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REVIEWS
t h e w o r l d’s t o u g h e s t b o o k c r i t i c s f o r mo r e t h a n 7 5 y e a rs fiction
nonfiction
chi ldr en’s & te e n
Two women investigators cross paths in Christopher Brookmyre’s offbeat tale of ruthless mobsters in Glasgow p. 1301
Bob Spitz presents an engrossing biography of the iconic Julia Child p. 1354
Louise Erdrich turns her focus to Omakayas’ children in the fourth volume of her Birchbark House series p. 1367
in this issue: board-book roundup kirkus q&a
featured indie
Successful businessman and philanthropist Eli Broad discusses his life, work and new book, The Art of Being Unreasonable p. 1346
Documentarian Arthur Mokin talks about his novel Meribah, the story of the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt told from the perspective of an Egyptian p. 1416
w w w. k i r k u s r e v i e w s . c o m
The Lost World B Y G RE G O RY MC NA M EE
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
Th e y ’ r e c a l l e d t e p u i s , m o u n t a i n s that rise up like weird mushrooms from the floor of the Amazon rain forest, their flat tops ending in sheer cliffs that plunge thousands of feet to the jungle below. Those tepuis have fascinated explorers for generations. Writing in his then-bestselling book The Discoverie of Guiana, Sir Walter Raleigh, for instance, recorded that he had heard stories in South America of a “mountain of Christall…[that] hath diamonds and other precious stones on it, and that they shined very farre off.” He begged Queen Elizabeth’s pardon for not having brought some of the loot back, saying that the mountain was surrounded by cannibals and was in any event, not climbable. That is, unless you’re a frog. Recently, biologists have discovered that with climate change, certain forest-floor frogs have been climbing those massive cliffs and making new homes among other frogs, one type of which has a habit of hiding by day inside certain Venus flytraplike carnivorous plants and then popping out by night, when predators are scarcer. You don’t have to be a herpetologist to think that those are pretty cool accomplishments, good reason to go back and brush up on Stephen Jay Gould and E.O. Wilson. In 1912, the novel The Lost World made its way into the world—70 years before Jurassic Park and a dozen more before the film Up filled the world’s multiplex screens. The English writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, then best known for his Sherlock Holmes stories, enjoyed an unexpected success with the book, an adventure set on a tepui in the Guyanan jungle. Doyle had been reading newspaper accounts of the exploration of Roraima, a 9,000-foot-tall, 25-square-mile plateau on which were found animal and plant species quite unlike those of the surrounding lowlands, and he took the idea of its antiquity to its logical extreme: What if these ancient uplifts, formed some 1.75 million years ago, sheltered prehistoric life forms? Prehistoric frogs didn’t figure into the equation. Instead, Doyle breathlessly wrote of pterodactyls and tyrannosaurs, of fierce critters that would shred an Englishman into bits faster than you can say fee-fie-fo-fum. Here, in the eyes of intrepid explorer George Edward Challenger, is a taste of what awaits: “We had the evidence of our own eyes that the place was inhabited by some unknown creatures, and there was that of Maple White’s sketchbook to show that more dreadful and more dangerous monsters might still appear. That there might also prove to be human occupants and that they were of a malevolent character was suggested by the skeleton impaled upon the bamboos, which could not have got there had it not been dropped from above.” Impaled skeletons? Dreadful monsters? No reason to turn back there, and the aptly named Challenger and company press on, and on, warding off danger at every turn. Do they find diamonds and other precious stones? Carnivorous frogs? Headhunters à la Indiana Jones? It wouldn’t be fair to say, except to drop a hint: “Even the babies were as big as elephants, while the two large ones were far beyond all creatures I have ever seen.” It’s worth pressing on ourselves to find out more, and 100 years after its publication, The Lost World remains a grand entertainment.
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This Issue’s Contributors
Maude Adjarian • Kent Armstrong • Mark Athitakis • Michael Autrey • Joseph Barbato • Terri Blicharz • Amy Boaz • Derek Charles Catsam • Marnie Colton • Dave DeChristopher • David Delman • Kathleen Devereaux • Daniel Dyer • Lisa Elliott • Julie Foster • Peter Franck • Bob Garber • Faith Giordano • Alan Goldsher • Peter Heck • Robert M. Knight • Christina M. Kratzner • Paul Lamey • Louise Leetch • Judith Leitch • Angela Leroux-Lindsey • Peter Lewis • Elsbeth Lindner • Joe Maniscalco • Don McLeese • Gregory McNamee • Carole Moore • Clayton Moore • Liza Nelson • Mike Newirth • John Noffsinger • Cynthia-Marie O’Brien • Mike Oppenheim • John Edward Peters • Jim Piechota • Christofer D. Pierson • Brooke Pike • William E. Pike • Gary Presley • David Rapp • Kristen Bonardi Rapp • Karen Rigby • Lloyd Sachs • Bob Sanchez • William P. Shumaker • Barry Silverstein • Rosanne Simeone • Elaine Sioufi • Margot E. Spangenberg • Andria Spencer • Matthew Tiffany • Claire Trazenfeld • Steve Weinberg • Rodney Welch • Carol White • Chris White • Joan Wilentz •
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contents fiction Index to Starred Reviews..................................................p. 1299 REVIEWS.......................................................................................p. 1299 Mystery...................................................................................... p. 1320
The Kirkus Star is awarded to books of remarkable merit, as determined by the impartial editors of Kirkus.
Science Fiction & Fantasy.................................................. p. 1329 graphic literature roundup........................................... p. 1308
nonfiction Index to Starred Reviews................................................... p. 1331 REVIEWS........................................................................................p. 1331 Q&A WITH eli broad................................................................ p. 1346
children’s & teen Index to Starred Reviews.................................................. p. 1359 REVIEWS....................................................................................... p. 1359 Q&A with elisha cooper.......................................................p. 1376 interactive e-books............................................................ p. 1404 BOARD-BOOK Roundup.......................................................... p. 1387
indie Index to Starred Reviews...................................................p. 1407 REVIEWS........................................................................................p. 1407 Q&A with Arthur Mokin...................................................... p. 1416
Tana French delivers a mystery that is perfectly in tune with the times. See the starred review on p. 1322. |
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on the web kirkusreviews.com/lists Exclusively online at kirkusreviews.com this July… Comic-Con International rolls on July 12-15, and we have roundups and lists galore of the best new graphic literature online at Kirkus that week. Whether it’s the best in Graphic Novels for 2012 (get a sneak peak of the coverage in this issue), a greater list of what’s new and wonderful in graphic, or what’s coming up for the kids, you’ll find it on Kirkusreviews.com during the week of Comic-Con.
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Anxiety seems to plague the American public these days, and Daniel Smith is no exception. In Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety, he writes that despite outward appearances of contentment, “a sense of impending catastrophe colored every waking moment” of his life. He explores what’s ailed him—and continues to follow him around—throughout his life, and how he’s coped. And while Smith admits that he’s somewhat got a handle on his monkey, anxiety tends to creep back again and again. Online this month, Smith discusses what it takes to beat it back, the power of the memoir format and what still freaks him out.
Most Americans are familiar with Marie Till-
man’s story. In April 2004, many were shocked and saddened to hear of the heroic death of her former husband, Pat Tillman, the bracingly handsome football player who had taken leave from a successful NFL career to enlist in the Army. It’s a story that has ignited many a discussion about the wars in the Middle East and even other books, including Jon Krakauer’s Where Men Win Glory. When the story of Tillman’s
Silver Star–worthy sacrifice in an ambush in Afghanistan devolved into a high-level coverup of accidental friendly fire, public outrage and congressional inquiry thrust the Tillman family into the national spotlight as they struggled with all dimensions of the truth behind their loss. With the outpouring of support following her husband’s death, Marie helped found a foundation in his name, which would come to assist military personnel wishing to pursue a college education. But it is in her moving debut memoir, The Letter: My Journey Through Love, Loss, and Life, that she reveals for the first time her side of the story. Read our interview with Tillman online about her book. How do you get ahead in this economy, especially if you’re a kid just starting out? New graduates and those approaching the job market may find fresh inspiration in financial-services veteran Gerald Chertavian’s new book A Year Up, about his organization that helps inner-city kids find work in the corporate world. Incredibly motivated and positive, Chertavian shares with us his goal of creating groups of ambitious, educated youngsters everywhere through training groups much like the ROTC, empowering a workforce that is polished, poised and ready for corporate America. Want more news on summer reads? Our book blogger network continues to bring us the best in their genres: SF Signal and Book Smugglers; Bookshelves of Doom and Seven Impossible Things for teens and kids; the Rap Sheet for all your summer mysteries and thrillers and Bookslut on literary fiction and nonfiction, among many more! Stop by online at kirkusreviews.com/blog to find something for everyone for this summer. Read happy!
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fiction EQUAL OF THE SUN
These titles earned the Kirkus Star:
Amirrezvani, Anita Scribner (448 pp.) $26.00 | Jun. 5, 2012 978-1-4516-6046-3
WHERE THE BODIES ARE BURIED by Christopher Brookmyre ........................................................... p. 1301 BROKEN HARBOR by Tana French............................................ p. 1322 SARAH THORNHILL by Kate Grenville .................................... p. 1307 15 SECONDS by Andrew Gross................................................... p. 1307 THE INFINITE TIDES by Christian Kiefer.................................. p. 1312 ALYS, ALWAYS by Harriet Lane................................................. p. 1313 A VIOLET SEASON by Kathy Leonard Czepiel.......................... p. 1314 EVEL KNIEVEL DAYS by Pauls Toutonghi................................... p. 1317 15 SECONDS
Gross, Andrew Morrow/ HarperCollins (336 pp.) $25.99 Jul. 10, 2012 978-0-06-165597-5
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Sexism, violence and skullduggery cast 16th-century Iran into turmoil in the second historical novel by Amirrezvani (The Blood of Flowers, 2007). Javaher, a eunuch, is the loyal servant of Princess Pari, a wise if occasionally headstrong daughter of the shah. He admires both her strong will and her generosity to the impoverished women who come to her for support. But he has personal motives for getting close to the upper tier of Iranian royalty: He is determined to learn who among the nation’s elite is responsible for his father’s murder. That’s what prompted him to become a eunuch and thus enter the court, a transformation that Amirrezvani describes in visceral and surprisingly sensuous detail; though the process itself is unsettling, Javaher becomes an attentive lover, in keeping with his acuity for understanding people’s motivations. His best-laid plans are upset when the shah dies and is replaced with his son Isma‘il, who begins a reign that is neglectful, deadly and petty, and that threatens to break down the fragile truces with neighboring lands. Pari, marginalized by Isma‘il’s tyrannical behavior and overall sexism in the court, begins a scheme to end his reign, with Javaher serving as assistant, sounding board and spy. Making Javaher central to the story is an ingenious tactic on Amirrezvani’s part; his role allows him to navigate the highest and lowest castes of Iranian society, and though the cast of characters is large, the nature of the disputes never become too baroque. The story is bogged down somewhat, though, by many interior scenes that are big on platitude-heavy courtly language. A subplot involving Javaher’s sister has little spark, and even the mystery of his father’s murder lacks much drama. But as Isma‘il’s reign lurches toward its inevitable fate, the closing chapters gain momentum. An expertly woven, if occasionally talky, tale of gender rights and freedom. (Author tour to Ann Arbor, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Agent: Emma Sweeney)
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“An entertaining conceit, if modestly executed.” from chapman’s odyssey
CHAPMAN’S ODYSSEY
Bailey, Paul Bloomsbury (224 pp.) $16.00 paperback | Jul. 17, 2012 978-1-60819-821-4 An ailing novelist and actor tangles with the ghosts of parents, past lovers and a host of literary heroes. Seventy-year-old Harry Chapman, the hero of the latest novel by the Bookernominated Bailey (Uncle Rudolf, 2004, etc.), is fading in and out of consciousness in a London hospital with an abdominal ailment. Outwardly, he cheerily banters with nurses and doctors, impressing them with his recitations of Shakespeare and classical poets. Inwardly, though, his mind is a storm of judgmental voices fighting to be heard—the loudest of which comes from his late mother, a harridan with a constant supply of reasons why he never quite measured up. She has plenty of company: his shellshocked war-vet father, boyhood friends and male lovers both long-running and short-term. Also claiming the stage—and enlivening this relatively static story—are a host of literary characters and cultural figures, from Fred Astaire to Jane Austen’s Emma Woodhouse to Charles Dickens’ Pip to Herman Melville’s Bartleby to Dostoevsky’s Prince Myshkin. Each brings a unique voice to the brief scenes in which they appear, though they all serve to exemplify Harry’s long struggle to rise above his lower-class station. There are flashes of humor in the story, as when a fellow patient arrives claiming to have stolen T.S. Eliot’s false teeth, and Harry himself is an appealing narrator, sage but unpretentious. But the book is also hobbled by the limitations of its setting—the episodic scenes never drift from his hospital bed for long, and the story moves so freely around his past that it picks up little forward momentum. Those famous literary characters, interesting as it is to confront them, swallow up Harry’s real-life relationships, softening his concluding revelations more than the author likely intended. An entertaining conceit, if modestly executed: More a mash note to memory and literary culture than a full-bodied novel.
THE GREEN SHORE
Bakopoulos, Natalie Simon & Schuster (368 pp.) $25.00 | Jun. 5, 2012 978-1-4516-3392-4 A family’s life and loves play out amidst the political turmoil of the military coup (aka “The Regime of the Colonels”) in Greece in 1967. Sophie and Nick are a young couple— unmarried and politically committed— when the military takes over Greece in April 1967. Chaos is the order of the day, as protestors are tear-gassed or picked up for interrogation and torture by the police. Sophie lives with Eleni, 1300
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her widowed mother; Mihalis, a beloved uncle intermittently estranged from his wife; Anna, her younger sister; and Taki, her brother. Eleni is a physician, now called upon to heal those injured in street confrontations, and Mihalis, a poet, is sympathetic to the demonstrators, in part because of his past involvement in the Greek resistance against the Nazis. Eventually, the political situation becomes too volatile for Sophie, so she emigrates to Paris, becoming a student and working on her doctorate on the works of the Greek poet George Seferis (whose 1971 funeral Bakopoulos memorably depicts). Taki is likewise disgusted with the oppressive regime, so he emigrates to the United States, making a home in Michigan. Anna stays in Athens but begins a torrid affair with a married university professor. Although Anna becomes more preoccupied with her personal situation than with the politics of the time, Sophie—who in Paris takes up with Loukas, a cousin of her former boyfriend— follows Greek politics closely and, after six years, returns home, pregnant and ready to begin a new life. Because Bakopoulos has meticulously researched the period, Athens effectively becomes a character as real as the family she lovingly delineates, and her street scenes disclose the scorching reality of persecution and maltreatment in this sordid time. (Agent: Amy Williams)
THE COTTAGE AT GLASS BEACH
Barbieri, Heather Harper/HarperCollins (320 pp.) $24.99 | May 15, 2012 978-0-06-210796-1 Troubled wife Nora and her children return to the island of Nora’s birth, off the Maine coast, where answers to old mysteries and resolutions to newer problems will inevitably be found. Marine enigmas are often invoked as mood-enhancers in the third novel from Barbieri (The Lace Makers of Glenmara, 2009, etc.). Summoned by her Aunt Maire, Nora, with daughters Ella and Annie, returns to Burke’s Island, where her flirty, charismatic mother Maeve disappeared when Nora was 5. Nora needs a break from her life in Boston, where her marriage is the subject of scandal after her husband Malcolm, the youngest attorney generalelect in Massachusetts state history, has been discovered having an affair. On the island, Nora is assailed by half-forgotten childhood memories, while odd figures stroll into the picture: Owen, shipwrecked on the beach, a man with no memories who keeps watch over Nora; Ronan, a child who befriends Annie and whose presence is a secret. This wispy, fairy-tale aspect is underscored by dreams, selkies, mists, changelings and sea gypsies as the story drifts towards a finale that answers one large mystery while leaving several loose ends dangling. A sweetly simple, not exactly unpredictable story with the bone structure of a romance; stronger on atmosphere and charm than events. (Author appearances in Portland and Seattle. Agent: Emma Sweeney)
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THE UNFINISHED WORK OF ELIZABETH D.
Bernier, Nichole Crown (320 pp.) $24.00 | Jun. 5, 2012 978-0-307-88780-1
Who was Kate’s friend Elizabeth—a capable, cheerful and optimistic mother, or the troubled soul her diaries reveal? Bernier’s debut repetitively probes the enigmatic life of the American wife. A cloud of regret hangs over this parallel-voiced examination of female roles as Bernier peels back the public faces of her two central characters to reveal anxiety and disappointment. Kate, a pastry chef and mother of two, used to be Elizabeth’s neighbor in Connecticut until moving to Washington, D.C. After Elizabeth is killed in a plane crash, Kate learns that she has been left her friend’s diaries and the request that she start reading them at the beginning. Perhaps they will explain Elizabeth’s fateful decision to fly to California and her involvement with a man named Michael. Reading the journals, Kate learns of Elizabeth’s guilt over her sister’s death; and about her critical mother; her abandoned art career; her mixed feelings about her husband; her efforts to be good enough; her last choices. Kate, gripped by boundless fears for her family, constantly compares her friend’s marriage to her own, which is solid enough but may now be changed by the whole experience. This nuanced portrait of marriage offers insight alongside somber reflections, but its landscape is obsessively interior and not very eventful. (Agent: Julie Barer)
handyman who goes by the unlikely name Tron Ingrams. After an attempt is made on her life, or his, he reveals he’s really a bent cop’s son, Glen Fallan, a name in one of her uncle’s files. As more people are killed, maimed or disappear, Catherine’s story becomes joined with Jasmine’s and her former boss’ pronouncement becomes apparent: “This is Glesca. We don’t do subtle, we don’t do nuanced, we don’t do conspiracy...We do tit-for-tat, score-settling, feuds, jealousy, petty revenge. We do straightforward. We do obvious. We do cannaemisswhodunit.” A brainy, barbed noir, this book takes its time setting the scene and establishing its characters. Most of its violence occurs off the page. But with its contrasting protagonists (it’s easy to envision a series built around the endearing Jasmine), local color and language and skillfully orchestrated sense of bad things to come, the novel maintains a solid grip on the reader. Brookmyre isn’t as well-known in the States as fellow Scottish mystery writers Ian Rankin, Val McDermid and Denise Mina, but this first-rate effort may change that. (Agent: Caroline Dawnay)
WHERE THE BODIES ARE BURIED
Brookmyre, Christopher Atlantic Monthly (304 pp.) $25.00 | Jul. 3, 2012 978-0-8021-2025-0
Two women investigators—a veteran police detective with a distant husband and two young boys and a struggling actress working for her uncle, an ex-cop, as a private detective—cross paths in this offbeat tale of ruthless mobsters in Glasgow. A Scottish crime novelist known for his satirical gore fests (One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night, 1999, etc.), Brookmyre here begins a new, straighter-faced procedural cop series. After a drug dealer is killed, Detective Catherine McLeod must penetrate not only the net of secrecy surrounding criminal lowlifes in “Glesca,” but also the questionable motives of her superiors. Meanwhile, Jasmine Sharp, a slip-up waiting to happen, must get her act together after her uncle goes missing. He was working on a cold case involving the disappearance of a couple and had told their now-adult daughter he had news for her. Following clues to a women’s shelter, Jasmine gets paired off with a |
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THE IMPEACHMENT OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Carter, Stephen L. Knopf (528 pp.) $26.95 | Jul. 10, 2012 978-0-307-95840-2
Law professor turned novelist Carter (The Emperor of Ocean Park, 2002, etc.) waxes counterfactual—and sometimes piles historical nonfacts to dizzying heights. Yes, the counterfactuals sometimes threaten to suffocate the real matters here; as Carter, who cheerfully admits to much invention, writes, “None of this was true, but all of it was in the newspapers.” The overriding counterfactuality here concerns a historical chestnut: Honest Abe warred on the Constitution when he suspended habeas corpus and effectively put the Union under a state of martial law. The act earned him the label of tyrant in his time—and in Carter’s pages, with pro-Confederate sympathizers and staunch Unionists alike rising up in protest. As Carter’s tale opens, Lincoln has indeed been assassinated—almost. Shot on Good Friday, he rises from the near-dead on Easter Sunday, Christlike. “Across the country, people cheered,” writes Carter, with much portent. “Those who felt otherwise kept their disappointment to themselves, content to bide their time.” Those numerous disappointed types include more than a few traitors and insurrectionists, some deep within the bowels of a government still riven by the late unpleasantness of the Civil War. But who are the bad guys, and who mere celebrants of the First Amendment? Since Lincoln is alive and well in Carter’s telling, it would be uncivil to ponder the implausibility of his choice of heroine, a young, fearless and brilliant African-American named Abigail Canner, who, fresh from Oberlin, is determined to expose the real engine driving the plot to turn the Great Emancipator out of office—and it’s not all the doing of the juicily bad character called the Lion of Louisiana, either. Fans of secret codes will enjoy watching the mind of Abigail’s legal-eagle sidekick at work, and Abigail herself makes for a grandly entertaining sleuth. A smart and engaging what-if that has the virtue of being plausible—and the added virtue of not having been written by Bill O’Reilly, so that the real facts are actually facts. (Author tour to Boston and New England, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Agent: Lynn Nesbit)
THE LAST REFUGE A Dewey Andreas Novel Coes, Ben St. Martin’s (416 pp.) $25.99 | Jul. 3, 2012 978-1-250-00715-5
Private-equity partner and former Mitt Romney campaign manager Coes (Coup d’Etat, 2011, etc.) delivers his third installment featuring former Delta officer Dewey Andreas, this time involving a kidnapping and a nuclear crisis in the Middle East. 1302
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After the president of the United States unexpectedly succumbs to a stroke, Andreas’ friend, Israeli Special Forces commander (and Golda Meir’s great-grandson) Kohl Meir, is kidnapped by Iranians. With a cautious new president unwilling to get the U.S. government involved in an Iranian dispute, Andreas sets out on a dangerous mission to rescue Meir. Along the way, he finds out that the Iranian government has secretly and successfully built a nuclear bomb, and it’s up to him to keep it from being used against Israel. To that end, he enlists the help of ex-Special Ops experts and others to carry out a secret plan. Even for a lightweight action thriller, Coes presents an especially Manichaean and simplistic version of international politics here, with heroes and villains that rarely rise above the level of cartoonish caricature (one Iranian baddie is described as “a gorilla of a man” covered in body hair, with “meaty fingers” on his “meaty paws”). Coes’ distractingly clunky prose style (as when Meir “claw[s] his fingers like spider legs up the soldier’s neck”) doesn’t help matters, and readers will tire of the author’s habit of having his characters repeatedly “stare” at each other during conversations. His fondness for interrogation and torture scenes—and there are several—will also test readers’ endurance. The novel drags on and on, offering few surprises, as Coes takes a decent story idea and renders it mechanical and lifeless. Pedestrian and predictable.
A SMALL FORTUNE
Dastgir, Rosie Riverhead (384 pp.) $25.95 | May 24, 2012 978-1-59448-810-8
A rambling, good-natured consideration of Pakistani immigrants to England and their evolution into Eastern Westerners. Dastgir’s affable debut moves out in branches, like the extended families explored in her somewhat formless story. Its central character is Pakistan-born Harris (originally the less pronounceable Haaris), whose marriage to an English woman has ended in divorce and whose ever-worsening money troubles have forced him to leave the comfortable southeast of England for the poorer north, where he runs a convenience store. The divorce settlement’s lump sum could make a difference, but bad health forces Harris to rely on a local relative, leaving him deeper in his financial mess. And there’s worse: Harris is compromised by his inability to help a needy relative in Pakistan; he’s become involved with an attractive, independent widow; and his daughter, who has dropped out of her medical studies, seems to have a live-in boyfriend. Peripheral characters—wily entrepreneurs; a servant of Islam who falls under the influence of a dubious imam—add further facets and some clichés to the composite portrait of immigrant life, but ineffectual Harris’ seemingly inexorable decline is the main topic, until averted by younger family influences. Although wryly insightful, Dastgir’s consideration of the immigrant community could use a little grit to balance the benign charm.
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“De Jonge seasons what might have been a routine procedural with a heroine who’s sensitive without being tiresome.” from buried on avenue b
MASTER AND GOD
Davis, Lindsey St. Martin’s (464 pp.) $25.99 | Jun. 5, 2012 978-0-312-60664-0
Two Roman roommates, a Praetorian Guard and an imperial hairdresser, play a part in their emperor’s destiny. Gaius Vinius, an officer in the vigiles (Roman police and firemen), first meets Flavia Lucilla in his office, where the teenage hairdresser apprentice has come to complain about a theft of jewelry from her mother’s apartment. Vinius soon disabuses Lucilla that the theft happened (more likely her mother, a freedwoman of the imperial Flavian dynasty, was simply trying to scam better jewelry from her lover). Such petty concerns are soon forgotten as a fire rages through Rome, destroying much of the city. After Vinius rescues a priest from the flames, he is rewarded with a coveted (but not by him) appointment to the Praetorian Guard by soon-to-be-emperor Domitian. Vinius hopes that his duties will not extend to soldiering: He is a veteran of wars in Britain, where he lost an eye. After becoming emperor, Domitian embarks on a massive campaign to rebuild Rome. (His many elaborate projects include a colossal statue of himself and a revamped Colosseum.) Lucilla establishes herself as beautician to the empress and garners many other noble clients. When she rents a new apartment, she is discomfited to find that Vinius has leased half the space as a pied-à-terre when he’s not on duty or with his wife. After a passionate one-night stand at Domitian’s summer palace, Lucilla withdraws, but Vinius divorces his wife. Vinius is sent on a campaign to Dacia, where he is held captive by the enemy for five years. Thinking him dead, Lucilla is surprised to learn that his will left his side of the apartment and all of its contents (including a substantial cache of gold) to her. Vinius returns, but by this time, Lucilla has married her literature teacher. Complications ensue, including the increasing oppressiveness of Domitian’s regime, before true love and fate intervene. Another detailed and witty recounting of ancient Roman life, public and private, from the sure-handed Davis (Alexandria, 2009, etc.).
BURIED ON AVENUE B
de Jonge, Peter Harper/HarperCollins (336 pp.) $25.99 | Jul. 24, 2012 978-0-06-137355-8 Manhattan South’s Detective Darlene O’Hara (Shadows Still Remain, 2009) scours the eastern seaboard for the truth about a grisly discovery in a community garden. Home health care aide Paulette Williamson doesn’t expect O’Hara to take her seriously when she reports that her client, veteran junkie Gus Henderson, told her that he murdered his off-again partner |
Charles Faulk 17 years ago and buried him in the garden at 6th Street and Avenue B. The addled old man clearly isn’t much of a witness, even to his own felonies. But O’Hara persuades her boss to let her dig up the plot Henderson has indicated. Sure enough, they find a corpse, though it’s that of a 9-year-old boy who’s been much more recently interred after he bled out from a bullet wound in his shoulder. Stung by having gratuitously opened a cold case with an unidentified victim and no leads, O’Hara posts the technical specs of the bullet on the national law enforcement database. To her amazement, the Sarasota PD reports a match. Longboat Key resident Benjamin Levin, who forsook the boxing ring 60 years ago to manufacture women’s gloves, reportedly shot himself six months ago with the same .22 rifle. What possible connection could there be between two shooting deaths of victims two generations removed whose remains were discovered 1,200 miles apart? To answer that question, O’Hara will have to team up with a no-nonsense lesbian detective in Sarasota, track down a suspicious van gone missing in South Carolina, search for a pair of distraction burglars who prey on the recently widowed elderly, and interrogate a clutch of gypsies back home. De Jonge seasons what might have been a routine procedural with a heroine who’s sensitive without being tiresome and a half-dozen nifty surprises.
SERPENT’S KISS
de la Cruz, Melissa Hyperion (336 pp.) $23.99 | Jun. 12, 2012 978-1-4013-2396-7
Second in de la Cruz’s increasingly convoluted mélange of witchcraft and Norse mythology, set in fictional North Hampton, Long Island. When we last saw Joanna Beauchamp and her witchly brood, the sacred bridge, Bofrir, had been destroyed, and the sun god, Fryr, aka Joanna’s son Freddie, was blamed, because his signature trident (now missing) was found at the scene. Although it was clear then that the trickster god, Loki, was the real culprit (isn’t he always?), the Valkyries consigned Freddie to Limbo, from which he has recently escaped. He’s now holed up in North Hampton’s notell motel (dubbed the Ucky Star for its missing neon letter). His twin sister, Freya, love goddess and mixologist extraordinaire at the local watering hole, is bringing Freddie food and trying to clear his name. Her boyfriend, Killian (the god Balder who is Loki’s nemesis from way back), bears a trident-shaped mark—could he have framed Freddie? Joanna’s oldest, Ingrid, aka hearth-deity Erda, has her own challenges: Her nascent romance with aptly named policeman Matt Noble is about to founder on her intractable virginity. Not only that, thieving pixies have invaded North Hampton, and Ingrid is hiding them in her mother’s attic until she can discern how to cure their amnesia and return them to their home in another dimension. In a forest near the Beauchamp house, Joanna happens upon a burial
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mound and some runes. Could this be the final resting spot of a kindred spirit, hanged during the colonial witch hunts, and if so, why hasn’t she been reborn, like Freya and Ingrid, who died in Salem? Only a trip back in time can solve these enigmas. In contrast to the first installment, there is very little entertaining interaction between the immortal Beauchamps and their human neighbors, and the Norse arcana is about as exciting as a romp through Tolkien’s Silmarillion. Readers can, nevertheless, look forward to Book III, which promises to place the Beauchamps back in the 17th century where all their troubles began. (Agent: Richard Abate)
THE QUEEN’S LOVER
du Plessix Gray, Francine Penguin (304 pp.) $25.95 | Jun. 18, 2012 978-1-59420-337-4
Du Plessix Gray attempts to fictionalize the love of Marie Antoinette’s life, without much success. Axel von Fersen, a Swedish count, first meets the young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette, recently wed to the future king of France, at the Paris Opera. The handsome courtier and the graceful, sensitive dauphine instantly form a lifelong bond. Fersen, a diplomat and soldier, embarks with Lafayette’s armies to aid the American colonists in their revolutionary war, and his letters to his beloved sister Sophie detail these adventures. But eventually Fersen, after an exhausting grand tour in the service of Sweden’s flamboyant King Gustavus, reunites with Antoinette. The queen’s marriage, celibate for years due to a minor sexual dysfunction, is finally consummated and Antoinette is now a mother. As Louis XVI occupies himself with hunting and gluttony, Antoinette and Fersen tryst at her private lodge, Le Petit Trianon, and in secret quarters in the palace of Versailles. Soon, the revolt of the French populace ends this idyll. Fersen attempts to help the king and queen flee the revolution by smuggling the royal family out of Paris. Unfortunately, their escape is aborted, thanks in large part to the naiveté of Louis and the tardiness of Antoinette. As Fersen takes refuge in Belgium, the king and queen are held in progressively more restrictive settings until they are condemned to die. Although this is an absorbing and vivid exposé of the many missteps that led to the downfall of Louis and a sympathetic portrayal of the young queen and her noble endurance of the sadistic treatment that preceded her execution, it is not a novel. The narration, shared by Sophie and Fersen, hews too slavishly to events documented by contemporaneous accounts. All is summary; there are virtually no scenes imagining the characters’ lives; they never transcend their historically verifiable roles. Not even the last section, a grim recitation of Sweden’s own anti-royalist upheavals (leading to Fersen’s slaughter by an angry mob), realizes its dramatic potential. An accurate but lifeless retelling. (Agent: Lynn Nesbit)
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A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING
Eggers, Dave McSweeney’s (328 pp.) $25.00 | June 19, 2012 978-1-936365-74-6
A middle-aged man scrapes for his identity in a Saudi Arabian city of the future. This book by McSweeney’s founder Eggers (Zeitoun, 2009, etc.) inverts the premise of his fiction debut, 2002’s You Shall Know Our Velocity. That novel was a globe-trotting tale about giving away money; this one features a hero stuck in one place and desperate to make a bundle. Alan Clay is a 50-something American salesperson for an information technology company angling for a contract to wire King Abdullah Economic City, a Saudi commerce hub. Alan and his team are initially anxious to deliver their presentation to the king—which features a remote speaker appearing via hologram—but they soon learn the country moves at a snail-like pace. So Alan drifts: He wanders the moonscape of the sparely constructed city, obsesses over a cyst on his back, bonds with his troubled driver, pursues fumbling relationships with two women, ponders his debts and recalls his shortcomings as a salesman, husband and father. This book is in part a commentary on America’s eroding economic might (there are numerous asides about offshoring and cheap labor), but it’s mostly a potent, well-drawn portrait of one man’s discovery of where his personal and professional selves split and connect. Eggers has matured greatly as a novelist since Velocity: Where that novel was gassy and knotted, this one has crisp sentences and a solid structure. He masters the hurry-upand-wait rhythm of Alan’s visit, accelerating the prose when the King’s arrival seems imminent, then slackening it again. If anything, the novel’s flaws seem to be products of too much tightening: An incident involving a death back home feels clipped and some passages are reduced to fable-like simplicity. Even so, Eggers’ fiction has evolved in the past decade. This book is firm proof that that social concerns can make for resonant storytelling.
NIGHT WATCH
Fairstein, Linda Dutton (400 pp.) $26.95 | Jul. 10, 2012 978-0-525-95263-3 There’s no peace for Manhattan Sex Crimes prosecutor Alexandra Cooper, whose vacation on the Riviera is interrupted by two crimes, one outside her bailiwick, one inside, and both very uncomfortable indeed. After a gratuitous brush with a handful of skulls left outside the restaurant owned by her sweetie Luc Rouget, Alex learns of a far more disturbing development when the body of Lisette Honfleur, who’d been helping Luc with the books at Le Relais a Mougins, is
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fished from Fontmerle Pond. No one’s asking Alex to investigate Lisette’s murder, but she can’t help being concerned about how close the dead girl might have been to Luc, especially since she had a matchbox labeled “LUTECE,” the legendary New York restaurant Luc plans to reopen, in her pocket. Before Alex can do more than wonder about the murder, she’s abruptly reeled back to Manhattan by her boss, New York County District Attorney Paul Battaglia. Blanca Robles, a Guatemalan chambermaid at the Eurotel, has accused hotel guest Mohammed Gil-Darsin, head of the World Economic Bureau and aspiring president of Ivory Coast, of rape, and she’s got the DNA evidence to prove it—or at least to prove that there was a sexual encounter. As Blanca’s credibility plummets, Fairstein (Silent Mercy, 2011, etc.) creates a compelling narrative by the simple expedient of plundering news stories about the remarkably similar accusations against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. But lest Alex assume she can forget about Lisette now that she’s up to her neck in this new case, the corpse of unemployed waiter Luigi Calamari is pulled from Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal with a matchbox marked “LUTECE” in his pocket, threatening to cut off Alex’s romance with Luc at the root.
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Not surprisingly, the case ripped from the headlines is much more absorbing than the tale of restaurant malfeasance and imperiled love. Alex’s 14th is distinctly below average for this bestselling series.
IMPERFECT BLISS
Fales-Hill, Susan Atria (304 pp.) $24.00 | Jul. 3, 2012 978-1-4516-2382-6
A slapstick rendering of Pride and Prejudice also skewers high cultured academia and lowbrow reality TV. In this modern version of an Austen marriage novel, four beautiful sisters (American, biracial and college educated) find themselves at the whim of their imperious mother. Forsythia Harcourt, originally from Jamaica, now living in Maryland and
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“Frank’s latest is her usual warmhearted look at grief, healing and South Carolina coastal life.” from porch lights
fantasizing about infiltrating the British throne, wants good marriages for her girls. Oldest Victoria is suspiciously unmarried, and Bliss is a huge disappointment—newly divorced from her college sweetheart (a lowly Latino revolutionary, no less!), she and daughter Bella have moved back home while she finishes her doctorate. Charlotte is in high school, so Forsythia can only depend on Diana, who does not disappoint. Diana is chosen to appear on The Virgin, in which men will compete to capture both her heart and hymen. Soon the Harcourt house is filled with a film crew: Sue, an overbearing network executive and her androgynous lackey, Punch; macho Dario, the show’s producer and director; and Wyatt, the handsome host. Diana and Forsythia are thrilled, Bliss and her father are mortified that Diana’s chastity will be auctioned for ratings, and Charlotte is furious at being ignored. But this is mostly background chatter for the real plot, which is discovering who will please the lovelorn, prickly Bliss. Her academic advisor Jordan McIntosh is dashing and recently widowed, but misread signals would be humiliating. Wyatt is great looking and considerate, but Bliss can never get him alone. And then there’s sexy Dario, whom Bella adores but Bliss can barely stomach. The show takes the whole family to Austria and England for the suitors to perform a series of ridiculous challenges, and minor dramas ensue, but the novel is mostly concerned with Bliss and her stubborn attempts to keep true love at bay. Satire specializes in ugly characters, and this novel is overfilled with them, which proves an ungainly fit in the lighter realm of romance. (Agent: Suzanne Gluck)
HOMESICK
Fernando, Roshi Knopf (288 pp.) $24.95 | Jul. 17, 2012 978-0-307-95810-5 A series of loosely concatenated stories focusing on the lives of first and second generation Sri Lankan immigrants in England. The eponymous opening story introduces us to a large cast of characters, most of whom will play significant roles in later stories. The occasion for bringing everyone together is a 1982 New Year’s Eve party at Victor and Nandini’s home. Preethi, one of their three children, plays a particularly prominent role as we move through the book, for Fernando traces the vagaries of her romances, her marriage and her relationship to her own children. At the party, in an achingly honest response to the notion of their living out their dreams, Victor cries, “We belong nowhere...But if we belong anywhere, it is here. I have chosen here.” The desire to find a home indeed drives many of the characters, for they try to settle down, sometimes with the dreaded “white fellows” feared by Nandini’s brother. “Sophocles’ Chorus” explores the first love relationship of the 17-year-old Preethi and Ollie, a golden “boy-man” all of the girls aspire to. He casts a shadow over Freddie, who’s a great friend of Preethi’s but who yearns to be more. In a later story we learn that Preethi’s brother Rohan 1306
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is struggling with his sexuality, for he feels attracted to both men and women. In “Honey Skin” we meet the 80-year-old Dorothy and discover she recently lost her husband, Hugo (who briefly appeared at the New Year’s Eve party), but still misses the sexual connection she had to him even though for years she’s fantasized about women. The penultimate story, “Meta General,” informs us that Preethi’s husband has lost his job, a victim of the 21st century economic downturn, while the final story focuses on the loss of a beloved aunt. Fernando writes expressively and finds an appropriate emotional correlative to convey a variety of tones, from nostalgic to tragic.
PORCH LIGHTS
Frank, Dorothea Benton Morrow/HarperCollins (336 pp.) $25.99 | Jun. 12, 2012 978-0-06-196129-8 Frank’s latest is her usual warmhearted look at grief, healing and South Carolina coastal life. Jackie McMullen, an Army nurse, is relieved from her deployment in Afghanistan when she becomes the sole support of her 10-year-old son, Charlie. Her husband, Jimmy, a New York City firefighter, was killed in the line of duty. Her mother, Annie Britt, insists Jackie bring Charlie, who is deeply depressed after the loss of his father, to summer at the “Salty Dog,” the Britts’ Sullivan’s Island home. Although Charlie takes immediately to Lowcountry beachcombing, Jackie is unsettled by her mother’s obvious crush on Steve, the widowed dermatologist next door, who, Jackie notes ruefully, would rather flirt with daughter than mother. Annie is still married to Jackie’s father, Buster, although they have lived apart for 11 years (ever since Buster embarked on an extended fishing trip). But the presence of his only grandson lures Buster back to the Salty Dog, as does, although he won’t admit it, rekindled passion for Annie since her recent overhaul by a Charleston makeover maven. When Charlie himself (channeling Annie’s fondest wish) starts angling to stay on Sullivan’s Island instead of returning to Brooklyn, Jackie is torn. Jimmy’s grave is in New York, and her mother can still push every one of her buttons, for example when she insists on telling Charlie morbid Edgar Allen Poe tales right before bedtime. The sudden death of a neighbor, the husband of Annie’s best friend Deb, triggers a vicarious crisis that soon has the Britt family rethinking its priorities. Jackie and Doctor Steve, of course, both glimpse the possibility of moving on from loss together. Although leavened with wry humor, particularly in the sections narrated by Annie, the story stumbles under the weight of too many clichés. Moreover, Frank’s target demographic may be put off by the portrayal of Annie and other aging Boomers as positively geriatric. Happy families are all alike, which is why, even on the beach, they can be a bore. (Author tour to Atlanta, Birmingham, Cedar Rapids, Charleston, Charlotte, Hilton Head, Kansas City, Martha’s Vineyard, New York, Portland (ME), Seattle and St. Louis)
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RED STAR BURNING
Freemantle, Brian Dunne/St. Martin’s (368 pp.) $26.99 | Jun. 19, 2012 978-1-250-00636-3 A talky thriller of rogues repeating half-truths in the hopes of manufacturing reality; a terrific story starring Freemantle’s Charlie Muffin. Freemantle’s Muffin man returns for the 17th time, and the story seems to take up where his Red Star Rising (2010, etc.) left off. Charlie Muffin is in a safe house, out of the game, aching to return. Turns out Muffin has a wife and child in Russia. His wife, a Federal Security Service agent, charged with debriefing him after his faked defection, fell for him instead. After persuading his MI5 handlers that his wife and child are worth saving, Muffin makes himself indispensable to the team tasked with saving them. But there is no shortage of enemies, as many at home in England as in Russia. At least a double cross is on, if not a triple, and there’s genuine suspense in the unfolding origami. The book’s principal pleasure is the survey of mendacity in all its forms, from the self-serving, Shakespeare-spouting director of one of several intelligence services with skin in the game, to Cabinet Secretary Sir Archibald Bland. Even if the action is typical of the genre, the characters’ motives have an atypical excess of plausibility: These folks operate and backbite in a believable milieu of toxic office politics. If only Freemantle had the same confidence in his readers. The majority of the book is dialogue, and almost every speech appears in the equivalent of a colorcoded thought bubble: Smith “echoed”; Bland “refused”; Palmer “stumbled.” This is a source of frustration for those of us who, completely engaged, want to intuit the tone of speeches that might be arch, but just might be heartfelt, the speaker actually believing what turns out to be utterly false a few pages later. But to his fans, this is no more than a quibble: Muffin is back, and his followers will herald his return.
SARAH THORNHILL
Grenville, Kate Grove (352 pp.) $25.00 | Jun. 5, 2012 978-0-8021-2024-3
The saga of the Thornhill clan in early-19th-century Australia concludes in the final volume of Commonwealth Writer’s Prize winner Grenville’s (The Secret River, 2006, etc.) trilogy. Sarah Thornhill is the youngest daughter of William Thornhill, a man “sent out” from England in 1806 to New South Wales. Years later, with Sarah on the cusp of womanhood, Thornhill has become a prosperous river freighter, landowner and landlord of Thornhill’s Point along the Hawkesbury River. Sarah’s voice illuminates the tale, |
a voice true to a woman left illiterate in a time when land and sheep were treasured more than learning from a book. While the story is fictional, the book instructs on Australia’s early history: the land; the wealth to be made from sheep, seals and whales; the conflict between those who had “worn the broad arrow,” arriving as convicts, and those who came from proper society; and the oppressive and often bloody relationship between white settlers and the aboriginal people, termed “blacks.” The latter element provides the fundamental conflict within the novel, with Sarah falling in love with Jack Langland, a neighbor’s half-aboriginal son and sailing partner of Sarah’s older brother. Because of an ugly family secret, revealed only to Jack by Sarah’s abusive stepmother, marriage between the two is impossible. Instead Sarah marries John Daunt, a wealthy Irishman, who owns a sheep farm out near the Limit of Location. When Sarah is sent word that her father is dying, she travels to Thornhill’s Point and learns the secret that kept Jack from marrying her. “Once you knew, there was no way to not know.” Jack soon returns from New Zealand, where he’s married a Maori woman, and asks Sarah to fulfill an obligation that might lead to a measure of reconciliation. Beautifully written, with sufficient backstory to be enjoyed without first reading the previous two installments, this novel can be read as a dissection of a cultural clash or an allegory for colonialism, but at heart, the novel uses fiction to search for reason within history.
15 SECONDS
Gross, Andrew Morrow/HarperCollins (336 pp.) $25.99 | Jul. 10, 2012 978-0-06-165597-5 A taut thriller from Gross (Eyes Wide Open, 2011, etc.) about misplaced vengeance. A stoned young woman accidentally kills a mother and child with her car and goes to prison. Elsewhere, plastic surgeon Henry Steadman is stopped for a traffic violation on his way to a medical conference. The traffic cop hassles him far out of proportion to the offense, and while they argue, a stranger drives up and shoots the cop. Soon, a friend of Steadman is also dead, and Steadman is the only suspect in both killings. Police may shoot him on sight if he tries to turn himself in, so he decides to track down the shooter’s car instead. Meanwhile, he becomes increasingly aware that someone has set him up. He is a nonviolent man who doesn’t even own a gun, and he has no known enemies. While he desperately tries to find an ally to help him prove his innocence, his unknown enemy ups the ante. Steadman is a flawed but resourceful hero who has more than his own life at stake, while his antagonist operates on a perverted logic that makes him both fearsome and believable. This story begins in high gear and never downshifts as it often swerves to show the world through the villain’s eyes. To him, merely killing Steadman won’t be enough. The doctor must suffer as
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F I C T I O N
10 Graphic Books to Watch For in 2012 B Y C L AY T ON
MOORE
Every summer, ComicCon International meets in San Diego
a man out of me” bodybuilding advertisements unfair. The lawsuit was thrown out, and now readers can finally enjoy the collection at its maddest.
2. Bon Appetit! The Delicious Life of Julia Child
to reveal some of the biggest names in graphic literature (fiction and nonfiction). In honor of this year’s event, we’ve compiled a list of outstanding or notable releases for 2012 that you won’t want to miss if you love the graphic medium. Even in yet another summer of the superhero, as The Avengers shatters boxoffice records, The Dark Knight swoops back into town, and Spider-Man fires up his web-shooters, there’s still a place in the dark corners of the comic book world for the iconoclasts, journalists, children’s authors and Zen masters to ply their trade. This year’s slab of highly anticipated books of graphic literature include the return of a modern classic, the rediscovery of legends like Daniel Clowes and rich histories of larger-than-life characters ranging from Julia Child to Hunter S. Thompson.
Jessie Hartland Schwartz & Wade May | $17.99 9780375869440
Commercial artist Hartland (How the Sphinx Got to the Museum, 2010, etc.) brings her full range of talents to this creatively illustrated and richly told picture book inspired by the life of one of America’s national treasures. In fact, the author and illustrator packed up her own love of French cuisine and traveled to the French countryside to research the life of the celebrated chef. Her book uses Hartland’s unadorned cartoon storytelling to showcase Child’s career in the OSS, her late-blooming education in French cuisine, her long marriage to Paul Child and her unforgettable career on television. It’s a graphic work that Kirkus deemed “perfectly pitched to introduce the determined woman who became synonymous with French cooking in America.”
1. Flex Mentallo:
Man of Muscle Mystery Grant Morrison; Frank Quitely Vertigo April | $22.99 9781401232214
3. Drawn Together:
As the fellas who run the popular podcast iFanboy recently pointed out, if you’ve read Grant Morrison’s überpopular examination of the comics sector, Supergods, you have to seek out and read this long-awaited collection from Morrison and, making his American debut, superstar artist Frank Quitely. The author lumps it in with The Invisibles and The Filth as part of a borderline psychotic trilogy, but the parody here is beyond mental. In fact, the books went far enough to inspire a 2000 lawsuit by the Charles Atlas Co., which deemed the satire of their long-running “the insult that made 1308
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The Collected Works of R. and A. Crumb R. Crumb; A. Crumb Liveright/Norton October | $29.95 9780871404299 The Crumbs spent much of the past few years hailing the debut of their artist offspring Sophie Crumb and her book Evolution of a Crazy Artist and fielding raves about R. Crumb’s illustrated version of The Book of Genesis. Now the couple that |
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have rocked the underground comix world since meeting in San Francisco some 40 years ago open the curtains on their unusual life together. The artists, who were startlingly open in works like Dirty Laundry and Weirdo Magazine, write and draw about their work together, their gifted daughter and their expatriation to France. This should be a remarkable companion piece to Aline’s 2007 memoir Need More Love.
4. The Graphic Canon, Vol. 1:
From the Epic of Gilgamesh to Shakespeare to Dangerous Liaisons Edited by Russ Kick Seven Stories May | $34.95 9781609803766
Let’s face it, any English major can tell you that classic literature can be a little dry at the best of times. So it should be a boon to classrooms everywhere that editor Russ Kick of disinfo.com has assembled an unpredictable grab bag of graphic adaptations of oral tales, plays, essays, sonnets and letters. We dare anyone to be bored by Tania Schrag’s explicit depiction of the infamous Greek play Lysistrata or Noah Patrick Pfarr’s racy take on John Donne’s “The Flea.” With selections ranging from Shakespeare to The Canterbury Tales to Dangerous Liaisons and artists like Rick Geary, Peter Kuper and Molly Crapapple, this is one textbook that doesn’t tempt its readers to a little shut-eye.
5. The Comic Book History of Comics
Fred Van Lente; Ryan Dunlavey IDW June | $21.99 9781613771976
There have been plenty of books that meditate deeply on the comic-book biz, from Michael Chabon’s fictional take in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay to Grant Morrison’s Supergods. But we find this irreverent and lighthearted take on the history of comics to be a unique piece of work by writer Van Lente (Marvel Zombies Return, etc.) and artist Dunlavey, who pulled off a similarly spectacular trick with their book Action Philosophers at Evil Twin Comics. With more humor than Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, the collection touches on the great stories of comic book and manga history, with nods to greats like Will Eisner, R. Crumb, Hergé and Roy Lichtenstein, among many others. An essential grab for anyone with even the most tangential interest in sequential art.
with Harvey Pekar on American Splendor) “the ultimate computer hacker graphic novel.” As Piskor became more and more interested in the history of phreaking, hacking and manipulating computer systems for good or bad, he created Kevin “Boingthump” Phenicle, a legendary figure whose bad habits include video-game piracy, the transmission of computer viruses and using the FBI’s own wiretapping software against them. Based on the true stories of original phreakers like Captain Crunch (who discovered the magical 2600 hz tone that would unlock long distance), Wizzywig is an epic story about how much information is dangerous and the audacity of youth.
neofeudalism in these desperate towns and cities, and the decimation of the middle class in America.
9. Gonzo:
A Graphic Biography of Hunter S. Thompson Will Bingley with Anthony Hope-Smith Abrams ComicArts April | $17.95 9781419702426 There’s been a host of remembrances for Thompson since the legendary journalist took his own life that lousy February day in 2005, ranging from co-conspirator Ralph Steadman’s The Joke’s Over to Anita Thompson’s The Gonzo Way. Here’s hoping that this new biographical graphic novel by Bingley and illustrator HopeSmith brings the good doctor into a new phase of reportage, one that relies less on those goddamned bats and Nixon rants and refocuses on the legacy of a writer who transformed journalism, redefined reportage in his time and wreaked havoc on the American political landscape for generations. The monochromatic imagery, well-worn quotes and straightforward storytelling may not perfectly reflect the Technicolor weirdness of Thompson’s life, but to introduce young people to one of the great writers before their time, this might just be the ticket.
6. Beta Testing the Apocalypse
Tom Kaczynski Fantagraphics October | $19.99 9781606995419
In the world of graphic novels, there are artists, and then there are artistes. Kaczynski (Cartoon Dialetics Vol. 1, etc.), alias Tom K, made a name for himself in the world of minicomics, publishing little masterpieces in the pages of MOME and getting the occasional mainstream hit in anthologies like Best American Nonrequired Reading. Kaczynski occupies a unique niche in the spectrum of visual storytellers, and these 10 short stories capture the artist’s unique voice, promising “riffs on dystopian modernity, bleak man-made landscapes and the psychological effects of technology.” Far out, man.
7. Wizzywig
Ed Piskor Top Shelf July | $19.95 9781603090971 Top Shelf, who knows of what they speak, dubs this new graphic adventure by Piskor (who cartoons for the website Boing Boing and collaborated
10. The Art of Daniel Clowes:
Modern Cartoonist Alvin Buenaventura Abrams ComicArts April | $40.00 9781419702082
8. Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt
Chris Hedges; Joe Sacco Nation Books June | $28.00 9781568586434
If there’s anyone in the last two decades of alternative comics who’s deserving of some critical examination, it’s Clowes. For those of us over 40, Clowes’ distinctive imagery, emotional wit and elemental snark has been a touchstone, from his career-defining comic book Eightball to the graphic novel-to-film adaptation of Ghost World to record covers for the Ramones and the Supersuckers. This monograph on the bestselling creator features all of Clowes’ best-known work and is a big draw for collectors with rare and previously unpublished illustrations and stories. Add in essays by the likes of cartoonish Chris Ware, and this volume becomes a treasure trove for die-hards and new fans alike.
This thunderbolt of a graphic novel earned a star for its angry, insightful and eye-opening manifesto that we called “[a] call for a new American revolution, passionately proclaimed.” It’s a hell of a team-up when Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Hedges and legendary cartoonist Sacco turn their reporter’s eyes on places like Camden, N.J., the poorest city in the nation; the coal mines of West Virginia; the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and communities of undocumented workers in California. It’s a startling, revelatory look at poverty in America, as the authors warn of the plague of corporate greed, the rise of |
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“Hinton’s novel is loaded with sugar, but its plot lacks some much-needed spice.” from welcome back to pie town
much as possible first. It all works up to a frightening finale that Gross handles with masterful skill. Fans of the genre will love this one. It’s a fast, fun read with crisp dialogue and a tight plot. If you’re a bedtime reader, you might as well plan on staying up late, because you’ll be itching to learn how it ends. (Author appearances in New York and tri-state area. Agent: Simon Lipskar)
WHEN IN DOUBT, ADD BUTTER
Harbison, Beth St. Martin’s (384 pp.) $25.99 | Jul. 17, 2012 978-0-312-59909-6
Carried by an appealing narrator, this latest from the bestselling author of Shoe Addicts Anonymous (2007, etc.) features the exploits of a personal chef and her collection of oddball clients. Gemma Craig is 38 and single. And that’s okay. She’s not sure she has what it takes for a long-term relationship (she averages two months), and anyway, she is satisfied with her life: friends, family and a career she enjoys. As a personal chef in D.C., she has a string of clients that both amuse her and keep her solvent. Mondays are the Van Houghtens—restricted diet, no flavor, neurotic wife. Tuesday is “Mr. Tuesday,” a client she has only met through addictively cheeky notes. Then there’s Lex, a gallant older bachelor who owns a department store. Thursdays are the Olekseis, a large Russian family that may have ties to the Russian Mafia; for all Gemma knows, they could head the Russian Mafia. Fridays are filled by Lex’s overweight niece Willa, a shut-in who has made a fortune from online poker. This no-strings-attached nurturing suits Gemma, until she meets Mack. The two have a memorable night, but they part without the essentials—names and numbers—which seemed a little pointless in the midst of all that passion. A watery mistake blurs Mack’s goodbye note and number, and that’s that. Gemma can’t help but revisit that night in her fantasies, even though she has more urgent concerns: she’s losing her weekend catering jobs and thinks Mrs. Van Houghten is sabotaging her business. And she’s also found out...well, let’s just say things get complicated. A lovable heroine and an engaging cast of eccentrics makes for a cheerful summer read.
HOW SHOULD A PERSON BE? A Novel From Life Heti, Sheila Henry Holt (320 pp.) $25.00 | Jun. 19, 2012 978-0-8050-9472-5
Toronto-based Heti (Ticknor, 2006, etc.) and her real-life friends, including 1310
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Misha Glouberman with whom she wrote a previous book (Where the Chairs Are Where the People Go, 2011), are central characters in this meandering novel that attempts to erase the line between fact and fiction. Sheila is a recently divorced playwright—the marriage ended at her request for no clearly spelled out reason—attempting to finish a commissioned play while working part time in a beauty salon where her boss Uri is a kind of guru preaching beauty in balance. She claims what she desires is a simple life of fame without having to change her life. She also talks quite a bit about her search for a sense of self. She spends time with her friend Margaux, an artist who lives with Misha and has entered an ugly painting contest with another painter friend of Heti’s named Sholem. Heti buys a digital tape recorder and the novel includes actual taped conversations with Margaux, to whom the novel is dedicated, as well as emails between the two. Margaux and Heti have a falling-out because Margaux feels Heti has invaded her private boundaries, both by taping her and, more egregiously, by buying the same yellow dress while they are at an art festival in Miami. Meanwhile, Sheila has met Israel, who works in a bakery. He considers himself a painter, but Sheila recognizes his real art lies in the sex department. She describes their sadomasochistic antics in explicit, though untitillating detail. For a while, Sheila and Margaux fall into a pattern of heavy partying and druggy debauchery until Margaux pulls away. Sheila worries she’s a narcissist, not without good reason perhaps. Claiming imperfect wanderer Moses rather than sinless Jesus as spiritual guide, she leaves Toronto for New York, but she’s no happier there. After a gambling jaunt to Atlantic City, she returns to Toronto in time for the conclusion of the ugly painting contest. Pretentious navel-gazing without the humor of HBO’s Girls, which covers similar terrain.
WELCOME BACK TO PIE TOWN
Hinton, Lynne Morrow/HarperCollins (320 pp.) $13.99 paperback | Jun. 26, 2012 978-0-06-204512-6
A fiercely protective New Mexican community unites to support its citizens in this feel good sequel to Pie Town (2011). Raymond Twinhorse, whose father owns the local garage, is a troubled young veteran who suffers from PTSD after being wounded in Afghanistan. One night, he loses control, pushes his girlfriend, Trina, into a pot of boiling water, runs amok and ends up being accused of robbing the Silver Spur Bar. That same evening, a contingency of FBI agents raids a suspected drug operation, but instead of criminals, they terrorize a homeowner, an elementary school principal who suffers a heart attack. These two incidents set up the premise for the bland action that follows. Bucking against good Sheriff Roger Benavidez’s wisdom, one of the FBI agents goes after Raymond with a vengeance, intent on charging him not only with the robbery, but with illegal drug
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trafficking. But Raymond is proving hard to find, so his father, Frank, is taken into custody. The townsfolk, who spend a great deal of time at the local diner, decide to organize a rally to protest the FBI’s actions and to show their support for the Twinhorse family. For some strange reason, this apparently makes more sense to the citizens of Pie Town than engaging a lawyer to challenge Frank’s unlawful detention and the lack of due process. Trina believes Raymond is innocent, but she worries about his violent behavior and struggles with an important decision that could affect whatever future they may have together. Interspersed with religious and mystical themes and diverse characters, this story’s a bit too predictable for every palate, but it’s one that lovers of romance or inspirational literature might relish. And for those who enjoy baking, the author provides recipes for each of the pies mentioned in the book. Hinton’s novel is loaded with sugar, but its plot lacks some much-needed spice.
THE ROCK STAR IN SEAT 3A
Kargman, Jill Morrow/HarperCollins (208 pp.) $19.99 | $9.99 e-book | May 22, 2012 978-0-06-200720-9 978-0-06-210119-8 e-book
FIREPROOF
Kava, Alex Doubleday (320 pp.) $24.95 | Jul. 17, 2012 978-0-385-53551-9 FBI profiler Maggie O’Dell (Hotwire, 2011, etc.) goes up against an arsonist and a murderer who may or may not be the same person. Fires are all too common in the nation’s capital, but the latest blaze is worse than most. It’s obviously a case of accelerant-assisted arson. An anonymous phone call sends Detective Julia Racine of the Metro Police Department to a trash container outside the building, the final resting place of a Jane Doe whose face has been bashed beyond all recognition. And there’s no telling what connection, if any, the fire has to the homicide. Working the case with Detective R.J. Tully, her best friend’s lover, Maggie finds an unexpected sounding board in her half brother Patrick,
A just-30 video game junkie and marketing guru gets her world totally rocked when she starts an affair with her American idol. Kargman’s (Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut, 2011, etc.) latest confection is so frothy that even fans may have a hard time swallowing its Diablo Cody–esque hipster jive. In essence, if you liked Nick Hornby’s Juliet, Naked but wish it had more of the emotional intensity of Sex and the City, this is the book for you. Our heroine, such as she is, is one Hazel Lavery, a fast-talking, video game–addicted NYC hipster with a killer job working for Badass Games, a Brooklyn-based shop whose latest bestseller, Pimps N’ Ho’s Volume V, is about to hit the store shelves. She even has the romance side covered, with a so-cozyit-hurts relationship with gorgeous chef Wylie, complete with multiple nicknames (a little Doodleby McClintock, ladies?). But it turns out the path of love turns a wee bit crooked when Hazel is chosen to fly to L.A. to set up the big opening bash for Pimps N’ Ho’s, and she’s seated next to her all-time-favorite-OMG-crush, rock god Finn Schiller, during the disarmingly bumpy flight. “I was lilting over each booming crest as if I might capsize, but the elation of my ride with Finn got me past the fact that I was emotionally cheating on Wylie by suppressing every desire to dive across the armrest and rape Finn like those shameless Midwestern teens shrieking for the Jonas Brothers to deflower them,” Hazel admits. Surprising no one, Hazel and Finn connect on a, like, deeply emotional level, you know? And the whole quivering scene unfolds with tedious predictability. Finn’s gloomy lyrics and all the “Oh, god, Hazel” moments in the world can’t help float this lead zeppelin.
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who’s gone to work as a private firefighter for Braxton Protection. But she’s about to be dumped in hot water by hungry TV reporter Jeffery Cole, who’s so provoked by their brief standoff at the scene that he plans an extended on-air profile of her. As the firebug continues to roam free and Patrick begins to make tentative romantic overtures to Cole’s partner, photojournalist Samantha Ramirez, Maggie must survive a series of variously bruising encounters with her one-time lover Dr. Benjamin Platt, her unstable mother, Kathleen, ancient consulting psychiatrist Dr. James Kernan and homeless accountant Cornell Stamoran. None of them brings her any closer to the arsonist, even though most readers will be way ahead of her. Kava combines the clichés of serial-arsonist fiction with Patricia Cornwell’s irritating habit of ending her heroine’s quests not with a bang, but a whimper. To be continued. (Local author promotion in Omaha. Author tour to Houston, Phoenix, Denver, San Diego, San Francisco and Minneapolis)
THE INFINITE TIDES
Kiefer, Christian Bloomsbury (320 pp.) $26.00 | Jun. 19, 2012 978-1-60819-810-8
In Kiefer’s debut literary novel, astronaut Keith Corcoran returns from the International Space Station to a house populated by a bare mattress, random canned goods and a gray leather sofa. The astronaut’s beloved and gifted daughter is dead after a car accident, and his wife has left him, all while he spent months aboard the ISS. In a house in an economy-stalled suburb, Corcoran contemplates his world, and he is haunted by his near-metaphysical, unquantifiable experience in space. Corcoran’s life has always been measured by the fluidity of equations (he’s a math genius), which he believes can explain nearly everything. Now the numbers no longer add up. Empathetically drawn by Kiefer, Corcoran is a splendid protagonist, isolated from his lifelong ambition to be an astronaut by grief and migraines. “Everything in his life had telescoped into guilt and bereavement and a kind of emptiness he still did not entirely understand.” Kiefer also develops an imaginative and intriguing cast of characters: Barb, Corcoran’s wife, who initially supported the ambitious and driven man she married; Quinn, Corcoran’s daughter, the first in his world who also saw numbers as colors, as having emotions and characters; and Jennifer, the neighbor with whom he has a brief and unsatisfying affair. Most compelling are Peter and Luda, Ukrainian immigrants, lost in America’s consumer culture. Peter grieves for his former profession as an astronomy technician, and Luda, quiet and beautiful, displays a moral intelligence that may right Corcoran’s world. Kiefer’s work is deeply symbolic, with Corcoran’s appreciation for the order and perfection to be found in equations and algorithms being contrasted against the chaos and entropy of his personal life. The narrative is straightforward and masterfully accomplished. 1312
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A wonderfully executed debut novel, so rich as to inspire rereading, right down to its inevitable resolution, both ironic and existentialist.
