Starred Review
Americanah
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah pulls readers into its well-crafted, richly observed universe and makes us witnesses to stories that feel true and stay with us long after the final page. The people in Adichie's (Half of a Yellow Sun) novel are people we know; its places are as intimate as home.
Americanah begins just after 30-something Ifemelu's impulsive decision to return to Nigeria after 13 years in the United States. Framed by Ifemelu's visit to an African hair braiding salon in preparation for the move, the story moves seamlessly...
The Human Division
by John Scalzi
In The Human Division, John Scalzi extends and enriches his popular Old Man's War series with a collection of rousing tales of adventure across known space. The novel--originally serialized and distributed electronically in weekly installments--takes place after the events of The Last Colony, in which the people of Earth discover that they are part of a larger (and not super-friendly) universe, information the Colonial Union has withheld as it maintains Earth as a source of soldiers and colonists.
The Human Division is structured as...
Golden
by Jessi Kirby
In her third novel, Jessi Kirby (In Honor) weaves together mystery, romance and a coming-of-age story narrated by 17-year-old Parker Frost.
Parker is valedictorian. She's never been kissed, and she has never broken any rules. Her best friend Kat has been pushing her to do more her whole life, but something she says this time finally clicks: "When's the last time you took a chance? Or didn't do what someone else expected of you? Or did something you really wanted to, even though you probably shouldn't have?... Well, it's time. It's time to do something...
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Shelf Discovery
Astronaut Academy: Re-Entry
by Dave Roman
The delightful second entry in a stellar series of graphic novels for teens.
And the Mountains Echoed
by Khaled Hosseini
Hosseini's vividly rendered characters cross paths with each other over more than half a century, their stories coalescing around a Kabul mansion and an Afghan village.
Little Green: An Easy Rawlins Mystery
by Walter Mosley
One of our finest mystery writers brings back a familiar protagonist to reveal the black and white realities of the psychedelic 1960s.
Out of Their Minds: The Incredible and (Sometimes) Sad Story of Ramón and Cornelio
by Luis Humberto Crosthwaite, illus. by Francisco Delgado
A bizarre and entertaining tale of two Mexican norteño musicians guided by God--and the price they pay for their fame.
The Potty Mouth at the Table
by Laurie Notaro
Another humorous collection of essays from the author of The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club highlights the absurdity of everyday life.
The Boleyn King
by Laura Andersen
A debut novelist imagines what might have happened if Anne Boleyn had borne Henry VIII the son he wanted.
The Fainting Room
by Sarah Pemberton Strong
A story about a mysterious former circus performer, her staid architect husband and a blue-haired teenager who finds herself caught in their crumbling marriage.
Miss Maple's Seeds
by Eliza Wheeler, illus. by Eliza Wheeler
The ideal gift for teachers starring a charming heroine who cultivates her seeds, then sends them off to blossom.
The Philadelphia Chromosome: A Mutant Gene and the Quest to Cure Cancer at the Genetic Level
by Jessica Wapner
Jessica Wapner reveals how the discovery of a single mutated chromosome led to a trailblazing treatment for leukemia and a variety of other cancers.
The Prophets of Smoked Meat: A Journey Through Texas Barbecue
by Daniel Vaughn
Part road trip memoir, part barbecue restaurant criticism, this is for Texas lovers and barbecue fanatics alike.
Media Heat
Thursday, May 23, 2013
On KCRW's Bookworm: Pura Lopez-Colome and Forrest Gander, author and translator of Watchword (Wesleyan University Press, $24.95, 9780819571182).On NPR's Diane Rehm Show: Khaled Hosseini, author of And the Mountains Echoed (Riverhead, $28.95, 9781594631764).
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
On NPR's Diane Rehm Show: Charles Moore, author of Margaret Thatcher: From Grantham to the Falklands (Knopf, $35, 9780307958945).On NPR's Fresh Air: Jennifer Gilmore, author of The Mothers: A Novel (Scribner, $26, 9781451697254).
On the Daily Show: Bill O'Reilly, author of Keep It Pithy: Useful Observations in a Tough World (Crown Archetype, $21.99, 9780385346627).
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
On the Colbert Report: Noah Feldman, author of Cool War: The Future of Global Competition (Random House, $26, 9780812992748).Monday, May 20, 2013
On NPR's Diane Rehm Show: Jessica Buchanan and Erik Landemalm, co-authors of Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six (Atria, $26, 9781476725161).Thursday, May 16, 2013
On KCRW's Bookworm: Aleksandar Hemon, author of The Book of My Lives (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $25, 9780374115739).On the Daily Show: George Packer, author of The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $27, 9780374102418).
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