Fiction

Andrews, Mary Kay. The Fixer Upper. Harper: HarperCollins. Jul. 2009. c.432p. ISBN 978-0-06-083738-9. $25.99. F

Arriving just in time for summer beach reading is the most entertaining novel yet from Andrews (Deep Dish). Washington, DC, insider Dempsey Jo Killebrew is surprisingly clueless about her lobbyist boss's less than ethical behavior, even after she finds herself unceremoniously fired and licking her wounds in Guthrie, GA. There she reluctantly undertakes a project of restoring a dilapidated house that her father had recently inherited, hoping to sell it for a profit. Not surprisingly, this project is full of problems. The house's elderly resident isn't one bit anxious to move out, but luckily the charming if eccentric townsfolk include a pretty darn handsome local lawyer who comes to Dempsey's defense when it looks as if she might be in just as much trouble as her backstabbing former boss. Add a couple of FBI agents, a meddling mother, and a dog named Shorty, and readers will find themselves eagerly turning pages to find out how the situation resolves itself. VERDICT Fans of Jennifer Crusie or Susan Elizabeth Phillips will find this a delightful addition to the genre of slightly wacky romance stories. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/09.]—Margaret Hanes, Warren P.L., MI

Austin, a former obstetrician with a lifelong passion for paleoanthropology, has written an original and fascinating first novel set approximately 500,000 years ago in Africa, the cradle of humankind. Now that she has grown into womanhood, 12-year-old Snap, granddaughter of the Kura clan's matriarchal leader, looks forward to the springtime bonding ceremony, marking the time when the men return from hunting and trading. In her clan, men and women come together only for the summer months, when the women select the men they will mate with for the season. Snap and her new mate, Ash, are blissfully happy, their time together marred only by her mother's choice of mate, Bapoto, who brings with him strange new ideas of religion and male dominance. In her notes, Austin explains that she based Snap's world both on the research of evolutionary biologists and paleoanthropologists and on her own speculation of how Homo erectus may have developed art, religion, trade, societal norms, and language. VERDICT Though somewhat reminiscent of Sue Harrison's and Jean M. Auel's books about prehistoric peoples, this debut, which offers a fascinating peek into humanity's earliest days, stands out as well researched and wholly believable.—Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage P.L., AK

Cleveland forensic examiner Theresa MacLean has her share of troubles; she's a single parent, and her fiancé has recently been killed during a bank robbery. When her cousin Frank, a homicide detective, enlists her help in collecting evidence in the death of a former escort, she doesn't expect to become entangled in the investigation. But she can't accept that a recently married woman with a five-month-old baby would take her own life. Clues and evidence elude her, but she can't let go; the personalities of the dead woman and the people surrounding her just don't fit the version of events provided to the police. Theresa's intuition tells her that the woman was murdered, and she intends to do everything she can to prove it. VERDICT In this second novel in a new series (after Takeover), Black weaves a highly entertaining if somewhat improbable tale of drama and suspense. Fans of forensic thrillers will look forward to seeing more of her witty and likable heroine.—Linda Oliver, MLIS, Colorado Springs

Having lost his wife—and himself—on 9/11, Gil Castle finally leaves his high-power job, sells his home, and heads across country with his dog to stay in a small, primitive shack on the Arizona ranch of relatives he hardly knows. Soon after rescuing a Mexican man who wanted only to get to America but got trapped in a nasty drug deal, Gil is forced to consider the moral issues surrounding the border crossing of both drug runners and desperate illegals. What he doesn't know will soon hurt him: a woman who masterminds a drug cartel across the border is planning to wreak vengeance on his family for a past offense. Scrupulous and practiced journalist that he is, Caputo considers the issue of illegal immigration in balanced and thoroughgoing detail. Woven into Gil's story is an intriguing account of his grandfather, a real rough rider of a man who killed a horse thief at 13, fought with the revolutionaries in Mexico's civil war, and represents the complex mix of all that's strong-minded and maybe dangerous in the American spirit. VERDICT Readers of Caputo's Acts of Faith will be hoping for the same measured, masterly storytelling, informed by sociopolitical concerns, and they won't be disappointed. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/09.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

