Books of the Week

Vol. 8 No. 1

To see more information or to purchase the featured books, click on the Tattered Cover Independent Bookstore logo or the Amazon.com logo.

YA/ Fantasy/ Faerie YA/ Fantasy/ Mythic Reality
Snyder, Midori
Hannah's Garden
Viking 0670035777

Cassie Brittman's life finally seems to be settling down after spending most of her 17 years moving from town to town and mothering her beautiful mother, Anne. Cassie has a major violin recital and prom both planned for the same weekend when a phone call comes in that her grandfather, Poppie, a famous but reclusive artist is in the hospital. When Cassie, Anne, and Anne's latest boyfriend Gunnar arrive at the family farm they discover that it is vastly deteriorated. Animals are living everywhere, furniture is destroyed, garbage is strewn, and strange fungus is growing on the walls. Cassie and Anne can both tell that the neighbor who has been looking after Poppie is really a filthy evil creature. Cassie finds her great-grandmother Hannah's journal and begins to understand some of the mystery surrounding her family while at the same time she feels she is being stalked by an attractive but also horrifying biker and protected by a badger that lives in the the badly damaged spiral garden created by Hannah. A mysterious gray haired fiddler and a winter hair that frequently appeared in Poppie's mystical paintings keep making appearances. In a matter of hours Cassie is drawn into a faerie conflict involving the destructive Red Clan and the nature loving Green Clan. Readers of Charles deLint and Terri Windling will be thrilled to find this. It also shares some similarities to Holly Black's Tithe.

YA/ Fantasy/ Parallel Worlds YA/ Fantasy/ Humorous
Lubar, David
Wizards of the Game
Philomel Books 0399237062

Eighth-grader Mercer loves playing Wizards of the Warrior World and comes up with the idea of staging a gaming convention for the school fundraiser to benefit the local soup kitchen/ shelter. When fellow student Ed writes an editorial calling the game satanic and demonic and it is printed in the local paper as well as the school paper a church group starts demonstrating against gaming at Oscar Wilde Middle School. In the midst of all this Mercer meets a quartet of wizards at the shelter who call him a magus and try to enlist his assistance in returning to their home world. They had been stranded in ours thanks to a crooked (and devoured) tour guide. A stunning climax when a portal is opened and the statues of evil beings from the game come to life and attack, reveals a real wizards in their midst. Lubar has penned another winning title for middle schoolers.

YA/ Science Fiction/ Post Apocalypse
Hoffman, Alice
Green Angel
Scholastic 0439443849

Green was resentful when her parents and sister went off to the city to sell their produce but when the city went up in flames she was so devastated she cut off her beautiful hair, sewed thorns to her clothing, and covered herself with black tattoos and changed her name to Ash. This story is her journey back to recovery and has a veiled reference to terrorism and the backlash ethnic hate engendered. Hoffman's best YA yet and the cover illustration may just be the best cover of the year.

YA/ Issues/ Life is Hard
Weaver, Will
Claws
HarperTempest 0060094737

Jed Berg's "perfect" life starts spiraling downhill when a note directing him to go to a restaurant appears under the windshield wiper of the Camaro he drove to school. In the restaurant instead of the girl of his dreams he expected to meet he finds a pink haired punk girl who tells him that his father (the Camaro's owner) and her mother are having an affair. His investigation takes him to Ely and a lakefront log home designed by his architect dad where he discovers Laura (of the pink punk wig) is almost the perfect girl. As the two teens try to make sense of the situation and save their families things go from bad to worse. Jed busts up his locker, walks out of detention, loses his #1 standing on the tennis team, is busted for weed, and kicked out of school. Laura's younger sister, Jenny, a messed up kid to begin with runs away on a kayak. When Jed and Laura go after her disaster strikes. This powerful look at the destruction wreaked on kids' lives by thoughtless acts of their parents is a riveting pageturner and a cathartic experience engendering free-flowing tears.

