From last week's Book Sense bestseller lists, available at BookSense.com, here are the recommended titles, which are also Book Sense Picks:
Hardcover
The Sound of Butterflies by Rachael King (Morrow, $24.95, 9780061357640/0061357642). "Rachael King's writing makes for smooth sailing for readers of this historical novel about an amateur naturalist whose voyage to the Amazon leaves him a changed man. More tortuous is the journey his wife must take to find the mystery behind his unnerving transformation. Rich in detail and well-researched."--Laura Hansen, Bookin' It, Little Falls, Minn.
Dead Man in Paradise: Unraveling a Murder from a Time of Revolution by J.B. MacKinnon (New Press, $24.95, 9781595581815/1595581812). "An extremely readable political history of the Dominican Republic depicted through a nephew's search for the truth behind his uncle's murder. Very well researched and thorough, and highly recommended."--Julia Green, Front Street Books, Alpine, Tex.
Paperback
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (Tor, $14.95, 9780765318749/0765318741). "In a genre where authors typically employ more gore and violence than plot and character, it is refreshing for a vampire novel to succeed as brilliantly this one. Robert Neville is, to the best of his knowledge, the only human still alive. As he searches for answers, the story moves beyond the horror genre and into the realm of social criticism. A terrific study of solitude and fear."--Jon Stich, DIESEL, A Bookstore, Oakland, Calif.
For Ages 9 to 12
The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles (Harcourt, $16, 9780152060688/0152060685). "The final book in Wiles' Aurora County trilogy. House Jackson wants nothing more than to pitch the winning game against his baseball team's archrivals. But life has a strange way of turning things upside down. It's a wild summer in Aurora County, featuring life, death, poetry, and dancing."--Elisabeth Grant-Gibson, Windows a bookshop, Monroe, La.
Bearwalker by Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by Sally Wern Comport (HarperCollins, $15.99, 9780061123092/0061123099). "A heart-thumping thriller about a middle school kid on a class camping trip in the Adirondacks. The pages seem to turn themselves, until you find out if there really is a Bearwalker."--Sarah Galvin, The Bookstore Plus, Lake Placid, N.Y.
[Many thanks to Book Sense and the ABA!]
Hardcover
The Sound of Butterflies by Rachael King (Morrow, $24.95, 9780061357640/0061357642). "Rachael King's writing makes for smooth sailing for readers of this historical novel about an amateur naturalist whose voyage to the Amazon leaves him a changed man. More tortuous is the journey his wife must take to find the mystery behind his unnerving transformation. Rich in detail and well-researched."--Laura Hansen, Bookin' It, Little Falls, Minn.
Dead Man in Paradise: Unraveling a Murder from a Time of Revolution by J.B. MacKinnon (New Press, $24.95, 9781595581815/1595581812). "An extremely readable political history of the Dominican Republic depicted through a nephew's search for the truth behind his uncle's murder. Very well researched and thorough, and highly recommended."--Julia Green, Front Street Books, Alpine, Tex.
Paperback
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (Tor, $14.95, 9780765318749/0765318741). "In a genre where authors typically employ more gore and violence than plot and character, it is refreshing for a vampire novel to succeed as brilliantly this one. Robert Neville is, to the best of his knowledge, the only human still alive. As he searches for answers, the story moves beyond the horror genre and into the realm of social criticism. A terrific study of solitude and fear."--Jon Stich, DIESEL, A Bookstore, Oakland, Calif.
For Ages 9 to 12
The Aurora County All-Stars by Deborah Wiles (Harcourt, $16, 9780152060688/0152060685). "The final book in Wiles' Aurora County trilogy. House Jackson wants nothing more than to pitch the winning game against his baseball team's archrivals. But life has a strange way of turning things upside down. It's a wild summer in Aurora County, featuring life, death, poetry, and dancing."--Elisabeth Grant-Gibson, Windows a bookshop, Monroe, La.
Bearwalker by Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by Sally Wern Comport (HarperCollins, $15.99, 9780061123092/0061123099). "A heart-thumping thriller about a middle school kid on a class camping trip in the Adirondacks. The pages seem to turn themselves, until you find out if there really is a Bearwalker."--Sarah Galvin, The Bookstore Plus, Lake Placid, N.Y.
[Many thanks to Book Sense and the ABA!]