Archive for March, 2013

Amazon Gains New Data Source

Friday, March 29th, 2013

Now that Amazon has announced they are buying Goodreads, speculation is growing about what this means. Below are a few signal reactions:

Interview with Goodreads CEO Otis Chandler and Amazon’s VP of Kindle content, Russ Grandinetti, on paidContent raises many of the questions that people are asking, although answers are mostly variations of “we don’t know yet” and assurances that things will remain the same (the headline “First Do No Harm” comes from Grandinetti’s response to the question of whether Amazon reader reviews will migrate to Goodreads, “Our mentality here is to first do no harm, and make sure that if we’re going to do integrations, users genuinely find it to be a big benefit.”)

Tim Spalding, creator of Goodreads competitor, LibraryThing writes on his blog that he’s been “wanting for this forever” and expects publishers and readers will defect from Goodreads to LibraryThing

ShelfAwareness rounds up industry reactions

So far, we haven’t heard whether Goodreads members are concerned that Amazon may soon own their content.

New Title Radar, Week of 4/1

Friday, March 29th, 2013

There’s so many significant titles coming out next week, that it’s almost a relief to note that one of them has been postponed; Jane Goodall’s Seeds of Hope (Hachette/Grand Central), due to accusations of plagiarism.

The media will have plenty to choose from next week. In addition to the titles featured below, Debbie Reynolds and Maya Angelou release their first memoirs in years, Gwyneth Paltrow brings out a new cookbook and Marie Osmond writes about losing her son (an excerpt is featured in People magazine this week). But the lion’s share of attention will likely focus on Mary Roach‘s examination of the alimentary canal, Gulp.

All the titles highlighted here, and more, are list on our New Title Radar, Week of April 1

Watch List

Life After LifeLife After Life, Kate Atkinson, (Hachette/Little, Brown/Reagan Arthur; Hachette Audio; Hachette Large Print)

Reviewers are expecting a great deal from the author of  Started Early, Took My Dog, as evidenced by the fact that Janet Maslin jumped the pub date to review it in the New York Times this week. She calls this novel about a woman who lives her life over and over again, a “big book that defies logic, chronology and even history in ways that underscore its author’s fully untethered imagination.” It shares the #1 spot as an IndieNext Pick for April (along with Jill McCorkle’s book, which happens to have the same title), Atkinson is featured in the New York Times Magazine and gets an unequivocal “A” from Entertainment Weekly.

Reconstructing Amelia

Reconstructing Amelia, Kimberly McCreight (Harper)

Also receiving an “A” from Entertainment Weekly is this debut which actually live up to the claim that it is “this year’s Gone Girl.” Excitement about it has been building on GalleyChat for months. Booksellers agree, making it an IndieNext Pick for April — “Throw out all the cliched superlatives! McCreight’s remarkable debut novel is about Kate Baron, a high-powered lawyer who believes that her daughter Amelia has committed suicide — until she receives the anonymous text — ‘She didn’t jump.’”

All That Is

All That Is, James Salter, (RH/ Knopf)

Salter’s first novel in 30 years is featured as an “Exclusive First Read” on NPR’s web site, which describes him as a “writer’s writer” and notes “Salter’s deceptively simple prose…His sentences flow one to the next with a limpid inevitability that carries us along.” Entertainment Weekly, gives it a “B+”,  marking him down because he “opts for a panoramic view of [main character] Bowman’s life, bloating the narrative with minor characters’ backstories.” Still, it is the prose that wins the reviewer over, “the sentence-to-sentence craftsmanship is stunning, and Salter can still write a perfect love scene.”

The Flamethrowers

The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner, (S&S/Scribner; Brilliance Audio)

The author’s previous title, Telex From Cuba garnered an enviable line in Carolyn See’s Washington Post review, ” It’s the kind of thing you should stock up on to give sick friends as presents; they’ll forget their arthritis and pneumonia.” It went on to become a National Book Award finalist. In anticipation of this, her next book, Maud Newton wrote in the NYT ‘Room for Debate’: I’m already gearing up to be annoyed if Rachel Kushner’s second novel, The Flamethrowers, doesn’t win something major.”  David Ulin writes in the L.A. Times that this book operates “…in the space between creativity and politics, the saga of an artist who travels from Lower Manhattan in the late 1970s to become immersed in the white hot center of Italian radical politics. Kushner is a vivid storyteller, worth reading for her sentences alone.” It is scheduled for coverage on NPR‘s“Weekend Edition” on Sunday.

