Tag: starred review

All Our Pretty Songs for Your Library

All Our Pretty Songs for Your Library

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Ali Fisher
This is a story about love, but not the kind of love you think. You'll see.

We want to make sure that Sarah McCarry's lush and curious debut, ALL OUR PRETTY SONGS, is available in your library so we're hosting a giveaway to get it there! 

We have twenty finished copies of this incredible teen title to be shelved at libraries across the country. See details on how to win a copy for your library below.

First, a letter from the author:

Dear librarians,

"This is a story about love, but not the kind of love you think. You'll see." ALL OUR PRETTY SONGS is a grunge remix of the Orpheus and Eurydice story, set in 1990s Seattle and full of myth, mystery, and the unbreakable bonds of friendship--and love. As someone who spent most of my childhood in libraries, it's an honor and a delight to think of my own book reaching a new generation of readers. Librarians are some of my very favorite people--I hope you and your patrons enjoy ALL OUR PRETTY SONGS.

Best,
Sarah

ALL OUR PRETTY SONGS is about two best friends who drink, smoke, mosh, and take care of one another in a wild, post-grunge Seattle where nothing could tear them apart—that is, until the strange summer night that they meet Jack and Minos. Much to her surprise the narrator falls in love for the first time with heavenly guitarist Jack and in her enchanted state doesn't see that her best friend Aurora has become deeply entangled with the toxic and bizarre Minos. When Minos lures Aurora into the underworld with promises of fulfilling her deepest desires, the narrator sets out on a journey to find and retrieve her closest friend.

"Haunting, otherworldly and heartbreaking." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Goths and romantics both will eagerly await the second installment of this suspenseful planned trilogy to find out what becomes of the girls, Jack, and the other well-drawn players in this magic-tinged cast." —Booklist (starred review)

 

 

Enter for a chance to win ALL OUR PRETTY SONGS for your library:

Send Library-at-MacmillanUSA.com an e-mail with your library's mailing address from your professional/library-issued e-mail address (subject: All Our Pretty Songs for My Library) by Friday, September 13th to be placed in the random drawing.

This sweepstakes is open to librarians in the United States. More eligibility details below.

9/16 UPDATE: The sweepstakes is over and winners have been notified.  

[...]

Know More...

Starred Review for Transcendental

Starred Review for Transcendental

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Ali Fisher

Exploration! Intrigue! Redemption! SPACE!

SFWA Grand Master James Gunn brings us TRANSCENDENTAL, the story of Riley, a veteran of interstellar war and one of many beings from various worlds aboard a ship on a pilgrimage that spans the galaxy. Riley isn't aboard to achieve transcendence, the mystical concept that has drawn everyone else to this journey, his mission is to find and kill the prophet who is reputed to help aliens transcend.

"Impeccably plotted, with absorbing human and alien characters and back stories, Gunn's narrative expertly cranks up the tension and paranoia as, piece by piece, answers emerge. Gunn’s best in years—quite possibly his best ever." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Get whitelisted and download a review copy from Edelweiss now! Or read an excerpt on Tor.com.

download button

[...]

Know More...

Starred Review for Telling Our Way to the Sea

Starred Review for Telling Our Way to the Sea

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Ali Fisher

By turns epic and intimate, TELLING OUR WAY TO THE SEA: A Voyage of Discovery in the Sea of Cortez by Aaron Hirsh captures the complex beauty of both the marine world he explores and the people he explores it with.

When Hirsh, fellow biologist Veronica Volny, and historian of science Graham Burnett lead twelve college students to a remote fishing village on the Sea of Cortez, they come upon a bay of dazzling beauty and richness. But as the group pursues various threads of investigation—ecological and evolutionary studies of the sea, the desert, and their various species of animals and plants; the stories of local villagers; the journals of conquistadors and explorers—they recognize that the bay, spectacular and pristine though it seems, is but a ghost of what it once was. 

