The Lola Quartet-Emily St. John Mandel

The Lola Quartet


Emily St. John Mandel

Unbridled, May 15 2012, $24.95

ISBN 9781609530792



A decade ago in Florida, the Lola Quartet gave their final jazz performance at school before going on their separate ways to achieve their aspirations. Following a plagiarism scandal Gavin Sasaki recently lost his journalism job in New York; he comes home to Sebastian, Florida with no hope for the future as his realtor sister Eilo offers a position dealing with foreclosed homes.



She tells her brother about seeing a ten years old child Chloe who looks like him and has the same surname as his former girlfriend Anna who vanished after stealing over a 100K from a drug dealer. While he searches for the truth re Chloe, Gavin seeks his three musical mates from their glorious days. Daniel has divorced twice while Jack and Sasha are addicts.



This is a strong character study as the idealism of youth being able to accomplish anything has turned into a realism of failure. The key cast is fully developed so that the reader understands that each has come a long way downward. Gavin’s investigation enhances the where are they now scenario though resolution is not as strong as the road getting there. With a nod to chaos theory (a photo of a tweener at foreclosure begins the odyssey), fans will enjoy this deep thriller as the memory of what we think was is so much superior to the reality of what we know is.



Harriet Klausner

Menage-Alix Kates Shulman

Menage


Alix Kates Shulman

Other Press, May 15 2012, $14.95

ISBN: 9781590515204



Mack and Heather McKay met at Yale. They fell in love and married. His success as a realtor turned them into the wealthy one percent and he built a LEED-certified “green” mansion in New Jersey where they raise their two kids with the help of a nanny. Heather feels left behind as she dreams of being an author but feels she brings nothing to the family. She also believes Mack is having an affair.



Meanwhile he is in Los Angeles for a tryst. When he meets Russian Zoltan Barbu, who suffers from writer's block, he invites the émigré to come to his New Jersey home in order to author a masterpiece. Heather wants the new houseguest and overly shows Zoltan her desire for him.



Menage is an entertaining droll look at the affluent American family as the McKay couple is collectors who each see Zoltan as an object they own. Breezy but timely with the inane controversy over Anne Romney’s work, fans will enjoy this family drama as over time relationships change.



Harriet Klausner

Beyond Hope’s Valley-Tricia Goyer

Beyond Hope’s Valley


Tricia Goyer

B&H Books, Apr 1 2012, $14.99

ISBN: 9781433668708



After her father moved the family to Montana (see Along Wooded Paths and Beside Still Waters), Marianna Sommer has returned to her hometown in Indiana to help her older brother and his pregnant Englisher fiancée with their wedding and the birth of their child. Marianna also prepares for her marriage to her long time beau Aaron Zook though her heart now belongs to Englisher Ben in Big Sky country.



However, Marianna struggles with the more rigid and stricter rules of her Hoosier Amish vs. the freedoms of Montana. Having doubts about Indiana and Aaron, secrets surface involving a child that cast even more hesitation by Mariana whether she belongs here or in Big Sky Country.



The third odyssey of Marianna is a warm intelligent Big Sky drama that focuses on the Amish culture; of which Tricia Goyer makes a strong argument that it is not as monolithic as most Englisher believe. The romance is a strong subplot, but this engaging intelligent tale belongs to the heroine who knows God has her back but like a doubting Thomasina wonders which path the lord prefers she travel.



Harriet Klausner

Saving Ruth-Zoe Fishman

Saving Ruth


Zoe Fishman

Morrow, May 1 2012, $14.99

ISBN: 9780062059840



Growing up in Alabama, Ruth Wasserman wanted to fit in, but being a curly haired junk food Jew made her stand out from the predominantly white Baptist students who she attended high school with. Making her feel even more of an outcast was her brother the golden one David was a popular soccer star. Because of her low self-esteem, Ruth escaped Alabama to attend college out of state where she lost a ton of weight to become unhealthily emaciated.



Following her freshman year in Michigan she comes home for the summer to work as a lifeguard and teacher of young children at the local pool alongside of David. However besides her food disorder, her sibling seems different and distant towards her even lost his thrill for soccer though he plays at school in Atlanta. Their parents fear the future relationship between them without their children at home. When Ruth rescues young Tanisha from drowning, instead of a heroine she is scorned and faces a lawsuit from angry parents over neglect. She also hides her sibling’s secret from everyone though she knows he is at fault for the delay by not being poolside. Finally there is David’s friend Chris.



