Archive for August, 2014

Five Titles to Know, The Week of 9/1

Saturday, August 30th, 2014

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Of the books arriving next week one title leads by far in terms of holds and library orders, Lee Child’s 19th Jack Reicher novel, Personal, (RH/Delacorte; RH Large Print; RH Audio; OverDrive Sample). Fans may have recovered from the shock of Tom Cruise as the imposing Reicher in last year’s movie. Although it didn’t do well domestically, it went on to do so well internationally, that a sequel based on last year’s Never Go Back is reportedly in the works. Child is scheduled for appearances on NPR’s Weekend Edition on Sunday and on CBS This Morning on Monday.

Reviewers are in a race to be the first to cover Tana French’s latest, The Secret Place,  (Penguin/Viking; Penguin Audio; Thorndike; OverDrive Sample). The NYT ‘s Janet Maslin reviewed it a full week before publication, and it is People‘s “Book of the Week” in  the 9/8 issue. Librarians got there first, however, making it a LibraryReads pick for September:

French has broken my heart yet again with her fifth novel, which examines the ways in which teenagers and adults can be wily, calculating, and backstabbing, even with their friends. The tension-filled flashback narratives, relating to a murder investigation in suburban Dublin, will keep you turning pages late into the night. — Alison McCarty, Nassau County Public Library System, Callahan, FL

Even more reviewers are piling on one of the big literary novels of the season, The Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell, (Random House). It’s already reviewed by Meg Wolitzer on NPR’s All Things Considered (“one of the most entertaining and thrilling novels I can remember”), by Michiko Kakutani in the New York Times (who is not as big a fan; “Mr. Mitchell’s writing has also become increasingly self-indulgent”), Ron Charles in the Washington Post (who clearly is a fan) and as the lead title in the New York Times Book Review. (‘Other writers may be more moving, and some may push deeper, but very few excite the reader about both the visceral world and the visionary one as Mitchell does.”) Despite all this attention, library holds are relatively low on modest orders. OverDrive Sample

The books mentioned here, plus several other notable titles arriving next week, with ordering information and alternative formats, are listed on our donwloadable spreadsheet, New Title Radar, Week of Sept. 1, 2014

Librarian Recommendation

9780399167447_ea313Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, Jan Karon, (Penguin/Putnam; Penguin Audio); OverDrive Sample

Wendy Bartlett of Cuyahoga Public Library, highlights this as a “hot title” to branch staff, and is also buying more copies of the series’ backlist:

Welcome back to Mitford! After a long hiatus, Jan Karon is back with Father Tim, Cynthia, Barnabas, and all the characters that have populated the various Mitford novels. And it’s just as Mitford-y as ever, which is a nice way of saying Karon has recycled about three different plots from the old novels, BUT HEY it’s Mitford, and the customers are already lining up for it, including me. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting Mitford and all the old favorite characters again, and our customers will too. And there’s a bookstore involved this time, so you can’t beat that!

We’ve ordered what backlist we can of the Mitford series, as some customers may want to backtrack and/or discover Mitford for the first time.

In the Media

Gabriel: A Poem, Edward Hirsch, (RH/Knopf); OverDrive Sample

Entertainment Weekly reviews poet Hirsch’s elegy for his son who died at 22, giving it a solid A and saying “Hirsch’s short, limber three-line stanzas are well suited to the staggered unfolding of the tragedy, as if Charon were tweeting updates from the banks of the river Styx.” The author will be featured on NPR’s Morning Edition next week.

Washington Post reviewer Ron Charles talked to Hirsch about the book in April:

Movie Tie-ins

The Boxtrolls: A Novel, Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, (Hachette/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

The Boxtrolls: Meet the Boxtrolls, Jennifer Fox, leveled reader, (LB Kids Paperback)

The stop-action animated movie, The Boxtrolls, is based on some of the creatures in Alan Snow’s nearly 550-page book, Here Be Monsters! (Atheneum, 2008, rereleased 8/5/14). Entertainment Weekly interviews the film’s co-directors Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi, who also directed Coraline and ParaNorman, about adopting the book.

Meet the Boxtrolls below. The movie opens, 9/26/2014

The Drop, Dennis Lehane, (HarperCollins/Morrow;  Trade Paperback; HarperAudio)

When is a novelization not a novelization? When it’s by Dennis Lehane. The movie The Drop, which stars James Gandolfini in his last film performance, is based on Lehane’s short story, “Animal Rescue.” The book, The Drop, is based on his script for the movie.

