It's easy to list what books are on my night table. But when I started to compile my list it seemed too obvious a task.
What was of interest to me was what books would be on my characters' bedside tables. The characters from Cul de Sac Moon are avid readers. They read to be inspired, entertained and to learn. It is no mistake that Addie's books are about troubled kids nor is it a surprise that both Sigge and Bernerd pursue their interests through literature. I am very fond of my characters and I really appreciate their literary recommendations. They are three rich and varied lists. I hope you enjoy their suggestions as much as I did.
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Categories: Reviews, Awards, Discussions, Authors, Night Table Recommendations
This last year we've been trying something new with our teen book clubs: instead of reading and discussing books that have been out for a while, we've decided to read and discuss books that haven't even been published yet. Upon signing up (it's free!), every teen gets an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of a book, and at the appointed date they come to the store and discuss what they've just read with our friendly neighborhood bookseller Margaret. Thus far, the response has been fantastic!
The next session will be in the fall. Keep checking back for dates!
Here is a listing of the books the Be First club has read so far, as well as our teen readers' reactions to them. These are now available at a McNally's near you!
If you're interested in taking a look at more books that haven't been released yet, check out our Two Thumbs Up review program.
Categories: Reviews, Site News
In Nick and Alan Ryves' England, magicians don't need wands. Instead, they feed non-magicians' souls to demons to perform magic. In search of a rare amulet their mother had stolen from them years ago, a magician's circle killed Nick and Alan's father and drove their mother insane. Nick and Alan have been on their own and on the the run from evil magicians much of their life.They've been doing pretty well, too, until Mae and Jamie Crawford ask for Nick and Alan's help. Jamie has been marked by a demon, and if he doesn't get it removed soon, he's a goner. Nick is exceedingly reluctant to help them (he hates people in general), but Alan insists. When Alan himself is marked by a demon, the stakes are raised - and the magicians who have been after them their entire lives are starting to close in.
Categories: Reviews
Betrayed by her own longing to be at sea with her sea captain husband, and by her loneliness, Azuba finds herself closeted with her young daughter on her unforgiving husband's sailing ship. Over the next three years of heart stopping adventures, Azuba endures vicious storms, starvation, pregnancy and childbirth, and the shock of cold-blooded pirates. The enormity of world travel in the 1860's changes Azuba utterly as she and her husband slowly, tentatively learn how to trust each other again.
Categories: Reviews
In Deathless, retells the story of Koschei the Deathless and Marya Morvena in the context of Communist Russia.
Deathless... is no dry, historical tome: it lights up like fire as the young Marya Morevna transforms from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei's beautiful bride, to his eventual undoing. Along the way there are Stalinist house elves, magical quests, secrecy and bureaucracy, and games of lust and power. All told, Deathless is a collision of magical history and actual history, of revolution and mythology and of love and death. It brings Russian myth back to life in a stunning new incarnation.
I've always been a sucker for fairy tale retellings, and the prospect of reading one in Valente's lush prose makes me so excited. As a bonus, this is not a tale that is widely known in the West, much less retold. You can read the first three chapters for free here. It looks as though young adults would enjoy this as well, but from some reviews that I've seen, this might be more suitable for ages 15+.
Deathless should arrive at McNally Robinson any day now. Just remember: in Soviet Russia, the fairy tale reads YOU.
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