Adult/High School

Adult/High School—This riveting novel features well-drawn characters engaged in the epic struggle of finding purpose and meaning in life. Early-onset/familial Alzheimer's disease (EOA) is the launching point for an exploration of memory and the human condition. Fifteen-year-old Seth and 70-year-old Abel alternate as sympathetic narrators of their family's stories. Although they don't meet until the end of the book, the connection between them becomes apparent early on. When Seth's mother is diagnosed with EOA, he assigns himself the task of learning all he can about the disease. Meanwhile, Abel reflects on his past, including his family's struggles with EOA, as he resists encroaching suburban sprawl and waits for the return of his long-gone daughter. The author effectively interweaves several writing styles: historical fiction (the imagined origins of the disease in a medieval English village and its subsequent spread to America); scientific inquiry (explanations of genetics and psychological studies of the brain); fantasy (tales of the mysterious land of Isidora, an alternate world known only to EOA families); Abel's reflective reminiscences; and Seth's coming-of-age in contemporary Texas. The narrators tell painful, funny, heartbreaking stories in authentic voices. An author's note indicates that the novel is semiautobiographical and provides resources for further information about the disease. In addition to being an excellent read, this book would be a wonderful supplement to a psychology class studying memory, or a biology class learning about genetics.—Sondra VanderPloeg, Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH

Adult/High School—Reissued 30 years after its initial American publication (Pantheon, 1978), All the Tea in China is the prequel to the author's "Mortdecai" trilogy (also reissued by Overlook, 2006). Karli Van Cleef is a 19th-century Dutch ancestor of Charlie Mortdecai. At the age of 19, having seduced and impregnated the daughter of a local lord, he finds it advisable to immigrate to England. There he sets up a modestly successful business selling Chinese porcelain. Soon, however, he sees the potential for even better profits in the opium trade and promptly takes ship for the Far East to make his fortune. The majority of the tale concerns Karli's voyage, where he must deal not only with the rigors of shipboard life, but also with pirates, mutineers, cannibals—and the Captain's wife. Karli is an amiable rogue, honest up to a point, with an eye both for his own self-interest and for whatever young women cross his path. This swashbuckling, mildly ribald adventure will appeal to teens who like historical fiction with a strong plot. With pirates continuing to be popular and the unlikelihood that libraries still own this—or ever did—for teens, young adult collection developers should take note.—Sandy Schmitz, Berkeley Public Library, CA

Adult/High School—This compelling, insightful story is surprisingly lighthearted in spite of several heavy themes. Rachel Berman is raising her 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son by herself, after a divorce. She's also working hard to keep her father's magazine, Perfect Parent, financially afloat. Len Bean, an attorney, is raising his 10-year-old special-needs daughter alone; his wife was killed in a traffic accident when their daughter was five. The three children attend the same school, where Olivia Bean is known as "Inside Out Girl" because of her strange dress and overreadiness to hug, not to mention her love of data about rats. Soon after Rachel and Len meet, and then begin dating, Len discovers that he has a fatal brain tumor; finding a home for Olivia after his eventual death coincides with Rachel's longing to know what became of the daughter she bore as a teen and surrendered for adoption. Meanwhile, Rachel's daughter is struggling with her passionate crush on the girl next door. Characters are complete, credible, and engaging. Olivia and her nonverbal learning disorder are presented cogently and without stereotyping either her personality or the responses that she draws from kids and adults. This is a romance novel worthy of readers' time.—Francisca Goldsmith, Halifax Public Libraries, Nova Scotia

Adult/High School—Although this book is the conclusion to the series, it is engaging for anyone familiar with the original Star Wars films. Readers become reacquainted with familiar characters such as Luke Skywalker, Boba Fett, Han Solo, and Princess Leia. The story picks up where Karen Traviss's Revelation (Del Rey, 2008) leaves off, with Jaina Solo, daughter of Han and Leia Solo, training alongside Boba Fett in preparation for the greatest battle of her life; Jaina is being sent to destroy Darth Caedus, the Sith who was once known as Jacen Solo, her twin brother. As she pursues him across the galaxy, Jaina and her family struggle to separate the Jedi warrior they knew as Jacen from the Dark Lord that he has become. The novel follows the battle between the Jedi and the Galactic Alliance from the perspectives of Jaina; Jacen; and their cousin, Ben Skywalker, creating a fusion of plots dealing with political dispute, inner struggles, and warfare. This is an entertaining and quick read, although the ending seems to wrap up prematurely with several plotlines left unanswered, presumably to be explored in a future series.—Kelliann Bogan, Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH

Adult/High School—This fictional account of the Scottsboro case, in which nine black teenagers were accused of the rape of two white women, is told primarily from the point of view of journalist Alice Whittier, realistically imagined by the author. The facts of the case are true: eight of the young men were accused, tried, and sentenced to death in an Alabama court in 1931. There were many appeals, trials, mistrials, and recantations by one of the women while the accused languished for years on death row before their final acquittal by the Supreme Court. Alice Whittier reports on the events throughout the long legal ordeal. She interviews many of the participants, befriends one of the women, and learns from Ruby that she lied about the incident for fear of being charged with hoboing and prostitution. First-person accounts by Ruby, whose insecurity and low self-esteem are palpable, are interspersed with Alice's own story as an outwardly aggressive reporter plagued by her own lack of self-confidence and by middle-class guilt. The horrifying and irrational prejudices of the times—racism, anti-Semitism, and sexism—are clearly portrayed in a gripping narrative that will interest and appall students of social history, and lovers of courtroom drama will be fascinated by the legal machinations. Helpful appendixes sort out fact from fiction and list sources of interest, including autobiographies of three of the young men involved.—Jackie Gropman, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA

Adult/High School—Jasmine Towne returns to her London home one afternoon to find her mother murdered and the killers searching for her. With a little guile and a lot of luck, she manages to slip away from her pursuers by plunging into the Tube and hiding in abandoned stations and forgotten bomb shelters. She falls in with a group of teenage thieves led by the Faginesque Harry Fowler. She takes to thieving quite quickly, and Fowler sends her out on the most difficult jobs. Emboldened by her new skills, Jazz sets out to rob the mansion of one of the very men who killed her mother. There she meets Terence, who is breaking into the same house. Through him, Jazz learns that her mother's murder, the father she never knew, and even Fowler are all tied in to a secret society striving to revive the ancient spirits and magic hidden below the streets of London and use it for their own dark gains. The only way to avenge her mother's death and to guarantee her own safety is to help Terence set the spirits free. Jazz is the perfect teen heroine: capable, confident, and possessing both a love of trouble and enough smarts to get out of it. While more dark fantasy than horror, the story does have some small grisly sections. The basic setting recalls Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere (Morrow, 1997). But the bigger story and the battle over London's magic—to either set it free or to usurp it—lend a fresh take on urban fantasy.—Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA

Adult/High School—Told from the point of view of young Sarah, the daughter of one of the first women to be accused, tried, and hanged as a witch in Salem, this novel paints a vivid and disturbing picture of Puritan New England life. Based on fact and the author's family history, the story portrays Martha, Sarah's mother, as a strong-willed nonconformist who knows she is a target of the zealots who pit family members against one another with their false accusations. All but one of the siblings end up imprisoned with their mother, and much of the story is told from the inhumane and corruptly run jail. When Martha is finally executed, her husband "would stand for all of us so that when she closed her eyes for the last time, there would be a counterweight of love against the overflowing presence of vengeance and fear." History is brought to life as readers learn of the strength of Martha's convictions and the value she places on her conscience. They will also appreciate the themes of family love, repression, intolerance, and persecution in this beautifully written and compelling first novel.—Jane Ritter, Mill Valley School District, CA

Adult/High School—For teens with a taste for sad, morose stories in which adults abandon their responsibilities and a child takes them on, Romans will be a welcome addition to the canon. Lawrence is a nine-year-old whose mother, Hanna, has convinced him and his younger sister, Jemima, that their estranged father is poisoning their food, turning the neighbors against them, and stalking them. To escape his alleged behavior, she takes them from London to Rome, a city she knew as a young single woman. Hanna often experiences "blackouts"—she sits and stares, refusing to move or participate in daily activities. Life in Rome is initially better: Hanna's friends from the past come to her aid in finding housing and a job. But things soon deteriorate and Hanna once again relies on Lawrence to act as the adult. Lawrence's feelings are symbolized through the scientific and historic facts he reveals throughout his narrative. Things are never happy for him, and the family is never able to achieve contentment or find peace. Some teens will find this state of explained sadness cathartic.—Joanne Ligamari, Twin Rivers United School District, Sacramento, CA

