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Four trade magazines, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and Library Journal, offer short reviews of many thousands of books. Of particular interest to editors are those that receive a "star" for unusual merit. This regular feature highlights new titles with stars from at least three of the four publications.
Our fourth When Stars Align includes 18 books that received three or more stars—a 300 percent increase from our last roundup. This isn't such a surprise, since publishers are saying that this fall will see the release of numerous great, industry-redeeming books. To save space, we've given special attention to two works that received stars from all four trade magazines and have simply listed the remaining titles.
Victor Lodato's debut novel, Mathilda Savitch, centers on a 13-year-old girl who is trying to cope with the tragic death of her older sister. Convinced that her sister was murdered, the young Mathilda hacks into her e-mail correspondence to recreate her final days and solve the mystery. Publisher's Weekly says Mathilda is "a metaphysical Holden Caulfield for the terrifying present day." Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
In Stitches, a graphic memoir, author and illustrator David Small tells the story of his difficult childhood. His father, a radiologist, subjected him to repeated X-rays that eventually led to throat cancer. A botched operation later left him mute. Kirkus calls the book "emotionally raw [and] artistically compelling," and Booklist raves: "Think no less than Maus." Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
Fiction
Homer & Langley by E.L. Doctorow. Booklist, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
Love and Summer by William Trevor. Kirkus, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. Booklist, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
Mystery
Crossers by Philip Caputo. Kirkus, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon. Booklist, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
Nonfiction
Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America by Barbara Ehrenreich. Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly.
The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan. Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly.
The Case for God by Karen Armstrong. Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly.
The Good Soldiers by David Finkel. Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly.
The Wolf in the Parlor: The Eternal Connection Between Humans and Dogs by Jon Franklin. Booklist, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
Young-Adult Fiction
Fire by Kristin Cashore. Kirkus, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck. Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly.
The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo. Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal.
Children's Literature—Picture books
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney. Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly.
Children's Literature—Nonfiction
A Savage Thunder by Jim Murphy. Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal.
Years of Dust by Albert Marrin. Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal.
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sponsorship
Four trade magazines, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and Library Journal, offer short reviews of many thousands of books. Of particular interest to editors are those that receive a "star" for unusual merit. This regular feature highlights new titles with stars from at least three of the four publications.
Our third When Stars Align includes several debut works—a nice development given that our last list was populated entirely by old hands.
Harry Dolan's debut novel, Bad Things Happen, takes place on the "mean streets" of Ann Arbor, Mich. When the head honcho of a mystery magazine gets pushed out of a window and falls to his death, new hire David Loogan gets pinned for the crime. To prove his innocence, he has to figure out who among the editors, writers, and interns is guilty. Booklist says "rarely have suspects been so archly articulate," and Publisher's Weekly predicts that Dolan "has a bright future." Booklist, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
James Lasdun's second short story collection, It's Beginning to Hurt, concerns middle-aged characters experiencing existential crises. The protagonist of the title story is a businessman who attends the funeral of his former lover and then falls back into the habit of lying to his wife. Kirkus says the collection merits comparison to William Trevor and Graham Swift. Kirkus, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire is the second title in the Hunger Games trilogy. In this installment, teen protagonist Katniss Everdeen sorts out her love life and avoids the evil President Snow. Booklist says Collins' "crystalline, unadorned prose provides an open window to perfect pacing and electrifying world building." Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly.
Christ Barton and Tony Persiani's first picture book, The Day-Glo Brothers, tells the story of Bob and Joy Switzer, who invented a brand of fluorescent paint visible in daylight. Publisher's Weekly raves about the "exuberantly retro 1960s drawings," and Kirkus says "these two putty-limbed brothers shine even more brightly than the paints and dyes they created." Kirkus, School Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
In Ulysses & Us: The Art of the Everyday in Joyce's Masterpiece, Declan Kiberd tries to make James Joyce's notoriously difficult masterpiece accessible to those who couldn't get past the first page. He argues that although the book is now largely read by "more snobbish modernists," Joyce wanted to deliver "usable wisdom" to ordinary people. Publisher's Weekly says that this book "should be on every undergraduate syllabus" and Booklist hopes that this "daring work" might put Ulysses "in the hands of its rightful readers." Booklist, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
In The Book of William: How Shakespeare's First Folio Conquered the World, NPR correspondent Paul Collins explains how the first collection of Shakespeare's plays became the most sought after book collector's item in the world. Booklist says Collins' history is one of "the most enjoyable examples" of "book biography" ever. Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher's Weekly.
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sponsorship
Four trade magazines, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and Library Journal, offer short reviews of many thousands of books. Of particular interest to editors are those that receive a "star" for unusual merit. This regular feature highlights new titles with stars from at least three of the four publications.
Our second When Stars Align includes two mysteries, a children's book, a short story collection, a love story, and a nonfiction chronicle of life in Montana. None of these authors is new to the book world: Not only have they all published books before, but almost all of them have previously garnered starred reviews.
The only book to receive four stars this time around is Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me, a science-fiction book aimed at 'tweens. When 12-year-old Miranda receives a cryptic postcard that says "I'm coming to save your friend's life, and my own," she doesn't know what to think—until she realizes the note is from the future. Booklist warns that "if this book makes your head hurt, you're not alone" but Kirkus promises that "teen readers will circle back to the beginning and say, ‘Wow ... cool.'" Booklist, Kirkus, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
2008 Man Booker Prize Winner Adiga Aravind's collection of short stories, Between the Assassinations, received great press when it was released in mid-June (just after our first roundup). The stories are set in Kittur, India between the assassinations of Indira Gandhi in 1984 and Rajiv Ghandi in 1991. Publisher's Weekly says that "the small epiphanies" in the stories "hit like bricks from heaven." Kirkus, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
In Reggie Nadelson's Londongrad: An Artie Cohen Mystery, a New York City police detective attempts to avenge the gruesome murder of his love, Valentina Sverdloff. Kirkus says this is the story that Nadelson was "born to tell." Kirkus, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
The recently deceased Donald E. Westlake's 15th and final book, Get Real, takes its title from a reality-show production company that tries to stage a televised robbery. Publisher's Weekly promises that the book will "rouse chuckles from even jaded readers" and Booklist toasts "Here's to crime: how sweet it is!" Booklist, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
Dai Sijie's Once on a Moonless Night, received rave reviews from Britain and France, where it has already been released. An unnamed Western student in China falls in love with a greengrocer, Tumchooq, who tells her the story of a lost Buddhist sutra written in a forgotten language. The novel, according to Booklist, proves "that language is transcendent; books are precious; translation is a noble art; stories are the key to freedom; and truth prevails." Booklist, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.
Rich Bass' The Wild Marsh: Four Seasons at Home in Montana records his seasonal observations of nature in a remote corner of Montana. Library Journal calls it "a walk through the author's soul." Kirkus, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly.