New Arrival!

Amigoland by Oscar Casares

This is an AMAZING new novel that is getting OUTSTANDING reviews!

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review.
Casares expands the clean, tender prose of his debut collection, Brownsville, into a winning novel. In an American town just north of the Mexican border, the estranged Rosales brothers are equally ambivalent and inwardly volatile. Don Fidencio is snappish, sickly and endearing: he refuses to admit his own incontinence, smokes cigarettes against his nurses' wishes and identifies people, often cruelly, by their physical appearances (such as The Gringo With The Ugly Finger). Meanwhile, his widower brother, Celestino, a diabetic, feels adrift toward the edge of a flat world. He's slowly drawn out, thanks to his Mexican cleaning woman, Socorro, who travels from the other side every day, wishing that the geographical and social borders between them could be gently... swept aside. The mysterious reason for the brothers' estrangement forces the three characters to push back from one another outwardly while returning, internally, to their own weaknesses, and their distinct voices pick up the thread of narration so easily that, from even mundane details, it's plain to see how love, borders, death—and most of all, willful ignorance—are part of everyday reawakenings. With Casares's blessing, you can laugh at them all. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

More Reviews
"Oscar Casares' AMIGOLAND, his first novel and a follow-up to his much-acclaimed book of short stories, Brownsville, is a liberating journey full of warmth and color....The group's impromptu trip to Mexico feels like a refreshing, rejuvenating trip for the reader as well as the characters. And the ending? Bittersweet, unexpected and undeniably precious. All told, AMIGOLAND is full of new friends and makes for perfect summer reading." (Bookpage)

"Knowing, touching and true." (Kirkus *starred review*)

"By turns hilarious and heart-breaking, this story of two feisty, aging brothers and their bumpy road trip to the past is a delightful romp. Think "Sunshine Boys" go south of the border, but funnier, much funnier, and infinitely more poignant." (Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban and A Handbook to Luck)

New Arrival!

Amateur Barbarians by Robert Cohen

This book is getting some rave reviews and is worth a look!

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review.
Artfully juxtaposing two contrasting personalities (as he did in Inspired Sleep), Cohen explores the terrain of male middle age in a novel that keenly observes the dissatisfactions of contemporary life. Teddy Hastings, the 53-year-old principal of a New England middle school, yearns for a grand adventure that would celebrate his manhood. Restless and impulsive, Teddy unwittingly causes a scandal that lands him briefly in jail. Disgraced and forced to take a sabbatical, Teddy leaves his wife, Gail, behind and flies to Ethiopia, where his college dropout daughter is working with orphans. Meanwhile, Oren Pierce, the younger man appointed in Teddy's absence, skitters through life in the same manner he has always done: perennially uncommitted, congenitally irresolute, though he is eventually forced to confront the limits of his desultory lifestyle. (Gail comes into play, as well.) Teddy's sojourn in Africa is the most dynamic part of the book, though it is Gail who acts as the novel's fulcrum; witty, sensual, focused and centered in reality, she remains an indelible figure as the two men in her orbit are diminished by the collapse of their dreams and expectations. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New Arrival!

Do you love a good vampire story? Looking for a new series with some "bite"? Then this one's for you!

The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Book Description

The visionary creator of the Academy Award-winning Pan's Labyrinth and a Hammett Award-winning author bring their imaginations to this bold, epic novel about a horrifying battle between man and vampire that threatens all humanity. It is the first installment in a thrilling trilogy and an extraordinary international publishing event.

They have always been here. Vampires. In secret and in darkness. Waiting. Now their time has come.

In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country.

In two months--the world.

A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Eph Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold.

In a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, a former professor and survivor of the Holocaust named Abraham Setrakian knows something is happening. And he knows the time has come, that a war is brewing . . .

So begins a battle of mammoth proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected New York begins to spill out into the streets. Eph, who is joined by Setrakian and a motley crew of fighters, must now find a way to stop the contagion and save his city--a city that includes his wife and son--before it is too late.

