Publishers Weekly articles from January 2011, page 9

Publishers Weekly archives from January 2011

On Dangerous Ground: Stories of Western Noir.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... On Dangerous Ground: Stories of Western Noir Edited by Ed Gorman, Dave Zeltserman, and Martin H. Greenberg. Cemetery Dance (www. cemeterydance.com), $30 (416p) ISBN 978-158767-192-0 A wild posse of outlaws populates this dark, moody...

The Correspondence Artist.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... The Correspondence Artist Barbara Browning.Two-Dollar Radio (Consortium, dist.), $16 trade paper (168p) ISBN 978-0-9820151-9-3 Browning toys with form in her quirky debut, an epistolary love story that, despite a few misfires--the...

Friday's Daughter.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Friday's Daughter Patricia Sprinkle. Berkley, $15 trade paper (432p) ISBN 978-0-451-23219-9 Sprinkle's (Hold Up the Sky) newest comingles many of the worst qualities of Southern fiction with a cloying Cinderella story line. After...

The Informationist.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... * The Informationist Taylor Stevens. Crown, $23 (320p)ISBN 978-0-307-71709-2 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Stevens's blazingly brilliant debut introduces a great new action heroine, Vanessa Michael Munroe, who doesn't have to kick over a...

My Berlin Child.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... My Berlin Child Anne Wiazemsky, trans, from the French by Alison Anderson. Europa (Penguin, dist.), $15 trade paper (208p) ISBN 978-1-60945-003-8 A forest's worth of wooden prose dooms this airless account of wartime romance. It is 1944 and...

To Defy a King.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... To Defy a King Elizabeth Chadwick. Sourcebooks, $14.99 trade paper (544p) ISBN 978-1-4022-5089-7 A majestic High Middle Ages series continues in Chadwick's latest (after For the King's Favor) as Mahelt "Matty" Marshal, the daughter of...

My Blue Suede Shoes.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... My Blue Suede Shoes Edited by Tracy Price-Thompson. Atria, $15 trade paper (272p) ISBN 978-1-4165-4208-7 The titular footwear connects these overtly inspiring tales of African-American women recovering from domestic violence in the latest...

In the Shadow of Evil.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... In the Shadow of Evil Robin Caroll. B&H, $14.99 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-8054-4979-2 Romantic suspense writer Caroll (Fear No Evil) combines detective work ethics with construction site surroundings to build suspense and...

The Secret Soldier.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... The Secret Soldier Alex Berenson. Putnam, $25.95 (416p) ISBN 978-0-399-15708-0 Those who can't get enough post-9/11 novels about a maverick intelligence operative trying to foil yet another Islamic terrorist group bent on cataclysmic...

I Can't Make You Love Me, but I Can Make You Leave.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... I Can't Make You Love Me, but I Can Make You Leave Dixie Cash. Morrow, $13.99 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-06-191014-2 In chapter one of the pseudonymous Cash's sidesplitting seventh Domestic Equalizers mystery (after 2010's Our Red...

The Brothers of Baker Street.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... * The Brothers of Baker Street Michael Robertson. Minotaur, $24.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-312-53813-2 Set in 1997, Robertson's second mystery featuring barrister Reggie Heath, whose chambers are located at Sherlock Holmes's legendary...

Devil's Food Cake Murder.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Devil's Food Cake Murder Joanna Fluke. Kensington, $24 (304p) ISBN 978-0-7582-3491-9 Bestseller Fluke's fabulous 14th foodie mystery (after 2010's Apple Turnover Murder) finds Hannah Swenson, the baking whiz of the Cookie Jar in Lake Eden,...

Bless the Bride: A Molly Murphy Mystery.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Bless the Bride: A Molly Murphy Mystery Rhys Bowen. Minotaur, $24.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-312-62810-9 Set in 1903, Bowen's engaging 10th Molly Murphy mystery (after 2010's The Last Illusion) finds the maverick New York City PI at a major...

