October 1, 2011: Volume LXXIX, No 18

KIRKUS v o l. l x x i x, n o. 1 8

|

1 o c t o b e r 2 0 1 1

REVIEWS t h e nat i o n ’s p r e m i e r b o o k r e v i e w j o u r na l f o r mo r e t h a n 7 5 y e a rs

fiction ★ Italian master Umberto Eco delivers another bracing and controversial mystery novel p. 1754 ★ David Anthony Durham brings his science fiction Acacia Trilogy to a satisfying close p. 1772 ★ Two thieves meet in Melbourne in Garry Disher’s taut and dependable tale of suspense p. 1767

nonfiction ★ Tom Mueller delivers an illuminating text about the olive oil industry p. 1795 ★ Famed New Yorker movie critic receives a pageturning biography from Brian Kellow p. 1789 ★ Mark Ribowsky pens a definitive biography of iconic sports broadcaster Howard Cosell p. 1797

children & teens ★ A pack of woodland animals have the ride of a lifetime in Lita Judge’s wordless wonder p. 1832 ★ Beka Cooper, kickass cop, returns in Tamora Pierce’s gutsy fantasy/police procedural p. 1825 ★ Sally M. Walker compellingly re-creates a 1917 maritime disaster in Halifax Harbour p. 1829

John Barth contemplates old age; Jay Lake displays endurance; Alan Lazar roams; Sue Grafton gets vengeance; Jennifer Chiaverini hosts a wedding; Susana Fortes plays the waiting game; Douglas Kennedy is tempted; Charles Brokaw analyzes a code; and more vi si t k i rku sre vi e ws.com f or f ull versions of f eatures, q & as an d thousand s of archived reviews

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

Kirkus Online: Trust the toughest critics in the book industry to recommend the next great read.

Visit KirkusReviews.com to discover exciting new books, authors, blogs and other dynamic content.

interactive e-books p. 1745 fiction p. 1751 mystery p. 1766

science fiction & fantasy p. 1772

children & teens p. 1805

nonfiction p. 1775

kirkus indie p. 1837

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 Editor E L A I N E S Z E WC Z Y K eszewczyk@kirkusreviews.com Managing/Nonfiction Editor E R I C L I E B E T R AU eliebetrau@kirkusreviews.com

Waiting for the Great 9/11 Novel B Y G R EGORY McNA MEE

The tenth anniversary of the terrorist at tacks of September 11, 2001, has just past, and with it a few scattered recollections in the press of something Salman Rushdie said to an interviewer three years ago,

Features Editor M O L LY B RO W N molly.brown@kirkusreviews.com Children’s & YA Books VICKY SMITH vicky.smith@kirkusreviews.com Kirkus Indie Editor P E R RY C RO W E perry.crowe@kirkusreviews.com Mysteries Editor THOMAS LEITCH Editorial Coordinator and Assistant Indie Editor REBECCA CRAMER rebecca.cramer@kirkusreviews.com Contributing Editor GR E GORY Mc NAME E #

but often reported as if the remarks were fresh. Asked whether it was too early to start making literature of 9/11,

for customer service or subscription questions, please call 877-441-3010

Rushdie—no stranger to terrorism himself—noted that it took some 60 years before Leo Tolstoy commemorated

Kirkus Reviews Online www.kirkusreviews.com

Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in War and Peace. “Often,” he added, “I think these great events have to rot down.

Maybe another generation has to look at it.”

Print indexes: www.kirkusreviews.com/ book-reviews/print-indexes

That may well be. In the steady stream of books about 9/11, some published very soon after the events, others

Kirkus Blog: www.kirkusreviews.com/blog

more recent, not many of them have been novels. Tolstoy’s case holds; so, too, does that of Stephen Crane’s The Red

Advertising Opportunities: www.kirkusreviews.com/about/ advertising-opportunities

Badge of Courage, perhaps the canonical story of the Civil War, published fully 30 years after Appomattox.

Still, 9/11 figures in Philip Caputo’s Crossers, which blends the two tragedies of the WTC attack and the deaths of immigrants crossing the desert border into the United States. Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a quirky psychological masterpiece. Don DeLillo’s haunted Falling Man captures one of the unquestionably iconic moments of that terrifying day. And Chris Cleave’s Incendiary, though it recounts terrorist attacks in England, belongs on our bookshelf as well. But there are few other enduring books to date, while there are numerous tossaways, including Tom Clancy’s most recent production, Dead or Alive.

9/11 may indeed, then, have to “rot down”—a curious choice of words—before more writers begin to respond to it. But closeness to the event is not the only consideration; perhaps what matters more is how closely engaged writers have been with the events in question. For instance, novels about World War II began to appear just as soon as the fighting was over; scarifying true-life accounts such as Richard Tregaskis’ Guadalcanal Diary and Harry Brown’s A Walk in the Sun (the latter a hybrid of reportage and novelizing to do Truman Capote proud) even appeared while the war was raging. Vietnam has produced a whole library of fine novels, several, such as Robert Stone’s great Dog Soldiers, written while the news bulletins were still ticking by.

Yet counterexamples abound. It took DeLillo, long before turning to 9/11, a quarter-century to treat an event that anyone then alive remembers as if it were yesterday—certainly I do, and I was just six—namely, the assassination of John Kennedy. The Brilliant Libra was the result of that long contemplation. Stephen King is just turning to that strange time with his new novel 11–22–63—a very much different book but similarly well pondered.

Time may be of the essence, but history has a way of surprising us. “There could be a great 9/11 novel tomorrow,” Rushdie admits, “and then we’d all say ‘Yeah.’ ” And literature, like the market, cannot be timed. We’ll just have to be ready for that great 9/11 novel when it’s ready for us.

for more reviews and f eatures, vi si t u s on li n e at kirkusreviews.com

Submission Guidelines: www.kirkusreviews.com/about/ submission-guidlines Subscriptions: www.kirkusreviews.com/ subscription Newsletters: www.kirkusreviews.com/ subscription/newsletter/add This Issue’s Contributors Maude Adjarian • Kent Armstrong • Mark Athitakis • Joseph Barbato • Amy Boaz • Allie Bochicchio • William Boggs • Will Boisvert • Julie Buff aloe-Yoder • Lee E. Cart • Keith Chachkes • Jessica Chiu • Dave DeChristopher • Gregory F. DeLaurier • David Delman • Kathleen Devereaux • Daniel Dyer • Lisa Elliott • Paul Evans • Gro Flatebo • Peter Franck • Bob Garber • Faith Giordano • Alan Goldsher • Ian Griffi n • Jeff Hoff man • BJ Hollars • Risa Kahn • Robert M. Knight • Janet Krenn • Erica Lamar • Paul Lamey • Jenny Langsam • Louise Leetch • Judith Leitch • Peter Lewis • Elsbeth Lindner • Raina Lipsitz • Swapna Lovin • Don McLeese • Gregory McNamee • Carole Moore • Clayton Moore • Chris Morris • Mike Newirth • Randall Nichols • John Noff singer • Mike Oppenheim • Joshua T. Pederson • Jim Piechota • Christofer D. Pierson • Brooke Pike • William E. Pike • Gary Presley • John T. Rather • Karah Rempe • Karen Rigby • Lloyd Sachs • Bob Sanchez • Michael Sandlin • Mihir Shah • Alexandra Silverman • Rosanne Simeone • Clea Simon • Arthur Smith • Wendy Smith • Margot E. Spangenberg • Andria Spencer • Brian Tallerico • Claire Trazenfeld • Steve Weinberg • Rodney Welch • Carol White • Chris White • Phil Wrighthouse

interactive e-books MY MAGIC KITE A Trip in the USA

interactive e-books for children

Karp, Shira Illus. by Soriani, Manuela My Digital Photo Story $2.99 | May 6, 2011 1.1; Jul. 20, 2011

HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON

Interactive features solidly trump art, writing and factual accuracy in this quick but far from slick aerial travelogue.

Having selected a generic Caucasian boy’s or girl’s body and (optionally) personalized it with a portrait photo, readers are invited to grab hold of a magic kite and fly over eight U.S. cities (viewable in sequence or selected from a map). In keeping with the DIY characterization, readers can even add self-recorded comments to the (also optional) audio narrative. The leaden verse is nothing to write home about: “They eat Jambalayas here and have the famous Mardi Gras parade. / But you’ll have to be a bit older to watch it, I’m afraid.” Each cartoon flyover scene can be zoomed past the point of pixilation and features both a jumble of recognizable landmarks and several touch-activated effects. President Obama introduces himself in front of the White House, a boy—inexplicably—dances atop the Statue of Liberty and an outsized orca leaps in Orlando. After being blithely misinformed that rockets take off into space from Houston, Space Needle elevators fall faster than raindrops and that sharks prevented any escape from Alcatraz, the traveler ends his or her journey back “Home” (a draggable icon on the map) eager for further outings.

Readers may not be so sanguine in the wake of this flashy but superficial tour. (iPad informational app. 6-9)

Johnson, Crockett Illus. by Johnson, Crockett Trilogy Studios $6.99 | Jul 30, 2011 1.1; Aug. 5, 2011

Harold takes a walk in the moonlight down the path of imagination and although this time the bunnies hop and the winds blow, nothing of the dreamy simplicity of the journey is lost.

Elegantly adapted by Trilogy Studios to the iPad and featuring the same minimalist lines of Johnson’s 1955 original, this app allows children to join in as Harold wields his purple crayon to create his gently perilous adventure. Along the way, the many hidden interactions allow readers to animate the scenes, shaking apples from the tree and making the guard dragon catch them in his mouth. Kids can fill the moonlit sky with stars and zoom in on hatchling birds in the mountains; they can cause a swirling wind to fill the sails of Harold’s boat and help him sample all nine flavors of pie. All the while, it maintains the flavor of a simple line-drawn story. When touched, most objects and characters are identified both verbally and in text to add an extra level of learning for early readers. Options include Read to Me, in which each word appears as it is spoken by the narrator; Touch Tale, a fully interactive version prefaced with a clear tutorial; and Read to Myself. All modes are accompanied by tinkly music.

Readers will be charmed as Harold draws himself in and out of trouble and fi nally home to bed in this subtle blend of animation and story. (iPad storybook app. 2-5)

MILLIE & THE LOST KEY

Lowenstein, Randy & Taylor, Jennifer MegaPops $3.99 | Aug 1, 2011 1.0; Aug. 1, 2011 A new app series that combines several genres and styles to create a doggie adventure that feels fresh, Millie Was Here is off to a fetching start with a free preview—Meet Millie—and this separate full-length story.

Millie is a globe-trotting adventurer—though you would probably never know it if the mundane photos she’s featured in hadn’t been modified to put her on computer-generated planes or facing real-life boats with pasted-in pirate flags. The entire

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

interactive e-books

|

1 october 2011

|

1745

TIMMY TICKLE

story is like that: overheated narration and text juxtaposed with otherwise plain dog-about-town pictures. “The island was dark and mysterious,” the narrator intones as the fluffy black-andwhite lapdog stands, leashed, in a pleasant urban park. But the trick works because the app is designed so well and has a sense of humor. It offers surprises on every page, from pull tabs that reveal hidden treasures to scratch-off games and hidden collectible cards. Though Millie’s quest for the Lost Key to Endless Bacon feels a bit longer than necessary at 22 pages, the clever touches throughout, such as a stuffed animal who that is Millie’s evil archenemy, are amusing and well-executed. Sound design, navigation and music are all high-quality, and a “Bedtime Mode” option that lowers the volume and dims the screen for nighttime reading is a welcome feature.

It’s too early to tell if the running joke of Millie’s outsized adventures will get old, but at least in this fi rst set of apps, Millie more than earns whatever kibble App Store sales may provide for her. (iPad storybook app. 4-10)

Pellereau, Harriet Illus. by Pellereau, Harriet Nimblebean $4.99 | Jul 14, 2011 1.1; Jul. 21, 2011 A day in the life of a playful, ticklish octopus.

If Timmy Tickle were a real kid he’d probably be in high demand as a playmate. He’s adventurous and imaginative, and he loves to have fun. He tries roller-skating, despite the obvious challenge of having eight skates rather than two. He takes up the xylophone. He loves to play camouflage by taking on the color, texture and shape of assorted pieces of fruit.

But perhaps most endearing are his disguises, which he can put on and take off more quickly than readers can say “prestochange-o”. Timmy is drawn and animated in a way that makes him seem genuinely engaged with readers, a testament to Pellereau’s skill as a designer and developer. Every component of this app is well planned and executed. The graphics are vibrant, and the interactive elements are simple, yet superb. A readily accessible menu makes the story easy to navigate, and in terms of speed and functionality, it’s clean as a whistle. To top it off, Timmy is outlandishly cute, sporting Shrek-like ears and a wide variety of charming facial expressions. A play date with this cheerful little octopod will provide several educational opportunities, but it’s Timmy’s jovial disposition and his appetite for adventure that will likely keeps kids coming back for more.

Eight high-fives for a truly splendid effort. (iPad storybook app. 18 mos.-5)

ROXIE’S DOORS

Munro, Roxie Illus. by Munro, Roxie OCG Studios $2.99 | Jul 24, 2011 1.0; Jul. 24, 2011

A seek-and-find scavenger hunt encourages readers to explore what lies behind various doors.

This interactive adaptation of Munro’s 2004 print release, Doors, appears to be identical to its predecessor in terms of rhyme, artwork and concept. But the interactive digital interface adds to the appeal by providing a plethora of sound effects and more than 100 animated and/or interactive objects. Children can tap, swipe and tilt the tablet to reveal hidden items that are mentioned in the text. Some things yield a particular sound (a whining dog, creaking cabinet hinges, the flush of a toilet), while others simply offer a short glissando to alert readers that they’ve found one of the hidden treasures. Children can explore a wide variety of locations, including a fire station, a train compartment, a horse stable, a doctor’s office and a well-stocked refrigerator, to name only a few. There are three narrative options: voiced either by a male or female reader, or narration can be completely turned off (for those who wish to read the story themselves). Sound effects can be switched on and off separately, and a pull-down menu offers easy access to individual pages as well as narrative and sound options.

This storybook app isn’t breaking any new ground, but it’s a solid effort that will undoubtedly stimulate more than a few curious little minds. (iPad storybook app. 3-7)

1746

|

1 october 2011

|

interactive e-books

MAGIC THUMBELINA

Pogrebniak, Alexander Illus. by Pogrebniak, Alexander Oleksandr Pogrebniak $2.99 | Jul 29, 2011 1.1; Aug. 10, 2011 An alternate track of instrumental rock adds an unusual dimension to this paraphrased version of the classic female-bondage/abandonment tale.

Working in an ornate Eastern European style, Ukraineborn Pogrebniak creates finely detailed, jewel-toned images of animals (and Thumbelina) dressed in gloriously complex traditional garb and accouterments. He poses them against thickets of flowers, rows of graceful leaves and sumptuously appointed domestic scenes. Though the simplified text reads awkwardly in spots (“Just before wedding Thumbelina went out” to escape the mole and shortly thereafter falls in love with an elf prince who “proposed her”) it properly takes Thumbelina from one male captor to the next as in the original. The special effects are varied, if not always well-designed. They range from a butterfly who twitches when tapped and smoke rings rising from the mole’s pipe to figures that can be moved—but block portions of |

kirkusreviews.com

|

“Among many other things, little fingers can capture fireflies, tickle animals’ feet, strum instruments and control the speed at which characters travel, work and play.” from sylvester’s band

the text if moved more than a little—and distinct background sounds. On several screens, most notably the climactic and final proposal scene, tapping a musical-note icon exchanges the relatively staid orchestral background music for a funky, if startlingly inappropriate, burst of quick-tempo electric guitar.

Not the slickest app ever, but the art is well worth second and third looks. (iPad storybook app. 7-9)

run low on fuel, but, of course, they make it back home in one piece. The ending is so abrupt that readers will be left wondering if there are virtual pages missing. There are hidden pictures to find, the pages feature some movement and many objects respond to touch with basic movement and sound effects. The only navigation is basic page-forward and page-backward. The writing is unpolished and childlike, which works well sometimes but is painfully awkward at others: “We did it Baby, give me five! WE ROCK!!! / Like a nice, fuzzy sock.” There is not much to the plot, and the clipart-style illustrations are merely serviceable, but the whole experience is saved by the charming, sweet voices of the children’s narration.

The unpretentious illustrations, the silliness of the story and cute voices of the young narrators may appeal to preschoolers. (iPad storybook app. 3-5)

SYLVESTER’S BAND

Sandholt, Jeppe Uncle Handsalt $4.99 | Jul 27, 2011 2.0; Aug. 5, 2011

When Sylvester’s band members don’t show up for a scheduled gig, Henry the raccoon saves the day by finding them and leading them back to Firefly Forest.

It’s finally time for a party that will feature Sylvester’s band.

Henry the raccoon finds the other animals busily preparing for the festivities, but no one will let him help. In fact, they consider him a clumsy nuisance. When he learns that the concert is cancelled due to AWOL band members, he hunts them down so that the show can go on. The characters in the story look more like the wildly popular Uglydolls than they do animals, which for many will add to their appeal. Illustrations are stunning, and the interactive and animated elements are brilliantly designed.

Among many other things, little fingers can capture fireflies, tickle animals’ feet, strum instruments and control the speed at which characters travel, work and play. There are plenty of tilt features, and the read-to-me option is narrated by full-time voice pro Bob Barnes. The app’s initial load time is a bit sluggish, but once it’s launched all elements reliably go off without a hitch—and it’s well worth the wait. Although the developer labels this app for ages 2-8, it really calls for more patience than most toddlers can manage.

For preschoolers and young grade-schoolers willing to mine its many treasures, this app is a gem. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)

JON FOX AND THE MONSTER OF THE POND Steil, Carson Illus. by Steil, Carson Taylor Steil $0.99 | Jul 9, 2011 1.0; Jul. 9, 2011

Another app not ready for prime time, featuring a perfunctory story tricked out in a sparse assortment of crudely designed animations and touch-activated effects.

Depicted in the bland cartoon illustrations as a fox wearing Harry Potter–style eyeglasses, Jon stops at a pond on the way to school with thoughts of taking a dip. Spotting a green “monster” (plainly modeled on the Creature from the Black Lagoon) asleep on the bottom, he chucks a rock at it. When the monster rises, weeping, Jon expresses remorse, whereupon it utters a platitude—”When you see someone new you should always think twice! / Looks alone can’t tell you who’s mean or nice”— then pulls off its head to reveal that it was his (apparently amphibious) mother all along in a full body costume. Though the auto page-turn option works so quickly that some readers may miss the interactive effects entirely, tapping a tiny berry or shell in each tableau causes one or more small animals to pop into view briefly, then vanish either behind something or, with a notably unrealistic splash, into the pond. Similarly, tears drip and fish swim by, but one slight arm movement is the monster’s only animation, and Jon Fox manages to walk, run, talk and throw that rock without moving any body part.

The author and software designer show glimmers of creativity, but their learning curves are clearly still on the upswing. (iPad storybook app. 5-7)

LITTLE FRIGGLEPANTS BUILDS A ROCKET SHIP

Smith, Melissa Illus. by Smith, Melissa Homemade Preschool $1.99 | Jun 30, 2011 1.0; Jun. 30, 2011

An amateurish digital picture book presents some homemade charm.

Frigglepants is “[b]ored as a banana. Bored as a BUMP,” so he creates a spaceship made of pots and pans and duct tape.

Mom isn’t paying much attention to Frigglepants, because Baby is up to mischief, washing clothes in the toilet and cleaning the couch with bananas. When Frigglepants and Baby blast off into outer space, they have a brief encounter with some aliens and |

kirkusreviews.com

|

interactive e-books

|

1 october 2011

|

1747

“A few nibbles of entertainment, but this app is no hearty meal.” from yummy fly pie

TWINKLE, TWINKLE

even, on one spread, a guessing game. This rich array of inventive visual and sonic effects compensate for a narrative reduced to lines like “Lilliput citizens got surprised when they saw huge Gulliver” and spoken and print texts that don’t always match exactly. A far more serious flaw is the unfortunate resemblance the hunched-over, slant-eyed, bucktoothed Lilliputian soldiers bear to the worst kind of anti-Asian propaganda.

Fix that, and the developers will have an app worthy of repeat visits. (iPad storybook/game app. 6-9)

Super Simple Learning Super Simple Learning $2.99 | Jul 12, 2011 1.0; Jul. 12, 2011

Parents of toddlers, meet your new best bedtime friend: a well-paced sleepytime story with just enough interaction to keep curious toddlers quiet and still.

Based on the classic English nursery rhyme “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” the Super Simple Learning iPad app expands on its YouTube video (29 million+ views) to build its own serviceably rhyming storybook. Beautifully animated with simple navigation and sound effects that don’t distract, the gentle story follows a playful owl on his nighttime adventure with a wide-eyed, dancing star. The app gives parents three reading options: read to me, read myself and autoplay, which reads the story and turns the pages automatically. (Warning: autoplay may equal auto-snooze for sleepy parents.) The owl hoots and flaps his wings, and the star dings and twirls as children tap their 3D images. A companion mode allows readers to watch the video animation and listen to the song (sung in a child’s voice or an adult voice) without the story narrative. Sure to be a “play again” favorite, this app gives parents a backup plan on the title page, easily reached by tapping “home” in the top left corner.

Groggy toddlers can “Count Stars,” 20 stars that light up and spin around when tapped, while the soothing “Twinkle” tune continues to play.

Bedtime may never be the same. (iPad storybook app. 0-3)

YUMMY FLY PIE

Tejido, Jomike Illus. by Tejido, Jomike Vibal Publishing House $1.99 | Jul 28, 2011 1.0.1; Aug. 5, 2011 After baking “fly pie,” Mr. Frog sets out to find someone to share it with.

Mr. Frog is on a quest to find tastetesters for his new culinary creation. He approaches a bee, a rooster, a pig and several other animals and insects, but the answer is always the same: “No thank you,” followed by an explanation of what they like to eat. Apparently the intent of the author was to rhyme some of the verses. Pollen is pronounced “pole-in” so that it rhymes with swollen, but from that point on the couplets are even more forced and only vaguely similar (crowing/squirming; eating/doing; sleepy/scurry). The writing is weak, though it’s possible that translation had something to do with it (the author is Filipino, but the story is offered only in English or Mandarin). Either way, it leaves the impression that literary substance took a back seat to meter, pseudo-rhyme and the artwork. This isn’t surprising, given that Tejido is a practicing architect and artist. Illustrations are reminiscent of lovely tissue-paper collage art, but navigation is sluggish, and animation is basic (things move, though not fluidly). The app is bundled with Baker Frog Lite, a fun little game whereby readers help Mr. Frog catch flies with his tongue.

A few nibbles of entertainment, but this app is no hearty meal. (iPad storybook app. 2-6)

GULLIVER IN LILLIPUT

Swift, Jonathan Digital Aria $4.99 | Jul 15, 2011 1.0; Jul. 15, 2011

Younger video gamers will feel right at home in this abridged rendition’s elaborately animated environment.

On seven multilayered tableaux designed to open and unfold as spreads of a digital pop-up book, Gulliver and the Lulliputians meet and bond (without the original classic’s urinating-on-the-fire scene, alas). After Gulliver drives off the invading “Blefuscuan” fleet [sic: Swift referred to them as “Blefuscudians”], they bid one another adieu. Rounded and moving like a jointed puppet to create a 3D effect, Gulliver towers over little figures and buildings rendered as 2D paper cutouts or pop-up assemblages. The audio can’t be switched off, but readers can choose an English or Spanish track, to see the text or not and also to have the tale presented in either manual mode or an only somewhat less interactive autoplay. Whatever the chosen options, each scene offers a mix of dramatic manual and automatic panning, zooming, swiveling and dissolves, along with question marks and swirls of stars that cue with a tap such “interesting events” as thrown ropes, sudden zooms, exclamations and 1748

|

1 october 2011

|

interactive e-books

SPLOTCH: THE CENTER

Terranova, Michael-Paul Illus. by Terranova, Michael-Paul Curious Circus $3.99 | Jul 18, 2011 1.1; Aug. 2, 2011

A minimalist fable featuring an inkblot, a blank page and (aside from page “turns”) a single animated effect.

A smiling blob yearns to be able to migrate from the edges of the screen to the center, where everything is purportedly better: “There isn’t a bedtime at the center of the page!” Nor homework, nor chores, nor pesky siblings, nor bullies, but there is longer recess |

kirkusreviews.com

|

THE RABBIT AND THE HEDGEHOG

and a bedroom, and “you always get chicken nuggets….” Alas, when the blot does manage with herculean effort to reach its goal, none of these benefits materialize—and so, after a few wordless screens and with the realization that “I make things better…not the center of the page,” it oozes edgeward once again. Although the blob can’t be moved around, it splatters at a touch (with a musical tone), then reverts a second or so later. Children can read the large-type text themselves or opt for the author’s animated rendition, and using a common (but in this case superfluous) feature also open a strip of thumbnail page images at any time.

Sketchy but oddly effective. (iPad storybook app. 6-8, adult)

Viking Informatics Viking Informatics $0.99 | Aug 8, 2011 1.00; Aug. 8, 2011

A wordless, simply illustrated version of “The Tortoise and the Hare” with some character switching.

Not to be confused with the rather gruesome trickster tale by the Brothers Grimm, this rendition pits a scornful white bunny against a humble hedgehog, who wins the race with a slow and steady waddle. Along with a background track of chirpy birds, several items in each uncredited cartoon scene respond in various ways to taps. Clouds and an airplane float across the sunny sky, the rabbit and its carrot both chortle at the grumbling hedgehog, a particularly goofy-looking toad fires off the starting pistol, cabbages that dot the landscape twitch and, in the 11th and final scene, the hedgehog laughs snidely at the droopy lagomorphic loser (as a tortoise looks on, perhaps considering trying its own luck). A tag at the bottom both opens an index of thumbnail images and reveals a button that brings up fingers pointing to the interactive elements in each scene. The plot is easy to follow despite the lack of text or audio narrative.

A toddler-friendly variation on a familiar Aesop fable. (iPad storybook app. 2-5)

BEWARE MADAME LA GUILLOTINE A Revolutionary Tour of Paris Towle, Sarah Illus. by Lower, Beth Time Traveler Tours $7.99 | Jul 26, 2011 1.0.0.327; Jul. 26, 2011 The City of Lights was once made bright by the flash of a revolution’s guillotine, and this app provides a glimpse into one of Paris’ pivotal backstories.

Interwoven with dramatic string orchestrations, Charlotte Corday guides this walking tour examining key revolution sites surrounding Paris’ Palais Royal. Corday made an infamous name for herself by stabbing radical leader Jean-Paul Marat in the bathtub. Homage to his demise is given with a tongue-in-cheek bloody-dagger icon that leads from one page to the next. A clearly plotted table of contents includes such subjects as “Storm the Bastille” and “Reign of Terror,” and classic artwork featuring the likes of Corday, Cardinal Richelieu and Marie Antoinette accompanies Corday’s narrative. Peppered among the period-appropriate tableaux are maps to such locales as Marat’s printing press, the royal gardens and the very site where Corday made her fateful cutlery purchase. The maps, conveniently provided in both traditional format and written step-by-step directions, even include visitation hours and public-transportation directions. Subject matter that could be stringently academic is alleviated by lighter factoids (readers will discover how la Révolution is responsible for France’s fine dining reputation) and interactive trivia questions (the correct answer to one such question leads to a discounted meal at the oldest café in Paris). Skipping from or returning to certain sections is made easy by simply revisiting the main menu, and forward/rewind controls easily allow scrolling of the audio.

Currently optimized for iPhone, the display can be blown up to iPad-screen proportions with slight loss of image clarity.

An academic overview of la Révolution through the eyes of one if its key players, satisfying both historian and eager tourist. (iPhone informational app. 14 & up)

|

kirkusreviews.com

THE LITTLE ROCK AND ROLLERS

Villalba, Emilio Illus. by Mayoral, Raquel TouchyBooks S.L. $1.99 | Aug 10, 2011 1.0; Aug. 10, 2011

Two kids and a monkey chronicle their rise to rock-stardom.

At the app’s opening, the three youngsters (two kids, one primate) are preparing to rock out. They lug their gear to a train station and eventually arrive at an undisclosed location, where they will rehearse (the “on air” indicator suggests that they’re being broadcast, but one can only guess where or why).

They set up their instruments, get tangled up in cords and disturb the peace (too much racket for the neighbor). Readers can decorate a guitar with stickers and help the girl pick out an outfit for the show by dressing her, paper-doll style. Once she’s sufficiently “cute,” kids can then help the band load the car (with a warning to “be careful / With the symbols [sic] and guitar”), follow them to the venue and witness their concert.

Every other page in the book is the exact same backdrop— a corner of a room containing non-interactive instruments— accompanied by different verses of a dreadfully bland “poem.”

Animation is mostly choppy and primitive, but the images are sharp and colorful. Kids will probably enjoy manipulating the interactive instruments and adorning the girl, at least a |

interactive e-books

|

1 october 2011

|

1749

handful of times. But after the novelty wears off this app is likely to be a one-hit wonder.

A weak and uninspired story with lackluster interactivity and animation. (iPad storybook app. 2-6)

interpretive skills. What ultimately saves Timor the Alligator’s googly-eyed, lime green hide is the bright and shiny way the app is illustrated, and the interactive components that propel the story forward. Young children will love helping Timor slide, ride, and fly, as well as feeding him all his meals (including the lunch plate itself), and ultimately do the one thing he does not like to do: brush his scary-stained alligator teeth. Parents will love the teachable moment, as toddlers see the glories of their work when Timor’s teeth sparkle after brushing. And both parents and children will love the toothpaste choices (there are eight), the way Timor’s eyes follow the brush, warily, as it scrubs his pointy chompers, and the ‘glow in the dark’ surprise at bedtime. And although it takes some curiosity (read: no instruction nearby), tap Timor anywhere on the End page and watch a plethora of hat options appear! If a storybook app can plant the first seeds of dental hygiene, this one has some flossibilities.

A teachable moment for the newly toothed, Timor the Alligator delivers just enough on the illustrative and interactive fronts to make the lackluster story palatable. (iPad storybook app. 2-5)

iSTORY IT’S ABOUT LIFE

Waijers, Bas Illus. by Waijers, Bas Apps of All Nations $2.99 | Jun 17, 2011 1.0; Jun. 17, 2011

An unexpectedly poignant emotional punch to the gut, an illustrator’s tribute to his father featuring a bear and his dad is touching and memorable.

With pages that mix realistic vistas and anthrpomorphized animals with more surreal background touches, author/illustrator Waijers captures the life cycle of a young bear and his loving father. “He was already my best friend when I was born,” he writes, on a page featuring the baby bear being cradled by the new parent. The bear grows up, still advised and supported by the father, and, “when his time was up,” the father bear ascends a set of piano keys leading to the sky. While some of the stylistic choices seem idiosyncratically personal, there’s enough interaction and animation to keep the story from being an emotion-dump. The cleanly drawn, colorful, slightly Disneyesque characters range from the bears themselves to insects, birds and, oddly, fish that appear in the margins. Both they and some of the scenery move and make sounds, making the pages pleasingly lively. While the main story is simple and conveys a message of love and appreciation for a father, parents reading with their children may be most moved by a set of photos of Waijers as a child with his father as well as a tearjerking postscript describing the inspiration for the story.

Sentimental, yes, but a refreshing dose of real emotion among hundreds of apps that are little more than wind-up digital toys. (iPad storybook app. 4-8)

TIMOR THE ALLIGATOR BRUSHING HIS TEETH XG Media XG Media $1.99 | Jul 8, 2011 1.0.1; Jul. 8, 2011 A colorful, if underwhelming tale of a dentally-challenged alligator.

Timor the alligator loves to do lots of things. Unfortunately, nothing he does really captures the imagination. In word and rhyme, he’s rather dull, even disconnected.

And there are none of the standard read to me, autoplay or language options, making Timor appear rather one-dimensional as apps go. After the opening page, there’s not a note of music, leaving much of the story’s life hinging on the adult reader’s 1750

|

1 october 2011

|

interactive e-books

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

fiction

EVERY THIRD THOUGHT

THE TEMPLE MOUNT CODE

Barth, John Counterpoint (208 pp.) $24.00 | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-58243-755-2

Brokaw, Charles Forge (352 pp.) $25.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-7653-2871-7

Barth delivers a slim postmodern novel about—what else?—a postmodern novelist experiencing a series of uncanny coincidences and visions.

Narrator G.I. Newett (try saying it aloud) and his wife Amanda, a poet, both teach at Stratford College, a small liberal arts school on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, when weird things start to happen. First, their home is destroyed by a tornado. Then, on a subsequent trip to Europe (in the “other” Stratford, no less), Newett experiences a fall that has all the self-conscious theological resonance Barth can ring from it. What the narrator calls his Accidental Head-Bang occurs on September 22, 2007, not so coincidentally Newitt’s 77th birthday (or the 77th anniversary of his “expulsion from the maternal womb,” as he puts it), Yom Kippur and the autumnal equinox. Then begins a series of “post-equinoctial visions,” as well as meditations on those visions, that take Newett back to childhood memories of his best friend Ned Prosper.

Newitt relives his early adolescent fumblings, free-wheeling camping trips that involve partner-swapping with Ned and his girlfriend, his short-lived relationship with his first wife and the cultural landscape of the past four decades. The narrative takes place in both past and present, the latter conveyed through generous dialogue with Amanda, a partner every bit as intelligent and sharp-witted as the narrator himself. The brilliance of the novel emerges through Newett’s quirky word play (his reference to the “autumnal equi-knocks,” for example, or his discovery that he’s a “‘maker-upper, not a tell-aller’”). Eventually he decides to complete the prematurely deceased Ned’s unfinished novel—called Every Third Thought.

Idiosyncratic, outlandish—and a good read.

|

Stumble upon a legend.

Find curious professor with hat. Fly to exotic locales. Add requisite bad guys.

Spin jeopardy’s wheel. So goes Brokaw’s (The Atlantis Code, 2009, etc.) thriller.

Professor Thomas Lourds is again at the hurricane eye of nonstop action. At an archaeological find near China’s Yellow River, he unearths a tortoise shell marked with odd inscriptions. A linguist, Lourds believes he has discovered an early form of writing, with the text providing clues to a mystery at an isolated monastery, Scholar’s Rock Temple, high up in the Himalayas. But that’s only a preliminary adventure.

Lev Strauss, an old colleague, beckons Lourds to Israel to help decipher a volume Strauss discovered in Cairo. Strauss believes it contains clues to the hiding place of Mohammad’s directfrom-God handwritten Koran and “a scroll that foretells the future of the Muslim people,” texts he fears could generate a worldwide crisis. Strauss is soon killed in what appears to be a terrorist attack, and Lourds has only the sketchy clues Strauss left behind. Lourds follows the unfolding evidence from Jerusalem to Vienna and from Tel Aviv to Tehran, attracting women as he ricochets from city to city. He beds Alice Von Volker, a lover during Lourds’ youth, who is now unhappily married to Klaus Von Volker, a virulent anti-Semitic neo-Nazi and arms dealer linked to Iran. Lourds is watched over by Miriam Abata, an attractive and deadly young Mossad agent who ends up topless and tortured by Revolutionary Guards in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison. Chapters are short and cinematic. Stereotypical characters define themselves through action. There are multiple rescues. Bad guys die. Good guys die. Gunfights ricochet in chambers beneath Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock, the place from which Mohammad ascended to heaven. The puzzle is solved. The professor lives to decode the next legend. Sharp readers may notice a minor plot hole. The resolution will suit conspiracy collectors, but it is a tad unsatisfying.

Derivative but entertaining escapist fare.

kirkusreviews.com

|

fiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1751

“There isn’t much plot, but people, places and war zones whiz by enjoyably and Paris is beautifully envoked.” from the paris correspondent

A DARK AND LONELY PLACE

Buchanan, Edna Simon & Schuster (416 pp.) $26.00 | Nov 8, 2011 978-1-4391-5917-0

As if reconstructing the real-life, century-old tale of Florida’s most notorious outlaw couple weren’t enough, Buchanan (Legally Dead, 2008, etc.) dovetails it with a parallel modern-day story in this ambitious, inventive saga.

Florida historians have long remembered John Ashley and Laura Upthegrove as a prototypical Bonnie and Clyde. Separated for years by the lies of Lucy Ashley, the come-hither wife of John’s brother Bill, they rediscover each other, light up the bed sheets and head for Miami Beach, a hamlet that visionary millionaire Carl Fisher dreams of making into a major attraction. But their own dreams are waylaid when John kills his Seminole companion DeSoto Tiger and the authorities refuse to accept his story of selfdefense, driving him off the straight and narrow and into the arms of bank robber Kid Lowe and a series of equally unsavory accomplices. Meanwhile, back in 2011, the investigation Sgt. John Ashley of Miami Homicide has launched into the shooting of playboy lobbyist Ron Jon Eagle turns intriguing when fashion model Laura Groves seems strangely familiar, then radioactive when two other models are killed and John shoots an intruder who’s been waiting in ambush in his house. The parallels between the two stories are many and intricate. Both involve couples named John and Laura on the run after the shooting of a Native American provokes more murders among the law-enforcement community; both Johns are aided by loyal brothers named Robert and shot in the eye by their own allies; and Laura Groves’ great-grandmother turns up at the end to neatly tie both stories together.

The nonstop action and romance go a long way toward offsetting the frequent shapelessness of both stories— especially the tale of the real-life outlaws, which all too often reads like an extended summary of old newspaper articles. (Agent: Michael Congdon)

THE WEDDING QUILT

Chiaverini, Jennifer Dutton (336 pp.) $24.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-525-95242-8

This 17th installment in the Elm Creek Quilts series is a disappointing pastiche of previous novels, fleshed out to little effect.

It is the year 2028, and Sarah McClure’s daughter Caroline is getting married. Of course the wedding will be at Elm Creek Manor, which Sarah now owns, and all the remaining members of the Elm Creek Quilters will be in attendance. Though Chiaverini begins each chapter in the future (and trots out some futuristic gadgets for fun), most 1752

|

1 october 2011

|

fiction

|

of the novel consists of flashbacks to an earlier time (that would be just about now) beginning when Caroline and her twin James were born. Elm Creek Quilt Camp is a reality, thanks to Sylvia’s inheritance of the manor and Sarah’s ingenuity, and now Sarah and Matt are expecting twins. Though Sarah has the help of all of her friends, she really wants Matt, who spends much of her pregnancy—and almost the birth of their children—away from home helping in his father’s business. Other reveries include Jeremy and Anna’s coupling (as soon as Summer was out of the picture); Bonnie’s romance in Hawaii that heals her broken life; and Gwen’s future career in Congress. In the midst of Sarah’s daydreams guests are arriving for wedding festivities; James is having a secret affair; and the spirit of Sylvia Bergstrom and the Double Wedding Ring quilt she made almost two decades ago confer blessings on the whole occasion. Unfortunately the novel’s sole concern is a rather trite epilogue for each of the beloved characters, and so the story lacks both insight and plot, focused as it is with explaining, in irrelevant detail, how it all turned out.

An artless endeavor.

THE PARIS CORRESPONDENT

Cowell, Alan S. Overlook (272 pp.) $24.95 | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-59020-671-3

Storied globetrotting newspaperman Joe Shelby and his longtime friend and editor Ed Clancy, newly installed as glorified web-copy providers at the Paris Star, curse the exigencies of the digital age while basking in their memories of the hallowed age of print.

Shelby, introduced in New York Times veteran Cowell’s 2003 debut, A Walking Guide, is one of those hard-drinking, sprawling, larger-than-life characters who finds fulfillment in conflict and regret—and the sound of his own versions of reality. Haunted for years by his stalled romance with the fearless female war photographer Faria Duclos, and stung by her dalliances with journalistic nemeses of his, Shelby is an inveterate womanizer—more so now that physical ailments are overtaking him, and Faria, who still loves him, is dying. A low-key indictment of an era in journalism in which speed is more important than accuracy and behind-the-scenes struggles now take place in private computer queues, The Paris Correspondent is more boldly a paean to the days when bylines were fought and sweated over, facts ruled—and newsrooms weren’t so damned quiet. There isn’t much plot, but people, places and war zones whiz by enjoyably and Paris is beautifully evoked (Clancy is married to a classy horse-breeder named Marie-Claire who takes him to all the right events). The Britishborn Cowell reveals a strong debt to Hemingway in his depiction of the male friendship and the men’s identification with the values of a vanishing era (Shelby idolizes the French Romantic poet Gérard de Nerval). There’s also a touch of Kingsley Amis in Shelby’s satiric dimensions and of Saul Bellow’s Ravelstein in the book’s late-in-the-day confessions.

kirkusreviews.com

|

A stylish, expertly drawn novel about the characters who made journalism what it was, and whose disappearance is making journalism what it is now.

THE DAY BEFORE HAPPINESS

De Luca, Erri Other Press (192 pp.) $16.95 paperback | Nov 11, 2011 978-1-59051-481-8 Love and war in Naples.

The narrator, an orphan, grows up a young man in postwar Naples, tutored by Don Gaetano, an apartment super and wise old man who was out of sympathy with the Fascists. During the war Don Gaetano helped hide a Jew in an underground room, one the young narrator finds by accident when a soccer ball lands near its hidden entrance. A neighborhood soccer game also leads the narrator to discover Anna, the love of his life, when as a child he climbs up a drainpipe to retrieve an errant ball and sees a young girl in a thirdfloor window. Time passes, the war ends, and the girl goes away.

Years later, however, she returns to the apartment, and they have sex, the fulfillment of a fantasy that the narrator had harbored for much of his adolescence. His sexual initiation had actually occurred earlier with a widow who lived in the building and was getting tired of her physical intimacy with Don Gaetano. Anna is young, attractive and sexually proficient, but she has two regrettable failings—she has a gangster as a boyfriend (fortunately for the narrator temporarily housed in prison), and she’s mad, a condition emphasized by flights of disconnected verbal fantasy. It turns out the narrator is more willing to forgive the latter than the former, especially when the gangster shows up, knife in hand, to challenge Anna’s new suitor.

A lyrical narrative about a thorny search for happiness.

ME, YOU

De Luca, Erri Translated by Brombert, Beth Archer Other Press (120 pp.) $12.95 paperback | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-59051-47-9-5 De Luca lovingly, even rapturously, explores familiar territory with bittersweet romanticism.

The unnamed narrator is 16, smack in the middle of adolescence and spending the summer with his uncle on an island off the Neapolitan coast in the 1950s. His primary adult mentor, however, is Nicola, who fishes the uncle’s boat and goes about his daily tasks with taciturn placidity. The narrator develops a strong interest in, almost an obsession with, Italy’s role in World War II, and feels the adults in his family have some explaining to do. Meanwhile, a |

girl enters his life, in this case Caia, an orphan of Yugoslav descent now in boarding school in Switzerland and visiting a friend for the summer. Despite Nicola’s cautions, the narrator becomes smitten, even when he finds out she’s Jewish—in fact, in his eyes that increases both her exoticism and her appeal. As the summer progresses, the narrator and Caia develop a relationship, warm but nonsexual. While at first she’s sensitive about her heritage, eventually she allows him to pronounce her name “Chaiele,” with a decidedly Hebrew inflection. She also acknowledges the protective role he plays in her life by calling him Tateh, the name she had formerly used for her father. The narrator’s cousin Daniele, a few years older, is another role model for the narrator, especially when he gets in a brawl that comes about when some German tourists visiting the island start singing an anthem of the SS. The epiphany the narrator gets from this incident leads him to his own act of protest and destruction.

De Luca writes like a dream, passionately but not effusively, and he treats his characters with both respect and affection.

THE ANGEL ESMERALDA

DeLillo, Don Scribner (224 pp.) $24.00 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-4516-5584-1

The renowned author’s first story collection presents a chronological progression of nine narratives, organized into three parts, challenging readers to make connections.

Though DeLillo’s legacy rests with his longer work, building to the epic scope and scale of Underworld (1997), this collection feels more like his more recent novels—short, elliptical, suggestive, provocative. He originally published the opening story, “Creation,” in 1979, but hasn’t published a whole lot of stories since. Some of what were originally published as stories, such as the one that gives this volume its title, have subsequently been reworked into novels (as “Angel” was into Underworld), while other published stories have not been selected for inclusion here. So the reader starts with questions, as always with DeLillo. Why these stories, grouped into these three parts? Is the organizing principle thematic, or stylistic, or is it possible to separate the two within the writing of America’s premier post-modernist? Often the characters are unnamed, as in “Baader-Meinhof ” (2002), in which a chance encounter between two unemployed people at an art exhibition—with politically charged images of imprisonment, torture, corpses—leads to an unusual connection that one of them finds disturbing. Somewhat similarly, though this time the protagonist has a name, “The Starveling” (2011) finds two people making an unlikely, tenuous connection through their obsessive routines of seeing a series of movies at multiple theaters daily, though the relationship between the two only seems to exist in the mind of one of them. The title story (1994) provides the book’s centerpiece, with its glimpses of the holy amid the ubiquity of the profane, within a ravaged Bronx detailed in prose of terrible beauty. In “The Runner” (1988), the unnamed

kirkusreviews.com

|

fiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1753

“A novel of love and lust, memory and desire.” from the twoweeks

protagonist muses, after witnessing an accident, “The car, the man, the mother, the child. Those are the parts. But how do the parts fit together?” Readers often might find themselves wondering the same, but part of what distinguishes DeLillo’s work is the way in which he engages the world rather than settling for the literary parlor tricks of some virtuoso experimentalists.

Completists will search for clues in this slight but rich volume to the maturation of DeLillo’s artistry.

THE TWOWEEKS

Duberstein, Larry Permanent Press (254 pp.) $28.00 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-57962-224-4 A novel of love and lust, memory and desire.

Cal and Winnie are happily married and have two children. Ian and Lara are happily married and have no children.

All four adults are friends, with Winnie and Lara’s friendship being the longest. But Cal and Lara start to feel an undeniable attraction to each other and must decide what to do. The decision involves The Twoweeks (which Duberstein always capitalizes), a tryst that Ian knows about and sanctions but that Winnie is ignorant of. Duberstein’s narrative technique allows him to approach The Twoweeks indirectly, 30 years after the event, when Cal is a grandfather, and he and Lara are reviewing Lara’s journal of the event. This chronological dislocation allows the characters to match the reality of their lived experience against the distortion of memory, for Duberstein presents us with the journal itself as well as the older characters’ take on the adulterous explorations of their youth. Ian’s strategy is to see whether Lara truly loved him. If so, it stands to reason that she would return after her fling with Cal. The major complication for Cal involves his children, Jake and Hetty, for while he might be willing to sacrifice Winnie, his love for his children is extravagant, and he can’t bear to hurt or lose them. After The Twoweeks, a halcyon time of sensual indulgence, the characters are forced to review their altered lives.

Duberstein writes vividly and explores the space between life as we live it and as we wish we could.

THEODORA Actress, Temptress, Whore Duffy, Stella Penguin (352 pp.) $15.00 paperback | Oct 1, 2011 978-0-14-311987-6 The unexpurgated story of Theodora, performer and prostitute in Roman Constantinople, destined to rise above her hardscrabble life to become the Emperor’s wife. The book is being for HBO. 1754

|

1 october 2011

|

fiction

|

British novelist Duffy (State of Happiness, 2004) uses modern vocabulary to enliven her historical novel— “bitch,” “slut,” “bloke” and worse pepper the pages as she recounts the lurid life of the bear-keeper’s daughter trained for the stage from age five.

A quick mind, a bold spirit, innate talent and a merciless teacher render Theodora a star by age 12 when she also starts work as a whore. At 17, bored but ambitious, she leaves Constantinople with her lover Hecebolus, the new Governor of the Pentapolis in Africa, but that relationship ends when Hecebolus takes another lover. Desperate to return to Constantinople, Theodora pretends to be a penitent Christian for the chance of a voyage home. This role, begun cynically, later turns sincere, and she agrees to work undercover for the church. Back in Constantinople she is introduced to Justinian, the Emperor’s favorite nephew, who likes her so much he changes the law forbidding actresses to marry in order to wed her. Now the stage is set for Theodora’s legitimization, first as wife, next as the Emperor’s consort. A sequel is rumored.

Although heavy on the sex and sensationalism, there’s also intelligence and empathy under the energetic potboiler surface.

THE PRAGUE CEMETERY

Eco, Umberto Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (464 pp.) $28.00 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-547-57753-1 Eco (The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, 2005, etc.) doffs his scholarly gown and dons his trench coat for another bracing—and controversial—mystery.

Semiotician, medievalist and linguist, Eco delights in secret codes, cabals and conspiracy theories.

He’s got a humdinger in this new high-level whodunit, which features a fictional fellow—Simone Simonini by name—who wanders, darkly, throughout a late-19th-century Europe packed with very real people. Simonini, 67 years old when we meet him in 1897, is detestable. He’s a study in suburban prejudices, among them a virulent strain of anti-Semitism, though, to be fair, he’s got something bad to say about just about everyone: The Jew, he grumbles, is “as vain as a Spaniard, ignorant as a Croat, greedy as a Levantine, ungrateful as a Maltese, insolent as a Gypsy, dirty as an Englishman, unctuous as a Kalmyk, imperious as a Prussian and as slanderous as anyone from Asti.” Did he leave out the Germans? No, they smell bad owing to a surfeit of beer and pork sausage. No one evades Simonini’s withering glare, but it’s the Jews he’s really after, working farragos and guiles to stir up hatred against him through manufactured events up to and including the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, that tract that gave the Nazis so much fuel for their fires. In an oddball but bravado performance, Eco makes Simonini—who doesn’t like Freemasons or Jesuits either—many things: a forger, a master of disguise, a secret agent and double agent, a shadowy presence who’s up to more than we’ll ever know, and on top of all

kirkusreviews.com

|

that quite a good cook—there are recipes for fine dishes tucked inside these pages, and recipes for bombs, too. Simonini also keeps good and interesting company, hanging out with Sigmund Freud here, crossing paths with Dumas and Garibaldi and Captain Dreyfus there, and otherwise enjoying the freedom of the continent, as if unstoppable and inevitable.

What does it all add up to? An indictment of the old Europe, for one thing, and a perplexing, multilayered, attention-holding mystery. Expect it to find many readers. (Author tour to New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago)

WAITING FOR ROBERT CAPA

Fortes, Susana Perennial/HarperCollins (256 pp.) $14.99 paperback | Oct 1, 2011 978-0-06-200038-5 Love and photography bring two young exiles together in this based-onfact real-life tragic romance.

When two young refugees meet in Paris in 1935, the world seems to be falling apart. Both Gerta Pohorylle and André Friedmann are Jews, exiles from the expanding Nazi regime (she is German, he Hungarian). Both are scraping by, enjoying a wild bohemian last gasp as the city fills with other penniless refugees and the native Parisians turn increasingly hostile, and their alliance is at first one of survival. She takes him on as a project, dressing him for success as a photojournalist. He, in turn, teaches her his art: “ ‘You have to be there,’ he’d say, ‘glued to your prey, lying in wait, in order to be able to shoot at the exact moment.’ “ They become lovers and adopt new names, and as Gerda Taro and Robert Capa travel to Spain to document what is becoming a brutal civil war. In that harsh land, they both blossom as artists and war journalists, their bohemian principles made flesh, before war catches up with them.

In this short historical novel, Spanish novelist Fortes captures the complexity of pre–World War II Europe. Anarchists and Dadaists bond and then fall out, as various groups scramble for scraps and young people try to have fun. The personalities of the two main figures are fully imagined, rooted in existing biographical works, as are many of their peers. The burgeoning war also comes alive in poetic terms: “In the distance, Madrid was a white rabbit at the mercy of the hunting hounds.” At times, however, the need to reassert the journalistic reality of these characters interferes, as awkward identifications disrupt the prose (“Gerda could still see the writer Gustav Regler’s face as he was being carried out of the rubble”). Still, this vivid novel gives us a snapshot of a continent falling into chaos.

Flawed but striking, this short novel shines a light on artists in times of love and war.

|

BEFORE THE END, AFTER THE BEGINNING

Gilb, Dagoberto Grove (192 pp.) $24.00 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-8021-2000-7

Men struggle with old demons, attractive women and a persistent racism in the latest collection from Gilb (The Flowers, 2008, etc).

It’s a cliché to compare a shortstory writer with a clean-cut prose style to Raymond Carver.

But Gilb’s stories do recall the minimalist master, and not just because of their trim sentences (or because Gilb knew Carver).

Like Carver, Gilb focuses his stories on working-class men who are slowly awakening to their ineptitude at relationships, who have a hard time shaking off old addictions, and who can’t quite move their careers out of neutral. What distinguishes Gilb is his deft handling of race: The heroes in these 10 sharp stories are mostly Mexican-American men who weather plenty of prejudice.

“Cheap” exemplifies Gilb’s interests, centering on a talented but ailing musician who uncomfortably referees a rift between two Latino painters in his home and their bullying, sanctimonious gringo boss. Manliness is a consistent theme, most strongly in “The Last Time I Saw Junior,” in which an old friend intrudes on the narrator by dragging him back into the world of macho drug dealers. Yet these men are easily undone by a provocative woman or two. In “Willows Village,” the best story of the batch, a down-on-his-luck family man moves in with his aunt, whose wealth and attractiveness unsettle him; Gilb skillfully generates erotic tension without making the story comic or perverse, and the ending underscores the connections between greed and lust. Gilb suffered a stroke in 2009, and the collection’s opener, “please, thank you,” seems to address that event, recalling the narrator’s recovery and firmly establishing the key elements of his stories: family, prejudice and what’s required to overcome a sense of helplessness.

Gilb gets excellent mileage from simple elements. Though the men in these stories have common concerns, each feels distinct and alive. (Agent: Kim Witherspoon)

V IS FOR VENGEANCE

Grafton, Sue Putnam (448 pp.) $27.95 | Nov 14, 2011 978-0-399-15786-8

Kinsey Millhone witnesses a shoplifter at work, to the considerable cost of them both.

Kinsey is minding her own business, looking through a bin of sale underpants at Nordstrom, when she spots a woman loading her handbag with quite a bit of merchandise. Like a good citizen, she alerts the salesclerk, who just happens to be

kirkusreviews.com

|

fiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1755

“A worthy historical re-creation.” from the end of sparta

her friend Claudia Rines, and Claudia alerts security. All would be well if only Audrey Vance, the shoplifter, didn’t smell trouble; if only she weren’t working with an accomplice who tries to complete her escape by running down Kinsey in her Mercedes; and if Audrey, the day after she’s arrested and bailed out, didn’t turn up dead. Audrey’s fiancé Marvin Striker, who’s such a nice man that he can’t believe his ladylove was shoplifting, let alone involved with a highly organized ring of thieves, hires Kinsey to find out why she might have killed herself. But a second plotline has already informed readers that Audrey was murdered at the behest of her criminal associate Cappi Dante. Meanwhile, in a third plotline, society wife Nora Vogelsang realizes that her husband Channing, an entertainment attorney, has been entertaining himself with another woman and plots..,not revenge exactly, but satisfaction. Grafton (U Is for Undertow, 2009, etc.) pays out all three lines with patient expertise and a sharp eye for homely details. But none of them catches fire until Kinsey runs afoul of Sgt. Det. Leonard Priddy, of the Santa Teresa Police Department, and then gets squeezed by likable ex-con Pinky Ford, who just can’t stay on the straight and narrow. And when the three strands of the story finally come together, one of them doesn’t seem to be pulling its weight.

As always, Grafton is as original, absorbing and humane as ever. The joints just creak a bit this time.

