All Features

NonfictionFictionLiterature

Moby-Dick: One masterpiece, two muses

Feature by Joelle Herr

This summer marks the 165th anniversary of the publication of Moby-Dick. Two fascinating new books—one a historical novel, the other nonfiction—each identify a different person as the inspiration behind Herman Melville’s iconic novel.

In his debut, The Whale: A Love Story, former journalist Mark Beauregard supposes what many have speculated: that the brief but intense friendship between Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne went beyond camaraderie. 

The novel opens on August 5, 1850, with Melville and Hawthorne meeting for the first time while on an excursion with mutual friends in the Berkshires. Hawthorne is fresh off the success of The Scarlet Letter and living in Lenox, Massachusetts, while Melville is visiting his cousin Robert in nearby Pittsfield. Melville’s career is waning, and he is in a bit of a rut working on a novel about the whaling industry.

Though both are married, Melville instantly falls for the handsome, congenial Hawthorne. Shortly afterward, Melville moves his family to a modest farm six miles from Lenox. Hawthorne keeps Melville at arm’s length to resist his attraction to the younger writer, and so Melville funnels his yearning into his work. In effect, Beauregard presents Hawthorne as Melville’s own white whale, the object of his obsession.

Beauregard consulted biographies, journals and letters in crafting his clever and engaging, if unconfirmed, account. While the physical aspect of the relationship is limited to a couple of charged caresses and a drink-fueled kiss, the emotional toll of the affair—which ends when Hawthorne moves away from Lenox in 1852—is high, particularly for Melville. 

In Melville in Love, Michael Shelden—a Pulitzer Prize finalist for Orwell: The Authorized Biography—presents another candidate for Melville’s muse, one whose importance has been entirely overlooked for the past 165 years. 

Among the guests at cousin Robert Melville’s house in Pittsfield during the summer of 1850 were the Morewoods of New York City. Sarah Morewood was the “bookish and beautiful, intelligent and inquisitive, creative and compassionate” wife of a wealthy merchant. That summer, the vivacious Sarah organized picnics, hikes and other jaunts, which Melville enthusiastically joined. The attraction between Sarah and the dashing writer was immediate and mutual, and Shelden asserts that Melville moved his family to Pittsfield to be close not to Hawthorne, but to Sarah, who was in the process of purchasing Robert’s estate. 

Shelden argues that the ensuing affair energized Melville, and the passion that Sarah stirred in him flowed through his pen onto the pages of Moby-Dick. Unlike Hawthorne and Melville in The Whale, Shelden claims that Sarah and Melville consummated their relationship, during an overnight trek to the summit of Mount Greylock.

While there is no definitive proof of the affair, Shelden offers compelling evidence supporting his theory, including clues in Melville’s works. Melville in Love is a beautifully written, captivating story that may also be one of the most surprising literary revelations of our time. 

 

This article was originally published in the June 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

This summer marks the 165th anniversary of the publication of Moby-Dick. Two fascinating new books—one a historical novel, the other nonfiction—each identify a different person as the inspiration behind Herman Melville’s iconic novel.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Beach reading for the younger crowd

Feature by Michael Sims

Why should adults be the only ones with beach books to entertain them when they aren't cavorting in the surf? This summer the kids, too, have plenty of books to choose from. Four examples demonstrate the feast available, beginning with books for toddlers and preschoolers and working our way up to preteen readers.

Younger children will appreciate the sand and surf more if they are prepared for it with a charming picture book by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Barbara Lavallee, All You Need for a Beach. What do you need for a beach? Lively illustrations portray young children acting out the process of adding one element at a time to the beach experience sand, sunlight, umbrella, seagulls and the ocean itself. The story builds well to prove that the book's reader is also an essential part of the perfect beach.

Preschoolers and early graders will enjoy a gorgeous book, My Life with the Wave, based on a story by the Mexican Nobelist Octavio Paz. The lively translation and adaptation for children is by Catherine Cowan, and the luscious illustrations are by Mark Buehner. This is a lyrical, highly imaginative story. One day a boy is playing in the surf. As he departs, one of the waves escapes the ocean and accompanies him. On the train ride home he hides her in the water cooler. At his house she creates as much delight and trouble as the Cat in the Hat. Pulled by moon and sun, the wave is moody. The boy brings her fish, but he becomes jealous of how long she plays with them. As winter approaches, the wave begins to have nightmares. A double-page panoply of these demons will give children a delicious shiver, but a closer look will reveal that the funnel cloud wears spectacles and the sea serpent has a red bow on its tentacle. The story takes a sad turn, but the ending is clever and upbeat.

Another new book reminds us that at any age nonfiction can be as compelling as fiction. Young readers will enjoy One Small Place by the Sea, by Barbara Brenner and illustrated by Tom Leonard. This is the story of the teeming life of a tidepool, "no bigger than a bathtub," among weedy rocks at the sea's edge. "Tides make it and unmake it twice a day." The book begins with a child standing beside the pool and looking at what is visible to the naked eye. Slowly the text and illustrations help us sort out the various plants and animals. Gradually we go beneath the surface and see the multitude of turban snails, blue mussels, hermit crabs, anemones and other wonders. The text is crisp and vivid, the illustrations bright and detailed. The child scoops water into a jar and the illustrations zoom in and magnify its denizens. Then we look more closely at each creature, at the cycles of life and death repeating daily in this miniature ecosystem, this exquisite microcosm.

Friends beneath the waves

Proving that there is a smart beach book for children of every age, Candlewick Press has published the lively and suspenseful The Tail of Emily Windsnap, by Liz Kessler. This first novel, by an English journalist, is already becoming something of an international sensation, and is being published in at least 10 countries. The book begins with Emily Windsnap, our narrator and heroine, asking an irresistible question: "Can you keep a secret?" We aren't revealing plot twists by telling you, because the book jacket does so: Emily is a mermaid. She doesn't know this tidbit about her family legacy when the book opens, but she finds out soon in a compelling scene that draws the reader into the story.

