Recent Titles
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April 2010
I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells
* A bestseller in Germany, published by Piper in October 2009
* KIRKUS Starred Review
"Fifteen-year-old John Wayne Cleaver knows he's different, but not because he has but one friend (and doesn't much like him) and not because he regularly helps out in his mother's mortuary. He's different because he recognizes the classic signs of an incipient serial killer in his own personality, and he's created a rigid set of rules to follow to keep his darker nature in check. When a string of grisly murders begins in Clayton, John's small hometown, he uses his specialized knowledge of serial killers to investigate. Will the darkness on the outside intensify the darkness within? Especially when he finds there is much more to this killer than anyone expects…even John. Wells's debut, the first in a projected trilogy starring a character who seems the love child of Showtime's Dexter and F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack, is an unabashedly gory gem. While certainly not for all audiences, this deft mix of several genres features a completely believable teenage sociopath (with a heart of gold), dark humor, a riveting mystery and enough description of embalming to make any teen squeamish even if they won't admit it. Buy multiples where it won't be banned."
"This dazzling unputdownable debut novel proves beyond a doubt that Dan Wells has the gift. His teenage protagonist is as chilling as he is endearing. More John Wayne Cleaver, please." - F. Paul Wilson, New York Times Bestselling author
"The beauty of the prose, mixed with the depth of characterization, gives the haunting, first-person narrative a human touch. Regardless of your age or genre preferences, you will find this story both profound and enthralling." - Brandon Sanderson, New York Times Bestselling author
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Fans of Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series and its TV spinoff will welcome Wells's gripping debut, the first in a projected trilogy featuring 15-year-old sociopath John Wayne Cleaver. Cleaver lives in Clayton, a small town in the heart of Middle America, where he assists his mother with the family mortuary and seeks to keep his demons at bay through sessions with a psychotherapist and rigid adherence to a set of boundaries. Obsessed with serial killers, Cleaver lives in fear that the monster inside him will break out and act on his violent fantasies. When the eviscerated remains of a local man turn up behind a Laundromat, the first of several murders in which the killer butchers his prey and takes body parts as trophies, Cleaver turns detective. Wells does a good job entering the mind of his unlikely protagonist..."
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Available at Amazon and IndieBound |
March 2010
The Snowball Effect by Holly Nicole Hoxter
* PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Starred Review
"Lainey has just graduated from high school when she finds out that her mother has committed suicide. Her older stepsister, Vallery, is a virtual stranger when she shows up to take custody of Lainey's five-year-old adopted brother, Collin, who has behavioral problems. Lainey's long-term boyfriend, Riley, tries to support her, but her repressed anger leads her to break up with him on her 18th birthday so she can pursue a relationship with a 21-year-old she meets on a late-night run to 7-Eleven. Lainey and Vallery settle into raising Collin together as Lainey begins to work out her feelings about her mother, Riley, and her father, who wants to be there for her. The story could have easily lapsed into melodrama (Lainey's stepfather and grandmother have also recently died), but debut novelist Hoxter gives a masterful portrayal of the effects of grief. The blue-collar setting is impeccably realized, from Lainey's busted Grand Am to her job at a mall kiosk, adding up to a portrait of a complex and relatable main character whose growth feels authentic and earned. Ages 12-up."
KIRKUS
"Expertly weaving together quirky family stories, realistic characters and tough decisions, Hoxter presents a unique coming-of-age story, which highlights that teens need not just go with the flow but can and should control their own destinies."
BOOKLIST
"Hoxter carefully balances real problems and creates a compelling character."
"Hoxter's debut pulls the reader in and doesn't let go until the very end. Her characters are complex and realistic, and the entertaining plot is as complicated as the soap opera heroine Lainey is named after." - 4 Stars, Romantic Times
Lainey Pike can tell you everything you need to know about the people in her family just by letting you know how they died. Her reckless stepfather drove his motorcycle off the highway and caused the biggest traffic jam in years. Her long-suffering grandmother lived through cancer and a heart attack before finally succumbing to a stroke. And Lainey's mother -- well, Lainey's mother hanged herself in the basement just days after Lainey's high school graduation.
