Spring & Spring TV is Nigh
The Winter Olympics came and went faster than Lindsey Vonn’s slalom run (too soon?). They were super fun while they lasted, providing endless entertainment and a number of impromptu gatherings with friends to watch. What’s better than lounging on your couch, throwing back a few brews, reveling in garish British sports commentators and realizing you’ll forget all of these incredible athletes by the next Winter Olympics? Yeah, pretty sure nothing else could be better. And, while I might forget the majority of these people, the Canadian figure skating dream team of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir got me believing that true love is real, alive and so well.
So, what now? What else could we possibly be looking forward to with one of the biggest events of the year behind us? For one, spring is upon us. Today is the last day of February, and while there will most definitely be one final snowstorm (for those of us in the Northeast, you know what I’m talking about), the days of seasonal allergies, embracing outdoor happy hours and spring flings are nearly here. The much-awaited daylight savings time is so, so close --- Saturday, March 11th --- and I’m checking off the days on my calendar until it's arrived. In addition to days of more sunlight, spring means spring cleaning, spring break and, most importantly, Girl Scout cookies. Good thing New Year’s resolutions tend to fail during the second week in February (statistically, 80% of us who make ‘em get rid of ‘em) because there are cookies to eat. Outside. While wearing sunglasses. Soaking up all the Vitamin D. If you’re still sticking with your resolution, then you’re a better human than most. If your resolution was to eat more cookies, email me directly.
Possibly the thing that comes the closest to being as fun as watching the Olympics is eating Girl Scout cookies while watching many beloved TV shows. That’s correct, spring also marks the return of some of TV’s finest. Personally, I have been patiently awaiting the return of Netflix’s “Marvel’s Jessica Jones” for three (it’s actually more like two plus some, but it feels like an eternity) long years. The second season will come out next Thursday, March 8th, and there’s no doubt that superheroine Krysten Ritter will continue to kick some serious a$$. If you haven’t watched the first season, get to it now --- you have a little more than a week. It’s a little grungy, very punchy, sometimes sexy, and what’s more empowering and timely than watching an impressive and dynamic woman slay on the screen? Nothing. The answer is there’s nothing else. Praise be.
The return of Netflix’s “Love” next Friday, March 9th will be bittersweet. Unfortunately, this will be the third and final season for the quirky, modern love story. It seems like the Judd Apatow comedy series went a bit under the radar for the past couple of years, but if you give it a chance, it’s great. It’s the story of two heterosexual twentysomethings who are deciding whether or not they should be together. They’re each dealing with their own insecurities, which often gets in the way of their relationship, yet there’s an undeniable attraction that can’t quite keep them apart. I praise it for its realness, awkwardness, charm and, in some way, playing out my ongoing dream to live in Los Angeles. Any way, next weekend is going to be very busy.
Other TV things to look forward to? The 90th Academy Awards (a.k.a the Oscars) will premiere this coming Sunday, March 4th at 8PM ET on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel will be hosting the cream-of-the-crop awards for the movies we’ve all been lusting over for the past year. This includes, but is not limited to: Call Me By Your Name; The Shape of Water; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Get Out; Phantom Thread; Lady Bird; and I, Tonya.
“Billions” will return to Showtime for its seventh season on Sunday, March 25th. HBO’s “Silicon Valley” will come back for its fifth season at the exact.same.time. Take your pick. I am, along with everyone else, the most pumped for the second season of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which will premiere on Wednesday, April 25th on Hulu. Starz is making a bit of a splash this season with two notable book-to-screen debuts. “Howards End,” a limited four-part series based on the book by E. M. Forster, will make its US debut on Sunday, April 8th. The show already had its run in the UK on BBC and people enjoyed it. “Sweetbitter,” a brand new series based on the book of the same name by Stephanie Danler, will debut on Sunday, May 6th.
Here are a few books to check out before TV hits real hard:
EDUCATED: A Memoir by Tara Westover is an incredible story. Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho and isolated from mainstream society, she lacked any formal education. So she began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.
