Recently Received

Sorry, I've been remiss and slightly swamped lately. The following review copies have drifted into the shop in the past month or three; all of these are advance uncorrected page-proof copies, of the sort publishers send out in order to seed and fertilize the astroturf. If you see something here that appeals to you, let us know, and we'll send it to you. All of these are one-of-a-kind items and available on a strictly first-come, first-served basis.

Here's the catch: if you take one of these books, you are implicitly agreeing to at least attempt to read the thing, and then to write either a review or a guest column on some topic tangentially related to the book. Fair enough?

Good. Then in no particular order, here's what we have.

Mamba Point, by Kurtis Scaletta
Publisher: Random House, Alfred A. Knopf imprint
Market: YA ages 9-13
Release Date: July 2010
Ad Copy: "When his dad gets a job at the U.S. embassy in Liberia, twelve-yeaer-old Linus Tuttle knows it's his chance for a fresh start. Instead of being his typical anxious self, from now on he'll be cooler and bolder: the new Linus.
     "But as soon as his family gets off the plane, they see a black mamba—one of the deadliest snakes in Africa. Linus's parents insist mambas are rare, but he can barely go outside without tripping over one—he's sure the venomous serpents are drawn to him. Then he hears about kasengs—and the belief that some people have a deep, mysterious connection to certain animals.
     "Unless Linus wants to hide in his apartment forever (while his older brother meets girls and hangs out at the pool), he has to get over his fear of his kaseng animal. Soon he's not only keeping a black mamba in his laundry hamper; he's also feeling braver than ever before. Is it his resolution to become the new Linus, or does his sudden confidence have something to do with his new scaly friend? From Kurtis Scaletta comes a humorous and compelling story of a boy learning about himself through unexpected friends, a fascinating place, and an extraordinary animal."

Vampire High: Sophomore Year, by Douglas Rees
Publisher: Random House, Delacorte imprint
Market: YA 12 and up
Release Date: July 2010
Ad Copy: "It's back to school for Cody Elliot at Vlad Dracul, the only school in Massachusetts with an (almost) all-vampire student body. But Cody's hopes fo a great sophomore year are blighted when his train wreck of a cousin, Turk Stone, moves in and messes with his life big-time.
     "Turk is a brilliant teen artist and goth with a sky-high ego. She infuriates the vampire students with her attitude, especially the dark, brooding Gregor, Cody's old rival. But something changes in Turk when she stumbles across an abandoned nineteenth-century mill in the eerie forgotten district of Crossfield and immediately claims it as her new arts center project. At first Cody resents his pushy oddball cousin; still, he has his own reasons for helping to make her dreams come true.
     "But the town of New Sodom may not be willing to give up its dark past so readily. Crossfield hides many secrets, and a mysterious vampire army called the Mercians will do anything to keep them. Everything Cody learned about courage and determination during his freshman year at Vampire High will be tested this year in Crossfield.
     "In this stirring companion to his award-winning Vampire High, Douglas Rees reveals a group of vampires who may be supersmart and superstrong, but who still have to deal with making it in the real world."

dream life, by Lauren Mechling
Publisher: Random House, Delacorte imprint
Market: YA 12 and up
Release Date: January 2010 (Oops!)
Ad Copy: "Claire Voyante's first semester at Henry Hudson High School was eventful, to say the least. But things are finally calming down: she has a better handle on her psychic abilities, a best friend in the obscenely privileged Becca Shuttleworth, and a love interest in Becca's brother; Andy (not that Becca has a clue).
     "Luckily, Claire is a girl with certain talents. And keeping secrets is one of them. Her biggest secret? The onyx and ivory cameo necklace her grandmother gave her for her fifteenth birthday is much more than just a beautiful family heirloom—ever since Claire started wearing it, her dreams have been turning out to be oddly prophetic. She knows she can't tell Becca about her necklace or her dreams, but her night visions are heating up again, and it feels like something major is going on.
     "Becca's been hanging out with her old prep-school friend and never seems to have time for Claire anymore. And soon, Claire discovers why: there's a secret group of society girls with a mysterious identity. And, it turns out, a mysterious enemy who's out to get them. The second she smells trouble, Claire jumps on the case. But is it someone close to Claire who's in danger again—or is it Claire herself whose life is at stake this time?"

