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NEW BOOKS 2009-2010
October 2009
The Chosen One, by Carol Lynch Williams
“Taking a story ‘ripped from the headlines,’ Williams looks inside a polygamist cult and the dangers it poses for one girl. Kyra and her father, three mothers, and 20 siblings live in an isolated community under the thumb of a prophet, who controls every aspect of his apostles’ lives … Then the prophet decrees that Kyra is to become the wife of her 60-year-old uncle. A secret patron of a local mobile library, Kyra knows there’s a world away from the compound she might escape to, but … her family is threatened, and the stakes for her refusal to marry are raised. This is a heart pounder, and readers will be held, especially as the danger escalates.” (Booklist)
Low Boy, by John Wray
“Wray's captivating third novel drifts between psychological realities while exploring the narrative poetics of schizophrenia. The story centers on Will Heller, a 16-year-old New Yorker who has stopped taking his antipsychotic medication and wandered away from the mental hospital into the subway tunnels believing that the world will end within a few hours and that only he can save it … Wray deploys brilliant hallucinatory visuals, including chilling descriptions of the subway system and an imaginary river flowing beneath Manhattan. In his previous works, Wray has shown that he's not a stranger to dark themes, and with this tightly wound novel, he reaches new heights.” (Publishers Weekly)
After the Moment, by Garret Freymann-Weyr
“Leigh Hunter, 17, moves from New York to Washington, DC, to help his stepsister Millie cope with the death of her father. Maia Morland, a recovering anorexic and self-mutilator, eats her meals with the Hunters as part of her recovery. At first Leigh wants only to keep her safe but finds himself falling in love. He eats so that she will eat. She's raped (and filmed) by three prep-school classmates on his one night away from DC. In the background, bombs drop on Baghdad, and Leigh discovers that nations, like preppies, can justify anything. The author's feel for character and voice has never been better, and Leigh narrates with deep intelligence and heightened feeling.” (School Library Journal)
Why I Fight, by J. Adams Oaks
“Ever since he turned 12-and-a-half, Wyatt has been on the road with his cool uncle Spade … For six years his uncle’s Chevy ‘was my house,’ Wyatt tells the reader, and ‘all his ladyfriends was my mom.’ It’s Spade’s idea that Wyatt, who is unusually tall and strong, should start bare-knuckle fighting for money, and the boy, heartbreakingly eager to please, complies, winning fight after fight . . . until the last one. Oaks’ first novel is a breathtaking debut with an unforgettable protagonist … Will Wyatt ever find himself? Readers who meet him will care desperately about the answer.” (Booklist)
Take Your Shirt Off and Cry, by Nancy Balbirer
“It is a fact of life seldom discussed in our celebrity-mad media: most actors do not become either rich or famous. Balbirer revels in her failure in this witty, poignant, exceedingly well-written memoir chronicling the ups and downs (mostly downs) of a trained, hardworking actress who always seems on the cusp of greatness but who nevertheless always fails to make the grade … Balbirer charts her many adventures in off- and off-off-Broadway, on television, and later in Hollywood. Gossipmongers will find her stories of life in La-La Land especially fascinating.” (Booklist)
Dillinger’s Wild Ride, by Elliott J. Gorn
“Gorn presents a solid, unromanticized account of the last year in the short life of famed bank robber John Dillinger … After spending nine years—almost a third of his short life—in jail, Dillinger found a Depression-era America far different from the one he’d left. Less than two months into his parole, Dillinger and the first in a revolving parade of Dillinger gang members robbed the Commercial Bank in Daleville, Ind., making off with $3,500. Between July 1933 and his death just one year later, Dillinger robbed more than 10 banks, killed at least five people (all lawmen) and stole over $300,000, all the while evading capture by local law enforcement and later the FBI.” (Publishers Weekly)
Mother Poems, by Hope Anita Smith