Arranged into five sections --- In the World, In the Audience, In the Gallery, On the Bookshelf, and Feel Free --- Zadie Smith’s new collection, FEEL FREE: Essays, poses questions we immediately recognize. What is The Social Network --- and Facebook itself --- really about? Why do we love libraries? What will we tell our granddaughters about our collective failure to address global warming? Gathering in one place for the first time previously unpublished work, as well as already classic essays such as "Joy" and "Find Your Beach," FEEL FREE offers a survey of important recent events in culture and politics, as well as Smith's own life.
Laura Lippman's SUNBURN is HOT right now. Adam and Polly meet at a local tavern in the small town of Belleville, Delaware. Polly is set on heading west. Adam says he’s also passing through. Yet she stays and he stays --- drawn to this mysterious redhead whose quiet stillness both unnerves and excites him. Over the course of a punishing summer, they abandon themselves to a steamy, inexorable affair. Still, each holds something back from the other --- dangerous, even lethal, secrets. Then someone dies. Was it an accident, or part of a plan? By now, they’re are so ensnared in each other’s lives and lies that neither one knows how to get away --- or even if they want to. Is their love strong enough to withstand the truth, or will it ultimately destroy them?
Happy reading!
5 Things To Obsess About This Very Moment, in no particular order:
1. Michelle Obama's memoir BECOMING will hit shelves November 13th
2. The trailer for HBO's movie adaptation of FAHRENHEIT 451
3. Netflix's "Queer Eye," a reboot of the OG. It's the best.
4. The trailer for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which is based on the book of the same name
5. CATCH-22 is going to be a limited series on Hulu and will star George Clooney
--- Nicole Sherman
ReadingGroupGuides.com Special Contest:
Enter to Win the Audiobook Edition of Kristin Hannah's THE GREAT ALONE and Share Your Comments on It
ReadingGroupGuides.com is proud to host a very special audiobook contest for Kristin Hannah's latest novel, THE GREAT ALONE. Ten book groups will win up to six digital or physical copies of the audiobook, which is read by Julia Whelan. Additionally, we'll be giving 40 listeners a physical copy of the audiobook. Enter by Thursday, March 8th at noon ET for your chance to win.
In order to qualify as a winning group, your group must be able to commit to listening to and discussing THE GREAT ALONE, and sharing your group's feedback with us, by Friday, May 18th. We strongly encourage all winners to share their experiences on social media, including reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and Bookreporter.com’s “Sounding Off on Audio” feature.
THE GREAT ALONE Audiobook written by Kristin Hannah, read by Julia Whelan (Historical Fiction)
The newest audiobook sensation from Kristin Hannah, bestselling author of THE NIGHTINGALE. This program is read by acclaimed narrator Julia Whelan, whose enchanting voice brought GONE GIRL and FATES AND FURIES to life. Kristin Hannah reads the acknowledgments.
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: He will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America's last true frontier.
Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents' passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown.
At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights' lack of preparation and dwindling resources.
But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt's fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in 18 hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: They are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.
- Click here to listen to a clip from the audiobook.
- Click here for the discussion guide.
- Click here to read a review.
ALL THE PIECES MATTER: The Inside Story of "The Wire" by Jonathan Abrams (Performing Arts)
Audiobook available; read by Jonathan Abrams, January LaVoy, Prentice Onayemi and Arthur Bishop
Since its final episode aired in 2008, HBO’s acclaimed crime drama "The Wire" has only become more popular and influential. The issues it tackled, from the failures of the drug war and criminal justice system to systemic bias in law enforcement and other social institutions, have become more urgent and central to the national conversation. But while there has been a great deal of critical analysis of the show and its themes, until now there has never been a definitive, behind-the-scenes take on how it came to be made. With unparalleled access to all the key actors and writers involved in its creation, Jonathan Abrams tells the astonishing, compelling and complete account of "The Wire," from its inception and creation through its end and powerful legacy. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.