Recommendation from the Librarian

The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood.

Last night I watch this AMAZING film!

Summary
His sense of identity fading into nothingness after the spotlights dim and he experiences a close brush with mortality, a retired wrestler begins to evaluate his life while considering the comeback that could very well kill him in director Darren Aronofsky's poignant portrait of an introspective former superstar in the twilight of his career. Back in his heyday, wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was an icon in the ring. His image immortalized in action figures and video games, he would headline arenas across the globe. Twenty years later, those glory days have passed, and Randy is forced to earn his keep by brawling before handfuls of fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey. In the wake of a heart attack, the former icon attempts to earn a little extra cash while working in a deli and making an effort to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood). Yet, despite Randy's continued attempts at convincing local stripper Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) to settle down with him in his humble trailer, the ring still calls to him. Later, when the prospect of a high-profile rematch with his longtime nemesis presents itself, Randy is forced to weigh his mortality against his desire to hear the crowd roar one last time. The Wrestler snagged two Oscar nominations, one for Best Actor (Rourke) and one for Best Supporting Actress (Tomei). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

If the summary hasn't convinced you that this is a truly great film, click here to read the outstanding review by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Roger Ebert.

On Order Now!

Amateur Barbarians by Robert Cohen

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Artfully juxtaposing two contrasting personalities (as he did in Inspired Sleep), Cohen explores the terrain of male middle age in a novel that keenly observes the dissatisfactions of contemporary life. Teddy Hastings, the 53-year-old principal of a New England middle school, yearns for a grand adventure that would celebrate his manhood. Restless and impulsive, Teddy unwittingly causes a scandal that lands him briefly in jail. Disgraced and forced to take a sabbatical, Teddy leaves his wife, Gail, behind and flies to Ethiopia, where his college dropout daughter is working with orphans. Meanwhile, Oren Pierce, the younger man appointed in Teddy's absence, skitters through life in the same manner he has always done: perennially uncommitted, congenitally irresolute, though he is eventually forced to confront the limits of his desultory lifestyle. (Gail comes into play, as well.) Teddy's sojourn in Africa is the most dynamic part of the book, though it is Gail who acts as the novel's fulcrum; witty, sensual, focused and centered in reality, she remains an indelible figure as the two men in her orbit are diminished by the collapse of their dreams and expectations.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New Arrival! (This Just In!)

My Abandonment by Peter Rock

Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The engaging but limited perspective of 13-year-old Caroline, the hillbilly girl that lived in the park, reveals a highly circumscribed world. When first met, Caroline and Father are scavenging for materials to make a shelter in the forest park outside of Portland, Ore., where they seem to be hiding out. They make cautious trips into the city to the supermarket and the library, but a lapse by Caroline brings police attention, and they are taken into custody. Jean Bauer, whose profession is unclear, helps Father secure employment and brings pots and pans and school clothes for Caroline. Who are these two? Caroline walks past posters with my face on them, my old name, and no one sees me. Father says: If I weren't your father... how could I have walked right into your backyard and walked away with you and no one said a word? This is a tale of survival, of love and attachment, of mystery and alienation. It is an utterly entrancing book, a bow to Thoreau and a nod to the detective story. Every step of this narrative, despite providing more questions than answers, rings true. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Library Journal (Starred Review)
[A] deeply unsettling and finely wrought tale....Rock deftly ratchets up the uncertainties, and the idyllic edges past the unusual toward the unthinkable and the tragic. My Abandonment is a haunting story, masterfully told. -- Booklist. The novel has many uneasy moments and allusions to stories left untold in Caroline's life, but Rock's insight into his characters' worries and hopes propels the story to its emotional conclusion. A compelling read; recommended for all fiction collections.

New Arrival!

Here's a delightful chick lit novel for you. Heartbreak, betrayal and humor. How can you resist?