Dead Man's Share, by Yasmina Khadra
Publisher: The Toby Press
Market: Adult contemporary crime/mystery
Release Date: October 2009 (Double Oops!)
Ad Copy: "Superintendent Brahim Llob is bored. Nothing seems to need his attention in an unusually peaceful Algiers—for an energetic cop, that's like being in dry dock. Luckily or unluckily for him, the peace is soon shattered, in ways he would never have expected. His subordinate, Lieutenant Lino, is besotted with an entirely unsuitable woman, and is behaving atrociously as a result—spending money he doesn't have, behaving belligerently in public, and not turning up to work. He won't listen to reason. And then, predictably, when the love of his life returns to her previous lover, Lino is devastated. Things get a lot more complicated when this prior claimant to his love's affections, the influential and wealthy Haj Thobane, survives an attempted murder that kills his chauffeur, and Lino's gun is found at the scene.
     "With Lino languishing in jail, it is up to Superintendent Llob to face down the corrupt echelons of the Algerian government and try [to] find out the truth as to what happened that night. But trying to find that truth will take him down avenues even the world-weary Llob never expected to encounter, and force him to delve deep into his beloved country's brutal past..."
     (Translated from the French by Aubrey Botsford)

Holy Roller: A White Reporter Enters the World of Black Pentecostal Spirituality, by Julie Lyons
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
Market: non-fiction/Religion/Spirituality
Release Date: July 2009 (......!)
Ad Copy: "Julie Lyons was working as a crime reporter when she followed a hunch into the South Dallas ghetto. She wasn't hunting drug dealers, but drug addicts who had been supernaturally healed of their additions. Was there a church in the most violent part of the city that prayed for addicts and got results?
     "At The Body of Christ Assembly, a rundown church on an out-of-the-way street, Lyons found the story she was looking for. The minister welcomed criminals, prostitutes, and street people—anyone who needed God. He prayed for the sick, the addicted, and the demon-possessed, and people were supernaturally healed.
     "Lyon's story landed on the front page of the Dallas Times Herald. But she got much more than a great story, she found an unlikely spiritual home. Though the parishioners at The Body of Christ Assembly are black and Pentecostal, and Lyons is white and from a traditional church background, she embraced their spirituality—that of "the Holy Ghost and fire."
     "It's all here in Holy Rollers—the stories of people desperate for God's help. And the actions of a God who doesn't forget the people who need His power."

Monster Slayers, by Lukas Ritter
Publisher: Mirrorstone
Market: ages 8-12
Release Date: May 2010 (that's better)
Ad Copy: "For as long as Evin can remember, he has dreamed of being a real hero. And when his entire village is kidnapped by evil monsters called gnolls, he finally gets his wish. With the held of his friend Jorick, a young elf wizard named Betilivatis, and an ancient guidebook of magical beasts called A Practical Guide to Monsters, Evin treks through ancient ruins and faces all kinds of strange and terrible monsters on his quest to find his family.
     "But soon, Evin realizes that not everything is as it seems. Why is Betilivatis sneaking off to report their every move to someone only she can see? Why can't Evin remember anything before the day of the kidnapping? Why does it seem as if someone—or something—is controlling the gnolls and drawing the three friends deeper into a battle they might never win?
     "The pace never falters in this page-turning adventure, and it ends with a shocking twist that will make readers want to start the story all over again."

The Dead-Tossed Waves, by Carrie Ryan
Publisher: Random House, Delacorte imprint
Market: YA 14 and up
Release Date: March 2010
Ad Copy: "Gabry lives a quiet life, secure in her town next to the sea and behind the Barrier. She's content to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. Home is all she's ever known, and all she needs for happiness.
     "But life after the Return is never safe, and there are threats even the Barrier can't hold back.
     "Gabry's mother thought she left her secrets behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, but like the dead in their world, secrets don't stay buried. And now, Gabry's world is crumbling.
     "One night beyond the Barrier...
     "One boy Gabry's known forever and one veiled in mystery...
     "One reckless moment, and half of Gabry's generation is dead, the other half imprisoned.
     "Gabry knows only one thing: if she is to have any hope of a future, she must face the forest of her mother's past."

The Ring of Five, by Eoin McNamee
Publisher: Random House, Wendy Lamb imprint
Market: YA ages 10 and up
Release Date: May 2010
Ad Copy: "Something went wrong. Danny Caulfield doesn't know how he ended up at a mysterious academy called Wilsons. A few of the students are pretty scary. Someone is trying to murder him. Even the ravens that haunt the school seem to be against him.
     "Yet he also finds friends: Les, an exceptional thief; Dixie, who has an unsettling talent; and Vandra, a physick with special powers.
     "It turns out that Danny is destined for a terrifying mission. As he embarks on his training, he is shocked and secretly thrilled to discover that he seems to have all the natural gifts of the perfect spy—most importantly, the ability to betray.
     "The Ring of Fire is the first book in a brilliant new trilogy by the author of The Navigator. Eoin McNamee's background as an author of adult thrillers informs this exhilarating, atmospheric adventure, which is full of surprises as well as fascinating questions about loyalty, destiny, and what it means to be a spy."

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, by Francisco X. Stork
Publisher: Scholastic, Arthur Levine imprint
Market: YA ages 14 and up
Release Date: March 2010
Ad Copy: "Death. It surrounds Pancho. His father, in an accident. His sister, murderd. His own plans to trace her killer. And D.Q. - a guy Pancho's age who's dying of cancer. That is, if he'll ever shut up.
     "Love. D.Q. is writing the Death Warriors Manifesto, a guide to living out his last days fully. He needs just one more thing: the love of the beautiful Marisol. But as Pancho tracks down his sister's murderer, he finds himself falling for Marisol as well...
     "Faith. And choices that seemed right and straight-forward become tender, tentative, real. While D.Q. faces his own crisis of doubt, Pancho is inexorably drawn to a decision: to revenge his sister and her death, or to embrace the way of the Death Warrior and choose life.
     "The author of the acclaimed Marcelo in the Real World returns with a novel about the big things we live and die for, and the people who make those things matter."

Fire Will Fall, by Carol Plum-Ucci
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt imprint
Market: YA ages 14 and up
Release Date: May 2010
Ad Copy: "An action-packed story of bioterrorism that strikes far too close to home.
     "ShadowStrike poisoned the waters of Trinity Falls two months ago. Now the Trinity Four, the teens most affected by the poison, have been isolated in a remote mansion and are under twenty-four-hour medical care while scientists on four continents rush to discover a cure.
     "Meanwhile, U.S. operatives scour the world for the bioterrorists responsible for this heinous crime. But the two teen virtual spies who chased the extremists across the Internet prior to the attack are convinced that ShadowStrike is closer than USIC agents thing. The danger remains real—for ShadowStrike has every reason to pursue the Trinity Four, and their evil plan will unleash a new designer virus even deadlier than the first."

Captivate, by Carrie Jones
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Market: YA ages 12 and up
Release Date: January 2010
Ad Copy: "Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his pixies gets weaker. So when a new, younger pixie king shows up, war is imminent. The new King, Astley, claims he's not evil, that his pixies can coexist peacefully with humans and weres. Zara's boyfriend, Nick, isn't buying it; no pixie could possibly be a good guy. But Zara is half pixie herself, and she is just starting to think Astley could be right when Astley lets her in on another secret: he believes Zara's relationship with Nick is about to come to an end—and that she is fated to be his queen..."