Without a SummerWithout a Summer, Mary Robinette Kowal, (Macmillan/Tor Books)

The third in series, a GalleyChat favorite described as “Regency romance with magic,” that will appeal to both fans of Jane Austen and those who find her a bit to stilted.  Check out what Ali Fisher has to say about it on “Uncharted Pages

 

Media Magnets 

GulpGulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, Mary Roach, (Norton; Tantor Audio)

In Mary Roach’s last book, Packing for Mars, she revealed how astronauts deal with poop in space. Will her new book deliver equally memorable moments? Tons of media attention is in the works next week, so we will soon be hearing about “poop transplants,” rectal smuggling and Elvis Presley’s megacolon. Hats off to the creative person in St. Louis who came up with the idea of a  “Dinner and Digestion” program, featuring the author. She is scheduled to appear on Fresh Air on Monday (which happens to be April Fool’s Day), and gets to again match wits with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show (see below for her previous appearance).

Instant Mom

Instant Mom, Nia Vardalos, (HarperOne)

Wonder what happened to the writer and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding? She became a parent, but not instantly as the title suggests. Here she recounts her efforts to become pregnant, what happened after she did and what her Hollywood life is like. Appearances are scheduled next week for the Today ShowThe Katie Couric Show, and many others.

All You Could Ask For

All You Could Ask For, Mike Greenberg, (HarperCollins/Morrow)

The cohost of ESPN’s popular sports show, Mike and Mike in the Morning, Greenberg’s most recent book was titled, Why My Wife Thinks I’m an Idiot, so his shift to what Kirkus describes as “chick lit, with somber overtones” is, as Booklist dryly notes, a”seemingly incongruous choice of subject matter.” It will be fun to see how this one is handled on talk shows.

Kids New Title Radar, Week of 4/1

Friday, March 29th, 2013

Next week brings the inspired collaboration of Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen on a picture book about childhood’s greatest demon; the dark. Many series continue, of course, including the 53rd outing of Geronimo Stilton, which keeps on giving first-time fluent readers the opportunity to zip through another adventure. In Young Adult, the second in His Fair Assassin series will not disappoint the legions of Grave Mercy fans.

All the titles highlighted here and many more coming next week, are listed on our downloadable spreadsheet Kids New Title Radar, Week of April 1.

Picture Books

The DarkThe Dark, Lemony Snicket, illus. by Jon Klassen, (Hachette/Little, Brown BYR)

Snicket takes the ordinary childhood fear and elevates it as he gives voice to “the dark.” Caldecott winner (This Is Not My Hat) Klassen represents light and dark so that we “see” the anxiety yet understand that there is really nothing to be afraid of … Really.

 

9780545244688Can You See What I See?: Out of This World: Picture Puzzles to Search and Solve, Walter Wick, (Scholastic/ Cartwheel Books)

The ninth title in a series from the creator of the I SPY books, who is a wizard, packing each photograph with interesting objects and clues for the younger set.

Easy Readers

9780062086853Mia Sets the Stage, Robin Farley, illus. by Olga Ivanov, (HarperCollins)

I am thrilled to get my hands on more of the adventures of this dancing cat and her cohort. These emergent readers with limited language are some of the best new easy-to-read books.

 

 

Middle Grade

Genie Wishes

Genie Wishes, Elisabeth Dahl, (Abrams/Amulet)

Genie, the official blogger for her 5th grade class, is dealing with her own set of issues; a BFF who seems ready to defect. This debut will resonate with middle grade readers.

Write This Book

Write This Book: A Do-It-Yourself Mystery, Pseudonymous Bosch, (Hachette/Little, Brown BYR)

The readers who cut their teeth on Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events took to Pseudonymous Bosch with ease, delight and fervor. This entry into the series that began with The Name of This Book Is Secret is more of a “consumable” as readers are encouraged to participate in the creation of the story. Yet, if you are thinking about satisfying a rabid reader, this is a must-have (just catalog it as reference for programming or as part of your Writing Box program. You do have a Writing Box program? If not, download this Writing Box How-to).