The Penny Pinchers Club by Sarah Strohmeyer

Summary
When Kat discovers that her husband, Griff, has been hiding a secret bank account, her joyful consumerism suddenly loses its appeal. Are their fights about money more serious than she understood? Is he, as her friends suggest, preparing for a divorce? Just in case, Kat decides it's time to start saving and she joins an eclectic but lovable group of savers called the Penny Pinchers Club who teach her that saving time with family is as important as saving money. An irresistible and wonderfully warm-hearted novel about the unexpected ways hardship can lead to happiness.

To learn more about the author, visit her website!

New Arrival!

How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely

From Publishers Weekly
Biting, hilarious and improbably affectionate, comedy writer Hely's debut skewers the literary world with a sendup of the quest to write the Great American Novel. Words are Pete Tarslaw's thing, and after watching a bestselling novelist prattle on about the truth, his calling and other ridiculous ideas on TV, Pete concludes that the sole way to save face at his ex-girlfriend's upcoming wedding is to become a famous novelist himself. His quest to construct a by-the-numbers bestseller is guided by rules like "At dull points include descriptions of delicious meals and where to live (An easy way to get credibility as an author is to live someplace rugged), though the real adventure starts once he bags $15,000 for The Tornado Ashes Club: his dance card is full of one-night stands, dizzying meet-and-greets with Hollywood big shots and appearances at grad schools. Meanwhile, Pete senses his moral barometer plummet as his Amazon ranking rises. Granted, Hely's shooting at some pretty easy targets that have been hit before, but it's hard not to love the way he does it with such merciless zeal. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reviews
“Biting, hilarious, and improbably affectionate.”—Publishers Weekly

“A hilarious send-up of literary pretensions and celebrity culture. . . . Will hit close to home for publishers, writers, and readers.”—Bob Minzesheimer, USA Today

“A satiric, facetious, and laugh-out-loud funny first novel.”—Kirkus (starred review)

Just Arrived! Great Debut Novel!

You or Someone Like You by Chandler Burr

Summary
Anne Rosenbaum leads a life of quiet Los Angeles privilege, the wife of Hollywood executive Howard Rosenbaum and mother of their seventeen-year-old son, Sam. Years ago Anne and Howard met studying literature at Columbia—she, the daughter of a British diplomat from London, he a boy from an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn. Now on sleek blue California evenings, Anne attends halogen-lit movie premieres on the arm of her powerful husband. But her private life is lived in the world of her garden, reading books.

When one of Howard's friends, the head of a studio, asks Anne to make a reading list, she casually agrees—though, as a director reminds her, "no one reads in Hollywood." To her surprise, they begin calling: screen-writers; producers, from their bungalows; and agents, from their plush offices on Wilshire and Beverly. Soon Anne finds herself leading an exclusive book club for the industry elite. Emerging gradually from her seclusion, she guides her readers into the ideas and beauties of Donne, Yeats, Auden, and Mamet, with her brilliant and increasingly bold opinions. But when a crisis of identity unexpectedly turns an anguished Howard back toward the Orthodoxy he left behind as a young man, Anne must set out to save what she values above all else: her husband's love.

At once fiercely intelligent and emotionally grip-ping, You or Someone Like You confronts the fault lines between inherited faith and personal creed, and, through the surprising transformation of one exceptional, unforgettable woman, illuminates literature's power to change our lives.

Review
"Smart, literate, and humane...deftly melds an entertaining tour through...the culture of the moment with an original investigation into the timeless themes of great literature and the painful, private fault lines of deep marital love. In the process, he creates a heroine that few readers will forget." (John Burnham Schwartz, author of The Commoner and Reservation Road)

"Provocative...weighs in on the issue of identity politics and also makes a powerful case for why great books are a great danger to small minds." (NPR's Fresh Air )

"You Or Someone Like You is a pitch-perfect, often very funny novel about why, in this crazy world, we still bother to read. It's for anyone who defiantly clings to the belief that a book can change our lives." (David Ebershoff, author of The 19th Wife and The Danish Girl)

"In his first, well crafted and thoroughly enjoyable novel, New York Times scent critic Chandler Burr presents a sweeping spectrum, set in Hollywood, of contemporary religious and social issues...it is well worth the read." (Jewish Book World)

"A true celebration of intellect.examines the personal decision each of us must make to run from, or embrace, our identity." (Publishers Weekly)

"A savvy novel that deals with Hollywood from a cultural rather than a tabloid perspective." (Kirkus Reviews *starred*)

"[Burr's] field work serves the novel well, with depictions of Los Angeles culture that feel spot-on...It's a genuine thrill to read what people like Albert Brooks, to give just one of many examples, might think of Jude the Obscure..." (Time Out New York)

And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program...

Sorry about the break. It's been almost one week since I've updated our blog. But I'm back and I've got something for ya (don't I always?). Here's a new mystery we just ordered and you will love it!

Last Known Address by Theresa Schwegel

Summary

Detective Sloane Pearson is new to the Sex Crimes Division but no stranger to being treated like an incompetent blonde by her hardened male co-workers. She’s also no stranger to hard-to-crack cases, and her latest is as tough as they come: A rapist is on the prowl, dragging women to deserted building sites or vacant apartment buildings peppered all over downtown Chicago, and forcing them to fight---knowing, of course, that he’ll win.

When a real estate agent Sloane knows is attacked by the violent predator, Sloane finds herself taking a case that threatens her secret plans to leave her long-time lover. Her personal bond with the victim and a would-be relationship with a man she interviews along the way lead Sloane down a dangerous path---one that poisons the investigation as well as her personal life.

Sloane’s balancing act topples when her father falls ill. Between coping with his weak heart and following the few weak leads she has, her case begins to go the way that many rape cases go: The victims fall away, one by one, suddenly unsure of what they saw or unwilling to relive the horrifying moments again and again.

When Sloane helps a hungry young Sun-Times reporter declare the case serial, she loses support: Her bosses demand she get a suspect or move on. Sloane stays on the case, though---no matter how much it strains her personal relationships. Even her partner claims she’s in too deep: He doesn’t believe there’s an arrest on the planet worth a cop’s life. Sloane disagrees: Someone’s got to take up the fight.

From the worst slums of Chicago’s west side to the glittering Loop skyscrapers, Sloane finds no shortage of suspects. As she loses everything she’d called home, she can only hope to find the rapist before she also becomes a victim.

New Arrival!

Do Not Deny Me: Stories by Jean Thompson

Do you love David Sedaris? (You do?! Yet another reason I liked you!!) Here's a wonderful new author (fiction, mind you) for you to read.

Product Description
Jean Thompson, heralded as "America's Alice Munro...one of the best contemporary short-story writers" by Kirkus Reviews, delivers twelve exquisite new stories that combine her beloved trademarks of dark humor, seductively sharp wit, and uncanny observations on human nature. Do Not Deny Me is a fictional primer on how Americans live day to day: Thompson's characters -- a middle manager in the midst of midlife crisis, an urban single visiting her best friend turned suburban mother, a grieving woman looking for guidance -- are instantly recognizable in their predicaments, foibles, and sensibilities.

A brilliantly wrought exploration of the myriad circumstances that Americans are experiencing right now, this superlative collection perfectly captures the joys and amusements, trials and sorrows of its fictional inhabitants. Do Not Deny Me should be savored, word by word.

For more information about Jean Thompson, check out her website.

New Arrival!

Perpetual Check by Rich Wallace

This is a gem of a book that only 3 libraries in Rhode Island own. And we've got it!

Summary
Randy is a chubby ninth grader with a Cub Scout hair cut who guesses M&M colors with his eyes closed and makes up words. He’s also a chess whiz who has defeated his older brother Zeke in nine of their last ten matches. Zeke is a high school senior, a soccer champ, and a chess natural who can beat just about anyone if he decides to really concentrate. So why is his loser little brother the better athlete, the better chess player, and the first to have a girlfriend?

