K S M A RT T esmartt@kirkus.com Marketing Communications Director SARAH KALINA skalina@kirkus.com Marketing Associate A rden Piacen z a apiacenza@kirkus.com Advertising/Client Promotions A nna C oo p er acooper@kirkus.com

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contents fiction Index to Starred Reviews............................................................5 REVIEWS.................................................................................................5 Tom Rachman’s Wandering Heroine.....................................14 Mystery............................................................................................. 29

The Kirkus Star is awarded to books of remarkable merit, as determined by the impartial editors of Kirkus.

Science Fiction & Fantasy.......................................................... 37 Romance........................................................................................... 40

nonfiction Index to Starred Reviews..........................................................41 REVIEWS...............................................................................................41 Laurel Braitman Talks to Animals........................................56

children’s & teen Index to Starred Reviews......................................................... 79 REVIEWS.............................................................................................. 79 Peter Sís’ Fascination with The Little Prince.................96 interactive e-books...................................................................121 continuing series.......................................................................123

indie Index to Starred Reviews.........................................................125 REVIEWS..............................................................................................125 Lori St. John’s Fight Against Injustice..............................132

Appreciations: Nineteen Eighty-Four Turns 65............. 143

Brian Heinz and Randall Enos team up to present the real-life story of the sperm whale that inspired Herman Melville in a “tour de force of design, story and illustration.” Read the review on p. 93. |

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on the web In her memoir, Let the Tornado Come, award-winning poet Rita Zoey Chin reveals her story, that of a young runaway, the trauma that haunted her as an adult and the friendship with a horse that finally set her free. When she was 11 years old, Chin began to run away. Her father’s violence and her mother’s hostility drove her out of the house and on to the streets in search of a better life. This soon led her into a dangerous world of drugs, predatory older men and the occasional kindness of strangers, but despite the dangers, Chin kept running. One day she came upon a field of horses galloping along a roadside fence, and the sight of them gave her hope. The memory of their hoofbeats stayed with her. Chin survives her harrowing childhood to become a prize-winning writer and the wife of a promising surgeon. But when she is suddenly besieged by terrifying panic attacks, her past trauma threatens her hard-won happiness and the stable, comfortable life she’s built with her husband. Kirkus called Let the Tornado Come “lyrical” and a “candid, graceful testimony to remarkable resilience”; we ask Chin about the memoir and her life story in an interview at kirkus.com.

w w w. k i r k u s . c o m Check out these highlights from Kirkus’ online coverage at www.kirkus.com 9 Photo courtesy Jay Franco

In the second book of Marcus Sakey’s Brilliance Saga, A Better World, humanity has struggled for the past 30 years with a growing divide between the “brilliants” and the rest of us. Now, a terrorist network led by brilliants has crippled three cities.

Supermarket shelves stand empty. Calls to 911 go unanswered. Fanatics are burning people alive.

Nick Cooper has always fought to make the world better for his children. As both a brilliant and an adviser to the president of the United States, he’s against everything the terrorists represent. But as America slides toward a devastating civil war, Cooper is forced to play a game he dares not lose—because his opponents have their own vision of a better world.

And to reach it, they’re willing to burn this one down. We talk to Sakey at the Kirkus website this month.

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Photo courtesy Kevin Day Photography

Celeste Ng’s nuanced debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, begins with the death of a teenage girl and then uses the mysterious circumstances of her drowning as a springboard to dive into the troubled waters beneath the calm surface of her Chinese-American family. When 16-year-old Lydia Lee fails to show up at breakfast one spring morning in 1977, and her body is later dragged from the lake in the Ohio college town where she and her biracial family don’t quite fit in, her parents—blonde homemaker Marilyn and Chinese-American history professor James—older brother and younger sister get swept into the churning emotional conflicts and currents they’ve long sought to evade. What, or who, compelled Lydia—a promising student who could often be heard chatting happily on the phone; was doted on by her parents; and enjoyed an especially close relationship with her Harvard-bound brother, Nath—to slip away from home and venture out in a rowboat late at night when she had always been deathly afraid of water, refusing to learn to swim? Ng’s emotionally complex debut novel sucks you in like a strong current and holds you fast until its final secrets surface. Check out our interview with Ng at kirkus.com.

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And be sure to check out our Indie publishing series, featuring some of today’s most intriguing self-published authors. We feature authors’ exclusive personal essays and reported articles on how they achieved their success in publishing. It’s a must-read resource for any aspiring author interested in getting readers to notice their new books.

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fiction THE PALACE OF ILLUSIONS Stories

These titles earned the Kirkus Star:

Addonizio, Kim Soft Skull Press (225 pp.) $25.00 | Sep. 9, 2014 978-1-59376-542-2

PANIC IN A SUITCASE by Yelena Akhtiorskaya................................. 6 FORENSIC SONGS by Mike McCormack......................................... 20 FLORENCE GORDON by Brian Morton............................................ 20 THE DOG by Joseph O’Neill.................................................................22 LAST NIGHT AT THE BLUE ANGEL by Rebecca Rotert.................... 24 ANIMALS IN MOTION by David Ryan.............................................. 24 DAYS OF RAGE by Brad Taylor...........................................................27 SNATCHED by Bill James..................................................................... 33 SHALL WE NOT REVENGE by D. M. Pirrone.................................... 35 UNEXPECTED STORIES by Octavia E. Butler................................... 37 THE RHESUS CHART by Charles Stross............................................. 40

PANIC IN A SUITCASE

Akhtiorskaya, Yelena Riverhead (320 pp.) $27.95 Jul. 31, 2014 978-1-59463-214-3

Poet Addonizio brings her hip, dark sensibility to a second collection of short fiction.

In the first story, a second-grade girl kills her goldfish and pet bird in reaction to being sexually exploited by her obese grandfather. In the second, two sleazy young women get drunk and rip off the guy in whose hotel room they’ve spent the night. In the third, a girl takes time during a meditation class to reflect on her dead sister.

Abusive relationships, breakups and terminal illness fill out the other 10 stories, but in the most appealing of them, Addonizio (Ordinary Genius: A Guide for the Poet Within, 2009, etc.) doses her basic mix of hopelessness and alienation with cleverness and whimsy. A story about a girl who’s half vampire has several laughs, the title story has fun with its circus setting, and two of the others, “The Hag’s Journey” and “Ever After,” reinvent fairy-tale tropes in ways that would be delightful if they didn’t end so badly. In the latter, the Seven Dwarfs are a ragtag bunch of fellows living in a fifth-floor walk-up: a junkie named Dopey, a teen runaway named Sneezy, a recovering alcoholic named Doc, etc., most employed as faux munchkins at a restaurant called Oz. They’re awaiting the fulfillment of a prophecy they read about in a book found in a Dumpster, one involving a beautiful girl and an apple. Unsurprisingly, things go south. “[M]y name isn’t Grumpy,” said Grumpy. “It’s Carlos....I’m sick of all of you with your fake names and voodoo loser fantasies about some chick who ain’t coming. She ain’t coming, man. Get it through your fat heads.”

The worldview of this book is so bleak it might need a warning label.

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PANIC IN A SUITCASE

Akhtiorskaya, Yelena Riverhead (320 pp.) $27.95 | Jul. 31, 2014 978-1-59463-214-3

Given current events, Akhtiorskaya’s debut—concerning an immigrant family’s ambivalent ties to America and those who choose to stay behind in Ukraine— could not be more timely.

As the novel opens in 1993, Esther and Robert Nasmertov, once highly respected doctors in Odessa, have been settled for two years in the Russian/Ukrainian Jewish enclave of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, where their medical practices have dwindled and they struggle with their own health problems. Living with them are their chunky, sullen 10-yearold granddaughter, Frida, her mother, Marina (the Nasmertovs’ daughter), who cleans houses for wealthier Jews and eventually becomes a nurse, and her low-level computer-tech husband, Levik. Absent is Esther and Robert’s son, Pasha, an up-and-coming poet. A convert to Eastern Orthodoxy, he remains in Odessa with his wife and adolescent son. When Esther is diagnosed with cancer, Marina arranges for Pasha to visit. Akhtiorskaya’s set-piece descriptions of his monthlong stay—a family beach outing; a birthday weekend in a cramped lake cabin; a literary soiree—are drawn with sharp humor, telling character sketches and sensory flamboyance. Esther, Robert and Marina want Pasha, whom they all consider helpless and hapless, to stay in America where they can take care of him. Pasha is put off by what he sees as Brighton Beach’s second-rate version of Odessa, but he enjoys Manhattan’s expat literary social life. Cut to 2008. Word comes to Brooklyn that Pasha’s son is engaged. Frida, thinner but still sullenly unhappy, decides to attend the wedding and receives a less-than-enthusiastic welcome to Odessa. Divorced and remarried to a woman he met in New York, Pasha has become a literary lion based on the work he published (and Frida never bothered to read) shortly after his visit to America 15 years ago. As Akhtiorskaya showed America through Pasha’s eyes, she now offers Frida’s vision of Crimea as chaotic, decrepit, yet enticingly surreal.

Akhtiorskaya’s sideways humor allows rays of genuine emotion to filter through the social and domestic satire.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTS

Beha, Christopher Ecco/HarperCollins (288 pp.) $14.99 paper | $9.99 e-book | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-06-232246-3 978-0-06232247-0 e-book A man desperate for cash makes a deal with the reality TV devil in this thoughtful, occasionally lecturing second novel from Harper’s deputy editor Beha (What Happened to Sophie Wilder, 2012, etc.).

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Eddie is an erstwhile actor who’s given up on the occasional Law & Order gig to teach at the tony New York City Catholic boys school he attended. The job doesn’t pay enough to cover the in vitro fertilization treatments he and his wife, Susan, have signed on for, but a friend of a friend suggests a way to make some quick money: Sell the footage he recorded of himself with his ex-girlfriend Martha, now a red-hot actress. The sex tape boosts his bank account but botches everything else: Susan kicks him out of their apartment, he’s fired from the school, and the tabloids turn “Handsome Eddie” into an object of ridicule. Eddie is desperate to right himself morally and reconnect with Susan, especially since the IVF treatment worked, but he’s no longer in charge of his own story: A reality TV producer has made Susan the star of a show about her pregnancy, and Eddie can only enter the picture when the narrative is appropriate for his redemption. This is the stuff of comedy, but Beha gives it a sober-sided treatment; he’s concerned with the ways mass media hijack our sense of free will to the point where we only play-act at emotions and live vicariously through celebrities.

That theme is old news, and Beha’s scenes about viral popularity and entertainment-TV news cycles are familiar and didactic.

But the storytelling is ingenious. As Eddie becomes increasingly stage-managed to appear more “authentic,” Beha infuses the story with rich, potent irony, suggesting how susceptible we are to others’ plotting.

Beha gets to have it both ways: His novel is at once brisk and episodic while critiquing the limits of brisk, episodic narrative.

2 A.M. AT THE CAT’S PAJAMAS

Bertino, Marie-Helene Crown (272 pp.) $25.00 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-8041-4023-2

Bertino, who won the Iowa Short Fiction Award for her collection Safe as Houses (2012), aims to pull heartstrings in her first novel, which is set in Philadelphia and follows a cast of cute/quirky characters hour by hour as their lives converge two days before Christmas.

Fifth-grader Madeleine Altimari is pretty much raising herself; her father has retreated into his bedroom in a druginduced stupor to numb his grief since the death of Madeleine’s mother—a strip-club dancer and free spirit beloved by all who knew her. Madeleine is lonely, precocious and sassy, her tough exterior hiding her own heartache. Mrs. Santiago, the warmhearted widow who runs the neighborhood cafe, provides breakfast, lunch and grandmotherly affection, but Madeleine has no friends at her Catholic elementary school.

Her solace is singing—she’s a natural who yearns to be a jazz singer. Madeleine’s day begins badly when Principal Randles, who resented Madeleine’s mother even when they were kids, first deprives Madeleine of a solo at the school’s morning Mass and later unfairly expels her. (A school in session on

Dec. 23 and a principal expelling a child without some kind of parent meeting both hint at less-than-realistic storytelling.)

Then Madeleine learns there’s a jazz club in Philadelphia and decides to find it. Madeleine’s teacher, Sarina Greene, who also frequents Mrs. Santiago’s cafe, feels terrible about Madeleine’s expulsion, but what can she do? Besides, she’s coping with her own crisis: Having returned to Philly after a divorce, she’s been invited to a dinner party with old friends, including a former boyfriend. Meanwhile, across town, the police warn Jack Lorca that he’ll have to close his jazz club, The Cat’s Pajamas, if there are any more code violations. But he’s promised to let his musically talented, teenage (i.e. underage) son play in the house band tonight. As the hours pass, the various storylines thread together.

While some will find this seasonal sweetness charming, others will find it maddeningly contrived.

CLOSE YOUR EYES, HOLD HANDS

Bohjalian, Chris Doubleday (288 pp.) $25.95 | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-385-53483-3

After a nuclear meltdown, a Vermont teen flees to the mean streets of Burlington.

Emily Shepard, 16, is hanging out with fellow juniors in the lunchroom at her exclusive private school when sirens signal disaster: The Cape Abenaki nuclear power plant in northeastern Vermont has exploded, and the entire area surrounding it, including the school, must be evacuated immediately. Rather than stay with her classmates, Emily strikes out on her own. She assumes, correctly as it develops, that her father, the chief engineer at the plant, and her mother, the communications director, were killed in the disaster. Her entire town is cordoned off, part of an “exclusion zone”; armed guards prevent Emily from

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“An affecting depiction of the urgency of love and the inherent madness that so often comes with it.” from three light-years

returning home to rescue the family dog. As she hitchhikes southwest toward Burlington, she overhears talk blaming her father for the accident. (Both her parents were heavy drinkers.) Fearing she will be asked to testify about her father’s alcoholism, she assumes a new identity and claims to be 18. After bouncing from a Burlington shelter to the home of a drug dealer who exploits her and other young women as prostitutes, Emily rescues 9-year-old Cameron, an escapee from an abusive foster home. During the frigid Vermont winter, the two inhabit an igloo of frozen, leaf-filled trash bags, but when spring thaw melts their domicile, Emily gets a waitressing job and a place to stay, thanks to a shelter acquaintance. This newfound security is short-lived: Cameron falls seriously ill, and after an emergency room visit threatens to expose both their identities, Emily fears she has run out of Plan B’s.

Readers hoping for a futuristic novel imagining the aftermath of a Fukushima-type disaster in the United States may be disappointed—Bohjalian’s primary focus is on examining, in wrenching detail, the dystopia wrought by today’s economy. Emily’s voice is a compelling one, however, and hers is a journey readers will avidly follow.

THREE LIGHT-YEARS

Canobbio, Andrea Translated by Appel, Anne Milano Farrar, Straus and Giroux (368 pp.) $26.00 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-374-27890-8 Love, time and regret underpin this complicated story of love between two emotionally cautious doctors in modernday Italy.

This ethereal tale is only the second of Canobbio’s (The Natural Disorder of Things, 2006, etc.) eight novels to reach the U.S. It’s a rich story that explores the emotional insecurities of a variety of characters; it’s also linguistically complex and decidedly nonlinear. The novel is sometimes told from the perspective of a man looking back on the midlife crisis of his father, a doctor named Claudio Viberti who worked in a busy metropolitan hospital. More often, the tale is told by an omniscient narrator, though this could be the son imagining what transpired. The lonely doctor becomes infatuated with Cecilia, an emergency room doctor with two children who is vigilant about her emotions. They “date” by having lunch every day, but Cecilia cannot commit, so Viberti becomes increasingly frantic. “Did I race over here because I wanted to see her, and I couldn’t stand not seeing her, and I’m in love with her, or because I didn’t want to say no, and I was afraid I would regret it, and I’m afraid of being alone forever, and for some time a ridiculous idea has been stuck in my head, that it’s too late, that this is my last chance?” he asks himself. The relationship gets more complicated when Viberti has a physical encounter with a woman named Silvia, who happens to be Cecilia’s sister. The intricacies of the story are slowly revealed as we see first Viberti’s perspective on a given 8

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situation, then Cecilia’s and then Silvia’s, punctuated by an occasional aside from Viberti’s son. It might sound soap operatic, but Canobbio has an otherworldly cadence that carries the story aloft even when the dizzying shifts in point of view threaten to disorient readers.

An affecting depiction of the urgency of love and the inherent madness that so often comes with it.

FURTHER OUT THAN YOU THOUGHT

Carter, Michaela Morrow/HarperCollins (304 pp.) $14.99 paper | $9.99 e-book Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-06-229237-7 978-0-06-229238-4 e-book In the midst of the 1992 LA riots, a conflicted exotic dancer shambles toward an epiphany about adulthood.

This debut from award-winning poet Carter is an unexpected gift. The story of a stripper, her stoner boyfriend and their dying neighbor as they try to survive the Rodney King riots is not a pretty tale, but it’s told well. The author infuses her period piece with shades of post-punk cynicism and the caustic, abandon-all-hope vibe of the grunge years while drawing characters who fit well into the book’s gritty ambiance.

Our entree into this sordid world is Gwen, a girl your mother would like, a graduate student and aspiring poet who came to Los Angeles seeking adventure. Unfortunately, she finds herself playing “Stevie,” a mechanically erotic nude dancer at the Century Lounge. She’s no pawn, and Carter goes to great lengths to show how Gwen owns her sexuality but also that it’s a means to an end. Gwen genuinely loves her boyfriend, Leo, a selfdescribed performance artist who dresses as a Revolutionary War soldier—not to busk, but to hock his crappy music demos.

Their superqueer neighbor, Count Valiant, adds not only to the ensemble, but also the period vibe, as he’s living, quite dramatically, with AIDS. As Gwen finds she’s pregnant, Leo, living out his Peter Pan arc, decides to march into East LA waving a flag of surrender and dragging his reluctant girlfriend behind him. “That’s what you did when your best friend was dying and your boyfriend was planning a stunt that, were he to follow it through, could get him arrested or beaten or killed the very next morning,” Carter writes. “That’s what you did when your city was burning, the city in which you’d lived and dreamed and loved; that’s what you did when you had just this night.” Poetic but rarely uplifting, Carter’s novel is a fable for those who remember the bad old days.

Hard choices for an unconventional heroine who wants the magic in her life to be real, not illusory.

THE BLACK ROAD

Carver, Tania Pegasus Crime (480 pp.) $25.95 | Aug. 15, 2014 978-1-60598-584-8 Carver (the pen name of a British husband-and-wife team) adds another grisly layer to her Marina Esposito series.

Marina and Phil have finally married and have a 3-year-old daughter, Josephina.

Phil, a police investigator, and Marina, a psychologist the police call in to help with tough cases, have traveled a rocky road together in the past. Now, all their joy has been shattered: Phil is in a coma, his father dead and his mother badly injured, baby Josephina is missing, and Marina is on the run. But Marina wasn’t the one who caused the explosion that led to this terrible outcome; someone else is pulling the strings.

Not only does this person have her baby, but the attacker is forcing Marina to perform some dirty work that makes her look guilty to the detectives investigating her case. Set on the Suffolk coastline, where Marina and her family were on holiday when the attack took place, Carver’s latest follows the author’s go-to storyline of a depraved killer on the loose, once again determined to ruin Marina’s life while wreaking as much havoc as possible. Also like Carver’s previous forays, this one comes tightly packed with gore, depravity, characters who never fully develop and plot twists that fail to move the narrative forward.

And that’s the problem with this series: Rather than creating tension, the author’s style, peppered with incidental dialogue and only tangentially relevant exposition, rarely offers the reader an opportunity to catch his or her breath. While this structure can create a sense of urgency, here it backfires and wears you down.

Overly long and lacking in polish.

are born rather than a male heir, and the marriage collapses.

Alienor demands annulment, granted only after politicized negotiations. Freedom brings peril: An “irresistible marriage prize to someone,” Alienor risks being kidnapped and forced into marriage by any rogue coveting Aquitaine’s riches. Chadwick’s prodigious research sets the scene, whether in castles, trekking from one dukedom to another or on Louis’ Holy Crusade, all extraordinarily detailed, if occasionally too replete with duplicities, court manners and poisoned clerics with political agendas. Leaving court and bedroom lamentations behind, Chadwick shifts into high gear when Henry, Duke of Normandy and future ruler of England, seeks marriage. Only 18, nine years younger than Alienor, but her equal in intelligence and courage, Henry, “a force of nature carrying all before him,” roars into the narrative with the sure-footed power of a kingto-be. Other characters abound, some sympathetic in love and loyalty, like Alienor’s vassal and first love, Geoffrey de Rancon, whom she cannot marry lest she fracture peace in Aquitaine.

Chadwick layers on each page the great passions of medieval life, all murderous manipulations and aristocratic ambitions,

THE SUMMER QUEEN

Chadwick, Elizabeth Sourcebooks Landmark (512 pp.) $15.99 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4022-9406-8 British author Chadwick (Shadows and Strongholds, 2005, etc.) begins a trilogy chronicling the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, a queen equal to kings.

The tale opens with William, Duke of Aquitaine, mortally ill. To ensure Aquitaine’s future, he arranges the marriage of his daughter, 13-yearold Eleanor—Alienor, as written then—to Louis, the French crown prince. Europe in 1137 was a jumble of fiefdoms, every ruler seeking alliances of power, and so Alienor acquiesces to her fate. At first, Louis proves an acceptable husband, but as king, he stumbles from one disaster to another, quickly becoming “a querulous man, old before his time, full of righteous anger, his guilt and self-loathing twisting within.” Daughters |

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leaving readers only to speculate how these teenagers stepped astride history to rule.

An immersion in the life of a queen who helped shape the Western world. (Agent: Carole Blake)

HIGH AS THE HORSES’ BRIDLES

Cheshire, Scott Henry Holt (320 pp.) $25.00 | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-8050-9821-1

A former boy preacher finds it easier to shuck off religion than his father in this limp first novel.

The boy stands on the stage in a movie theater, bearing witness before a congregation 4,000 strong. They are members of an apocalyptic cult, Brothers in the Lord, and 12-year-old Josiah Laudermilk electrifies them by announcing the year of the End: 2000. In this Queens, New York, theater in 1980, Josiah has heard a voice and seen a vision. His parents, Gill and Ida, have been treating him as a divine messenger since a very pregnant Ida was dunked and reborn. Yet Josiah is still a child, an only child clutching his Star Wars lucky charm, and lonely as hell until he makes friends with little Issy and, later, the girl next door, Bhanu from Bangladesh. Then they disappear, first Issy (an unsolved abduction) and later Bhanu (swimming-pool accident). At times, it seems as though Cheshire’s theme of religious faith and its flawed practitioners will disappear too, as the novel drifts between Queens and Southern California. Josiah moves there after Gill becomes increasingly weird, attempting to start his own religion and insisting on bathing rules; his own faith ended in his teens, quietly, without drama. In California, improbably, Josiah becomes a retail mogul with four computer stores (three will disappear) and meets Sarah, a Jewish translator, who stays out of focus, as does their subsequent marriage. A trial separation ends with 9/11, when they have “goodbye-forever” sex and the dominoes fall: pregnancy, abortion, divorce. Josiah returns briefly to Queens to find his father gripped by religious mania, fasting so that he’s skin and bones and sleeping next to a half-filled tub in the bathroom (it’s all in Revelation).

A lackluster attempt to see a religious subculture refracted through individual lives.

SEASON OF THE DRAGONFLIES

Creech, Sarah Morrow/HarperCollins (336 pp.) $25.99 | $14.99 e-book | Aug. 12, 2014 978-0-06-230752-1 978-0-06-230757-6 e-book For generations, the Lenore women have crafted an enchanted perfume, but the return of the prodigal daughter— heralded by teeming blue dragonflies— threatens to break the spell.

It all began when Serena Lenore eloped with Dr. Alex Danner and moved to Borneo, where they raised two daughters in exotic bliss. Just before returning to the U.S., Serena discovered a rare variety of gardenia that seemed to respond, sentiently, to her touch, releasing a beguiling perfume. Once home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, she develops a rather magical perfume: Whoever wears it experiences success. Cleverly, Serena and her female descendants build a business, choosing discreet clients. Now, her granddaughter, Willow, is the matriarch of the family. Her older daughter, Mya, stands to inherit the business, given that she has stayed home, tending to Willow and the plants. Her younger daughter, Lucia, unfortunately, has no facility with scents and left the farm years ago to pursue an acting career. But now her marriage and career have fallen apart, and she has nowhere to go but home. Home, where Willow is forgetting things and Mya is tempted to change the perfume formula to get rid of a troublesome client. Tinkering with the elixir, however, risks invoking Serena’s curse. Once Lucia arrives, she begins to exhibit talents that may make her Mya’s rival. Willow’s emotions can cause storms to rise and tree branches to fall, Mya can concoct magic potions, Lucia begins to see ominous black clouds over a certain doomed character, and the flowers themselves are charmed, but these elements seem incidental.

And while the characters certainly have romances—even Willow discovers a long-forgotten love—the romance seems rote.

Debut novelist Creech offers a romance embroidered with magical realism, yet the magic lacks, well, magic.

THE BEAST IN THE RED FOREST

Eastland, Sam OPUS (336 pp.) $22.95 | Aug. 11, 2014 978-1-62316-049-4

The troubled and troubling Inspector Pekkala returns from exile to find himself trapped between giants at the end of World War II. For U.S. readers, this may be a confusing relaunch of a dynamic World War II spy series, but it’s bound to make those new to Eastland (Archive 17, 2012, etc.) seek out his other books. To clarify: This is the fifth Inspector 10

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“Despite her tradition-bound mother’s disapproval and distrust, Adela is immediately drawn to her sophisticated, imaginative and warmhearted relatives.” from henna house

Pekkala novel, released by new publisher OPUS, but the fourth book in the series, The Red Moth, will be published after this one.

Add to the confusion the fact that British spy novelist Eastland has been newly revealed as a pseudonym for American literary novelist Paul Watkins (Ice Soldier, 2005, etc.), and it all gets a bit murky. To catch up, Inspector Pekkala is a Holmes-ian fellow who was once personal detective to Czar Nicholas II and now reluctantly works for the Communists. As the book begins circa 1944, Pekkala has disappeared at the Western front and is presumed dead. Refusing to believe the inspector has perished, Josef Stalin assigns Pekkala’s best friend and assistant, Maj. Kirov, to seek him out. While Kirov searches for Pekkala, Eastland also unfolds the eerie tale of William Vasko, a New Jersey steelworker who comes to Russia in 1936 seeking work and becomes trapped behind the growing veil of Soviet secrecy.

When Pekkala surfaces, he’s stalked by an icy German assassin who wants personal revenge, and he joins forces with a partisan warlord in an attempt to mitigate the bloody violence between the Russians and the partisan movement in the Ukraine. In a smart move, Eastland depicts his fictional Stalin as more than

THESE CAN’T BE CHOICES

A Novel Cori Di Biase Awarded the Kirkus Star

a James Bond villain, painting him as a conflicted, lonely tyrant whose retribution against slights both real and imagined makes him a very dangerous opponent.

A complex and atmospheric thriller—perhaps not the best jumping-on point but a satisfying entry in a standout historical series.

HENNA HOUSE

Eve, Nomi Scribner (320 pp.) $26.00 | Aug. 12, 2014 978-1-4767-4027-0 Eve (The Family Orchard, 2000) recreates the exotic, unfamiliar world of Yemen’s complex Jewish community from the 1920s through its wholesale exodus to Israel in 1949-50 through one young woman’s eyes.

Ben lives in fear of the hurt he has caused.

“Readers are thrown drowning into the maelstrom that is his mind...

“Brilliant, frightening, and skillfully written.”

—Kirkus Reviews

For information about film or publication rights, visit www.apparentsublime.com

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The Damari family lives in Qaraah, a small Northern Yemen village, where their loving but sickly father owns a leather shop.

In 1923, the local enforcer of the Orphans Decree—an actual law that allowed Muslims to forcibly remove and adopt fatherless Jewish children—shows particular interest in 5-year-old Adela Damari. Given her father’s precarious health, Adela grows up under a cloud of fear. The only way to avoid adoption is to become betrothed, a common-enough event for children in her culture. Unfortunately, Adela’s fiances keep dying, one of several bits of semimagical realism in the novel. Finally, thanks to her tough-minded mother’s trickery, Adela finds herself engaged at age 8 to her first cousin Asaf, recently arrived with his spice-merchant father from India. Their childhood romance progresses until Asaf must leave Qaraah with his father. Not yet in puberty, Adela pines for him, but her life changes dramatically in 1930 when another uncle moves to Qaraah with his wife, Rahel, a healer and gifted henna dyer—who knew henna was important in Eastern Jewish culture?—and their daughter, Hani. Despite her tradition-bound mother’s disapproval and distrust, Adela is immediately drawn to her sophisticated, imaginative and warmhearted relatives. Hani, who teaches her to read, becomes Adela’s most trusted friend. Rahel teaches her the art of henna. But happiness shatters in 1933 when drought and illness strike. Adela, now a young woman of 15, flees with Hani’s family to British-controlled Aden. Asaf reappears in their lives the next year. Suddenly the novel switches gears: Leisurely, slightly mystical, bittersweet reminiscence gives way to rushed melodrama as betrayal and sexuality mix under the long shadow of World War II. Eve is a natural storyteller; too bad the paint-by-numbers ending undermines her riveting portrait of the lost culture of Yemeni Jews. (Author tour to Boston, New York and Philadelphia)

SISTERS OF TREASON

Fremantle, Elizabeth Simon & Schuster (416 pp.) $25.99 | Jul. 8, 2014 978-1-4767-0309-1

In her second novel set in 16th-century Tudor England, Fremantle (Queen’s Gambit, 2013) imagines the lives of three historically obscure women: Katherine and Mary Grey, who have claims to the throne, and Levina Teerlinc, the court painter who looks out for them.

Living a tenuous life at court following their elder sister Jane’s brief reign as queen and her subsequent imprisonment and execution, Katherine and Mary know that one misstep could lead them to a similar fate. After all, Tudor blood courses through their veins, and Queen Mary uses public executions to ensure her rule and her goals, including the reinstatement of Catholicism. The current sovereign suffers through several false pregnancies, but she fails to ensure a line of succession by producing a male heir—a matter that concerns the girls’ mother, 12

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Frances, as well as her friend Levina. Katherine is beautiful, flirtatious and compulsive. Mary is less worrisome. Uncomfortable with her tiny stature and physical imperfections, most people ignore her, but Queen Mary sometimes treats her as she would a pet or a doll. When Elizabeth I ascends to the throne, Frances is relieved. She hopes the new queen will be more tolerant toward her family and retreats to her country estate. Levina does her best to fulfill her promise to look after Katherine and Mary at court, as first one sister and then the other follows her heart without Elizabeth’s approval and pays the price. Told in alternating sections, the siblings describe their lives and the religious upheaval, political intrigue (including an attempt to wed Katherine to the Spanish court following Queen Mary’s death) and societal attitudes that influence their actions; but it’s Levina’s presence that binds the narrative. For those unfamiliar with this era in British history, the final pages include a brief explanation of the Tudor succession, a cast of characters and suggestions for further reading.

Fremantle presents an inventive, finely detailed, if lengthy, story. (Agent: Jane Gregory)

WRITTEN IN MY OWN HEART’S BLOOD

Gabaldon, Diana Random House (848 pp.) $35.00 | $14.99 e-book | Jun. 10, 2014 978-0-385-34443-2 978-0-440-24644-2 e-book Series: Outlander, 8 Of haggis, gigged frogs and succubi: Continuing her Outlander series, Gabaldon (An Echo in the Bone, 2009, etc.) again pushes the boundaries of genre fiction.

Sensitive readers new to the series will want to know that Gabaldon’s leads are fond of dropping f-bombs, sometimes even in the clinical sense: “Damn you, neither one of us was making love to the other—we were both fucking you!” They’ll also want to know that, as those characters cross time and space, they’re given to the basest treacheries as well as the profoundest loyalties, which may help explain the preceding quotation.

The action now takes place across the water in revolutionary America, where Jamie Fraser, one-time Jacobite rebel, now commands 10 companies of Continental militia, when, he worriedly notes, “he’d never led a band of more than fifty.” Lord John, his old Brit friend and sometime bugaboo, figures in the mischief, of course. There are twists aplenty, one of them Jamie’s Lazarus-like return from the great beyond to find—well, different domestic arrangements. Meanwhile, his child, having long since learned that it’s possible to enter “a time vortex with a gemstone” and come out safely in other eras, now has good reason to want to be not in the 20th century but back in the 18th, where, if things are just as complicated, she at least has trustworthy kin.

Confused yet? With willingly suspended disbelief, it all makes sense in the end. Gabaldon’s themes are decidedly grown-up, as the in-joking chapter titles (“Frottage,” “Frannie’s Frenulum”)

“An assassination attempt on Bob Marley stokes this sweeping portrait of Jamaica, encompassing a host of gangsters, CIA agents, journalists and businessmen.” from a brief history of seven killings

suggest, but the basic premise is a dash of juvenile fantasy, a jigger of historical fact and heaping helpings of counterfactuals. If you’re a Gabaldon fan, the Scottish dialect, laid on with a spade, and all those naughty asides will be a familiar pleasure. If not—well, this overly long book isn’t likely to make converts, at least not without several thousand pages of catch-up to figure out who’s who, who’s doing what, who’s doing whom, and why.

Gabaldon works a successful formula, with few surprises but plenty of devices. And yes, there’s room for a sequel—or 10.

THE LIAR’S WIFE Four Novellas

Gordon, Mary Pantheon (304 pp.) $25.95 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-307-37743-2

Fans of the author will welcome these four novellas for their familiar themes and rich characters.

Gordon (The Love of My Youth, 2011, etc.) visits familiar territory from her 36 years of fiction, criticism and memoirs: faith sustained or lost, father figures and mentors, unreliable lovers and the power that two people exert or inflict on each other. For this collection, the pull of the past figures prominently. A former student of Simone Weil meets the French philosopher in New York in 1942 and is confused to encounter a brilliant intellect now imbued with mysticism and life-saving schemes and questions her own choice of family over career. In Fine Arts, a graduate student eases her path to scholarly achievement by sleeping with her married mentor. After he breaks it off, she discovers the beauty in her chosen artist’s work in Lucca, Italy, and acquires a fairytale benefactor. A 90-year-old man remembers himself as a callow high schooler in Gary, Indiana, chosen to introduce Thomas Mann at a lecture in 1939 and learning about imported cheese, literature and Nazi atrocities. In the title story, the best of these novellas, a wealthy elderly woman is visited in New Canaan, Connecticut, by the husband she ran from 50 years earlier. It begins with the nicely drawn fear and vulnerability aroused by a strange truck parked near her house. It’s the old beau’s van, and his surprise visit sparks memories of a time when love took her with him to his crowd in Ireland. There, his small lies led to a bigger one, amid other things that weren’t what they seemed. In retrospect, though, she wonders what she lost by fleeing home to safety and certainty.

What Gordon sometimes lacks in subtlety is often made up for by the passion and energy of a questioning mind made all the more vital as she ages with her characters.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS

James, Marlon Riverhead (560 pp.) $28.95 | Oct. 2, 2014 978-1-59448-600-5

An assassination attempt on Bob Marley stokes this sweeping portrait of Jamaica, encompassing a host of gangsters, CIA agents, journalists and businessmen.

Marley is never mentioned by name in the third novel by James (The Book of Night Women, 2009, etc.). But “the singer” is unmistakably him, and the opening chapters, set in late 1976, evoke an attempt on his life sparked by tensions between gangs representing rival political parties. (In reality, as in the novel, the singer was wounded and went into exile in England.) And though we never hear Marley in his own voice, James’ massive novel makes room for pretty much everybody else’s. Most prominent

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INTERVIEWS & PROFILES

Tom Rachman

Other people change over time, but do we notice when we ourselves change?

By Richard Z. Santos

For years, the ideas underpinning The Rise and Fall of Great Powers, Tom Rachman’s follow-up to his best-selling and lauded debut, The Imperfectionists, have been running through the author’s life.

As a journalist who’s lived in New York, Vancouver, Rome and London—just to name a few—Rachman identifies with the unattached characters in both of his books. “There’s a special space for the rootless, and that, in a way, is its own setting,” Rachman says.

“Perhaps this has a special fascination nowadays, when people are no longer ‘New Yorkers,’ or ‘French,’ or ‘Chinese’ or what have you, but instead are a patchwork of different influences, experiences and places and don’t know which ones, if any, they are.”

As in his books, Rachman speaks in long, brilliant sentences, and the words spill out in a fast tumble. At one point in our interview, he stops himself, 14

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asking if he’s talking too fast or getting too far off topic. But Rachman is such a natural storyteller, and has such a unique insight into the world, that his words—both spoken and on the page—almost can’t come fast enough.

Despite the book’s grounding in themes of globalization and rootlessness, Rise and Fall is first and foremost a story about Tooly Zylberberg—one of the more vivid characters you’re likely to encounter this year.

“She came before the themes,” Rachman says.

“The very first idea came to me in a slightly peculiar way. It was a striking image that formed the seed for the whole book, really. I had an image of a child placed inside this room on her own. In the room were two grown men who didn’t intend harm but who didn’t speak to her in any way—one an old, rumpled man, the other a younger, quite dashing fellow. She sort of sat in the corner and wondered what to do.”

Over the next three years, Rachman put the pieces together—why was Tooly in that room, and what happened next? Tooly is looking for her own answers about what happened to her. The reader picks up her life in a musty, undervisited bookshop in Wales. She’s purchased the shop on a whim and is trying to shed her itinerant lifestyle and settle into quiet books in a quiet village. Eventually, as happens in our Facebook era, an ex-boyfriend reaches out with information about someone from her past. Tooly is hesitant to look backward—she’s used to moving forward without a glance over her shoulder at the people left behind—but there are unanswered questions about her life, and Tooly returns to New York City to find some version of the truth.

Rise and Fall alternates chapters between Tooly’s childhood in Bangkok, as the daughter of an expat

software engineer, through her early 20s in New York City and then to her present-day hunt for the truth.

Along the way, there are detours to locales such as Italy, Australia and upstate New York.

The result is a tapestry of her life, which allows the reader to watch Tooly grow. “I was fascinated with the idea of the change of personality over time and the way in which we see our own changes or are blind to our own changes,” Rachman says. “Everyone has the experience of running into a friend from 10 or 15 years earlier. My thought always is, ‘Oh, they changed, they aged, certain features have changed or are absent, or their true nature has come to shine in a way.’ However, the one thing we don’t tend to think about is that we tend to change ourselves in analogous ways.”

The title, then, reflects the metamorphosis across Tooly’s life. Great powers have entered her life and had dramatic effects, only to be replaced by others as her personality shifts and her worldview evolves.

“There is a tension in her,” Rachman says. “She’s terribly conflicted by the sense of troubling irresolution about her past and her story and an inability to know what the hell her life was about. On the other hand, there are elements she realizes she can’t get to the bottom of and other elements that are quite painful and which she feels guilt about.”

This conflict comes down to a basic question that everyone must answer: Do we let people into our lives, or do we not? In the novel, this tension is embodied by the characters of Venn and Humphrey—the dashing, yet distant, and rumpled, yet warm, characters from Rachman’s first image. “She gets sucked back into the puzzles of her life because of the fact that she wants to live as Venn would live—not caring—but she is not made that way.”

Tooly may not understand what motivates other people, but Rachman—and his readers—are pulled deep into her mind and personality. Rachman’s books have a unique and strong ability to open a window on real human motivations.

Tooly’s observations about other people, or small details in the world, are incredibly precise and piercing. Even as a child, Tooly is able to articulate some truth about how the world works: “A teacher had once told her that, viewed in the timespan of the universe, a human life lasts just a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a second. Her life didn’t feel like a fraction of a second; things took ages. Time may pass quickly for the universe, but she had never been a universe.”

“The great interest of writing and reading is being able to access a variety of different people,” Rachman says. The challenge, therefore, of creating a realistic female character was no different than creating any realistic character. “It seems the thrill of fiction is that it’s not your life and not the reader’s. It’s the possibility of alternate experiences viewed with extra scrutiny and psychological depth that we’re not allowed to reach in our encounters with people in everyday life. All of that difficulty pauses for a moment when we’re dealing with fiction. We’re suddenly able to penetrate another mind.”

Rachman is coy about his next project yet uses the same careful, clever language to describe why. “While it’s still under way, it feels not fully formed, not ready to be exposed to the air yet,” he says, “and if I did so, it could crack the shell of it. It needs to be cared for.”

Richard Z. Santos is a writer and teacher living in Austin. His work has appeared in The Rumpus, The San Antonio Express News, Nimrod, Kill Author and the Texas Observer, among others. He’s currently working on his first novel.

The Rise and Fall of Great Powers received a starred review in the May 1, 2014, issue of Kirkus Reviews.

The Rise and Fall of Great Powers Rachman, Tom Random House (400 pp.) $27.00 | Jun. 10, 2014 978-0-679-64365-4 |

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are Papa-Lo and Josey Wales, kingpins of the Copenhagen City gangs; Barry, a cynical CIA agent with orders to stop the march of communism though the red menace is the least of the island’s problems; Alex, a Rolling Stone reporter assigned to cover Marley who becomes enmeshed with the gangs; and Nina, who had a fling with Marley. As in his previous novels, James is masterful at inhabiting a variety of voices and dialects, and he writes unflinchingly about the violence, drug-fueled and coldblooded, that runs through the island’s ghettos. Moreover, he has a ferocious and full character in Nina, who persistently reboots her life across 15 years, eventually moving to New York; her story exemplifies both the instinct to escape violence and the impossibility of shaking it entirely. But the book is undeniably overstuffed, with plenty of acreage given to low-level thugs, CIA-agent banter and Alex’s outsider ramblings about Jamaican culture. James’ fiction thus far is forming a remarkable portrait of Jamaica in the 19th and 20th centuries, but the novel’s sprawl can be demanding.

An ambitious and multivalent, if occasionally patiencetesting, book.

THE GHOST IN THE ELECTRIC BLUE SUIT

Joyce, Graham Doubleday (256 pp.) $24.95 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-385-53863-3

Beautiful, available women; ugly racist shenanigans; haunting apparitions. They all come with a college student’s summer job in this marvelously juicy entertainment from the British fantasist (Some Kind of

Fairy Tale, 2012, etc.).

Back in the day, there were English coastal resorts that gave working-class families a week of strenuous fun. Working-class himself, David Barwise looks for work at the Skegness resort, drawn there because of his father’s fatal heart attack on the beach when he was a toddler. It’s 1976, and the heat, strangely, is scorching. David is hired as a utility player at the tacky resort, working with both kids and grannies. He’s an appealing lad, if a touch naïve, and a hit with the friendly vacationers, but life is far from problem-free. He’s drawn into the orbit of two cleaners, Colin and his gorgeous wife, Terri. Colin, a brutal ex-con and abusive husband, makes David report any flirtations Terri may have, not realizing the student is a prime suspect; Terri and David feel a strong mutual attraction. On another front, David is bamboozled into attending an anti-immigrant fascist meeting, which lands him in hot water with another gorgeous woman, the half-Guyanese dancer Nikki. And there are his visions: a man in a blue suit with a boy. David feels revulsion. A primal fear is alive in him; a psychic, the resort’s resident laundry woman, will help him work through the trauma. Joyce folds this supernatural element gracefully into a realistic coming-of-age work that is also an evocation of a vanishing subculture. David is torn between Terri and Nikki; then Terri disappears, and Colin summons him, late at night, to dispose of some heavy plastic bags….

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There’s so much to enjoy here, from the fake stage magic of a woman sawn in half to the real magic of a gifted professional at work.

F

Kehlmann, Daniel Translated by Janeway, Carol Brown Pantheon (272 pp.) $25.95 | $12.99 e-book | Aug. 30, 2014 978-0-307-91181-0 978-0-804-19783-0 e-book An elusive novel whose events remain cryptic and largely unexplained.

The central event of the novel occurs in 1984, when Arthur Friedland takes his three sons to see the Great Lindemann, a hypnotist, in a public performance. The oldest son is Martin, and the other two (by a different mother) are twins Ivan and Eric. They have not been close—in fact, they scarcely know each other at all—but their appearance with their father that afternoon in some ways informs the rest of their lives. The unemployed Arthur boasts to Lindemann: “You can’t hypnotize me….I know how [hypnotism] works” and suggests that the hypnotist find a more pliant subject. Lindemann does, however, succeed in hypnotizing Arthur, and during hypnosis, Arthur reveals that he wants to get away from his current life. The next day, Arthur takes his passport, cleans out his bank account and sends a telegram to his wife, informing her that he’ll be away a long time. The narrative then shifts to Arthur’s sons, now grown men. Martin has converted to Roman Catholicism and become a priest. (He’s also an expert solver of the Rubik’s Cube puzzle and participates in national contests.) Eric becomes a fraudulent investor who can’t get through a day without doses of antianxiety and antidepressant medicines, and Ivan becomes an art forger in league with the mediocre, yet in-demand, artist whose work he fakes. Meanwhile, the reclusive Arthur has become a best-selling author whose cynical semiautobiographical book, My Name Is No One, featuring a main character named “F,” has led to a rash of suicides by readers who take its message of hopelessness to heart.

German writer Kehlmann (Fame, 2010, etc.) takes us on a strange and enigmatic journey here.

“In a style as unadorned as the characters he creates, Keller builds suspense slowly but inexorably.” from of sea and cloud

OF SEA AND CLOUD

Keller, Jon Tyrus Books (336 pp.) $24.99 | Jun. 30, 2014 978-1-4405-8022-2

The death of a fisherman off the wintry coast of Maine sparks a deadly feud in this debut novel.

In a remote area near the Bay of Fundy, Nicolas Graves and his partner, Osmond Randolph, have a fight over the future of their lobstering business. When Nicolas falls overboard, Osmond turns his boat around and leaves him to drown.

Osmond, a former minister, has no qualms about presiding at Nicolas’ empty-coffin funeral and then immediately setting traps on his old partner’s hunting ground. Without a thought for the consequences, Nicolas’ younger son, known as Jonah, cuts the traplines to warn Osmond off the family territory and costs his father’s old partner thousands in lost stock and equipment. Osmond, desperate to support his three grandchildren, wants to partner with a slick salesman from Boston who covets the lobsters stored in the saltwater pound Nicolas built.

But Jonah and his older brother Bill don’t want to sell out to big corporations, as so many of the other local fishermen have had to do. To their shock, they discover that their father left no will and that Osmond is the sole owner of the business. A grisly reminder of their father’s death makes Jonah and Bill even more suspicious of Osmond. Woman trouble, rivalry between the brothers and a trapping war up the ante even more in a tale that vividly portrays a bleak land, a cruel sea, the unexpected beauty of the blueberry barrens and a dark side of Downeast Maine that tourist brochures rarely show.

In a style as unadorned as the characters he creates, Keller builds suspense slowly but inexorably—not so much about the victim’s death as about what will happen when his fiercely independent sons find out how he died.

“coconuts” are a panreligious group of like-minded seekers: “Getting to the milky essence of life isn’t that easy, but it’s the whole point. You have to crack the hairy, hard outer shell of the self. A coconut is a metaphor for the spiritual journey.” Her unlikely disciple is Ted Day, a middle-aged lawyer who knows that something is missing from his life but has to be coaxed out of his routine to find it. The two meet on the road by accident (literally) and decide that he will be her first client in her role as “a sort of traveling spiritual consultant” while he tries to help her aunt beat a murder rap. Along the way, they travel to meet a Catholic priest, a Muslim advocate and a Buddhist author, having long conversations with each and with each other, with footnotes pointing the reader to spiritual books referenced and/or recommended.

Though the “tantric” of the title refers to nothing sexual, Ted must inevitably confront a crucial dilemma: “Would the pursuit of the lesser goal of romance thwart the greater goal of enlightenment?” The answer will surprise no one, for once Ted has found his Angel, the author isn’t about to have him let her go.

A spiritual guidebook that encompasses a sentimental love story, or vice versa.

TANTRIC COCONUTS

Kincaid, Gregory D. Crown (304 pp.) $18.00 | Jul. 29, 2014 978-0-307-95199-1

A parable for those who prefer spiritual quests to be lightened by whimsy.

Kincaid (A Dog Named Christmas, 2008, etc.), a practicing lawyer, has attracted a popular readership with heartwarming stories and happy endings. This novel finds him extending his approach into the metaphysical realm, exploring some of life’s eternal questions and mysteries, though his breezy style and conversation-heavy narrative doesn’t require a lot of effort on the reader’s part. Much of the interplay is as cute as the novel’s title. The aptly named Angel, a Lakota woman who serves as the protagonist’s spiritual guide, explains that the |

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THE CITY

THE GOOD GIRL

Koontz, Dean Bantam (352 pp.) $28.00 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-345-54593-0

Kubica, Mary Harlequin MIRA (400 pp.) $24.95 | Jul. 29, 2014 978-0-7783-1655-8

Koontz (Innocence, 2013, etc.) genrebends the metaphysical into a coming-of-age story, one measuring love’s parameters.

Honoring his racial and musical heritage, young Jonah bears seven middle names in homage to the African-American greats of swing music. He’s the son of Sylvia Bledsoe Kirk, a singer gifted enough to have won scholarships, and Tilton Kirk, a rogue smooth enough to get Sylvia pregnant before she could get to college. There’s an off-again, on-again marriage, Tilton fantasizing about celebrity chef-dom and Sylvia working at Woolworths and singing in nightclubs. The most constant presence in Jonah’s life is grandfather Teddy Bledsoe, “a piano man,” a big band veteran now working as a lounge pianist. The Beatles rock radio and records, but preteen Jonah is entranced with big band music, and he’s a gifted pianist. The narrative covers the ’60s shake-ups, including opposition to the Vietnam War. Tilton’s skirt-chasing ensnares him in a bomb plot by two psychopaths posing as political agitators, putting Jonah and Sylvia in great danger. Koontz writes Sylvia and Teddy as too good to be true, and Jonah’s too-wise childhood perspective seems overly influenced by Jonah-the-adult’s narration. There are, nevertheless, affecting supporting characters, like the reclusive Mr. Yoshioka, once a Manzanar internee. The cardboard-cutout antagonists are not fully formed, but Koontz’s exploration of the Bledsoes’ familial bond gives the story heart. The action is predictable and less interesting than Koontz’s discourses on swing music and his allusions to art, race and social mores. Koontz displays his usual gift for phrase-making—“moments when buildings and bridges, all of it, seemed like an illusion projected on a screen of rain.”

The setting is New York City, but the great metropolis plays no real part in the narrative other than its metaphysical manifestation in the form of “Miss Pearl,” an amorphous character appearing at critical junctures like Cinderella’s fairy godmother.

Koontz offers a passable modern fairy tale about good and evil, love and loyalty.

Kubica’s psychological thriller centers on the abduction of a young teacher.

Mia Dennett comes from massive wealth, and that made her a juicy target.

Chicago Police Detective Gabe Hoffman is assigned to lead the official search and finds himself increasingly attracted to Mia’s mother, a beautiful British woman in her early 60s. The story alternates between the past and present and is told through the voices of three of the participants: Mia’s mother, Eve; her abductor, Colin; and Gabe, the detective. Mia, who was freed after months of living in the Minnesota woods with her captor, has a type of amnesia that, her psychiatrist says, allows her to block out parts of what happened to her. Gabe is still trying to track down the truth about her captivity, while Eve is working to regain the daughter she believes is underneath Mia’s apparent apathy and confusion.

Meanwhile, readers follow along with the abduction itself in Colin’s words and discover an odd but burgeoning bond developing between captor and captive in the harsh and unforgiving climate. Although Kubica has chosen to recount her tale in the present tense, which adds an odd stiffness to her otherwise very readable prose, she makes the characters engaging and moves the story along at a good clip. If the novel lacks credibility in any one area, it’s that the Chicago PD, one of the busiest law enforcement agencies in the world, would have the luxury of assigning one detective to a single case for months on end, even if the abductee was the daughter of an influential member of the judiciary.

The proliferation of older characters like Eve will be a pleasant and unexpected find for the many readers who understand that life over 55 can still be interesting.

DIARY OF THE FALL

Laub, Michel Translated by Costa, Margaret Jull Other Press (240 pp.) $16.95 paper | Aug. 26, 2014 978-1-59051-651-5 A childhood prank gone wrong prompts one man’s reckoning with his family’s Holocaust history in this recursive, astringent novel, the author’s first published in English.

The narrator of Laub’s fifth novel is a middle-aged Brazilian man who’s on his third marriage, courting alcoholism and caring for his father, who’s just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. But he’s preoccupied as much with the past as the present, particularly his complicity in an incident that occurred when he was 13: He and his friends let

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“...Lovric’s tale is lush with delightful Irish rhythms and memorable characters....” from the true and splendid history of the harristown sisters

a classmate fall to the ground during the last of the traditional “birthday bumps,” leaving him badly injured. That moment is the keyhole through which the narrator considers his grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, and the emotional weight of the death camps. (The narrator had just been bar mitzvahed when the incident occurred, so his Jewish heritage was top-of-mind.)

Grandfather kept a series of notebooks after escaping Auschwitz and moving to Brazil, but the atrocity is absent from its pages, though sublimated into obsessive scribbling about hygiene. This slim study of the difficulty of facing past horrors is mirrored in the cracked quality of the narrative: Each section is splintered into paragraph-long minichapters that offer glimpses of the narrator’s fights with his father, his regrets over the bullied and wounded schoolmate, his grandfather’s decline and the limitations of Holocaust memoirs. (Primo Levi’s If This Is a Man is a particular focus.) The overall mood of the novel is understandably tragic and soaked in regret: The narrator, like his father and grandfather before him, is trying and failing to come to grips with atrocity in his writing. But the closing pages here carry a sense that recovery and forgiveness may be possible, if hard-won.

A spare and meditative story that captures the long aftereffects of tragedy.

THE TRUE AND SPLENDID HISTORY OF THE HARRISTOWN SISTERS

Lovric, Michelle Bloomsbury (480 pp.) $28.00 | Aug. 12, 2014 978-1-62040-014-2

The Seven Swiney Sisters of Harristown, Ireland, thrillingly rise from starvation to stardom.

Raised on barely boiled potatoes and tales of their sailor father—whose unpredictable nocturnal visits are witnessed only by their mother, whom they do not entirely believe—the Swiney girls are blessed with fantastic rivers of hair, cascading below their knees and ranging in color from honey gold to copper red to the deepest black. They divide themselves into two tribes, each headed by one of the incessantly squabbling twins, Berenice and Enda. Redheaded, wry (and increasingly suspicious) Manticory, who narrates the saga, sides with Enda; the eldest sister, raven-tressed Darcy, is far too busy bullying everyone to join either tribe. After Manticory is nearly assaulted by a hair-obsessed maniac, Darcy conceives a plan to free the girls from poverty: The sisters devise a vaudeville show (using cleverly penned scripts by Manticory) filled with maudlin songs and hair-oriented skits. The finale features the sisters simply letting down their prodigious locks, to the delight of hair fetishists, hair-remedy quacks and neglected housewives. Under Darcy’s domineering supervision, the show is wildly successful.

Soon enough, though, unscrupulous men manage to manipulate the young women financially and romantically. As if avoiding scandals and negotiating the perils of notoriety weren’t enough,

Manticory begins to have doubts about the products they hawk, Darcy’s fiscal shenanigans and the mysterious small grave in the backyard of their Harristown home. Based on the true story of the Sutherland Sisters (whose own celebrity crashed after lavish spending sprees), Lovric’s (Book of Human Skin, 2011, etc.) tale is lush with delightful Irish rhythms and memorable characters, including Darcy’s childhood nemesis, Eileen O’Reilly, who longs to be part of the raucous Swiney clan but must settle for elaborate verbal combat.

A dazzling, sometimes-lurid yet always lively adventure, indeed.

CHINESE COOKING FOR DIAMOND THIEVES

Lowry, Dave Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (288 pp.) $13.95 paper | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-547-97331-9 A wry, youthful adventure makes good on its title.

How do you write a politically correct novel about a young white man appropriating Chinese culture? If you’re debut novelist Lowry, you don’t try. Instead, you name your protagonist Tucker—shorthand for white suburban privilege— and give him the background to go with it. Then you have his best friend, Langston Wu, teasingly refer to his “deep, probably neurotic need to try to be part of a culture that neither needs nor wants [him].” Then you leave all that behind and jump into a rollicking plot. Tucker has been kicked out of college right before graduation, so he sets off for St. Louis, where Langston is a chef at a Chinese restaurant. Ever since the friends started working at Langston’s uncle’s place as kids, the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant is the one place Tucker has wanted to be.

At a rest stop, he meets a Chinese-American mystery girl who may or may not have something to do with a bunch of stolen diamonds. Corinne is the type of damsel in distress who quips sarcastically about damsels in distress. Tucker quips back while coming to her rescue. He’s lucky, too, possessing many skills that come in handy when they land in St. Louis and the plot thickens: He speaks Mandarin, practices a martial art called xing-i, and has an uncanny ability to read and manipulate any situation, including those involving FBI agents. He is annoyingly always right but consistently charming and decently self-deprecating, equal parts culture nerd and movie spy. Intercut with the action are scenes in restaurants and kitchens, which have the feel of insider authenticity and are a mouthwatering pleasure. The payoff for all the sexual tension between Tucker and Corinne is awfully slim; Lowry never resolves the kicked-out-of-college issue; and despite his awareness of it, he still glosses over the issue of cultural appropriation. But there’s food, humor and missing diamonds.

It’s a fun read.

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“Always a pleasure to read for his well-drawn characters, quiet insight and dialogue that crackles with wit, Morton here raises his own bar in all three areas.” from florence gordon

FORENSIC SONGS

McCormack, Mike Soho (208 pp.) $15.00 paper | Jul. 8, 2014 978-1-61695-414-7 Irish stories, by turns subdued, witty and raucous.

A world of wastrels, schemers and ne’er-do-wells inhabits McCormack’s pubs, prisons and homes. “The Man from God Knows Where” introduces us to Mark Hanlon and his fragmented family—a recently returned brother, long thought dead; a dying father full of recriminations for both his sons; and a pious mother who, unlike the rest of the family, still believes in the power of prayer. Family life here is filled with bitterness and suppressed rage—and also with occasional glimpses into interpersonal understanding. The genuinely comic “The Last Thing We Need” features a long dialogue between a sergeant and a young prison guard who’s been on the job for only eight weeks. The sergeant is outraged that they’re in charge of seemingly the only prisoner in Ireland who has not written a childhood memoir. “Of One Mind” introduces us to a father who disappoints his 8-year-old son by not getting him to a school field trip in time, and the father realizes that “feelings like [his son’s disappointment] only come man-sized, brutally disproportionate to the cause, never calibrated to the dimensions of a child’s world.” Later in the same story, in a scene both comic and touching, the son becomes convinced he will grow up to become a serial killer because he comes from a broken home and also wets his bed, two classic symptoms of killers-to-be.

All 12 stories in this collection glisten with insight and poignancy.

FLORENCE GORDON

Morton, Brian Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (256 pp.) $25.00 | Sep. 23, 2014 978-0-544-30986-9 Unexpected celebrity and long-absent family members distract a heroically cantankerous 1960s-era activist in the summer of 2009 as she reluctantly confronts the challenges of age.

Morton (Breakable You, 2006, etc.) returns to the world of writers with Florence Gordon, a feisty literary lioness of the U.S. feminist movement. At 75, she has a just-published book that’s languishing, and despite years away from the limelight, she’s embarked on a memoir only to learn that her longtime editor is retiring. No matter: She treasures her solitude and “having fun trying to make the sentences come right.” Yet fame befalls her in the form of a top critic’s review of her book in the New York Times. Family matters also intrude. Her ex-husband, a vicious burned-out writer, demands that she use her contacts to get 20

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him a job. Her son and his wife are back in New York after years in Seattle. Their daughter, Emily, helps Florence with research and almost warms up the “gloriously difficult woman.” Then the matriarch’s health begins to nag her with strange symptoms.

While Florence dominates the book, “each person is the center of a world,” as Emily thinks, and Morton brings each member of the small Gordon clan to life at a time when there is suddenly much to discover about their world. He’s also strewn the novel with references to books and writers and the craft itself, which is appropriate for the somewhat rarefied setting—Manhattan’s historically liberal, bookish Upper West Side, where Morton’s characters often dwell—and a treat for anyone keen on literary fiction.

Always a pleasure to read for his well-drawn characters, quiet insight and dialogue that crackles with wit, Morton here raises his own bar in all three areas. He also joins a sadly small club of male writers who have created memorable heroines.

INVISIBLE BEASTS Tales of the Animals That Go Unseen Among Us Muir, Sharona Bellevue Literary Press (256 pp.) $14.95 paper | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-934137-80-2

An eccentric bestiary that playfully and thoughtfully underlines the pain and loss of extinction.

Muir (The Book of Telling, 2005, etc.), an academic, poet and essayist, combines fact and imagination in 20 fables narrated by an amateur naturalist named Sophie who has the ability to see invisible creatures. Without getting too didactic, each tale conveys a lesson about the beauty, fragility and complexity of living things. Humor and barbs come through in comments on politics, Wall Street and other subjects.

There’s an invisible jackass that kicks people intent on making deals and money. “The Spiders of Theodora” offers Swiftian satire on the customs of a town like Washington, D.C. The sad “The Foster Fowl” touches on climate change and the role of even caring humans in hastening extinction. In “The Oormz,” that cloudlike being drapes its faint cashmere self comfortingly over Sophie’s head and shoulders, helping dispel dark moods and recall memories of “the first spring I’d ever seen.” “The Golden Egg” is a marvelous capsule of natural history spanning many eons. “The Hypnogator,” with its mesmerizing reptile, stands out as one of the few tales (“The Foster Fowl” is another) with the heft of a good short story, not to mention crackling suspense. Sophie sometimes consults her biologist sister, Evie, who adds to a stratum of science that runs through the fantasy like a long, faith-building footnote for the dubious reader. In stark moments, the real world sounds like this: The “mass extinction” of species “is the only one caused by a single organism capable of seeing the big picture, understanding its own destructive role, and changing that.”

THE HOUSE OF SMALL SHADOWS

One doubt Muir doesn’t quell is whether such a fanciful treatise has a chance of enlightening that organism, but she deserves a good-size audience to give the experiment a fair shot.

Nevill, Adam Minotaur (352 pp.) $25.99 | $12.99 e-book | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-250-04127-2 978-1-4668-3738-6 e-book

THIS IS THE WATER

Murphy, Yannick Perennial/HarperCollins (352 pp.) $14.99 paper | Jul. 29, 2014 978-0-06-229490-6 An offbeat thriller sets a serial killer loose among young swimmers in New England and tests the reader’s tolerance for textual quirks.

Countless sentences begin “This is,” as Murphy (The Call, 2011, etc.) assumes the voice of a preschool teacher to detail the world of precollege swimming, where hours of repetitive practice are distilled in seconds of competition monitored by anxious parents.

Murphy also presents the thoughts of swim-mom Annie in what for this woman is the aptly self-conscious “you” of the second person. Stalking all the damp, dewy young flesh is a serial killer who has been on a break for many years when he suddenly decides to renew his slaughter. Revealed early in the book, he is craftily tied to a handsome swim dad’s college fling. Other flings are mulled as Handsome’s wife, Chris, suspects him of present-day dalliance. She seeks solace from Annie, who becomes infatuated with Handsome between bouts of revisiting her brother’s suicide. As one slashed girl surfaces and more victims are expected, Murphy seasons the rising tension with humor, especially through a nicely sketched overbearing busybody who knows everything except how close she is to the killer. The author also manages to suggest with the repetition of “This is” the rhythm of bedside readings in childhood, reflecting innocence lost in more than one way for this unfairy tale, not to mention the constant refrain of all those laps up and down the pool. Even for readers who might still hear an annoying tic, the book’s other, straightforward writing is often more than a cut above the thriller norm.

Murphy sometimes recalls the exurban tribulations and titillations of Peter De Vries—albeit without all the puns—in a different sort of murder yarn that boasts twists in both the style and the plot. (Author appearances in Boston, New York and Vermont)

British horror author Nevill (Last Days, 2013, etc.) goes hard-core modern gothic when he sends a fragile woman to a derelict estate filled with bizarre treasures.

Catherine Howard is a “valuer,” an antique dealer’s appraiser.

She’s been dispatched to Red House, “a perfectly preserved Gothic Revival house” near the English village of Magbar Wood, which she’s doomed to learn is a “mausoleum that honored loss and madness.” The house is crammed with the work of M. H. Mason, a recluse who turned taxidermy into art. Mason’s dioramas are “a window into hell,” each displaying stuffed rats arranged as soldiers mired in the trenches of World War I. More grotesque, there’s a bedroom crammed with part-human, part-animal marionettes. Edith, Mason’s 90-something niece and only survivor, tells Catherine that Mason returned from WWI missing part of his skull and shut himself away, believing all humanity to be “vermin.” Catherine’s back story weaves through the tale, “her memories all waiting in Technicolor with an audio track.” She was adopted and raised near an abandoned school where disabled children were deposited. Her village was plagued by kidnappings, one being that of her closest friend.

That tragedy sent Catherine into an emotional spiral, and brittleness plagued her early adult life, which was troubled by bullies, deceptions and failed romances. Nevill’s setting and pacing are dead-on, and minor characters, like stumpy silent Maude, Edith’s housekeeper, are perfectly creepy. At first blush, Catherine believes Red House’s glories will make her professional reputation. Then come revelations of Mason’s wicked homages to The Martyrs of Rod and String, an ancient marionette morality play with a history that includes the public lynching of itinerant entertainers. Add Catherine’s desertion by her latest boyfriend and the appearance of her London nemesis, and the tale slithers toward a surreal denouement that installs new guardians at Red House.

Nevill’s talent for horror resonates ominously in every scene, almost as if the theme from Jaws echoes when a page is turned.

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THE DOG

O’Neill, Joseph Pantheon (256 pp.) $25.95 | $12.99 e-book | Sep. 9, 2014 978-0-307-37823-1 978-1-101-87004-4 e-book Lost love impels a New York lawyer to try to change his life with a job overseas in this circuitous, unsettling novel.

O’Neill (Netherland, 2008, etc.) returns to his previous novel’s theme of displacement as he depicts a man, known only as X., doing legal work in Dubai for a wealthy Lebanese family.

He gradually reveals how he and his lover, lawyers in the same Manhattan firm, grew distant and then broke up over the question of starting a family. In the emirate, he shuffles paper, visits prostitutes, has pedicures and provides an informal travelogue on the nouveau riche of his new realm. He ponders the disappearance of another expatriate in Dubai named Ted Wilson, a scuba diver nicknamed the Man from Atlantis after a 1970s TV show about the lone survivor of that mythical civilization. X. learns of bidoons, stateless persons common throughout the Persian Gulf.

He hears of an Iranian who runs into visa problems after going through passport control at the Dubai airport and decides to live in its duty-free area. X. himself was born in Switzerland and raised in the U.S. He mulls enlisting in the French Foreign Legion.

While the variations of displacement resonate engagingly, the reader must navigate a patchwork of prose styles, from slang to 200-word sentences to syllogistic gobbledygook to deadly legalese. It’s as if the narrator is seeking a viable language to communicate from his “inner Robinson,” as in Crusoe, “and the inward island on which he must be marooned.” O’Neill gets some muchneeded comic effects from the linguistic jigsaw puzzle, although he’s also capable of outright funny moments—a scene on a yacht includes confirmation that “gratuitous domestic nudity is prevalent among the rich and famous.”

Shades of Kafka and Conrad permeate O’Neill’s thoughtful modern fable of exile, a sad story that comments darkly on the human condition and refuses bravely to trade on the success of Netherland.

EM AND THE BIG HOOM

Pinto, Jerry Penguin (240 pp.) $16.00 paper | Aug. 27, 2014 978-0-14-312476-4

Home is where your mother is. But what if she’s mad? That’s the reality facing a teenage son in this mordant debut about a troubled Indian family.

Opening scene: Ward 33 (Psychiatric). The unnamed narrator, in his late teens, is visiting his mother, Em; his father, unaccountably, is the Big Hoom. (The childhood names have stuck.) Em is in the 22

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hospital every few months. How did it all begin? She was fine giving birth to his big sister, Susan, but after the boy, postpartum depression ballooned into manic-depressive disorder, with a streak of paranoia. Then the suicide attempts began. The second one was especially rough on the kids; they discovered her in the bathroom, swimming in blood. When Em is in a manic phase, her conversation is wild, raunchy, funny and malicious as she free-associates. “A rough, rude, roistering woman,” says her son. Rather than mother and son, they are two equals sparring, the son interrogating her with a prosecutor’s sharpness. He has his reasons; his greatest fear is that he’ll inherit her madness.

Their conversations are the heart of the novel. Susan and the Big Hoom are sidelined. The latter is the perfect foil to Em: The straight man, stiff upper lip, solid as a rock but dull; Em has sucked up all the oxygen. Even the son gets short shrift as the schoolboy, presto changeo, becomes a journalist. Pinto could also have provided more context. Flashbacks to the couple’s life before Em’s breakdown are poorly integrated. The family lives in Bombay in a miserably cramped apartment, though the Big Hoom makes good money as a salesman; their social class and ethnicity are left fuzzy.

More clarity would have been welcome. Em’s a star, but she can’t support a whole novel.

REUNION

Pittard, Hannah Grand Central Publishing (288 pp.) $25.00 | Oct. 7, 2014 978-1-4555-5361-7 A man’s unexpected death brings his children from five different marriages together for the first, and most likely last, time.

Pittard (The Fates Will Find Their Way, 2011) throws a family (that doesn’t consider itself a family) together and watches them fall apart.