“Smith writes about an African American child’s grief at the sudden death of her mother. The first poems celebrate Momma’s unconditional love and the intimacy of her embrace in daily life, [but] more than half the book is about her shock, sorrow, guilt, anger, and loving memories. Like the poetry, Smith’s simple, torn-paper collages in a folk-art style show the close embraces and vignettes without overwhelming the words. In one unforgettable picture, the child stands tall, her feet in Momma’s shoes. The girl feels bewildered by her friends who hate their mothers … Readers will recognize the regret: the last words you remember, ‘and the words you didn’t say.’” (Booklist)
The Carbon Diaries 2015, by Saci Lloyd
“Laura Brown, a 16-year-old Londoner and punk rocker, documents a year in the very near future, 2015, in diary form. She refers to recent massive storms brought on by climate change that have ravaged the planet and led Britain to be the first country to try ‘carbon rationing.’ Each person is allotted a prohibitively small measure of carbon points to be used each month, essentially obsoleting such luxuries as air travel or even heating one’s home … As [Laura] weathers staggering uncertainty, kill-me-now family crises, and a timelessly confusing dating scene, she finds a release valve in music and her mates … Deeply compulsive and urgently compulsory reading. (Booklist)
Corbenic, by Catherine Fisher
“17-year-old Cal abandons his alcoholic, schizophrenic mother and shabby English town. On the train to his uncle's house in a posh suburb, he gets off at Corbenic, which he later learns is nonexistent. He makes his way to the court of the crippled Fisher King, who knows Cal is really Percival, the last hope to restore the king's wasteland to its former glory. When the teenager fails to identify a vision of the Holy Grail, he is banished back to modern England. Then, as the legend goes, he searches for Corbenic, but can only return when he comes to terms with the mother he's rejected … Both the real and surreal settings are lushly rendered, and Fisher's physical descriptions are especially evocative.” (School Library Journal)
The World’s Shortest Stories of Love and Death, edited by Steve Moss and
John M. Daniel
“Building on the enormously successful World's Shortest Stories, here's an all-new collection of super-short fiction-each story a mere 55 words long! With nearly 150 contributors, including Charles Schulz and Fannie Flagg, these stories offer love, betrayal, passion, and death-in less time than it takes to count the words in this blurb! The perfect gift for those who claim to be too busy to read. For the rest of us, these stories are like literary canapes... Irresistible." (Product Description)
Girls against Girls: Why we are mean to each other and how we can
change, by Bonnie Burton
Firebirds Soaring, by
Nancy Springer, Jane Yolen, and more
“This anthology contains 19 short stories by some of the top writers in this genre. Nancy Springer opens the volume with a story of a precocious young princess with a gift of discernment who unearths the controlling power of the moon goddess hidden in a golden ring … The selections vary in length, with some short stories, some novellas … The variety of styles and themes and a gathering together of so many talented writers in one work offer readers a banquet for the imagination. For fans of the genre, this is a must read.” (School Library Journal
Thirteen Reasons Why, by
Jay Asher
“When Clay Jenson plays the cassette tapes he received in a mysterious package, he's surprised to hear the voice of dead classmate Hannah Baker. He's one of 13 people who receive Hannah's story, which details the circumstances that led to her suicide. Clay spends the rest of the day and long into the night listening to Hannah's voice and going to the locations she wants him to visit. The text alternates, sometimes quickly, between Hannah's voice (italicized) and Clay's thoughts as he listens to her words, which illuminate betrayals and secrets that demonstrate the consequences of even small actions … The message about how we treat one another, although sometimes heavy, makes for compelling reading.” (Booklist)
Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
“In a not-too-distant future, the United States [is] replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem … with all citizens required to watch. [16-year-old Katniss] and her male counterpart, Peeta [are] pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. Collins’s characters are completely realistic and sympathetic as they form alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing.” (School Library Journal) Note: The second book in the trilogy, Catching Fire, will be available later this fall.