MAGIC WORDS
Kolpan, Gerald Pegasus (416 pp.) $25.95 | Jun. 15, 2012 978-1-60598-369-1 A book that takes real historical characters, mixes magic with the winning of the West and conjures an absorbing tale. In 1867, Compars Herrmann and his brother Alexander are the two most renowned illusionists in the world. Compars, the elder, performs in Europe, while Alexander goes to perform in America, sawing women in half and pulling rabbits from hats. Meanwhile, their younger cousin Julius Meyer is kidnapped in Nebraska by Ponca Indians. The Ponca spare his life but make him a slave, and he quickly learns their language and customs, becoming their interpreter. Before his capture, he’d been involved with the beautiful prostitute Lady-Jane Little Feather, who works in an Omaha brothel but burns it down, killing her cheating employer and others before high-tailing it back to the Ponca. U.S. Army soldiers—bluecoats—are in the middle of destroying the Indian tribes. Julius, a Jew, easily relates to the hostile treatment the Indians are receiving. In time, he falls in love with Prairie Flower, posing the prospect of personal harm and heartbreak. The novel covers a broad tableau that mixes murder, intrigue, sibling rivalry, personal grudges, magic and even romance—though not the magic of romance. The small Ponca tribe suffers an angry split—one group goes off to fight the bluecoats to the death, while the other quietly endures whites’ betrayal and a Trail of Tears. There is plenty of trickery in this novel: stealing ideas from siblings, transforming a beautiful Indian woman into an “Arabian princess,” promising Indian tribes they will never have to move from their homes. Kolpan weaves all the threads together and shows the ultimate fate of each character. He portrays a transformative period for America, one full of tragedy and illusion. A well-researched and entertaining novel filled with colorful characters and imagination. It’s a good, fun read. (Agent: Katharine Cluverius)
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ALYS, ALWAYS
Lane, Harriet Scribner (224 pp.) $24.00 | Jun. 12, 2012 978-1-4516-7316-6 In a dark forest, on a lonely road, in the bleakness of winter, Frances Thorpe sees the strange, illuminated contours of something within the trees. With this ominous, gothic opening, Harriet Lane’s debut novel invokes the muses of Daphne du Maurier and Ruth Rendell. Frances at first appears to be simply a hardworking, serious, careful sub-editor for a struggling London journal. Alys Kyte is lucky that Frances stumbled upon her car wreck in the middle of the deserted forest; she is lucky that such a compassionate, good listener is with her during her final hours. And at first, Frances does walk away from the melodrama of the crash, returning to her desk to save other writers from grammatical errors. Realizing that Alys was
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actually the wife of literary giant Laurence Kyte, Frances begins to plot. Slowly, warily—oh, so warily—Frances begins to insinuate herself into the Kyte family. Lane, too, very carefully unfolds Frances’ true character. Each sentence veils as much as it reveals, just as Frances’ actions distract as much as they betray. Frances begins by visiting the entire Kyte family, ostensibly to offer the comfort of Alys’ dying words. After all, Frances was the last person to speak to Alys, and the family is eager to meet the woman who heard the jeweled words drop from Alys’ lips. She moves on to befriending the bereaved daughter, Polly. Rather careless and easily swayed, Polly worries her father, who is grateful, seeing Frances as a good influence and role model. Preternaturally adept at reading emotions and social cues, Frances nimbly navigates around the suspicious son, gossiping socialites, drunken co-workers, a suspicious boss and Laurence Kyte’s own complicated affairs. Frances is audaciously ambitious, leaving the reader both scandalized and dazzled. Controlled and precise, Lane’s writing bewitches with its undertones of implied meanings and carefully hidden secrets. This is a gem. (Agent: Cat Ledger)
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“An excellent debut.” from a violet season
HOUSE BLOOD
Lawson, Mike Atlantic Monthly (432 pp.) $25.00 | Jul. 3, 2012 978-0-8021-1994-0 A Washington, D.C., lobbyist is murdered and his partner is framed for the crime. Back for another adventure in congressional fixing, investigator Joe DeMarco untangles a plot involving the deaths of human guinea pigs being used to test a miracle drug. Orson Mulray, new CEO of Mulray Pharma, is counting on a new drug that can eliminate Alzheimer’s disease—and, even more importantly, make his company bigger and more powerful than it was under his unloving and underachieving father. True-believing philanthropist Lizzie Warwick has put her organization at Mulray’s beck and call in Peru, not knowing the testing of subjects has led to four deaths—and that the deaths are treated as necessary to the experiments. Her lobbyist discovers the truth but is murdered before he can share it with her. DeMarco, deposed Speaker of the House John Mahoney’s go-to guy, is soon pursued by professional killers who learned their tactics in Delta Force. DeMarco’s friend Emma, a former intelligence agent dying of cancer, is swept into the plot as well. Her calmly pragmatic response to a violent threat is one of the highlights of the book, leaving us wishing she were in it more. DeMarco is a likable enough character with a good sense of humor, but can’t be said to have much in the way of star power. Lawson, a former senior civilian executive for the Navy, is likewise a competent storyteller, but the writing lacks color, and the action never rises above the functional. Big Pharm makes for a familiar villain in Lawson’s solidly plotted but not especially lively seventh installment (House Divided, 2011, etc.) in the Joe DeMarco series.
THE COLLECTIVE
Lee, Don Norton (320 pp.) $25.95 | Jul. 16, 2012 978-0-393-08321-7
During college and afterwards, some aspiring Asian-American artists figure out their identities in this third novel from the former editor of Ploughshares (Wrack and Ruin, 2008, etc.). Eric Cho, the narrator, is a third generation Korean-American from California. In 1988 he arrives at Macalester, a small liberal arts college in St. Paul, Minn. Unformed and eager to please, he falls under the influence of Joshua Yoon, a Korean orphan adopted and raised lovingly by two Harvard professors, both Jews. While Joshua, a loudmouth and provocateur, complains about the pervasiveness of racism, Eric finds a willing girlfriend in Didi, a blonde Irish Catholic from Boston. When 1314
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Didi ends the relationship, it’s an I-told-you moment for Joshua; obviously she had just been slumming. He presses his point home in a creative writing class (both he and Eric are would-be novelists) by savagely attacking a white girl’s story; she retaliates, leaving a racist slur outside his dorm. Eric draws closer to Joshua and Jessica, a Taiwanese-American art student; they style themselves the 3AC (Asian American Artists Collective). Eric also acknowledges that they are “insufferable twits.” After graduation, all three find themselves in Boston. They expand the Collective to include a range of avant-garde types intent on combating media stereotypes of Asians, but it never really gets off the ground; the group can’t even agree on a mission statement for the website. Joshua’s leadership has failed. Years later, after his suicide (Lee uses it as a hook for his opening), Eric concludes that “Joshua was a liar, a narcissist, a naysayer, a bully, and a misogynist.” Add to that list: a bore. Lee doesn’t persuade us that Joshua has the charisma necessary to keep Eric in thrall to him. In lieu of a plot, he gives Eric another doomed relationship, and then a controversy and media circus over a risqué installation of Jessica’s that celebrates the Asian phallus. A novel undone by Lee’s indecisiveness over how much slack to cut his protagonist, the obnoxious Joshua. (Author tour to Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Agent: Maria Massie)
A VIOLET SEASON
Leonard Czepiel, Kathy Simon & Schuster (272 pp.) $15.00 paperback | Jul. 10, 2012 978-1-4516-5506-3 A mother and daughter discover empathy, courage and autonomy in this powerful first novel by Czepiel. Set in the Hudson Valley in 1898, this brilliantly written story explores the lives and relationships of Ida Fletcher and her 16-year-old daughter, Alice, who exist within the confines of a restrictive society. Struggling to repay husband Frank’s longstanding debt to his older brothers, Ida and her family reside in a tenant house on the family-owned violet farm. It’s a bleak existence, and the family barely makes ends meet. Ida works as a wet nurse (in fact, she bore her youngest child, Jasper, in order to lactate), and Alice has been taken out of school to assist with the family income. Frank, a hotheaded, taciturn man, displays little affection for his family and expects them to accept his authority without question. After 23 years of marriage, Ida reflects upon their years together and ponders whether this has always been the case. Frank brings more babies into the household for Ida’s care, and he secures employment for Alice, which puts her in a precarious position and jeopardizes her dreams of a future with Joe Jacobs, the local preacher’s son. Frank’s actions result in life-shattering revelations for both Ida and Alice: Ida, her love for her children first and foremost, chooses to make a move that is almost unprecedented for a woman of her time and circumstances. And Alice, a strong young woman in her own right, must overcome her own past and learn to forgive her
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mother. A vivid portrait of life at the turn of the last century, the story is rich with historical detail and strongly defined characters. Czepiel portrays the often unpleasant aspects of Ida’s and Alice’s lives with reverential care and affords readers a finely tuned study in human endurance. An excellent debut. (Agent: Lisa Bankoff)
BUDDHALAND BROOKLYN
Morais, Richard C. Scribner (256 pp.) $25.00 | Jul. 17, 2012 978-1-4516-6922-0
A gentle Buddhist priest from Japan is given the task of building a temple in the Little Calabria section of Brooklyn, and the results are both calamitous and sweet. Before the move, Reverend Seido Oda had already lived a full and tragic life, having dealt with his father’s mental illness and his brother’s death by fire. He grew up in a remote and rural setting and, at the age of 11, was apprenticed to the monks in the Headwater Sect (a fictional creation of Morais) at a local Buddhist temple. Despite his personal and familial difficulties, for 30 years Oda lives a relatively placid life, until his superior requests that he travel thousands of miles to oversee the building of a new temple in the strange urban landscape of Brooklyn. Once there, Oda comes in contact with a very American form of Buddhism, one in which he’s casually referred to as “Rev” or “the Reverend O.” Oda understandably has difficulty adapting to the exigencies of his new life. He meets Laura, a shellacked blonde, who is into New Age crystals and “channeling the Buddha’s voice during evening prayer.” He also encounters Mr. Dolan, who’s been giving a series of lectures on Buddhism based in part on Buddhism for Dummies. The greatest surprise awaiting Oda is a relationship that he develops with Jennifer, whose casual demeanor belies an engaging intellect (she has a doctorate in Italian and has been translating Boccacio) and a sincere interest in Buddhist texts. They begin a sexual relationship that comes as a surprise more to Oda than to Jennifer. Oda finds he has to balance the delicacy of his feelings for Jennifer with his much more pragmatic connection to Mr. Symes, the hardheaded American businessman who’s a major fundraiser for the temple. Morais writes with sensitivity and insight about the many ways American life challenges the Reverend Oda’s equanimity. (Agent: Richard Pine)
PARK LANE
Osborne, Frances Vintage (336 pp.) $15.00 paperback | Jun. 12, 2012 978-0-345-80328-3 Two young women from very different social classes cope with changing conventions and life-altering events in 20th-century England. Eighteen-year-old Grace Campbell travels to London from Carlisle, a city in the northwest, to find employment as a secretary in order to provide financial assistance for her parents and siblings. But jobs are scarce, and she is forced to take a position as a maid in the Masters household. Unwilling to disappoint her family, Grace feels compelled to lie to her parents and to her brother, Michael, a clerk residing in London, about her circumstances. Beatrice, the youngest daughter of Lady Masters, recently was jilted by her fiance, John, and she is expected to quickly find a new suitor and marry. Although she and Grace are from disparate backgrounds, both girls find themselves chafing at the constraints of traditional society. Bea, caught up in the excitement of the suffragist movement, joins an underground organization that supports suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst. Grace engages in an uncharacteristic and desperate act to assist her family and to hide from them the truth about her employment. Meanwhile, Bea becomes involved with a mysterious man who rescues her from potential harm during the violent protests, and Grace is strongly attracted to Joseph, another servant employed by the Masters. But when World War I intervenes, both young women’s lives veer in unforeseen directions, in part due to circumstances over which they have no control, and in part because of the decisions they make. A poignant and fascinating story, Osborne developed the plot for her first novel after researching a book about an ancestor (The Bolter, 2009, etc.). She masterfully intertwines the lives of her heroines with historical events and figures, which lends credibility to the plot and the characters she has created. Osborne’s efforts are solid, and her book will appeal to both historical fiction buffs and romance enthusiasts alike.
THE STOLEN CHALICE
Pilgrim, Kitty Scribner (320 pp.) $26.00 | Jun. 26, 2012 978-1-4391-9728-8
In award-winning reporter Pilgrim’s (The Explorer’s Code, 2011) latest mainstream adventure, the social register’s big names walk the red carpet at the Ancient Civilizations Ball at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. There, the glitterati witness the theft of some precious antiquities. One guest is the intriguingly handsome John Sinclair, a titan amongst archaeologists and a man with a reputation for skillful |
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recovery of stolen antiquities. In a high-dollar narrative rife with stops at the Carlyle, Mayfair, and Balmoral and laced with superlatives about the rich-and-famous lifestyle—think Maybach sedans, Gulfstream jets and oceangoing yachts—Sinclair is hired to recover the Sardonyx Cup, carved in Alexandria’s Ptolemaic era and later used in Communion at the wedding Mass of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Louis VII. The Sardonyx Cup’s legend says it imparts long life and prosperity. The cup belongs to megarich Ted VerPlanck, whose wife, Tipper, is addicted to alcohol, drugs, rock stars and film directors. Her weaknesses come into play, as do the missteps and ultimate financial ruin of Charlie Hannifin, a museum official easy to corrupt. The stolen art also provides cult-leader terrorist Moustaffa Gemeyal with financial resources, which are laundered by the Manucci crime family. In the complex and confused operation that purloined the cup and the Museum of Art’s antiquities, the Brooklyn Museum also lost the Fayoum mummy of Artemidorus, a theft engineered by the half-Egyptian Lady Xandra Sommerset, Moustaffa’s sometime lover. That plops Dr. Holly Graham, Sinclair’s former lover, into the middle of his recovery adventure, which in turn lures Carter Wallace, a young assistant with a crush on Holly, into the mix. Holly’s presence doesn’t sit well with Cordelia Stapleton, Sinclair’s new flame, who tags along only to be kidnapped by Lady Sommerset. The cup is found and the mummy too, and then Sinclair takes time to prevent Moustaffa’s bioterrorist attack on an international conference at Sharm el Sheikh. Entertaining escapist fare via crime fighting from New York to London to Venice via private jets, luxury hotels and yachts at sea. (Author tour to Atlanta, Cape Cod, New York and Portland, Maine)
TELL THE WOLVES I’M HOME
Rifka Brunt, Carol Dial Press (368 pp.) $26.00 | Jun. 19, 2012 978-0-679-64419-4
Brunt’s first novel elegantly pictures the New York art world of the 1980s, suburban Westchester and the isolation of AIDS. Fourteen-year-old June and 16-yearold Greta travel to Manhattan every few Sundays to be with Finn, their uncle. Finn is a renowned artist, dying of a largely unknown disease, and claims he wants to give them this last gift, though more likely it is the contact he craves. June and Finn have an intense relationship—he is charismatic and brilliant and takes her to special places; he is part magic and part uncle, and June adores him. Greta is jealous; she feels Finn favors June and stole her away. When he dies, June is devastated. At the funeral they see the one not to be mentioned: Finn’s lover, Toby. June’s mother refuses to admit him to the service and blames him for her baby brother’s disease. Slowly, June and Toby develop a secret friendship, indulging their grief and keeping Finn alive through the exchange of memories. What she thought was simply Finn’s apartment she discovers was their 1316
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shared space, and much of what she loved about the place, and Finn, belongs to Toby. As she and Toby embark on Finn-worthy adventures, Greta is slowly falling apart, hiding in the woods drunk, sabotaging her chance at a summer stint on Broadway. Finn’s portrait of the girls, worth nearly $1 million, is kept in a bank vault, and every time June visits (only she and Greta have keys) she notices additions to the painting that could only come from Greta. With Toby dying and Greta in danger, June lifts the covers off all of her family’s secrets. There is much to admire in this novel. The subtle insight on sibling rivalry and the examination of love make for a poignant debut. (Agent: Mollie Glick)
BLOODLINE
Rollins, James Morrow/HarperCollins (464 pp.) $27.99 | Jun. 26, 2012 978-0-06-178479-8 Rollins returns with another Sigma Force thriller. Rollins delivers more by-the-numbers mayhem. Cmdr. Pierce travels to Zanzibar to recruit Capt. Tucker Wayne and his war dog Kane, a Malinois. Wayne wants no part of Pierce, his mission or Sigma Force, a supersecret organization affiliated with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The mission: rescue Amanda GantBennett, daughter of James Gant, POTUS. Somali pirates have taken Amanda hostage. Do the pirates know who their hostage is? What evil designs do they have on the baby? Are the British Special Forces on their side? The plot points appear with the regularity of mileposts. Love and gunpowder are in the air. Seichan, Asian assassin extraordinaire, used to kill for the Guild, a shadowy organization with ancient roots and ill intentions. Having defected to the good guys, she bats her lashes at Pierce and flashes dagger-eyes at the evildoers. The stogie-chewing, wisecracking Kowalski is the lovable oaf in residence. From Takoma Park, Md., and Washington D.C., to Somalia, Dubai, the Carolinas and points between, the team hurries, the time zones helpfully noted. A predictable tale in which the hits, and the blood spatter, just keep coming. (Author tour to Austin, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Iowa City, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, St. Louis and Tulsa)
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ALPHA
Rucka, Greg Mulholland Books/Little, Brown (320 pp.) $24.99 | May 22, 2012 978-0-316-18228-7 In Rucka’s latest (The Last Run, 2010, etc.), the sneak attack on WilsonVille— world’s largest theme park—is no Mickey Mouse operation. Master Sgt. Jad Bell, Delta Forces veteran, senses something catastrophic blowing in the wind and meant for WilsonVille. Of course he does. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been deployed there. Still, he doesn’t know precisely where or exactly when, and his bosses tell him they don’t either. Normally, he’d take that in stride, since it’s really what his 18 years of training has always been about—uncertainty and the coping with it, no matter its shape or time of arrival. The circumstance that makes this different and unsettling, however, is a piece of information just received. Jad, undercover as deputy director in charge of park security, has suddenly learned that among the 60,000 likely visitors this coming Friday will be a contingent from the Hollyoakes School for the Deaf, a group that will include his adored daughter Athena as well as his ex-wife Amy. Switch now to young Gabriel Fuller, terrorist. Actually, he’s a terrorist in training and has been for more than 10 years, a period during which he was charged with becoming seamlessly American. In the jargon of the trade, Gabriel is a sleeper—someone planted early on in a position to infiltrate, then later awakened for the sake of the mission: Inflict maximum damage from the inside. In that way, Gabriel has made himself a WilsonVille mainstay. Costumed as Pooch—feckless, endearingly clumsy, endlessly affectionate—he captures hearts and minds on a regular basis. The carefully planned attack is mounted, and hostages are taken, among them, inevitably, Jad’s Athena. But Gabriel, too, has some nasty shocks awaiting him. Sometime-graphic-novelist Rucka again crosses genres with positive results. Not much new here, but energetically done and not a comic strip character in sight.
Akram Saqr, a Coptic Christian Egyptian who seduced Amy Clark, married her and presented her staid and prosperous parents with a grandson who looked “like a tiny Yasir Arafat.” Such is the wry humor spicing up Khosi’s story. When Khosi was a toddler, Akram departed for Egypt, leaving behind his family and significant gambling debts. Now in his early 20s, Khosi still lives with his mother in a run-down Victorian they call Loving Shambles, where she operates a catering business specializing in mid-Eastern cuisine and he contemplates the heroics of Evel Knievel. Thanks to the Internet, Khosi is an autodidact, more literate and sophisticated than his college-graduate contemporaries. He works as a guide at the historical Copper King Mansion, frequents the Berkeley Pit Yacht Club, a country music bar with a sawdust floor, and indulges his OCD compulsions. He also pines for his lifelong friend Natasha Mariner, recently engaged to a preppie. Such is Khosi’s life until his father returns from Egypt. After 20 years, he wants Amy to sign divorce papers. To everyone’s disbelief, Khosi decides to follow Akram back to Egypt. “I needed to track down this missing part of my story, this vanished and fugitive sector of my genealogy, this dim
EVEL KNIEVEL DAYS
Toutonghi, Pauls Crown (304 pp.) $24.00 | Jul. 17, 2012 978-0-307-38215-3
Khosi Saqr is an all-American boy, growing up in Butte, and a descendant of William Andrews Clark, the coppermining king who put the Montana city on the world map. Classifying Toutonghi’s (Red Weather, 2007) second novel as a coming-of-age tale sells this superb literary effort short. For example, Khosi may be a great-great-grandson of the copper king, but he also is the son of ne’er-do-well |
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mystery
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“Toyne cranks up the drama with the second entry in a conspiracy thriller series.” from the key
adumbration of my family’s lost past.” With writing both gently ironical and outright funny, the author’s extraordinary talent draws readers into the world of Butte and Cairo. More entertainingly, his characters are both believable and appealing, especially Khosi’s Egyptian aunts, their drill-sergeant housekeeper and the everyday people he meets. Brilliantly imagined. Artfully written. Superbly entertaining.
THE KEY
Toyne, Simon Morrow/HarperCollins (448 pp.) $25.99 | Jun. 19, 2012 978-0-06-203833-3 Former British television writer, producer and director Toyne cranks up the drama with the second entry in a conspiracy thriller series. Taking up where the first volume (Sanctus, 2011) left off, New Jersey news reporter Liv Adamsen awakens to find herself hospitalized in the small Turkish town of Ruin. Liv is not alone: Kathryn Mann and a monk from the Citadel are also recovering from injuries sustained when fleeing the mysterious fortress. However, there are forces at hand determined to destroy all three, and that is something Kathryn’s son, Gabriel, cannot allow to happen. Gabriel helps Liv escape and find her way back home to the U.S., then begins to look for a way to return to the Citadel, which is now seemingly under assault from nature itself. Blighted trees and a dying garden have spread their disease to the humans who occupy the Catholic fortress, and no one knows how to stop what appears to be an impending worldwide catastrophe. As the Vatican’s moneyman, Cardinal Secretary Clementi, plots to eliminate Liv and her co-conspirators, Gabriel forges an alliance to help fend off what appears to be the realization of the End of Days. As he battles to save Liv from a terrible fate, Gabriel finds that one of the most important events of his life was a lie and that allies exist in places he would never have suspected. Toyne’s first novel, Sanctus, set up the story of the Citadel and the mysterious thing it guards. Well-written, fast-paced and delivered with an admirable economy of words, this book offers an edgeof-the-seat story filled with action and adventure, as well as a puzzle that the main characters must somehow put together before the world simply disappears. If the book has a flaw, it’s that it doesn’t stand alone, and readers who have not progressed from the first book to the second will spend the first half trying to figure out what’s happening. Reading the initial book in the series first makes this taut thriller much more satisfying. (Agent: Alice Saunders)
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ADVENT
Treadwell, James Emily Bestler/Atria (464 pp.) $26.00 | Jul. 3, 2012 978-1-4516-6164-4 Near Truro, where Britain meets the legends of the mythic sea, Gavin Stokes awaits his Auntie Gwen at an estate called Pendurra. Gavin has heard a woman’s voice since childhood, a voice he refers to as Miss Grey. His mother thinks he’s batty. His father thinks he’s contrary. His school has suspended him. With parents away for winter vacation, Gavin is sent to Auntie Gwen. In this first of a trilogy, Treadwell links young Gavin to magus John Fiste, a student of “the unseen world” in 1537. On his way to Truro, Gavin encounters Hester Lightfoot, a scholar at Oxford forced to resign because she too hears a voice. Gavin’s aunt isn’t on hand to meet the train, and so Hester drops him off at Gwen’s lodge on the grounds of Pendurra’s ancient manor house. There, Gavin encounters its owner, Tristram Uren, and his fey and feckless 13-year-old daughter Marina. Setting and atmosphere are perfect for a gothic-tinged, magic-driven story: a forbidding opening; strange characters; bizarre noises and shadowy visions; and a narrative that slowly but inexorably circles toward seemingly inevitable doom. Shifting from Gavin’s current day to Fiste’s era, the story reveals the great magus is Johannes Faust, whose skill with the black arts allowed him to travel in time to meet Helen of Troy and Cassandra. That there is a link between Fiste/Faust and Gavin becomes apparent when Gavin encounters a mysterious woman near Hester’s village who refers to him as Gawain. She asks Gavin to take her burden, that being “There will be fire and blood…The world will find it a bitter weight.” The book thereafter romps toward a surrealistic and fantastical conclusion filled with dryads and pukas, mermaids and a giant talking crow, trees that come alive, malevolent angels and Gavin’s heroic overcoming. Ripe with literary language and classical references, Treadwell’s novel shape-shifts between bewitchingly perplexing and supernaturally entertaining. A book that should appeal to grown-up Potter-philes.
ROBERT LUDLUM’S THE BOURNE IMPERATIVE
Van Lustbader, Eric Grand Central Publishing (448 pp.) $27.99 | Jun. 5, 2012 978-0-4465-6447-2 Jason Bourne is alive and well, but this, the 10th installment of the franchise, is tired. The prolific Van Lustbader’s (Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Dominion, 2011, etc.) latest Bourne is tedious. The prologue: A man is running, a woman pursuing, across a snowbound landscape in Sweden.
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They engage in hollow dialogue, punctuated by witless description, then proceed to the killing. While fishing and discussing conspiracies with his friend Christien Norén, Bourne snags a body, lifts it from the water. Flash to the Oval Office. The secretary of defense is briefing a dubious president, who is asking pointed questions about the health of Treadstone directors Peter Marks and Soraya Moore and checking on Dick Richards, his eyes in the spy shop. We glimpse Marks and Moore back in the office, then overhear a conversation at Mossad headquarters: Rebeka, a prized agent, has gone rogue; Ilan Halevy, “the Babylonian,” is sent to kill her. It is not long before Bourne becomes reacquainted with Rebeka; the man fished from the icy waters regains his memory; and the mystery deepens about the Israeli research facility in Lebanon. We become acquainted with financier Don Fernando, “sometime partner” of Norén. He has suspicions about Core Energy’s CEO, Tom Brick. A shadowy character identified as Nicodemo is doing Brick’s dirty laundry—extorting, killing. Before long Bourne and Rebeka are chasing Nicodemo from one side of the Atlantic while Moore and Marks try to net him on the other. The Chinese have a stake in the Israeli research, Dick Richards is tricky, and a Mexican cartel boss, who, like almost everybody, wants Bourne dead, may have the funds, the smarts and the guts to outspend and outmaneuver—on and on it spins. A carousel of stereotypes, devoid of suspense.
the latter, New York State Police Senior Investigator Jack Hardwick is the most rational and helpful; his colleague Max Clinter, maddened by PTSD after he let the Shepherd escape his last crime scene, the craziest; and FBI agent Matthew Trout the most closemouthed and menacing. Endless allusions to Dave’s brilliance can’t obscure the fact that the colorless killer’s plot is based on a cliché so well-established in the genre that experienced readers, spotting it long before the tortured genius, will feel pretty doggoned clever themselves.
THE KINGS OF COOL A Prequel to Savages
Winslow, Don Simon & Schuster (320 pp.) $25.00 | Jun. 19, 2012 978-1-4516-6532-1
Winslow offers a prequel for his drug-war epic Savages (2010). The year 2005 finds Ben Leonard and his buddy Chon doing what they do best: helping Orange County get high on Ben’s custom-bred hydroponic grass. So successful is their business, in fact, that Duane Crowe, of The Association, pays Ben a visit gently suggesting that they either submit a monthly charge to the established network of importers or take their business elsewhere. Chon is not the person to take this challenge lying down, and soon he’s struck preemptively at a couple of Association minnows he unwisely leaves alive—a decision that acts like the starting gun at a marathon. Quick as a sentence fragment, Winslow is piling on the violence, the flashbacks to an earlier generation of Southern California surfers and hippies, and the one-word paragraphs, as he makes a strong bid for the James Ellroy Award for Self-Indulgent Prose. Since fans know that Ben and Chon and their childhood friend O-for-Ophelia will still be around to peddle primo product in Savages, The Association’s threats don’t carry the menace they would outside the wonderful world of prequels, and readers are free to enjoy the proceedings as deliriously overgalvanized, intermittently hilarious ritual. The walk-ons who pop up just long enough to get caught in the crossfire are too interchangeable for tears, and not even Chon’s deployment to Afghanistan and his encounter with a bomb are cause for alarm. The only blemish in the blood bath is the pretense, late on in the proceedings, that Chon and O are learning something important about their fathers. Sorry, gang, but you’re in the wrong pew.
LET THE DEVIL SLEEP
Verdon, John Crown (384 pp.) $25.00 | Jul. 24, 2012 978-0-307-71792-4
Still recuperating from the physical and psychic wounds he suffered in closing his last case (Shut Your Eyes Tight, 2011, etc.), retired NYPD Detective Dave Gurney is drawn into yet another one, a 10-year-old serial killing that’s never been closed. As a favor to Connie Clarke, the freelance reporter who made him famous as the Supercop, Gurney agrees to give her daughter, journalism student Kim Corazon, a little help on a project that’s suddenly mushroomed from an academic thesis to a series on RAM TV. To flesh out her sense of how murder devastates a lot more people than the murder victims, Kim has interviewed the widows and children of victims of the Good Shepherd, who fired on half a dozen drivers in black Mercedes sedans in upstate New York and Massachusetts, left little toy animals at each crime scene, and sent the cops a diatribe against the greedy rich that yielded a very clear psychological profile but proved no help in closing the case a decade ago. Initially agreeing to accompany Kim on her rounds for a single day, Dave predictably gets sucked into deeper involvement with the grieving relatives, some of them happier than others to air their grief; the scalawag front-office types at RAM TV; Kim’s accusatory ex-boyfriend Robert Montague, né Meese; and the law officials who neither solved the case nor want to talk about it now. Of |
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“A disturbing, often creepy melodrama, thick with historically accurate detail.” from the orphanmaster
SORRY PLEASE THANK YOU Stories
Yu, Charles Pantheon (240 pp.) $24.95 | Jul. 24, 2012 978-0-307-90717-2
Science fiction goes postmodern in this story collection from Yu (How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, 2010, etc.). Using various narrative strategies (though all but one of these 13 stories is written in the first person), Yu explores provisional identities (including those of a character named Charles Yu) in multiple universes, typically employing a conversational style that makes for easy reading even when the themes are troubling or the formalistic elements challenging. In one story, “Note to Self,” a writer begins writing “Dear Alternate Self,” before the response he receives suggests that his alternate self may simply be another dimension of himself, and then, later, that the person to whom he’s actually writing is the reader: “We are correspondents corresponding in our corresponding universes. Is that what writing is? A collaboration between selves across the multiverse?” Where some stories just seem like gamesmanship, literary parlor tricks, one of the shorter and best ones, “Open,” strikes an existential chord in its meditation on words and what they signify, in its epiphany that “It was like we were actors in a play with no audience.” A couple stories offer heroic epics for the video game generation, while the longest, “Human For Beginners,” begins as a chapter in a self-help book on dynamics within extended families, proceeds into an inquiry on the identity of Charles Yu, and culminates in unanswerable questions such as “What is possible? What is conceivable? Do all worlds have rules? Do dreams?” A collection of playful stories that often have a dark undercurrent. Far out, man.
THE ORPHANMASTER
Zimmerman, Jean Viking (432 pp.) $27.95 | Jun. 19, 2012 978-0-670-02364-6
Historian Zimmerman (Love, Fiercely, 2012, etc.) debuts as a novelist with a gruesome murder mystery concerning a serial killer in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam on the island of Manhattan. British spy Edward Drummond arrives in New Amsterdam in 1663 to prepare the way for Britain to wrest power from the Dutch and is immediately drawn into a love-hate attraction with Blandine van Couvering. A plucky beauty making a name for herself as a trader with the Dutch West India Company, 22-year-old Blandine is part of New Amsterdam society and practically engaged to Kees Bayard, Petrus Stuyvesant’s nephew. Blandine 1320
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also has a special, daughterly relationship with Aet Visser, the colony’s official orphanmaster. Visser takes charge of children newly orphaned in the colony—including Blandine, whose merchant parents drowned at sea when she was 15; charming but wild Martyn Hendrickson from one of the richest families in the colony; and Martyn’s half-Indian friend, Lightning, and his twin sister, Anna, now Visser’s common-law wife—but more lucratively Visser handles orphans imported from Europe, supposedly for adoption but more often to serve as cheap labor. Morally ambiguous Visser cares equally about his charges’ welfare and his own pocketbook. Suspecting a British family has switched the child (with an inheritance) that he placed in their care for another, but hampered by the language barrier, he enlists Drummond to investigate further. Meanwhile, children, all of them orphans, have begun disappearing from the colony. Their remains are found surrounded by talismans relating to Indian demons called Witika known to drive their victims to madness and even cannibalism. Soon the citizens are gripped with fear. Drummond and Blandine join forces, helped by Blandine’s African bodyguard and half-crazy Indian trading partner, to search for the serial killer. When Blandine finally rejects Kees for Drummond, Kees wants revenge, and Drummond is arrested as a spy. Lightning plants evidence that draws suspicion of witchcraft onto Blandine. But by then, readers know the true identity of the murderer. A disturbing, often creepy melodrama, thick with historically accurate detail.
m ys t e r y A CITY OF BROKEN GLASS
Cantrell, Rebecca Forge (336 pp.) $25.99 | Jul. 17, 2012 978-0-7653-2734-5
At the height of the Nazi terror, an American journalist risks all to save one little girl. Hannah Vogel turns her coverage of Poland’s Saint Martin’s Day into a holiday by bringing her 13-year-old son Anton along. She travels under the name Adelheid Zinsli, sporting a shaky Swiss accent in order to fly under the Nazi radar. (The infamous Kristallnacht will make headlines in less than a fortnight.) Some extensive backstory fills the reader in on Hannah’s previous German adventures, dangerous close calls and lost loves (A Game of Lies, 2011, etc.). Anton is actually her adopted son, his mother, a drug-addicted prostitute, killed in a previous installment. Talk at a rural farm soon turns to the escalation of Nazi Party offenses. A local soldier almost ferrets out Hannah’s deception, a danger exacerbated when she spots her old friend Paul’s wife, Miriam Keller, who’s not exactly fond of her. More close calls follow, some
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triggered by Fräulein Ivona, a suspicious anti-Semite. Another surprise is the reappearance of former lover Lars Lang, whom Hannah thought had been killed. His knowledge and authority prove invaluable when Hannah falls into the hands of SS agents, who take her from Poland to Germany. Lars, Hannah and the increasingly curious Anton must carefully choose the moment for their escape. In the meantime, however, Hannah gets emotionally ensnared when Pauvl’s young daughter Ruth goes missing along with Miriam, and Hannah knows what she must do. With more cliffhangers than a daytime drama, Hannah’s fourth adventure strains credibility and becomes repetitive, but is redeemed by an elegantly breathless style and a convincing portrait of 1938 Germany.
A PLEASURE TO DO DEATH WITH YOU
Charles, Paul Dufour (384 pp.) $29.95 | May 15, 2012 978-0-8023-1352-2
GUILT TRIP
Cutler, Judith Severn House (224 pp.) $28.95 | Jun. 1, 2012 978-0-7278-8142-7 An antiques-restoration prodigy fears the worst when a prospective customer won’t take no for an answer. It isn’t as if young Lina Townend (Guilty Pleasures, 2011, etc.) doesn’t have her hands full already. Her studio is full of Toby jugs with broken handles and porcelain shepherdesses crying to have their arms reattached. Her mentor, Griff Tripp, has been recruited by a local theater troupe for a production that requires endless hours of rehearsal in a refurbished barley kiln in a Godforsaken industrial park. Her detective boyfriend, Morris, is on assignment in Lyon. And her feckless Pa, a model of down-on-his-luck British royalty, is probably peddling dodgy antiques through a sketchy dealer named Titus Oates.
One murder leads to another and DI Kennedy goes trans-Atlantic in his 10th appearance. At the outset, the only thing murderous in Christy Kennedy’s life is the agonizing pain in his lower back. And the only way to deal with that, he decides, is to phone world-class masseuse Sharenna Chada and plead for what he knows he hasn’t a prayer of receiving: a house call. But he’s wrong. She arrives and administers a treatment, followed by a treatment of a different kind, both of which prove wonderfully restorative. As a result, when he views the corpse of prominent businessman Patrick Mylan, he’s sharp enough to spot what others missed—a homicide disguised as an accident—and then a bit later, to suss out whodunit. Unfortunately, by this time, the culprit has flown to the U.S. with Kennedy in lukewarm pursuit. In a small California town, he encounters a fellow police officer in desperate need of help. Grief-stricken and frustrated by her inability to solve the murder of her young husband, Grace Scott turns to Kennedy, who turns up trumps. So, while closing in on one killer, Kennedy cleverly closes down another, scoring back-to-back successes, then heading back to England; his own back, at least for the time being, agreeably quiescent. Charles (The Beautiful Sound of Silence, 2008, etc.) serves up his usual pleasant concoction at his usual leisurely pace.
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Still, when suave, vaguely French Charles Montaigne offers her “good times all the time—a properly managed work flow, regular hours, paid holidays,” Lina counters with a quick “No thanks.” At which point things promptly go pear-shaped. A series of cruel pranks—a slashed tire, dead fish in the vents—threatens the actors. Griff develops chest pains that require a barrage of National Health–funded tests. A man with lovely eyes seems to be following Lina around the industrial park. Worst of all, her privacy is invaded: She receives a string of bogus postcards, purportedly from Morris, revealing intimate knowledge of her movements. All the while, Charles Montaigne continues to importune, prompting Lina, with Griff in tow, to make a mad dash across the Channel toward what she hopes will be safety. Despite Lina’s considerable charm, her fifth appearance is just too murky to afford much satisfaction.
DEATH AND TRANSFIGURATION
Elias, Gerald Minotaur (320 pp.) $26.99 | Jun. 19, 2012 978-0-312-67835-7
Is artistic temperament a justification for murder? The Maestro has been terrorizing musicians for over 40 years. He’s verbally humiliated them, sexually compromised them and summarily fired them. Vaclav Herza’s most recent target is Scheherazade O’Brien, acting concertmaster of the world-renowned symphony orchestra Harmonium. When Sherry asks crotchety, blind old violinists’ mentor Daniel Jacobus for help in dealing with Herza and preparing for her audition as Harmonium’s permanent concertmaster, he declines because his favorite former pupil, Yumi Shinagawa, is also vying for the position. When Herza ousts Sherry from the competition and her job, she’s distraught. Discovered with her wrists slit, she’s rushed to the hospital. Will she ever play again? Will she even survive? Thinking to avenge her, Jacobus has his pal Nathaniel scrutinize Herza’s early life in Prague. Nathaniel uncovers information about a musician Herza may have driven to suicide there as well as rumors that he was a Soviet informer during the 1956 Communist crackdown. Another contact digs up scandals involving Herza’s concerts in Japan, which included an obsession with sumo wrestling and a penchant for cuddling male geishas. Meanwhile, back in the States, Herza is dismissing Harmonium’s board members, support staff and musicians, who are threatening to strike on the evening the orchestra’s new symphony hall is to open, when Jacobus finally confronts Herza, bringing the Maestro’s reign of terror to an end. Who could resist an insider’s view of Tanglewood, an analysis of Turner’s art and a dog who knows when his slobber is not appreciated? Elias (Death and the Maiden, 2011, etc.) has a nose for creative detail and a refreshing impatience with pomposity. Indulge yourself in his artfulness. (Southwest regional author events. Agent: Josh Getzler) 1322
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THE CALLER
Fossum, Karin Translated by Semmel, K.E. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (256 pp.) $25.00 | Aug. 14, 2012 978-0-547-57752-4 Inspector Konrad Sejer’s latest quarry is a prankster whose pranks are callous, cruel and ultimately lethal. Lily Sundelin feels magically connected to her baby Margrete, but that doesn’t prevent someone from pouring blood over the little girl as she sleeps in her pram just outside Lily’s kitchen. In short order, some trickster—the same person?—places a premature obituary for Gunilla Mørk, dyes one of Sverre Skarning’s sheep orange, calls the Memento funeral home to come pick up the body of Helge Landmark, ravaged by ALS but very much alive, and summons Evelyn Mold to Central Hospital, where her teenage daughter Frances has not been brought after an accident on her bike. Nor is Sejer himself left out. A note slipped under his door announces: “Hell begins now.” Fossum (Bad Intentions, 2011, etc.), who has little interest in playing whodunit, hints early and often that the jokester is delinquent Johnny Beskow, seething with resentment over his alcoholic mother’s neglect of him, hungry for the love of his grandfather Henry, and determined to harm Henry’s neighbor Else Meiner, who turns out to be one resourceful girl. Instead, the focus is on the frustrated Johnny and the widening circle of calamity he spreads (two of his victims are hospitalized as collateral damage). As in Ruth Rendell’s books as Barbara Vine, readers are invited to watch helplessly as things go from bad to much, much worse for an unlucky group of basically nice people. If that’s your pleasure, you could hardly do better.
BROKEN HARBOR
French, Tana Viking (464 pp.) $27.95 | Jul. 24, 2012 978-0-670-02365-3
A mystery that is perfectly in tune with the times, as the ravages of the recession and the reach of the Internet complicate a murder that defies easy explanation within a seemingly loving household. The Irish author continues to distinguish herself with this fourth novel, marked by psychological acuteness and thematic depth. As has previously been the case, a supporting character from a prior work (Faithful Place, 2010, her third and best) takes center stage, as Mick “Scorcher” Kennedy attempts to penetrate the mystery of what transpired during a night that left a husband and two children dead and a wife barely clinging to life, with injuries that couldn’t have been self-inflicted. Or could they? This is the most claustrophobic of French’s novels, because the secrets seemingly lie within that household and with
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those who were either murdered or attacked within it. The setting is an upscale property development at what had once been Broken Harbor, where Kennedy’s family had itself suffered a fatal trauma decades earlier. The property development has been left unfinished due to the economic downturn, which had also cost Patrick Spain his job. He and his wife, Jenny, had done their best to keep up appearances, with their marriage seemingly in harmony. Then came the attack that left Patrick and their two children dead and Jenny in intensive care. The investigative net cast by Kennedy and his younger partner encompasses Jenny’s sister and some of their longtime friends, but the focus remains on the insular family. Had Patrick gone insane? Had Jenny? Was this a horrific murder-suicide or had someone targeted a family that had no apparent enemies? Says Scorcher, “In every way there is, murder is chaos. Our job is simple, when you get down to it: we stand against that, for order.” Yet Scorcher’s own sanity, or at least his rigid notions of right and wrong, will fall into question in a novel that turns the conventional notions of criminals and victims topsy-turvy. The novel rewards the reader’s patience: There are complications, deliberations and a riveting resolution.
HAUNTED
Glidewell, Jeanne Five Star (240 pp.) $25.95 | Jul. 18, 2012 978-1-4328-2594-2 The haunted-house tour a 50-ish Kansas widow and her significant other plan at his inn provides more jolts than they bargained for. No wonder Stone Van Patten’s renovated Victorian mansion in Rockdale, Mo., seems perfect for a Halloween haunt. After all, the death of Walter Sneed, the young man they hire to play a vampire, is the second murder at the Alexandria Inn. Naturally, intrepid sleuth Lexie Starr, who splits her time between the inn and her apartment back in Shawnee, is determined to solve the crime before the inn’s reputation is ruined. Walter was a pleasant young college student from a dysfunctional family. His divorced father in Albuquerque wanted Walter to join his business, his mother has severe mental problems, his sister is jealous and his half brother seems totally uninterested. His longtime girlfriend is all the more devastated because of the nasty rivalry between her and a few other girls Walter had dated. Local detective Wyatt Johnston, who loves to visit the inn for snacks or dinner, cuts Lexie a lot more slack than most police officers would, and she takes full advantage of the chances to snoop. Even though she has to cook for the couple staying at the inn, Lexie manages to sneak off and investigate. The unlikely ending of Lexie’s third (The Extinguished Guest, 2010, etc.) caps the escapades of a sleuth many readers may find annoying at best.
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SOME KIND OF PEACE
Grebe, Camilla; Träff, Åsa Translated by Norlen, Paul Free Press (352 pp.) $24.00 | Jul. 10, 2012 978-1-4516-5459-2
Two Swedish sisters, a psychologist (Träff) and a thriller writer (Grebe), collaborate on—what else?—a thriller about a Stockholm psychologist. This novel was first published in Sweden in 2009. In an ordinary week, the practice Dr. Siri Bergman shares with her friend Aina Davidsson and veteran therapist Sven Widelius brings her into contact with any number of disturbed patients, from Charlotte Mimer, the marketing manager struggling to overcome a history of eating disorders, to Peter Carlsson, an obsessive-compulsive tormented by violent and involuntary sexual fantasies. But the death of her patient Sara Matteus, who’s been cutting herself to avoid confronting her deepest pains and fears, falls outside even Siri’s often grim experience. To begin with, Sara was heartbreakingly young and alive. Her body was discovered in a pond just off a pier on Siri’s own suburban property. And contrary to preliminary indications, Assistant Detective Markus Stenberg announces that she’s been sedated and strangled. Given that her cat has disappeared, the power to her house has been cut, and her part-time secretary Marianne has been sent into a coma by a hit-and-run driver, Siri can’t help wondering if these misfortunes are more than coincidental. And indeed, her old school friend, psychology professor Vijay Kumar, agrees: Siri’s attracted the attention of someone who wants not merely to harm, but to kill her. But what possible motive could this someone have? And—since it’s clearly someone with intimate knowledge of her life, her past and her daily routine—who among her colleagues and patients, present or past, could it possibly be? The levelheaded heroine adds welcome gravitas to the professional-woman-in-distress scenario, though the solution is a major letdown. First in a series.
BONEFIRE OF THE VANITIES
Haines, Carolyn Minotaur (352 pp.) $24.99 | Jun. 19, 2012 978-0-312-64187-0
A much loved cat stands to inherit billions. Marjorie Littlefield, who’s getting on in years, refuses to leave her fortune to her son Chasley because she believes that he may have caused the drowning death of his sister Mariam when they were kids. Did he? Eager to find out for certain, Marjorie falls under the sway of a mother-and-daughter duo who claim they can call up spirits at Heart’s Desire, their well-guarded retreat. They promise to rouse Mariam at a séance so that Marjorie can ask her directly what Chasley did or didn’t
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do. A lot of humbug, think Marjorie’s friends, who ask Sarah Booth Delaney and her best pal Tinkie (Bones of a Feather, 2011, etc.) to investigate, a mission that requires them to gain entrance to the compound by masquerading as Marjorie’s personal maids. They snoop around the other guests and antagonize the resident staff, which includes a starchy butler with kinky sexual proclivities and a cook who brandishes carving knives with the panache of an assassin. After a kitchen maid and a guest are murdered and Empress Joséphine wafts by, but not Mariam, Sarah Booth’s fiance, Graf, and Tinkie’s husband, Oscar, lie their way onto the premises to help them out. Lots of things will go bump in the night before the secret that demanded two die within two days is revealed and Marjorie disinherits her cat, who has fallen in love with Sarah Booth’s fiance. Tinkie has all the best moves, but Jitty, the spirit only Sarah Booth can see, has the best disguises. (Agent: Marian Young)
DEATH MAKES THE CUT
Hamrick, Janice Minotaur (336 pp.) $25.99 | Jul. 17, 2012 978-1-250-00554-0
A dedicated teacher returns to class and murder. On the first day of school, Jocelyn Shore hears shouting from the room of her mentor, Fred Argus. Mr. Richards, the father of one of Fred’s tennis players, is expressing his unhappiness loudly and profanely. When Jocelyn arrives the next day to find Fred dead in the tennis shed, the sleuthing instincts she developed in another brush with murder (Death on Tour, 2011) take over. On the case is handsome Austin Police Detective Colin Gallagher, who Jocelyn’s look-alike cousin Kyla insists has taken a shine to Jocelyn. The strain on Jocelyn’s long-distance relationship with Dallas travel agent Alan Stratton, who’s never delivered on his promise to move to Austin, makes her receptive to Gallagher’s overtures. But she’s furious when the discovery of marijuana in the tennis shed leads Gallagher to suspect Fred of dealing. Jocelyn’s appointment as temporary tennis coach earns her the enmity of Mr. Richards and another teacher who wanted the job. And her snooping pits her against the drama teacher and the woman who handles all the money for school activities. Soon enough, Jocelyn is attacked in a nearby park while her tennis team act as extras in a movie, and her best friend on the teaching staff is murdered. Naturally, all this drama only makes her more determined to track the killer. The cast of characters provides both pleasant entertainment and enough suspects to yield a challenging mystery. (Agent: David Hale Smith)
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THE UNRESOLVED SEVENTH
Helms, Richard Five Star (302 pp.) $25.95 | Apr. 20, 2012 978-1-4328-2587-4
A forensic psychologist must decide if a confessed murderer can be brought to trial. His brilliance undiminished, perhaps even enhanced, by Asperger syndrome, Ben Long is at the top of his field when he suddenly packs it all in. Goodbye Asheville district attorney’s office; hello academe and a welcome new challenge. Over the next four years, Ben discovers how much he enjoys teaching—until his good friend and former colleague, Asheville DA Sidney Kingsley, pleads for Ben’s help on a high-profile headache of a case. Earl Torrence, 26, has murdered Amber Coolidge, his older brother’s fiancee, Kingsley tells Ben. The evidence is just about incontrovertible, and Torrence has signed a confession. Still, a clever attorney could dazzle a jury with Torrence, who “looks like he was born to play Lenny in Of Mice and Men.” The issue, of course, is competency in a capital case, and Kingsley needs Ben to prove that Torrence has sufficient mental capacity to stand trial. At first, Ben resists. He’s out and wants to stay out for reasons Kingsley knows full well. But then Kingsley plays the “clever attorney card,” attaching it to a man Ben despises, and the Paula Paige card, named for the charming law clerk who’d be assigned to Ben for the duration. They’re both game-changers. Helms (Thunder Moon, 2011, etc.), himself a retired forensic psychologist, delivers authenticity, a refreshingly offbeat protagonist, a neatly crafted puzzle and even a quirky little love story: a lot to like.
AS THE CROW FLIES
Johnson, Craig Viking (320 pp.) $25.95 | May 15, 2012 978-0-670-02351-6
In the eighth of this excellent series (Hell is Empty, 2011, etc.), Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire finds himself out of his element, and not just because he’s in Montana. More to the point, it’s because he’s father of the bride. Walt’s beloved daughter Cady should have known better, so it’s really on her that Longmire, feeling twinges of guilt and wishing he could be in two places at once, veers off to track down a killer instead of being at the alternative nuptial site as she suddenly requires. Audrey Plain Feather, recently returned from duty in Iraq, has gone off a cliff somewhere in Montana’s Cheyenne Reservation. Longmire, who saw her “walk the air,” has no doubt he’s witnessed a homicide. On the other hand, the tribal chief of police has all manner of doubts, though mostly about herself and her ability to do her new job. Though she’s been severely scarred by her own service in Iraq, Lolo Long is quick to spot mentor material when
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it crosses her path. She commandeers the visitor from Wyoming, who puts up only token resistance. Something of an odd couple at the outset, Long and Longmire pull together as the complex investigation deepens. Tough, resourceful and quietly funny, as always. No wonder Johnson’s hero will debut in a new A&E TV series, Longmire, this summer.
DEATH IN A WINE DARK SEA
King, Lisa Permanent Press (352 pp.) $29.95 | Jun. 1, 2012 978-1-57962-282-4
A wine writer turns sleuth when a friend’s bridegroom dies in mysterious circumstances. Martin Wingo is not the kind of guy you’d want to end up with one of your
friends. So when Jean Applequist is invited to Martin’s wedding to her old buddy Diane, she’s anything but excited. Sure, the party is on a yacht, which provides ample opportunities for Jean and boyfriend Peter to, um, explore, but that’s the most Jean anticipates will happen—that is, until the ceremony, at which point Martin vanishes suspiciously from the ship. When his body is recovered some days later, Diane, distraught, implores Jean to investigate with Martin’s young lackey, Zeppo. Getting involved in investigating with Zeppo teaches Jean a little bit more about the unsavory business Martin was running behind his real estate development front. Their discoveries show that Martin was involved in dangerous dealings, and the two have to figure out which of several well-motivated suspects got to kill him first. Their sleuthing also brings Jean closer than she anticipated to Zeppo, who has until now always seemed like a geeky little brother to the more worldly and sophisticated Jean. An unremarkable debut with reasonable pacing but character types that have been worn-out in the genre. Is it too much to hope that the series will age like a fine wine? (Agent: Sally van Haitsma)
An action-packed thriller helmed by a mysterious and complicated anti-hero... in ruing the loss of the husband and father he might have been and evoking a deep and heart-rending loneliness, the narrator transforms into a character most readers will relate to, regardless of how much of an enigma he otherwise remains.—Kirkus Reviews contact: silverdave@me.com
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“Slow-paced, easy to solve and best read as a travel guide to Hawaii.” from st. rose goes hawaiian
DEAD IN THE DOG
Knight, Bernard Severn House (240 pp.) $28.95 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-0-7278-8161-8
A young pathologist’s national service duties take him to an exotic land and plunge him into a murder investigation. Commonwealth troops are battling Chinese communists in Malaya—part paradise, part hellhole—but disease is the real enemy for doctors and their patients. As they sit in The Dog, the local hangout for male and female officers and the local rubber plantation owners and their spouses, newly arrived pathologist Tom Howden’s gossipy friend Percy fills him in on the local scandal, much of which revolves around gorgeous Diane Robertson and her unfaithful husband, James. Long rumored to be having it off with his manager Douglas Mackay’s wife, Rosa, James has reportedly turned his attention to nurse Lena Franklin, earning the enmity of her swain, anesthetist David Meredith. Not to be outdone, Diane is having an affair with senior surgeon Maj. Peter Bright. When someone fires on the Robertsons’ house, everyone assumes that the communists were behind the suspiciously small-scale attack. Later, when James is found shot to death in his car outside The Dog, the civilian police and the army confer and agree that they may have to look amongst their own for suspects. Inexperienced Tom’s autopsy shows that James must have been killed elsewhere. Tempers run high, and suspicions extend even to the company commander, who seems to be losing his mind. Knight (Grounds for Appeal, 2012, etc.) has based the case on his own experiences in Malaya in the 1950s. What it lacks in mystery is more than offset by the forensic and historical details of a little-known war in a faraway world.
A BAD DAY FOR MERCY
Littlefield, Sophie Minotaur (304 pp.) $24.99 | Jun. 19, 2012 978-0-312-64838-1
The ear looked just like Chip’s even if it wasn’t attached to his head anymore, said Gracellen, and it came attached to a note demanding $30,000 for the return of the rest of him alive. Naturally Stella can’t refuse her sister’s request to rescue the boy. But when she tracks him down, he and his love, Natalya, a mail-order bride from Russia, are hacking away at her husband’s body and putting the pieces into several garbage bags for disposal in trash containers around town. No, they insist, they didn’t kill him, even if they did want him out of the way so they could marry. Somehow, Benton Parch just arrived dead on their porch, and they felt obligated to get rid of him. And no wonder, since the plastic surgeon trainee 1326
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the tightwad had paid to do work on Natalya had botched the job royally: Just look at her. The lovers have no idea who might actually have killed him, but they think his former business partner may have had a grievance. Meanwhile, drug dealers are after Natalya’s son Luka for late payments, which they’ve been trying to cover with that ear package and request for money from Gracellen, who supposedly could have gotten funds from Chip’s wealthy grandfather, who even though he didn’t talk to him, probably would have come up with the cash, it being family and all. Complicating matters, a stowaway in Stella’s car looks enough like Luka to be mistaken for him, and Stella’s two suitors, Goat the sheriff and BJ of the mushy kisses, are drawn in to help her out, even though Stella has enough strong-arm skills of her own to subdue wife abusers, a task she’s taken seriously since disposing of her vile husband Ollie. One MacGuffin after another, with grisly sidelights now and then—exactly what fans have come to expect from hyperactive Littlefield (A Bad Day for Scandal, 2011, etc.).
ST. ROSE GOES HAWAIIAN
Mahon, Annette Five Star (258 pp.) $25.95 | Jul. 18, 2012 978-1-4328-2595-9
The women of the St. Rose Quilting Bee (An Ominous Death, 2006, etc.) are on their dream trip to Hawaii when murder rears its ugly head. A discussion at one of the group’s meetings leads Iris, a former travel agent, to collaborate with Judy, a former St. Rose parishioner now living in Hawaii, to arrange an affordable trip for the quilters from Scottsdale. They arrive on the Big Island to be greeted by Lurline, an expert on Hawaiian quilting who owns the Blue Lily B&B. Lurline’s second husband, Sam, a Cary Grant look-alike charmer, is the bus driver, her first husband, Manu, is the cook, and her daughter Makana, who also quilts, helps out too. The tension in the household is clearly traceable to Sam, whose penchant for other women is known all over the island. The quilters are having a fabulous time until Sam is found dead at a luau. What first seems like a heart attack turns out to be a fatal encounter with a small-caliber handgun. The family members are the obvious suspects, but some of the tour group are also brought under suspicion by their links to Sam when he was living stateside. Although they dislike the thought of any of the suspects being guilty, and although quilter Maggie Browne’s police-officer son has repeatedly warned her to drop her amateur detection, she and her fellow sleuths get to work and eventually help the police catch a killer. Slow-paced, easy to solve and best read as a travel guide to Hawaii.
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FESTIVAL OF FEAR
Masterton, Graham Severn House (240 pp.) $28.95 | Jun. 1, 2012 978-0-7278-6408-6
A collection of a dozen new horror stories ranging from the clever to the tired, all with an undercurrent of graphic violence, some steeped in gore. The very best of the batch may be the first. “The Press” is a fast-paced anecdote about an author who deals just revenge to savage reviewers. Other tales that borrow from childhood fables, like “Anka,” which owes a debt to the folklore villain Baba Yaga, add too little to their sources to be wholly successful. “The Burgers of Calais” is a predictable story that’s been told before; in fact, its title may give away its surprise about the secret behind the mystery meat in a local restaurant. Others, like “Camelot” and “Reflection of Evil,” seem to be incompletely separated twins circling around the same theme. “Sepsis” may please true grossout fans, although readers less attuned to the physically macabre may wonder what motivates the lead character, and who’s likely to enjoy the lovingly described details of deviance. Still others depend more on their nonhorrifying details for whatever interest they generate, like the strange emotional quirks of characters in “Dog Days” and “The Scrawler.” With the final tale, “Sarcophagus,” and a fair number of others, readers will either get the point or not. Given its uneven mix of offerings, this latest collection from Masterton (Petrified, 2011, etc.) ultimately confirms a hallowed rule of storytelling: the shorter, the better.
THE FORMULA FOR MURDER
McCleary, Carol Forge (368 pp.) $24.99 | Jul. 17, 2012 978-0-7653-2869-4
With the help of Oscar Wilde, a romantic H.G. Wells and others, intrepid reporter Nellie Bly probes the suspicious suicide of a beloved protégée. Nellie visits the London coroner’s office with trepidation to identify the body of young Hailey McGuire, who, after a childhood of poverty and abuse, had been working as a cub reporter for Nellie’s boss, Joseph Pulitzer, at Nellie’s recommendation. There’s a suicide note in Hailey’s handwriting, and a motive is provided by the corpse’s pregnancy, but many days in the river have made certain identification impossible. In addition, the absence of a telltale birthmark, which the coroner says could have been washed away, gives Nellie a glimmer of hope. Even without it, she feels compelled to learn the truth. A menacing man named Archer dogs Nellie’s investigation from its first steps. At Hailey’s boardinghouse, Nellie learns of a possible gentleman friend |
and finds a hidden diary. But before she can read it, Archer steals it. A long and lively late-night meal with Oscar Wilde at the Langham Hotel refreshes Nellie and refocuses her determination to get to the bottom of the mystery. A trip to the Aquae Vitae spa at Bath gets her closer to the truth, but also to danger. Adventurer Herbert George Wells rescues Nellie from a tight spot, briefly serves as Watson to her Holmes, and even tries to woo her. There’s also a late assist from Arthur Conan Doyle. Period photos and apt quotations from the roman à clef sidekicks add additional spice to Nellie’s third delightful romp (The Illusion of Murder, 2011, etc.).
DANCING IN THE DARK
Moody, Susan Severn House (288 pp.) $28.95 | Jul. 1, 2012 978-0-7278-8149-6
A successful garden designer, deprived of the idealized father her globe-trotting mother had presented to her, searches for his true-life replacement. When the mother who’s raising you alone while moving from India to England to Italy is crazy, there aren’t many constants in your life. But one thing Theodora Cairns has been able to depend on is the painting of her father, Col. John Vincent Cairns, with which she always traveled, until the day her mother packed her off from Rome to an English boarding school. Twenty years later, Theo suddenly discovers incontrovertible evidence that the man in the picture is actually Capt. Thomas Bellamy, baronet, painted by the celebrated artist Vernon Barnes. Who was Theo’s real father, and why did dancer/choreographer Lucia Cairns go to such lengths to keep his identity from her daughter? It doesn’t help that Lucia’s still available for conversation, since she steadfastly refuses to name Theo’s father. And Theo’s sudden romance with author Fergus Costello, who has father issues of his own, seems to offer more distraction than support. Only a trip to her mother’s old confessor, now an abbot in far-off Vermont, offers any hint of illumination, and Theo pays for her new suspicions with an unpleasant sense that she may have asked one question too many. Not much new or surprising here, although Moody, continuing her trajectory from mysteries to crossover fiction (Losing Nicola, 2011, etc.), provides an absorbing portrait of a woman struggling to find a new foundation for the identity she only thought she had.
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HARD CURRENCY
Owad, Steven Five Star (264 pp.) $25.95 | Jun. 15, 2012 978-1-4328-2579-9
Years after its demise, communism casts a long shadow. In 1983, young Polish political activist Julian Krol, having brought his beautiful teenage sister Krystyna to a political meeting in Poznan, immediately regrets the decision, which threatens to put her in the crosshairs of the oppressive Communist regime before the story jumps to post-Communist 1992 and Warsaw, where Julian works as a reporter. Two hard-boiled cops come to his office to tell him that Krystyna has committed suicide. The news doesn’t seem to surprise him but puts an inexplicable chip on his shoulder. Though he hadn’t seen Krystyna in several years, Julian, feeling compelled to learn all he can, cooperates with Lt. Daniel Kosinksi, the brusque detective assigned to the case, while also investigating on his own. Meanwhile, brazen, beautiful Irena Platz visits financial analyst Antoni Mirsk, a deputy in the Ministry of Industry during the Communist regime, in his plush offices to offer him protection in exchange for a substantial payment. When the incredulous Mirsk threatens to call security, Irena drops the name Krystyna Krol and patiently explains that because an employee of Mirsk’s, a thug named Oskar Ret, supplied Krystyna with illegal drugs, Ret, and by extension the politically ambitious Mirsk, is implicated in Krystyna’s drug overdose. Mirsk sics security chief Martin Figur on Irena, but she’s far from cowed. Julian’s retracing of Krystyna’s final months turns into a referendum on his own life. Menace pulses under the surface of Owad’s third (Brother’s Keeper, 2007, etc.), uneven but full of compellingly unpredictable characters.