The narrator, Kate, and her two close siblings, Nell and Elliot, came from their father’s first marriage. After their mother died, their dad embraced adultery, jumping from one wife to the next, cheating on them and having children with all of them. As a result of their father’s behavior, the three “original siblings,” who weren’t in touch with him when he died, believe strongly in being faithful. In spite of that, Kate recently cheated on her husband, Peter, who now wants a child, despite having had a vasectomy earlier in their marriage, and has asked her to consider adoption. She hasn’t told her siblings yet, and she’s also keeping another secret from them: She blew through the money she made early in her career as a screenwriter, and then some, and now lives almost completely off her husband’s generosity while she pays back $48,000 in credit-card debt. She explains, “I was raised thinking we had money, comfort. I was raised thinking that same money and comfort would filter naturally into my own bank account.” Over the course of her father’s funeral, Kate begins to realize how much she has in common with him. Only when interacting with her youngest half sister,

THE CRACK

Mindy, does she seem to truly care that her self-absorption could hurt others. But, this, in the end, may not be enough of a payoff for the reader.

While well-written, with a clear narrative voice, the novel fails to produce much more than superficial revelations.

THE LOST ISLAND

Preston, Douglas; Child, Lincoln Grand Central Publishing (368 pp.) $27.00 | $12.99 e-book | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-4555-2577-5 978-1-4555-2578-2 e-book Preston and Child (Gideon’s Sword, 2011, etc.) sail Gideon Crew into his third adventure for Effective Engineering Solutions, a “company specializing in failure analysis” that’s the brainchild of Eli Glinn, a banged-up ex-military genius who pilots his enterprise from a power wheelchair.

EES assigns Crew a simple Caribbean jaunt to find an exotic plant with near-magical healing powers. But first, he’ll need to sneak into the Morgan Library in New York and steal part of Ireland’s priceless Book of Kells because the Phorkys Map, an ancient Greek text that points the way to the coveted plant, is on the reverse side. In spite of Swiss bank–level security, Crew’s now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t Kells caper takes no more time than he’ll need to sink a ship full of treasure-hunting Caribbean pirates. Thinking Crew knows the location of billions in bullion, the bad guys stumble upon him and his EES-assigned partner, Amy, a techno-type with Ph.D.s in classical languages and sociology. No meet-cute romance here for Crew and Amy; it’s eyes only on the map left by Odysseus, he of the legendary voyage. The authors crank up their descriptive powers when the pair meet Miskito Indians and then canoe offshore to search for the “lotus”—the healing plant—on deserted volcanic islands.

Deserted because the census overlooked the last surviving Cyclops, “something out of a B movie, a huge muscled Neanderthal” who’s “nine feet tall, with a massive head on a thickly muscled neck” and “a single glossy eye the size of a plate.” The characters are static. The plot is breakneck violent. Geekery is prevalent, with Glinn employing QBA—supercomputer quantitative behavioral analysis, combining history, sociology and statistics which “can predict, to a certain extent, human behavior”—which works well except for the unforeseen murder and mayhem, betrayal and suicide.

Preston and Child keep an eye out for the legendary and introduce Cyclops, mystical humanoid, to stretch the boundaries of the action-adventure novel.

Radmann, Christopher Oneworld Publications (352 pp.) $16.99 paper | Jun. 1, 2014 978-1-78074-399-8 A corrosive tale of life in the waning years of the apartheid regime, when a thousand assumptions are shattered as white privilege declines.

Housewife, mother of three “silver darlings” and eminent cocooner, Janet isn’t entirely oblivious to the world outside, but when a crack appears in her swimming pool, ominously, on Jan. 1, 1976, she tries to contain the damage to her backyard and her interior life. That’s not so easy to do, given that life beyond the gates is clamoring to make itself heard. Even so, when, later, she takes her black gardener to the hardware store to get materials to patch the crack, she’s dimly surprised that he’s ordered to stay outside, as if the country beyond her garden wall is a foreign land. Even her husband, a policeman whose “fingers were the size of fists,” can’t turn back history. Yet Janet keeps trying to shelter herself and her family from a changing South Africa, even as the crack grows more noticeable—and, as it does, becomes ever more a part of her psyche, so that she can feel the gardener’s insistent brush “scrape her very insides like she was the pool and nightmare was about to spring loose.”

As Radmann moves his story along, it’s increasingly clear that Janet’s determined myopia is a defense mechanism that helps her escape the bruising injustices of her society, injustices her husband is more than instrumental in delivering. Janet is a haunted, anxiety-ridden soul, and her worries lend Radmann’s book a claustrophobic feeling. Still, despite occasional bouts of staccato overwriting—“It was the need. The need nudged her.

As needs must.”—Radmann’s story holds up well. And though the symbol of the cracked swimming pool as metaphor for the disintegration of both a nation and a marriage is perhaps too obvious, Radmann works it judiciously.

The novel is without the seething indignation of firsthand chroniclers such as Gordimer, Brink and Coetzee, but it succeeds in conveying a sense of how life under political evil works—or doesn’t.

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LAST NIGHT AT THE BLUE ANGEL

Rotert, Rebecca Morrow/HarperCollins (320 pp.) $25.99 | $14.99 e-book | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-06-231528-1 978-0-06-231530-4 e-book A debut novel about a nightclub singer preoccupied with her own desires and a young daughter who yearns for her love.

Ten-year-old Sophia Hill knows her mother’s life is about to change as she watches her final performance at the Blue Angel. Naomi’s picture now graces the cover of Look magazine, and she’s famous. Naomi has achieved her goal, but Sophia’s dream is different: She just wants her mother’s love. It’s 1965, and Sophia lives in a Chicago motel with Naomi, meticulously documenting the comings and goings of the men and women who spend time in her mother’s bedroom, including a couple of guests from the past. She doesn’t fully grasp the meaning behind all of Naomi’s visitors, but Sophia is wise beyond her years in many ways. Surrounded by adults who’ve always protected and indulged her mother, she’s never experienced a normal family life. Instead, her days and nights revolve around Naomi’s needs, and she worries that her mother will leave her behind the same way she imagines Naomi left her own parents. However, unbeknownst to Sophia, Naomi’s life has been one of turmoil and deprivation.

One of seven children born in poverty in Kansas, she was a rambunctious student until a teacher recognized her talent and encouraged her to sing. After graduating from high school, she was forced to leave town after becoming sexually involved with the daughter of a prominent community leader, sparking a complicated future with regard to relationships. Telling the story from Sophia’s and Naomi’s distinct perspectives, Rotert creates an expressive and haunting narrative highlighting Sophia’s innocent vulnerability and her mother’s singleminded obsession. Though the characters are very different, the author’s interpretation of both emerges spot-on. And, while Naomi’s journey is interesting, Sophia’s story hooks the reader from the beginning and dominates, particularly as the final chapters unfold.

A tale that’s poignant, poetic and heart-wrenching throughout.

ANIMALS IN MOTION Stories

Ryan, David Roundabout Press (192 pp.) $15.95 | Jul. 15, 2014 978-0-9858812-3-8

A debut collection of stories—one of the best in recent memory—that finds psychological acuity within characters who are unreflective or even impenetrable.

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Ryan (Writing/Sarah Lawrence) has plainly been honing his craft, because the 13 tales here are the work of a writer who knows exactly what he’s doing—and challenges the reader to figure out how he’s doing it. Not that the stories are difficult or experimental, but they often seem to begin at a point where nothing is clear—who the protagonist is, what the situation is, where the tale is headed—and then they unfold as consciousness might, not in a linear fashion but making revelations through association or omission; those revelations might be clearer to the reader than to the characters. In “The Canyon,” one of the last holdouts among Laurel Canyon ranchers of the late 1960s finds himself caught between a group of catatonic hippies (who may well be the Manson Family) and aggressive developers; the taciturn protagonist draws on what he learned in the war, that “[i]t’s too easy to cross certain lines.” “The Good Life” is a miniature marvel, one paragraph that lasts barely more than a page but is a fully formed story nonetheless—one of many here about characters failing to establish a connection. The narrator meets a former classmate and eventually realizes she’s mistaken him for someone she knew better. “I no longer understood who she was talking to,” he says as it dawns on him that her “good life” is a drug dealer’s mirage. “At Night” illuminates the unsettling relationship between a potentially dangerous voyeur and the waitress he stalks: “In her unwitting world, he is God,” the disturbed man thinks. Two of the best and most ambitious stories, “The Bull Elk” and “Fidelity,” defy plot summary; as with most of these tales, relating what happens wouldn’t really tell how they work.

As the title suggests, there are animals throughout these stories, with the human ones as inscrutable as any.

THE WALK HOME

Seiffert, Rachel Pantheon (288 pp.) $25.95 | $12.99 e-book | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-307-90881-0 978-0-307-90882-7 e-book The resolutely quiet and somber third novel from Seiffert, who came to prominence in literary Britain in 2001 with her first novel, the Booker-shortlisted The Dark Room, takes place in Glasgow and moves back and forth between two time frames: “Now, or thereabouts” and the early 1990s.

The central figure in the present-tense sections is Stevie, a native Glaswegian who has returned from self-imposed exile to his home city to work as a laborer alongside Polish-immigrant construction workers but who has not let his family know. The novel centers on the vexed and ever vexing—inescapable— shadow of the Irish Troubles. Stevie is the displaced child of a displaced child; his mother fled Ireland to get away from the familial and cultural legacy of strife and violence, and when, years later, her husband, Graham, a lifelong member of a marching band, finds himself more and more tempted by the radical politics of some of his bandmates (they have links to Belfast

“Patriotism turned Nikolai Levitsky into a soldier; idealism turned him into a revolutionary after the Great War.” from red winter

paramilitaries) and decides to join them in marching in the Protestant Orange Walk in Glasgow, she disappears again—and Stevie decamps soon after.

Seiffert’s use of the Glasgow dialect is simultaneously the biggest stumbling block (for an American reader) and the novel’s greatest distinction and triumph; the book is most energetic, persuasive and lively in its sections of dialogue and can seem a bit flat and muted elsewhere, though Seiffert’s brio and talent are once again amply on display.

THE GIRLS OF AUGUST

Siddons, Anne Rivers Grand Central Publishing (350 pp.) $27.00 | $12.99 e-book | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-446-52795-8 978-1-61969-651-8 e-book Three old friends and one newbie try to revive a vacation tradition, with mixed results.

The self-styled Girls of August are an intrepid band of doctors’ wives who have gotten together for annual summer sprees ever since Cornelia—the rich, blonde consort of party-animal physician Teddy— invited them to share her beach retreat. None of the other “girls”—Rachel, Barbara and narrator Maddy—actually liked Cornelia, but no matter; Teddy soon replaced her with the more copacetic Melinda. For the past three years, ever since Melinda’s tragic accidental death—Teddy was drunk at the wheel— the girls have stayed home, but then this summer, Baby, Teddy’s 20-something third wife, entices them to familiar Siddons territory, the South Carolina barrier islands. Baby’s opulent home is located on the deserted and fictional Tiger Island, virtually unpopulated except for a resident enclave of Gullah people.

Gloriously incommunicado (the only cellphone having met its demise), the women drink, cook delicious meals and swim. But problems soon surface: Maddy suffers from intermittent nausea, Rachel almost drowns, and Barbara seems to be sliding into serious alcoholism. Baby is the source of much humor and rue among the 40-ish women: Not only is she blonde and independently wealthy like her predecessor, Cornelia, she enjoys flaunting her nubile figure by skinny-dipping. Perhaps to escape all the perimenopausal sarcasm, Baby disappears for long stretches.

Is she having an affair with handsome Gullah fisherman Earl or merely plotting revenge? Someone removes the screen from Barbara’s window, letting in stinging bugs, and Maddy’s bed collapses one night. Has it all devolved into the middle-aged Southern version of summer camp farce? Nothing unpredictable or challenging can survive the many clichés—the wise and vaguely mystical Gullahs, the stereotypically airheaded trophy wife and the other characters who somehow lack the mettle of Steel Magnolias but who might qualify as copper or tin.

A slight bagatelle in which even the weightiest topics are sloughed off like suntan lotion in a tropical rainstorm.

RED WINTER

Smith, Dan Pegasus Crime (416 pp.) $25.95 | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-60598-609-8 A deserter from the Red Army searches for his family in the woods of Russia.

Patriotism turned Nikolai Levitsky into a soldier; idealism turned him into a revolutionary after the Great War. But, sick of the fighting among the Red, White, Green and Blue armies, and eaten with shame for having left his family unprotected, Nikolai put his identity papers and his uniform on a dead man and left his unit to return home. When he reaches his village, where he left his wife and two sons, he finds a deserted house and piles of corpses with red stars branded on their foreheads. An old woman, the only survivor of the recent raid on the village, raves about Koschei the Deathless—the villain of the skazkas, the fairy tales Nikolai grew up with—who’s left his devil’s mark all around him. Nikolai’s encounter with two young women seeking revenge against the man they also call Koschei makes Nikolai suspect that the Chekists, an elite band of terrorists who enforce Bolshevism, wiped out his village and are now looking for him. After he takes shelter with a fellow refugee and his daughter, Nikolai learns how dangerous his presence is to his cautious hosts and dreads that the identity he’s hidden so carefully will cause even further harm. As he follows the ever fainter hope that he’ll find his family, the skazkas of his childhood color his quest: A hero in disguise with both human and animal traveling companions faces adversity in search of redemption and his heart’s desire.

Although the hero’s guilt becomes nearly as burdensome to the plot as to him, Smith (The Child Thief, 2013, etc.) adeptly builds both characterization and suspense in Nikolai’s race to find his family before his former comrades find him.

MATING FOR LIFE

Stapley, Marissa Washington Square/Pocket (336 pp.) $16.00 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4767-6202-9 Stapley’s debut novel explores the evolving relationships among mother, daughters, sisters…and the men in their lives.

Free-spirited Helen has three grown daughters, each by a different father, none of whom she ever married. Firstborn Fiona struggles for control and perfection in her life; artistic Ilsa fears losing her creative energies and seeks happiness in the wrong places; Liane, the youngest and not yet married, finally learns to make her own decisions. The title may suggest a story of eternal love, and indeed, the tale begins with a toast “to marriage, and to the possibility that maybe love can be, if you |

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really work at it, everlasting.” But Stapley’s premise is that it isn’t always possible, or even desirable, to stay in a lifelong partnership. Not one of the sisters has a perfect connection with her partner, and neither do they have ideal relationships with each other or with their mother. As the women resolve their sisterdaughter issues, each gains perspective on her romantic liaison as well and, after soul-searching, either encourages it to grow or allows it to dissolve. So, no, this is not a happily-ever-after tale. Nevertheless, the characters find ways to create happiness that works for each of them. Shapley provides no significant new insights into relationships, but she weaves a credible story of personal growth and how it impacts family ties for better or worse. She’s gentle and nonjudgmental with her characters, allowing readers a peek into what motivates each one’s behavior.

Readers may like one more than the others but will find themselves pulling for them all.

Stapley charmingly prefaces each chapter with a scientific tidbit about a particular animal or bird and its mating habits—perhaps an ironic nod to how similar people’s behavior is to animals’, for even the mate-for-life animals are, at times, unfaithful.

THE ACCIDENTAL APPRENTICE

Swarup, Vikas Minotaur (448 pp.) $25.99 | $12.99 e-book | Jul. 8, 2014 978-1-250-04555-3 978-1-4668-4429-2 e-book Swarup (Six Suspects, 2009, etc.) intrigues and mystifies with a tale from the great colossus that’s modern-day India.

Swarup debuted with Q & A, which became the hit film Slumdog Millionaire. Here, he leaves Mumbai’s poor behind and joins a middle-class, well-educated Delhi family in extremis. Once again, it’s 21st-century India—cellphones, industrial bounty, ambitious consumerism—overlaid on a patriarchal rural society plagued by abuse and forced marriage. There may be satire here, but it’s gentle and empathetic.

With their ailing mother, sisters Sapna and Neha Sinha, new to Delhi, reside in “the colony,” a vast apartment complex. Neha lusts after Bollywood. To support the family and Neha’s university education, Sapna, English degree in hand, clerks in an electronics store. At a shrine to Goddess Durga, she encounters Vinay Mohan Acharya, owner of the billion-dollar ABC Group; out of the blue, Acharya says he wants her to be ABC’s new CEO. There is, however, a matter of seven life tests. And thus begins Sapna’s journey, a meditation on money, ambition and fame in an arena where ancient socioethical values are under siege. In this new India, “Hope is a recreational drug,” but everyone knows “their destinies are no longer fettered by a morass of caste and class.” Characters are lively: Neha is the perfect Indian valley girl; Nirmala Ben is a widow, “quite possibly the world’s only Gandhian kleptomaniac,” who goes on a hunger strike against a corrupt conglomerate; Karan, beguiling 26

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and gentle, is first Sapna’s crush then her supportive gay friend until his wicked secret is revealed. As relevant back story unfolds about her father’s death and another sister’s suicide, Sapna passes Acharya’s tests, but what she gains is self-knowledge rather than wealth; unfortunately, this thoughtful conclusion is soon oddly framed by two murders, one years ago and the other current.

A thought-provoking dissection of a modern India, though one with an unsatisfying conclusion.

FATAL CONCEIT

Tanenbaum, Robert K. Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (448 pp.) $26.00 | Aug. 12, 2014 978-1-4516-3557-7 A political thriller that may try the patience of left-leaning readers.

A man and woman are taken hostage after a terrorist attack on a “peaceful trade mission” by the U.S. in Chechnya.

Our government wants them back, of course, but only as long as the issue doesn’t derail the president’s re-election bid. Then the acting CIA director is murdered. The prez is a lefty in a government that’s overrun with lefties. The characters to root against are easy to identify: liberals with names like Fauhomme (false man?), Malovo (bad egg?) and Faust (devilish defense attorney?). Fauhomme, “the man who put the president in office,” is cartoonishly bad—not only does he routinely abuse women and commit crimes to get the president re-elected, but we are repeatedly told that he’s fat. The party in power and the president aren’t identified, but the author surely looks as though he’s targeting the current administration. Most thrillers don’t come across as so blatantly partisan—usually the threat is external, or at least the bad guy doesn’t personify half the U.S. population. The terrorists are al-Qaida, by the way, striking after the president has lied about their total defeat. The press is no better, as the lazy lap-dog liberal lackeys lap up whatever gruel the administration feeds them. A senator tells Fauhomme there’s “not much the president can do except more character assassination.” Readers who ignore (or appreciate) the narrator’s gratuitous comments will find a well-constructed novel underneath, including solid courtroom scenes. Prosecutor Butch Karp, who has a personal interest in the kidnapping case, is a talented and likable hero.

Patriotic liberals will gag at the tone of this novel, while their conservative counterparts will likely love it. Apolitical thriller junkies will probably enjoy it today and forget it tomorrow.

“A Pike Logan thriller filled with heart-thumping action and insane heroics.” from days of rage

DAYS OF RAGE

Taylor, Brad Dutton (384 pp.) $26.95 | Jul. 15, 2014 978-0-525-95398-2

A Pike Logan thriller filled with heartthumping action and insane heroics.

In Munich in 1972, terrorists murder the entire Israeli team at the Summer Olympics. Echoes reverberate to the present day when a MOSSAD agent sniffs out intelligence in Bulgaria and Turkey. A nefarious Nigerian is up to no good. Two of Logan’s Taskforce members die. The Russians have a mole in President Peyton Warren’s administration. All this sets up the story of a terrorist plot to strike again in the spirit of the Munich attacks but far, far worse. The Taskforce is a top-secret unit approved by Warren to perform unconstitutional deeds for the greater good—that is, protecting the Constitution. Pike’s given name is the biblical Nephilim, giving the beautiful and fearless lesbian Israeli agent Shoshana confidence that he can save the day. As if there could be any doubt. No one is more macho than Pike, who, when told he has no weapon, states: “Really? Look again. I am the weapon.” A man like that needs constraints on his rage lest he leave a trail of corpses in his wake. Earlier in his career “I’d killed to release the pain,” he says. Luckily, he works with team member Jennifer, who’s tough and smart and comes with a conscience she shares with Pike. One of her talents is scaling walls, and wouldn’t you know that when the need arises, she happens to have a grappling hook. But she instills a level of humanity in all the Logan tales that keeps them from being runof-the-mill derring-do. The climactic event is action at its best.

Pike just might have to fall for Shoshana to avert disaster. And then, when the story seems over, the last chapter quietly deals with a final piece of business.

A fun, satisfying adventure.

WE ARE NOT OURSELVES

Thomas, Matthew Simon & Schuster (640 pp.) $28.00 | Sep. 2, 2014 978-1-4767-5666-0

An Irish-American family in New York City pursues simple dreams in a long and only partially satisfying first novel.

Thomas’ debut opens promisingly with the outsize character of Big Mike Tumulty, an Irish immigrant and bar-stool sage possessed of “a terrible charisma.” The humor and brisk pace of this well-drawn section too rarely recur in the many dry, dour pages that follow. Mike’s daughter and the book’s heroine, Eileen, arrives in 1941 and grows up in a household where affection and money are scarce. She pursues a nursing career, marries a teacher named Ed Leary and has a son, Connell. Eileen is driven to improve their housing, from rented rooms in a multifamily Queens home to

owning that home and finally the big move to the costly suburb of Bronxville. Only a few pages later, at the book’s midpoint, they learn that Ed, at 51, has early-onset Alzheimer’s, “the most virulent kind….It dismantles motor functions and speech as it erases the memory.” Thomas, who has relied to this point on thinly linked vignettes, is most effective in the sustained picture of Ed’s terrible decline and Eileen’s fierce struggle to maintain his dignity and her control. And a story almost painfully confined to the family trio now acquires a couple of colorful characters in a healer who speaks through the spirit Vywamus and a hired man named Sergei who offers strength and the chance of new passion.

Despite its epic size and aspirations, the novel is underpopulated and often underwritten, a quality that does make its richer moments stand out while stoking the appetite for more of those in fewer pages.

THE GIRLS FROM CORONA DEL MAR

Thorpe, Rufi Knopf (256 pp.) $24.95 | Jul. 9, 2014 978-0-385-35196-6

Is Mia’s best friend, Lorrie Ann, really a better but unluckier version of Mia herself? That’s the question in this debut novel about the journey from girlhood to womanhood.

Friends since they were children, Mia and Lorrie Ann are opposite sides of the same coin: “We were both smart, but Lorrie Ann was contemplative where I was wily, she earnest and I shrewd. Where she was sentimental, I became sarcastic.”

Growing up in the eponymous Californian neighborhood in the 1990s, narrator Mia constantly measures herself negatively against her friend with the perfect family. Lorrie Ann loyally helps 15-year-old Mia when she needs an abortion, but a few years later, after Lorrie Ann herself becomes pregnant, she makes a different decision—to marry the father, Jim, and have the baby. After a difficult labor, the child is born with cerebral palsy; and then Jim, who joins the Army partly to cover his family’s medical bills, is killed in Iraq, leaving Lorrie Ann to struggle not only with money and child care, but drugs too. Meanwhile, Mia, still thinking of herself as black-hearted compared to her lovely friend, has gone to Yale, then graduate school, and found a wonderful partner in Franklin, a classics scholar like herself. The two girlfriends meet again years later in Istanbul, after Lorrie Ann has lost her suffering child to foster care and has become a heroin addict while Mia has just discovered she might be pregnant and is unsure whether to tell Franklin, who has said that he doesn’t want children. Thorpe brings sensitivity to her well-trodden terrain of female friendship and dilemmas of choice, but Mia’s journey of discovery about herself and her “opposite twin” feels excessively binary.

A slender, overplotted account of finding emotional peace.

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PETER PAN MUST DIE

Verdon, John Crown (400 pp.) $25.00 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-385-34840-9

Verdon’s successful series—featuring thoughtful, puzzle-solving retired NYPD detective Dave Gurney—adds another chapter with this dark tale of a demented contract killer who becomes entangled with a rich, but disturbed, family.

Kay Spalter is in prison for killing her real estate–mogul husband, Carl. But Jack Hardwick, a former New York State police investigator, is out to spring her from her cell. Not because he thinks she’s innocent; no, Hardwick hopes to prove police misconduct. Gurney’s crude, foulmouthed investigator friend lost his job after assisting Gurney with another case, and now he’s knocking on his buddy’s door asking for help on the Spalter situation. Initially, Gurney isn’t interested, but once he dips his toe into the mechanics of the investigation, he starts seeing all kinds of things that make no sense: crime scenes that fail to add up, missing witnesses, people whose stories contradict the evidence presented in court, and suspects that include a druggedout daughter and a brother who maintains a questionable online church. When the lawyer going to bat for Kay Spalter turns up dead, it becomes evident that Gurney and Hardwick are dealing with something much larger than a mishandled case. Soon, the two men and Hardwick’s stunning police-officer girlfriend, Esti, are on the trail of an insane international hit man. Gurney’s fans like the detective’s patient unraveling of complex puzzles, as well as his unflappable confidence. However, those new to sidekick Hardwick’s brashness and lack of charm may wonder why Gurney would work with him. Verdon has constructed a taut, fascinating tale, but the story gets messy in its final chapters when the retired cop rejects sensible suggestions to bring in the authorities in favor of handling the killer on his own terms, bringing the case to a terrible conclusion.

Gurney’s and Hardwick’s outsized egos interfere with good judgment in this otherwise smoothly written novel.

THE SACRED RIVER

Wallace, Wendy Scribner (304 pp.) $26.00 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4516-5812-5

A trio of Victorian women travel to Egypt and encounter dangers—chief among them a taste for independence— in an engaging new novel from the British author of The Painted Bridge (2012).

Though just a young woman, Harriet lives the life of an invalid in her parents’ elegant home. She suffers from asthma, a condition intensified by the venomous air of London in 1882. Fascinated by Egypt, she persuades her doctor 28

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to prescribe a visit. Her mother, Louisa, agrees (after consultation with her spiritualist), and so mother, daughter and spinster Aunt Yael make the journey; there are delicious shades of Forster here—naïve imperialists en route to an unknowable land. On ship they meet Herr Professor Eberhardt Woolfe, who is transporting a grand piano, and Eyre Soane, a painter who recognizes Louisa from a shared (and infamous) past. Soane intends to capitalize on his secrets. Alexandria offers clean air for Harriet and a rebirth for Yael, who has spent her life doting on her father; while opening a clinic for children, she discovers her own considerable abilities. But all Louisa wants is a return to London, to be rid of Soane and the memories he stirs. As a girl, Louisa was “discovered” by the great portrait painter Augustus Soane, Eyre’s father. Hoping for a way to advance the family, Louisa’s mother insisted she sit for him; little did she know her daughter posed nude and was victim to the great man’s advances. When Alexandria’s windstorms begin, Harriet and Louisa travel to Luxor, where they again meet professor Woolfe, an Egyptologist taken

by Harriet’s knowledge. In her he has found a kindred spirit: Harriet makes copies of the hieroglyphics he unearths, helping him decode their meanings. Meanwhile, Soane has followed them to Luxor, and a rebellion is brewing among the Egyptians, making a return to England seem increasingly impossible.

Whereas Wallace’s first novel was marred by overreaching, this one is marked by a fine subtlety, making her a writer to watch.

THE LEMON GROVE

Walsh, Helen Doubleday (224 pp.) $24.95 | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-385-53853-4

Walsh, winner of the Somerset Maugham Prize for her second novel, Once Upon a Time in England (2008), sets her new one in Majorca during the last week of a married couple’s annual summer vacation.

Jenn and Greg are in heaven, lazing about in their familiar house, a rental they just manage to afford on a professor’s salary, enjoying the quiet comfort their long-term marriage provides, when their teenage daughter, Emma, stirs up their last lazy days by bringing her new, inappropriately older boyfriend, Nathan, into their lives. Before long there are hints that Jenn’s close inspection of Nathan may be more attraction than careful observation. Soon, she’s betraying everyone around her to fulfill her own desires. Walsh is attempting something difficult here, creating a high-minded literary look at adulterous entanglement while also providing a quintessential steamy beach read, with scene after scene of flirtatious signals where spoken words aren’t needed. Instead we get this: “He moves his fingers down over her palm and slots them through hers. She can’t look at him. She stands there, letting him stroke her hand, staring out to sea; he is looking back into the cave. His touch feels like hot, wet earth. Her breathing is staccato, too loud.” The problem is

that there’s little reason for any of it to happen; we don’t learn enough about Jenn to be invested in her betrayal of both her husband, who’s absent for most of the narrative, and her daughter, who we eventually learn is actually Greg’s offspring and her stepdaughter. It isn’t just that Jenn is stereotypically selfabsorbed and unlikable; it’s that every character is flat.

The seductive and enticing drama Walsh tries to lay out can be seen coming a mile away across the stunning landscape. The ending is meant to be a cliffhanger, but there’s nothing much to imagine happening next.

NEVER COMING BACK

Weaver, Tim Viking (384 pp.) $27.95 | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-525-42686-8

Weaver, author of the popular U.K.– based David Raker series, brings his missing person investigator to American readers for the first time.

Raker was once a journalist but now devotes his life to investigating disappearances. His present case involves a missing family, Paul and Carrie Ling and their two daughters. Emily, Carrie’s sister, found the Lings’ home deserted, dinner still cooking on the stove, the dog wandering around and milk spilled on the floor.

No one, including police, has seen them since. Emily contacts the self-styled investigator—her old flame—and enlists his help in finding her sister. Raker, recovering from wounds suffered in a previous case, soon discovers himself knee-deep in a conspiracy to quiet one of the family members, and he follows the trail from an English fishing village to the bright lights of Las Vegas and back to England. Along the way, he encounters another old friend, a rich and successful man and a shadowy figure who seems hellbent on eliminating witnesses—but Raker isn’t sure why. Eventually he finds his answers, but not without accumulating enough dead bodies to fill a spacious morgue and so many plot twists that readers will wonder why the bad guys didn’t kill him at the beginning and be done with it. Weaver’s a good enough writer; his stories brim with atmosphere and plentiful action. His use of disconnected flashbacks proves disconcerting, however, and his writing is heavily invested in single-sentence paragraphs, which lends a breathless, artificial urgency to even the most mundane task or rumination.

A promising debut that could have been better with defter editing.

m ys t e r y SLOW BLEED

Barker, Trey R. Five Star (354 pp.) $25.95 | Sep. 24, 2014 978-1-4328-2912-4 A rookie jailer’s first day on the job is almost her last.

After drifting through a series of deadend jobs while living at her grandmother’s motel, Jace Salome becomes a corrections officer. Maybe her decision has something to do with her mother’s disappearance years before and the lackluster way the authorities searched for her. During her first night on the job, Jace is stuck in the area separating her pod from the rest of the jail while her partner, Reynolds, has a fight with an inmate inside, leading to the inmate’s death. From the beginning, the whole situation feels wrong to Jace, and an investigation by the Texas Rangers does nothing to reassure her. Looking into the death with only her newfound female jailhouse friend Rory to help her, Jace knows her partner purposely killed the prisoner.

She also knows that incidents like this have happened before, for although there may be a lot of good cops out there, Jace seems to see only the ones who are willing to kill. Some admit their activities to her while excusing their behavior by saying the dead were all child molesters who were getting off easy. Despite her fear, Jace constructs a picture of a network of dangerous cops in several West Texas jails. Slowly, honest cops feed her information that will eventually help the Rangers build a case. As she puts the pieces together, Jace discovers a wide-ranging conspiracy that puts her life in danger.

Barker (Exit Blood, 2013, etc.), a former journalist who works in law enforcement, has produced a noirish police procedural that’s gritty, violent and utterly believable.

BOOK CLUBBED

Barrett, Lorna Berkley Prime Crime (320 pp.) $25.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-425-25257-4 A New Hampshire bookstore owner who specializes in mysteries finds yet another one outside the pages.

Tricia Miles is considered the town jinx because she’s always finding dead bodies. This time the victim is Betsy Dittmeyer, the nasty receptionist for the Stoneham Chamber of Commerce. Betsy seems to have been crushed by a bookcase, but she was actually strangled in the storeroom of the cookery bookstore owned by Tricia’s sister, Angelica. Alas, Betsy was loved by no one, not even her sister, Joelle, or her ex-husband, |

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Jerry, and Tricia’s snooping turns up a lot of nasty secrets. Betsy, who was surprisingly wealthy, planned to cut her sister out of her will. The source of her wealth is a puzzle until Tricia finds a list of Chamber of Commerce members hidden on Betsy’s computer, along with appended information that could be a rich source for blackmail. She also learns that Betsy and Jerry had a child who died and that she was a hoarder whose house is packed to the rafters with junk. Angelica, who’s recently become president of the Chamber of Commerce, is desperately seeking a new office because the outgoing president, her former lover Bob Kelly, owns most of the real estate in town. When she does find a house, it turns out to have been another of Betsy’s rentals.

Naturally, it’s also full of junk; not so naturally, it contains more than $40,000 in cash. Through it all, Tricia must deal with her former husband, who wants her back, and the chief of police, with whom she has a rocky relationship. And at long last, she also learns the real reason her mother never loved her. Not as good as Tricia’s last (Not the Killing Type, 2013), perhaps because the mystery seems to be an afterthought.

But the gossipy personal revelations about the locals will delight fans.

SACRIFICIAL MUSE

Beaumont, Maegan Midnight Ink/Llewellyn (408 pp.) $14.99 paper | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-7387-3992-2 Now that Inspector Sabrina Vaughn’s back in San Francisco Homicide, everyone wants a piece of her—her boss, her homicidal ex-lover, the Fourth Estate and, of course, a serial killer.

Relentless Sentinel reporter Jaxon Croft has mounted something of a crusade against Michael O’Shea, the high school sweetheart–turned–hired killer who came roaring so dramatically back into Sabrina’s life (Carved in Darkness, 2013). Croft, who’s already published enough about Sabrina to make her a media star, is dogging her footsteps and hectoring her with questions wherever she turns. Capt.

Mathews, tired of watching the officers at the front desk lug in sacks of Sabrina’s fan mail, wants her back off Homicide instead of looking into the case of Kenny Denton, a seasoned convenience-store robber who departed from his usual script when he robbed David Song’s bodega and killed the clerk over a candy bar and $53. Mathews would be even more eager to show Sabrina the door if he knew about her latest epistle: a blood-red envelope inscribed to “Calliope” whose enclosed card says only “Mox” accompanied by the infinity sign. Luckily, Croft, who just happens to have double majored in journalism and classics, is in a position to explain that “mox” means “soon” in Latin, and Sabrina, alerted to her correspondent’s homicidal proclivities by the ritual slaughter of Berkeley sophomore Bethany Edwards, forms a fragile partnership with Croft to track down the killer as she herself moves steadily up the ranks on his list of potential victims.

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All the characters, the quick and the dead, are forgettable, and the killer’s plot is as baroque and labored as any conceit Ellery Queen ever hatched but a lot less ingenious and compelling. The one thing that stays with you is Beaumont’s intensity, which would be scary if it were more sharply focused.

CRIME ALWAYS PAYS

Burke, Declan Severn House (256 pp.) $28.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-7278-8375-9

Even though it’s been six years since Burke published The Big O (2008), this manic sequel seems to begin five minutes after its predecessor’s fade-out.

OK, listen up. Ex–cosmetic surgeon Frank Dolan’s plan to have his wife, Madge, kidnapped—a plan facilitated by obligingly feral criminal fixer Terry Swipes—has gone belly up. Madge’s abduction by her best friend, Karen King, has morphed into a plan to fleece $200,000 from Karen’s ex-husband, Rossi Callaghan, who’s partnered with Sleeps, the aptly nicknamed narcoleptic getaway driver. This new, improved plan has claimed two casualties, neither of them Madge. Karen’s pet wolf, Anna, has torn off Rossi’s ear, and Madge has shot Ray Brogan, Karen’s companion in crime, in the arm. And this is all before Page 1. Since Karen can hardly fly Anna to their rendezvous with Madge in the Greek islands, Ray, despite his broken arm, volunteers to drive her there over the Alps. And since a trip like that involves some capital expenses, they decide to amortize the costs by hauling a sealed package for Amsterdam coke dealer Johnny Priest. Travel agent Melody Shine, who’s just gotten a $12,000 grant for a screenplay she has no intention of writing, helps make some of the travel arrangements and then decides to follow her clients to the islands. And suspended Detective Stephanie Doyle, getting wind of the exodus, feels this would be just the time to reconnect with Niko, the dicey Greek cop who served as her interpreter last time around. Burke’s plot, if that’s what you want to call it, sucks every character who walks by into a vortex of schemes, coincidences, double crosses, shifting alliances, and talk talk talk.

Don’t blink, or you’ll miss the latest realignments among criminal conspirators so uniformly energetic and amoral that long before this installment is over, it’s hard to tell them apart.

“A prostitute’s murder reunites a detective and a forensic specialist in this gritty procedural debut.” from everyone lies

TABULA RASA

Downie, Ruth Bloomsbury (352 pp.) $26.00 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-60819-708-8 Against a backdrop of near-constant combat, a conscientious doctor tries to find two mysteriously missing persons.

Britannia, A.D. 122. Hadrian’s Wall is being constructed in order to isolate Roman colonists in the south from the barbarians of Caledonia to the north. Stationed at a fort, Medical Officer Gaius Petreius Ruso (Semper Fidelis, 2013, etc.) tends the legionnaires charged with the project. When Fabius, the local centurion, gets his leg trapped in the quarry, Ruso is forced to amputate to extricate him. This is just the beginning of a series of unfortunate events to befall Ruso and his Britannian wife, Tilla, who assists her husband. Among the residents she’s visited to strengthen local relations with the empire is influential local Senecio, with whom she’s struck up a friendship. Silvanus the centurion reports that Ruso’s clerk, the Legionary Candidus, has moved from the next fort to the hospital in Parva in the west, but no one can find him.

His disappearance just might have something to do with the recent falling out between Albanus, Ruso’s friend and former clerk, and his girlfriend, Grata. Zealous soldiers on the hunt for Candidus virtually ransack local farms, including Senecio’s, in their scorchedearth search. Not long after, Senecio’s son Brana vanishes as well, and Tilla feels especially responsible because the family mistakenly thought she was tending the boy. Ruso feels bound to investigate but also to mend relations between the rash and intimidating centurions and the wary natives. And he wonders: Could these two disappearances possibly be connected? Downie writes with quiet authority and surprising depth, offering an engaging depiction of an obscure slice of history.

The mystery is a nice addition but never the main attraction.

MURMURS OF INSANITY

Finger, Gerrie Ferris Five Star (308 pp.) $25.95 | Jul. 16, 2014 978-1-4328-2858-5

Murder as performance art.

Moriah Dru, a former Atlanta police officer who now runs Child Trace, walks out of court and into trouble. She’s searching for Johndro Phillips, a teen whose drug dealer boss is acquitted when Johndro doesn’t testify. After Dru is shot at on her way home, she moves into the well-protected home of her lover, Atlanta homicide detective Richard Lake, who wants her to look into a problem his ex-wife’s half brother Baxter Carlisle is having. Cho Martine, a mysterious young woman whose boyfriend, Damian, is missing, has accused Baxter of stalking her. Baxter is

a charming, handsome, wealthy man with a reputation for liking much younger women. Once she’s met him, though, Dru is convinced he’s no stalker. The computer wizard who works for Dru discovers that Cho is really an alias for someone who’s forged the paperwork needed to get into the University of Georgia. But her boyfriend, Damian, is all too real and all too missing. Baxter hires Dru to clear his name and tells her that Damian and Cho, whoever she is, are heavily involved in the performance art scene.

So when some of Damian’s possessions turn up in weird places along an Atlanta hiking trail, Dru has to wonder if the clues are all part of an elaborate piece of performance art. Meanwhile, Dru’s search for Johndro involves her and Lake in a shootout with gang members. The bodies start to pile up as Dru struggles to discover the real reason for Damian’s disappearance.

A more polished mystery than Dru’s last case (The Devil Laughed, 2013), with some interesting insights on performance art, including debates about whether it’s art at all.

EVERYONE LIES

Garrett, A.D. Minotaur (432 pp.) $25.99 | $12.99 e-book | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-250-04572-0 978-1-4668-4534-3 e-book A prostitute’s murder reunites a detective and a forensic specialist in this gritty procedural debut.

When Nick Fennimore, a science professor in Scotland, gets a phone call from Kate Simms, part of him wants to tell her she has the wrong number. Five years ago, they worked together when he was a member of the National Crime Faculty and she was a promising detective sergeant. Their collaboration ended when he dragged her into a personal case, heedless of the fact that it would derail her career. Now he feels nothing but guilt, even though Kate has worked her way up to the rank of detective chief inspector with the Manchester police. She asks Nick—failed genetics student, successful gambler, former scene of crime officer, toxicology expert—to analyze statistics about a recent upsurge in female deaths from heroin overdose.

Together, they discover that the spike in deaths began just about the time of Operation Snowstorm, when the police seized heroin worth £4.5 million. Now, dealers are forced to cut their product with a substance that’s sending users into fatal shock, including a young woman with her face beaten to a pulp. The more Kate learns about the latest victim, the more determined she is to put a face back on her and find her killer, though her bosses would rather write off the case as just one more dead prostitute. But Kate won’t let it go. Nick is struggling with his own issues, but he agrees to act as her unauthorized consultant, even though their teamwork could cost her her job. When they confront the killer, they both find out how much more they’re risking to bring justice to the dead.

The pseudonymous pair who write as Garrett skillfully weave just enough of the crime-solving partners’ past and hints about a more hopeful future to add even more suspense to the fast-paced plot. |

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HERBIE’S GAME

Hallinan, Timothy Soho Crime (336 pp.) $26.95 | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-61695-429-1

When a crook is burgled, it’s not a good day for anybody.

Usually, Wattles the contractor is the one breaking the law. He’s perfected a system of murder for hire that involves something like six degrees of separation between the trigger man and himself. So when someone breaks into his house and steals his list of “disconnects”—people who call people who call people who shoot people—he’s both surprised and annoyed. But not too annoyed to summon Junior Bender (Little Elvises, 2013, etc.) and offer him $10,000 for the safe return of the list. Junior has an even more compelling reason for being interested in the case. It’s clear from the burglar’s methods that he was none other than Herbie Mott, the master thief who taught Junior everything he knew.

By the time he catches up with Herbie, however, it’s too late to ask him anything about the theft, because he’s suffered a fatal heart attack right in the middle of being tortured by experts. It’s clear that the other disconnects are in danger, though it’ll be equally clear to fans of the series that Junior won’t care nearly as much about what happens to any of them.

And a good thing, too, because Herbie may have given Junior a bum steer from beyond the grave. Ruben Ghorbani, the kneebreaker Herbie assumed would kill him if anybody did, may have found Jesus. That would leave the field wide open, and since practically everybody Junior runs into is a criminal of one sort or another, this job could take quite a while.

As usual, Hallinan devotes such loving attention to a host of minor characters, all framed by Junior’s deadpan narrative, that the whodunit is the least important ingredient in this shaggy, overstuffed caper. (Agent: Bob Mecoy)

VERDICT OF THE COURT

Harrison, Cora Severn House (224 pp.) $28.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-7278-8378-0

The Christmas festivities planned by Mara, a “Brehon” who dispenses justice in 16th-century Ireland, are spoiled by the murder of a fellow judge.

Although Mara (Sting of Justice, 2009, etc.) normally works in Burren, Christmas 1519 finds her and her scholars at the Castle of Bunratty at Thomond, the principal seat of her husband, King Turlough Donn O’Brien, who’s celebrating 20 years of rule. The connubial reunion is welcome, for although the royal couple have been married for 10 years and have a lively young son, they often spend long periods apart. Turlough is a genial man and 32

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a good soldier, but his succession is jeopardized by Conor, his oldest son, who’s sickly and unlikely to be accepted by his people. Mara quickly realizes that the unpleasant undercurrents she’s picked up are connected to Brehon MacClancy, whose statements contain subtle threats against unknown enemies of the king. When MacClancy is discovered dead in a room filled with some of the king’s closest friends and several observant children, Mara resolves to find the killer. Brehon law has a set fine for every offense. Even murder is punishable by fines, not physical punishment. Mara has the unpleasant duty of questioning people she knows well. Even one of her former scholars has a motive for killing the unpopular old man. A vicious attack on Mara by an assailant who leaves her for dead makes it clear that the killer will stop at nothing to escape detection.

The information on Brehon law that prefaces each chapter adds historical interest to this diverting mystery, even if Mara is no match for Peter Tremayne’s seventhcentury Brehon Sister Fidelma.

SOMEONE ELSE’S SKIN

Hilary, Sarah Penguin (416 pp.) $16.00 paper | Jun. 24, 2014 978-0-14-312618-8

Intertwined cases of battered women lead a detective on a journey of self-discovery.

When DI Marnie Rome investigates the case of a man whose left hand was chopped off by a scimitar, she and her partner, DS Noah Jake, discover that the person of interest in the crime, Narif Mirza, has a sister in a women’s refuge. Ayana Mirza is blind in one eye because Narif and her other brothers threw bleach in her face for dishonoring the family, and she’s hiding from them in the shelter. While Marnie and Noah are interviewing her as a witness to her brother’s violence, one of the other women in hiding, Hope Proctor, gets an unwelcome visitor, her husband, Leo, who sneaks in a knife that Hope uses to stab him. Much as Noah despises Leo, he saves his life, and both Hope and Leo are rushed to the hospital.

When Hope finds out that her husband will live, she leaves with her friend Simone Bissell, another abuse victim, who was held captive for a year in a basement room. Then Ayana’s brothers kidnap her from the refuge, and Marnie has to find the missing victims with the help of Victim Support worker Ed Belloc; at the same time, she’s dealing with the ongoing effects of her parents’ murders five years ago. Her foster brother stabbed them to death when he was 14, and Marnie has been visiting him over the years in hopes of understanding why he did it. A violent act of revenge leaves her feelings, including her attraction to Ed, in even greater turmoil. And her failure to share a startling discovery about one of the abusers threatens the life of someone close to her in this dense and disturbing tale.

Although Hilary’s debut weaves a knotty plot and then drops threads along the way, Marnie’s courage and her determination to help the abuse victims create a strong center.

“The theft of four priceless paintings—or are they really priceless?—threatens to expose all manner of malfeasance in a brutish British museum.” from snatched

THE WHITE MAGIC FIVE & DIME

Hockensmith, Steve with Falco, Lisa Midnight Ink/Llewellyn (336 pp.) $14.99 paper | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-7387-4022-5 A telemarketer hikes out to the Arizona hinterlands to claim an unlikely inheritance from an even more unlikely mother.

Alanis McLachlan was never exactly close to her mother. Maybe, as a series of interspersed flashbacks suggests, it’s because Athena Passalis, or whatever her name really was, was a con artist who lived on the edge. Maybe it’s because she involved her daughter in her scams from the cradle. Maybe it’s because when Alanis reached a certain tender age, Athena showed some interest in pimping her out.

Whatever the reason, the two haven’t spoken for 20 years, and Alanis is amazed to learn that her mother retired to little Berdache, set up shop as a tarot reader and held forth at the White Magic Five & Dime for years before an interrupted burglar killed her and passed the establishment to Athena’s daughter. Despite the assurances of dishy detective Josh Logan, however, Alanis is far from certain that her mother really was killed by a burglar. She prods Logan to give her a list of three people who’d filed complaints against Athena. Not only do all three complaints seem to represent legitimate grievances—an endangered marriage, some haunted jewelry Athena appropriated, a doddering fiance she beguiled—but Alanis wonders if they’re just the tip of the iceberg. With everyone in town apparently running a scam of their own, it’s hard for Alanis to spot the killer. Readers with half an eye open shouldn’t be fooled.

Hockensmith (World’s Greatest Sleuth, 2011, etc.) and Falco provide their tough-cookie heroine with such an appealing line of patter that it’s no surprise when Logan asks her, “Are you nuts or do you just not give a crap?”

SNATCHED

James, Bill Severn House (208 pp.) $28.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-7278-8379-7 The theft of four priceless paintings— or are they really priceless?—threatens to expose all manner of malfeasance in a brutish British museum.

1989. Sir Eric Butler-Minton, widely known as Flounce, has been dead since September, but George Lepage, who’s replaced him as director of the Hulliborn Regional Museum and Gallery, is having a hard time emerging from his predecessor’s long shadow.

Flounce’s widow, Lady Penelope, remains active in every aspect of the Hulliborn’s affairs, from soliciting her late husband’s advice to conducting an affair with Quentin Youde, the museum’s art director. Stubborn rumors about Flounce’s involvement with a whippet, a windsock, some haverstock straps and

the mysterious Mrs. Cray continue to swirl. Neville Falldew, the former Paleontology head whom Flounce dismissed in the face of budgetary cuts, is spearheading demonstrations against the Hulliborn. The tipping point comes when Vincent Simberdy (Asiatic Antiquities) and his solicitor wife, Olive, enlist noted burglar Wayne Passow, one of Olive’s perennial clients, to help them scare Falldew away from the premises, and Passow takes it upon himself to break into the museum and steal a Monet and three paintings that Youde certainly thought were El Grecos when he paid for them. There’s much, much more, all of it deliriously quick-paced, deadpan and nasty, from the curative sex a traumatized postgraduate student begs George to provide to a polysyllabic, low-minded pair of Japanese cultural emissaries. And then, just when you can’t imagine how this circus can possibly end, James (Noose, 2013, etc.) pulls off one last trick, and the whole caravan vanishes in a puff of smoke.

Guaranteed to satisfy all your most mean-spirited fantasies about the gatekeepers of high culture, whose appetites turn out to be as primitive as those of the lowlifes in James’ noir procedurals about Harper and Iles (Vacuum, 2011, etc.).

A MATTER OF BREEDING

Jones, J. Sydney Severn House (224 pp.) $28.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-7278-8380-3

Turn-of-the-century Austria has its own homegrown Jack the Ripper, a killer with a cruelly creative streak and a disturbingly playful nature.

After woodsman Johannes Schmidt finds the brutalized body of a young kitchen maid near his rural home in the province of Styria, criminologist Hanns Gross (The Keeper of Hands, 2013, etc.) is called in by the police to assist in their investigation. Gross confirms that the victim was pregnant, the child ripped from her womb. Hers is just the latest in an unsettling series of recent killings. Meanwhile, Gross’ friend Karl Werthen, a lawyer, accepts the offer of provocative author Bram Stoker to help protect him while he’s on a speaking tour. When the press tags the grisly murders with the headline “Vampiro!,” the author of Dracula is delighted, but Gross is enraged at such stupidity. He believes the killer is targeting him and shares a taunting note that was slipped under his hotel room door. Meanwhile, in Vienna, Werthen’s emancipated wife, Berthe, is engaged in some probing of her own, albeit a bit more arcane, when she suspects that a complex scheme may be afoot to corrupt the pure lineage of the famed Lipizzaner horses. Predictably, Berthe applies a feminist spin by focusing on the mares rather than the stallions.

Things take a shocking turn when Gross himself is arrested for the murders. Cameos from Archduke Franz Ferdinand, playwright Arthur Schnitzler and other period notables add spice.

Jones adds a delicious historic perspective to his slightly overstuffed plot, all presented with precision and panache. |

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FIRST LIGHT

Lamanda, Al Five Star (314 pp.) $25.95 | Jul. 16, 2014 978-1-4328-2865-3 A broken life barely healed is put to a stern test.

John Bekker was a promising police detective when his wife was raped and murdered in front of their young daughter, Regan. Badly traumatized, Regan spent years in a special home; Bekker found his solace in the bottom of a bottle. Now Bekker is about to marry his sister-in-law, Janet, a nurse with whom a vastly improved teenage Regan is living.

Solving his wife’s murder (Sunset, 2012) put Bekker on the road to recovery. Though Janet hates the dangers of his life as a private eye, she asks him to take on a case for Dr. Robert Gordon, a hospital administrator who was still in medical school when his wife died in childbirth and his uncle, a sleazy attorney, helped him sell his newborn daughter to a childless New York couple. Now that Gordon’s dying of cancer, he wants the girl found so he can leave her part of his fortune. Bekker has little trouble finding the Gertz family, who raised Sarah with love. But after graduating from college, the bright young woman vanished from her job in Washington, D.C. With the help of his former partner and an old friend in the FBI, Bekker comes up with the idea that Oliver Koch, a powerful senator from Maine, had Sarah killed. Under pressure, Koch’s devoted assistant, Chad Handler, admits that Sarah was pregnant with Koch’s child and refused to have an abortion but denies that Koch had her murdered. When a professional assassin attacks Bekker and severely beats Janet, he kills the assailant.

Despite the dangers of bucking a powerful man and the moral ambiguities involved in protecting his family, Bekker refuses to back down.

A sterling thriller whose flawed protagonist consistently evokes sympathy despite the repugnance of some of his acts.

FATAL FORTUNE

Laurie, Victoria Obsidian (384 pp.) $24.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-451-24061-3

Can a psychic have missed the truth about her very best friend?

Happily-ever-after isn’t what Abby Cooper expected. Though things are going well with her husband, Dutch Rivers, despite his sometimes-dangerous work for the FBI, something’s up with her best friend, Candice Fusco.

Candice’s quickie Las Vegas wedding to her beau—Dutch’s boss, Brice—was much less eventful than Abby’s nuptials were (Deadly Forecast, 2013), and everything seems to have settled down. So when Abby receives a mysterious phone call from Candice with 34

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some dire requests in the middle of the night, she’s not sure what to make of it. Her first impulse is to spring into action to do as Candice asks, even though she must hide what she’s doing from Brice and Dutch. Abby and Candice have been friends for years, so Candice must have a good reason for her enigmatic requests, right? Just hours later, Abby is shown a video of Candice meeting a stranger in a parking garage and killing him with a single shot. Maybe there’s more to the story than she knew; maybe she never knew Candice as well as she thought. Determined to clear her best friend’s name, or at least learn the truth, Abby heads to Vegas, where she must find out if she’s been duped by Candice for as long as they’ve been friends.

Although Abby’s psychic visions—which offer tantalizing hints about Candice’s past—carry the potential for a more revealing story, Laurie sticks with what she does best, concentrating on her heroine’s snappy inner monologue without letting too much hinge on plot details.

THE DEATH OF PIE

Myers, Tamar Severn House (208 pp.) $27.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-7278-8381-0

The maven of Mennonite mysteries is at it again.

Magdalena Yoder Rosen is the wealthiest woman in Hernia, Pennsylvania, and she likes to poke her long nose into every remotely interesting corner of the area.

She’s delighted when the new sheriff she’s hired and whose salary she pays (along with every other town expense) asks her help in finding the murderer of beautiful novelist Ramat Sreym.

Even after writing a best-seller insulting just about everyone in the local Amish and Mennonite communities, Ramat was invited back to judge the local pie contest, where she inconveniently dropped dead in Magdalena’s apple pie. Unfortunately, the list of suspects includes Mother Malaise, the Yiddishe momme of Magdalena’s husband, and two of her cronies. What to do? Magdalena cobbles together a faux police uniform, jumps in the town police car, and sets out to interview the suspects, a process that leads to alienating friends, promoting a romance and getting accused of the dirty deed herself. There is precious little mystery in this rambling, repetitive tale, which is far from Myers’ best work (As the World Churns, 2008, etc.).

Magdalena may be smart and amusing, but her atrocious alliterative amalgamations will alienate many a reader.

SHALL WE NOT REVENGE

Pirrone, D. M. Allium Press (334 pp.) $16.99 paper | Aug. 1, 2014 978-0-9890535-3-2 The murder of a rabbi takes an Irish cop out past his depth.

Chicago after the 1871 fire is a place of immense suffering, vile political machinations and unrestrained greed. Frank Hanley is a bitter Irish Catholic detective afloat in this world, a former crook whose boss, Sean Doyle, had one of his henchmen rape and kill Frank’s girlfriend for crossing him. Now a cop with some dangerous enemies, Frank gets the case of an Eastern European rabbi robbed and murdered while at prayer. The murder weapon, probably a silver menorah, has vanished along with a valuable spice box. Since most members of the congregation speak only Yiddish and distrust authority, Frank is fortunate that the rabbi’s daughter Rivka is brave enough to defy her friends and help him find her father’s killer. Although many sizable donations have come in since the fire, the mayor has handed over the relief funds to a committee of wealthy residents convinced that helping the poor will lead to idleness and drunkenness. Meanwhile, whole families are struggling to survive in the burned-out foundations of houses or cheaply constructed barracks. Although Frank discovers that the rabbi and his closest friend were stealing supplies and giving them to the poor of all faiths, the powers that be want the case closed as a simple robbery and murder. When Frank learns that Doyle is involved in looting the relief funds, he redoubles his efforts, even though it may mean losing the job he’s grown to love. Change the particulars and Pirrone (No Less in Blood, 2011) might be talking about Chicago today.

The deeply nuanced mystery is bolstered by fine writing and historical detail.

PAW AND ORDER

Quinn, Spencer Atria (320 pp.) $25.00 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-4767-0339-8

A doggone clever detective duo chases a killer.

Arizona private eye Bernie Little drives a Porsche. His canine partner, Chet, flunked out of the police academy. Stopping for barbecue in Louisiana, the pair get into trouble with some bikers and are forced to take possession of a pistol with a pink pearl handle and make their escape.

Instead of heading back home, Bernie decides to go to Washington, D.C., where his longtime love, Suzie Sanchez, has taken her dream job as a reporter for the Washington Post. Suzie welcomes them to the carriage house she rents. But Eben St. John, one of

her sources, is just leaving when they arrive, and a jealous Bernie jumps to the wrong conclusion. While Bernie naps, Suzie and Chet go to see Eben at his office, where they find him shot dead by the pink-handled pistol that was supposedly locked in the Porsche’s glove box. Arrested and released, Bernie takes the whole affair personally. Although he’s warned off by the police and a man from an unnamed government agency, spied on by a drone Chet thinks is a bird and offered a job by a general who may become a presidential candidate, Bernie keeps searching for the killer. Chet spots the drone and sniffs out a lot of clues, but it makes his head ache trying to communicate his finds to Bernie, who has a headache of his own dealing with mysterious government agencies, the Washington rumor mill and possibly spies as well. Chet and Bernie’s adventures (A Fistful of Collars, 2012, etc.), presented from the viewpoint of the often befuddled Chet, are always a hoot.

This one salts a doggedly determined investigation with plenty of laughs. (Author appearances in Cincinnati, Houston, Los Angeles, New England, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle and Washington, D.C.)

THE SEA GRAPE TREE

Royes, Gillian Atria (368 pp.) $16.00 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4767-6238-8

A third round of trouble in paradise for sleuthing Jamaican bartender Shadrack Myers and his cohort (The Man Who Turned Both Cheeks, 2012, etc.).

The only thing that will rescue both Largo Bay generally and restaurateur and former innkeeper Eric Keller from a slow slide to penury, it seems, is the construction of a new, more expansive inn on the 9¼ acres owned by Meredith MacKenzie. Miss Mac is perfectly willing to sell the island parcel, and a possible source of finance obligingly appears in the form of developer Danny Caines, who’s made his money in American beauty parlors and shopping malls and is more than receptive to the idea of bankrolling the project. But even in Jamaica, nothing goes as smoothly as it might. Since the island site has neither electricity nor potable water, they’ll both have to be supplied somehow, inflating Eric’s original estimate of the costs. Danny’s head is turned by Janet, the 40-ish village seamstress and self-styled “champagne girl” who’s obviously just using him to get a green card. Then Sarah Davenport, a painter from Kent by way of London, is imported to Largo Bay by Roper, a fellow artist determined to get her to stop painting miniatures 4 inches square and open her eyes and canvas to the glories of Jamaica. Sarah, who has good reasons to be shy around men, catches Danny’s eye; Roper disapproves of her friendship with Danny; Janet, seeing her green card slipping away, darkly threatens her; and then she disappears, with no one but the gentle reader, and eventually Shad Myers, aware that she’s been kidnapped. |

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Not to worry: Shad and company will rescue Sarah before the worst happens, and her traumatic experience will enable her to start filling bigger canvases as Royes draws the curtain on the least satisfactory of Shad’s three cases.

BLADE OF THE SAMURAI

Spann, Susan Minotaur (304 pp.) $26.99 | $12.99 e-book | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-250-02705-4 978-1-250-02704-7 e-book A master ninja’s sleuthing skills involve him in a dangerous plot to kill the shogun.

Hiro Hattori is charged with protecting the Portuguese priest Father Mateo, a Jesuit with a love for the lower castes of Kyoto and a talent for solving problems. When Shogun Ashikuga’s cousin Saburo is stabbed to death at the palace, Matsunaga Hisahide and his assistant, Miyoshi Akira, want Father Mateo to find the killer. Unfortunately, they’re already convinced they know who did it: Hiro’s fellow ninja Ito Kazu, who’s working undercover in the palace. Kazu’s dagger was the murder weapon, and he’s secretly come to Hiro for help. He won’t tell Hiro where he was on the night of the murder, but after they concoct a tale of his being dead drunk, he returns to work, pleading innocence. The other suspects include Saburo’s homely wife, who’s put up with his many mistresses for the sake of her son and her position. Saburo’s latest conquest is a maid at the palace with an eye for the main chance and a plausible packet of lies about the affair. The stable boy who loves her also had reason to kill Saburo. With rival warlord Lord Oda ostensibly on his way to visit, the shogun and his staff are on high alert, but that may not be enough to save the shogun from a plot within his own palace. If Hiro and Father Mateo do not name a killer, their heads will roll.

Hiro and Father Mateo’s second adventure (Claws of the Cat, 2013) combines enlightenment on 16th-century Japanese life with a sharp and well-integrated mystery.

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CUT AND THRUST

Woods, Stuart Putnam (320 pp.) $26.95 | Jul. 15, 2014 978-0-399-16911-3

First lady Katharine Rule Lee’s quest for the Democratic nomination to succeed her husband unleashes all sorts of mostly unrelated complications for the mostly familiar cast.

When you’re tight with someone like New York attorney Stone Barrington (Carnal Curiosity, 2014, etc.), you’re likely to brush up against lots of interesting people.

Same thing when you share the president’s bed. And her tenure as CIA director has made Kate enemies of her own. So it’s no surprise that senators from New Mexico and Virginia are ready to fight her tooth and nail for the nomination and not much bigger a surprise when Secret Service agent Mervin Beam, head of the Los Angeles office, shows Stone a death threat against her he’s received. Stone, in LA to keep Kate’s deputy campaign manager, Ann Keaton, company during the convention, is on hand when his son, Peter, the rising star of Centurion Studios, signs Susannah Wilde for a pivotal character role in his new movie, angering Charlene Joiner, the president’s ex-lover, who thought she had the part sewn up. Susannah’s husband, Ed Eagle, a New Mexico delegate to the convention, is worried once again that his ex-wife, Barbara, now married to a London auto dealer, is gunning for him, and once again he’s right. If Barbara can’t kill Ed by hiring an Army veteran to blow up his private jet, she’s prepared to launch a smear campaign that will accuse him of repeatedly plotting to kill her. And of course disaffected ex–CIA op Teddy Fay, now reborn as Peter’s associate producer, Billy Burnett, is keeping an eye on Barbara just in case the wheels of justice don’t grind fine enough.

The political convention as family reunion, with lots of drama, no sustained plot and all the regulars acting pretty much as you’d expect.

UNEXPECTED STORIES

science fiction and fantasy

Butler, Octavia E. Open Road Media (95 pp.) $3.99 e-book | Jun. 24, 2014 978-1-4976-0137-6

Striking social commentary underscores the action in two dark, previously unpublished stories from the late sci-fi master.

In the opening novella, A Necessary Being, Tahneh rules the Rohkohn, a small desert tribe facing a severe drought. Tahneh is a Hao, a rare, blue-skinned being prized for their fighting ability and political cunning in the fictional world’s stark, allegorical caste system based on skin color in which all people are yellow, green or blue. Traditionally, tribes fight to capture, hobble and force a Hao to lead them. Tahneh’s father endured this at the hands of the Rohkohn, yet Tahneh avoided hobbling by being born into the tribe. After her tribe peacefully captures a young male Hao named Diut, she knows that because she is growing old and has not given birth to an heir in her “intercaste liaisons” with her people, they will soon hobble Diut and force him to succeed her. The sharp prose that Hugo and Nebula awards winner Butler (Fledgling, 2005, etc.) is known for isn’t as honed here. But she generates immense tension and shows the loneliness behind Tahneh’s maneuvering as the central power struggle unfolds between the two Hao and their tribes, structured tightly around a moving scene of seduction, a fight and an uneasy pact, forcing Tahneh to strategize for her tribe while she considers if they or the Hao are her true people. In the bleak story “Childfinder,” a black woman named Barbara can read thoughts and find children with similar “psionic ability.” A confrontation with the select group of people with “psi” reveals that Barbara has struck out on her own to train black children and snuff out “psi” powers in white children, which may trigger a lethal race war.

A small but important addition to the oeuvre of a writer deeply concerned with issues of race and gender.

HALF A KING

Abercrombie, Joe Del Rey/Ballantine (288 pp.) $26.00 | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-8041-7832-7 A new fantasy series kicks off with a coming-of-age yarn, from the popular author of Red Country (2012, etc.).

Among the royalty of Gettland, only strong, fearless, cold-eyed warriors have value. So Prince Yarvi, born with a withered hand, had only one option: to train as a minister (counselor). After years studying under Mother Gundring—luckily, he’s a more-than-capable apprentice—Yarvi is ready to take the ministry’s test when news arrives that his father and elder brother have been treacherously murdered by neighboring rival King Grom-gil-Gorm. While Yarvi’s uncle Odem offers sad encouragement, his mother, Laithlin, master of the treasury and expert business negotiator, remains her usual supercilious self. With no alternative, Yarvi must take the Black Chair and swear an oath to avenge his father’s death. So, donning unfamiliar armor and carrying weapons he can barely lift, he leads a raid against Grom-gil-Gorm—only to be betrayed by those around him. Rather than accept death meekly, he leaps into the Shattered Sea. He survives, only to be captured and sold as a galley slave. Again, he must endure cruelty, enormous hardship and tests of his mettle. Somehow he must use his wits and knowledge to escape enslavement, avenge his father and regain the throne he never expected or wanted. There will be, of course, surprises along the way. To fantasy regulars, this backdrop will sound familiar, with the few embellishments (some elf-ruins and artifacts, an ancient war of the gods) largely irrelevant. The story is well-handled, the characters have personalities, and the plot moves briskly and plausibly, but nothing stands out or grabs the attention; it’s somewhat reminiscent of Dave Duncan but without the originality and swagger.

Well-dressed, sure, but underneath, it’s the same old, same old.

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THE LITTLE GREEN BOOK OF CHAIRMAN RAHMA

Herbert, Brian Tor (416 pp.) $25.99 | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-7653-3254-7

A new venture, a sort of fantasy ecoparable, from the author of Mentats of Dune (2014, with Kevin Anderson, etc.).

Following a 2040s war that pitted corporate America against an alliance of environmental activists, anarchists and scientists, the New World has become the Green States of America. Under the absolute though relatively benevolent dictatorship of Chairman Rahma Popal, the human population has been confined to gigantic cities, pollution is gone, and environmental |

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remediation proceeds apace. Unfortunately, relocations are often forcible, Greenpol (the environment police) commits the occasional mass murder, and it’s compulsory to carry the chairman’s The Little Green Book. And the corporations are merely cowed, not defeated. Renegade scientist Dylan Bane lurks in a huge cavern, plotting revolution with either Eurika (EuropeAfrica) or hostile, nuclear-weaponed Panasia. Joss Stuart and Kupi Landau are friends as well as lovers. Their task involves using a Janus Machine to restore blighted environments; Kupi directs the machine’s black (dark energy–powered) cannon to disintegrate derelict landscapes and pollutants before Jason sprays fast-growing, ecology-restoring new plants from the machine’s green cannon. Having been an eco-warrior and Rahma’s lover, Kupi is already disaffected. Jason’s own doubts about the chairman’s green dictatorship are growing. Half the book drifts by before a leaky old Janus Machine explodes, disintegrating and then reassembling Jason into a part human, part plant, part dark-energy being, with powers he himself doesn’t understand. It’s easy to grasp where Herbert is going with all this without becoming immersed in the feeble plot, mushy characters or wretchedly limp writing—a facile, almost apathetic style cultivated during his long-term collaboration with Anderson.

Does anybody still remember the Herbert who wrote such lively and engaging yarns as Sudanna, Sudanna?

UNWEPT

Hickman, Tracy; Hickman, Laura Tor (272 pp.) $22.99 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-7653-3203-5 Series: Nightbirds, 1 The beginning of a new fantasy mystery trilogy, from the authors of Swept Up by the Sea (2013, etc.).

Ellis Harkington wakes in a coffin in skeletal form, acquires flesh and rises— although she remembers nothing of this and little of anything else when she finds herself on a train traveling to the remote seaside town of Gamin, Maine. This is mysterious. In fact, just pepper every sentence of this review with the word “mysterious” and you’ll get the idea. Waiting to greet Ellis is Uncle Lucian, a doctor whom Ellis doesn’t remember, although he gives her to understand that she’s been away in the city being treated for an illness. Nor does she recall the handsome Merrick Bacchus, “benefactor of the entire town.” Merrick urges her to move into his huge house, where Lucian also lived until leaving for unknown reasons. Ellis does remember her cousin Jenny March and, vaguely, a secret garden and an ominous gate through which she herself disappeared, although Jenny did not follow. Everybody insists that her memories will return, but nobody offers to explain. Jenny mentions the “rules.” There are rumors about a series of ghastly murders. A fire burns down half the town. The Nightbirds, purportedly a book society yet with no books in evidence, acclaims her reappearance. Ellis recalls none of the members. One night, an alluring soldier visits Ellis; he nearly 38

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seduces her, but then she notices a strange blue mark on his face, whereupon he turns into a giant black moth. In the woods by the shore lurks the apparently shipwrecked Capt. Isaiah Walker, who himself watches a vessel called Mary Celeste ground itself on the rocks. It’s certainly all puzzling and mostly satisfying, if promising to be a thin stretch over three volumes.

Hickman & Hickman fans will jump right in.

THE RETURN OF THE DISCONTINUED MAN

Hodder, Mark Pyr/Prometheus Books (370 pp.) $18.00 paper | $11.99 e-book Jul. 8, 2014 978-1-61614-905-5 978-1-61614-906-2 e-book Fifth in Hodder’s steampunk series (The Secret of Abdu El Yezdi, 2013, etc.) starring Victorian explorer/translator Sir Richard Burton and his improbable sidekick, the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne.