ASYMMETRY by Lisa Halliday (Fiction)
Audiobook available; read by Aden Hakim, Fiona Hardingham, Arthur Morey and Candace Thaxton
Told in three distinct sections, ASYMMETRY explores the imbalances that spark and sustain many of our most dramatic human relations: inequities in age, power, talent, wealth, fame, geography and justice. The first section, “Folly,” tells the story of Alice, a young American editor, and her relationship with the famous and much older writer Ezra Blazer. By contrast, “Madness” is narrated by Amar, an Iraqi-American man who, on his way to visit his brother in Kurdistan, is detained by immigration officers and spends the last weekend of 2008 in a holding room in Heathrow. These two seemingly disparate stories gain resonance as their perspectives interact and overlap, with yet new implications for their relationship revealed in an unexpected coda. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
THE DETONATOR by Vincent Zandri (Thriller)
Ike Singer is a demolitions expert. Despite being at the very top of his profession, a personal mistake that led to catastrophe nearly brought Ike's life to ruin. He has spent every day since trying to atone for it and piece his family back together. And he believes he is succeeding. Until today. Suddenly Ike finds himself the target of a brilliant psychopath bent on systematically destroying his life. And this grudge runs as deep as they come. Ike must use every resource in his arsenal to prevent this killer's vengeance, and give everything in his power to save his family and his life before the timer hits zero. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
EDUCATED: A Memoir by Tara Westover (Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Julia Whelan
Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho and isolated from mainstream society, she lacked any formal education. So she began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
FEEL FREE: Essays by Zadie Smith (Essays)
Audiobook available, read by Nikki Aumka-Bird
Arranged into five sections --- In the World, In the Audience, In the Gallery, On the Bookshelf, and Feel Free --- Zadie Smith’s new collection poses questions we immediately recognize. What is The Social Network --- and Facebook itself --- really about? Why do we love libraries? What will we tell our granddaughters about our collective failure to address global warming? Gathering in one place for the first time previously unpublished work, as well as already classic essays such as "Joy" and "Find Your Beach," FEEL FREE offers a survey of important recent events in culture and politics, as well as Smith's own life. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.
THE FRENCH GIRL by Lexie Elliott (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Katherine McEwan
They were six university students from Oxford spending an idyllic week together in a French farmhouse. It was supposed to be the perfect summer getaway...until they met Severine, the girl next door. For Kate Channing, Severine was an unwelcome presence, her inscrutable beauty undermining the close-knit group's loyalties amid the already simmering tensions. There are some things you can't forgive. And there are some people you can't forget...like Severine, who was never seen again. Now, a decade later, the case is reopened when Severine's body is found in the well behind the farmhouse. Questioned along with her friends, Kate stands to lose everything she's worked so hard to achieve as suspicion mounts around her. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.
GOOD NEIGHBORS by Joanne Serling (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Susannah Jones
In an idyllic suburb, four young families quickly form a neighborhood clique, their friendships based on little more than the ages of their children and a shared sense of camaraderie. When one of the couples, Paige and Gene Edwards, adopt a four-year-old girl from Russia, the group's loyalty and morality is soon called into question. Are the Edwards unkind to their new daughter? Or is she a difficult child with hidden destructive tendencies? As the seams of the group friendship slowly unravel, neighbor Nicole Westerhof finds herself drawn further into the life of the adopted girl, forcing Nicole to reexamine the deceptive nature of her own family ties, and her complicity in the events unfolding around her. Reviewed by Lorraine W. Shanley.
THE HOUSE OF IMPOSSIBLE BEAUTIES by Joseph Cassara (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Christian Barillas
It’s 1980 in New York City, and nowhere is the city’s glamour and energy better reflected than in the burgeoning Harlem ball scene, where 17-year-old Angel first comes into her own. When she falls in love with Hector, a beautiful young man who dreams of becoming a professional dancer, the two decide to form the House of Xtravaganza, the first-ever all-Latino house in the Harlem ball circuit. But when Hector dies of AIDS-related complications, Angel must bear the responsibility of tending to their house alone. The Xtravaganzas --- Venus, Juanito and Daniel --- are ambitious, resilient and determined to control their own fates, even as they hurtle toward devastating consequences. Reviewed by Bianca Ambrosio.
