April Showers Bring May Flowers
Recently, I was lucky to attend an event along with Teenreads.com/Kidsreads.com Editorial Manager Rebecca Munro to celebrate a new show all about books --- “The Great American Read.” Premiering on PBS on May 22nd at 8pm ET, the show will focus on the 100 best-loved novels in America. The special preview was held at the beautiful Morgan Library where we listened to a panel of speakers that included multiple Emmy Award winner and news reporter Meredith Vieira, actress Diane Lane and author Armistead Maupin talk about the upcoming series and reveal the top 100 best-loved list.
The series will showcase and explore these novels, explaining why and how these particular books have touched readers. The two-hour premiere will introduce the 100 books on the list to viewers, and beginning that night, everyone is invited to vote for his or her favorite of the 100. Throughout the course of the series, viewers can continue to vote (as many times as you like!) and tune in to learn more about common themes throughout all of the books. Voting will end in October, and the top best-loved book in America will be revealed. The point is to get readers and non-readers alike excited about books and encourage a national conversation about what makes a novel so great. You can see the recently released top 100 list here and learn more about the series here. Be sure to tune in on May 22nd and become a part of the social media dialogue to show and share your love for books!
In other notable book news, the Pulitzer Prize winners were recently announced. You can see the full list here, but there a few worth highlighting here and now. Andrew Sean Greer took home the fiction prize for his book LESS, a love story of sorts about a man who, in the midst of turning 50, embarks on a series of comedic events. The nonfiction prize went to James Forman Jr. for LOCKING UP OUR OWN: Crime and Punishment in Black America, which details critical turning points in the history of racial injustice and raises questions about the future of race and the criminal system in our country. Kendrick Lamar took home the music prize for his album DAMN., which is pretty d--n awesome. Lamar’s win is a huge breakthrough for hip-hop as it is “the first win for a non-classical or jazz musician since the awards began including music some 75 years ago.”
In between picking up some Pulitzer Prize-winning books and listening to DAMN. this weekend, you can also celebrate Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby on Saturday --- they fall on the same day this year. And while you’re recovering on Sunday, be sure to tune in to the new TV series “Sweetbitter,” which premieres at 8pm ET on Starz. The series is adapted from Stephanie Danler’s bestselling 2016 book of the same name about a young millennial woman navigating her crazy and chaotic life in the glitzy NYC restaurant scene. You can watch the trailer here to get yourself pumped, and be sure to tune in on Sunday.
In the "DO THIS NOW" category...PenguinRandomHouse.com is running an incredible NYC BookCon VIP sweepstakes! One lucky winner and a guest will receive two VIP passes to BookCon 2018 (which means you get a private autographing session with two authors and more!), two round-trip flights to NYC, a two-night hotel stay, and dinner at Lidia Bastianich’s restaurant, Becco! In addition, you’ll receive swag bags with advanced reader's copies of titles such as SOCIAL CREATURE by Tara Isabella Burton, SPINNING SILVER by Naomi Novik, and WARCROSS 2 by Marie Lu! At BookCon, you’ll have the chance to hear authors like Brad Meltzer, Jacqueline Woodson, Deborah Harkness and Marisha Pessl speak at various panels, and you may even get to meet a few at their book signings! ENTER NOW through tonight at 11pm ET for a chance to win this book lover’s trip of a lifetime! Please note that air travel/full voucher is NOT included for New York residents.
Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and Bookreporter.com is taking note. While any time is the perfect time to recognize the woman who raised and nurtured us, it’s particularly timely to celebrate now. So Bookreporter.com is giving away 15 great fiction and nonfiction titles to only five lucky winners. Enter now through Monday, May 14th at noon ET for your chance to win something for yourself or for the special lady in your life.
Are you an audiobook fan or looking to get into audio? In either case, we’ve got you covered. ReadingGroupGuides.com is proud to host a very special audiobook contest for Lisa Scottoline's latest novel, AFTER ANNA. Ten book groups will win six digital copies of the audiobook. Additionally, we'll be giving 40 listeners a physical copy of the audiobook. Enter now as this contest closes on Wednesday, May 2nd at noon ET for you or your group’s chance to win. Scroll down to learn more about the AFTER ANNA audiobook contest.
