January 01, 2014: Volume LXXXII, No 1

Featuring 302 Industry-First Reviews of Fiction, Nonfiction and Children's & Teen

KIRKUS VOL. LXXXII, NO.

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JANUARY

2014

REVIEWS

CHILDREN'S & TEEN

Cat Says Meow

by Michael Arndt An eye-catching picture book marries typography and line to describe animals and the sounds they make. p. 72

FICTION

The Heaven of Animals

by David James Poissant The author pens a debut collection of unsparing yet warmly empathetic stories. p. 22

INDIE

NONFICTION

Five Came Back

by Mark Harris A comprehensive look at the careers of five legendary directors who put their Hollywood lives on freeze-frame while they went off to fight in the only ways they knew how p. 50

ON THE COVER

Timothy A. Pychyl moves from indie to interdependent. p. 122 Also in this issue: Our semiannual board-book roundup p. 95

You thought there'd been enough dystopian fiction, until lyrical novelist Chang-rae entered the fray with his new novel On Such a Full Sea. p. 14

Lee

from the editor’s desk

Martha Grimes Gets Her Revenge B Y C LA I B ORNE

SM I T H

Chairman H E R B E RT S I M O N # President & Publisher M A RC W I N K E L M A N Chief Operating Officer M E G L A B O R D E KU E H N mkuehn@kirkus.com

Photo courtesy Michael Thad Carter

In November 2010, a New York Supreme Court judge dismissed most of the lawsuit brought by agent Peter Lampack against bestselling mystery writer Martha Grimes, his former client, and Penguin, her then-publisher. Lampack claimed that he was owed the commission on one of Grimes’ novels because the “option clause” —a standard part of many contracts that gives a publisher the right to look at a writer’s next manuscript before it’s offered to other publishers—was issued when he was still her agent, even though he wasn’t her agent when Penguin actually exercised the option clause.

Claiborne Smith “I’m sure there are many good agents out there,” Grimes, who’s best known for her Richard Jury mystery series, now says. “I just don’t know who they are.” She doesn’t have an agent anymore, technically speaking; her lawyer acts as her agent. She stresses that her new mystery The Way of All Fish, a satire of publishing, is an act of “pure imagination,” and her legal troubles with her former agent are only the “taking-off point” for the novel. She thinks publishing is “actually a lot of fun.” She pauses for a second. “I certainly enjoy being published, that’s for sure,” she says.

The Way of All Fish is a sequel to Foul Matter (2003); both books are the Get Shorty’s of the publishing industry, gleefully sending up greedy, doublecrossing, hypocritical liars and the suckers they exploit. The novel opens as a pair of hit men, “two stubby hoods like refugees from a George Raft Martha Grimes film,” sprays bullets across the aquarium in the Clownfish Café, a mediocre Manhattan spot where manipulative agent L. Bass Hess is having lunch. Hess is suing former client, writer Cindy Sella, because he claims she owes him the commission on a successful novel he didn’t actually represent. Two other hit men, Karl and Candy, have been hired to off Hess, but they like to get to know their marks before they decide whether to kill them (they have standards). After meeting Cindy and learning about the legal mess Hess has made of her life, they adjudicate the situation: Hess is a sniveling weasel.

“My feeling is that people who work in publishing are very, very hardworking people,” Grimes says. There are still aspects of the trade she finds “hysterically funny,” however. Like, oh, this idea for a novel Hess is trying to hawk to an editor at a publishing house Grimes calls Quagmire: Hess describes it as an “existential prizefighting novel” about “two gay fighters having an affair who then find themselves in the ring together.” Grimes is clearly getting her revenge in The Way of All Fish, and it’s a joy to watch her wreak it. “I don’t know enough about publishing to write about it,” she says. “I only know enough about it to make fun of it.”

Photo courtesy Michael Ventura

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This Issue’s Contributors

Elfrieda Abbe • Mark Athitakis • Joseph Barbato • Amy Boaz • Jennifer M. Brown Hamilton Cain • Lee E. Cart • Derek Charles Catsam • Dave DeChristopher Kathleen Devereaux Bobbi Dumas Daniel Dyer • Lisa Elliott • Julie Foster •Bob Garber • Amy Goldschlager • Jessica Gross Peter Heck • April Holder • Christina M. Kratzner Megan Labrise • Paul Lamey Louise Leetch • Elsbeth Lindner • Don McLeese Gregory McNamee • Carole Moore Clayton • Moore • Liza Nelson Mike Newirth • Mike Oppenheim • Derek Parsons • Jim Piechota • William E. Pike Gary Presley • Timothy A. Pychyl • Nancy Robertson • Evan Rodriguez • Erika Rohrbach • Lloyd Sachs • Leslie Safford Bob Sanchez • William P. Shumaker Rosanne Simeone • Linda Simon • Elaine Sioufi • Wendy Smith • Margot E. Spangenberg • Claire Trazenfeld • Pete Warzel Steve Weinberg • Rodney Welch • Carol White • Chris White • Joan Wilentz Alex Zimmerman

Cover photo by David Burnett

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contents fiction

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

INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS............................................................5 REVIEWS.................................................................................................5 CHANG-RAE LEE’S VISIONARY DYSTOPIAN ADVENTURE..........14 MYSTERY..............................................................................................27 SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY..........................................................34 ROMANCE............................................................................................ 37

nonfiction INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS..........................................................39 REVIEWS...............................................................................................39 GARY SHTEYNGART TURNS HIS SHARP EYE ON HIMSELF.........54

children’s & teen INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS..........................................................71 REVIEWS...............................................................................................71 HOME IS WHERE YOU MAKE IT IN KADIR NELSON’S BABY BEAR.......................................................................................... 88 BOARD-BOOK ROUNDUP................................................................. 95 INTERACTIVE E-BOOKS...................................................................112

indie INDEX TO STARRED REVIEWS.........................................................115

One of the best short story writers in America, Lorrie Moore, resumes her remarkable balancing act with a collection that is both hilarious and heartbreaking, sometimes in the same paragraph. Read the starred review on p. 20.

REVIEWS..............................................................................................115 LESS AGENT, MORE AGENCY......................................................... 122

APPRECIATIONS: HARUKI MURAKAMI TURNS 65.......................131 |

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on the web w w w. k i r k u s . c o m

Photo courtesy Jessica Tampas

UNICEF Ambassador Ishmael Beah writes lyrically and passionately about ugly realities as well as about the beauty and dignity of traditional ways in his new novel, Radiance of Tomorrow. At the center of the story are Benjamin and Bockarie, two longtime friends who return to their hometown, Imperi, after a civil war.

The village is in ruins, and the ground is covered in bones. As more villagers begin to come back, Benjamin and Bockarie try to forge a new community by taking up their former posts as teachers, but they’re beset by obstacles: a scarcity of food, a rash of murders, thievery, rape and retaliation. And then a company starts to mine rutile (a mineral with many desirable uses and whose presence usually presages the discovery of diamonds), and many of the students abandon school for the steady paycheck mining provides.

Benjamin and Bockarie search for a way to restore order as they’re forced to reckon with the uncertainty of their pasts and futures alike. Beah talks with Kirkus in January about his latest novel.

Check out these highlights from Kirkus’ online coverage at www.kirkus.com 9 Photo courtesy Tony Cook

Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was a surprise best-seller in 2011—an unprecedented mix of teen fantasy and vintage photography.

Hollow City picks up in 1940, immediately after the conclusion of the first book. Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals and other unexpected surprises. Complete with dozens of new vintage photographs, Hollow City is intended to delight readers of all ages. We ask Riggs about his sudden success and how he concocted his second novel.

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

Laurie Halse Anderson’s The Impossible Knife of Memory is a characteristically honest and deeply felt exploration of the lingering scars of war. For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school.

Anderson sensitively addresses the many problems— physical recovery, grief and survivor’s guilt, chemical dependency, panic attacks and suicidal tendencies—that veterans can face when trying to reintegrate. Kirkus writer Jessie Grearson talks with Anderson about her new novel later this month.

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fiction THREE BROTHERS

These titles earned the Kirkus Star:

Ackroyd, Peter Talese/Doubleday (272 pp.) $26.95 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-385-53861-9

REDEPLOYMENT by Phil Klay............................................................ 13 BARK by Lorrie Moore........................................................................ 20 THE HEAVEN OF ANIMALS by David James Poissant......................22 THE DIVORCE PAPERS by Susan Rieger........................................... 24 THE BOOK OF HEAVEN by Patricia Storace..................................... 24 THE SECRET HISTORY OF LAS VEGAS by Chris Abani...................27 THE BOOK OF HEAVEN

Storace, Patricia Pantheon (384 pp.) $26.95 Feb. 18, 2014 978-0-375-40806-9

The prize-winning British novelist, biographer and critic’s intriguing if inconsistent latest is a stew of family saga, murder mystery, political conspiracy and tableau of London’s history.

Foregrounding the three Hanway boys, born in a working-class corner of the English capital in the mid20th century, Ackroyd (The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein, 2008, etc.) employs the city itself as both a flickering accumulation of its past and a setting for his small web of interconnected characters. The lives of the boys—Harry, Daniel and Sam—are suddenly disrupted by the disappearance of their mother, who, it later emerges, was sent to prison for soliciting. As they grow up, the young men’s paths diverge significantly. Affable Harry rises quickly in the world of journalism and eventually marries a national newspaper proprietor’s daughter. Clever, gay Daniel finds a future at Cambridge University and in the literary world, while Sam, a wandering, possibly visionary soul, helps vagrants, rediscovers his mother—now a madam in a brothel— and becomes a rent collector for notorious slum landlord Asher Ruppta, a character who connects all three brothers. With its echoes of Charles Dickens and the angry young men of the 1950s, and its population of caricatures and ghosts, Ackroyd’s short novel maintains a patchy course, passing through gothic flourishes to reach an open-ended conclusion.

At times humdrum and perfunctory, at others fantastical, this genre-spanning novel offers lightweight bookish entertainment.

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“...an installment that will leave fans wanting more. ” from burn

SAVING THE HOOKER

Adelberg, Michael Permanent Press (208 pp.) $28.00 | Mar. 21, 2014 978-1-57962-368-5

A mostly funny first-person tale of a lazy and unprincipled postdoc whose brain resides firmly in his crotch.

From a prison cell, Matthew Hristahalios relates how he landed there. He had proposed a postdoctoral research project to examine the lives of prostitutes and compare them to the concept of “the hooker with the heart of gold.” Is it indeed possible to “save” a hooker? The Manhattan University Center for Interdisciplinary Studies accepts his proposal, but he is slow to follow through in fulfilling the program’s requirements. In time, Matthew reaches out to a number of skeptical New York hookers and begins to overcome some of the growing doubts of his university colleagues. One of the hookers he calls Julia Roberts makes a special impression on him, and she’ll gladly help him with his research if he pays the same hourly rate her johns pay. Julia routinely cons, cajoles and flat out steals Matthew’s research money while introducing him to cocaine and first-rate sex. “Unprofessional” barely begins to describe his behavior, and he knows it. Through all this, he tries to convince his colleagues that he is making substantial progress while the demented Julia alternates between relative decency and vicious hostility toward him. While Matthew tries to scam everyone, Julia hurts and humiliates him to the best of her considerable ability. Most novels give the reader a protagonist to like and root for; this isn’t one of those. Only Matthew’s father, portrayed as a bumpkin from the Midwest, seems truly decent. All he wants is for his misbegotten son to come home to Illinois and find a nice girl to marry. There is plenty to like in Adelberg’s comic romp, which also has a serious undercurrent: Who says a hooker needs saving, anyway? And what business is it of a man?

This one’s well-crafted and enjoyable if you’re up for a rather raunchy read.

BURN

Baggott, Julianna Grand Central Publishing (432 pp.) $26.00 | Feb. 4, 2014 978-1-4555-0302-5 Fantasist Baggott (Fuse, 2013, etc.) wraps up her post-apocalyptic Pure Trilogy with an installment that will leave fans wanting more.

Baggott is a worldbuilder; she imagines settings on a grand scale, and it’s not pretty. It’s a time after the Detonations, when the One Percenters—well, the well-connected, anyway—get to live under the safety of the Dome while the rest get to live in something that resembles Bartertown in that Mad Max film, save that there 6

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are melting faces and nuclear sickness to attend to on top of resource shortages. Inside the Dome lives Partridge, who, part of the resistance to the new order, now finds himself in charge.

(There’s a neat element of Greek tragedy in that development.)

Is he going to continue the Purist apartheid? Once the new boss takes his seat, natch, it’s tempting to take up where the old boss left off. Meanwhile, quickly growing up outside is Pressia, a tough and resourceful young woman who, at the head of an interestingly motley band of fighters, is now stuck with a vexing question: Can she trust Partridge to live up to his ideals, or does she have to fight him too? Baggott blends the fantastic with plausible science—not just on the nasty effects of radiation, but also on the mechanics of gene splicing (in this case, to create a herd of attack boars, “engineered to be domesticated like cattle but vicious too”). It’s a hallmark of good fantasy writing that all the elements of the imagined world are at once believable and not quite like the world in which we live, and Baggott eminently succeeds. She also writes arrestingly, and if her story drags a little as she ties together the many loose ends, it’s worth the longueurs to find sentences such as these: “Pressia steps in through what was once the doorway, her boots crunching the broken glass. Its roof is gone, like a gaping maw over her head.

The floor shines with dark puddles of rain.”

It’s no place for a picnic, but we’ll hope that Baggott moves on to making another world just as engaging as this one.

A HIGHLY UNLIKELY SCENARIO Or, a Neetsa Pizza Employee’s Guide to Saving the World

Cantor, Rachel Melville House (256 pp.) $16.95 | Jan. 14, 2014 978-1-61219-264-2

A man from the future explores the past through his heritage in this quirky metaphysical adventure.

This is an intrepid debut from frequent short story contributor Cantor, but any reader without an encyclopedic knowledge of Jewish mysticism may wish to come armed with an open Wikipedia page. Meet Leonard—Leonard works in the complaints department of Neetsa Pizza, in a futuristic world where global commerce is dominated by fast-food chains. Leonard works in a clean room in his home answering the phones, chatting occasionally with his sister Carol, babysitting his nephew Felix and asking questions of the “Brazen Head,” a contemporary version of the medieval automaton reputed to be able to answer any question. Because all of this isn’t odd enough, Leonard suddenly can only get calls from “Milione,” an explorer from the 13th century who nightly describes his travels to the Orient. Next, a stranger begins leveling some serious history onto Leonard, a man who oddly speaks with the voice of Leonard’s dead grandfather but who identifies himself as the kabala scholar Rabbi Yitzhak Saggi Nehor, known colloquially as Isaac the Blind.

It’s fair to say that the average reader could easily be a quarter of

the way into Leonard’s adventure in space and time before realizing he or she is deeply mired in a witty but quite eccentric exploration of Jewish mysticism. For being a rather petite book, it lures in an array of historical figures ranging from Abraham Abulafia, the founder of Prophetic Kabbalah, to Marco Polo to the English philosopher Roger Bacon. It’s an unusual way to examine Jewish history and medieval thinking, but the story doesn’t carry enough weight to justify the experiment. Leonard makes for an amusing protagonist, and Cantor makes some salient points about passing on generational wisdom, but it doesn’t completely work as satire, science fiction or farce.

This play on history and heritage plunges headlong into the mystic, but it’s written for a very niche market.

COMMAND AUTHORITY

Clancy, Tom with Greaney, Mark Putnam (752 pp.) $29.95 | Dec. 3, 2013 978-0-399-16047-9

The late Clancy (1947-2013) ends his active role in his Jack Ryan franchise on an oddly timely note.

Ryan, former CIA op, is president, of course, and he’s back up against the Russkies. You can tell who they are since, even when transliterated into English, they say da: “Da. I have been tasked with protecting this building, not the Communist Party.” And why, Fearless Leader? Because they’re commies, and they do what they’re supposed to do. The biggest, baddest commie of all is Vladimir Putin—beg pardon, Valeri Volodin, veteran of the former Soviet Empire and now, two decades after the fall, the engineer of its resurgence. First off comes the invasion of Estonia “on the first moonless night of spring,” an act that

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NATO fails to oppose even though Estonia is a NATO signatory; then comes turmoil in Ukraine. Here’s where it gets especially timely, for, as Clancy and Greaney write, just off the headlines, “Any hopes the police might have had that the situation would defuse itself went away when tents started to be erected on both sides, and nationalists and Russian Ukrainians began clashes that turned more and more violent.” Jack Ryan Sr. and Jr. team up again to take Volodin on, even though, in a nod to verisimilitude on the people instead of the hardware front, the authors admit that Jr. makes a poor spy inasmuch as he looks just like his worldfamous pop. Must the nukes shower down upon him in order to make Volodin behave? The Ryans, naturally enough, have another card to play. It’s vintage Clancy (Threat Vector, 2012, etc.) stuff, full of cool technology and cardboard characters (“he was a single-minded and purposeful individual, perhaps to a pathological degree”), with a story that, given enough suspended disbelief, is a pleasing fairy tale for people who like things that blow up.

Likely not the last installment in the Ryan saga—not with a world full of terrorists, disgruntled KGB types and Venezuelans.

THE PAGAN LORD

Cornwell, Bernard Harper/HarperCollins (320 pp.) $27.99 | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-06-196970-6

The death of Alfred the Great leaves what we know as England up for grabs, and Lord Uhtred of Bebbanburg (Death of Kings, 2012, etc.) is caught in the middle of it all.

Connoisseurs of conflict can start with the hero’s name, which he’s done his best to pass on. When the son he’s named Uhtred converts to Christianity and becomes a priest, Uhtred dubs him Father Judas and declares that his youngest son, Osbert, is Uhtred instead. Nor is Uhtred widely considered to be lord of Bebbanburg, a northern stronghold his uncle Uhtred (hmm) has seized and plans to pass on to his own Uhtred. Unable to stomach King Alfred’s successor, Æthelred of Mercia, whose estranged wife he’s in love with, cursed by Bishop Wulfheard after he accidentally kills old Abbot Wihtred, and burned out of his holdings outside Cirrenceastre in modern Gloucestershire by the warlord Cnut Ranulfson, Uhtred would seem to have no direction if Cnut, upon returning Sigunn, the woman of Uhtred’s he’d carried off, had not asked him to find Cnut’s own abducted wife and son. Instead of searching for them, Uhtred, who’s never happy unless he’s fighting or scheming, sails off to Bebbanburg with the remainder of his followers in a bold gamble to surprise his usurping uncle and seize his castle. When his plan doesn’t go quite as he’d intended, Uhtred is left to journey west to Ceaster, where he’ll find Cnut’s missing wife and child and prepare to come face to face with the fearsome warlord one last time.

As in a summer movie, the big set pieces are more impressive than the realistically meandering odyssey 8

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that threads them together. The most consistent motif is Uhtred’s undying and principled hostility to “the nailed god” of Christianity and the threat he represents to the warrior code Uhtred so perfectly embodies.

NOT WITHOUT YOU

Evans, Harriet Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (400 pp.) $16.00 paper | Feb. 11, 2014 978-1-4767-4603-6 A-list movie star Sophie Leigh has had enough of cheesy chick flicks, but her agent won’t hear of her turning down The Bachelorette Party, not with gorgeous Patrick Drew already signed on to co-star.

Like her idol, Eve Noel, a 1950s starlet, Sophie has little control over her career—not if she wants to make money for the box office, that is. Hollywood producers changed Eve’s name, her wardrobe and even her hairline to generate cinematic hits.

Eventually, she’s even told to marry the much older, more powerful, but very dangerous actor Gilbert Travers. Yet, the industry can’t erase her memories of her sister Rose’s drowning or her own inconvenient love for Don Matthews, a powerless, alcoholic, yet loving screenwriter. After discovering their tryst, Gilbert arranges to have Don eliminated from her life. And one day, Eve disappears. Sixty years later, Sophie still has to change her name and endure not only arranged dating, but also a paparazzifueled public that turns a little sweat into Armpitgate. Inspired

by Eve’s film A Girl Named Rose, Sophie’s determined to shepherd through the system her own independent film. Although it needs some work, My Second-Best Bed has the potential to be a real film. Troubles escalate when someone begins sending threatening notes and sneaking into Sophie’s home to leave white roses on her bed. Can she trust her co-star? Her director? Her new assistant? As Sophie tries to advance her project and solve the mystery of Eve’s disappearance while avoiding her stalker, her life becomes more and more entwined with Eve’s.

Soon, it’s Eve who holds the keys to Sophie’s survival.

A Star Is Born meets All About Eve, Evans’ (Happily Ever After, 2012, etc.) latest deftly weaves together tales of old and new Hollywood, allowing star-crossed romance, mystery and danger to collide in surprising and often devastating ways.

“An acid cultural satire that skewers what we would miss most about the online world.” from notes from the internet apocalypse

NOTES FROM THE INTERNET APOCALYPSE

Gladstone, Wayne Dunne/St. Martin’s (224 pp.) $23.99 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-1-250-04502-7

Cracked.com contributor Gladstone offers up an outlandishly specific takedown of online culture via the popular apocalypse comedy genre.

Readers who don’t dabble regularly on the Web won’t get it, but fans of sites like Reddit, Instagram or Facebook (or streaming pornography, come to think of it) should find themselves howling at this profane, very funny comedy about our worldwide addiction to the Internet. In fact, this satiric adventure already has fans worldwide, having first appeared in a different version on Cracked.com as short, serialized entries, supposedly from a journal found in a Dumpster in Bayside, N.Y. Basically, one day, the Internet just stops, and things quickly get weird.

Activists from Anonymous and Occupy pretty much escape unscathed, but much of the population shuts down, becoming zombies with no Web-based stimuli. Other subcultures struggle to reproduce themselves in their unplugged versions, leading to the hilarious image of Reddit addicts screaming at each other in circles on the street. “Gladstone,” our narrator, begins investigating the Internet’s disappearance with Tobey, formerly only an online chat buddy, and Oz—short for Ozzygrrl69—a smoking hot Australian girl whose income dried up when she could no longer shower in front of perverts via webcam. In Central Park, a former librarian dubs himself “Jeeves,” answering questions for $5 each, and quickly goes viral. When Jeeves dubs Gladstone the “Internet Messiah,” all hell breaks loose, and Gladstone finds himself on a mad dash through 4Chan meetups, epic bar crawls, the “Rule 34 Club” (you’ll have to Google it if that doesn’t ring a bell) and the narrator’s own frighteningly unstable psyche to get to the bottom of things. Strikingly similar to fellow Cracked.com contributor David Wong’s (Jason Pargin’s) John Dies at the End, there’s a surprising amount of pathological drama at the book’s denouement that shows there’s a lot of brains behind all those dirty jokes.

An acid cultural satire that skewers what we would miss most about the online world.

THE HEADMASTER’S WIFE

Greene, Thomas Christopher Dunne/St. Martin’s (288 pp.) $24.99 | Feb. 25, 2014 978-1-250-03894-4

A headmaster and his wife suffer intimations of mortality on a bucolic Vermont campus.

The first half of Greene’s fourth novel (Envious Moon, 2007, etc.) unfolds like a conventional academic tale. The third generation head of Lancaster, an exclusive Vermont prep school, Arthur Winthrop (his father, the former head, still lives on campus) leads an orderly life, except for occasional brushes with imperious board members whose New England pedigrees are even more elite than his own. However, Arthur’s marriage to Elizabeth (the couple is in their late 50s) has long since deteriorated into strained conversations and separate bedrooms. The couple was driven further apart when their only son, Ethan, opted for

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THE TASTE OF APPLE SEEDS

service in Iraq instead of college. Since Ethan’s departure, Elizabeth finds solace only in obsessive tennis playing. Arthur’s obsession is a student, 18-year-old Betsy Pappas, whose unconventional beauty, but most of all youth, fascinates him. He lures her to Boston on a pretext and seduces her. However, she soon tires of what she considers a training exercise with an older man and tries to disengage by dating a star basketball player, Russell Hurley, who attends Lancaster on scholarship. Arthur first tries to blackmail Betsy into continuing their affair by hiding alcohol under Russell’s dorm bed but then, somewhat arbitrarily, allows disciplinary matters to take their course. Russell is expelled, and his one chance of breaking out of the working class and into the Ivy League has been dashed. Italicized interludes throughout reveal that Arthur has been picked up by NYC police after being found wandering naked in Central Park. Just as we begin to understand that this is no ordinary interrogation, the novel takes a wholly unexpected twist, which is then compounded by another, even more surprising one. Up to this point, readers will suspect only that the story could be taking place anytime in the last 40 years or so.

Although the puzzle element threatens to overwhelm the narrative, this is a moving testament to the vicissitudes of love and loss, regret and hope.

Hagena, Katharina Translated by Bulloch, Jamie Morrow/HarperCollins (256 pp.) $14.99 paper | Feb. 4, 2014 978-0-06-229347-3

From German author Hagena, the story of a young German woman whose inheritance of her grandmother’s house leads her to plumb her family’s past. This book was an international best-seller.

In Bulloch’s translation from the German, nature imagery is colorfully transcribed, which is fortunate, since Hagena’s descriptions of the lake, forest and gardens surrounding the ancestral apple farm of the Deelwater family are among this novel’s principal charms. Bertha, the matriarch, who survived her husband, Hinnerk, by many years—most of them in a state of steadily worsening dementia—has died, willing portions of her estate to her three daughters, Inga, Harriet and Christa, and, unexpectedly, bequeathing the farmhouse to Christa’s daughter, Iris, the narrator. As Iris, a librarian, takes time off to decide whether or not to keep the house, her recollections and encounters with denizens of the tiny lakeside village of Bootshaven shape the novel. Family secrets are mulled over as Iris’ consciousness, searching for clarity, circles back repeatedly to crucial events she witnessed as a child. Herr Lexow, elderly caretaker of the farm, confesses that he might have fathered Inga during World War II while Hinnerk was off at his job as a prison camp commandant. (Hinnerk’s checkered past with the Nazi Party is not a major aspect of the novel—the primary focus is on the women’s comparatively sheltered lives.) Whimsy abounds, striking a discordant note with the overall meditative tone of the book—for some reason, Iris’ wardrobe is limited to old ball gowns once belonging to her aunts; she and Bertha’s lawyer, Max, meet cute while swimming naked in the lake; and Aunt Inga, born during an electrical storm, cannot touch anyone without shocking them. Aunt Harriet, now a devotee of an Indian guru, had her heart broken, and the child born of this liaison, Rosmarie, died under circumstances not fully elucidated until the novel’s climax.

Since much of the nuanced wit is perhaps lost in translation, what remains is a decorative but aimless family chronicle. Matriarch Bertha’s decline is, however, viscerally felt and vividly detailed.

THE WAY OF ALL FISH

Grimes, Martha Scribner (352 pp.) $26.99 | Jan. 7, 2014 978-1-4767-2395-2

Unlikely alliances form in a plot to neutralize an author’s greedy former agent After two armed thugs enter and shoot the fish aquarium in Manhattan’s Clownfish Café, writer Cindy Sella, a Manhattanite from a small town in Kansas, and hit man Karl leave with souvenir clownfish they helped rescue. While Karl and his colleague Candy consider a contract to off the literary agent L. Bass Hess, Candy leafs through Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, and Karl sets up his clownfish in the converted warehouse he shares with Candy. Although Karl kills people for a living, he’s happy to redecorate the apartment to provide a more appropriate environment for his fish—and to join Candy in helping Cindy extricate herself from a baseless lawsuit that Hess, her former agent, has brought against her. Mega-selling author Paul Giverney has his own reasons to rid Manhattan of Hess. To further his elaborate schemes, he calls on, among others, an abbot with a dubious religious vocation, an amiable stoner, the legendary Skunk Ape, Bass’ uncle-turned-aunt, Candy, Karl and Karl’s fish. As one caper follows another, from Manhattan to Sewickley, Pa., to the Everglades, Cindy loses her importance to the conspirators.

Grimes (Fadeaway Girl, 2011, etc.) brings a crazy-quilt sensibility to a romp that ultimately sags a bit under the weight of its own cleverness. Despite its pallid heroine, however, this sendup of the book world, in which hit men apparently have more integrity than publishers, is great fun. (Author tour to New York, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.) 10

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SNIPER

Manual that serves as setup for the action following. Mike, his partner, Anne Bouchard, and crime boss/brother-in-law Jimmy O’Leary provide nonstop suspense through the streets of Boston and into the bush in Maine. When the killings get personal, Mike resorts to his own training as a Marine Scout/Sniper. Hardacker balances the action with scenes of Mike’s struggle to be a complete man, and the undercurrents are poignant: reconciliation with his estranged daughter, suppressed romantic interest for his partner, the balance of good and evil with his job, and the vigilante actions of Mike’s brother-in-law. All is not as it seems, and the thrill is in watching the whole revealed.

Hardacker handles the action and the characters well and ties things together in a suspenseful manner.

Hardacker, Vaughn C. Skyhorse Publishing (304 pp.) $14.95 paper | Feb. 4, 2014 978-1-62636-557-5 Random killings are bait to draw a Boston detective to the killing ground in this cop-vs.-military thriller.

Mike Houston is a homicide investigator from the hard-boiled school of fictional predecessors. He is a tough guy from Southie; a former Marine sniper, recovering alcoholic and ex-husband whose brother-in-law happens to be on the other side of the law. Perfect. Four people are shot and killed on a lovely summer day on Boston Common, and Mike thinks the hit is too precise, too clean to be other than a trained sniper kill. Why? The question and the answer go back years to a military deployment in Mogadishu. Former Marine Hardacker knows his stuff and begins each chapter with a quote from the Scout/Sniper Training

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SAFE WITH ME

neglected by the new owners. We learn that the orchard was the scene of his undoing as his memories unfold in a notebook addressed to his long-ago love, Saba. Smitten by the lovely girl he sees in the town market, the boy seizes his chance when she attends a neighbor’s wedding to invite her into the orchard, where they sit until dawn. Though their evening is innocent, and he is only 14, an angry encounter with her politically powerful father leads to his arrest and imprisonment. While recuperating in the home of a compassionate poet who took him in after his release, he writes to Saba of the years of torture he endured. “Above all else, the prison taught me that there are evil men in the world,” he tells her. Only the swallows he glimpsed from the prison yard reminded him of the joy he once felt in his love for her, a love that remains in “this broken form” that “belongs to a much older man.” It’s all rather abstract, though Hobbs’ prose is as gorgeous as ever. Wonderful, lyrical physical descriptions—of dancing with his father in the orchard, of his poet friend’s walled garden, of eating a ripe pomegranate—have the unfortunate effect of making the central love story seem even more artificial. We see Saba only through the narrator’s eyes as an idealized icon, and the fablelike ending reinforces a sense of unreality that hobbles this well-intentioned but flawed effort to imaginatively enter a foreign world.

Too studied and not entirely convincing though also sensitive, reflective and beautifully written: The talented Hobbs will do better next time.

Hatvany, Amy Washington Square/Pocket (352 pp.) $15.00 paper | Mar. 4, 2014 978-1-4767-0441-8 A delicately crafted story by Hatvany (Heart Like Mine, 2013, etc.) about one mother who turns her loss into another mother’s heartfelt gain, thanks to the miracle of organ transplantation.

Hannah Scott prays for a miracle when her 12-year-old daughter, Emily, is struck by a car and severely injured, but it’s not to be. Signing the permission forms for the doctors to harvest her daughter’s organs, Hannah’s told a person in the area with the same rare blood type as her daughter’s is in dire need of a liver. Although privacy laws prevent her from knowing the recipient, the liver goes to desperately ill 15-year-old Maddie Bell.

Her mother, Olivia, has remained by her side throughout the years of long hospital stays, but her father, wealthy workaholic James, rarely visits, despite his claims to love her. James is a product of his own abusive childhood, a controller who verbally and physically lashes out at Olivia behind closed doors. A year after the surgery, Hannah, Olivia and Maddie meet by chance, and Hannah realizes Maddie may be the recipient of her daughter’s liver. She cultivates a friendship with both mother and daughter but at first hesitates to mention their possible connection. All three are fragile and cope with their situations in their own ways: Hannah, by moving from her old home, storing Emily’s belongings and refusing to discuss her death; Olivia, by trying to appease James and plotting to take Maddie and leave, but fear and false hope keep her from completing her plan; and Maddie, by cloaking her insecurity through a fake identity she creates on Facebook and becoming involved online with someone older. Hatvany compels readers to examine a diverse number of issues—death, organ donation, single parenthood, abuse, self-respect—and handles each topic with sensitivity and compassion. Although the plot and the book’s end are predictable, the author takes readers on a worthwhile journey.

Readers might want to keep a box of tissues nearby.

(Author appearances in Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego and San Francisco)

WENDELL BLACK, MD

Imber, Gerald Bourbon Street/HarperCollins (400 pp.) $14.99 paper | Feb. 11, 2014 978-0-06-224685-1 A high-stakes debut thriller by plastic surgeon Imber, featuring an NYPD surgeon whose troubles begin with an inflight emergency high over the Atlantic.

The surprises start right away when Dr. Wendell Black vainly attempts to resuscitate a dying passenger and makes a strange discovery.

The events that follow pull Dr. Black into a dangerous swirl of drug dealers, murder and terror. Luckily, he is just the man to see the threat and persuade the authorities in Homeland Security to investigate his suspicions. Black and his smart, sexy girlfriend, Dr. Alice Sheppard, stay deep in the middle of a situation that is filled with escalating danger. The pace is generally fast, with engaging and mostly likable characters. A couple of local cops who see Dr. Black as a nefarious criminal seem less than plausible as they keep trying to arrest him on drug charges, but the others are pros who add details about police and investigative procedures. The scenes are filled with clever language and rich descriptions, even if at times they tell more than the reader may want to learn. (Who needs to know that Dr. Black used the toilet?) Still, Dr. Black is sympathetic, and the writing is otherwise first class. The author’s professional background

IN THE ORCHARD, THE SWALLOWS

Hobbs, Peter Europa Editions (160 pp.) $15.00 paper | Feb. 4, 2014 978-1-60945-183-7

British writer Hobbs (The Short Day Dying, 2006, etc.) travels to Pakistan at the turn of the 21st century to broodingly explore a society in thrall to ancient customs.

Hobbs’ unnamed narrator, just released from jail after 15 years, returns to his village to find his family gone, the orchard his father carefully cultivated now 12

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“[Kaysen’s] prose is luxurious and well-turned...” from cambridge

REDEPLOYMENT

adds credibility, as when Dr. Sheppard, a plastic surgeon and so much more, removes broken glass from Dr. Black’s eye.

A heck of a story, with a hero who deserves a series of books.

Klay, Phil Penguin (304 pp.) $26.95 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-1-59420-499-9

CAMBRIDGE

A sharp set of stories, the author’s debut, about U.S. soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and their aftermaths, with violence and gallows humor dealt out in equal measure.

Klay is a Marine veteran who served in Iraq, and the 12 stories reveal a deep understanding of the tedium, chaos and bloodshed of war, as well as the emotional disorientation that comes with returning home from it. But in the spirit of the best nonfiction writing about recent U.S. war vets (David Finkel’s Thank You For Your Service, for example), Klay eschews simple redemptive or tragic narrative arcs. The discomfiting “Bodies” is narrated by a Mortuary Affairs officer whose treatment of women back home is almost as equally

Kaysen, Susanna Knopf (272 pp.) $25.95 | Mar. 18, 2014 978-0-385-35025-9 A woman recalls her childhood in a tony Boston suburb in ways that closely resemble Kaysen’s real life (The Camera My Mother Gave Me, 2001, etc.).

Susanna, the narrator of this elegantly written but curious novel, is a precocious girl who has intelligence to spare but a strong dislike for rules.

As the novel opens in 1955, she’s a second-grader who resents being uprooted from her American home to England, where her Harvard-educated economist father teaches for a spell, and Italy, where she receives an early education in both art and her mother’s demanding expectations. Back home the following year, Susanna halfheartedly pursues music under the tutelage of a young conductor who’s enamored of the family’s nanny; Kaysen describes Susanna’s modest musical revelations and family dinner parties with a winning sense of how children process the intriguing and baffling world of grown-ups. The book follows Susanna through the late 1950s as her relationship with her mother undergoes some modest strain, the nanny-conductor relationship ends, and the family spends a drowsy summer in Greece. This is all wryly, gently told, but it also feels dramatically thin, more like a snapshot than a work of fiction with a definable arc. (The biggest late-stage tension in the book is the arrival of Susanna’s first period.) The parallels between the narrator’s and author’s lives are unavoidable; both grew up in Cambridge, for instance, and both have an economist father who spent time in London and Greece and later worked at the White House. Is this lightly fictionalized memoir from a bestselling memoirist or fiction with touches of memoir? Though her prose is luxurious and well-turned, the book’s anecdotal, relatively shapeless form diminishes its impact.

A belletristic vision of tweendom, earnest but inchoate.

(Author tour to Boston, New England and New York)

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INTERVIEWS & PROFILES

Chang-rae Lee

YOU THOUGHT YOU’D HAD MORE THAN ENOUGH DYSTOPIA, UNTIL THIS LYRICAL NOVELIST ENTERED THE FRAY

By Megan Labrise tive Speaker, The Surrendered). The novel he set out to write, his fifth, was a socialist treatment of modern China’s ascendancy from an American point of view—a far cry from the visionary dystopian adventure it became.

“Usually I’m taking what we know and going into the inner space of that, trying to draw out internal details about a familiar world,” Lee says. “Creating other worlds and cultures was a lot of fun for me.

That kind of rendering and free association was quite different—although I’m interested in a lot of the same questions.” Lee is a first-generation Korean-American whose family settled in Westchester, N.Y., when he was 3 years old. His work often questions how new locations and communities can revise a person’s sense of self.

The post-lapsarian colonies are populated primarily by descendants of Chinese immigrants, their homeland polluted and uninhabitable. Between the repurposed metropolises and the Charters are lawless counties, where Fan begins her search. The counties are dangerous lands where people barter their bodies and children to receive off-the-grid services, such as medical care from a former Charter veterinarian.

Reg, a gentle, gawky vegetable tender, disappeared after being called into the B-Mor manager’s office, and modern medicine may be responsible: Reg is determined by routine scan to be “C-free,” while all the Charters suffer from some type of “C-illness.” As Lee writes, “While really no one could or would say where this Reg was, including someone very high up in the directorate, it was clear he’d become a primary object of curiosity for the very pharmacorp that was buying Asimil,” a new C-fighting drug. Thus this ordinary man may have extraordinary value for those with the means to exploit it.

Photo courtesy Annika Lee

On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae Lee boldly exhibits a quality its heroine embodies: freedom of imagination. In Lee’s futuristic United States, labor colonies are the oppressive yet not unpleasant norm. Fan, a 16-year-old tank diver, becomes the only person to willfully leave the safety of her settlement when her boyfriend Reg disappears. Their home, B-Mor (formerly Baltimore), is the bayside community that produces contaminant-free fish to supply Charter villages, where futuristic elite reside in relative ease and abundance. In her quest to find Reg, Fan becomes a legend to those left behind.

This type of storytelling represents a departure for Lee, who has built an award-winning, best-selling reputation on excellence in lyrical realism (Na14

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Class division is just one anxious preoccupation of the allegorical narrative. More so than in his previous books, “I’m much more interested…in contemporary political and social questions, about class and divisions in society,” Lee says. “I don’t know that I think of On Such a Full Sea as a political novel— I don’t, and I never wrote it that way—but I think those concerns came through much more than in my previous works.”

He continues: “We’re being revised by the ability and reach of new economic powers, China foremost. You see so many signs of a certain decline and slowdown of American prosperity, this shrinking middle class, a kind of winner-take-all economic culture, and I saw...a sense of decline that one could not ignore or explain away.”

Emphasizing the communal experience, the story is told entirely by “we,” the nameless ones who remain in B-Mor. At first they are stunned by Fan’s willful departure, but as their understanding grows, so, too, does their admiration of her heretofore inconceivable act. It’s no slight achievement that these people begin to wonder, to hope, and, especially, to question authority and their own trodden paths. Enlightened by the tale’s end, they say: “[A]s we know, it is ‘where we are’ that should make all the difference, whether we believe we belong there or not, and as such is the ground on which we will try our best not to feel trapped, or limited, or choose those paths that merely assuage our fears,” Lee writes.

Lee briefly considered handing the reins to Fan but decided against the traditional first-person narration. “The opposite of Fan would be some picturesque hero who’s just constantly superfunny and clever or emotional or something like that—but we really go through the ups and downs of every little moment of their consciousness,” he says. “I wasn’t interested in that. I didn’t want us to focus on that movement of consciousness. I wanted us to focus on a larger consciousness.”

Readers come to know Fan not through innermost thoughts but through action, and there are plenty of ups and downs to spur her. The narrative is rife with intense reversals of fortune that make for swiftly turning pages. Upon plunging into the dangerous unknown of the counties, Fan is immediately hit by a speeding car. Her saviors seem sinister. They all fall into the clutches of a murderous family of acrobats—and that’s just an amuse-bouche. Fan does

not escape every injustice, but her handling of fate’s cruel twists is a testament to her preternatural devotion and the unwavering faith that she will find Reg alive and well.

Fan is different from Lee’s previous protagonists.

“She’s someone who brings out the wants of other people, whose presence makes others want to reveal or clarify themselves,” Lee says. “She brings out the bizarre, she brings out hope, she brings out all these kinds of reactions from people.” Steady as a steamer, she advances on her quest, inspiring her rapt countrymen to embrace the suggestion inherent in their city’s name—to be more. “[T]he funny thing about a life is how eventually it will adhere to certain routines of mind, those tracks or grooves laid down in special pressure and heat,” Lee writes. In sparking this recognition, Fan lights a fire in her people that has the potential to incinerate their complacency.

Megan Labrise is a freelance writer and columnist based in New York.

On Such a Full Sea received a starred review in the Nov. 15, 2013, issue of Kirkus Reviews.

ON SUCH A FULL SEA Lee, Chang-rae Random House Riverhead (368 pp.) $27.95 Jan. 7, 2014 978-1-59448-610-4

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“Great fun on every page, and with more over the horizon.” from the king’s marauder

coldhearted as he had to be when collecting remains, while “Prayer in the Furnace” is told from the perspective of a chaplain forced to confront a battalion that’s been bullied into a hyperviolent posture. Klay favors a clipped, dialogue-heavy style, and he’s skilled enough to use it for comic as well as dramatic effect. “OIF,” for instance, is a vignette that riffs on the military’s alphabet soup of acronyms and how they emotionally paper over war’s toll. (“And even though J-15 left his legs behind, at least he got CASEVAC’d to the SSTP and died on the table.”)

The finest story in the collection, “Money as a Weapons System,” follows a Foreign Service Officer tasked with helping with reconstruction efforts in Iraq. His grand ambition to reopen a water treatment plant is slowly undone by incompetence, internecine squabbling and a congressman’s buddy, who thinks there’s no problem in Iraq that teaching kids baseball won’t fix; Klay’s grasp of bureaucracy and bitter irony here rivals Joseph Heller and George Orwell. The narrators sound oddly similar throughout the book, as if the military snapped everybody into one world-wise voice. But it does make the book feel unusually cohesive for a debut collection.

A no-nonsense and informed reckoning with combat.

narrative is constructed to suggest the apocalypse is near, and so there are references to current events. The writing is prosaic, and the theology is fundamentalist rather than mystical. As a character notes at book’s end, the prophesied Tribulation is yet unfinished, and so LaHaye and Parshall have more to write.

Action-adventure for a Christian evangelical audience.

THE KING’S MARAUDER

Lambdin, Dewey Dunne/St. Martin’s (368 pp.) $25.99 | Feb. 4, 2014 978-1-250-03005-4

Another rollicking Lewrie adventure of iron men in wooden ships from Lambdin (Hostile Shores, 2013, etc.)

It’s 1807. Napoleon continues his mischief. Capt. Sir Alan Lewrie is ashore recuperating from a musket ball to the leg. Lambdin colorfully chronicles Lewrie’s restlessness at Anglesgreen and then in London as he awaits the Admiralty’s assignment decision. History buffs get an authentic picture of British life at the approach of the Regency era. Lewrie has his clubs, his wines and his failing romance with blue-blood divorcée Lydia Stangbourne. Finally, he gets Sapphire, a fourth-rate, two-decker, 50-gunner, a lumbering tub compared to his previous frigate command. With his faithful lieutenant Westcott, Lewrie learns Sapphire’s not a “happy ship,” with the command opening up after a duel between the former captain and first lieutenant. London-based spies—the Foreign Office and the Secret Branch’s Twigg and Peel—tend to send Lewrie into harm’s way, and so Sapphire’s dispatched to Gibraltar, there to operate independently. En route, Sapphire captures a French sloop, and when guns are run out, Lambdin always offers a powder-reeking précis on fighting under sail. At Gibraltar, Lewrie’s former clerk Mountjoy is the Secret Branch’s agent. He and Lewrie organize amphibious coastal raids intending to convince Spain that the French alliance is a bad bargain. There’s fun for the history-minded on every page, from the complex operation of the great sailing ships to the language of the era, right down to Lewrie’s favorite oath, “Mine arse on a band-box!” Lewrie’s work is complicated by “the Dowager,” the stolid British general commanding Gibraltar, especially after the general’s incompetent staff captain goes missing on a Sapphire raid.

Great fun on every page, and with more over the horizon.

MARK OF EVIL

LaHaye, Tim; Parshall, Craig Zondervan (352 pp.) $24.99 | Feb. 4, 2014 978-0-310-33464-4 With the fourth in The End series, LaHaye and Parshall (Brink of Chaos, 2012, etc.) continue to translate apocalyptic theology into action-adventure fiction.

The rapture has occurred. Christian believers have been taken to heaven.

Now, Satan seeks to subdue the world, and his evil agent is the Global Alliance. The good folk left behind, now Christians, are resisting. That’s the theology piece, but the book reads like a spy novel set in the immediate future and using Revelations as a plot outline. Chapters are short, and settings jump around the globe as the narrative follows multiple characters. The protagonist is the head of the Remnant, Ethan March, subject to visions and recipient of miracles. The antagonist is Alexander Colliquin, head of the Alliance. Characters, however, are one-dimensional, although there’s a chaste love story between March and Rivka Reuban, former Mossad agent. There are odd dialogue juxtapositions—a believer is confronted by a murderous pimp in a Hong Kong back alley and threatened with death, only to respond “I’ve settled up my life with Christ. I know where I’m going. Do you?” The issues at hand are, first, the refusal of believers to submit to “BID-Tag” implants, laser-readable identity chips, and second, the Alliance’s effort to subvert the Internet to its own purposes—mind control—by taking over the United States’ vast security mainframe infrastructure, particularly a facility in Utah. Evil machinations in Washington thread through the story, including an assassination, but action zigzags around the world. With the action moving quickly, the 16

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HYDE

MANNEQUIN GIRL

Levine, Daniel Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (448 pp.) $24.00 | Mar. 18, 2014 978-0-544-19118-1

Litman, Ellen Norton (304 pp.) $25.95 | Mar. 17, 2014 978-0-393-06928-0

Levine debuts with a dark literaryfiction re-imagining of the macabre tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde.

Dr. Jekyll’s an “alienist,” precursor of the psychiatrist, but it’s Hyde who seizes control and rips the narrative open.

Jekyll’s studied in Paris recently, supposedly treating a man with multiple personalities, but after returning from France, Jekyll has befuddled those who know him best with his machinations—Utterson, his attorney, Lanyon, a fellow physician, and Poole, his butler. It seems he’s brought chemicals that provoke an exchange of one personality for another, and secretly, Jekyll’s dosing himself. Levine’s rendering of bustling Victorian London, misty-cold winters and summers “filled with gauzy lemony light,” provides the stage for Hyde’s midnight, fog-shrouded ramblings from tavern to brothel. Levine’s tale is dense, layered, sometimes obscure, its twisted origins resting with Jekyll’s dead father, who inflicted upon the boy perverse sexual manipulations and other cruelties. With the potion, the buried perversions flower as Hyde plunges into London’s debauched quarters, driven by Jekyll’s sexual deviations. Hyde beds Jeannie, 14-year-old street girl, and then installs her at a derelict mansion he’s leased, only to recognize he’s acting out Jekyll’s impotence in consummating a sexual relationship with married Georgiana, a lost love. Levine’s characters are fully realized, but many are abandoned in narrative cul-de-sacs: a housekeeper, a Tarot reader, a maid who has been raped. Levine’s masterful in his surrealistic observations of Hyde subsuming Jekyll. Hyde is all unfettered compulsion yet selfishly connected to his better nature because “[h]e was my hideout, my sanctuary.” The fracture comes with Hyde’s murder of Jekyll’s acquaintance, Sir Danvers X. Carew, MP, part of the London Committee for the Suppression of Traffic in Young English Girls, after which HydeJekyll retreat to an abandoned surgery with a dwindling supply of the chemical catalyst.

Cleverly imagined and sophisticated in execution, this book may appeal to those who like magical realism and vampire stories, but the latter should know that the book is more intellectual than thriller.

From Los Angeles Times Book Award finalist Litman (The Last Chicken in America, 2007), a shrewd, observant comingof-age tale set in the twilight years of the Soviet Union.

Diagnosed with scoliosis at age 7, Kat is crushed to learn that she’ll be sent to a special boarding school on the outskirts of Moscow. She’d always expected to attend the school where her brilliant, bohemian parents, Anechka and Misha, shine as popular teachers so she can show off her own precocious intellect. Instead, she finds herself unpopular with the other boarding school students and disturbed by familial tensions when she visits home on weekends.

Mercurial Anechka’s repeated, failed attempts to have another

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“...Mohamed creates three memorable characters and makes the experience of what it was (and remains) like to live through the chaos of Somalia’s dystopia disturbingly real.” from the orchard of lost souls

Smart, highly readable fiction propelled by a vulnerable and crankily appealing heroine.

baby reinforce Kat’s sense that she’s disappointed her parents, and the massive body brace she’s forced to wear doesn’t help her self-esteem. Litman traces her bumpy progress from 1980 to 1988 entirely without sentimentality, showing Kat capable of being as mean as the kids who persecute her and revealing her parents (who join Kat’s school in 1984) as too wrapped up in their own problems to be much help to their troubled daughter.

Litman is equally sharp on the shifting alliances of childhood: Kat’s mortal first-grade enemy, severely hunchbacked Seryozha, by the end of the book is the devoted friend who prods her to fulfill her longtime acting ambitions. The Soviet Union’s slow collapse is seen in the backdrop, for good and ill. The dissident literature Anechka and Misha once risked arrest to distribute is openly available by 1988, but also out in the open is an ugly antiSemitism that begins to restrict options for Jewish students like Kat and her volatile boyfriend, Nikita. Litman deliberately keeps the dramatic incidents everyday (bullying, tale-bearing, an infidelity); she offers a snapshot of life rather than a grand artistic statement, in keeping with Kat’s final conclusion that “she doesn’t mind pedestrian, [it’s] what she needs right now.”

WE ARE HERE

Marshall, Michael Mulholland Books/Little, Brown (432 pp.) $15.00 paper | $9.99 e-book Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-316-25257-7 978-0-316-25256-0 e-book In this thriller by Marshall (Killer Move, 2011, etc.), people are being stalked on the streets of New York but not in the usual fashion. The stalkers are part of a strange underworld of rejected “shadow people” who disappear as suddenly as they appear.

First-person narrator John Henderson, a former lawyer now working in a restaurant, discovers that the shadow people are not easy to tail. He has been asked to determine who is stalking his girlfriend Kristina’s friend Catherine. In a parallel plot, told in the third person, small-town teacher David is bumped by a stranger in Penn Station and insinuatingly told, “Remember me.” David, who has come to New York with his wife, Dawn, for meetings about the publication of his first book, can’t shake the stranger or the strange feeling that he knows him. Soon enough, David becomes embroiled with members of the underworld, who are named for their designated roles: Cornerman, Fingerman, etc. Kristina is followed, traumatic events from John’s past are alluded to, and a significant pregnancy points to the future. Is this book a ghost story? A Stephen King–style shocker? An allegory about the neglected underclass? Marshall takes so long to reveal the most basic details, and his writing can be so obtuse, readers may lose interest by the time they find their footing. But in the final third, Marshall puts the pieces together to unsettling effect. It helps that John and Kristina, who share an East Village apartment, are such a winning duo.

Though laborious at times, Marshall’s novel rewards the reader’s patience with its edgy storytelling and ambition.

THE ORCHARD OF LOST SOULS

Mohamed, Nadifa Farrar, Straus and Giroux (352 pp.) $26.00 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-374-20914-8 Mohamed (Black Mamba Boy, 2010) takes on the Somali civil war of the late 1980s with the intersecting stories of three women: the elderly widow of a former police commissioner opposed to the authoritarian regime; an ambitious army officer trying to meet her military father’s expectations; and a 9-year-old orphan living by her wits.

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Deqo is in a group of children set to dance at a military celebration in Hargeisa in northern Somalia, but when she forgets her steps, the women in charge beat her. Elderly Kawsar, who has attended the festivities with reluctance, rushes to help the child. As Deqo runs away, Kawsar is arrested. Unfortunately, Filsan, the officer in charge of interrogating Kawsar, has just been humiliated after refusing the sexual advances of a senior officer, and she takes out her fury on Kawsar. Coming home to her close-knit neighborhood unable to walk, Kawsar dreams about her daughter, who committed suicide as an adolescent after being abused by soldiers. When the government’s battle against the insurgents intensifies, Kawsar’s best friend tries to convince her to leave, but Kawsar stubbornly refuses and ends up alone in the abandoned neighborhood. Having run away after Kawsar’s intervention, Deqo ends up living on the streets until she is taken under the wing of a local prostitute. Deqo thinks she has found some semblance of protection, but when the prostitute leaves town, Deqo realizes she’s been sold to a pimp and bolts. Meanwhile, Filsan struggles to find her place as a woman in the military. Mohamed does not shy away from showing Filsan’s capacity for brutality as well as her vulnerability as a lonely, morally confused woman. She and her captain begin a tentative if doomed relationship before the rebels’ strength begins to overwhelm government forces, and the three heroines face final challenges.

Despite some strained coincidental connections, Mohamed creates three memorable characters and makes the experience of what it was (and remains) like to live through the chaos of Somalia’s dystopia disturbingly real.

enough to strike out a former battery mate on a breaking ball but cocky enough to give up a game-winning home run on a fastball the next time he faces him. Johnny is in worse pain watching the ball’s flight than when he is beat up, tied up and knocked unconscious by the bad guys.

A treat for readers of mystery or baseball novels, this debut will be especially enjoyable for fans of both.

THE SETUP MAN

Monday, T.T. Doubleday (288 pp.) $24.95 | Mar. 11, 2014 978-0-385-53845-9 A throwback Southern California mystery in modern pinstripes, this book leaves no doubt that the author is a fan of both Sam Spade and Bull Durham’s Crash Davis.

When a teammate and a 17-year-old girl are found dead in a crashed car, aging relief pitcher Johnny Adcock’s secondary skills as a sleuth are put to their most severe test. Johnny is in his final stretch with the San Jose Bay Dogs, a fictional major league squad. The dead teammate, backup catcher Frankie Herrera, had asked for help on a blackmail scheme involving an old porno film his wife appeared in. The girl in the car with Frankie, it turns out, was a prostitute, one of many controlled by an insidious cartel that targets baseball towns. Far from grief-stricken, Frankie’s widow is involved in the operation. So, in classic fashion, is just about everyone. Though a rookie, first-time novelist Monday writes with a smooth, easygoing authority, wryly referencing noir and baseball fiction rather than trying to reinvent them. Johnny’s internal monologue can’t compete with Kevin Costner’s character’s, but there’s still fun to be had in watching him be crafty |

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THE STOLEN ONES

her virtuosity in writing stories that could never be mistaken for anyone else’s. There’s nothing particularly “difficult” about her fiction—except for the incisive reflections of the difficulties, complexities and absurdities of life—nothing academic or postmodern in her approach (except perhaps for the deus ex machina motorcycle gang that inadvertently crashes the unusual wedding in the astonishing closing story, “Thank You for Having Me”). And there is no title story, though the two longest (and two of the best) stories suggest the dual reference of the word “bark,” to a tree or a dog. In the opening “Debarking,” a man in the aftermath of a painful divorce becomes involved with an attractive woman who is plainly crazy—and perhaps the craziness is part of the attraction? “Oh, the beautiful smiles of the insane,” he ruminates. “Soon, he was sure, there would be a study that showed that the mentally ill were actually more attractive than other people.” He is a man with a protective bark, and one whose ex-wife accused him of “being hard on people—‘You bark at them.’ ” In “Wings,” a singer involved with a musician who may be crazy, or just deceitful or manipulative, befriends an older man, who responds to the adage “his bark is worse than his bite” with: “I don’t know why people always say that. No bark is worse than a bite. A bite is always worse.” Every one of these stories has a flesh-tearing bite to it, though all but one (“Referential”) are also fiendishly funny.

In stories both dark and wry, Moore wields a scalpel with surgical precision. (Author tour to Boston, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C.)

Montanari, Richard Mulholland Books/Little, Brown (416 pp.) $26.00 | $12.99 e-book | Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-316-24470-1 978-0-316-24469-5 e-book Montanari’s latest thriller (The Echo Man, 2011, etc.) reunites Philadelphia detectives Jessica Balzano and Kevin Byrne in the hunt for an elusive killer.

Prior to his death, Detective John Garcia worked a strange and horrific murder case involving a nondescript businessman found dead in a Philadelphia park with a stake driven into the back of his head. But Garcia, suffering from an undetected brain tumor, did little to solve the case, so it sat dormant until Balzano and Byrne draw it from the cold case files. Soon, there’s another murder that’s tied into the first one, and it’s every bit as terrible and mystifying.

The investigating team unearths clues that make no sense: Old photos of elderly people shown nude and performing bizarre sex acts, a box of cash, a raggedy looking man who shows up at odd moments and a very old abduction that has haunted a retired police detective for many years. While Balzano struggles to balance law school with motherhood and her job, her partner, Byrne, deals with his daughter going off to college and becoming an independent young woman, despite her deafness; but the case wreaks havoc with their private lives as it grows more and more complex.

And that complexity forms the crux of the problem with this novel.

Flashing back and forth between times, places, and points of view and including one massive coincidence, Montanari piles on the details, but many of them are so convoluted that they serve only to confuse readers as they also progress the storyline. In the end, when most readers will expect the case to be wrapped up, almost as many questions as answers remain, leading readers to conclude that the Philadelphia Police Department, though capable of deploying dozens of officers and two supposedly crack detectives to catch the killer, isn’t all that good at its job.

Overly complicated and confusing in places but with pacing that makes the prose crackle.

IT HAPPENED IN WISCONSIN

Moraff, Ken Amazon Publishing (280 pp.) $14.95 paper | $9.99 e-book Oct. 22, 2013 978-1-4778-4818-0 978-1-4778-9818-5 e-book

First-time novelist Moraff swings and occasionally hits in this homespun tale about a plucky baseball team during the Depression. This book won the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough award in general fiction.

Ensconced in a nursing home and nearing the end of his life, the unnamed narrator, a former pitcher, recalls the Racine Robins, a ragtag team unified in their conviction that the common man deserves as much of a fair shake as a Wall Street millionaire. “We were working men,” he opines, “and we knew that luxury softens your resolve, that comfort weakens your character.” The Robins barnstorm through the Midwest, drumming up funds for struggling communities. A freak April snowstorm strands them at the John D. Rockefeller lodge in Wisconsin, where they meet Spencer, a wealthy blowhard who treats them all to lavish meals, attempting to influence them with his plutocratic views. He eventually wears down Mike (the narrator’s best friend and an incandescent talent on the ball field) by dangling promises of a glorious major league

BARK Stories

Moore, Lorrie Knopf (176 pp.) $24.95 | Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-307-59413-6 One of the best short story writers in America resumes her remarkable balancing act with a collection that is both hilarious and heartbreaking, sometimes in the same paragraph.

With the announced retirement and Nobel coronation of Alice Munro, Moore (Birds of America, 1998, etc.) seems peerless in her command of tone and 20

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A whole host of interesting ideas stuffed into a lopsided structure that doesn’t support the author’s high ambitions.

Still, very intriguing and provocative.

career as well as the hand of his own alluring daughter. Unsurprisingly, the Robins’ ultimate fates fail to match up to their youthful expectations. Moraff ’s prose doles out its pleasures sporadically, as in a description of a meal at the Rockefeller: “The steaks were exhibits from some museum of butchery, trophies from a cattleman’s hall of fame. So juicy you could have squeezed them into a glass.” But too often the novel drifts aimlessly in its own warm bath of nostalgia, circling among a series of flashbacks that diffuse the impact of its class conflict.

The narrator’s thwarted romance with a cafe waitress further thins the plot, leaving the sense that this novel might have worked better as a pared-down short story.

A likable if rambling debut that never quite gels.

ALL I HAVE IN THIS WORLD

Parker, Michael Algonquin (320 pp.) $24.95 | Mar. 11, 2014 978-1-61620-162-3

Two hard-luck cases come together in West Texas over a homely but storied 1984 Buick Electra.

The latest novel by the veteran Parker (creative writing/UNC-Greensboro; The Watery Part of the World, 2011, etc.) shifts between Marcus, who’s arrived in Pinto Canyon from North Carolina, and Maria, who’s returning home from the Northwest to reconnect with her mother. Marcus has hit

ABOVE

Morley, Isla Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (384 pp.) $24.99 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-1-4767-3152-0 South Africa–born Morley makes a wild U-turn from the semiautobiographical Come Sunday (2009) to write a captivity novel that morphs into a post-apocalyptic adventure.

Blythe is abducted at age 16 by Dobbs, a creepy survivalist who insists he’s saving her from the imminent Armageddon. She spends 18 years below ground in an abandoned missile silo near her Kansas home, bearing a son, Adam, who is 15 when Blythe kills Dobbs with a crochet needle and emerges Above to find that there actually was a disaster: The meltdown of 90 nuclear reactors some 15 years ago killed off most of the global population and left the rest deformed by radiation. In a world where most babies are Defectives, genetically sound Adam is a hot commodity; with the help of a sympathetic employee, he and Blythe escape the sinister facility planning to harvest his sperm and travel across the devastated landscape in search of her family. This powerful material suffers from the imperfect integration of its component parts. More than half the novel chronicles Blythe’s years in the silo—it’s Room told from the mother’s point of view but without Emma Donoghue’s stylistic and thematic mastery. Moving episodically through 18 years, the narrative throws out shards of insight into the evolution of Blythe’s relationship with Dobbs and her strategies to protect Adam, but they never cohere into a full picture. Blythe’s and Adam’s initial post-silo wanderings nicely render her growing awareness that something is very wrong Above, but they occupy too many pages given the limited amount of space Morley has left herself to explore the new reality they must cope with.