YA/ Adventure YA/ Contemporary/ Activism
Hobbs, Will
Jackie's Wild Seattle
HarperCollins 0688174744 0-06-051631-1

Fourteen-year-old Shannon and her little brother Cody go to stay with their uncle Neal in Seattle when their physician parents go to Pakistan with the Doctors without Borders program. Uncle Neal doesn’t look like they remembered. He is thin and bald. Having lost his job at Boeing he is volunteering 24-7 as the ambulance driver for Jackie’s Wild Seattle, a wildlife rescue center for wild animals who have suffered from encounters with civilization. Shannon sees something in Tyler, a teenager who has been sentenced to community service for cruelty to animals at Jackie's Wild Seattle. After Uncle Neal’s thumb is nearly severed by a hawk caught in a driving range net, Shannon becomes the main rescuer going after a baby seal savaged by dogs and a coyote trapped in a downtown Seattle elevator. This is Will Hobbs at his best. Lots of adventure and fully realized characters who face ethical and emotional conflicts. The details of animal rescue are fascinating and will entice middle school readers. Hobbs has a web page with more information about Jackie's Wild Seattle and the real life connections.

YA/ Fantasy/ Adventure
Bell, Hilari
The Goblin Wood
Eos 0060513713 (0-06-051372-lib)

Makenna, the child of a hedgewitch, goes on the run after new laws result in the execution of her kind and gentle mother. Unable to see anything held captive in a snare she frees a goblin which makes him indebted to her. In this world goblins have always been left offerings of milk and bread but the new laws that killed Makenna's mother have also wreaked havoc on the demons. When they are found they are killed. When Makenna and rescued goblin happen upon a village priest burning a family of goblins to death in a tree she jumps in to help free them. Five years later she is a skilled tactician helping the goblins to rid their land north of the great wall of the incursion of human settlers being driven north by a war in the south with cannibalistic barbarians. A knight who is in disgrace because he has taken the rap for his younger brother who was involved in a treasonous conspiracy is sent north to ferret out Makenna who the priests believe is a powerful sorceress. The goblins are fabulous small creatures with different talents. Bell is one of the hottest new talents in sf and fantasy. She presents realistic dilemmas in richly imagined worlds with characters who would surprise no one if they were to step off the page.

Crime/ Legal Thriller
Scottoline, Lisa
Courting Trouble
HarperCollins 0060185147

Scottoline rocks! Anne Murphy, a gorgeous, smart, red-haired young attorney has been with Rosato & Associates, the all woman Philadelphia law practice for about a year without making friends either in the firm or in her neighborhood. The Friday evening before a long Fourth of July weekend she chats with another young woman at the gym and comes to the realization that she will not be able to get anything done in preparation for an important case due to her house's location in the heart of Philadelphia's Independence day festivities. Willa, the woman at the gym, offers to cat sit for her so she can get away for the weekend. The next morning when taking a run at the Jersey shore, Anne spots her own face on a newspaper along with a story describing her murder. Willa had been the same height and build and had even recently dyed her hair red so the killer had mistaken their identities. Anne is positive that the murderer is Kevin Satorno, a stalker who had been imprisoned in California after he tried to kill her. Finding new friendships with other women at the firm and her neighbors, Anne and company set out to bring Kevin to justice while she stays alive. She draws inspiration from another famous redhead, Lucy Ricardo, and is able to quote episode and date aired for almost any situation. Scottoline has written another perfect legal thriller with a touch of romance, a dash of humor, a large serving of suspense, wonderfully drawn characters, and page turning plot that will keep one reading without stop.

Crime/ Detection/ Amateur
Alger, Mike
Snow Storm
Publish America 1591294339

Greg O'Brien, a popular Reno TV weatherman, discovers he is in the midst of a mystery when a hit man makes a second attempt on his life. He hadn't even realized that the first attempt was not an accident. Hooking up with a former DEA agent and the sports guy from the TV station they set out to uncover why the Cali cartel has taken over a local radio station and killed Greg's friend who was a DJ there. This first novel is a page-turner. Alger's pacing works well and the plot twists and turn as well as the myriad ways that Greg almost buys the farm are enthralling. It is enjoyable to read about a protagonist who is just an ordinary person, albeit a local celebrity, that is inexplicably drawn into an international drug conspiracy. A good read.

Women's Fiction/ Romance/ Contemporary/ Sweet
Smith, Annie
Home Again
Zebra 0821773704

Fans of cozy romances with endearing characters will rejoice in this tale of Sally, cat loving kindergarten teacher, who becomes the guardian of Micah, a teenager who had dreams of playing in the NHL until he was spine injured in the accident that killed his parents who were Sally's best friends. The town of Hartley, Ohio seen before in Annie Kimberlin's delightful novels is a setting that allows cameo appearances by some of the beloved characters from her other novels. Tanner is a dog trainer that their friends have been trying to fix up with Sally. Because the Micah's dog is so important to him, Sally agrees to dog training and finds that what she feared most (dogs) can really be quite friendly. Smith's multi-dimensional characters and the relationships between them, both two-legged and four-legged, are so beautifully drawn that readers will not want the book to end. Hopefully the wait for the next charming and delightful tale of Hartley's most interesting folks will be published soon.

Fantasy/ Magic
Young Adult/ Fantasy/ Heroes and Heroines
Nix, Garth
Abhorsen
HarperEos 0060278269

At long last the much anticipated third book in Nix's Old Kingdom trilogy is here! Taking up where Lirael left off, Lirael, the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, and Prince Sameth escape the Abhorsen's house that has been ensorcelled and with the Disreputable Dog and Mogget set out to rescue Nick and stop the evil necromancer Hedge's plan to annihilate life. Meanwhile, Sabriel and King Touchstone are missing. This is one of the best fantasy series ever written and as a lifelong fantasy fan I'm not the least bit reluctant to put this series in my top ten favorites of all time. I'm adding a link here to the HarperEos Abhorsen site where one may win a hardcover copy of the entire trilogy, read an interview with Garth Nix, or take links to the Sabriel game and a sample chapter.

Fantasy/ Parallel Worlds/ Young Adult
Hoffman, Mary
Stravaganza: City of Masks
Bloomsbury 1582347913

In a parallel world is a city analogous to our Venice that is ruled by a mysterious masked woman. Arianna, a girl of that world has hatched a dangerous plan to stay in Bellezza to attempt to become a mandolier but it is ruined when she finds Lucien, a strangely attired boy, who is a cancer victim from our world. Lucien is chosen as a mandolier which brings him to the attention of Senator Rodolofo, a philosopher scientist and a favorite of the ruling Duchessa. Rodolfo knows exactly who Lucien, now called Luciano, was transported to Bellezza because he too is a stravagante, one who can travel between the worlds. Lovingly constructed world building featuring political intrigue and interesting customs and delightful multi-dimensional characters make this one of the best fantasy novels of 2002.

Science Fiction/ Romance
Shinn, Sharon
Jenna Starborn
Ace 044100900X

Jenna Starborn was created in the gen tanks on the planet Baldus, commissioned by a wealthy citizen who too late discovered she couldn't love an artificial child. Abused by her guardian's son she found respite when sent away to a school where she learned the skills to make her a nuclear technician. When she is hired to maintain the generators that power the force fields that make survival possible at Thorrastone Manor on the planet Fieldstar she finds herself falling in love with Everett Favenbeck, the owner and a level one citizen. This retelling of Jane Eyre set in a galactic civilization filled with nineteenth-century manners is a captivating delight. Shinn is brilliant!

Literary Fiction/ Coming of Age
Santana, Patricia
Motorcycle Ride on the Sea of Tranquility
University Of New Mexico Press 0826324355

Fourteen year old Yoli is overjoyed that her favorite brother Chuy is coming home from Viet Nam but the Chuy who returns is not the same one who left. As he heads across country on a new Harley chopper Yoli and her remaining 7 siblings experience life in 1969. Authentic feel for the period and good ambiance of a Mexican American family of the time.