Emily has a convincingly tangled life even without her fishy tendencies. Her father abandoned the family and her mother has long hidden away traumatic memories that will prove crucial to her family's future. Soon Emily is sneaking away in the night to cavort far beneath the waves with newfound marine friends. Naturally the two stories come together in a satisfying ending.

Why should adults be the only ones with beach books to entertain them when they aren't cavorting in the surf? This summer the kids, too, have plenty of books to choose from. Four examples demonstrate the feast available, beginning with books for toddlers and preschoolers and working our way up to preteen readers.

Dive into a summer of suspense

Feature by G. Robert Frazier

Readers looking for a great escape from the everyday routine during their vacation will find it in five of the most offbeat thrillers to hit bookshelves this summer. Whether it’s an alternate history in which slavery never ended or a television reality show turned survivor tale, these books will keep readers turning the pages on the plane or on the beach.

MORE THAN A GAME
In her debut novel, The Last One, Alexandra Oliva delivers a pulse-pounding psychological tale of survival. The book starts innocently enough as the 12 contestants on a television reality show are pitted against each other in a game of endurance. The story follows the group through a series of physical challenges and tests of fortitude, with the winners advancing to compete on another night and the losers sent packing. But when a mysterious illness begins taking its toll, things take a dramatic turn. The competitors are all but cut off from the real world and even lose contact with their TV hosts and camera people, leaving them to fend for themselves. At first blush, main protagonist Zoo believes it’s all part of the game, but the deeper she treks into an increasingly apocalyptic landscape, the more desperate and real her situation becomes. The question she must inevitably ask is, how far is she willing to go before her emotional, physical and mental capacity give in to the truth? Oliva masterfully manipulates her characters and the setting, creating a mash-up of popular TV genres: “Survivor” meets “The Walking Dead.”

FORGET-ME-NOT
Wendy Walker continues the theme of psychological suspense with her latest novel, All Is Not Forgotten. The thriller, which has already been optioned by Reese Witherspoon for an upcoming Warner Bros. movie, poses a question: What if you could take a drug that would make you forget about a traumatic experience? The experimental drug is perfectly suited to military members suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, but what if it’s given to someone who is the victim of a violent rape? That’s exactly what happens to teenager Jenny Kramer. But while the drug is able to erase the experience of her rape from Jenny’s memory, the physical and emotional scars remain. Helping Jenny come to grips with the trauma is Dr. Alan Forrester, a psychiatrist who acts as the narrator of this harrowing story. But as Forrester delves deeper into the events of that awful night, and the search for the perpetrator intensifies, Forrester’s own life is rocked by the possibility that his son may have committed the foul deed. The twists and turns of the story all lead up to a read you will not soon forget.

ALT-WORLD RENEGADE
With a timely novel focusing on race and equality, Ben H. Winters turns the issue of slavery on its head in Underground Airlines. In this astonishing alternate history, slavery in America did not end at the climax of the Civil War, but instead has continued to the present day in four states in the Deep South. What’s more, Winters’ main character, Victor, is a free black man whose job is to return escaped slaves to their rightful owners. Like the famed Underground Railroad, slaves vying for freedom make their way across state lines via the Underground Airlines, a system of package trucks, over-the-road haulers and stolen tractor-trailers. Victor’s mission is to infiltrate the system, discover the whereabouts of each escapee and report them to his bosses, who in turn swoop in to apprehend the runaway slave. Of course, things aren’t always what they seem, and Victor’s bizarre allegiance to his employer comes into question when one of his cases turns out to be an insider working to upend the slave empire from within. With Victor’s routine shattered, he’s forced to question everything and determine what it is he stands for, regardless of the consequences. Winters handles the controversial topic with sensitivity, yet isn’t afraid to ask some bold questions along the way.

ONLY THE LONELY
Iain Reid’s debut novel, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, is a tightly crafted, taut thriller that readers can easily finish in a single sitting—perhaps on a lounge chair by the pool. The novel follows a pair of lovers as they embark on a long road trip to meet the parents of the boyfriend, Jake. Things start innocently enough as the narrator recounts how she met Jake, how she was drawn to him and him to her, despite their unremarkable features. But lurking behind everything, our narrator feels a sense of dread and malice altogether unexplainable. Part of it harkens back to a mysterious stranger she once saw looking in her window and to an anonymous caller’s unnerving phone messages. When Jake decides to take a detour, and our narrator is ultimately left abandoned at a deserted high school, the suspense and danger build. Reid’s straightforward voice firmly places the reader in the head of “the girlfriend” as she tries to cope with the psychological torment facing her in this dark and compelling novel.

HOW HE DIED
At first take, Everything I Don’t Remember by Jonas Hassen Khemiri may seem like a daunting read. The novel swiftly hops from one narrator to another, from one time frame to the next, as it follows a decidedly unconventional story structure. But once readers dive in and allow themselves to become fully immersed in the narratives, they’ll be in for one of the most engrossing novels of the summer. A winner of the August Prize, Sweden’s most prestigious literary honor, the novel recounts the tragic life of a man named Samuel through interviews and conversations with the people around him, all leading up to a fatal car crash. At the root of the novel, however, is a complex puzzle of whether Samuel’s death was the result of a tragic accident, a planned suicide or murder. Piecing together the answers is an unnamed narrator who must come to grips with his own interpretation of himself and those around him. Khemiri’s stylistic approach is sure to keep readers of Everything I Don’t Remember enthralled every step of the way.

 

This article was originally published in the July 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

It’s Private Eye July at BookPage! All month long, we’re celebrating the sinister side of fiction with the year’s best mysteries and thrillers. Look for the Private Eye July magnifying glass for a daily dose of murder, espionage and all those creepy neighbors with even creepier secrets.

Readers looking for a great escape from the everyday routine during their vacation will find it in five of the most offbeat thrillers to hit bookshelves this summer. Whether it’s an alternate history in which slavery never ended or a television reality show turned survivor tale, these books will keep readers turning the pages on the plane or on the beach.
Fiction

Till disaster do us part

Feature by Amy Scribner

Marriage is a challenge under the best of circumstances—devoting your life to one person for all of eternity, through better or worse, richer or poorer, driving through Midwestern storms and facing your husband’s mistress in a foreign country.