PROOF OF HEAVEN

Hackett, Mary Curran Morrow/HarperCollins (336 pp.) $14.99 paperback | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-06-207998-5 Does heaven exist? Are our loved ones waiting to reunite with us? Can near-death experiences offer proof?

In Hackett’s debut novel, everything hinges on an intriguing young boy, Colm, whose rare medical condition repeatedly causes him to die and return to life. Indeed, Colm physically manifests the dilemma each character in this novel faces: How can brain and heart, reason and faith, speak to each other?

Except for Colm, the characters seem to have come from central casting. His mother, Cathleen, is a beautiful, self-sacrificing, long-suffering woman whose life revolves around her son.

Lonely Cathleen carries on day after day in a dead-end job, worrying about her ill son, worrying about her brother (an alcoholic firefighter) and questioning whether science or God can heal her son. She has never recovered from being abandoned by Colm’s father, Pierce, yet her persistent attention to Catholic ritual and unwavering attention to her son lead her to Dr. Basu. The last in a string of doctors, Gaspar Basu is, of course, the only doctor to take her son’s condition seriously. Troubled by his own past, Gaspar is immediately attracted to Cathleen and concerned for Colm, because Gaspar feels responsible for his own son’s death and his own wife’s suicide. Cathleen and Colm offer Gaspar the chance to make amends with his past. Indeed, Colm’s illness becomes the blessing in disguise that heals everyone around 1756

|

1 october 2011

|

fiction

|

him: Sean gives up drinking; Cathleen and Gaspar find love; and Colm himself discovers his own proof of heaven, meeting his long-lost father in the twilights between heaven and earth. The quest for a miracle in Assisi does not heal Colm, the pacemaker inserted by Dr. Basu does not cure Colm, but a road trip across America brings everyone together as a loving family. In the end, it is neither faith nor reason but love that saves everyone.

Colm’s medical condition and repeated resurrections offer intriguing narrative possibilities. But, weighed down by sentimental prose and predictable characters, Hackett’s premise stalls out.

THE END OF SPARTA

Hanson, Victor Davis Bloomsbury (464 pp.) $28.00 | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-60819-164-2

Classicist, farmer and conservative commentator Hanson (The Soul of Battle, 1999, etc.) turns to fiction to tell the tale of Sparta’s final days.

Mêlon—his name means “apple” in Greek, on which a bit of prophecy at the beginning of the novel turns—is a farmer from the district of Thespiai who lays down his plowshare and picks up a sword when the need arises. Epaminondas, the commander of the Theban forces, is mighty glad of it, too, for when Mêlon arrives at the battlefield of Leuktra, he is the moral equivalent of 1,000 men: “The presence of Mêlon, the apple, would win over the hesitant horsemen and the scared farmers and the ignorant tanners and potters as well.” The slight against tanners and potters notwithstanding, Mêlon is a fellow who knows his business on the battlefield, a philosophical soul who reflects that war “is the great torch that brings such heat and light to everything and everyone.” Yet, like some Stonewall Jackson of old, he isn’t quite certain about Epaminondas’ program of freeing the slaves—the helots, or “seized ones”—of Sparta, which seems a touch radical to him. No matter: Mêlon is a good soldier, and he eventually buys into the program.

Along the way, he meets with all manner of characters who help serve Hanson’s purpose of delivering genuine history within the Trojan horse of an action-packed war story, including a prostitute who doesn’t have a heart of gold, but who could easily afford to buy one with her fabulous wealth; Epaminondas, ambitious and shrewd, with a gift for poetry; and various Spartans, servants of an evil empire about to go up in a cloud of smoke.

A worthy historical re-creation: Hanson has high-minded purposes in depicting the triumph of democracy over dictatorship, but there’s plenty of exciting swordplay, too.

kirkusreviews.com

|

THE GREAT LEADER

Harrison, Jim Grove (336 pp.) $24.00 | Oct 1, 2011 978-0-8021-1970-4

A mountain, a mess and an agonized moralist, Detective Sunderson makes this mock-epic one of the most memorable tales of contemporary master Harrison (In Search of Small Gods, 2009, etc.).

Swigging schnapps, feeding his face, sneaking midnight peeks at Mona, the nymphet next door—when it comes to lawmen, Sunderson’s seems a Wyatt Burp. But joining the ramshackle lifestyle and tough-guy exterior (he’s a dead-ringer for Bobby Duval) is a blazing, obsessive intelligence. Which, just as he’s retiring from a 30-year gig on a backwoods Midwest force, fixates on Dwight, a Jim Jones in a tree costume (!) who robs his brainwashed cult members and rapes their underaged daughters. Anyone who deserts him, he says, will be “reincarnated as an amoeba buried in a dog turd.”

Tracking the on-the-lam menace from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to the Arizona wastes, Sunderson gets literally stoned by crazed Dwightniks, has sex with another (atop a woodpile), tangles with deranged desperado Xavier (who slays with an artificial hand), takes a break to visit his own 85-year-old chainsmoking ma and enlists Mona to hack into Dwight’s computer.

Whew! Yet plot here, however manic, mainly provides excuse for Sunderson’s meditations. We get his pet peeves: “the frivolous white canticles of the Beatles,” the war in Iraq, Anderson Cooper (who reminds him of a chipmunk) and all pundits who subscribe to “the hideously mistaken idea that talking is thinking.” We get his passion for history, of which he reads reams, the measured assessment of past chaos providing him solace from the present-day version. And, largely, we get minute-by-minute torrent-of-consciousness observations on growing old, as well as ruminations on nature, loyalty and family.

Wounds-and-all portrait of a lion in winter, beleaguered but still battling. (Agent: Steve Sheppard)

BREAKING POINT

Haynes, Dana Minotaur Books (320 pp.) $24.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-312-59989-8 Two “crashers”—airplane disaster investigators—who survive the downing of a 65-seat twin turboprop plane in Montana become part of the intensive effort to penetrate the dark secrecy surrounding the incident—and nab the cold-blooded, technologically advanced perpetrators of the crash.

Haynes follows up his well-received, similarly themed debut, Crashers (2010), with a measured thriller involving controversial, internationally banned weapons technology that mercenaries |

will stop at nothing to acquire. Pathologist Tommy Tomzak and sound engineer Kiki Duvall, a romantically involved couple with the National Transportation Safety Board, are on their way to a conference when their plane plummets into a wooded area, killing most of people on board, including a close associate. The prime target was Andrew Malatesta, dashing designer of the weapons technology, about which he has had a change of heart. Calendar is the ruthless “cleaner” assigned the task of preventing Malatesta from blowing the whistle, and destroying all evidence of the plot to bring down the plane. Jumping back and forth on an international canvas stretching from Spain to Mexico to Twin Pines, Mont., Haynes weaves a web-like narrative involving Homeland Security and the FAA, defense contractors and the CIA, and a cast of characters including former Israeli agent Daria Gibron, Mexican arms dealer Carlos “the War Dog” Ramos and Washington Post reporter Amy Dreyfus.

The author is in complete command of his material, sharing his expertise with keen understatement. This is not one of those books in which the author sets out to impress us with how much he knows.

It takes a while for the book to turn up the suspense, and some of the characters get lost in the shuffle, but it’s an enjoyable, well-crafted thriller nonetheless.

OF BEASTS AND BEINGS

Holding, Ian Europa Editions (224 pp.) $15.00 paperback | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-60945-054-0

A trek through war-torn Zimbabwe becomes an exercise in survival; Holding’s second novel (Unfeeling, 2007) is a story-within-a-story, a postmodern outlet for white guilt.

In the immediate aftermath of a civil war, there is famine. A man foraging for scraps outside a city is lassoed by three men with machetes. We learn nothing about this man, the lead character, not his age or color or background, for reasons that will only be made clear much later. His black captors lead him, roped and gagged, past dead bodies, through a burntout shanty town, until they loot a house and disappear with the goodies. He acquires new captors, two tough teenagers, who lead him to an older man and a pregnant woman. They harness their captive to a street vendor’s cart containing the woman and begin their unexplained journey through the bush. Food is scarce, water a luxury. Holding throws around some big words: carnage, killing fields, genocide. His percussive prose seeks to reflect the raw hurt of their ordeal. Sometimes it succeeds; more often it’s awkward and showy. Thrust into the middle of their journey is a section of diary entries written by a 31-year-old man. Like his creator, Ian is a teacher, respected by his high-school students. Unsettled by the political climate, he’s selling his house and moving to South Africa. Ian is more type than individual. That type is the “civilized” white man who draws comfort from the classics but is a heartless employer of black servants, willfully blind to their

kirkusreviews.com

|

fiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1757

“Lives tangle and untangle in a literate, literary mystery.” from the stranger’s child

LAWYER TRAP

plight. The journey culminates with a final twist that attempts to add dimension to the tale.

A story most notable for the grim monotony of the character’s trek. (Agent: Bruce Hunter)

THE STRANGER’S CHILD

Hollinghurst, Alan Knopf (464 pp.) $27.95 | Oct 14, 2011 978-0-307-27276-8

Lives tangle and untangle in a literate, literary mystery at the heart of World War I by Man Booker Prize winner Hollinghurst (The Line of Beauty, 2004, etc.).

Cecil Valance is a poet of terrific talent who, according to a guest in a comfortably English countryside house, is “not so good as Swinburne or Lord Tennyson.” In his defense, he is still young. In the defense of everyone he meets, he is irresistible, a Lord Byron with sensitive appetites and a definite awareness of the effect he has on those he meets. George Sawle, scion of the modest manor, is awestruck. So is his sister, Daphne, who melts whenever Cess is around, even taking a puff on a cigar. But Cecil is the real deal as a poet of the Sassoon/Graves/Brooke school, as we learn on reading a heavily edited scrap of paper retrieved from a wastebasket: “Love as vital as the spring / And secret as — XXX (something!).” War is looming, and Cecil, who professes to like hunting out in the fields, seems pleased at the prospect of trying his skills out on the Kaiser’s boys. Alas, things don’t work out as planned. Generations pass, and Cecil Valance’s poems are firmly in the canon, especially a little one left as a commemoration to the Sawle family, with a carefully structured reference to kisses that might pass between the lips of lovers of any old gender. Now a biographer, working with the clues, is making the claim that Valance belongs in the canon not just of modernist British poetry, but of gay literature as well—a claim that, though seemingly well defended, stirs up controversy.

Does it matter? Not to Cecil, poor fellow, “laid out in dress uniform, with rich attention to detail.” And perhaps not to those left behind, now gone themselves or very nearly so.

But yes, it matters, and such is the stuff of biography.

How do we know the truth about anyone’s life? Hollinghurst’s carefully written, philosophically charged novel invites us to consider that question. (First printing of 75,000)

1758

|

1 october 2011

|

fiction

|

Jagger, R.J. Pegasus Crime (352 pp.) $25.00 | Nov 15, 2011 978-1-60598-305-9 The latest from lawyer turned writer Jagger follows a particularly nasty set of murders set against the beauty of the Colorado countryside.

Aspen Wilde, who despite her stripper moniker is a nosy new associate at a big law firm, loses no time diving into trouble on her first day at the new job. That’s when Aspen discovers her former mentor at the firm, Rachel Ringer, has disappeared. The young lawyer decides to defy her bosses and investigate anyway, which complicates things. Meanwhile, Nick Teffinger, a cop who drinks gallons of coffee, urinates at outdoor crime scenes and enjoys an odd arrangement with a gorgeous bisexual who is also a potential suspect in one of the murders, stays busy digging up dead women. As Nick and his partner, Sydney Heatherwood, slowly close in on the killer, the bodies pile up, often courtesy of amoral killer Jack Draven, who circles new victims just ahead of the police. As Draven closes in on his latest target, the tension tightens and builds. Despite an intriguing plot, the book possesses major flaws: The author comes from the tell-not-show school of writing and is relentless in describing the characters down to their ages and wardrobes, and many passages are nothing more than a series of sentence fragments strung together.

Jagger’s cops can be uninspired and uninspiring, but the wellcrafted story line still makes this a worthwhile read.

Stuffed with gratuitous sex and over-the-top violence, this novel has a riveting plot but could have benefited from better editing.

THE SISTERS

Jensen, Nancy St. Martin’s (336 pp.) $24.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-312-54270-2 A single tragic event shapes four generations of American women in this accomplished and poignant debut.

It is 1927 and since their mother’s death, Mabel and Bertie rely on each other in the face of their stepfather’s abuse. Young Bertie tries to avoid his drunken rage, but Mabel maintains the peace for the price of her soul—Jim calls her little wife, rapes her regularly and, for her 16th birthday, takes her to the city to pose for pornography. When Mabel notices Jim’s eye wander to Bertie, she knows she must act. With the help of Bertie’s sweetheart Wallace, he and Mabel concoct a scheme to release the sisters from their stepfather’s tyranny. After her graduation ceremony, Bertie comes home to find Jim Butcher hung and a note implying that Mabel and Wallace have run away

kirkusreviews.com

|

together. Bertie, however, never got the letter intended for her, or the enclosed train ticket to take her to her sister and beau.

Crushed by the perceived betrayal, Bertie leaves town and marries Hans, finding security if not love. They make it through the Depression and have Alma and then Rainey, but nothing can ease Bertie’s hardness, and the letters Mabel sends go unopened.

Mabel ends up in Chicago, becoming a photographer, and adopts a little girl named Daisy (actually she steals her away), whose father is molesting her. Mabel never gives up hope of finding her beloved sister, and this perhaps saves her and Daisy from the kind of aching unhappiness that infects Bertie and her daughters.

Alma marries a wealthy, unkind doctor and has a son who grows up to be just like dad, while devoting her life to becoming the perfect hostess. Rainey has the bad luck of getting pregnant by Carl, a closeted homosexual. Her daughters Lynn (who never gets over being separated from her father) and Grace, who crafts body armor after her Vietnam vet husband dies, continues the legacy of discord born of an undelivered letter.

Encompassing the lives of women in the 20th century, this sprawling saga is tender and satisfying, with a heartbreaking end.

THE ROSE GARDEN

Kearsley, Susanna Sourcebooks Landmark (448 pp.) $16.99 paperback | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-4022-5858-9 More than the heirloom roses defy time in this romance set on the magical Cornish coast.

Eva Ward returns to Trelowarth a broken woman. Bearing the ashes of her beloved sister, she has come back to the centuries-old house where they spent their summers to find her childhood friends, the house’s current owners, struggling. In return for room, board and solace, she sets out to help them.

Mark, who loved Eva’s sister, wants to keep the old house a farm, where he grows rare roses. But Susan, his sister, suspects that the beautiful setting, along with the area’s romantic history, would lure tourists to a tea house on the grounds. Eva, a PR expert back in Los Angeles, sets out to help Susan and, researching rumors that the estate was part smuggler’s den and part anti-Hanoverian hotbed, seemingly starts dreaming herself back to 1715. Except that upon awakening, she finds herself still wearing the dressing gown the handsome Daniel Butler gave her when she showed up in his bedroom 300 years earlier. As repeated time trips deepen their romance, Eva finds herself swinging back and forth through the centuries, playing a crucial role in the lives of Trelowarth’s owners in each era, before deciding where her own heart—and her fate—lie. Kearsley (Mariana, 1995, etc.) has made time travel feasible before, and here she matches it with appropriately flowery but light-handed descriptions of the rugged coast and neat summaries of 18th-century politics. It takes some temporal gymnastics to engineer happy endings for everyone—from the mysterious widow Claire to |

Eva’s present-day suitor Oliver—but these are accomplished with some well-placed “local legends” that presage Eva’s own future. Although the neat conclusion stretches credibility a bit, this colorful romance peoples both the past and present with characters worth swooning over.

A sympathetic woman becomes the heroine of her own fate, both past and present, in this winning romance.

TEMPTATION

Kennedy, Douglas Atria Books (352 pp.) $16.00 paperback | Apr 24, 2012 978-1-4516-0210-4 A Hollywood writer, not content with adequate wealth, aims for filthy lucre with disastrous results.

The golden door has finally opened for David Armitage, Hollywood scribe.

After years of struggling as a unproduced playwright and lowpaid bookseller (while his actress wife Lucy worked as a telemarketer to support him and their child, Caitlin), David’s sitcom pilot, Selling You (think Mad Men as half-hour comedy), has been sold to Fox by his doggedly persistent agent, Alison. All of a sudden he’s a hot commodity with a hit series. Movie deals come out of the woodwork, as does money—soon David has a pottymouthed but shrewd broker earning him pre-crash returns (this novel was originally published in 2006), and a Fox executive, Sally, showing more than professional interest. Besotted not only with Sally but with the Hollywood clout she represents, David leaves Lucy, gladly agreeing to hefty alimony and child support payments. Out of the blue, reclusive billionaire Philip Fleck invites David to his private island near Antigua to discuss making (and paying vast sums for) one of David’s unproduced screenplays. While lolling on the island in luxury undreamt of by mere rich writers, David is distracted from wondering why his host has gone marlin-fishing by Fleck’s wife Martha, who plies him with Stalin-era Stoly and almost seduces him. Fleck, seemingly oblivious to any hank-panky, finally appears to greenlight the picture. To cement David’s good fortune, the Emmy gods smile on Selling You. Then it all heads south. And that’s when the real drama begins.

The pages turn at such a blistering pace that readers will happily overlook the improbable plot.

kirkusreviews.com

|

fiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1759

kirkus q & a w i t h c h u c k k l o s t e r m a n

THE VISIBLE MAN

Chuck Klosterman Scribner (240 pp.) $25.00 Oct. 4, 2011 978-1439184462

As a cultural journalist, Chuck Klosterman has proven almost as polarizing, mainly with older readers, as he is popular, mostly with post–baby boomers, particularly those more prone to embracing Kiss and hair bands than deifying the Beatles.

Now that Klosterman’s turned his attention toward fiction, we called his second novel The Visible Man “a big leap” and “far more daring and ambitious than his debut novel (Downtown Owl, 2008).” It concerns the relationship between an Austin, Texas–based therapist and a patient who is either uniquely delusional, has a unique power, or both. The matter-of-fact revelations of the male patient make the female therapist question the underpinnings of her existence.

Q: How do you see this as a progression or departure from your first novel?

devoid of motivation, people lie about things that everyone already knows to be true, etc. And readers readily accept that dissonance, because we all accept that the natural world is illogical.

Moments of insanity make nonfiction stories more interesting, and even more genuine. But people don’t want fiction to be insane. We expect fiction to make sense, because nothing ruins a fictional narrative more than a failure in verisimilitude.

A: I’d like to believe it’s a progression, but I suppose everyone always believes they’re progressing even if they’re not. I guess it is a pretty radical departure from Downtown Owl, in the sense that it’s technically science fiction. But I’m still the person who wrote it, so it will probably be more similar than different.

Q: What, if any, is the connection between this novel and H.G. Wells classic The Invisible Man?

Q: Why set the novel in Austin?

A: A few years ago I wanted to reread H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, and the version of the novel I purchased also included The Invisible Man. I ended up rereading both of them, and I realized my memory of The Invisible Man was just completely different than what that novel actually is.

What suddenly seemed so funny was the degree to which the main character was this obnoxious, selfobsessed, unlikable jerk…So I started thinking about what kind of modern person would have both the ability and the desire to pursue the goal of invisibility, and about what kind of worldview would motivate someone to want that specific power. And for some reason, the idea of secretly observing strangers and the process of interviewing celebrities feels weirdly connected to me.

A: This is going to be a weird answer, but maybe if I explain it once I won’t have to talk about it later. Obviously, I knew the book had to be set someplace. The last book was about North Dakota, so it couldn’t be there. I also knew I didn’t want to set it in New York.

I’d lived for four years in Akron, so I briefly considered placing it in Ohio…but that didn’t seem right either. And I’ve always been a little obsessed with Austin, even before I’d ever been to Texas.

My favorite movie of all-time is Slacker, and I used to really like an MTV show from the mid-’90s called Austin Stories. And then when I finally did visit Austin right around the time Fargo Rock City came out I totally loved it. It’s become my favorite city in the country.

But the geographic location of this novel isn’t that important anyway. There’s nothing that happens in this book that could only happen in Austin. Most of this book is just a really long conversation between two weird people. I probably could have created a fake, composite city that would have worked just as well as Austin, but I decided to use a real city I liked.

Q: What’s the attraction for you in writing fiction after establishing yourself as such a successful nonfiction writer?

1760

|

1 october 2011

|

fiction

|

kirkusreviews.com

Q: Do you think your fiction and nonfiction share some qualities and attract a similar readership?

A: Yes. I think the people who hate my nonfiction probably hate my fiction even more.

–By Don McLeese |

P H OTO © K RIS D R A K E

A: I just like writing books. Fiction is harder than nonfiction certainly, but it’s also more fun—I mean, you can literally do whatever you want and create a reality, and you can do that without the involvement of anyone else.

What’s crazy is that you actually have to worry more about realism in fiction than you do in nonfiction. When I interview people as a journalist, insane things happen all the time—people say things that make no sense, people make major decisions that are

“Lazar’s debut novel presents the tale of Nelson, half-beagle, half-poodle, and thoroughly lost.” from roam

ROAM

Lazar, Alan Atria Books (336 pp.) $22.00 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-4516-3290-3 Award-winning musician/composer Lazar’s debut novel presents the tale of Nelson, half-beagle, half-poodle, and thoroughly lost.

Nelson is a mistake. An amorous beagle exploits a fence hole, and a sweet woman who breeds beagles and poodles ends up with mutts to sell. Nelson is sent to a Boston pet shop, where he attracts the attention of Katey and Don Entwhistle on their way home after honeymooning in Italy. Katey is enthralled with Nelson’s personality and odd coloring around his eyes. She takes him home to New York. Life is good. Nelson is treasured and pampered, but Katey’s travels as a concert pianist and Don’s loss of his professorship trouble their marriage. There’s an affair. There are arguments. One day stressed-out Don forgets to latch the backyard gate, and Nelson follows his nose into a life of adventure. The book becomes a long tale of lost-and-found, unfolding from Nelson’s perspective. Lazar focuses on all things dog, particularly the smells, a dog’s window to the world. As Nelson wanders, truck driver Thatcher Stevens uses a hamburger to lure him away from scavenging at a landfill. Later Stevens is injured and hospitalized.

Nelson panics and escapes his truck cab. He meets another stray, Lucy. There are coyotes and wolves, and an old man to save, a leg amputation and escapes from shelters and euthanization. Nelson ends up in California, forever remembering his “Great Love,” Katey. Lazar’s straightforward language suits the canine narrative, and he writes agreeably enough from a dog’s point of view. The author’s interpretation of wolfpack dynamics is also interesting.

But Lazar may have moved the book off the young adult shelf by allowing Nelson to observe more than one steamy scene- “clumsy love...the whole cab would shake back and forth...dislodged again by sweaty human bodies on top of him.”

Not a Disney-esque Homeward Bound homage, but rather something of a canine version of Black Beauty.

DEAD OF NIGHT

Maberry, Jonathan St. Martin’s Griffin (368 pp.) $26.99 | paper $14.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-250-00089-7 978-0-312-55219-0 paperback A rogue scientist’s experiment in revenge wreaks havoc on a rural township in Pennsylvania.

A rare one-off from the prolific Maberry (Dust & Decay, 2011, etc.) recycles bits and pieces from B-horror flicks and adds a few twists of its own. The author dedicates the book to George A. Romero, penning an unapologetic love letter to Romero’s Night of the |

Living Dead, right down to a setting in rural Pennsylvania. It’s here in pastoral Stebbins County that things go to hell. It starts at a new-age funeral home whose proprietor, Doc “Lee” Hartnup, is startled to find the corpse of serial killer Homer Gibbon.

Stumbling into a grotesque crime scene are two local cops, JT Hammond and his partner Desdemona “Dez” Fox. JT is more soulful, a quiet, cautious cop and father figure. Predictably, the book focuses on the voluptuous Dez: “Built like Scarlett Johansson, with ice blue eyes, bee-stung lips and a natural blonde if the rumors were true.” Her self-destructive rage veers dangerously near caricature while her characterization as “Genghis Khan with boobs” doesn’t exactly inspire affection. Still, this shortcoming won’t detract Maberry’s legions from enjoying his breathless, clipped prose as the zombie plague accelerates— just as a hurricane bears down on Stebbins County. The truly creepy part comes when local hack and serial-killer aficionado Billy Trout starts tracking down Gibbon’s back story. Billy roots out Dr. Herman Volker, an East German scientist smuggled out by the CIA. To avenge an old family trauma, Volker has resurrected a secret formula. “Can you think of a more fitting punishment for a serial murderer than to be awake and aware in a coffin while his body slowly rots?” Volker’s detailed, believable description of the unspeakable cocktail he’s invented, right down to cribbing from The Serpent and the Rainbow, is as inventive as it is sickening.

An outlandish but superfluous zombie yarn that is gruesome, imaginative and grateful to its inspirations.

THE IMMORALITY ENGINE

Mann, George Tor (352 pp.) $24.99 | Oct 1, 2011 978-0-7653-2775-8

Third Victorian occult/steampunk adventure for Queen Victoria’s special agent Sir Maurice Newbury, his doughty sidekick Veronica Hobbes and their bluff, tough counterpart, Chief Inspector Sir Charles Bainbridge of Scotland Yard (The Osiris Ritual, 2009, etc.).

Their latest case begins with a corpse: apparently that of Edwin Sykes, burglar extraordinaire, whom Bainbridge suspects of being behind a string of unusual thefts. Newbury, dragged from an opium den—he thinks it gives him psychic powers, and he’s also consumed with the suspicion that Veronica is an informer—confirms that the body is who it seems to be. Yet there are inconsistencies, and when another crime comes to light, done in Sykes’ inimitable manner (he uses a spider-like machine to drill through doors and obstacles), all three are baffled. Veronica, meanwhile, desperately worries about her frail sister Amelia, who suffers from uncontrollable seizures during which she experiences prophetic visions. Presently Amelia enjoys the care of Dr. Lucien Fabian of the Grayling Institute. All charm on the surface, Fabian is secretly doing horrid experiments on Amelia and drawing up delusional plans

kirkusreviews.com

|

fiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1761

based on her utterances. Another complication, and somehow implicated in the Sykes affair, is Sir Enoch Graves and his Bastion Society, whose insanely chauvinistic theories involve far more than deadly mechanical spiders. Worst of all, Veronica really is informing on Newbury to Queen Victoria, a dying, mad hulk kept artificially alive by one of Fabian’s repulsive machines.

More steampunk than occult this time—one character, for instance, has steam-powered artificial knees—and rather too many gloating megalomaniacs for comfort.

Still, it’s a rousing adventure, and Newbury/Hobbes fans will revel.

ASSASSIN OF SECRETS

Markham, Q.R. Mulholland Books/ Little, Brown (288 pp.) $14.99 paperback | Nov 3, 2011 978-0-316-17646-0 The aptly named Jonathan Chase, an agent caught up in the spy wars of the late ’60s, is simultaneously pursuer and pursued in this brainy, enticing thriller, which involves spectacularly equipped femme fatales, cool guns and gadgets, thrilling chases and a villainous mastermind called the Mirza.

Containing elements of the 007 and Jason Bourne sagas, Graham Greene’s insular spy novels, William Gibson’s cyber thrillers, TV’s Burn Notice and Mad magazine’s classic Spy vs. Spy comic strip, this book is a narrative hall of mirrors in which nothing and no one are as they seem and emotion is a perilous thing to have.

Chase is the top operative of a secret U.S. agency formed as a watchdog of the CIA and other intelligence services. Held in captivity and tortured by the enemy during the Korean War before staging an audacious escape, he is a brilliant, bloodless killer who has no illusions about achieving his liberal goals without violently disposing of the evil forces opposing them. His latest and most crucial assignment is to infiltrate Zero Directorate, an international rogue group based in Switzerland whose grand plan is to void the world’s intelligence organizations by capturing their agents, torturing them into spilling all their secrets and then killing them. Chase’s strategy is to make himself vulnerable enough to draw the enemy close and penetrate the cabal; one false move or even one false thought and it’s curtains for U.S. intelligence.

How much help he does or doesn’t get from his imposing partner, Victoria Bailey/Verena Rautavaara, daughter of a famous Finnish SS officer, remains to be seen.

A dazzling, deftly controlled debut that moves through familiar territory with wry sophistication.

L.A. MENTAL

McMahon, Neil HarperCollins (304 pp.) $24.99 | Sep 27, 2011 978-0-06-134078-9 Seasoned mystery writer McMahon (Dead Silver, 2008, etc.) steps into a new genre with his first thriller.

Tom Crandall, the scion of a wealthy Los Angeles family, takes a job teaching psychology at a community college. Tom also keeps an eye on his family’s vast business and real-estate holdings, but much of his time goes into preventing his fractious family from throttling one another. It’s his relationship with ne’erdo-well brother Nick that gets him and the rest of the Crandalls into hot water. Nick, a drug-addled 30-something surfer and competitive swimmer who has never made a go of anything but bad relationships, kicks off Tom’s nightmare by calling his brother in the wee hours of the morning and drawing the unsuspecting Tom out to the site of the Crandall family’s Malibu beach home, where Nick totters madly on a cliff before plunging over. After rescuing Nick from the chilly waters, Tom discovers that the incident is connected to recent activity involving his other brother, Paul, who oversees the Crandalls’ business empire. Paul has become entangled with both an extramarital affair and a shadowy company that makes motion pictures. That company has rented the family lodge for use in an upcoming movie. Tom soon suspects there is more to the film company, the production and Paul’s involvement than meets the eye. In the meantime, Tom meets a beautiful actress and discovers a sinister conspiracy involving nano-particles. He digs deeper into the situation only to find his entire belief system challenged, both by betrayals from the ones he loves and from the strange group of people who have entered his life. The writing is first-rate; McMahon can sling words with the best of them. But the weaving of science fiction into the story line is unsatisfying and the characters shallow. While the concept is certainly plausible, the plot is underdeveloped and spare, and the book falls short of being either convincing or compelling.

The plot reads as if dashed off to meet a deadline, but the book is somewhat redeemed by decent writing. (Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh)

THE CORN MAIDEN AND OTHER NIGHTMARES

Oates, Joyce Carol Mysterious Press (368 pp.) $24.00 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-8021-2602-3

Seven nightmarish tales written over a 15-year period.

The first and longest story is the title novella, about Jude Trahern, a precocious and evil eighth-grader who abducts a fellow classmate, Marissa, to enact a ritual human sacrifice.

1762

|

1 october 2011

|

fiction

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

“An absolute spellbinder.” from the luminist

Brilliant, charismatic and severely disturbed, Jude chooses Marissa because of the latter’s status as an outsider, both new to the school and set apart by her intellectual slowness. Jude enlists two of her friends in the elaborately planned ceremony, but their enthusiasm begins to wane as things start to get spookier and it becomes clear that Jude is serious about following through on the ritual. Meanwhile, Marissa’s mother, Leah, becomes frantic about her missing daughter and starts to believe in the guilt of Mikal Zallman, a part-time employee at the school whom Jude has cleverly implicated. The story ends on a jarring and somewhat surreal note as Leah and Mikal develop a romantic attachment. Throughout this collection Oates is fascinated by the idea of doubling, for example in “Death-Cup,” in which Lyle King tries to poison his evil twin Alastor with Amanita mushroom soup. Alastor is the “evil” brother, successful on the outside but unscrupulous within, and Lyle finds out that ultimately they can never be separated. (It’s no coincidence that Lyle is designing a new edition, “with hand-sewn pages and letterpress printing,” of Poe’s “William Wilson.”) Similarly, in “Fossil-Figures,” brothers Edgar and Edward Waldman mirror opposing sides of the self, while in the masterful “Beersheba” womanizer Brad gets his comeuppance at the hands of Stacy Lynn, who at first comes on to him seductively and then exacts a terrible revenge.

While the shadows of Poe and Hitchcock loom over these tales, it’s clear that Oates herself is a master at creeping out her readers.

THE NINE LIVES OF CHRISTMAS

Roberts, Sheila St. Martin’s (208 pp.) $14.99 paperback | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-312-59449-7 A cat that’s used up eight of his nine lives makes a deal to preserve his last one in this light romance from the author of The Snow Globe (2010, etc.).

Ambrose is up a tree, but that’s no surprise because there’s a snarling dog below him. Having run through eight previous lives, none of which ended well, he strikes a desperate cosmic bargain to preserve his last one by promising to make a difference in someone’s life. At the very moment the orange tabby is about to become toast, a kind stranger shows up, chases away the dog and saves him. Understanding that he has to deliver on his promise, Ambrose follows him home and ingratiates himself into the man’s life. The kind stranger turns out to be a firefighter named Zach who is convinced he doesn’t need another relationship. Zach has been hurt in the past, both by his mother’s abrupt abandonment when he was a child and by an old flame. Although a confirmed bachelor, Zach, a firefighter, has a girlfriend: the beautiful, brittle, self-absorbed Blair, a spoiled rich girl who both hates Ambrose and wants Zach’s attention all to herself. It’s Christmas and Zach dreads the whole fa-la-la-lala thing, but he can’t turn the cat out into the cold, so he hits Pet Palace for cat supplies and meets Merilee. Merilee is naturally |

beautiful, but sadly out-of-sync with make-up, clothes and modern female predation methods. She also knows all about cats.

Following the cute meet, Ambrose plots ways to make Christmas and the infant romance between the two turn happy in this connect-the-dots story that leaves no romantic cliché unturned.

More of a novella than a novel, Roberts’ book is a breezy read aimed at the Yuletide market, but it’s so slight in both plot and length that many readers may feel cheated. The author also has a distracting predilection for dotting each page with multiple parenthetical phrases.

While it may kill an afternoon, readers shouldn’t hope for anything more than a predictable plot, loads of popculture references and a small, albeit pleasant break from the demands of everyday life.

THE LUMINIST

Rocklin, David Hawthorne Books (322 pp.) $15.95 paperback | Oct 1, 2011 978-0-9790188-7-9 An absolute spellbinder.

In Victorian-era Ceylon, amidst colonial strife and natural splendor, taboo love unfolds. Debut novelist Rocklin blends the love-and-war sweep of Dr. Zhivago with the Heart of Darkness depth of Joseph Conrad. Fictionalizing the bio of 19thcentury photographic innovator Julia Margaret Cameron, he creates, in Catherine Colebrook, an artist-as-mystic. “I brought forth the holy. I made light stop,” she marvels as she develops her portraits, luminous in beauty and far in technical advance of European (male) lensmen. As sorcerer’s apprentice, Eligius, the family’s 15-year old Tamil servant, not only facilitates her work but is compelled into a dangerous fascination with the Colebrooks—Catherine, his mother figure and aesthetic soul mate, daughter Julia, a Pre-Raphaelite lovely he adores from afar, and father, Charles, an aging, ailing imperialist functionary whose good heart but weak spirit moves and confounds him. The danger is psychologically and politically complex. His own father murdered for seeking Ceylonese rights, Eligius fears that, while Colebrook kindness melts his rage at everything Brit, his tenderness toward this foreign family may betray his native soul. His bond, too, with Catherine may further imperil her marriage, as Charles already dismisses her art. And when an arrogant English artist begins courting Julia, Eligius simmers. If Rocklin crafts plot with a Homeric “what’ll-happen-next” intensity, he’s also a prose poet. From his deftly evocative chapter titles—”The Night, Moving,” “Thirty Breaths”—to his painterly eye (cloth described as “white as blanched bone, soft”)—he’s capable not just of beauty but of aphorism: “Even God was born of fury at cold, at death, at what was always lost.”

History, art, celebratory feminism, rapturous writing and true suspense—this is a staggeringly good book.

(Agents: Christy Fletcher and Melissa Chinchillo)

kirkusreviews.com

|

fiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1763

THE SCHOOLMASTER’S DAUGHTER

Smolens, John Pegasus (400 pp.) $25.95 | Nov 15, 2011 978-1-60598-252-6

A young woman juggles family issues, romance and patriotism in the early days of the American Revolution.

The title character of the latest novel

by Smolens (The Anarchist, 2009, etc.) is Abigail Lovell, part of a Boston family whose members, rather conveniently, represent key constituencies in revolutionary America. Her father is a dour Tory who heads a Latin school and harrumphs at talk of declaring independence from the British; her older brother is a lead coordinator of anti-British intelligence; and her younger brother is on the front lines with the revolutionaries. And Abigail? She’s largely caught in the middle, supporting the patriots and pining for a lover who’s joined a militia, but she’s also intrigued by the attentions of a British officer. The book has enough detail about Boston in 1775 to pass as a historical novel—the story opens with the April battles of Lexington and Concord and climaxes with June’s battle of Bunker Hill—and Smolens has done his homework on troop movements, armament and battlefield rituals. But Abigail’s personal concerns are the heart of the novel, and the author is more interested in the role of women in revolutionary America, particularly in how they were abused both physically and in terms of rights. The tactic is appealing but awkwardly executed. The theme picks up some energy when Abigail is thrust into a show trial where she’s falsely accused of murdering a British sergeant.

Largely, though, Smolens strains hard to play up a feminist angle, from overdone egg imagery to thinly rendered supporting characters, including a stereotypically tough-talking prostitute and Paul Revere’s wife, Rachel, whose sole reason for existence seems to be making Abigail blush with bawdy talk about sex.

Smolens admirably spotlights women in the revolution, but a few too many clichés and contrived plot twists undercut the effort.

THE RAPE OF THE MUSE

Stein, Michael Permanent Press (206 pp.) $28.00 | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-57962-223-7

Stein’s deftly written literary novel examines the art world through the eyes of a young artist, Rand Taber.

The plot centers on a dispute between two longtime friends, Simon Pruhar and Harris Montrose. Montrose paints a depiction of an artistic Muse being raped, and it appears on the cover of Vanity Fair. Simon believes the rapist looks a great deal like him, and feeling hurt and betrayed, 1764

|

1 october 2011

|

fiction

|

he sues. The court trial forms the story’s main narrative thread: Did Montrose maliciously portray his friend and in the process damage Pruhar’s reputation? Unfortunately, the trial’s outcome matters little to the reader. More interesting are the characters themselves—especially Montrose because of his casual cruelty to his friend—and the discussions about what constitutes art. Both men are colossal jerks, although Rand doesn’t seem especially bothered by that fact. He’s been hired as Montrose’s assistant, but his main focus is on getting laid by Binny, who happily keeps a two-boyfriend-at-a-time policy. Rand asks another character, “When did you become an asshole?” It’s a question he well could ask three or four people in this novel. Stein’s writing is fun, with original phrasing and expressions that make this a bearable story even though it’s about obnoxious, self-important artists. Montrose describes Michelangelo’s David as the world’s largest homosexual, and Rand observes of a woman: “She wore clothes only to show she wore nothing underneath.” On the other hand, there is plenty of beautiful descriptions of irrelevancies, such as the grill marks on the salmon a woman is cooking.

The novel is certainly a worthy read for anyone interested in the art scene, but readers seeking an outcome to care about may want to keep looking.

TIDES OF WAR

Tillyard, Stella Henry Holt (384 pp.) $26.00 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-8050-9457-2 Set in the pre-Waterloo days of the peninsula campaign, Tillyard’s narrative explores both military and personal maneuvers as Wellington seeks victory on the battlefields and some of his officers seek victory in the bedrooms.

The novel easily mixes the historical and the fictional. Tillyard’s Wellington is stiff, overbearing and scant with praise for his fellow officers. He leaves his wife Kitty on the homefront in London, and she is forced to deal with more than her husband realizes, most notably the appearance of Mrs. Fitzwilliam, Wellington’s mistress, and an illegitimate son about which the general has no knowledge. As Wellington struggles militarily in Spain and Portugal, Kitty shrewdly takes control of her own financial affairs with the good advice of Nathan Rothschild, another historical figure who makes a fortune through astute wartime business practices. We also follow fictional characters James Raven, one of Wellington’s officers, and his new bride Harriet, an intellectual woman who shares her father’s scientific proclivities. While James is in Spain, he becomes romantically involved with Camille Florens, whose Irish father has taught her to hate all things English. She readily manipulates James at the same time Harriet in London has become enamored with Frederick Winsor, a German who has Anglicized his name from Friedrich Winzer and whose interest in developing sources of light and heat appeal to Harriet’s scientific aptitudes. James comes back disillusioned both with war and with the spoils of

kirkusreviews.com

|

“A literary tale chronicling the painful struggle required of a boy to birth himself as a man.” from american boy

THE STRANGERS ON MONTAGU STREET

war, and he and Harriet are obviously estranged in their short time together before James is summoned once again to fight on the continent at Waterloo.

Solid historical fiction, with vivid characters and vibrant local color.

AMERICAN BOY

Watson, Larry Milkweed (224 pp.) $24.00 | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-57131-078-1

Watson’s (Montana 1948, 1993, etc.) sixth novel resonates with language as clear and images as crisp as the spare, flat prairie of its Minnesota setting.

Matthew Garth’s father died when Matt was a young boy, leaving him to be raised, or watched over as he raised himself, by a withdrawn, hard-working waitress mother. But Matt has a second family, the Dunbars, parents of his best friend, Johnny. Rex Dunbar is Willow Fall’s most prominent physician, and his passion for medicine fascinates Matt and Johnny, high-school seniors. Dunbar often allows them to follow along as he carries out his practice, always offering instructions about medicine’s basics. It is Thanksgiving 1962.

Kennedy is president but all that is Willow Falls is evocative of Eisenhower and Father Knows Best. The Dunbars, with Matt, are celebrating when word comes that young Louisa Lindahl has been shot by her boyfriend and has gone missing. The boys are sent to help search. Dr. Dunbar prepares his clinic. Louisa is discovered by other searchers, and when the boys return, Dr. Dunbar has completed surgery. The boys are curious about the nature of a gunshot wound, and as Dunbar lifts the sheet from the unconscious woman to explain his abdominal surgery, Matt catches a glimpse of her breasts. Matt is captivated, and with that, a vivid story of sexual tension, family loyalty and betrayal unfolds. Matt wants Louisa, mysterious and thoroughly erotic, everything high-school girls are not, and since her lover and assailant committed suicide, he believes he can have her. Louisa is also a manipulative opportunist. After she is given shelter by the Dunbars, she quietly sets out to seduce the doctor, determined to “…advance her station in life through imitation and force of will.” The introspective, insightful and reflective narrative unfolds from Matt’s adult perspective, easily inferred early but not confirmed until the conclusion.

A literary tale chronicling the painful struggle required of a boy to birth himself as a man.

White, Karen New American Library (352 pp.) $15.00 paperback | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-451-23526-8 In the third of White’s series starring psychic Realtor Melanie “Mellie” Middleton, Mellie copes with the warring ghostly denizens of another Charleston historic home.

Any jokes about her failure to predict the housing bubble aside, Mellie’s clairvoyance is more the “Sixth Sense” variety: The dead people she sees are not just any dearly departed. The spirits she wrangles are an occupational hazard of owning “This Old House.” As her 40th birthday approaches, Mellie’s onagain, off-again flirtation with heartthrob Jack is off: he’s dating her cousin, pretty-in-pink Rebecca. Mellie’s mother and father, for decades estranged from her and each other, are back in her life, and she and her opera diva mother share ghost-hunting duty. Jack learns he has a 13-year-old daughter, Nola, when the teen lands on his doorstep. Since her mother, singer-songwriter Bonnie (a drug addict who committed suicide), told her that Jack deserted the two of them, Nola doesn’t trust her father.

(Indeed, his personality is so volatile that readers will wonder why anyone, including Mellie, would.) Nola finds shelter with Mellie, who notices Bonnie hovering nearby. As Mellie tries unsuccessfully to nudge Bonnie toward the light, poltergeists attack the antique dollhouse in Nola’s bedroom. And no wonder: The dollhouse is a replica of a decaying mansion on Montagu Street inhabited by the last of the prominent Manigault family, Miss Julia, an ancient piano teacher. Mellie convinces Nola to take music lessons from Julia, and Julia asks Mellie to contact her brother William, who has been dead since 1938, the year that Julia’s fiancé Jonathan also died, followed shortly by her parents, Harold and Anne. Ever since, Julia and her house have been haunted by the contentious ghosts of William and Harold. Although her visions of hollow-eyed Harold convince her he’s evil, Mellie suspects that Julia herself is no angel, and that merely helping William and Harold to “move on” will not lift the Manigault curse.

Additional ghost-sightings would be vastly more entertaining than the tepid romance subplot.

SHOW UP, LOOK GOOD

Wisniewski, Mark Gival Press (224 pp.) $20.00 paperback | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-928589-60-0 A picaresque treat, here’s the tale of a bittersweet cookie from Kankakee all hot for New York City.

Will the Big Apple feed her fantasies or have her for lunch? Having caught

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

mystery

|

1 october 2011

|

1765

her tree-surgeon boyfriend in flagrante delicto not with a reallife squeeze but a plastic vagina (!), Michelle reckons she’s ripe for a re-think—of life, love-life, the whole shebang. “You think too much,” he tells her. And so, remorselessly, she proceeds to—throughout all the pages of this chuckler. For while action abounds, it’s the running commentary that runs this show: Seinfeld-style making-much-about-everything, occasionally with a social-satire edge—the heroine, for example, typecasting the All-American Job as “typing, selling insurance, or otherwise staring at a monitor.” Speaking of which, when she flees heartland humdrum, she hits Gotham without one—a job, that is. So, plucky as are all headstrong distaff protags from the Victorians on, she improvises—and develops a scam selling courtesy tickets to the Letterman show. The requisite find-an-apartment bit is handled with a sweetly weirdo touch, as Michelle lands a berth with an oldster who charges cheap, so long as Michelle bathes her and suffers her singing of “zany Norwegian songs.”

Mishaps mount up—she crashes her car trying to sell it to a perplexed Chinese family, gets busted by Letterman staffers, loses her digs to a freak conflagration. Not much sex in the city for Michelle, either, as any budding romance wilts. Yet she gets savvier, more self-acceptingly self-aware—for instance, despite near-smothering under black-clad bohos, she realizes she’s cool with the fact that “I prefer clothes that cover my navel, and songs by Phil Collins can still make me cry.” As the novel speeds toward conclusion, however, something odd happens.

Wisniewski (Confessions of a Polish Used Car Salesman, 1997, etc.) eventually careens out of laugh-land and places the reader in an atmosphere bleak, violent and very dark. It doesn’t quite work.

Still, this is one smart hoot.

m ys t e r y THE DECEPTION AT LYME Or, The Peril of Persuasion Bebris, Carrie Tor (320 pp.) $26.50 | Oct 1, 2011 978-0-7653-2797-0 A visit to Lyme draws the sleuthing Darcy family into a difficult and dangerous situation.

The Darcys are in Lyme to enjoy the sea and meet Lt. St. Clair, who’s bringing them the chest of a Darcy cousin who died in a sea battle. Fitzwilliam, Elizabeth, their daughter Lily-Anne and Mr. Darcy’s sister Georgiana are walking near the famous Cobb when Elizabeth overhears a strange conversation that will later turn out to provide important clues. Later in the day, a ship explodes, and as they rush to get off the Cobb, they find a pregnant woman whose injuries apparently stem from her fall from a high wall.

1766

|

1 october 2011

|

fiction

|

Her death and the identity of the baby’s father soon involve them in a strange case of smuggling, bribery and possibly murder. A diary and golden statue found in the chest of Darcy’s cousin provide more clues in an already tangled case. Georgiana finds herself attracted to both the bold Lieutenant and a wealthy baronet. Darcy approves of the second but regards the first with suspicion. Though the Darcys are determined to discover if their cousin was murdered by the smugglers, they find it difficult to distinguish friend from foe among their new acquaintances. Bebris cleverly entwines the characters from Persuasion in the sixth of her mysteries (The Matters at Mansfield, 2008, etc.) based on Jane Austen’s beloved novels.

The mystery, written in Austen’s style, conceals many suspects in a cloak of respectability.

I AM HALF-SICK OF SHADOWS

Bradley, Alan Delacorte (320 pp.) $23.00 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-385-34401-2

Flavia, the cheeky 11-year-old who knows her way around a sulfurous beaker, is at it again.

Determined to prove that there is a Santa Claus, Flavia de Luce retreats to her laboratory in the upper reaches of Buckshaw, the family estate, to concoct a glue that will cement him to the flue should he try to descend on Christmas Eve. While it’s steeping, she and her tormentors, her older sisters Feely and Daffy, hear from their father, the Colonel, that financial distress has caused him to rent out Buckshaw to Ilium Films. The company will have free run of the place except for the Colonel’s study and his deceased wife Harriet’s boudoir. Learning that the fabulous actress Phyllis Wyvern will be in residence, the vicar of Bishop’s Lacey pops around to ask if she’ll star in a fundraiser for the church. She coaxes her co-star to join her in a scene from Romeo and Juliet to be staged in Buckshaw’s foyer. The performance has just finished when a snowstorm strands the villagers at the estate, with no heat, no electricity and no immediate possibility of police intervention. As one might expect, Flavia can deal with it all, even when she finds poor Phyllis dead in the middle of the night, a strip of celluloid tightly wound around her neck.

Many of her showbiz colleagues had reason not to like her, from her director to her dresser to her driver. But whodunit? Inspector Hewitt will eventually get through the snow to start his inquiries, but meanwhile Flavia will piece together clues that will lead to the sticky ending she’d planned for Santa.

The plot’s murderous aspects are on the skimpy side.

But who can complain when that serial charmer Flavia (A Red Herring Without Mustard, 2011, etc.) is on hand, wreathed in Tennyson and Shakespeare? (Agent: Denise Bukowski)

kirkusreviews.com

|

“A drug war between the Medrano and La Bestia cartels holds a small border town hostage.” from the territory

THE POTTER’S FIELD

Camilleri, Andrea Penguin (288 pp.) $15.00 paperback | Oct 1, 2011 978-0-14-312013-1 Inspector Montalbano has extra difficulty solving a murder with biblical echoes when everyone around him gives him a taste of his own bristly medicine.

After a disturbing dream, veteran Sicilian detective Salvo Montalbano awakens groggily to a ringing telephone and the report of a dead body found in the woods. It’s a rainy day to boot, so Montalbano is anxious to finish the job and get dry. But his two sidekicks, Mimì and Fazio, are more interested in finishing a game than recovering the bagged corpse, and Catarella, the junior member of the team, further complicates the operation. In the end, the retrieval process proves to be a muddy comedy of errors, exacerbated by the fact that the body “drifts,” ending up in pieces, and by the sheer irascibility of Pasquale Ajena, who first found it on his land. Far from an anomaly, the prickly behavior of everyone around Montalbano seems to become a pattern, most disturbingly in his formerly devoted lover Livia, whose sudden contrariness agitates but doesn’t change him.

Could the crazed motorist who gets his jollies by nearly hitting a young female pedestrian be connected to the dismembered victim? Is the crime really connected to the Mafia? Why has Mimì kept his recent marriage a secret? And why is Catarella weeping?

Montalbano has never been one for just the facts, ma’am, but his 13th recorded case (The Track of Sand, 2010, etc.) goes appealingly over the top into slapstick and character-driven farce. Especially recommended for series fans and mystery readers who enjoy the journey more than the solution.

WYATT

Disher, Garry Soho (288 pp.) $25.00 | Aug 1, 2011 978-1-56947-962-9 Two super-thieves meet in Melbourne and discover the world isn’t big enough for both of them.

Wyatt Wareen and Alain Le Page are cut from the same larcenous cloth. They think alike, they sound alike at the rare times when they talk and they operate from the same existential premise: Nothing matters but the job. They even look alike.

Wyatt is “wiry, stripped down, bones close to the surface…with the kind of eyes that take and give nothing.” It’s a description that fits Le Page just as snugly. Among his peers, thieves of the highest echelon, Le Page gets extra marks for his knife work. But transcending all other similarities is the way they plan. Both are meticulous and detail-oriented in the extreme. So when things go as terribly wrong as they do in Melbourne, it’s probably not fair to fault either one. Blame it on bad luck, or an inattentive |

St. Dismas. Blame it on a jumped-up, suddenly ambitious fence named Eddie Oberin, the link between two entirely separate heists. Or blame it on Eddie’s girlfriend Khandi Cane, who’s equally capable of loopy behavior and homicidal rage. At any rate, what should have been a workaday job with sensible payoffs for each becomes a hodgepodge of betrayal and murder, leading to a confrontation between super-thieves neither one wants.

Once again Disher (Blood Moon, 2009, etc.) takes us back to the golden age of thrillers, a time when they were fast, taut and dependably suspenseful.

THE TERRITORY

Fields, Tricia Minotaur Books (288 pp.) $24.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-312-61378-5 A drug war between the Medrano and La Bestia cartels holds a small border town hostage.

Artemis, Texas, police chief Josie Gray is having a rough week. Caught in a shootout between two rival drug cartels, Josie finds that her job description now includes protecting one gang from the other. While she’s trying to keep the peace, Josie becomes a target when she kills one gang member and imprisons another. There’s more trouble in another corner of town. Red Goff, the local face of Second Amendment rights, is found shot and killed in a trailer neighboring his own. Red was the head of a local group of gun enthusiasts creatively named The Gunners.

Now his stash of weapons has gone missing. With so much violence already plaguing Artemis, a big cache of missing weapons is bad news for Josie and her colleagues, Sheriff Roy Martinez and Mayor Moss. Nor is Josie’s bad week limited to her investigation of Red’s murder and her tightrope walk between the two drug gangs. Her mother, an adult version of a spoiled child, has come for a visit and who knows whatever else. Danger mounts as it becomes increasingly clear that the Medrano gang is going to hold Josie personally responsible for any deaths on her watch.

Despite a clear, detailed plot, Fields’ debut lacks the spark that would bring her sorely tried heroine and her problems alive.

kirkusreviews.com

BAD MOON RISING

Gorman, Ed Pegasus Crime (208 pp.) $25.00 | Oct 12, 2011 978-1-60598-260-1

1968. Gorman takes sleuthing Iowa attorney Sam McCain from the Democratic National Convention to a more personal rendezvous with history.

Just because everybody in Black River Falls knows each other doesn’t mean that |

mystery

|

1 october 2011

|

1767

they all like each other. Judge Esme Whitney and Police Chief Cliffie Sykes look down their noses at the scruffy young people in Richard Donovan’s commune. Vanessa Mainwaring must have had her reasons for dumping her troubled ex-boyfriend Neil Cameron. And clearly someone took against Vanessa—someone who stabbed her to death in the commune’s horse barn. When Sam’s attempt to bring Neil in for questioning is thwarted when Neil’s sister, Sarah Powers, knocks him out long enough for Neil to make his escape, Sarah naturally gets arrested herself, and Sam naturally agrees to represent her. Though Vanessa’s wealthy father, liberal industrialist Paul Mainwaring, hires Sam to investigate, he turns on him once Neil is found shot to death and Sam refuses to accept his apparent suicide as the end of the road. Even the Mainwaring home, it turns out, houses plenty of conflict. Paul and Eve, his carefully groomed second wife, may be comfortable with their open marriage, but it had been driving Vanessa and her sister Nicole crazy. Nor does Sam’s dogged persistence with a case everyone else regards as closed win him any new friends. As usual in this warmly observed series, the mystery is untidy.

Read this installment, like all the others (Ticket to Ride, 2009, etc.), for the pop-historical detail and the loving evocation of small-town America.

ASSUME NOTHING

Haywood, Gar Anthony Severn House (224 pp.) $28.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-7278-8083-3

A volatile man gets pushed to the wall once too often.