Adult/High School—Prior to the opening of this story, teenager Sam Marsdyke was dogged by accusations of rape, forcing him to leave school and work on his family's farm in Yorkshire, England. When a new family with a 15-year-old daughter moves in next door, Sam's father orders his son to keep his distance. But Sam's obsession with the forbidden drives him to stalk Jo, and the two eventually meet. A friendship develops, and it doesn't take long for the attraction to turn physical. They run away together, and all goes well until Jo decides she wants to return home to her family. Sam's tenuous hold on reality slips as events careen out of his control. While the story often points toward Sam and his psychopathic tendencies, Raisin plays with the lines of power in the relationship by suggesting that Jo knew all about the rumors of Sam's past and sought him out. This echo of themes from Nabokov's Lolita questions who really is the victim. The story is plotted more along the lines of a literary novel than a thriller, and the focus rests on the deep examination of the characters and what drives them. Because it is written in Yorkshire dialect, which recalls the visceral lyricism of Irvine Welsh, some readers might be put off by the prose, but those able to soak into it will find a rewarding—if somewhat disturbing—tale of fear, obsession, and sexuality.—Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA

Adult/High School—Set in a girls' school on Manhattan's Upper East Side, this book is a wonderfully written, touching story. Popular Astra Dell spends much of her senior year in the hospital with a rare form of tissue cancer. A young teacher visits Astra and considers her own brother who died young, while doubting her role as teacher and her potential relationship with a colleague who loves being unattached almost as much as he enjoys the students' crushes on him. Astra's friend Car is too busy with a multitude of issues to visit, but sends angst-filled letters that are sometimes stolen by Marlene, the unpopular girl who visits every day and considers Astra her new best friend. Astra's widowed father finds it hard to speak with his own daughter. Like E. R. Frank's Life Is Funny (Puffin, 2002), All Souls is written from the perspectives of several characters. Schutt, who herself teaches at a New York girls' school, mines those hallways for an extraordinarily captivating take on the teachers', parents', and teens' troubled worlds. At times she evokes Virginia Woolf's style in the immediacy of her characters' thoughts. All Souls may at first remind teens of formulaic novels such as Cecily von Ziegesar's "Gossip Girl" series (Little, Brown), but they will quickly discover a style and depth to the writing that is refreshing for this genre.—Jennifer Waters, Red Deer Public Library, Alberta, Canada

Adult/High School—Readers will be rewarded by the wisdom, wit, and hope in these 16 short stories. The selections range from the mystical appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe in "The Holy Tortilla" to the haunting yet empowering story of a victim in "The Stuff to Scream With." Other stories include the importance and power of cultural heritage in "Inheritance"; a frisky housewife and doubting husband in "Federico and Elfiria"; and the strong sense of community in "Black Leather Lu." What all of these stories have in common is the optimism that comes from taking emotional risks and forming relationships with family, friends, and community. Most of them take place in San Antonio and are peppered with Spanish words and phrases, giving the stories an authentic feeling of place. A well-organized glossary is provided. This collection will be sought after by both teens and teachers looking for strong characters and an eloquent voice in Chicana literature. While regional appeal will certainly drive purchase of this book, libraries looking to diversify and modernize their story collections will also want to consider adding this worthy title.—Lynn Rashid, Marriots Ridge High School, Marriotsville, MD

Adult/High School—Humankind has learned absolutely nothing about helping one's fellow man or woman. It's 130 years after the Fire destroyed Earth in 1967, and the Mendoza family, funded by a Crosstime Traffic grant and disguised as traders, return to postwar Earth to learn who initiated the hostilities. Liz Mendoza frequently visits the UCLA library to analyze the period books and magazines, searching for insight and reasons for the conflict. It is on her regular trips to the library that she meets Dan, a Westside soldier whom she initially considers dull and dumb. But Dan is not as unschooled and ignorant as Liz thinks, and, although he is attracted to her, he has his misgivings about the Mendozas. His suspicions are confirmed, and he blows their cover and causes them to return to their own time alternate, but not before he asks why someone from a different time, who has the knowledge and expertise to help Earth recover from its postwar havoc, does nothing. Readers may first think it's because the Mendozas don't want to change history, but the truth has everything to do with profit and gain and nothing to do with preserving the past. Fans of dystopic novels will delight in agreeing.—Joanne Ligamari, Twin Rivers United School District, Sacramento, CA

Adult/High School—Although new technology and techniques make mountain climbing more accessible, it is still a dangerous sport that attracts a small number of people. This collection of excerpts from a variety of mountaineering books includes stories from well-respected professional climbers, weekend climbers with experience, and those forced to climb by circumstance, such as the survivors of a plane crash in the Andes. Each vignette includes a summary at the beginning and a follow-up at the end. Readers may be frustrated by the nature of the selections, as it often seems that part of the story is missing, and it is often necessary to have a passing knowledge of the vocabulary and techniques of climbing to appreciate the narrative fully. On the other hand, for armchair adventurers, the tales are awe-inspiring and can drive interest in discovering the rest of the stories.—Mary Ann Harlan, Arcata High School, CA