The excellent scenes following their escape, which show a shattered humanity trying to rebuild in small communities of damaged people, require more development to make the denouement in Blythe’s ruined hometown truly meaningful, though it’s quite moving nonetheless. |

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“Once again, Poissant declines to reassure but finds beauty in our imperfect strivings toward love and connection.” from the heaven of animals

the skids badly, losing his family’s land through a poorly considered nature center dedicated to carnivorous plants, while Maria still bears the emotional scars of a teenage abortion and her boyfriend’s suicide. The two meet in a used-car lot, where the light blue Buick fires dreams of redemption in both. Soon, they arrange a co-ownership deal for the car. Maria’s mother is aghast that she purchased a car with a total stranger; her act will strain credulity for the reader as well. Parker means to show how inanimate objects can be surprisingly emotional touchstones in our lives; brief interludes trace the Electra’s travels through the years, from the assembly plant to car carrier to a handful of owners. These set pieces bring some welcome color and humor to the novel, particularly in the case of an Ohio schoolteacher who errs in loaning out the car for a homecoming parade. But though Parker is an assured and emotionally sensitive writer, this novel is imprisoned by its preposterous setup.

Parker needs a lot of room to cycle through his protagonists’ thinking behind their irrational decision, which diminishes the impact of the novel’s closing reconciliations. As Maria works to reconnect with her estranged mother, Marcus is doing much the same with his estranged sister, and parallels like those make the novel feel too tidily structured for what strives to be a tale about surviving cruel, random fate.

Smart writing undone by an overly engineered conceit.

to sacrifice everything.” And dialogue: “Unhappiness is like an illness. No one can cure me of fate.” But when Kristýna belatedly ruminates that “[e]verything is pulling me downward and backward,” the novel’s structure seems less arbitrary than it did at the outset.

The revelations redeem some of the stilted writing and the characters’ senses of self-importance, as the reader comes to connect with and care for these characters as more than mouthpieces for history.

THE HEAVEN OF ANIMALS Stories

Poissant, David James Simon & Schuster (256 pp.) $24.00 | Mar. 11, 2014 978-1-4767-2996-1 The much-anthologized Poissant justifies his status as a favorite of the literary quarterlies with this debut collection of unsparing yet warmly empathetic stories.

It’s no small feat to elicit understanding for a man who throws his teenage son through a window when he finds out the boy is gay, but Dan Lawson’s first-person narration in “Lizard Man” makes his grief and regret so palpable that we hope his decision to seek reconciliation at the story’s end will be followed through. It’s characteristic of Poissant’s sure hand that Dan reaches this decision via a visit to the house of a friend’s recently deceased father, which culminates with the release of an enormous alligator into a golf club pond: The bizarre circumstances give rise to a moving revelation of forgiveness delayed too long. Mistakes that can never be amended also torment the protagonists of “Me and James Dean,” “Nudists” and “The Disappearing Boy,” though in each case, Poissant holds out hope that the simple human ability to move on can at least partially heal many wounds. That hope is most touchingly, albeit tentatively expressed in “The Geometry of Despair,” a two-part tale of a couple painfully at odds after their infant daughter’s crib death. But it would be misleading to suggest that Poissant’s work is consistently affirmative; “The Amputee,” “The End of Aaron” and “How to Help Your Husband Die” are overwhelmingly sad, the more so because their characters are drawn with such tenderness. Two short, overstylized pieces, “Knockout” and “The Baby Glows,” are the author’s only missteps, but perhaps they were warm-ups for the delicate balance between allegory and realism achieved in “What the Wolf Wants.” The collection closes with the title story, which follows Dan on a frantic cross-country drive to see his son, dying of AIDS in California. Once again, Poissant declines to reassure but finds beauty in our imperfect strivings toward love and connection.

Rueful and kind, akin to both Anton Chekhov and Raymond Carver in humane spirit and technical mastery.

(Agent: Gail Hochman)

AARON’S LEAP

Platzová, Magdaléna Translated by Cravens, Craig Bellevue Literary Press (224 pp.) $14.95 paper | Feb. 11, 2014 978-1-934137-70-3 A Czech novel about art, death and sex set against the backdrop of the Holocaust and never-ending war.

The framing of the author’s first novel to be translated into English initially appears to be unnecessarily complicated. The main narrative thread concerns the life and death of Berta Altmann, an underrecognized artist, inspirational teacher and Communist who died at Auschwitz. Her story has inspired a documentary film project, which begins the novel with a visit to the 88-yearold Kristýna, a better-known artist who learned from Berta and has her diaries, whose cooperation is reluctant at best. “[D]ead Jews are good business,” she reflects cynically of the project.

Because of Kristýna’s reluctance to consent to more than a terse interview, the filmmakers enlist her granddaughter, Milena, to help on the project. There’s an immediate attraction between the beautiful Milena and the cameraman, the Aaron of the title.

And then we get to Berta’s story, which dominates the middle of the novel and which shows her coming-of-age through phases similar to those Kristýna would subsequently experience and Milena will. Further complicating the novel are the infidelities that will connect them all. There are all sorts of grand pronouncements: “Art is a path toward the light, to the emancipation of man; this is something I believe in, something for which I’m willing 22

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WHY ARE YOU SO SAD?

robot that was programmed to believe it was a little boy, but that just cut itself and to its dismay discovers it can’t bleed.” Brenda’s blunt responses don’t even seem harsh; in fact, she seems quite reasonable by comparison. To further his investigations, Ray composes a survey assembled of questions like, “Are you having an affair?” and “Is today worse than yesterday?” and “Do you think we need more sports?” Testing his colleagues, his wife and other strangers provides mixed results. Some people claim complete happiness, others prove malcontent, and all lie in some manner or another. Porter is clearly playing with language and has an affinity both for absurdist humor and for crisp dialogue. However, tools don’t make a novel whole. This exercise in satirizing the cookiecutter lives of First-World suburbanites may prove taxing to many readers, especially those who crave a satisfying conclusion. The author pulls out a few tricks at the end, as an encounter with an attractive conceptual artist makes Ray rethink his next steps, but a deliberate rug-pulling gimmick at the finale falls flat, failing to lend our hero the sympathy he’s intended to inspire.

A single-serving comedy about the nature of contemporary doldrums.

Porter, Jason Plume (224 pp.) $15.00 paper | Jan. 28, 2014 978-0-1421-8058-7

An office drone uses absurdist surveys to measure the happiness of himself and his co-workers.

If the narrator from Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club had turned to navel-gazing instead of schizophrenic anarchy, he might resemble the sad-sack hero of this debut novel by Porter, which was shortlisted for the Paris Literary Prize in 2011. Raymond Champs is a senior pictographer for the North American Division of furniture maker LokiLoki—essentially, he’s the guy who draws the diagrams that are useless in helping you assemble your Ikea furniture. Raymond dwells on the human condition, a characteristic that drives his wife, Brenda, to drink. Asked how he feels, Ray is prone to answers like, “Okay, I guess I feel like a

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“Stupendously imagined and detailed...” from the book of heaven

THE DIVORCE PAPERS

her into a demeaning lifestyle. Since she can’t provide Daniel’s death certificate, Marnie can’t collect his life insurance, nor can she access his personal information or accounts. Even his employer refuses to hand over his personal effects. And that’s not the worst problem with which Marnie must deal: Daniel’s gambling habit has left him thousands in debt to a gangster who is determined to make his wife pay what is owed him. After he threatens her, her children and her elderly father, Marnie reluctantly agrees to work as an escort for a man who would not hesitate to order her death. About the only thing Marnie has going for her is her psychologist, Robotham’s longtime character Joe O’Loughlin. The psychologist has worked with police on sensitive cases in the past, and he knows his way around trauma victims, but while he does well with helping the helpless put their own lives together, his own remains a mess. O’Loughlin also suffers from a worsening case of Parkinson’s. Soon after starting Marnie’s treatment, he begins to suspect there is more to Marnie than she admits, and when people start turning up dead, he knows he’s dealing with more than just another victim.

Robotham’s writing remains solid. His latest, while not his best, will convert new readers and make his fans happy.

Rieger, Susan Crown (496 pp.) $25.00 | Mar. 18, 2014 978-0-8041-3744-7

A brutally comic chronicle of highend divorce told through letters, emails and a huge pile of legal memorandums.

This is the first novel from Columbia Law School graduate Rieger.

Brilliant 29-year-old Sophie Diehl is an up-and-coming criminal defense lawyer in the prestigious firm of Traynor, Hand, Wyzanski in the fictional New England state of Narraganset. Mia Durkheim, nee Meiklejohn, the daughter of one of Traynor, Hand, Wyzanski’s wealthiest clients, has been served divorce papers by her husband of 18 years, pediatric oncologist Daniel. After Sophie fills in for the firm’s vacationing divorce specialist, Fiona McGregor, to take Mia’s initial interview—transcript provided—Mia decides she wants Sophia to represent her. Sophie reluctantly accepts the civil case under pressure from managing partner David Greaves. The intimacies of Mia and Daniel’s marriage are laid bare largely through Mia and Sophie’s emails and Sophie’s detailed memos to David about the case’s progress. The couple’s skirmishes are comically vicious, while the issue of custody concerning their sensitive, precocious 10-year-old daughter deepens the marital drama.

As Sophie gears up to battle the sleazy New York lawyer Daniel has hired, she also must contend with Fiona’s ruffled feathers and office politics involving ethnic, class and gender issues brought to light in a flurry of interoffice memos—shades of The Good Wife. Meanwhile, Sophie’s emails to her best friend chronicle a nonstarter romance and her complicated relationships with high-achieving, eccentric parents whose divorce still troubles Sophie. Rieger pulls out every legal document connected to the case, including witness affidavits, settlement offer breakdowns and legal invoices.

Extremely clever, especially the legal infighting; this book should prove hugely popular with the legal set as well as anyone who has ever witnessed a divorce in process.

THE BOOK OF HEAVEN

Storace, Patricia Pantheon (384 pp.) $26.95 | $13.99 e-book | Feb. 18, 2014 978-0-375-40806-9 978-0-307-90869-8 e-book Fleeing Orion the Hunter, the biblical figure of Eve is carried away by a river of stars to another Heaven where unfamiliar, female-inspired constellations are visible. In her visionary first novel, Storace (Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel, 2007, etc.) gives voice to the stories behind four of them, tales of women dwelling in different yet not unfamiliar worlds of oppression and submission.

Stupendously imagined and detailed, occasionally didactic and dense, Storace’s descriptions of the four women’s lives that inspired these unknown star formations are filled with distantly recognizable tribes, beliefs, dynasties and social systems. The Knife is the tale of Souraya, whose marriage teaches her harsh lessons of love and betrayal. Finally a mother, she must wield a blade to save her child. The Cauldron introduces a slave, Savour, whose brilliant culinary talents help her survive imperialists, despots and genocide. The story of the Paradise Nebula portrays Rain, whose enforced prostitution teaches her to hate, to dance and to find the will to save innocence, leading to claims she is a deity. The fourth constellation, The Lovers’ Cluster, is devoted to Princess Sheba. Several of the stories are modeled on Old Testament figures; all recount lavishly complicated regimes in which the women suffer intensely but where their isolation can result in extraordinary acts.

Storace’s striking feminist mythopoeic work offers provocative alternatives in beautifully crafted prose.

WATCHING YOU

Robotham, Michael Mulholland Books/Little, Brown (432 pp.) $26.00 | $12.99 e-book | Mar. 11, 2014 978-0-316-25200-3 978-0-316-25199-0 e-book Robotham, an Australian-based writer who specializes in edge-of-your-seat thrillers, turns in a complicated story that centers around a group of individuals who are not what they seem.

Marnie is a beautiful woman who has fallen on hard times.

In addition to the untimely and unexplained disappearance of her journalist husband, Daniel, she’s struggling with a moody teenage daughter, a fragile young son and debts that are driving 24

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MY NAME IS RESOLUTE

confined in a Catholic orphanage, where she learns to spin and weave. After years of waiting for the right opportunity, she and Patience escape, but Resolute is left to her own devices on the outskirts of Lexington, Mass. There, her dreams of returning to Jamaica, where she believes her mother awaits her return, are supplanted by the practicalities of everyday living. Resolute inherits property, establishes a business, meets carpenter Cullah MacLammond and weathers the effects of two wars: the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. During difficult political conditions and epidemics that shape Resolute’s family’s and friends’ futures, she proves worthy of her name and uses her skills to assist others. Among her brave acts, she rescues a slave, hides contraband for the Sons of Liberty in her home, volunteers for secret missions, provides sustenance to starving soldiers, and sews cloaks and uniforms for the troops. Throughout the narrative, Turner skillfully keeps her main characters in the forefront and reveals historical events through their eyes and actions rather than by means of long, explanatory passages that stall the plot. The novel is lengthy and somewhat repetitious as so many characters are introduced, disappear and then are

Turner, Nancy E. Dunne/St. Martin’s (608 pp.) $27.99 | $14.99 e-book | Feb. 18, 2014 978-1-250-03659-9 978-1-250-03658-2 e-book Turner’s (The Star Garden, 2007, etc.) historical novel, set principally in the New World between 1729 and 1781, follows the life of a woman who struggles to control her own destiny and then uses her skills to help found a new country.

Resolute Talbot is a young child when she and her two older siblings are captured by pirates and taken from the family home in Jamaica. Patience, her sister, does whatever is necessary to protect her younger sister and herself, and brother August signs on to become a privateer. Surviving inhumane conditions, illness and harsh treatment, Resolute is stripped of her name, sold as a slave in the New World, taken prisoner by Indians and

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THIS IS NOT AN ACCIDENT Stories

reunited multiple times, but the author convincingly conveys a pivotal time in American history and provides a rewarding reading experience.

A fitting story about resiliency, ingenuity and heroism.

Wilder, April Viking (224 pp.) $26.95 | Feb. 3, 2014 978-0-670-02604-3

OCTOBER

Seven short stories, a rough-and-tumble novella and a clever bit of metafiction on teaching punctuate this collection from Wilder.

It’s very lean, this striking collection of tales that remind one less of contemporaries like Monica Drake or Sam Lipsyte and more of the darker plays of Sam Shepard. Loosely based around the western setting that surrounds California-based writer Wilder, the stories often pivot on the upending of clichés but also focus equally on the difficult equilibrium of relationships between all sorts of people. The title story observes the inner lives of people in an odd traffic class who have become obsessed with the mechanics of driving.

“All she had to do was actually hit someone,” Wilder writes. “Not hit to kill. She only needed to make contact, feel the impact. Once she knew what it felt like to hit someone, she’d know what it felt like not to hit someone, and she would be cured.” Nor does Wilder shy away from the most grotesque of imagery. In “The Butcher Shop,” a divorcé, suffering through a swanky steak dinner, loses a tooth, swallowing it in a sip of wine: “This felt strangely right and he imagined himself swigging Zinfandel and swallowing teeth, eyes, nose, arms, until he was nothing but a stomach digesting itself.” “We Were Champions” offers up bitter survival instead of a gut punch with the story of a woman’s reflections in the wake of the suicide of her high school baseball coach. Fortunately, Wilder offers readers a breather with “Creative Writing Instructor Evaluation Form,” which offers commentary like “The instructor looks like she might be willing to #&%@ a few of us.” The collection is nicely summed up with “You’re That Guy,” about a man trying to find reasons to live in the aftermath of his father’s death.

Excellent meditations on the human condition, wellsuited to rest alongside the likes of Denis Johnson and Richard Ford.

Wicomb, Zoë New Press (256 pp.) $24.95 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-1-59558-962-0 A heartsick academic heads from Scotland to her native South Africa to help repair her brother’s broken family— and somberly, slowly muse on her past.

As in her previous novels and stories (The One That Got Away, 2009, etc.), this novel reflects Wicomb’s interest in bridging Europe and postapartheid South Africa—or, more precisely, showing the extent of the gap. Mercia’s thoughts of home are already intense after her longtime partner leaves her, and they deepen once she receives a letter from her brother, Jake, suggesting that she needs to return to South Africa to take care of his young son.

When she arrives after 26 years away, it’s clear that his life is in chaos: He’s sunk deep into alcoholism, and his wife is at loose ends at the impending foreclosure of their home. Though the setup is dramatic, Wicomb’s writing is patient and meditative; early in the novel, Mercia reads Marilynne Robinson’s novel Home, which seems to serve as a thematic and tonal model here.

Mercia’s visit inevitably sends her into the past, thinking of her mother, who died young, and her domineering father, who sent both of them fleeing on different paths. We also learn more about Mercia’s relationship with a poet and the woman he left her for. Wicomb touches on South African politics and racial divides (Mercia’s family is black), but the novel stresses a more interior story, which turns on a harrowing revelation about Mercia’s father. At times, this story feels wan and undramatic, as Mercia continuously muses over the question of whether her true home is in Glasgow, Kliprand or Macau, where there is a potential new teaching gig. But its closing pages are genuinely affecting, intensifying the overall mood of heartbreak.

A carefully crafted, if at times overly austere, study of home and loss.

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are Water Esau Grimes, a full-sized man who spouts factoids, and Fire Jacob Grimes, a tiny appendage who does most of the talking for both. To justify keeping them in custody, Salazar calls for an evaluation from Dr. Sunil Singh, a psychiatrist with the nearby Desert Palms Institute. Singh is conducting studies in psychopathic behavior, but he doesn’t find it in either of the twins. He and Salazar form a mismatched duo themselves: The uncouth Salazar builds and burns miniature ships to commemorate the people he killed on duty; South African–born Sunil’s insight and compassion mask a secret present and a bloody past.

A man seeking revenge against Singh and a revelation about the twins lead to an unexpected ending.

Abani (The Virgin of Flames, 2007, etc.) creates vivid metaphors not just with his characters, but also with a drowned town emerging from the waters of Lake Mead, a ghost town that hosts the Carnival of Lost Souls, and the city of Las Vegas, which celebrates the dark, the hidden and the grotesque.

THE SECRET HISTORY OF LAS VEGAS

Abani, Chris Penguin (304 pp.) $16.00 paper | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-14-312495-5

A detective on the brink of retirement and a psychiatrist with a guilty burden are brought together by a series of deaths in Las Vegas in this grim but beautifully written tale.

Detective Salazar, of the Las Vegas Police, has a habit of revisiting scenes of unsolved crimes. When one such scene becomes active again, he arrests conjoined twins who were bathing in Lake Mead near a drum leaking blood. The twins

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FROM THE DEAD

for pheasant sandwiches, and then by a stranger who passes on an even more cryptic warning about the Gamekeeper and the Nide.

The former prime minister retreats in good order, but someone pushes the stranger under the wheels of the departing train.

His death would be just the excuse Flavia needs for her latest murder investigation (Speaking from Among the Bones, 2013, etc.) if she didn’t have a bigger job to tackle: alleviating her father’s sadness by using a cocktail of forbidden chemicals to reanimate her mother’s corpse. The resulting adventures will cast new light on both Harriet de Luce and several lesser relatives; identify the mysterious American clerk who was photographed in 1939 in a room in the family home that had been shut up for 10 years; and finally send Flavia off to pastures new, presumably to spread her unique combination of precocious charm and alarming initiative within a wider field than Bishop’s Lacey.

Not much mystery and even less poison, but it’s hard to resist either the genre’s pre-eminent preteen sleuth or the hushed revelations about her family. (Agent: Denise Bukowski)

Billingham, Mark Atlantic Monthly (400 pp.) $26.00 | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-8021-2213-1 DI Tom Thorne (The Dying Hours, 2013, etc.) faces “the Curious Case of the Suntanned Corpse.”

Paul Monahan certainly handcuffed someone to the steering wheel inside Alan Langford’s car before he doused it in petrol and set it ablaze. Based on the evidence found in the photos Langford’s wife, Donna, received shortly before her release from Wakefield Prison after serving 10 years for conspiring to kill him, though, it wasn’t Langford. Donna doesn’t much care whether her abusive husband is dead or alive, but she’s desperate for news about her daughter Ellie, 18, who disappeared last year while Donna was still enjoying her majesty’s hospitality, and she fears that Alan spirited her away. She begs Anna Carpenter, a low-rent inquiry agent who usually serves as the bait in honey traps, to help her, and Anna begs Thorne to help her help. For reasons that have nothing to do with his own personal preferences, Thorne agrees to take Anna along with him to Wakefield, where Paul Monahan, who’s still serving his own time, insists that he doesn’t know anything about a substitute corpse. His story convinces neither Thorne nor, evidently, whoever gets a fellow inmate to stab him to death that night. Clearly, someone doesn’t want the case reopened. Thorne, traumatized by the not-guilty verdict that vindicated judo instructor Adam Chambers of murder charges after his student Andrea Keane vanished, is haunted by the two missing 18-year-olds, and soon enough, readers will be too.

Not the best of Thorne’s nine appearances, but a solid, rewarding piece of work from beginning to end, with a particularly neat twist that arrives just after readers finally let down their guards. (Agent: Sarah Lutyens)

MURDER IN THE AFTERNOON

Brody, Frances Minotaur (400 pp.) $25.99 | Feb. 11, 2014 978-1-250-03702-2

The death of a radical stonemason changes the life of a sleuth forever.

Kate Shackleton is a World War I widow who still hasn’t given up hope that her MIA husband is alive. Adopted as a baby by a high-ranking police officer and his aristocratic wife, she’s never had any interest in her birth family. When a woman pounds on her door in the middle of the night and announces that she’s Kate’s sister, Mary Jane Armstrong, Kate takes up the case of her missing husband. It seems that Mary Jane had a quarrel with her husband, Ethan, when he went off on Saturday to work on a special sundial for the local lady of the manor’s birthday. Her daughter Harriet and her son Austin sneaked off to the quarry while Mary Jane was shopping only to discover their father’s body. Once the police go to investigate, however, they find no body and conclude that Harriet made it up and Ethan has deserted his family. Kate soon learns some things about her long-lost sister that make her a possible candidate if Ethan was murdered. Mary Jane, who had worked for the wealthy mine owner who’d commissioned the sundial, admits that the large sum of money in her secret bank account came from Col. Ledger, who had taken “artistic” pictures of her and his stunning wife when she worked for them. Ethan’s radical connections bring Kate’s lover, Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Marcus Charles, in on the case. But the discovery of Ethan’s body under a pile of rocks in the quarry puts Marcus at odds with Kate since he suspects Mary Jane.

Brody’s third in the series (A Medal for Murder, 2013, etc.) is a perfect fit for lovers of classic British mysteries who’d like to watch a clever, introspective, delightful heroine solve a tricky puzzle.

THE DEAD IN THEIR VAULTED ARCHES

Bradley, Alan Delacorte (384 pp.) $24.00 | Jan. 14, 2014 978-0-385-34405-0

Poisoning prodigy Flavia de Luce’s sixth brush with murder carries her back to the most consequential death of all: that of her long-missing mother, Harriet, whose returning corpse is promptly joined by another, fresher specimen.

Harriet de Luce’s three daughters have always been told that their mother vanished from the Himalayas back in 1941. Now her body has been recovered from a glacier after 10 years and returned to them. As she waits for Harriet’s coffin to be unloaded from the train bringing it home to Bishop’s Lacey, Flavia is accosted first

by Winston Churchill, who asks if she too has developed a taste 28

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CURSED IN THE ACT

symbols and artifacts beneath the Lyceum’s stage that suggest voudon rituals, and the possibility of a zombie in their midst add to the confusion. Harry, a young man from a humble background, is so dedicated to his work and so loyal to Stoker that he’ll follow him through hell or high water to solve the mystery and save the Lyceum. And he makes an appealing narrator of a tale that includes historical figures like Bram Stoker, Henry Irving, and Edwin Booth and brings to life the world of the Victorian theater.

With Bram Stoker as a character and the author’s proven interest in the otherworldly (Golden Illuminati, 2010, etc.), Buckland would hardly have omitted hints of the supernatural. However, the mystery could have stood on its own and might well have been stronger without the distraction.

Buckland, Raymond Berkley Prime Crime (304 pp.) $15.00 paper | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-425-26801-8 Competition between two London theaters takes a deadly turn in a series debut.

Pre-eminent Shakespearean actor Henry Irving is such a trooper that even while recovering from a dose of poison, he insists on keeping his engagement at the Lyceum, to the disappointment of his understudy, Peter Richland. The Lyceum theater manager, Bram Stoker, and his personal assistant, Harry Rivers, know they are likely to get a better house with their veteran actor—and the managers of rival theater Sadler’s Wells know it, too. After Richland is struck and killed by a carriage, Stoker and Harry discover an empty coffin where Richland’s corpse ought to be. A severed head, falling stage equipment, a mysterious man from Haiti,

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“Think Margaret Truman in the Big Easy with a recipe for beignets...” from that old black magic

THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC

herself to him a little too insistently. In fact, as Moretti’s compulsive investigation gradually reveals, Jana’s death is only the latest in a string of violence that extends back two years—a saga that melds seduction, prostitution, drug dealing and kidnapping into an unholy mess swirling around unlovely high school teacher Gary Dean Pruett, whom Jana was determined to free from prison since she was convinced that he hadn’t killed his wife, Cathy, even though he’d clearly been cheating on her with his (barely) former student Angela Reese. Nor has Jana’s death brought this murderous string to an end.

As in his first two thrillers (Very Bad Men, 2011, etc.), Dolan plays out the complications with a spider’s patience. This time, however, an unmemorable culprit makes his infernal logic seem just a tad less inevitable, scary and remorseless.

Clark, Mary Jane Morrow/HarperCollins (320 pp.) $25.99 | Jan. 21, 2014 978-0-06-213547-6

Piper Donovan travels to yet another notable vacation spot to bake yet another wedding cake and gets tossed into yet another series of murders.

While she ponders what sort of cake would best commemorate the nuptials of antique-shop assistant Sabrina Houghton and Leo Yancy, owner of Bistro Sabrina, Piper’s staying with Sabrina’s friends Bertrand and Marguerite Olivier, of Royal Street’s Boulangierie Bertrand, so that she can pick up some authentic New Orleans baking techniques. What could be cozier—especially when Piper, ever the hopeful actress, gets cast as Channing Tatum’s girlfriend? True, her character dies in the first reel, and the scene in which she realizes that she’s been buried alive brings on traumatic memories of Piper’s last brush with violent death (Footprints in the Sand, 2013, etc.). What really turns Piper’s stay into a nightmare, though, is the murder of Muffuletta Mike, the neighboring butcher. Will the good people of Royal Street— Sabrina’s boss, Ellinore Duchamps, her flirtatious nephew Falkner the tour guide, bartender Wuzzy Queen, street musician Cecil Gregson—band together to repel the killer or turn their backs long enough for Piper to become the next victim?

Think Margaret Truman in the Big Easy with a recipe for beignets or a lesser Agatha Christie with an unusually imperiled heroine and just enough hints of voodoo for the tourist trade.

BLACK LIES, RED BLOOD

Eriksson, Kjell Translated by Norlen, Paul Minotaur (320 pp.) $25.99 | Apr. 29, 2014 978-0-312-60504-9

Police inspector Ann Lindell tackles an investigation that’s painfully close to home.

Love comes unexpectedly to workaholic Swede Ann in the person of Anders Brant, who is emotional, loving and utterly unlike the brooding, unavailable men she usually falls for. He even seems to understand her commitment to her work. But she’s not used to such turbulent and unsteady feelings, which dog her on the job. Her current case, the disappearance of teenager Klara Lovisa several months ago, is frustratingly, bafflingly cold. As Ann sets about the tedious task of interviewing friends and family members again, the murder of Bosse Gransberg, a homeless sometime handyman, is also under investigation. The detectives on this case, Ola Haver and Beatrice Andersson, face unusual hostility and resistance from members of the community. Thoughts of Brant provide Ann a much-needed respite during her grim task. But when Brant goes missing, her emotions get a tumultuous workout. Worse, Brant’s phone number is found on Bosse’s person. Fortunately for her, Ann has not shared any details of her new relationship with colleagues.

Inconveniently, Brant happens to be in Brazil. Unable to defend himself, he emerges as the prime suspect. What else can Ann do but solve the crime in order to save him?

Eriksson (The Hand that Trembles, 2011, etc.) adds each piece of his complex murder puzzle to the picture with masterly control, and the heroine at the center of it all is compelling.

THE LAST DEAD GIRL

Dolan, Harry Putnam (432 pp.) $26.95 | Jan. 9, 2014 978-0-399-15796-7

Stung by discovering his fiancee’s infidelity, an upstate real estate inspector walks out on her and into a relationship with a local law student—a relationship that turns even more intense with the student’s murder.

As he tells Detective Frank Moretti, David Malone knew Jana Fletcher for 10 days before her death. And as Moretti tells him, they’d been lovers for 10 days as well, and there’s no suspect more obvious when David finds Jana strangled to death. Except for discovering her body, he insists he had nothing to do with her murder; more likely she was killed by whoever dropped the Popsicle stick in the woods nearby. Thanks to a series of cutaways to the perp’s viewpoint, the reader doesn’t have to take David’s word for it. The killer, identified only as K, is indeed the man who’s been watching Jana from the woods, warming up for her murder by snuffing Jolene Halliwell, a hooker who attached 30

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ROBERT B. PARKER’S BULL RIVER

Clark’s Cottonwood Springs whorehouse. It turns out that more than Wainwright’s money has been taken; his daughter Catherine, Strode’s wife, is gone as well. Clearly, there’s more to this robbery than meets the eye, but Virgil and Everett are stunned to hear Alejandro Vasquez announce that he knows who the real robbers are and where they can be found. Can they trust the bandito accused of multiple thefts and murders to lead them to the culprits—especially once the trail leads to Mexico, where the federales are just as eager to clap Alejandro into prison as the Americans? And what will happen if, against all odds, Virgil and Everett actually catch up with their prey?

The questions are a lot more interesting than the answers. But Knott pays out the complications with a sure hand en route to a denouement that provides fans exactly what they’re looking for and not a smidgen more.

Knott, Robert Putnam (320 pp.) $26.95 | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-399-16526-9

Knott (Robert B. Parker’s Ironhorse, 2013) spins another tale that unites Parker’s two chosen genres, the Western and the crime story.

No sooner have Territorial Marshal Virgil Cole and his deputy, Everett Hitch, hunted down “Captain” Alejandro Vasquez so that he can be locked in the San Cristóbal jail than there’s a ruckus across town. According to unimpeachable eyewitness testimony, Henry Strode, president of the Comstock Bank, has made off with $200,000, most of it on deposit for Strode’s father-in-law, St. Louis tycoon Jantz Wainwright. The search for Strode ends abruptly when he’s discovered, beaten, breathing and broke, on the porch of Slingshot

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DROWNING BARBIE

up of ex-servicemen in their 30s, all recovering from post-traumatic stress through therapeutic sailing. Masefield isn’t at all sure that Johnnie, in his mid-20s, will fit in. But the youngster has his own baggage. As a teenager, Johnnie was involved in an arson at a local marina, an offense for which he drew probation, though some of his co-defendants served time. Frantic for a lead, Horton asks yachting photographer Sarah Conway for a recent photo of Johnnie, which he shows up and down the waterfront from Gosport to Chichester until he finds a cabbie who says Johnnie asked the fare to Hayling Island but then set off on foot. Horton interviews Johnnie’s former partners in crime but turns up nothing. Then DS Uckfield reveals that the crew of the Calista may be the target of an investigation into a string of high-end jewel heists.

Is Johnnie’s disappearance part of a plot to cover up an international crime? Or does it stem from a more pedestrian juvenile misdeed? Although distracted by his never-ending search for the reason for his mother’s disappearance and by his uncomfortable attraction to fellow cop Harriet Eames, Horton puts his all into the search for his colleague’s nephew.

Readers with a love of yachting and a keen sense of maritime geography will enjoy Rowson’s latest. Everyone else will be pretty much confused.

Ramsay, Frederick Poisoned Pen (268 pp.) $24.95 | $14.95 paper | $22.95 Lg. Prt. Feb. 4, 2014 978-1-4642-0214-8 978-1-4642-0216-2 paper 978-1-4642-0215-5 Lg. Prt. Sheriff Ike Schwartz and his longtime love, college president Ruth Harris, have to plan their wedding reception around a couple of corpses.

Their nightmarish trip to Maine (Scone Island, 2012) has left Ike and Ruth in desperate need of relaxation. After one particularly well-lubricated evening in Vegas, however, the pair wakes up with joint hangovers as well as foggy memories of the Budding Rose Wedding Chapel. Too ashamed to admit they’re already hitched, they slink home and badger Picketsville’s Episcopal priest, the Rev. Blake Fisher, into blessing their civil union in a public ceremony fit to celebrate the ultimate union of town and gown. But Andy Lieux’s dog throws a hitch into their getting hitched by digging up not one but two dead bodies in the woods by the old spring. The first is Ethyl Smut, a skanky methhead who locals agree should have been put out of her misery long ago. The second turns up in the FBI’s dental files as Tony Barbarini, a mobster supposedly sent to Davy Jones’ locker years ago by a couple of thugs named Johnny Murphy and Alphonse Damato. This little discrepancy sends federal agent Karl Hedrick, formerly Ike’s deputy, scrambling back to Picketsville. Even with Karl’s help, the investigation stalls. Worst of all, Darla Smut, the one person who might know who killed her mom, disappears, and Ike knows that if he doesn’t find Darla fast, deadly dangerous drug dealer George LeBrun just might beat him to her.

Why Picketsville’s first Jewish sheriff is hellbent on a church wedding is just one of the mysteries that doesn’t get solved in Ramsay’s otherwise highly entertaining ninth.

A PRICE TO PAY

Simms, Chris Creme de la Crime (192 pp.) $27.95 | Jan. 1, 2014 978-1-78029-050-8 The illegal sale of refurbished laptops places Manchester’s Counterterrorism Unit on a collision course with Mossad.

A reconditioned Dell Latitude for less than £300 seems like a dream come true to university student Philip Young.

But when he finds profile pictures of young girls with names like Shandy, Aisha, Rihanna and Zara in the carrying case, he turns them over to the police. Aisha turns out to be a young runaway named Teah Rice who jumped to her death from a highway overpass the week before. Zara’s (real name Jade Cummings) story is even more harrowing: Her picture matches that of a suicide bomber who blew herself up at the Lebanon border, taking four Israeli soldiers with her. The police call in CTU, including DC Iona Khan (Scratch Deeper, 2013), a young Scottish-Pakistani working hard to fit in. Iona’s instincts are sharp. She’s sure that whoever is behind the girls’ deaths is trafficking young women.

But tracking down the other laptops sold by the same shady dealer takes time the CTU doesn’t have. They know that Israel won’t let their soldiers’ deaths go unavenged. Even now, Mossad agents are in the U.K., watching Iona and her colleague Martin Everington. Can Martin and Iona find the source of the laptops, and the source of the women, in time to keep them out of Mossad’s reach? And can they learn to trust each other as partners soon enough to solve this crime?

Iona’s second adventure is long on tension but short on logic.

DEATH SURGE

Rowson, Pauline Severn House (224 pp.) $28.95 | Jan. 1, 2014 978-0-7278-8321-6 The disappearance of a young yachtsman sends shock waves through the Portsmouth CID. DI Andy Horton (Death Lies Beneath, 2012, etc.) isn’t even out of sight of St. Boniface Down on the Isle of Wight when a frantic phone call from his partner, Barney Cantelli, summons him back from his sailing trip to France. Barney’s nephew, Johnnie Oslow, is missing. Johnnie left Sardinia as scheduled to join Scott Masefield aboard the Calista, getting Xander Andreadis’ yacht ready for the Cowes Week races. Masefield’s crew is made 32

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BEYOND BELIEF

prove herself and unwilling to risk Scott’s criticism, Bailey goes maverick and, though she puts the case and herself at serious risk, finds an important clue from Lisa’s past. Bailey, Scott and Murray all have their own pasts, which affect their judgments and make them more human—but also put the brakes on the pace. A grudging trust between Bailey and Scott provides a stronger payoff for the tale than the solution of the mystery.

Staincliffe (Crying Out Loud, 2011, etc.) devotes nearly as much attention to her three leads’ struggles with their personal lives as she does to the procedural itself. Sympathetic though they are, one keeps wanting them to stop agonizing and just get on with the case.

Smith, Helen Thomas & Mercer (254 pp.) $14.95 paper | $9.99 e-book Jan. 28, 2014 978-1-4778-4972-9 978-1-4778-9972-4 e-book When a psychic foresees death at a seaside convention, even the most cynical learn that they’d better pay attention.

Bored with her office job in London, Emily Castles happily accepts an all-expenses-paid trip to the resort town of Torquay, the site of Belief and Beyond, a convention for paranormal research. Her friends at the Royal Society for the Exploration of Science and Culture are also willing to pay for her services as a future-crimes investigator, particularly since Emily’s neighbor, Perspicacious Peg, has had premonitions that someone will drown at the convention. The highlight of Belief and Beyond is notable magician Edmund Zenon’s offer of £50,000 to anyone who can prove the existence of the paranormal. Emily is as skeptical as Zenon himself that anyone will collect the money, especially after she meets some of the conventioneers: the leader of an obscure religious cult, a couple who’ve brought along the psychic who’s communicating with their dead son, and a fortuneteller who owns a costume store to help with dry spells in her vocation. The foreboding visions, after much arch humor at the expense of the daffy characters’ antics, finally start to come true—and then don’t stop.

Emily (Invitation to Die, 2013, etc.) returns in an equalopportunity satire of those who believe in the paranormal and those who exploit the believers. It’s an enjoyable tale with a leisurely buildup, though readers in search of a fastmoving mystery will be fidgeting long before the first murder. (Agent: David Hale Smith)

HUNTING SHADOWS

Todd, Charles Morrow/HarperCollins (352 pp.) $25.99 | $14.99 e-book | Jan. 21, 2014 978-0-06-223718-7 978-0-06-223711-8 e-book Inspector Rutledge returns for another painstaking investigation of murders in the aftermath of World War I. When a sharpshooter kills Capt. Gordon Hutchinson at a wedding in Ely, Cambridgeshire, no one in the panicked crowd can tell precisely where the bullet came from. A similar shooting in the neighboring town of Wriston that kills the popular Tory candidate Herbert Swift draws Inspector Ian Rutledge from Scotland Yard. When he first arrives, Rutledge is nearly lost in the marshy Fens until a mysterious man emerges from the mist to steer him toward the hearth of Marcella Trowbridge. Even after Rutledge is able to find his way around by daylight, he’s still enshrouded in fog in his attempts to discover if the two murders are related.

Reports of a monster behind the rifle that killed the two men, a haunted mill and the mythical Green Man painted on the ceiling of Ely Cathedral lead Rutledge, in a blend of dogged research and intuitive leaps, to a case of two wronged women.

But is more than one man exacting revenge? The mother-andson team Todd (Proof of Guilt, 2013, etc.) may be letting up on their tortured hero: The ghostly voice of Hamish MacLeod, the soldier whom Rutledge had to shoot in the Great War, is a bit less prominent than in earlier installments.

Less from ghost Hamish? That change may be as welcome to some fans as to the inspector himself, though others may miss the inspector’s invisible partner and conscience.

DEAD TO ME

Staincliffe, Cath Minotaur (400 pp.) $25.99 | Jan. 14, 2014 978-1-250-03854-8 Two female detectives form an uneasy partnership in the grim back streets of Manchester.

DC Rachel Bailey is thrilled when golden girl DCI Gill Murray invites her to join an elite unit for major crimes.

However, the street-wise Bailey is less pleased with her partner, middle-class DC Janet Scott, especially since Scott doesn’t hesitate to put Bailey in her place when they investigate the murder of Lisa Finn. The more the detectives question the people who knew the young victim—the boyfriend who got her back onto drugs, the alcoholic mother who gave her up to foster care, the social workers who tried to help her, the cab driver who saw her last—the more perplexing the case becomes. Determined to |

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“Just the thing when you want something less good-natured and reflective than Lawrence Block’s tales of Keller the hit man.” from urban renewal

URBAN RENEWAL

with it. Stone gives him some elementary pointers and sends him on his way. Fratelli’s danger seems minimal, since the statute of limitations has long run out on the heist. But evidently not for a pair of Secret Service agents who get interested in the case; or for a retired FBI agent who’s determined to cut himself in; or for wiseguy Onofrio “Bats” Buono, who thinks that as Eddie’s nephew, he’s entitled to the money himself. So Fratelli keeps phoning Stone for more advice, and every conversation enmeshes Stone more deeply in his troubles. Which would be fine if Stone weren’t also fielding big-deal calls from British fashion designer Emma Tweed, who wants to know how to catch whoever’s stealing her designs, and Katherine Rule Lee, the first lady who wants Stone to help her launch her otherwise hush-hush candidacy to succeed her husband as president.

The subplots lead nowhere, and the main upshot of Fratelli’s little problem is some uncharacteristically salty language.

Vachss, Andrew Vintage Crime/Black Lizard (240 pp.) $14.95 paper | Jan. 28, 2014 978-0-8041-6881-6 More criminal adventures for tougherthan-thou hireling Cross and his covey of Chicago assassins (Blackjack, 2012).

“Adventures” may not seem like the best word for an antihero who rarely ventures outside the dank comforts of Red 71, his secure bunker. But it’s appropriate to the episodic nature of his skullduggery this time. In rapid succession, Cross and his crew—Ace, his partner in the Double-X strip club; the deadly Amazon Tiger; man-child Princess and his killer Akita Sweetie; squeaky giant Rhino; Samoan doormen K-1 and K-2; Buddha, Condor and all the rest—do what needs to be done on a dozen different fronts. They dispose of the overly possessive boyfriend of the newest dancer in the Double-X. They deal with an undercover agent in their midst. They discuss plans to snap up houses on a crumbling block and rehab them. They discuss possible double crosses among the rehab financiers and how to deal with them. They take on a job of pest removal in the ranks of a Chicago mobster. They eliminate the weak link from a bunch of street kids they want to use as guards. They provide an unwitting organ donor for a patient whose wife is desperate.

And although Cross keeps telling everyone who outlines a job to him that they don’t need to say anything else, they talk and talk, and when they’re done talking, they go out in the Shark Car and kill people: one bullet, one death. As new plots blossom, flit by and flame out, readers may think of a collection of short stories or a comic book without pictures.

Zero at the bone. Just the thing when you want something less good-natured and reflective than Lawrence Block’s tales of Keller the hit man.

science fiction and fantasy BROKEN HOMES

Aaronovitch, Ben DAW/Berkley (336 pp.) $7.99 paper | Feb. 4, 2014 978-0-7564-0960-9 Another entry in the Rivers of London urban fantasy series (Whispers Under Ground, 2012, etc.).

In a city with a thriving supernatural community, including river gods, dryads and fairies, narrator and PC Peter Grant works for the London Metropolitan Police. He’s also an apprentice wizard and he, along with PC Lesley May and DCI Thomas Nightingale, the last registered wizard in England, comprises the Folly, the Met’s supernatural department—they’re known as Isaacs after their founder, Sir Isaac Newton. The case begins with a murder in Sussex that may have magical associations, followed by a suicide that may have been magically coerced. And when a valuable stolen book of magic is recovered, the thief turns up burned to a crisp—from the inside. The book, it seems, was owned by expatriate German architect Erik Stromberg, whose masterpiece, an eccentric tower block called the Skygarden Estate, in Elephant and Castle, clearly is magically inspired—but is the development itself some sort of magical artifact? Are these seemingly unassociated elements related to the Faceless Man, a powerful rogue wizard with whom the Folly has crossed swords in the past? To find out what’s really going on in Skygarden, Peter and Lesley must go undercover. All this is even more shapeless than the summary

STANDUP GUY

Woods, Stuart Putnam (320 pp.) $26.95 | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-399-16415-6 New York attorney Stone Barrington (Doing Hard Time, 2013, etc.) reaps the whirlwind after advising a walk-in client how to live safely on several million dollars in ill-gotten gains.

John Fratelli is a stand-up guy. Jailed 25 years ago for armed robbery, he did his time, kept his mouth shut and patiently waited to get out. Now he’s out, along with the key to a safe deposit box his cellmate, Eduardo Buono, bequeathed him. The box contains Buono’s disproportionate share of the proceeds from the robbery of the freight terminal at JFK (remember that?), and Fratelli, who’s heard that Stone’s a stand-up guy too, wants his advice about what to do 34

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“Baffling sometimes but enthralling and hugely enjoyable.” from wakeworld

indicates—a phenomenon mystery fans will be familiar with— and it’s only in the last 50 pages or so that the plot coheres and the title’s significance becomes apparent. Still, you’ve got to like a book where the city itself is the main character—literally. And there are plenty of surprises for alert readers.

Worth a try for series fans, although, since Aaronovitch provides no catch-up help, newcomers are best advised to begin at the beginning.

MURDER OF CROWS

Bishop, Anne ROC/Penguin (368 pp.) $26.95 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-451-46526-9

Second in the series (Written in Red, 2013) set on an Earth-like world, Namid, populated by a panoply of supernatural Others—and the humans who are their natural prey.

On the continent of Thaisia, in the city of Lakeside, a delicate balance has been struck between humans and the terra indigene—shape-shifting wolves, raptors, bears, vampires and worse—thanks to Meg Corbyn, a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, who sees the future when her skin is cut. The Sanguinati, or vampires, have declared that no harm shall come to the “sweet blood,” but for werewolf Simon Wolfgard, she is more of a problem, since he is developing deeper feelings for Meg than any wolf should have. Meg has escaped the Controller, a slave master who owns a stable of young cassandra sangue women; he’s still trying to re-acquire Meg, his best prophet, since his other slaves are all foreseeing nothing but fire and destruction, and his rich clients are not pleased. But his real ambition is to put humans in charge by releasing two addictive drugs, contaminating meat supplies with ground-up bits of cassandra sangue, trapping vampires while in immaterial form and other acts of extreme provocation. Enraged, the terra indigene threaten to destroy entire cities; meanwhile, Meg’s urge to cut herself and see the future grows all but irresistible, knowing that she is the key to determining whether humans and terra indigene can learn to work together in mutual trust. This one is less exquisitely controlled than the previous book, with a plot that functions only intermittently; despite this, it delves more deeply into characters’ motivations, interactions and emotions, with the outcome even more compelling and wrenching.

Technically less accomplished but nonetheless fully satisfying.

THE ANXIETY OF KALIX THE WEREWOLF

Millar, Martin Soft Skull Press (640 pp.) $18.95 paper | Feb. 11, 2014 978-1-59376-537-8

Life is tough. It’s tougher when you’re a werewolf, or so this lumbering yarn, the third installment in Millar’s (Curse of the Wolf Girl, 2010, etc.) Kalix Werewolf series, assures us.

And not just any old werewolf, but a Scottish werewolf in London, living on the fringe, depressed and drugged. Kalix is just 18, but she’s already killed plenty. In fact, at the top of her “Werewolf Improvement Plan” list of resolutions is the notation, “be less violent.” That’s not so easy to do when a secret sect of werewolf hunters, the Avenaris Guild, is after you and yours. (And why secret? Because werewolf hunters have to be, one guesses.)

That, plus the fact that Kalix has drawn werewolf blood, too, in what threatens to develop into a lycanthropic civil war. Whatever the case, she’s a force of, well, supernature: “Her speed and power were abnormal, even by the standards of her fellow werewolves. The madness in battle was just part of her general insanity, according to her detractors”—though it could have something to do with the odd circumstances of her birth as well, with which Millar opens this too-long tome. There are some nice hipster/ waif touches in his narrative: Kalix digs the 1970s tough-girl group The Runaways, the humans she falls in with are the pimply arty punks from whom great things may emerge, and the London she inhabits is a playground for all kinds of malevolent critters, including one particularly resourceful fairy. Still, even allowing for all the pop-culture slyness (“The Fire Queen...felt herself to be on the defensive ever since Kabachetka had ingratiated herself with the editor of Vogue by sponsoring the ball”) and pomo irony, there’s not much stuffing in this overstuffed book; the action scenes, though suitably bloody, come too few and too far between, and the principal characters are much too talky for the busily disruptive creatures they are.

Fans of Millar’s work, who are legion, won’t object, but newcomers may want to take in their werewolvery by other means.

WAKEWORLD

Schafer, Kerry Ace/Berkley (304 pp.) $7.99 paper | Jan. 28, 2014 978-0-425-26124-8 Second (Between, 2013) in an urban fantasy series where three worlds—Wakeworld, Dreamworld and Between—are real.

In the series opener, ER doctor Vivian Maylor learned that she is the last of the dreamshifters, one who can move at will from one realm to another. She’s

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also able to transform herself into a dragon—and she’s a sorceress. Unfortunately, nobody instructed her on how to awaken or use any of her powers. In the Dreamworld, her boyfriend, bookseller and artist Zee Arbogast, is the Warlord, slayer of dragons, and Vivian doesn’t know how to tell him about herself. Wherever she goes, she’s followed by a smart, brave penguin named Poe. Becoming a dragon has drawbacks, too, since dragons follow their own instincts and care nothing for humans.

Meanwhile, Morgan Weathersby makes a living by conducting small parties of hunters into the Dreamworld, where they can bag spectacular trophies. He’s actually a dreamshifter too, but he rejected the calling as a young boy and was forced to witness his father slaughter the rest of his family, a crime for which he was blamed. When his latest safari goes dreadfully wrong, he decides to return to his roots and learn about his origins, either to take up his calling or put an end to himself, he isn’t sure which. Meanwhile, an old witch steals Vivian’s protective amulet and locks her out of the Dreamworld. She learns of the existence of another possible dreamshifter, who might be able to help, and goes off to find him. This is only the beginning of a huge and complicated plot—sometimes overly so—vigorously narrated within spectacular and vivid settings, with action that rarely slackens. Best of all, it’s set forth in prose so evocative that it practically leaps off the page.

Baffling sometimes but enthralling and hugely enjoyable.

soldier Jirom are both so drawn to him. But it’s undeniable that this novel is also sheer fun, with engaging, pulse-quickening action, sympathetic characters and intricate intrigue.

Despite some flaws, definitely a series to follow.

RED DELICIOUS

Tierney, Kathleen ROC/Penguin (288 pp.) $16.00 paper | Feb. 4, 2014 978-0-451-41653-7 Another wisecracking supernatural horror yarn (Blood Oranges, 2013) expressed in what used to be known as splatterpunk mode.

Tierney brings new or forgetful readers up to date with a memorably pithy page-and-a-half recap. The ballsy, profane, in-your-face narrator is Siobhan Quinn—don’t, whatever you do, call her Siobhan—ex-heroin addict, now both vampire and werewolf. Her employer, the devious human she calls Mean Mr. B, has been hired to locate the missing daughter of a prominent local necromancer. Unfortunately, Mr. B’s investigator, Shaker Lashly, has also gone missing and soon turns up with bullet holes. Quinn’s job, then, is to find out what happened to Lashly and locate the missing girl. Naturally, the case turns out to involve something else altogether, namely, a MacGuffin that’s actually a transcendentally powerful and valuable dildo. No, that’s not a misprint. Three demonic entities desire to possess the item: the infernal brothel-keeper Drusneth, the succubus Yeksabet Harpootlian, and Magdalena Szabó, a demoness from an alternate world who may or may not even exist—all of whom will stop at nothing to acquire it. Not only must Quinn survive the attentions of these three formidable females, but also the determined assaults of defrocked priest Father Burt Rizzo, whose self-appointed mission is to rid New Providence of its supernatural badasses.

Another defiantly over-the-top yarn that breaks every rule in the book, mostly with advance warning, and succeeds by being even more flagrantly disgraceful than its predecessor.

BLOOD AND IRON

Sprunk, Jon Pyr/Prometheus Books (445 pp.) $18.00 | $11.99 e-book | Mar. 11, 2014 978-1-61614-893-5 978-1-61614-894-2 e-book A tradesman fleeing a personal tragedy is thrust into more elevated and considerably more perilous circumstances in the first of a political sword-and-sorcery epic by the author of Shadow’s Master (2012).

Ship’s carpenter Horace is bound for the crusade to fight the Akeshian Empire when a strange storm wrecks the Bantu Ray and Horace finds himself marooned in Erugash, a city-state in Akeshia. He’s immediately captured and enslaved; his fortunes and his danger rise during another storm, which reveals that Horace possesses zoana, or elemental magic. Unchained and whisked to Queen Byleth’s court, Horace must quickly learn to master his previously unknown magic, which makes him both a power to be reckoned with and a target for rival nobles, the priests of the Sun Cult and other more covert forces who seek the queen’s downfall. Akeshia is somewhat based on ancient Egypt, and Horace clearly comes from a more European milieu; the assimilation of a white man into a dark-skinned alien culture and his superior mastery of an ability intrinsic to that culture whiffs faintly (and vaguely unpleasantly) of Dances With Wolves or The Last Samurai. And perhaps a bit too much is made of Horace’s nobility of character, used to explain why queen’s handmaiden (and foreign spy) Alyra and closeted-gay, enslaved 36

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THE JUDGE OF AGES

Wright, John C. Tor (384 pp.) $26.99 | $12.99 e-book | Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-7653-2929-5 978-1-4299-4722-1 e-book Third part of Wright’s series (The Hermetic Millennia, 2012, etc.) in which, thanks to alien technology, Texas gunslinger Menelaus Montrose transformed himself into a supergenius—and so did his rival, Ximen “Blackie” del Azarchel. |

“...an adventure chock full of magical beings, breathtaking descriptions, and beautifully rendered characters and situations.” from river of dreams

The alien slavers who provided the technology, the Domination of Hyades, will arrive in 400 years to take ownership of the Earth. All this time, Blackie has been attempting to force the development of a suitably advanced yet compliantly slaveworthy population. The two post-humans are also rivals for Rania, Menelaus’ wife, presently heading at near light speed for a remote globular star cluster in order to confront the Hyades’ bosses’ bosses. She will, of course, arrive back at Earth thousands of years too late to prevent the Hyades’ occupation, so somehow Menelaus, waking periodically from cryogenic suspension, must thwart Blackie and prevent the slavers from exterminating humanity until she arrives. Now, Menelaus discovers that the tombs where he and his allies were preserved have been ripped open and plundered by Blackie’s Blue Men minions—a situation that precipitates a battle that lasts the best part of 200 pages, and a further 100 of post-battle analysis and wrangling, leading to yet another (indecisive) showdown between Menelaus and Blackie. With nonstop if pedestrian action, villains who chortle and strut, and Menelaus’ indestructible self-confidence, it’s a sequence worthy of A. E. van Vogt’s spirit, though, alas, lacking van Vogt’s deftness or economy of style. Weird post-humans build themselves into recognizable characters. The plot devolves into a series of revelations that make sense only to the characters or, possibly, a few readers, should any still be hanging heroically on.

Dazzling, highly impressive but readable only with enormous effort. (Agent: Jack Byrne)

not thrilled with the idea of spending any time with him. And yet, the idea of a couple of sports heroes modeling her line is fresh and unique. The more time Carolina spends with Drew, the more determined he seems to prove to Carolina that he’s changed. And that he might be a good bet for forever. In this installment of her Play-By-Play series, Burton continues her athlete-themed stories with a hot hockey player looking for redemption from the girl who’s always intrigued him, despite his disgraceful actions years ago.

Fast-paced, with intense sex scenes and an intriguing jumble of the sports and fashion worlds, this steamy novel will satisfy those who like a little heat in their love stories.

RIVER OF DREAMS

Kurland, Lynn Berkley Sensation (384 pp.) $15.00 paper | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-425-26282-5 Aisling and Rùnach’s adventure continues, as Rùnach steps more fully into his royal heritage, leading them back to his grandfather’s elven kingdom, where they will seek answers as to who Aisling truly is and how they might save the Nine Kingdoms.

After Aisling is sent on a quest she never asked for and meets up with Rùnach, an elven prince and mage who has lost his magic, the two travel to an array of magical places Aisling never imagined existed. But her travels with Rùnach have taught the weaver a few things, the most important one being that he is a man she can depend on. When it becomes clear that there are people who want them both dead, they seek sanctuary in Seanagarra, the magical elven realm of Rùnach’s grandfather.

There, Rùnach tries to decipher an enigmatic spell book he found on his journey that might have some answers they both need in order to succeed in saving her country but which has also brought about the wrath of a black mage, who will kill to recover the book and its secrets. Meanwhile, under the mystical influence of Seanagarra and Rùnach’s grandparents, Aisling seems to become more powerful and magical in ways none of them have ever seen, even though the elder generation has some idea of who she really is and what is in her future. Aisling and Rùnach have been slowly and quietly falling in love, but the time has come to commit to one another and to Aisling’s quest and in doing so, learn of the network of people who have been watching and waiting for the day they take up the challenge in earnest. Taking up where Dreamspinner (2012) left off, Kurland continues her romantic fantasy series with the same elegant writing—though a few oft-repeated phrases do get distracting— and imagination, taking the reader on an adventure chock full of magical beings, breathtaking descriptions, and beautifully rendered characters and situations.

An enchanting, vibrant story that captures romance, fantasy and adventure with intriguing detail and an epic, fairy-tale sensibility.

r om a n c e MELTING THE ICE

Burton, Jaci Berkley (336 pp.) $15.00 paper | Feb. 4, 2014 978-0-425-26298-6 Preparing her debut line for Fashion Week, Carolina Preston knows her brother’s suggestion to have his best friend model for her is a good one—even if the one hot, secret night she shared in college with sexy hockey star Drew Hogan makes her wary.

Carolina has worked hard to launch her own fashion line, paying her dues and putting her life on hold until she establishes herself in her chosen career as a designer. Now that her dream is in her sights, and she’s staring down her first-ever Fashion Week with her own designs, she wants a new angle. Her brother offers to model for her and suggests asking Drew, his best friend from college and a supersexy hockey star. At first, Carolina resists.

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THAT TOUCH OF MAGIC

estranged parents, her best friend, and Jack’s teenage daughter, Nola. Mellie shares an ability to see and interact with ghosts with her mother, which comes in handy when an infant’s skeleton is found in the foundation during renovation work, an event that seems to awaken violent intentions in at least one of the many ghosts who live in her historic home. Working with the circle of friends and colleagues who’ve helped her solve ghostly mysteries before, Mellie races to untangle the complicated secrets of the past and the tragic story behind the tiny buried body, since the poltergeist’s capacity for violence is escalating, threatening Mellie and her child. As she works through the web of past residents of the house, Mellie also finds herself confronting some personal demons, and revisiting relationships with friends, family and Jack, even while their research may uncover truths that threaten her claim on the house that she’s fallen in love with. In this installment of White’s Tradd Street series, there’s nothing groundbreaking or surprising. White is a good writer and carries an intriguing story smoothly forward, combining a number of complex psychic, historical and romantic elements. Mellie can get tiresome (eat a doughnut, already!); the romantic he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not arc becomes annoying; and the historical mystery is somewhat convoluted, but overall, the book is an interesting, engaging read.

More of the same from White and protagonist Mellie, which will please fans immensely.

March, Lucy St. Martin’s (352 pp.) $7.99 paper | Jan. 28, 2014 978-0-312-38938-3

Despite the potential dangers of magic, recently laid-off librarian Stacy Easter starts mixing potions for income, and when her ex Leo North comes back to town, she takes a potion herself— opening her town and herself to an evil and destructive dark magic.

One year ago, Stacy Easter was embroiled in a violent magical power struggle when her best friend, Liv, discovered she had latent powers that certain people would love to get their hands on. In the process, Stacy learned she had some talent herself in mixing potions. After losing her librarian job to budget cuts, she began mixing love potions for clients. All is well until her ex-boyfriend comes back to town. Ten years ago, Leo betrayed her and left, but now he’s back for her brother’s wedding, and while he’s in town, he wants to make amends and convince her that they belong together. Leo tore Stacy’s heart out when he left, and she decides it would be much better to numb her emotions. Procuring a potion to use for the duration of the wedding turns into a dark choice when, suddenly, her clients begin experiencing dangerous side effects and Stacy realizes she’s inadvertently opened herself up to a magical psychopath. It will take the support and talents of her friends to counteract the spells and save the town, and as they try to come up with a rescue plan, Stacy finds herself admitting to her long-buried feelings for Leo. March spins a magical tale with an authentic, damaged heroine who must overcome some serious self-worth issues in order to rescue herself, her clients and her heart. Great writing and characterization flesh out a unique, compelling plot that keeps readers intrigued and emotionally engaged.

Touching, sexy and enchanting.

RETURN TO TRADD STREET

White, Karen New American Library (352 pp.) $15.00 paper | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-451-24059-0

Realtor and psychic Melanie Middleton is facing single motherhood in a haunted house she refuses to admit she loves, but it seems her pregnancy has awakened some malevolent feelings in at least one of the ghosts who shares her home.

Mellie is sinking a fortune into her inherited mansion in Charleston, S.C., while trying to convince herself that she hates old houses. Newly pregnant, she has broken up with the father, Jack, a local best-selling novelist, since he won’t tell her he loves her. Mellie is reconciled to single motherhood and has a posse of people around her to help, including her until-recently 38

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nonfiction THE GREAT PROSTATE HOAX How Big Medicine Hijacked the PSA Test and Caused a Public Health Disaster

These titles earned the Kirkus Star: THE GREAT PROSTATE HOAX by Richard Ablin; Ronald J.Piana......................................................................................39 FAISAL I OF IRAQ by Ali A. Allawi.................................................. 40

Ablin, Richard J. with Piana, Ronald Palgrave Macmillan (272 pp.) $27.00 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-1-137-27874-6

THE DOUBLE LIFE OF PAUL DE MAN by Evelyn Barish................. 42 JONATHAN SWIFT by Leo Damrosch................................................45

The scientist who discovered the prostate specific antigen in 1970 explains emphatically why he considers use of the PSA test for routinely screening healthy men for cancer to be a profit-driven national disaster.

With the assistance of science writer Piana, Ablin (Pathology/Univ. of Arizona Coll. of Medicine) pulls no punches in this attack on what he sees as the misdeeds of the urology community, the biotech industry and the Food and Drug Administration. The author explains that PSA is not a cancer-specific biomarker, and he asserts that the use of the PSA as a diagnostic test has crippled millions of healthy men, afflicting them with incontinence and impotence. A high PSA number leads to a biopsy, which leads to surgery. The author charges the FDA with negligence for allowing the profit-motivated biotech industry to market the PSA test as a cancer test and greedy urologists in directing frightened men to undergo unnecessary biopsies and prostatectomies. Ablin’s account is replete with names of specific individuals, companies, agencies and organizations, and he provides excerpts from documents and letters to back up his charges. Conversations with men who have undergone prostate surgery put a human face on the alarming statistics he provides. In addition to the human suffering that their stories reveal, the cost to Medicare of prostate surgery is hefty. While misuse of PSA is Ablin’s central theme, he sees this situation as representative of a larger problem: science for sale. Citing the revolving door between the FDA and big medicine, the author asserts that those charged with protecting American health care consumers are often in tacit collusion with those who come before them for approval of their products.

