September 29, 2016

In our opinion, fall’s been kind to us so far. We got minorly tripped up by that harvest moon and Brangelina’s (and Liev + Naomi’s) non-conscious uncoupling. The emotional fallout might be lasting longer than we originally hoped, but rest assured, we’re maintaining a reasonable level of sanity. And, despite the galactic shifts, we are all still the same astrological signs as we always were (although it was touch-and-go for Emily there for a hot second). Between our ever-changing universe and Bridget Jones’s new baby, we’re feeling like this fall is the one to beat.

Considering it was a very successful Emmys for our dreamboat Rami Malek, who snagged Best Actor for a Drama Series for “Mr. Robot,” and the cast of “The People v. O.J. Simpson” cleaning up a bunch of others, and blah blah blah...there’s a lot finally coming our way after waiting for so long. On top of some amazing acceptance speeches (we’re looking at you, Sarah Paulson and Jill Soloway #TopplethePatriarchy), the Matty D./Kimmel Broadway-style feud left us with our sides splitting for a good two minutes. We think --- hope! --- it was good enough to at least temporarily cheer up Miserable Ben Affleck™.

The autumnal bounty isn’t limited to purely visual entertainment, what with Bruce Springsteen’s much-anticipated memoir hitting the shelves (although with a glossy photo gallery in the back, it definitely checks that visual entertainment box, if you know what we mean). Aptly named BORN TO RUN, this is Bruce’s first autobiography. We grew up loving the classic rocker with an undying love for all things Americana (and thank the goddess Beyoncé that includes tight denim), and now the Boss is finally revealing a more personal side of the man the myth the legend. We know what Scott Sherman’s going to be reading as the leaves turn brown...more like as he drives his car into the California sunset and escapes winter for life #RetirementLyfe.

While we’re really feeling the new season (and already gearing up for winter --- hello, winter coats!), we’re also taking a brief moment to reflect on how great the summer was. Turns out, when the temps rise to AC-breaking levels, you can spend a lot of guilt-free time indoors and take care of some serious media-consuming business. From totally binge-worthy television series (“Stranger Things,” “The Night Of”) to big screen hits that were a pure joy to watch (Everybody Wants Some!, Sausage Party) to now-sandy beach reads (BEHOLD THE DREAMERS, THE GIRLS), we accidentally had one of the most productive summers of our lives. We’re sad to see it go, although one of the best fall lineups in TV history is a decent consolation prize.

The hot-to-trot, twisty movie of September, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, hits theaters nationwide tomorrow and, according to our sources, is one not to be missed. The critically acclaimed debut novel from Ransom Riggs immediately took to a variety of audiences when it first came out in '11. While it’s primarily considered a young adult title, the story is truly one for all ages and especially for those with an elevated interest in the macabre. To no one’s surprise, Tim Burton is staying hella on-brand and directing the book-to-screen adaptation, with Miss Peregrine played by national treasure and rare Pokémon Eva Green. One of the highlights of the book is its incredible black and white photos; we’re confident Timmy B. will deliver some spectacularly worthy visuals. If it’s anything like Frankenweenie, we’re guaranteed to leave the theater in tears.

It’s almost October, which means it’s basically Halloween, which means it’s not too early to get pumped for Fox’s live "Rocky Horror Picture Show" reboot. The original #RHPS is one of our all-time faves --- we’ve spent countless Octobers listening to the soundtrack on repeat --- and although some of Fox’s clips are a little underwhelming, we have complete faith that Laverne Cox is going to kill it as OG sweet transvestite sociopath Frank N. Furter. So give yourself over to absolute pleasure and tune in with us on October 20th (too bad we can’t time warp to the end of the month already). We’re practically shivering with antici...pation. Didn’t think we could squeeze that many lyrics into one paragraph? Well dammit, Janet, I’m going home.

We’ve got some great things happening on the site that you should check out! First, you can enter to win a copy of Kristin Hannah’s THE NIGHTINGALE, the mega bestselling book that’s topped the New York Times list for the past 79 weeks, and counting. Haven't read it yet? Now is your chance! The contest is only open until next Thursday, October 6th at noon ET, so click here to enter now.

Next up, the Brooklyn Book Festival was last weekend and 20SomethingReads.com contributor Allison Sharpe braved the crowds to share some tidbits on the experience. Click here to read more on our blog.

Also, if you share the same passion as we do for movies, then we bet you’ll love our Books on Screen feature, as well as the knee-slapping, eye-opening openers. Check out the monthly roundups here, and our latest bookshelf, which includes all the great reads that will be gracing the silver screen from now through December, here.

Lastly, we’re celebrating 100 years of Roald Dahl this month (he was born on September 13, 1916) over on Kidsreads.com. We know you have a special spot for all that childhood gold in your heart, so we think you’ll enjoy our Dahl memories. Whether you're fluent in gobblefunk or not, these posts are sure to touch your heart.
A Dahl-ightful Month with Roald Dahl --- Trivia and Fun Facts
Happy 100th Birthday, Roald Dahl!
Roald Dahl in His Own Words
Our Dahl-icious Delights Adventure

Oh, and while we have you, here are three excellent book recommendations:

Bestselling, critically acclaimed author Ann Patchett’s latest book, COMMONWEALTH, begins one Sunday afternoon in Southern California, when Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating’s christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny’s mother, Beverly --- thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families. Spanning five decades, COMMONWEALTH explores how this chance encounter reverberates through the lives of the four parents and six children involved. Spending summers together in Virginia, the Keating and Cousins children forge a lasting bond that is based on a shared disillusionment with their parents and the strange and genuine affection that grows up between them.

Love the idea...or not, Ian McEwan’s latest, NUTSHELL, is generating some talk as he writes from the perspective of...you didn’t guess it!...a fetus. Trudy has betrayed her husband, John. She's still in the marital home --- a dilapidated, priceless London townhouse --- but John is not there. Instead, she's with his brother, the profoundly banal Claude, and the two of them have a plan. But there is a witness to their plot: the inquisitive, nine-month-old resident of Trudy's womb.

In THE RED BANDANNA: A Life. A Choice. A Legacy., Tom Rinaldi tells the story of a young boy, Welles Crowther, who receives a red handkerchief for his back pocket from his father one Sunday morning before church. Welles kept it with him that day, and just about every day to come. When the Twin Towers fell, Welles’ parents had no idea what happened to their son, who had taken a Wall Street job there. Eight months after the attacks, his mother read a news account from several survivors who said they and others had been led to safety by a stranger, carrying a woman on his back, down nearly 20 flights of stairs. They didn’t know his name, but despite the smoke and panic, one of them remembered a single detail clearly: the man was wearing a red bandanna.

Until next time, pumpkin kisses and harvest wishes!

5 Things We’re Obsessed With at This Very Moment, in no particular order:
1. The trailer for Tom Ford's new movie, Nocturnal Animals
2. The falsehood of the "five second rule"
3. Jared Leto playing Andy Warhol in Terrence Writer's ("Boardwalk Empire" and Wolf of Wall Street) new biopic
4. Margot Robbie doing a stand-alone Harley Quinn movie
5. John le Carré’s THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD being developed into a TV series

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

 

THE NIGHTINGALE has been on the New York Times bestseller list for 79 weeks --- and counting. If you have not yet a chance to read it, we want to give you an opportunity to win a copy! The reviews are amazing. Here's the scoop on it:

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of World War II and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. THE NIGHTINGALE tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France.

In this special 20SomethingReads.com contest, we have 25 copies of THE NIGHTINGALE to give away to readers who would like to read the book and comment on it. The deadline for entries is Thursday, October 6th at noon ET.

Click here to enter the contest.

-Click here to read an interview with Kristin Hannah.
-Click here to read more about the book.
-Click here to read an excerpt from the book.
-Click here to read more about Kristin Hannah.
-Click here for Kristin Hannah's website.
-Click here for Kristin Hannah's Facebook page.

BEST. STATE. EVER.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland by Dave Barry (Humor/Essays)
Audiobook available, narrated by Dick Hill
We never know what will happen next in Florida. We know only that, any minute now, something will. Every few months, Dave Barry gets a call from some media person wanting to know, “What the hell is wrong with Florida?” Somehow, the state has acquired an image as a subtropical festival of stupid, and as a loyal Floridian, Dave begs to differ. It is a great state, and Dave is going to tell you why. Join him as he celebrates Florida from Key West at the bottom to whatever it is that’s at the top, from the Sunshine State’s earliest history to the fun-fair of weirdness that it is today. Reviewed by Ray Palen.

THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER by Jenny Colgan (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Lucy Price-Lewis
Nina Redmond is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion…and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more. Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile --- a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling. Nina soon discovers there’s plenty of adventure, magic and soul in a place that’s beginning to feel like home --- a place where she just might be able to write her own happy ending. Reviewed by Melanie Reynolds.

BRIGHT, PRECIOUS DAYS by Jay McInerney (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Edoardo Ballerini
Russell Calloway, an independent publisher, has superb cultural credentials yet minimal cash flow. As he navigates a business that requires, beyond astute literary judgment, constant financial improvisation, he encounters an audacious, potentially game-changing --- or ruinous --- opportunity. Meanwhile, his wife Corrine devotes herself to helping feed New York City’s poor. Soon they discover they’re being priced out of the newly fashionable neighborhood they’ve called home for most of their adult lives, with their son and daughter caught in the balance. Then Corrine’s world is turned upside down when the man with whom she’d had an ill-fated affair in the wake of 9/11 suddenly reappears. Reviewed by Jane Krebs.

THE BUTCHER'S SON by Grant McKenzie (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Peter Berkrot
Ian Quinn is a Child Protection Officer who has spent his life protecting children from the monsters that live among us. Ian's own father left years ago, leaving him and his sister alone. But, out of the blue, Ian is called by an attorney, claiming his father has recently died and named Ian in his will. Ian had assumed his father was long dead, and is confused as to what he could possibly be needed for. When Ian goes to the lawyer's office, he is given three items: The first is a key. The second is a deed to his grandfather's old butcher shop. The third is a letter from his father that reads simply and cryptically: "Sorry for everything, son, but it's your burden now." Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

COMMONWEALTH by Ann Patchett (Fiction)
Audiobook available, performed by Hope Davis
One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating’s christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny’s mother, Beverly --- thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families. Spanning five decades, COMMONWEALTH explores how this chance encounter reverberates through the lives of the four parents and six children involved. Spending summers together in Virginia, the Keating and Cousins children forge a lasting bond that is based on a shared disillusionment with their parents and the strange and genuine affection that grows up between them. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

HERE I AM by Jonathan Safran Foer (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Ari Fliakos
Unfolding over four tumultuous weeks in present-day Washington, D.C., Jonathan Safran Foer’s first novel in 11 years is the story of a fracturing family in a moment of crisis. As Jacob and Julia Bloch and their three sons are forced to confront the distances between the lives they think they want and the lives they are living, a catastrophic earthquake sets in motion a quickly escalating conflict in the Middle East. At stake is the meaning of home --- and the fundamental question of how much aliveness one can bear. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

HOME by Harlan Coben (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Steven Weber
A decade ago, kidnappers grabbed two boys from wealthy families and demanded ransom, then went silent. No trace of the boys ever surfaced. For 10 years their families have been left with nothing but painful memories and a quiet desperation for the day that has finally, miraculously arrived: Myron Bolitar and his friend, Win, believe they have located one of the boys, now a teenager. Where has he been for 10 years, and what does he know about the day, more than half a life ago, when he was taken? And most critically: What can he tell Myron and Win about the fate of his missing friend? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE INVISIBILE LIFE OF IVAN ISAENKO by Scott Stambach (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Dan Bittner
Seventeen-year-old Ivan Isaenko is a life-long resident of the Mazyr Hospital for Gravely Ill Children in Belarus. For the most part, every day is exactly the same for Ivan, which is why he turns everything into a game, manipulating people and events around him for his own amusement. Until Polina arrives. She steals his books. She challenges his routine. The nurses like her. Soon, he cannot help being drawn to her, and the two forge a romance that is tenuous and beautiful and everything they never dared dream of. Before, he survived by being utterly detached from things and people. Now, Ivan wants something more: he wants Polina to live. Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman.

