Starred Review Round-Up (4/26/19)

Calling all collection development librarians! These books all received multiple starred reviews!

THE RIGHT SORT OF MAN by Allison Montclair

“The Right Sort Marriage Bureau’s debut is exactly the right sort to have readers hoping for a second date.”–Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Both leads are complex, well-developed characters, whose penchant for humorous byplay never comes at the expense of the plot, which resolves itself in a clever fair play reveal. Fans of Maisie Dobbs and Bess Crawford will be delighted.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

NATIVE COUNTRY OF THE HEART: A Memoir by Cherríe Moraga

“A sympathetic portrait of Mexican-American feminism (both in mother and daughter) delivered in a poignant, beautifully written way.”–Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Moraga’s captivating and perceptive memoir successfully conveys her belief that ‘we are as much of a place as we are of a people.'”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

TEN INNINGS AT WRIGLEY: The Wildest Ballgame Ever, with Baseball on the Brink by Kevin Cook

“Every year there is a new crop of baseball books of varying quality, with one or two of them rising above the pack. TEN INNINGS AT WRIGLEY will be among the 2019 releases that will be read for years.”–Booklist, starred review

“This is an excellent look at a momentous individual game, and the long view of the ways baseball has changed during the last 30 years is equally rewarding.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

A PRIMER FOR FORGETTING: Getting Past the Past by Lewis Hyde

“An eclectic and insightful miscellany of playful, spirited, provocative reflections.”–Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Rather, in the way of Zen Buddhism, it’s an invitation to forget our very selves so that we might finally see the universe clearly. And alongside all of the bright-burning erudition, there is a very moving personal angle: his mother’s progressive dementia and the prospect of his own.”–Booklist, starred review

DARK SITE by Patrick Lee

“This is a compulsive, nail-biting, stay-up-all-night thriller.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

“As always, Lee builds tension superbly, but here he adds the extra element of parceling out information from past and present in ever-so-small increments, creating exquisite dramatic irony as we know just enough more than the protagonists do to twist our stomachs into ever-tightening knots. Breakneck pacing, of course, but somehow Lee manages to build character and create an audacious premise without ever taking his foot off the throttle.“–Booklist, starred review

THE ORGANS OF SENSE by Adam Ehrlich Sachs

“How it all comes together gives the book the feel of an intellectual thriller. Sachs’s talent is on full display in this brilliant work of visionary absurdism.”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Sprinkled with generous doses of philosophy, this gem of a novel, with a spectacular denouement, might make for labored reading initially, but ultimately, it’s an utterly immersive and transportive work of art.”–Booklist, starred review

“Great fun and notable for its singular style, playful tone, and sense of economy (Sachs covers a huge amount of ground in just over 200 pages), this impressive debut is for fans of George Saunders and Vladimir Nabokov.”–Library Journal, starred review

THE VINYL FRONTIER: The Story of the Voyager Golden Record by Jonathan Scott

“Sagan, the leading scientist behind the Voyager recordings, published his own account, MURMURS OF THE EARTH, just after Voyager launched, but Scott has the benefit of a wider range of information and sources and an objective view of the process. This is also a very relatable and human way to approach deep space exploration. VERDICT A must for all libraries.“–Library Journal, starred review

“Delivered with effortless grace, this buoyant look at one of NASA’s most unusual but oft-overlooked efforts will appeal to music fans and astronomy buffs alike”–Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Insightful, engaging, and thoroughly enjoyable, this is the sort of popular history book clubs adore.”–Booklist, starred review

THE GULF by Belle Boggs

“A smart, slightly kooky exploration of art and money, faith and politics.”–Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Boggs’ first novel (following a memoir, THE ART OF WAITING, 2016) beautifully balances absurdity and emotional depth, complete with a bombastic state representative, an epiphanic hurricane, and Marianne’s journey, if not to faith, then to salvation.”–Booklist, starred review