Jennifer Parmelee Childs Recommends:

Alice I Have Been: A Novel by Melanie Benjamin

You may think you’ve never heard of Alice Liddell, but I’m certain you have. Growing up at Oxford, where her father was the dean, Alice and her sisters spent many enchanted days with an eccentric professor named Charles Dodgson (we know him as Lewis Carroll). He took them on outings and excursions and told them fantastical stories, one of which young Alice made him write down, which became the beloved classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. This historical fiction offering is a fascinating look behind the scenes at a literary classic in the making. Benjamin deftly explores the child behind the story, vividly imagining the events that led to some very un-childlike photographs being taken of 7-year-old Alice by Carroll himself—photos that demand being Googled instantly. I have to say, I will never be able to think of Lewis Carroll the same way again. Using the facts the author could find about the real Alice Liddell as a jumping off point, the story is a richly layered coming-of-age story that will appeal to young adult readers, devoted fans of Alice, as well as fans of historical fiction. Tim Burton’s movie take on Alice releases March 2010 (starring Johnny Depp) and will be sure to inspire renewed interest in Wonderland, so be sure to have plenty copies of the classic available too.

978-0-385-34413-5 | $25.00/$29.95C | Delacorte | HC | January 2010

Erica McDonald Recommends:

Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland

A romantic book for tweenage readers who love Anne of Green Gables and Mr. Darcy?! That was all I needed to hear before delving into this charming tale of twelve-year-old Polly Madassa, who decides to play matchmaker (ála Austen’s Emma) in her small beach town, often with disastrous and comical results. The language is hilariously overwrought and the chapter titles adorable, as in “In Which My Family Is Introduced and My Bosom Friend Gives Me Distressing News.” I happily embraced my “30 going on 13” persona and dug right into this delicious read. I loved every minute of this book and can only imagine how excitedly my tweenage self would also have devoured it. This is coming from the girl whose mother indulgently brought her to Prince Edward Island at the height of her Anne of Green Gables obsession, no less.

978-1-60684-025-2 | $15.99/$19.99C | EgmontUSA | HC | December 2009

Marcia Purcell Recommends:

Claiming Ground: A Memoir by Laura Bell

In l977 Laura Bell of Kentucky finished college and made an unexpected career choice. She signed on to herd sheep in Wyoming's Bighorn Basin. She had no particular affection for sheep and no prior experience in this area. Her family was astounded. She found herself drawn to a life of solitude and hard physical toil and immediately stuck out like a sore thumb, being the only woman in a community of all men, and mostly men who were eccentrics or alcoholics or both. Over the years she became a cattle hand, a forest ranger, a masseuse, a wife and a mother to her husband's two daughters. She experienced love and complete heartbreak.
I can't say what exactly drew me to this memoir. I admire people who live outside of themselves and certainly understand her love for and admiration of nature. She has written in praise of that part of the country that most of living in the East never see—except to fly over on our way to Seattle. Wyoming never sounded more majestic. Her writing carries you along. Her honesty is compelling. She does not attempt to put herself in a good light when the facts point to the darker patches of her life. It's a memoir that makes for reflection on your own personal life—it's all about the choices—and Laura Bell's life has certainly been filled with interesting choices. I wish her well.

978-0-307-27288-1 | $24.95/$29.95C | Knopf | HC | March 2010

Marie Kent Recommends:

The Handbook for Lightning-Strike Survivors by Michele Young-Stone

Becca Burke’s Winnie-the-Pooh watch won’t keep time for her and there is a halo around her head in photos. This is because on a sunny day in 1977, eight-year-old Becca was struck by lightning. Her parents, who are too caught up in their own lives, don’t take her seriously. Buckley R. Pitank is sailing on a boat Galveston, Texas when a bolt of lightening hits his mother. Left an orphan, Buckley must pick up the pieces and journey back to a home he never really had. This wonderfully character-driven novel journeys from South Carolina to Arkansas to New York as the lives of these two young people turn, twist, and become tied together seamlessly thanks to the delightfully poignant pen of Michelle Young-Stone. Herself a lightning-strike survivor, Young-Stone reminds the reader that stories do not have to be filled with horror and crashing catastrophe to be captivating. This book has great Young Adult potential and will resonate with any reader who has ever pondered the power of chance and connection.

978-0-307-46447-7 | $24.00/$29.95C | Shaye Areheart | HC | April 2010

David Eicke Recommends:

You’re a Horrible Person, But I Like You: The Believer Book of Advice by The Believer Magazine

“I recently discovered that my fiancé is a cat burglar. I have no problem dating a criminal, but does he have to use such ridiculous 1950s terminology? I imagine him going to work dressed in a black turtleneck and an eye mask and a bag with a big dollar sign written on the side flung over his shoulders. How should I tell him that I’m losing all respect for him?”

To be honest, I’m not sure how I would answer this question from Katie L. in Grand Rapids. But I’m not a comedian. The Believer answers such advice inquiries in a monthly column called “You’re a Horrible Person,” using advice experts who happen to be some of the funniest people in the country: Amy Sedaris, Sarah Silverman, Zach Galifinakis, Janeane Garofalo, Fred Armisen (SNL), Mindy Kaling (The Office), and many more. Answers range from profanely offensive to belligerent to completely off-topic. To give you an idea, they answered the above question by haranguing the asker for using the term “fiancé” and asserting that the people who drop French words are the real criminals. Now all these questions and answers are collected, and what we have here is a little red book of demented harassment, which is always good for laughs. This one definitely needs a place in the adult humor section.

978-0-307-47523-7 | $13.95/$17.95C | Vintage | TR | April

 

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