Web Exclusive Reviews: 3/15/2010
Publishers Weekly Staff
Mar 15, 2010

Web Exclusive Review of the Week

Street Shadows: A Memoir of Race, Rebellion and Redemption Jerald Walker. Bantam, $25 (256p) ISBN 9780553807554 In this spectacular debut, Iowa Workshop grad Walker, an African American professor of English, contrasts his misspent youth in the Chicago projects with his adult life as a college professor and family man. Moving back and forth fluidly through time, Walker creates a vivid sense of character, his own and those around him, as well as the standard pitfalls of ghetto life he narrowly avoided. The result is a funny, poignant, thoughtful and exceptionally well-written memoir that follows Walker from Chicago to Africa and locations across the U.S., each of which is crisply, authentically captured. While delivering a thorough, personal take on race relations, opportunity, and privilege, Walker hooks readers with his prose and honesty, without plying for sympathy or playing to readers' preconceptions. With broad appeal and pertinent timing, Walker's first effort could be the pick-it-up and pass-it-on memoir of the season. (Feb.)

NONFICTION

Mara Shalhoup. St. Martin's, $24.99 (320p) ISBN 9780312383930
Formed in mid-1990s Atlanta by ambitious, Detroit-born hustler Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory, the Black Mafia Family controlled most of the American cocaine trade for the better part of a decade. Interviewing members from all levels of the national organization, including now-imprisoned Big Meech, Atlanta-based journalist Shalhoup delivers a stunning exposé of a crime empire that collapsed under the weight of its own success, rising and falling on its charismatic founder's desperate desire for success, popularity, and, ultimately, music-business legitimacy. Shalhoup examines each character in the federal prosecution's comprehensive case, tracing their activities over many years, revealing a lifestyle of over-the-top glamour punctuated by random, brutal violence. Shalhoup quickly, and graphically, dispels the air of hip-hop romance that Big Meech cultivated first through crime and, later, by playing a supporting role in the careers of up-and-coming rappers like T.I. and Jeezy. With superb pacing and a thorough handle on her extensive cast, Shalhoup's true crime debut makes a highly addictive read. Color photos. (Mar.)

Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted
Gerald Imber. Kaplan, $25.95 (412p) ISBN 9781607146278
In this nuanced, sympathetic tribute, surgeon and author Imber (Absolute Beauty) recounts the pioneering medical career of brilliant doctor William Stewart Halsted. Halsted was born in 1852, at a time when the mortality rate of surgical patients was nearly 50 percent, typically a result of unchecked bleeding or post-operative infection; a Civil War soldier shot in the abdomen or even suffering a non-mortal wound would likely die of gangrene. Halsted was at the forefront of those demanding sterile conditions in the operating room, and "inadvertently set in motion the greatest advance in the history of sterile technique" when he introduced rubber gloves for nurses. Travelling to Germany during his student days, Halsted also learned to control bleeding by clamping and tying blood vessels. Like many doctors of his time, Halsted became addicted to cocaine (later morphine) in the process of testing his patients' anesthetic; he also pioneered in medical research (operating on animals to learn more about mammal physiology), and continued to make important contributions (while hiding his drug problem) until his death at age 70. With this engaging (if spectacularly subtitled) biography, Imber brings into focus the amazing strides medicine has made over 150 years. (Feb.)

Kiss ‘Em Goodbye: An ESPN Treasury of Failed, Forgotten, and Departed Teams
Dennis Purdy. Ballantine, $15 paper (384p) ISBN9780345520128
Noted baseball historian Purdy (Baseball on the Brain) is a storehouse of esoteric knowledge about very short-lived teams, whose histories are, otherwise, virtually unknown. Tackling 86 of them, this volume lends itself best to bedside, toilet or coffee-table reading, but the fact-dense writing doesn't stir much of a spark; chapter titles are cleverer than content ("Chump Ball," "Hell in Troy," "Athletically Incorrect"). Still, the material proves intriguing, especially for its regional flavors: the Hollywood Stars once featured Elizabeth Taylor as a bat girl; the Duluth Eskimos, who reigned in Minnesota before the Vikings, "spent less time at home than any other team in professional sports history" due to weather and stadium conditions. Purdy also covers the famous Brooklyn Dodgers, and how they came to be known as "Dem Bums," as well as the forerunners to the Chicago White Sox, the White Stockings of St. Paul. Other sports are also represented by teams like basketball's Virginia Squires, "geniuses of disorganization and controversy." With dozens of essays on the teams of yesteryear, this volume could serve as a cogent treasury of two centuries in sport, but its too-brief pieces fail to engage. (Feb.)