A Dead Man's Secret.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... A Dead Man's Secret Simon Beaufort. Severn, $28.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0-7278-6972-2 In Beaufort's intricate, meticulously researched eighth historical featuring Sir Geoffrey Mappestone (after 2010's The Bloodstained Throne), Henry, the...

Death Along the Spirit Road.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Death Along the Spirit Road C.M. Wendelboe. Berkley Prime Crime, $14 trade paper (320p) ISBN 978-0-425-24002-1 Wendelboe's debut, the absorbing first in a new Native American series, introduces FBI special agent Manny Tanno, a former...

Original Sins: A Crime Writers' Association Anthology.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Original Sins: A Crime Writers' Association Anthology Edited by Martin Edwards. Severn, $28.95 (240p) ISBN 978-0-7278-6999-9 Martin (Mysterious Pleasures) has assembled a high quality all-original CWA anthology, with many headline names...

On the Nickel: A Cleopatra Jones Mystery.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... On the Nickel: A Cleopatra Jones Mystery Maggie Toussaint. Five Star, $25.95 (242p) ISBN 978-1-59414-954-2 In the first half of Toussaint's middling second Cleopatra Jones mystery set in rural Maryland (after 2008's In for a Penny),...

Soul Survivor.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Soul Survivor Jeanne Glidewell. Five Star, $25.95 (256p) ISBN 978-1-59414-948-1 Cozy mystery author Glidewell (The Extinguished Guest) explores the concept of past lives in this engaging if shallow novel. Alarmed by her five-year-old...

In the Shadow of Swords.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... In the Shadow of Swords Val Gunn. Errant (Small Press United, dist.), $24.95 (361p) ISBN 978-0-615-23269-0 A brutal assassin, a drug-addicted spy, and a vengeful widow are embroiled in a potentially world-shaking conspiracy in Gunn's...

Kings of the North.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Kings of the North Elizabeth Moon. Del Rey, $26 (496p) ISBN 978-0-345-50875-1 The languorous sequel to 2010's Oath of Fealty finds many characters moving up in the world, including Kieri Phelan, the king of Lyonya, and Dorrin, now Duke...

Hellhole.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Hellhole Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Tor, $25.99 (544p) ISBN 978-0-7653-2269-2 Bestselling authors Herbert and Anderson (The Winds of Dune) start a space opera series with a tale quite similar to Frank Herbert's Dune in setting,...

Unseen.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Unseen Rachel Caine. Roc, $7.99 mass market (320p) ISBN 978-0-451-46383-8 Caine's third Outcast Season novel (after Unknown) finds the djinn Cassiel well adapted to the mortal body she's been exiled to. The same cannot be said for Ibby,...

Thirteen Years Later.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Thirteen Years Later Jasper Kent. Pyr, $17 trade paper (514p) ISBN 978-1-61614-253-7 Second in a projected quintet, this impressive historical-horror novel continues the action of Kent's Twelve (2010), in which Russian secret agent...

The Sea Thy Mistress.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... The Sea Thy Mistress Elizabeth Bear. Tor, $25.99 (336p) ISBN 9780-7653-1884-8 Hugo winner Bear pairs an insubstantial plot with broken, guilt-ridden characters in this quiet sequel to 2008's All the Windwracked Stars. When the angel Muire...

Of Blood and Honey.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Of Blood and Honey Stina Leicht. Night Shade, $14.99 trade paper (312p) ISBN 978-1-59780-213-0 Set in the Ireland of the Troubles, before the recent detente, this fraught debut captures the backdrop of tension and choosing sides that...

The Desert of Souls.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... The Desert of Souls Howard Andrew Jones. St. Martin's/Dunne, $24.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-312-64674-5 As richly textured as an antique rug, this fantasy-mystery sweeps readers into ancient Baghdad. Asim, captain of Master Jaffar's guard, and...

