The talk shows will be humming next week with with appearances by Jeb Bush, for his new book on immigration reform, and Sandra Day O’Connor, for hers about the Supreme Court. On our Watch list is Mohsin Hamid’s new book, arriving just before the movie of his previous title, The Reluctant Fundamentalist and a Dan Brown-want-to-be that  fills the gap until The Inferno arrives this summer.

The following plus more highlights from next week are available on our downloadable spreadsheet, New Title Radar, Week of March 5.

Media Magnets

Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution, Jeb Bush, Clint Bolick (S&S/Threshold; S&S Audio; also published in Spanish under the title, Las guerras inmigratorias: Forjar una solución estadounidense) — Embargoed

Plenty of media attention is lined up for this book on a hot-button topic by the son of one president and brother of another. Expect him to be asked if he is planning to run for president. Given the embargo, there’s not much information on what the book contains. He has a strong personal connection with the subject, not only as the former governor of Florida, but through his wife, who was born in Mexico. To be featured heavily on TV on Monday, beginning with NBC’s Today Show followed by CBS this Morning the next day as well as NPR’s Morning Edition. Bush will also appear on Telemundo-TV.

Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O’Connor, (Random House; RH Audio; BOT)

O’Connor’s appearances will include CBS This Morning and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show as well as NPR’s Fresh Air, MSNBC’s Morning Joe and Comedy Central’s Daily Show with Jon Stewart. There’s no pre-pub reviews, so this one may also have been embargoed. As evidence of the level of the level of interest among politicos, her scheduled appearance at D.C. indie bookstore Politics and Prose sold out in record time.

The Secretary: A Journey with Hillary Clinton from Beirut to the Heart of American Power, Kim Ghattas, (Macmillan/Times Books)

In advance of Hillary Clinton’s own much-talked about memoir, which hasn’t even been sold yet, comes this biography by the BBC’s State Department correspondent who has travelled with the Secretary. The L.A. Times calls it a “vivid peek at the complex maneuverings and personalities behind Clinton’s foreign policy decisions.”

Watch List

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, Mohsin Hamid, (Penguin/Riverhead; Dreamscape Audio)

Advance attention began with an unusually glowing review from the NYT‘s Michiko Kakutani. It  continues with Ron Charles in the Washington Post and Alan Cheuse on NPR’s web site.

Ghana Must Go, Taiye Selasi, (Penguin Press)

Part of the Penguin Debut Author Program, this title is an IndieNext Pick for March: “Readers know when they are in the presence of something special and brilliant. It is a voice familiar and kind, a plot careful and unraveling, a set of characters whose hearts pound between the covers. Selasi delivers a powerful debut about family, race, and the nature of story in this contemporary novel, set in neighborhoods from Brookline, Massachusetts, to Lagos, Nigeria. A literary descendant of Zadie Smith and Arundhati Roy, Selasi is a new force in the global community of readers.” —Nicole Magistro, The Bookworm of Edwards, Edwards, CO

The Demonologist, Andrew Pyper, (Simon & Schuster; S&S Audio)

An IndieNext Pick for March: “Renowned Milton scholar David Ullman is offered a huge sum to travel abroad to document a phenomenon. With his personal life in tatters, he and his daughter, Tess, fly to Venice for a brief vacation and this one small project. David returns alone, caught up in the battle of a lifetime to rescue Tess from an enemy he can’t touch or see. Following clues from Paradise Lost, the book on which he built his reputation, David undertakes a desperate search to solve the puzzle and fight the unknown powers. Pyper combines non-stop action, metaphysical questions, a touch of conspiracy, and poetic references in a story that leaves readers breathless.” —Becky Milner, Vintage Books, Vancouver, WA. Entertainment Weekly gives it just a C+, calling it “simultaneously more and less than a Dan Brown rip-off … it’s tough to have faith in Pyper’s plotting when he depends so much on inexplicable coincidences and silly clues,” an issue that doesn’t seem to put readers off Mr. Brown. Also note the cover blurb from Gillian Flynn, “Smart, thrilling and utterly unnerving.”

Movie Tie-in

The Company You Keep (movie tie-in), Neil Gordon, (Penguin Books; Dreamscape Audio)

The movie, directed by Robert Redford, in which he also stars along with Shia LaBeouf, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte and Julie Christie, arrives in theaters on April 5.
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Next week, middle grade kids will be fighting over the next titles in two ongoing series, the sixth in The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers series (Scholastic), this one by best selling adult author David Baldacci, and a new series about the warrior cats, Dawn of the Clans #1: The Sun Trail, by Erin Hunter (HarperCollins). In Young Adult, the popular Delirium series comes to a close and another new series begins. These are just a few of the titles highlighted below and on our downloadable spreadsheet, Kids New Title Radar, Week of March 4.

Young Adult — Series

   
Requiem, Lauren Oliver, (HarperCollins; Listening Library)

The heavily anticipated conclusion to the trilogy (Delerium, Pandemonium), the first of which is currently in development for a possible FOX TV series. It does not disappoint, it’s a Spring 2013 Kids’ Indie Next List pick: “In the final book of the Delirium trilogy, Lena is in an impossible place — and it only gets worse. Oliver uses the points of view of Lena and her best friend, Hana, to give the reader perspective inside and beyond the wall, making the tale all the more interesting when their stories converge. Alex’s indifference pains Lena but she must stay strong for Julian who is quickly falling in love with her. As much as she tries to deny it, her heart will always belong to Alex — if only he would realize that. Oliver ties up all the loose ends in this thrilling conclusion.” —Alexis Duell, Market Block Books, Troy, NY

Also in print for the first time next week is the Delirium Stories (HarperCollins), which features the novellas Hanna, Annabel, and Raven, originally published as ebooks.

Unremembered, Jessica Brody, (Macmillan/FSG BYR)

First in a series, about a girl who wakes up from plane crash with no idea who she is. She’s become famous for surviving, but only one strange boy claims he knows her. Prepub reviews are mixed, but I found this one a compelling, suspenseful read and am looking foward to book 2.

Middle Grade — Series

Cal Ripken, Jr.’s All-Stars: Wild Pitch, Cal Ripken, Jr. and Kevin Cowherd, (Hyperion)

The third book in Ripken’s All-Star series captures the excitement and drama of baseball as well as the interpersonal relationships of the team members and coaches. Next reads for Jake Maddox and Matt Christopher fans.

Middle Grade — Stand Alones

The Center of Everything, Linda Urban, (Harcourt Children’s Books)

From the author of two of the best middle grade novels of the last ten years, A Crooked Kind of Perfect and Hound Dog True,  another gem, a satisfying story of community and family, friends and relationships. And donuts. Also a Spring 2013 Kids’ Indie Next List pick: “Everything in Ruby Pepperdine’s life has been wrong since her beloved grandmother died. Even her two best friends aren’t talking to her anymore. With the town gearing up for Bunning Day — the annual celebration of the invention of the doughnut — Ruby knows she has just one chance to make things right. But what if she makes the wrong wish? Ruby will win your heart as she navigates the rough waters of grief and friendship and growing up.” —Sandy Scott, The Galaxy Bookshop, Hardwick, VT

The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, Charles Vess, Illus. by Charles de Lint, (Hachette/Little, Brown YR)

Children’s librarians might remember the picture book Circle of Cats by the same team. This lushly illustrated expanded chapter book edition of the out-of-print original will capture the middle grade fantasy readers.