One night nine years ago, Joe Reddick of the West Palm Beach Police Department came home to find his wife and children slaughtered by an intruder. His fellow cops caught the perp, but Joe’s nightmares raged on, so he decided to make himself a new life in Los Angeles. Although Joe could escape West Palm, however, he couldn’t escape himself, and now Dana, his second wife, is about to divorce him and take their son Jake, 5, because she can’t trust his volcanic temper.

That temper will be sorely tried after Joe’s car is sideswiped by a van whose driver, Andy Baumhower, is jittery because he’s been charged with getting rid of the corpse of Gillis Rainey, the squirrelly financial advisor Baumhower and his three associates in Class Act Productions—Perry Cross, Ben Clarke and Will Sinnott—had kidnapped in a futile attempt to get him to pay back the $100,000 he’d taken from them before they had to repay their even bigger debt to druglord Jorge Lizama, Jr. Naturally, the Class Act partners feel they can’t risk the chance that Reddick might remember his brush with Baumhower at the wrong moment and go to the cops.

But Clarke picks exactly the wrong way of insuring that he won’t: breaking into his home and threatening him and his wife and son.

Reddick, who has no intention of losing a second family to violence, decides to take matters into his own hands, and by the time the curtain comes down, the cast will have been decimated, much to the gentle reader’s righteous satisfaction.

1768

|

1 october 2011

|

fiction

|

An efficient noir actioner that’s also a sharp study of a hero who “wasn’t an evil man, just an astoundingly unfortunate one.”.

THROWAWAY GIRL

Heinzman, David Five Star (332 pp.) $332.00 | Nov 16, 2011 978-1-4328-2550-8

A closer look into the drowning of an heiress who worked with Chicago’s most endangered residents shows private investigator Augustine Flood a side of the city, and of human nature, even he’s never seen before.

Alice Jane Ash is the last person you’d expect to find dead in suspicious circumstances. One of the heirs to the fabulous Heidecke family fortune, she chose to spend her youth as a project coordinator for the Second City’s homeless. Soon after A.J.’s mother, steely beauty Jane Ash, rescues him from his latest alcoholic binge by paying him $50,000 to dig up the truth about a case the police seem determined to dismiss as an accident, Augustine Flood (A Word to the Wise, 2009) realizes that A.J.’s life was devoted almost exclusively to the child prostitutes at Celeste Mayne’s Girls Refuge. Flood finds evidence that she took at least one of the girls, known only as Britney, to her own apartment. Tracking down Britney—even finding out her real name—will take Flood to Las Vegas, to Los Angeles and to Clarksdale, Miss. Along the way he’ll deal with pimps and procurers and repeatedly confront bad guys more heavily armed than he is. No matter how tawdry the revelations, however, they keep bringing him back to A.J.’s wealthy, divorced parents and their retinue of lawyers and lesser hirelings. By the time Flood turns over the very last rock, you’ll feel as if you’ve traveled a great distance, and not just geographically.

A tale that hurtles to its depressingly predictable conclusion with impressively baleful force.

THE ASSASSIN IN THE MARAIS

Izner, Claude Minotaur Books (320 pp.) $24.99 | Sep 1, 2011 978-0-312-66215-8 Murder strikes too close to home for French sleuth Victor Legris.

Snippets of datelined prologue from Paris and Scotland and London depict an explosion, a search for priceless antiquities and the murder of a noblewoman before the story settles down to focus on Parisian bookstore owner and sometime sleuth Legris and his ladylove Tasha, the painter he romantically pursued while solving his third case (The Montmartre Investigation, 2010, etc.). Victor’s business partner Joseph is also engaged in an

kirkusreviews.com

|

“The bitter cold winter of 1732 is a season of death in Leeds.” from cold cruel winter

amour, though a more recent one, with the coquettish Iris. Then the homes of both men are burgled, and a weirdly devout declaration from the apparent perpetrator, whom the author calls “the emissary,” hints at a pattern and a plan. All that has been stolen, it seems, are a pair of books and a goblet that Victor judges to have no intrinsic value. Famous last words, he decides after Lady Frances Stone, the woman who entrusted him with the goblet, is found brutally murdered. She is but the first victim who compels the curious Victor to investigate. On the personal front, there’s trouble in paradise when Victor realizes that Tasha is hiding a big secret. Though at times the froth swamps the plot, the apparent loose ends of the opening chapters are neatly tied up in the end.

A sturdy marriage of frothy style and abundant period detail, from obligatory tidbits about Toulouse-Lautrec and the Moulin Rouge to surprising sidelights on little-known but interesting people and events, all bolstered by appended notes.

TIME OF DEATH

Madden, Gary Five Star (290 pp.) $25.95 | Sep 21, 2011 978-1-4328-2513-3

When Death asks a favor, who can say no?

Melody Rush might be a typical young lady of 1952 if it weren’t for her ability to see and talk to spirits. After she takes up the case of Virginia Beal, a murdered prostitute, an encounter with Virginia’s pimp leaves her wounded in a frozen Pittsburgh ditch. Mel awakens to a visit from Death, who asks her to recover a mask that allowed him to fulfill his purpose of shepherding souls to the afterlife until it was stolen from him. Because she’s attuned to the dead and clever at finding things, Death sends her to the home of Alfonzo Arnie, from which his mask was stolen. There she encounters Arnie’s talking cat, Voe. In what passes for Mel’s everyday life, her mother’s still trying to get her to marry; her longtime friend, who’s now a policeman is in love with her; and the handsome doctor who took care of her in the hospital has asked for a date. Voe, who has moved in with her, offers advice Mel sorely needs because her normal and spirit lives become uncomfortably entwined as she tries to find Arnie’s killer and retrieve Death’s mask. On the plus side, existing in a zone between life and death enables Mel to work on the difficult and dangerous problem without dying herself.

Madden’s debut mystery is an offbeat combination of noir and the supernatural that could appeal to a wide audience.

|

COLD CRUEL WINTER

Nickson, Chris Creme de la Crime (224 pp.) $28.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-78029-005-8

The bitter cold winter of 1732 is a season of death in Leeds.

Richard Nottingham, Constable of Leeds, is mourning the death of his daughter, one of many casualties of the frigid English winter. But his mind is diverted from his sorrows when a body is found, its throat cut and the skin removed from its back. The murdered man is Samuel Graves, a wealthy semi-retired wool merchant. His murder stirs up the mayor, who puts pressure on Nottingham to solve the crime quickly before anyone can learn the horrifying details. Following up on a list of employees fired by Graves, he comes upon the name of Abraham Wyatt, a clerk caught embezzling and transported to the Indies for his crime. Wyatt quickly becomes the chief suspect when a journal bound in the skin removed from Graves’s back is sent to Nottingham. The Journal of a Wronged Man, In Four Volumes details Wyatt’s agenda and makes Nottingham realize that he’s on the list of three other intended victims.

Although Nottingham uses every colleague and every informant at his disposal, Wyatt remains invisible, and a second murder soon follows. Nottingham must use every trick of the trade to uncover the whereabouts of a clever, ruthless killer.

Nickerson’s follow-up to Broken Token (2010) is an exciting tale that explores the vast gulf between the rich and poor while delivering a fi rst-rate mystery.

NEW JERSEY NOIR

Oates, Joyce Carol–Ed. Akashic (280 pp.) $24.95 | paper $15.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-61775-034-2 978-1-61775-026-7 paperback A tour through the Garden State is no bed of roses in this bleak collection of stories and poems.

“New Jersey is a place of secrets, complex, rotten with tangled branching vines and rivers of ancient, heaving blood,” notes a hit man in Barry N. Malzberg and Bill Pronzini’s “Meadowlands Spike.” It’s also a festival of urban blight, lovingly documented by S.A. Solomon in “Live for Today,” Lou Manfredo in “Soul Anatomy,” S.J. Rozan in “New Day Newark” and Hirsh Sawhney in “A Bag for Nicholas.” Rural Jersey can be pretty spooky, as a young orphan discovers in Bradford Morrow’s “The Enigma of Grover’s Mill.” And it has its own special drug culture, as a Cuban immigrant finds out in Robert Arellano’s “Kettle Run.” Gentrification is no defense against the state’s essential corruption, as an artist entranced by a trophy wife from the upscale part of Hoboken soon learns in Jonathan Santlofer’s “Lola.” And the shore is filled with bad

kirkusreviews.com

|

mystery

|

1 october 2011

|

1769

memories and even worse people in Richard Burgin’s “Atlantis.”

Even the fresh air of the Kittatinny Mountains in the state’s northwest corner is tainted by memories of his first family for Reno, who’s trying to make a new start with a young wife and her children in (editor) Oates’ “Run Kiss Daddy.” Only cyberspace offers any relief; in Jonathan Safran Foer’s lively “Too Near Real,” a disgraced professor tours the world on Google Maps. Anything to get out of New Jersey.

With barely a hint of redemption to light the darkness, this volume exacts an even higher toll than the turnpike.

THE ELUSIVE RELATION

Osterman, Helen Macie Five Star (292 pp.) $25.95 | Sep 21, 2011 978-1-4328-2511-9

A pedestrian American slant on the English country-house mystery.

Amateur sleuth Emma Winberry has discovered that her late husband has relatives in England who are in trouble. Her significant other, Nate Sandler, thinks the news is the hook for a scam, but when he has an opportunity to travel to France, Emma goes along, and the two of them plan a short trip to England. Arriving at enormous Bellingham House, they meet Lindsey and her sister Isabel, who suffers from a rare disease that’s left her entire body except for her face covered with hair. Lindsey is being pestered by a wealthy American who wants to buy the house, perhaps to hunt for the treasure rumored to be hidden there. Lindsey’s dislikable financial advisor, Avery Wilkens, wants her to sell. Although Emma returns home, her Guardian Angel keeps telling her to help Lindsey. When Isabel is kidnapped, Emma returns to Bellingham House with her young friend Tracie Adams. Then Tracie goes missing as well, and Emma must use her sleuthing ability to discover what’s really going on before it’s too late.

Emma’s third (The Stranger in the Opera House, 2009, etc.) is a run-of-the-mill cozy with engaging characters and a weak plot.

A KILLING SEASON

Royal, Priscilla Poisoned Pen (240 pp.) $24.95 | Lg. Prt. $22.95 | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-59058-947-2 978-1-59058-948-9 Lg. Prt. A cold and remote castle is the scene for a series of unexplained deaths.

Baron Herbert returned from the crusades only to withdraw from his family, leaving his wife desperate for answers and his sons dying like flies. The Baron begs his friend Sir Hugh of Wynethorpe to come to the castle with a priest and a physician. Hugh makes the dangerous winter trip with his sister 1770

|

1 october 2011

|

fiction

|

Prioress Eleanor, her healer Sister Anne, Brother Thomas and Master Gamel. They arrive just in time to see Herbert’s third son leap to his death. His first son died from a fever while Herbert was in Outremer, his second in a strange drowning accident. Now left to him are two children: his fourth son, who is hiding in the chapel in abject fear, and his fifth son, a clever mischief-maker. It is no wonder Herbert relies on his nephew Sir Leonel, a charismatic soldier who shared his adventures, to handle his affairs. When the Baron finally agrees to see them they learn he may be suffering from leprosy, the reason he has been avoiding his family. There is tension in the priory party as Eleanor battles lustful feelings for Leonel, Anne is attracted to Gamel and Hugh seems to hate Brother Thomas.

Royal’s 13th-century mysteries (Valley of Dry Bones, 2010, etc.) are always full of historical detail but, as in this case, often telegraph the evildoer early in the story.

KILLER SWEET TOOTH

Trent, Gayle Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (288 pp.) $15.00 paperback | Oct 11, 2011 978-1-4516-0002-5 A Virginia cake maker has a penchant for solving crimes.

You never know what might happen over a game of Scrabble. This time, her neighbor Myra breaks a tooth on Daphne Martin’s cashew brittle. Her dentist is willing to meet them at his office, but when the ladies arrive, they find the dentist dead.

After a long night of police questioning, Daphne finally arrives home, only to be greeted by an Elvis impersonator emerging from a pink Cadillac. Scottie Phillips, a member of Elvis Impersonators’ Evangelical Interdenominational Outreach, has come to order a peanut-butter-and-banana cake in the shape of a pink Cadillac for a gala the group is hosting. While Scottie’s attentions to Daphne cause problems with her boyfriend, newspaper editor Ben Jacobs, her involvement with EIEIO soon has her searching for the Elvis impersonator who was seen nearby on the night of the murder. The suspects also include the dentist’s wife, who’d been in the process of divorcing him over his fling with his hygienist, apparently just one in a long line of affairs.

Daphne, still certain that the police suspect her and Myra, is determined to uncover the killer, a task that proves more dangerous than she imagined.

Trent (Dead Pan, 2009, etc.) features a pleasant heroine, a middling mystery and several appended dessert recipes fit for the King (Elvis, that is).

kirkusreviews.com

|

“A beauty shop owner and a Basset Hound with an unusual pedigree take on criminals in Mexico.” from elvis and the tropical double trouble

ELVIS AND THE TROPICAL DOUBLE TROUBLE

Webb, Peggy Kensington (240 pp.) $23.00 | Oct 1, 2011 978-0-7582-4141-2

A beauty shop owner and a Basset Hound with an unusual pedigree take on criminals in Mexico.

As Webb’s fans all know, the National Enquirer was right about Elvis. He isn’t dead; he’s been reincarnated as a Basset Hound who lives, mostly peacefully, in a small Mississippi town where his human mom, Callie Jones, runs a successful beauty parlor. This time out, Callie’s flamboyant momma and her friend Fayrene, queen of malapropisms, are heading to Mexico for an undertaker’s convention. Callie’s cousin Lovie is already down there with her archeologist boyfriend, who’s working on a dig. Lovie asks Callie to join them in hopes that Callie’s advice can jump-start her

stalled love life. She trusts Callie’s expert advice on matters of the heart because Callie herself is in the process of divorcing her drop-dead-gorgeous husband Jack Jones, whose job with the CIA keeps him away more than Callie can stand. Soon after the group, including Elvis, arrives, Lovie and Elvis are kidnapped.

Callie, her momma and Fayrene all get involved in the search.

The cooler heads of Callie’s Uncle Charlie, Elvis and Jack are sorely needed in a situation that features ancient religious rites and jealous undertakers. The fourth in Webb’s wildly over-thetop series (Elvis and the Memphis Mambo Murders, 2010, etc.) will leave some Elvis fans tickled, others offended.

Those outside the magic circle of the King’s admirers are likely to be mildly amused.

Don’t know. Do care.

The answer lies with Keats… With these cryptic last words, the man sprawled out on the floor of the rustic cabin expires —murdered. What could he have meant? Why Keats?

Which answer? (For that matter, what was the question?)

All this and more passes through the mind of the young householder who discovers the body. If only he knew the guy’s name. Or anybody’s name. Including his own...

“An utterly winning, deceptively smart collection of mishaps, plot twists and grinning one-liners.” -Kirkus Reviews “Definitely recommend this book to any mystery fans that like their reading light and fun!” -Literary R&R “This is one funny book. It was hard to go a page without finding something to snicker about.” -Carabosse’s Library

Fleeting Memory

(An Enescu Fleet Novel) isbn-10: 1463602014 ean-13: 9781463602017 lccn: 2011910595

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

www.MysteryCaper.com

mystery

|

1 october 2011

|

1771

OR THE BULL KILLS YOU

Webster, Jason Minotaur Books (304 pp.) $24.99 | Sep 13, 2011 978-0-312-58183-1 A Spanish homicide detective encounters more bull than he bargained for.

Chief Inspector Max Cámara of the Valencia PD has detested everything to do with “blood-in-the-sand” ever since as a child he saw a matador sink a sword into an already crippled, helpless animal. Young as he was, he regarded the contest as shamefully unequal. Years later, however, he finds himself reluctantly standing in for his boss, the police commissioner, at a particularly significant corrida. It features nonpareil matador Jorge Blanco, who through his consummate skill and exemplary bearing has almost single-handedly rescued bullfighting from what had seemed an inexorable decline. As usual, Blanco’s performance is heroic. He’s the darling of the crowd—with, it turns out, a notable exception, since later that same night his naked, mutilated body is discovered in the deserted bull ring.

So, because happenstance put him at the scene, Cámara catches a case he’d much rather have done without. For one thing, his personal life has recently become depressingly distracting.

Moreover, it’s hard to locate a single citizen in all Valencia who takes bullfighting lightly. Rabid fans of the sport include the commissioner, the mayor and a variety of lesser politicians—all of which, as Cámara knows full well, is tantamount to seeing the case as a potential career-killer.

Webster’s insights into bullfighting shed light on aspects of the Spanish character, lifting this debut and its bleak and brooding protagonist above the ordinary.

DID NOT FINISH

Wood, Simon Creme de la Crime (224 pp.) $28.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-78029-007-2 A killer who strikes in the middle of an event makes England’s car-racing circuit even more dangerous than usual.

Aiden Westlake was orphaned by a car crash—his father and mother drove into a fatal accident on the way home from a race—but that hasn’t kept him from taking the wheel of a Formula Ford. A rookie driver in the middle of a crowded field, Aidy naturally looks up to Alex Fanning, whose performance so far favors him to win the Clark Paints Formula Ford Championship, and can’t imagine why Alex would be prepared to quit the circuit for his fiancée Alison Baker. The race that follows proves to be Alex’s last in more ways than one. Moments after the Ford driven by Derek Deacon, a brutish veteran competitor who’d already threatened to do whatever it took to win, nudged 1772

|

1 october 2011

|

fiction

|

Alex’s car, it crashed and killed him. The other racers, close-knit to a fault, refuse to believe that Deacon bumped Alex on purpose. And the evidence supports them, because video footage of the crash has mysteriously disappeared from all the places most likely to have it, and Det. Len Brennan, of the Wiltshire Police, is obviously protecting Deacon. Aidy is determined to prove Deacon’s guilt, but when he and his only allies, his grandfather Steve and his mechanic Dylan, are threatened, beaten and arrested along with him, his detective work looks like a losing bet. Wood (Terminated, 2010, etc.) kicks off this new series with a streamlined narrative, a spot of believable romance and some deftly introduced tidbits about the British racing circuit.

Think of Dick Francis’ early thrillers, especially Nerve, but with a lot more horsepower.

science fiction and fantasy THE SACRED BAND

Durham, David Anthony Doubleday (576 pp.) $26.95 | Oct 4, 2011 978-0-307-73968-1

Durham (Gabriel’s Story, 2002, etc.) brings his sci-fi Acacia Trilogy to a satisfying close.

Samuel R. Delany meets Cormac McCarthy meets J.R.R. Tolkien as the striking and subtly powerful Corinn Akaran settles into queenship over the Known World just in time to take up arms with the Other Lands. “We’re at war,” she says, matter-of-factly. And war it is, with supposed allies turning tail and threats of invasion putting a decided downward cast on the scene. Corinn is a tough cookie, but she nurtures an abiding hope that her son, Aaden, will prove himself as “the greatest Akaran monarch yet.” Naturally, opportunities abound for him to show his stuff. Meanwhile, Corinn’s brother Aliver is on hand to help, having miraculously come back to life after having been killed in the second installment. (“You were dead before,” says Aaden. “Exactly,” replies Aliver.

“I like you better alive,” responds Aaden, having thought the matter over.) Durham is a master of the swords-and-sorcery genre, with the bonus that this is swords-and-sorcery with spaceships that give the Millennium Falcon a run for the money; the trilogy, this volume included, tends to be talky, but it’s the right kind of talky, without wasted words. He also takes time to paint scenes in words that other writers might brush away, as with this description of a book-filled library: “Tall windows cast elongated rectangles of red-gold sunrise light, but the

kirkusreviews.com

|

“A full-immersion experience, uncompromising and bleakly magnificent.” from the cold commands

room’s candles still burned, thick ones that jutted through the tables like tree trunks and burned with flames the size of spearheads.” That’s a world worth fighting for, and Durham’s pages are full of thrilling action that would do Tolkien proud.

A close, yes—but with wiggle room for more Acacian adventures. At any rate, on the strength of this installment, Durham’s many fans will be clamoring for more.

ENDURANCE

Lake, Jay Tor (320 pp.) $26.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-7653-2676-8 Gritty sequel to Lake’s steampunkfantasy Green (2009), wherein the eponymous hero, sold as a child, trained as a courtesan and schooled as an assassin, killed one god and gave birth to another.

No-nonsense first person narrator Green returns to the city Copper Downs where the Interim Council have need of her skills. Ambassadors from the powerful Bittern Court, in Green’s homeland, have arrived but what they want isn’t clear except for one thing—they intend to take Green back with them. Green, six months pregnant and less nimble than she was, demands to know why Mother Vajpai, like Green an assassin and dedicated to the Lily Goddess, has allied herself with the scheming, vicious Surali. Too, the non-human, cat-like pardines are threatening war over their missing sacred jewels, the Eyes of the Hills. Seeking allies against Blackblood, the God of Pain, who claims the son she will bear—even though Green is sure the baby is a girl—Green becomes friendly with a couple of wandering priests, Osi and Iso, only to discover that they have a deadly agenda and vastly greater powers than anyone suspects. Even the god she gave birth to, Endurance, is mute, his powers remain unknown and his followers are pacifists. What tends to undermines the vigorous plotting is an annoying older version of Green, who hangs over young Green’s shoulder, pointing out her every mistake. And only the most ardent devotees of fictional religion won’t skip the frequent religious digressions. Overall, Green’s far from appealing, but Lake obliges us to admire her courage and determination.

There’s enough going on to win over the skeptics and keep series fans coming back for more.

THE COLD COMMANDS

Morgan, Richard K. Del Rey/Ballantine (512 pp.) $26.00 | Oct 11, 2011 978-0-345-49306-4

Sequel to Morgan’s well-received dark fantasy, or perhaps far-future science fiction, The Steel Remains (2009), following a string of innovative cyberpunk-style sci-fi novels.

Morgan’s world is a dark, dank, dismal place, haunted by ghosts, gods, evil magic, invading lizards and the specters of vanished superbeings, where life for most tends to be nasty, brutish and short. Ringil Eskiath, war hero, tired, middle-aged and gay in a world where homosexuality is anathema, attempts to rescue an escaping young slave, thereby earning the enmity of the outraged slave-trade magnates, who put a large price on his head. Worse, the Salt Lord, one of the gods—the sort you don’t want to mess with—seems to be taking an interest.

Ringil returns to the city Yhelteth, where his black-skinned friend Archeth, last of the immortal Kiriath race, advises the sadistic Emperor Jhiral. The rest of Archeth’s race, volcanoborn and with powerful magic or perhaps unimaginably advanced technology, have all gone—somewhere. Archeth has just dispatched Egar the Dragonbane on a secret mission. Meanwhile, an object falls from orbit, to impact in the desert; it turns out to be an irascible and enigmatic Kiriath Helmsman, Anasharal, a sort of organometallic morphing robot with a knack for spinning very bad news into something that sounds enticing. Violent, intense, atmospheric and highly textured, Morgan’s narrative slips rapidly and unnervingly from past to present tense, sometimes in the same sentence, while present action whirls into past recollection with scarcely a drawn breath, and the dialogue crackles with expletives. Add in the subtexts within subtexts, religious, political and philosophical, not to mentions bouts of explicit gay sex, and the whole thing becomes addictive, or repulsive, or both, depending on your viewpoint.

A full-immersion experience, uncompromising and bleakly magnificent.

EYES TO SEE

Nassise, Joseph Tor (320 pp.) $22.99 | Oct 1, 2011 978-0-7653-2718-5 Start of a new urban supernatural series, from the author of The Heretic (2010, etc.)

Once a Harvard classics professor, first-person narrator Jeremiah Hunt’s life fell apart when his young daughter, Elizabeth, was abducted from their Boston home and, despite intense police activity, never found. Hunt, obsessed, takes up

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

science fiction & fantasy

|

1 october 2011

|

1773

the search on his own, eventually turning to the supernatural.

After an unpleasant ritual, he find that he’s virtually blind—but, in exchange, he can see in total darkness . . . and the darkness is full of ghosts and other more malevolent entities. He can also identify others, “Gifted,” who have supernatural abilities.

So, while continuing to search for Elizabeth, he takes up the profession of ghostbuster. Miles Stanton, the homicide detective who worked Elizabeth’s case and thinks Hunt is a psychic, calls him in for odd jobs. The latest of these is a baffling murder, the victim ritually posed, with no evident cause of death, the walls of the room scrawled with words and symbols in various arcane languages. A second murder occurs, almost identical to the first, and Hunt begins to discern a pattern. He realizes he will need help and turns to Irish pub owner Dmitri Alexandrov—his Gift isn’t immediately obvious—and powerful witch Denise Clearwater. They identify dozens of connected killings going back years. Evidently a powerful and malicious being has a plan under way—but what, and how is Hunt involved? A well constructed backdrop, sturdy plot, and characters who develop along with the story, undermined by a certain want of originality, and almost fatally riven by passages of omniscient narrative that Nassise unaccountably fails to integrate into his protagonist’s perception of events.

Not altogether convincing, but it probably has enough going for it to tempt the fans back for more.

1774

|

1 october 2011

|

fiction

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction CAT CALLS Wonderful Stories and Practical Advice from a Veteran Cat Sitter

Adlon, Jeanne; Logan, Susan SquareOne Publishers (144 pp.) $14.95 paperback | Sep 1, 2011 978-0-7570-0344-8 An ebullient paean for felines, complete with true stories and practical advice from veteran cat sitter and CatChannel.com expert Adlon and Cat Fancy Magazine editor Logan.

Endorsed by Garfield creator Jim Davis, this debut is a cat lover’s paradise. Adlon’s spent 35 years as the first full-time cat sitter in the “city that never sleeps,” and she’s picked up enough experiences along the way to fill nine lives—e.g., the time John Lennon visited her gift shop to buy a cat tree, paying with cash and telling Adlon to “keep the change.” It wasn’t his last visit either, as he returned to the shop with wife Yoko in tow several times. The author’s whimsical voice guides readers through tales long and short, such as how she braved summer heat and blackouts, winter storms, a tarantula and even her own claustrophobia to cater to the whims of her finicky, furry clients.

Adlon’s “distinctive feline” stories are touching highlights meant to impart lessons to readers, such as the story of Reggie, a cat who came to say goodbye to his owner before peacefully passing away in his sleep. It’s obvious that Adlon and Logan love their subject—gender pronouns are alternated throughout the book, but the word “it” is never used in reference to cats. In addition to plenty of life lessons, the book is brimming with helpful cat-care advice, touching on myriad topics including adoption, preparing the home for a cat, pet health tips and what to do when kitty stops using the litter box.

For all things feline, this one is a cat lover’s fancy.

“Central Asian version of the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia.” Alexander devotes significant attention to the source of the present conflict, Britain’s 19th-century strategic “great game” against Russia, and Pakistan’s adaption of the tradition to its own purposes through backing Afghanistan’s Taliban and other surrogate terrorists. The components of a possible regional agreement are identified in Afghanistan’s 2005-6 bilateral treaties with the U.S., UK, EU, China and Pakistan, and in the March 2009 opium interdiction program adopted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on the very same day Obama announced his strategic review of Afghanistan policy. Whether such an agreement can be achieved, by way of the destruction of what Alexander calls the “shadow government” of Afghanistan inside Pakistan border provinces, without resulting in the outbreak of another full-scale war in the area or further aggravating relations between Pakistan and India, is questionable. In the meantime, the author is an enthusiastic advocate of the adoption of long-term visions along with benchmarks for their achievement in such areas as the management of the Afghan government’s finances and the development of food exports through private enterprise. He is also a supporter of World Bank counterinsurgency investment through the “National Solidarity Programme” estimated to produce 20 percent per annum returns.

A controversial account that provides much historical background, along with special insight into current developments.

WHEN THE GARDEN WAS EDEN Clyde, the Captain, Dollar Bill, and the Glory Days of the Old Knicks

THE LONG WAY BACK Afghanistan’s Quest for Peace

Araton, Harvey Harper/HarperCollins (368 pp.) $26.99 | Oct 18, 2011 978-0-06-195623-2

Alexander, Chris Harper/HarperCollins (288 pp.) $25.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-06-202037-6

A warm, accessible celebration of the dynamic early-1970s New York Knicks

Alexander, a former UN deputy special representative in Afghanistan, offers his view of the pathway to a resolution in that nation.

The author proposes a regional solution to the ongoing conflict, one in which both Afghanistan and Pakistan both become “subject to international supervision” as part of a settlement—a |

basketball teams.

Populated by such colorful personalities as the flashy but cerebral point guard Walt Frazier, silky-smooth combo guard Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, hard-nosed forward/center Willis Reed and quirky bench anchor Phil Jackson, this version of the Knicks is near-legendary, even though they were far from a dynasty, only managing a pair of championships (1970 and 1973).

This is arguably one of the few NBA teams that deserves a booklength examination, and veteran New York Times columnist

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1775

Araton (Crashing the Borders: How Basketball Won the World and Lost Its Soul at Home, 2008, etc.) is the perfect writer for the job. A true fan with terrific access, he interviewed virtually every member of the squad, and he provides a where-are-theynow treatment, which lends context, color and weight to the proceedings. His rendering of the tale of Reed’s heroic play in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA finals in the face of injury is well worth reading, even though it’s one of the most-repeated stories in sports history. Knick superfans Spike Lee and Woody Allen are among those who offer their views on the era, and they come off as expected: passionate, knowledgeable and charmingly biased. Some readers may argue that the book could use a bit more objectivity, but by paying homage to this classic team-first Knicks unit, Araton is paying homage the sport itself.

An in-depth exploration of a team that is well worthy of such reverential treatment. A must for basketball fans and a super-must for New York sports nuts. (8-page black-andwhite photo insert. Author appearances in the New York Tristate area.

Agent: Andrew Blauner)

THE SEXUAL HISTORY OF LONDON From Roman Londinium to the Swinging City— Lust, Vice, and Desire Across the Ages Arnold, Catharine St. Martin’s (384 pp.) $25.99 | Dec 6, 2011 978-0-312-60034-1 A chronological history of prostitution in London.

A more accurate title for this book is A History of Prostitution in London, Plus Oscar Wilde. Arnold does indeed address Wilde’s famous trial, as well as Regina v. Penguin Books, which allowed Lady Chatterley’s Lover to be published in England. For the most part, though, the only kind of sexuality addressed is that offered in exchange for money. The book is organized chronologically, which unfortunately means that several opportunities for a more thematic analysis are lost. For example, Arnold discusses both the 1749 erotic novel Fanny Hill and Lady Chatterley’s Lover, published in 1928, but since they were written centuries apart, the author does not analyze their publication and reception together.

Similarly, Arnold describes the early Roman Londinium attitude that “while brothels were regarded as a healthy outlet for the male appetite...patrician wives and daughters must be paragons of chastity,” and the Victorian middle-class belief that “the majority of ‘respectable’ women did not enjoy performing their conjugal rites,” yet never analyzes the ways in which cultural perspectives on marriage and female sexuality were tied to the demand for sex workers across historical eras. One theme in the book is the chasm between the sexual behavior of the ruling classes and the behavior they expected from, and often legislated in, the lower classes, but this is more an observation than an argument. The presence of footnotes, a bibliography and an index give this book 1776

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

a semi-academic sheen, but this is not a work of scholarship so much as it is a digestion of the research of others repackaged for a popular audience. As popular nonfiction, it will satisfy readers looking for a salacious historical read, and the scholarly apparatus will enable especially curious readers to do more research.

This history of sex work is titillating but poorly organized, and it fails to offer a compelling argument. (20 blackand-white photos and illustrations)

EVERYTHING IS AN AFTERTHOUGHT The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson Avery, Kevin Fantagraphic Books (512 pp.) $29.99 | Nov 21, 2011 978-1-60699-475-7 A Paul Nelson (1936–2006) acolyte delivers a labor-of-love exhumation of the pioneering rock critic’s legacy.

Even among rock fanatics of the 1960s and ’70s, Nelson never attained (nor seemed to strive for) the higher profile of Lester Bangs, Greil Marcus, Robert Christgau or Dave Marsh.

Yet few were as beloved among his peers, his acolytes, even the artists he reviewed and perhaps too often befriended. This welcome volume spotlights the work of the critic who championed the young Bob Dylan’s transition from topical songs to electric rock, who provided early support for Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne and Warren Zevon and who served a stint at Mercury Records during which he signed and championed the New York Dolls and became buddies with Rod Stewart. Says Jay Cocks, who became a successful screenwriter and was the film and music critic for Time during Nelson’s most prolific years, “Paul was one who deserves the word critic; the rest of us were reviewers.” Says Jann Wenner, whose Rolling Stone hired Nelson as review editor and then accepted his resignation as the magazine moved toward shorter reviews in a section that was more aligned with popular taste: “He had that authority and that level of gravitas that these other guys, [Jon] Landau and Greil (Marcus) had had before him. He was the last of that tradition. I guess that era of the independent fiefdom came to an end with Paul.”

Avery’s book also serves as a memorial to a man who saw his career succumb to paralyzing writer’s block as well as changing journalistic values, who clerked in a video store and became borderline destitute, who refused contact with former friends and colleagues and who died a week before his body was discovered.

Reading Bruce Springsteen description of Nelson’s “fan’s enthusiasm…tempered by the incredible intelligence” recalls an era when the rock critic, and rock criticism, really mattered.

kirkusreviews.com

|

“A delicious combination of racy, raunchy and radical—a sex story with a conscience.” from american gangbang

AMERICAN GANGBANG A Love Story

THE LION AND THE JOURNALIST The Unlikely Friendship of Theodore Roosevelt and Joseph Bucklin Bishop

Benjamin, Sam Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (320 pp.) $25.00 | Oct 18, 2011 978-1-4516-2778-7 An Ivy League graduate belly flops into the adult-entertainment industry.

In this humorous, orgiastic memoir, it might seem as if Benjamin squandered his Brown degree to drive cross-country to Santa Cruz, Calif., in pursuit of a video-art career. But to the author, his choice was genius and spurred a domino effect of rich opportunities beginning with the spontaneous purchase of a VHS collection of “deliciously obscene” porn, prompting “meditative bursts of whacking” and a rapturous, watershed moment to become Southern California’s newest “artistic pornographer” making films that “deliberately left room for spontaneity.” After some motivated networking and the production of two inaugural misfires—one with Benjamin pleasuring himself by banana peel—he found a co-conspirator in Northern California for his first starring porn role in the low-budget skin flick, Slide Bi Me. Prime production stints in Hollywood soon followed, and Benjamin’s incremental ascent up the lascivious ladder to porn royalty makes for a surprisingly compelling narrative. Fraught with industry highs and lows and the requisite social fumbles, the author’s chronicle presents a gracious, explicit insider’s illustration of the adult-film industry via a flurry of colorfully graphic scenes, girls galore, Malibu mansions, drugs, cash, and a business sidekick named Willie Timberlake. Aside from a surplus of seamy, implausibly recalled dialogue, Benjamin amusingly delivers pages of raw, backstage degeneracy with much of the scenery stripped of its carnal sexiness by the spurious nature of the “sexual cinema” business. He provides well-written descriptions of a variety of scenarios, including spending a day smoking crack cocaine, a hilarious live audition at a strip club, his delicate initiation to strap-on anal sex and the melodramatic breakup of an ill-conceived relationship with a female performer. Benjamin’s eventual no-regrets exodus from the sex industry came as a relief to his parents, who were guardedly supportive and then overjoyed at their son’s epiphany: “porn wasn’t what I thought it would be.”

A delicious combination of racy, raunchy and radical—a sex story with a conscience.

Bishop, Chip Lyons Press (336 pp.) $24.95 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-7627-7754-9 A freelance journalist debuts with an account of the little-known relationship between a powerful journalist and a president.

The author has much on his narrative plate. The social and political history of the early 20th century, the biographies of Roosevelt and Bishop, the story of the Panama Canal—all figure prominently. Bishop, 12 years older that Roosevelt, outlived the bully president by nearly a decade. The author, who is Bishop’s great-grandnephew, begins with the 1919 death of Roosevelt, then devotes some chapters to the lives of his principals before they met, cutting back and forth between them. Bishop, a so-so student at Brown, moved to New York City, where he gradually ascended journalism’s ladder until he was writing popular editorials for the New York Evening Post. Interwoven is the progress of Roosevelt through young manhood and his initial government posts, including his appointment as New York City police commissioner, a job that soon connected him with Bishop. The author writes that there was no magic moment of meeting, but they both realized the other’s value. Though Bishop did not always support Roosevelt’s actions, he did so with enough frequency that when his journalism career was collapsing, he landed a position with the Panama Canal Commission, a position that caused some in Congress to cry cronyism.

The author, responding that his ancestor worked hard and did well, quotes generously from the many letters between the two and from secondary sources on Roosevelt, the block quotations from which sometimes make his text look like a term paper.

An engaging tour of the busy intersection where history, politics, journalism and power converge.

WARRIORS OF GOD Inside Hezbollah’s Thirty-Year Struggle Against Israel Blanford, Nicholas Random (544 pp.) $30.00 | Oct 25, 2011 978-1-4000-6836-4 978-0-679-60516-4 e-book A comprehensive assessment of Hezbollah’s military capability.

Christian Science Monitor Beirut correspondent Blanford (Killing Mr. Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and its Impact on the Middle East, 2006, etc.) provides a detailed account of the origins and development of the irregular military force called

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1777

Hezbollah, which calls itself Lebanon’s “national resistance,” but is under at least partial strategic direction of Iran and its Revolutionary Guard. Documenting a different kind of capability than that usually associated with terrorist groups, Blanford argues that Iran has spent billions on Hezbollah to expand its own deterrence posture and retaliatory options. It is a capability Ariel Sharon’s former security advisor Giora Eiland says “we cannot defeat” without defining Lebanon as Israel’s enemy. In the area south of Beirut, different generations of weapons systems have been developed and tested since the 1980s, and elicited counter efforts

by Israel as a proxy for Western technology. After each round of open war, Hezbollah has been re-equipped after drawing the technological and military lessons from what preceded. Blanford argues that present capabilities, maintained in violation of UN disarmament resolutions, are more advanced than ever. New types of missiles and anti-aircraft systems have been deployed since 2006, made possible by treaties with Syria and Iran from 2005. There is also Hezbollah’s increasing political involvement in Lebanon, especially now that the organization has been implicated in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

An experienced journalist adds essential background and depth to the daily news from the region. (Agent: Gail Ross)

ONE CLICK Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com Brandt, Richard L. Portfolio (224 pp.) $25.95 | Oct 27, 2011 978-1-59184-375-7 A cursory overview of the man behind Amazon.com.

As any bibliophile knows, the birth of Amazon in the mid ’90s represented both a blessing and a curse to everyone involved in the book industry, from authors and publishers to bookshops and readers. It was a blessing because more than 1 million titles, many rare and hard-to-find, were suddenly available to anyone with a modem and a credit card; a curse because man local mom-andpop booksellers folded because they couldn’t compete with the deep discounts and extremely customer-friendly policies Amazon offered. Whether readers view Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos as an entrepreneurial genius or a ruthless capitalist, there’s no denying that Amazon has grown from a three-guys-ina-garage operation to one of the most powerful and recognized e-commerce sites on the Internet. Brandt (The Google Guys, 2011, etc.), a reporter on all things Silicon Valley for the past 20-plus years, traces Amazon’s sometimes-rocky ascent by interviewing past employees, mentors and competitors of the site. He also mines Bezos’ speeches and interviews to determine the thought process of the man behind the empire. Unfortunately, the result is skeletal and unsatisfying, mainly because Brandt never actually interviewed Bezos directly. The source material is largely what Bezos has allowed into the public realm and seems carefully polished, much like the image of Amazon.com.

1778

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

Suffices as a bare-bones account of a highly successful startup but fails to deliver on the inner workings of a website that changed e-commerce forever.

BROTHERS (& ME) A Memoir of Loving and Giving Britt, Donna Little, Brown (320 pp.) $25.99 | Dec 8, 2011 978-0-316-02184-5 An African-American woman’s plight to properly grieve for her murdered brother while untangling her own psychological hang-ups.

In her debut memoir, former Washington Post columnist Britt offers an introspective account of growing up in Gary, Ind., a small, industrial town most famous for having earned the title “murder capital of the United States.” The city maintained its reputation, though Darrell’s death was unique in that it came at the hands of a pair of Gary police officers who claimed they’d been attacked. “Even in Gary,” writes Britt, “the shooting of the most undistinguished white man usually warranted more than a newsprint shrug. But Darrell was black ordinary, which meant his life didn’t matter much.” Beginning her career as a journalist, the author remained attentive to issues of race, though she struggled with her personal relationships with black men, giving far too much of herself to undeserving partners. This was particularly true after she became yoked to her drug-addled first husband, who emptied Britt’s bank account and sold the family car for a high. Her second marriage, while stronger on the surface, endured its own set of problems, including her husband’s affair.

While Britt initially positions herself as the perpetual victim, by the end of the book she begins to understand her complicity in her choices, coming to terms with her husband’s infidelity as well as the death of her brother. The author is at her best when grappling with these complex relationships shared between AfricanAmerican men and women: “Ours is a dance of mutual affection and hostility, dependence and distrust, fascination and resentment.” Yet Britt makes clear that it is also a dance of owning up to hard truths and facing the worst of life head-on.

A probing psychological exploration that delves to rarely tapped depths. (Agent: David Black)

kirkusreviews.com

|

THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR How to Stop Confusing What You Look Like With Who You Are Bulik, Cynthia Walker (272 pp.) $16.00 paperback | Dec 20, 2011 978-0-8027-1999-7 In this timely study, Bulik (Psychiatry/Univ. of North Carolina; Crave: Why You Binge Eat and How to Stop, 2009, etc.) examines why the female “inner struggle with identity and self-esteem” often manifests as an obsession with bodily imperfections.

She posits that the main reason why women attempt to “fix” themselves with diets, cosmetics and surgery is that society has led them to conflate self-esteem with what she calls “body esteem.” The latter should only be a minor component of the former, but social pressures on women to conform to unattainable ideals of beauty reverse the relationship so that how they look physically becomes the primary way by which women judge their total personal worth. The author first looks at how females of all ages view themselves and their bodies. She encourages readers to take inventory of the negative feelings they may have accumulated at various stages in their lives, and she offers practical advice on how women can regain control of their lives and end the harm they do to themselves both physically and emotionally. Females must cultivate strategic awareness of negative self-talk—not only what it is, but when and where it arises—while also nurturing “the inner coach.”

Not a panacea for all women suffering from poor selfesteem, but Bulik offers hope that freedom from the unrealistic ideals of beauty can be achieved through disciplined self-scrutiny and a will to change damaging ways of thinking and being.

THE LIMIT Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit Cannell, Michael Twelve (320 pp.) $25.99 | Nov 7, 2011 978-0-446-55472-5 Vivid biography of a fast-and-furious competitor on the Grand Prix racing circuit.

Former New York Times editor Cannell (I.M. Pei: Mandarin of Modernism, 1995) freely admits to not owning a car nor considering himself a particularly “impassioned driver,” yet his biography of Phil Hill, a California mechanic who became the only American-born driver to win the Formula One Drivers’ Championship Grand Prix, is a passionate, ambitious work. The author retraces Hill’s youth, eager to escape the grip of his domineering, argumentative parents as a kid maturing in |

Depression-era Southern California. An early infatuation with cars found him tinkering with engine parts rather than playing team sports. An indifferent college student, Hill soon dropped out to work as a mechanic and international motor salesman, a livelihood that financed his first flashy European sports-car purchase. Time spent as a Jaguar trainee spawned some accomplished racing of his own throughout his eventful mid 20s, a time when both of his parents died within months of each other and the racing enthusiast became plagued with anxiety spells. Cannell astutely draws on a wealth of sports publications, memoirs and magazines to convey Hill’s distinctive passion for the raceway and his competitive nature that belied a reputation for being kindhearted, timid and prone to severe stress. Hill climbed the ranks as a Ferrari rookie driver and meticulous automotive diagnostician, and was soon joined by crash-prone German nobleman teammate Count Wolfgang von Trips. Winning the Italian Grand Prix in 1961 proved to be the bittersweet pinnacle of Hill’s career as von Trips died in the same race in a tragic spinout that also killed 15 spectators. Cannell doesn’t lean on the crutch of exposition to convey Hill’s intrepid, sporty story, demonstrating great talent as a biographer.

A crisply written, effectively compelling chronicle.

COCO CHANEL An Intimate Life Chaney, Lisa Viking (400 pp.) $27.95 | Nov 14, 2011 978-0-670-02309-7 In this ambitious, engrossing biography, Chaney (Hide-and-Seek with Angels: A Life of J.M. Barrie, 2006, etc.) delves into the life and times of one of the 20th century’s most controversial fashion icons.

The author probes beneath the cool exterior of Coco Chanel (1883–1971), the woman who, for all the money, status and power she attained, would always “remain self-conscious about her background,” and whose personal torment over a tragic past would later manifest as an addiction to morphine. Chaney chronicles Chanel’s early life in France, from her birth into a family of “impoverished, nomadic market-traders” and difficult adolescence at a convent orphanage to her years as a struggling apprentice seamstress. Hard-working and ambitious, Chanel understood that men were critical to her advancement and took young scions of wealthy families as her lovers. One such individual, Arthur Capel, not only became the love of her life, but also the man who helped Chanel establish the “little business” that, by the end of World War I, was well on its way to becoming a fashion empire. In the 1920s, Chanel catapulted to the center of cultural and artistic life in Paris, a place she occupied almost continuously until her death. Beautiful, provocative and possessed of a “mordant wit,” she became linked to celebrated artists such as Stravinsky, Picasso and Dalí; members of the Russian nobility; other women; and, during World War II, a German soldier with Nazi ties.

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1779

“The underlying point of the book is that Bush/Cheney were right in invading Iraq and waterboarding prisoners. Let the reader be the judge—until, that is, history decides on the matter.” from in my time

ZELDA, THE QUEEN OF PARIS The True Story of the Luckiest Dog in the World

Chaney’s engagement with her subject is evident throughout, and her exhaustive research into Chanel’s life—especially its darker, more enigmatic corners—and the cultural history she so profoundly impacted make the book as fascinating as it is informative.

Chutkow, Paul Lyons Press (224 pp.) $22.95 | Oct 4, 2011 978-0-7627-7147-9

IN MY TIME A Personal and Political Memoir Cheney, Dick with Cheney, Liz Threshold Editions/Simon & Schuster (576 pp.) $35.00 | Aug 30, 2011 978-1-4391-7619-1 978-1-4391-7623-8 e-book Dubya’s vice president speaks—sort of.

Cheney is a company man through and through, a servant of Republican functionaries from the time of LBJ to the recent past—if there is anything to be learned from this bloodless memoir, it is that. The author opens with the outrage of 9/11, in which one thought was foremost on his mind, apart from clearing the sky of planes: namely, “guaranteeing the continuity of a functioning United States government.” In this, he writes, he was the essential element without which that continuity was unsustainable. Cheney’s memoir is political to the extent that he plays the games of hardball politics with everyone he meets, and he makes sure to constantly remind readers of American supremacy and his centrality to it. Colin Powell was his ally until his taste for the war in Iraq weakened, whereupon it was clear to Cheney that Powell had to go. Ditto Condoleezza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld. Cheney’s take on the world is clinical and even scholarly, much like that of Henry Kissinger (another figure whom Cheney does not seem to regard very highly). He is methodical but selective, as when he carefully accounts for his holdings in a certain corporation at the time of his vice presidency: “This was salary that I had already earned, so it was due to me whether the company was doing well or badly.” The company, Halliburton, did well, of course, thanks to no-bid contracts in Iraq—but Cheney still professes irritation that anyone should doubt his clean hands, an irritation expressed by an infamous F-bomb on Capitol Hill (“It was probably not language I should have used on the Senate floor, but it was completely deserved”).

The underlying point of the book is that Bush/Cheney were right in invading Iraq and waterboarding prisoners.

Let the reader be the judge—until, that is, history decides on the matter.

1780

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

A heartwarming tale of a street dog from India and her faithful human companions.

Journalist Chutkow (VISA: The Power of an Idea, 2001, etc.) opens a door into his personal life as he narrates the charming story of Zelda, the Indian scavenger dog. Befriending a scruffy street dog was one of the last things on the author’s mind while working as an AP journalist in India under Indira Gandhi’s rule. However, this ragamuffin “monster” and “trollop” of a dog wheedled her way into the Chutkow’s life. She became a steadfast companion to the author, his wife and newborn son through her “boundless courage, humor and high spirits.” When Chutkow was reassigned to Paris, Zelda followed. Parisians turned their nose up at the little urchin, but the author leaned on Zelda’s friendship when his son had several medical emergencies.

Interspersed among trips to the hospital are amusing stories of Zelda growing addicted to Camembert cheese, warm croissants and homemade borscht. Eventually, Zelda gained renown in Paris when she helped police apprehend a burglar. Suddenly, she was the “Queen of Paris” and “the very picture of European refinement.” And yet, writes the author, “she remained the high-spirited, impulsive Indian street girl, charming, capricious, and totally untamed, just as she had been born to be. After more than a decade in Paris with luxurious vacations in Sardinia, Chutkow returned to America with his family and Zelda.

Chutkow weaves a tender, detail-rich story of how kindness and faith in the inherent goodness of an animal can turn a vagabond into a loving member of the family.

THE BATTLE OF THE TANKS Kursk, 1943 Clark, Lloyd Atlantic Monthly (496 pp.) $25.00 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-8021-1908-7 A leading British military historian reconsiders the events of World War II—this time, on the decisive yet lesstrammeled Eastern Front.

The “lack of appreciation” in the West regarding the Soviet Union’s massive resistance to the Nazi onslaught from June 1941 through July 1943 is gradually giving way to better understanding thanks to the opening of archives behind the former Iron Curtain. In this deeply informed overview, Clark (Crossing the Rhine: Breaking into Nazi Germany 1944 and 1945—The Greatest Airborne Battles in History, 2008, etc.)

kirkusreviews.com

|

offers an authoritative appraisal of the “total war” engulfing both Germany and the Soviet Union. Clark begins with two comprehensive yet succinct chapters situating “The Origins of Annihilation” for both Germany and the Soviet Union from the end of War World I onward. When Hitler seized power, his aim to destroy the Soviets was unmistakable and clear. Meanwhile, Stalin’s purges of the military, just as it was emerging a more modern, professional Red Army by 1937, rendered the Soviets vulnerable to Germany’s aggression. While Germany began its eastern expansion in 1939, the Soviet Union was actually providing it tons of raw materials and grains, perversely allowing Hitler to establish the “timetable for attacking.” Once the shock of the German blitzkrieg gave way to action, the Soviets gradually established a defensive belt that allowed them to hold off the Nazis from Smolensk, Moscow and Stalingrad. The “qualitative gap” between the German and Soviet armies was immense, but what the Soviets had were men to throw into the maw and an impressive production capacity—astutely moved east of Moscow. Gen. Georgy Zhukov’s strategy of drawing out the Germans’ advance to exhaust their resources, miring them in winter, essentially turned the conflict into “a slogging match”— it worked, but to the toll of 10 million Soviet dead.

Vigorous depictions of German and Soviet military leaders alternate with the words of ordinary soldiers and richly described specifications of military hardware. (Maps and photo insert. Agent: Charlie Viney)

COOK THIS NOW 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can’t Wait to Make Clark, Melissa Hyperion (416 pp.) $29.99 | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-4013-2398-1 Delightful seasonal recipes from popular New York Times food columnist Clark (In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite, 2011, etc.).

More people are choosing local, organic food over massproduced products, but knowing how to prepare each season’s fresh offerings can be overwhelming. Clark takes the guesswork out of succulent, healthy cooking with 120 creative, easy-toperuse recipes. The author divides recipes by season and individual month, with dishes that include starters, entrees, sides and desserts. Clark highlights a variety of fresh ingredients, including Tuscan kale, sweet potatoes and rhubarb. Alongside the recipes, the author adds personal anecdotes from her own family of picky eaters. Additional segments, such as “What Else?” and “A Dish by Another Name,” offer advice, such as suggestions for substitutions if the dish is being prepared out of season or tips on how to tenderize free-range farmers’ market chicken legs, which can be more muscular than sedentary, factory-raised meat. Among the highlights of the book: the winter-hearty Port Wine-Braised Oxtails or Short Ribs; the springlike Green Poached Eggs with Spinach and Chives; summery |

Maple Blueberry Tea Cake with Maple Glaze; and the autumnal Stupendous Hummus, which urges the use of dried chickpeas instead of canned for a fuller flavor. Delicious multicultural dishes like Israeli Couscous and bonus recipes from the author’s previous cookbook add additional variety.

A pleasurable collection for cooks of all skill levels.

THE INFINITY PUZZLE Quantum Field Theory and the Hunt for an Orderly Universe Close, Frank Basic (448 pp.) $28.99 | Dec 1, 2011 978-0-465-02144-4 Close (Theoretical Physics; Oxford Univ./Neutrino, 2010, etc.) chronicles the search for the elusive Higgs Boson particle (the “God Particle”).

The author begins with Quantum Electrodynamics, Paul Dirac’s groundbreaking but flawed 1928 model that unified Special Relativity and Quantum theory, and examines how it led to a succession of important discoveries: gauge invariance, renormalization, parity violations, the existence of quarks, symmetry breaking and the existence of new weird particles such as the Higgs Boson. Experiments to verify the theories needed larger and larger accelerators, with high-energy particles colliding at speeds of 300,000 kilometers per second. A major thread of the story is the interaction between the key scientists, many of whom the author knew personally, as they vied for recognition and the final accolade of a Nobel Prize. Close explains that it is not only necessary to make a great discovery but to be the first to publish it. Waiting for confirming results before publishing may prove disastrous in the competition. Throughout, the author chronicles the winners and losers in the annual Nobel sweepstakes, giving them recognition for their achievements and providing a lively thread for readers who may be struggling to comprehend the science. The story culminates with the Large Hadron Collider, which has been fully operational since 2009 but has yet to produce results. Its effort to verify the existence of the Higgs Boson by “recreat[ing] the conditions of the early universe in the laboratory” comes with a hefty price tag. In the author’s view, the 60-year effort to confront “the paradox of the Infinity Puzzle has brought us to the threshold of being able to address the question of existence itself.”

Close ably demonstrates the stakes in this perhaps misplaced, hubristic effort.

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1781

IN OUR PRIME The Invention of Middle Age Cohen, Patricia Scribner (288 pp.) $25.00 | Jan 10, 2012 978-1-4165-7289-3 New York Times culture reporter Cohen looks at how the concept of middle age has changed from the 1860s, when it was first recognized as a discrete period of adult development, to the present day.

To understand the forces involved, the author interviewed social scientists and neurologists, TV producers, film directors, actors, advertisers and pharmaceutical-company executives. Before beginning her social history, however, Cohen takes readers inside the University of Wisconsin’s Laboratory for Brain Imaging and Behavior, where researchers at an NIH-funded project called Midlife in the United States are building a comprehensive database on middleaged Americans, and where the author had her own brain scanned in a fMRI machine. Her highly readable history of the concept of middle age stresses two themes. One is the difficulty of defining middle age: when it happens, how long it lasts and whether it is viewed positively or negatively. The other is the interaction of faith in self-improvement and the power of the marketplace, which has had a powerful effect on the public’s perception of the middle years.

Cohen describes the phenomenon she dubs the “Midlife Industrial Complex” and its promotion of products—sex aids, human growth hormones anti-aging creams—and procedures such as plastic surgery, which can ameliorate the supposed afflictions of middle age.

