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What Is Brentwood Reading in Children's Books?

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Brentwood's Bestselling Children's Books

Young Adult Newsletter May 2018

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Reading is an adventure!

Dear Reader,

Welcome to our May YA Newsletter! Exploration of other worlds, internal and external, continue in these reviews of contemporary YA fiction. Entertaining and intriguing, they give a great vantage on power relationships, emotional challenges, and the wonderful diversity of our world as well as their own. As Lindsey writes in this newsletter: "These stories, though often set in unrelatable worlds, have something that everyone can relate to."

Happy Reading!

John & all DIESELfolk

New Books We Love This Month

A Court of Frost and Starlight
by Sarah J. Maas

Feyre, Rhysand, and the rest of the Inner Circle have been hard at work rebuilding both the Night Court and the world beyond in the wake of the conflict with Hybern. Winter Solstice is quickly approaching, but even the cheer of the holiday season can’t cover the shadows of the past. As everyone works to heal and renew, Feyre finds that those closest to her have scars that run deeper than she ever predicted, scars that will have a lasting impression on their Court.

I loved this book. I’ve been a big fan of Sarah J. Maas from the beginning, and this is no exception. I will admit, this book was not what I was expecting. The focus of this book is healing, and it’s fluffy and heart-warming rather than plot-driven. It was a nice change of pace and a good chance to explore how the characters interacted with each other when lives weren’t on the line and they were able to relax. This novella was intended to be a set-up for the next book, and it did its job well. --Lindsey

Given to the Earth
by Mindy McGinnis

In the highly anticipated sequel to Given to the Sea, we’re thrown back into the world of Stille. Khosa’s marriage to Vincent has made her Queen of Stille, and the people think she now controls the sea, but the sea still calls to Khosa, just as Khosa calls for Donil. While Khosa struggles in Stille, Dara crosses the island on a quest for vengeance. Her goal is to kill the leader of the Pietras as retribution for the massacre of the Indiri. With the steady rising of the tide, everyone is hard pressed to find a way out of this mess before its too late.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was nice to be back in this world, and I loved watching the characters continue to grow. I especially loved Dara’s storyline. She was incredibly raw and I love her dedication to the Indiri bloodline. Without giving too much away, I liked seeing how characters who had never met finally came face to face. Overall, I think it was a great book and I loved how the ending brought everything together. -- Lindsey

The Sea Best Takes a Lover
by Michael Andreasen

The Sea Beast Takes a Lover is a collection of science fiction short stories. These stories explore a range of themes in a multitude of different settings. This book includes the tales of Jenny, the girl born without a head, and Andy, who will certainly explode, though no one knows when. These stories are playful and often just a little bit scary. These stories, though often set in unrelatable worlds, have something that everyone can relate to.

I really liked these stories. This is an adult book, so there is a bit of content that might not be appropriate for younger readers. There’s nothing graphic, but I would definitely recommend this for more mature readers. All of the stories are well written and interesting, but my favorite was the titular story, The Sea Beast Takes a Lover.--Lindsey

What Is Brentwood Reading in the Arts?

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What Is Brentwood Reading in General Nonfiction?

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Brentwood's Bestselling General Nonfiction

What Is Brentwood Reading in Fiction?

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DIESEL, A Bookstore presents the Indie Next List for May 2018

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The best new books this month chosen by us and other
independent booksellers across the country.

THIS MONTH'S #1 INDIE NEXT LIST PICK...

A Lucky Man: Stories
By Jamel Brinkley

(Graywolf Press, 9781555978051, $26)

"A Lucky Man marks the arrival of a brilliant new voice in contemporary fiction. In quiet, elegant prose, debut author Jamel Brinkley renders characters who are universally relatable yet entirely unique, with all the complexities and subtleties of living, breathing people. As I read their stories, I was swept up into the lives of these characters, so much so that at times I forgot I was reading fiction and felt instead that I was reading letters from old friends. This is an important and powerful collection. Its slice-of-life stories glow with a soft light, revealing rich detail and vibrant beauty in the dark corners of human experience. Every moment held me in silent awe."