ROSEWATER Trailer Released

Saturday, August 30th, 2014

31cover_lores_a_pWith the release of the first trailer for the movie Rosewater,  we now have a glimpse of what Jon Stewart was up to when he went on hiatus from the Daily Show last summer to direct his first movie.

The movie is based on a book Then They Came For Me by Maziar Bahari, (Random House, 2011; Tantor Audio), the author’s account of his imprisionment in Iran, in part because of a Daily Show piece.

Variety gives the film a rave:

“The punishing ordeal of Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari — imprisoned for 118 days on charges of espionage — is brought to the screen with impressive tact and intelligence by writer-director Jon Stewart in Rosewater, an alternately somber and darkly funny drama that may occupy the same geographic terrain as Argo (to which it will inevitably be compared), but in most other respects could hardly be more different.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s reviewer, however, is not so impressed, saying, “if this very same film had been made by an unknown director, it would pass in the night with only scant notice.”

The tables are now being turned on Stewart, as he begins to promote his own film. The Hollywood Reporter is his first stop, with a cover interview (too bad about that review). On his own show on Thursday night, he presented two new clips.

The movie opens in theaters on Nov. 7.

Tie-in:

Rosewater: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival
Maziar Bahari, Aimee Molloy, Jon Meacham (Foreword by)
Random House Trade Paperbacks October 21, 2014

HBO’s OLIVE KITTERIDGE Release Dates Set

Friday, August 29th, 2014

Olive KitteridgeHBO’s miniseries based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout (Random House, 2008) is scheduled to debut on Sunday, Nov. 2. The first two parts will be shown that night, followed by the final two parts the next night.

Directed by Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right), with Tom Hanks and Frances McDormand producing, the series stars:

Frances McDormand … Olive Kitteridge

Richard Jenkins … Henry Kitteridge (Olive’s husband)

John Gallagher Jr. … Christopher Kitteridge, (Olive and Henry’s son)

Cory Michael Smith … Kevin Coulson, (Olive’s former student)

Zoe Kazan … Denise Thibodeau, (works with Henry at the pharmacy)

Brady Corbet … Henry Thibodeau, (married to Denise)

Rosemarie DeWitt … Rachel Coulson

Unfortunately, no trailers have been released yet.

Official Web Site: HBO.com/Olive-Kitteridge

Tie-in:

Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout
Random House Trade Paperbacks: October 28, 2014
Trade Paperback: $15.00 USD / $15.00 CAD

SEVENTH SON, Second Trailer

Friday, August 29th, 2014

Jeff Bridges’s long-awaited adaptation of The Giver is considered a flop by Hollywood standards, but it’s a huge success by publishing standards, causing the book to soar to #2 on the USA Today‘s Best Selling Books list, its highest spot to date.

What does this portend for the next big dystopian adaptation, The Maze Runner, based on the the book by James Dashner? Variety is already predicting that it will be a hit when it opens on Sept. 19. The book is currently #4 on USA Today‘s list, also its highest spot to date.

Meanwhile, one of the much-touted “grounded” Y.A. movies (translation: no expensive special effects required),  If I Stay, had a solid beginning at the box office last weekend. It is also brought a major boost to book sales. It is #1 on the USA Today list, followed close behind by the sequel, Where She Went, at #6.

Amidst all this discussion of what works in adaptations and what doesn’t, the second trailer for another long-delayed YA adaptation, starring Bridges was just released. Seventh Son, opening in February, is based on The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney (HarperCollins/Greenwillow, 2005). Set in the 1700’s, it co-stars Julianne Moore as Mother Malkin, “the most evil witch in the world” with Bridges as the mentor to a young apprentice played by Ben Barnes.

Tie-in:

0062209701_95326The Last Apprentice: Seventh Son: Book 1 and Book 2

Joseph Delaney

(HarperCollins/Greenwillow; December 23, 2014

Paperback; $9.99 USD / $11.99 CAD

Best Seller Debut:
WE ARE NOT OURSELVES

Thursday, August 28th, 2014

9781476756660_e9693Arriving at #32 on today’s USA Best-Selling Books list is a debut that has been a growing critical hit, We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas., (S&S; S&S Audio). 