Letters to Jackie: Condolences From a Grieving Nation
Ellen Fitzpatrick. Ecco, $26.99 (384p) ISBN 9780061969843
The national struggle to make sense of President Kennedy's assassination included an outpouring of mail sent to Kennedy's much-loved widow, Jacqueline, some 800,000 letters, which had been in storage until professor and author Fitzpatrick (History's Memory: Writing America's Past) took on the Herculean task of curating them. Here, she attempts to create a meaningful narrative out of the nation's massive record of grief-a real anomaly in a time when writing to public figures was frowned upon-by examining different groups (widows, African Americans, children) and examining the impact Kennedy made on every American, regardless of politics, which lead ultimately to his legend. Despite its power and significance, the material is repetitive and may overwhelm; those with the patience to wade through, however, will be rewarded with a you-are-there feel for this turning point in history. (Mar.)

A Means to Freedom: The Letters of H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard
Edited by S.T. Joshi, David E. Schultz, and Rusty Burke. Hippocampus (www.hippocampuspress.com), $100 (1,004p) ISBN 9780981488806
Between June 1930, when Robert E. Howard initiated a correspondence with his fellow Weird Tales contributor, H.P. Lovecraft, and May 1936, shortly before Howard shot himself to death at age 30, these two giants of the pulp era exchanged more than a hundred letters, many of them thousands of words long. Lovecraft scholars Joshi and Schultz have teamed with Howard expert Burke to produce an impressive two-volume set, which includes not only all the extant texts, thoroughly annotated, but also appendices (e.g., letters from Howard's father to HPL after his son's suicide), bibliographies of the works of both writers, a glossary of frequently mentioned names, and an index. In contrast to the two Lovecraft-August Derleth letter volumes, Essential Solitude, which contain few Derleth selections, the correspondence on both sides is close to complete. Where Lovecraft's letters to Derleth tend to be brief and superficial, Lovecraft, the cultivated New Englander, and Howard, the brash frontier Texan, vigorously debate political and economic matters, each man in the process revealing much about "his own tastes, predilections, heritage, background, and aesthetic principles," as Joshi notes in his introduction. Serious students of either or both writers will be enthralled. (Mar.)

Money 911: Your Most Pressing Money Questions Answered, Your Money Emergencies Solved
Jean Chatzky. Harper, $16.99 (448p) ISBN 9780061798696
Veteran editor, columnist and personal finance author Chatzky (Talking Money) produces another clear-cut, straightforward, highly-informative self-help, this one meant to quell distress over the recent financial crisis by increasing readers' understanding of banking, saving, investing and managing money. Using a Q&A format, the jargon-free text is simple to comprehend but complex enough to be actually useful; readers deciding whether to lease or buy a car, for instance, are given main points to consider ("what will the car be used for?"), a list of pros and cons for each choice ("no worry about maintenance," "extra charges for any damage"), a "watch out" section on leasing contracts, and a series of follow-up Q&As (helpfully titled "I Also Need to Know"). Also included are resource guides like "A Quick Guide to Common College Savings Tools" and practical worksheets. In addition to the typical topics that readers expect from a book on personal finances (budgets, planning for college, investing, insurance), Chatzky includes chapters on keeping your family safe online, identity theft and scams, marriage, work and generational milestones. (Jan.)

Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power
James McGrath Morris. Harper, $29.99 (576p) ISBN 9780060798697
In this thorough, elegantly-written volume, biographer Morris (author of The Rose Man of Sing Sing, editor of Biographer's Craft magazine) explores the life of infamous media mogul Joseph Pulitzer, best known today for the journalism prize that bears his name. Pulitzer's story begins with the large Hungarian family of his mid-19th century youth, struck by monetary misfortune and the unexpected deaths of his father and some of his many siblings. Traveling to America in 1864, Pulitzer fought in the civil war before he settled in St. Louis, where he began his journey from newspaper reporter to politician to media baron. Morris goes into great detail regarding the events of Pulitzer's life and times, but also captures Pulitzer's character: hard-working, independent, and pursued by demons likely tied to his rough beginnings. Morris also notes Pulitzer's few, curiously strong attachments to his mother, wife, and an ambiguously sexual philosopher-mentor named Thomas Davidson. From the kill-or-be-killed ethos of his early journalistic and political career to his late-in-life preference for extreme solitude, Pulitzer proves a captivating figure, and Morris's handling superb. B&W photos (Feb.)

Reality Hunger: A Manifesto
David Shields. Knopf, $24.95 (224p) ISBN 9780307273536
Shields's latest reinvents the "how to" while explaining how the hazy line between truth and lie undermines all forms of modern communication, an understanding that requires accepting the inherent imperfections and idiosyncrasies of a single writer's memory, intent, desire, and point of view. Shields's manifesto reads as a mixture between a diary and lecture-hall notes, each well-thought-out entry (titles include "mimesis," "books for people who find television too slow," "blur," "hip-hop," "in praise of brevity") made up of a series of numbered paragraphs. Incorporated into his consideration of general themes in art are specific pieces of writing and music as well as current events, like the election of Barrack Obama. Shields references a multitude of well-known writers whom he considers definitive (or re-definitive) in literature; one writer that Shields returns to repeatedly is James Frey. Shields considers the Frey debacle, including his guest appearances on Oprah, by way of the imperfect human faculty for memory and communication, finding in Frey's story damning evidence that human beings are doomed to experience life alone. Touching, honest, and dizzyingly introspective, Shields (The Thing About Life is that One Day You'll be Dead) grapples lithely with truth, life, and literature by embracing his unique perspective, and invites each reader to do the same. (Feb.)

You Say Tomato, I Say Flavr Savr

Ripe: The Search for the Perfect Tomato Arthur Allen. Counterpoint, $26 (320p) ISBN 9781582434261 Aside from a few mouth-watering odes to its color, shape, and texture, D.C.-based journalist Allen takes a technical approach to tomato appreciation, telling a story primarily about agribusiness through a single popular crop, examining its travels from a seedsman's greenhouse (or lab) to kitchen tables. In accessible but sometimes pedestrian prose, Allen (Villain) meets with many farmers, breeders and canners, examining historical developments and their impacts on various aspects of the industry, for instance the conditions that allowed California to increase its tomato yield from two million tons in 1965 to 11 million tons in 2000. Sections on University of California agriculture professors and vital tomato breeders Jack Hanna and M. Allen Stevens prove educational, as do chapters on field workers in Florida (where the tomato is the number three crop behind oranges and sugar) and on consumers in Italy (as recently as a century ago, most Italians didn't even eat tomatoes). By tackling the topic from the perspectives of business and science, however, Allen engages his readers' heads more than their guts. (Mar.) Tomato: A Fresh-From-the-Vine-Cookbook Lawrence Davis-Hollander. Storey, $16.95 paper (278p) ISBN 9781603424783 Expanding on territory covered in his 2004 The Tomato Festival Cookbook, author Davis-Hollander gives readers another 150 applications for one of America's most popular produce (referred to most often, in this volume, as a vegetable). Unlike in his previous work, cooks aren't restricted to heirloom varieties, but (with a few exceptions) can use whatever they have on hand to craft toothsome dishes like Scallops with Asian Noodle Salad and Tomato Ginger Jam, the Spanish salsa Pipirrana, or the traditional Native American dish Lamb-Stuffed Green Chiles with Fresh Tomato Puree. Also included are standards like the humble BLT, Bloody Mary, pizza, and Huevos Rancheros. Avoiding a tendency toward novelty uses fro the versatile veggie, Davis stays on track with submissions from renowned chefs like Gary Danko (Roast Lobster with Tomato, Corn, and Fines Herbes) and Rick Bayless (Essential Quick-Cooked Tomato-Chipotle Sauce), as well as older ideas such as Tomatoes à la Indienne, a velvety curry-like dish based on a 1909 recipe. Liberally peppered with lore, this will be an oft-consulted resource for tomato lovers come summer. Color photos and illus. (Feb.)