1968, by Michael Kaufman
The year 1968 was “was a watershed year with people rising across the globe to assert their own power and voice. Divided into 10 sections, the fluid prose treats topics such as the Tet Offensive; tensions on the U.S. home front engendered by the Vietnam War; [and] the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bobby Kennedy … Arranged chronologically, the narrative puts these events and others into their proper sequence and notes how they echoed and influenced one another. Numerous excellent-quality black-and-white photos augment the text, and each section begins with a facsimile of the front page of the New York Times, showing how each event was reported. The full text of each article is appended, along with source notes and an excellent index.” (School Library Journal)
The Collector Car Restoration Bible, by
Matt Joseph
“This ultimate restoration and repair reference has all the answers to restorer's questions! The book delivers authoritative instructions and more than 500 how-to color photos to help restorers avoid costly errors and complete restoration goals. In this guide, restorers are led through various tasks of specific systems and processes that apply to any car, such as engine rebuilding, brake work and bodywork. In addition, this reference includes new procedures based on engine disassembly and assembly, and tips to caring for a completely restored car. From installing clutches to body refinishing this comprehensive resource delivers the details to transform ancient to excellent.” (Product Description)
Trees & Forests of America, by
Tim Palmer
“Palmer, an award-winning photographer, writer, and conservationist … brings readers deep into the woods, the green cathedrals of nature that sustain life on earth. Palmer traveled all across America to contemplate native trees still standing in and supporting healthy ecosystems, which means he went to state and national parks, wilderness areas and nature reserves, of which he avers we need many more. His knowledge of the inner workings of trees, the planet’s most majestic and oldest living organisms, sharpens his eye and underlies the cogent, wide-ranging narration that accompanies his landscapes and portraits of individual trees, each distinct and vital …” (Booklist)
Asta in the Wings, by Jan Elizabeth Watson
"This is a story of what happens when the outside world discovers that a widowed mother in Maine has removed her two children, seven-year-old Asta and her nine-year-old brother, Orion, from any contact with the outside world. Unaware that their mother is delusional, the two children do not feel deprived under her care … When their isolated living situation is discovered, the children find themselves at the mercy of kind yet sometimes misguided adults. Asta emerges as the stronger, more communicative child. Bright and sometimes wily, she remains steadfastly devoted to her gifted yet now mute brother … The narrative is told from Asta's perspective, and initially the tone is eerie and unsettling. As the story unfolds, the situation feels less threatening and even incorporates elements of humor.” (Library Journal)
Clubbing, by Andi Watson (Graphic Novel)
“For using a fake ID at a West End club, Lottie's parents banish her from London to stay with her grandparents on the grounds of a country club. Lottie spends her days learning about golf clubs, decorating ’Goth’ cakes for the local women's group, and getting to know Howard, the only single man close to her age in the vicinity. This mundane existence suddenly changes when an elderly woman [is] discovered dead, with an occult symbol carved on her arm. Howard suspects Lottie's grandfather, but as the two investigate, they discover a more supernatural answer … Lottie is one intrepid sleuth, in her high boots, fishnet tights, and short skirt, and she is not afraid to swing a golf club to protect her loved ones.” (Booklist)
First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won
My Heart and A Third-World Adventure Changed My Life, by Eve Brown-Waite
“College graduate Eve is looking for a meaningful endeavor and settles on the Peace Corps. Though she’s not sure a life without creature comforts is for her, she is certain of one thing: John, the Peace Corps recruiter, is the guy for her … a future with John means a life less ordinary, and soon after their marriage he accepts a job with CARE in Uganda. Once there, Eve finds the people welcoming but the lack of amenities and the persistent insect population daunting. With an appealing, down-to-earth voice, Brown-Waite chronicles her adventures abroad in an accessible, humorous tone …” (Booklist)
Murder in the Name of Honor, by Rana Husseini
“A hard-hitting and controversial examination of honor crimes. Common in many traditional societies around the world, as well as in migrant communities in Europe and the USA, they involve a 'punishment'--often death or disfigurement--carried out by a relative to restore the family's honor. Breaking through the conspiracy of silence, one writer above all others has been instrumental in bringing it to the world's attention: Rana Husseini.” (Product Description)
The Vast Fields of Ordinary, by Nick Burd
“Dade Hamilton is off to college in August, but until then, he must deal with a boring job in a dull city, his parents' failing marriage, and a rocky relationship with Pablo, a boy who publicly denies his homosexuality … When Dade meets Alex, however, the summer begins to improve. Alex is handsome and mysterious; most importantly, he adores Dade and isn't afraid to show it … What results is a series of dramatic interactions and events that force Dade to examine his emotions, his life, and the people in it. Burd addresses the themes of family, unrequited love, bullying, and sexuality in a fresh and believable manner … The Vast Fields of Ordinary is a refreshingly honest, sometimes funny, and often tender novel.” (School Library Journal)
National Geographic’s Complete Survival Manual