As we say farewell to April's showers and usher in May's flowers, here are a few more new books to check out this spring:
THE ELIZAS is Sara Shepard’s first foray into adult fiction. When debut novelist Eliza Fontaine is found at the bottom of a hotel pool, her family at first assumes that it’s just another failed suicide attempt. But Eliza swears she was pushed, and her rescuer is the only witness. Desperate to find out who attacked her, Eliza takes it upon herself to investigate. But as the publication date for her novel draws closer, Eliza finds more questions than answers. Why are her editor, agent and family mixing up events from her novel with events from her life? The deeper Eliza goes into her investigation while struggling with memory loss, the closer her life starts to resemble her novel --- until the line between reality and fiction starts to blur and she can no longer tell where her protagonist’s life ends and hers begins.
Fans of I WAS TOLD THERE’D BE CAKE and HOW DID YOU GET THIS NUMBER know Sloane Crosley's life as a series of relatable but madcap misadventures. In LOOK ALIVE OUT THERE, whether it's scaling active volcanoes, crashing shivas, playing herself on “Gossip Girl,” befriending swingers, or squinting down the barrel of the fertility gun, Crosley continues to rise to the occasion with unmatchable nerve and electric one-liners. And as her subjects become more serious, her essays deliver not just laughs but lasting emotional heft and insight.
Curtis Sittenfeld has established a reputation as a sharp chronicler of the modern age who humanizes her subjects even as she skewers them. In YOU THINK IT, I’LL SAY IT, her first collection of 10 short stories, she upends assumptions about class, relationships and gender roles in a nation that feels both adrift and viscerally divided. With moving insight and uncanny precision, Sittenfeld pinpoints the questionable decisions, missed connections and sometimes extraordinary coincidences that make up a life. Indeed, she writes what we’re all thinking --- if only we could express it with the wit of a master satirist, the storytelling gifts of an old-fashioned raconteur and the vision of an American original.
Happy reading!
5 Things To Obsess About This Very Moment, in no particular order:
1. #beychella
2. Nicole Kidman will play the lead in the screen adaptation of THE FEMALE PERSUASION
3. Mariah Carey is writing a memoir
4. The Crazy Rich Asians movie trailer is finally here
5. HBO's docuseries on Elvis Presley
--- Nicole Sherman
ReadingGroupGuides.com Special Contest: Enter to Win the Audiobook Edition of Lisa Scottoline's AFTER ANNA
ReadingGroupGuides.com is proud to host a very special audiobook contest for Lisa Scottoline's latest novel, AFTER ANNA. Ten book groups will win six digital copies of the audiobook. Additionally, we'll be giving 40 listeners a physical copy of the audiobook. Enter by Wednesday, May 2nd at noon ET for your chance to win.
In order to qualify as a winning group, your group must be able to commit to listening to and discussing AFTER ANNA, and sharing your group's feedback with us, by Friday, July 13th. We strongly encourage all winners to share their experiences on social media, including reviews on Amazon, Goodreads and Bookreporter.com’s “Sounding Off on Audio” feature.
AFTER ANNA Audiobook written by Lisa Scottoline, read by Mozhan Marno and Jeremy Bobb (Thriller)
From the New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline comes a fast-paced, thrilling new audiobook.
Nobody cuts deeper than family...
Dr. Noah Alderman, a widower and single father, has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie Ippolitti, and for the first time in a long time, he and his young son are happy. Despite her longing for the daughter she hasn’t seen since she was a baby, Maggie is happy too, and she’s even more overjoyed when she unexpectedly gets another chance to be a mother to the child she thought she'd lost forever, her only daughter Anna.
Maggie and Noah know that having Anna around will change their lives, but they would never have guessed that everything would go wrong, and so quickly. Anna turns out to be a gorgeous 17-year-old who balks at living under their rules, though Maggie, ecstatic to have her daughter back, ignores the red flags that hint at the trouble brewing in a once-perfect marriage and home.
Events take a heartbreaking turn when Anna is murdered, and Noah is accused and tried for the heinous crime. Maggie must face not only the devastation of losing her daughter, but the realization that Anna's murder may have been at the hands of a husband she loves. In the wake of this tragedy, new information drives Maggie to search for the truth, leading her to discover something darker than she ever could have imagined.