A Watershed Year: An Anatomy of the Iowa Floods of 2008
Edited by Cornelia F. Mutel. Univ. of Iowa, $19 paper (284p) ISBN 9781587298547
Though a major problem for people, flooding "is as natural as the rising of the sun-and no more easily prevented." In the floods of June 2008, 85 of Iowa's 99 counties were declared federal disaster areas, in some areas for weeks, damaging homes, businesses, a university campus, and farmlands. While the implications for society were devastating, scientists took the opportunity to amass as much data as possible. With 30 contributors, most of them Iowans, representing fields such as hydrology, civil and agricultural engineering, economics, public policy, and architecture, this volume presents a thorough portrait not just of one season's floods, but an up-to-date survey of the phenomenon itself, and how it relates to human life and enterprise. Considering all the advantages of living near rivers-including not just water, but fertile soil, transportation, and power-it seems to have long ago been decided that the benefits outweigh the costs: "Our task then is to learn to live with floods, maximizing their benefits wherever possible and minimizing the destruction of human constructs." From flood prediction to flood avoidance, improved agricultural methods, the benefits of flooding, and beyond, this collection will be of certain interest an audience including ecologists, local government officials, and concerned riverside dwellers. Color and b&w photos, maps, and charts. (Mar.)

Kiernan Levis. Overlook, $27.95 (252p) ISBN 9781590202753
Full of drama and insider perspective, this business title will wake executives from their tech-age stupor with a revealing look at those masterminding the information economy; from Kodak (facing obsolescence) and Xerox (sterling research but lackluster results) to IBM and Apple, the spectrum of tech companies is dazzling and the personalities behind them is at times unbelievable. Levis, a writer and new media/tech consultant, knows how to cut to the heart of every matter. Examining two companies at a time (Amazon and Webvan, Netscape and AOL, BSkyB and Nokia), he delves into the nuances of useful developments like "disruptive technology" while zipping through biographies of central players, including their dreams for and actual handling of growing companies. Many of these stories come down to a conflict between emerging tech genius and practical management: "iconic entrepreneur" Jim Clark, who formed Silicon Graphics in 1981, "simply wanted to be a one-man force for creative destruction... Who then was actually going to build these businesses, if not the despised professional managers?" Illuminating the ways a healthy balance was struck at contemporary successes like Google, Levis has produced an important and exciting guide to navigating the online business-scape. (Mar.)

LIFESTYLE

Japanese Cocktails
Yuri Kato. Chronicle, $14.95 (98p) ISBN 9780811875110
Beverage consultant Kato gives readers a guide to Japanese libations in this eye-catching but impractical guide. Divided by main ingredient (sake, shochu, whisky, and miscellaneous), Kato offers brief overviews of each liquor before pulling out the shaker. Most drinks are straightforward, calling for only a couple ingredients, but the devil is in the details: readers will need to track down dried shark fin for a Tsukiji Cup, kabosu juice for a Sea of Japan, and the nearly ubiquitous yuzu juice and fresh lychees for many others. Assuming readers can locate the requisite mixers, they can choose from a long list of drinks, including the Tokyo Sidecar (whisky, triple sec, and yuzu juice), a modified Manhattan, an Aloe Margarita, and a Yuzu Mojito. Sake Eggnog-sake and a beaten raw egg-is meant to fend off a cold. A series of sake shooters incorporate everything from salmon roe to broiled scallops. Kato's advice on selecting and storing sake will help those new to Japanese spirits, but casual tipplers without access to a well-stocked liquor store or grocer will probably be happier at their favorite Japanese watering hole. (Feb.)

