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Editorial Content for Aquarium

Book

Aquarium

Contributors

Sarah Rachel Egelman

Reviewer (text)

Sarah Rachel Egelman

AQUARIUM by David Vann is a gem of a novel --- not because it’s pretty, sweet or sparkly but because it’s starkly beautiful, tough and of great value. It tells, in sparse but lovely prose, the story of 12-year-old Caitlin who lives in Seattle with her hardworking mother, Sheri, and spends countless hours alone at the aquarium waiting for Sheri to get done with work. The two are alone in the world, trapped by circumstance, until three new people come into their lives and change everything. Read More

Teaser

Caitlin lives alone with her mother in subsidized housing next to an airport in Seattle. Each day, while waiting to be picked up after school, she visits the local aquarium to study the fish. Gazing at the creatures within the watery depths, she accesses a shimmering universe beyond her own. When she befriends an old man at the tanks one day, who seems as enamored of the fish as she, Caitlin cracks open a dark family secret and propels her once-blissful relationship with her mother toward a precipice of terrifying consequence.

Promo

Caitlin lives alone with her mother in subsidized housing next to an airport in Seattle. Each day, while waiting to be picked up after school, she visits the local aquarium to study the fish. Gazing at the creatures within the watery depths, she accesses a shimmering universe beyond her own. When she befriends an old man at the tanks one day, who seems as enamored of the fish as she, Caitlin cracks open a dark family secret and propels her once-blissful relationship with her mother toward a precipice of terrifying consequence.

About the Book

From internationally bestselling New York Times notable author, David Vann, a novel that takes us into the heart of a brave young girl whose longing for love and capacity for forgiveness transforms the damaged people around her. Relentless and heartbreaking, primal and redemptive, and produced in a beautiful four color illustrated edition, AQUARIUM is a transporting story from one of the best American writers of our time.

Pamela Dugdale

Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring --- quite often the hard way.

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Pamela Dugdale

Over the past year, has television watching interfered with your reading?

April 9, 2015, 486 voters

The Unraveling of Mercy Louis by Keija Parssinen

March 2015

Mercy Louis, the star of the championship girls’ basketball team, seems destined for greatness, but the road out of town is riddled with obstacles. At the periphery of her world floats team manager Illa Stark, who is spellbound by Mercy’s beauty and talent. But a note discovered in Mercy’s gym locker reveals that her life may not be as perfect as it appears. The last day of school brings the disturbing discovery, and as summer unfolds and the police investigate, every girl becomes a suspect. 

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by Anne A. Wilson - Fiction

Helicopter pilot Lt. Sara Denning joins a navy battle group with little fanfare. Her philosophy is simple --- blend in, be competent, and above all, never do anything to stand out as a woman in a man's world. Somewhere along the way, Sara lost herself --- her feminine, easygoing soul is now buried under so many defensive layers, she can't reach it anymore. When Sara's life is on the line, can she find her true self again and follow the orders of her heart before it is too late?

Don't Try To Find Me by Holly Brown

April 2015
 
Don’t try to find me. Though the message on the kitchen white board is written in Marley’s hand, her mother Rachel knows there has to be some other explanation. Marley would never run away. As the days pass and it sinks in that the impossible has occurred, Rachel and her husband Paul are informed that the police have “limited resources.” If they want their 14-year-old daughter back, they will have to find her themselves.
 

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April 9, 2015

This Bookreporter.com Special Newsletter spotlights a book that is now in stores. Read more about it, and enter our Spring Preview Contest by Friday, April 10th at 11:59am ET for a chance to win one of five copies of ORHAN'S INHERITANCE by Aline Ohanesian. Please note that each contest is only open for 24 hours, so you will need to act quickly!

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Gelett Burgess

If in the last few years you haven't discarded a major opinion or acquired a new one, check your pulse. You may be dead.

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Gelett Burgess

Interview: Lisa Genova, author of Inside the O'Briens

Apr 8, 2015

Earlier this year, Lisa Genova proudly watched Julianne Moore win an Academy Award for playing the lead in the big screen adaptation of her New York Times bestselling novel, STILL ALICE. Her latest book, INSIDE THE O’BRIENS, sheds light on another disease --- Huntington’s --- and the heartbreaking effect it has on one family. She has a background in neuroscience and is known for her masterful handling of the human aspects of illness. In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Norah Piehl, Genova talks about what initially inspired her to write from the perspective of the patient and how she is able to achieve such poignantly empathetic narratives (hint: tons of first-person research!). 

Interview: Annabel Smith, author of Whiskey and Charlie

Apr 8, 2015

Australian author Annabel Smith’s latest novel, WHISKEY AND CHARLIE, is about Charlie Ferns, who learns that his estranged twin brother Whiskey has been in a terrible accident. Although they barely have spoken in years, Charlie can’t help but wonder: Who is he without Whiskey? In this interview with Bookreporter.com’s Alexis Burling, Smith discusses how --- with seemingly fluid ease --- she gets into the heads of her characters, as well as how the things we internalize as kids can continue to affect us as adults. She also explains “Six Degrees of Separation” and “Writers Ask Writers” --- two monthly features on her blog that celebrate writing, great books and community.