Picture Books

A Little Book of Sloth, Lucy Cooke, (S&S Margaret K. McElderry)

Cute Overload is positively dark and depressing compared to this factual picture book account of a sloth rescue center located in Costa Rica (see if you can resist this video from the sanctuary). Adorable Mona-Lisa smiling sloth faces with sleepy eyes, cuddling, hugging, hanging and napping. Irresistable.

Busy-Busy Little Chick,  Janice N. Harrington, Illus. by Brian Pinkney, (Macmillan/FSG BYR)

Just when librarians are bemoaning the dearth of picture book folktales, Harrington (The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County, an Irma Black Honor Award, 2006) gives us this deliciously read-aloudable version of The Hen’s House told by the Nkundo people of Central Africa.

“Mama Nsoso’s chicks shivered in their cold, damp nest”

“Peo-peo, Mama, Peo-peo. We’re chilly-cold. Our tummies are chilly-cold. Our feet are chilly-cold We’re chilly-cold all over.”

Little Chick notes that even his bottom is “chilly-cold.“

Although Mama has promised to build a new house for her chicks, she is easily distracted by tasty treats…”crunchy-munchy, sweety-meaty, big fat worms!” Tomorrow she will work; today she and her chicks will eat big fat worms.
And so it goes, yet Little Chick is not eating the “ crunchy-munchy, jumpy-jumpy, cricky-cracky crickets.” He is hard at work creating their new home. Pinkney has hit his stride as he confidently renders the chicken family in broad strokes, filling the pages with color, light and movement. We feel the chicks shivering in the damp mud of their leaky hut. We bounce along with Little Chick on a stark white background as he gathers materials for building. The rhythm of his brushstrokes make real the wind that “swooshed and made them cold.”

Flood, Alvaro F. Villa, (Capstone)

This timely wordless picture book speaks volumes about coming of a storm and the resulting flood. A family’s idyllic farmhouse surrounded by nature -a river and green fields is threatened by the impending weather. We witness the family prepare, then leave their home as the rain begins pounding down. In two dramatic double page spreads, the house is front and center as floodwaters wash through the interior walls. There is hope as the waters recede and although adults will shake their heads at the seemingly “easy” cleanup and restoration, children will find comfort in the sunny end.

Exclamation Mark  Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Illus. by Tom Lichtenheld (Scholastic)
From the team that created  Duck! Rabbit!. Need I say more? Already has an SLJ star.

Lottie Paris and the Best Place Angela Johnson, Illus. by Scott M. Fischer (S&S Books for Young Readers)
Second in the Lottie series takes this imaginative energetic child to the “best place to be” — the library, of course. Perfect for pre-library visits.

Coming next week, Geisel Honoree Pete the Cat gets a new life in two easy-to-read titles … move over Wimpy, Timmy the Failure is coming to town … and, surprise, a new entry in the YA dystopian genre, Dualed, debuts. The titles below and other highlights from next week are also available on our downloadable spreadsheet, Kids New Title Radar, Wk. of FEB 25

Picture Books

Rosie’s Magic Horse, Russell Hoban, illus. by Quentin Blake, (Candlewick)

Any title from the late Russell Hoban (Bedtime for Frances) is cause for celebration. This one is illustrated by the first British Children’s Laureate, Quentin Blake, best known for his drawings in Roald Dahl’s Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. It is featured in the NYT Children’s Books column this week, which notes that “The story is inventive from the very first pages, when it becomes apparent that the narrator is in fact a Popsicle stick.”

The Princess and the Peas, Caryl Hart, illus by Sarah Warburton, Candlewick/Nosy Crow
In a Suessian rhyme, Caryl Hart tells the tale of Lily-Rose May whose father is determined to find a way to get her to eat peas (a sampler is available here). It comes from the independent UK press, Nosy Crow, which began publishing in 2011 and formed a partnership with Candlewick shortly after.

Easy Readers

Pete the Cat: Pete’s Big Lunch
Pete the Cat: PlayBall! 
both written and illus. by James Dean, (HarperCollins)

The Geisel committee nailed it this year by naming Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by Eric Litwin, created and illustrated by James Dean, an Honor Book. Now the series is newly published in an easy-to-read format for beginning readers. Yea!

Middle Grade

Timmy Failure, written and illus by Stephan Pastis, (Candlewick)

Pastis (Pearls before Swine) brings his absurdist humor to the middle grade set in this first of the Timmy Failure series, Mistakes Were Made, a Wimpy Kid read-alike that gets a not-so-wimpy launch (the cover even sports a blurb by Jeff Kinney, “Timmy Failure is a winner!”)

The Runaway King, Jennifer A. Nielsen, (Scholastic; Scholastic Audio)
The first book in this series, The False Prince, was named a NYT Book Review and PW best book and is one of many YA and middle-grade series that has been optioned for a film.

Young Adult

Dualed, Elsie Chapman, (Random House Books for Young Readers; BOT Audio)

A new entry into the dystopian genre, which Kirkus says “kicks it up a notch.”PW calls it the “textual equivalent of a Quentin Tarantino movie,” but VOYA says, “Fans of the latest crop of speculative fiction, such as the Divergent trilogy, will want to read this imaginative tale.” Check out a sample of the BOT Audio.

Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Griffin)

YA debut by author of Attachments comes with 4 pre-pub starred reviews (Booklist, SLJ, Kirkus and PW, plus a 5 for quality and 4 for potential popluarity from VOYA). It’s a bitter-sweet story of the love between two misfits which clearly has charm, and strong crossover appeal, but some librarians on GalleyChat feared it would take selling to teens who might be put off by the ’80s’ setting and pop-culture references.

The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door, Karen Finneyfrock, (Penguin/Viking)

A debut about bullying that SLJ says, because of its “articulate, funny, and brave” main character, 14-year-old Celia Door, becomes “much more than a “problem novel.”

Also Known As, Robin Benway, (Walker Childrens; Brilliance Audio)

The author of the stunning debut YA novel, Audrey, Wait!  (Penguin/Razorbill, 2008) returns with an over-the-top teen adventure.

The Goddess Inheritance, Aimée Carter, (Harlequin Teen)

For the girls who have aged out of Rick Riordan’s Gods of Olympus series, here is a supernatural romance series featuring the Greek gods and goddesses.

TV Tie-in

A Story of God and All of Us Young Readers Edition Mark Burnett, Roma Downey, (Hachette/Little, Brown YR)
This tie-in to The Bible, a ten-hour mini-series which begins airing on the History Channel on Sunday, March 3, is for children 10 and up. It retells Bible stories in a simple manner from creation, to the story of Noah to God’s covenant with Abraham continuing on to the life of Jesus. Contains a full-color insert with stills from the miniseries.

On our Watch List this week is a debut memoir that’s called a “bleaker, funnier, R-rated version of The Glass Castle”… in a blast from the past, V.C. Andrews rises from the grave with the first in a new series … and Jodi Picoult’s next best seller arrives, a story that involves the Holocaust. These titles and more arriving next week are available on our downloadable spreadsheet, New Title Radar Wk. of Feb 25.