The competition heightens when both Randy and Zeke qualify for the Northeast Regional of the Pennsylvania High School Chess Championships (Randy is seeded, Zeke is not)—and play their way right into a brother-to-brother final round. Told in alternating points of view between brothers, Rich Wallace’s new novel brings to life one of America’s favorite pastimes in a suspenseful story about competition and family loyalty.

Rich Wallace is the author of several books for young adults, including One Good Punch, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; and Wrestling Sturbridge, an ALA Quick Pick. He lives in Pennsylvania.

Review from Booklist
Two brothers endure a weekend chess tournament in this novel told in alternating viewpoints. Zeke, a high-school senior, has an edgier personality than his brother, Randy, a freshman who takes a relaxed, humorous, and savvy approach to life. The brothers are not helped by their jerk of a father, who spouts off clichés glorifying aggression. Both brothers’ voices describe Zeke’s gradual realization that emulating his angry and shallow father will get him nowhere, in chess or in his relationships. Eventually, the brothers meet in a match and grow closer through the experience. Wallace makes a subtle connection between the ability to see potential moves on a board and the ability to see the truth of life, and he tells his story in a series of revealing details. Wisely, he doesn’t let the story go on too long and offers a short novel that presents a fascinating study of two fully formed characters.
Grades 8-11.
--Todd Morning

Just Arrived!

Watchmen by Alan Moore

In honor of the impending DVD release of the film, I would like to introduce all my graphic novel lovin' YA'ers to THE BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL OF ALL TIME*!

Amazon.com Review
Has any comic been as acclaimed as Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen? Possibly only Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, but Watchmen remains the critics' favorite. Why? Because Moore is a better writer, and Watchmen a more complex and dark and literate creation than Miller's fantastic, subversive take on the Batman myth. Moore, renowned for many other of the genre's finest creations (Saga of the Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, and From Hell, with Eddie Campbell) first put out Watchmen in 12 issues for DC in 1986-87. It won a comic award at the time (the 1987 Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards for Best Writer/Artist combination) and has continued to gather praise since.

The story concerns a group called the Crimebusters and a plot to kill and discredit them. Moore's characterization is as sophisticated as any novel's. Importantly the costumes do not get in the way of the storytelling; rather they allow Moore to investigate issues of power and control--indeed it was Watchmen, and to a lesser extent Dark Knight, that propelled the comic genre forward, making "adult" comics a reality. The artwork of Gibbons (best known for 2000 AD's Rogue Trooper and DC's Green Lantern) is very fine too, echoing Moore's paranoid mood perfectly throughout. Packed with symbolism, some of the overlying themes (arms control, nuclear threat, vigilantes) have dated but the intelligent social and political commentary, the structure of the story itself, its intertextuality (chapters appended with excerpts from other "works" and "studies" on Moore's characters, or with excerpts from another comic book being read by a child within the story), the fine pace of the writing and its humanity mean that Watchmen more than stands up--it keeps its crown as the best the genre has yet produced. --Mark Thwaite


*Time magazine wrote "A work of ruthless psychological realism, it’s a landmark in the graphic novel medium. It would be a masterpiece in any."

COMING SOON! (On Order Now)

How to Sell by Clancy Martin

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. A Canadian in 1987 goes to Texas and gets crushingly corrupted in Martin's sexy, funny and devastating debut. Bobby Clark is 16 when he leaves a dead-end setup with his single mother and grass-is-greener girlfriend, Wendy, and heads to Fort Worth to get into the fine jewelry business under the stewardship of his salesman brother, Jim. In no time, Bobby and Jim are snorting lines, Bobby's moving in on (and smoking crank with) Jim's mistress, Lisa, and getting a crash course in amazingly crooked business. Scams, bait-and-switch deals, bogus jewelry and startling treachery are day-to-day at the jewelry store, until the store's gregarious owner gets into trouble at the same time Bobby tries to save Lisa from a massive flame-out. Years later, Bobby's back in Fort Worth, married to Wendy (and with a child) and still in the jewelry business with Jim when Lisa reappears, engaged in an equally questionable if older profession. Bobby's helplessly honest narration is a sublime counterpoint to the crooked doings he's complicit in. Reading this is like watching one man's American dream turn into a soul-sucking nightmare. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reviews
“Dirty, greatly original, and very hard to stop reading.”
—Jonathan Franzen