The Guy Next Door.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... The Guy Next Door Lori Foster, Susan Donovan, and Victoria Dahl. HQN, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-0-373-77556-9 Spring flings are the theme of this sexy escapist anthology from romance stars Foster (Bewitched), Donovan (Ain't Too...

Southern Star.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Southern Star Phyllis Humphrey and Carolann Camillo. Avalon, $23.95 (192p) ISBN 978-0-8034-7705-6 Humphrey and Camillo weave a predictable tale of love in the Bahamas in this skimpy contemporary. Marilee Shaw inherits her father's...

Not Without You.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Not Without You Jean Barrett. Five Star, $25.95 (288p) ISBN 978-1-59414-949-8 Kate Groen is a talented news correspondent who is devoted to her career, but when she's captured in Iraq during the first Gulf War, her future and heart become...

Truth or Demon.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Truth or Demon Kathy Love. Kensington/Brava, $14 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-7582-3197-0 Humor punctuates this agreeably entertaining if uninspired paranormal. Sexy demon Killian O'Brien is abruptly summoned into the mortal realm by a...

Letters from Home.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Letters from Home Kristina McMorris. Kensington, $15 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-7582-4684-4 This sweeping debut novel, told through letters and alternating points of view, is ambitious and compelling. During the turmoil of WWII, three...

Great Scots.('Seduced by Destiny' and 'Highland Heat')(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Golf, wordplay, battles, and passion liven up two top-notch Scottish historical romances. * Seduced by Destiny Kira Morgan. Grand Central/Forever, $7.99 mass market (352p) ISBN 978-0446-54817-5 Morgan follows 2010's Captured by Desire...

Ayn Rand's Anthem the Graphic Novel.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Ayn Rand's Anthem the Graphic Novel Charles Santino and Joe Staton. New American Library, $15 (144p) ISBN 978-0-45123217-5 In a future where misguided egalitarianism has reduced a once-vibrant civilization to a handful of doctrinaire serfs...

The Cardboard Valise.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... * The Cardboard Valise Ben Katchor. Pantheon, $25.95 (128p) ISBN 978-0-375-42114-3 In this winsomely haunting graphic novel from Katchor--whose weekly strips have been collected into The Jew of New York and Julius Knipl, Real Estate...

Salvatore, Vol. 1: Transports of Love.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Salvatore, Vol. 1: Transports of Love Nicolas De Crecy. NBM (www.nbmpub.com), $14.99 (104p) ISBN 978-1-56163-593-1 In this charming, amusing, and sometimes unsettling tale, pigs, dogs, cows, and cats move through France in a state of...

Two-Step.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Two-Step Warren Ellis, Amanda Connor and Jimmy Palmiotti. DC/Wildstorm, $19.95 (128p)ISBN 978-1-4012-2887-3 In an alternate London composed of theme parks, bored cam-girl Rosi Blades recognizes potential entertainment when she encounters...

America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... * America Aflame: How the Civil War Created a Nation David Goldfield. Bloomsbury Press, $35 (640p) ISBN 978-1-59691-702-6 This sweeping, provocative history of America from the 1830s through Reconstruction has two grand themes. One is...

With Fire and Sword: The Battle of Bunker Hill and the Beginning of the American Revolution.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... With Fire and Sword: The Battle of Bunker Hill and the Beginning of the American Revolution James L. Nelson. St. Martin's/Dunne, $27.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-312-57644-8 This rousing history rescues Bunker Hill from its folkloric shroud and...

Ancient Chinese Warfare: Antiquity Through the Spring and Autumn Period.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Ancient Chinese Warfare: Antiquity Through the Spring and Autumn Period Ralph D. Sawyer. Basic, $39.95 (576p) ISBN 978-0-465-02145-1 Sawyer, a leading scholar of Chinese warfare and fellow at the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies,...

Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Becoming a Star in Beijing.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Becoming a Star in Beijing Alan Paul. Harper, $25.99 (272p) ISBN 978-006-199315-2 In this entertaining memoir, Paul recounts an unanticipated life-changing...

PW talks with Les Standiford and Det. Sgt. Joe Matthews: the abduction that changed America: Bringing Adam home (Reviews, Nov. 29) tells for the first time how Det. Sgt. Joe Matthews solved the 1983 abduction and murder of six-year-old Adam Walsh.(Q&A)(Interview)
January 3, 2011... How did the two of you come together to write this book? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Les Standiford: Mitchell Kaplan of Books & Books in Miami insisted that he'd found my next book and that I had to meet Joe Matthews and read his...

Between Expectations: Lessons from a Pediatric Residency.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Between Expectations: Lessons from a Pediatric Residency Meghan MacLean Weir, M.D. Free Press, $25 (288p) ISBN 978-1-4391-8907-8 It's a given that doctors-in-training will suffer through sleep deprivation and stress, but pediatrician Weir...

The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study Howard S. Friedman and Leslie R. Martin. Hudson Street, $25.95 (272p) ISBN 978-1-59463-075-0 In this illuminating addition to the...

The Fear: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabwe.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... * The Fear: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabwe Peter Godwin. Little, Brown, $26.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-316-05173-6 In this remarkable look inside Mugabe's isolated yet restive Zimbabwe, journalist Godwin (When a Crocodile Eats the...

The Ragged Edge of the World: Encounters at the Frontier Where Modernity, Wildlands, and Indigenous Peoples Meet.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... The Ragged Edge of the World: Encounters at the Frontier Where Modernity, Wildlands, and Indigenous Peoples Meet Eugene Linden.Viking, $25 (256p) ISBN 978-0-670-2251-9 Mingling memoir with reportage, Linden (The Winds of Change), a veteran...

When I Am Playing with My Cat, How Do I Know That She Is Not Playing with Me?: Montaigne and Being in Touch with Life.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... * When I Am Playing with My Cat, How Do I Know That She Is Not Playing with Me?: Montaigne and Being in Touch with Life Saul Frampton. Pantheon, $26 (320p) ISBN 978-0-375-42471-7 With deceptive casualness, Frampton, assistant editor of the...

Stuntman! My Car-Crashing, Plane-Jumping, Bone-Breaking, Death-Defying Hollywood Life.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Stuntman! My Car-Crashing, Plane-Jumping, Bone-Breaking, Death-Defying Hollywood Life Hal Needham. Little, Brown, $25.99 (320p) ISBN 978-0-316-07899-3 Needham worked more than 40 years in Hollywood as a stuntman who filled in for John...

Reading Women: How the Great Books of Feminism Changed My Life.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Reading Women: How the Great Books of Feminism Changed My Life Stephanie Staal. PublicAffairs, $15.99 trade paper (288p) ISBN 978-1-58648-872-7 More than a decade after her graduation from Barnard College, journalist Staal (The Love They...

No Surrender: A World War II Memoir.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... No Surrender: A World War II Memoir James J. Sheeran. Berkley Caliber, $25.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-425-23958-2 Readers will marvel at the heroics of this 19-year-old paratrooper after he floated down on D-Day into Nazi-occupied France. In...

The human/machine complex.(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Two books explore the changing relationship between humans and machines * The Most Human Hum: What Talking to Computers Teaches Us About What It Means to Be Alive Brian Christian. Doubleday, $27.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-385-53306-5 In a...

The Birth of Classical Europe: A History from Troy to Augustine.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... The Birth of Classical Europe: A History from Troy to Augustine Simon Price and Peter Thonemann. Viking, $35 (416p) ISBN 978-0-670-02247-2 Price and Thonemann, both historians of ancient Greece and Rome (Price is currently at Oxford...

Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Small-Batch Baking for Chocolate Lovers Debby Maugans. St. Martin's, $21.99 (432p) ISBN 978-0-312-61224-5 Scones for two? A batch of eight cookies? Three brownies hot out of the oven? These tiny yields are the norm for recipes in Maugans's...

Rose Elliot's New Complete Vegetarian.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Rose Elliot's New Complete Vegetarian Rose Elliot. Sterling, $30 (400p) ISBN 978-1-4027-7895-7 Hardly a newcomer to the vegetable-centric category, British author Elliot has been dishing up meatless recipes for decades. The hundreds of...

A Woman's Guide to a Healthy Stomach: Taking Control of Your Digestive Health.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... A Woman's Guide to a Healthy Stomach: Taking Control of Your Digestive Health Jacqueline L. Wolf. Harlequin, $16.95 trade paper (272p) ISBN 978-0-373-89223-5 According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 70 million Americans...

Prevent a Second Heart Attack: 8 Foods, 8 Weeks to Reverse Heart Disease.(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Prevent a Second Heart Attack: 8 Foods, 8 Weeks to Reverse Heart Disease Janet Bond Brill. Three Rivers, $15 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-307-46525-2 In Cholesterol Down, nutrition and fitness expert Brill simplified lowering blood...

Having Children After Cancer: How to Make informed Choices Before and After Treatment and Build the Family of Your Dreams .(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Having Children After Cancer: How to Make informed Choices Before and After Treatment and Build the Family of Your Dreams Gina M. Shaw. Celestial Arts, $16.99 trade paper (224p) ISBN 978-1-58761-054-7 Shaw, a health and medical writer, breast...

Recently reviewed online.
January 3, 2011... www.publishersweekly.com Nonfiction 80! Memories & Reflections on Ursula K. Le Guin Edited by Karen Joy Fowler and Debbie Notkin. Aqueduct (www.aqueductpress.com), Oct. A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those...

The Loopy Coop Hens.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... * The Loopy Coop Hens Janet Morgan Stoeke. Dutton, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-525-42190-0 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Stoeke trades her popular Minerva Louise character for a trio of similarly dim hens--Pip, Dot, and Midge--who "love Rooster...

I Like You the Best.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... I Like You the Best Carol Thompson. Holiday House, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8234-2341-5 Meet Dolly the pig and Jack the rabbit: "best friend[s] in all the world" who adore each other. "I like your hair, Dolly," says Jack with the mien of a...

Cloudette.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Cloudette Tom Lichtenheld. Holt/Ottaviano, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-8050-8776-5 Lichtenheld, the illustrator of Shark vs. Train, turns in a quieter story about a small cloud and her search for a place to fit in (if the scenario recalls...

A Pet for Petunia.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... A Pet for Petunia Paul Schmid. Harper, $12.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-196331-5 Extroverted Petunia wears a striped purple jumper and lives a life filled with exclamation points; she "wants wants, wants/a REAL pet skunk." She pleads with her...

The Lord's Prayer.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... The Lord's Prayer Rick Warren, illus, by Richard Jesse Watson. Zonderkidz, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-310-71086-8 Watson and Warren's complementary visual and textual interpretations of the familiar Christian prayer provide a welcome...

Fresh stories, old friends.(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Start the year off right with some familiar faces Kevin Goes to the Library Liesbet Slegers. Clavis (IPG, dist.), $12.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-60537-075-0 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In this paper-over-board addition to the Kevin and Katie...

The Secret Box.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... * The Secret Box Barbara Lehman. Houghton Mifflin, $15.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-547-23868-5 As in her previous books, Lehman (The Red Book) develops the theme of children who stumble on unseen worlds. Here, three boys discover a box in the top...

Around the World on Eighty Legs.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Around the World on Eighty Legs Amy Gibson, illus, by Daniel Salmieri. Scholastic Press, $18.99 (56p) ISBN 978-0-439-58755-6 First-time author Gibson's collection of poems cleverly presents creatures from all across the globe in witty,...

