We have some new staff picks to share with you. Please enjoy our selections.
JEN’S STAFF PICK:
Chris Bohjalian
The Sandcastle Girls: A Novel
Bohjalian relies on his Armenian heritage to deliver a book that is tailor-made for book groups. The story goes back and forth in time between a modern day novelist exploring her family’s history, and the story of Elizabeth Endicott, a young woman from Massachusetts who journeys to Syria with her father on a mission of mercy to help the Armenian people who are suffering unimaginable horrors in the desert. This is not an easy book to read, Bohjalian does not gloss over the atrocities, but he manages to offer moments of hope and humanity throughout, as well as moments of joy in the love that blossoms between Elizabeth and an Armenian engineer who has lost his family in the genocide. But there is much heartache too. This is a riveting read that will keep you up late into the night and will leave you with conflicting feelings at the end. I am still thinking about it weeks later.
978-0-385-53479-6 | $25.95/$28.95C | 100,000 | Doubleday | HC | July
eBook: 978-0-385-53480-2
AD: 978-0-307-91740-9
CD: 978-0-307-91739-3
LP: 978-0-307-99082-2
Historical Fiction
* Request an eGalley here.
ELIZABETH’S STAFF PICK:
Dustin Thomason
12.21: A Novel
From the co-author of the mega-bestseller The Rule of Four comes a riveting new thriller centered around December 21, 2012–the day the ancient Maya calendar predicts the world will end. Vince Flynn calls 12.21 “the most exciting novel of its kind since the days of Michael Crichton . . . [taking] us from the frontiers of modern neuroscience to the riddles of ancient Maya texts, with nothing less than the future of our civilization at stake.”
978-0-385-34140-0 | $27.00/$29.95C | 50,000 | The Dial Press | HC | August
eBook: 978-0-679-64428-6 | AD: 978-0-449-01162-1 | CD: 978-0-449-01161-4
Fiction/Thriller
* Request an eGalley here.
KELLY’S STAFF PICK:
Stieg Larsson
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Book 1
A new way to fall in love with Stieg Larsson! Vertigo will publish official graphic novel adaptations starting in Fall 2012 with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Each book in the “Millennium Trilogy” will be adapted into two hardcover graphic novel volumes.
978-1-4012-3557-4 | $19.00/$23.99C | 250,000 | Vertigo | HC | November
Graphic Novel
ERICA’S STAFF PICK:
Editors of GeekMom.com
Geek Mom: Projects, Tips, and Adventures for Moms and Their 21st Century Families
My nesting instinct has pretty much centered around stockpiling parenting book, no surprise there! From video games to Harry Potter movies and eReaders, everywhere you look kids are immersed in activities that can be labeled “geeky.” Any mom, whether she considers herself a true geek (in the coolest sense of the word) or not will want to explore ideas, projects and tips in this book.
978-0-8230-8592-7 | $19.99/$23.99C | 20,000 | Potter Craft | TR | October
eBook: 978-0-8230-8593-4
KRISTA’S STAFF PICK:
Mark Z. Danielewski
In a dark, dark corner in a dark, dark room. The nationally best-selling author of Only Revolutions has crafted a powerfully creepy novella—a ghost story for grownup readers. Imagine a late-night party at an East Texas ranch house, five orphans come to hear a story about a quest for a horrid weapon. Before them lies a long black box with five latches. As the owner of the box settles into a curious tale of revenge, the children grow more and more captivated, even as we grow more and more afraid that a new crime may await them all.
978-0-307-90772-1 | $23.95/$26.95C | 60,000 | Pantheon | HC | October
eBook: 978-0-307-90773-8
Fantasy
12 21 and The Fifty Year Sword sound really good!