The Gathering
The Washington Post – Peter Behrens : There is something livid and much that is stunning about The Gathering, which deservedly won this year's Man Booker Prize. Anger brushes off every page, a species of rage that aches to confront silence and speak truth at last. The book's narrative tone echoes Joan Didion's furious, cool […]
Who Was First? : Discovering the Americas
School Library Journal Review: Starred Review. Gr 5?9?With characteristic polish, documentation, and readability, Freedman examines the evidence for determining who first discovered the Americas. Despite traditional historical emphasis on European discoveries, "tens of millions" of Native Americans were living here when these renowned explorers arrived. The author devotes separate chapters to Columbus's New World voyages, […]
Hidden Moon : an Inspector O Novel
Library Journal Review: Starred Review. Last year, Church made his impressive debut with A Corpse in the Koryo; his follow-up is nothing short of brilliant. A man wearing a silk-stocking mask is run over by a bus after he has robbed a bank in Pyongyang, North Korea. The case is given to Inspector O. There […]
Living Color
School Library Journal Review: Starred Review. K-Gr 5?Cleverly organized around seven colors, including purple and pink, this book is jam-packed with visual and written information about scores of animals. Jenkins's signature vivid paper collages, startling in their detail and realism, have a sense of depth that was created by layering materials. Each image is accompanied […]
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon
School Library Journal Review: Gr 4 Up?Hang on to your hats, because the conclusion to this trilogy is a fast-moving roller-coaster ride. Once again, Lord Ombra surfaces as leader of the Others, but this time readers are dragged into the hot desert land of Rundoon. Orphan boys work as slaves for villainous King Zarboff, and […]
The Fox and the Flies : $b the Secret Life of a Grotesque Master Criminal
Library Journal Review: Starred Review. South African historian Van Onselen first glimpsed a news item about Joseph Silver, the head of a pimps??? club, while researching the social history of a mining community. He set out on a 25-year journey to document the life story of Silver, n? Lis, and came to quite a conclusion […]
The Name of This Book Is Secret
Publisher Weekly Review Blending the offbeat humor of Lemony Snicket and insight into the preadolescent psyche ? la Jerry Spinelli with the captivating conundrums of Blue Balliett, the debut novel from a pseudonymous author is equal parts supernatural whodunit, suspense-filled adventure and evocative coming-of-age tale. When an unlikely pair of 11-year-old outsiders?survivalist Cassandra and aspiring […]
Book of the Dead
Publisher Weekly Review: Bestseller Cornwell's 15th novel to feature Dr. Kay Scarpetta (after 2005's Predator) delivers her trademark grisly crime scenes, but lacks the coherence and emotional resonance of earlier books. Soon after relocating to Charleston, S.C., to launch a private forensics lab, Scarpetta is asked to consult on the murder of U.S. tennis star […]
Now and Then
Publisher Weekly Review: When a client who suspects his wife is cheating on him is murdered in Parker's 35th snappy Spenser adventure (after Hundred-Dollar Baby), the Boston PI takes it personally, not only because the case resonates with Spenser's past history with love interest Susan, but also because, like Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade, Spenser feels […]
Amazing Grace
Publisher Weekly Review: With Bungalow 2 still on bestseller lists, Steel checks in with a Bay Area earthquake that shakes up the lives of three beautiful, talented yet somehow unfulfilled women. Sarah Sloane, 30-something wife of Seth, a wildly successful hedge fund entrepreneur, and mother of two, has planned to perfection a high-ticket charity auction. […]