When is a person a hero or just a dedicated family member? Carter (Swim to Me) tackles this question in her latest novel, a moving tale of two ordinary young people sent to America from Europe by their respective families in hopes that they would have a better life than their families can offer. Who could predict that Flora and Simon would not only meet and fall in love but that Simon would become wealthy as America's Puzzle King? Who could predict that the wife of the Puzzle King would dare to go to Hitler's Germany, bribe the American consulate, and sign affidavits of support for hundreds of German Jews? VERDICT Drawing on family legends (no one could invent a story line like this one), Carter deftly paints a panoramic portrait of life during the turbulent 1930s. The pieces of her gripping story fit together so neatly that they cannot easily be torn apart. Highly recommended.—Marika Zemke, Commerce Twp. Comm. Lib., MI

The pettiness and sometimes horror of small-town life are chillingly evoked in this highly imaginative tale, which reads like a cross between a Holocaust memoir (which it is not) and a fable. Brodeck inhabits a remote, imaginary village in central Europe after an unnamed war. One day a stranger, the Anderer, arrives and attracts much attention and, eventually, suspicion. We learn early on that fearful townsmen have murdered him, and Brodeck is ordered by the mayor to write a "report" that exonerates the villagers for their misdeed, in which Brodeck had no part. Brodeck's ruminations, in part on his earlier incarceration in a death camp, are the thread that ties the tale together. After struggling with the report, he ultimately submits a parallel account of his version of the truth. VERDICT The multi-award-winning Claudel (By a Slow River; writer and director, I've Loved You So Long) offers up an engrossing tale of collective guilt and redemption, smoothly translated by Cullen, that should appeal to those concerned with issues of good and evil.—Edward Cone, New York

"Kids, I'm teaching you to tell a story. It's the most important lesson you'll ever learn," says the protagonist of Conroy's first novel in 14 years (since 1995's Beach Music). Switching between the 1960s and the 1980s, the narrative follows a group of friends whose relationship began in Charleston, SC. The narrator is Leopold Bloom King (his mother was a Joyce scholar), a likable but troubled kid who goes from having one best friend, his brother, to having no friends after a tragedy, to having, suddenly, a gang, of which he is perhaps not the leader but certainly the glue. Conroy continues to demonstrate his skill at presenting the beauty and the ugliness of the South, holding both up for inspection and, at times, admiration. He has not lost his touch for writing stories that are impossible to put down; the fast pace and shifting settings grip the reader even as the story occasionally veers toward the unbelievable. VERDICT Filled with the lyrical, funny, poignant language that is Conroy's birthright, this is a work Conroy fans will love. Libraries should buy multiple copies.—Amy Watts, Univ. of Georgia Lib., Athens

Shortly after a man who calls himself David Loogan arrives in Ann Arbor, he gets a job as assistant editor to Tom Kristoll and begins sleeping with Tom's wife, Laura. Then Tom asks him to help bury a body lying in the office of Gray Streets, the mystery magazine they edit. When Tom is found dead six floors below his office window, Det. Elizabeth Waishkey begins to investigate—and so does Loogan. Several other murders occur, all of which seem linked somehow to Gray Streets and to its various authors. Loogan himself becomes a suspect and potential victim but continues investigating while on the run from the police. Dolan has fun contrasting real and fictional detecting, and all the characters are keenly aware of this, too. VERDICT For a debut novelist, Dolan, a freelance editor, is unusually skilled in narrative. His humor shows not only in the fiction-vs.-reality theme but also in the twists and turns of plot and language that keep the characters and the reader guessing—and engrossed. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy twisty and witty crime thrillers. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 3/1/09.]—Roland Person, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale

With her third novel set during the Italian Renaissance (after The Birth of Venus and In the Company of the Courtesan), Dunant continues to captivate. The year is 1570, and the convent of Santa Caterina, in the northern city of Ferrara, is considered the crown jewel of Italian nunneries. In a time when the cost of a daughter's dowry is staggering, many noblemen choose to marry surplus daughters off to the church, a far less expensive option. Not surprisingly, not all the women are willing participants. This is the story of the unlikely friendship forged between two women—Serafina, the angry, rebellious novice forced into convent life after an illicit affair comes to light, and Zuana, the calm, capable head of the dispensary, who cannot forget her painful assimilation 16 years previously. VERDICT Dunant brilliantly depicts the daily rhythms of convent life and offers an intriguing glimpse into 16th-century church politics. A rich tale filled with passion and the enduring power of faith, this novel is highly recommended for historical fiction readers.—Makiia Lucier, Moscow, ID