“How to Sell is outrageous, theatrical and slicker than oil. It tells the tale of Bobby Clark, a high-school dropout who joins his older brother at a jewelry emporium in Texas. It's a festival of drugs, diamonds and sex. Quality is nice, but any drugs, any sex and any diamonds will do, because anything can be spun into something better. Prostitution, a saleswoman turned hooker suggests at one point, is a more honest kind of living than the jewelry trade (at least in this book). ‘With what I do now,’ she tells Bobby, ‘I sleep well at night.’ . . . With How to Sell, Martin has written a gem of a story. Selling it probably won't be hard. The bigger challenge for Martin might be to learn how to stop selling.”
—Louisa Thomas, Newsweek

“How to Sell is, with memorably dark comedy, a virtual handbook on fraud. The world the Clark boys build for themselves and teeter precariously upon—one driven by wads of cash, adrenaline, an indiscriminate lust for sex and money, and a misunderstanding of what in life is really at stake—is a compelling setting for Martin’s propulsive storytelling. His narration feels cinematic, the sets and scenery popping off the page. With remarkable skill as the story spools out, Martin omits just enough exposition and interior insights to keep his characters shrouded in mystery, as if constantly reminding us that we’ll always be the customer, never the insider. Speaking of customers, prepare to be a much shrewder one after reading How to Sell.”
—Rachel Rosenblit, Elle

“A timely meditation on greed and the American Dream.”
—Men.style.com

“It’s a lean and mean book, perfect for those who distrust all this recent talk about change. The kind of novel—cool and dark—that goes with you to the beach and then keeps you thinking at night.”
—Benjamin Alsup, Esquire

“Clancy Martin writes with no-nonsense punch, detailing the schemes—fake certificates, ‘antiques’—shady jewelers have been running for centuries. If the sentences in How to Sell feel lived-in, well, that’s because the author himself is a former con man, borrowing liberally from the gem-scam life before going straight (He’s a philosophy professor now; go figure.) By the time you’re hooked on the book’s insidious plot twists, concerning sibling rivalry and a meth-addicted mistress who sleeps better hooking than she does selling Faux-lexes, you’re blissfully unaware you’re downing a metaphor: No commission can buy you a soul.”
—Adam Baer, GQ

“It's hard to imagine a more seductive blurb than that delivered by Jonathan Franzen for Martin's first novel. Here goes: ‘Dirty, greatly original, and very hard to stop reading.’ Sex, of course, may sell, but Martin's wicked take on money, the jewelry business and American passions could prove to have multiple pleasures. Oh, and by the by, Martin teaches philosophy at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and bases his book, at least in part, on an earlier life as a jewelry salesman in Texas.”
—Kansas City Star

COMING SOON! On Order Now!

Italian Shoes by Henning Mankell

Summary
From the prizewinning "master of atmosphere" (Boston Globe) comes the surprising and affecting story of a man well past middle age who suddenly finds himself on the threshold of renewal.

Living on a tiny island entirely surrounded by ice during the long winter months, Fredrik Welin is so lost to the world that he cuts a hole in the ice every morning and lowers himself into the freezing water to remind himself that he is alive. Haunted by memories of the terrible mistake that drove him to this island and away from a successful career as a surgeon, he lives in a stasis so complete an anthill grows undisturbed in his living room.

When an unexpected visitor alters his life completely, thus begins an eccentric, elegiac journey--one that shows Mankell at the very height of his powers as a novelist.

