March 26, 2014

Move over J. Law, America’s got a new sweetheart and she backs the oil-pulling trend*. Like a spring chicken hatching out of its shell for the first time (see what we did there?), Shailene is all over the news (we mean, E! News!) right now. From her breakout role in the George Clooney-helmed THE DESCENDANTS to her current starring turn in box office hit DIVERGENT, Shailene is hotter than the Kimye Vogue cover right now (but not as hot as the Frogen cover, amirite ladies?!!!) The theatrical adaptation of Veronica Roth’s bestselling YA series debuted on the silver screen last weekend to rave reviews.

*Oil-pulling is a new hygiene trend (practiced by Gwyneth Paltrow and the celebrity like-minded) that involves gargling and rinsing with coconut oil for 20 minutes nightly. The practice is supposedly great for overall oral health. Suffice it to say, we’re curious. Swish!

On Thursday, Nikki was lucky enough to catch an advanced screening in a theater filled with tween superfans. Highlights of the movie, you ask? We got ‘em. MUSIC: The original music score was produced by Hans Zimmer, famous for movies such as The Lion King, Inception, The Dark Knight and Pirates of the Caribbean, to name a few. Throw in some cool new Ellie Goulding jamzzz and you got yourself a bona fide soundtrack. CAST: All them hot young things, plus some oldies but goodies. From Hollywood staples like Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd and Mekhi Phifer to its newcomers, including Theo James, Miles Teller, Zoë Kravitz and the Golden Goose herself, Shai Shai, the cast of this movie kills it. And Veronica Roth makes a very special guest appearance...so keep your eyes peeled. VISUALS: The cinematography, the costumes, the set...let’s just say Nikki was ready to run out and get a tattoo and 20 more piercings A$AP. Not to mention starting an uprising of her own. The popcorn was free, the butter was not --- but shirtless Theo James? Priceless.

But seriously, the movie makes you wonder about which faction you would be in IRL. And --- like all things in life --- you can take a Buzzfeed quiz to find out! Emily got Dauntless, naturally, and Nikki got...factionless? Anyway, isn’t the point that you’re supposed to figure it out for yourself? Like, we get to be whatever we want? In that case, count us both in as Shirtless Theo James. It’s time to stop letting Buzzfeed quizzes define us...unless we get Beyonce...for anything.

While Shai spends her off hours gathering her own drinking water and making her own toothpaste, she spends her “on” hours not only heating things up with Shirtless Theo James, but also playing the female lead, Hazel, in the theatrical adaptation of John Green’s THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, slated to hit theaters in early summer. Ansel Elgort (who plays Shai’s brother in Divergent) will play her love interest, Augustus Waters. From brother to lover, one thing’s for sure: Shai’s got her name spelled out in twigs all over Hollywood.

Side note: It was just announced that one of John Green’s earlier novels, PAPER TOWNS, will also be getting Hollywood treatment. The screenplay will be written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who also adapted THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and wrote The Spectacular Now. We’re harnessing the power of our earth crystals so that Shai Shai the Golden Goose (SSGG) will star in that one, too. We’re also praying to Gaia that MTV will bring back “Celebrity Deathmatch,” with the J. Law-Shai Shai matchup the world deserves. Our money’s on Shai, because everyone knows she likes to eat clay.

And on a little bit more serious note, we have three great books, along with reviews, for you to check out. THE MOON SISTERS by Therese Walsh is about two sisters, Olivia and Jazz, who take steps to move on with their lives after their mother commits suicide. Jazz, logical and forward-thinking, decides to get a new job, but spirited, strong-willed Olivia --- who can see sounds, taste words and smell sights --- is determined to travel to the remote setting of their mother's unfinished novel to lay her spirit properly to rest.

BOY, SNOW, BIRD by Helen Oyeyemi is set in the winter of 1953, and Boy Novak arrives by chance in a small town in Massachusetts, looking, she believes, for beauty. She marries a local widower and becomes stepmother to his winsome daughter, Snow Whitman. Elements of the familiar tale of aesthetic obsession begin to play themselves out when the birth of Boy’s dark-skinned daughter, Bird, exposes the Whitmans as light-skinned African Americans passing for white.