The novel is also a hit in the U.K., where is on the long list for the Guardian First Book Award. The author was interviewed in that publication  yesterday.

As we noted in our earlier story, Big Books of the Fall, holds are growing in libraries.

Major Promo for
THE MINIATURIST

Tuesday, August 26th, 2014

9780062306814_315ffA sure indicator that a new book season is upon us is a WSJ story on the marketing efforts behind a particular title.

This season, it’s The Miniaturist, by Jessie Burton, (HarperCollins/Ecco; HarperLuxe).

About a lonely young woman in 17th C Amsterdam who creates a magical dollhouse that begins to predict the future, it is also a LibraryReads pick and gets an A- in Entertainment Weekly. Read a sample vis OverDrive.

Based on a review in the locally influential Cleveland Plain Dealer, Wendy Bartlett of Cuyahoga Public Library, has already put in a hefty additional order that is quadruple the initial quantity.

article-2717879-2021DE2300000578-388_306x473Published earlier in the U.K., it’s been in the top ten there since July. The Wall Street Journal details the elaborate U.K.  marketing campaign, with intricate shop displays that include “doll’s houses and Delft pottery, in one case flying a motorized parakeet around the books (a green bird figures in the novel).”

The U.K. cover features an actual dollhouse, complete with its own “making of” video.

 

Big Books of the Fall

Monday, August 25th, 2014

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The fall season gets into gear next week with the release of David Mitchell’s Bone Clocks, (Random House; Recorded Books) A profile of the author in today’s NYT notes, “Mr. Mitchell has evolved from being a cult author with a small but rabid fan base to a major literary figure whose work has been compared to that of Nabokov, Pynchon and Dostoyevsky.”

The #1 IndieNext title for September, it rose to #153 (from  #296) as a result.

Over 600 pages long, it’s a big book in more ways than one and competes for serious review attention, as well as readers’ time, with another 600-plus-page, very different novel, We Are Not Ourselves, by Matthew Thomas, (S&S; S&S Audio). Released two weeks ago, this debut has heavier holds than Mitchell’s book and is now at #74 on Amazon. It’s received a string of laudatory reviews, beginning with Entertainment Weekly and continuing with the NYT‘s Janet Maslin, the L.A. Times‘s David Ulin, and USA Today. The New Yorker uses it a springboard to “reassess the burgeoning genre” of books about Alzheimer’s, beginning with Still Alice by Lisa Genova. and giving the highest marks to “Thomas’s realist epic [because it] … exceeds the usual boundaries of fiction on the subject [and] offer the truest and most harrowing account of a descent into dementia …

OverDrive sample — We Are Not Ourselves

NPR “Esclusive First Read” — The Bone Clocks

Titles To Know and Recommend, Week of 8/25

Friday, August 22nd, 2014

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Among the authors that will be welcomed back with open arms next week is Louise Penny, whose next Chief Inspector Gamache title is The Long Way Home, (Macmillan/Minotaur; Macmillan Audio; OverDrive sample). Susan Vreeland continues her art history themed books with Lisette’s List, (Random House; BOT)

Samples:

OverDrive. Lisette’s List

There’s also a new James Patterson, but this time, it’s an original trade paperback. The Private series opens offices in Sydney, Australia, with the title Private Down Under, (Hachette/Grand Central; Hachette/Audio; Hachette Large Print), being published for the first time in the U.S. after its U.K. release last year. It is written with Michael White, a British author living in Australia in his first collaboration with Patterson.

All the titles listed here, as well as more notable titles arriving next week, are on our downloadable EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of 8/25/14, with ordering information and alternative formats.

LibraryReads Picks

9780062106070_e95fcHeroes Are My Weakness, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, (HarperCollins/Morrow; HarperLuxe; HarperAudio)

“Any Susan Elizabeth Phillips novel is going to make it onto my must-read list, but this one is particularly wonderful, and here’s why: she creates, then cheerfully destroys, the romance cliche of the brooding hero with a dark secret who lives in a crumbling mansion and captivates a plucky heroine. The hero is a horror novelist, and the heroine a failed actress-turned-puppeteer. This warm, witty, comedy-drama is a perfect summer read.” — Donna Matturri, Pickerington Public Library, Pickerington, OH

9780765375865_a8b15Lock In, John Scalzi, (Macmillan/Tor);  excerpt from OverDrive

“There’s been a good run of fantasy and science fiction books this year. Joining the list of great fantastical reads is John Scalzi’s Lock In. Scalzi is best known for his military SF (especially the Old Man’s War series), so his latest is a change of pace. A blending of SF and police procedural that hits every note just right.” — Jane Jorgenson, Madison Public Library, Madison, WI

Tons of Tie-ins

It’s going to be another big fall for book adaptations. This week brings tie-ins to some of the most anticipated, including Gone Girl  (check our tie-ins listing for all of the over 40 adaptations coming through December).

