August Books
Turning up the heat
By Romey Petite
The Doll Funeral, by Kate Hamer
The author of The Girl in the Red Coat, an Amazon Best Book of the Year (2016), returns with a new novel continuing themes of mothers and daughters and missing children. On Ruby’s 13th birthday, her dream comes true — she discovers that the loathsome Mick and his placating wife, Barbara, are only her adoptive parents. Packing a suitcase, she sets out in search of her real mother and father, venturing into the Forest of Dean with her intangible friend, the Shadow boy. There, Ruby finds a new family among three siblings — Tom, Elizabeth and Crispin. Told through the perspectives of Ruby, her mother and the Shadow boy, Hamer’s languid, yet delicious prose will be a delight for any adult who grew up reading Roald Dahl’s Matilda or Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. Overall, The Doll Funeral is a triumph of the uncanny and a voyage back into the strange, shifting threshold between childhood and adolescence.
The Half-Drowned King, by Linnea Hartsuyker
Young Ragnvald has come of age and looks forward to assuming his rightful role in Viking-era Norway after returning from Solvi’s raids in Ireland. He’ll reign as chieftain of his late father’s lands — and set about finding a good and kind husband for his beloved sister Svanhild. There is just one problem; the siblings’ stepfather, Olaf, has no intention of surrendering the property. Olaf arranges to have Ragnvald betrayed by his fellow raiders and is left to drown among sea goddesses and mermaids. Rescued by a fisherman, Ragnvald makes an alliance with Harald of Vestfold — a prophesized king. Meanwhile, Svanhild contemplates an expedient marriage to escape her stepfather’s selfish treachery. Blending elements of the plots of Homer’s Odyssey and Shakespeare’s Hamlet while being motivated by her own family’s rich history, debut novelist Linnea Hartsuyker has crafted a thrilling tale perfect for lovers of history, myth or George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones.
The Readymade Thief, by Augustus Rose
Lee Cuddy, an elfin girl of 17, is an expert shoplifter and member of a network of homeless kids inhabiting an abandoned structure in Philadelphia known as the Crystal Castle. Operating under the protection of an organization dubbed the Société Anonyme, Lee and Tomi, a boy with an encyclopedic knowledge of hacking and postmodern art, are prompted by the mysterious disappearance of kids from the collective to investigate their shadowy benefactors. Finding themselves on the run, The Readymade Thief is the opening of a doorway as Lee hurtles into a wonderland of ciphers, puzzles, alchemy, and the subtle genius of Marcel Duchamp. The Readymade Thief is screenwriter Augustus Rose’s first novel — bending genre by straddling the wide worlds between literary fiction and the pulse-pounding thriller. Fans of Marisha Pessl’s Night Film and Robin Sloan’s Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookshop will want to watch out for this one.
See What I Have Done, by Sarah Schmidt
On Aug. 4 of 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts, the Bordens’ family home becomes the scene of the grisly massacre of the patriarch, Andrew, and his second wife, Abby. According to the old rhyme, “Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.” Through See What I Have Done, Sarah Schmidt focuses not on what seems rational but on each character’s rationale regarding the interlocking events leading up to the murders and their aftermath. Whatever really happened that day, it’s clear there is much more to the Borden family than the details the sensationalist press and police fixate on. Setting before the reader via four distinct points of view, those of the family maid (Bridget), Lizzie’s sister (Emma), the mysterious jack of trades (Benjamin), and Lizzie herself, Schmidt weaves together a chilling, transfixing tale from start to finish.
Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat, by Patricia William and Jeannine Amber
Born to a single mother on the west end of Atlanta, Patricia Williams, a comedian known by the stage name “Ms. Pat,” was 8 years old the first time she learned to steal, encouraged to pinch wallets from drunken houseguests in her granddaddy’s living room, a space that doubled as a bootleg house. Nicknamed “Rabbit” by her mother’s then-boyfriend, by 16 she was selling drugs to support two children of her own. Endowed with a comedian’s gift for creative hindsight, Patricia discovered her penchant for telling funny stories at an open mic night and would go on to make appearances on Nickelodeon’s Mom’s Night Out, the syndicated Bob & Tom radio show, and NBC’s Last Comic Standing. Co-written with Jeannine Amber, an award winning journalist and writer for Essence magazine, Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat is a riveting escape story in which tragedy is transmuted to humor and harnessed as a tool for survival.