Serious charges voiced in strong language, certain to be met with rebuttals from those whose ox has just been gored, and a must-read for any man concerned about his prostate.

FIVE CAME BACK by Mark Harris....................................................50 BLOOD ROYAL by Eric Jager............................................................... 51 MIDNIGHT’S DESCENDANTS by John Keay.....................................56 GENE EVERLASTING by Gene Logsdon..............................................58 THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE IS ME

by David Stuart MacLean...................................................................58

THE DOUBLE LIFE OF PAUL DE MAN

Barish, Evelyn Liveright/Norton (564 pp.) $35.00 Mar. 17, 2014 978-0-87140-326-1

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“... reverent, stirring life of the Arab nationalist, friend of T.E. Lawrence and first monarch of Iraq.” from faisal

WE THE PEOPLE, VOLUME 3 The Civil Rights Revolution

Ackerman, Bruce Belknap/Harvard Univ. (374 pp.) $35.00 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-674-05029-7

The third volume of the author’s authoritative constitutional trilogy puts forth a brave argument on the importance of popular sovereignty as the galvanizing force in civil rights.

Nothing can stop an idea whose time has come, Ackerman (Law and Political Science/Yale Univ.) argues in this third scholarly installment of the We the People series. The author is a proponent of the so-called living Constitution and propounds eloquently that the American voters continually made their case for a collective We the People legitimization of power during what he calls the Second Reconstruction and the civil rights era. The struggle among all three branches of government has always decided this legitimacy, whether it was the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant in championing the Reconstruction Amendments, Franklin Roosevelt’s court-packing to drive through his New Deal programs, or the Supreme Court’s decision in the Jim Crow–shattering Brown v. Board of Education. In the case of the civil rights era, it took Lyndon Johnson’s series of landmark statutes, passed through a liberal Congress, to institutionalize equality and amend the Constitution more powerfully than even the 24th Amendment (banning the poll tax) could. These statutes included the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965 and Fair Housing Act of 1968. Yet it was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the bloody Selma march of 1965 that tipped Johnson’s hand to bestow to American blacks “the full blessings of American life.” The end of the dreaded poll tax and the unwavering support of President Richard Nixon for these same landmark statutes underscored the nation’s egalitarian commitment. In the second and third parts of the book, Ackerman delves into the constitutional detail of these landmark statutes.

Though occasionally overwhelming in the sheer volume of material, this is an erudite and passionately argued work.

REBEL MUSIC Race, Empire, and the New Muslim Youth Culture

Aidi, Hisham D. Pantheon (432 pp.) $29.95 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-375-42490-8 978-0-307-90868-1 e-book

A multilayered story of the mobilization of Muslim youth through music rather than militancy.

As Muslim youth across the world are beleaguered by the crackdown on terrorism, the economic recession and the rise 40

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of the far right, they are either turning to a more conservative form of Islam or tapping into the rich inspiration of the “Black Atlantic.” In this intriguing study, Aidi (School of International and Public Affairs/Columbia Univ.; co-editor: Black Routes to Islam, 2009) demonstrates the immense and widespread appeal to transnational, disgruntled Muslims of black music such as hip-hop, drawing its roots from Muslim influences since the 1970s—e.g., in the form of the Nation of Islam. Indeed, there are many layers to this story, and Aidi has to wear both the scholar’s cap, to trace first the Muslim diaspora from Spain circa 1492, which brought Muslims across the Atlantic to Brazil and elsewhere, where they then mixed with black Africans, as personified in the mythology of the “enchanted mooress” and the mulata; and the journalist’s hat, as he recounts concerts he attended from Copenhagen to Tunis. The author carefully delineates between the converts to Salafism, the Saudi-driven puritanical form of Islam aiming for a “superior moral order,” and the Western-backed assimilationist advocates of Sufism (Gnawa in Morocco, Gülen in Turkey), which tolerates trance and even dance for its mystical reach into the divine, as practiced by most of the American converts. The latter form has been embraced by the U.S. State Department, no less, in promoting American values of diversity and tolerance abroad and as a “counter-narrative” to the rigid views of Salafism. Aidi shows how the Western “soundtrack of struggle” inspires the world in surprising ways.

Moving from jazz to the late Moroccan pop star Salim Halali, Aidi’s wide-ranging, dense work persuades by its passionate accretion of detail.

FAISAL I OF IRAQ

Allawi, Ali A. Yale Univ. (672 pp.) $40.00 | Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-300-12732-4

From Baghdad-born Allawi (Research Professor/National Univ. of Singapore; The Crisis of Islamic Civilization, 2009, etc.), a reverent, stirring life of the Arab nationalist, friend of T.E. Lawrence and first monarch of Iraq.

Using a host of lost Arab voices in painting the portrait of Faisal I (1885–1933), the author fills a void in scholarship with this nuanced biography of a seminal figure in the shaping of the modern Middle East. Although Lawrence of Arabia was certainly Faisal’s greatest champion and the most influential voice in securing British backing for his accession to the Iraqi throne in 1921, Faisal had proved himself an intrepid, incorruptible military leader. Allawi tracks this exceptional character from his desert childhood, as second son to Sharif Hussein bin Ali, through Faisal’s selection to spearhead Arab military resistance to Turkish rule and his calibrated collaboration with the British and ultimate vindication in the form of Iraq’s independence in October 1932, a year before Faisal’s untimely death of a heart attack. The author reveals by degrees the evolution of the able |

statesman, who had lived among nomadic tribesmen as a child, as well as in exile in Istanbul, and could speak beautiful Arabic and Turkish. As a young leader of tribal raids in the years of Arab revolt, he acted on his father’s authority and later hesitated to take the Iraqi throne, which should have gone traditionally to his older brother. Initially naïve about the ramifications of the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement and what would prove a devastating mandate system—ditto the Balfour Declaration—Faisal nonetheless made a strong case for Arab claims to “defend their natural rights” on the world stage at the Paris Peace Conference marking the end of World War I. A misunderstood sharif finds a worthy, erudite biographer in Allawi.

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THE GARDENER OF VERSAILLES My Life in the World’s Grandest Garden

Baraton, Alain Translated by Murray, Christopher Brent Rizzoli Ex Libris (304 pp.) $26.95 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-8478-4268-1 Versailles head gardener and TV host Baraton reflects on his three decades tending some of the most beautiful gardens in the world.

Simply but thoroughly, the author narrates the history of Versailles, from the days of Henry IV sneaking off to these woods to hunt to the days of the revolution. The most surprising element is the speed with which an estate of such size was built. The gardens, on the other hand, sprung from the guiding hand of Louis XIV’s gardener, André Le Nôtre, but then took their own sweet time to flourish. Baraton importantly points

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“An extraordinary story of a complex personality presented with a wise dose of irony and respect.” from the double life of paul de man

out how people rush about on the Rue de Rivoli and other parts of Paris but then slow to a snail’s pace when they walk through gardens at Versailles. Gardens reach into your soul, writes the author, whether you plant them, harvest them or simply enjoy them. The author philosophizes about the ability of gardens to provide space for deep reflection, and he writes poetically about the beautiful power of the grounds he tends. He also provides some practical advice—e.g., the best places for a lovers’ tryst. The building and maintenance of the world’s grandest garden took the efforts and perspectives of a wide variety of great royal gardeners, including Claude Mollet and Jacques Boyceau, as well as builders like Louis Le Vau and Charles Le Brun.

In addition to paying tribute to the work of these innovators, Baraton also looks at the various films that have been filmed on the grounds, storms that have battered them, and the effects of each season on the flora and fauna.

The descriptions of the various sites on the grounds could only come from a man fortunate enough to have lived on and loved the site for almost 40 years.

THE DOUBLE LIFE OF PAUL DE MAN

Barish, Evelyn Liveright/Norton (564 pp.) $35.00 | Mar. 17, 2014 978-0-87140-326-1

A riveting biography of master confidence man Paul de Man (1919–1983), manipulator of the facts and influential literary instructor—a character both preposterous and irresistible.

Barish (English/City Univ. of New York Graduate Center; Emerson: The Roots of Prophecy, 1989) leaves de Man’s deconstructionist contradictions mostly off to the side and concentrates on the wildly chameleonic personality and the upbringing of this charismatic character who eluded justice from Nazi-occupied Belgium and later fabricated his academic reputation at Harvard and elsewhere by wily connections and sheer boldness.

The tale of de Man is not only the tangled trajectory of a psychically scarred young man from a deeply problematic family who saw an opportunity to advance himself through Nazi collaboration, but also the story of the striking gullibility of an American elitist intellectual milieu that never questioned his credentials due to its own postwar sense of inferiority compared to European literature. Barish gets underneath the objectionable journalistic pieces de Man wrote during the war and his skein of publishing embezzlements in Brussels by exploring the pattern of secrecy and shame in his own upper-middle-class Antwerp family: a depressed mother who hanged herself; a troubled older brother who was killed by an oncoming train; an uncle who was a high-ranking minister in Belgian government, advocating appeasement and anti-Semitism and whom Paul highly revered and passed off later as his father. De Man became an “intellectual entrepreneur,” autodidact, university dropout and superb bluffer who saw his chance to “take a place” in the new Nazi 42

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order. While his collaborationist colleagues were imprisoned after the war, de Man fled to the United States. His entry into intellectual circles, thanks to Mary McCarthy and Henry Kissinger, among others, allowed him immunity and a disguise as he forged a brilliant academic career.

An extraordinary story of a complex personality presented with a wise dose of irony and respect. (8 pages of photos)

YOU CAN DATE BOYS WHEN YOU’RE FORTY Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About Barry, Dave Putnam (256 pp.) $26.95 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-399-16594-8

Another wide-ranging collection of funny essays about parenting—and “grammar, sex, camels, women, brain surgery, sex with women, how to become a professional author, airlines, Justin Bieber and death”—by best-selling humorist Barry (Insane City, 2013, etc.).

The author has made a career of chronicling his life (and those of his now-adult son and teenage daughter) in his syndicated newspaper column and several essay collections. The format is as familiar as an episode of a police procedural: Barry offers ludicrous yet authoritatively delivered advice and glumly acknowledges that following it might get you arrested. Although parenting is well-worn fodder for comedians, only Barry would coolly share his idea to install traps around his home to capture any teenage boys who would dare watch TV from the same sofa as his daughter and release the boys (“nothing more than short men”) into the Everglades. The author provides useful information for parents of tweens and teens—e.g., “BFF stands for ‘Best Friends Forever.’ This is a term that girls my daughter’s age use to describe essentially everyone they know”—as well as not-sohelpful advice on how to perform emergency first aid: “Keep the victim calm by administering several brisk facial slaps and shouting, ‘CALM DOWN, DAMMIT! DO YOU WANT TO DIE??’…When the ambulance arrives, ask the paramedics if you can operate the siren.” The book is also part travelogue and part writing guide, as well as the author’s detailed, pre-planned funeral program (“IX. Lucky Seat Announcement: The Audience will be instructed to look under their seats. Under one of them will be a small container of my ashes, which the audience member can take home”).

A mishmash, but even those who don’t have children and have never lived in Miami or searched for a Wi-Fi connection in the Israeli desert will appreciate Barry’s lighthearted absurdity.

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A MORE BEAUTIFUL QUESTION The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas Berger, Warren Bloomsbury (272 pp.) $26.00 | Jan. 28, 2014 978-1-62040-145-3

How the art of the inquiry can transform ideas into action.

Journalist and advertising guru Berger (Glimmer: How Design Can Transform Your Life, and Maybe Even the World, 2009) examines the science of questioning and the ways in which the world’s top innovators have used it to their advantage.

Establishing a “culture of inquiry” is a prudent move for both producer and consumer, writes the author, who cleverly examines the impact the “Whys, What Ifs, and Hows” have on the development of products like snow shovels, baby carrots and Crackerjack, among many others. Berger explores how, in asking “the question that defined the problem,” struggling entrepreneurs have moved from product conception to profitable execution. Begun as a website assisted by volunteers and researchers, Berger’s book expands further on questioning as a skilled art form that can be polished to gain its maximum benefits, even though the author finds its usage underutilized in today’s electronic multimedia age. Berger makes great use of both historical and contemporary examples of educators, innovators and business moguls who, by taking time to ask pointed questions of themselves and their respective industries, have both broadened their understandings of challenging situations and expanded the range of positive possibilities. Rhetorically (and hypothetically) asking the right questions also enabled entrepreneurs to establish wildly successful businesses like Netflix (“What if the video-rental business were run like a health club?”) or game-changing inventions like the microwave oven (“Could the energy from the radio waves be used to actually cook food?”). The author also touches on the reasons why we stop asking pertinent questions as we age and the ways parents can inspire inquisitiveness in children. If asking questions demonstrates an open willingness to know, Berger writes, the answers have the power to dispel ignorance.

A practical testament to the significance of the questioning mind.

IT’S COMPLICATED The Social Lives of Networked Teens

Boyd, Danah Yale Univ. (296 pp.) $25.00 | Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-300-16631-6

An analysis of the role social media plays in the lives of teens.

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set of sites and services that are at the heart of contemporary culture,” writes Microsoft principal researcher Boyd (Media, Culture, and Communications/New York Univ.). “Teens turn to a plethora of popular services to socialize, gossip, share information, and hang out.” They use them to enhance and expand their social interactions with their peers. Cellphones, texting and online sites like Facebook allow teens to share more than the minutiae of their daily lives; they are relatively safe and vital places where they can express their opinions and receive almost instant feedback from a vast network of friends. With street corners, city parks and even shopping malls becoming off limits to teens as places to congregate, the Internet gives adolescents access to their friends, who might live across town or even across the country. Through hundreds of interviews with teens, parents, teachers, librarians and others who work with the young, Boyd’s extensive research illuminates the oft-misunderstood world of teens today, where social media is an extension of life, not a place to hide from parents or other authority figures. She examines the unwritten etiquette rules of social networking sites, the safety concerns of parents and teens who worry about cyberbullying and cyberstalking, the fear of an online presence leading to sexual predation and the racial segregation filtering through the Internet. Thorough information interwoven with common-sense advice from teens and the author enable readers, particularly parents, to relax a bit regarding this new media age.

Boyd also provides a list of demographic information about the teens she interviewed, including age, ethnicity, home state and which sites they use.

Comprehensive new research that illuminates why and how social media is important to teens.

THE SECOND MACHINE AGE Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies

Brynjolfsson, Erik; McAfee, Andrew Norton (304 pp.) $26.95 | Jan. 20, 2014 978-0-393-23935-5

A hopeful view of the future as we enter a second machine age.

Driverless cars and 3D printers are harbingers of a new era, argue MIT colleagues Brynjolfsson (Director/Center for Digital Business; co-author, Wired for Innovation: How Information Technology Is Reshaping the Economy, 2013, etc.) and McAfee (Principal Research Scientist/Center for Digital Business; Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization’s Toughest Challenges, 2009, etc.). Some 200 years ago, the invention of the steam engine sparked massive amounts of mechanical power to drive factories and mass production in the first machine age. Now, computers and other digital advances are providing such “a vast and unprecedented boost to mental power” that technologies once found only in science fiction are becoming everyday realities. Drawing on research, including interviews with inventors, investors, entrepreneurs, engineers and others, kirkus.com

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the authors describe the forces driving the emerging age, notably the digitization of nearly everything, which increases understanding and fosters innovation, and an amazing exponential growth in improvements. We’re now seeing “the emergence of real, useful artificial intelligence (AI) and the connection of most of the people on the planet via a common digital network.”

As machines complete cognitive tasks—as opposed to physical ones—engaging in pattern recognition and complex communication, AI will do more and more, for example, giving key aspects of sight to the visually impaired and restoring hearing to the deaf. Along with benefits, including greater amounts of individual choice, technological progress will bring economic disruption, leaving some people behind and workers without jobs. The authors describe the large differences that are already apparent among people in both income and wealth and explain how individuals can improve their skills to maintain healthy wage and job prospects. “Our generation has inherited more opportunities to transform the world than any other,” they write. “That’s a cause for optimism, but only if we’re mindful of our choices.”

Valuable reading for policymakers.

GLITTER AND GLUE A Memoir Corrigan, Kelly Ballantine (240 pp.) $26.00 | Feb. 11, 2013 978-0-345-53283-1

Corrigan’s third book (Lift, 2010, etc.) deals with the layered relationship between mother and daughter.

The glitter refers to her father, George, her cheerleader, “almost impossible to frustrate or disappoint.” The glue, her mother, Mary, with whom she had an “adversarial but functional” relationship, held things together with her pragmatism. After college, when Corrigan decided to go on a multicountry odyssey, her father responded, “Fantastic!” Her mother: “You should be using that money to get established, get your own health insurance, not traipse all over creation.” Ironically, it was Corrigan’s travels that led her to appreciate her mother’s point of view. The author ran out of money in Australia and took a job as a live-in nanny for a widower.

John Tanner hired her to look after his two children while he traveled for his job as an airline steward, but it was a dysfunctional household: There was John, who seldom smiled; Martin, the open, affectionate 5-year-old; Milly, the resentful 7-year-old; Pop, their 84-year-old grandfather; and Evan, John’s grown stepson. “If this family were a poker hand, you’d fold,” writes Corrigan. “Without that middle card, it’s an inside straight, and those almost never work out.” Aside from a friendly flirtation with Evan, the action is internal as Corrigan called upon her mother’s directives to help her provide some stability for the family. The most affecting part of the narrative is her struggle to connect emotionally with Milly and her realization that “maybe the reason my mother was so exhausted all the time wasn’t because she was doing so much but because she was feeling so much.”

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Written in a breezy style with humor and heart, the book reminds us how rewarding it can be to see a parent outside the context of our own needs. It’s that illumination that allows Corrigan to turn what starts as a complaint about her mother into a big thank you.

THE SOUND BOOK The Science of the Sonic Wonders of the World Cox, Trevor Norton (304 pp.) $26.95 | Feb. 10, 2014 978-0-393-23979-9

Cox (Acoustic Engineering/Salford Univ.; Acoustic Absorbers and Diffusers, 2009) explores how the psychological and physical worlds of sound come together.

Using the design of concert halls to illustrate “the fusion of the objectivity of physics with the subjectivity of perception,” the author explains how, in the final analysis, it is the audience that judges the quality of the acoustics. The reverberation of sound as it bounces around a room determines how we hear a sound—e.g., a live room such as a bathroom, where the sound is enhanced by the reflection of the sound, compared to the way that a plush hotel room dampens sound. However, a crucial element that necessarily eludes the acoustical engineer is the role of expectation in our response to sound. Neuroscientists are just beginning to unravel the mystery of how we perceive sound.

Cox has devoted much of his career to the design of concert halls and theaters that enhance sound quality or quiet spaces that reduce unwanted noise. Fifteen years ago, he also became fascinated with common, everyday sounds in our environment.

It all began when a BBC interviewer tapped his expertise as a sound engineer to explain the unusual acoustics found in a London sewer 20 feet below street level. The experience was a life-changer. “In the right place a ‘defect’ [such as]…the metallic, spiraling echo in the sewer, could be fascinating to listen to,” writes Cox. This was the start of a new phase of his career, during which he has presented 17 popular-science documentaries on different aspects of sound for BBC radio. He visited ancient Greek theaters and 16th-century cathedrals, participated in a Buddhist retreat and explored the acoustics of whispering galleries. His travels also took him to Neolithic sites and the sand dunes of the Mojave Desert.

An intriguing tour d’horizon of the world of sound. (35 illustrations)

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“A rich and rewarding portrait of an irreplaceable genius.” from jonathan swift

JONATHAN SWIFT His Life and His World

Damrosch, Leo Yale Univ. (592 pp.) $35.00 | Nov. 5, 2013 978-0-300-16499-2

A feisty, first-class life of the sage and scourge of English Literature.

Besides being a great essayist, satirist, novelist and poet, Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) was a very public man: a social-climbing Anglican minister, a friend to Alexander Pope, a competitor of Daniel Defoe and Laurence Sterne, a stalwart nationalist of Ireland—where he would be consigned to live— and a man whose shifting political allegiances forced him to publish his fiercest critiques anonymously (if only just barely).

He masked himself in other ways, as well, leaving behind enough private contradictions and obscurities to keep biographers busy to this day. Damrosch (Literature/Harvard Univ.; Tocqueville’s Discovery of America, 2010, etc.) is bent on both correcting the record and adding to it, creating a fresh and vivid life even as he wrestles with previous biographers—namely Irvin Ehrenpreis—along the way. Damrosch explores the mystery of Swift’s parentage as well as his concealed Betty-and-Veronica relationships, one with the loving and devoted “Stella” (Hester Johnson)—whom he may have secretly married and who is buried next to him—and one with the temptress “Vanessa” (Esther Vanhomrigh). Damrosch also amply scrutinizes Swift’s inner life: Was this preacher who absolutely insisted on churchly tithes even a true believer? Was Gulliver’s Travels misanthropic or, as Methodist founder John Wesley suggested, an honest examination of mankind at its worst? Damrosch gets close to Swift as both a talented author and a man, detailing his frustrations, habits and multiple physical torments from deafness, vertigo and a variety of odd ailments. (“The spots increased every day and had little pimples, which are now grown white and full of corruption, though small…I cannot be sick like other people,” he wrote, “but always something out of the common way.”) This is the kind of biography where you come to feel you know the subject personally.

A rich and rewarding portrait of an irreplaceable genius.

but often complicated volume. Beginning with the 1437 marriage of Henry V’s widow, Catherine, to a lowly chamber servant named Owen Tudor, it becomes the story of a family dominated by both the lust for power and a battle for the soul of England.

The players range from the manipulative Margaret Beaufort to her cruel (and guilt-wracked) son Henry VII to his ruthless (and guilt-free) son Henry VIII, whose yearning for a male successor involved six wives and sparked an endless rift between Catholics and Protestants. It’s a fascinating, violent, morally complex story not only about the way power corrupts, but how it makes rulers both vulnerable and paranoid. It’s also an extremely eventful slice of history, and de Lisle occasionally gets winded trying to wrestle the narrative, and its ever-expanding cast of characters, into a manageable shape. Major characters arrive and suddenly die with barely a send-off as we rush to the next battle or coronation; facts pile up without always getting properly processed. De Lisle doesn’t stint on the drama, however, whether it’s Mary, Queen of Scots getting hacked to pieces or Elizabeth I eloquently bracing her troops for war with Spain. She also capably separates fact from myth, pursues still-unsolved royal mysteries, and provides

TUDOR The Family Story de Lisle, Leanda PublicAffairs (560 pp.) $29.99 | Nov. 5, 2013 978-1-61039-363-8

The most dysfunctional family in English history gets its due.

After two books focusing on major chapters from the history of the Tudors (The Sisters Who Would Be Queen: Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Tragedy, 2009, etc.), de Lisle aims to tell the story from the beginning in this comprehensive |

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THE CONTEST OF THE CENTURY The New Era of Competition with China—and How America Can Win

perspective about the kind of pre-Enlightenment mindset in which you could be boiled, burned, beheaded or hanged for believing in transubstantiation.

Hard to follow at times but also a reliable and amply researched guide for Tudor enthusiasts.

Dyer, Geoff Knopf (304 pp.) $26.95 | Feb. 5, 2014 978-0-307-96075-7

THE GLOBAL WAR FOR INTERNET GOVERNANCE

DeNardis, Laura Yale Univ. (296 pp.) $38.00 | Jan. 14, 2014 978-0-300-18135-7

A guide to the hidden battles for control of the Internet.

Well below the public radar, corporations and nation-states are engaged in a struggle to seize control of the Internet by capturing or influencing its technical architecture.

Most Internet users are oblivious to what makes this “selfformulated ecosystem of private networks” function or even to what makes it possible. DeNardis (Communication/American Univ.; Opening Standards: The Global Politics of Interoperability, 2011, etc.) takes readers beneath the hood of the Internet, cogently explaining the technical agreements, standards and procedures that tie it together. These include control of the assignment of domain names and IP addresses, the definitions of the protocols that enable interoperability of browsers and similar devices, the mechanisms by which Internet traffic is routed around the globe and the economic issues that control interconnections between networks. While these structures may superficially appear to be neutral results of engineering or commercial convenience, DeNardis argues that the Internet’s protocols are often political in both their design and effects, resulting in conflicts between competing global values. “The exact same technologies and mechanisms of coordination that enable the free flow of information,” she writes, “can be used to block access and engage in invasive surveillance of individuals.”

Thus they are increasingly the targets of governments and private companies more interested in controlling or blocking the flow of information than in promoting it. The author asserts that “a primary impetus for this book is the need to bring these controversies into the public consciousness and explain the connection between the future of Internet governance and the future of expressive and economic liberty.” This is not an easy task; most of the issues DeNardis discusses lie outside public awareness precisely because they are highly technical in nature and require the reader’s close attention to follow the author’s elegant but detailed explanations.

A rigorous exploration of obscure but important issues with potentially global effects.

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It’s in all the headlines: China and the United States are increasingly at loggerheads. As Financial Times journalist Dyer notes, it’s likely to get more heated in years to come.

“Beijing is starting to channel its inner great power,” writes the author. In so doing, it is shifting from a reactive to a proactive international stance, seeking to shape the world according to its national interests. And in doing that—exercising, most recently, something like a Chinese version of the Monroe Doctrine—it is increasingly coming up against the U.S., which has long had a controlling interest in many parts of Asia. Australia, writes the author, has been tied to the U.S. strategically for generations, but increasingly, its economy is dependent on trade with China; when dollars begin to trump diplomacy, Australia’s relations with the U.S. are likely to loosen. Interestingly, writes Dyer, China is taking a page from long-forgotten American naval doctrine in developing a blue-water military force to expand and maintain its sphere. Whether this means that a military collision with America is inevitable depends, in a curious way, on whether the ruling Communist Party retains its power. Its “most vulnerable flank is from the nationalist, populist right,” which is longing to assert Chinese power, and a “party that loudly claims the mantle of national salvation cannot afford to look weak in the face of perceived slights.” Dyer counsels that instead of reacting with the usual China-bashing, with all its thinly veiled racially tinged codes, the U.S. would do well to “roll out the red carpet for Chinese investments that do not have clear national security implications,” becoming partners in a two-way economy rather than mere consumers.

Somewhat more optimistic than Harry Dent Jr.’s The Demographic Cliff (2013), insistent that the key to Western influence-shaping lies in economic housecleaning. All bets are on as to whether that can happen.

I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW

Dyer, Wayne W. Hay House (400 pp.) $27.95 | Feb. 25, 2014 978-1-4019-4403-2

A self-help guru’s reflections on how he became who he is.

Self-empowerment is one key to success in life, and nowhere is this more evident than in Dyer’s (21 Days to Master Success and Inner Peace, 2012, etc.) rich |

unfolding of his life stories. From some of his earliest childhood memories in the early 1940s to the present, Dyer takes readers on a nearly year-by-year trip through the events in his life that led him to write more than 40 books and undertake other projects related to self-development. Each action, he writes, often directed by a divine force, put him one step further on the path of becoming the man he knew he was meant to become. For years, he questioned the people and books influencing him, but he continued to follow an inner knowledge that connected him spiritually and emotionally to the world around him. Dyer writes, “It no longer takes years for me to have this insight—everything and everyone are connected to each other and to the Tao or the universal one mind from which all things originate and return.” Dyer addresses the fears and setbacks that he encountered along the way, including the need to find his absentee father, whose abandonment filled Dyer with anger for years. Only at his gravesite was the author able to forgive the man and “[cleanse his] soul of the toxicity that living with internal rage brings.” Every emotional experience was another pivot point for Dyer, and from them, he produced his bestselling books, audiotapes and lectures. The author’s reflections on the twists and turns of his authentic life reveal the power inherent in each of us to have the same joyful existence, though many of his pronouncements may be too far out there for many readers—e.g., “There is no time; 1968 and 2018 are all one, even though our body-mind sees them as separated by 50 years.”

For devotees of both Dyer and self-help books, an inspirational account of the essence of the man behind Your Erroneous Zones and other self-help titles.

market, computers, cars, etc. Our mental tools provide imperfect insights: We know our own minds intimately, so egocentricity exerts too much influence. We label others as stereotypes.

Although politically incorrect, stereotyping is not entirely inaccurate but emphasizes differences over similarities. We assume that a person’s actions reflect his or her thoughts, but this is surprisingly undependable. The best way to determine what another person is thinking—proven by scientific studies—is to ask. Epley presents a steady stream of imaginative studies.

Although readers will learn a great deal, they must remember that the author is a teacher and scientist, not a media guru, so his advice for improving mind reading emphasizes avoiding the usual mistakes. Oprah would not perk up.

Epley ably explores many entertaining and entirely convincing mistakes, so readers will have a thoroughly satisfying experience. (23 illustrations. Author tour to Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle)

MINDWISE How We Understand What Others Think, Believe, Feel, and Want

Epley, Nicholas Knopf (272 pp.) $26.95 | Feb. 14, 2014 978-0-307-59591-1

Animals and humans think, but only humans can understand what others are thinking. Without this ability, cooperative society is unimaginable. It’s a sixth sense, akin to mind reading, writes Epley (Behavioral Science/Univ. of Chicago School of Business) in this clever psychology primer. “[M]y goal is to describe your brain’s predictable malfunctions that keep you from understanding the minds of others as well as you could,” writes the author, who quickly points out how we get it wrong. At worst, we neglect our mind-reading ability on the grounds that another has no mind—i.e., dehumanization. German Jews and Native Americans were once viewed, and even legally labeled, as subhuman. Readers will nod sadly and agree that all men are brothers—except terrorists, of course, who are mindless psychopaths. We also do the opposite, writes Epley. We attribute minds to mindless entities that behave in unpredictable ways: hurricanes, the stock |

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“Dark but skillfully painted pictures at an exhibition.” from russians

JOHNNY MERCER Southern Songwriter for the World Eskew, Glenn T. Univ. of Georgia (480 pp.) $34.95 | Nov. 15, 2013 978-0-8203-3330-4

A painstakingly researched biography of Johnny Mercer (1909–1976), one of the great songwriters of the classic era of American popular music.

Eskew (History/Georgia State; But for Birmingham: The Local and National Movements in the Civil Rights Struggle, 1997, etc.) works from the proposition that Mercer’s Southern origins gave him a special grasp of the many varieties of music that comprised the dominant American style roughly from the beginning of the Jazz Age to the arrival of rock. Mercer was a product of the upper crust of Savannah, with Confederate officers and respected professionals among his immediate ancestors. He attended private school in Virginia and vacationed in upper-class watering holes like Asheville, N.C. Eskew misses no opportunity to connect elements of this upbringing to the songs Mercer eventually wrote—e.g., citing his family’s church attendance as a reason angels appear frequently in his songs or noting that Jimmie Rodgers, one of the first stars of county music, performed in Asheville around the time a teenage Mercer was vacationing there. Unfortunately, the narrative lacks flow, often reading more like a list of famous people that Mercer encountered, especially in the early days when he was still establishing himself as a lyricist. The story is probably at its best when recounting Mercer’s important role in launching Capitol Records, when he had an important hand in building the careers of such artists as Peggy Lee, Nat “King” Cole and other jazz-tinged pop stars. However, the author’s insistence on calling Mercer a jazz musician seems off-target. Mercer certainly appreciated jazz and wrote songs that have entered the jazz singer’s repertoire, but Mercer himself would probably have laughed at the notion that he was doing the same kinds of things as, for example, Duke Ellington or Gil Evans. The book will be valuable to anyone doing research on its subject, but most readers will probably find it dry and dense.

An important subject that deserves a more accessible treatment. (47 b/w photos; 1 map)

RUSSIANS The People Behind the Power Feifer, Gregory Twelve (384 pp.) $28.00 | $14.99 e-book | Feb. 18, 2014 978-1-4555-0964-5 978-1-4555-0965-2 e-book

Former NPR Moscow correspondent Feifer (The Great Gamble: The Soviet War in Afghanistan, 2009) returns with an analysis of the Russian character derived from his family history and many years of research and travels.

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In a volume that’s very current—the author delivers commentary on both Pussy Riot and Edward Snowden—Feifer presents a series of topics that, combined, paint a stark and only mildly hopeful portrait of Russia. Poverty, drinking, cold and punishment—these are among his principal subjects. Throughout, the author uses a variety of techniques: memoir, interviews with significant Russians and others in the region, summaries of key historical events, and anecdotes about and documents from family and friends (his father is also a writer about the region).

Feifer is resolutely anti-Putin, condemning him continually for returning the country to some of its nastier ways after the fall of the Soviet Union and the elevation of hopes in the West. (He writes that Putin’s abilities are “feeble at best.”) In the opening chapter on poverty, the author offers some grim evidence about living conditions in the country: inefficient health care (HIVAIDS is a major problem), racist hate crimes, the breakdown of infrastructure and corruption everywhere. Conversely, he follows with a chapter about the vast wealth in the country, mostly from energy; the author (and others) recognizes that Russia’s dependence on energy income presents a long-term problem.

The Russian fondness for vodka, writes the author, may be a cliché, but it’s one based on oceans of evidence. Feifer chides the Russian government for doing little about the problem, and he writes about Russian families, the roles of women, the attitudes toward gays and other minorities, racism and anti-Semitism.

He highlights the cronyism and the pervasive corruption, and he warns Western countries not to have any “illusions about what kind of country they are dealing with.”

Dark but skillfully painted pictures at an exhibition.

LETHAL BUT LEGAL Corporations, Consumption, and Protecting Public Health

Freudenberg, Nicholas Oxford Univ. (336 pp.) $29.95 | Feb. 18, 2014 978-0-19-993719-6

A call to arms to fight the “corporate consumption complex,” offering strategies and resources that can be enlisted in the fight.

It’s all about capitalism and profit, writes Freudenberg (Public Health/CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College) as he lays out the sins of the alcohol, automobile, firearms, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and tobacco industries, all of which are contributing to ill health and preventable deaths.

Many of these sins are well-known—e.g., the relation between fast food and obesity or smoking and cancer. The author also reveals that a chunk of alcohol industry profits comes from underage and pathological drinking, as well as the fact that current restraints on tobacco advertising in America have simply moved the targets overseas. Freudenberg emphasizes that corporations are multinational, marketing is global, and corporate interests are aided by liberal trade agreements and U.S. patent rights. So what to do? In the final chapters, the author reviews |

the rise of child labor and worker safety laws as well as the Food and Drug Administration and looks at examples of current efforts to protect consumers. Chances of success improve with such strategies as making the personal political (getting patients to testify), suggesting alternatives (yes, reduce car emissions but also argue for increased mass transit), targeting specific companies, inviting partners and generalizing the issue (not just malt liquor, but other unhealthy product advertising). Ideally, Freudenberg seeks “a new ideology for health and democracy” with a unifying policy agenda. It would expand consumer rights, require firms to pay for damages they cause, establish global health standards, protect science and universities from corporate invasion, re-empower government to protect the public’s health and prevent corporations from manipulating the democratic process.

A richly detailed account of how corporate power has been used to corrupt health and well-being, along with excellent advice on what readers can do about it. (10 b/w halftones; 2 b/w illustrations)

IMAGINE Living in a Socialist USA

Goldin, Frances; Smith, Debby; Smith, Michael Steven—Eds. Perennial/HarperCollins (320 pp.) $15.99 paper | Feb. 1, 2014 978-0-06-230557-2 Passionate essays imagining a socialist America.

Social activists Goldin, Debby Smith and Michael Steven Smith gather 31 essays by historians, social scientists, economists, journalists, psychotherapists, poets, reform advocates, a science fiction writer, a musician and a physician. Occupy Detroit leader Dianne Feeley dismisses capitalism—it “works for the 1 percent, but it’s a disaster for the rest of us”—in one solid chapter, and other essays explore how socialism can foster equality, creativity and justice.

Arguing that “who goes to prison is inevitably related to the role that the economic and political elites assign to persons in this society,” Angela Davis suggests radical ways to transform the justice system by learning from traditional societies and considering “non-retributive” justice. Blanche Wiesen Cook, biographer of Eleanor Roosevelt, reminds us of community-building efforts by such reformers as Jane Addams and Crystal Eastman; journalist Arun Gupta proposes a socially sustainable food system; journalist Dave Lindorff proposes universal health care; educator William Ayers writes that the “ethical core of teaching toward tomorrow must be designed to create hope and a sense of agency and possibility in students.” The concluding section contains 10 essays on “How to Make a Socialist America.” Filmmaker Michael Moore and physician Joel Kovel reprise their rallying speeches at the Occupy Wall Street movement. Historian Paul Le Blanc argues persuasively for a third American revolution mounted by “a broad left-wing coalition” that could spark a mass socialist movement. Socialism, he writes, “involves people |

taking control of their own lives, shaping their own futures, and together controlling the resources that make such freedom possible….Socialism will come to nothing if it is not a movement of the great majority in the interests of the great majority….People can only become truly free through their own efforts.”

Le Blanc’s cogent, well-informed essay sums up the book’s main thrust: Only a politically aware, socially committed populace can effect important and lasting change.

THE GODS OF OLYMPUS A History

Graziosi, Barbara Metropolitan/Henry Holt (304 pp.) $27.00 | Mar. 11, 2014 978-0-8050-9157-1

Graziosi (Classics/Durham Univ.; Inventing Homer: The Early Reception of Epic, 2002, etc.) celebrates the longevity of the “cruel, oversexed, mad, or just plain silly” Olympian gods, “the most uncivilized ambassadors of classical civilization.”

The author leaves aside the secondary gods, demigods and Roman household gods but not the soi-disant gods such as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, who spread the word. This is a study of how the cult of Olympus flourished in ancient Greece and spread through conquest. Alexander was the prime catalyst as he conquered lands from India to Africa and brought his gods along to marginalize the local gods. The library at Alexandria allowed the educated to read and learn from the writings of Homer, Hesiod and other thinkers. Plato first challenged the divinity of the gods, envisioning a single, good, everlasting God as opposed to the radical, cruel gods of early literature. He opened a debate that continued through the Stoics, Epicureans and beyond. When the Romans took Greece, they translated the entire pantheon to Rome. They adopted the Greek culture for the simple reason that it was predominant in the regions they conquered, and they tended to maintain local rule. The leaders of Christianity tried the hardest to topple the Olympians, wooing believers away with promises of eternal life and the resurrection of the body. Ultimately, the gods were turned away but not forgotten. It was during the Renaissance that their presence was felt again, resurrected by poets and taken up by artists and sculptors. Even today, a complete education is based on classical Greek writings, and “thinking about humanity,” writes the author, “must include at least some consideration of the Olympian gods.”

Graziosi’s easy style and focus on the history of the world as told by the gods of Olympus make this a book to savor. (29 images; 3 maps)

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“As riveting and revealing as a film by an Oscar winner.” from five came back

FIVE CAME BACK A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War Harris, Mark Penguin Press (512 pp.) $29.95 | Mar. 3, 2014 978-1-59420-430-2

Entertainment Weekly writer Harris (Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood, 2008) returns with a comprehensive, cleareyed look at the careers of five legendary directors who put their Hollywood lives on freeze-frame while they went off to fight in the only ways they knew how.

“As long as they lived,” writes the author, “the war lived with them.” Arranged chronologically (beginning in 1938), the text generally includes the doings of each of the five (John Ford, George Stevens, John Huston, William Wyler and Frank Capra) in each of the chapters, with Harris artfully intercutting events from his principals’ private as well as professional lives. The author also keeps us up to date on Hollywood without his five, showing us the stars who were winning Oscars, how the five felt about the winners (sometimes themselves) and how Hollywood sought to profit from the war. Harris segues seamlessly to scenes all over the world—the Aleutians, England, France, Germany, Italy, the South Pacific and other venues important in the war and in his story. We learn along the way of the involvement in various cinema projects by other considerable talents—e.g., Lillian Hellman, cinematographer Gregg Toland, Theodor Geisl, Mel Blanc and animator Chuck Jones. Some of the five worked together (Capra and Stevens), but others worked separately on feature-length documentaries, short subjects and films for military use only. Among the more enduring productions were The Memphis Belle: The Story of a Flying Fortress (Wyler, 1944) and the powerful, wrenching footage shot in 1945 at the liberation of Dachau by George Stevens’ crew. Stevens was devastated by what he saw and later shot The Diary of Anne Frank (1959). Harris also chronicles the politics, personality clashes (military vs.

Hollywood), egos, drinking, carousing and sexual exploits.

As riveting and revealing as a film by an Oscar winner.

at the beginning of each of the major sections to show us the symbolic relevance of her tiny space, a space that holds many of her personal treasures and memories. Hollis begins with an obvious note: Interiors don’t last very long. We change, move and die, and all is lost or scattered. The author takes us back to Palatine Hill in ancient Rome and describes the structures that once lay there (or nearby)—and what has happened to them.

He takes a farther leap back to Romulus and his hut and notes, “there’s always been a beginning before the beginning.” In his section on furniture, he discusses the significance of thrones, the Round Table, the King’s Bench and the design of the House of Commons. His section on objects includes the fabled Kunstkammer, the cabinet of curiosities. Then he examines décor, and where could that lead but Versailles? Hollis offers several sections on the palace but ends with the room in Paris where Marie Antoinette awaited her execution. His section on commodities includes the history of the 1851 Great Exhibition and its centerpiece, the Crystal Palace. Hollis ends with an appropriate focus—the 1939 film of Gone with the Wind—and tells us what happened to some of the costumes, properties and scenery, and he examines the evolution of the mass media, from the earliest TV sets to the iCloud (the latter, he writes, is itself “an enchanted memory palace”).

Eloquent and evocative evidence of the evanescence of all.

DEAR ABIGAIL The Intimate Lives and Revolutionary Ideas of Abigail Adams and Her Two Remarkable Sisters Jacobs, Diane Ballantine (512 pp.) $28.00 | $13.99 e-book | Mar. 1, 2014 978-0-345-46506-1 978-0-345-54984-6 e-book

Historical ramble through the Revolutionary era via middle sister and intermediary Abigail Adams (1744–1818), who married best.

The three Smith sisters of Weymouth, Mass., were inseparable growing up under their minister father and thrifty, charitable mother, and they were remarkably well-educated, as demonstrated by the copious, frequent letters they exchanged throughout their long lives. Liberally excerpted by Jacobs (Her Own Woman: The Life of Mary Wollstonecraft, 2001, etc.), the letters allow readers to plunge into the voices and milieus of these lively characters, who nonetheless were relegated to the sidelines, observing the great events of the new nation unfold while their husbands got to strut about the stage—underscoring how important it was to marry well. Mary, the oldest sister, caught the interest of the girls’ tutor, Richard Cranch, due to her “intelligence—not to mention her beauty and goodness,” and “their passion quickened as he took it upon himself to initiate all three young women into the pleasures of Enlightenment philosophy, epistolary novels, Milton, Pope, Shakespeare, and also some French.” However, Cranch did not pan out well as a scholarly

THE MEMORY PALACE A Book of Lost Interiors Hollis, Edward Counterpoint (320 pp.) $28.00 | Mar. 18, 2014 978-1-61902-248-5

Hollis (Interior Design/Edinburgh Coll. of Art; The Secret Lives of Buildings, 2009) returns with a personal history of the ephemeral lives of interiors.

The author employs an emotional image throughout: his grandmother’s London home—“a little brick box” he calls “The Doll’s House.” He returns to this scene 50

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fabricator and farmer, relegating Mary to a life of much scrimping, drudgery and childbearing. Youngest sister Elizabeth, of “keen sensibility and high spirits,” was fairly beaten down by her marriage to drunkard Calvinist John Shaw. Abigail, in contrast, married the imperious fireball John Adams, not exactly handsome but brilliant and ironically humorous and with wit to match Abigail’s own; her feminist writing, both to husband and sisters, crackles off the page. Readers will cheer when she is finally goaded out of her enforced provincialism by the need to join her husband in his diplomatic mission to Paris in 1784.

An intimate, deeply engaging method of following historic events. (45 photos. First printing of 15,000)

OPERATION PAPERCLIP The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America

Jacobsen, Annie Little, Brown (680 pp.) $32.00 | $14.99 e-book | $32.00 Lg. Prt. $35.00 CD | Feb. 11, 2014 978-0-316-23982-0 978-0-316-22105-4 e-book 978-0-316-23982-0 Lg. Prt. 978-1-619-69153-7 CD

The story of how perpetrators of World War II were treated as spoils of war, brought to light with new information in this diligent report.

Generations after Germany was defeated, disturbing revelations about the recruitment of Nazi scientists—Operation Paperclip—still appear. Jacobsen (Area 51: The Uncensored History of America’s Top Secret Military Base, 2011) expands previous material with the use of documents recently released under the Freedom of Information Act, as well as personal interviews, memoirs, trial evidence and obscure dossiers. It’s not a pleasant story. Weapons of mass destruction were born at war’s end, and in Europe, scientists were victors’ prizes, reparations for conquerors who coveted their special talents. They were Luftwaffe doctors, rocket scientists, managers and chemists working on all sorts of bad science for bad ends. Japan was still to be defeated, and national security required their services; it was important for business. However, the primary reason posited as the Cold War developed was: If we don’t get those wizard warriors, Russia will. As such, the once–high-ranking Nazis who used slave labor to fabricate V2 rockets, who killed concentration camp prisoners in cruel experiments and who sought to weaponize bubonic plague became the property of the United States. Of the many hundreds of Paperclip scientists, many were convicted war criminals. Former enemies became American citizens; rewarded for their work, they lived the American dream. The operation took paperwork, and Jacobsen, in her research of the documents, found countless instances of mendacity. She provides snapshots of the scores of villains and the few heroes involved in collusion of the Nazis and U.S. military and intelligence agencies. Throughout, the author delivers |

harrowing passages of immorality, duplicity and deception, as well as some decency and lots of high drama.

How Dr. Strangelove came to America and thrived, told in graphic detail.

BLOOD ROYAL A True Tale of Crime and Detection in Medieval Paris

Jager, Eric Little, Brown (336 pp.) $29.00 | $14.99 e-book | Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-316-22451-2 978-0-316-22453-6 e-book

Few works of fiction will grab readers’ attention as well as Jager’s (The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France, 2004) riveting story of a 1407 murder mystery that split the royal family of France.

When Louis of Orleans, brother and frequent regent of King Charles VI, was brutally murdered in a Paris street, the provost of Paris, Guillaume de Tignonville was under pressure to solve the crime quickly. He had just overseen the execution of two murderers, whose claim to the right of “clergy” would eventually come back to haunt him. Jager shares his extensive knowledge of medieval Paris, employing entertainingly meticulous descriptions throughout the book. The Châtelet, once a fortress, then a prison, morgue and police headquarters, was a vast building to be avoided at all costs, not unlike today’s train stations. Montfaucon was a three-story gibbet capable of hanging 60 at a time, and bodies were left to putrefy and feed the crows and ravens. The author’s portrayals of the perpetual stench and body parts will surely give readers shivers. De Tignonville’s investigative techniques were exhaustive, and his discovery of the man behind the murder within days was spoton. Accusing the suspect proved to be much more difficult, as he turned the accusation into a validation. Louis of Orleans was a broadly despised man, particularly by those men he had cuckolded (which were many), and he used his power as his schizophrenic brother’s regent to impose impossible taxes. The murderer’s justification for his dastardly deed was, as a leading scholar proclaimed, “one of the most insolent pieces of political chicanery and theological casuistry in all history.”

An impressive combination of mystery, crime story, and social and political history. (14 b/w illustrations)

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MARKETPLACE OF THE MARVELOUS The Strange Origins of Modern Medicine

HIS OWNSELF A Semi-Memoir

Jenkins, Dan Doubleday (288 pp.) $26.95 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-385-53225-9

Janik, Erika Beacon (288 pp.) $28.95 | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-8070-2208-5

Acclaimed sportswriter and bestselling novelist Jenkins (The Franchise Babe, 2008) writes about golf, his upbringing and how “everything was better in the ’30s.”

The author credits his sheltered and untroubled upbringing (he brags that his childhood was untouched by the Great Depression or World War II) for his choice of career path: writing sports stories and “all those darn novels with happy endings.” He strikes resonant chords with sports fans when he states, “A sports event is the true showbiz—it’s real” and, “Every kid should have two big sports events in his life.” A 1935 college football game and the 1941 U.S. Open golf championship created indelible memories and strengthened his bond with his largely absent father. However, Jenkins assumes readers will be familiar with many other severely dated references—e.g., actress Joan Fontaine (her film debut was in 1935), The Guns of Navarone (released in 1961) and Toots Shor’s restaurant in Manhattan (shuttered in 1971).

Throughout the book, the author is scornful of contemporary culture, expounding on “the folly of political correctness” and calling those who have objected to his opinions as among the “long lines of people in our midst who live in Victimhood.” When he tells how college students stare uncomprehendingly when he shares his influences and books he enjoys rereading, he actually says, “Kids today.” It’s also surprising that a veteran sportswriter believes that Tiger Woods—the most prodigious, heralded and important professional golfer of the late 20th century, who brought multiracial and -cultural inclusion to professional golf, the exclusive province of WASPs for more than a century—doesn’t measure up to Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus. Such a narrow-minded view from a celebrated contributor to Golf Digest makes one wonder what he is also nostalgic for.

A good book for the reactionary on your gift list.

A sharp compendium of the stranger developments in 19th-century medicine that have influenced how we care for ourselves today.

In parallel to the discovery of germs, X-ray technology and the novel idea of sterilized surgery, there developed a branch of pseudoscience called alternative, or irregular, medicine. The irregular practices were aligned by their democratic belief in a common understanding of medicine for the benefit of the people—i.e., wellness that did not rely on institutionalized, elitist doctors. After all, the accepted practices of the establishment included painful, “heroic” treatments like bloodletting, induced vomiting and blistering, which were believed to draw the disease out of a person. Other accepted ministrations were chemical purgatives that contained mercury, arsenic and antimony. Among the alternative methods that historian Janik (Apple: A Global History, 2011, etc.) highlights are holistic practices like hydropathy and botanic medicine, which stressed the curative and hygienic qualities of water, as well as natural, plant-based solutions. While the methods of hydropathy and botanic medicine were ambitious and well-meaning, these methods were also mostly incorrect. Among the irregular practices that proved most reliable and scientific was the chiropractic technique, which is still practiced today. On the other hand, phrenology, homeopathy and mesmerism all fit the description of “quack” science for their bizarre practices—e.g., measuring skull variations to determine intellectual and emotional attributes, ingesting diluted doses of harmful tinctures and controlling the flow of nervous fluids with magnets. These practices proved highly lucrative for many of their founders and inspired throngs of followers and fellow practitioners, much to the dismay of the distinguished physician Oliver Wendell Holmes, who persistently railed against the pseudoscience community for challenging the academy. Perhaps most importantly, Janik asserts the role of women in administering remedies—mothers were the chief doctors of local communities—and developing the successful irregular methods into what we now consider conventional medicine.

A thorough, informative history of the many eccentric narratives that make these quack sciences so interesting and important to modern medicine.

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STOKELY A Life

Joseph, Peniel E. Basic Civitas (416 pp.) $29.99 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-465-01363-0

Joseph (History/Tufts Univ.; Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama, 2010, etc.) introduces a Stokely Carmichael (1941–1998) few white people ever knew in the 1960s, a man who dared to speak truth to power.

“Before leaving America,” writes the author, “Stokely reigned as Black Power’s glamorous enfant terrible: telegenic, brash, equal parts angry and gregarious…a ‘hipster hero’ whose |

“...ingenious predictions extrapolated from good research already in progress.” from the future of the mind

easy grace allowed him to consort effortlessly with both the dignified and the damned.” A brilliant student and forceful, persuasive speaker, Carmichael spent his college summers working to “change the world.” He began working for civil rights as a student at historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1961 and never stopped. Close to Martin Luther King Jr. and many other significant civil rights leaders, he devoted himself to more than civil rights. He developed into a true idealist, seeking more than just voting rights; he wanted equality and not just for blacks. Carmichael knew that blacks were not the only suppressed group in America, and he welcomed whites and minorities of all kinds to work for self-determination. The author mentions that women were not a large part of the movement but goes on to name many, like Septima Clark—often considered the grandmother of the civil rights movement—whose influence was known only to insiders. Reform was never enough for Carmichael; he was fighting the systemic phenomenon of institutional racism. As he grew, he sought a radical democracy, rejecting communism and socialism since they only addressed class differences, not racism. This is a man who stood out in the civil rights movement, the man who defined Black Power and whose quest for Pan-African democracy led him to express radical ideas that successfully frightened the powers that be.

Joseph showcases the brilliance of the man, his exceptional ideals and his pursuit of an equality that was years ahead of his time. (20 b/w images)

THE FUTURE OF THE MIND The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind Kaku, Michio Doubleday (400 pp.) $28.95 | Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-385-53082-8

Having written the enthusiastic but strictly science-based Physics of the Impossible (2008) and Physics of the Future (2011), Kaku (Theoretical Physics/City Univ. of New York) turns his attention to the human mind with equally satisfying results.

Aware that predictions limited to a lifetime are usually wrong—where are the flying cars, cancer cures and Mars colonies foretold in the 1950s?—the author expands his forecasts to the next few centuries. He has no trouble foreseeing telepathy, telekinesis, intelligence pills, artificial memories and mind control. He agrees that centuries of research by physicians and neuroscientists has borne fruit, but he boasts that the end of the 20th century saw his own profession, physics, produce spectacular advances, with more to come. Acronymic high-tech machines (fMRI, PET, ECOG, DTI) allow researchers to watch the brain reason, see, remember and deliver instructions. Telepathy is no longer a fantasy since scanners can already detect, if crudely, what a subject is thinking, and genetics and biochemistry now allow researchers to alter memories and increase intelligence in animals. Direct electrical stimulation of distinct brain |

regions has changed behavior, awakened comatose patients, relieved depression, and produced out-of-body and religious experiences. Similar to the human genome program, massive research efforts in the United States and Europe to reverseengineer the brain have the potential to vastly increase human potential as well as relieve disease and injury. “[W]e should treasure the consciousness that is found on the Earth,” writes the author. “It is the highest form of complexity known in the universe, and probably the rarest.”

Kaku is not shy about quoting science-fiction movies and TV (he has seen them all). Despite going off the deep end musing about phenomena such as isolated consciousness spreading throughout the universe, he delivers ingenious predictions extrapolated from good research already in progress. (Author tour to Boston, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York)

THE LEADING INDICATORS A Short History of the Numbers that Rule Our World Karabell, Zachary Simon & Schuster (304 pp.) $27.00 | Feb. 11, 2014 978-1-4516-5120-1

Our leaders regularly agonize over unemployment figures, the consumer price index, gross national product and the balance of trade. These and other leading indicators are important but also overrated, writes journalist and Reuters “Edgy Optimist” columnist Karabell (Superfusion: How China and America Became One Economy and Why the World’s Prosperity Depends on It, 2009) in this lucid measurement of how the United States is faring.

Censuses date from ancient times, but it was not until the mid-19th century that the industrial revolution forced a search for data to make sense of an increasingly complex “economy,” a word that did not appear until that time. Governments paid little attention until the disaster of the Depression galvanized them to measure how bad things were and then place great faith in the results. Gross domestic product, the value of a nation’s goods and services, became a proxy for its success. Benefits, wages, rents and raises are often pegged to the consumer price index. Everyone knows that a positive balance of trade is good and a negative balance is bad. Inevitably, these numbers became a referendum on whether people were happy and led to an index of consumer confidence and then to the human development index, which combines income, health and education to gauge a nation’s genuine well-being. Karabell emphasizes that indices measure what they were designed to measure. All exclude great swatches of life (GDP omits household work, cash transactions and free Internet services such as Google). It’s a mistake to use them as mirrors of reality instead of modestly helpful tools.

“Our questions need to be specific,” he writes, “and answers must be bounded by a sense of how to parse information, but kirkus.com

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INTERVIEWS & PROFILES

Gary Shteyngart

TWELVE YEARS OF PSYCHOANALYSIS LATER, THE FUNNY NOVELIST EYES HIMSELF MORE SERIOUSLY

By Jessica Gross much of his memoir grapples with his own history as a Russian Jew in Queens, N.Y., where he and his parents immigrated when he was 7.

Coming to a new country with a different language is universally dislocating, and Shteyngart spares us no discomfort, from the arbitrary choice of “Gary” to replace his birth name, Igor, to the separation from his grandmother to his alienation and humiliation in school. “In a way, my experience at Hebrew school prepared me for any kind of criticism,” he says now. “Once you’re dehumanized for so long, it’s all gravy after that.”

But Shteyngart’s upbringing involved a particularly queasy blend of desire and dismay. Little Failure takes its name from the childhood nickname Shteyngart’s mother bestowed on him: Failurchka. “When you’re an immigrant, failure and success are such huge words,” he says. “When you’re told that you’re a failure by your parents, it becomes something humongous. It becomes your identity, in a way.”

His mother also masterfully employed the silent treatment. “Apparently during one especially long period of making me unexist, I started screaming to her, ‘If you won’t speak to me, luchshe ne zhit’!’ It is better not to live! And then I cried for hours, oh how I cried,” Shteyngart writes. “Luchshe ne zhit’! my mother likes to replay dramatically at Thanksgiving dinners, her hands spread out like Hamlet giving a soliloquy, perhaps because, in addition to being funny in her mind, the two-day-long silent treatment did what it was supposed to do. It made the child want to commit suicide without her love.”

And his father beat him. The book details the pummels to the head; little Gary’s retreats into his room; his attempts not to cry; his hot, liquid failure. But most incisively, there’s this: “And the child is holding tight to the dizzying smacks, because each one is saying You’re mine and You’ll always love me, each one is a connection

Photo courtesy Brigitte Lacombe

Gary Shteyngart has dedicated his memoir, Little Failure, to his parents and his psychoanalyst— a good springboard for this deeply introspective and moving look at his past. Without his parents, there would be no Gary; without psychoanalysis, there would be no memoir1. Or at least not this one.

“On so many occasions in my novels I have approached a certain truth only to turn away from it, only to point my finger and laugh at it and then scurry back to safety,” Shteyngart writes. “In this book, I promised myself I would not point the finger. My laughter would be intermittent. There would be no safety.”

Of course, there is laughter—this is Shteyngart, after all—but the humor here serves more to bring emotion into sharper relief than to protect from it. At the opening, we meet just-out-of-college Gary, standing in the Strand Bookstore, looking at an image of a Russian church and having a panic attack. It will take us the length of the book to fully decode why.

Shteyngart’s three novels (The Russian Debutante’s Handbook, Absurdistan and Super Sad True Love Story) feature Russian Jewish immigrants to America, and 1

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to the child that can never be broken.” When his father stopped beating him, Shteyngart felt a hollow loss.

But there was also love. There were “the quiet sausage-and-kasha rhythms of the weekend,” the sweet nicknames—“little son,” “little one.” There was closeness: boundary-less closeness. “And each circle of love,” he writes, “binds me closer to her, to them, every subsequent betrayal and misjudgment will bind me even closer.” The inner push-pull bloomed into dysfunction: Shteyngart turned to alcohol and pot and aggressive humor as a means of self-protection. In college, he earned the nickname “Scary Gary.” (Better than “Little Failure”?) After college, he sent his new, married girlfriend an email with a slip that says it all: “I am your disposal.”

“If alcohol obliterates me, the pot unpeels me. Down to the nub,” he writes of high school, when the drugging took off. “But what if the nub’s no good either?”

But the turmoil also bloomed into writing. As a child, Shteyngart wrote a book for his grandmother, Lenin and His Magical Goose (“I am saying, Grandmother, please love me”); at school, he wrote a book called The Chalenge [sic], which his teacher asked him to read aloud, to his classmates’ delight. “I’m still a hated freak,” he writes.

“But here’s what I’m doing: I am redefining the terms under which I am a hated freak.”

“I didn’t feel that there was constant love coming my way from the world, certainly not when I got to America,” Shteyngart says now. “And as I discovered, writing was the only way that I could have friends in this country, make any kind of lasting relationships. It was the part I could play and win something for it, because everything else failed so miserably.”

Like the psychoanalytic process, writing Little Failure was an act of not only telling a life story, but making sense of it in the process—of cleaning house. “I write a lot about a similar theme, Soviet Jews, and I figured maybe it was time to sort of clear the decks a little bit and begin writing about something else,” Shteyngart explains. “But first I have to really use up a lot of material that has been percolating for so long and that has ended up in one way or another in so many of my previous books.”

Writing the book also gave Shteyngart an excuse to interview his parents about their collective past in the guise of researcher rather than simply son. His parents “were not entirely pleased by the fact that they were going to be featured in a nonfiction book,” he says. “But when we sat down, they were incredibly generous.

They talked and talked and talked, and it felt like they

were unburdening themselves as well.” The research process—which also involved renewing contacts with old friends Shteyngart hadn’t spoken to in decades— culminated in a trip to Russia with his parents, during which his father revealed long-buried aspects of their shared history. That trip, Shtyengart says, “left me quite depressed, because I thought that—it was almost more than I had bargained for, figuring out certain parts of my life.” The revelations close the loop on the psychological mystery at Little Failure’s beginning.

Now that he has gotten close to the real nub of his story, Shteyngart hopes to open up new avenues of creative exploration. Inevitably, “some of this stuff will creep up,” he says of his childhood, but now he’d like to work inside other genres—a thriller, maybe?— and to write a book set from a woman’s perspective.

New phase.

It’s also worth noting that, 12 years after he began, his psychoanalytic treatment is coming to an end.

Jessica Gross is a writer based in New York City.

Little Failure received a starred review in the Dec. 1, 2013, issue of Kirkus Reviews.

LITTLE FAILURE: A MEMOIR Shteyngart, Gary Random House 400 pp. $27.00 | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-679-64375-3 |

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THE KENNAN DIARIES

the result should be a welcome liberation from ‘the economy’ defined by our leading indicators.”

Readers of this intelligent introduction to iconic economic indices will agree that Karabell makes an excellent case.

Kennan, George F. Costigliola, Frank—Ed. Norton (736 pp.) $39.95 | Feb. 16, 2014 978-0-393-07327-0

MIDNIGHT’S DESCENDANTS South Asia from Partition to the Present Day

One of 20th-century America’s most significant diplomats offers a window into his inner life and private concerns, fears and dreams.

With an eye to posterity, Kennan (1904–2005) assiduously kept a diary for nearly 90 years, compiling thousands of pages on everything from his impressions of Soviet leaders to notes on wave patterns in the North Atlantic.