OK, those last two examples aren’t found in most wedding vows. But they are found in two new books that examine the darker corners of marriage. Call it the domestic suspense genre.

In Siracusa, the incomparable Delia Ephron introduces us to couples Michael and Lizzie and Finn and Taylor. The foursome is traveling to Italy together, along with Finn and Taylor’s precocious daughter, Snow. These people, it must be said, have absolutely no business traveling together. 

Michael, a semi-famous playwright who has struggled to recapture the magic of his early professional success, has been cheating on Lizzie with a waitress. Finn and Taylor barely speak other than to argue about Snow, an impressionable preteen who idolizes Michael. Finn and Lizzie, who used to date, still have an undeniable spark. Meanwhile, Michael tries to hide the fact that the woman he’s sleeping with has unexpectedly turned up at their hotel in the rundown Sicilian town of Siracusa.

Add a whole lot of Italian wine to the inevitable illicit sex and bitter secrets, and a recipe for the perfect vacation this is not. When Snow goes missing, the families reach their boiling point, and harsh, irreversible truths emerge. This is a thrilling, perfectly paced and deeply satisfying read by a masterful writer.

Listen to Me is a much quieter—but no less impactful—book by the acclaimed author of Reunion and The Fates Will Find Their Way, Hannah Pittard. Laced with dreadful anticipation, Listen to Me is a spot-on depiction of the creep factor of road trips, with their desolate rest stops and weird encounters with strangers. 

Mark and Maggie are driving from their Chicago home to his parents’ Virginia farm. Maggie was recently attacked on the street near their home, the butt of a gun to the back of her head leaving her unconscious and with lingering psychological trauma. She finds herself withdrawn from her life as a wife and veterinarian, reading the news online, compulsively seeking the worst in her fellow humans. Mark struggles to be patient with Maggie’s recovery, and to resist the furtive email come-ons from his lovely teaching assistant who seems so, well, normal in comparison to his damaged wife. 

The road trip is meant to help them reconnect. They don’t realize when they hit the road that they’re driving straight into a powerful storm slicing its way through the Midwest. When the couple hits a total blackout in West Virginia, they hunker down for the night in a remote hotel. Mark takes their dog out for a pre-dawn walk, and a parking lot confrontation turns ugly, forcing Maggie to reckon with her own deep-seated fears.

As Pittard writes, evil—sometimes anonymous, sometimes known—not only exists, it thrives. Both books are gorgeously written sketches of marriages gone sour, and reminders that sometimes the scariest bogeymen are the ones in our own minds.

 

This article was originally published in the July 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

It’s Private Eye July at BookPage! All month long, we’re celebrating the sinister side of fiction with the year’s best mysteries and thrillers. Look for the Private Eye July magnifying glass for a daily dose of murder, espionage and all those creepy neighbors with even creepier secrets.

Marriage is a challenge under the best of circumstances—devoting your life to one person for all of eternity, through better or worse, richer or poorer, driving through Midwestern storms and facing your husband’s mistress in a foreign country.
MysteryCozy Mystery

Quirks and crimes

Feature by Barbara Clark

Literary references and messages from the stars add wit and wisdom to three cozy mystery debuts, wherein leading ladies go toe-to-toe with the odd, the cultish and the rapacious.

TO THE COAST
Katherine Bolger Hyde puts a new spin on classic crime with Arsenic with Austen, the first in a new series that mixes old-fashioned romance and danger with a dose of very contemporary greed. Emily Cavanaugh’s aunt has left her a fortune, which includes much of the land in Stony Beach, Oregon. When Emily returns to the quiet coastal town where she spent many childhood summers, she finds the villagers divided by their ideas for the town’s future. The boorish mayor, a greedy real estate developer and Emily’s sort-of cousin try to convince her to develop the town with a luxury resort and fancy boutiques. Soon a murder hits close to Emily’s doorstep, and along with Luke, her former childhood love, she sets out to discover the killer’s identity, even calling into question whether Aunt Beatrice may have been “helped” into her grave. Puzzler fans and literary junkies alike will enjoy the fun as passages from Jane Austen’s novels bolster and embellish Emily’s investigations.

WHAT THE STARS SAY
In Connie di Marco’s The Madness of Mercury, astrologer Julia Bonatti knows that Mercury retrograde is a planetary aspect with plenty of dangers. As author of the local newspaper’s horoscope column, Julia has been targeted as a witch by cult leader Reverend Roy and his Prophet’s Tabernacle, who are not averse to threats or vandalism. To make it worse, someone has passed the word to law enforcement to lay off the so-called prophet’s case. Julia seeks safety by moving in with her friend Dorothy and helping to care for Dorothy’s elderly aunts, but trouble mounts when Aunt Eunice runs off to join up with the volatile Reverend. Danger figures in the stars for Julia, along with mixed astrological energies, some wolves in sheep’s clothing and an amiable stranger with a down-under accent.

LIBRARY CRIMES
In Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli’s series debut, A Most Curious Murder, characters and scenes from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland take on a zany, modern-day aspect. In the small, peaceful town of Bear Falls, Michigan, the Little Library—its only library—is vandalized and destroyed. The demise of the small structure, lovingly set in place by Jenny Weston’s mother, causes dismay among the townsfolk, and Jenny turns sleuth to discover the perpetrator. She’s aided, like it or not, by her next-door neighbor Zoe, a little person with a big penchant for quoting children’s literature. Zoe becomes a person of interest when a murder takes place in her garden—of the very person suspected of vandalizing the library. Lewis Carroll is practically another character in this offbeat, talky tale. There’s even a touch of romance—for Jenny, he’s the “kind of friend a woman needed at times like these.”

 

This article was originally published in the July 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

It’s Private Eye July at BookPage! All month long, we’re celebrating the sinister side of fiction with the year’s best mysteries and thrillers. Look for the Private Eye July magnifying glass for a daily dose of murder, espionage and all those creepy neighbors with even creepier secrets.