This is a warm family drama starring a teenager who has spent her life feeling like a fish out of water, but proves she is a steel magnolia as she blossoms into a brave young woman performing difficult Balancing Acts between her family, her friends, Chris, her job and racial accusations. Fans will enjoy the trials and tribulations of Ruth who saves herself by reaching out to save others.



Harriet Klausner

Tracing Stars-Erin Moulton

Tracing Stars


Erin Moulton

Philomel, May 10 2012, $16.99

ISBN: 9780399256967



Known as the fish freak of Plumtown, Indie Lee Chickory has the uncanny ability to make faces of specific fish like the wounded mackerel and the trout pout. She has a pet golden Lobster Monty Cola who lives in a salt water pool just outside Indie Lee’s bedroom window.



Indie accidentally brings Monty to school, which embarrasses her older sister Bebe and leaves her friendless. Worse Monty has vanished. Indie tries to prove to her sibling she can fit in by working at the theater where her sister will soon perform. She and newcomer Owen Stone, exiled by his dad for a summer with his aunt, begin repairing a busted rowboat in search of Monty. However, Bebe informs her to dump Owen the loser or face elementary school as an ostracized pariah.



This is a wonderful upper elementary school fable starring a beleaguered heroine caught between different desires that fail to mesh cohesively for her. Using exaggeration with deft, Erin Mouton’s protagonist muses that if she is to be a loyal Chickory she must adhere to her sibling’s order and dump her friend, but she ponders if doing that would make her a lesser Chickory. Young readers will feel they are part of this fishing village as the adventures of Indie Lee make for a fun time in Plumtown.



Harriet Klausner

One for the Murphys-Lynda Mullaly Hunt

One for the Murphys


Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Nancy Paulsen Books, May 10 2012, $16.99

ISBN: 9780399256158



In Las Vegas, three hundred and eighty-four days ago, Carley Connors’s manipulative mom informs her that she is marrying her boyfriend Dennis. However, recently Dennis in a rage beat up twelve yeas old Carley’s mom leaving the woman in the hospital and the tweener in the foster care system.



Case worker Mrs. MacAvoy blathers on how lucky Carley is to be placed with the Murphy family. The child distrusts the seemingly pleasant kindhearted family. However, over time Carley comes to love her caring foster mother who along with her three kids and husband make sure she is welcomed as one of them as does her new BFF Toni. All is perfect until mom wants her daughter back.



This is a strong tweener contemporary drama starring a young girl who contrasts her two lifestyles. Carley is superb as she holds the storyline together with her slow acceptance that the Murphy quintet want her to stay as she struggles to accept they especially the matriarch love her as one of them. Although her wry asides at times seem too mature for her age, though one could argue her past aged her rapidly, tweeners will enjoy the heroine’s transition from no hope for the future to true believer in a wonderful future due mostly to one giving mom.



Harriet Klausner

Venetian Curiosities-Donna Leon and Il Complesso Barocco

Venetian Curiosities


Donna Leon and Il Complesso Barocco

Atlantic Monthly Press, Apr 3 2012, $25.00

ISBN: 9780802120311



This is an interesting short story collection that retells some of the legendary tales of Venice. In addition to the shorts there are CD recordings of Vivaldi work with Riccardo Minasi conducting Il Complesso Barocco and accompanying illustrations predominately by eighteenth century artists Giovanni Antonio Canal and Pietro Longhi.



In “The Elephant Goes to Church” the title character was brought in for Carnival, but gets loose and causes trouble before seeking sanctuary in a church. The gambler bets “A Palazzo on the Turn of a Card.” The city leaders try to erase homosexuality by hireing “Prostitutes Working for the Good of the State.” In the seventeenth century, he was accused of treason, but his accusers learn the hard way with their executions that “The Truth Is What You Choose It To Be.” In “Diabolical Lust”, a popular sausage maker apparently uses a special ingredient in his squazzetto. Although the writings are too short as we would want more depth from the great Donna Leon, each entry is well written and provides a fascinating look at Renaissance Venice while the fabulous CD and the paintings enhance a delightful look at the mythos of Venetian Curiosities.



Harriet Klausner