DEAD MAN’S TUNNEL
Russell, Sheldon Minotaur (304 pp.) $25.99 | Jun. 19, 2012 978-1-250-00100-9
Why would a man stand in a tunnel with a train speeding down a 3 percent grade at him? Hook Runyon has given up hobo drifting and resentments over the loss of his arm to eke out life as a railroad bull with rummage sale books and his dog, Mixer, for company. He sallies forth from his new home, a derelict caboose parked in a corner of Scrap West’s salvage yard, to hightail it to trouble spots along the tracks as an underpaid, irascible security guard. This time, he’s sent to nearby Johnson Canyon Tunnel in Arizona’s high desert, where Joseph Erickson, an army guard assigned to oversee the tunnel, has been run down by a train. Lt. Allison 1328
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Capron, U.S. Army Department of Transportation, is quick to rule the matter a suicide, but Hook disagrees. Between scurrying after copper thieves stealing from Scrap and slugging down Jim Beams, he learns that a rival suitor may have killed Erickson, then taken off on a crime spree with the object of their affections, a waitress at Blue’s Cafe. Now that the atom bomb has been dropped and the war ended, it’s unclear why the army is still intent on guarding the tunnel from saboteurs. And why is Hook being followed and lied to by the pretty lieutenant? Hook finally waylays the elusive copper thieves, but there will be several more deaths before a secret war project comes into focus and the tunnel’s importance is revealed. One could not hope to find a droller guide through the ’40s or a more ardent dispenser of train knowledge than Hook (The Insane Train, 2010, etc.). And if a slightly rickety plot doesn’t quite live up to the atmosphere and characters, so be it. (Agents: Michael and Susan Morgan Farris)
CROW’S LANDING
Smith, Brad Scribner (320 pp.) $12.00 paperback | Aug. 7, 2012 978-1-4516-7853-6 A sunken treasure that upstate farmer/ fisherman Virgil Cain accidentally hooks brings him nothing but harassment, fisticuffs and murder. Ever since a drug dealer named Parson tossed it overboard minutes before his Chris-Craft was boarded by police officers who’d been tipped off, a stainless steel capsule containing 100 pounds of primo Colombian cocaine has been waiting at the bottom of the Hudson for someone to hook it. The lucky winner is Virgil (Red Means Run, 2012). But he doesn’t feel lucky. Before he can so much as open the sealed container to see what’s inside, it’s confiscated, along with his boat, by Detective Dick Hoffman, who puts in his retirement papers the following day. When Hoffman’s former colleagues at the Albany PD disclaim any knowledge of Virgil’s discovery, the unlucky finder, who senses that he isn’t going to get his boat back anytime soon, sets about tracking down Hoffman on his own. In the meantime, Parson presses Dusty Fremont, the girlfriend who already did three years for the drugs he left behind on the Chris-Craft, to bring the capsule to him; Hoffman asks shambling druggie Soup Campbell to find him someone to help him move the product and ends up working with Yuri, a poolroom cowboy who insists that he lives by a code of honor; and Soup, presumably seeing that he’s about to be cut out of a rich deal, takes off with the goods. You can certainly see why Virgil’s friend, investigator Buddy Townes, says, “This thing goes round and round, doesn’t it?” Fifteen routine but thoroughly pleasurable rounds of detection, action, double-crossing and highly competitive treasure-hunting.
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“An action-packed final chapter that should please fans.” from apocalypse
science fiction and fantasy APOCALYPSE
Denning, Troy Del Rey/Ballantine (488 pp.) $27.00 | Mar. 13, 2012 978-0-345-50922-2 Series: Fate of the Jedi The ninth and final book in the complex Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi saga. This expanded-universe Star Wars series follows the events of the previous Legacy of the Force series and takes
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place about 40 years after the original Star Wars film trilogy. At the start of the series, Jedi master Luke Skywalker and his son Ben embarked on a quest to find out why Han Solo and Leia’s late son, Jacen Solo, succumbed to the dark side of the Force to become a powerful Sith Lord. Meanwhile, on the planet Coruscant, the Galactic Alliance leader sought to suppress the Jedi, and several Jedi became afflicted with a mysterious mental illness. (Other classic characters, including C-3PO, R2-D2, and Lando Calrissian, also make appearances in the series.) Things come to a head in this final installment, as the heroes face off against deadly Sith and the powerful and ancient Abeloth, who in her true form is no less than “a tentacle-armed monster with eyes as tiny as stars and a mouth so broad it could swallow a human head.” The Star Wars expanded universe has become enormously detailed and complicated over the years, featuring loads of characters, and the uninitiated may find it difficult to find a way into the sprawling fictional universe—a pitfall of many a long-running sci-fi and fantasy saga. That said, Denning, who also wrote the third (Abyss, 2009) and sixth (Vortex, 2010) books in this series, works hard to satisfy aficionados here; he
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has a distinct talent for portraying acrobatic lightsaber battles and also excels at characterization, bringing across the distinct personalities of the many old and new players throughout. An action-packed final chapter that should please fans.
HEAVEN’S WAR
Goyer, David S.; Cassutt, Michael Ace/Berkley (448 pp.) $25.95 | Jul. 3, 2012 978-0-441-02092-8 Second part of an alien-contact trilogy, following Heaven’s Shadow (2011), the brainchild of Hollywood A-listers Goyer (Batman Begins, Dark City, etc.) and Cassutt (Stargate SG-1, Max Headroom, etc.). In 2019, two competing space missions landed on Keanu, which turned out to be a vast alien vessel. Despite their advanced science, Keanu’s Architects have a problem they can’t solve and need humanity’s help. Neither of these expeditions made much headway, so the Architects snatched up a random selection of people from their respective mission HQs (in Houston and Bangalore) and deposited them in Keanu to join marooned NASA mission commander Zack Stewart. So they must learn how to survive here and explore their surroundings in the hope of learning why they’ve been summoned. There are some complications: Some of those killed in the previous book don’t stay dead, but return as “revenants” with a mental hotline to the Architects; and an alien, the Prisoner, trapped for hundreds of years, escapes and encounters one of the human exploring teams—but his motives are unclear. The action-adventure sequences, as the various exploring teams blunder from cliffhanger to cliffhanger, keep the pages turning at a good clip. And the rest, plot absurdities notwithstanding, would be far more likable if it had been less obviously designed for future movie-dom, with sound-stage interiors, screenplaycrisp dialogue, a steady drip-drip of revelations, the ticking clock (Keanu is departing for parts unknown), the occasional death and the teams selected for wide appeal from such stock characters as the young girl (Zack’s daughter), the dog (a revenant), the crippled ex-astronaut, the dying black guy, the Chinese spy, the science fiction writer, the Indian guru, etc. Brisk and efficiently engrossing, and as substantial as bubbles.
an explosion at the core of the galaxy, the cowardly Puppeteers launched a fleet of worlds, comprising all the suns and planets that make up their home empire, even though the wave front wouldn’t reach them for 10,000 years. The Ringworld itself, launched into hyperspace by supergenius Pak Protector Tunesmith, has vanished. Louis Wu, himself transformed into a human Protector, and his Puppeteer companion, Hindmost, also escaped from the Ringworld and now seek to reconnect with the political and military situation surrounding the Puppeteer fleet. Having resorted to some outrageous plot wrenching in the previous book to explain things up to this point, Niven and Lerner occupy more than half this volume recapping and examining, in smothering detail, what’s been going on from the very beginning of the series. Most readers will have been confused and will continue to be, since the authors must resort to yet more literary legerdemain to make it all even remotely feasible. Not the least of these issues is the presence of six or seven individual Puppeteers bearing the title “Hindmost,” the vegetarian species’ term for supreme leader. The payoff, and it’s a modest one, is a swirl of brinkmanship and struggle involving Puppeteers, humans from Earth and New Terra, catlike Kzinti, humanoid Pak, starfish group-intelligent Gw’oth and even toothy, three-eyed Trinocs—these latter apparently just so that fans of this particular species don’t feel slighted, since their presence has no bearing on anything whatsoever. A book best appreciated by fans who relish the minutest details of the Ringworld universe.
FATE OF WORLDS
Niven, Larry; Lerner, Edward M. Tor (320 pp.) $25.99 | Aug. 21, 2012 978-0-7653-3100-7 The next addition to the increasingly abstract and abstruse prequel to the Ringworld saga (Betrayer of Worlds, 2010, etc.). The backdrop, in general terms, will be familiar to all series fans: To escape 1330
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nonfiction THE FOURTH DIMENSION OF A POEM And Other Essays
These titles earned the Kirkus Star: THE TWILIGHT WAR by David Crist ........................................ p. 1337
Abrams, M.H. Norton (192 pp.) $24.95 | Sep. 3, 2012 978-0-393-05830-7
WHAT LIGHT CAN DO by Robert Hass ..................................... p. 1342 MAO by Alexander V. Pantsov; Steven I. Levine........................ p. 1349 ON A FARTHER SHORE by William Souder ............................. p. 1354 DEARIE by Bob Spitz ................................................................... p. 1354 WALKING THE AMAZON by Ed Stafford .................................. p. 1354 DARKEST AMERICA by Yuval Taylor; Jake Austen....................p. 1356 LINCOLN’S CODE by John Fabian Witt..................................... p. 1358
ON A FARTHER SHORE The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson
Souder, William Crown (496 pp.) $30.00 Sep. 4, 2012 978-0-307-46220-6
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A former professor and distinguished literary critic who will reach his 100th birthday this year offers a collection of essays and speeches dealing with the art of poetry and the nature of criticism. A founding editor of The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Abrams (Doing Things With Texts: Essays in Criticism and Critical Theory, 1989, etc.) shows he remains both in firm command of his craft and a sturdy defender of the traditional views of literature that the author-absent New Criticism threatened to sweep away. Here, for example, is a lengthy, cogent argument about Wordsworth’s meaning of the line, “A slumber did my spirit seal.” Was the poet writing another Dead Lucy poem? Or was the spirit entombed? Another piece deals with, and generally dismisses, the idea of the removal of the author’s biography and intent from literary criticism. Abrams argues for a criticism that recognizes a literature “composed by a human being, for human beings, and about human beings and matters of human concern.” The author emphasizes this theme throughout the collection. The title essay deals with the physical/physiological aspects of reading a poem aloud—the ways that poets move our tongues in our mouths to affect the effects and meanings of the words. Abrams also includes pieces about the evolving view of nature in our literature, a long piece about Kant and art that alludes to everyone from Plato to Poe and beyond, an essay about the journey in Western literature (from the Bible to Eliot), and a crisp tribute to critic William Hazlitt. Abrams recognizes that Hazlitt worked from the individual sentence forward—seeing where each sentence would lead him before composing the next. A pleasant whiff of nostalgia for old libraries and older books, gently held and translated for us by a man who loves them.
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“A powerful memoir/document of a terrible conflict and its toll on the people who endured it.” from there was a country
THERE WAS A COUNTRY A Personal History of Biafra
Achebe, Chinua Penguin Press (352 pp.) $27.95 | Oct. 15, 2012 978-1-59420-482-1
The eminent Nigerian author recounts his coming-of-age during the now scarcely remembered civil war of 1967–1970 that sundered his country. An Igbo by birth and heritage, born into a deeply Christian family in 1930, Achebe (The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays, 2009, etc.) grew up at a time when British colonial rule was at its orderly zenith and educational institutions in Nigeria were first-rate. These schools turned out the imminent Nigerian leaders and pioneers of modern African literature, who would assume power and position as Nigeria marched to independence in 1960. Yet within the vacuum left by the departing British, Nigeria became “a cesspool of corruption and misrule,” with the numerous ethnic groups vying for power, especially the dominant Igbo in the east, the Yoruba on the coast, and Hausa/Fulani in the north. The Igbo were increasingly resented and persecuted for their education, competitive individualism and industriousness. The coup of Jan. 15, 1966 was ostensibly led by Igbo military leaders and was countered by bloody assassinations six months later, followed by pogroms against the Igbo by northerners. Igbo refugees flooded the Eastern Region, which refused to recognize the Nigerian government led by Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon; the consensus was building across the East, led by Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu, that “secession was the only viable path.” The East was declared the Republic of Biafra on May 30, 1967, with the full backing of the Constituent Assembly and the best Igbo minds of the time, including Achebe. The arrangement proved disastrous, as Gowon aimed to crush the insurrection at all costs, starving Biafra by blockade and creating a global humanitarian disaster that killed an estimated 3 million, mostly children. Achebe looks at all sides of the conflict, inserting poems he wrote at the time and tributes to Nigerian writers and intellectuals. A powerful memoir/document of a terrible conflict and its toll on the people who endured it. (New York City launch event)
THE LAST BOHEMIA Scenes from the Life of Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Anasi, Robert Farrar, Straus and Giroux (256 pp.) $15.00 paperback | Aug. 14, 2012 978-0-374-53331-1 The rise and fall of the ultimate hipster enclave as seen through the eyes of a heartbroken survivor. In the early 1990s, when few were paying attention and the rest of the borough’s demographic 1332
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still reflected years of white flight, droves of skinny Caucasians started a surprising reverse migration into an even more forsaken part of the borough to the north called Williamsburg. The costs of this new kingdom were grungy hovels and the occasional dark-corner knife attack—an easy bargain for wild American youths high on big-city dreams. Many of Anasi’s (Literary Journalism/Univ. of California, Irvine; The Gloves: A Boxing Chronicle, 2002) cohorts reveled in their cracked concrete cocoons, sheathed from the perceived banalities of the inauthentic wider world outside Williamsburg. Most were flat broke, but awash in a tide of easy sex, drugs and music. The party would not last long, however. The high-rise building boom that billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg later unleashed on the city decimated Brooklyn’s stoop-side culture, and this time forgotten Williamsburg was included on the hit list. Left to lament the uncanny transformation and the passing of his youth, the author found himself roaming Williamsburg’s sanitized waterfront as a literary wraith intent on reanimating the untamed lives of those he once knew. With a fine ear for dialogue and a nonjudgmental eye, Anasi conjures the pre-9/11 atmosphere of the place, in which the beer flowed like water and there was always a place to crash after a night of pub crawling. An impressive bit of literary journalism and a sympathetic look at a vanished era.
THE BETRAYAL OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
Barlett, Donald L. and Steele, James B. PublicAffairs (256 pp.) $26.99 | Jul. 31, 2012 978-1-58648-969-4 An angry attack on Washington and the wealthy, asserting that their alliance has distorted the economy, shrunk the middle class and enriched the already rich. Competing polemics rely on predictions of a dire future, but veteran investigative reporters Barlett and Steele point out that they delivered identical warnings in America: What Went Wrong (1992)—all of which came true. They maintain that the deficit is less the result of government programs than plummeting tax revenue from the rich, who paid 51.2 percent of their income in 1955 versus 16.6 percent today. Congress once assumed that salaried workers shouldn’t pay more than the rich, who lived on dividends. They reversed this in 2003, capping the dividend rate at 15 percent. More than half of large American corporations pay no tax. Since the 1970s, advocates of deregulation and free trade persistently proclaim that it increases jobs and reduces the trade deficit, apparently unaware that the exact opposite almost always happens. The authors’ solutions include: Revise the tax code so corporations and the rich pay more than the middle class instead of less, discard the clueless ideology of free trade (no other nation believes it), reregulate disastrously unregulated areas, and enforce current laws equally instead of giving the influential a free pass. The authors describe genuine problems, but their solutions would
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SHOUTING IN THE DARK My Journey Back to the Light
produce outrage among congressional Republicans (obscenities such as “tax increase,” “government regulation,” “protectionism” and “class warfare” would fill the air) and no enthusiasm from Democrats. Reforms since the 2008 crash have been easily defeated or watered down. Readers must cling to the hope that things are not as bad as the authors claim.
WHEN SATURDAY MATTERED MOST The Last Golden Season of Army Football Beech, Mark Dunne/St. Martin’s (304 pp.) $25.99 | Sep. 18, 2012 978-0-312-54818-6 978-1-250-01356-9 e-book
Sports Illustrated editor and writer Beech debuts with an account of Army football’s last great season, 1958, when the team finished 8-0-1 and declined a Cotton Bowl invitation. There are no structural surprises here. An introduction tells how football fans began shifting their allegiances to the NFL after 1958, how that year was “the end of an era.” The author then proceeds through the season, game by game, pausing to sketch settings and biographies of his principals. The leading character is the coach, Earl Henry “Red” Blaik, who retired at the end of the season after a 121-33-10 record at the U.S. Military Academy. Beech portrays the coach as a near-divine presence on the campus (players waited to be spoken to), a man whose assistants always deferred and who maintained a close relationship with Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who received game films every week. The author also deals with the great crisis of Blaik’s life—the 1951 academic cheating scandal that involved his own son, who was dismissed from the academy along with scores of others—and profiles a number of players, including Heisman-winning halfback Pete Dawkins, the talented runner Bob Anderson and the celebrated “Lonesome (or Lonely) End” Bill Carpenter, who never entered the huddles but stayed far down the line of scrimmage, where he received signals from his teammates. The author deals carefully with the intrateam rivalries and jealousies and relates highlights of each game, sometimes excessively so, with occasional sports clichés (“blaze of glory”). Beech neglects discussion of the racial composition of the lily-white Army team, and the final chapters belong to the where-are-they-now genre. A competent sports book, but a sharper edge on the author’s narrative knife would have sliced more deeply below the surface. (8-page b/w insert)
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Bramblitt, John withTate, Lindsey Lyons Press (240 pp.) $24.95 | Sep. 4, 2012 978-0-7627-8007-5
With the assistance of children’s author Tate (Kate Larkin, the Bone Expert, 2008, etc.), blind artist Bramblitt chronicles his childhood and his art without resorting to pathos or sentimentality. From an early age, the author accepted the two halves of his life, sick and well, and integrated the two. In his memoir, he offers no complaints of the poor medical care he received from age 4 in his Texas hometown. He suffered from undiagnosed congenital kidney disease for three years, then months of Lyme disease, again undiagnosed, and eventually the epilepsy that would lead to total blindness. He was lucky, however, in that he always had friends by his side. They may not have always understood his difficulties, but they supported him. The author’s determination to complete school and teach, in spite of missed classes and incompletes, illustrates the remarkable tenacity with which he has attacked life. Early on, Bramblitt drew from memory—“all my favorite drawings were stored in my brain in all their intricate detail.” Surely this ability is what led him to find and develop haptic visualization, a way of seeing the small parts of an object in order to make them a whole. The sense of touch is a large part of the nature of that perception, and Bramblitt’s work is a good example of an artist who proves Picasso’s comment that a painter “paints not what he sees, but what he feels, what he tells himself about what he has seen.” An artist’s story about more than just his talent and his techniques. (4-color paintings)
THROWING STONES AT THE MOON Narratives from Colombians Displaced by Violence
Brodzinsky, Sibylla; Schoening, Max--Eds. McSweeney’s (300 pp.) $16.00 paperback | Sep. 12, 2012 978-1-936365-91-3
Bleak first-person accounts of violence and displacement in Colombia over many decades. In a lawless struggle for power over the rural farmers and laborers who make up the landscape of this deeply scarred, wartorn country, left-wing guerrillas emerging in the 1960s and ’70s and the paramilitary right-wing opposing them from the ’80s onward, fueled by the drug profit and mafia cartels, have been responsible for thousands of senseless deaths and the upheaval of families and villages. Editors Brodzinsky and Schoening have compiled a useful, moving set of oral histories of this
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“This well-crafted examination of spiritual longing shows how one woman has carved out a niche inside the religion she loves despite its contradictions.” from the book of mormon girl
horrendous period of bizarre, seemingly arbitrary killings and intimidation. Instilling fear seemed to be the aim of the sudden appearance within a village of the ragtag left- or right-wing paramilitary men, who dragged people out of their homes to rape, maim and murder. Remembering the terror visited on her village of El Salado forms Emilia Gonzalez’s opening narrative—the paramilitary forces raped her 12-year-old daughter and herded the villagers onto the soccer field for a killing spree. Later, the victims might spot their tormentors in the army purportedly guarding the villages; there seemed to be no end to the absurdity of the violence. Death threats, forced planting of coca, bombings, maiming by mines, deliberate dismemberment, assassination of trade unionists and people seeking government redress and protection, and persecution of Colombian refugees who fled to Ecuador—these stories express a horrific experience and plea for humanitarian intervention. A helpful history of Colombia by Winifred Tate, timeline and glossary of terms close this extensive, poignant study. A valiant effort of research and consolidation.
THE BOOK OF MORMON GIRL A Memoir of an American Faith
Brooks, Joanna Free Press (224 pp.) $14.00 paperback | Aug. 7, 2012 978-1-4516-9968-5 A scholar of religion and culture struggles to integrate her strong religious beliefs with a deepening awareness
of social injustice. Brooks (American Lazarus: Religion and the Rise of AfricanAmerican and Native American Literatures, 2003, etc.) evokes the close-knit joys and apocalyptic fears of growing up within the Mormon Church during the 1970s and ’80s, a time many Mormons believed to be the prophesied “latter days.” Living in California, far from the welcoming environs of Utah, she endured snickers about sacred undergarments and angels from other planets, agonized over drinking Sprite while the other children drank Coca-Cola, and cringed through a humiliating anti-Mormon comedy routine at a friend’s evangelical megachurch. While the author also emphasizes the positive aspects of Mormonism, especially the industrious goodwill fostered by a long line of pioneer ancestors, she excels at portraying the complexities of doubt in the midst of faith. In one powerful chapter, she recounts how she confessed to her bishop, per church doctrine, that she had had a premarital sexual experience; the bishop responded with a parable about a school-bus driver who was able to avert disaster by putting on the brakes before hitting a train. Feeling empty and patronized, she experienced disillusionment with the traditional Mormon view of sexuality but found refuge in the teachings of feminist professors at Brigham Young University. In the early ’90s, however, the church began a crackdown on dissidents, and several of these 1334
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professors resigned; Brooks returned her BYU diploma in protest. She describes the decade after graduation as a time of exile when she felt estranged from her faith yet also worked toward a doctorate degree, married a Jewish man, and gave birth to two daughters. Eventually making her way back to the church on her own terms, she declares herself “an unorthodox Mormon woman with a fierce and hungry faith.” This well-crafted examination of spiritual longing shows how one woman has carved out a niche inside the religion she loves despite its contradictions.
IT’S THE MIDDLE CLASS, STUPID!
Carville, James; Greenberg, Stan Blue Rider Press (256 pp.) $26.95 | Jul. 10, 2012 978-0-399-16039-4 Liberal pundit Carville (40 More Years: How the Democrats Will Rule the Next Generation, 2009, etc.) and Democratic pollster Greenberg (Dispatches from the War Room: In the Trenches with Five Extraordinary Leaders, 2009, etc.) discuss campaign strategy and why a focus on the middle class is crucial to the Democrats’ chances this November. The authors both advised Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign, the mantra of which was “it’s the economy, stupid”—a relentless focus on economic policy that helped propel Clinton into the White House and shaped his domestic programs. The authors take a similar tack here, asserting that President Obama and other Democrats must zero in on the needs of the middle class in order to win the upcoming election: “When we think of an issue and a solution, we have to stop and think, How does this protect America’s middle class?” It’s a logical campaign aim, as the middle class makes up a majority of the electorate, especially if one defines “middle class” expansively, as the authors do, from families in poverty to those making up to $125,000 per year. Carville and Greenberg lean heavily on polling data to bolster their arguments. Among many other issues, the authors focus on health care reform and increased spending on education, and they suggest that “voters are not divided on the issue of raising taxes on rich people.” The book is aimed squarely at Democrats, and, as might be expected, there is a certain amount of preaching to the choir. To the authors’ credit, however, they are refreshingly specific in some of their policy recommendations in areas such as energy investment and campaign finance reform. For Democratic political junkies who enjoy straighttalk policy discussion.
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BLACKWARDS How Black Leadership Is Returning America to the Days of Separate but Equal
Christie, Ron Dunne/St. Martin’s (304 pp.) $25.99 | Sep. 4, 2012 978-0-312-59147-2 978-1-250-01352-1 e-book
A senior advisor to Congress and the White House offers some outspoken advice on how to oppose racism in a post-racial society. Christie (Acting White: The Curious History of a Racial Slur, 2010, etc.) believes that “education is the civil rights issue for the twenty first century.” The author advocates a path forward that involves ending affirmative action based on racial quotas, re-examining the functions of the NAACP, the Congressional Black Caucus and other black organizations, and “refraining from hurling allegations of racism against political opponents.” The author first appeals to the legacies of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., and the tradition of Brown v. Board of Education. For him, their legacies represent their successes, and the “march for equality is over in most respects.” The author argues that to continue to fight for improvements for minorities through affirmative action and other means (e.g., promoting multiculturalism) is to express a particular interest against the general welfare and is therefore regressive. For Christie, such advocacy is also racist, so many black organizations, including the Black Caucus, “are racist and should be disbanded.” In his view, the Obama administration has been a main source of racial polarization. He also asserts that the problems facing black communities—e.g., unemployment, school quality, poverty, broken households—are no longer problems of deprivation of rights or lack of equal protections, and thus do not need addressing via the methods of the past. The author’s argument is likely to find support, but absent any discussion of how to fund and implement education and employment policies, it lacks utility.
in the scholarship concerning the critical evaluation of the statesman’s literary interests. Churchill, born to a privileged life, began writing and publishing learned, well-written books while still in his 20s. He expected renown as an author, never anticipating that his apparently washed-up political career would be rejuvenated by World War II. Clarke is most interested in the decades-long gestation of the four-volume A History of the English-Speaking Peoples. The project would have been massive if Churchill had committed to no other ventures, but the difficulty expanded exponentially because he had agreed to write so many other books, partly because of his desire to attract audiences, partly because his spendthrift ways left him almost perpetually in debt. Clarke clearly admires Churchill’s talent and persistence as an author, but he is candid about Churchill’s periodic bouts of procrastination and outright lies to publishers about the pace of manuscript progress. As Churchill realized he would never finish all of his book projects unaided, he relied on the scholarship of others (both compensated and uncompensated). Clarke provides painstakingly researched accounts of the individuals who might have earned the status of co-author in a world less seduced by famous names. The author’s elucidation of
MR. CHURCHILL’S PROFESSION The Statesman as Author and the Book that Defined the “Special Relationship” Clarke, Peter Bloomsbury (370 pp.) $30.00 | May 22, 2012 978-1-60819-372-1
A detailed examination of Winston Churchill the author. British historian Clarke (Keynes: The Rise, Fall, and Return of the 20th Century’s Most Influential Economist, 2009, etc.) has studied Churchill for decades, but the author has been bothered by a gap |
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Churchill the writer necessarily delves into biographical elements, including the influences of Churchill’s glamorous, famous father and mother on the son’s writings. Original, gap-filling, engagingly presented scholarship.
BRINGING IN FINN An Extraordinary Surrogacy Story Connell, Sara Seal Press (256 pp.) $24.00 | Sep. 1, 2012 978-1-58005-410-2
The story of a 61-year-old woman who served as the gestational carrier for her grandson. At the beginning of the book, Connell’s struggles with her fertility don’t seem that unusual. In fact, she isn’t the most sympathetic narrator, as we see her dismiss Western medicine entirely after a single appointment with a gynecologist with a bad bedside manner. After spending two years trying acupuncture and herbal tea in an effort to restart her cycle “naturally,” the author finally consulted a medical professional and eventually became pregnant through in vitro fertilization. When she experienced the devastating loss of her twin boys at 22 weeks gestation, the author thanked the doctors for attempting a risky medical procedure with a small chance of success. After another pregnancy and miscarriage, Connell and her husband began to consider surrogacy. This would be an unremarkable point in the story except for what happened next: The author’s mother, recently retired, offered to act as the surrogate. They accepted, and their second IVF cycle was successful, with Connell’s mother delivering Finn, a healthy baby boy. A life coach by trade, the author tends to emphasize mystical experiences, which are certainly powerful and meaningful. However, though she has more reason than most to be thankful for the extraordinary advances in medical fertility treatments, she never seems to acknowledge that science had a lot more to do with her son’s birth than vision boards and trusting in the “Divine Mother.” Noteworthy mainly due to the remarkable circumstances of Finn’s birth.
THE DAMNATION OF JOHN DONELLAN A Mysterious Case of Death and Scandal in Georgian England
Cooke, Elizabeth Walker (304 pp.) $25.00 | Oct. 2, 2012 978-0-8027-7996-0
Novelist Cooke applies her considerable storytelling talent to expose the incompetent, ineffective investigation and 1781 trial of John Donellan in England. 1336
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Ne’er-do-well Theodosius Boughton needed only one more year to attain his majority and become the Baronet Boughton. The young heir had been infected with venereal disease at age 15 while studying at Eton. Learning nothing from his experience, he was reinfected multiple times and relied on an apothecary to treat him. He also kept a host of self-treatments in his rooms, including mercury and arsenic. At the end of August 1780, a new mixture from the apothecary was delivered to him and set aside for morning. His mother, instead of riding with her son-in-law, Donellan, stayed to ensure her son took his medicine, noting at the time that it smelled of bitter almonds. Theodosius immediately collapsed into a seizure. Donellan was called in, and he immediately took two empty vials and rinsed them out in the basin. Within 20 minutes, Theodosius was dead. Within hours of her son’s death, his mother arranged for the funeral, had breakfast and discussed her future with her son-in-law, whose wife would inherit much of the holdings. Throughout, readers will sense a distinct odor of English class-consciousness in this case, and there’s no doubt that Donellan’s lack of breeding played a considerable part. Why was Donellan accused of poisoning the victim when his mother administered the medicine? Why wasn’t the autopsy performed immediately by competent surgeons? The rulings of the presiding judge at the trial were blatantly slanted, and “expert” witnesses proved to be completely lacking in authority. Cooke itemizes the available details, but more importantly, she notes the questions that weren’t asked, the facts that were not introduced, and the logical conclusions that never arrived. (22 b/w images)
YANKEE COME HOME On the Road from San Juan Hill to Guantánamo
Craig, William Walker (448 pp.) $28.00 | Aug. 7, 2012 978-0-8027-1093-2
With a half-century of U.S. antagonism to Cuba’s revolution as the back story, a freelancer visits the island nation to report on both its history and current situation. Craig (Liberal Arts/River Valley Community Coll.) accompanied a touring chorus to gain access to the beleaguered communist outpost. Abandoned by the group’s guide, he made his own way, curious to see where his great-grandfather may have fought. Starting with Santiago de Cuba, where Theodore Roosevelt famously charged up San Juan Hill, Craig recalls the bellicose Roosevelt, cautious McKinley and the American takeover of the Cuban rebellion against Spanish rule. The author’s lively history follows locale, not chronology, and he analyzes sugar politics, empire building and the blood-spattered history of slaves, Indians and Spaniards in the New World. The author doesn’t cover the story of the sinking of the USS Maine, the ostensible casus belli for the Spanish-American War, until more than halfway through the text. We also learn about
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“Some casual readers may be turned off by the page count, but this is likely to be the authoritative history of the origins and progress of the Iranian policy morass for years to come.” from the twilight war
Cuban culture, including music, spirits, the real Ché Guevara, pickpockets, drinking habits and much more. Craig’s sprightly account ends back east with a surreal encounter with the local authorities in the town of Guantánamo as he tries to gain a view of the ominous American base. The Spanish-American War was the quintessential journalists’ adventure. Craig beats his professional predecessors with his skilled and accessible personal journal and blunt history.
THOMAS JEFFERSON’S CRÈME BRÛLÉE How a Founding Father and His Slave James Hemings Introduced French Cuisine to America
Craughwell, Thomas J. Quirk Books (256 pp.) $24.95 | Sep. 18, 2012 978-1-59474-578-2 978-1-59474-579-9 e-book
Craughwell (30 Days with the Irish Mystics, 2012, etc.) chronicles Jefferson’s obsession with all things agricultural. When Jefferson was appointed as minister to France, he took along his slave, James Hemings, with the intention of having him trained by the best French chefs. He promised Hemings that when they returned to Virginia and he had trained a successor, he would be freed. France did not recognize slavery within its borders and James could have sued for his freedom, but he chose to stay with Jefferson and complete his training. Jefferson used his new chef to host storied dinners in Paris, successfully negotiating political and economic agreements as his guests dined. With only two servants, Jefferson set out from Paris in 1787 to explore the bounty of France. Nearly four months later, he returned with cases of wine, fruit tree saplings, seeds for unusual vegetables and rice smuggled from Lombardy in northern Italy. Instead of the promised freedom, Jefferson retained Hemings as chef during his term as secretary of state. We can thank Jefferson for not only the appreciation Americans developed for champagne, but also the techniques and dishes that Hemings introduced to his guests. Pasta, sauces, fried potatoes and even macaroni and cheese were served along with new types and strains of vegetables America had never seen. Craughwell provides a delightful tour of 18thcentury vineyards still in production, a look at French aristocrats just before the Revolution and the France that paid little attention to the color of a man’s skin. A slim but tasty addition to the long list of Jefferson’s accomplishments.
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THE TWILIGHT WAR The Secret History of America’s Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran Crist, David Penguin Press (640 pp.) $36.00 | Jul. 23, 2012 978-1-59420-341-1
An encyclopedic account of the ongoing military and diplomatic conflict between the United States and Iran. Since the fall of the shah in 1979, Iran and the United States have been thorns in each other’s sides. Iran seeks recognition as a regional power and as a champion of Shia Muslims throughout the Middle East, but its policy toward America has often been driven by a “paranoia that the real goal behind U.S. actions was the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.” America, for its part, has consistently “helped perpetuate the animosity [by displaying] a callous disregard for Iranian grievances and security concerns.” The result has been an ongoing “shadow war” in which each side has inflicted grievous casualties on the other without quite falling into open belligerence, while missing numerous opportunities for rapprochement. In a monumental debut, senior government historian Crist presents a comprehensive narrative of this conflict from the ascendancy of the Ayatollah Khomeini to the present day. Drawing on extensive access to American government leaders and documents, Crist surveys his topic in thorough, if sometimes ponderous, detail, including coverage of the bombing of the Marine base in Beirut, the Iran/Iraq war, the arms-for-hostages scandal, the naval battles of the “tanker wars,” Iran’s involvement in post-Hussein Iraq and its present pursuit of nuclear ambitions. Completely in command of the competing interests and personalities at the highest levels of American policymaking, Crist has an equally impressive grasp of the ebb and flow of diverse viewpoints in Iranian religious, political and military councils. The battle scenes are edge-of-the-seat gripping, and the author is keenly insightful on the Byzantine diplomatic maneuvers, by turns farcical and dismaying, and the motivations of the politicians, clerics, Cold Warriors and con artists who have stoked the ongoing tensions between the two nations in spite of important common interests. Some casual readers may be turned off by the page count, but this is likely to be the authoritative history of the origins and progress of the Iranian policy morass for years to come.
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I GOT A NAME The Jim Croce Story Croce, Ingrid; Rock, Jimmy Da Capo/Perseus (288 pp.) $25.00 | Jul. 3, 2012 978-0-306-82121-9 978-0-306-82123-3 e-book
Jim Croce’s widow finally opens up about living, loving and making music with her late pop-star husband. Before he was tragically killed in a 1973 plane crash while on tour, Croce commanded the radio airwaves. In the early ’70s, hits like “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” “Operator” and “Time in a Bottle” made the singer-songwriter appear like an overnight sensation. In reality, it took him many years of heartache and struggle to crack the top of the charts, and Ingrid was with him every step of the way, both as a musical collaborator and a devoted wife. The couple’s profound love for one another, first ignited when Jim was still in college and Ingrid was just 16, is infused into every one of these intimate pages. Her husband’s premature death was a nightmare to all who knew him and loved his music. For Ingrid, the tragedy actually began well before he ever climbed into that doomed airplane. At some point (which Ingrid traces to a horrific incident she experienced while on vacation), Jim began to change in ways that are almost as sad, frustrating and unfathomable as his untimely demise. She recounts the many betrayals and transgressions in a heartbreaking voice. This warts-and-all portrait paints Jim as a profoundly conflicted man who might have gotten his act together had he been given the time—but maybe not. For almost 40 years, fans curious about Jim have had to satisfy themselves with his wonderful songs, but now we have a more complete picture of the man behind the music. A deeply candid look into the life and times of a talented artist. (16 pages of b/w photographs)
HORIZON’S LENS My Time on the Turning World
Dodd, Elizabeth Univ. of Nebraska (256 pp.) $19.95 paperback | Sep. 1, 2012 978-0-8032-4078-0 From an essayist and poet whose forays into the natural world are also journeys into literature, linguistics, history, science and philosophy comes a collec-
tion of lyrical pieces. Dodd (English/Kansas State Univ.; In the Mind’s Eye: Essays across the Animate World, 2008, etc.) moves through landscapes equipped with a keen sense of time and place and a perceptive eye. In Chaco Canyon, N.M., which she visited at the winter solstice, she paid attention not just to the sky and to light and shadow, but also to the ruins and the petroglyphs, subjects that 1338
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led naturally to the minds of the people who once lived there. She noticed the birds, the most minute plant life, the snakes and the mammals. During her visit to Chimney Rock Pueblo to witness a lunar standstill, her thoughts turned to the biochemistry of time, the ways in which human bodies keep track of the seasons. Although Dodd traveled widely in the American West, hiking and camping in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming and collecting pollen samples and counting bison at a Midwestern prairie research station, she also includes chronicles of her trips to the Orkneys and the Hebrides along the coast of Scotland. The megaliths she sees there inspire musings about the region’s medieval inhabitants, and a visit to the Yucatan Peninsula leads to an essay on the language and the numbering system of the Mayans. Throughout, Dodd entwines the details of her camping life—cold nights, hard beds, basic food—with her ruminations on culture, anthropology, geography, time and many other subjects. These essays, whose opening paragraphs give little clue to where the author is going, are dense, surprising pieces that demand to be read and then reread with care.
THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD David Bowie and the 1970s
Doggett, Peter Harper/HarperCollins (512 pp.) $26.99 | Jul. 31, 2012 978-0-06-202465-7
Exhaustive survey of David Bowie and his music. Recent years have seen the publication of a variety of Bowie books, most notably the lengthy, impressive biographies by Marc Spitz (Bowie: A Biography, 2009) and Paul Trynka (David Bowie: Starman, 2011). Bowie is an unquestionably influential artist. However, considering all the detailed Bowie-centric material available, what else do we need to know about him? According to Doggett (You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup, 2010, etc.), too much Bowie information isn’t enough. The author so reveres his subject that he decided to dissect each lyric and every note played by the Thin White Duke. The result is as comprehensive, and exhausting, as one might expect from a 450-page examination of a prolific artist’s entire recorded output. This isn’t to say that Doggett isn’t a competent analyst. In fact, there aren’t many writers who have the combination of classic-rock knowledge, reverence for an artist and sheer patience to successfully pull off this sort of project. Doggett clearly conducted massive amounts of research on his subject, offering both historical context for Bowie’s albums and the genesis of nearly every tune, and he’s undyingly passionate about his subject, proudly trumpeting the hits and coolly dissing the misses. For those Bowie-heads who didn’t get what they needed from Spitz and Trynka, there are plenty of biographical tidbits sprinkled throughout the book. However, Doggett’s book will have a limited audience. Well-executed, but for hardcore Bowie fans only.
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“A spirited, well-constructed argument for reform that does not shy away from comprehensive solutions.” from the parties versus the people
THE PARTIES VERSUS THE PEOPLE How to Turn Republicans and Democrats into Americans
Edwards, Mickey Yale Univ. (240 pp.) $25.00 | Aug. 27, 2012 978-0-300-18456-3
A 16-year veteran of Congress examines why political partisanship has become
so dysfunctional. Aspen Institute vice president Edwards charges that the political parties are private clubs that control the primary process, the electoral districting and the national political agenda. Believing that they “cannot be allowed to control our politics,” he presents a series of proposals intended to transform the processes of elections and governing. Edwards argues from his own experience that the political system is working exactly as it has been designed to work, as a vehicle for party advantage, intransigence and a constant battle for domination. The author documents how partisanship has increased since the 1980s and how gaming the electoral process through primaries has shifted power to the extremes of both parties, narrowing effective electoral choice. In the ’90s, Newt Gingrich arrogated more power to the office of speaker of the House, taking over committee appointments, setting the legislative agenda and dispensing other patronage on the basis of his own definition of party loyalty. Some of Edwards’ corrective measures include taking control of elections away from the parties by opening up primaries to all comers and ending gerrymandering. He also wants to ensure that political campaigns are paid for by people, not corporations, while reducing the need for massive money outlays. Our current system, he writes, “is ordained by neither the Constitution nor common sense.” A spirited, well-constructed argument for reform that does not shy away from comprehensive solutions.
500 DAYS Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars
Eichenwald, Kurt Touchstone/Simon & Schuster (640 pp.) $30.00 | Sep. 4, 2012 978-1-4516-6938-1 A blow-by-blow, episodic reconstruction of the fallout from 9/11 in the highest spheres of terrorist strategy. Former New York Times reporter Eichenwald (Conspiracy of Fools, 2005, etc.) chronicles the entire post9/11 year-and-a-half spectacular, demonstrating literally how the anti-terrorist hysteria in the United States, and the hatred of America and general global paranoia, forged the “trauma that haunts the world to this day.” The author begins in medias res, |
from the frightened exodus of White House workers fleeing the executive mansion once news of the World Trade Center attack erupted that morning. He moves in swift, tidily edited steps—e.g., discussions by White House Counsel officials in choosing Guantanamo Bay for detainees in custody; Vice President Cheney’s urging of immediate aggressive action against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan; the unanimous passage in the Senate of Bush’s sweeping and unprecedented war powers resolution; the seizure and torture of the Kuwaiti Ahmad El-Maati on suspicion of carrying a “sensitive” Canadian map later proved specious; the discovery of the American John Walker Lindh fighting for the Taliban; British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s agreement to help America’s efforts in Iraq as long as it emphasized the dictator’s threat of weapons of mass destruction, which Iraq did not have; and on and on. All the dramatis personae from various government departments are here as well as foreign leaders and al-Qaeda operatives, all gunning for war, subterfuge and mayhem. Eichenwald ends with a desultory epilogue depicting the demise and burial at sea of Osama bin Laden. Likely too long for many readers, but the author effectively allows the depressing events to speak for themselves.
“THEY’RE BANKRUPTING US!” And 20 Other Myths About Unions Fletcher Jr., Bill Beacon (224 pp.) $15.00 paperback | $15.00 e-book Aug. 28, 2012 978-0-8070-0332-9 978-0-8070-0333-6 e-book
Talking points to help trade unionists and their supporters rebut conserva-
tive attacks. Fletcher (co-author: Solidarity Divided: The Crisis in Organized Labor and a New Path toward Social Justice, 2009, etc.), the director of field services for the American Federation of Government Employees, organizes his argument as a refutation of 21 “myths” that opponents typically use to discredit unions. His historical context begins in the early 19th century, when unionists fought bloody battles to win the right to organize. By the end of World War II, at the height of their power, unions had consolidated gains won during the New Deal. They were considered to be “a part of the so-called mainstream,” although their numbers never exceeded “35 percent of the non-agricultural workforce.” A turnabout began during the Reagan administration, when the president fired striking air traffic controllers. Fletcher makes a strong case that the slogan “right to work” is a misnomer because without a labor organization to defend their interests, individual workers are without job protection. In answer to the first myth—“Workers are forced to join unions, right?” he responds, “The phrasing of a right to work statutes suggest they are about freedom of choice. Actually, they are not. They are about weakening the ability of workers—as a group—from exerting any sort of power.” Throughout, the author elaborates on the theme of the necessity of workers to be free to organize in order to fight for
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BULLIED What Every Parent, Teacher, and Kid Needs To Know About Ending the Cycle of Fear
their own rights and also to stand up for social justice. He suggests that deceptive language is deliberately used to disparage unions and that today, unions are becoming increasingly marginalized by unemployment and outsourcing. These circumstances can only be turned around, writes Fletcher, when people assume responsibility for fighting for social justice for all working men and women. An effective presentation of the importance of trade unions in a democracy.
AFTER MANDELA The Struggle for Freedom in Post-Apartheid South Africa Foster, Douglas Liveright/Norton (512 pp.) $35.00 | Aug. 20, 2012 978-0-87140-478-7
A first draft of the history of Jacob Zuma’s South Africa. The publicity machine for Foster’s (Journalism/Northwestern Univ.) extensive tome on contemporary South Africa would have you believe that the author presents “a long-awaited revisionist account of a country whose recent history has not just been neglected but largely ignored by the west.” (Readers might rightly wonder how one can write revisionism of a history that has been largely ignored.) Foster has been traveling to South Africa regularly since 2004, and the extent of his legwork is unquestionable. He organizes his chapters loosely around various themes and individuals that allow him to explore the nature of South Africa’s democracy. In 2007, the African National Congress chose to remove Thabo Mbeki from the party presidency, replacing him with Zuma. While Foster tells this important story well, there is extensive literature about South Africa in the post-apartheid period, as Foster’s own far-from-complete bibliography makes clear. A good deal of the writing on the country has either come from Western academics and journalists or has otherwise been readily available in the United States and Europe. Furthermore, Foster’s subtitle is misleading, as he provides less a complete overview and assessment of post-apartheid South Africa than he does of the period since 2004. While the book’s promise and originality might be overstated, Foster’s journalistic chops are not. The author was obviously fantastic at cultivating contacts, and he draws insightful observations from the hundreds of people he interviewed and those he encountered in passing. He proved to be especially good at connecting with young people and drawing on their astute observations about the country they have inherited. Unfortunately, the author inserts himself on nearly every page, constantly reminding us that he was there. A mostly trenchant book that oversells its contribution. (8 pages of illustrations)
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Goldman, Carrie HarperOne (320 pp.) $25.99 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-0-06-210507-3
A well-researched guide to combating bullying. Goldman’s daughter Katie wasn’t interested in being like all the other girls; a big Star Wars fan, she loved her Star Wars water bottle. Her mother was concerned when Katie told her she didn’t want to bring the water bottle to school anymore. When Goldman pressed her, Katie broke down in tears, upset that the boys at school told her that Star Wars was only for boys. “Is this how it starts?” she asked herself. “Do kids find someone who does something differently and start to beat it out of her, first with words and sneers?” Goldman addressed the issue with the school and wrote about the experience online, touching off a flood of support from Star Wars fans and, eventually, bullying prevention forums, Twitter and celebrities. Goldman’s empathetic guidebook examines the ways in which bullying happens, from the teasing that takes place in the hallways of schools to the cyberbullying that runs largely unchecked through the digital halls of social media. Academic research into bullying, while useful, often fails to bridge the gap between insight and practical solutions, but Goldman effectively boils down the research into statistics that flow naturally into a larger narrative. The author focuses primarily on how girls are affected by bullying, both as victims and as perpetrators, with less consideration of male victims. This is understandable given Goldman’s experience, but a greater examination of bullying of boys would provide a more complete picture. However, this book is a mustread for parents with children of any gender. Valuable support, resources and concrete actions for safely navigating the social wilderness of adolescence.
THE SPRINGS OF NAMJE A Ten-Year Journey from the Villages of Nepal to the Halls of Congress Goyal, Rajeev Beacon (232 pp.) $24.95 | Sep. 11, 2012 978-0-8070-0175-2 978-0-8070-0176-9 e-book
A Peace Corps veteran recounts his experiences in a small Nepalese village. Goyal, a lawyer, activist and specialist in rural development, narrates his life journey since he arrived in the town of Namje in 2001, discussing the projects in which he was involved and the skills he needed to acquire to become an
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effective volunteer and teacher in the village, where schoolage girls carried water up the mountain from its source. Realizing that he had “to do something about this water crisis” so the children could come to school, he worked on solving the problem with the Peace Corps’ help. Recruited by villagers who had heard of his success at law school in the United States, Goyal returned in 2004 to build three schools. When he returned to the U.S. in 2008, he was hired as a lobbyist to work on doubling the Peace Corps budget. In addition to discussing his projects, the author examines similarities between Nepal and the U.S.; in both countries, he writes, “politics is not all that different from community organizing.” Congress became his village as he sought out how to get “directly to the highest power,” by catching congressmen and senators in corridors, “strategic loitering,” networking and using social media to mobilize citizen support. Goyal puts into sharp relief the Peace Corps’ funding within the total U.S. budget, and he punctuates his tale with instances of unfulfilled promises and unforeseen circumstances. An interesting adventure with a good lesson: that having lots of money is not a prerequisite to accomplishing great things.
THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US A Memoir
Grande, Reyna Atria (320 pp.) $25.00 | Aug. 28, 2012 978-1-4516-6177-4 978-1-4516-6180-4 e-book In her first nonfiction book, novelist Grande (Dancing with Butterflies, 2009, etc.) delves into her family’s cycle of separation and reunification. Raised in poverty so severe that spaghetti reminded her of the tapeworms endemic to children in her Mexican hometown, the author is her family’s only college graduate and writer, whose honors include an American Book Award and International Latino Book Award. Though she was too young to remember her father when he entered the United States illegally seeking money to improve life for his family, she idolized him from afar. However, she also blamed him for taking away her mother after he sent for her when the author was not yet 5 years old. Though she emulated her sister, she ultimately answered to herself, and both siblings constantly sought affirmation of their parents’ love, whether they were present or not. When one caused disappointment, the siblings focused their hopes on the other. These contradictions prove to be the narrator’s hallmarks, as she consistently displays a fierce willingness to ask tough questions, accept startling answers, and candidly render emotional and physical violence. Even as a girl, Grande understood the redemptive power of language to define—in the U.S., her name’s literal translation, “big queen,” led to ridicule from other children—and to complicate. In spelling class, when a teacher used the sentence “my mamá loves me” (mi mamá |
me ama), Grande decided to “rearrange the words so that they formed a question: ¿Me ama mi mamá? Does my mama love me?” A standout immigrant coming-of-age story.
THIS MACHINE KILLS SECRETS How Wikileakers, Cypherpunks, and Hacktivists Aim to Free the World’s Information
Greenberg, Andy Dutton (384 pp.) $27.95 | Sep. 13, 2012 978-0-525-95320-3
A wide-ranging look at politically motivated information leaks and the activists behind them. In late 2010, Forbes technology reporter Greenberg sat down with the notorious Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks. The resulting interview has been viewed nearly 1 million times on the Forbes website and served as a launching pad for Greenberg’s debut book. While the author scatters details of Assange and WikiLeaks throughout the book, Greenberg has larger aims: to catalogue “a revolutionary protest movement bent not on stealing information, but on building a tool that inexorably coaxes it out, a technology that slips inside of institutions and levels their defenses like a Trojan horse of cryptographic software and silicon.” With this in mind, the author examines the lives and work of numerous cryptographers, hackers and whistleblowers—some well-known (e.g., Daniel Ellsberg, who first leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times in 1971) and some considerably less so (Birgitta Jónsdóttir, Icelandic activist and member of parliament who is behind a push for greater freedom of information there). However, the book bounces between these often-unrelated biographies so frequently that readers get only a vague sense of each person’s character. A chapter on the hacker group Anonymous, for example, is based in large part on information from a defunct website and is especially hazy; readers will likely find better information in the recently published We Are Anonymous, by Parmy Olson, who, unlike Greenberg, actually interviewed Anonymous members. Overall, the book’s biggest flaw is that its scope is simply too wide. Greenberg valiantly attempts to cover the big picture of information leaks around the globe, but due to the overwhelming cast of characters—as well as some rather dull descriptions of how online cryptography works—the book never fully coalesces. An ambitious overview that ultimately falls flat.
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“A winner of just about every major literary award exercises his considerable critical chops, ruminating on the works of poets, photographers, writers and other artists.” from what light can do
THE NEW NEW DEAL The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era Grunwald, Michael Simon & Schuster (432 pp.) $28.00 | Aug. 14, 2012 978-1-4516-4232-2
A cogent reality check of President Obama’s Recovery Act. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the stimulus bill, signed into law in February 2009, less than a month after Obama’s inauguration, proved the most important piece of legislation of his administration, yet was quickly excoriated by Republicans and overshadowed by the health care debate. The huge $787 billion injection into the collapsing economy inherited from George W. Bush was called a “massive boondoggle to our maxed-out national credit card” and allowed the ailing Republican Party to get its “mojo back.” In fact, writes Time senior national correspondent Grunwald (The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise, 2007) in this detailed breakdown of the bill’s provenance, debate, passage and effects, the “stimulus” (no longer socalled because it became a bad word) contained the seeds of all that Obama had promised in his inaugural message of change regarding energy, health care, education and the economy, and has proved remarkably fruitful despite the bad publicity and slow growth in jobs. The author compares its importance in arresting widespread depression and worsening economic scenarios to Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, although the stimulus was much larger. Further, Obama, unlike FDR, did not remain silent during the crucial transition period between administrations but embraced the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the bailout of the U.S. auto industry. Obama’s choice of Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff strenuously communicated the need for urgency in acting, while the president’s stocking his economic team with Clinton insiders underscored Obama’s determination for a Keynesian “prime the pump” approach to saving the economy. Obama’s stimulus launched massive clean energy investments, electronic medicine, infrastructure repairs, high-speed rails, Race to the Top and 100plus other forward-seeing programs. A pointed, in-the-trenches study whose thrust will be borne out with time. (16-page b/w insert)
HOW TO BE GAY
Halperin, David M. Belknap/Harvard Univ. (560 pp.) $35.00 | Aug. 21, 2012 978-0-674-06679-3 978-0-674-06751-6 e-book Halperin (History and Theory of Sexuality/Univ. of Michigan; What Do Gay Men Want?, 2010, etc.) attempts to deconstruct various aspects of gay male culture. In 2000, a catalog description of the author’s undergraduate English course, “How To Be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation,” appeared on the National Review website and caused a storm of controversy. The course aimed to “explore gay men’s unique, characteristic relation to mainstream culture.” Likely due to its provocative title, the course drew fire from across the political spectrum. Conservative critics charged that the university was “promoting” a gay “lifestyle,” while others charged that the course was trafficking in and perpetuating gay stereotypes. Halperin wrote this book, he writes, to “make clear the genuineness of the intellectual stakes in [his] inquiry into gay male culture.” To that end, the author narrows his focus, perhaps too drastically, by largely concentrating on a few scenes from the Oscarwinning 1945 Joan Crawford film Mildred Pierce and the bizarre 1981 Crawford film bio Mommie Dearest. Along the way, he makes occasionally interesting, if repetitive, points about the roles that melodrama and the pop-cultural portrayal of women play in gay male culture. But he also embarks on unnecessary digressions, as when he criticizes at length a 4-year-old Time Out New York article that implied that some aspects of gay culture might be on the wane. He also oddly spends several pages analyzing Sonic Youth’s 1990 song and video “Mildred Pierce” and lambasting “hipsterism.” Throughout, Halperin struggles unproductively with many of the questions he raises, while also leaning heavily on academic social-science jargon. An unsatisfying and scattered analysis.
WHAT LIGHT CAN DO Essays on Art, Imagination, and the Natural World
Hass, Robert Ecco/HarperCollins (496 pp.) $29.99 | $14.99 e-book | Aug. 14, 2012 978-0-06-192392-0 978-0-06-209684-5 e-book A winner of just about every major literary award exercises his considerable critical chops, ruminating on the works of poets, photographers, writers and other artists. Hass (English/Univ. of California, Berkeley; The Apple Trees at Olema: New and Selected Poems, 2010, etc.) brings formidable gifts and experience to the art of criticism. He speaks with greatest authority about poets and poetry, as evidenced by his
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pieces about literary celebrities like Wallace Stevens, Allen Ginsberg, Robinson Jeffers, Czeslaw Milosz (whose works Hass has helped translate) and others. Hass also introduces Western readers to the Korean poet Ko Un and to Slovene and Chinese poets. In one section, he celebrates the work of California writers Jack London, Mary Austin and Maxine Hong Kingston. He also dives into the complexities of the Gospel of John, wrestles with the relationship between poetry and spirituality, highly praises the Border Trilogy of Cormac McCarthy (“a miracle in prose,” he calls The Crossing) and offers a swift, sensitive history of blacks’ servitude in the sugar, tobacco, cotton and rice fields. He ends with the text of a speech he delivered at Berkeley in 2009 about the controversy at that school over the removal of a grove of oaks to accommodate the athletic facilities. For that piece, Hass walked the ground, explored natural history and read stories about the founding of the university—in other words, he did his homework. Characteristic of all of these pieces, of course, is Hass’ great erudition (even bibliophiles may feel as if they’ve not read very much) but also a surpassing generosity of spirit, a determination to understand other writers and artists rather than to judge them. Not for all readers, but prime in its class—literate, learned and wise criticism, with scarcely a breath of cynicism or disdain. (First printing of 20,000. Events in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and upon request)
MULE My Dangerous Life as a Drug Smuggler Turned DEA Informant
Heifner, C.A. with Rocke, Adam Lyons Press (272 pp.) $16.95 paperback | Jul. 17, 2012 978-0-7627-8028-0
Melodramatic account of a marijuana smuggler who switched sides. El Paso–based motivational speaker Heifner asserts that his criminal involvement followed a limited arc. Over several months, he accepted a number of missions from his flashy, vulgar college friend Jake, driving carloads of cannabis across the Mexican border. When arrested, the author received a light sentence of probation and deferred adjudication and a visit from DEA agents, which inspired the none-toothoughtful Jake to threaten Heifner and his family’s lives. This led him to volunteer as a DEA informant in order to keep his family safe. The author works to document Jake’s connection to large loads of pot, even while redeeming himself by returning to school and reconciling with his harried wife. Although Heifner endeavors to get inside his paranoid, angst-ridden mindset, the prose is too hasty—much of the narrative reads like a Maxim true-crime article expanded to book length, with artificial dialogue and a constant stream of cliché and overheated language (“I was a wrecking ball, and everyone else was a straw house”). The lack of verisimilitude is also unfortunate. Heifner does not explicitly identify many of the characters or cases (other than |
an epilogue that mentions the arrest of Jake’s partner), and conveniently, Jake disappeared and is presumed dead. Heifner is an unsympathetic protagonist, as he expresses contempt for the incompetent cops and criminals around him, trumpeting his own superior intelligence rather than looking for nuance or irony in his circumstances, and he portrays minor characters in terms verging on sexist or racist caricature. Adds little to our understanding of violent international drug smuggling.
TWENTYSOMETHING Why Do Young Adults Seem Stuck?
Henig, Robin Marantz; Henig, Samantha Hudson Street/Penguin (304 pp.) $25.95 | Nov. 8, 2012 978-1-59463-096-5
A mother and daughter examine the millennials, children born in the United States from 1980 through 1990. New York Times Magazine contributing writer Robin Henig (Pandora’s Baby: How the First Test Tube Babies Sparked the Reproductive Revolution, 2004, etc.) and daughter Samantha—online news editor at the same magazine—expand on a feature article by Robin that appeared in that magazine in 2010. The millennial generation has been stereotyped as lazy, unable to find meaningful jobs and much more—most of it uncomplimentary. The authors keep their primary focus on whether the millenials are really that different from Baby Boomers and other generations. In nine substantive chapters, each built around a specific issue (career choices, marriage, parenthood, friendship, etc.), the Henigs present evidence and issue a verdict about whether the millennial generation is indeed different from earlier generations. When the point of view switches from mother to daughter, a frequently refreshing change that is never confusing, the change is stated directly or a new typeface appears. Robin and Samantha do not hide all their disagreements, within the nuclear family or as collaborating authors, but they seem to agree on most of the issues. The three realms they conclude are substantially different from generations past are whether and when to become parents; whether and how to pay for education beyond high school; and sorting through a wider range of choices when reaching personal or professional crossroads. Some of the realms that apparently have not changed much include career prospects, how to stay healthy, and the importance of close friends. An examination that escapes the dangers of overgeneralization to provide provocative information presented compellingly.
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“Boldly written, in-depth account of an expatriate aesthete’s dalliance with opium.” from opium fiend
THE LITTLE BLUE BOOK The Essential Guide to Thinking and Talking Democratic
Lakoff, George; Wehling, Elisabeth Free Press (160 pp.) $11.00 paperback | Jun. 26, 2012 978-1-4767-0001-4
A compact handbook on partisan political discourse, with a blueprint for how liberals can switch from playing defense against conservatives to launching a stronger offense. “This is a handbook for Democrats, intended for immediate use in the current political moment,” write Lakoff (Cognitive Science and Linguistics/Univ. of California, Berkeley; The Political Mind: A Cognitive Scientist’s Guide to Your Brain and Its Politics, 2009, etc.) and political strategist Wehling. However, the book’s foundation is deeper, as the authors go beneath the issues of the day to analyze the differences in moral values and framing devices of the two competing ideologies. “Each moral worldview comes with a set of issue frames,” they write. “By frames, we mean structures of ideas that we use to understand the world.” Thus, Democrats and Republicans may agree on the importance of a value such as “freedom,” but have entirely different conceptions of that ideal. Both may proceed from family values that serve as a metaphor for the relationship of the individual and the government, but there’s an ideological chasm separating the “nurturant parent family” envisioned by progressives and the “strict father family” of conservatives. Lakoff and Wehling argue that most voters are morally complex, unlikely to identify with extreme conservatism, but that conservatives have been far more effective at framing debate. They excoriate the evils of privatization, maintaining that less government is code for greater corporate control, and they suggest that liberals start speaking of “revenue” rather than “taxes,” “investment” rather than “government spending,” and “pregnancy prevention” rather than “birth control.” This is not a book likely, or intended, to change anyone’s mind, but it offers analysis and rhetoric through which liberal strategists may attempt to shift the dialogue and win elections.
UNACCOUNTABLE What Hospitals Won’t Tell You and How Transparency Can Revolutionize Health Care
Makary, Martin Bloomsbury (256 pp.) $28.00 | Sep. 18, 2012 978-1-60819-836-8
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Makary, a cancer surgeon and professor of health policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, states in no uncertain terms that medical errors are a nationwide problem affecting thousands of unwitting patients. Often, hospital management operates on corporate models, pursuing profit over quality, resulting in overprescribed procedures and rushed or sloppy surgeries. Despite efforts to make medical care safer, a quarter of all patients in America are harmed by medical mistakes, a statistic that persists largely due to the “code of silence” that exists among doctors. The author argues that transparency, both within hospital personnel and between hospitals and the public, has the potential to radically decrease instances of preventable errors and to eliminate incompetent doctors. For example, making doctor’s notes part of a shareable database of medical records increases accountability and allows patients to make more informed decisions about their health. Similarly, requiring hospitals to tally and share mortality rates for standard surgeries leads to quick improvements in practices. When a hospital’s reputation is on the line, and potential patient dollars are at stake, the impetus to improve becomes significant. When New York state tried this tactic using heart-surgery death rates, the result was “big, broad improvements in mortality, statewide. With each passing year of public reporting, the state’s average death rate went down.” Providing an abundance of hospitalreported data alongside eye-opening anecdotes, Makary gives practical tips on how to navigate the system and receive quality care. However, he insists that without dramatic—though easily implemented—changes, little will improve. A galvanizing book full of shocking truths about the current state of health care.