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This Is Where I Leave You, (Movie Tie-in), Jonathan Tropper (Penguin/Plume) — Movie releases 9/19

An all-star cast includes Jane Fonda (who, based on the trailer, is having a grand time in her role), Jason Bateman,  Tina Fey, Adam Driver and Rose Byrne.

A Walk Among the Tombstones (Movie Tie-in Edition), Lawrence Block, (Hard Case Crime) — Movie releases, 9/19

Liam Neeson brings Block’s alcoholic ex-cop, Matthew Scudder to life. And, yes, the part involves some phone time.

Tracks (Movie Tie-in Edition) : A Woman’s Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback, Robyn Davidson, (RH/Vintage) — Movie releases 9/19

Released early this year in many other countries, this is getting just a limited theatrical release in the U.S., so we weren’t expecting much publicity for it, but it is featured prominently in Entertainment Weekly‘s Fall movie preview. True to her character, Mia Wasikowska is mostly solo in this true story of a woman on a journey to exorcise her demons, with a brief appearance by Adam Driver as a National Geographic photographer

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Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn, (RH/Broadway; Trade pbk;  Mass MarketRH Audio) — Movie releases 10/3

The only thing we have to say about this one is, did they really think they needed to bother with a tie-in?

Before I Go to Sleep tie-in, S. J. Watson, (Harper Pbks) — Movie releases 10/31

Nicole Kidman stars with Colin Firth. Enough said.

Horns Movie Tie-in Edition, Joe Hill, (Harper Pbks) — Movie releases 10/31

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, in a very grown-up role, this was released last year in the U.K., it has been a long time coming to the U.S. The release of the trailer sent the book up Amazon’s sales rankings, so the publicity for the movie is likely to have the same effect.

GalleyChatter: Ten Fall/Winter Titles To Read Now

Thursday, August 21st, 2014

Editor’s Note:  Robin Beerbower is EarlyWord‘s regular “GalleyChatter” columnist. In her day job, Robin is the readers’ advisor and homebound services coordinator for the Salem [OR] Public Library. Enthusiastic about the importance (and fun) of reading books ahead of publication, she tirelessly tracks down galleys, making her an authority on what to read next. She is also very active on the Edelwiss Community Board, using it to spot titles and gauge developing buzz among librarians (you can join in; just register on Edelweiss and “friend” Robin).

Below are her picks of the titles brought up during our most recent GalleyChat. Join us for the next GalleyChat, Tuesday, Sept. 9 (note that this one is one week later than the normal first Tuesday of the month), 4 to 5 p.m., EDT — #ewgc.

If you missed the August chat, or simply found the feed a bit difficult to follow, check here for a list of the titles discussed.

Narrative Nonfiction 

“I want a true book that reads like a good novel.”  I love getting this question from patrons and so am pleased to learn about three new titles from fellow GalleyChatters..

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A literary true crime with touches of southern gothic, God’ll Cut You Down: The Tangled Tale of a White Supremacist, a Black Hustler, a Murder, and How I Lost a Year in Mississippi, John Safran (Penguin/Riverhead, November) won approval from two chatters.  Bryan Summers (Yuma County Library District) is especially keen on it saying, “The author is now in my I’ll-Read-Anything-By-Him pile.”

For a “great combo of a personal story & the science of attention,” Stephanie Chase of BiblioCommons recommends Matt Richtel’s “powerful” study of a 2006 “texting-while-driving” tragedy, A Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention (HarperCollins/Morrow, September).

John Krakauer’s Into the Wild, about Christopher McCandless, who mysteriously disappeared into the Alaskan wilderness, has fascinated readers for years (as well as Sean Penn who adapted it into movie in 2007). In The Wild Truth (HarperOne, October), Carine McCandless gives us the story of her family and why her brother left for the wilderness. It even has a foreword by Krakauer himself. Darien Library’s Jennifer Dayton says, “we are presented a family dynamic so dysfunctional that it makes Chris McCandless’ [aka Alexander Supertramp] decision to walk away from polite society not only a viable solution but the right one.” As of this writing there is no DRC but email the HarperCollins library marketing rep for a print copy.

