Select Titles
Rebecca Stead’s WHEN YOU REACH ME, Newbery Medal Winner
(Wendy Lamb Books/Random House)
“[W]hen all the sidewalk characters from Miranda’s Manhattan world converge amid mind-blowing revelations and cunning details, teen readers will circle back to the beginning and say, ‘Wow … cool.’”
– Kirkus, starred review
“[T]he mental gymnastics required of readers are invigorating; and the characters, children, and adults are honest bits of humanity no matter in what place or time their souls rest.”
– Booklist,starred review
“Closing revelations are startling and satisfying but quietly made, their reverberations giving plenty of impetus for the reader to go back to the beginning and catch what was missed.”
– Horn Book Magazine, starred review
“It’s easy to imagine readers studying Miranda’s story as many times as she’s read L’Engle’s, and spending hours pondering the provocative questions it raises.”
– Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Readers … are likely to find themselves chewing over the details of this superb and intricate tale long afterward.”
– The Wall Street Journal
“Incandescent.”
– The Washington Post Book World
“Smart and mesmerizing.”
– The New York Times Book Review
Kristin Cashore’s FIRE
(Dial Books)
“This elegantly written prequel to the acclaimed “Graceling” blazes with the questions of young adulthood: Who am I? How do I stand in relation to my parents? What choices will define my life? Seeing those concerns played out by Fire… and a host of memorable minor characters proves as compelling as the richly detailed medieval backdrop, the tension between battling lords and the mysterious presence of [a] strange-eyed… character common to both novels.”
– The Washington Post
“Cashore’s prose has matured, growing piercing and elegant…this stand-alone prequel surpasses Cashore’s debut and paves the way for further exploration of a world in which readers will happily immerse themselves.”
– Horn Book Magazine, starred review
Francisco Stork’s MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD, Schneider Family Book Award Winner
(Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic)
“Marcelo has been raised in a protected environment in suburban Boston. His parents allow him to live in an electrified tree house and attend a private school for disabled kids where he takes courses in “social interaction” and works with therapy ponies. “The closest description of my condition is Asperger’s syndrome,” Marcelo says…and in the skillful hands of Francisco X. Stork, 17-year-old Marcelo Sandoval is the bravest, most original hero I’ve met in years. His father…strikes the deal that propels the story: If Marcelo lasts the summer in the competitive hurly-burly of his law firm’s mailroom…he will allow Marcelo to return to his safe-harbor school for his senior year. The reader’s conflict — rooting for Marcelo to succeed yet unsure what success actually means for him — energizes “Marcelo in the Real World,” a brisk, brilliant, unsentimental novel (the author’s second for young adults) by a lawyer who obviously has a grip on the real world. The psychological and moral concerns of the novel are so marbled into the story that they never overwhelm it, making “Marcelo in the Real World” not only an important new young adult novel but a pleasure to read.”
– Robert Lipsyte, The New York Times Book Review
Karen Romano Young’s DOODLEBUG
(Feiwel & Friends)
Doodlebug is amazing; I couldn’t put it down! [It is] the most original novel I have seen in years. It will make you want to pick up a pencil and start doodling yourself!
–Jennifer L. Holm, New York Times bestselling author of Penny From Heaven and co-creator of the Babymouse series
Emily Franklin’s TOO MANY COOKS: KITCHEN ADVENTURES WITH 1 MOM, 4 KIDS, AND 102 RECIPES
(Hyperion/Voice)
“I love my mom and I’m a good cook, and still I can’t help wishing that Emily Franklin would adopt me—or maybe send me a care package. But at least I’ve got her recipes now. And this book, which is the perfect mix of heartwarming and mouthwatering. Yum.”
– Catherine Newman, author of Waiting for Birdy
“Emily Franklin’s Too Many Cooks is a boon for anyone trying to cook healthy simple meals for children. It is also great fun for those of us who love to peek at the domestic lives of others. Franklin has a warm, unpretentious voice and appealing recipes that are asking to be tried.”
– Jenni Ferrari-Adler, editor of Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant
Marni Jameson’s HOUSE OF HAVOC: HOW TO MAKE—AND KEEP—A BEAUTIFUL HOME DESPITE CHEAP SPOUSES, MESSY KIDS, AND OTHER DIFFICULT ROOMMATES
(Da Capo Lifelong)
“What your mother never told you, count on Marni Jameson to do so in this survival guide for living with your spouse, kids, dogs. I promise, it will help save your sanity.”
– Betty Lou Phillips, award-winning author of inspirations from France and Italy, Villa Décor, and other home design books
“Inside, you’ll find a wealth of useful tidbits that make way for a happier dwelling: six secrets to great design, tips on how to create an earth-friendly home, how to decorate with a budget in mind, plus other relevant scoop-all backed up by stories of Jameson’s front-lines experience. Plus, her advice is as humorous as it is practical; you’ll love her conversational tone and girl-next-door sense of humor.”
– Colorado Homes & Lifestyles
Ariel Gore’s BLUEBIRD: WOMEN AND THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY OF HAPPINESS
(Farrar Straus & Giroux)
“Ariel Gore is one of the best feminist writers of our times— perhaps the most eloquent and sensitive of all. In her latest book, she expertly filets the plastic bluebird of happiness to reveal its faintly beating heart.”
– Susie Bright
“Can a woman be smart, empowered and happy? The answer is yes — but Gore must go on a fascinating journey into the history of women, science and psychology to find out.”
– New York Post
“Everybody, it seems, wants to know why women aren’t happy. But Bluebird suggests that maybe that’s the wrong question. In reframing the age-old, exasperated query of what women really want—from themselves, their partners, their jobs, and their families—Gore’s exploration of happiness offers a probing, inspiring, and deeply humane alternative to the powerful positive-thinking industry. Bluebird is radical in the truest sense—and as a recovering pessimist, I’ll be keeping it handy.”
– Andi Ziesler, editorial director of Bitch Magazine
Andrew Park’s BETWEEN A CHURCH AND A HARD PLACE: ONE FAITH-FREE DAD’S STRUGGLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE RELIGIOUS (OR NOT)
(Avery/Penguin)
“Between the strident attacks of the new atheists and the self-confident retorts of God’s defenders, Andrew Park has crossed enemy lines unarmed, recovering a place for doubt in our public conversation about faith. Those of us who believe despite our doubts can be grateful for his honesty. I found myself moved to prayer: “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.”
– Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, author of God’s Economy
Nicole Helget’s THE TURTLE CATCHER
(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
“A novel of style, depth, and clarity from the most promising Minnesota writer in a generation.”
– Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“The Turtle Catcher is a great, rattling, breathless mystery composed in rolling musical cadences. It opens with a sin, unwraps family secrets, and closes with a startling, searing cut, a rattle of skulls…The temptation is great to call this story ‘Faulkner in the Upper Midwest.’ But I find the details of its time and place—rural Minnesota in the Prohibition era—so true and telling that I’m reluctant to burden it by comparison.”
– Scott Simon, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday
Jennie Nash’s THE THREADBARE HEART
(Berkley/Penguin)
The Threadbare Heart is exquisite. Jennie Nash has written about love, both romantic and familial. I was riveted to the many hairpin turns in her lovely prose, and having just finished reading, feel both the trauma and comfort of a deeply felt and written novel.”
–Luanne Rice, author of What Matters Most and The Geometry of Sisters
With The Threadbare Heart, Jennie Nash has accomplished the extraordinary: a quietly profound novel about the many jagged, heartwrenching, transcendent ways one person can love another. The story of Lily and Tom stayed with me long after the last page was turned.
– Hope Edelman, author of The Possibility of Everything