Costigliola (History/Univ. of Connecticut; Roosevelt’s Lost Alliances: How Personal Politics Helped Start the Cold War, 2011, etc.) has selected the most representative and revealing passages for this dauntingly thick but eminently readable volume. In this age of ubiquitous social networking and oversharing, it seems remarkable that Kennan could write so much, about so many topics, without being dull or self-absorbed, but nearly every entry contains a perspicacious observation or insight. His dry wit is evident from the earliest years: At Princeton, he complained of an assigned book, “[i]t is really a great aid in the allopathic treatment I am taking this spring to cure my imaginative tendency, because it takes real assiduous mental concentration to dope a sentence out of it.” Displaying a tendency toward selfdoubt that he hid in his confident public pronouncements and publications, Kennan’s diary entries evince an enduring belief that he could never quite live up to the goals he had set for himself. As early as 1959, he fretted that “[t]he Western world, at least, must today be populated in very great party [sic] by people like myself who have outlived their own intellectual and emotional environment.” Inexorably drawn again to Russia and endowed with an aesthetic and humanist imagination much broader than the State Department could contain, Kennan’s life’s work was, more than any political squabble, a searching for the “answer to the universal question of this wistful, waiting Russian countryside.”

Students of modern history will take great interest in this work, which ably straddles the frontiers of the personal, political and philosophical. (16 pages of photos)

Keay, John Basic (480 pp.) $29.99 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-465-02180-2

Five independent nations emerged from the 1947 partition of British India, but they have yet to escape its dismal influence, writes prolific British journalist Keay (India: A History, 2008, etc.) in this vivid, thoughtful and not terribly optimistic history.

India is secular, democratic and regarded as an economic success—the only one of the five to be considered so. Pakistan and Bangladesh are determinedly Islamic, susceptible to military rule and stubbornly impoverished, and Nepal and Sri Lanka remain traumatized by recent civil wars. Historians still wonder at how everyone got it so wrong. Planning for Indian independence, British negotiators proposed a single realm with elaborate democratic safeguards. Muslim leaders, as Britisheducated, elite and nonreligious as their Hindu counterparts, viewed an autonomous Pakistan as a political ploy rather than a practicality. Only in the final months did increasing disorder, political missteps and British haste to leave make partition inevitable. Despite several pre-independence atrocities, everyone was flabbergasted at the mass slaughter that followed. Almost immediately, India’s occupation of Hindu-ruled but Muslimmajority Kashmir enraged Pakistan, a rage that still obsesses that nation, leading to several wars, innumerable skirmishes, standoffs, terrorist attacks and weak Pakistani governments that defer to the army. To the south, Sri Lanka, independent since 1948, remained peaceful for a few decades but is only now emerging from more than 30 years of murderous ethnic warfare.

Keay’s only ray of hope shines on the region’s largest nation.

India’s clunky, corrupt democracy enjoys an expanding economy and middle class despite ongoing massive poverty, bloody ethnic, language and religious quarrels, and guerrilla insurgencies. “Over the last half century the shadows of Partition’s brutal dislocation have grown ever longer,” writes the author. “They slant across the whole course of events in post-independence South Asia.”

An insightful, entirely engrossing account of a dysfunctional region that may or may not pull itself together.

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RECLAIMING AMERICAN VIRTUE The Human Rights Revolution of the 1970s

THE CONCEPT OF ANXIETY A Simple Psychologically Oriented Deliberation in View of the Dogmatic Problem of Hereditary Sin

Keys, Barbara J. Harvard Univ. (324 pp.) $29.95 | Feb. 3, 2014 978-0-674-72485-3

A genealogy of America’s crusade to advance human rights in the world, its origins “an antidote to shame and guilt.”

The idea of human rights went beyond sloganeering and mere diplomacy, writes Keys (American and International History/Univ. of Melbourne; Globalizing Sport: National Rivalry and International Community in the 1930s, 2006). In the years following the Vietnam War, it reinforced ideals that had been compromised by the war and the Watergate scandal. One facet was the reframing of foreign policy to reward those few nations that were generous with human rights, particularly with respect to dissidents, and to exert pressure on those that were not. Détente between the Soviet Union and the United States helped open the discussion from the old Cold War tensions to new concerns, just as, thanks to advances in communications, “[i]t became possible to collect information about victims of repression abroad more cheaply, easily, and rapidly than before.”

The presidency of Jimmy Carter became known for the centrality of human rights, if rather vaguely defined and with a moral dimension that verged on idealism; Keys wonders whether that emphasis favored building civil liberties at the expense of other considerations, such as feeding the population. In whichever instance, the late 1970s saw the establishment or flourishing of many human rights organizations that pressed specific causes, such as the Human Rights Watch, “founded in 1978 to monitor Soviet-bloc adherence to the human rights and human contacts provisions of the 1975 Helsinki Accords.” Interestingly, the cause of human rights was slow to catch on among leftist and even liberal groups—Morris Udall scarcely mentioned the matter when he was running for the presidency—while neoconservatives began to cloak their arguments for intervention in places like Iraq in the language of civil liberties.

An accessible, searching study of an idea that seems to have been forgotten in favor of the steely, cost-cutting pragmatism of today. (14 halftones)

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Kierkegaard, Søren Translated by Hannay, Alastair Liveright/Norton (288 pp.) $27.95 | Mar. 3, 2014 978-0-87140-719-1

Noted Kierkegaard scholar, translator and biographer Hannay (Emeritus, Philosophy/Univ. of Oslo; Kierkegaard: A Biography, 2001) offers a new translation of a littleknown but significant work (1944) about the relationship between sin and anxiety.

Although Kierkegaard (1813–1855) claims in the preface that he plans to “write the book straight off as the bird sings its say,” many readers will find his words as similar to a bird’s song as a bird’s song is to a complex symphony. After some introductory remarks about thought, sin (which is not, he says, a sickness or an abnormality—far from it) and psychology, the philosopher begins with a disquisition on sin—specifically on original or “hereditary” sin. He notes that each individual’s first sin is analogous to Adam’s and declares, “Innocence is ignorance.” He then moves to anxiety, a feeling absent in Eden, he writes, until Adam faced something he couldn’t understand: the prohibition. Kierkegaard distinguishes between objective and subjective anxiety and notes the relationship to freedom: “Freedom’s possibility announces itself in anxiety.” He also makes a few clueless comments about the differences between men and women—comments that show that for all his erudition, he had a few things to learn. He describes each instant as “an atom of eternity,” then moves on to discussions of fate, guilt and evil, equating the demonic with “unfreedom.” He also explores the ways that we can lose freedom (a body’s betrayal, a spiritual loss) and ends with some pages about faith. The book has moments of clarity and flow but also sections of great density (one footnote is more than two pages long); the author cites the Bible extensively and often uses phrases from foreign languages, all of which the editor translates in brackets.

A text that will appeal to philosophers and Kierkegaard-ians but will leave readers with more general interests feeling…anxious.

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“A young writer reckons with his life after amnesia.” from the answer to the riddle is me

THE CAREGIVERS A Support Group’s Stories of Slow Loss, Courage, and Love Lake, Nell Scribner (320 pp.) $26.00 | Feb. 11, 2014 978-1-4516-7414-9

A penetrating glimpse into the modern world of caregiving.

After two years attending meetings of a hospital caregivers’ support group, magazine writer Lake shares the members’ stories in a caring, instructive manner. Through the experiences of these individuals, the author explores timeless topics of love, hope, grief and anguish, as well as timely issues of health care, long-term care and the high cost of growing old. Lake shines as a storyteller, bringing to life such individuals as William, whose wife was slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s; or Penny, who lived with her mother until having to place her in nursing care. Lake quickly goes beyond the group sessions to enter into these caregivers’ lives, observing their struggles firsthand. Her sympathetic portrayals are touching and thought-provoking, but Lake is at her best when examining the place and character of caregiving in today’s society. “Even the word caregiver,” she writes, “is a technical, postindustrial, postfeminist, public term—necessary only in societies in which caring for our old and dependent is no longer conscripted by family roles.” The author tackles topics such as Medicaid, living wills and even the Affordable Care Act, along with the modern trappings of caregiving, such as Alzheimer’s testing and “automatic negative thoughts,” which plague members of the group. Her subjects put human faces to statistics and studies. Readers may find this book emotionally challenging, but they will be rewarded with a new perspective on growing old in America. Those who are currently caregivers will find in Lake’s subjects understanding and compassion, just as they share with each other in the context of the support group.

In the spreading shadow of dementia, Alzheimer’s and other long-term diseases, Lake discovers hope, comfort and continued questions for the future.

indulge in the usual sentimentality and poetics of nature writing in this series of interconnected essays that combine plainspoken prose, cleareyed observation and provocative thought.

There is plenty here to annoy environmental alarmists, Christians, Republicans, agribusiness, vegetarians (or anyone else bothered by the detailed, don’t-read-before-dinner description of killing and butchering) and others who subscribe to various forms of conventional wisdom. “I write this book believing that the human race, including myself, is irrational,” he says. “But being irrational is not all bad….Nevertheless, totally contradicting everything I have written above (another mark of human insanity), I really do intend this book to be a comfort and a solace for those people facing death. And that means all of us.”

The author maintains that despite “much hand-wringing over diseases that are attacking oak trees…as long as climate dictates trees, trees in one form or another will be here.” The perceptual problem, says the writer who once studied to be a priest, is that “the human mind sees cycles because we think in terms of beginnings and endings, of causes and effects, of time passing. But the forest acts only in the everlasting NOW.” And that “everlasting NOW” provides perspective and comfort throughout these meditations on mortality and renewal, particularly after the author’s cancer diagnosis. He experienced an epiphany during the final spring he thought he might not experience: “I wanted May to last forever. But now I understood that it was only because nature changed every month, every day, every moment, that it could come again. Only through change is permanence achieved….To understand immortality, embrace mortality.”

Wisdom and experience permeate this perceptive and understatedly well-written meditation.

THE ANSWER TO THE RIDDLE IS ME A Memoir of Amnesia

MacLean, David Stuart Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (304 pp.) $25.00 | Jan. 14, 2014 978-0-547-51927-2

A young writer reckons with his life after amnesia.

On Oct. 17, 2002, first-time author MacLean came to while standing in a crush of people on a train platform in India. He had no passport and no clue where he was or what his name was. He then panicked and blacked out again. When he regained consciousness, he was still standing on the platform, utterly confused and terrified, when a kindly police officer found and took him under his protection. Had the author not had his driver’s license with him, this memoir may never have been written. The 28-yearold MacLean was in Hyderabad, India, studying on a Fulbright scholarship, a world away from the state of New Mexico that had issued his license. In episodic bursts, the author relates moments he recalls from that day forward. Many of the scenes describing his wild hallucinations and slow return to relative sanity powerfully convey an immediacy, as MacLean and his

GENE EVERLASTING A Contrary Farmer’s Thoughts on Living Forever Logsdon, Gene Chelsea Green (192 pp.) $24.95 | Feb. 14, 2014 978-1-60358-539-2

A self-proclaimed contrarian and octogenarian cancer survivor finds renewal in the prospect of death while raising issues that challenge science and religion alike.

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parents, who rushed from the States to the neuropsychiatric institute where he was taken, learned the cause of his “acute polymorphic psychosis.” When MacLean was found, those who first assisted him assumed his amnesia and severe disorientation were the result of recreational drug abuse, but blood work soon revealed the culprit to be an allergic reaction to a prescribed drug with a grave history of inducing psychosis: mefloquine, the popular antimalarial drug better known as Lariam. Much of the memoir’s power comes from MacLean’s intense descriptions of the altered states he endured as he tried to rediscover his identity. Recalling the return to his parents’ home, he writes: “I felt myself slipping, worried that I’d never recover, that I’d be in this wood-glue-filled piñata for the rest of my life. And then if I did recover, if I got everything back, who knew if it would happen again? How many times would I end up touring the exhibits of my curated self?”

A mesmerizing debut. MacLean spares no detail in tracing his formidable reconstruction.

HOPE STREET, JERUSALEM

Makler, Irris HarperCollins 360 (320 pp.) $14.99 paper | Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-7322-9416-8

The perils and pleasures of daily life in Israel.

In 2002, freelance journalist Makler (Our Woman in Kabul, 2003), “always chasing work,” moved from Moscow to Jerusalem. Palestine’s Second Intifada was inciting violent unrest, with suicide attacks and bombings occurring daily. “The city was literally exploding,” Makler writes. “Israeli media was fizzing.” At the urging of a friend, a BBC foreign correspondent, the author decided to stay in Israel.

Within a few months, besides constant reporting, she fell in love with a young musician and actor, and the couple adopted an endearing, energetic dog, Mia. Throughout the narrative, Makler weaves the personal and political: tense border crossings and shopping at IKEA; observing political negotiations and negotiating her relationship with her boyfriend; chasing suicide bombings and chasing Mia. Besides lengthy recountings of Mia’s antics and adventures, Makler portrays a reality of living with constant threats—e.g., a friend out buying pizza was one store away from a devastating bombing in a cafe; if he had gone in for coffee, he would have been blown up. Makler herself was hit during a stone-throwing rampage; her jaw was broken, but if she had turned a fraction of an inch, she would have been blinded or killed. She was always on call, always ready to travel. In the summer of 2005, for example, she took a long, arduous trip to the desert to report on Israel’s fraught withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, an action passionately resisted by some settlers who insisted they would leave only by force. After soldiers calmly completed the evacuation, they complied with Palestinian demands to raze the town, and Makler witnessed the bulldozing of every building, including synagogues. “It was |

a strange, painful sight,” she writes, “given Jewish history in Europe, to watch Jews destroying synagogues” and unearthing Jewish graves.

Makler’s memoir offers a close-up view of life in a volatile region and the pressures and risks of her daring profession.

THE TWILIGHT OF THE AMERICAN ENLIGHTENMENT The 1950s and the Crisis of Liberal Belief Marsden, George M. Basic (240 pp.) $26.99 | Feb. 11, 2014 978-0-465-03010-1

Marsden (Emeritus, History/Univ. of Notre Dame; Jonathan Edwards: A Life, 2003, etc.) employs historical analysis to suggest why the United States is so badly split between secularoriented intellectuals and religiously doctrinaire church leaders, a split that seems to have harmed the nation’s moral character, forged during World War II. The author conducts his narrative in a somewhat abstract manner, emphasizing quotations from a variety of thinkers over anecdotes and case studies. As a result, the book is filled with generalizations that contain the ring of truth but also bring to mind numerous counterarguments. Marsden criticizes the secularists who received attention in the 1950s for failing to recognize the sincerity and depth of religion-based intellectuals, but he also criticizes the religionists for failing to advocate for inclusive pluralism in favor of hoping for the primacy of their particular church doctrines. In the introduction, the author explains that he will try to make his case through three major themes, which he sometimes refers to as motifs. The first motif is a recounting of how American culture appeared to high-profile culture analysts during the crucial decades immediately following World War II, while the United States was considering its new position of authority on the world stage. In the second motif, Marsden explains his notion that the consensus of the warring intellectuals should be viewed as efforts to preserve traditional American ideals while blowing up the traditional foundations on which those ideals rested. The third motif derives from the author’s desire that religion play a significant, but not necessarily dominant, role in American public discourse. “Much of [the book] is about understanding a fascinating moment of the American experience,” writes the author, “but that account leads to critical analysis and reflection on the question of the place that religion should have in that culture.”

An important discourse that is not always easy to follow due to its abstract nature—will be most useful for an academic audience.

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“Regardless of readers’ culinary proclivities, Martin’s lively book poses timely questions while offering tasty solutions.” from edible

EDIBLE An Adventure into the World of Eating Insects and the Last Great Hope to Save the Planet

SALAAM, LOVE American Muslim Men on Love, Sex, and Intimacy Mattu, Ayesha; Maznavi, Nura–Eds. Beacon (240 pp.) $16.00 paper | $16.00 e-book Feb. 4, 2014 978-0-8070-7975-1 978-0-8070-7976-8 e-book

Martin, Daniella Amazon/New Harvest (272 pp.) $23.00 | Feb. 11, 2014 978-0-544-11435-7

Digging into the latest culinary trend, “entomophagist,” or bug-eating expert, Martin expounds upon the “ecological, nutritional, economic, global and culinary” benefits of consuming insects.

The author’s interest in eating insects began when she was studying pre-Columbian food and medicine in Mexico, where she intentionally ate her first bug. Later, she read a galvanizing article detailing a bug cook-off between insect chefs in Virginia.

“The article discussed new research on insects as a possible global food source, a potential solution to world hunger, and an eco-friendly alternative to beef and other livestock,” she writes.

The author’s conversational style blends science, popular culture and personal insights, and she chronicles her interviews with a host of bug-cuisine promoters, including chefs, environmental consultants and entomologists. Martin also discusses her visits to a pop-up food market in San Francisco; a lab in Holland devoted to studying “the potential of edible insects as a food source for humans and animals,” and a fried-insect stall in Thailand. The author deconstructs the various tastes and textures encountered while munching on insects—e.g., crickets are nutty; bee larvae resemble bacon-chanterelles; giant water bugs emit the scent of a crisp green apple. Overall, insects possess a generally nutty taste, which blooms when roasted. Rich in minerals, their exoskeletons provide a pleasing crunch. For those seeking new culinary adventures, Martin includes helpful tips for raising bugs at home, an essential list of edible insects, cooking basics, and recipes for preparing a host of delights, including wax moth tacos, salty-sweet wax worms, sweet-andspicy summer June bugs and cricket-y kale salad. Never didactic, Martin gently nudges readers toward open-mindedness at the prospect of eating bugs: “Why not make the best of what we have the most of?”

Regardless of readers’ culinary proclivities, Martin’s lively book poses timely questions while offering tasty solutions.

A companion anthology to Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women (2012), this time from a male perspective.

By nature, anthologies are a little uneven, and this one is no different. Though every story is worth reading and each piece will be enjoyed for its own unique understanding of love from a Muslim man’s perspective, each contributor seems to have been responsible for writing his own history. Some stories are better written than others, but editors Mattu, an international development consultant, and Maznavi, a civil rights attorney, ensure that the focus remains on the importance of the story rather than the telling, and they separate the essays into three loose categories: “Umma: It Takes a Village,” “Sirat: The Journey” and “Sabr: In Sickness and in Health.” These categories add welcome narrative flow to the collection, which is ideologically cohesive but still varied.

The contributors are all American Muslims, but there is remarkable diversity from that point. There are converts from Judaism and Christianity, as well as men who grew up devout and men who grew up praying when they felt like it. The religious rules around relationships feature strongly, as one would expect, and they are abided by and flaunted in equal measure. While many of the tales end in marriage, none ignore the flaws and difficulties presented by romantic relationships. Throughout, there are men who lost love, lost themselves and found things they weren’t looking for, as well as those still searching. Whether read all together or in single doses, faith and love abound, and there is no shortage of entertainment.

In the introduction, the editors write, “There’s nothing like a good love story to connect us to one another and also help satisfy our curiosity about the lives of others.” This collection proves the honesty in that assertion.

PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE The Power of Personality and How It Shapes Our Lives Mayer, John D. Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux (288 pp.) $27.00 | Feb. 18, 2014 978-0-374-23085-2

There is more to brainpower than IQ, writes Mayer (Psychology/Univ. of New Hampshire; Personality: A Systems Approach, 2006, etc.) in this astute exploration of a different form of intelligence: the ability to understand the personalities of other human beings as well as our own.

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The “grand theorists” of the mind (Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Henry Murray and Harry Stack Sullivan) delivered vivid insights from philosophy, literature, biology and their own observations, but it was only when subsequent generations of psychologists examined what people—not just a few patients—actually do that they discovered which insights made sense. Mayer fills his book with ingenious studies of how people judge others. We routinely decode faces, interpret motives and traits, and use these to guide our behavior. Successful judges of personal intelligence enjoy better relationships and more success in life. Poor judges are worried, manipulative, insecure and generally disagreeable. Essential to personal intelligence is the ability to know thyself, a preoccupation of philosophers since the dawn of history. Everyone, the author included, urges us to look inward, but good research reveals that introspection has its limits. It’s accurate for emotions (“I’m angry”) but less so for abilities (“I’m smart”). Perhaps too much self-knowledge depends on what others think of us: our reputations. This is no small matter since misinterpreting one’s own traits leads to mistakes in evaluating others’. “My wish,” writes the author, “is that you will feel enriched by seeing how we all use personal intelligence to reason about ourselves and others, and that you will come to appreciate this set of abilities in a new way.”

Those looking to win friends and influence people should turn to Dale Carnegie and his cheerful disciples. Mayer confines himself to invariably stimulating insights backed by solid scientific research, so readers looking to understand the human condition will certainly enjoy this book.

THE BURGLARY The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover’s Secret FBI Medsger, Betty Knopf (592 pp.) $29.95 | Jan. 10, 2014 978-0-307-96295-9

Ambitious, meticulous account of a successful burglary of the FBI, during a different time of controversy regarding governmental surveillance.

In 1971, Washington Post reporter Medsger was surprised to receive pilfered FBI documents from “The Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI.” While the break-in at the FBI’s satellite office in Media, Penn., had garnered minimal attention, the release of the documents to journalists and politicians caused a national furor. At the time, bitterness over Vietnam fueled suspicion among activists of covert governmental harassment. Several disciples of the Catholic peace movement came together as the “Commission” and hatched the audacious plan following similar actions at draft boards, which combined subterfuge with a commitment to nonviolent resistance. The deftly executed burglary soon became longtime FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s “worst nightmare,” in that the documents revealed that the FBI had aggressively harassed leftists, blacks and civil rights activists since the 1940s and kept tabs on many others, |

although Hoover’s inner circle had long claimed “there were no FBI files on the personal lives of government officials or other prominent people.” As the files were released to the Post and elsewhere, mainstream outrage prefaced that which greeted the impending Watergate scandal. Remarkably, the burglars were never caught, though Hoover’s FBI pursued them doggedly, even interviewing an activist who’d quit before the burglary without realizing his significance. Years later, Medsger found they’d generally lost touch with each other and their radical past: As one told her, he was shocked to see in a documentary that “somebody apparently thought that our little action was that important.” Yet, as the author points out, comparisons to post-9/11 America and recent revelations about the National Security Administration are inescapable.

Medsger captures the domestic political ferment of the 1970s on a large canvas, though the narrative’s extreme detail and depth occasionally make for slow going or repetitive observations. (Author tour to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C.)

OTHERHOOD Modern Women Finding a New Kind of Happiness

Notkin, Melanie Seal Press (312 pp.) $16.00 paper | Feb. 25, 2014 978-1-58005-521-5

A frank, hopeful look inside the world of single, childless women facing the end of their fertility.

With an increasing number of American women having a first child at a later age, the Census Bureau has labeled the trend “the delayer boom.” However, many are confronting the likelihood they will never have biological children. Huffington Post contributor Notkin (Savvy Auntie: The Ultimate Guide for Cool Aunts, Great-Aunts, Godmothers, and All Women Who Love Kids, 2011) suggests recognizing these women as “the otherhood.” Single and in her early 40s, the author speaks for a generation of women who expected to have the social, economic and political equality their mothers did not. They also expected “the romantic wholeness of marriage and family,” but the right man never came along or they were in long-term relationships that didn’t work out. She describes complaints older women have with men who can’t plan proper dates or who want a younger woman to settle down with. Far from the dowdy old maids and spinsters of yore, today’s mature single women don’t need to settle for a man they don’t love to support them. They have active social lives, successful jobs, and nieces and nephews to love. However, remarks by even well-meaning friends and family members can make them feel “less than” or at fault for not being mothers. In heartbreaking stories, Notkin reveals why “circumstantial infertility” can be as devastating as biological infertility. While many women are empowered by the ability to freeze their eggs or have children on their own, those choices are expensive and frightening for others. Rather than kirkus.com

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THE DOLLAR TRAP How the U.S. Dollar Tightened Its Grip on Global Finance

whining about her experiences, Notkin offers funny, instructive vignettes to bring attention to a largely misunderstood and overlooked demographic.

A fun, sexy examination of why more women are remaining childless longer and what that means for their lives and society.

Prasad, Eswar S. Princeton Univ. (424 pp.) $35.00 | Feb. 1, 2014 978-0-691-16112-9

ELIOT NESS The Rise and Fall of an American Hero

Richly detailed study of global finances, examining how and why the dollar became the favored currency of

Perry, Douglas Viking (352 pp.) $27.95 | Feb. 24, 2014 978-0-670-02588-6

international trade.

In 2008, when the financial markets nearly collapsed in the United States and then, continent by continent, around the world, something counterintuitive happened: Money flowed back into the U.S., as American investors pulled their money out of foreign commitments and foreign investors sought the relatively safe haven of the dollar, mostly as expressed through treasury bonds. “The dollar,” writes Brookings Institution senior fellow Prasad (Trade Policy/ Cornell Univ.; co-editor: New Paradigms for Financial Regulation: Emerging Market Perspectives, 2012, etc.), “which should by all rights have plunged in value, instead rose sharply against virtually every other currency. It even rose against all other major reserve currencies except for the Japanese yen.”

The dollar has weathered other challenges, as well, including the threat of a default on the part of Congress and, about the same time, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rating cut, reflecting pessimism over the inability of the U.S. government to address debt. No other currency, Prasad argues, is as strong—adding, cautiously, “relatively speaking.” The result is that no other economy is positioned to supplant the dollar, a pointed thought insofar as China is attempting to expand its official currency, the renminbi, beyond its national borders. Prasad warns that nothing lasts forever, so the question is not whether the dollar will remain the leading reserve currency forever but, instead, how much time it has left to hold that position—presuming that some other currency rises to dominance or even that “the entire system of reserve currencies will be replaced by a different arrangement.”

For international investors and economic policy wonks, particularly those following the development of Chinese economic strategy. (8 halftones; 17 line illustrations; 6 tables)

A thorough recounting of the career of Eliot Ness (1903–1957), from humble beginning to humble ending, with spectacular fame in between.

Al Capone may have gone to prison for tax evasion, but Perry (The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago, 2010) understands that the name Ness is synonymous with shutting down Capone’s bootleg operation. The author ably shows that there was far more to Ness’ career than just his battles with Capone, with accomplishments that may even outweigh his work during Prohibition. Unlike many of his colleagues, Ness did not fade into the background when the law was repealed. After a short stint in Cincinnati, he moved to Cleveland, where the mayor made him director of public safety with instructions to clean up the city. His years in Cleveland were probably the best of his career, with Ness implementing many firsts in the police department that are now standard procedure. Unfortunately, after leaving Cleveland, Ness never re-entered law enforcement and wasn’t successful in his other work. Alongside intense and energetic investigative tales, Perry injects humor into the story with anecdotes—e.g., when a Cleveland patrolman, gun drawn, stopped Ness on the street. Though Ness identified himself, the patrolman was skeptical, insisting he was just as likely to be President Franklin D. Roosevelt. “Eliot carefully produced his ID and said that, with FDR’s approval, he would like to be on his way,” writes the author. Perry also peppers the book with his own colorful language. While this works in his favor when he calls a bad area of town “Cleveland’s colostomy bag,” it is jarring and off-kilter when he writes that Ness “gave Stafford a little smile, savoring the moment like a postcoital cigarette.”

Despite minor flaws, there is much to learn and enjoy for crime-solving fans and American history buffs.

NEANDERTHAL MAN In Search of Lost Genomes

Pääbo, Svante Basic (288 pp.) $27.99 | Feb. 11, 2014 978-0-465-02083-6

A dense account of the efforts to decode Neanderthal DNA and a revealing glimpse into the inner workings of scientific research.

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“A mellifluous portrait of a country slowly and painfully pulling itself into the European world.” from everything is wonderful

Pääbo (Director, Department of Genetics/Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology), a Swedish biologist specializing in evolutionary genetics, developed techniques for sequencing DNA from extinct creatures. After years of work, his research group succeeded in sequencing the Neanderthal genome. Since Neanderthals are our closest evolutionary relatives, the author’s work in decoding Neanderthal DNA gives scientists a way to understand how we differ genetically from them and offers the opportunity to learn what genetic changes have made humans unique on this planet. At first, Pääbo faced enormous difficulties, and he relates how he assembled a team of researchers with the right talents, how specimens were obtained, how they coped with the serious matter of contamination, how they dealt with numerous technical problems, and how high-throughput DNA sequencing helped them to coax DNA from ancient bones. As he makes clear, science is a social endeavor in which both competition and cooperation operate, and he does not hide his anxiety about getting his findings published first. His Neanderthal genome paper, published in 2010, received wide attention from scientists and nonscientists alike, and the debate about the interactions between our ancestors and Neanderthals continues. Questions remain: Why did Neanderthals go extinct, and why is Neanderthal DNA present in small amounts in modern humans? In a chapter that feels like a late add-on, Pääbo explores the story of the bones of a different kind of extinct human found in Denisova Cave in Siberia in 2010, which raises more questions about the history of human evolution.

For nonscientists, grasping the details of the technical problems facing Pääbo and his research group is no easy matter, but the larger question of the significance of his work makes the book worthwhile. (20 b/w figures)

EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL Memories of a Collective Farm in Estonia

Rausing, Sigrid Grove (304 pp.) $24.00 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-8021-2217-9

Swedish-born philanthropist and Granta publisher Rausing offers an intimate look at the devastations of communism in Estonia.

The author’s academic study about a small community in postSoviet Estonia followed her fieldwork on the Noarootsi peninsula in 1993-1994 (History, Memory and Identity in Post-Soviet Estonia: The End of a Collective Farm, 2004). Here, she returns to the notebooks of that year and her memory for a more sensuous, character-rich portrait of the denuded landscape, ruined economy, and erratic, alcoholic personalities she encountered as a dreamy, lonely observer and teacher. The peninsula’s population had been half Swedish-speaking until the Nazis deported them, and those few thousand left were corralled behind the Soviet military barrier into villages that became “like villages all over the Soviet Union at that particular time: forgotten places sinking into quiet poverty.” Estonia’s independence followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in |

1991, and the country had to grapple with the Russian presence and language, depopulation and stalled economy. The collective farm in Pürksi was taken over by a “transitory privatisation commission,” and there was new hope for Swedish return and involvement. The signs of Swedishness made the author feel nostalgic for her own Swedish childhood, and everywhere, she gleaned the sense that time had stopped in Estonia. She unearths fascinating history of this remote area, annexed and depleted by Russia, then Germany, then the Soviet Union; all the while, she taught ninth grade in the local school, tramped through the Baltic forests and interviewed people on the farms. In a talk she made to a group of diplomats visiting the village, she was rebuked for being too candid about the Soviet era; instead, she was told ironically she should have said that “everything is wonderful.”

A mellifluous portrait of a country slowly and painfully pulling itself into the European world.

NOTES TO BOYS And Other Things I Shouldn’t Share in Public Ribon, Pamela Rare Bird Books (328 pp.) $16.95 | Feb. 11, 2014 978-1-940207-05-6

Blogger, TV writer, “retired derby girl [and] Wonder Killer” Ribon (You Take It from Here, 2013, etc.) provides a contemporary perspective on her younger self ’s most intimate teenage longings.

During her adolescent years, the author kept copies of the letters and notes she wrote to the various boys targeted for her affections. Along with her journal entries, those letters—to Thirty-Six Hours Boy, Silent Skateboarder Boy, Homeroom Boy, Nice Boy and Super Mario Brothers Boy—comprise much of the narrative thread, with chapter titles including “I Turned Sixteen and Got Really Horny on April 15th,” “Dear Dorkhouse Forum” and “My Year of Dicks.” Ribon explains her reasoning for retaining these embarrassing missives: “While most of you would probably not find it wise to publish your teenage diaries, it is an effective way to get people off your ass for saving all your shit, along with the bonus of a possible tax deduction once you reach Hoarding Level 3, also know as ‘I’d better rent a storage unit before I end up with a divorce.’ ” If reading through the detritus of Ribon’s adolescent longings is not tiresome enough, the author includes, in bold type, contemporary dissections of her previous copious correspondence and overwrought interior landscape. “The real tragedy is that nobody ever pulled me aside to gently inform me that some feelings I should keep inside, that not everybody deserves my truth,” she writes. “Or at least so much of my truth.” Many readers may agree with that sentiment.

Ribon’s numerous fans should welcome this retelling of “things she shouldn’t share in public,” now twined with her adult musings. For others, it’s a tedious slog through a year in the life of a teenager who, as the author herself recalled, wrote obsessively, compulsively and constantly. kirkus.com

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DYING EVERY DAY Seneca at the Court of Nero

ANCIENT FURIES A Young Girl’s Struggles in the Crossfire of World War II

Romm, James Knopf (336 pp.) $27.95 | Mar. 14, 2014 978-0-307-59687-1

There were many sides to the great Roman philosopher and writer Seneca.

Romm (Classics/Bard Coll.; Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the War for Crown and Empire, 2011) explores his contrasting, even conflicting, skills in surviving at the dangerous court of Nero.

Seneca was a sage who preached a simple, studious life while amassing wealth and power in Nero’s court. Romm, who teaches Greek literature and language, combed Seneca’s profuse writings in an attempt to identify the true man. Was he a moral philosopher of the Stoic school or a greedy businessman and corrupt power monger? Are his tracts really political treatises, or were they propaganda, expounding his ideals or improving his image? The source material is vast, and the author seems to have explored it all: the Annals of Tacitus, the anonymous play Octavia and Cassius Dio’s Roman History, along with writings

by Suetonius, Plutarch and many others. Julia Agrippina the Younger recalled Seneca from Corsican exile to act as a tutor to her son, Nero, who she intended would succeed Emperor Claudius. Working with Nero must have been exceedingly unpleasant. He was a petulant, spoiled megalomaniacal brat likely responsible for Claudius’ death and undoubtedly responsible for his brother’s and mother’s deaths and countless more.

Seneca certainly failed to instill Stoic values in Nero, and he had little luck controlling him. He was the speechwriter, spin doctor, and image maker and became a wealthy landowner thanks to Nero’s gifts. “As he himself implied in one of his several apologias,” writes the author, “he was not equal to the best, but better than the bad.”

The task of determining Seneca’s true nature is daunting, but the wide body of information available to Romm enables him to give us tantalizing but ambiguous clues to the man’s mind. Like any good philosopher, he only shows us the questions and leaves readers to figure out the answers.

Saporito, Anastasia V. with Saporito, Donald L. Potomac Books (400 pp.) $34.95 | Feb. 1, 2014 978-1-61234-633-5

A haunting coming-of-age memoir by a woman who survived the traumatic experiences of war, internment in a Nazi labor camp and life as a displaced person with her faith in humanity intact.

Saporito wrote the book with her American husband, Donald, who saw it to completion after her death in 2007. They were married in 1958, two weeks after meeting in Colorado. The author began her memoir in 1967, when Vietnam brought back painful memories of her own wartime experiences, and she continued writing it sporadically thereafter. The daughter of aristocratic white Russians who moved to Yugoslavia (where she was born in 1928), Saporito enjoyed a privileged existence as part of an elite, tightknit Russian circle until the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941. In contrast to the idyllic security of her early years, the author writes in detail about the disintegration of her family under the stress of the war and their virtual abandonment of her. Torn between the Soviet and German armies, the older generation of émigrés turned toward Germany, despite Nazi atrocities. Her parents and their friends made the hard decision to immigrate to Austria and seek refuge. That gamble failed, and they were sent to a Nazi slave labor camp. With the prodding of her parents and home tutoring, Saporito had become proficient in language, a survival skill her mother had insisted on as insurance against the possibility of future hard times. This turned out to be prescient. At the age of 16, Saporito was sent, against her will, to make her way alone to Austria. She was protected by a young German lieutenant, but he was killed by an Allied bomb before her eyes, and she also landed in the camp. Her language skills proved useful; after the Allied victory, Saporito found work as a translator with the Allied occupation forces.

A beautifully written memoir with a spellbinding immediacy.

BONDS OF LOVE

Sarah K HarperCollins 360 (288 pp.) $12.99 paper | Jan. 21, 2014 978-0-00-723767-8 More episodes of sexual maneuvering on the heels of British author Sarah K’s (The Secret Life of a Submissive, 2013) best-selling erotic memoir.

Months after the author and her sexual “Dom,” Max, parted ways, she still ached for his unique brand of sweet torture. While 64

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“A poignant story of a happy partnership that encouraged one Pakistani woman to face her oppressors.” from devotion and defiance

retaining everything she’d learned and experienced on “the real life delights of being a submissive,” she was back on the prowl, eagerly “window-shopping” for a replacement Dom using online personals. Alex, a fleeting contact she’d dismissed in favor of a relationship with Max, reintroduced himself and re-ignited the author’s tinderbox of desire, which was smoldering in the wake of Max’s departure. The author was needy and spontaneously accepted a last-minute invitation to join Alex at a family friend’s wedding weekend in the English countryside.

Blissful in the orchestrated dynamics of their newly consummated affair, she and Alex enjoyed the push and pull of dominance and submission in the bedroom, yet the author continued to compare her sexual submission to Alex to her past with Max. Was it a doomed rebound romance, or had she finally met her match? Max’s unsurprising reappearance stirred old desires, but the author was firmly resolved to challenge her boundaries as a submissive by test-driving other Doms (“my search for Master Right”) of varying intensities and perils, some of whom took items like clothespins and felt-tipped markers to titillating heights. Nestled among the author’s personal escapades navigating the BDSM dating scene are insightful asides into the often complex, taboo nature of this niche lifestyle. She notes one of the key differences between traditional relationships and a BDSM-based one is in both partners’ hierarchal negotiation.

Another slick memoir that reads like erotic fantasist fiction as the author continues her quest to live “happily ever after in nipple clamps and handcuffs.”

An obvious choice for Fifty Shades devotees.

A SERIAL KILLER IN NAZI BERLIN The Chilling True Story of the S-Bahn Murderer Selby, Scott Andrew Berkley (320 pp.) $26.95 | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-425-26414-0

Straightforward account of the historical curiosity of a sadistic serial killer preying on women in the heart of Nazi Germany.

Selby (The Axmann Conspiracy: The Nazi Plan for a Fourth Reich and How the U.S. Army Defeated It, 2012, etc.) notes that for Paul Ogorzow, an average-seeming railroad worker, “night had acquired new meaning in wartime Berlin”; with it, the entire city was his hunting ground. The historical record suggests Ogorzow was a fiend akin to Ted Bundy, a seemingly well-adjusted man (Ogorzow was married with children) secretly compelled to murder eight random women and assault others: “Giving up his attacks was not a consideration…[so] he focused on what he could do to become a better criminal.” After some close calls, Ogorzow realized he could freely pursue women traveling on the blacked-out “S-Bahn” commuter line. Selby shifts perspectives between Ogorzow’s grisly misdeeds—which culminated in his flinging his still-living victims from the speeding train—and the “Kripo” (criminal police) detectives, determined to catch |

him yet kept in check by Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels, who “wanted to project an image of Nazi Germany…as a place free from such problems as the predations of a serial killer.”

Old-fashioned detective work eventually snared the killer; neither Ogorzow’s belated attempts to blame “a Jewish doctor” for mistreating his gonorrhea nor his request for leniency as a Nazi “Brownshirt” delayed his appointment with the guillotine. Selby creates verisimilitude by focusing on numerous details of daily life in the Third Reich, demonstrating how everything from rail travel to law enforcement was bent to the will of Hitler’s henchmen. Yet, he rarely exploits the obvious historical irony of Ogorzow’s small-scale evil against the grander backdrop of Berliners’ complicity in conquest and genocide, only noting that some of his pursuers went on to participate in war crimes.

The workmanlike telling of Ogorzow’s pursuit and eventual capture lacks a certain impact, though fans of serial-killer narratives will surely be engaged.

DEVOTION AND DEFIANCE My Fight for Women and the Poor in Pakistan

Shahid, Humaira Awais with Horan, Kelly Norton (304 pp.) $25.95 | Mar. 3, 2014 978-0-393-08148-0 A poignant story of a happy partnership that encouraged one Pakistani woman to face her oppressors.

Raised in the tolerant, diverse country of Kuwait to a Pakistani family of middle-class professionals, the author moved to Lahore for the first time in 1985 and felt the shackles of religious restrictions. The Kuwaiti war left the family bereft of her beloved uncle, and the author turned inward, becoming a “serious and spiritual young woman” more interested in her literary studies than in getting married. Working at the Imperial College of Business Studies in Lahore, she met a business student from a prominent newspaper family, Ednan Awais Shahid, and they fell in love and married in 1996; he admired her plucky, outspoken side, as did Ednan’s father, who eventually convinced her that taking over the women’s section of his popular newspaper, the Daily Khabrain, would do more to help the plight of women in Pakistan than her teaching could. The author transformed the pages into a forum to expose horrendous stories of oppression and poverty in the largely tribal, illiterate society of Pakistan—e.g., tales of organ selling, gang rape, honor killings, and acid and stove burnings.

It soon became clear to the crusading journalist that she lived in two countries—rich and poor, urban and rural—that could have inhabited two different centuries. Through meeting the rich and powerful friends of her father-in-law at the family dinner table, she was encouraged to become one of the members of the “proportional representation” in the Punjab parliament (17 percent of seats reserved for women, as proposed by President General Musharraf in 2002), where, despite being jeered and having her microphone often switched off, she advocated for kirkus.com

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PRISON BABY A Memoir

criminalizing acid attacks and banning private moneylending.

Her marriage to an understanding, loving Ednan forms the core of this deeply felt narrative.

Although Shahid benefited professionally from her patriarchal ties, she admirably used them for the greater good. (8 pages of photos)

ABSOLUTE VALUE What Really Influences Customers in the Age of (Nearly) Perfect Information

Simonson, Itamar; Rosen, Emanuel Harper Business (256 pp.) $27.99 | Feb. 1, 2014 978-0-06-221567-3

An erudite study on how the information age has affected the consumer purchasing experience.

Marketing and advertising professionals Simonson and Rosen (The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word of Mouth Marketing, 2000) collaborate on a timely discussion of how consumer purchasing patterns have drastically changed in recent years. They attribute this radical shift to the information age’s increased availability of “perfect information,” whereby consumers have unlimited access to peer reviews, informed professional opinions (Yelp, Zagat, etc.) and specific details prior to purchasing a product. It’s a potent combination establishing what the authors call the “absolute value” of an item or service for sale. They further explore this consumer-driven concept and how it relates to marketers in three sections detailing the foundation of the marketing industry, how the customer experience is fundamentally changing and directly affecting the promotion of products, and the advertising industry’s response to that change and where its future lies. Supplemented by examples both real and hypothetical, the authors discuss how online shopping has replaced traditionally based sales trends with responsible (not “irrational”) information-fortified purchasing.

This trend, however economically beneficial for consumers, forces marketers to remix and restrategize how they advertise to the public, a method Simonson and Rosen call the “Influence Mix,” an amalgam of influential sources through which to base effective marketing decisions. In other sections, the authors weigh the significance of product diversification and deliberate browsing against interpersonally communicated opinions, and they elucidate the relevance of brand proxying in today’s oversaturated marketplace. Perhaps better suited to professionals than casual readers, both Simonson and Rosen expertly channel their industry expertise into this tightly focused, contemplative analysis. The age of informed decision-making is upon us, they write, and this means more carefully evaluated choices for buyers and the ultimate challenge for marketers and advertising teams.

A well-produced economic study on how technology is changing how we shop.

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Stein, Deborah Jiang Beacon (176 pp.) $14.00 paper | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-8070-9810-3 978-0-8070-9811-0 e-book

The story of how discovering the secret of her birth transformed Stein’s life.

In the opening chapter, the author recalls how, as a 12-year-old girl of mixed, uncertain race adopted into an academic family and a life of the arts, she found a letter that devastated her. Her adoptive mother had long ago made a request that the author’s birth certificate be altered so that she would never learn that she had been born in prison to a heroinaddicted mother. It also seems that, as a baby, she had passed through a series of foster homes, none of which she remembers.

“I tuck the paper back into the liner and float from the dresser into my parents’ bedroom and stare at myself in the mirror over the sink, my body in overload” writes Stein. “Time and space distort inside me, I don’t know where I am.” Perhaps the revelation comes too early in the narrative, before readers have gotten a chance to get to know the writer, but such overwriting (and overdramatizing) initially seems to undermine a story that is powerful enough on its own. Through the first half of the memoir, it remains difficult to get to know Stein due to the fact that she doesn’t really know herself. She plainly had some behavioral issues before the revelation—a deep resentment toward her adoptive parents, a penchant for acting out and a hyperactive mind that would likely be diagnosed as ADD—but she spiraled downward into addiction, crime, and unsatisfying sex with both men and women before she turned her life around. The redemptive second half of the memoir explains much of the first, as she learns what heroin in utero can cause, follows a paper trail back to her prison origin, comes to terms with both her birth mother and her adoptive family, and devotes her life to helping and raising consciousness about women in prison.

A book of hope for lives that need turning around.

IMAGINE THERE’S NO HEAVEN How Atheism Helped Create the Modern World

Stephens, Mitchell Palgrave Macmillan (320 pp.) $30.00 | Feb. 25, 2014 978-1-137-00260-0

How and why atheism, which has a long and little-known history, has contributed substantially to many of the more humane and enjoyable aspects of the modern world.

Stephens (Journalism/New York Univ.; A History of News: From the Drum to the Satellite, 1988, etc.)—has not composed yet another screed but, for the most part, a reasonable summary |

“An engaging memoir of war trauma and the redemption to be found in confronting it.” from the bosnia list

and analysis of the phenomenon of atheism. He does have a proatheism position, however, that becomes increasingly prominent—or more difficult to disguise—as the text progresses. The author begins in 1728 with Denis Diderot, a name that appears continually, and then retreats to ancient Greece and marches steadily forward the rest of the way. Even the chapters about the long-ago world, however, feature more recent allusions (B.F. Skinner pops up in the same chapter with Gilgamesh). Throughout, Stephens deals with the disbelievers, the believers and the in-betweeners, many of whom are no surprise—Socrates (not an atheist), Galileo, Shakespeare (who played it close to the doublet), Newton (who swung both ways), Darwin, John Stuart Mill, Shelley, Camus and Richard Dawkins. The author also drags from history’s shadows some lesser-known names: Jean Meslier, a 17th-century priest who changed his mind; Baron d’Holbach, whose book The System of Nature (1770) became “one of the most reviled—and read—books of the eighteenth century”; Charles Bradlaugh, who traveled around England preaching atheism and engaging in fiery debates; and Annie Besant, a vicar’s wife who became involved with Bradlaugh. Stephens rehearses the arguments about the violence often visited on others by true believers and deftly handles the counterarguments about the irreligious evil ones among us. Ultimately, he gives heavy credit to atheists for social advances (abortion, gay rights, women’s rights) that many religions opposed most desperately.

A text sure to give atheists some data and believers another annoyance.

THE BOSNIA LIST A Memoir of War, Exile, and Return Trebincevic, Kenan and Shapiro, Susan Penguin (316 pp.) $16.00 paper | Mar. 1, 2014 978-0-14-312457-3

With the assistance of Shapiro (Journalism/The New School; Unhooked: How to Quit Anything, 2012, etc.), Trebincevic returns to the scene of childhood trauma during the Bosnian War of the early 1990s.

The author fled the bloody civil war in his native Bosnia in 1993 with his father, mother and older brother, Eldin, and settled in Connecticut. Just 11 years old when the war broke out, the author observed the sudden hostility of the Serbs toward him and his family, native Muslims, as ethnic tensions flared in their diverse town of Brcko and the Muslims were persecuted in the name of Serbian supremacy. His revered karate coach turned a cold shoulder to him, the family’s bank account was depleted, his favorite teacher spat at him on the street (“Everything he’d ever taught me about brotherhood and unity was a lie”), the shopkeepers taunted them, and, most haunting for the boy who could not protect his mother, their neighbor, Petra, gradually appropriated their furnishings and clothes since, as she assured his mother, “You won’t be needing that carpet.” When the author’s father, now in his 70s, a |

widower since his wife died of cancer, resolved to return to Bosnia in 2011 for a visit, the author and his brother had to swallow their pride and go with him, with enormous trepidation. At 30, the author was “startled by the intensity of [his] fury” when imagining how he would return to his tormentors.

Indeed, he drew up a list of grievances to attend to during his visit, including confronting Serb classmates and friends who had turned the family in, especially Petra; peeing on the karate instructor’s grave; and visiting the concentration camp where his father and brother were imprisoned. Yet immersion in his homeland and being bombarded by the new reality challenged his vendetta in surprising ways.

An engaging memoir of war trauma and the redemption to be found in confronting it.

THE PRICE OF PARADISE The Costs of Inequality and a Vision for a More Equitable America Troutt, David Dante New York Univ. (272 pp.) $30.00 | Feb. 1, 2014 978-0-8147-6055-0

Troutt (Law and Justice/Rutgers School of Law, Newark; The Importance of Being Dangerous, 2009, etc.) offers a controversial counter to the claim that social spending is an out-of-control government expense.

The author writes that “localism,” the autonomous local control of suburban communities, has increased costs of education and policing far beyond affordable levels and reinforced the economics of institutional racism. Troutt asks two important questions: “[W]ho really gets the most government subsidies?” and “[W]hy should I live near poor people?” He develops a convincing case that government subsidies are not just handouts to the poor, but in fact have subsidized middle-class lifestyles as well. Since the 1930s, these have been carried out through specially designed loan packages, tax deductions for mortgages and local property taxes, and the construction of the federal highway system. These subsidies have been under attack since the recent financial crisis.

Troutt debunks as mere ideology the contention that suburban neighborhoods, considered to exemplify the American dream, have flourished only due to homeowner and community self-sufficiency and autonomy. He shows how, since the 1970s, Supreme Court decisions favoring local autonomy in zoning, land use and education have undermined the gains made by 1960s civil rights reforms. “By 1980,” he writes, “localism had trumped the equality principle to reproduce formal segregation but in a non-racial way.

For all its benefits, localism has a fatal flaw, narrow parochialism… its most destructive aspect.” The author believes that subsidized suburban communities and poor, inner-city areas both need common interest solutions like those advocated 50 years ago

by Martin Luther King Jr.; they should be based on interdependence instead of separation in economic and political relations.

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“A lively romp into the frenetic life of a significant American chef.” from no experience necessary

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY The Culinary Odyssey of Chef Norman Van Aken

an argument about the profound interdependency of our lives,” writes the author.

A forcefully presented eye-opener sure to provoke controversy as well as interest.

THE BARGAIN FROM THE BAZAAR A Family’s Day of Reckoning in Lahore Ullah, Haroon K. PublicAffairs (320 pp.) $25.99 | Feb. 11, 2014 978-1-61039-166-5

On-the-ground look at how terrorism has come to shape the way ordinary middle-class Pakistani families navigate

their daily lives.

Harvard-educated, Pakistani-American policy expert Ullah (Vying for Allah’s Vote: Understanding Islamic Parties, Political Violence, and Extremism in Pakistan, 2013) chronicles the political and personal impact of a series of terror bombings in Lahore, focusing on the family of one of the perpetrators, Daniyal Reza, to illustrate the pressures on middle-class Pakistanis who do not support extremism. Daniyal was estranged from the members of his family, all of whom opposed his activities.

Nonetheless, after he killed himself during a suicide bombing, his father, Awais, was jailed as an accomplice to his son’s crime and only released after a public outcry against the injustice.

Ullah attributes the arrest to American pressure on the corrupt Pakistani government to “root out its clandestine links to insurgent groups.” As a former member of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke’s Pakistan/Afghanistan policy team with family ties to Pakistan, the author was able to draw on his familiarity with the traditions and culture of the region. He spent eight years in the field researching the events surrounding a series of terrorist acts in Lahore. These included in-depth interviews with the Reza family and their associates, national and regional officials involved with the case, and former terrorist sympathizers. He describes the situation in which violence and bullying have become an everyday experience for ordinary people who do not embrace fundamentalism—e.g., women traveling alone and shopkeepers playing pop music. Ullah locates the roots of the problem in British imperial rule, with Pakistan divided into “two non-contiguous regions, West and East Pakistan [now Bangladesh].” The pressure on secular government only increased after the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

Ullah ends his engrossing book on a note of guarded optimism: “[F]amilies, like entire nations, must sometimes have to withstand the toughest trials and endure almost beyond endurance.”

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Van Aken, Norman Taylor Trade (352 pp.) $24.95 | Dec. 7, 2013 978-1-58979-914-1

One man’s journey from short-order cook to acclaimed chef.

As Van Aken (My Key West Kitchen: Recipes and Stories, 2012, etc.) readily admits in his delightful, oftentimes laugh-out-loud memoir, his journey into the life of restaurant cooking occurred by happenstance: He needed a job, and a diner needed a cook, no experience necessary. What unfolded over a 20-plus-year span was the slow maturation of a teen into a man and of a clumsy and untrained novice into a chef who rode the edge of the New American cuisine wave as it broke on the shores of America.

From Illinois to Key West, Van Aken takes readers behind the scenes and deep into the hearts of the restaurants for which he worked, where the kitchen life was energized, hectic and often swelteringly hot. With no formal schooling in the culinary arts, the author watched like a hawk, asked numerous questions and read cookbooks by some of the best chefs in the world while learning the ins and outs of French cuisine, ethnic Latin American, Italian and Japanese foods, as well as the new fusion style of American cooking. At first, however, he did it all with a certain amount of reluctance, as he writes: “A kitchen job again?

Oh my God! What crimes did I do in a former life to merit this role again?” Nicely intertwined with the fast-paced antics of the kitchen are Van Aken’s reflections on his romantic life with his wife and son. The author pays homage to the many chefs who influenced him in his career and recounts moments with some of the greats, like Julia Child, Charlie Trotter and Emeril Lagasse. As an added bonus, Van Aken includes a wide variety of recipes mentioned in the text.

A lively romp into the frenetic life of a significant American chef.

WRITING WITH THE MASTER How One of the World’s Bestselling Authors Fixed My Book and Changed My Life

Vanderwarker, Tony Skyhorse Publishing (208 pp.) $24.95 | Feb. 4, 2014 978-1-62636-552-0

An aspiring author discovers that writing a novel is hard work, even harder when his taskmaster mentor is his friend John Grisham.

Even with the best-selling Grisham’s encouragement, advice and painstaking edits, Vanderwarker couldn’t sell his novel. A former adman who moved to Virginia around the same time |

as Grisham and who shared with the novelist environmental activism and a love of sports, Vanderwarker had long wanted to channel his creativity into a book, though a bunch of unpublished manuscripts were the only results. At lunch one day, he received a surprising offer from his friend Grisham: “Look, I’d be willing to help you if you’d like. Kind of mentor you through the novel-writing process. Something I’ve never done before— not that plenty of people haven’t asked.” Grisham would later remark of the manuscript that the “dialogue doesn’t sound real.”

Neither does it here, as Vanderwarker purports to remember paragraphs of conversation from a time that he wouldn’t have been taking notes. He ultimately found his mentor criticizing his characters, plotting, organization and pretty much everything else about a novel that is presented here in chunks of various drafts, with Grisham’s notes, and then revisions, with notes.

“What happened to the vision of novel writing as a glorious act of creation with rays of light streaming down from on high and a string section playing in accompaniment?” he wonders. “It’s been replaced by the mundane piecework of tedious and timeconsuming revision.” If nothing else, the book convinces readers that the prolific Grisham works methodically on his fiction, as the author’s experience confirms that it isn’t as easy to write a best-seller as some might think.

Not only did the collaboration result in this, the author’s first published book, but the same publisher has agreed to issue the novel that had been rejected, for which this how-to guide serves as an extended promotion.

CATHEDRAL OF THE WILD An African Journey Home

Varty, Boyd Random House (304 pp.) $27.00 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-1-4000-6985-9 978-0-679-60485-3 e-book

Scion of a South African wildlife preserve recounts somewhat canned yet poignant memories of growing up in the wild.

Purchased in 1926 by Varty’s greatgrandfather as a hunting ground for lions, the vast tract of lowveld adjacent to Kruger National Park evolved into a sustainable wildlife preserve by the mid-1970s, under the care of the author’s father, mother and uncle. Londolozi would “partner with the land” and work alongside the native Shangaan in order to bring back the great creatures, like leopards and elephants, that had abandoned the land due to cattle overgrazing and grass erosion. While Varty’s father and uncle built a fledgling business offering eco-tracking tours and his mother ran the administrative office, the young author and his sister, Bronwyn, received a terrific and rather charming, if occasionally hair-raising, education in the bush, chaperoned by their Shangaan nanny. They learned to drive the Land Rover by age 8 and made friends with the dazzling menagerie living among them, including bushbucks, agama lizards, francolins, hyenas and baboons. Bored of ecotourism, Uncle John became a successful filmmaker, and the author often accompanied his revered uncle |

on shoots making wildlife documentaries, one of which became a wildly popular series for kids, Bush School, featuring his own mother as the teacher and star. A visit to Londolozi from Nelson Mandela in 1990 is a highlight, as was Varty’s accompanying his uncle to film the migration of the wildebeest across the Serengeti, while some of the horrors included contracting malaria, getting held up in their Johannesburg home by knifepoint and being bitten by a crocodile. The final chapters chronicle the author’s youthful, inchoate “seeking” in India and Arizona, until, by his late 20s, he recognized that Londolozi was home.

He’s no Isak Dinesen, but Varty writes for a stirring cause. (photo insert)

THE ANTIDOTE Inside the World of New Pharma

Werth, Barry Simon & Schuster (384 pp.) $30.00 | Feb. 4, 2014 978-1-4516-5566-7

This follow-up to the author’s book about upstart Vertex Pharmaceuticals (The Billion-Dollar Molecule: One Company’s Quest for the Perfect Drug, 1994) details the firm’s transition from boutique creative group to profitable prescription drug maker.

Business and science writer Werth (Banquet at Delmonico’s: Great Minds, the Gilded Age, and the Triumph of Evolution in America, 2009, etc.) offers a blow-by-blow account of visionary Harvard chemist Joshua Boger’s struggle to create a pace-setting drug company to develop breakthrough drugs for serious diseases. Attracted by Vertex’s seemingly quixotic quest to put patients first in an industry dominated by profits and Wall Street, the author once again obtained unusual access to company scientists and officers and followed their passion and work as they shepherded their first drugs through discovery, development and introduction to the marketplace. Covering the years 1993 (Vertex’s fourth year) to 2012, Werth sets his story against controversies facing the massive prescription drug business, most notably public outrage over skyrocketing drug prices.

Until 2009, the ambitious, Steve Jobs–like Boger held center stage, determined to make Vertex “Merck, but better,” hiring scientists who “craved the chance to compete at the forefront” and developing new drugs to treat such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis and hepatitis C. Werth provides an inside look at the setting of priorities, the making of deals and partnerships, and the complex, high-risk challenges facing research scientists whose discoveries rarely make it to market. His molecular-level descriptions of drug making will appeal mainly to scienceminded readers, but his rendering of bright, quirky individuals and their determination to make Vertex sustainable will satisfy anyone seeking an exciting biotech business story. In 2011, after two decades and more than $3 billion in losses, the Cambridge, Mass.–based company launched a breakthrough drug that combats the leading cause of advanced liver disease. kirkus.com

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BROOKS The Biography of Brooks Robinson

A revealing, readable book about “some of competitive capitalism’s most complicated science and most cutthroat marketing maneuvers.”

Wilson, Doug Dunne/St. Martin’s (352 pp.) $26.99 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-1-250-03304-8

PERSPECTIVE The Calm Within the Storm

Wicks, Robert J. Oxford Univ. (264 pp.) $21.95 | Mar. 3, 2014 978-0-19-994455-2

A self-help survey of therapeutic practices based on wellness rather than sickness as a model.

“A healthy perspective is not a technique—it is an attitude that we give birth to each day,” writes clinical psychologist Wicks (Bounce: Living the Resilient Life, 2009). One can reinforce that attitude through mindfulness and meditation, through cognitive behavior therapy or through the more recent “discipline of positive psychology [which] is about living well. It is prevention-focused and works to expand existing competencies…people are encouraged to question themselves in a new, more holistic way.” In other words, Wicks stresses a perspective based not on a sickness that needs to be cured or a condition that needs to be remedied but on what laymen might term a positive mental attitude.

With a host of sidebar boxes on questions to ask and techniques to consider, the author quotes liberally from works by other psychologists, Zen meditation masters and other religious traditions, and he includes principles that will sound familiar to those with experience in 12-step programs. Yet perhaps the best summary comes from literature, in an aphorism from Marcel Proust: “The real voyage consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” The new eyes offer a new perspective that resists the familiarity of old rules and habits, recognize hidden addictions and learn to find opportunity even in tragedy.

It is about appreciating what you have rather than obsessing over what you lack, living in the present rather than fearing the future or ruminating over the past. As Wicks writes, “while we can’t completely change the world into what we would like or think it should be, we can alter the way we view it.”

Readers familiar with the territory will find helpful suggestions but little that is new or original.

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Wilson (The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych, 2013) delivers a pedestrian treatment of an impressive baseball player and admirable man.

Brooks Robinson is, by all accounts, a wonderful, kind man.

During his Hall of Fame baseball career as a third baseman with the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977, he was universally loved as a teammate and respected as an opponent. Growing up in Arkansas, he was raised in a close family, and he eventually had a close family of his own. Throughout his entire career, he was never the source of controversy; in fact, he seemed almost too good to be true. On the field, the third baseman was one of the greatest fielders in the history of major league baseball, a status already earned but cemented by his performance in the 1970 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, when he put on one of the most scintillating performances in the history of the game. At bat, Robinson accumulated respectable and intermittently impressive numbers (.267 career batting average and more than 2,800 hits), though without his glove, he almost certainly would have been a borderline candidate for enshrinement in Cooperstown. Baseball fans of a certain age will welcome Wilson’s biography of the Baltimore Orioles’ star. However, the best sports biographies transcend the games the athletes play in order to reveal something significant about the man or the time in which he lived. Whether through the limitations of the biographer or his subject, this one does not. Since Robinson embodied the ideal of the mid-20th-century All-American athlete, the book often reads like a hagiographic Frank Merriwell tale come to life, including plenty of clichés and aw-shucks language.

Nice guys do not always finish last, but they also do not necessarily make the most compelling subjects for biography.

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children’s & teen

STARRING JULES (SUPERSECRET SPY GIRL)

These titles earned the Kirkus Star:

Ain, Beth Illus. by Higgins, Anne Keenan Scholastic (176 pp.) $14.99 | $14.99 e-book | Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-545-44356-2 978-0-545-63383-3 e-book Series: Starring Jules, 3

CAT SAYS MEOW by Michael Arndt..................................................72 PRINCE OF SHADOWS by Rachel Caine........................................... 73 OLIVER’S TREE by Kit Chase..............................................................74 STORM by D.J. MacHale ................................................................... 82 THE WINNER’S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski.......................................87 ANNA CARRIES WATER by Olive Senior; illus. by Laura James.... 90 BABY’S GOT THE BLUES by Carol Diggory Shields; illus. by Lauren Tobia.......................................................................... 90 WHEN AN ALIEN MEETS A SWAMP MONSTER

by Cornelius Van Wright.......................................................................93 BOUNDARIES by Sally M. Walker..................................................... 94 CURED by Bethany Wiggins................................................................ 98 BARNYARD BABY by Elise Broac ; illus. by Cori Doerrfeld............. 98 MY TURN TO LEARN NUMBERS by Natalie Marshall...................105 BOUNDAR IES How the Mason-Dixon Line Settled a Family Feud and Divided a Nation

Even though she’ll be spending it in Quebec filming a movie, child actress Jules’ summer is not off to a good start.