JUNIPER: The Girl Who Was Born Too Soon by Kelley and Thomas French (Memoir)
Juniper French was born four months early, weighing in at one pound, four ounces. Babies like Juniper, born at the edge of viability, trigger the question: Which is the greater act of love --- to save her, or to let her go? Kelley and Thomas French chose to fight for Juniper's life. Here, they explore the border between what is possible and what is right. They marvel at the science that conceived and sustained their daughter and the love that made the difference. They trace the journey of their family from its fragile beginning to the miraculous survival of their now-thriving daughter. Reviewed by Carole Turner.

THE KEPT WOMAN by Karin Slaughter (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Kathleen Early
With the discovery of a murder at an abandoned construction site, Will Trent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is brought in on a case that becomes much more dangerous when the dead man is identified as an ex-cop. Studying the body, Sara Linton --- the GBI’s newest medical examiner and Will’s lover --- realizes that the extensive blood loss didn't belong to the corpse. Sure enough, bloody footprints leading away from the scene indicate there is another victim who has vanished and will die soon if she isn’t found. Evidence soon links Will’s troubled past to the case, and the consequences will tear through his life with the force of a tornado, wreaking havoc for Will and everyone around him. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

LITTLE NOTHING by Marisa Silver (Historical Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Saskia Maarleveld
In an unnamed country at the beginning of the last century, a child called Pavla is born to peasant parents. Her arrival, conceived in part by gypsy tonics and archaic prescriptions, stuns her parents and brings outrage and scorn from her community. Pavla has been born a dwarf, but as the years pass, she grows no farther than the edge of her crib. When her parents turn to the treatments of a local charlatan, his terrifying cure opens the floodgates of persecution for Pavla. LITTLE NOTHING unfolds across a lifetime of unimaginable, magical transformation in and out of human form, as an outcast girl becomes a hunted woman whose ultimate survival depends on the most startling transfiguration of them all. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

NUTSHELL by Ian McEwan (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, narrated by Rory Kinnear
Trudy has betrayed her husband, John. She's still in the marital home --- a dilapidated, priceless London townhouse --- but John is not there. Instead, she's with his brother, the profoundly banal Claude, and the two of them have a plan. But there is a witness to their plot: the inquisitive, nine-month-old resident of Trudy's womb. Reviewed by Eileen Zimmerman Nicol.

AN OBVIOUS FACT: A Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson (Mystery)
Audiobook available, narrated by George Guidall
In the midst of the largest motorcycle rally in the world, a young biker is run off the road and ends up in critical condition. When Sheriff Walt Longmire and his good friend Henry Standing Bear are called to Hulett, Wyoming to investigate, things start getting complicated. As competing biker gangs; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; a military-grade vehicle donated to the tiny local police force by a wealthy entrepreneur; and Lola, the real-life femme fatale and namesake for Henry's '59 Thunderbird (and, by extension, Walt's granddaughter) come into play, it rapidly becomes clear that there is more to get to the bottom of at this year's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally than a bike accident. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE PERFECT GIRL by Gilly Macmillan (Psychological Suspense)
Audiobook available, performed by Penelope Rawlins and Dugald Bruce-Lockhart
Zoe Maisey is a 17-year-old musical prodigy with a genius IQ. Three years ago, she was involved in a tragic incident that left three classmates dead. She served her time, and now her mother, Maria, is resolved to keep that devastating fact tucked far away from their new beginning, hiding the past even from her new husband and demanding Zoe do the same. Tonight Zoe is giving a recital that Maria has been planning for months. But, by the end of the evening, Maria is dead. In the aftermath, everyone tries to piece together what happened. But as Zoe knows all too well, the truth is rarely straightforward, and the closer we are to someone, the less we may see. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.

RAZOR GIRL by Carl Hiaasen (Mystery/Humor)
Audiobook available, read by John Rubinstein
When Lane Coolman's car is bashed from behind on the road to the Florida Keys, what appears to be an ordinary accident is anything but. Behind the wheel of the other car is Merry Mansfield --- the eponymous Razor Girl --- and the crash scam is only the beginning of events that spiral crazily out of control. Andrew Yancy believes that if he can singlehandedly solve a high-profile murder, he'll get his detective badge back. That the Razor Girl may be the key to Yancy's future will be as surprising as anything else he encounters along the way. Reviewed by Roz Shea.

