Monday, March 21, 2011

Review: 'When Tito Loved Clara'

WHEN TITO LOVED CLARA
By Jon Michaud
Literary fiction
March 2011
Algonquin Books
ISBN: 978-1565129498

Some novels are built to read at break-neck speed, to rush through page after page, to be gobbled up without pausing to chew well. When Tito Loved Clara, the first novel by The New Yorker librarian Jon Michaud, is not one of them. No, this is a novel to savor, to want to live in for days and days, to learn all about these characters that they will reveal.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Review: 'The Mockingbirds'

THE MOCKINGBIRDS By Daisy Whitney
YA Fiction
November 2010
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 978-0-316-09053-7

Alex Patrick is a busy junior at an exclusive Providence, R.I., boarding school. But studies, her spring project, even her beloved music, take second place to the aftermath of her date rape by a fellow student. When she tells a roomate, the school's underground student justice system takes over.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

SHOTSMAG CONFIDENTIAL: In for a Penny, In for a Pound

Ali Karim, a discerning crime fiction enthusiast, has a great post today about the wonderful Louise Penny:

SHOTSMAG CONFIDENTIAL: In for a Penny, In for a Pound

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Review: 'Demonglass'

DEMONGLASS
By Rachel Hawkins
YA Paranormal
March 2011
Hyperion
ISBN: 978-1-4231-2131-2

Sophie Mercer made it through her first intense year at Hex Hall in the YA series of the same name. She discovered she wasn't just a witch; she is one of two demons in the world. The other is her absentee father. And life at Hex Hall, the school for wayward magicals, was not magical. She was attacked, she fought back, her crush turned out to be a demon hunter and is now wanted by her side, the Prodigium.

Just as it looks like things will be back to kinda, sorta normal, Daddy shows up and whisks Sophie off to England for the summer. Coming along are her best friend, sweet little lesbian vampire Jenna, and school caretaker Cal. In reality, he's quite gifted with healing power, makes plants grow like crazy and was bethrothed to Sophie by their parents when they were children. Since he knows about crush Archer, that's rather awkward.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Teaser Tuesday: 'The Ghosts of Belfast'

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

Today's teaser is from a brutal and intense crime fiction novel I'm reading for a book discussion at 4 Mystery Addicts, a fabulous online group of mystery fans:

The Merc's big engine rumbled into life, and McKenna pulled away. Fegan took one glance from the back window and saw the twelve watching from the pavement.

-- The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville

The twelve are the ghosts of people Fegan has killed as an Irish Republican thug.