James Patterson

As we reported in yesterday's issue, author James Patterson selected the indie bookseller recipients for this year's Holiday Bookstore Bonus Program. Among the indie bookstores checking in on social media to congratulate their staff recipients and express appreciation were:

Flint Hills Books, Council Grove, Kan.: "Because of the generosity of this man, author James Patterson, deserving, hardworking booksellers are receiving a $500 holiday bonus! Congratulations, Katie! I am so proud of you! Thank you, James Patterson for your support of independent bookstores!"

Sarah, Bookish

Bookish, Modesto, Calif.: "Please join us in congratulating Sarah the_bookish_type, one of our extraordinary booksellers, for receiving a James Patterson Holiday Bookstore Bonus Award! Sarah is so dedicated to her role as bookseller that she gets a smidge jealous if we receive book orders when she's not in the store. She has all the fantasy and romance recs (and recs in other genres, too!) and she's helped so many of our customers find their next read. Sarah, we couldn't do this without you! This award is so well deserved!" 

Old Town Books, Alexandria, Va.: "Congrats to @kai_in_development for being awarded a James Patterson Bookseller Bonus. We're so proud of you and grateful for all you do for this community."

Byrd's Books, Bethel, Conn.: "Thank you, James Patterson, for the holiday bonus. Your support of independent bookstore booksellers is so meaningful to our culture and survival. Plus it's just an amazing gift--I am so grateful."

Main Point Books, Wayne, Pa.: "A huge thank you to @jamespattersonbooks for your continued support of the bookselling community, and for recognizing our very own @arboretem with a bookseller bonus! Many of you may not see Em in person, but they’re the one behind the scenes processing your online orders and receiving all of our books. Be sure to say hi and congratulate them the next time you're in the store!"

Katie Calautti, Frenchtown Bookshop

Frenchtown Bookshop, Frenchtown, N.J.: "Big congratulations to our bookseller Katie Calautti, awarded a $500 James Patterson Holiday Bonus for outstanding bookstore employees!... (Our Helen O'Connor won a different Patterson bonus last year.)... Brava, Katie!!!"

A Novel Romance, Louisville, Ken.: "We are so incredibly proud to announce that our very own Dark Romance Lead, Tay, was chosen as a recipient for the James Patterson Holiday Bookstore Bonus! We get to see how incredible Taylor is every day, and are so glad our community sees that, too. She has endured so much this past year, but has never failed to show up for and pour everything into building this community and creating a safe and robust space for our dark romance readers, especially. Taylor, we see you, we love you, and we are so proud to call you our friend. Thank you for being a part of this journey and CONGRATULATIONS. You deserve this."

Alden Graves, Northshire Books

Northshire Bookstore, Manchester Center, Vt.: "Congratulations to our amazing bookseller Alden, the recipient of the 2024 James Patterson Holiday Bonus! As Patterson says, 'Booksellers save lives. Period.' Be sure to visit with Alden at our Manchester, VT location. You'll be glad you did."

Astoria Bookshop, Queens, N.Y.: We have to take a moment today to shout out our manager Jaime! He won one of the amazing @jamespattersonbooks holiday bonuses! Jaime loves his job and loves working at Astoria Bookshop and feels so honored to have been part of the amazing group of life saving booksellers that won. We wish all of the booksellers a huge congratulations!

Jaime Acevedo, Astoria Bookshop

And say a huge thank you to the man, the myth, the legend Mr. James Patterson himself. Thank you for continuing to let booksellers shine their light! If you're in Queens and want to say an in person congratulations to Jaime stop by the shop and do some shopping! Jaime's favorite thing is customers finding their favorite things! And we swear there is no subliminal messaging in this post about Jaime wanting someone to buy him these books…promise. Not a single one…don’t do it. Don't buy him any books....

All She Wrote Books, Somerville, Mass.: "Big news! Christina has been selected for James Patterson's Holiday Bookstore Bonus Program!... Christina's passion for connecting readers with the perfect book makes our community stronger, and we couldn't be prouder of her for receiving this well-deserved recognition. Thank you to @jamespattersonbooks and the @americanbooksellers for shining a light on the essential role booksellers play in our lives."