Now Lainey's five-year-old brother is an orphan, and her estranged older sister is moving back home to be his guardian. Meanwhile, Lainey's boyfriend is thinking about having a family of their own, and her best friends are always asking the wrong sorts of questions and giving advice Lainey doesn't want to hear. As she tries to pull away from everything familiar, Lainey meets an intriguing new guy who, through a series of Slurpees, burgers, and snowballs, helps her to make peace with a parent she never understood.
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Available at Amazon and IndieBound
Available at Amazon and IndieBound
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Saving Maddie by Varian Johnson
KIRKUS
"Johnson avoids heavy-handed messages with nuanced characters and a realistic treatment of Joshua and Maddie's complex relationship."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"[A] sincere story...the questions Josh weighs about morality, God, and desire feel wholly genuine."
Varian's debut YA, My Life as a Rhombus, was a 2009 NYPL Stuff for the Teen Age Pick
Praise for My Life as a Rhombus:
"Without a bit of preaching, Varian Johnson gives us a story of two teenage girls who are faced with the consequences of unplanned pregnancies. Teens will love the emotional peaks and valleys of the tale and be gratified by the conclusion." - Ellen Wittlinger, author of Hard Love
"My Life as a Rhombus is a sensitive and powerful friendship story about two very different girls who connect over the toughest decision either of them will ever make. In his YA debut, author Varian Johnson offers a realistic, heartfelt, and thoughtful take on unplanned teen pregnancy from the perspective of a young math whiz trying to reconcile her future and past." - Cynthia Leitich Smith, author of Tantalize
BOOKLIST
"...[T]here’s wry humor here, and the sometimes raw dialogue is well done. What's most interesting, though, is the way Rhonda tries to get beyond her past as she channels her anger and pain into numbers and theorems."
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Recommended
"...Johnson's exploration of Rhonda's unprocessed anger over her own abortion is deftly handled..."
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Available at Amazon and IndieBound
Available at Amazon and IndieBound |
The Dragon Factory by New York Times Bestselling author Jonathan Maberry
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"In Stoker-winner Maberry's wild second Joe Ledger novel (after Patient Zero), Joe and his comrades from the Department of Military Science (DMS) take on enough villains and their world-threatening plots to fill half a dozen ordinary thrillers. The dangers Joe and his Echo Team warriors confront include evil boy-girl albino twins born on Christmas, "each child marked with a star like the Star of Bethlehem"; weaponized genetic diseases; the Cabal, whose goal is worldwide ethnic cleansing; Nazi clones; a race of slaves called New Men; a wide array of mythical beasts (unicorns, centaurs, dragons, elves, etc.); and morphogenetic monsters such as tiger/dogs and insect/humans. Joe battles these horrors with his usual ferocity, but by the end, even this superhero is reduced to despair by the toll the job exacts. While Joe has announced his retirement, eager readers can look forward to one more volume in this humorous, over-the-top cross-genre trilogy."
Praise for the first Joe Ledger novel, PATIENT ZERO:
"When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills...and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills. And that's both a good, and a bad thing. It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance..."
* PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Plenty of man-to-zombie combat, a team traitor and a doomsday scenario add up to a fast and furious read."
* KIRKUS Starred Review
"The book is as fun and funny as it is chilling and thrill-packed. Joe is a fantastic character, full of compassion, real vulnerabilities and a deliciously dark sense of humor. An immensely entertaining package."
"The action is heated, violent, and furious, the writing remains cool, steady, and low-key, framing all the wildness and exuberance in a calm rationality (given an almost comic edge) that renders it as palatable as your favorite flavor of ice cream. This is a lovely treat and Maberry has written a memorable book." - Peter Straub
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Available at Amazon and IndieBound
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Winter/Spring 2010
Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder (Simon Pulse, January 2010)
* Companion novel to I Heart You, You Haunt Me, now in its 8th printing.
