Monday Morning Book Buzz

Welcome to the Monday Morning Book Buzz, a preview of notable books being released this week. Some of them will be added to the Academy Library collection; if you read about a title that you would like added to the collection, let me know by either commenting on this post or by contacting me directly at the Library.

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This week’s releases are listed by category: Teen Fiction, General Fiction and Nonfiction. On-sale dates are indicated in parentheses.

Notable New Releases for the week of February 4th:

Teen Fiction

The Kiss (Witch and Wizard Series #4) by James Patterson (2/4/2013) — For the first time in their lives, Wisty and Whit Allgood find themselves at odds as Wisty is drawn to a mysterious and magical stranger named Heath.

Perfect Scoundrels (Heist Society Series #3) by Ally Carter (2/5/2013) — When feisty teenaged thief Kat’s on-again off-again boyfriend, Hale, suddenly inherits his family’s billion dollar company, Kat gets a tip-off that the will is a fake.

The Lying Game #5: Cross My Heart, Hope to Die by Sara Shepard (2/5/2013) — Emma’s search for her twin sister’s killer becomes complicated by the return of the twin’s birth mother.

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi (2/5/2013) — Juliette has escaped to Omega Point, the headquarters of the rebel resistance and a safe haven for people with abilities like hers. She is finally free from The Reestablishment and their plans to use her as a weapon, but Warner, her former captor, won’t let her go without a fight.

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles, Book 2) by Marissa Meyer (2/5/2013) — Scarlet Benoit and Wolf, a street fighter who may have information about her missing grandmother, join forces with Cinder as they try to stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana in this story inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. “Readers will be pushed into a horrific alternate universe where violence, especially mind manipulation and control, create ethical and life-threatening situations for both teens.” — Booklist starred review

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger (2/5/2013) — In an alternate England of 1851, spirited fourteen-year-old Sophronia is enrolled in a finishing school where, she is surprised to learn, lessons include not only the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but also diversion, deceit, and espionage. “Blending intrigue and elements of the school story, Carriger introduces teen readers to a supernatural-meets-steampunk world full of action and wit.” — Horn Book

City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster (02/05/2013) — Nisha lives in the City of a Thousand Dolls, a remote estate where orphan girls in the Empire become apprentices as musicians, healers, and courtesans, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. When girls begin to die, Nisha begins to uncover the secrets that surround the deathers–jeopardizing not only her own future within the City but her own life.

Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick (02/05/2013) — Seven linked vignettes unfold on a Scandinavian island inhabited–throughout various time periods–by Vikings, vampires, ghosts, and a curiously powerful plant. “Part love story, part mystery, part horror, this is as much about the twisting hand of fate as it is about the mutability of folktales. Its strange spell will capture you.” — Booklist starred review

Pieces by Chris Lynch (02/05/2013) — Eighteen-year-old Eric deals with the loss of his older brother Duane by meeting three of the seven recipients of Duane’s organs a year after his death, and pondering who they are to him, and he to them. “Readers will be pleasantly reminded of the snarky stylings of John Green and Ned Vizzini. Exceptional.” — Kirkus starred review

The Whole Stupid Way We Are by N. Griffin (02/05/2013) — During a cold winter in Maine, fifteen-year-old Dinah sets off a heart-wrenching chain of events when she tries to help best friend and fellow misfit Skint deal with problems at home, including a father who is suffering from early onset dementia. “Griffin’s portrayal of Dinah and Skint’s sense of injustice, frustration, and rage is wrenching and difficult to forget.” — Publishers Weekly

General Fiction

Touch and Go by Lisa Gardner (2/5/2013) — Justin and Libby Denbe have the kind of life that looks good in the pages of a glossy magazine. But when investigator Tessa Leoni arrives at the crime scene in the Denbes’ home, she finds scuff marks on the floor and Taser confetti in the foyer. Tessa knows better than anyone that even the most perfect façades can hide the darkest secrets.

The Power Trip by Jackie Collins (2/5/2013) — Russian billionaire Aleksandr and his supermodel girlfriend invite five powerful and famous couples on his yacht’s maiden voyage. Russian mobster Sergei has a grudge against Aleksandr and hires a pirate to take the yacht and its passengers for ransom.

Schroder: A Novel by Amity Gaige (2/5/2013) — Attending a New England summer camp, young Eric Schroder — a first-generation East German immigrant — adopts the last name Kennedy to more easily fit in, a fateful white lie that will set him on an improbable and ultimately tragic course.

House of Earth: A Novel by Woody Guthrie (2/5/2013) — Finished in 1947, House of Earth is Woody Guthrie’s only fully realized novel—a powerful portrait of Dust Bowl America, filled with the homespun lyricism and authenticity that have made his songs a part of our national consciousness. It is the story of an ordinary couple’s dreams of a better life and their search for love and meaning in a corrupt world.

Necessity’s Child by Sharon Lee (2/5/2013) — #16 in the popular and exciting science fiction Liaden Universe®. A man without a past caught between powerful Clan Korval and secretive kompani.

Nonfiction