Literary references and messages from the stars add wit and wisdom to three cozy mystery debuts, wherein leading ladies go toe-to-toe with the odd, the cultish and the rapacious.
Fiction

Novel takes on democracy

Feature by Michael Magras

Whatever one may think of politics, one has to concede that elections provide juicy material for works of fiction. Two new novels offer very different portraits of modern politics, yet share common traits, including an insider’s view of the political process and sacrifices required in the quest for power.

The feistier of the two novels is The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear, by Stuart Stevens, a political consultant who worked on Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign. The Dow has plummeted, and the government has divided Google into separate companies. When the incumbent Republican president chooses not to seek re-election, two candidates vie to replace him: Hilda Smith, the sitting vice-president, and Armstrong George, the fire-breathing Colorado governor who—sound familiar?—wants to build a large security fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The narrator is J.D. Callahan, Smith’s campaign manager, who hopes a Smith victory will help him become a pundit with his own TV show. First, however, he has to get through the GOP convention, which, coincidentally, is in Callahan’s native New Orleans. His job is complicated, however, by his two half-brothers: one a former felon who wants financial help for his run for public office, and the other a neo-Nazi who owns a strip club and may be responsible for bombs that have imperiled the convention. The humor may be too broad for some readers, but this funny, fast-paced novel offers a perspective that only a seasoned campaign strategist like Stevens could provide.

Jennifer Close’s latest, The Hopefuls, set during the first six years of the Obama administration, is a more somber affair. Beth, our narrator, moves from her beloved New York to D.C. so her husband, Matt, can pursue his dream of entering politics. (Close moved to D.C. with her own husband, who also worked on the Obama campaign.)

Shortly after their arrival, Matt and Beth meet Jimmy Dillon, who works in the White House travel office, and his wife, Ashleigh, a Texas gal who tells Beth minutes after meeting her, “I can just tell we’re going to be best friends.”

The couples grow close, but Matt soon becomes jealous of Jimmy’s more exciting job, with duties that include flying to Hawaii to perform advance work for the Obamas’ vacation and playing golf with the President. After Obama’s re-election, Jimmy moves to Texas with Ashleigh to run for railroad commissioner and asks Matt to manage his campaign. But the campaign puts a strain on both marriages, especially when Jimmy starts spending time alone with Beth. 

Unlike Stevens’ book, The Hopefuls focuses on a retail form of politics: going door-to-door, attending church picnics, canvassing for votes. Yet both novels entertain with keenly observed inner-circle perspectives and shrewd insight into how personal politics can become.

 

This article was originally published in the July 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Whatever one may think of politics, one has to concede that elections provide juicy material for works of fiction. Two new novels offer very different portraits of modern politics, yet share common traits, including an insider’s view of the political process and sacrifices required in the quest for power.
Romance

Lawfully yours

Feature by Lois Dyer

The dedicated men and women who wear a badge and are sworn to protect and serve make swoon-worthy romantic heroes and heroines. They’re at the heart of these three action-packed tales.

THE SHERIFF’S HEART
Oklahoma author Amy Lillard debuts the Cattle Creek series with Loving a Lawman. Sheriff Seth Langston has lived in Cattle Creek, Texas, most of his life and has known Jessie McAllen nearly as long. Unfortunately, Jessie’s childhood affections were snared by Seth’s charming but feckless younger brother, Chase, who left Cattle Creek after high school to follow the rodeo, chase other women and party. Despite acting like a single man, he refuses to let Jessie move on. Each time he returns to town, his callous disregard for her feelings wounds her afresh, but he refuses to cut her loose.

Hiding his feelings for Jessie is eating Seth alive. He doesn’t know it, but Jessie McAllen is fed up with the younger Langston brother’s careless treatment and womanizing habits. She’s determined to leave Cattle Creek and start over somewhere new, somewhere far away from philandering rodeo-star Chase.

Seth’s honor keeps him from pursuing Jessie—until one night when passion overwhelms his good intentions. This one unexpected, impulsive night with Seth has Jessie rethinking which brother she really loves. When tragedy strikes, she instinctively turns to the one man who has always been there for her. Fate has more than one surprise in store for Seth and Jessie, however, and the next test may tear the Langston family apart forever.

This tale about finding one’s way through the tangle of commitments, family obligations and first crushes holds a thoroughly engaging emotional depth. The small-town Texas setting and the cast of well-drawn secondary characters add to the story’s charm.

WHO'S THAT LADY?
Acclaimed author Debbie Mason returns readers to Christmas, Colorado, in Happy Ever After In Christmas. Deputy Jill Flaherty has been in love with her older brother’s best friend, Sawyer Anderson, since she was a teenager. He treats her like a little sister, however, and as she nears her 30th birthday, she’s determined to change that perception. She dons a sexy red dress and stilettos and walks into Sawyer’s bar to ask him out.

Sawyer takes one look at the incredibly beautiful blond in the doorway and is instantly hooked. But it isn’t until he hears her voice that he realizes the woman is Jill—his best friend’s little sister and way off limits. Unfortunately for Sawyer, once he sees her as sexy Jill in the red dress, he can’t go back to seeing her as a little sister. Jill’s brother sees Sawyer as a ladies man, however, and is adamantly opposed to Sawyer dating Jill.

Sawyer tries to keep his relationship with Jill firmly in the friend zone but fails spectacularly. Meanwhile, Jill struggles to understand Sawyer’s mixed signals. In small-town Christmas, with a full complement of caring, gossipy townsfolk, their complicated relationship is breaking news.

This charming story of two people struggling to trust their love and build a life together is certain to earn the author new fans. Readers will thoroughly enjoy meeting and connecting with the Christmas residents that make up the supporting cast in this endearing romance.

AGAINST THE CLOCK
Christy Award-winning author Lisa Harris delivers the second installment in the Nikki Boyd Files with the riveting thriller, Missing. When investigator Nikki Boyd is called to a homicide scene in a Nashville suburb, she learns that not only are there two dead bodies, but also two missing persons. With her partner, Jack Spenser, Nikki follows the first clue and finds one of the missing people dead on a boat at the local marina. She’s stunned to see her close friend, widow Tyler Grant, standing over the body, with blood on his sleeve. When drugs are also found on the boat, Tyler and his notorious father-in-law are in deep trouble.