Book Group Candidates

9780316370134_320fbLeading the pack of  titles that will get reading groups talking is Laird Hunt’s Neverhome (Hachette/ Little Brown; Blackstone Audio; September), which not only won raves from GalleyChatters but has also garnered multiple reviews on Edelweiss. Vicki Nesting (St. Charles Parish Library) says “On its surface this is the story of a woman who dresses as a man and goes off to fight in the Civil War, yet the haunting, poetic writing elevates it beyond that. This is a story you will want to read aloud, to savor.”

9781455551927_e1afeReminding Kaite Stover (Kansas City Public Library) of Stephen King’s The Body (later turned into the movie “Stand By Me”), is Chris Scotton’s The Secret Wisdom of the Earth, (Hachette/Grand Central, January). This story set in the coal mining Appalachian mountains during the 1980s  saying it has the “same strong male relationships and heart-wrenching coming of age elements. “

9781476757445_a9bdcIt’s been a long wait for fans who loved Lois Leveen’s Secrets of Mary Bowser so we are excited that Juliet’s Nurse (S&S/Atria/Bestler) will be released in September. Early readers haven’t been disappointed. The story of Romeo and Juliet told from the perspective of Juliet’s nurse had Salem Public Library’s Ann Scheppke saying “To Leveen’s wonderfully crafted plot, add lovely language and a cast of truly complex characters. A sure bet for fans of Geraldine Brooks.” But please, no spoilers on the ending!

9780307700315_0376fJane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres remains a book group favorite, so there is already great anticipation for her new title, Some Luck (RH/Knopf, October). Jennifer Dayton says this first book in a trilogy featuring generations of an Iowa farm family is easily one of her favorite books of the year. The other two are scheduled to be published in spring and late summer of 2015.

9780525427247_21290If it is set in a bookshop and features Jane Austen, it seems like a sure thing that book groups will want to read it. The literary mystery First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen, Charlie Lovett (Penguin/Viking, October), is a favorite of Beth Mills (New Rochelle Public Library) who says what she found intriguing was that the imagined relationship for Austen wasn’t romantic, but one that fostered her confidence as writer.

Crime Fiction

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Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train (Penguin/Riverhead; January) had me riveted from the first page and January can’t come soon enough so I can get this in the hands of patrons — or at least on their holds lists.  My colleague Ann Scheppke says this mashup of Gaslight and Rear Window with its cast of control freaks, liars, and philanderers is a compulsively readable debut novel.

For patrons who want a fearless and witty private investigator similar to Sue Grafton’s, I push Betty Webb’s mysteries featuring Scottsdale’s Lena Jones.  I’m delighted to report that her latest, Desert Rage (Poisoned Pen Press, October) is one of the best in the line-up. Collection librarians may want to consider picking up her entire backlist, so patrons can start from the beginning.

Join us Tuesday, September 9 (note the temporary change to the second Tuesday) for our next GalleyChat and please friend me if you want notifications of what I’m anticipating on Edelweiss.

Jungle Book vs. Jungle Book: Origins

Wednesday, August 20th, 2014
One of many editions of the classic, this one has an intro by Neil Gaiman (RH Young Readers(

One of many editions of the classic, this one with an intro. by
Neil Gaiman
(RH Young Readers)

There’s been a few film adaptations of  Rudyard Kipling’s 1894 collection of stories, The Jungle Book over the years.  Two new ones are in the works and are set to arrive in theaters within a year of each other.

The Disney version, scheduled for release Oct 15 next year, has most of the cast in place and is ready to begin production.

There’s been little news about the Warner Bros. version, titled Jungle Book: Origins, to be released on Oct 12, 2016, until now. The Hollywood Reporter announces the first cast member, Benedict Cumberbatch is in place, indicating that it is moving forward as well.

Cumberbatch will be the voice of the villain Shere Khan, a man-eating tiger. In the Disney version, directed by Jon Favreau, he is set to be voiced by Idris Elba. Entertainment Tonight has fun doing a face-off between the two, but you could go even further. How about a face-off with the gravelly malevolent voice of  George Sanders (who was Shere Khan In Disney’s 1967 version) or with Bombay, the actual Bengal tiger in Disney’s 1994 live-action version?