Series regulars will acknowledge that the books don’t stand alone. So, recall that everything began with the assassination of Queen Victoria by Edward Oxford, an insane time traveler from the 23rd century. This resulted in an alternate history in which scientist Charles Babbage and engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel spurred an industrial revolution that led to a devastating world war in the future of every timeline. Babbage, Brunel (now resident in a bizarre robot body), Burton and Swinburne have been searching desperately for a way to avert the war. This time, at precisely 9 p.m. on Feb. 15, 1860, as Babbage performs a critical experiment on the time traveler’s suit recovered in a previous episode, red snow falls over London as Burton and Swinburne make their way to a meeting of the Cannibal Club, and Spring Heeled Jack appears out of thin air, shrieking insanely and attacking Burton. Soon, dozens more Jacks, all dangerously demented, appear in locations where Burton is likely to be found. Burton, meanwhile, resorts to Saltzman’s tincture, a decoction that brings him bewildering visions of parallel realities and futures yet to be—including one where Burton finds himself in the 23rd century, occupying the brain and body of the decidedly sane genius known as Edward Oxford! Alert readers will note that Hodder’s time-travel rationale buckles under the pressure of the plot’s requirements, but it doesn’t matter: There’s more than enough adventure, intrigue, invention, fun and engagement to satisfy everybody—at least, those with some idea of what to expect.

Series addict? Go right ahead. You know you want to.

“Erenthrall is a city powered by magic channeled through a web of ley lines whose focus is the Nexus.” from shattering the ley

A PLUNDER OF SOULS

like the baron himself, achieves near-immortality by bathing in the magic of the ley. The Baron orders the creation of extensions to his power at whim—new buildings, flying machines and other devices brought about by means of the ley’s magic. But a rebel group calling itself the Kormanley considers this a perversion of the natural order and seeks to oppose him. One faction of the Kormanley, losing patience with slow persuasion, turns to violence, becoming in effect a terrorist group. Allan Garrett, an ambitious member of the Baron’s SS-like Dogs, cannot prevent his wife’s death by one of the Kormanley’s bombs, and he deserts—but not before discovering he has the unconscious ability to suppress the effects of the ley’s magic. Kara Tremain, a young Wielder fast tracked as a future Prime, witnesses her parents’ deaths in another terrorist incident and becomes determined to help stamp the perpetrators out. What nobody yet grasps is that the appearance of “distortions,” weird and deadly spacetime warps that appear at random to shred people and swallow buildings, has its direct cause in the stresses imposed on the ley.

Magic operating along scientifically testable principles: Palmatier exploits an active imagination to good effect, with characters who develop along with the story—the first 200 pages, however, could have been condensed into 20—with plenty of tension and excitement.

Fantasy regulars looking for a fresh series with real bite should find it worth a try.

Jackson, D.B. Tor (336 pp.) $26.99 | $12.99 e-book | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-7653-3818-1 978-1-4668-4078-2 e-book Third in the series (Thieves’ Quarry, 2013, etc.) about magic (“conjuring”) in the turbulent, dangerous pre-Revolutionary Boston of 1769.

One-time sailor and convict, now thieftaker, Ethan Kaille uses conjuring—a practice many consider to be witchcraft, punishable by burning—to help him track down stolen goods for reward while fending off his archrival Sephira Pryce and her gang of thugs. Despite a smallpox epidemic, British redcoats still occupy the city. Samuel Adams and his revolutionaries continue their activities and again attempt to recruit Ethan, though that subplot advances no further. Church ministers ask Ethan to investigate a series of bizarre grave desecrations involving the theft of body parts and snippets of clothing and the marking of the corpses with ritualistic designs. At first suspecting body-snatchers, Ethan soon learns that the victims are reappearing as horribly disfigured ghosts, incurring the fear and mistrust of their families. On top of that, Ethan’s spells are no longer reliable. Evidently, a powerful conjurer is at work, and it doesn’t take long for Ethan to discover his opponent’s identity since the two of them clashed in the past. But what does the hostile conjurer want, and how is he causing spells to weaken? Ethan may need to enlist the help of the city’s other conjurers—his friend Mariz, who unfortunately takes his orders from Sephira; Janna Windcatcher, an old and experienced herbalist; and Gavin Black, who’s lost his powers altogether and refuses to become involved. Once again, the historical verisimilitude and atmosphere are major advantages, along with the Latin spellcasting and rather more contemporary gumshoe-noir tone. Given these promising ingredients, however, Jackson’s attempt to weave an original plot with depth and allure just fizzles.

Series fans will want to investigate, but the gloss is definitely off.

WOLFSBANE

Philip, Gillian Tor (432 pp.) $24.99 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-7653-3324-7 Series: Rebel Angels, 3 Third in the Rebel Angels series (Bloodstone, 2013, etc.), an otherworld fantasy nominally for young adults, which first appeared in the U.K. Power-hungry Sithe witch-queen Kate NicNiven has done a deal with an evil power to give her control over the Veil separating the mortal realm from that of the Sithe.

The only thing restraining her, a talisman called the Bloodstone, turned out to be a person: Rory, son of rebellious Sithe warrior Seth MacGregor. In the Sithe world, Rory, now a restless teenager, chafes at the constraints Seth imposes on him, not understanding what a terrible threat Kate represents or how much his father loves him. With no companions his own age, Rory frequently slips through the Veil into the mortal realm. Here, he meets and immediately admires the spirited Hannah, a girl with an absent father and a mother who cares nothing for her, not to mention her mother’s abusive live-in boyfriend. Rory tricks Hannah into crossing the Veil, where she immediately feels at ease despite the hostility of many of the Sithe—neither lovable nor noble, they’re brutal and often bloodthirsty partisans. Previously, Kate maneuvered Seth into killing his beloved half brother, Conal, and has already set in motion a tortuous (and, to the reader, largely invisible) plot to destroy him and

SHATTERING THE LEY

Palmatier, Joshua DAW/Berkley (736 pp.) $25.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-7564-0919-7

The kickoff of a new fantasy series from the author of The Vacant Throne (2008, etc.).

Erenthrall is a city powered by magic channeled through a web of ley lines whose focus is the Nexus. Baron Arent Pallentor rules the city and controls the surrounding baronies by intimidation and his mastery of the ley system via the Wielders and the elite Primes, among whom Prime Wielder Augustus, |

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turn his followers against him. The characters—who are mostly supposed to be very, very old—sound and act like teenagers, showing little sense of proportion and ramping up every confrontation to a pitch of earsplitting intensity. This relentless tangle of passion, politics, and violence, and confusing multiple narrators and viewpoints, while fascinating to series regulars, has pretty much lost any claim to independent intelligibility.

Exhausting. (Agent: Alexandra Devlin)

THE RHESUS CHART

Stross, Charles Ace/Berkley (368 pp.) $26.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-425-25686-2

Fifth in the Laundry Files series (The Apocalypse Codex, 2012, etc.), Stross’ stunning incarnation of magic as a branch of applied mathematics. As always, of course, the devils are in the details.

Literally, that is—since advanced computation attracts the interest of bloodthirsty entities from other realities. The British government’s countermeasure is known as the Laundry, a department so secret that anybody that stumbles upon its existence is (one way or another) silenced.

Applied computational demonologist Bob Howard, whose boss is James Angleton (an Eater of Souls—and you really, really don’t want to know), has acquired some of Angleton’s occult powers.

Bob’s wife, Mo O’Brien, also works for the department: She’s a combat epistemologist whose weapon is a demonic violin. Fasttracked into management after recent successes, Bob grows suspicious when a whiz-kid team of investment bankers which calls itself the Scrum discovers an algorithm that promises to make its members billions in profits but whose unfortunate side effect (via the aforementioned hyper-reality nasties) is to turn them into vampires. (The supreme irony of this will be lost on few readers.) An added complication for Bob is that the Scrum’s ringleader, Mhari Murphy, is an ex-girlfriend. More peculiar yet, why is everybody in the Laundry convinced that vampires don’t exist? Bob’s superiors take prompt action—and form a committee. Laundry regulars by now will be familiar with Stross’ trademark sardonic, provocative, disturbing, allusion-filled narrative.

And, here, with a structure strongly reminiscent of Len Deighton’s early spy novels, the tone grows markedly grimmer, with several significant casualties and tragedies, perhaps in preparation for Angleton’s feared CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN. Stross at the top of his game—which is to say, few do it better. Pounce!

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r om a n c e NIGHT OWL

Pierce, M. St. Martin’s Griffin (262 pp.) $14.99 paper | $2.99 e-book | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-250-05823-2 978-1-4668-6228-9 e-book Series: Night Owl Trilogy, 1 A secretive author meets a young woman online, leading to an affair that turns destructive.

Matt Sky—who has a secret life as the best-selling but pseudonymous author M. Pierce—inexplicably begins exchanging manuscript pages with Hannah, a fledgling writer he met online and finds attractive. He pursues her in person, and the two begin a highly erotic affair. Matt has a girlfriend who’s traveling internationally, so after a couple of weeks of hot sex with Hannah, and an increasingly tender—or possibly co-dependent—attachment, he calls the girlfriend and breaks up with her via cellphone. Girlfriend gets really mad and outs Matt as M. Pierce, which creates a shock wave across the world. Hannah can’t believe Matt didn’t tell her and won’t talk to him. Ever. Again. Except once he goes into a downward spiral, she realizes she is the cause. So of course she must help him through it. M. Pierce (yes, that’s the name of the actual author as well as the main character) has penned a well-written if melodramatic erotic novel. While the storyline seems compelling on the surface, a few questions come to mind: Why is a best-selling author exchanging pages with a young, unknown writer? Why, after a few weeks of a relationship, would a woman feel entitled to know her lover’s deeply hidden secret identity? Why would that woman—who felt like he was the most amazing thing that ever happened to her—feel so outraged by his “betrayal” that she’d cut him off completely? Especially when she knows he’s a recovering alcoholic and then, reading his biography after he’s been outed, learns he survived a suicide attempt? The first third of the book is promising, but once M. Pierce is outed, what is presented as drama is more like seventh-grade immaturity.

Erotically charged, but the characters are immature and annoying.

nonfiction LIAR, TEMPTRESS, SOLDIER, SPY Four Women Undercover in the Civil War

These titles earned the Kirkus Star: THE HUMAN AGE by Diane Ackerman............................................. 42

Abbott, Karen Harper/HarperCollins (544 pp.) $27.99 | Sep. 2, 2014 978-0-06-209289-2

THE REAL COST OF FRACKING by Michelle Bamberger; Robert Oswald..................................................................................... 42 THE COUNTRY OF FOOTBALL by Roger Kittleson............................63

Four Civil War subversives—who happened to be women—garner a lively treatment.

Having previously written on Gypsy Rose Lee (American Rose) and the Everleigh brothel in turn-of-the-century Chicago (Sin in the Second City), Abbott finds some sympathetic, fiery characters in these four women who managed to aid their causes, either North or South, in their own particular ways. Belle Boyd, a 17-year-old farmer’s daughter from Martinsburg, Virginia, which had voted three to one against secession, declared her loyalty to the Southern cause by shooting a Yankee soldier who dared to touch her mother, and thereby took advantage of the confusion and movement of troops to slip through the lines and pass secrets; she was in and out of jail during the course of the war. Emma Edmonds, having left the family farm in 1859 to reinvent herself as a man selling Bibles door to door, offered herself to the Union cause two years later, serving mostly in a medical capacity. According to Abbott, Edmonds was one of 400 women, Northern and Southern, who posed as men. Rose Greenhow, a comely widow and grieving mother of some means in Washington, D.C., fashioned herself as a spy for the Southern cause, learning code, passing messages wound in her servants’ hair and inviting all kinds of late-night gentlemen callers; Greenhow would eventually go abroad to drum up sympathy for the Confederacy in England and France, turning her charms on Napoleon III and others. A wealthy Richmond spinster, Elizabeth Van Lew had deep Yankee roots in her family and was unique in that she cultivated intricate subterfuge right under her Southern neighbors’ noses—e.g., passing Confederate troops movements to Gen. Benjamin Butler. Abbott proceeds chronologically, navigating the historical record through quotes and personal detail.

Remarkable, brave lives rendered in a fluidly readable, even romantic history lesson.

THE INTEL TRINITY by Michael S. Malone....................................... 64 THE HISTORY OF ROCK ’N’ ROLL IN TEN SONGS

by Greil Marcus....................................................................................65 GIVE ME A FAST SHIP by Tim McGrath...........................................65 THE POET AND THE VAMPYRE by Andrew McConnell Stott.......... 73 BEETHOVEN by Jan Swafford.............................................................74 THE ROOSEVELTS by Geoffrey C. Ward; Ken Burns.........................76 THE HUMAN AGE The World Shaped

By Us

Ackerman, Diane Norton (352 pp.) $27.95 Sep. 10, 2014 978-0-393-24074-0

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“Through compelling and meditative prose, Ackerman delivers top-notch insight on the contemporary human condition.” from the humane age

THE HUMAN AGE The World Shaped

By Us

THE REAL COST OF FRACKING How America’s Shale Gas Boom Is Threatening Our Families, Pets, and Food

Ackerman, Diane Norton (352 pp.) $27.95 | Sep. 10, 2014 978-0-393-24074-0

Bamberger, Michelle; Oswald, Robert Beacon (256 pp.) $26.95 | $26.95 e-book | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-8070-8493-9 978-0-8070-8494-6 e-book

A shimmering narrative about how the human and natural worlds coexist, coadapt and interactively thrive.

Prolific essayist and naturalist Ackerman (One Hundred Names for Love, 2011, etc.) offers absorbing commentary on both the positive and negative effects of human consumption and innovation on the Earth. We are an ever increasing population of “nomads with restless minds,” she writes, and her well-researched, substantiated observances take us from the outer reaches of space to view the world’s sprawling cities to the Toronto zoo, where the Orangutan Outreach initiative “Apps for Apes” improves the lives and expands the perceptions of primates whose population is declining. Humans have become “powerful agents of planetary change,” she writes, creating wildly fluctuating weather patterns and irreversible global warming, evidenced in our backyards and in the stratosphere and reflected in the migratory patterns of the animal world.

Thankfully, Ackerman’s ecological forecast isn’t completely bleak; hope springs from fieldwork with geologists studying the fossilized record of the “Anthropocene” (the age of humanecological impact), tech scientists creating bioengineered body organs from 3-D prints, and a French botanist whose research demonstrates the ability to “reconcile nature and man to a much greater degree” by rebalancing the delicate ecosystems damaged by invasive species. Ackerman optimistically presents innovations in “climate farming,” the exploding popularity of rooftop farming and the urban-landscaped oasis of Manhattan’s High Line. She also examines European attempts to harness everything from body heat to wind energy. Ackerman is less certain about the longevity of the animal world or the true charm of the robotic revolution, but whether debating the moral paradoxes of lab chimeras or the mating rituals of fruit flies, she’s a consummate professional with immense intelligence and infectious charm.

Through compelling and meditative prose, Ackerman delivers top-notch insight on the contemporary human condition. (This review was first published in the BEA/ALA 2014 issue.)

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A primer on unconventional fossil fuel extraction, with convincing evidence as to its deleterious nature, from veterinarian Bamberger and Oswald (Molecular Medicine/Cornell Univ.).

Two significant questions loom over this study: “[W]hat degree of risk and environmental degradation are acceptable to obtain [fossil fuel] energy? Who should be asked to sacrifice, and who should profit?” At issue here is the contested practice of fracking, the hydraulic shattering of shale to extract trapped energy through the administration of chemicals that are known to be carcinogenic and have mutation and endocrine disruptor issues. The authors are not only lucid writers on scientific topics—the appendix on gas drilling should be required reading on the subject—but also warm storytellers, despite the contentious subject matter. They believe the burden of proof should not rest on the victim but on the company wishing to deploy fracking.

Since that is not the case, they took to the field to document instances of what appear to be serious air, water and soil pollution caused by the fracking process. The stories of people who have experienced what they believe will be fracking’s poisonous legacy are poignant, as they often involve animals and children, often the proverbial canaries in the coal mine: “Because of their higher metabolic rates and immature neurological and detoxifying systems, children are at higher risk of developing adverse health effects from environmental hazards, including those from nearby industrial operations.” However, the trail between fracking’s spoils and health issues is often thwarted by the absence of testing evidence, which most owners do not conduct prior to drilling, typically due to its high cost. Still, the authors “believe that the sudden deaths of farm animals following exposure to hydraulic fracturing fluid provides a clear link between gas drilling operations and health impacts.”

In this cool, disarming and persuasive indictment of fracking’s widespread negative consequences, the authors provide an important addition to an ongoing debate.

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A CURIOUS CAREER

bargain to preventing a terrorist attack. There are countless theories in the field of behavioral psychology regarding the biases that restrict our awareness, but Bazerman is artful at the nonacademic delivery of the fruits of academia. He makes a convincing case for a handful of valuable tools we can deploy to reap the benefit or dodge the bullet, if only we would take the time. First, take a breath and ask yourself what isn’t in the picture, what questions you should be asking. That takes care of issues of inattentiveness. Then, there are the cognitive, organizational and political biases lurking behind our willful ignorance, hopeless optimism, implicit discrimination and omission biases. Sometimes we fail to make the right move simply because we choose not to take the hit for the bad news; or we ignore the bigger picture in considering “the motives of the seller and make inferences based on the seller’s willingness to transact”; or we are duped by misdirection.

As with Sherlock Holmes, Edgar Allan Poe and David Foster Wallace, Bazerman winningly recommends the exigent art of seeing—what is there, what isn’t—with both skepticism and sensitivity.

Barber, Lynn Bloomsbury (224 pp.) $27.99 | Sep. 23, 2014 978-1-4088-3719-1

The veteran celebrity journalist looks back on her legendary ability for asking questions others wouldn’t dare.

Barber (An Education, 2010, etc.) believes being “exceptionally nosy” is part of what has made her so successful as a journalist. “I want to understand other people,” she writes, “I want to know what they think, what they do when I’m not there, how they interact, especially with their families, and how they got to be how they are.” The author’s astringent manner and desire to cut through the typical PR fluff and draw her subjects out have made her many celebrity profiles—as well as her memoir—worth reading. Barber is equally frank discussing her working-class upbringing (that and her bookish nature made her stand apart from her well-heeled schoolmates) and seven-year apprenticeship at Penthouse magazine, after which she moved on to Vanity Fair, Observer, Sunday Times and others. Rather than common folk, she has interviewed celebrities and artists whom she admires “for their talent, but even more for the courage it takes to become a star, to leave the cosy camaraderie of the herd.” The author complains that actors are the most difficult to interview and that athletes “never seem to have anything interesting to say.” For example, she regards her 2011 interview with tennis champion Rafael Nadal (reprinted here, along with several others)—during which his handler told him what to say—as making “a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”

Footnotes are definitely in order, as Barber’s British references will puzzle American readers who won’t have a clue what “I don’t want to sound pi about it” means or think making coffee in a “Smegfilled kitchen” sounds unsanitary.

Barber’s “automatic bullshit detector” has served her well and makes for a winning book.

THE POWER OF NOTICING What the Best Leaders See

Bazerman, Max Simon & Schuster (288 pp.) $28.00 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-4767-0029-8

Harvard Business School professor Bazerman (Blind Spots: Why We Fail to Do What’s Right and What to Do About It, 2012, etc.) unspools the many benefits of widening our areas of focus, particularly when it comes to decision-making matters. “[T]errible things happen when our leaders fail to think about data that are outside their typical focus,” writes the author in this study about how we often remain blind to critical and readily available information when we are deciding to do nearly anything—from taking a taxi to buying a too-good-to-be-true |

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“A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the world of Hasidim.” from the pious ones

THE PIOUS ONES The World of Hasidim and Their Battles with America

In her opening introduction, Bertsche (MWF Seeking BFF, 2011) refers to the conundrum of celebrity culture as a classic “chicken-or-the-egg issue” in which she ultimately distills the problem into two questions: “Do we obsess over celebrities because we want to be perfect? Or do we want to be perfect because we obsess over celebrities? There’s no way to be sure.”

These are valid questions that underscore the influence of the cult of celebrity, and though there is indeed no immediate answer, the questions themselves are a reminder that society is too fixated on the pursuit of looking and feeling good. This quest for perfection has led Bertsche to idolize a shortlist of celebrity women, all actresses except for Beyonce, who signify excellence in a particular quality of life. The author praises Jennifer Aniston for her toned body, Jennifer Garner for her perfect marriage and Julia Roberts’ Zen-like serenity. Readers witness Bertsche’s transformation from an undisciplined freelancer more likely to sleep in and snack than do yoga and prepare healthy meals into a monomaniacal, slightly watered-down version of a Stepford wife. Most troubling, however, is the book’s coda, which confirms the author’s delusional attitude when she looks forward to the day when she and her daughter can flip through the pages of celebrity magazines and “talk about the aspects of the stars we admire” and objectify at will. While Bertsche’s attempt to mold herself in the image of certain celebrities she believes are exemplars of fashion, physique, cooking, etc., is frivolous and superficial, not to mention at times embarrassing, some readers won’t blame her for at least trying to make a better life for herself, however misguided her efforts.

A gratuitous work of celebrity worship.

Berger, Joseph Perennial/HarperCollins (384 pp.) $15.99 paper | Sep. 9, 2014 978-0-06-212334-3

A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the world of Hasidim.

Longtime New York Times reporter Berger (Displaced Persons: Growing Up American After the Holocaust, 2001) puts decades of experience in reporting on Hasidim to work in this balanced, intriguing account of the American Hasidic population. Surviving the Holocaust, the Hasidic brand of Judaism managed to flourish again in New York and other American cities, and it is now booming in population. Hasidic characteristics—including strict observance of Jewish laws, modest yet conspicuous dress, limited contact with non-Jews and intersectarian disagreements—provide much fodder for the author, who brings Hasidim to life for lays reader through personal stories based on extensive interviews.

Ranging from a Holocaust survivor who managed to leave 2,000 descendants at the time of her death to a Hasidic nonconformist with an underground blog, Berger’s work explores a wide spectrum of Hasidic lives and lifestyles. Assuming very little previous knowledge from readers, the author masterfully explains all aspects. Thus, even a reader new to Judaism can learn about the Hasidic world without getting lost. For more expert readers, Berger provides personal depth as well as topical breadth. Filled with plenty of material for further discussion, the book does a service by dispelling many myths, and Berger provides an avenue for wider public understanding and acceptance of Hasidism. The author also points to flaws within the Hasidic community and in their relations with the outside world: deep-seated gender issues, the hushing-up of abuse cases, extortion and intimidation by self-proclaimed modesty police, and the avoidance of certain regulations and zoning laws.

Through Berger’s solid research and approachable writing, readers will gain a clear, well-rounded understanding of who the Hasidim are, where they came from and where they are going as a people.

THE BLUE BOX Three Lives in Letters Bingham, Sallie Sarabande (248 pp.) $15.95 paper | Aug. 12, 2014 978-1-936747-78-8

The matrilineal heritage of a successful author.

After her mother’s death, Bingham’s sister found a blue box in the closet, a box “designed for some mysterious purpose, although it had rested undisturbed for decades.” Opening the lid, Bingham (Mending: New and Selected Stories, 2011, etc.) discovered a treasure trove of papers, a diverse collection saved by her great-grandmother Sallie, her grandmother Helena and her mother, Mary. Marriage certificates, letters between two brothers enlisted in the Civil War, manuscripts for short stories and personal essays, and letters between Bingham’s mother and father as they danced around the idea of marriage for four long years filled the “soft cornflower blue” box. Using the contents, Bingham melds together a timeline and history of her three maternal ancestors, allowing readers a lovely glimpse into the lifestyles of women raised in the South. Excerpts from her great-grandmother’s memoir tell a story of vast change as Sallie experienced the Civil War firsthand. Parties led to suitors,

JENNIFER, GWYNETH & ME The Pursuit of Happiness, One Celebrity at a Time Bertsche, Rachel Ballantine (256 pp.) $15.00 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-345-54322-6 978-0-345-54323-3 e-book

One writer’s attempt to “celebrify” her life by following the examples of today’s leading ladies in pop culture.

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GOOD CHINESE WIFE A Love Affair with China Gone Wrong

which led to marriage to an Irishman who died an early death from tuberculosis. Helena’s short stories weave in and out of her personal narrative of an early marriage and children and the regret she felt over the punishments she doled out to keep her children in line. Bingham’s mother’s entries round out the trilogy, with clips from love letters between Mary and the author’s father showing their passions and fears as they circled around their love for each other. In the modern world of emails, Skype and a decided lack of handwritten correspondence, Bingham’s box of documents traverses time, offering insights into a world of women who knew their own minds long before the word feminist was ever considered.

A memoir of three generations of women rich in historical detail.

Blumberg-Kason, Susan Sourcebooks (352 pp.) $14.99 paper | Jul. 29, 2014 978-1-4022-9334-4

An American freelance journalist’s painful account of how a hasty marriage to a Chinese man turned her life upside down.

Blumberg-Kason was a “shy Midwestern wallflower” going to graduate school in Hong Kong when she met her future husband. With his intelligence, confidence and movie-star looks, Cai seemed a dream come true.

He engaged her as his English tutor and, a few months later, declared his desire to date and marry her. The author assented, blind to what it would mean to become the wife of a Chinese man she barely knew. Before the pair even married, Cai’s parents told her they would take care of the baby they had not yet

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had—with or without her. Immediately after the wedding, the formerly “gentle” Cai was “more interested in watching porn than being with [her].” His bad behavior only worsened, as he became moody, demanding and verbally abusive. Believing that Cai’s outbursts were simply the result of a need to acclimate to married life, Blumberg-Kason resolved to “dance [her] way around future eruptions.” But their relationship grew even more riddled with problems, one of which involved a too-close-forcomfort relationship between Cai and one of his male professors. Lonely and unable to tolerate the social and interpersonal norms of mainland Chinese culture, Blumberg-Kason moved to San Francisco with her husband. But the perfect life she still dreamed of eluded her. Even the author’s longed-for baby became a source of cross-cultural conflict between her and her husband. Dissatisfied with American life, Cai demanded that their son go back to China with him. Only then did BlumbergKason realize that accommodating her husband would cause her to lose the one thing that had redeemed an otherwise dysfunctional marriage.

While the story sometimes reads like an intercultural soap opera, it is the author’s courage to face her mistakes that makes the book worthwhile.

of the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, a nonprofit reserve that harbors aging elephants. With the sanction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Billie and many other “retired” elephants were moved to the sanctuary, which provides them with a safe and peaceful place to live their remaining years. Graphic details of animal abuse may offend some readers, but the overall story is worth enduring those passages.

A moving and informative account of the plight of trained elephants in the U.S. and the efforts of those who have created an asylum for them.

BEYOND THE FIRST DRAFT The Art of Fiction Casey, John Norton (256 pp.) $25.95 | Aug. 18, 2014 978-0-393-24108-2

National Book Award–winning novelist Casey (English/Univ. of Virginia; Compass Rose, 2010, etc.) waxes thoughtful about his craft in a collection of essays, some nearly 20 years old.

The title, which sounds a little how-to-do-it, is somewhat misleading. Yes, the art of fiction is the author’s subject, but these are more ruminative, speculative pieces than they are lessons in how to write stories and novels. Readers looking for bullet-point lists of specific recommendations should look elsewhere. Also: Since the essays were written over a period of decades, some of the examples and anecdotes appear more than once. Casey frequently writes about his time at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (with kind words for such teachers as Kurt Vonnegut Jr.), and he alludes in several ways to Nabokov’s Speak, Memory. He repeats a story about a painting chimpanzee, and several times, he discusses the significance for beginning writers of the work of acting theorist Stanislavski. On the whole, however, Casey’s topics are compelling and useful. He examines quintessentially American writers—Twain, Whitman, Hemingway and Salinger—and he explores the concept of human justice in fiction (are you treating your characters equally?). Casey also reflects on humor—and consults some pretty good authorities (Oscar Wilde)—leaps back in history for consideration of Aristotle’s Poetics, and traces the history of sex and violence in fiction (D.H. Lawrence makes an expected appearance here). The author notes the various uses of the first person—from “My Last Duchess” to Edgar Allan Poe to “the swelling I” of Whitman—and he asserts that the “point” of it all is “to crack the skull of a character…so that the individual psyche of the character is released”—an apt and unforgettable image. The author also includes essays on vocabulary, translation and childhood reading—with a shout out to Catcher in the Rye—and ends with an affectionate tribute to his mentor, Peter Taylor.

Not a handbook for students but a guidebook for thinking about fiction.

LAST CHAIN ON BILLIE How One Extraordinary Elephant Escaped the Big Top

Bradley, Carol St. Martin’s (336 pp.) $25.99 | Jul. 22, 2014 978-1-250-02569-2

A behind-the-scenes look at the life of circus and zoo elephants.

While centered on the story of one performance elephant, Billie, Bradley (Saving Gracie: How One Dog Escaped the Shadowy World of American Puppy Mills, 2010) exposes the seedy, harsh world that all circus and zoo elephants endure in order to learn the unnatural tricks that entertain the public. Vivid descriptions of the history and evolution of the performing elephant world, where brutality by human trainers, substandard living conditions and isolation have forced elephants into submission, merge with the personal storyline of Billie, who was captured as an infant. First used to provide rides to children, Billie soon entered the circus world, where she was trained to do tricks along with four other elephants. “For five months,” writes the author, “Billie had divided her time between the back of a truck, a makeshift yard outside the circus arena and, for a few minutes a day, performing.” As the years passed and Billie was trundled back and forth across the United States, she became testy or “snappy.” Bradley identifies other elephants that also became angry and turned on the bullhook-wielding trainers, who were badly injured and sometimes killed. During the 1990s, animal rights activists and a few elephant trainers became angry at the cramped and unhealthy living conditions of elephants across the country, and Bradley enlightens readers on the development 46

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S STREET RISING Crack, Murder, and Redemption in D.C.

WILDCAT CURRENCY How the Virtual Money Revolution Is Transforming the Economy

Castaneda, Ruben Bloomsbury (304 pp.) $26.00 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-62040-004-3

Castronova, Edward Yale Univ. (288 pp.) $30.00 | Jun. 3, 2014 978-0-300-18613-0

An illumination of the Washington, D.C., crack epidemic.

As a reporter for the Washington Post, Castaneda undoubtedly learned that it can be trouble when a journalist gets too close to his story and even more trouble when the journalist becomes the story. Yet the author, drawing heavily on his experience and reportage in the crack and murder capital of the country, compounds those troubles by pacing his multiple narratives as if writing a novel (recreating the thoughts of characters in situations he wasn’t even around to witness) or TV series. The most dramatic narrative is the author’s own story, that of someone who was already using crack when he was brought from Los Angeles to the Post to cover crime and quickly escalated into full-blown addiction as the drug became both his beat and his life. The paper sent him to rehab, and he dedicated himself to recovery (after one serious slip); that part of the narrative pretty much disappears halfway through the book. The second narrative concerns the rise and fall of the city’s homicide chief, caught in the political machinations of Mayor Marion Berry’s regime, who became not only a major source for the reporter, but also a closer friend than the subject of a journalist’s coverage should be. Such a close relationship had consequences for both men. The third narrative concerns a minister who built a street church in the middle of a crack-dealing neighborhood and found the head dealer to be a guardian angel protecting the church—“a lovable teddy bear,” or, as one neighbor put it, “the notorious, lovable godfather.”

Castaneda interweaves that narrative with the immediacy of the others, though he later explains that he experienced none of this firsthand but only learned of the preacher and the dealer after the fact.

The subject matter is explosive and informed by good reporting, but the various narrative lines never really tie together, and the novelistic approach undermines the journalism.

Castronova (Telecommunications and Cognitive Science/Indiana Univ.; Exodus to the Virtual World: How Online Fun Is Changing Reality, 2007, etc.) speculates on how the expansion of virtual currencies is transforming money and potentially banking.

The author, a founder of scholarly online game studies with expertise in the interconnection among digital games, technology and society, advances the idea that developments in the virtual world of online games eventually have an effect in the real world. He takes issue with what he calls “the common belief that institutions originating in virtual environments

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“A fruitful exploration of computer-age aesthetics, when artists are making use of programming even as programmers consider themselves artists.” from geek sublime

will stay virtual.” In fact, he writes, “[t]oday, anybody can be a central bank.” For the author, this is not just due to the use of virtual money, but also due to changes in the technology of payments. Castronova builds a two-step argument. First, he traces the history of in-house virtual currency deposits—e.g., creditcard reward points—in Internet game and social networking companies. Then he takes up the history of money and banking, especially in the United States, and argues that there is nothing in the U.S. Constitution or law to prevent anyone from becoming an issuer of currency. Castronova also provides an intriguing discussion of the history of online games and the parallel development of in-house payments systems. In addition to a host of other smaller companies, the author examines Facebook and how the social networking giant now accepts money from users and clears their payments to its vendors for a fee, with no intervening virtual step. Other companies have made the transition from in-house, token-type arrangements to become financial services operators. “While treating fantasy and business virtual worlds both fairly and differently will not be easy,” writes the author, “it is certainly feasible and extremely important.”

A controversial thesis with potentially broader implications for the future of banking and global corporations.

just like what writers do, or gardeners, or painters, the error is that they aren’t claiming enough, the fault is that they are being too humble. To compare code to works of literature may point the programmer towards legibility and elegance, but it says nothing about the ability of code to materialize logic.”

An engaging exercise in interdisciplinary thought, both elegant and eloquent. Besides, who can resist a text that works karma, Marcel Duchamp and iterative programming into a single thought? (This review was first published in the BEA/ALA 2014 issue.)

HARD TIMES The Divisive Toll of the Economic Slump

Clark, Tom with Heath, Anthony Yale Univ. (312 pp.) $30.00 | Jun. 24, 2014 978-0-300-20377-6

Guardian contributor Clark and Heath (Sociology/Univ. of Manchester) seek “to identify the distinctive social maladies that flow from economic stagnation…in Britain and the United States.”

The authors debunk the opinions of experts who assert the supremacy of “the Anglo-Saxon societies” and their liberal, free market–based economics over capitalist alternatives from continental Europe and Japan. Clark and Heath probe deeply into the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath by evaluating the quality of the unemployment numbers, which are often the preferred metrics for assessing the impact of the crisis, especially against the members of the Euro zone. Their basis is a five-year (2007-2012) international investigation known as “Social Change: A HarvardManchester Initiative,” which Heath co-directed with Robert D. Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard. The directors received assistance from a number of Anglo-American universities and institutes, as well as a variety of organizations, including Save the Children and the Resolution Foundation. The authors argue that the growth of inequality in both countries since the 1970s provides the key to deconstructing the significance of unemployment statistics. They consider social consequences— e.g., the increase in working women and unmarried females and the decline in household formation—and they draw on the latest research to show that “the reach of the recessionary damage” can also be identified by tracing the jobs that have replaced those lost.

In both the U.S. and the U.K., this has produced a hollowing-out of the middle of the workforce, as job quality, skills, pay and security have been downgraded, especially since the 1970s; in continental Europe, this shrinking middle is not nearly as widespread.

Furthermore, the proceeds of economic growth have been allocated almost exclusively to the top percentiles of the income pyramid—again, this is not the case in continental Europe. The authors also go on to indict “malign passivity towards the lowliest living standards.”

A sharply written rebuttal of prevailing orthodoxies about the realities of global economics after 2008.

GEEK SUBLIME The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty Chandra, Vikram Graywolf (256 pp.) $16.00 paper | Sep. 2, 2014 978-1-55597-685-9

A fruitful exploration of computerage aesthetics, when artists are making use of programming even as programmers consider themselves artists.

“Poetry’s beauty is infinite,” writes programmer and acclaimed novelist Chandra (Sacred Games, 2007, etc.). True enough, but Windows Vista’s code is still infinitely kludgy, even if, as the author argues, the “iterative processes of programming—write, debug (discover and remove bugs, which are coding errors, mistakes), rewrite, experiment, debug, rewrite—exactly duplicate the methods of artists.” It is an argument that Chandra advances with great subtlety, though it perhaps does not help his case that most of his more extensive examples come from the corpus of Indian, and particularly Sanskrit, literature, which will make that argument sometimes challenging to follow for some readers. Gradually, the book loosens into what at times seem to be only marginally connected essays: Gender parity and code parity are much different things, and the bigness of epics such as the Mahabharata is considerably different from the bigness of big data. Still, there is a charm to Chandra’s sometimes-exotic approach, even as he circles back to some of his central questions: What makes a poem beautiful? Can we use the criteria we employ to answer that question to evaluate a computer program as well?

The answers he proposes occasionally open onto still other questions, as with this one: “When programmers say what they do is 48

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RECKLESS The Racehorse Who Became a Marine Corps Hero

white blaze and three white socks appeared to have, according to Clavin, human attributes beyond a fondness for beer. “Iron willed,” she “never shirked or complained” though she seemed to have “a sense of entitlement” as well as a “sense of humor.” Reckless certainly possessed fortitude; what she did one day in 1953 was remarkable. Under heavy enemy fire, she made countless trips up steep terrain carrying heavy shells to supply her platoon.

On the way back, she often carried the wounded to safety. It was estimated that she carried more than four tons of ammunition in trips covering more than 30 miles, mostly alone, without guidance or prompting. The fame of the stalwart horse, who gave added resonance to the idea of Semper Fi, grew both within the Corps and among the folks at home. Reckless made sergeant and received several decorations. Despite his research, Clavin’s dramatic tale of the leatherneck steed doesn’t necessarily eschew imaginative elaboration, particularly in regard to her back story.

“Readers should keep in mind,” he warns in an endnote, “that what makes for a heck of a story can be highly speculative.”

For military buffs, a blood-soaked war story about a courageous horse.

Clavin, Tom NAL Caliber/Berkley (352 pp.) $28.95 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-451-46650-1

More than six decades ago, American Marines fought to hold a hill in Korea. They had significant help from a singular horse.

Clavin (The DiMaggios: Three Brothers, Their Passion for Baseball, Their Pursuit of the American Dream, 2013, etc.) graphically details war on an individual level. Within the relentless account of the bravery of many men, the featured character is a Mongolian racehorse, recruited to carry the heavy ammunition for a recoilless rifle platoon. Named “Reckless,” like the troop’s appellation for their primary weapon, the horse was bought from its Korean owner by the platoon’s lieutenant. The pretty little filly with the

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“Warm, shrewd and glowing with love for her son, these letters offer an indelible portrait of an extraordinary woman and her vanished world.” from darling monster

DARLING MONSTER The Letters of Lady Diana Cooper to Son John Julius Norwich, 1939-1952

SO WE READ ON How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures

Corrigan, Maureen Little, Brown (224 pp.) $26.00 | Sep. 9, 2014 978-0-316-23007-0

Cooper, Diana Overlook (528 pp.) $40.00 | Aug. 14, 2014 978-1-4683-0922-5

NPR book critic Corrigan (Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books, 2005) offers an occasionally self-indulgent but mostly spot-on reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s greatest novel—and, according to some critics, the greatest novel in American literature.

Those who know The Great Gatsby only through Baz Luhrmann’s recent outing with Leonardo DiCaprio don’t know the book at all, for, among other things, writes Corrigan, Luhrmann had a “larger project, I think, to defang the novel’s class criticism.” A fundamental uneasiness underlies Gatsby: As rich as the title character is, he can never make his way into the much more rarefied world of the Old Rich; as rich as he is, he cannot ward off fate, justice, karma and what Corrigan wisely calls “the Void.” If Corrigan occasionally offers reading-group notes for the cashmere-sweater set—yes, Zelda was a loon; yes, Scott was a bad drunk; yes, Hemingway was an asshole—at other times, she’s right on the case, turning up fascinating and sometimes-controversial gems: Could part of Gatsby’s mystery lie in a mixed-race past? As to the race front, why is it that Fitzgerald has Tom Buchanan reading a book with the title The Rise of the Colored Empires, a book thinly modeled on one that Fitzgerald’s own publisher had just released? There’s much flowing under the surface of Fitzgerald’s novel, and though Corrigan puts too much emphasis on herself and not enough on Jay and company (“I try to breathe deep and accept my powerlessness, as recommended by the on-line daily meditation program I sporadically log onto”), she does a good job of pointing out what we should be paying attention to, which goes far beyond billboards and chandeliers.

Corrigan’s close reading is welcome, though one hopes that readers will first revisit Fitzgerald’s pages before dipping into hers. (This review was first published in the BEA/ALA 2014 issue.)

A mother’s letters to her son illuminate British history.

The beautiful socialite Diana Cooper (1892-1986), wife of statesman Duff Cooper, was separated from her only son, John Julius Norwich (b. 1929), for many years from 1939 to 1952. As war approached, the couple sent him to America for his safety. When he returned, he enrolled at Eton; at 18, he joined the Royal Navy. Missing him deeply, Lady Diana wrote hundreds of letters from which Norwich (Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy, 2011, etc.) has selected those he considers “the best” in revealing his witty mother and her elite circle. A “Directory of Names” identifies informal, even chummy references to such notables as Duckling (Winston Churchill), Bill (William S. Paley, president of CBS, with whose family Norwich lived in New York during the war), Bloggs (Wyndham Baldwin, the son of the prime minister, with whom, Norwich writes, “my mother had a gentle love affair”) and Mr. Wu (Evelyn Waugh).

Norwich introduces each of the sections with a sample letter to his parents and a lively biographical précis, setting his mother’s correspondence in context. Her own letters are charming, anecdotal and sharply observant, meant both to share her experiences and draw her son close: “I enclose my broadcast,” she wrote when he was 11, “not that I’m in any way proud of it but… so that we may not lose touch with one another. It’s so easy with the waste of seas between us.” Lady Diana, having no pretense of self-importance, was not easily impressed. Queen Elizabeth seemed to her a “plump little siren,” and Churchill, amusing but self-indulgent. She makes palpable the assault of the Blitz, England’s desperate need for American support and the dire conditions of postwar Europe, as well as her husband’s frustrating tenure as minister of information.

Warm, shrewd and glowing with love for her son, these letters offer an indelible portrait of an extraordinary woman and her vanished world.

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THE INEVITABLE CITY The Resurgence of New Orleans and the Future of Urban America

came the Bring New Orleans Back Commission, formed with Cowen as the quarterback charged with rebuilding the decimated school system and, by extension, the city. That any impoverished child in the forsaken town ever again sat down in the classroom to study is a remarkable achievement. However, the blueprint used for that success—with its emphasis on charter schools and highstakes testing—was controversial at the time and remains so today.

Cowen skates over the particulars while continually exalting his can-do leadership doctrine. He delivers some blame to embattled former mayor Ray Nagin and his famous “Chocolate City” speech for inciting early black suspicion of the reconstruction effort.

Although Cowen later takes pains to outline New Orleans’ long and tragic history of racism and social re-engineering, he seems oblivious to how the poor, black citizens of New Orleans might perceive a meeting with a group of white bankers and real estate developers in which one of his pals was quoted as saying, “I think we have a clean sheet to start again. And with that clean sheet we have some very big opportunities.”

More controversial and polarizing than the universal prescription for urban ills it yearns to be.

Cowen, Scott with Seifter, Betsy Palgrave Macmillan (256 pp.) $27.00 | Jun. 10, 2014 978-1-137-27886-9

The outgoing president of Tulane University looks back on his role in the rebuilding of post-Katrina New Orleans.

When Hurricane Katrina drowned the Crescent City in 2005, it appeared as if the once-great American metropolis might never recover. The deceased bodies of poor, mostly black citizens were left for days to decompose on muddy streets, and many of those who survived the floodwaters were later denied relief at gunpoint when they tried to flee. At the same time, members of the wealthy white elite were openly talking about suddenly having a clean slate to start rebuilding New Orleans to their liking. Into that context

ROBIN KORTH

When I take myself too seriously, life automatically stops being fun.

But I do provide untold free amusement for others.

“An original work that will amuse, inspire and motivate readers.”

—Kirkus Reviews

SOULONTHERUN.COM For film or publication rights, contact ContactUs@SoulOnTheRun.com ISBN: 978-1-4525-9098-1 (sc) • ISBN: 978-1-4525-9100-1 (e)

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“A subway ride with many stops, almost all of them interesting and entertaining.” from subway to california

EXCELLENT SHEEP The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life

SUBWAY TO CALIFORNIA

Di Prisco, Joseph Rare Bird Books (386 pp.) $24.95 | Aug. 12, 2014 978-1-940207-35-3

Deresiewicz, William Free Press (256 pp.) $26.00 | Aug. 19, 2014 978-1-4767-0271-1

A self-confessed “minor poet” and “novelist famous for his obscurity” reflects on his strange, eventful life.

“Stories happen,” writes Di Prisco (All for Now, 2012, etc.), “to people who can tell them.” Indeed. By age 36, the author had abandoned a novitiate, achieved minor celebrity as an undergraduate anti-war activist, suffered a string of failed romances with wholly unsuitable women (including fathering a son by a hippie chick who refused to marry him), managed a couple of restaurants in San Francisco and garnered a doctorate in English from Berkeley. On the way to completing his dissertation, he also developed an immoderate taste for alcohol, cocaine, gambling on sports and counting cards at blackjack tables. Di Prisco traces the reasons for his dance between decency and delinquency to his Brooklyn boyhood. A fearful, precocious child, the “perfect School Boy” grew up with three misfit brothers (all now dead) raised by two profane sociopaths in a home where the only set points on the volume control were “silence and screaming.” His Polish mother was a conniving, manipulative woman so egregious her own physician once remarked, “if she was my mother, I would have committed suicide.” She sliced up the author with lines like, “I had sons who died who loved me.” His Italian father was a small-time hustler and con man whose eventual pursuit by the FBI accounted for the family’s hasty 1961 escape to California. “Popey” puzzled and frustrated the young Di Prisco with cryptic advice like, “Don’t count your money in front of no windows.” The author can break your heart recalling the most romantic memory of his life or make you laugh out loud when, for example, he defines the Catholic notion of Limbo: “not a horrible place, not a great place, sort of like parts of Staten Island.”

A subway ride with many stops, almost all of them interesting and entertaining.

An extended essay about how elite colleges and universities are failing to serve students and society.

Deresiewicz (A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things that Really Matter, 2012, etc.) received an elite education at Columbia University and taught at both Yale and his alma mater. The author uses his experience to deliver an indictment of top-tier higher education, especially regarding undergraduate students. Deresiewicz does not advocate that intelligent, motivated students eschew a college degree. Instead, he presents a program for how the students, their parents, government officials and the private sector can push college administrators and professors to graduate truly educated citizens. The author is unrelentingly critical of students who attend college just because it is expected or might increase their future incomes. In the author’s opinion, most elite college educations are merely extensions of elite high school educations, with students more interested in good grades and resume padding than in finding their true passions.

It’s likely that the author will reach readers who confirm his dark critique of American higher education, but it’s just as likely that the book will find detractors—not only due to its deep pessimism, but also due to the author’s selective supporting evidence. When Deresiewicz states that elite colleges “do little or nothing to wake students up from the values and habits they bring with them from high school,” he offers little more than weak circumstantial anecdotes. Many of the author’s anecdotes are interesting case studies, but even those are often presented only superficially. Deresiewicz’s desire for change is admirable, and he is not mistaken about the many problems of higher education. This book has its genesis in an essay published by the American Scholar, an essay the author describes as “cranky.”

While expanding that essay into a book, the author falls into repetition that might be construed as padding.

An unquestionably provocative book that hopefully leads to productive debate.

DAPHNE DU MAURIER AND HER SISTERS

Dunn, Jane HarperCollins 360 (448 pp.) $15.99 paper | Sep. 23, 2014 979-0-00-734709-3

Love and rivalry among three talented sisters.

Angela, Daphne and Jeanne du Maurier grew up in a world of make-believe.

Their father, Gerald, an actor famous due to his performance in Peter Pan, resisted adulthood and wanted his daughters to remain little girls forever. Their mother, an actress, was distant and often hostile. The three girls were 52

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yanked from school when their parents feared they might learn about sex from their classmates and lose their innocence.

Isolated, privileged and protected, they knew nothing of the world, even when Britain was roiled by war. Taken to see plays in which Gerald starred, the girls were “treated by the cast and the theatre staff as special mascots.” At home, their lives were directed by a father whose “charming gay exterior” often gave way to “the uncertain, dark and flawed human being within.”

In one of her novels, Daphne created a father who mirrored her own: “He was cruel, he was relentless, he was like some oppressive, suffocating power that stifled her and could not be warded off....” Daphne realized later that her “fugitive sense of self only gained substance in her imagination.” She invented a world in which she was a boy “with a boy’s mind and a boy’s heart, and a boy’s love of adventure.” As an adult, reluctantly, she “turned into a girl…and the boy was locked in a box and put away forever.” Daphne, whose fame as a writer (most notably of the novel Rebecca) eclipsed that of her sisters, was the only one who married and had children. Angela, who wrote novels, short stories and two autobiographies, had lasting relationships with

women, as did Jeanne, an artist. The two kept their sexuality hidden from their homophobic parents.

In this sensitive group portrait, Dunn (Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens, 2004, etc.) depicts three women struggling to escape Neverland, define for themselves both success and happiness, and hone their own identities.

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RAY BRADBURY UNBOUND

THE BEAT OF MY OWN DRUM A Memoir

Eller, Jonathan R. Univ. of Illinois (336 pp.) $34.95 | Sep. 1, 2014 978-0-252-03869-3 978-0-282-09663-1 e-book

Escovedo, Sheila with Holden, Wendy Atria (336 pp.) $26.00 | Sep. 2, 2014 978-1-4767-1494-3

A noted percussionist and singer gets personal about her life and rise to fame and fortune.

From a very early age, Escovedo seemed destined to have a musical career. As an infant, the pounding of her percussionist-father Pete Escovedo’s drums “felt like the heartbeat of [her] life.”

Though sports were the author’s earliest passion, the older she got, the more music became the outlet for the bitterness, guilt and anger she felt at being raped by a babysitter at age 5 and molested by male cousins for six years after that. Drawn to gangs as a young teenager, Escovedo found salvation in athletics and music. Two years later, she got her first big break when world-famous drummer Billy Cobham asked her to tour with him. At 18, she began a “life-altering” relationship with Carlos Santana. Their association ended when Escovedo discovered he was married, but her own musical star continued to ascend.

Soon, she found herself playing backup for such legends as Diana Ross, Chaka Khan and Marvin Gaye. She joined forces with Prince, the second great love of her life, in the early 1980s.

He helped her step out of the shadows and become Sheila E., a star in her own right. But money and notoriety took their tolls. Without her realizing it, she became a “mean, demanding and angry” diva. A breakup with Prince and breakdown of her own body led Escovedo to face her past sexual traumas. In the aftermath, she dedicated her life to God and to helping abused and disadvantaged children find “a means of processing their pain” through music. As a chronicle of one woman’s path through the male-dominated worlds of Latin music, soul, funk and pop, Escovedo’s book, written with Holden, is interesting and unique, but its greatest appeal will be to fans who know her best as Sheila E. A candid and uplifting musical memoir. (8-page 4-color insert)

The second volume of the life of the esteemed science-fiction author.

Eller (English/Indiana Univ.-Purdue Univ. Indianapolis; Becoming Ray Bradbury, 2011, etc.), director of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies, bases his authoritative biography on extensive interviews with Bradbury (1920-2012), 60 years of correspondence with his agent, Don Congdon, and additional letters and manuscripts. The result is a thorough documentation of Bradbury’s career, beginning with the publication of Fahrenheit 451 (1953). Besides fiction, Bradbury’s literary output in the second half of his life included TV and movie screenplays, which gave him new visibility and fame. While he greatly admires his subject, Eller admits that some of the author’s later fiction was marked by “sentimental and nostalgia-driven impulses” and “descriptions verging on purple prose.” Congdon feared that Bradbury often was “trying too hard to be intellectual and philosophic,” perhaps a result of increasing invitations to speak and lecture. Although Bradbury refused to fly, he had become “a lay spokesman for the Space Age.” Eller identifies several men who had a large role in shaping Bradbury’s career: film director John Huston, art critic and historian Bernard Berenson, and actor Charles Laughton, who became Bradbury’s “last true mentor.” The mercurial Huston hired Bradbury to write a script for Moby-Dick, a project that took Bradbury and his family on their first trip to Europe, where they lived for eight months.

Although working with Huston proved extremely stressful, the project made his talents coveted in Hollywood. While in Italy, Bradbury visited Berenson, who opened up an appreciation of Renaissance art that Bradbury considered life-altering. Berenson’s assessment of Bradbury is borne out in Eller’s portrait: “simple, easygoing, no inferiority complex, not shy nor on the defensive….Seems to have escaped the pseudoproblems that worry young writers, and make them howl to the moon.”

Bradbury did howl, though, against “censorship and elitism.” This warm, informative biography depicts him as a thoughtful and disciplined writer who helped make science fiction a respected literary genre. (18 photos)

BURNT TOAST MAKES YOU SING GOOD A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family

Flinn, Kathleen Viking (288 pp.) $27.95 | Aug. 18, 2014 978-0-670-01544-3

An award-winning nonfiction writer and journalist’s recipe-packed memoir of her Midwestern childhood and how she came “to [her] love of the kitchen.”

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“An elucidating study of why hell continued to matter in early America.” from damned nation

Even before Flinn (The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks, 2011, etc.) was born, cooking defined her family. In the late 1950s, her parents left Michigan to help her Irish uncle run an Italian restaurant in San Francisco. When they returned a short time later to care for her father’s dying sister, they went to live on a run-down farm. The family lived a handto-mouth existence, and the Flinn children “never had new clothes, fancy bikes, or enough money for hot lunch at school.”

However, between the chickens they raised and fruits and vegetables they grew, the Flinns never lacked for good food. In fact, cooking was the conduit through which previous generations of her working-class family expressed their love for each other. Her maternal grandfather courted her grandmother “not with flowers but with food,” and Flinn’s paternal grandmother kept her children from starving during the Depression with the soups she made from just about anything she could find. When the author’s parents married, her father took his new wife on a fishing honeymoon. After the family’s finances improved, they indulged in the more expensive convenience foods more prosperous families took for granted. Longing for homemade food, Flinn began to experiment in the kitchen and discovered “there was nothing better than feeding people.” Cooking eventually became the way she could forget her status as a social outcast and bond with her dying father when the family moved to Florida. As a young adult, Flinn aspired to attend her culinary idol Julia Child’s alma mater, Le Cordon Bleu. More than a decade later, following along the well-worn path of a family love affair with food, she lived out her dream.

A warm, quietly poignant treat.

the dog-park environment, including the oftentimes-humiliating yet natural antics of the many varieties of dogs—e.g., humping, a hierarchal power play in action. Young dogs, old dogs, sick dogs, doggy toys, aggressive dogs and their owners, who refused to apologize for any fights, and humans who acted as ventriloquists for their dogs—all played a role in transforming Gilbert from a work-at-home critic, sheltered from the world by a screen, into a man devoted to his dog and his dog-loving friends.

A lightweight, humorous tale of a new dog owner and the friendships he formed at the dog park.

DAMNED NATION Hell in America from the Revolution to Reconstruction

Gin Lum, Kathryn Oxford Univ. (328 pp.) $29.95 | Sep. 1, 2014 978-0-19-984311-4

Religion scholar Gin Lum (Religious Studies/Stanford Univ.) delves into the writings and memoirs of early Americans deeply concerned with the issues of hell

and salvation.

The Calvinist doctrine of predestination held so dear by the first wave of immigrants to the New World began to split by the mid-18th century. While revivalists like Jonathan Edwards preached hell-and-brimstone sermons—e.g., “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”—a backlash urged by Universalists and other liberal ministers presented a more benevolent God, with an emphasis on “moral living over a change of heart,” as well as “the ethical example of Christ rather than the traditional Calvinist doctrine that Christ’s death on the cross saved the elect alone.” The Enlightenment notions of rationality and the perfectability of man influenced the latter ministers and the coterie of Deist founding fathers like Thomas Paine, who denounced the doctrine of original sin as “absurd” and “profane.” Gin Lum illuminates the two doctrinal camps by contrasting portraits of the two John Murrays who arrived in America in the mid-1700s: “Salvation” Murray became a popular and dynamic preacher of Universalism’s message that “at the final judgment all humanity would be cleansed of sin,” while “Damnation” Murray preached of the horrors of eternal damnation to enrapt revivalist audiences. The rise of republicanism helped temper the “efficacy of hell for social cohesion,” replaced gradually by an evangelical sense that repentance of sins could avoid punishment in hell.

Gin Lum draws on a wealth of conversion memoirs from exemplary Americans like Sarah Osborn and Benjamin Abbott and takes into account the booming print industry churning out fiery sermons and passionate exhortations for mothers to keep children out of sin’s way—or else. The author also looks extensively at the messages of Western missionaries and anti-slavery crusaders in delivering souls from perdition.

An elucidating study of why hell continued to matter in early America. (20 illustrations)

OFF THE LEASH A Year at the Dog Park Gilbert, Matthew Dunne/St. Martin’s (240 pp.) $24.99 | Jul. 29, 2014 978-1-250-01422-1

The love story of a man, his new dog and the freedoms they both discovered through their relationship with each other.

Centered on Boston’s Amory Park, Boston Globe TV critic Gilbert takes readers into the thick of the dog world, where he and his yellow Lab, Toby, interacted with a variety of other dogs and their human handlers on a daily basis. Determined to train Toby to be an obedient dog, Gilbert writes, “[t]here, on the grass, I’d try to hold him back, to sober him up, to delay his play for just a second, and he’d fight my effort with every cell of forward energy in his irrational, hungry, impassioned body.” Once released, Toby flew off as if he’d “seen heaven just ahead and would look up at me like I was a fool for not rushing there.” More timid than Toby, Gilbert slowly eased into the fellowship of other dog lovers, mingling with women and old men alike, swapping stories and pondering the back stories of newcomers as he gradually fell in love with his dog-filled life. Gilbert explores many aspects of |

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INTERVIEWS & PROFILES

Laurel Braitman

Investigating animals’ emotional lives sheds light on our own

By Alex Heimbach Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves.

“Every person who I talk to about this has their own story about a creature that they feel guilty about, that they’ve let down,” Braitman says. She makes no exception for herself.

Braitman’s long history of loving, and occasionally failing, animals began when she was a child. She grew up on a farm—“literally raised among donkeys,” as well as chickens, peacocks, dogs and a series of short-lived hamsters—where she witnessed firsthand the wide range of animals’ emotions. But it wasn’t until she adopted a Bernese mountain dog named Oliver that she began to realize just how extreme the anxiety and depression that afflicted other creatures could be.

Braitman and her boyfriend had always wanted a Berner but couldn’t afford one of the $2,000 puppies, so they were thrilled at the chance to adopt 4-yearold Oliver. But soon after they took him home, the dog developed severe separation anxiety and a crippling phobia of thunderstorms—he even jumped out of a fourth-floor window in a fit of panic—which only worsened when the couple moved to Boston (Braitman was starting a doctoral program in the history of science at MIT). Desperate to help her dog, Braitman took Oliver to a behaviorist and started giving him antidepressants, but his behavior continued to deteriorate until he had to be put down.

Between her experience with Oliver and her study of Darwin, who advanced surprisingly sophisticated theories on animal emotions, Braitman began to wonder about how we’d developed our understanding of animals’ emotional lives. She swiftly realized that there was very little information on the history of our attempts to comprehend the workings of nonhuman minds—and even less about how

Photo courtesy Bret Hartman

There’s a legend in my family about the time my mother decided we should get a pair of zebra finches.

We went on vacation not long after and left my grandma in charge of feeding the birds. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize that they were eating the seeds out of their shells, so it only looked like they had a full bowl of food. Upon our return home, we realized only one of the birds was still alive, and it had partially eaten the other. The surviving bird quickly wasted away— dying, it seemed, of loneliness.

When I tell her this story, Laurel Braitman is sympathetic; after all, she collected dozens, if not hundreds, of tales like mine for her book, Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, and 56

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that related to our understanding of mental illness in humans. “That’s when I thought, ‘Hey, maybe I need to write the book I want to read,’ ” she says.

Braitman spent the next seven years researching the many ways that animals lose their minds, immersing herself in the archives of the New York Zoological Society and of the American Museum of Natural History, visiting the clinics of veterinary behaviorists, interviewing neuroscientists, haunting dog parks and talking to pet owners. She even took three trips to Thailand to learn from mahouts, the elephant trainers who are responsible for preventing often deadly elephant tantrums.

Among the strangest, and the most common, of the pathological behaviors she encountered in the course of these adventures were stereotypies, compulsive repeated actions that afflict a huge range of animals, from humans to wombats. In many cases, these behaviors are species specific: sea lions tend to suck on themselves, while elephants do a little dance. Observing these other animals made Braitman realize that she had a stereotypy of her own: wiggling her knee. It doesn’t interfere with her life—she doubts most people even notice it—but Braitman’s tic exists on the same continuum as the elephants’ obsessive dancing.

The interspecies similarities aren’t limited to stereotypies, either. “So much of mental illness is really based on a fun-house mirror version of very basic animal emotional experiences,” she says. “Why would it be that humans would be the only animals that feel fear and anxiety in situations that didn’t call for it?”

By acknowledging these correspondences, she thinks we can learn more about how to stay sane ourselves.

But Braitman is wary of anthropomorphizing. “I want to make room for the mystery,” she says, which means acknowledging that though both humans and dogs might suffer from anxiety disorders, the ways they experience that pain will differ. Braitman points out that this is true for every individual, regardless of species. Ultimately, we can’t know what’s happening in another person’s mind any more than we can know what’s happening in the family dog’s.

Given all the pain she’s witnessed, people often assume Braitman’s work is depressing, but she doesn’t see it that way. Instead, she focuses on the extraordinary measures people take to help their animal companions, whether that’s building furniture on-ramps for rabbits or giving up any hope of

a pleasant-smelling home to shelter skunks. “Most of us who have animals really do want to do right by them. We may end up leaving the finch with the other finch and one gets eaten but that’s not our intention,” she says. “Our intention is good.” After all, humans are the only animals who go so far out of their way to help other species.

Braitman hopes that, in the future, these good intentions can govern more of our interactions with other animals. Many of the institutions we have that care for animals, from zoos to factory farms, are fundamentally dysfunctional, but she has plenty of ideas for better ones. Petting zoos provide the opportunity for children to spend time with domesticated animals “who enjoy our company” and to learn about where our food comes from. Wildlife sanctuaries protect animals that can’t fend for themselves without removing them from their natural environments.

“I do believe life is lived more richly alongside other animals,” Braitman says. “It’s almost like the years that I’ve lived with a dog are more vivid, they’re in higher resolution, they’re more fun. Everything’s a little bit more intense. I love it.”

Alex Heimbach is a freelance writer living in New York.

Animal Madness was reviewed in the May 15, 2014, issue of Kirkus Reviews.

Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves Braitman, Laurel Simon & Schuster (384 pp.) $28.00 | Jun. 10, 2014 978-1-4516-2700-8 |

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I SAID YES TO EVERYTHING A Memoir

to learn how to write, record, market and, notably, profit from a song. The author charts the progress and breadth of Jackson’s accomplishments through his collaborations with the best in many aspects of the entertainment industry, including his chart-breaking, three-album collaboration as a solo artist with legendary record producer Quincy Jones. Though he is a business writer, Greenburg adroitly reviews Jackson’s artistic growth and achievements not with pecuniary jargon or obsequious praise, but as a narrative of the fruitful relationships the artist established with others. He includes surprising facts about Jackson’s recording breakthroughs— he and his recording team developed nascent, innovative technologies such as digital music sampling and multitrack recording—as well as his ambitious, and very expensive, long-form music videos, which became the industry standard. Greenburg maintains an even narrative flow in his overview of Jackson’s business acumen and how he surrendered it. Upon Jackson’s death in 2009, dozens of creditors laid claim to his estate; though Jackson earned $1.1 billion in his career, he was in financial ruin. Greenburg doesn’t overanalyze the complex deals and maneuverings of the private equity firm charged to manage his debt, and admirers will be gratified to learn how, five years after Jackson’s death, the executors negotiated record deals, eliminated his personal debts and helped make him more popular than he had been since the 1990s.

A useful, informative examination of this important artist’s career.

Grant, Lee Blue Rider Press (368 pp.) $28.95 | Jul. 8, 2014 978-0-399-16930-4

Academy Award–winning actress Grant recounts the ups and downs of her professional and personal lives.

Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal) was practically raised on the stage. Beginning at the Metropolitan Opera House, 4-year-old Grant was chosen to play a kidnapped child in L’Oracolo, but she broke scene during the opera’s climax as the star tenor was killed onstage.

Grant’s precocious and heartwarmingly earnest attempt to warn the actor that he was about to be stabbed in the back won the affection of the audience. The author’s misstep, however, proved that she had a natural stage presence and that she was fearless and headlong, even if, as in this instance, it was foolhardy. After an unsuccessful attempt at a singing career, Grant truly found her footing at the Neighborhood Playhouse, where she learned method acting from Herbert Berghof, a student of Sanford Meisner. She even did a stint at the famed Actors Studio. Though Grant may not be a household name today, the resilience of her career outlasted the 12-year period when she was blacklisted by HUAC for her political affiliations (her first husband, playwright Arnold Manoff, was a registered communist), and she became one of the most respected actresses of her generation. Among her most well-known roles were in Valley of the Dolls, In the Heat of the Night, Portnoy’s Complaint and Shampoo, which earned her an Oscar for best supporting actress, though she’d previously been nominated for her motion picture debut, Detective Story, in 1951.

Rife with appearances from some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including an unsuccessful date with Marlon Brando, Grant’s career proves that the elusive and oft-sought-after second chance can not only be had, it can be triumphantly redeeming.

An insightful, sharp Hollywood memoir that will appeal to fans and newcomers alike.

WILLIAM WELLS BROWN An African-American Life Greenspan, Ezra Norton (448 pp.) $29.95 | Oct. 6, 2014 978-0-393-24090-0

A scholar fills in the gaps in the life of a former slave who became one of the most famous African-Americans of the 19th century.

Greenspan (English/Southern Methodist Univ.; editor: William Wells Brown: A Reader, 2008, etc.) mined the archives to discover how William Wells Brown (a name adopted long after his birth) rose from a nondescript slave probably born in 1814 to become a man of letters, not to mention a medical doctor, before his death in 1884. During the later decades of his life, Brown was the equal of Frederick Douglass as an influential African-American polymath. Like Douglass, Brown crusaded for civil rights. Even after he had won esteem and could live comfortably, he would travel alone to the Deep South, knowing he would be harassed and possibly even murdered. Greenspan is no hagiographer. He understands, for example, that Brown’s written works (most famously the novel Clotel) are far from canonical. But the author is openly admiring, and rightly so, of Brown’s daring escape from slavery, self-education, powerful public speaking on the antislavery circuit, creative approach to the civil rights campaign and efforts to win public office through candidacy in legitimate elections. During the 19th century, the lives of slaves yielded almost no reliable documentation, so Greenspan immersed himself in

MICHAEL JACKSON, INC. The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of a Billion-Dollar Empire

Greenburg, Zack O’Malley Atria (304 pp.) $26.00 | Jun. 3, 2014 978-1-4767-0596-5

A quick-moving yet comprehensive narrative of the singer’s career, downfall and unlikely post-mortem second act.

Forbes senior editor Greenburg (Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went from Street Corner to Corner Office, 2011) focuses on Jackson’s financial acuity throughout his career, only briefly recounting the many well-known, sordid aspects of his life. As the precocious preteen star of the Jackson 5, he sought 58

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“Frank, seasoned, expert observations on the folly of U.S. military intervention.” from foreign correspondent

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT A Memoir

pre–Civil War chronicles of slave culture to calculate the most likely circumstances of Brown’s life. The author’s informed speculation offers a window not only into Brown’s suffering and rise, but also the travails (and occasional triumphs) of countless slaves who tried to use their freedom wisely. Greenspan ably navigates Brown’s life and demonstrates how he became a problem to both his slave masters and to any other bigots who could not fathom such intelligence in a lowly slave from Kentucky.

A solid biography of a deserving subject. (30 illustrations)

Greenway, H.D.S. Simon & Schuster (272 pp.) $26.00 | Aug. 19, 2014 978-1-4767-6132-9

The life of a foreign correspondent who has reported from nearly 100 different countries.

A golden age of overseas journalism coincided with a time of “wishful thinking” by the U.S. military, from Indochina to Afghanistan. Born in 1935 and raised in the Boston suburbs to a Harvard ornithologist father who “worked in the vanished age of the gentleman amateurs who went around the world collecting animals and birds for museums,” Greenway did indeed enjoy a privileged childhood and lucky start to a career in journalism as a stringer for Time at Oxford. Becoming a war correspondent by chance, he arrived in Vietnam in 1967 at the first of many eye-opening posts through the decades, trips that revealed to him the horrendous toll of an increasingly horrifying conflict. Sagging morale among the American troops, suspicion by the South Vietnamese and truculence by the Vietcong intensified the overall paralysis. Greenway, who met many of the old journalist Asia hands—e.g., Michael Herr, Joseph Alsop, Frances FitzGerald—takes pains to delineate the array of opinions his colleagues held about the war. Joining the Washington Post in its Watergate heyday, Greenway continued to cover the war through the fall of Saigon. He also reported on the fall of Phnom Penh to the Khmer Rouge, the bombing of Laos (where, thanks to reporters like Tim Allman and Fred Branfman, the West became aware of the brutal effects of American bombs on civilians)—and other momentous events in Southeast Asia, while his wife and daughters lived mostly in Hong Kong. Greenway provides fascinating detail on the day-to-day travails of the foreign correspondent, and he fleshes out the back story of many of these shadowy conflicts—e.g., the long and charismatic reign of “mercurial” leader Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia. The author was also the first Post bureau chief in Israel, and he later moved to the Boston Globe, where he provided formidable coverage of the fall of the Soviet Union.