Hearts at Stake, by Alyxandra Harvey
Publisher: Walker & Co.
Market: YA ages 12 and up
Release Date: January 2010
Ad Copy: "With feisty heroines, snarky humor, and satisfying romances, Hearts at Stake will stand out in a red-hot genre.
     "Solange Drake's sixteenth birthday is finally here, but in her family, this day triggers the transformation from human to vampire. Her seven older brothers each made it through the potentially deadly passage, but since she's the first female-born vampire in almost 800 years, and since her birth was foretold in a prophecy that predicts she will unite all the vampire clans as their queen, this birthday isn't looking quite so sweet. Solange could be killed by the transformation itself, or by one of the existing queen's followers who are after the bounty on her head.
     "Luckily her protective older brothers and her very kick-butt best friend, Lucy, have her well being at heart. And it will take all of them—plus the help of their nemesis, Kieran Black—to make sure Solange survives. By the stroke of midnight, her fate will be sealed, one way or another."

How I, Nicky Flynn, Finally Get a Life (And a Dog), by Art Corriveau
Publisher: Abrams, Amulet Books imprint
Market: ages 8 - 12
Release Date: May 2010
Ad Copy: "'Mom was supposed to be bringing stuff home from the Supa-Sava to make tacos with. But she wasn't holding a bag of groceries—just a leash, with Reggie hooked to the other end.'"
     "Nicky Flynn's life just got a whole lot harder. Not only have Nicky's parents gone through a messy divorce—forcing him to start a new life, in a new city, in a new school—but now his mom has gone behind his back and brought home Reggie, an eighty-pound German Shepherd from the animal shelter. Turns out Reggie is far from an ordinary pound mutt; he's a former seeing-eye dog. Trouble is, nobody's ever told Reggie he's retired...
     "Nicky isn't so sure about being dragged around the neighborhood as if he were Reggie's new blind master. But then things start to get complicated, and Nicky soon discovers that Reggie may be the only one he can rely on. Especially when Nicky tried to reconnect with his dad. He puts everything on the line—including the life of his new best friend.
     "A heartfelt and honest look at the effects of divorce and the value and gift of true friendship, from debut middle-grade author Art Corriveau."

Folly, by marthe jocelyn
Publisher: Random House, Wendy Lamb imprint
Market: YA ages 14 and up
Release Date: May 2010
Ad Copy: "Mary Finn: country girl, maid to a lord in London.
"Caden Tucker: liar, scoundrel, and heart's delight
"James Nelligan: age six, tossed into a herd of boys
"When Mary Finn falls into the arms of handsome Caden Tucker, their frolic changes the course of her life. What possesses her? She's been a girl of common sense until now. Mary's tale alternates with that of young James Nelligan, a new boy in an enormous foundling home. Three fates intertwine in this moving and fascinating story about life-changing moments.
     "In Folly, Marthe Jocelyn's breathtaking command of language, detail, and character brings Victorian London to life on every page, while the deep emotions that illuminate this novel are as current as today's news."

Blimpo: The Third Circle of Heck, by Dale E. Basye
Publisher: Random House, Random House imprint
Market: YA ages 9 to 13
Release Date: May 2010
Ad Copy: "Welcome to Blimpo, where the, um, plump kids go.
     "After his escape from Bea "Elsa" Bubb, the Principal of Darkness, Milton Fauster makes his way to Blimpo—the circle of the otherworldly reform school, Heck, where he's sure his friend Virgil is sentenced. What Milton finds in Blimpo horrifies him. The overweight dead kids spend most of their time running on giant human hamster wheels called DREADmills that detect and exploit their deepest fears. The rest they spend eating Hambone Hank's barbecue—mystery meat that is delicious, but suspiciously (to Milton, anyway) haunting. Every classroom has a huge TV screen showing happy thin people who taunt Blimpo residents with a perfection they will never attain.
     "Meanwhile, at her new job in the devil's Infernship program, Milton's sister, Marlo, knows all about trying to achieve perfection. And failing miserably. Can Milton get himself and Virgil out of Blimpo in time to rescue Marlo, too. Or is Fauster the next delicacy on Bea "Elsa" Bubb's menu?"

 

More listings coming soon! Or if you're impatient, there are more older review copies heaped on The Assignment Desk.