Fiction A to Z February 2008 "I must say that I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a book." ~ Groucho Marx (1980-1977), American comedian New and Recently Released! There's No Place Like Here - by Cecelia Ahern Publisher: Hyperion Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 1/1/2008 ISBN: 9781401301880 ISBN-10: 1401301886 Ireland's 34-year-old Sandy Shortt (who isn't--she's a raven-haired 6'1") has been obsessed with finding lost things ever since a childhood neighbor went missing. Naturally, she operates a missing persons agency, frets about the past, and is habitually unable to connect with the people in her present. One day while out for a jog, she ends up in the magical place where lost items go. What she learns there will change the way she looks at life. If this whimsically inventive author's name sounds familiar, it should: Cecelia Ahern's debut was the basis for the movie P.S. I Love You; she also co-created the ABC comedy series Samantha Who? A Golden Age - by Tahmima Anam Publisher: HarperCollins Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 1/1/2008 ISBN: 9780061478741 ISBN-10: 0061478741 As a young widow in Bangladesh, Rehana Haque was forced to give up her son and daughter; a year later, she was able to retrieve them. Now, 20 years later, Rehana's desire to never divide the family again is put to the test when she and her children are caught up in the country's 1971 fight for independence. This debut, which highlights the love and courage of mothers, is the first in a proposed trilogy, and the depiction of war and its consequences will appeal to those who appreciate tales of political upheaval and family drama, such as Kiran Desai's The Inheritance of Loss. People of the Book - by Geraldine Brooks Publisher: Viking Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 1/1/2008 ISBN: 9780670018215 ISBN-10: 067001821X Given the coveted job of analyzing and conserving the priceless Sarajevo Haggadah, which disappeared during the 1992 siege, Australian rare-book expert Hanna Heath discovers a series of tiny artifacts within the ancient volume's pages--a hair, an insect's wing, a stain--that reveal its origins and its journey. Moving backwards through time, People of the Book is the imagined history of a real illuminated manuscript that truly did survive for centuries thanks to the bravery of people of many faiths. If you're intrigued by depictions of other eras and places, or are drawn by the mystery of teasing out an item's provenance, this tale is sure to please. Beginner's Greek: A Novel - by James Collins Publisher: Little, Brown Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 1/9/2008 ISBN: 9780316021555 ISBN-10: 0316021555 Peter Russell has done a stupid, stupid thing: he's gone and fallen hopelessly in love with the beautiful woman seated next to him on his flight to LA...and then lost her phone number. Over the next several years, life goes on for Peter until, on the verge of marriage, he meets his former seatmate again. She is, however, married--and married to a friend of Peter's who also happens to be a womanizing cad. Will Peter and his soul mate ever be together? If you've ever seen a romantic comedy or read a chick-lit novel, you'll know that the answer to that question is yes, but that getting there is half the fun. First Chapter Gotta Keep on Tryin': A Novel - by Virginia DeBerry and Donna Grant Publisher: Simon & Schuster Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 1/8/2008 ISBN: 9781416531678 ISBN-10: 141653167X In this sequel to Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made, Patricia and Gayle are ten years older, but they're still best friends and they're still dealing with ghosts from their pasts. Pat is growing ever more distant from her husband Marcus (who's facing problems of his own), while Gayle's difficult daughter has dropped out of school and moved in with her loser boyfriend. Even the relationship between the two friends is tense. Written by two best friends, Gotta Keep on Tryin' explores friendship and success and their pitfalls in a manner sure to delight anyone who has ever had a best friend--or a problem. First Chapter Mermaids in the Basement - by Michael Lee West Publisher: HarperCollins Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 1/1/2008 ISBN: 9780060184056 ISBN-10: 0060184051 Struggling with her mother's sudden death, a case of writer's block, and the suggestion that her boyfriend is having an affair, screenplay writer Renata DeChavannes flees to her grandmother's home in Alabama. There, with the help of her grandmother Honora and Honora's best friend--as well as her former nanny--Renata comes face to face with the skeletons in her family's closet. Meanwhile, her father's about to