Living With Someone Who's Living With Bipolar Disorder: A Practical Guide for Family, Friends, and Coworkers
Chelsea Lowe and Bruce M. Cohen. Jossey-Bass, $18.95 paper (272p) ISBN 9780470475669
In the experience of bipolar disorder specialist Cohen (director of Harvard University's McLean Psychiatric Hospital), treatment is always more effective "when a partner was involved" to provide ongoing support. Thus, he and science writer Lowe team up to produce a helpful source of support and information for that partner, who is sure to face his or her own problems coping and keeping up. The volume's first part provides useful information about the disease, which is estimated to afflict between five and ten million Americans and is characterized by extreme, polar opposite states of mood (encompassing, at times, both mania and suicidal depression) and a constellation of symptoms like sleeplessness, extreme irritability, hypersexuality, substance abuse, and delusions of grandeur or persecution. The second part describes the particular issues partners face when living with a bipolar sufferer, and includes approaches to communication and coping, workplace situations, intimacy, and the event of suicide threats or attempts. Throughout, Lowe and Cohen emphasize the importance of counseling for both patient and partner, and of soliciting support from all sources: relatives, friends, and even employers. This helpful, compassionate guide to making a "productive and loving life" despite an unpredictable disease is capped with excerpts from the DSM-IV-TR and a list or resources. (Feb.)

The Nine Rooms of Happiness: Loving Yourself, Finding Your Purpose, and Getting Over Life's Little Imperfections
Lucy Danziger and Catherine Birndorf. Hyperion, $24.99 (274p) ISBN 9781401323356
Editor Danziger (of Self magazine), and psychiatrist Birndorf (founding director of the women's program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center) have crafted a simple but effective approach to becoming the master of one's domain that speaks to women of any age. Using the analogy of a house to examine life, the duo provides insightful personal anecdotes and case studies alongside action plans for women seeking to be more fulfilled and content. In Danziger and Birndorf's formula, the living room symbolizes one's social nature, the bedroom stands for love and sex, the office represents career, and the center of the home is the kitchen, where family gathers to talk, make decisions and eat; the bathroom represents issues of health, aging, and body image, and the basement is where memories and emotional baggage are stored. The key idea is to focus only on the room you're in, enjoy the moment, and keep issues from one room out of the others. Each section, though, provides much friendly, direct advice on being happier-it's something you work at, "like being fit"-by correcting priorities, picking battles and learning not to sweat the small stuff. (Mar.)

RELIGION

Radical Judaism: Rethinking God and Tradition
Arthur Green. Yale Univ., $26 paper (208p) ISBN 9780300152326
On his first page, Green (Seek My Face, Speak My Name) states that this book is in large measure his response to a challenge to "write theology for theologians." Accordingly, what he has produced is largely incomprehensible to non-theologians. Using his expertise on Hasidism, Kabbalah, spirituality and Jewish mysticism, Green offers a perplexing interpretation of the concept of God, the existence of evil, and the purpose of human existence. From 1987 to 1993, Green, who describes himself as a "heterodox Jew," presided over the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He is now professor and rector of the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Newton, Mass. Although Green's achievements and publication list stamp him as a leading scholar, his new book largely fails to help general readers to comprehend the complicated ideas with which he wrestles. One exception to the generally unintelligible character of Green's presentation is his lucid discussion of the Ten Commandments, which, he asserts, should "stand as the basis of a reinvigorated Judaism." He also clearly advocates a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, although he fails to relate that stance to the emphasis of his book. (Mar.)

