HAUNTING FABLE of lonely people on a mysterious island paints vivid pictures of a unique landscape, creatures. A MINUS

THE GIRL WITH GLASS FEET
Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
2010

FASCINATING, COMPASSIONATE book about pain by an MD who’s also a literary scholar, critical-illness survivor. A MINUS

THE LANGUAGE OF PAIN: FINDING WORDS, COMPASSION, AND RELIEF
W. W. Norton & Company
2010

ZIPPY CAPER NOVEL combines salty characters, snappy dialogue, tight plot. Fast-paced Elmore Leonard-esque fun! A MINUS

GUTSHOT STRAIGHT
William Morrow
2010

INTENSE, CHILLING, brilliant novel about a young boy obsessed with his uncle’s murder by a serial child-killer. A MINUS

BLACKLANDS
Simon & Schuster
2010

ENTHRALLING TRUE STORY of the Allied troops who worked to save Italy’s art and architectural treasures in WWII. A MINUS

THE VENUS FIXERS: THE REMARKABLE STORY OF THE ALLIED SOLDIERS WHO SAVED ITALY’S ART DURING WORLD WAR II
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
2009

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

FAMILY ALBUM
Viking Books
2009

POETIC, TERRIFYING memoir by an Iraqi activist exile tells of her struggles and imprisonment in the 1970s. A MINUS

DREAMING OF BAGHDAD (WOMEN WRITING THE MIDDLE EAST)
The Feminist Press at CUNY
2009

ASTONISHING FICTIONAL EVOCATION of life and death under Stalin channels the voices of Russian poets and others. A MINUS

THE STALIN EPIGRAM
Simon & Schuster
2009

RICHLY COMPLEX SCIENCE FICTION from Nancy Kress features her trademark combo of alien tech and human dilemmas. A MINUS

STEAL ACROSS THE SKY
Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
2009

SAD, FUNNY, TOUCHING memoir of rebuilding a New Orleans life after Hurricane Katrina; tough but rewarding read. A MINUS

PLENTY ENOUGH SUCK TO GO AROUND
Kensington Publishing Corporation
2009