The Hermitage Bookshop, Denver, Colo., has launched a $50,000 GoFundMe campaign to assist two of the shop's booksellers who were victims of a brutal home invasion on December 1. More than $41,000 was raised in the first 24 hours, and as of this morning that total has now exceeded the original goal at more than $53,000.

Joanne Weiss and her partner, Denie Orr, "experienced an unimaginable tragedy during a violent home invasion that has changed their lives forever," Hermitage noted on the crowdfunding page. "During the invasion, Joanne suffered multiple gunshot wounds that have left her paralyzed from the sternum down. Despite the enormity of this life-altering event, Joanne and Denie are facing the future with incredible courage, resilience, and determination. But the road ahead is long and filled with challenges, and they need our support more than ever."

Sam Butler, the bookshop's general manager, who started the campaign, told CBS News that Weiss has worked at the bookshop as a researcher and bookseller for nearly 30 years, while Orr has been there for about five years as a bookseller and cataloger.

"They really do bring the vast amount of knowledge to this place, as well as for me, personally," he said. "The two of them have been professional and personal mentors in this world.... Knowing how many people love them and have been impacted by them and the work at The Hermitage, it was the easiest thing in the world to create a link for people to go and give. So they could focus on one another, focus on recovery and regaining the joy of their home and the joy of their neighborhood and the joy of their work."

"To see the outpouring from all these different facets of life--in the midst of a truly unknown, truly dark and wicked encounter--is the thing that gives hope," said Butler.

"We've had so much support from our neighborhood, and we've lived in this neighborhood for 40 years," Orr noted. "Everybody has been so supportive everywhere where we work or we live.... That's not to minimize the truly horrific nature of what happened and the trauma that we'll no doubt be dealing with for many years. We're just trying to keep things moving forward."

She added that Weiss is recovering at Denver Health with a long road to recovery ahead: "She's doing great. She is so full of spirit and courage and brightness and positivity. I'm trying to match her resilience best I can, because she's an inspiration."

Quimby's Bookstore, a 1,500-square-foot bookstore in Chicago, Ill., with a focus on independently published books, graphic novels, and zines, is up for sale, Block Club Chicago reported.

Located at 1854 W. North Ave. in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood, Quimby's was founded in 1991 by Steven Svymbersky. In 1996, Svymbersky sold the bookstore to current owner Eric Kirsammer; the same year, Kirsammer moved the bookstore into its current home.

Kirsammer told Block Club Chicago that the departure of long-time manager Liz Mason played a significant role in his decision to sell the store. He explained: "[I]t's time to turn it over to somebody who can keep the idea and the mission of the store going. The other big factor is Liz is leaving... and we're kind of a team. Part of me doesn't want to do it without her."

He is looking for a buyer that will continue the store's mission, and though he is selling the bookstore, he is not selling the building. "It's a store that has played an important part in the literary culture of Chicago, and the country, for a while. It deserves a serious owner to take it to the next step."

Interested parties can reach out to Kirsammer via e-mail at info@quimbys.com.

Batch for Books, which offers a simple, efficient way for bookstores and publishers to manage invoices and payments, has added partnerships with Independent Publishers Group, Microcosm Publishing, Arcadia Press, and Blackstone Publishing. They join Penguin Random House, Macmillan, HarperCollins, and Gardners US. Some 400 U.S. bookstores currently use Batch.

"This is an exciting milestone for Batch for Books," said Nathan Halter, U.S. program manager. "We are thrilled to partner with these publishers, whose commitment to supporting Batch underscores their dedication to fostering real, lasting change for independent bookstores. Together, we're building a stronger future for indie booksellers and the publishing ecosystem."

Batch was founded in 2000 by the Booksellers Association of the U.K. and Ireland to serve the book trade and build better relationships between booksellers and publishers. Booksellers in more than 80 countries use Batch.

The four new Batch publishers all expressed great support for the system.

Matthew Gildea, COO at Arcadia Publishing, said, "We're delighted to partner with Batch because we share a common goal. We both want to make the backend processes in the indie bookstores as efficient as possible so staff can focus on what they do that no one else can--putting great books in the hands of great readers."