--Jason Foose, Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ


		Indies Introduce -- outstanding debuts as selected by independent booksellers

THIS MONTH'S #1 INDIE NEXT LIST PICK AUTHOR INTERVIEW


photo: Arash Saedinia

Booksellers have chosen Jamel Brinkley's debut short story collection, A Lucky Man: Stories, out May 1 from Graywolf Press/A Public Space Books, as their number-one pick on the May Indie Next List.

In A Lucky Man, which received starred reviews from both Kirkus and Booklist, Brinkley presents a poignant, raw collection of nine stories set in Brooklyn and the South Bronx, where black men and boys struggle to salvage relationships, escape past mistakes, and define their own lives in a world shaped by race, gender, and class and permeated by the promise of luck--or its absence.

Brinkley, whose debut was also selected by booksellers for the Winter/Spring 2018 Indies Introduce program, was raised in the Bronx and Brooklyn and is a graduate of Columbia University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. His work has received support from the Kimbilio Fiction writers' community and the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, and Brinkley is currently a 2018–2020 Wallace Stegner Fellow in Fiction at Stanford University.

Each of these stories takes place in Brooklyn and the South Bronx. How have those places influenced your writing?

In some ways, those are the only places I've known for much of my life. I grew up in various parts of Brooklyn and in the South Bronx, so when I think about characters, about people, naturally I'm thinking about the people that I grew up with, whether it's my family or my friends or my neighbors in those places. Those are my people, in a lot of ways. As far as an inspirational resource or a compositional resource, that's naturally where my mind goes because that's what I've known pretty much my entire life.

Are many of these characters based on specific people or are they mostly amalgamations of different people's traits?

I think they're amalgamations. In some ways, a lot of the characters are partly me. There's a range of them; I think there are elements of me in all those characters, but, of course, I've observed other people or certain types of people and have taken little bits and pieces from them....

Read More »

MORE INDIE NEXT LIST GREAT READS

Tin Man
By Sarah Winman

(G.P. Putnam's Sons, 9780735218727, $23)

"Michael loves Ellis, Ellis loves Annie, and Annie loves them both. Yet Sarah Winman's blistering novel Tin Man is anything but the usual love triangle. Instead, Winman asks us to consider what remains of love after its object is gone. She crowds this spare little book, set in London, Oxford, and the south of France, with vivid portraits of loss and mourning. At once terse and expansive, Tin Man is a firework flashing in the night--gone too soon but burned forever into the reader's memory."

--David Enyeart, Common Good Books, St. Paul, MN

Noir
By Christopher Moore

(William Morrow, 9780062433978, $27.99)

"Christopher Moore has done it again! Noir is now among my very favorites by this popular novelist. This book is everything it promises: A love letter to hard-boiled detective fiction, a thorough and loving bath in the atmosphere of 1947 San Francisco, and loads of laughs along the way. Aliens? Yes. Romance? Also yes. Add in a cast of characters with heart, moxie, and beguiling banter and you've got Noir, a recipe for pure enjoyment."

--Mary McDonald, Nicola's Books, Ann Arbor, MI

Love and Ruin
By Paula McLain

(Ballantine Books, 9781101967386, $28)

"The Paris Wife and Circling the Sun were two of the most successful titles of the last decade for Alabama Booksmith, and Love and Ruin is more proof for the pudding that Paula McLain is a member of the master class of historical fiction writers. This exciting page-turner follows Martha Gellhorn as she reports from the center of the action of the Spanish Civil War, then jeopardizes her reputation and very existence by falling in love with the greatest literary giant of the day, Ernest Hemingway. This spectacular read is fact-based and deliciously entertaining."

--Jake Reiss, Alabama Booksmith, Birmingham, AL

The Ensemble
By Aja Gabel

(Riverhead Books, 9780735214767, $26)

"My goodness, I love the quartet of flawed and wonderful characters Aja Gabel brings to life. I felt the heartbreak and triumph each time the ensemble performed. The Ensemble captures everything from the relentless rehearsals to the particular hand injuries musicians worry over to the conflict within the group. Henry, Daniel, Jana, and Britt are each characters unto themselves, but together they create a fifth character: the quartet itself. An inventive novel about the lives of musicians and the world they inhabit, full of tension, ambition, confusion, and loyalty. The Ensemble is a remarkable achievement."