Adult/High School—In the 1970s, heavy metal acts like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden created dark, violent music that was as much political and social protest as it was adrenaline-laced sound energizing the mosh pit. LeVine looks at the current heavy metal, punk, and hip-hop scenes of the Middle East in this way, presenting the backgrounds of each and exploring the social import of their messages. With lyrics crying for political and social change, this music carries the screams of angry youth, but angry youth who, for the most part, still regard themselves as devout Muslims. Each chapter examines a different nation and its music scene. Although it's not surprising that the most active centers are the more Westernized nations like Morocco and Israel, the most fascinating sections are those that cover places like Iran, where the music is not just looked at with suspicion, but often considered illegal. Many of the musicians are in their late teens and early 20s. Unfortunately, LeVine does a poor job of describing the music itself, throwing out terms like "grindcore" and "black metal" without defining them. Readers already knowledgeable about different forms of heavy metal won't have a problem with this, but those coming from the outside might find all the undefined labels a little confusing. LeVine does, however, provide a useful list of Web sites that provide samples of the music; a companion audio CD is sold separately. It becomes obvious that the author sees these musicians as a force for positive change. Although a journalistic approach might make this work more convincing, it's still a fascinating read about a unique subculture.—Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA

Adult/High School—A book of "ripped up, hipped up, glammed out, do-it-yourself denim designs for funky fashionistas." Minsky has one rule—that the denim may not be purchased. All of the projects are from recycled clothing and include jackets, bags, skirts, hats, and lots of embellished pants. Each design has clear instructions that include the level of difficulty, materials needed, and step-by-step instructions with sketches or photographs. Many of the projects include materials such as lace, buttons, ribbons, and many other fabrics, and not all require a sewing machine. There are instructions for painting, stenciling, and bleaching denim as well as templates and patterns that can be photocopied and enlarged. Overall, this is a user-friendly book, and each idea can be modified to suit readers' personal styles.—Jane Ritter, Mill Valley School District, CA

Adult/High School—Vipassana is an ancient nondenominational meditation technique that was revived by Gotama the Buddha 2600 years ago. These letters are a testament to the power that this practice has had on the lives of a handful of men in a high-security prison in Alabama. Many of them are serving life sentences, and all of them have struggled to find peace with themselves. The course has worked wonders for prisoners in India, where it was developed. For 10 days, the men meditated with three teachers, isolated from the rest of the prison population. They began by focusing on their own breath as a way of breaking down the barrier between mind and body. Out of the silence of meditation came an awareness that was transformative for these troubled men and that has lasted for years, even in the midst of the anguish of daily prison life. Teens in trouble or at risk would certainly find this book illuminating. So, too, would those trying to fathom how to lead a sane and peaceful life in a world that can be hard to comprehend. This book offers a chance to develop an understanding of how we can share a commonality with something as simple and as vital as a breath.—Will Marston, Berkeley Public Library, CA

Adult/High School—This memoir is a classic coming-of-age story in which the author casts himself as an antihero in the tradition of Holden Caulfield. Schrand's stories of life at the family-owned Enders Hotel in Soda Springs, ID, resonate with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of youth and yet are balanced with the sober vision of hindsight. This is ironic because alcoholism and drug use, and their consequences, pervade the narrative. The author evokes a unique sense of place with what is essentially a series of vignettes from his childhood. He introduces readers to a ragtag and at times sorry cast of characters searching for purpose and dignity. This common narrative thread ties strongly to his search for "manhood" and his missing father. Schrand's specificity and eye for detail transport readers to the desolate environs of the Enders Hotel. This book will appeal to anyone who has ever felt out of place or out of step with the world, especially teen males.—Jennifer Waters, Red Deer Public Library, Alberta, Canada

Adult/High School—It could be said that the Silverwoods' account of hitting a coral reef off the Scilly Islands is a repeat of history, because their 50-foot catamaran, the Emerald Jane, did exactly what the tall sailing ship Julia Ann had done in 1855. Luckily for John, Jean, and their four children, they had the benefit of 21st-century survival gear, particularly the GPS survival beacon that provided the crucial link to the French emergency crews who saved them. Black Wave is an exciting tale; readers know from the start that the family survives, but what makes for deep engagement is learning the parallel story of Captain Pond and his crew and passengers. It is during John Silverwood's recovery and rehabilitation—his leg is crushed during the wreck and later amputated—that he learns about the Julia Ann. As he delves into its history and learns how the 19th-century crew dealt with their devastating misadventure, it helps him put his family's experience into perspective. This book shows that we all deal with catastrophic events differently, but if our actions are explored and investigated, we learn that human beings, no matter the era, have the same basic instincts and needs to make sense of their experiences.—Joanne Ligamari, Twin Rivers United School District, Sacramento, CA