Frank, seasoned, expert observations on the folly of U.S. military intervention. (b/w photos throughout)

NO PLACE TO HIDE Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State

Greenwald, Glenn Metropolitan/Henry Holt (272 pp.) $27.00 | May 13, 2014 978-1-62779-073-4

Personalized account by Greenwald (With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful, 2011, etc.) regarding his encounters with Edward Snowden and their exposure of the National Security Agency’s program of “indiscriminate mass surveillance.”

The author’s crisp, comprehensible outrage reflects the profound issues raised by Snowden’s whistle-blowing: “Thanks to Snowden’s bravery…we have an unparalleled firsthand look at the details of how the surveillance system actually operates.” Greenwald first examines how the secretive Snowden reached out to him due to his experience in writing about the NSA. After contentious negotiations with his Guardian editors, Greenwald traveled to Hong Kong to interview Snowden prior to the first articles revealing the NSA’s telephone and Internet monitoring endeavors: “He exuded an extraordinary equanimity when talking about what the US government might do to him,” writes the author. Next, Greenwald delves into a healthy selection of NSA documents, providing excerpts and interpretations of PowerPoint presentations, training manuals and internal memos that demonstrate the chilling literality of the NSA’s unofficial motto, “Collect It All.” The author portrays the NSA as the epitome of Orwellian overreach, “the definitive rogue agency: empowered to do whatever it wants with very little control, transparency, or accountability.” Greenwald then narrates the response to these revelations, which included Snowden and himself being slandered as rabble-rousers. The author’s partner was even detained at Heathrow Airport, while journalists like David Gregory suggested that Greenwald should face criminal charges. He depicts these responses to the legitimacy of his reporting for the Guardian as both menacing and absurd, while the “attacks on Snowden were of course far more virulent.”

Greenwald’s caustic assessment of this response, and his close analysis of NSA documents and tactics, go a long way to support his assessment that “[g]iven the actual surveillance the NSA does, stopping terror is clearly a pretext.”

Greenwald’s polemical tone does not lessen the disturbing quality of these revelations.

WHITE BEECH The Rainforest Years Greer, Germaine Bloomsbury (384 pp.) $30.00 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-62040-611-3

A controversial scholar/journalist’s quasiacademic account of how she helped transform Australian land dedicated to dairy farming back into rain forest. |

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Though based for much of her career in England, Greer (Shakespeare’s Wife, 2008, etc.) had always intended to return to her native Australia. For 20 years, she roved across the continent’s desert interior “hunting for [her] own patch of ground.” The land she would eventually buy was in southeast Queensland, not far from the Gold Coast and near areas overrun by tourists. Partly inspired by her botanist sister, Greer decided to rehabilitate the remains of a rain forest growing on her property, “[b]attered by clearing, by logging, by spraying and worse.” Not only did she seek to heal a small piece of her beloved Australia; she also wanted to demonstrate that restoring the land to itself was the work of “dedicated individuals.”

Government efforts at environmental conservation had been a failure. The little money delegated to preservation had been used to “protect the tourists from themselves.” None had been spent on restoring Australian flora threatened by plant species brought to the continent by early settlers with the “civilizing” aim of making their new home look more like Britain. With seemingly limitless vigor, Greer documents her rain forest finds—including Australian white beech trees nearly logged out of existence—and the indigenous and post-colonial histories of the land she would call the Cave Creek Rainforest Rehabilitation Scheme. Her late-life foray into environmentalism and the establishment of a charity that would preserve the land on which she cheerfully spent her life savings are nothing short of extraordinary. At the same time, her enthusiasm for spreading the gospel of biodiversity is also a source of narrative weakness.

The scholarly presentation of textual material and lack of more personal details regarding her Australian rain forest venture will strike readers as overly fastidious and tiresome.

Passionate and well-intended but not especially accessible.

athletes in the 1936 Olympics, he was pressured to divorce his Jewish wife (he would not) and generally persecuted in the antiSemitism that reigned in Wittenberg. (Gruffudd reminds us that Luther’s anti-Semitic tracts were amply employed in Nazi propaganda.) Kaethe was transported to a concentration camp in late 1944 and died shortly thereafter. In a horrible parallel, her sister, Eva, married to a rising Nazi officer, hanged herself in 1938 when it became apparent the only hope for her family’s survival was her death. Gruffudd tracks his mother’s extraordinary good fortune in finding positions as assistant to classicist Sir D’Arcy Thompson at St. Andrews, Scotland, and, later, as a research scholar at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford just before the war broke out. Kate married a Welshman and valiantly took up the cause of preserving the Welsh language.

A family’s story that is by turns crushing and uplifting.

MAKERS OF MODERN ASIA

Guha, Ramachandra—Ed. Belknap/Harvard Univ. (330 pp.) $35.00 | Aug. 1, 2014 978-0-374-36541-4

Mostly robust biographies of 11 galvanizers of modern Asian nationalism, from Gandhi to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, underscore the importance of politics before economics.

Editor Guha (Gandhi Before India, 2014, etc.) reminds Western readers in his introduction that to concentrate on Asia’s stunning recent economic rise without studying the nationalist developments that preceded it is to ignore (again), at our great loss, the essential makeup and character of these nations. He argues that through understanding the lives of these founders, many of whom—Zhou Enlai and Ho Chi Minh, for example—gleaned their first political understanding from the West, we can grasp the wider political and social processes they effected in their own countries. Composed by various Western and Asian scholars and writers, these essays offer pithy highlights of each individual’s early life and political development, followed by delineation of how each applied his or her beliefs (for good or ill) to anti-colonial campaigns. Considerations of the subjects’ lasting legacies are too brief but provocative. Chiang Kai-Shek needed to modernize China desperately, yet his efforts at democratic and economic reform were subsumed by his need to defeat the Communists. Ho Chi Minh, brought up in a milieu of anti-colonial activism, was repeatedly rejected by Western democracies in his appeal “to pay more attention to the plight of the colonized,” before finding crucial support for Vietnamese independence in the Soviet Union. Mao Zedong’s colossal influence can still be felt throughout Chinese society in the breakdown of Confucian norms, emotional populist responses and the idea of an “individuated self ” (underexplored here by Rana Mitter). Strong-arm nationalists Sukarno of Indonesia and Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore get their due as wildly popular, if problematic, leaders. Indira Gandhi is the sole female profiled, and none of Japan’s militaristic nationalists were deemed worthy of inclusion.

A HAVEN FROM HITLER

Gruffudd, Heini Y Lolfa/Dufour (272 pp.) $24.95 | Aug. 14, 2014 978-1-84771-817-4

A multilayered, moving literary memoir of a half-Jewish family torn apart during the Nazi era, with one branch ultimately relocating to Wales. The book was named the 2013 Welsh Book of the Year.

Gruffudd, active in Welsh-language education, is the son of a half-Jewish German woman, Kate Bosse-Griffiths, who came to Britain to study when she was dismissed for racial reasons from her position at a museum in Berlin in 1936. In Wittenberg, the seat of Martin Luther’s protests against the Catholic Church in the 16th century, the Bosse family had a successful distillery. In 1906, son Paul Bosse, a doctor, married Kaethe Levin, from a Jewish solicitor’s family that converted to Christianity in 1896 and took the name Ledien. With the rise of the Nazis, however, the conversion did not erase the Jewish stigma for Kaethe, her family and children. Despite Paul’s sterling credentials as director of the local clinic and his selection as a member of the medical team serving the German 60

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“A refreshing account of generous people devoting their time and energy to doing something right.” from in a rocket made of ice

HAATCHI & LITTLE B The Inspiring True Story of One Boy and His Dog

A terrific teaching aid with helpful footnotes. (This review was first published in the BEA/ALA 2014 issue.)

Holden, Wendy Dunne/St. Martin’s (224 pp.) $22.99 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-250-06318-2 978-1-4668-6819-9 e-book

IN A ROCKET MADE OF ICE Among the Children of Wat Opot Gutradt, Gail Knopf (352 pp.) $25.95 | Aug. 18, 2014 978-0-385-35347-2

A boy and his dog, finding new ways to encourage each other past their limitations.

We haven’t quite reached the point where bookstores have their own section for print versions of YouTube videos, but with hours of video being uploaded every second, there’s certainly no shortage of source material. While many videos become popular for esoteric reasons bewildering to anyone over the age of 20, some touch on a desire to see pockets of goodness in a world beset with bad news. One such video, viewed more than 2 million times, reminds us of the power of the connection between pets and people. Owen was an 8-yearold boy with a rare genetic disorder in which muscles are unable to relax after they contract. This can result in near paralysis, with muscles constantly overworked and difficult to control.

Haatchi was an Anatolian dog named after a famous Japanese dog that returned to the same train station stop for years after his master had died, waiting for his master to disembark from the train. In January 2012, Haatchi was hit over the head and left to die on a train track; the train took one of his legs and most of his tail, but he managed to survive. His limitations made it difficult for him to interact with other dogs; Owen’s challenges made almost everything difficult for him. Together, they have been able to push past physical limitations to find new strength and satisfaction. Holden (Gifted and Talented, 2012, etc.) does an adequate job fleshing out the details of Owen’s treatments and Haatchi’s gradual ability to trust humans again, but she provides too much detail about the fame that Owen and Haatchi have found—e.g., receiving awards, giving a signature to Queen guitarist Brian May, etc.

A serviceable story of inspiration and the love between a boy and his pet.

The moving story of a tiny community in Cambodia where children whose lives have been shattered by AIDS are cared for, educated and raised to live full lives in the outside world.

The book, introduced by Dr. Paul Farmer, the noted authority on health and human rights, has its origins in articles that appeared in the Japan-based Kyoto Journal. Gutradt, a middleaged woman living in Maine, first volunteered in Wat Opot in 2005 and returned there multiple times from 2007 to 2012.

Her account is primarily about the children, some orphaned by AIDS but themselves HIV-negative, others HIV-positive who were once facing an early death but now, thanks to anti-viral medications, can survive. All live together as one large family in a nondenominational, nongovernmental center founded by an American medic, Wayne Dale Matthysse, and a Cambodian Buddhist, Vandin San. Midway through her insightful vignettes about individual children, Gutradt tells the back story: how and why Matthysse and the author came to be there, what the center means to them and how it has changed their lives. As the formerly depressed, soul-searching author puts it, “I needed to save my life.” It is worth noting that the church that once supported Wat Opot withdrew its backing when it felt that Matthysse was not being sufficiently evangelical, and now Gutradt is an active fundraiser for the center through the Wat Opot Children’s Fund. Her many photographs of the youngsters are appealing, but her warm stories generally avoid sentimentality; the needy children are not angels, and as they grow, they sometimes present truly tough problems for those concerned about their welfares and futures. Gutradt also discusses the problems created by unreliable government agencies and wellintentioned but uninformed do-gooders.

A refreshing account of generous people devoting their time and energy to doing something right. (69 photos in text; 8-page color insert; map. First printing of 50,000)

THE BIRTH OF KOREAN COOL How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture Hong, Euny Picador (288 pp.) $16.00 paper | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-250-04511-9

A funny, iconoclastic Korean-American journalist and author turns her skewering lens on her own culture.

Hong (Kept: A Comedy of Sex and Manners, 2006, etc.) has a mischievous sense of humor when it comes to culture clashes, so it’s a pleasure to see her turn her wicked talents on “Hallyu.” |

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It’s a broad term that describes the proliferation of South Korean pop content into the world’s culture-scape. Along the way, Hong gives a thoughtful, self-deprecating and sly analysis of the movement that brought us not only the unescapable rapper Psy, but also brilliant filmmakers like Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy), culinary superstar Hooni Kim and game developers Blizzard Entertainment (the Starcraft and Warcraft franchises). The book’s opening stories give nice insight into the author’s odd place between two worlds: A fully Americanized Korean-American girl often mistaken for Chinese, her parents moved her back to Korea, specifically the district of Gangnam. “Korea was not cool in 1985,” she bemoans in her opening line. Through the exploration of various cultural tropes, government enterprises, and social and economic changes, Hong shows how Korea got cool in the past decade or so, almost by accident. One of the more interesting chapters looks at “Han,” a sociological meme involving oppression against impossible odds and the eternal thirst for vengeance. Hong levies a lot of different factors into the reasons behind what politicians like to call the “Korean Wave,” among them a technology- and economy-based sophistication that birthed a new sense of irony, as well as a deliberate investment by the government in the creation and export of Hallyu. However, the author also believes that the wealth of addictive soap operas, video games and pop hits doesn’t represent lightning in a bottle, arguing that this brave new world is uniquely Korean.

A pleasing mix of Margaret Cho, Sarah Vowell and a pinch of Cory Doctorow. (This review was first published in the BEA/ALA 2014 issue.)

traumatic emotional breakdowns and was placed on suicide watch just as Immonen began training for the race. What she learned about herself and her parents as she continued to push her body beyond normal limits is a testament to the human desires to love and forgive. “I often describe the row as the hardest but best thing I’ve ever done,” writes the author, who co-wrote the book with Borlase. “All of us can’t row an ocean, but all of us can do something. And doing something starts by opening our eyes to the world around us and looking out for something that needs to change”—a philosophy to which many readers should relate.

An inspiring story of enduring physical and mental challenges to raise awareness of an important issue.

LET’S JUST SAY IT WASN’T PRETTY

Keaton, Diane Random House (224 pp.) $26.00 | Apr. 29, 2014 978-0-8129-9426-1 A breezy little volume by an actress facing old age with aplomb.

Now in her late 60s, Keaton, an Academy Award winner in 1977 for her role in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, sprinkles memories of her long career, including her friendships and more with certain leading men, into a mishmash of thoughts about childhood, beauty and parenting. The author’s attitude toward her own physical flaws—drooping eyes, a less-than-perfect nose, thinning hair—is meant to be reassuring to self-critical female readers.

There is a rationale behind the omnipresent hats, tinted glasses and turtlenecks that other women might consider, but Keaton’s message is that everyone should do their own thing. Never married, she is raising two adopted children, now teenagers, who figure prominently in the narrative. Even movie stars, it seems, have ordinary parenting problems and bad days. Woven into the domestic scenes are recollections of film roles and fellow actors. Readers looking for chitchat about celebrities will be gratified; Keaton drops plenty of names, although at times, they seem to be somewhat forcefully injected into her narrative. The author is generous in her comments about others, giving full credit to her longtime friend Allen for launching her career and speaking well of the leading men in her life. For the record, Keaton reports that Warren Beatty, her co-star in Reds, had a pretty face, but Al Pacino, with whom she acted in the Godfather films, had a beautiful one. There are no illustrations; however, Keaton’s eye for detail makes them unnecessary. One caveat: The text is exceedingly brief, an afternoon’s read at best. The type is heavily leaded to fill out the pages, giving the impression that there’s more than is being delivered.

Light entertainment from a witty woman.

ROW FOR FREEDOM Crossing an Ocean in Search of Hope

Immonen, Julia with Borlase, Craig W Publishing/Thomas Nelson (240 pp.) $15.99 paper | Sep. 2, 2014 978-0-529-10147-1 One woman’s story of indomitable courage while rowing across the Atlantic Ocean.

Sickened by the knowledge that there are nearly 30 million men, women and children worldwide being used as sex slaves, Immonen was determined to do something to raise awareness of this modern-day slave trade. So she and four other women entered the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, a rowing race from the Canary Islands to Barbados. Intent on becoming the fastest all-female team, the author and her fellow rowers worked in two-hour shifts around the clock, battling wind, waves, seasickness and ugly sores brought on by prolonged exposure to the salt water. They learned to combat weariness, boredom, claustrophobia and anger as they rowed their way through 3,000 nautical miles and developed deep bonds as only such endurance can create. Blending detailed elements of life on board with that of her childhood, Immonen reflects on the inner struggles she faced throughout her life, starting with her abusive father and submissive mother, who suffered several 62

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“Kittleson provides a work of both impeccable scholarship and compelling narrative.” from the country of football

THE COUNTRY OF FOOTBALL Soccer and the Making of Modern Brazil

A fatal misunderstanding between the paternalistic British and the proud Chinese lay at the root of the First Opium War (1839-1842); the British were determined to open Chinese markets, and the Chinese resisted being bullied into submission.

Lovell (Chinese History and Literature/Univ. of London; The Great Wall: China Against the World 1000 BC-AD 2000, 2006, etc.) offers extensive analysis of why and how this conflict helped create an entire founding theory of Chinese nationalism—the first step in China’s attempt to “stand up” to imperialist powers, as Mao Zedong put it, only to end with the Communist triumph of 1949. Opium was good business: The poppy fields of India were carefully overseen by the merchants of the East India Company and, like the lucrative tea trade with China, helped keep “the British empire afloat.” China had developed a craving for opium, and the British had grown a whopping trade deficit. While the British turned a blind eye to private merchants dealing in opium off the Chinese coast, the Qing rulers grew alarmed at the effects of opium addiction on the population. Emperor Daoguang, tottering on an unstable empire of Manchu minority and bureaucratic venality, found in opium a scapegoat, and he directed his agent Lin Zexu to inform Queen Victoria to “eliminate opium productions in her dominions.”

His British counterpart, Charles Elliott, was either a “scheming genius” or caught in a bind: He allowed Lin to dump more than 20,000 chests of British opium into the Canton River in 1839, thus inviting the British to avenge what they considered a threat to the principle of extraterritorial powers. The rhetoric on both sides revealed deep suspicions of the other, provoking British “gunboat diplomacy,” against which the Chinese were woefully unprepared.

An astute, bracing history lesson on a conflict that set off the British notion of “yellow peril” and Chinese victimhood. (16 color and 38 b/w images in 2 inserts; 5 maps)

Kittleson, Roger Univ. of California (344 pp.) $26.95 paper | Jun. 12, 2014 978-0-520-27909-4

How soccer shaped Brazil and how Brazil has shaped soccer.

As Brazil readies to host the World Cup, it also prepares for the world’s attention. Kittleson (History/Williams Coll.; The Practice of Politics in Postcolonial Brazil: Porto Allegre, 1845-1895, 2005) explores the development of soccer in Brazil and that country’s unique contributions to the world game. He also uses the game and many of its key Brazilian figures to explore the ways that soccer, society, culture, race, class, politics and nation have intersected in Brazilian history and helped to create the country. Though Brazilian fans expect to win, they also expect to do so in a particular way, a way that reflects brasilidade, Brazilianness, which in turn reflects a debate about futebol-arte (art soccer) versus futebolforça (strength soccer). The former embodies the idealized view Brazilians have of their own beautiful game, with its individual brilliance embodied in stars such as Garrincha, Pele, Ronaldo and others. The latter embodies a pragmatic, technical, European style of soccer. Central to all of these discussions is the role of race, as Afro-Brazilians are oftentimes seen as embodying futebol-arte even as Brazilian society is more riven by race than the country’s boosters acknowledge.

Kittleson organizes the book chronologically, but within each chapter, he focuses on individuals who embody the period’s debates, styles of play and developments on the field. Thus, players take central stage, but so, too, do individual managers and cartolas—literally, “top hats,” but referring to the bosses who run the country’s top clubs and football infrastructure.

In the process, Kittleson provides a work of both impeccable scholarship and compelling narrative.

Whether Brazil’s national side wins or loses this World Cup in its backyard, one can be sure that the debate will endure over how they won or lost and how it reflects or falls short of the ideals of brasilidade. This book provides a fine context to that debate.

THE LANGUAGE OF HOUSES How Buildings Speak to Us

Lurie, Alison Illus. by Sung, Karen Delphinium (304 pp.) $25.95 | Aug. 19, 2014 978-1-88-328560-9

A noted novelist (Truth and Consequences, 2006, etc.) returns with a generally genial but sometimes-slicing analysis of our buildings and their interior spaces.

In the tradition of her earlier work (The Language of Clothes, 1981), Lurie’s new volume proceeds both thematically and chronologically (within chapters). She devotes sections to such types of buildings as private homes, religious structures, museums, schools, “houses of confinement” (prisons, hospitals, asylums, nursing homes), hotels and restaurants, stores and offices.

She asks us to consider exteriors: What do they tell us about the building and its intents? What do they tell us about what we’ll experience inside? (Consider: a school that looks like a factory, a museum that resembles a palace, a retirement community that

THE OPIUM WAR Drugs, Dreams and the Making of Modern China

Lovell, Julia Overlook (480 pp.) $35.00 | Aug. 14, 2014 978-1-4683-0895-2

The story of “the extraordinary war that has been haunting Sino-Western relations for almost two centuries.” |

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looks like a resort.) Lurie also takes us inside to help us see more clearly what’s before us: an office with cubicles, an elementary schoolroom with rows of desks bolted to the floor, a church that looks like a Gothic cathedral or like a theater complex. The author occasionally inserts a few personal comments, mentioning, for instance, that in her home, a spare bedroom serves the function of the attic (now missing in many newer homes). She also shows flashes of attitude here and there. Having discussed the pervasiveness of electronic devices in students’ lives, she notes how “silence and solitude” have become “either irrelevant or frightening or both.” Although Lurie alludes to multiple nonspecialist sources (and periodically offers quotations), her interest is not so much academic as analytical; on every page, she has us consider something we might not have thought of—e.g., did you ever wonder why supermarkets place ordinary staples (milk, eggs, etc.) very far away from the entrance?

In clear, patient prose, the author encourages us to stop and think about what has been in front of us our entire lives.

master of the market, along for the ride. Malone has his technological history down cold, though sometimes it can be a little daunting, as when he discusses the fraught business of developing the silicon gate, bootstrapping “each gate atop its partner transistor, something heretofore considered impossible.” Fortunately, the author discusses that complex technology within the context of commerce, broadening its appeal to the business audience as well.

Essential for aspiring entrepreneurs, to say nothing of those looking for a view of how the modern, speed-of-light world came to be. (8-page b/w photo insert)

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE METRIC SYSTEM? How America Kept Its Feet

Marciano, John Bemelmans Bloomsbury (320 pp.) $26.00 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-60819-475-9

THE INTEL TRINITY How Robert Noyce, Gordon Moore, and Andy Grove Built the World’s Most Important Company

Marciano, best known as an illustrator and author of popular children’s books (Madeline at the White House, 2011, etc.), delves into the political ramifications of the American and French revolutions on the adoption of the metric system.

The author begins with Thomas Jefferson, who had just witnessed the approval of his proposal to replace British currency with an American national currency based upon a decimal version of the Spanish dollar. “Jefferson wanted to take the radical step of dividing the coin by tenths, hundredths, and thousandths—decimal fractions,” writes Marciano. “It was a thing no other nation in the world had ever entirely achieved, not with coins or any other measure.” Tasked by Congress to tackle the broader subject of establishing a uniform system of weights and measures, Jefferson presented one but urged that it not be accepted until it was clear what would be decided in France, where leaders were discussing similar issues. Marciano explains how many different political and cultural issues converged in the question of measurement. In America, the need for a uniform national coinage was obvious, but weights and measures were fairly uniform throughout the former colonies. Not so in France, which employed as many as “250,000 different measures.” The revolutionary demand for uniform taxation and the abolition of the special privileges of the three estates (aristocracy, clergy and king) necessitated a comprehensive overhaul of measurements. The French Revolution gave birth to the metric system as we know it today, but Jefferson’s hope that America and France would lead the world in jointly adopting a new universal standard of measurement has yet to be realized. However, this is not a problem. “[W]e now live in an age where the villain has become uniformity,” writes Marciano; with the advent of the digital age, measurements are now easily convertible.

A lively perspective on globalism as it relates to currency and systems of measurement.

Malone, Michael S. Harper Business (560 pp.) $34.99 | Jul. 15, 2014 978-0-06-222676-1

Richly detailed, swiftly moving work of modern business history, recounting a truly world-changing technology and the people who made it possible.

It began with an invention, then a revolt. The invention owes to three physicists, who, just after World War II, developed a replacement for the vacuum tube. “Neolithic-looking in its first incarnation,” the semiconductor had countless uses, and it immediately made fortunes for all concerned—except for those three physicists. Writes longtime Silicon Valley watcher Malone (The Guardian of All Things: The Epic Story of Human Memory, 2012, etc.), one of them, William Shockley, resenting that fact, set up his own manufacturing firm. The trouble was, no one who had ever encountered him wanted to work with him, forcing him to recruit far outside the usual Caltech/Bell Labs fold. That introduction of new blood was certainly good.

It was also bad, however, since Shockley—later to become infamous for his inflammatory pronouncements on race— really and truly was detestable. This all set the innovative trio of Noyce, Moore and Grove on the way to establishing Intel.

Noyce got things going as founding CEO of Fairchild Semiconductor; his confidence, Malone writes, “would play a key role in making Fairchild, and later Intel, look far bigger than it really was.” It didn’t hurt to have Moore, the far-seeing technologist and coiner of Moore’s law—which Malone invokes like a mantra perhaps one too many times—and Grove, another shrewd 64

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“Another allusive, entertaining inquiry by veteran musicologist Marcus.” from the history of rock ’n’ roll in ten songs

THE HISTORY OF ROCK ’N’ ROLL IN TEN SONGS

In late 1775, the Continental Congress set out to assemble a modest navy to confront the British warships that had been shelling Colonial towns. After independence was declared, the navy’s duties expanded to include escorting merchantmen and harassing British shipping. The project appeared nearly impossible—the British fleet was the world’s most powerful—and the notion that it could be effectively opposed by a few hastily built or purchased ships appeared preposterous—all of which just makes this story the more stirring. McGrath (John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail, 2010) delivers a lively history of the Continental Navy, from its birth at the urging of John Adams to the end of the war, replete with political and diplomatic intrigue, personal tragedies, shipwrecks, prison escapes and plenty of sea battles. John Paul Jones is here, of course, but the author also brings to the fore such lesser-known but equally audacious warriors as Gustavus Conyngham and John Barry.

Throughout, the commanders battle not just the enemy, but the incompetence to be expected in a fledgling military service, as well as shortages of men, arms and money, often exacerbated by a dilatory and bankrupt Congress whose members were financing privateers competing with the navy for resources. With discouraging frequency, the new navy’s ships were wrecked, sunk or captured to be used against the rebellious colonists, but the tiny fleet nevertheless provided critical assistance by supplying Washington’s army with desperately needed munitions and supplies; the fleet also diverted British naval resources by carrying the war into European and Caribbean waters. McGrath puts readers at ease by unobtrusively explaining the technical aspects of naval warfare in the age of sail. His gripping descriptions of pursuit and combat at sea are the equal of any fiction, with the added virtue of being entirely true.

Solidly researched history presented with verve and gusto.

Marcus, Greil Yale Univ. (320 pp.) $28.00 | Sep. 2, 2014 978-0-300-18737-3

Another allusive, entertaining inquiry by veteran musicologist Marcus (The Doors: A Lifetime of Listening to Five Mean Years, 2011, etc.).

The opening is an accidental tour de force: a list that runs on for a full six pages of the inductees to date into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, one that, though full of lacunae, is still wildly suggestive of just how influential and deep-rooted the sound is in our culture. He takes Neil Young’s observation that “rock & roll is reckless abandon” and runs with it, looking into 10 songs that are particularly emblematic. Even though any other 10, 100 or 1,000 songs might have done just as well, one cannot fault Marcus’ taste. It is just right, on the reckless abandon front, that his survey should begin with the Flamin’ Groovies jittery, diamondlike anthem “Shake Some Action,” released to the world in 1976 and heard, if not widely, by at least the right people. “I never heard Young’s words translated with more urgency, with more joy,” Marcus avers, than in the goofily named Groovies’ (“a name so stupid it can’t transcend its own irony”) song. Yet there are other candidates for best paean to reckless abandon, or perhaps best inspirer thereof, including the prolegomenon to all other songs about filthy lucre and lolly, Barrett Strong’s “Money”; the lovely but portentous Buddy Holly ballad “Crying, Waiting, Hoping”; and the Teddy Bears’ 1958 hit “To Know Him Is to Love Him,” which, though tender, became something hauntingly lost in the hands of Amy Winehouse. It’s no accident that the originals of many of these tunes lay at the heart of the early Beatles’ repertoire, nor that Phil Spector played his part in the uproarious proceedings, nor that from every measure of music, thousands of tangled storylines flow—many of which Marcus follows wherever they will lead, to our edification.

Essayistic, occasionally disconnected, but Marcus does what he does best: makes us feel smarter about what we’re putting into our ears. (This review was first published in the BEA/ALA 2014 issue.)

WORKING STIFF Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner Melinek, Judy; Mitchell, T.J. Scribner (272 pp.) $25.00 | Aug. 12, 2014 978-1-4767-2725-7

A lively chronicle of a death investigator’s days, from forensic pathologist Melinek and her husband, Mitchell.

Forensic pathologists investigate sudden, unexpected or violent deaths. In addition to conducting the autopsies, they also visit the scene of death, counsel the grieving, collaborate with detectives and testify in court. For Melinek, in whose voice this story is told, it is a match made in heaven: “Not a scratch on his limbs and torso—but his head looked like an egg you smash on the counter. We even call it an ‘eggshell skull fracture.’ Isn’t that cool?” she asks her husband, who responds simply, “No….

No, it isn’t.” Despite the subject, Melinek’s enthusiasm for her calling is always apparent, and her writing is un–self-consciously

GIVE ME A FAST SHIP The Continental Navy and America’s Revolution at Sea

McGrath, Tim NAL Caliber/Berkley (400 pp.) $26.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-451-41610-0 Provincial sailors challenge an empire in this rousing account of the Continental Navy. |

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bouncy, absorbed and mordant (though not caustic). Most of the action takes place at the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, where she trained with her mentor, the wonderfully drawn Dr. Charles Hirsch, who ended their Friday afternoon meetings with, “Any old business, new business, monkey business? No? Why then, I think I’ll go home and have a double.”

The authors take us along on an utterly engrossing guided tour of an autopsy—e.g., livers are the slipperiest organs, and the abdominal cavity can sprout accessory spleens, “like bright red mushrooms.” There is a body pulverized by an eggroll-making machine; a green body with a purple face; bodies covered with swastikas; and suicide jumpers who seemingly hit every ledge and protrusion on the way down. There are countless deaths that call forth sorrow, as well as a number of suicides, which are an aching reminder of Melinek’s father’s suicide, which she faces unsparingly. The authors display a fine hand at describing a host of medical mysteries, as well as the harrowing aftermath of 9/11.

A transfixing account of death, from the mundane to the oddly hair-raising.

it’s a searing first-person account of the misery of war visited upon her family, neighbors and countrymen, caught in senseless, chaotic horror. The author does not portray the Americans as saviors; rather, in her narrative, they are young, clueless and, in many instances, scornful of this “small yellow-skinned nation” they know little about and so calloused to the sanctity of life that they amuse themselves by shooting at dogs.

A visceral reminder of war’s intimate slaughter.

I’LL BE BACK RIGHT AFTER THIS A Memoir O’Brien, Pat St. Martin’s (384 pp.) $26.99 | Aug. 19, 2014 978-0-312-56437-7

The star-filled career of one of America’s most famous entertainment show anchors, complicated by true confessions of a spectacular fall from grace.

When Charlie Sheen tells you, “That was an excellent effort, my man,” it’s probably time to take stock of your life. That’s where O’Brien (Talkin’ Sports: A B.S.-er’s Guide, 2008, etc.) found himself in 2005 when a series of sexually graphic, drugand-alcohol–fueled voice-mail messages appeared in the tabloid press. Recorded during an epic drunken blackout, the messages were just one red flag for a man racing toward destruction. “Mine is a story of daydreams and fulfilled and unfulfilled ambitions,” he writes in the introduction, “of the craving for love from strangers and for belonging at the table, of failure and of redemption.”

From there, the author tells a rich and well-written—if not overly complex—history of his rise from modest roots in South Dakota to becoming one of the most well-known media commentators in the country. In addition to being quite entertaining, there’s something for everyone in O’Brien’s story. Sports fans will thrill to anecdotes about legends like Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, told with obvious nostalgia for the 1980s and ’90s, when the author covered the Olympics, NBA Finals, Final Four and Super Bowl, among other sporting events. Consumers of tabloids will enjoy the juicy tales from a host who readily admits he’s a name-dropper. “And it goes both ways; there’s a reason people want to talk with us,” he writes. “We are the link to the fans. So, it’s not me, folks, it’s the profession. If I didn’t get to know people, I wouldn’t be around long.” In the final third of the book, O’Brien covers his dramatic descent into a brutal, life-threatening alcoholism that took two stints in rehab to survive, complete with notes from his doctors that read, “Surrender or else.”

A familiar, relatable story of dependence and repentance, filtered through the glam of Hollywood. (This review was first published in the BEA/ALA 2014 issue.)

MOURNING HEADBAND FOR HUE An Account of the Battle for Hue, Vietnam 1968 Nhã Ca Translated by Dror, Olga Indiana Univ. (336 pp.) $30.00 | $29.99 e-book | Sep. 1, 2014 978-0-253-01417-7 978-0-253-01432-0 e-book

Anguished eyewitness account of the devastation visited upon the civilian Vietnamese population just a month before the massacre of My Lai. The author was a well-known South Vietnamese poet and novelist then living with her husband and children in Saigon.

She was caught in the middle of the Vietcong’s Tet Offensive in early 1968 when she received news that her father had just died and promptly traveled to her native town of Hue, in central Vietnam, for the burial service. The next day, the Communists shelled the Buddhist town, terrorizing the population and waging horrific battles with the combined South Vietnamese Nationalist and American forces over many weeks.

The author’s narrative burns with firsthand accounts, her own and those of others who shared their stories, as they all were trapped in blasted houses, churches and makeshift shelters, wounded, starving, sick and overrun by the Communists and their squads of vengeful executioners. In an extensive introduction, the translator of this important work, first published in 1969, just over a year after the horrific events it chronicles, sets up the significance of the large-scale Tet Offensive for the Vietcong, who hoped the South Vietnamese would rise up and support them; the Communists were eventually driven back by the Nationalists and the Americans, leaving thousands dead and unaccounted for. Yet the author’s work speaks for itself; 66

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“Nineteen essays, often funny and sometimes poignant, from the journalists, essayists and novelists long admired by the editors at McSweeney’s Believer magazine.” from read harder

REWIRE Change Your Brain to Break Bad Habits, Overcome Addictions, Conquer SelfDestructive Behavior

READ HARDER

Park, Ed; Julavits, Heidi—Eds. Believer Books/McSweeney’s (336 pp.) $18.00 paper | Sep. 9, 2014 978-1-940450-18-6

O’Connor, Richard Hudson Street/Penguin (304 pp.) $25.95 | Aug. 1, 2014 978-1594632563

Nineteen essays, often funny and sometimes poignant, from the journalists, essayists and novelists long admired by the editors at McSweeney’s Believer magazine.

Upon its launch, the founders of the magazine said, “We will focus on writers and books we like. We will give people and books the benefit of the doubt.” Soon after, a critic described the magazine as “highbrow but delightfully bizarre,” which fits the bill. This new collection of essays by the likes of Nick Hornby, Susan Straight, Lev Grossman and Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah certainly strikes that unique and iconoclastic tone—McSweeney’s founder Dave Eggers’ tastes and style are all over this collection, if not his name. Edited by founding editors Park (Personal Days, 2008) and Julavits (The Vanishers, 2012, etc.), the collection spans a wide range of literary criticism, celebrity profiles, journalistic nonfiction and humorous ephemera. It opens with “The Disappearance of Ford Beckman,” by Michael Paul Mason, a story that wouldn’t go amiss in Esquire, concerning an iconic American artist reduced to making donuts at Krispy Kreme. Closer to the end, novelist Leslie Jamison examines a bizarre, Tennessee-based endurance test called the Barkley Marathons. On the literary front, mystery novelists Sara Gran and Megan Abbott tackle the enduring legacy of V.C. Andrews, while journalist Zach Baron delves into the late Robert Jordan and the finishing of the Wheel of Time saga.

It can be a jarring transition, following Jeannie Vanasco’s examination of erasure (the art form, not the band) in “Absent Things As If They Were Present,” with Rebecca Taylor’s “Virginia Mountain Scream Queen,” remembering a lowbrow history in B-movies, but it’s refreshing, too. It’s really best to jump around—only readers can best decide if they should start with “How to Scrutinize a Beaver” (on 18th-century anatomy) or “If He Hollers Let Him Go” (chasing the ghost of comedian Dave Chappelle).

Hotly anticipated in 2020: The Believer’s Read Hard with a Vengeance.

A self-help manual for those who wish to overcome destructive behavioral patterns.

Psychotherapist O’Connor (Undoing Depression: What Therapy Doesn’t Teach You and Education Can’t Give You, 2010, etc.) presents exercises to help readers overcome destructive behavior that has become habitual. He buttresses his claim by referencing Israeli-American psychologist Daniel Kahneman’s thesis that there are two systems of thinking that govern our mental processes: The first is a rapid, automatic response, such as that used by an athlete in a high-pressure situation, and the second is a slower process of conscious reflection. “[O]ur choices and actions are much more influenced by unconscious processes than we feel comfortable admitting to ourselves,” writes O’Connor. However, he differs from Kahneman, who “argues that self-control is of necessity an act of the conscious mind.”

O’Connor writes that “with time and repetition, it can become more and more a part of the automatic self, so that it becomes easier to practice.” The author supports his contention by referencing research on the remarkable plasticity of the human brain, which can rewire its neural circuitry to compensate for brain injury. His proposed exercises include keeping a daily journal and practicing mindfulness meditations in order to suppress impulsive behavior. Others involve transforming social relationships through small steps—e.g. striving for honesty rather than accommodation, becoming self-assertive where appropriate—and he recommends strengthening will power by avoiding triggers—e.g., alcoholics should stay out of bars and avoid friends who act as enablers. If done regularly, these exercises can reveal habitual patterns of self-destructive behavior and play a part in removing the need “to distort our world through psychological defenses.”

A useful addition to the popular psychology shelf, although readers acquainted with self-help literature may find the exercises overly familiar.

JOSS WHEDON The Biography

Pascale, Amy Chicago Review (448 pp.) $29.95 | Aug. 1, 2014 978-1-61374-104-7

Obsessively detailed treatment of the director of The Avengers and creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and other TV series.

Debut nonfiction author Pascale, a director at MTV, delivers a biography of Whedon that caters to the massive worldwide community of sci-fi obsessives who won’t settle for anything less than exhaustive details on the object of |

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their obsession. The author takes readers through the auteur’s privileged upbringing—his father penned lyrics for Broadway shows and also wrote for The Electric Company and Golden Girls—and formative educational years spent first in an English boarding school and then studying film at prestigious Wesleyan University, where he cut his teeth as both a teacher and a writer/ director. After a stint as a video clerk, Whedon’s break as a writer came through his father’s industry connections; eventually, he landed a job as a writer on Roseanne in the early 1990s; not long after, he sold the screenplay for the original movie version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But Whedon would bounce around from show to show as a behind-the-scenes writer and script doctor until his proverbial big break came in the mid-1990s when his Buffy character was refined and recast as a weekly TV series on the WB network. That series lasted almost seven years and accumulated an intense, devoted following. Pascale totally immerses the reader in the “Whedonverse,” a sort of neo-feminist supernatural world grounded in everyday human dilemmas. The author pens worshipful prose throughout, extolling Whedon’s never-ending quest for complete control over his work, and she occasionally goes overboard: For example, does even the most obsessive fan really care what brand of pen and notepad Whedon prefers? By the end of the book, Pascale has adequately familiarized us with the creative commercial artist side of Whedon; however, the actual human being behind all the demons and vampires is never satisfactorily fleshed out.

An informative and readable book that often resembles a long PR piece. (20 b/w photos)

the authors’ account, the chief problem would seem to be not Greece or Spain but Italy, “the perpetual underperformer in the EU,” which, though comparatively well off, lacks the political will to reform its economy: “[T]he fear of moral hazard was acute, in part because nobody trusted Italian politicians to reform.” So cultural and economic differences taken into account, is there any hope for the euro? The authors suggest ways to make it work and hold out hope for its survival, writing that even though the “political momentum is towards fragmentation, not integration,” nations such as Ukraine still clamor for membership.

For students of geopolitics and international economics, the case studies and implications are worth the price of admission.

OUTLAWS OF THE ATLANTIC Sailors, Pirates, and Motley Crews in the Age of Sail

Rediker, Marcus Beacon (248 pp.) $26.95 | $26.95 e-book | Aug. 12, 2014 978-0-8070-3309-8 978-0-8070-3310-4 e-book Rediker (Atlantic History/Univ. of Pittsburgh; The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom, 2012, etc.) explores maritime history from the bottom up, telling the stories of the “sailors, slaves, pirates and motley crews [who] shaped a history we have long regarded as white, elite, national, and landed.”

The author provides a top-notch examination of how indentured servants, privateers, pirates and slaves affected and even directed human history in the age of sail. He doesn’t dwell on famous naval and exploratory voyages; he avoids the usual terracentrism and relies on the sea’s unreal space and the sailors’ yarns that spread news and views. The voyage narrative was a popular genre of 18th-century literature, and it was those tales that influenced writers like Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift. The most interesting thread that weaves through this book and creates the basis for Atlantic history is the effect of the “motley crews.” These multiethnic groups, who patrolled the Atlantic as former slaves, privateers and pirates, had their own self-organization, standards of conduct and even pirate retirement communities. They were what Rediker calls social bandits, men who embodied an enduring phenomenon: peasants’ protests against oppression, poverty and, most importantly, a cry for vengeance. These men fed the seaport crowds with the notion that moral conscience stood above state laws and legitimized their resistance. These crews also helped in the run-up to the American Revolution, including the Boston Massacre. The sailors spread the stories of revolt aboard merchant and slave ships through the Atlantic basin, from Boston to Africa to Saint Domingue to France, fomenting unrest and uprisings.

An outstanding view of the “seaman” as a “preeminent worker of the world, a cosmopolitan in the truest sense, who shaped the history of our planet in profound and lasting ways.”

UNHAPPY UNION How the Euro Crisis—and Europe—Can Be Fixed

Peet, John; La Guardia, Anton PublicAffairs (240 pp.) $23.99 | Jun. 24, 2014 978-1-61039-449-9

Many evenhanded economics tomes are too polite to say it, so leave it to the always opinionated British “paper”— newsmagazine, that is—the Economist to underscore the fact that the euro is a result of a big question that occupied the Allied Powers in the late 1940s: “How to tame the German problem that had led to two world wars?”

The answer was to bind Germany to France economically, forever making it unwise for the two to go to war. Couple that with Winston Churchill’s dream of a United States of Europe, and you have the European Union, a decidedly unequal set of partnerships of rich and poor nations. Note correspondents Peet and La Guardia, who are old euro hands, it is tempting to think, after only 15 years of implementation, that the unified currency is a failure, in part due to the fact that it has clearly led to the ability of rich countries to amass surpluses and poor ones, deficits that further the imbalance. National currencies might have required central bankers to be more proactive, imposing such controls as high interest rates and devaluation. Interestingly, by 68

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of economic depression. That has now given way to “a society that wants it now, regardless of the consequences”—that wants a quarterly dividend instead of long-view economic health and low or nonexistent taxes at the expense of infrastructure and education, two things that, of course, are themselves economic engines. For our sins, we have a political class that refuses to address pressing big-picture problems like educational reform, climate change, financial reform or meaningful economic growth—and we’re not likely to get one that’s better anytime soon, as long as we can amuse ourselves into the poorhouse and graveyard. Roberts tries not to wear too heavy a moralist’s helm, and he tries gamely to be bipartisan (“Here, too, we find room for left-right compromise”), but it’s pretty clear that his chief target is the fat-and-unhappy baby boomers who don’t want to play along with the rest of the world, which will one day mean that the rest of the world is going to take over our playground and eat our lunch. As befits a book more descriptive than prescriptive, Roberts doesn’t develop much in the way of a program out of the mess, but just to be reminded that Adam Smith wasn’t a right-wing advocate of an unregulated market and even Reagan made a few adult decisions might open a few eyes—once the screaming stops.

More worthy of shelving alongside Allan Bloom than Ann Coulter, though still on the pop sociology side of things. (This review was first published in the BEA/ALA 2014 issue.)

Rivers, Joan Berkley (304 pp.) $26.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-425-26902-2

A Dear Diary–style recounting of the author’s day-to-day professional and personal life.

Rivers’ (I Hate Everyone…Starting With Me, 2013, etc.) merciless, yearlong skewering of the universe begins Jan. 1 and proceeds through the year. Sparing no one, including herself, the author employs her typically ribald take on the numerous individuals, groups or topics encountered while the author travels from her home in New York to gigs around the country and vacations in Mexico or the Hamptons. A sampling of the real or imagined scenarios Rivers recounts in her trademark style include: Anne Frank’s diary-keeping skills; Barbara Streisand’s looks; dating services; Paula Deen and the N-word; her ideas for new TV shows; Kirstie Alley’s weight (“Today is National Pig Day and I completely forgot to call [her]! I’ll send her a note. Or a bucket of slop. She’s not that fussy”); J. Edgar Hoover’s fashion choices (“J. Edgar Hoover and I were very close. In fact, we were the same size. I used to lend him my clothes for special occasions. He looked especially fetching in a simple summer shift with matching cloche and open-toed-shoes”).

Rivers also includes numerous photos showing her swigging from a bottle of vodka with cigarette and prescription pill bottle in hand; holding up a “will work for food sign”; dressed as a parody of the twerking Miley Cyrus; and decorating a Christmas tree with an Orthodox Jewish friend. It’s all grand fun for the author, but after a while, the daily entries read like snippets of a stand-up routine. For a live audience, Rivers may astound with her stories and blue language, but when continually lobbed on the page, the shtick grows predictable and stale.

Readers who never tire of Rivers and her distinctive take on the world will lap up the newest entree from the octogenarian comedian. Others will want to take a pass.

ON TOCQUEVILLE Democracy and America

Ryan, Alan Liveright/Norton (192 pp.) $14.95 | Aug. 11, 2014 978-0-87140-704-7

Tocqueville’s prescient analysis of American democracy, concisely and cogently explained.

In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville (18051859), accompanied by a traveling companion, came to America charged by the French government to study the country’s penal system.

During their tour, besides visiting prisons, they observed the social life and culture of the young nation. Five years later, Tocqueville published Democracy in America, two volumes that were acclaimed in his own time and remain relevant today. Ryan (Politics/Princeton Univ.; On Politics, 2012, etc.) offers a clear, incisive introduction to Tocqueville, followed by selections from Democracy in America. Tocqueville came with an overriding question that concerned his own countrymen: How did democracy thrive? “A stable political order that was both democratic and liberal required distinctive social, moral, and economic attachments,” Tocqueville believed; “their analysis was an urgent task.”

The French Revolution, after all, had resulted in “mob rule, the Terror, and mass murder, and thence to a conservative republic.”

What made America different? Influenced by Rousseau, Montesquieu and Francois Guizot, Tocqueville identified individualism as a key factor in democratic success. To him, individualism

THE IMPULSE SOCIETY America in the Age of Instant Gratification Roberts, Paul Bloomsbury (320 pp.) $28.00 | Sep. 2, 2014 978-1-60819-814-6

A book that pegs contemporary American society and politics for what they are: species of infantile disorder, demanding attention (and sweets) now.

In this winding polemic—albeit a rather gentle one, lacking the fire and brimstone of Christopher Lasch’s The Culture of Narcissism (1978)—journalist Roberts (The End of Food, 2008, etc.) laments the end of the kind of long-term thinking that once allowed Americans to work their way out of the deep hole |

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“A straightforward, evenhanded and often riveting assessment.” from sons of wichita

A seasoned journalist conveys the charms and perils of this “Cinderella of European capitals.”

meant “a strong sense of ourselves as moral beings with duties to perform and rights to protect.” Furthermore, he believed that America offered its citizens—except for Native Americans and blacks—the opportunity for equality. “Equality of condition,” according to him, “was not equality of income, education, or anything in particular; it consisted in the absence of social obstacles to whatever ambitions an American entertained.”

Although he argued that America was not at risk of relapsing into tyranny or anarchy, he worried about the possible “tyranny of the majority” and of an insidious consequence of individualism: “a retreat from engagement” with the outside world.

Ryan’s excellent introduction makes Tocqueville’s observations and anxieties vitally relevant for 21st-century readers.

SONS OF WICHITA How the Koch Brothers Became America’s Most Powerful and Private Dynasty

Schulman, Daniel Grand Central Publishing (432 pp.) $30.00 | May 20, 2014 978-1-4555-1873-9

Mother Jones senior editor Schulman delivers provocative reportage on the Koch alpha-family legacy.

Patriarch Fred, a dedicated Kansan industrialist, rancher and entrepreneur, exercised a task-driven, “voracious work ethic.” He was a founding member of the anti-communist John Birch Society and a pugilist, which meant that resolving disputes among his sons often involved gloved fisticuffs. Frederick, the oldest and most artistic, was an outlier gravitating away from the family business. He was soon followed by rebellious second son Charles and “pathologically competitive” fraternal twins David and Bill. Well before his father’s death in 1967, Charles had already assumed authority over the successful family oil-refining business, which Fred left equal percentages of to three of his four sons (Frederick was disinherited due to numerous theft allegations) with the caveat that the bequeathal could be “either a blessing or a curse.” Charles and David exerted a diligent “top-down control” with libertarian leanings in building the business into the country’s second-largest privately owned multinational corporation. However, dissension in the ranks pitted brother against brother, as Schulman depicts in the second half. While the brothers’ drive and dedication further fortified their father’s empire, the Koch family portrait becomes less flattering as their ruthless, vicious infighting and litigiousness became commonplace. The author generously depicts the nasty retaliatory efforts by Charles in response to flashy “Wild Bill’s” numerous efforts to gain his own foothold in the business and against hermetic, reclusive collector Frederick when he refused to relinquish company shares. Now billionaires, Charles’ and David’s strategic, manipulative political contributions, Schulman notes, have also garnered negative notoriety for personifying the nation’s wealth inequality—most notably, in the 2012 presidential election, where they emerged as “cartoonish robber barons” bankrolling the tea party movement. Free from conjecture or personal criticism, Schulman’s astute account is buttressed by concrete research, legal documents, and verbatim interviews with family members and friends.

A straightforward, evenhanded and often riveting assessment.

BERLIN NOW The City After the Wall

Schneider, Peter Translated by Schlondorff, Sophie Farrar, Straus and Giroux (336 pp.) $26.00 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-374-25484-1

An intriguing journey through Berlin by a longtime interested observer.

Ungainly, amorphous, overrun by armies, clotted by construction, inhabited by uneasy neighborhoods of ethnic niches (including Turks, Russians, Vietnamese and Israelis), and still affordable to starving artists and all-night partiers, Berlin is a wildly attractive tourist spot, not least due to its dark history. In these amusing, knowledgeable essays and dispatches, German novelist and journalist Schneider (Eduard’s Homecoming, 2000, etc.), who first came to the city as a student in the early 1960s to claim exemption from serving in the Bundeswehr (German defense forces), unearths much that is fascinating and even beautiful about Berlin. He examines the conversion of various sections of the city and warehouses, industrial ruins and other structures in what was formerly East Berlin—e.g., Potsdamer Platz, the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport and newly gentrified Prenzlauer Berg. Deeply engaged with friends and colleagues both East and West, Schneider has written extensively on the ramifications of the removal of the Berlin Wall, not only in the physical revelation that Berlin’s great historic center and grand buildings were all located in the East, but also in the souls of “Ossi” and “Wessi” remnants, now cohabitating a little like oil and water. In his autobiographical essay “West Berlin” (“the name…refers to a city that no longer exists”), the author reaches back into the student movement of the late 1960s and the building of the “wall of the mind” mentality he wrote about in his novel The Wall Jumper (1984). In “The Stasi Legacy,” he writes poignantly of the poisonous effect the secret police had on even married couples informing on each other. Berlin’s “culture of remembrance,” he writes, has also been transformed—e.g., the multitude of Holocaust commemoration exhibits and memorials paying quiet tribute to a vanished community.

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POWERS OF TWO Finding the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs

THE RISE OF THE NEW EAST Business Strategies for Success in a World of Increasing Complexity

Shenk, Joshua Wolf Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (336 pp.) $28.00 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-544-03159-3

Simpfendorfer, Ben Palgrave Macmillan (240 pp.) $26.00 | Jun. 24, 2014 978-1-137-37005-1

A sharp tour d’horizon of the East’s significant market opportunities.

Business-strategy consultant and Financial Times columnist Simpfendorfer (The New Silk Road: How a Rising Arab World Is Turning Away from the West and Rediscovering China, 2009) writes with vibrancy and enthusiasm, yet neither disguises his closely argued, multipronged business advice to merchants and investors. Once primarily a manufacturer, the East—which Simpfendorfer considers to be the span from Beijing to Jakarta to Istanbul, with Cairo an important consideration—is now as much a market. The East is growing, and along with that growth comes complexity and the side effects of doing business abroad—e.g., cultural tastes, income variations, regulations and national currencies. The author, who has two decades of experience working in the region and brings a respectful sensitivity to doing business in the global marketplace, has witnessed this extraordinary transformation of the area, now comprising 50 percent of the world’s population and 80 percent of its Muslim population. The scope of the region’s market is vast and varied, and it requires much more intimate knowledge than that gained managing from afar; there will be a critical need for country managers and local staff on the ground.

Simpfendorfer is both persuasive and common-sensical as he counsels businesses to explore the halal market, the exhilarating film scene, and entertainment ranging from cricket to Korean pop music. He points to serious potential problems looming ahead—clean water, pollution, waste removal, energy conservation—and the various cultural and economic obstacles that have thwarted dealing with these issues. China, being central to this transformation, garners much of the author’s attention, and his recommendation is not to put all your eggs in one basket but to partner up with other emerging economies. In China, “the state sector grew more powerful as it squeezed out private firms and turned back the clock on market reforms,” though only the negligent would overlook China’s “143 mid- and largesized cities with populations larger than 750,000.”

A canny snapshot of a sprawling, kaleidoscopic and ever growing marketplace.

Shenk (Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness, 2005, etc.) debunks “the myth of the lone genius [that] has towered over us like a colossus” and its counterpart, “the most common alternative [that]…locates creativity in networks.”

The author admits that he was drawn to the topic by his own sense of isolation. In his view, creative partnerships share some features of romantic couples and may have an erotic component—e.g., the relationship between the famous RussianAmerican choreographer George Balanchine, who brought the artistry of the Ballets Russes to America, and his protégé Suzanne Farrell—but their main purpose is the creative work they share. Shenk ranges over a large territory encompassing the partnerships of Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett (who collaborate on investment decisions), Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky (joint creators of the field of behavioral economics), Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg, poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy (whose journals provided material for his poems), and many others.

However, the core of the book is the relationship between Paul McCartney and John Lennon, who not only founded the Beatles, but whose songwriting collaboration changed the landscape of pop music. The author uses the evolution of their partnership, which began in 1957 when they met in Liverpool, to illustrate many of his themes. These include the shared interests and backgrounds that bring two people together, the development of trust as their collaboration deepens and the complementarity of their roles even to the point of rivalry. In many instances, one member of the pair may appear to dominate, but both have essential roles—e.g. in their comic duo, buffoon Lou Costello got the biggest laughs, but straight man Bud Abbott was “the head guy.”

Shenk’s inclusion of fascinating biographical material enlivens his provocative thesis on the genesis of creative innovation.

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WHEN BRITAIN BURNED THE WHITE HOUSE The 1814 Invasion of Washington

BOSTON MOB The Rise and Fall of the New England Mob and Its Most Notorious Killer

Snow, Peter Dunne/St. Martin’s (320 pp.) $25.99 | Aug. 19, 2014 978-1-250-04828-8

Songini, Mark St. Martin’s (384 pp.) $27.99 | Jul. 29, 2014 978-0-312-37363-4

Veteran journalist Snow (To War with Wellington, 2010, etc.) novelistically recounts the British invasion of 1814.

Written from the British point of view, the characters come off as true gentlemen who were polite as they emptied warehouses, burned down homes and ravaged the countryside.

In fairness, they only burned private property if the owners put up a fight. Worn out from fighting Napoleon in Europe, England was intent on finishing off this bit of nastiness in its former colony. Britain’s commander, Vice Adm. Alexander Cochrane, was after prize money in addition to revenge for his brother’s death at Yorktown. Naval leader George Cockburn, after savage behavior in the Chesapeake, joined with army leader Robert Ross to lead the attack on Washington, D.C. On the American side, horrendous leadership and coordination ensured a quick defeat. John Armstrong, a useless secretary of war, was President James Madison’s first error. His second was political appointee William Winder, a man detested by both Armstrong and Secretary of State James Monroe. The loss at Bladensburg, despite the bravery of Joshua Barney’s men, was humiliating, and the complete lack of a standing army or any defensive plan for the capital left it for the taking—and burning. That was the tipping point for the Americans. As the capital and White House burned, men raced to fortify and protect Baltimore. The survival of Fort McHenry after intense bombardment ended the battle with little loss. Our national anthem recalls the raising of its oversized U.S. flag.

“The raising of the star-spangled banner,” writes the author, “became a symbol of [a] new determination. James Madison and his successors unashamedly abandoned their reservations about defense. They signaled their support for strong regular armed forces, and set the country on a path of expansion on land and at sea.”

With ample quotes from English letters and diaries, Snow ably brings out the humanity of his subjects.

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The sad, true, bloody story of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang.

Somewhat similar in tone to Bryan Burroughs’ Public Enemies (2004), this journalistic and encyclopedic history of New England’s vicious mob wars seems almost an artifact in the wake of Whitey Bulger’s recent arrest— and Kevin Cullen and Shelley Murphy’s excellent Whitey Bulger (2013). Nevertheless, Songini (The Lost Fleet, 2007) makes an admirable attempt to tie together the lies, myths, facts and legends of the 1960s and ’70s war between the Winter Hill Gang and the McLaughlin brothers’ outfit. It’s a difficult story to piece together—as the author admits in his source notes, his principles for storytelling often had to fall back on the question, “What is most likely?” Much of this history has been examined before in books ranging from biographies of Bobby Kennedy to insalubrious portraits of characters like gang leader Buddy McLean and hit man Stevie “The Rifleman” Flemmi. Strangely, Songini chooses to tell his version mostly through the eyes of a relatively minor figure in the organization, albeit a vicious one.

The book focuses on Joseph “The Animal” Barboza, a particularly savage killer with scores of successful murders. The author relates the printed details of countless murders, all facts that could have been pulled out of Wikipedia or newspaper archives, and seldom delves into the mechanics of running a syndicate.

There are truly absurd moments that surely inspired some cinematic departures—one story finds Flemmi’s brother shooting a victim in the head with a policeman’s revolver. When the officer complained that the bullet was traceable, Flemmi reportedly lopped off the poor guy’s head. It’s a dark corner of American history that deserves to be scrutinized, but it will take more than this surface skim to make sense of the madness of the times.

A by-the-numbers prequel to the rise of Whitey Bulger’s informant-riddled empire.

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“As Stott reveals in this engrossing history, lust, greed and the unquenchable thirst for fame were forces of evil that imbued the age of Romanticism with grief.” from the poet and the vampyre

TWEE The Gentle Revolution in Music, Books, Television, Fashion, and Film

for personal truth can sometimes unearth unexpected results.

Though his adoptive parents loved him unconditionally, the author still felt “discarded,” plagued by crippling feelings of insecurity and abandonment. At 39, Stewart writes of being contacted by his birth mother, Judy Gilford, a runaway who became pregnant by an older, seductive man. The author, ecstatic at their reunion, began journaling his experience, which soon included an intensive, obsessive search for his father, who he believes to be Earl Van Best Jr., a statutory rapist Stewart would soon discover had abandoned him in a Baton Rouge apartment building stairwell—and who he believes went on to become a notorious murderer. The narrative begins to build suspenseful momentum only after early sections that re-create Best’s fractured childhood and early adulthood (heavily influenced, claims Stewart, by notorious Satanist Anton LaVey). Then the author chronicles the ensuing killing spree, encrypted communications and police-taunting media spectacle that immortalized him as the Zodiac Killer. The author painstakingly pieces together over a decade’s worth of personal research and verbatim interviews with family, friends and law enforcement, then goes further to scrutinize and compare handwriting samples, police sketches and photographs, all bearing uncanny resemblances to recorded documentation from the Zodiac files. Stewart soberingly remarks that while the burden of DNA proof remains elusive, the closure he has received with his personal investigation has satisfactorily provided the “truth about my life.”

High-minded speculation and documented assumptions are the building blocks of Stewart’s convincing memoir; whether perceived as the byproduct of shrewd spadework or a fertile imagination, the author’s family history offers chilling and credible correlations.

Spitz, Marc It Books/HarperCollins (352 pp.) $16.99 paper | Jun. 3, 2014 978-0-06-221304-4

Salinger to Seuss and beyond: a flattering assessment of Pop Culture’s Division of Arrested Development, with some intriguing stops along the way.

As rock biographer and scribe Spitz (Poseur: A Memoir of Downtown New York in the ’90s, 2013, etc.) sees it, America is in the warm and loving grip of a revolution that worships all things small, geeky and outsider. Twee no longer means insufferable cuteness; now, it’s a kinder, gentler form of punk that fights oppression (bullying, meanness, etc.) in its own quiet, sensitive way. Historic touchstones range from icons of doomed sensitivity (Anne Frank, Sylvia Plath, James Dean) to introspective troubadours like Jonathan Richman, Nick Drake, Morrissey and Kurt Cobain.

The twee aesthetic fetishizes childhood and fears growing up (Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, the kids in The Breakfast Club, everyone in Wes Anderson’s movies) and manifests a progressive, do-it-yourself sensibility. “Twee rebels don’t want to destroy everything around them,” writes the author.

“Rather, they want to fix it.” Spitz astutely shows the Tweeing of America, offers some sharp insights (the Smiths and They Might Be Giants are the Beatles and Stones of Twee) and delivers a substantial history of indie cinema’s mumblecore movement. He’s too twee himself to be really critical, however; he’s a veritable Prophet of Portlandia, proclaiming that “the new culture of kindness is helping us improve as Americans.” He dodges the question he unintentionally raises: If tumultuous times create art, do peace, serenity and kindness really do anything substantial?

For those who get twee, the book is a soothing, self-justifying enabler; for those who don’t, it’s an amiable guide for the perplexed. (First printing of 35,000)

THE POET AND THE VAMPYRE The Curse of Byron and the Birth of Literature’s Greatest Monsters Stott, Andrew McConnell Pegasus (464 pp.) $28.95 | Sep. 15, 2014 978-1-60598-614-2

THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL OF ALL Searching for My Father... and Finding the Zodiac Killer

A literary history reveals the sorrows of the Romantics.

Central to Romanticism was the cult of personality, the “ideology of the creative genius and its attendant fascination with the lives of individuals.” Among the most fascinating was Lord George Gordon Byron, who, by 1816, was the most famous poet in England, as much for the gossip he incited as for his sensuous poetry. As Stott (English/Univ. of Buffalo, SUNY; The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi, 2009) argues in this impressive group biography, Byron assiduously created himself as a celebrity by “generating rumors about his atheism and sexual appetites, and by appearing dressed as a monk or in flamboyant Albanian robes, hosting orgiastic parties in which wine was drunk from a carved skull.” Women swooned over him, no one more persistently than Claire Clairmont, stepsister of Mary Shelley, who began her

Stewart, Gary L.; Mustafa, Susan Harper/HarperCollins (384 pp.) $26.99 | May 13, 2014 978-0-06-231316-4

An adopted Louisiana engineer’s search for his biological roots results in a shocking, highly controversial connection to

the Zodiac Killer.

With its details legally vetted and enshrouded in pre-publication secrecy, Stewart’s head-turning memoir, skillfully co-written by veteran true-crime journalist Mustafa, explores how the search |

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pursuit when she was 16. Claire, Mary and her lover, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Byron’s sometime friend and personal physician John Polidori make up the tragic cast of characters entangled with, and wounded by, the self-serving Byron. Despite this book’s sensational title, Stott focuses not on the creature in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein nor The Vampyre, a tale by Polidori that Byron stole and published under his own name; the literary monsters who emerge from this story of selfishness and manipulation are Byron and Shelley. Although Byron deigned to sleep with Clairmont, he rejected her when she became pregnant, then insisted on sole custody of their daughter, refusing to allow Claire to see her. Shelley’s abandoned wife, Harriet, killed herself at 21; Mary’s half sister Fanny killed herself, as well, “unsettled” by Mary and Percy’s elopement. Polidori, a victim of Byron’s scorn and his own failed aspirations, committed suicide at the age of 25.

As Stott reveals in this engrossing history, lust, greed and the unquenchable thirst for fame were forces of evil that imbued the age of Romanticism with grief. (16 pages of color and b/w photos)

regulators by involving them early and building support among their staff by demonstrating consistent adherence to regulations. Each of Susskind’s principles requires research-driven preparatory work to develop understanding of partners’ needs and methods. The author also discusses how coaching, teambuilding and other training methods can increase an organization’s negotiating capabilities, and he offers innovative ways to head off foreseeable problems. These include eliminating headbutting showdowns over entrenched positions by obtaining agreements to use outside expertise.

A useful guide with broad applications beyond the world of business.

BEETHOVEN Anguish and Triumph

Swafford, Jan Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (1,088 pp.) $40.00 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-618-05474-9

GOOD FOR YOU, GREAT FOR ME Finding the Trading Zone and Winning at Win-Win Negotiation

A thorough, affectionate and unblinking account of the life of the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827).

Swafford (Music History, Theory and Composition, Boston Conservatory; Johannes Brahms: A Biography, 1997, etc.) brings a lifetime of study and passion to this remarkable work. Rich in biographical detail, the volume contains revealing excerpts from many of Beethoven’s letters and from the written observations of his visitors and family; it also contains detailed analyses of many of his most notable works, analyses that will no doubt puzzle readers unversed in music theory and/or unable to read music (Swafford includes numerous examples from the composer’s scores).

Although the music remains prominent here, Beethoven’s life and personality are also downstage. We learn about his contentious relationships with his family—especially with his nephew Karl, whom Beethoven took into his home when the composer’s brother Carl died. Rigorous and unyielding, Beethoven had a difficult time with the young man, who eventually learned to play his uncle artfully. We also see Beethoven’s enormous talent at the piano, an instrument on which he could endlessly improvise—and an instrument he had to gradually surrender as his hearing worsened. We see the composer, too, as a homely man (his face scarred), often slovenly in his appearance and personal habits, an extremely proud man who considered himself the equal of all, a man who had a horrible time managing money and who never did find a woman who would accept him. (He invariably chose far younger women or women above his social standing.) Swafford highlights Beethoven’s ferocious work ethic and his emergence from the substantial shadows of Haydn and Bach (he failed to acknowledge the influence of the former until Haydn’s death).

Due to the author’s unsurpassed research and comprehension, we stand in the presence of a genius and see all his flawed magic. (16-page b/w insert; music illustrations throughout)

Susskind, Lawrence PublicAffairs (256 pp.) $25.99 | Jun. 3, 2014 978-1-61039-425-3

Susskind (Urban and Environmental Planning/MIT; co-author: Water Diplomacy: A Negotiated Approach to Managing Complex Water Networks, 2012, etc.) outlines six principles which he insists will help negotiators bridge the gap between win-win–based methods and what they will actually need to ensure success.

The author stresses that negotiators must move as rapidly as possible into what he calls “the trading zone,” where it becomes possible to begin to outline the terms of a successful deal. The co-founder of the Program of Negotiating at Harvard Law School, Susskind specializes in resolving disputes arising from environmental concerns. He has published extensively on the subject, and he draws on a wider experience than the back and forth of corporate-style wheeling and dealing. This includes working with not just corporations, but also with regulatory agencies, community groups and independent experts. Susskind’s six principles are: helping negotiating partners’ priorities by leading them into the trading zone; creating value for both sides; expecting the unexpected; helping the other side convince their “back table” decision-makers; building protection against surprises into the agreement; and developing an organization’s negotiating capabilities. The author provides a series of how-to examples from case studies without compromising the identities of those involved—e.g., “GreenTech Chemical Company” and its efforts “to install cleaner, ‘greener’ waste treatment technology” introduces a discussion of how to work with 74

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BLOOD ACES The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker

On Sept, 11, 2012, four Americans, including the United States ambassador, were killed in attacks on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. The White House and State Department claim that the attack—already the subject of several Congressional investigations and soon to be probed again by House Republicans—was a protest turned violent over an anti-Islam YouTube video. Drawing on interviews with sources in the region, Timmerman argues that Benghazi was a well-planned, state-sponsored terrorist attack by the Islamic Republic of Iran. He also claims that President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton knew that terrorists were behind the attack but made up the spontaneous protest cover story to preserve the appearance of success in their anti-terrorist policies. It was the eve of the 2012 presidential election, and Obama had claimed that the “tide of war [was] receding.” Benghazi, writes the author, is “the deepest, the darkest, and the dirtiest political scandal of recent American history.”

Viewing post-Gadhafi Libya as approaching “normal” status, the State Department ignored pleas for greater security for American diplomats and facilities when in fact Libya was “spinning wildly out of control,” with “heavily armed street thugs” roaming neighborhoods. The Benghazi compound was left to defend itself by a secretary of state who wanted only to celebrate a success story for the November election and then “prepare her own coronation as the first female president…in 2016.” Timmerman navigates the complex story of Libya’s role in the period as an arms bazaar for terrorists and faults U.S. policymakers for trying to distinguish between violent and nonviolent Islamist groups.

An often intemperate account that will please Hillary-bashers and provide timely fodder for the upcoming Republican-led Benghazi investigation.

Swanson, Doug J. Viking (368 pp.) $27.95 | Aug. 18, 2014 978-0-670-02603-6

The big life and fast times of one of the most charismatic and dangerous good ol’ boys in America’s criminal history.