"In prose that marries lush scientific details and poetic language (complete with transfixing descriptions of sea cucumber regeneration), Hirsh delivers an important work about the power of place and the power of stories—scientific, historical, and personal—to shape our understanding of our world." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The Daily Beast featured it in "This Week’s Hot Reads: August 5, 2013." They said,

"Skill as a scientist and skill as a writer rarely inhabit the same person, but when they do, the results can be incredible. [...] There is all sorts to enjoy here: adventure, exploration, local history, rigorous science patiently explained, even some sections about conquistadors (it’ll make sense when you get there), all told in deft prose. But what binds this book is Hirsh’s infectious enthusiasm."

Download the chapbook here (PDF). 

[...]

Know More...

Starred Reviews for The Edge of Normal

Starred Reviews for The Edge of Normal

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Ali Fisher

"This is a book you won’t soon forget."
—Chevy Stevens

Carla Norton, author of the #1 New York Times nonfiction bestseller PERFECT VICTIM (which, by the way, the FBI have on their Behavioral Sciences Unit reading list!), has written her debut novel and it's a scalp-tingling psychological thriller called THE EDGE OF NORMAL!

In many ways, Reeve LeClaire looks like a typical twenty-two year old girl. She’s finally landed her own apartment, she waitresses to pay the bills, and she wishes she wasn’t so nervous around new people, but Reeve is anything but normal. Ten years ago she was kidnapped and held captive. After a lucky escape, she’s spent the last six years trying to rebuild her life—a recovery thanks in large part to her indispensable therapist Dr. Ezra Lerner. But when he asks her to help another girl rescued from a similar situation, Reeve realizes she may not simply need to mentor this young victim—she may be the only one who can protect her from a cunning predator who is still out there.

"Norton skillfully keeps the suspense taut with myriad surprises while giving a tender look at victims whose ordeals are rehashed by lawyers, the media, and pop psychologists. Reeve’s realistic maturation into a woman who refuses to remain a victim adds to the intriguing story. 100,000-copy first printing." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Norton has created a page-turner with well-developed characters, a truly horrible villain, and the psychological depth of Jonathan Kellerman at his best." —Booklist (starred review)

"Winner of a Royal Palm Literary Award for best unpublished mystery, this nail-bitingly delicious tale will be a treat for psychological thriller fans." —Library Journal (starred review)

"Norton skillfully develops her tricky subject, gradually shifting from an emphasis on its tabloid aspects to a close identification with the victim/heroine in a story of justice served by the one who deserves it most." —Kirkus Reviews

 

 

 

 

Get whitelisted and download an e-galley from Edelweiss now!

download button

[...]

Know More...

Starred Reviews for The Invention of Murder

Starred Reviews for The Invention of Murder

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Ali Fisher

You may remember THE INVENTION OF MURDER: How the Victorians
Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders as
Talia's #FridayRead back in April. Now that it's out it can be your (and your patrons') next #FridayRead (or #MondayRead or #WednesdayRead), too! In THE INVENTION OF MURDER Flanders retells the gruesome
stories of many different types of murder, both famous and obscure, and the
reviews were chillingly good!

 

"Judith Flanders's wonderful, sometimes appalling
THE INVENTION OF MURDER: How the Victorians Reveled in Death and
Detection and Created Modern Crime, is a guidebook to notably grisly
true-life tales. There are unsolved violent crimes, such as the Ratcliffe
Highway murders in 1811, in which a whole family (including a baby in his
cradle) was massacred in their house. There is the occasional murder of a
master by a servant—the most famous occurred in 1840, when the Swiss valet
Courvoisier slit the throat of the 73-year-old Lord William Russell. There's
the larger category of love gone wrong, including the tale of Maria Marten,
murdered in 1827 by a former lover and buried in a barn. [...] Yet murders
considered in themselves are merely Ms. Flanders's starting point for her real
interest: the Victorian public's growing taste for blood." —Wall Street
Journal

"Flanders’s convincing and smart synthesis of the
evolution of an official police force, fictional detectives, and real-life
cause célèbres will appeal to devotees of true crime and detective fiction
alike." —Publishers Weekly (starred review, Best New Books for the Week of
July 22, 2013)

"Brilliantly researched and rendered, this is an
indispensible read for anyone—scholars and the general public alike—who harbors
an interest in the evolution of the notion and representation of murder. [...]
Flanders presents a fascinating narrative in well-crafted and at times suitably
ironic praise." —Library Journal (starred review)

[...]