KIRKUS
New Year's Day breaks hard for Brooklyn as she faces the one-year anniversary of the car accident that killed her boyfriend Lucca; across town, Nico, Lucca's younger brother, also mourns. Rocked hard by this grim anniversary, both teens are further aggrieved to learn that on this same day their friend Gabe, the driver of the car, has committed suicide. Following Gabe's death, Brooklyn and Nico are drawn together, not by familiarity but instead by supernatural visitations from the two deceased boys, who seem determined that Brooklyn and Nico must continue to live. Written as a novel in verse, the text alternates between Brooklyn's and Nico's voices and thoughts, dreams and fears, creating an intimate and raw snapshot of their evolving relationship. Capitalizing on the elasticity of the form, Schroeder masterfully creates a parallel structure within the text, the energy and emotion of each scene heightening its overall drama, underscoring the sorrow and, above all, strengthening its final message of hope.
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Available at Amazon and IndieBound
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Fall 2009
Hold Still by Nina LaCour (Dutton, October 2009)
* William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist
* ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2010
* PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Starred Review
LaCour makes an impressive debut with an emotionally charged young adult novel about friendship and loss. Caitlin begins her junior year in high school bitter and stunned over the recent suicide of her best friend Ingrid, a talented photographer and artist. Afraid to risk new friendships and unable to continue her own artistic endeavors, Caitlin finds herself in a state of paralysis, wrestling with questions that may remain unanswered. Then she discovers Ingrid's journal, a record of her thoughts during her final days, and reasons for her tragic, perhaps inevitable fate begin to come to light. What is most remarkable about LaCour's tale is her ability to make the presence of an absent character so deeply felt. The entries and pictures in Ingrid's journal vibrate with feeling and provide insight into the pain of chronic depression ("the sun stopped shining for me is all. the whole story is: i am sad. i am sad all the time and the sadness is so heavy that I can't get away from it"). Ingrid's secrets are excruciating to discover, but the ample evidence of her creative force makes it clear that her life had meaning.
"A beautifully written, gently moving account of a long goodbye that will resonate with anyone who has ever had to let go before they were ready." - Sara Zarr, author of Sweethearts
"Hold Still may be the truest depiction of the aching, gaping hole left in the wake of a suicide that I've ever read. But it's anything but depressing and gloomy -- it's also about the tender shoots of new relationships that grow unexpectedly out of tragedy. A haunting and hopeful book about loss, love, and redemption." - Gayle Forman, author of If I Stay
"Beautiful, poetic, and honest, Hold Still breaks your heart and puts it back together again." - Elizabeth Scott, author of Love You Hate You Miss You
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Available at Amazon and IndieBound
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The Book of Samuel by Erik Raschke (St. Martin's Griffin, October 2009)
BOOKLIST
"Raschke's first novel, a near-nostalgia piece set in 1980s Denver, deftly juggles religious fervor, family dysfunction, racial tension, and middle-school impishness. Samuel's father decides that his time is better spent spreading the wisdom of the Bible than attending to his family, leaving the young teen alone with his long-suffering mother. As Samuel spends his time hanging out with his two best friends, navigating the perilous waters of school, he dangerously misunderstands religion and fumbles with racism, trying to make sense of the confusing swirls of his social and familial life...Raschke is a fine writer. He works with a palette of decidedly heavy issues but applies them with such an unfailingly light hand that Samuel's minor and major struggles ring true. An entertaining and thoughtful story that leaves Samuel dangling on the precipice of coming-of-age."
"The character’s voice is pure and incredible - an awesome book all around." - Jason P., Library School Journal, Reviews by Young Adults
"[R]eaders will find meaning and satisfaction as they get to understand (Samuel)..." - Teensreadtoo.com
"Erik Raschke uses real social issues like absentee fathers, immigration and aging parents to bring believability to the sudden need for a tweener to grow up rather quickly."
