Starred Review
The Why of Things
by Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop
In Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop's The Why of Things, a horrifying event causes an already fractured family to further splinter... or does it?
It's been a rough year for the Jacobs family since the beautiful and accomplished Sophie Jacobs took her own life. Her parents struggle with guilt and disconnection, her teenage sister, Eve, turns into an angry rebel and youngest sister Eloise is frightened of the prospect that Sophie's ghost is haunting her. The last thing the family needs is more misery, but one year after Sophie's death, a young man commits suicide...
Bad Monkey
by Carl Hiaasen
Carl Hiaasen returns to his native element in Bad Monkey, a mystery filled with dark comedy, morbid clues, corrupt land despoilers--er, developers--a dash of romance and a foul-tempered monkey.
Andrew Yancey's already lost his position with the Miami Police, and he's now about to lose his new job with the Monroe County sheriff's office, thanks to an ill-considered and widely witnessed act of violence involving his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend's husband and a cordless vacuum cleaner. Demoted to health inspector, Yancey can barely eat after counting cockroaches...
A Big Guy Took My Ball!
by Mo Willems
Just when you think Mo Willems (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!) cannot top his earlier stellar efforts, he comes up with a new Elephant & Piggie adventure that builds the confidence of beginning readers while it also introduces the concept of relative size.
"Gerald!" yells Piggy in a speech balloon as he runs in from the left side of the page. Gerald's bounce and startled expression telegraph the volume of Piggy's voice. "I found a big ball, and it was so fun!" But a big guy came and "HE TOOK MY BALL!" says Piggy, weeping. Piggy's pachyderm...
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Shelf Discovery
Bobcat and Other Stories
by Rebecca Lee
A collection of short stories that lift ordinary characters and settings into delightful, carefully crafted nuggets of truth, often funny and always engaging.
One Thousand and One Nights: A Retelling
by Hanan Al-Shaykh
Hanan al-Shaykh doesn't cover all 1,001 of Shahrazad's stories, but the 19 she has presented are charmingly retold in modern English.
Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus
by Dean Jensen
Decades in the making, a thrilling portrait of the life, loves and shocking death of a woman who may have been the greatest circus performer of all time.
The Spy Who Loved: The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville
by Clare Mulley
A multifaceted portrait of an exiled Polish aristocrat who became Britain's first female intelligence agent during World War II.
You Look Different in Real Life
by Jennifer Castle
A periodic documentary series featuring a group of kids--now teens--forces them to evaluate themselves and their friendships.
Children of the Jacaranda Tree
by Sahar Delijani
An intimate tale of the intertwined lives of those affected by the turmoil and political unrest of a nation in the midst of revolution.
The Silver Star
by Jeannette Walls
The author of The Glass Castle shifts to fiction, with a story of two sisters whose eccentric mother leaves them to fend for themselves.
Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa
by Benjamin Constable
A haunting debut novel in which a writer traces clues in a friend's suicide note to reconstruct her darkest secrets.
Zen Under Fire: How I Found Peace in the Midst of War
by Marianne Elliott
A UN human rights official takes an outspoken look at the pros and cons of aid in Afghanistan.
Media Heat
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
On NPR's Diane Rehm Show: Alvaro Vargas Llosa, author of Global Crossings: Immigration, Civilization, and America (Independent Institute, $26.95, 9781598131338).On the Daily Show: Jim Gaffigan, author of Dad Is Fat (Crown Archetype, $25, 9780385349055).
Monday, June 17, 2013
On NPR's Fresh Air: Charles Glass, author of The Deserters: A Hidden History of World War II (Penguin Press, $27.95, 9781594204289).On NPR's Talk of the Nation: Judith Schwartz, author of Cows Save the Planet: And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth (Chelsea Green, $17.95, 9781603584326).
Thursday, June 13, 2013
On KCRW's Bookworm: Marisa Silver, author of Mary Coin (Blue Rider, $26.95, 9780399160707).On NPR's Diane Rehm Show: Shohreh Aghdashloo, author of The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines (Harper, $26.99, 9780062009807).
Monday, June 10, 2013
On NPR's Diane Rehm Show: Scott Haltzman, author of The Secrets of Surviving Infidelity (Johns Hopkins University Press, $19.95, 9781421409429).On the Colbert Report: Dan Savage, author of American Savage: Insights, Slights, and Fights on Faith, Sex, Love, and Politics (Dutton, $26.95, 9780525954101).
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
On the Colbert Report: Jonathan Alter, author of The Center Holds: Obama and His Enemies (Simon & Schuster, $30, 9781451646078).On NPR's Talk of the Nation: Colum McCann, author of TransAtlantic: A Novel (Random House, $27, 9781400069590).
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