Know More...

Starred Review for The Highway

Starred Review for The Highway

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Ali Fisher

This book does for highways what Psycho did for showers.

C.J. Box' latest thriller is a standalone throat-gripper that takes place on the open road. 

When teenagers Danielle and Gracie take a road trip to visit their friend in Montana, little do they know it's the last time anyone will ever hear from them again. The girls and their car vanish. Cody Hoyt, who's just lost his job and has fallen off the wagon after a long stretch of sobriety, is in no condition to investigate. But his son Justin, who the girls were going to visit, and his former partner, Cassie Dewell, convince him to drive south to their last known location.  As Cody makes his way to the remote stretch of Montana highway where the girls went missing, Cassie discovers that there have been scores of similar disappearances in the state. There's a serial killer out there roaming the highways, and Cody and Cassie must find him before he takes more lives.

Library Journal gave THE HIGHWAY a starred review and included it in their article "A Suspenseful Summer: Ten Thrillers for the Hot Months Ahead." In their review they said, "Box’s stand-alone weaves together subplots into a nonstop, action-filled race against time. Rolling down the superhighway of suspense, this thriller will leave readers breathless."

Publishers Weekly said, "Filled with believable characters and hard, realistic dialogue, Edgar-winner Box’s perfectly paced novel offers a suspenseful story laced with more than a few shockingly unexpected plot twists."

Get whitelisted and download a review copy now! 

download button image

[...]

Know More...

Become a Fan of Fangirl

Become a Fan of Fangirl

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Ali Fisher

There are only two types of librarians reading this post right now, FANGIRL fans and librarians who have yet to read FANGIRL. Let's get everyone into the former category.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. Now that they’re going to college, Wren doesn’t want to be roommates so Cath is on her own. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words, and she can’t stop worrying about her dad.

For Cath, the question is: is she ready to start living her own life or will she just go on living inside somebody else’s fiction?

 

 

UPDATE! FOUR STARRED REVIEWS FOR FANGIRL:

"The novel’s brilliance comes from Rowell’s reimagining of a coming-of-age story’s stock characters (the reclusive writer, the tough-talking friend, the sweet potential boyfriend) as dynamic and temperamental individuals—which adroitly parallels Cath’s own fan-fiction writing process. [...] Absolutely captivating." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A funny and tender coming-of-age story that’s also the story of a writer finding her voice. [...] Touching and utterly real." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The plot is multilayered and filled with complex subjects (such as divorce, abandonment, and mental illness) handled in a realistic manner, and the writing effortlessly and seamlessly weaves these threads together. This book will find a wide audience, especially among older fans of Harry Potter." —School Library Journal (starred review)

"This is an epic writ small; the magic here is cast not with wands but with Rowell's incredible ability to build complex, vivid, troubling, and triumphant relationships. Fans of Eleanor & Park (2013) and other bookish, nerdy types will thrill at finding such a fantastic and lasting description of one of their own." —Booklist (starred review)

In Uncharted Pages:

Uncharted Fangirl

Get an E-Galley:

If you're already whitelisted you can download an e-galley from Edelweiss now!

download button

If you're not yet whitelisted (instructions here) or if you need a kindle-compatible file, I can make you a unique pre-approved download link from NetGalley. Here's how to get one:

1. Register for NetGalley.

2. Send me: 1. your login e-mail address and 2. your current library of employment. Please send the e-mail from your professional/library-issued e-mail address with the subject: FANGIRL LINK.

I will be in the office until 12:30EDT on Friday. If you send your request after that I will fulfill it next week.

Thank you and I hope to hear from you!

[...]

Know More...

FOUR Starred Reviews for THE NIGHT GUEST

FOUR Starred Reviews for THE NIGHT GUEST

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Ali Fisher

Fiona McFarlane's debut, THE NIGHT GUEST, (which you may recognize as our cover of the month from June!) is the suspenseful story of Ruth, a widow living alone and isolated in a beach house on the southern coast of Australia, and the mysterious arrival of Frida who claims to be a care worker sent by the government. THE NIGHT GUEST is already getting stellar reviews.

UPDATE: FOUR STARRED REVIEWS AND MAJOR MEDIA FOR THE NIGHT GUEST!