Riveting and disquieting, AFTER ANNA is a groundbreaking domestic thriller, as well as an audiobook of emotional justice and legal intrigue. And New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline will keep listeners hooked until the final shocking seconds.
- Click here to listen to a clip from the audiobook.
AFTER ANNA by Lisa Scottoline (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Mozhan Marno and Jeremy Bobb
Dr. Noah Alderman has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie Ippolitti. Despite her longing for the daughter she hasn’t seen since she was a baby, Maggie is happy too, and she’s even more overjoyed when she unexpectedly gets another chance to be a mother to the child she thought she'd lost forever: her only daughter, Anna. But events take a heartbreaking turn when Anna is murdered, and Noah is accused and tried for the heinous crime. Maggie must face not only the devastation of losing her daughter, but the realization that Anna's murder may have been at the hands of a husband she loves. In the wake of this tragedy, new information drives Maggie to search for the truth, leading her to discover something darker than she ever could have imagined. Reviewed by Amie Taylor.
AMERICA IS NOT THE HEART by Elaine Castillo (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Donnabella Mortel
How many lives fit in a lifetime? When Hero De Vera arrives in America --- haunted by the political upheaval in the Philippines and disowned by her parents --- she's already on her third. Her uncle gives her a fresh start in the Bay Area, and he doesn't ask about her past. His younger wife knows enough about the might and secrecy of the De Vera family to keep her head down. But their daughter --- the first American-born daughter in the family --- can't resist asking Hero about her damaged hands. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
BEFORE I LET YOU GO by Kelly Rimmer (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Vanessa Johansson and Amy Landon
Annie is a drug addict and a thief, and is in trouble again. Her sister Lexie has always helped her, but this time, she’s not just strung out --- she’s pregnant and in premature labor. If she goes to the hospital, she’ll lose custody of her baby and maybe even go to prison. But the alternative is unthinkable. As the weeks unfold, Lexie finds herself caring for her fragile newborn niece while her carefully ordered life is collapsing around her. She’s in danger of losing her job, and her fiancé only has so much patience for Annie’s drama. In court-ordered rehab, Annie attempts to halt her downward spiral by confronting long-buried secrets from the sisters’ childhoods, ghosts that Lexie doesn’t want to face. Reviewed by Bianca Ambrosio.
THE BURIAL PLACE by Larry Enmon (Mystery/Thriller)
When the 19-year-old daughter of the mayor of Dallas suddenly goes missing at the height of election season, the Chief of Police has a potential political firestorm on his hands. He assigns senior detectives Rob Soliz and Frank Pierce to investigate quickly and quietly. The girl’s family thinks she’s out on an irresponsible lark, but things start to escalate quickly when Rob and Frank find a mysterious Bible in her car with the word Wormwood highlighted beneath Revelation. As the detectives follow a trail that leads them deep into the woods of rural East Texas, they discover other girls have been kidnapped --- all young blond women --- and find evidence that suggests some of them may still be alive. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE COINCIDENCE MAKERS by Yoav Blum (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Fred Berman
What if the drink you just spilled, the train you just missed, or the lottery ticket you just found was not just a random occurrence? What if it’s all part of a bigger plan? What if there’s no such thing as a chance encounter? What if there are people we don’t know determining our destiny? And what if they are even planning the fate of the world? Enter the Coincidence Makers --- Guy, Emily and Eric --- three seemingly ordinary people who work for a secret organization devoted to creating and carrying out coincidences. When an assignment of the highest level is slipped under Guy’s door one night, he knows it will be the most difficult and dangerous coincidence he’s ever had to fulfill. Reviewed by Sarah Jackman.
