Skip to main content

April 30, 2015

20SomethingReads.com Newsletter April 30, 2015
A Few of Our May-vorite Things
Special Feature: DON'T TRY TO FIND ME by Holly Brown
YA Spring Fling 2015 Feature + Contest
YA Fantasy Cover Survey --- Weigh In and Win!
Bookreporter.com's Books Mom Will Love 2015 Feature + Contest
Reviews
Young Adult Reviews
Graphic Novel Reviews
A Few of Our May-vorite Things

It’s the last day of April, and while we’ll be sad to see Nikki’s birthday month go, we can’t help but be super excited for May. We consulted the internet, wide and far, and all signs point to yes --- May is pretty much empirically the nicest month of the year. If you live in the Northeast like us, May is less rainy than April, warmer than January, more colorful than November and basically better in all the ways than every other month. So in honor of the most magnificent month, we decided to make a list of all of our favorite things that start with the letter M. May is only the beginning...

Mothers: ‘Tis the season to celebrate the most important women in our lives. We’ve always loved them a lot, but it seems with each passing year that we love them more and more. Hi, Rob and Karen!

M&M World: We can’t speak so highly of Times Square in general, but M&M World makes it worth its weight in chocolate. It’s New York City’s answer to Disney World.

Memorial Day: As far as we’re concerned, this glorious weekend unofficially marks the beginning of summer. Ready or not, it’s time to hit the beach!

Mad Max: Fury Road: If you ask us, this is the most anticipated action flick of the summer blockbuster season. Starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, this reboot is directed by George Miller, who directed the epic originals, so we know it’s going to be maaaad good.

Mayweather: Whether you’re on Team Mayweather or Team Pacquiao, one thing’s for sure: This fight is going to be so legendary, it doesn’t even need a punchline.

Mexican food (margaritas): As excited as we are by the news that Chipotle now delivers, Cinco de Mayo is the perfect time to venture out and get yourself some authentic tacos.*
*Emily’s dream to use the phrase “authentic tacos” has finally been lived. Laters, baby.

Michael Fassbender: No shame in admitting our love for Fassbender. We have a lot of love for a lot of Michaels, but our hunger for Fassbender is insatiable.

Macbeth: Speaking of Fassbender, the first picture for the latest adaptation of “Macbeth,” starring Fass and Marion Cotillard (another M we love!), was recently released and the Macbeths have never looked so good.

Martha Stewart: Good thing Martha is no stranger to jail-time because she absolutely killed it at Comedy Central’s roast of Justin Bieber. M. Diddy’s Twitter presence is also so good it’s practically a crime. And you know we’ll always love a woman who can do time and still look fine.

“Mad Men”: Matthew Weiner’s masterpiece is now in its final run, and we’re sad to see it go. It feels like the end of an era, and not even a classic Don Draper sales pitch could soothe our breaking hearts.

Miller Lite: Not only is it the “Champagne of Beers,” it’s also keeping its marketing campaign classy...unlike some other brand we’re not even going to namedrop here.

Mary Kay Andrews: The Queen of the Summer Beach Read isn’t only charming on page; after she visited our office last year, we couldn’t get over how funny and nice she was in person! Not to mention how much we’re looking forward to BEACH TOWN, which comes out May 19th.

Monkeys: We’re fresh off our *first* viewing of Disney’s Monkey Kingdom, and not since Dunston Checks In has a monkey movie so completely captured our hearts. We’re ready to adopt some baby chimps of our very own, and there’s nothing you can do to stop us.

Madonna: Her recent bunch of ridiculous PR stunts aside, Madge still has some fight left in her. Between her muscles, her makeup and her music, she still finds time to mack on Drake. And that’s something we can all respect.

Speaking of things we love that start with M, we can’t wait to read Catherine Hiller’s JUST SAY YES: A Marijuana Memoir by Catherine Hiller. Because it’s a memoir...why, what were you thinking? As someone who has smoked weed almost every day for 50 years, author Catherine Hiller has produced an entertaining and positive narrative about long-term cannabis use. From climbing filthy tenement stairs in NYC to get her bi-monthly supply, to going to the Burning Man festival, to interviewing John Updike about marijuana, to being among the film crew at Woodstock, she’s lived through some pretty high times and is more than happy to share.