No matter how you approach him, the legendary gambling mogul Benny Binion (1904-1989) was one lying, sneaky SOB, so it’s impressive that Dallas Morning News investigative projects editor and crime novelist Swanson (House of Corrections, 2000, etc.) has dug up this much dirty laundry. In this well-researched and executed biography, the author offers a head-scratching explanation as to how a Texas-bred hillbilly with an IQ in the double digits came to lead a multimillion-dollar gambling empire. Fans of other gangster histories will likely be intrigued by Binion’s arc, which spanned the 20th century and took him from the sticks of Texas to shape the modern-day direction of Las Vegas. Nicknamed “the Cowboy” after gunning down a local rumrunner, Binion soon came to be one of the most dangerous gangsters in Dallas, with several murders executed by his own hand. He admired his own ilk early, going so far as to arrange the delivery of a wreath at Clyde Barrow’s funeral in 1934—from an airplane, no less. In the most damning and fascinating story in the book, Swanson relates Binion’s feud with a longstanding rival, Herbert Noble. After an irate Binion put a price on his head, Noble survived nearly a dozen assassination attempts, all related in detail here. Finally, a car bomb that killed his wife nearly drove Noble over the edge before he finally got himself blown up in 1951. “They said he had nine lives,” said Binion of his foe. “Damn good thing he didn’t have ten.” The later sections of the book will be of interest to poker fans, as Binion retreats to Sin City to buy casinos and accidentally creates a legacy when he founds the World Series of Poker as a promotional stunt.

An entertaining and provocative portrait of a man whose dichotomies were largely a product of the violent times in which he thrived.

TOMLINSON HILL The Remarkable Story of Two Families Who Share the Tomlinson Name—One White, One Black Tomlinson, Chris Dunne/St. Martin’s (448 pp.) $26.99 | Jul. 22, 2014 978-1-250-00547-2 978-1-4668-5050-7 e-book

DARK FORCES The Truth About What Happened in Benghazi

A foreign correspondent examines the intertwining histories of two Tomlinson families—one white, the other black—who shared a common past spent on a Texas slave plantation.

After spending more than a decade covering wars in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan, Texas native Tomlinson returned to the United States with his consciousness of man’s inhumanity to man permanently raised. Determined to expose the way his family past was implicated in the problematic history of racial relations in America, Tomlinson began by probing an alleged connection to former NFL running back LaDainian Tomlinson.

The author learned that both he and LaDainian had descended from families that had lived on a plantation called Tomlinson Hill. Scouring family papers, archival documents, area history

Timmerman, Ken Broadside Books/HarperCollins (400 pp.) $26.99 | Jun. 24, 2014 978-0-06-232119-0

Veteran journalist Timmerman (Shadow Warriors: The Untold Story of Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of Surrender, 2007, etc.) offers a blistering indictment of the Obama administration’s handling of the deadly 2012 event now known simply as “Benghazi.” |

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“Excellent, as we have come to expect from the team of Ward and Burns...” from the roosevelts

books and the Internet, Tomlinson pieced together the stories of the two families. Starting in the years preceding the Civil War, his ancestors established Tomlinson Hill and began keeping slaves who would eventually take the family name. Later mythologies about the South would transform all slave owners, including the Tomlinsons, into symbols of graciousness and gentility. At the same time, they erased one essential truth: that violence and injustice toward blacks was a fact of life on all plantations. This attitude persisted into the 20th century, becoming embedded in the ideology of the Ku Klux Klan, which claimed to celebrate the “heroic” values of the Old South and managed to draw members of Tomlinson’s own family into the Klan’s ranks during the 1920s. Even after the civil rights movement, the supposedly enlightened teachers in the Dallas county schools Tomlinson attended “walked a careful line in teaching about race, holding no one responsible for the sins of the past.”

The author offers not only a detailed history of two families brought together by circumstances greater than themselves; he also opens an honest conversation necessary to begin healing the centuries-old racial rifts that have marred American history.

Cleareyed and courageously revealing.

things as bracing hunts in the Rockies, anti-lynching demonstrations in Washington and boats full of teenage soldiers powering toward the beaches of Normandy.

Excellent, as we have come to expect from the team of Ward and Burns—an eye-opening look at a political dynasty worthy of the name and at a state of politics far better than our own. (This review was first published in the BEA/ ALA 2014 issue. First printing of 250,000)

BRICKS AND MORTALS Ten Great Buildings and the People They Made

Wilkinson, Tom Bloomsbury (352 pp.) $30.00 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-62040-629-8

A lively combination of scholarship, cultural history and sharp-tongued social commentary about our buildings—what we use them for and what they reveal about their designers and about us.

Wilkinson, who has lectured on the history of architecture at various academic venues in England, Germany and China, begins with a simple hut—surely the first human habitation— and ends with a “curvaceous footbridge” in Rio de Janeiro. In between are his investigations and ruminations about specific sorts of architecture developed for specific purposes—for the powerful, for religion, commemoration, entertainment, work, medicine and others. In each section, the author focuses on a specific structure, provides its history, tells us about its designer (when this is known) and describes its evolution and/or fate. But Wilkinson does much more than this. He also riffs on aspects of the building, its architect or purpose that he finds most compelling, and he manages to animate readers in the process. In some cases, he will probably anger some readers. He is manifestly liberal and humanitarian in his political views, so terms like “religious wing nuts,” broadsides at Ayn Rand and descriptions of buildings (Henry Ford’s factories) that are like machines “for squeezing the maximum profit from the workers inside” will not endear him to some of his readers—though they will certainly delight others. The author includes a fascinating chapter about Le Corbusier and his passion for a house designed

by Eileen Gray—a house much damaged, writes Wilkinson, by Le Corbusier’s murals (added later). His is a sad portrait of the house’s decline and its very slow restoration. The author punctuates his text with bright, varied allusions to Hawthorne, the Marx Brothers, Wagner, Nero, Brueghel and the 1959 “kitchen debate” between Khrushchev and Nixon.

A scholarly but swiftly flowing text that glistens with attitude.

THE ROOSEVELTS An Intimate History

Ward, Geoffrey C.; Burns, Ken Knopf (576 pp.) $60.00 | Sep. 9, 2014 978-0-307-70023-0 The very definition of “lavishly illustrated”—an oversized volume containing nearly 800 photographs documenting the lives of Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and (to a much lesser extent) their wives and families.

Prolific historian Ward (A Disposition to Be Rich: Ferdinand Ward, the Greatest Swindler of the Gilded Age, 2013, etc.) opens with the promising assertion that “the similarities and not the differences” between Teddy and FDR are the more interesting avenue of study. Those similarities are qualified but very real.

Both bucked the reins of their parties, though the one remained a Republican for most of his political career (said Teddy, “The man is not everything; the party is most of all”), and the other redefined Democratic Party politics; both were children of privilege whose sense of noblesse oblige included a fundamental sense of fairness that seems not to characterize the 1 percent of today. Ward chronicles the modest ironies that propelled both to the heights of political power—Franklin, for instance, was first picked to balance a ticket as “an easterner with an independent reputation [who] had a good record in wartime Washington and…bore a last name the party hoped would appeal to independent voters.” Both Teddy and Franklin, as Ward ably demonstrates in a lucid text, surpassed all that was expected of them and transcended class to embrace an American-ness for which many readers will be nostalgic. Ward’s text is top-flight, as always, but it would be much less so without the superbly curated photographs that accompany it, documenting such 76

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MIRACLE AT FENWAY The Inside Story of the Boston Red Sox 2004 Championship Season

TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD The Story of the TransSiberian Express, the World’s Greatest Railroad

Wisnia, Saul St. Martin’s (304 pp.) $26.99 | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-250-03163-1

Wolmar, Christian PublicAffairs (320 pp.) $27.99 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-61039-452-9

Wisnia (Fenway Park: The Centennial: 100 Years of Red Sox Baseball, 2011, etc.) proves that celebratory baseball writing need not be maudlin in his comprehensive account of the Boston Red Sox’s 2004 championship season, their first since the Woodrow Wilson administration.

The author explores the team’s early history and tradition of losing big games; in a chapter titled “Kings of Pain,” we see how the front office’s bungles and tightfistedness have traditionally harmed the team. A chapter on the multiyear plan to revamp historic Fenway Park beginning in 2002 illustrates how management understood how a stadium’s layout and design create memories and a game experience as indelible as the players on the field, as demonstrated by interviews with old-time fans from the 1950s and various “super fans” who explain the importance of sacrificing yourself “for the good of the team.” These stories are relatable and warm but not treacly, and chapters on the two years preceding the championship provide necessary background and context. After the “bitter and very crushing” end to the 2003 season, when their hated rivals, the New York Yankees, beat Boston to advance to the World Series, 31-year-old General Manager Theo Epstein created the new-era Red Sox, who were about “teamwork, respect for the game, and a burning desire to win.” He boldly shook up the roster by placing brilliant but maddening outfielder Manny Ramirez on waivers and trading the immensely popular shortstop Nomar Garciaparra in midseason. “Change didn’t happen overnight,” writes Wisnia, “but when it came it came quick.” The author goes on to raise some tantalizing what-if questions: Would the Sox have won the championship—or perhaps, how many would they have won?—if the proposed Manny-Ramirez–for–Alex-Rodriguez trade had gone through? And what if Nomar “Mr. Boston” Garciaparra had remained in Boston?

A winning story of how the right owners, players and die-hard fans can create a championship team.

A survey of an underrated railway line that helped Russia become a world power and also contributed to several revolutions.

British transportation specialist Wolmar (The Great Railroad Revolution: The History of Trains in America, 2012, etc.) certainly knows his stuff, and he asserts that the construction of the Trans-Siberian, the longest railroad in the world, had repercussions across the world—indeed, “it was the railway line that did most to create today’s geopolitical system.” Although imperial Russia came to the idea of building a railroad rather late in the game (England’s Liverpool-Manchester line was the first, in 1830), due to the country’s undeveloped economy and political system, Czar Nicholas I approved an initial, highly successful short line between St. Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo, his summer residence, in 1837, followed by a St. Petersburg-Moscow line. Czar Alexander III embraced modern technology, and though a huge drain on the government coffers, the notion of Russia’s catching up to the West became irresistible; however, it took finance minister Sergei Witte to galvanize forces in 1892.

His overarching vision of a Trans-Siberian railroad would help populate Siberia, aid in the transport of resources and troops, and industrialize the country. Witte saw the railroad as the key to economic success and to show that “Russia was the equal of the great powers of Europe.” Wolmar demonstrates how the railroad was built (with much American know-how) over an astonishingly short amount of time—slicing through Manchuria and arousing the ire of the Chinese and Japanese, leading to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904—as well as how officials cut corners by taking curves too sharply and skimping on materials. Nonetheless, it was completed in 1916 and also served to contribute to the Revolution of 1917.

A comprehensive, proficient history of “a tale of remarkable engineering stimulated by imperial ambition.” (two 8-page b/w photo inserts)

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“Though he breaks no new ground, Wolraich presents an engaging survey of a movement’s progress from radical extremism to conventional wisdom.” from unreasonable men

UNREASONABLE MEN Theodore Roosevelt and the Republican Rebels Who Created Progressive Politics

FLUENT FOREVER How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It

Wyner, Gabriel Harmony (400 pp.) $16.00 paper | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-385-34811-9

Wolraich, Michael Palgrave Macmillan (320 pp.) $28.00 | Jul. 22, 2014 978-0-230-34223-1

The creator of the popular languagelearning website Fluent-Forever.com debuts by putting between covers the essentials of the program that he and myriad others have found helpful.

The author is indeed a buoyant, ebullient Harold Hill of a salesman (no dour Willy Loman here!). Throughout his text— which includes many self-help design features, including text boxes, bullet points, illustrations, chapter-end reminders and “key points”—Wyner reminds us repeatedly about how enjoyable his program is. About the vocabulary cards he recommends, he writes, “You’ll discover that they’re a lot of fun to create and a lot of fun to review.” That’s certainly debatable. The author’s program does make use of many sensible and even revolutionary methods for learning a language—principally, the use of visual and auditory reminders of the vocabulary and grammar a novice needs to learn. The more senses involved, the more certain the learning and retention. Wyner also slays a few hoary dragons that continue to dominate lots of classroom instruction: learning vocabulary in clusters of related words (he proposes that learners begin with the 625 most common words), studying grammar in isolation, translation exercises (he advises using only the new language). His arguments and justifications take a little over half of his text; the remainder he calls “The Toolbox,” and here he gives very specific advice about—and illustrations of—his flashcard techniques. He also recommends the heavy use of Google Images and other online visual and auditory aids for beginners—especially sound clips of native speakers. He urges that learners would benefit from mastering the International Phonetic Alphabet early in the process, and he provides a host of appendices, including the “International Phonetic Alphabet Decoder.”

A sensible approach that nonetheless requires a substantial commitment of time and energy; as the author well knows, there are no shortcuts to learning anything worthwhile.

A bulletin from an earlier era of American political paralysis.

A century ago, much of America was frustrated and angry with a do-nothing Congress held captive by wealthy interests and controlled by obstructionist Republicans led by Sen. Nelson Aldrich and the colorful speaker of the house, Joe Cannon. Wolraich (Blowing Smoke: Why the Right Keeps Serving Up Whack-Job Fantasies about the Plot to Euthanize Grandma, Outlaw Christmas, and Turn Junior into a Raging Homosexual, 2010) ably explores the birth of the movement within the Republican Party that broke the legislative logjam and released a torrent of reformist legislation, but at the cost of splitting the party and electing a Democratic president and Congress.

The Progressives were the tea party of their day, led by Robert “Fighting Bob” La Follette of Wisconsin, and they were viewed by the party establishment as unreasonable extremist nuisances.

They rejected compromises and half-measures as sops intended only to delay genuine reform and campaigned against fellow Republicans who obstructed them. Their attitude exasperated Theodore Roosevelt, a moderate reformer who, during his presidency, advocated only for politically palatable incremental change before seizing the Progressive banner from La Follette during the wildly contentious election of 1912. These shifts in influence among the Progressives, moderates and conservative “standpatters” occupy Wolraich more than the personalities of the Progressives themselves; La Follette’s allies appear only as spear-carriers, and their crafty opponents loom at least as large here. The author’s lively prose struggles to overcome the narrative challenge presented by the points of congressional contention at the time: tariff schedules and railroad rate regulation, issues that understandably fail to hold modern readers’ passions.

A clearer distinction among the platforms of the Republican Progressives, the Democratic populist William Jennings Bryan and the ultimately triumphant Woodrow Wilson would also have been helpful.

Though he breaks no new ground, Wolraich presents an engaging survey of a movement’s progress from radical extremism to conventional wisdom.

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children’s & teen THE BEST BOOK IN THE WORLD

These titles earned the Kirkus Star:

Alexander, Rilla Illus. by Alexander, Rilla Flying Eye Books (48 pp.) $17.95 | Jul. 8, 2014 978-1-909263-30-7

UP FOR SALE by Alison Marie Behnke.............................................. 80 WHAT IF...? by Anthony Browne....................................................... 82 EDWARD HOPPER PAINTS HIS WORLD by Robert Burleigh; illus.

by Wendell Minor..................................................................................83 THROUGH THE WOODS by Emily Carroll....................................... 84 TWO GIRLS STARING AT THE CEILING by Lucy Frank.................. 89 SPACE CASE by Stuart Gibbs............................................................ 90 COPPER MAGIC by Julia Mary Gibson............................................ 90 MOCHA DICK by Brian Heinz; illus. by Randall Enos.......................93 ANNA’S HEAVEN by Stian Hole; trans. by Don Bartlett.................. 94 WHEN LUNCH FIGHTS BACK by Rebecca L. Johnson......................95 WINTER IS COMING by Tony Johnston; illus. by Jim LaMarche......95 NOT MY GIRL by Christy Jordan-Fenton; Margaret Pokiak-Fenton; illus. by Gabrielle Grimard..................................................................95 DASH by Kirby Larson.......................................................................100 SIX FEET OVER IT by Jennifer Longo................................................101

Adding to a growing genre, this picture book shouts—no, hollers at the top of its lungs—praise to the codex.

The very title, along with the bold primary colors and enormous (fake) prize medal on the cover, will be an opportunity for young children to gleefully answer the question, “What book are you reading?” The sparse, large-print text begins with a doublepage spread that says on the verso, “Take the first step,” and on the recto, “Turn the first page.” The pictures quickly and cleverly move from depicting relatively realistic reading nooks to the places readers go in their imaginations. Both the crazyquilt pattern of the endpapers and the interior pages are filled with brightly colored, geometric creatures and people actively engaged in activities such as sky diving, enjoying amusement-park rides, trekking across deserts and spelunking. In addition to the gently rhythmic near-rhymes that encourage readers to plunge themselves into books, the other common thread through the kaleidoscope of pulsating scenes is the stylized image of a child (probably a girl), always colored red, always with ponytails, always clutching her book. Although there is a slight calming toward the end, excitement reigns, right up to the gently mind-bending metafictive moment that concludes the book.

To quote one of many exuberant, action-packed spreads: “Enjoy the ride!” (Picture book. 4-8)

THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN WITCHES

by Lauren Magaziner.........................................................................102

AUTUMN’S SECRET GIFT

Allen, Elise; Stanford, Halle Illus. by Pooler, Paige Bloomsbury (160 pp.) $15.99 | $5.99 paper | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-61963-256-1 978-1-61963-254-7 paper Series: Jim Henson’s Enchanted Sisters,1

THE VIRGINIA GIANT by Sherry Norfolk; Bobby Norfolk; illus. by Cait Brennan.........................................................................106 LITTLE MELBA AND HER BIG TROMBONE by Katheryn RussellBrown; illus. by Frank Morrison........................................................ 111 THE SOUND OF THUNDER by J. Torres; illus. by Faith Erin Hicks.................................................................... 117

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A new, sparkle-packed series introduces magical sisters who control the seasons.

Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer are the Sparkles, the magical sisters with themed Sparkle Powers who change the seasons for the Outworlder humans through the Sparkle Ceremony. Autumn’s the most responsible and cautious of the four, the least likely to join a game of Sparkle-Dare,

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“Of note is the chapter on how to steer clear of slave-manufactured products and, indeed, how to read the signs that someone may be trafficked.” from up for sale

so it’s natural for Mother Nature to ask Autumn to be caretaker for a special birthday gift (a beautiful blanket) for her adviser, Serenity. But when Autumn tries to break out of her mold by joining in a game of Sparkle-Dare, she accidentally summons an uncontrollable wind that blows away the precious blanket.

The sisters chase it through Winter’s Sparkledom, where they encounter the villainous Sleet. Sleet is one of the Weeds, a troublemaking set of bad-weather– and natural-disaster–themed brothers. The sisters defeat him and continue to chase the blanket throughout the Sparkledoms, only to lose it to Sleet’s tricky brother, Twister. The Weeds use it to set a trap for the Sparkles, but their inability to work as a team, plus Autumn’s lesson in discretion—determining when to leap impulsively and when to stop and plan—saves the day for the Sparkles. The blanket safely arrives at the birthday party, as do the villains—but as welcome guests. Cheerful spot illustrations showcase an ever smiling, diverse cartoon cast. The sheer number of iterations of “Sparkle” will determine this book’s audience.

Fluffy, wholesome and, well, sparkly. (Fantasy. 7-9)

STARFIRE

Alvarez, Jennifer Lynn Harper/HarperCollins (272 pp.) $16.99 | $9.99 e-book | Sep. 23, 2014 978-0-06-228606-2 978-0-06-228608-6 e-book Series: Guardian Herd, 1 Star, a pegasus fated to wield great power, must choose to use it to either heal or destroy, but only if he can survive until his first birthday.

Each century, the Hundred Year Star appears in the sky, announcing the birth of a black foal to one of the five pegasus herds of Anok. The prophecy states that the foal, empowered by the star itself, will rise to either destroy or unite the herds.

However, Star hardly seems a pegasus of destiny. While he is fiercely loyal to his friends and brave in the face of his enemies, flight eludes him. His seemingly defective wings are the least of his problems. His appearance has made the leaders of the five herds nervous. Some want him dead, while others see him as a source of power. An over-large cast full of pegasi with confusing names and muddled personalities makes this nearly unreadable: Rockwing, Thunderwing and Grasswing are only part of the problem; it’s compounded by such monikers as Bumblewind and Brackentail, and Flamesky poses a particular challenge. The derivative plot is also problematic, as it is so similar to other series that are both more familiar and better written. Unfortunately, the mysterious beauty of pegasi is lost in a muddle of confusing characters and a less-than-stellar story.

Readers should stick with the Warriors and the Guardians of Ga’hoole for better treatments of this formula. (list of characters, map) (Fantasy. 8-12)

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KATE THE GREAT EXCEPT WHEN SHE’S NOT

Becker, Suzy Illus. by Becker, Suzy Crown (288 pp.) $12.99 | $15.99 PLB | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-385-38742-2 978-0-385-38743-9 PLB In this heavily illustrated, comic sliceof-life novel aimed at girls, Kate Geller, almost 10, struggles to be a good daughter, sister, friend, student, Junior Guide and flute player.

This fifth-grade heroine may not believe, to paraphrase Albert Einstein, that the “most important decision you will ever make is whether you live in a friendly or a hostile universe,” but she nonetheless works to make hers as filled with harmony as possible. There are plenty of little bumps in the road, but the biggest involve Kate’s nemesis, Nora Klein, a fellow fifth-grader, bus mate, Junior Guide and flute player, who is inexplicably unfriendly, standoffish and sometimes even mean. Kate’s troubled relationship with Nora and her attempt, strongly encouraged by her mother, to make friends, is the heart of the story, as it contains the most emotional juice. Becker does a good job of giving readers a sense of the specifics that make up Kate’s day— art class, band practice, school and Junior Guide projects—but overall, there’s not enough friction to keep the story rolling.

The lively black-and-white drawings fill some of these dramatic gaps by adding humor and helping to illustrate Kate’s inner life, but the story sags in places.

Although amusing and easy to relate to, Kate’s fifthgrade experience could use more dramatic flair. (Fiction.

8-12)

UP FOR SALE Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery

Behnke, Alison Marie Twenty-First Century/Lerner (72 pp.) $34.60 PLB | Sep. 1, 2014 978-1-4677-1611-6 PLB “At any given time, up to 20 to 27 million people around the world are believed to be victims of some form of human trafficking.” Or you could call it slavery.

Hillary Rodham Clinton might think that modern slavery is “thriv[ing] in the shadows,” but in reality, it is thriving right out in the open. What is in the shadows is paying due recognition to human trafficking, and Behnke’s shattering overview of modern slavery’s many hues will go a long way toward raising the bar of awareness and action. Behnke keeps her tone even; hysterics would only distract from the sheer villainy of the institution. And institution it is, with various departments and subunits: There are labor trafficking and sex trafficking, debt bondage, organ trafficking, and baby and toddler

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trafficking. Some traffickers are lone wolves, others are members of an extended family, still others are rings with global reach. The book has a number of boxed testimonials of special piquancy, as well as a good number of bell-clear pictures to bring the issue home. Of note is the chapter on how to steer clear of slave-manufactured products and, indeed, how to read the signs that someone may be trafficked. What really zings to the heart of the problem are the roles played by poverty, discrimination and lack of education in the fostering of vulnerability to becoming a slave.

This slim volume makes clear the grinding reality of the cheapest labor and presents a welcome chance to act.

(Nonfiction. 11-18)

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THERE’S A MOUSE HIDING IN THIS BOOK!

Bird, Benjamin Illus. by Comicup Studio Capstone Young Readers (32 pp.) $9.95 | Aug. 1, 2014 978-1-62370-125-3 Series: Tom and Jerry

The 74-year-old animated-comedy duo goes meta!

In one of four picture books featuring Hanna-Barbera creations Tom cat and Jerry mouse, Tom is fed up with the way Jerry messes up his book. He asks readers to help him catch Jerry, prompting readers to turn the page quickly or slowly, to turn the light on or to shake the book. Depending on the situation, his level of urgency varies (those mousetraps he trips have some bearing on this). Realizing that if Jerry leaves the book, he will make a terrible mess in the outside world, Tom decides that the solution is to shut the book quickly! Bird constructs a flexible framework for the licensed characters to inhabit. Any

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antagonistic duo could speak the lines in the “story”—there’s nothing here that makes the book a uniquely Tom and Jerry tale despite Spike the dog’s guest appearance. The illustrations are closer to the 1970s and ’80s cartoons than the characters’ Academy Award–winning roots. Whether they are familiar or not with these characters, youngsters will enjoy a storytime or lap sit with this if it is read just right.

A good use of well-worn characters. (Picture book. 3-6)

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS

Blackstone, Stella Illus. by Williamson, Melanie Barefoot (24 pp.) $16.99 | $9.99 paper | Aug. 1, 2014 978-1-84686-787-3 978-1-84686-788-0 paper The familiar song gets a new setting in this trip to a Guatemalan market.

The green and orange bus, roof piled high with baskets and bowls, bags and chickens, leaves the village just as the sun is coming up: “The bus starts up with a rumble and crunch. / The driver calls out, ‘We’ll be there by lunch.’ / The bus starts up with a rumble and a crunch / On the journey to the town.” The wheels go round over dusty ground, the children shout and play along the way, the papis stand up to sing and hum and bang a drum, and the babies cry bouncing low and high, until suddenly, “BANG!” A granny is there to calm the children, the mamis find a spare, and the people all lift the bus. Backmatter includes some facts about Guatemala and the first verse and music to the song. While the lines of the song do not strictly repeat, the bright illustrations may prompt repeat readings, and children will catch on to the lines that vary. Ochre and tropical shades of blue, green and yellow fill the full-bleed illustrations with color, energy and vibrant patterns, as befits the Central American setting. Happy people share the bus’s interior with polka-dot chickens, the women all wear long skirts, the men sport hats, and donkeys and goats dot the countryside.

Why settle for ordinary? Ride a “chicken bus” in Guatemala! (Picture book/song. 3-6)

WHAT IF...?

Browne, Anthony Illus. by Browne, Anthony Candlewick (32 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-7636-7419-9 Joe worries the whole way to his first party, clutching the gift to his chest, furrowing his brow, and asking his mother, again and again, “What if…?”

They’ve lost the invitation with Tom’s address, setting them off on already-shaky ground. Trudging down his friend’s dark street, the two squint, trying to make out which door to 82

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approach. Joe’s anxious questions and his mother’s placating, mild responses appear in speech bubbles accompanying square panels that show their faces head-on. In delivering these snippets of intimacy, drawn flat and distilled in frames under the blue hues of twilight, Browne’s brilliance glows. As Joe and his mom work to bring each house’s interior into focus, readers both feel Joe’s anxiety heighten and see his fears take surreal shape on the page. Middle-class cottages with perfectly ordinary facades hold disturbing scenes and queer congregations, executed with marked specificity and unnerving clarity and color. Are those alien horns on that older bourgeois gent? Joe’s anxiety is sky-high by the time they finally find Tom’s door, leaving Mom to worry for the next two hours. At pickup time, Joe smiles, lit up inside and out, beaming golden yellow beyond the page borders, flooded with fun from a great party, one missed entirely by both Mom and readers.

An amazingly astute, artful unfurling of tightly coiled childhood social anxieties. (Picture book. 4-8)

HALF MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS ARE FERRETS

Buckle, J.A. Switch/Capstone (224 pp.) $16.95 | Sep. 1, 2014 978-1-63079-000-4

Sixteen-year-old metal head Josh Walker whines his way through life.

Seemingly told through writings in a leather-bound journal given to him by his mother, the book follows Josh as he strives to achieve several goals before his 17th birthday. These goals range from kissing a girl to owning a Randy Rhoads Flying V Jackson guitar. It’s a shame that “gaining a larger sense of perspective” isn’t on the list. Despite presenting a list of objectives, the actual narrative is limp and shapeless. Josh is infuriatingly self-involved, so much so that the first-person perspective thwarts reader engagement. Everyone else in his life is interesting and dynamic and has other things going on, but Josh’s lack of concern for those around him makes it impossible for readers to glean anything beyond minor glimpses into a world with far more involving characters. Instead they get a novel filled with pointless teen grumblings and awkward sexual frustration.

Most offensive is the novel’s denouement, which grants this shallow teen’s wishes for material things. Josh gets everything he wanted, and none of it is earned, just falling into his lap for no reason. Josh doesn’t become a better son, brother or friend, which makes the entire enterprise feel pointless.

An exercise in reading frustration. (Fiction. 12-16)

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“[The] decision to avoid reproductions of Hopper’s work throughout reflects the essential understanding that Hopper’s own paintings were never exact representations of a specific place at a specific time.” from edward hopper paints his world

MYTHOLOGY Oh My! Gods And Goddesses

Budzik, Mary Illus. by Basher Kingfisher (128 pp.) $14.99 | $8.99 paper | Jul. 22, 2014 978-0-7534-7171-5 978-0-7534-7172-2 paper Series: Basher History

In Basher’s latest set of breezy “self ”-portraits, 58 gods, demigods and mythological creations of diverse sort step up in turn to the microphone.

The entrants are limited to the ancient Egyptian, Norse and Greco-Roman pantheons and arranged in no particular order within their respective chapters. They range from the usual celebrities like Poseidon (“rhymes with ‘Joe Biden’ ”), Odin and Osiris to some who have gotten less press, such as Hebe—“Waitress to the Olympians”—and Gefjon, Aesir goddess of plowing. Along with mixing in such non-Olympians as Odysseus, Budzik swells the ranks by lending voices to Bifrost, Yggdrasil and even the battle of Ragnarok. The author’s introductory claim that the gods gave mortals “something to believe in and ideals to aspire to when life was looking bleak” is massively disingenuous considering the speakers’ own accounts of their exploits (Hel complains, “It’s really grim here. I get the dreariest dead”). Nevertheless, the sex and violence are toned down to, for instance, Hera’s tart reference to “my hubby’s mortal girlfriends” and Isis’ allusion to “complicated family vibes” (following her brother/husband Osiris’ dismemberment by their brother, Seth). In a radical departure for Basher, some of his dolllike cartoon figures bear grimaces rather than cutesy smiles.

More-systematic treatments abound, but the airy tone and quick-facts presentation give this some potential as a lighter-than-air refresher. (chart and foldout poster of Greek/Roman equivalents) (Mythology. 10-12)

EDWARD HOPPER PAINTS HIS WORLD

Burleigh, Robert Illus. by Minor, Wendell Henry Holt (40 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 19, 2014 978-0-8050-8752-9

Two masters of illustrated, brief biographies for young people reunite (If You Spent a Day with Thoreau at Walden Pond, 2012) for this accessible introduction to an iconic 20th-century American realist.

Their careful, almost developmental approach quickly transcends the provision of objective biographical facts (though they are all there in abundance) by first presenting Hopper’s childhood pencil case—inscribed “Edward Hopper Would be Artist”: five words that summarize a life story. It is evident that Burleigh and Minor are determined that readers both understand and see “the artist’s process of discovery.” Their decision |

to avoid reproductions of Hopper’s work throughout reflects the essential understanding that Hopper’s own paintings were never exact representations of a specific place at a specific time.

Minor helps readers acquire both the sense and the sensibility of a Hopper work via his own charcoal-and-pencil studies of the paintings under consideration in Burleigh’s thoughtful text. In this wonderfully illuminating way, they both help readers comprehend Hopper from the inside out: from the actual motifs, to the edited and combined studies, to the familiar, finished and admired paintings on the museum walls. Backmatter is particularly well-organized and inclusive.

Well-researched and carefully paced, this is an enduring and inspiring book that will help kids to understand the why and the how of an artist at work. (Picture book/biography. 5-9)

THE HAUNTED LIBRARY

Butler, Dori Hillestad Illus. by Damant, Aurore Grosset & Dunlap (128 pp.) $12.99 | $4.99 paper | Aug. 14, 2014 978-0-448-46243-1 978-0-448-46242-4 paper Series: Haunted Library, 1 A young ghost named Kaz is swept away from his home and ghost family by a strong wind, finally coming to rest in a library.

But it’s not just any library. Claire, who has a special talent for seeing ghosts, actually lives in the library, which is run by her grandmother. Kaz, who has never had any contact with “solids” like Claire, has a lot to learn. He’s never been able—or willing— to pass through objects, making it especially challenging to hide from her, his initial plan. Eventually, the two team up to try to track down one of two apparent ghosts that already haunt the library. Could one of them be Kaz’s older brother, previously swept away from home? Or could Claire’s grandmother have a role in the mysterious appearances of one of the haunts? Butler provides the right amount of back story to settle readers in this ghostly world, as well as a few amusing new ghostly abilities; the story’s definite lack of creepiness ensures that this effort isn’t likely to scare anyone. Both Claire and, especially, Kaz are wellrounded characters, and the frequent cartoon illustrations of them, with wide, oversized eyes and simplified features set in large, round heads, don’t do them justice.

Simple text, brief chapters and a high-interest topic all combine to make this, the first of a series, an easy sell to readers newly transitioned to chapter books. (Fantasy. 7-10)

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“Making expert use of silent sequences, sudden close-ups and other cinematic techniques to crank up the terror, the author opens and closes in a dimly lit bedroom (much like yours)….” from through the woods

BRAVE CHICKEN LITTLE

Byrd, Robert Illus. by Byrd, Robert Viking (40 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 7, 2014 978-0-670-786169

Byrd retells the familiar tale of folly and trickery, adding some outsize bravery and a happy ending.

Off on an errand for his mother, Chicken Little gets bonked by an acorn. “The sky is falling! I must go and tell the king!” The misguided chick encounters an increasing stream of equally foolish, frightened animals, from Henny Penny to Roly and Poly Moley. The menagerie of 10 encounters Foxy Loxy, who, speaking in sly rhymes, diverts them. “Oh, please, please, let me come, too! I know the best way, I do! I do!…But first, my dear friends, we’ll stop for brunch, or maybe instead, a nice little lunch.” Foxy lures the group to his cottage, where his wife and seven hungry kits wait near a steaming, but not yet boiling, cauldron. When Foxy locks the hapless stew ingredients in the basement, it’s Chicken Little who figures out an escape and outfoxes the fox.

Byrd’s charming ink-and-watercolor illustrations depict the animals in old-fashioned clothing with flounces, vests and cravats.

Crosshatching and intricate lines define each leaf, butterfly, bee and flower against the lush, pastoral backdrop of woods and rolling hills. The parade of fleeing animals runs right past the king’s long shadow at sunset. Safely tucked under a quilt by his mother, Chicken Little’s too exhausted to utter a word about his errant bravery.

A handsome, most welcome addition to the now–sadly neglected, too-little–published literature of folk and fairy tales. (Picture book/folk tale. 4-7)

THE TERROR OF THE SOUTHLANDS

Carlson, Caroline Harper/HarperCollins (336 pp.) $16.99 | $8.99 e-book | Sep. 9, 2014 978-0-06-219436-7 978-0-06-219438-1 e-book Series: Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates, 2 Fledgling pirate captain Hilary bravely engages in nonpiratical behavior to rescue kidnapped friends and expose chicanery in high places.

The sudden disappearances of freelance pirate Jasper Fletcher, husband of her ex-governess, Eloise Greyson, and aging Enchantress Eugenia Pimm prompt Hilary and her motley crew to set off on a search. They do this in the face of ominous threats from a mysterious band of “Mutineers” and repeated official warnings from the Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates that she’d better shape up (piratically speaking) or lose her cutlass and membership card. Carlson stocks her cast with Disney-style buccaneers (“Arr!” one growls. “Be ye needin’ a 84

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hand, matey? I’m afraid I’ve only got the one”), snooty aristocrats, silly police inspectors and like fodder for comical contretemps. She charts for her protagonist a zigzag course from one set piece to the next toward a climactic society ball–cum–pirate melee (totally bloodless). Most of the many inserted letters, documents, gossipy news items and general announcements add little beyond visual variety to the narrative, though passages from the memoirs of Hilary’s vain, talking gargoyle sidekick do supply helpful recaps of the opening episode’s events.

Bland pirate burlesque with plenty of standard-issue buckling of swash—but dead in the water with regard to story arc, in just its second volume. (map) (Fantasy. 10-13)

THROUGH THE WOODS

Carroll, Emily Illus. by Carroll, Emily McElderry (208 pp.) $21.99 | $14.99 paper | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-4424-6595-4 978-1-4424-6596-1 paper A print and Web comics artist offers five creep-out chillers (four new) with folk-tale motifs and thoroughly disquieting art.

Well-placed lines of terse, hand-lettered commentary and dialogue reinforce narrative connections but are also as much visual elements as are the impenetrable shadows, grim figures, and stark, crimson highlights in Carroll’s inky pictures. Making expert use of silent sequences, sudden close-ups and other cinematic techniques to crank up the terror, the author opens and closes in a dimly lit bedroom (much like yours), bookending the five primary stories. In “Our Neighbor’s House,” a trio of sisters are taken one by one by a never-seen smiling man. In the next, a bride discovers that “A Lady’s Hands Are Cold”—as are the other pieces (seen in close, icky detail) of her husband’s dismembered but not entirely dead former wife. Two cases of supernatural possession (“His Face All Red” and “My Friend Janna”) follow. The collection is capped by a true screamer in which a teenager’s memories of her mother’s tales of a cellardwelling monster with a “sweet, wet voice” segue into a horrific revelation about her pretty new sister-in-law. Lonely houses, dark woods and wolves? Check. Spectral figures with bloodred innards? Check. Writhing tentacles bursting from suddenly inhuman mouths? Check!

A sure winner for any reader with a yen to become permanently terrified. Brilliant. (Graphic horror. 13-18)

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RETURN TO PLANET TAD

Carvell, Tim Illus. by Holgate, Doug Harper/HarperCollins (240 pp.) $12.99 | $9.49 e-book | Sep. 23, 2014 978-0-06-226625-5 978-0-06-226627-9 e-book More tidbits from Planet Tad, compiled from a fictional blog originally published in Mad Magazine (Planet Tad, 2012).

Tad’s faux blog comes complete with emoticons and line drawings and records the events of January through December as he finishes eighth grade and begins ninth.

The nearly daily entries are sometimes silly and sometimes sarcastic. He tries to learn ice skating in January, gets a cellphone (a lame one) for his birthday in March and is blackmailed into starring in the school’s production of Our Town by his teacher in April. Many entries are just vaguely humorous observations: Toothpaste should be called “mouthscrub” so it doesn’t sound like glue for teeth. No event or topic lasts for more than a few entries. His mean grandmother visits in June, the family attends her wedding in August, and Tad starts high school in September. Part of the team that won six Emmys for The Daily Show, Carvell turns out a second Tad title that, like its predecessor, lacks a central story. It reads, not surprisingly, like something written by a sketch-comedy writer trying for the Wimpy Kid audience. Final art not seen, but Holgate’s preliminary illustrations are a highlight.

A smile or two for those with severely short attention spans, not much more. (Fiction. 8-12)

HOW TO FALL

Casey, Jane St. Martin’s (352 pp.) $18.99 | Aug. 26, 2014 978-1-250-04065-7 Series: Jess Tennant Mysteries, 1 A teenage girl–turned-detective unravels the truth behind her doppelgänger cousin’s tragic demise in this moody crime novel.

Native Londoner Jess Tennant arrives in the seaside village of Port Sentinel to spend the summer getting to know her estranged extended family, only to be met with near-constant stares on the street. A year ago, Jess’ cousin Freya died in a tragic accident most believed to be suicide—and Jess looks exactly like her. Immediately the talk of the small town, Jess becomes embroiled in Freya’s old relationships, and many of her new acquaintances, including Will, Freya’s handsome but irksome former best friend, seem to harbor dark secrets. Jess isn’t anything like the daydreamer cousin she never met, however, and determines to investigate the truth of Freya’s death, no matter the cost. Casey creates a stark, immersive setting and believably despicable teenage characters. However, Jess reads |

as equally unfeeling and abrasive, only showing much emotion when it comes to facing the far more layered and complicated Will. The solution to the mystery lacks the punch it promises, but the clever banter and the truly devious side characters will keep readers invested.

If readers can get past this less-than-charming standin for Veronica Mars, they should enjoy this page-turner.

(Mystery. 14-18)

JUST RIGHT FOR TWO Corderoy, Tracey Illus. by Beardshaw, Rosalind Nosy Crow (40 pp.) $15.99 | Sep. 9, 2014 978-0-7636-7344-4

When he makes a new friend, a selfreliant little dog soon realizes that life alone can have its downside.

Dog is pleased with his big blue suitcase, which he’s filled with his special possessions: “a bumpy little pinecone, a smooth rock with a hole in it, some dancing leaves, a really good stick, a soft, tickly feather, and a big shiny red button.” Confident and happy, he sets off to watch the moon and then snuggles down for the night on top of his suitcase—only to find in the morning he’s got company, in the form of a small mouse asleep next to him. Incensed, he demands this intruder leave, relenting a bit after Mouse admires his things and then agreeing to play one tiny game of hide-and-seek. When Mouse goes off on his own, the woods seem unusually quiet for Dog. What or who could Dog be missing? A combination of collage, gouache and crayon creates lovely and serene forest scenes in which individual personalities can balance each other in mutual camaraderie. The friendship theme—reminiscent of Frog and Toad or Ernest and Celestine—is quietly subtle and touching, with just the right amount of charm.

This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

(Picture book. 3-5)

THE VAST AND BRUTAL SEA

Córdova, Zoraida Sourcebooks Fire (416 pp.) $16.99 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4022-9620-8 Series: Vicious Deep, 3

Those who enjoy pure, lightweight fantasy fluff will find all they want in the conclusion of the Vicious Deep series.

Mer-human hybrid Tristan descends, of course, from sea royalty, although his uncle Kurt really has a more direct claim to the sea throne. However, the evil Silver Queen Nieve holds the reins of power now.

The book picks up amid action that recaps the previous books and sends Tristan off to a magical island so that he may prepare himself for the epic battle to come. There, he must battle the

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monstrous Naga, with unexpected results. At last ready for the big fight, he returns to Coney Island, where he unites with vampires to help him in the battle. Yes, merpeople and vampires. All the while, Tristan is plagued by vivid visions of the future. The final battle plays out with magical creatures such as a giant turtle and a sea horse the size of a whale. Córdova lightens the narrative by including a sprinkling of comedy drawn from Tristan’s cocky Brooklyn attitude. The relationships involved are so complex that readers new to the series would be well-advised to start with the first book, as the author includes little recap, and even fans may need a refresher. Tristan’s true love, captured

by Nieve, plays almost no role, which keeps the focus on action.

Fans of the mermaid craze will enjoy it. Others may struggle. (Paranormal romance. 12-18)

GOODNIGHT, YOU

Côté, Geneviève Illus. by Côté, Geneviève Kids Can (32 pp.) $16.95 | Sep. 1, 2014 978-1-77138-050-8 Series: Piggy and Bunny Friends Piggy and Bunny return in the fourth of this charming series, and in this episode, they experience their first campout—that is, if they can dispel their fears first.

As Bunny waits for Piggy, he’s scared by the shadow of a monster on the wall of the pup tent. “EEEK!” But it’s really his friend Piggy, carrying a lantern and a stick. Bunny asks Piggy, “Does MY shadow scare you, too?” Piggy is all superiority. “No. And even if there WAS a monster, I wouldn’t scream like you!”

Each taunts the other in an exchange of “what ifs” that lead up to a final admission: Piggy is afraid of the dark too. The spare text is backlit by simply composed, mixed-media illustrations.

As in the other books, the preschool angst plays out against a static background, in this case, the tent. It provides the backdrop for the interplay as the two animals demonstrate different poses—casting a variety of shadows—in their playful conversation about this hypothetical monster. A familiar frog sidekick pops up throughout the scenes. If parents and caregivers haven’t discovered this series yet, now is the time.

These friendship tales are totally in tune with preschool anxiety and fears; Côté brings another winner. (Picture book. 3-5)

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GOODNIGHT FOOTBALL

Dahl, Michael Illus. by Forshay, Christina Capstone Young Readers (32 pp.) $14.95 | Aug. 1, 2014 978-1-62370-106-2 Series: Sports Illustrated for Kids The excitement of a family’s trip to a football game segues into a Goodnight Moon–like list of goodnights, ending with the young boy in bed, asleep, football tucked under his arm.

At the end of the week, an African-American couple and their two children—a boy and a girl—enjoy a night at the stadium under the lights. The coats, hats and scarves worn by this group of racially diverse fans and the blankets and hot drinks they hold mark football as a fall sport. All the sights and sounds of a big game are here, from the cheerleaders and the band to the mascot and the concession stand. The parts of the story describing the action of the game are exciting, but they may be mystifying to those who are unfamiliar with the sport: “On third and one, the ball is snapped. / But the defense breaks through, and the quarterback’s sacked!” As their Grizzlies win the game, the boy and his family begin the trek out to the car, saying goodnight to all as they pass: the players and coaches, bleachers, fans, goalposts, even the moon. Much is evident from the small details: the family’s love for one another, the good sportsmanship on display on the field and the boy’s passion for football.

Although the scansion is spotty and the illustrations pedestrian, there are so few football-themed picture books on the shelves already that this is worth a look.

At least one fan’s dreams will be of the gridiron. (Picture book. 4-7)

PUMPKIN TIME!

Deàk, Erzsi Illus. by Cushman, Doug Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (32 pp.) $14.99 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4022-9526-3 A celebration of gardening and the harvest doesn’t quite deliver a full-grown story.

Evy is so preoccupied by gardening that she fails to notice a series of absurd, seasonally linked oddities taking place around her. A bevy of farm animals participates in these happenings, which include cows parading down the street in fancy hats that seem like Easter bonnets, donkeys sailing through the sky in sailboats, pigs dancing around a maypole, and chickens, rabbits and pigs playing badminton. Evy doesn’t notice any of these things going on around her, and the repeated parenthetical phrase “(What was Evy doing?)” prompts readers to find her performing various gardening tasks from page to page. Ultimately, two wordless spreads show readers that Evy was preparing a big harvest feast, with what looks like a pumpkin pie as the main dish, but this culmination feels anticlimactic due to the lack of concluding text as well as the revealing title and cover

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art. A final page shows Evy looking ahead to next year’s planting and harvesting season. While certainly silly, the picture book’s appeal is undermined by its lack of cohesion, and the comical watercolor-and-ink illustrations don’t add enough narrative content to bolster the repetitive text.

Other, stronger picture books on this theme abound. (recipes, pumpkin facts) (Picture book. 2-4)

IF KIDS RAN THE WORLD

Dillon, Diane; Dillon, Leo Illus. by Dillon, Diane; Dillon, Leo Blue Sky/Scholastic (32 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 26, 2014 978-0-545-44196-4

Leo Dillon’s last book with Diane Dillon imagines what the world would be like if children were in charge.

The Dillons envision a world of peace, fairness and kindness, where everyone’s basic needs would be met. No one would be hungry, and everyone would have a place to live. Sick people would have medicine, and good schools would be universal.

Unsurprisingly, this world is populated with smiling, happy children of many skin tones, wearing clothing from all corners of the world and representing a variety of religions. The figures on each spread are painted against a bright white background, making the children pop off the page in contrast. An unvarying optimism oozes from each word and illustration, creating a strange world of sameness that may remind some of 1970sera educational tracts. Paintings of many children in traditional costumes add to that generic, “It’s a Small World” feeling. The educational tone extends into a three-page sermon about children’s volunteerism and a discussion of Franklin Roosevelt’s “Second Bill of Rights.” Children might enjoy the pictures, but even they will be stretched to imagine a world where “No bullying would be allowed”; how many schools extend this promise without delivering? With so little to pin this book to the world actual children are living in, it feels like a gesture rather than a call to action.

Well-meaning but saccharine and didactic. (Picture book.

4-8)

Her problems are further complicated by her racy grandmother, a retired funeral-home operator and former rollerderby star who thrives on conflict. Dorothy makes friends with a few of her school’s outcasts, but the whole group is attacked at the local roller rink by some of the popular girls. This, with some help from Grandma, inspires them to form a roller-derby team—quite a feat, since not all of them even know how to roller skate. Rising to the top of team competition, they move on to the finals, but only good coaching and smart strategizing will lead them to a win there. The largely stock characters are predictable, as are many of the conflicts they face, including Dorothy’s absent mother and Alex’s embarrassment over having two dads. A surfeit of subplots competes for attention with the apparent aim of female self-realization. Those expecting a zombie or two will be disappointed: The titular “Undead Redhead” is just Dorothy’s team name. Occasional graphic-novel– style panels accompany the text, adding a flavor of the lively action of derby bouts.

While roller-derby tales are virtually nonexistent, this average effort has little to propel it past other athletefocused tales. (Fiction. 9-12)

RISE OF THE UNDEAD REDHEAD

Dougherty, Meghan with Windness, Karen Illus. by Birnbach, Alece Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (208 pp.) $6.99 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4022-9535-5 Series: Dorothy’s Derby Chronicles, 1 New in town after her mother’s virtual abandonment, Dorothy immediately runs into trouble with her middle school’s popular girls, especially the angry and unhappy Alex. |

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“Elliott’s text, written with the awkward simplicity of movie ‘Indians’ and cavemen, is hilariously effective….” from this orq. (he cave boy.)

ANYBODY SHINING

Dowell, Frances O’Roark Atheneum (240 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 26, 2014 978-1-4424-3292-5

Life in a 1920s North Carolina mountain community is warmly detailed through letters 12-year-old Arie Mae Sparks writes to a cousin she’s never met.

Lonely despite her loving and dependable family, Arie longs for a real friend.

She sets her sights on a visitor: Tom Wells from Baltimore, whose family is visiting the nearby settlement school as a work of mercy and cultural embassy. Arie boldly offers Tom just what he needs—an adventure—even as he gives Arie a sense of herself as storyteller. Dowell’s voice for Arie is bright, earnest and observant, and Arie’s mountain speech with its formal phrasing and different grammar is richly and sweetly conveyed. Dowell conveys a difficult way of life without pity. As Arie says of Harlan, the abandoned boy informally adopted by her parents, “You can’t help but admire a boy like that. Even when he’s just snuck under the table and tied your shoelaces to the table leg.

You might clobber him, but you stay filled with admiration all the same.” Traditional ways and new ones, well-off city folk and struggling, self-sufficient mountain people are shown in contrast, each changing the other. A passing reference to “a clutch of Indian squaws” is unfortunate.

Still, Arie is a superbly appealing girl, and the details and encounters of her daily life offer a fine glimpse of a particular time and place. (Historical fiction. 8-12)

THE REVELATION OF GABRIEL ADAM

Duncan, S.L. Medallion Press (362 pp.) $9.99 paper | Aug. 12, 2014 978-1-60542-737-9 Series: Revelation, 1

The End of Days is nigh, and Gabe appears to be the new incarnation of the Archangel Gabriel.

In this ominous story springing from the book of Revelation, 17-yearold Gabe’s migraines become apocalyptic visions. A seminary student is gruesomely murdered at the church in which Gabe resides, beginning his journey across the planet in search of the Ark of the Covenant. He is all the while pursued by the perpetually bleeding demon that has breached the veil that separates the dimensions of Earth, Heaven and Hell. Gabe joins forces with one of the other four archangels, Michael, here embodied by a young woman, Micah. A slight romance ignites between the two, but with doomsday looming, it merely flickers. When the journey reaches its climax, it’s clear that the angels are still fledglings with much to learn about their potential powers, but 88

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with the help of ancient relics, they are able to put up a worthy fight in a catastrophic battle with evil. The tale’s young-adultssaving-the-world plot is formulaic, but the Christian lore, shifting realities and demonic gore are entertaining. There’s clearly more to come, and it will be interesting to see how these angels get their wings.

This apocalyptic adventure delves deep into biblical lore without being dogmatically religious, delivering a fairly satisfying battle between good and evil. (Fantasy. 10-17)

THIS ORQ. (HE CAVE BOY.)

Elliott, David Illus. by Nichols, Lori Boyds Mills (40 pp.) $15.95 | Sep. 1, 2014 978-1-62091-521-9

A boy-and-his-mammoth story.

Modern boys have faithful dogs, and cave boy Orq, in a furry-looking, oneshoulder green tunic, has a woolly mammoth named Woma.

But unlike a dog, Woma grows and grows and keeps on growing, until he becomes a big hairy problem for Orq’s mother and the family’s cave home. He stinks and sheds, and he isn’t house trained. She orders Woma out! The heartbroken Orq, whose other pet pals are a family of weird-looking birds (striped blue and gray, and with a red crest on the adult), comes up with a plan: Teach Woma tricks, and Mother will love him. Orq attempts to teach Woma to fetch, speak and roll over; all have comically disastrous results. One day, while Orq is out pretending to be a big-game hunter, a saber-toothed tiger creeps near. Sabertooth loves Orq but like a glutton loves his lunch. When Woma leaps to the rescue, he earns Mother’s undying affection. Elliott’s text, written with the awkward simplicity of movie “Indians” and cavemen, is hilariously effective and also apt to tickle and be understood by very young readers: “This Orq. He live in cave.

He carry club. He cave boy.” Nichols’ digitally colored pencil illustrations are simple and slyly humorous.

Offbeat and winning. (Picture book. 3-6)

THE BLESSINGS OF FRIENDSHIP TREASURY

Engelbreit, Mary Illus. by Engelbreit, Mary Zonderkidz (40 pp.) $17.99 | Jul. 29, 2014 978-0-310-74509-9

A collection of short poems and quotations about friendship is illustrated by Engelbreit in her immediately recognizable style with sweetly smiling children, decorated borders and fanciful flowers.

The quotations include brief thoughts on friendship from literary giants such as Shakespeare, Longfellow, Thoreau and Yeats, as well as several anonymous but familiar sayings, such as “The

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only way to have a friend is to be one.” Contemporary selections include Shel Silverstein’s “Hug o’ War” and the text to the old camp song, “Make New Friends.” Several Bible verses pertaining to love and friendship are also included. Many pages are full-sized illustrations with the quotation worked into the picture, while other pages include several short quotes with spot illustrations or decorated initial capitals. Though most of the cherubs depicted are white, children of multiple ethnicities are included in some illustrations, and one picture shows a little girl walking alongside her friend, who uses a wheelchair. Though the collection doesn’t really explore any new territory and Engelbreit’s worldview is determinedly cheerful, this will appeal to the artist’s legions of fans and is an obvious choice for the gift market.

The cheerful, nostalgic flavor of Engelbreit’s illustrations may be more appealing to adults than to children, but the quotations express worthy values to pass along to the young. (Picture book. 4-8)

CIRCLE OF STONES

Fisher, Catherine Dial (304 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 28, 2014 978-0-8037-3819-5

Myth, fiction and history are layered into a narrative edifice as impressive and impenetrable as the architecture the story celebrates.

In ancient Britain, the druid king Bladud vows to build a great stone temple to honor the healing waters of the goddess Sulis. In 18thcentury Aquae Sulis, Zac Stoke is apprenticed to a mystically inclined architect obsessed with transforming the city. And in modern Bath, a troubled teenage girl takes the name Sulis, hoping to elude the terrifying specters from a past that haunts her. Told in alternating chapters with different typefaces and distinctive voices, each protagonist’s account echoes and intertwines with the others: Names, places, events, behavior, words, images—all repeat, reverberating back and forth through time.

This is a dazzling literary exercise, constructed with careful precision with patterns and symbols, but it’s so precise and mannered that it repels emotional involvement. Spot illustrations do help illuminate many of these motifs, but readers unfamiliar with the history and architecture of the English city may still be left adrift. The personalities of the characters don’t help: Bladud is grandiloquent and obscure, Zac arrogant and contemptuous, and Sulis shuttered and paranoid. Their interactions with the eponymous stone circles help each to heal and grow, but the mechanism of this transformation remains frustratingly opaque.

Elegant, admirable and thought-provoking—but not, alas, engaging. (Historical fiction/suspense. 12-18)

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LEND A HAND Poems About Giving

Frank, John Illus. by Ladd, London Lee & Low (32 pp.) $17.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-60060-970-1

Frank and Ladd join forces to present common opportunities for children

to help others.

Ranging from quiet, solitary acts such as writing a letter to a soldier stationed abroad to publicly cheering for the class klutz’s first hit at bat, these 14 free-verse poems and Ladd’s richly textured accompanying acrylic-and-pastel spreads show how easy and rewarding extending oneself can be. In fact, the accessibility of Frank’s diction underscores the simplicity of the giving acts described. For example, “Sandwich” tenderly depicts a youngster’s lunchtime encounter with “the new kid / sitting alone / with only the words of a book / to feed her.” The speaker shares “half of my sandwich,” then notices that “though I had / only half for myself, / after I ate it / I somehow felt full.” Likewise, “No Charge” captures the contagious causality of being on the receiving end of a kind act: When a bike-shop attendant provides a quick tune-up for free, the young rider then passes on that courtesy by helping a woman load grocery bags into her car but refusing a tip. Ladd’s evocative illustrations lend a literal depth to the poems, helping young and pre-readers envision themselves in these situations even further.

At once familiar and slightly out of the box, these giving scenes gently suggest that even the smallest acts can inspire and achieve great ends. (Picture book/poetry. 5-10)

TWO GIRLS STARING AT THE CEILING

Frank, Lucy Schwartz & Wade/Random (272 pp.) $16.99 | $10.99 e-book | $19.99 PLB Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-307-97974-2 978-0-307-97976-6 e-book 978-0-307-97975-9 PLB Using innovative page design, Frank crafts an unflinching look at illness.

In the emergency room at 4 a.m., Chess is whisked into invasive medical testing—a colonoscopy—and then into a hospital room. She’s had severe gastrointestinal symptoms before, but this is her first diagnosis: the chronic, autoimmune disorder Crohn’s, an inflammatory bowel disease. Her roommate, Shannon, has Crohn’s, too. Their conversations—acerbic, worried, snippy—progress down each page in fast-reading columns of verse. When the curtain between their beds is closed, a vertical line appears between Chess’ text column and Shannon’s, emphasizing the room’s physicality and restriction. A doctor calls Crohn’s “tough and / unpredictable”; Chess finds it disgusting

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“With a small cast of characters supplying an excellent variety of suspects, Gibbs creates the best kind of ‘murder on a train’ mystery.” from space case

(“gross green bubbles / glub up from my insides, / slip down the tube”), painful (her insides “burn”) and humiliating—especially the mortifying incident that sent her to the emergency room.

Chess laughs until she cries, and then “the rage flows, / shocking and unstoppable / as shit.” Her future holds prescriptions, side effects, food restrictions, flare-ups—and remissions. Frank’s portrayal of chronic, mostly invisible sickness is spot-on. Illness isn’t metaphor, it isn’t a consequence, it isn’t a literary vehicle— it’s a precarious and uprooting fact of life, inconvenient and enraging, but not the end of the world.

Riveting, humanizing and real. (Verse fiction. 13-17)

SPIDER SANDWICHES

Freedman, Claire Illus. by Hendra, Sue; Linnet, Paul Bloomsbury (32 pp.) $14.99 | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-6196-3364-3 Freedman climbs aboard an already overcrowded bandwagon with this catalog of gross-out goodies in Max the monster’s larder.

With characteristic disregard for exact rhymes or rhythm, the author lays out arrays of stomach-churning delicacies, from the titular sandwiches to “toenail scrambled eggs” and pickled worms: “He LOVES to glug slug milkshakes, / through a stinky hosepipe straw. / And as for beetle cookies— / he can ALWAYS munch one more!” In illustrations teeming with creepy crawlies, unidentifiable globs and grocery items like “Mice Krispies,” Max, a hairball tinted yellow-green and equipped with bicyclehorn ears, chows down with googly-eyed exuberance—until a final dish of Brussels sprouts sends him (as it does so many readers) shrieking from the room.

No more than a side dish next to the appetite-killing courses dished out by Shel Silverstein, by Adam Rex in Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich (2006) and by so many others.

(Picture book. 6-8)

MERCY MODE

Garner, Em Egmont USA (352 pp.) $17.99 | $17.99 e-book | Aug. 26, 2014 978-1-60684-356-7 978-1-60684-357-4 e-book Series: Contaminated, 2 ThinPro, the diet drink that unleashed the Contamination, is history; its effects— victims descend, zombielike, into mindless violence—are anything but.

To contain the still-spreading outbreak, areas hardest hit— Pennsylvania, much of the Northeast and Pacific coasts, and urban centers—are designated “black zones,” where healthy residents live under brutal, chaotic military quarantine and the Contaminated are rounded up and incarcerated—a one-way 90

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trip. Velvet and Dillon, who’ve married strictly to qualify her for benefits, struggle to maintain their fragile household: Opal, Velvet’s sister; their mother, freed from her collar but ailing; and an elderly neighbor. While Dillon toils at his governmentmandated job, Velvet prowls their abandoned subdivision seeking food and other necessities, sometimes making frightening discoveries. Hardship toughens her—but Dillon (and sometimes Velvet herself) worries there’s a less benign explanation for her vastly increased strength, stamina and ruthless practicality. After all, Velvet herself once downed ThinPro. This violent world feels real because the violence has real-world consequences that force grim choices. Weighing the safety of loved ones against what’s ethical and humane is agonizing, especially for Velvet. Tough and empathetic, hard yet vulnerable, she belongs in the front ranks of the dystopian sisterhood.

Volume 2 of this smart series builds momentum and suspense, raises stakes and expands narrative scope—in short, plan on a marathon, up-all-night read. (Science fiction.

12 & up)

SPACE CASE

Gibbs, Stuart Simon & Schuster (352 pp.) $16.99 | $10.99 e-book | Sep. 16, 2014 978-1-4424-9486-2 978-1-4424-9488-6 e-book Series: Moon Base Alpha, 1 When Dr. Holtz’s body is discovered just outside the lunar colony, everyone assumes he made a mistake putting on his spacesuit—but 12-year-old Dashiell “Dash” Gibson has reason to believe this was no accident.

Earth’s first space base has been a living hell for Dash.

There’s not much to do on the moon besides schoolwork and virtual-reality gaming, and there’s only a handful of kids his age up there with him. The chance to solve a murder is exactly the type of excitement Dash needs. As clues are found and secrets are uncovered, Dash comes to understand that some of the base’s residents aren’t what they seem to be. With a small cast of characters supplying an excellent variety of suspects, Gibbs creates the best kind of “murder on a train” mystery. The genius, however, is putting the train in space.

Closed quarters and techno–mumbo-jumbo add delightful color to the proceedings. Thankfully, the author doesn’t let the high-concept setting overshadow the novel’s mystery. The whodunit is smartly paced and intricately plotted. Best of all, the reveal is actually worth all the buildup. Thrillers too often fly off the rails in their final moments, but the author’s steady hand keeps everything here on track.

Fully absorbing. (Mystery. 9-12)

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COPPER MAGIC

Gibson, Julia Mary Starscape/Tom Doherty (336 pp.) $16.99 | $9.99 e-book | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-7653-3211-0 978-1-4299-5593-5 e-book An impressive debut that’s both historical fiction and enchanted realism.

The protagonist opens the book by proclaiming: “[t]here wasn’t one soul who knew how I made up things.” Thus begins the story of Violet Blake, accomplished 12-year-old liar and proud of it.

Violet is also angry, feeling abandoned by her mother, who left, taking Violet’s beloved younger brother but leaving her daughter behind. However, hope arrives in the form of a hand made of copper that Violet believes can grant wishes. First she finds a friend in Mercy, a girl who summers in Violet’s Lake Michigan–side town. Then she gets a job as an assistant to the (remarkably for 1906) independent-minded photographer Miss Zalzman. But Mercy’s despicable older brother soon steals the hand, and a plan is hatched to retrieve it that has unforeseen consequences. The magic of the hand is presented in such a way that readers have the option of believing in it or not—it’s always a pleasure when an author trusts her readers to come to their own conclusions. Gibson examines race, ethnicity, class and tragedy without didacticism or oversimplification, and while all of the characters are well-crafted, the imperfect protagonist is particularly refreshing. Furthermore, Violet’s poor choices have real-world consequences, and those negatively affected are not blissfully forgiving but instead help Violet feel the depth of her transgressions.

Fresh, subtle, daring: well done indeed. (Historical fiction.

9-13)

EMBERS & ASH

Goeglein, T.M. Putnam (336 pp.) $17.99 | Jul. 10, 2014 978-0-399-257223 Series: Cold Fury, 3 In this conclusion to the Cold Fury series, teenage Mafiosa Sara Jane Rispoli continues her frantic search for her missing family even as the Chicago Outfit wages a bloody war against the Russian mob.

In the six months since her family’s disappearance, Sara Jane has become, if not actively comfortable with, at least accustomed to killing. Having dispatched the creepy “ice cream creatures” in Flicker & Burn (2013), Goeglein largely avoids extraneous paranormal elements, with the plot-driven exception of the scientifically ludicrous Rispoli “cold fury” gaze. Still, even this is kept in the background as the story does what the trilogy does best: explores the ins and outs of the Outfit’s secrets, |

particularly its fabulous network of hidden Capone doors that takes Sara Jane and her best friend, Doug, deep underneath Chicago in search of the Rispolis’ “ultimate power.” Plotting is rough; both the series’ key double cross and a laboriously laid red herring are revealed so late in the game and after so much mayhem that they feel anticlimactic. Formerly fat Doug’s emergence into his own as Sara Jane’s partner is both refreshing and troubling: Why is it only after he loses tons of weight that he can be taken seriously?

In the end, the narrative contrivances overpower whatever genuine moral growth Sara Jane might undergo.

But there is lots of blood. (Paranormal thriller. 12-18)

CATS ARE CATS

Gorbachev, Valeri Illus. by Gorbachev, Valeri Holiday House (32 pp.) $16.95 | Sep. 1, 2014 978-0-8234-3052-9 Miss Bell’s kitten, Tiger, is just a typical cat—maybe.

Miss Bell loves cats, so one day she goes to Pet Land and brings home a little kitten. He is cute with stripes and tail like a tiger’s, so she names him Tiger. She loves him and plays with him and feeds him and watches television with him. Her little Tiger grows into a huge, real tiger. He roars and takes over the house. Sometimes he is messy, but still she loves him. “Cats are cats,” she says. One day, while they are out for a walk, Tiger sees some fish in the Pet Land window. Well, Miss Bell knows that cats love fish, so she buys Tiger his own fish to watch. He loves them…but one of them has a surprising growth spurt, and—well, “Fish are fish.” The shape of Gorbachev’s tale is a bit off-kilter. After drawing out the amusing absurdity of a regular kitten’s growing into a tiger but still living in a house, it rushes to a close. His fine ink-and-watercolor illustrations are, as always, endearing, but the cover gives away too much; there’s no surprise to the kitten-to-tiger transformation.

Certainly not Gorbachev’s best, though it’s agreeable enough. (Picture book. 2-5)

CAN I BRING SABER TO NEW YORK, MS. MAYOR? Grambling, Lois G. Illus. by Love, Judy Charlesbridge (32 pp.) $17.95 | $7.95 paper | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-58089-570-5 978-1-58089-571-2 paper

In the same vein as her other books about bringing extinct animals to inappropriate locations (Can I Bring Woolly to the Library, Ms. Reeder?, 2012), Grambling presents a tour of New York City with a sabertoothed tiger.

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On the first page, a little boy implores the mayor of New York (shown here resembling nothing so much as a mildly depraved Janet Reno) to allow him and his pet saber-toothed tiger to visit her fair city. The boy elucidates the many places they could visit (all the usual NYC hotspots) while making it clear that Saber would be a real asset to Ms. Mayor in her day-to-day duties. After proposing a day of such imagined activities as scaling the Empire State Building from the outside, attending a Yankees game and holding a party in the Central Park Zoo, the boy comes to realize that perhaps the city would be too noisy for his little pet. Fortunately he has an equally kooky replacement in mind. Ice Age–loving kids would undoubtedly adore a Saber of their own, but that’s not enough to save this book. Grambling’s plot rambles, and Love’s exaggerated, sometimes-grotesque accompanying illustrations do not provide enough visual narrative to compensate.

As the world does not lack for picture-book tours of the Big Apple, feel free to turn this visit down. (Picture book.

4-8)

STATES AND CAPITALS United We Stand!

Green, Dan Illus. by Basher Kingfisher (128 pp.) $14.99 | $8.99 paper | Jul. 22, 2014 978-0-7534-7138-8 978-0-7534-7139-5 paper Series: Basher History Sprouting bodies and grins, the states introduce themselves alphabetically in this Basher History gallery.

Following the series’ cast-in-stone design, each entry poses in a cartoon portrait with small emblems representing prominent physical features, industry, number of native U.S. presidents and other select distinctions. On opposite pages, a hearty self-description dominates: “Aloha! Come and hang ten with me, dude. I’m a bunch of chilled-out islands in the Pacific, but I have a fiery heart.” This is sandwiched between bulleted lists of superficial facts, from state bird, flower and nickname to (for Arkansas) “Known for diverse landscape, extreme weather, and Walmart.” U.S. territories bring up the rear, followed by a table of official state mottos and, glued to the rear cover, a foldout map. Along with out-and-out errors (a mistranslation of “e pluribus unum”) and unqualified claims (Boston built the first subway), Green offers confusing or opaque views on the origins of “Hawkeye,” “Sooners,” some state names and which of two “Mississippi Deltas” was the birthplace of the blues. Furthermore, a reference to “sacred hunting grounds” in West Virginia and Kentucky’s claim that “It wasn’t until pioneer Daniel Boone breached the Cumberland Gap…that my verdant pastures were colonized” are, at best, ingenuous.

Chatty, formulaic, superficial—and dispensable, as the content is neither reliable nor systematic. (index, glossary).

(Nonfiction. 10-12)

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THE UNFINISHED LIFE OF ADDISON STONE

Griffin, Adele Photos by Griffin, Adele Soho Teen (256 pp.) $17.99 | $17.99 e-book | Aug. 12, 2014 978-1-61695-360-7 978-1-61695-361-4 e-book Why did an 18-year-old artist fall from an overpass in New York City in the middle of the night?

This “investigative” novel reveals the back story to Addison’s meteoric rise from small-town life to the art world’s it girl.

Griffin is a character in her own novel as a reporter intent on getting to the bottom of the artist’s death. Addy had always shown a raw talent mixed with a magnetic personality that repelled people as often as it drew them to her. Haunted by voices, on anti-psychotic drugs after attempting suicide, Addy jumped at the chance to attend art school in New York when a video of her swinging from a chandelier, “drunk on fear,” went viral. Swept up in a frenzy of activity, in and out of love, she somehow found time to showcase her creative genius. Snippets of interviews sprinkled with color photographs and paintings form a portrait of a sassy and troubled young woman. The novel’s effectiveness as a tongue-in-cheek indictment of the shallowness of contemporary cultural life is undermined by an overreliance on stereotypes: the philandering father, clueless mother, aggressive agent, gay roommate, and most gratuitous of all, the family’s Hawaiian neighbors, who ask their shaman to perform a ritual of harmonic healing, recognizing that the “spirit here’s been troubled for a real long time.”