THE CUTTING EDGE: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel by Jeffery Deaver (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Edoardo Ballerini
In the early hours of a quiet, weekend morning in Manhattan's Diamond District, a brutal triple murder shocks the city. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs quickly take the case. As more crimes follow, it becomes clear that the killer's target is not gems, but engaged couples themselves. The Promisor vows to take the lives of men and women during their most precious moments --- midway through the purchase of an engagement ring, after a meeting with a wedding planner, trying on the perfect gown for a day that will never come. Soon the Promisor makes a dangerous mistake: leaving behind an innocent witness, Vimal Lahori, a talented young diamond cutter who can help Rhyme and Sachs blow the lid off the case. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE ELIZAS by Sara Shepard (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Jayme Mattler
When debut novelist Eliza Fontaine is found at the bottom of a hotel pool, her family at first assumes that it’s just another failed suicide attempt. But Eliza swears she was pushed, and her rescuer is the only witness. Desperate to find out who attacked her, Eliza takes it upon herself to investigate. But as the publication date for her novel draws closer, Eliza finds more questions than answers. Why are her editor, agent and family mixing up events from her novel with events from her life? The deeper Eliza goes into her investigation while struggling with memory loss, the closer her life starts to resemble her novel --- until the line between reality and fiction starts to blur and she can no longer tell where her protagonist’s life ends and hers begins. Reviewed by Megan Elliott.
THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF SAM HELL by Robert Dugoni (Fiction)
Audiobook available, read by Robert Dugoni
Sam Hill was born with red pupils, and was called “Devil Boy” or Sam “Hell” by his classmates. He believed it was God who sent Ernie Cantwell, the only African American kid in his class, to be the friend he so desperately needed. And that it was God’s idea for Mickie Kennedy to storm into Our Lady of Mercy, uprooting every rule Sam had been taught about boys and girls. Forty years later, Sam, a small-town eye doctor, is no longer certain anything was by design --- especially not the tragedy that caused him to turn his back on his friends, his hometown and the life he’d always known. Running from the pain served little purpose. Now, as he looks back on his life, Sam embarks on a journey that will take him halfway around the world. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
THE FALLEN by David Baldacci (Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy
Something sinister is going on in Baronville. The rust belt town has seen four bizarre murders in the space of two weeks. Cryptic clues left at the scenes have the police stumped. Amos Decker and his FBI colleague, Alex Jamison, are in Baronville visiting Alex's sister and her family. Decker has only been there a few hours when he stumbles on a horrific double murder scene. Then the next killing hits sickeningly close to home. And with the lives of people he cares about suddenly hanging in the balance, Decker begins to realize that the recent string of deaths may be only one small piece of a much larger scheme --- with consequences that will reach far beyond Baronville. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
GLIMPSE by Jonathan Maberry (Supernatural Thriller/Horror)
Audiobook available, read by Emma Galvin
Rain Thomas is a young woman trying to rebuild her life after years of drug addiction and abuse. Ten years ago, at age 16, she gave up her baby after the father, her first love, died in Iraq. Now, three years clean and on the way to a job interview, Rain borrows a pair of reading glasses from an old lady on a Brooklyn train. The lenses are cracked, and through the crack she catches a glimpse of a little boy running and screaming. The boy looks so much like Rain’s dead lover --- like their son must look now. But how does a recovering junkie fight supernatural monsters? And how far will one woman go to save her lost son? Reviewed by Ray Palen.
THE GOOD LIAR by Catherine McKenzie (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available; read by Teri Clark Linden, Kate Rudd, Whitney Dykhouse and JD Jackson
When an explosion rips apart a Chicago building, the lives of three women are forever altered. A year later, Cecily is in mourning. She was supposed to be in the building that day. Instead, she stood on the street and witnessed it going down, with her husband and best friend inside. Kate fled the disaster and is hoping that her past won’t catch up with her. And Franny, a young woman in search of her birth mother, watched the horror unfold on the morning news, knowing that the woman she was so desperate to reconnect with was in the building. As its anniversary dominates the media, the memories of that terrifying morning become dangerous triggers. All these women are guarding important secrets. Just how far will they go to keep them? Reviewed by Leah DeCesare (www.leahdecesare.com).
HEAD ON: A Novel of the Near Future by John Scalzi (Science Fiction/Thriller)
Audiobook available, narrated by Amber Benson
Hilketa is a frenetic and violent pastime where players attack each other with swords and hammers. The main goal of the game: obtain your opponent’s head and carry it through the goalposts. With flesh-and-bone bodies, a sport like this would be impossible. But all the players are “threeps,” robot-like bodies controlled by people with Haden’s Syndrome, so anything goes. No one gets hurt, but the brutality is real and the crowds love it. Until a star athlete drops dead on the playing field. Is it an accident or murder? FBI agents and Haden-related crime investigators Chris Shane and Leslie Vann are called in to uncover the truth --- and in doing so travel to the darker side of the fast-growing sport of Hilketa. Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman.