Media Magnet

Salt Sugar Fat, Michael Moss, (Random House; RH Audio; BOT)

Publicity for this investigation into how the food industry hooks consumers begins with a cover story in the New York Times Magazine (the author is a NYT reporter who won a Pulitzer for reporting on E. coli in beef), under the compelling title, “The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food” (above, right). The author is also scheduled to appear on NPR’s Fresh Air and The Dr. Oz Show next week. The NYT and People are expected to review it.

Watch List

With or Without You, Domenica Ruta, (RH/Spiegel & Grau; RH Audio; BOT)

This debut memoir is called a “bleaker, funnier, R-rated version of The Glass Castle … marks the arrival of a blazing new voice in literature,” by Entertainment Weekly, adding “As a writer, Domenica Ruta should thank her lucky stars that she was blessed with such a character for a mother …  As a daughter, not so much.” It’s an IndieNext Pick  for March, NPR offers an “Exclusive First Read” on their site, and a profile by Chip McGrath is scheduled for Tuesday’s NYT. Holds are light at this point, but we’re keeping our eye on it.

Benediction, Kent Haruf, (RH/Knopf; RH Audio; BOT)
As the #1 IndieNext Pick for March, this one will be getting promotion in independent stores. The annotation calls this followup to Plainsong and Eventide the “answer to our literary prayers.” The Washington Post’s Ron Charles published one of the first of what will be a string of reviews this week. He points out that it’s been a decade since Eventide and a “whole new generation of readers” now have the opportunity to discover Haruf.

The Teleportation Accident, Ned Beauman, (Bloomsbury USA)

Long-listed for the Booker last year, this the novel’s first appearance here. Entertainment Weekly gives it an unequivocal A, saying, “Every generation gets the hipster satire it deserves. But this one’s for every generation.”

Usual Suspects

The Storyteller, Jodi Picoult, (S&S/Atria/Emily Bestler; Center Point Large Print)

Unsurprisingly, Picoult’s next is in leads in number of holds for all the titles releasing next week. This one is about a woman who befriends a retired German teacher only to discover that he is a former SS officer hiding out in her small New Hampshire town.

Calculated in Death, J. D. Robb, (Penguin/Putnam; Brilliance Audio; Wheeler Large Print)

Robb, of course, is Nora Roberts writing under the pen name she uses for her futuristic In Death suspense series.

Forbidden Sister, V.C. Andrews, (S&S/Gallery Books)

Flowers in the Attic and its gothic, incest-tinged successors, were best seller list staples in the 1980’s. Since the author’s death in 1986, the estate has issued more novels in her name (adding extra meaning to the term “ghost written”). This is the first in the 20th series under the franchise.

TV Tie-ins

A Story of God and All of Us: A Novel Based on the Epic TV Miniseries “The Bible”
A Story of God and All of Us: Reflections: 100 Daily Inspirations based on the Epic TV Miniseries “The Bible”
Both by Mark Burnett, Roma Downey,  (Hachette/FaithWords; Hachette/Audio for the novel)

Companion books to The Bible, a ten-hour mini-series which begins airing on the History channel on March 3. Both the series and the tie-ins are produced by husband-and-wife team Mark Burnett (producer of Survivor, The Apprentice, Shark Tank and The Voice) and Roma Downey (star of the tv series, Touched by An Angel). See Kids New Title Radar for the children’s tie-ins.

We’re well into the second month of the year, so readers must be impatient for another book by James Patterson. Not to fear, Alex Cross, Run (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio) arrives on Tuesday. Among this week’s media magnets is Clive Davis’s autobiography and Po Bronson’s look at competition (with the headline-making revelation that teamwork is overrated). Below are the highlights of the week. More forthcoming titles are on our download spreadsheet, New Title Radar 2/18/13.

Watch List

After Visiting Friends, Michael Hainey, (S&S/Scribner)

When the author was six years old, his father died unexpectedly. Reports said simply that he had died “after visiting friends.” This is the story of Hainey’s quest to find out what really happened. An IndieNext pick for March, it is described by bookseller Linda Bubon of Chicago’s Women & Children First, as “one of the most compelling memoirs” she’s read which is also “an insider’s tribute to the hard-working and hard-drinking big city newsmen of the 1950s and ’60s.” The author is the editor of GQ Magazine, so he will be getting publicity; features are scheduled in the upcoming week in Entertainment Weekly, on NPR’s Weekend Edition, and MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

Farewell, Dorothy Parker, Ellen Meister, (Penguin/Putnam; AudioGo)

Meister’s previous novel The Other Life employed magical realism in the story of a woman who discovered a portal to another life; the one she might have lived if she had made different choices. In this new book, the portagonist has an unusual life coach; her heroine, Dorothy Parker, who comes back to life and moves in with her, complete with drinking habits and sardonic bon mots.

Fuse, Julianna Baggott, (Hachette/Grand Central)

The second in a planned trilogy of dystopian novels folows the Alex Award winner, Pure. A movie deal was announced last year.

Media Magnets

The Soundtrack of My Life, Clive Davis, (Simon & Schuster; S&S Audio)

Record producer and former head of Columbia Records, Davis has been in the media eye this week for his annual hot-ticket pre-Grammy party. The 80-year-old will appear on  range of shows next week, including The View and Charlie Rose.

The Secrets of Happy Families, Bruce Feiler, (Harper/Morrow; Dreamscape Audio)

Say it isn’t so. Bruce Feiler claims that  the best way to create family harmony is to adopt some of various  business techniques, like creating a family mission plan and instituting weekly family planning meetings. We hope annual performance evaluations are not part of the approach.

Top Dog, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, (Hachette/Twelve; Hachette Audio)

This is not a book about the Westminister Dog Show, but about the nature of competition. Bronson and Merryman. whose first collaboration, Nurture Shock, made waves in the parenting world, are already making news with this new book by declaring that teamwork is overrated.

Noble Savages, Napoleon Chagnon, (Simon & Schuster; BOT)

The NYT Mag features the author in the upcoming issue, calling him “our most controversial anthropoligist.”

Picture books are in the spotlight this week, with new titles from several old favorites. In Young Adult, a dystopian novel, Maggot Moon, breaks new ground and causes controversy. These titles, plus several more, are on our downloadable spreedsheet, Kids New Title Radar, Week of Feb. 11.

Picture Books

Maisy Learns to Swim: A Maisy First Experiences Book, Lucy Cousins, (Candlewick)

Maisy Grows a Garden: A Maisy First Science Book, Lucy Cousins, (Candlewick)

It’s time to refresh the preschool collection with these two new titles from early childhood rockstar, Cousins. In the first title, part of the Maisy First Experiences series, she goes to her first swim class. In the second, a Maisy First Science  book, kids can use pull-tabs to learn what will grow from the seeds Maisy plants.

Stink and the Freaky Frog Freakout (Book #8), Megan McDonald, illus by Peter H. Reynolds, (Candlewick Brilliance Audio)

If someone made me pick my favorite series for newly fluent readers, my first choice among second and third grade early chapter books would be Judy Moody and her little brother Stink. I was positively gleeful when I heard that the next one was imminent.

One Gorilla: A Counting Book, Anthony Browne, (Candlewick)

As demonstrated by the cover, every one of the primates in this series of portraits display a distinct personality. The book ends with U.K. Children’s Laureate Browne’s own self-portrait and a group of other humans, to show that, despite their variations, they are,  “All primates. All one family. All my family, and yours!”