Joe Matthews, CEO of IPG, stated, "While IPG works hard to empower independent publishers and simplify their lives, Batch is doing the same thing for independent bookstores. It's a partnership that makes sense and will benefit the world of indie publishing."

Joe Biel, publisher and CEO of Microcosm Publishing, said, "Since we started using Batch, backlist sales are up 13% over the same time last year. Batch makes it easier for stores new to us to take a chance on Microcosm authors and many are doing exactly that."

Mike Heuer, national sales manager of Blackstone Publishing, commented: "We've heard from many of our accounts what a time-saver Batch is, and we're convinced this partnership will be a win-win."

Sourcebooks' Bloom Books, a romance imprint that has created publishing partnerships with bestselling authors with global appeal, is expanding into international markets, starting with Germany and Brazil, where it will publish in German and Portuguese.

Sourcebooks publisher and CEO Dominique Raccah said, "We're thrilled to expand our innovative Bloom program into two of the world's largest romance markets."

Christa Désir, editorial director of Bloom Books, added, "As our authors continue to connect with readers throughout the world, it's become clear that fandom is a truly global phenomenon, and the universality of love stories crosses every border." 

Bloom Germany launched in August in partnership with Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe, with the German-language release of Sophie Lark's Kingmakers: Year One. By the end of 2025, Bloom Germany will release 14 titles, including the rest of Lark's Kingmakers series as well as her new Sparrow and Vine series--Sparrow and Vine, Love and Madness, and Heart and Thorns. Other titles include Piper CJ's No Other Gods series--The Deer and the Dragon (June) and The Fox and the Falcon (August).

Matthias Aichele, senior v-p, audio, strategic & digital development, Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe, said, "The positive feedback from our partnership has been overwhelming, and we are thrilled to unveil a lineup of exciting new books that will captivate readers across the German-speaking world."

Sourcebooks has also set up shop in Brazil, establishing Bloom Brasil in partnership with Paralela, an imprint of Companhia das Letras and home to top romance authors like Taylor Jenkins Reid, Elle Kennedy, and Christina Lauren.

Bloom Brasil will release 19 titles in 2025, starting in February with Scarlett St. Clair's A Touch of Darkness, A Game of Fate, and A Touch of Ruin, the first three books in her Hades x Persephone series. In March, Bloom Brasil will publish Chloe Walsh's Binding 13, Jennifer L. Armentrout's Half-Blood, and Lucy Score's Story of My Life.

Quezia Cleto, executive editor at Bloom Brasil, said, "We already know the strength of the Brazilian public and the reading community here through what we've published under the Paralela imprint. By joining forces with Bloom, we'll not only bring major names to the Brazilian market, but also do so at high speed."

Very sad, shocking news. M.J. Rose (Melisse Shapiro), author, marketer, Author Buzz founder, a founder of International Thriller Writers, co-owner of 1,001 Dark Nights, died suddenly yesterday.

M.J. Rose

She was a remarkable person, always full of ideas, sharp, challenging, warm, a striking personality, and a true friend to so many authors and others in the book world. As Jenn Risko, co-founder and publisher emerita of Shelf Awareness, said, "M.J. Rose was a much-loved author, publisher, and force of excellence and innovation for our industry. She started Author Buzz when we started the Shelf and she quickly became known to us as the patron saint of authors, tirelessly working with those who wanted better marketing. She had more ideas on how to do it better than anyone, and was constantly searching for the new ones. She was a huge and dear friend to us all and will be greatly missed."

And Shelf publisher Matt Baldacci said: "I first met Melisse in 1999 when we at St. Martin's published her prescient book How to Publish and Promote On-Line. The very title and timing of that book speaks volumes about how she thought and how she helped people. She has been a confidante and friend since that time, and will be greatly missed."

M.J. was always busy, seemed always to be writing, and exploring a variety of genres, and creating her own genres. Altogether she wrote 19 novels and three books on marketing, her first career. (With Doug Clegg, she wrote Buzz Your Book.) Lip Service was her first novel, which she self-published in 1998. As she proudly noted on her website, it was "the first e-book and first self-published novel chosen by the LiteraryGuild/Doubleday Book Club as well as the first e-book to go on to be published by a mainstream New York publishing house."