--Sarah Bagby, Watermark Books, Wichita, KS

The Only Story
By Julian Barnes

(Knopf, 9780525521211, $25.95)

"The Only Story, a love story that captivated me from the very first page, tells of Paul, a young man who at the age of 19 falls in love with a woman almost 30 years his senior. Now in the sunset of his life, Paul looks back with tenderness on the life they had together, how everything fell apart, and how his life evolved as a result. I loved the author's reflections on love and found myself savoring his words, not wanting the book to end. A beautiful story from a superb writer."

--Danielle Bauter, Laguna Beach Books, Laguna Beach, CA

The Perfect Mother
By Aimee Molloy

(Harper, 9780062696793, $27.99)

"Buckle up for a gripping read that had me up until 2:00 in the morning! Aimee Molloy taps into two of the deepest fears a mother can have: The ultimate fear of losing a child, and the secretive fear of losing her identity. As a new mother, this book spoke to me on every level. The insecurity, the worries, the panic, the judgment--you name it. Add a missing child, and all those feelings were multiplied by a thousand. Don't miss this captivating novel--it won't disappoint!"

--Teresa Steele, Old Firehouse Books, Fort Collins, CO

Welcome to Lagos
By Chibundu Onuzo

(Catapult, 9781936787807, $26)

"A disparate and electric ensemble cast--sad, hopeful, honorable, conniving, quixotic, and just plain wacky--drive Chibundu Onuzo's remarkable debut, but it's the character of Nigeria itself--the air and soil of its countryside and the high-voltage freneticism of its largest city--that so often shines through, undeniably alive. Equally madcap, heartbreaking, and redemptive, Welcome to Lagos unflinchingly and beautifully captures the ambitions and contradictions of a nation on the brink."

--Sam Kaas, Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA

Warlight
By Michael Ondaatje

(Knopf, 9780525521198, $26.95)

"With his usual virtuosity, master storyteller Michael Ondaatje delivers a mysterious, shimmering new coming-of-age novel. Warlight is the unexpected story of two teenagers abandoned by their enigmatic parents in post-war London. Casually watched over by a dodgy cast of characters--petty criminals, opera singers, and panting greyhounds--Nathaniel and Rachel try to make sense of their new world while struggling to define their parents' shadowy wartime pasts. Years later, Nathaniel embarks on a quest to discover the disturbing truth, and his own unwitting part in it. Balancing poignance with surprising comic touches, Warlight is a stellar addition to the Ondaatje canon."

--Chrysler Szarlan, Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, MA

My Ex-Life
By Stephen McCauley

(Flatiron Books, 9781250122438, $25.99)

"This story of loves both great and small is most certainly not saccharine sweet. My Ex-Life reminds us that there is a reason for everything, and that sometimes it's wise to go back to the familiar (albeit old) parts of ourselves to remind us just how far we've come. Stephen McCauley writes like your best friend--the one who always says what you're thinking but you'd never have the guts to utter out loud. His perception of even the mundane tasks of life reveals a witty tone dripping with self deprecation and amusement. This book is most certainly one you should put at the top of your to-be-read pile!"

--Jordan Arias, Anderson's Bookshop, Naperville, IL

The Mars Room
By Rachel Kushner

(Scribner, 9781476756554, $27)

"Rachel Kushner writes some seriously smart and gorgeous prose, so when she headed to prison in The Mars Room, I went. It is dark. It is painful. At times, the level of detail in the book and its fabulously invented and drawn characters make it feel like a documentary. We are struggling with so many social justice issues across the country right now it is overwhelming, and I worried that The Mars Room would push me over the edge. Instead, I couldn't stop reading. What really happened? Who is to blame? How will things turn out? How can we make things better? Ultimately, Kushner's great success is profoundly illustrating a very simple message: It's complicated."

--Sara Hinckley, Hudson Booksellers, Marietta, GA

Mr. Flood's Last Resort
By Jess Kidd

(Atria Books, 9781501180637, $26)

"Jess Kidd has done it again. I absolutely loved her first book, Himself, and her latest does not disappoint. This tale of Mr. Flood and his caregiver, Maud, brings together eccentric characters, ghosts, saints, a crumbling mansion, missing children, and a suspicious suicide. It perfectly balances tragedy with dark comedy; the dialogue crackles and every detail enchants. I will miss spending time in Maud's world."