OPIUM FIEND A 21st Century Slave to a 19th Century Addiction
Martin, Steven Villard (416 pp.) $26.00 | Jul. 1, 2012 978-0-345-51783-8 978-0-345-51785-2 e-book
Boldly written, in-depth account of an expatriate aesthete’s dalliance with opium. Journalist Martin (The Art of Opium Antiques, 2007) builds this unusual memoir around a clever conceit, making literal the similarities between collecting and addiction. Following a San Diego childhood marked by his urge to collect “anything that caught my fancy” and a stint in the Navy, Martin became a Bangkok-based writer of travel guides who first collected textiles before developing a then-obscure specialty: finely crafted opium accessories from the late-19th and early-20th centuries, when usage was both widespread and decried in Asia, America and France. Since then, opportunities to smoke opium have become rare. Organized crime diverts most poppy harvests toward heroin production, and Asian governments crack down upon any resurgence as an embarrassing historical slur. Through his collecting fervor, Martin eventually met a few devotees who had access to
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pure opium, or chandu. Since he by then possessed a unique collection of antique paraphernalia for the smoking ritual, he developed friendships that led first to extravagantly decadent smoking sessions, which via opium’s unique intoxication seemed to them deeply intellectual, but then to his own out-of-control addiction. He was bemused to find both opium’s wondrous qualities and the terrors of dependency much as they were depicted in his research. Ultimately, running out of both money and connections, Martin successfully negotiated the painful withdrawal at a Buddhist monastery. The author’s writing is capable and clear; though some of his opiated reveries can seem pretentious, he captures modern-day Southeast Asia—and the surreal risks of pursuing such experiences there—in vivid, concrete terms. While his depiction of addiction’s hazards is original and harrowing, his intellectual forthrightness seems nervy in the current political tenor, making the book stand out among recent memoirs. Ambitious and thoughtful work, successfully fusing the personal and social by raising complex questions about drugs, addiction and contested cultural narratives. (17 illustrations; photos throughout; map)
PARIS A Love Story
Marton, Kati Simon & Schuster (224 pp.) $24.00 | Aug. 14, 2012 978-1-4516-9154-2
Paris provides a backdrop for this absorbing memoir of love and painful loss, played out on the larger stage of world politics. While walking the streets of Paris, former NPR and ABC News correspondent Marton (Enemies of the People: My Family’s Journey to America, 2009, etc.) mourns her husband, Richard Holbrooke, who died suddenly in 2010. She writes about “experiencing the fluctuating rhythms of loss…grief crashing against a sudden zeal for life,” as she remembers the times she and Holbrooke visited their favorite city. She reminisces about her first trip there as a student, at the age of 18, and her return a decade later as a foreign correspondent heading ABC’s Bonn news bureau. Conducting a passionate though tortured relationship with news anchor Peter Jennings, she would rendezvous with him in Paris between covering events in European hotspots. Despite suffering from a traumatic separation from her parents (during their imprisonment by the Hungarian government), a painful divorce from Jennings and Holbrooke’s death, the author writes of the moments when she is “filled with joy” at her good fortune in having been loved. The highlights of her story include her time in Bonn, during which she interviewed spies in Berlin, traveled to a Palestinian refugee camp, and covered political kidnappings by terrorists, and her later experience hosting notables during Holbrooke’s stint as U.N. ambassador. On a first-name basis with the political movers and shakers on a global stage, Marton has observed world politics in the making and makes space for readers on her catbird seat. (8-page b/w insert) |
RIVER REPUBLIC The Fall and Rise of America’s Rivers
McCool, Daniel Columbia Univ. (400 pp.) $34.50 | $26.99 e-book | Aug. 7, 2012 978-0-231-16130-5 978-0-231-50441-6 e-book
A political scientist’s account of the growing grassroots movement to restore and preserve the nation’s rivers. “America’s rivers are experiencing a renaissance,” writes McCool (Environmental and Sustainability Studies/Univ. of Utah; Native Waters: Contemporary Indian Water Settlements and the Second Treaty Era, 2002, etc.). After many decades of developing, damming, diverting or dirtying nearly all of our rivers, Americans are now demanding clean, free-running waterways. River restoration is “a sociopolitical process, and it goes to the very heart of the concept of participatory democracy.” Drawing on hundreds of interviews and visits to many restoration projects, the author notes that most projects take years to complete and usually begin with action by an “instigator,” a single passionate individual who is an expert at streetlevel politics and can get people to think in new ways. McCool considers a range of efforts, from the modest Matilija Dam removal project on the Ventura River, to massive federally funded projects on the Kissimmee River, the coastal Louisiana projects and the Columbia River’s endangered species programs. The author also traces the history of two federal agencies responsible for much of the nation’s river exploitation: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation. Both agencies, he writes, have long been vehicles for dispensing federal favors (dams, etc.). His inside story of the “Dams-R-Us” Corps, which is now struggling to deal with the damage, is direct and damning. After detailing how rivers have served particular interests through extractive uses, McCool celebrates the many restoration efforts that are revitalizing waterfronts and improving river recreation. Future successes will depend on a careful consideration of various tradeoffs. A broad, up-to-date, hopeful view of our nation’s rivers.
MARK TWAIN AND THE COLONEL Samuel L. Clemens, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Arrival of a New Century McFarland, Philip Rowman & Littlefield (456 pp.) $28.00 | $27.99 e-book | Jul. 16, 2012 978-1-4422-1226-8 978-1-4422-1228-2 e-book
What did two of the most famous Americans of the early 20th century have in common? In this interesting if overlong dual biography of President Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) and Mark Twain (1835–1910), McFarland (Loves of Harriet Beecher Stowe, 2007, etc.) seems
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k i r ku s q & a w i t h e l i b r oa d Eli Broad is a lot of things to a lot of people—capitalist, philanthropist, art collector and innovator, among them. But the billionaire is anything but conventional in his approach to life, money, art and time. Broad’s head for business has yielded two Fortune 500 companies, a considerable boost in the cultural infrastructure of Los Angeles, the founding of the Broad Foundations and a pledge by the author and his wife Edye to give three-quarters of their amassed fortune to philanthropy. In his first book, Broad shares the unusual principles that have led him to achieve success after success. In a wide-ranging conversation about batting averages, Jeff Koons and unconventional thinking, Broad talks to us about The Art of Being Unreasonable.
THE ART OF BEING UNREASONABLE:
Lessons in Unconventional Thinking Eli Broad Wiley (226 pp.) $24.95 May 8, 2012 978-1-118-17321-3
But I believe that if you have a relentless drive to pursue great ideas, if you set high expectations for yourself and others, and if you take smart risks in pursuit of your goals, you can be wildly successful in any endeavor. You have to be smart, ambitious, hardworking and driven. I never set out to do any of the things I accomplished. I was a young CPA who was bored and restless, and I wanted to do something else. The lessons I discuss in the book—like doing homework and learning from history and from others—are applicable to anyone. Q: How would you describe your philosophy of “venture philanthropy?” A: We used to just write checks, which is what I consider charity. But when I left the world of business to pursue philanthropy full time, we knew we wanted to make a real impact. We view our philanthropic work as investments. And by that, I mean we seek a return, but I’m not talking about a financial return. In education reform, we want to see improved student achievement. In scientific and medical research, we want to see breakthroughs that improve human health. In the arts, we want to make art accessible to the broadest public so we look at museum attendance to gauge the success of our investments. We want to know that our philanthropic investments are making a difference to improve people’s lives.
Q: What drives an unreasonable man to do so many unreasonable things? A: I’ve been pretty unreasonable for a long time, dating back to when I was quite young and I decided I could turn a stamp-collecting hobby into a business. My wife figured out my unreasonableness not long after we were married, and she gave me a paperweight—that still sits on my desk—with a quote from George Bernard Shaw that says, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends upon the unreasonable man.” Across four careers—accounting, homebuilding, retirement saving and now philanthropy—I’ve always been driven to make life better for people. Nothing gets me going like someone telling me something can’t be done.
Q: How does your interest in contemporary art help inform your worldview?
Q: How does conventional wisdom impede success? A: The world is filled with people who abide by the status quo and who unconditionally accept conventional wisdom. The most important two words are: Why not? Why can’t something be done? If it hasn’t been done before, that’s not an acceptable answer. All progress—whether the invention of the automobile, the advent of space exploration, the development of the personal computer or the business models I pursued—happened because an entrepreneur asked, “Why not?” All of the ideas I just mentioned were unconventional at the time they were proposed. Q: What makes you believe that your unconventional approach to leadership, decision-making and risk-taking would work for someone other than yourself?
–By Clayton Moore
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p h oto © N a n cy Pa s to r
A: Edye was our family’s first art collector, so I have her to thank for my interest in art. The first major work we acquired was a drawing by Van Gogh. But I’m naturally curious and I like to learn, so as I began to educate myself about art, I learned that the greatest collections were assembled at the time the artist was living, so we started collecting contemporary art. As I started to meet artists like Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons and Jean-Michel Basquiat, I realized how much I enjoyed talking to them, learning about their artistic process and seeing their studios and their work. Artists have a different worldview than lawyers, bankers and business people—all the people I usually spend time with. I find their perspective and their worldview fascinating, and it’s broadened my own worldview.
bent on challenging the conventional wisdom as to which of these two Gilded Age giants had the better progressive credentials. In one corner stands Roosevelt, the war hero and manly man who busted the Standard Oil monopoly, protected national lands, and worked to improve labor conditions. He was also a defiant imperialist who thought it was the duty of America to spread civilization to backward, pagan countries, whether they wanted it or not. In the other corner stands the genius writer and humorist Twain, who helped expose the moral evil of slavery and thought the United States had no business helping “liberate” the Philippines from Spain. He was also a wealthy venture capitalist whose best friends were oil barons and thought government had no business telling John Rockefeller what to do. Roosevelt and Twain were alike in many ways: voluminous writers, beloved celebrities, wealthy men who enjoyed great success and suffered terrible personal tragedy and who opposed slavery but not white supremacy. McFarland’s story is both personal and political, focusing on the lives and philosophies of both subjects. Though his thematic, nonchronological approach highlights differences, it also leads to a lot of repetition of facts, quotes and stories. The still-relevant contrast between these two American powerhouses is well told. Both men were consumed by domestic and international problems that continue to reverberate.
ITS HEAD CAME OFF BY ACCIDENT A Memoir
Mead-Ferro, Muffy TwoDot/Globe Pequot (200 pp.) $14.95 paperback | Sep. 18, 2012 978-0-7627-8064-8
Plodding memoir about a woman’s Wyoming childhood and her adult attempts to live up to her ranching heritage. When bestselling author MeadFerro (Confessions of a Slacker Wife, 2005, etc.) unexpectedly received the clothes in which her ranchwoman mother Mary had died, she was on the verge of giving up her cattle ranch. She had returned to her native Wyoming with her family to make a part-time go at the profession that had defined her parents, especially her mother, but setbacks and doubts about her own abilities as a rancher caused her to almost abandon the project. However, the sight of her mother’s clothes caused her to rethink her plans and awakened memories of a childhood spent on the range. Her family’s multiple Jackson Hole ranches were “literally the stuff of postcards and paintings.” Mead-Ferro realized that this beauty and order, along with everything she experienced on that ranch, were the fruit of three generations’ worth of commitment and sacrifice. In tribute to her forebears, she chronicles their lives, starting with her great-grandfather. While he accumulated the land and cattle, his son solidified the family’s reputation by becoming governor and later, a Wyoming state senator. His daughter, Mary, and her husband then became stewards of the land. The author provides some vivid details |
about the mechanics of ranch life, but her awkward, strained attempts at folksiness, marginally interesting character portraits and general lack of insight make for unsatisfying reading. A mostly dull rendering of the author’s attempt to “live up to [her] birthright.”
A MISSION FROM GOD A Memoir and Challenge for America
Meredith, James with Doyle, William Atria (288 pp.) $25.00 | Aug. 7, 2012 978-1-4516-7472-9 The first black graduate of the University of Mississippi pontificates on his place in civil rights history. In this somewhat hyperbolic memoir of his challenges to white supremacy in Mississippi in the 1960s, Meredith displays little doubt of his importance to the movement. Born in Kosciusko, Miss., in 1933, Meredith was the great-grandson of the Confederate legal officer J.A.P. Campbell, who later fashioned Mississippi’s code of white supremacy, and the son of a hardworking farmer with the “wisdom of a prophet” who inspired Meredith with a “divine responsibility to save the black race.” Inferiority to whites was not acceptable to Meredith, and nearly a decade in the Air Force proved a severe trial, especially when the only time he experienced fairness and respect was while stationed in Japan in the late ’50s. He vowed that to be a man, he had to force change back home. Completing a degree in political science at Ole Miss, the “holiest temple of white supremacy in America,” had been an early dream, and his case was taken up by Medgar Evers, Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP, and eventually settled by the Supreme Court. The Little Rock Nine had cracked open Arkansas’s Central High School in 1957 with the help of U.S. combat troops, and Meredith, disdaining King’s efforts at nonviolent civil disobedience, hoped for the same powerful display of federal force. He got it. Surrounded by troops, he stood up to Gov. Ross Robert Barnett Jr. over two fraught weeks in September 1962 as the state and its defiant white citizens staged an insurrection against the Kennedy brothers. Meredith elaborates on his becoming irresistible to women, black and white, his shooting in 1966 and his uneasy relationship with civil rights leaders and politicians, and he ends with an urgent plea for hands-on improvement to public school education. Revealing details of this fraught era couched in an overly self-aggrandizing tone. (Author appearances in Atlanta and Jackson, Miss.)
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FROM THE RUINS OF EMPIRE The Intellectuals Who Remade Asia
CROCKETT JOHNSON AND RUTH KRAUSS How an Unlikely Couple Found Love, Dodged the FBI, and Transformed Children’s Literature
Mishra, Pankaj Farrar, Straus and Giroux (368 pp.) $27.00 | Aug. 28, 2012 978-0-374-24959-5
A widely researched, ambitious study of several important early agitators against Western domination in India, China and the Muslim world. Mishra (Temptations of the West: How to Be Modern in India, Pakistan, Tibet, and Beyond, 2006, etc.) asserts that the intellectual and political awakening of Asia as it moved into the modern world forms one of the great themes of the 20th century. The author touches on defining historical moments in terms of galvanizing Asian self-consciousness and nationalism—e.g, Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Boxer Rebellion, the Russo-Japanese War, the founding of Turkey on Ottoman ruins and Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Mishra focuses mostly on three thinkers in the Asian world less wellknown than Gandhi or Mao, but whose ideas and writings influenced them hugely. They include Persian-born Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, who developed a virulent hatred of imperial powers while moving among Afghanistan, India, Turkey, Egypt and Persia, stressing the need to form a Pan-Islamic front to resist Western incursions; Liang Qichao, a reform-minded journalist who escaped from arrest in China and found in cosmopolitan Japan a refuge and model for resistance and national survival; and Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali who founded experimental schools and preached rural harmony against urban aggressiveness, rejected “mindless imitation of the West,” and urged Eastern spiritual wisdom as a replacement for Western venality. All well-traveled, these thinkers observed the West’s moral bankruptcy, such as America’s treatment of blacks, huge inequality in wealth and restriction of immigration to Japanese, and developed a transformation of consciousness. They were critics of the West, “revitalizers of tradition” and often religious purists, and their ideas would catch fire in such avenues as the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and modern Salafism. A perfect springboard for many necessary ideas and historical characters to be studied in depth. (6 b/w illustrations)
Nel, Philip Univ. Press of Mississippi (400 pp.) $40.00 paperback | Sep. 1, 2012 978-1-61703-636-1 A thoroughgoing, if dispassionate, portrait of two relentlessly creative types whose contributions to children’s literature—epochal as they are—make up only part of the story. While Krauss’ A Hole Is To Dig (1952) and Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) are well-known classics of children’s literature, Nel (Director, Kansas St. Univ. Program in Children’s Literature; The Avant-Garde and American Postmodernity, 2002, etc.) makes sturdy cases for regarding Johnson’s comic strip Barnaby as a landmark in the history of cartoons, and Krauss as a significant creator of avant-garde poetry and theater pieces for adults in the 1960s and ’70s. Aside from shared interests in each other and in leftist politics, the two seem better defined here by their differences: He was big, quiet and bearlike, she was small and intense; he thought of himself as a cartoonist, she as primarily a writer. His most renowned published work largely reflects his own experiences and inner child; hers (for younger audiences) was inspired by observations of, and overheard remarks by, actual children. They collaborated on just four of their many dozens of books. Later in their lives, while she was making a splash in the New York cultural scene, he took to painting visual representations of mathematical and geometrical formulas—many of which are now in the Smithsonian Institution. Succumbing only occasionally to the temptation to drop tedious lists of family, friends or famous guests at various functions, Nel draws on a decade of archival research and more than 80 interviews to track their personal and professional relationships—notably with Maurice Sendak, whose career was launched with his illustrations for A Hole Is To Dig, and the entertainingly fiery editor Ursula Nordstrom—and multifaceted careers. Likely to become the go-to biography of these two iconic figures—for specialists, but not just those in children’s literature. (88 b/w illustrations)
NONBELIEVER NATION The Rise of Secular Americans Niose, David Palgrave Macmillan (256 pp.) $27.00 | Jul. 27, 2012 978-0-230-33895-1
American Humanist Association president Niose provides a thorough examination of modern secular movements in America, while lumping believers together in disdain. 1348
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“A comprehensive, authoritative new study that challenges the received wisdom regarding Mao’s relationship with Stalin and the Soviet Union.” from mao
From the beginning of the book, the author pits “Secular Americans” (identified as atheists, agnostics, humanists and those who are generally nonreligious) against “the Religious Right,” an amorphous group who appear throughout as the source of most of America’s ills over the past 30 years. Niose points out that while nonbelievers have always existed in American society, only recently have they begun to act to institute changes in public policy, mainly as a direct reaction to the religious right. Looking back to America’s founding, Niose argues that “a fair assessment of history would reveal that the structure of American government was not intended to be either proreligion or antireligion, but simply neutral on religion.” Where religion did become involved in early American public life, he writes, it was harmful or even disastrous (e.g., the Salem witch trials). Niose echoes the argument of other modern nonbelievers that religion is usually immoral in its effects on society, whereas secularism is untainted by any immoral past. This sets the stage for the author’s extended assault on the religious right, which is characterized as anti-intellectual, hypocritical and belligerent. The most useful part of the book is Niose’s survey of the rise of organized secularism. He discusses important figures in the secular movement, landmark Supreme Court cases and the creation and growth of national organizations. Readers hoping to better understand the background of today’s secular movement will find solid material, and secular activists will applaud the author’s zeal for the cause. The vast majority of religious Americans, however, will not see themselves in this book at all. While it may be understandable that Niose attacks the most radical of the faithful, it is less understandable that he ignores the existence of the vast majority of people of faith. A loaded attack on religion redeemed by a useful examination of secularism.
THE BEST SCIENCE WRITING ONLINE 2012
Ouellette, Jennifer--Ed. Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux (384 pp.) $16.00 paperback | Sep. 18, 2012 978-0-374-53334-2 A collection of solid science writing celebrating a diversity of topics, writer credentials and styles. Among other topics, readers will discover that the Dutch East India Company colonized South Africa with farmers to supply their ships with scurvy-preventing produce on their way to Asia. Editor Ouellette (The Calculus Diaries: How Math Can Help You Lose Weight, Win in Vegas, and Survive a Zombie Apocalypse, 2010, etc.) also includes entries on ecology (including gems by Deborah Blum and Carl Zimmer); genetics (e.g., a wonderful essay explaining gene sequencing by molecular biologist Richard Winkle); Ethiopian “church forests,” virtual Edens that surround churches in an otherwise bleak landscape; how sperm corkscrew their way to their targets; how to finance star travel; and an essay on what constitutes a scientist’s |
“greatness.” The editor draws many of the pieces from the blogging network of the Scientific American, and often the contributor’s background and academic and/or publishing history provide assurance of factual accuracy—but not always peerless editing. With the independence and free spirit that characterizes blogging, the role of the editor may be lost, and some of the pieces are overwritten. In a provocative piece, journalist David Dobbs argues for an end to the delays of peer review, as well as the exclusivity and costs of publishing papers in revered science journals. He opts instead for open access online, and he blames researchers for hewing to the outdated print journal model. Proof that science writing online is healthy and growing. For naive surfers, an anthology like this will help separate the wheat from the chaff. (40 b/w illustrations)
MAO The Real Story
Pantsov, Alexander V.; Levine, Steven I. Simon & Schuster (736 pp.) $35.00 | Oct. 2, 2012 978-1-4516-5447-9
A comprehensive, authoritative new study that challenges the received wisdom regarding Mao’s relationship with Stalin and the Soviet Union. With rare access to the newly consolidated Russian State Archive of Social and Political History, Pantsov (History/Capital Univ.; The Bolsheviks and the Chinese Revolution, 1919-1927, 2000) and Levine construct an “up-to-date” take on the Chinese Communist Party and Mao’s rise in it as being essentially dictated by Stalin and financially supported by the Soviet Union through the 1950s. Stalin manipulated Mao to his own ends; only after Stalin’s death and Mao’s increasingly antagonistic relationship with Khrushchev did the Chinese pull away from the Soviet Union as part of an “emancipation of consciousness.” The authors’ detail is minute and the characters proliferate mindbendingly, especially in the careful reconstruction of Mao’s rise from rube and community organizer to national leader. Pantsov and Levine depict Mao with all his conflicting facets, from the early bookworm and idealist who initially scorned the “stupidity” of the masses, to becoming the party’s self-made prophet on the agrarian question, espousing the proletarian confiscation of land from the landlords. He was a man of enormous energy and capacity for love who was nonetheless hardened by the intraparty struggle against Chiang Kai-shek; he was also a utopian socialist who embarked on the modernization scheme of the Great Leap Forward in 1957 after a stimulating trip to Moscow. The great famine that ensued did not dampen Mao’s enthusiasm for revolutionary incentives, as played out tragically in the Red Guards’ devastation, and his “irrepressible lust for violence” has been largely forgiven by history because he consolidated China’s “national liberation.” The Great Helmsman fully fleshed, still complicated and ever provocative. (16-page b/w insert)
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SACRED GROUND Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America
Patel, Eboo Beacon (224 pp.) $24.95 | Sep. 4, 2012 978-0-8070-7748-1
The furor over the establishment of the “Ground Zero Mosque” underscores this interfaith leader’s urgent plea for pluralism. The Chicago-based founder of the Interfaith Youth core and appointee to President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council, Patel (Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation, 2007, etc.) writes out of a deep concern over the virulence found in the “anti-Muslim blogosphere” in reaction to Imam Feisal’s plans for a Muslim community center near ground zero. Planned by Feisal as a “place of peace, a place of services and solutions for the community,” Cordoba House nonetheless raised hackles among conservatives, who branded even moderates like Feisal and Patel, who have devoted their careers to interfaith cooperation, as extremists. Nearly 10 years after 9/11, the community was stunned by the verbal attacks, and Patel wondered how anti-Muslim fervor could have again reached this pitch. He sought out some of the model leaders for guidance, such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, fiercely devoted to taking an inclusive, pluralistic approach; popular American Muslim speaker Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, who welcomed the current conservative backlash as “a national discussion we’ve needed to have”; and the Dalai Lama, who declared his ignorance of Islam and proceeded to immerse himself in the study of the religion. Especially elucidating is Patel’s exploration of historical examples of American bigotry, including Peter Stuyvesant’s banning of Quaker prayer meetings and the pernicious current of anti-Catholicism in national politics, from the Know Nothing Party of 1854 to the Evangelical opposition to JFK’s candidacy for president. Catholicism was deemed anti-freedom, hierarchical and bent on world domination, much as Shariah is considered today. Patel looks at what truly works in inculcating interfaith cooperation: bringing youth of all backgrounds together to share stories and develop personal understanding. A passionate call for nurturing tolerance and diversity.
THE SINATRA CLUB My Life Inside the New York Mafia
Polisi, Sal; Dougherty, Steve Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (384 pp.) $26.00 | Jul. 24, 2012 978-1-4516-4287-2 A decade of turmoil in the life of a Mafia associate, back when the New York underworld ruled supreme. Polisi’s brassy guided tour of his time as a member of the Colombo and Gambino crime families is consistently accented by burgeoning “professional” 1350
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relationships with kingpins like John Gotti, who, when the pair met in 1972, was a swaggering, self-assured “gangster’s gangster” thirsty for action. It was a pivotal year for the New York mob’s five families, as The Godfather launched and the American Mafia ascended in both notoriety and affluence. By his early 20s, the Brooklyn-born Polisi was married and had two sons, as well as a lengthy rap sheet and the moniker of “Crazy Sal.” Early on in the author’s fearless chronicle, the mobster unabashedly concedes to being a “street guy,” as he and young Gambino sidekick Foxy Jerothe became intoxicated by the thrill of robbing banks, orchestrating heists, loansharking, dodging bullets and gambling at the Colombo family base camp: the renowned Sinatra Club in Queens. Polisi also inserts frequently dark historical anecdotes and heady personal confessions of his unrepentant philandering on his doting wife Angela and a laundry list of illicit escapades from the ’70s through the mid-’80s. In the evocative final chapters, Polisi details how he eventually flipped and became a protected witness in Gotti’s criminal proceedings, a move that further contributed to the downfall and demise of the mob’s “brotherhood of hoodlums.” An audacious memoir unveiling the machinations of the mob.
THE GOOD GIRLS REVOLT How the Women of Newsweek Sued Their Bosses and Changed the Workplace
Povich, Lynn PublicAffairs (256 pp.) $25.99 | Sep. 10, 2012 978-1-61039-173-3
Firsthand account of the female Newsweek employees who sued their employer in 1970 for sex discrimination. Journalist Povich began her career in the mid-’60s at the magazine’s Paris bureau as a secretary, photo researcher, telex operator and occasional reporter. In 1975, she became the first female senior editor in the magazine’s history. Here, she chronicles the five-year legal battle that she and the women of Newsweek waged against the company, laying the groundwork for women’s advancement at the publication and in other careers in the areas of journalism, law and society. The Newsweek case was also the first female class-action suit filed in the United States. The women were a cohort of educated well-mannered “good girls” of the ’40s and ’50s, raised to be apolitical and accept the status quo in the workplace and society. But Povich and her co-workers found themselves stymied professionally and personally by the male-dominated work environment at Newsweek. Today it may be difficult to comprehend, but when the case was filed, there were few professional women in the United States. “Until around 1970,” writes Povich, “women comprised fewer than 10 percent of students in medical school, 4 percent of law school students, and only 3 percent of business school students.” The author describes the women’s initial trepidation, followed
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by a feeling of empowerment. By standing up for what they believed they were entitled to, some flourished while others fell prey to a hostile work environment. As one of the plaintiffs said, “A lot of women were prepared socially and emotionally for it, but for those of us who were traditional women, you couldn’t switch off overnight just because we won a lawsuit.” Povich’s in-depth research, narrative skills and eyewitness observations provide an entertaining and edifying look at a pivotal event in women’s history. (8-page b/w photo insert)
THE SEED UNDERGROUND A Growing Revolution to Save Food Ray, Janisse Chelsea Green (240 pp.) $17.95 paperback | Aug. 1, 2012 978-1-60358-306-0
A naturalist’s rally for the preservation of heirloom seeds amid the agricultural industry’s increasing monoculture. Ray (Drifting into Darien: A Personal and Natural History of the Altamaha River, 2011, etc.) unabashedly proclaims that seeds are “miracles in tiny packages.” Through accounts of her own journey in saving them, as well as facts and anecdotes, she urges readers to consider the practice, in order to avoid genetic erosion, to improve health, to work against a system that determines and limits availability, and more. Without stridence, Ray forthrightly presents her case, advocating for small organic farmers and less corporate dependence. In her most persuasive chapters, she recounts her travels in Georgia, Vermont, Iowa and North Carolina to meet others involved in saving specific varieties. She emphasizes the importance of diversity and also the ways in which preservation becomes a cultural resource; each seed bears a singular history that is often not only regional, but familial. Readers new to the topic will find that Ray’s impassioned descriptions skillfully combine discussions on plant genetics and the metaphorical potential of seeds. Alternating between science and personal stories of finding her own farm, attending a Seed Savers Exchange convention, and increasing activism, the author also includes a brief section on basic seed saving and concludes with chapters that confront the idea of the homegrown as merely idyllic. With a nod toward Wendell Berry, this work emphasizes the importance of individuals working as a community. Recommended for experienced gardeners—guerrilla or otherwise—and novices searching for alternatives to processed, corporatized food.
POSTSCRIPTS Retrospections on Time and Place
Root, Robert Univ. of Nebraska (216 pp.) $16.95 paperback | Sep. 1, 2012 978-0-8032-3846-6
A disparate, often disappointing collection of essays on place and time, enlivened by the inclusion of pertinent excerpts from the writings of E.B. White. Root (English Language and Literature Emeritus/Central Michigan Univ.; Following Isabella: Travels in Colorado Then and Now, 2009, etc.) brings together 13 pieces of nature writing, 11 of which have previously been published in somewhat different form in various literary publications. The author is clearly a great admirer of White, devoting four of his pieces to that author. Unfortunately, his own writing pales in comparison to that of one of the masters of creative nonfiction. Root’s focus on the mundane details of his travels around Great Pond in Maine keeps his work from having the emotional impact of White’s account of returning as a father to a lake he had first known as a son. A similar problem occurs with an essay in which Root quotes liberally from White’s witty rhyming book review of Louis Bromfield’s Malabar Farm. Root tells of his tour of Malabar Farm State Park in Ohio and provides some history of the place and of its novelist owner’s ideas on farming, but it is White’s review in verse that stays in the mind. Root’s musings on time and place come into their own in Chaco Canyon and in the tides and heavy fogs of Acadia National Park, where the history of the land is preserved in the names of tribes and colonists. The author is even sharper when he writes about Florida, where the absence of clear seasons can delude one into thinking that time has stood still. An uneven collection in which too many parts read more like a journeyman’s records of where he’s been and what he’s seen than the work of a longtime teacher of the art of literary nonfiction.
SHAKESPEARE’S TREMOR AND ORWELL’S COUGH The Medical Lives of Great Writers Ross, John J. St. Martin’s (288 pp.) $24.99 | Oct. 16, 2012 978-0-312-60076-1 978-1-250-01207-4 e-book
A doctor looks at symptoms afflicting writers from the Elizabethan era to
the mid-20th century. Ross, an infectious disease specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard, is well qualified to take on this topic. He approaches his subjects |
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“A pleasant collection of honest, critically discriminating encounters with the Jewish faith and culture.” from am i a jew?
chronologically, giving the book an added element of medical history, which is sometimes as interesting as the attempts to diagnose the subjects from the occasionally sketchy evidence. Shakespeare may well have suffered from syphilis, but references to it in his works aren’t necessarily proof that he did. Ross knows this, of course, and he makes a good effort to bring in other evidence. Other than specialists in literary history, most readers will find out more about these writers than they have ever known. That is especially true for the medical material. Who knew there were (reasonably) effective treatments for venereal disease during the Renaissance? The discussions of Swift’s dementia and Milton’s blindness offer windows into the social milieus in which the writers moved, as well as their rather difficult personalities. Melville and Hawthorne were friends, and Oliver Wendell Holmes treated both in his role as a physician. The role of Ezra Pound in advancing the careers of Yeats and Joyce, and several other top-rank writers, may almost excuse his support for fascism in World War II. Ross offers plenty of other surprising connections between topics. The book’s weakest points are the author’s occasional attempts to fictionalize some of his subjects’ experiences. Especially recommended for readers who enjoy historical context with their great books. (14 b/w illustrations)
AM I A JEW? Lost Tribes, Lapsed Jews, and One Man’s Search for Himself
Ross, Theodore Hudson Street/Penguin (288 pp.) $25.95 | Sep. 1, 2012 978-1-59463-095-8
Men’s Journal articles editor Ross embarks on a sampling mission of Jewish experiences. Born to Jewish parents, when the author was 9 years old, he moved with his mother, divorced and with a failed medical practice in New York City, to Mississippi. Fearing the repercussions of professing their religion in that place at that time, and not altogether comfortable with Judaism in general, she told her children to say they were Unitarians, and little of real Jewishness touched their lives. Time passed, and Ross wanted to know more about his Jewish identity. “The result has been a furtive fascination with Judaism,” he writes, “one that compels and repels in equal measure.” That ambivalence serves him well as he investigates some of the more eccentric strains of Judaism to see if they speak to him of his Jewish identity. Ross’ voice is both questioning and questing, the passion tamped but alight, and a few communities were seemingly amenable to his way in the world: Reboot, “the Jewish illuminati,” were obvious candidates, but the author wondered about their distinctive efficacy regarding identity, and a Classical Reform Congregation was enticing—liberal, principled, rooted, free of stereotypes—but its cult of synthesis interweaving Judaism and Americanism felt muddled. Ross is a fine practitioner of the kaleidoscopic 1352
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research approach, but for clear reasons he was not going to join Hasidic, ultra-Orthodox or Crypto-Jewish groups. His lack of faith did not deter him, and he found meaning in contemporary Judaism’s “iconoclasm, abstract monotheism, and social justice,” and its undetectable Supreme Being. A pleasant collection of honest, critically discriminating encounters with the Jewish faith and culture.
HAPPIER AT HOME Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon a Project, Read Samuel Johnson, and My Other Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life Rubin, Gretchen Crown Archetype (320 pp.) $26.00 | Sep. 4, 2012 978-0-307-88678-1 978-0-307-88680-4 e-book
A well-meaning but not especially insightful guide to deriving greater satisfaction in life by feeling “more at home, at home.” In this sequel to her bestselling The Happiness Project (2009), Rubin explores some of the elements that influence happiness in domestic contexts. After being inexplicably “hit by an intense wave of homesickness” in the well-ordered world of her New York apartment, she created a plan to examine the concepts she saw as inextricably linked to her own personal satisfaction. “I took my circumstances for granted,” she writes. “[I] wanted to appreciate my life more, and to live up to it better.” Rubin began her learning project in September, just as her children were going back to school. She first took account of her possessions and the relationship she had to them and discovered that her material happiness came from wanting what she had rather than making efforts to have more or less. Rubin reached similarly mundane conclusions about other concepts in the months that followed. Marriage, family and parenthood took work, and time management was as essential as determining how to most meaningfully use it. Taking care of herself and feeling good were important because how she behaved influenced the happiness of those around her, and staying mindful of the present was the key to appreciating just “how fleeting [and] how precious” her seemingly ordinary days actually were. Rubin’s aim is clearly to help people enhance their relationship to all things domestic, but the portrait of her privileged, relatively trouble-free home, along with the earnestness with which she speaks of being a “moral essayist” interested in delineating “the practice of everyday life,” make her look out of touch. Read Samuel Johnson instead.
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LOOKING FOR TRANSWONDERLAND Travels in Nigeria
Saro-Wiwa, Noo Soft Skull Press (272 pp.) $15.95 paperback | Oct. 9, 2012 978-1-61902-007-8
A Nigerian-born English journalist makes peace with the land that killed her father. Ken Saro-Wiwa was a Nigerian nonviolent political activist campaigning against government corruption and environmental degradation when he was falsely accused by the military regime and executed in 1995. His daughter Noo, a twin to her sister, Zina, born in 1976 and educated in England and the United States, maintained a mostly antagonistic relationship toward the land of her Ogoni parents, who sent the children on summer holidays back to the family compound where the heat, disorder, lack of running water and electricity consumed the author with dread. Now a young woman self-admittedly spoiled by the amenities of English life, the author allows her love-hate relationship with Nigeria to flavor this thoughtful travel journal, lending it irony, wit and frankness, yet also an undertone of bitterness. Starting in Lagos, staying at the home of her mother’s friend, she was overwhelmed by the noise and tumult of the city, teeming with 300-odd ethnic groups that were miraculously not worn down by quotidian inconveniences such as five-hour commutes, poorly paid jobs ($2 at most per day) and a constant need for haggling and hustling to make ends meet. Indeed, a Pentecostal faith inspired many Nigerians, rendering them by one account the happiest people in the world. From Lagos, “feral and impenetrable,” Saro-Wiwa trekked through Nigerian land and history, to the university town of Ibadan, the modern urban metropolis of Abuja, Kano and the Islamic northern recesses, national parks and nature preserves, civic-minded Calabar and formerly glorious Benin, before facing the “tense oil-city” and difficult childhood memories of Port Harcourt. A vigorous, scathing look at Nigeria then and now.
VOLCKER The Triumph of Persistence Silber, William L. Bloomsbury (352 pp.) $30.00 | Sep. 4, 2012 978-1-60819-070-6
From a fellow economist, an admiring biography of Paul A. Volcker. Born in 1927, Volcker attended Princeton and eventually landed in the U.S. Treasury Department as an influential policymaker. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter appointed him chairman of the Federal Reserve, making the imposing man the most visible banker anywhere; Ronald Reagan retained Volcker |
as chairman. In some respects, Silber (Finance and Economics/New York Univ., Stern School of Business; When Washington Shut Down Wall Street: The Great Financial Crisis of 1914 and the Origins of America’s Monetary Supremacy, 2007, etc.) delivers a conventional chronological biography light on Volcker’s personal life. The author focuses instead on three daring policy battles that changed the world economic order: removing the U.S. dollar from its link to the gold supply; using fresh fiscal policies to tamp down high inflation rates; and President Obama’s involving the octogenarian Volcker in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Obama hoped, not entirely in vain, that the combination of Volcker’s brilliant mind and untarnished reputation would lead to a more secure banking system through a combination of moral suasion, executive branch regulation and congressional legislation. While Silber is admiring, he provides copious evidence that Volcker is worthy of his credibility. Without Volcker in charge at certain intervals, he writes, the American financial system might have tipped from the verge of collapse into total meltdown. Although not the first biography of Volcker, Silber’s book is the most up-to-date and blessedly free of jargon.
THE STORY OF AIN’T America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published Skinner, David Harper/HarperCollins (350 pp.) $25.99 | Oct. 9, 2012 978-0-06-202746-7
Former Weekly Standard editor and current Humanities magazine editor Skinner debuts with the story of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, whose 1961 publication prompted assorted pundits to declare that the end of civilization was nigh. Imagine a time when a dictionary could animate the media as much as a political sex scandal. It wasn’t that long ago. Skinner, who serves on the usage panel for the American Heritage Dictionary, knows dictionaries and how they are made and devotes a large portion of his attention to the nouns-and-verbs aspects of lexicography. (How are words discovered and selected? How are definitions written? Where do the examples come from?) The author also profiles the people who made the decisions about the book, including Dr. Philip Gove, editor-in-chief for the project, and his predecessors and successors. The author also sketches the stories of the dictionary’s harshest critics, principally Dwight Macdonald, whose biography Skinner distributes throughout. He examines the powerful cultural forces involved, including the rise of structural linguistics and cultural relativism, the effects of TV and movies on vocabulary, and the country’s changing demographics. We learn why the F-bomb and others are not in the book, and why Gove changed the style of definitions, why he included so many varying pronunciations, and why he viewed the volume as descriptive rather than prescriptive. This latter
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“An engrossing biography of a woman worthy of iconic status.” from dearie
function is what ignited critics, many of whom believed the lexicographers had caved and had no interest in maintaining standards. (The author points out that ain’t was in many dictionaries, including Webster’s Second.) Skinner carefully identifies the critics’ errors and the lexicographers’ missteps, and he explores the economics and politics of the dictionary business. Perhaps too much Macdonald and not enough logogeekery, but a well-researched, even loving, look at our language and its landlords.
ON A FARTHER SHORE The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson Souder, William Crown (496 pp.) $30.00 | Sep. 4, 2012 978-0-307-46220-6
Fifty years after the publication of Rachel Carson’s seminal Silent Spring, Pulitzer Prize nominee Souder (Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of The Birds of America, 2004, etc.) examines the legacy and lasting impact of Carson’s passionate environmental work. “By 1959, some eighty million pounds of DDT were being used annually in the United States,” writes the author. Already a vocal conservationist, Carson had long suspected that pesticide use was accumulatively detrimental to animals and humans. This holistic view of the living world was startling and prescient, and it struck a chord with an American public that was already spooked by the similar dangers of fallout from nuclear testing. Carson grappled with the literary celebrity that accompanied Silent Spring, yearning to maintain a quiet, private life yet forced to answer the powerful opposition she faced from the chemical industry. Souder writes beautifully about this dichotomy, revealing intimate details about the writing process and her relationships with editors, fans, family and her beloved companion Dorothy Freeman, with whom she spent some of her happiest moments while on the Maine coastline. The author also conducted ample contextual research, providing readers with a clear sense of the political, economic and social ramifications of DDT use and the threat of atomic warfare and how Carson’s writing played a vital role in progressive public policy for decades after her death. One wonders how the past 50 years might have been different were Carson alive to write about global warming, fossil fuels, the erosion of coral reefs and other similar matters. That her views on DDT were eventually proven correct is just a small part of her legacy as an environmental pioneer, but also a defining instance of citizen activism. A poignant, galvanizing, meaningful tribute.
DEARIE The Remarkable Life of Julia Child Spitz, Bob Knopf (432 pp.) $29.95 | Aug. 15, 2012 978-0-307-27222-5
Published to coincide with what would have been her 100th birthday, this biography of the iconic Julia Child (1912–2004) does full justice to its complex subject. Spitz (The Saucier’s Apprentice: One Long Strange Trip through the Great Cooking Schools of Europe, 2008, etc.) describes the “irrepressible reality” of Child, who became a TV superstar, effectively launching “public television into the spotlight, big-time.” In his view, the 1961 publication of her book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, came at just the right time. Americans were tired of the preceding “era of dreary button-down conformity,” and they were ready for a gastronomic revolution. Frustrated housewives reading Betty Friedan’s groundbreaking The Feminine Mystique welcomed the larger-than-life personality and showmanship of this tall, outspoken woman as she demonstrated the intricacies of French recipes with what appeared to be blithe disregard when things went wrong. Child reveled in her celebrity status, but this was only one aspect of her complex personality. Like most women of her generation born in traditional upper-middle-class homes, she was not expected to have an independent career. A wartime stint in the OSS was liberating. Not only did she hold a highly responsible job, but she met and married career diplomat Paul Child, moving with him to France. Popular accounts of her life, including the book and film Julie and Julia, describe her enchantment with French haute cuisine and her determination to master the skills of a top chef. Spitz captures another side of her complex personality: her fierce diligence in mastering the science as well as the art of cooking through detailed experimentation and her concern to translate the preparation of complex French recipes for readers in America—an attention to detail that carried over to her TV programs. An engrossing biography of a woman worthy of iconic status. (First printing of 100,000. Author tour to Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington, D.C.)
WALKING THE AMAZON 860 Days. One Step at a Time.
Stafford, Ed Plume (320 pp.) $16.00 paperback | Sep. 1, 2012 978-0-452-29826-2 A memoir of an astonishing trip walking “nine million-odd steps” for more than two years along the Amazon River’s course from Peruvian headwaters to Brazilian mouth.
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In this book about becoming the first person to perambulate the Amazon’s entire length, Stafford chronicles the countless obstacles he faced, including canoes of armed indigenous peoples, dehydration, sickness, lack of sleep (his insomnia caused “the hopeless despair of seeing the sun rise when I had still not managed to stop my brain racing”) and overwhelming swarms of insects. In addition to the stories of his impressive adventures, the author explores his friendship with the longest lasting of his many walking companions, Gadiel “Cho” Sanchez Rivera. Along the way, Stafford wonders if trying to break a record is “selfish,” and he acknowledges that those with lofty goals occasionally occupy an “insular bubble of blinkered determination.” Not this author, however; faraway events and nightly reading impacted him as much as immediate concerns of hunger. Stafford’s writing is lyrical and mostly engaging, and he offers numerous anecdotes about how to survive in the wild. On the verge of starvation, he and Cho found a tortoise, and the author’s recounting of its preparation is as engrossing as the meat was nourishing. Though boredom threatened Stafford’s appreciation of the unfamiliar, he was always able to recapture the joy of discovery. For him, “everything is relative and, when you’ve been walking for 639 days, a ten-day leg through unknown jungle that no one in the village could remember being walked in living history seemed nothing.” A gripping celebration of physical and mental endurance.
SEWARD Lincoln’s Indispensable Man
Stahr, Walter Simon & Schuster (704 pp.) $32.50 | Sep. 11, 2012 978-1-4391-2116-0
A sympathetic, evenhanded reappraisal of President Lincoln’s secretary of state as a statesman who practiced effective preventive strategies. Stahr (John Jay, 2005) takes issue with some of the previous “hostile” criticism of his subject as being formed after the Civil War (e.g., by Gideon Welles) and thus lending an imbalanced portrait, which the present historian aims to correct. Neither Seward nor Lincoln kept a diary of events during the era, and the author often searches for answers in the historical record by returning to contemporary sources. One question was whether Seward tried to dissuade Lincoln from issuing his Emancipation Proclamation or merely questioned its timing. (Stahr comes down on the former.) Wading through the maelstrom of congressional criticism of Seward during the war, Stahr finds that he played his diplomatic cards toward England and Russia exceedingly well. Seward was able to convince Lincoln and the cabinet to surrender the two Confederate ministers bound for England aboard the Trent in November 1861, arguing that to not do so was to risk Britain’s declaring war on the U.S. Stahr considers the full life of this energetic, devoted, certainly not flawless public servant, from his one term as Whig governor of New York, to his years in the U.S. Senate and beyond. The author amply |
shows how his loss to Lincoln for the first Republican presidential nomination of 1860 only spelled the nation’s gain, as Seward then campaigned tirelessly for his opponent and never lagged in his devotion to the Union. A thorough, refreshing biography by an independentminded historian. (16-page b/w insert; 3 maps)
SOME REMARKS Essays and Other Writing
Stephenson, Neal Morrow/HarperCollins (288 pp.) $25.99 | $12.99 e-book | Aug. 7, 2012 978-0-06-202443-5 978-0-06-213361-8 e-book The author of The Baroque Cycle series and works of speculative fiction offers a miscellany of stories and essays, some of classic Stephensonian length. In a breezy, self-deprecating introduction, Stephenson (Reamde, 2011, etc.) credits (blames?) others for the idea for this collection. The pieces range from mildly hectoring essays of advice (we should move around more) to more learned pieces about the intellectual war between Newton and Leibnitz, to fluff about the differences between “geeking out” and “vegging out.” Stephenson also includes the text of a speech at Gresham College, a revealing interview with Salon and a massively long but massively interesting piece of investigative journalism for Wired, which deals with the history, technology and logistics of the submarine cable industry. The author traveled across the world—and back in time—to explain in ways surely comprehensible to most readers how all of this started, how it works, and what it costs. Although the piece is now dated a bit (as are a number of the others here), the historical significance of his work is sizeable. Readers will emerge from that labyrinthine piece with a more comprehensive understanding of how the Internet works, how information gets from here to there and back again. Stephenson also includes some fiction, including a speculative tale about e-money and a single-sentence beginning to an otherwise-unwritten crime novel set in Middle-earth. In some of the op-ed-like pieces, the author urges more reading, defends his genre against those who disparage it, wonders why we don’t understand religious zealots, and bemoans what he views as a lack of will to pursue the sort of innovation that characterized the era of space exploration. He ends with an explanation and apology for not answering emails from his fans. A occasionally uneven but mostly engaging assortment from a talented literary mind. (Author appearances in Austin, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Diego, Seattle)
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FLOYD PATTERSON The Fighting Life of Boxing’s Invisible Champion
Stratton, W.K. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (288 pp.) $25.00 | Jul. 10, 2012 978-0-15-101430-9
Meet the nicest boxer ever. A winner, then loser, then winner of the World Heavyweight Championship, boxer Floyd Patterson (1935–2006) was either born in the wrong era or chose the wrong profession. His dignified demeanor and thoughtful approach to life might have served him better in either the more genteel 1930s or in the halls of academia. Nonetheless, he was an impressive ring warrior of the ’50s and ’60s. After a troubled childhood defined by petty crime, Patterson hooked up with legendary ring guru Cus D’Amato, who molded his student into the 1952 Olympic gold medalist. Once he turned pro, Patterson moved up in weight classes, eventually battling heavyweight legends Ingemar Johansson, Sonny Liston and, most memorably, Muhammad Ali. But Patterson was far more than a mere fighting machine. Veteran sportswriter Stratton (Dreaming Sam Peckinpah, 2011, etc.) chronicles Patterson’s triumphs and failures with a palpable affection and admiration for the boxer. While such reverence for one’s subject can often lead to an off-putting sense of sycophancy, readers will welcome it here, if only because a gentleman like Patterson deserves it. Readers will root for Patterson to overcome a serious bout of depression, and they will feel his pain as an angry Ali all but tortured him in an infamous 1965 bout. Stratton’s attention to detail is impressive, and he seems to have uncovered every little tidbit about Patterson’s life both in and out of the ring, making this warm biography a must for boxing fanatics. An engaging, breezy portrait of an underappreciated boxing giant.
MY AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Sullivan, Robert Farrar, Straus and Giroux (272 pp.) $26.00 | Sep. 4, 2012 978-0-374-21745-7
In a roving, digressive memoir, Vogue contributor Sullivan (The Thoreau You Don’t Know: What the Prophet of Environmentalism Really Meant, 2009, etc.) traces Revolutionary War history in and around New York and New Jersey. Looking down from the top of the Empire State Building, the author saw a war landscape he believed to be neglected. Inspired to bring the Revolutionary War history of his hometown into his own present, Sullivan embarked on a long, twisting journey. Though his motives were somewhat muddled from the beginning, his recreational, relaxed plan was to cross the 1356
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Delaware River, venture into the mountains, and finish the journey by visiting sites and memories inside New York City. Readers are sure to learn plenty from his travels, including little-celebrated battles and long-forgotten soldiers whose stories never made history textbooks. Throughout, the author meanders through his recounting of history, never ignoring a possible detour. In one instance, the fact that a building bearing a Revolutionary War plaque now houses a Trader Joe’s store leads to a footnote about colonists boycotting imported English goods and then ends in an anecdote about the kidnapping of Theo Albrecht, the now-deceased former owner of Trader Joe’s. Much of the book reads like a journal edited to add more information rather than to streamline thoughts. Considering Sullivan’s obvious passion for many of the tangential subjects—associated art and literature, for example—a book of essays might have been a more appropriate project for a general audience. Tailor-made for trivia lovers and readers who don’t mind the scenic route. Those looking for a more straightforward narrative are likely to be frustrated.
DARKEST AMERICA Black Minstrelsy from Slavery to Hip-Hop
Taylor, Yuval; Austen, Jake Norton (256 pp.) $26.95 | Aug. 27, 2012 978-0-393-07098-9
A provocative, compelling exploration of one of the most controversial elements of the black entertainment world. Chicago Review Press senior editor Taylor and Roctober magazine editor Austen explore the long history not only of African-American involvement in minstrel performances, but also of black-derived comedy that utilizes elements from the minstrel act—exaggerated stereotypes of the black experience that hearken back to the minstrel shows of the 19th century. More precisely, the authors examine the debates over these myriad forms of entertainment and the accusations of minstrelsy that have often embroiled black entertainers and intellectuals in fevered debates over the nature and depiction of the black experience. Taylor and Austen deftly argue that African-Americans have taken on perceived minstrelsy in one of three ways. The first has been simply to embrace such forms of entertainment and comedy. The second has been to signify on them—i.e., to engage in self-aware parody and wry utilization of elements of minstrelsy to make a larger point. The third approach involves waging war on such stereotypes, which often leads to heated accusations and counterattacks. The authors take a kaleidoscopic look at their topic, emphasizing a diverse range of individuals and works, including blackface entertainer Bert Williams, writers Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright, Stanley Crouch’s attacks on Tupac Shakur as a “thug minstrel,” Spike Lee’s film Bamboozled, and comedian Dave Chappelle’s self-exile when he reached the
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“A raucous road trip through the South with a funny, informed, sardonic and opinionated Yankee.” from better off without ’em
THE SHADOW SCHOLAR How I Made a Living Helping College Kids Cheat
conclusion that his own work had moved uncomfortably from comedy about stereotyping to enabling the very stereotypes he was combating. An innovative, marvelous book about comedy, stereotypes and the struggle to steer through the sometimesfierce internal debates over African-American identity in a society still struggling with its racial past.
BETTER OFF WITHOUT ’EM A Northern Manifesto for Southern Secession Thompson, Chuck Simon & Schuster (320 pp.) $25.00 | Aug. 14, 2012 978-1-4516-1665-1
What at first appears to be a tendentious screed from the left turns out to be an often thoughtful, always irreverent examination of what the author sees as the South’s heavy anchor on our ship of state. Cut the anchor chain, writes Thompson, freelance journalist and author of snarky travel memoirs (To Hellholes and Back: Bribes, Lies, and the Art of Extreme Tourism, 2009, etc.). He argues with general seriousness that the Old South—with its poor support of public education, firm adherence to evangelical Christianity, skepticism about long-established scientific discoveries, deeply entrenched racism, obsession with violence-as-entertainment (i.e., football), and economic drain on the North—is like a different country anyway. Let ’em secede. Thompson is somewhat arbitrary about the states he wishes gone and those he wishes to keep (Texas is among the latter), but readers who grant him his writer’s prerogative to define his own terms will enjoy his joyride through Dixie. This is no niche publication co-authored by a desk-bound writer and Google. Thompson traveled widely in the region, interviewed scholars and football fans, patrons of seedy bars, schoolteachers and kids, preachers and parishioners, politicians and one South Carolina man who sells KKK outfits across the square from the courthouse. (The author bought one.) Thompson also read standard works about the South—fiction and non—and sought to understand. But he still did not like what he found, and his diction ranges from moderately scholarly and disinterested to wildly raunchy and judgmental. He writes that the Southern economic philosophy requires that they “abuse labor, fellate corporate interests (especially foreign ones), and fuck the environment.” A raucous road trip through the South with a funny, informed, sardonic and opinionated Yankee.
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Tomar, Dave Bloomsbury (272 pp.) $25.00 | Sep. 18, 2012 978-1-60819-723-1
Expanding on his 2010 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, written under the name “Ed Dante,” Tomar offers a book-length account of his decade writing research papers for college students on any topic and at any length. For the most part, the author blames the system for his misdeeds. His overpriced degree from Rutgers never got him further than “fluid bottler” at a shady cleaning company. “As it turned out,” he writes, “helping students cheat on papers was the only available job for which my college had prepared me.” Besides, he reasons, there would be no need for his service if the current generation of entitled, Facebook-addicted, subliterate brats hadn’t been raised to think they could buy their way through anything. Also, he was good at it, routinely burning through sleepless, frantic weeks spewing out lightning-speed papers, sometimes as many as seven per day. His work became impressively ambitious. Sure Samuel Johnson could write Rasselas in a week, but could he have churned out a 160-page paper with 50 sources on “international financial reporting standards” in a mere five days? Although his book suffers from some obvious padding, as he wanders in and out of stories involving his love life, poker buddies and psychotic road trips, Tomar is a funny guy who writes with slangy, over-the top verve, veering between self-justification and self-hatred. He also provides some genuine inside dirt on the business practices of sleazy forprofit colleges, who provide some of his steadiest clients. A cynical, guilt-obsessed, intermittently page-turning account of a first-class bullshit artist and his never-ending search for redemption.
RED INK Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget
Wessel, David Crown Business (224 pp.) $22.00 | Jul. 31, 2012 978-0-7704-3614-8
Accessible overview of America’s contentious deficit politics by the Wall Street Journal’s economics editor. Anticipating another summer of posturing and gridlock over the federal budget as President Obama’s re-election hopes and the majority of both houses of Congress hang in the balance, Wessel (In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke’s War on the Great Panic, 2009, etc.) provides a slender but highly informative
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“Truly remarkable, composed with all the precision and insight you expect from a law professor, marked by all the elegance and sparkling readability you don’t.” from lincoln’s code
volume designed to give voters a grip on what exactly is at stake in this corrosive battle. He begins by clarifying some common misunderstandings: Almost two-thirds of the budget gets spent automatically, with or without the consent or amendment of the current Congress; the U.S. defense budget exceeds those of the next 17 largest powers (including Russia and China) combined; Americans pay less of their income in taxes than citizens of any other developed nation, and have been paying less and less in taxes for 30 years. Wessel then tries to answer the most basic questions about the deficit: how we got here, where the money goes and comes from, and why we need to solve the problem sooner rather than later. He’s the least successful on the last question; the best argument seems to be, “Because everyone thinks so.” Wessel cites experts from left and right, including Paul Krugman and Paul Ryan, among others, without stating a preference for any side. (The hero of the story seems to be Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, a nonideological Democrat who, as a congressman, helped forge agreements that made the surpluses of the 1990s possible.) Without explicitly recommending a course, Wessel makes clear that a solution to the problem would necessarily be repugnant to all sides and would include some major changes to entitlement programs as well as increases in taxes for at least several years. Wessel doesn’t tell you how to think, but he does give you the facts to think more clearly about what needs to be done.
TERRIBLE SWIFT SWORD The Life of General Philip H. Sheridan
Wheelan, Joseph Da Capo/Perseus (388 pp.) $26.00 | Aug. 7, 2012 978-0-306-82027-4
A former reporter and AP editor examines the career of one of the Civil War’s great commanders. An undistinguished West Point graduate, Lt. Philip A. Sheridan served eight years in the west before the outbreak of the Civil War. By the time the war ended, only Grant and Sherman outranked “Little Phil.” Battle by battle, Wheelan (Libby Prison Breakout: The Daring Escape from the Notorious Civil War Prison, 2010, etc.) charts the swift rise of the relentlessly aggressive Sheridan. Modest, energetic and brave, Sheridan was an innovator, using mounted troops both as an independent strike force and in support of infantry operations. His battlefield heroics, careful planning, use of intelligence and topographical information and ability to improvise prompted Grant to conclude that he had “no superior as a general.” Yet Sheridan has been slighted by historians, receiving far less attention than his adversaries and even his subordinate Custer or his postwar scout William Cody. Wheelan attributes this neglect to the loss of all Sheridan’s papers in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Perhaps, but it’s also likely that his lengthy postwar career has made him a problematic subject for modern audiences. Sheridan was reviled in the South, where his strict enforcement of Reconstruction 1358
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only revived memories of his wartime devastation of the Shenandoah Valley. An early proponent of total war, he believed reducing the Confederacy to poverty was the quickest way to end the bloodshed. Moreover, as commander of all U.S. troops west of the Mississippi, he used the same tactics against the Plains Indians, once notoriously remarking, “The only good Indians I ever saw were dead.” Wheelan ably defends Sheridan, emphasizing the fierce sense of duty that also accounted for his stout protection of reservation Indians from rapacious agents, freedmen from ex-Rebels, settlers from Indians and Yellowstone National Park from poachers and corporate exploiters. A sympathetic portrait of “Grant’s most dependable troubleshooter.” (16 pages of b/w photographs)
LINCOLN’S CODE The Laws of War in American History
Witt, John Fabian Free Press (528 pp.) $32.00 | Sep. 4, 2012 978-1-4165-6983-1
Artfully mixing law, history, and sharp analysis, a Yale law professor examines the persistent struggle to reconcile justice and humanitarianism in America’s conduct of war. Issued to the Union Army in 1863, Lincoln’s codes of war went out under the president’s name, but the 157 articles were drafted principally by Francis Lieber, a Columbia College political scientist and historian. Lieber’s codification of the laws and usages of war formally enshrined a number of humanitarian limits to war’s barbarity. However, by authorizing various uses of force “indispensable for securing the ends of war” the rules unleashed a new ferocity, replacing Enlightenment-style, “gentlemanly” armed conflict with new imperatives that recognized the legitimacy of the war’s aims. Witt (Patriots and Cosmopolitans: Hidden Histories of American Law, 2007, etc.) attributes this new, “tough humanitarianism” to Lincoln’s determination to abandon the “rose-water tactics” of the early war in favor of new measures that would vindicate the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation. Though he focuses primarily on the Civil War and its aftermath, Witt provides a rich historical context, judiciously selecting diplomatic and wartime episodes from the French and Indian War to the Philippine Insurrection to explain this lasting transformation of the old rules into something military historians now recognize as the “American way of war.” Topics range from the concept of neutrality to the oftentimes difficult distinctions between soldiers and civilians, to the indiscriminate use of military commissions, all resonant with today’s headlines. The author vivifies commentary from philosophers and jurists, decisions from judges and maneuvering by statesmen with sharp vignettes of battlefield commanders, who were obliged to grapple with the constraints law imposes on war. Truly remarkable, composed with all the precision and insight you expect from a law professor, marked by all the elegance and sparkling readability you don’t.