Doug Unplugged, Dan Yaccarino (RH/Alfred A. Knopf)

Picture books about the  difficulty of making friends are featured in this week’s NYT Book Review‘s “Children’s Books” column. Yaccarino’s book, in which a young robot discovers the joys of the analog life, is called the “pick of the litter.”

Young Adult

Maggot Moon, Sally Gardner, Julian Crouch, (Candlewick; Briliance Audio)

On PW’s list of Most Anticipated for Spring (Children’s): “Gardner’s story of a boy taking a stand against a totalitarian government was one of the much-discussed titles at last year’s Bologna Book Fair. While dystopian YA novels are a dime a dozen these days, Gardner’s (alternate) historical setting and dyslexic narrator set this book apart.”  It’s continuing to provoke discussion; reviews are polar opposites. Kirkus calls it “a book with a message but no resonance,” while VOYA see is as a “dark, haunting tale of secrets, lies, and those who fight for the truth.” The Wall Street Journal is a fan, calling it “a brilliant, shattering” novel that “suddenly [makes] dystopia feels new again; it reclaims its power to shock.”

Out of The Easy, Ruta Sepetys, (Penguin/Philomel)

Septys’ first novel, Between Shades of Gray, may have gained some readers who expected a quite a different book, but with a similar title. This new title is set in the New Orleans’ French Quarter. Librarians on YA GalleyChat were “head over heels in love” with it, calling it “very smart, very realistic, and very much an award-winner with juge crossover appeal.” Reviewers concur. Says Kirkus,”With a rich and realistic setting, a compelling and entertaining first-person narration, a colorful cast of memorable characters and an intriguing storyline, this is a surefire winner. Immensely satisfying.” It is also reviewed in Sunday’s NYT Book Review

Series

The Indigo Spell, Richelle Mead, (Penguin/Razorbill)

The third book in The Bloodlines series got advance attention from Entertainment Weekly’s “Shelf Life” blog; “After her (hot!) dalliance with the irresistible Moroi Adrian in The Golden Lily, Sydney is struggling more and more to stick to her Alchemist teachings…[and] dares to hope that she might break free of the life she’s known… and embrace a love she thought to be forbidden…Edward Cullen, eat your heart out.” The adaptation of Blood Sisters, the first in Mead’s Vampire Academy series is moving forward. It is set to be directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Spiderwick Chronicles) with Zoey Deutch (Beautiful Creatures) and Australian actress Lucy Fry set to star. Production is expected to begin this summer.

Sever, Lauren DeStefano, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

The Kirkus reviewer was not a fan of this third book in The Chemical Garden Trilogy, ” in this rushed effort to tie up loose ends, holes are left in its wake. Fans will delight in the symbolism and clues from the cover, but they will ultimately find the trilogy’s conclusion unsatisfactory.”  DeStefano has just signed a deal for a new series, The Internment Chronicles, set to be begin next April with Perfect Ruin.

So many titles are arriving next week, that we are publishing the Watch List separately. We will post the rest of New Title Radar later in the day.

Watch List

The Dinner, Herman Koch, (RH/Hogarth; AudioGo; Thorndike Large Print)

The Wall Street Journal heralds this as the next big thing with the headline “A European Gone Girl.” They’re not the only fans. Librarians have been enthusiastic about it on our GalleyChat, it’s on the February IndieNext list and the Huffington Post picked it as a Best of 2013; ” This barbed tale of two families is entirely set over one evening in an expensive restaurant. A smash hit overseas, Gillian Flynn called it ‘chilling, nasty, smart, shocking and unputdownable,’ and she ought to know. We enjoyed it a lot.”

ARC readers say the comparison to Gillian Flynn works in a some ways; both stories are told by unreliable narrators, dirty scerets are revealed and it’s “terrific page-turner.” The subject is quite different, however, and has more in common with Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin or William Landay’s Defending Jacob.

New York Times reviewer Janet Maslin is the one holdout, saying the story is “executed with a joylessly heavy hand.”

Ghostman, Roger Hobbs, (RH/Knopf; RH Audio; BOT; Thorndike Large Print)

This debut from 24-year-old Hobbs arrives with much prepub attention and a movie deal. It is an IndieNext pick for February, a Costco Buyers Pick for Feb, a PW “Most Anticipated for Spring” title in the Crime/Mystery/Thriller, as well as an Oprah Must-Read; “In this stylishly gritty and fast-paced thriller, a career criminal is summoned from his off-the-grid hiding place to assist in an Atlantic City casino robbery that goes awry.” Check your holds; the libraries we checked already showed growing queues. UPDATE: Michiko Kakutani reviews it in Monday’s New York Times, calling it “smoking fast.”

The House Girl, Tara Conklin, (HarperCollins/Morrow; Thorndike Large Print)

This debut is the #1 IndieNext pick for February. Former lawyer Conklin’s protagonist is also a lawyer, working on a class-action suit that involves slavery reparations. In her research, she discovers the story of a slave who may be the real artist behind the paintings attributed her white owner. The novel unfolds in alternating narrations that reveals hidden similarities in lives separated by time and class.

Calling Me Home, Julie Kibler, (Macmillan/St. Martin’s; Thorndike Large Print)

Another debut novel that contrasts the lives of two women; one balck and one white. In this case, the setup is a long car journey during which the two women open up about their lives. Prepub reviews say, “Kibler’s unsentimental eye makes the problems faced unflinchingly by these women ring true” (Kirkus) and “Kibler relays a familiar story in a fresh way” (PW).

We Live in Water: Stories, Jess Walter, (Harper Perennial Original Trade Paperback)

Following quickly on Walter’s comtinuing word-of-mouth success, Beautiful Ruins (Harper, June, 2012), comes the author’s first collection of short stories. Kirkus says it proves that Walter is “as skilled at satire and class commentary in the short form as in his novels.” PW puts it simply, “if you like to read, you’ll like this book.”

The audio of Beautiful Ruins (HarperAudio) has had an unprecedented level of sales in relation to the print. Salon’s Laura Miller named it the best audiobook narration of 2012. AudioFile says, “As the sole voice for a veritable smorgasbord of characters, time periods and plotlines, Edoardo Ballerini works magic with this audio production.” The author is also a fan; listen here as he talks about the book’s genesis and describes why he loves Ballerini’s narration.

This week is all about series; all but one of the titles we’re featuring below are either continuations or the beginning of series. Please note that Maurice Sendak’s final completed book, My Brother’s Book, featured on NPR’s Morning Edition today, was covered in New Title Radar, as were the children’s tie-ins to the forthcoming Disney movie Oz the Great and the Powerful.

You can download an Excel spreadsheet here, listing the following titles and even more arriving this week.

Young Adult

The Kiss (Witch and Wizard series), James Patterson and Jill Dembowski, (Hachette/Little, Brown Young Readers; Hachette Audio), ages 12 and up

Patterson’s books are catnip to kids who need a high-interest read. The cover of this, the fourth title in the series, features a new look for the series (which began with the paperback edition of The Fire in November).

Scarlet, Marissa Meyer, (Feiwel & Friends; Macmillan Young Listeners), ages 12 to 17

The first title in the Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder, was on my list of top ten YA novels last year. As Cinder was a futuristic take on Cinderella, it is not much of a stretch to see Red Riding Hood in this one with a very scary wolf.