With Tyler on the suspect list, Nikki is under pressure to solve the multiple murders as she races to find the remaining missing person. Because this time, her investigation is about more than her job. This time, it’s personal—she’s in love with Tyler.

This twisty police procedural delivers nail-biting suspense that gets more complicated as the bodies pile up. Add in family members threatened with violence and a killer intent on silencing anyone who gets in his way, and the result is not to be missed. Thriller fans are going to love this one.

Lois Dyer writes from her home in Port Orchard, Washington.

The dedicated men and women who wear a badge and are sworn to protect and serve make swoon-worthy romantic heroes and heroines. They’re at the heart of these three action-packed tales.
Nonfiction

Books for gridiron fans

Feature by Budd Bailey

College football fans can exhale now. They've made it through another off-season. The beginning of autumn means that teams are back on the field and fans are back in their seats. And if those fans need something to keep themselves occupied between game days, they can read two entertaining new books on the college game.

Authors Brian Curtis and Warren St. John have taken completely different approaches, but both offer in-depth looks at the sport, and both serve their purposes very nicely. Curtis goes behind the scenes in Every Week a Season: A Journey Inside Big-Time College Football. St. John doesn't get near a player or coach in Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Journey into the Heart of Fan Mania, but he does manage to capture the obsessive devotion of college fans.

I don't think it's a coincidence that both books concentrate on football in the South. Pro sports were slow to move into the South, and colleges filled in the gap. That fan enthusiasm shines through in both books and should have you ready for the opening kickoff of your team's next game.

MAKING THE TEAM
Curtis takes a fairly conventional approach in Every Week a Season. He picked nine teams before the start of the 2003 season and essentially moved in to each university for a week to get a sense of its team's routine. The teams profiled are Colorado State University, the University of Georgia, Boston College, the University of Tennessee, the University of Maryland, the University of Wisconsin, Louisiana State University, Florida State University and Arizona State University. There are a couple of obvious common threads in the nine programs. First, the coaching staffs of big-time football programs do a ton of work during a typical week. Not only is there film to watch, a game plan to develop and practices to coach, but coaches also must work on recruiting in their spare moments. Except for recruiting duties, the same workload applies to the players themselves; it's easy to wonder how anyone can have time to give academic chores enough attention with all the demands of football season.

Second, a head football coach is really more of a CEO than anything else. A coach has to deal with the media, meet with recruits, worry about the academic progress of players, talk to donors, etc. It's quite instructive to see how different people approach the job. Some, like Nick Saban of LSU, would be happy if everything but football disappeared from the job description, while others, like Bobby Bowden of Florida State, are particularly good at managing activities that have little to do with football.

FANDEMONIUM
In Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, St. John has a different but equally entertaining agenda. He grew up a big University of Alabama fan (are there any other types?) and didn't lose that intensity when he moved into adulthood, although it was a little tougher to keep up with the Crimson Tide when he was living in New York City and writing for the New York Times. St. John found himself curious about the people who drive to every Alabama game, home and away, in recreational vehicles. Who were these people who would show up two or three days before games? Why were they willing to accept the abuse that comes with being a visiting fan, complete with verbal taunts and the occasional egg thrown at the RV? Was there really a couple who missed their daughter's wedding because it conflicted with an Alabama game? So St. John joined them. It took time to become accepted by the group since its members are a little wary of an outside world that yells, Get a life! at them.

St. John started by hitching a ride to a game with a couple from South Carolina. Eventually, he bought his own RV to join the group. It's a diverse crowd that ranges from chicken farmers to retirees, from graduates of the school to just plain fans. All yell out Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, which is part of an Alabama fight song. By the way, the parents of the bride mentioned above really do exist, and they are quick to point out that they did make it to the reception after the game.

St. John does a fine job of taking us through an eventful season and excels at capturing the experience of being a college fan. It doesn't really matter that the season in question is five years old. For once, the spectators are the stars of the show.

Budd Bailey works in the sports department of the Buffalo News.
 

College football fans can exhale now. They've made it through another off-season. The beginning of autumn means that teams are back on the field and fans are back in their seats. And if those fans need something to keep themselves occupied between game days, they can read two entertaining new books on the college game.
Children's & YAPicture Book

Required reading: Terrific new books for the start of school

Feature by Julie Hale

If the little readers in your household are stuck in summer mode, then you’ve come to the right place. Prep those kiddos for class with one of these inspiring books, and get set for a sensational school year.

COURAGE IN THE CLASSROOM
A grade-A story from start to finish, Jennifer P. Goldfinger’s Hello, My Name Is Tiger features Toby, a shy boy who likes to pretend he’s a cat. Toby even wears a kitty costume, complete with whiskers and tail. He’s a fearless feline—except when it comes to starting school. Adjusting to life in the classroom when you’re a cat can be tough! At first, Toby resists. He plays by himself in the sandbox and climbs trees during recess rather than joining the other kids. But with the help of kindred spirits—including Pete, who loves to pretend he’s a monkey—Toby finds his comfort zone. Goldfinger’s buoyant mixed-media illustrations—a blend of chalk doodles, pencil sketches and vivid washes of color—give this appealing story extra charm. Just the thing for nervous newbies who aren’t sure what to expect from school.

FROM A SCHOOL’S PERSPECTIVE
The main character in Adam Rex’s ingenious School’s First Day of School is Frederick Douglass Elementary, a spiffy new building with a bad case of the first-day nerves. The idea of incoming students makes the school creak! The building befriends a kindly janitor, who readies him for the big morning, and then the children arrive—“more of them than the school could possibly have imagined.” In class, the kids learn the definition of a square (“Wow,” the school says to himself. “I did not know that.”), and one girl makes a picture of Frederick Douglass Elementary (“It looks just like me,” the school thinks.). Not bad for a first day! Artist Christian Robinson depicts the building as a place with personality—the main door, with its window eyes, seems to be smiling—and his colorful illustrations give the book a timeless feel. It’s sure to become an end-of-summer classic.