get married (again), and Renata slowly realizes that there's a lot more to her parents' relationship than she understands. This wacky slice of Southern life "never fails to entertain" (Kirkus Reviews). Dynamic Duos Maynard & Jennica - by Rudolph Delson Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 9/18/2007 ISBN: 9780618834488 ISBN-10: 0618834486 Eccentric Maynard Gogarty is an unsuccessful musician whose hobby is covertly filming New York City subway commuters. Jennica Green is a hardworking, spreadsheet-oriented transplant from California; their initial meeting is forgettable, but the romance that eventually ensues is not. Told from 35 different perspectives (including at least one dead ancestor, a macaw, and an inanimate object), this story about falling in and out of love in New York City is set both pre- and post-9/11, and makes for a compelling, witty, and unusual read. Me & Emma - by Elizabeth Flock Publisher: Mira Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 3/1/2006 ISBN: 9780778322856 ISBN-10: 0778322858 In a nowhere town in North Carolina, timid eight-year-old Carrie Parker and her fearless little sister, Emma, live with an unfeeling mother, an abusive stepfather, and memories of happier days before their father was killed. Tired of having to forage for food and of the constant abuse, Carrie makes plans for the two to run away, but their escape is thwarted. Narrated by Carrie, Me & Emma is a haunting tale of abuse and the invisible marks it leaves behind. "Tremendously touching," says Kirkus Reviews. First Chapter Freddy and Fredericka - by Mark Helprin Publisher: Penguin Group USA Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 7/25/2006 ISBN: 9780143037255 ISBN-10: 0143037250 Ridiculed constantly by the British press for their routine gaffes, intellectual Prince of Wales Freddy and his wife, the frivolous Fredericka, are sent on a destiny-fulfilling mission to retake the barbaric land of America (they parachute nearly naked into New Jersey). Their misadventures include impersonating dentists, manual labor under assumed names, and working for a terribly stupid presidential candidate. Farcical though their mysterious quest might be, Freddy and Fredericka do manage to repair their weakened relationship. This silly, imaginative, and clever tale is sure to appeal to fans of everything from Mark Twain to Monty Python. Table of Contents Shopaholic & Baby - by Sophie Kinsella Publisher: Dial Press Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 2/27/2007 ISBN: 9780385338707 ISBN-10: 0385338708 In this 5th entry in the Shopaholic series, Becky's life is pretty much perfect, with a great job at a new London boutique, weekends spent house-hunting with her gorgeous husband Luke, and a baby on the way. But at heart she's still Becky Bloomwood (ok, Becky Brandon), and she's got to have the best for her baby--and that includes the best obstetrician. Too bad that beautiful, glamorous obstetrician-to-the-stars Venetia Carter also just happens to be Luke's ex-girlfriend. Hijinks ensue when Becky hires a private eye to make sure there's no funny stuff, but with a Shopaholic book, you know there will be laughs aplenty. Nesting chick-lit readers will find Becky's adventures especially enjoyable. First Chapter Astrid & Veronika - by Linda Olsson Publisher: Penguin Books Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 2/6/2007 ISBN: 9780143038078 ISBN-10: 0143038079 Astrid is an elderly woman so withdrawn that she's thought to be a witch by her rural Swedish neighbors. The woman renting next door, struggling author Veronika, is trying to get on with her life after a personal tragedy. Though both Astrid and Veronika have imposed their isolation upon themselves, the two women gradually open up to one another about the losses they have suffered. If you enjoy reading about the complicated relationships between friends or among families, you'll appreciate this richly observant debut. Amy and Isabelle - by Elizabeth Strout Publisher: Vintage Contemporaries Check Library Catalog Pub Date: 2/1/2000 ISBN: 9780375705199 ISBN-10: 0375705198 At 16, shy Amy Goodrow found she couldn't stand her mother. She also discovered her growing sexuality. When her relationship with her math teacher is discovered, her mother, Isabelle, is devastated--not only by the teacher's actions but by her daughter's duplicity and sudden sexuality, and by the shame and anger she feels about her own past and choices. The complexities of the mother-daughter relationship are at the core of author Elizabeth Strout's debut, but the lives of other women in the town are also depicted. If you've already read and enjoyed Amy and Isabelle, look for Strout's latest, Olive Kitteridge, which publishes in March. First Chapter