Even movies and TV come under her scrutiny as she examines the differences between how men and women in midlife have been depicted. The good news is that the spending power of the baby boomer demographic means that the marketplace’s approach to midlifers is changing for the better. Early on, Cohen writes that that “the twenty-first century belongs to the middle-ager.” By the book’s end, however, the take-home message is more sober—the meaning of middle age changes with every generation, and what it will be in the future remains unknowable.

A cool, well-documented account that puts the concept of middle age into historical context.

MURDER IN THE FIRST-CLASS CARRIAGE The First Victorian Railway Killing Colquhoun, Kate Overlook (352 pp.) $24.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-59020-675-1 Account of the first Victorian railway murder in Britain, and how the broader historical events surrounding the crime shaped the hunt for a killer.

1782

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

Colquhoun (The Thrifty Cookbook, 2011, etc.) examines the murder of Thomas Briggs in July 1864 as he was traveling on the North London railway. Violently attacked, Briggs was discovered near death on the train tracks, his compartment soaked in blood. The evidence was slim; only a bloodstained hat and a broken watch chain found in the compartment provided any clues for the investigation into the killer. Colquhoun’s narrative takes readers from London to New York City and then back again as the police race to identify Briggs’ murderer and bring him to justice. The author’s suspenseful writing style and clear prose make the tale easy to read, but occasionally the story can become dry due to the amount of information packed into the book.

Colquhoun includes quotes from the historical record and seamlessly weaves them into her story, but at times these details can become overwhelming—e.g., the author’s account of the extradition hearing is unnecessarily long. However, Colquhoun expertly places the murder within the larger context of British, Continental European and American history. The book ends with a look at the changes wrought by Briggs’ killing and the ensuing trial.

Despite the occasional slow spots, Colquhoun successfully balances suspense with historical accuracy. (4 maps)

THE SECOND WORLD WAR A Military History Corrigan, Gordon Dunne/St. Martin’s (672 pp.) $35.00 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-312-57709-4 An opinionated survey by a British military historian takes in all theaters of World War II, especially the war in Asia.

“New histories” of World War II continue to proliferate, as world records are thrown open and theories revised, and concise, one-volume surveys are always welcome—e.g., see Andrew Roberts’ excellent The Storm of War (2011). Similarly, Corrigan (Blood, Sweat, and Arrogance, 2006, etc.) offers a superlative big picture, setting up the far-reaching economic ramifications of the crash of the American stock market in 1929, the Russian Revolution and the rush to modernize after World War I. In particular, the author masterfully presents the military buildup in Japan, the rise of extreme nationalism, emperor worship and Japanese sense of racial superiority as factors feeding the smoldering resentment against the Western powers that unleashed itself in horrific treatment of prisoners and civilians during the war. Corrigan comes down hard on the British Army (as opposed to the Air Force and Navy), which was no match for the tenacious, wily Germans. He tidily organizes his work chronologically by alternating spheres of action. Corrigan compares the unraveling struggle to previous wars, and he is succinct and unafraid to voice strong opinions, such as that the policy of saturation bombing undertaken by the British and Americans was necessary to bring the war to an end, despite the enormous civilian casualties. He posits the Russian recovery of the Madjanek camp in Poland in July 1944 as the moment “the full beastliness of the German racial policies was exposed.”

kirkusreviews.com

|

“Few readers will fully agree with what Church represented, but all will find his story instructive and masterfully told.” from being alive and having to die

BEING ALIVE AND HAVING TO DIE The Spiritual Odyssey of Forrest Church

Engaging reading down to the footnotes. (19 black-andwhite maps; three 8-page photo sections)

CRUDE AWAKENING Money, Mavericks, and Mayhem in Alaska Coyne, Amanda and Hopfinger, Tony Nation Books/Perseus (288 pp.) $26.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-1-56858-447-8 Two political reporters comprehensively yet somewhat sensationally explore Alaska’s oil situation amid a heady scandal and the ever-evolving pageantry of Sarah Palin.

Alaska Dispatch co-founders Coyne and Hopfinger happily sink their teeth into their home turf ’s oil and politics conundrum, whittling away at 40-plus years of corruption and obfuscation. They focus their intensive scrutiny on three “larger-than-life” figures “born out of oil” in the 2006 corruption scandal: former senator Ted Stevens, retired oil executive Bill Allen and resigned Alaskan governor Sarah Palin. With authoritative prose, the authors backtrack to the late ’50s, when Alaska was more concerned with its fishing and mineral trade.

Alaska’s 1968 “marriage to Big Oil” would permanently change the state’s direction, and Stevens would play an integral part in that change. His involvement in the dissolution of environmental and social impediments to an oil pipeline paved the way for a legislative career mired in controversial alignments and governmental scandal. The authors write that Allen, armed with minimal education and welding experience, upheld a laundry list of felonious business dealings with oil barons and deceptive politicians as a founder of VECO Corporation, Alaska’s largest oil contractor. His actions earned him a stint in federal prison while, years earlier, a young, idealistic Palin ambitiously climbed the Wasilla political ladder, banked questionable campaign contributions from VECO and launched a muchlampooned series of foibles including an abruptly ended governorship that showed her “thin skin and hubristic ambitions.”

Throughout, the authors paint Alaska as an environmentally blessed, aesthetically promising land, which makes the detailed corruption and its dark outcome that much more contemptible.

None of the three subjects deserve any sympathy, and Coyne and Hopfinger keep them all (Palin especially) squirming under their journalistic thumbnail.

A probative, merciless examination from an Anchorage-based dynamic duo with an ax to grind. (Author events in Alaska and Seattle)

|

Cryer, Dan St. Martin’s (352 pp.) $27.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-312-59943-0 Detailed biography of a less-thanperfect liberal church leader.

Son of famed U.S. Senator Frank Church, Forrest Church emerged from the heady 1960s as a national leader of the Unitarian Universalist Association and a noted but controversial spokesman for what former Newsday book critic Cryer calls “liberal religion.” The author, who conducted numerous personal interviews with Church and those close to him, provides a truly comprehensive, warts-and-all examination of the man’s life. Spending much of his late-’60s college career at Stanford as a rather stereotypically underachieving pothead, Church rebounded from this destructive path only to be faced with the grand question of his times: how to avoid the draft. His chosen answer was to enter seminary, and despite less-thansincere reasons for doing so, he ended up as a devoted scholar of religion. Drawn eventually into work as a clergy member of the UUA, he spent his entire career at the denomination’s flagship church in New York City, All Souls. While expanding his church and its mission and gaining a national audience through numerous books, Church also brought about the destruction of his marriage and almost of his own career through infidelity. Cryer, a longtime member of All Souls, dispassionately chronicles his subject’s oftenchaotic life—that of an overachieving, workaholic, alcoholic, ne’erdo-well-turned-denominational doyen. Church’s story ends with his death from cancer in 2009, covered poignantly by the author.

Cryer’s prose is approachable, educational and engaging, and readers will relive the upheaval of Vietnam, the advent of AIDS, the religious controversies of the ’80s, and even 9/11.

Few readers will fully agree with what Church represented, but all will fi nd his story instructive and masterfully told. (8-page color photo insert)

AGATHA CHRISTIE Murder in the Making Curran, John Harper/HarperCollins (496 pp.) $25.99 | Nov 22, 2011 978-0-06-206542-1 Following Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks (2009), which scrutinized the early stages of some two-dozen novels by the legendary mystery novelist, Christie expert Curran returns to exhume and analyze selected entries from her 73 notebooks dealing with dozens of other novels and stories.

“Selected” is the key word, since the material presented is by no means exhaustive, and often thematically rearranged into

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1783

categories like “Unused Ideas, 1-4” and “Agatha Christie and Poison.” Curran’s shaping editorial hand is inevitable because the notebooks are so chaotic. Christie, whose meticulously plotted detective stories present her as a master of logic and detail, could scatter undated entries on a given novel across several different notebooks, and her handwriting presented distinct challenges to her editor. Her preference for tight plotting, a deceptive but generous use of clues, a limited array of stock characters and a neutral, highly serviceable dialogue and descriptive prose are too well-known to be further illuminated here, but Curran produces some welcome surprises. His selection reprints a hitherto unpublished courtroom climax to The Mysterious Affair at Styles, an earlier version of “The Red Signal” and an alternate version of “The Case of the Caretaker’s Wife.” He describes a never-staged dramatization of The Secret of Chimneys, reveals the two quite different motives for murder in the British and American editions of Three Act Tragedy and notes that Christie intended to publish Sleeping Murder under the title Cover Her Face until P.D. James anticipated her in the long interval between Sleeping Murder’s composition and its publication. Curran’s single most important general revelation is Christie’s fondness for playing with unpromisingly skeletal ideas until they turned into the high concepts for which she is best remembered.

Not a book to read in one sitting, but one to love: a sumptuous buffet for fans who wish the Queen of Crime had lived forever.

THE BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2011

Danticat, Edwidge–Ed. Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (272 pp.) $14.95 paperback | Oct 4, 2011 978-0-547-47977-4 Sickness, murder, death, sudden loss— the latest installment in this venerable series skews heavily toward personal essays in which people face up to life’s overwhelming sadness.

Paul Crenshaw (“After the Ice”) recalls the infant nephew who was murdered by his stepfather; Madge McKeithen (“What Really Happened”) details her prison visit to see a man who murdered his wife, who was the author’s best friend. The poet Toi Derricotte (“Beds”) tells of her lifelong love-hate battle with an abusive father. In “Grieving,” Meenakshi Gigi Durham watches as her academic husband is denied tenure, and assesses what it means for a dedicated professional to suddenly find himself in free-fall. Christopher Hitchens (“Topic of Cancer”) faces a wretched diagnosis with his usual unsentimental eloquence, as he goes “from the country of the well across the stark frontier that marks off the land of malady.” The strongest, most interesting essays put a face on larger issues. In “What Broke My Father’s Heart,” Katy Butler tells how her father’s pacemaker allowed his body to live long after his brain stopped functioning; the essay raises tough questions about how expensive medical 1784

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

care can exacerbate more pain than it relieves. Charlie LeDuff ’s deeply reported “What Killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones?” takes a case that went horribly wrong—a 7-year-old girl killed when cops busted into the wrong apartment—and uses it as a reflection on how crime-ridden Detroit has become a toxic environment for residents and innocent bystanders alike. In another big-picture piece, “Generation Why?” Zadie Smith assesses how Facebook is a perfect reflection of the shallow mind of its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. Other contributors include Hilton Als, Mischa Berlinski and Pico Iyer.

This collection could have used more variety, but the preponderance of stories on human mortality doesn’t make it a downer; the brave voices behind these experiences keep the pages turning.

PAULA DEEN’S SOUTHERN COOKING BIBLE The New Classic Guide to Delicious Dishes With More Than 300 Recipes Deen, Paula with Clark, Melissa Simon & Schuster (480 pp.) $26.99 | Oct 11, 2011 978-1-4165-6407-2 An encyclopedic tour of Southern cuisine that leaves no doubt about Deen’s (Paula Deen: It Ain’t All About the Cooking, 2009, etc.) latest bountiful and delicious contributions to the contemporary American kitchen.

Stuffed with more than 300 recipes for every occasion imaginable, Deen’s cookbook sets out to prove that nothing beats home cooking. The Emmy-winning restaurateur and bestselling cookbook author has snowballed in popularity since beginning her TV career on the Food Network. Here, alongside New York Times food writer Clark, Deen aims to claim a welldeserved spot in the pantheon of engaging and enlightening culinary writers. The author divides her offerings into 16 easily navigable categories, with a large section of sauces, dressings and relishes to boot. Each recipe is written with exceptional attention to detail, yet the instructions are simple, rarely exceeding four steps. The author’s inimitable voice enhances the introductions to each chapter, as well as sidebars and handy headnotes.

As for critics of her penchant for high-caloric ingredients like butter and cream, let them eat Ooey Gooey Butter Layer Cake.

Just make sure you don’t miss out on the Low-Country Boil, a Southern tradition and one-pot wonder of which Deen writes, “Y’all, just one taste of Low-Country Boil is enough to remind you that down South even if you’re poor in the pocket, you’re rich in the belly.”

Preach it, Paula.

kirkusreviews.com

|

“A striking, comprehensive guide to the breadth and depth of African-American history.” from life upon these shores

PRINCE PHILIP The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II Eade, Philip Henry Holt (368 pp.) $28.00 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-8050-9544-9 The author of Sylvia, Queen of the Headhunters (2007) returns with a flattering account of Philip, who could have become King of Greece but instead married the woman who would be queen.

As the title suggests, Eade’s account ends with the 1953 coronation of the young queen. The author begins on a far grimmer note—the death in a 1937 plane crash of Philip’s pregnant sister Cecile. Hitler was then surging in Germany, and the teenage Philip was in school in Darmstadt, overlooking the Rhine Valley.

Philip had a number of issues to deal with before achieving eligibility to marry Elizabeth and before earning the trust and affection of the English. His sisters married Germans, and he lived in Germany during the time of the Hitler Youth (he was not a member); he was in line for the Greek throne; he wasn’t a citizen of the U.K.; he had a rough exterior, perhaps exacerbated by his mother’s madness and his father’s absence. Eade follows Philip as he struggled through young manhood and grew up under the care of his uncles, the Mountbattens. Dickie Mountbatten, a rising star in the Royal Navy, encouraged his nephew to do likewise, which he did. He went through Royal Naval training, served on ships in World War II and earned the respect of his shipmates. Although he first saw Elizabeth when she was an 8-year-old bridesmaid, he later made a much greater impression on the future queen when she was 13. She came, she saw, he conquered. Eade follows the courtship and the pomp and circumstance, dismisses the rumors of his infidelity and lets us know how handsome, beautiful and well-attired everyone was.

Calorie-rich fare for those who enjoy snacking on royal stories. (8-page black-and-white insert)

LIFE UPON THESE SHORES Looking at African American History, 1513-2008 Gates Jr., Henry Louis Knopf (496 pp.) $50.00 | Nov 22, 2011 978-0-307-59342-9 A distinguished scholar surveys, with lavish illustrations, 500 years of the African-American experience.

Few readers will consult this text for the last word on any of the hundreds of entries it contains, but students might well begin here to understand the sweep of African-American history. Gates (African and African-American Studies/Harvard Univ.; Black in Latin America, 2011, etc.) arranges his history chronologically, with each chapter successively packed with |

more information, reflecting the ever-increasing impact of African-Americans on the nation. From the conquistadors and the origins of slavery in the Americas, through the Revolutionary period, the rise of abolitionism, the Civil War and Reconstruction, the Jim Crow era, the Great Migration, both World Wars and the 20th century’s civil-rights movement, up to President Obama’s election, the supremely qualified Gates guides us through centuries of history with encyclopedia-style, miniessays on a vast array of topics. No significant figure in AfricanAmerican history goes untreated, and many names are rescued from neglect. Gates takes the “looking” part of his subtitle seriously. The stunning illustrations—photos, paintings, engravings, posters, broadsides, drawings, maps, advertisements, cartoons and film stills—perfectly supplement a text in which individual entries are necessarily abbreviated to permit single-volume coverage of so vast a topic. More than 800 images, many unforgettable, instantly convey, for example, the charm of Billy Eckstine, the fierce dignity of Frederick Douglass, the grace of Arthur Ashe, the intensity of Richard Wright and the anguish of Martin Luther King Jr. They powerfully capture the brutality of a slave coffle, the horror of lynching, the heedless cruelty of the sambo caricature and the absurdity of Jim Crow prohibitions.

A striking, comprehensive guide to the breadth and depth of African-American history. (880 photographs. First printing of 60,000. Author tour to Boston, New York, Washington, D.C.)

YOU WILL SEE FIRE A Search for Justice in Kenya Goffard, Christopher Norton (320 pp.) $27.95 | Dec 5, 2011 978-0-393-07742-1 A journalist revisits the unsolved mystery surrounding the 2000 death of a controversial Catholic priest.

Los Angeles Times contributor Goffard (Snitch Jacket, 2007) probes beneath the headlines in this nuanced, multilayered account of the life of Father John Kaiser, an American former paratrooper who joined a Catholic missionary order and served in Kenya for more than three decades.

During his life, he was considered something of a crank—he always carried a shotgun and hunted big game and was conservative on matters of Catholic doctrine yet appreciated the role played by native witch doctors—but he was admired for his courageous stand against the corrupt Kenyan dictator Daniel Aratrap Moi. Goffard believes that Kaiser, who before his death became “a symbol of national conscience, a source of hope, a galvanizing force,” was murdered because of his campaign to bring one of Moi’s top henchman to trial and bring the dictator himself before the Hague Court of International Justice.

Kaiser did not have the support of his Catholic superiors, who feared reprisals against the church. While the case for murder is certainly plausible, the author also considers the possibility of suicide because of Kaiser’s fear that he would be forced to

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1785

WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR SOME How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful

return to the United States. Plagued by malaria and other ailments, including several bipolar episodes, the 67-year-old priest almost appeared to be courting martyrdom. That he staged his suicide to look like murder is also possible, although his Catholic beliefs speak against this possibility. In 2002, the Moi regime was finally overthrown.

Goffard makes a convincing case that although the circumstances of Kaiser’s death remain a mystery, his legacy is incontestable. (8 pages of photographs)

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Gould, Lewis L. Oxford Univ. (104 pp.) $12.95 | Jan 6, 2012 978-0-19-979701-1

A very brief resource on the life of Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919).

Gould (American History Emeritus/ Univ. of Texas; The Most Exclusive Club: A History of the Modern United States Senate, 2005, etc.) extracts significantly from his previous pertinent works on Roosevelt, Taft and the Progressive era. The character depicted here is one of decisive action, charisma and accidental fame (his accelerating celebrity status served his causes as naturalist and reformer).

Underestimated early in his career by the Republican Party he tirelessly stumped for, he eventually secured GOP appointments in Benjamin Harrison’s Civil Service Commission, then as President McKinley’s assistant secretary of the Navy in 1897.

Contrary to later mythmaking, Roosevelt “did not bring on the war” with Spain over the Philippines, but he embraced the hostilities enthusiastically. His Rough Riders’ valiant efforts to take the San Juan Heights in Cuba gained him enormous acclaim at home, paving the way for two years as New York governor and making him the attractive vice-presidential choice for McKinley. Using the “bully pulpit” of the now-renamed White House, his Square Deal instituted sweeping reforms such as breaking up monopolies, mediating with striking miners, acquiring the Panama Canal Zone, ensuring government regulation in the Pure Food and Drug Act, including women in the democratic process and conserving the natural world from degradation. His years after the White House were largely spent planning how to get back in, and his Progressive Party platform of 1912 laid out an agenda “that was far more reformist than that of any Democratic or Republican presidential nominees until the New Deal.”

A bare-bones summary that is even shorter and somewhat less eloquent than Louis Auchincloss’ Roosevelt bio (2002) in the Times/Holt presidential series.

Greenwald, Glenn Metropolitan/Henry Holt (304 pp.) $26.00 | Oct 25, 2011 978-0-8050-9205-9 Attorney and Salon contributor Greenwald (Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Big Myths of Republican Politics, 2008, etc.) exposes the collapse of the checks-and-balances system that was supposed to protect America from tyrants and dictators.

When the executive, judicial and legislative branches collude to avoid enforcement, lawlessness is the end result; it’s what happens when presidents say, “we want to look forward as opposed to looking backward,” allowing the last administration to get away with murder (often literally). The author cites the many instances of those who were guilty but walked free: from the Teapot Dome scandal to Iran Contra, to pardons for Nixon, Weinberger and Libby. Business as usual continued with Barack Obama, who ignored the machinations of the Bushes in favor of “looking forward.” The peddling of influence is nourished by the lobbyists and PACs, and financiers are bailed out for causing the economy to tank, instead of being jailed. They know that high-risk investments hold risk for the taxpayers, never for them; the government is right there with their parachute. Greenwald points out that offenders are protected not only by each other, but also by the press, which is supposed to be the public’s watchdog. Meanwhile, the middle and lower classes can expect long-term imprisonment for even the least of crimes. And now that prisons-for-profit are part of the mix, look for more and stricter sentencing guidelines.

Greenwald lets no one off the hook in demonstrating the vast differences in legal recourse between rich and poor, powerful and weak—would that he had more solutions. (Agent: Daniel Conaway)

LOVE GOES TO BUILDINGS ON FIRE Music Made in New York City in the ’70s Hermes, Will Faber & Faber/Farrar, Straus and Giroux (368 pp.) $30.00 | Nov 15, 2011 978-0-86547-980-7 Readers may assume that a book whose title riffs on a Talking Heads deep cut would be pretty cool; they would be right.

To many music snobs, the mid ’70s weren’t a particularly fertile time for most musical genres, especially in comparison to the nonstop growth of the previous two decades. (The rise and

1786

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

“A smorgasbord of essays to satiate the hungry reader’s palate.” from best food writing 2011

fall of disco didn’t help lend any weight to the era.) But by shining the spotlight on the diverse New York City scene of 197377, Rolling Stone senior critic Hermes (co-editor: Spin: 20 Years of Alternative Music, 2005) argues successfully for the vitality of the period. Many critics believe that the greatest innovation of the day was punk and/or New Wave—the Ramones, Patti Smith, the Talking Heads, Television, everybody who graced the stage at CBGBs, etc.—but Hermes points out that this was a time when the seeds of hip-hop were planted by the likes of Grandmaster Flash. In addition, thanks primarily to Philip Glass, minimalism became a legitimate and influential classical subgenre. It’s this embracing of a wide variety of styles that sets the project apart from other books studying the era. Hermes digs into every style that NYC had to offer—e.g., his dissection of Latin music will have many readers seeking out Celia Cruz and Ray Barretto records. The author maintains a casual and conversational tone, and he’s a fine storyteller. His attitude, sharp ear and smart big-picture view turn what could have been a small book into something special.

A hip, clever, informative look at an unjustifiably dismissed musical era that will have readers scouring iTunes for the perfect accompanying soundtrack.

BEST FOOD WRITING 2011

Hughes, Holly–Ed. Da Capo Lifelong/Perseus (320 pp.) $16.00 paperback | Oct 15, 2011 978-0-7382-1518-1 The latest edition of the food-writing series, edited by former Fodor’s Travel Publications executive editor Hughes.

The collection is light on celebritychef profiles and restaurant reviews, offering instead wide-ranging essays on topics ranging from how we find solace in food (David Leite’s “When Food Doesn’t Heal”) to cross-cultural disorientation (Chang-Rae Lee’s “Magical Dinners”). A new section, “Foodways,” contains stories of African-American culinary influences of the 1960s and ’70s, Venetian seafood, farming Kenyan vegetables in Minneapolis, the egalitarianism of drive-thrus and how eating local in New York City translates into a delicious fusion of Italian and Chinese flavors. Readers will learn what attracts people to shark fin soup, what constitutes a food desert and why access to grocery stores is important. Another new section, “Guilty Pleasures,” includes mirthful thoughts about Vienna sausages, tater tots and the “food of depravity”: pimiento cheese, Doritos, smoked oysters and other unforgettable midnight munchies. Three stories delve into the use of digital media by foodies: Nick Fauchald describes his online food diary (zero followers three weeks into his Twitter feed), Sara Deseran laments the burgeoning social-media use by foodies in San Francisco and Ike DeLorenzo describes the good and bad about online food sites Yelp, Chowhound and Citysearch, and the move by Facebook and Google to encourage restaurant reviews.

As DeLorenzo writes, diners are redefining the table setting: “Fork on the left, knife on the right, iPhone top center. It’s chew and |

review, toast and post.” Other contributors to this year’s anthology include newcomers Gabrielle Hamilton (Blood, Bones, and Butter, 2011), Lisa Abend (The Sorcerer’s Apprentices, 2011) and stalwarts Colman Andrews, Christopher Kimball and Floyd Skloot.

A smorgasbord of essays to satiate the hungry reader’s palate.

IRON MAN My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath Iommi, Tony Da Capo/Perseus (384 pp.) $26.00 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-306-81955-1 Black Sabbath’s founding guitarist recounts the British metal band’s chaotic history.

Iommi’s as-told-to book, co-authored by Lammers, offers a rote look at his foundational group’s story, which practically ended before it began. At 17, the aspiring axe man sliced off two fingertips while operating a machine press. Inspired by the example of gypsy virtuoso Django Reinhardt, who performed brilliantly after his hand was severely burned, Iommi continued to play, with self-fabricated “thimbles” extending his digits. He soon hooked up with three other Birmingham, England, lads— singer Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward—to form Black Sabbath, whose churning, down-tuned music drew the metal road map. Iommi, the band’s resident riffmaster and studio obsessive, unimaginatively recalls the band’s story album by album and tour by tour, without explicating the group’s unique sound, internal chemistry or propensity for provoking public outrage. He’s most entertaining when describing the Sabbath’s incessant, hazardous prank-playing; much of the “fun” came at the expense of Ward, who was nearly suffocated by a coat of gold spray paint and almost fatally incinerated after Iommi doused him with tape-machine head cleaner and set him ablaze. The guitarist is not wholly unaware of the oft-ludicrous nature of his enterprise: One of the best chapters recalls the building of a massive, misbegotten Stonehenge stage set, which inspired a choice gag in This is Spinal Tap. But he is unable to shed light on the band mates’ fraught relationships (exacerbated by drug and alcohol abuse), Sabbath’s hellish business affairs or his own chronic cocaine use and failed marriages.

Excepting a rich passage about a once-unthinkable 2002 command performance before Queen Elizabeth II, the late going devolves into an unenlightening recap of the band’s revolvingdoor post-Osbourne years, when it was fronted by singers Ronnie James Dio, Ian Gillan and others, and its latter-day reunion gigs. However, readers do learn that Michael Bolton unsuccessfully auditioned for the position of lead vocalist.

As rock bios go, this just isn’t heavy enough.

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1787

INSIDE COCA-COLA A CEO’s Life Story of Building the World’s Most Popular Brand

THE INNOVATOR’S COOKBOOK Essentials for Inventing What Is Next

Isdell, Neville with Beasley, David St. Martin’s (272 pp.) $25.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-312-61795-0 978-1-4299-8889-6 e-book

Johnson, Steven Riverhead (272 pp.) $18.00 paperback | Oct 4, 2011 978-1-59448-558-9

The highs and lows of America’s favorite soda from an upper-level executive.

Isdell offers a straightforward, prosaic hybrid of history and histrionics in describing his time at the soft-drink giant.

The author retraces his youth, when he and his family moved from Northern Ireland (where Coke was considered “exotic”) to Africa, where his tall stature served him well on and off the rugby field. After college, business aspirations replaced social-work training, and Isdell began driving delivery trucks at a Coca-Cola bottling depot in Zambia for a yearly salary of just over $1,000. The author climbed the corporate ladder and familiarized himself with the adversarial politics between bottling facilities and the company. This strategy paid off with a succession of managerial positions in Johannesburg as racial strife in Africa’s economic hub enlightened Isdell on the woes of civil unrest and afforded him time to tailor his own business acumen, including honing a knack for resolving “human conflicts.” Employing a flat, workmanlike tone, the author recaps the locales of his successful upper-management career spent boosting profits in slacking “turnaround markets” in Australia, central Europe and India, then strategizing the perpetual rivalry with Pepsi in the Philippines. He also fair-mindedly details Coke’s darker days: the 1997 death of esteemed leader Roberto Goizueta and the company’s 2004 scrutiny by the SEC for exaggerated sales figures and the suspected terrorization of Colombian union workers. Remaining a dedicated brand loyalist, Isdell writes of being plucked from his retirement in Barbados after 30 years at Coca-Cola and thrust back into the fray as chairman and CEO. Seemingly indefatigable, the author promised to restore the company to its former glory during his five-year tenure. A final chapter finds Isdell applying his experiences to the tenets of contemporary global industries, passionately reiterating the need for increased “corporate social responsibility.”

A disappointingly bland memoir lacking the effervescence that put Coke on the map. (8-page black-and-white photo insert)

Johnson (Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation, 2010, etc.) offers an invaluable compendium of the best available thinking on innovation.

“The history of human progress, worldwide, is the history of new ideas put to wonderful new use,” writes the author. In recent years, scholars and innovators have studied the mystery of innovation, including the more than a dozen gurus from diverse fields represented here. In essays, studies and interviews, the contributors describe the factors and conditions that often spark creativity. Stressing innovation’s place at the heart of entrepreneurship, Peter Drucker reflects on innovation opportunities. Within companies they occur because of unexpected occurrences, incongruities, process needs or market changes; outside companies, they arise through demographic changes, changes in perception and new knowledge.

“Above all, innovation is work—rather than genius,” he writes.

Richard Florida offers a concise summary of his creative-class thesis, arguing for the mix of lifestyle, diversity and other factors that shape a creative environment. Other contributors address such topics as the variables affecting success in innovation, how business imperatives can kill creativity, the role of consumers and the growth of social innovations from neighborhood watch groups to Wikipedia. Musician-producer Brian Eno, who notes that new technologies often precede new realizations of their use, says he often fiddles around with newly invented tools. He also travels to escape normal everyday life. Tom Kelley, general manager of design firm IDEO, stresses the importance of cross-pollination across fields and the strategic role space can play in a team’s creativity.

With an introduction by Johnson on the critical importance of innovation for America’s economic future, this is a welcome tool kit for anyone looking to cook up new ideas.

THE GODS OF PROPHETSTOWN The Battle of Tippecanoe and the Holy War for the American Frontier Jortner, Adam Oxford Univ. (320 pp.) $27.95 | Dec 7, 2011 978-0-19-976529-4 A dual biography that also serves as a myth-busting history of Indian-Caucasian relationships within what became the continental United States.

1788

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

“Like Kael’s own books, this bio is a page-turner.” from pauline kael

Jortner (History/Auburn Univ.) deeply into the lives of Tenskwatawa, a Shawnee Indian leader, and William Henry Harrison, a Virginia-bred aristocrat accumulating power as the governor of the Indiana Territory, leading all the way to the White House in 1840. Tenskwatawa had been seen as a relative non-entity among Indian tribal councils until 1806, when he seemed to conjure up a miracle by predicting a total eclipse of the sun. With a new following, Tenskwatawa and his eventually more famous brother Tecumseh persuaded Indians from numerous tribes to resist the encroaching Caucasians throughout the Midwest—which was considered the Western frontier in those days. Harrison expressed determination to expand the Caucasian dominion. The warriors fought with words for years; Jortner explains how those warring words were grounded in widely divergent beliefs about the nature and grand plan of the earth’s creator. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the cold war eventually went hot with the battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, and indirectly caused the warrior wing of American government to fight British troops in what would become known as the War of 1812.

When Harrison sought entry to the White House decades later, he cited Tippecanoe as confirmation of his role as a great battlefield general and patriot. Jortner convincingly demonstrates that nobody won the battle of Tippecanoe—both sides would have been stronger if they had avoided battle.

A well-researched, skillfully written history.

SEEKING SICILY A Cultural Journey Through Myth and Reality in the Heart of the Mediterranean Keahey, John Dunne/St. Martin’s (336 pp.) $25.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-312-59705-4 Veteran newspaperman Keahey continues his exploration of Italian civilization with an appreciation of the rich, vibrant surroundings of Italy’s largest autonomous island.

Having previously explored both the Ionian Sea region and the disastrous fate of an ever-sinking Venice (Venice Against the Sea: A City Besieged, 2002), the author turns his journalistic eye toward Sicily, a “strange, magnificent, brooding island.” Keahey meticulously observes the history, colorful customs and culture of Sicilians with boundless curiosity. He climbs the rickety scaffolding in capital city Palermo to capture the best view of the palazzo compound of taciturn Sicilian novelist Giuseppe di Lampedusa. He shares a stroll through a cuisine cornucopia at Vucciria marketplace and observes the region’s many unwieldy, grandiose festivals and processions honoring patron saints and Easter Week. After illuminating the island’s varying economic strata, Keahey retraces the fascinating history of village squares once used for public burnings and the restoration of a local prison. Some of his sightseeing is informally guided by indigenous “Siciliani,” an assemblage of prideful natives whose characteristics the author describes with the same spirited |

deliberation as chapters on myths, food, native dialects and the histrionics of the Sicilian Mafiosi. In a superbly sensory chapter, Keahey marvels at variations in Sicilian cuisine with mouthwatering descriptions flooding the pages of this lush travelogue.

With extensive details and a fond admiration of its people, Keahey effectively articulates why the people of this charming island “are Sicilians before they are Italians, and why no amount of time under the control of Rome will ever change that.” (8-page black-and-white insert; 2 maps)

PAULINE KAEL A Life in the Dark Kellow, Brian Viking (320 pp.) $27.95 | Oct 31, 2011 978-0-670-02312-7 The first biography of arguably the most influential and controversial film critic at a turning point in cinema history.

Pauline Kael (1919–2001) was a study in contradictions: a farm girl (albeit from an unusual community of Eastern European Jews in Petaluma, Calif.) and proud Westerner who became film critic for the most urbane of Eastern magazines, the New Yorker; an outspoken critic of the auteur theory who faithfully championed several auteurs of the 1970s, including Peckinpah, Altman, Scorsese, Coppola and de Palma; and an acolyte of high art who wrote most passionately about “trash” that hit her in the gut.

A generous nurturer of younger writers, she could turn cold or even brutal if they didn’t act according to her plans for them.

With her daughter Gina (who declined to participate in the book), Kael was dependent to the point of being an obstacle to her career and romances. But Kael’s life outside of the movies is background to the narrative, as it seems to have been for Kael herself as she lived it. “For Pauline,” writes Opera News features editor Kellow (Ethel Merman: A Life, 2007 etc.), “being a spectator continued to be the best thing life could offer.” She first came to some prominence as a movie maven in San Francisco, where she selected programs for an art house and opined on films for listener-supported radio. She was already 50 when she began writing for the New Yorker, but those two decades of her life take up roughly 75 percent of Kellow’s book. Her influence owes probably most to her intensely personal writing style and her identification with and advocacy for the movie audience.

Kellow performs biographical magic, telling her story mostly through her most famous (and notorious) reviews of some of the landmark films of the ’60s and ’70s: Bonnie and Clyde, M*A*S*H, Last Tango in Paris, Nashville, Jaws and Star Wars to name a few.

Like Kael’s own books, this bio is a page-turner.

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1789

kirkus q & a w i t h s u s a n o r l e a n A veteran staff writer for the New Yorker who is likely best-known for The Orchid Thief, which became the acclaimed film Adaptation starring none other than Meryl Streep, Susan Orlean returns with Rin Tin Tin. In the famous canine character’s biography of sorts, Orlean walks readers through an intimate look at the beloved dog, from the original Rin Tin Tin’s discovery on a World War I battlefield to the cultural phenomenon he would become spanning 50 years. Here, Orlean tells us about her book, a decade in the making.

RIN TIN TIN: THE LIFE AND THE LEGEND

Susan Orlean Simon & Schuster (336 pp.) $26.99 Oct. 1, 2011 9781439190135

Q: What is Rin Tin Tin today?

A: At this point in time, he is a piece of American cultural history—a pop culture icon and a timeless embodiment of certain qualities of heroism, nobility, loyalty. While he isn’t as active a pop culture character as he was in the past, I think he still conjures up those same emotions and, as a subject for a writer, he certainly is a through-line in popular culture that’s very unique. As far as I know there is no other pop culture character that has morphed and transfigured as much as he has.

Q: One of the overriding themes in the book is a sense of legacy. How important is that theme at this point in your career?

1790

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

kirkusreviews.com

Q: This is one of the few things you’ve written that didn’t start as a New Yorker article. How did that change your approach to the research?

A: It’s very different to start with something as an article. It’s something that I learned with The Orchid Thief. The structure and the demands of a magazine piece are really different from a book.

A successful book can’t just be longer, it has to be deeper and there has to be a different arc.

So this was something where I couldn’t imagine how to whittle it into the size of a magazine piece to begin with. But also I felt like I wasn’t anywhere near understanding what the story was, and it was going to take me a long time.

Q: You mentioned your main experience with Rinty was the ’50s TV show, which, by that point, wasn’t even a Rin Tin Tin dog. In the course of the research, were you surprised by just how insanely popular the first Rin Tin Tin was at the turn of the century?

A: I was flabbergasted. First of all, I didn’t even know that there had been an incarnation of the dog before the TV show. I was absolutely astonished. Had that discovery not taken place, I would not have ever thought of this as a book. But it was like “Whoa!” I thought this was just a TV show in the ’50s. What are they talking about, a silent film star? But not just any silent film star, but a huge silent film star.

This was like discovering that Santa Claus had really existed and had been a silent film star.

Which, when I find that out, by the way, that will be my next book. “Santa Claus: The Life and the Legend.”

–By Chad Taylor

|

P HOTO © G A S P E R T IN G A L E

A: When I started the book it hadn’t occurred to me as I was working on it how deeply personal it would be, partly because so much of the history took place before I was born. But I did have my own actual experience with Rin Tin Tin through the TV show and starting to work on the book flooded me with all of these memories of early childhood.

But even more than that, just the idea of things lasting became really profound to me. Just the timing of having lost my dad and being naturally preoccupied with questions of “what does that mean?” What lasts from any individual life and why was Rin Tin Tin able, as an idea, to last?

And even in his own actual life, why did Rin Tin Tin last and 80 other German shepherd actors disappear? So maybe that this was very much a midcareer, midlife sort of preoccupation of “what are you going to leave behind, and what is it that you’re going to create that might last beyond you?”

Another theme is kind of one of obsession. All of the people involved with Rin Tin Tin were consumed with this dog and what he stood for.

I’ve always been preoccupied with obsessives.

Particularly because I feel like I’m not an obsessive. Except, maybe, for being obsessed with obsessives. Had there not been a Lee Duncan [who discovered the original dog in WWI], there would not have been a Rin Tin Tin. So had [Duncan] had

a more balanced life…Rin Tin Tin might have been in some movies and that would have been it. He would have had a moment of prominence and then it would have ended.

[Producer] Bert Leonard, same thing. If he had decided, “This is crazy, I should just sell off my rights,” then that would be it. It would have been a very different story. It just wouldn’t have that singular burning momentum. Look at Lassie. Someone could have written a book about Lassie, but there’s no saga, no feeling of great emotion behind the story of Lassie. Lassie was just a Hollywood creation.

So I think we’re all very devoted to something in our lives, but there are people who live in this heightened state of devotion that goes beyond the ordinary, and the rest of us kind of get the benefit of what they’ve done to keep something alive.

PATRICK HENRY First Among Patriots Kidd, Thomas S. Basic (336 pp.) $28.00 | Dec 1, 2011 978-0-465-00928-2 A deeper look at Patrick Henry.

Henry was a true radical, and his “give me liberty or give me death” speech perfectly illustrated his politics and his struggle for liberty and religious freedom. Moved by the Great Awakening, he agreed with the evangelical preachers who railed against the tax-supported Anglican Church. While he never moved away from the established church, he took up the cause of religious freedom and fought to include it in the Bill of Rights.

His speeches against slavery belied his ownership and purchase of slaves throughout his life, illustrative of his moral standings versus his real-life efforts for financial success. His entry into the House of Burgesses was noteworthy because of his speech against the Stamp Act, which many feel instigated the struggle for independence. Henry was a brilliant debater, but in politics he had no patience for deliberation. He was a motivator, not an organizer. Kidd (History/Baylor Univ.; God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution, 2010) illustrates the connections between the revolution, religion and politics. Henry spoke eloquently about the need for virtue and moral courage in his compatriots, even as they refused to join the Continental Army, and the Great Awakening had a deep affect on him. The great preachers trained him to be the most effective orator of the revolutionary period. He surely would have been president had he not so often retired to his law practice, farming and land speculation. His quest for greater riches caused him to refuse appointments and withdraw from politics on a regular basis.

Kidd’s biography awakens us to the depths of Henry’s devotion to liberty and small government. (Author tour to Austin, Williamsburg, Va., Washington, D.C.)

LOVE AT FIRST BARK How Saving a Dog Can Sometimes Help You Save Yourself Klam, Julie Riverhead (192 pp.) $21.95 | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-59448-828-3 Klam (You Had Me at Woof, 2010, etc.) offers a collection of compassionate tales of dog rescue.

Canine lovers will sit up and take notice, as this slim volume delivers much heart and Klam’s signature self-deprecating humor. When financial struggles culminated in a move to a dangerous city neighborhood, the author and her husband had their hands full with a young daughter and three rambunctious dogs. Further money woes added strain to their relationship. |

Then they stumbled upon Morris, a lovable mixed pit bull who had been tied to a street sign on a hot day and abandoned without food or water. One does not have to be a dog owner to cringe at the image of cigarette burn marks on Morris’ paw or to understand how helping this sweet dog brought Klam and her husband closer together. The author also introduces readers to other beloved but challenging cases like Clementine who suffered with fecal incontinence. Those who work in animal rescue will relate to the camaraderie of teamwork involved, via Facebook and Twitter feeds, in striving to find good homes for older or infirm dogs. After a trip to New Orleans for a fundraiser, Klam realized that rescuers are only human, but “there is a superpower that comes from knowing you’re making a difference in the world around you.”

A realistic, joyful account.

THE SECRET LIVES OF WIVES Women Share What It Really Takes to Stay Married Krasnow, Iris Gotham Books (288 pp.) $26.00 | Oct 1, 2011 9781592406807 Marital mysteries revealed by women who hold the keys to wedded bliss.

After marriage, writes Krasnow (I Am My Mother’s Daughter: Making Peace with Mom—Before It’s Too Late, 2007, etc.), comes learning to live with your spouses’ myriad idiosyncrasies, and later on, figuring out how to love that bloated, wrinkled oaf camped out on your livingroom couch. The author’s latest is an informative look into the lives of married women set alongside Krasnow’s scrutiny of her own marriage. She whips up a spirited, enlightening cocktail of comfort, support and grace, in which women from all walks of life describe their relationships with their spouses both before and after marriage. Krasnow investigates how women have been able to maintain their happiness and sanity within their family lives, particularly during times of hardship, loneliness, despair and self-discovery. But marriage isn’t always rosy, and its appeal can fluctuate—indeed, one of the book’s most engaging passages explores why the popularity of marriage has waned over the years.

When discussing marriage through history, the author cites artist and poet Georgia O’Keeffe, a woman who loved her husband, the celebrated photographer Alfred Stieglitz, but who pinned much of her matrimonial success on the fact that she was able to separate the personal and professional aspects of her life. Finally, Krasnow urges readers to remember the importance of including romance in marriage, suggesting that each romantic memory builds years onto a successful marriage.

Fulfi lling and well-structured.

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1791

“Laufer’s compelling evidence will push readers to assess the distinctions between love and mistreatment among our animal brethren.” from no animals were harmed

NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED The Controversial Line Between Entertainment and Abuse Laufer, Peter Lyons Press (272 pp.) $22.95 | Oct 4, 2011 978-0-7627-6385-6 A provocative examination of the fine line between the use and abuse of animals.

In a continuation of his study on the interaction of animals and humans, Laufer (Journalism/Univ. of Oregon; Forbidden Creatures: Inside the World of Animal Smuggling and Exotic Pets, 2010, etc.) opens the doors to the complex world of animal service and exploitation. What is the difference between use, misuse and abuse of animals? How does a person know an animal is actually enjoying itself? Do animals feel pain?

Does a chicken raised specifically for meat suffer more or less at its death than a rooster raised specifically for cock fights? Is a circus act entertainment for humans or an enslavement of animals?

These are some of the many troubling questions the author poses as he travels the world searching for answers. From a lion handler in Budapest to whale shows at SeaWorld to slaughterhouses in California, Laufer graphically details firsthand the varied ways humans and animals interact. Descriptions of canned hunts, dairy-cow abuse, vivisection and many examples of cockfights force readers to ponder the same questions as the author. Interviews with members of the Humane Society, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and numerous animal-rights organizations counterbalance interviews with breeders of fighting cocks, arsonists and many others who see no harm in how they treat animals.

Laufer’s compelling evidence will push readers to assess the distinctions between love and mistreatment among our animal brethren.

THE UNCHARTED PATH The Autobiography of Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak Sourcebooks (336 pp.) $26.99 | Nov 15, 2011 978-1-4022-6291-3 South Korean president Lee’s ragsto-riches account of his life within the byzantine world of that nation’s business and politics.

At the end of the Korean War, both South Korea and 12-yearold Lee were mired in desperate poverty. “Poverty,” writes Lee, “clung to my family like a leech.” Yet a few decades later South Korea became a world economic power and Lee, at age 35, the president and CEO of South Korea’s most powerful familyowned conglomerate (or chaebol), Hyundai. Lee’s story of his rise is one of absolute commitment to sacrifice and hard work— not uncommon attributes of his generation. He takes readers 1792

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

inside Hyundai, recounting tales of business ventures around the world. He tells of his often-strained relations with Hyundai founder and patriarch, Chung Ju-yung, of internecine battles with other chaebol such as Samsung and of precarious dealings with the military dictatorship that ran South Korea well into the 1980s. While the head of Hyundai, Lee was arrested and interrogated by the authorities. Throughout, the author has little to say about South Korea’s dramatic transition to democracy except that he supported it. He says nothing of the seminal role the struggles of Hyundai-connected labor unions played in that transition. As for his role in politics, which he began after leaving Hyundai in 1991, Lee displayed the same determination that led him to the top of the car manufacturer. Here too, though, there is a vagueness that may leave Western readers baffled. The political part of his story was added to the original version of this book published in 1995, and it has a hurried quality to it.

Events unfold in a chronologically haphazard manner, and key elements of South Korean politics such as the role of regionalism and the deep power of political parties are mentioned but left unexplained. While Lee does offer a detailed study of his successful run as mayor of Seoul, which literally transformed the city, he remains largely silent on his rise to the presidency.

Intermittently engaging but ultimately disappointing and incomplete.

NO ENEMIES, NO HATRED Selected Essays and Poems Liu Xiaobo Belknap/Harvard Univ. (392 pp.) $29.95 | Jan 2, 2012 978-0-674-06147-7 The recipient of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize confronts the problems of closedsociety China.

During the Nobel ceremony in December 2010, an empty chair was placed in Oslo City Hall to honor Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, whose outspokenness not only earned him the prize but a prison term as well. The award catapulted him to international stardom, shining a penetrating light on his own imprisonment much as he had often shined light on the troubles of his country. These essays provide an up-to-date account of the country’s current political and cultural climate, touching on a wide array of issues from the plight of the Chinese farmer to the eroding spirituality of Chinese youth. The essays are tempered by poems, many of which are interwoven throughout the book to provide a much-needed calming effect. Yet Liu Xiaobo’s widespread appeal comes not from his poetry, but in his ability to move beyond platitudes and deal in personal stories— e.g., the tale of a local police department’s gross mishandling of the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl and the protests that developed soon after. Equally powerful is the author’s assault on China’s closed society, noting that while prostitution is technically illegal in China, thanks to sexual suppression, China is now “number one in the world.” Most revealing, however, is Liu Xiaobo’s understanding of the risks of speaking out. As if predicting his own future, in

kirkusreviews.com

|

“If Loder weren’t Loder, this book would be exactly where it belongs: online, as part of a blog.” from the good, the bad, and the godawful

his 2008 essay “Imprisoning People for Words and the Power of Public Opinion,” he writes, “China has a rich tradition of persecuting people for their words.” Within two years he would come to learn this firsthand; as a result, others would begin to listen.

For the world that knew Liu Xiaobo only for his empty chair in Oslo, this much-needed book fi lls the void.

LISBON War in the Shadows of the City of Light, 1939-45 Lochery, Neill PublicAffairs (320 pp.) $27.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-58648-879-6 An engaging account of the city of Lisbon during World War II, as dictator António de Oliveira Salazar navigated treacherous diplomatic waters in order to ensure the neutrality of Portugal.

Middle East expert Lochery (Loaded Dice: The Foreign Office and Israel, 2008, etc.) chronicles the city’s importance to the war on both sides, portraying it as a sort of Casablanca, complete with an entrenched gambling establishment. Salazar worked hard to ensure that his country was neutral and managed to improve its economic condition during the war by playing each side against the other. Both rich and poor fled to Lisbon from continental Europe in hopes of procuring passage off the continent, whether by selling jewels and gold or by more desperate means. Lochery presents a flashy city while also reminding readers of the plight of poorer refugees and Portuguese citizens who did not have the resources of the rich. Though the author mostly portrays Salazar in a positive light, he emphasizes the leader’s lack of sympathy toward the Jews fleeing the Nazis.

Lochery keeps the pages turning, never allowing his narrative to become dry or difficult; as a result, it is ideally suited to the interested layperson. However, the author does assume that the readers have knowledge of the major events of the time period, particularly those preceding WWII. Well-researched enough for an academic, but still accessible to general readers. (24 black-and-white photos. Agent: David Patterson)

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE GODAWFUL 21st-Century Movie Reviews Loder, Kurt Dunne/St. Martin’s (560 pp.) $19.99 paperback | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-312-64163-4 978-1-4299-3865-5 e-book Lackluster collection of movie reviews from Loder (Bat Chain Puller: Rock and Roll in the Age of Celebrity, 1990). |

A presence on the music scene since the late ’70s, the author is one of music and pop culture’s most knowledgeable and likable writers. Best known for his print work with Rolling Stone and his small-screen work with MTV, Loder has proven to be both a trustworthy news reporter and an incisive rock tastemaker, so one would assume that when he turned to film criticism, his opinions would be sharp and compelling. Unfortunately, in this overlong collection, that’s far from the case. Part of the problem is that the era of films on which he focuses is one of the most creatively feeble in showbiz history, so it’s little wonder that the majority of the essays take a negative tone (hence the book’s title). Loder relies on glib jibes that fail to provide illumination or insight—e.g., of the romantic comedy Valentine’s Day, he writes, “It has the radiant glow of a Hollywood pitch meeting”; of the prehistoric comedy Year One: “the picture’s desperate, teen-baiting assemblage of fart jokes, dick jokes... and urine inhalation are a dreary reminder that no matter how far removed the setting’s supposed to be, the land of lame Hollywood japery is always near at hand.” The author tries to justify his lightweight approach by explaining in the introduction that he’s not a film critic, but rather a movie reviewer, but that’s a cop-out. If you criticize something, you are, by definition, a critic; unfortunately, this talented and charismatic scribe isn’t a particularly notable one.

If Loder weren’t Loder, this book would be exactly where it belongs: online, as part of a blog.

TARNISHED VICTORY Finishing Lincoln’s War Marvel, William Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (480 pp.) $35.00 | Nov 16, 2011 978-0-547-42806-2 Acclaimed historian Marvel (The Great Task Remaining: The Third Year of Lincoln’s War, 2010, etc.) delivers the final volume of his finely written, minutely researched four-part history of the Civil War. The author’s subject is the final year of the war, thus building on his prior three volumes, which assess and often challenge the generally accepted portrait of America’s most divisive conflict.

Marvel begins in the spring of 1864, with a nation so bogged down in a bloody, mismanaged war that many legitimately despaired of its end. Readers’ knowledge that the conflict would be resolved in a bloody burst of energy nearly 12 months later causes this inauspicious start of the 1864 campaign to be all the more remarkable. The author has the historian’s gift of assimilating facts and extrapolating stories. Compelling narratives emerge from the study of Northern draft protocols, the appalling conditions of the Confederate Andersonville POW camp and its Union counterparts and the creaking machinery of a war department so burdened by bureaucracy that its soldiers and their dependents were left waiting months—even years—for their back pay. Marvel culls evidence from a wide variety of sources, from the lowliest private’s letters to his sweetheart to Gen. Grant’s communiqués

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1793

with Lincoln. It is this breadth of perspectives, both personal and contextual, that differentiates this chronicle from the many dry recitations of battles and their attendant losses that characterize a particular genre of Civil War history.

Marvel is both credited with and accused of writing revisionist history, and this fi nal volume is in keeping with its predecessors in both tone and direction. It aptly concludes the author’s extensive effort to elucidate the errors of those powerful men who began the Civil War and quickly found themselves trapped by their own creation, forced to see it through to a merciless end. (32 black-andwhite halftones; 6 maps)

CATHERINE THE GREAT Portrait of a Woman Massie, Robert K. Random (688 pp.) $35.00 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-679-45672-8 Roughly every decade since Nicholas and Alexandra (1967), popular historian Massie (Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea, 2003, etc.) publishes a fat volume of European history for an eager readership; his latest will not disappoint.

Catherine the Great (1729–1796) was princess of a minor German state whose big chance arrived when she married Russian Czarina Elizabeth’s nephew and successor, a minor German duke who was unattractive, immature and lazy. Catherine was the opposite, so she passed a stormy, mostly unhappy 17 years before Elizabeth’s death in 1761; six months later Catherine snatched the throne from her husband. Under her energetic leadership, Russia modernized, expanded its empire and became accepted as one of the great powers of Europe. As attracted to Enlightenment ideas as contemporary monarchs, Catherine corresponded with and showered honors on Voltaire, Diderot and other French philosophers, and considered herself an enlightened despot but quickly gave up reform efforts in the face of aristocratic resistance. In the end, she ruled with an iron fist, tolerated little opposition and brutally suppressed several rebellions. Massie writes old-fashioned politics-and-great-men history, but few readers will resist his gripping description of colorful national leaders, their cutthroat rivalries and incessant wars. Most of this occurs after the 250-page mark, when Catherine takes power. Until then, the author recounts interminable petty intrigues, love affairs and itineraries of overprivileged, underemployed Russian aristocrats. His portraits of Catherine and other leading figures reveals a seemingly clairvoyant knowledge of their thoughts, emotions and conversation.

Despite these lowbrow historical techniques, Massie delivers a fascinating account of dog-eat-dog politics in 18th-century Europe and the larger-than-life Russian empress who gave as good as she got.

1794

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

IT’S SO EASY and Other Lies McKagan, Duff Touchstone/Simon & Schuster (304 pp.) $26.00 | Oct 4, 2011 978-1-4516-0663-8 Do we need another tell-all from another Guns N’ Roses member? Sure, why not?

Bassist McKagan is the poster child for not judging a book by its cover. In his solid debut, the author—who studied business at Seattle University and has contributed pieces to Playboy, ESPN.com and Seattle Weekly—proves himself to be a legit writer (though readers may wonder how much credit goes to his Playboy editor Tim Mohr, of whom the author writes, “[this book] is as much his baby, as it is mine”). McKagan has a nice eye for details and a surprisingly good memory. He’s proudly raw and harsh, refusing to hold back in terms of language and content, happy to rail on his band mates, his management, promoters and anybody else who he feels crossed him during his journey to the top, and back down to the middle. But he also points his finger at himself, admitting to all of his ill behavior, be it a loud disagreement with Axl Rose or one of his many devastating benders. The GNR story has been told from several angles, and while McKagan’s book doesn’t have the same oomph as Slash’s 2008 autobiography, it’s better written and more insightful about more topics than just GNR, including his stints with Velvet Revolver and Loaded. “My friends and old band members may remember some of the stories...differently than I do,” he writes, “but I have found that all stories have many sides. These are my stories. These are my perspectives. This is my truth.”

McKagan doesn’t add much to the oft-told GNR story, but fans will be thrilled by this honest, detailed memoir.

(16 pages of full-color photographs. Agent: Dan Mandel)

EXTRA VIRGINITY The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil Mueller, Tom Norton (256 pp.) $25.95 | Dec 5, 2011 978-0-393-07021-7 Expanding on his New Yorker article exposing fraud in the olive oil industry, Mueller considers the trade’s past, present, and future.