Hysteria, Megan Miranda, (Walker Childrens), Ages 14 to 19

When the galley came out of the box our hip, cool, fabulous cataloger Abbey Chapel snatched it from my hands. I need not say more, but I will quote YA GalleyChatters who say this is a great suspense story about a girl who has apparently killed her boyfriend but is not sure what happened.

Etiquette & Espionage, Gail Carriger, (Hachette/Little, Brown BYR), ages 7 to 17

Carriger already has a strong following for her Parasol Protectorate steampunk novels. With this, the first in the Finishing School series, she steps into YA,. The school is housed in a massive airship and is not what the mothers who send their daughters there expect; in this case “finishing” means “finishing people off” (those scissors on the cover are not for cutting silk). It was the title that came up most when I asked people at MidWinter what I should be reading. Don’t miss it.

Middle Grade

Big Nate Flips Out , Lincoln Peirce, HarperCollins, Ages 8 to 12

Big Nate….seriously, any children’s librarian who doesn’t automatically buy this series should be put out to pasture . This is for the Wimpy Kid crowd, as underscored in the  blurb from Jeff Kinney on the cover; “Big Nate is funny, big time.” Here, Nate tries to become a neat freak.

Seven Wonders Book 1: The Colossus Rises,  Peter Lerangis and Torstein Norstrand, (HarperCollins), ages 8 to 12

Lerangis wrote two of the books in the  39 Nine Clues series, and here begins a new series, with a different publisher, which features an unexplored theme in children’s books, with four kids on a life-or-death mission to find seven orbs, hidden in the ruins of antiquity’s seven wonders of the world.

The Fourth Stall Part III, Chris Rylander, (HarperCollins/Walden Pond Press), ages 8 to 12
Funny and a little wacked. Rylander is a unique voice in series fiction.
 

Better Nate Than Ever, Tim Federle, (S & S Books for Young Readers), Ages 9 to 13
There’s another Nate in Town, as I found out when someone handed this to me as I roamed the aisles of ALA, and I am so glad they did. Smart and funny, first time author, Federle takes us behind the scenes into the world of working child actors in Broadway musicals.

Treasure on Superstition Mountain, Elise Broach, Antonio Javier Caparo, (Macmillan/Holt BYR), ages 8 to 12

Elise Broach knows how to tell a story. She especially knows how to keep those middle grade readers on the edge of their seats. This is the continuation of the Superstition Mountain series. If you didn’t read the first title, Missing on Superstition Mountain, pick it up now and count your lucky stars that you don’t have to wait for the second.

Picture Books

Follow Follow, Marilyn Singer, illus. by  Josee Masse, (Dial), ages 6 & up

Singer stunned the picture book world with Mirror, Mirror, her first book of clever reworkings of fairytales in reverso poetry format (the poem is presented forward and then backward using the same text in reverse order). If you own the first (as you should), you won’t want to be without the second one.

Froggy’s Worst Playdate, Jonathan London, illus. by Frank Remkiewicz, (Penguin/Viking Juvenile), ages 3 to 5

London kills me. No kidding. From the first Froggy Gets Dressed, he reflects back the everyday lives of young children and finds humor in seemingly disastrous circumstances. This series is read-aloud gold.

The season moves into full gear this week, with dozens of titles vying for attention (so many, that we’ve put together a downloadable spreadsheet that includes the following highlights plus nearly 30 other titles). On our Watch List is a Gatsby-esque debut that has been a hit on GalleyChat, Indiscretion by Charles Dubow. Movie tie-ins remind us that Disney’s Oz, The Great and the Powerful arrives in theaters on March 8.

Watch List

Indiscretion Charles Dubow, (HarperCollins/ Morrow; Blackstone Audio; HarperLuxe)

We fell in love with this debut and asked GalleyChatters to read the ARC. They came back with equal enthusiasm, enjoying the “Gatsby-ness [it’s told from the perspective of an outsider, who suffers years of unrequited love for one of the main characters] and the twist at the end.” It’s on the February Indie Next list and is one of 16 Oprah Must-Reads for February. One library is betting big on it; Cuyahoga bought 210 copies.

LATE ADDITION:
 Schroder, Amity Gaige, (Hachette/Twelve)

A People Pick in the new issue, this in-house favorite is reviewed by Danielle Trussoni (Angelogy) who calls it “a chilling story about an obsessional father who deceives his wife and kidnaps their only child…Gaige’s writing is surprising and original, but the real pull of this magnetic novel is the moral ambiguity the reader feels.”

The City of Devi, Manil Suri, (W. W. Norton)

The Washington Post‘s reliable Ron Charles says, “Even amid the wondrous variety of contemporary Indian fiction, Suri’s work stands apart, mingling comedy and death, eroticism and politics, godhood and Bollywood like no one else.” It is scheduled for coverage on NPR’s Weekend Edition.

Review Magnet 

See Now Then, Jamaica Kincaid,  (Macmillan/FSG ; Macmillan Audio)

Kincaid’s first novel in ten years is sure to draw many reviews. Entertainment Weekly kicks it off with a middling B grade, saying that the story of a divorce is heavily reminiscent of Kincaid’s own, and that she “captures the stuck rhythms of marriage as she repeatedly cycles back to the same fights…As a literary device, it’s affecting, but actually reading the words, again and again, can get tiring.”

Usual Suspects

Deadly Stakes, J.A. Jance, (S&S/Touchstone; S&S Audio; Thorndike Large Print)

The eighth in the series, Booklist gives it kudos for, “Fast pacing, multiple plotlines, a fascinating look at online research, and sympathetic characters … [all tied into a] suspenseful story,” but PW demurs that it exhibits “…awkwardly contrived linkages and a lack of narrative drive, [making] this a lesser effort.” Nevertheless, it is showing the most holds in libraries of all the titles coming out this week.
Touch & Go, Lisa Gardner, (Penguin/Dutton; Brilliance Audio; Thorndike Large Print)

People reviews this stand-alone about kidnapped couple Justin and Libby Denbe, saying “The suspense crackles as the Denbes grapple with their captors’ bewildering brutality. But what gives the story heart is Libby’s dawning realization that her family may have been broken long before their kidnappers appeared.”

Media Magnets

From Mama’s Table to Mine, Bobby Deen & Melissa Clark, (RH/Ballantine paperback original)

Paula Deen’s kids know how to make diet lemonade out of lemons. Their mother, who has made millions from comfort food, suddenly admits she’s had diabetes for years and the entire family goes on a diet. Rather than becoming Weight Watchers spokepeesons, son Bobby publishes a book and the entire family appears on cover of People Magazine (2/4 issue) . The book will be featured on several shows in the upcoming week; NBC’s Today Show; FOX-TV’s Fox and Friends; ABC’s The Dr. Oz Show; ABC’s The Chew and The Rachael Ray Show.
Lucky Me: My Life With–and Without–My Mom, Shirley MacLaine, Sachi Parker, Penguin/Gotham

Shirley MacLaine, of course, is back in the spotlight because of her scene-stealing turns on Downton Abbey. She gets less flattering attention in her daughter’s memoir, which with will be featured on ABC’s 20/20 show tonight, on a segment titled, Stars, Scars and Showbiz Kids (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET).  The show’s press release states, “Parker says MacLaine neglected her while instead focusing on her own career and life.”
Citizenville: How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government, Gavin Newsom and Lisa Dickey, (Penguin Press)

Clearly, there are high hopes for this book, which is embargoed with a one-day laydown on Tuesday. California Lieutenant Governor Newsom writes about using technology to improve local government (it is billed as an attempt to create “Angry Birds for Democracy”).