Adult/High School—Viewed from the outside, Sontag's Illinois childhood was stereotypically American upper middle class—a physician father, social-worker mother, two girls, a house with a yard and a dog. Behind that facade, Sontag says, was a dysfunctional family ruled by a man who consistently berated, humiliated, and bullied his children and his wife. Particularly onerous were the "middle of the night" sessions, wherein Rachel was summoned downstairs for yet another recitation of her failings that ended only when she admitted to being a selfish, negligent rule-breaker. She rails against her father's obsessive and "sick" conduct, yet seems especially angry with her mother, whose weakness she finds repellent. Only by physically removing herself from the household could she begin to achieve independence, repair her self-image, and, eventually, come to terms with parents she could neither live with nor change. Some may find her self-pitying and will question her precise quotation of conversations that occurred years ago. Yet her book is a memoir; it does not pretend to be anything other than what it is: one daughter's perspective of life under a man who, in her eyes, chose to play the role of despot rather than that of loving and forgiving husband and father. Readers in similar circumstances may gain comfort from seeing the author's eventual independence.—Dori DeSpain, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Adult/High School—Strosser and Prince present 16 concise episodes in human history to support their theory that war is generally a bad idea and that we may finally learn from the past by studying martial failures instead of celebrating glorious victories. An irreverent tone and lively writing make this book readable and appealing, although sometimes the flood of names and dates becomes confusing. Unfortunately, there are no maps. Presented in chronological order, the war stories begin in ancient Rome and conclude with the 1991 Soviet coup. Each chapter starts with a short overview, followed by "The Players" (brief, pithy descriptions of the main agents involved in the conflict); the "General Situation" sets the stage for "What Happened," and concludes with "What Happened After" (summary and analysis). Boxed segments feature interesting nuggets of information (thumbnail biographies of individuals or groups, relevant legends). While most of the chapters describe 20th-century events, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 is probably most relevant for making connections to today's headlines. The book assumes some knowledge of history, but it could be used as a reference or supplementary reading for anyone studying American, European, Latin American, or world history. The authors offer excellent, entertaining descriptions of historical figures and events, and provide convincing evidence of the unpredictable, chaotic, and disorganized reality of warfare.—Sondra VanderPloeg, Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH

Adult/High School—As a young graduate student fresh off an extended stint following the Grateful Dead, Venkatesh began studying urban poverty. With a combination of an ethnographer's curiosity about another culture and some massive naïveté, he gathered firsthand knowledge of the intricacies of Chicago's Robert Taylor projects. Early on, he met a megalomaniac gang leader known here as J.T., who became his mentor. Venkatesh observed and learned how the crack game works, and how many have their fingers in the pie and need life to remain the way it is. He observed violence, corruption, near homelessness, good cops, bad cops, and a lot of neglect and politics-as-usual. He made errors in judgment—it took a long time for his street smarts to catch up to his book smarts—but he tells the story in such a way as to allow readers to figure out his missteps as he did. Finally, as the projects began to come down, Venkatesh was able to demonstrate how something that seems positive is not actually good for everyone. The first line in his preface, "I woke up at about 7:30 a.m. in a crack den," reflects the prurient side of his studies, the first chapter title, "How does it feel to be black and poor?" reflects the theoretical side, and both work together in this well-rounded portrayal.—Jamie Watson, Harford County Public Library, MD

Adult/High School—Walker takes a close look at past and present consumerism in the United States, positing that older forms of advertising are no longer successful. In their place, the trend has shifted to what the author calls "murketing," a mix of "murky" and "marketing." He argues that instead of being manipulated by marketing, consumers are using it to their advantage; and instead of being shaped by products, consumers are using them to express individual identity and social outlook. Told from the perspectives of both consumers and marketers, the book entwines historical fact, commentary from experts in the field, and pop-culture examples drawn from brand names such as Timberland, Sanrio, Apple, and Nike. It also incorporates conversations with CEOs of companies like American Apparel as well as start-up projects from the skateboarding and music industries. Walker examines all aspects of "murketing," including ethics, emerging technology, and commercialization versus underground movements. This book is both accessible and relevant to teens, with many of the examples being pulled from Generations Y and Z. It will be useful to those interested in business, advertising, or social trends.—Kelliann Bogan, Colby-Sawyer College, New London, NH