The author opens with an olive oil tasting, where experts identify the flavors and fragrances that distinguish high-quality oil from lampante, which can legally be sold only for fuel—except that lax enforcement by the EU has led to an epidemic of oil labeled extra virgin and/or “100 percent Italian” when in fact it is a blend of cheaper oils from other countries. In addition to the slippery

kirkusreviews.com

|

“Engrossing history, vivid contemporary reporting and a cogent call to action, expertly blended in an illuminating text.” from extra virginity

(but often surprisingly engaging) rascals whose shenanigans Mueller investigated in the original article, the author visits conscientious cultivators striving to elevate standards with a combination of time-honored techniques and cutting-edge technology. Among them are the De Carlos in Puglia, historic center of Italian olive oil production; the Vaño family in Jaén, trying to improve the generally low quality of Spanish oil; and Gordon Smyth of the New Norcia monastery near Perth, innovative preserver of a tradition established by the Spanish monks who brought olive trees to Australia in 1846. Mueller consults with chemists and government officials on two continents to examine why extra virgin olive oil is so healthful and why attempts to control its adulteration have been so ineffectual. (Short answer: corruption in Italy; indifferent FDA in America.) He intersperses aromatic vignettes from the history of olive oil, which in centuries past adorned the bodies of Greek athletes, burned in lamps in Christian churches, served as a folk remedy for a plethora of ailments and set the civilized Romans apart from those barbarians who favored meat, beer and animal fat over bread, wine and oil. So, “[a]re we witnessing a renaissance in oil, or the death of an industry?” The answer is still uncertain, but lovers of fine food and fine prose will relish Mueller’s exploration of the storied byways and modern sanctuaries of the olive, related with supple elegance.

Engrossing history, vivid contemporary reporting and a cogent call to action, expertly blended in an illuminating text. (25 illustrations. Author tour to New York and San Francisco.

Agent: Sarah Chalfant)

EVERY TWELVE SECONDS Industrialized Slaughter and the Politics of Sight Pachirat, Timothy Yale Univ. (320 pp.) $30.00 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-300-15267-8 An in-depth examination by an undercover academic about the slaughtering of cattle for food.

Pachirat (Politics/New School Univ.) settled in Omaha in 2004 to conduct participant-observation research at a large slaughterhouse processing 2,500 cattle per day. He obtained employment after only the most cursory of interviews, partly because he looked the part (he is half Thai and therefore brown skinned) and partly because the turnover at slaughterhouses often reaches 100 percent annually. The author writes that he was determined to publish an interesting narrative, unlike most books by academics, often just expansions of their dissertations. Mostly, he succeeds, despite his interjections of theory derived from scholars both well known and obscure. The primary theory revolves around how societies keep unpleasant institutions as invisible as possible from the consuming public.

Pachirat’s firsthand descriptions of how the cattle are killed and butchered are graphic and stomach turning. He says the book is not intended primarily to promote animal rights or turn meat eaters into vegetarians, but his narrative may encourage those |

results among some readers. An appendix titled “Division of Labor on the Kill Floor” lists 121 steps involved from the time the cattle arrive at the slaughterhouse until they have been dismembered and the animal products packaged for shipping. Another appendix lists a few dozen “Cattle Body Parts and Their Uses,” including the blood, used as a “sausage ingredient, sticking agent for insecticides, and blood meal for livestock and pet food.”

Throughout the process, Pachirat worried that he would be outed within the plant; instead, his advanced education and eloquence worked to his advantage as he was promoted to qualitycontrol examiner. In that position, he provides alarming insights about evading the meat inspectors meant to enforce sanitation.

A fascinating, gut-wrenching study—but absolutely not for the weak of stomach.

STIEG LARSSON The Real Story of the Man Who Played with Fire Pettersson, Jan-Erik Translated by Geddes, Tom Sterling (288 pp.) $22.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-4027-8940-3 978-1-4027-8968-7 e-book In this study of Swedish crime-writing sensation Stieg Larsson (1954–2004), journalist Pettersson, who published Larsson’s first book in 2001 (not part of the Millenium Trilogy) opens with the claim that it is “not a biography in the conventional sense.”

Rather, it is a work that explores the writer’s “public persona” in tandem with “the interplay between [Larsson’s] life and work and society at large.” True to his word, Petterson is restrained regarding the details about Larsson’s background, motivations and personal relationships. He begins with a cursory sketch of the writer’s beginnings in northern Sweden: his rural upbringing, his move to the largest city in the northern provinces and his early attraction to writing and left-wing political causes. From this point, Larsson’s work against the political predations of the Swedish extreme right rooted in neo-Nazi fascism and committed to “ethnic homogeneity and Western values” take center stage. His political activism and journalistic inclinations led him to Stockholm, where he worked as a news graphic illustrator and eventually founded Expo, a magazine dedicated to monitoring and exposing the activities of those affiliated with the extreme right. The story of the future crime-fiction novelist’s fight against neo-Nazism is intriguing, but Pettersson’s treatment of this aspect of the story is inept. In his efforts to explain the history and evolution of the Swedish right, Pettersson often loses the narrative thread about Larsson. Furthermore, he never accomplishes more than suggesting the obvious: that Larsson’s bestselling Millennium Trilogy was born of encounters with ideologies that openly espoused hatred of “the weak, the deviant, the foreign [and] the different.”

A frustrating read that promises more than it delivers.

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1795

THE MAN WHO WOULD STOP AT NOTHING Long-Distance Motorcycling’s Endless Road Pierson, Melissa Holbrook Norton (192 pp.) $24.95 | Oct 3, 2011 978-0-393-07904-3 In an odd, misguided combination of marriage memoir and stunt journalism, motorcycle enthusiast Pierson (The Place You Love Is Gone: Progress Hits Home, 2006, etc.) follows two narrative threads—the road to and from her divorce and story of an obsessive long-distance-riding group called the Iron Butt Association—on a journey to...nowhere.

While it’s a sad tale, the reporting of the author’s crumbling relationship is well-worn territory. As for the Iron Butts, the center of that thread is John Ryan, the most obsessive of the obsessive, a man who would choose his motorcycle over anything.

Though Ryan is a colorful character, as a subject he’s worthy of a magazine article rather than an entire book—much of his story feels like filler. As the story jumps back and forth between anecdotes that don’t quite connect, the author struggles to give the narrative context, but the book ultimately feels as if it has no anchor. Eventually, the author resorts to explaining the purported purpose of the book: “I realize, with a start, what this book is about: Death. Not motorcycling, but death. Or, rather, motorcycles as life force and death force at once: the game played so we can safely approach the end, in which one side is squashed by the other.” Unfortunately, Pierson fails to meet her lofty goal; the book doesn’t adequately mine such Big Themes. While journalists such as A.J. Jacobs and Stefan Fatsis have managed to make their off-kilter passions at once charming and compelling by utilizing humor and heart, Pierson’s self-indulgence and pretention make it difficult to join her on this literal and figurative journey.

A lack of focus, an often-cold tone and the less-thanexciting parallel narratives make this slight road memoir a sleepy ride. (Agent: Betsy Lerner)

ELF GIRL A Memoir Rev Jen Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (288 pp.) $15.00 paperback | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-4516-3166-1 New York City woman-about-town’s memoir about her life-as-performanceart quest to be fashionably “uncool.”

Inspired by her experiences as a Bloomingdale’s Christmas elf, art-school grad and downtown NYC scenester Rev Jen (Live Nude Elf, 2009) began carefully forming her uncool identity in the early ‘90s by wearing Spocklike elf-ear attachments. Recalling her days as a young Lower 1796

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

East Side denizen in the mid-’90s, Jen describes her tame arty antics as grand, anarchic gestures of rebellion against the fusty establishment. She became known for her reactionary AntiSlam poetry night, which fostered an environment of cuddly uncritical acceptance for wannabe slam-poets with a strict set of rules against any kind of harassment from the audience. Her promotion of art-damaged egalitarianism extended to her creation of an all-admission clique called the “Art Stars,” which turned out to be little more than an alcoholic support group for directionless art-scene dregs. In between her persistently meaningless nightlife activities, she drifted from one low-paying job to the next, drank a lot, had sex with men who treated her badly, and experimented with LSD, all while managing to pay rent on her LES apartment. Rev Jen is perpetually obsessed with what’s “cool” and what’s “uncool,” and her actions always end up blurring the line between the two. Although she styled herself as an outcast rebelling against the prevailing highbrow culture of the day, the author seemed ultimately reluctant to mix with truly unhip people: like, say, her schoolmates who listened to Phil Collins and the Republican rednecks who frightened her at a Charlie Daniels concert. Naturally, as she attained local celeb status for being a kitsch-loving contrarian, she finally got to frolic among extremely “cool” people: namely, transgressive filmmaker Nick Zedd and hyper-confessional author Jonathan Ames, among others.

Largely forgettable.

HEDY’S FOLLY The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World Rhodes, Richard Doubleday (272 pp.) $26.95 | Nov 29, 2011 978-0-385-53438-3 The author of The Twilight of the Bomb (2010) returns with the surprising story of a pivotal invention produced during World War II by a pair of most unlikely inventors—an avant-garde composer and the world’s most glamorous movie star.

Pulitzer and NBA winner Rhodes offers the stories of his two principals in alternating segments, sometimes chapter-length.

The diminutive pianist/composer George Antheil—who worked with Stravinsky, Ezra Pound, Balanchine, DeMille and other notables—was also a prolific writer and inventor. And Lamarr (born Hedwig Kiesler), smitten by the theater in her native Austria, married a wealthy man charmed by Nazis; she later fled for Hollywood, where she quickly established herself as a major star in such films as Algiers and Ziegfeld Girl. She crossed trails with Antheil, who’d also moved west. Rhodes shows us that Lamarr (a new surname name suggested by the wife of Louis B. Mayer) was extremely bright (though poorly educated), a woman who had an area in her house devoted to inventing. And Antheil—who’d once composed a piece requiring 16 synchronized player pianos—had

kirkusreviews.com

|

“The definitive word on a loved, loathed, maddeningly complex broadcasting legend.” from howard cosell

inventing interests that dovetailed with Lamarr’s. They worked together to invent a way to radio-guide torpedoes and to use a technique called frequency-hopping to insure that the enemy could not jam their signals. Lamarr and Antheil secured a patent, but the U.S. Navy did not adopt the device, which, as Rhodes shows, would form the foundations of today’s Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies. Antheil died before earning any recognition for this achievement, but Lamarr, late in her life, did receive awards. The author quotes liberally—perhaps overly so— from the memoirs of his principals.

A faded blossom of a story, artfully restored to bright bloom.

HOWARD COSELL The Man, the Myth, and the Transformation of American Sports Ribowsky, Mark Norton (512 pp.) $29.95 | Nov 14, 2011 978-0-393-08017-9 You could make a case that Howard Cosell (1918–1995) was the single most important sports broadcaster ever. You would be right.

In a 1978 poll designed to identify TV’s most and least popular personality, Cosell won both categories, a perfect measure of his ubiquity and the controversy he aroused. Today, with more sports competing for attention in a fractured media environment, it’s difficult to imagine a commentator dominating the landscape as Cosell did during the ’60s and ’70s. Though he’d made tentative forays into radio, Cosell was 38 before he abandoned his law practice to attempt a career in sports. This ferociously ambitious reporter, analyst, interviewer and playby-play man, with his near photographic memory, nasal voice, staccato delivery and large and frequently preposterous vocabulary, prided himself on “telling it like it is.” At his peak, Cosell was everywhere on radio and TV, covering baseball, boxing and the Olympics, producing documentaries, penetrating deeper into the popular culture with sitcom appearances and movie roles. He announced to the world the assassination of John Lennon, presided over signal ’70s events like the tennis “Battle of the Sexes,” briefly hosted a prime-time variety show and even flirted with running for the Senate. From two platforms, especially, his ringside and reportorial coverage—and courageous defense—of the career of Muhammad Ali and his perch in the tumultuous Monday Night Football booth, Cosell colorfully demonstrated his capacity to hype and eventually overpower the events he covered. Contemptuous of sportswriters (they returned the hate), dismissive of colleagues and bosses—mediocrities, he called them—he attributed every slight to antiSemitism or jealousy and ended up alienating even his stoutest friends and defenders, with the exception of his devoted and long-suffering wife. Ribowsky (Ain’t Too Proud to Beg: The Troubled Lives and Enduring Soul of the Temptations, 2010, etc.) attributes Cosell’s arrogance to a deep insecurity and an insatiable |

desire for acclaim. As he aged, “Humble Howard” descended into drink, cruelty and caricature, bitter at having wasted his talents in the “intellectual thimble” of sports.

The definitive word on a loved, loathed, maddeningly complex broadcasting legend. (35 illustrations. Agent: Michael Dorr)

THE BEEKMAN 1802 HEIRLOOM COOKBOOK

Ridge, Brent and Kilmer-Purcell, Josh with Gluck, Sandy Photos by Tavormina, Paulette Sterling (192 pp.) $25.00 | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-4027-8709-6 The dynamic stars of Planet Green TV’s The Fabulous Beekman Boys offer up the ultimate volume of their most treasured, hand-me-down recipes.

In order to “relinquish the overly indulgent and instantly gratified existence to which we had become accustomed,” memoirist Kilmer-Purcell (The Bucolic Plague, 2010, etc.) and Ridge, a former vice president at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, relocated to the 60-acre Beekman farm in upstate New York. Inspired by the country life, their cookbook emphasizes the use of fresh, organic, homegrown ingredients—and not just because their farmhouse is located 20 miles from the nearest grocery store. The authors organize the sections seasonally, beginning with springtime offerings that include greens from the garden to make Dandelion or Spinach salads; asparagus, both roasted and baked into a “custardy” torte; and homegrown peas in a white wine risotto with freshly picked strawberries and rhubarb for sweeter creations. While somewhat light on creativity, heirloom garden fruits and vegetables highlight cool, basic summery offerings such as Chanterais Melon Salad, Grandma’s Potato Salad, Meat Loaf Burgers using the authors’ signature “Blaak Cheese,” and Buttery Peach Cake. The bountiful harvests from fall and winter inspire more rustic, hearty meals like Hungarian Pork Goulash, Baked Apple Dumplings and Spiced Carrot Cake. Vibrant photographs and personal memories and anecdotes round out this obvious labor of love.

The authors shine best when tweaking commonplace recipes with alterations of their own, which, they write, add flavor, sophistication and spicy diversity. For instance, “Supermoist Corn Bread” benefits from the addition of buttermilk and sour cream, while linguine is transformed with freshly chopped mint and lavender. Epicurean advice on toasting nuts and making buttermilk, poultry stocks and greens further enhances this uniquely homespun collection of throwback recipes.

Classic, unfettered goodness with a sustainable mindset.

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1797

PRINCE Inside the Music and the Masks Ro, Ronin St. Martin’s (384 pp.) $26.99 | CD $34.95 | Nov 11, 2011 978-0-312-38300-8 978-1-455-11425-2 CD Did 10 years of researching the enigmatic Prince pay off? You bet.

For much of the 1980s, Prince was arguably the most important pop musician on the planet. He wasn’t an originator, however, but a sponge who could take bits and pieces from different genres and manage to create something uniquely his own. The fact that he could sing well, play expertly on several instruments and wear the hell out of skin-tight leotards didn’t hurt either. Considering his sales figures, influence and huge, albeit admittedly inconsistent discography, it’s surprising that nobody has delivered a noteworthy Prince bio...until now.

Veteran journalist Ro (Dr. Dre: The Biography, 2007, etc.) spent a decade researching this book—which shouldn’t surprise Prince’s fans, as the man is notoriously private—and it was worth it, as he was able to get vital information, opinions and anecdotes from Prince’s close and not-so-close associates, everybody from sidemen to record-label execs. (Unsurprisingly, the man himself did not grant Ro access.) By utilizing verbatim dialogue, the book often reads like a novel; granted, some readers may doubt the veracity of every piece of dialogue, but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.

The author has an obvious affection for Prince’s work, but he maintains enough objectivity to be credible.

An energetic, detailed balance of reportage and criticism about an icon of his era.

LE FREAK An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny Rodgers, Nile Spiegel & Grau (336 pp.) $27.00 | Oct 18, 2011 978-0-385-52965-5 One of the heaviest figures from an unjustly maligned musical era tells all, and tells it well.

Casual music fans may not recognize Rodgers’ name, but they will definitely recognize his music: The producer/composer/arranger/guitarist’s fingerprint is all over such smashes as Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” the Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out.” But what launched and ultimately made Rodgers’ career was his work with his band Chic, most notably on the disco classic “Le Freak.” His heavy discography alone would merit a memoir, but add a dash of family drama, a dose of drug addiction, a bird’s-eye view of the music industry, and the result is a book that will appeal to both music 1798

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

aficionados and casual fans. Rodgers is enthusiastic, honest and charming, and he has a reverence for the artists who came before him; he discusses the Chitlin’ Circuit with as much authority as he does Studio 54. The author also provides an insider’s look at the disco world unlike any that has been offered before, if only because he was coming at it from all angles—he was both in the scene and of the scene. The book should appeal to readers interested in music, the ‘70s, survival and triumph.

In his energetic memoir, Rodgers, as was almost always the case with his songs, brings the funk.

SHUT UP & DANCE! How to Stop Leading and Follow Your Man Into a Happier, Sexier Relationship Rose, Jamie Tarcher/Penguin (288 pp.) $16.95 paperback | Sep 1, 2011 978-1-58542-889-2 Fans of Falcon Crest will be happy to see Vickie Gioberti back onstage with relationship advice.

During yet another petty argument with her boyfriend, Rose decided to use what she’d learned in an Argentine tango dance class: “Let him lead.” Her diplomacy diffused the spat, and thus began her high step to a better relationship. Influenced by a hardworking supermom, the author describes herself as “opinionated, ambitious, and forceful” and doesn’t think that women should be doormats, like she was during a previous relationship. She advises women to know when to cede control, and she provides a series of dance analogies and journaling suggestions, such as composing a “gratitude list” or thinking of good qualities in admirable women. Some exercises are fun; for example, the “Shopping Cart Tango” is a lighthearted dance/walk for channeling inner goddesses at the grocery store. A “Lead/Follow” exercise puts one partner behind a blindfold, following the body movements of the other. Even those with two left feet probably know most of what’s here—e.g., learn how to love yourself and actively listen. But Rose is gifted with a sharp and humorous pen. When a waiter accidentally brought her man spaghetti without meatballs, Rose was tempted to make him send the pasta back. Instead, she decided that “a man can handle his own meatballs.”

Sometimes, as the author writes in this charming debut, it’s good to just shut up and dance.

kirkusreviews.com

|

A THOUSAND LIVES The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown Scheeres, Julia Free Press (320 pp.) $26.00 | Oct 11, 2011 978-1-4165-9639-4 Haunting account of the Peoples Temple, focusing on Jim Jones’ many victims.

Scheeres (Jesus Land: A Memoir, 2005) notes that her personal experience at a Christian reform school made her empathetic to the luckless individuals who died at the Jonestown settlement in Guyana, since derided as cultists or worse: “My aim here is to help readers understand the reasons that people were drawn to Jim Jones and his church.” Accomplishing this goal with crisp prose and impressive research, she delivers a sort of ’70s social thriller with the weight of onrushing tragedy. Scheeres dove into 50,000 pages of FBI documents, released to little fanfare, including diaries of true believers and reams of bizarre correspondence between Jones and his inner circle, proving that he was considering ways to kill his followers for years prior to the mass-murder suicide. Jones’ early years remain confounding: He began preaching as a Pentecostal in Indiana in the 1950s, fighting for integration long before it was considered safe to do so. His apparent passion for social justice in these early years won him a devoted, largely African-American congregation. Upon moving to California in the late ‘60s, Jones cultivated ties to the state’s power structure, which gave political cover to his increasingly wealthy and secretive church. “In the early days,” write Scheeres, “there was a real sense of camaraderie in Jonestown”—but this changed after Jones arrived there permanently in 1977. By then, Jones had rejected most elements of mainstream Christianity in favor of something much darker; he’d become obsessed with “revolutionary suicide,” a concept advanced by Huey Newton, which Jones deliberately misinterpreted. Scheeres shows great compassion and journalistic skill in reconstructing Jonestown’s last months and the lives of many Temple members (including a few survivors), showing the documents archived by the FBI “tell a nightmarish tale of…idealists who realized, too late, that they were trapped.”

Well-written, disturbing tale of faith and evil. (8-page photo insert)

LOST IN LANGUAGE AND SOUND A Memoir of Coming to the Arts Shange, Ntozake St. Martin’s (160 pp.) $22.99 | Dec 6, 2011 978-0-312-20616-1 Acclaimed playwright Shange (Ellington Was Not a Street, 2004, etc.) offers a |

collection of personal essays dealing with anger, pride, creativity, family, identity, mental health and love.

The author, who also writes poetry, children’s books and novels, visits just about every human emotion in these pieces, which date from various decades in her life. In some, she employs her idiosyncratic spelling (waz, enuf), capitalization (none) and punctuation (minimal), but the later pieces adhere to more conventional mechanics—though never to conventional ideas. Her anger is evident throughout—from patronizing whites to black rappers (whose misogynistic lyrics and ideas she equates with the vileness that produced slavery) to the silence of black male intellectuals, whom she accuses of sanctioning rappers’ misogyny. She writes informatively about the genesis of her most famous work of dram for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, examines her personal history for her love of language, dance and music and confesses, near the end, that she actually likes men—though she believes that most of them have one goal in mind with women. Among her most affecting pieces are two short essays about her parents, one for each. Her father was a physician, and Shange writes emotionally about his love of music and his exuberant dancing with her mother. She recalls hiding in her mother’s closet, absorbing her. She includes a promising piece about learning other languages, but spoils it with chunks of block quotations that effectively silence her voice and still her rhythm, as well as a touching poem addressed to an unnamed young poet. Along the way, Shange offers glimpses of her visits to a shrink, though she does not provide any clinical diagnosis, just some hints of malaise and unhappiness.

Uneven but emotional, grateful and often wise.

SHARON The Life of a Leader,

by His Son Sharon, Gilad Harper/HarperCollins (528 pp.) $29.99 | Oct 25, 2011 978-0-06-172150-2 The life and times of Israel’s warrior leader Ariel Sharon, chronicled by his son.

The author, an Israeli columnist, debuts as a biographer with unique access to his father’s documents and diaries, friends and colleagues and family memories. What emerges is a multifaceted picture of an Israeli patriot, military leader and family man. Sharon was born in 1928 in pre-independence Palestine and rose to leadership from the Haganah resistance, the precursor to the Israeli Defense Forces. The author recounts three phases in his father’s career, starting with the rise of the paratrooper and antiterror specialist to military leadership, with the support of Israel’s first Prime Minister Ben Gurion, and concluding with the leader whose contribution to the global war against terrorism transcended national borders. In the ’50s, Sharon was opposed by those with more formal training in the command structure. Later he ran afoul of the Israeli Labour Party establishment, with consequences

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1799

for the conduct of the Yom Kippur War. The author also shows that during the Lebanon war in the ’80s, U.S. and Israeli policies were not always closely aligned, and that Israeli military objectives could be subordinated to U.S. global political strategies. Out of past conflicts came what Sharon and others considered to be “red lines in the sand”—no nuclear weapons in the hands of Arabs; no superpower-like balance of power in the area; preserve Israel’s capability to respond to attacks. Documents highlight Sharon’s relations with current leaders like Netanyahu, Peres, Tony Blair and George W. Bush.

Sharon’s son provides a solid template on which subsequent biographers will have to build.

SHATNER RULES Your Guide to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large Shatner, William with Regan, Chris Dutton (272 pp.) $21.95 | Oct 18, 2011 978-0-525-95251-0 The galaxy’s most famous starship captain offers a mostly tongue-in-cheek guide to his rules for living, complete with anecdotes and life lessons.

Eighty years old and still going strong with multiple TV shows, films, books and appearances (all of which he promotes tirelessly within these pages), Shatner’s lust for life shines through in this lightweight, amusing effort. The book apes the familiar self-help format, with the rules (“Say Yes,” “Stay Hydrated,” etc.) used as starting points for funny and poignant anecdotes from his “unique, strange, and wonderful” life, and instructions to the reader on “how to live a Shatneresque existence… [and] experience the essence of Shatner in its purest form.” In addition to the rules, there are frequent asides in the form of “Notes” and “Fun Factners,” basically one-liners playing off the narrative. Shatner is a true raconteur, and in between the jokes there are surprisingly profound ruminations on life and death, from someone whose career in the spotlight stretches from the early days of TV to the age of Twitter. Much of the ground covered here will be familiar to readers of his autobiography, Up Till Now (2008), including Shatner’s feelings about his former Trek cast-mates’ public criticisms and the tragic 1999 drowning death of his wife Nerine. However, his legions of fans probably won’t mind, or be put off by his outsized personality, though they may think twice about shouting “beam me up, Scotty!” when they encounter him. Whatever the situation—be it an awkward dinner with Charlton Heston or a fight to the death with a wild boar—Shatner applies his rules as only he can.

This book may not boldly go where no man has gone before, but Shatner fans will relish the opportunity to learn from the master.

LOST KINGDOM Hawaii’s Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and America’s First Imperial Adventure Siler, Julia Flynn Atlantic Monthly (448 pp.) $30.00 | Jan 3, 2012 978-0-8021-2001-4 Wall Street Journal contributing writer Siler (The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty, 2007) rehearses the dark imperial history of how Americans first arrived in the islands, how they rose in power and how they deposed the queen and took everything.

The author’s story really has no heroes. Although she is deeply sympathetic with the last queen, Lili‘uokalani, the monarchs of Hawaii during the latter part of the 19th century did not exactly rule with Solomonic wisdom or Diogenic austerity. They coddled the white planters, amassed enormous debts and lived an egregiously wasteful lifestyle. Still, as Siler shows, the islands were theirs, and the white settlers took them away.

The author begins with some quick geological and archaeological history and summarizes the misadventures of Captain Cook. Next, she leaps to 1893, the moment of crisis for the queen, then returns to 1820 and moves relentlessly forward to the late 1890s, when the United States annexed the islands, permanently ending the monarchy. (Oddly, as the author notes, a statue of the queen now stands facing the Hawaiian legislative building.) Born in 1838, Lili‘uokalani was not in direct line to the throne, but deaths and power politics eventually placed her there. As she relates the queen’s pathway to power, Siler also tells about famous visitors, Herman Melville (1843) and Mark Twain (1866) among them. But this is mostly the story of white entrepreneurs and missionaries who came and conquered. One man, Claus Spreckels, created a massive sugar empire, transforming the landscape, altering waterways, operating a fleet of steamships and benefitting from the cooperation of the royals.

Eventually, white economic interests trumped all else, and the queen struggled and failed to retain authority.

A well-rendered narrative of paradise and imperialism.

(Author tour to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle. Agent: Michael Carlisle)

AN HONOURABLE ENGLISHMAN The Life of Hugh Trevor-Roper Sisman, Adam Random (608 pp.) $35.00 | Dec 6, 2011 978-1-4000-6976-7 978-0-679-60473-0 e-book Exhaustive biography of Hugh TrevorRoper (1914–2003), one of England’s foremost and controversial 20th-century historians, critics and essayists.

1800

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

NBCC Award winner Sisman (The Friendship: Wordsworth and Coleridge, 2006, etc.) draws from archival correspondence and meticulous research, displaying a talent for balancing his subject’s flaws and strengths. By his own admission, TrevorRoper was inclined toward “pride” as well as “imprudence, ostentation, volubility, and the need for company,” all of which manifested in various situations. Sisman successfully avoids turning the book into an account of a prickly, scholarly egoist who succumbed to hubris, a popular misconception. TrevorRoper—who gained acclaim for investigating Hitler’s death and who was later panned for mistakenly stating that the Hitler diaries found in the early ’80s were authentic—emerges as a multilayered figure whose life should not be framed solely by these two widely publicized events. Though readers familiar with World War II intrigue and British radio intelligence will especially appreciate the chapters spanning the period, Sisman suggests that Trevor-Roper should also be remembered for his literary contributions and for the dignity he maintained despite heavy criticism. Leisurely in its pacing and studded with anecdotes that include major figures such as Winston Churchill, Henry Kissinger, Malcolm Muggeridge and Katharine Hepburn, the book considers how one man touched some of the most exclusive social circles while standing apart from them, and how he shaped public discourse with a formidable pen.

Empathetic, illuminating and occasionally witty, if challenging in its depth and range of detail. (Three 8-page photo inserts. Agent: Vaughn Shinall)

TRUE STRENGTH My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life Sorbo, Kevin Da Capo/Perseus (256 pp.) $26.00 | Oct 11, 2011 978-0-306-82036-6 978-0-306-82055-2 e-book A dull, inconsequential account of an affable slab of beefcake’s medical troubles.

Sorbo, best known for his starring role in the hit TV program Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, recounts the catastrophic effects of an aneurysm and a series of strokes on his life and career. At the height of his stardom, the conspicuously healthy, clean-living actor suffered a bizarre and statistically unlikely health crisis that left the him persistently weak and dizzy, plagued by migraines and vision loss and unable to maintain his muscular physique or even swing a prop sword on the set of the show. Sorbo is candid about the hopelessness and resentment that characterized his slow recovery, his frustration with contradictory medical advice and holistic therapies of varying effectiveness and the stress his condition placed on his new marriage. Unfortunately, the author, at least on the evidence here, is such a resolutely bland personality—a middle-of-the-road guy in temperament, taste and sensibility—that it is difficult to muster much interest in his |

predicament. His anecdotes about life on the set of Hercules are flavorless and mild, his observations on love, family and the capriciousness of fate banal and his regular-guy persona precludes any surprising, salacious or otherwise interesting revelations about his idyllic upbringing as a healthy young jock or his relatively smooth ascension to cult stardom. Sorbo’s medical problems, while clearly devastating to the author and his family and friends, are not the stuff of high drama; he was knocked down, felt lousy for a period and slowly recovered.

Readers may feel vaguely gratified that an apparently nice person made it through a difficult period, but it’s hardly compelling reading. (25 black-and-white photographs)

FIVE CHIEFS A Supreme Court Memoir Stevens, John Paul Little, Brown (304 pp.) $24.99 | Oct 3, 2011 978-0-316-19980-3 An informative and intermittently engaging account of Justice Stevens’ tenure on the Supreme Court.

Stevens, who joined the Court in 1975 and retired in 2010, at the age of 90, was the third-longest-serving justice in the Court’s history and its oldest member at the time of his retirement. He served under five Chief Justices, beginning with Fred Vinson and ending with John Roberts Jr.; the book is divided into sections that detail his recollections of the Court under each Chief. For the most part neatly structured and concise, the book’s clarity is occasionally compromised by gratuitous legalese. It’s not always clear how or why he has chosen to share a certain memory or observation or describe the ruling in a particular case. At times he veers into meandering personal anecdote, waxing rhapsodic about the warm handshakes he shared with his fellow justices, their morning coffee breaks, lavish holiday parties and “Nino” Scalia’s “wonderfully spontaneous sense of humor.” It is touchingly clear that Stevens loved his time as a member of the Court, but only the most dedicated Supreme Court aficionado is likely to care about the metal spittoons next to each justice’s chair or the toggle switch they use to turn on their microphones. Stevens’ memory is sharp, his tone is affable and his storytelling has charming folksy quality, but as a whole this memoir is reminiscent of an exceptionally long-winded speech given by the guest of honor at a retirement party.

Though well-documented and richly detailed, this book is unlikely to captivate readers who do not have a special interest in the Supreme Court.

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1801

HITLER Beyond Evil and Tyranny Stolfi, R.H.S. Prometheus Books (476 pp.) $27.00 | Oct 25, 2011 978-1-61614-474-6 978-1-61614-475-3 e-book In the guise of a scholarly screed, former Marine Corps Reserve Stolfi (German Panzers on the Offensive Russian Front, 2003, etc.) makes an incredible—and entirely failed— attempt to rehabilitate the most reviled figure of modern history.

The author strongly objects to the universal “denigration” of Adolf Hitler. Across nearly 500 pages, he decries the “antipathy” against his hero, mistaking amoral charisma for integrity. Hitler, writes the author, was a man of towering achievement, a messiah for the German people, an intense, idealistic mastermind. To Stolfi, the young Wagnerian hero of World War I who boasted a firm handshake and direct eye contact was a sensitive Bohemian artist and opera lover. Against all evidence, the author also proclaims him a wonderful painter and superb architect. Hitler pronounced himself the savior of Europe from the threat of Marxism, and the murder of millions of Jews was simply political necessity. Readers should understand that Stolfi’s book is not a biography but a preposterous hagiography employing selective fact supported by quotes from a few Nazis and a lot from the Führer’s own Mein Kampf. It is also a jealous, sarcastic discourse against the “conventional wisdom” of the “great-biographers” (unlike Stolfi, these include reliable authors such as Toland, Fest, Kershaw, etc.). The book ends before the end of the Third Reich. Ultimately, despite the author’s effort to spin the malign corruption—especially offensive while it is still in living memory—there remains nothing beyond the evil and tyranny that his subtitle promises.

A repellent text, as deranged as its subject.

PRICING THE FUTURE Finance, Physics, and the 300-Year Journey to the Black-Scholes Equation Szpiro, George G. Basic (336 pp.) $28.00 | Dec 1, 2011 978-0-465-02248-9 Mathematician and financial economist Szpiro (Numbers Rule: The Vexing Mathematics of Democracy, From Plato to the Present, 2010, etc.) chronicles the co-evolution of modern finance, physics and statistics.

In 1997, the Nobel Prize was awarded to economists Myron Scholes and Robert Merton for determining “the true value of an option,” just one year before the billion-dollar hedge fund they founded nearly collapsed global financial markets. The prize was based upon their discovery—along with their deceased collaborator Fischer Black—of a formula that laid the basis 1802

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

for computerized derivatives trading. In the author’s opinion, despite the spectacular real-world failures of their model, which also contributed to the 2007 economic crisis, on a scientific level, their achievement “is a landmark achievement of the twentieth century.” While this may strike readers as unwarranted hyperbole, Szpiro unravels the complexity of the Black-Scholes equation and its fascinating relationship to Einstein’s application of statistics in explaining the random motion of molecules and to Norbert Wiener’s discovery of Cybernetics (based on his World War II work on target acquisition). In the case of options, it is option prices rather than molecules that jiggle. The author devotes most of the text to tracing “the historical and intellectual developments that led to the options pricing formula,” beginning more than 300 years ago with the tulip bubble, when frenzied speculators drove the price higher and higher until the bubble burst and buyers defaulted on future contracts.

An interesting history of mathematics and its application to economics and the world of high fi nance.

TESTICLES Balls in Cooking and Culture Vie, Blandie Translated by MacDonogh, Giles Prospect Books (288 pp.) $40.00 paperback | Nov 30, 2011 978-1-903018-83-5 French food writer Vie tenders a panoramic profile of the testicle as totem and tasty.

Certainly in the world of one-note food books—salt, cod, milk, eggs, etc.—there is room for this tribute to the testicle, for balls hardly figure at all in cookbooks, which has more to do with fancy than fact: Testicles were among the choicest morsels in the French courts of the 17th and 18th centuries; they were esteemed as hors d’oeuvres in the classic and bourgeois cooking of the 19th century; they were the offal of choice in the American cowboy community; perhaps most importantly, they were the offal of choice among butchers, who know the best and kept it to themselves. The purpose of the book, writes Vie, is to honor and rehabilitate the testicle, and she writes of it (or them) with wit. She proceeds through a short course of testicles in mythology, in the Bible and the Koran and as metaphors, then shifts into an annotated lexicon of the anatomical, culinary and fantastic terms to describe the edible little things. The degree of detail is mesmerizing, and Vie provides a rangy section on preparation: recipes in the Tunisian style and the Moroccan fashion, how to freeze testicles, how to cook them with citrus and much more. MacDonogh delivers a lively translation as well as added valuable marginalia.

A delightful mix of good humor and scholarship.

kirkusreviews.com

|

“Vlasic’s tale unfolds urgently, even suspensefully, and it shows why heads had to roll in order to make the ‘clean and pristine’ new companies of today.” from once upon a car

ONCE UPON A CAR The Fall and Resurrection of America’s Big Three Auto Makers–GM, Ford, and Chrysler

VEGETARIAN ENTREES THAT WON’T LEAVE YOU HUNGRY Nourishing, Flavorful Main-Course Dishes that Fill the Center of the Plate

Vlasic, Bill Morrow/HarperCollins (400 pp.) $26.99 | Oct 4, 2011 978-0-06-184562-8 978-0-06-204222-4 e-book 978-0-06-208860-4 Lg. Prt.

Volger, Lukas The Experiment (256 pp.) $17.95 paperback | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-61519-033-1

In a first-rate blend of journalism and history, New York Times Detroit bureau chief Vlasic (co-author: Taken for a Ride: How Deimler-Benz Drove Off with Chrysler, 2000) rides the perfect storm that only yesterday threatened to undo America’s auto industry.

It was a perfect storm indeed: A bad economy met declining levels of quality in the Big Three’s (Ford, General Motors and Chrysler) products, while demographics collided with a toxic corporate culture. We all know about the bad economy, and anyone who’s driven an American car made in the 1990s very likely has a long list of complaints. On that latter point, Vlasic’s account opens with an unlikely moment in automotive history— namely, Ford’s wooing of Jim Farley, who had been working at Toyota, steadily raising the foreign automaker’s presence in the U.S. and pushing the Scion to hipsters, making Toyota dealerships “cool, pressure-free boutiques for these interesting little Japanese cars with funky designs and small engines.” Thanks to what Vlasic deems “institutional arrogance” and poor judgment, meanwhile, the Big Three had been overproducing gas-guzzling SUVs that sat on dealership floors as gas prices went through the roof. The demographics are the less-well-known part of the story, and here Vlasic shines, dispassionately taking apart the impossible numbers by which pension and health-insurance plans made it impossible for Detroit to see present or future profitability: “Every two seconds, GM paid for a prescription somewhere in the United States; every second it paid for some medical procedure. And there was no end in sight.” Inevitably, the automakers could do nothing other than declare bankruptcy in exchange for a bailout that, under Presidents Bush and Obama, put the U.S. government in the car business.

Vlasic’s tale unfolds urgently, even suspensefully, and it shows why heads had to roll in order to make the “clean and pristine” new companies of today.

If the adjective “vegetarian” immediately calls to mind side dishes and incomplete meals, this lively cookbook aims to convince readers otherwise.

Volger (Veggie Burgers Every Which Way, 2010) dutifully covers all the vegetarian basics. In seven chapters, the author details the finer points of pantry staples like grains and beans; outlines several hearty meals comprised of soups and salads; and tackles meat-free noodle and curry dishes, among many others. Volger does not rely on meat substitutes such as seitan or tempeh, and only occasionally make use of tofu. Vegetables may be the stars, but, unfortunately for vegan readers, the author makes liberal use of dairy. The author’s recipes are simple, and he mainly avoids exotic, hard-to-find ingredients. Most dishes can be completed quickly by the amateur chef, with a few standouts that require more in-depth preparation. His foundational recipes leave readers much room for substitution and improvisation, depending on what’s seasonable or available in their panty.

Volger clearly enjoys cooking and is eager to inspire others, but this causes the author some minor trouble. He dedicates much space in a lengthy introductory chapter with non-essential and rather obvious information. That space should have been used for the paltry and unimaginative dessert section, which features a mere five recipes compared to the author’s lengthy discourse on pizza and the 11 recipes that accompany it.

The pros far outweigh the cons, but a more apt title would have been Vegetarianism for Beginners. (7-city author tour: New York, Charlotte, Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Toronto.)

SAY IT HOT Essays on American Writers Living, Dying, and Dead Williamson, Eric Miles Texas Review Press (234 pp.) $24.95 paperback | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-933896-38-0 There’s some guilty pleasure for readers in these transgressive literary responses, but most of this collection reads more like blowhard venting than thoughtful criticism.

Titled after a column Williamson (Oakland, Jack London, and Me, 2008) wrote for a French magazine, where his brand of outlaw discourse has found favor, this Texas-based novelist-professor offers knee-jerk response rather than reasoned analysis.

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

nonfiction

|

1 october 2011

|

1803

He inhabits a literary universe of verities that can occasionally sound more like prejudice: Female novelists hate men (except for the sainted Marilynne Robinson, “America’s Quiet Genius,” whom Williamson embraces in part because he says female readers don’t like her.) Black novelists hate whites. Obscure is better than renowned (or popular). Small presses are better than large publishing houses. The South is better than the Northeast. Poor is better than middle class. Streetwise experience is better than pointy-headed intellectualism (though the author makes much of his multiple postgraduate degrees and his academic tenure, often with more revulsion than pride). Williamson either loves or hates, with little to no middle ground, though he writes that an author can move from one extreme to another by violating the verities. Thus, the once-obscure Cormac McCarthy (“the greatest fiction writer alive, bar none”) becomes “a dried-up, sentimental has-been” with his introduction to the viewership of Oprah. Many of the titles of these essays, some of them little more than book reviews that summarize plot, tell readers all they need to know (“Because He Has Wasted My Time, I’d Like to Bitch-Slap F. Scott Fitzgerald and Take His Lunch Money”; “Nathan Zuckerman Goes Pee-Pee in His Pants and We’re Supposed to Care: Or, Zuckerman Unzipped”).

What the critic sees as brutal honesty too often seems unhinged and even irrelevant.

HOW TO THINK LIKE A NEANDERTAL

Wynn, Thomas and Coolidge, Frederick L. Oxford Univ. (240 pp.) $24.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-19-974282-0 An anthropologist and a psychologist apply concepts from their respective disciplines to speculate on the mental processes and social organization of our distant, Neandertal cousins.

In this popular follow-up to their more scholarly work (The Rise of Homo sapiens: The Evolution of Modern Thinking, 2009 etc.), University of Colorado, Colorado Springs professors Wynn and Coolidge decipher clues from the Neandertal skeletons, stone artifacts and bones from sites where they hunted and butchered large predators that formed the major portion of their diet and genetic analysis. It is now accepted that modern humans and Neandertals descended from a common African ancestor around 500,000 years ago, and that we share more than 99.8 percent of our genes with them. They migrated to Europe around 200,000 years ago during a period of major glaciation, and became extinct for unknown reasons 30,000 years ago.

Skeletal evidence suggests that their build would have been similar to ours, but male skeletons show grievous bodily injuries they likely received while hunting. The handheld stone-tipped spears they used for hunting indicate significant technical skills.

They were cave dwellers who lived and hunted in small isolated groups of around 20 families, with little division of labor between the sexes. Wynn and Coolidge are convinced that they 1804

|

1 october 2011

|

nonfiction

|

would have developed language, yet they note that there are no indications that the Neandertals had any of the spiritual concerns reflected in all known human societies—e.g, while they placed their dead in shallow graves, there is no indication that they practiced burial rites—perhaps because of biological differences in their brains or because of the harsh, demanding conditions of their daily lives.

An intriguing look at fellow beings who seem to have been “inexact mirrors of ourselves,” perhaps not as conceptually advanced but not so dissimilar either.

CHINA IN TEN WORDS

Yu Hua Translated by Barr, Allan H. Pantheon (240 pp.) $24.95 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-307-37935-1 978-0-307-90693-9 e-book

Acclaimed Chinese novelist Yu Hua (Brothers, 2010, etc.) offers a series of essays that combine memoir and trenchant social critique.

Born in 1960, Yu Hua is of a generation that has been witness to China’s astounding and perplexing economic and social transformations. While each essay is loosely themed around a common Chinese word—e.g., “People,” “Leader,” “Reading,” “Writing”—the book reflects on the author’s experiences during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and ‘70s and expresses his feelings on how China has and has not changed since then.

As a boy during that time, Yu Hua was mostly bored, as there was little to do and little outside of Mao Zedong to read. Still, his stories of the cruelties and inanities of the time make clear his conclusion that the Cultural Revolution made for “a life made up of equal parts stifled instincts, dreary freedom, and hollow verbiage.” For no particular reason he could discern, the Chinese government decided in 1978 that Yu Hua should be a dentist. And so he was, until his literary career took off in the ‘80s, just as the market economy in China took flight. His curmudgeonly conclusion is that China has entered into “an era of impulsive self-indulgence” and “moral bankruptcy and confusion of right and wrong.” For Yu Hua, revolution in China never disappeared “but simply donned a different costume.” The mad dash toward change remains. The author is hardly pedantic here, however, as he makes his points in sharply observed tales about everyday life. The translation preserves both his simple, direct style and subtle sense of humor.

More engaging than profound, Yu Hua’s essays say much about the continuing enigma that is China.

kirkusreviews.com

|

children & teens THE SHAPE SONG SWINGALONG

SteveSongs Illus. by Sim, David Barefoot (24 pp.) $16.99 | paper $9.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-84686-671-5 978-1-84686-679-1 paperback The catchy shape song that many will recognize from PBS Kids gets some new verses and some brilliantly colored artwork in this collaboration from SteveSongs and Sim. Bouncy rhythms and rhymes are sure to get kids singing, and their fingers will itch to draw: “I drew boats out on the water, / I drew a castle on the sand, / I drew a beachside waterslide, / Oh, what a ride! / And I never even had to stand / in line, line, circle, circle, / square, square, square, square, / triangle, triangle…” The premise is that most artwork starts with basic shapes: line, circle, square and triangle. Armed with these four shapes, the things that kids can draw are countless. Sim nicely demonstrates this in his double-page spreads. His busy scenes are full of the four featured shapes, naturally drawing readers’ eyes to them by their placement and color. But he includes other shapes as well: rectangles, ovals and semicircles. As in the PBS Kids video, the illustrations include four multiethnic kids, but here one of them wears a leg brace as well. Quirky, blocky animals that incorporate at least one of the shapes in their body and/or body language also populate Sim’s world. An enhanced CD (not seen) with the song and video is included.

Break out the crayons and markers, and put on some dancing shoes—this is sure to inspire on many levels. (Picture book. 2-5)

BABY, COME AWAY

Adler, Victoria Illus. by Walker, David Farrar, Straus and Giroux (40 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-374-30480-5 A bird, cat, dog and fish take turns inviting Baby (who looks more like a toddler) to “come away.”

Each creature wants Baby to participate in its favorite activities—both real and slightly fantastical. Bird chirps, “Let’s fly up high / To my nest / In the sky / Where the green leaves rustle / And the clouds drift by,” whereas Fish promises, “We’ll dance in a ring / In the deep, deep sea / With a toe tap, finger snap, circle on the sand. / An octopus will take your hand.” Adler’s |

rhyming text includes opportunities for young ones to pretend to munch a worm, sip some milk, chew a bone and twirl in the sea. Unfortunately the cadence occasionally misses a beat.

Walker, however, ably keeps pace with Baby’s adventures and provides colorful depictions of the playful action with just the right amount of detail for the very young to enjoy. Every animal has a welcome smile and delights in Baby’s company. But at the end of the day mother is ready with open arms for Baby to “Come back to me.” She scoops up her weary one and puts Baby to bed. The final spread shows bird, cat, dog and fish keeping watch over their dear playmate.

Sweet but not stellar—stick with Adler’s earlier success, All of Baby, Nose to Toes, illustrated by Hiroe Nakata (2009).

(Picture book. 2-4)

THE BATTLE OF RIPTIDE

Altbacker, EJ Razorbill/Penguin (256 pp.) $12.99 | Dec 13, 2011 978-1-59514-377-8 Series: Shark Wars, 2

Toothy rivals introduced in the opener, Shark Wars (2011), unite in the sequel to battle an army of shark invaders from the far end of the Big Blue.

Having learned that he’s not fat (or “big-cartilaged,” as he prefers to put it) but a supersized prehistoric Megalodon, young Gray is propelled into playing a leading role in repelling a disciplined force of shark troops from Indi, led by King Finnivus, a spoiled and vicious brat with visions of world conquest. Fortunately, Gray is being tutored in martial “Shar-kata” by Takiza, an ancient and bad-tempered betta (Siamese fighting fish). He also finds common purpose with other “shivers” (the basic shark communal unit—though more open-minded shivers admit other species too) and discovers unexpected allies who arrive (thanks to Takiza’s ability to span entire oceans with magical speed) in the nick of time to turn the tide of the climactic battle. When Gray cries, or pants with exhaustion, the overall anthropomorphic conceit wears thin, but Altbacker expends some effort concocting his undersea setting and fills out the finny cast with familiar martial-arts–style character types.

A sure draw for the Kung-Fu Panda crowd, high on body count but low on gory details, it doesn’t take itself too seriously and is fully sequel-enabled. (Animal fantasy. 10-12)

kirkusreviews.com

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1805

LITTLE WOMEN AND ME

a skewed vision of Christianity, Abigail’s world is portrayed as unenlightened. Dylan’s real life, while flawed, is obviously preferable. Readers are left with the message that Dylan’s experiment as a Christian was at best educational and at worst bizarre.

A disappointingly uneven handling of faith. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Baratz-Logsted, Lauren Bloomsbury (320 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-1-59990-514-3

This latest venture in literary repurposing—19th-century classic to teen chicklit— features an overlooked middle sister whose freshman English assignment propels her into Alcott’s novel, where, as sister to Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, she’s overlooked again.

Emily assumes she’s been sent to change something about the March sisters’ story—perhaps she’ll save Beth?—yet at first the Marches barely register her presence. Life with the fictional Marches echoes Emily’s real one. There, she’d tried and failed to attract a boy with a crush on her older sister. With her knowledge of Laurie’s interest in Jo, Emily moves in to nab him first, only to scare him away. Plenty of teen heroines feel invisible, but Emily’s indignant reaction and optimistic determination to be noticed set her apart. The story works best when delivering Emily’s contemporary-teen take on the classic’s more dated elements (Marmee’s lectures, the family’s preachy good intentions, Victorian gender relations), which haven’t worn well. Contradictions abound though. How someone as vivid and feisty as Emily can be ignored in either world is unclear. The fantasy device feels awkward, and themes and plot elements don’t quite coalesce.

Set churlish quibbles aside, though, and what remains is a consistently entertaining read that delivers a genuinely original heroine and frequently hilarious satire. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

FAKING FAITH

Bloss, Josie Flux (240 pp.) $9.95 paperback | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-7387-2757-8 When a sexting scandal destroys her social life, her home life and her selfesteem, 17-year-old Dylan decides to reinvent herself as Faith, a devout Christian with radically conservative values.

After stumbling upon a blog featuring homeschooled Christians, Dylan starts her own blog, posing as Faith, a fellow devotee to the righteous lifestyle. Dylan (Faith) strikes up a cyber-friendship with Abigail, an expert at living as a Virtuous Maiden. She secures an invitation to visit Abigail, where she gets an insider’s view of this nontraditional lifestyle. Faith rebels against the subservience that is expected of her. She is further challenged when she meets Asher, Abigail’s intriguing brother. Torn between wanting to live a more simple life and wanting to reveal who she really is, Faith finds that faking it is harder than she thought. Alas, what could have been an interesting portrait of a teen wrestling with personal values and faith ends up being a story filled with negative stereotypes and cliché. Populated by overbearing men, insipid women and 1806

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

MOUSENET

Breitrose, Prudence Illus. by Yue, Stephanie Disney Hyperion (400 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-1-4231-2489-4 What if computer mice meant something more exciting than tech accessories— something that could change the world?

Ten-year-old Megan, returning from a two-year trip, learns that her uncle’s invented a miniscule computer. It’s delightful but impractical, so Uncle Fred lets Megan take it to her dad’s house. Stowing away in Megan’s suitcase, tracking that invaluable Thumbtop computer, are three mice. Unbeknownst to people, mice worldwide are “right up there with humans, give or take a few things like thumbs and bank accounts.” They post on MouseBook, peruse Whiskerpedia and speak sophisticated Mouse Sign Language. But snatching computer time from humans is unwieldy, requiring elevated mice to dangle others from ropes so they can hit chosen keys without stepping on the whole keyboard. Needed, per decree of Mouse Nation’s leader: a Thumbtop in every mousehole! Breitrose gently sprinkles her clean, funny prose with literary references (The Tale of Despereaux; Robert Burns, when plans gang a-gley) and adapted sayings (WWAWMD: What Would A Wild Mouse Do?). Yue’s black-and-white illustrations hold an unassuming sweetness. A specially-trained talking mouse approaches Megan to orchestrate an unprecedented two-species treaty. What does Megan want?

Nothing less than help reversing climate change. The way these mice get around, they just might pull it off.

Genuine goodwill, humor and impressive believability will have readers longing for mice as friends—not to mention political allies. (Animal fantasy. 8-12)

iBOY

Brooks, Kevin Chicken House/ Scholastic (304 pp.) $17.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-545-31768-9 Tom Harvey’s world is upended after he’s hit by a smartphone thrown from 30 stories up.

Living with his grandmother in the projects known as Crow Town, a grim, sprawling urban jungle where drug-dealing gangs rule by intimidation, Tom keeps his head down and dreams of turning his

kirkusreviews.com

|

“Simply put, a darn good read.” from liar’s moon

childhood friendship with Lucy into something more. That life ends when, waking from surgery, he’s told that parts of the iPhone fused with his brain and can’t be removed. That fusion endows Tom with powers that give new meaning to “hacking.”

It feels exhilarating to apply his new powers to paying back a local gang that carried out a brutal sexual assault on Lucy, but revenge can’t bridge the gulf between him and Lucy or heal her psychological wounds. Using his powers is changing Tom; he’d like to stop; yet against an unscrupulous enemy that’s utterly amoral, don’t his moral scruples amount to weakness? Those aiming to attract the elusive teen male to teen fiction have no better ally than English novelist Brooks, whose lean, suspenseful thrillers feature compelling heroes facing tough choices, and this is no exception (Being, 2007, etc.).

This classic superhero plot, at once cutting-edge science fiction and moral fable, is guaranteed to keep even fiction-averse, reluctant readers on the edge of their seats.

(Science fiction. 14 & up)

LIAR’S MOON

Bunce, Elizabeth C. Levine/Scholastic (368 pp.) $17.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-545-13608-2 A solid fantasy sequel embroils its irresistible heroine in mystery, intrigue and romance (StarCrossed, 2010).

Erstwhile lady’s maid, forger and spy Digger is back in the besieged city of Gerse—picking pockets, avoiding the fanatic Greenmen and looking for any opportunity to aid Prince Wierolf and his rebel allies. But when her friend Lord Durrel is imprisoned for poisoning his wife, Digger devotes her skills to proving his innocence. The titular moon belongs to the god of wine, deception and thieves, all of which play significant roles in a convoluted narrative involving murder, magic, smuggling, sex, blackmail, bribery, religion and revolution, with a fair sprinkling of humor and romance. There’s an awful lot of plot going on, but it never spirals out of control; Digger always manages to be where events are unfolding, make friends with the right people and uncover the crucial clues. She remains a marvelous creation, with a wry observant voice and a veneer of heartbreaking bravado; indeed, her personality is so vibrant that (lacking an equally strong antagonist) every other character tends to disappear in her shadow. While it’s not a standalone, sufficient information is provided to start with this entry, and the main plot lines wrap up in a satisfying fashion—but an unexpected twist in the final paragraphs will leave Digger’s many fans impatient for her next adventure.

Simply put, a darn good read. (Fantasy. 14 & up)

|

kirkusreviews.com

MYSTERY OF THE TEMPEST

Cameron, Sam Bold Strokes Books (255 pp.) $13.95 paperback | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-60282-579-6 Series: Fisher Key Adventures, 1

Set on Florida’s Fisher Key, this genial mystery finds 18-year-old twin amateur sleuths investigating the explosion of a yacht.

Denny is gay; Steven is straight.