Dear Tabby.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Dear Tabby Carolyn Crimi, illus, by David Roberts. Harper, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-114245-1 Letters, handbills, and newspaper articles tell the story of advice columnist Tabby D. Cat and her career fixing up the lives of her fellow...

The Story of Esther: A Purim Tale.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... The Story of Esther: A Purim Tale Eric A. Kimmel, illus, by Jill Weber. Holiday House, $16.95 (32 p) ISBN 978-0-8234-2223-4 Having adeptly tackled the Rosh Hashanah story of the rabbi of Nemirov in Even Higher! (2009), Kimmel and Weber...

Can we save the Tiger?(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... * Can we save the Tiger? Martin Jenkins, illus, by Vicky White. Candlewick, $16.99 (56p) ISBN 978-0-7636-4909-8 Magnificent artwork and a careful balance of good and bad news are the strengths of this examination of endangered species from...

Hothead.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Hothead Cal Ripken Jr. with Kevin Cowherd. Disney-Hyperion, $16.99 (144p) ISBN 978-1-4231-4000-9 In a surprisingly bland story given the title, retired Baltimore Orioles star and first-time children's book author Ripken and coauthor...

We Are Not Eaten by Yaks: An Accidental Adventure.(Brief article)(Children's review)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... We Are Not Eaten by Yaks: An Accidental Adventure C. Alexander London, illus, by Jonny Duddle. Philomel, $12.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-399-25487-1 In adult author London's first children's book, aptly classified as an accidental adventure,...

Between Shades of Gray.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... * Between Shades of Gray Ruta Sepetys. Philomel, $17.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-399-25412-3 Through the pained yet resilient narration of 15-year-old Lina, a gifted artist, this taut first novel tells the story of Lithuanians deported and sent...

Orchards.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Orchards Holly Thompson, illus, by Grady McFerrin. Delacorte, $17.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-385-73977-1 Writing in free verse, Thompson (Ash) eloquently captures a teenager's anger, guilt, and sorrow after a classmate takes her own life. Weeks...

Cloaked.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Cloaked Alex Flinn. HarperTeen, $16.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-06-087422-3 As she did in Beastly and A Kiss in Time, Flinn mixes traditional fairy tales with a modern setting in a romance that is clever but not always compelling. When the...

Death Cloud.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Death Cloud Andrew Lane. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, $16.99 (320p)ISBN 978-0-374-38767-9 Lane (The Bond Files, for adults) doesn't quite hit the mark in this British novel (authorized by the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle) that launches the...

Vesper.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Vesper Jeff Sampson. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $16.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-06-199276-6 Middle-grade author Sampson's (Monster Slayer) quick-paced YA debut, first in the Deviants series, gives werewolves an SF twist. Emily Webb is 16 when...

Exposed.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Exposed Kimberly Marcus. Random, $16.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-375-86693-7 This provocative first novel, told in free-verse poems, offers a nuanced view of the ramifications of a rape, as seen through the eyes of 16-year-old Liz, an avid...

Cryer's Cross.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Cryer's Cross Lisa McMann. Simon Pulse, $16.99 (240p) ISBN 978-1-4169-9481-7 In this ghost story, McCann (the Wake trilogy) delivers an atmospheric but unsatisfying tale of smalltown horror. Kendall Fletcher, a soccer player with...

Trapped.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review)
January 3, 2011... Trapped Michael Northrop. Scholastic Press, $16.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-545-21012-6 Northrop (Gentlemen) offers a gripping disaster story that, for its reliance on luck and coincidences to set things up, is no less exciting. Although Tattawa...

When reviewer becomes reviewee: on experiencing mild schizophrenia.(Soapbox)
January 3, 2011... The lot of a book reviewer isn't all roses. For one thing, you frequently have to commit to reading a lengthy, involved book--then, despite the investment of many precious hours, perhaps be willing to say that you despise the thing. I am a...