Jesus: A Biography from a Believer
Paul Johnson. Viking, $24.95 (256p) ISBN 9780670021598
When one sets out to explicate the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, arguably the most important figure in human history, it is inevitable that the study will be affected by one's own beliefs and biases. Johnson, celebrated author and columnist for Forbes and the American Spectator, makes no excuse for his own Catholic faith foundations. In this eminently readable study of Jesus' life and teachings, Johnson delivers a cogent, conservative view of scripture and the character of the Christian faith. At times, Johnson's political views show through; his comments on the poor, and Jesus' compassion toward them, reflect his basic distrust of institutional and even personal charity, deeming it "quite ineffective and hopeless." But there is a compassion toward all people that echoes throughout this work. He concludes that this world, filled with evil, needs a return to the teachings of Jesus in order to right itself. Some will disagree. But none will be surprised at Johnson's fluid writing and fundamentally conservative views of religion and, indeed, the world at large. (Mar.)

FICTION

The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P
Rieko Matsuura, trans. from the Japanese by Michael Emmerich. Kodansha, $24.95 (448p) ISBN 9784770031167
In an unexplained turn of events, 22-year-old Mano Kazumi wakes from a nap with a penis where her big toe had been, shaking her out of a complacent life and forcing her to reevaluate her views on sexuality, gender, and her identity. The new appendage leads to many novel predicaments, chief among them relationships with a sexually indiscriminate but strangely innocent teenager, and a traveling troupe of sexual misfits. Matsuura uses Mano's naïveté in open-minded, thought-provoking ways, leading her to explore a dizzying array of sexual situations and attitudes-from homosexuality to polyamory to "quasi-rape," misogyny, homosocial bonding, love, etc.-but the deliberate awkwardness of her first-person narration sometimes reads as simply tone-deaf; combined with a loose pace and a general lack of action, the odd sexual romp turns unexpectedly dull. Delving boldly into the kind of magical realism employed regularly by her compatriot Haruki Murakami, Matsuura has a more grounded, Kafka-esque interest in the practical (rather than supernatural or spiritual) implications of her absurd set-up; unfortunately, she fails to imbue her provocative material with a sense of urgency. (Jan.)

Beautiful People
Wendy Holden. Sourcebooks Landmark, $14.99 paper (432p) ISBN 9781402237157
Holden's pretty-on-the-outside people either see the light or get what's coming in this skewering of the bratty class. The best-selling Brit author (Bad Heir Day) holds up a mirror to preening and pampered actors, and to the predatory PR nabobs and agents who mold and market them. Under Holden's steely gaze are Belle, a plastic surgery poster girl whose star is on the wane and who will do whatever it takes to crawl back on top (including adopting an African orphan), and Darcy, a serious London actress who lets herself be lured into the lead of a Hollywood blockbuster, finding that she neither likes the moviemaking grind nor fits into the vacuous industry mold. These two polar opposites briefly share a destiny, discarded lovers, and the need to fit into a size zero while battling glitzy evil. It's a wearying and overlong fight, but there are ringside moments that nail the wispy nature of celebrity and the futility of chasing it. (Apr.)

The Castaway
Piero Rivolta. New Chapter (IPG, dist.), $19.95 (160p) ISBN 9780979201295
In this dreamy but pedestrian novel, a sweet but vague conclusion to Rivolta's Sarasota Trilogy (after Alex and the Color of the Wind), a husband grieves the loss of his beloved wife Marianne who died in New York City in the 9/11 tragedy. A Sarasota, Florida businessman gets lost at sea in a catamaran and is found off the Yucatan Peninsula. His memory foggy, his identity uncertain, "Joe the Yankee" is befriended by Padre Brian, a helpful Jesuit priest who has his own problems. Joe also meets Sara, an attractive kindergarten principal, and as Joe and Padre Brian bond, Joe finally remembers who he is and begins to deal with his past. Padre Brian notices that Sara and Joe make a good pair, and he encourages their romance; despite moments of envy, Brian reveals to the couple his former life as a financial analyst and his own ill-fated marriage. As both men struggle to accept the past and move on, Rivolta makes a gentle point about love, faith and grief. (Apr.)

Finding Jeena
Miralee Ferrell. Kregel, $13.99 paper (304p) ISBN 9780825426452
Jeena Gregory is dumped by her boyfriend as this contemporary novel by Ferrell (The Other Daughter) opens. But she can console herself with professional success: a new job as interior designer for a high-end development marks how far she's come from a poor, troubled childhood. Jeena's also got a grandmother who brings out her best. But a major career complication knocks the wheels off the cart of success, and Jeena must make difficult choices. Not much is subtle as this evangelical Christian story predictably unfolds. A number of supporting characters are stereotypical (adorable child, catty friend) rather than convincing; colloquial dialogue rings false; there's even an altar call answered by a character who becomes transformed, a throwback to the days when Christian fiction was highly formulaic. The writing has a tendency to tell instead of show ("a cruel mouth set in a cadaverous, lewd face"; "accentuating his masculine good looks"). Ferrell has ideas, but her execution needs work. (Apr.)

The First Thing and the Last
Allan G. Johnson. Plain View (www.plainviewpress.net), $28.95 (408p) ISBN 9781935514695
Katherine Stuart barely survives a night of unspeakable violence by killing her abusive husband, and doubts she'll ever regain a semblance of normal life. Still reeling, Katherine finds a safe haven on the Vermont farm of Lucy Dudley, a sympathetic stranger who seeks Katherine out, and the friendship that develops between them catalyzes Katherine's grueling journey of recovery and renewal. A debut novel from sociologist-activist Johson (Privilege, Power, and Difference), this story could have been relentlessly downbeat, but is more concerned with the redemptive powers of friendship and forgiveness than the specters of violence and self-recrimination that haunt its characters. The scenes of abuse are graphic, but they set up convincingly the real story, how Katherine, Lucy and those around them can rise above what perpetrated against them to reclaim their places in the world. Johnson seizes every opportunity to challenge preconceptions about domestic violence and the popular tendency to hold victims accountable for the actions of their abusers. His tale is often predictable, but lyrical prose, sympathetic characters and an unwavering sense of hope and compassion make for a moving, engaging read. (Feb.)

Ghosts of Timber Wolf
V.S. Meszaros. Avalon, $23.95 (256p) ISBN 9780803477605
This lightweight frontier tale by sisterly writing team Meszaros is a sappy melodrama loaded down with overblown dialogue, damsels in distress, wild Indians, ornery bullies, miraculous escapes, and a cameo appearance by Daniel Boone. Presumably in early 19th-century Kentucky, the Shawnee Indians are on the warpath and claim jumpers are stealing farmers' land. Here, Dave Merrill boasts of his exploits as an Indian fighter but must be tricked by his pal into courting a pretty widow, Angela Wright. While visiting Angela, Dave saves her from an Indian raiding party but is himself captured, tortured, and set to be sacrificed. An escape, ambushes, Indian fights, fistfights, chases, convenient getaways, and some chaste kisses fill out the thin plot, but the action alone can't lift this corny story from the dregs of mediocrity. (Apr.)

Love, Unexpectedly
Susan Fox. Kensington/Brava, $14 paper (320p) ISBN 9780758238269
A handsome photographer woos his neighbor by playing a seductive "strangers on a train" game in Fox's latest (after a number of erotica books, writing as Susan Lyon). Nav Bharani, a young photographer making a go of it in Montreal, falls for his buxom neighbor, Kat, but she wants things to remain strictly platonic. When Kat's sister announces her upcoming wedding in Vancouver, Kat asks Nav to go as her date, and Nav hatches a scheme to disguise himself as a Bollywood producer and seduce her on the train to Vancouver. Goofy as it sounds, it works, briefly, though Kat figures out the plan and goes for it, anyway, even though she'd sworn not to sleep with him. It's a bit simplistic, and Fox's erotica roots show throughout-romance die-hards would likely prefer less sex and more conflict and drama-but readers fine with throbbing, pulsing, jerky spasms, and whimpers of pleasure will enjoy this easy-going erotic romance. (Apr.)