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children’s & teen PRAIRIE EVERS
These titles earned the Kirkus Star:
Airgood, Ellen Nancy Paulsen Books (224 pp.) $15.99 | Aug. 2, 2012 978-0-399-25691-2
THE DEMON CATCHERS OF MILAN by Kat Beyer................... p. 1362 GIRL OF NIGHTMARES by Kendare Blake................................. p. 1362 LESTER’S DREADFUL SWEATERS by K.G. Campbell.............. p. 1364 ISLAND by Jason Chin..................................................................p. 1365 CHICKADEE by Louise Erdrich ...................................................p. 1367 DON’T TURN AROUND by Michelle Gagnon............................. p. 1368 A CERTAIN OCTOBER by Angela Johnson...................................p. 1370 THE WING WING BROTHERS MATH SPECTACULAR! by Ethan Long........................................p. 1372 THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE NUTBROWN HARE by Sam McBratney; illus. by Andy Wagner & Debbie Tarbett.......................................p. 1375 SHADOW by Michael Morpurgo..................................................p. 1377 HANDS AROUND THE LIBRARY by Susan L. Roth; Karen Leggett Abouraya; illus. by Susan L. Roth.........................p. 1381 LUCY CAN’T SLEEP by Amy Schwartz.......................................p. 1381
This easygoing, earnest story of friendship and family is set in upstate New York, but its heart is nestled deep in the mountains of North Carolina. Ten-year-old Prairie Evers and her family have relocated from North Carolina to a farm in upstate New York, and now her Grammy, who has homeschooled Prairie all her life, has decided to return to the mountains, at least for a while. Spunky Prairie decides to fill the void her Grammy leaves behind with a flock of chickens. Soon, her parents have enrolled her in school, and Prairie has made her first real nonfeathered friend. The budding relationship between Prairie and Ivy is at the heart of this slightly offbeat, yet gratifying tale. Observing the lack of warmth between Ivy and her mother, Prairie soon learns the tragic family secrets behind the mother and daughter’s rocky relationship, and she is determined to try to help her friend find happiness. Short chapters and Prairie’s spirited narration drive the story forward. Next to Prairie, Grammy is the most interesting and well-drawn character, and readers will miss her as much as Prairie does while she’s away in the mountains. Thoughtful readers will no doubt sympathize with Prairie’s feelings of loneliness and celebrate the new friendship she finds, even—or perhaps especially—when it gets complicated. (Fiction. 9-12)
CARDBOARD by Doug TenNapel................................................ p. 1384
BACK TO FRONT AND UPSIDE DOWN
INTO THE WOODS by J. Torres; illus. by Faith Erin Hicks........ p. 1384
Alexander, Claire Illus. by Alexander, Claire Eerdmans (26 pp.) $16.00 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-0-8028-5414-8
MOUSTERPIECE by Jane Breskin Zalben ....................................p. 1387 ARE YOU A COW? by Sandra Boynton ...................................... p. 1389 TICKLE TIME! by Sandra Boynton............................................... p. 1389 YOU’RE GETTING A BABY SISTER! by Sheila Sweeny Higginson; illus. by Sam Williams ..................p. 1393 TRAINS GO by Steve Light.......................................................... p. 1396 MY MOM’S THE BEST by Rosie Smith; illus. by Bruce Whatley.................................................................p. 1406
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A little dog who has trouble with the mechanics of writing musters up the courage to ask his teacher for help. Stan is excited about the birthday cards his class is making for the principal…until Miss Catnip tells them the cards have to include words. He tries his hardest, tongue sticking out the side of his mouth, to copy the words, but they come out “back to front and upside down, and some didn’t look like letters at all!” Within the multispecies classroom, Stan sits with a huge clock looming behind him, while a page turn places Stan
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against a completely black background, beautifully conveying Stan’s emotional turmoil and isolation. A friend convinces him to ask Miss Catnip for help, despite his fear that everyone will laugh at him. And when he does, not only does no one laugh, but Mimi turns out to need help as well. After Miss Catnip shows them how to form their letters, one afternoon of practice allows Stan to improve enough to proudly present Mr. Slippers with his birthday card that same school day. The rough “handwritten” type reflects the topic, but it may make it difficult for beginners to read, and certainly should not be emulated by those learning to write—the “r” looks like a “v,” and there are some letters that appear to be capitals when the context calls for lowercase. While Stan’s improvement is a little too good to be true, Alexander’s message is clear: “We all have to ask for help sometimes.” (Picture book. 4-7)
B IS FOR BROOKLYN
Alko, Selina Illus. by Alko, Selina Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt (40 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 21, 2012 978-0-8050-9213-4 An engaging and hip alphabetical trip through the largest and most populous of New York City’s five boroughs—Kings County—better known as Brooklyn. The Canadian-born Alko embraces her adopted borough. She’s a curious and avid collector of human experience and visual delights. The book is organized alphabetically but eccentrically. For example, “ornaments,” “Ocean Parkway,” “organic foods” and the “Old Stone House” (George Washington’s headquarters during the Battle of Brooklyn) all appear on the same letter “O” page. Despite these and other Brooklyn “insider” choices, readers will be attracted by the book’s kid-centric style and hold on for the Cyclonelike roller-coaster ride (“C”— “Coney Island”) because of the book’s celebratory look and feel. Kaleidoscopic mixed-media pages (gouache and collage) are chockablock with vibrant images that fairly burst from the pages. A pleasantly informative author’s note and a rudimentary map attempt to orient and situate the reader. Though families who seek a simple and straightforward “A is for apple”–style alphabet book will be disappointed, the more venturesome will want to pay a visit to Brooklyn and return to sample the book’s (and borough’s) vitality over and over again. It is said that one in every seven Americans has Brooklyn roots; this lively love song to Brooklyn’s 2.5 million people and nearly 82 square miles is a welcome celebration of its rich ethnic, culinary, racial and religious diversity. (Picture book. 3-7)
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GLITCH
Anastasiu, Heather St. Martin’s Griffin (350 pp.) $9.99 paperback | Aug. 7, 2012 978-1-250-00299-0 A dystopian romance that feels like the love child of M.T. Anderson’s Feed and Lauren Oliver’s Pandemonium fails to distinguish itself. Seventeen-year-old Zoe is part of a “superior” race of humans that exist in an underground dystopian world, safe from the toxic ruin on the Surface. Like all members of the Community, Zoe was implanted with a computer chip to prevent her from experiencing the caustic influences of emotion and desire, the very things that led to the destruction of the Old World. The only problem is, Zoe’s chip isn’t working. Anastasiu’s debut novel follows Zoe as she learns to trust her own thoughts and emotions and to call into question the only way of life she’s ever known. It’s an interesting premise, and Zoe is a likable-enough narrator, but in the end, the story never quite lives up to its potential. Action dominates, crowding out opportunities for character development. With little interaction between Zoe and fellow glitchers Max and Adrien to explain the sudden intensity of their feelings for one another, the emotions ring untrue. Additionally, Max is never allowed room to convince readers he is more than a raging ball of hormones, making it difficult to root for him in the fight for Zoe. Read the originals. (Dystopian romance. 14 & up)
TALES FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD Climbing Mount Everest with Pete Athans
Athans, Sandra K. Millbrook (64 pp.) $23.95 e-book | PLB $31.93 | Sep. 1, 2012 978-0-7613-6506-8 PLB 978-1-4677-0126-6 e-book A solid introduction to the world’s highest mountain has a you-are-there feel. The Athanses have collaborated in a most fruitful way: Sandra as a narrative Sherpa of sorts and Pete as the raconteur of riveting adventure stories from his 14 attempts, in which he succeeded in summiting a staggering seven times. Sandra has lots of stunning facts to display—the 250 mph gusts of wind, the deadly snowstorms, the killer illnesses that can strike climbers—as well as notorious landscapes to explore: the Khumbu Icefall, the Death Zone, the Hillary Step. And certainly there are important questions to address, from the mountain’s name in Tibetan and Nepalese to how one goes to the bathroom when there is no bathroom to go to. It all smoothly gathers, like snowflakes into a glacier, and a bright, dangerous and humbling portrait of Everest/Chomolungma/Sagarmatha takes shape. Pete adds handfuls of colorful episodes, mostly crackerjack
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“Give to fans of Knuffle Bunny and to any child who appreciates an intense bond with a special toy.” from my special one and only
moments of mayhem averted, which are made substantive by the many tack-sharp photographs. Local guides and porters are well incorporated into the story, as are regional customs and mountain culture. A smart, inclusive and evocative account of a mountain, its character and its past. (Nonfiction. 9-14)
SPOOKYGIRL Paranormal Investigator
Baguchinsky, Jill Dutton (288 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 16, 2012 978-0-525-42584-7
Packed with ghosts, poltergeists and even a half-vampire, this book provides a fun ride for teens interested in the supernatural. At age 6, Violet began learning about her ability to see and communicate with ghosts—a talent inherited from her mother, the leader of a paranormal investigative team with Violet’s dad. However, her mother’s accidental death abruptly ended Violet’s training, leaving her with a dad determined to ignore her paranormal abilities and without the knowledge to safely control them. Violet’s truncated training isn’t problematic until she starts at a new high school with more than its fair share of haunted happenings. Normally Violet has lain low at school, but shortly after her first day here, she gets the nickname SpookyGirl, in part because her dad is a mortician and they live above their funeral home, but also because her school’s ghosts, which range from benevolent to deadly, can’t seem to leave her alone. Determined to follow in her mother’s path, Violet attempts to understand these spirits and finds herself deadlocked in spiritual communication way beyond her abilities. Violet narrates the tale in a straightforward, easygoing past tense that balances humor with suspense. Although pitched as a paranormal adventure, the story’s slightly different approach to the nuclear family steals the spotlight with well-defined characters, both living and not-so living. (Paranormal suspense. 12-16)
THE MAGICIAN’S APPRENTICE
Banks, Kate Illus. by Sís, Peter Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux (224 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 7, 2012 978-0-374-34716-1
Sixteen-year-old Baz’s coming-of-age journey exceeds all his expectations. The traditional Middle Eastern village in which Baz lives offers no opportunity for advancement. His father is a skilled woodcarver, but that does not seem to be Baz’s destiny. He longs for anything that might bring adventure |
or even just an interesting break in the routine. After all, both of his brothers are learning trades far away. So when he is offered an apprenticeship, he is anxious to meet his future. There is an inevitable progression to Baz’s journey, not only in distances traveled, but in lessons learned. Each of his masters, whether kind or cruel, has something to teach him, but it is Tadis the magician who has the most impact on him. During their travels together, Baz is exposed to people of many skills and personalities, and he experiences natural phenomena ranging from desert storms to earthquakes. From all this he learns patience, concentration and empathy. Herein lies both the strength and weakness of the work. Banks’ lilting, soaring syntax and sympathetic characters and Sis’ intricate, exquisite little illustrations do not completely compensate for the overly mystical obscurity of Tadis’ nuggets of wisdom. Although everything turns out well for Baz, young readers may not really understand how it all came about. A moving, thoughtful apprentice tale. (Fantasy. 10-14)
MY SPECIAL ONE AND ONLY
Berger, Joe Illus. by Berger, Joe Dial (32 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 16, 2012 978-0-8037-3410-4 After getting a coin for her lost tooth, dynamic Bridget sets forth on what she thinks will be an exciting shopping trip only to find she must rescue her most beloved, “special one and only” Captain Cat toy. When Bridget gets to Dinglebang’s, “absolutely the best store in the world,” her unbridled energy leads her to “spizzoom” through the shop. Along the way, the unthinkable happens: Captain Cat gets hooked on the handle of a customer’s umbrella and then dropped into another girl’s shopping basket. Bridget is unaware until classmate Billy informs her that Captain Cat is not in her backpack, where she safely packed him. Berger’s retro illustration style utilizes techniques found in comic books to augment the ensuing drama. Bright yellow highlights and urgent bold capital letters alert readers to the action in the pictures (“Yikes! Now look!”) that is not described in the quickly paced text. Bridget pursues a frantic yet fruitless search that culminates in a spectacular meltdown. But Billy’s sharp eye and handy new Superzoom 500 pedal car helps Bridget rescue Captain Cat. “Everyone was happy! / …except the little girl… who’d found Captain Cat…and decided to take care of him.” A bright idea and some help from Mommy result in a tidy yet happily satisfying ending. Give to fans of Knuffle Bunny and to any child who appreciates an intense bond with a special toy. (Picture book. 3-6)
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“To the recent crop of strong debuts in an overcrowded literary arena add this series opener, a tale of demonic possession and a centuries-old family trade in exorcism.” from the demon catchers of milan
THE DEMON CATCHERS OF MILAN
Beyer, Kat Egmont USA (288 pp.) $16.99 | $16.99 e-book | Aug. 28, 2012 978-1-60684-314-7 978-1-60684-315-4 e-book To the recent crop of strong debuts in an overcrowded literary arena add this series opener, a tale of demonic possession and a centuries-old family trade in exorcism. Life in Mia’s loving, if overprotective, Italian-American family is upended when a horrifying demon enters and nearly kills her. After Giuliano Della Torre and his grandson Emilio, long-estranged relatives from Milan, arrive and drive it out, they talk Mia’s reluctant parents into letting her return to Italy with them. For her safety, she’s sequestered in the family’s home and adjacent candle shop. Studying Italian history and language, Mia comes to love her family (including some of its ghosts) and heritage, even the scary bits, but she increasingly resents confinement, longing to explore this rich new world. Clichéfree characters—patriarch Giuliano, his wife Laura, gorgeous Emilio and his sister, Francesca, especially—appear to have lives of their own beyond serving the needs of the plot. The demons themselves are haunting, multifaceted creatures that are both pathetic and extremely dangerous; the evil they project is complex and pain-ridden. Fortunately Mia demonstrates a strong gift for the family trade, which, like the novel’s other elements (the food will have readers salivating), is portrayed in exquisite, affectionate detail. This one goes to the head of the class. (Fantasy. 12 & up)
GIRL OF NIGHTMARES
Blake, Kendare Tor (336 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 7, 2012 978-0-7653-2866-3
A satisfying conclusion to ghostly Anna’s terrifying story comes with more heart-thumping suspense and clever quips as Cas tries to save her from an undeserved, dreadful fate. In the outstanding Anna Dressed in Blood (2011), the ghost, Anna, saved Cas, the ghost-killer, by dragging the voodoo monster, Obeahman, down into Hell. Now she’s back, asking Cas to rescue her, and he’s determined to do it despite all advice to the contrary. This sequel takes Cas and his friends to Britain and a secret cult that wants Cas’ athame, the magical knife that kills ghosts. There he meets Jestine, who believes she should be the next athame warrior, although unlike Cas, she wants to kill ghosts whether or not they’re dangerous to humans. She joins Cas for the final showdown against the Obeahman, who ate both Cas’ cat and his father and now holds Anna hostage. Blake provides enough background explanation to bring new readers 1362
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into the story, but for full appreciation readers should start with book one. This new author has a serious talent for action but also for delicious dry humor (“I’ve sort of been slacking off in my voodoo studies. I’ve got trigonometry, you know?”). The exciting conclusion leaves the coast clear for a whole series starring Cas or for something entirely different, whatever the author wishes. Either way, Stephen King ought to start looking over his shoulder. Pulse-pounding thrills leavened with laughter. (Paranormal thriller. 12 & up)
THE RAFT
Bodeen, S.A. Feiwel & Friends (240 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 21, 2012 978-0-312-65010-0 When her plane crashes, Robie’s years of living with her researcher parents on Midway Island provide her with important knowledge. Cutting short a visit to an aunt in Honolulu, 15-year-old Robie gets on a small cargo plane delivering supplies that founders in an electrical storm; a crash quickly follows engine failure. The raft that becomes her support contains some useful items, but with the only other survivor almost comatose, it is clear that Robie is pretty much on her own. As a survival tale, this is both engaging and full of scary factoids and frightening possibilities. Not completely likable, Robie nonetheless engages readers with her sometimes almost stream-of-consciousness narration. She finds ways to push herself to be brave and do what is needed to survive. Her familiarity with the flora and fauna of the Pacific islands proves both asset and hindrance: She knows the danger she’s in. Her thoughts are often selfish, almost whiny, but this rough-edges glimpse into her personality ultimately makes both her decisions and her chances of survival more realistic. Despite its small font, it’s a quick read, thanks to plenty of white space. A compelling survival adventure. (Adventure. 11-15)
THE WEDNESDAYS
Bourbeau, Julie Illus. by Beene, Jason Knopf (256 pp.) $16.99 | $10.99 e-book | PLB $19.99 Aug. 14, 2012 978-0-375-96890-7 978-0-375-89975-1 e-book 978-0-375-96890-7 PLB A case of the Wednesdays could mean the end of life as Max knows it. “Halfway up the steep slope of Mount Tibidabo was a very small village where very strange things happened…but only on Wednesdays.” Everyone in the village hides with curtains drawn
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and shutters closed on Wednesdays because that’s the day when appliances go on the fritz and bike tires mysteriously pop. Max is tired of hiding. On his birthday (a Wednesday), he peeks out, watches tourists run afoul of the “Wednesdays,” and accidentally lets the Wednesdays in. In a fit of pique, his mother sends him out where he meets Ninety-eight, an actual Wednesday. Like all of them, Ninety-eight is egg-shaped with a square head and long arms, and he can make things break from a distance. Shortly thereafter, Max finds he has a Wednesdaylike effect on his surroundings. His fear that he’s turning into one of them is confirmed by sinister Two. Can Max, his best friend Noah, his parapsychologist and the cute editor of the school paper keep Max human? Bourbeau’s debut never achieves humor or fright. There’s not much original beyond the basic, inventive premise of the novel, which never gets a proper fleshing-out. The pacing is languid, the characters dull and the finale a fizzle. The lack of tied-up ends suggests a possible sequel; here’s hoping it moves beyond concept into actual story. (Fantasy. 8-12)
VIOLET MACKEREL’S BRILLIANT PLOT
Branford, Anna Illus. by Allen, Elanna Atheneum (112 pp.) $14.99 | Aug. 28, 2012 978-1-4424-3585-8
A collection of small things and a generous gesture win Violet Mackerel the Blue China Bird she’s admired for weeks at the Saturday-morning market. While her mother and sister sell their crafts and her brother plays the violin, Violet has time to visit the other vendors— especially the seller of china birds—and to plot, imagining ways to earn the $10 she needs to buy her favorite. Thinking “outside the box” as her mother advises, she experiences a series of failures. But in the box of her mother’s knitting disasters she finds something she can transform into a desirable, sellable object. The gentle, present-tense narration reflects the thinking of an imaginative and quite determined 7-year-old, following the model of elders who envision goals and work toward them. She’s not always realistic about her own abilities. Her theory of the importance of small things mirrors the series of small moments that make the story. First published in Australia, where it was a Children’s Book of the Year Honour Book and followed by three sequels, this title has been slightly edited and re-illustrated for its U.S. edition. Allen’s grayscale drawings enliven almost every page. (Final art not seen.) Violet and her family are original and appealing, a lovely addition to any chapter-book collection of characters. (Fiction. 5-9)
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BIRD & SQUIRREL ON THE RUN
Burks, James Illus. by Burks, James Graphix/Scholastic (128 pp.) $8.99 paperback | Aug. 1, 2012 978-0-545-31283-7 Burks manages to turn The Odd Couple into an adventure story. The Odd Couple is one of the most important stories in the history of Western culture. Oscar and Felix were archetypes when they were called Bert and Ernie and when they were called the Grasshopper and the Ant. In that tradition, Squirrel is a fussbudget who’s afraid of beetles, spiders, running out of acorns and forgetting his toothbrush. Bird isn’t afraid of anything and can usually be found flying upside down. The story only works if the characters get on each other’s nerves. The problem here is that it works much too well. Bird is more annoying than Bert and Felix put together. Bird never stops talking, even when being chased by an enormous cat. That’s the moment when Bird says, “Is it true that dogs are smarter than cats?” Some readers may decide to ignore the dialogue and just look at the pictures, which are so cinematic that you can almost see the cat’s whiskers twitching. The character design is astounding. Squirrel’s head is shaped like a little acorn (complete with cap), and even the trees look like fractal patterns, spiraling off the page. They say a picture is worth a thousand words; here’s one story that would be better with no words at all. (Graphic adventure. 6-10)
TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR
Cabrera, Jane Illus. by Cabrera, Jane Holiday House (32 pp.) $16.95 | Aug. 15, 2012 978-0-8234-2519-8
A pink-cheeked version of a song most everyone knows, with new verses highlighting cozy animal dyads across the world. The bright yellow and red owlet with its parent opens the lullaby with the verse we all know. Next a papa deer and fawn in the forest, a whale and calf in the sea, a kangaroo and joey in the outback, vulture and chick and so on, each filling a two-page spread. The verse mirrors the pictures: “Glisten, glisten, little star, / how I wonder what you are. / Up above the grassy plain …” shows a papa lion and cub, and on the next spread—“…through the warm, wet jungle rain”—a pair of rosy-cheeked monkeys. The five-pointed, butter-gold star is prominently visible on every spread. Color and line are thick and bold, while all of the animals, from polar bears to pussy cats, have button eyes and the suggestion of human smiles. The final verse (“Twinkle over towns and trees, / fields and farms, / Lakes and seas”) shows just
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such a vista, with lollipop trees, a building-block city and a little red lighthouse. The concluding spread, “Twinkle, twinkle, up above … // … for me and for / the one I love” pictures that bright star on one page facing a golden-haired mother and child. The music for this venerable tune is on the back endpaper. A nursery charmer. (Picture book. 3-6)
LESTER’S DREADFUL SWEATERS
Campbell, K.G. Illus. by Campbell, K.G. Kids Can (32 pp.) $16.95 | Sep. 1, 2012 978-1-55453-770-9
the opening lines, which read, “Way up high, / in a big palm tree, / sits one little monkey”; subsequent lines do not ameliorate the flawed cadence. Cartoonish, digitally rendered illustrations depict monkeys cavorting among South Asian musicians, merchants, spice jars and then a bevy of animals from the “royal zoo.” Although it’s refreshing to see references to the South Asian setting in text and illustrations, ultimately there is little story apparent to engage readers in the monkeys’ play. This is a fatal flaw. Emergent readers may be able to decode the text, but it gives them too little motivation to want to read or reread it. The monkeys may be playful, but this title isn’t as much fun for new readers as it should be. (Early reader. 5-7)
THE CROWN OF EMBERS
Cousin Clara, who may or may not be related to the rest of the family, knits horrid sweaters at a breakneck speed. Clara, her tiny hat perched on her impossibly oval head, an innocent-looking basket of knitting in hand, arrives ready to recover from an unfortunate crocodile attack. So begins this over-the-top story of lost-and-found collections, journals of “Suspicious Stuff Starting with C” and fantastic sweaters. Clara does not knit run-of-the-mill ordinary cardigans and pullovers. Starting with a “less-than-pleasant yellow and smothered with purple pom-poms” hooded number, Clara insists on cranking out one absurd creation after another. Wearing these monstrosities to school proves embarrassing for Lester. After each humiliating day, the sweater of the day ends up shrunken, shredded, unraveled, pecked to pieces or stolen. Each colored-pencil illustration cranks up the dark humor, culminating with Lester covered in dripping red yarn, scissors in hand, while Clara wickedly smiles at the crime scene. Each detailed spread is filled with creepy shadowing and fabulous eye contact among the many characters. Lively writing is peppered with clever alliteration and wordplay. Lucky for Lester, a troupe of clowns appreciates Clara’s creations. Children forced to wear horrid clothing made by wellmeaning relatives will laugh in sympathy with Lester. If Edward Gorey and Polly Horvath had a literary love child, this would be it. (Picture book. 5-9)
MONKEY PLAY
Capucilli, Alyssa Satin Illus. by Pang, Ariel Random House (32 pp.) $3.99 paperback | Aug. 7, 2012 978-0-375-86993-8
Carson, Rae Greenwillow/HarperCollins (416 pp.) $17.99 | $9.99 e-book | Sep. 18, 2012 978-0-06-202651-4 978-0-06-219008-6 e-book Intelligent and thoughtful Elisa must negotiate diplomacy, religion and personal desire. Her Majesty Queen Lucero-Elisa became sole ruler of Joya d’Arena through luck (both good and bad), wise strategic decisions and the holy magic of the Godstone embedded in her navel (The Girl of Fire and Thorns, 2011). Keeping her kingdom, on the other hand, will require diplomacy, political acumen, mercy—and deception. Elisa must fight everything from assassination attempts to rioting mobs, all while defending her country against the terrifying foreign sorcerers with “pale peach” skin and “hair the syrupy gold of honey,” who only recently brought fiery destruction on her nation’s capital. Elisa, deeply pragmatic and deeply religious, is required repeatedly to make intelligent, unselfish choices for the good of her nation. The lush details of this magical world are thoroughly intertwined with the profound religious faith of both heroes and villains, where each revelation leads to a crack in Elisa’s worldview. Those who find no YA fantasy complete without a steamy romance will be thrilled by Elisa’s growing passion for her best friend and closest adviser—who is, of course, completely off-limits. Though this series entry moves somewhat slowly, newly discovered mysteries about this fantasyland’s history—not to mention the torments of unresolved sexual tension—will have readers clamoring for volume three. (Fantasy. 13-16)
No matter how playful they are, the frolicking monkeys in Capucilli and Pang’s collaboration fail to make this beginning reader a success. Although the text employs good controls around vocabulary, its central problem is that it lacks sufficient rhythmic discipline. This is immediately apparent with 1364
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“It’s not easy to present the story of island formation, species colonization and evolution in a picture book, but Chin succeeds admirably...” from island
NARC
Chappell, Crissa-Jean Flux (288 pp.) $9.95 paperback | Aug. 8, 2012 978-0-7387-3247-3 Taking the fall for his little sister leads to big trouble for 17-year-old Aaron Foster. Aaron is the quiet kid, the one who blends into the wallpaper and who stays out of trouble. But when his sister is caught with a small bag of (his) marijuana, Aaron is coerced into signing up for the police informant program and tasked with unmasking a high school dealer. Forcing himself into the right social sphere isn’t easy, and Aaron’s interrogation skills leave something to be desired. Labeled a snitch in the swampy ecosystem of his Florida high school, Aaron finds that untangling interpersonal connections is complicated at best, and it becomes nearly impossible when he develops feelings for one of his prime suspects. Though she sticks with the Florida setting that served her so well in her first novel, Total Constant Order (2007), Chappell suffers from the sophomore slump, with a thin premise, emotionally dull characters and a slow pace. That the police would recruit a withdrawn and disconnected student to become a social informer stretches credulity. Brief references to Aaron’s drug use and panic attacks constitute his characterization, and secondary characterization is equally scanty. Tension never develops, even as Aaron wades into the murky territory of drug sales and dealers. Falls flat. (Fiction. 14 & up)
ISLAND
Chin, Jason Illus. by Chin, Jason Neal Porter/Flash Point/ Roaring Brook (40 pp.) $16.99 | Sep. 18, 2012 978-1-59643-716-6 A beautifully made picture book presents the story of the Galápagos Islands for
young readers. It’s not easy to present the story of island formation, species colonization and evolution in a picture book, but Chin succeeds admirably, challenging intelligent young readers with sophisticated concepts, but presenting them in a way that will allow readers not only to understand them, but to marvel at them, as well. As in Chin’s previous volumes, Redwoods (2009) and Coral Reefs (2011), gorgeous watercolor illustrations lure readers into the scientific story. Chin is careful to point out in his author’s note the necessity of speculation and educated guesses, given how far in the past the story takes place. But the work is topnotch narrative nonfiction, based on the best current scientific research. An eye-catching variety of horizontal panels, thumbnails and full-bleed pages makes science visual. Especially |
effective is the discussion of how species change over time: The finches’ beaks become larger, tortoises’ shells change shape, and cormorants’ wings shrink. In the epilogue, after millions of years of evolution, a ship appears, and a man comes ashore, pen and notebook in hand. It’s Charles Darwin, as explained in the backmatter, where his theory of evolution by natural selection is explained and further information on the Galápagos Islands and their indigenous species is presented. Another superb contribution to scientific literature by Chin. (Informational picture book. 8-12)
MADAM AND NUN AND 1001 What Is a Palindrome?
Cleary, Brian P. Illus. by Gable, Brian Millbrook (32 pp.) $16.95 | $12.95 e-book | Sep. 1, 2012 978-0-7613-4919-8 978-1-4677-0132-7 e-book Series: Words Are CATegorical
A small bounty of palindromes, all stoked and ready to go. Cleary gives young readers a tangy, rhymed introduction to palindromes that runs the gamut from mom and dad to wow and bob, then gathers sophistication with tenet and kayak and rotavator, then gets down and dirty with saippuakivikauppias, which is, as you know, Finnish for soapstone cutter. Gable’s artwork keeps the survey moving at warp speed, full of big-nosed pointy-eared pug-toed creatures, which feel a happy match with Cleary’s simple verse and the palindromes. They are not always immediately apparent, especially when they are fractured. “No lemons no melon,” a sign says outside the food shop. “Was it a cat I saw?” And there is a terrific five-word, up-downand-across, crosswordlike item with words like sator, arepo and opera. There’s a couple of turkeys, too, such as “bosses sob.” Cleary makes the good point that fashioning palindromes with a friend can be fun, like designing a secret language. Gable adds the smart idea of using a Scrabble set to move the letters around. A provocation to wordplay. (Picture book. 6-10)
MR. KING’S THINGS
Côté, Geneviève Illus. by Côté, Geneviève Kids Can (32 pp.) $16.95 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-1-55453-700-6
Mr. King likes to toss out his old things in favor of new ones, until he discovers recycling—with a little help from his friends. A silly cat named Mr. King likes “LOTS of new things.” If something becomes a bit old, he “tosses it into the nearby pond and replaces it with a new one.” One day, Mr. King goes fishing in
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“[T]his book has everything a reader could want—breathtaking suspense, monstrously entertaining worldbuilding and lots of ‘punny’ and burp-and-fart humor.” from always october
the pond, and something really BIG tugs the line. Alarmed, Mr. King pulls hard and hauls in the “scariest-looking thing” he’s ever seen. Screaming for help, Mr. King rows frantically to shore, towing the monster behind. While Mr. King hides, his friends arrive. All they find is an assemblage of discarded, useful things. Bert the bear can use the ladder, squirrels Skit and Scat turn a trumpet into a house, Old Jim Elk repairs an umbrella, P.J. the hare collects chairs to seat her family, and Tex the fox claims a table. When Mr. King discovers the monster is really his discarded stuff, he’s embarrassed and opts to make some new things from the old. Busy, cheery mixed-media illustrations in blues, greens and yellows rely on flat patterns and loose outlines to humorously highlight foolish Mr. King’s progression from thoughtless wasting to frantic overreacting to resourceful recycling. Waste not, want not. (Picture book. 3-7)
ALWAYS OCTOBER
Coville, Bruce Harper/HarperCollins (384 pp.) $15.99 | $8.99 e-book | Aug. 28, 2012 978-0-06-089095-7 978-0-06-219005-5 e-book From the very first line (“We’ve only got two weeks before Jake has to turn into a monster for the first time”) to the riveting ending, this fantasy will have readers turning pages recklessly. Jake, son and grandson of men who disappeared without explanation, becomes enmeshed in the family mysteries when his (informally) adopted baby brother turns into a charming, fuzzy green monster. Jake and his sidekick “Weird Lily” Cawker leave our Earth and land in the world of Always October, where it is ever autumn, the landscape holds many dangers, and monsters reign over all. Their quest: Save both Earth and Almost October from a deranged monster. Documented in alternate chapters by Lily and Jake—which allows each one to end in a cliffhanger—the journey is exciting and moves along at a fine pace. Bursting with enticing characters and building tension, this book has everything a reader could want—breathtaking suspense, monstrously entertaining worldbuilding and lots of “punny” and burp-and-fart humor. Surprises abound: Most threads are wrapped up, but there is room left for other books with these diverting characters. (Fantasy. 9-12)
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LUZ MAKES A SPLASH
Dávila, Claudia Illus. by Dávila, Claudia Kids Can (96 pp.) $16.95 | paper $8.95 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-1-55453-762-4 978-1-55453-769-3 paperback Series: The Future According to Luz A heat wave and a drought spark more multi-fronted eco-activism in this sequel to
Luz Sees the Light (2011). Blasting sun, weeks without rain, scheduled brownouts and water rationing have taken their toll on Petroville and the dying community gardens in Friendship Park. As if that’s not bad enough, wilted young Luz discovers to her shock that with the new Top Cola plant sucking up groundwater, the once-brimming Spring Pond outside of town has become only a mudhole. Everyone springs into action. Luz’s friends join her mother, her aged abuela and other adult allies to mount a protest campaign against Top Cola’s water use. Meanwhile, Luz helps neighbors set up rain barrels, hoses and a bathtub “mini-marsh” to filter graywater from local businesses for the gardens. At last a massive cloudburst and Top Cola’s promise to restore the pond bring sweet relief. It’s plainly purposeful, as seen in dialogue (“Let’s look for other cases of water rights abuses around the world”; “Carbon footprint!”) and a concluding minifeature in which Luz helps a neighbor xeriscape a turf lawn. It’s not just a lesson, though. The episode is fleshed out not only with character interaction and comedic side play, but in Dávila’s simply drawn, monochrome blue panels, in which figures pose and expostulate with theatrical energy. Like its predecessor, more a refreshingly animated exercise in building community and awareness than a specific procedural guide for going green. (Graphic novel. 8-10)
FLOCK
Delsol, Wendy Candlewick (400 pp.) $16.99 | Sep. 11, 2012 978-0-7636-6010-9 Series: Stork, 3 The Stork trilogy ends in a whirlwind of Norse mythology as Katla tries to escape the deal she made in volume two. Frost (2011) saw Kat battling the Snow Queen to save her boyfriend, Jack, who has paranormal powers as Jack Frost. Kat has her stork powers, but she runs afoul of the other storks when she takes things into her own hands. Meanwhile, two characters she met in Iceland, Jinky, the rough-cut shaman-in-training, and charismatic Marik, actually a selkie in disguise as a human, show up as new students in her high school. Marik reminds her that she promised her newborn sister Leira to the court of the Norse gods as payment for the opportunity to rescue Jack. Now Kat has to find a way to save
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Leira without angering two Norse goddesses so much that they’ll bring the entire world to an end. Yes, it sounds too over-the-top, but Delsol makes it all work with Kat’s spunky personality, plenty of dry, hip wisecracks (“Jinky shook her head, demonstrating the possible origins of the headbangers brand of dance style”), friendships, rivalries, a little romance and lots of suspense. Readers will care about each character with their distinct personalities, often quirky but acceptable as real humans. The prose trips along, always entertaining, until the story just zooms, even though this plot becomes a bit complex. Best read with the previous two books, the series ends with an unforeseen but rather satisfying surprise. Although Katla’s story may be over, readers will certainly look for more from this talented writer. The whole trilogy stands out for originality and great entertainment. (Paranormal adventure. 12 & up)
COURTSHIP & CURSES
Doyle, Marissa Henry Holt (352 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 7, 2012 978-0-8050-9187-8
Though it bucks the fan-fiction trend of making Jane Austen a character (often of the undead variety), this cheery Regency fantasy qualifies as major homage. The polio that killed her magic-working mother and sister left Lady Sophie nervous and self-conscious about her withered leg. At least she’s smartly clad for her first London season, thanks to a family friend’s intervention. (Sophie’s ditzy aunts have dreadful views on attire.) At her first ball, Sophie draws the attentions of handsome Peregrine, Lord Woodbridge, who rescues her father from a falling statue. Though her own magic’s been unreliable since her illness, Sophie recognizes its use—this was no accident. At ball after ball, befriended by Peregrine’s impetuous cousin Parthenope, Sophie witnesses “accidents” to War Office leaders tasked with defeating Napoleon, recently escaped from Elba. Overall, the tone is beach-read light. Prejudice upsets Sophie, but status and wealth shield her from disability’s harsher consequences. Peregrine’s rather dull, an amalgam of Austen heroes (Darcy with a dash of Captain Wentworth). Doyle’s gift, on display in earlier historical fantasies (Bewitching Season, 2008, etc.), lies in creating vivid female characters and the bonds between them. It’s considerably more aristocratic and less nuanced than Austen’s middle-class world, but Austenites—especially those whose favorite scenes involve shopping and balls— won’t mind. (author’s note) (Historical fantasy romance. 12 & up)
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READY FOR PUMPKINS
Duke, Kate Illus. by Duke, Kate Knopf (40 pp.) $16.99 | PLB $19.99 | Aug. 28, 2012 978-0-375-87068-2 978-0-375-97068-9 PLB Herky (short for Hercules) is one lucky guinea pig—perhaps the only one with his own garden. A first-grade class pet, he enjoys having the kids fawn over him and teach him things. In the spring, after noticing the delicious-looking green bean plants the class cultivated, Herky catches the gardening bug and finds a use for the seeds he squirreled away last Halloween. Summering in the country, Herky puts his escape skills to good use, meets a new rabbit-friend, Daisy, and learns that gardening isn’t about instant gratification. Indeed, this is one of the book’s greatest assets. Duke has captured the difficulty of waiting for the plants to grow, which many other garden-themed books miss or gloss over. And the garden-isms that Herky enumerates are sure to raise smiles. “A garden is not a place to be angry in.” When paired with Duke’s watercolor and pen-and-ink artwork, readers certainly won’t feel angry, though they will feel empathetic with the adorably impatient guinea pig as he stamps his feet and digs up his seeds to see what they are doing, besides not growing. As Herky says, “…you can’t stay sad for long when you have had a garden”—nor when you have read about Herky and his first gardening experience. (Picture book. 3-8)
CHICKADEE
Erdrich, Louise Harper/HarperCollins (208 pp.) $15.99 | $8.99 e-book | PLB $16.89 Aug. 21, 2012 978-0-06-057790-2 978-0-06-219007-9 e-book 978-0-06-057791-9 PLB Series: Birchbark House, 4 Erdrich continues the saga of Omakayas and her family, who now embark in 1866 on a life-changing search that takes them from Minnesota’s North Woods to the Great Plains in this fourth book of The Birchbark House Series. Omakayas is now a young mother with lively 8-year-old twins named Chickadee and Makoons. When the tribe’s bully, Zhigaag, calls Chickadee a “weakling” who’s “scrawny like his namesake,” grandmother Nokomis reminds him that “[s]mall things have great power.” After Makoons tricks Zhigaag, his oafish sons avenge their father by hijacking Chickadee to the Red River Valley. Chickadee’s family searches desperately until they reach Pembina on the Great Plains. Meanwhile, resourceful Chickadee escapes and survives with help from his wee namesake until he runs into his Uncle Quill driving an ox cart of furs to sell in St. Paul. Quill and Chickadee travel with fellow traders on the Red
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River ox cart trail, arriving in Pembina to find Makoons seriously ill. Chickadee and Makoons extend Omakaya’s story to the next generation as her Ojibwe family transitions from its native woods culture to life on the plains. Realistic black-and-white spot art provides snapshots of Chickadee’s adventures. A beautifully evolving story of an indigenous American family. (map; glossary & pronunciation guide of Ojibwe terms) (Historical fiction. 8-12)
OLIVIA AND THE FAIRY PRINCESSES
Falconer, Ian Illus. by Falconer, Ian Atheneum (40 pp.) $17.99 | $12.99 e-book | Aug. 28, 2012 978-1-4424-5027-1 978-1-4424-5028-8 e-book Series: Olivia, 7 In this latest, delightfully droll episode, readers find their precocious pig suffering from an identity crisis. While all the other girls she knows, and even some of the boys, dress as ruffled pink princesses for parties and desperately want to be fairy princess ballerinas, Olivia’s aspirations are more sui (or sooey?) generis. She may have wanted to be a ballerina once. But that was last year, when she was too young to know better. Now, on an uproarious two-page spread that depicts her in a series of Martha Graham–style postures, Olivia explains that she is “trying to develop a more stark, modern style.” Befittingly, a framed photograph of Graham is in clear view above Olivia’s bed as her understandably exasperated mother attempts to read to her from a book of fairy tales. Olivia rejects Rapunzel because she ends up becoming a princess, but she quickly realizes that she wouldn’t want to be the little match girl freezing in the snow either. Olivia’s whirring brain begins to consider what she might like to be instead—a nurse or a reporter perhaps? Her ultimate choice is quintessentially Olivia. Falconer’s charcoal-and-gouache illustrations, black and white with splashes of color interspersed, showcase Olivia’s unique spirit and dramatic flair. Not a whole lot of plot here, but panache aplenty. (Picture book. 4-7)
THE DAY LOUIS GOT EATEN
Fardell, John Illus. by Fardell, John Andersen Press USA (32 pp.) $16.95 | $12.95 e-book | Sep. 1, 2012 978-1-4677-0315-4 978-1-4677-0321-5 e-book
pen-and-ink drawing is pretty nifty, so it doesn’t hurt to move ahead anyway. And that is for the best, as goo-goo eyes gets eaten by a Gulper. His sister, taking umbrage, gives chase, but before she can reach the Gulper, it is eaten by a Grabular. So it goes, with the sister in pursuit—on evermore inventive contraptions—and each crazy creature being devoured by a yet crazier one. The sister gets the Saber-toothed Yumper in the end, forcing it to disgorge all its stomach’s contents, including the googoo–eyed brother, who turns out to be a tough dude after all. Things could be said here about the importance of persistence and the glories of sisters, all being true, but it might be best to see this book as a clever eye-catcher with a nicely tied-up story—there’s nothing at all wrong with that. A very merry, lighthearted entanglement. (Picture book. 4-9)
DON’T TURN AROUND
Gagnon, Michelle Harper/HarperCollins (320 pp.) $17.99 | $9.99 e-book | Sep. 11, 2012 978-0-06-210290-4 978-0-06-210292-8 e-book Teenage hackers Noa and Peter band together for vengeance and discover an inconceivable conspiracy. Sixteen-year-old computer whiz Noa Torson has escaped the Child Protective Services system by creating a fake foster family that includes a reclusive, freelance IT-guy of a father who draws a tidy salary working “from home”; she thinks she’s safe. When she wakes up in a hospitallike operating theater with no memory of how she got there, she doesn’t take the doctors’ lame explanation that she was in a car accident and uses her smarts to escape. Meanwhile, Boston child-of-privilege Peter pokes around his father’s files and is interrupted by armed thugs who break down the door and storm off with his computer (leaving a warning for his parents). Peter enlists his hacktivist group /ALLIANCE/ (of which Noa is a member) to, first, research the subject of those files and then to attack his attackers via the Net. The attack only serves to dig the teens in deeper when they uncover a frightening conspiracy of human experimentation and corporate malfeasance that could mean a quick death for them both. Adult author Gagnon’s YA debut is a pulse-pounding scary-great read. The strong characters and dystopian day-after-tomorrow setting will have teens begging for more. The slightly open end leaving the possibility (but not necessity) of a sequel will rankle some; others will just breathlessly smile. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for preteens and teens, a surefire hit. (Thriller. 12-16)
A cumulative tale of gathering potency that riffs on Jonah and the Whale. The first page of this tale is a dodge: A young boy with goo-goo eyes scooters off with his sister for a day in the forest near their idyllic woodland cottage. Yawn—apparently. The 1368
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“...readers will definitely do a double take and even reread some of the more shocking moments.” from burn
WHO’S WHO?
Geist, Ken Illus. by Cole, Henry Feiwel & Friends (32 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 7, 2012 978-0-312-64437-6
Readers know that it’s only a matter of time before he gets caught by the law or by his own doings, and they will find waiting for it compelling reading. (Fiction. 13 & up)
ONE DEAD SPY
Hale, Nathan Translated by Hale, Nathan Amulet/Abrams (128 pp.) $12.95 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-1-4197-0396-6 Series: Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales
A classic counting rhyme is subjected to a lackluster treatment in this retelling
that focuses on twins. Inspired by his own set of twins and the repetitive rhythm of the poem “Over in the Meadow,” Geist features six pairs of animal twins in various habitats. Beginning with a calf twosome on a farm (“Over in the barnyard / where the cows moo and moo, / lives a noisy little calf / and her loud twin, Blue”), the rhyming text continues with bunnies that hop in a garden, shiny fish that swim in a pond, “itty bitty” bats that flap in a cave, and, finally, silly owlets in the night sky, which giggle and wish children a good night. One set of twins in the jungle, a “chimpanzee monkey” and her wild sister, incorrectly blends two different primate families. Their illustrated depictions are equally confusing, as they depict animals with chimp faces and monkey tails. Cole’s cartoonish animals, rendered in acrylic and colored pencil, are usually the highlight of any of his collaborations. Perhaps drawing little inspiration from the pedestrian text, the illustrations lack his typical energy and charm. Who would read this besides those interested in twins? Who knows? (Picture book. 1-5)
BURN
Gibson, Heath Flux (264 pp.) $9.95 paperback | Aug. 8, 2012 978-0-7387-3095-0 A good-ol’-boy teen firefighter might not be quite as good as he seems. At first glance, Alabama country bumpkin Wee Wee—short for William— seems like the perfect small-town hero. He regularly goes to the church where his daddy preaches. He sticks up for the underdogs, including his gay younger brother and Samantha, a beautiful African-American teen girl who’s new in town. Finally, despite his alcoholic mother’s worries, he’s also the town’s finest volunteer firefighter. Gibson packs in a good number of rescue scenes that will have readers racing through the pages. What they don’t realize, however, is that William may actually have more of hand in these fires than it seems. The psychological reasoning provided for his motives feels shaky, but readers will definitely do a double take and even reread some of the more shocking moments. Gibson pens authentic Southern, small-town teenspeak and settings that add fuel to the fires (so to speak) of William’s life. Readers know he’s torn between his father’s religious teachings and doing the right thing for his brother, but deep inside he secretly relishes the cleansing flames of fire. |
Nathan Hale, the famous spy of the American Revolution, tells his own story in this graphic-novel treatment of history. The conceit of author Hale’s new series of Hazardous Tales is that his narrator has been swallowed by a big book of history prior to being hanged and thus knows the future of the country he helped bring into being. It’s a Scheherazade sort of premise, as Hale, convicted of espionage, forestalls death by telling stories from American history. In this volume, he’s helped by the hangman in telling the story of the early days of the revolution. He takes readers from his college days at Yale to the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, his joining the 7th Connecticut regiment, the Battle of Bunker Hill and other pivotal scenes in New England and New York City, where Hale works as an “intelligence officer” following the movements of the British troops to help General Washington develop his war strategies. Hale is caught and to be hanged…but not before he has, in this series, tales to tell. As in Big Bad Ironclad, which publishes simultaneously, the backmatter presents biographical sketches of the major players, further commentary on the execution of Nathan Hale, and even a mini-comic on Crispus Attucks of Boston Massacre fame. An innovative approach to history that will have young people reading with pleasure. (Graphic historical fiction. 8-12)
THE MYSTERIOUS MANUSCRIPT
Jakobsen, Lars Translated by Jakobsen, Lars; Chapman, Robyn Illus. by Jakobsen, Lars Graphic Universe (48 pp.) $6.95 paperback | $20.95 e-book PLB $27.93 | Sep. 1, 2012 978-0-8225-9409-3 978-1-4677-0044-3 e-book 978-0-7613-7883-9 PLB Series: Mortensen’s Escapades, 1 Bad guys are traveling back in time, and it’s up to a fixer named Mortensen to repair the damage. In this kickoff episode, a picture of an airplane in an old manuscript sends secret agent Mortensen to 16th-century Loch
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“Printz Award winner Johnson tells this moving story of grief and guilt with clarity and unsentimental honesty.” from a certain october
Ness. He goes twice, once to see the evidence (including the plane’s large cargo of stolen books from many eras) destroyed, and then a second time to rescue the mute, comely, hatchetwielding young “witch” Blossom who had helped keep him from being burned at the stake. Looking particularly dapper in a duster and long scarf over formal evening wear, the imperturbable hero surmounts one crisis after another. Though the plot is as airy and light on internal logic as can be, readers will be carried along by both his élan and by the charged-up pace of his misadventures. Jakobsen’s cartoon panels are small but discrete, and he keeps the dialogue pithy, his figures clearly drawn and the action easy to follow. A bonbon for Tintin fans. (historical afterwords on manuscript illumination, witch hunts and other related topics) (Graphic science fiction. 10-12)
A CERTAIN OCTOBER
Johnson, Angela Simon & Schuster (176 pp.) $15.99 | Aug. 28, 2012 978-0-689-86505-3
Scotty’s world is turned upside down when an accident leaves her brother severely injured, an acquaintance dead and Scotty feeling responsible. In the fall of Scotty’s junior year of high school, it appears all she has to worry about is reading Anna Karenina and the Homecoming dance. Scotty, who has been a vegetarian since last year’s visit to a dairy farm, describes her reality: “My life is like tofu—it’s what gets added that makes it interesting.” The most unusual thing about Scotty is her autistic, 7-yearold brother, Keone, who likes to steal cookies and run naked through the neighborhood. Her father and stepmother handle her brother without fanfare, as does Scotty, so it was normal for her to take him to the doctor and return home on the train. It is there that a tragic accident leaves Scotty injured, Keone in a coma and two students dead. Suddenly, levelheaded Scotty, healing from the physical injuries, cannot let go of the guilt she feels about the loss of one student in particular. It is only when she finds a way to reconcile two of her friends and open herself to the attention of another that she takes tentative steps toward emotional peace. Printz Award winner Johnson (The First Part Last, 2004) tells this moving story of grief and guilt with clarity and unsentimental honesty. Scotty, with her rich interior life, is realistically drawn and surrounded by a cast of well-rounded secondary characters. A wonderfully crafted and deeply satisfying novel, full of detail that provides texture and meaning. (Fiction. 14 & up)
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HOMESICK
Klise, Kate Feiwel & Friends (192 pp.) $16.99 | Sep. 18, 2012 978-1-250-00842-8 Beignet “Benny” Summer knows something’s wrong with his father. Dad used to have a “collectibles” store, but since he wouldn’t sell his “inventory,” he got kicked out for not paying rent. In 1983 Dennis Acres, Mo., a town of 52 (now that Benny’s mom’s gone home to New Orleans), everyone knows everyone else’s business (and most are annoyed by what they know). Benny gets a job at the local radio station to scrape together money to pay the phone bill so he can stay in touch with his mother. She’s planning to get settled and return for him at the end of the school year, but Benny’s dad is spiraling downward fast. When the town wins a “Most Charming Small Town” contest thanks to Miss Turnipson’s (more than) slight embellishment on the application, everyone knows the Summers’ house needs help. However, catastrophic changes are in store for everyone, especially Benny. Klise’s tale of a small town full of nuts has its touching moments and a strongly voiced narrator, but there’s no clear trajectory. Dad’s odd prescience— foreseeing the Internet, eBay and smartphones—feels out of character, and the sweet and tightly tied-up finale reads as a bit of a cheat. Readers will respond to Benny’s pluck, though, as well as his longing for a home free of junk. A gentle entry in the kid-in-a-quirky-small-town genre. (Historical fiction. 9-12)
EMBERS & ECHOES
Knight, Karsten Simon & Schuster (480 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 28, 2012 978-1-4424-5030-1 Frenzied action and steamy romance aren’t enough to ignite this overwrought sequel to Wildefire (2011). After a spectacular breakup that leaves her trickster ex half-buried in solid rock (and neatly recaps the previous book), high school sophomore and reincarnated volcano goddess Ashline heads off to Miami, following a vision of her missing younger sister. There, she teams up with an Aztec night god and a Roman dawn goddess to thwart a villainous millionaire and her sadistic henchgods, rescue her other sister from a netherworldly dimension, and keep the loves and lies of her past incarnations from leaking into this one. But ignore the complicated plot; the real meat of the story lies in the constant chases, fights, (chaste) lusting and lots and lots of explosions. The choppy style propels the pace, barely skirting self-parody with strained metaphors and bathetic blank verse. Despite their varied powers, appropriated from diverse mythologies, all these
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gods are pretty much indistinguishable; this renders Ash’s new insta-crush less surprising and would lessen the interest of the high body count but for the creatively gruesome deaths they suffer. The only vivid personality is Ash herself; unfortunately, while it is rare (and rather refreshing) in YA to find such a reckless, arrogant, bad-tempered and violent female protagonist, Ash’s shrugging indifference to these traits, despite their disastrous consequences, makes it hard to care about her future… even with the blatant sequel-baiting cliffhanger. Lust and violence make for a fast and entertaining read, but this could have been so much more. (Urban fantasy. 14 & up)
IT’S A TIGER!
LaRochelle, David Illus. by Tankard, Jeremy Chronicle (36 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-0-8118-6925-6 This metafictive romp follows a child who encounters, flees from and then befriends a tiger. The protagonist’s direct address and gaze immediately engage readers with the question, “Are you ready for a story?” Ensuing pages deliver a hide-and-seek narrative as the child spies: a tiger’s tail amid swinging monkeys; its shadow hidden in a bat cave; its tail hidden among slithering snakes; and its body camouflaged by flowers. The tiger seems less than fearsome, but the child nevertheless flees when it appears disguised as a ship’s captain, and again when it emerges with a roar from a treasure chest. But, lo and behold, the tiger isn’t roaring after all; it’s only yawning. “If we scratch his ears and rub his belly, maybe he’ll go to sleep,” the child says. “Better yet, let’s tell him a story.” A page turn finds the child back at the opening scene with the monkeys to start the story again. This time, however, a crocodile tail (rather than the initial scene’s tiger tail) hangs from above, delivering a punch line that promises another race through the jungle, if a rather obvious quasi-resolution. Throughout, Tankard’s vibrant ink and digitally rendered illustrations express the excitement and fun of the story, elevating the exuberant text to ideal storytime fare. It’s a tiger, and it’s sure to be a hit. (Picture book. 3-5)
COUNTING BACKWARDS
Lascarso, Laura Atheneum (288 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 14, 2012 978-1-4424-0690-2
A troubled teen responds to therapy despite herself. When she first arrives at Sunny Meadows, a “therapeutic boarding school” her controlling, distant father has found for her, all Taylor wants to do is escape. She is on probation for stealing a car, an impulsive act carried out to |
escape from life with her dysfunctional, alcoholic mother. She quickly draws the unwanted attention of a group of mean girls and the friendship of the effervescent Margo, a former child actress. She also “meets” a boy who talks to her through an air duct (that apparently connects their two rooms and no others) and arranges platonic midnight meetings thanks to his bunch of illicitly reproduced keys. She is truculent in therapy, focusing only on her plan to get out. The air-duct conversations are ludicrously unbelievable, carried out as they are with her door open, and her success at creating a mold for a key is equally incredible. Despite this, readers are likely to sympathize enough with Taylor to read past these flaws and root for her as she reluctantly embraces rehabilitation. Taylor’s character arc will surprise nobody, least of all Dr. Deb, her therapist. That process—in which grudging compliance becomes acceptance—is, if a little textbook, satisfyingly believable. Despite a few bumps in the road, a hopeful model for growth through therapy. (Fiction. 14 & up)
INNOCENT DARKNESS
Lazear, Suzanne Flux (408 pp.) $9.95 paperback | Aug. 8, 2012 978-0-7387-3248-0 Series: The Aether Chronicles, 1 A good concept suffers from poor execution in this steampunk fairy tale. Noli lives in 1901 Los Angeles, in an alternative Victorian era that allows for steam-powered flying cars and airships, in keeping with steampunk conventions. Caught flying a car without a license, she’s sent to a school in San Francisco that turns out to discipline its students with torture, including waterboarding. There she finds a fairy garden with an old oak tree and inadvertently wishes herself into fairyland. But danger lurks there, too. The fairies need to find a mortal with the “spark” to sacrifice every seven years, or their world will die. Noli fits the bill. Fortunately her best friend turns out to be a fairy prince determined to save her. Noli loves V, the prince, but she’s also attracted to Kevighn, the huntsman. Frequent redundancies and awkward phrasing, coupled with poor transitions, make the prose difficult to follow. Despite the life-or-death dilemma (solved through an absurd coincidence) in fairyland, the narrative flounders, focusing on Noli’s constant indecision between her two lovers (never mind that she firmly decides several times). Lazear emphasizes the difficulties women had in Victorian times quite well, but despite corsets worn on the outside, the clever steampunk angle disappears early. Sadism in the school and torrid if clothed scenes that border on soft porn in the fairyland power much of the narrative. Here’s hoping for more punk and less steam in the planned sequels. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)
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HANGING BY A THREAD
Littlefield, Sophie Delacorte (288 pp.) $16.99 | $10.99 e-book | PLB $19.99 Sep. 11, 2012 978-0-385-74104-0 978-0-375-98356-6 e-book 978-0-375-98982-7 PLB Clare’s paranormal ability to experience the past when she touches clothing involves her in a murder mystery. A serial killer may be stalking Winston, Clare’s tiny northern California beach town. A boy may have been murdered during the Fourth of July holiday last year. Now, a girl, Amanda, has disappeared. Clare and her mom have returned to their ancestral home in Winston, where Clare has made one friend. Rachel helps sell the outfits Clare designs from bits of vintage clothing. The more she learns about Rachel, however, the more Clare wonders if the girl is stable. Clare’s isolation continues within her own family, as she quarrels with her mom. Meanwhile, other families appear to be breaking up all over town. When Clare acquires a torn jacket, she touches it and has an alarming vision that she’s certain will somehow lead her to Amanda. She also falls for Jack, Amanda’s old boyfriend, who was accused of the crime at the time. Can she trust him? As Clare delves more deeply into the tangled relationships of the townsfolk, she pieces the mystery together just as she pieces old clothing together, and she thinks she knows whodunit. If she’s wrong, though, she may become the next victim. Littlefield writes a nifty little mystery and hits the right buttons for the current paranormal craze. Throwing in fashion design and a hot romance with a hunky bad-boy type also boosts interest, but well-drawn family and friend relationships form the heart of this story. The author plays fair by sprinkling in some teensy but real clues that should steer alert readers toward the solution. Intriguing and entertaining. (Paranormal mystery. 12 & up)
STARLING
Livingston, Lesley Harper/HarperCollins (352 pp.) $17.99 | $9.99 e-book | Aug. 28, 2012 978-0-06-206307-6 978-0-06-206309-0 e-book A less-than-impressive addition to the plethora of mythology-based YA romances. On a dark and stormy night, Mason Starling and her posh, Gosforth Academy fencing mates are saved from an attack of malicious mythological creatures by a handsome, disoriented stranger who only remembers his name: the Fennrys Wolf. Predictably, Fenn and Mason’s instant chemistry leads to a romance, which is lackluster at best. Their travels around New York City are recorded in meticulous detail that makes the novel feel more like a map than a story, as 1372
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they attempt to solve the mystery behind the attack and unravel Fenn’s past. Meanwhile, Mason’s father and brothers are dedicated to the service of the Norse gods and hellbent on bringing about Ragnarok (the Norse destruction and rebirth of the world), and they plot to place Mason in harm’s way in hopes of goading Fenn into fulfilling a prophecy. Though Mason, unlike many of her counterparts, does get to fight, she is, disappointingly, still very much a damsel in distress. And while Livingston’s melding of mythologies and the faerie world with ours is interesting, characters with little dimensionality and questionable motives, along with a frustratingly choppy pace and dull romance, leave much to be desired. The cliffhanger ending may convince insatiable paranormal-romance readers to give the next book in this series a try. (Paranormal romance. 13 & up)
THE WING WING BROTHERS MATH SPECTACULAR!