Denny is headed for the Coast Guard, Steven for the Navy SEALs. Steven is a womanizer; Denny is waiting until he graduates from Coast Guard Academy to come out and act on his desires for men. (In the world of the novel, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is apparently still operational.) Despite their differences, the brothers have a warm, funny and occasionally mildly antagonistic rapport as well as a successful working relationship— they make reference to having cracked previous cases together, though none of their earlier adventures seems to have been published. As Denny builds a friendship, and maybe more, with an openly gay transfer student, Steven sleeps with the school’s valedictorian, who irks him by criticizing his technique. Each boy’s personal story arc takes place amidst intrigue that will delight genre enthusiasts: explosions, competing investigations, false identities, stolen diamonds and a harrowing climax. Subplots are deftly woven into the story and tied up, though readers never do learn whether they are supposed to understand valedictorian Kelsey’s sexual requests as anything besides nagging.

A true mystery with something to offer teens of any orientation. (Mystery. 14-18)

FIRST DAY ON EARTH

Castellucci, Cecil Scholastic (160 pp.) $17.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-545-06082-0

A lonely teen claims to have been abducted by aliens in this heartfelt offering by the author of Rose Sees Red (2010).

Troubled Mal attends two different support groups: one for teenagers with alcoholic parents and one for people who believe they were experimented on by aliens. His mother started drinking heavily after his dad deserted them six years ago, and shortly thereafter Mal went missing, to be discovered miles away from his home three days later. Already unpopular at school, his secret gnaws at him and makes him feel even more isolated. So when eccentric Hooper shows up and claims to actually be an alien on his way home, Mal hopes to convince him to take Mal on as a copilot. But the prospect of leaving it all behind the way his father did makes Mal seriously consider what he would lose and whom he would hurt. Mal’s spare firstperson narration is wistful and raw, reflecting the feelings of |

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1807

“Although two-boys-one-girl triangles run rife in this genre, Condie’s is complicated and particularly human, involving real emotional scars.” from matched

anyone who’s ever felt misunderstood or abandoned. “I got lost and disappeared. For days. Sometimes I wonder which part of me came back.” Castellucci also creates vibrant secondary characters, including wise Hooper, with a minimum of words—a welcome relief in these times of bloated teen fantasy novels.

A simple, tender work that speaks to the alien in all of us. (Fiction. 12 & up)

THE HANGMAN IN THE MIRROR

Cayley, Kate Annick Press (232 pp.) $21.95 | paper $12.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-55451-357-4 978-1-55451-356-7 paperback It is 18th-century Montreal, and 15-year-old Françoise Laurent has been sentenced to be hanged. How she came to that position is only gradually uncovered.

In a first-person narration that seems oddly inappropriate to Françoise’s humble background, she slowly reveals the hardships of her life: extreme poverty, brutally hard work, a total lack of education—until her father decides to teach her to read after her brother is stillborn—and a grim absence of any hope for a better future. Her character loosely based on a real person, the only living child of an often-drunk, failed soldier and his hard-drinking, prostitute-turned-washerwoman and wife, Françoise’s spirited guidance is the only thing that keeps them alive at all. When tragedy leads to the unexpected opportunity to become the personal maid to a wealthy, embittered lady, things seem to be looking up for her—at least until she makes a serious yet intentional blunder that results in her downfall. Françoise’s detailed descriptions of all that she sees provide a depth to the narrative but also slow it to a sometimes frustratingly languid pace. Her insights and language, while interesting, fail to ring completely true, given her uneducated, near-destitute upbringing.

A slow paced and ultimately depressing tale of a notoften-depicted place and time that will, though somewhat flawed, satisfy dedicated historical-fiction fans. (Historical fiction. 11 & up)

CROSSED

Condie, Ally Dutton (384 pp.) $17.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-525-42365-2 Cassia and Ky grapple with secrets, wilderness and the tumultuous meanings of love in the second installment of this addictive, layered dystopic trilogy.

Far away from both each other and the neatly manicured and repressive Society suburbs, Ky and Cassia are both on the run. Cassia slyly 1808

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

gets herself moved from a work camp to the Outer Provinces, where kids are shipped to die as “decoys”—defenseless shooting fodder for the Enemy. She’s not positive that Ky’s there, but readers are: The two alternate narrating in first-person present.

Ky’s voice is dry and harsh, Cassia’s lusher, befitting their life histories. They’re desperate to find each other. She’s exhilarated at whispers of an anti-Society rebellion called the Rising; Ky hates the Rising but holds his reasons close, parceling out his story slowly. When Cassia and Ky find each other, deception looms large, as does Cassia’s official Match, Xander, geographically distant but sharply relevant. Although two-boys-one-girl triangles run rife in this genre, Condie’s is complicated and particularly human, involving real emotional scars. While more loosely woven than Matched (2010), this volume has its own boons, including non-linear travel through a rough canyon and critical interpretations of Tennyson’s symbolism, which could change their world. Questions—about Cassia’s vulnerability to the Society’s pills, about the Enemy’s identity and the Rising’s true nature—hover for next time.

Both rich and easy to digest, this will leave fans hungry for the third book. (Science fiction/romance. 13 & up)

TALK, TALK, SQUAWK! A Human’s Guide to Animal Communication Davies, Nicola Illus. by Layton, Neal Candlewick (64 pp.) $14.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-7636-5088-9 Having explored poop and parasites, survival techniques and size, Davies and Layton turn to animal communication, describing how animals send and receive messages by sound, sight, smell and touch, for a variety of purposes.

A “hand”-standing panda on the title page sets the cheerful tone of this informal introduction. The author has chosen both familiar and unusual examples, often connecting the animal behavior to children’s experiences in ways that almost cross the line into anthropomorphization. Fish coloration is likened to school uniforms; the superb lyrebird performs his mating song and dance on a “stage” of his own making; great bustards “look like large white balloons” as they announce “I am gorgeous.”

That panda-gymnast is trying to “send an extra signal—’The panda who left this message is very BIG indeed.’ “ Cartoonlike illustrations, almost doodles, done in ink and colored digitally, add humor to every page, even in the backmatter. They often include speech balloons demonstrating the animals’ messages.

(The endpapers feature animal sounds in the front, “translated” in the back.) Like other books in this series (most recently, Just the Right Size, 2009), the compact trim size, mostly one-topicper-spread organization and tongue-in-cheek illustrations will appeal to child readers.

Something to crow about. (index, glossary) (Nonfiction. 8-12)

kirkusreviews.com

|

OUTLAW

Davies, Stephen Clarion (304 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 14, 2011 978-0-547-39017-8 Kidnapped by outlaws in a small African country with some rough terrain, Jake and his sister Kas use their savvy to both get themselves free and make sure that the culprit is caught.

Jake plays “geothimble,” a game his friends invented that is similar to geocaching and involves a heap of physicality. In trouble for climbing into a prison as part of the game, Jake is sent home from his English boarding school to Burkina Faso, where his diplomat father is stationed, and is almost immediately kidnapped, along with his sister. The adults want to use all the resources at hand to free Jake and Kas, but it gradually becomes clear that this is not a straightforward crime; it calls for subtlety. The landscape and culture provide an intriguing setting without bogging down the fast-paced plot.

Davies, a missionary who lives in Burkina Faso, credibly demonstrates that a place’s seeming exoticism does not make it uncomplicated. Most characters that could have been stereotypes are pleasingly well-rounded, although the villains are definitely onedimensional. Surprisingly, technology is a key ingredient in the unfolding events, and Jake’s knowledge and skills are key to their survival. The outlaw at the heart of the plot, Yakuuba Sor, brings a heartening complexity and morality to this seldom-seen setting.

Nonstop action in the African desert. (Adventure. 10-14)

WHEREVER YOU GO

Davis, Heather Harcourt (320 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 14, 2011 978-0-547-50151-2

This ghost story gently delivers growing emotional power as it explores the thoughts of three teens, including the ghost.

Holly still mourns her dead boyfriend, Rob, killed in a car crash months ago. Rob’s shy friend Jason secretly adores Holly and hopes for a romance with her, but he feels awkward about approaching her. Rob himself knows he’s a ghost and can’t understand why he doesn’t go into “the light.” Is he trapped on Earth forever? He watches Holly and Jason stumble into love and can’t let go, becoming angry and jealous. As Holly substitutes for her overburdened mom, caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’safflicted grandfather, Rob discovers a way to communicate: Holly’s grandfather can see and speak with him. But will anyone believe the old man? Davis creates some suspense through misunderstandings, but mostly she watches the teens mature and develops the sweet romance between Holly and Jason. The clever device of ghostly communications with a man suffering from dementia seems almost plausible, and it helps to slowly reveal the real cause |

kirkusreviews.com

of Rob’s extended time among the living. Although the narrative moves far more slowly than most teen fare, the time spent is well worth it, as the story really becomes a character study of all three teens, finally revealing their hidden strengths.

Poignant and eventually quite moving. (Paranormal romance.

12 & up)

THE PLEDGE

Derting, Kimberly McElderry (336 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 15, 2011 978-1-4424-2201-8 A girl reluctantly faces her destiny in this gripping dystopian fantasy.

Seventeen-year-old “Charlie” knows she has unusual, even dangerous, powers.

In the far future, in a land controlled by a brutal and ancient queen, the common language of Englaise may be spoken and understood freely, but all upper classes have their own languages. If a lower-class person even looks up when such languages are spoken they are subject to execution. Charlie can understand all languages, a fact she hides to protect her life. As war descends on her city, Charlie hides with handsome Max, a member of an upper class who pledges to protect her. But why? When Charlie discovers a vast underground rebel camp she also learns a highly guarded secret: She herself may be the cause of the rebellion. Derting (Desires of the Dead, 2011, etc.) keeps her story consistently engaging through vivid description and brisk pacing, propelling Charlie through her adventure. She throws enough romance into the mix to satisfy but keeps the main focus on suspense. Although some of the plot depends on the paranormal, turning the story more into a fantasy than a dystopia, the author keeps readers involved all the way by gradually increasing the emotional pressure on Charlie.

More great suspense from a prolific new writer with a vibrant imagination. (Dystopian fantasy. 12 & up)

NORTH The Amazing Story of Arctic Migration Dowson, Nick Illus. by Benson, Patrick Candlewick (56 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-7636-5271-5 In the dark Arctic winters, few species can survive, but in short, lush summers, millions of animals return to reproduce.

This combination of lyrical prose and striking illustrations conveys the mystery and magic of the far North and the cycle of darkness and rebirth that includes some astonishing migratory journeys. Dowson’s examples come from all over the world: Atlantic and Pacific whales, terns and jaegers from South |

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1809

America, godwits from New Zealand and cranes from China as well as Canadian caribou. His simple, poetic text is set alongside or between Benson’s ink, pencil and watercolor paintings, done in icy blues, grays and greens. The creatures are clearly identifiable but often seen through water or snow or from afar, against vast landscapes. Usually there are many, in schools, herds, flocks—this is an emptiness that teems with life for a short while.

Six spreads have no text at all, encouraging contemplation and reflection. The backmatter locates the Arctic Ocean and ice cap in Asia, North America and Europe with both text and a map, and the illustrator has included two Atlantic-centered images of Earth from space that dramatize the extent of these journeys.

Simple but effective, this is a beautiful introduction to a remarkable region that should encourage any child’s sense of wonder. (index) (Informational picture book. 7-10)

BATTY

Dyer, Sarah Illus. by Dyer, Sarah Frances Lincoln (28 pp.) $16.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-84780-084-8 How can a body get attention while hanging upside down?

He’s a cute gray bat with a mischievous smile, but he goes mostly unnoticed by visitors. (There is one little boy in a blue sweater who points to him and to whom Batty says, “Hello,” but he is the lone exception.) So, Batty seeks friends among the other animals. The penguins are having fun in their pool, but Batty can’t stand the taste of fish. The gorillas look friendly, but they keep checking him for fleas. The lions seem nice and relaxed, but Batty finds he doesn’t like lazing in the hot sun for so long. Disappointed but hopeful, he next tries the aviary, where the creatures are all very beautiful.

But up close, those birds are far too noisy. Feeling sad and lonely, Batty flies back to his home. And there, he finds a big surprise: All the animals he has gone to visit are there waiting for him— or at least one of each—including the boy in the blue sweater.

And they’re all hanging upside down, like bats. Dyer’s story and prose feel generic, but her pencil-and-pastel illustrations, stylish, economical and slyly humorous, are memorable. The cleverest aspect of all is that several of the book’s illustrations, as well as the back cover and flyleaf, are upside down, just like Batty.

A sweet, if not particularly memorable adventure in perspective. (Picture book. 3-6)

1810

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

TOM’S TWEET

Esbaum, Jill Illus. by Santat, Dan Knopf (32 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-375-85171-1 A tweet’s anything but a tasty treat for fat Tom cat when his big heart gets him in trouble.

After a storm, Tom finds a dazed tweet under a tree. When he decides the baby bird is too scrawny to snack on, Tom turns tail…but it looks so frightened! “ ‘I will not take you back to your nest,’ Tom declared. / But the thing blink-blink-blinked, and… egad! / Tom was half up the tree with the poor little tyke / when its mama showed up… / fighting mad!” Tom (tweet still grasped in his teeth) escapes Mama Bird (by running through rose bushes— ouch!), but what next? Building a nest doesn’t quiet tweet’s tweets.

Digging worms doesn’t help. Chewing the worms up (gulp!) and letting it snuggle does. When Mama flies off to get food, Tom gets tweet back in the nest; but he misses his wee new buddy all night. The next day, tweet’s on the ground again. “When Mama Tweet saw that old Tom was a softie, / her ‘sorry’ was long (and earsplitting). / And to prove that she trusted him, / really and truly, / she gave him a job… // tweety-sitting.” Esbaum’s tweet tale will have listeners in stitches (especially the wormy bits), and Santat’s Photoshopped cartoon illustrations of bulky Tom and the goggleeyed tweets are as expressive as they are goofy.

Totally tweet-rific. (Picture book. 3-8)

CIRCUS GALACTICUS

Fagan, Deva Harcourt (304 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 14, 2011 978-0-547-58136-1

A plucky orphan runs away to join an intergalactic circus in this frenetic science-fiction/adventure tale.

After bullies at the Bleeker Academy for Girls prevent her from attending a gymnastics competition—and thus becoming an astronaut—and a mysterious man visits her in the middle of the night, 15-year-old Beatrix Ling finds refuge with a space-faring circus. The performers aboard the Big Top are all Tinker-touched, spreading diversity and color where the descendants of the Mandate leave conformity and order.

Trix’s suddenly pink hair helps her fit in, but she seems to lack superpowers like her classmates’. Trying to juggle homework— because even spaceships have school—the social scene and her budding affection for the enigmatic Ringmaster, Trix must also protect her parents’ special rock and outrun the villainous Nyl, an agent of the Mandate. The razzle-dazzle of circus life in outer space and the constant action offer plenty of distraction from the sometimes contrived plot, abundant similes and occasionally melodramatic dialogue. Fagan’s (The Magical Misadventures of Prunella Bogthistle, 2010) vibrant and tactile descriptions

kirkusreviews.com

|

“Romance, issue book and spy novel—as varied an offering as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.” from belle’s song

make for a cinematic read, and certain elements are reminiscent of such fantasy and science-fiction mainstays as Doctor Who, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Harry Potter.

A book that reaches for the stars and provides a thrilling ride. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

FRENCH DUCKS IN VENICE

Freymann-Weyr, Garret Illus. by McGuire, Erin Candlewick (56 pp.) $16.99 | Dec 1, 2011 978-0-7636-4173-3

Preteens weaned on Disney princesses may swoon for this melancholy modern fairy tale starring the lovely Russian dressmaker Polina Panova who is neither a French duck nor from Venice, Italy, as the title suggests.

No, Polina is from Venice, Calif., the Venice with “surfers, bungalows, and seagulls,” and she’s adored by her two talking French duck friends Georges and Cécile. Polina sews her extraordinary dresses with silk and velvet, but also—magically— with flowers, jam and the night sky. Her live-in boyfriend, the handsome Sebastian Sterling (surely a prince, say the ducks), is a filmmaker in Los Angeles. One day, the fiercely loyal ducks spy Sterling with “the kind of suitcase you pack when you are going away forever.” Polina is sad to lose her love, but she throws herself into her dressmaking, which, in time, soothes her heartache—always an inspiring lesson for the romantically rejected.

Debut illustrator McGuire’s digitally created, atmospheric canalscapes are deliciously infused with a soft light that reflects the dreamlike hush of Polina’s mystery-laden world. The oddly stilted and meandering story, however, isn’t nearly as enchanting as either the artwork or Polina’s dresses—the quirkiness feels contrived, and oft-repeated phrases such as “happy and peaceful and amazed” may just wear thin.

A splendidly illustrated but somewhat awkwardly spun tale of inner strength found when love is lost. (Illustrated fiction. 9-14)

BLOOD SUN

Gilman, David Delacorte (432 pp.) $17.99 | $10.99 e-book | PLB $20.99 | Dec 27, 2011 978-0-385-73562-9 978-0-375-89809-9 e-book 978-0-385-90548-0 PLB Series: Max Gordon, 3

(with a little help from his friend Sayid) only slightly ahead of a corporate hit team. Why? Another friend has sent him a message, just before collapsing on the rails of London’s Underground.

Max is able to decipher enough of the message to know that the answer to his mother’s death—and his father’s mental collapse—lies in the jungles of Central America. An agent from MI5 is hot on his trail, hoping to help, but Max is on the run from drug smugglers, plant thieves, the U.S. Coast Guard and a dedicated assassin who won’t quit, no matter what. Add in the threat of poisonous insects, giant snakes and murderous Mayan priests, and the challenges have never been higher for our dauntless hero.

Max Gordon is a likable character who faces tough challenges with determination, physical strength and a positive attitude (and perhaps a little magic), and he’s developed as well as his essentially James Bond–esque character will allow.

While not as believable or as enjoyable as Max’s last adventure, this is still a solid read from start to breathless fi nish. (Thriller. 11-15)

BELLE’S SONG

Grant, K.M. Walker (300 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 22, 2011 978-0-8027-2275-1 Burdened by guilt over her father’s accident and seeking adventure, Belle Bellfounder joins a band of medieval pilgrims on a journey to Canterbury Cathedral, finding romance and danger along the way.

After her mother’s death and father’s crippling injury, Belle takes refuge in fairy tales, compulsive counting and self-harm.

With little fanfare or preparation, she decides to travel to Canterbury and pray for her father’s recovery, a move that embroils her in romantic triangles, espionage and cross-class flirting. On the road, Belle garners the courteous attentions of Squire Walter de Pleasance, a charming young man with a dark secret, and Luke, a bespectacled scribe (to Chaucer) and a future monk with a most unholy temper. When Belle runs afoul of the truly vile Summoner Seekum—whose nauseatingly described exterior matches his lecherous, kleptomaniac and blackmailing personality—she finds herself entangled in political plots surrounding King Richard II. Grant (Blue Flame, 2008, etc.) demonstrates an affectionate and thorough knowledge of the source material (as seen in an author’s note and timeline), but Belle’s good fortune, self-absorption and inexplicable attractiveness cannot fully compensate for plot holes and underdeveloped characters; she is neither the most reliable nor sympathetic of narrators.

Romance, issue book and spy novel—as varied an offering as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)

The third installment in the adventures of British teen Max Gordon, who continues his quest to learn more about his family’s past.

Continuing the non-stop action from Devil’s Breath (2008) and Ice Claw (2010), Max slips away from Dartmoor High School |

kirkusreviews.com

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1811

“Harper’s acrylic-and-collage artwork with its filled-in stick figures is a perfect match for the irreverent humor of the text.” from henry ’s heart

THE HUNGER GAMES COMPANION

Gresh, Lois H. St. Martin’s Griffin (256 pp.) $12.99 paperback | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-312-61793-6 Fans of The Hunger Games trilogy will be happy to see this unauthorized guide to the series, which offers background, analyses of themes and reflections on various issues.

But many of the series’ younger readers will be disappointed, as this is written for an adult and older teen audience. In connecting Collins’ dystopian world with modern American society, Gresh covers such intellectual fare as the disparities of wealth in both societies, global warming, the failure of the media today to report real news, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and the GULAGS and a three-page outline of Roman atrocities worse than those in The Hunger Games. Readers may find themselves burdened by too much information on topics tangential to the novel: knife throwing, spear throwing, folklore about axes, information on how long it takes to starve, types of bombs, effects of electric shocks on the body, types of plagues and a survey of types of torture and execution. There’s even an odd thread of “Doomsday Predictions” throughout the volume. Readers who persist will find some interesting and useful material here, such as the roots of the series in the Greek tales of Theseus and the Minotaur, an appendix on various apocalyptic scenarios in dystopian literature and a recommended list of further readings.

Worthwhile exegesis for fans with a scholarly bent. (Nonfiction. 13 & up)

HENRY’S HEART

Harper, Charise Mericle Illus. by Harper, Charise Mericle Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt (40 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 22, 2011 978-0-8050-8989-9 Tongue-in-cheek, label-happy humor reminiscent of Mélanie Watts abounds in Harper’s latest, a genius pairing of fiction and nonfiction.

Starting off with some X-ray views of a young boy and his heart, readers are presented with some facts and misconceptions about the human heart, made painless by the humorous speech-bubble asides from Henry’s sister and friends. One fact above all is emphasized—a healthy heart that pumps blood and removes waste requires exercise and proper nutrition. Therefore, Henry’s mother sends him outside for some fresh air, and his Dad invites him for a walk downtown…the fateful walk on which he first sees the love of his life. She sets his heart beating so wildly that the anthropomorphized organ has to ask Henry’s eyes what is going on to cause such a reaction. Leaving the puppy in the pet store seems to break poor Henry’s spirit—he 1812

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

can only mope in his room, while his heart bemoans the lack of exercise. Henry’s concerned parents finally consult a doctor, whose prescription pleases everyone, especially Henry’s exercise-starved heart. Harper’s acrylic-and-collage artwork with its filled-in stick figures is a perfect match for the irreverent humor of the text. From the amusing asides to the charts about healthy snacks and causes of rapid heartbeats, there will be few page turns unaccompanied by laughter.

The story should please those hopeful readers who are puppy-starved themselves, while the learning hidden within should set parents’ and educators’ hearts aflutter.

(Informational picture book. 5-8)

HOW THE DINOSAUR GOT TO THE MUSEUM

Hartland, Jessie Illus. by Hartland, Jessie Blue Apple (40 pp.) $17.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-60905-090-0

This cumulative narrative follows the journey of a set of dinosaur bones belonging to a Diplodocus longus that lived 145 million years ago to its present home in the display halls of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. A companion to How the Sphinx Got to the Museum (2010), it similarly describes the work of many hands involved, here starting with the dinosaur hunter who discovered the bones and the paleontologist who went to Utah to identify them and culminating with the museum director who opened the exhibit. What’s special is the reminder of the wide range of tasks involved.

The excavators, movers, preparators, curator, night watchman, welders, riggers, exhibits team and cleaner all have their parts.

Hartland emphasizes this with her House-That-Jack-Built text, in which each job title has a special capital-letter font, color and background (“CLEANERS” is shown on a scrubbing-brush background, for instance). Her verbs are interestingly varied, as are the many things these people do. The text is printed on double-page illustrations, painted in a childlike manner but detailed enough to show all the people and activities. Backmatter includes a bit of dinosaur information and more about the actual discovery and the display at the museum, including some suggested websites.

An excellent complement to any dinosaur-book collection, this enriches and extends that interest. (Informational picture book. 6-10)

kirkusreviews.com

|

DARKER STILL A Novel of Magic Most Foul Hieber, Leanna Renee Sourcebooks (336 pp.) $8.99 paperback | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-4022-6052-0 Fans of Victorian gothics can get another fix with this new twist on The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Framed as a “diary” confiscated by baffled 1880 New York police, the story finds Miss Natalie Stewart entranced by the portrait of tragic young Lord Denbury. She soon learns that Denbury did not commit suicide as reported but still lives, trapped inside his portrait. She allies herself with Mrs. Evelyn Northe, a wealthy and knowledgeable spiritualist, in an effort to battle the demon that has imprisoned him and to release Denbury from the evil magic cast upon him. Natalie, however, is mute, having lost her voice at age 4, when her mother died. But surprise! Natalie can

enter the portrait to meet Denbury face to face, and when she does, she can speak. Of course, she and Denbury instantly fall in love, thrilling to every accidental and forbidden touch and building up to the all-important, breathless goal of Victorian gothic romances: The Kiss. Although she follows most of the conventions of the genre, Hieber applies some real imagination to the story. Her depiction of the dark magic involved and of the demon’s murderous activities adds some good suspense and stands out as the strongest element of the novel. Characterizations work fine, although none surpasses two dimensions.

A good romp for those who enjoy the genre, with some effective suspense. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)

Sing and Dance Your Way into Fall!

A musically inclined rooster assembles a jazz band to enter a barnyard talent show.

You won’t want to miss this show with headliners Mules Davis, Ella Finchgerald, Duck Ellington, just to name a few!

Acoustic Rooster 978-1-58536-688-0 Hardcover | $15.95

In T is for Tutu: A Ballet Alphabet authors Sonia Rodriguez and Kurt Browning introduce this beautiful dance form to young readers.

T is for Tutu: A Ballet Alphabet 978-1-58536-312-4 Hardcover | $16.95

1.800.877.4253 | sleepingbearpress.com

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

A Part of CENGAGE Learning

children

TM

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1813

SLAYERS

Hill, C. J. Feiwel & Friends (384 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 22, 2011 978-0-312-61414-0 A rich socialite discovers her dragonslaying heritage in an urban fantasy written under a pseudonym.

Sixteen-year-old Tori Hampton is a pampered politician’s daughter.

Although she’s grown up surrounded by important people and attending the right schools, she’s always had one odd fascination: dragons. This obsession makes her shun luxurious summer trips for St. George and the Dragon Camp, a summer camp with an ironclad theme.

After embarrassing herself in front of her two potential romantic interest with a classist faux pas, Tori discovers that she’s not just attending Dragon Camp, she’s been assigned to the super-secret Advanced Camp. They test her athletic ability, archery, marksmanship and horsemanship, all things that Tori is generally wonderful at—yet, somehow, the other advanced campers aren’t impressed. After all, they’ve been coming to camp to train for years, and they all have superpowers. Through painfully clumsy bouts of exposition, the resident wise-man archetype, camp director and medievalstudies professor Dr. B, reveals that Tori is also genetically gifted via an alchemy-created liquid gold that, when drunk, alters DNA to give dragon-fighting powers. The fish-out-ofwater rich-girl device is surprisingly effective once the characters start developing and campers take on the threat of the Overdrake family, which controls dragons as weapons. The ending screams sequel.

Frustratingly ridiculous and sometimes sloppy, but also enjoyably campy—redeemingly so. (Fantasy. 12-17)

SPY, SPY AGAIN True Tales of Failed Espionage Holdcroft, Tina Illus. by Holdcroft, Tina Annick Press (110 pp.) $24.95 | paper $14.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-55451-223-2 978-1-55451-222-5 paperback Holdcroft presents 20 bungled spy plots in high-mirth graphic format.

Spies have been botching their plots since they first started plotting, and Holdcroft has unearthed a number of documented snafus from ancient India, the Persian Empire and Old Cathay, as well as a number of more modern flubs.

She has organized the book into five thematic chapters—bad luck, miscommunication, incompetence, overconfidence and betrayal—and most of the episodes lend themselves to her style. This is to paint the principals in both word and image 1814

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

(many of the spies appear to share a family resemblance to Boris and Natasha of the old Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoon) as broadly humorous schemers and, ultimately, fumblers. But she also chocks the stories full of background information to put the spying act in context—the book is, to put it mildly, voluble—and she knows when to throttle back on the yuks when the bite of the act still carries a sting, these being the tragic bombing of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior and the perfidies of Aldrich Ames. Still, there is plenty of room for comedy, from the industrial sabotage behind cochineal red to the bugging device surgically implanted in a cat (the cost of Project Acoustic Kitty to the American taxpayer: $15 million; the cat was run over by a taxi) to the botched recovery of a Soviet submarine (cost to American taxpayer: $500 million).

James Bond would cringe at these cleverly reconstructed espionage failures; kids will eat them up. (bibliography) (Graphic nonfiction. 10-14)

PRECIOUS LITTLE

Hunt, Julie & Moss, Sue Illus. by Chapman, Gaye Allen & Unwin (32 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-74175-147-5

A tatterdemalion heroine wearing rags and stars falls into a dream hole and flies through the heavens.

Precious Little works for the Light Fantastics, watching the contortionists, Knots-R-Us, and the fire-eaters, Flambé and the Infernos, but longing to fly. Her friends Fat Chance and Tough Luck draw a wire across the “lucky dip,” and she begins to cross it. She falls instead into the dip, which gives her a choice. She chooses “the Risk” and bursts into the sky with “galaxy swoops and over-the-moon backflips”—then, seeing the big top below, flies down into Fat and Tough’s waiting hands. The text swirls and makes loop-the-loops all over the pages, necessitating constant turning, all the better to pore over the spectacular art.

Precious has blue-spangled hair and a skirt like a flower, striped tights and bare feet. She flies and floats through a universe of funhouse-mirror images, delicate pen lines and tea-stained backgrounds. The whole is a performance, the front endpapers stating “show starts now,” and the title page with curtain drawn, but it is more, too. A fable of imagination? An invitation to leave the familiar and test your wings? The comfort of returning to loved ones after an adventure? Perhaps all those things.

Children (and adults) can be lost for a long and pleasurable time amid the sparkles. (Picture book. 5-9)

kirkusreviews.com

|

“Feisty narration paired with amusing illustrations makes light of sticky situations....” from worst of friends

THE INVISIBLE TOWER

Johnson-Shelton, Nils Harper/HarperCollins (352 pp.) $16.99 | Dec 27, 2011 978-0-06-207086-9 Series: The Otherworld Chronicles, 1 In his first novel for middle-grade readers, Johnson-Shelton serves up the first installment of an Arthurian trilogy starring 12-year-old video-gamer Artie Kingfisher.

Artie begins receiving mysterious computer messages telling him “it has begun,” and soon he is off to fulfill his destiny as the once and future king. It turns out that Artie is King Arthur—or, rather, Arthur’s genetic sibling, created out of Uther Pendragon’s finger bone and a lock of Lady Igraine’s hair. At a gaming tournament in Cincinnati, Artie comes across Merlin, trapped in an invisible tower downtown, and it’s Merlin who directs Artie on his quest. Much is expected of him: He must destroy the invisible tower, travel to the Otherworld and put an end to Lordess Morgaine’s evil reign and gain access to the Otherworld’s clean energy resources. No pressure, except the world is doomed if he fails. This new take on the Arthurian legends, told in third-person, pits wisecracking contemporary teens with their contemporary banter—” freaking awesome,” “far out”—against all manner of obstacles: killer tornadoes, dire wolves, a green dragon, an elf and a wolf-headed man. At times, the prose is wordy and awkward, but it’s always high-spirited and fun.

Gives new life to Arthurian legends and may just send readers back to more traditional tellings. (Adventure. 10-14)

THE NEW KID

Jukes, Mavis Knopf (288 pp.) $14.99 | $9.99 e-book PLB $17.99 | Dec 13, 2011 978-0-375-85879-6 978-0-375-89631-6 e-book 978-0-375-95879-3 PLB Being the “new kid” in the middle of a school year means all sorts of new experiences for 8-year-old Carson Blum.

When his tax-lawyer father takes a new position in El Cerrito, Calif., Carson packs up his stuffed mammal, Moose, and his ditzy Labrador retriever, Genevieve, and waves a reluctant goodbye to his grandparents, his two best friends and his small private school in Pasadena. Public school is quite different, but his teacher, Mr. Lipman, and Carson’s new classmates make him feel welcome. Carson’s just not sure he’ll have a new friend by his birthday to invite horseback riding. He’s also not sure what to make of his classmate Weston Walker, who gets in trouble a lot and seems to tell a lot of whoppers. Carson likes Nancy, who helps him in computer class. He’s also excited to |

help Patrick take care of Mr. Nibblenose, the class rat. In her newest, Newbery Honor author Jukes (Like Jake and Me, 1984) depicts a warmly affectionate relationship between Carson and his adoptive father. They’re best friends and have in-jokes and no disagreements. Carson’s emotional life is expertly drawn, and readers who’ve found themselves in approximations of his situation will easily identify. However, the length, abundance of complex sentences and slowish pacing make this problematic for early-elementary children, who are most likely to be interested in a novel starring an 8-year-old.

Quiet humor with dashes of goofiness may offset its problems, but Carson’s tale will still work better as a readaloud than as an independent read. (Fiction. 7-10)

WORST OF FRIENDS Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the True Story of an American Feud Jurmain, Suzanne Tripp Illus. by Day, Larry Dutton (32 pp.) $16.99 | Dec 1, 2011 978-0-525-47903-1 Though John Adams and Thomas Jefferson “...were as different as pickles and ice cream,” they were able to work together to fight for America’s independence—for a while.

In the late 1770s, they developed conflicting ideas about government and aligned with opposing political parties. When John Adams was elected as the second U.S. president, Jefferson was elected vice president. This exacerbated their rocky relationship, and when Jefferson was ultimately elected president over Adams, their friendship ended. Over a decade would pass before they spoke again. The team that created George Did It (2005) now brings to light both the trials and tribulations of these two notable leaders and the turbulence of early American politics. Energetic watercolor-and-pencil drawings accurately represent the late 18th century, showing the dress, style and architecture of the period. Feisty narration paired with amusing illustrations makes light of sticky situations, as when Jefferson physically restrains an angry Adams from assaulting King George and Adams moves himself out of the White House in the dead of night. Although quotations are not specifically sourced, the selected bibliography reveals a wealth of research, including several primary sources.

A pleasingly lucid look at a complicated relationship, it should prove revelatory to an audience unaccustomed to such nuance. (Informational picture book. 6-8)

kirkusreviews.com

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1815

“...the charm of this tale lies in the tiny elf tabs found at the top of each page. Together in a row, 10 elves are perched expectantly ... forming a miniature audience to watch readers.” from the helpful elves

BIG LITTLE BROTHER

An enchanting, if abrupt, piece of German lore brought to a new audience. The lesson, curiosity killed the cat, rings true in all cultures. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kling, Kevin Illus. by Monroe, Chris Borealis Books (48 pp.) $17.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-87351-844-4

E-MERGENCY

Having a little brother, even one long wished for, does not always go as planned; the reality can be both a blessing and a trial.

Big Brother thought he would be in charge, but it turned out very differently. His little brother grew at an alarming rate, until he was taller and stronger, and people thought he was really the older one. Little Brother follows Big Brother everywhere, plays tricks on him and, worst of all, he touches all his toys. When Big Brother is bullied at the play center, he stands his ground, but it is the appearance of his big Little Brother that saves the day. Now all the annoying traits seem rather endearing, and they develop a mutually nurturing relationship. Big Brother tells his own story using vocabulary, sentence structure and syntax appropriate for a 4-year-old. There are no more than one or two sentences on each page, with occasional dialogue in bubbles. Kling does not overdramatize, and there’s nothing preachy to detract from the boys’ finding their own resolution. Monroe’s minimalist, boldly hued cartoons carefully and humorously depict the action. Big Brother’s emotional ups and downs are subtly expressed, while Little Brother mostly maintains an even-tempered smile.

A sweet-natured tale about negotiating sibling dynamics that is as comforting as a hug. (Picture book. 3-6)

THE HELPFUL ELVES

Lichtenheld, Tom & Fields-Meyer, Ezra Illus. by Lichtenheld, Tom Chronicle (40 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-8118-7898-2 Help! The letter E has fallen (down the stairs) and can’t get up!

Get ready to chortle over this zany alphabet book, which poses as a mystery with the letters as the cast of characters, aided by some exclamation points. When E takes a tumble in the alphabet’s crowded communal quarters, all the others are concerned. A takes action, as always, calling the ambulance and assembling the alphabet to determine who will take E’s place. “O, you’re the obvious option because you’re so well-rounded.” An announcement is made on television not to “uso! E! until! sho! rocovors!” D and C go to Washington to alert the “govornmont,” while the other letters talk it up on talk shows. Then A decides to take a road trip to spread the word: “Pack your bags, lottors. It’s timo for a journoy!”

When E just doesn’t get better, the search is on for the culprit who’s broken the letter law. The comic illustrations and the comments from the letters totally exaggerate the cleverness and fun while amusingly emphasizing the importance of the letter E in our language. Lichtenheld’s co-author developed the basic concept in a video, Alphabet House, and it is a rich one.

Defi nitely not a beginner’s ABC book, but the visual and print punnery will have elementary kids (and adults) guessing and laughing. (Alphabet picture book. 7-10)

Kopisch, August Illus. by Braun-Fock, Beatrice Floris (32 pp.) $17.95 | Oct 11, 2011 978-0-86315-815-5

HOMER THE LIBRARY CAT

A classic German tale of rosy-cheeked elves, retold.

According to legend, the city of Cologne once had tiny helpers who would sneak into homes at night and complete the daily chores while the townsfolk slept. The bakers never had to knead the dough, the carpenters never had to lift a hammer and the tailor never had to sew a stitch. Until one day the tailor’s wife grew curious to see these mysterious helpers. She scattered dried peas on the steps, and when they clattered to the floor she ran to see the elves. Unfortunately, all she saw was the backs of their red, pointy caps as they raced out of town. The elves never came back again. Based on a well-known poem by Kopisch (1799-1853) and illustrated in muted tones by BraunFock (1898-1973), the charm of this tale lies in the tiny elf tabs found at the top of each page. Together in a row, 10 elves are perched expectantly—each made distinct with a different smile or a long white beard—forming a miniature audience to watch readers. One can almost hear them gleefully giggling at the comeuppance they know is coming at the end.

1816

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

Lindbergh, Reeve Illus. by Wilsdorf, Anne Candlewick (32 pp.) $15.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-7636-3448-3

Like many of his predecessors, the striped feline star of this story finds a happy home at his local library.

The twist, this time around, is that Homer already has a home in a “quiet house” with a “quiet lady” when a loud noise startles him into jumping out the window. The action moves quickly, as Homer tries out the post office (too sneezy), the fire house (too busy) and a boxcar at the train station (too loud) as alternatives.

He next dashes into the local library, where he’s pleased and surprised to recognize his owner—and vice versa. A big hit with the kids, Homer winds up spending his days at the library, napping in the stacks. The simple rhyming text follows an abcb pattern and conveys the action clearly. The sing-song rhythm gives the story an old-fashioned feel that’s complemented by Wilsdorf ’s appealing watercolor-and-collage illustrations of a small-town Main Street. Curious listeners may wonder about the noise that

kirkusreviews.com

|

started Homer’s adventure, as it is explained in neither text nor illustration. Touches of visual humor brighten the low-key tale and provide plenty of details to pore over. Homer is especially engaging, particularly on the endpapers, where he’s shown in a variety of poses, almost always smiling widely.

Pleasantly predictable, this quiet adventure breaks no new ground but offers a charming diversion for cat (and library) lovers. (Picture book. 4-7)

WE DINE WITH CANNIBALS

London, C. Alexander Philomel (368 pp.) $12.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-399-25488-8 Series: An Accidental Adventure, 2

Is it any wonder 11-year-old twins Oliver and Celia Navel hate explorers, given that all explorers ever do is nearly get them killed? Television is so much safer.

Celia and Oliver barely escaped Tibet with their lives (We Are Not Eaten by Yaks, 2011), and they failed to convince their mother (an explorer, of course) to give up her quest for the Lost Library of Alexandria and return home. Now, thanks to their father (another explorer), they’re indentured for the entirety of summer vacation to Sir Edmund TitheltorpeSchmidt III (yeah, yet another explorer), who has them searching Machu Picchu for a clue to the Lost Library’s location. All in all, they’re looking forward to sixth grade (that’s saying something).

When school goes disastrously wrong, the twins find themselves dragged off to the Amazon. At least they’re in the company of their idol Corey Brandt, star of Sunset High and Agent Zero, who’s hired the family as consultants for his hit show The Celebrity Adventurist. When Dad and Sir Edmund are kidnapped by cannibals, the twins must use their television-derived smarts to rescue them…or, at the very least, survive. London’s second in the Accidental Adventure series has more thrills and more mystery (and naturally more complaining and more laughs) than the first.

Fans will be glad of the promise of an adventure in Atlantis to come; Celia and Oliver know adventure is only thrilling when it happens to someone else. (Humorous adventure. 10-14)

GOONEY BIRD ON THE MAP

Lowry, Lois Illus. by Thomas, Middy Houghton Mifflin (128 pp.) $15.99 | Nov 14, 2011 978-0-547-55622-2 Series: Gooney Bird Greene, 5

sure no one forgets poor William Henry Harrison, even if he was only president for one month). But hearts and U.S. history pale in comparison to what is on every kid’s mind: school vacation. The children squirm excitedly and can’t stop chattering about surfing in Hawaii or snowboarding in Vermont. However, exactly 12 minus three of them (Mrs. Pidgeon can sneak a math problem in anywhere) do not have any exciting travel plans at all. They are glum. Luckily, Gooney Bird has an outlandishly fabulous idea—they will build a map of the entire United States outside in the snow on the playground. All of this geography talk can’t go to waste! The true-to-life voices and a multitude of personalities make it easy for readers to step into Mrs. Pidgeon’s class and feel right at home.

Gooney Bird doesn’t need much help putting herself on the map. She’ll be famous for years to come. (Fiction. 7-10)

MANGAMAN

Lyga, Barry Illus. by Doran, Colleen Houghton Mifflin (144 pp.) $18.99 | Nov 14, 2011 978-0-547-42315-9 A daring piece of graphic-novel metafiction explores the tropes of manga versus Western comics.

Marissa is a stereotypical popular high-school girl: pretty, well-liked and girlfriend of Chaz, the hottest guy in school. But when she first lays eyes on Ryoko, a manga character who travels through “the Rip” into her world, she abandons the formulaic constraints that defined her. Ryoko helps Marissa see that her world, though very different than his, is still boxed in by panels, and that, like him, she is a character in another universe. Even as he plays with literary inventiveness, Lyga keeps the story accessible with the doomed and forbidden love between Marissa and Ryoko. Those familiar with both Western and Japanese comics will delight at the little nods to the respective conceits in those formats. For example, when Ryoko slams a volleyball in gym class, a fellow classmate exclaims, “Watch your speed lines!” In complement to Lyga’s clever meta tone is Doran’s highly stylized black-and-white art, seamlessly melding both the Western and Japanese comics aesthetics. While the innovation runs high in this tale, the story itself and the nuances of the character’s relationships is less agile, though the energetic creativity behind it easily keeps the lesser aspects afloat.

An inventive offering, sure to please fans of both American and Japanese comics. (Graphic fiction. 13 & up)

Feisty and full of ideas (as always), Gooney Bird Greene is back.

It is now February in Mrs. Pidgeon’s second-grade classroom. There are valentines to be made and presidential birthdays to be celebrated (Gooney Bird makes |

kirkusreviews.com

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1817

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE

her into a more mature—though still wildly impulsive and daring—life. MacColl intersperses her third-person narrative with faux news reports and first-person diary entries of two decades later, when Beryl Markham became the first person—let alone woman—to fly a plane west from Europe to America.

Fluid prose elucidates a life much stranger than fiction.

(Historical fiction. 9-12)

Lynch, Chris Scholastic (192 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-545-27029-8 Series: Vietnam, 1

In his nightmares, high-school senior Morris sees “torn flesh and burned flesh and the end of everything we know, all dying there in the scorching jungle of Vietnam”; he and his friends die, and it’s his fault.

Ivan, Rudi, Beck and Morris have been friends since fourth grade. Now the war in Vietnam looms, and they pledge to not go voluntarily. But when Rudi receives his draft notice, they all sign up, each with a different branch of the military. Morris signs with the Navy, figuring he somehow can watch over his friends and keep them safe from the USS Boston, a heavy guidedmissile cruiser. He later realizes he can’t, but it’s his “small crazy,” a belief that keeps him sane in the midst of war. Initiating a new series with this volume, Lynch offers something valuable: a very good war novel for a preteen and middle-school audience, with enough violence to be an honest portrayal of war, but without the sex and rough language that often keep such novels out of the hands of a ready audience. The story stays rooted in Morris’ first-person point of view, with flashbacks to develop characters, though Morris is the only one fully realized.

Morris is an innocent caught in the winds of war, and young readers will eagerly anticipate future installments in the series. (Historical fiction. 9-14)

PROMISE THE NIGHT

MacColl, Michaela Chronicle (256 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 2, 2011 978-0-8118-7625-4

MacColl’s second novel brings to life the childhood of future aviator and writer Beryl Markham (Prisoners in the Palace, 2010).

Born Beryl Clutterbuck, she moved with her family to the highlands of Kenya as a toddler. Not long after, her mother and brother returned to England, abandoning her with her rough though loving father. MacColl’s account begins when a leopard steals into Beryl’s hut and attacks her dog—the child leaping from her bed to give chase. Though she loses the leopard in the night, the next morning, she and her new friend, a Nandi boy, Kibii, find the dog still alive and save it. Later she insists on being part of the hunt for the leopard.

Young Beryl wants nothing more than to be a warrior, a murani, and to be able to leap higher than her own head. Her jumping skills progress apace, but young white girls, no matter how determined, cannot become part of the Nandi tribe. Her relationship with Kibii’s father, the wise Arap Maina, along with a growing awareness of the consequences of her actions, help lead 1818

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

LALA SALAMA A Tanzanian Lullaby MacLachlan, Patricia Illus. by Zunon, Elizabeth Candlewick (32 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-7636-4747-6 Newbery Medal–winner MacLachlan (Sarah, Plain and Tall, 1985) sets her gentle picture book–cum-lullaby near Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania.

Her recent Your Moon, My Moon: A Grandmother’s Words to a Faraway Child, illustrated by Bryan Collier (2011), travels similar territory—sharing comforting words to a beloved young one.

“Lala salama” means “sleep peacefully” in Swahili and serves as a soothing refrain in the rhythmic narrative from mother to baby as the day unfolds. Zunon’s lush, softly textured oil paintings on watercolor paper reflect the warmth of the African setting and emotion-imbued prose. Saturated warm hues dominate in clearly depicting the unfamiliar, whether it be a kanga, a brightly colored cotton cloth often used as a baby sling, or “the bee-eaters” that “twitter their last songs of the day…” Baba (father) plays an active role, laughing with his baby or preparing his wooden boat to join “other boats, / their flour-sack sails / fat with wind.” But then night comes, and the palette deepens into rich blues and inky purples: “Close your eyes, / my / dear / child. / Lala salama.”

Share this with preschoolers who may enjoy a peek into another culture’s family life or keep at hand for the tired child, who will most appreciate this quietly sentimental offering. (Picture book. 3-5)

JACKHAMMER SAM Mandel, Peter Illus. by Catrow, David Roaring Brook (40 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-1-59643-034-1

“ATTA-RATTA-BATTA-BLAM.” Readers hear Jackhammer Sam before they see him. He’s “the sidewalk blasting man.” To most, his choppa-chops are loud and obnoxious, but to him, it’s a sweet, sweet melody. As he blasts through concrete on sidewalks above and subways below, he invites readers to sing along: “ATTA-RATTA-BINGABONG. / ATTA-RATTA-MIGHT-BE-LONG. / ATTA-RATTAPINGA-PONG. / ATTA-RATTA-DINGA-DONG.” Filled with rhythmic onomatopoeia and pulsating beats, it’s no wonder

kirkusreviews.com

|

“[Yaccarino’s] playful full-page gouaches zip nimbly from thought to thought and invest the whole with a generous dollop of whimsy.” from the belly book

Jackhammer Sam waltzes while he works. The roly-poly, lovable construction worker radiates joy, while everyone else around him jumps in surprise or winces in pain at the shattering noise. (Of course, per Catrow’s signature illustrative style, wide, bulging eyes abound.) Sam takes such pride in his work that he boasts, “My hammer broke th’ break of day. / My hammer drained the Milky Way.” Besides simply reveling in the rowdy beats, young readers should also glean that every job is important and if you love what you do, you’ll do it well.

An endearing ode to an oft–grumbled-about profession.

(Picture book. 4-8)

THE BELLY BOOK

Manushkin, Fran Illus. by Yaccarino, Dan Feiwel & Friends (32 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-312-64958-6 A meditation on the middle for beginning readers and younger listeners supports some appealingly merry illustrations.

Manushkin’s rhyming text is an invitation to a general celebration of abdomens—readers’ own or other peoples’, and occasionally those of beasts and birds—in all their rounded but not-very-unusual variety. The verse serves as an adequate vehicle for the art, which is the real treat here, with Yaccarino’s clever, energetic, lighthearted illustration: His round-headed, roundbodied people are set against brightly colored blocks and patterns with symmetry and syncopation. Throughout, Manushkin uses only the word belly for the front of the torso, with one exception: “Once upon a time your mummy / grew you—right inside her tummy.” She humorously points out that belly-button lint is kind of mysterious (“Where it comes from, no one knows!”).

When the easy-to-read rhymes start to stretch thin, relying on lists (“Parade your bellies from here to Spain. / Bellies in the desert! / Bellies in the rain!”), Yaccarino plumps them up with an artful twinkle: A slim, floating, belly-buttoned green alien in a white bikini accompanies “In outer space! In a bikini!” His playful fullpage gouaches zip nimbly from thought to thought and invest the whole with a generous dollop of whimsy.

Delightful art adds panache to this simple ode to a familiar body part. (Picture book. 2-6)

UNISON SPARK

Marino, Andy Henry Holt (240 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-8050-9293-6

perspectives between blue-pigtailed Anna (a.k.a. Mistletoe), who ekes out an existence in the dark subcanopy of Eastern Seaboard City, and Ambrose Truax, son of the Unison CEO and the youngest UniCorp Associate, who lavishly resides topside in an atmoscraper.

The 15-year-olds cross paths after Ambrose flees his Level Seven hypothalamus modification to live without sleep and become more efficient. In an underground world of terrorists plotting to overthrow Unison, the teens discover that they are actually hybrid organisms built to become part of Unison. The plot becomes one chase after another as Mistletoe seeks out more information on their origin and Ambrose attempts to block the launch of Unison 3.0 from his maniacal father/creator. Together, they learn the real meaning of friending. The best parts of the uneven novel are the engaging and even satirical descriptions of the social network (“Too many Events to attend? Feeling overwhelmed? Fake your own Account deletion with Unigone!”). The rest of the adventures are disjointed and far less entertaining.

Readers will often fi nd themselves vacillating between like and dislike. (Science fiction. 12-15)

PERFECTED BY GIRLS

Martino, Alfred C. Coles Street Publishing (312 pp.) $9.95 paperback | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-59316-600-7 It’s a busy year for Melinda Drake Radford as she wrestles on the JV team— and with other challenges of her sophomore year, too.

Sometimes, Mel wishes she were a guy, or more like a guy. She envies their muscles and confidence and power. But over the course of several busy months, she does just fine as a girl, even as a girl wrestler, where on the mat “the conditions are always the same. The mats are nearly all the same dimensions. Matches are indoors. Singlets and wrestling shoes are pretty much the same. It’s just you and your opponent. For three two-minute periods.” Off the mats, the world is less predictable. Her wealthy grandmother is pushing her into the business world, her boyfriend is pushing her into the bedroom and her varsity-wrestler brother pushes her to work harder, get better. Despite flat pacing, the novel is a solid portrait of a teenage girl trying to be herself when everyone else seems to be deciding her life for her. Though wrestling is the heart of the tale, Martino wisely resists heavy-handed and inspirational sports metaphors, letting Mel’s actions speak for themselves.

There’s always a need for more sports stories for girls, and this is a solid addition to the genre. (Fiction. 13-16)

What if the ultimate social network tried to take over the world?

In this debut novel with Matrix overtones, those who can afford it live a “BetterLife” in the alternate reality of the Unison social network. Chapters alternate |

kirkusreviews.com

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1819

“British author Mason has conjured a rarity indeed—a tremendously charming, unflinching account of a parent’s downward spiral.” from moon pie

MOON PIE

Mason, Simon David Fickling/Random (336 pp.) $16.99 | $16.99 e-book PLB $19.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-385-75235-0 978-0-375-89909-6 e-book 978-0-385-75237-4 PLB British author Mason has conjured a rarity indeed—a tremendously charming, unflinching account of a parent’s downward spiral.

Eleven-year-old Martha Luna can’t stand it anymore. Her widowed father’s been acting strange in recent months—rather like a wild gibbon—and her 5-year-old brother Tug (“famous for eating and a trick he did with spit”) isn’t helping. It’s on the überresponsible Martha’s to-do list to “Check Dad (more than once, if necessary)”—but it takes a savvy outsider to help her see that her newly clownish, accident-prone father who rents pink limos and wakes her up for midnight picnics is not simply eccentric, but an alcoholic. Grandma (“scary in a well-spoken sort of way”) and Grandpa dutifully take care of the children while Dad’s in rehab, but sanity comes in the delightfully improbable form of a flamboyant, cross-dressing 12-year-old filmmaker named Marcus who offers Martha practical advice and starring roles in his speed films of “golden classics.” While the dialogue is realistic and rat-a-tat-tat quick, lyrical prose wends its way throughout, and Martha, in a sea of moods, compares the moon to everything from a stain to a bit of bone.

Love conquers all in this big-hearted and heartbreaking story of Martha, Tug and their errant father who, in time, stops acting like a wild gibbon and finds his way home. (Fiction. 9-12)

DON’T EXPECT MAGIC

McCullough, Kathy Delacorte (256 pp.) $17.99 | $17.99 e-book | PLB $20.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-385-74012-8 978-0-375-89891-4 e-book 978-0-385-90824-5 PLB Reeling from her mother’s unexpected death, a teen curmudgeon is packed off to live with her distant father, a life coach who is secretly an actual fairy godfather, in this slyly humorous, but predictable romance.

Adjusting to her relentlessly sunny California digs proves to be almost as challenging for protagonist Delaney Collins as coming to terms with missing her mom. Her acerbic wit—she renames one of her dad’s motivational manuals “Seize Happiness by the Throat and Choke It Until It Gives In”—helps her to build and maintain a shield from her peers, even as cute photography geek Flynn continually forces her to rethink her stereotype of him. Eventually, the indifference she feigns toward her dad 1820

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

crumbles as she discovers his absence was not motivated by irresponsibility but by his need to hide his powers from her, in a plot point that abruptly shifts the novel from realism to fantasy.

Readers, particularly those who enjoy Delaney’s cleverly sharp tongue, may find her transition from sullen to emotionally available too contrived. Her supposed myopia about Flynn’s affections also seems unbelievable. Offsetting this, however, are some brilliantly timed moments of situational comedy and the convincing voices of characters, both primary and secondary.

Fans of the burgeoning paranormal-humor genre will fi nd plenty to like in this debut. (Paranormal comedy. 12 & up)

THE CATS IN THE DOLL SHOP

McDonough, Yona Zeldis Illus. by Maione, Heather Viking (128 pp.) $14.99 | Nov 10, 2011 978-0-670-01279-4

In this companion book to The Doll Shop Downstairs (2009), Anna learns the joys and challenges of adding a same-age cousin to her family.

Though the sisters—9-year-old Trudie, 11-year-old Anna and new teenager Sophie—are growing up and taking on new challenges, nothing can really prepare them for the arrival of their cousin Tania from Russia. Tania’s mother has been hired as a maid, and the job does not include lodging for Tania, so Anna’s cousin will live with them for about a year, until her mother can save money for her own passage to New York City. The girls are nervous and excited about Tania’s arrival. How will she learn English? Where will she go to school? Will there be enough room? Besides waiting for their cousin, the three girls worry about the mistreated cats next door. Learning to care for the injured kitten Plucky, even when Papa absolutely will not let it live in the house, allows the girls to better understand the silent and sad Tania and eventually is the key that opens her up to her new family. Filled with references to Jewish traditions and the rich history of tenement life in New York City, these fully realized characters could be best friends with the girls from Sydney Taylor’s All-of-a-Kind Family.