An interesting but ultimately unsatisfying experiment in form. (Fiction. 14 & up)

SATAN’S PREP

Guarente, Gabe Sky Pony Press (112 pp.) $17.95 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-62873-592-5 High school in Hell? Not so different from high school anywhere else.

Playing his premise for all it’s worth, Guarente fills the halls of St. Lucifer’s Academy for the Hopeless and Damned with heavy-lidded teen dead and demons.

There, the former serve as lab subjects in dissection class, are forced to watch sex-ed films featuring their own parents and otherwise endure like high-pain activities. For Trevor, the thick protective shells of ennui and self-loathing that he brought with him after being electrocuted by a crappy guitar amp begin to break down when slavering vice principal Cerberus promises a transfer to Purgatory if he can pull his “soul point average” up past 3.0 (it’s currently negative 2.8 billion). But then leaving starts to look less attractive when hot new goth student

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“This engrossing tale…avoids the tendency to romanticize 19thcentury whaling and instead tells a plain-speaking story of a whale fighting for its life and its right to live.” from mocha dick

Persephone Plumm shows signs of interest. That interest leads to a clinch after Trevor crashes the school’s angst rally to play a “neo thrash core” ballad…but the course of true love is unlikely to run smooth, as Persephone has yet to share some significant information about her parentage. Being replete with disfigured students, terrifying monsters and scenes of gruesomely explicit torture, the art is as much fun as the broadly tweaked schoolstory tropes. (Said art is supplied by a rotating team, leading to some visual discontinuity from section to section.)

Hellishly hilarious. (Graphic fantasy. 12-14)

COURAGE FOR BEGINNERS

Harrington, Karen Little, Brown (304 pp.) $17.00 | $9.99 e-book | Aug. 12, 2014 978-0-316-21048-5 978-0-316-21047-8 e-book Harrington (Sure Signs of Crazy, 2013) offers another perceptive story of a resilient preteen coping with a parent’s mental illness.

Mysti Murphy has a knack for storytelling. It gives her what her family can’t: adventures beyond her front door. Her mother has severe agoraphobia, which means her father shoulders the responsibilities of work, shopping and transportation, and things like home repairs or dental work are postponed. Fortunately, Mysti’s only friend, Anibal, doesn’t mind her situation. However, as her father often says, change comes for everyone. Hoping to date a popular cheerleader, Anibal becomes a hipster—and a bully in the process. Then, Mr. Murphy falls out of a tree, injuring his brain and plunging Mysti and her family into quiet, suspenseful panic. As emergency groceries run low, Mysti scrambles to hide their situation from her teachers and her quirky new friend, Rama Khan. Inspired by the Battle of the Alamo, she becomes determined to stand up not only to Anibal, but to the unpredictable world outside.

Mysti’s curatorial narration—as if she were describing paintings or book characters—works on multiple levels, showing off her snark and emphasizing her mother’s sheltered influence. Her mother is flawed but sympathetic; she knows her fears are disproportionate, but their debilitating effect is real.

With gallows humor and believable small victories, this unusual novel is a window into making friends and facing fears. (Fiction. 9-13)

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BEFORE YOU

Hart, Amber Kteen (320 pp.) $9.95 paper | Jul. 29, 2014 978-1-61773-116-7 The daughter of a pastor and a young man on the run from a Cuban drug cartel get past their initial animosity to fall in love in this sexy romance.

Prickly, wary 18-year-old Diego is disgusted with the beautiful and collected young woman assigned to escort him through his first day of school, assuming she is a snob. Faith, also 18, finds Diego, with multiple scars and tattoos, annoyingly cocky yet attractive: “He is a boy with eyes like hope, with scars that tell stories….I don’t trust myself around him.” She has erected a carefully crafted facade to disguise her fear of abandonment and a secret year in rehab, while Diego’s past has left him ready to brutally fight when threatened. The pair tell their story in alternating, present-tense chapters. Their two families are well-drawn; Diego and his relatives speak in English with a sprinkling of Spanish, which contrasts with Faith’s Anglo background. The plot moves slowly for the first two-thirds of the novel, then presents a series of shocks. Hart’s writing in this debut conveys a lot of physical and emotional feeling but works a little too hard in places (“Under my fingertips her blood pulses fast, a one-way train on a track bound for collision”).

This riff on West Side Story is torrid and heartfelt if not at all subtle, with a sequel featuring Faith’s best friend still to come. (Romance. 14-18)

MOCHA DICK The Legend and the Fury

Heinz, Brian Illus. by Enos, Randall Creative Editions/Creative Company (32 pp.) $18.99 | Aug. 19, 2014 978-1-56846-242-4

This eye-catching picture book presents the history of the legendary sperm whale behind the Herman Melville classic.

The sperm whale Mocha Dick was first sighted in 1810 off the coast of Chile, and over the course of almost 50 years, he waged over 100 battles with whalers. Sailors referred to him as “the White Whale of the Pacific.” Mocha Dick’s legendary status sprang from his behavior as the hunter, rather than the hunted. He attacked whaleboats and whaling ships, and when he was finally killed, he had the rusting heads of 19 harpoons in his body. This engrossing tale—told with an expert succinctness

by Heinz—avoids the tendency to romanticize 19th-century whaling and instead tells a plain-speaking story of a whale fighting for its life and its right to live. Enos pairs the crisp words with distinctive illustrations reminiscent of scrimshaw blended

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“A hopeful ending offers a fitting closure to this intelligent picture book that will resonate with grieving children and adults alike.” from anna’s heaven

with primitive woodcuts, giving the story an old-fashioned (but not nostalgic), nautical feel. In its overall design, the book manages to inflect what often looks like a 19th-century sensational newspaper story with a more modern sensibility of empathy for hunted whales. In doing this, it has achieved that goal of all good picture books—an entity far greater than its parts.

A tour de force of design, story and illustration. (Picture book. 5-10)

TILLY’S STAYCATION

Hibbs, Gillian Illus. by Hibbs, Gillian Child’s Play (32 pp.) $16.99 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-84643-601-7

Although initially disappointed about not getting to travel the way her friends do, Tilly comes to appreciate adventures close to home.

Tilly’s friends have many exciting plans: Tariq will go to India, Rory to the ocean, Paris to Paris and Chanel to Florida; Tim gets to go camping. She is openly jealous of their plans since she and her mother are not going away on vacation. But, beginning with breakfast in bed, Tilly’s mother has plans for special activities that will make her daughter’s “staycation” a special time even though they stay close to home. A trip to the library allows them to indulge in “stories of faraway places and marvellous people.” Signs pointing to page turns indicate subsequent destinations for mother and daughter, including a park, a swimming pool and a market. When they return home, they make a “vacation home” out of sheets, pillows and blankets in their apartment. As she and her mother cozy down to sleep, Tilly anticipates telling her friends all about the fun she’s had at home, and the final page showing them gathered together in her tent made of bed linens confirms this happy resolution.

Throughout, cheery pictures adopt a naïve style that matches the playful tone of the text.

There’s no place like home, as Dorothy would say. (Picture book. 3-7)

ANNA’S HEAVEN

Hole, Stian Illus. by Hole, Stian Translated by Bartlett, Don Eerdmans (42 pp.) $17.00 | Sep. 8, 2014 978-0-8028-5441-4 Hole once again tackles the hard issues in children’s literature, this time grief, with his now-signature blend of beautiful, thoughtful and quirky images (Garmann’s Secret, 2012, etc.).

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hair, and her restless father prepare to do something difficult.

Numerous clues, including a cloudlike woman’s face looking down from the sky, tell readers that the young girl’s mother has died before Anna acknowledges it. As Anna begins to ask such difficult questions as “How can God keep his eye on everyone?” her world turns dreamlike with Italianate designs and surreal imagery.

Soon Anna and her father fly through a hole in the sky—which appears airy on some pages, as an underwater world on others and even a mix with butterflies and jellyfish floating together— as they make their way to heaven. They take turns questioning and offering possibilities (“Perhaps she’s in Paradise, doing some weeding”), finding comfort in their personal reflections, even if they don’t have all the answers. A hopeful ending offers a fitting closure to this intelligent picture book that will resonate with grieving children and adults alike. Readers of Hole’s previous books will also find subtle humor in repeat characters.

Deeply affecting. (Picture book. 8-11, adult)

FALL LEAVES

Holland, Loretta Illus. by MacKay, Elly HMH Books (32 pp.) $16.99 | Sep. 2, 2014 978-0-544-10664-2 Autumn arrives in a series of three-dimensional tableaux created from cut yupo (plastic) paper and ink; illuminated from varying angles, the vignettes are cleverly photographed and cropped for dramatic effect.

A redheaded boy and girl play in a treehouse, bike through the countryside, watch birds take flight and dance with umbrellas in scenes that include intense light or brilliant autumnal colors. The duo is generally in sharp focus, while borders and backgrounds are blurred, a decision suggesting depth, motion or otherworldliness, depending on the composition. The text has two layers. On one level, the large, two-word concepts that function as headings on each verso could be read as the sole verbal narrative. There is a playful quality as a word’s meaning changes relative to its use as a noun or verb: “FLOWERS LEAVE / APPLES FALL / LEAVES FALL / FALL STAYS / LEAVES LEAVE.” Although this verbal chain misses some opportunities for more artful linkages, the real problem lies with the second layer of text. Holland tries to provide scientific explanations about the Earth’s rotation, chlorophyll, hibernation, etc., without the benefit of diagrams or much in the way of scientific context. The effect is a lengthy muddle of didactic distraction that is not appropriate for the target age or the ethereal illustrations.

Skip the small print and linger instead on the seasonal glory unfolding as the pages turn. (activity) (Picture book. 3-6)

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THE DARE

Jayne, Hannah Sourcebooks Fire (288 pp.) $9.99 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4022-9457-0 After the death of her best friend, a high school girl is haunted by something: Whether it’s conscience, ghost or merely human demons is unclear.

When Brynna’s best friend, Erica, drowns, Brynna—who dared Erica into the night swim that led to her death—becomes addicted to drugs and alcohol, culminating in a drunken driving arrest. Now in a new city and at a new school and seeing a court-appointed therapist, Brynna simply wants to skate through school unnoticed.

Through no effort of her own, she’s immediately sucked into a clique of gregarious classmates, finding herself with friends and a boyfriend, hopeful despite herself, à la Bella Swan. But Brynna keeps seeing Erica on street corners, reliving the drowning in dreams and receiving text messages from her dead friend. Is she losing her mind? Is someone from her old town tormenting her?

Or worse, is one of her new friends the source of this torture? So tightly wound is Brynna’s spiral into degenerating paranoia that the frankly ridiculous, scarcely foreshadowed reveal is barely a blip—her increasing terrors are believable and tension-racked.

Her happy aftermath is less so, but nobody reads Cooney-style thrillers for the realistic resolution.

Brynna’s guilt-induced psychosis makes for a pageturner in the spirit of Lois Duncan’s classic I Know What You Did Last Summer; it will undoubtedly please the thrillerloving crowd. (Thriller. 13-15)

GUINEA DOG 3

Jennings, Patrick Egmont USA (176 pp.) $15.99 | $15.99 e-book | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-60684-554-7 978-1-60684-555-4 e-book Series: Guinea Dog, 3 It’s summer vacation, and in this third in the light-reading Guinea Dog series, Rufus’ and Murph’s families are taking their traditional trip to the lake, unusual

guinea pigs included.

Rufus is excited to share the experience with Fido, his guinea “dog” from Petopia, the store that disappeared as fast as it popped up. Unfortunately, his mom has also invited the families of Rufus’ nemesis, Dmitri, and a girl, Lurena. At least Lurena will be bringing Fido’s daughter, the guinea “squirrel.” Let the games begin! While swimming, Rufus nearly drowns Fido, who is only resuscitated after another camper, Pablo, offers advice.

He joins their circle but, oddly, won’t swim. Murph saves Rufus from his dad’s grilled mushrooms (“Seriously?”) with a welltimed hot dog. Lurena turns out to be a loyal ally. Bully Dmitri’s |

behavior becomes so bad that even even-tempered Murph notices. Rufus narrates it all with his by-now-familiar, entertaining mix of preteen self-conscious self-involvement and dawning maturity. Murph and Dmitri are a bit one-dimensional, but in them, readers will easily recognize kids they love and love to hate, respectively. Pablo offers a nice counterpoint to Rufus’ hesitancy when he boldly confronts his self-imposed limits when pushed. Why? Because Petopia has popped up again, and Pablo is now the proud owner of a guinea “otter,” meaning Pablo must swim.

Youngsters will eagerly jump in for another fast, fun read. (Animal fantasy. 8-12)

WHEN LUNCH FIGHTS BACK Wickedly Clever Animal Defenses

Johnson, Rebecca L. Millbrook/Lerner (48 pp.) $29.27 PLB | Jun. 15, 2014 978-1-4677-2109-7 PLB

Here’s blood in your eye.

Along with the ever popular hagfish (aka “snot eel”) and the horned lizard—which can indeed squirt blood from one or both eyes—Johnson (Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature’s Undead, 2012, etc.) profiles 10 animals with particularly noxious defense mechanisms. Likewise introducing researchers who have helped to provide “the science behind the story,” she explains the nature of each defense and, in simple but specific language, the biology that makes it work. Large color photos feature a mix of portrait views and close-ups of relevant body parts, to which spatters of blood and dripping ichor on each page add melodramatic visual motifs. This is an outstanding way for readers to meet scientists at work in both field and lab, as well as to learn that, for instance, fulmar chicks can project vomit up to 6 feet and, creepily, that a school of the Amazonian two-spot astyanax will attack and eject one of its own to distract an approaching predator.

Thrilling reading for budding biologists. (source notes, multimedia resource lists) (Nonfiction. 9-11)

WINTER IS COMING

Johnston, Tony Illus. by LaMarche, Jim Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (40 pp.) $17.99 | $10.99 e-book | Aug. 26, 2014 978-1-4424-7251-8 978-1-4424-7253-2 e-book Armed with a sketchbook and patience, a young girl watches animals from a platform in a tree.

With quiet appreciation, the narrator describes what she sees on visits made from September through late November to her

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INTERVIEWS & PROFILES

Peter Sís

A lifelong fascination with The Little Prince results in Sís’ latest picture book

By Jennifer M. Brown

Photo courtesy Palma Fiacco Fotografin

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is Peter Sís’ favorite book. “When I got it from my father, he made a point that it’s a special book,” Sís recalls. “It was about secrets.” At the time, Sís was a child growing up in Prague under a totalitarian regime, and The Little Prince transported him outside of its walls. “This was a door through which I could go myself,” he says. “I could go to another place or another planet.” In a starred review of The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Kirkus echoed lines from this classic international tale: “What was essential about one golden-haired boy in love with flying becomes visible in Sís’ richly visual biographical portrait of French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.”

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The Pilot and the Little Prince took Sís a long time to write. “The Galileo (Starry Messenger) and Darwin (The Tree of Life) books happened while this project percolated,” says Sís. “With Darwin and Galileo, I wanted to show children that people would be against them, and they’d have to face challenges.” On the other hand, Sís says, “Saint-Exupéry is about the poetry.” But it’s also a history of the airplane. Born in 1900, Saint-Exupéry started flying at the dawn of aviation and, as a pilot, saw dramatic changes in the development of the airplane. The Lockheed P-38 Lightning Antoine flies at the end of the book is almost as advanced as the planes today, according to Sís. He simultaneously captures both the possibilities of science and the poetry of the era in which the author/ artist and aviator lived. This duality resonated with Sís, who grew up reading Jules Verne and watching the films of Georges Méliès, among other artists, to whom he gives a nod in the opening spread.

“You can get too much research,” Sís admits.

“That happened to me with Darwin when I went to his house in England. You feel more responsibility.”

When he was about two-thirds of the way finished with The Pilot and the Little Prince, Sís not only read Saint-Exupéry’s adult books Night Flight and Wind, Sand and Stars, but also Stacy Schiff ’s biography of him. But some of the speculation made him uncomfortable. He cites an example from his earlier research: “I loved the Van Gogh and Da Vinci biographies. But you get to a place where you read, ‘and then Van Gogh cut off his ear.’ How do they know this was the moment?” Sís asked. “This is when I prefer to be in my field, to leave it to the reader to come up with his own conclusion.”

The creation of this book became a personal journey for Sís, with discoveries of many parallels between

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Saint-Exupéry’s life and his own. Saint-Exupéry left his native France; Sís left Prague for America. “Exile is never temporary; he was caught between two countries,” says Sís. During one of his father’s visits to New York, he pointed to Central Park South and told Sís, “This is where Saint-Exupéry lived.” Once Sís realized that the Frenchman had written The Little Prince in New York, he reread the book—as well as Saint-Exupéry’s two aforementioned adult books.

Sís made conscious decisions about how to pay homage to The Little Prince while also making this a story about Saint-Exupéry’s relationship to its creation. “I made drawings of all the characters on all the planets, then I ended up leaving them out,” Sís explains. “I have 4 to 5 dummies from when I was changing different things and trying to say different things differently.” Yet a few images do pay homage to Saint-Exupéry’s artwork: An inset illustration that discusses Antoine in charge of the Cape Juby airfield, entertaining officers and nomads, depicts their profiles secured to a round table that may put Little Prince fans in mind of the planet with the overgrown baobab trees. A poignant depiction of a 4-year-old Antoine wondering where his recently deceased father went (“Was his father on a star?”) bears a striking resemblance to the penultimate image in The Little Prince.

“I was trying to work with pictures reminiscent of the little boy with golden hair and what he sees and feels—to create something between the pictures and the text,” Sís says. Many of his compositions do just that. One demonstrates the challenges of flying early on, with only a map as guide.

Antoine’s good friend Henri Guillaumet told him, “Follow the face of the landscape.” Sís transitions into a wordless double-page spread of a golden landscape that comes alive with “faces” on cliffs, volcanoes and rock formations. “The planet is crowded with people, but when he flies, he can see large spaces without anyone,” Sís says.

On a full-bleed three-quarter spread of German tanks, blood-colored watercolors representing their fiery destruction, Antoine learns that his friend Guillaumet has died. “That was a tough picture, with the tanks,” Sís admits. “I thought, ‘It has to be the shock of what happened, like the Blitzkrieg,’ and the French were completely unprepared. Most of his friends were shot down. There were 25 in the unit, |

and 17 died.” Sís then segues into a wordless spread of Saint-Exupéry crossing the Atlantic with only the full moon’s reflection: “In that moment when he leaves Lisbon, he realizes he’s leaving his country and also his best friend.” Saint-Exupéry would never set foot on French soil again. That resonated with Sís. “When I came to America, I thought I’d never set foot in Prague again. I thought I’d never see my grandmother’s kitchen. It was a heartbreaking feeling,” Sís recalls. “I was trying to find a moment of contemplation there.”

Sís has returned to The Little Prince at different stages in his life. “As a child, I thought, ‘Of course, he talks about how we children know it’s an elephant in a boa constrictor.’ ” These are the secrets SaintExupéry confides—that children understand what adults do not. “I remember coming to this country, it was a book of hope,” Sís continues. “Reading it to my children later, it was more melancholy and sad.

Being older, you understand both worlds. Unfortunately, I became the adult.”

Jennifer M. Brown is the children’s editor of Shelf Awareness and the director of the Center for Children’s Literature at the Bank Street College of Education in New York City.

The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry received a starred review in the Apr. 1, 2014, issue of Kirkus Reviews.

The Pilot and the Little Prince: The Life of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Sís, Peter Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux (48 pp.) $18.99 | May 27, 2014 978-0-374-38069-4

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special place on the edge of the woods. She watches a fox take the last apple from a tree. A bear mother “snuffles for food” with her cub. Honking Canada geese fly overhead. There are skunks, acorn woodpeckers, rabbits, chipmunks, a deer with still-spotted fawns and turkeys. One day the lucky girl even observes a lynx.

“I stay quiet, quiet / to keep it here— / for a moment.” Even on the gray, cold day on which no animals come, the narrator sits patiently, her back to readers, steadily waiting and watching.

LaMarche’s illustrations, done mostly in shades of orange and brown with acrylics, colored pencil and inks, beautifully and realistically portray the ever changing woods, trees, plants and animals. The girl’s appreciation for all she sees and hears is as evident in her face and body language as it is in the text. While not as obviously place-specific as the prolific author’s Desert Song, illustrated by Ed Young (2000), the flora and fauna are recognizably Californian—but the appeal will be universal.

This gentle, lyrical celebration of the natural world will reward similarly observant readers. (Picture book. 4-8)

NOT MY GIRL

Jordan-Fenton, Christy; PokiakFenton, Margaret Illus. by Grimard, Gabrielle Annick Press (36 pp.) $9.95 paper | $21.95 PLB | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-55451-624-7 978-1-55451-625-4 PLB Ten-year-old Olemaun describes her return from two years at the outsiders’ school and her slow re-entry into her family’s Inuit world.

When Olemaun (co-author Pokiak-Fenton) returns to her family, both her mother and her father’s dogs fail to recognize her. She’s grown tall and skinny, her hair has been cut short, she has a different smell. She no longer understands the family’s language and finds the food inedible. Her best friend isn’t allowed to play with her anymore. Appropriately for the young audience, the authors deal gently with the child’s trauma, showing how, in every case, things get better. The skills Olemaun acquired at school help her nurse a puppy she mistakenly kept too long from its mother. And, she learns to drive a dog sled, making her own mother proud.

As they did with Margaret’s boarding school years in When I Was Eight (2013), the authors have distilled the years covered in A Stranger at Home (2011) into a moving picture book.

The first-person narrative is set against Grimard’s dramatic paintings, which depict family members shown in close-ups and wide-angle views that take in the dramatic scenery of northern Canada. The sky colors are particularly effective— the varying blues and orange of day and the reds and greens of the nighttime northern lights.

Another compelling version of an inspiring story. (Picture book/biography. 5-9)

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ME ON THE FLOOR BLEEDING

Jägerfeld, Jenny Translated by Beard, Susan Stockholm Text (288 pp.) $14.95 paper | Jul. 15, 2014 978-91-7547-011-5

Seventeen-year-old goth Maja accidentally cuts off the end of her thumb in class with an electric saw.

It’s horrifying, but like most things in her life, she’s a spectator as well as a participant. A few days later, she goes on her usual scheduled visit to her emotionally distant mother, Jana, but finds no one home—all weekend. Quite by accident, that leads her to stumble in on a neighbor’s party, where she meets Justin. In a gently nuanced translation from its original Swedish, their initial sexual encounter—painful then surprisingly satisfying—is both tender and funny. Finally, as bits of evidence are gradually revealed, Maja learns the truth of her odd, emotionally bruising relationship with Jana: Her mother has just been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Although that accounts for her mother’s lifelong distance, it’s nearly impossible for Maja to come to grips with it. Sex and alcohol pervade the tale, but it’s Maja’s attempts to understand and cope with her mother that define it. While the Swedish setting, place names and cultural differences add flavor, Maja’s fully authentic first-person voice as she relates her internal struggles will carry readers past any unfamiliarity. The cover art is strangely inappropriate; Maja, with her nearly shaved, dyed black hair and goth clothing looks nothing like the pink-haired girl depicted.

A moving, complex and satisfying import. (Fiction. 14 & up)

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Shaping TV Comedy and American Culture

Kaplan, Arie Twenty-First Century/Lerner (64 pp.) $33.27 PLB | Aug. 1, 2014 978-1-4677-1086-2 PLB

This brief overview of the long-running, influential sketch-comedy show is brimming with facts but lacking in substance.

When Saturday Night Live premiered in 1975, it was bold, raw and revolutionary. It offered sharp, biting commentary on politics and other current events, as well as witty satirical pieces skewering all facets of American culture. Kaplan’s brief overview of the show chronicles its rise, impact upon popular culture, influence upon comedians and comedy programs that followed it, occasional controversies it stirred, and how it has served as a launching pad for a remarkable number of future stars in film and television. He is quite correct when he claims, “Saturday Night Live changed the way we think about comedians and comedy” and that it “paved the way for other provocative and intelligent comedy shows.” Unfortunately, Kaplan never elaborates on this statement, focusing instead on who were the most popular performers and what were

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“Korngold’s talent for taking stressful childhood moments and developing them into simple yet satisfying storylines continues to be in evidence….” froms sadie, ori, and nuggles go to camp

the most popular catchphrases and describing some of the more notable sketches in the show’s history. He does pay some cursory attention to how the show evolved in its treatment of minority cast members. Another notable shortcoming is the singular attention given to the show’s star performers—there’s no mention made of the essential role writers had in making the show innovative and sustaining its longevity.

A sketchy, superficial treatment of a subject worthy of much more. (source notes, bibliography, further information, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)

WHO’S NEXT DOOR?

Kishira, Mayuko Illus. by Takabatake, Jun Owlkids Books (32 pp.) $16.95 | Aug. 15, 2014 978-1-77147-071-1

A simple comedy of errors takes place when a chicken and an owl find their waking hours at odds.

“Deep in the woods, there are two houses. Chicken lives in the house with the red roof. No one lives in the house with the blue roof.” When Kishira talks red and blue, she means the kind of red and blue paints deployed in elementary school art classes circa 1958: saturated and primary as primary can be. (The houses, true to form, are lemon yellow, and Takabatake’s linework is good and wobbly.)

When mail starts being delivered to the house with the blue roof, Chicken is stoked: “He enjoys living on his own, but sometimes he feels lonely.” Since no one answers the door, Chicken leaves a note, which is promptly responded to by Owl, the newcomer. Happy to make new friends, he writes that he will visit the next day. For Chicken, day is day, when the sun is out, but for Owl, day is night, when the moon is out. One is waiting, waiting, waiting; the other wonders if it is too early to drop in. This is the kind of bafflement young readers will gratifyingly pick up right away; they will smugly feel they have the drop on Chicken and Owl. Chicken and Owl’s solution is ingenious and makes one wonder where the word “birdbrain” ever came from. (Picture book. 4-8)

MEMORY MAZE

Korman, Gordon Scholastic (240 pp.) $16.99 | $16.99 e-book | Jul. 29, 2014 978-0-545-50329-7 978-0-545-50333-4 e-book Series: Hypnotists, 2 A new identity can’t keep Jackson Opus and his parents out of harm’s way.

After refusing to help Elias Mako and his Sentia Institute mesmerists rig an election in The Hypnotists (2013), Jax and his parents move from New York City to Haywood, Connecticut, and change their |

name from Opus to Magnus. They are in hiding from Mako and his young thugs with the help of Axel Braintree, head of the Sandman’s Guild (a kind of 12-step group for hypnotists to keep them on the straight and narrow). But it’s hard for Jax to keep his head down when his color-changing gaze and an offhand comment can send anyone into a mind-controlled trance. When dying media tycoon Avery Quackenbush, who’s on to Jax’s identity, approaches the middle schooler with an offer he can’t refuse, Jax takes on the task of hypnotizing Quackenbush to extend his life—against Braintree’s advice. But if Quackenbush has figured out who Jax is, can Mako and the FBI be far behind? Though it’s less hypnotism and more telepathic mind control that acts as a catalyst to the tale, Korman’s second light and action-oriented tale about Jax Opus will please fans of the first or his other short suspense trilogies. Though there’s not much character depth, and it’s a bit slow at times, there are still a couple of surprises.

Not Korman’s best but good for a summer read. (Suspense fantasy. 9-12)

SADIE, ORI, AND NUGGLES GO TO CAMP

Korngold, Jamie Illus. by Fortenberry, Julie Kar-Ben (24 pp.) $17.95 | $7.95 paper | $6.95 e-book Sep. 1, 2014 978-1-4677-0424-3 978-1-4677-0425-0 paper 978-1-4677-4671-7 e-book Series: Sadie and Ori

Experienced camper and older sister Sadie helps younger brother Ori get ready for his first year at sleep-away camp.

Sadie loves summer camp, a place where she feels at home with her Jewish friends, acting in plays, playing sports, singing around the campfire and enjoying ice cream sundaes. Sevenyear-old Ori will attend this year and, while packing, becomes concerned about taking Nuggles, the favorite stuffed animal he has slept with since birth. Though Sadie assures him that bringing Nuggles will be OK, Ori worries that “the kids will think I’m a baby.” After a trial night at home without Nuggles, Ori cannot sleep and decides to pack the stuffed zebra. Trepidation turns to a welcome surprise when he arrives at camp and sees his bunkmates, each cuddling or sitting with his own beloved “stuffy.” Korngold’s talent for taking stressful childhood moments and developing them into simple yet satisfying storylines continues to be in evidence in this fifth installment of her Sadie and Ori series. Though briefly alluding to the Jewish camping experience through one double-page spread highlighting a Shabbat candle lighting and the occasional yarmulke, this should serve most new and first-time campers well in providing a positive response to the anxiety that inevitably accompanies excitement at leaving home. Gentle, loosely defined paintings depict a middle-class home and woodsy camp.

Children will appreciate the sweet reassurance on display here. (Picture book. 6-8)

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“Larson makes this terrible event in American history personal with the story of one girl and her beloved pet.” from dash

WHEN EMILY CARR MET WOO

Kulling, Monica Illus. by Griffiths, Dean Pajama Press (32 pp.) $19.95 | Aug. 15, 2014 978-1-927485-40-8

A picture book offers glimpses of the life of the iconic Canadian artist Emily Carr.

Although Emily Carr deserves to be as ubiquitously known in the United States as she is in Canada, this book is probably not going to help that happen. Any appeal it may have relies on prior knowledge readers might have of Carr’s life; the brief biography on the last page is not enough. To readers unfamiliar with Carr’s art and writing, it becomes only the story of an eccentric old woman who occasionally paints, makes bowls, hooks rugs and has a houseful of animals, including a monkey that gets into mischief. As much as the narrative fragments try to center around Carr’s relationship with her pet monkey, Woo, they do not coalesce into a cohesive story, needing far more background information than presented to create resonance.

The illustrations are another casualty of this assumption of prior knowledge. But in this case, the misjudgment is in assuming that readers need to know what Carr looked like. Instead of imbuing his illustrations with vitality and originality, Griffiths has limited them to a pseudo-realism that, while succeeding in capturing a comic-book–type likeness of the real Carr, ultimately comes across as staid and stilted.

A well-meaning story that unfortunately lacks the originality, creativity and spirit of its subject. (Picture book. 4-8)

DASH

Larson, Kirby Scholastic (256 pp.) $16.99 | $16.99 e-book | Aug. 26, 2014 978-0-545-41635-1 978-0-545-66282-6 e-book Eleven-year-old Mitsi Kashino and her family are forced to move to a Japanese internment camp following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Japanese-Americans are forced to leave their homes, their jobs, and all but what they can carry.

Unfortunately for Mitsi, this also means leaving her beloved dog, Dash, behind. Thankfully, a good-hearted neighbor agrees to take Dash in. The neighbor writes letters to Mitsi, composing them from Dash’s point of view, and these keep Mitsi connected with the world beyond the fence. Overcrowded living quarters, long lines and minimal resources stretch the patience of the internees and threaten the bonds of the Kashino family.

However, even amid their incarceration, there are spots of hope.

Mitsi and her family find new friendships, rediscover old traditions and reinvent their lives. Through it all, Mitsi holds tight to her dream of the end of the war and her reunion with Dash.

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Larson makes this terrible event in American history personal with the story of one girl and her beloved pet. Spot-on dialogue, careful cultural details and the inclusion of specific historical characters such as artist Eddie Sato make this an educational read as well as a heartwarming one. An author’s note adds further authenticity.

This emotionally satisfying and thought-provoking book will have readers pulling for Mitsi and Dash. (Historical fiction. 8-12)

STORK’S LANDING

Lehman-Wilzig, Tami Illus. by Shuttlewood, Anna Kar-Ben (32 pp.) $17.95 | $7.95 paper | $6.95 e-book Sep. 1, 2014 978-1-4677-1395-5 978-1-4677-1396-2 paper 978-1-4677-4673-1 e-book A wild stork receives some loving care when it becomes caught in netting on Maya’s kibbutz during the annual migration from Africa to Israel.

Maya’s abba is a fish farmer and each year protects his stock from hungry, swooping storks by placing netting across the ponds. But when one stork’s feet become entangled, she breaks her wing in her struggle to free herself. Maya rescues and cares for the injured stork, naming her Yaffa, “pretty” in Hebrew. As Yaffa heals, a pair of storks make their nest in a tree on the kibbutz, producing three little chicks. When the mother leaves, never to return, the male stork, named Tzadok (“righteous”)

by Maya, remains but needs a partner to scavenge for and feed the chicks. Yaffa is gently introduced and placed in the nest to help the young family until the chicks are ready to fly. Watercolors in muted natural hues on textured paper add a sense of serenity to the tale. It is unusual in its depiction of an Israeli kibbutz, though it does little to portray the distinctiveness of kibbutz life, beyond references to the other farmers; the focus on Maya’s altruistic act obscures the authentic portrayal of the collective business of farming fish.

A well-meaning but ultimately unsuccessful blend of eco-awareness and aquaculture. (Picture book. 5-8)

OLD MANHATTAN HAS SOME FARMS

Lendroth, Susan Illus. by Endle, Kate Charlesbridge (32 pp.) $16.95 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-58089-572-9

Old MacDonald would be greatly surprised to find that although his cows and pigs and sheep might need a rural setting, cities are just fine for growing lots of healthy crops.

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From Manhattan to Atlanta to Chicago and beyond, in cities across the United States and Canada, urban farmers are carving out spaces on rooftops and windowsills, in empty lots, backyards and community gardens. Employing a variety of methods, they are raising vegetables and herbs or keeping bees and making honey. Worms and hydroponics aid in the endeavors of these farmers, and even the White House compost bins play their part. There’s a lot of information to absorb, but Lendroth literally makes the facts sing to the tune of the old folk song, with the refrain “E-I-E-I-Grow” following each city’s verse. The verses flow easily and follow the song’s pattern in aabb rhyme while managing to include such words as “radicchio” and “arugula” without missing a beat. The visual experience matches the text beautifully. An ethnically diverse cast of adults and children are busily digging, weeding and harvesting a variety of tempting foods in Endle’s large-scale double-page spreads. Rendered in gouache, the illustrations are thickly outlined in black and filled with the brightest of eye-popping colors set among rich brown soil and myriad greens.

Little ones will sing along and get their own gardens growing. (afterword, resources, music) (Picture book. 3-8)

RANDOM

Leveen, Tom Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster (224 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 12, 2014 978-1-4424-9956-0 In a topical thriller, a girl facing legal repercussions for her role in a cyberbullying-related suicide receives a mysterious phone call from a stranger who claims to be on the verge of suicide himself.

The caller, who introduces himself as Andrew, tells Victoria that he dialed her number “at random.”

Given the prominence of Victoria’s name in local news, however, this claim seems unlikely. But there is little time for either Victoria or readers to question Andrew’s story within the book’s short, discrete time frame. Andrew is poised to drive his car off a cliff now, and tomorrow morning, Victoria will stand trial for her part in an incident whose details are revealed piece by piece to readers alongside the events of the night. Posts from Victoria’s Facebook wall, along with their comments and “likes,” are reproduced as the story unfolds, though their translation into print feels inevitably clunky. Add in the headline-worthy plot and a few reveals about Andrew’s motivations and the impact of homophobia, and the whole thing smacks of a Very Special Lesson. Nevertheless, the story moves quickly and with genuine tension, and there is enough ambiguity even after the ending that readers can draw their own conclusions about Victoria’s character and level of culpability.

Suspenseful, if also a bit didactic. (Suspense. 12-18)

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SIX FEET OVER IT

Longo, Jennifer Random House (352 pp.) $17.99 | $10.99 e-book | $20.99 PLB Aug. 26, 2014 978-0-449-81871-8 978-0-449-81873-2 e-book 978-0-449-81872-5 PLB A teenage girl must choose to live in a world filled with death.

Fourteen-year-old Leigh is anything but thrilled when her parents move the family from their coastal home in Mendocino to run a “memorial park” (aka graveyard) in the boring inland California community of Hangtown. While her older sister, Kai, relaxes into small-town living, finally a normal high school girl after a long battle with leukemia, Leigh hides herself in the cemetery’s office and tries to avoid forming relationships. Like her parents, Leigh sacrificed a lot for Kai’s recovery, but she isn’t bitter. She adores her sister. Instead, she has closed herself off from feeling, hoping to avoid hurting or losing anyone again. When the local florists’ daughter and the new groundskeeper enter her life, she struggles to keep them at arm’s length. As she begins to let her guard down, she realizes that loss is a part of life and must decide if she is ready to let go of some painful events in her past to start really living again. In her debut, Longo deftly combines Leigh’s wry wit with an exceptional cast of well-developed characters to create a novel that is equal parts poignant and humorous. Readers will find themselves rooting for Leigh as she returns to the world around her.

Superb. (Fiction. 12-16)

SHIFTING SANDS Life in the Times of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad Lowinger, Kathy Illus. by Beckert, Wylie Annick Press (118 pp.) $24.95 | $14.95 paper | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-55451-617-9 978-1-55451-616-2 paper

In this trio of short stories, teenagers have brief but life-changing encounters with religious leaders or founders.

All three young people make decisions that solidify their senses of collective identity: Dina must choose between the relative comforts of life as a slave to one of pharaoh’s queens or heeding her “rebel” great-uncle Moses’ call to freedom; the miracles and message of Mattan’s one-time Nazareth neighbor ease his restlessness and show him a better way to resist his Roman overlords; though it means leaving Mecca and his own tribe behind, Fallah joins Muhammad’s new community, in which “everybody has equal value—everybody.” Beckert depicts the narrators in three painted scenes, but Moses, Jesus and Muhammad appear only in the prose—and there just briefly.

Though Lowinger’s portrayals of the three eras are idealized,

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she does fold some historical detail into both the stories and epilogues that follow each. Along with contrasting the simplicity of monotheism over polytheism throughout, she also incorporates a few very basic teachings and appends short notes on each faith’s scriptures and cultural practices.

Respectful, if not particularly informative or revealing. (maps) (Short stories. 10-13)

DEAD IN THE WATER

Lynch, Chris Scholastic (192 pp.) $17.99 | $17.99 e-book | Sep. 30, 2014 978-0-545-52298-4 978-0-545-52300-4 e-book Series: World War II, 2 In this second volume of his series on World War II (The Right Fight, 2014), Lynch turns his raw-boned storytelling talents to the Pacific theater.

On board the aircraft carrier Yorktown, Hank assists pilots flying their Dauntless, Devastator and Wildcat aircraft to get off the deck without taking an unwanted swim. There is a modicum of action (like getting hit by a torpedo), there are burials at sea, a smattering of place names that ought to fire some probing of atlases: the Coral Sea, the Marshall Islands. But Lynch has other fish to fry.

One is the racism encountered by Hank’s friend Bradford, both on the top deck of the carrier and when they have a shore leave. Hank is a bit of a naif, and it appalls him when Bradford is barred from the beach at Waikiki or when the officers order him off the flight deck. But both author and Bradford keep their cools, though the latter does speak his mind to a policeman on Waikiki: “I decided if any American ever wanted to put me off someplace where I have earned my place as much as any man alive, he was gonna have to work a lot harder to do it than last time.”

Satisfied readers will look forward to the next volume in this worthy, low-key but piquant series. (Historical fiction.

10-14)

SECRETS UNDERGROUND North America’s Buried Past

MacLeod, Elizabeth Annick Press (88 pp.) $24.95 | $14.95 paper | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-55451-631-5 978-1-55451-630-8 paper

MacLeod digs into historical records (though not particularly deeply) to shine a light on selected tunnels and other underground installations that have fallen into obscurity.

Her chosen sites, evidently selected more for geographical spread than similarity, range from the ruins of Tenochtitlán’s Templo Mayor below Mexico City and a West Virginia cave that became an important secret source of saltpeter for 102

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the Confederacy to tunnels beneath Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, used by Chinese immigrants and bootleggers, and a huge bomb shelter built for Congress during the Cold War. All have intriguing histories, though much of what the author relates is speculative or, like the scene-setting miniepisodes that open each chapter, invented to crank up the drama. She also doesn’t consistently drill down to specific details about how these subterranean wonders were constructed or, in more modern times, reconstructed. Furthermore, though most of the images and period photos add informative visual notes, some filler has been mixed in, and several sidebars are poorly placed—being, at best, only marginally related to adjacent passages.

Still, this will give general readers hints of what draws spelunkers and urban archaeologists to probe below our planet’s surface. (Nonfiction. 10-12)

THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN WITCHES

Magaziner, Lauren Dial (272 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 14, 2014 978-0-8037-39185

Fifth-grader Rupert Campbell lives in a world that combines Roald Dahl’s Witches and Louis Sachar’s Wayside School.

Absurd and magical, it is still informed by the trials of children: trouble with friends and teachers. Extremely mean, scary, strange and dangerous teachers. Mrs. Frabbleknacker refuses to allow the fifth graders to speak to one another—even outside of class. She has been known to physically pick up and throw students out of the room when they get on her wrong side. The day she makes the students search for one paper clip in Gliverstoll’s town dump, Rupert decides to change his fate. Infused with a Mr. Weasley– like curiosity, nonmagical Rupert yearns to learn more about the witches in the area. Against his mother’s firm directions, he answers an ad for a witch’s apprentice. Quirky and hopelessly dramatic, Witchling Two desperately needs to pass her exams to become a full-fledged witch, or she will be exiled. Rupert is her only, unlikely hope. Together, they struggle to solve two looming disasters—passing the exam and surviving Mrs. Frabbleknacker’s class! Magaziner’s youthful narrative voice is distinctly aural: Her characters swish and swoop, clomp and screech. Her storytelling cauldron mixes the right balance of bizarre and banal, and she turns up the heat as the witch exam approaches.

Readers will banish themselves from the ordinary world to finish this book in a flash. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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“Perhaps coincidentally, [Matt’s] voice is very similar to another, famous, diary-keeping middle schooler....” from my zombie hamster

STICKY FINGERS DIY Duct Tape Projects—Easy to Pick Up, Hard to Put Down

Maletsky, Sophie Zest Books (242 pp.) $16.99 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-936976-54-6

Clear directions for nifty-looking ducttape crafts abound in this guide, featuring items that can be made for school and home, to wear and to carry tablets, phones and even lunch.

A brief introduction details the evolution of duct tape as it moved from its utilitarian but dull silver hue at the hardware store to its ubiquitous availability in a rainbow assortment of colors and patterns. Maletsky efficiently breaks down the basics of what readers will need to get started and pragmatically suggests how to organize supplies into a portable bin. First comes instruction in the core techniques that are needed, plus tape-saving methods for using tarpaulin material and felt as a backing and a handy evaluation of which brands and types of the sticky stuff offer users the most bang for their buck. Then 58 different projects are offered, each one coded for its level of ease and estimated completion time. Though many will appeal broadly, there are some that are geared most readily to young teens who favor the traditionally girly—such as a watermelonslice–shaped clutch purse and an earring tree that uses a toiletpaper tube as its trunk. Also included are plenty of clever ideas for how to create embellishments like tassels, stickers, rosettes and ruffles.

Chock full of appealing ideas, with a thorough table of contents, index, and a colorful, illustrated layout, to boot.

(Nonfiction. 9-16)

EAT YOUR SCIENCE HOMEWORK Recipes for Inquiring Minds

McCallum, Ann Illus. by Hernandez, Leeza Charlesbridge (48 pp.) $16.95 | $7.95 paper | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-57091-298-6 978-1-57091-299-3 paper

Science concepts are appetizingly presented with relevant recipes.

The math-teaching author of Eat Your Math Homework, also illustrated by Hernandez (2011), follows up with six edible demonstrations of scientific ideas from chemistry, forensic science, geology and astrophysics. The connection is sometimes straightforward (Sedimentary Pizza Lasagna does retain the layers of sedimentary rock) but sometimes not. Three Atomic Popcorn Balls will make a model water molecule, but what do you do with the other balls? You’d need more colors than the suggested two to make many other kinds of molecules. The fingerprints pressed into the edges of Loop, Whorl, and Arch |

Cookies will disappear in the cooking process. The science explanations aren’t clear, either. A lengthy description of invisible ink mentions the chemical change involved, but it also covers the differences between acids and bases and both the chemical and the physical reactions demonstrated by Invisible Ink Snack Pockets. All this is relevant, perhaps, but confusing to children who have never encountered any of this before. An indentation in stretchy space is a theoretical explanation for the gravity of everything, not just black holes. The recipes have problems, too. The sausage should be precooked before being placed in the Black Hole Swallow-Up Muffins, and the recipe for sugar cookies calls for rolling out the dough without prechilling it, making it a recipe for a mess.

To be used, with caution, by adult and child together.

(Nonfiction. 7-12)

MY ZOMBIE HAMSTER

McCreely, Havelock Egmont USA (208 pp.) $15.99 | $15.99 e-book | Jul. 8, 2014 978-1-60684-491-5 978-1-60684-492-2 e-book For Christmas, Matt wants a Runesword that will allow him to ditch his control pad and take his level-28 cleric into whole new realms of awesomeness.

He gets Snuffles the hamster—who pretty soon turns into Anti-Snuffles, the zombie hamster, who promptly escapes.

This is a problem, as in Matt’s America, towns are surrounded by high walls and patrolled by Zombie Squads. (The back story behind the zombie plague, which evidently began only recently, is elided.) A zombie hamster inside the walls puts Matt’s family in legal jeopardy, so Matt and his pals embark on a stop-and-go search for Anti-Snuffles before he can turn all Edenvale’s pets into deadbeats. McCreely’s execution of his premise is scattershot. Matt relates his tale in an unconvincing, diarylike structure, but there’s no sense that Matt is actually keeping a diary, making it a conceit without any real justification. Perhaps coincidentally, his voice is very similar to another, famous, diary-keeping middle schooler, and Matt seems to suffer equally from a sort of narrative ADHD. Bouts of anxiety over Anti-Snuffles’ depredations alternate with games of Runespell and lamentations at the appointment of his mother as a new long-term substitute teacher. The plot twist that has the best promise of engaging readers emotionally occurs over halfway through the book; those who make it that far may be interested enough to wait for the sequel, but that’s not a sure thing.

This zombie hamster doesn’t have much bite. (Funny horror. 8-12)

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“McKay supplies just enough detail for the imagination to fill in the scenes of horrific torture, ritualistic murders and village massacres.” from war brothers

MAID OF DECEPTION

McGowan, Jennifer Simon & Schuster (416 pp.) $17.99 | $10.99 e-book | Aug. 26, 2014 978-1-4424-4141-5 978-1-4424-4143-9 e-book Series: Maids of Honor, 2 McGowan takes up the tale of love and espionage in the court of the first Queen Elizabeth where she left off in her debut, Maid of Secrets (2013).

The beautiful, ambitious, scheming Beatrice Knowles is a member of the same royal cadre of spies introduced in the last book. Desperate to rise above her station as the daughter of a dysfunctional and apparently penniless noble, Beatrice tries everything in her formidable arsenal of survival tools to better herself. Constantly engaged in a vicious power struggle with the indomitable monarch, Beatrice suffers many humiliations. Not least among these are the prevention of her carefully arranged marriage to the posh Lord Cavanaugh and a spontaneous royal visit to her family’s embarrassingly run-down estate. Having squashed her marriage plans, the queen orders Beatrice to use her feminine wiles to spy on the odious Alasdair MacLeod. The maid’s initial revulsion for the rugged Scottish nobleman turns to infatuation, and through many twists and turns of a plot almost as complex as the machinations of the political scene, she discovers that true love counts for more than wealth and status. McGowan’s formula combines fast-paced action untroubled by excess period detail, likable characters in the persons of Beatrice and her fellow maids, and a sentimental love affair This quick-paced romance should thrill and engage readers with a penchant for history. (Historical fiction. 12-17)

THE TEEN MONEY MANUAL A Guide to Cash, Credit, Spending, Saving, Work, Wealth, and More McGuire, Kara Capstone Young Readers (208 pp.) $9.95 paper | Aug. 1, 2014 978-1-62370-135-2

Just about anything teens would want to know about money and finance but didn’t know enough to ask.

McGuire first makes the often intimidating world of finance—not generally a topic on a teen’s must-read list— approachable by separating the book into four tidy subsections: Earning, Saving, Spending and Protecting. She makes it further accessible by using concrete examples instead of abstractions. She discusses the ins and outs of starting a business, with two entrepreneurial teens describing how they acquired their startup capital and how they juggled their businesses with their school schedules. Oftentimes, McGuire departs from giving purely financial advice and provides counsel that sounds like it 104

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comes from a mentor or parent. “Your number one job as a teen is to get good grades, gain experiences from school and community activities, and prepare for higher education.” She advises teens on appropriate dress for an interview—“When in doubt, dress up, not down”—and how to discriminate between wants and needs. She also covers banking and investing, saving for the near and far future, and purchasing car and property insurance. There are scads of helpful websites, as well as a sample resume, budget and W-2 form. Colorful photos and charts and eye-catching graphics keep the pages turning.

A solid, thoroughly readable guide. (Nonfiction. 12-18)

WAR BROTHERS The Novel

McKay, Sharon E. Annick Press (206 pp.) $21.95 | $11.95 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-55451-648-3 978-1-55451-647-6 paper “My story is not an easy one to tell, and it is not an easy one to read.”

Originally published in 2008 in Canada and adapted into a graphic novel in 2013, this heart-wrenching work of historical fiction begins with a brief, first-person introduction to Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army, a guerilla group in Uganda that abducts and recruits child soldiers. Based on actual events, the story opens and closes with a letter to readers by the composite protagonist, Jacob. It switches to third person as the 14-year-old math whiz and his fellow classmates settle into a new school year in their dormitory, before promptly being abducted by the LRA. With a kill-or-be-killed imperative, the soldiers (some even younger than Jacob) force their new recruits to march countless miles across Africa to avoid government capture and provide food only to those who kill. McKay supplies just enough detail for the imagination to fill in the scenes of horrific torture, ritualistic murders and village massacres. She also contextualizes cultural references, allowing readers to understand the geography, Acholi people, religious dichotomies and fear in Uganda. When Jacob realizes that no one is coming to save them, he plans an escape to save both old and new friends. But with a nation under siege, will their families take back would-be murderers?

This gripping story will have readers questioning humanity in the midst of evil and death. (glossary) (Historical fiction. 14-18)

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REVENGE ON THE FLY

and loss, as well as personal power, offering just enough intrigue to pique interest for the next book in the series.

A complex adventure to curl up with on a rainy summer afternoon. (Fantasy. 10-14)

McNicoll, Sylvia Pajama Press (216 pp.) $12.95 paper | Sep. 15, 2014 978-1-927485-56-9

A fly-catching contest comes to dominate the life of new Irish immigrant Will in 1912 Hamilton, Ontario.

Life isn’t easy for the 12-year-old. His mother and young sister recently died, money is very tight, and rich boy Fred, a new classmate, is savoring every opportunity to humiliate him. Opportunity knocks when the local newspaper offers a $50 prize for killing the most flies as part of an effort to reduce disease. The competition is ruthless, with Fred and his minions collecting thousands of flies and Will trying lots of clever tricks to pull even. Another poor child, Ginny, is besotted with Fred but gradually comes to see the truth about the bully and switches her loyalty and friendship to Will. He struggles with the ethics of his tricks, reminded by the wealthy but even-minded Rebecca of a nobler mission. While the dead-fly count reaches an awesome, even unbelievable level, an author’s note states that the tale is accurately based on a real contest. At times, Will’s voice sounds inappropriately authorial— “The pain of the fleeting memory seared at my heart, but then faded to a warm glow”—but readers will nonetheless enjoy his spunky attitude and underlying goodness. McNicoll paints a believably gritty portrait of urban life a century ago.

An entertaining visit to the past with a likable guide on a spirited—if icky—quest. (Historical fiction. 9-14)

THE FOG OF FORGETTING

Morgan, G.A. Islandport Press (304 pp.) $18.95 | Jul. 17, 2014 978-1-939017-23-9 Series: Five Stones Trilogy, 1

There’s nothing like a foggy island to capture the imagination.

While on vacation in Maine, five kids take the family sailboat out for a spin without permission and end up on the mythical island of Ayda, where the Melorians are at war with the Exorians. It’s all because evil Dankar, an Exorian, wishes to possess the four stones of power that are kept in balance on Ayda, as well as a missing fifth stone, which enhances the power of all of the stones put together. The wandering sailors are the Thompson brothers—Chase, 13; Knox, 12; and Teddy, 6—and sisters Evelyn and Frankie Boudreaux, 13 and 9, respectively.

All are well-aware that years ago, the boys’ uncle Edward disappeared one summer while sailing. Morgan’s ambitious debut novel, the first book in the Five Stones Trilogy, has a mildly British feel to it, with vague nods to Swallows and Amazons and Harry Potter. While occasionally bogging down in detail, the story is infused with philosophy about the circular nature of life |

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION FOR KIDS The People and Technology That Changed the World, with 21 Activities Mullenbach, Cheryl Chicago Review (144 pp.) $16.95 paper | Aug. 1, 2014 978-1-61374-690-5 Series: For Kids

The latest installment in the For Kids series spans the early 1800s to the early 1900s in the United States, covering 100 years of revolutionary changes in manufacturing, transportation and communication.

It was a century of contradictions. Railroads crossed the continent, automobiles puttered along new roadways, skyscrapers soared toward the heavens, and some men made fabulous fortunes—while workers in mines, mills, meatpacking houses and sweatshops labored in stifling conditions to support the new economies. And piles of garbage, lakes of sewer water and lurking diseases made life in cities difficult for those who had to live there. Parents and teachers can relive the times with children by selecting from the 21 activities that supplement the text. They can design their own tenement spaces, make gruel just like that served in orphanages and weave placemats similar to baskets woven in houses of refuge. Dense, textheavy pages make the historical narrative heavy going, but the wellchosen archival photographs and informative sidebars draw the eye to an easier parallel narrative. And activities such as “Tell a Story with Photographs” may just inspire children to learn more about the work of Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine.

Presents a huge amount of history in a format easy for browsing. (resources, source notes, bibliography) (Nonfiction.

8-12)

WHAT WILL YOU GIVE ME?

Nayar, Nandini Illus. by Manetti, Francesco Karadi Tales (28 pp.) $11.95 paper | Jul. 15, 2014 978-8-181-90286-3 Series: Curious Sameer, 3

The third title in the Curious Sameer series from India exalts its protagonist’s imagination in an effort to inspire those

of its readers.

Like so many children’s-book characters before him, Sameer opens his story suffering from boredom. Amma is quick with a solution, suggesting that she give him a sheet of paper, and he

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then narrates how he will use it to make a paper boat in which he will sail away. “Then what will you give me?” he asks, anticipating the page turn and also introducing the query that will prompt subsequent offerings of various materials and supplies from his mother. As she provides each one, Sameer imagines the various things he can do with them. Resourceful Amma is not depicted in the painterly, brightly colored illustrations until the final page, after Sameer asks for something that “will sail like the boat” and do all of the things that his other imaginings do, too. “I have just the thing!” she responds, and they cuddle together with a storybook.

A delightful offering that not only promotes imagination, but refreshingly includes Indian characters as well.

(Picture book. 3-6)

WHERE SHALL WE GO?

Nayar, Nandini Illus. by Manetti, Francesco Karadi Tales (28 pp.) $11.95 paper | Jul. 15, 2014 978-8-181-90287-0 Series: Curious Sameer, 4

The third offering in the Curious Sameer series from India invites readers to consider all the fun to be had during

school vacations.

Sameer delights in giving Amma clues about the “special place” where he plans to spend his school vacation. From page to page, he constructs a childhood idyll, and his mother guesses various places that might embody the joys he describes. Finally, Amma repeats all of the wonderful things he mentions and asks him to tell her where this special place is. He reveals it to be “Grandma and Grandpa’s house, of course!” This lovely resolution is somewhat undermined by how out of place the English monikers feel in a story partially defined by its cultural specificity and seamless use of the term Amma and the name Sameer.

Another, arguably more egregious, misstep occurs when Sameer describes a place where he can bring “puzzles, paint box, and drawing book.” Amma guesses that he is describing a summer camp, and the accompanying art shows children making art outside amid what seem like generic Plains Indian teepees. How these structures relate to a vision of summer camp is unclear— except perhaps through an unfortunate, tired reiteration of a stereotype of American Indians.

This otherwise successful series stumbles a bit in this outing. (Picture book. 3-6)

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CREATURE KEEPERS AND THE HIJACKED HYDRO-HIDE

Nelson, Peter Illus. by Rohitash, Rao Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (384 pp.) $12.99 | $9.49 e-book | Sep. 16, 2014 978-0-06-223643-2 978-0-06-223644-9 e-book Series: Creature Keepers, 1

Can the Creature Keepers keep the cryptids safe?

Twelve-year-old Jordan Grimsley is not pleased to be leaving Wi-Fi behind so that his parents can rehab his missing grandfather’s isolated home in the Okeeyuckachokee Swamp, especially since their nearest neighbors are all strangely energetic retirees. One exception is Eldon, a Badger Ranger and, it turns out, part of a secret society of kids founded by Grampa Grimsley who help to keep the cryptids of the world (like the Loch Ness monster, sasquatch and the skunk ape) safe. When Nessie vanishes, Jordan and Eldon take off to find out what is going on; their hunt is made even more urgent by the fact that the lost monster controls the waters of the world. Can the boys, with Grampa Grimsley’s notes and some assistance from the cryptids themselves, find Nessie, stop a madman, duck the attacks of a vindictive rogue cryptid and save the world? Well, they’ll give it the old Badger Ranger try. Despite the promising premise, the kickoff for Nelson’s new series is an invitation to a nap. There’s not much to laugh at, and the mystery/adventure unspools so slowly that the pages won’t keep turning for long.

Neither Jordan nor Eldon has much personality, and their supporting cast is pretty bland, too.

Steer legendary-monster fans to the Imaginary Veterinary or Cryptid Hunters series for cryptozoological fixes.

(Fantasy. 8-12)

THE VIRGINIA GIANT

Norfolk, Sherry; Norfolk, Bobby Illus. by Brennan, Cait The History Press (160 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 1, 2014 978-1-62619-117-4 Two veteran storytellers carefully separate legend from equally astonishing fact in this rousing introduction to Peter Francisco, a genuine supersoldier of the American Revolution.

Standing 6 feet 6 inches tall and with the brawn of a trained blacksmith, Francisco, the “Colossus of the Continental Line,” fought bravely in most of the war’s major battles—riding a horse named Tarleton after the British commander from whom he stole it and, according to witnesses, sometimes casting aside his firearm to wield an outsized broadsword. Though a foundling of mysterious origin, he went on in later years to enjoy a long life as a country gentleman and prominent war hero. Along with

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“Ollivant is a master storyteller, and he plays a veritable fandango on the heartstrings....” from alfred ollivant’s bob, son of bat tle

embedding their subject’s verified exploits into vivid accounts of the fledgling Colonial army’s trials and triumphs, the authors deliver a coherent picture of the war’s general progress. They also add numerous sidebar comments on topics from women and African-Americans who fought to step-by-step instructions for rapidly loading a musket, tuck in clearly labeled tall tales, and close with generous bibliographies for both young and general audiences. Brennan’s retro illustrations depict Francisco towering over his fellow troopers (although with pink skin rather than dark, as the text states); other illustrations include reproductions of paintings and photos of artifacts.

How could such a larger-than-life figure have become so little known? He’s not likely to stay that way any longer. (glossary, timeline) (Biography. 11-13)

#SCANDAL

Ockler, Sarah Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster (416 pp.) $17.99 | Jun. 17, 2014 978-1-4814-0124-1 Why, oh why, didn’t Lucy Vaccaro just skip prom and stay home playing “Undead Shred” like she wanted to?

If she had, she never would have kissed Cole, the boy she’s secretly been in love with for four years—and her best friend’s boyfriend. She wouldn’t have lost her cellphone either, and she would have avoided the social media nightmare that erupts when compromising pictures of everybody at that post-prom party are broadcast from her Facebook account— including a photo of that kiss with Cole. Ockler’s take on cyberbullying, social media and friendship is a rambling, agreeably foulmouthed and often funny one, but it feels both overstuffed and underdeveloped. It’s at least in part a mystery, but authorial misdirection produces an unsatisfying and anticlimactic resolution rather than enjoyable red herrings. A subplot involving Lucy’s Lindsay Lohan–like older sister provides opportunities for parallelism and reflection, but it also helps boost the page count. Likewise, pages dedicated to amiable bickering among the sweetly goofy members of an anti–social media activist group that allies with Lucy are amusing but feel ancillary. Lucy herself begins to feel more a tool for the message than a fully developed character, despite her engaging narration.

As platitudes mount in the second half of the book, readers may find themselves wishing Lucy’d played “Undead Shred,” too. (Fiction. 14-18)

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ALFRED OLLIVANT’S BOB, SON OF BATTLE The Last Gray Dog of Kenmuir Ollivant, Alfred Illus. by Kirmse, Marguerite New York Review Books (320 pp.) $17.95 | $9.99 e-book | Aug. 9, 2014 978-1-59017-729-7 978-1-59017-746-4 e-book

Over 100 years after his birth in print, Bob, Son of Battle is seeking a new audience. He deserves one.

Ollivant’s late-19th-century tale—invariably described as a children’s “classic”—tells of two sheepherding dogs at the top of their craft, the masters of these dogs and the hatred and jealousy of one for the other, and the quest for the coveted Shepherds’ Trophy—not once but thrice. It is also a boy’s coming-of-age story, a love story and a mystery of the Black Killer (of sheep). Ollivant is a master storyteller, and he plays a veritable fandango on the heartstrings when the identity of the killer is disclosed. Popular in its day, the work is now virtually unknown. Davis’ intention with her adaptation is to bring this worthy tale to new generations of readers. Her major change is the transposition into modern English of Ollivant’s extensive use of the Cumbrian dialect. Other unfamiliar English and Scottish words and expressions are also modernized. Is this effort successful? Indeed, yes. The power and sweep of the original remain, and those changes made are thoughtfully and sensitively executed. Is something lost in translation? Yes, that too. Ollivant’s use of dialect had beautifully pinned the story to its time and place. Nevertheless, for the modern reader, this new version is a winner.

Welcome back, Owd (Old) Bob! (Historical fiction. 10-14)

AMITY

Ostow, Micol Egmont USA (368 pp.) $17.99 | $17.99 e-book | Aug. 26, 2014 978-1-60684-156-3 978-1-60684-380-2 e-book An evil house manipulates its residents to dark ends in this novel inspired

by The Amityville Horror (1977).

Connor’s family moves into the odd, old house—Amity—for a fresh start after the family patriarch’s sketchy business practices force their move. Ten years later, Gwen’s family seeks a new start after a mysterious incident Gwen was involved in, hoping country life will help stabilize her. They both have a close relationship with an opposite-gender sibling and enough personal issues to make them unreliable narrators. The split first-person narrative shows the parallels between their experiences, occasionally repeating revelations, but the protagonists fit into different parts of the house’s pattern of violence

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“At first glance, the stylized characters and graphic shapes appear simple, but Yaccarino’s careful use of pattern and color is skillfully designed to help readers identify characters, objects and space.” from no nap! yes nap!

and horror, which keeps the two stories from feeling stale. The house shares its bag of tricks with the famous Amityville incident—flies, specific and significant numbers, the basement’s hidden red room, and of course dreams of grisly crimes. The narrative consists of very many short chapters that are most effectively deployed in the rapid acceleration to the climax; earlier, they feel jarringly jumpy. The dark history of the house isn’t kept a mystery—the object is dwelling in the horror, not uncovering it—and the house’s nature is openly evil from the start. The refreshing lack of romance enhances the claustrophobic atmosphere, and while the foreshadowing gives away a lot, the conclusion still surprises.

A dark read for a darker night. (Horror. 13 & up)

NO NAP! YES NAP!

of the situations that arise from them. The accompanying text names those missteps and then shows the silver lining to each one on a facing page. For example: “It’s okay to get dirty,” reads one verso, and the facing recto responds, “A bubble bath is lots of fun.”

Starting with the cover art that shows a dog with socks on its ears and a child wearing boxer shorts like a hat, silly details abound to keep the message from overpowering the feel-good fun of its presentation. In addition to his trademark purple-, orange- and red-skinned humans, Parr includes a bevy of animals from dogs and ducks to skunks and elephants. Examples of “mistakes” range from genuine goofs (falling down, tangling shoelaces) to character traits (shyness), behaviors (losing one’s temper) and developmental differences (not knowing an answer in school), but the “look on the bright side” response is always on-target.

This picture book is A-OK. (Picture book. 2-6)

Palatini, Margie Illus. by Yaccarino, Dan Little, Brown (32 pp.) $17.00 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-316-24821-1

MOSES The True Story of an Elephant Baby

A lively, not-ready-for-bed tale featuring one patient mama and her exuberant tyke.

It’s naptime, and Baby is off and running. Familiar stalling tactics abound as clapping turns to singing, a request for milk becomes one very long drink, and chase turns to hide-and-seek. But Mama skillfully corrals Baby with a book, and cuddled together, they fall asleep. Digitally colored illustrations, done in a cool palette, capture the toddler’s energy and charm. At first glance, the stylized characters and graphic shapes appear simple, but Yaccarino’s careful use of pattern and color is skillfully designed to help readers identify characters, objects and space. Similarly, the simple, short text is playfully composed to emphasize its delivery. With no dialogue tags and just changes in italicization to distinguish Mama’s dialogue from Baby’s, it will have young listeners chanting along by the second read: “Good Baby. Now Baby nap. / NO NAP. Clap!

Clap! Clap! // NO NAP. Sing song. Sing a long song. Long, long song. Sing! Sing! Sing! / Tra-la-la.”

It’s so high-spirited it isn’t likely to send any likeminded tots to sleep, but who cares when it’s so much fun?

(Picture book. 1-3)

IT’S OKAY TO MAKE MISTAKES

Parr, Todd Illus. by Parr, Todd Little, Brown (32 pp.) $17.00 | Jul. 15, 2014 978-0-316-23053-7

Perepeczko, Jenny Photos by Perepeczko, Jenny Atheneum (48 pp.) $17.99 | $10.99 e-book | Aug. 26, 2014 978-1-4424-9603-3 978-1-4424-9604-0 e-book A rescued baby elephant raised in Malawi turns out to be much like a human baby, exploring his world, needing cuddles and comfort, learning to use his body parts and making friends.

Chapter by chapter, the Zimbabwean-born author, the orphaned elephant’s “human mama,” gives amusing examples of the baby’s behavior, imagining his ideas and feelings as though he were a human child. Moses’ presumed thoughts are given voice: “Why am I the only one without a nose?” he wonders, after exploring his rescuer’s face and his own with his trunk.

Jealous at first when a human baby arrives, he becomes her protector. Relevant photographs accompany each anecdote (though likely most were taken after the fact). An author’s note for adult readers takes away some of the book’s joy: Moses later succumbed to an infection. However, his life has inspired his rescuers to create a foundation to continue elephant-rescue work. The stories of Moses’ childhood are entertaining, especially as he discovers chili sauce in the kitchen and hearing aids that whistle when his trunk gets too close. But young readers and listeners might have been better served if the author had not presumed to read and quote from the elephant’s mind.

A “true story” with an extensive text and extra helping of imagination. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Parr encourages readers to see mistakes as opportunities with characteristic élan.

In his ineffable fashion, Parr delivers a reassuring mashup that’s part Keith Haring and part Sesame Street. Parr’s signature drawings with bold, black outlines and vibrant colors depict various characters making various mistakes and then making the best 108

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DRUTHERS

Phelan, Matt Illus. by Phelan, Matt Candlewick (32 pp.) $15.99 | Sep. 9, 2014 978-0-7636-5955-4 How much fun can be packed into a rainy day? Lots, if you’re like this energetic daughter-daddy duo.

Penelope is extremely bored on a day when it just won’t stop raining. When her daddy asks her her “druthers” and defines the expression—a lucky happenstance for her and young readers who’ll likely delight in trotting out this new word henceforth— Penelope offers up various possibilities: going to the zoo, being a cowgirl, helming a pirate ship sailing “to the island of dinosaurs” and flying to the moon. What an agenda—and what an imaginative, playful pair this child and her father are. Making the most of her vast array of toys and increasingly elaborate ideas and his seemingly never-ending supply of patience and creativity, don’t you know that dad leaps on every suggestion, and the two are off having a grand time—sound effects, props and all. Phelan’s gentle ink-and-watercolor illustrations are filled with rollicking activity, and the soft colors and outlines evoke the close, loving relationship. The book’s concept doesn’t break new ground, but this is a warm and fuzzy look at how much fun kids can have with game, fully supportive parents in their corners, and young listeners may pick up some new ideas for their own rainy days. Noticing all the potential for fun, they’ll probably agree with Penelope that if they really had their druthers… “it would rain tomorrow, too.”

Keep this for any day, not just a rainy one. (Picture book.

2 -5)

EARTHQUAKE

Pike, Aprilynne Razorbill/Penguin (400 pp.) $17.99 | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-59514-6526 Series: Earthbound, 2 Following Earthbound (2013), Tavia’s missing memories hold the key to saving the world.

Reincarnated goddess Tavia has found the boy/fellow Earthbound that she’s spent her past lives loving—a good thing, as they needed to reunite to “resurge,” or recover their full powers and renew their immortality for another set of reincarnations. In a slow start, before Tavia can make progress with Logan, the Reduciata capture them. Attempting to escape, Tavia discovers a dangerous special ability—just in time for the Curatoria to rescue them. Though long suspicious of the Curatoria, Tavia accepts their help in triggering Logan’s memory, in return helping the Curatoria’s leader in his quest to cure the Reduciata’s virus. In addition to ravaging the human population, the virus has made its way into the Earthbound population, with catastrophic implications—a Transformist, Tavia’s the only one who can stop it and save the globe’s population. At the same time, |

she must figure out whom to trust—she’s been warned against the Curatoria’s leader, and everyone seems to be keeping secrets. Additionally, she discovers she and Logan were not the only ones taken by the Curatoria—her former love interest, Benson, returns to anchor the love triangle. The farther into the pages, the deeper the intrigue gets—revelations fly so fast in the conclusion that readers may struggle to keep up.