The "Demon Dog of American Literature" is back, and he's barking. Yeah, Ellroy, that performance artist-cum-author, concludes his "American Underworld" trilogy (following American Tabloid and The Cold Six Thousand) with this traffic accident of a book. It's loud, explosive, and not pretty, but you can't not look. An incident involving a milk truck and a Wells Fargo armored car is the acorn from which springs this mighty, 600-plus-page oak, which offers an encyclopedic and paranoid look at the late 1960s and early 1970s. The cops are indistinguishable from their adversaries, and there are three degrees of separation between L.A.'s back alleys and the Oval Office. The scenes bounce among Los Angeles (of course), Haiti, Chicago, and DC, and a dizzying parade of real-life figures (e.g., Sonny Liston, Giancana, and a drooling J. Edgar Hoover) put in cameo appearances. VERDICT An amalgam of supermarket tabloids and Hollywood Babylon, as edited by William S. Burroughs, and telegraphed in. On the QT, and very hush, hush, this is essential for Ellroy fans. Otherwise, Ellroy will track us down and take appropriate action. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/09.]—Bob Lunn, formerly with Kansas City P.L., MO

In her latest "historical entertainment," Erickson (The Tsarina's Daughter) blends fact with fancy as she unravels the life story and tragic end of Mary, Queen of Scots. As an infant, Mary inherits the Scottish crown; at age 15 she marries Francis, the sickly dauphin of France. When Francis dies, Mary fears treachery at the hands of her mother-in-law, Catherine de Medici, and flees to her homeland, but the largely Protestant Scots are suspicious of her Catholic faith. Tensions rise, and after the mysterious death of Mary's second husband, Lord Darnley, an uprising forces her from the throne. Thus begins her many years of imprisonments, escapes, and schemes—for Mary believes that she, and not her cousin Elizabeth Tudor, is England's true queen. VERDICT Though occasionally uneven, the narrative clips along at a suspenseful pace, and Erickson's depiction of Mary is more engaging than that of her previous female historical characters. The vividly realized relationship between Mary and her Scottish consort, Jamie, is the strongest aspect of the book. Recommended for historical fiction fans who enjoy Philippa Gregory and Jean Plaidy and can't read enough novels about this period.—Jamie Kallio, Thomas Ford Memorial Lib., Western Springs, IL

In his second novel (after Snobs), Oscar-winning screenwriter Fellowes (e.g., Gosford Park) examines the lives of the debutantes and young aristocrats of 1960s England 40 years on. Damian Baxter is a self-made millionaire dying of cancer who for nearly 20 years has had in his possession an anonymous letter indicating that he fathered a child in the early 1970s, right around the time that his group of friends and lovers were breaking up and moving on, often to more unsatisfying lives. Wishing to leave his entire fortune to this child, Baxter asks his one-time friend, the novel's narrator, to visit each of the women who might have written the letter. The narrator's visits and flashbacks to their glory days make up the bulk of the novel. VERDICT While the American woman is a sad caricature, the rest of Fellowes's players more than hold one's attention and sympathy. An interesting reflection on how to cope (or in some cases, how not to cope) with the end of one's era. Recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/09.]—Julie Elliott, Indiana Univ. Lib., South Bend

Intellectually gifted but socially awkward, Portsmouth schoolboy Daniel Rooke routinely isolates himself from his peers to explore the mechanisms of logic, arithmetic, and Greek. When a mentor recognizes his potential and introduces him to the study of astronomy, Rooke believes that he has found his place and purpose in life. He volunteers for the marines and signs on as an astronomer with the First Fleet sailing to New South Wales in 1788. After his astronomical studies falter in Australia, Rooke becomes friendly with a group of Aboriginals, attempting to learn and transcribe their language. The bond he forms with a girl named Tagaran—who reminds him of his younger sister—takes Rooke by surprise and leads to an unexpected turning point in his life. VERDICT Rooke is a genuine, sensitive protagonist, and this new novel offers a more intimate and optimistic perspective of Australian history than Grenville's award-winning epic, The Secret River. Grenville displays a graceful touch with the characters and the history that so clearly move her, and her writing sparkles with life. Highly recommended for readers of literary fiction. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/09.]—Kelsy Peterson, Johnson County Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS

After the Civil War, Confederate general John Bell Hood retired to New Orleans, where he became a businessman, married Creole belle Anna Marie Hennen, and fathered 11 children. This second novel from Hicks (The Widow of the South) opens in 1879 as Hood lies dying of yellow fever. His deathbed wish is to see his "private" memoir published in lieu of his earlier detailed accounting of the war. Hood enlists the aid of Eli Griffin, a young Tennessean who had come to New Orleans in 1875 to kill the man who led the South's defeat at the Battle of Franklin and later became enmeshed in the lives of the Hoods and the tragic events surrounding longtime friends of Anna Marie's and a former subordinate of the general's. VERDICT Suffused with racial tension, brutality, sweltering heat, and sickness, this is the tale of a warrior knowing "nothing about death, only killing" who finally seeks love and a reconciliation with God. Readers must see past the bugs and the stench of New Orleans to unravel the puzzle of these picaresque characters. Recommended for Civil War buffs and those who appreciate precise, evocative writing. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/09.]—Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal

Twelve travelers and three guides set off on a rafting trip down the Colorado River in this adventure from the author of The Abortionist's Daughter. Each comes to the trip expecting a life-altering experience, but none is prepared for the events as they unfold, least of all JT Maroney, their veteran guide. It is JT's 125th trip down the river, and he thinks he's seen it all; but a dog, a couple in their seventies, two dysfunctional marriages, and an overweight teenager provide him with challenges that have nothing to do with white-water rafting. Each traveler leaves the trip with much more than he or she expected. VERDICT The reader is swept along with the characters through the strikingly beautiful canyon and the potentially deadly river. Great scenic description and fully believable characters make this adventure story well worth the ride. A good pick as a summer read. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/09.]—Susan Clifford Braun, Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA

Penn Cage (Quiet Game, Turning Angel), a former prosecuting attorney-turned-novelist, is now mayor of Natchez, MS, his hometown. But all is not well, for the promises he made as a candidate seem all but impossible to achieve as a working mayor. When one of his childhood friends is murdered a day after contacting him with information concerning dog fighting, prostitution, drugs, and money laundering presided over by the manager of a Natchez gambling casino, Cage takes on an investigation that makes him the target of organized crime, endangers the lives of his family and closest friends, and draws the wrath of the Justice Department and Homeland Security. VERDICT Iles's latest provides a thrill a minute, as Cage calls in long-owed favors to protect his family while employing every strategy in his command against a savvy, conscienceless killer. The author also manages to advance the love between Cage and Caitlin Masters, which, readers will remember, began in Turning Angel, and to present a striking panoramic view of his hometown. Highly recommended for thriller fans looking for a white-knuckled beach read.—Thomas L. Kilpatrick, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale

When prospective curate Arthur Nicholls first calls at the Rev. Patrick Brontë's Haworth parsonage, he mistakes Brontë's daughter Charlotte for a servant; then, after having been enthusiastically hired by Charlotte's father, he seals his fate when she overhears him referring to her as "an ugly old maid." Raised to earn her own living and proud of her prickly independence, Charlotte scorns the smugness and lack of sympathy among the men surrounding her, but Nicholls's comment rankles, especially since her sisters and the villagers of Haworth don't concur with her decidedly poor opinion of Nicholls. Doing her best to ignore him, she buries herself in writing projects with her sisters as they stalwartly cope with their aging father's blindness, their brother's deteriorating condition, and, eventually, their own ill health. VERDICT James's semifictionalized account of Charlotte Brontë starts off more slowly than her The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, but she is just as faithful to the writer's language, time, and place. This is bound to fascinate admirers of the doomed Brontës and those who enjoyed Denise Giardino's recent Emily's Ghost.—Cynthia Johnson, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, MA

In this latest work from Limón (emerita, Loyola Marymount Univ.; Song of the Hummingbird), a small, disparate group of would-be immigrants hires coyote Leonarda Cerda to guide them from a Sonora border town across the desert into Arizona. The result is a sort of Canterbury Tales without the humor and buoyancy: initially, each traveler is alone in his or her own private world, but gradually, as they all tell their life stories, they come together in sorrow, tragedy, and impending death. While it is clear to the reader (and to the travelers) that few if any will survive the border crossing, the reader is still caught up in the individual stories and entertains a small vestige of hope for some sort of future. VERDICT The stories here give faces to the news accounts we all read or watch daily from a distance. Thoughtful reading for anyone who wants socially engaged fiction.—Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, OR