First, Charlotte gets to go to acting camp, and Elinor is returning to England, leaving Jules feeling lonely. Next, a birthday week with her father is replaced by a road trip with her annoying family friend, Teddy. Finally, teen star Emma Saxony proves to be a rude introduction to the world of celebrities. Nonetheless, Jules continues to expand her world with every challenge, and she explains such new words as enunciate and stealth along the way. Each chapter is full of diverting and dramatic plot twists, making the pacing of the book somewhat breathless, as many problems are given the same urgency. It is obvious that Jules is out of her comfort zone. Luckily, through the help of Elinor’s emails, the support of megastar Rick Hinkley and the love of her family, Jules is able to keep an even keel.

Fans of Jules’ previous books will enjoy seeing the soonto-be–third-grader back in action as she exuberantly experiences the busy life of a budding television and film star.

(Fiction. 6-9)

MISSING MONKEY!

Amato, Mary Illus. by Jenkins, Ward Egmont USA (128 pp.) $14.99 | $4.99 paper | Feb. 25, 2014 978-1-60684-396-3 978-1-60684-509-7 paper Series: Good Crooks, 1

Walker, Sally M. Candlewick (208 pp.) $24.99 Mar. 11, 2014 978-0-7636-5612-6

A new chapter-book series about do-gooder thieves kicks off with a monkeynapping.

While most parents want their children to be law-abiding citizens, bacon-loving Billy Crook and his inventor twin sister, Jillian, are home-schooled by their professional thief parents to keep their covers safe and practice the skills of the “trade.”

Billy’s easygoing, quick-paced narration describes the blunders |

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he and Jillian face when they decide to secretly do good deeds.

In their first “caper,” the twins go in disguise to a clean-up day at the zoo. When their parents follow them and steal a monkey in the process, Billy and Jillian attempt a series of unsuccessful yet humorous schemes to return the monkey without their parents’ knowledge. In the second, simultaneously publishing story, Dog Gone! (978-1-60684-397-0; 978-1-60684-510-3 paper), the pair faces a similar scenario when they decide to raise money for an animal shelter by earning the money through a bake sale.

Once again, their parents steal an animal, this time Poochie Smoochie, the poodle star of a popular TV show. A concluding twist in the twins’ true identities saves the second volume from being just a rehash of the first and sets the scene for more titles.

Scrappy song lyrics, energetic illustrations and plenty of potty humor keep the hilarity high for reluctant readers.

(Fiction. 7-9)

CAT SAYS MEOW And Other Animalopoeia

Arndt, Michael Illus. by Arndt, Michael Chronicle (36 pp.) $12.99 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-1-4521-1234-3

No other book of simple sentences about animal sounds also boasts eye-catching, often humorous graphics that show the letters of the sound forming the animal’s head or body.

For beginning readers, the cover invites a long perusal, a preparation for how to “read” the pictures inside. The unmistakable shape of a mouse, in solid slate gray, is composed of the letters—in varying types and sizes—that spell “squeak.” Appropriately, as with most of the book’s pictures, the letters are in sequence from left to right. (The “S”-shaped tail of the mouse is at the far left, eventually leading to the whiskers as the final “K” on the right.) Next to the mouse is a large ochre cat’s face, with the “M” for “Meow” as ears and under that, eyes and jowls formed by the final letters. Other sly pairings inside include a mosquito with a frog. There are also some gentle rhymes, as “caw caw” lines up next to “hee haw,” and a few surprises, such as “Squirrel goes chomp.” Each page turn reveals a new graphic in a bold color, with a pleasing variety of single- and double-page spreads, as well as subtle changes in composition.

This is one of those rare picture books with something for everyone to enjoy, beginning with colors, sounds and shapes for the youngest. (Picture book. 2-7)

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GRAFFITI KNIGHT

Bass, Karen Pajama Press (288 pp.) $14.95 paper | Mar. 1, 2014 978-1-927485-53-8 This gripping page-turner set in 1947 East Germany explores the aftereffects of war and occupation.

World War II is over and Germany partitioned among the victors. For most in the Soviet-occupied zone, life is grim and anything but peaceful. Hunger’s a constant companion, trust in short supply. Most despise their Russian masters and even more, the German police—Schupos—who do their bidding. With their elders embittered and broken, friendship sustains 16-year-old narrator Wilm and his friends, Karl and Georg.

Pretending to spy on the Schupos blows off steam, but after the Schupos beat up Wilm’s amputee father and Wilm learns of the brutal sexual assault on his sister, Anneliese, the game turns real. Supported by Karl and Georg, Wilm starts by scrawling graffiti calling the Schupos “puppets” and vandalizing police vehicles. Risk-taking proves energizing and deeply satisfying— also addictive and eventually desensitizing. It’s at odds with his growing interest in building bridges. The engineer who mentors him lends him books and encourages his interest, but their connection weakens as Wilm’s acts of sabotage escalate. The authentic setting, compelling characters, and taut, suspenseful plot claim attention throughout. Bass refuses to oversimplify human beings. When motivations are tangled and complex, actions, even the best-intended, have unforeseen consequences.

A different kind of war story, highly recommended. (historical note) (Historical fiction. 12 & up)

WILD ABOUT BEARS

Brett, Jeannie Illus. by Brett, Jeannie Charlesbridge (32 pp.) $17.95 | $7.95 paper | $6.99 e-book Mar. 11, 2014 978-1-58089-418-0 978-1-58089-419-7 paper 978-1-60734-738-5 e-book Both text and artwork support this book’s title: full of facts, but only those emphasizing endearing bear habits; full of gentle watercolors that show peaceful bear-family scenes.

The book is laid out logically. After an initial double-page spread introduces the fact that our planet hosts eight bear species, subsequent spreads address each of the following: physical traits; general behaviors; each of the eight species; environmental concerns. Children who delight in learning animal facts will revel in such sentences as, “Asiatic black bear nests look a lot like large bird nests and may be found 60 feet up in a tree.”

There’s plenty of new, gracefully defined vocabulary too, as in plantigrades and vacuoles. Brett highlights details in physiology

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“Should a successful author of vampire novels…attempt to write an alternative Shakespeare? Thankfully this one did, as the results are delicious.” from prince of shadows

and habitats to differentiate the species from one another and gives scientific and common names for each. Despite the scientific, almost dry text, the bears’ faces and body language border on anthropomorphism, with several bears gazing winsomely at readers. This helps to reinforce the author’s assertion that humans need to protect bears and their habitats for everyone’s mutual benefit. However, the older the reader, the less likely their acceptance of perpetually well-behaved bears. There’s not even one fierce, upright grizzly!

With its clear text and illustrations, this introduction is just the ticket for younger elementary readers. (map, glossary, bibliography, websites) (Informational picture book. 4-8)

EDDIE AND DOG

Brown, Alison Illus. by Brown, Alison Capstone Young Readers (32 pp.) $14.95 | Feb. 1, 2014 978-1-62370-114-7

PRINCE OF SHADOWS A Novel of Romeo and Juliet

Caine, Rachel New American Library (368 pp.) $17.99 | Feb. 4, 2014 978-0-451-41441-0

Should a successful author of vampire novels (Black Dawn, 2012, etc.) attempt to write an alternative Shakespeare? Thankfully this one did, as the results are delicious.

Choosing Romeo and Juliet as her base, Caine expands the story from the viewpoint of Benvolio, Romeo’s Montague cousin. While Shakespeare’s plot clearly anchors Caine’s, the novel focuses on providing context for the well-known story rather than embellishing it. Beginning with the premise that friend Mercutio is gay and in love with Tomasso, a shy scholar, the book sets up a series of events that will result in Mercutio’s

This effervescent boy-and-dog tale is worth making some room on the shelf.

The tale begins at the airport, where Eddie dreams of adventure. A white dog emerges from the carrier on the luggage carousel and introduces himself, and the adventures begin.

Armed with sticks, boxes and their imaginations, they hunt for crocodiles and sail the seven seas. Eddie’s mother, being a more practical type, decides the dog cannot stay as they don’t have a big yard. Three times she sends the dog away, and three times he returns, riding up on a motor scooter, snorkeling along the shore and parachuting from an airplane. Will they be parted yet again? With warm illustrations, Brown focuses on Eddie and the dog, allowing the frame to chop off Eddie’s mom’s head, like the adults in a Peanuts cartoon. And there lies the crux of the story—the difference between being practical and passionate, between thinking with the head and playing with the heart.

Children will see a warm story of a great dog and a red-haired little boy who have found a perfect friendship. Adults, if they listen closely, may see beyond the inconvenient realities of having a creative, active and persistent child. Unexpected adventures have their own unique rewards, like the glow of true happiness on an imaginative boy’s face.

A sweet choice for dog lovers, active children or anyone searching for a friend. (Picture book. 4-8)

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“[T]his deceptively simple story demonstrates the power of friendship, the importance of working together and problem-solving, while simultaneously introducing basic concepts…in a pleasing, organic way.” from oliver’s tree

famous dying words, “a plague on both your houses.” Romeo and Juliet remain somewhat minor characters, their story unfolding in the background, mostly offstage. Benvolio himself has a new talent: He’s a cat burglar known as “The Prince of Shadows,” using his skills to exact revenge on those who have done him wrong. Benvolio’s robberies keep pages and plot moving toward Mercutio’s utterance—ambiguous to the characters but not to readers—while the novel remains focused on the overarching theme of love and useless revenge. Most impressive is the author’s simulation of Shakespeare’s language in her prose.

Never too obscure for modern readers, it retains the flavor of Shakespearean dialogue throughout, lending an atmosphere of verisimilitude that’s reinforced by the detailed city setting.

Simply superb. (Historical fiction. 12 & up)

TIPPY AND THE NIGHT PARADE

Carré, Lilli Illus. by Carré, Lilli TOON/Candlewick (32 pp.) $12.95 | Feb. 11, 2014 978-1-9351-7957-3 A sleepwalking child picks up an animal entourage—every night—in this winsome, circular debut.

When her annoyed mom wonders how her room came to be such a mess, Tippy can only shrug and speculate: “Maybe last night I walked out the door….” In a re-enactment that is also a new adventure, she passes over a dock, through a misty wood, down a deep hole, through a cactus patch and so back home.

Along the way, she unconsciously collects a train of creatures, from a bee to a bear, that all make a new mess for her mother to discover in the morning. Interactions among the animals following her add small subplots and side actions: A frog pursues a bumblebee that’s always just out of tongue’s reach; a little mole falls in love with a bear that does not reciprocate. Dressed in a comfy gown and striped socks, Tippy strolls, climbs and drifts in smiling slumber through a succession of flat, sometimessilhouetted scenes done in restful blues and grays. Occasional sound effects and comments in dialogue balloons furnish the text for her nightly ramble.

A dreamy, slightly more visually sophisticated alternative to Peggy Rathmann’s Good Night, Gorilla (1994). (Graphic early reader. 4-6)

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MORE OF MONKEY & ROBOT

Catalanotto, Peter Illus. by Catalanotto, Peter Richard Jackson/Atheneum (64 pp.) $14.99 | Mar. 18, 2014 978-1-4424-5251-0 Series: Monkey & Robot

Odd-couple friends find the best in each another.

First, Monkey can’t pinpoint a good idea for a Halloween costume. His bemused pal reminds him that it’s June, but Monkey is nonetheless fixated on finding just the right disguise. In this story and in the three that follow, Robot is indulgent of his rather silly friend, and he’s clearly the brighter of the two. Graphite-and-ink illustrations lend a classic feel to the book while supporting characterization by underscoring the winning qualities of Monkey’s sweet nature. He refuses to swim at the beach since Robot cannot join him and then later exuberantly plants an acorn to grow an oak, so he can turn the tire he’s just found into a swing. In the prior instance, Robot rewards his friend’s loyalty by pretending to lose his shovel and asking Monkey to swim into the water to retrieve it; in the latter, he patiently helps Monkey understand that waiting for an oak tree to grow from an acorn will mean they won’t have a tire swing for quite some time. All is not lost, though, when they find another solution to this quandary. The collection concludes with a story quietly reminiscent of Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s Dog and Bear: Two’s Company (2009) as Robot wears himself out trying to gather things needed for breakfast.

A strong second outing in this new series for new readers. (Early reader. 6-8)

OLIVER’S TREE

Chase, Kit Illus. by Chase, Kit Dial (32 pp.) $16.99 | Mar. 20, 2014 978-0-399-25700-1 It’s no fun for anyone when someone is left out!

Baby elephant Oliver has two very good friends: Lulu, an owlet, and Charlie, a bunny. Playing outside is something they love to do, but the happy trio runs into trouble while trying to climb trees, because Oliver just can’t manage due to his bulk.

Warm, appealing watercolors defined with pen and ink and containing just the right amount of detail show the three friends as they patiently search for a tree that is perfect for all of them.

Simple text describes their trial and error, as they find trees that are too small, too weak or too tall. “It’s hopeless!” wails Oliver.

“Elephants just don’t belong in trees!” When Oliver, exhausted by their efforts, succumbs to sleep, Lulu and Charlie hatch a plan to solve the problem by using their own unique talents. Will they succeed and provide Oliver with a happy surprise? No doubt!

Suffused with warmth and gentle humor, this deceptively simple

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story demonstrates the power of friendship, the importance of working together and problem-solving, while simultaneously introducing basic concepts (high/low, tall/short) in a pleasing, organic way. Young children will root for the three friends, enjoy the mild suspense and delight in the very satisfying ending.

As gentle and unassuming as Oliver, this story thoroughly charms. (Picture book. 2-5)

SECRETS OF THE TERRACOTTA SOLDIER

Compestine, Ying Chang; Compestine, Vinson Amulet/Abrams (240 pp.) $16.95 | Jan. 7, 2014 978-1-4197-0540-3

Ancient China literally comes alive to expose buried treasures in this novel co-written by Ying Chang Compestine (Crouching Tiger, 2011, etc.) and her son,

Vinson.

Under Maoist rule, Ming lives in a village with ba ba, his father, an archaeologist who works for the museum in Xi’an and who is on the verge of losing his job. When reward-seeking farmers bring Ming newly unearthed head and limb fragments fashioned from clay, Ming discovers the artifacts have much to reveal. The clay head begins to speak, claiming to be Shí, one of thousands of terra-cotta soldiers created to protect the tomb of Emperor Qin, the ruthless leader who built the Great Wall of China. As Shí tells Ming stories of his life in battle, they become fast friends. They embark on a mission to save the tomb from corrupt government officials and to save Ming’s father from being sent to harsh labor camps. Shí’s brutal war stories tend to overshadow aspects of Ming’s personal story, like Ming’s relationship with his father, but they are compelling nonetheless.

Although Ming’s acceptance of a talking statue feels swift, their friendship is believable. They hail from different eras, but they share a common desire: to keep their parents safe.

Historical photos and Indiana Jones–style adventure enrich this tale of an unusual meeting between the Qin Dynasty and the 20th century. (glossary, authors’ note, recipe, authors Q&A) (Fantasy. 10-12)

THE REAL PROM QUEENS OF WESTFIELD HIGH

Crompton, Laurie Boyle Sourcebooks Fire (320 pp.) $8.99 paper | Feb. 4, 2014 978-1-4022-7346-9

quilting hobby that looks like a miniature condom—falls out of her pocket during gym class, Shannon gets nicknamed the Elf Ucker. She withdraws into her own head and only talks to her best friend, Marnie. So when she gets the chance to participate in a reality TV show called From Wannabes to Prom Queens, she jumps at the chance to improve her social standing—even if it means not telling Marnie about the show and losing a chance at romance with goofy science nerd Rick. Of course, Shannon finds out popularity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Predictably, the show’s production team manufactures drama with such maneuvers as having Grace and her cronies compete for the prom-queen crown, too. Unsurprisingly, everyone learns a valuable lesson, although not without the girls having a knock-down, drag-out fight first. Crompton’s second novel is competent. Characters are serviceable, and the plot moves along well enough.

In the end, it’s like most reality TV: not high art and not all that memorable. (Fiction. 14 & up)

TIMESTORM

Cross, Julie Dunne/St. Martin’s (368 pp.) $18.99 | $9.99 e-book | Jan. 28, 2014 978-0-312-56891-7 978-1-250-02073-4 e-book Series: Tempest (Cross), 3 Here’s hoping fans have had time to rest their brains before leaping into the final installment of the Tempest trilogy, as it will push them nearly to the break-

ing point.

The mental gymnastics necessary to keep up with Jackson Meyer and his band of time-traveling “misfits” are not for out-of-shape readers. Amid many subplots, Jackson is reunited with the people he loves in the year 3200, where he will finally uncover the truth about the origins of the Tempus gene and Project Eyewall. Armed with this knowledge, Jackson and his crew must wage the ultimate battle to save the past, present and future. As in its predecessors, the best part of the novel lies in the emotional connections among the characters, particularly with respect to Jackson and his ill-fated twin sister, Courtney.

The love story between Holly and Jackson, though frustrating at times due to the seemingly endless iterations of Holly, also adds some heat and intrigue. Unfortunately, the introduction of too many new characters and the relentless jumps back and forth in time make it nearly impossible to stay rooted in the story, no matter how endearing the cast might be.

In a word: exhausting. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

Even the twists are standard in this outsider-gets-revenge tale.

Shannon is an outcast thanks to the teasing of her school’s queen bee, Grace.

When a finger cot—a tool for her secret |

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MOTOR DOG

Jacket copy and the character’s mythos tell readers that Pete’s “groovy,” but he just looks like he couldn’t care less. As the lyrics of “Old MacDonald” beg to be sung aloud with brio, Pete’s neverchanging expression and the unwavering stolidity of the compositions make a hopeless mismatch.

“Old MacDonald” for narcoleptics. (Picture book. 3-5)

Cyrus, Kurt Illus. by Gordon, David Disney Hyperion (40 pp.) $16.99 | Feb. 25, 2014 978-1-4231-6822-5 A boy named Flip orders a robotic dog from the Internet in this cleverly rhymed story that manages to be both original in concept and conventional in portraying the bond between boy and dog.

The snappy, effective text will grab readers with its bouncy rhythm and catchy rhymes, like Motor Dog/catalog and extra stuff/ ruff! ruff! Motor Dog is remote-controlled and jet-propelled, and he comes with a booster rocket and a convenient parachute.

Instead of conventional dog-training commands, Flip makes him behave with lots of computer terms that will draw kids into believing in the premise of an electronic pet. On a walk with Flip, Motor Dog spots a cat and takes off in pursuit, chasing the cat up a tree and flying up to attack with the help of his helicopter attachment. All this causes Flip to decide he would rather have just a regular dog, so he strips Motor Dog of all his extra gear and calls him just plain Buddy. The cat, though, seeing opportunity in the discarded gadgetry, turns himself into Rocket Cat, flying off the final page in a satisfying conclusion.

The bold illustrations are full of motion and varied perspectives, with sound-effect words set in red display type.

An amusing fable for the techno-savvy and Luddites alike. (Picture book. 4-10)

OLD MACDONALD HAD A FARM

Dean, James Illus. by Dean, James Harper/HarperCollins (32 pp.) $9.99 | Feb. 18, 2014 978-0-06-219873-0 Series: Pete the Cat

The heavy-lidded cat with a cult following dons overalls for a trip to the farm.

There is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about the text in this outing, verses unfurling spread by spread, one per animal. This feline Old MacDonald has some equally heavy-lidded chickens, dogs, cows, pigs, horses, (Siamese) cats, goats, ducks, turkeys, roosters, donkeys, sheep, frogs and geese, as well as a turtle that’s pictured in each scene. They all pretty much say the expected things, though preschoolers will be quick to call shenanigans when they hear that Pete-the-Cat MacDonald’s goats say “baa-baa” while the sheep say “maa-maa.” The “action,” such as it is, plays out on static, green-grassed, blue-skied backgrounds in which the occasional tractor or barn trades places with a red pickup. Aside from Pete and his turtle, the animals included in the spreads vary, sometimes accumulating and sometimes not; children who like to find patterns will be frustrated here. But the book’s biggest liability is its star’s practically comatose affect.

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WEASELS

Dolan, Elys Candlewick (32 pp.) $17.99 | Feb. 1, 2014 978-0-7636-7100-6 Ultracaffeinated weasels plotting world domination face a setback when their room-sized, Rube Goldberg–ian machine breaks down.

They scurry to troubleshoot, many of them inappropriately insistent on deploying tools like a blow torch, saws and a large electric drill. Luckily, the Health and Safety officer prevails, and the gang repairs to the laboratory to tinker. Dolan’s mixed-media double-page spreads feature busy, often multileveled interiors, with scores of critters furiously causing as much trouble as they ameliorate. In the lab, one weasel activates a fire extinguisher while another demurs: “I just thought a few candles would cheer the place up.” Observant kids will discern that Dolan cleverly employs a blue-eyed white weasel as both the cause and the solver of the machine’s malfunction. Their parents will chuckle over the Blofeld-like weasel stroking a white mouse. The final twist bucks the banal, customary “Good triumphs over evil” message in favor of something more akin to “Try, try again.” Darned if those weaselly co-conspirators haven’t conquered the world after all: A page turn reveals a new currency, freshly installed heads of state and a revisionist retrofit for an Egyptian sphinx.

Amid sight gags, crossed wires and way too many espresso drinks, these weasels rule! (Picture book. 5-8)

INK-BLOT

Eugênia, Maria Illus. by Eugênia, Maria Second Story Press (24 pp.) $15.95 | Mar. 10, 2014 978-1-927583-22-7 This quirky—odd, even—paean to female self-respect preaches too baldly and too briefly.

“Some people say Ink-blot is badly drawn,” and readers might think so, with her scribbled hair and misshapen eyes. But the artist immediately launches into a rant about how most girls worry about their hair, their size, their ears or freckles, every part of their bodies. Page after page, girls with exaggerated features rendered in bold, expressive colors catalog their supposed failings, until readers return to Ink-blot, who may “really [be] BADLY DRAWN” but who “COULDN’T CARE LESS! She’s too busy having fun.” It is as unvarnished a piece as can

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“[T]he giraffes...here look like a tower of Popsicles” from the short giraffe

be imagined, and to what end? To say, as the author does, that “we know that most girls think… / they’re badly drawn” neither comforts nor exalts (and may not be true). The pictures are very ugly indeed, and while this may be a transgressive and rebellious artistic act, it comes off the page as off-putting in the extreme.

Moreover, as the message is aimed at preteen girls, the picturebook format seems an ineffective way to reach them.

This didactic little piece will likely leave readers puzzled rather than liberated. (Picture book. 7-11)

THE SHORT GIRAFFE

Flory, Neil Illus. by Cleary, Mark Whitman (24 pp.) $15.99 | Mar. 1, 2014 978-0-8075-7346-4

A group of giraffes is known as a tower, but this tower of giraffes has a member who could live in a studio apartment, literally.

Geri is short. For a giraffe, that can pose complications, especially when a group photo is being staged. To get Geri’s mug in the group shot, his comrades try all manner of tricks. They try stilts, but there are balance issues. They try a stack of turtles, but there are balance issues, again. They try wings, but Geri makes like Icarus. They try helium, but you know what happens when the helium escapes. Springs look promising, but they are a little too springy. It comes down to a caterpillar—one of a collection of caterpillars, aka an army; perhaps he is AWOL from his unit, but at least he has a good idea: “Excuse me, giraffes, if I might say, instead of trying to get Geri UP to your height... wouldn’t it be easier if you bent DOWN to his?” (Must have been the British army.) Cleary has staged the book on tawny brown paper—there are a couple of pages of sky blue, a nice, snappy contrast to the brown—which has a vibrantly colorful effect on the giraffes, which here look like a tower of Popsicles.

The text is simple, carrying this plot that depends on an ability to see multiple perspectives with elegance.

A genteel riot of laughs. (Picture book. 2-5)

THESE ROCKS COUNT!

Formento, Alison Illus. by Snow, Sarah Whitman (32 pp.) $16.99 | Mar. 1, 2014 978-0-8075-7870-4 Series: These Things Count!

Mr. Tate’s class disappoints their fans with this outing to Rocky Ridge Mountain and a look at the ways people use rocks.

Ranger Pedra meets the students and introduces them to the notion that rocks have stories to tell. The class counts what they “hear” from a boulder: one sculptor, two cement trucks, three beetles, four oceanside mounds of drying salt, five baby turtles in the sand, six stalactites dripping water, seven gems, a sidewalk comprising eight pieces of slate, nine bricks and 10 panes of glass. Ranger Pedra goes on to mention the fact that rocks help date the world, and Mr. Tate asks for other ways rocks are used in everyday life. Snow’s digital collages are wellsuited to the subject matter, though the people seem more wooden and obviously digital than in previous entries. Overall, the team of Formento and Snow has not been able to capture the same winning combination of education and story as they did with their first, This Tree Counts! (2010). This latest has the same ambiguous-audience problem that plagued These Seas Count! (2013), the counting pages dumbing material down for the youngest listeners (failing to even introduce geology vocabulary; stalactites are called “cave spears”) while the backmatter presents paragraphs of information for a significantly older audience. An uneven flow may also cause readers to lose interest midway.

Those wishing to share the natural world with kids should begin with Ellen Stoll Walsh and then move on to works by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. (Picture book. 4-7)

BURN BRIGHT

Frenette, Bethany Hyperion (352 pp.) $17.99 | Feb. 25, 2014 978-1-4231-4666-7 Series: Dark Star Following Dark Star (2012), a new demon in town named Susannah is looking for the girl with the power to open pathways to the Beneath, and the threat strains Audrey’s relationship.

Audrey’s boyfriend, Leon, is her Guardian, meaning he is mystically bound to protect her and has been granted magic abilities to do so—chiefly, he can sense when she is in danger and teleport to save her. That’s why it’s concerning when Audrey has an encounter with a group of Harrowers led by Susannah and Leon doesn’t show. Luckily for Audrey, a newly arrived Guardian hunting Susannah saves her. While the Guardians do their best to counter the new demonic threat, Audrey does not disclose the episode and the bond issues with Leon it implies.

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“The casual, colloquial tone, sprinkled with humorous observations and asides, manages to sound enough like that of a sixth-grader to aid in the suspension of disbelief….” from secrets of the book

When Leon finds out, he too decides to keep the magical malfunction secret, concluding that Audrey is the source of the bond disruption. Audrey’s desire to keep him safe keeps them ignorant of the dangers she’s facing; luckily, her own powers are growing. Against this relationship drama, Audrey’s two best friends pursue interesting subplots, Susannah launches a series of testing attacks against the Guardians, and Audrey’s mother, more like Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters than the superhero Audrey’s narration promises, fights no crime. The plot’s uneven, but dialogue and characters are strong. In the last 50 pages or so, the story really comes to life for those readers patient enough to have made it through the first 290.

A demon-hunting fix for readers who can forgive pagepadding. (Urban fantasy. 12-16)

SECRETS OF THE BOOK

Fry, Erin Two Lions (304 pp.) $14.99 | Feb. 4, 2014 978-1-4778-4716-9

This mildly engaging fantasy features a magical book, famous figures from the past and a decidedly unheroic narrator who nevertheless manages (with some help) to save the world.

Spencer, a sixth-grader, informs readers immediately that he suffers from a serious eye disease that will eventually cause him to lose his sight. His best friend, Gregor, is on the autism spectrum. Spencer’s disability seems mainly to serve as a (minor) plot point. Fry does a better job of integrating Gregor’s diagnosis and creating a well-rounded character. The boys get mixed up in mysterious goings-on when Ed, an elderly man that Spencer visits at a local nursing home, entrusts Spencer with a book and then promptly disappears. The story rushes on from there as Spencer brings to life (then loses) Socrates and finds himself pursued by a shadowy bad guy with a German accent. Fry offers plenty of action to move the plot along, not giving readers too much time to puzzle over the mechanics of her magic. The casual, colloquial tone, sprinkled with humorous observations and asides, manages to sound enough like that of a sixth-grader to aid in the suspension of disbelief, though Spencer’s reactions to Ed’s granddaughter Mel seem a bit flowery for the average middle school boy.

Fry breaks no new ground, but she does provide undemanding entertainment for fantasy fans and history buffs.

(Fantasy. 9-12)

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STORMCLOUDS New Friends. Old Differences

Gallagher, Brian O’Brien Press/Dufour Editions (224 pp.) $12.95 paper | Feb. 19, 2014 978-1-84717-579-3 Gallagher opens with a blockbuster: Maeve, just 12, is caught squarely in the Troubles in 1969 Belfast, Ireland, trapped inside her home, which Protestant extremists have just set on fire.

Unfortunately, it takes nearly the rest of the tale to reach that level of suspense again. Catholic Maeve has been befriended

by Jewish twins Emma and Dylan, in Belfast while their father reports on the sectarian violence between Protestants and Catholics. Through the twins, she meets Sammy, the son of an oft-drunk Protestant extremist. Although initially shaky, their friendship grows until, in a thrilling climax, Sammy assumes the huge risk of making his way across the violence-torn city to rescue Maeve. While readers are familiar with wars that wrack distant parts of the world, this accurate depiction of violence in a familiar and seemingly benign area will surprise and educate many—a worthy accomplishment. Less admirable is the prose that nearly always defaults to telling rather than showing. Even Maeve’s relationship with Sammy is merely reported: “The more he got to know her the more he liked her, and although he didn’t share her nationalist views, he had found himself influenced by some of the things she said.”

Although the divisive violence of the Troubles is clearly shown, the storytelling is less successful, minimizing the potential impact of this tragic tale. (Historical fiction. 11-15)

GOOSE THE BEAR

Gehrmann, Katja Illus. by Gehrmann, Katja Translated by Morby, Connie Stradling Sky Pony Press (40 pp.) $16.95 | Feb. 4, 2014 978-1-62636-384-7 What an unfortunate title for this wry twist on Are You My Mother. Insertion of the word “and” before “the” would so easily have eliminated the bawdy suggestion.

A fox is on a search for an edible present for his wife and steals a goose egg. “What a delicious surprise it will be when a roast goose hatches for dinner,” he thinks to himself. When he runs directly into a bear, though, he drops the egg. The bear picks it up, the egg hatches, and the gosling cries, “Mama!” The bear wants no part of being the gosling’s mother and tries to leave her behind, but the imprinted gosling clings to the bear.

Thinking to prove that he is not the gosling’s mama, the bear proceeds to perform a series of actions he believes only bears can do: climbing, running fast and jumping into the river. In each case, the gosling manages to keep up using her own traits,

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PRICKLY ROSE

each time calling, “Mama”—and ultimately endearing herself to the bear. But can she catch a salmon…? The fox lurks in the background throughout, ultimately unwittingly abetting the gosling’s final test of bearhood in a tongue-in-cheek turnaround.

The cartoonish illustrations embellish the humor, with the colors washing over the definition lines and visible brush strokes.

This quixotic German import is entertaining, if you can get past the title. (Picture book. 4-7)

WOMEN IN SPACE 23 Stories of First Flights, Scientific Missions, and Gravity-Breaking Adventures

Gibson, Karen Bush Chicago Review (240 pp.) $19.95 | Feb. 1, 2014 978-1-61374-844-2

The history of women in space is chronicled through profiles of 23 astronauts from 10 countries whose careers

span a half century.

Dividing her account into four parts, Gibson begins with the story of the Mercury 13, women aviators who proved to be as intelligent and fit as any man but who were nonetheless barred from NASA’s astronaut program because of their gender. (Their story is told more compellingly and in greater depth in Tanya Lee Stone’s Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream, 2009.) The second part is devoted to Soviet and Russian cosmonauts, beginning with Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. The third and largest part of the book chronologically profiles American women astronauts beginning with Sally Ride and includes Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, and Peggy Whitson, who logged over a year in orbit while aboard the International Space Station. The last part profiles international astronauts from Canada, France, Italy, Japan and South Korea. Sidebars supply factual information on such topics as training, experiments, sleeping and eating in space, and the physical and psychological effects of space travel. This workmanlike book is most valuable for the profiles on cosmonauts and international women astronauts, subjects that have received scant attention.

An informative introductory overview of the many important contributions women have made to space exploration. (source notes, glossary, further reading, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 12 & up)

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Gill, Shelley Illus. by Love, Judy Charlesbridge (32 pp.) $17.95 | $7.95 paper | $6.99 e-book Feb. 11, 2014 978-1-57091-356-3 978-1-57091-357-0 paper 978-1-60734-631-9 e-book “If it weren’t for the Rose girls, what would Alaska be?”

According to this original tall tale, Alaska would be missing many geographic and topographic features if it weren’t for the feats of Sitka and Prickly Rose. “Legend says the Rose girls / towered ten feet tall. / Truth is, Sitka did so; / Prickly not at all.”

When Sitka mushes toward Nome, Prickly, as her name suggests, feels left out and declares she won’t be stuck at home. She jumps aboard two orcas and creates a tsunami when she falls off; she rides a “glacier bear”; she yanks the moon and forms tides; she stomps and causes both an earthquake and a volcanic eruption. Just when Prickly’s sour luck runs out, Sitka bursts from the northern lights driving a team of wolverines, and sisterly love erupts. This story follows Gill’s previous picture book, Sitka Rose, illustrated by Shannon Cartwright (2005), checking off expected Alaska attractions (Denali, the Yukon River) and folding in Alaska slang (williwaws, skookum). The rhyming text tends to hamper the flow of the tale, but the wild and woolly story is animated with boisterous illustrations that exaggerate the hijinks. A map in the backmatter pinpoints the locations of the episodes.

Though mostly of regional interest, this could easily be paired with other female tall tales, such as Anne Isaacs and Paul Zelinsky’s Swamp Angel (1994), Jerdine Nolen and Kadir Nelson’s Thunder Rose (2003) and Lynne Bertrand and Kevin Hawkes’ Granite Baby (2005). (Picture book. 5-9)

THE SHIBBOLETH

Hornor Jacobs, John Carolrhoda Lab (408 pp.) $17.95 | $12.95 e-book | Mar. 1, 2014 978-0-7613-9008-4 978-1-4677-2405-0 e-book Series: Twelve-Fingered Boy Trilogy, 2 Sometimes you just gotta break out of juvie to rescue a friend and save the world.

Book 2 of the Twelve-Fingered Boy Trilogy finds the two boy heroes—Jack and Shreve—trapped and confined. Branded a “candy” dealer for doling out drugs, Shreve is incarcerated in a juvenile detention center at first, but after he frightens a nurse there, he’s sent to a mental hospital, where he’s drugged for schizophrenia.

What his keepers don’t know is that he’s not schizophrenic at all. Instead, he’s a shibboleth, a being that can read minds and possess the bodies of others. Readers, on the other hand, know that he needs to escape (there are lots of escapes in this sequel)

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the center and find his BFF Jack, who’s stuck with a guy named Quincrux, who could be the most evil shibboleth out there.

Jacobs’ sequel reads as a series of elongated plot twists that need to move his lead character from one place to the next, usually some kind of prison: Entrapment is key. Shreve’s inner dialogue and snappy one-liners ring both true and trenchant: “In and down I go, into Schneider’s brainmeat, into his unconscious, like some psychic cliff diver in a Speedo.” There is plenty more like this, and it’ll no doubt be the main motivation for readers of this decent sequel.

Not necessarily groundbreaking but fun. (Paranormal adventure. 12-16)

SEE JANE RUN

Jayne, Hannah Sourcebooks Fire (288 pp.) $9.99 paper | Jan. 7, 2014 978-1-4022-8245-4 The teen years are a time of self-discovery and exploration. For Riley Spencer, this is harder than for most, because she’s no longer sure of anything…even her name.

Riley’s parents have always been somewhat overprotective, especially since they moved the family to a new house in an isolated new development. But Riley never really worried about that, until the day she finds a birth certificate tucked away in her mother’s photo album, for a girl named Jane O’Leary. Who was this girl, and where is she now?

Her curiosity mounts when she starts receiving mysterious notes tucked into her book bag that indicate that she herself might be Jane. Riley knows she needs to solve the riddle of who she really is and what happened to the baby Jane before she can get on with her own life, so she sets out to explore her history with the help of local bad boy JD. Little does she know that by starting this search, she’s setting herself up as a target for more than one kind of danger. Suddenly, life isn’t normal at all. The premise is certainly an interesting one, reminiscent of Cooney’s classic The Face on the Milk Carton, and the characters are appealing. Unfortunately, the plot itself is thin, and the end will strike many readers as disappointingly contrived.

Nevertheless, a quick, mostly entertaining read. (Thriller.

13 & up)

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MAPS AND GEOGRAPHY

Jennings, Ken Illus. by Lowery, Mike Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (160 pp.) $18.99 | $7.99 paper | Feb. 4, 2014 978-1-4424-9848-8 978-1-4424-7328-7 paper Series: Junior Genius Guide A liberally illustrated tongue-in-cheek guide to maps and geography delivers solid information and intriguing facts.

Trivia master Jennings, Jeopardy winner and writer of popular adult books including Maphead (2011), will engage his middle-grade audience with this witty, pleasingly solid introduction to geography.

With humor, careful choice of facts, and a clear, familiar organization, he leads readers from the basic workings of the Earth (shape, time zones, latitude and longitude) to the geographical fascination of unusual U.S. place names. Chapters follow the arrangement of a typical school day, with a series of subject-based class periods (among them “The Earth from Space,” “Maps and Legends” and “The Watery Part of the World”) interrupted by recess, art, lunch and music. It all culminates in a final exam and follow-up homework. There are pop quizzes along the way, with coded answers and occasional informational boxes of “extra credit.” Subheads announce the topics of each short section, and sketched maps, charts and lists as well as Lowery’s cartoonlike drawings interrupt the narrative, making the reading appear totally accessible. It will delight middle-grade fact lovers, who will want to go on to learn about Greek Mythology (publishing simultaneously; 978-1-44249849-5), U.S. Presidents (coming in May 2014) and more.

You don’t have to be a certified Junior Genius to enjoy this entertainingly presented introduction. (Nonfiction. 8-11)

OUT OF EDEN

Johnson, Peter Namelos (143 pp.) $18.95 | Feb. 1, 2014 978-1-60898-160-1 A family vacation goes asunder amid notes of Deliverance, religious delusions and frighteningly plausible violence.

Seventeen-year-old Stony and his sister, Molly, have been roped into a road trip to New Hampshire with their father and his live-in girlfriend. The siblings commiserate about the trip and their clueless father’s teasing and hotheaded machismo.

At a rest stop en route to their vacation rental, their father has a confrontation with two derelict characters, Leopold and Abraham. Abraham is a simple brute, but Leopold is a complex religious zealot who fancies himself an angel of death, chosen to exterminate those undeserving of life. After the tense and foreboding run-in, Stony and his family are marked and subsequently hunted by Leopold and Abraham. Stony’s calm strength and extensive knowledge of psychoses (his grandmother’s murder

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“Each child’s voice is distinct and believable. Their heroic experiences after the nighttime sinking…are all vividly, harrowingly realized.” from september 17

catapulted him into thorough studies of warped human minds) counteract the rash, hasty temper of his well-intending father.

Though the majority of the novella is told in third person from Stony’s point of view, there are brief, rambling and frightening glimpses into the mind of Leopold as he calculates with Biblebased fervor why and how his victims should die. At one point, Stony’s father says, “How can you explain something so cruel and pointless?” It’s the inexplicability of cruelty that makes this horrifying page-turner so effective.

A compelling portrayal of inevitable, realistic violence and evil personified. (Thriller. 14 & up)

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Jones, Ursula Illus. by Gibb, Sarah Whitman (32 pp.) $16.99 | Mar. 1, 2014 978-0-8075-0600-4

A version of the classic tale rich in color and design but less than satisfying in the telling.

Beauty’s two older sisters are the villains, wanting only riches and titled husbands and wailing when their father loses his wealth and they must move to the countryside. When he returns to the city to mitigate his losses, the sisters ask for diamond tiaras and dresses, while Beauty asks for a rose, and the tale takes its traditional course. Beauty bravely attends the Beast, learns to appreciate what he offers her in books and amusements, but gently rejects him each night when he asks her to marry him. When she returns home to visit her father, she brings beautiful clothes that her sisters try to steal, but they turn into foolish-looking underwear when the sisters put them on. In revenge, her sisters conspire to keep her from the Beast, and she returns late only when she dreams he is dying, and the tale ends as readers will expect.

Exquisite floral details, tiny patterns and cut-paper silhouettes make for much loveliness, but the touches of humor are forced, and the sisters are just silly.

While one can nearly always use another gold-embossed fairy tale, this one fails to enchant. (Picture book/fairy tale. 5-8)

K-POP Korea’s Musical Explosion

Kallen, Stuart A. Twenty-First Century/Lerner (64 pp.) $24.95 e-book | $33.26 PLB | Feb. 1, 2014 978-1-4677-2549-1 e-book 978-1-4677-2042-7 PLB A breezy but flawed introduction to Korean pop music for novice fans.

While many Americans only discovered Korean pop music, also known as K-Pop, when Psy’s music video for “Gangnam Style” went viral on YouTube in 2012, it has been popular worldwide for over a decade. This primer follows the development |

of K-Pop from the 1950s to the present, focusing mostly on the last 20 years. Through profiles of influential artists—including Seo Taiji, Rain, Girls’ Generation and Psy— Kallen describes the “factorylike” star systems at Korea’s major labels and the phenomenon of Hallyu, the “wave” of global interest in Korean pop culture that began in East Asia in the late 1990s. Numerous color photos and playlists of artists’ representative songs add interest for teens. However, knowledgeable readers will note that the author overstates some artists’ impacts, overlooks other major musicians completely and appears to have only a rudimentary knowledge of Korean culture, perhaps due to his reliance on non-Korean, English-language sources. One example of this is the author’s incorrect use of the Japanese term “anime” to describe Korean animation.

Though English-language books on Korean pop culture are unfortunately quite rare, only complete newbies will find this overview informative. (glossary, recommended albums, source notes, selected bibliography, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

SEPTEMBER 17

Lewis, Amanda Red Deer Press (224 pp.) $14.95 paper | Mar. 15, 2014 978-0-88995-507-3 Among the many tragedies of World War II, the largely forgotten sinking of a ship that was ferrying 90 young British children to the safety of Canada must be counted.

The City of Benares left port on Sept. 13, 1940, with the children, their volunteer caretakers and some paying passengers, part of a convoy that was supposed to keep them safe. Three days out, the British destroyer left them in the belief that they had reached safe waters. On Sept. 17, the Benares was torpedoed in a storm and sank rapidly.

Seventy-seven of the children died, along with six of their 10 escorts. Lewis picks up the tale as children join the evacuation process, focusing on Ken and Bess, whose experiences shine a light on those of the whole “seavacuee” group, and Sonia, whose family has booked paying passage on the ship.

Each child’s voice is distinct and believable. Their heroic experiences after the nighttime sinking—Bess surviving by tying herself to an overturned lifeboat, Sonia on a frigid raft, and Ken, whose overfilled lifeboat sails eight days until rescue— are all vividly, harrowingly realized.

Riveting and heartbreaking alike, especially as readers count down the days to the tragedy they know is coming.

(Historical fiction. 11 & up)

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“Tucker’s search for the moral right leads to the concept of the ‘lesser evil’ in way she could never have anticipated and keeps readers completely involved every step of the way.” from storm

PLESIOSAUR PERIL

an orange cigarette burn through the gray fabric of the clouds”— set off the long riffs of humorous banter nicely.

A worthwhile romp, if not quite a jackpot. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Loxton, Daniel Illus. by Smith, Jim W.W. Kids Can (32 pp.) $16.95 | Mar. 1, 2014 978-1-55453-633-7 Series: Tales of Prehistoric Life

STORM

Another prehistoric predicament from the creators of Ankylosaur Attack (2011) and Pterosaur Trouble (2013), with similarly nongory but otherwise photorealistic illustrations.

Gliding sinuously through shallow, sunlit waters crowded with tentacled ammonites and early fish, a young Cryptoclidus follows her mother and the rest of the plesiosaur pod. They feed peacefully on squidlike belemnites—until, distracted by a reef ’s nooks and crannies, the saurian protagonist becomes separated and attracts the attention of hungry Liopleurodon, a much larger, predatory relative. Depicted from angles that show off their cetacean bulk, long-necked grace and crocodilian dentifrice to thrilling effect, both marine reptiles cut convincingly lifelike figures as they torpedo through equally realistic oceanscapes. Cryptoclidus makes an escape at last with a frantic leap over the reef ’s jutting rocks and is reunited with her parent: “It was a big, wild, dangerous ocean, but they would swim it together. As a family.” Loxton stirs current theories about plesiosaur behavior and physiology into his melodramatic episode, expanding on them in an informative afterword.

Go, Cryptoclidus! (Picture book. 6-9)

LITTLE BLUE LIES

Lynch, Chris Simon & Schuster (224 pp.) $17.99 | $10.99 e-book | Jan. 7, 2014 978-1-44244008-1 978-1-4424-4010-4 e-book A lovelorn teen messes with the mob in order to save his blue-collar girlfriend in this unusual comedy of social class.

Upper-class Oliver is devastated when his beloved Junie Blue breaks off their relationship after high school graduation. But that doesn’t stop him from trying to intervene when he hears that Junie may be in possession of a winning lottery ticket that is being sought by the local mob boss. Since their relationship was built on the outrageous lies they used to tell each other, Oliver can’t figure out if Junie is telling the truth about not having the ticket. So he uses his family’s wealth and power to hatch a plan to take the mob heat off Junie and, he hopes, win her back in the process.

But self-sufficient Junie has plans of her own, and Oliver discovers that she’s not the only one who’s been lying to him. Though secondary characters that aren’t integral to the story sometimes sidetrack the plot, Lynch’s dialogue is consistently funny and sharp. Inventive descriptions—“The sun is just starting to work 82

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MacHale, D.J. Razorbill/Penguin (496 pp.) $17.99 | Mar. 25, 2014 978-1-59514-667-0 Series: SYLO, 2 In series opener Sylo (2013), war came to Tucker Pierce on Pemberwick Island off the coast of Maine; this middle volume picks up where the first left off.

Tucker and his friends Tori, Kent and Olivia escaped from Pemberwick Island and the air-andsea battle that raged around it to land in Portland. But it’s not the historic old harbor town they remember. No one is on the streets, and while most buildings remain, some have completely disintegrated. It’s clear that the battle they witnessed wasn’t just for possession of their home island—it was for the entire area.

But they still don’t know exactly who is fighting whom, or why, or how far the battlefield extends. Taking refuge in a hospital, the teens find a few other survivors but not a lot of additional information. A looping radio transmission encourages survivors to go west, where a force is gathering to fight back. Division threatens, as the teens argue about what to do: join this resistance or find refuge. Tucker just wants some payback for the death of his best friend in the previous book. Tucker’s search for the moral right leads to the concept of the “lesser evil” in ways he could never have anticipated and keeps readers completely involved every step of the way. Reminiscent of Stephen King’s masterwork The Stand, this book’s pace never slackens.

There is no middle-volume sag in this pulse-pounding thriller. (Adventure. 10-16)

TOOLS RULE!

Meshon, Aaron Illus. by Meshon, Aaron Atheneum (40 pp.) $16.99 | $12.99 e-book | Mar. 25, 2014 978-1-4424-9601-9 978-1-4424-9602-6 e-book Are there any tots who don’t like to play with toy tools?

Most likely not, and this appealing and inventive story features animated tool characters, each with its own individual traits. T Square rounds up a crew of tools to clean up a messy yard and build a tool shed. T Square and Pencil draft plans; Wheelbarrow gathers materials; Saw saws Wood; Drill drills Screws; Level inspects; Glue glues on Roof Tiles, etc. Together, they work hard, and when the project is finished, they go to sleep in an organized toolshed feeling satisfied. The colored digital illustrations are imaginative (each tool has eyes, and

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some have legs), with sound effects offering opportunities for participation: “Brush brushes Paint. SWISH! SWASH! SLOP!” Mild puns add to the fun, as when T Square holds the flashlight to illuminate the darkened outbuilding and says, “Let me shed some light on things!” Diagrammatic arrows with large letters nail down the interchange among the tools and cleverly enforce the concept of working together. Meshon’s animated style in this story could easily be turned into a short film cartoon.

Buy it along with a wooden tool set as a gift for an enterprising young carpenter. (Picture book. 4-8)

THE VIOLET HOUR

Miller, Whitney A. Flux (312 pp.) $9.99 paper | Mar. 8, 2014 978-0-7387-3721-8 It all comes together in the end in this exploration of a cult, but readers may wonder where this story is going until that point.

Seventeen-year old Harlow is the adopted daughter of the Patriarch of VisionCrest, a new religion so successful it claims one-quarter of the world’s population as followers. More interested in punk rock than religion, Harlow believes her father has simply invented the whole thing. As the story progresses, Harlow begins to understand that her father, if anything, has toned things down. As the presumed goddess that began it all decides to reassert herself, Harlow keeps hearing a female voice telling her to kill and has horrible visions of massacres all around her.

As the leaders of the cult, along with Harlow and her friends, travel from Tokyo to Beijing, Harlow begins to realize that her father may not be in control. Worse, as she fights to find the secret source of the cult’s power, she ends up learning more about herself than she wanted to know. Miller presents an interesting, if gruesome, premise and leaves readers with a nifty ending that may just make the whole thing worth it. The path to that point seems a bit slippery, though, as she never really immerses readers in the cult, leaving readers without a solid anchor to the story.

It takes a while, but this should please horror fans. (Horror. 12 & up)

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VENGEANCE

Miranda, Megan Walker (352 pp.) $17.99 | Feb. 4, 2014 978-0-8027-3503-4 Mystery and horror genres collide when superstition and fear overcome a group of teen friends who begin blaming their recent misfortunes on a curse in this follow-up to Fracture (2012).

In friend Decker’s narration, Delaney continues struggling to understand her secret ability to sense when people are nearing death, a talent she believes is a curse, as in the previous book, it failed to help her actually prevent her friend Carson’s death. Meanwhile, Delaney’s friends inexplicably find themselves the targets of several acts of vandalism, which they eventually believe stem from a curse they must have unleashed when they saved Delaney from drowning.

Though believing in a curse may sound far-fetched, in many ways, it allows these teens to escape reminders of their own mortality and to avoid the unpleasant idea that someone wishes to harm them. As the teens reinforce one another’s beliefs in the curse, the narration becomes increasingly paranoid, largely ignoring the ample evidence indicating that natural, rather than paranormal, explanations exist for the vandalism. In this way, Miranda cleverly leads readers down the same path of misdirection, encouraging them to anticipate a supernatural reveal, making the final uncloaking of the human villains more surprising. However, Delaney’s “death sense” remains largely unresolved, perhaps leaving room for another installment.

The realistic mystery wrapped in an eerie supernatural atmosphere will appeal to fans of both genres. (Suspense.

12-18)

CRASH

Monninger, Joseph Scholastic (208 pp.) $5.99 paper | $5.99 e-book | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-545-56348-2 978-0-545-56349-9 e-book Series: Stay Alive, 1 The premise in this first adventure in the Stay Alive series feels familiar and cannot claim the originality or authenticity of Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet (1987); neither does it show the careful characterization and scene setting of the author’s own books for teens.

A small plane plummets into a remote lake in Alaska. Besides the pilot, passengers include members of a TV show: seven preteens plus one dad, the producer and a basset hound. Except for the dog, the characters are mostly stereotypes. There’s the brave, decisive Eagle Scout, the able cool girl, the selfish pessimist, the bumbling adult. A few are killed off quickly, and with so little character development, it is hard to care about the

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survivors’ circumstances, which are fairly sketchily described.

Although each part begins with an interesting survival tip, the action lags, reading more like a camp to-do list, until the group decides to send out an exploration party. Those at camp experience an uneventful rescue, while those on the trail see some hardships including, for one, a death-defying swim down a set of rapids. An underlying theme seems to indicate that if they had only had a knife, things might have been different. In an unexpected closing scene, one finally floats up from the wreckage long after the rescue.

However, they have always had a hatchet, and many youngsters will wish the characters had read the classic of the same name. (Adventure. 8-12)

THE SHADOW THRONE

Nielsen, Jennifer A. Scholastic (336 pp.) $17.99 | $17.99 e-book | Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-545-28417-2 978-0-545-63379-6 e-book Series: Ascendance Trilogy, 3 Jaron, irascible, incorrigible king of Carthya, faces the loss of his kingdom, his friends and his life in the gripping finale of the Ascendance Trilogy.

Fresh from his foray to the pirates in The Runaway King (2013), Jaron learns than King Vargan of Avenia and allies from Gelyn and Mendenwal have invaded Carthya and captured Jaron’s friend Imogen. Determined to save Imogen, Jaron attempts a rescue and fails, leaving him a prisoner and Imogen presumed dead. As he tries to cope with Imogen’s death, captive Jaron discovers how much he loved her. Relying on the skills of lying, stealing and deceiving he honed as a child, Jaron outwits his captors and returns to Carthya to rally his outnumbered troops. Resolved to save Carthya, Jaron devises a series of improbable, dangerous and ingenious plans designed to surprise his enemies as well as readers. Through his self-reflective, first-person narration, Jaron confesses friendship and love have greater power to wound him than villains, plots and enemies.

In the end, friendship and love win out, as Jaron and his loyal friends confront their foes to determine Carthya’s future in a harrowing conclusion.

From one cliffhanging episode to the next, wily Jaron’s rebellious, undisciplined spirit carries the day as he battles to save everything he holds dear. (map) (Adventure. 10-14)

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TIMMY FAILURE Now Look What You’ve Done

Pastis, Stephan Illus. by Pastis, Stephan Candlewick (288 pp.) $14.99 | $12.99 e-book | Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-7636-6051-2 978-0-7636-7011-5 e-book Series: Timmy Failure, 2

If Inspector Clouseau were in grade school, he’d be Timmy Failure.

Timmy has a secret admirer. He knows this, as he’s received a note, covered in little hearts, that says, “You have a secret admirer!” His friends and relatives assume it’s from Molly Moskins, since she follows him around saying, “Doesn’t my Timmykins look handsomeful?”—and since another love note is signed, “LOVE MM (These are my initials).” Timmy assumes, with his typical logic, that the hearts are a coded death threat.

“Think,” he says to his great-aunt. “The heart is what keeps you alive.” He has reason to be suspicious. He has very few admirers, partly because he keeps accusing his friends of crimes—especially Molly Moskins. In spite of that, they remain remarkably faithful and even help him solve the central mystery of the book, which loosely involves a detective contest at his school.

Readers who found Timmy hard to take in his first book won’t like him—or the terrible puns—any better here. (One chapter is titled “The Lying, the Watch, and the Poor Globe.”) But his many fans will speed through the pages, and they’ll love Pastis’ illustrations, which feature an adorable polar bear shaped like a bowling pin. They may even adopt Timmy’s motto: “When you lose hope, find it.”

A loonily intellectual alternative to that wimpy kid.

(Comic mystery. 8-12)

STARLING

Paul, Fiona Philomel (336 pp.) $17.99 | Mar. 20, 2014 978-0-399-25727-8 Series: Secrets of the Eternal Rose, 3 Cass and Luca return to Venice to clear their names and put an end to the Order of the Eternal Rose once and for all in this trilogy closer.

On their heels are the apparently immortal Belladonna and her evil doctor. Also converging in Venice are the Order leader who has the Venetian Senate in the palm of his hand and Luca’s illegitimate, psychotic half brother.

There is danger aplenty, and plucky Cass soon finds herself in the thick of it. Having kicked one leg of the obligatory love triangle away in Belladonna (2013), Paul wedges it back in place by placing Falco and Cass in a fervent colloquy that Luca witnesses, leading to the also-obligatory estrangement of Cass from her betrothed. Much wringing of hands ensues over this, as well as

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“…Reisz’s love and respect for his characters and their milieu is evident on every page, and his use of the Deep South’s regional mythology is deliciously chilling.” from the drowned forest

the deaths of friends and servants incurred during her quest.

Cass and the plot lurch from peril to peril with far too much telling and not enough showing; villainous dialogue is often helpfully interpreted in a sort of narrative play by play. Short chapters that end in minicliffhangers keep the pages turning, though, helping readers speed past the frequently purple prose. The rather interesting acceptance of prostitution as a legitimate career choice for young women in the late Renaissance goes largely unexamined, as does the relationship of Venice’s Jews to the larger population, sparked by an irresponsibly throwaway scene.

Formulaic, anachronistic, undemanding. (Historical mystery. 14 & up)

NICK AND TESLA’S ROBOT ARMY RAMPAGE A Mystery With Hoverbots, Bristlebots, and Other Robots You Can Build Yourself Pflugfelder, Bob; Hockensmith, Steve Illus. by Garrett, Scott Quirk Books (224 pp.) $12.95 | $9.99 e-book | Feb. 4, 2014 978-1-59474-649-9 978-1-59474-663-5 e-book Series: Nick and Tesla, 2

Gadget-happy twins Nick and Tesla return to build some robots and solve a series of burglaries.

Sent off to stay with their eccentric uncle Newt in Half Moon Bay, Calif., while their parents do something mysterious and governmental in Uzbekistan, the 11-year-olds have begun to worry. Two weeks have passed without any messages. Now, their already distressingly absent-minded uncle has fallen hard for Hiroko Sakurai, the new owner of the Wonder Hut, the local tinkerer’s heaven. But is she behind the burglaries? Like Nick and Tesla’s High-Voltage Danger Lab (2013), this sequel features some wild action interspersed with clear instructions for projects that make liberal use of small motors, plastic bottles and tubing, electric wires and a hot-glue gun. The appearance of a series of robots around town inspires Nick, Tesla and their friends to build some of their own, including two jiggling walkers, a flyer and a “robo-bug,” as well as a “super-soaker bot blaster.” For the most part, these projects are well within the capabilities of middle-grade readers, though the soaker may turn out to be agonizingly fiddly. Less-handy readers will enjoy the humor, the detective work and the threat to the twins revealed in the final pages. A third volume in this series is promised for May. Another fast-paced mystery and treat for technophiles.

(Fiction. 9-13)

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STRAIGHT PUNCH

Polak, Monique Orca (256 pp.) $12.95 paper | Mar. 1, 2014 978-1-4598-0391-6 A girl who can’t stop “tagging”— spray painting her initials on buildings— is caught one too many times and sent to a struggling alternative school in a poor neighborhood in Montreal.

The survivor of a terrible riot, Tessa fears violence of any kind, but her new school has one required extracurricular activity: All students must learn to box. The teacher holds academic classes in the morning, and a boxing coach trains both boys and girls in the afternoon. To her surprise, Tessa begins to enjoy her boxing lessons and grows attached to the little school and its hard-luck students. She’s already friends with fellow tagger Pretty Boy, and she grows especially close to Jasmine, an Asian girl whose aunt has spent her fortune, leaving her destitute. All would be well, except that the woman who lives next door to their school takes exception to it and organizes an effort to force its closure. Tessa faces her most difficult test. Can she overcome her terror of public speaking and make the case for her school? Polak keeps her prose simple and straightforward, providing her readers with a suspenseful, insightful story that ticks off some hot buttons.

The high-interest graffiti/boxing combo is supported by real affection for throwaway teens, resulting in a story that should have broad appeal.

Though simple, the story provides both insight and entertainment. (Fiction. 12-17)

THE DROWNED FOREST

Reisz, Kristopher Flux (264 pp.) $9.99 paper | Feb. 8, 2014 978-0-7387-3910-6

Alabama teens combine prayer and the supernatural to guide a friend’s soul to the afterlife.

Ever since her best friend Holly’s accidental drowning, Jane, a home-schooled “Jesus dork,” has experienced a terrible crisis of faith. Unable to sleep and convinced that Holly’s soul is trapped in the Drowned Forest—a stand of trees flooded by a dam—at the bottom of their slow-moving, fetid river, Jane enlists the help of Tyler, Holly’s grieving boyfriend, to put her to rest. Their successful use of music to summon Holly’s spirit breaks their hearts anew, as the version of Holly who emerges from the river is deadly to everyone she touches. Horrified and rightly convinced that her parents and pastor won’t understand the situation, Jane runs away from home, crashing on a local bar band’s couch while she and Tyler race to unravel the mystery of Holly’s trapped spirit and send her peacefully on to the other

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side before she destroys them. This richly atmospheric debut gets off to a slow start and relies a little too heavily on Jane’s series of intuitive leaps to resolve the plot, but Reisz’s love and respect for his characters and their milieu is evident on every page, and his use of the Deep South’s regional mythology is deliciously chilling.

A solid creepfest from an author with potential. (Supernatural mystery. 13-16)

PEOPLE YOU GOTTA MEET BEFORE YOU GROW UP Get to Know the Movers and Shakers, Heroes and Hotshots in Your Hometown

Rhatigan, Joe Imagine Publishing (128 pp.) $14.95 | $9.99 e-book | Feb. 25, 2014 978-1-62354-004-3 978-1-60734-774-3 e-book

An upbeat guide that encourages young people to meet all sorts of community folks.

Filled with strategies for meeting everyone from actors and politicians to police officers and librarians, this book will help anyone prepare to meet and interview the “movers and shakers, heroes and hotshots” of the subtitle. Each chapter suggests a type of person to meet and includes strategies for finding the person, questions to ask and websites to explore. Often, the author includes an interview of his own. Teachers who want a new project to try with their older elementary students will find inspiration here. It is easy to picture a class newsletter or collaborative movie project in which each student interviews someone. The links provided will help students prepare ahead of time, and the suggested questions should keep the project focused. Adults and children alike may be surprised at the breadth of careers and activities on display. We all know what a chef or a teacher is, but how many know what an “alternative transporter” is? And, if you want to meet a historical re-enactor, Rhatigan has suggestions for how to find one, even in a small town. The overenthusiastic use of exclamation marks in the titles of each chapter and the “gotta” in the title should be forgiven, as this is far above the usual fare about community helpers and careers.

Future journalists, go forth. (index) (Nonfiction. 7-14)

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BIRDIE’S BIG-GIRL HAIR

Rim, Sujean Illus. by Rim, Sujean Little, Brown (40 pp.) $17.00 | Feb. 4, 2014 978-0-316-22791-9 Series: Birdie’s Big-Girl…

Another book in Rim’s series about the elfin fashionista, who, having tackled shoes and clothes in earlier books, now tackles the issue of problem hair with her unique approach to little-girl fashion dilemmas.