I’VE GOT MY EYES ON YOU by Mary Higgins Clark (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by January LaVoy
After a party when her parents are away, 18-year-old Kerry Dowling is found fully dressed at the bottom of the family pool. The immediate suspect is her boyfriend, who had a bitter argument with her at the party. Then there is a 20-year-old neighbor who was angry because she didn’t invite him to the party. Or is there someone else who has not yet been seen on the radar? Kerry’s older sister Aline, a 28-year-old guidance counselor, is determined to assist the Prosecutor's Office in learning the truth. She does not realize that now she is putting her own life in danger. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.
THE KNOWLEDGE: A Richard Jury Mystery by Martha Grimes (Mystery)
Audiobook available, read by Steve West
In the backseat of Robbie Parsons’ cab is a man with a gun in his hand --- a man who brazenly committed a crime in front of the Artemis Club, a rarefied art gallery-cum-casino, then jumped in and ordered Parsons to drive. As the criminal eventually escapes to Nairobi, Detective Superintendent Richard Jury comes across the case in the Saturday paper. Two days previously, Jury had met and instantly connected with one of the victims of the crime, a professor of astrophysics at Columbia and an expert gambler. Feeling personally affronted, Jury soon enlists Melrose Plant, Marshall Trueblood and his whole gang of merry characters to contend with a case that takes a number of unexpected turns. Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum.
LOOK ALIVE OUT THERE: Essays by Sloane Crosley (Essays/Humor)
Audiobook available, read by Sloane Crosley
Fans of I WAS TOLD THERE’D BE CAKE and HOW DID YOU GET THIS NUMBER know Sloane Crosley's life as a series of relatable but madcap misadventures. In LOOK ALIVE OUT THERE, whether it's scaling active volcanoes, crashing shivas, playing herself on “Gossip Girl,” befriending swingers, or squinting down the barrel of the fertility gun, Crosley continues to rise to the occasion with unmatchable nerve and electric one-liners. And as her subjects become more serious, her essays deliver not just laughs but lasting emotional heft and insight. Reviewed by Catherine Rubino.
LOVE AND DEATH IN THE SUNSHINE STATE: The Story of a Crime by Cutter Wood (True Crime)
Audiobook available, read by Joe Barrett
When a stolen car is recovered on the Gulf Coast of Florida, it sets off a search for a missing woman, local motel owner Sabine Musil-Buehler. Three men are named persons of interest, and the residents of Anna Maria Island begin to fear the worst. Then, with the days passing quickly, her motel is set on fire, her boyfriend flees the county, and detectives begin digging on the beach. Cutter Wood was a guest at Musil-Buehler’s motel as the search for the missing woman gained momentum, and he found himself drawn steadily deeper into the case. So he began meeting with the eccentric inhabitants of the island, with the earnest but stymied detectives, and with the affable man soon presumed to be her murderer. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
MACBETH by Jo Nesbø (Historical Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Euan Morton
Set in the 1970s in a run-down, rainy industrial town, Jo Nesbo's MACBETH centers on a police force struggling to shed an incessant drug problem. Duncan, chief of police, is idealistic and visionary, a dream to the townspeople but a nightmare for criminals. The drug trade is ruled by two drug lords, one of whom --- a master of manipulation named Hecate --- has connections with the highest in power, and plans to use them to get his way. Hecate’s plot hinges on steadily, insidiously manipulating Inspector Macbeth: the head of SWAT and a man already susceptible to violent and paranoid tendencies. Reviewed by Ray Palen.
MY OXFORD YEAR by Julia Whelan (Romance)
Audiobook available, read by Julia Whelan
At 24, Ella Durran has finally made it to England on a Rhodes Scholarship when she’s offered an unbelievable position in a rising political star’s presidential campaign. With the promise that she’ll work remotely and return to DC at the end of her Oxford year, she’s free to enjoy her Once in a Lifetime Experience. That is, until a smart-mouthed local ruins her shirt and her first day. When Ella discovers that her English literature course will be taught by that same local, Jamie Davenport, she thinks that Oxford might not be all she’s envisioned. But a late-night drink reveals a connection she wasn’t anticipating finding, and what begins as a casual fling soon develops into something much more when Ella learns that Jamie has a life-changing secret. Reviewed by Carole Turner.