THE RED BANDANNA: A Life. A Choice. A Legacy. by Tom Rinaldi (Biography)
Audiobook available, read by Tom Rinaldi
One Sunday morning before church, when Welles Crowther was a young boy, his father gave him a red handkerchief for his back pocket. Welles kept it with him that day, and just about every day to come. When the Twin Towers fell, Welles’ parents had no idea what happened to their son, who had taken a Wall Street job there. Eight months after the attacks, his mother read a news account from several survivors who said they and others had been led to safety by a stranger, carrying a woman on his back, down nearly 20 flights of stairs. They didn’t know his name, but despite the smoke and panic, one of them remembered a single detail clearly: the man was wearing a red bandanna. Reviewed by Jana Siciliano.

ROBERT B. PARKER'S DEBT TO PAY: A Jesse Stone Novel by Reed Farrel Coleman (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by James Naughton
As his ex-wife, Jenn, is about to marry a Dallas real-estate tycoon, Jesse Stone isn’t too sure his relationship with former FBI agent Diana Evans is built to last. But those concerns get put on the back burner when a major Boston crime boss is brutally murdered. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Jesse suspects it’s the work of Mr. Peepers, a psychotic assassin who has caused trouble for Jesse in the past. Jesse and Diana head to Dallas for the wedding and, along with the tycoon’s security team, try to stop Peepers before the bill comes due. With Peepers toying with the authorities as to when and where he’ll strike, Jesse is up against the wall. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

SMOOTH OPERATOR: A Teddy Fay Novel Featuring Stone Barrington by Stuart Woods and Parnell Hall (Thriller/Adventure)
Audiobook available, read by Tony Roberts
When President Kate Lee calls Stone Barrington to Washington on an urgent matter, it’s soon clear that a potentially disastrous situation requires the kind of help more delicate than even he can provide…and he knows just the right man for the job. Teddy Fay: ex-CIA, master of disguise, and a gentleman not known for abiding by legal niceties in the pursuit of his own brand of justice. Reviewed by Judy Gigstad.

STING by Sandra Brown (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Stephen Lang
When Jordie Bennet and Shaw Kinnard lock eyes across a disreputable backwater bar, something definitely sparks. But Shaw is there to kill her. As he and his partner take aim, Jordie is certain her time has come. Shaw has other plans, though, and abducts Jordie, hoping to get his hands on the $30 million her brother has stolen and, presumably, hidden. However, Shaw is not the only one looking for the fortune. Her brother's ruthless boss and the FBI are after it as well. Now on the run from the feds and a notorious criminal, Jordie and Shaw must rely on their wits --- and each other --- to stay alive. Reviewed by Judy Gigstad.

A TREE OR A PERSON OR A WALL: Stories by Matt Bell (Fiction/Short Stories)
Audiobook available; read by Karen Chilton, Andrea Gallo, Andrew Garman and T. Ryder Smith
A 19th-century minister builds an elaborate motor that will bring about the Second Coming. A man with rough hands locks a boy in a room with an albino ape. An apocalyptic army falls under a veil of forgetfulness. The story of Red Riding Hood is run through a potentially endless series of iterations. A father invents an elaborate, consuming game for his hospitalized son. Indexes, maps and a checkered shirt buried beneath a blanket of snow are scattered through these pages as clues to mysteries that may never be solved. A TREE OR A PERSON OR A WALL brings together Matt Bell’s previously published shorter fiction, along with seven dark and disturbing new stories. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

THE VANISHED: A Konrad Simonsen Thriller written by Lotte and Søren Hammer, translated by Martin Aitken (Mystery/Thriller)
Lying at the bottom of his apartment stairs, a postman is found dead. At first glance, his death appears to be a simple fall, a straightforward accident and the perfect case for Detective Chief Superintendent Konrad Simonsen to return to after a severe heart attack. But when he is called to investigate, new forensic evidence comes to light and something doesn't add up. When life-size images of a girl are discovered plastering the walls of the dead man's attic, the case takes a new and sinister turn. Who is she? Could she be alive? Soon members of the homicide team find themselves delving into the past, but as they approach the truth, Simonsen discovers long-hidden skeletons in his own closet. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.