She also wrote the thrillers In Fidelity, Flesh Tones, and Sheet Music. She introduced Dr. Morgan Snow, a sex therapist, in the Butterfield Institute Series, which included The Halo Effect, The Delilah Complex, and The Venus Fix. The Reincarnationist, which the Fox TV show Past Lives was based on, was part of a series of books focused on reincarnation, including The Memoirist, The Hypnotist, and The Book of Lost Fragrances. Her more recent work included Forgetting to Remember, The Jeweler of Stolen Dreams, The Last Tiara, and Cartier's Hope.

With partners Liz Berry and Jillian Stein, she ran 1,001 Dark Nights, which began producing series of novellas based on the Arabian Nights but retold through paranormal romance, contemporary romance, and erotic romance stories. The company expanded with the Blue Box Press imprint.

Author Buzz, the marketing service that puts authors directly in touch readers, reading groups, booksellers, and librarians, has been instrumental in the careers of so many writers.

We will miss you, M.J.!

The booksellers at Mrs. Dalloways Literary and Garden Arts in Berkeley, Calif., wish everyone Happy Holidays!

Throwback by Maurene Goo (Zando Young Readers) is the Winter YA pick for Reese's Book Club, which described the book as: "A teen girl is thrown way back to the '90s, where she's forced to help the teenaged version of her mother win Homecoming Queen, or else she'll be trapped there forever. Along the way though, she also begins falling for the right guy in the wrong era... This novel is the perfect blend of family, romance, and high emotional stakes."

Reese wrote: "We loved the blend of heart and humor in highlighting mother-daughter relationships, and we can't wait to hear what you think about our Winter YA Pick!"

Nan Rittenhouse has joined Grand Central Publishing as a senior publicist. She was previously a publicist at Simon Element.

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Shannon Rygg has joined the children's digital marketing team at Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing as assistant marketing manager. She was most recently a social media & digital marketing associate at Union Square & Co. (formerly Sterling Publishing).

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Kaitlyn Cullen has joined Macmillan as sales associate, trade sales.

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Julia Fink, formerly subsidiary rights and sales assistant, has been promoted to subsidiary rights and sales associate at the New Press.

Living Untethered: Beyond the Human Predicament (Gift Edition) by Michael A. Singer (New Harbinger Publications/Sounds True).

Today:
Here & Now: Jim O'Heir, author of Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation (Morrow, $29.99, 9780063293502).

Fresh Air: Stephen Colbert and Evie McGee Colbert, authors of Does This Taste Funny?: Recipes Our Family Loves (Celadon Books, $35, 9781250859990).

Tomorrow:
Good Morning America: David Ko, author of Recharge: Boosting Your Mental Battery, One Conversation at a Time (ForbesBooks, $29.99, 9798887504940).

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Saturday, December 14
6:40 p.m. Shirley L. Green, author of Revolutionary Blacks: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence (Westholme Publishing, $35, 9781594164064). (Re-airs Sunday at 6:40 a.m.)

Sunday, December 15
8 a.m. Peggy Noonan, author of A Certain Idea of America: Selected Writings (Portfolio, $31, 9780593854778). (Re-airs Sunday at 8 p.m.)

9 a.m. Tucker Perkins, author of Path to Zero: 12 Climate Conversations That Changed the World (Worth, $26, 9781637633083). (Re-airs Sunday at 9 p.m.)

10 a.m. James Rickards, author of MoneyGPT: AI and the Threat to the Global Economy (‎Portfolio, $29, 9780593718636). (Re-airs Sunday at 10 p.m.)