Finally, YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN by Jean Hanff Korelitz is a meta-thriller of sorts about Grace Reinhart Sachs, who is the author of You Should Have Known, a book that cautions women to really hear what men are trying to tell them. But weeks before the book is published, a chasm opens in her own life: a violent death, a missing husband, and, in the place of a man Grace thought she knew, only an ongoing chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and herself. Something else to think about when dating, playing detective for clues that could mean trouble in the future!

If you find yourself caught in any sort of conundrum over the next two weeks, before we can offer you more and new sage advice, just remember to ask yourself: What Would Shailene Woodley Do? That should solve all your problems, for now.

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Nicole Sherman (Nicole@bookreporter.com) + Emily Hoenig (Emily@bookreporter.com)

The enticing series from author J.M. Darhower, SEMPRE and SEMPRE: Redemption, are passionate stories about love, sacrifice, death and freedom. Two teenagers, Haven Antonelli and Carmine DeMarco, come from very different worlds. When they fall in love in the midst of a mafia-run sex trafficking ring, they start to question everything they once believed. In the sequel, SEMPRE: Redemption, Haven and Carmine find themselves implicated in the mafia-run organization they once tried to overthrow, and desperately try and find new ground in their relationship.

→ Click here to read an interview with author J.M Darhower.
→ Click here to learn more about the series.

More about SEMPRE:
Two young lovers, Haven Antonelli and Carmine DeMarco, come from very different worlds. When they fall in love in the midst of a mafia-run sex trafficking ring, they begin to question everything they once believed. This is a story about sacrifice...death...love...freedom. This is a story about forever.

Available in eBook NOW. Available in paperback NOW .

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for an excerpt.

More about SEMPRE: Redemption:
In this thrilling sequel to SEMPRE, Haven and Carmine find themselves implicated in the mafia-run organization they once tried to overthrow, and desperately try and find new ground in their relationship.

Available in eBook NOW. Available in paperback on April 1, 2014.

- Click here to read more about the book.
- Click here for an excerpt.

We can't THANK YOU all enough for your heartfelt and funny poems you submitted in the Shel Silverstein Special Anniversary Contest. We were able to get our hands on some more copies so we have three full sets (!) to give to our rhyming grand prize winners, plus a copy of THE GIVING TREE and WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS to our beloved runner-up. So...THE GIVING TREE wasn't far off, huh?

Click here to see the honorable mentions!

Our new monthly feature, drummed up by staffer Shara Zaval --- REAL TALK Publishing --- continues with Part 2 and Part 3 of our interview with Sarah Harrison Smith, the Children's Book Editor at The New York Times. In Part 1, Sarah shared with us details about her day-to-day responsibilities and her favorite (and least favorite) things that she does. She also gave us a sneak peek inside The Book Review office, and showed us her bookshelves (picture included on the feature page). In Part 2, Sarah talks about the books she read as a child and the influence her own children have on her work. In Part 3, she tells us what makes a good book review, what to look forward to in 2014 and offers some wise job advice (we are like sponges --- our eyes and ears are wide open!). Follow the links below to learn more on each part.

→ PART 1

→ PART 2

→ PART 3

A Little Bit More About the REAL TALK Publishing Feature...

Over the next few months, we'll sit down with book editors, librarians, booksellers, children's literature professors, book cover designers, publicists, professional reviewers and more, giving you insight behind the books. Through interviews, guest posts and sometimes sneak peeks inside their offices, you'll get to learn more about the book industry and all the work that goes into creating some of the world's best written word.

Next up: Legendary book designer, Chip Kidd

We are looking for contributors for book reviews and blog posts who would like to impart their wisdoms on life, love, books, TV, movies, pop culture and all the other stuff we 20Somethings just can't get enough of. Send a cover letter and writing samples to Nicole@bookreporter.com and Emily@bookreporter.com.

We've heard from some of you recently and send out our sincerest thanks. We can't wait to hear from more!