ABA’s Debut Dozen Fall 2013
October 2013 Indie Next List
Amazon Big Books of Fall 2013
Amazon Best Books of the month October 2013
Bookish – Must Read Fiction, Fall 2013
The Millions “Most Anticipated” Preview
Vogue.com – Fall’s Guilty Reading Pleasures
Oprah.com Fall Reading List for Book Clubs

"An enrapturing debut novel that toys with magical realism while delivering a fresh fable. McFarlane’s rendering of Ruth’s interior is quiet and exacting, and she builds suspense so gently that the danger is, at first, hardly noticeable."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"This book is at once a beautifully imagined portrait of isolation and an unsettling psychological thriller." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Gothic in sensibility, with a touch of magic realism, this novel feels at once like a classic and a fresh, original tale . . . Fans of psychologically oriented Scandinavian fiction should feel a familiar draw to this first novel, which is already creating significant buzz around the globe.”
—Library Journal (starred review)

“McFarlane’s crisp, clean prose is a pleasure to read.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Enthralling... This stellar debut will haunt you—and remind you to call your mother.”
—Entertainment Weekly (A-)

“A novel of uncanny emotional penetration... What makes THE NIGHT GUEST especially unnerving is the way it immerses the reader in a mind that is slowly slipping its moorings. You’re in [Ruth’s] head, and that head gets less and less sound as the novel progresses, but it’s a strangely delightful place to be, for all the darkness surrounding it.” —Laura Miller, Salon 

“Mesmerizing.” —Nylon

“[A] striking debut.” —Megan O’Gray, Vogue.com

With review coverage still to come from the New York Times Book Review, People Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Barnes and Noble Review, The Rumpus, and many more!

[...]

Know More...

FOUR STARS for How the Light Gets In!

FOUR STARS for How the Light Gets In!

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Ali Fisher

Elf happy dance
Incredibly important update: HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN is #1 on the New York Times bestseller list (dated Sept.15)! Cue happy dance freakout!

We have so much love and respect for mystery awards darling Louise Penny and we're not the only ones. Her ninth intimate, yet thrilling Chief Inspector Gamache novel, HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN, has received FOUR pre-pub starred reviews!

"Once again, Penny impressively balances personal courage and faith with heartbreaking choices and monstrous evil." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"[I]t’s Three Pines, with its quirky tenants, resident duck and luminous insights into trust and friendship, that will hook readers and keep them hooked." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Another bravura performance from an author who has reinvented the village mystery as profoundly as Dashiell Hammett transformed the detective novel." ―Booklist (starred review)

"Highly recommended for mystery lovers, readers who enjoy character-driven mysteries, and those who like seeing good triumph and evil get its just desserts." ―Library Journal (starred review)

download button

 

 

[...]

Know More...

Starred Review for Super Boys

Starred Review for Super Boys

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Ali Fisher

Welcome to the peak of the week, librarian friends!

Today we're very excited to tell you and your comic-fan patrons about SUPER BOYS by Brad Ricca . It's the first comprehensive dual biography of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, creators of Superman.

SUPER BOYS features the first stories and pictures ever published by the two, the first Superman story really came from, the real inspiration for Lois Lane, the template for Superman’s costume, and much more including Siegel's secret work during World War II, never-before-seen work from Shuster, and a final explaination of the infamous $130 check that took Superman away from his creators and placed him entirely in the hands of the publisher.

"At the end of this account, when Siegel’s and Shuster’s names are finally restored to the character, four decades after his creation, readers might find themselves leaping out of their chairs and cheering. A wonderful book, as exciting as Michael Chabon’s THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY (2000), which was, of course, inspired by Siegel and Shuster, and as gripping as Sean Howe’s excellent MARVEL COMICS: THE UNTOLD STORY (2012)." —Booklist (starred review)

The New Yorker reviewed the book and summarized the story of Siegel and Shuster in "Kryptonomics" published June 24th. Read the full article here.

[...]

Know More...

css.php The owner of this website has made a commitment to accessibility and inclusion, please report any problems that you encounter using the contact form on this website. This site uses the WP ADA Compliance Check plugin to enhance accessibility.