A deeply human tale of loss and redemption, Italian Shoes is a testament to the unpredictability of life, which breeds hope even in the face of tragedy.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. A tragic operating room error has cost Swedish surgeon Fredrik Welin his career in this moving novel from Mankell, who's best known for his Kurt Wallander mystery series (Firewall, etc.). Welin, 66, lives on a remote island with only his dog and cat for company. His routine is abruptly shattered by the arrival of an elderly woman who proves to be Harriet Hörnfeldt, the youthful love he ditched four decades earlier. Hörnfeldt, who's dying of cancer, has sought out Welin because she wants to share a secret about their relationship. This reintroduction to the world of human emotions and interactions proves to be the first of many, leading the doctor to an awkward attempt to get absolution from the woman whose perfectly healthy arm he mistakenly amputated. Mankell displays his considerable gifts for characterization as he succeeds in making his emotionally limited lead character sympathetic. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Just Arrived!

The Dope Thief by Dennis Tafoya

Are you looking for a tense, edge-of your-seat mystery from a brand new author?

Summary

Ray and his best friend, Manny, close ever since they met in juvie almost twenty years ago, have a great scam going: with a couple of fake badges and some DEA windbreakers they found at a secondhand store, they pose as federal agents and rip off small-time drug dealers, taking their money and drugs and disappearing before anyone is the wiser. It’s the perfect sting: the dealers they target are too small to look for revenge and too guilty to call the police, nobody has to die, nobody innocent gets hurt, and Ray and Manny score plenty.

But it can’t last forever. Eventually, they choose the wrong mark and walk out with hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a heavy hitter, who is more than willing to kill to get his money back, is coming after them. Now Ray couldn’t care less about the score. He wants out---out of the scam, out of a life he feels like he never chose. Whether the victim of his latest job---not to mention his partner---will let him is another question entirely.

Dennis Tafoya brings a rich, passionate, and accomplished new voice to the explosive story of a small-time crook with everything to lose in Dope Thief, his outstanding hardboiled debut.

COMING SOON! (On Order Now)

A Girl's Guide to Modern European Philosophy by Charlotte Greig

Summary
Susannah’s official boyfriend, Jason, is the perfect foil for her student lifestyle. He is ten years older, an antiques dealer, and owns a stylish apartment that prevents her from having to live in the seedy digs on campus. This way, she can take her philosophy major very seriously and dabble in the social and sexual freedom of 1970s university life. But circumstances become more complicated than Susannah would like when she begins to have an affair with her tutorial partner, Rob. Soon she is dating two men, missing her lectures, exploring independence and feminism with her girlfriends, and finding herself in a particularly impossible dilemma: she becomes pregnant. Forced to look beyond her friends and lovers for support, she finds help and inspiration from the lessons of Kierkegaard and other European philosophers.

A Girl’s Guide to Modern European Philosophy is a delightfully insightful, bittersweet coming-of-age romp, in which love is far from platonic and the mind—body predicament a pressing reality. It even succeeds where many introductions to philosophy have failed, by effortlessly bringing to life the central tenets of the most important European philosophers of modern times.

Review
“A distinctive coming-of-age tale from a talented debut novelist based in the U.K…Susannah can be as dizzy as Bridget Jones, and her youthful confusion gives the novel much of its screwball charm. But she is also utterly serious about philosophy, and the author’s use of choice excerpts from great thinkers of the modern age sets this book apart…Women’s fiction that expects an intellectually adventurous and emotionally honest reader.”
–Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

On Order Now!

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

Do you sometimes feel insecure about the way you look? Well meet Terra Cooper.

Summary
As he continued to stare, I wanted to point to my cheek and remind him, But you were the one who wanted this, remember? You're the one who asked-and I repeat-Why not fix your face?

It's hard not to notice Terra Cooper.

She's tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably "flawed" face. Terra secretly plans to leave her stifling small town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob's path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her life, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?