- Harriet Klausner, Mainstream Fiction
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Available at Amazon and IndieBound |
Summer 2009
Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus by Kristen Tracy (Delacorte, August 2009)
* 2009 New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing List
Included on the School Library Journal Best Books of the Year list
* SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Starred Review
“Camille, a fourth-grader who lives in rural Idaho, literally slides on the ice and under the school bus. Though she’s fine, she decides to stay home for the day, having plenty to worry about. Her best friend, Sally, who recently moved to Japan, hasn’t written as promised, so Camille has resolved to act like the dingo that she saw at the zoo, ignoring the pack and refusing to become involved with anybody around her. Though Polly, her neighbor, attempts friendship, Camille is determined to remain a loner. When her parents decide to try out a brief separation, Camille feels that the only person she can talk to is her aunt, who lives far away. Despite her problems, Camille truly is resilient and eventually figures out a new approach. As winter turns to spring, she and Polly begin to build a friendship, her parents begin to work out their issues, and Sally's mail finally arrives (having been delayed by a zip-code snafu). Camille falls down a few times but always manages to bounce back. Everything isn't rosy; instead, there's growing appreciation that life isn't perfect for anyone. The lively, first-person narrative moves readers through possibly banal or overly traumatic episodes with a gentleness and humor that has them rooting for Camille. This book about friendship and loss kindly teaches that life is pretty much what one is willing to make of it.
BOOKLIST
"Middle-grade readers will enjoy the insider's viewpoint, the blend of farce and sorrow, and the ending, which brings no neat resolution, just a yearning for a world that feels 'a little more fair.'"
KIRKUS
"Camille's a survivor, 'born with the power to bounce back,' which she does with surprising panache and hope in this touching debut."
* THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS, Recommended
"Tracy develops a wonderful voice for Camille, innocent and vivid and deeply comic . . . the blend of humor and truthfulness will speak to young readers."
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Available at Amazon and IndieBound
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Secrets of Truth and Beauty by Megan Frazer (Hyperion, June 2009)
* ALA RAINBOW LIST pick
* PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Starred Review
"In a beautifully written coming-of-age story, first-time author Frazer shows how an overweight teen gets her groove back. At age seven, Dara Cohen tap-danced and sang her way to stardom, winning the title of Little Miss Maine. Now, at 17, Dara carries a lot of baggage, both around her hips and in her heart ("Here's what happened after the pageant: I got fat"). When her autobiographical English presentation about society's obsession with thinness is horribly misunderstood, Dara decides to seek out her estranged older sister, now living on a Massachusetts goat farm. Although spending a few months with her sister isn't quite what Dara imagines, it is a time of self-discovery. Readers will quickly become intrigued with the unraveling of family secrets and the cast of memorable characters Dara meets on the commune: Owen, a gay high school senior; Owen's sensitive younger brother, Milo; silent Belinda, the matriarch of the farm; and Dara's sister, Rachel, the only person who can answer questions about the girls' troubling family history. Dara emerges as a likable, complex heroine, whose growing self-confidence is touching and inspiring." |
Available at Amazon and IndieBound
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The Morgue and Me by John C. Ford (Viking, June 2009)
* Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Novel
* PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Starred Review
"Ford's dark and stellar debut, which
nicely updates many classic mystery
tropes, tells the story of high school
valedictorian Christopher Newell, who
takes a summer job at the hospital
morgue before heading to college. Naturally,
he stumbles across something he
shouldn't -- $15,000 in cash and a dead
body that the medical examiner has
ruled a suicide, even though the body
had been shot five times in the torso.
Certain that the medical examiner and
the sheriff are connected, Christopher
starts to investigate alongside Tina, a
sexy young reporter for the local paper.
The plot covers a wide range of characters,
including Christopher's ex-neighbor
(and crush), Julia; her police officer
older brother, Tim; the town's mayor
and his daughter; and Christopher's best
friend, Mike, an amateur bookie. Christopher
and Tina uncover interlocking
mysteries involving blackmail, corruption
and murder, which span years of the
town's history. Ford spins a tale that's
complex but not confusing, never whitewashing
some of the harsher crimes people
commit. The result is a story that
holds its own as a mainstream mystery
as well as a teen novel."
* LOS ANGELES TIMES
"[A] throwback-style detective novel that readers of all stripes should pay attention to."
* BOOKLIST
"Ford's unpredictable curveballs and switcheroos never relent."
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