NECESSITY by D.W. Buffa (Legal Thriller)
When renowned lawyer Joseph Antonelli --- the defense attorney who has never lost a case --- takes on the most shocking and controversial case of his storied career, he has no idea of the depths of trouble he’s about to get into. A man has murdered the President of the United States, but has invoked the “Law of Necessity,” which states that a crime is justified if it serves the greater good and thus prevents a greater harm from occurring. As the nation watches the trial of the century, Antonelli must try a case with all eyes on him...and his own life on the line.
THE NEIGHBOR by Joseph Souza (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Neva Navarre and Will Damron
When Leah and her husband, Clay, move from Seattle to Maine, she envisions a vibrant new neighborhood packed with families. But while Clay works long hours, Leah is left alone each day in a nearly deserted housing development. Bored and adrift, Leah finds herself watching Clarissa and Russell Gaines next door, envying their stylishly decorated home and their university careers. But Leah’s obsession with the intriguing, elegant Clarissa grows until she’s not just spying from afar but sneaking into their house, taking small objects and reading Clarissa’s diary. It contains clues to a hidden turmoil Leah never guessed at --- and a connection to a local college girl who’s disappeared. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
THE NEW NEIGHBORS by Simon Lelic (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Adam Newington and Gemma Whelan
Londoners Jack and Syd found their dream home: lots of space, a great location, and a friendly owner who wanted a young couple to have it. Everything is exactly what they hoped for when they move in --- except Jack makes a disturbing discovery in the attic, and Syd begins to wonder about the girl next door. And they each keep the other in the dark. Which is a mistake. Because someone has just been killed outside their back door, and now the police are watching them. This is their chance to prove they're innocent --- or to get away with murder. Reviewed by Kate Ayers.
THE ONLY STORY by Julian Barnes (Fiction)
Audiobook available, narrated by Guy Mott
One summer in the ’60s, Paul comes home from university and is urged by his mother to join the tennis club. In the mixed-doubles tournament he's partnered with Susan Macleod, a fine player who is married and with whom he forms an immediate bond. Soon they are lovers. Clinging to each other as though their lives depend on it, they then set up house in London to escape his parents and the abusive Mr. Macleod. Decades later, Paul looks back at how they fell in love, how he freed Susan from a sterile marriage, and how --- gradually, relentlessly --- everything fell apart, and he found himself struggling to understand the intricacy and depth of the human heart. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.
OUR LITTLE SECRET by Roz Nay (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Erin Moon
The police have been interrogating Angela Petitjean for hours, asking about Saskia Parker. Saskia is the wife of Angela’s high school sweetheart, HP, and the mother of his child --- and she has vanished. Homicide Detective J. Novak believes Angela knows what happened to Saskia. But Angela has a different story to tell. It began more than a decade ago when she and HP met in high school. They became friends, fell in love and dated senior year. Everything changed when Angela went to college and Saskia entered the picture. Detective Novak needs to stop asking questions and listen to what Angela is telling him. And once he understands everything, he’ll have the truth he so desperately wants. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
A PERFECT SHOT by Robin Yocum (Thriller)
Nearly two decades after he made the winning shot in the state championship basketball game, Nicholas "Duke" Ducheski remains much adored and the focal point of community pride. Now approaching 40, Duke no longer wants to be defined solely by something he did when he was 18. So he decides to parlay his local popularity into a successful restaurant. One day, "Little Tony" DeMarco, his brother-in-law and a known mob enforcer, comes into the restaurant and murders Duke's oldest friend. DeMarco thinks he's untouchable, but Duke discovers a way to take him down, along with his mob superiors. To do so, however, means sacrificing his treasured identity as the town legend. And if he follows through, what will remain of his life? Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
PROPERTY: Stories Between Two Novellas by Lionel Shriver (Fiction/Short Stories)
Audiobook available, read by Lionel Shriver
Intermingling settings in America and Britain, Lionel Shriver’s first collection explores property in both senses of the word: real estate and stuff. These 10 short stories and two novellas illustrate how our possessions act as proxies for ourselves, and how tussles over ownership articulate the power dynamics of our relationships. In Shriver’s world, we may possess people and objects and places, but in turn they possess us. Reviewed by Harvey Freedenberg.