THE LEGACY by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Lucy Paterson
The only person who might have the answers to a baffling murder case is the victim’s seven-year-old daughter, found hiding in the room where her mother died. And she’s not talking. Newly promoted, out of his depth, detective Huldar turns to Freyja, a psychologist, for her expertise with traumatized young people. Freyja, who distrusts the police in general and Huldar in particular, isn’t best pleased. But she’s determined to keep little Margret safe. It may prove tricky. The killer is leaving them strange clues, but can they crack the code? And if they do, will they be next? Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
THE LINE BECOMES A RIVER: Dispatches from the Border by Francisco Cantú(Memoir)
Audiobook available, read by Francisco Cantú
For Francisco Cantú, the border is in the blood: his mother, a park ranger and daughter of a Mexican immigrant, raised him in the scrublands of the Southwest. Haunted by the landscape of his youth, Cantú joins the Border Patrol. He and his partners are posted to remote regions crisscrossed by drug routes and smuggling corridors, where they learn to track other humans under blistering sun and through frigid nights. They haul in the dead and deliver to detention those they find alive. Plagued by nightmares, he abandons the Patrol for civilian life. But when an immigrant friend travels to Mexico to visit his dying mother and does not return, Cantú discovers that the border has migrated with him, and now he must know the whole story. Reviewed by John Bentlyewski.
MISTER TENDER'S GIRL by Carter Wilson (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
At 14, Alice Hill was viciously attacked by two of her classmates and left to die. The teens claim she was a sacrifice for a man called Mister Tender, but that could never be true: Mister Tender doesn't exist. His sinister character is pop-culture fiction, created by Alice's own father in a series of popular graphic novels. Over a decade later, Alice has changed her name and is trying to heal. But someone is watching her. They know more about Alice than any stranger could: her scars, her fears, and the secrets she keeps locked away. She can try to escape her past, but Mister Tender is never far behind. He will come with a smile that seduces, and a dark whisper in her ear. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.
MY NAME IS NATHAN LUCIUS by Mark Winkler (Noir Thriller)
Audiobook available, narrated by Gideon Emery
Thirty-one-year-old Nathan Lucius is an ad salesman at a Cape Town newspaper. Disaffected, hard-drinking and plagued by blackouts, Nathan lives alone and has only one true friend, a woman named Madge. But Madge is dying slowly of cancer, and when she asks Nathan to end her pain, she sets off a shocking string of events. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
NIGHT MOVES: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman (Psychological Thriller/Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by John Rubinstein
There’s no spilled blood, no evidence of a struggle, and, thanks to the victim’s missing face and hands, no immediate means of identification. And no telling why the disfigured corpse of a stranger has appeared in an upscale L.A. family’s home. Chet Corvin, his wife and their two teenage children are certain the John Doe is unknown to them. Despite that, their cooperation seems guarded. And that’s more than LAPD homicide detective Milo Sturgis and psychologist Alex Delaware can elicit from the Corvins’ creepy next-door neighbor. As the investigation ensues, it becomes clear that this well-to-do suburban enclave has its share of curious eyes, suspicious minds and loose lips. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
ONLY CHILD by Rhiannon Navin (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Kivlighan de Montebello
Squeezed into a coat closet with his classmates and teacher, first grader Zach Taylor can hear gunshots ringing through the halls of his school. A gunman has entered the building, taking 19 lives and irrevocably changing the very fabric of this close-knit community. While Zach's mother pursues a quest for justice against the shooter's parents, holding them responsible for their son's actions, Zach retreats into his super-secret hideout and loses himself in a world of books and art. Armed with his newfound understanding, and with the optimism and stubbornness only a child could have, Zach sets out on a captivating journey towards healing and forgiveness. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
THE PLEA by Steve Cavanagh (Legal Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Adam Sims
Billionaire David Child swears he didn’t murder his girlfriend, Clara. But the evidence overwhelmingly shows that David killed her. The FBI believes that David’s arrest and obvious guilt could help them take down a huge money laundering scheme --- if they can get him to testify. Con-artist-turned-lawyer Eddie Flynn is given the job: persuade David to plead guilty and give the agents the evidence they need. If Eddie can’t get David to take a plea bargain, the FBI has incriminating files on Eddie’s wife --- and will send her to jail. But David insists that he didn’t murder anyone. As the FBI pressures Eddie to secure the guilty plea, Eddie becomes increasingly convinced that David is telling the truth. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
POISON: A Dismas Hardy Novel by John Lescroart (Legal Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Jacques Roy
Finally recovered from two glancing gunshot wounds, Dismas Hardy is looking forward to easing into retirement and reconnecting with his family. But he is pulled back into the courtroom when Grant Wagner, the steely owner of a successful family business, is murdered. The prime suspect is Wagner’s bookkeeper, Abby Jarvis, a former client of Hardy’s who had been receiving large sums of cash under-the-table from the company --- but she insists that she’s innocent. Preparing for trial, Dismas investigates the Wagner clan, discovering dark, twisted secrets, jealous siblings, gold-digging girlfriends, betrayals and blackmail. The closer he gets to the Wagners, the clearer it becomes that Dismas has a target painted on his back. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE RENDING AND THE NEST by Kaethe Schwehn (Post-Apocalyptic Fiction)
When 95 percent of the earth's population disappears for no apparent reason, Mira does what she can to create some semblance of a life: She cobbles together a haphazard community named Zion, scavenges the Piles for supplies they might need, and avoids loving anyone she can't afford to lose. Four years after the Rending, Mira's best friend, Lana, announces her pregnancy. But when Lana gives birth to an inanimate object --- and other women of Zion follow suit --- the thin veil of normalcy Mira has thrown over her new life begins to fray. Then a confident outsider named Michael lures Lana away, and Mira must decide how much she's willing to let go in order to save her friend, her home, and her own fraught pregnancy. Reviewed by Katherine B. Weissman.
SELF-PORTRAIT WITH BOY by Rachel Lyon (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Julia Whelan
Lu Rile is a relentlessly focused young photographer struggling to make ends meet. Working three jobs, responsible for her aging father, and worrying that the crumbling warehouse she lives in is being sold to developers, she is at a point of desperation. One day, in the background of a self-portrait, Lu accidentally captures on film a boy falling past her window to his death. The photograph turns out to be startlingly gorgeous, the best work of art she’s ever made. But the decision to show it is not easy, especially as she forges an intense bond with the boy’s mother. Lu becomes torn between equally fierce desires: to use the photograph to advance her career, and to protect a woman she has come to love. Reviewed by Sarah Jackman.
THE STORM KING by Brendan Duffy (Literary Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Jon Lindstrom
After a tumultuous youth marked by his inexplicable survival of a devastating tragedy, Nate McHale left his Adirondack hometown of Greystone Lake and never looked back. Fourteen years later, he has become a respected New York City surgeon, devoted husband and loving father. Then a body is discovered deep in the forests that surround Greystone Lake. This disturbing news finally draws Nate home. While navigating a tense landscape of secrets and suspicion, resentments and guilt, Nate reconnects with estranged friends and old enemies, and encounters strangers who seem to know impossible things about him. Haunting every moment is the Lake’s sinister history and the memory of Lucy Bennett, with whom Nate is forever linked by shattering loss and youthful passion. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
SUNBURN by Laura Lippman (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Susan Bennett
They meet at a local tavern in the small town of Belleville, Delaware. Polly is set on heading west. Adam says he’s also passing through. Yet she stays and he stays --- drawn to this mysterious redhead whose quiet stillness both unnerves and excites him. Over the course of a punishing summer, Polly and Adam abandon themselves to a steamy, inexorable affair. Still, each holds something back from the other --- dangerous, even lethal, secrets. Then someone dies. Was it an accident, or part of a plan? By now, Adam and Polly are so ensnared in each other’s lives and lies that neither one knows how to get away --- or even if they want to. Is their love strong enough to withstand the truth, or will it ultimately destroy them? Reviewed by Ray Palen.