11 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Coverage of the 2024 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, Tenn. Highlights include:

• 11 a.m. Richard Panek, author of Pillars of Creation: How the James Webb Telescope Unlocked the Secrets of the Cosmos.
• 11:49 a.m. A discussion on racial conflict and justice with Betsy Phillps, author of Dynamite Nashville: Unmasking the FBI, the KKK, and the Bombers Beyond their Control, and Aran Shetterly, author of Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City's Soul.
• 12:39 p.m. A discussion on guns and gun safety with Andrew C. McKevitt, author of Gun Country: Gun Capitalism, Culture, and Control in Cold War America, and Jonathan M. Metzl, author of What We've Become: Living and Dying in a Country of Arms.
• 1:31 p.m. Brenda Wineapple, author of Keeping the Faith: God, Democracy, and the Trial That Riveted a Nation.
• 2:21 p.m. David Greenberg, author of John Lewis: A Life.
• 3:12 p.m. Crystal Wilkinson, author of Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks.
• 4:56 p.m. Caitlin Cass, author of Suffrage Song: The Haunted History of Gender, Race and Voting Rights in the U.S.
• 5:40 p.m. Jared Sullivan, author of Valley So Low: One Lawyer's Fight for Justice in the Wake of America's Great Coal Catastrophe.

6:45 p.m. David Rohde, author of Where Tyranny Begins: The Justice Department, the FBI, and the War on Democracy (W.W. Norton, $29.99, 9780393881967).

Joseph Earl Thomas, author of God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer (Grand Central Publishing) has won the $15,000 Center for Fiction 2024 First Novel Prize.

The Center said that God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer "follows Joseph, an Iraq War veteran turned doctoral student and EMS worker in North Philly whose work leads him into encounters with friends and family from his past life and would-be future--including contemporaries of his estranged father, a man serving time at Holmesburg prison for the statutory rape of his then-teenage mother. Joseph and his best friend Ray, a fellow vet, alternatingly bond over and struggle with their shared experience and return to civilian life, locked in rhythms of lust, heartbreak, and responsibility. God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer is a powerful examination of everyday black life--of health and sex, race and punishment, and the gaps between our desires and our politics."

Thomas is also the author of Sink, a memoir, and the short story collection Leviathan Beach. His writing has been published in the Kenyon Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Dilettante Army, the Paris Review, and elsewhere.

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, December 17:

North Is the Night by Emily Rath (Erewhon Books, $30, 9781645662204) is book one in a fantasy duology inspired by Finnish folklore.

Definitely Better Now by Ava Robinson (MIRA, $28.99, 9780778310594) is a romance about a young woman a year sober from alcohol.

Invisible Helix by Keigo Higashino, trans. by Giles Murray (Minotaur, $28, 9781250875563) is the fifth Detective Galileo mystery.

A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya (Joy Revolution, $19.99, 9780593643372) is a YA romantasy in which a vampire slayer and a vampire join forces to fight a larger evil.

Chinese Mythology: Legendary Tales of Heaven, Earth, Humanity, and Beyond by Aaron Hwang, illus. by Adela Li (Running Press Kids, $19.99, 9780762487769) is an illustrated collection of Chinese myths and fairy tales.

The Sourdough Bible: The Ultimate Resource for Great Bread at Home by Elaine Boddy (Page Street, $34.99, 9798890031365) includes 75 recipes for a range of skill levels.

Gino's Air Fryer Cookbook: Italian Classics Made Easy by Gino D'Acampo (Bloomsbury, $35, 9781526680419) uses an air fryer to make Italian food.

Paperbacks:
Visually Speaking: Mastering Photography as a Visual Language by Ted Forbes (Cider Mill Press, $39.99, 9781646434350).

War on Gaza by Joe Sacco (Fantagraphics, $12.99, 9798875000904).

A History of the Big House: A Novel by Charif Majdalani, trans. by Ruth Diver (Other Press, $18.99, 9781635423402).

Hamburger Hill 1969: Operation Apache Snow in the A Shau Valley by James H. Willbanks, illus. by Ramiro Bujeiro (Osprey Publishing, $25, 9781472861535).

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:

Hardcover: An Indies Introduce Title
Only Here, Only Now: A Novel by Tom Newlands (HarperVia, $28.99, 9780063393455). "This debut is the thunderous announcement of a brilliant novelist with a keen wit. Like Derry Girls done by Dave Eggers, Only Here, Only Now is fiercely original, unabashedly Scottish, heartrendingly poignant, and hilarious to the point of tears." --Steve Iwanski, Charter Books, Newport, R.I.

