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September 2013
September does not just mean the end of summer. For some book groups, it means getting back to book group discussion after the summer hiatus --- for others, it's finally time for the entire group to gather after scattered vacation time. Also, it may mean it’s time for making quarterly or semi-annual book selections. Book group meetings give you a chance not just to talk about the book that has been chosen for discussion, but also to share others you have read throughout the month --- or, in this case, over the entire summer. May we suggest that you allocate a portion of your meeting to this kind of book sharing? After all, from your formal conversations, you know a lot about the tastes of the other readers in your group. Consider this an opportunity for you to hear about books from those whose selections you respect --- and a chance to broaden your reading horizons!
Editorial Content for The Bone SeasonContributorsReviewer (text)Amy Gwiazdowski
My reading has been focused on fantasy the last few months. I tend to waver back and forth between fantasy and historical fiction, so it’s not unusual for me to go overboard on one or the other at any given time. I’ve been fortunate to discover several new authors this year thanks to this reading fixation, and I’m happy to add Samantha Shannon to my list. THE BONE SEASON is a new urban fantasy series, and I’m now patiently waiting for the next book. Read More TeaserIn the year 2059, several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing. But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister than even Scion. PromoIn the year 2059, several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing. But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister than even Scion. About the BookIt is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing. But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city --- Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly --- as soldiers in their army. Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives. THE BONE SEASON introduces a compelling heroine --- a young woman learning to harness her powers in a world where everything has been taken from her. It also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut. Editorial Content for The Girl You Left BehindContributorsReviewer (text)Norah Piehl
The thorny question of whether --- and how --- to return artworks stolen during time of war to their rightful owners is one that crops up in the news from time to time, especially regarding the thousands of works of art stolen from Jewish Europeans by their Nazi occupiers during World War II. In her new novel, THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND, Jojo Moyes considers this question through the lens of fiction. Read More TeaserArtist Edouard Lefevre leaves his young wife, Sophie, to fight at the front. When their small town falls to the Germans in the midst of World War I, Edouard’s portrait of Sophie draws the eye of the new Kommandant. As the officer’s dangerous obsession deepens, Sophie will risk everything to see her husband again. Almost a century later, Sophie’s portrait is given to Liv Halston by her young husband shortly before his sudden death, and a battle begins for who its legitimate owner is. PromoArtist Edouard Lefevre leaves his young wife, Sophie, to fight at the front. When their small town falls to the Germans in the midst of World War I, Edouard’s portrait of Sophie draws the eye of the new Kommandant. As the officer’s dangerous obsession deepens, Sophie will risk everything to see her husband again. Almost a century later, Sophie’s portrait is given to Liv Halston by her young husband shortly before his sudden death, and a battle begins for who its legitimate owner is. About the BookJojo Moyes’s bestseller, ME BEFORE YOU, catapulted her to wide critical acclaim and has struck a chord with readers everywhere. “Hopelessly and hopefully romantic” (Chicago Tribune), Moyes returns with another irresistible heartbreaker that asks, “Whatever happened to the girl you left behind?” France, 1916: Artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his young wife, Sophie, to fight at the front. When their small town falls to the Germans in the midst of World War I, Edouard’s portrait of Sophie draws the eye of the new Kommandant. As the officer’s dangerous obsession deepens, Sophie will risk everything --- her family, her reputation, and her life --- to see her husband again. Almost a century later, Sophie’s portrait is given to Liv Halston by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. A chance encounter reveals the painting’s true worth, and a battle begins for who its legitimate owner is --- putting Liv’s belief in what is right to the ultimate test. Like Sarah Blake’s THE POSTMISTRESS and Tatiana de Rosnay’s SARAH'S KEY, THE GIRL YOU LEFT BEHIND is a breathtaking story of love, loss and sacrifice told with Moyes’s signature ability to capture our hearts with every turn of the page. August 23, 2013
Elmore Leonard: A Genre Unto Himself
Elmore Leonard didn’t write crime fiction, westerns, historical thrillers or mysteries. He wrote Elmore Leonard books. No, that’s not quite right. He wrote Elmore Leonard books. You can bring an Elmore Leonard book to someone totally unfamiliar with genre fiction, say “try this” and make a believer out of them within the first few pages. When they run through everything from THE BOUNTY HUNTERS to MR. MAJESTYK (“hey...didn’t they make a movie of this?”) to FIFTY-TWO PICKUP to, yes, RAYLAN, they come back to you and ask, “Can you recommend anything else like this?” And you can, with the admonition that it will be almost, but not quite, as good as the real thing.
Editorial Content for BrewsterBookContributorsReviewer (text)Harvey Freedenberg
I first encountered Mark Slouka’s work in his masterly 2010 collection, ESSAYS FROM THE NICK OF TIME, a book I included on my list of the best ones of that year, noting it was “distinctive for its originality, its rigorous thinking and the clarity of its expression.” But that volume, which included essays ranging from the intensely personal to the frankly political, didn’t fully prepare me for this gritty and brutally honest tale of the emotional struggles of three young people in a small New York town in the late 1960s. Read More TeaserRacked by guilt over his older brother’s childhood death, 16-year-old Jon Mosher turns his rage into victories running track. Meanwhile, Ray Cappicciano is trying to take care of his baby brother while staying out of the way of his abusive father. Jon and Ray form a tight friendship, but it’s not until Ray falls in love with Karen Dorsey that the three friends begin to dream of breaking away from Brewster for good. Freedom, however, has its price. PromoRacked by guilt over his older brother’s childhood death, 16-year-old Jon Mosher turns his rage into victories running track. Meanwhile, Ray Cappicciano is trying to take care of his baby brother while staying out of the way of his abusive father. Jon and Ray form a tight friendship, but it’s not until Ray falls in love with Karen Dorsey that the three friends begin to dream of breaking away from Brewster for good. Freedom, however, has its price. About the BookWinner of the 2014 Alex Awards! The year is 1968. The world is changing, and 16-year-old Jon Mosher is determined to change with it. Racked by guilt over his older brother’s childhood death and stuck in the dead-end town of Brewster, New York, he turns his rage into victories running track. Meanwhile, Ray Cappicciano, a rebel as gifted with his fists as Jon is with his feet, is trying to take care of his baby brother while staying out of the way of his abusive, ex-cop father. When Jon and Ray form a tight friendship, they find in each other everything they lack at home, but it’s not until Ray falls in love with beautiful, headstrong Karen Dorsey that the three friends begin to dream of breaking away from Brewster for good. Freedom, however, has its price. As forces beyond their control begin to bear down on them, Jon sets off on the race of his life --- a race to redeem his past and save them all. |