Written in lively, artful prose, award-winning author Justina Chen Headley has woven together a powerful novel about a fractured family, falling in love, travel, and the meaning of true beauty.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Sixteen-year-old Terra seems to be a typical high-achieving high-school student. Under her heavy makeup, though, she hides a port-wine colored birthmark on her cheek that makes her feel like an outsider. During yet another attempt to remove the birthmark, Terra runs into Jacob, a gorgeous Goth with a cleft-palette scar. That encounter initiates a transformation in both Terra and her subservient mother. Headley has written an exquisite book that explores the difference between physical and true beauty as Terra and her mother travel from Washington state to China, and from the home of a shame-faced, cruel cartographer into the presence of an adventurous, strong woman and her insightful teenage son. Headley uses map metaphors throughout, even in the activity, geocaching, which helps bond Terra and Jacob in both Washington and China. She also uses Terra’s artistic medium, collage, as a literary device to create layer upon layer of experiences and insights into a artfully written journey of self-discovery, self-actualization, and love. With every carefully chosen word, well-crafted sentence, and fully developed character, Headley maps out a wholly satisfying reading experience that takes readers from terra nullis to terra firma. Grades 9-12. --Frances Bradburn

Book of the Day!

The "Dead" books are a very cool and funny new series by Marlene Perez that we just got in! It's like the Twilight saga, only with a kick of sass.

Book 1: Dead is the New Black
Summary: While dealing with her first boyfriend and suddenly being pressed into service as a substitute cheerleader, seventeen-year-old Daisy Giordano, daughter and sister of psychics but herself a "normal," attempts to help her mother discover who is behind a series of bizarre attacks on teenage girls in their little town of Nightshade, California.

Book 2: Dead is a State of Mind
Summary: When a gorgeous new student's prediction that a teacher will be murdered comes true, seventeen-year-old Daisy is determined to solve the crime, but when all signs point to the killer being a werewolf, she fears she is in over her head.

Book 3: Dead is So Last Year
Summary: In the beach town of Nightshade, California, home to both human and supernatural beings, the Giordano sisters find summer employment and uncover mysteries involving doppelgangers and oversized football players.

For more information on the books and/or author, check out her website!

Book of the Day!

Remember when I mentioned that we had just received a cool new book that was sent in Rhode Island? Well guess what? Here's another wonderful new book that is set in Rhody.

Teaser by Jan Brogan

From Publishers Weekly
Troubles abound for Hallie Ahern in Brogan's satisfying third mystery starring the intrepid Rhode Island reporter (after 2007's Yesterday's Fatal). A chance viewing of an online teaser featuring two teen girls on Rhode Island Buzz, a social networking Web site, prompts Ahern to pitch a story to her newspaper, the Providence Chronicle. She receives initial support from her bosses, who see it as an audience-catching exposé: Online Dangers: Your teenager is prey. That promising start is quashed when the investigation puts her in conflict with boyfriend Matt Cavanaugh, an assistant attorney general, and when the paper's editors unexpectedly decide to drop her story in favor of another. The death of one of her young contacts transforms Ahern's quest from news story to crusade, setting her on a course that could cost her job and her life. Brogan's newspaper background serves her nicely in the setup of Ahern's sleuthing, and readers should welcome further entries in the series. (Dec.)
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From Booklist
Intrepid newspaper reporter Hallie Ahern returns in her third novel. When she chances upon an online video clip that seems to indicate men are picking up young girls in a chat room and filming them, Hallie pitches the story to her editors. Then the girls begin dying, and the story becomes a murder investigation. Given its subject matter, this novel is a bit darker than its predecessors, but there are still many moments of lightness and humor. Hallie is a likable protagonist, with a mixture of foibles (including a gambling addiction) that keep her from being a cookie-cutter amateur sleuth, and the author, a veteran journalist, does an excellent job of creating the environment of a newspaper. Brogan is relatively new to the mystery scene—her first novel, the stand-alone Final Copy, was published in 2001—but she displays the kind of natural talent for character, story, and suspense that should ensure a long career in the genre. --David Pitt

For more information on the author, check out her website!