INTRIGUING, WELL-RESEARCHED book offers insight on the life and work of famously private songwriter Joni Mitchell. B PLUS

WILL YOU TAKE ME AS I AM: JONI MITCHELL’S BLUE PERIOD
Free Press
2009

QUIRKY, TOUCHING novel about a 20-something teacher sorting through her feelings for a boyfriend serving in Iraq. B PLUS

MISS HARPER CAN DO IT
Penguin Group (USA)
2009

LYRICAL, MYSTICAL alternate history set in a United States of Africa thronged by starving European refugees. A MINUS

IN THE UNITED STATES OF AFRICA (FRENCH VOICES (BISON PAPERBACK))
Bison Books
2009

BOTSWANA’S No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency returns in another warm, cozy mystery about friendship, soccer and love. A MINUS

TEA TIME FOR THE TRADITIONALLY BUILT (THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY SERIES #10)
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2009

SERIOCOMIC, BITTERSWEET tale of how a road trip with his aging dad helped a writer make sense of a year of crisis. SOLID B

THE PATRON SAINT OF USED CARS AND SECOND CHANCES: A MEMOIR
Rodale Press
2009

WISTFUL, CLEAR-EYED, LOVING look by food writer Ruth Reichl at her mother’s life, hopes, and frustrated dreams. B PLUS

NOT BECOMING MY MOTHER: AND OTHER THINGS SHE TAUGHT ME ALONG THE WAY
Penguin Press HC, The
2009

SPECULATIVE THRILLER about a future US torn by Anglo-on-Hispanic violence, repression is intriguing but fumbling. B MINUS

AMERICA LIBRE
Grand Central Publishing
2009

VIVIDLY IMAGINED, rich with 15th-century detail, this novel follows Edward IV’s queen through war, court intrigue. B PLUS

THE WHITE QUEEN: A NOVEL (COUSINS’ WAR (TOUCHSTONE HARDCOVER))
Touchstone
2009

GENEALOGIST DETECTIVE returns for a second complex mystery tale of tough UK neighborhoods, at-risk kids, and cults. B PLUS

BLOOD ATONEMENT
Minotaur Books
2009

GOSSIPY, DETAIL-PACKED insider’s account of myriad scandals surrounding life and death in ultra-rich Palm Beach. SOLID B

MADNESS UNDER THE ROYAL PALMS: LOVE AND DEATH BEHIND THE GATES OF PALM BEACH
Hyperion
2009