Hollywood Dead Ahead

Hollywood, Dead Ahead, Kate Klise, illus. by M. Sarah Klise, (Harcourt)

I have read everything by the sisters Klise since a special education reading teacher turned me on to Regarding the Fountain. Kirkus calls this one,  Number 5 in the 43 Old Cemetery Road, series that began with Dying To Meet You“Another winner for this inventive series.”  Agreed.

Goosebumps #3

Goosebumps Most Wanted #3: How I Met My Monster, R.L. Stine, (Scholastic Paperbacks)

A little creepier than the originals (these have real nightmare-inducing covers), but still embedded with humor. Must-have horror for the early chapter book readers.

 

 

Spy Mice series, Heather Vogel Frederick, (S&S, pbk reprint)

The Black Paw  9781442467033  Goldwhiskers

The Black Paw
For Your Paws Only
Goldwhiskers

Okay, I admit I missed this exciting middle grade series on its first go-round. Simon and Schuster caught my attention with sharp paperback repackaging. The first three — The Black PawFor Your Paws Only and Goldwhiskers –are about the unlikely relationship of misfit Oz Levinson and spy mouse in-training Glory Goldenleaf as they embark on James-Bond-like adventures. Heather Vogel Frederick knows how to tell a story. Most librarians are familiar with her delightful Mother-Daughter Book Club series.

Young Adult

Grave Mercy  Dark Triumph

Dark Triumph, Robin LaFevers,  (Houghton Mifflin)

This sequel to last year’s Grave Mercy holds up to the first. A fantasy world of court intrigue and killer nuns. What’s not to like?

Google Killed The Travel Star

Thursday, March 28th, 2013

Frommer's First EdLike many library reference sections, Frommer’s print travel guides recently became the latest victim of Google. In this case, the link is even more direct, since Google actually owns Frommer’s (they bought the series from Wiley for $22 million last year).

The reasons may seem obvious, but Fortune explores them anyway and notes that other guidebooks may be under the gun. The L.A. Times objects that there are still places in the world that don’t get decent cell service (there’s a business opportunity; print travel guides for places without cell service).

Frommer’s continues as a Website, featuring the indefatigable Arthur Frommer’s blog. Long before Rick Steves, he encouraged Americans to travel, self-publishing his first book, The GI’s Guide to Traveling In Europe in 1955 and followed that with the first Europe on 5 Dollars a Day (cover above).

The Penguin Returns

Thursday, March 28th, 2013

Penguin Coming SoonLibraries can once again offer Penguin’s ebooks to their users on the same day that the hardcovers are released, reports the Associated Press. Beginning Tuesday, libraries will no longer have to wait six months after the hardcover release date.

The AP further reports that Penguin’s ebook pilot programs with libraries have shown that the “effect of library downloads on commercial revenues has been acceptable.”

Libraries will be charged the same as consumers, but, according to American Libraries, Penguin is expected to impose a one-year expiration date.

This is the opposite of the Random House model, which charges more to libraries than consumers, but for an unlimited period. Since the two companies are merging, many wonder which approach will prevail.

NPR On THOSE ANGRY DAYS

Wednesday, March 27th, 2013

Those Angry DaysNPR’s Fresh Air examined the passionate fights over whether the U.S. should enter World War II, with Lynne Olson, author of Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America’s Fight Over World War II, 1939-1941, (Random House). The book releases today.

Olson says we may have difficulty understanding it now, but up until Pearl Harbor, Americans looked on the war as “kind of like a movie. … It was something that just didn’t affect them … most Americans, especially those who lived in the heartland — really didn’t feel that they had anything in common with Europe. They hadn’t been there. They thought this was a distant place that they really had nothing to do with.”

Holds Alert: THE SEARCHERS

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

The SearchersA book about The Searchers, a movie that even the author calls, “…perhaps the greatest Hollywood film that few people have seen,” hardly seems a candidate for popular interest, but library holds are heavy (although on modest orders).

Directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne and Natalie Wood, the movie is based on a true story of a woman who was abducted as a young girl by Comanches. Glenn Frankel’s book about the movie, The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend (Macmillan/Bloomsbury) was featured on PBS News Hour earlier this month and on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show yesterday. Director Martin Scorsese reviews in the 3/15 issue of  The Hollywood Reporter

Poster for Enders Game

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

Enders Game PosterThe first poster for the forthcoming movie of Orson Scott Card’s SF novel, Ender’s Game (Macmillan/Tor, first pubbed, 1985), debuted online late yesterday and already fans are piling on to identify differences from the book. The appearance also caused the book to rise on Amazon’s sales rankings

The movie, directed by Gavin Hood and starring Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, and Viola Davis, arrives in theaters on Nov. 11.

Cover Revealed for Elizabeth Gilbert’s Next

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013

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The author of Eat, Pray, Love, asked her  fans to help choose the US cover for her forthcoming novel The Signature Of All Things, (Penguin/Viking, Oct. 11).

The results are in and the one on the right, which we were betting on, came in DEAD LAST (click on image to see a larger version).

Below, Gilbert talks about the aspects of the book that each cover represents and why she is delighted that the middle cover won.

World War Z, New Trailer

Monday, March 25th, 2013

A new trailer for the film adaptation of Max Brook’s zombie apocalypse novel, World War Z (RH/Crown, 2006), was released today. The movie was originally scheduled to arrive in theaters last December, but was pulled to re-shoot some scenes and is now scheduled for June 21.

The movie tie-ins include an entirely new audio with an enormous cast, featuring Martin Scorsese (yes, the director), Alfred Molina (Spiderman), Frank Darabont (creator of The Walking Dead), the author’s father, Mel Brooks, David Ogden Stiers, and John Turturro. Max Brooks returns as The Interviewer.

The novel is written in the form of first-person stories about the Zombie War. Unlike the movie, which is entirely from the point of view of Brad Pitt’s character, the audio stays true to the original. Many fans, who are already raising concerns about changes from the book, may find this a preferable take.

World War ZWorld War Z: The Complete Edition (Movie Tie-In Edition): An Oral History of the Zombie War
Max Brooks, RH Audio/BOT, 9780449806951, 0449806952

World War Z (Mass Market Movie Tie-In Edition) : An Oral History of the Zombie War
Max Brooks, RH/Broadway, May 21, 2013, Mass market paperback

Bill Geist On What Grandma Is Writing

Monday, March 25th, 2013

You know that erotic romance has gone mainstream when it’s covered by Bill Geist on CBS Sunday Morning.

Making Oprah Cry

Monday, March 25th, 2013

Daring Greatly  The Gifts of Imperfection  I Thought It Was Just Me

It happened again; an author made Oprah cry and her book sales soared.

Featured in a two-part Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday, Dr. Brene Brown brought Oprah to tears when she read the “parenting manifesto” from her book Daring Greatly, (Penguin/Gotham, 2012). Not only did it rise to the #2 position on Amazon’s sales rankings, but an earlier title, The Gifts of Imperfection(Perseus/Hazeldon, 2010rose to #3 and  I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t), (Penguin/Gotham, 2007), rose to #28.

To see the segment that made Oprah cry, click here. The full episode (clip below) is here.

Chinua Achebe Dies

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

Things Fall ApartThe author of Things Fall Apart has died. The story is reported by many news sources, including:
The New York TimesChinua Achebe, African Literary Titan, Dies at 82

The GuardianChinua Achebe  dies, aged 82

The Associated Press — Author Chinua Achebe dies at 82

New Title Radar, Week of March 25

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

Fans can look forward to new titles in popular series next week, including those by Donna Leon, Jacqueline Winspear, J. R. Ward and Robert Ludlam (as channeled by Kyle Miles). Reviews are already starting for Elizabeth Strout’s The Burgess Boys, the author’s next book after her Pulitzer Prize winning Olive Kitteridge. Also arriving is a novel widely expected to be the next Paris Wife, about another “Real Housewife of Historical Fiction,” Zelda Fitzgerald.

All titles and more are included on our downloadable spreadsheet, New Title Radar, Week of 3.25.13

Watch List

cover-60-1

The Burgess Boys, Elizabeth Strout, Random House; RH Audio; BOT

Strout’s previous book, Olive Kitteridge was considered a dark horse when it won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009. It went on to spend over a year on best seller lists in trade paperback. Her new book will again test readers’ willingness to accept some unlikeable characters, this time in novel form, rather than interconnected short stories. Signs are positive. It gets an unequivocal A from Entertainment Weekly and Ron Charles in the Washington Post says “…the broad social and political range of The Burgess Boys shows just how impressively this extraordinary writer continues to develop.”