Long, Ethan Illus. by Long, Ethan Holiday House (32 pp.) $15.95 | Aug. 15, 2012 978-0-8234-2320-0
The vaudevillian Wing Wing Brothers’ attempts to outdo and upstage each other are sure to cause some giggles…and ideally some math learning, as well. Act 1 is all about comparing amounts and introduces children to the equal, less-than and greater-than signs. Wendell and Wilmer try to one-up each other in the number of spinning plates they are able to balance. In the end, 10=10 predictably becomes 0=0. Act 2 focuses on addition and subtraction and stars Willy, who holds one pie. His brothers each try to nail him with more pies, but he just adds them to his juggling act. When Willy is juggling 4+1=5 pies, the slapstick ending (and subsequent subtraction problem) is not hard to guess. The third act mixes up the addition and subtraction problems with a magic box that causes the brothers to appear and disappear. When all the brothers disappear into the box, green clouds give a hint as to the final slapstick joke. Long seems to know just how long to draw out the shtick so it doesn’t lose readers’ attention, ending on a comical high note. His humorous illustrations—black pencil outlines with digital color that are reminiscent of Mo Willems’ pigeon—will keep kids riveted with the birds’ fantastically expressive faces. This is how learning math should be—painless, comical and, yes, spectacular. (Math picture book. 4-8)
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“The scribbly cartoons and illustrations are part of the tale and parcel of the fun.” from clueless mcgee
THE TREACHERY OF BEAUTIFUL THINGS
Long, Ruth Frances Dial (384 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 16, 2012 978-0-8037-3580-4
Entrapment in a faerie forest has never been so delectable yet thorny, green yet purple, romantic yet sacrificial. Years ago, Jenny and her brother walked past a copse. His flute-playing excited the trees, which grabbed him and stole him. After seven years of nightmares and psychiatrists, Jenny returns to the copse and gets swirled into the Realm, which is teeming with fae. These range from Folletti, whose “wings [make] different colored lights as they fluttered,” to archetypal figures Titania, Oberon and Puck (though this is no Midsummer Night’s Dream). Trees, leaves and soil make a palpable forest setting through which Jenny runs, bleeds and swoons, seeking her brother. She’s fierce and steely when necessary, yet falls for a broken fae boy so she can fix him; when he warns her he’s dangerous, she doesn’t believe him, which the text constructs as love. Amid tangled vines of motive and alliance, savvy readers can discern secrets before Jenny does. Prose grows like weeds (“a flash of light, golden, as bright as newly restored hope”), particularly the descriptions of eyes, which “glisten” both in the sunlight and “like broken glass.” However, there’s real gravity beneath the overgrowth through a seemingly mundane name—Jack—and the layered meanings of its common-noun forms. As Jenny and Jack prevail over curses, thorns, blood tithes and hidden identities, this fairy-myth blooms past floridness into a worthy, memorable read (with movie potential). (Fantasy. 12-16)
THE MOURNING EMPORIUM
Lovric, Michelle Delacorte (448 pp.) $17.99 | $10.99 e-book | PLB $20.99 Aug. 14, 2012 978-0-385-74000-5 978-0-375-89862-4 e-book 978-0-385-90815-3 PLB After thwarting the supernaturally malevolent Bajamonte Tiepolo’s plan for Venice’s annihilation in The Undrowned Child (2011), Teodora and her friend Lorenzo again find themselves, and the city, targets of destruction. The labyrinthine plot unfurls with Venice gripped by fresh terrors—an icy flood kills many, including Renzo’s mother; illness spreads; children disappear. Renzo is pressed onto the Scilla, a ship converted to shelter orphan boys; Teo, impersonating one, joins him. The resurgent Tiepolo’s allies include an exiled lord sailing from Australia to claim the dying Queen Victoria’s throne and the villainous Miss Uish. Impersonating the |
Queen’s emissary, Uish assumes command of the Scilla, sets sail for London, and turns her child crew into unwilling pirates en route. Lovric again produces teeming subplots and an elaborate typology of subhuman abettors of both evil and good. The titular Emporium figures incidentally, during the London convergence halfway through; that funereal marketplace hosts a crowd of gritty street kids who trade work for overnights in the coffins. While Teo’s adoptive parents (abducted scientists conscripted to design a submarine for Tiepolo) endow that escape vehicle with a fatal flaw, this picaresque stew ends with another voluminous sequel clearly telegraphed. This steampunk-ish tome—rife with Victorian bilge water and colossal squid gore—will best serve those who enjoyed the first. (author’s note; “What’s Real and What’s Made Up?”) (Fantasy. 10-14)
CLUELESS MCGEE
Mack, Jeff Illus. by Mack, Jeff Philomel (244 pp.) $12.99 | Aug. 16, 2012 978-0-399-25749-0 Series: Clueless McGee, 1 Listen up frog-smackers, PJ McGee is ready to solve any mystery! Fifth-grader PJ McGee wants to be a private detective like his father, who is away on a SECRET MISSION (or at least that’s what PJ thinks). PJ knows he’ll make a great detective because he has been studying ninja moves; plus, he’s incredibly brave, amazingly fast and has a brain five times as big as normal. When PJ’s favorite school lunch (mac and cheese…he’s written a love song to lunch lady Mrs. Browny’s cheesy mac) turns up missing, PI PJ is on the case with his trusty sidekick, third-grader Dante. PJ follows the clues (even though he is sure school bully Jack B is the culprit). Then Jack hires PJ to clear his name! Only a super detective like PJ could solve such a sticky case. Illustrator Mack’s first foray into the cartoon-driven chapter book will be well received by the clueless and the clue-full alike. Each chapter’s a letter from PJ to his absent father detailing progress on the mac-and-cheese case. PJ is charmingly out of touch with reality. His supporting cast—needy little sister, long-suffering mother, mysteriously absent father and a quirky collection of teachers—adds to the laughs. The scribbly cartoons and illustrations are part of the tale and parcel of the fun. Happily, returns to Woods Road Elementary are assured, thanks to the big “1” on the spine. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-10)
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“Both an interrogation of bioethics and a mesmerizing quest for identity, this debut succeeds through its careful development of the oh-so-human Eva and those around her.” from the lost girl
MAGNUS FIN AND THE SELKIE SECRET
Mackay, Janis Floris (224 pp.) $9.95 paperback | Aug. 1, 2012 978-0-86315-865-0 Series: Magnus Fin, 3 Magnus Fin, half-human, half-selkie, is thrilled when a sea storm washes up a box sure to contain riches. When he tries to open it though, the box releases a burst of red light that leaves his hand throbbing. Worse, it tears a layer of his human skin to reveal seal skin. With this, two chains of events are set in motion: A news reporter gets wind of Fin’s oddities, and Fin is asked to return the box to King Neptune. After healing his hand, Fin’s selkie grandmother explains that the chest contains a wealth of wisdom desperately needed by Neptune to rule prudently. However, the key has been lost. She asks Fin to keep the selkie secret even as he finds the key and delivers both it and the treasure to the king. The story is a continuation of adventures begun in two earlier books, and children who have not read them may feel lost when Magnus, in his quest, must revisit a monster’s castle that he previously destroyed. Some characters and situations are not fully described, and the environmental theme feels tacked-on here. Even some new plot developments feel slight and their resolutions pat, such as the reporter who decides to do good rather than seek sensation. Readership may be limited to fans of the earlier Magnus Fin books and those enamored of under-the-sea adventures. (Fantasy. 8-12)
FINGERPRINTS OF YOU
Madonia, Kristen-Paige Simon & Schuster (272 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 7, 2012 978-1-4424-2920-8
A pregnant teen takes a cross-country trip to find the father she never knew. When Lemon seduces the lowlife her mother has been flirting with, she precipitates yet another move to yet another small town and ends up pregnant. Contemplating the same kind of young single-motherhood that has defined her peripatetic, alcoholic mother’s life makes her want to find her father. With a friend whose own father has recently been deployed to the Middle East, she boards a Greyhound and heads to San Francisco. There she finds a boy, her father and a new sense of self. Madonia lets Lemon narrate her story in a hyperaware past tense that unfurls in weighty, lyrically stated revelations: “…I realized I had become a girl worth talking about, a person worth remembering once I moved away.” Unfortunately, this tendency to look for insight everywhere drags this book down. As Lemon moves deliberately through her journey 1374
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of self-discovery, it becomes more a series of often-repetitive epiphanies than a story, her pregnancy a mere plot device to get her from one to the next. This is reinforced by the fact that Lemon’s introspection never includes her response to the discovery that she is pregnant, an omission that will leave readers wondering why she withholds this when she shares everything else. Though beautifully told, an ultimately unsatisfying sojourn in one girl’s psyche. (Fiction. 14 & up)
THE LOST GIRL
Mandanna, Sangu Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (432 pp.) $17.99 | $9.99 e-book | Aug. 28, 2012 978-0-06-208231-2 978-0-06-208233-6 e-book A compelling novel of a girl created to “replace” another in the event of her death. She has always known that she is an “echo,” stitched by the Weavers from bits of a girl called Amarra to step into her place should her original die. Though Amarra lives half a world away, in Bangalore, her echo has grown up in her shadow. She has a clutch of guardians who work for the Loom, keeping her safe and grooming her for the day she might be needed. They also love her and allow her small rebellions, like the name—Eva— she chooses for herself. But she is forbidden to read Frankenstein. Being an echo is dangerous, even where they are legal; many regard them as soulless monsters, and some even hunt them to death. And if her original’s family decides they do not want her, she is subject to a Sleep Order: “unstitching.” Mandanna sets Eva’s story in present-day England and India, a deliberately and effectively jarring choice. She keeps the Loom’s technology a mystery, indicating its workings through glimpses and never using the prosaic “clone,” and focuses on Eva’s experience. Both an interrogation of bioethics and a mesmerizing quest for identity, this debut succeeds through its careful development of the oh-so-human Eva and those around her. A provocative and page-turning thriller/romance that gets at the heart of what it means to be human. (Science fiction. 13 & up)
HELP ME LEARN SUBTRACTION
Marzollo, Jean Photos by Phillips, Chad Holiday House (32 pp.) $15.95 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-0-8234-2401-6 Marzollo and Phillips’ third collaboration gives readers both the vocabulary and the vertical and horizontal number sentences that will introduce them to basic subtraction. This outing begins with an addition problem, and the sassy
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little wooden figures in the corner kibitz, remarking that it is not subtraction. But there is a method to the madness—Marzollo is making the connection between addition and subtraction, pointing out that they are opposites (and also adding in a little welcome comic relief). As in the previous two books (Help Me Learn Addition, 2012, etc.), sometimes-forced rhyming verses set up a math problem, the answer left blank in the rhyme but provided in parentheses within the text. “6 shy dinosaurs don’t know / what to do. / So 4 try to hide! / That leaves ____ (2).” Each page provides a number sentence to go with the rhyme, mixing up the format, with some vertical, some horizontal, and some using words instead of numbers. One page is an especial challenge to readers, asking them to solve “11 - ? = 9” (and failing to provide the answer). But Phillips’ photographs give the youngest readers the visuals they need to solve the problems. Some new knickknacks make it into his scenes, but they are heavy on fuzzy yellow chicks and Brushkin animals. The dash of humor in the text is a welcome addition. (Math picture book. 3-7)
THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE NUTBROWN HARE
McBratney, Sam Illus. by Wagner, Andy; Tarbett, Debbie Candlewick (72 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 28, 2012 978-0-7636-5896-0 Little Nutbrown Hare bravely ventures out to the Far Field and back in four sweet new outings illustrated “in the style of ” Anita Jeram. With Big Nutbrown Hare still in attendance, Little Nutbrown nerves himself for a bit of climbing after his favorite Hiding Tree falls in a storm. He is also (very) briefly lost in fog on Cloudy Mountain, and he finds an interesting burrow in distant Far Field (but heeds his inner voice’s warning that dark holes are dangerous). Finally, he invites Big Nutbrown to guess his favorite place as the two are “wandering home at the end of the day.” Complementing McBratney’s mastery at capturing the feelings and concerns of toddlers in words, Wagner and Tarbett channel his original illustrator in posing sinuously drawn characters, alone and together, in ways that subtly but clearly express joy, anxiety, excitement and curiosity. Most strongly of all, they capture the intimate attachment that lights up all of the Hares’ appearances from Guess How Much I Love You (1995) on. Low tufts of wildflowers and other foliage backed by thin washes of pale greens and blues create a properly idyllic natural setting. Despite some unfortunate Americanizations and a picture of flying insects that are confusingly called “daddy-long-legs,” this book is still close to sublime. Required reading for all young children taking their first ventures into the wide world beyond immediate parental reach. (Picture book. 2-5)
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REAPER
McEntire, K.D. Pyr/Prometheus Books (340 pp.) $16.95 | Aug. 24, 2012 978-1-61614-632-0 Urban fantasy whose original ideas aren’t sustained by the overall package. In this sequel to Lightbringer (2011), Wendy just tries to survive in the complicated dual world she inhabits. She’s inherited the duties of a Reaper from her mother, who recently died and then became an evil adversary— in that order. Wendy exists simultaneously in the worlds of the living and the dead, taking care of her siblings in the real world but using her Light to destroy maggoty Walkers in the parallel Never, the world of the dead. When a new and dangerous opponent arises among the dead, Wendy’s erstwhile (and deceased) boyfriend, Piotr, navigates the overly complex metaphysics and politics of the Never in an attempt to help her. Meanwhile, Wendy discovers a never-known family of aunts, grandmothers and female cousins, Reapers all, and most definitely not on her side. Realism is not enhanced by Piotr’s friends: Lily, who, like the Tiger Lily of Peter Pan for whom she is named, plays generic exotic Indian rather than an individual from an actual tribe, and ghostly flapper Elle, whose Damon Runyon–esque dialogue (“it’s the cat’s meow to doll up and ritz it up for a night again”) feels as forced as Piotr’s frequent das and nyets. What could be interesting worldbuilding drowns in infelicitous prose and inexplicable machinations. (Fantasy. 13-15)
LET’S GO BABY-O!
McLean, Janet Illus. by McLean, Andrew Allen & Unwin (32 pp.) $15.99 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-174237-564-9 Dance, sing and look around! A mother and her baby dance and sing together while looking out the window into the vibrant garden below over the course of a few hours. The whimsical chant-and-play pages are replete with onomatopoeia (“Let’s go, baby-o, / you and me. / To the wibble, / To the wobble, / To the cha-cha-cha,” they chant as they imitate a cat about to pounce). They alternate with a depiction of the mother and her son looking into the garden, accompanied by the lines, “Look out the window. What can you see?” Young readers will find the goings-on in the garden hard to resist, as they spot the different actions, changes and details. This tale is meant to be interactive, and adult readers are encouraged to create their own jingles and dances and to question their youngsters in a note on the first page. Colorful illustrations with just the right amount of detail contrast the cozy indoor world of mother and son with that of the riotous garden outside. Though the rhythm here is sometimes a little bumpy and uneven, this simple and understated selection is a
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k i r ku s q & a w i t h e l i s h a c o o p e r I’ve yet to meet author/illustrator Elisha Cooper in person, but I imagine him as a quiet man, one who doesn’t require a lot of attention in a room, but who watches and listens more than he talks. In his picture books, Cooper finds the extraordinary in the ordinary, beauty in simplicity and big worlds in the little details. That can only come from someone centered and observant enough to truly take in what the world has to offer. That he turns around to write and paint about it with such grace is lucky for child readers—and picture book fans of all ages. His latest picture book is the fictional tale of a “literary mutt” (more on that below) named Homer. Unlike most picture books you’ll read, this protagonist doesn’t have a grand adventure. That’s right: He lies dormant during most of the book. He’d rather stay in his comfy home, thanks very much, and watch those he loves all around him, who are having their own respective adventures. And, in doing so, Homer makes a statement— not a saccharine one (Cooper would never stand for that), and one I find very moving—about the meaning of home and the abundant rewards of a family who lives with love. I chatted with Cooper about this book, one of my top-five favorite picture books thus far this year, and I thank him for taking a break from painting to answer some questions.
Homer
Elisha Cooper HarperCollins $16.99 (32 pp.) May 29, 2012 978-0-06-201248-7 Ages 3-8
Q: I think this wonderful story transcends pets. It makes me think of the happiness children can feel in a family that notices and loves them, and it even makes me think of the wisdom in not hyper-overscheduling one’s children. Do you think I’m seeing things, or did you intend such parallels?
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Q: I love the dog’s name. Why “Homer?” A: Homer was my dog when I was a boy. We grew up together, and then he became a great old dog. The Kirkus review of Homer mentioned Odysseus’s dog, Argos, waiting patiently at home for his master’s return. I have to admit I’d completely missed that connection. And I love that story! It must have been hanging around in my subconscious. I’m even more embarrassed because I loved Greek and Roman history, growing up. I even named my goats Aeneus, Dido and Ovid. But the name Homer just seemed to fit this story. It’s soulful. And it has the word “home.” Q: Do you ever model any of your book’s characters after people—or, in this case, dogs—in your own life? A: The girls in Homer are modeled on my daughters. They don’t think I captured their likenesses, and they’re probably right. The mother is my wife. She swims in the ocean, which is fitting. The father is me, though in real life I’m swarthier. And that’s my bike on page 12! I write mostly nonfiction children’s books, and characters are often compilations—with Farm, a bunch of Illinois farms became one farm—so the dog here is also a mix of dogs and goats I’ve known and loved over the years. A literary mutt. Q: What’s next for you? Are you working on anything now you can talk about? A: Oh, I can talk and talk. I’m painting a children’s book on trains. I’m pretty excited. It’s the story of a cross-country journey. But what I’m really excited about? This week I’m going to be at our local library in the Village, painting late into the night. Six huge canvases, 5-feet by 5-feet, covered with animals. They will cover the walls of the children’s room. Come by [Jefferson Market Library, corner of 10th St. and 6th Ave., in New York City]! Children’s books can get so small. This is my chance to work big—and dream that I’m Picasso. I’ll be sweaty and exhausted and covered in paint. I’m sure my family will be thrilled. —By Julie Danielson
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p hoto CO U RTESY O F TH E AU THOR
A: Oh, I’m so glad you saw this, as Homer sort of says in the book! On its face, this is a simple book. A dog sits on a porch. His family comes and goes. The end. But, yes, I hope something more is happening here. The children head out into the world—one girl explores a field by herself, one explores the beach by herself—before returning to the security of their family. They are bold, then safe—with unscheduled space, as you say, to pick flowers or collect shells. This freedom fills them up. Maybe it’s the paradox of parenting. How, if we let children go, they come back stronger. When I was painting the book, I’m sure I was thinking about my daughters. They were heading off to summer camp before returning to me at the end of their day. But in some larger sense, I knew they were also heading off into their lives. This letting-go stuff still sort of kills me. But I know it’s important. If we create space for those we love, then love will come into that space.
Maybe I’m getting a little deep here. And who can say what a book’s intentions are, least of all its author. But this is what I was thinking about when I was painting Homer.
good choice for encouraging the young to dance, sing, observe and comment on the world around them. Look around and see all there is to see! (Picture book. 2-4)
THE BOY RECESSION
Meaney, Flynn Poppy/Little, Brown (256 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 7, 2012 978-0-316-10213-1 This novel with two protagonists has authentic teen voices but nothing new to say. The students at Julius P. Heil High School are shaken up when several boys transfer out, losing “[t]welve percent of the population” and “sixty percent of the hotness.” Boys like Hunter, a slacker who hangs out with Derek the pyromaniac and Eugene the beer supplier, suddenly become much more appealing. Kelly, a girl who just blends in, wonders how she can compete with the “spandexers.” Amid budget cuts at their school, Kelly and Hunter become better friends by teaching music to third graders. When Hunter reveals his musical skills during the school talent show, spandexer Diva sinks her hooks into him. Kelly knows she’s fallen for Hunter, and Hunter knows what a great girl Kelly is. Can these two teens find a way to make it work? The dialogue is witty and crisp, capturing the rhythms of teen conversations. This authenticity is reflected in profanity and mentions of underage drinking and pot-smoking. Male characters are particularly well-drawn, yet the plot is thin and standard. Teens who enjoy novels in two voices will pick this up, but they will find little new. (Fiction. 14 & up)
SUCK IT UP AND DIE
Meehl, Brian Delacorte (416 pp.) $17.99 | $10.99 e-book | PLB $20.99 Aug. 14, 2012 978-0-385-73911-5 978-0-375-89716-0 e-book 978-0-385-90772-9 PLB The sequel to 2008’s Suck It Up fails to match its predecessor’s charm. Now that vampires have come forward and learned to walk in the sun, it’s time to campaign for equal rights. But Morning McCobb, geeky vampire spokesperson, just wants to hang with his EB (eternal beloved) Portia and work on his Lifer (human) dream of firefighting. Sadly, there’s no rest for the immortal; villain Ikor DeThanatos is back, teamed up with a Palin-esque politician who hates vampires. Chock full of bad puns, a tensionless love story and underlying messages that come across more pointed than a hawthorn stake, this won’t garner new fans (and there’s almost no recap to orient newcomers, anyway). Messy mythology (the oldest |
vampires can sustain themselves by transforming part of their body into a creature they can then drink from) and unexpected shifts in character don’t help (tough-girl vamp Rachel Capilarus becomes a daffy hippie). Meehl’s wordplay (there’s a glossary for the acronyms, initialisms and made-up words) and humor are out in full force, and there are moments of genuine sweetness packed into the campy, inconsistent story. Fans of the first may appreciate the happy ending, but most will wonder why the lily needed gilding. (Comic horror. 12-16)
SURVIVE
Morel, Alex Razorbill/Penguin (272 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 2, 2012 978-1-59514-510-9 “Here’s what you need to know: When I get on that airplane tonight, I will never arrive home.” Suicidal teen Jane Solis has worked hard currying favor with the doctors in her treatment program in order to earn the privilege of going home for the holidays. But instead of having a joyful reunion with her mother, Jane intends to imbibe a deadly cocktail of drugs in the plane bathroom and join her father, who killed himself five years ago on Christmas. Then the plane crashes on a remote mountain range, leaving Jane and glib snowboarder Paul the only survivors. The temperatures are well below zero, and food and water are at a premium. They struggle to find shelter and seek rescue, but after Paul is badly wounded and Jane has to go on alone, predictably, she realizes just how much she wants to live. The strongest part of the novel is the poignant section leading up to the plane crash, where Jane’s cynical voice shines with dark humor: “She’s from a don’t-openpresents-until-morning family and we are a blow-your-brainsout-before-morning family, so we don’t have a lot in common.” But after Jane and Paul team up on the frozen landscape, it quickly degenerates into a trite opposites-attract love story, albeit with some good, gritty outdoor-endurance detail. Compelling start, clichéd end. (Adventure. 12 & up)
SHADOW
Morpurgo, Michael Feiwel & Friends (192 pp.) $16.99 | Sep. 4, 2012 978-0-312-60659-6 Two 14-year-old boys, one Afghan and one English, find friendship with each other and with two exceptional dogs. Aman and his mother have fled the horrors of life under the Taliban for asylum in England, only to face deportation six years later. His best friend in school and on the soccer fields is Matt, an English boy spending the summer with his
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“Myers has accomplished something special with this series, crafting a seemingly simple story that is really surprisingly rich, handling big themes of friendship, family, education and dreams.” from a star is born
grandfather and his grandfather’s dog, Dog. Morpurgo tells the story through the voices of Matt, his grandfather and Aman. In the beginning, Matt convinces his grandfather to visit Aman, who is being held in Yarl’s Wood, a detention center. His grandfather continues the story, gently persuading Aman to recount what happened in Afghanistan and during the long, treacherous journey to England. The grandfather then organizes a demonstration to protest the deportations, receiving help from sympathetic ministers and an exploding volcano. The titular Shadow is a spaniel, a sniffer dog, trained to alert soldiers to roadside bombs, and she just about steals the story. The dog had bonded with Aman after being separated from her British army unit. Morpurgo has long championed the plight of children and animals in wartime and here ably succeeds in dramatizing the farreaching repercussions of the decades-old war in Afghanistan. Humanity triumphs over evil and bureaucracy in this heartrending and heart-affirming story. (postscript, background information on Yarl’s Wood and sniffer dogs) (Fiction. 9-14)
A STAR IS BORN
Myers, Walter Dean Scholastic (176 pp.) $17.99Aug. 1, 2012 978-0-439-91628-8 Series: The Cruisers, 3 In the third installment of the series, Myers offers another slice of middle school life at Harlem’s Da Vinci Academy for gifted and talented students. For 14-year-old LaShonda Powell, real life is a lot tougher than solving for x and y in algebra class. She’s been offered a full scholarship to the Virginia Woolf Society Program for Young Ladies, thanks to her costume designs for the recent class play, and if she completes the program, she’ll qualify for future college scholarships. The problem is that LaShonda lives in a group home with her autistic brother, Chris, and the two are inseparable. Narrator Zander Scott understands LaShonda’s situation: “You can jump on a scholarship if you’re jumping by yourself, but if you have a little brother to take care of, as LaShonda did, things get hard in a hurry.” It’s a tough issue for a group of middle school students who care for one another and take pride in having one another’s backs. Myers has accomplished something special with this series, crafting a seemingly simple story that is really surprisingly rich, handling big themes of friendship, family, education and dreams. This fine volume easily stands on its own, but readers will look forward to the fourth book, already in the works. (Fiction. 9-13)
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BECAUSE YOU ARE MY TEACHER
North, Sherry Illus. by Hall, Marcellus Abrams (32 pp.) $16.95 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-1-4197-0385-0
North and Hall pair up for another imaginative what-if offering (Because I Am Your Daddy, 2010, etc.), this time introducing young readers to different modes of transportation. A tiny (four-student) multicultural class armchair-journeys with their teacher: “If we had a chopper, we would soar above the cone / of a rumbling volcano as it churns out liquid stone.” Camels would allow the students to see the Egyptian pyramids, and an airboat would be the perfect way to see the Everglades. But this class isn’t afraid to use their own muscles—cross-country skiing in Antarctica, hang gliding in the Outback and kayaking the Grand Canyon. Among others, the adventures include hot air ballooning over China’s Great Wall, seeing Venice by gondola and blasting off in a rocket ship into space. North sticks to the format of the two previous titles, missing the rhythm and rhyme in only a few spots. But she neglects the perfect opportunity to plug reading as the way to see the world, instead ending with, “Our classroom is our vessel, / always headed someplace new. // Because you are our teacher, / We’ll see the world with you.” Hall’s watercolors capture the essential elements of each destination, colors, textures and movement matching the natural world, and a comical mouse that appears in each illustration gives readers something to search for. A sweet sentiment and a great way to get kids pumped about school and learning—Miss Frizzle would be proud. (Picture book. 4-7)
LITTLE WOLF GOES TO SCHOOL
Packard, Mary Illus. by McCue, Lisa Sterling (24 pp.) $7.95 | Aug. 7, 2012 978-1-4027-7228-3 Series: Watch Me Grow The first two in Packard’s new Watch Me Grow series address first-day-of-school fears and the welcoming of a new baby. When Little Wolf hears from his friends about what their older siblings have learned at school, he becomes afraid that he won’t be good at climbing, fishing or building and doesn’t want to go. But his mother gives him gentle reassurance that he doesn’t have to be the best at everything—school is for learning new things. And that turns out to be true. While he has fun, it is not until after lunch and Bunny goes missing that Little Wolf and his tracking nose truly shine. Unfortunately, a typo may leave readers scratching their heads over the gender of his friend Squirrel. Publishing simultaneously, Little Bear’s Baby Brother is the charming tale of an excited older sister who fashions the perfect gift for her new baby brother. And she’s not the only one to think so—the
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forest denizens each find her mobile and use it in their own turn, until it finally makes its way back to its intended recipient. McCue, now thoroughly well known for the furry likes of Cork and Fuzz, Quiet Bunny and Corduroy, brings readers a forest community of cute and cuddly characters, each brimming with personality. This series may remind readers of Paulette Bourgeois’ Franklin, though minus much of its didacticism. Sweet and comforting, as intended. (Picture book. 3-7)
DOGS ON DUTY Soldiers’ Best Friends on the Battlefield and Beyond
Patent, Dorothy Hinshaw Walker (48 pp.) $16.99 | Sep. 4, 2012 978-0-8027-2845-6
The story of Military Working Dogs and Specialized Search Dogs is presented in a fascinating, full-color volume. Nine thousand dogs served in World War II. More than 30 breeds were trained, but only seven actually served: Belgian sheepdogs, Doberman pinschers, American Eskimo dogs, farm collies, German shepherds, malamutes and Siberian huskies. Four thousand dogs served in Vietnam, and hundreds died in combat. Patent sketches the history of dogs in war from ancient times to World Wars I and II and on to modern wars—Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s dogs’ “super senses” of sight, sound and smell, and their capacity to bond with soldiers that make them so useful in military theaters. They uncovered hidden tunnels in Vietnam, find dangerous land mines in Afghan villages, and locate weapons, explosives and drugs at home and abroad. They leap from aircraft with soldiers (and wear “doggles” to protect their eyes), don K9 Storm Intruder vests and wear booties to protect their feet on ice. Besides describing the use of MWDs in various wars, this lively, bursting-with-color volume covers the life of the canine forces from puppy to MWD to retirement. The straightforward text and color photographs celebrate the bonds between dogs and handlers that are so crucial in modern warfare. A sure hit with dog lovers everywhere. (timeline, glossary, further resources, index) (Nonfiction. 7-12)
JUMP INTO THE SKY
Pearsall, Shelley Knopf (352 pp.) $16.99 | $10.99 e-book | PLB $19.99 Aug. 14, 2012 978-0-375-83699-2 978-0-375-89548-7 e-book 978-0-375-93699-9 PLB The tone is as welcoming as warm honey over corn bread. Ah, if only a coming-of-age novel could live by bread alone. |
Pearsall, 2003 winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for historical fiction with Trouble Don’t Last, presents the excellently researched tale of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, little known all-black paratroopers serving during WWII. Her tale of 13-year-old Levi Battle’s struggle to find his place in the world during World War II should be the kind of book teachers handpick for their students, especially reluctant-to-read males. However, if this effusive, lengthy story is bread and honey, the flavor, drowned in similes, metaphors and foreshadowing, gets diminished by too much “writing.” Strip away the excess, and you’ve got the tender story of a displaced boy hungry to connect with the war-hero father who is more legend than parent. Dumped at his Aunt Odella’s because his father is at war and his mama has run off, Levi is stunned to learn his aunt is packing him off to his father at a base in North Carolina. The Chicago boy is plunged into the racist South, with its separate drinking fountains and oppression that hangs like humidity. The dawdling pace and obvious, militaristic similes combine to undercut its top-notch research and compelling premise for a disappointing conclusion. (Historical fiction. 10-14)
ANASTASIA FOREVER
Preble, Joy Sourcebooks (320 pp.) $9.99 paperback | Aug. 1, 2012 978-1-4022-6875-5 The trilogy that began with Dreaming Anastasia (2009) comes to an exciting, if cluttered, conclusion. Magic and time travel back to Czarist Russia dominate the narrative as Anne and her century-old yet still age-18 heartthrob Ethan try to outwit their nemesis Viktor, who somehow has become immortal again. This series conclusion will make little sense to those who have not read the first two books, as everything depends upon knowledge of previous events. The time-travel segments stand out as the most interesting in the story, especially the trip to the Alexander Palace and the meeting with 10-year-old Princess Anastasia. Anne’s parents become involved when her rusalka (Russian mermaid) grandmother shows up in the backyard sprinkler. Baba Yaga flies through the skies in a giant mortar and pestle, dispensing danger and advice. Ethan and Anne (mostly) share the narration, but readers will need to pay attention to which one is speaking, as their voices come across as nearly identical. They’re a fairly standard-issue romantic pair, despite their exotic abilities. Viktor and Baba Yaga are more distinct and much more entertaining, as is Anne’s friend Tess, who provides some comic relief. Although the various plot threads eventually tie themselves neatly together, they resemble a Gordian knot before that happens. Satisfying, but start with the first book. (Paranormal suspense. 12 & up)
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“Large of hair and fierce of scowl, Suri dashes through Rioux’s character-centered, cleanly drawn panels like a force of nature…” from the golden twine
DEFIANCE
Redwine, C.J. Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (416 pp.) $17.99 | $9.99 e-book | Aug. 28, 2012 978-0-06-211718-2 978-0-211719-9 e-book Another pair of lovers in a post-apocalyptic dystopia fight the Man. When Rachel’s father, Jared, the best tracker in Baalboden, doesn’t return from a mission, he is declared dead, and his teenage apprentice, Logan, is unexpectedly named her Protector. This is a problem, because she hates his guts. But they both loved Jared, and they are both determined to defy the megalomaniacal Commander that rules their city-state to find him. Readers will be frustrated at the textbook way Rachel and Logan fail to communicate with each other, as each plots separately to escape into the Wasteland and find Jared. Predictably, they are found out, and just as predictably, they discover passionate love for each other. Redwine’s worldbuilding is particularly weak. Vague reference is made to an energy shortage that led to drilling that woke up the Cursed One, a reptilian monster that lives underground, but there is no attempt to flesh out the catastrophe that destroyed civilization as we know it. How women came to be relegated to positions of extreme subservience is also left completely unexplained. That all of this seems to have happened within the lifetime of the Commander who founded Baalboden beggars credulity. Internal logic takes a backseat to overwrought, presenttense narration, which alternates between Logan’s and Rachel’s nearly identical voices. Only for those who can’t get enough of this nearly played-out genre. (Dystopian romance. 13 & up)
THE GOLDEN TWINE
Rioux, Jo Illus. by Rioux, Jo Kids Can (112 pp.) $17.95 | paper $9.95 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-1-55453-636-8 978-1-55453-637-5 paperback Series: Cat’s Cradle, 1 A would-be tamer of monsters hooks up with a diminutive would-be monster in this auspicious series opener. As advertised, the supposed dragon tooth that parentless young storyteller Suri buys from a scruffy market vendor does indeed bring her luck—of both kinds. On the one hand, the ball of magical golden string that she finds in the road belongs to a trio of vicious tiger creatures called “caitsiths” who use the string to masquerade as humans and really, really want it back. On the other, Suri achieves her avowed desire to become a monster tamer when she meets Byron, a humongous if overly friendly dog, and the surly 500-year-old imp Caglio who (through not-yetexplained means) created him. Large of hair and fierce of scowl, 1380
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Suri dashes through Rioux’s character-centered, cleanly drawn panels like a force of nature, evading the clutches of pursuers (or, sometimes, not) and bouncing back resiliently from every reverse. After several narrow squeaks, the author sends her on her way, dog and imp in tow, in search of more monsters and unmindful of a band of pursuers coming up close behind. Stay tuned. Action-packed, easy to follow and featuring a cast of monsters inimical and otherwise, along with a winningly intrepid heroine. (Graphic fantasy. 10-12)
REALLY AND TRULY
Rivard, Émilie Illus. by Delisle, Anne-Claire Owlkids Books (24 pp.) $15.95 | $9.95 e-book | Aug. 15, 2012 978-1-926973-40-1 978-1-926973-50-0 e-book Charlie’s close relationship with his grandfather is changed because of dementia. Charlie’s grandfather told amazing stories when Charlie was a little boy. Whether it was a tale of pirates in the attic or a backyard witch or the gnome who lived in the basement, Grandpa had a fantastic explanation for everything. But now that Charlie is older and Grandpa has a disease that has “eaten up his memory and his words,” Charlie and his parents are heartbroken. Charlie’s grandfather prefers watching cars to conversing with the family, but Charlie pulls out one of his grandfather’s old stories, which causes Grandpa to turn toward the family. He uses the same tactic, with success, when Grandpa refuses to eat or to smile. He even has a trick when Grandpa no longer recognizes his family. Rich colors and humorous details elevate the illustrations in this well-meaning, but overly optimistic volume for the youngest reader. The fantastic is shown in black ink, with the witch, gnome and pirate mischievously cavorting, while Charlie and his grandfather’s moods are reflected in the background colors. While this might be comforting to children whose older relatives are in the early stages of dementia, it’s hard to see how any of Charlie’s strategies would work when the disease progresses. Valuable enough, but limited. (Picture book. 4-8)
AURACLE
Rosati, Gina Roaring Brook (304 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 7, 2012 978-1-59643-710-4 Anna has a clever talent: She can, somehow, rise out of her own body and travel about as a spirit. This has always been an amusing gift, especially useful during boring classes, but when she witnesses an accidental death after her friend Seth fails to save an almost-stalker classmate,
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Taylor, from a lethal fall, the trick becomes perilous. Dead Taylor occupies Anna’s spiritless body, leaving the high school junior with no place to go. Fortunately, Anna and best friend—and almost boyfriend—Rei have such a spiritual connection that he’s able to detect her presence, and they find they can conveniently communicate by computer keyboard. Seth is accused of murder, but readers must seriously suspend disbelief; he’ll go on trial just days later because his crime is so “vicious,” leaving the two clever teens very little time to evict ruthless Taylor and convince the court that a spirit can serve as a witness. While not great literature, this fast-paced adventure is surprisingly engaging, as Anna, in an earnest first-person voice, and Rei navigate the pitfalls of their evolving relationship and try imaginative ploys to send away Taylor, who has taken over Anna’s body with an almost humorous vengeance (tats, piercings and the like). Readers who enjoy more than a dash of the paranormal in their romance novels won’t be disappointed with this amusing albeit lightweight effort. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)
HANDS AROUND THE LIBRARY Protecting Egypt’s Treasured Books
Roth, Susan L.; Abouraya, Karen Leggett Illus. by Roth, Susan L. Dial (40 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 30, 2012 978-0-8037-3747-1
Freedom and libraries: an essential combination. During the tumultuous days of the Arab Spring when Egyptians marched to bring down their government, youthful demonstrators and library staff stood together to protect the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, contemporary counterpart to the Great Library of Alexandria, from vandalism. Roth’s exuberant collages capture these heady moments, blending photos, papers and fabrics to bring the people’s positive actions and the building’s intriguing facade together in a celebration of patriotism and libraries. The co-authors personalize the historical events by using Shaimaa Saad, a former children’s librarian, as the narrator. The text begins traditionally but quickly changes to indicate that this is a contemporary story: “Once upon a time, / not a long time ago, / many people in Egypt / were sad and sometimes angry, / because they were not free to speak, / or vote as they wished, or gather in groups.” Young people one by one join Dr. Ismail Serageldin, the library’s director, in a human chain around the building and unfurl a giant Egyptian flag on its steps (also shown in photographs at the end) with palpable ebullience. Extensive and accessible backmatter includes information about the ancient and modern libraries, the January 25, 2011, Revolution, an author’s note, resources, protest-sign translations and graphic motifs. A stunning visual recreation of a recent historical event. (Informational picture book. 6-9)
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OH, NUTS!
Sauer, Tammi Illus. by Krall, Dan Bloomsbury (32 pp.) $16.99 | Sep. 18, 2012 978-1-59990-466-5 A band of chipmunks discover the pitfalls of stardom in a surprisingly short time. Sauer serves forth three chipmunks: Cutesy (who is cute), Blinky (who has big eyes) and Bob (who, if a chipmunk could be a potato, would be a potato). They live in a zoo, a flea-bitten, Hanna-Barbera–esque collection of zombified creatures that nonetheless steal all the thunder, much to the consternation of the chipmunks. So they try donning costumes and putting on a rock show. No dice. Trying to outdo the zoo animals doesn’t work, either. The potato Bob spouts a truism: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. The chipmunks affect a ratty, odoriferous nonchalance and—voilà—Alvin & Co. never got such attention. But quickly—one two-page spread quickly—the attention grows wearisome, the three revert to their former status, and the paparazzi vanish like smoke. For all their angst over not being in the limelight and travail over getting into it, the chipmunks give stardom very little chance; nothing happens to them that readers see so they can sympathize with whatever was so tribulating. Krall’s artwork is suitably wacky, and the color has that amplified and weirdly mesmerizing quality of early color television, but color can’t put sense into this story. From the evidence, or lack thereof, these chipmunks protest too much. (Picture book. 3-6)
LUCY CAN’T SLEEP
Schwartz, Amy Illus. by Schwartz, Amy Neal Porter/Roaring Brook (32 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 7, 2012 978-1-59643-543-8 Restless, sleepless Lucy decides to climb out of bed and wander through her hushed house.Meandering rhyme bobs up and down in this nocturnal tale, rocking readers with its subtle irregularity and soft tonality. It drifts as Lucy drifts, around her house, into closets and the fridge, onto the porch, back upstairs and, finally, into bed. Dusky blues, purples and pinks establish a muted nighttime world, one through which Lucy perambulates quite comfortably. Children who fear separation and isolation at bedtime might find eye-opening solace in Lucy’s soothing ramble. Quiet solitary play (dressing-up, snacking, listening to far-off music outside, petting the family pup) suddenly seems exactly the way to find peace and slumber. Being alone in cozy darkness ain’t so bad! Lucy’s pleasantly blank, flat face, her wide-set dot eyes and simple u-shaped smile encourage children to identify with her, easily swapping their own experiences, their own faces, with hers. Schwartz’s deceptively simple paintings and line-work
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deliver enough domestic details (a coiled hose, a stray doll, dirty laundry, scattered bath toys) and slightly skewed perspectives to keep readers engaged, looking into every corner of the family home (just like the nomadic Lucy). A bedtime book with sweetly anarchic undertones (why stay in bed?), in which verse and artwork lull and soothe to soporific effect. (Picture book. 1-4)
THE WIZARDS OF WYRD WORLD
Service, Pamela F. Illus. by Gorman, Mike Darby Creek (112 pp.) $15.95 | $11.95 e-book | Sep. 1, 2012 978-0-7613-7920-1 978-1-4677-0042-9 e-book Series: Way-Too-Real Aliens, 3 Thanks to two young biblionauts and the alien transporter they snatched in the series opener, a weary writer finds both terror and inspiration in the fantasy world where his own novels are set. Taking advantage of a school visit (plus the series premise that all “fiction” is actually real, somewhere) Josh and his pushy little sister, Maggie, engineer a trip to swords-and-sorcery “Wyrd World” with its nerdy but willing author/creator P.L. Cuthbertson. Unfortunately, Cuthbertson is immediately captured and hustled off to a dungeon. Fortunately, Josh has just reread the entire series and so knows of a secret entrance….And so it goes through multiple escapes from places like Gaurgum and the Mines of Karfax, plus encounters with “six-foot-long, puke-colored slugs” called Ouliths and other locals. Service pokes a little writerly fun as she goes (“news flash: famous authors snore”) and relies with comical frequency on Josh’s polka-dotted alien pet dit-dit to leap chasms or do whatever else is needed to expedite the plot whenever it hits a snag. She delivers her three travelers home at last, exhilarated and ready for sequels—both real and (in Cuthbertson’s case) the virtual, armchair sort. A firmly tongue-in-cheek series hits its stride as Josh cuts out his earlier foot-dragging and shows signs of becoming an adrenalin junkie like his sister. (Science fiction. 8-12)
NO OTHER STORY
Soup, Cuthbert Illus. by Timmins, Jeffrey Stewart Bloomsbury (256 pp.) $16.99 | Sep. 18, 2012 978-1-59990-824-3 A once-entertaining tale about a widowed inventor who goes on the lam with his three above-average children (until he can finish building a time machine to dispel an ancient family curse and prevent his wife’s murder) drags its way to a conclusion. 1382
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Having taken care of the curse in the middle episode, Another Whole Nother Story (2010), “Soup” evidently finds that even with extensive padding—including an irrelevant flashback chapter and bit parts for the uncommonly intrusive author/ narrator himself and his deaf mother—the culminating rescue makes only half a book. Accordingly, the author fills out the page count with a long and aimless stopover for the time-traveling Cheeseman family. This takes place in Some Times, an interdimensional mashup of eras, places and seasons where the Cheeseman children get glimpses of their futures from a worshipful descendent. Meanwhile, their father, convinced he’s Gioachino Rossini after a knock to the head, furiously (re)composes the William Tell Overture. The Dave Barry–like flurries of sententious tangents that previously added refreshing interludes of silliness to the storyline come across here as dull and labored, as do the heavy-handed caricatures of various corporate and government pursuers who are the tale’s villains. Happy and (more or less) logical resolution aside, thin Soup. (Fantasy. 11-13)
THE FORSAKEN
Stasse, Lisa M. Simon & Schuster (384 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 21, 2012 978-1-4424-3265-9 In this debut series opener set 20 years in the future, teens identified as future criminals are exiled to “the wheel,” a remote island wilderness (metaphorical and real) where few live past 18. Alenna, 16, the demure orphanageraised child of political dissidents, is shocked to awaken there. Her savvier fellow new arrival is quickly captured by drones serving the mysterious Monk; luckier Alenna is rescued by Gadya, whose gentler tribe welcomes her. The girls bond, although Alenna’s blossoming relationship with Liam, Gadya’s ex, troubles the waters. Besides battling drones, the tribe tends kids who’ve fallen puzzlingly ill and hatches desperate plans to hijack an aircraft from the mysterious gray zone. Sketchy worldbuilding is a deficit. The United Northern Alliance—the United States, Canada and Mexico, fused—has imposed efficient totalitarian rule with breathtaking speed. As in most dystopias for teens, it’s not the state, but the private sector that’s withered away. Alenna’s passivity around Liam, trite observations on personal growth and girl talk with Gadya about dating and popularity seem bizarrely borrowed from another genre. Hang in there—when the action moves to the eerie gray zone, the plot gains traction and suspense builds. Here the girls must depend on themselves—not Liam—to survive. Mostly generic, but flashes of originality raise expectations for future installments. (Dystopian romance. 12 & up)
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“Eighteen short tales about witches by some of the wickedest names in fantasy make for a rich anthology.” from under my hat
PHOENIX
Stone, Jeff Random House (288 pp.) $16.99 | $10.99 e-book | PLB $19.99 Sep. 25, 2012 978-0-375-87018-7 978-0-375-98759-5 e-book 978-0-375-97018-4 PLB Series: The Five Ancestors Out of the Ashes, 1 Kung fu, bicycle racing and an ancient Chinese supersteroid provide the central elements for a spinoff series opener set in the modern era from the creator of the Five Ancestors heptalogy. Learning to his amazement that his “grandfather” is actually almost 400 years old, orphaned Indiana teenager and gifted trail-bike racer Phoenix finds himself on a fast flight to China after intruders steal the “dragon bone” dietary supplement that has been keeping the beloved old man alive. The quest takes him from Kaifeng—where he falls in with live-wire, if not (as it turns out) entirely trustworthy, beauty Hú Dié, who is as good as he is on a bike and better in a fight—to Texas. There he engages in an extended and violent climactic dust-up with the baddies scheming to (mis)use the dragon bone as a performance enhancer. Stone stirs in characters and locales that connect new series with old. He also mixes plenty of well-informed racingbike talk and action (on trail and cyclocross courses alike) with spectacular feats of kung fu, battles against well-armed heavies, comedic and sentimental moments, twists of fortune and other conventions of martial-arts tales. A thrill ride from start to finish for fans of high-speed plank hurdles and scorpion kicks alike. (Fantasy. 11-13)
PENELOPE CRUMB
Stout, Shawn K. Illus. by Docampo, Valeria Philomel (176 pp.) $14.99 | Aug. 2, 2012 978-0-399-25728-5
Penelope Crumb’s large nose links her to her mysterious grandfather, who, it turns out, is not Graveyard Dead. When fourth-grade artist and wouldbe gumshoe Penelope Crumb realizes she has a large nose, everyone, especially her older brother Terrible (really Terrence), laughs it off. How can she not have known? Her mother states that it is Penelope’s late father’s nose, and the girl is pleased to be linked to him. But when her mother throws out a comparison to her Grandpa Felix’s honker, Penelope is surprised that her grandfather is not dead. He just has not been part of the family since Penelope’s father got sick. This casual comment, and a class assignment about family stories, sends the youngest Crumb on a quest to find this mysterious Grandpa Felix. Told in a fresh, amusing first-person voice, |
Penelope is part adventurer (she and her best friend skip school, take trains and knock on strangers’ doors in their search), part private investigator and part therapist as she tries to piece together the missing parts of her family’s story. Her mother, a medical illustrator, is mostly in the background, studying and drawing and getting over her husband’s death, but she succumbs to Penelope’s powers by the end. Fans of Clementine and Ramona will cheer as new friend Penelope finds what she is looking for. (Fiction. 7-10)
UNDER MY HAT Tales from the Cauldron
Strahan, Jonathan--Ed. Random House (432 pp.) $16.99 | $10.99 e-book | Lg. Prt. $19.99 Aug. 28, 2012 978-0-375-86830-6 978-0-375-89881-5 e-book 978-0-375-96830-3 Lg. Prt. Eighteen short tales about witches by some of the wickedest names in fantasy make for a rich anthology. It is inevitable that a collection like this be uneven, but the overall quality is high, even if the stories occasionally suffer from a sameness despite their deeply varied origins. The writers are simply stellar: Ellen Kushner, Frances Hardinge, Charles de Lint, Tanith Lee, Ellen Klages and Holly Black, among others. Neil Gaiman’s contribution is a witchy, weird poem. Garth Nix’s “A Handful of Ashes” features a library and librarian. Delia Sherman’s “The Witch in the Woods” is beautiful and romantic, with deer and bear shape-shifters and no small darkness. Jim Butcher has a Harry Dresden story (“B is for Bigfoot”), and it’s terrific. Jane Yolen makes Hans Christian Andersen’s life a tale itself, and Patricia McKillip’s “Which Witch” makes loud music and crow magic elegantly. The best, however, may be Peter S. Beagle’s “Great-Grandmother in the Cellar” (yes, she is, and she goes back there, too, but not the way she came, in this “Sleeping Beauty” variant). Readers will find much to enjoy, especially if taken in smaller bites rather than all at once. (about the authors) (Fantasy anthology. 10 & up)
GUINEA PIG PARTY
Surplice, Holly Illus. by Surplice, Holly Nosy Crow/Candlewick (32 pp.) $14.99 | Aug. 14, 2012 978-0-7636-6269-1 Comical, partying guinea pigs who encounter one mishap after another allow readers to count down from 10 to one. From a bump during a conga line to a sadly misplaced pin during a game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, these poor guinea
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“This one gets everything just right.” from into the woods
pigs face it all. “Six little guinea pigs / love to jump and dive! / One bumps his nose, / and then there are… // Five....” Leaving the answer for the page turn allows for audience participation, and between the rhymes, the patterned numerals in the corner and the easily countable guinea pigs, listeners will have no problem shouting out the answers. While the rhythms and rhymes are nothing outstanding (“heaven” rhymes with “seven,” “again” with “10”), it doesn’t much matter, since Surplice’s guinea pigs are the true stars. Loaded with personality, the adorable rodents take the party by storm, suffering tummy aches, tantrums and balloon mishaps but, ultimately, celebrating their friendship. A final page features the numerals from one to 10, matching each with its own guinea pig. Simple white backgrounds help the rodents keep center stage and highlight the party paraphernalia that helps set the scene. Countdown to the next rereading. (Picture book. 3-6)
CARDBOARD
TenNapel, Doug Illus. by TenNapel, Doug Graphix/Scholastic (288 pp.) $24.99 | paper $12.99 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-0-545-41872-0 978-0-545-41873-7 paperback An out-of-the-box story of golems, guys and guts. Though dealing with the recent death of his mother, Cam and his father are trying to make the best of a difficult time. Currently unemployed and virtually penniless, Cam’s father buys him the only birthday present he can afford: a cardboard box. From the get-go, it is apparent that this is no ordinary cardboard: It comes with a list of rules, which Cam’s father casually dismisses. In an attempt to make the bland box more exciting, his father fashions a cardboard man, a boxer he names Bill, who undergoes a Pinocchiolike transformation and becomes a loyal friend. The animated man catches the interest of menacing Marcus, a well-off, wide-eyed, fish-lipped bully, who steals the cardboard for his own malicious intent. When Marcus’ plans go horribly, terribly awry, he discovers that he needs one thing that money can’t buy: a friend to help him. TenNapel’s story is edge-of-your-seat exciting, but what really drives home this clever outing are the added complexities and thought-provoking questions it asks of its reader, specifically examining what constitutes “good” and “bad,” and how to change how one is labeled. The result? An exceptionally seamless blend of action and philosophy, two elements that usually do not mix easily; TenNapel handles this masterfully. Utterly brilliant. (Graphic fantasy. 10 & up)
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TUMFORD’S RUDE NOISES
Tillman, Nancy Illus. by Tillman, Nancy Feiwel & Friends (32 pp.) $16.99 | Sep. 18, 2012 978-0-312-36841-8
Kitty cat (and human boy stand-in) Tumford Stoutt learns a lesson about rude noises. This Tuesday, Sweet Apple Green is in for a ruckus. Tum beats his drum. He makes bubbles in his dish. He burps and giggles at the table. His parents aren’t pleased, but Tum doesn’t care. He likes the attention. Then in front of the Sweet Apple Guild, Tum does the unforgivable: toots the patootie trumpet. Mom and Dad put him in timeout. With a little help from readers, Tum learns not all attention is good. Tumford’s second didactic tale suffers many of the same problems of his first. Thankfully, his strange and disturbing clothes are gone (save for a bandanna). However, the equally distressing, clunky, forcedrhyme verse is still in evidence, as well as the previous book’s illogic. Young audiences will scratch their heads over Tum eating from a bowl on the floor and then a plate at the table. Their parents will wonder why the lesson isn’t “don’t be rude” or “apologize for rudeness” (which we thought we learned in Tumford the Terrible, 2011), but is instead: Public displays of gas lead to punishment. Tillman’s precious illustrations mesh better with her treacly, sentiment-laden titles than with this practical lesson in etiquette. Well-intentioned, though not well-thought-through. Tum’s not worth your time. (Picture book. 3-6)
INTO THE WOODS
Torres, J. Illus. by Hicks, Faith Erin Kids Can (100 pp.) $17.95 | paper $9.95 | Sep. 1, 2012 978-1-55453-711-2 978-1-55453-712-9 paperback Series: Bigfoot Boy, 1 Mom said there was magic in the woods…she probably didn’t mean anything like this. Ten-year-old city boy Rufus is staying at his grandmother’s house on the edge of a forest for a few days without his parents. Grammy’s idea of fun is prune juice and soap operas, so Rufus decides to explore the woods. He meets a girl named Penny, but she’s as friendly as a rock. Her older sister, Aurora, tells Rufus Penny’s friendlier than she seems, so he doesn’t give up on her. When looking for her in the woods, Rufus finds a glowing necklace in a tree. After reading the word on the back, he turns into Bigfoot! Not only is he big, red and hairy, but he can also talk to animals. Sidney the flying squirrel helps him get home. There’s danger in the forest as well as magic, and when Penny disappears, Rufus (and Sidney) use the totem to effect a rescue. Canadian author Torres’ first in a new series of graphic novels has magic, humor and just a hint of menace. Easy-reading text, all in speech bubbles, will appeal to a wide
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range of readers. Hicks’ bright and glossy cinematic panels are full of action; readers will almost smell the green of the trees. This one gets everything just right. Be prepared for young Sasquatch fans roaring for more. (Graphic fantasy. 6-11)
THE DARK LIGHT
Walsh, Sara Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster (496 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 28, 2012 9789-1-4424-3455-4 An imaginative fantasy begins with real potential but suffers from a heroine who’s a bit too flawed. This adventure/romance provides thrills and intrigue, starting off solidly with Mia attracted to Sol, the mysterious, hunky new student with a fabulous eagle tattoo that covers his entire back. Mia realizes that the strange lights she’s seen around her rural town are connected to the disappearances of boys from the area. When her brother also disappears, Mia runs to save him but loses the necklace her mother had left her. Surreptitiously investigating Sol, she discovers that he has it. Caught, she runs from him until both are swept up into the Other Side, a video-game fantasy-style world existing in the empty spaces of our own. Mia drops her necklace yet again, only to learn that it can open the barrier between the two worlds and that the evil Suzerain, if he gets it, will use it to destroy our side. The story works well until the supposedly intelligent Mia begins causing much, if not most, of the story’s suspense by immediately doing what she has been warned not to do—which ultimately ends up driving the narrative. Those who can overlook Mia’s irritating conduct will enjoy her dangerous adventures and standard-issue budding romance with the increasingly magical Sol as they try to retrieve the necklace, rescue Mia’s brother, fight demons and learn more about Mia’s past. More focus on the intriguing fantasy world and less on Mia’s failings would help. Promising, but loses its grip. (Fantasy. 12 & up)
KIZZY ANN STAMPS
Watts, Jeri Candlewick (192 pp.) $15.99 | Aug. 14, 2012 978-0-7636-5895-3
With the abundance of stories about a boy and his dog, it’s refreshing to see a tale of a girl and her dog. Outspoken Kizzy Ann Stamps is used to overcoming difficulties, from navigating the prejudice in her town to coping with the attention brought on by the scar on her right cheek. Now a new hurdle has arisen for Kizzy Ann: integration. Armed with a belief in facing problems head-on, Kizzy Ann writes to her |
new teacher, sharing that much of her strength comes from her extraordinary border collie, Shag. So Kizzy Ann is disheartened when she finds that Shag is ineligible to compete in dog shows. But hope unexpectedly comes in the form of neighbor Donald McKenna. Under his guidance, they train to enter a dog trial—a perfect choice for a “no-bow” girl and dog like Kizzy Ann and Shag...if Kizzy Ann can enter, despite the discrimination that would block her path. Through Kizzy Ann’s letters to her teacher (from July 1963 to May 1964), Watts weaves a powerful story of strength and self-acceptance in the face of injustice. Though her introspective narration slips in and out of an adult voice, it always presents a strong, thoughtful and likable protagonist. The vivid historical setting of this short and satisfying read will leave readers feeling they have experienced life in Kizzy Ann’s world. (Historical fiction. 9-12)
INVISIBLE WORLD
Weyn, Suzanne Scholastic (240 pp.) $17.99 | Aug. 1, 2012 978-0-545-33486-0
Weyn once again uses the supernatural to invent an alternate version of history (Distant Waves, 2009), this time the Salem Witch Trials. A clairvoyant like her grandmother and great-grandmother, who were persecuted as witches, Elsabeth hopes to use her power to live independently one day. Wanting his daughter to avoid her ancestors’ fate, Elsabeth’s scientist father tries to relocate the family, including Elsabeth’s former governess, Bronwyn, who practices astral projection, from England to the American colonies. A shipwreck changes their course, sending lone Elsabeth to a South Carolina plantation. Uneducated in racial boundaries, the teen immediately falls for slave Aakif. In a business exchange (and to remove her from the impropriety), the plantation owner sends her to Salem to be a servant to Reverend Parris. On the way to Salem, Elsabeth reunites with Bronwyn, whose spirit has been compromised during one of her astral travels. In the process of trying to heal Bronwyn, the teen inadvertently unleashes evil on the town. Weyn sticks with the familiar characters and events, letting supernatural occurrences and recent medical theories explain the rise of witches. She also introduces other debatable facts, such as Tituba’s ethnic background, and the burgeoning science of the day. A historical note that would help readers sort out facts and theories from fiction is sadly lacking. Despite a too-tidy ending, it is an interesting, fastpaced blend of mystical and scientific reasoning. (Historical fantasy. 13 & up)
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THE PRAIRIE THIEF
Wiley, Melissa McElderry (224 pp.) $15.99 | Aug. 28, 2012 978-1-4424-4056-2
How can Louisa save her Pa after he’s been accused of thievery, a crime punishable on the prairie by hanging, without breaking the promise she made to another? Even if she tells the truth, who will believe her? Louisa rides a pronghorn antelope across the prairie and sleeps with wolves overnight, all so she can be in town the morning of Pa’s trial. Louisa never would have thought such things possible, but then she had never met a brownie before. (Humans were not the only immigrants from the Auld Country.) Making Louisa’s travel arrangements is the least the brownie can do for her. After all, he is the one guilty of pilfering items from local homesteads, only according to his reasoning, the items are payment for his services. Fans of the Little House books will recognize the setting and enjoy the fantastic twist for which the author provides an entirely plausible back story. Youngsters will also understand Louisa’s dilemma: She empathizes with the brownie, especially after learning he has a connection to her deceased mother, but it is imperative that she prove her Pa’s innocence. Stylized black-and-white illustrations capture key moments and add to the warm tone. Some of the characters are clichéd, but the comedic, unexpected, satisfying conclusion hits just the right note. A pleasing folkloric/historical blend. (Fantasy. 8-12)
PIZZA, LOVE, AND OTHER STUFF THAT MADE ME FAMOUS
Williams, Kathryn Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt (240 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 21, 2012 978-0-8050-9285-1 When 16-year-old Sophie is accepted as a contestant on a new reality show for aspiring teen chefs, it seems like a dream come true. Working in her family’s Greek-Italian restaurant might have prepared Sophie for the pressure of the culinary big time, but when the drama begins heating things up, Sophie needs to figure out if she has what it takes or if she needs to get out of the kitchen. Ruthless celebrity judges, a secret burn book that trashes the contestants and a crush-worthy French culinary student all combine to make this the hottest summer Sophie can remember. Sophie finds herself on the brink of everything she wants, but then why does she miss her best friend, Alex (whom she has yet to admit she like-likes), and her unglamorous life back home? This too-familiar story is little more than a mashup of reality-television drama. Sophie manages to shine in spite 1386
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of the predictable plot, but even she is not enough to brighten up the otherwise long cast of one-trick secondary characters. Cooking tips and recipes are sprinkled throughout the teen drama. Unfortunately even a recipe for Deconstructed Baklava fails to spice up this otherwise bland story. Uninspired and flavorless. (Fiction. 12 & up)
THE COMING OF THE UNICORN Scottish Folk Tales for Children
Williamson, Duncan Floris (144 pp.) $15.95 paperback | Aug. 1, 2012 978-0-86315-868-1 Gather the bairns and the grown folk and set sail for a fine collection of Scottish tales retold by a master storyteller. Williamson was celebrated for a lifetime of traveling the byways of Scotland, collecting and telling tales. In these 18 stories, broonies, fairies and, of course, a unicorn cross paths with common folk on a regular basis. There’s a lesson to be learned from each tale, about friendship, kindness, sharing or doing one’s duty. Also inherent in most of the tales is a strong respect for nature and for animals. Womankind fares quite well here, as princesses and poor girls strike out on their own and succeed. In “House of the Seven Boulders,” a mother with magical gifts doesn’t hesitate to do in her own seven destructive sons. Storytellers will recognize many of the motifs and marvel at the familiarity of “The Tailor and the Button.” The writing is nicely flavored with Scottish words and phrasing that have not been Americanized. (Occasionally, this results in words that have far different meanings in each country.) As his daughter notes in her introduction, Williamson believed that stories, unlike toys, can “last you the entire time of your life.” A fine collection to share, whether read aloud or told. (glossary) (Folklore. 8 & up)
DOG LOVES DRAWING
Yates, Louise Illus. by Yates, Louise Knopf (32 pp.) $16.99 | PLB $19.99 | Aug. 14, 2012 978-0-375-87067-5 978-0-375-97067-2 PLB Crockett Johnson’s Harold and Purple Crayon (1955) is a fruitful progenitor, and this descendent gleefully incorporates three distinct visual styles. Dog’s enthusiasm hasn’t diminished since he opened his bookstore in Dog Loves Books (2010). He leans down from a ladder, handing a book to a customer, then perches atop a stack of books while reading a book with a book open on top of his head. One floppy ear pokes out, and his face shows bliss. The
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visual style is mild and happy, with black sketched lines deftly conveying emotion and soft colors filling them in. Then a parcel arrives containing a blank sketchbook, and everything changes. Dog draws a door, steps through it and draws a stickman for company in that blank-paged world. Lickety-split, Dog and the stickman are doodle-creating squiggles and more characters (duck, crab, owl). Adventures ensue: train and boat rides, a desert island, a scary monster and a mad dash home. Three aesthetics mingle: the gentle black lines of Dog himself, with his bookstore’s watery colors; a doodling style inside the sketchbook-world, which, though less visually interesting, is sweetly childlike; and a lusciously realistic portrayal of art supplies. Never have pencils, brushes and even a pencil sharpener beckoned so temptingly, from opening endpapers to closing (make sure to check both). Dog makes it easy to share his passions. (Picture book. 3-7)
MOUSTERPIECE
Zalben, Jane Breskin Illus. by Zalben, Jane Breskin Neal Porter/Roaring Brook (40 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 21, 2012 978-1-59643-549-0 Who needs a cookie? Give a mouse a paintbrush! Janson lives in a museum, in a cozy corner with a pillow and a rose-speckled blanket. One day, she stumbles upon something new, “and her little world opened.” Striding across a gray page, with a soft white glow around her figure to show energy, Janson emerges into a white background and finds—art! Immediately entranced, this self-possessed, humble rodent sets to work copying the masters. A grid of pop-art self-portraits (Janson’s face, with her tenderly expressive eyebrow angle) pays homage to Andy Warhol’s Marilyn series; Janson reclining in a jungle recalls Rousseau; Janson’s snout, elongated and triangulated into cubism, echoes Picasso. Each clean, white page centers Janson at work; an occasional wall angle, easel or dropcloth nimbly enhances the minimal composition. Janson’s gray body and striped skirt are warm hues of low saturation, sending focus to the colors within her artwork: Campbell’s red soup can with mouse face, à la Warhol; blues and yellows for van Gogh’s Starry Night; primaries for a geometric Mondrian mouse and a Munch mouse Scream. When museum renovation bars Janson from the art wing, she weeps, truly bereft, then forges ahead, painting from memory and defining her own style. Discovery and an exhibit follow. Janson’s climactic mousterpiece features canvas texture showing through the paint, honoring her beloved medium. The joyful clarity of both vision and execution thrills. (notes on 22 artists referenced) (Picture book. 3-7)
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THE WAITING SKY
Zielin, Lara Putnam (256 pp.) $16.99 | Aug. 2, 2012 978-0-399-25686-8
A 17-year-old flees her irresponsible, alcoholic mother to summer with her older brother, a tornado researcher. Jane has grown up with dysfunction, and she is so familiar with it that it’s come to look almost normal. A car accident caused by her mother’s drunk driving, in which her best friend Cat is injured, provides a wake-up call. Jane knows that supporting her mother makes her an enabler, but the guilt she feels when she doesn’t protect the woman is almost unbearable. Under pressure from Cat, Jane joins Ethan in the Southwest, where he’s part of the Torbros, a tornado-chasing team that competes with the better-funded Twister Blisters, another chase team. Ever-soattractive and attentive Max, an intern for the Blisters, falls for Jane even as she tries to find a way to balance her manipulative mother’s demands against her own emerging sense of self. This is paralleled, less than effectively, against the struggles of one of the Torbros who’s become terrified of stormy weather and longs to leave the tightknit group, but stays because of his loyalty to his brother. Characters and plot are predictable, but Jane’s firstperson voice has an attractive ring of truth to it. Exciting storm scenes may appeal to weather buffs, but there are so many dysfunctional-family books out there that this one feels a bit like a blip on the radar. (Fiction. 12 & up)
board-book roundup NUMBERS A Caterpillar-Shaped Book
Accord Publishing Accord (24 pp.) $11.99 | May 8, 2012 978-1-4494-1736-9
A diminutive, flimsy caterpillar-shaped novelty book “unfolds” its segments to represent numbers one through 10. In an accordion format, individual circles in varied sizes (small to larger and back again) present each numeral; its flip side gives a physical representation. Objects, though clearly recognizable, at times need elbowroom; 10 ladybugs appear scrunched together on the small surface, for instance. A patterned border frequently relates to the featured items; seven birds sit within
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a leafy background of varied hues of green, and four sailboats appear against a background of crashing waves. The number two receives the most whimsical treatment, with two off-kilter houses standing akimbo; vertical hashed lines fill the yellow border. The insect’s head on the cover, with black-and-white string antennae, smiles with flushed cheeks. A choking hazard warning discourages children younger than 3 from manipulating the unstable contents, precisely the age tots will naturally gravitate toward the bright Kool-Aid–colored selection. Run, don’t crawl away from this impractical offering. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)
depicts the rocket jetting off the page; smaller letters celebrate: “And away they go!” A maplike schematic depicts the steps of their journey, connecting the ambitious (“Visit Saturn!”) to the outrageous (“Hello, Alien!”) with more businesslike steps in between (“Discover new galaxies. Repair the satellite”). The final spread includes a nod to an American pioneer of the great beyond: “It’s one small step for Mouse, / one giant leap for Milo!” Fine, frequently dotted lines and busy spreads gear this for toddlers and up. An amusing, imaginative launch into outer space. (Board book. 1-3)
BEAR TAKES A TRIP
THE BUG NEXT DOOR
Blackstone, Stella Illus. by Harter, Debbie Barefoot (24 pp.) $6.99 | paper $6.99 | May 1, 2012 978-1-84686-757-6 978-1-84686-756-9 paperback Series: Stella Blackstone Bear
Alemagna, Beatrice Illus. by Alemagna, Beatrice Phaidon Press (40 pp.) $12.95 | Apr. 1, 2012 978-0-7148-6356-6
It’s unfortunate that opposites attract in this dismal offering. Little Speckled Bug meets his neighbor and immediately feels a connection to the female Bug Next Door, even though they express quite different interests. Little Speckled Bug wants to play boisterous games; the buggy diva’s suggestions are stereotypically feminine in contrast. “What if we dressed up as flower fairies instead? We could put on long dresses and wear make up.” In an awkward sequence, the pair share hobbies, including collecting the appendages of their fellow insects (!), and a kiss. Little Speckled Bug’s cheeks flush as he pines for his new love. The abrupt, didactic conclusion is both pretentious and perplexing: “But you see, in the blanket, just as in the rest of the world, there are lots of differences between girls and boys”— though other references have been made to the “blanket,” its relationship to the book’s world is never explained. The mostly felted mixed-media spreads incorporate a hodgepodge of commonly found items, including sequins and postage stamps. Facial expressions are rigid, and the emotions portrayed inauthentic. There’s not one decent insect leg to stand on here. (Board book. 3-4)
By bus and then train, Bear and his friend take one amazing vacation (Bear’s Birthday, 2011, etc.). Rhyming couplets describe Bear’s preparations and travels. His friend joins him at the railway station, and the day passes by as the buddies travel toward their mountaintop destination. Whimsical paint, pen-and-ink and crayon designs provide bold splashes of color as the locomotive snakes its way along the coast. The text conveys their trip in straightforward fashion. “At long last the journey comes to an end. / Bear has a cabin and so does his friend.” The front endpapers provide an aerial map so children can see the progress of the journey. The book also tackles the concept of time throughout, and the concluding note offers a lengthy explanation that will sail over the heads of the boardbook audience. A digital clock on the bottom right-hand corner of each spread tracks the schedule; analog clocks deftly placed within the pictures provide additional reinforcement. Adults will be astonished at how much these bears can do in just 10 1/2 hours. Pass the time with one of the stronger offerings in this series. (Board book. 1-4)
COUNTDOWN WITH MILO
MY LITTLE BOX OF ANIMAL BOOKS
Austin, Mike Illus. by Austin, Mike Blue Apple (18 pp.) $9.99 | Jun. 25, 2012 978-1-60905-208-9 Series: The Adventures of Milo & Mouse Milo and Mouse have an out-of-this-world adventure. Cat and mouse buckle their seatbelts and head for the stars. The story focuses heavily on trip preparation. Mouse charts the course while Milo revs up the rocket. A vertical bar on the cover’s edge provides a 10-second timeline that corresponds to specific actions within scenes and doubles as the countdown to takeoff. A bold “BLASTOFF!” in fiery orange against the royal blue sky 1388
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Boncens, Christophe Translated by Maurin, Susan Allen Auzou Publishing (12 pp.) $19.95 | Apr. 1, 2012 978-2-7338-1820-6 This box proves a bust. The long case holds four separate books; two focus on animals living on the farm and the savanna, and the others describe pets and babies. Cartoon panels provide factual tidbits. The text, though for the most part accurate, lacks the energy to inspire a young audience. “The male duck is called a drake.” An imposing photograph appears opposite the panels, containing a circle cutout
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“Sure to prompt little fingers into joyful action.” from tickle time
with material meant to provide a tactile experience of the animal. (The gimmick often fails; the baby panda’s coat is virtually indistinguishable from the penguin chick’s fuzzy feathers). A caption supplies the appropriate sound (“The lion roars”). Unfortunately, the photographs consistently fail to convey any sense of sound; if an animal’s mouth is open, it is to eat or play (the lion cub appears more interested in gnawing on a stick than making any noise at all). Poor quality of materials (foam for the pink pig) makes for a lackluster tactile experience. The touch-and-feel design leads to comically contradictory statements; the back of the container encourages this format for “young toddlers,” while a concluding note reads, “not suitable for children under 36 months.” Developmentally dull; there’s nothing to cheer about here. (Board book. 2-3)
energy right up. A forlorn little kitty, paws clasped in front of his body, appears anxious (though slightly intrigued) when a trio of toms encourages him to join in the fun. “Gitchy-gitchy / Goo Gotta / Ready, Set, Go!” It doesn’t take long before the cautious cat jumps in on this chorus line with dramatic leaps and fluttering fingers. A little birdie acts as a square-dance caller, enunciating each beat (“Goo bop. / Gitchy-goo bop”). The shaggy, large-nosed felines are tremendously expressive in their synchronized movements and maintain a rollicking pace. “We can tickle high. / We can tickle low. / We can tickle QUICKQUICKQUICK / as fast as we can go!” (Here, the page is filled with iterations of “gitchy gitchy gitchy” in different colors.) At the end, the gang sprawls on the floor, exhausted, after a truly monumental tickle-fest. Sure to prompt little fingers into joyful action. (Board book. 1-3)
ARE YOU A COW?