A twisty, fun read for the paranormal faithful. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS AND THE TYRANNICAL RETALIATION OF THE TURBO TOILET 2000

Pilkey, Dav Illus. by Pilkey, Dav Scholastic (224 pp.) $9.99 | $9.99 e-book | Aug. 26, 2014 978-0-545-50490-4 978-0-545-66702-9 e-book Series: Captain Underpants, 11

The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.

Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s goodnatured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or overthe-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.

Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)

EARTH SPACE MOON BASE

Price, Ben Joel Illus. by Price, Ben Joel Random House (32 pp.) $16.99 | $19.99 PLB | Aug. 26, 2014 978-0-385-37311-1 978-0-375-97201-0 PLB Have you ever wondered why there are so many bananas on the moon?

A squat, orange contraption, reminiscent of an old-fashioned scuba helmet, sits amid the moon’s craters. It is a secret base. The hatch creaks open, and readers meet a “spaceman,” a

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robot and a “cheeky monkey” (the British slang is fun to say, but the monkey doesn’t have much personality, cheeky or otherwise). It is the job of these three brave individuals to protect the Earth from an alien invasion. Their weapon of choice? Bananas.

Extraterrestrials with bulging eyes, slippery tentacles and spiky fur slither out from a crater. Bananas are the only thing that will keep them happy (and full). Employing a controlled palette of stark black, white, orange and gray—with, of course, important accents of yellow, purple and green—the retro illustrations carry the story through some rough rhymes. (Even for slant rhyme, “one” and “gone” is a tough sell.) Paint-splattered stars and a robotic typeface add to the far-flung galactic flair. The concluding page hints, with the addition of a simple question mark, that the aliens may not be content for long.

Price’s debut falters a bit in engagement and energy, but visually? Out of this world. (Picture book. 3-6)

GIVE AND TAKE

Raschka, Chris Illus. by Raschka, Chris Richard Jackson/Atheneum (40 pp.) $17.99 | $10.99 e-book | Aug. 26, 2014 978-1-4424-1655-0 978-1-4814-0932-2 e-book Imagine Rumpelstiltskin with an equally imperious twin, and you’d approximate Take and Give, a tiny pair who bedevil a farmer with conflicting advice.

Borrowing motifs and pacing from traditional folklore, Raschka introduces a mild man intent on harvesting apples.

First Take emerges, promising a “finer” life. When a neighbor woman offers the farmer some of her pumpkins, Take urges, “Take them. Take all of them. Take as many as you see.” Hauling a voluminous load of pumpkins, the farmer trudges all day at Take’s pointless urging to “take a hike.” Returning home to make the pumpkin soup the neighbor had suggested, the exhausted fellow realizes that he and his dog both dislike it.

Next morning, having banished Take, the farmer picks a second tree, only to be visited by Give, who promises a “sweeter” life.

Give similarly beleaguers the farmer, making him relinquish all his apples to a pig farmer. The third harvest day, the tiny duo’s argumentative wrestling sparks new ideas for the farmer. He gives the miller apples and takes some flour, and soon, a happy ending (and a lovely pie) is shared by all. Raschka’s customary thick, dry, brushy black shapes and contours dominate a rather somber palette of gray, red, teal and orange. This marriage of a well-told, folklore-reminiscent tale, dynamic line and muted palette evoke the 1950s-era work of Paul Galdone and Nicolas Mordvinoff.

Inventive as ever. (Picture book. 4-8)

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RAGS, HERO DOG OF WWI A True Story Raven, Margo Theis Illus. by Brown, Petra Sleeping Bear Press (32 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 2, 2014 978-1-58536-258-5

A scrawny mutt is rescued in Paris by an American soldier during WWI, and the smart, intuitive Rags becomes a wartime hero.

The true story of the dog’s wartime service is told in dramatic style, with plenty of conflict on Parisian streets and on the battlefields of France. James Donovan, the private who rescues Rags, trains the dog to sniff out breaks in underground telephone lines and to deliver messages during combat. Both Donovan and Rags are injured in battle, and the faithful dog stays with Donovan in the hospital until the soldier’s death. An epilogue gives the story of the rest of the dog’s life with a military family in the United States. The story occasionally veers into overly emotional language and attributes anthropomorphic thoughts and emotions to the brilliant canine—an unnecessary choice given the inherent drama of the story. The book’s value is significantly elevated by superb illustrations in a muted palette of browns and grays, effectively bringing the efforts of the talented dog to life.

Young readers interested in dog or wartime stories will find Rags an appealing hero. (Picture book. 6-9)

POSITIVE Surviving My Bullies, Finding Hope, and Living to Change the World

Rawl, Paige with Benjamin, Ali Harper/HarperCollins (288 pp.) $18.99 | $9.99 e-book | Aug. 26, 2014 978-0-06-234251-5 978-0-06-234253-9 e-book

Rawl’s journey from secrecy to acceptance thanks to her friends and family makes for a compelling memoir.

As a child, Paige saw her daily doses of medicine as normal—not strange at all. It wasn’t until she was in sixth grade that her mother told her that Paige had been born with HIV. That revelation ends her idyllic life in Indianapolis, forever transforming the energetic girl who did cheerleading, pageants and soccer. Because when Paige tells her best friend, Yasmine, about her HIV-positive status, the news spreads through her middle school, prompting bullies to target Paige and accuse her of having AIDS. Now known as “PAIDS,” Paige loses interest in school, suffers from stress-induced pseudo-seizures and even attempts suicide. But slowly, thanks to counseling, time at a camp for kids affected by HIV/AIDS and all her friends, Paige learns how to forgive and move on with her life. Rawl and Benjamin deftly capture the mindset of middle schooler Paige with

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“Morrison’s sinuous, exaggerated lines are the perfect match for Melba’s story....” from little melba and her big trombone

anecdotes that reveal the teen’s innocence and naïveté, tracking her progress toward adulthood. They tackle tough subjects such as suicide delicately but honestly.

Readers will come away feeling inspired by Rawl’s work as an HIV/AIDS speaker and anti-bullying advocate. (author’s note, further resources) (Nonfiction. 12-16)

NEVER FORGOTTEN

Risser, Kelly Clean Teen (314 pp.) $11.99 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-940534-53-4

A teen comes of age while her mother is dying of cancer in this paranormal debut.

Seventeen-year-old Meara and her mother live alone in Wisconsin until her mother discovers that she has terminal cancer and takes the girl home to a tiny seaside village in Nova Scotia. There, Meara meets her grandparents for the first time, as well as Evan, a university student. She also begins to have vivid dreams of a handsome young man by the sea who she soon learns is her long-absent father. She finally meets him in person and learns just what he, and therefore she herself, might be—thankfully, for once, it is not a mermaid. Even as she comes to grips with her heritage, she tries to cope with her growing love for Evan, especially when she realizes that she may have to choose between her new life or her new love. Meanwhile, however, her mother takes a serious turn for the worse. Risser keeps her focus on the little details of Meara’s everyday life, lending the book a nice, homey charm. The real heart of the book is Meara’s emotional struggle with her mother’s illness and her first romance. It’s hard not to suspect that the paranormal aspect, while central to the plot, is just there to sell the book in today’s paranormal-mad market.

A heartfelt story that didn’t need the magical sea creatures. (Paranormal romance. 12-18)

UNI THE UNICORN

Rosenthal, Amy Krouse Illus. by Barrager, Brigette Random House (48 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 26, 2014 978-0-385-37555-9

Uni the unicorn is like all other unicorns in every way but one.

Uni has a flowing magenta mane, sparkly, golden hooves, and of course, a long, swirly horn that has the power to heal. But there’s one thing that’s different. Uni pores over fairy tales, staring longingly at the princesses found within the pages.

No matter what Uni’s friends and family say, Uni believes, truly believes, that little girls must be real. Rosenthal, no stranger |

to turning convention on its head (for instance, her tiny green protagonist who hates to eat candy for dinner in Little Pea, illustrated by Jen Corace, 2005), delves into the role-reversal plot twist, but what results is simply a strong case for friendship. Uni imagines running, twirling and sitting quietly with a real little girl, and “somewhere far away (but not that far away),” there is a little girl who is wishing and dreaming the very same thing. Barrager’s Disney-animation background shines through in wide, innocent eyes and a lush, candy-colored palette. There are certainly little-girl readers who believe in unicorns just as much as Uni believes in them, and this will feed their dreaming spirits.

But the deep desire for friendship has universal appeal.

A tiny slip of magic that suggests equal quantities of conviction and possibility. (Picture book. 3-6)

LITTLE MELBA AND HER BIG TROMBONE

Russell-Brown, Katheryn Illus. by Morrison, Frank Lee & Low (40 pp.) $18.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-60060-898-8

Bewitched by the rhythms of jazz all around her in Depression-era Kansas City, little Melba Doretta Liston longs to make music in this fictional account of a little-known jazz great.

Picking up the trombone at 7, the little girl teaches herself to play with the support of her Grandpa John and Momma Lucille, performing on the radio at 8 and touring as a pro at just 17. Both text and illustrations make it clear that it’s not all easy for Melba; “The Best Service for WHITES ONLY” reads a sign in a hotel window as the narrative describes a bigotry-plagued tour in the South with Billie Holiday. But joy carries the day, and the story ends on a high note, with Melba “dazzling audiences and making headlines” around the world. Russell-Brown’s debut text has an innate musicality, mixing judicious use of onomatopoeia with often sonorous prose. Morrison’s sinuous, exaggerated lines are the perfect match for Melba’s story; she puts her entire body into her playing, the exaggerated arch of her back and thrust of her shoulders mirroring the curves of her instrument. In one thrilling spread, the evening gown–clad instrumentalist stands over the male musicians, her slide crossing the gutter while the back bow disappears off the page to the left. An impressive discography complements a two-page afterword and a thorough bibliography.

Readers will agree that “Melba Doretta Liston was something special.” (Picture book. 4-8)

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“Noah’s wife is nowhere to be seen in this interpretation, an unfortunate omission when all the other inhabitants of the ark are shown in pairs.” from goodnight, ark

FAMILIES AROUND THE WORLD

truth are far more interesting than the book’s climax, a finale that is confusingly staged and filled with awkward, last-minute exposition.

In the end, the mystery isn’t really solved. Instead, the guilty parties just happen to cross paths with the protagonists and decide to show their true colors for no real reason.

The problem with this book isn’t the ideas, it’s the execution. (Suspense. 12-16)

Ruurs, Margriet Illus. by Gordon, Jessica Rae Kids Can (40 pp.) $18.95 | Sep. 1, 2014 978-1-894786-57-7 This simple but inclusive informational picture book surveys many types of families.

Based on real people that Ruurs met, there are 14 families represented, including Chinese immigrants in Canada, a Texas ranch family, a Mayan village family in Mexico, several European families, and a kibbutz family in Israel. Families in Saudi Arabia, Kenya (a Maasai village), Pakistan, South Korea and Mongolia are also introduced. Each two-page spread highlights daily life and includes a greeting in the family’s language and the words for family members. Sometimes a favorite food is mentioned, like kimbap in South Korea, and defined in the glossary.

Foster children are not included, and neither are blended families, but the author strives for diversity, particularly in the European families. The English family is biracial, the French family is headed by a single dad, and Sanne, from the Netherlands, has two moms. Zofia lives in a Polish town and pushes her brother in his wheelchair to church. Collages incorporate acrylic paint, paper, pencil crayon and ink. Detailed and colorful, the variety of vignettes and larger images in each spread complement the text well, although the map is very confusing. A note for parents and teachers includes simple activities but no resources.

Limiting African representation to one rural group (the Maasai) is an unfortunate misstep, but this quick global trip can serve as a first look at the larger world. (Informational picture book. 3-6)

ALL THOSE BROKEN ANGELS

Salomon, Peter Adam Flux (240 pp.) $9.99 paper | Sep. 8, 2014 978-0-7387-4079-9

When his childhood friend Melanie returns after being presumed dead for over a decade, Richard must uncover the truth behind a ghostly presence that haunts his every move.

This “shadow” threatens to turn Richard inside out. In an effort to exorcise himself, Richard and the newly returned Melanie follow the specter’s call and discover a mass grave with 14 skulls buried in the woods. The couple vow to find the spirit’s killer and bring her some peace. Salomon offers a clever premise here. Unfortunately, it is buried deep beneath clumsy visual poetry and angst-ridden prose. Richard and Melanie are suitably haunted by their traumatic past, but this mood overwhelms the novel and makes it difficult to cut through and really care about either of them.

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GOODNIGHT, ARK

Sassi, Laura Illus. by Chapman, Jane Zonderkidz (32 pp.) $15.99 | Aug. 4, 2014 978-0-310-73784-1

Noah packs up an ark full of critters and heads out to sea in a gale in this rollicking, rhymed version of the Old Testament story.

The short text comprises one quatrain per page, with just a few words per line. The verses describe different animals and the sounds of the thunderstorm, with lots of onomatopoeia (“Crash! Boom! Rumble!”) and evocative language detailing the animal antics (“Thump, stomp, slither, / up they scurry”). The frightened animals pile into Noah’s bed two by two as the storm increases in intensity, with an action-filled climax involving a listing ship, a broken bed and a pair of stinky skunks. Noah calms all the creatures with soothing lullabies, and peace prevails as the animals bed down at last. Chapman’s appealing illustrations make the most of the humorously crowded conditions on the ark, with expressive elephants, slithering snakes and leaping tigers. Noah’s wife is nowhere to be seen in this interpretation, an unfortunate omission when all the other inhabitants of the ark are shown in pairs. There is no real religious content in the story beyond the basic premise, making this more of a humorous introduction to rather than a retelling of the Bible story.

A breezy text kept afloat by the buoyant illustrations— if only Mrs. Noah had been invited along for the ride as well. (Picture book/religion. 2-7)

OUTLAWS, SPIES, AND GANGSTERS Chasing Notorious Criminals

Scandiffio, Laura Illus. by Williams, Gareth Annick Press (148 pp.) $24.95 | $14.95 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-55451-621-6 978-1-55451-620-9 paper

How a disparate bunch of “mostwanted” criminals were tracked down, even if the tracking took days, weeks, or years and years.

Scandiffio brings an unhurried, smooth and just-portentous-enough tone to the brought-to-justice stories of eight criminal characters that most every adult (though maybe not

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that many children) has heard of, from John Dillinger to Christopher “Dudus” Coke of Jamaica, Manuel Noriega to Osama bin Laden. Each miscreant’s last hours are chronicled, but so is a reasonably significant slice of history, often in boxed asides, lending a sense of immediacy and context to the action. She also pays attention to local color (except she doesn’t mention the “Lady in Red,” certainly local color to the nth degree in the gunning down of John Dillinger). There is an obvious disconnect between someone like Dillinger and the mousy spy Aldrich Ames or Vladimir Levin, a cyberthief at great remove from his loot, but there is also no sense of romanticism here, a suitable choice, as counted in this number are Adolf Eichmann and bin Laden. It is good to have this selection from around the world, not singling out some poor neighborhood or region, and the artwork lends a burly, yeomanly quality of hard work to the captors, just as it details the evolution of tracking through the century.

This rogues’ gallery of bottom feeders makes an appealing way to bring reluctant readers to history. (Nonfiction. 9-12)

FERAL

Schindler, Holly HarperTeen (432 pp.) $17.99 | $9.99 e-book | Aug. 27, 2014 978-0-06-222020-2 978-0-06-222022-6 e-book In a convoluted effort, a girl recovering from a brutal beating moves from Chicago to Peculiar, Missouri.

Eavesdropping at a gas station, Claire learns immediately that a girl from Peculiar is missing. Readers are already aware of Serena’s disappearance, however; the experiences of a recently dead but inexplicably conscious Serena occupy the book’s prologue as her killer drags her body into the woods. After Claire discovers Serena’s body, Serena begins to haunt Claire, her spirit embedded in the body of an old, feral cat. Worldbuilding is inconsistent from the beginning, and too many confusing story elements are presented as if they ought to be obvious to keep readers from engaging. The living Serena is characterized as pleasant and likable, but Claire is convinced the dead Serena means her harm. Ever since her beating, Claire has experienced nightmares, fear of strangers, and intense reactions to words or sounds that remind her of the incident, but she assumes that what seem to be visual flashbacks to the event are the work of malicious ghosts. Some details are compellingly eerie, particularly the masses of feral cats that roam through town, but others underwhelm: “…each step Claire took echoed inside her, the same way granola cereal echoed inside her ears as she chewed.”

Too scattered to be scary. (Suspense. 14-18)

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HORTON AND THE KWUGGERBUG AND MORE LOST STORIES

Dr. Seuss Illus. by Dr. Seuss Random House (56 pp.) $15.00 | Sep. 9, 2014 978-0-385-38298-4

Published in magazines, never seen since / Now resurrected for pleasure intense / Versified episodes numbering four / Featuring Marco, and Horton and more!

All of the entries in this follow-up to The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories (2011) involve a certain amount of sharp dealing. Horton carries a Kwuggerbug through crocodile-infested waters and up a steep mountain because “a deal is a deal”—and then is cheated out of his promised share of delicious Beezlenuts.

Officer Pat heads off escalating, imagined disasters on Mulberry Street by clubbing a pesky gnat. Marco (originally met on that same Mulberry Street) concocts a baroque excuse for being late to school. In the closer, a smooth-talking Grinch (not the green sort) sells a gullible Hoobub a piece of string. In a lively introduction, uber-fan Charles D. Cohen (The Seuss, The Whole Seuss, and Nothing but the Seuss, 2002) provides publishing histories, places characters and settings in Seussian context, and offers insights into, for instance, the origin of “Grinch.” Along with predictably engaging wordplay—“He climbed. He grew dizzy. His ankles grew numb. / But he climbed and he climbed and he clum and he clum”—each tale features bright, crisply reproduced renditions of its original illustrations. Except for “The Hoobub and the Grinch,” which has been jammed into a single spread, the verses and pictures are laid out in spacious, visually appealing ways.

Fans both young and formerly young will be pleased—100 percent. (Picture book. 6-9)

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH ONLY ONE SHOE? Reuse, Recycle, Reinvent

Shapiro, Simon; Shapiro, Sheryl Illus. by Blake, Francis Annick Press (32 pp.) $9.95 paper | $22.95 PLB | Jul. 15, 2014 978-1-55451-642-1 978-1-55451-643-8 PLB Readers learn how to “Reuse, Recycle, Reinvent” what some might call trash into treasures.

Rhyming poems each introduce a single way to reuse/reinvent something: A toilet becomes a planter, the titular shoe morphs into a birdhouse, a (very large, nonstandard) light bulb houses a fish, and favorite jeans that are holey? They become a new purse. The most creative has to be a table supported by a pitchfork: “If you’re wanting to picnic on uneven ground, / where your table’s unstable or up on a mound, / stop and think! Be creative! The answer’s around.”

While cans, wood and wire are both easily found and transformed

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into musical instruments, not all these projects use such common materials or are as simple to complete: Half of a boat turns into a covered bench, a car becomes a bed, and a grocery cart transforms into a chair. And although it’s neat to see a farmer’s new watering trough (an enormous tire) and a community’s new playground (an old ambulance anchors it), these are not projects that are likely to fire readers up to do similar things. Cartoon spot illustrations share space with photographs of the new inventions, and both are needed to make sense of the poems.

This may spark a few imaginations, but its lack of directions and the difficulty level of most of the projects—not to mention its failure to impart reasons for reducing, reusing and recycling—make this one to skip. (Poetry. 7-10)

HADES SPEAKS! A Guide to the Underworld by the Greek God of the Dead Shecter, Vicky Alvear Illus. by Larson, J.E. Boyds Mills (128 pp.) $16.95 | Sep. 1, 2014 978-1-62091-598-1 Series: Secrets of the Ancient Gods

A tour of the ancient Greek (and Roman) underworld, squired by Hades and his lovely wife, Persephone.

Enthusiastically embracing his assigned role, Hades invites young visitors to pick an entrance to his shadowy realm (“There’s one right outside your bedroom.” Bwa ha ha) and to mind the monsters. The tour proceeds past Acheron and other rivers to the “fire pits of Tartaros” and the Fields of Asphodel and Elysium. Besides complaining continually that he gets no respect and fulminating about “brute-brat-boy” Herakles, the chatty chaperon delivers background on the origins of his mythological clan. He also introduces his fiendish staff and discourses on a range of need-to-know topics from Roman curse tablets to the mysterious significance of beans in ancient writings. Midway through, Persephone commandeers the narrative to tell some favorite myths—notably the one about how Theseus left part of his butt attached to the Hadean Chair of Forgetfulness.

Hades ultimately leaves readers to find their own ways back to the land of the living with a generous bibliography as well as a glossary and a guide to the gods as mementos of their junket.

Larson’s mannered, Aubrey Beardsley–style pen-and-ink scenes of angular figures shrouded in long cloaks or gowns add more chills than chuckles, but the map is helpful.

“I’ll see you on the other side,” Hades leers—“sooner or later.” At least the terra won’t be completely incognita. (index) (Mythology. 10-13)

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TURTLE ISLAND

Sherry, Kevin Illus. by Sherry, Kevin Dial (32 pp.) $16.99 | Jul. 3, 2014 978-0-8037-3391-6

A fantastically giant turtle is lonely until others make themselves at home on his shell.

Seeming a bit like a riff on creation stories (though failing to acknowledge any Native American or other sources), Sherry’s story relies on readers’ willingness to suspend disbelief. Echoing the bravado of the protagonist of his debut, I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean (2008), it opens, “I’m a giant turtle, and I’m as BIG as an island.” Cheery, accompanying art, rendered in pencil and then inked and painted with watercolors and salts, depicts the giant turtle looming over a deserted island. The poor turtle is lonely until shipwrecked creatures take refuge on his shell. They end up feasting together and building homes; all is well on Turtle Island. But then the settlers become lonely for their friends and family, and they decide to depart to find them. Bereft and once again alone, the giant turtle cannot stop thinking about his new friends. Happily, they soon return with their loved ones and re-establish the Turtle Island settlement—which grows as another giant turtle arrives with a castle atop her shell and three other littler giant turtles nearby.

It’s a sweet, fantastic depiction of community building, but it’s just too bad that it doesn’t acknowledge its debt to old, old stories about the Turtle Island that is North America. (Picture book. 3-6)

MEET THE BIGFEET

Sherry, Kevin Illus. by Sherry, Kevin Scholastic (128 pp.) $8.99 | $8.99 e-book | Sep. 30, 2014 978-0-545-55617-0 978-0-545-55689-7 e-book Series: Yeti Files, 1 It’s a Bigfeet family reunion!

Everyone’s favorite frosty, furry cryptid, the yeti, actually has a name: Blizz Richards. From his supersecret HQ in Nepal he keeps in touch with his fellow cryptids, all of whom have sworn an oath to keep themselves hidden. That’s not always easy, especially when there are cryptozoologists, like the nasty (but bumbling) George Vanquist, who are always trying to expose the secretive creatures. Vanquist got a picture of Blizz’s cousin Brian near his home in British Columbia, causing the mortified Brian to disappear entirely. When Blizz receives an invitation to a Bigfeet family reunion in Canada, he calls his buddies Alexander (one of Santa’s elves), Gunthar (a goblin) and Frank the Arctic fox to help him get ready. When they arrive in Canada, Brian is still nowhere to be seen. Can Blizz and his skunk ape and other sasquatch cousins find Brian, have the reunion and evade Vanquist? If anyone can, the Bigfeet clan can. Illustrator Sherry’s

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“If this book were a pizza, young readers would gobble down every slice—and demand more for dessert.” from if

first volume in the Yeti Files is a fast and funny graphic-prose tale full of labeled pictures and comic-style panels. Those just starting chapter books may have some trouble with a few big words, but they’ll enjoy the big friendly monsters and immediately ask for the next tale—which looks to be about the Loch Ness monster.

Good-hearted fun—great for fans of Kit Feeny and Babymouse. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 7-10)

MY FRIEND THE ENEMY

Smith, Dan Chicken House/Scholastic (288 pp.) $16.99 | $16.99 e-book | Aug. 26, 2014 978-0-545-66542-1 978-0-545-66543-8 e-book It’s exciting when a German plane crashes near Peter Dixon’s town, but is it right to help a wounded enemy soldier when your own father is off at war fighting the Germans?

“They’re all the same! They’re killers! Murderers!” That’s the sentiment regarding the Germans in Peter’s English village. But when Peter and his friend Kim come face to face with the missing German pilot, it’s no longer so easy to hold such strong convictions, especially when he’s hurt and in need of help. Is it right to help the enemy? Getting to know Erik becomes a lesson in empathy for Peter and Kim. Hiding and helping Erik feels right, but it’s complicated: Doing the right things means doing a lot of wrong things, such as stealing food and lying. But they hide him, feed him, clean his cuts and bandage his arm, and in the process become friends. Besides, Peter enjoys being with a girl, and Erik becomes their shared object of concern. Smith’s simply written debut novel, related from Peter’s first-person point of view, takes readers inside Peter’s head and delineates his moral dilemma, his sadness over his missing father and his growing affection for Kim. Bombing raids, a crashing German plane and an encounter with a Nazi soldier—what could be more exciting? (Historical fiction. 8-14)

IF A Mind-Bending New Way of Looking at Big Ideas and Numbers Smith, David J. Illus. by Adams, Steve Kids Can (40 pp.) $18.95 | Aug. 1, 2014 978-1-894786-34-8

Continuing his exploration of the mind-expanding possibilities of scale modeling, Smith extends the premise of If America Were a Village (2009) to encompass life, time and the universe.

Following a well-taken note that his comparisons are mostly approximations, the author proposes thinking of Earth’s life span as a month, all wealth as 100 coins and 14 similar |

transformations designed to make incomprehensibly huge numbers or measurements at least theoretically graspable. The trick doesn’t always work (“If the Milky Way galaxy were shrunk to the size of a dinner plate...,” the visible universe “would be about the size of Belgium”), but it does offer readers a chance to think of time, for instance, in terms of days or minutes instead of millions of years. Better yet, Adams’ painted infographics offer literal visualizations of the planets as balls of different sizes, of where inventions from fire to smartphones would lie relative to one another along a ruler or tape measure, and how many “slices” of our life are consumed in sleeping—if our life were a pizza. In a closing note addressed to adults, the author suggests further scaling and numeracy-building exercises.

If this book were a pizza, young readers would gobble down every slice—and demand more for dessert. (Informational picture book. 7-10)

APPLE DAYS A Rosh Hashanah Story

Soffer, Allison Sarnoff Illus. by McMahon, Bob Kar-Ben (32 pp.) $17.95 | $7.95 paper | $6.95 e-book Aug. 1, 2014 978-1-4677-1203-3 978-1-4677-1204-0 paper 978-1-4677-1205-7 e-book This book will make readers hungry for applesauce.

There’s a theory that the old Disney live-action movies were popular because the kids acted like adults and the adults acted like kids. In this book, Katy has no choice but to act like an adult. Her aunt is in labor, and her mother can’t be home until after the baby is born. It’s the Jewish New Year, and Katy was expecting to make applesauce with her mom—following the family tradition—but all her dad can do is stare helplessly at the ingredients lined up on the counter. Katy starts typing on the computer until a recipe pops up. Younger readers may find it very satisfying when her father asks, “What’s next?” This book is full of such small, satisfying moments. The highlight may be a sequence in which, one by one, Katy’s friends, her rabbi and even the neighborhood crossing guard bring her apples. They know her mother is away. The characters in McMahon’s illustrations, painted in warm colors, all look like people readers might want to know. In the last scene, Katy reaches into her pocket and pulls out a jar of applesauce for the new baby. It’s just what an adult would do.

This is a simple story and on the face of it a slight one, but underneath, it’s an extremely moving tale. (Picture book.

2-7)

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“The polished prose is matched by an attractive, open design with frequent headings, pullout quotes and effective visuals, including paintings, etchings and maps.” from the white house is burning

THE DEFIANT

Stasse, Lisa M. Simon & Schuster (352 pp.) $17.99 | $10.99 e-book | Jul. 8, 2014 978-1-4424-3271-0 978-1-4424-3273-4 e-book Series: Forsaken, 3 This uneven trilogy ends with plenty of violent action, leaving tough questions on the table.

Acing the application process, Alenna wins a spot with Liam and Gadya on the first team dispatched from Island Alpha, aka “the wheel,” to retake the United Northern Alliance (Canada, the United States and Mexico, all fused in a totalitarian state). Separated from allies, Alenna’s sent to the Hellgrounds, scientific labs concealed in bucolic New Iowa, where scientists carry out unspeakable experiments on drugged human subjects and build monstrous cyborgs. These focused action scenes, Stasse’s strength, deliver suspense and surprise.

But the narrative rationale for the UNA, intent on world domination, is weak, sketchily borrowed from some drab, Soviet-era archetype. Unimaginative worldbuilding doesn’t help; place names are familiar U.S. versions with “New” tacked on in front (no rationale’s offered for “New Venezuela”). Crime and punishment can’t happen 24/7; someone has to mind the store. How do ordinary citizens live? What do they think is happening?

Alenna and company, childishly self-absorbed, sidestep war’s harsh realities; the costs of victory and defeat are borne by disposable characters. Gadya’s gratuitous violence doesn’t recoil on her; Alenna’s passing regrets don’t lead her to change course.

In this dumbed-down dystopia, noble ends, vague notions of “freedom,” trump any amount of collateral damage, excruciatingly detailed, in human lives. (Dystopian adventure. 12-18)

THE WHITE HOUSE IS BURNING August 24, 1814 Sutcliffe, Jane Charlesbridge (128 pp.) $19.95 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-1-58089-656-6

A graceful narrative skillfully draws from primary sources to shed light on a key historic day.

In 1814, the United States lost a battle to the British on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., with shocking results. American soldiers fled from the battlefield, and many residents of the capital fled from the city. “Then the unthinkable: foreign invaders marching into Washington, torching first the Capitol building, then the White House,” reads the introduction to this history. The chapters that follow detail the day, starting before dawn and going through night, with two final chapters about the aftermath. Sutcliffe deftly sets the battle and invasion in 116

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the context of the War of 1812, introduces major players, and explains unfamiliar material, like the use of rockets as weapons.

Quotes from those involved make the tale personal, with reminiscences of a 15-year-old tourist, two young slaves and a British officer. Many apt observations come from first lady Dolley Madison, who wrote a letter throughout the day as she waited bravely in the White House until danger was imminent. The polished prose is matched by an attractive, open design with frequent headings, pullout quotes and effective visuals, including paintings, etchings and maps.

Elegant and illuminating. (source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

BE A CHANGEMAKER How to Start Something That Matters

Thompson, Laurie Ann Beyond Words/Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster (240 pp.) $19.99 | $12.99 paper | Sep. 9, 2014 978-1-58270-465-4 978-1-58270-464-7 paper

Teens looking to make a difference will find inspiration as well as real-world strategies for realizing their dreams of being the change they want to see in the world.

Each chapter features a case study of a charity or organization started by preteens and teens. Initiatives include programs for social, environmental, personal and political change. Some programs, such as Free the Children, are huge, distributing millions of dollars and effecting change worldwide. Others focus on more local issues, such as neighborhood rejuvenation projects. However, this is far from just a collection of successful ventures. Chapters include information on raising money, organizing rallies, making pitches and gaining media attention. Others offer advice on creating business plans, dealing with failure and building organizations that last. The sheer breadth of topics included in this resource is astounding, but the book’s strength is in its specifics. Examples of media releases, meeting agendas and shopping lists focus on the practical application of visionary plans. A list of resources directs readers to websites, movies and other books for further research. One potential stumbling block is that teens living in a digital world might want a more media-rich resource than this guide offers.

Inspirational as well as practical. (Nonfiction. 12-18)

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THE SOUND OF THUNDER

Torres, J. Illus. by Hicks, Faith Erin Kids Can (100 pp.) $17.95 | $9.95 paper | Sep. 1, 2014 978-1-894786-58-4 978-1-894786-59-1 paper Series: Bigfoot Boy, 3 In this trilogy conclusion, Rufus returns to the north woods, but can he do anything to save them without his mystic totem?

Talon the raven and his greedy mob have stolen the Q’achi totem that allows Rufus to transform into Bigfoot Boy, protector of the north woods. As Penny and Rufus search for the ravens, time is running out for the woods; a real estate company is bulldozing trees to make way for a golf course despite the protests of people like Penny’s sister, Aurora. Without the totem, Rufus can’t understand his flying-squirrel sidekick, Sidney, or talk to the wolves who have seen the error of their ways and now want to help Rufus. The trio discover more of the totem’s history, but can they recover it in time to save the woods and satisfy the spirit of the Thunderbird? Canadians Torres and Hicks conclude their woodsy trilogy with an exciting adventure dotted with humor. Rufus and Penny’s attempts to understand Sidney’s charades are a hoot. Rufus has worked a bit of his cityboy out, but his bumbles and stumbles continue to round out his character. Hicks’ heavily lined panels bring the woods to life.

Readers new to the series will be a bit lost, but no graphic-novel shelf serving young nature or cryptid fans should be without the whole trilogy.

Hitting “The End” will just make fans want to start over again. (Graphic fantasy. 9-12)

THE BEAST WITHIN A Tale of Beauty’s Prince

Valentino, Serena Disney Press (224 pp.) $16.99 | Jul. 22, 2014 978-1-4231-5912-4

A retelling of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, told from the Beast’s perspective.

The story opens as the Beast contemplates whether Belle—recently made a prisoner in his castle—will ever come to love him. The timeline then moves backward to the days when the Beast was a human prince, and so begins a story that is predictable—when it isn’t entirely ridiculous—and filled with characters as flat as the pages they’re written on. As a human prince, the Beast spurns the love of Circe, who turn out to be the younger sister of the “odd sisters,” witches whose behavior is so nonsensical it’s a wonder they stop cackling long enough to curse him. Though the pre-Beast Prince certainly deserves his curse, whether any actual human being could contain the degree of |

vanity, selfishness and conceit the Prince exhibits is questionable. One interesting curveball comes in the presentation of the Prince and Gaston (the vain sportsman romantically interested in Belle) as childhood best friends. However, the blandness of the characters negates anything interesting that might have sprung from this twist, which is not nearly enough to save the story as a whole.

With clunky writing, an uninspired plot and unbelievably one-dimensional characters (including villains so absurd no one would fear them), this spinoff effort is disappointing at best. (Fantasy. 12-18)

OF MONSTERS AND MADNESS

Verday, Jessica Egmont USA (304 pp.) $17.99 | $17.99 e-book | Sep. 9, 2014 978-1-60684-463-2 978-1-60684-464-9 e-book

A headstrong girl discovers monsters among men in this macabre mystery featuring a fictionalized Edgar Allan Poe. Annabel Lee leaves sunny Siam when her mother dies, traveling to filthy Philadelphia to meet the father she does not remember. She soon wishes that she had not come; he is cold, crippled and critical of his daughter. Formerly a doctor, and now toiling in his basement laboratory with his assistant(s) Edgar and Allan Poe, he dismisses her dreams of becoming a physician. Annabel finds comfort in her relationships with her grandfather and her maid, Maddy, but she cannot escape her feelings of alienation and loss.

Annabel chafes at her new restrictions and uses every opportunity to show off her healing skills. Typical semihistorical-horrornovel clichés abound—the house is full of secrets, her father is a mad scientist, and there is a murderer on the loose. More of a Mobius strip than a triangle, Annabelle’s romantic entanglement with creepy Edgar and Poe-poetry–spouting Allan is also standard. Aside from the dubious true-crime approach to Poe’s work, readers should take note that historical facts are compressed and manipulated. Still, Verday offers a haunting portrait of a lonely, intelligent girl, while serving up gore and abundant references to classic Gothic horror stories.

A monstrous mashup of Stevenson, Shelley, Poe and some Burnett, yet inventive and engaging nevertheless.

(Horror. 12-18)

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CLOUDWALKER

often highlights the state of Maine, the ideas and advice presented could apply in almost any area. Vocabulary is well-defined within the text, and full-color photos throughout show kids actively engaged in treasure hunting, their tools and many of the finds that are possible.

Let the treasure hunting begin! (Nonfiction. 7-12)

Vickers, Roy Henry; Budd, Robert Illus. by Vickers, Roy Henry Harbour Publishing (40 pp.) $19.95 | Jul. 3, 2014 978-1-55107-619-3 This pourquoi tale from British Columbia’s Tahltan nation is greatly enhanced by vibrant, imaginative woodblock prints, one for every page of text.

Co-author and illustrator Vickers notes that this was a “short little story” when he first encountered it, but over the years, he learned more. Perhaps this is why some of the many interesting bits of Cloudwalker’s story do not quite coalesce.

For example, early in the tale, there is a full paragraph about the “one thing Cloudwalker could not do.” The detailed description of his yearning for a life partner appears to be a plot point but is never again mentioned. The strength of the text lies in its ability to weave into this legend about the creation of three rivers facts about the natural resources of the region and the traditions of its native people. It is unfortunate that there is no appendix or glossary; some elements are explained, but readers outside the culture will likely not figure out the meaning of “potlatch” from this story’s context. And how should those readers pronounce “Ksien” and “Gitxsan” and “guloonich”? The artwork, in contrast, elegantly combines spiritual and physical worlds, partly by the use of pale, skeletal imagery over solid blocks of landscape and living figures.

Though the text makes few compromises to readers outside of its culture, the illustrations shine brightly for all. (Picture book/folk tale. 6-12)

TREASURE HUNTER’S HANDBOOK For Kids

Walsh, Liza Gardner Photos by Smith-Mayo, Jennifer Down East (96 pp.) $16.95 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-60893-278-8 There is treasure all around, and Walsh gives pointers on how to find it.

However it’s defined—pirates’ gold; buried metal discovered with a metal detector; geocaches or letterboxes; rocks, minerals and gems; or sea glass, fossils or meteorites—this book has solid advice on how to find it. Six chapters address each of these treasures in turn, discussing how to find them, equipment needed, methodologies, and some safety guidelines and codes of conduct.

Some history is thrown in throughout, and a scattering of personal stories and interviews adds a personal touch. While Walsh states that the “best treasure hunters work from feelings of intuition, which means that you just know something without really knowing why,” she also points kids to local resources for finding treasures that don’t rely on intuition, and a bibliography at the end provides other informational sources to consult. While the text 118

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THE CASE OF THE STOLEN SIXPENCE

Webb, Holly Illus. by Lindsay, Marion HMH Books (176 pp.) $14.99 | Sep. 2, 2014 978-0-544-33928-6 Series: Mysteries of Maisie Hitchins In Book 1 of The Mysteries of Maisie Hitchins, a perceptive London girl with a penchant for detecting tackles her first case to save a friend who’s been wrongly accused of stealing sixpence.

Maisie longs to become a famous detective like her hero, Gilbert Carrington. Unfortunately, 12-year-old Maisie lives in her Gran’s boardinghouse, where sleuthing opportunities are limited. After Maisie rescues a puppy someone’s tried to drown, she’s determined to find the culprit. Meanwhile, her new canine pal, Eddie, creates havoc when he absconds with sausages from the butcher’s delivery boy, George. Soon after, Maisie learns George has been sacked for stealing sixpence from the butcher’s shop, even though he tells her he found the coin. Armed with notebook and pencil, Maisie cases out the butcher’s shop, interviews suspects and goes undercover disguised as a boy and an old lady. While working on George’s case, Maisie accidentally discovers who tried to drown Eddie, and after several hilarious escapades and help from Gran’s eccentric boarders, she cracks both cases. Linear, black-and-white illustrations teem with what appears to be late-19th-century period detail, while Maisie and other characters are rendered with whimsy and charm.

Readers will eagerly await this spunky, saucy new amateur detective’s next caper. (Mystery. 9-12)

STILL LIFE

West, Jacqueline Dial (352 pp.) $16.99 | Jun. 17, 2014 978-0-8037-36917 Series: Books of Elsewhere, 5 In the final installment of the Books of Elsewhere series, Olive goes head to head with Aldous McMartin one last time, with the highest stakes yet.

Two loose ends plague Olive and company—Aldous is running free somewhere and will inevitably return for revenge, and her good friend Morton has yet to reunite with his parents. After Walter officially moves into Morton’s family home, Morton takes over to restore it to exactly as

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“...who wouldn’t want to be a Dragon Master?” from rise of the earth dragon

it was when his family lived there, in preparation for finding his parents. His suspicious, secretive way of going about this leaves Olive struggling to determine which secrets need to be uncovered and which should be left alone. One secret she uncovers is where Aldous has imprisoned Morton’s parents. But adjusting to life outside Elsewhere isn’t always easy for Morton and family.

While the devious Aldous closes in on Olive, she discovers one last McMartin family secret. The illustrations solidify mood and heighten tension, and the cast of characters is rather large but colorful. The humor ranges from wry to silly, effectively balanced by the competent, threatening villain. In the end, Olive’s concern is less about defeating Aldous and more about setting everyone else to right.

A thoroughly satisfying reward for loyal fans of the series. (Fantasy. 9-12)

RISE OF THE EARTH DRAGON

West, Tracey Illus. by Howells, Graham Branches/Scholastic (96 pp.) $15.99 | $4.99 paper | $4.99 e-book Aug. 24, 2014 978-0-545-64624-6 978-0-545-64623-9 paper 978-0-545-64633-8 e-book Series: Dragon Masters, 1

Drake has been selected by the king to serve as a Dragon Master, quite a change for an 8-year-old farmer boy.

The dragons are a secret, and the reason King Roland has them is a mystery, but what is clear is that the Dragon Stone has identified Drake as one of the rare few children who have a special connection with dragons and the ability to serve as a trainer. Drake’s dragon is a long brown creature with, at first, no particular talents that Drake can identify. He calls the dragon Worm. It isn’t long before Drake begins to realize he has a very strong connection with Worm and can share what seem to be his dragon’s thoughts. After one of the other Dragon Masters decides to illicitly take the dragons outside, disaster strikes.

The cave they are passing through collapses, blocking the passageway, and then Worm’s special talent becomes evident. The first of a new series of early chapter books, this entry is sure to attract fans. Brief chapters, large print, lots of action, attractive illustrations in every spread, including a maplike panorama, an enviable protagonist—who wouldn’t want to be a Dragon Master?—all combine to make an entertaining read.

With plenty left to be resolved, the next entry will be eagerly sought after. (Fantasy. 7-10)

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ODDREY JOINS THE TEAM

Whamond, Dave Illus. by Whamond, Dave Owlkids Books (32 pp.) $16.95 | Aug. 15, 2014 978-1-77147-061-2

Oddrey and her friends learn about teamwork and fun on the soccer field in Whamond’s newest offering about his

kooky heroine.

With so many soccer-playing kids today, it’s a delight to see the sport depicted in the pages of a picture book. Oddrey is excited about joining the Piccadilla Bees when her friend Maybelline (the team star and quite a ball hog) invites her to play.

As they practice, however, it’s quickly apparent that Oddrey’s penchant for quirky leaps and flourishes hinders her progress on the field. The other children’s efforts similarly evoke a Bad News Bears sort of vibe, and they are unquestionably hampered, in part, by Maybelline’s overblown ego and her refusal to pass the ball. Oddrey’s epiphanic sighting of a bee inspires her to liken the team to a hive in which each Piccadilla Bee teammate has a specific role. While the ineffectual coach stands by, she instructs “Queen Bee” Maybelline to pass the ball, and the other players then use moves that had been their downfalls in practice to the team’s advantage. “The Bees didn’t win that day,” reads the text. “But they did have fun playing together.” Although the text could have used some paring down to match the fast pace of the illustrations, the energetic, cartoonish art deftly draws on comic art conventions to carry the narrative.

A winning theme for the early sports shelf. (Picture book.

4-6)

THE DIAMOND MYSTERY

Widmark, Martin Illus. by Willis, Helena Grosset & Dunlap (80 pp.) $13.99 | $5.99 paper | Jul. 31, 2014 978-0-448-48067-1 978-0-448-48066-4 paper Series: Whodunit Detective Agency, 1 Jerry and Maya, classmates and friends, spend their spare time solving mysteries in their hometown of Pleasant Valley in this Swedish import.

Things are not so pleasant for Mohammed Carat, the richest man in Pleasant Valley. His world-famous jewelry store is losing money; apparently, one of his employees is stealing valuable diamonds and gems. The police are no help, so Mr. Carat turns to the youngsters for help. Each employee is a suspect: Vivian is in money trouble, former owner Danny wants his store back, and Luke’s flashy spending is suspicious. Jerry and Maya are hired to help out around the shop—washing windows, taking out the trash and so forth—but really they are there to watch the employees, both from inside the shop and from the church tower next door. Young mystery aficionados will enjoy solving the puzzle along with Maya and Jerry and

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“Ample white space allows the expressive, patterned artwork, created from prints, colored pencil, watercolor and other media, to show the twins’ range of emotions.” from the twins’ little sister

will admire their observational powers. Full-color cartoon illustrations add much to the story, helping readers to see what the young gumshoes do. A map of Pleasant Valley and an illustrated cast of characters are provided in the early pages, allowing new readers an excellent reference tool to keep the many characters straight.

Nicely paced, with just the right number of red herrings to keep readers thinking; they will hope the number 1 on the spine indicates that this is the first of many Maya and Jerry mysteries. (Mystery. 7-9)

PENGUIN AND PUMPKIN

Yoon, Salina Illus. by Yoon, Salina Walker (40 pp.) $14.99 | Jul. 15, 2014 978-0-8027-3732-8

Penguin, always visible with his orange scarf, wonders what fall looks like in other places—and so does his little brother, Pumpkin.

Penguin and friends shove off on an ice floe to find fall, but Pumpkin is too small to come along. After some floating, they find a farm, which is full of pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. But what really captivates Penguin is the multicolored leaves falling everywhere. Riding in a hollowed-out pumpkin, the group tows another one that’s full of treasures (including books) back home, along with a treat that will show little Pumpkin just what fall looks like. The lines and shapes are muscular and graphic, and the palette is dominated, of course, by shades of orange and the blues and whites of ocean and ice. Pumpkin himself, meanwhile, has imagined fall in a number of other sorts of places with his “space-tacular imagination.” All the penguins have hats or mufflers or glasses or other distinguishing accessories in this series’ odd sort of anthropomorphic community.

Readers with a generous tolerance for quirkiness will find that this seasonal tale, that’s also a bit about little brothers, adventures and the endless diversity of pumpkins, hits the spot. (Picture book. 4-7)

THE TWINS’ LITTLE SISTER

Yum, Hyewon Illus. by Yum, Hyewon Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux (40 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 5, 2014 978-0-374-37973-5 New-big-sister dilemmas—times two.

Readers of The Twins’ Blanket (2011) will recognize the two adorable, identical twin girls in their polka-dot dresses (and of course, their striped blanket in the background). The twins have two of nearly everything, but they have only one mom, and this is a big problem. As they fight over whom mom will look at during nap time or whom she’ll push first on the swings, their mother’s bulging belly reveals an even bigger problem: a little 120

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sibling on the way. When the baby, who “looks like the bread in a paper bag,” arrives home, there’s suddenly not enough room for the twins on the grown-up bed or anyone to push them on the swings. But when the girls notice the attention they receive for helping with the new baby, their ever present competitiveness turns toward fighting over who’s the better big sister.

Always reconciled eventually, the twins decide that the baby is kind of cute and that they don’t mind sharing their mom with her. As the competition to care for the baby continues, maybe their only problem now is that they need another baby sister!

Ample white space allows the expressive, patterned artwork, created from prints, colored pencil, watercolor and other media, to show the twins’ range of emotions.

A spot-on look at sibling rivalry that will speak to multiples and singletons alike. (Picture book. 3-6)

FALLING INTO PLACE

Zhang, Amy Greenwillow/HarperCollins (304 pp.) $17.99 | $10.99 e-book | Sep. 9, 2014 978-0-06-229504-0 978-0-06-229506-4 e-book A teen tries to commit suicide by crashing her car in this debut from an adolescent author.

High school junior Liz Emerson hovers between life and death in the hospital after purposefully running her car off the road, while friends, teachers and curious classmates gather to stand watch and hope for the best. Strategically timed flashbacks to weeks, days and minutes before the crash, some voiced by Liz’s platitude-spouting childhood imaginary friend, reveal a wealthy, popular girl tortured by regret over her cruel actions against others. Her father died when she was young, and her widowed mother ignores Liz in favor of her globe-trotting job, but Liz knows that’s no excuse for getting a friend hooked on drugs, urging another friend to have an abortion and making a mean viral video of a boy who has a crush on her. “Some nights, Liz looked back and counted the bodies, all the lives she had ruined simply by existing. So she chose to stop existing.” Will Liz pull through? Depending on whether they identify with Liz or her victims, readers may be split about the novel’s abrupt ending. Even though the text is peppered with clichés, the inventive structure and inspired use of the imaginaryfriend narrator help overcome the earnest, immature prose and heavy-handed messages.

Superior scaffolding, didactic execution. (Fiction. 13-16)

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interactive e-books THE GOLDEN TROPHY

Bee Square Bee Square $0.99 | Apr. 24, 2014 1.1; Apr. 24, 2014 Series: Sheldon’s Bedtime Stories

An interactive exploration of what might have happened after the Tortoise bested the Hare.

The story begins with Sheldon the tortoise standing on the podium, waving his golden trophy. Just below him are the sulking Hare and a seemingly content mole. Animal spectators are celebrating Sheldon’s win—but when Sheldon goes to bed one night, a hare posse sneaks in and steals his beloved prize.

Sheldon recovers the trophy (seemingly by telekinesis), but in a spectacular anticlimax, a mole subsequently steals it and scurries down a deep underground pathway, never to be seen again. Interactions are plenteous, if not exciting. With a simple tap, leaves fall, animals make sounds, a light switches off, and a scuffle commences—nothing groundbreaking. There’s a cute sequence in which readers help Sheldon escape from the hare mob and another in which they help assemble a makeshift replacement trophy. The main problem with this app is that it’s not particularly well-designed. In select places, the visuals and interactions don’t match the text description. For example, the narrator says, “Oh no! The hares have stolen the trophy!” while the golden prize is still sitting on Sheldon’s nightstand. Screen transitions are universally sluggish.

The characters are cute and colorful, but they’re not strong enough to carry this weak storyline and flawed interface to a first-place finish. (iPad storybook app. 2-5)

THE PHANTOM MENACE Disney Publishing Worldwide Disney Publishing Worldwide $6.99 | May 1, 2014 1.1; May 1, 2014 Series: Star Wars Journeys

navigating the “Story Experience” narrative or by winning races.

Those points also unlock “Profiles” about characters, settings and vehicles from the story. The artwork and animation are lush, the narration has verve, and the sound effects and music are terrific. The pages themselves are panoramas that can be scrolled by touch or by moving the device left and right. It’s a neat trick, almost as neat as the optional pod-racing game controls allowing the iPad to be moved around rather than controlled by clunky on-screen buttons.

The app’s primary appeal lies in the presentation of a template that may work out better when A New Hope and its two sequels arrive in the Star Wars Journeys series. (iPad storybook app. 6-12)

YAKUT TALES

Khristoforov, Sergey Illus. by Shakhoval, Kira Fivetronics $0.99 | Feb. 23, 2014 1.0; Feb. 23, 2014

A fluid retelling of “Why Is the Tip of the Ermine’s Tail Black,” a pourquoi tale from the far northeastern reaches of Siberia.

One bitterly cold winter, a hunter nurtures an ermine back to life after it has fallen down his chimney, and the ermine grows a thick white coat of fur. Later that winter, when the ermine thinks the hunter is away, it eats all the old man’s butter. Furious, the man grabs a hot poker and thrusts it at the tip of the ermine’s tail, turning it black. The story is engaging, with a clear lesson and a happy ending. Text and narration are available in English, Russian and Yakut, with different narrators for each language. The English translation is smooth and pleasant. Digital illustrations and simple animations add humor and context to the story. Unfortunately, the font (in all three languages) is terribly small (readers can simply hide the text altogether and just listen to the story). Although a suite of Yakut folk tales is planned for the future, this is the only tale included at the time of review, making for a slight disconnect between icon and story content at the moment.

A delightful folk tale from a region that is not often represented in our literature. (Requires iOS 6 and above.) (iPad folk-tale app. 4-8)

More forced than blessed with the Force, this app of the oft-reviled first Star Wars prequel will nevertheless please

some fans.

Not unlike the film it’s based on, the storybook-app version is packed with clutter, has a story that clangs when it should sing and feels bloated. An opening “Loading assets” screen takes far too long to get going, and the story still stinks. But that won’t matter to young Star Wars fans and apologists for the prequels, who’ll find a lot to love. There’s a full-blown pod-racing arcade game included that’s surprisingly deep; it has a large selection of vehicles and characters and keeps track of points earned by |

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HOW FAR IS UP

Sargeant, Betty Illus. by Sargeant, Betty E Sargeant $0.99 | Apr. 27, 2014 1.0.1; May 5, 2014 An alluring exploration of the word “far,” its meaning and its mystery.

The curtains part in a Victorian theater. Rusty, Buster and Ting—boy, dog and mouse—introduce themselves and ask the audience to consider the idea of “far.”

Yes, the tips of your fingers can seem far away, but consider the sky. Piano music tinkles in the background as the narrator urges readers to stretch their senses of far. Interaction is minimal, but it’s enough to feel one is engaged with something like a simple pinball machine. As day turns to night, the artwork steps forward, a montage of stylized images, photographs (often warped) and mildly kooky line drawings—the main characters are pleasingly childlike in composition. An odd trophy—or is it a metallic insect?—that has heretofore served as the “pinball” bouncing about the screen, now turns into a rocket ship and carries the three characters far, far up into the heavens, to stars, comets and meteors—even black holes; all are given clear, modest definitions. Sargeant provides some perspective by comparing the land mass of the United States to the moon, but once characters and readers are in deep space, the quality most evident is dazzle, conveying the notion that places far away, even if they are only on our planet and not Andromeda, are full of wonder.

A fine encouragement to be curious, to reach for things strange and distant, to court adventure. (iPad storybook app.

4-6)

WITCHY & WILLIAM

van der Meer, Hanneke Illus. by van der Meer, Hanneke Somoiso $1.99 | Apr. 20, 2014 1.0; Apr. 20, 2014

may be the story itself. Witchy willingly goes along with the giant, a stranger who suddenly shows up in her room, without permission. And it’s not a giant her own age; as drawn in the story, he’s a balding, middle-aged giant with white hair. So much for stranger danger.

Other than that creepy giant elephant in the room, Witchy’s story isn’t exactly bewitching, save for the tidy design. (Requires iPad 2 and above.) (iPad storybook app. 3-7)

LUCY GRACE Rotten

Walton, Julia Illus. by Kemble, Mai Kayu Interactive $1.99 | Feb. 18, 2014 1.21; Apr. 20, 2014 If only life were as simple as this.

Lucy Grace throws tantrums left and right, breaking her toys, drawing on the walls and shredding her books. “Her mom and dad, though quite displeased, never punished Lucy Grace. / They argued that they couldn’t stand to see her crying face.” So it is no surprise that Lucy Grace turns into a monster, a spoiled brat with green teeth and wild hair. With unsatisfying simplicity, Lucy Grace’s parents turn the situation around by simply showing her how to make her bed. They do not “let her whine or pout,” and voilà: “She changed the way she acted!” Really? This story lacks the humor of Mrs. PiggleWiggle, but it also lacks the understanding that good relationships take hard work on all sides. Digital artwork adds humor, and simple interactive elements engage young readers without distracting them. The tenor of the narration is pleasing, but the sound effects occasionally overlap and overshadow the narration. The rhythm and rhyme are generally pleasing, and young readers will appreciate the pacing of the text and narration.

Although the individual elements of this app work well, the story bangs children over the head with its message: Behave or else you’ll turn into a spoiled brat. (iPad storybook app. 4-7)

A young witch helps a giant out in a simple fairy-tale app.

Witchy is a little girl with a magic wand and a pointy hat who, one night in bed, is approached by a giant named William. “I am looking for something to eat,” he tells her before munching on Witchy’s stuffed rabbit. Witchy learns that the giant comes from an arid place, so he can’t grow fruits or vegetables. With a little magic, Witchy is able to fix the situation. The app features simple ink-and-watercolor illustrations, and the app design takes a minimalist approach, using hand-drawn icons and page-turn animations with few frills. Each page has a few interactions, such as a sound effect or objects that can be moved. Most helpfully, a question mark on each page reveals the hidden ways to trigger these. Unfortunately, the text has dodgy punctuation throughout, likely the result of its translation from Dutch. A bigger problem for many 122

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continuing series HOW STRONG IS AN ANT? And Other Questions About…Bugs and Insects Carson, Mary Kay Illus. by Schwartz, Carol Sterling | (32 pp.) $12.95 | $5.95 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4549-0684-1 978-1-4549-0685-8 paper Good Question!

(Nonfiction. 8-12)

LICENSE TO SPILL

Harrison, Lisi Little, Brown | (352 pp.) $18.00 | Jun. 24, 2014 978-0-316-22242-6 Pretenders, 2 (Romance. 12-16)

JOURNEY’S END

Holt, Christopher Illus. by Douglas, Allen Little, Brown | (320 pp.) $17.00 | Jun. 10, 2014 978-0-316-20007-3 Last Dogs, 4 (Fantasy. 8-12)

WHAT MAKES A TORNADO TWIST? And Other Questions About…Weather Carson, Mary Kay Illus. by Mackay, Louis Sterling | (32 pp.) $12.95 | $5.95 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4549-0682-7 978-1-5459-0683-4 paper Good Question!

(Nonfiction. 8-12)

Holub, Joan; Williams, Suzanne Scholastic | (192 pp.) $5.99 paper | Jun. 24, 2014 978-0-545-51985-4 paper Grimmtastic Girls, 3 (Fantasy. 8-12)

BACK TO SCHOOL, WEIRD KIDS RULE!

THE ENDLESS LAKE

SNOW WHITE LUCKS OUT

Gutman, Dan Illus. by Paillot, Jim Harper/HarperCollins | (144 pp.) $15.99 | $16.89 PLB | Jun. 24, 2014 978-0-06-220685-5 978-0-06-220686-2 PLB My Weird School Special (Fiction. 6-10)

Hunter, Erin Harper/HarperCollins | (320 pp.) $16.99 | Jun. 3, 2014 978-0-06-210272-0 Survivors, 5 (Adventure. 8-12)

FRANKIE VS. THE COWBOY’S CREW

Lampard, Frank Scholastic | (112 pp.) $4.99 paper | Jun. 24, 2014 978-0-545-66616-9 paper Frankie’s Magic Soccer Ball, 3 (Fantasy. 7-10)

MISS KLUTE IS A HOOT!

Gutman, Dan Illus. by Paillot, Jim Harper/HarperCollins | (112 pp.) $4.99 paper | Jun. 24, 2014 978-0-06-219844-0 paper My Weirder School, 11 (Fiction. 6-10)

MANHUNT

Messner, Kate Scholastic | (304 pp.) $16.99 | Jun. 24, 2014 978-0-545-41977-2 Silver Jaguar Society, 3 (Mystery. 8-12)

JUST GRACE GETS CRAFTY Harper, Charise Mericle Illus. by Harper, Charise Mericle HMH Books | (192 pp.) $15.99 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-544-08023-2 Just Grace, 12 (Fiction. 6-9)

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THE SCARY MONSTER

TOXIC

Nosy Crow Illus. by Scheffler, Axel Nosy Crow/Candlewick | (24 pp.) $6.99 | Jul. 1, 2014 978-0-7636-7231-7 Pip and Posy (Picture book. 2-5)

Shepard, Sara HarperTeen | (336 pp.) $17.99 | Jun. 3, 2014 978-0-06-228701-4 Pretty Little Liars, 15 (Chick lit. 14-18)

HOW IS MY BRAIN LIKE A SUPERCOMPUTER? And Other Questions About…The Human Body

FROZEN TREATS

Perelman, Helen Illus. by Waters, Erica-Jane Aladdin | (128 pp.) $5.99 paper | Jun. 10, 2014 978-1-4424-5303-6 paper Candy Fairies, 13 (Fantasy. 7-10)

Stewart, Melissa Illus. by Bull, Peter Sterling | (32 pp.) $12.95 | $5.95 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4549-0680-3 978-1-4549-0681-0 paper Good Question!

(Nonfiction. 8-12)

RICKY RICOTTA’S MIGHTY ROBOT VS. THE MECHA-MONKEYS FROM MARS

WHY DID T. REX HAVE SHORT ARMS? And Other Questions About…Dinosaurs

Pilkey, Dav Illus. by Santat, Dan Scholastic | (144 pp.) $5.99 paper | Jun. 24, 2014 978-0-545-63012-2 paper Ricky Ricotta, 2 (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 5-9)

Stewart, Melissa Illus. by Csotonyi, Julius Sterling | (32 pp.) $12.95 | $5.95 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4549-0678-0 978-1-4549-0679-7 paper Good Question!

(Nonfiction. 8-12)

WHY IS THE SEA SALTY? And Other Questions About…Oceans

ZOMBIE HALLOWEEN

Richmond, Benjamin Illus. by Adzhderian, Cecilia Sterling | (32 pp.) $12.95 | $5.95 paper | Jul. 1, 2014 978-1-4549-0676-6 978-1-4549-0677-3 paper Good Question!

(Nonfiction. 8-12)

Stine, R.L. Scholastic | (192 pp.) $7.99 paper | Jun. 24, 2014 978-0-545-62776-4 paper Goosebumps Most Wanted Special Edition, 1 (Horror. 8-12)

KNOT TOO SHABBY!

MONKEY ME AND THE NEW NEIGHBOR

Taylor, Chloe Illus. by Zhang, Nancy Simon Spotlight | (176 pp.) $16.99 | $5.99 paper | Jun. 3, 2014 978-1-4814-1399-2 978-1-4814-1398-5 paper Sew Zoey, 4 (Fiction. 8-12)

Roland, Timothy Branches/Scholastic | (96 pp.) $15.99 | $4.99 paper | Jun. 24, 2014 978-0-545-55986-7 978-0-545-55984-3 paper Monkey Me, 3 (Fiction. 6-8)

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indie THE SUM OF HIS WORTH

These titles earned the Kirkus Star:

Argo, Ron Cliff Edge Publishing (376 pp.) $27.95 | $5.95 e-book | Mar. 1, 2014 978-0-9894035-7-3

The Noisiest Book Review in the Known World

by Lolita Lark.....................................................................................134 IT ALL STARTED WITH A BICYCLE by Plum McCauley................. 135 MY LIFE IN A NUTSHELL by Tanya J. Peterson................................ 136 INSTEAD by Norma Shainin............................................................. 137 DEGREES OF LOVE by Lisa Slabach................................................. 138

MY LIFE IN A NUTSHELL A Novel

Peterson, Tanya J. Inkwater Press (381 pp.) $3.99 paper 978-1-62901-072-4

In Argo’s (The Courage to Kill, 2013, etc.) novel, set at the dawn of the civil rights movement, an earnest white teenager tries to figure out what kind of man he will become.

Growing up fatherless in a cashstrapped Alabama family is hard enough on 16-year-old Sonny Poe. But when he and a buddy accidentally witness a lurid backwoods lynching, things become decidedly more complex.

Suddenly, he’s ducking members of the local Ku Klux Klan as he attempts to carry on more mundane pursuits, such as chasing girls, delivering newspapers and saving for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Into Sonny’s hard-pressed life steps Joe Peach, a local dentist with a painful past and a crusading spirit. “Dr. Joe” takes Sonny under his wing, but Sonny’s secret knowledge of backwoods violence plagues him. The budding friendship becomes more fraught when Dr. Joe is assigned a job to weed out local government corruption. Violence, and the threat of violence, continues to dog Sonny as he and Dr. Joe dig deeper into a police-sanctioned scam targeting the oppressed black community. Will Sonny rise to the challenge? Could any teen in his predicament prevail? In a style that’s evocative of S.E. Hinton’s classic works, with a dash of Daniel Woodrell’s Southern grit, Argo successfully creates a profound, multilayered tapestry that’s full of nuance. Sonny’s first-person perspective creates a fragile aura around the unfolding events and makes them wholly unpredictable; although he’s steadfast and true, Sonny is still a teenager, capable of wrecking his buddy’s car.

The authentic dialogue is especially effective; each restrained syllable conveys as much as a five-page soliloquy, as when Sonny, after receiving a horrific beating, says that he’s “[g]ood.

Been better, but good.”

An engrossing, heartbreakingly real novel of the South.

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YEAR OF THE POETS

LOVE IN THE TIME OF APPS

Ballard, Jon Loose Leaves Publishing (431 pp.)

In Ballard’s highly readable, character-driven debut novel, the summer of 1976 proves messy, seductive and lifechanging for celebrated poet, wanderer and serial womanizer Arthur Honeyman and all who enter his orbit.

Created as a gesture of personal liberation by farmer’s widow Amelia, the Davenport Summer Retreat for Artists in Michigan is aptly named. The poets and assorted others who have converged on this 100-year-old family farm in 1976 are all in retreat, emotionally and from rocky affairs, troubled marriages, familial relationships, hard choices, former failures and successes. Arthur Honeyman, 59, itinerant carpenter and renowned poet, has hit a fallow stretch. (His lauded earlier work, fueled by rage and bitterness stoked by his now ex-wife, is juicily critiqued by Amelia’s staid son Charlie as “compressed, excruciating blasts of words—opaque stanzas like shrapnel.”) Honeyman also builds benches stenciled with quotes by the likes of Mao Zedong and Janis Joplin, waffles over reuniting with estranged son Pablo, and juggles affairs with married Samantha and nubile poetry phenom Flora. In a delightful little visual, Ballard describes Flora’s painted toes, wiggling in the grass “like the carapaces of hyper blue beetles,” although the author’s fondness for colorful simile can lead to such proximal overindulgences as “the Poet’s bags sat half-packed, lazing like patient hounds at the foot of their master’s bed” and “the farmhouse squatting like a Buddha in the gauzy twilight.” Ballard’s frequent referral to Honeyman as “the Poet,” without a discernable tongue-in-cheek tone, is another distraction. Is the seeming conceit meant to underscore Honeyman’s stature with others? That he lives solely for his art? Is it a sly nod to 19th-century Romanticism? The intent isn’t clear. Ballard maintains his narrative’s robust energy, however, even when plunging lengthily into character-study mode.

Over the course of sexual pairings and road trips as far afield as Mexico, lives intertwine on and off the farm, and everyone at the retreat—including pothead and religious college dropout Gideon and Charlie’s secretly far left–leaning girlfriend, Natalia—searches for (and finds, to one extent or other) inspiration, affirmation or at least clarity of purpose.

At times indulgent but a highly enjoyable debut novel.

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Begler, Jay CreateSpace (308 pp.) $12.95 paper | $4.99 e-book Apr. 3, 2014 978-1-4928-5301-5

In this debut satire, a trendy numerical rating system determines the fates of individuals.

Philip Goodwin is trapped in a loveless marriage. The problem is that he has a great sense of humor, while his wife, Sheila, is “HypoHumoresque”—completely without humor. Their plight is worsened when “Data Snatcher” Alex Pragat creates the Pragat Personal Rating system, which—like the Zagat restaurant rating system—appoints numerical values to people. This seems innocent enough, except that “[w]ithin months of the website’s launch, an individual’s PPR came to define for one and all the worth of an individual to society.” Despite Philip’s decent rating, Sheila cheats on him with their marriage counselor. This prompts the middle-aged romantic to search for new love, which he finds in the ravishing Sophie D’Amour. She and Philip realize they’re perfect for each other. But after a few unforgettable dates, Sophie reveals that she’s a “habitual and compulsive trespasser”—a crime for which she’s then arrested.

As a result, Philip struggles with loneliness. Sheila, meanwhile, is struck by a lightning bolt of astounding power. The accident hospitalizes her, but she glows (literally) with celebrity allure.

Philip tries to retain his privacy, and sanity, as events spin out of control. Debut author Begler is a fabulously skilled comedian capable of winsome asides and ruthlessly ribald jabs. His gonzo narrative skewers many of modern society’s most controversial subjects: privacy rights, health care and class division. His extended commentaries often feature moments of surreal wonder, as with “a low-flying, small black cloud, which to all eyewitnesses, not one exception, resembled a profile of Abraham Lincoln wearing a baseball cap.” Begler’s exuberant cleverness is perhaps most cutting when focused on the rich and famous: “Several celebrities were brave enough to place their heads directly into [Sheila’s] mysterious light,” which grants instant face-lifts. Sometimes, however, Begler throws too many jokes at the wall, and not everything sticks—a small price for admission into this wonderland.

A delicious, scalding cup of satire.

“...like a runaway freight train, barreling forward and fun to read.” from thane

Thane

Bow, Travis Daniel Mask and Mallet Publishing (329 pp.) $9.49 | Jun. 1, 2014 978-0-9914-6570-5 Bow’s terrific debut YA novel takes readers into an action-packed fantasy world.