My Brother’s Book, Maurice Sendak, HarperCollins

As we noted earlier, Sendak’s final completed book is previewed on the Vanity Fair Web Site. Expect more coverage as the book arrives next week.

Movie Tie-ins

Disney’s Oz, The Great and the Powerful arrives in theaters on March 8. Disney is investing considerable bucks to promote this prequel via a spot during the SuperBowl on Sunday (ten-second preview below — to see longer trailers go to  the Official Web Site).

Publishing is also pulling out all the stops with re-releases of the original book:

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum, Disney Press — This re-release features “beautifully repainted Denslow artwork, original Stromberg imagery, and an introduction by one of the stars of Oz The Great and Powerful, James Franco.”

Audio: Dreamscape is releasing new recordings of the first two Oz books (also on OverDrive):
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, read by Tara Sands (Jan 22)

The Marvelous Land of Oz read by Tara Sands (Feb 19)

Disney Press is releasing several tie-ins :

Oz The Great and Powerful, Elizabeth Rudnick — the junior novel adaptation

The Art of Oz The Great and Powerful by Grant Curtis — behind-the-scenes book

Oz The Great and Powerful: The Movie Storybook by Scott Peterson — movie stills

Oz The Great and Powerful: Witches of Oz, Scott Peterson, Disney Press– picture book

Oz The Great and Powerful: Land of Oz Disney Press — Level 2 World of Reading title.

We’re a bit late with the Radar this week; ALA MidWinter got in the way.

Watch List

Fresh Off the Boat, Eddie Huang, (RH/Spiegel & Grau; RH Audio; BOT)

The founder of the popular East Village food shop Baohaus got an early push for his “brash, leading-edge, and unapologetically hip” memoir (Publishers Weekly), with a profle last week in the NYT‘s “Fashion & Style” section, followed by a review in the “Books” section by Dwight Garner, who clearly enjoyed the ride, concluding, “It’s a rowdy and, in its way, vital counterpoint to the many dignified and more self-consciously literary memoirs we have about immigration and assimilation. It’s a book about fitting in by not fitting in at all.”

The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won’t Tell You About What They’ve Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War, Kevin Sites, (Harper Perennial; Blackstone Audio)

Pre-pub reviews have been strong on this original trade paperback, which profiles 11 soldiers. The author is an award-winning journalist and former soldier. PW calls it a “riveting and emotionally raw debut.”

Returning Favorites

Here I Go Again, Jen Lancaster, (Penguin/NAL)

The author of six memoirs and this, returns with her second novel, (more on her earlier books, here), Lancaster has endeared herself to fans with her humorous takes on her own shortcomings (check her blog post on joining a gym). The novel, about going back to high school to right wrongs, sounds like an exercise in wish fulfillment. The trailer, below, gives the idea:

Lancaster performs another kind of exercise in her upcoming, The Tao of Martha (as in, Stewart). Subtitled, My Year of LIVING; Or, Why I’m Never Getting All That Glitter Off of the Dog, it is about her efforts to live like the domestic goddess and is the basis for a possible TV series of the same name, exec. produced by Martha (as in, Stewart).

News from Heaven: The Bakerton Stories, Jennifer Haigh, (Harper; Dreamscape Audio; Thorndike Large Print)

Richard Russo compares librarian favorite Haigh’s new book to Sherwood Anderson’s classic:

The characters … are so vividly drawn, the inner lives revealed so deftly, with such intelligence and sympathy, that fictional Bakerton, Pennsylvania, takes on the additional weight of, say, Winesburg, Ohio.”

Usual Suspects

Until the End of Time, Danielle Steel, (RH/Delacorte; Brilliance Audio; RH Large Print);  Steel with a spiritual twist; two intertwined love stories, the second (between an Amish woman writer and her publisher), a possible reincarnation of the first.

Speaking from Among the Bones, Alan Bradley, (RH/Delacorte; RH Audio; BOT; Thorndike); in the fifth Flavia de Luce novel, the main character remains eternally eleven-years-old (as she will in the next five titles in the series). Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty and Revolutionary Road) has optioned the books for a possible TV series.

Insane City, Dave Barry, (Penguin/Putnam; Penguin Audio; Wheeler Large Print); An IndieNext selection for February, Barry’s first adult novel in ten years is about a destination wedding that goes off the rails (you may entertain thoughts of The Hangover).

Keep your eye out for these titles for kids and young adults, arriving this week.

Younger Children

Lick!, Matthew Van Fleet, Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books

Libraries participating in Every Child Ready to Read programs will want to own multiple copies of this heavy stock interactive title, the second in the new series that began with Sniff!. There are never enough truly engaging interactive books for the just toddling set and this new series is groundbreaking as was Van Fleet’s Tails.

Happy Birthday, Amelia Bedelia!

Amelia Bedelia Fiftieth Anniversary Edition, Peggy Parish illustrated by Fritz Siebel 1/29

Amelia Bedelia Chapter Book #1: Amelia Bedelia Means Business, Herman Parish and  Lynne Avril, (HarperCollins/Greenwillow Books)

Amelia Bedelia Chapter Book #2: Amelia Bedelia Unleashed Herman Parish and  Lynne Avril, (HarperCollins/Greenwillow Books)

Amelia Bedelia Hits the Trail; I Can Read, Level 1, Herman Parish and  Lynne Avril, (HarperCollins/Greenwillow Books)

It has been five decades since the literally minded housekeeper first arrived on the scene and grabbed pen and paper to “draw the curtains” and get some little clothes to “dress the chicken.” Early readers have loved her for generations and we rejoice that this series continues with Peggy’s nephew, Herman Parish who has carried on the misadventures of Amelia Bedelia with a new leveled reader and two chapter books.

Older Kids

Fans of Smile by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic, 2010) will go nuts for Peanut (RH/Schwartz & Wade; paper original; ages 11 to 14) a graphic novel by Ayun Halliday, illustrated by Paul Hoppe. It’s the story of Sadie, who decides to try to win friends via a deception. Of course, she ends up weaving a tangled web.

Public and school libraries won’t want to miss Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, Americas First Black Paratroopers, by Sibert Winner Tanya Lee Stone (Candlewick; ages 10 and up), out just in time for Black History Month.

Attention is building for Truth in Advertising, a satiric debut novel by a contemporary real life Mad Man, John Kenney. Three memoirs from women journalists vie for attention this week and are likely to get it, since other journalists tend to pay attention to their own. Among the usual suspects is the first title of 2013 by James Patterson (will he beat his 2010 record of 14 titles in a single year?).

Watch List

Truth in Advertising, John Kenney, (S&S/Touchstone)

Check your holds; they are already starting for this debut by New Yorker contributor Kenney, a tongue-in-cheek story about a contemporary Mad Man. It’s starred in 3 of 4 prepub reviews (the only holdout is PW, but the review reads like a star). Booksellers have also anointed it, making it an IndieNext pick for January.

Consumer reviews are arriving early, signaling the expectation of a hit. Entertainment Weekly, gives it an A-;

Kenney, who was a copywriter for 17 years, is on his game when lampooning corporate absurdity and less so when parsing Fin’s rather generic after-hours crises. But while many of Fin’s ad ideas — including a diaper spot featuring Al Gore’s head on babies’ bodies — fail spectacularly, we’re sold on Kenney’s trenchant, quick-witted debut.

