Book reviews and more!

RAT ISLAND, by William Stolzenburg

October 27, 2011

FASCINATING REAL-LIFE ADVENTURE follows conservation biologists fighting invasive species on remote islands.

Grade: B PLUS

RAT ISLAND: PREDATORS IN PARADISE AND THE WORLD'S GREATEST WILDLIFE RESCUE
Bloomsbury
2011

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YOUR VOICE IN MY HEAD, by Emma Forrest

October 26, 2011

A WRITER’S LOVE LETTER to the psychiatrist who saved her life is quirkily touching, if a bit chaotic.

Grade: SOLID B

YOUR VOICE IN MY HEAD: A MEMOIR
Other Press
2011

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THE BLOOD ROYAL, by Barbara Cleverly

October 25, 2011

LONDON’S HIGH SOCIETY, titled Russian expatriates, and complex murders add up to a snazzy 1922-set procedural!

Grade: B PLUS

THE BLOOD ROYAL: A JOE SANDILANDS MURDER MYSTERY
Soho/Constable
2011

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SHINE, by Lauren Myracle

October 24, 2011

INTENSE, SENSITIVE, EVOCATIVE story of the impact of a hate crime in a small town; YA that resonates for adults.

Grade: B PLUS

SHINE
Amulet
2011

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THE SOURCE OF ALL THINGS, by Tracy Ross

October 23, 2011

SEARING AND ELOQUENT memoir of child sexual abuse, family dysfunction, and the healing power of nature.

Grade: SOLID B

THE SOURCE OF ALL THINGS: A MEMOIR
Free Press
2011

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THE VAULT, by Ruth Rendell

October 22, 2011

RUTH RENDELL’S WEXFORD, now retired, shines in his first case as a London consultant. Complex and well-wrought.

Grade: B PLUS

THE VAULT
Scribner
2011

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INSIDE SCIENTOLOGY, by Janet Reitman

October 21, 2011

IMPECCABLY REPORTED HISTORY of Scientology gives airtime to both adherents and opponents of the faith.

Grade: B PLUS

INSIDE SCIENTOLOGY: THE STORY OF AMERICA'S MOST SECRETIVE RELIGION
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
2011

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GERMLINE, by T. C. McCarthy

October 20, 2011

FAST-PACED MILITARY science fiction with a vividly drawn future setting. Fights, explosions, adrenaline galore!

Grade: SOLID B

GERMLINE
Orbit
2011

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THE MURDER OF THE CENTURY, by Paul Collins

October 19, 2011

MASTERFUL RETELLING OF a murder case that grabbed headlines in 1897 New York is rich in detail and drama.

Grade: A MINUS

THE MURDER OF THE CENTURY: THE GILDED AGE CRIME THAT SCANDALIZED A CITY AND SPARKED THE TABLOID WARS
Crown
2011

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THE MAN WHO COULDN’T EAT, by Jon Reiner

October 18, 2011

FRANK MEMOIR OF a horrific bout of Crohn’s Disease is most affecting when talking about the author’s children.

Grade: SOLID B

THE MAN WHO COULDN'T EAT: A MEMOIR
Gallery Books
2011

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