THE DEAD IN THEIR VAULTED ARCHES: TOP ! A Flavia de Luce Novel PICK by Alan Bradley (Delacorte Press) “Flavia de Luce is still on the loose! This time, the almost-twelve-year-old prodigy explores some tantalizing mysteries involving her own family. Flavia uncovers surprising secrets about the characters we know and love and meets some fascinating new people, including a precocious distant cousin. You’ll enjoy seeing new depths in Flavia—this novel takes the series in an exciting direction.” —Nancy Russell, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Columbus, OH

The top ten books published this month that librarians across the country love. JANUARY 2014

A STAR FOR LOST LAKE: A Novel THE DAYS OF MRS. BLAKE: A Novel by Sarah Addison Allen ANNA MADRIGAL: by April Smith (St. Martin’s Press) A Novel (Knopf) “I was thrilled to find out that by Armistead Maupin “A little-known slice of American Sarah Addison Allen had a new (Harper) history receives meticulous, book out, and it did not disap- “So good to see all these elegant treatment in this point. Allen’s trademark magic beloved characters again! And compelling novel about a is woven throughout the story we finally get the true story of group of mothers who travel and can be found in the lake, Anna Madrigal. If you’re either to post-WWI Europe to visit the town, and the people, but a fan of the Tales of the City the graves of their fallen at its heart, this story is about series, Burning Man or both, soldier-sons. Cora Blake, finding home—something we this is a fun Sunday-afternoon grieving the loss of her only child, pulls the group can all relate to.” kind of book.” together to provide support on their difficult pilgrimage. —Ally Watkins, Central MS Regional Library —Jenne Bergstrom, San Diego County Library, Sure to be a sleeper hit with book groups looking for System, Pearl, MS San Diego, CA heart-tugging history.” —Kaite Stover, Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, MO

A HIGHLY UNLIKELY THE WIND IS NOT ORFEO: A Novel SCENARIO, OR A A RIVER: A Novel by Richard Powers NEETSA PIZZA by Brian Payton (W.W. Norton & Company) EMPLOYEE’S GUIDE (Ecco) “Experimental music and TO SAVING THE “A tender love story about a genetic engineering? Heady WORLD: A Novel reporter stranded during World stuff indeed, but what is most by Rachel Cantor War II on one of the Aleutian remarkable about this thought- (Melville House) Islands, and his feisty wife, provoking journey is how “Leonard works for Neetsa who travels to find him. The intensely it makes you feel about Pizza, a Pythagorean pizza geographical and historical human creativity, experience, chain, in the near-ish future. setting of American warfare in and the enigmatic fugitive His job is to take calls, listen the North Pacific, little known Peter Els, whose flight from to complaints and help his customers achieve maximum to most, is very intriguing. Readers will fall in love with an uncomprehending world anchors the narrative. A pizza happiness. His employee manual gives him an an- the main characters’ fierce determination to survive perfect introduction to this brilliant but sometimes swer for every scenario—until he gets a call from Marco, and love against all odds.” forbidding author.” who seems to be calling from another time or space. —Paulette Brooks, Elm Grove Public Library, —David Wright, Seattle Public Library, Think of Terry Pratchett crossed with Douglas Adams.” Elm Grove, WI Seattle, WA —Jane Jorgenson, Madison Public Library, Madison, WI

THE KEPT: A Novel LITTLE FAILURE: THE FIRST TRUE LIE: by James Scott A Memoir A Novel (Harper) by Gary Shteyngart by Marina Mander “Scott has written a haunting (Random House) (Hogarth) novel about two characters “Little Failure is the marvelous “An unusual, well-written story who are tormented by regret tale of the Shteyngart family’s told by a young boy who lives and guilt and who do all the journey from Leningrad to with his talented, but troubled wrong things to find redemp- Queens in the 1970s. Gary mother in a city apartment in tion. Beautiful writing and Shteyngart captures an amaz- Italy. One morning, Luca finds unforgettable characters mark ing snapshot of that time in his mother dead, and his this first novel that has been history, and this engaging worst fears paralyze him. How compared to the work of memoir is suffused with long can he hide the truth Cormac McCarthy and Michael Ondaatje.” conflict, love, and a lot of hilarity.” from his teachers and classmates? Luca uses what he —Alison Kastner, Multnomah County Library, —Laura Scott, Park Ridge Public Library, loves most, words, to reach a place where he can Portland, OR Park Ridge, IL finally open the door to others. An excellent reading group selection.” —Margaret Donovan, Cary Memorial Library, Lexington, MA

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