--Kathi Kirby, Powell's Books, Portland, OR

How to Walk Away
By Katherine Center

(St. Martin's Press, 9781250149060, $26.99)

"How to Walk Away deals with a tragic situation evoking emotions of despair, humor, pity, and love. Margaret has a full life, a wonderful boyfriend, a new job, and an exciting future, but this is all taken away when a plane accident leaves her paralyzed. Katherine Center creates a character so vivid that the reader can relate to her denial, self-pity, humor, and, finally, her acceptance as she copes with her new reality and begins to truly understand herself, what she is capable of doing, and whom she is capable of loving. This is a heartwarming and sensitive story that captivated me from beginning to end."

--Fran Duke, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Chatham, MA

You Think It, I'll Say It: Stories
By Curtis Sittenfeld

(Random House, 9780399592867, $27)

"No one does a better job of writing about the high and low points of contemporary relationships than Curtis Sittenfeld. Her characters are petty, flawed, tender, funny, and completely believable. The characters in You Think It, I'll Say It do not shy away from assuming they know those around them, making the twist when their misjudgments are revealed even more satisfying. While it is easy to fall in love with the insightful storytelling and humor, Sittenfeld's true gift is to make you recognize yourself in these pages."

--Luisa Smith, Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA

Wicked River
By Jenny Milchman

(Sourcebooks Landmark, 9781492658993, $15.99, trade paper)

"I am a huge Jenny Milchman fan, so I had high expectations for this book. My expectations were met and surpassed. Doug and Natalie both have secrets and issues with trust. Add in debts to old friends and a wedding not celebrated by all, and complications are everywhere. The honeymoon in the wilderness is the stuff of nightmares and will keep your heart pounding. Any fan of a good thriller with psychological twists will love this book."

--Jackie Willey, Fiction Addiction, Greenville, SC

The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century
By Kirk Wallace Johnson

(Viking, 9781101981610, $27)

"A fascinating true crime book, The Feather Thief recounts the theft of more than 200 bird skins from a museum in England. Along the way, Johnson also covers Darwin contemporary Alfred Russel Wallace's travels to acquire birds of paradise, the theory of evolution, and the decimation of bird species in the name of fashion. It is a book about obsession, from the fly-tying community's hunt for specific bird species to Johnson's own need for justice and closure after the case is resolved. This is a gripping, multifaceted book about our need to possess beauty in the name of historical authenticity."

--Anton Bogomazov, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, D.C.

First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Journey Through Anxiety
By Sarah Wilson

(Dey Street Books, 9780062836786, $25.99)

"First, We Make the Beast Beautiful evokes the strange and magical feeling of having discovered a personal journal in a public place. It is first and foremost a memoir that tackles difficult subjects, touching on many experiences, both traumatic and constructive, that the author feels have affected her journey through anxiety. A great deal of the book is spiritual and suggests that anxiety is the product of an unrest in the soul. Fans of Rupi Kaur will enjoy the candid rawness of this book, as it pulls them through a journey that is perhaps all too painfully familiar."

--Kaitie Radel, The Oxford Exchange, Tampa, FL

The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
By Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil

(Crown, 9780451495327, $26)

"The Girl Who Smiled Beads is a beautiful and heartbreaking look into the life of a woman who survived the genocide in Rwanda. I was so moved by Clemantine's story of her escape and time as a child refugee, and equally moved by her struggle to come to terms with her experiences after moving to the U.S. Looking at what happened through the story of someone who escaped as a child makes the horrors even more viscerally felt by the reader. I am humbled and grateful to have been able to read this important account."

--Hillary Smith, Copperfield's Books, Sebastopol, CA

Motherhood
By Sheila Heti

(Henry Holt and Co., 9781627790772, $27)

"Sheila Heti has a way of tapping into the throes of consciousness and coming out with a precisely articulated version of how we think. Her new book, Motherhood, delves deep into the decision of whether or not to have children, while simultaneously exploring femininity, identity, and self purpose. Even if motherhood is not pertinent to your life, this book will shed light on our culture and the expectations that are bound to affect everyone at some point."