The fine line separating human from beast is explored in this conventional, if oddly conceived, love story. The novel centers on Lily and Duncan, unhappily partnered Manhattan yuppies committed to spending at least part of their summer in upstate Osterhagen. Their first trip is marred by a freak accident caused by a boar bolting into their moving car. The wounded beast's cry—indicative of tremendous suffering—prompts Lily to put it out of its misery with one swing of a tire iron. Shortly thereafter, the pair learns that the boar was the town mascot; worse, local residents are determined to bring the killer[s] to justice. It sounds zany, but it's not. Instead, the novel explores small-town secrets, the gender conflicts undergirding Lily and Duncan's unraveling relationship, and what it means to be loyal, principled, and honest. VERDICT While this material has been mined before and is reminiscent of Lauren Groff's superior The Monsters of Templeton, the book will appeal to urban hipsters who favor happy endings and romantics who insist on believing that love really does conquer all.—Eleanor J. Bader, Brooklyn, NY

Veronica Von Holten is about to learn just how badly life can spiral out of control. She's already stressed by the demands of being a premed major when a series of bad decisions and her parents' acrimonious divorce leave her dazed and confused. Within a few weeks, she finds herself sheltering her now homeless mother and aging dog Bowser in her dorm room, crashing a borrowed car in a snow storm, hosting a party that trashes an apartment, and then being stalked by the apartment's owner. Meanwhile, her mother is following a parallel trajectory when unexpected expenses leave her struggling to survive and maintain some dignity. After reluctantly joining forces, the two find unorthodox ways to sort out their lives and find joy again. VERDICT The third time proves a charm for the author of The Center of Everything and The Rest of Her Life. Veronica's story is told with a clarity and humor that make both her descent and her recovery believable. Recommended for readers who enjoy coming-of-age novels and intelligent chick lit.—Jan Blodgett, Davidson Coll., NC

Van and Linny Luong enact the stereotypical roles of studious, straight-A sister and pretty, popular slacker. The daughters of Vietnamese refugees living in Michigan, the women drift apart as Van pursues a law career and marries a picture-perfect Chinese American classmate. Linny drops out of college, ending up in Chicago working for a food-preparation company. When their father announces that he has finally gained U.S. citizenship, they join forces to give him a party and smooth his participation on a reality TV show where he will demonstrate his inventions, the "Luong Arm," the "Luong Eye," and the "Luong Wall"—objects that help short people, like his daughters, cope in a world of much taller individuals. As the narrative cuts back and forth between Van and Linny, examining their failed relationships with each other and their male partners, this lovely first novel becomes much more—a depiction of immigrant culture in which everyone is a short person trying to measure up to the United States. VERDICT Fans of Nguyen's acclaimed memoir, Stealing Buddha's Dinner, will want to read her fiction debut. This should also appeal to readers of Asian American fiction. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/09.]—Andrea Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS

Patterson turns from political hot potatoes like the Arab-Israeli conflict (Exile) and oil in Africa (Eclipse) to write this intriguing novel of psychological suspense. Character development is key here; we meet Mark Darrow, a young football player who receives a scholarship to Caldwell, a local private college; his best friend, Steve Tillman, who is in prison for a murder he may not have committed; and Lionel Farr, the professor who becomes Darrow's mentor and closest friend. Darrow leaves Caldwell for law school and fame as a defense attorney until Farr asks him to return as the college's president. The current president is under investigation for embezzlement, and someone popular enough and persuasive enough is needed to keep the alumni money flowing in. For Darrow, going home again means reexamining old friend Steve's conviction and investigating the embezzlement, making some people very uncomfortable. Then another murder occurs, and the suspense intensifies until the shocking conclusion of this tightly plotted story. VERDICT Sure to please fans of Raymond Chandler, Michael Connelly, and James Lee Burke. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/09.]—Stacy Alesi, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., Boca Raton, FL

Piñon (The Republic of Dreams) here retells One Thousand and One Nights from Scheherezade's point of view. First isolated in her father's palace, then in that of the Caliph, Scheherezade surrounds herself with people who have access to the outside world. A magical storyteller from childhood, she weaves what she's heard of 13th-century Baghdad with travelers' tales from around the world to create her own enchanted stories. We see Scheherezade as a courageous young woman who, with her sister and the slave Jasmine, uses creativity against a very real threat of impending death. Veils, clothes, and gossip all feed the nightly labyrinthine tales amid a background of intrigue, lust, and power. VERDICT This is more than a story, of course; it's as much a meditation on feminism, eroticism, and the art of narrative. Most appealing to readers looking not for a quick and entertaining read but a novel of ideas. —Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, Or

