SNARKY, MEAN-SPIRITED chickfic about an ugly-duckling-turned-swan making her handsome, flirty boyfriend ugly. C PLUS

THE MAKEDOWN
5 Spot
2009

CHATTY, JOKEY guide to microbiology for beginners has lots of fascinating real science behind its breezy tone. B PLUS

THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM: FROM THE TIPS OF OUR FINGERS TO THE TOPS OF OUR TRASH, INSIDE THE CURIOUS WORLD OF MICROBES
Basic Books
2009

LORRIE MOORE’S long-awaited novel is eloquent, complicated, vivid, and ultimately disappointingly hard to love. B PLUS

A GATE AT THE STAIRS
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
2009

DELICATE, COMPLEX novel follows a young girl growing up in posh Paris and New York, learning family secrets. B PLUS

DREAMING IN FRENCH: A NOVEL
Scribner
2009

MAGISTERIAL BIOGRAPHY of pioneer theoretical physicist Paul Dirac highlights odd personality, stellar career. B PLUS

THE STRANGEST MAN: THE HIDDEN LIFE OF PAUL DIRAC, MYSTIC OF THE ATOM
Basic Books
2009

DELICATELY NUANCED family saga; Penelope Lively’s genius shines through with wit, insight, and offbeat detail. A MINUS

FAMILY ALBUM
Viking Books
2009

GRANDE DAME of British mystery P. D. James shares thoughts on the genre in this elegant, if slight, little book. B PLUS

TALKING ABOUT DETECTIVE FICTION
Knopf
2009

THOUGHTFUL, SOBERING look at the 1999 Columbine (CO) school shooting and the ways it was mythologized in media. B PLUS

COLUMBINE
Twelve
2009

CLASSIC SF LIVES! Joe Haldeman in vintage form. Hard-science space opera has heart, memorable humans and aliens. B PLUS

STARBOUND (A MARSBOUND NOVEL)
Ace Hardcover
2010

QUIRKY TWIST on the Cyrano story, as a Wisconsin gardener sets her husband up with her favorite radio hostess. B PLUS

LAURA RIDER’S MASTERPIECE
Grand Central Publishing
2009