Birdie is having a really bad hair day. Mommy decides that a visit to the salon is in order, and in trying to choose a new hairdo, Birdie scours a bewildering assortment of styles from fashion magazines. Nothing feels quite right. Her friends make helpful suggestions, but she can’t decide what she wants until she gets home and discovers the perfect hair: Mommy’s, in her high school yearbook! Armed with this choice, Birdie heads for the salon and is delighted with the result—until the energetic little girl ruins the new ’do on the playground. In a rather superficial nod to the importance of character over looks, Mommy reassures her “beautiful Birdie” that “now it’s even better. It looks like YOU.” Birdie’s perky personality is beautifully expressed through retro-styled illustrations that combine watercolor and collage drawn from a variety of fabrics, textures, and magazine clippings.

Although Rim’s approach may disappoint feminist parents who dislike Birdie’s devotion to the cult of female beauty, most little girls (and maybe some boys) will thoroughly enjoy this beautifully designed and whimsical tale.

(Picture book. 3-6)

MONKEY ME AND THE PET SHOW

Roland, Timothy Illus. by Roland, Timothy Branches/Scholastic (96 pp.) $15.99 | $4.99 paper | $4.99 e-book Mar. 25, 2014 978-0-545-55981-2 978-0-54-55980-5 paper 978-0-545-55983-6 e-book Series: Monkey Me, 2 Monkey business continues in this second installment of the Monkey Me series for transitional and early readers.

In this stand-alone sequel, Clyde recaps how he happens to turn into a monkey, which he calls his “monkey me” self, when he becomes excited. Unfortunately for Clyde (but fortunately for readers who like humorous adventure), he’s often excited. As in the first book, two dilemmas combine to drive the playful, fastpaced mischief-making that turns the boy into his primate alter ego and the traditional text into a graphic-novel format. It’s class picture day, and Clyde can’t wait to see who will carry on the custom of ruining the photo. He’s so excited that…well, readers can guess who will cause a fiasco this time. Clyde must also contend

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“The intricate and suspenseful plot, filled with politics, intrigue and even graphic violence, features neither heroes nor villains; every character displays a complex mixture of talents, flaws and motives.” from the winner’s curse

with school bully Roz and her ferocious bulldog, Chopper. Just as Clyde’s levelheaded twin sister, Claudia, devises a scheme to delete the class photo, Clyde’s monkey version has another run-in with Roz. When Claudia pretends that the monkey is her pet, Roz challenges them to compete against Chopper in the local pet show. The hijinks heighten when thieves trap the pet-show participants to sell to a circus. Leave it to Clyde to use his monkey abilities to save himself and his fellow (at least temporarily) animals.

A silly story with even sillier comic-book–style illustrations for transitioning readers. (Early reader. 6-8)

HEARTS

Rowe, Thereza Illus. by Rowe, Thereza TOON/Candlewick (32 pp.) $12.95 | Jan. 7, 2014 978-1-9351-7959-7 A nearly wordless tale, billed as “Level One” but probably with a more natural audience among teens or adults, centers on a long chase after a fugitive broken heart.

The departure of her best friend in a rocket ship leaves Penelope—depicted in the geometrical, silkscreen-style art with a human body and the head and tail of a fox—sitting beside the sea with her cracked heart in her lap. When that heart slips into the water and is carried away by dolphins, birds, a paper airplane and other agents, she pursues it, picking up a chickenheaded, cartwheeling companion she has met along the way.

Penelope finds it at last in a “garden of lost things” but then sacrifices it to rescue her new friend from a toothy monster.

In return, her new friend presents her with an egg that cracks open in the final scene to reveal an unmarked replacement heart.

Sound effects and short lines of dialogue in the large sequential panels won’t help younger readers make sense of either the characters or the sketchy storyline.

A metaphorical journey toward healing from traumatic loss inspired, writes Rowe, by the death of her cat—not, as the cover protests, a “first comic for brand-new readers!”

(Graphic picture book. 13 & up)

THE WINNER’S CURSE

Rutkoski, Marie Farrar, Straus and Giroux (368 pp.) $17.99 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-374-38467-8 Series: Winner’s Trilogy, 1

Rich characterization, exquisite worldbuilding and rock-solid storytelling make this a fantasy of unusual intelligence and depth.

Brilliant and wealthy Lady Kestrel seems destined for either an illustrious military career or a magnificent marriage, but all she cares about is her music—a passion her Valorian |

culture disdains, almost as much as they despise the Herrani they have enslaved. After Kestrel pays an outrageous sum for the slave Arin, society has even more to gossip about, particularly when Kestrel betrays her growing attachment to him. But Arin harbors his own deadly secrets, and the price might cost Kestrel everything she holds dear. Precise details and elegant prose make this world fresh and vivid. The intricate and suspenseful plot, filled with politics, intrigue and even graphic violence, features neither heroes nor villains; every character displays a complex mixture of talents, flaws and motives. Kestrel is an especially compelling protagonist, both determined and hesitant, honest and manipulative, ferociously observant and painfully naïve. Her bond with Arin develops slowly and naturally from congruent personalities. As much as it informs their choices, neither can (nor wishes to) elevate an impossible romance over loyalty to friends, family or nation. This integrity keeps them apart right through the heartbreaking (yet necessary) conclusion—but also kindles a tiny spark of hope for the next volume in the trilogy.

Breathtaking, tragic and true. (Fantasy. 12-18)

CHURCHILL’S TALE OF TAILS

Sandu, Anca Illus. by Sandu, Anca Peachtree (32 pp.) $16.95 | Mar. 1, 2014 978-1-56145-738-0

What’s a proud piggy to do when his tail goes missing?

Churchill had one thing that he prized above all else: his tail. But one morning, he can’t find it. He looks everywhere, but he can’t find his squiggly tail. He just doesn’t feel like himself without it, so he goes to Zebra, who gives him a zebra tail. He likes it well enough, but he decides he needs to try other tails.

Peacock’s makes Churchill feel beautiful. With the tail from a fish, he can suddenly swim like never before. He tries tails that make him feel snappy (alligator) and big (elephant) and fierce (tiger). But his fascination with tails causes him to ignore his friends. One night, Churchill sees the shadow of what he thinks is a fearsome creature, but it’s just a small bird…with a pig’s tail—his tail—on his head. With his tail returned, Churchill feels like himself again, and he throws a party to apologize to his neglected friends. Debut author-illustrator Sandu has crafted a fine addition to the piggy picture-book canon. The silly cartoon illustrations of Churchill with his various tails are sure to make toddlers giggle. And the tale’s themes of individuality, identity and forgiveness are nicely presented.

Hope for much more from Sandu. (Picture book. 3-8)

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INTERVIEWS & PROFILES

Kadir Nelson

THE STAR AUTHOR-ILLUSTRATOR’S NEW BOOK REMINDS US WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HOME

By Jennifer M. Brown

Photo courtesy David Harrison

On the surface, Kadir Nelson’s mesmerizing oil paintings for a picture book about a baby bear’s attempt to find home may not seem to have a lot in common with his previous works. Readers might think first of his Sibert Medal–winning history of the Negro Baseball Leagues, We Are the Ship; or the multigenerational history unspooled by the eloquent grandmother figure in Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans; or his captivating artwork for Henry’s Freedom Box: A True Story and his Caldecott Honor–winning artwork for Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom. But in all of these books, his characters embark on a journey—many of a physical nature, but all of a spiritual nature.

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The hero of Baby Bear is lost, but he does not search for his mother, father or family. He searches for home. Each animal the cub encounters in the dark of night offers suggestions to point him in the right direction. As Kirkus wrote in a starred review, “Strung together, these gems could stand as a guide to life for readers of all ages: Retrace your steps.

Trust yourself. Hug a tree. Listen to your heart.

Climb a little higher. Sing a song. Look up and keep going.” Nelson thinks of this as a story of self-discovery. “What is the definition of home?” he asks.

“For this story, home is really about finding your spiritual home. These animals are like the people in our lives who give us advice. But no one can tell you the way. You have to discover it for yourself.”

The cub makes his way at night, and the velvety backdrops of midnight blue along the riverbank and the forest’s aqua green call to mind Nelson’s nighttime scenes from Moses. The night feels alive with possibilities for Baby Bear. “The challenge was how to give a variety of nighttime images a mix of not just color variation, but also perspectives and lighting,” Nelson explains. “If you’ve ever watched a full moon, it actually does change color. At the horizon when it’s rising, it’s very orange; it follows the colors of the rainbow almost. I ended up moving through the colors of the rainbow. It helped a lot when it came to altering the palette for each scene or each encounter.”

Nelson prefers to work in watercolor and pencil, as he did in his earlier works, but he’s had to move to oil paintings out of necessity. “When I was working with watercolors, I was at a dry table, and it took a toll on my neck, bent over for hours on end,” he explains. “For 10 years I did that, and it got taxing. I

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was literally trying to save my neck.” Nelson said he also looked forward to using larger canvases, which he does with his oil paintings.

In one of the book’s rare wordless spreads, Baby Bear’s face dominates the entire painting as he looks up at the full moon and we see it reflected back in his eyes. This immediately follows his encounter with Owl, who tells Baby Bear, “I am here with you.

You only need look up and keep going.” The artwork throughout reinforces Owl’s words, with an opening image of the moonrise and Owl soaring in the sky, and the feeling is implicit that Owl could be floating above each scene. Baby Bear’s expression with the reflected full moon in his eyes is one of complete trust. “There are a couple of images here that I knew I really looked forward to doing,” Nelson recalls. “I had them in my head from the beginning.”

The author-artist remembers sitting at the Caldecott-Newbery banquet in 2008 in Anaheim when Laura Amy Schlitz delivered her speech. He remembers her description of a mythical bear, her companion bear-spirit. “She described encountering this bear in the forest and the moonlight ‘poured into the clearing like a giant bowl of milk.’ It was such a powerful image, so visceral that I couldn’t get it out of my head,” he says. He didn’t yet have the idea for Baby Bear, but he says, “that’s the image that inspired the scene of Baby Bear and the owl in the clearing.” Nelson also knew that he wanted to paint that portrait of Baby Bear looking up in response to Owl and for children to see in the cub’s eyes a reflection of what Baby Bear sees.

On a visit to Hawaii, on the Big Island at night, Nelson took in the view of the sky with no cars and very few lights. He could see the Milky Way and every star. “The feeling I got from that was the feeling Owl describes: I felt I wasn’t alone,” Nelson explains.

“Baby Bear looks up and sees he’s not alone. He’s comforted by that blanket of stars. I hope viewers will feel that sense of love and connectedness.” He likens the expression on Baby Bear’s face to the feeling he gets when he looks into the eyes of his children. “It’s hard to describe,” says Nelson. “It feels like pure truth and love when you look into a child’s eyes. It’s a sense of deep connection—like looking into the eyes of God.” For the last leg of Baby Bear’s journey, Salmon (after making Baby Bear “promise not to eat me”) guides the cub across the river. “A lot of this story is about |

harmony,” Nelson says. “We can overcome our animal selves by reaching higher. That’s what Baby Bear is doing: He’s reaching higher.”

On that final spread, when Baby Bear has made that last climb up, the hero says, “I am home.” Readers turn to the endpapers and see the sunrise. The image echoes the opening scene of the moonrise.

We see most of the animals the cub met on his way.

“You’re seeing what he’s seeing,” Nelson says. “He’s seeing the sun rise over his home and realizes he’s always been home. He doesn’t have anything to fear.”

Jennifer M. Brown is the children’s editor of Shelf Awareness and the director of the Center for Children’s Literature at the Bank Street College of Education in New York City.

Baby Bear was reviewed in the Nov. 15, 2013, issue of Kirkus Reviews.

BABY BEAR Nelson, Kadir Illus. by Nelson, Kadir Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (40 pp.) $27.95 | Jan. 7, 2014 978-0-06-224172-6

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ANNA CARRIES WATER

night and have easy access to cars. A quick read with a worthy message: We are all recovering from something, and the right companions can help you heal.

The wrong ones could kill you. (Fiction. 13-17)

Senior, Olive Illus. by James, Laura Tradewind Books (40 pp.) $18.95 | Feb. 1, 2014 978-1-896580-60-9

Anna, the youngest in a large family, desperately wants to carry her coffee can of water on her head.

She doesn’t yet have this skill that all her siblings have mastered. Why, Karen can even read while she carries a water container on her head, a detail noted in the exuberant paintings accompanying the simple text, ideal for reading aloud. There is another problem. Anna is afraid of the cows in Mr. Johnson’s field, near the spring. One day, when she is trailing way behind the others, Anna just starts running away from her bovine enemies (very peaceful creatures, as depicted in the illustrations). Her whole family comes to find her, and they all witness a grand sight: Anna running with her full can on her head and not spilling a single drop! James, of Antiguan background, allows her bold acrylic paintings in tropical colors to sprawl across wide double-page spreads of lush Caribbean landscapes. The hummingbirds and butterflies add a bit of whimsy to Anna’s cover portrait. While not mentioned in the text, the Jamaican flag is seen on the wall of a country store, and the author was born there.

When water easily comes out of a faucet, young readers rarely think about the difficult chore of carrying water, but they will empathize with Anna’s desire to reach an important milestone. (Picture book. 4-6)

SKIN AND BONES

Shahan, Sherry Whitman (240 pp.) $16.99 | Mar. 1, 2014 978-0-8075-7397-6

Shahan tackles eating disorders in a fastpaced, contemporary coming-of-age novel.

Jack (5 feet 6 inches and 103 pounds, aka “Bones”) is the new kid on the Eating Disorders Unit block; his compulsiveovereater roommate, “Lard” Kowlesky, is back for another round of treatment and is full of helpful advice about where to hide out and hang out. Jack is just settling in when lovely but deathly thin ballerina Alice arrives via wheelchair and draws him into her personal web of starvation secrecy. Full of tips and tricks of the eating-disorder trade, the story incorporates multiple issues and dramas: recreational drugs and smoking, emerging sexuality, bullying, sexual abuse— and even a little mystery, as Jack discovers hidden scraps of a story left behind by a previous, anonymous EDU resident. The pace quickens as Alice manipulates all in her quest to lose more weight, a joy ride turns dark, and Jack’s life depends on the choices he makes. Adult characters are well-meaning but somewhat distant; the edgy banter may help readers refrain from questioning a residential rehab program where teens roam at 90

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BABY’S GOT THE BLUES

Shields, Carol Diggory Illus. by Tobia, Lauren Candlewick (32 pp.) $16.99 | Mar. 11, 2014 978-0-7636-3260-1 A baby sings the blues, naming his many woes in each verse: wet diapers, mushy meals, legs that don’t walk quite yet and nap time in a crib that feels more like a cage.

Baby endures misery after little misery, while his nearly featureless face relays astonishment, mute pleading and chagrined surrender. Who wants to be stuck in a sling on someone’s back, anyway? Older siblings might finally find some empathy for the babies in their lives—and a few laughs too. The brilliant incongruity of a baby and blues music (usually featuring soured romance, bum luck and booze) hits all the right comedic notes.

Baby’s refrain, repeated after each demoralizing episode, howls out for a singalong: B-A-B-Y, baby, Got those…baby blues. Tobia’s pen-and-ink illustrations beg for repeat visits too, with their refreshing portrayal of a bustling urban family. This mama, sporting a tattoo, tank top and a messy ponytail, takes big sister and baby to a pizza-place play date and then a walk along New York City’s High Line. Eye-squinting details (polka dots on the underside of a stuffed bunny’s ears, a paisley pattern on a blanket, etc.) and vivid colors energize these wonderfully ordinary scenes of moms and small children.

A final verse brings lots of kisses and a smile to baby’s face—an unusual end to a blues song, but perfect for this ballad about an infant’s everyday frustrations. (Picture book.

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BEAR’S BIG BOTTOM

Smallman, Steve Illus. by Yarlett, Emma Capstone Young Readers (32 pp.) $14.95 | Feb. 1, 2014 978-1-62370-118-5 Sometimes, good things come in big packages.

He’s friendly and sweet, with “little paws and little feet.” But Bear’s big bottom gets him into all kinds of trouble. When he plays on the seesaw, he sends smaller animal friends into outer space. He fills the couch from side to side, threatening to squish them all, and empties the pool with a single splash. At least he’s easy for all of them to find.

Bear wrecks Squirrel’s birthday bash when he accidentally

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“It is all a cumulative contagion of catastrophe, with few words to interrupt the proceedings, just an eyeful of cockamamie consequences.” froms slam!

smashes all the presents and sits on the cake. After his friends scold him, the devastated Bear runs away into the woods. His friends search high and low; for once, they can’t find him, not-socleverly concealed as part of a tree. Things take a dangerous turn when they call into a cave and a fox leaps out, chasing them and trying to bite their bottoms. Bear hears their cries for help, but he’s kind of stuck. Luckily, his silhouette against the tree looks like a monster, and that’s enough to scare away the fox.

In a funny way, Bear’s big bottom has saved the day. Smallman’s crisp rhyming text is in tune with Yarlett’s bright and sometimes goofy illustrations. It’s hard not to laugh at the difference in scale, and snippets of dialogue incorporated into the illustrations add to the fun.

Solid lesson neatly presented. (Picture book. 3-5)

FERAL CURSE

Smith, Cynthia Leitich Candlewick (272 pp.) $17.99 | Feb. 11, 2014 978-0-7636-5910-3 Series: Feral, 2 Campy humor is paired with themes of social justice in this fast-paced, clever second volume in the Feral series.

As this installment opens, a teen Texan werecat named Kayla is poised to lose her virginity to her loving boyfriend, Ben—daring to expose herself to him as a shifter despite her fear that he’ll reject her. Sadly, he does turn out to view her as so many others in this imagined society view werepersons: as someone whose difference requires saving instead of celebrating. In a misguided effort to cure her, he sets into motion a strange sort of curse that results in his death. It also involves enchanted animal figures from a carousel and a variety of shifters who are suddenly, inexplicably drawn to Kayla in different ways, including Yoshi, the werecat protagonist of Feral Nights (2013). The details here are sometimes too complicated, leading to mouthfuls such as, “Either the reversal won’t work…or the spell will draw the magically contaminated shifters to the carousel.” However, the dynamics among characters are fascinating and are well-served by the first-person narration alternating between Yoshi and Kayla.

A neat, smart middle novel that clearly sets the stage for an epic showdown between those who champion the rights of shifters and those blind to their humanity. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)

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A CATFISH TALE A Bayou Story of the Fisherman and His Wife

Stewart, Whitney Illus. by Guerlais, Gerald Whitman (32 pp.) $16.99 | Mar. 1, 2014 978-0-8075-1098-8

A saucy version of the traditional tale of the fisherman and his wife, set in the Louisiana bayou.

Jacques loves to fish among the cypress knees while his wife, Jolie, cooks up gumbo and “[sings] so true, even the cicadas [hush] up to listen.” Life changes quickly, though, when Jacques catches a magic catfish, and Jolie makes him request a nice house and then a paddle-wheeler where she can sing for her adoring fans. Next, she asks to be made queen of Mardi Gras and finally, queen of the bayou. Always, the catfish smiles and says: “Ah, tooloulou—if that ain’t the easiest thing to do.” When Jolie’s powerful voice stirs up a hurricane, she understands her mistake and asks Jacques to make one more wish, returning her to her happy life singing in a shack on the bayou, devoted husband by her side. The dialect is not overdone here, and only a few Cajun French words are tossed in for atmosphere. The Louisiana setting is cleverly woven right into the details of the story—the magic catfish, paddle-wheeler, Mardi Gras, etc.— and the rich illustrations in blue and green tones bring the bayou, the river and the city to life.

This fresh Cajun twist on an archetypal tale will win fans down the bayou and well beyond. (glossary, seafood gumbo recipe) (Picture book/fairy tale. 4-8)

SLAM! A Tale of Consequences Stower, Adam Illus. by Stower, Adam Owlkids Books (32 pp.) $17.95 | Mar. 15, 2014 978-1-77147-007-0

A boy slams a door. This is not latebreaking news.

Unless the slam dislodges a red, rubber ball that has been stuck in the second-story gutter, which falls on the cat sleeping in the yard, that whereupon jumps on the lady’s head, spilling her bag of groceries, the eggs in which splatter on the face of the gentleman out for a walk—he could use the exercise—pulling his bulldog on a skateboard behind him, which rolls off down a hill and causes the fish-delivery truck to lose its cargo of slippery, slimy things, which ruins the sewer workers’ midmorning break, which rouses the dragon in the sewer, which scares the aliens, which causes the circus strongman to get three ice cream cones mashed onto his bald head. Meanwhile, the door-slammer is oblivious, walking just a step ahead of the tide of chaos, ears safely protected from the din by earphones. It is all a cumulative contagion of catastrophe, with few words to interrupt the

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proceedings, just an eyeful of cockamamie consequences. This story will be left up to the teller’s panache, aided and abetted by Stower’s crazy art happenings, strangely but effectively drawn with a palette of candy-heart colors and with teeming action on every page.

Not a lullaby by any stretch, but good for a guffaw. (Picture book. 3-7)

BUSY BUNNY DAYS In the Town, On the Farm & At the Port Teckentrup, Britta Illus. by Teckentrup, Britta Chronicle (56 pp.) $17.99 | Feb. 25, 2014 978-1-4521-1700-3

Bright-eyed, neatly drawn little animals in human dress crowd three successive settings from morning to night in this low-key seek-and-find import originally published in Germany as three separate, standalone titles.

Each section opens with a pictorial cast page that introduces Dr. and Mrs. Bunny, their two little bunnies and about 50 different or recurring fellow residents—including Benny Badger or, as he’s repeatedly styled, “that pesky/sneaky/lazy/unruly Benny Badger.” Teckentrup provides three questions on each spread as invitations to initial engagements with the pictures.

These range from “Oh no! Who is slipping on a banana peel?” or “Where is Henry Hound fishing now?” to repeated headsups that Benny can be caught in some misbehavior like lounging lazily on a bench or trying to steal a chicken. Viewers who keep looking will see plenty of other activity, though aside from the odd small fire or other minor mishap, the action runs to easily identifiable playtimes, farm chores, meals, sightseeing and other quotidian occupations.

There’s plenty to reward nose-to-page viewing, but even Richard Scarry fans may find this a little dull. (Picture book. 3-5)

THE LAST WILD

Torday, Paul Viking (336 pp.) $16.99 | Mar. 18, 2014 978-0-670-01554-2 This fantasy journey with a postapocalyptic setting combines a great fondness for animals with an appreciation of the freakish.

Kester’s spent the past six years at Spectrum Hall Academy for Challenging Children, a penal institution with a Roald Dahl vibe. Spectrum Hall jails kids who steal or eat too much. Kester hasn’t spoken since his mother died, but is he imprisoned for that? Food is 92

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“bright pink gloop” that always, always tastes like prawn-cocktail crisps. The whole country eats this corporate-manufactured formula, since the red-eye virus killed all animals except useless varmints and contaminated all crops and vegetables. In this bleak environment, Kester befriends a cockroach—who, with hundreds of fellow cockroaches, busts Kester out of jail one shocking day through a fetid drain. Pigeons carry him to a “wild,” a group of free wild animals in hiding. Although he can’t speak aloud, Kester can communicate silently with varmints and animals. The red-eye is real, the animals are dying, and Kester must evade a murderous, stereotypically disabled bad guy and ride a majestic stag cross-country (with the cockroach and other critters) to reach his veterinarian father, who might have a cure. Present-tense narration creates immediacy and emphasizes Kester’s limited knowledge.

Although Kester’s a classic special-kid-who-doesn’tknow-it, the reserved narrative tone and tender yet peculiar view of animals give this piece its own offbeat flavor. (map) (Fantasy. 8-12)

MR. BALL MAKES A TO-DO LIST

Townsend, Michael Illus. by Townsend, Michael Blue Apple (88 pp.) $12.99 | Feb. 11, 2014 978-1-60905-365-9

A manic Pac-Man lookalike loves making to-do lists, but he has a certain amount of trouble (read: major difficulties) following through.

Townsend adopts a thoroughly overcaffeinated style conveyed in loud colors! huge sound effects! helpful directions for readers (“THIS BOOK STARTS HERE”) and exclamation points aplenty! He bounces his globular, easily distractible taskmeister through two days of slacking off after good starts—culminating in an attempt to hug an angry bear that Mr. Ball survives only thanks to a rather-too-eager skunk. Enter Mr. Ball’s animal friends, who assure him that “You really are a smelly stink-monster!” but fall into an exuberant group hug once he washes off the reek in tomato sauce. That sauce also comes in handy for the last item on his agenda, which is having dinner: One pot of spaghetti later, his whole to-do list is at last “To-done!”

A wild romp, with the volume turned up to 11. (Graphic early reader. 5-7)

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“Van Wright turns the whole silly affair into a hilarious romp with easy, breezy language that captures the essence of little boys (or little alligators).” from when an alien meets a swamp monster

WHEN AN ALIEN MEETS A SWAMP MONSTER

Van Wright, Cornelius Illus. by Van Wright, Cornelius Nancy Paulsen Books (32 pp.) $16.99 | Feb. 20, 2013 978-0-399-25623-3

First impressions based on wild speculation and leaps of imagination can be misleading, but fun and friendship can result.

J.T. Boi sets out on an adventure wearing a helmet and goggles and riding his scooter, which is equipped with “[v]erometric outerhull stabilizers.” He speeds down the hill and lands in a muddy swamp, where he comes face to face with a terrifying monster. Alik is really an alligator who was reading his comic book, Attack of the Aliens, when he was interrupted and frightened out of his wits by what looked to be the very alien he was reading about. They scream and run home in panic. They are met with utter disbelief by their respective siblings, so they head back to the swamp, where they meet in an outcome that is “[t]oo totally AWESOME!” Van Wright turns the whole silly affair into a hilarious romp with easy, breezy language that captures the essence of little boys (or little alligators). The type’s font is varied to reflect the levels of hysteria and panic, and it is set in the delightfully named “Delicious and Dynamo.” Largescale watercolor-and-pencil illustrations are appropriately goofy and perfectly depict the high-speed action and the rampant emotions of the characters. Small details add to the fun as young readers notice Boi’s low-slung shorts, Alik’s brother’s science book by Dr. Spekulate and Boi’s sister’s popped bubble gum.

Total laugh-out-loud joy. (Picture book. 3-7)

INSANITY

Vaught, Susan Bloomsbury (368 pp.) $17.99 | Feb. 18, 2014 978-1-59990-784-0 A psychiatric hospital in Never, Ky., forms the locus for all sorts of occult and paranormal activities.

Forest has just aged out of the fostercare system and is new on the job at Lincoln Psychiatric, hoping to earn enough money to get to college. Darius has also just taken a job at Lincoln to save money for college. Trina is Darius’ girlfriend, and she leaves college to take an internship at Lincoln. And Levi— since Levi was murdered and then brought back to life (sort of) by his grandmother, “granny-woman” Imogene—has haunted the halls of Lincoln, helping the recently dead “cross over” and keeping tabs on all of the malevolent spirits that Lincoln seems to attract. Though born at and living in different times, the four teens converge for a series of paranormal adventures. In four linked novellas, each teen tells a story of utmost creepiness, but |

aside from the locale and atmosphere, there is little overarching logic. The paranormal knack that comes with “Madoc blood”— descent from the Welsh prince who, according to folklore, came to the New World in 1170—is one element, but there’s also witchcraft and plenty of garden-variety evil. The central question of exactly what makes Lincoln such a magnet for ghosts, haints, shades and whatnot is never satisfactorily addressed.

Readers content to do without the plotted throughline of a novel will find plenty of effective horror set pieces here.

(Horror. 14 & up)

BOUNDARIES How the Mason-Dixon Line Settled a Family Feud and Divided a Nation

Walker, Sally M. Candlewick (208 pp.) $24.99 | Mar. 11, 2014 978-0-7636-5612-6

In this richly layered, thoroughly researched history of the Mason-Dixon Line, Walker crisscrosses the boundaries of geography, culture, economics, science, mathematics, politics and religion to reveal that drawing lines is as likely to cause conflict as settle it.

The story of the boundary lines surveyed between 1763 and 1767 by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon is just one thread of this sweeping historical chronicle. The storied boundary is most associated with the divide between the North and the South and the bloody history wrought by that line, but Walker reveals a fascinating and complicated history of exploration, family feuds, persecution, ideological conflicts, scientific experimentation and advancement, and the forging of a national identity. Beginning in the 16th century and ending in the present, the account of the Mason-Dixon Line often serves as a window into some of the pivotal developments of American history. The author ably makes the case that “[t]he many boundary journeys found in the complete story of the Mason-Dixon Line are relevant today.” Abundant use is made of quotations from primary sources, and many photographs and archival images enrich the narrative.

A thoughtful, insightful, challenging and extensively researched chronicle of United States history and the shaping of national identity from a unique perspective. (maps, photographs, source notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction.

12 & up)

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“While the Mad Max–esque raiders and zombielike beasts…seem to be standard post-apocalyptic fare, Wiggins poignantly raises issues of transformation and redemption.” from cured

OTTER OUT OF WATER

the narrative seems more interested in satiric digs at modern concepts of play than in Sophie; in addition to the talking alphabet blocks, there’s Sophie’s Push-Me-Pull-You Motorcycle and the Learning Curve Toy Shop.

A worthy topic and a capable concept that barely miss the mark. (Picture book. 2-6)

Wargin, Kathy-jo Illus. by Bendall-Brunello, John Sleeping Bear Press (32 pp.) $15.95 | Feb. 2, 2014 978-1-58536-431-2

The age-old trope of an animal following someone home is taken to new levels in this look at an otter out of water.

An otter in the water is a fascinating creature, but what if he leaves the water? What if he stays out and follows you home?

Two children experience just such a thing in Wargin’s imaginative verse. A ranger finally tracks the otter to the children’s house, but will he stay away? Probably not—too much fun has been had. Unfortunately, the verse doesn’t always scan well either rhythmically or visually; the rhyming words are set in a larger font, but some are on the right-hand pages and some on the left, and often lines are split in two to fit the page layout.

The result is often confusing and may trip readers up instead of helping them along. “What if the otter / remains in your house? / Would he bounce / on the chairs? / Would he skid / down the stairs? // Would he swing / on the curtains / that hang in / neat pairs? / Do you think an otter belongs in the house?” This otter is sure to remind readers of the beloved mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, but this tries too hard to rhyme, and the story gets a bit lost in the telling.

Stick with Numeroff for her if-then tales, and look to Eric Pinder and Marc Brown’s If All the Animals Came Inside and Judi Barrett’s romps for more animals-acting-likepeople humor. (Picture book. 3-7)

SOPHIE’S TERRIBLE TWOS

Wells, Rosemary Illus. by Wells, Rosemary Viking (32 pp.) $16.99 | Feb. 25, 2014 978-0-670-78512-4

CURED

Wiggins, Bethany Walker (320 pp.) $17.99 | Mar. 4, 2014 978-0-8027-3420-4 Jack Bloom leaves behind a sheltered, if slightly warped, suburban life to seek missing brother Dean and Mrs. Tarsis, the woman Dean tried to lead to safety, in this simmering sequel to Stung (2013).

Exercise and rationing have turned Jack from a chubby and sensitive child into a hardened survivalist, but even three years of deprivation—delivered in flashbacks—outside the safety of the walled city of Denver cannot successfully transform Jacqui Aislynn Bloom into a boy. As in the first book, women are a hot commodity, and Jack is doubly endangered when she travels with fierce but feminine Fiona “Fo” Tarsis to find their missing family members. Accompanied by Fo’s beau, Dreyden Bowen, and Fo’s emotionally and physically scarred brother, Jonah, the girls soon add another man—the sexy but enigmatic Kevin—to their group as they run into raiders, romantic entanglements and other typical teen dystopian troubles. While the Mad Max–esque raiders and zombielike beasts (children transformed into murderous monsters by their vaccines against the bee flu) seem to be standard post-apocalyptic fare, Wiggins poignantly raises issues of transformation and redemption.

Despair and destruction are sweetened by hope and love. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

BOOKMARKS ARE PEOPLE TOO!

It’s Sophie’s birthday, but nothing seems right to this headstrong 2-year-old until Granny saves the day in this rote

offering from Wells.

When Sophie wakes up, she refuses to answer her mother’s cheerful questions or to wear her special birthday dress. Her father’s gift is a disappointment, and she’s too picky to eat.

After the unappreciative toddler shows disdain for Granny’s present (a set of Talking, Blinking Alphabet Blocks), the two set out on a walk. Granny, astute as ever, finds the perfect cure for Sophie’s dudgeon: a tiger costume with which Sophie can express all her terribleness! The sabre-tooth suit makes for one acceptable solution, as Sophie happily celebrates her big milestone. Mixed-media illustrations in a pastel palette showcase adept brushwork and beautiful use of pattern. However, both the narrative and illustrations miss the usual comedic beats and deftness of skill that Wells is so capable of producing. At times, 94

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Winkler, Henry; Oliver, Lin Illus. by Garrett, Scott Grosset & Dunlap (128 pp.) $14.99 | $4.99 paper | Feb. 14, 2014 978-0-448-48239-2 978-0-448-47997-2 paper Series: Here’s Hank, 1 Hank Zipzer, poster boy for dyslexic middle graders everywhere, stars in a new prequel series highlighting second-grade trials and triumphs.

Hank’s hopes of playing Aqua Fly, a comic-book character, in the upcoming class play founder when, despite plenty of coaching and preparation, he freezes up during tryouts. He is not particularly comforted when his sympathetic teacher adds

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a nonspeaking role as a bookmark to the play just for him. Following the pattern laid down in his previous appearances as an older child, he gets plenty of help and support from understanding friends (including Ashley Wong, a new apartment-house neighbor). He even manages to turn lemons into lemonade with a quick bit of improv when Nick “the Tick” McKelty, the sneering classmate who took his preferred role, blanks on his lines during the performance. As the aforementioned bully not only chokes in the clutch and gets a demeaning nickname, but is fat, boastful and eats like a pig, the authors’ sensitivity is rather one-sided. Still, Hank has a winning way of bouncing back from adversity, and like the frequent black-and-white line-and-wash drawings, the typeface is designed with easy legibility in mind.

An uncomplicated opener, with some funny bits and a clear but not heavy agenda. (Fiction. 7-9)

DIGGER AND DAISY GO ON A PICNIC

Young, Judy Illus. by Sullivan, Dana Sleeping Bear Press (32 pp.) $9.99 | $4.99 paper | Feb. 1, 2014 978-1-58536-843-3 978-1-58536-844-0 paper Series: Digger and Daisy, 2 In Digger and Daisy’s second outing, Digger learns that—all appearances to the contrary—sometimes it is best to have a nose full of dirt.

Digger and Daisy, the two chummy canine siblings—as canine siblings, unlike certain other species, are wont to be— decide to go for a picnic. While Daisy is happy to take in nature with her eyes, her younger brother likes to exercise his nose.

The words in this early reader have a nice levitating quality, even in the unlikeliest of places—“Digger likes to smell everything.

He puts his nose in the hole. Digger sniffs. He sniffs dirt up his nose. Digger snuffs. He snuffs more dirt up his nose”—which make them fun to engage with. After Digger has gotten a good whiff of the flowers and the cooling pie and the franks on the grill, all of which raise a note of concern from Daisy for one reason or another, and after Digger gets his nose clogged for being, as it were, too nosy, the story reverses gears. It retraces its steps but now with the world of scent closed to Digger’s jam-packed nostrils. It’s almost Shakespearean, until the skunk arrives on the scene, its dashing black-and-white look a fine counterpart to the waxy crayon sheen of the rest of Sullivan’s artwork.

A stink can come between the coziest of siblings from time to time, but rarely are they so sweet as Daisy and Digger. (Early reader. 4-8)

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board -book roundup PANTONE COLOR PUZZLES 6 Color-Matching Puzzles

abramsappleseed Illus. by Carpenter, Tad abramsappleseed (12 pp.) $16.95 | Oct. 1, 2013 978-1-4197-0939-5

Another overdesigned board book, with puzzle pieces this time, from PANTONE, the company that creates the widely used color matching system.

Each double-page spread focuses on one color of the rainbow.

The left-hand side is a full-page, graphically minded scene using a variety of hues of the color in question. On the facing pages, the PANTONE chips make their appearance, four shades occupying the four quadrants of the page separated by a bold white line in typical PANTONE fashion. Both sides of each page spread carry four shaped indentations to hold abstract puzzle shapes made of paperboard. Featuring machines that go on the left, the red spread has pieces that become the door and siren on a fire truck.

These same pieces fit into slots labeled “Stop Sign Red / PANTONE 485” and “Brick Red / PANTONE 7627” on the right.

While the cartoon tableaux are droll, the use of PANTONE numbers will make little sense to youngsters. The puzzle pieces themselves are relatively easy to get in and out once loosened, but, after a few readings, they will likely flake at the edges if they are not lost altogether. The small pieces force this message on the back cover: “WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD—Small parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.”

While the puzzle gimmick may hold youngsters’ interest for a few readings, it is unlikely to have a long shelf life.

(Board book. 3-4)

BABY LOVES COLORS

Aikins, Dave Illus. by Aikins, Dave Grosset & Dunlap (12 pp.) $6.99 | Aug. 29, 2013 978-0-448-47790-9 Series: Sassy

A baby’s introduction to red, green, yellow, orange and blue from Sassy, a well-known manufacturer of baby toys.

Each spread presents a full page of the color in question on the left with a bold caption in white and a selection of five objects in the featured hue on the right. The orange pages, for example, depict cartoon illustrations, with subtle tactile embossing, of a butterfly, a goldfish, an orange, a pumpkin and a couple of carrots. Some of the art incorporates the black-and-white stripes and checkerboard patterns often found on Sassy toys. Also in the series are three other titles that use Sassy’s signature bold

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colors and patterns. Who Says? (978-0-448-47789-3) presents animal sounds; Baby’s World (978-0-448-47788-6) introduces the five senses with tactile features and a scratch-and-sniff element; and Baby Sees (978-0-448-47787-9) uses black-and-white cartoons of various people and animals and has a Mylar mirror on the final page.

While neither this book nor the series as a whole is particularly “sassy” in attitude, it is simple and direct enough to catch the eyes of the very, very young. (Board book. 3-18 mos.)

MOUSTACHE UP! A Playful Game of Opposites

Ainsworth, Kimberly Illus. by Roode, Daniel Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (16 pp.) $7.99 | Jul. 23, 2013 978-1-4424-7526-7 Youngsters can mix and match detachable mustaches onto simple black-and-white face icons.

A large pocket holds three paperboard sheets of 12 mustaches in total, which can be detached from the perforated pages.

Mustaches of opposite qualities are paired on each page spread: “Moustache UP and moustache DOWN. / Which ’stache covers up a frown?” The left-hand side of each spread has die-cut notches where the tabs protruding from the top of each mustache can be inserted over an illustration of said mustache. Included on this side of the spread is a subtly comic, knowingly retro cartoon of a man sporting one of the mustaches. The right-hand page holds a full-page cartoon face with one notch so the mustache of choice can be inserted. The verse and art seem to point to a correct mustache for each face, but youngsters will likely enjoy experimenting with various facial-hair arrangements. Some of the interchangeable mustaches, the backs of which sport a descriptive word (straight, curly, smooth, rough, etc.) to help with matching, are sturdier than others, and a couple of the thinner ones will be easily torn and the smaller ones easily lost.

These multiple, small accessories make it inappropriate for the typical board-book audience or for library circulation, but this offering will likely appeal to readers who appreciate a quirky and stylized design aesthetic and books with interactive features. (Board book. 3-5)

ABC ANIMALS

American Museum of Natural History Sterling (18 pp.) $7.95 | Sep. 3, 2013 978-1-4549-0386-4

whose name begins with each letter and a factoid about that animal. A chimpanzee, for example, hangs upside down from a large letter C against a bright orange background. The text reads: “Chimpanzees kiss when they meet each other.” Placed against a solid background and next to enormous letters, the animal images are visually striking, but they definitely lose a sense of scale. The bright blue morpho butterfly, for example, is nearly as large as the chimpanzee it shares a page with. Though some of the selected animals will be familiar to kids—such as the lion, penguin, tiger and zebra—other, more exotic creatures abound. Readers will find, for example, that O is not for owl or ox, but for okapi, an animal with legs “like a zebra’s” but “more closely related to giraffes.” Aside from a couple of duds, the oneto two-sentence facts provided about each animal are generally kid-friendly and interesting.

Best for animal-obsessed preschoolers who have long mastered lions, tigers and bears and are ready to progress to nudibranches, quetzals and X-ray tetra fish. Oh my.

(Board book. 2-5)

MY BLANKIE

Beauvisage, Alice Illus. by Beauvisage, Alice Simply Read (12 pp.) $6.95 | Aug. 9, 2013 978-1-927018-08-8 A youngster, likely a boy, demonstrates all the fun he can have with his

security blanket.

In various “let’s pretend” scenarios, he uses his blanket as a sail for a pirate ship, a tablecloth for a tea party or a cape for his “King of Rollerblading” costume. Each scene is depicted on one page with a simple first-person statement issued by the boy.

The art, which looks to be a collage of paper, fabric and pencil drawings, is too small in scale for the trim size of this nearly 6 1/2–inch-square board book. Three unnamed characters—a bear, a rabbit and a penguin who are likely the boy’s favorite stuffed animals—help flesh out the scenes. The boy himself is amateurishly drawn at times, and the blanket, an unappealing yellowish brown with red polka dots, looks stiff and neither soft nor cozy. A couple of the scenes are likely to go over the heads of the intended toddler audience, particularly one in which the blanket is depicted standing (if a blanket can be said to be standing) at the top of an Olympics-style victory podium as the text reads: “My blankie is a Super Blankie!”

For a more successful ode to security objects, stick with Carol Thompson’s Blankies (2013). (Board book. 2-3)

The stable of animal alphabet titles gets a little more crowded with this new contribution from the American Museum of Natural History.

This sturdy, oversized offering presents large, brightly colored capital letters accompanied by a photograph of an animal 96

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“…Biggs’ thick-lined cartoons in bright colors provide a clear counting experience for little ones and are playfully droll as goggled and wideeyed pilots and passengers are visible inside the various contraptions.” from everything goes: what flies in the air?

TWIN TROUBLE A Lift-the-Flap Story About Bears

Bently, Peter Illus. by Bently, Peter National Geographic (20 pp.) $9.99 | Sep. 24, 2013 978-1-4263-13615 Series: National Geographic Kids Wild Tales

Two bear cubs get themselves in a jam in this ineffective liftthe-flap story.

Bobby and Bella go off to meet relatives, and Bobby ends up taking a tumble into the river. Their aunt and cousins arrive just in the nick of time to rescue the cub and bring him home. Like others in the Wild Tales series, the story is mainly composed of the dialogue and features cute photos of critters grafted onto scenery painted with thick black lines. The flaps, which are unfinished brown cardboard on the verso, are a big distraction, and there is little rhyme or reason to their presence. They often block the view of the characters and rarely reveal anything new or surprising on their interiors. A companion book, Ella’s Bath (978-1-4263-1360-8), features a baby elephant playing a trick on a cheeky bird, cooling off in the mud and taking a bath. Again, the unfinished-looking flaps reveal little. A note to parents on the back covers of both offerings encourages interaction between youngster and grown-up.

National Geographic, known for its nonfiction publishing, provides little information to tots in this slight tale.

(Board book. 2-4)

HORSEY UP AND DOWN

Bernstein, Kei Illus. by Church, Caroline Jayne Cartwheel/Scholastic (12 pp.) $7.99 | Jul. 1, 2013 978-0-545-51204-6

subtitle claims this work is “A Book of Opposites,” with only three opposite concepts presented in 12 pages, it hardly qualifies as a concept book.

The playful gimmicks will keep readers turning the pages and asking for it again and again. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)

EVERYTHING GOES: WHAT FLIES IN THE AIR?

Biggs, Brian Illus. by Biggs, Brian Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (24 pp.) $7.99 | Nov. 1, 2013 978-0-06-195816-8 Series: Everything Goes A compelling collection of things that fly and a counting book all rolled into one.

On the opening double-page spread, “10 birds” fly across a bright blue sky. On subsequent pages, a seaplane, a balloon, a helicopter and more appear on the scene, and as they do, one bird leaves the flock to hitch a ride on the vehicle in question.

The text is simple, describing the number of birds still left to count and labeling the flying apparatus: “4 birds and a race plane.” This pattern continues with the appearance of a glider, a biplane, a Wright flyer and even a blimp, until only one bird is left solo on the page. While the end is a little anticlimactic, Biggs’ thick-lined cartoons in bright colors provide a clear counting experience for little ones and are playfully droll as goggled and wide-eyed pilots and passengers are visible inside the various contraptions.

A delightful addition to the Everything Goes book series; here’s hoping more vessels are not too far behind.

(Board book. 18 mos.-3)

EVERYTHING GOES: SANTA GOES EVERYWHERE!

A highly interactive, lightly conceptual board book.

The first of several movable components appears on the cover, which features a Caucasian toddler on a carousel horse that can move up and down via a sliding panel. Most of the consecutive pages present relatively sturdy tactile or interactive elements, all relating to horses. White and black toy horses sport velvety coats, and covering most of the final page of the book is a large flap that doubles as the door of a horse’s stall. Readers follow a toddler duo, a boy and girl pair with dark hair who could likely be fraternal twins, through a whole range of equinerelated settings. Church’s cartoons, drawn with black lines over lightly textured backgrounds, present the scenes with crystal clarity. The rhyming text is minimal, but it frames each scene nicely and is just enough for the youngest readers: “Horsey up. / Horsey down. // Horsey jumping all around. // Horsey white. / Horsey black. // Horsey rolling on the track.” While the |

Biggs, Brian Illus. by Biggs, Brian Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (24 pp.) $7.99 | Oct. 1, 2013 978-0-06-195817-5 Series: Everything Goes

Santa, his signature sack and a reindeer companion travel by a variety of means of transport to make some special deliveries.

Subsequent double-page spreads show Santa riding on a snowmobile, a canoe and a bus; at one point, he even water-skis behind a speedboat. The last two pages show Santa, sack now empty, flying on his reindeer and wishing the reader a “Merry Christmas!” Aside from this holiday greeting, the only text is a simple one-word caption naming Santa’s vehicle of the moment, so it is not entirely clear why Santa has ditched his iconic reindeer-drawn sleigh. Like others in the Everything Goes series, Biggs’ cartoons, all drawn with a chunky line, are bold and inviting. With a good variety of vehicles on display and plenty of

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“The endearing rhymes scan well and read quickly, a great combination for keeping little ones interested.” from barnyard baby

quirky humor, particularly the scene of Santa riding a bicycle with a pooped reindeer holding the oversized sack balanced on the handlebars, there is enough here to hold the interests of toddlers and their parents alike.

A fine yuletide choice for the vehicle-obsessed. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)

I LOVE YOU MORE

title, Little Dance (978-1-58536-884-6), follows the exact format.

However, its riddles are tougher, and while Little Halloween is gender-neutral, this one is clearly being marketed toward girls as it is drenched in pink and features girl dancers only.

Skip this one and check out Steven Kroll’s The Biggest Pumpkin Surprise Ever!, illustrated by Jeni Bassett (2012), for a gentle introduction to Halloween for little ones. (Board book. 2-4)

Braun, Sebastien Illus. by Braun, Sebastien Tiger Tales (20 pp.) $8.95 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-58925-620-0

BARNYARD BABY

A bear cub express its love for its grown-up as they play together in an inviting woodland.

One or two lines of verse are meted out on each double-page spread: “I love you more than sunshine. // I love you more than rain. // I love it when you swoop me high, / Then twirl me back again.”

Some of the scenes, typical of the baby/parent love-story trope, resonate well enough, but a few of the lines feel forced to fit the rhyme scheme (the little one hugs a stuffed rabbit as the text reads: “I love you more than Hare”). Braun collages loose sketches on lightly corrugated papers and captures the cozy and playful scenes beautifully. One Sleepy Night, also by Braun (978-1-58925-619-4), again stars this bear duo cavorting in the natural world, this time getting ready for bed. While the art here, with a darker palette for nighttime, is as playful and warm as the first title, the rhyming text follows a confusing formula. It appears to be a counting book, as the numbers count up, but this pattern is not consistent.

Here’s hoping Braun can find a talented versifier to mesh with his loving and lovable bears. (Board book. 1-3)

LITTLE HALLOWEEN

Brennan-Nelson, Denise Illus. by Urban, Helle Sleeping Bear Press (20 pp.) $8.99 | Aug. 1, 2013 978-1-58536-885-3 A sturdy little book of easy-to-solve Halloween riddles in rhyme.

Each page features a riddle in four rhyming lines, with the answer appearing on the back of the page. The rhymes, while uninspired and awkward, present riddles that are easily solvable by preschoolers, and the answers cover standard Halloween ground: Witches, ghosts, scarecrows, the moon, candy, costumes, cats, pumpkins, and trick or treat all make an appearance.

Each riddle is printed on a white rectangle positioned directly on top of an illustration, presumably so that the answer to the riddle is not revealed until the page is turned, but the design serves only to annoy readers (who are likely to mistake the rectangles for flaps and futilely try to grab them and move them out of the way). The illustrations are serviceable. A companion 98

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Broach, Elise Illus. by Doerrfeld, Cori LB Kids/Little, Brown (14 pp.) $7.99 | Aug. 6, 2013 978-0-316-21203-8 Broach’s eager toddler is back (Seashore Baby, 2010; Snowflake Baby, 2011) to explore another season—this time, fall on the farm.

Spare, poetic text describes a toddler’s busy autumn day, beginning with: “Barnyard baby / Autumn day / Sweater baby / Let’s go play.” The sweet, dynamic illustrations depict an exuberant toddler decked out in overalls, sweater and hat cheerfully pulling a wagon toward a barn door. For extra fun, the red barn door is a flap that lifts to reveal a cow and calf. The second double-page spread presents “Wagon baby / Marching legs / Henhouse baby / Finding eggs.” The henhouse door is the flap here, revealing a hen and three little chicks. Baby proceeds to feed the sheep, jump into a leaf pile, pick apples, sip cider and chase a cat. Finally, the tot dons flannel pajamas and cuddles up to sleep with the little puppy that’s been a faithful companion all day long. Children will enjoy following the baby’s journey through the busy fall day and discovering the animals hidden beneath the large, easy-to-grab flaps located on each right-hand page. The endearing rhymes scan well and read quickly, a great combination for keeping little ones interested.

This well-executed, toddler-friendly board book is a great introduction to fall and a perfect choice for one-onone or small group sharing. (Board book. 1-3) (Editor’s note: This review first appeared in Kirkus’ Best Children’s Books of 2013 supplement.)

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS— ASL

Child’s Play Illus. by Lewis, Anthony Child’s Play (12 pp.) $4.99 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-84643-626-0

Toddlers act out the classic song using American Sign Language.

Accompanied by a collection of toy buses, the youngsters on each double-page spread share one or two lines of “The Wheels on the Bus” and demonstrate the signs for key words (wheel, bus,

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wipers, etc.). Small italicized captions label them, and directional arrows provide guidance for performing the signs, but those learning ASL would be hard-pressed to learn these signs from the artwork alone. In an inviting Helen Oxenbury–like style, the little ones are drawn as simple cartoons in what looks like charcoal followed by a watercolor wash of muted and bold hues. Only the complete first verse is shared on the opening pages, and partial stanzas are included thereafter as a space-saving device. Also in the series, Old Macdonald (978-1-84643-6284) follows a similar format, with little ones sharing the signs and lyrics of the song surrounded by toys relating to the verse in question. On the last double-page spread, the toddlers sign the letters in “Ee I Ee I O!” Though they have equally appealing art, the three final books in the series have some flaws. Some of the captions for the signs are missing from Humpty Dumpty (978-184643-627-7). The action depicted here, of a tyke falling off a pillow “wall” and rescuers in dress-up clothes appearing on the scene, is nearly identical to the antics of another Child’s Play version of the rhyme illustrated by Annie Kubler (2010, 9781-84643-339-9). In Jack and Jill (978-1-84643-69-1), a little girl shares the sign for “house” when the word for “home” appears within the text in the song’s little-known second verse. A similar gang of young children act out the story of Five Little Ducks (978-1-84643-630-7) in this series’ version of the song instead of ducks, which concrete learners may find confusing.

This series is not for novice singers of these classic songs nor those new to ASL, but the experienced should find them a delightful tool to aid singing and signing. (Board book. 6-18 mos.)

GIGGLE!

Church, Caroline Jayne Illus. by Church, Caroline Jayne Cartwheel/Scholastic (10 pp.) $7.99 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-0-545-35082-2

MAISY’S FIRST NUMBERS

Cousins, Lucy Illus. by Cousins, Lucy Candlewick (32 pp.) $6.99 | Aug. 27, 2013 978-0-7636-6805-1

Maisy counts up to five in the simplest of concept books.

On the left page, each numeral and the written word for the number is presented starting with one. Across the gutter, Maisy interacts with one stripy tiger, two strolling tortoises, three spotted butterflies and so on. The oversized numeral is playfully presented with the markings of the animal in question; the number four, accompanied by four fish, is scaly and yellow, and the number five, shown with swirly snails, has spiral markings of similar hues. Cousins’ childlike cartoons using bold outlines and bright colors are as delightful as ever against solid backgrounds.

The last two pages review the numbers one through five, and the animals are clearly presented for easy counting. The companion title, Maisy’s First Colors (978-0-7636-6804-4), also presents concepts in an appropriately simplified form, focusing only on red, orange, yellow, green and blue. The name of the color, written in black in a large font, appears on the left page against a background of the hue in question. Here, Maisy’s animal playmates (Tallulah, Charley, Cyril and Eddie) aid the mouse in presenting four colorful fruits and one blue ice-pop. Again, the final page is a review of what has come before, with a rainbow clearly labeling all of the hues. Both titles use verse to describe the action; it mostly scans, despite one or two forced rhymes.

Cousins again proves she knows what works for the youngest of readers. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)

BABAR AND THE NEW BABY

Complete with laugh track, a bevy of toddlers enjoys playing together.

Readers can press a button, accessible on every page through a die-cut hole in the book, to hear a baby’s giggle that comes from a sound recording embedded in the book. In pastel colors, each single- or double-page spread shows cherubs hugging, smiling and moving in sketched cartoons against gently mottled backgrounds. While the kids appear to be of a variety of ethnicities, their skin tones are remarkably similar. Each scene is met with one or two lines of verse that start off playfully (“Laugh out loud or just giggle! / Feel a tickle in your middle!”), but the second-person point of view grows confusing; are adult readers speaking to their little ones via the text, or are the toddler characters speaking to one another? Since the battery pack for the sound mechanism takes up half of the available pages of the book, there are only really six scenes in the entire package.

Little ones will enjoy pressing the button, driving adults in earshot crazy in the process, but after the battery wears out, this title will likely be a shelf-sitter. (Board book. 1-3) |

de Brunhoff, Laurent Illus. by de Brunhoff, Laurent abramsappleseed (22 pp.) $7.95 | Sep. 3, 2013 978-1-4197-0620-2

A simplified and condensed version of Babar’s Little Girl (1987), starring Prin-

cess Isabelle.

Babar and Celeste welcome the new baby Isabelle to their family. The elephant calf grows from an infant to a toddler to preschooler in short order. She plays with her friends, enjoys adventure and exploration, and loves to dance and run, but most of all, she loves her family. The title is deceptive, since this is not Babar’s story, and Isabelle is only a baby for brief moment.

The slight, toddler-friendly text of no more than one to three sentences per page and the iconic, anthropomorphic pachyderms will hold the interest of little ones not quite ready for the length and, yes, the violence of the first Babar story. The companion title, Babar’s Lost and Found (978-1-4197-0981-4), is a condensed version of Babar Loses His Crown (1967) and is more faithful plotwise to its original text, revolving around a mix-up

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COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!

at the opera. While the text is longer and more complicated than its sister book, it is simple enough for youngsters to follow, and the cartoons are as fresh and accessible as ever.

A starter set for grown-up Babar fans who want to introduce the classic characters to their children. (Board book. 2-4)

COLORS

Deneux, Xavier Illus. by Deneux, Xavier Handprint/Chronicle (20 pp.) $14.99 | Oct. 1, 2013 978-1-4521-1726-3 Series: TouchThinkLearn A bold, graphic and tactile introduction to colors.

On the thicker-than-normal board pages, part of the page is cut away to create a shaped indentation. Glued to the facing page is part or all of the positive space that was cut from the other side. On the first spread, a red, raised apple is fixed to the left-hand page. The right side features the inside of the apple, which is evoked by the apple-shaped indentation with two seeds floating in the center. This inventive format works its way through the other hues, one of the most clever being a blue submarine paired with a submarine-shaped, white whale indentation. The minimal text simply labels one color per page. The last double-page spread features a collection of balloons that mesh with an artist’s palette on the facing page as the text asks, “So many colors! Which one is your favorite?” Using strong shades and solid and white backgrounds, Deneux’s style is clean, clear and graphically appealing. The companion title, Opposites (978-1-4521-1725-6), uses the same format, but the technique of matching negative and positive space is even more apropos here. Prime examples are the “empty” and “full” fishbowl and the “heavy” elephant paired with a “light” elephant-shaped cloud. Compromising the usefulness of both titles is the legal warning on the back of both books that states that it is not for children under 3.

This is a shame, as the mix of graphic simplicity and innovative tactile format would have made both of these delightful additions to the board-book canon; as it is, they represent choke hazards to babies and toddlers, who would most benefit from them. (Board book. 3-4)

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Eubank, Patricia Reeder Illus. by Eubank, Patricia Reeder Sterling (14 pp.) $7.95 | Oct. 1, 2013 978-1-4027-9982-2

Cuddlebear and his mama count his blessings in a candy-coated world.

This anthropomorphic bear counts from one to 10 the things (friends, family, food, home, etc.) he is thankful for in the lightly Thanksgiving-themed scenes. There are one or two flaps per page of various sizes that open to reveal a variety of images behind doors, windows, cupboards, rocks and more. An additional flap on the page has a numeral on the outside and provides an invitation on the interior to count various objects of said quantity on the page. Many of these objects are so small that they are impossible to locate and are blurry in the toodetailed, overbusy art. The sister book, Countdown to Christmas (978-1-4027-9983-9), reverses the process and takes readers from 10 to one as Little Reindeer eagerly counts off the days to Christmas. Again, the flaps on each page reveal elves and various critters getting ready for the big day at Santa’s workshop.

Numbers are written on flaps shaped like Christmas-tree ornaments, and below these flaps readers are encouraged to pinpoint various items. Again, many of these objects (particularly paint cans and snowballs) are difficult to find. Both the art and the text drip sentimentality.

Save young readers and would-be counters the frustration and don’t open these ineffective holiday packages.

(Board book. 2-4)

ALPHABLOCK

Franceschelli, Christopher Illus. by Peskimo abramsappleseed (104 pp.) $16.95 | Aug. 6, 2013 978-1-4197-0936-4 In this ABC book, shaped pages lead readers to corresponding objects.

The usual alphabet objects are presented here in the straightforward text: “A IS FOR... // APPLE.” The graphically appealing design devotes two double-page spreads to each letter. In the first spread, the right-hand side is a full-size, die-cut letter, while the left depicts a scene. A portion of the object, animal or person the featured letter stands for peeks through the die-cut openings; a cheery, red octopus smiles through the hole of the “O,” and the tail of a fish is visible from behind the “F.” Once the letter/page is turned, the background from the previous left-hand page blends seamlessly with the full double-page spread that’s revealed. The visual hints provide a playful guessing game for young readers, with a nice balance of the easily recognizable (the nose of a train emerges from behind the “T”) to the slightly more challenging (the handle of a pair of scissors sticks out from the middle of the “S”). With a pleasing, retro

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“As times passes, young readers will enjoy looking for the clock ticking off each hour until bedtime.” from time for a hug

feel, Peskimo’s art uses bold colors in a slightly muted hue and the weathered look of woodblock prints. The book’s construction is the only real concern, as 104 board pages are a lot for any binding. Will the die-cut letters survive the vigorous page turns of doubtless eager readers?

While the likely answer is no, this offering is still a visually captivating delight for careful little ones. (Board book.

2-4)

SHAPE WORK

George, Bobby; George, June Illus. by Nassner, Alyssa abramsappleseed (18 pp.) $9.95 | Aug. 6, 2013 978-1-4197-0935-7 Series: Montessori Montessori experts offer a handsome, in-depth exploration of shapes.

As the parent note on the verso of the cover states, the shapes are presented from the concrete to the abstract.

Three varieties of triangles, all with a tactile feature created by cutting away the top layer of the board page, are presented, allowing readers to feel and understand the geometric concept. On the following pages, these triangles are more specifically named (isosceles, equilateral and right-angled) and shown in their real-world contexts as an evergreen tree, the roof of a house and a sail on a boat, respectively. Rounds (circle, ellipse and oval) come next, followed by parallelograms and polygons presented in the same format. Nassner’s crystal-clear graphics in natural colors against faux wood grain, give the book much-needed warmth. This is an advanced take on shapes, with mathematically accurate vocabulary (“rhombus” is used rather than the more colloquial “diamond,” for example), and shapes are flipped and turned when presented as real-world objects (the egg-shaped “oval” is shown narrow end up in its abstract form and with narrow side down as a balloon). There are some clever and surprising things used to illustrate where shapes can be found, such as the black pentagons found on the typical soccer ball.

As in the Georges’ earlier offerings, Number Work and Letter Work (both 2012), this outing is appropriate for youngsters who have moved beyond the basics. (Board book. 3-6)

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TIME FOR A HUG

Gershators, Phillis; Green, Mim Illus. by Walker, David Sterling (24 pp.) $9.95 | Jan. 1, 2012 978-1-4027-7862-9 Gershator (Moo, Moo, Brown Cow, Have You Any Milk, 2011), in collaboration with her mother, offers this sweet, brief rhyming tale celebrating hugs at any hour of the day.

Two bunnies, one small and orange and the other bigger and gray, wake up at 8:00 to begin a day chock-full of activities that preschoolers will recognize. Washing faces, getting dressed, baking a pie, playing with puppets, reading a book, bathing, brushing teeth and hopping off to bed are all portrayed in Walker’s softly colored full-page and double-page spreads or vignettes. Clearly the rabbits are full of affection. Their relationship could be parent and child, older sibling and younger, or just roommates. As times passes, young readers will enjoy looking for the clock ticking off each hour until bedtime. Most hours prove to be a perfect moment to embrace. “Two o’clock, three o’clock. What shall we do? / Bounce a ball, ride a bike, climb a tree, / go on a hike. Smell a flower, chase a bug—What time is it? / Time for a hug!” The pleasingly predictable rhyme will have preschoolers chiming in all the way to the page where the covers are pulled up.

Worth a pause and may well inspire a hug or two. (Picture book. 2-4)

THE ALPHABET PARADE

Ghigna, Charles Illus. by Jatkowska, Ag Picture Window Books (20 pp.) $7.99 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-4048-8314-7

Various animals, a couple of people and a few objects, all starting with the appropriate letter, parade through the alphabet.