SURPRISE ME by Sophie Kinsella (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Fiona Hardingham
After 10 years together, Sylvie and Dan have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs and beautiful twin girls, and they communicate so seamlessly they finish each other’s sentences. They have a happy marriage and believe they know everything there is to know about each other. Until it’s casually mentioned to them that they could be together for another 68 years…and panic sets in. They decide to bring surprises into their marriage to keep it fresh and fun. But in their pursuit of Project Surprise Me, mishaps arise, with disastrous and comical results. Gradually, surprises turn to shocking truths. And when a scandal from the past is uncovered, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other at all. Reviewed by Leah DeCesare (www.leahdecesare.com).
TARNISHED CITY by Vic James (Dystopian Fantasy)
Audiobook available, read by Avita Jay
In a modern Britain where magic users control wealth, politics --- and you --- an uprising has been crushed. In its aftermath, two families will determine the country’s fate. The ruthless Jardines make a play for ultimate power. And the Hadleys, once an ordinary family, must find the extraordinary strength to fight back. Abi Hadley is a fugitive. Her brother, Luke, a prisoner. Both will discover that in the darkest places, the human spirit shines brightest. Meanwhile, amid his family’s intrigues, Silyen Jardine dreams of forgotten powers from an earlier age. As blood runs in the streets of London, all three will discover whether love and courage can ever be stronger than tyranny. Reviewed by Melanie Reynolds.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED by Mick Herron (Thriller)
Audiobook available, narrated by Steven Crossley
Twenty-six-year-old Maggie Barnes is someone you would never look at twice. Living alone in a month-to-month sublet in the huge city of London, with no family but an estranged sister, no boyfriend or partner, and not much in the way of friends, Maggie is just the kind of person who could vanish from the face of the earth without anyone taking notice. Or just the kind of person MI5 needs to infiltrate the establishment and thwart an international plot that puts all of Britain at risk. Now one young woman has the chance to be a hero --- if she can think quickly enough to stay alive. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
WHITE HOUSES by Amy Bloom (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Tonya Cornelisse
Lorena Hickok meets Eleanor Roosevelt in 1932 while reporting on Franklin Roosevelt’s first presidential campaign. Having grown up worse than poor in South Dakota and reinvented herself as the most prominent woman reporter in America, “Hick,” as she’s known to her friends and admirers, is not quite instantly charmed by the idealistic, patrician Eleanor. But then, as her connection with the future first lady deepens into intimacy, what begins as a powerful passion matures into a lasting love, and a life that Hick never expected to have. Reviewed by Susan Miura.
BECOMING MADELEINE: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters by Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Léna Roy (Biography)
This elegant and insightful biography of Madeleine L’Engle (1918–2007) was written by her granddaughters, Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Léna Roy. Using never-before-seen archival materials that include photographs, poems, letters and journal entries from when Madeleine was a child until just after the publication of her classic, A WRINKLE IN TIME, her granddaughters weave together an in-depth and unique view of the famous writer. It is a story of overcoming obstacles --- a lonely childhood, financial insecurity, and countless rejections of her writing --- and eventual triumph. BECOMING MADELEINE will speak not only to fans of the icon’s work, but also to anyone interested in writing. Reviewed by Christine M. Irvin.
BYGONE BADASS BROADS: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World written by Mackenzi Lee with illustrations by Ms. Petra Eriksson (Biography)
With tales of heroism and cunning, in-depth bios and witty storytelling, BYGONE BADASS BROADS gives new life to these historic female pioneers. Starting in the fifth century BC and continuing to the present, the book takes a closer look at bold and inspiring women who dared to step outside the traditional gender roles of their time. Coupled with riveting illustrations and Lee’s humorous and conversational storytelling style, this book is an outright celebration of the badass women who paved the way for the rest of us. Reviewed by Maggie Dow.
