Titles to Know and Recommend,
Week of April 11, 2016
Next week brings a range of titles for readers’ advisors, plus the return of many big names, including Nora Roberts (a LibraryReads pick, see below) and Lisa Scottoline (an Indie Next pick, also below).
Alert, Angry Birds fanatics, a movie is coming, along with tie-ins. For Broadway fans, the tie-in to Hamilton also arrives.
The titles covered here, and several other notable titles arriving next week, are listed with ordering information and alternate formats, on our downloadable spreadsheet, EarlyWord New Title Radar, Week of April 11, 2016
People magazine Picks
CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing and the Power of Their First Celebrity Crush, Cathy Alter, Dave Singleton (HarperCollins/Morrow).
Book of the Week: A collection of author’s recollections of their first crushes (Jodi Picot’s was Donny Osmond): “these first passions are hilarious, yes, but also an arrow to the heart.”
The other two picks were both covered in Titles to Know last week.
Tuesday Nights in 1980, Molly Prentiss, (S&S/Gallery/Scout Press): “The gritty New York art scene of the late ’70’s and early ’80’s pulsed with creative energy and so does this engaging novel.”
Miller’s Valley, Anna Quindlen, (PRH/RandomHouse): “a Vietnam-era look at how the true meaning of home can long outlast the structures we grow up in.”
Peer Picks
Two LibraryRead April picks hit shelves this week, a debut and the newest by Nora Roberts.
Julie McElwain’s debut, A Murder in Time (Norton/Pegasus; OverDrive Sample), sends a 26-year old FBI agent back in time to 1815 – where her training stands her in good stead, as there is a serial killer on the loose. Randee J Bybee, of Upland Public Library, Upland, CA, introduces readers to the central character:
“Kendra is a smart, confident protagonist who is familiar with the hustle it takes to stay afloat in a male-dominated profession. Thrown into a situation completely alien to her, she manages to assimilate to her surroundings, albeit roughly, while using her wits to catch a ruthless killer. She can be abrasive, and I found myself cringing, curling my toes, and muttering out loud. It will be fun to watch her mature in future books. McElwain has created a highly entertaining story.”
Nora Roberts’ newest also has a serial killer thread. Marilyn Sieb, of L. D. Fargo Public Library, Lake Mills, WI, says this of The Obsession (PRH/Berkley; Brilliance Audio):
“Readers who love romantic thrillers will be mesmerized by the latest Roberts offering. The suspense kept me up all night! Naomi Carson, a successful young photographer, has moved across the country and fallen in love. She thinks she has escaped her past, but instead finds that the sins of her father have become an obsession. The serial killer premise makes it a tough read for the faint-hearted, but sticking with it leads to a thrilling conclusion.”
The Indie Next selections for the week mirror LibraryReads in that one is a debut and the other is a return of a reader favorite.
Daredevils, Shawn Vestal (Penguin Press; Recorded Books; OverDrive Sample) is the debut. NOTE: Read our chat with the author here.
“Gooding, Idaho, 1975: Loretta, Jason, and Boyd, three teenagers each trapped in their own way, find each other and plot their escape. Vestal lays out the history and complexity of their lives and their Mormon community, from Loretta’s becoming an unwilling ‘sister wife’ in a zealous household to Jason’s struggle to identify himself while at odds with his family and hometown. Surreal interludes of ‘Evel Knievel Addresses an Adoring Nation’ showcasing the fevered stunt driver waxing poetic, demonstrate Vestal’s strength with language as a reeling Knievel appears like a vision of cowboy extremism, becoming the off-kilter savior the teenagers have been seeking.” —Julia Sinn, Bookshop Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA
Lisa Scottoline returns with Most Wanted (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press; Macmillan Audio; OverDrive Sample).
“An infertile couple decides to use a sperm donor to create the perfect family they have always wanted. When the wife sees a picture of a man who looks very similar to their donor on the evening news, the story is set in motion. Could their donor be a serial killer? Christine will stop at nothing to find out who the biological father is, even if it means the end of her marriage. This latest novel of suspense from the bestselling Scottoline is fast-paced and will keep readers guessing until the end!” —Sarah Harmuth Letke, Redbery Books, Cable, WI
Tie-ins
Hamilton: The Revolution, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeremy McCarter, (Hachette/Grand Central).
Likely to be the first Broadway script to become a best seller, this goes beyond the script to being a tie-in, with photos of the production, cast interviews, and annotations of the lyrics by Miranda.
The show will be featured on PBS Great Performances this fall.
Tim Burton takes on Alice again, this time in Alice Through the Looking Glass and there are three tie-ins connected to the new movie.
First is Alice Through the Looking Glass, Kari Sutherland (Hachette/Disney Press), a 
novelization of the film. Also on the way is Alice Through the Looking Glass: A Matter of Time, Carla Jablonski with illustrations by Olga Mosqueda, Vivien Wu, Richard Tuzon, and Jeff Thomas (Hachette/Disney Press). It is a “choose-your-own-path” story following different characters through both the familiar Alice story and the film. Finally, the novelization Alice in Wonderland (Based on the motion picture directed by Tim Burton) (Hachette/Disney Press) will be re-issued.
The movie releases May 27th.
Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War film also has a tie-in. Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War: The Deluxe Junior Novel, Marvel (Hachette/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; in paperback as well).
The strong opening of Batman v. Superman stumped critics, but box office receipts fell off after the first week, as word of mouth began to counteract heavy marketing. Marvel/Disney have their fingers crossed that their Iron Man and Captain America dust up will not follow in the footsteps of DC Comics/Warner Bros.
There is plenty of news surrounding the film already with the Black Panther set to make his big-screen debut (Chadwick Boseman plays the superhero monarch) and Spiderman also putting in an appearance. The movie opens May 6.
Although Batman v. Superman has shaken DC Comics, they will be trying their luck again with an adaptation of John Ostrander’s Suicide Squad.
A new release, Suicide Squad Vol. 3: Sea of Troubles, (PRH/DC Comics), arrives leading up to the film starring Will Smith, Joel Kinnaman, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney, and Cara Delevingne.
Previous collections are:
Suicide Squad Vol. 1: Trial by Fire
Suicide Squad Vol. 2: The Nightshade Odyssey.
Forthcoming is Suicide Squad Vol. 4: The Janus Directive
The film opens Aug. 5th.
The animated movie adaptation of the video game Angry Birds has seven more tie-ins forthcoming, on top of the one from last week.
The Angry Birds Movie: The Junior Novel, Chris Cerasi (HC/HarperFestival; OverDrive Sample) is the biggest title connected to the movie this week, but there is also:
The Angry Birds Movie: Meet the Angry Birds [Series: I Can Read Level 2], Chris Cerasi (HarperCollins).
The Angry Birds Movie: Too Many Pigs [Series: I Can Read Level 2], Chris Cerasi (HarperCollins).
The Angry Birds Movie Official Guidebook, Chris Cerasi (HC/HarperFestival).
The Angry Birds Movie: Seeing Red, Sarah Stephens (HC/HarperFestival).
The Angry Birds Movie: Big Trouble on Bird Island, Sarah Stephens (HC/HarperFestival).
The Angry Birds Movie: Laughtastic Joke Book, Courtney Carbone (HC/HarperFestival; OverDrive Sample).
For our full list of upcoming adaptations, download our Books to Movies and TV and link to our listing of tie-ins.