Hardcover
Shy Creatures: A Novel by Clare Chambers (Mariner, $30, 9780063258228,). "An inventive and satisfying novel. Not just a story you'll look forward to cozying up with, but a brilliant affirmation of non-conformity, self-determination, and the power of art. For fans of Elizabeth McCracken, Tessa Hadley, and Ann Patchett!" --Kristen Iskandrian, Thank You Books, Birmingham, Ala.

Paperback
Sundown in San Ojuela: A Novel by M.M. Olivas (Lanternfish Press, $19, 9781941360750). "Wow! It's been so long since I read a book that got this deep into me and did not let go. I loved all the complicated, messy, dark characters that populated this scary and grotesque debut. Snatch this book up and let it devour you!" --Katelyn Phillips, Books Are Magic, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Ages 3-7
Frostfire by Elly MacKay (Tundra Books, $18.99, 9780735266988). "Frostfire is a winter-tastic picture book for young readers! The illustrations are beautifully done, detailed yet allow readers to get lost in the whimsical winter following sisters in a snowy kingdom. A book for imagination lovers." --Sophie Murray, Tsunami Books, Eugene, Ore.

Ages 8-12
Noodle & Bao by Shaina Lu (Quill Tree Books, $24.99, 9780063283411). "Momo's town is becoming more expensive and edging out small businesses like Noodle and Bao's beloved restaurant. This book is an incredibly helpful tool for helping young people understanding gentrification and its impact--and it's just a great story." --Milo Michels, University Book Store, Seattle, Wash.

Teen Readers: An Indies Introduce Title
Tangleroot by Kalela Williams (Feiwel & Friends, $19.99, 9781250880666). "Sometimes your family history is as tangled as the vines on the ground. When Noni is forced to make a new home in the 'Big House' built by an enslaved ancestor, she may discover truths about herself and her family that none could have imagined." --Sally Sue Lavigne, The Storybook Shoppe, Bluffton, S.C.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Eowyn Ivey's poignant third novel, Black Woods, Blue Sky, is a moving, sometimes heartbreaking meditation on nature, wildness, motherhood, and whether deep love can change someone. Ivey returns to her native Alaska to tell an intimate story set at the edge of the wilderness, against the immense backdrop of the tundra and its unforgiving beauty.

Ivey (The Snow Child; To the Bright Edge of the World) centers her narrative on Birdie, a young single mother fed up with her dead-end waitressing job at the Wolverine Lodge. She adores her daughter, six-year-old Emaleen, and is managing to keep them both fed, but Birdie longs for more: physical and emotional freedom beyond the confines of the lodge, and a chance to let go of the strains of daily life.

When Emaleen wanders off into the woods one day, Arthur Neilsen, a towering, soft-spoken loner, brings her back and captures Birdie's attention in a new way. Although Arthur visits the lodge regularly, he lives in a cabin far up in the mountains, accessible only by plane. Before long, Birdie and Emaleen have moved out to Arthur's cabin, and Birdie is totally absorbed in the joy of living so close to wilderness. But Arthur's true nature may be different than it seems--and Birdie's love for him may not be enough to combat the shadows that lurk just beyond her sight.

Ivey's descriptions bring the tundra to life, immersing readers in its details: tiny wildflowers in blue and purple and pink; sweeping vistas sometimes obscured by sudden, thick fog; clear, sparkling mountain streams and unyielding slabs of rock. The landscape, in its harshness and its beauty, reflects the difficult love story at the novel's center: Birdie is trying to love a man with a secret who is attempting to fit his true character into a mold for which it was not made. But her deep desire may be obscuring some important truths. Emaleen is both witness to her mother's yearning for an epic romance and anchor to a smaller, safer, more practical life. While Emaleen delights in the wild surroundings of their new home, she sees and knows enough to make her wary. Along with Arthur's widowed father, Warren, it is Emaleen who realizes that their idyllic life is fraught with danger.

Quietly suspenseful, laced with beauty and shot through with darkness, Black Woods, Blue Sky explores the nature of courage, the limits of love, and what happens when nature and civilization collide. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams

Shelf Talker: Eowyn Ivey's poignant third novel explores the limits of love and courage against the backdrop of the Alaskan wilderness.