The book trailer, a mock focus group, is so accurate, it’s painful (stick with it, it’s worth it). As Kenney writes in the New Yorker‘s “Page-Turner” blog, he knows the territory well.

Out of Warranty, Haywood Smith, St. Martin’s Press

A wry title for a social satire that Robin Nesbitt of Columbus Metropolitan Lib. describes in LJ as about people “dealing with health insurance claims and struggling to find insurance until [they’re] old enough to qualify for Medicare.” By the author of The Red Hat Club and Wife-in-Law.

Memoirs

Saturday Night Widows, Becky Aikman, (RH/Crown; RH Audio; BOT)

This debut memoir is by a former Newsday writer. She enlisted five women who, like her, were widowed early, to form a support group. PW says, “All the women had complicated stories of their husbands’ death, feelings of guilt and insecurity, and more or less healthy libidos. Indeed, dating and finding new partners prove the leitmotif, especially for the author, who had remarried a year before she even organized the group. As a result, the work feels stifled and lacking emotional drive, resulting in a kind of detached, academic tome.”

Drinking with Men, Rosie Schaap, Penguin/Riverhead; Brilliance Audio

A memoir from New York Times Magazine ‘s monthly “Drink” columnist and former librarian, Rosie Schaap, that actually advocates for the pleasures of the barroom (and for women being accepted as regulars in that generally male domain). Entertainment Weekly gives it a B+, saying, “It’s a cozy, intimate pleasure to go belly-to-bar with [Schaap].

Jujitsu Rabbi and the Godless Blonde, Rebecca Dana, (Penguin/Putnam – Amy Einhorn Books)

It’s such an arresting title that it barely needs underscoring, but what looks like a simple ribbon on the cover is actually a piece of bacon (click on it for a larger version). This debut by a writer for  Newsweek and the Daily Beast gets an A- from Entertainment Weekly, saying Dana’s “… take on being young and smart and emotionally adrift in the city is odd and charming enough to be that elusive thing: a true original.”

Usual Suspects

Private Berlin, James Patterson and Mark Sullivan, (Hachette/Little, Brown; Hachette Audio; Hachette Large Print)

This, the fifth thriller about the international PI firm known as “Private,” is the first book of 2013 with Patterson’s name on it. There was actually a time when that happened just once or twice a year. Patterson reached a high of 14 titles in 2010, but “only” released 12 last year.

Suspect, Robert Crais, (Penguin/Putnam; Brilliance Audio; Wheeler Large Print Brilliance Audio)

Look closely at the cover; this stand-alone thriller by the author of the popular Elvis Cole series, features a German Shepherd, suffering PTSD after an IED killed her human partner in Afghanistan.

Ever After, Kim Harrison, (Harper Voyager; Blackstone Audio)

The 11th volume in Harrison’s popular ongoing urban-fantasy series (A Perfect Blood, 2012, etc.) continues the adventures of a detective who also happens to be a witch, Rachel Morgan.

Rosemary Wells introduces a new character this week, Sophie, a little mouse who can’t resist trouble. Older kids will be cheering for the return of the middle grade Genius Files and the YA Kiki Strike series…

Picture Book

Time-Out for Sophie, Written and Illus. by Rosemary Wells, (Penguin/Viking)

Rosemary Wells has an ear for early childhood. Max and Ruby are the staples of the preschool set, their stories reflecting child life issues. Here Well’s does it again with a knowing smile and a light touch as we witness the child who faces the consequences of her willful misbehavior.

Middle Grade

The Worm Whisperer, Betty Hicks, (Macmillan/Roaring Brook)

New YA books arrive each week, but it’s often difficult to find chapter books that reflect the lives of younger kids. This one arrives with reviews that make it sound like it hits that sweet spot. Booklist says of this story about a boy trying to rescue his family by winning the $1,000 prize in North Carolina’s annual Woolly Worm Race (there really is one), “Hicks’ story provides plenty of local color as well as humor.”  

The Genius Files #3: You Only Die Twice by Dan Gutman (HarperCollins)

Worried that guys don’t? Dan Gutman MAKES them want to read. In this, the third in the Genius Files series, he introduces a new villain, masked impersonator Evil Elvis.

Young Adult

Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers Kirsten Miller, (Macmillan/Bloomsbury USA)

It’s been five long years, but Kiki is finally back. The many pre-teen fans who have now turned teen will be fighting over this one.  Here, Kiki and the Irregulars’ efforts to solve a WWII mystery, take them from New York’s Upper East Side to the catacombs of Paris, where the Darkness Dwellers reside.

Cats get their due next week with Gwen Cooper’s Love Saves the Day, a novel told from a feline perspective. Fan favorite  Jennifer Chiaverini turns from quilts to another type of sewing with Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker. Among the usual suspects are a couple of Brads, Meltzer and Taylor. Sure bets for media attention are  Lawrence Wright for his expose of Scientology and Sonia Sotomayor, for her memoir.

Watch List

The Aviator’s Wife, Melanie Benjamin, (RH/Delacorte; BOT; Center Point Large Print)

Benamin’s third book (following Alice I Have Been and The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb) again explores the lives of historical people through fiction; in this case, Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s. Married to the first man to fly across the Atlantic, she was part of a glamor couple, who, after their young son was kidnapped and murdered, became the focus of a national press obsession. The book is an Indie Next pick for February and on USA Today’s list of ten books to look forward to in 2013. Benjamin is about to begin her book tour, which includes seveal appearances in libraries.

Cover of Snow, Jenny Milchman, (RH/Ballantine Books; BOT; Thorndike Large Print)

A debut arriving with buzz from the mystery community (Michlman is a blogger and participates in online mystery forums). Set in New York’s Adirondack Mountains, it is about a young woman who sets out to find out why her seemingly happy husband committed suicide. Comparisons have been made to Gillian Flynn.

Habits of the House, Fay Weldon, (Macmillan/ St. Martin’s Press; Macmillan Audio; Thorndike Large Print)

It seems good timing for the woman who wrote the fist episode of the beloved Upstairs, Downstairs, precursor to Downton Abbey, to publish a book about a family trying to maintain a country home at the turn of the last century, while beset by financial troubles (the Earl has managed to lose most of his money in a risky investment). Prepub reviewers agreed with the publisher that this will appeal to fans of Downton. This is the first of a planned trilogy.

Love Saves the Day, Gwen Cooper, (Bantam; Tantor Audo; Thorndike Large Print)

Cooper’s debut was Homer’s Odyssey, a memoir about learning life lessons from caring for  her blind cat. In this, her first novel, Cooper takes on the task of writing from a rescued cat’s point of view; readers on GalleyChat say she pulls it off admirably (even for those resistant to books from a pet’s POV).

Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, Jennifer Chiaverini, (Penguin/Dutton; Thorndike Large Print)

Chiaverini breaks from her Elm Creek Quilts series to write a novel based on a true story; Mary Todd Lincoln’s dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley, a freed slave, became close friends with the First Lady. This week, a story in the NYT gives background on Mrs. Keckley who is also featured in a scene in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. Keckley’s own memoir, Behind the Scenes (still in print from UNC Press), created a rift between her and the Lincoln family. Chiaverini explains in an interview in BookPage that she became interested in Mrs. Keckley’s story while researching The Union Quilters.