At the center of GOD HELP THE CHILD, Toni Morrison’s long-awaited first novel to be set in our current moment, is a young woman who calls herself Bride, whose stunning blue-black skin caused her light-skinned mother to deny her even the simplest forms of love. There’s also Booker, the man Bride loves but loses to anger; Rain, the mysterious white child with whom she crosses paths; and Bride’s mother, Sweetness, who takes a lifetime to come to understand that “what you do to children matters. And they might never forget.”

In MISSOULA: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, award-winning nonfiction author Jon Krakauer chronicles the searing experiences of several women in Missoula --- the nights when they were raped; their fear and self-doubt in the aftermath; the way they were treated by the police, prosecutors, defense attorneys; the public vilification and private anguish; their bravery in pushing forward and what it cost them. Krakauer’s dispassionate, carefully documented account of what these ladies endured cuts through the abstract ideological debate about campus rape.

5 Things We’re Obsessed With at This Very Moment, in no particular order:
1. The Kentucky Derby this weekend. Did someone say #MintJuleps and #BigHats?
2. Finding the perfect Mother's Day gift for our perfect mothers. Email suggestions to us at the addresses below.
3. Reese Witherspoon narrating the audiobook of Harper Lee's GO SET A WATCHMAN.
4. P-I-Z-Z-A, because when are we not obsessed with pizza?
5. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao viewing parties.

P.S. If you haven't already secured a summer internship, and you're looking to do something fun with some fun people, reach out to us at the addresses below. We're always looking for someone to help us out on the inside. If you are located in NYC and surrounding areas, great! And if not, maybe we can set something up remotely. Remember, writing contributions make for shiny resumes.

Nicole Sherman ([email protected]) + Emily Hoenig ([email protected])

 

Special Feature: DON'T TRY TO FIND ME by Holly Brown

Don’t try to find me. Though the message on the kitchen white board is written in Marley’s hand, her mother Rachel knows there has to be some other explanation. Marley would never run away. As the days pass and it sinks in that the impossible has occurred, Rachel and her husband Paul are informed that the police have “limited resources.” If they want their 14-year-old daughter back, they will have to find her themselves.

DON'T TRY TO FIND ME by Holly Brown is a suspenseful and gripping debut for fans of RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA and GONE GIRL.

- Click here to read a review.
- Click here to read more about the book.

- Click here for an excerpt.
- Click here to read more about author Holly Brown.

 

 

YA Spring Fling 2015 Feature + Contest
Spring is finally here, and with it comes warmer weather, blooming flowers...and the chance to win some great new YA books! From now through Monday, May 4th at noon ET, readers will have the chance to win one of five YA Spring Fling prize packages, which includes one copy of each of our featured books and a signature Teenreads.com tote bag.

This year's featured titles are:

Click here to read more about each title and enter the contest!
 
YA Fantasy Cover Survey --- Weigh In and Win!

In this survey, we’re looking for thoughts on ten YA fantasy book covers from readers, ages 12-29. Once you’ve completed the survey, you’ll be eligible to win either one of 25 copies of a fantasy book (we’ll surprise you with the title) or our Grand Prize: a $100 gift certificate to the bookstore of your choice! We’re looking forward to seeing the results, which could influence how covers of YA fantasy titles will look in the future. Thanks for sharing your opinions!

Click here to take the survey!

 

 

Bookreporter.com's Books Mom Will Love 2015 Feature + Contest
Mother’s Day is a time to recognize the woman who raised and nurtured us. To celebrate, Bookreporter.com is giving you the opportunity to win books and goodies for you or the special lady in your life in our 10th annual "Books Mom Will Love" contest. From now through Monday, May 11th at noon ET, readers can enter to win one of our 25 prize packages, which includes a selection of five books listed below, along with some delicious Ghirardelli chocolate, tea from Tea Forté and Yardley Bar Soap. (Please note that two of these titles --- the eShorts CAT AND JEMIMA J by Jane Green and WHAT SHE REALLY WANTS by Barbara Delinsky --- are available for free download on Amazon Kindle beginning May 5th.)

With books that are moving, uplifting, humorous and informative, look no further than Bookreporter.com for the perfect gift for Mom.