EDUCATION AGAINST THE ODDS
Based on true events, Deborah Hopkinson’s inspiring, accessible Steamboat School tells the story of the remarkable school established by St. Louis teacher and preacher John Berry Meachum. In 1847, when a state law is passed denying education to African Americans of all ages, free or enslaved, Meachum has a daring idea: construct a steamboat on the Mississippi River, beyond the reach of the Missouri government, and use it as a school. Two young students, James and his sister, Tassie, help him build the boat and get pupils on board. “I felt like a pot about to boil over,” an excited James says when their work is done. Ron Husband’s detailed, realistic pen-and-ink illustrations have an old-fashioned sepia feel and perfectly complement Hopkinson’s lyrical lines. Young readers are sure to be intrigued by this chronicle of a classroom on the water. 

If the little readers in your household are stuck in summer mode, then you’ve come to the right place. Prep those kiddos for class with one of these inspiring books, and get set for a sensational school year.

NonfictionParenting

How to grow a happy family

Feature by Amy Scribner

Let’s be honest: Parents barely have time to think or use the restroom solo. So a parenting book needs to be pretty compelling to justify using those precious few minutes when you’re not semi-comatose on the couch. These common-sense guides to building a healthy family are worth your time.

REEL IN YOUR REACTIONS
I loved The Awakened Family by Shefali Tsabary, in large part because it made me feel better about occasionally losing my cool with my own tween son. I mean, Tsabary holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, and she sometimes yells at her daughter.

Tsabary explains that parents are reactive—whether that manifests itself in yelling, overindulging or hovering—because our parenting instincts are based on fear. “Whether you have inflated, grandiose ideas of your children and what they will accomplish in life, or whether you are frightened for them or disappointed in them, all of this ultimately is rooted in fear,” she writes.

She explains why we need to trust in our children’s potential and argues that the best parenting lies in being quiet and open.

“The reason our children turn away from us is that they sense our desire to talk is all about us—our need to manage our anxiety and exert control,” she writes. “By the age of ten, your children are very familiar with how you talk and what you say. They don’t need your words of advice or admonishment. What they need instead is for you to listen and attune yourself to them.”

PARENTING WITH YOUR EX
In Two Homes, One Childhood, Dr. Robert E. Emery provides solid, reassuring advice for families coping with divorce. Director of the Center for Children, Families, and the Law at the University of Virginia, Emery is divorced and remarried himself, and has a successfully blended family. His advice is straightforward and empathetic, and emphasizes parenting as a partnership, even if the marriage is over.

“[G]ood parenting involves at least some degree of cooperation,” he writes. “After all, your seven-year-old will suffer if her bedtime is eight p.m. in one home and eleven p.m. in another. Your teenager will suffer if you ground him for three weeks for a horrible report card, but your ex tells him, ‘No problem. Have fun with your friends. You aren’t grounded at my house!’ ”

Emery’s focus is on keeping the kids out of your emotional “stuff” with your ex—perhaps easier said than done, but this smart, achievable playbook will help.

ROOM TO GROW
Psychologist Alison Gopnik is something of a superstar in the field of child development. In The Gardener and the Carpenter, she lays out her theory that caring for children is like tending a garden, with parent as gardener, encouraging a child’s natural curiosity. As Gopnik sees it, parenting most definitely isn’t like carpentry. “It isn’t a goal-directed enterprise aimed at shaping a child into a particular kind of adult,” she writes.

Gopnik dives deep into the relationship between child and parent, and lays to rest the notion that there is only one path to good parenting. Throughout the book, she traces the child-parent relationship through human evolution to help us understand how we got to this point—for example, overlaying a scene of cavemen hunting and gathering with one of her and her young grandson at the farmer’s market. She also provides simple examples of how we can be less carpenter, more gardener: contribute to the richness of a child’s world by providing a variety of playthings, from rocks to iPads, and a safe place in which to play. Then, unless the child wants you to join in, get out of their way.

WORKING TOGETHER
In Raising Human Beings, noted psychologist Ross W. Greene describes parenting as a partnership with your child. “You may not be aware of it, but you started collaborating with your kid the instant he came into this world,” he writes. “When he cried, you tried to figure out what was the matter. Then you tried to do something about it.”

Using several families as case studies, Greene helps shift the way we think about parenting. His belief is that kids do well if they are able to, and good parenting means being responsive to the hand you’ve been dealt. 

“If your kid isn’t doing well—if he’s not meeting a given expectation—it’s your job to figure out why and to put poor motivation at the bottom of the list,” he writes. “Better yet, take poor motivation off the list completely.”

Greene lays out a practical approach to non-punitive parenting—one that seems sure to promote peace in your household.

 

This article was originally published in the August 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Let’s be honest: Parents barely have time to think or use the restroom solo. So a parenting book needs to be pretty compelling to justify using those precious few minutes when you’re not semi-comatose on the couch. These common-sense guides to building a healthy family are worth your time.
NonfictionEducation

Connecting with kids in the classroom

Feature by Angela Leeper

As the start of a new school year approaches, five new books show the differences made in the lives of students by connected educators, a productive environment and even an agreeable substitute teacher.

GETTING PERSONAL
When Denver teacher Kyle Schwartz gave each of her third graders a sticky note and the prompt, “I wish my teacher knew,” she was floored by the heartfelt responses from children who described their painful home lives, the loneliness they face, the things that bring them joy and pride, and their hopes for the future. Schwartz began tweeting her students’ answers and was surprised when her seemingly simple exercise went viral.

She explains the phenomenon in I Wish My Teacher Knew: How One Question Can Change Everything for Our Kids. Schwartz opens with an overview of the project’s purpose: to create community and a positive learning environment for every child. She argues that teachers can make an impact on children’s lives in many difficult areas, including poverty, grief and loss, trauma and accepting families in all their forms. Detailed Teacher Tools provide suggestions for transforming any classroom or school into a greater community. After reading Schwartz’s book, teachers will be inspired to join the #IWishMyTeacherKnew movement and get to know their students better.