RITA Award winner Rose is back with another blockbuster romantic suspense novel in which she considers what happens when the real world and the virtual world violently collide. Plucky Eve Wilson, one of Rose's favorite victims (see Don't Tell and Nothing To Fear) has already been kidnapped twice, stabbed, and almost killed multiple times. It might be hard for some authors to devise new calamities, but Rose does a wonderful job of making Eve's current predicament an example of her growth and recovery since we last saw her. VERDICT It is not necessary to read the previous novels to enjoy this one, and fans of Rose's serial killer stories will be thrilled that Rose gives them all the tension; grisly, tortured minds; complex, interlocking plotlines; and nonstop action that are hallmarks of all her books. Highly recommended for all adult readers not offended by violence or some explicit sexual content. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/09.]—Crystal Renfro, Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta

This is the story of the worst mother-in-law ever. A young woman from a bizarrely unhappy home finally thinks she will find freedom in marriage to the young man of her dreams, but it turns out that his family is even more bizarrely unhappy, and his mother is the most vicious harpy imaginable. Over the years, the two women engage in an epic battle over everything from food to family and nearly destroy all they hold dear in the process. All of this happens in an unnamed magical land (apparently inspired by the author's native Indonesia), where the bees are spies and the mist is sentient. Despite the feeling of "once upon a time," the characters have things like kitchen appliances and photographs, but women are still treated (and behave) like children. The story is almost operatic in scope—the only motivations are jealousy, greed, and thwarted love, and everyone has the emotional maturity of a 13-year-old. VERDICT This debut reads like a fairy tale for adults but somehow lacks the humanity of similar magical realist tales (e.g., Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate and Isabelle Allende's The House of the Spirits). Optional.—Jenne Bergstrom, San Diego Cty. Lib.

In her latest thriller, New York Times best-selling author Slaughter brings together protagonists from her two series. Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents Will Trent and Faith Mitchell (introduced in Fractured) collide with pediatrician and part-time coroner Sara Linton (last seen in Faithless) when a torture victim appears in Linton's emergency room. Probing into the victim's personal life, the doctor and law enforcements agents must race time, battle bureaucracy, uncover myriad secrets, and enter the sadistic mind of a skilled perpetrator to solve the case. The reader will love revisiting familiar characters, even as the author pushes them to new limits. VERDICT This is a fast-paced read with a complex plot that contains enough twists to keep even the most veteran mystery reader guessing the identity of the culprit until the very end. Highly recommended as a high-octane summer read. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 3/1/09; originally titled Genesis.—Ed.]—Colleen Harris, North Carolina State Univ. Lib., Raleigh

Sohn is the ultimate New York City girl; the author of Run Catch Kiss, she also has penned Carrie Bradshaw-esque columns for New York magazine and a companion guide to Sex and the City: The Movie. In her new novel, Sohn waxes poetic about Brooklyn's gentrified Prospect Park and its yuppie residents. From an Oscar-winning actress hitting a serious slump to a pudgy, overprotective mom, Park Slope wives with young children meet up in parks, coffee shops, and the local food co-op to gossip about real estate, the actress's latest troubles, and who is/wants to be/is trying to be sleeping with whom. Lizzie, a "hasbian" (once a lesbian and now married to a black musician) meets fellow mom Rebecca, and their instant mommy friendship blossoms into something more. But Rebecca's obsession with Stuart, a local celebrity crush, gets in the way. We learn tons of juicy secrets about the characters, as Sohn weaves each individual story together beautifully. And there's celebrity name-dropping on almost every page. Verdict Sure to appeal to fans of sophisticated chick and mommy lit, this is just too much fun, and the pages turn like the wind. Bring on a sequel! [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/09.]—Beth Gibbs, Davidson, NC

Dr. Steven J. Fisher of the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Oxford heads a promising research project dealing with female sexual dysfunction. He is just weeks away from announcing a miracle drug at a major conference of neurobiologists when Annie, an anorgasmic Ph.D. candidate, asks to take part in the study. Her perplexing responses to stimulation will throw a wrench in the study and launch Fisher on a collision course with love. Written as a scientific paper, complete with numbered sections, footnotes, and illustrations, alternating with occasional blogs from Annie, this sparkling romantic comedy (the term in this context seems almost perversely illogical) contains some of the most original courting scenes since Leander swam the Hellespont for Hero and the funniest description of an orgasm since the classic Meg Ryan scene in When Harry Met Sally. Verdict Strong—a pseudonymous Anthony Capella (The Various Flavors of Coffee)—offers a delightful takeoff on the sort of clinical study that combines Schrödinger's cat, Gödel's undecidability theorem, fuzzy logic, quantum incompleteness physics, and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle to create a Unified Theory of Bafflement. Very funny and highly recommended, even for science-averse romantics.—Ron Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson

Taylor (The Amnesiac) turns the postapocalyptic genre on its head with this absorbing story of a modern-day Noah. A father and his three children, 13-year-old Alice, eight-year-old Finn, and six-year-old Daisy, live in an ark set down on an idyllic mountain after a world-destroying flood. With a few animals and three books—some fables, the Bible, and Shakespeare's collected works—they live simply, hunting, farming, and celebrating the passing lunar cycles. But all's not well: Pa won't answer Alice's and Finn's persistent questions, and pressure on the family is brought to a head by the arrival of a young man from the world that no longer exists. If the alternating narratives—Pa's wine-stoked mix of the holy and the profane, Finn's spelling-garbled, unschooled boy's voice, and Alice's blend of overwrought teen- and florid Shakespeare-speak—are sometimes rendered in a way that is a touch over the top, they throw off allusions like sparks from a barreling locomotive as this compact but powerful novel races toward an ominous conclusion. VERDICT With the forthcoming October release of the film version of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic The Road, there's bound to be reader interest in this title.—Neil Hollands, Williamsburg Regional Lib., VA

No one familiar with Walls's affecting memoir, The Glass Castle, will be surprised by her subtitle here: Walls is a careful observer who can give true-life stories the rush and immediacy of the best fiction. Here she novelizes the life of her grandmother, giving herself just the latitude she needs to create a great story. Lily Casey Smith is one astonishing woman, tough enough to trot her pony across several hundred miles of desert to her first job when she's only a teenager. After a brief stint in Chicago and marriage to a flim-flam man, she's back in the West, teaching again and eventually remarrying, helping her fine new husband at the gas station, raising her children, and running hootch if she must to make ends meet during the Depression. Her story is at once simple and utterly remarkable, for this is one remarkable woman—a half-broke horse herself who's clearly passed on her best traits to her granddaughter. VERDICT Told in a natural, offhand voice that is utterly enthralling, this is essential reading for anyone who loves good fiction—or any work about the American West. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/09.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal

After Ya-Yas in Bloom, Wells keeps her beloved Louisiana locale but wisely moves on to new characters. Set in tiny La Luna, this novel follows Calla Lily from girlhood through the next 25 years (to 1986). Her papa teaches music, her mama, M'Dear, is a hairdresser; together they run a dance studio. Calla Lily inherits M'Dear's gifts for creating beauty and solace through her hands. Seeking comfort after some painful events, Calla Lily makes a new life as a young adult in New Orleans. VERDICT Wells's latest novel lacks the spunk and spark of her early books, but this more mellow work may reflect the author's personal struggles with serious health issues over the last few years. While Wells's fan base will seek another nostalgic visit to the Deep South of the past, complete with its prejudices, younger women may be attracted to Calla Lilly and her friends. And all readers will embrace the themes of second chances, "take the best and leave the rest," and M'Dear's "Rules of Life."—Rebecca Kelm, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights

As he proved with Seven Lies, Lasdun is an elegant and incisive student of the human mind—an author who can register exactly when, for a character, "it's beginning to hurt." This remarkable collection shows what happens when we break through the gauze of everydayness and existential panic hits. In "An Anxious Man," for instance, a man at his beach house sweats out the stock market, then is suddenly terrified because the new next-door neighbors with whom his daughter has spent the night seem suddenly to have vanished. In "The Natural Order," two men—one assured and charismatic and the other reserved—hike together through Greece; it's the charming loudmouth who finally loses his cool. In "Annals of the Honorary Secretary," a believably surreal tale, a society that meets regularly to display special talents is upended by a young woman with the telepathic ability to make members see truly ugly and frightening things. "Oh, Death" features a backwoods guy who lives and dies with only the narrator to wonder what his life really meant. VERDICT Affecting, yes; sentimental, no. Hard-edged truths about our predicament poke through this work, which is highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/09.]—Barbara Hoffert, Library Journal