Z: A novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, Therese Anne Fowler, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s; Macmillan Audio; Thorndike Large Print)

Back in the early 70’s, Nancy Milford’s biography Zelda (Harper) shed new light on the F. Scott Fitzgerald’s wife Zelda. It became a long-running best seller and is still in print. Jazz era fascination continued with Robert Redford’s portrayal of The Great Gatsby on film. Flash forward to today. Baz Lahrmann’s Great Gatsby arrives this summer and is preceded by a heavily-promoted book about Zelda, titled simply Z, after the way she signed her letters.

People designates it a Pick in the new issue, saying it is “richly imagined… sometimes reads like an insider’s delicious account of gossip-column fodder. But these characters aren’t caricatures and Zelda’s tales are told with restraint and insight… here, her touching story is also fascinating and funny and it animates an entire era.” Entertainment Weekly gives it a B+

Other forthcoming books that feature Zelda include a bio (UPDATE: this title is a novel), Beautiful Fools: The Last Affair of Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald by R. Clifton Spargo (Overlook Press; May 2) and another novel, Call Me Zelda by Erika Robuck (Penguin/NAL Original Trade Pbk., May 7).

Life After Life

Life After Life, Jill McCorkle, (Workman/Algonquin; Thorndike Large Print)

As we noted earlier, this is the first of two novels arriving this season with the same title, both of which are #1 IndieNext picks for April. The IndieNext annotation reads,

Let yourself be drawn into the world of Pine Haven Estates in Fulton, North Carolina, and treat yourself to a cast of characters so rich that you will be bereft every time the point of view changes, only to find yourself enchanted anew. Pine Haven Estates is a retirement community, where life and death are inevitable companions. Its inhabitants and the people who care for and about them are at the center of this story that examines the cycle of life — what it means to be alive as well as how one faces the end of life. McCorkle’s first novel in 17 years depicts a community well worth visiting and offers a wonderfully satisfying reading experience. —Terry Gilman, Mysterious Galaxy Books, San Diego, CA

Media Magnets

Brothers Emanuel

Brothers Emanuel: A Memoir of an American Family, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, (Random House RH Audio; BOT)

The eldest of the Emanuel brothers, a bioethicist, writes about his family, which includes brothers Rahm, Mayor of Chicago and Ari, a major Hollywood agent. All that star power brings attention, including an interview with three brothers by Brian Williams on NBC’s Rock Center tonight (promoted on The Today Show this morning) and features on the NPR’s upcoming Weekend Edition Sunday and CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, CBS This Morning Saturday and MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Monday.

Decisive

Decisive, Chip Heath and Dan Heath, (RH/Crown Business; RH Audio; BOT)

Following their influential and best selling business books, Made to Stick and Switch, the authors turn to the question of how we can make more rational business and life decisions. Heath published a story in the Wall Street Journal this week and the book has been in Amazon’s top 100 for 12 days, but libraries are showing modest holds at this point

Tie-ins

978-0-345-54397-4-198x300  The Reluctant Fundamentalist  The Iceman

We’ve already featured two of the three tie-ins arriving this week, A Storm of Swords (RH/Bantam; HBO series begins March 31) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, (Mariner Books; movie begins a limited run on April 26).

The third is The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer by Anthony Bruno (RH/Bantam). The movie stars Michael Shannon as a real-life hitman, trying to balance family and career, and co-stars Ray Liotta, Wynona Ryder, Chris Evans and James Franco. It opens on May 3.

Kids New Title Radar, Week of March 25

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

Next week, celebrate the new season, with an extraordinary picture book about the famous ballet, The Rite of Spring (it really did cause a riot). Preschoolers will fall in love with a little pig who speaks frog and get ready for summer reading programs with a new Origami Yoda Activity Book by Tom Angleberger.