PEEKABOO BABY
Boynton, Sandra Illus. by Boynton, Sandra Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (16 pp.) $5.99 | May 1, 2012 978-1-4424-1733-5 A bossy chicken demands that listeners introduce themselves. A question-and-answer format challenges the toddling audience to identify with various animals. The energetic interrogation opposes questions in conventionally sized type and answers in a teeny-tiny font. “Are you a cow?” “No.” The pattern breaks when hippos lumber into view. “You are not a HIPPO. / You are small. They are big.” A perpetually grinning bear and upside-down chicken prompt negative reactions, and then a penguin appears. “Are you a penguin? You’re not? But wait! / You must be YOU! Now isn’t that great!” This exuberant calland-response and mostly repetitive format keep the pages turning with brio. The wacky characters dominate each page with puzzled, endearing expressions, and cross-eyed stares add a further dollop of humor. Boynton has perfected the art of creating developmentally appropriate books for babies that keep their parents engaged too, and this is no exception. Tots will be thrilled at the chance to use one of their favorite two-letter words (“no!”) over and over again. (Board book. 1-3)
Braun, Sebastien Illus. by Braun, Sebastien Candlewick (16 pp.) $6.99 | Feb. 14, 2012 978-0-7636-5933-2
A beloved baby pastime receives a satisfying treatment. Several babes conceal parts of their faces and bodies with comforting objects in this gentle game of peek-a-boo. Larger than their actual size, materials introduced (bib, book) display an understanding of a young child’s daily life. Items only partially conceal each baby from view, allowing for easy give-andtake; fairly sturdy flaps give young participants a chance to play. The physical article depicted is playfully named in each quiet, repetitive question. “Who’s hiding behind the blocks? / Peek-a-boo!” The final scene depicts a youngster sprawled out in slumber underneath a cuddly blanket: “Who’s hiding under the blanket? / It’s baby!” Cheerful, faux–hand-lettered type and pastel-hued backdrops, particularly soothing in creamy tan and daffodil-yellow, reinforce the calming experience. The tots are depicted in varying colors, with gentle expressions (minute dots for eyes, thin half-smiles) that suit the soft digital illustrations. Babies will enjoy this playful peek. (Board book. 3 mos.-2)
TICKLE TIME!
SWIM!
Boynton, Sandra Illus. by Boynton, Sandra Workman (22 pp.) $6.95 | Mar. 16, 2012 978-0-7611-6883-6 A favorite baby-and-toddler activity receives an upbeat celebration that will get those fingers going. Watch out! The gang of frazzled felines that populate this outing are truly the cat’s meow. Based on Boynton’s song of the same title, the text is reproduced in a colored, patterned font that amps the |
Brigham, Marilyn Illus. by Velasquez, Eric Marshall Cavendish (24 pp.) $7.99 | $7.99 e-book | May 1, 2012 978-0-7614-6253-8 978-0-7614-6254-5 e-book This ho-hum dip in the pool skims the surface without wading in the deep. A mother, son and daughter enjoy play and relaxation in and around the water. A couple of words on each double-page spread capture the action of a sunny day. An overabundance
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of exclamation points results in a forced sense of cheer, often inappropriate. They are applied even in quiet moments, such as when the children rest lazily on rafts (“Float away!”). Moreover, many of the visuals are unclear. “Swim! Swim” depicts just about as much splashing as “Splish! Splash!”; “Kick! Kick!” shows the little boy headfirst in the pool with his feet outstretched, in what looks more like a dive than a kicking motion. Facial expressions, though cheery, are stiff. The majority of the text and oil-on-paper scenes celebrate the children’s interdependence. Above the little girl, the word “throw!” labels her behavior, while her sibling’s response reads “catch!” (visually, it’s not clear who is throwing and who is catching). Forced enthusiasm and confusing images sink this experience. (Board book. 1-3)
over the front and back covers (in the shape of two hands) to distinguish their right from left. Unfortunately, the pages’ shapes are the opposite inside, so the “right hand” appears on the left side when facing readers. A hodgepodge of instructions and vignettes clutters the already cramped pages. Tiny cartoon illustrations sometimes appear odd and even disconcerting in context. “Do any of your other fingers do special things? We use our forefinger to say, be quiet!” The corresponding image depicts a slouching boy with trumpet in hand; a woman towers over him with her shaking finger in an angry reprimand. Hands down, this subject is a poor choice for a board format. (Board book. 2-4)
POTTY TIME!
Church, Caroline Jayne Illus. by Church, Caroline Jayne Cartwheel/Scholastic (10 pp.) $7.99 | May 1, 2012 978-0-545-35080-8
CHOMP!
Brown, Heather Illus. by Brown, Heather Accord (12 pp.) $8.99 | Feb. 1, 2012 978-1-4494-1016-2 Animals chew their way into view. Common two-word phrases describe how creatures on the land and in the sea use their mouths to grin and growl. Each character’s face occupies the majority of each spread, while its elongated body disappears off the edge. Die-cut openings reveal a set of pearly whites appropriately positioned within each animal’s jaws; a pull of the tab allows children to open and shut them. With a turn of the page, the next animal’s maw increases in size; on the left-hand page, the previous animals’ hides peek through. Expressions balance between comedy and intimidation for the toddler audience; the teeth remain the focal point as they frame the crocodile’s cunning smile and the impressive lion’s roar. The thick, easily movable flap allows easy access for little fingers, and depicts both passive activity (the polar bear’s yawn) and signs of aggression (the shark’s powerful chomp.) The textured cover adds immediate appeal for the young audience. A playful, toothsome choice. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
A toddler shares his glee at leaving diapers behind. The book is completely child-focused, without an adult in sight. This youngster’s independence influences each aspect of his toileting; he takes himself to the pot, and he uses a step stool to reach the sink to wash his hands after. There’s no indication that any accidents may occur. The boy boasts, “When it’s time, I know.” Brisk, rhyming phrases miss the mark. “Everyone uses the potty, / like me and Daddy and Mommy. / It’s potty time, hooray! / I’m a big kid today.” With a little button nose and short spiky hair, the Caucasian tot is appealing. His favorite teddy bear plays the role of a loyal companion and even sits on his own potty just like the child. A die-cut–framed, battery-operated button (“flush me!”) triggers sound effects. Adults looking for a straightforward celebration of this milestone will gravitate toward this short selection, but there’s no hint of the inevitable missteps young children face during the process. Though its single-minded focus on success offers positive role modeling, it needs to be used with other, more realistic titles (and lots of patience). (Board book. 2-3)
LEFT HAND RIGHT HAND
GOODNIGHT, I LOVE YOU
Brown, Janet Allison Illus. by Endersby, Frank Barron’s (16 pp.) $4.99 | Mar. 1, 2012 978-0-7641-6517-7
Church, Caroline Jayne Illus. by Church, Caroline Jayne Cartwheel/Scholastic (20 pp.) $8.99 | Jan. 1, 2012 978-0-545-39215-0
This hand-shaped effort describes the purpose and power behind people’s hands. Wordy spreads discuss the differences between right and left, challenging readers to examine them and use them in a variety of ways. The text is utterly at odds developmentally with the toddling audience. “Cross your wrists so that your RIGHT hand is now on the LEFT and your LEFT hand is now on the RIGHT.” The text asks the child listeners to place their hands 1390
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An evening routine provides stability for two smiling siblings. The pair bathe together in the tub. Drying off with towels, they put on pajamas and share a nighttime story with their favorite stuffed animals before they pull the covers up over their noses. The tale highlights the interactions between sister and brother, exuding coziness as they finally relax. There’s no adult physically depicted in the pictures, even when the two splash
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“A distinctive offering stands out in the crowded field of concept contenders.” from hippopposites
puddles of water on the floor. An adult presence is indicated in the lulling narration, though: “Snuggle the covers / and off with the light, // Dream little dreams, // I love you, good night.” The youngsters demonstrate tremendous independence; they scrub themselves clean and open wide to brush their teeth. The clean layout provides, appropriately, few details; stitched hearts float in the background near their beds in a symbolic departure from the realism otherwise portrayed. The padded cover adds extra softness. A quiet depiction of self-reliant slumber. (Board book. 1-3)
HIPPOPPOSITES
Coat, Janik Illus. by Coat, Janik abramsappleseed (38 pp.) $14.95 | May 1, 2012 978-1-4197-0151-1 A distinctive offering stands out in the crowded field of concept contenders. Opposite pairs (one to each spread) play themselves out against a hippo’s silhouette. The graphically simple animal, with two small dots for eyes and a square-ish backside, demonstrates various ideas through perspective, color, texture and cut-outs, among others. Small/large positions the hippo next to a skyscraper and a mite; soft/ rough finds the animal’s outline filled with fuzzy fabric and burlap. Sophisticated use of positive and negative space creates some dazzling patterns that anticipate optical-illusion puzzles. The term “dotted” places formidable red polka-dots all over the hippo, providing the only spatial definition against the white background, with “striped” doing the same on the next page. Some abstract choices may not be clear enough for the young audience traditionally served by this format, though the large trim size and sturdy pages support repeat readings. A few of the obscure choices (opaque/transparent, positive/negative) will need both more context and time for a full understanding, making this a book that will grow with its audience. The hippo is the only lumbering element in this visually striking exploration. (Board book. 2-5)
PANTONE: COLORS
Dardik, Helen abramsappleseed (20 pp.) $9.95 | Mar. 1, 2012 978-1-4197-0180-1
A bright, cheerful illustration of the reason why picture books shouldn’t be product-placement vehicles. Although the back lists the illustrator credit in miniscule font, the front cover and spine credit only “PANTONE®” as creator of this concept piece. PANTONE® is a company that offers a trademarked system of standardized colors—a method of specifying and matching colors from afar. Here, each right-hand page features a cartoony object in a single hue, while the facing lefthand page has a 20-square grid of variations on that hue. Assets are the vibrant visual energy throughout and an emphasis on hue |
variations that can be detected in the facing illustration. But every variation broadcasts a name and identity number—and the brand, lest readers forget. Some names are cutesy (“Pink Lemonade Pink: PANTONE 210”), others meaningless as color identifiers (“Apron Blue: PANTONE 314”; “Mitten Purple: PANTONE 259”). Readers old enough to comprehend the PANTONE concept will have long outgrown this toddler-friendly art; worse, when they read the disclaimer that “PANTONE Colors may not match PANTONE-identified standards. Consult current PANTONE Color Publications for accurate color,” they’ll be disgusted that a color standardization company is betraying its own raison d’être. Twenty times per spread is too much brand trumpeting for, well, anyone; still, this will sell as a baby-shower gift for expectant graphic designers. (Board book. 1-3)
BIZZY BEAR, LET’S GET TO WORK!
Davies, Benji Illus. by Davies, Benji Nosy Crow (8 pp.) $6.99 | Feb. 14, 2012 978-0-7636-5899-1
Bizzy Bear knows how to get the job done. He assists his fellow animal construction workers in building a house from the ground up. All donning hard hats and protective boots, the team quickly turns beams and boards into a home. Bright, digital spreads, predominately in a warm, sandy palette, keep the focus on the building site. Sturdy sliders placed within well-engineered die-cuts allow children to manipulate the machinery, though the tabs’ minute sizes and varied placements make the interactive items a little tough for young toddlers. Bizzy bulldozes sand, transports gravel and lifts bricks. A rhyming, chipper voice narrates each scene with a surfeit of exclamation points. In the final scene, pulling the tab up opens the blinds to reveal Bizzy’s friends working on the cottage’s interior; a pig and rabbit wave from the top of the chimney. A bustling companion, Bizzy Bear, Off We Go!, briefly introduces familiar modes of transportation through a similar design. Bury the excessive exclamation points and focus on the visual details to salvage this dig. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)
BEAR’S UNDERWEAR MYSTERY
Doodler, Todd H. Illus. by Doodler, Todd H. Blue Apple (18 pp.) $9.99 | May 29, 2012 978-1-60905-204-1 Series: Count-and-Find-It Adventure This celebration of briefs (not boxers) leaves little to the imagination. Bear receives an envelope inviting him to follow a trail of undergarments. His journey leads him deep into the dark woods,
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and even under the kitchen sink, in search of these undies. The final clue takes him to a disco, where blocky, big-eyed, SpongeBob SquarePants–like characters don their recently recovered underpants. A hairy monster with polka-dot briefs, jagged teeth and bare feet balances a bunny and porcupine in either hand and serves as the unusual party’s host. “Welcome to FUN-TOWEAR, / a party about underwear! / Here’s every pattern / and every pair. / Count all Ten and shout: / HOORAY FOR BEAR!” Tabbed, numbered pages help readers keep track of the corresponding clothing. Tabs, text bubbles and backgrounds are all color-coordinated with the various undies. Any substantial plot or character development is sacrificed to the gleeful celebration of tightywhities (or stripies, or plaidies or swirlies). This awkward attempt to force underwear out into the open will likely please many toddlers but few of their grown-ups. (Board book. 2-3)
BUSY FARM
Finn, Rebecca Illus. by Finn, Rebecca Campell/Trafalgar (10 pp.) $7.99 | Apr. 15, 2012 978-0-230-73987-1 A farming family’s work is never done. Buoyant images depict the actions of the farmer and several youngsters as they complete their chores. Girls and boys mix both work and play, following traditional gender roles: A girl carries a basket of eggs while a boy drives the tractor, for instance. Unadorned rhymes describe the actions of both the children and their animals. “Time to fetch the fluffy sheep, / Then head for home and go to sleep.” Sliders with accompanying arrows add interactivity that complements the text. Hogs pop up above the gate with an easy push, and a turning wheel shows the dog as he rounds up the sheep. Small fingers will easily manipulate the majority of objects independently, though the bale of hay may prove difficult. Though bright and busy, it’s the movable parts that really make this farm a memorable one to visit. (Board book. 1-3)
“Flitter, flutter!”). Square pieces (numbered one through four) fit into the center of each right-hand page and pop out to form a puzzle; the puzzle’s image is duplicated on the page beneath each piece to ensure consistent design throughout and preserve the integrity of the book once pieces are inevitably lost. There’s nothing beyond friction to keep the puzzle pieces in place, and the gimmick fails to extend the narrative. Companion title My Bunny highlights a rabbit with the same impractical design. While the puzzle gimmick fails to soar, the book succeeds without it. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
COLORS
Fowler, Gloria Illus. by Girard, Alexander Ammo (58 pp.) $14.95 | Jun. 1, 2012 978-1-9344-2977-8 Illustrator Girard’s visually striking work suffers from uninspired text. The chunky compilation features crisp lines and patterns. Bare of references to Girard’s career, the introduction seeks to provide a total visual experience rather than an introduction to the artist. Slight rhyming phrases detract rather than enhance, implying relationships that don’t exist. “A daisy in the garden, / green and growing; / multi-colored friends, / where are they going?” illustrates, first, a stylized daisy-woman and then a tiny army of three-dimensional figures, for instance. The flimsy spine proves too weak to support repeated readings of the 58-page book. Some descriptions fail to identify the shades featured in the illustrations (this is a book about colors), and the text itself is often confusing, peppered with oddly placed commas. “Alexander Girard, shows us colors in this book.” There are enough color-concept books for young children to overflow a crayon box without adding this developmentally inappropriate offering to the mix. (Board book. 3-4)
COLORS UNDER THE SEA
Garton, Michael Palm Kids (20 pp.) $7.95 | May 15, 2012 978-1-60727-700-2 Series: I Can Find
MY BIRDIE Puzzle Book
Ford, Jessie Illus. by Ford, Jessie abramsappleseed (8 pp.) $6.95 | Mar. 1, 2012 978-1-4197-0206-8 A golden bird hides a sweet surprise beneath her wing. Spare sentences in a child’s voice proudly describe the physical appearance of the little bird. “My birdie’s tail has three green feathers.” The descriptions gracefully incorporate a small range of colors: “My birdie has one bright yellow beak…has two little black feet.” The chicks in her nest are pink. Cartoon bubbles capture the bird’s noises and actions (“Cheep, cheep!”; 1392
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Young scuba divers get up close and personal with creatures they find in the ocean. Barely serviceable rhyming couplets hold the focus on brightly colored ocean animals. “In our orange submarine / we dive down with a swish / All the orange creatures / Think that we’re an orange fish!” (The name of each color is rendered in matching type.) Softly rounded characters are undeniably child-friendly. Scalloped edges on the cover resemble waves and provide background for tabs with smiling fish on them. A circle inset in the corner of each scene provides a visual key to the creatures depicted; an accompanying question encourages
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“Nicely explores little ones’ excited anticipation and justified reservations about the newest additions to their families.” from you ’re getting a baby sister!
audience participation (“Can you find…”). Each double-page spread highlights a different shade. Countdown by the Sea presents the numbers from 10 down to one in similar fashion. A cheery-enough chance to meet some denizens of the deep. (Board book. 1-3)
THE LITTLE GARDENER
this selection suffers from an unnecessary tactile gimmick. Due to sparkling fabric wings on the cover, a choking-hazard label warns the selection unsuitable for children younger than 3; it’s simply a puzzling decision, as the toddler audience would benefit the most from these sturdy pages. This unnecessary, flimsy accessory diminishes the book’s effectiveness. (Board book. 2-4)
Gerardi, Jan Illus. by Gerardi, Jan Random House (16 pp.) $6.99 | Jan. 24, 2012 978-0-307-93041-5 Series: Teenie Greenies
ANIMALS ON THE FARM
Hernandez, Christopher Scholastic (10 pp.) $9.99 | Jan. 1, 2012 978-0-545-38250-2
A young girl watches her garden grow. Though she’s a bit older than the typical board-book audience, her self-reliance makes her an appealing character for toddlers struggling to assert their independence. The strategic use of sturdy flaps provides both peekaboo fun and structure to the storyline. “Yellow daisy. / Red rose. / A bud blooms. / [lift flap] A flower grows.” Some of the interactive elements clearly connect objects to one another (shovel, pail), while other pairings review the progress of the blossoming outdoors. The child enjoys the results of her hard work (smelling a flower has never been so sweet) and waters her lush plants with her pint-sized watering can. Varied vocabulary extends the text. “Harvest carrots / . . . squash and peas. / [lift flap] Pollinated by the bees.” Perhaps due to their having been printed on recycled paper with soy inks, the matte sides of the flaps tend to be darker than the rest, which are glossy. Put on those gardening gloves; the fruits of this labor beckon. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
Duck encourages children to connect sounds to their corresponding animals down on this farm. A cow, sheep, pig and horse appear in crisp photographs in busy but clear compositions. The text uses a modified “Old MacDonald” pattern to encourage readers’ involvement. “Hear a neigh? / There’s a neigh! / Everywhere a neigh, neigh. / It must be a HORSE!” Barnyard cheerleader Duck starts the game, appearing on every page and ending with condescension: “Look at how many you know!” Colored type supports the playful feel. A red plastic attachment features the mammals’ photographs with easily identifiable sound buttons that make the animals’ noises when pushed. The final sound button (a musical-note) adds an upbeat melody. Consistent use of color connects the interactive elements to the characters’ background design. There are a lot of opportunities to add to the noise in this barn. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
LITTLE BEE
YOU’RE GETTING A BABY SISTER!
Gibbs, Edward Illus. by Gibbs, Edward LB Kids/Little, Brown (24 pp.) $8.99 | Apr. 3, 2012 978-0-316-12707-3 It’s easier to be the hunter than the hunted in this board book that represents the food chain. Each character appears safe at first glance, but a neutral or smug facial expression turns to trepidation when a predator (or pesky nuisance) hurries it off the page. A frog chases the bee; a snake pursues the frog; a mongoose hunts the snake, and so on: “Scary mongoose, / scary mongoose… / why do you flee? // Because there’s a fierce lion chasing me!” There’s no relief from the hunt in this circular tale; even the king of the jungle expresses fear when a hunter in safari gear approaches with a net, and guess who’s after the hunter? Exaggerated body language and comical facial expressions blunt any potential fright. Italicized type emphasizes rhythmic phrases. The mixed-media scenes feature squiggly black lines that convey energy and movement. The brevity of the text suits the compact offering. Unfortunately, |
Higginson, Sheila Sweeny Illus. by Williams, Sam Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (24 pp.) $7.99 | Feb. 1, 2012 978-1-4424-2050-2
There’s a lot to celebrate (and dread) when a baby sister arrives. The book opens with upbeat anticipation, but quickly enough the mood shifts as two children stare out at the audience with solemn expressions. “But before you start cheering, / there are a few things you should know.” In a realistically tender and humorous review, these seasoned older siblings explain that babies cause quite a stink. Little sisters force the formerly only (now older) youngsters to share both physical possessions and parents’ time. Rhymes dryly capture the lows. “She might pull your hair. / She’ll do things that seem mean.” A knowing voice encourages readers to take on the role of teacher and protector for their new sisters. Thin, vulnerable lines focus on expression and interaction against white backgrounds. A spot for photos
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“Fanny depicts the loving (though exasperated) owner as, mostly, disembodied hands, ensuring that the perspective remains the dog’s.” from up dog
and notes encourages record-keeping. You’re Getting a Baby Brother delivers the same cautious congratulations and refreshing insight. (There’s nothing, alas, for those old-fashioned families who want to preserve the mystery of their baby’s sex.) Nicely explores little ones’ excited anticipation and justified reservations about the newest additions to their families. (Board book. 2-4)
DO TOUCH! DON’T TOUCH!
The next sequence depicts the owner’s actions when he cleans the mess. “Now wipe up / gather up / wash up / hang up / fill up” precedes the dog’s “perk[ing] up.” Fanny depicts the loving (though exasperated) owner as, mostly, disembodied hands, ensuring that the perspective remains the dog’s. The dog’s expressive eyes and slight shifts in his physical appearance light up his scenes. Companion Up Cat briefly reintroduces the dog; he attempts to make friends with a haughty feline, though she “puff[s] up” at the offer. This little pooch’s up-and-down antics charm. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
Hodgman, Ann Illus. by Barnard, Lucy Tiger Tales (18 pp.) $7.95 | Mar. 1, 2012 978-1-58925-867-9
PLAY BABY PLAY!
There’s a lot for this toddler to explore, and some of it is dangerous. A boy explains about some of the items that are off-limits within his home, telling readers what they can and cannot touch. The child even directs his cat to make appropriate choices. When the cat rifles through the garbage can, the little boy admonishes the feline with a stern command (“The garbage is icky! / Don’t touch, kitty!”). Unfortunately, he sometimes uses cutesy language; the electrical outlet is “too sparky.” There are a few things that are safe to touch—yarn, kitty—but there’s no instruction about the proper way to approach an animal. One alarming spread presents multiple items with shrieking admonitions; the cat’s fur bristles in alarm as it regards such varied items as a fan and a pair of scissors. The final scene depicts the youngster reviewing this book’s companion title (Uh-Oh! Oh No!), surrounded by his toys. “Do touch. / Have fun!” Quiet pastels, saturated in lemony yellow, keep spreads in a nurseryinspired palette. Uh-Oh! Oh No! stars the same barefoot toddler in an extreme rapid-fire chain of events sparked by a sippy cup dropped from his high chair. Only somewhat successful in its cautionary aim. (Board book. 9 mos.-2)
Janovitz, Marilyn Illus. by Janovitz, Marilyn Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (24 pp.) $7.99 | Apr. 1, 2012 978-1-4022-6224-1 No need for rain to go away because babies can stay inside and play. A mom carries her child through the drops to, possibly, day care or maybe a play date with a bevy of multicultural pals. After an enthusiastic greeting, the tyke moves quickly from one toy to the next. The tots pore over books without adult interference and participate in some lighthearted horseplay. Phrases build with a pounding emphasis. “Rolling on the rug / Frolicking on the floor / These little babies want / MORE / MORE / MORE!” The typography and text maintain this repetitive, high intensity even when the little one rests after a day of games. “But day is done / Little one / Naptime is near / BABY /BABY / BABY // Dreamtime is here.” Disproportionately small appendages and an over-large head add a quirky visual flair. The children endearingly bobble about as they struggle for their sense of balance and independence before the main protagonist instantaneously falls asleep (with no sign of a tantrum). A rainbow in the background sweetly signals the end of the rain. Here’s to all the fun without any of the fuss. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)
UP DOG
FIVE LITTLE PUPPIES JUMPING ON THE BED
Hutchins, Hazel Illus. by Fanny Annick Press (24 pp.) $6.95 | May 1, 2012 978-1-55451-389-5 Though he earns a stint in the doghouse, this little dog is one endearing pet. A pup nudges the door open and digs up his owner’s yard, then brings the mess of the outdoors (and his cherished bone) into the house. Active, two-word phrases, feature the word “up” in each statement to convey the dog’s adventures and the consequences: “dig up / drag up / muddy up…” A few expressions may stretch the audience; “clip up” portrays the downtrodden dog on a leash (the muddy evidence of his outdoor romp streaked through his fur). 1394
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Karr, Lily Illus. by Zenz, Aaron Cartwheel/Scholastic (10 pp.) $7.99 | Mar. 1, 2012 978-0-545-38252-6
Monkeys shouldn’t get all the fun, should they? Despite repeated reprimands, little pups continue to jump on the bed in this slight twist on a well-known storyline. “Five little puppies jumping on the bed, / One fell off and bumped his head.” Though never in view on the page, the dogs’ mama calls the doctor as each baby tumbles off the furniture, only to hear the familiar rebuke. The pattern is broken at the end, when the
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resolution sends the final animal in search of his missing canine companions. The doctor changes his professional opinion and offers an acceptable and timely though didactic alternative: “Let those puppies play outside!” (This is all accomplished in one four-line stanza.) Textured elements, from the rubbery wetness of a puppy’s black nose to the cotton-candy–pink tufts of a poodle’s hair add opportunities for interaction. There’s a soft physicality in the puppies’ daring gymnastic feats; their playthings provide a reminder of their games. With its rushed conclusion, there’s not enough bounce to lift this rhyme out of the ordinary. (Board book. 1-3)
“snuffl[es]” up ants with its snout, for instance. Occasionally there is a disconnect between photo and text. Two baby cougar cubs are particularly precious as they stare off the page, while the accompanying statement focuses on physicality: “Jumping, climbing, running and swimming—I’m always busy. Catch me if you can!” Typography reflects the activities described; the word “climbing” literally reaches up. Bold backgrounds suit this presentation. Baby Animals: In the Sea shares the same design, focusing on both undersea critters and shoreline animals. Not a good choice for depth, but toddlers will be hardpressed to find more adorable animal tykes anywhere. (Board book. 1-2)
BABY LOVES SPRING!
DAYENU! A Favorite Passover Song
Katz, Karen Illus. by Katz, Karen Simon & Schuster (14 pp.) $6.99 | Jan. 1, 2012 978-1-4424-2745-7
A toddler in bright red galoshes and a rubber-duck yellow raincoat splashes
through her world. Her yard is her domain. All by herself, the little one peers behind or jumps through the lush outdoors, abetted by sturdyenough flaps. “What is squiggling in the dirt? / [lift flap] Here are some wiggly worms!” Other flaps offer surprises best viewed from a distance; leaves cover robins in the tree, and the rain falls from behind the cloud. The final spread opens the gate and shows everything uncovered previously. The little tyke’s exuberance is convincingly childlike: “Oh no! Those are big raindrops!” The substantial flaps are clearly identifiable and easy to manipulate for tots just gaining dexterity. The straightforward question-and-answer format invites participation as well. Bright, swirling patterns on butterflies and polka-dot frogs add a gentle whimsy. Companion Baby Loves Summer serves up fun in the sun with the delightful squirt of a hose and the same effortless interactive elements. Cheery characters in bright spring shades usher in the season. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)
Latimer, Miriam Scholastic (12 pp.) $7.99 | Feb. 1, 2012 978-0-545-31236-3
A joyful, child-friendly version of a traditional Jewish song. A large, extended family enjoys the Passover meal together. Verses tell the dramatic story of Exodus, which is depicted in simple, though sometimes crowded scenes (the Jews advancing over the bed of the Red Sea may even elicit chuckles). They alternate with the chorus, which is accompanied by depictions of the present-day traditional dinner. Repetition builds a sense of purpose and revival. “Day-Dayenu / Day-Day-enu, / Day-Day-enu, / Dayenu, Dayenu, Dayenu!” The modern-day little girl’s actions are sweetly and recognizably childlike; she eagerly greets her grandparents, sips her soup and then falls asleep, curled up on the dining-room chair as her relatives continue their conversation. Here’s a delightful addition to celebrate both religious identity and family togetherness. (Board book. 1-4)
GO WILD WITH... DESIGNS
Layton, Neal Illus. by Layton, Neal Trafalgar (12 pp.) $5.99 | Jun. 1, 2012 978-1-84365-176-5
BABY ANIMALS At the Zoo Kingfisher Kingfisher (14 pp.) $5.99 | Mar. 27, 2012 978-0-7534-6690-2
Cute and cuddly babies are the star attractions at the zoo. Clear, dynamic photographs showcase each animal tot; their faces dominate the right page, while the left contains text and a smaller, usually adorable full-figure pose. The animals included extend beyond the ordinary choices (golden lion tamarin, red panda). The fairly generic descriptions, conveyed in the animals’ voices, include some basic facts selected for child appeal: The red panda uses its tail as a “snuggly” blanket, and the aardvark |
Single-word labels highlight a creative range of designs. Animal bodies and patterns comprise this repertoire of recognizable shapes. Some examples include natural markings found on animals’ bodies, such as a Dalmatian’s spots or a giraffe’s patches; others exploit the actual nuance of the body. Among the latter, the “star” made by the sea star is obvious, while the curve of the swan’s neck may require adult interpretation for children to understand. Even the unadorned hippo gets a chance to shine; the accompanying text reads “plain.” Some arrangements extend into the background; the zebra’s stripes find an echo in
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the blades of grass. Other background scenes seem boldly barren. The British import adds a child-friendly emphasis to the subjects’ appearances through wobbly dark lines, googly-eyed faces and disproportionate limbs. There’s not a menacing creature to be found; even the slithering reptile wears a timid expression. Arrows serve as a fitting final shape, as the bird’s feet march right off the page. In Go Wild with…Noises, appropriate sounds correspond to living creatures, both wild and domestic; the elephant (“thump”) lumbers with stomping feet. Overall, this colorful concept connects the right dots for a toddler audience. (Board book. 1-3)
the “mountain train goes, / TRIP TRAP FUFF PUFF / TRIP TRAP FUFF PUFF / TRIP TRAP FUFF PUFF/ TRIP TRAP FUFF PUFF!” The elongated pages allow each train to stretch out magisterially. People take a back seat to the machines; the occasional conductor remains a distant and darkened figure. Variations in font accent each pointed syllable. Frantic lines push the cars to a formidable speed, and loose watercolor splashes explode with visual intensity. Sheer, fabulous power. (Board book. 1-3)
BABY FACES
Loehr, Mallory Illus. by Newton, Vanessa Brantley Random House (12 pp.) $7.99 | May 22, 2012 978-0-375-87031-6
NUMBERS
Levine, Julia Pimsleur Illus. by Levine, Julia Pimsleur abramsappleseed (10 pp.) $8.95 | Apr. 1, 2012 978-1-4197-0175-7 Series: Little Pim Pim has quite the appetite and one unusual palate. Little Pim the panda scours his pantry for something to eat. Tabs and lift-the-flaps feature three possible ingredients on each page to add to the meal; each one is described in three different languages (English, Spanish and French). Crowded type in various colors and itty-bitty phonetic pronunciations make these labels hard to read. Beginning with bread for his sandwich (the other flaps conceal carrots and apples), Pim’s tastes demonstrate a toddlerlike eclecticism. He crams a hodgepodge of foodstuffs (seven potato chips, nine marshmallows, etc.) into his towering sandwich. The fake enthusiasm grates. Pim juggles apples as the narrator urges readers to join in: “Making a sandwich is fun! Now Little Pim needs six slices of cheese. Can you help him find them?” A concluding spread depicts his final culinary masterpiece. Animals brings Pim and his camera to photograph farm animals, with a similar interactive design. There are just too many cooks in this kitchen. (Board book. 2-3)
There’s not enough visual variation in these babies’ faces to cause many smiles to break out. This brief review of babies’ facial features presents individual spreads that each focus on a different body part, with a corresponding movable tab. Dry phrases fail to energize the concept—“When the wind begins to blow, / Baby’s hair goes to and fro”—and descriptions lack depth (“Baby’s tongue is very pink”). Initially beguiling, the babies’ expressions take on a certain sameness, resulting in a bland presentation. All eyes point upward, looking above and beyond the audience, forgoing any natural connection between viewers and the depicted child. The tabs’ colors blend into the background, making some of them hard to find. There is also difficulty in manipulation of the flimsy design; some devices require significant jostling. The effectiveness of each example varies; the tongue barely moves while eyes clearly wink and blink. The offering proves not durable enough to withstand repeat viewings. This fails to bring life to the impressive real-life range of tots’ mannerisms. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)
ELMER’S FIRST COUNTING BOOK
TRAINS GO
McKee, David Illus. by McKee, David Andersen Press USA (10 pp.) $7.95 | $5.95 e-book | Apr. 1, 2012 978-0-7613-8999-6 978-0-7613-9000-8 e-book Series: Elmer the Elephant
Light, Steve Illus. by Light, Steve Chronicle (16 pp.) $8.99 | Feb. 1, 2012 978-0-8118-7942-2 There’s more than just “choo-choo” along this track. Eight different trains capture attention with their dramatic sounds. The engines (from the freight to the diesel) exude an exuberant variety of “bings,” “wo woos” and “zoooshes” as their speed intensifies. Onomatopoeia distinguishes one example from the next; the old steam train “toots” along while the big steam train “chuggas” with a vengeance. For all the apparently straightforward approach, Light indulges in some sly whimsy, too. Echoing the Billy Goats Gruff and repeating for emphasis, 1396
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Elmer the elephant lumbers through this nondescript counting book. Mostly unrelated animals accumulate from one through 10, starting with “ONE smiling elephant.” The individual numerals are set apart in colored circles on each page and are repeated, spelled-out and capitalized, in the brief phrases. Oddly for a book featuring a crazy-quilt elephant, the animals’ colorings vary widely in interest. Fish flaunt their polka dots and stripes, but the frogs
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“Noodle’s oversized head and teetering, disproportionate limbs are unassumingly babylike.” from noodle loves the beach
and birds are monochromatically boring by comparison. Body language provides some whimsy in the otherwise straightforward compositions. The tigers hold hands and kick their legs in an exuberant dance; four lions sprawl on a rock, one gazing at the stars with arms behind his (they are all male) head. Companion Elmer’s Opposites is similarly drab, with examples varying in effectiveness. “BLACK is BLACK. / WHITE is WHITE. / Wilbur is BOTH!” Wilbur the checkerboard elephant strides off the page in the picture. Elmer’s silhouette forms the shaped cover of each book. There is nothing special here. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)
like choices. “This is candy for a special after-dinner treat. Can you find everything orange?” The scattering of orange-peel candies and an array of gumdrops and jelly beans in eye-poppingly bright shades makes it difficult to distinguish among the treats. Each of these spreads also presents a factoid in an inset circle that lacks any context for the toddling set. “GUESS WHAT? / It takes 7 to 21 days to make a jellybean.” Companion title Same and Different requires a similarly advanced skill set, asking listeners to “spot the difference.” These busy arrangements require an older audience and a different format. (Board book. 2-3)
THINGS I LOVE ABOUT BEDTIME
NOODLE LOVES THE BEACH
Moroney, Trace Illus. by Moroney, Trace Cartwheel/Scholastic (16 pp.) $8.99 | Jan. 1, 2012 978-0-545-29016-6 A bunny exults in the joys of bedtime one yawn at a time. Both parents assist their little rabbit through the nightly ritual until their child’s words turn to zzz’s. Mom playfully chases her bunny into bed; Dad gets syrupy after the story: “Of all the millions and squillions of little bunnies around the world, how did I get so lucky to have the best one?” The bunny’s reflections on his day’s activities shift to dramatic, imaginative dreams; the youngster rides bees toward the moon and sails aboard a makeshift pirate ship on a sea made of raspberry jelly and teeming with goldfish. The padded cover encloses gentle spreads that idealize this loving family; the bunnies’ fuzzy outlines keep the adorable level at an all-time high. The young narrator addresses his audience in a self-conscious, adult-sounding voice. “Remembering my best moments makes me feel good about being me!” As behavior modeling, this celebration excels; as a depiction of childhood, it leaves a little to be desired. Though very affectionate, this drift into slumber hops heavily. (Board book. 3-4)
COLORS!
National Geographic National Geographic (24 pp.) $6.99 | Jun. 12, 2012 978-1-4263-0929-8 Series: National Geographic Little Kids Look & Learn Though bright and bold, this exploration of color demonstrates a dreary understanding of tots’ abilities. Clearly recognizable photographs, several to a spread, present both objects regularly associated with specific colors (yellow school bus, red ladybug) and those that occur in many hues (crayon, flower). Each color is introduced in a clear spread that features several labeled objects, while the following spread asks the audience to find items of that color in a crowded scene full of |
Nosy Crow Illus. by Billet, Marion Nosy Crow (10 pp.) $8.99 | Mar. 1, 2012 978-0-7636-5898-4 Series: Noodle
Noodle’s five senses explore the seashore in this touch-andfeel outing. Under his mama’s watchful eye, this young panda enjoys traditional activities during his beach vacation. Manipulative elements follow on the brief text. In one scene, Mom and tyke approach a boat: “Noodle loves the boat.” A flip of the “sail” reveals a hidden rabbit traveler; the fabric flaps like a sail in the wind. Noodle Loves Food showcases the toddler satisfying his healthy appetite with a similar structure and visual design. Both conclusions utilize a mirror to stimulate interest, though the final, superficial statement falls flat. “And just like Noodle, / you like the beach!” Clean, geometric shapes serve as building blocks for the characters, who are placed within bright, airy scenes. Noodle’s oversized head and teetering, disproportionate limbs are unassumingly babylike. Textured objects prove substantial enough for small hands to explore and highlight ordinary objects familiar to most children. Varying the type of texture (sticky peach, scratchy sandcastle) carries the interactive experience from the cover through to the final page. Obvious rhyming pairings (peach, beach) may not thrill, but familiar behaviors and solid tactile features make for a fairly enjoyable destination. (Board book. 3 mos.-2)
A COLOR GAME FOR CHESTER RACCOON
Penn, Audrey Illus. by Gibson, Barbara L. Tanglewood Press (14 pp.) $7.95 | May 1, 2012 978-1-933718-58-3
It’s a shame that an examination of colors can feel so drab. Chester Raccoon (The Kissing Hand, 1993) explores a rainbow of hues found in the great outdoors. Examples (red apple,
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“Refreshingly, this dad is the sole caregiver in each scene, modulating from exuberance to somnolence with expertise.” from my dad is the best playground
brown caterpillar) are often small and difficult to discern against the wooded backdrop; the effort would benefit from a more dynamic design geared to the toddling set. Beginning and ending with the color white, the slight tale moves spread by spread through each featured hue. The name of each color is bolded within the text, but does not otherwise stand out from the rest of the black-on-white print. Each object is named within the verse, which often suffers from the necessity of making meter and rhyme. “School’s Owl Teacher / Plays while she sings / ‘See the orange butterfly / Open its wings!’ “A final call for audience participation falls flat. “You can play too! / You can play day or night. / Find Chester’s colors / Beginning with WHITE.” Though the head-on view of Chester’s friend Badger hunkered down to go eye to eye with the caterpillar is appealing, too often Chester’s expression is fixedly cheerful, and the body language does not vary enough. Without developed visual characterization or effective demonstration of concept, it’s best to kiss this one goodbye. (Board book. 1-3)
BABY FACES A Book of Happy, Silly, Funny Faces
Pixton, Amy Illus. by Merritt, Kate Workman (12 pp.) $4.95 | Jun. 1, 2012 978-0-7611-6881-2 Series: INDESTRUCTIBLES
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Powell, Luciana Navarro Illus. by Powell, Luciana Navarro Robin Corey/Random (26 pp.) $7.99 | May 8, 2012 978-0-307-93090-3 Whether through horseplay or a kiss, this hip dad physically expresses his affection. He flings open his children’s bedroom door, and the pajamaclad youngsters race to him with open arms. Daddy, dressed in jeans and a tie, throws his whole body into the play; he swings his children by the hands and uses his stomach as monkey bars. It’s no wonder this son and daughter repeatedly express heartfelt adoration. “My dad is the best, / my favorite playground.” High-energy antics draw to a calming close; little arms drape over Daddy’s back as he carries them to bed. Refreshingly, this dad is the sole caregiver in each scene, modulating from exuberance to somnolence with expertise. “He’s as comforting as a snuggle / or a story that we’ve read.” He’s also apparently relaxed in his child-rearing; a scribbled drawing on the wall (and lone crayon on the floor) receives no comment. Hazy, creamy backgrounds keep the emphasis on the personal interactions instead of the impersonal decor. This late-night roughhousing romp speaks volumes about a father’s love. (Board book. 1-3)
NUMBERS
These babies’ faces display full-on reactions. A variety of quirkily drawn, multiethnic babies, their vastly oversized heads often displaying two-toothed gaping mouths, enthusiastically respond to the environment around them. A few of the pairings are complementary: “yum-yum!” appears opposite “yucky!” (Nutrition mavens will sigh to see that “yucky” is provoked by green vegetables.) Some are more action-driven than strictly emotional or responsive. “Kiss!” depicts a youngster giving a loving smooch to her stuffed blue teddy. Sometimes a catalyst for the displayed emotion is unclear. “Boo-hoo!” depicts a ball directly behind a little girl, but why this produces tears is a mystery. At other times, though, a depicted object (a broken car, a diaper pail) has a clear relationship to a baby’s response. Companion Baby Babble serves as a picture dictionary for the youngest set with familiar objects labeled in thematic spreads. Though not strictly board books, these seemingly flimsy paper books resist tearing and, according to the publisher, are washable. A more-or-less effective introduction to the ever-important subject of emotional literacy. (Board book. 3 mos.-2)
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MY DAD IS THE BEST PLAYGROUND
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Priddy, Roger Illus. by Priddy, Roger Priddy Books (12 pp.) $8.99 | Apr. 24, 2012 978-0-312-51378-8 Series: First Concepts This interactive concept book provides some visually appealing but poorly constructed images. Numbers one to 10 are presented individually through an array of flaps, tabs and sliders. Large type boldly spells out the word across the page, but the numeral is sometimes part of the text and sometimes incorporated into the photographic illustration (a tube of paint squirts out a large, red 2, for instance). The final number, 10, displayed as a miniature pasted-in folio of the previously featured illustrations, bends and separates too easily from its background. Manipulative elements often work double duty. The tab for number two pulls out to reveal two red handprints; the backside of the slider showcases three airplanes zooming through the sky for the following number. Though each number and the corresponding objects to count are identifiable, the inconsistency and presentation make this a poor choice for the board-book audience. The cover features some surprising design choices; the claim that the book is “early learning fun for the very young” is belied by its format, and the red, blue and green colored pencils appear a better fit for the companion Colors, with its Crayola-inspired palette. Though creative, this selection doesn’t shine. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)
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NEW YORK BABY
BIRDIE PLAYS DRESS-UP
Puck Illus. by LeMay, Violet Duo Press (22 pp.) $8.95 | Apr. 1, 2012 978-0-9838121-4-2
Rim, Sujean Illus. by Rim, Sujean LB Kids/Little, Brown (14 pp.) $6.99 | Apr. 3, 2012 978-0-316-20111-7
These babies are too posh for their own good. In this smug review of daily life in the Big Apple, including its tourist attractions, the developmental mark is missed entirely. A little girl holds her mother’s hand as they stroll through the art museum: “We say MoMA when we really mean Mama.” Less obscurely, a four-panel spread depicts a babe in stroller through changing seasons; the snow piles high and a scarf covers the child’s face during the blustery winter. The food-cart experience is represented by a bagel, pizza and pretzel, glossed with a gush: “And we have fun learning our shapes!” In a nod to the city’s diversity, youngsters greet each other in a host of languages. Busy pops of bold colors emphasize the hustle and bustle. A darkened cityscape seems to promise rest, but one cry (“Waaaa!”) lights up the sky. “New York is the city that never sleeps, but New York babies do…sometimes.” Two concluding pages of suggested parent-child activities overwhelm in their attempt to educate. Pretentious. (Board book. 2-3)
A young fashionista’s play proves less inspired than her posh designs. Imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery for this daughter, as Birdie plays dress-up in her mother’s stylish attire. She twirls in princess dresses, adopts a movie-star identity in sunglasses and teeters in stilettos. Her little white pooch, Monster, serves as a stylish sidekick, even posing as a hat-stand for one of her mama’s beautiful, two-toned accessories. Birdie’s fashion-conscious mother, never viewed face-on, showcases her sense of daring design with mile-high shoes and slim, crossed legs. Though the book seems initially to be a light trip into dressing-up, Birdie’s childlike exuberance veers abruptly into contrived self-awareness. “But there’s nothing better than just being me!” The stylish design features splashes of paint and tissue-paper ribbons; a cutout Birdie pops in her exaggerated high heels on the fashion-forward cover. Textured accents and varied patterns highlight the finest form of fashion. Without a consistent child’s voice, this runway romp fizzles. (Board book. 2-3)
HAMSTERS HOLDING HANDS
ONE SUNNY DAY
Reich, Kass Illus. by Reich, Kass Orca (24 pp.) Apr. 1, 2012 978-1-4598-0123-3
One lone hamster welcomes nine friends to join in on the fun in this offbeat romp. As the numbers count up from one to 10, the visual design presents a straightforward sequence. On the left-hand page, a large hand-drawn numeral appears above the simple text, which begins with the number spelled out. The right-hand page depicts the appropriate number of hamsters engaged in a variety of activities. Though the lines rhyme, there is little to no relationship from one to the next. “Three hamsters with a pear / Four hamsters in the air.” The growing crowd of rodents interact in quirky fashion. Pudgy, soft characters strike unusual poses; they eat rice with chopsticks and bask in the sun. Smatterings of color extend outside the borders to emphasize the number and the animals’ hues. Against light, lime-green backgrounds, their collective hamster-ness is emphasized over individuality. Their faces are most endearing when their quivering smiles are on display, but their open-mouthed expressions sometimes resemble a grimace. With visuals that far exceed the text in interest, this count-up is one disjointed trip. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)
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Salzano, Tammi Illus. by Wood, Hannah Tiger Tales (20 pp.) $8.95 | Mar. 1, 2012 978-1-58925-871-6
Shapes abound in one cool teddy bear’s exploration of his yard on a hot, summer day. The tot dons his star-shaped sunglasses and pulls his rectangular red wagon through the great outdoors. Each activity introduces another shape: The little bear blows circle-shaped bubbles, plays in his square sandbox and draws hearts on the sidewalk. His parents make the occasion a family affair; they all munch on oval watermelon and put up a triangle-shaped tent. A golden foil sun with pointed edges serves as a textured mirror and dominates the scene as it sets on the horizon. The very brief text describes the objects in toddler-friendly language: He has “a rectangle wagon / [and] a diamond kite.” The bear is bare (except for his totally rad sunglasses); his sizable head rests sturdily on his neck and sports a small, lopsided smile. The focus on shapes extends to the bear’s cozy home; paw prints on dresser knobs and heart-shaped cut-outs on the chair continue the theme. This light-hearted romp delivers its concepts painlessly. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)
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ABC NOW YOU SEE ME
FRIENDS
Siebold, Kim Illus. by Siebold, Kim Running Press Kids (14 pp.) $13.95 | Mar. 1, 2012 978-0-7624-4067-2
Slegers, Liesbet Illus. by Slegers, Liesbet Clavis (12 pp.) $5.95 | Jan. 1, 2012 978-1-60537-112-2
Zoo inhabitants put on the charm in this gentle alphabet offering. Each of the 26 letters is represented by a character worthy of embracing. Each page is divided into brightly colored quadrants, with an animal and its letter occupying squares next to each letter. The capital letter is on a flap; lift the flap to reveal the lowercase letter on the other side and the name of the animal. The animals stand at attention facing front, their round faces often towering over their feet. Choices include animals mostly familiar to older toddlers (D for dog, K for kangaroo), though there is the occasional infelicitous surprise (U stands for upland gorilla), and filing bunny under B instead of R (for rabbit) is a dubious decision. Q is for quail (ho-hum), and X is the hard-working X-ray fish. The solid bookmaking and padded cover make this appropriate for the youngest audience. Probably the book’s greatest asset is its muted palette, which works with the graphically abstract animal shapes to provide effective but quiet contrast. An eclectic and soothing selection. (Board book. 3 mos.-2)
Unlike his real-life counterparts, this toddler always asks for permission instead of forgiveness. Slegers’ star from Bathing (2011) returns to introduce the family members, pets and toys close to his heart. The tot’s quiet interactions receive a proper, if unrealistic portrayal in this Dutch translation. The youngster always inquires before engaging in even the most innocuous behavior. (He even seeks permission from the fish before watching him swimming in the bowl.) There’s an unnatural formality at war with his chipper voice. “Hello, my older sister. / May I play with you? / Playing together is so much fun!” The name of the specific pet/loved one is highlighted in bold type. The characters’ large, round heads (necks lacking) overwhelm the rest of their bodies. Perpetual smiles are in sync with the Stepfordian atmosphere. A stronger selection, companion Sounds, displays a similar pattern with its focus on the individual’s experience; a more natural communication style highlights the boy’s observations of a variety of commonly heard noises. An earnest glimpse into a youngster’s familiar relationships falls flat. (Board book. 1-3)
BOAT WORKS
THE BIG BOOK OF WORDS AND PICTURES
Slaughter, Tom Illus. by Slaughter, Tom Blue Apple (20 pp.) $13.99 | May 29, 2012 978-1-60905-215-7 Series: Giant Fold-Out Book When you sail away on these seas, the vessel can be any you choose. A question-and-answer text combines with the fold-out design to introduce children to maritime terminology. Clean, primary colors catch the eye, and the text is printed entirely in capital letters. The direct, first-person narrative allows the boats to brag about their particular attributes. “What am I? / I have a heavy anchor. / I have portholes. / I’m an ocean liner.” The vocabulary is appropriately accurate (though land-bound toddlers will be unlikely to correctly name the vessels from the clues); “buoy,” “mast” and “oar” are all represented. The foldout design works well with the construction of the text, each one-panel clue unfolding first up and then over into an impressive spread, though the dramatic pictures will bend quickly (and likely rip) after repeat readings. Lines and silhouettes are clean and high-contrast, lending the book a Modernist energy. No need for a life jacket; all these vessels glide smoothly into port. (Board book. 1-3)
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Smith, Monika Illus. by Könnecke, Ole Gecko Press (22 pp.) $15.95 | Mar. 1, 2012 978-1-8775-7905-9
A picture dictionary without much rhyme or reason. This oversized German import covers a vast range of concepts and topics, both familiar and foreign to young children. Tiny, clean illustrations of objects array themselves on a white background, sometimes including winsome animal characters. From ordinary household items to things seen in the outof-doors to common foods to modes of transportation to musical instruments to sports to amusements to emotional concepts, this book tries to cover everything. Some items may be recognizable but are unlikely to come up in casual conversation (runner beans), while others (beret, lawn bowling) seem hardly necessary as toddler vocabulary. Slight variations in terminology make for unwarranted repetition; instead of just one bed on display, toddler, single and double beds all make an appearance. Vocabulary provides highly specific terms (“push bike”). Concepts covered include numbers, shapes and emotions, while an alphabet review in an eye-pleasing but developmentally baffling sophisticated design rounds out the comprehensive selection. With some 20 items to the page, spreads overwhelm rather than illuminate.
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“The famous hymn is given beguiling illustrations in this board book.” from all creatures great and small
ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL
There are not enough words available to save this jampacked selection from bursting-at-the-seams busyness. (Board book. 2-4)
Stoop, Naoko Sterling (22 pp.) $6.95 | Mar. 6, 2012 978-1-4027-8581-8
IN THE GARDEN
Spurr, Elizabeth Illus. by Oliphant, Manelle Peachtree (22 pp.) $6.95 | May 1, 2012 978-1-56145-581-2 It takes time for flowers to bloom, but the delightful fruits of this labor prove worth the wait. A young boy works to nurture his blossoming yard. Individual words build to a natural crescendo. “Covers / Wets / Waits / Forgets / Rain / Sun / Boy shouts. / Green sprouts peep out!” The passage of time is clearly marked in the illustrations as the boy takes care of (and forgets) his gardening chores, and the natural rhymes reflect the growth of the season. No adults interfere with this child-centered experience. Subtle, understated spreads complement the powerfully quiet text. The soft lines move just enough to create gentle energy within each frame. The cherub-cheeked youngster maintains his gentle smile as he works. An imposing tree remains a focal point for the pictures in long shots, providing extra stability. Shifts in perspective allow children to get dirty with the young gardener. With a little water and tender loving care, it’s a pleasure to watch this garden grow. (Board book. 1-3)
The famous hymn is given beguiling illustrations in this board book. The verses break naturally with each page turn as a little girl plays with an animal menagerie in, appropriately, the great outdoors. As morning breaks, all the characters dangle from trees and sprawl on the grass. As the book progresses, the focus turns to individual interactions and observations, the only constant being the little girl and her monkey companion. The youngster leans against the tree’s branch as she looks eye-to-eye with an owl and her owlets, but butterflies, frogs, bunnies and so on are not visible. The child has baby-doll dresses, sturdy legs and disproportionately tiny arms, bringing whimsy to her solemn regard of the natural world. The day turns to twilight as the child explores landscapes and seasons. The reverent respect for the Creator that is evident in the text is not overt in the illustrations, though they complement the famous song beautifully. These softly lyrical illustrations befit the traditional hymn. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)
ANIMAL 1 2 3
Teckentrup, Britta Illus. by Teckentrup, Britta Chronicle (18 pp.) $12.99 | Mar. 1, 2012 978-1-4521-0993-0
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOUSE!
Stone, Kate Illus. by Stone, Kate Accord (16 pp.) $10.99 | Mar. 6, 2012 978-1-4494-0838-1
Friends make a birthday sweet. The animals celebrate their little companion’s special day with familiar activities. Octopus decorates the yard, while Bear gives Mouse his presents, and Rabbit passes out refreshments. Straightforward statements convey action but little excitement. A few quirky details spice up the illustrations, though (Rabbit rocks some stylish flip-flops). The rodent’s presents befit a mousey sensibility, with blocks of cheese fresh for the nibbling. Though the design appears initially intriguing, its unusual construction fails the audience. Pages open left, then right, then left again, die-cut edges overlapping slightly so that each composition leads to the next, with slight variations. A Velcro circle (too small for long-term durability) holds the cover in place. It is a challenge to restore the pages to the original order, creating a developmentally confusing reading experience for toddlers. Moreover, forcing the scenes to close out of order, as seems inevitable in the hands of a toddler, is hard on the spine. Though superficially appealing, this party is a dud. (Board book. 18 mos.-3) |
Lifting flaps elevates this counting book above traditional fare. The large, die-cut flaps extend the visual layout as animals count up from one to 10. While the text simply describes each animal, the striking digital designs and the repetitive sequence shine. Each animal type appears twice, once with the numbershaped flap closed and again, plus one, when it opens: “3 tall giraffes / 4 tall giraffes // 4 swimming hippos / 5 swimming hippos.” The second iteration of the text diminishes, like an echo, on the page. Each number-flap deftly conceals the additional animal until the flap is removed. A few animals peek out from behind the confines of their digit; the baby penguin hides behind the seven, and the bear creeps out from behind the five. The animals have surprisingly intent, googly eyes that give them a friendly air; even the “wriggly snake” looks approachable, with his smiling mouth and anthropomorphic eyes. Companion Animal Spots and Stripes shares the same large format, alternating between stripes and spots in a steady pattern as it builds. The seamless interactivity merits two thumbs up. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)
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“This rowdy little one is likable enough, but he is no Max, and many parents may think his mother is a lunatic.” from i love you, little monster
LITTLE COLOR FAIRIES
THE BIG EATING BOOK
Van Fleet, Mara Illus. by Van Fleet, Mara Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (16 pp.) $14.99 | Jan. 1, 2012 978-1-4424-3434-9 Dainty fairies prepare a young princess for the Royal Rainbow Ball in this nausea-inducing confection. The girl is handsomely accoutered, her ensemble including “sparkly crimson shoes,” a soft, pale pink satin bow and an emerald green velvet gown. Each page focuses on one color. Gooey sweetness and clunky rhymes characterize the verse. “Fluttering fairies of black and white came with a checkered mask. / Fabulous silver fairies had a frantic fanning task.” The many nimble assistants make sure the princess needn’t lift a finger; they tie her sash, hold her fans and organize a pile of laundry. The waiflike beauties sport nondescript facial expressions, matching the regal child; very few ethnicities are represented, and the princess is white. Most spreads incorporate some tactile element for children to touch. The movable parts, including the cover’s glittery wings and the wand that transforms a fairy into a frog, are enabled by thick tabs that suit toddlers’ fingers. Those sturdy tabs are the only thing worth celebrating in this book. (Board book. 1-3)
van Genechten, Guido Illus. by van Genechten, Guido Clavis (22 pp.) $12.95 | Apr. 1, 2012 978-1-60537-100-9
Picky eaters have no place in this survey of foods and eating habits. In the first scene, toddler Josh watches his mother openly nurse his little sibling. Before he devours his spaghetti supper (and three desserts), the focus shifts to how animals eat. “Some animals munch on patches of grass. / Others eat the leaves off of trees. / And others even get their food out of flowers.” Each spread depicts, in turn, a smiling goat, a grinning giraffe and seraphic butterflies. In one engaging spread, a mouse scurries away on two feet, holding a block of cheese and glancing over his shoulder as a cat’s shadow looms (“and others will do anything to get some cheese…”). Rich, multimedia spreads feature splashes of color and bold outlines; newspaper accents are layered under vibrant paints. With lightly applied humor and eye-catching graphics, this introduction succeeds deliciously. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)
I LOVE YOU, LITTLE MONSTER
Weiss, Ellen Illus. by Arnold, Alli Simon & Schuster (16 pp.) $7.99 | Jan. 1, 2012 978-1-4424-2850-8
MOMMIES AND THEIR BABIES
van Genechten, Guido Illus. by van Genechten, Guido Clavis (20 pp.) $9.95 | Mar. 1, 2012 978-1605371092
An ode to the powerful bond between mothers and babies. Ten animal babies dutifully follow or playfully explore with their mothers. All are done in black, white and gray against contrasting black or white backgrounds. They are cuddly, drawn with rounded lines and filled in with soft patterns and Photoshopped textures; even the spider looks nonthreatening. The brief text simply describes what is on the page, with no attempt at complete sentences, though accurate language is used to describe the babies: “the turtle mommy with her baby hatchling / the horse mommy with her baby foal.” Daddies and Their Babies follows suit with the same conceptual design. The pairs are caring throughout, which will give pause to scientifically minded parents. While they may not mind the sight of an adult sheep frolicking with her little one, they may well be unhappy at the implication that spiders, turtles and snakes nurture their young. A sweet, if not particularly truthful, look at animal family life. (Board book. Birth-2)
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A mother shines a sunny light on her babe’s rambunctious behavior. She highlights her “little monster’s” admirable qualities even as her toddler rampages through their home with boundless energy. “You have caverns to explore and lofty mountains to climb,” she says indulgently as he poses atop the upside-down laundry basket, clothes strewn about. The relaxed mama’s parenting style, expressed in structured, rhythmic rhymes, is unfalteringly laidback, even when her little one smears oatmeal on the wall. “Who’s my HUNGRY little monster, / Little Monster, monster mine? / Such an artist with your food! / Your oatmeal paintings are so fine.” Thin black lines outline details on the white background; only “the monster” and his monster toy are colored in. There’s a little adult irony; the exhausted parents protect themselves with pillows as their tot jumps on their bed. With polka-dot wings, flippers, a scarf tail and antennae, he is pretty cute. This rowdy little one is likable enough, but he is no Max, and many parents may think his mother is a lunatic. (Board book. 1-3)
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ONE SHEEP, BLUE SHEEP
A NEST IN SPRINGTIME A Bilingual Book of Numbers
Wiley, Thom Illus. by Mantle, Ben Cartwheel/Scholastic (12 pp.) $6.99 | Jun. 1, 2012 978-0-545-40284-2
A farmer’s clumsiness leads to a color explosion. “[W]hen the farmer spill[s] paint on [one sheep’s] head—” chaos ensues. These sheep receive one outrageous dye job after another as paint cans splatter on their heads. Though the first makeovers are sheer accident, they enjoy their stylish wooly dos. The sheep’s faces express their zany personalities with a tilt of their heads and a flip of their floppy ears. With such a slight plot there’s not a lot of opportunity for character development, but they do have a lot of fun. The text is not as strong, with meter galloping unevenly from rhyme to rhyme. A lighthearted twist distinguishes the end. “The farmer laughed to see such sport. / He knew just what to do. / He sheared those five silly sheep and said, / Thanks for the scarf, you colorful crew!” Die-cut circles with scalloped edges provide peepholes but seem additional rather than intrinsic to the composition as a whole. Complementing the flock’s shenanigans, the farmer toils comically in each digital spread, adding extra visual interest for readers. A colorful, off-kilter barnyard party. (Board book. 2-4)
HEY, DIDDLE, DIDDLE
Yang, Belle Illus. by Yang, Belle Candlewick (24 pp.) $6.99 | Apr. 24, 2012 978-0-7636-5279-1
This bilingual offering blooms. Geese prepare their nest for their brood, carefully arranging it for their eight eggs. One month passes, and the parents welcome their babies with open wings. The little birds follow their proud mama and papa out of the nest to swim—but one goes missing! Readers have little to fear, as the little one is found almost immediately. The text is rendered separately in English and Mandarin. Mandarin characters appear on the lefthand page, and the corresponding English text is placed on the right; the consistency provides a pleasant stability. A pronunciation guide on the last page gives some access to the Chinese characters, but the explanation of the pitched tones is too simplified to be very helpful. Charcoal gray with mauve and royal purple accents contributes a heavily soothing tone to the outdoor scenes; swirling periwinkle blue and striking forest green provide depth to water and land. Spring turns to summer with a similar style in Summertime Rainbow; gouache spreads feature eager bunnies exploring a field of bright flowers. Welcome additions. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)
Wood, Hannah Tiger Tales (20 pp.) Mar. 1, 2012 978-1-58925-870-9
HOW DO DINOSAURS EAT COOKIES?
