Readers’ Advisory: THE YONAHLOSSEE RIDING CAMP FOR GIRLS
This just in from Wendy Bartlett, Collection Development Manager, Cuyahoga P.L. from her weekly “Hot Title” alert:
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, Anton DiSclafani. (Penguin/Riverhead)
Not only is this the most fun title to say this summer, it’s also the most fun author’s name. DiSclafani? Sounds like the newest “Defense Against the Dark Arts“ teacher, doesn’t it? And her first name is actually pronounced “Antin” (yes, she is a she). [Ed. Note: for more background on the author and her name, see our Penguin First Flights online chat].
The book is getting a lot of buzz as a good summer read [Ed Note: see the great review from one of our favorite sources, Ron Charles in the Washington Post, this week, Even the NYT‘s Michiko Kakutani is a fan] and deservedly so; you can hand sell this one to customers with confidence as the perfect vacation read. It’s doing so well for us in Cuyahoga — we bought a several for each branch and they’re flying — that we’re ordering more to make it available for browsing and hand selling.
The story is set in the Depression. Thea, who is fifteen, is banished from her wealthy parents home to an exclusive riding school in the mountains of North Carolina. You can’t stop reading until you figure out why she was sent away. The dissonance of the idea of spending the Depression among wealthy young ladies gives this novel a fresh angle. I’m loving it and I think you and your customers will too.
Let us know what is hot in your library in the comments section below.