These and other titles coming out next week are listed on our downloadable spreadsheet, Kids New Title Radar, Week of March 25

Picture Books

When Stravinsky

When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky: Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot written and illus. by Lauren Stringer, (Harcourt)

There are many children’s picture books about music and musicians (the Pinkneys’ Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington, and Raschka’s Giant Steps) and dance and dancer’s (numerous Nutcrackers, even one illustrated by Maurice Sendak, lovely ballet books by Rachel Isadora, Dance! with Bill T. Jones featuring Susan Kuklin’s photos, and the Pinkneys’ Alvin Ailey).

But, believe me when I say there are none like this one. Stringer’s words are music and her illustrations dance. She captures the excitement and movement of a turning point in music and dance history. In 1913, the avant-garde composer Igor Stravinsky composed The Rite of Spring (in French, Le Sacre du printemps) to be choreographed by the internationally renowned dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. The collaboration was so shocking at the time that the debut performance ended with the audience rioting.

Stringer’s lyrical text and exuberant paintings reflect the artistic styles of the period without being imitative, expressing the joy, frustration and excitement of creative processes.

In addition, Stringer offers a few gifts on her Web site, including an activity guide created with Tracie Vaughn Zimmer. There is also a curriculum guide to the Rites of Spring from Carnegie Hall, and you can also hear the music and a discussion of its reception on NPR.

Ribbit!

Ribbit!, Rodrigo Folgueira, illus. by Poly Bernatene, (RH/Knopf BYR)

If, like me, parents and teachers continually ask you for more books like Bark, George and Meow Said the Cow, latch onto this one.  Pre-schoolers find it hysterically funny when an animal makes the wrong sound; it’s becoming a genre of its own.

Oversized Preschool Board Book

Tell Me Something Happy

Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep (lap board book), Joyce Dunbar, illus. by Debi Gliori,  (HMH)

This oversized board book reprint of a book originally published in 1998 and no long in print, is just right for reading aloud with parenting classes, Headstart or a pre-school programs and is a good title for modeling the pleasure and possibilities of reading aloud.

Middle Grade Series

Stallion By Starlight  978-0-375-87026-2

Magic Tree House #49: Stallion by Starlight (A Stepping Stone Book) by Mary Pope Osborne and Sal Murdocca (RH BYR; Listening Library)

Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #27: Horse Heroes: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House #49: Stallion by Starlight, by Mary Pope Osborne, Natalie Pope Boyce and Sal Murdocca, (RH BYR)

It might not be news or cause for a parade when a new Magic Tree House book is published, but it should be. Whenever a new Jack and Annie comes out of the box (the series is now just one titles shy of 50 titles), my heart still sings. Osborne’s consistently engaging, just-right stories hit home with newly fluent readers. The companion Fact Trackers are a terrific way for classroom teachers to connect the fantasy with Common Core standards. So, who wants to help organize the parade?

Defies Category

ART2-D2

Art2 – D2’s Guide to Folding and Doodling: An Origami Yoda Activity Book by Tom Angleberger, (Abrams/Amulet)

Angleberger’s The Strange Case of Origami YodaDarth Paper Strikes Back, and The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee were runaway hits with Bank Street’s 4th and 5th graders (Origami Yoda was a Mock Newbery honor winner). Fair warning, this is “consumable,”  because of its pull-out pages. Buy one for reference and start planning Star Wars summer reading programming, using this and  Star Wars Origami36 Amazing Paper-folding Projects from a Galaxy Far, Far Away by Chris Alexander (with forward by, guess who, Tom Angleberger).

You can thank me later.

Young Adult 

If You Find Me  Yaqui Delgado

If You Find Me, Emily Murdoch, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s)

A suspense-filled story about 15-year-old Carey, who is rescued after living in the Tennessee wods with her sister and meth-addicted mother. Prepub reviews are  strong, with Kirkus calling it a “deeply affecting story … made all the more so by Carey’s haunting first-person narration.” PW had issues with the credibility of the story, but still called it “memorable and deeply moving” and predicted that readers will fall in love with the characters.

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, Meg Medina, (Candlewick; Brilliance Audio)

Kirkus calls this first-person story about a 15-year-old who is bullied when she goes to a new school in Queens, NY, “nuanced, heart-wrenching and ultimately empowering.”

Manga

Witch & Wizard, Manga

Witch & Wizard: The Manga, Vol. 3, James Patterson and Jill Dembowski, Yen Press

It’s Patterson’s popular series, Manga style, a high-interest title that will appeal to graphic novel fans, both boys and girls.