BRIDGING THE GAP
Before receiving funding in 2010 to open a small public middle school in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York City, principal Nadia Lopez envisioned her students crossing the Brooklyn Bridge. Even though they live near this architectural marvel, most had never seen it, let alone walked across it. Crossing the bridge would not only become a rite of passage for these students, it would also come to symbolize the connection between their difficult past and a brighter future.

In The Bridge to Brilliance: How One Principal in a Tough Community Is Inspiring the World, the compassionate yet no-nonsense Lopez describes how she started from scratch to build a school that became a beacon of hope, determination and success. If her story sounds familiar, it’s because her accomplishments drew widespread praise after a student revealed them on the popular Humans of New York blog. In this stirring account, Lopez reveals that listening to her students and seeing them as individuals despite their harsh environment have made all the difference.

COUNTING ON SUCCESS
Successful teaching is the best preventative discipline method. Recognizing that teachers and kids aren’t perfect, however, 1-2-3 Magic in the Classroom: Effective Discipline for Pre-K through Grade 8 offers easy-to-implement strategies as a backup. Authors Thomas W. Phelan, Ph.D., and Sarah Jane Schonour, M.A., based this guide for educators on 1-2-3 Magic, a bestselling discipline guide for parents.

After learning about the “teacher in charge” method that uses counting and non-judgmental consequences, readers are introduced to “start” behaviors (such as doing classwork) and “stop” behaviors (such as yelling). The authors emphasize the importance of avoiding the two biggest discipline mistakes: too much talking and too much emotion. To help with implementation, they present numerous scenarios to think about or role play.

For educators who worry about more serious discipline problems, disciplining students with developmental differences or discipline at different grade levels, the guide includes comprehensive Q&As and more scenarios from the trenches. It might not be true magic, but if used successfully, this technique will feel like it.

FINDING ALTERNATIVES
Manufacturing in the United States is rebounding, and according to Katherine S. Newman and Hella Winston, many fast-growing occupations are considered “middle skill.” Labor force -shortages have already occurred in jobs that require education beyond high school, but not a four-year college degree. Reskilling America offers a convincing argument for bringing back vocational education.

Beginning with a history of vocational education and the transition to “college for all,” which left many students, particularly minority men, without career prospects, the thought-provoking text emphasizes investment in training institutions, both in high schools and community colleges. It looks to Germany as a model for relationships between industry and education that have fostered a robust dual system combining vocational education with apprenticeships. The authors describe the success of this system, Germany’s attempt at creating similar programs in the U.S. and the slow revival of vocational education in U.S. schools. Not just funding—but a renewed respect for middle-skill labor—might be the key to success in this country.

FILLING IN
Award-winning author Nicholson Baker has tackled such daunting subjects as World War II, library preservation, poetry and even erotic stories. He takes on perhaps his most unwieldy topic yet—the state of American education—in Substitute: Going to School with a Thousand Kids. In this hefty volume, to be published September 6, Baker recounts the 28 days he spent in Maine’s public schools in 2014 as “the lowest-ranking participant in American education: a substitute teacher.” With a clean criminal record and “a willingness to tolerate your own ineptitude,” plus a short evening course that would earn him an extra $5 per day, Baker had all he needed to substitute.

Each chapter, representing one day, gives a snapshot into a classroom, from kindergarten to high school special education math. Rather than provide commentary, the author lets the teacher’s sub plans, classroom environment and dialogue with and between students guide each chapter. The result is an often chaotic, exhausting—and entertaining—view of the school day in which he is usually saved by coffee, an eager student and the final bell. Baker emerges with empathetic appreciation for all the students and teachers who bear these ups and downs daily.

 

This article was originally published in the August 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

As the start of a new school year approaches, five new books show the differences made in the lives of students by connected educators, a productive environment and even an agreeable substitute teacher.
FictionDebut Fiction

Six stellar summer debuts

Feature by bookpagedev

Have you discovered your favorite new author of 2016 yet? If not, we have a few ideas. Though these novels cover a range of settings and genres, they each feature a distinctive new voice readers will want to hear more from.

Nicole Dennis-Benn
HERE COMES THE SUN

For fans of: Edwidge Danticat, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Rohinton Mistry.

First line: “The long hours Margot works at the hotel are never documented.”

About the book: Three generations of Jamaican women struggle with love, family and finances in this beautifully complex novel.

About the author: Jamaican-born writer Nicole Dennis-Benn lives with her wife in Brooklyn, New York, where she teaches writing.

Read it for: A hard-hitting, realistic portrayal of those who live year-round in paradise. 

Krys Lee
HOW I BECAME A NORTH KOREAN

For fans of: Adam Johnson, Chang-rae Lee, Yiyun Li.

First line: “Home still begins as an image for me.”

About the book: The lives of a Chinese-American genius, a wealthy North Korean student and a desperate defector collide in a Chinese border town. 

About the author: Krys Lee teaches creative writing in South Korea; her story collection, Drifting House, was published to much acclaim in 2012.

Read it for: A masterful portrayal of the personal side of world politics and Lee’s understanding of the complexities of immigrant life.

Scott Stambach
THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF IVAN ISAENKO

For fans of: Coming-of-age tales with remarkable young narrators, such as The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

First line: “Dear Reader, whom I do not know, who may never be, I write not for you but for me.”

About the book: Confined to a children’s hospital in Belarus for all of his 17 years, spunky Ivan Isaenko is determined to transcend his severe physical deformities. His world brightens with the arrival of Polina, an orphaned girl with leukemia.

About the author: Scott Stambach teaches high school and college math and physics in San Diego.

Read it for: An unforgettable lead character and Stambach’s powerful writing, which captures the small acts of kindness and the incidental tragedies that are part of institutional life.

Heather Young
THE LOST GIRLS

For fans of: Jennifer McMahon, Kate Morton, Laura McHugh.

First line: “I found this notebook in the desk yesterday.”

About the book: Sixty years after the disappearance of her younger sister, Lucy Evans bequeaths the family’s Minnesota lake house to her grandniece, Justine—along with a notebook that recounts some devastating family secrets.