A quiet treasure. (Historical fiction. 8-12)

THE CONSTRUCTION CREW

Meltzer, Lynn Illus. by Eko-Burgess, Carrie Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt (40 pp.) $12.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-8050-8884-7 A rollicking, rhyming salute to a construction crew and the equipment they use to demolish an old building and construct a family home in its stead.

Preschool teacher Meltzer knows what children want, and she delivers with a debut that allows them to participate in the reading fun. Using the rhymes and visual clues, listeners are sure

kirkusreviews.com

|

to be shouting the answers aloud: “This old building’s / Ready to fall / What do we need? / WRECKING BALL!” From excavator and bulldozer to backhoe, dump truck and cement mixer, the rhymes hold up until the very last page (depending on individuals’ pronunciation of “poem”). Once the big equipment’s finished, the crew breaks out the hammer and nails, a cherry picker, a power drill, extension ladders and, at last, the moving truck that signals the final product. Eko-Burgess’ simple shapes and sparse details suit the intended preschool audience, while the vibrant colors and up-close views make this a good choice for read-alouds, despite the smallish trim size. And while the rather cookie-cutter oval-faced crew lacks personality, they are representative of several ethnicities, genders and ages.

Bulldoze a spot on the shelf for this one. (Picture book. 2-5)

A HOUSE IN THE WOODS

Moore, Inga Illus. by Moore, Inga Candlewick (48 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-7636-5277-7

Everybody needs a house that’s just right.

One Little Pig has a hut made out of sticks; it resembles a tepee. Next door, another Little Pig has a den; it’s a hollow dug into some thick shrubbery. One morning, they go out foraging together; one finds a nice feather and the other an interesting stick. But when they get back home, they find Bear jammed into the den and Moose perched on top of the hut. Both are ruined! The new quartet of forest friends sits down together on a bench to figure a way out of this pickle.

What if they all lived together in one big house? Moose calls the Beavers on the telephone (which is handily attached to a tree), and in no time the forest is turned into a construction site, with dozens of beavers in hard hats working alongside the housemates-to-be. They divide up the work and finish quickly, filling the house with furniture and curtains from the junkyard.

What else is there left to do but throw a party for the Beavers?

Moore’s illustrations—in pencil, pastel and wash—picture the animals realistically (though on two legs and with expressively human body language) and have a warm cast, full of earth tones.

They do the heavy lifting in telling the simple story of unlikely friendship and the virtue of industry.

Modest and nicely quirky. (Picture book. 3-6)

|

MARY AND HER LITTLE LAMB The True Story of the Nursery Rhyme Moses, Will Illus. by Moses, Will Philomel (40 pp.) $17.99 | Dec 8, 2011 978-0-399-25154-2 The “real” story of Mary and her lamb, as the subtitle states, as told and illustrated in Moses’ familiar folk-art style.

Most people assume this poem is a Mother Goose rhyme, but this is not the case. It’s a true story of a little girl named Mary whose lamb followed her to school. In his foreword, Moses recalls the background of the tale and how he discovered it by chance. His narrative of the event as he imagines it follows, and the backmatter provides both the song and the history of the rhyme. Mary Elizabeth Sawyer was born in 1806 in Sterling, Mass., and attended the Redstone Schoolhouse in Sudbury, Mass. John Roulstone witnessed the lamb episode and wrote the first stanza of the poem. Later, in 1830, Sarah Josepha Hale published it and added three more stanzas. What lends quaintness to the tale are Moses’ rustic, oil paintings that pair nicely with the vintage tale. Each scene and wordless double-page spread is filled with details of bygone days to fascinate kids.

Not just an illustrated version of the rhyme, this is a fleshed-out account of a lamb’s tail/tale that all children and adults should know. (Picture book. 5-9)

THE SCAR

Moundlic, Charlotte Illus. by Tallec, Olivier Candlewick (32 pp.) $14.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-7636-5341-5 When his mother dies, a little boy reacts honestly to his profound loss in this poignant snapshot of grief.

The day after realizing his ailing mother is “really going to die,” a boy awakens to his father’s devastating announcement: “She’s gone forever.” Furious with his mother for leaving, the boy angrily lashes out, “Well, good riddance,” then worries how his devastated father will manage. Initially, the boy doesn’t want to sleep and has a “bit of a stomachache.” He closes the windows to contain his mother’s scent and plugs his ears, covers his eyes and shuts his mouth to preserve the sound of her voice. After scraping his knee, he feels comforted by the memory of his mother assuring him he’s “too strong for anything to hurt.” Healing begins when Grandma suggests his mother’s still in his heart. He feels her beating there. Speaking in first person, present tense, the boy candidly describes his loss and concern for his grieving father with heartfelt immediacy. Rendered in pencil and wash in a limited palette of reds and yellows, simple illustrations stress

kirkusreviews.com

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1821

kirkus q & a w i t h c at h e r i n e g i l b e r t m u r d o c k

WISDOM’S KISS

Catherine Gilbert Murdock Houghton Mifflin (304 pp.) $16.99 Sept. 13, 2011 978-0547566870

Playful, sophisticated and intensely witty, Catherine Gilbert Murdock’s latest fairy tale, Wisdom’s Kiss, bears all the trappings of a high Victorian yarn: protracted chapter titles, characters named after virtues and a fast-paced, wildly convoluted plot. A veritable chorus of narrators greets readers as the florid cast of protagonists and antagonists alike reveal their schemes and desires for love and power in the Empire of Lax. Murdock got so caught up in describing the sagas of Trudy and Tips, Wisdom, Ben, Escoffier the cat and the dastardly Wilhemina, that she not only employed a variety of genres—drama, letters, diary, even encyclopedia entries—within the novel, but found herself creating a vastly expanded set of hypertext enhancements for the work’s electronic release. When we spoke with the author, her infectious enthusiasm for the project still knew no bounds.

kind of flexibility a nonlinear platform offers. So I approached Houghton, and they said to go for it. The enhancements include more encyclopedia entries, several recipes mentioned in the book, other ancillary characters and some supplementary information.

I got the whole thing done, added it up, and it was like 52,000 words. I thought, “This is why I’ve been so stressed—I’ve written another book!”

Houghton’s also including some author commentary I recorded for the audiobook, and I believe they’re going to fold in several of the other voices from the audiobook, so you can hear the actors reciting the plays in the enhanced version.

Q: This novel incorporates so many narrative voices and different styles. Was it difficult to compose?

A: I chose such a diverse cast because, to my mind, the story required it in order for me to get the plot to work. It wasn’t that I needed it to illustrate something about storytelling so much as I needed the storytellers to tell the story that way. I’m not enough of an abstract thinker for that. I’m much more concrete. I wasn’t really thinking about the big picture so much as how I was going to keep the scenes as dramatic as possible. For instance, I knew very early I wanted to do the scene with Tips and the spy having the swordfight on the balcony, but I couldn’t figure out who would tell it. I needed to create a voice to do it justice.

My real driving goal was to tell a story in which the main character doesn’t end up living happily ever after with the boy she loves. If there was any sort of overarching agenda on the part of the author, it was that.

Because my kids are getting up to that age, I wanted to make the point that the person you’re in love with at age 16 is not the eternal center of your universe.

A: The book is very complicated, and the whole time I was writing it, there was this little voice saying, “no one’s going to read this.” It was so much fun to write and I’m a real puzzle person. Literally, my kids get up in the morning, and I’m like, “I’ll get your breakfast in a minute—let me finish my KENKEN.” This is very much like a KENKEN, where all the little pieces fit together, and that was incredibly satisfying. If it weren’t, I don’t think I would have written it this way. I would’ve done it as straight third-person narrative or something, but I couldn’t figure out how else to tell the story.

I needed things to be withheld from the reader, and I’m not adept enough as a writer to figure out how to do that using one first-person or third-person voice. So by having multiple people tell the story, they each have secrets and are immersed in themselves most of the time.

I think I liked the challenge of having multiple voices. I have a color-coded outline on my website, and to this day I have a nine-color outline taped below my computer because I had to keep referring to it when writing the enhancements. When Houghton publishes the electronic version of the book, they’re releasing along with it an enhanced edition that has about 50,000 words of content.

Q: Tell me more about the enhancements…

1822

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

Q: So, given that all does not end well here, what makes this story a fairy tale?

A: For me what makes a fairy tale, and what differentiates a fairy tale from a fantasy novel, is that in a fairy tale, there is a much stronger concept of a moral. It’s not just that the characters grow up but that the story can be used as a learning tool for the reader in becoming a better person.

That was certainly what I was trying to do in Princess Ben—enable her to realize that she had to grow up and recognize her own inadequacies. Here it’s very similar. That, to me, is what really makes a fairy tale, along with the concept of a happily-ever-after ending, even if it’s not the couple riding together on white horses off into the sunset. I taught a writing course once, and one of my students said, “I want the story to end with a big red bow.” I really appreciate that image.

In a fairy tale, there has to be a big red bow at the end.

kirkusreviews.com

|

P H OTO © G R EG M A RT IN

A: The enhancements grew because, as I was working on the book, there was all of this advance press about Kindles and iPads and how the reading experience was going to be transformed in years to come.

Normally, I’d say, “Oh poo! Reading’s reading,” but I was working on this book, and it was so incremental and nonlinear that it really shouted out for the

Q: Your epigraph says: “Truth has many voices.” Did you choose such a diverse cast of narrators to reveal more about the nature of storytelling?

the boy’s distress and isolation while powerfully conveying his progression from anger and fear to sadness and acceptance.

A sympathetic exploration of the stages of grief through the eyes of one little boy. (Picture book. 5 & up)

AESOP’S FABLES

Naidoo, Beverley Illus. by Grobler, Piet Frances Lincoln (52 pp.) $18.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-84780-007-7 Wearing a deliberate African patina, this refreshing collection of 16 Aesop fables takes place in the South African veld, giving these timeless moral tales a visual and verbal facelift.

In opening remarks, Naidoo theorizes Aesop originated from Africa, accounting for a prevalence of African animals in his fables and a penchant for the moral lessons characteristic of African folktales. Cultivating this African flavor, Naidoo sprinkles her text with native words and phrases such as “mealie” (corn) and “mampara” (fool), providing footnote translations when appropriate. In typical Aesop fashion, animals serve as lead characters, but Naidoo adds to the African texture by populating the tales with distinctive African animals like zebras, jackals, braks (mongrel dogs), rinkhals (spitting cobra), snake eagles, klipspringer (small antelope) and kudu (large grey antelope). Despite the African twist, the single-action narrative of each fable preserves the impersonal moral tone of the originals, emphasizing discretion (“The Old Lion”), prudence (“The Lion and the Warthog”), moderation (“The Eagle and the Tortoise”) and forethought (“The Grasshopper and the Ants”). Primitive, whimsical watercolorand-pencil illustrations preserve the African theme. Decorative borders set off each fable, while full-page illustrations capture the drama, foolishness or humor with special focus on the droll antics and expressions of the animal characters.

A delightful new rendition of some old favorites. (Fables. 5-11)

FRANCIS WOKE UP EARLY

Nobisso, Josephine Illus. by Hyde, Maureen Gingerbread House (32 pp.) $17.95 | paper $9.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-940112-20-9 978-0-940112-22-3 paperback

leaving child and farm animals in peace, a presaging of the older Francis’ actions in the legend of the Wolf of Gubbio. Nobisso laces her telling with a surfeit of modifiers. The wolf has “intelligent eyes,” a “magnificent head” and “muscular ears nimbly twitching.” Hyde’s oil paintings are beautiful in a soft-focus kind of way, although they reflect a more High Renaissance style than Francis’ late-12th-century boyhood. Full-page images are bordered with leaves, flowers and geometric patterns, and the palette is ash rose, stone and gold. Nobisso’s dedication is in Italian, to her aunts and cousins, and while the few Italian words in the text are fairly clear, it is too bad she does not note that Nonna is Grandma and Babbo is Daddy.

Heartfelt, if florid. (creators’ note, author’s postscript) (Picture book/religion. 5-8)

PRIZED

O’Brien, Caragh M. Roaring Brook (368 pp.) $16.00 | Nov 8, 2011 978-1-59643-570-4 Series: The Birthmarked Trilogy, 2 Once again, spunky teen-midwife Gaia takes down a dystopia.

After fleeing from the Enclave, Gaia finds the utopia to which her grandmother once fled (Birthmarked, 2010). Like an inverse of the Enclave, Sylum offers equality and fairness in spades, but once Gaia digs deeper she finds it’s another dystopia, this time controlled by women (namely the charismatic, blind Matrarc). But something in the air kills anyone who leaves, so Gaia must stay.

Immediately she finds herself in the middle of a power struggle, as she questions the status quo, befriends the women who opt out of the “marriage and ten children” regulations that protect the population, argues that men (the majority population) deserve a vote too, performs secret autopsies and unravels the mystery of why those who leave die. Whew! Plus, she juggles a love quadrangle with two brothers from Sylum and Luke, who has fled his powerful father back at the Enclave to follow Gaia across the wasteland.

A satisfying repeat of the same heavy themes as the first volume (women’s rights over their own bodies; an individual’s rights versus the power of the community and government; the way in which the masses are drugged—now literally—into quiescent submission) is here leavened with new settings and more kissing.

Faintly feminist soft science fiction for preteens and teens. (Dystopia. 12-16)

An imagined tale of Francis of Assisi as a boy doing good foreshadows later saintly activities.

His Nonna, his Babbo, his Mamma and the maid are all still asleep, but Francis moves quietly in the dawn. Everyone is tired from staying up the night before, worrying about the she-wolf threatening the town and the livestock. When Francis goes out to tend the animals, he sees the shadow of the wolf. He brings the wolf an egg and some goat’s milk in a bowl, and she departs, |

kirkusreviews.com

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1823

“Palpable grief plus irreverent humor equal one extraordinary debut novel.” from the sharp time

THE SHARP TIME

has an interesting coming-of-age premise, this book is often confusing, with too many undeveloped threads and promising characters who rarely come to life. Leo’s first-person narration too often tells instead of shows (“It wasn’t surprising with everything that I’d been through lately, but I couldn’t believe I forgot my own birthday”), which contributes to the overall flatness of the story.

Ultimately, readers will feel this has all been done before. (Science fiction. 10-14)

O’Connell, Mary Delacorte (240 pp.) $17.99 | $17.99 e-book PLB $20.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-385-74048-7 978-0-375-89929-4 e-book 978-0-375-98948-3 PLB Palpable grief plus irreverent humor equal one extraordinary debut novel.

After algebra teacher Mrs. Bennett inappropriately chides ADD-suffering Sandinista Jones (named for the seminal Clash album) for not paying attention in class, the 18-year-old, whose single mother has recently died, gives up on school and life. The situation reminds Sandinista of all the times she failed to stand up for a mentally challenged student during Mrs. Bennett’s endless taunting. To fill her days, the teen quickly finds a job at the Pale Circus, a vintage clothing store, a companion in heartache with co-worker and “druggie Robin Hood” Bradley and in possession of a handgun. Her resonant, thought-provoking first-person narration reveals her mounting helplessness, tension and guilt as on each passing day the school fails to call her (who’s not paying attention now?) and makes readers gulp in anticipation as she plots revenge against Mrs. Bennett. It takes a village, or at least a street full of eclectic shop workers in her rundown Kansas City neighborhood, to raise Sandinista out of despair. From her newfound community, comprised of the HIV-positive Pale Circus owner, Erika of Erika’s Erotic Confections, a sympathetic pawn-shop owner and friendly Trappist monks, she finds faith, the will to go on in and unexpected beauty in an often cruel world.

Sharp storytelling indeed. (Fiction. 14 & up)

SOUND BENDER

Oliver, Lin & Baker, Theo Scholastic (272 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-545-19692-5 A young adolescent boy discovers secret, amazing powers.

Thirteen-year-old Leo Lomax and his brother Hollis have barely had time to absorb the fact that their parents have been lost in a plane crash when they are swept away from the only home they’ve ever known. Their step-uncle Crane installs them in his combination resident/warehouse in a bleak area of Brooklyn. The warehouse is chock full of what Uncle Crane considers valuable antiquities and artifacts, but Leo finds one that can’t be either: a helmet that looks—and more importantly sounds—both painful and dangerous. Leo discovers that he is, in fact, a Sound Bender, someone who can actually hear the past just by touching an object. This leads him and his best friend Trevor on a quest halfway around the world to stop Crane from selling the helmet to the Russians and to free whoever has been trapped by this dastardly device. Although it 1824

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

ILLUMINATED

Orloff, Erica Speak/Penguin (256 pp.) $7.99 paperback | Dec 1, 2011 978-0-14-241376-0 The hunt for the origins of a medieval tome sets the backdrop for revelations and romance in a Boston teen’s savvy firstperson tale.

Callie spends the months before her senior year in Manhattan interning for her gay Uncle Harry, a manuscripts historian, who sets her up with an agoraphobic colleague’s son. An eccentric student at NYU, August is also his father’s custodian; the love-at-firstsight he and Callie experience is entirely plausible given the fertile heat of summer and their assignment to authenticate a rare manuscript. In her role as detective, Callie discovers her parents’ marriage devolved long before her mother died. Her new sense of purpose gives her the confidence to confront her high-flying and exacting attorney father for the first time ever, forcing him to get to know her in a meaningful way. Callie’s independence and focus on the goal at hand successfully override occasional moments of romantic overkill, offshoots of Orloff ’s apparent zeal to mirror Callie and August’s courtship with the historical relationship they uncover. The author ties too many bright, shiny bows on the end of the book, but she does convey a valuable message that intellectual ardor can redeem and direct.

A beach read that might inspire an interest in history.

(Romance. 12-17)

MISSING! A Cat Called Buster Orr, Wendy Illus. by Boase, Susan Henry Holt (128 pp.) $15.99 | paper $5.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-8050-8932-5 978-0-8050-9382-7 paperback Series: Rainbow Street Shelter, 2 After his elderly owner is injured in an accident, Buster the cat gets lost, and a young neighbor sets out to find him.

Buster spent his early months at the Rainbow Street Shelter, also the name of this pet-focused series for readers who

kirkusreviews.com

|

THE GIRL WHO NEVER MADE MISTAKES

have recently made the transition to chapter books. Finally adopted by Mr. Larsen, he loves their life together. Josh, a grade-schooler, is trying to deal with his grief over the death of his pet rabbit when Buster goes missing. Aided by his parents, Josh begins a determined search for the missing pet. Just as in the first work in the series (Lost! A Dog Called Bear, 2011), this effort sympathetically, if briefly, deals with some complex issues, including the responsibilities of pet ownership, death and aging, but always within the framework of an optimistic, childlike perspective appropriate for the target audience. Readers will fully understand that although Josh’s focus on finding Buster is at first driven by his own loss, later he genuinely falls in love with the wily cat. Several characters that appeared in the first work in this series make cameo appearances, providing continuity.

Attractive black-and-white full- and half-page sketches, one or two per chapter, offer some visual interest as well.

This early chapter book with plenty of heart and a bit of suspense will appeal to young pet lovers. (Fiction. 6-9)

Pett, Mark & Rubinstein, Gary Illus. by Pett, Mark Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (32 pp.) $14.99 | Oct 4, 2011 978-1-4022-5544-1 Can anyone be perfect?

Beatrice Bottomwell always does everything right. “Most people in town didn’t even know Beatrice’s name. They just called her ‘The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes,’ because for as long as anyone could remember, she never did.” One Thursday though, she almost does something wrong (she drops some eggs while cooking at school but catches them just in time). Straightforward text describes Beatrice’s predicament as, unnerved, she ponders her almost-error and begins to worry. What if she really does do something wrong? Brightly colored watercolors and gentle humor combine to portray Beatrice’s eventful day, her growing fear and her sprightly pet hamster. During a school talent show, Beatrice finally makes a real mistake—in front of everyone. How will she cope? Learning how to relax enough to laugh and simply be herself just might do the trick. While the plot is predictable and the solution to the problem fairly pat, this is a well-intentioned story, full of acceptance and goodwill. It will be especially useful in a therapeutic setting; it may be a real comfort to a child who is afraid of making mistakes, while children dealing with similar issues will also find reassurance here.

A good choice for offering comfort and support to a budding perfectionist. (Picture book. 3-6)

JUSTIN THYME

Oxridge, Panama Illus. by Poxmage, Adrian Inside Pocket (350 pp.) $18.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-9562315-9-8 Series: The Tartan of Thyme, 1

Hidden messages, ambiguous clues, cryptic hints and double entendres crowd chockablock into this puzzle mystery.

Time, and Thymes, play central roles. In line to become the 25th Laird of Thyme, Justin is a 13-year-old scientific genius whose redoubtable mother, Lady Henny, is kidnapped in the wake of discussions with his (seemingly) amnesiac father about actually building a time machine. His ruminations about time travel (conveyed in handwritten notes between each chapter) dovetail with strange arrivals—notably a (seemingly) senile old man who may be long-missing grandpa Lyall Austin Thyme— and investigations that turn up a wealth of suspects in his mother’s disappearance. Along with odd timepieces, red herrings galore and images of clue-bearing ransom notes, postcards and email messages, the author chucks in a comically diverse supporting cast. This is led by a sullen, lovesick gorilla and a new cook fresh from the “Café Roman à Clef ” in Paris, who in one memorable scene serves up anatomically correct gingerbread men (“You not likings nuts?”). A kidnapper who remains unidentified and at large at the end, a newly minted time machine/ motorcycle begging to be tried out and the strong “all is not as it seems” atmosphere throughout pave the way for sequels.

From dust jacket (which purportedly contains clues to the pseudonymous author’s identity) to closing page of disguised notes, a pleaser for fans of reading that requires decoding. (map, cast list) (Fantasy. 11-13)

|

MASTIFF

Pierce, Tamora Random (592 pp.) $18.99 | $10.99 e-book PLB $21.99 | Oct 25, 2011 978-0-375-81470-9 978-0-375-89328-5 e-book 978-0-375-91470-6 PLB Series: Beka Cooper, 3 Pierce’s sturdy policewoman Beka Cooper returns for a triumphant trilogy conclusion.

The book opens at the interment of narrator Beka’s fiancé, a fellow Dog; some three years have passed since the events of Bloodhound (2009). Far from being grief stricken, Beka feels a guilty relief at the release. She finds the prospect of a high-stakes Hunt with partner Tunstall positively invigorating, although the political stability of Tortall hinges on its success: The young heir to the throne has been kidnapped. Beka and Tunstall—and her animal companions, the supernatural cat Pounce and scent hound Achoo—are joined by Tunstall’s lover, the lady knight Sabine, and a Dog mage, Farmer Cape. Farmer plays the fool, but Beka and company soon realize his powers and intellect far exceed those of the typical Kennel mage—a

kirkusreviews.com

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1825

good thing, too, because Tortall’s magical community appears to be allied against the king. Pierce has long been lauded for her kickass heroines, and in Beka she has created her most compelling, complicated character. The plainspoken Beka’s moral compass never wavers, but there’s believably human confusion at her core. Pierce’s gutsiest move is starting with Beka’s failed romance—thereby providing a welcome reality check for readers who have been peddled the eternal-first-love bill of goods from every direction.

An involving police procedural wrapped in fantasy clothing, this novel provides both crackerjack storytelling and an endearingly complex protagonist. (maps, cast of characters, glossaries) (Fantasy/mystery. 12 & up)

A GIFT FOR A LITTLE CHILD’S BAPTISM

Piper, Sophie Illus. by Williams, Caroline Trafalgar (64 pp.) $14.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-7459-6251-1

A collection of prayers, some biblical and some original, for little ones.

Following through on its titular intent, prayers embody the nine characteristics (including love, faithfulness and gentleness) attributed to the Holy Ghost. Selections (The Lord’s Prayer, “All Things Bright and Beautiful”) depict God’s loving relationship with His people and creation. Poems balance reverence for the Omniscient against the individual’s need for attention. “I’m wild as a tiger / I’m wild as a bear / I’m wilder than a wildebeest / and I don’t even care.” (Though the accompanying illustration suggests a gentler reality as the little girl nuzzles a tiger-striped cat.) Where appropriate, traditional formulations are rephrased (“Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” does not threaten death, for instance). Not all offerings demonstrate the poetic strength of the traditional text: “The Lord is my shepherd / I’m safe in his care / by pools deep and still / in green pastures so fair.” Cheerful symbolic images (butterflies, doves and sheep) grin against minimalist backgrounds. Cuddly, cherub-cheeked youngsters pray and play, each depicted with small, sweet smiles. Characters’ physical representation reveals a conventional European-American view, with fair, blond angels and white, bearded, white-robed Jesus holding the mostly Caucasian children’s hands.

Baby steps for those on their Christian walk of faith.

(Picture book/religion. 1-5)

1826

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

12 THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU CRASH AND BURN Proimos, James Roaring Brook (128 pp.) $14.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-1-59643-595-7

Homeless dudes, hot pizza girls, tanning salons and horse-stable make-out sessions punctuate a summer in Baltimore.

After his television-celebrity dad’s death, 16-year-old Hercules Martino is sent from his Upper West Side home to Baltimore to spend the last two weeks of summer with his Uncle Anthony. Upon arrival, Hercules is handed a list of things he must accomplish during his stay, and despite his resistance, he somehow manages to stumble into each and every one of them. The one he deems most important finds him chasing a lost copy of Winnie-the-Pooh for a hot college girl and sets him on a trajectory to complete the other tasks. Although Hercules and Anthony have never hit it off, their hilarious “man speak” insult-based dialogue intimately suggests that a connection does exist between them. Told in short, near-poetic vignettes, the chapters of Proimos’ first teen novel are packed with plenty of small details and genuine moments of ridiculous humor. Often these chapters are too short and lack connective tissue, however, which results in confusing passages of time, odd jumps in plotting and, most often, a longing for more details. Still, readers will relish Hercules’ smart-alecky, slacker sense of humor and his dogged determination to get the girl.

An all-too-brief madcap summer adventure of longing, lust, confusion and clarity. (Fiction. 12 & up)

HELD

Ravel, Edeet Annick Press (248 pp.) $21.95 | paper $21.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-55451-283-6 978-1-55451-282-9 paperback Held hostage by a terrorist group somewhere in Europe, Chloe finds herself increasingly attracted to her captor as her mother and friends back home do everything they can to free her.

Chloe was working in Greece over the summer and is known for how carefully she manages her life. When she is kidnapped on the side of a road, she is really out of control and frightened. Blindfolded and drugged, Chloe gradually realizes that she is being held as a trade for the release of prisoners whom her captor believes to have been unjustly prosecuted.

Her main relationship is with one man who is gentle and kind and eventually becomes her lover. Chapters written by Chloe after the fact detail events and alternate with notes, letters, e-mail messages, news reports, Facebook posts and webpages.

It is in these interpolations that readers see how Chloe’s advocates manipulate facts themselves in order to effect her rescue.

kirkusreviews.com

|

“Schubert has concocted a sweet mixture of traditions that bind and give comfort, along with love in many forms; intergenerational family, friends and neighbors all act with selflessness, kindness and compassion.” from life: an exploded diagram

At the end, psychologists put her words in the context of how others have responded, challenging her veracity. This eminently discussable novel continually asks readers to consider whether ends justify means and how power and control affect relationships. They take the journey with Chloe through paralyzing fear toward what seems like love. Is it?

Less thriller than psychological puzzler, this novel effectively keep readers guessing. (Suspense. 12 & up)

LILY RENÉE, ESCAPE ARTIST From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer Robbins, Trina Illus. by Timmons, Anne & Oh, Mo Graphic Universe (96 pp.) $7.95 paperback | $21.95 e-book PLB $29.27 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-7613-8114-3 978-0-7613-7962-1 e-book 978-0-7613-6010-0 PLB

inherent in humanity emerges, turning most survivors into a semi-intelligent mob with one purpose: to murder every “normal” person they can find. Aries in Vancouver, Mason in Calgary, Clementine in Iowa and Michael in Colorado all travel until their stories converge, experiencing constant danger, meeting others along the way and uncovering their own hidden strengths. Aries, for example, begins as a chatty adolescent but quickly emerges as a natural leader. Guilt-ridden Michael learns to forgive himself, and mournful Mason learns to love, while Clementine perseveres, although enigmatic Daniel just might be on the other side. Roberts makes readers care about each of them, masterfully keeping suspense high as the teens search for food, clothing and hiding places while fighting off attacks.

The simple details of survival, such as living without electricity and refrigeration, fascinate as much as the fight scenes. Overall, a spirit of optimism wins through the post-apocalyptic despair.

The four separate threads share enough common elements that, although distinct, they merge into a coherent narrative.

Well-balanced, realistic suspense. (Post-apocalyptic suspense. 12 & up)

This comic-book biography of a Jewish girl’s life under the Nazi jackboot and then as a refugee is low key and that much more profound for it.

The panels are brightly lit, and the narrative is crisp, both of which serve to chillingly amplify the everyday banality of evil. Robbins fashions Lily Renée Wilhelm as a young woman who simply must make the best of being shuttled from home to home as a Kindertransport refugee in England, thankful for the kindnesses while cognizant of the inequities, hopeful but not delusional. Her parents, still in Austria, haven’t vanished, but they are thwarted at every turn. Bile rises, teeth clench—it is all so quotidian. Lily toils in this and that occupation, and then comes the wholly satisfying conclusion: Lily becomes a graphic artist of superwomen stories in the United States, so fitting that it closes her tale like the thunk of a Rolls Royce door. Robbins adds a glossary and a number of short, expository pages on concentration camps, internment camps, high tea, English currency, Queen Wilhelmina, the Holland-America Line and Horn and Hardart automats to flesh out Lily’s life.

A fitting tribute. (Graphic biography. 8-14)

DARK INSIDE

Roberts, Jeyn Simon & Schuster (336 pp.) $17.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-4424-2351-0 After an apocalypse of devastating earthquakes and murderous mobs, four teenagers struggle to survive.

Earthquakes destroy North America’s entire west coast, collapsing buildings and killing thousands, but that’s the easy part. Apparently triggered by the quakes, the darkness |

kirkusreviews.com

THE PRINCESS OF BORSCHT

Schubert, Leda Illus. by Christensen, Bonnie Neal Porter/Roaring Brook (32 pp.) $17.99 | Nov 22, 2011 978-1-59643-515-5 Too many cooks can make wonderful borscht.

Ruthie’s grandmother is in the hospital recovering from pneumonia, but the hospital food is so terrible that she tells Ruthie to bring her some homemade borscht “or who knows what will happen.” Fearful of the consequences of failure, Ruthie searches for the secret recipe without success. She calls on her grandma’s neighbors for help. They are, respectively, the Empress, First Lady and Tsarina of Borscht. Each gives advice and ingredients, while Ruthie adds a touch of her own. Armed with sour cream from Mr. Lee at the corner store (maybe he’s the King of Borscht?), she brings the borscht to Grandma, the real Queen of Borscht, who pronounces it perfect. Ruthie has saved Grandma just in time. Of course, it’s not just about borscht or even about cooking, though there’s a great recipe included. Schubert has concocted a sweet mixture of traditions that bind and give comfort, along with love in many forms; intergenerational family, friends and neighbors all act with selflessness, kindness and compassion. Christensen’s heavily outlined, strongly colored illustrations emphasize equally strong personalities. The paintings are filled with details that add interest to the proceedings, from the array of get-well cards in the hospital room to the homey, old-fashioned décor of Grandma’s apartment.

Appetizing and heartwarming. (Picture book. 3-9)

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1827

“It’s 1960, but on the decayed Fairchild sugar plantation in rural Louisiana, vestiges of a grimmer past remain—the old cottage, overgrown garden maze, relations between white and black races.” from the freedom maze

THE FREEDOM MAZE

Sherman, Delia Big Mouth House (256 pp.) $16.95 | $9.95 e-book | Nov 15, 2011 978-1-931520-30-0 978-1-931520-40-09 e-book It’s 1960, but on the decayed Fairchild sugar plantation in rural Louisiana, vestiges of a grimmer past remain—the old cottage, overgrown garden maze, relations between white and black races.

Stuck for the summer in the family ancestral home under the thumb of her cranky, imperious grandmother, Sophie, 13, makes a reckless wish that lands her in 1860, enslaved—by her own ancestors. Sophie’s fair skin and marked resemblance to the Fairchilds earn her “easy” employment in the big house and the resentment of her peers, whose loyalty she’ll need to survive. Plantation life for whites and blacks unfolds in compelling, often excruciating detail. A departure from Sherman’s light fantasy Changeling (2006), this is a powerfully unsettling, intertextual take on historical time-travel fantasy, especially Edward Eager’s Time Garden (1958), in which white children help a grateful enslaved family to freedom. Sophie’s problems aren’t that easily resolved: While acknowledging their shared kinship, her white ancestors refuse to see her as equally human. The framing of Sophie’s adventures within 1960 social realities prompts readers to consider what has changed since 1860, what has not— for Sophie and for readers half a century later—and at what cost.

Multilayered, compassionate and thought-provoking, a timely read on the sesquicentennial of America’s Civil War. (Historical fantasy. 12 & up)

EXTRAORDINARY ENDANGERED ANIMALS

Silhol, Sandrine & Guérive, Gaëlle Illus. by Doucedame, Marie Abrams (160 pp.) $24.95 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-4197-0034-7

This oversized album describes 34 unusual and appealing animals from six world regions and explains why many are endangered.

An introduction emphasizes the importance of maintaining balance in nature and introduces the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of endangered species.

Each species is presented in a pair of double-page spreads that includes two large photographs, watercolor art, relatively extensive text describing the animal and the threats it faces, a small, general map and a notebook entry describing human connections. Although this purports to be about endangered species, the first animal described, the Atlantic puffin, is of “least concern” according to the most recent IUCN list. The next, the Southwestern water vole, is “vulnerable” in its European habitat and the third, the Western spadefoot toad, is closer to endangered 1828

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

status as “near-threatened.” There are also mistakes of fact— Valentine’s Day is not “the beginning of the mating season for amphibians.” Throughout, the authors use the word “skate” when they mean stingray. No translator is listed for the text, first published in France in 2010 as Les Animaux d’exception: Racontés aux enfants. There are no credits for the photographs except for those repeated on the jacket, and no sources given for the information. Finally, the index has errors.

Beautiful but flawed. (glossary, “How you can help”) (Reference. 9-12)

FETCHING

Stewart, Kiera Disney Hyperion (304 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-1-4231-3845-7 In a high-concept approach to middle-school hierarchies, a group of unpopular eighth graders uses dog-training techniques to combat bullies.

Narrator Olivia and her friends Delia, Mandy, Phoebe and Joey are Hubert C. Frost Middle School’s “Marcies”—losers. Reigning mean girl Brynne Shawnson and her cronies constantly target them with pranks and ridicule their acne, ill-fitting clothes, infected eyebrow piercing and other traits both real and invented. While helping her dog-trainer grandmother rehabilitate a grass-phobic Mexican Hairless, Olivia hatches her plan. She and her friends launch a three-stage training operation that involves distractions, rewards and ignoring negative behaviors. As the middle-school social order re-forms itself in both predictable and unpredictable ways, Olivia struggles with abandonment and shame about her mother, who has left home for a mental facility. Although the therapist Olivia sees is so ineffectual as to be off-putting rather than comic, Olivia’s warm and charmingly self-deprecating narrative voice relates her feelings with a surprising and touching expressiveness. The comparison between dogs and people often feels apt, though it is occasionally carried too far—it’s a bit disconcerting to hear Olivia liken her crush to a chocolate Lab, for example, and the notion that ignoring bullies’ negative behavior will make them stop seems sadly optimistic.

A familiar but well-executed underdog tale. (Fiction. 10-13)

kirkusreviews.com

THE TWILIGHT CIRCUS

Toft, Di Chicken House/Scholastic (368 pp.) $17.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-545-29492-8 Series: Wolven, 2 An old foe sets a deadly trap for two young werewolves in a sequel framed by family reunions and positively festooned with hideous vampires. |

Magical creatures are rising up all over Europe. Recently bitten teen Nat and his shapechanging BF Woody have joined Nat’s father and a traveling circus of fauns, furies and other cryptids (“All the incredible things you are about to see are REAL!” the Ringmaster disingenuously informs excited audiences) in France. Almost immediately, they are attacked by flights of fantastically ugly bloodsuckers under the command of a malign and crafty vampire revived by the previous episode’s über-villain Lucas Scale. Fortunately the lads/cubs have on their side not only Alexandra Fish, hypercompetent young vampire slayer and British secret agent, but Woody’s Wolven relatives— a reclusive clan of particularly powerful white werewolves.

Along with vampires that explode in gross showers of gooey ichor when staked, Toft tucks in the odd colorful turn of phrase (“…feeling about as nervous as a small nun at a penguin shoot”) and fart joke to lighten the load. She leaves her doggy buddies at the end alive and resolved to join Fish in putting paid to Scale’s demonic schemes.

Defi nitely a continuation rather than a freestanding episode, but the author keeps her ongoing plot galloping along and adds an assortment of marvelous new creatures to the cast. (Fantasy.10-13)

LOVE AND LEFTOVERS

Tregay, Sarah Katherine Tegen/ HarperCollins (464 pp.) $17.99 | Dec 27, 2011 978-0-06-202358-2

A girl cheats on her boyfriend, regrets it and writes it all in poems in this new verse novel.

Marcie moves to New Hampshire with her depressed and inattentive mother when her parents split. Her dad, it seems, is gay and has begun life with a new boyfriend. Marcie wants to return to Idaho and her friends, the “leftovers” in her high school, including her own boyfriend, musician Linus. Meanwhile, however, she meets drop-dead handsome J.D. and allows an innocent friendship with him to become a romance. When she does return to Idaho to live with her father, her relationships with both Linus and the other friends she left behind have changed. Tregay’s choice to write in verse works well, her spare but effective language artfully evoking what otherwise might be a conventional high-school romance. Personalities stand out well, especially Marcie, Linus and J.D. Marcie’s loneliness and guilt drive the story until its resolution. The father’s completely accepted gay relationship, although mostly in the background, adds an element of interest.

It all feels realistic and makes for an interesting, attractive novel.

A verse novel with real depth to accompany all that white space. (Fiction. 12 & up)

|

FIRST GIRL SCOUT The Life of Juliette Gordon Low Wadsworth, Ginger Clarion (224 pp.) $17.99 | Nov 14, 2011 978-0-547-24394-8 Even readers without Girl Scout credentials can appreciate this competent, photo-laden biography of fearless, feisty founder, Juliette Gordon Low. Using letters, diaries, news articles and other memorabilia, Wadsworth (Camping with the President, 2009, etc.) creates a candid portrait. Despite Low’s hearing loss and lack of skill at spelling, driving, balancing her checkbook and being on time, her visionary, charismatic and tenacious leadership clearly fueled the rapid growth of the Girl Scouts in the United States. Low’s memories of her idyllic childhood summers outdoors, the emotional impact of her failed marriage and her impressive social access all converged to one end: her missionary zeal for bringing an even more ground-breaking, skill-building and career-oriented version of the British Girl Guides movement to America.

On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts, Wadsworth can be forgiven the mild promotional element of the final chapter. Once a Girl Scout herself, the author reveals that Low was even buried in her Girl Scout uniform, with a telegram from a dear friend in the pocket that read: “You are not only the first Girl Scout but the best Girl Scout of them all.” Readers will be hard-pressed to disagree.

Unvarnished prose, plentiful images and vivid anecdotes set in historical perspective make this chronological account lively and accessible for middle-grade readers. (author’s note, chronology, source notes, bibliography, words and music) (Biography. 9-12)

BLIZZARD OF GLASS The Halifax Explosion of 1917 Walker, Sally M. Henry Holt (160 pp.) $18.99 | Nov 22, 2011 978-0-8050-8945-5 A terrible explosion devastated Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a neighboring town in 1917, causing local residents and others miles away to act heroically in response to an unprecedented catastrophe.

Thousands of miles from the action of World War I, two ships headed for the conflict collided in Halifax Harbour and precipitated an astonishing disaster. On December 6, 1917, the Mont Blanc and the Imo were slated to deliver supplies to Europe.

“In less than five minutes, an explosion—the likes of which the world had never seen before—and a tsunami had destroyed homes, factories, and businesses, wiping them from the land as though they had never existed.” Rescue was hampered by a blizzard the next day. Nearly 2,000 people perished in the town

kirkusreviews.com

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1829

that a few years earlier had helped with the remains of Titanic victims. Sibert Award–winning author Walker (Secrets of a Civil War Submarine, 2005) tells this story with detailed immediacy, focusing on five families affected as well as the accident itself.

Tension builds as the hours before the explosion are described.

The attempts to provide relief as well as to rebuild add another level of interest to the unfolding story. Despite the immense tragedy, the satisfying concluding chapter tells how loss and heroism are remembered by descendants of townspeople and those who helped. Period photographs contribute to the high level of authenticity. Source notes reveal how much came from personal narratives and interview comments of those involved.

Riveting. (Nonfiction. 10-14)

FELINE CHARM

Wells, Kitty Illus. by Harrison, Joanna David Fickling/Random (208 pp.) $13.99 | $13.99 e-book PLB $16.99 | Nov 8, 2011 978-0-385-75212-1 978-0-375-89803-7 e-book 978-0-385-75213-8 PLB Maddy Lloyd and her ceramic cats are back, this time solving a problem close to home (Shadow Magic, 2011).

Maddy and Rachel are anxious about the ballet tryouts for The Nutcracker. Their favorite ballerina, Snow Bradley, is going to be the Sugarplum Fairy, and all the girls just know that Maddy will be chosen as Clara. Rachel dances too, but she suffers from such stage fright that it’s clear that she is about to give up—which is a shame, because she is quite a dancer when she is alone. Ollie, the third ceramic cat, soon comes to life. Ollie is all vanity, but he has an author’s gift for dramatic tension, even keeping his mission secret until absolutely necessary. Part of a series, the book’s formula is clear: The tiny cat can switch back and forth from ceramic to flesh, understands the problem and can make humans change their behavior. When Rachel ends up summoning her skills and courage, Maddy has to face the fact that her place as the best dancer in the troupe is no longer secure, and her response almost costs the girls their friendship.

The British vocabulary and spelling (practise, tetchily, panto and strop, for instance) add a level of challenge to a book for children just transitioning from beginning readers.

The sweet storyline, appealing characters and just the right touch of magic make this an endearing series for new, cat-loving readers who are ready for a little bit of adventure in their vocabulary. (Fantasy. 7-10)

1830

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

kirkus wintertime r o u n d- u p NO TWO ALIKE

Baker, Keith Illus. by Baker, Keith Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster (40 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-4424-1742-7 A sadly lackluster paean to the premise that “no two snowflakes are alike, / almost, almost… / but not quite.”

Beginning with snowflakes, Baker then branches out to celebrate the uniqueness of other things, some found in nature, some manmade—nests, branches, leaves and forests. “No two fences, long and low, / no two roads—where do they go? / No two bridges, wood or stone, / no two houses— / anyone home?” His ultimate message, arrived at on almost the final page, is that every living thing is one of a kind. While it is certainly an important message, the very young may not make the leap from the animals and things that populate the book to humans, which make no appearance. Baker’s digital illustrations fill the spreads with simple shapes and soft, woodsy colors. The two red birds (rather like crestless cardinals) that fly through this wintry wonderland steal the show. Their expressions are adorable, their antics endearing and rather anthropomorphic—one skis, while the other tries to pelt a fox with snowballs. But they may not be enough to carry the flat text and lack of a story line. Indeed, the book depends on the rhymes and the cute birds to keep the pages turning.

A worthwhile message that just doesn’t quite fly. (Picture book. 3-5)

UTTERLY OTTERLY NIGHT

Casanova, Mary Illus. by Hoyt, Ard Simon & Schuster (40 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-4169-7562-5

Proving to both his family and himself that he is finally big enough, Little Otter faces down danger and saves his family in this satisfying follow-up to Casanova’s Utterly Otterly Day (2008).

On a moonlit night in snowy winter, the otter family pops out from its holt to play in an “utterly, otterly way.” This consists of belly slides down slippery hills, and the delight on their faces makes it likely that readers will itch to imitate them. But the members of the otter family are not the only creatures about.

Papa warns of a hunting owl, and another time, Little Otter barely halts one of his wild rides in time to avoid a collision with huge Moose. But it is at the top of the steepest hill yet

kirkusreviews.com

|

“Created with clay, acrylics and mixed-media collage, the forest takes on a depth and texture that echo reality, while the animals appear ready to spring off the pages, the birds to take flight.” from kitten’s winter

that Little Otter gets his own first sense of danger: Five wolves are on the prowl. Scared though he is, Little Otter knows what he must do, and he bravely sets about distracting the wolves, warning his family and narrowly evading teeth and claws. Hoyt’s pen-and-ink illustrations wonderfully convey the playfulness and innocence of Little Otter, his every emotion worn on his sleeve. Casanova’s onomatopoeic phrases punctuate the action with infectious glee: “Up and down, the otters play. / They glide and slide, / in a whooshily, shooshily way.”

A note for parents: Duct tape works well to repair holes torn in snow pants by otter sliding; after reading this book you may need a couple rolls. (Picture book. 3-6)

PETER AND THE WINTER SLEEPERS

de Haas, Rick Illus. by de Haas, Rick NorthSouth (32 pp.) $14.95 | Sep 1, 2011 978-0-7358-4033-1

This misleadingly titled Dutch import mixes a mediocre storyline with some inconsistent tongue-in-cheek visual humor.

Peter is at first thrilled when snow falls around the lighthouse where he lives with his grandmother and dog, Leo. He spends the day crafting some pretty humorous anatomically correct snow figures. But toward evening, the snow picks up again and shows no sign of letting up, so Grandma brings in the goat and chicken. The next day, with the snow a wall outside the door, the titular “winter sleepers” start arriving for shelter: a rabbit, an owl, hedgehogs, a bat and other critters. They are more guests than the hibernators the title suggests; Peter only wishes these new animals all slept at night. After several chaotic days of picking up after them, the arrival of a final guest, a fox, sends Peter into a panic when Gull goes missing. All turns out for the best, though, and slowly but surely the winter sleepers return to nature, leaving only the fox in Leo’s dog bed. Unfortunately, uneven pacing is not the text’s worst flaw—Peter’s name reverts to the original, Dutch “Elmo” on a center page, leaving readers puzzled and breaking the flow of the story. The hints of humor found in de Haas’ vigorous watercolors might have the power to overcome the text’s weaknesses, but they are not consistent, starting strong but petering out toward the end.

Here’s hoping Peter’s next outing (Peter and the Seal, 2012) will be better executed and edited. (Picture book. 4-8)

|

KITTEN’S WINTER

Fernandes, Eugenie Illus. by Fernandes, Eugenie Kids Can (24 pp.) $14.95 | Sep 1, 2011 978-1-55453-343-5 Kitten’s fourth seasonal sojourn (Kitten’s Autumn, 2010, etc.) finds her struggling through a snowstorm to reach the warmth and safety of home, all the while observing how the forest dwellers deal with the weather.

“Rabbit hops, / Mouse zips. / Otter catches, / Fish flips.” Kitten also sees beaver, turtle, bear, chipmunk and raccoon sleeping, woodpecker tapping for insects and a squirrel searching for food.

But the animals in the gentle rhyming verses are not the only ones in the artwork—children will enjoy spying their favorites, as well as searching for the kitten, who takes a behind or under-the-trees route home, and sometimes leaves only footprints for seekers to find. As in the previous three books, Fernandes’ artwork takes this simple tale to a whole new level. Created with clay, acrylics and mixed-media collage, the forest takes on a depth and texture that echo reality, while the animals appear ready to spring off the pages, the birds to take flight. Readers are treated to cutaway views of the animals’ cozy burrows, their inhabitants sleeping through the cold. Foresty browns and wintry blues and whites contrast nicely with the warmer colors of Kitten’s home.

A pleasing finale to the seasonal quartet. (Picture book. 2-5)

IT’S SNOWING!

Gibbons, Gail Illus. by Gibbons, Gail Holiday House (32 pp.) $17.95 | Sep 15, 2011 978-0-8234-2237-1 The prolific Gibbons’ latest is a utilitarian, beginner’s look at snow.

Opening with explaining how ice crystals form and merge together within clouds to create snowflakes, the text then touches on the fact that snow falls on every continent (though least on Antarctica). Next, Gibbons examines the different ways snow can fall—flurries, sleet, snowstorm and blizzard—and how people can know when snow is headed their way: “A blizzard happens when lots and lots of snow falls. The wind is howling. The snow is drifting. There can be whiteouts.” Briefly touching on snow clean up, outdoor activities and how snow benefits plants and wildlife, the text concludes with some ways to be prepared, a few Web resources and a list of fascinating facts, including some records—the largest snowflake (15 inches wide!) and biggest snowfall in one day (6'4"). There are also instructions for collecting and closely observing snowflakes, just as Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley did. Asides within the softly colored watercolor illustrations help define vocabulary: snowdrift, whiteout, evaporation, meteorologist. This, combined with short, simple sentences, make the book easily accessible for both young children and beginning readers.

kirkusreviews.com

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1831

“Judge’s latest may be virtually wordless, but it packs a powerful visual punch that will stick with readers long after the final page is turned.” from red sled

Though it lacks the flair and depth of others, the breadth and ease of the text make this a good introduction.

(Informational picture book. 4-8)

NOT A BUZZ TO BE FOUND Insects in Winter Glaser, Linda Illus. by Zollars, Jaime Millbrook (32 pp.) | $18.95 e-book | PLB $25.26 | Nov 1, 2011

QUIET BUNNY & NOISY PUPPY

This look at how insects survive the cold may have young naturalists scouring the winter landscape to find them for themselves.

From those who migrate or hibernate to ones that hide or are still eggs, Glaser has assembled a wide variety of 12 of the more common insects, including ants, ladybugs, dragonflies, honeybees, monarchs, praying mantises and black swallowtail butterflies. Short verses present readers with how each gets through the winter, but a lack of rhythm and inconsistent rhymes make reading aloud a challenge: “If you were a gallfly in winter, / you’d still be a baby living in a gall. / You’d chew a little opening to get out in the spring. / But all winter you’d stay in that small round ball.” Backmatter provides a paragraph more of information on each of the 12. Gorgeous full-bleed illustrations filled with color and detail depict the insects in winter. Some need close inspection or pre-existing knowledge of what the insect looks like, as they can be hard to spot, and backmatter only pictures the adult. Many pages also include people, either observing the insects or going about wintertime amusements.

A great overview—for more specifics about each insect, check out Judy Allen’s Backyard Books series. (Nonfiction. 5-9)

RED SLED

Judge, Lita Illus. by Judge, Lita Atheneum (40 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-1-4424-2007-6 Judge’s latest may be virtually wordless, but it packs a powerful visual punch that will stick with readers long after the final page is turned.

At the end of a winter day, a child props the titular sled outside a cozy cabin. A bear finds it there and sets off to enjoy the ride of all rides, joined in turn by some other forest denizens. As each joins the ride, the animals’ positions change: The bear is on his back with the rabbit perched on his feet, then he is atop the moose’s antlers, a position next occupied by an exhilaratedlooking porcupine. By the end of the hill, the tower of animals on top of the sled is quite shaky and collapses, “fluoomp…….ft” in a heap. The entirety is wordless but for the carefully chosen onomatopoeic words that perfectly capture the sounds and bring the adventure to life: the “scrinch scrunch” of footsteps 1832

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

in new snow, the “sssssffft” of the sled on its run and the “whoa” of the animals as they enjoy the ride. When the fun is over, they return the sled to the cabin, where the child puzzles over the footprints in the morning. Though rendered simply, Judge’s pencil-and-watercolor animals are gloriously full of life and infectious joy. Readers will be hard-pressed to finish this without letting their own joy show through.

Pure genius. (Picture book. 2-7)

McCue, Lisa Illus. by McCue, Lisa Sterling (32 pp.) $14.95 | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-4027-8559-7

Quiet Bunny’s third outing (Quiet Bunny’s Many Colors, 2011, etc.) explores opposites as he makes a new friend who is his different from him in every way.

The first snowfall of winter finds Quiet Bunny searching for a friend to play with, but they have all flown south, fallen asleep or hidden themselves away from the weather. Just then, a noisy puppy arrives on the scene, inviting Quiet Bunny to play with him. Quiet Bunny is unsure, noting their differences. The owl, who continues to do Bunny’s thinking for him, swoops in and pronounces: “You can be different and still be friends.” Thus reassured, the two become best friends, reveling in their differences. Over and under, around and across, in and out, up and down, the two play. Spring sends Noisy Puppy back to work on the farm, but winter’s return brings them back together, even more different than before. McCue’s animals are as Gund-soft as ever, almost too sweet. Their expressive faces and body language leave no doubt as to their emotions, although the text often spells it out anyway.

For those toddlers who crave more of a story than traditional opposites books offer, this just may fit the bill. (Picture book. 3-6)

MAKING A FRIEND

McGhee, Alison Illus. by Rosenthal, Marc Atheneum (40 pp.) $16.99 | Oct 4, 2011 978-1-4169-8998-1

The early-children’s-book feel of Rosenthal’s pencil-and-digital illustrations is what will first strike readers of McGhee’s rather morose celebration of the forever nature of friendship.

A young boy looks forward to winter’s snowy fun. When it finally arrives, he crafts the perfect snowman friend, complete with nose, mouth, eyes, arms and the bright-red ball cap taken from his own head. He labels him, “My Snowman.” But while it

kirkusreviews.com

|

is obvious that the boy spends some time admiring the snowman, the wordless pages devoted to their relationship fail to develop it fully, and readers may be left wondering why he is so sad when spring melts his friend. Where is he? Intuiting concepts beyond his apparent years, the boy finds his friend in the falling water and rain, in the fog and frost (although it is never explained to young readers how this is scientifically so), proving that McGhee’s unsubtly stated message is true: “What you love will always be with you.” And when the seasons come full circle, the two are reacquainted. Rosenthal’s illustrations are blotches of color on a stark white background, echoing the wintry setting and the boy’s sorrow, as well as the sparseness of the slow-paced text.

This retro salute to friendship simply tries to be too much to be successful—it does not hold a candle to McGhee’s prior works such as Someday or Little Boy, both illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds (2007, 2008) (Picture book. 4-6)

OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW

Messner, Kate Illus. by Neal, Christopher Silas Chronicle (44 pp.) $16.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-8118-6784-9 A young child enjoying a full day of cross-country skiing narrates this gentle tale, explaining both her own activities and what the animals are doing.

“Over the snow I glide, past beech trees rattling leftover leaves and strong, silent pines that stretch to the sky. On a high branch, a great horned owl keeps watch. Under the snow, a tiny shrew dodges columns of ice; it follows a cool tunnel along the moss, out of sight.” A deer, bullfrogs, beavers, a fox, mice, chipmunks, a bear and a bumblebee are among the other animal inhabitants of the “secret kingdom” under the snow; some are snoozing, some foraging and some hunting for the others.

Backmatter includes an author’s note, a paragraph of information about each featured animal and a list for further reading.

Neal’s two-dimensional mixed-media illustrations are minimal in both detail and color. Simple outlines give shape to the trees, animals and leaves, while white is the predominant color. The lyrical descriptions of the text and the gray/brown/ice-blue palette of the illustrations leave readers with a retro feel that harkens back to earlier days of children’s books and bygone times when life seemed simpler.