EAT YOUR FEELINGS: The Food Mood Girl's Guide to Transforming Your Emotional Eating by Lindsey Smith (Diet/Nutrition)
Busy young professionals wrestle with long hours and the stress of the modern world. As days whiz by, it’s normal to gravitate toward food --- a slice of pizza, a chocolate bar, or chips --- that fulfills a craving of the moment or gives a quick energy boost. But Lindsey Smith shows how simple it is to make those same meals and snacks with mood-boosting ingredients that will nourish. In EAT YOUR FEELINGS, Smith, the Food Mood Girl, will look at ways to eat healthy food based on what people tend to crave the most during heightened emotional states, introducing recipes with crunchy, cheesy, creamy, sweet and salty themes and drink alternatives for those who tend to chug soda or coffee when all worked up. Reviewed by Ilona K., Teen Board Member.
FIRE AND BONE by Rachel A. Marks (Urban Fantasy)
Sage is 18, down on her luck and struggling to survive on the streets of Los Angeles. Everything changes the night she’s invited to a party that turns out to be a trap. Thrust into a magical world, Sage discovers that she’s the daughter of a Celtic goddess. Now that she is of age, she’s asked to pledge her service to one of the five deities, all keen on winning her favor. She has to admit that she’s tempted --- especially when this new life comes with spells, Hollywood glam and a bodyguard with secrets of his own. One thing is for sure: the trap she’s in has bigger claws than she thought. And it’s going to take a lot more than magic for this Celtic demigoddess to make it out alive. Reviewed by Jeremy H., Teen Board Member.
THE HAZEL WOOD by Melissa Albert (Contemporary Fantasy)
Audiobook available, narrated by Rebecca Soler
Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the author of a cult-classic book of dark fairy tales, dies on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: Her mother is stolen away --- by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began --- and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong. Reviewed by Reanna Hensley.
THE LAST TO LET GO by Amber Smith (Contemporary Fiction)
Audiobook available, narrated by Stephanie Einstein
Junior year for Brooke Winters is supposed to be about change. She’s transferring schools, starting fresh and making plans for college so she can finally leave her hometown, her family and her past behind. But all of her dreams are shattered when her mother is arrested for killing Brooke’s abusive father. No one really knows what happened that day, if it was premeditated or self-defense, whether it was right or wrong. And now Brooke and her siblings are on their own. In a year of firsts, Brooke must confront the shadow of her family’s violence and dysfunction, as she struggles to embrace her identity, finds her true place in the world, and learns how to let go. Reviewed by Grace P., Teen Board Member.
SPEAK: The Graphic Novel written by Laurie Halse Anderson with illustrations by Emily Carroll (Graphic Novel)
From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda is friendless --- an outcast --- because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. Through her work on an art project, she is finally able to face what really happened that night: She was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her. With powerful illustrations by Emily Carroll, Laurie Halse Anderson's SPEAK: The Graphic Novel comes alive for new audiences and fans of the classic novel. Reviewed by Marco M., Teen Board Member.
WHEN LIGHT LEFT US by Leah Thomas (Science Fiction)
When the Vasquez siblings' father left, it seemed nothing could remedy the absence in their lives...until a shimmering figure named Luz appeared in the canyon behind their house. He shot hoops with seventeen-year-old Hank's hands. He showed fourteen-year-old Ana cinematic beauty behind her eyelids. He spoke kindly to eight-year-old Milo. But then Luz left, too, and he took something from each of them. As a new school year begins, Hank, Ana, and Milo must carry on as if an alien presence never altered them. But how can they ever feel close to other people again when Luz changed everything about how they see the world and themselves? Reviewed by Rachel R., Teen Board Member.
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