This year's featured titles are:

Click here to read more about each title and enter the contest!
 
Reviews

ADELINE: A Novel of Virginia Woolf by Norah Vincent (Historical Fiction)
On April 18, 1941, 22 days after Virginia Woolf went for a walk near her weekend house in Sussex and never returned, her body was reclaimed from the River Ouse. Norah Vincent’s ADELINE reimagines the events that brought Woolf to the riverbank. She channels Virginia and Leonard Woolf, T. S. and Vivienne Eliot, Lytton Strachey and Dora Carrington, laying bare their genius and their blind spots, their achievements and their failings, from the inside out. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.

THE BONE TREE by Greg Iles (Thriller)
THE BONE TREE is the highly anticipated second installment in Greg Iles’ epic trilogy featuring Southern lawyer Penn Cage, a tale that explores the conflicts and casualties that result when the darkest truths of American history come to light. It puts us inside the skin of a noble man who has always fought for justice --- now finally pushed beyond his limits. Just how far will Penn Cage, the hero we thought we knew, go to protect those he loves? Reviewed by Ray Palen.

BORDERLINE: An Annika Bengtzon Thriller by Liza Marklund (Thriller)
Annika Bengtzon is back at Kvällspressen’s Stockholm offices after three years as the newspaper’s Washington, DC correspondent. One afternoon, a young woman is found dead behind a nursery school in a Stockholm suburb. In the editorial offices of Kvällspressen they sense a serial killer, but Annika dismisses it as a wild fantasy. As the murder spree in Stockholm continues, Annika is dragged into a violent hostage situation that shakes both Europe and East Africa. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES by Lisa Scottoline (Thriller)
Seventeen-year-old Max has a terminally ill grandmother and is having trouble handling it. That, plus his OCD and violent thoughts about a girl he likes, makes him a high risk patient. He can't turn off the mental rituals he needs to perform every 15 minutes that keep him calm. When the girl is found murdered, Max is nowhere to be found, and Dr. Eric Parrish goes looking for him. Next, a member of Eric’s own staff turns on him in a trumped-up charge of sexual harassment. Is this chaos all random? Or is someone systematically trying to destroy Eric's life? Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

FASHION LIVES: Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis by Fern Mallis (Art & Photography)
This revealing volume provides unprecedented access to master designers and industry leaders. No topic is off-limits to Fern Mallis, award-winning creator of Fashion Week in New York, when she hosts "Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis" at New York’s prestigious 92nd Street Y, a series of in-depth interviews with the fashion industry’s most talented, successful and legendary personalities. Featuring 19 inspiring interviews with American fashion luminaries, this engaging book introduces readers to the real artists behind these very public figures. Reviewed by Jesse Kornbluth, founder of HeadButler.com.

FOX IS FRAMED: A Leo Maxwell Mystery by Lachlan Smith (Mystery)
Faced with evidence of stunning prosecutorial misconduct, a San Francisco judge has ordered a new trial for the Maxwell brothers' father, Lawrence, who was convicted of killing their mother 21 years before. A prison snitch soon turns up dead, with Lawrence the only suspect, and Leo teams up with hotshot attorney Nina Schuyler to defend Lawrence against murder charges both old and new. Leo is forced to confront the darkness at the center of his life as he follows a trail of corruption and danger that leads to the very steps of City Hall. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

GOD HELP THE CHILD by Toni Morrison (Fiction)
At the center of Toni Morrison’s first novel to be set in our current moment is a young woman who calls herself Bride, whose stunning blue-black skin caused her light-skinned mother to deny her even the simplest forms of love. There’s also Booker, the man Bride loves but loses to anger; Rain, the mysterious white child with whom she crosses paths; and Bride’s mother, Sweetness, who takes a lifetime to come to understand that “what you do to children matters. And they might never forget.” Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.