One or two letters and their designated representatives are featured on their own page as they take readers from A to Z. An ostrich rides on a float with a large letter “O” behind it, while a panda and polar bear march with a banner sporting the letter “P.” One, two or three rhymed couplets accompany each scene, often heavy with alliteration: “C is for the clapping CLOWN who wears a cowboy hat. / D is for the dancing DOG who waltzes with a cat! // E is for the ELEPHANT who waves at everyone. / F is for the friendly FOX who fiddles just for fun.” There are some clever moments here and there (“L is for the LEOPARD who likes to count his spots”), but mostly the text is nothing new. The lively paintings of friendly creatures in bright colors drawn with playful line are what give the book energy, although some of the visuals come across as improbable rather than whimsical (a unicorn carrying an umbrella in its hoof?). The letters are written in a variety of typefaces, colors, patterns and fonts, so this may be best for more experienced alphabet-book readers.

While not spectacular, it is an amusing spectacle all the same. (Board book. 2-4)

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“While adults may enjoy the cleverness of this cutesy conversation conducted entirely through texts, little ones won’t be impressed.” from txting mama, txting baby

WIGGLE!

Gomi, Taro Illus. by Gomi, Taro Chronicle (16 pp.) $6.99 | Jul. 23, 2013 978-1-4521-0836-0 Like Hervé Tullet’s The Game of Finger Worms (2011), Gomi’s newest encourages readers to insert a finger through a die-cut hole to animate the characters on the page.

Readers’ digits become a cat’s tail, a rattlesnake’s rattle, a chameleon’s tongue and more in the Japanese illustrator’s recognizably whimsical watercolor cartoons, done in colors both bright and muted. Some of the finger animations work well, like the sea gull wing and the elephant trunk, but others look odd or incomplete, such as the penguin beak and the deer antlers. The text is a simple one-sentence explanation of the animal’s actions: “The crocodile flashes his fang.” The die-cut holes appear on both the left and right sides of the double-page spread, but only one hole is needed to create the animation effect, making the page layout look unfinished.CompanionHideandSeek(978-1-4521-0840-7)isanother example of Gomi’s visual playfulness. An ever-increasing number of animals and people hide an object or two on their person. On the first double-page spread, two roosters are shown, as the text, with the image of a glove hovering above, reads: “Which rooster hides a glove?” One of the birds has had its comb replaced by the glove. The guessing game continues with three crocodiles, one of which has a toothbrush for teeth, and four raccoons, one of which has a sock instead of a tail. Many of these visual puzzles are delightful, such as birthday candles in place of giraffe horns. Others may be difficult for board-book readers to pick up on, such as a triangular flag in place of a shark’s fin. The final spread shows a group of kids, one of which sports a fork and spoon as hair braids.

While Gomi is often visually sophisticated, the results here are uneven, with images that will both delight and baffle. (Board book. 2-4)

The text reads: “There was ONE in the bed, / and the little one said, / ‘I’m lonely! I’m lonely!’ ” The final page shows all the animals back in the bed with the little mouse snuggled right in the middle and offers a happy ending for everyone: “So they all climbed in / and snuggled up tight. / Good night! Good night!”

Toddlers and preschoolers dig this repetitive count-down ditty, and they will love it even more in this engaging format.

A natural fit for storytime or one-on-one bedtime sharing. (Board book. 1-3)

FIVE BLACK CATS

Hegarty, Patricia Illus. by Woolf, Julia Tiger Tales (22 pp.) $8.95 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-58925-611-8

A troop of cats traverse a spooky landscape as they make their way to a party hosted by ghosts.

Each double-page spread shows the felines’ encounters with the likes of an owl, jack-o’-lanterns or a bat. One or two of these creepy meetings may be too abstract for the youngest readers, as the cats hear eerie noises with no discernible source on the page. The text, which consists of one rhyming couplet per scene, mostly scans despite a couple of wobbles: “Five black cats get a bit of a scare / As the flip-flapping wings of a bat fill the air.” The sleek, slightly retro art, likely created using a computer, depicts the cats cavorting at night through a shadowy cityscape, the countryside and a haunted house; they may scare some toddlers and delight others. A brighter color palette would have given the project a friendlier, more universal appeal. Luckily, the welllit, final party scene provides a playful conclusion.

For toddlers unafraid of typical Halloween imagery.

(Board book. 2-4)

TXTNG MAMA TXTNG BABY

Hershenhorn, Esther Illus. by Hershenhorn, Esther Sleeping Bear Press (16 pp.) $8.99 | Aug. 6, 2013 978-1-58536-887-7

TEN IN THE BED

Guile, Gill Illus. by Guile, Gill Tiger Tales (22 pp.) $9.99 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-58925-618-7

Guile gives the traditional, infectious counting song about rolling out of bed new life in this die-cut delight.

Sturdy L-shaped pages—each one a little bigger than the last—stagger to create a terraced effect, making the two rows of animals asleep in the bed seem to pop off the pages. The characters in this version are adorable stuffed animals, including a crocodile, giraffe, horse, pig, cat, duck, monkey, rabbit, bear and mouse. They roll out of the bed one by one (with sound effects—the pig says “OINK, OINK, OOPS!” and the bear “GRR, GRR, BUMP!” for instance) until only the mouse is left, looking small and fragile against the expanse of the empty bed.

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Baby and Mama share their love in a series of text messages in this novelty title.

Designed to mimic a cellphone— rectangular and vertically oriented—this offering is populated by “mama” and “baby” smiley faces. They are similarsized yellow circles with big round eyes; Mama has a short brown bob, while Baby has a single brown curlicue in the center of her head. Orange and green dialogue bubbles contain the texting abbreviations that make up the pair’s messages to one another. Mama says, for instance, “O U QT,” for “Oh, you cutie.” And Baby answers, “10 Q Mama,” for “Thank you, Mama.” Mama plays peekaboo with Baby—disembodied yellow

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hands covering her giant eyes—recites the beginning of the alphabet and “TCKL”s Baby (which makes her LOL). Finally Mama instructs: “I shhhhh…. / U zzzzzzz….”—and Baby drops off to sleep. While adults may enjoy the cleverness of this cutesy conversation conducted entirely through texts, little ones won’t be impressed. The illustrations—icons and dialogue bubbles on a pale blue background—won’t generate interest either, as all of the pages look alike.

Good for a quick chuckle for tech-savvy grown-ups, but it sure doesn’t offer much appeal for tots, digital natives or not. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)

the night. The layout of the rhyming verse, which mostly scans, tries to be as playful as its protagonists. Unfortunately, it skips across the page in a dark type and ends up being both hard to read in the correct sequence and difficult to make out against the nighttime backgrounds. The goofy-looking monsters themselves are created with a fuzzy brushstroke in garish colors, making each double-page spread of this shindig look overbusy.

Though mildly playful, there is not much to this creature feature. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)

CAPTAIN OF THE TOILET

Inserra, Rose Illus. by Chambers, Mark Barron’s (10 pp.) $8.99 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-0-7641-6658-7

ROCKET’S MIGHTY WORDS

Hills, Tad Illus. by Hills, Tad Schwartz & Wade/Random (22 pp.) $10.99 | Jul. 9, 2013 978-0-385-37233-6

Hills’ adorable black-and-white spotted dog named Rocket (How Rocket Learned to Read, 2010; Rocket Writes a Story, 2012) returns in this oversized vocabulary primer.

There’s no narrative to speak of here; this is a simple introduction to words for new readers. Children are first introduced to terms such as “dog,” “tail,” “ear” and “spot” as they are printed on and around an iconic image of Rocket, running blissfully along with head thrown back, eyes closed and stick clutched firmly in his jaws. A spread featuring vignettes of Rocket in action presents verbs such as “wag,” “dig,” “sniff ” and “nap.”

Two spreads are painted to resemble giant chalkboards covered with nouns and simple drawings representing each one, while the final pages feature Rocket’s little yellow bird friend and a set of sight words on notecards scattered across a meadow. Many of the charming images will be familiar to readers, as they have appeared before, in part or whole, in other Rocket adventures.

Nothing really new here, but Rocket fans—at least those who don’t consider themselves too old for board books—may enjoy using this as a tool for practicing word recognition with the sweet puppy they’ve come to love.

(Board book. 3-6)

A primer for little boys transitioning from their own potties to the toilet.

Jack is a cute, bespectacled tot wearing a large pirate hat featuring a skull and crossbones. He is busy playing with his teddy bear (which sports a bandanna and eye patch) when Daddy announces that it’s time to potty. But Jack has decided that he’s ready to give up the little potty and use the toilet like his father. Capt. Jack climbs aboard “his ship,” pees into the bowl, sits down and “does a poo,” flushes the toilet and then washes his hands. Proud Jack “takes a bow” while “Daddy claps and cheers,” proclaiming Jack “Captain of the Toilet!” Jack makes it look really easy, which may intimidate little ones, but they will probably be too busy repeatedly generating flushing sounds by pushing the book’s big blue button to notice. A companion title, Queen of the Toilet (978-0-7641-66594), stars a little girl. It follows the pattern of Jack’s story, except no child’s potty is pictured or mentioned. Bella seems to go directly from diapers to toilet, though the back cover indicates that this title, too, is intended for those transitioning from a child’s potty.

Not a standout, but it’s potentially useful for allaying the anxieties of wee ones ready to make what can be a scary leap from child’s potty to toilet. (Board book. 2-4)

BABY LOVES WINTER!

Katz, Karen Illus. by Katz, Karen Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (14 pp.) $6.99 | Oct. 22, 2013 978-1-4424-5213-8

MONSTERS DANCE

Hodgman, Ann Illus. by Wood, Hannah Tiger Tales (16 pp.) $8.95 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-58925-627-9

An adorable brown-haired, browneyed Caucasian baby enjoys a day full of

A gaggle of friendly monsters cuts a

rug on a moonlit night.

Red, blue, yellow and purple creatures with horns, antennae and bug eyes join in the party, but one small beastie is too shy to participate, which readers learn through its quiet asides. In the end, the little monster is invited by the rest to dance through |

winter surprises.

In this engaging lift-the-flap offering, simple questions are posed and the answers revealed underneath large, easy-tograsp flaps. Printed on a large, polka-dot curtain is the question “What’s outside the window?” Lifting the “curtain” reveals giant snowflakes. On subsequent pages, readers must peek behind a pile of snowballs to find Baby’s red sled, behind a mound of dirt

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to discover a groundhog, behind a fence to find a giant purple snowplow and behind a snowman to find a baby deer. Finally, from behind a pine tree, Baby’s mom appears with a frothy mug of hot cocoa. In most cases, a small piece of the hidden object can be seen peeking out from behind the closed flap; these hints will help to keep little ones interested by encouraging them to guess what Baby will find next. Katz’s illustrations are—as usual—bright, bold, cheery and full of interesting patterns. They combine with the simple text and interactive flaps to produce an effective and appealing introduction to winter for the littlest readers.

With lift-the-flap explorations of spring, summer and fall already on the shelves, this winter offering is a charming culmination to a satisfying series. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)

ON THE FARM

Kingfisher Kingfisher (8 pp.) $8.99 | Jul. 30, 2013 978-0-7534-6940-8 Series: Seek and Peek This introduction to farm life includes a cover of layered, bubble-shaped pages of various sizes, each with an image of a farm animal peeking through.

Once a page is turned, bright stock photos of livestock, working animals and even the farmer appear in the inside. A heading introduces them (such as “In the field” for the page about sheep), and one or two simple facts are shared (“Woolly sheep roam the grassy fields”). The creatures themselves provide additional and more specific information via speech bubbles (“A baby sheep is called a lamb,” a lamb confides). One section of each spread still retains the image that is visible from the cover and hints at what is coming next on the verso. This iteration of the Seek and Peek gimmick of shaped pages is more successful than others in the series such At the Zoo, In the Rainforest and Dinosaurs (all 2013), with their confusing layouts. Here, the strong background color of each spread helps differentiate the information in question from the images of things to come.

The last double-page spread shows a tractor and a combine harvester and shares a couple of tidbits about farmyard machinery.

The novel format will make it difficult for spine-out shelving in libraries and elsewhere.

With short facts about pigs, chickens, cattle, horses and more, there is just enough to be of interest to the youngest animal enthusiast. (Board book. 1-3)

WHO’S THAT...PLAYING? See How the Animals Play

Kingfisher Kingfisher (14 pp.) $5.99 | Sep. 17, 2013 978-0-7534-7071-8

cubs, penguin chicks, piglets and more at play.

Each picture is set against a solid background and shows various critters splashing, play-fighting, leaping and chasing.

The left-hand page is a broader shot of the animal at play in its environment; the puppy chases a ball through a field as the text asks, “Who’s that bounding?” An accompanying sound effect (BOING; SPLISH SPLOSH; SQUEAL) in a lively typeface is printed on a strip that is the same color as the background.

The facing page shows a close-up of the animal and shares two simple facts: “We are lambs. We have big, brown eyes and soft, woolly coats.” One body part or feature of each young animal is labeled with a dotted line to encourage grown-ups to name parts of the photo with youngsters. The companion book, Who’s That...Eating? See How the Animals Eat (978-0-7534-7070-1), follows an identical format, but here, the focus is on the eating habits of adult wild animals, such as giant pandas, otters, squirrels and anteaters. Some expressive and vocabulary-building words (gnaw, slurp, nibble and chomp) describe the various animals’ actions.

Both this and its companion are winning additions to this effective nonfiction series for the youngest learners.

(Board book. 18 mos.-4)

STAR WARS Colors

Lucasfilm Scholastic (26 pp.) $12.99 | Nov. 26, 2013 978-0-545-60919-7 Creatures, characters and objects from the Star Wars saga represent different hues.

Each double-page spreads focuses on one color and features stills from the nine films. The iconic characters are here—Luke Skywalker in an orange flight suit, brown-furred Chewbacca, green Yoda, white-armored stormtroopers and black-garbed Darth Vader. Lesser-known creatures and objects help fill in the other shades, such as the yellow N-1 starfighter and blue Max Rebo. The color is named on each spread in a bold, 3-D type, and one sentence lets readers know who or what it is being depicted: “The Royal Guards wear red.” Little ones unfamiliar with the Star Wars universe will find many of the masked and extreme closeup faces (Yoda reaches menacingly out of the page) scary in this 9-inch-square offering. While many of the colors are bold and true, particularly gold C-3PO, others are a bit of stretch. Queen Amidala’s ship looks more purple than silver, and the MagnaGuard’s electrostaff does not look purple at all.

While the book is not an effective color primer, the youngest Star Wars fans will enjoy the large images of their favorite characters. (Board book. 2-4)

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“[N]umber words are in large capital letters, and the nouns that follow them appear in cursive, an unusual choice for a board book and one that adds a touch of whimsy to the sweet, digitally produced illustrations.” from my turn to learn numbers

MOMMY, LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!

Mack Illus. by Mack Clavis (14 pp.) $10.95 | Nov. 1, 2013 978-1-60537-169-6

Baby animals surprise their mommies in this lift-the-flap celebration of newfound know-how.

The left-hand pages feature close-up photographs of animal mothers in their natural habitats, while the right-hand pages reveal cartoonlike drawings of baby animals showing off their skills. For example, a photo of a single penguin against a snowy backdrop is paired with a drawing of three baby penguins perched atop a hill, exclaiming, “Mommy penguin, look what we can do!”

Beneath a sturdy flap is the answer to the question—“We can slide down a steep hill!”—accompanied by a picture of the little penguins barreling down the slope in single file. Also featured are orangutans, birds, tigers, dolphins, rhinos and bears. Companion volume Daddy, Look What I Can Do! (978-1-60537-170-2) follows the same formula but with different animals. No doubt wee ones will relate to the baby animals’ desire to impress their parents and enjoy guessing what new achievements will appear beneath the flaps. While the combination of photographs and illustrations may be jarring for adults, children will not be bothered; in fact, the discordant pairings may serve to stimulate their thinking as they learn to categorize and identify various animals.

This modest-sized, lift-the-flap animal excursion is a good bet for one-on-one sharing or individual exploration.

(Board book. 1-3)

MY TURN TO LEARN NUMBERS

Marshall, Natalie Illus. by Marshall, Natalie LB Kids/Little, Brown (12 pp.) $6.99 | Sep. 10, 2013 978-0-316-25164-8

FROSTY THE SNOWMAN

Nelson, Steve; Rollins, Jack Illus. by Williams, Sam Scholastic (16 pp.) $9.99 | Oct. 1, 2013 978-0-545-45005-8

Sing along to a perennial favorite wintertime tune celebrating a magical snowman.

The lyrics to “Frosty the Snowman” form the text here, and the illustrations depict what is happening in each verse. A group of multiethnic children, decked out in colorful winter gear, discovers the snowman. At this point, he sports a shapeless blob of snow for a body, arms stuck to his sides, a round head with facial features and a pipe, and a red-and-white striped scarf wound round his chunky neck. Once the children place a black top hat on his head, he springs to life, dancing around wielding a broom, throwing snowballs at the children, and playing followthe-leader before boogying his way out of town. The colorful, dynamic and mostly cheery pictures (except for the one showing the children crying as Frosty departs) adequately illustrate the song lyrics; Williams’ addition of a family of cute bunnies joining in all the happenings, from discovering Frosty to witnessing his leave-taking, lends an extra bit of fun to the scenes.

Sparkly-covered and visually appealing, this one would work well in both a winter-themed storytime and a warm lap. (Board book. 1-4)

KISS, KISS GOOD NIGHT

This simple counting book starring a sweet brown bear is perfect for little hands.

The first spread introduces readers to a brown bear wearing a green hat and scarf and a small smile. It reads simply: “ONE bear.” Throughout the title, the number words are in large capital letters, and the nouns that follow them appear in cursive, an unusual choice for a board book and one that adds a touch of whimsy to the sweet, digitally produced illustrations. In the remaining page spreads, the brown bear is pictured with two owls (perched atop his head), three blue birds, four flowers and five puffy white clouds. Numbers six to 10 are grouped together on a final page spread. Large tabs labeled 1 through 5 run down the length of the rightmost edge of this sturdy selection, making it a cinch for little hands to grasp and open. Other titles in this charming series include My Turn to Learn Colors (978-0-31625163-1), featuring a bunny and his vegetable garden; My Turn |

to Learn Opposites (978-0-316-25165-5), starring two adorable purple owls; and My Turn to Learn Shapes (978-0-316-25166-2), focused on a mama hen and her sweet baby chicks on the farm.

Families will want them all.

The deceptively simple and visually appealing My Turn to Learn series is a great tool for introducing basic concepts to the littlest readers. (Board book. 0-3) (Editor’s note: This review first appeared in Kirkus’ Best Children’s Books of 2013 supplement.)

Nesbitt, Kenn Illus. by Elliott, Rebecca Cartwheel/Scholastic (12 pp.) $8.99 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-0-545-47957-8

One by one, animal mothers tuck their babies into bed, easing them off to dreamland with snuggles and kisses.

Soothing rhythms and apt and varied vocabulary make this goodnight book special. Take, for example: “When cuddly cubs begin to doze, their mothers stroke them on the nose, / then grumble softly in their ear. / In Bear that means / ‘Good night, my dear.’ ” The adorable animal mothers and babies—bunnies, cats, lambs and chicks, in addition to the bears—look absolutely blissful as they cuddle up and settle in for some rest. These sweet scenes are set against a bluish-purple night sky dotted with white

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“Sturdy, glossy pages will stand up to multiple readings—and a fair amount of slobber.” from doggy kisses 123

stars that twinkle merrily down on the sleeping critters. The final spread incorporates all of the animal families at once and offers a pleasing closing sentiment: “And with that nuzzle, kiss / or hug, the animals sleep, / warm and snug, / the way that babies always do / when mothers tell them, ‘I love you.’ ” While this title is perfect for mother-baby bonding, it doesn’t include any doting dads. Papas who want in on the action might try Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben’s Daddy Kisses (2003) or Karen Katz’s Daddy Hugs (2007).

With large, sturdy board pages just right for tiny hands, this is a sweet selection for baby’s bedtime. (Board book. 0-3)

DOGGY KISSES 123

Parr, Todd Illus. by Parr, Todd LB Kids/Little, Brown (24 pp.) $7.99 | Dec. 3, 2013 978-0-316-20737-9

on, with a colorful block letter and a simple label floating nearby.

Many of the usual alphabet-book critters are here, such as Elephant, Frog and Goldfish, but there are a couple of surprises, particularly Nanny goat for N. As the letters get more challenging, things grow progressively sillier, ushering in an extra-large pig in heart-decked briefs, a purple yak in blue, yellow, green and red underwear, and a multicolored zebra with no underwear at all. Parr’s signature cartoons using bold colors, thick black lines and childlike forms will be easily recognizable to his fans.

The use of flaps here mainly seems to be a space-saving device to compress multiple letters into a spread, since they do not offer any surprises or changes on the inside, as is typical in other lift-the-flap titles.

Like the animals’ knickers, there’s not much to this one-joke offering. (Board book. 2-4)

OLIVIA OWL FINDS A FRIEND

Parr brings his signature, toddlerfriendly style to two of kids’ favorite things: counting and puppies.

This simple counting book written in rhyme features 10 different displays of doggy devotion. Take, for example: “One silly doggy kiss / on the head. // Two cuddly doggy kisses / when in bed.” A short snatch of text and a large numeral appear on the left-hand page with a complementary illustration on the right.

The chunky black lines that outline the drawings and numerals make each element pop out dramatically against the solid backgrounds of vibrant hues —often yellow, red and bright blue. The illustrations are composed of simple, childlike renderings of widely smiling children and puckering pups of all shapes, sizes and colors. The final spread provides a nice opportunity for review, showcasing as it does the numerals 1 through 10 accompanied by their adorable doggies and a brief description of their kisses. The rhyming verses don’t exactly trip off the tongue, but kids aren’t likely to mind, focused as they’ll be on counting the pooches’ smooches. Sturdy, glossy pages will stand up to multiple readings—and a fair amount of slobber.

Silly, sweet and simple, this counting primer is a great choice for solo exploration or group sharing in a doggythemed storytime. (Board book. 0-3)

ANIMALS IN UNDERWEAR ABC

Pledger, Maurice Illus. by Pledger, Maurice Silver Dolphin (8 pp.) $10.95 | Jul. 30, 2013 978-1-60710-884-9

An owlet named Olivia searches for friends of a feather in this lift-the-flap tale.

Hoping to find other owls, Olivia, sporting a fuzzy pelt on the cover, encounters new friends Sally Cygnet, Dilly Dormouse, Elly Eagle and Oscar Otter, each revealed on the right side of a double-page spread as sturdy flaps are lifted. The pals help Olivia look for her fellow creatures, and in the end, the company discovers a parliament of owls nestled in a barn. Though the text is a little stiff and disjointed, the art will bring readers back for repeat reads. Pledger’s highly detailed drawings give youngsters plenty to pore over, from blackberries to ladybugs to wildflowers, and the animals, while realistic, skew cute. The bright white backgrounds are a little jarring for such naturalistic scenes, and they seem downright odd for a story about an owl, normally a nocturnal creature. Somewhat inexplicably, a couple of the spreads do not have flaps, breaking a previously established pattern.

Despite some uneven moments, Olivia’s tale is friendlyenough fare. (Board book. 2-4)

THIS LITTLE HAMSTER

Parr, Todd Illus. by Parr, Todd LB Kids/Little, Brown (16 pp.) $7.99 | Dec. 3, 2013 978-0-316-20736-2 “Animals, animals- everywhere—/ from A to Z in their underwear!”

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Reich, Kass Illus. by Reich, Kass Orca (24 pp.) $9.95 | Oct. 1, 2013 978-1-4598-0410-4

In this follow-up to Hamsters Holding Hands (2012), a horde of hamsters introduces little ones to colors.

On the left-hand page, one, two or three hamsters express a penchant for a specific hue; they possess an odd collection of objects, everything from a bubble machine to a tire swing, in

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said color. On the right-hand page, the hamsters cavort among their things. Clunky verse describes the action and incorporates each color’s name; this word is printed in large, quirky bubble letters as if it were colored in by hand. Some of the objects depicted seem to have been chosen because they fit the rhyme scheme: “These little hamsters collect everything purple / They have a hoop, a wig and a dino named Durple.” As with their first outing, the critters are endearingly drawn cartoons with thick lines and goofy expressions. Design hampers the book’s effectiveness: The background color of the art, a lighter shade of the featured hue, prevents the colorful objects from standing out on the page, particularly on the “black” page, where the blackberries are almost invisible against the black background. The shade used on the “blue” page is a little too aqua and may confuse babies and toddlers learning to distinguish between blue and green.

While there are some cute hamster antics going on here, it is an ineffective color concept book for the youngest readers. (Board book. 1-3)

MAX’S MAGICAL POTION

Rivers-Moore, Debbie Illus. by Todd, Michelle Barron’s (10 pp.) $4.99 | Oct. 1, 2013 978-0-7641-6647-1 Series: Theater Books

A young wizard helps cure Dudley the dragon’s hiccups.

He does so after the royal family and their servants call on him to help solve the hiccup-induced wafts of smoke that keep appearing throughout the castle. Magician Max concocts a potion that quickly cures Dudley, to everyone’s delight. On each page, there is a die-cut hole shaped like arched windows or an opening to a cellar. When the page is turned, the image framed by the hole appears on the next double-page spread.

These features appear to be only an attention-getting gimmick and do little to illuminate the slight story. While there are some clever images in the jewel-toned, detailed cartoon art (a spider wearing a gas mask or eyes and frog legs in Max’s potion pot), the antics and medieval imagery are going to go over the heads of typical board-book readers. The interactive feature on the cover—a pull-tab at the top of the book that opens and closes the castle doors to reveal the hero Max—will probably interest youngsters the most. The companion title, A Ballet to Remember (978-0-7641-6645-7), employs this pulltab feature to better effect, as it opens and closes a stage curtain. Here, the story focuses on an upcoming ballet recital. A puppy belonging to one of the dancers wreaks havoc with the costumes, and the performers have to set things right before the big show. Again, the youngest readers are not going to get much out of the tale, which also utilizes the die-cut holes in the pages.

Neither magical nor memorable for typical board-book readers. (Board book. 3-4)

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BLACK AND BLANCO! Engaging Art in English Y Español

San Antonio Museum of Art Trinity University Press (16 pp.) $7.95 | Aug. 6, 2013 978-159534154-9

The San Antonio Museum of Art, the San Antonio Public Library Foundation and Trinity University Press come together to showcase some of the museum’s most interesting art in this bilingual—English and Spanish—offering.

Building upon the success of previous collaborations—1, 2, 3, Si!: A Numbers Book in English and Spanish (2011), Colores Everywhere!: Colors in English and Spanish (2012) and Hello, Circulos!: Shapes in English and Spanish (2012)—the minds behind this newest offering keep doing what works. They provide clear, crisp images of visually appealing works of art along with simple text in English and Spanish. The final pages offer more detail about the origins and ownership of the featured pieces. Although the art selections are intriguing, this outing suffers a tiny bit for lack of a coherent theme; it is an unabashedly varied collection of (mostly) black-and-white art with text on each page that attempts to engage young readers with the images while making no connections to what comes before or after. A companion volume, Animal Amigos (978-1-59534-154-9), has a clearer focus.

Nevertheless, both children and adults will find much to savor in these titles—so much, in fact, that they may even be inspired to connect with their inner Picassos.

Though the title as a whole feels a bit disjointed, the stunning images alone make it worth a look or two (or 20).

(Board book. 3-6)

HELLO FALL!

Sanrio Illus. by Sanrio abramsappleseed (14 pp.) $7.95 | Jul. 16, 2013 978-1-4197-0799-5 Series: Hello Kitty In the follow-up to Hello Spring! and Hello Summer! (2013), Sanrio’s Hello Kitty explores fall activities.

The iconic white kitty and several of her friends visit a pumpkin patch, enjoy a variety of pumpkin and apple pies, play football and more in double-page spreads that feature bold, black outlines and highly saturated, flat colors. The text is composed of simple greetings to the various autumnal scenes (“Hello hay rides! / Hello school bus!”) and appears on the upper-left or upperright side of the page in bold white type. The companion book, Hello Winter! (978-1-4197-0797-1), uses exactly the same format to depict kitty and company building snowmen, drinking hot cocoa and roasting marshmallows. A few of the activities in both titles are not particularly toddler-friendly, such as going ice fishing and riding in hot air balloons. One scene in particular, showing the kitten getting dressed and captioned “Hello flannel!,” is an odd

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“The black background and strategic die cuts make for dramatic images, and children will enjoy guessing which animals the different eyes belong to….” from run home, little mouse

choice considering little ones are still learning to label basic articles of clothing let alone the fabric they are made out of.

While this and Hello Winter! complete Hello Kitty’s year, they are not quite as successful as the earlier volumes.

(Board book. 18 mos.-3)

the seeds from a pumpkin. Then he uses a knife to cut a face in it. With an electric candle in the bottom of it, the pumpkin becomes…a scary jack-o’-lantern glowing in the dark!”

Pass on this slim offering, which adds little to the crowded field of preschool Halloween fare. (Picture book. 3-5)

YOU ARE MY LITTLE PUMPKIN PIE

TAKE A LOOK, BUZZ

Slegers, Liesbet Illus. by Slegers, Liesbet Clavis (12 pp.) $11.95 | Oct. 1, 2013 978-1-60537-168-9

Sklansky, Amy E. Illus. by Sklansky, Amy E. LB Kids/Little, Brown (16 pp.) $6.99 | Aug. 6, 2013 978-0-316-20714-0

Smitten adults gush over the attributes of their little ones by comparing them to the goodness of sweet pumpkin pie.

The simple rhyming text is jovial, celebratory and just a little silly.

Take this, for example: “Your scent is just delightful— / Like cinnamon and spice. // Each time I kiss your yummy cheek, / I have to kiss it twice.” Spoonfuls of praise pile up, like giant dollops of whipped cream, culminating with the final pages: “You are so delicious— / The star of any feast. // You’re my little pumpkin pie, / Each and every piece.” The interactions between adult and baby that the text invites will make sharing this an enjoyable experience and help keep baby’s attention. In a nice touch, the illustrations depict different families on each page spread, and the multiethnic cast of characters includes both women and men cuddling with their little ones. The warm tones, pumpkin-pie theme, and orange and gold-leafed trees featured in the illustrations make this a natural choice for fall reading.

A shiny corrugated pie plate and glittery whipped cream add a little zip to the cover, inviting readers to dig in.

Share this sweet treat with baby for some serious bonding time. (Board book. 1-3)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Youngsters are encouraged to explore a garden through brightly painted cartoons and sliding panels.

Every other page is split down the middle; something unexpected is revealed on an inner panel when the two halves of the page are pulled apart. A “little bird” pops out of an apple tree, a worm slithers out of the grass, a chick hatches out of an egg, a bee buzzes at the heart of a flower and so on through this clever special effect. The text, on the opposite page on either the left or right side, is an invitation to little ones to “Take a look!” with straightforward descriptions, questions and answers. The final double-page spread reviews all the critters and things that have come before. The companion book, Take a Look, Bear (978-1-60537-167-2), uses the same gimmick, but here, the star is a toddler playing hide-and-seek with a stuffed teddy bear. The use of the interactive feature works better in Take a Look, Buzz, since the animals pop out of or from behind various plants and the sun emerges from a cloud, whereas in Take a Look, Bear, the tyke seemingly bursts out of nowhere. While the panels are relatively easy to slide, toddlers will likely need some assistance opening and closing them to make sure pages stay on track and no fingers are pinched.

With some adult supervision, readers will encounter many engaging surprises. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)

Slegers, Liesbet Illus. by Slegers, Liesbet Clavis (32 pp.) $15.95 | Oct. 1, 2011 978-1-60537-101-6

RUN HOME, LITTLE MOUSE

This Dutch import, although well intentioned, fails to translate into a winning holiday book for preschoolers.

Readers follow a girl as she takes part in familiar activities on Halloween day: carving a jack-o’-lantern, making pumpkin soup and waffles, dressing up for a costume party, playing holiday games, going trick-or-treating and preparing for bedtime.

When she needs a gift for a friend, she makes a spider out of a balloon and straws, a creative solution that will impress young ones who want to do things all by themselves. Slegers’ illustrations will remind readers of the brightly painted pictures framed with thick dark lines found in popular titles by Lucy Cousins (Maisy Goes to the City, 2011, etc.) and Jane Cabrera (The Wheels on the Bus, 2011, etc.). Sadly, the text stumbles. The translation into English is wordy and clunky at best: “Dad empties 108

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Teckentrup, Britta Illus. by Teckentrup, Britta Kids Can (36 pp.) $14.95 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-77138-033-1

Little Mouse has gotten lost in the big, dark forest, and he must avoid some scary predators as he makes his way back home.

In the first three spreads, poor lost Little Mouse is pictured in a simple forest scene featuring a few trees, a small moon and a winding gray path. Next, he appears tiny and frightened against a black background, while two yellow eyes peek through cat’s-eye–shaped die cuts. When the page is turned, a large fox is revealed: “Run home, Little Mouse, as fast as you can!” The danger doesn’t end there; Little Mouse spies a weasel, an owl, a cat, a crow and two bats (in each case, the eyes peek through die-cut holes before the creature is fully revealed), but finally, he

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makes it back home to his eager family. Though Little Mouse’s big eyes convey fright, the predators all have a rather friendly appearance, which tones down the potential fear factor. The black background and strategic die cuts make for dramatic images, and children will enjoy guessing which animals the different eyes belong to as they watch Little Mouse find his way back to the safety of his family.

This simple, repetitive tale with vivid images and a comforting ending is a good choice for one-on-one or group sharing. (Board book. 1-4)

ONE, TWO, THREE... CRAWL!

Thompson, Carol Illus. by Thompson, Carol Child’s Play (12 pp.) $4.99 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-84643-614-7

Spare text and dynamic illustrations pair well in this ode to crawling.

The only signs of grown-ups in this title are a few pairs of shoes under a table; the low-to-the-ground universe presented here belongs to the wee ones. An adorable cast of multiethnic tots crawls, wobbles and falls. They wind their way through tunnels, climb over one another and scurry under tables. The final spread, reading simply “Creepy crawl. / Sleepy crawl,” depicts a toddler poking gingerly at a wiggly worm and another who has apparently collapsed from all the excitement. With bottom in air, thumb in mouth and cheek to the floor, he is fast asleep. Thompson’s collage illustrations create a textured world of sweet, slightly quirky-looking babies rejoicing in their newfound mobility. Other titles in the series include One, Two, Three…Climb! (978-1-84643-617-8), One, Two, Three…Jump! (9781-84643-615-4) and One, Two, Three…Run! (978-1-84643-616-1).

Like One, Two, Three…Crawl!, these offerings are characterized by minimal text and illustrations of moving kiddos full of determination and joy, if not always grace.

A simple but effective celebration of the thrill that comes with moving under one’s own steam. Get ready for repeat readings. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)

COUNT 123

Tiger Tales Illus. by Tiger Tales Tiger Tales (26 pp.) $7.99 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-58925-625-5 Series: My First Touch and Trace Starting at one teddy bear and continuing up to 20 jelly beans, readers are encouraged to count clear, stock photos and trace numbers in this tactile lift-the-flap book.

Above the flap, a specific number is introduced (“four penguins”), and under the flap, youngsters are encouraged to count |

and determine the amount on their own (“How many cars?”).

An oversized image of the numeral accompanies the objects to be counted, and a channel in the page allows readers to trace the number. A dotted line with arrows shows young learners how to trace the number with their fingers, with a gray circle showing where to begin and a red one, where to stop. Colorful, tactile dots on the final pages let little ones practice counting as they drag their fingers down the page. This works with numbers one through 10, but gets near impossible with 11 through 20, as the dots shrink to fit the space. The companion title, First ABC (978-1-58925-66-2), follows in kind. One object, animal or person starting with the featured letter appears above the flap (“Bb is for balloons”), and another is revealed below (“Bb is bear”).

Again, a channel in the page is provided so readers can trace the uppercase letters, but, strangely enough, not the lowercase ones. The images chosen for each letter, from an alligator to a zipper, are easily recognized, typical alphabet-book fair. The flaps, which could have been sturdier, provide few surprises.

Both titles are clear and successful in their mission if a little boring. Flashcards in board-book form. (Board book. 2-5)

NOISY FARM

Tiger Tales Illus. by Tiger Tales Tiger Tales (12 pp.) $12.99 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-58925-610-1 Series: My First Touch and Feel Sound Book Farm animals make realistic noises as youngsters press embedded tactile features.

“Pat the cow’s back to hear her ‘Moo!’ ” Readers can press the fuzzy, black circle on a Holstein cow to hear its recorded noise.

This formula is repeated on each double-page spread, one per farm critter (roosters, piglets, lambs and horses). Using stock photography, several smaller images of the animals appear on the left, and a full-page close-up dominates the right. The final two pages are a review of the five farmyard creatures and include a photo of each as well as a review of their sounds in succession via a touch of a button. While the layout is a little busy, the selection of photos and the tactile elements are nicely diverse. The text is simple enough for little ones, encourages interaction (“Can you baa like a lamb?”) and uses animal-specific vocabulary (fleece; mane). The sister title, Noisy Trucks (978-1-58925-609-5), follows much the same format, but, here, the stars are big rigs, monster trucks, fire trucks, backhoes and cement mixers. While the photos will thrill the vehicle-obsessed, the noises are less distinctive, save the fire truck’s siren. The facts about each type of vehicle provide just enough information: “A fire truck has a loud siren, ladders to climb, and hoses that spray water.” Despite the age recommendation of 3 years and up suggested on the back cover, the construction (with the battery secured by screw behind a plastic panel) looks sturdy and safe enough for younger readers.

A happily multisensory exploration. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)

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LIFT AND SEE FARM

Best for parents looking for a sweet nighttime prayer ritual to share with toddlers and preschoolers. (Board book. 2-6)

Tiger Tales Illus. by Tiger Tales Tiger Tales (10 pp.) $7.99 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-58925-612-5 Series: My First Matching Book

100 FIRST WORDS

Featuring a collection of familiar farm animals, this sturdy selection offers liftthe-flap fun that will keep kids guessing.

The clever design and layout create a visually striking, interactive treat. The left-hand pages display a large, close-up photo of an animal—beginning with a duck—against a white background punctuated by brightly colored word balloons reading, “Can you match me?” and “quack!” A simple sentence completes the page: “Lift and see!” The right-hand pages are divided horizontally into three strips, each bearing a close-up image of an animal’s skin, fur or feathers with a liftable flap in the center.

Readers must guess which close-up belongs to the featured animal. On the duck spread, lifting a red-and-black flap reveals a ladybug, while a feathery-looking flap in shades of gray conceals a hedgehog. Hiding beneath the fuzzy yellow flap is the correct match: the fluffy duckling. Following the same format, a companion volume, Lift and See Animals (978-1-58925-613-2), features wilder critters, including a tiger, elephant, macaw, zebra and giraffe. The littlest readers will simply want to lift the flaps to discover which animals are hiding underneath, while older tots will enjoy the challenge of finding the match.

Stimulating, interactive fun in a chunky board book that will stand up to lots of use. (Board books. 1-4)

A BEDTIME PRAYER

Tiger Tales Illus. by Rescek, Sanja Tiger Tales (24 pp.) $8.95 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-58925-606-4

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This oversized lift-the-flap word book presents 100 terms that toddlers can relate to.

Each large page is devoted to a category central to a toddler’s life: toys, party time, bed and bath, clothes, fruit and vegetables, food, at the zoo, at the beach, on the farm, pets, out and about, and things that go. The individual words presented within each category are items that youngsters will be familiar with and interested by. The toy category, for instance, features a train, a ball, a block, a robot, rings, paint and paintbrushes, and a xylophone. Every page consists of a set of square and rectangular flaps bearing images—many of which incorporate photographs of babies and toddlers, most Caucasian—on bright, bold backgrounds. When the flaps are lifted, the word is revealed, along with another picture that represents it. It’s not for babies and toddlers to explore on their own—the book is hefty, and the flaps are difficult to grasp and manipulate (they lift in different directions)—but suitable for guided exploration. A companion volume, 100 First Animals (978-1-58925-608-8), follows the same format, featuring these categories: pets, farm, safari, sea, woods, jungle, snow, rivers and lakes, bugs, desert, birds and nighttime.

The engaging images and familiar terms presented will appeal to little ones and help them to add to their quickly expanding vocabularies. (Board book. 1-3)

MUNCH!

It’s the end of the day and time for little ones to head to bed and say their prayers.

This offering is a long nighttime prayer in verse offering thanks to God for everything good in a child’s world. This includes the bright blue skies and songbirds of a new day, “creatures great and small,” foods from the garden, friendship and music, and “home, sweet home.” The poem also offers thanks to God for his love, care, wisdom and guidance: “You teach me to be kind, / To be patient, good, and strong. / You guide me on the path / To know what’s right from wrong.” The lengthy, singsong (and occasionally clunky) verse isn’t likely to keep children engaged, but it might successfully help ease them into peaceful sleep. The illustrations depict cuddly baby animals—a dog, kitty, bear and lamb—and, in a few instances, a caregiver or two joining in the fun. The cheerful scenes have a soft, quiet quality that contributes to the offering’s overall soporific effect, as does the padded cover reminiscent of a cushy blanket.

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Van Fleet, Matthew Illus. by Van Fleet, Matthew Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (14 pp.) $9.99 | Aug. 27, 2013 978-1-4424-9425-1 As with Lick! (2013) and Sniff! (2012) before, Van Fleet presents an interactive book specifically designed with toddlers in mind.

This time, the subject is mouths, and despite the title, a majority of them do not appear to be eating: “Goat mouth bearded, / Tamarin mouth mustached, / Pig mouth hiccups, / Hyena mouth laughs!” Most of the pages present at least one or two tactile features. The toad’s mouth is bumpy through raised embossing, and the bear’s mouth sports “fuzz” through a velvety overlay. The best gimmicks here are Van Fleet’s signature oversized tabs, which are easy to grab and sturdy enough for toddler manipulation. They allow readers to make an alligator mouth

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“The vibrantly colored, stylized animals are appealing, the large white shapes on bold backgrounds command attention, and the glossy, die-cut pages encourage exploration.” from we love each other

munch, a pelican mouth open and a beaver mouth chomp with audible clicks. The lighthearted cartoons of mischievous, grouchy and contented animals mesh well with the interactive elements. The rhyming verse doesn’t scan and changes meter in the middle of the book, making for a clunky read-aloud, but since most readers will be so busy playing with tabs, they will likely not notice.

While the books in this series are formulaic, fortunately it is a formula that works. (Board book. 2-5)

REACH

as the interiors of the cats’ ears and the seals’ and whales’ tails, are heart-shaped. Hearts also appear in the background patterns that subtly emulate the creatures’ environs, such as heartshaped leaves that appear behind the koala duo. The disjointed text, written in a variety of bubbly fonts, is made up of short, two- to five-word phrases on each spread describing the action: “I love to HUG you / tickle you / sing to you softly / carry you / bathe you / kiss you always / Baby, I LOVE you!”

This gooey sentiment almost gets out of hand with the pink, sparkly cover, but the friendly art makes it worth a look-see. (Board book. 3 mos.-1)

Verdick, Elizabeth; Lisovskis, Marjorie Free Spirit (22 pp.) $6.99 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-57542-424-8 Series: Happy Healthy Baby Expressive black-and-white photography features babies reaching and interacting with their world.

Each right-hand page offers gentle images of racially diverse infants reaching for a toy, a mirror, a bottle or a grown-up. The lefthand page provides one sentence of the light verse: “Wiggly baby on the floor. / What is baby reaching for? / Loving baby, sweet as can be. / Are you reaching out to me?” Floating near the text are line-drawn cartoons in pastel colors depicting babies engaged in play among doodles of stars, hearts, flowers and toys. Between the pale colors and the diminutive figures, these details may be lost on little ones, but babies will be drawn to the photos. This title parallels closely the companion book, Eat (978-1-57542-425-5), which shows infants eating, drinking from a bottle and nursing (there is a very demure breast-feeding photo and a cartoon drawing of the same on one spread). Color photography would have provided more visual appeal in a book on eating, but, again, the photos are bright-eyed and buoyant. The last two pages of both books provide easily digestible tips for parents and caregivers on healthy eating and ways to encourage reaching, grabbing and interaction.

This and its companion are pleasant additions to the Happy Healthy Baby series. (Board book. 6-18 mos.)

HUG YOU, KISS YOU, LOVE YOU

Wan, Joyce Illus. by Wan, Joyce Cartwheel/Scholastic (14 pp.) $6.99 | Dec. 1, 2013 978-0-545-54045-2

BUNNY AND BEE PLAYTIME

Williams, Sam Illus. by Williams, Sam Boxer/Sterling (24 pp.) $6.95 | Sep. 24, 2013 978-1-907967-63-4

Two toddlers, one costumed as a bunny and another like a bee, are the best of friends.

The duo lives in a tidy treehouse, enjoys milk and honey, and plays together in all sorts of weather.

Doling out one line per page, the gentle rhyming text states: “On sunny days, they swing in the trees. / On windy days they chase the leaves. // On rainy days they splash in the puddles. / On cold, cold days they have lots of cuddles.” While nothing much happens in this slice-of-life tale, toddlers will delight in the world Williams has built for the twosome. Bee wears a striped outfit with wings and antennae, and Bunny is clad in a rusty brown ensemble that sports rabbit ears. While there is never a parent in sight, the cozy pencil-and-watercolor cartoons in autumnal tones will make readers feel that Bunny and Bee are perfectly safe. Some of the double-page spreads that use a series of spot-art vignettes are difficult to make out due to the tiny size of the images. The pacing also feels rushed at times, particularly as Bunny and Bee are engaged in very active play on one page and then rushed off to bed on the next.

The offering would have been better served in a larger picture-book edition with more pages to allow the delightful illustrations and the simple story room to breathe.

(Board book. 2-4)

WE LOVE EACH OTHER

Round and friendly cartoon animal parents demonstrate how they take care of and show affection for their babies.

A bear, dog, elephant and more hug, tickle and bathe, respectively, a cub, puppy and calf. The loving critters are drawn with bold, brown lines, and muted swaths of blue, brown, aqua and cream fill them out. Many of the details on the animals, such |

Yonezu, Yusuke Illus. by Yonezu, Yusuke Minedition (30 pp.) $9.95 | Oct. 1, 2013 978-988-8240-56-2

A celebration of love and an ode to shapes for the littlest readers.

The first double-page spread depicts a single, stylized red bird on each page and the text “Birds love each other.” Thanks to

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cleverly placed die cuts, when the page is turned, the two birds join to form a heart on the left-hand page. The right-hand page simply features a large white heart on a bright red background. The remainder of the title follows this pattern: Two bright blue mice come together to form a triangle; smiling turtles—one atop the other—form a circle; a small elephant curls up beneath a big elephant to form a semicircle; two orange bunnies form a trapezoid; and a couple of cute bears make a square. The final pages showcase a feline family forming a rectangle: “Cats love each other… / …and their kitten too.” In a bit of an awkward transition, the back cover speaks directly to readers, with the words “…I love YOU too!” above a big red heart. The vibrantly colored, stylized animals are appealing, the large white shapes on bold backgrounds command attention, and the glossy, die-cut pages encourage exploration.

Babies and toddlers will appreciate this playful, upbeat introduction to shapes. (Board book. 6 mos.-3)

interactive e-books MONSTERS VS ROBOTS

Amora, Leonardo Leonardo Amora $1.99 | Sep. 27, 2013 1.2; Oct. 21, 2013

“This is Nino and he has a big problem at bedtime… / He is afraid of the dark.”

The app begins predictably but colorfully, offering readers red glowing buttons to push and puzzles by which to discover the names of the creatures alluded to in the title. Readers meet Nino’s Robot Hero and see how his “justice ray” can put any monster on the run. Robot Monkey’s “meteor punch” is just as effective in the monster-clearing department. But Nino’s problem escalates when the Dark Night, the monsters’ boss, comes banging on the door. The robots will need help. When readers enter the correct code in time, all the robots’ friends show up to help.

A big fight ensues, or so it seems, and just when the Dark Night is about to “explode,” Nino yells, “Don’t do it Dark Night!” This begs the question, “Do what?” Which, it turns out, isn’t much at all, as in the end, the fracas is revealed to be a party. While this accurately reflects children’s imaginative play, it’s unlikely that this app’s target audience will be able to see their own behavior in this sudden turnabout. On the positive side, the whimsical animation and action, along with well-timed sound effects and engaging narration, will pull along youngsters who don’t worry much about story logic. The app is also available in Portuguese.

The universal “afraid of the dark” theme takes a rather confusing turn, but all those buttons to push may keep readers so busy they won’t notice. (iPad storybook app. 4-9) (Editor’s note: A review of this app was published prematurely in the Dec. 1, 2013, issue. This review, of version 1.2, is the authoritative review. We apologize for any confusion.)

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DK PEEKABOO Farm

FamLoop FamLoop $0.00 | Nov. 19, 2013 1.1; Nov. 19, 2013 This six-screen app (free, but nestled among apps to purchase on the Peekaboo! platform) offers toddlers chances to meet and count farm animals, swipe open digital “flaps,” connect dots, color and listen to a sweetvoiced child reader.

Photos of plush farmyard animals are placed against very simple cartoon backdrops and nod or pulse gently as banjos plunk in the background. They pose next to plastic buildings or other obstacles that swing up at a tap to reveal more livestock— or, beneath the last, a toy “Farmer John on his tractor!” The animals all moo, cluck or otherwise express themselves when touched (the tractor starts up for a moment, then dies); tapping any words in the accompanying rhymed text cues repeat pronunciations. Furthermore, a large icon on each screen opens a coloring page, a hide-and-seek game or some other activity, culminating at the end with a quiz (“Which animal says ‘moo’?”) followed by a camera feature for selfies. Any photos or colored pages are stored not in the tablet’s camera roll but within a protected “Family Area” on the app itself, where parents can register, create individual folders for different children and share via social media.

A reworked and artfully extended version of the 2011 board book. (iPad toddler app. 6 mos.-2)

JERRY’S DAY OUT Ink Robin Illus. by Dejert, Gustav Ink Robin $0.00 | Nov. 14, 2013 1.0.1; Nov. 14, 2013

A bright blue bird becomes lost in New York City after chasing a wayward balloon.

Jerry the budgie and his two best friends—a boy and a dog—play together every day. When a gust of wind steals their balloon, Jerry sets out to retrieve it. But eventually, he loses track of the balloon, as well as his whereabouts. The rest of the book finds Jerry wandering through the neighborhoods of Manhattan, where he encounters hipster possums, chess-playing cockroaches and foxes who are graffiti artists, among others. The graphics are photo/cartoon hybrids along the lines of the Knuffle Bunny books, with drawings superimposed over snapshots of various New York landmarks. Unfortunately, the pizzazz stops with the illustrations. Though the narrator injects some vocal dynamics into the reading, both the story and the delivery have a bit of a monotonous feel. Whether “Read it to me” or “Read it myself ” is selected, visual text must be prompted on every

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“Though drawn as a shaggy silhouette with blinking yellow eyes, Judge’s ‘beast’ is not so much scary as a deadpan comical figure.” from the lonely beast 123

page by tapping the “T” icon at the top of the screen. There’s interaction on every page, but nothing stands out as particularly remarkable; squirrels scamper; raccoons dine; chipmunks cycle. The index is a map of Manhattan that shows where Jerry encounters each creature and takes readers to those places in the app.

Not quite up to par with Ink Robin’s previous offerings: simultaneously solid and stolid. (Requires iOS 6 and above.) (iPad storybook app. 3-6)

THE LONELY BEAST 123

Judge, Chris Illus. by Judge, Chris James Kelleher $1.99 | Nov. 14, 2013 1.0; Nov. 14, 2013

A day at the Beast’s house, from opening 1 curtain in the morning to counting 12 sheep that night.

The numbers—presented as digits in the top corner of each cartoon illustration—come with tapactivated vocalizations. Chimes are triggered by further taps on, for instance, 4 eggs to drop them one by one into a frying pan or 9 cakes that vanish with munching sounds. Though drawn as a shaggy silhouette with blinking yellow eyes, Judge’s “beast” is not so much scary as a deadpan comical figure. He farts in the bathtub when tapped, is splattered by one of the 7 birds in a tree overhead and dresses as 8 characters in a set of framed wall portraits. These offer greetings, from a cowboy’s “Howdy” to a hippie’s “Hey, maaan.” Aside from a button on the final screen labeled “Buy the book” that leads to the author’s webpage but not to a print version, the overall design, presentation and interactive effects work together seamlessly.

Even numerate children can count on being entertained by this tongue-in-cheek companion to The Lonely Beast ABC (2013). (iPad counting app. 2-4)

I LOVE YOU TOO

Marley, Ziggy Oceanhouse Media $2.99 | Nov. 21, 2013 2.5; Nov. 21, 2013

A song-turned–storybook app from the second track on Marley’s Grammywinning children’s album, Family Time.

The app is a word-for-word mirror of the reggae star’s poetic ode celebrating mutual love. Many songs tell some sort of story, of course, but that doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily translate well to a book format. This one works reasonably well, but the developers didn’t go out of their way to innovate or accentuate the content.

Interaction is the Oceanhouse standard, consisting of turning pages and tapping on various characters and objects, which |

elicits brief visual and auditory descriptions. Readers and/or their loved ones can narrate the story by recording themselves reading the text; once that’s been done, the recorded version becomes the default narration unless otherwise specified from the menu. The main menu offers four options: “Read to Me,” “Read it Myself,” “Auto Play” and “Sing Along.” The latter two are identical, except one is read and one is sung (both by Marley). Illustrations (uncredited) are crisp, vibrant and endearing.

It is a pity that there’s no mechanical interaction or animation beyond screen panning, as the infectious bounce of the song is ill-served by the staid treatment.

Nevertheless, while the repetitive refrains pile up near the beginning and the end, the message is one kids will probably never tire of hearing: “I love you too / I love you too / I tell you I love you.” (iPad storybook app. 2-5)

TEENY TINY TRUCKS

McCanna, Tim Illus. by Frawley, Keith Little Bahalia Publishing $3.99 | Oct. 22, 2013 1.0; Oct. 22, 2013

This convoy of microtrucks carries tiny cargo (and toddlers alike) on an imaginative journey.

Combining two toddler fascinations—things that go and tiny creatures—into a rhyming story app, Little Bahalia gives pre-readers a delightful visit to seemingly unlikely places. These miniscule vehicles, smaller than a dime, motor through flower beds, gardens, tunnels, rocky passes and valleys green...all toward an unknown destination. Along the way, they are greeted and assisted by a host of multilegged friends: the ants who load the cargo, a friendly ladybug and a caterpillar bridge. The teeny-tiny trucks must pass through a garden-hose tunnel, visit a beaver-tail weigh station, navigate past jacks on a sidewalk and cross the lake on a lily pad, propelled by a turtle. All along the way, the rhythmic, bouncy rhyme propels the adventure forward, with trucker lingo riding shotgun and a sweet animalcracker–box truck stop waiting at the end of the journey. Animations and interactions (taps send a truck through the hose and activate the beaver-tail scale, for instance) are simple but effective, appropriate to the audience. The text is reprised as a jaunty country-western song on the credits page; it won’t be long before preschoolers have it memorized.

Less really is more in this clever rhyming adventure. (iPad storybook app. 2-5)

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KAGUYA, PRINCESS OF THE MOON Oniric.co Oniric $2.99 | Oct. 30, 2013 1.1.0; Nov. 8, 2013

The 10th-century Japanese folk tale about the shining moon princess will enchant young readers, even though technical problems mar this adaptation.

Long ago in ancient Japan, a bamboo cutter discovers a baby girl hidden inside a glowing stalk of bamboo. Taketori and his wife name the girl Kaguya, and she quickly grows to become as “lovely and pure as the morning.” Noble suitors soon arrive, drawn by Kaguya’s radiant beauty, and the young woman sets them arduous tasks to complete, as she cannot reject them outright. The emperor even arrives to ask for her hand in marriage, but Kaguya sadly reveals that she must return to her father, the King of the Moon, as her exile on Earth has now passed. This adaptation follows the traditional tale, although no source notes are provided, and it is available in Spanish, Japanese and English, narrated with word highlighting in each language. The richly colored illustrations are a mix of Western cartoon and Japanese anime styles; interactive features, such as coloring the princess’s kimono, likewise feel ambivalent at times, often doing little to advance the story. Navigation is hampered by the lack of a menu button; at the end of the app, readers must manually flip pages back to the beginning.

Nevertheless, the enduring appeal of this ancient folk tale shines through from beginning to end. (iPad storybook app. 3-8)

PITTSUN TSUN The Sounds of a Rainy Day Ushiro, Yoshiaki; Bushika, Etsuko Illus. by Moro, Kaori Kumon Publishing North America $7.99 | Aug. 31, 2013 1.1; Nov. 19, 2013

A rainy day is rendered in rhythmic wordplay and animated crayon sketches in this interactive iBook.

Falling somewhere between a full-blown iPad app and a standard iBooks-format e-book, this story of children playing in rain and mud feels like a playful experiment. As an introductory page explains, this translation to English “includes onomatopoeia from the original Japanese book.” Younger readers unfamiliar with Japanese may have trouble with these words at first, but iBooks’ “Start Reading” option toggles narration that breezes through bits such as, “Becha-becha, bicha-bicha, guchan-guchan.

Gobo-gobo, zaba-zaba, ba-shan ba-shan.” Much of it is repetitive enough to pick up quickly, and hearing it aloud helps immeasurably. Animations throughout are simple and a little rough, but the use of color to highlight characters on black-and-white pages and the ambient sound of rain falling are more than effective enough to convey a mood of joyful outdoor fun. The splashing, romping, 114

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raincoat-clad children are skillfully suggested with just a few lines and energetic scribbles; they are clearly having the time of their young lives. The mix of English and Japanese feels just right, and the compositions are simple enough to make the scenes clear.

Raincoats and umbrellas can be great fun, and the tongue-twisting beats of the words in this enhanced book are, too.

Though less full-featured than an app, this minimalist interactive story nonetheless holds its own. (Requires iPad 2 and above.) (Enhanced e-picture book. 2-6)

NOA’S STARS

van der Meer, Hanneke Illus. by van der Meer, Hanneke Somoiso $2.99 | Nov. 15, 2013 1.0; Nov. 15, 2013 A winning, gentle adventure about a pint-sized aviator’s star-gathering is marred only by some minor problems in the app’s text.

When Ida the clumsy fairy bumps into the stars while flying, she causes them to fall. Noa, who happens to have a hot air balloon next to the roof of her home, searches the area and helps take the stars back to their proper places before bedtime. Her search is depicted in simple but sweetly evocative watercolor drawings.

Noa’s face is practically a blank slate, just two playful little eyes and strands of wayward hair going in all directions. With her lantern, she collects stars amid birds, trees and ponds, creating opportunities for readers to interact with not only the stars, but all the small creatures and even the moon. The app is filled with graceful touches; page turns, navigation buttons, the list of story pages, and even an arts-and-crafts section are indicated with easy-to-find, hand-drawn icons. Though the text and buttons appear translated, the language is fine, if unremarkable. (“She looks around. There’s another star! Right there, in the tree!”) The only problems are a few missing quotation marks and commas, which could easily be fixed with an app update. Otherwise, Noa’s story is delightful.

The story’s leisurely pace, relaxing music and starry theme make it a good pre-bedtime choice. (Requires iOS 6 and above.) (iPad storybook app. 2-6)

This Issue’s Contributors # Alison Anholt-White • Kim Becnel • Marcie Bovetz • Sophie Brookover • Timothy Capehart Ann Childs • Julie Cummins • GraceAnne A. DeCandido • Dave DeChristopher • Elise DeGuiseppi • Lisa Dennis • Brooke Faulkner • Laurie Flynn • Omar Gallaga • Laurel Gardner • Judith Gire • Faye Grearson • Melinda Greenblatt • F. Lee Hall • Julie Hubble Jennifer Hubert • Shelley Huntington • Kathleen T. Isaacs • Laura Jenkins • Betsy Judkins Joy Kim • K. Lesley Knieriem • Megan Dowd Lambert • Angela Leeper • Peter Lewis • Lori Low • Joan Malewitz • Hillias J. Martin • Jeanne McDermott • Shelly McNerney • Daniel Meyer • Lisa Moore • R. Moore • Rachel G. Payne • John Edward Peters • Melissa Rabey • Rebecca Rabinowitz • Nancy Thalia Reynolds • Melissa Riddle Chalos • Lesli Rodgers Leslie L. Rounds • Mary Ann Scheuer • Robin Smith • Edward T. Sullivan • Gordon West Monica Wyatt • Melissa Yurechko

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indie MARIE ANTOINETTE’S HEAD The Royal Hairdresser, the Queen, and the Revolution

These titles earned the Kirkus Star: MARIE ANTOINETTE’S HEAD by Will Bashor................................ 115 THEN LIKE THE BLIND MAN by Freddie Owens.............................124

Bashor, Will Lyons Press (320 pp.) $26.95 paper | $1.99 e-book Oct. 16, 2013 978-0-7627-9153-8

AN ESSENTIAL DECEPTION by Brian A. Tucker............................ 127

THEN LIKE THE BLIND MAN Orbie’s Story

Owens, Freddie Blind Sight Publications (324 pp.) $12.00 paper $0.99 e-book Nov. 15, 2012 978-1-4750-8449-8

A scholarly debut biography that looks at the French Revolution through the eyes of the queen’s hairdresser and confidant.

When Léonard Autié first arrived as a young man in Paris in 1769, he was so short on money that he walked the last 120 miles on foot. His possessions consisted of little more than a few coins, a tortoiseshell comb and “an ample supply of confidence.”

Ten years later, after he created the famous “pouf ” hairstyle, he was the hairdresser to the queen of France. A decade after that, during the revolution, Autié “took on the dangerous role of messenger and secret liaison between the royal family and their supporters.” Later, forced into exile and financially ruined, he spent a lengthy sojourn in Russia, where he worked as hairdresser to the nobility (and even arranged the hair of Czar Paul I’s corpse). He was eventually allowed to return to Paris in 1814, and he died there six years later. Bashor draws on contemporary accounts and letters and particularly Autié’s ghostwritten memoir, purportedly based on his journals and published 18 years after his death. The author notes that the latter source’s dialogue is unverifiable (although he cross-checks it with contemporary sources whenever possible) and that Autié was given to boasting and exaggeration. Fortunately, however, Bashor liberally quotes from the Souvenirs de Léonard, giving his own account a gossipy, entertaining directness, similar to a historical novel.