Yolen, Jane Illus. by Teague, Mark Cartwheel/Scholastic (14 pp.) $7.99 | Jan. 1, 2012 978-0-545-38253-3
More than 15 traditional rhymes make up this gentle collection for the youngest
listeners. Despite the venerable nature of the rhymes, there’s plenty of modern appeal. Old Mother Hubbard drives her convertible to the market; a young mother pushes her child (Peter Piper) in the grocery store’s cart in search of pickled peppers. Tradition takes a backseat to a nursery aesthetic. With her brood of children, the little old lady remains all smiles in her cozy shoe. “She gave them some broth / with plenty of bread. / Then kissed them all sweetly / and tucked them in bed.” Endpapers feature the titular rhyme’s spoon and plate holding hands as they race off the page. Sometimes animals play the lead. A mouse couple (Jack Sprat and his wife) devour their meal, and a canine Yankee Doodle rides his pony. Though there is a nod to diversity, by and large, the humans are white. Animals and people share the spreads; pastel shades keep the edges soft. An adequate introduction to whet babies’ palates for more substantial nursery fare. (Board book. 0-3)
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This familiar dinosaur series takes a look at a favorite treat. From the trip to the grocery store through consumption, these cookies present a satisfying crunch. There’s male and female supervision (of both baking and the dinos themselves); one lady works in the kitchen in dress and pearls. Yolen’s nowfamiliar rhythm loses some of its lightness in occasionally forced rhymes. “Does a dinosaur grab for a cookie that’s hot? / No, that’s something that he does decidedly NOT!” Scratchand-sniff elements add sweet smells. For budding pastry chefs old enough to mix the ingredients, the addition of two recipes may provide inspiration (“Ask an adult to help you bake”). In the spirit of the series, there is a heavy focus on manners (and sweets in moderation) as the dinos devour their goodies; they drink milk daintily and hold the bag of chocolate chips in the supermarket instead of ripping it open. Despite some glitches in the scansion and lack of originality, this outing goes down pretty easily. (Board book. 1-3)
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DEEP SEA DIVE Lift-the-Flap Adventures
AT THE BEACH
Yoon, Salina Illus. by Yoon, Salina Feiwel & Friends (12 pp.) $5.99 | May 10, 2012 978-0-312-66303-2
Yoon, Salina Illus. by Yoon, Salina Sterling (12 pp.) $7.95 | Mar. 1, 2012 978-1-4027-8525-2
A diver directly recruits his audience to explore the salty sea. Closed, the shaped cover follows the curve of the diver’s helmet; open, it evokes goggles through which readers can explore the deep. A variety of underwater creatures are revealed through lifting flaps; brief rhyming text on the undersides of the flaps provides a little informational heft. These rhymes are not distinguished by their lyricism, alas. “Jellyfish are pretty— / some glow in the dark. / But don’t swim too close— / their sting leaves a mark.” The simply drawn creatures are not depicted to scale. The seahorse dominates its page, while the toothy shark appears shorter than the sea turtle. Two-toned blue backgrounds evoke waves. Space Walk uses an identical format to survey the planets (all eight of them) and is equally superficial. The sparkly cover and less-than-exciting interactive elements fail to fully convey the majesty of the watery deep. (Board book. 2-3)
KALEIDOSCOPE
Yoon, Salina Illus. by Yoon, Salina LB Kids/Little, Brown (18 pp.) $12.99 | Apr. 3, 2012 978-0-316-18641-4
interactive e-books
Gorgeous patterns peel away layers of color and depth within this kaleidoscope. A die-cut circle frames the center of the device, and each turn of the page adds a different, textured nuance with scallops and points. Viewing the shapes and colors with the textured lens embedded in the cover causes them to emulate the effect of a real kaleidoscope. The text takes readers through the seasons, turn by turn, as leaves drop, rain falls, and snowflakes drift to the ground. The typography swirls and swoops, contributing to the feeling of movement both visually and linguistically. “Steeping, steaming, / lemon squeezing. / Tipping, pouring, / soothing, pleasing.” The words mimic the movements of the steam, floating up from the cup. Bold backgrounds extend from one side of the scene to the next. Mechanically, the manipulation of the embedded lens is a challenge, the wheel requiring more coordination than the toddler set can provide. Due to the small parts included, the warning label discourages children younger than 3 from independently poring over these pages. Dazzling designs and the dexterity required gears these bright glimpses toward preschoolers rather than toddlers. (Board book. 3-4)
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This cheery visual checklist provides a sunny introduction to the beach. Easily identifiable pictures feature seamless die-cut peepholes and thick lines. They depict both the materials necessary to explore the sun-kissed sand and surf (swimsuit, pail) and the ocean’s inhabitants (crab, fish.) One-word labels move readers forward. “Shell / fish / swimsuit / crab / sun / starfish.” Sparingly sparkly backgrounds make for an eye-catching experience without overwhelming. Each image dominates its page against a solid background. The large googly-eyed fish and crab bubble with enthusiasm. Die-cut holes work easily on either side of a page turn, providing appropriate peeps to and fro. The sun’s grin stretches from cheek to cheek and also serves as the bright design on a swimsuit on the previous page, for instance. The peephole in the beach ball on the cover gives a sneak peek of the pail within. A starfish’s shimmering body comprises the crab’s thorax on the previous page. Toss the toys in a beach bag and set off for this sandy shore. (Board book. 3-18 mos.)
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PRINCESS PETAL AND THE TRAPDOOR
Albért, Joss Illus. by Sharpe, Ami-Louise; Green, Stevie Attic Sound & Music $2.99 | May 11, 2012 1.0; May 11, 2012 A visually snazzy app about a bored princess is hamstrung by a weak story. Princess Petal lives in an enormous castle with busy parents and “...one million toys / And one thousand games, / Dolls and pets, / And a small jet plane.” But she’s bored: She wants to explore the dark and dangerous place below the forbidden trapdoor. Of course, the scowling Princess Petal ends up below the castle, but what she finds there isn’t particularly remarkable, scary or worth the trip. In addition to some squirming worms, a large monster readers never see and handy lights and electrical outlets, her chief discovery is a creature that looks like a mangy dog, which she befriends. It’s all the more unsatisfying because the rest of the elements for a great app are in place. The sharp-edged art style, detailed and colorful, includes convincing backgrounds and witty design. And key words in the voluminous
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“Illustrations and animations done in a style strongly reminiscent of classic Disney feature-length cartoons boost this rendition of the tale over the zillions of other digital versions.” from hansel and gretel animated storybook
text are highlighted with specialized type. The word “ARMOUR,” for instance, is in a steely typeface, while “ROAR!” is intensely ragged. Narration is animated and appropriately lilting for the story. But the ho-hum ending and lackluster middle ultimately make Princess Petal a lot less compelling than she should be. Even with some nicely executed animation and an impressive look, the story of the princess and the trapdoor is too slight a narrative for its production work. (iPad storybook app. 4-9)
THE ADVENTURES OF DON QUIXOTE Calero, Miguel Media Minds $1.99 | Apr. 20, 2012 1.0; Apr, 20, 2012
Quixote really takes a beating in this full-featured, if highly abbreviated, version of the classic tale. Read expressively in English or Spanish (there are self-record and silent options too) as knightly music plays in the background, the rhymed tale props the would-be paladin before a mirror next to a large pile of small pieces of armor (all of which can be dragged into place on his body before readers choose to continue). It propels him out to sigh over the never-named “plain girl next door” before getting clobbered by a gang of muleteers, a windmill, a pair of armed peasants and a servant girl’s “jealous and crazed” boyfriend in turn. The tale cuts off abruptly with a concluding screen and the closing note that “his mare took him home—and all ended well.” Along with dressing the Don, readers can mix ingredients for the restorative “Balsam of Fierabrás,” assemble a jumbled scene, collect small concealed shields, and, on each screen, search out touch-activated sound effects, miraculous transformations (a particularly appropriate feature for this story) and animations. An inconspicuous menu bar allows skipping among scenes, though the tiny, unnumbered thumbnail images are, confusingly, on an endless loop. Both Calero’s comical caricatures and the incidental graphics are richly detailed and elaborately designed. An adequate rendition for younger audiences, though only faintly acknowledging the original’s satire and sentiment. (iPad storybook app. 7-9)
HANSEL AND GRETEL ANIMATED STORYBOOK Epic Tales Epic Tales $6.99 | Apr. 19, 2012 1.78; Apr. 24, 2012
Illustrations and animations done in a style strongly reminiscent of classic Disney feature-length cartoons boost this rendition of the tale over the zillions of other digital versions. Read optionally by an avuncular storyteller character or |
from a text rolling piecemeal through narrow bands, the retelling largely relegates Gretel and her father to passive roles but substantially embroiders the otherwise familiar plot with dialogue and details. Many of the illustrations pan, change suddenly or are assembled in layers for a 3-D effect. Tapping a button on each screen or waiting for the narrator to finish releases an array of smoothly functioning animations and touch-activated effects. These include grimacing monsters and surly gnomes popping into view, the evil stepmother’s Cockneyaccented screeches and fragmentary ditties like a skeletal minstrel’s “Dinnertime dinnertime for the witch, / She will eat the little boy, she’s suuuuch aaaa….” That fortuitously interrupted last line, plus some eerie moments in the dark woods, may be more appreciated by sophisticated audiences. On the other hand, neither the witch nor the stepmother is definitively killed off, and the title screen offers a “Play Around” option that dispenses with the storyline entirely in favor of going to any screen to check out the interactive features. Set apart by outstanding visuals and a tongue-in-cheek tone, if lacking the psychodrama of more traditional variants. (iPad storybook app. 8-11)
MISS PRISS AND SASHA
Etheredge, Amanda Illus. by Etheredge, Amanda The Best Story Apps and Books for Little Children, Big Kids and Family $1.99 | Apr. 27, 2012 1.0; Apr. 27, 2012 A storybook with a clear, easy-tounderstand message about embracing the similarities of friends who live under different circumstances, this app succeeds even if its page structure proves cumbersome. Melissa, or “Miss Priss” as she’s known to her family, is a little girl who wears a princess crown and has a best friend named Sasha. In her chirpy voice, she narrates a series of observations about Sasha. Melissa tells readers at the start that Sasha has a wheelchair and “[s]leeps in a special, super cool bed.” But thereafter, Melissa doesn’t focus on Sasha’s unspecified disability. Instead, she recounts all the ways that the two girls are alike, from the apple juice boxes they enjoy to the trouble they get into when they throw tantrums. The two girls love apples and hate Brussels sprouts. Sasha plays the piano, and Melissa loves to join in as they sing together. Appropriately, the app matter-of-factly points out the one way that Sasha is different without belaboring the point. She is simply a little girl who happens to be Melissa’s best friend, and their widely varying expressions indicate that have they a great time together. The app itself offers no extra options or frills beyond arrows or finger swipes to turn each page. The one misstep is that many pages contain text that reads “Tap here” to display an additional, paired page. It’s easy to miss that text, and each time it’s employed, it brings the reader back to the original page rather than advancing the story. There ought to be a more elegant way to read straight through.
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It’s a nice-enough book with a well-handled message, but probably not one that holds up to too many repeated readings. (iPad storybook app. 3-7)
MILK GIRL
Piga and Ponda Piga and Ponda $2.99 | Apr. 16, 2012 1.1; Apr. 24, 2012 A modern adaptation of “The Milkmaid and Her Pail,” this classic folk tale portrays the perils of counting chickens before they’ve hatched. Piga, a saccharine-voiced pig with decidedly anime-influenced features, is a dreamer. After milking a cow she envisions a luxuriant future. She’ll sell the milk, buy eggs, raise chickens and finally sell them so she can buy whatever her heart desires: jewels, candy and fashionable clothes. Tapping Piga and whoever happens to be with her prompts supplementary dialogue that often trips with misogynistic undertones. When drinking milk makes Piga strong, she’s portrayed as a bruiser that— according to Ponda, her male counterpart—may end up as an old maid. Piga’s parents perpetuate gender stereotypes, as well. Her ultimate goal is to be beautiful so she can secure the affection of others. She ends up spilling the milk and throws a bona fide hissy fit because her life is ruined. There are a few ho-hum interactive features, mainly revolving around eggs and chickens, but they’re disabled during autoplay. Though there’s a “read myself ” option, the only way to bypass the narrator is either to turn the sound off or play back a recorded voice. The app offers two language options, English and Chinese, and a “story song” that sports slapdash lyrics, bad singing and karaoke. Though the folk tale and its moral are easily recognizable, the story itself is hogwash. (iPad storybook app. 3-6)
brush; watch the dog romp while playing catch with Dad; milkdunk Grandma’s cookies; and catch fish in a basket as Grandpa reels ’em in! And that’s pretty much it. The app features a colorful animelike cartoon aesthetic that works well with the robot theme. Reading options (to read or be read to) do not exist, and navigational help is MIA. And the narration, which borders on boring, cannot compete with the sound effects. Overall, it’s an entertaining-enough activity/game app that will keep children coming back for more. Just not for a great story. (iPad storybook app. 2-10)
MY MOM’S THE BEST
Smith, Rosie Illus. by Whatley, Bruce SnappyAnt $3.99 | May 2, 2012 1.0; May 2, 2012
A simple, well-executed animal mommy/ baby love story for the youngest crowd. “My mom’s the best because she gives me big hugs,” says the narrator, and with just a touch, a big, fuzzy brown bear and baby bear appear. Touch the bear, and she hugs her baby just a little bit tighter. Illustrator Whatley’s affable, whimsical animal pairs virtually pop off the screen’s solid backgrounds. A mommy parrot teaches her nestling to sing, an elephant mom “makes bathtime fun” with a big splash of water, a penguin mommy feeds her baby a huge fish, and an upside-down mommy bat tucks her baby in under her wings (the text is upside down here, too, which is a nice touch). There’s enough silliness and humor here to engage parents, too. Navigation is available on each page, and the high-quality narration, animations, music, and sound effects pair with the simple text perfectly. A darling first app for little ones to share with their own moms. (iPad storybook app. 1-5)
MY AMAZING HELPFUL ROBOTS
Santos, Mike Illus. by Santos, Mike Tic Tac Tiger $2.99 | 1.0; Apr. 21, 2012
This Issue’s Contributors
An imaginative boy creates robots to take care of his family’s chores, so they will have more fun time together. While the story isn’t much, from an interactive standpoint, the app excels, with games and puzzles and activities on every page. Children will love using the robots to reassemble the family car, pick up the living room (including the family fish, which is desperate to return to its bowl), prepare hot dogs and popcorn for dinner and mow the grass. Once the chores are done, there’s even more fun: paintball the canvas while Mom paints with a 1406
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# Kim Becnel • Timothy Capehart • GraceAnne A. DeCandido • Elise DeGuiseppi • Nora Dunne • Carol Edwards • Laurie Flynn • Omar Gallaga • Barbara A. Genco • Judith Gire • Melinda Greenblatt • Heather L. Hepler • Jennifer Hubert • Shelley Huntington • Kathleen T. Isaacs • Laura Jenkins • Betsy Judkins • Deborah Kaplan • K. Lesley Knieriem • Megan Lambert • Angela Leeper • Peter Lewis • Ellen Loughran • Lauren Maggio • Joan Malewitz • Hillias J. Martin • Jeanne McDermott • Daniel Meyer • Lisa Moore • John Edward Peters • Susan Pine • Melissa Rabey • Rebecca Rabinowitz • Nancy Thalia Reynolds • Melissa Riddle Chalos • Leslie L. Rounds • Dean Schneider • Hillary Foote Schwartz • Stephanie Seales • Chris Shoemaker • Karyn N. Silverman • Meg Smith • Robin Smith • Shelley Sutherland • Jennifer Sweeney • Deborah D. Taylor • Holly Welker • S.D. Winston • Monica Wyatt • Melissa Yurechko
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indie Self-publishing has opened an incredible number of doors—not just for authors but for readers, too. With well over 1 million books self-published a year, those doors won’t be closing anytime soon. Of course the sheer quantity of self-published books is astounding—after all, everyone has a story to tell, and sharing that story with thousands, or even millions, of people has never been easier or less expensive—but what may be more surprising is the quality of selfpublished books ready to be discovered. At Kirkus Indie, we’ve offered professional, unbiased reviews of self-published books since 2005, so we’re intimately aware of how great these books can be. Some have even earned Kirkus stars. So read on and visit kirkusreviews.com/indie for an exciting look at books made possible by self-publishing. 9 These titles earned the Kirkus Star: THE DUCHESS OF THE SHALLOWS by Neil McGarry; Daniel Ravipinto...........................................p. 1414
THE GOOD LAWYER
Benigno, Thomas CreateSpace (336 pp.) $9.32 paperback | $3.99 e-book Mar. 14, 2012 978-1463604813 In Benigno’s debut legal thriller, a criminal defense lawyer facing his biggest case yet is hardly prepared for the onslaught of treachery and subterfuge. Nick Mannino’s interest in the case of a school aide, Guevara, accused of kidnapping and molesting three young boys isn’t about seeing his name in the headlines— he genuinely believes in the man’s innocence. The case looks easily winnable for Nick, especially when he learns that two of the boys are miscreants and one’s mother has a criminal record. But his troubles are only beginning when a beautiful blonde stranger asking for Nick takes a swan dive off a high-rise. The young attorney, returning a favor, agrees to defend a man suspected of being the “Spiderman Rapist,” a criminal who earned his nickname by climbing into victims’ windows. The seemingly unrelated events gradually come together, putting the lawyer’s life on the line. Benigno’s first effort is a crafty legal page turner, just as good in the courtroom as it is outside. Many characters are introduced as cryptic figures; even journalist Vinny, who ultimately befriends the protagonist, is first shown as a recurring presence, always noticeable in his red parka. The most engaging parts of the book involve Nick’s professional mishaps, but Benigno fortifies his lead character with problems that his law degree can’t fix: the sickly daughter of his secretary and Nick’s trouble telling his girlfriend, Eleanor, a blue-blooded assistant district attorney, that he has a mobster uncle. A trip with Eleanor to her brother’s wedding feels a little like an interruption, particularly since it happens when the mystery is building at full speed. Regardless, it’s still a crucial sequence, revealing the attorney’s insecurities in marrying a rich woman—feelings he must contend with to win his exacting case. Readers who like their courtroom thrillers packed with lawyer-speak and zigzagging plot developments should find much to savor.
WHERE THE PINK HOUSES ARE by Rebekah Ruth.................p. 1414 WALK IN ‘E MOON by LaVerne Thornton................................. p. 1415
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THE VERY LITTLEST DRAGON Charlton, Baer Illus. by Reynolds, Laura CreateSpace (254 pp.) $14.99 paperback | $4.99 e-book Dec. 31, 2011 978-0984966608
Charlton’s debut is a fanciful tale of dragons, picture framing and princesses. The novel begins promisingly: dragon parents, both employed at a framing shop run by a grizzly bear, await the hatching of their first clutch of eggs. Boomer, the first hatchling to emerge, flies faster than the speed of sound, while second-born Tink is so tiny that he fits in a coffee cup—one of the places he feels safest. Among the novel’s assets are utterly charming illustrations by Laura Reynolds and some lovely insights skillfully expressed (“seen from high altitude across large flat oceans and vast deserts, it is easy to understand why dawn is called a ‘crack,’ for it certainly splits the dark in two”). But the novel has two insurmountable weaknesses: The plot is thin to begin with (late in the story, for reasons not entirely clear, Tink faces a vague challenge friends and family help him prepare for) and the story is too cluttered for the novel to have the necessary dramatic tension. An overabundance of superfluous characters (including one who speaks in misspelled French, saying not mon dieu, but mon due or mon deu) appear only once or twice; although occasionally charming, they stall the story and make it difficult to remember the main characters. Long accounts of meals and the foods and beverages consumed at them (fish balls with various sauces, biscuits, chocolate, lots of coffee) grow tedious due to their frequency, length and ultimate irrelevance. Most damaging, the novel’s climax is repeatedly interrupted with cuts to quiet conversations and domestic scenes short on tension, fizzling away the power of Tink’s struggle and triumph. It’s a pity, because if focused, sharpened and streamlined, this could be a tight page-turner sure to delight the young readers who should be its primary audience. Too dense and erratic for children, and too adolescent for adults.
WHAT’LL I DO WITH THE BABY-O? Nursery Rhymes, Songs, and Stories for Babies Cobb, Jane Illus. by Shoemaker, Kathryn Black Sheep Press (256 pp.) $39.95 paperback | May 10, 2007 978-0969866619
A collection of songs and rhymes for infants featuring an accompanying music CD and analysis of developmental benefits. In her second book, Cobb (I’m a Little Teapot!, 1996) explains how this compilation borrows from 12 years of experience 1408
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teaching preschool programs for infants, toddlers, parents and caregivers, paired with her research into cognitive science and language acquisition. Introductory information on child development serves as the supportive springboard for soonto-be-singing parents. Cobb provides a short but fascinating look at the development of some of the brain’s processes, both before and after birth, several of which she refers to as brief “windows of opportunity”—the crucial periods of time when external stimulation can help the brain develop into its greatest potential. At these times especially, according to Cobb, rhymes, songs and stories can nurture an infant’s physical and emotional growth. A timely song can soothe and relax a crying newborn, engage and encourage creative playtime or build memory skills and introduce vocabulary words to foster early literacy. Because hearing is the first sense to develop—after about six months in the womb—a mother’s voice becomes supremely comforting to her child, so Cobb encourages even the tuneless among us to persevere because “[y]our voice is the voice your baby loves best.” For readers interested in teaching this parent-child program, Cobb also includes four helpful and detailed examples of classroom instructions with suggestions for recruitment, setting, pacing, record keeping and registration. The delightful and expansive collection of over 350 rhymes and songs—36 featured on the accompanying CD—and 10 stories will add to any parent or caregiver’s repertoire. A lovingly packaged collection of songs worth singing.
TABNIT GISGO
Eyre, M.D. CreateSpace (228 pp.) $8.99 paperback | $3.87 e-book Apr. 11, 2012 978-1470120924 A fictionalized memoir set during the time of Alexander the Great tells the tale of a dynamic spy. In Eyre’s third novel (Burnfield, 2012, etc.) and the first of a series set in the third century B.C., the spy, informer and all-around character Tabnit Gisgo recounts his role in the death of Alexander the Great. The story is presented as a translation found among the personal effects of Eyre’s great-grandfather, a scholar who worked in the Middle East. Eyre explains in a note to the reader that because his ancestor “was a man of his time,” with an “Edwardian upbringing” and “public school education,” there are linguistic anachronisms throughout the text. This decision is a wise one; it lightens the tone. An elderly man with two very young wives when the story opens, Gisgo is a former wine seller and spy who writes about his “misspent youth” while realizing that the story of his life boils down to being in “the wrong place at the wrong time.” The novel hinges on dispelling the murky history around Alexander the Great’s death, and along the way includes battles, elephants and theater. While Gisgo denies wrongdoing in Alexander’s untimely death, he tells his story with relish. The detailed depiction of the era proves that Eyre’s |
“Josh is a bluesy detective armed with a harmonica instead of a gun, and he plays tunes in lieu of smoking cigarettes.” from twilight of the drifter
done his research. The premise of rewriting history (particularly classical history) may be well represented, but the author’s real achievement is the creation of Tabnit Gisgo—a crude, bumbling yet completely appealing antihero. A memorable narrator and rollicking plot make Eyre’s new series one to watch.
PADD YOUR WEALTH
Fevurly, Keith CreateSpace (436 pp.) $15.95 paperback | $9.99 e-book Nov. 10, 2011 978-1463792466 An authoritative, all-in-one guide to personal financial planning. Most current assessments of U.S. consumers’ financial affairs tell a sobering story: Consumers are frequently saddled with educational and credit card debt; most are severely underfunding their retirement. It’s the kind of scenario that demands nothing short of crisis management, and Fevurly’s book is a solid start. While not the panacea for all financial woes, this comprehensive, objective and pertinent guidebook provides plenty of smart, common-sense advice that will benefit almost anyone. Fevurly, an estate planning attorney and personal financial planner, covers all the bases in just enough detail: insurance; investing; income tax planning; expenses like a child’s higher education; the financial impact of life events, such as divorce or death; Social Security; Medicare and more. The author writes in a no-nonsense, straightforward style, moving from subject to subject with adept skill and little drama. Thankfully, he has the ability to explain in simple terms the financial concepts that could otherwise be intimidating to the average reader. Like most financial books, this one has a gimmick: Fevurly offers his advice under an approach he calls “PADD”— Protect your assets, Accumulate monetary wealth, Defend your wealth, and Distribute this wealth during your lifetime for the benefit of yourself, your family and your heirs. It’s an appropriate framework for a financial discussion that is, at times, a bit dry, yet highly relevant to any consumer, regardless the life stage and circumstances. Helpful appendices enhance the text, offering such tools as a data-gathering form, expense worksheets, samples of durable powers of attorney and a glossary. Easily situated to be the primary source for getting your financial life in order.
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TWILIGHT OF THE DRIFTER Frome, Shelly Sunbury Press (250 pp.) $16.95 paperback | $4.99 e-book Nov. 28, 2011 978-1934597866
In Frome’s (The Twinning Murders, 2010, etc.) latest mystery, a homeless man uncovers secrets that may lead to fatal consequences. Disillusioned journalist Josh Devlin, biding his time at a shelter in Kentucky, finds an apparently injured girl and is determined to help her. The girl, Alice, can’t remember the events which led to her predicament. Josh starts piecing together her random bits of memory; for once in his life, he’s driven by his need to follow through with something. What neither of the two know is that Alice was witness to a murder, and the killer is dead set on tying up all loose ends—one of those loose ends being Alice. Author Frome churns out a laudable crime thriller with a Southern setting. Josh is a bluesy detective armed with a harmonica instead of a gun, and he plays tunes in lieu of smoking cigarettes. The novel maintains an abundance of mystery to keep readers invested: Alice tries to recall her lost memories; Josh searches for Alice after she’s run away; and another character, Darryl, looks for the young girl and eventually zeroes in on Josh. Darryl recognizes Dewey, an older gent who works at the bar/cafe run by Josh’s uncle, the place where Alice has been stashed. On occasion, Frome won’t allow the book’s metaphors to stand on their own: Josh offers poker tips to a man in exchange for information, straightaway comparing both men’s lives to the game. But such moments are eclipsed by the inclusion of Southern dialect that’s imposing but far from overpowering. Readers will almost be able to hear the characters’ drawls with lines such as: “I already done told you.” A novel with impeccable Southern flair, as soothing and cool as the notes from the protagonist’s blues harp.
BEGINNERS’ MINYAN A Collection of Short Stories Gadol, S. Mark Clothesline Books (188 pp.) $9.99 paperback | $1.99 e-book May 12, 2011 978-0983759300
Gadol’s debut collection comprises 10 stories on various aspects of Jewish life. “Minyan” is the Hebrew word for a quorum of 10 Jewish adults, which is required for some religious obligations and ceremonies, the most common being public prayer. These 10 stories are the author’s attempt to come to terms with his heritage. In “Treyf Day,” a daughter’s relationship with her mother is laden with religion, guilt and the weight of Jewish law, which (her mother tells her) forbids sleepovers and the wearing of rhinestones. kirkusreviews.com
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“Villa Puesta Del Sol” examines life in a Florida retirement community, where a woman who eats paper also jockeys for position in a mahjong circle and uncovers the secret to the brisket recipe of a deceased acquaintance. “What’s Up, Kike?” features a young lawyer who uses derogatory terms to refer to Jews; he eventually comes to realize that he’s not mature enough for parenthood. In “The Coup,” a Jewish boy ensures that his father’s place in a congregation is secure from the threat of an interloper. In each of Gadol’s stories, the writing is clear, crisp and concise. The collection’s unifying theme is reflecting upon life as a Jew: the importance of story, tradition, law, family, ceremony and guilt. Stories range from inventive (“the story ends...with four knives stuck in a ficus, and me forbidden to wear mohair”) to humorous (“The only difference between Rice-A-Roni with fried beef in America and in Africa is that we don’t have flies crawling on our faces here”). Some passages are exquisitely beautiful, particularly the story “M’Dor L’Dor,” in which a father reflects upon the meaning of his daughter’s Bat Mitzvah by recalling his boyhood chrysalis. At times, however, this beauty is achieved at the expense of the stories’ pacing. Ten well-written tales that provide subtle insights into the Jewish experience.
TOUCHBACK A love story about farming, football and a time-traveling pickup truck Handfield, Don Sky Village Press (434 pp.) $4.99 e-book | Apr. 13, 2012
A new and welcome page in the redemption-through-football playbook. Regrets. Like opinions, everybody’s got at least a few. But what if you could go back, start anew? Chances are some of those regrets made you who you are today—for better or for worse. Enter football star–cum–failing farmer, Scott Murphy. Once the pride of the proudly blue-collar Coldwater Cavaliers (four district titles, four regional crowns, a state record of 48 consecutive wins, unanimous Mr. Football 1991), a blow to the knee on the last play of the state championship ruined everything. Flash forward 20 years: Old #13 is now eking out a life for his wife, two daughters and a mutt on a soybean farm. The bank is mere days away from foreclosing. The D-line of life ready to sack him for good, Murphy decides the only way to save his family is to kill himself. Luckily, his beat up Chevy pickup proves a better time machine than death trap; once the carbon monoxide clears, Scott Murphy sees he’s back at Coldwater High. First-time author Handfield handles the switch with aplomb. Ultimately, it’s this time-traveling plot point that separates his football novel (now a major motion picture) from all the other nonfantasy ones out there. Yet North Dallas Forty this one’s certainly not, especially where the prose turns a bit too maudlin. Both Murphy and the reader know how the story has to end, however, so it’s a testament to Handfield’s character 1410
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development and overall narrative conditioning that he keeps each player in the game until that final, fateful down. Friday Night Lights hands it off to H.G. Wells in this winningly unique tale.
SHOOTING STARS
Hodgson, Leslie CreateSpace (308 pp.) $11.99 paperback | $0.99 e-book Jan. 25, 2012 978-1469931616 In her debut novel, Hodgson invents a universe where nearly every star in the solar system contains life. Teenage siblings Stella and Isaac lead a normal, if isolated, childhood on Earth. But after their parents’ sudden death, they learn that their mother and father were powerful royalty of the Zodiacs, the 12 constellations surrounding the sun. Stella and Isaac were raised in hiding after the evil Gershon overthrew the Zodiacs’ true rulers. (Their parents knew Gershon would never look for them on Earth, a place considered insignificant based on the low intelligence of its inhabitants.) Now, only Stella and Isaac possess the special skills to overthrow the vindictive regime and reclaim their rightful throne. While Isaac takes on the role of intrepid hero, Stella struggles with the circumstances: She lacks selfconfidence and doesn’t believe she’s capable of saving the world. The characters’ feelings, spanning from incredulous to inquisitive to enlivened, are refreshingly believable within the book’s wholly fantastical setting. Despite their grief and naiveté, both teens prove to be natural leaders as they vow to avenge their parents’ deaths and to rescue the oppressed Zodians. But young Stella and Isaac don’t have to battle Gershon and his followers alone; winged horses from the Pegasus constellation volunteer to aid, as do dragons from Draco. Though they eventually face off with Gershon, Stella and Isaac spend the majority of the book practicing their powers—including an ability to travel as “Shooting Stars” from star to star—and learning the basics about the universe that is new to them, in preparation for a battle yet to come. There’s much that Hodgson can develop in future installments, and readers will be eager to learn more about this magical world. A classic good-vs.-evil story set in a world ripe with opportunity for creative expansion.
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New Ideas. Unforgettable Stories. Memories of Alexandria
Come Walk with Me to Glory
Ricardo Wahby Tapia Softcover | 9781456783594 Price: $12.54 Pages: 232
Dian Wells Matlock Softcover | 978-1-4620-1201-5 Price: $18.95 Pages: 236
From a Void to Nothingness
What Being a Christian Means to Me
www.authorhouse.com
www.iuniverse.com
Marvel at the inner workings of God through this compelling, provocative and inspirational book that will definitely move your spirit and shake you to your core.
Memories of Alexandria is the sincere, cynical, ironic, candid, spicy, harsh, bold and desperate story of a Spanish-Egyptian family from the years immediately after the Spanish Civil War to Egypt’s decades of revolution.
Like a breath of fresh air, Come Walk with Me to Glory shares a journey of profound experiences and consequences. Whether it is losing a beloved husband to Alzheimer’s disease or a son to AIDS, Dian illustrates the power of keeping your focus upon God through useful and sublime insights.
The storyline runs through past present and future, in an assessment of the scheming and false values of our time – and the uselessness of it all.
The Last Hangman Peter Nutty Softcover | 9781456786267 Price: $24.32 Pages: 364
Mercury the Mitzvah Dog Judi G. Softcover | 9781426975790 Price: $15.00 Pages: 24
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The Last Hangman reveals the gruesome secret of three oil executives who, more than 30 years earlier, hung two defenseless black people during their racially-motivated and wild, teenage drink and drugs days in Texas.
Meet Mercury the greyhound! This delightful book introduces Mercury, a retired racing greyhound who is so grateful that a nice family adopted him he decides to “”pay it forward”” by doing good deeds himself. His smiling face and wagging tail make him an instant hit with everyone who meets him.
Henpecked Aman Karan Softcover | 9781456786113 Price: $14.98 Pages: 116
Signals of Smoke and Ash Evan Quitelle Softcover | 9781466903944 Price: $9.99 Pages: 112
In Henpecked, a guy equally cares for his wife and young sister, however, a woman asks for a nicer, cooler, and more handsome man. This situation challenges them to realize their obligations to renew their bonds and overcome their issues.
Sensual, sultry and sexy, Signals of Smoke and Ash seduces with every verse. Enjoy a romantic interlude.
Hakekat-Syareat Paradigm
Dyspepsia and IBS for the Wise
www.authorhouse.com
www.trafford.com
Evan Quitelle’s vision and creativity is brilliant. His words of love and affirmation are intense and powerful, and Signals of Smoke and Ash will take you to the plateau and then make you soar. This volume of poetry is an intimate caress.
THE ONE belongs to MEASURING UP HUMAN--A Philosophical Sketch
How to Treat Functional Digestive Disorders (FDDs) with or without medication
Bambang Ngudi Utomo Softcover | 9781456772253 Price: $19.98 Pages: 112
Larry Tremblay Softcover | 9781426988684 Price: $21.74 Pages: 256
www.authorhouse.com
www.trafford.com
The existence of human brings about modernity with all its consequences. This book is telling dear readers about some concept of human that should be able to make modernity different significantly from what currently happens, more humane and commensalistic.
Some will tell that there is no cure for functional digestive disorders (FDDs). Larry Tremblay discusses how FDDs related symptoms can often be treated with internal exercises. Medical treatments and other self-help approaches are also covered.
Interested in publishing? Contact us today!
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“Hwang and Horowitt write with authority and wit, carefully backing up their theory with substantive examples.” from the rainforest
THE RAINFOREST The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley
Hwang, Victor W.; Horowitt, Greg Regenwald (304 pp.) $12.99 paperback | $7.99 e-book Feb. 4, 2012 978-0615586724 In their debut business title, two venture capitalists offer an insightful, forward-thinking assessment of what makes Silicon Valley tick. If Silicon Valley can be held up as a living, breathing example of American ingenuity, why haven’t we been able to recreate it elsewhere? Hwang and Horowitt suggest that Silicon Valley is an innovative ecosystem they liken to a rainforest—hence, the book’s title. Thinking of Silicon Valley as a living biological system “helps innovators ‘tinker’ together in the same way that atoms ‘tinker’ together in natural biological systems...[to] discover more valuable recipes for combining and recombining ideas, talent, and capital together.” The authors proceed to offer an engaging, highly creative analysis of the workings of a “rainforest,” using Silicon Valley as the prototype. They present 14 compelling “Rainforest Axioms,” for example, “Axiom #2: Rainforests are built from the bottom up, where irrational behavior reigns,” along with the “Rules of the Rainforest,” “Rule #4: Thou shalt experiment and iterate together.” The authors also explain how to build and measure a rainforest. The text is enhanced by well-designed graphic illustrations and explanatory charts. Hwang and Horowitt write with authority and wit, carefully backing up their theory with substantive examples. Readers get the feeling that the authors have unveiled a very big, important concept, one that could serve as the basis for intentionally, methodically developing other “rainforests” similar to Silicon Valley. However, they acknowledge that following the Valley’s winning formula is challenging, suggesting that “The Rainforest concept does not come naturally to many leaders” and that it requires “a new active capitalism” to create a rainforest. While Silicon Valley may not be entirely unique, replicating its ecosystem is no easy task. A provocative study of innovation.
IN THE GARDEN OF SORROWS Jewell, Karen Self (236 pp.) $2.99 e-book | Apr. 1, 2012
In Jewell’s debut novel, a woman grieving her son’s death in the first world war meets a magnetic preacher who unbalances her marriage. For farm wife Isabel Fuller, life is an almost continuous round of daily chores: baking, cleaning, laundering, feeding the hens, doing dishes and caring for her husband and three boys. When she does have 1412
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time to relax and think, Isabel can take little pleasure in it; she still mourns the loss of her son, Carl, who died in the Great War, and harbors anger toward her husband, who encouraged him to sign up. But Isabel is a good, thoughtful woman, the kind who will allow Pentecostal preacher Micah Kane to set up a revival space in her pecan grove because “I can’t seem to say no to anyone looking for the Lord—whether I think they’re looking in the right place or not.” She helps protect Caroline, a young girl left motherless, from her abusive father, Piggott. Both gestures have unintended consequences. From the first, Micah stirs up Isabel with the intensity of his desire. She tries to resist, but his sympathetic attention to her and her grief unlocks something. When they first make love, it’s in Carl’s room, and they talk about Carl afterward. Further conflict arises when Piggott tries to make trouble for the lovers. “Nobody believes it,” says Isabel’s husband, Edward. “Nobody but me.” As Isabel finds ways to be with Micah, her marriage grows colder. Ultimately, Isabel must decide to what degree to give in to her desires. Jewell achieves a beautifully specific portrait of a grieving woman. The era and settings come to life with well-observed details, whether “shouting ‘whoa’ instead of putting on the brakes” in Carl’s first car, or describing Isabel’s cellar shelves, “filled with jars of herbs, tomatoes, corn, beans, okra, pickles, apples, peaches and jelly.” Also lively are the erotic scenes, which have a real charge, especially set against the careful detailing of Isabel’s ordinary existence. A novel that makes wonderful use of its historical setting to create an evocative portrait of a woman torn by grief and awakened by desire.
THE EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE FUNDRAISING Transforming Fundraising Anxiety into the Opportunity of a Lifetime Johnson, Larry C. Aloha Publishing (176 pp.) $25.95 | $8.99 e-book | Dec. 9, 2011 978-1612060224
In his debut business title, Johnson outlines how nonprofit fundraisers can
build on the basics. The nonprofit market is fertile ground for books that preach better ways to fundraise. Standing out in the crowd is no easy task, but Johnson’s book is distinguishable for its cleverly relevant focus on sustainability, a buzzword more often associated with environmental issues than fundraising. Johnson, a fundraiser with impressive credentials, argues that “few nonprofit organizations see their donors as investors” and proposes eight principles to develop “a dependable, renewable and even expandable stream of fundraising revenue.” While Johnson admits most experienced fundraisers will view these principles as common sense, he appropriately quotes Voltaire, who said, “Common sense is not so common.” Indeed, the eight principles reinforce the basics, but they are well-organized and well-stated. Principle 5, “Work from the Inside Out,” demonstrates the importance of leveraging a closely aligned |
“[Learsy] has an insider’s knowledge of the intricacies within the global financial web, which he explains with clarity and biting wit; yet he’s not afraid to take bold, iconoclastic positions.” from oil and finance
group of supporters committed to the organization, then growing a “network of influence.” Johnson writes: “Think of it as building concentric circles of support for your organization, beginning with those who, by their current relationship to the organization, formally or informally, are the best informed and most committed.” Each principle includes “Practice Points,” which offer insightful questions that demand thoughtful answers. Especially useful is a technique Johnson employs that runs through all eight principles: He creates a fictional nonprofit organization and follows a linear storyline, detailing how the organization’s executive director and development director put each of the eight principles into practice. Johnson includes just enough information about the organization (its operating budget, fundraising revenue, and events schedule) to make the example credible. This real-world application of theory shows exactly how the book’s eight principles impact a fundraiser. The last of the eight principles includes a handy “Sustainable Fundraising Matrix” with a scoring system so managers can assess their organization’s fundraising effectiveness. A straightforward, engaging book sure to be an important refresher that will keep nonprofits grounded in the fundamentals of fundraising.
ISABEL
La Barre, Harriet CreateSpace (190 pp.) $10.00 paperback | Feb. 27, 2012 978-1466301634 In La Barre’s (Stranger in Vienna, 1995) latest novel, a young girl becomes entwined in secrets that resurface upon a young woman’s return to a small town. Young Melinda MacDougall befriends Wilhelmina Kingsley, the old woman who lives in the grand house across the street. She spends afternoons listening to Ms. Kingsley talk of Isabel Benoit Lockwood, her orphaned niece. Isabel, raised by Wilhelmina, was once married to Forrest Lockwood, the son of powerful and scrupulous Owen Lockwood, owner of Lockwood Machine in Dexter, Mass. The loss of her firstborn son and husband drove Isabel to Rome to mend, while others blamed her for Forrest’s presumed suicide and the tragic death of baby Sam. Upon Wilhelmina’s death, Isabel returns with her cross-eyed adopted Italian son, Carlo, to claim her inheritance—the Kingsley estate. Melinda, who takes expensive piano lessons from Isabel and plays with Carlo, is captivated by the woman; she unknowingly ends up tangled in Isabel’s money troubles and her web of men. Among these compelling, well-developed characters are Mr. Farinelli, an Italian-American involved in real estate, who loves Isabel and tries to protect her; Mr. Zanotti, a sinister Italian man whose true connection to Isabel and Carlo is a mystery; and former father-in-law Owen, who hopes to unearth a secret that will get rid of Isabel once and for all, despite his unsavory sexual feelings for her. La Barre does well by providing backstory through Wilhelmina’s account before moving on to Melinda’s experiences with Isabel and Carlo. The lack of chapter breaks speeds the story along, adding to the gripping |
nature of this thriller. The characters are multifaceted, yet their motivations are never cut and dried. La Barre’s use of foreshadowing is subtle enough to build suspense, keeping the twists and turns of the plot believable but unexpected. A fulfilling mystery with impressive plot intricacies.
OIL AND FINANCE The Epic Corruption Continues 2010-2012
Learsy, Raymond J. CreateSpace (240 pp.) $17.95 paperback | $7.49 e-book Mar. 1, 2012 978-1469903293 An unholy alliance of Wall Street bankers, energy traders, OPEC poohbahs and complaisant government regulators are pillaging the American economy, according to these savvy, feisty polemics. Learsy, a commodities trader, updates his previous entry in this series with a new collection of his Huffington Post blogs. His pieces circle around two great swindles: First, the government bailout of select financial institutions, especially its rescue of insurance giant AIG; he alleges that Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein cooked up the bailout during secret phone calls so that Goldman’s and other banks’ holdings of AIG derivatives could be paid off with taxpayer money. Second, the run-up in oil prices was in a market the author believes to have been glutted by stored oil and manipulated refinery capacities. (Learsy thinks petroleum should be trading for around $30 per barrel, not $100.) Here Learsy targets many culprits: banks that speculate in oil using virtually free loans from the Fed and FDIC-insured deposits; Saudi officials who restrict oil output; President Obama, who could burst the price bubble by selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and newspapers that peddle peak-oil alarmism, which Learsy smartly debunks. Other selections support a high-speed rail system, warn of looming global food shortages, and cheerlead for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Learsy’s writing has a blunt, plainspoken style—sample headline: “The Oil Market Plays Casino While the Obama Administration Acts as Croupier”—that sits well with his populist indictment of Wall Street and its patsies in Washington. He has an insider’s knowledge of the intricacies within the global financial web, which he explains with clarity and biting wit; yet he’s not afraid to take bold, iconoclastic positions. (Among his anti-market heresies are calls for nationalizing the oil industry and establishing an American grain cartel.) At times, though, Learsy’s prescriptions trip over themselves; economists and environmentalists will choke at his suggestion that we step up offshore drilling to bring down oil prices—and then impose gasoline rationing to force Americans to conserve. But that’s just one questionable pitch among better cases to be made in this takeno-prisoners savaging of the global economy’s oily underbelly. Punchy prose and canny muckraking make for an informative, entertaining challenge to economic orthodoxy. kirkusreviews.com
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INSIDIOUS
McCloskey, Michael iUniverse (324 pp.) $17.95 paperback | $2.99 e-book Jan. 8, 2010 978-1440192524 In McCloskey’s (Slave of Chu Kutall, 2005, etc.) latest sci-fi novel, a sexy corporate spy, a rising executive and an intergalactic law enforcer intertwine in a conspiracy that rocks the deep-space outposts of tomorrow. This wiry, high-tech military sci-fi novel set in an intrigue-ridden future kicks off a trilogy in which Earth is divided between its Eastern and Western Hemispheres. When ambitious executive Chris is accepted into the faraway sanctum of Vineaux Genomix, he finds that everyone must don identity-concealing (and perception altering?) full-body armor. Aldriena, a seductive JapaneseBrazilian corporate spy, infiltrates VG as part of her employer’s Project Insidious, initiated to seize the competitor’s secrets. United Nations Space Force operative Bren wields military might in bringing rogue mega-corporations to heel. The UNSF goes on alert when Bren’s task force of mighty warrior-robots meets ferocious, unexpected resistance in a raid on a mega-corporate space station. There’s an alphabet soup of acronyms and techno-jargon, and the plot’s MacGuffin is one of the oldest tropes in science fiction. But limber storytelling and description make the novel a grand yarn. Readers will be drawn to the particularly compelling portrayal of the ASSAILs, the UNSF’s synthetic fighters, whose artificial intellects are so advanced that, once online long enough, they tend to decide humans are unworthy masters. To complete the mission, the ASSAILs must be powered down and reformatted within hours, lest an extinction-level robot uprising erupt— potentially more dangerous than the original enemy. Small inside jokes referencing Heinlein and Lovecraft don’t detract from the action. A sudden ending baits and hooks readers for the next books in the author’s Synchroncity series, which will cover the same narrative territory from different viewpoints, like bits of Stephen Donaldson’s Gap series. Weapons-laden action, corporate nastiness, incipient robot rebellion and deep-space mystery mesh nimbly in a great ride for sci-fi fans that seldom lets up.
THE DUCHESS OF THE SHALLOWS
McGarry, Neil; Ravipinto, Daniel Illus. by Houser, Amy Peccable Productions (207 pp.) $5.99 e-book | Mar. 2, 2012 Co-authors McGarry and Ravipinto jump into the fantasy genre: “The time had come to leap before she looked,” with the rest of the book explaining the heroine’s dramatic decision.
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Once Duchess’ situation is understood, one can’t blame the 16-year-old for jumping. Originally an aristocrat and now an orphaned bread girl, she lives in a murky city called Rodaas in an unspecified setting that suggests medieval Earth. The world is run on a system resembling modern gang wars—classes manipulate each other and use identifying colors. In fact, life in Rodaas is often described as a game; those who understand have the best odds of survival. When the Grey—a shadowy group that operates between the power elite and the peasants—invites Duchess to join them, she knows this opportunity might save her. The invitation comes via a token that leads her to a contact who assigns her the dangerous mission of stealing a dagger from an evil lord whom unseen players want eliminated. Duchess’ survival instinct screams to reject the mission, but that instinct also knows it’s her only chance to escape the slums and learn why her family was murdered. She can’t do it alone, so she persuades her friend, the beautiful Lysander, for help. Their plan is as dangerous as daily life in Rodaas, where the stones have ears and transgressions can be fatal. McGarry and Ravipinto portray this world in deft prose that weaves backstory and plot into a smooth narrative peopled with credible, appealing characters. Although it takes perhaps too long to figure out the story behind the Greys, as well as to understand Duchess’ motivation in undertaking her mission, Rodaas is so deeply realized, and the conflicts so captivating, that the patient storytelling pays off. The story pulls in the reader from the first sentence and doesn’t let go. A fresh, compelling twist on fantasy, without magic or sorcery.
WHERE THE PINK HOUSES ARE
Ruth, Rebekah Westbow Press (320 pp.) $28.84 | paper $17.90 | $3.00 e-book Nov. 28, 2011 978-1449729844 978-1449729837 paperback A 20-year-old widow and her motherin-law take a vacation to Ireland and find more than they ever expected. Nine months have passed since the freak storm that killed Ben, the bedrock of two women’s lives: his wife, Brenna, and his mother, Anna. Deciding that a trip to Ireland—Anna’s ancestral home—is needed for their mental and physical well-being, the women head to Millway, in County Cork, to recover. As the two women ease into their vacation, they realize they are physically and emotionally needed in Ireland. Auntie Pat is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, which is progressing, and Bettie, her daughter, is stretched too thin trying to run the family B&B and care for her mother. Quickly establishing their intent to stay in Millway, both women find jobs and settle into the community. Brenna meets two men: Luke, a ladies’ man and all-around flirt, and Ryan, an elusive businessman from Cork, who says he’s only interested in being friends, even though his body language says otherwise. Both men will drastically influence Brenna’s life in |
ways she never imagined—and in ways only God could orchestrate. In this tightly written book filled with vivid Irish scenery and culture, characters are constructed so well that the reader might feel as if they’ve met before. Physical and spiritual encounters pull the reader into the story due to their surprisingly realistic nature, while characters grow and change seemingly because of God’s presence—or lack thereof—in their lives. Ruth skillfully and charmingly leads the reader through the winding paths of the human condition, tempered by divine guidance. A thorough, well-executed first effort.
WALK IN ‘E MOON
Thornton, LaVerne Illus. by Harrison, Perry Chapel Hill Press (191 pp.) $14.95 paperback | $0.99 e-book Jun. 10, 2010 978-1597150675 Thornton’s debut collection of 44 true short stories lends a rare glimpse into coming-of-age in the rural American South. Growing up on the Bend, a 30-family homestead on the North Carolina and Virginia border, Thornton spent most of his time lollygagging and making mischief. His stories are infused with such gleeful spirit that it’s easy to see why Thornton has developed a reputation among those that know him as the grandest of storytellers. Thornton shines as a narrator, whether he’s conspiring with friends to trick do-gooder passers-by into picking up a “lost” pocketbook only to find a garden snake— or worse, a “turd”—hidden inside (“The Disappearing Pocketbooks”) or hiding his teacher’s yardstick after getting whacked one too many times for misbehaving (“Claustrophobia”). Beyond all the rabble-rousing, some of the best stories delve into the hardships of “getting by” in a poor, isolated community. He learns how to “make do” by reusing household objects (“Waste Not”), maintain a bountiful garden (“Putting Food on the Table”) and whip up tasty feasts in the kitchen from what most would consider inedible sources: chicken feet, squirrel brains and hog guts (“Strange Edibles”). The characters, too, are drawn with painstaking detail and affection. Shotgun Essie, Thornton’s grandmother, is a pistol and a half and her adages speak volumes about her quirky personality. While Thornton’s writing style isn’t particularly polished, tidy sentences and careful paragraph construction are almost beside the point in these stories. Instead, readers will relish following Thornton as he leapfrogs from one tangential thought to the next, sharing gossip and porch-side ramblings about those dear to his heart and the experiences that shaped him. Adding further atmosphere and depth to an already rich project are Harrison’s delicate, thoroughly expressive black-and-white sketches, as well as two maps of the Bend immediately following the foreword. Ultimately, the only activity more rewarding than reading these stories would be to hear Thornton tell them aloud, possibly while sitting around a campfire. A treasure trove of hard-earned wisdom and wit. |
SIGNALS FROM A LAMPLESS BEACON Beasts of Burden
Traywick, Paul iUniverse (312 pp.) $18.95 paperback | $6.99 e-book Mar. 23, 2009 978-1440126390 Subtle moral conundrums stir this luminous saga of genteel Southern society in the mid-20th century. Traywick’s loose, episodic tale follows a sprawling cast of characters from World War II through the mid-1960s as their lives are changed or upended by the inscrutable workings of fate. At one focus is the family of Thomas Strikestraw, an Episcopal minister in a small North Carolina town who likes to confound his flock with mildly heretical sermons. His son, a naval officer, disappears under circumstances that implicate him in a German spy ring. At the other focal point is the Ashfield clan, aristocrats of South Carolina’s Low Country, along with their African-American companions in the Gadsden family, whose daughter, Lilia Belle, is raped by a congressman. Around these poles orbit neighbors, friends, smalltown eccentrics and several isolated subplots that gradually weave themselves together, including a man who wakes up with amnesia aboard a U-boat just as it’s captured by the British and a World War I veteran who, having survived one calamity after another against all odds, decides he’s destined to never die. The novel treats its characters’ travails with serene equanimity. Estrangements, crimes, miscarriages and deaths violent or tranquil are folded calmly into the narrative flow, their consequences surfacing only much later in musings on religion and ethics or in surreptitious acts of generosity and honor. Traywick’s richly textured prose creates a fictive world that’s almost Faulknerian in its density, revealing to the reader a burnished, elegiac view of upper-crust Southern life on the cusp of the civil rights movement—a gracious world of plantations, glamorous balls, weddings and shooting parties. For now, racial tensions are muted and salved by humane courtliness. Traywick’s vision is limited—almost cloistered—and so meditative that it seems detached at times, even though it sheds a captivating glow. An engrossing social tapestry, filled with quiet spiritual dramas.
PICASSO ON A SCHEDULE
Wiggins, Stephen K.; Abernethy, Kenneth CreateSpace (328 pp.) $29.95 paperback | Apr. 27, 2012 978-1463772802 In their debut business management title, Wiggins and Abernethy outline basic concepts for successful information technology management. Wiggins, a chief information officer at South Carolina BlueCross BlueShield, and Abernethy (Computer Science/Furman Univ.) “explore a set kirkusreviews.com
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k i r ku s q & a w i t h a r t h u r m o k i n O v e r t h e c o u r s e o f h i s 26 years writing and directing documentaries, Arthur Mokin has won a host of awards for his work, and has lectured at several American universities. He’s also the author of two historical novels: Ironclad, a tale of the early days of the Civil War, and Meribah, a love story of the Biblical Book of Exodus. Regarding his historical fiction, Mokin explains, “Researching Ironclad taught me the truth of the maxim that history is myth agreed upon.” We recently spoke with Mokin about his work turning Biblical history into a novel that our review called “beautifully conceived.” Q: Meribah is a story of the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt, told largely from the perspective of an Egyptian traveling with the Hebrew people. Why did you choose to use the perspective of an outsider to shape the novel?
Mokin, Arthur MERIBAH
CreateSpace (286 pp.) $15.00 Paperback $9.99 e-book March 14, 2012 978-1463773915
A: At its intellectual core, Meribah is a work of comparative religion. Except for an enlightened few, notably Moses, Aharon, and Miryam, Judaism is on trial. Time after time we hear the people complain that the sacrifices they are asked to make in the name of Judaism (i.e. freedom), are too onerous, especially in view of the fact that none has experienced Judaism or freedom. I needed a coherent voice to humanize the sentiments of the people. It seemed logical to choose a surrogate who would come to the task with a certain innocence, even perhaps skepticism, with regard to Judaism. The Egyptian fills that role, given his background in a polytheistic and animistic tradition.
K i rk us M e di a L L C # K i rk us M e di a L L C President M A RC W I# NKELMA N President SVP, Finance M A RC W I NH Kull ELMA N J ames
Q: Throughout the majority of the novel, the Egyptian has no name -- in fact, the reader never learns the Egyptian name he was born to. What is the significance of his remaining unnamed?
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Q: You’ve been writing and directing documentaries for 26 years. How do you compare your work writing for screen and writing novels?
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Q: In addition to writing, you’ve also worked as a lecturer in universities. Was your academic background a help in conducting your research for both Meribah and your other historical novel, Ironclad? Tell us a little about your research process. A: My academic background is, by today’s standards, rather scanty. I have only an A.B. degree in English from Brooklyn College. I say unhesitatingly that the most practical, tangible and valuable benefit of a liberal education is that it teaches one how to learn, which, of course includes the research capability. One really acquires knowledge after college. As for my research process: the subject of the work determines method. In the case of Ironclad, a Civil War story, there was no lack of sources. The Civil War is probably the most documented event in American history. It was a delight to read current newspaper reports (both Union and Confederate), supplemented by journals of the day, followed by the official or government version, the whole often enriched by personal accounts, as in correspondence and diaries. I remember sitting in the rare book room of the New York Public Library on Forty-Second Street, holding in my hands the actual letters of Monitor crew—an experience that can only be described as thrilling. As for Meribah, the Exodus story has been a part of my life ever since I can remember. Jews are formally reminded of the event at least once a year at Passover. Happily, the Bible is the one authenticated source. It was largely a matter of writing the book with the Bible at my side. –By Alana Joli Abbott
p hoto c o urt e sy of TH E AU THOR
A: A novel is often less contrived and calculated than the finished product would make it appear. The fact is that when I began Meribah, I had no name for the Egyptian. Names of protagonists are significant inasmuch as they furnish the first impression of character, so naturally I wanted to give him an appropriate name. Rather than take the time to research Egyptian given names, I decided to proceed in the hope that a name would surface. As I got further into the book without having named him, it occurred to me that since he was wrestling with his identity, it would be fitting to give him a name after he had resolved his conflict.
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camera with it. The onus of the documentary falls on the director. Provided only with a thorough understanding of what his film is intended to document, the director chooses his locations and, again ideally, arrives on the scene with no preconceptions. The art of directing a documentary film lies in choosing those scenes or objects or people that best demonstrate or reveal the nature of the subject being investigated. The intended audience can be one or two interested specialists, or a general theatrical audience. In the event of the latter it falls to the director to make the film as interesting and entertaining as possible while he pursues the investigative function. As for the difference between writing a novel and producing a documentary film, the major one, for me, is that film is inevitably a cooperative venture, sometimes requiring a battalion-sized crew. The glory of writing a novel is that the lone author is solely responsible for what lies between the covers.
of concepts that [they] believe are fundamental for the management of information technology (IT) as a successful business.” These ideas are drawn from a decade-long collaboration creating professional development IT programs for BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. Their goal is to help IT professionals balance efficiency with effectiveness and art with science—in other words, client operations with IT. The authors maintain that business software users need to be educated in the field because, as is often the case, their expectations are not aligned with the limitations of hardware, software and telecommunications. Likewise, the authors state, IT employees must be exposed to and embrace common business practices under which non-IT businesses operate, in addition to maintaining technical competence. The presentation is largely theoretical, drawing on models from the likes of Drucker and other recognized industry groups. Abstract thinkers may benefit from the elementary framework; the promised “step-by-step” guide may be disappointing for others, however, especially considering that the examples drawn from BlueCross BlueShield don’t represent varied, substantial case studies in the industry. But there are several hands-on examples that may prove useful, including an industry-specific chart that outlines tasks for various job roles. Many of the general concepts are substantiated by a bibliography that mixes time-tested models with current technological literature, and the final third of the text is offered as an executive summary. The book’s primary shortcoming—it focuses mostly on one organization’s success—is fairly acknowledged by the authors, yet it would have been helpful to see more concrete examples of that success. Still, busy professionals will benefit from a close reading; they may even be inspired to inquire about the professional development programs unobtrusively advertised in the epilogue. A well-organized, conceptual text for students, IT professionals and software purchasers.
he or she will grab a key and beckon travelers to follow the route to the actual site. It’s tips like these that make this guide so special. Zaragoza starts off with a background history lesson before providing directions to the places she describes—some off-thebeaten-path destinations would be difficult if not impossible to find otherwise. When it comes to local cuisine, Zaragoza takes time not only to describe the food, but its origins as well. Some of the first pizzas, for instance, were made in Naples; the author informs the reader of the two main types of pizza and the best places to sample them. Coffee drinking in Naples is an altogether different experience than elsewhere. The amount is much less per serving—typically about a shot’s worth—but the sheer variety of formulations boggles the mind. Italians seem to take the idea of a coffee break seriously; it’s common to take pause from a busy workday to grab a quick pick-me-up at one of the city’s abundant cafes. Zaragoza’s explanation of the etiquette of coffee drinking is just another example of her ability to immerse readers in the culture and everyday lives of the people who inhabit the city. Anyone contemplating a trip to Naples would do well to keep this very useful, accessible book close at hand.
THE ESPRESSO BREAK Tours and Nooks of Naples, Italy and Beyond Zaragoza, Barbara Merchant’s Press (310 pp.) $15.95 paperback | Mar. 22, 2012 978-0983509929
In her debut travel guide, Zaragoza puts together the ultimate companion for readers planning a trip to Naples. In this readable, entertaining information guide for tourists, Zaragoza takes readers from the heights of Mount Vesuvius to the ruins of Pompeii and beyond. Part atlas, part history lesson, part epicurean review, this comprehensive handbook to Naples is without peer. The only thing missing is information on lodging, a subject outside the book’s purview. Zaragoza clearly has insider’s knowledge obtained by spending a great deal of time in the regions she describes. She knows that anyone who wishes to see “The Sanctuary of Mithras” in Capua needs to see a custodian off premises, where |
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