UPDATE: A few hours after we finished this story, more cast members were announced for the Warner Bros. version, so now you can enjoy and even larger face-off.

Mowgli
Warner: Rohan Chand (Bad Words star)
vs.
Disney:  newcomer, Neel Sethi

Shere Khan, the man-eating tiger
Warner: Benedict Cumberbatch
vs.
Disney:  Idris Elba

Baloo, the bear
Warner: Andy Serkis (the film’s director)
vs.
Disney:  Bill Murray

Kaa, the python
Warner: Cate Blanchett
vs.
Disney:  Scarlett Johansson

Bagheera, the panther
Warner: Christian Bale
vs.
Disney:  Ben Kingsley

The Real Laura Ingalls Wilder

Wednesday, August 20th, 2014

pioneer-girl-ciIt could be the Mark Twain autobiography of this fall.

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s autobiography, which was the basis for her Little House on the Prairie books, will be published by the South Dakota State Historical Society Press this fall. Titled Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography, distributors are showing a Nov. 20 release date.

According to a story by the Associated Press, its “not-safe-for-children tales include stark scenes of domestic abuse, love triangles gone awry and a man who lit himself on fire while drunk off whiskey.”

See PioneerGirlProject.org for more on the project.

Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography
Laura Ingalls Wilder, edited by Pamela Smith Hill
ISBN 978-0-984504176, hardcover, $39.95

On Fresh Air: DOCTORED

Wednesday, August 20th, 2014

9780374141394_c2c03The author of a book with an attention-getting title, Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician, Sandeep Jauhar, (Macmillan/FSG) was featured on NPR’s Fresh Air yesterday.

Jauhar has some scary things to say about how the current health care system forces doctors  to work too fast, take on too many patients and run too many unneccasary tests.

The book was also reviewed in the NYT yesterday.

Jauhar has written several Op-Ed pieces for the NYT on these subjects.

Holds Alert: WE ARE NOT OURSELVES

Tuesday, August 19th, 2014

9781476756660_e9693Libraries are showing growing holds on We Are Not Ourselves, a debut novel by Matthew Thomas, (S&S; S&S Audio), which was heavily promoted at Book Expo this year. It just broke into Amazon’s top 100, and is currently at #53.

Featured in the book section of the current issue of Entertainment Weekly, it is also passionately recommended on EW‘s “Shelf Life” blog because, “it’s amazing. It’s beautiful and simple and elegant.”

We tend to agree, based on reading the OverDrive Sample.

KICK Gets Boost From Maslin

Tuesday, August 19th, 2014

9781476749785_a7da7Chelsea Cain’s latest, One Kick, (S&S; S&S Audio), releasing today, is the beginning of a new series, one that the NYT‘s Janet Maslin says “is capable of reaching a much broader audience because it is far less gruesome [than the author’s Gretchen Lowell series], at least by Ms. Cain’s standards.”

The reviewer for sister publication, the NYT Book Review, however, sees it as an “unsettling new thriller, which delves into the bleak and disturbing subject of child abduction and pedophilia,” and compares the protagonist to Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander.

See how disturbing you find it, by reading the OverDrive Sample.

One Kick is also the #1 LibraryReads pick for August.

Holds are currently modest in most libraries, but if Maslin’s prediction proves true, they are likely to grow.

To The Movies: A MONSTER CALLS

Tuesday, August 19th, 2014

9780763655594_0d347Things are moving quickly for the film adaptation of Patrick Ness’s Y.A. novel, A Monster Calls, (illus. by Jim Kay, Candlewick, 2011).

The Hollywood Reporter announces that Sigourney Weaver has just oined the cast. Focus Features bought the rights to the book in March and shortly after set a release date of Oct. 14, 2016.

About a 13-year boy, Conor, who is dealing with his mother’s death, bullying at school, and then a monster in his back yard, Ness wrote it based on an idea by Siobhan Dowd, who died before she could complete the project (read Ness’s tribute to her in a sample from OverDrive).

Ness, who wrote the screenplay, and illustrator Jim Kay went on to win Britain’s Carnegie and Greenaway Medals for the book.

Weaver will play the boy’s grandmother, Felicity Jones his mother and Liam Neeson, the monster. The crucial role of Conor has not been cast yet.