COMICS CONFIDENTIAL: Thirteen Graphic Novelists Talk Story, Craft and Life Outside the Box by Leonard S. Marcus (Comic Books/Graphic Novels)
Respected anthologist Leonard S. Marcus turns his literary microscope to the world of comics, which has lately morphed and matured at a furious pace. Powerful influences from manga to the movies to underground comix have influenced the thirteen artists and writers interviewed in these pages to create their own word-and-picture narratives. Here are their moving, funny, inspirational stories: true tales from the crucible of creative struggles that led each to become a master of one of today’s most vibrant art forms. Reviewed by Michael Lee Harris.

DARK HORSES by Cecily von Ziegesar (Fiction)
Audiobook available, narrated by Luis Moreno and Sandy Rustin
Merritt Wenner has been self-destructing ever since the deaths of her grandmother and her horse. Her parents, looking for a quick fix, ship her off to an equine-assisted therapy program. Merritt meets Red: a failed racehorse and a terror in the barn. Soon they’re sneaking rides after curfew. Red’s owner, recognizing their potential, funds their launch into the hunter/jumper circuit. Merritt finds herself attracted to both Red’s groom, Beatrice, and Carvin, a rival rider. But in Red’s mind, Merritt belongs to him alone. And Merritt can’t imagine the lengths Red will go to keep her to himself. Reviewed by Jessica K., Teen Board Member.

THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES by Mindy McGinnis (Fiction)
Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex Craft uncaged the language she knows best --- the language of violence. While her own crime went unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people. Not with Jack Fisher, the star athlete who still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher’s daughter who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter. Then one night at a party, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting these three teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever. Reviewed by Bryn D., Teen Board Member

STALKING JACK THE RIPPER by Kerri Maniscalco (Mystery)
Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter with a life of wealth and privileger. But between the social teas and dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life. Against her stern father's wishes, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world. Reviewed by Harleen K., Teen Board Member.

STEALING SNOW by Danielle Paige (Fairy Tale)
Seventeen-year-old Snow has spent the majority of her life within the walls of the Whittaker Institute, a high security mental hospital in upstate New York. Deep down, she knows she's not crazy and doesn't belong there. When she meets a mysterious, handsome new orderly and dreams about a strange twisted tree she realizes she must escape and figure out who she really is. Using her trusting friend Bale as a distraction, Snow breaks free and races into the nearby woods. She finds herself in icy Algid --- her true home --- with a strangely alluring boy named Kai, whom she's sure she can't trust. Reviewed by Shannon C., Teen Board Member.

THREE DARK CROWNS by Kendare Blake (Fantasy)
In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each a possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella, a fierce elemental, Katharine, a poisoner, and Arinsoe, a naturalist, must fight each other to the death. The night the sisters turn 16, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown. Reviewed by Danielle F., Teen Board Member.

A TASTE FOR MONSTERS by Matthew J. Kirby (Mystery)
London 1888, and Jack the Ripper is terrorizing the people of the city. Evelyn, a young woman disfigured by her work, does not know what to make of her new position as a maid to the Elephant Man. Evelyn wanted to be locked away from the world like he is. But in Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, she finds a gentle kindred, who does not recoil from her, and who understands her pain. When the murders begin, however, Joseph and Evelyn are haunted nightly by the ghosts of the Ripper's dead, setting Evelyn on a path to facing her fears and uncovering humanity's worst nightmares. Reviewed by Becca Watts.

THE WOMEN IN THE WALLS by Amy Lukavics (Horror)
Lucy Acosta's mother died when she was three. Growing up with her cold, distant father, her closest friend is her cousin, Margaret. When her aunt Penelope, the only mother she's ever known, tragically disappears, Lucy finds herself alone. Margaret claims she can hear her dead mother's voice whispering from the walls. Emotionally shut out by her father, Lucy watches helplessly as her cousin's sanity slowly unravels. But when she begins hearing voices herself, Lucy finds herself confronting an ancient and deadly legacy that has marked the women in her family for generations. Reviewed by Sheridan N., Teen Board Member.