HOUSE OF ECHOES by Brendan Duffy (Thriller)
Ben has hit a dead end with his new novel, his wife Caroline has lost her banking job, and their eight-year-old son, Charlie, is being bullied at his Manhattan school. When Ben inherits land in the village of Swannhaven, the Tierneys believe it’s just the break they need. But as Ben uncovers Swannhaven’s chilling secrets and Charlie ventures deeper into the surrounding forest, strange things begin to happen. The Tierneys realize that their new home isn’t the fresh start they needed…and that the village’s haunting saga is far from over. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

HOW I SHED MY SKIN: Unlearning the Racist Lessons of a Southern Childhood by Jim Grimsley (Memoir)
Jim Grimsley was 11 years old in 1966 when federally mandated integration of schools went into effect in the state and the school in his small eastern North Carolina town was first integrated. What he did not realize until he began to meet these new students was just how deeply ingrained his own prejudices were and how those prejudices had developed in him. Now, more than 40 years later, Grimsley looks back at that school and those times --- remembering his own first real encounters with black children and their culture. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.

I WAS A CHILD: A Memoir by Bruce Eric Kaplan (Memoir)
Bruce Eric Kaplan, also known as BEK, is one of the most celebrated and admired cartoonists in America. I WAS A CHILD is the story of his childhood in words and drawings, in which he recalls growing up in New Jersey with his parents and two older brothers. It would seem like a conventional childhood, although Kaplan’s anecdotes are accompanied by his signature drawings of family outings and life at home --- road trips, milk crates, hamsters, ashtrays, wigs, a platypus and much more. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.

JUST SAY YES: A Marijuana Memoir by Catherine Hiller (Memoir)
As someone who has smoked weed almost every day for 50 years, author Catherine Hiller has produced an entertaining and positive narrative about long-term cannabis use. She describes climbing filthy tenement stairs in NYC to get her bi-monthly supply, giving advice about grass to an octogenarian couple, going to the Burning Man festival, filming Paul Bowles, smoking pot in the Caribbean, interviewing John Updike about marijuana, and being among the film crew at Woodstock. Reviewed by Tom Callahan.

LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER: What She Said Then, What We're Saying Now by Ann Imig (Parenting/Essays)
Based on the sensational national performance movement, LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER showcases the experiences of ordinary people of all racial, gender and age backgrounds, from every corner of the country. This collection of essays celebrates and validates what it means to be a mother today. The stories are raw, honest, poignant and sometimes raunchy, ranging from adoption, assimilation to emptying nests; first-time motherhood, foster-parenting, to infertility; single-parenting, LGBTQ parenting, to special-needs parenting. Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott.

MEMORY MAN by David Baldacci (Thriller)
Amos Decker returned from a stakeout one evening and entered a nightmare --- his wife, young daughter and brother-in-law had been murdered. His family destroyed, their killer's identity as mysterious as the motive behind the crime, and unable to forget a single detail from that horrible night, Decker finds his world collapsing around him. But over a year later, a man turns himself in to the police and confesses to the murders. Decker must endure the memories he would much rather forget --- and may have to make the ultimate sacrifice. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

MISSOULA: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer (True Crime)
Jon Krakauer chronicles the searing experiences of several women in Missoula --- the nights when they were raped; their fear and self-doubt in the aftermath; the way they were treated by the police, prosecutors, defense attorneys; the public vilification and private anguish; their bravery in pushing forward and what it cost them. Krakauer’s dispassionate, carefully documented account of what these ladies endured cuts through the abstract ideological debate about campus rape. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

POSITIVE by David Wellington (Horror)
The tattooed plus sign on Finnegan's hand marks him as a Positive. At any time, the zombie virus could explode in his body, turning him from a rational human into a ravenous monster. If he reaches his 21st birthday without an incident, he'll be cleared. Until then, he must go to a special facility for positives. But when the military caravan transporting him is attacked, Finn becomes separated. To make it to safety, he must embark on a perilous cross-country journey across an America transformed. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

THE RESIDENCE: Inside the Private World of the White House by Kate Andersen Brower (Social History)
America’s First Families are unknowable in many ways. No one has insight into their true character like the people who serve their meals and make their beds every day. Full of stories and details by turns dramatic, humorous and heartwarming, THE RESIDENCE reveals daily life in the White House as it is really lived through the voices of the maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen, engineers and others who tend to the needs of the President and First Family. Reviewed by Carole Turner.