About the author: Heather Young practiced law for a decade and raised two kids before turning to fiction. She has an MFA from Bennington College Writing Seminars.

Read it for: The feeling of sinking into the complications of generational skeletons, like a plunge to the bottom of a cold lake.  

Forrest Leo
THE GENTLEMAN

For fans of: Wilde, Wodehouse, “The Addams Family” and Northanger Abbey.

First line: “My name is Lionel Savage, I am twenty-two years old, I am a poet, and I do not love my wife.”

About the book: A 19th-century London poet blows his fortune on books and must marry for money. When he strikes up a conversation with the Devil at a society soirée, Lionel (accidentally?) sells his new wife—and her soul. Hijinks ensue as Lionel and a band of misfits set off on a half-baked rescue mission. 

About the author: A playwright and NYU graduate, Forrest Leo was raised on an actual Alaskan homestead and has practiced dogsledding, carpentry and photography. 

Read it for: Monty Python-esque levels of absurdity, endlessly entertaining footnotes, period–appropriate illustrations, swashbuckling adventure and romance. 

Adam O'Fallon Price
THE GRAND TOUR

For fans of: Fredrik Backman and Michael Chabon’s Wonder Boys.

First line: “Sir?”

About the book: Richard Lazar is reluctantly embarking on an alcohol-fueled book tour for his dark horse hit memoir about the Vietnam War. When Richard meets a hopelessly eager fan named Vance, the author surprises himself by letting Vance tag along. 

About the author: A former musician and screenwriter, Adam O’Fallon Price grew up in California, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. He currently lives in Iowa with his wife and cat.

Read it for: The oddly tender friendship that develops between the gruff author and the awkward Vance. 

 

This article was originally published in the August 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Nicole Dennis-Benn photo: Jason Berger
Krys Lee photo: Matt Douma
Forrest Leo photo: Abigail Sparrow

Have you discovered your favorite new author of 2016 yet? If not, we have a few ideas. Though these novels cover a range of settings and genres, they each feature a distinctive new voice readers will want to hear more from.
Romance

A dish best served steaming hot

Feature by Lois Dyer

Contrary to accepted wisdom, revenge is not always a dish best served cold. In the three romance novels we’re highlighting this month, revenge is a decidedly hot and steamy affair.

PAYBACK WITH A BROGUE
The Beast of Clan Kincaid from Texas author Lily Blackwood is a riveting tale of vengeance set in 1380s Scotland. Beautiful Elspeth MacClaren is the eldest daughter of her clan’s laird. Her father needs to shore up the clan’s military strength through a marriage alliance, and Elspeth accepts her duty, willingly considering suitors. But things are complicated when a renowned mercenary known as the Beast rescues her from drowning in a river and captures her heart. He’s everything she wants and can’t have, for she’s the laird’s daughter, and he is a landless soldier.

What Elspeth doesn’t know is that the Beast is actually Niall Braewick, son of the Laird of Kincaid. He’s spent the last 17 years becoming a hardened warrior, bent on revenge, determined to destroy Elspeth’s father and take back the Kincaid lands stolen from his clan. Falling in love with his enemy’s daughter wasn’t in Niall’s plans, but he won’t give her up, nor will he betray his clan and family. How can these two passionate, fiercely honorable people find a way to live happily together? With Elspeth’s life endangered, Niall must choose between his thirst for vengeance and his heart’s desire.

This excellent novel has engaging and complex characters, a wildly beautiful setting, 14th-century Scottish life depicted with historical accuracy and enough heat between the hero and heroine to satisfy the most demanding of romance readers.

BOUND BY VENGEANCE
New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake begins her new contemporary series, Lawless, with Ruthless. As children, the four Lawless siblings barely escaped the arson fire that killed their parents. Now they’re all grown up and focused on taking down the business partners that destroyed their family. One of their enemies is dead, but his daughter, Ellie Stratton, holds his shares of StratCast, the company built with the computer code the Lawless patriarch was murdered for.

Riley Lawless has one objective—gain Ellie Stratton’s confidence, seduce her and gain access to the company’s information. He didn’t plan on falling in love with her, but the pull of attraction between them is compulsive. Ellie is smart, beautiful and so warm and caring that she breaches the thick walls surrounding Riley’s heart.

The Lawless siblings may have misjudged the villain’s capacity for evil, however. When Ellie discovers Riley has deceived her, more than her heart is put at risk. If Riley and his brothers aren’t careful, Ellie may pay for their revenge with her life.

The twisty plot is enhanced by complicated characters and sizzling hot romance. Readers will impatiently await the next novel in this intriguing new series.

DUELING HEARTS
Bestselling author Johanna Lindsey delivers her 53rd novel with Make Me Love You. When Lord Dominic Wolfe is wounded in his third duel with an earl’s son, the Prince Regent orders the two combatants to end their fighting by joining their families in a marriage. If either party refuses, their lands and title will be forfeited to the Crown.

The earl’s daughter, Lady Brooke Whitworth, views marriage to Dominic as an escape route away from her unloving family. She doubts her brother’s enemy will welcome her, but she’s determined to win over Lord Wolfe. She hadn’t anticipated Dominic would be quite so handsome, nor is she aware that he is determined to make her reject the union. As the two spend time together, however, the attraction growing between them threatens to blaze out of control. When family objections, the pressure of societal expectations and unexpected adventure turn dangerous, Dominic will have to reassess his feelings on the matter of marriage.

This lighthearted Regency tale boasts a strong hero, smart heroine and endearing secondary characters. Add a bit of swashbuckling adventure and longtime fans and new readers of Lindsey alike will thoroughly enjoy this latest novel.

Lois Dyer writes from her home in Port Orchard, Washington

 

Contrary to accepted wisdom, revenge is not always a dish best served cold. In the three romance novels we’re highlighting this month, revenge is a decidedly hot and steamy affair.

Sign Up

Stay on top of new releases: Sign up for our newsletter to receive reading recommendations in your favorite genres.

Sign up now

Trending Features

All Features