BITING, HILARIOUS memoir of growing up deaf, queer, and over-the-top theatrical in Texas is beautifully written. A MINUS

MEAN LITTLE DEAF QUEER
Beacon Press (MA)
2009

LUSHLY ELOQUENT novel portrays a Pakistani matriarch whose world is shaken by politics, her son’s Australian wife. A MINUS

THE HOUSE OF BILQIS: A NOVEL
Viking Adult
2009

EPIC, INGENIOUS, science-packed, the latest space saga from Alastair Reynolds is as thinky and as fun as his best. A MINUS

HOUSE OF SUNS
Penguin Group (USA)
2009

ATMOSPHERIC mystery is rich in 1930s detail, ingenious plot twists, and evocatively gloomy London setting. A MINUS

BLEEDING HEART SQUARE
Hyperion
2009

FUN, THOUGHT-PROVOKING, well-researched travel guide to Shakespeare’s London as of 1599 is fact-filled and witty. A MINUS

SHAKESPEARE’S LONDON ON FIVE GROATS A DAY
Thames & Hudson
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

STREET STORIES AND HINDU MYTHOLOGY blend in this startling memoir of a life recaptured from addiction and crime. A MINUS

IN HANUMAN’S HANDS
HarperCollins Publishers
2009

A FABULOUS FINALE for Donald Westlake’s tales of Dortmunder and gang, who take on reality TV in this last caper. A MINUS

GET REAL
Grand Central Publishing
2009

A POET’S GRACEFUL, TOUCHING MEMOIR of love, despair, separation, and the challenges and joys of single motherhood. A MINUS

SOMETHING LIKE BEAUTIFUL: ONE SINGLE MOTHER’S STORY
Harper
2009