Not sure you want to commit long-term? We know what that's like and would love to hear your idea for a "one-off" piece if you are not ready for commitment. If you are interested in more of a long-term commitment, the deal is if you write for us enough, we'll add you to our Contributors page.

LIV, FOREVER by Amy Talkington (Youth Fiction, Horror)
When Liv Bloom lands an art scholarship at Wickham Hall, it’s her ticket out of the foster system. Liv isn’t sure what to make of the school’s weird traditions and rituals, but she couldn’t be happier.

Then she meets Malcolm Astor, a legacy student, a fellow artist and the one person who’s ever been able to melt her defenses. Liv’s only friend at Wickham, fellow scholarship kid Gabe Nichols, warns her not to get involved, but life is finally going Liv’s way, and all she wants to do is enjoy the ride.

But Liv’s bliss is doomed. Weeks after arriving, she is viciously murdered and, in death, she discovers that she’s the latest victim of a dark conspiracy that has claimed many lives. Reviewed by Molly Horan.

THE STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SORROWS OF AVA LAVENDER by Leslye Walton (Young Adult 14+, Fantasy)
Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most recent progeny, Ava Lavender. Ava — in all other ways a normal girl — is born with the wings of a bird. In a quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to fit in with her peers, sixteen-year old Ava ventures into the wider world, ill-prepared for what she might discover and naive to the twisted motives of others. Others like the pious Nathaniel Sorrows, who mistakes Ava for an angel and whose obsession with her grows until the night of the summer solstice celebration. That night, the skies open up, rain and feathers fill the air, and Ava’s quest and her family’s saga build to a devastating crescendo. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

THE ACCIDENT by Chris Pavone (Thriller)
Literary agent Isabel Reed is turning the final pages of a mysterious, anonymous manuscript that contains explosive revelations about powerful people. Veteran CIA operative Hayden Gray, determined that this sweeping story be buried, is suddenly staring down the barrel of a gun. And the author himself is hiding in a shadowy expat life while always looking over his shoulder. Over the course of one long day, these lives collide as the book begins its dangerous march toward publication. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

ALL OUR NAMES by Dinaw Mengestu (Fiction)
Dinaw Mengestu’s new novel is set in the 1970s and alternates between two radically different environments: the violence-torn landscape of Idi Amin’s Uganda, and the bucolic Midwestern college town to which one of the refugees from Kampala immigrates. As in his two earlier novels, Mengestu’s elegiac writing dramatizes the struggles of African exiles trying to conform to American life while grappling with memories of the horrors they witnessed in their home continent. Reviewed by Michael Magras.

BOY, SNOW, BIRD by Helen Oyeyemi (Historical Fiction)
In the winter of 1953, Boy Novak arrives by chance in a small town in Massachusetts, looking, she believes, for beauty. She marries a local widower and becomes stepmother to his winsome daughter, Snow Whitman. Elements of the familiar tale of aesthetic obsession begin to play themselves out when the birth of Boy’s dark-skinned daughter, Bird, exposes the Whitmans as light-skinned African Americans passing for white. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

THE CHASE by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg (Thriller/Adventure)
FBI Agent Kate O'Hare has lived to put the slippery conman known as Nicolas Fox behind bars. Nick is a fed's worst nightmare: exceptionally talented in his line of work, known the world over for being able to pull off some of the most dangerous, high-profile cons. In a cruel twist of fate, Kate's bosses at the FBI force her to covertly partner up with Nick to take down big league crime. Reviewed by Roz Shea.

THE DISAPPEARED by Kristina Ohlsson (Thriller)
Missing student Rebecca Trolle is found carved up and buried in a forest glade in a Stockholm suburb. While Fredrika Bergman and her team try to find out why Rebecca met such a violent demise, more bodies are found in the same area. Fredrika is inevitably drawn into the case, but it becomes much more complicated when her lover’s name is mentioned in the investigation. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE HEAVEN OF ANIMALS: Stories by David James Poissant (Fiction/Short Stories)
Most of the stories in David James Poissant’s debut collection are set in the American South, and all are melancholy tales of domestic discord and loss. A cook at a diner pitches his gay teenage son through a window. A couple’s baby dies from SIDS. A wife is killed in a car accident. A teenager loses a limb. This is grim subject matter, but Poissant’s work is distinguished by his compassion and his gift for the well-turned phrase. Reviewed by Michael Magras.