(He also includes a bibliography, endnotes and an index.) Autié’s perspective highlights just how out of touch and frivolous the aristocrats were; for example, when he brings news to Versailles of the fall of the Bastille, he finds the court ladies “oblivious” and “clamoring for his services.” Bashor doesn’t clearly explain the specifics of hair powdering and wig making or how Autié arranged his fantastic poufs (although he does include illustrations), but his depiction of Autié’s fascinating fly-on-the-wall role as confidant to doomed royalty makes up for it. Overall, he delivers an informative examination of a little-known player on a great stage.

An entertaining, well-researched work that will particularly interest students of cultural history and the French Revolution. |

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SUMMER IS MY FAVORITE SEASON A Memoir of Childhood and War in Kosovo

TALES OF EVA AND LUCAS Cuentos de Eva y Lucas Berlin, Delia Illus. by Quercia, Hailey CreateSpace (38 pp.) $8.49 paper | Sep. 25, 2013 978-1-4910-9783-0

Berisha, Ilir CreateSpace (284 pp.) $12.99 paper | $5.99 e-book Sep. 30, 2013 978-1-4904-4224-2

Berisha, in his debut memoir, recounts growing up in Kosovo under Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic’s increasingly repressive regime.

The author, born in Kosovo in 1985, was almost 4 when he first saw the signs of political unrest in his country: people marching in support of a miners’ strike protesting the new Serbian regime. His own family consisted of ethnic Albanians, and the government passed new laws to take away that ethnic group’s freedoms, one by one. This memoir doesn’t attempt to trace the tangled history of Balkan politics (going back, Berisha points out, to 1389) but instead shows their effects from a personal perspective. Every detail of daily life drives home the Albanians’ inferior status; for example, Serbians had access to dentists and anesthesia for tooth extractions, while Albanians, even children, got interns and no pain relief. The author’s parents, called Babi and Mami, often became angry, scared and frustrated, sometimes taking it out on their three small children by slapping and yelling at them. Soaring inflation drove Babi to buy and sell on the black market, where he was always in danger from thuggish Serbian police: “Watching your father being beaten is the worst feeling in the world,” Berisha writes. Food disappeared, civilians were slaughtered, and the war came ever closer to the author’s home; his beloved uncle, for example, was murdered by a Serbian paramilitary group. Eventually, his family made a difficult, dangerous journey to Macedonia and, later, the West. Berisha is a close, careful observer of war and privation from a young person’s point of view. For example, a new pair of knockoff shoes rates a chapter of its own; his classmates were envious, but they didn’t know “that I worked hard at the markets twice a week for more than two years to earn these.” The author capably controls his story’s tone, never becoming maudlin despite his family’s sufferings, and he uses understatement to good effect: “Once the plane takes off and I realize that I am going to America, to the home of Bill Clinton, of bananas and Coca-Colas, of skyscrapers and cowboys, I think I am somewhere completely opposite from hell.”

A beautifully written memoir that throws light on a war that’s too little understood in America.

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This Spanish-English picture book soars with three charming tales about the day-to-day adventures of two avian friends.

Eva is a young hen with a great imagination. It’s so great that at bedtime, she scares herself with make-believe monsters, and she’s unable to fall asleep. But that’s all right because Lucas, her neighbor and best friend, has a pair of “magic” socks that never fail to make him feel calm and safe. Since he’s a thoughtful, empathetic chicken, he lends Eva his socks, only to discover too late that now he’s the one who’ll be spending the night sleepless and afraid. The next morning, Eva’s imagination comes to their rescue, and the two manage to work things out so that from then on, both can be sure of getting a good night’s rest. The pair also like to share—provided they’re always “perfectly fair”—but how can they live up to such standards when, as is often the case, the bags of candy they buy contain an odd number of sweets? This challenge proves a bit more difficult, though Eva’s generosity— and Lucas’ sense of justice—saves the day. Whimsical blackand-white illustrations bring to life these endearing characters and the world they share with dogs, ducks and other types of birds. As a bonus, little ones may enjoy coloring in the drawings.

Both the English and Spanish texts flow smoothly, and the book as a whole offers early readers and preschoolers great lessons in friendship, sharing and creative thinking.

An absorbing, educational book for adults to read to their children or for young readers to peruse on their own.

THE WISHBONE EXPRESS Cook, Bruce CreateSpace (428 pp.) $19.95 paper | $9.99 e-book May 8, 2013 978-1-4849-2299-6

Daredevil interstellar couriers and Wishbone, their souped-up spaceship, see light years of danger when they agree to escort a witness in a criminal case through hostile hyperspace.

Imagine if, instead of Chewbacca, Han Solo had another partner: Han Solo. That’s the vibe between interstellar couriers Bill Jenkins and Randy Henson, two young, handsome, clever and daring pals self-employed in the galactic delivery business.

They’re known for taking especially risky assignments just for the thrill of it. Their ace is a sleek “stellayacht” named Wishbone, tricked out with fancy hyperdrive engines and yottabytes of astronavigational data. But the Wishbone’s latest contract turns out to be more than they bargained for, as the boys must deliver

“It’s no slight to call this a poet’s novel—its narrative thrust is a lyrical one, its strengths are its precision of thought and image, variety of prose and the depth of its meditations.” from ghost at the loom

a witness and a dossier of evidence about deep-space corporate violations to a tribunal on the corrupt world of PhilcaniTu. Their three shifty passengers are a wimpy human lawyer, a harsh femme fatale mercenary and bodyguard, and a strange otterlike animal, but a more pressing peril en route comes from outside: A squad of attack ships, also engineered for hyperspace, is light years away but determined to catch up with and destroy the Wishbone. In a narrative that is, essentially, one long space chase, the lead characters and relentless posse resemble the crux of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Such is the forward momentum that even the predictable bits breeze past enjoyably, and the tale still takes a few eventful turns after it appears the finish line has been crossed. Despite keeping the tone buoyant with some pulpy slang dialogue—e.g., “my old bucko,” “So who’s minding the store?” “where’s the whatchama-callit?”—and loving references to mid-20th-century movies and 1960 Corvettes, the story avoids careening into camp. In dealing with malicious faster-than-light missiles and other menaces, some of the dynamic duo’s problem-solving skills are worthy of Capt. Solo.

A quicksilver, retro-style space opera packed with zerogravity thrills.

1918

Cornish, David CreateSpace (774 pp.) $28.00 paper | $10.99 e-book Jun. 7, 2013 978-1-4826-8715-6 A U.S. physician with a specialty in infectious diseases fights against the 1918 influenza pandemic in Cornish’s debut work of historical fiction.

Maj. Edward Noble, overseeing American soldiers during “The War,” is ordered back to Boston to ensure diseases don’t continue to spike the mortality rate. He soon learns of the high death rate from influenza, which only increases when the virus crops up in other countries and then returns to the States as a much deadlier strain. Dwindling hospital staff and medical supplies are just part of Noble’s troubles. Warning the public of a pandemic isn’t easy when certain powerful people refuse to accept that influenza is a disease.

Cornish’s novel has surprisingly few characters considering its scope; it clocks in at more than 750 pages. But keeping the cast manageable proves to be a great asset; it still shows the flu’s reach while concentrating on the sympathetic Noble; his wife, Lilly; and their five children. The doctor faces plenty of obstacles professionally—alerting people about the virus incites the surgeon general, who asserts that influenza is not a concern—as well as at home, where none of his loved ones are immune to the disease. Supporting characters shine, including Col. Victor Vaughn, a good friend to Noble’s late father; Akeema, the nanny treated as family; and Cmdr. Richard Cunard, Noble’s nemesis since Lilly chose Noble instead of him back at Boston University. Cornish loads his story with medical jargon. Most of it can be deciphered via context, like “roentgenograms,”

which are X-ray photographs. But the surplus of terminology can be a deterrent: The dramatic punch of caring for a sickly family member is softened by cold clinical descriptions, both in the dialogue between Noble and Lilly and in the repetition and recording of vital signs (pulse, blood pressure, etc.). Regardless, Noble is an appealing, knowledgeable focal point in this fictionalized rendering of the great influenza pandemic.

Affecting characters and dramatic storytelling overcome an occasionally argot-laden plot.

GHOST AT THE LOOM

Cotler, T. Zachary MP Publishing (224 pp.) $14.95 paper | Dec. 10, 2013 978-1-84982-245-9 Poet Cotler’s (Sonnets to the Humans, 2012, etc.) affecting, lyric novel is a long letter from writer Rider Sonnenreich to his sister Leya, its subject nothing less than the mind of an artist.

Both Rider and his sister repeatedly suffered “glimmers” (seizures) as children, and Leya has come to represent something of Rider’s muse, a complicated, ephemeral figure whom he doesn’t wholly understand, yet he’s drawn to her and makes her the subject of his art. She exists mostly in the folds of his memory, though, and readers learn in the opening pages that she has disappeared to Europe, of which Rider remarks: “It’s beautiful enough.” At the behest of his mother, he bums around different European cities, supposedly looking for her but finding instead a variety of bohemians whom he regards like a poet. When he eventually reconnects with her, his memory blends with her present incarnation, which involves dissociation and a bathtub slicked with vomit. Readers looking for a tidy travel narrative should look elsewhere; one scene here takes place in “Gigot’s annex,” full of slightly stoned Italians and expats, and Rider imagines himself there as a boy who would “squat in the corner and cover [his] ears” if given his way.

In the same scene, he reveals that he “wouldn’t mind becoming sharper, crazy I mean, not weak-minded crazy. Subtle disconnections.” It’s the voice of a poet in Europe: romantic and sarcastic to the bone, simultaneously jaded and full of wonder.

Featuring this kind of overt meditation that’s often on a writer’s mind can be risky, but Cotler pulls it off, injecting feeling into each image, each response, each gesture. It’s no slight to call this a poet’s novel—its narrative thrust is a lyrical one, its strengths are its precision of thought and image, variety of prose and the depth of its meditations. The novel is addressed to the sister, in second person, casting the reader as a voyeur. Or is it really the reader who is addressed, cast as the sister, to whom the poet addresses his interior missives? Cotler stays one step ahead: “Art, I guess, can unintentionally insult the viewer by presuming to include him.”

A beautiful, disturbing portrait of an artist.

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HOW TO TIME TRAVEL Explore the Science, Paradoxes, and Evidence Del Monte, Louis A. Louis A. Del Monte (194 pp.) $12.95 paper | $4.95 e-book Sep. 18, 2013 978-0-9881718-4-8

Time travel—its possibilities, potential and primary obstacles—gets a levelheaded review from a physicist in this lucid, optimistic book.

Throughout Del Monte’s book, which focuses on how time travel might be accomplished and the major issues that stand in the way of its realization, he takes care to emphasize the scientific method, not just for time travel but in evaluating the theories and evidence behind it. By necessity, much of the book discusses various theories and speculations, beginning with Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and extending forward to modern formulations, ranging from Alcubierre’s space-warp proposal to Mallet’s space-time twist theory. Given that many in the scientific community believe time travel is at least theoretically possible, Del Monte focuses in later chapters on the engineering challenges, discussing what would be needed to achieve it and how civilization might go about reaching those milestones. While some of the ideas along the way are the stuff of conspiracy theorists and late-night talk radio—UFOs, the Philadelphia Experiment, etc.—Del Monte never condescends in his examinations, taking a rational, methodical approach to evaluating the possibilities and explaining why he thinks they do or don’t merit further examination. In his refreshingly evenkeeled, forthright approach—particularly in his discussion of scientific and anecdotal evidence and the place of both in any thought process—Del Monte does an excellent job of exemplifying the scientific method in action. He clearly favors certain conclusions, but he takes pains to allow room for readers to develop their own interpretations, and he includes appendices with further information to assist readers in digging deeper.

This articulate, principled use of scientific methodology offers a clear, rational examination of an intriguing concept.

RED PHONE BOX A Darkly Magical Story Cycle Ellis, Warren; Dedopulos, Tim Ghostwoods Books (368 pp.) $12.56 paper | Nov. 30, 2013 978-0-9576271-0-9

A genre-bending collection of horror-fantasy short stories set in London, centering on a red phone booth, gateway to the netherworld.

Suffering from insomnia due to her recently ended love affair, Amber sets off on a midnight stroll through London, imagining that her entire body is glowing.

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She returns to her apartment to find a new boyfriend who can’t comprehend why she doesn’t know him. What initially seems to be a loosely connected assortment of short stories is actually a short story cycle or composite novel. As the anthology progresses, characters and plotlines interweave. The introduction of the Anglesey Deer, an amulet carved out of one of the trees from the Roman massacre of Druids in Anglesey in A.D. 60, creates another unifying storyline. American professor Kelly David travels to England at the behest of Horace Vandenbussche, thinking her tenure will be guaranteed once she obtains this priceless artifact. Instead, she witnesses first his shape-shifting and then his murder. Her quest for the amulet may lead to her own demise, as well as that of several other characters. Particularly heart-rending are Francesca Burgon’s stories (“Phone Boxes Taste Bad” and “When the Phone Rings”), featuring young Margaret and her perhaps mentally ill, perhaps extremely focused mother, who totes around bags of evidence and makes phone calls to share her findings. The compelling Gloria Vandenbussche, despite her despair at being her father’s gofer, is transcendent in the stories in which she appears, particularly Tamsyn Kennedy’s “A Brief Transaction,” which neatly blends urban fantasy with chick lit. Occasionally disjointed due to the abundance of plotlines, characters and settings, the collection comprises 58 short stories by 29 different authors. Nonetheless, the anthology’s style works overall, a testament to skillful editing. A few of the storylines remain unresolved, leaving the door open for the promised Book 2. The quintessentially cheerful symbol of England, the red phone box, doesn’t hint at the dark materials contained here.

This mix of horror, noir and urban fantasy plays with the boundaries of literary genre fiction.

BEFORE BETHLEHEM

Flerlage, James J. DreamScapes Publishing Ltd (292 pp.) $12.95 paper | $2.99 e-book Oct. 31, 2013 978-0-9898281-0-9 A historical novel set on the eve of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Set in early first-century Palestine, Flerlage’s historical fiction debut is narrated by James, the son of Nazarene carpenter Joseph, who, after his first wife died, went on to wed a young girl named Mary and have with her their more famous son, Jesus. Young James tells the story of normal small-town life spiked with social and political unrest simmering just under the surface. Tension among the Jewish people, their religious leaders and their imperial Roman overseers lurks behind the scenes Flerlage effectively dramatizes. Although many moments are quiet and quite evocative—“He swished some [water] around in his mouth to clean the raisins out of his teeth and spat it on the ground”—the larger-scope bitterness is never far away: “It seems that every time our people protest or revolt, the Romans end up crucifying, spearing, burning, boiling, and ultimately

“Authors Grasis and Duffy bring irresistible personality to the undying zombie genre.” from the zombie notebooks

killing anyone in their way, including innocent people.” Joseph and James travel to the great Temple in Jerusalem, the heart of both Jewish faith and Jewish unrest, and all along, Joseph displays intelligence, impatience with Roman rule and a wry sense of humor. “How do you know if a man is really speaking on behalf of God?” James asks Joseph, to which he chuckles and replies, “I have no idea, but if you ever meet a prophet, would you introduce me?” Flerlage fleshes out the story with excellent pacing and dialogue, and he doesn’t fail to deliver what many readers will be expecting: Joseph’s meeting Mary—“Her voice was like the songs of birds in the morning, her words like cool winds on a sunny harvest day”—their marriage and the babyhood of James’ half brother, Jesus. Readers who’ve enjoyed religious fiction from Taylor Caldwell and Francine Rivers will particularly enjoy.

A warmly personal portrait of Joseph, earthly father of Jesus.

THE ZOMBIE NOTEBOOKS Luke’s Story Grasis, John; Duffy, Kris T. CreateSpace (168 pp.) $8.99 paper | $6.49 e-book Sep. 18, 2013 978-1-4848-8636-6

Connecticut suburbanites try to survive against an undead horde in this hilarious YA debut.

Thirteen-year-old Luke can’t stand showering, gym class or his older brother, Cody. He’s also short for his age, making him the prime target for a bully named Brian. But, except when it comes to homework, Luke is no delinquent—his mom, raising two boys alone, is a police officer. One day, while she’s on duty, there are news reports that people in nearby Hartford have gone crazy. Could it be from sniffing hallucinogenic bath salts, like Luke heard about in health class? Possibly, which keeps Mom at work for another shift. Later that night, zombies break into their home, and Luke and Cody escape to Mr. Crawford’s house. Their neighbor, a veteran of the first Iraq War, shoots at the flesh eaters, but when this tactic fails to hold back the horde, the brothers head through their besieged neighborhood and end up meeting Luke’s best friend, Travis, and his sister Michelle. From here, the foursome travel toward the center of town, meeting plenty of unlikely allies (and enemies) while trying to reunite with Mom. Authors Grasis and Duffy bring irresistible personality to the undying zombie genre. Luke’s daffy, self-deprecating narration is consistently amusing: “Even from this distance I could tell the [zombies] had a variety of bite marks, ripped skin, and blood all over them. That can’t be sanitary.” Early set pieces are equally flavorful, including a run-in with zombie cows and even a brawl against the undead elderly (dentures play a part). But Grasis and Duffy don’t revel too long in cartoonish mayhem; their survival tale eventually grows serious, and dramatic implications are explored: “I could see that underneath she was somebody’s

grandmother. I was killing people—humans!” As readers see the boyish hero grow into a young man, the adventure’s second half more closely follows tales like The Walking Dead, in which a ragtag group slowly expands.

An excellent offbeat start to a gory new series.

250 TIPS FOR STAYING YOUNG A Guide to Aging Well Hecht, Mary A. CreateSpace (104 pp.) $7.95 paper | Sep. 27, 2013 978-1-4905-6510-1

An engaging, frank handbook that focuses on how to avoid looking and feeling old.

Hecht, a former educational consultant who retired in 2013, has written a guide that approaches aging with honesty, humor and insight.

She takes somewhat of a risk of alienating her intended audience by addressing the unpleasant aspects of aging in Part 1, which she titles “Annoying Habits of Old People.” Hecht can be exceedingly blunt: “Take note of how much grunting you do, and resist making sounds that show how much effort it takes for you to get up from a chair, get out of a car, etc.” The author talks openly about the aging body, eyes, ears, nose, throat, teeth, face, hair, skin and mind—and that’s just Part 1. But Hecht tempers what could be unsettling for the reader by including specific, easy solutions in each chapter: “Keep a positive attitude toward yourself and your body; start by smiling instead of frowning.”

She also appends several short anecdotes and vignettes at the end of each chapter in which real people relate their own relevant experiences, offering readers a sense of comfort that they aren’t alone in dealing with physical, mental and emotional changes. Part 2 includes a range of important topics, such as finances in retirement, protection from identity theft and mugging, leaving a legacy, and the often taboo topic of aging and sex.

As in the first part, Part 2 includes specific solutions and short anecdotes. Hecht approaches each of these subjects without being judgmental as she explains her point of view in language that is simple yet not condescending. Chapters are brief and to the point; some readers may in fact find the content a bit too cursory rather than comprehensive. Still, in a book intended to convey 250 quick tips, Hecht manages to achieve a decent balance of detail—not too little, not too much.

A realistic if sobering look in the mirror for individuals with aging parents or for those who are aging themselves.

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HYPOTHYROIDISM, HEALTH & HAPPINESS The Riddle of Illness Revealed Hotze, Steven F. Advantage Media Group (278 pp.) $26.99 | $9.99 e-book | Jun. 15, 2013 978-1-59932-396-1

A physician argues that undiagnosed hypothyroidism is the cause of many common medical conditions.

Hotze (Hormones, Health, and Happiness: A Natural Medical Formula for Rediscovering Youth with Bioidentical Hormones, 2007), the director of the Hotze Health & Wellness Center, a Texas clinic that specializes in treating thyroid conditions, convincingly argues that the thyroid gland plays a vital role in overall well-being. After studying the issue for more than 20 years, he has condensed his findings into an accessible guide. The thyroid gland, located in the neck, affects everything from metabolism to mental health. The author argues that an overlooked epidemic of hypothyroidism is responsible for some of today’s most commonly treated medical conditions. The reason for this medical mistake is twofold. First, the overly broad test used to diagnose thyroid conditions misses many abnormalities. Second, a heavy reliance on synthetic rather than naturally produced thyroid-replacement drugs actually prevents many patients from correcting their thyroid imbalances. Much of the book criticizes modern medicine, from doctors who are beholden to drug companies to a system that relies too heavily on received wisdom. These criticisms, and the facts that Hotze provides to support them, are shocking. Regardless of how intrigued readers are by the author’s hypotheses, they will question the quality of their health care. The rest of the text includes explanations of hypothyroidism and case studies of patients. At times, the work reads like an extended advertisement for the author’s clinic, but the evidence—written plainly for patients with wide-ranging medical issues—is convincing. The book is frustratingly free of dissenting opinions, but even those readers unconvinced that thyroid therapy is a cure-all may want to get their thyroids tested.

Anyone dealing with a medical mystery will be intrigued by the author’s conclusions on the importance of healthy thyroid function.

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EMILY DICKINSON: GODDESS OF THE VOLCANO A Biographical Novel Lala-Crist, Despina Translated by Crist, Robert L. CreateSpace (462 pp.) $16.98 paper | $7.99 e-book Sep. 23, 2013 978-1-4701-4709-9

A series of linked passions runs through the famed poet’s life in this fic-

tionalized biography.

Initially, this book seems to be far stranger than it really is: The title suggests a persona and possibly even a locale far outside how readers usually perceive the Belle of Amherst, and the opening chapters include supernatural meetings between the narrator and members of the Dickinson family. But before too long, the book settles down into a readable, though not revolutionary, portrait of the artist’s life and loves. As such, it may appeal particularly to fans of her poetry (some of which is about volcanoes) but perhaps not to readers looking for a weighty biography interwoven with heavily academic analysis of her work. Dickinson was a writer’s writer. She worked, famously, in isolation and uncompromisingly safeguarded the integrity of her words; she reportedly turned down offers of publication, justifiably fearing that her unorthodox form and punctuation would be altered. For her part, Lala-Crist (Nostos, 2001) literally inserts herself as narrator into the action of her novel. It’s clear with every line that she profoundly reveres Dickinson and feels a connection with her that transcends space and time—an intriguing idea, but there’s too little of Lala-Crist’s own personal history to make this a meaningful exploration. In the end, the most significant contribution here is the splicing together of Dickinson’s poetry and her biography, an approach missing, for instance, in Jerome Charyn’s The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson (2011). Readers, especially those already entrenched in Dickinson studies, may not embrace every parallel Lala-Crist makes, but many connections are essential to an understanding of the poet and the person. Lala-Crist also deftly deals with Dickinson’s retreat from society in midlife; she stayed mostly in her own room and saw almost no one but her immediate family.

Thanks to Lala-Crist’s empathetic portrayal, the presentation of this odd decision as gradual and organic—as opposed to a fit of passion precipitated by a dramatic event—rings true.

A highly personal view of Dickinson’s words and spirit that will find an appreciative audience among the poet’s kindred spirits.

WRITE THROUGH CHICAGO Learn About a City by Writing About a City Larson, Mark Henry; Boone, Bob Amika Press (180 pp.) $17.95 paper | Sep. 21, 2013 978-1-937484-15-6

A writing manual based on the city of Chicago.

Larson (The Creative Writing Handbook, 1992) and Boone (Forest High, 2011) collaborate to produce a guide primarily for students, although it’d be useful for anyone “curious about Chicago and anxious to write.” Their guide covers nearly a dozen of the nationwide Common Core State Standards for writing, including orienting students to the rhetorical forms of argument, exposition and narrative, and to disciplines like planning, revising and rewriting. The authors approach their task by presenting students with a series of archived headlines from different pivotal points in Chicago history, from the days of fur trader Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable in 1790 to the passage through town of President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train in 1865 to the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871, as well as the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, the World Series of 1906 and newly elected Barack Obama’s victory speech from 2008. In all these cases and many more, the authors encourage writing students to extrapolate from the headline and quick bullet points of the event, with pointed motivations to consider as many angles as possible, such as the president’s Secret Service detail or the engineers on Lincoln’s train. It’s also recommended for students to go online for further research and to imagine how they would have reacted at the time. Finally, students are encouraged to envision a new scenario spun off from the headline’s setting but involving them personally. In all cases, students are carefully guided through the use of educator Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Objectives, first using so-called lower-level thinking (knowledge, comprehension and application) and then higher-level thinking (analysis, synthesis and evaluation). The headlines are well-chosen to represent a wide range of interests—everything from the social reforms of Jane Addams and Hull House to the poetry of Carl Sandburg and the prose of Studs Terkel—and the concept of making writing exercises come alive through local history is an inspired one.

A stimulating, well-presented approach to getting students interested in writing.

LATTICEWORK Libby, David B. Manuscript

In this debut sci-fi tale set in a dystopian future, a low-level investigator’s life is interrupted when he learns about the darker side of his technologically efficient world.

Rennard, a self-described “hardened military loner…untutored in the finer aspects of the rich history of the humanities,” is content to work as a low-level contractor, hunting down fugitive Origines, humans whose minds have been reprogrammed. However, he’s unexpectedly promoted and assigned to work alongside Prime Investigator Clair, a beautiful, intelligent and accomplished woman who outranks him. In a world forever changed by global warming, Rennard is accustomed to a predictable life, and it has never occurred to him to want for more than the government-subsidized, reconstituted food automatically prepared at the push of a button. So when Clair takes him to an exotic “restorancy” that serves real food and plays actual piano music, he’s transfixed and surprised to learn that he’s wealthy enough to enjoy these luxuries every day; before now, he’s never had reason to check how many “debents” he had in the bank. (The author’s vivid descriptions of Rennard’s first encounters with real food will give readers an appreciation for the simple pleasures many take for granted.) As Rennard delves into his new job, his budding relationship with Clair and his foray into an epicurean lifestyle cause his mind to wander from his investigation of a series of unauthorized, “replanted” minds.

Soon, the investigation takes a more serious turn after persons of interest start turning up dead, sending Rennard and Clair on a mission to the moon. As the investigation continues, his encounters with Minims, a highly advanced form of replanted humans, cause him to question everything he knows—even what it means to be human. This gripping story, told through Rennard’s unique, enlightening worldview, will allow most readers to forgive a slightly predictable ending. Overall, the author provides an engaging modern perspective to classic sci-fi themes, and fans of Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep will particularly enjoy this dark exploration of the role of technology, free will, and the pursuit of happiness amid the aftereffects of an environmental meltdown.

An engaging novel about a man awakening to the reality of his society.

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BACK STORY: LESS AGENT, MORE AGENCY ONE WRITER’S SUCCESSFUL JOURNEY FROM INDEPENDENT TO INTERDEPENDENT

By Timothy A. Pychyl

Photo courtesy Beth Rohr

Wh e n I f i r s t b e g a n w r i t i n g Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change, I received an intriguing and flattering call from a literary agent. I was excited. Someone was interested in my writing. Not just someone: This was a major agency. Real writers have literary agents, right? I was going to be a real writer.

As I began to discuss my book ideas with one of the vice presidents of the firm, I learned a number of things from their perspective. Publishers don’t speak to authors. Ever. Authors need agents. Agents know how to position the book. I also learned that market forces would begin to affect my writing immediately.

I would be writing counter to other current or forthcoming titles.

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warnings of being neglected convinced me that this was the route I wanted to take. I didn’t want to be on anyone else’s writing schedule and writing for a particular niche in the market. I didn’t want someone else dictating my choices. I knew that I had to shape the writing through my own process, through my own personal sense of agency, so I made a commitment to publishing my book independently. I would do it my way.

Yikes, did I just write that? Ever since Frank Sinatra popularized the Paul Anka song “My Way,” I’ve been reluctant to say, “I did it my way.” However, that’s exactly what I have to say about my publishing experience.

Of course, publishing independently didn’t mean that I was working alone. I hired a good friend who works as a technical writer to be my editor. I hired another friend who is an artist to design a book cover. I was an author and manager of a project. I found it very engaging and rewarding.

A finished manuscript is not a book, however, particularly when you’re self-publishing. I needed a selfpublishing company that would put together what I wanted for a fair price. Xlibris offered me these services at a competitive rate, and most importantly, they let me set my own price for the e-book version. This was something that took a fair amount of negotiation.

I wanted to take the “app-pricing” approach to the ebook. In fact, I insisted on it before I would sign any agreement. We finally agreed on an e-book price of $2.99. They set the paperback price, which I accepted given the costs of printing.

The Xlibris team worked quickly with me, and I was impressed. Within 48 hours, we moved from a Word manuscript to a formatted book. This was made easier because I was well-prepared with carefully edited text, appropriately formatted illustrations and cover art all complete ahead of time.

Every self-publishing company that I know of also offers marketing services. These were not for me.

Once again, I wanted to do it “my way.” In this case, that meant promoting the book through my already well-established blog and podcast. At the time of publishing my book, my blog had over 2 million views and my podcast nearly a million downloads. I also was doing regular media interviews throughout North America based on my research as a psychologist. Further marketing was not where I wanted to invest. In fact, I would argue that anyone who is considering self-publishing should first think carefully about who is already interested in reading what they write.

It’s important to establish some credibility as a writer in other domains before a book project becomes your writing focus. Given the widespread use of social media, this has never been easier, at least in terms of getting your writing “out there.” Of course, in a world that is based so much on the economics of attention, there is still the issue of getting people to notice your writing. For each writer, this will be a different process.

I think the key question to ask yourself is, “Why would someone want to read what I’ve written?” When you come up with an answer to that question, you have some direction for where you might want to post your writing online.

For example, I began writing my blog at the request of the Psychology Today editors. They knew my research on procrastination, and they thought that their readers would like to read my thoughts about how we become our own worst enemies with needless delay. To my delight, they were right. Along the way, I also learned that I enjoyed writing more popular pieces in addition to the scholarly writing I do for scientific journals. A book project evolved from there.

I think the most important thing that I did as an author throughout this process was to keep my focus on the goal of writing the book, to get my perspective down in a book-length format, not to write a best-seller (which is what I felt the agent I spoke to was focused on, for obvious reasons). With my focus on meeting my goal of writing the book, I was happy with this achievement. The journey was as important as the destination. In addition, I didn’t lament slow sales or get overly excited about larger royalty payments. I did what I set out to do, and that was good.

This spring, when the vice president and publisher of Tarcher/Penguin contacted me expressing an inter-

est in acquiring the rights to my book, I learned that the literary agent was wrong: Publishers do speak to authors. There is more than one way to publish a book.

To be honest, I don’t know what to expect now.

That’s nothing new; I never have. I suppose that’s all part of what I wanted when I decided to do it “my way.” I’ve learned that my “way” isn’t just about maintaining my autonomy and agency as an author. It’s also about the direction of my journey. It’s been a journey from independent to interdependent, and I’m ready for that with Tarcher/Penguin. I’m also ready to invest my renewed sense of agency into a new writing project.

I certainly won’t procrastinate.

Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D., is the author of Solving the Procrastination Puzzle: A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change and lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Solving the Procrastination Puzzle has not been reviewed in Kirkus Reviews.

SOLVING THE PROCRASTINATION PUZZLE A Concise Guide to Strategies for Change Pychyl, Timothy A. Tarcher/Penguin (128 pp.) $12.95 | Dec. 26, 2013 978-0-399-16812-3 |

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“Under Morelli’s deft pen, the gondola- and oar-making trades are elevated to the historic art forms they really were.” from the gondola maker

BEING SOBER AND BECOMING HAPPY The Best Ideas from The Director of Spiritual Guidance at Hazelden MacDougall, John A. John MacDougall (216 pp.) $14.99 paper | $8.99 e-book Sep. 22, 2013 978-0-615-84737-5

A spiritual interpretation of Alcoholics Anonymous’ Big Book.

In his debut, MacDougall brings readers the wit, wisdom and secrets he’s learned over the years as an alcoholic and a spiritual director at an addiction recovery center. Perhaps most important, he explores the connection among sobriety, spirituality and happiness, placing an emphasis on not just avoiding alcohol, but on creating a new life, since, as he says, “If we take an alcoholic and all we do for that alcoholic is remove the alcohol from the alcohol-ic, then what we have left is an ‘ic.’ ” He writes with honesty and humor about his own struggles with childhood violence, abuse and addiction, as well as the ups and downs of recovery and the immense power of Alcoholics Anonymous. He sees addiction as being ultimately self-centered and views AA’s emphasis on a higher power as a way to move beyond selfish thinking and into a new relationship with the self, others and reality. Personal anecdotes give readers new insight into AA’s Steps and Traditions, and he applies these to romantic relationships and personal growth in new and useful ways. The work serves as an original, readable primer for those unfamiliar with AA and a fresh take on spirituality in AA for those who may be struggling with it. MacDougall writes from a Christian standpoint, though he never pushes a particular belief system, and his broad view of faith may prove useful for those with a range of views about religion. His writing is clear and accessible without being dumbed down, and his respect and compassion for readers and for anyone struggling with addiction clearly shines through.

A heartfelt, worthwhile read for anyone who is struggling with or who knows someone struggling with addiction.

THE GONDOLA MAKER Morelli, Laura Self Mar. 3, 2014 978-0-9893671-0-3

The heir to a gondola empire rejects his birthright but comes full circle in this fascinating glimpse into late-Renaissance Venice by art historian–turned-novelist Morelli (Made in Italy, 2008).

Twenty-two-year-old Luca Vianello believes his left-handedness to be his greatest curse, until the death of his beloved mother right after she gives birth. Luca’s rage at seeing his father—whom he blames for his mother’s frequent, ill-fated pregnancies—at work so soon after her 124

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death results in a tragic fire at his family’s squero (a gondola boatyard). Fleeing his home, his betrothed and his trade, Luca ends up on the streets of Venice. Unable to fully escape his heritage, he finds a position as a gondolier. Eventually, in a life-altering move, he becomes private boatman to Trevisan, a successful artist. Luca is introduced—first in a painting, then in the flesh—to the beautiful Giuliana Zanchi, with whom he becomes infatuated. She hires him to perform side jobs for her, and the two eventually become friends.

While restoring an old gondola of Trevisan’s that was made in his family’s squero, Luca, and eventually Trevisan, recognizes that he is in his own right a craftsman, a true artist. But when Luca becomes aware that Giuliana is in danger, he risks everything to save her.

Vulnerable, honorable Luca will tug at readers’ heartstrings, while author Morelli’s evocative descriptions of late-16th-century Venice and its inhabitants alternately captivate and nauseate, with accurate depictions of personal and public hygiene. The paucity of dialogue does little to slow the novel’s pace, and long paragraphs of Luca’s self-reflection can be surprisingly interesting. Under Morelli’s deft pen, the gondola- and oar-making trades are elevated to the historic art forms they really were.

Adeptly explores the consequences of pride and respect for women against the backdrop of Renaissance Italy.

THEN LIKE THE BLIND MAN Orbie’s Story

Owens, Freddie Blind Sight Publications (324 pp.) $12.00 paper | $0.99 e-book Nov. 15, 2012 978-1-4750-8449-8 A Detroit boy is sent to stay with his grandparents in rural 1950s Appalachia in this debut literary novel with touches of magical realism.

Nine-year-old Orbie Ray is “a handful” according to his stepfather, Victor. That’s why he has to stay with his grandparents in Kentucky while the rest of the family drives down to Florida, where Victor has a job opportunity. Everything in Harlan’s Crossroads is so different from Detroit—not just the bluegrass and tobacco farms, but also the race relations. Orbie grew up believing that “colored” kids jumped you in the schoolyard and that a black man caused the accident that killed his father.

However, in Kentucky, he notices that white folks are often scarier—such as Old Man Harlan, who charges too much at his store, or Bird Pruitt, Harlan’s disturbing hunchback cousin. He also meets Moses Mashbone, a half Choctaw, half black snake handler and medicine man who saved Granpaw’s life; as a result, Granny won’t allow Orbie to say the N-word. Orbie can’t find anyone to play with, so he overcomes his fears and makes friends with Willis, a “little colored boy Moses takes care of.” Willis has a stutter and clubfoot, but he also sings and draws pictures. The story of how Victor courted Orbie’s mother unfolds in flashback, alternating with scenes of Orbie’s story, as he finds himself confronting powerful forces—race, family, nature and even

something supernatural. In his debut novel, Owens captures his characters’ folksy Appalachian diction without overdoing it and subtly reveals character through dialogue and description. He also renders a child’s viewpoint with great psychological sensitivity: “I didn’t like the way [Victor] was all the time trying to be on my mind. It was too close together somehow—like when Momma started talking about Jesus and wouldn’t shut up.”

Moses and Willis are sometimes overly idealized, and readers may wish that the novel better explored the downsides of snakehandling churches. Overall, however, readers will find this an impressive debut.

A psychologically astute, skillful, engrossing and satisfying novel.

THE MANY LIVES OF SAMUEL BEAUCHAMP A Demon’s Story Siemsen, Michael Fantome Publishing (124 pp.) $3.99 e-book | Nov. 11, 2013

The further adventures of an intelligent, book-loving, body-swapping demon.

“I am such a coward,” thinks Samuel Beauchamp, the main character in Siemsen’s (A Warm Place to Call Home, 2013) latest novel, about a winningly confessional demon who’s “seemingly immortal, yet afraid of everything.” Samuel had been an ordinary teenager in 1930s California until he was hit by a truck and killed—only to find his consciousness was able to leap from body to body at will. Panicked and disoriented, he first takes possession of the driver who “killed” him, and it’s a jarring transition: “I smelled the dirt, the trees, the sharp aftershave from the cheeks and neck. My cheeks and neck. I was in control of this body now.” Samuel must learn the physics of this thing he does; for instance, if he’s not careful when he leaves the body of someone he’s possessing, he’ll leave them in a vegetative state, their minds wiped clean of all thought and memory. Not being the vindictive sort, he has no wish to do such a thing, and he gradually learns to slip in and out of his host bodies more gently. Still, there are details to adapt to: “Strange pains, different strengths, sensitivities, allergies, hair growth.” Samuel can’t access his hosts’ memories and must therefore figure out their lives on the go, and fortunately, Siemsen acutely and entertainingly works out the mechanics of the uncanny maneuver. This new set of adventures can be enjoyed independently of its predecessor, as bibliophile Samuel settles into life as a librarian in East Harlem until he encounters others of his kind roaming the world. In time, he meets Gregor, a revolting fellow demon who’s chosen a radically different approach to immortality than Samuel, and their confrontation provides a riveting climax.

A fascinating, at times moving story of a demon looking for normalcy.

JASON AND THE DRACONAUTS

Smith, Paul D. Smittyworks Productions (352 pp.) $12.95 paper | Oct. 30, 2013 978-0-615-86624-6 Dragons compete with humans and try to integrate into 21st-century life in Smith’s clever, witty YA debut.

Jason Hewes is an ordinary American kid living on a farmstead in Montana with his dad, an archaeologist at the Montana Archaeological Society.

One night after a terrible storm, Jason discovers a dragon in the barn, and his ordinary, if slightly troubled life—his mother and older brother were killed in a car crash, and he’s preyed upon by school bullies—suddenly takes a surreal twist as he tries to understand how this great mythological being suddenly entered his life. The dragon, Petros, can understand human speech, and after Jason’s initial reservations, the boy strikes up a friendship and agrees to help the beast learn more about modern human society, which will hopefully result in peaceful coexistence. More dragons join, along with a group of select teenagers—later known as the Draconauts—and an agreement is made to seek out a mage who can help disguise the creatures so they won’t be so conspicuous in city life. The entry of Norm the mage signals a turning point in the book: An experiment to disguise the creatures goes awry, resulting in dragons only being able to exist in human form and children in dragon form. Once this highly unusual premise is accepted, seeing the human world through dragons’ eyes, and vice versa, becomes quite compelling. It’s hard not to laugh when the rather formal-speaking dragons occupy the teenagers’ bodies; in a particularly funny scene, Petros (transformed into Jason) tries to conduct a children’s party at the local museum. But Norm’s magic has drawn the attention of an age-old enemy and a sinister sect intent on ridding the world of dragons, which puts the children in terrible danger and gives the book an edge to keep the tension rising as the kids try to outwit a menacing foe.

An unusual book for dragon lovers, with plenty of action and a good balance of humor and suspense.

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“A valuable, perceptive eyewitness account of one giant leap for mankind.” from below tranquility base

THE SAGA OF SAN FRANCISCO’S WILD WESTERN ADDITION AND ME Speer, Robert Leland Speer Press (338 pp.) $17.95 paper | $9.99 e-book Aug. 27, 2013 978-0-615-86379-5

A wide-ranging debut memoir about a gay man in San Francisco.

Speer has lived in San Francisco for almost 50 years, beginning as a struggling writer and eventually becoming a successful real estate broker. His love for his neighborhood, the Western Addition, flows through his memoir.

There’s little Speer doesn’t know about the neighborhood, his neighbors, the machinations of city government, the political fights and so on. Speer, a gay man from Kansas City, came of age in the West Coast city famous for its tolerance, and readers will be immersed in that culture, too. The website for Speer’s real estate company proclaims “an emphasis on architecturally and historically significant buildings,” and that passion shows up here in spades: wonderful descriptions of houses and neighborhoods by a fierce preservationist who clearly knows and loves what he’s writing about. Speer comes across as involved, tolerant and generous in his feelings, but the memoir can sometimes feel overstuffed with heartfelt rememberings. In a biographical chapter, Speer quickly sketches the backgrounds of his spouse, John Wong, and their friend Ming Gee, but his own story begins with the Speer family’s first arrival on American shores and then goes on for more than 30 pages. Chapters dedicated to the Western Addition will fascinate readers interested in urban studies, as will the latter half of the book, which catalogs features of the neighborhood and its organizations. But readers might get lost in the cast of characters amid all the thumbnail sketches of Speer’s friends and their dinner parties.

Enough material for multiple, engrossing memoirs—a Midwestern childhood, San Francisco gay culture, the history of a neighborhood—that don’t receive enough focus here.

BELOW TRANQUILITY BASE

Stachurski, Richard CreateSpace (356 pp.) $13.95 paper | $9.99 e-book | Oct. 1, 2013 978-1-4825-2765-0 Stachurski, assigned by a superior in the U.S. Air Force to work at NASA during the 1969 moon landing, tells his version of man’s greatest adventure.

In July 1969, Stachurski was one of the ground technicians at Mission Control in Houston during the near-mythic Apollo 11 lunar landing. His aim here is not to put readers in the moon boots of Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin (who remain distant figures in this telling) but rather into the seats of the rows upon rows of 126

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generally unsung, console-bound tech specialists at Mission Control. They were incredibly near the action yet so far, connected to the spaceships by a tenuous web of low-wattage radio telemetry being intercepted and relayed at stations around the Earth, as they digested and second-guessed data about the Apollo spacecraft and its trajectory. Stachurski volunteers a few bio tidbits about himself, an academic prodigy born to a working-class household. He studied history but wound up in the Air Force, minding nuclear missile silos in the American heartland, until he was recruited for the NASA effort, according to him, because someone thought it would be interesting to see a “liberal arts puke” in the mix with rocket scientists. As lead network controller, Stachurski describes himself as a mathilliterate, nontechnical type, terrified that something would go wrong with Apollo 11 on his watch. But, apart from a prolonged communications lapse with a tracking station on the Canary Islands, things proceeded more or less without a snag. There’s a revelation that a mismatched mélange of corporate contractors meant some hardware couldn’t interface properly, and a false alarm that a lunar module fuel tank had gone faulty (which would have potentially stranded Armstrong and Aldrin) constitutes the only real sense of jeopardy. For the most part, this story has been told many times before, but Stachurski’s take is offbeat if a bit dry; despite his efforts to convey NASA technojargon for the layman (who might want to read the glossary and extensive appendices first), there’s little drama in dialogue such as “COMM CONTROL, NETWORK. Can you confirm your circuit restoral priorities for me?” Fortunately, the author—perhaps thanks to his inner “liberal arts puke”—felt the need to document the events in Houston, and readers will be glad he took such extensive notes. Though the author resists editorializing about politics and subsequent directions taken by NASA, his Apollo refrain—“Not bad for government work”—hints at the enormous amount of teamwork involved.

A valuable, perceptive eyewitness account of one giant leap for mankind.

THE HONSHU PIONEER The U.S. Occupation of Japan and the First G.I. Newspaper

Thomas, Tom CreateSpace (460 pp.) $15.95 paper | $12.95 e-book | Sep. 3, 2013 978-1-4895-2366-2 A compilation of headlines and essays from a newspaper published immediately after World War II by American soldiers stationed in Japan.

In his debut work, editor Thomas collects and transcribes highlights from the Honshu Pioneer, a weekly, mimeographed paper written by his father, Arthur Delong Thomas, and other GIs stationed in Japan in 1945 and 1946. Thomas includes headlines, editorials, and his father’s regular column, “From a 6-Holer,” which takes its title from the soldiers’ term for their latrine. The columns address soldiers’ everyday complaints,

from cigarette shortages to the many delays they faced in getting discharged from the Army and returning to the United States, and its headlines offer hints of Cold War troubles ahead. The prose across the collection is uneven, but on the whole, Thomas’ father brings a M*A*S*H-like sly humor to his cynicism about the Army, and his style often bears a resemblance to that of John Steinbeck’s journalism: “Soldiers are intended for one thing— war. They don’t look well wandering about town; it embarrasses people. The citizenry can’t feel sorry and charitable toward GI’s who aren’t brandishing bayonets and eating K rations in muddy foxholes.” The articles are full of terminology that today’s readers may find offensive, though the many derogatory terms for the Japanese were in common use among the soldiers who produced these works. The younger Thomas, in editorial remarks on some articles, is often surprised by the vehement criticism of United States policy in postwar Asia that appeared in this semiofficial newspaper, and readers will be impressed by the soldiers’ insights into the challenges of rebuilding a defeated enemy nation and the beginnings of the American-led militaryindustrial complex. The dominant theme, though, is the soldiers’ desire to return home at war’s end and their frustrations with the ongoing delays in their departures. Also included are reproductions of the paper’s regular editorial cartoons.

A funny, insightful and authentic view of occupied Japan.

THE WISHKEEPER

Timm, Maximilian A. Lost King Entertainment (354 pp.) $12.99 paper | $1.99 e-book Oct. 30, 2013 978-0-9910632-0-8 Timm, in his debut, enters the YA world with an imaginative take on pursuing dreams.

Timm masterminds a fantastical setting, rife with inventive terminology: the Fairy Intelligence Agency; Exclamation Point, the cliff where every wish goes to rest until its fulfillment; and the WishKeepers (fairies) and WishMakers (humans), simply referred to as Keepers and Makers. Due to all the unfamiliar language in the foreign land of Paragonia, the first 15 of 48 chapters paint a curious world with numerous questions that are answered later in the relatively lengthy book. The action follows Shea, a stubborn fairy with a tumultuous past whose present reality includes a lot of disappointment and bullying. She evolves into a classic YA heroine: broken but brave, angry but hopeful. A relatable protagonist, she begins taking risks to make her own wishes come true: “All she ever asked or wished for was a chance. But she might just need to create that chance on her own and she was done feeling sorry for herself.” Timm takes some risks, too, by navigating the relatively uncharted territory of lesbian love in YA fiction via Avery, who has deep feelings of love for Elanor.

Timm takes on the fantasy gamut with finesse, including everything from high jinks to romance. There are cry-worthy scenes, as with the drama of a daughter grieving for her dead mother,

and amusing moments, particularly with Shea’s snappy assessments of various wishes. In many ways, the conflict is resolved by book’s end, though a two-page epilogue will whet readers’ appetites for Book 2. Parents will appreciate the book’s inspiring message and the courage it might stir in young readers.

An action-packed, dramatic tale with a nonstandard relationship and a winning message.

AN ESSENTIAL DECEPTION

Tucker, Brian A. CreateSpace (726 pp.) $25.00 paper | Oct. 30, 2013 978-1-4811-8774-9 In this sprawling international thriller, an ancient secret society seeks domination over Western governments.

At the start of Tucker’s blandly titled but brilliantly executed debut, British Prime Minister James Moore goes missing while horseback riding. He’d entered office on a wave of popularity, but parliamentary frustrations caused the public to nickname him Dismal Jimmy, “a political disaster, stumbling from one crisis to another, while his government scrambled to complete its first full term in office.” Scotland Yard naturally treats his disappearance as a potential kidnapping and calls in Dr. Hanson Shaw, one of their former investigators. He’d left their ranks for the private sector after resolving several investigations with uncanny speed and skill. Unbeknownst to his former colleagues, Hanson used to have preternatural insights (“spontaneous spells of contemplative abstraction”) during his migraine attacks, and this new crisis has reawakened his weird abilities: “Visions were once again invading his mind, breathing life into a subconscious inner awareness he thought was lost forever.” Shaw teams up with Cate Brocklehurst, a research associate of his old mentor, former Oxford don Winston Elliott, and they begin sifting through clues involving a medieval secret society called the Lions of Jerusalem. Their investigation eventually leads them to sinister billionaire (and eminently hissable villain) Edward Cheyne, who intones such Bond-villain lines as “Change is coming.” It turns out that he’s funding a clandestine terrorist agenda that reaches far beyond the kidnapping of one British head of state. With an amazingly assured narrative style, Tucker takes readers from the machinations of his nefarious, multicultural bad guys to the dogged sleuthing of Shaw and his allies, punctuated by vivid descriptions of Shaw’s painful attacks and incredible deductive visions. Before long, the plot expands to a global scale involving the Syrians, the Americans, and al-Qaida and half a dozen other volatile groups. Tucker handles it all with extremely lively pacing and frequent glints of Shaw’s wry outlook on life. As long as this book is, readers will likely wish it were longer.

A truly impressive thriller debut in the vein of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.

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BOW TIES, BUTTERFLIES & BAND-AIDS A Journey Through Childhood Cancers and Back to Life

A MONSTER FOR TEA Williams, Walter Fernwood & Hedges Books $16.99 | Dec. 3, 2013 978-0-9890698-3-0

VanDyke, Lindsey CreateSpace (320 pp.) $15.00 paper | $6.00 e-book Jun. 21, 2010 978-1-4505-3564-9

In Williams’ children’s book, a little girl and a monster begin an unlikely friendship in a story about keeping an

VanDyke’s memoir of an idyllic childhood changed irrevocably by cancer.

VanDyke wasn’t quite an average 11-year-old, but she was a happy and healthy one, living with her parents, brother and extended family on a sprawling farm in Oregon, going to school and church, riding horses, celebrating birthdays and so on. But when one of those birthday parties ended with a mystifying emergency that evolved into her diagnosis of kidney cancer, the pace and pattern of life changed forever for both VanDyke and her family. She tells the story in her own voice as an adolescent, showing a remarkable capacity to inhabit the psyche of her former self: Her memories, emotions and language all ring with authenticity. The narrative unfolds in a way that echoes the author’s own gathering awareness of her condition; for the most part, readers learn about diagnoses, medications and treatments right alongside the young VanDyke. The exceptions are brief passages in the voices of her mother, father, nurse and friends, which precede each chapter and read like oral histories that cumulatively provide a broad sense of how cancer affects a tightknit community. This book, VanDyke’s first, is remarkable in its ability to read simultaneously as a compelling YA novel and a serious medical memoir. The scientific names for the diseases, drugs and procedures are given—VanDyke doesn’t miss a detail—yet she also makes clear that this is all knowledge in which a teenage cancer patient learns to become conversant. As Lindsey enters adulthood and receives a new diagnosis of thyroid cancer, the tone of the book changes a bit and may become somewhat less engaging for younger readers, who will identify less with issues of fertility, marriage and career. But embedded within this new journey are poignant observations about PTSD related to her treatment and the lasting psychological scars of childhood cancer—observations that will resonate deeply with both survivors and parents of current patients.

Intelligent, unvarnished and ultimately hopeful; essential reading for anyone touched by childhood cancer.

open mind.

One night, a little girl is awoken by a monster, “neither careful nor quiet,” as he flattens her garden. She commands the monster to stop, but instead of allowing him to retreat into the neighboring woods, she invites him to join her for tea. This is clearly a little girl unafraid of monsters! The beast, surprised by this brave reaction and unfamiliar with tea, obliges. As Williams (The Bicycle Garden, 2013) writes, “He only knew about eating people and animals and tearing apart buildings and breathing fire.” With the girl’s assistance, and some patience as he overcomes chairs that don’t support his frame and teacups too diminutive for his hands, the monster shares cookies and tea with the young heroine, who then tucks him into bed beneath the night sky. The monster thought, as he looked up at the girl with his large bulbous eyes, “no one has ever been so kind.” The tale ends as the little girl ponders whether her kindness has changed her new friend’s monstrous habits. More than a story of teatime, Williams crafts a fable about overcoming stereotypes and the benefits that result. The girl’s friendship with the brute is illustrated through simple, appealing line drawings with highlights of color. Williams doesn’t say if the monster changes his ways but lets the reader wonder along with the little girl, allowing for connection and interactions between young readers and the story. Little ones can decide for themselves if the little girl’s kindness had a lasting effect, and teachers or caregivers can speak about the benefits of expecting the best from people (or monsters).

A simple story that will charm little ones and diminish some of the terror surrounding monsters.

SAVIOR’S DAY

Winter, Alan A. iUniverse (318 pp.) $28.95 | $18.95 paper | $6.99 e-book Sep. 3, 2013 978-1-4917-0569-8 An ancient text contains a shattering truth in this apocalyptic thriller.

Winter’s (Someone Else’s Son, 2013) tense, tightly plotted novel opens with an exceptionally effective dramatic hook: Two men—one Christian, one Muslim—perch in hidden spots on rooftops above Jerusalem’s Western Wall, patiently waiting for an elaborate ceremony to start. It’s a ceremony that has the attention of the entire world, as the pope, the U.S. president, and the leaders of Israel and Palestine plan to handle an

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“Zercoe’s compassion and humanity shine, and readers can revel in not only her relative health, but her ultimate happiness.” from a kick-ass fairy

ancient biblical text, the Codex of Aleppo, in a symbolic gesture of peace. Jerusalem will then formally become an international protectorate under the jurisdiction of the United Nations, thus resolving territorial controversies that have plagued the region for centuries. Both gunmen, spurred by fanatical visions, are prepared to stop it from happening—even at the cost of their own lives. As Winter ratchets up the tension leading to the climactic moment, he switches abruptly to the story of Cardinal Arnold Ford, who witnesses a man getting shot on the steps of New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral; the man hands him a strange slip of paper before he dies. Ford, a craggy, magnetic, middleaged black man, later meets the intriguing LeShana Thompkins, a New York police detective investigating the shooting. They both have hidden depths: The cardinal sees visions (one early scene in a confessional is particularly chilling), and the detective knows both the Hebrew language and the complicated history and significance of the Codex of Aleppo. As she relates this history to Ford, Winter interweaves chapters that richly evoke the various main characters’ pasts. The complicated plot resembles a pair of interlocking spirals, with Detective Thompkins’ revelations taking readers steadily further back in time and the gunmen’s parallel back stories bringing readers forward to the moment of the shooting. Winter’s command of his historical material is impressive, as is his skill at shaping his characters— particularly Ford and Thompkins, whose unfolding relationship is the best thing in the book. The textual mystery of the codex will please Dan Brown fans, and its execution is a significant step above that in The Da Vinci Code (2003).

A thrilling, satisfying and multilayered adventure story.

family’s extensive history with cancer gave Zercoe the drive to let her unique case help medical research. And she needed all her strength and heart to face the news of her young daughter’s own cancer diagnosis. It took everything being stripped away to show Zercoe what mattered most: love and family in the present moment. The litany of misfortune can sometimes make for hard reading; there’s so much plot that the narration lacks a pause, a place for readers to check in with how Zercoe was feeling at the moment. What’s more, the many details of problems that arose when life wasn’t at stake, such as nannies who quit or living in a house as it was remodeled, can sound trivial. The narration often strays into real diary entries, which don’t do much to illuminate Zercoe’s internal journey. But there’s reward in the memoir’s second half, when it focuses on the author’s hopeful transformation through spirituality and her forming true bonds with women she wants to help. In these final chapters, Zercoe’s compassion and humanity shine, and readers can revel in not only her relative health, but her ultimate happiness. A foreword

by Margaret A. Tempero, director of the UCSF Pancreas Center, offers additional insight.

A one-of-a-kind cancer story that makes for a riveting, if not particularly illuminating, account.

A KICK-ASS FAIRY

Zercoe, Linda Hidden Oak Press (358 pp.) $15.99 paper | $7.99 e-book Sep. 19, 2013 978-0-9895815-4-7

K I R K US M E DI A L L C # President M A RC W I N K E L M A N

A detailed memoir from a registered nurse about her battles with cancer, again and again and again.

Zercoe can’t seem to escape tragedy. As a young child, she was thrown from the window of a school bus when the driver took a turn too quickly. As a young wife and mother, she was told by her brother-in-law that her husband had been electrocuted and killed. As a businesswoman, wife and mother of two, she found a small lump in her breast. And that was only the beginning.

A year and a half later, after her first mastectomy, the cancer returned, forcing her to have a lumpectomy followed by yet another mastectomy. Five years later, there was a splitting pain in her side, which led doctors to discover she had pancreatic cancer. Throughout these tragedies, Zercoe juggled the minutiae of everyday life—marriage woes, brooding teenage children, lost promotions—and strove to find joy. Her cancer treatments ranged from chemo to surgery to support groups as she survived one medical mess after another. Discovering her

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“Like having a chat with an erudite, opinionated uncle; even if readers don’t agree with all his views, they’ll recognize the value of his experience.” from the enlightened capitalism manifesto

THE ENLIGHTENED CAPITALISM MANIFESTO A Blueprint for a Revitalized America Zimmer, Henry B. $15.95 paper | $8.77 e-book Nov. 10, 2013 978-0-615-90479-5

A sweeping call for broad reform by a semiretired CPA/CA and experienced author of fifteen books on taxation and financial planning.

Inspired in part by President Barack Obama’s open invitation for suggestions for change during his 2012 campaign, Zimmer (Canadian Tax and Investment Guide, 1993, etc.) tackles a broad array of issues in his 11-chapter book, ranging from financial planning to educational reform. Drawing on both his United States citizenship and his longtime residence in Canada, Zimmer is uniquely qualified to compare and contrast the benefits and shortcomings of both countries’ governments and policies. However, the primary focus in this work is his promotion of enlightened capitalism—i.e., capitalism without greed or excessiveness. The direct opposite, he says, of enlightened capitalism is unbridled capitalism, the spell under which the U.S. has fallen in recent years, as the gap between the haves and havenots widens. Zimmer’s common-sense approach and unaffected writing style make for a quick read, unburdened by complicated jargon or technical language. In fact, he avers that despite having worked for decades as an accountant, he never used more than the most basic algebra—perhaps confirming the beliefs many high schoolers have that they’ll have little use for what they learn in advanced math. No issue is too big or too controversial for Zimmer—he gives his views on everything from banking to gay marriage—and the sweeping political and social changes he suggests seem logical, if not logistically impossible to implement. Most useful are Zimmer’s suggestions in his area of particular expertise—financial planning. He advocates living within one’s means, paying off one’s mortgage as quickly as possible and never accumulating unnecessary debt, even if banks and tax laws make it easy and desirable. He invites readers to share their opinions on the issues he raises via his website so that cumulative results may be seen.

Like having a chat with an erudite, opinionated uncle; even if readers don’t agree with all his views, they’ll recognize the value of his experience.

This Issue’s Contributors # Kent Armstrong • Charles Cassady • Stephanie Cerra • Ian Correa • Sara Lyons Davis Steve Donoghue • Courtney Gillette • Justin Hickey • Susan J.E. Illis • Katie Linton • Riley MacLeod • Richard Monte • Brandon Nolta • Mercedes M. Perez • Jackson Radish • Sarah Rettger • Jessica Skwire Routhier • Jerome Shea • Barry Silverstein • Jacob Sunderlin

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Appreciations: Haruki Murakami Turns 65 B Y G RE G O RY MC NA MEE

A young man forgets the name of a woman with whom he has been in love. She smoked lots of cigarettes, drank lots of coffee and read lots of books. “There,” he says. “That’s everything I know about her.”

A young woman recalls, dimly, that Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and the Soviet cosmonauts made the news in the same year. For that reason she calls Kerouac a Sputnik. When informed that it’s the wrong word, she replies, “Beatnik—Sputnik. I can never remember those kinds of terms. It’s like the Kenmun Restoration or the Treaty of Rapallo. Ancient history.”

It’s 1984, that Orwellian year, and a young woman named Aomame—“green beans,” in Japanese—leaves a taxicab on a gridlocked Tokyo highway, drops into a rabbit hole and enters an alternate universe.

“Things are not what they seem.” So says the maker of those tales, Haruki Murakami, in the opening pages of the last story, the sprawling 2011 novel 1Q84. Indeed they are not, and having followed his work for years, sometimes I wonder if in his youth he found a soggy copy of Stars and Stripes in the street in occupied Japan, saw a “what’s wrong with this picture” puzzle, and divined then and there the aesthetic that has long defined his work, one of bewilderment, mutual misunderstanding, and hiccups on the continuum of space and time.

Add to that a mistrust of technology and authority. In the 1960s, a time that Murakami, who turns 65 on Jan. 12, seems to treasure above all others, such concerns in combination would have landed him a place on the roster of science-fiction writers. By the time Murakami arrived on the scene in the 1980s, with the exceedingly strange novel A Wild Sheep Chase, the initial temptation was to think of him as a kind of fantasist. Even today he works in this realm, if obliquely; late last October, a story of his in the New Yorker imagined a beetle taking form as Gregor Samsa, with all the rehumanizing possibilities that entails, though in a troubled time and a city “overflowing with foreign tanks and troops.”

Subsequent novels have deepened our view of Murakami—and made it that much more difficult to categorize him as anything other than a maker of literature, with perhaps the added qualification that he is a “literalist,” not much given to overt irony, and that his approach is often less anti-realistic than other-realistic, a hallmark of, yes, the best science fiction.

His admiration for the reality-bending possibilities of Franz Kafka has been a constant, as witness his 2002 novel Kafka on the Shore; he has also translated numerous American writers, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ursula LeGuin, Chris Van Allsburg and Raymond Carver, into Japanese. He has been an admired if not widely emulated writer, though there are good reasons for thinking David Mitchell’s time-traveling novel Cloud Atlas to be an homage of a kind. For many years running, a whispering campaign has surrounded his name for a Nobel Prize in literature, and his body of work certainly supports him as a serious candidate—and one of the most distinctive novelists of our time.

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Enigmatic Romanian master detective Enescu Fleet returns for another tangled tale.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

“[In the second installment of the Enescu Fleet series, Young] skillfully and delightfully lampoons conventional murder mysteries by filtering them through the quip-heavy sensibilities of a Wodehouse novel.”

“A smart, laugh-out-loud murder-mystery romp.”

—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) www.sherbanyoung.com Hardback 9780991232444 | Paper 9781480199149

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