Yesterday, by Felicia Yap
Claire and Mark Evans are an unlikely couple. Both have married outside of their class in a society divided not only by familiar hegemonies, but also by what they are able to remember. Mark, a Duo, can remember up to two days at a time, whereas Claire, a Mono, is only capable of recalling the previous 24 hours. For the rest, each has to navigate a crawlspace of memos by relying on careful notes made in their respective iDiaries. After observing Mark reacting strangely to a news report regarding a body found in the River Cam, and subsequently learning the woman was Mark’s mistress, Claire begins to suspect she is being manipulated and sets about attempting to retrieve what she may have conveniently forgotten. Told from the perspectives of Claire, Mark, Detective Hans and the iDiary entries of the victim, Sophia, Yap’s debut novel is part Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and part Jonathan and Christopher Nolan’s Memento (2000).
Reincarnation Blues, by Michael Poore
Milo has lived approximately 9,994 lives and, as such, fancies himself an easygoing, spiritual wiseguy. In his 9,995th incarnation he has reached 50 years of age and is content to have little more to his name than a dog named Burt and a fishing boat christened the Jenny Ann Loudermilk. While swimming in the moonlight along the Florida shore, a healthy dose of the absurd intervenes in Milo’s paradise as the guru is devoured by a shark, and he is immediately spirited once again into the Afterlife that lies between one existence and the next. It is there he is reunited with the acerbic Suzie, the anthropomorphic embodiment of Death and Milo’s one true love. Realizing that he only has four lives left — everyone gets 10,000 chances to achieve cosmic bliss — Milo becomes determined to use his remaining time to find the secret to immortal life so that he and Suzie can be together at last. Michael Poore’s first novel, Up Jumps the Devil, was praised by The New York Review of Books as “an elegiac masterpiece.” Reincarnation Blues is full of the profound, existential, and sublime world-weary wisdom, meandering in tone between Roger Zelazny’s Lord of Light and the darkly comic stories of Kurt Vonnegut.
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
By Angie Talley
TheMermaid, by
Jan Brett
The beloved author/illustrator of such classic children’s books The Mitten and Gingerbread Baby will publish The Mermaid on Aug. 22. A stunningly beautiful undersea version of The Three Bears, Brett’s latest tale is sure to be the book for the fall. The author will visit Southern Pines on Thursday, Nov. 29, at 5 p.m. Call or stop by The Country Bookshop for more information on this not-to-be-missed event. All ages.
Motor Goose, by Rebecca Colby
“There Was an Old Tire that Parked in a Shed,” “Bumpty Dumpty,” “Tow Tow Tow the Car.” Young readers are sure to delight in these and other classic fairy tales in Motor Goose, a delightful collection of nursery rhymes retold with cars, trucks and trains as the main characters. Pair with your favorite version of Mother Goose for a great afternoon of reading fun with a little one. Ages 3-6.
Dogosaurus Rex, by Anna Staniszewski
When Ben and his mom go to the shelter to adopt a dog, they bring home a most unusual pet. Instead of saying “ruff,” Sadie says, “roar.” Instead of taking a bath in the tub, Sadie takes up the whole lake. And instead of being a dog . . . Sadie is a dinosaur! When she’s let loose in the town, she shows everyone just how helpful dinosaurs can be. Ages 3-6.
How to Get Your Teacher Ready, by Jean Reagan
In a world brimming with “the first day of school is scary” titles, How To Get You Teacher Ready is a welcome treat. New kindergartners will love seeing how the students welcome the teacher, making sure she knows where to put her things, how to get extra spaghetti in the cafeteria and especially where to find the bathroom. Finally, the perfect first-day-of-school book. Ages 4-7.
The List, by Patricia Forde
“Speak your mind.” Not words to be taken lightly nor taken for granted for the citizens of Ark. In an attempt to control actions, thought and communication through the regimenting of language, their leader, John Noa, has decreed language will be limited to 500 specific words. The List is a powerful, absorbing book reminiscent of The Giver and The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Ages 12-15. PS