THEN SHE WAS GONE by Lisa Jewell (Psychological Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Helen Duff
Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been 10 years since her daughter, Ellie, disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters --- and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away. Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions about Ellie's disappearance that she has tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Reviewed by Norah Piehl.
TWISTED PREY: A Lucas Davenport Novel by John Sandford (Mystery/Thriller)
Audiobook available, read by Richard Ferrone
A rich psychopath, Taryn Grant had run successfully for the U.S. Senate, where Lucas Davenport had predicted she'd fit right in. He was also convinced that she'd been responsible for three murders, though he'd never been able to prove it. Once a psychopath had gotten that kind of rush, though, he or she often needed another fix, so he figured he might be seeing her again. He was right. A federal marshal now, with a very wide scope of investigation, he's heard rumors that Grant has found her seat on the Senate intelligence committee, and the contacts she's made from it, to be very...useful. Pinning those rumors down was likely to be just as difficult as before, and considerably more dangerous. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
UNBURY CAROL by Josh Malerman (Horror/Western)
Audiobook available, read by Dan John Miller
Carol Evers is a woman with a dark secret. She has died many times, but her deaths are not final: They are comas, a waking slumber indistinguishable from death, each lasting days. Only two people know of Carol’s eerie condition. One is her husband, Dwight, who married Carol for her fortune, and --- when she lapses into another coma --- plots to seize it by proclaiming her dead and quickly burying her…alive. The other is her lost love, the infamous outlaw James Moxie. When word of Carol’s dreadful fate reaches him, Moxie rides the Trail again to save his beloved from an early, unnatural grave. And all the while, Carol fights to free herself from the crippling darkness that binds her. Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub.
YOU THINK IT, I'LL SAY IT: Stories by Curtis Sittenfeld (Fiction/Short Stories)
Audiobook available, read by Emily Rankin and Mark Deakins
Throughout the 10 stories in her first collection of short fiction, Curtis Sittenfeld upends assumptions about class, relationships and gender roles in a nation that feels both adrift and viscerally divided. In “The World Has Many Butterflies,” married acquaintances play a strangely intimate game with devastating consequences. In “A Regular Couple,” a high-powered lawyer honeymooning with her husband is caught off guard by the appearance of the girl who tormented her in high school. And in “The Prairie Wife,” a suburban mother of two fantasizes about the downfall of an old friend whose wholesome lifestyle empire may or may not be built on a lie. Reviewed by Alex Bowditch.
ACE OF SHADES by Amanda Foody (Fantasy)
Audiobook available, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city. Enne has only one lead: the name Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is a street lord and con man. Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a Mafia donna. As Enne unearths a secret about her past, Levi’s enemies ensnare him in an execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…And she’ll need to play. Reviewed by Ilona K., Teen Board Member.
AS SHE FADES by Abbi Glines (Contemporary Romance)
Audiobook available, narrated by Eric Yves Garcia and Emily Bauer
On the night of graduation, Vale and her boyfriend Crawford are in a terrible car accident that leaves Crawford in a coma. Now Vale spends long days in the hospital, hoping Crawford will awaken. Slate Allen, a college friend of Vale’s brother, has been visiting his dying uncle at the same hospital. When he and Vale meet, she can’t deny the flutter of an illicit attraction. Then, Crawford wakes up...with no memory of Vale or their relationship. Heartbroken, Vale opts to leave for college and move on with her life. Except now, she’s in Slate’s territory, and their story is about to take a very strange turn. Reviewed by Grace P., Teen Board Member.
ASH PRINCESS by Laura Sebastian (Fantasy)
Audiobook available, narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered. The Kaiser took Theodosia's family, her land and her name, crowning Theo as Ash Princess --- a title of shame in her new life as a prisoner. For 10 years Theo has endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser. Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. Reviewed by Melat E., Teen Board Member.