--Courtney Flynn, Trident Booksellers & Café, Boston, MA

The Best Cook in the World: Tales From My Momma's Table
By Rick Bragg

(Knopf, 9781400040414, $28.95)

"This is the funniest cookbook in the world! Packed with old fashioned southern recipes, Bragg's brilliant storytelling and old black-and-white photographs bring his relatives to life. From lost cows to dead hogs to giant turtles, his stories feature grandparents and great grandparents, aunts and uncles. But most of all, his mother's voice comes through loud and clear. More than anything, you are taken by the back-and-forth between Bragg and his down-to-earth, matter-of-fact, shy but feisty mother. I absolutely loved this book! And I recommend the pecan pie!"

--Helen Stewart, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC

The Essex Serpent
By Sarah Perry

(Custom House, 9780062666383, $16.99)

"If you love mystery, Victorian England, and exploring the tension between science and religion, you will love The Essex Serpent. Many contemporary authors manage to evoke for readers that experience of reading Jane Austen or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for the first time. The real miracle of Sarah Perry is that she manages to do so with a completely fresh voice. With beautiful sentences and characters and landscapes so well-crafted you feel you've been there, The Essex Serpent captures the imagination and manages to deliver the sense of wisdom only good literature can."

--Tina Ontiveros, Klindt's Booksellers, The Dalles, OR

The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir
By Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

(Flatiron Books, 9781250080554, $17.99)

"Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich didn't set out to investigate the murder of six-year-old Jeremy Guillory in Louisiana; it was the case she happened upon as a young law school intern in 1992. In a fascinating twist, this becomes not only the true story of a heinous crime for which the perpetrator is in prison, but also of the investigation that unlocks the author's memories of her own youth, a childhood in which she and her sisters were repeatedly sexually abused by their maternal grandfather. As Marzano-Lesnevich moves backward and forward in time between the young man who killed Jeremy and her own life, the reader is swept along on a current of dismay and awe: dismay that human beings can do these things to each other, and awe that the author could face such demons and move on. I've never read another book like this."

--Anne Holman, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT

The Graybar Hotel: Stories
By Curtis Dawkins

(Scribner, 9781501162305, $16)

"Discard the thought that Curtis Dawkins is serving a life sentence and insert the thought that this is an amazing short-story collection by a debut author. In The Graybar Hotel, we glimpse the emotional lives of the inmates of a Kalamazoo prison, who are cut off from the world and in a place where time moves and sounds different than before. One character calls random numbers just so he can hear a voice or any noise for his allotted 15 minutes, anything to connect to the outside world again. The Graybar Hotel reminded me of reading early Denis Johnson, in the way that the writing is so sparse I fell right into the stories and suffered along with the inmates. A captivating read that allowed me a glimpse of the humanity of prison life."

--Jason Kennedy, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, WI

The Marriage Pact
By Michelle Richmond

(Bantam, 9780553386363, $16)

"The world has gone wacko lately, and in the fictional world of The Marriage Pact a secret group forms that ostensibly seeks to protect the integrity of marriage. With guidelines to follow to keep the worst from happening, it isn't long before newlyweds Alice and Jake find themselves in trouble. One of them breaks a rule and the consequences are, well, scary. A thriller like no other, this book may make you take a second look at your neighbors and ask yourself: how far you would go to keep your marriage intact?"

--Linda Bond, Auntie's Bookstore, Spokane, WA

The Marsh King's Daughter
By Karen Dionne

(G.P. Putnam's Sons, 9780735213012, $16)

"After a childhood in the wilds of Northern Michigan, where her rugged, brutal father was the center of her world, Helena has made a new life with a family who doesn't know her past. Now she and her father are hunting each other and Helena must use all the skills he taught her to survive. Fascinating, dark, and disturbing, The Marsh King's Daughter is a psychological thriller most compelling in its rich descriptions of the survivalist training of a very tough little girl."

--Patty Mullins, Oblong Books and Music, Millerton, NY

Mrs. Fletcher
By Tom Perrotta

(Scribner, 9781501144035, $16.99)

"With son Brendan off to college at Berkshire State and ex-husband Ted remarried, Eve Fletcher is feeling a bit unfulfilled, despite her sometimes-trying job as the director of a senior center--until she finds a new and decidedly adult pastime. Neither mother nor son knows what to make of their new lives, and all they know about relationships, to say nothing of sex, seems to be up for discussion. What I love about Tom Perrotta's books is how uncomfortable they can make me feel, while at the same time making me laugh hysterically; Mrs. Fletcher shows Mr. Perrotta in top form on both counts."