Media Spotlight

Going Clear, Lawrence Wright, (RH/Knopf; RH Audio)

The author of this embargoed title has already been profiled in the NYT and excerpts have been published in The Hollywood Reporter.

My Beloved World, Sonia Sotomayor, (RH/Knopf; Vintage Espanol; RH Audio; BOT)

Much attention is in the works for the Supreme Court Justice’s memoir, including a feature in People, as well as appearances on 60 Minutes this Sunday and the Today Show on Monday. This is also available in Spanish, as Mi mundo adorado.

Ten Years Later, Hoda Kotb, (Simon & Schuster; S&S Audio)

Hoda, co-host with Kathie Lee Gifford of the Today Show‘s fourth hour, releases a book about six people who took a big step to change their lives and how they are doing ten years later. She and Kathie Lee are making their own big change; they’ve given up drinking wine on the show, for a whole month.

Usual Suspects

Enemy of Mine, Brad Taylor,  (Penguin/Dutton; Thorndike Large Print)

Taylor’s third Pike Logan thriller is called “a good one” by Kirkus and “action-packed” by Publishers Weekly.

The Third Bullet, Stephen Hunter, (Simon & Schuster; S&S Audio; Brilliance Audio; Center Point Large Print)

In this eighth Bob Lee Swagger thriller, the retired military sniper gets bitten by the JFK conspiracy bug. Says Publishers Weekly, “Hunter develops some new angles on the JFK assassination, and as usual keeps the details about ballistics and weaponry accessible.”

The Fifth Assassin, Brad Meltzer, (Hachette Grand Central; Hachette Audio)

Is this assassination conspiracy week? Meltzer links FOUR previous assasinations. Kirkus warns, “Although equipped with adequate back story to allow The Fifth Assassin to be enjoyed alone, smart readers will first dip into the series opener, The Inner Circle.”  Publishers Weekly, however, found it “convoluted.”  25 28 

Childrens

Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers, Dav Pilkey, (Scholastic)

Can you believe it? The TENTH epic adventure.

Movie Tie-in

Admission, Jean Hanff Korelitz, (Hachette/ Grand Central)

Tina Fey and Paul Rudd team up for the first time in this adaptation of a debut that won strong reviews for taking a serious look at the pitfalls of the college admissions process. The teaser makes us suspect some of that is lost in the movie, coming to theaters on March 22.

Self-Help

Do More, Spend Less, Brad Wilson, (Wiley)

Do people want to save money these day? Yes; this book has appeared in the Amazon top 100, rising as high as #17 months before publication. The author is the founder of the coupon website, BradsDeals.com, and was profiled by Crain’s Chicago Business in August.

The new season comes on strong this week, with new titles by Jayne Ann Krentz, Stuart Woods, Bernard Cornwell, and a collection of Kinsey Malone stories by Sue Grafton. In nonfiction, a new memoir by actress Wendy Lawless mines the rich material of fraught mother/daughter relationships. On our Watch List for the week is a novel aimed at Downton Abbey fans.

Watch List

Ashenden, Elizabeth Wilhide, (Simon & Schuster; Recorded Books; Thorndike Large Print)

A British import touted as perfect for Downton Abbey fans, this debut novel by a prolific writer on interior design, received high praise in the U.K., including this from The Guardian —  “Ashenden is an affecting, intelligent debut which goes way beyond posh country house antics. Framed by chapters set in 2010, when middle-aged Charlie Minton and his sister unexpectedly inherit an estate from their aunt, each significant episode in the house’s history is brought to life.” Booklist, Kirkus and LJ are all enthusiasts, but PW sniffs that it is a “tedious historical exploration of an 18th-century English estate house.” We hear some people don’t get the appeal of Downton Abbey, either.

Chanel Bonfire, Wendy Lawless, (S&S/Gallery Books; Tantor Audio)

This Mommie-Dearest type memoir sports a memorable title (could one own enough Chanel clothes for a bonfire?). Television and Broadway actress Wendy Lawless writes about her painful relationship with her mother who “had the ice queen beauty of a Hitchcock heroine and the cold heart to match.” It’s both an O, The Oprah Magazine and an Indie Next pick for January.

The Bughouse Affair, Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini, (Macmillan/Forge; AudioGo)

Two mystery favorites team up for this first in the  Carpenter and Quincannon series of lighthearted historical mysteries. Prepub reviews call it delightful.

Reviewer Favorites

The Last Runaway, Tracy Chevalier,  (Penguin/Dutton. Penguin Audio)

Chevalier, an American living in London, is known for her historical novels set in Europe and Great Britain. Her background as a graduate of Oberlin College shows here in a novel about runaway slaves in Ohio in the 1860’s. The first book of the new year to be reviewed on NPR, it is on The Atlantic‘s list of “Books to Look Forward to in 2013.” and on O, The Oprah Magazine‘s must-reads for January.

 The King Years: Historic Moments in the Civil Rights Movement, Taylor Branch, (Simon & Schuster)

The author’s three-volume history of the Martin Luther King years, the first of which, Parting the Waters, won a Pulitzer Prize, is considered a masterpiece. Here, it’s made more accessible to a wider audience by focusing on the pivotal moments from those three volumes.

Media Spotlight

   
My Share of the Task, General Stanley McChrystal, (Penguin/Portfolio)

The General, who was relieved of command of the forces in Afghanistan in June 2010, after a Rolling Stone magazine profile (he was succeeded by General Patraeus, who has suffered his own negative media attention) is scheduled to appear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Tuesday to talk about his memoir.

The Universe Within, Neil Shubin, (RH/Pantheon; BOT)

The paleontologist, evolutionary biologist and popular science writer is scheduled to appear on The Colbert Report on Wednesday.

Young Adult

Just One Day, Gayle Forman, (Penguin/Dutton)

The much-anticipated next book after the author’s popular If I Stay and Where She Went. It’s the first of two; a companion novel follows next year. Entertainment Weekly‘s “Shelf Life” blog offers an excerpt.

What We Saw At Night, Jacquelyn Mitchard, (Soho Teen; AudioGo)

Weary of vampires, zombies, suicidal girls and dystopian fights to the death? Soho Teen launches a line of YA mysteries, with this first of a projected trilogy by best selling author Mitchard. A group of  teenaged friends all suffer from a fatal allergy to light and are only able to go out at night. For some reason, they decide to take up the extreme sport of parkour, climbing buildings and leaping off them. During one of their nights out, they witness a murder. Prepub reviews complain that this one ends with a cliffhanger, setting up the next book in the series.

Usual Suspects

Dream Eyes, Jayne Ann Krentz, (Penguin/Putnam; Brilliance Audio; Thorndike Large Print)

Collateral Damage, Stuart Woods, (Penguin/Putnam; Penguin Audio; Thorndike Large Print)

Kinsey and Me, Sue Grafton, (Penguin/Putnam; Thorndike Large Print)

Robert B. Parker’s Ironhorse, Robert Knott, (Penguin/Putnam; RH Audio; BOT Audio; Wheeler Large Print)

1356, Bernard Cornwell, (Harper; HarperAudio; HarperLuxe)

A Memory of Light, Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (Macmillan/Tor) — The 14th and final book in The Wheel of Time saga which began in 1990, has spent 103 days on the Amazon Top 100. Library holds are relatively light, however.