DEVILS UNTO DUST by Emma Berquist (Dystopian Fiction)
Audiobook available, narrated by Devon Sorvari
A horrifying sickness has spread across the West Texas desert. Infected people --- shakes --- attack the living, and the surviving towns are only as safe as their perimeter walls are strong. The state is all but quarantined from the rest of the country. Glory, Texas, is a near ghost town. Still, 17-year-old Willie has managed to keep her siblings safe, but then her father steals a fortune from one of the most merciless shake hunters in town, and Willie is left on the hook for his debt. With two young hunters as guides, Willie sets out across the desert to find her father. Reviewed by Jena Brown.
EMERGENCY CONTACT by Mary H.K. Choi (Contempory Romance)
Audiobook available, narrated by Joy Osmanski and Jacques Roy
When Penny Lee heads to college in Austin, Texas, to learn how to become a writer, it’s 79 miles and a zillion light years away from everything she can’t wait to leave behind. Meanwhile, Sam knows that this is the god-awful chapter of his life that will serve as inspiration for when he’s a famous movie director but right this second his checking account and dying laptop are really testing him. When Sam and Penny cross paths it’s a collision of unbearable awkwardness. Still, they swap numbers and stay in touch and soon become digitally inseparable, sharing their deepest anxieties and secret dreams without the humiliating weirdness of having to see each other. Reviewed by Becky N., Teen Board Member.
THE FRONTMAN by Ron Bahar (Fictionalized Memoir)
Ron Bahar is an insecure, self-deprecating, 17-year-old Nebraskan striving to please his Israeli immigrant parents, Ophira and Ezekiel, while remaining true to his own dreams. During his senior year of high school, he begins to date longtime crush and non-Jewish girl Amy Andrews --- a forbidden relationship he hides from his parents. But that’s not the only complicated part of Ron’s life: he’s also struggling to choose between his two passions, medicine and music. As time goes on, he becomes entangled in a compelling world of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Will he do the right thing? Reviewed by Reanna Hensley.
I HAVE THE RIGHT TO: A High School Survivor's Story of Sexual Assault, Justice, and Hope by Chessy Prout and Jenn Abelson (Memoir)
Audiobook available, narrated by Chessy Prout
In 2014, Chessy Prout was a freshman at St. Paul’s School, a prestigious boarding school in New Hampshire, when a senior boy sexually assaulted her as part of a ritualized game of conquest. Chessy bravely reported her assault to the police and testified against her attacker in court. Then, in the face of unexpected backlash from her once-trusted school community, she shed her anonymity to help other survivors find their voice. Reviewed by Ilona K., Teen Board Member.
PICTURE US IN THE LIGHT by Kelly Loy Gilbert (Contemporary Fiction)
When Danny Cheng discovers a box in his father's closet filled with old letters and a file on a powerful Silicon Valley family, he realizes there's much more to his family's past than he ever imagined. Danny has been an artist for as long as he can remember and it seems his path is set, with a scholarship to RISD and his family's blessing to pursue the career he's always dreamed of. But when Danny uncovers a secret that disturbs the foundations of his family history, the carefully constructed facade his parents have maintained begins to crumble. With everything he loves in danger of being stripped away, Danny must face the ghosts of the past in order to build a future that belongs to him. Reviewed by Marco M., Teen Board Member.
SKY IN THE DEEP by Adrienne Young (Fantasy)
Audiobook available, narrated by Khristine Hvam
Raised to be a warrior, 17-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki. But one day she sees the impossible on the battlefield: her brother, who she watched die five years ago. Faced with her his betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, where every neighbor is an enemy. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating. Reviewed by Taylor F., Teen Board Member.
WHITE RABBIT by Caleb Roehrig (Thriller)
Rufus Holt is having the worst night of his life. It begins with the reappearance of his ex-boyfriend, Sebastian --- the guy who stomped his heart out like a spent cigarette. Then Rufus gets a call from his sister April, begging for help. He and Sebastian find her, drenched in blood and holding a knife beside the dead body of her boyfriend, Fox. April swears she didn’t kill Fox. Rufus knows her too well to believe she’s telling him the whole truth, but April has something he needs. Now, with no one to trust but his ex, Rufus has one night to clear his sister’s name...or die trying. Reviewed by Marco M., Teen Board Member.
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