--Daniel Goldin, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, WI

Priestdaddy: A Memoir
By Patricia Lockwood

(Riverhead Books, 9780399573262, $16)

"A published poet, Lockwood's first memoir is a hilarious and contemplative narrative written with precise, flowing prose that baptizes the reader. Calling it an honest portrayal is a severe understatement, as Lockwood describes a father who converts to Catholicism and becomes a priest due to a little-known loophole that allows him to continue his 'normal' relationship with his wife and three children. Her understanding of what appears, from the exterior, to be bizarre behavior in the guise of religion is a peek under the sheets of a cold embrace. Loved it!"

--Todd Miller, Arcadia Books, Spring Green, WI

The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.
By Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland

(William Morrow Paperbacks, 9780062409157, $17.99)

"For someone who approaches such serious scientific and technological subjects, Neal Stephenson can be outrageously funny. Combine that with Nicole Galland's storytelling ability and you have a rollicking roller coaster of a novel. The authors mix together magic, witchcraft, time travel, science, and historical figures, both real and imagined, while delightfully skewering bumbling bureaucrats, pretentious academics, a rigid military, and other bastions of the establishment to produce a work that is both thought-provoking and totally entertaining."

--Bill Cusumano, Square Books, Oxford, MS

Sing, Unburied, Sing
By Jesmyn Ward

(Scribner, 9781501126079, $17)

"Sing, Unburied, Sing is a dark and gorgeous song of love and heartbreak, haunting and tragic and disorienting in its timelessness. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill anchors Ward's tale to Mississippi today, which is almost indistinguishable from its notorious yesterday, a present and past (ironically) made more alive in the novel by ghosts and where everyone suffers from the cancers of buried sins. On Jojo's 13th birthday, while Mam is dying and Pop struggles to keep everyone safe, Leonie plans a road trip to the prison to pick up Michael, Jojo and baby Kayla's father. It's The Odyssey meets the Delta blues meets William Faulkner and Toni Morrison and some ineffable something that is Jesmyn Ward's own magic."

--Sara Hinckley, Hudson Booksellers, Marietta, GA

Standard Deviation
By Katherine Heiny

(Vintage, 9780804173162, $16)

"I was a fan of Single, Carefree, Mellow so it was a treat to read Katherine Heiny's latest release. Standard Deviation wryly delves into the complications and contradictions inherent in good, long-term love and parenting a slightly more challenging child. This is a laugh-out-loud, funny read with brains and heart, and a gentler world to spend time in for anyone who just needs a break."

--Sarah Bumstead, Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena, CA

The Windfall
By Diksha Basu

(Broadway Books, 9780451498922, $16)

"The Jhas are a fairly normal family in Delhi, but when Mr. Jha sells his company for millions and decides to move himself and his wife to a fancy new neighborhood, he sets in motion changes for not only his wife, but also his son studying in New York and his former and future neighbors--changes that are sometimes good, sometimes bad, and uncomfortable either way. Jam-packed with fun and lovable characters, this novel is both a delicious, gossipy indulgence and a fascinating glimpse into the lives of people very different from one another. Those who loved the drama of The Nest will adore this warm, tender, and very funny debut from a fresh new voice."

--Kelly Morton, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH

Young Jane Young
By Gabrielle Zevin

(Algonquin Books, 9781616208691, $15.95)

"I've been waiting for a quirky, funny, thoughtful novel to follow in the footsteps of Where'd You Go, Bernadette, and behold: I have found it. I loved the vibrant female characters at the heart of this book. Told in four different voices, Young Jane Young is the story of Aviva Grossman, a young Congressional intern in South Florida who does the unthinkable: she sleeps with her boss. The book details the repercussions of that decision and examines the abuse of power that occurs in politics and in the day-to-day interactions between members of the opposite sex. Gabrielle Zevin has written something really smart and heartwarming, yet also incredibly timely."

--Annie Jones, The Bookshelf, Thomasville, GA