This first installment of a planned series follows Timothy, an ambitious but self-pitying teenager. He has some of a typical teenager’s problems, like not getting any respect from his father, but he is also haunted by the memory of Fenae, a girl he once loved who was killed, along with her family, by the occupying Huctan forces. Timothy is Botani, living under the subjugation of the Huctans, who have legalized alcohol after conquering Botan and killing most of the Botani people. Often plagued not only by doubt, but by full-blown selfloathing, Timothy makes an atypical protagonist. Eventually, he gets the chance to become a Thane, a servant of Botan, someone who spends his life “learning how to keep secrets and control conversations.” But Thanes, despite being “big shots,” are very human, with all sorts of human foibles. (“He hadn’t expected Thanes to have a hard time waking up in the morning.”) This kind of humanity, both in the troubled protagonist and the flawed Thanes, gives the novel its energy and seems to set it apart from lesser fantasy stories. Bow has a gift for building a world that is at once instantly recognizable yet alien. The sense of place comes gradually, naturally, as readers are thrown into the story with little in the way of explanation; watching another world unfurl becomes one of the novel’s great pleasures. Sometimes, conversations play out in lengthy dialogue that could be summarized, and readers might be left wanting more descriptions, an occasional break from the fast pace. The story—to its benefit, much of the time—is like a runaway freight train, barreling forward and fun to read; perhaps, though, it would benefit from stopping occasionally to give readers the opportunity to see what is on either side of the tracks, so to speak. But overall, it’s a well-plotted, elegantly written book, and by the time readers get to the exciting finale, they’ll be anticipating the promised sequel.

An adventure fantasy held together by a complex, compelling protagonist.

Teenager Henry usually spends only a week at the Minnesota cabin with his cousin’s family, but this year, it’s the entire summer. He and Dylan are grounded (a carry-over from the previous book), but Dylan’s dad, Mike, lets the boys deliver supplies to cabins on Rainy Lake. The two, along with Arla, can’t stay away from trouble; they respond to screams coming from Turtle Island and save a bear cub. Near the border, they find an old mink farm and empty cages, but they realize something’s wrong when, inside a seemingly abandoned cabin, someone traps them by slamming the door shut. Meanwhile, strange but affectionate local resident “the king” knows for sure that illegal activity is afoot, having found mysterious, large plastic coolers.

And the situation later becomes dire for the teens when one of them goes missing. Bradley’s quick, appealing novel is boosted by illustrative descriptions of the surrounding wilderness— towering pines “coated in green moss” and bundles of blueberry bushes—and even the food, such as the “thick and creamy” chocolate or wild strawberries mixed with vanilla ice cream that Arla’s grandmother sells at her store, the Last Stop. Henry is a laudable protagonist; he knows a lot less about fishing or boating than his bulkier cousin, but he’s a lovable nerd more comfortable at science camp, so it’s painted as a shame that new Last Stop employee Rika keeps her attention solely on Dylan and largely ignores Henry. The king’s “protectors,” dogs Freya and Odin, nearly steal the story in sheer cuteness; their master, eyeing a suspiciously low-flying plane, tries to move stealthily through the woods, and the canines belly-crawl behind him.

There are subtle references to the author’s prior novel to pique reader interest—in a callback, the book opens with the two boys retrieving Dylan’s boat motor from the bottom of the lake—as well as a good number of suspects to deepen the mystery, from a man who’s served time in prison to the returning, and rather unpleasant, Helgason brothers.

More enjoyable escapades for Henry and company in this delightful summertime series.

Antón Mallick Wants to Be Happy Casariego, Nicolás Translated by Bunstead, Thomas Hispabooks (354 pp.) $16.99 paper | $9.99 e-book Apr. 1, 2014 978-8494174483

WILDER’S FOE

Bradley, Diane North Star Press of St. Cloud (182 pp.) $12.95 paper | Mar. 1, 2014 978-0-87839-760-0 In Bradley’s (Wilder’s Edge, 2013) YA sequel, a summer of adventure continues for cousins Henry and Dylan and their friend Arla when a job of running supplies on a lake near the U.S.-Canada border puts them in the middle of some shady goings-on.

In Casariego’s witty, thought-provoking novel (translated from Spanish

by Bunstead), a man plagued by anxiety attacks resolves to live a full, happy life.

Antón Mallick is a 32-year-old Spaniard in the midst of a deeply personal, existential crisis. On the surface, he seems to have a successful, if unremarkable, life. He has a steady job working with satellites, a large and well-meaning family, and an active social life. However, underneath the surface, Antón suffers from near-debilitating anxiety attacks, his family is highly dysfunctional, and his social life is punctuated by drug use and |

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casual sexual encounters. Antón manages to keep his anxiety in check until a chance encounter at a local store sends him spiraling into a particularly intense attack: While standing in line, he spots a pregnant woman ahead of him buying a set of the Lethal Weapon films. She turns to him and says she’s going to have his baby. Antón’s life is completely transformed by the encounter, which eventually helps set him on a path toward embracing happiness. Armed with books on self-help and philosophy provided by his brother, Zoltan, and sister, Bela, Antón resolves to be happy in life and to look for the mystery woman carrying his child. Casariego succeeds at giving vibrant life to Antón and his world by using a complex, unorthodox narrative structure.

Antón’s story is primarily told through journal entries in which he discusses his colorful family history, his desire to be happy, his feelings toward his unborn child, whom he names Dragosi, and his complicated relationships with his siblings. In lengthy sidebars, Antón also critiques the myriad of books given to him by his siblings, and transcripts of Skype conversations offer insights into his connections with his parents. Antón’s life is anything but straightforward, and Bunstead’s lucid translation keeps the narrative clear and cohesive, even when Antón’s life seems to be falling apart.

Antón may not always be a sympathetic character, but his quest could resonate with readers struggling to find meaning in their lives.

FATHERS HAVE BIG HANDS Charry, Jonathan AuthorHouse (36 pp.) $20.99 paper | $3.99 e-book Feb. 11, 2013 978-1-4817-1374-0

A picture book that describes all the things that fathers do.

Charry’s debut depicts all the things that fathers do for their children by showing the different reasons fathers have big hands, big feet, big voices, big eyes and big hearts. For example, fathers have big hands to do things like “help you up when you fall down and put bandaids on your skinned knee” and “open pickle jars and fix your toys and bake your favorite bread and tuck you in at night,” and they have big voices “to tell you what a wonderful kid you are and to brag to all the other fathers what a brilliant kid you are.” The short and simple text works well as a read-aloud for even the youngest of listeners. Full-color illustrations accompany the text and show a diverse mix of fathers helping and caring for their children, who grow progressively older, from babies to young adults, as the pages turn. Both the text and the illustrations focus solely on fathers and show only fathers with their children, so the book will work especially well for single dads, though it is suitable for all fathers. Bolded text emphasizes certain words and denotes the different big features fathers have. The illustrations are in a simple, comic-book style; some have a flat, amateurish look. The dad running beside his bicycling daughter doesn’t appear to actually be in motion, and the dad getting ready to jump in a lake with his son has 128

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cartoonishly large muscles and one hand balled in a menacinglooking fist. The less-than-perfect illustrations are slight issues that most young readers will not notice or will overlook.

This quick, enjoyable read-aloud offers a positive view of the father-child relationship that will be appreciated by adults and young listeners.

THE MYSTERY OF MOUTAI Chen, G.X. CreateSpace (226 pp.) $10.13 paper April 14, 2014 978-1-4960-5549-1

In Chen’s (The Mystery of Revenge, 2013, etc.) thriller, a Boston college student and an associate professor travel to Beijing to prove that their friend’s suspicious death was premeditated murder.

Ann Lee and Dr. Fang Chen don’t agree with the police theory that Shao Mei’s death was a robbery gone wrong. Her son, John, found the apartment ransacked, but that doesn’t explain an empty bottle of Moutai—a notably expensive Chinese liquor that Shao Mei couldn’t possibly afford—found at the crime scene. Ann and Fang Chen suspect poisoning—their friend had bled from her nose and mouth—but can’t come up with a motive; Shao Mei had few friends in the United States and was better known back when she was a professor at Beijing University. Clues, including a poison that may have been used, seem to point Ann and Fang Chen to Beijing, where the duo may have hit pay dirt when they learn of an out-of-print book that connects Shao Mei to, unfortunately, a second murder.

And when Ann is nearly run down by a car in Beijing, the two realize that a killer may be only a few steps behind them. The author’s mystery story is reinforced by its amateur sleuths; Paul Winderman is the detective officially working the case, but Ann and Fang Chen are the ones who, when trying to make sense of their friend’s murder, begin inadvertently piecing together evidence—narrowing a motive down to keeping a secret hidden or wanting a valuable that Shao Mei had possibly stashed somewhere. Their Beijing excursion is not only productive (it’s where they first hear of the book), but also frequently amusing, as Fang Chen, who’s from Singapore, takes advantage of his first time in the Chinese city to go sightseeing, quickly learning that his favorite loafers aren’t the best for hours of walking. The murder mystery has just the bare essentials—very few clues and only a couple of viable suspects—but the short novel is a quick read, and any red herrings regarding evidence or accusations would have been underdeveloped with so little narrative. Chen does a splendid job of connecting the world of this book to her own prior work; there are various mentions of Yi-yun, Ann and Shao Mei’s friend and Fang Chen’s ex-wife, who was also murdered.

A conventional murder mystery made truly exceptional thanks to the charismatic and refreshingly unconventional protagonists.

STAINED GLASS Daniels, Noel Manuscript

Daniels’ debut novel depicts the events surrounding a shooting in 1970s New Orleans in a story full of deception, regret, sex and thrills.

Stained glass adorns college professor Dorrie Talardie’s “shotgun” cottage, so called because its rooms are laid out in a row: “If you shot a gun, the bullet would go straight through.”

Chronologically, that foreboding description precedes the novel’s major event—a gunshot in Dorrie’s bedroom—but it appears later in the novel. The story’s timeline is as twisted as its characters’ distorted conceptions of truth, revealed through alternating first-person accounts. One character, for example, deludes himself into believing that he didn’t commit a horrifying sexual assault; another takes pride in her marriage, despite her husband’s infidelities and her sacrificed career. At the center of it all is Dorrie, whom some see as a virginal, pitiable cat lady with an unfortunate nest of hair but who is in truth something of a pioneer—a female scholar in the South in the 1970s. She’s also an unlikely companion to her black handyman, Lucius, and, mysteriously, a maternal figure to a neighbor boy who destroyed lives with an impulsive lie. Later, the shooting leaves Lucius in a coma, and those close to him are left to puzzle out who could have committed the act. The novel’s whodunit aspects are less compelling than its setting, which creates a vivid picture of Louisiana during a tumultuous time in its history. Racial tension, homophobia, economic disparity, the sexual revolution and acrimonious reactions to feminism all come into play in what happens to Dorrie and Lucius. Even voodoo plays a crucial role, contributing an exotic aura of mysticism. In such a vibrant atmosphere, a shooting seems almost unexceptional, and as a result, the stakes surrounding the crime never feel terribly high. But what that event means in the characters’ lives is often strange and remarkable, like much of the novel itself.

An eerie mystery rich in historical detail.

The Reincarnation of Vincent Van Gogh A Novel Forst, Don M. CreateSpace (492 pp.) $17.99 paper | $4.99 e-book Mar. 12, 2014 978-1-4849-3275-9

Forst’s debut novel combines elements of a mainstream thriller, a reincarnation-powered mystery, crime fiction, romance and art history to create a unique, engaging story.

Forty-one-year-old Mark Reed seemingly has it all: He’s a partner in a highly successful architecture firm and has a 4,000-square-foot home in a wealthy Long Island, New York,

neighborhood. But when he’s hit by a drunk driver while driving home from work, his idyllic existence radically changes.

Soon after the accident, Reed, who received a head injury, finds himself obsessed with the need to paint, and he begins having incredibly vivid dreams of Vincent Van Gogh and his life in France’s Provence region. When Reed displays his artwork in a SoHo gallery, he becomes the center of a firestorm; the masterful nature of his work (and the fact that he signs his paintings as Van Gogh) makes collectors begin to believe that the architectturned-painter may be Van Gogh reincarnated. Prices of original Van Gogh paintings plummet, and one collector, after a failed lawsuit, decides to take matters into his own hands by attempting to assassinate the controversial painter. Forst effectively depicts how Reed struggles to come to grips with his newfound talent, and Reed’s life becomes even more complicated when he realizes that he’s in love with gallery owner Allison Weeks. This engaging novel is powered by brisk pacing and virtually nonstop action. Along the way, it impressively develops its central characters, as Reed and Allison maneuver through a gauntlet of irate critics, crooked collectors and criminals to clear Reed’s name and somehow keep him alive. Overall, this intelligent tale will appeal to thriller, mystery and romance fans alike.

A bold, thoughtfully crafted novel that’s full of passion.

VACATIONLAND Man plans, God Laughs Goodale, Nat Bowditch Press (242 pp.) $14.99 paper | $9.98 e-book Oct. 3, 2013 978-0-9898406-0-6

A Maine lobsterman endures a barrage of threats and sabotage from various people before finally seeking retribution in Goodale’s debut thriller.

Donny Coombs has enough trouble keeping his lobster boat, Pot Luck, above water with the recession and rising fuel costs.

But he also must contend with affluent neighbors insisting he beautify his property, another lobsterman elbowing his way into his fishing spots and a father demanding that Donny stop dating his daughter, Shelly. Vague warnings soon turn to vandalism: Someone dumps sugar in his truck’s gas tank and tampers with his boat’s fuel line. As the threats increase and become deadlier, Donny looks for payback. The novel is well-paced; the first sign of problems to come is an innocent visit from new neighbor Del Nelson asking Donny to clean his front lawn. But while Donny can shrug off Shelly’s father’s telling him to dump his college-age daughter and deliver a message to obtrusive lobsterman Stanley by cutting the man’s traps loose, he can’t ignore someone poisoning his oak tree or setting his boat adrift. Anticipation heightens as things sour for Donny, especially when someone shoots at him. It’s even more unsettling that the suspect pool, which also includes Del’s abrasive wife, Eliza, is so extensive. Donny can’t be sure who exactly is responsible for each damaging or potentially lethal act. A stellar protagonist who doesn’t back down easily, |

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Donny isn’t above directly confronting Stanley, who, intentionally or not, may have tried to kill him. But the lobsterman earns the most points for the way he treats Tut, his dog. There’s a correlation between the two: Donny goes after the rich girl, while Tut has his eyes set on the Nelsons’ poodle; Donny mangles Stanley’s traps to re-establish his territory, while Tut marks his territory throughout the story; and Tut growls at nearly everyone, paralleling Donny’s gruff exterior. It’s a subtly comical link, but the association also underscores in Donny some of Tut’s best traits: loyalty, confidence and, yes, even doggedness.

So understated that readers won’t know they’re reading a thriller until they’re already fully immersed.

THE LESSER SPOTTED ADDICT Groenewald, Daniel CreateSpace (172 pp.) $10.99 paper | $4.59 e-book Aug. 27, 2013 978-1-4781-4403-8

In this descriptive, narrative-driven account of addiction, the author challenges modern perceptions of addicts and offers a fresh approach to rehabilitation.

Groenewald describes himself as a “lesser spotted addict,” a person who has neither studied addiction at the collegiate level nor helped rehabilitate a family member or a friend. What he has done is create a theory about addiction based on personal experience and close scrutiny of others. Groenewald challenges the idea that an addict is powerless over his or her addiction, that substances could in fact rule over the human mind and body. His approach is controversial, as it undoes some of the major work of the past few decades in treating addiction as a disease requiring careful handling. Instead, Groenewald creates commandments, or statements that must be adopted by an addict willing to put in the work to recover. These include mantras such as, “We assert that we are not powerless,” and “We acknowledge that our behavior...has caused harm to others and ourselves.”

It is only with these acceptances, Groenewald argues, that a person struggling with addiction can rise to take steps toward an addiction-free life. In one instance, the author presents an anecdote about overcoming a habit of using ChapStick. Though small-scale, the compulsion to reach for ChapStick each time lips become dry is a repetitive, comfort-seeking behavior—a description that might match other addictions, from food to heroin to cigarettes or shopping. The book is well-organized into “articles of association” that unfold the many layers of selfawareness an addict must develop. What’s more, each article is written in a pluralistic “we,” simultaneously indicating both the author and the reader, for a collective spirit that allows the message to feel less like an attack and more of a team rally or game plan. While each chapter does delve deeper into the themes of self-awareness and accountability, many of the associations are one and the same. For example, accepting that behaviors harm the self and others is quite similar to Article Eight, which states: 130

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“We acknowledge the existence of interconnectivity between all living things.” Nonetheless, strong messages like this merit repeating, and Groenewald has created an easily digestible swift kick for anyone tired of hiding behind powerlessness.

A sturdy, cleareyed view of addiction as controllable and ultimately surmountable.

AFTER JUNE

Heininger, Jan CreateSpace (226 pp.) $9.99 paper | $2.99 e-book Mar. 17, 2014 978-1-4929-2375-6 In this novel set amid the looming threat of the draft in the 1960s, small-town teens create their own revolution as they take on their local radio station’s narrowminded refusal to play Motown records.

In 1965, Lake Calloway, a small tourist town in northern Michigan, has managed to remain sheltered from social and political tensions that have been rising across the nation. But as Cooper, Eddie, Mike and Dennis look forward to the commencement of their senior year, they have no idea that things in their provincial town are about to be shaken up. The arrival of the town’s first black family brings latent racial tensions to the surface not only for their son, Victor, also a senior, but also for the boys who enthusiastically welcome him into their little crew. Meanwhile, evidence of a budding sexual revolution and use of the birth control pill become apparent when the school hires a young home economics teacher, Janet Carlsen, to incorporate sex education into Lake Calloway’s curriculum for the first time ever. As the school year begins, Eddie’s biggest concern is getting his boss at the radio station to loosen the reins on the heavily regulated list of preapproved rock songs Eddie is allowed to play; he’s eager to play some Motown, which is currently prohibited because it’s made by black artists. But when the boys turn 18 and receive their draft cards, they can no longer remain neutral on growing social and political movements.

Victor helps his friends understand that sharing the contraband records over their small-town airwaves could actually ignite a much-needed revolution in Lake Calloway. Though Heininger’s debut novel offers a vibrant, memorable cast of well-developed characters, it’s unclear who the intended audience is; young protagonists and the high school coming-of-age setting suggest a YA audience, yet the novel is steeped in the type of nostalgia more suited to the crowd who actually experienced the 1960s. Furthermore, the framing of a sultry affair between Miss Carlsen and one of her students—“Cooper had suddenly been transported into teen-boy heaven”—as part of a social, political, racial and sexual revolution neglects to address some of the subtler implications of a sexual relationship between teacher and student, which may leave readers feeling a bit unsettled.

A nostalgic portrayal of social upheaval in the 1960s that’s sure to strike a chord with those who lived it.

“Kundanmal’s spin on Dickens is enjoyable, relevant and heartwarming, with a good dash of humor.” from a song of light

The Unfolding of American Labor Law Judges, Workers and Public Policy Across Two Political Generations, 1790-1850 Kahana, Jeffrey Steven Lfb Scholarly Pub LLC (384 pp.) $85.00 | Feb. 14, 2014 978-1-59332-580-0

A meticulously researched assessment of the evolution of labor law in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries.

In this debut history book, Kahana argues that an evolving American understanding of labor relations was the driving force behind 19th-century labor legislation, rather than centuries of English common law. He reviews the existing scholarship on the topic, first looking at the centrality of the law in the Colonies and newly independent United States and then moving into an analysis of labor law as a form of American exceptionalism: “Emphasizing the virtues of a homegrown system of laws, rather than foreign justice, was not mere chauvinism. It reflected a widespread belief that public liberty could best be secured by an acquaintance with America’s unique situation.” The book goes on to explore the nature of the master-servant relationship in English law and the shift away from such terminology in the United States. While Kahana relies on legal commentaries to develop his argument, he finds much of the evidence to support it in records of how the law was actually practiced. He focuses largely on Judge Lemuel Shaw, who issued several noteworthy labor-related decisions during his term as the chief justice of Massachusetts in the mid-1800s: “He stands out as a symbolic figure whose legal ideas were so favorably received because they both mirrored and gave cogent form to often inchoate values that were present in the larger society,” Kahana explains. By leading readers through Shaw’s decisions and their legal contexts, the author makes a credible argument for Shaw’s historical importance and for the validity of his own primary thesis.

Despite the author’s narrow focus and extensive footnotes, he offers clear prose and coherent arguments, which never expect readers to have a thorough knowledge of early American government. As a result, this book is likely to be accessible to a general audience.

A scholarly, engaging analysis of a specialized area of legal history.

A SONG OF LIGHT A Modern Yarn about the Festival of Diwali Kundanmal, Subash CreateSpace (86 pp.) $10.00 paper | Feb. 7, 2014 978-1-4921-7394-6

A Hindu retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

In this debut novel, Kundanmal transplants Ebenezer Scrooge to modern-day India in the person of Salaram Baiman, a cranky moneylender who treats those around him with Scrooge’s well-known coldness and greed, even using the famous “Bah! Humbug!” catchphrase. On the eve of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, Baiman is visited by the ghost of his dead partner, Mohamed Crorepathi, who warns him of a dire fate awaiting him in the afterlife if he doesn’t change his ways. From these familiar beginnings, the story takes a new turn; Baiman is visited by the ghosts of Diwalis past and future, but the ghost of Diwali present is curiously missing. Eventually, he meets the goddess Laxmi herself and follows a familiar path as he comes to know the true meaning of Diwali. The shift in cultural context highlights the story’s universality while also exploring themes and rituals specific to Hindus, making it an accessible tale for readers of all faiths. The story is both satirical and earnest, capturing the spirit of the original with a mix of modern and classic language: “[I]t amounted to no more than what academics have termed ‘bovine scatology’ and regular folks the world over call ‘bulls**t.’ ” Even the ghosts are a mix of old and new; the ghost of Diwali future, for instance, presents himself as a fast-talking American, because America is “where the smart money in the future is headed.” Kundanmal’s tongue-in-cheek prose is fast and fun, although the abundance of cultural references can sometimes be too varied, blending mentions of Los Angeles with practices particular to India and at times giving the story a somewhat scattered feel. These missteps are few, however. Overall, Kundanmal’s spin on Dickens is enjoyable, relevant and heartwarming, with a good dash of humor.

A refreshing take on a classic for a new, diverse generation.

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Interviews & Profiles

Lori St. John

Investigating a death row case inspires St. John to publish her account of the fight against injustice

By Matt Domino

Photo courtesy Kent Miles

We all want to believe that we are capable of changing our lives at any given moment, and Lori St. John is no different. In 1993, coming out of a divorce, as well as the still-recent deaths of both her mother and father, she “wanted to find something truly inspiring and meaningful to engage myself in”; she was “passionate about involving myself in an area where I could make a difference.”

That passion and drive led St. John to a volunteer position with Centurion Ministries, a Princeton, New Jersey, nonprofit that works to vindicate wrongfully convicted prisoners. Through Centurion Ministries, St. John began to investigate the case of Joseph O’Dell, a man who had been sentenced to death in 1986 for the rape and murder of a woman in Virginia.

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on a four-year journey that completely changed the course of her life.

“It was easy to maintain the dedication to save Joseph O’Dell from execution,” St. John explains.

“Because with each step along the way, I was outraged by what I discovered. I found new and suppressed evidence, watched lawyers mislead judges in the courtroom and saw others lie to the media about the facts of the case. I knew I had to take my cause to the world.”

St. John’s mission is detailed in her self-published novel The Corruption of Innocence: A Journey for Justice, which Kirkus described as an “exposé of the criminal justice system that casts convincing doubt on the guilt of a death row inmate.” As St. John describes it, she came face to face with “the political maneuvering that goes on behind the scenes and the power of the government to go unchallenged.”

Along the way, she forged a once-in-a-lifetime connection with O’Dell—even marrying him right before his execution in 1997—and received support from a surprising place of power: the Vatican and Pope John Paul II. “When the Vatican and Pope John Paul II personally intervened,” St. John says, “I felt like I was no longer alone in a battle against a corrupt government. It was wonderful to know that people cared, that the case would get the attention I felt it deserved. I was honored to learn that Pope John Paul had only intervened in such cases three times.”

Told in an active, first-person voice, The Corruption of Innocence puts the reader directly in St. John’s shoes as she undergoes the trials (literally) and tribulations of her quest for justice. Or as St. John puts it, “I specifically wrote the book in the first person to engage the reader and allow them to join me on an

“There can’t be many people left in Italy who have never heard of Joseph Roger O’Dell III, an inmate

in Virginia’s death row who, but for an eleventh-hour stay of execution issued by the Supreme Court, would have been put to death...by lethal injection.”

—New York Times. World Section.

“This amazing story of a woman’s valiant attempts to save an innocent man from execution might

seem like a hyped-up, overwrought suspense novel. But everything told in these pages actually hap-

Lori St John is an attorney and founder and di-

rector of the Innocence Project at the Rutgers School of Law, Newark, N.J. She has appeared on numerous

pened. Fasten your seat belt. It’s going to take you for quite a ride.”

— Sister Helen Prejean, csj, Author

of Dead Man Walking

national and international networks, and is a global speaker whose mission is detailed in her website. An

expert in her field, she represented the United States at the 50th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human

Rights, where she convened the internationally held conference in Florence, Italy. Today, Lori researches, writes and educates on behalf of judicial reform.

“I really can’t remember another story like this. I mean Joe O’Dell got a standing ovation in the Italian Parliament...The last time that happened was when we won the World Cup in 1982.”

—Vittorio Zucconi. la Repubblica, one of Italy’s largest circulating newspapers.

“A rare depiction of the power of one person’s ability to make a difference on a global level — truly remarkable.”

Follow Lori St John on www.facebook.com/loristjohnauthor

—Dr. John F. Demartini, World renowned human behavioral specialist, best-selling author, self-mastery and leadership expert. Featured in the book and movie, The Secret.

“This book shouts it from the rooftops — the Commonwealth of Virginia was intent on executing an innocent man!”

Jacket Design by Marc J. Cohen

Jacket Photograph of American Flag © Digital Vison/Getty Images

—Rob Warden, Founder, Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, Illinois

Jacket Photograph of Italian Flag © Ian McKinnell/Getty Images

Lori St John…“A force to be reckoned with.”

—Richmond Times Dispatch

Meanwhile, St. John is ready to jump back into the world of self-publishing. She is preparing to release her second book, How to Successfully Self-Publish: A 9-Step Guide to Cashing in on a Best Seller. Teaching You How to Compete With the Big Publishing Houses and Keep the $ in Your Pocket. This forthcoming title is scheduled for release as an e-book, which will virtually lay out the entire process St. John underwent in self-publishing the story of her inspiring search for justice.

Even though St. John is slowly expanding her storytelling talents to a variety of platforms, she still holds a simple and powerful vision: “My mission is to educate others, including the legal, law enforcement and scientific communities, about the root causes of travesties such as Joseph O’Dell’s in the hope of reforming the system.”

Matt Domino is the assistant Indie editor at Kirkus Reviews.

The Corruption of Innocence was reviewed in the May 15, 2014, issue of Kirkus Reviews.

USA $29.99

How did the wife of a prominent surgeon find herself at the death chamber battling the American justice system with the Pope and Mother Teresa in her corner?

The Corruption of Innocence

unprecedented and inspiring journey. I wanted the reader to feel what I felt, discover what I did in the present and become outraged with me.”

After the case, St. John graduated from Rutgers Law School and soon passed the bar in New Jersey, New York and Colorado. She spent years teaching and litigating and now resides in Florida working as an international speaker and educator. However, among this heavy workload, she never lost sight of the work on her book.

“I kept meticulous notes about all I did during my investigation, and I initiated the writing process right away because I felt the world deserved to learn the truth about what I considered, and many legal experts agreed, was an atrocity in the criminal justice system,” St. John explains. “I took a hiatus for many years as a result of engaging myself in my studies and starting a career in criminal law, and I actually did the majority of my writing during the past three years when I saw that wrongful convictions were not decreasing in numbers but becoming more widespread and in the public eye.”

Once her manuscript was complete, St. John followed the traditional (and often frustrating) path of trying to find an agent to represent her book. After realizing quickly thatfor thisLori routeSt would not bestLori ajohn Praise John “fulfilling process,” she decided to lean on her background as a lawyer, CPA and entrepreneur and think outside the box. After researching all of the options (including the quality of small-press and self-pubbed book covers and paper choices), she decided to form her own publishing company in order to retain control over the entire publication process.

“My goal was to have my book on the shelves of Barnes & Noble stores and available across the WWW.LORISTJOHN.cOM world,” St. John says. “I achieved that goal, and now I have published a book that is currently selling in over 11 countries.”

In fact, The Corruption of Innocence caught the attention of a Hollywood producer just 30 days after its publication. The film adaptation rights wereC sold to J. Miles Dale, a producer and director who is known for his work on Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and the recent remake of the horror classic Carrie. Currently, St. John and Dale are in the process of assembling the right team to bring the film version of “this incredibly powerful and true story to the world.”

Lori St John’s firebrand, fearless personality is behind this true story of a woman’s unwavering determination to expose the truth in a dangerous game of judicial power. In a volunteer position reviewing cases of wrongful conviction, Lori’s world is turned upside down when she is assigned the death row case of Joseph O’Dell. Joe is scheduled to die for the brutal rape and murder of a Virginia Beach secretary. But Lori’s investigation uncovers lies, the intimidation of witnesses and a trial by ambush in a system so corrupt she begins to fear for her own life. Her story of turmoil and dangerous choices brings her face-toface with the jailhouse snitch and Joe’s alibi witness. She’s determined to find the real killer. Undeterred by the government, Lori brings the world to stand witness to the injustice she’s unearthed, and drives her mission to become a cause célèbre when she recruits the Italian and European Parliaments, Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa, who champion her cause to prevent an egregious miscarriage of justice.

A rare chance to see the criminal justice system behind closed doors and learn the untold backstory of a real murder conviction.

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

The Corruption of Innocence A Journey for Justice St. John, Lori Creative Production Services (495 pp.) $29.99 | Sept. 10, 2013 978-0-9890-4012-9 |

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“[R]elatively experienced operators—e.g., a book reviewer who thinks his DVD drive is broken because he is putting the disc in upside down—can also profit from Lance’s tutelage.” from just tell me how it works

JUST TELL ME HOW IT WORKS Practical Help for Adults on All-Things-Digital Lance, Paul Grandview Press (596 pp.) $24.99 paper | $9.99 e-book Apr. 10, 2014 978-0-615-84233-2

No more relying on 12-year-old grandkids: This handy primer explains the workings of computers, cellphones, Facebook pages and other electronic doodads in simple language even a grown-up could understand.

Lance’s lucid, well-organized guide starts with the rudiments of setting up a personal computer and goes on from there to cellphones, TVs, video games, online services, email, audio-visual devices and even cloud computing. His is a hands-on treatment for the absolute neophyte, taking readers from the simplest operations—“Make sure your printer is turned ‘on’ before you start to print”—to higher-order tasks such as sharing music files, setting up a LinkedIn page and banking via smartphone, all with detailed step-by-step procedures. Fortunately, it’s not all eye-glazing details; the author also imparts in an intuitive way some of the logic of how gadgets operate, along with easy rules of thumb for self-training. (For instance, on a computer, simply hovering on a position or right-clicking the mouse, he advises, will often show you how to proceed.) Despite the 595page length, Lance does a fine job filtering and signposting an enormous array of topics to make the book an easy browse, with chapter openings that tell readers who will—and won’t—need the information that follows. Wherever possible he dispenses a simple bottom line—“Never allow an outside computer to ‘remember’ your password!”—and where he can’t, he boils down decision-making protocols to a short list of pros and cons.

There’s some Consumer Reports–style advice here (the “annoyance factor” of Kindle Fire’s ads aren’t worth the savings, Lance opines) as well as nonpartisan hardware info (when it comes to monitors, “just about any manufacturer brand will do”), which help take some of the anxiety out of shopping. Lance has an extraordinary feel for the ways in which beginners are confused by digital gadgets and methods to clear up these mysteries, and even relatively experienced operators—e.g., a book reviewer who thinks his DVD drive is broken because he is putting the disc in upside down—can also profit from Lance’s tutelage.

A useful, highly readable and reassuring owner’s manual for novices baffled by their gadgets.

The Noisiest Book Review in the Known World

Lark, Lolita—Ed. MHO & MHO Works (513 pp.) $25.00 | Jan. 5, 2013 A bounty of tasty literary morsels— acerbic, whimsical, incisive and moving—spills from this anthology of short pieces culled from the online magazine Review of Arts, Literature, Philosophy and Humanities.

RALPH, descended from the much-praised Fessenden Review, is known for lively, opinionated book reviews that aren’t afraid to draw blood. An impressive selection is included here, including Lark’s barbed dismissal of Laura Esquivel’s Malinche (2006) (“the language heats up and runs off the page and falls into the toilet”) and Carlos Amantea’s revisionist attack—who hasn’t longed for one?—on James Joyce: “My own reading of Ulysses is that there are probably 300,000 words too many.” There’s also a generous helping of poetry, from Garcia-Lorca—accompanied by a winsome account of an English class entranced by the idea that he had an Afro—to Joseph Brodsky, Quan Berry and Sharon Olds.

There are short stories, including Joyce Cary’s droll vignette on the class war between artists and rich dilettantes. And there’s a wide-ranging miscellany of nonfiction feuilletons, some original and some reprinted: Javier Marias’ evocative biographical sketch of William Faulkner; a snippet of food memoir by M.F.K. Fisher; L.W. Milam’s celebration of student diaries as literature; S.W. Wentworth’s atmospheric tribute to Mississippi Delta juke joints; a raft of light think pieces on humanistic design and urbanism à la Jane Jacobs; an interview with S.J. Perelman on the horrors of Hollywood; excerpts from Werner Herzog’s diary on the ghastlier horrors of the Amazon; a funny take on the similarities between academics and house cats; and grave speculation on the extraterrestrial origins of Bach. Sometimes, as in R.R. Doister’s Freudian-pacifist reading of a volume of letters from a West Point cadet, contentiousness tips over into heavy-handed polemic.

Still, almost every page crackles with sharp writing and offhand— occasionally off-kilter—insights that will fascinate readers.

A thoroughly addictive collection.

The Beagle and the Brain Tumor

Maas, Deon Lock; Maas, Thomas Conway CreateSpace (248 pp.) $10.00 paper | Jan. 23, 2014 978-1-4921-4940-8 Deon Lock Maas makes her bittersweet debut with a memoir about caring for her terminally ill husband with the help of a mischievous beagle.

Readers first meet Maas, an art teacher, and Tom, her lawyer husband, while they are receiving devastating news. Despite being just shy of 60, Tom has been diagnosed

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“Take a vacant lot or a recess bordering a sidewalk, add a few planters with shrubs, some chairs and furniture—you’ve got Gotham’s answer to Yellowstone.” from best pocket parks of nyc

with a terminal brain tumor and will require extensive treatment and care to manage his slow decline. Immediately, Maas sees her normally gregarious and outgoing husband transformed into a shell of his former self. Doctors search for ways to prolong his life, and not long into the process, Maas is inspired to adopt a beagle for whom she develops an immediate affinity, their empty nest now housing three. It’s quickly apparent that the dog thinks first with his stomach; he’s named Hoover for his ability to find and remove any crumb of food. The book progresses with funny stories about Hoover, anecdotes about Tom’s treatment, Maas’ adjustment to being a caregiver, and the various stresses and strains the situation has placed on both of them. Maas doesn’t go out of her way to sugarcoat things, and despite its serious topic, the book is filled with laughs, lighthearted anecdotes and fond character sketches of Tom’s unique personality. This positive approach helps make the book so endearing. The story begins at a moment of tragedy, but by focusing on the happy moments—the shared laughter, the enduring love—Maas illustrates how grief can be conquered.

Hoover is there through it all, typically stealing something off the kitchen table at exactly the moment when Maas and Tom need some comic relief. Dog lovers will delight in the tales of Hoover’s antics and his “naughty and attention-seeking” ways.

The book reaches a predictably sad ending, though it feels more like a transition than a conclusion.

For anyone who has dealt with the loss of a loved one and found comfort in unexpected places, Maas’ honest, touching account will feel welcomingly familiar.

IT ALL STARTED WITH A BICYCLE

McCauley, Plum Outskirts Press Inc. (220 pp.) $11.95 paper | $2.99 e-book Sep. 27, 2011 978-1-4327-7412-7 In this fast-moving middle-grade novel, a tomboy spends her summer working for a witchy woman, searching for treasure in an old house and trying to track down her missing bicycle, all while making new friends and learning valuable lessons.

Eleven-year-old Pam lives in the seaside town of Cape May, New Jersey, in her parents’ restored Victorian inn. Never one to sit still or stay indoors, she prefers bikes and the beach to books, and she’s less than enthusiastic about the company of other girls. As the summer begins, Pam is excited to start working at a boardwalk chocolate shop and to use her earnings to replace her stolen green bicycle. Unfortunately, the nasty old woman who works in the shop won’t stop berating Pam for everything she does, making her miserable; seeing her stolen bike being boldly ridden around town by a strange girl doesn’t help matters. Pam ends up finding fun in the most unlikely of places: the sprawling mansion next door, where a sweet but slightly batty old lady insists her mother once hid treasure. However, the house

was long ago split in two and moved; no one knows where the other half is, let alone which half might contain the treasure or what the treasure could be. Pam teams up with friendly new girl Maddy and Maddy’s uptight best friend, Zara, to unravel the mystery; she rides a four-person bicycle, explores a garage’s junkyard and even reads a book or two. The sunny Cape May setting—a perfect backdrop for this quick, summery read— will have readers counting the days until they too can escape to the beach. In Pam, debut author McCauley has created a bright young heroine who’s energetic, impulsive and occasionally annoying—in other words, typical and relatable for young readers. Pam naturally makes mistakes, but she learns from them, too; important lessons, such as why you shouldn’t rush to judge someone, help make this story more substantial than most adventures.

A delightfully fun summer vacation book for young readers.

BEST POCKET PARKS OF NYC O’Brien, Rosemary Pocket Parks Publishing (126 pp.) $14.99 paper | $7.99 e-book Dec. 17, 2013 978-0-615-92103-7

Tiny oases of greenery in the concrete jungle are celebrated in this sprightly guidebook, the first of a planned series.

Recalling her salad days as an actress searching for that most precious of New York commodities—a place where you can sit down without paying—novelist O’Brien (First Saturday, 2012, etc.) offers this compendium of 56 “privately owned public spaces” and city parks in Manhattan, from Midtown on south. It doesn’t take much to make a park in those environs: Take a vacant lot or a recess bordering a sidewalk, add a few planters with shrubs, some chairs and furniture—you’ve got Gotham’s answer to Yellowstone. Some of these are little more than places to rest one’s feet during a shopping binge after grabbing a bite from a sidewalk vendor, but many manage to conjure a sheltering, distinctive space from cramped dimensions. O’Brien seeks out those that feature verdant foliage and clever landscaping, sculpture and artworks that add visual interest, dramatic views of the cityscape, a glimmer of a reflecting pool or a waterfall to mask the roar of city noise. Some will surprise even longtime New Yorkers: Abingdon Square, a twisty lane shaded by tall trees in Greenwich Village, designed by Calvert Vaux with his usual romanticism; Eighth Avenue’s One Worldwide Plaza, a broad yet intimate expanse centered on a fountain, recalling an Old World piazza; Christies’ Garden, an assemblage of ivy-covered walls, cafe tables and art from the auction house’s collection, with an air of Parisian urbanity; 60 Wall St., an enclosed atrium (why can’t a park be indoors?) that, with its palm trees, Oriental decor and food stalls, makes for an enchanting caravanserai; Park Avenue’s minute Ascot Plaza, sporting New York’s best historical inscription—“On this site |

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in 1897, nothing happened.” O’Brien’s brief, breezy text is filled with snippets of intriguing lore, crucial info on restroom access and eating opportunities, and clear directions (alas, no maps).

Vivid color photos by Mario Burger, Nicholas Alfonso and others add still more enticement.

A handy guide to some of New York’s hidden gems of public space that will delight tourists and natives alike.

POP 50 Amazing Secrets to a Successful Labor & Delivery or C-section Peery, Pamela Cassidy Press (121 pp.) $12.51 | May 6, 2014 978-0-9886801-0-4

An accessible debut guidebook for pregnant women.

There are many how-to books on the market about labor and delivery for expectant mothers, and the topics in this short, breezy work are fairly typical. It provides advice on everything from what to take to the hospital during labor to the pros and cons of epidurals. However, this book stands out due to its encouraging, nonjudgmental tone. Peery says up front that’s she’s no expert, but this fact makes her book all the more appealing. Readers will feel from the get-go that she’s on their side, rooting for them instead of giving them shortsighted advice on the “right” way to give birth. Indeed, she takes a back seat throughout much of the book, proffering short summaries about various facets of the labor and delivery process. Mostly, she quotes other women, who offer stories and advice about their own birth experiences. As a result, the book’s larger message becomes clear: There is no “typical” childbirth experience. Sometimes one woman’s quote will contradict another’s on the very same page. The effect, however, isn’t confusing— it’s illuminating, as it encourages women to be open to anything that might come their way. The book also doesn’t shy away from the unpleasantness of childbirth or its aftermath.

However, sometimes readers may wish that Peery were more present in the text. In the opening, for example, she makes a vague reference to her own delivery, saying “Turns out I wasn’t the only one who didn’t experience ‘textbook’ labor.” Unfortunately, readers never get to hear about this in any detail, which might have made readers feel more connected to the material.

In the end, however, the book encourages women to express what they’re feeling and what they need when the big day finally comes. Pregnant readers who finish this book will likely feel more knowledgeable and more secure about what’s ahead.

A solid, supportive advice book to help women through the physical and mental work of childbirth.

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THE THIRTEENTH KEY

Penate, Eduardo CreateSpace (298 pp.) $11.99 paper | $7.99 e-book | Apr. 8, 2014 978-1-4959-9178-3 In Penate’s YA novel, 13 strangers embark on a journey to connect with a parallel universe where they hope to harness the power of time travel.

When the group first meets at a classified location deep in the Brazilian jungle, each person carries a skeleton key from one of 12 ancient families.

In these early sections, Penate’s voice is simple and direct, as if the author is telling the story around the campfire. The designees are stingy with their back stories, but even as they wait for the group to fully assemble, seeds of conflict are planted. Sergei and Jeremy soon wrestle for the leadership role, while Marian isn’t sure she can trust Rafiki after he lies about his name. Although the tension develops unevenly as the story goes on—a unanimous voting system solves most of their conflicts—readers are rewarded when the characters pool their talents to solve riddles. The action clips along at a rapid pace once the group leaves base camp, as their quest divides into smaller tasks spread out among locations from China to Spain. In each challenge, the teammates manipulate magical objects such as golden plates, medallions and boxes to either advance to the next step or, if they fail, to start again—a format that’s as satisfying as completing levels of a video game.

Some items hold special powers, like a spyglass that illuminates the dark; others are inscribed with riddles for the group to solve or can be used to barter with people they encounter along the way.

The appeal of the objects isn’t in their value, but in the ways they test the characters, who reveal a captivating array of supernatural abilities as they tackle each task. Hassan, for example, uses his telekinetic powers to direct an unstable arrow to its target; Minnie, who can blend into her surroundings like a chameleon, carries a laundry bag full of treasure past armed guards without being seen. Just when the journey’s end is in sight, the group dynamics take a turn for the worse, and the teammates question the person holding the 13th key; what they learn opens the door for a sequel.

A fun, fast-paced adventure with surprises around every turn.

MY LIFE IN A NUTSHELL A Novel

Peterson, Tanya J. Inkwater Press (381 pp.) $3.99 978-1-62901-072-4 In Peterson’s (Leave of Absence, 2013, etc.) insightful third novel, a man suffering from various anxiety disorders finds hope after forming an unexpected bond with a troubled foster child.

Brian Cunningham, 43, is the night custodian and information technology specialist at Hayden Elementary School. A sufferer of acute panic attacks, he lives his life trapped in a nutshell, a self-imposed safety zone, beyond which exist his darkest fears.

His profession allows him to minimize his contact with others and thus manage, or at least tolerate, his debilitating disorder. As the novel opens, the author quickly and deftly charts the anatomy of a panic attack, a phenomenon many nonsufferers might ordinarily find inscrutable. Brian’s mind races as his inner narrative alerts him to perceived external threats that pose no real danger. His breath quickens, his chest tightens, and he suspects his heart is failing—little wonder, then, that he chooses to shut himself away from any potential trigger. Enter Abigail Harris, a hostile 7-year-old suffering from attachment issues and disorders relating to abuse and frequent moves among foster homes.

It is Abigail’s first day at school, and hating every moment of it, she decides to go AWOL. Brian discovers the small girl taking refuge in a classroom, and overcoming the paralysis he normally experiences when unexpectedly encountering another person, he begins to communicate with her. The two are surprised to find that they share a mutual understanding. The novel charts the evolution of their platonic relationship as they draw positivity and solace from their experiences. The friends begin to see a possibility for change, although numerous obstacles block their path. As in her previous novels, Peterson demonstrates a tender, notably human understanding of mental illness. In her latest effort, she plays to her strengths, jettisoning an occasionally soapy style in favor of constructing complex psychological portraits and realistic plotlines. In doing so, she accurately captures the crushing sensations of anxiety disorder while simultaneously offering rays of hope.

A vital tool for sufferers and their families that broadens understanding of a debilitating illness.

INSTEAD

Shainin, Norma Above Your Station Press (241 pp.) $23.99 | $4.99 e-book | Aug. 15, 2013 978-1-4507-1750-2 A deftly conjured historical novel dealing with the darker side of love and familial legacy.

“It’s a wonder how some relatives can bring out the worst in you,” a minor character muses in Shainin’s cutting debut novel, which examines the fraught matrices of rivalry, desire and resentment within two generations of a German immigrant family in Queens, New York, in the mid-20th century. Two sisters—willful, sensuous Lottie and younger, anxious Sabine—serve as the story’s emotional and narrative focus; Shainin introduces their contrasting personalities in childhood, then follows them to America and throughout their adult lives. Although the book progresses chronologically for the most part (the first and last chapters, narrated by Sabine’s younger daughter, are the exceptions), the

plot is not strictly linear, as it focuses on quotidian moments of interpersonal significance rather than a series of remarkable events. From chapter to chapter, it’s often difficult to tell how much time has passed or just what’s transpired in the interim, but this is one of the pleasures of this impeccably constructed book: The arguments are repeated, but the characters remain stagnant. Though Lottie and Sabine choose radically different mates, both men drink too much; each in her own way, the sisters find themselves resigned to the limitations of married, working-class life. The world of mid-century New York City, in particular, comes to life through Shainin’s fine sense of detail: “Today the East River was the color of her mother’s unpolished pewter plates. Only when a tugboat’s passage broke the dull skin did Lottie feel the water had any dimension at all.” Although the book loses a bit of its precision toward the end as it surveys the last decades, its haunting, complex final passage is recompense enough. Overall, this debut is resplendently heartbreaking.

A moving novel of family, history and dreams deferred that captures the joys and pains of both sisterhood and romantic love.

Duc 2nd Edition: Triumph of the Absurd A Reporter’s Love for the Abandoned People of Vietnam Siemon-Netto, Uwe Self (254 pp.) $25.00 paper | $9.99 e-book Jan. 22, 2014 978-1-4949-7040-6

Being a wartime correspondent opens the door to heroism and heartbreak, as demonstrated in Siemon-Netto’s uneven but powerful memoir of his time covering the Vietnam War. Already a seasoned reporter by the time he arrived in Vietnam in the 1960s, Siemon-Netto was well-positioned to watch a clash of cultures and governments not just on the front lines, but in the back country and city streets of a country he learned to love over the course of his five-year assignment. From counterinsurgent experts to street orphans living in his car, Siemon-Netto explored many facets of Vietnamese society and came to respect the tenacity and ingenuity of its people. In the course of his book, he both celebrates the Vietnam he knew and deplores what it became, saving particular scorn for the failure of will in the West—a “deficiency endemic in liberal democracies,” he says—that allowed North Vietnam to “win” the conflict. As would be expected from a longtime professional journalist, Siemon-Netto’s prose is clean and direct; it evokes the physical and cultural atmospheres of 1960s Vietnam without straining for effect. He introduces a large cast of characters—some fleeting, others persistent—and economically sketches their essential traits with admirable precision. However, while he straightforwardly expresses his political viewpoints regarding the will to carry on a protracted conflict against a determined enemy, the tone and thematic arc of the |

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“Slabach captivates with an all-too-familiar story that raises questions with no easy answers.” from degrees of love

book aren’t quite as well-maintained. At times, the book becomes more of a travelogue with personal reminiscences that, often as not, don’t tie back into the overall narrative. By switching back and forth without apparent tonal or thematic justifications, the book’s overall thrust is diluted. Despite this lack of focus, however, Siemon-Netto’s sharp, intelligible prose and ability to evoke character and mood serve the book well, and many readers looking for a personal, free-form trek through a pivotal time in 20thcentury history will be satisfied.

Strong prose and a lively atmosphere keep SiemonNetto’s memoir from getting bogged down despite its scattered focus.

DEGREES OF LOVE Slabach, Lisa Manuscript

A realistic, engaging portrayal of love, marriage and second chances.

Susan Sinclair, a devoted mother and wife, works full time while raising two young boys. That’s hard enough, but trying to get any sort of reaction out of her introverted, overly reserved husband, Matt, seems to get more difficult with each passing day. Originally, vivacious and outgoing Susan had fallen in love with Matt’s nerdish charm and his comfortable, quiet demeanor. However, once they married, things quickly changed. Susan had to give up everything she loved, including acting and living in New York City, to settle for the quiet sameness of the Silicon Valley, senior vice presidency at a tech company, sweater sets and motherhood. With the days feeling like a weight on her chest, Susan finds herself contemplating how such a full life could feel so empty. Confusing things even more are her growing feelings for her new boss, Reese Kirkpatrick. From their first meeting, the two share an incredible chemistry, and in no time they forge a deeper connection than either of them has ever known. Now Susan must decide if the safety and stability of her loveless but enduring marriage is worth risking for one chance at passionate, soul-completing true love. Not the typical bored housewife or woman in a midlife crisis, Susan is a focused, proud, accomplished woman who seemingly has it all. Living in a sort of blissful ignorance, she accepts her husband’s reserved and often judgmental demeanor, which, after a while, almost borders on emotional abuse. While Matt feels emasculated by the strength of his wife, he never misses an opportunity to passively take her down a notch, whether it’s about her job, excluding her from outings he takes with the boys, or in the bedroom, where his selfish, pedantic sexual efforts would vex any normal woman. Through Susan, Slabach crafts a relatable, heartbreakingly real story that will no doubt resonate with those at a similar station in life: women who love their families yet yearn for just a little more—to feel wanted rather than needed, to feel passion rather than complacency. In engaging prose and through skillful storytelling, Slabach captivates with an all-too-familiar story that raises questions with no easy answers.

An engaging story that shines an honest light on what it means to be truly happy.

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ECHOES OF THE STORM Book 1 of the Galveston Hurricane Mystery Series Still, Amanda Albright Gone Feral Publishing (334 pp.) $14.95 paper | $0.99 e-book Dec. 8, 2011 978-0-615-46689-7

This genteel historical mystery proves that even during a natural disaster, there’s room for a fiendish murder.

In Still’s (Shadow of Twilight, 2003) first novel in her Galveston Hurricane series, she deftly introduces readers to her plucky heroine, Dash Gallagher, the Texas city’s first female attorney. She lost her husband and her home last year in the Great Storm of 1900, yet she still works hard to rebuild her practice; meanwhile, she suffers from migraines and strives to adopt two young girls, Teddie and Jinxie, who are orphans like herself. It’s been a struggle for Dash to establish her identity in a changing world: “As an attorney, I might have a man’s job, but I was a lady, a respectable lady....I would be a mother as soon as the judge signed the adoption papers.” To complicate her already busy life, a promising new client named Larisa Dorfman, an estranged member of a wealthy Russian immigrant family, is found drowned near the docks. Dash teams up with her landlord, a Scottish detective named Mr. Barker, to investigate her death, which they soon determine was murder. Author Still expertly interjects social commentary into Dash’s reasoning for needing to solve the case: “I can’t sit around and wait for press stories and whispers to ruin my reputation. I plan to find out who killed her so I can be done with the whole thing.” The author adeptly steers the squabbling duo down a dangerous path as they search for Larisa’s murderer and for a “mystical” treasure sought by the patriarch of the dead woman’s family. Along the way, the pair’s platonic relationship heads toward something more. Still effectively uses the bleak setting of storm-ravaged Galveston as a backdrop and does an equally impressive job of creating memorable secondary characters, such as Dash’s nosy, lady-reporter friend MJ Quakenbush and the members of the snobbish, secretive Karparov clan. The author paces the mystery well, maintaining the feel of a slower era without forfeiting any narrative momentum.

A delightful first entry in an offbeat mystery series.

CHANGE CONTROL DIET

Orion Poe and the Lost Explorer

Suiter, Harry H. CreateSpace (146 pp.) $14.99 paper | $8.99 e-book Feb. 25, 2014 978-1-4942-2860-6

Suiter’s guide introduces readers to the author’s flexible, effective plan for long-term, healthy weight loss.

Early in his debut work, Suiter cites some hard truths about obesity and dieting: Approximately two-thirds of adult Americans are overweight; roughly 35 percent are obese; and about 80 percent of dieters regain their lost weight. The most effective way to lose weight and keep it off, Suiter argues, doesn’t involve drastic, immediate sea changes. It involves small, consistent changes to diet and exercise—changes that become habits, not chores— staying optimistic and forgiving yourself when you misstep.

Suiter’s plan is a mix-and-match combination of diet and exercise, allowing readers to move through his seven-level calorie intake plan (based on the National Institute of Health’s recommendations) and five-level exercise plan at their own paces.

Unlike many diets, this one allows people to eat what they want (within reason) rather than deny themselves cheeseburgers and chocolate-cake slices. “Again, this program is about a journey and the big picture,” explains Suiter. “It’s not about obsessing over every bite.” Suiter’s warm, welcoming tone wins over the reader (despite repetitiveness in a chapter or two). He openly acknowledges his own weight-loss struggles, writing, “Everyone cheats on diets…I built this aspect into the program because our bodies are not designed for 100 percent perfection.” The book addresses the emotional as well as the biological factors behind weight gain, encouraging readers to think positively about their weight-loss experiences and surround themselves with support, not punishment, while minimizing factors that trigger cravings (like stress and alcohol). He also strives to make his plan inclusive for everyone, regardless of physical abilities: Exercise isn’t mandatory since some people have “very demanding schedules,” while others are not physically able to exercise.

The easy-to-follow charts and uplifting tone will make this book an invaluable resource for many readers struggling with the scale.

Summerhouse, Will Shake-A-Leg Press (275 pp.) $7.06 | May 19, 2014 978-0-9860614-0-0

Summerhouse’s debut is a charming children’s story of adventure and mystery in the least likely of places.

For Orion Poe, life with his grandfather in a small town in Maine is dull and predictable. But his life takes a sudden turn when, one summer night, during a terrible storm, Orion spots a boat with a passenger wash ashore. From the start, Orion and his grandfather see that this is no ordinary man—his nose is purple, as though from frostbite, his clothes are strange and old-fashioned, and he has big scars along his back as though he had been whipped.

They nurse him back to health, and they learn that the lost explorer is named Collins. The seafarer speaks of a terror that is coming and spends his nights screaming from nightmares. He asks Orion to hide a box for him. In no time at all, a frightening pack of angry men come hunting for a box that belongs to John Franklin, an explorer who vanished in the Arctic in 1847.

After consulting with professor Meriwether, a knowledgeable expeditionist, Orion and his grandfather learn that the container holds a map that will unlock the mystery of what happened to Franklin. Meanwhile, Meriwether, his friend Hinckley and young Orion will travel to the top of the world to get to the bottom of the story. Told in the convincing voice of an 11-yearold, this easy-to-read tale engages and often fascinates. Weaving in historical facts about a vanished explorer adds texture and educational value to an already entertaining and wonderful read. Orion is a smart, fun-loving boy whose bravery and humor make him a timeless hero alongside Huckleberry Finn. Recommended for any young reader who loves adventure.

A wild, imaginative adventure that explores the ends of the world.

A Practical Guide to jBPM5 JBoss Business Process Management Framework Thoppae, Venkataganesh CreateSpace (200 pp.) $24.99 paper | $9.99 e-book Apr. 13, 2014 978-1-4929-4457-7

Creating a business work flow becomes a straightforward exercise in Thoppae’s useful, concise guide.

Working from the ground up, Thoppae leads readers through the construction of a use case for a fictional company. Using copious examples, numerous screen shots from relevant programs and sample code throughout the text, Thoppae details the intricacies of using JBoss Business Process Management Framework, |

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or jBPM5, a language for creating rules and work flows for use in a business environment. Although readers are advised to have a firm grounding in Java, Eclipse and other related technologies before putting Thoppae’s work to use, the guide is constructed in such a straightforward manner that even readers with minimal backgrounds in these tools could find helpful advice. Remarkably, for a technical guide in the age of various books “For Dummies,” Thoppae keeps his writing free of humor, asides and artificial attempts at personality, yet he still maintains a personable, welcoming tone. The net result is a detailed technical document that feels like it was written by a good friend who understands the reader’s strengths and limitations. Although Thoppae’s guide isn’t a general interest text by any means—the narrow focus on jBPM5 requires more technical grounding than the lay reader will likely possess—the emphasis on practical application rather than theoretical constructs, and on explaining tasks simply and without excessive jargon, will benefit a wide range of readers. The sensibility and warmth of Thoppae’s work speak well to both his understanding of the technologies involved and his eagerness to educate readers.

A personable tone, thorough understanding of the subject matter, and clarity in thought and prose make Thoppae’s guide a worthwhile read for the technologically inclined.

This Issue’s Contributors # Adult Maude Adjarian • Mark Athitakis • Joseph Barbato • Amy Boaz • Jeffrey Burke • Lee E. Cart Derek Charles Catsam • Dave DeChristopher • Kathleen Devereaux • Allison Devers Ruth Douillette • Bobbi Dumas • Daniel Dyer • Julie Foster • Peter Franck • Bob Garber Michael Griffith • April Holder • Matt Jakubowski • Robert M. Knight • Paul Lamey • Louise Leetch Judith Leitch • Peter Lewis • Elsbeth Lindner • Georgia Lowe • Joe Maniscalco Don McLeese • Gregory McNamee • Carole Moore • Clayton Moore • Liza Nelson • Mike Newirth • John Noffsinger • Brandon Nolta • Derek Parsons • Jim Piechota • William E. Pike Gary Presley • Leslie Safford • Bob Sanchez • Michael Sandlin • William P. Shumaker Rosanne Simeone • Linda Simon • Elaine Sioufi • Margot E. Spangenberg • Andria Spencer Matthew Tiffany • Claire Trazenfeld • Steve Weinberg • Rodney Welch • Carol White • Chris White • Marion Winik Children’s & Teen Alison Anholt-White • Elizabeth Bird • Marcie Bovetz • Louise Brueggemann • Timothy Capehart • Ann Childs • Julie Cummins • GraceAnne A. DeCandido • Dave DeChristopher Elise DeGuiseppi • Brooke Faulkner • Robert Filgate • Omar Gallaga • Laurel Gardner Barbara A. Genco • Judith Gire • Carol Goldman • Melinda Greenblatt • Heather L. Hepler Megan Honig • Julie Hubble • Jennifer Hubert • Shelley Huntington • Kathleen T. Isaacs Laura Jenkins • Betsy Judkins • Deborah Kaplan • K. Lesley Knieriem • Robin Fogle Kurz Megan Dowd Lambert • Angela Leeper • Susan Dove Lempke • Peter Lewis • Lori Low • Wendy Lukehart • Joan Malewitz • Jeanne McDermott • Kathie Meizner • Daniel Meyer • R. Moore Kathleen Odean • Deb Paulson • John Edward Peters • Melissa Rabey • Rebecca Rabinowitz Kristy Raffensberger • Nancy Thalia Reynolds • Amy Robinson • Erika Rohrbach • Ronnie Rom Leslie L. Rounds • Mindy Schanback • Mary Ann Scheuer • Dean Schneider • Hillary Foote Schwartz • Stephanie Seales • John W. Shannon • Robin Smith • Rita Soltan • Edward T. Sullivan Bette Wendell-Branco • Kimberly Whitmer • Monica Wyatt Indie Paul Allen • Kent Armstrong • Darren Carlaw • Stephanie Cerra • Ian Correa • Jameson Fitzpatrick • Renee Fountain • Devon Glenn • Alissa Grosso • Lynne Heffley • Justin Hickey Leila Jutton • Grace Labatt • Donald Liebenson • Riley MacLeod • Mandy Malone Joe Maniscalco • Dale McGarrigle • Ashley Nelson • Brandon Nolta • Margueya Novick Jackson Radish • Sarah Rettger • Sarah Rodriguez Pratt • Megan Roth • Ken Salikof Kevin Zambrano

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SHOOTING GENJI

Voorhees, Richard Amazon Digital Services (231 pp.) $4.99 e-book | Feb. 6, 2014 In this comic novel, a front-runner for gangsters leaves New York for Hollywood, where he becomes involved in filming a 1,000-year-old Japanese book.

Following the 1929 stock market crash, Jean-Yves LeFouet, the FrenchCanadian who narrates this engaging tale, figures it’s time to leave town: His boss, who was involved in a shady bunco scam, has just been thrown out of a high window by angry investors. Scamming isn’t Jean-Yves’ preference; “something of a drifter,” he’s fallen into jobs like rumrunning. “I love books and reading and the life of the mind and all that, but smuggling booze pays considerably better,” he says. So when he high-tails it for California, it’s not long before he gets a job running errands, caddying and chauffeuring for a small-time film producer. Englishman Charles Blaine Granyer (“Chilblain” to Cambridge pals) wants to adapt The Tale of Genji, written by Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the 11th century, into an erotic film. Jean-Yves juggles his job, his growing interest in a lovely haiku-writing bookseller and various underworld intrusions— including the return of “Big Department,” the quarter-ton, 6-foot-7-inch overlord of his New York days. Upton Sinclair, Louise Brooks and Fritz Lang all make appearances as well.

Voorhees (The World’s Oldest Professions, 2013, etc.) has written what is very much a fun, champagne-fueled romp, but the book is well-grounded in realistic details and offers many thoughtful, witty observations from poetry-loving Jean-Yves.

His experience with Wall Street leads him to some prescient conclusions: “[E]very last one of these guys is working some scheme….They call themselves investment bankers, traders, financial intermediaries, brokers, market makers. Unmakers is more like it.” Contemplating Matthew Arnold’s poem “Dover Beach,” Jean-Yves concludes that “the world is ignorant and violent but that we have one salvation before us, which is to hold tight the people we love and to be true to them.” A satisfying conclusion draws it all together.

Delightful fun with a surprisingly warm heart.

“Wilson provides us with four memorable characters and sets them down in a shadowy maze of obsession and betrayal where there is only one way out.” from good gone bad

GOOD GONE BAD

Wilson, Susan Mills Code 3 Publications (244 pp.) $10.49 paper | $3.99 e-book Jan. 23, 2014 978-0-9911691-0-8 In Wilson’s debut novel, a woman finds herself torn between two lovers, one of whom just so happens to be a murderer.

When Charlotte, North Carolina, land developer Jay Stiles kills a business associate, he calls upon Wayne Johnson, aka “Streaker,” a cop-turned–private detective, to help him get rid of the body.

Streaker, in turn, calls on one of Jay’s employees to assist him in disposing of the corpse. But when the employee is reported missing, too, Jay finds that he has a real mess on his hands. At the same time, Jay’s mistress, interior designer Camille Carson, goes to a bar where she meets Matt Garrison, who has moved to Charlotte for a new job. After spending the evening with him, Camille seriously considers leaving Jay. But along with all his other bad qualities, Jay is extremely jealous, and he’ll go to any lengths to ensure Camille’s fidelity. Then Jay introduces Camille to his new project manager, who turns out to be none other than Matt, thus igniting a slow-burning fuse that will threaten Camille’s future. The author follows in the footsteps of past masters of noir such as Margaret Millar and Dorothy B. Hughes when it comes to writing about tortuous relationships that lead to duplicity and murder. And both Matt, a strong-willed good guy, and Streaker, who enjoys taunting Jay, will remind readers of Elmore Leonard characters. Although the story takes place in contemporary Charlotte, it might just as well be taking place in any anonymous American town in the 1940s or ’50s. The plot is appropriately twisty and has an authentic hard-boiled feel to it. Wilson provides us with four memorable characters and sets them down in a shadowy maze of obsession and betrayal where there is only one way out.

Like the best noir, this story puts its characters through an emotional wringer and makes the reader feel their desperation, too.

Early on, Wyatt delivers a jaw-dropping revelatory twist. After a reference to Errol Flynn and dialogue that might have been lifted from a 1930s B movie—the director tells his star, “I love ya, Monty. I really do. I love ya”)—there’s another surprise: The story actually takes place in the present day. There are plenty of other surprises to come, some so ludicrous as to be entertaining in their own rights. Some of them are related to out-of–leftfield characters. Axel, for example, is an aspiring Shakespearean actor prone to dropping quotes from the Bard of Avon. That doesn’t play well with a cop who has a grudge against him from a previous case. “It’s bad enough…I got to associate with someone who acts in Shakespearean productions,” he growls in all seriousness to Axel. Wyatt doesn’t write with authority or verisimilitude about moviemaking or PI work, which undermines the credibility of his narrative. Similarly, dialogue can be stilted: “I am in a constant state of dolor from the loss of my loved one,” Lacey moans to Axel and Zoe. But if, as one character muses, the movie rights to the story are ever in play, then Wyatt has provided some vivid set pieces that should make for fun viewing. Among them are Axel’s sky-diving entrance on Zoe’s patio, a bathroom beating in which Zoe shows off her prodigious martial arts skills and a warehouse set-to. Montilladan, in particular, could be a game-changing role for an actor who could pull off its seemingly impossible chameleon-esque demands. As a character named Tinker says: “Personally, I don’t think that anyone would believe this.”

A wild one that could set the screen ablaze.

K i r k us M e di a LL C # President M A RC W I N K E L M A N Chief Operating Officer M E G L A B O R D E KU E H N Chief Financial Officer J ames H ull

Murder by Masquerade

SVP, Marketing M ike H ejny

Wyatt, Camden Dorrance Publishing Co. (332 pp.) $27.00 paper | $22.00 e-book Jan. 2, 2014 978-1-4809-0906-9

A movie superstar’s shocking on-set death gets the wheels rolling in this increasingly bizarre Hollywood thriller.

Axel Hawk and Zoe Burns, mostly platonic (not his choice) partners at the A TO Z private investigation agency, are hired by starlet Lacey Sills to pursue her suspicions that the death of Montilladan, Hollywood’s “most beloved and most detested star,” is not as it seems.

SVP, Online Paul H offman # Copyright 2014 by Kirkus Media LLC. KIRKUS REVIEWS (ISSN 1948- 7428) is published semimonthly by Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Road, Austin, TX 78744.

Subscription prices are: Digital & Print Subscription (U.S.) - 12 Months ($199.00) Digital & Print Subscription (International) - 12 Months ($229.00) Digital Only Subscription - 12 Months ($169.00) Single copy: $25.00.

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Books of the Month SCOUTING FOR THE REAPER

THE SHAMELESS FULL MOON, TRAVELS IN AFRICA

Jacob M. Appel

A beautiful, well-balanced collection.

Carol Miller

A tender love letter to the plateau continent.

TAKING JENNY HOME

WHITE MAN’S PROBLEMS

A multilayered blend of suspense, mythology and the supernatural, anchored by a thoughtful, young heroine.

A superb literary gallery of men who can’t understand why life has given them what they want.

Kevin Morris

Carolyn Kane

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Appreciations: George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four Turns 65 B Y G RE G OR Y M C NAMEE

The weather in England was bleak and cold in the late 1940s. It was a time of postwar shortages, a place crowded with returning soldiers without much to do. It was a time of rubble and discontentment, a time when the former enemy, Germany, was retooled as a traditional ally, while a former ally, the Soviet Union, became the enemy.

We live in a less miserable time now. Most of us do, anyway. Yet the words of the central chronicler of that prior era, George Orwell, remain useful guides in navigating a world in which all but the libertarians proclaim us to be equal—just some more equal than others.

In this country, readers come to George Orwell through two short novels, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. The first is a set piece in school districts that still admit centrifugal books to the curriculum. The second is less widely read than before, but most Americans, at least of a certain age, have passing familiarity with it, even if more have heard the title and the resonant phrase “Big Brother” as buzzwords for totalitarianism, for something that could never happen here, than have read the book itself.

Published 65 years ago, in June 1949, Orwell’s novel is an exercise in what his publisher once called “revolutionary patriotism”: He saw it as his duty to record a dawning time of shifting alliances, constant war and rising inequality. Throughout World War II, Orwell had kept a running diary in which he carefully recorded lists of prices of books, meat, liniment, tea and fuel oil, things he thought would someday be overlooked, while glancing over accounts of great battles, things he knew would be soon mythified. The unheroic hero of Nineteen Eighty-Four, Winston Smith, keeps just such lists to record the gloomy slave society of his time, and if his political consciousness takes a while to form, he knows in his heart that how he lives—how we live—is wrong.

I’ve seen Nineteen Eighty-Four filed in more than one bookshop under “science fiction,” which makes a degree of sense if one considers the second Reagan presidency, which the actual year 1984 brought, as a species of the fantastic. Properly filed or not, Orwell’s book sold well that year, reissued in a handsome commemorative edition. Had Orwell stood by his original titles, first Nineteen Forty-Eight and then, when his publisher warned him away from sounding too current, The Last Man in Europe, even that small burst of interest in his work would have eluded him.

By one of history’s small ironies, in 1984, George Orwell was the best-selling author in Iran, the mullahs having neglected to ban him along with most other Western writers. I suspect he would have been delighted by the absurdity, for Orwell was inspired to write Nineteen Eighty-Four by the Tehran Conference of 1944, when the allied powers determined how the postwar world would be carved up into the “Zones of Influence” that Orwell would call Eurasia, Oceania and Eastasia.

It’s a familiar geography. The years pass, but Orwell’s world remains, its contours a little blurred but recognizable, as though we were seeing it through a sooty, rain-streaked pane of glass. The years pass, but little has changed.

Gregory McNamee is a contributing editor at Kirkus Reviews. |

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