REYKJAVIK NIGHTS: An Inspector Erlendur Novel by Arnaldur Indridason (Mystery)
In this prequel to his critically acclaimed Inspector Erlendur series, Arnaldur Indridason gives devoted fans a glimpse of Erlendur as a young, budding detective. The beat on the streets in Reykjavik is busy: traffic accidents, theft, domestic violence, contraband…and an unexplained death. When a tramp he met regularly on the night shift is found drowned in a ditch, no one seems to care. But his fate haunts Erlendur and drags him inexorably into the strange and dark underworld of the city. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

SPRING REMAINS by Mons Kallentoft (Thriller)
Spring has finally arrived, filling the Swedish countryside with sunshine and flowers after a long, dark winter. The beautiful weather is lost on Detective Investigator Malin Fors, though, troubled as she is by the unexpected death of her emotionally distant mother and what it might mean for her own fragmented and dysfunctional family. But when an explosion rocks the town square, killing two young girls, leaving their mother fighting for life and terrifying the entire community, Malin has no time to address her family’s uncertain future. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

WHERE THEY FOUND HER by Kimberly McCreight (Psychological Suspense)
No one knows the identity of a newborn whose body has just been discovered in the woods or what ended her very short life. Freelance journalist Molly Sanderson is unexpectedly called upon to cover the news for her local paper. A severe depression followed the loss of her own baby, and this assignment could unearth memories she has tried hard to bury. But the disturbing history Molly uncovers is not her own. Her investigation reveals a decades-old trail of dark secrets hiding behind Ridgedale's white picket fences. Reviewed by Stephen Febick.

 

 

Young Adult Reviews
AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir (Young Adult, Fantasy)
Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution. Elias is the academy’s finest soldier --- and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor. When Laia and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change the future of the empire itself. Reviewed by Brianna Robinson

ONE THING STOLEN by Beth Kephart (Youth Fiction)
Something is not right with Nadia Cara. While spending a year in Florence, Italy, she's become a thief. She has secrets. And when she tries to speak, the words seem far away. Nadia finds herself trapped by her own obsessions and following the trail of an elusive Italian boy whom only she has seen. Can Nadia be rescued or will she simply lose herself altogether? Reviewed by Cassandra H., Teen Board member.

ROOK by Sharon Cameron (Fantasy, Action Adventure)
Centuries after a shifting of the Earth's poles, the Sunken City that was once Paris is in the grips of a revolution. All who oppose the new regime are put to the blade, except for those who disappear from their prison cells, a red-tipped rook feather left in their place. Is the mysterious Red Rook a savior of the innocent or a criminal? Reviewed by Kate F.

 

Graphic Novel Reviews

THE AGE OF SELFISHNESS: Ayn Rand, Morality, and the Financial Crisis by Darryl Cunningham (Graphic Novel, Nonfiction)
Tracing the emergence of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of objectivism in the 1940s to her present-day influence, Darryl Cunningham’s latest work of graphic-nonfiction investigation leads readers to the heart of the global financial crisis of 2008. Cunningham uses Rand’s biography to illuminate the policies that led to the economic crash in the U.S. and in Europe, and how her philosophy continues to affect today’s politics and policies, starting with her most noted disciple, economist Alan Greenspan (former chairman of the Federal Reserve). Reviewed by Matthew Burbridge.

CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE PLEASANT?: A Memoir by Roz Chast (Graphic Memoir)
2014 Books for a Better Life Award Winner
2014 National Book Critics Circle Award Winner
2014 National Book Award Finalist
In her first memoir, Roz Chast brings her signature wit to the topic of aging parents. Spanning the last several years of their lives and told through four-color cartoons, family photos and documents, and a narrative as rife with laughs as it is with tears, CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT SOMETHING MORE PLEASANT? is both comfort and comic relief for anyone experiencing the life-altering loss of elderly parents. Reviewed by John Maher.

LAST OF THE SANDWALKERS by Jay Hosler (Youth Fiction, Graphic Novel)
Nestled in the grass under the big palm tree by the edge of the desert there is an entire civilization --- a civilization of beetles. In this bug's paradise, beetles write books, run restaurants and even do scientific research. But not too much scientific research is allowed by the powerful elders, who guard a terrible secret about the world outside the shadow of the palm tree. Reviewed by Charles Payseur.

 

connect with us twitterfacebook