HYDE by Daniel Levine (Historical Mystery)
Mr. Hyde is trapped, locked in Dr. Jekyll’s surgical cabinet, counting the hours until his inevitable capture. As four days pass, he has the chance to tell his story --- the story of his brief, marvelous life. Summoned to life by strange potions, Hyde knows not when or how long he will have control of “the body.” As the experiment continues, their mutual existence is threatened, not only by the uncertainties of untested science, but also by a mysterious stalker. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.

MENTATS OF DUNE by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson (Science Fiction)
Gilbertus Albans has founded the Mentat School, a place where humans can learn the efficient techniques of thinking machines. But Gilbertus walks an uneasy line between his own convictions and compromises in order to survive the Butlerian fanatics. Mother Superior Raquella attempts to rebuild her Sisterhood School with her most talented and ambitious student, Valya Harkonnen, who also has another goal --- to exact revenge on Vorian Atreides, the legendary hero of the Jihad, whom she blames for her family’s downfall. Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard.

MISSING YOU by Harlan Coben (Thriller)
On an online dating site, NYPD Detective Kat Donovan finds the profile of her ex-fiancé Jeff, the man who shattered her heart and who she hasn’t seen in 18 years. Kat feels a spark, wondering if this might be the moment when past tragedies recede and a new world opens up to her. But when she reaches out to the man in the profile, her reawakened hope quickly darkens into suspicion and then terror as an unspeakable conspiracy comes to light. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE MOON SISTERS by Therese Walsh (Fiction)
After their mother's probable suicide, sisters Olivia and Jazz take steps to move on with their lives. Jazz, logical and forward-thinking, decides to get a new job, but spirited, strong-willed Olivia --- who can see sounds, taste words and smell sights --- is determined to travel to the remote setting of their mother's unfinished novel to lay her spirit properly to rest. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

SHOTGUN LOVESONGS by Nickolas Butler (Fiction)
Hank, Leland, Kip and Ronny were all born and raised in the same Wisconsin town --- Little Wing --- and are now coming into their own (or not) as husbands and fathers. Seamlessly woven into their patchwork is Beth, whose presence among them --- both then and now --- fuels the kind of passion one comes to expect of lovesongs and rivalries. Now all four are home, in hopes of finding what could be real purchase in the world. Reviewed by Jennifer Romanello.

STONE COLD: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box (Mystery/Thriller)
Everything about the man is a mystery: the massive ranch in the remote Black Hills of Wyoming that nobody ever visits, the women who live with him, and especially the persistent rumors that his wealth comes from killing people. Joe Pickett, still officially a game warden but now mostly a troubleshooter for the governor, is assigned to find out what the truth is, but he discovers a lot more than he’d bargained for. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

WATCHING YOU by Michael Robotham (Psychological Thriller)
Marnie Logan’s husband Daniel has inexplicably vanished, and the police have no leads in the case. Without proof of death or evidence of foul play, she can't access his bank accounts or life insurance. Depressed and increasingly desperate, she seeks the help of clinical psychologist Joe O'Loughlin. It appears that a cold-blooded killer is eliminating the people in Marnie's life, and now that O'Loughlin is a part of it, he is next in line. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.

THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD by Laura McHugh (Mystery/Thriller)
Lucy Dane lives in a tiny town in the Ozarks, where she can't resist ferreting out the clues to the murder of her childhood friend. Her suspicions intersect with the long-ago disappearance of her mother, unleashing deep, dark secrets too close to home --- revelations that are destined to change Lucy's life forever after. Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon.

YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Literary Mystery)
Grace Reinhart Sachs is the author of You Should Have Known, a book that cautions women to really hear what men are trying to tell them. But weeks before the book is published, a chasm opens in her own life: a violent death, a missing husband, and, in the place of a man Grace thought she knew, only an ongoing chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child and herself. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.