Utterly charming, and informative, to boot; readers brought up on a diet of rhymes, bright colors and adorable fluffy animals will fi nd its simple beauty a balm. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

|

ZACK’S ALLIGATOR AND THE FIRST SNOW

Mozelle, Shirley Illus. by Watts, James Harper/HarperCollins (32 pp.) $16.99 | paper $3.99 | Sep 1, 2011 978-0-06-147370-8 978-0-06-147372-2 paperback Zack and his alligator, Bridget, have a wintry adventure in this early reader.

When grown-ups aren’t around, Zack’s alligator key chain comes alive, à la Calvin and Hobbes, and grows to life size whenever she gets wet. In this latest imaginative romp, Bridget experiences snow for the first time.

She and Zack make a new friend in a little girl they meet, and the trio makes snow angels (and gators), goes sledding and— hysterically—manages to escape being spotted by Zack’s parents. Hungry, Bridget lets her nose lead her to the ice, where she gobbles down every fish she sees—it’s no wonder that Zack’s ice-fishing parents come up empty-handed at the end of the day. Watts’ softly-colored illustrations reflect the joy and exuberance that snow brings, while Bridget’s innocence is charming: She seems a mix of Frosty the Snowman and Amelia Bedelia in what she doesn’t know. Her comparisons to what she is familiar with from her native Florida will provoke giggles (each snowflake is different, “[l]ike the snails and slugs in the Glades”). Simple sentences and vocabulary and a lively story make this just right for developing readers.

Fans will be looking for Zack’s parting words to Bridget to come true: “We’ll have more fun soon.” (Early reader. 4-8)

THE BIG SNUGGLE-UP

Patten, Brian Illus. by Bayley, Nicola Kane/Miller (32 pp.) $15.99 | Sep 1, 2011 978-1-61067-036-4

Predators and prey alike arrive to snuggle into a boy’s cozy cottage to sleep through a winter storm in this visually breathtaking work from illustrator Bayley and British poet Patten.

The unseen young boy’s initial invitation, extended to a scarecrow, opens the door for all manner of beasts to ask for refuge. Before night fully falls, the fireside is packed tight, with creatures ranging from donkey and owl to fox and fawn. Rhyming couplets introduce each newcomer, while the refrain cumulatively lists each animal that has found shelter from the storm: “A robin peeped out from its freezing nest, / ‘Would you mind if you had another guest?’ / Into the house and out of the snow / Came a robin, a butterfly, a mouse, and an old scarecrow.” Not all of Patten’s rhymes are music to the ears, however, as when he rhymes “fur” with “chair” and “flew” with “snow.” But Bayley’s gorgeously realistic animals, which appear so lifelike that they could step right out of the pages, more than compensate.

kirkusreviews.com

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1833

Indeed, they appear so real as to seem incongruous when juxtaposed with the more cartoonish scarecrow, with his bright colors and patterns.

A sweet complement to a wintry night by the fi re snuggled up in a lap… but beware those who take a page from the boy’s book and invite in a menagerie of their own. (Picture book. 3-7)

SNOW PUPPY

Pfister, Marcus Illus. by Pfister, Marcus NorthSouth (32 pp.) $16.95 | Oct 1, 2011 978-0-7358-4031-7

THE SNOW BLEW INN

Pfister gets into the head and heart of a puppy experiencing the wonders of his first snow, as well as the heartache of his first time being lost.

Left home alone, the forlorn Rascal suddenly notices white specks falling from the sky. They are a lot like the white stuff that came out of a pillow once before. He cleverly makes his escape from the house but is quickly distracted from his investigation by a small, brown hopping animal. Having searched out the rabbit’s burrow—but failing in his efforts at making a new friend—it isn’t long before he is completely lost, cold, wet and hungry. Luckily, his nose leads him to a Christmas-tree harvester who lets him tag along with him to the town marketplace and a serendipitous reunion with Rascal’s family. Getting into the Christmas spirit of thankfulness and generosity, the family invites the man home for dinner. Rascal is a big-nosed scamp, full of curiosity and joy. Pfister’s scenes are speckled throughout with the falling snow, wintry whites contrasting with the forest browns.

This nicely captures a puppy’s (or a child’s) distractibility, and the Christmas tie-in adds the moral that Pfister’s books never lack. (Picture book. 4-8)

SNOW ANGELS

Randall, Angel Illus. by Dorman, Brandon Shadow Mountain (32 pp.) $17.99 | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-60641-046-2

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

Regan, Dian Curtis Illus. by Cushman, Doug Holiday House (32 pp.) $16.95 | Sep 1, 2011 978-0-8234-2351-4

A joyous look at generosity and hospitality as a snowstorm packs the Snow Blew Inn. That same storm delays Emma’s sleepover with her cousin, Abby, but doesn’t stop a flood of travelers who need lodging, despite the “No Vacancy” sign. Emma cheerfully pitches in to help Mama with the extra chores that all the stranded travelers bring with them, but she finds no fun in the crowded camaraderie that arises among the guests, without Abby there to share it with her. Continually on the lookout for her cousin’s arrival, Emma only spies more travelers. After Emma takes Mama’s generous example to heart and gives up her own room to the remaining stragglers, mother and daughter cozily settle in by the fire on a made-up bed and get one last surprise—the sleepover can finally begin. And with all the crowding in the inn, the two girls have a new friend to share their sleepover with, as well. Cushman’s pen, ink and watercolor illustrations are filled with cheerful, expressive anthropomorphized animals reminiscent of Richard Scarry’s. Emma’s emotions are plain on her face, from hope and disappointment to elation.

This family’s hospitality is just what is needed on a cold wintry day—heartwarming. (Picture book. 5-8)

PERFECT SNOW

In this too-good-to-be-true debut, best friends Krystal and Angel get the help of snow angels to make a difference in the lives of people around them.

A fall in the deep snow and an offhand, tongue-in-cheek remark lead the duo to the discovery that heavenly angels are just waiting to help people—they just need to be asked. The two decide to spend the day helping others, making snow-angel imprints in the snow before tackling each task. They carol at an elderly neighbor’s door, help make cookies for a boy’s bake sale so he can buy a sled and work at a church quilting bee. All 1834

the while, readers and the two friends can see the angels pitching in to aid them on their mission, although the townspeople remain clueless. The final spread hints at more to come: “That was the day we decided we would be ‘angels’ all year long,” the illustrations depicting angelic impressions in snow, grass, sand and fallen leaves. While the girls’ mission is doubtless an important one, this lacks the subtlety, realism and craft that would make readers want to emulate them. Dorman’s illustrations are over-the-top bright and cheerful, just as idealized as the story.

An afterschool special in picture-book form. (cookie recipe) (Picture book. 4-7)

teens

|

Reid, Barbara Illus. by Reid, Barbara Whitman (32 pp.) $16.99 | Sep 1, 2011 978-0-8075-6492-9

Most snow-themed books celebrate a day off from school, but Reid’s latest just may have kids hoping for their own snow-filled recess.

Scott and Jim wake up to snow. The fact that school is not called off does not blunt their enthusiasm one bit. Once at school, both occupy their desks, but their thoughts are already

kirkusreviews.com

|

“Individuality is the order of the day on this farm, where milk production (or lack thereof) depends on the weather.” from chilly milly moo

outside. And when the recess bell finally rings, Scott works on creating the “World’s Greatest Snowman,” while Jim constructs an “indestructible Snow Fortress of Doom.” Trouble is, neither is very successful—Scott’s one snowman turns into a team, each better than the previous one, while meanwhile the rest of the schoolyard becomes a snow-grabbing melee as all the children run out of snow at the same time. Jim narrowly manages to save Scott’s snowmen from the fracas. At lunchtime, the two hatch a plan to combine their ideas and their snow. Their solution is so cool that the whole schoolyard pitches in to help create “The World’s Greatest Totally Massive Snowman Fort.” Reid’s trademark Plasticine artwork gives wonderful depth and texture to the pages, while the details she includes are impressive, a chainlink fence and superhero pajamas among them. Black-and-white ink-and-watercolor panels keep the focus on the main illustrations while also rounding out the story.

Cooperation, teamwork and creative problem solving taken to new levels make this a great choice, no matter what the season. (Picture book. 5-9)

LITTLE BEA AND THE SNOWY DAY

Roode, Daniel Illus. by Roode, Daniel Greenwillow/HarperCollins (32 pp.) $12.99 | Oct 1, 2011 978-0-06-199395-4 In their second outing, Little Bea and her friends pack as much fun into a winter’s day as they can possibly manage (Little Bea, 2011).

A game of hide-and-seek starts the day off until everyone is found: Bea, Bear, Rabbit, Owl, Beaver, Deer, Goose, Mouse and Ducks. Observant readers may be able to find those hiding by their tracks in the snow. From there, it’s off to make snow angels, catch snowflakes on their tongues, go sliding, have a snowball fight and ice skate. After a hot-chocolate break, it’s time to make a new friend—a snow bear they all help craft. Short sentences with easy vocabulary and onomatopoeic words make this accessible to the very young, but the sentences are choppy, and the pages don’t flow easily. Roode’s art features bright colors against a bluish-white winter landscape. While cute, the stylized animals lack personalities. Rendered digitally, the outlines are straight, stiff and crisp, with little sense of the soft fluff that is real snow.

The very young may enjoy this once, but it is no comparison to the likes of The Snowy Day. (Picture book. 2-5)

|

CHILLY MILLY MOO

Ross, Fiona Illus. by Ross, Fiona Candlewick (32 pp.) $15.99 | Nov 1, 2011 978-0-7636-5693-5

Individuality is the order of the day on this farm, where milk production (or lack thereof) depends on the weather.

Each of Ross’ blocky cows has her own personality, but none more so than the hat-and–boot-clad Milly Moo. The trouble is that Milly Moo can’t produce milk. The other cows thrive in the hot weather, using the sun’s heat to produce lots of milk … and making Milly Moo feel even more like an oddball outsider.

Even the farmer’s threat to get rid of Milly Moo has no effect, other than to have her dreaming of where milk-less cows might go. But when a sudden storm sends the temperature plummeting, Milly Moo not only produces, she proves just how one-ofa-kind she really is. To her jealous barn-mates, she says, “Don’t be misery moos… / We’re all special!” Ross’ illustrations have a textured feel that digital artwork usually lacks, lending them a rustic look. Browns and grays dominate her cool palette, sometimes making it difficult to differentiate objects. Still, this is a great addition to read-alouds centered on the theme of individuality (with a snack tie-in built right in).

Delightfully different, just like Milly Moo. (Picture book. 3-8)

STARRY NIGHT, HOLD ME TIGHT

Sagendorph, Jean Illus. by Siebold, Kim Running Press Kids (32 pp.) $12.95 | Sep 1, 2011 978-0-7624-4066-5 This debut is a treacly tribute to a mother polar bear’s love for her child.

Gentle, rhyming verse that too often fails in its rhythm both outlines how a mother’s love helps her child grow and describes how the child spends his day. “Big bear hugs, morning, noon, and night. / Momma’s love helps Baby soar like a kite. / Adventures will help Baby Bear learn and grow. / Even when he plays in the snow.” From sliding on the snow and making snow angels to learning how to share and put away toys, Sagendorph tries to pack too much into a story that is already lacking in cohesion—instead of following the pair sequentially through a day, it feels like a hodgepodge of snapshots and lessons. And with verses such as, “When Baby Bear puts away his toys, / Momma Bear is filled with lots of joy,” the lackluster text fails to impress.

Siebold’s illustrations are simple in a lovely way, suiting the youngest of listeners. The barest of details outline the bears, and the spreads are primarily white and shades of greenish-blue.

This doesn’t even come close to the many great bedtime/lullaby books out there with a similar “Mommy loves you” theme. (Picture book. 2-5)

kirkusreviews.com

|

children

&

teens

|

1 october 2011

|

1835

S IS FOR SNOWMAN God’s Wintertime Alphabet

SEVEN LITTLE MICE HAVE FUN ON THE ICE

Wargin, Kathy-jo Illus. by Johnson, Richard Zonderkidz (40 pp.) $15.99 | Sep 1, 2011 978-0-310-71661-7

Yamashita, Haruo Illus. by Iwamura, Kazuo NorthSouth (32 pp.) $16.95 | Oct 1, 2011 978-0-7358-4048-5 Series: Seven Little Mice

Wargin’s latest completes her four-season abecedarian series and relates the wonders of winter to God’s goodness.

First and foremost, this is a celebration of winter-related activities, indoor and out: making snow angels, feeding the birds, baking cookies, sipping hot chocolate, ice skating and sledding. At the same time, the natural wonders of wintertime are brought to the fore: “God cast the Frost sparkling white on the land, / a beautiful blanket spread right from his hand.” From counting blessings on the squares of a warm quilt to seeing God’s love in the light spilling from house windows into the darkness beyond, many of Wargin’s rhyming couplets stress God’s goodness and people’s responsibility to spread that goodness through acts of caring—doing chores and sharing anything from mittens to soup. While Jesus is not specifically mentioned, decorating a tree and exchanging gifts are some of the wintertime activities. Johnson’s softly colored illustrations are vital to filling in details that just cannot be expressed in rhyming couplets, and they add a few activities that aren’t mentioned in the text; the north wind page features skiing, for instance.

A nice addition to seasonal bookshelves that will find extra use in church-school programs. (Picture book. 3-7)

WHEN WILL IT SNOW?

Yamashita’s septuplet mice are back, this time solving the problem of how to get their slip-cautious Mother to go ice fishing with them.

Following an afterschool ice-skating excursion, the sibs are anxious to go ice fishing, just like Little Weasel and his father.

However, Father has to work, and Mother is too afraid of slipping on the ice. But after learning that their Mother used to be called the “Ice-Fishing Princess,” they put their heads together for some problem solving. Some cutting, hammering and tying later, they present Mother with their invention—a sled-chair that they can tow across the ice to the fishing hole. While the children all have fun, they are not as successful as Mother, who proves she still deserves her title. The softly colored illustrations are extremely detailed, giving readers much to peruse, though they are best observed from laps than in a group. Outdoors, wintry whites and blues contrast nicely with the cozy sepia tones that signal the warmth of home. The mice are adorable and expressive, but it’s bit of a pity the children aren’t given individual personalities.

Get the augur and poles ready—this is likely to have children clamoring to try their own hands at ice fishing.

(Picture book. 4-8)

White, Kathryn Illus. by Edgson, Alison Good Books (32 pp.) $16.99 | Oct 1, 2011 978-1-56148-729-5

This lament will strike an emotional chord with anyone who bemoans missing even a minute of fun.

Little Bear is afraid his friends will forget about him during his long winter sleep, and he also fears he will miss out on lots of fun. Squirrel and Mole imaginatively try to show Bear what snow is like, with acorns and muddy puddle splashes standing in for falling snow. It isn’t long before mud “snow” balls are flying thickly. The friends have a blast making snow angels in the sandy soil, but then Bear realizes that his friends will continue playing even after he must go to sleep. Will they want to play with him again in the spring? Mother’s words help console the forlorn tot, “True friends are always there for you.” And with spring’s arrival, Bear’s friends do have one last thing to show him about snow. Edgson’s characters are the epitome of exuberance and joy. Adorable faces capture emotions, while the warm colors of the forest setting add to the emotional tone.

A reassuring way to address that age-old heartbreak of feeling left out and having to miss fun times with friends.

(Picture book. 3-7) 1836

|

1 october 2011

|

children

&

teens

|

This Issue’s Contributors # Kimberly Brubaker Bradley • Timothy Capehart • Ann Childs • Julie Cummins • GraceAnne A. DeCandido • Dave DeChristopher • Lisa Dennis • Carol Edwards • Robin Elliott L. • Brooke Faulkner • Omar Gallaga • Judith Gire • Lynne Heffley • Heather L. Hepler • Megan Honig • Jennifer Hubert • Kathleen T. Isaacs • Laura Jenkins • Betsy Judkins • K. Lesley Knieriem • Angela Leeper • Peter Lewis • Joan Malewitz • Hillias J. Martin • April Mazza • Kathie Meizner • Lisa Moore • R. Moore • John Edward Peters • Rebecca Rabinowitz • Kristy Raff ensberger • Shana Raphaeli • Nancy Thalia Reynolds • Melissa Riddle Chalos • Lesli Rodgers • Ronnie Rom • Leslie L. Rounds • Dean Schneider • Karyn N. Silverman • Meg Smith • Robin Smith • Karin Snelson • Shelley Sutherland • Jennifer Sweeney • Deborah D. Taylor • Gordon West • Monica D. Wyatt • Melissa Yurechko

kirkusreviews.com

|

kirkus indie Kirkus has been keeping an eye on selfpublishing for years, and we’ve never seen anything like the current boom. With the number of self-published titles now pushing 1 million per year, and independent authors utilizing new technologies to sell tens of thousands of copies of their work, the age of indie has truly arrived. Kirkus Indie brings readers the best works by independent authors, and we bring independent authors the crucial tools to get the word out about their books like no one else. We’ll give your book an unbiased, professional review, and then we’ll push that review into the world via our social-media properties, newsletters, website and expanding content. To learn more about Kirkus Indie and start promoting your title, please visit us online at kirkusreviews.com/indie/about.

|

ANYONE’S LOVE STORY

Bayer, Daniela CreateSpace (171 pp.) $9.99 paperback | $9.99 e-book Jun 1, 2011 978-1449927912 Much like life, love is not a destination; by using poetry to depict the stages of the relationship cycle, Bayer writes her way to the answers along that journey.

At one time or another, we all experience love and the loss of love. How smooth our journey is on this route depends on the circumstances of the fall and whether or not the journey allows us find love again. By equal measures, Bayer has felt love and been devastated by its loss. Along the way she suffered greatly, left alone in the wilderness of her heart.

Turning to her muse and confessional poetry as her vehicle, she pieced back together the idea of love from the ashes of confusion and sadness. Bayer, who is a doctoral candidate in health psychology and a blogger, may be in tune with these emotions more deeply than the average traveler. However, it is the format of her collection and the delivery of her words that makes her work so engaging. The book is separated into chapters that function as milestones in her journey. “Falling” begins a descent into the chaotic levels of heartache unknown. “Searching” explores memories and feelings, trying to make sense of what has happened. “Accepting” goes beyond coming to terms with fate, delving into self-acceptance. “Knowing” is really the first baby steps on the other slope of the relationship parabola. “Loving” is fairly self-explanatory, but framed in elegant, fully realized words. “Having” and “Understanding” add the final pieces to the puzzle. All the while, Bayer’s well-written, matter of fact style of dealing out verses and overcoming emotions pour onto the page. This helps to heal the wounded and bring solace to the reader who is ready to find it.

A valuable read for those who love poetry and self-help books—and those looking for answers in a world darkened by the absence of love.

kirkusreviews.com

|

kirkus indie

|

1 october 2011

|

1837

“Finch’s book is exhaustively funny” from magpie

DISASTERS Second Edition Dasgupta, Asim K. AuthorHouse (275 pp.) $17.49 paperback | Jan 13, 2011 978-1452065847 The many varieties of natural and manmade catastrophe are catalogued and mined for sightseeing opportunities in this absorbing compendium-cum-travelogue.

The author is not only a medical doctor with a scientific turn of mind and a lifelong fascination with disasters, but an inveterate traveler with a knack for showing up amid the ruins. (When he can’t, his daughter and son-in-law, both BBC reporters, often send him dispatches from the wreckage.) He deploys all these penchants to good effect in investigating every kind of mass calamity one can think of. (This second edition includes a new section on global warming.) His chapter on volcanoes, for example, includes tours of Iceland, where frozen glaciers and boiling eruptions clash in a seething brew; of Mediterranean islands bubbling with toxic gas; and of a Hawaiian volcano where fiery lava plunges steaming into the sea to create new land. A chapter on hurricanes features the harrowing story of a friend who waited out Ivan in his attic while the ocean swept through his living room. A section on starvation includes Dasgupta’s boyhood memories of the Bengal famine of 1943, while the chapter on industrial accidents includes his first-hand impressions of the Union Carbide chemical factory in Bhopal and a sad, evocative reminiscence of surviving one of India’s frequent train crashes. And a chapter on floods takes him on a river cruise up the awesomely beautiful but polluted Ganges that results in an intestinal ailment that is itself an almost epic disaster. Dasgupta fills the book with interesting statistics and lucid expositions of the mechanisms behind plate tectonics, solar cycles and other natural phenomena, but his meandering, omnivorous curiosity leads him into digressions on everything from the construction of igloos to the stalking tactics of tigers.

The result is a page-turning assemblage of scientific lore illuminated by rapt personal observations.

A fi ne disaster tour-guide, replete with interesting factoids and vivid reportage.

THE MOLLY LAKE CHRONICLES The Triangles of Quebec Endicott, Samuel Griffin (507 pp.) $4.75 e-book | May 1, 2011 978-098343382 In Endicott’s first installment of his historical fiction series, girl-hero Molly Lake fights to reunite her family while a European war for North America rages.

From the first page, Molly Lake is on a mission. Her baby brother has been pitilessly murdered and her mother carried 1838

|

1 october 2011

|

kirkus indie

|

away by French soldiers, so Molly’s vengeful father, with his daughter in tow, sets out to save his wife and reunite the family. The time is 1759 and French and British forces are battling for control of portions of North America. Endicott’s book reads like a blockbuster movie; chapters are a few pages in length, cliffhangers abound and characters are drawn economically, for maximum effect. This is an action-packed story, the cast of characters drawn in bold, primary colors. Molly is a familiar, plucky heroine; the beautiful kind of tomboy who can win over the most hardened, notorious of seamen, the sort of girl who can fearlessly battle Micmac Indians, deploy her flawless French to fool French citizenry of her identity and even become the most dangerous of military assets—a spy who also sees good in some who are supposed to be her enemies. Again and again, Molly’s cleverness, fortitude and generous heart save her from mortal danger. Endicott’s past life in the military is on full display here; the author details military strategy with the precision and care that some writers devote to character development.

This is not a book for readers who want complex characters, nuanced personal dynamics or original dialogue. Only in the final 100 or so pages does the heroine act like an adolescent girl coming of age among men. In those pages, Molly breaks hearts and realizes that she’s in the thralls of first love, despite the inevitable dangers of her desire. While most of the characters are familiar standards in an action story, the star of the book is its setting. Colonial-era military practices and Quebec itself are lovingly described, becoming a rich backdrop for action.

A superbly researched book about the French and British fight for North America, Endicott’s story muscles through adventure after adventure, all seen through the eyes of an undeniable heroine.

MAGPIE

Finch, Curt Carrier Pigeon ( pp.)

Oct 1, 2011 A fast-paced, bizarre, iconoclastic farce anchored by an endearing filial relationship between a journalist and his assistant.

Finch’s novel follows Arthur Magpie—abrasive, highbrow, English journalist and high-functioning, chain-smoking alcoholic—who almost always calls his assistant “darling” and crashes his automobile into something on almost every road. The narrator of the tale is Arthur’s assistant, Ian Swansea, who recounts in an author’s note that he was employed by Mr. Magpie from 2002-2010, following their first chance encounter during an incident involving stampeding bulls, loose from a staged apocalypse complete with ceremonial robes and a Venetian mask. Finch’s book is exhaustively funny; as Arthur and Ian move from assignment to assignment, there are book jokes, philosophy jokes, smutty jokes, pratfalls and shtick, and wild plot turns around every corner. The story is as outlandish as its chapter titles, which include “Another Donkey Holiday,” “Disco Cupcakes” and “Burning the Ken.” The

kirkusreviews.com

|

one-liners are riotous—”Christ was a lot of things, but he was a socialist first and foremost”—and lampooned versions of political figures and authors, the targets of Arthur’s cutting pen or irreverent tongue, are amusing. But the strongest laughs come from the work Finch puts into developing Arthur and Ian’s rapport. Most of the novel reads like an idea for a whodunit drowned in Benzedrine and barbiturates and re-imagined as a satire of the last few decades. Without the genuinely caring master-acolyte relationship, the book is multidirectional to the point of being a bit of a blur. So many characters are introduced and continents traversed, literally and metaphorically, that the loose plot doesn’t unwind until the end of Chapter 5 (out of 10), “After Hours in the Afterlife,” when it’s revealed that the death threat Arthur received earlier was perpetrated by a former student, and that the story racing toward resolution, peaceful or bloody, regards the plot on Arthur’s life. Through it all, Arthur doesn’t stop for air, and readers won’t either, so long as they don’t mind diversions.

Finch treats serious issues whimsically without being fl ippant, to deeply entertaining effect.

NINE INSIGHTS For A Happy and Successful Life Gibson, Mitchell Earl CreateSpace (186 pp.) $14.95 paperback | May 27, 2011 978-1463538088 Gibson’s (The Human Body of Light, 2010, etc.) latest speaks to readers looking to trade in pain and suffering for lasting happiness.

The book’s content stems from Gibson’s extensive work as a psychiatrist, and experiences with his patients inspire the insights he shares. The title’s nine sections stress that an open, inquisitive mind can influence a person’s quality of life; becoming mindful of one’s thoughts, and viewing them as resources and cues when making decisions and processing events, arms a person with a new outlook. Attracting a more fulfilling life involves tapping inner resources and removing outer chaos, and readers dominated by discontent and unrealized desires can benefit from these insights that have already helped Gibson’s patients. The author phrases each insight in one trite, platitudinous sentence, but switches to a smart, engaging style when elaborating his theories. He narrates poignant moments and dialogues from his psychiatric practice, offering detailed accounts of people overcoming emotional malaise. Gibson also includes examples where success occurred despite adversity in the lives of famous people and during historical events. Learning about the many failures Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling endured before her career took off, or reading how Albert Einstein’s questioning of widely accepted beliefs led to his society-altering contributions, entertains readers while elucidating the book’s guiding principles. Gibson succeeds in translating erudite knowledge and professional experiences into a conversational style that still retains formality. |

By supporting his theories with examples of human interactions and specific life events rather than relying on heavier technical or medical ideas, Gibson engages his audience while simultaneously imparting the help readers arrived to find. The book’s concepts aren’t dramatically different from other titles in the genre, but those looking to add to their arsenal of self-help tools have nothing to lose by including Gibson’s title.

For readers looking for quick, engaging inspiration, Gibson’s sharp and credible book is a solid resource.

LEARNING CURVES

LaRue, Dorie CreateSpace (307 pp.) $14.95 paperback | $9.99 e-book Jun 17, 2011 978-1460982907 LaRue’s novel satirizes the backbiting politics and scandals of a mediocre Southern university through the eyes of its faculty.

Romantic scholar and professor Joyce Michalak returns triumphant from sabbatical, having caught the brass ring in academia—future publication by the esteemed Oxford University Press—in hopes of acquiring tenure to the English department.

But Joyce’s senior colleague, gatekeeper to the department and nemesis, Philip Tinsley, will go out of his way to shoot down Joyce’s chances. As Joyce confronts her daily life of teaching apathetic students, rubbing elbows with celebrity guest professors and competing with the other lit teachers angling for tenure, she becomes romantically involved with one of her students, a young Bosnian man named Alexi. With Philip already out to ruin her chances at tenure, Joyce not only keeps the illicit (according to university rules) relationship a secret but goes on the offensive by filing a false grievance against Philip and digging into his sexually predatory habits. LaRue’s novel gets stronger as it progresses and she focuses on a few central characters rather than the many ancillaries in the first part of the book. No one is who they seem as the evangelical (and adulterous) Chancellor Prouty wheels and deals with less-than-respectable corporations and institutions to bolster funds for the university. Prouty’s hypocrisy and pathetic soul-searching are particularly funny and over the top. LaRue portrays Joyce as a flawed, self-absorbed woman who, nonetheless, is an appealing protagonist. The author makes sure that everyone gets what they deserve, as is often the case in a good satire—Joyce struggles to reach some sort of epiphany as a result of her affair with Alexi. Throughout the story, affairs abound and who will catch whom doing what first is a key element that keeps the pages turning in this intelligently written, humorous take on the ugly underside of academic life.

A well-crafted, sardonic look at university life.

kirkusreviews.com

|

kirkus indie

|

1 october 2011

|

1839

“Gory surgeries, grisly autopsies, baffling ailments and the JFK assassination enliven these entertaining if sometimes icky medical memoirs.” from dead wrong

N-SPACE Stories, Poems, and Music of the Future

DEAD WRONG And Other Episodes from a Life in Medicine

Martin, Chris iUniverse (521 pp.) $37.95 | paper $27.95 | $9.99 e-book Apr 27, 2011 978-1450260893 978-1450260916 paperback

McConnell, Thomas H. CreateSpace (199 pp.) $14.95 paperback | Jul 28, 2011 978-1453845707

In Martin’s collection of science-fiction stories, Lt. Jana Maines steers merchant ships of the Space Trading Commission through the fourth dimension, known as n-Space.

When Maines spots a three centuries’ old derelict—a forgotten spaceship—in deep space, she convinces her captain to give approval for an exploration mission. Good looks aside, Maines’ charisma and unyielding fortitude are a byproduct of her desire to financially assist her family on the farming planet of Ceres.

In most cases, Maines’ obdurate nature lands her in precarious situations, but her self-confidence never wavers. A strongwilled female protagonist coupled with a realistic, developed portrayal of the fourth dimension is one of Martin’s strengths, and his intriguing storyline, illustrations and innate ability to make foreign objects and places seem familiar accentuate the quality of his work. Integrating short stories, poetry and songs into Maines’ odyssey, Martin provides insight into the lieutenant’s purpose behind each mission, her life on Ceres with her family and her domineering father. Though a work of science fiction, Martin’s focus transcends spaceships and deep-space transports; he explores the relationship between the lieutenant and her daunting, sometimes overbearing captains (who bear a strong resemblance to Maines’ father), religious philosophy on the planet of Tachon and a light romance on Oceanus. However, Maines’ attachment to her family and the pangs of loneliness permeate every story. Whether Maines is standing beside a dying woman on an ancient derelict in deep space, battling with a prophet who claims himself as God or trying to save millions of fish eggs crucial for the survival of a planet, Martin connects her exploits to her family. Amid the various side stories, readers may find it easy to skim over Martin’s invented words and numerous technical and physics references to explain n-Space.

To compensate, the author includes an in-depth glossary and notes at the end to enhance understanding of n-Space. While Maines’ internal dialogue becomes excessive at points, this is a minor point considering the myriad positives the book offers.

Martin’s varied literary structure and assimilation of human emotions, fused with a fast-paced, imaginative storyline and realistic science fiction will leave audiences marveling over Maines’ adventures in n-Space.

Gory surgeries, grisly autopsies, baffling ailments and the JFK assassination enliven these entertaining if sometimes icky medical memoirs.

McConnell is a professor of pathology who admits he dislikes doing autopsies, and as we read his slice-by-slice replays—”When I cut into her abdomen and an odious rush of feces spilled from the incision”—we can’t really blame him. His 50-year career landed him in plenty of scrapes outside of the morgue as well. A stint as an Army doc found him jumping out of airplanes, performing a circumcision on an uncooperative paratrooper and standing vigil over the casket of President Kennedy. (An assassination buff ever since, he offers tart commentary on the competence of the military pathologists who autopsied Kennedy and floats an intriguing alternative to the “magic bullet” theory.) There are vacations filled with impromptu consultations; on one Grand Canyon rafting expedition, he treats heat stroke, panic attacks and a bite to the butt by a rattlesnake. In a noir-ish vignette, he testifies in an abortion prosecution before a vaguely corrupt Mississippi courtroom. And there are many scenes of McConnell performing a doctor’s most basic task—struggling to figure out what’s ailing a patient, sometimes in the reflective quiet of the pathology lab, sometimes in the chaos of the emergency room. The author fills the book with absorbing medical procedural that presents medicine as an intellectual puzzle with its share of triumphant deduction and humiliating cluelessness. (One case, resolved only after umpteen lab tests and a home visit that reveals a tell-tale enema bottle, is a diagnostic mystery worthy of a House episode.) This is mainly a collection of vivid shaggy-dog stories, but there’s also an emotional resonance to McConnell’s reminiscences; as he wrestles with his patients’ suffering, he reveals that the physician’s anguish is also inherent in the art of healing.

Engrossing in every sense.

VIRTUALLY YOURS, JONATHAN NEWMAN

Rosell, Robert CreateSpace (325 pp.) $14.95 paperback | $2.99 e-book Jul 21, 2011 978-1461157458 To provide for his family in an America run by libertarianism, a man becomes a living organ farm for a large medical corporation.

In the not-too-distant future, the charismatic Enrico Prima and the Freedom First party have transformed America into

1840

|

1 october 2011

|

kirkus indie

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

a libertarian country where big corporations rule. In order to pay his son’s growing health care expenses in this uncaring society, Jonathan Newman is forced to take a lucrative but horrific job with the medical conglomerate QualLab. As their new “employee,” Jonathan is strapped to a table that will mine and sell his body for fluids and tissues over the next two years, all the while isolating him from his family. Rosell’s debut tosses the reader headfirst into the antiseptic world of Jonathan’s QualLab cell, with effective imagery recalling works like Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange. Obviously political, the novel is respectably transparent with its leanings (take its slogan “and life is no tea party”), and even as a partisan cautionary tale the plot is never sacrificed for its message. The novel’s greatest strength is its world-building, hypothesizing the horrors of an unregulated free market and the nuance and gaudiness of such a system. In the spirit of good future histories, the book employs excellent foreshadowing, revealing the cracks in its world gradually, while organically introducing the reader not just to this new America, but also showing the ways in which the country was changed so dramatically. It falls short in places—the novel’s use of footnotes feels uninspired, as much of their information could have been fed naturally into the narrative and better served the story overall. Also the circumstances that allowed Enrico Prima to lead America into a libertarian dystopia are a little too vague, even with liberal suspension of disbelief. There are a few smaller problems—cliché villains and trite sexual situations, but this feels like nitpicking since Rosell’s novel is a consistently fun read with a strong message at its core.

Occasionally shallow, but absolutely entertaining.

Buddhism, but Rosenberg stops short of proselytizing. He contrasts his approach to living with that of Ted, his evidently fictional coworker; while Rosenberg seeks an enlightened view and understanding of the world, Ted chooses to live comfortably, albeit unaware. Rosenberg doesn’t judge Ted (or others like him) for his choice; he simply points out the superiority of Dark Buddhism over unconscious living. Unfortunately, there are more examples of how not to live than of how to live consciously, and the pages given to describing Zen Buddhism far outnumber those given to Objectivism. The choice of “dark” is also unfortunate, as there is nothing particularly dark about Dark Buddhism. Rosenberg adopted the term from Star Wars; the dark side of that series’ Force as practiced by the self-interested Sith “seemed closer to what I was synthesizing” than the Force used by the selfless Jedi. One appendix provides further instruction on meditation (a key practice of Dark Buddhism), and another supplies a bibliography and recommendations for further reading. The middle appendix, “Reality and Enlightenment: From West to East,” seems incomplete and adds little to the subject of Dark Buddhism.

Dark Buddhism thoughtfully melds selected aspects of Zen Buddhism and Objectivism into a practical philosophy of conscious living; even if this doesn’t work for you, it may shed some light onto your pursuit of happiness.

NEMO THE MOLE RAT Stories from the Woodland Samos , (Amos Amir) Illus. by Eilat, EyalDanieli, Ruvik AuthorHouse (47 pp.) $23.51 paperback | Jul 14, 2011 978-1456781873

DARK BUDDHISM Integrating Zen Buddhism and Objectivism Rosenberg, Morgan D. CreateSpace (222 pp.) $19.99 paperback | Aug 12, 2011 978-1463625795 Combine Zen Buddhism-plus-self with Ayn Rand’s Objectivism-plus-emotions to get one person’s path to daily enlightenment.

Rosenberg aims to provide a practical guide to daily living by combining the best features of his two favorite philosophies, “with the psychology of self-esteem being the glue that binds the two philosophies together.” He asserts that the selfless and compassionate aspects of Zen Buddhism conflict with rationality, reason and a modern lifestyle. His Dark Buddhism replaces these aspects with a strong sense of self and healthy self-esteem. Objectivism, Rosenberg says, requires a person to switch off emotion and replace it with pure reason, but he argues that people need to listen to their feelings. Rosenberg employs his version of Buddhism’s Eightfold Path in pursuit of Objectivism’s virtue of self-interest—what is best and healthiest for him now and in the future. Against Objectivism’s impracticality, he offers advice based on his success in applying Dark |

Israeli author Samos mixes real-life animal lore into a colorful tale of woodland creatures banding together when humankind encroaches on their forest home.

Told in the voice of Nemo, a spirited, observant mole rat, the saga begins with a rainstorm that nearly drowns Nemo and his brother Chico in their burrow. The little mole has another narrow escape, this time from the talons of Attila the hawk. Then Dolly, a “gossipy”—and clearly literate—gecko, learns that the forest is to be cleared for the building of human houses. Under a truce between predators and prey, Max the owl holds an emergency woodland council and the decision is made—the animals must leave the forest for a new home. As bulldozers close in, Attila, two foxes and a snake scout out the possibilities, and the risky trek begins.

Just as all seems well, the newcomers are confronted by a battleminded band of fearsome, territorial crows. While the plot may be familiar, Samos infuses it with quirky humor and compassion, and despite cartoon-style illustrations that give Nemo dark glasses and Chico a baseball cap, tidbits of real-life nature are nicely integrated throughout—Mole rats may be nearly blind, Nemo points out, but they have acute senses of hearing and smell; Boomer the woodpecker uses his “fantastic sense of hearing” to find caterpillars under the tree bark; Dolly the gecko hunts insects in the crevices of a human habitat called “the country club”; and Arthur may be a

kirkusreviews.com

|

kirkus indie

|

1 october 2011

|

1841

“[A] beautiful compendium of not just memorabilia, but commentary on the importance of community in the art of filmmaking.” from jaws

JAWS Memories From Martha’s Vineyard

“very handsome brown and yellow lizard,” but his frightening hiss “really got on my nerves,” Nemo confides.

A quirky, entertaining tale for ages 6 to 11, interwoven with humor, real-world information about animal behavior and compassion for animals who must survive the daily challenges that nature throws at them—and the consequences of human endeavor.

MAXIMIZING LINKEDIN FOR SALES AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING An Unofficial, Practical Guide to Selling and Developing B2B Business on LinkedIn Schaffer, Neal CreateSpace (208 pp.) $21.95 paperback | Jul 18, 2011 978-1463685805 Schaffer’s second book is a friendly, yet detailed, tutorial peppered with gems of insight into LinkedIn functionality and etiquette.

The book opens with two chapters aimed at building confidence that LinkedIn’s reputation as a space for business networking makes it ideal for business-to-business sales. Then it launches into the various functions available on LinkedIn. The book seems to have two audiences: the staffer who needs technical and tactical support in starting and executing a LinkedIn account, and the manager who needs to decide whether a company should systematically enter LinkedIn and then develop internal policy to reach business goals. The book stands out from others in the genre in its managerial insight. Schaffer’s case studies, pros/cons lists and discussions would help any manager sort out the value of different strategies and options. For staff, step-by-step instructions and advice on LinkedIn etiquette— especially strategies for handling those socially awkward introduction requests—will build confidence in new users. Because every aspect of LinkedIn is covered, even those with some experience on the social networking site could learn something new. With all of the value in this book, the organization doesn’t always match the needs to the two competing audiences. While managers could read straight through the first two chapters that justify LinkedIn as a sales tool, other gems of insight are buried deep in paragraphs later in the book. Notes on developing policies for specific aspects of LinkedIn aren’t collected in a single place, but intermingled within other content areas. Although this organization reads logically, it will lead the manager whose goal is to develop LinkedIn policy to some page flipping. Still, the insights gained are worth the minor inconvenience.

The newbies’ workshop for everything managers and staffers need to start, plan and execute a sales and marketing strategy using LinkedIn.

1842

|

1 october 2011

|

kirkus indie

|

Taylor, Matt Moonrise Media (296 pp.) $49.95 paperback | Sep 29, 2011 978-0983350200 Loaded with archival material, Taylor’s coffee table book captures the impact a major Hollywood production can have on the area in which it was filmed, as well as the people who live there.

There have been dozens of books about the making of Steven Spielberg’s wildly influential 1975 film Jaws, but never before has the production been so exhaustedly chronicled from the viewpoint of the outsiders—the men and women of Martha’s Vineyard whose lives were turned upside-down by the making of the movie. It’s shocking that this many black-and-white photographs of the filmmaking process were even taken during the much-chronicled production, let alone that Taylor and his team were able to track them all down and, most importantly, provide context and continuity to link them into a gorgeously produced coffee table book; much more than a mere series of pretty stills, Taylor’s work ambitiously offers what amounts to a nearly sceneby-scene accounting of the making of one of history’s mostbeloved films. The volume is so impressive that Spielberg himself penned the foreword, in which he seems truly grateful for the anecdotal history provided by Taylor. Divided into six chapters that cover events from the pre-production in the winter of 1973 to the film’s release on June 20th, 1975, the book intercuts archival material, such as newspaper clippings from the era and hundreds of never-before-seen photos taken by local bystanders, with interviews from both sides of the production—the locals and the filmmakers. The result is a remarkable collection of viewpoints that chronicles how a film can impact a locale, from the men and women cast as extras to the mailman derailed by street closures.

It’s a wonderfully diverse array of interview subjects, not merely focusing on the people credited at the end of the film.

Taylor has taken his love for a specific fi lm and turned it into something greater—a beautiful compendium of not just memorabilia, but commentary on the importance of community in the art of fi lmmaking.

DIAMONDS IN THE DUST Tucker, Shirley Mowat Athanatos (184 pp.) $14.95 paperback | Dec 1, 2011 978-0982277690

A white woman saves a family of South African orphans from those who would prey upon them.

Opening with a chase and a violent thunderstorm, Tucker’s novel immediately grabs the reader’s attention. Ida Morgan rescues a young child from a storm-swollen river and, in helping the girl, inadvertently places herself in varying degrees of

kirkusreviews.com

|

“A rich, complex novel that mixes art and life into a story about the decisions that lead to healing or hurt.” from the mosaic artist

danger. Leaving the gated safety of her compound, she ventures away from the city and into the extreme squalor where the orphan and her siblings live in an abandoned dwelling. Along the way, Ida dodges a riot of drunken young men who throw rocks at cars and beat anyone unlucky enough to cross their path (they beat Ida’s hired hand and leave him for dead). She encounters children so hungry they pick dry porridge from the ground because there is nothing else to eat, finds a child who is ill due to a lack of sanitized drinking water and helps the children escape an organized ring of men who rape children in the belief that children will not pass along the AIDS virus. As Ida brings the children back to her home, she has encounters with the local police, who seem to care little for her plight in dealing with the children, and a social system so burdened with orphans infected with AIDS that it is almost paralyzed. Throughout most the novel, the Christian element is subtle to the point of seeming almost nonexistent, but it becomes more pronounced as the story progresses and the reader learns of a tragic personal connection between Ida and one of the men arrested for beating her hired hand. Additionally, a subplot involving an abusive, racist neighbor brings depth and crushing reality to a work already laden with trauma. Glimpses of culture and language throughout keep the novel feeling like the recounting of a situation with which the author is familiar.

An addictive storyline that pulls at the reader’s social conscience and sense of justice, delivered in an honest, humane manner.

THE MOSAIC ARTIST

Ward, Jane CreateSpace (349 pp.) $14.00 paperback | $7.99 e-book Mar 22, 2011 978-1453860045 A vibrant landscape of a family shattered by divorce, letting time and choices bring the pieces back together in moving on or letting go.

Ward’s (Hunger, 2001) second novel begins from the perspective of Jack Manoli, lying on his deathbed in the condo he shares with his much younger second wife, Sylvie. His love for Sylvie, his former-secretary-turned-businesspartner-and-wife, is absorbing and passionate enough to have caused Jack to start up an affair many years ago and leave his children, Mark and Shelley, with their unstable mother. Upon Jack’s death, his now-adult children are left to decide what is to become of the Rockport lake house that was Sylvie and Jack’s sanctuary, the foundation where their affair solidified into a life together and the site full of bad memories for Mark, as it was where father and son’s relationship broke apart. For Mark, a pot-smoking mosaic artist, art imitates life; his anger is dangerously bottled up, destroying his relationship with his live-in girlfriend just as he shatters ceramic and glass for his mosaic landscapes. Shelley is a teacher working tirelessly to protect her younger brother and create the family life she never had for her husband and two daughters. She hopes to help Mark find a balance “somewhere in |

between perfection and devastation” creating a reality “where all the many pieces of us—the pleasant and painful—can be reconfigured into an imperfect but solid-enough life”— something their father also strived to create in choosing Sylvie. Ward fashions characters with rich detail, allowing each to leave a distinct impression. While not always likable (Sylvie comes off as a selfish stepmother at times), they are nonetheless genuine. Building layer upon layer of each family member’s story, Ward shows the complexity of divorce from all sides, even revisiting Jack’s thoughts throughout the book. Mark and Shelley are faced with what to do with the lake house and whether to shed the hurt caused by their father’s choices by making new choices for themselves to gain happiness, peace and, ultimately, freedom.

A rich, complex novel that mixes art and life into a story about the decisions that lead to healing or hurt.

RETERNITY

Wooten, Neal Mirror (239 pp.) $6.99 paperback | $2.99 e-book Jul 1, 2011 978-1612250410 Wooten’s novel is an earnest comingof-age tale as well as an inventive look at the contested borderland between science and faith.

Teenage Max is every parent’s dream: whip smart, he tutors his classmates in math and chomps at the bit to sign up for college science; a hard worker, he puts in extra hours at the local grocery store to help out his parents; he drives old ladies to church and helps them pay for food out of his meager salary; and he’s a devout Christian who attends his father’s parish every Sunday morning and can cite the Bible chapter and verse. But he’s also headed off to college, and his parents fear that the temptations of university life will change their boy wonder.

Wooten’s tale tracks Max’s first year at Cedarbluff, a Christian college in Ohio. At Cedarbluff, Max befriends the Falstaffian Rollo, falls for the pugnacious Julie and battles fellow pastor’s son Brad in scriptural debate. But his most compelling interactions are with Professor Nowak, a physics teacher who tasks each new crop of students with the “Near Impossible Assignment,” a semester-long project intended to challenge and confound. Max’s assignment is simple: magnetize a lead ball. But the experiments he undertakes will bend the laws of nature, test his fledgling faith and upend his life. With Max, Wooten delivers a well-rounded, believable protagonist, and he surrounds his hero with compelling foils and game foes. Wooten’s dialogue is true-to-life, and his feel for pacing and dramatic tension is excellent. However, certain details feel a bit off—Max’s high-school mentee has to teach him how to text, his family has dial-up Internet and he has to take college algebra if he wants to qualify for an advanced physics course. (Most boy geniuses probably knocked algebra out of the park around age 13.) But these are small ripples that barely disturb the flow of this very strong young-adult fiction.

Nearly impossible to put down.

kirkusreviews.com

|

kirkus indie

|

1 october 2011

|

1843

kirkus q & a w i t h j e a n ay e r

TALES OF CHINKAPIN CREEK

Jean Ayer Chinkapin Publishers (131 pp.) $10.00 paperback $9.99 e-book June 27, 2011 978-0615452715

Q: What inspired you to write about your family?

SVP, SVP, Finance Finance JJ A AM ME ES S H HU UL LL L

A: My mother comes from a fascinating family down in West Virginia—both my parents do. My father’s from another county, but we’re all West Virginians forever. My mother and father were getting quite old and they were living in Connecticut, which is not anywhere near West Virginia, and they were herding sheep, of all things, at the age of about 60. And it didn’t go very well. The breeds of sheep that are favored now are really quite fragile and they don’t give birth very easily, and my mother and father were spending nights in the barn helping these animals give birth. It was just too much. So I suggested that she stop doing that and that she start writing about West Virginia instead. At first she was very shy and she gave everybody Hispanic names because she was listening to the TV and hearing Hispanic names. She would send me these stories [in the mail] and I’d write back and say, “Mother! Let’s have the real story. Come on—tell me who they really were.” Finally, I wore her down. So I have a whole basket full of stories still unwritten. I’ll be into Volume Two soon.

SVP, SVP, Marketing Marketing M M II K KE E H HE E JJ N NY Y

Q: How did you put it all together?

K K II R RK K US US M ME E DI DI A AL LL LC C # # President President M W II N MA A RC RC W NK KE EL LM MA AN N

SVP, SVP, Online Online PAU PAU L L H HO OF FF FM MA AN N # # Copyright Copyright 2011 2011 by

by Kirkus Kirkus Media LLC. LLC. KIRKUS Media KIRKUS REVIEWS (ISSN REVIEWS (ISSN 0042 0042 6598) 6598) is is published published semisemimonthly by Kirkus Media monthly by Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 6411 Burleson Burleson Road, Road, LLC, Austin, Austin, TX TX 78744.

78744.

Subscription prices Subscription prices are are $169 $169 for for professionals professionals ($199 ($199 International) and and $129 $129 International) ($169 ($169 International) International) for for individual individual consumers consumers (home (home address required).

Single address required). Single copy: $25.00. $25.00. All All other other rates rates copy: on on request. request.

POSTMASTER: POSTMASTER: Send Send address address changes changes to to Kirkus Kirkus Reviews, Reviews, PO PO Box Box 3601, Northbrook, IL 3601, Northbrook, IL 60065-3601.

60065-3601.

Periodicals Postage Postage Paid Paid Periodicals at Austin, at Austin, TX TX 78710 78710 and and at at additional mailing offi additional mailing offices. ces.

1844

Nellie Wister grew up in rural West Virginia at the turn of the 20th century, when horses shared the road with Model T’s and Civil War veterans gathered for annual reunions not far from her family’s farm.

Her daughter, Jean Ayer, now 86-years-old, preserved Nellie’s memories and precious photographs like fruit in a Mason jar in a collection of short stories called Tales of Chinkapin Creek, which earned a Kirkus star.

Here, Ayer gives the back story on her home state, sharing historical tidbits (and beauty tips) from the “West-by-God Virginians” of a bygone era.

|

A: History gets rewritten every two minutes. There’s always somebody with an ax to grind who wants to look at it from his point of view. What I’ve tried to do is write it as my mother told it to me. I’ve tried to be very straightforward and I think I have.

Q: Did you meet any of the characters in her stories?

A: Some of them I did. On the cover of the book is this wonderful picture of my great grandmother, my grandmother and my aunt. I remember my grandmother. She was quite a character. She was very beautiful—she had a very small waist and she was very proud of herself. They lived on the southern branch of the Potomac River, which runs straight into West Virginia. It’s got very steep banks. My grandmother was a great swimmer and she and her sisters would dive off the banks straight into the river. They were really quite interesting women, all of them.

1 october 2011

|

kirkus indie

|

I love their long hair.

Isn’t that something? They never washed it, don’t you know? They ran cornmeal through it. I think this may have had some effect on its never losing color.

Q: Did you grow up in the same farmhouse as they did?

A: No, but I spent my summers there. The house itself is gorgeous. It’s an old house that rambles on and on; it’s up a step here and down a step there. It’s very Southern. West Virginia is a mixed-up state and this part of West Virginia is quite Southern. They had what we called a “walk” out back where the slaves lived and they cooked for the white people who lived in the main part of the house. All the black people, as soon as the Civil War came they all ran away—thank God— and they all went up in the hills and they’re still there.

Q: So your family owned slaves?

A: My family owned a lot of slaves and I have a portion of my great-great-grandfather’s will, which lists them all. They weren’t given any last names. They were all buried there on the farm and one day my uncle, who took over the farm after my grandfather died, dug up all the graves. I’m not sure he realized what he was doing, he was just cleaning up the rocks—there are a lot of rocks in West Virginia—and he had this guy working for him, a very superstitious local fellow who came running up to the house and said, “I’m not going to work down there anymore.” He quit forever because he thought he was going to be pursued by ghosts.

Q: Was your family superstitious?

A: Oh, no, not at all. They’re Presbyterians. Come on, do you know what a Presbyterian is? They’re very hard-headed people.

Q: How would you describe a typical West Virginian?

A: Oh, golly. We’re just like everybody else. We’re all very different. The real problem about West Virginia is that it was part of Virginia, as you know, and it was very neglected. There was a very bumpy bunch of mountains [the Shenandoah Mountains] in the middle that cut it off from the gorgeous, very upper class, governed part of Virginia on the eastern side.

And so it didn’t get any attention, it didn’t get any money, it didn’t get anything. So the Civil War came along, which we call the War Between the States, and it decided to secede. We were glad to be shucked of Virginia, as we said. We call ourselves the “West-byGod Virginians.”

–By Devon Glenn

kirkusreviews.com

|

s tat e m e n t o f ow n e r s h i p, management, and circulation 1. Title: Kirkus Reviews 2. Publication Number: 078-070 3. Date of Filing: October 1, 2011 4. Issue Frequency: Twice a month (1st & 15th) 5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 24 6. 2010 Annual Subscription Price: $199.00 7. Complete Mailing Address of Office of Publication: Kirkus Media LLC 6411 Burleson Rd Austin, TX 78744 8. Headquarters Office of Publisher: Kirkus Media LLC 6411 Burleson Rd Austin, TX 78744 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses: Publisher: Marc Winkelman 6411 Burleson Rd Austin, TX 78744 Editor: Eric Liebetrau 6411 Burleson Rd Austin, TX 78744 Managing Editor: Eric Liebetrau 6411 Burleson Rd Austin, TX 78744

A. Total number of copies (net press run) B. Paid and/or requested circulation 1. Paid/requested outside-county mail subscriptions 2. Paid in-county subscriptions 3. Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales, and other non-USPS paid distribution 4. Other classes mailed through the USPS C. Total paid and/or requested circulation D. Free distribution by mail 1. Outside-county 2. In-county 3. Other classes mailed through the USPS 4. Outside the mail E. Total free distribution F. Total distribution G. Copies not distributed H. Total I. Percent paid

10. Owner: Herbert Simon, Revocable Trust 6411 Burleson Rd Austin, TX 78744 Kirkus Management LLC 6411 Burleson Rd Austin, TX 78744 Calendar Holdings LLC 6411 Burleson Rd Austin, TX 78744 11. There are no bondholders, mortgagees and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities.

12. Tax Status: The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for Federal income tax purposes have not changed during preceding 12 months.

Publication Title: Kirkus Reviews Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: Oct. 1, 2011 Extent and Nature of Circulation: National distribution to libraries, publishers, publicists and other publishing professionals.

Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months

No. copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date

1959

2023

962 0

960 0

209 63 1234

200 64 1224

413 0 167 0 580 1815 144 1959 68.02%

685 0 0 0 685 1909 114 2023 64.12%

Marc Winkelman, Publisher

|

kirkusreviews.com

|

kirkus indie

|

1 october 2011

|

1845

Tanglewood takes kids where only books can lead them

Starred review ★ “In this chilling debut, Mullin seamlessly weaves meticulous details about science, geography, agriculture and slaughter into...a fully immersive and internally consistent world scarily close to reality.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“A 13-year-old boy joins a caravan to find someone who knew his dead father and encounters a sand sea of dangers in ancient China, 630 C.E. ... this is reminiscent of the work of Lloyd Alexander ... an interesting adventure.”

—Kirkus Reviews

Ashfall Mike Mullin | 476 pp. | Ages: 14+ ISBN: 978-1-933718-55-2 | $16.95

Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan Hildi Kang | 200 pp. | Ages: 8-12 ISBN: 978-1-933718-54-5 | $14.95

Distributed to the trade by PGW/Perseus and major wholesalers

www.tanglewoodbooks.com www.tanglewoodbooks.com