Perfect on Paper: The (Mis)adventures of Waverly Bryson
Maria Murnane. AmazonEncore, $14.95 paper (304p) ISBN 9780982555040
In the first pages of this lively affair, sassy but hapless Waverly is abandoned by too-good-to-be-true fiancé Aaron. Slow to recover, she finds the fallout of her breakup piling up along with other problems: a distant father, a difficult professional situation, and endless dating mishaps. Though helped by two close friends and not a few margaritas, it's Waverly's endearing (sometimes strained) sense of humor that sees her through, encapsulated in the quippy single-girl greeting card series she launches. Even it isn't as glamorous as it seems, the life of a San Francisco yuppie with a job in sports PR makes a vibrant background for Murnane's tale of romantic intrigue and hilarity, and Waverly is likeable enough to sustain the over-long journey. If Murnane relies too heavily on chick lit clichés-the sweet friend and the saucy friend, the slaphappy girls' night out, the heinous date, repeated pratfalls-in-front-of-the-cute-guy-she employs them knowingly, with enough substance to satisfy. (Feb.)

Sing: A Novel of Colorado
Lisa T. Bergren. David C. Cook, $14.99 paper (384p) ISBN 9781434767073
Bergren, author of more than 30 books, brings back the fictional St. Clair family siblings in this second installment in her Homeward Trilogy. Bergren deftly transitions among the separate stories of Odessa, Moira, and Dominic, before intertwining two of their paths. Odessa and husband Bryce struggle with fierce snowstorms that take the lives of many of their finest horses, and Bryce's brother Robert, come to help smooth out matters, only complicates them. Moira, swindled out of her money, travels back to the States and meets not one but two intriguing men en route home. Both take a strong interest in this singer, but only one has her best interest at heart. Dominic, the brawler, is taken captive on a sailing vessel and spends the bulk of the book fighting his way back to freedom. These three distinct storylines could very well be disjointed in the hands of a lesser writer, but Bergren makes it work seamlessly. (Apr.)

Theophilos
Michael O'Brien. Ignatius (Midpoint, dist.), $24.95 (400p) ISBN 9781586173685
In this lugubrious novel, painter and novelist O'Brien (Father Elijah) turns the addressee of Luke's Gospels, Theophilos, into a weary protagonist seeking to reclaim his adoptive son. Relating his affection for and concern over his adopted son Luke, who has recently become enamored of the teachings of Jesus, Theophilos travels to see his physician son after a 10-year absence and tries persuading him to return home. Luke, however, wants Theophilos to understand his growing attachment to the young community of Christians, and directs Theophilos to visit a number of people who were personally involved with Jesus; the quest also exposes Theophilos to illness, symbolic dreams and numbing internal discourses before his ultimate conversion. O'Brien displays a firm grasp of Greek, Roman, Jewish and Christian cultures of the first century, creating a strong sense of place and time, but the plot makes a ponderous vehicle for O'Brien's conservative views and doomsday visions, with a leisurely pace that will deter all but the most dedicated. (Mar.)

Take Three
Karen Kingsbury. Zondervan, $19.99 (336p) ISBN 9780310322016; $14.99 paper 9780310266266
In the third of the Above the Line quartet from Christian fiction queen Kingsbury, independent filmmakers Chase Ryan and Keith Ellison find red carpet success at the premiere of their film. With the film wrapped, family drama can now take center stage. Away from the action and temptations of Tinseltown, the next generation, at school in Bloomington, Ind., faces complications and crises. Bailey Flanigan is torn between two young men, and her roommate Andi Ellison, Keith Ellison's daughter, faces the consequences of her relationship with Taz Bazzi. The current popularity of Christian and inspirational films is a topical and fresh touch for the series story line, but there's not much else that's fresh. Kingsbury continues to crank out her popular fiction, and fans will continue to purchase it, since its very predictability means readers know what to expect. (Apr.)

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