First things first: choose the page, not the headset. Carrington MacDuffie's voice is just too old to narrate the inner lives of two teenage sisters – no lilting resonance, no youthful lightness. Might I suggest that the better options for aurally appreciating the extraordinary Francisco X. Stork would be Marcelo...
How I chose this: It actually had nothing to with that shiny 2005 Michael L. Printz Award sticker on the cover. The narrator, Kim Mai Guest, made me do it! Guest, who is apparently 43 (so says her Wiki bio), has one of those eternal voices, always...
Before you read further, you'll need to click here to catch up on the first three volumes of this creepy, obsessive, love-triangle-of sorts. While the three protagonists are tweenaged middle-schoolers, this is definitely not your kiddie manga: abusive language aside, the deviant psychological manipulations are shocking,...
Absolute details surrounding the life of Dave the Potter are limited and uncertain. What remains of his life story almost two centuries later, is scattered with uncertain words, including 'sometime,' 'about,' 'believed to be,' 'might,' 'possibly,' and other such noncommittal qualifiers. The few surviving documents...
A couple of days after filing my feature on Pauline A. Chen, I got on the phone to ask her all the questions I couldn’t find answers to out there in the virtual world of google-ing. True confession moment: I admit I was a wee bit...
"All children, regardless of where they live, should have the opportunity to grow up healthy and lead a productive life," writes Melinda Gates in her foreword to this, the latest "A Global Fund for Children Book." As she shares the wrenching statistic that over seven million...
When the teenaged Pauline Chen arrived in Harvard Yard, her intention was to become a writer. The American-born daughter of Taiwanese parents, she grew up amidst Long Island’s endless strip malls and was determined – she wrote in July 2012 at Tribute Books – to shed her “provincial” upbringing....
I think at least a decade has passed since I read a Chris Bohjalian title (Midwives remains my favorite). Two shocks came with this, his latest: 1. He's got 15 books out already; and 2. He's of Armenian descent (yes, I should have connected that '-ian'...
A couple of months ago, one of my trusty literary friends with whom I often share must-read titles told me about seeing 'everyone' carrying this novel around last fall. So she decided to see for herself what the hubbub was about. Once she started, she...
Official word of warning: this is NOT your kiddies' manga. Both in subject matter and graphics, Message is definitely for mature audiences. So if you have younger ones in the house, be careful not to leave the book lying around. The "godfather of manga" has...
"Cherish baby girls around the world," the back cover rightfully demands. And who could possibly resist the red-cheeked cuddlebug from Russia, the laughing wonder from Peru, the bejeweled bundle from India, the kitty-hugger (never mind the beast himself) from New Zealand, the intrepid explorer (with...
What are the chances ...
Here's a common occurrence at our house: I can't go to bed without a book, which usually means I'm a constant barrage of 'Did you know that ...
I'm facing a bit of a conundrum with this book: just how little can I tell you and still entice you to check out this astonishing debut novel by emerging-fully-formed-like-Athena, new author Jeff Backhaus? Hmm ...
When Pancho Sanchez arrives at St. Anthony's Home, his 17-year-old self has already survived too much death, and yet he's planning on more. The last of his family – his mentally challenged 20-year-old sister – was found dead in a motel room. While the police insist what...
What began with the scare-every-parent-to-death middle grade/young adult novel, The Face on the Milk Carton, concludes (for now) after 23 years, four sequels books, and one e-story (What Janie Saw, which I confess is the only part of the series I haven't read, mainly because I can't bear to...
Whenever I open a Shaun Tan book, my face just gets a goofy grin. It's a Pavlovian reaction, guaranteed. Although his latest doesn't come with a straightforward narrative, it does manage to cleverly include tidbits and reminiscences from his entire oeuvre to create a whimsical portrait...
This is not a spoiler: If you take a good look at the cover of the recent memoir Bend, Not Break: A Life in Two Worlds, you know the pages will deliver a happy ending ...
Let's go back about seven years. So a writer walks into a bar. It's dark, but thankfully not smoky. The majority of the people there are more bookish (including Booker-ish!) than biker brutish. The writer finds a drink, and is standing slightly off the side with...
A busy Seattle hospital. Hip, young doctors. Desperate patients. Administrative hierarchies. Sound familiar? I heard the latest Carol Cassella title (Healing) even has a character named Addison! I started (because of an alma mater connection), then stopped watching Grey's Anatomy after the first season (although I've had to revisit...
