From the Dust Returned
by Ray Bradbury
A Book Sense 76 pick! William Hitchner, a bookseller at Olsson's in Washington, DC says "the kernel of Bradbury's new novel can be found in a series of short stories, written in the 1940s, about the Elliot clan, a Midwestern family of assorted ghouls who are preparing a reunion." Hitchner continues, telling us that "this novel promises to be essential Bradbury."

Dirt
by Sean Doolittle
If you like the candy-and-decorations side of Halloween but don't enjoy the ghosts and demons, then Sean Doolittle's mystery Dirt, with its light focus on all things dead might be for you. Everyone suspects that funeral homes rip off the newly bereaved, and things get complicated as Maria, a beautiful and single funeral-rights advocate gives Quince Bishop the dirt on a rather chancy funeral director. It's Los Angeles at its best and worst (don't be surprised if you see this one as a movie someday soon). It skids from hospital to morgue to funeral home and, complete with eulogies and an epitaph, it's a smart and funny read that will give you a laugh, not nightmares

Homework
by Margot Livesey
Ohhh, this book is creepy, in the best possible way. Livesey, whose most recent novel is Eva Moves the Furniture, has created in Homework an atmospheric, suspenseful story told in the voice of protagonist Celia Gilchrist. Fresh from an unsatisfying relationship, Celia meets and eventually moves in with Stephen, a charming and smart fellow with a 10-year-old daughter named Jenny. In a twist on the evil-stepmother archetype, Celia finds herself feeling frightened of Jenny's cunning and suppressed anger -- and the other characters in the book (and you, dear reader!) are left wondering what is actually going on. Is Jenny making strange things happen? Is Celia overreacting? Is Stephen a generous, understanding father, or something else entirely? By the end of the book, you will find yourself not wanting, but needing to know.

The Savage Girl
by Alex Shakar
With The Savage Girl, Shakar joins the grand tradition of novelists taking aim at the zeitgeist, and like the best of them, he manages to be both funny and insightful in the process. The book concerns Ursula Van Urden's wild ride through the not-so-distant-future metropolis, Middle City, as she becomes a professional trendspotter. Ursula struggles to take care of her schizophrenic supermodel sister, Ivy, but instead, creates a monstrous fad that makes a public spectacle of Ivy's insanity-derived urban savage behavior. Whether you choose to take it slow and gorge yourself on the Shakar's spread of ideas -- indictments of consumer culture and "what's hot" contrivances rarely get this thought-provoking-- or if you submit to his page-turner pacing and race to the end, The Savage Girl is sure consume you.

Sociolinguistics
by Peter Trudgill
Why do men swear more than women? Which cultures find direct questions almost incomprehensible? Trudgill answers many questions, and raises a few of his own (for example, why do we judge people on their language and accent, when it is demonstrably learned rather than innate?) in this introduction to language and society. He delves unafraid into controversies over whether one language is better than another, and whether we should be worried about "contamination" from other languages.

A Convergence of Birds: Original Fiction and Poetry Inspired by Joseph Cornell
compiled by J. Safran Foer
A Booksense 76 pick by Stuart Bloomfield, an independent bookseller at The University Book Store, in Seattle, WA. Stuart describes the unique book as "a beautifully realized project! An impressive roster of contemporary authors (Pinsky, Oates, Moody, Ackerman, to name a few) pay homage to Joseph Cornell's bird box sculptures in prose and poetry." Stuart finds the "contributors' diverse contributions ... just as rewarding as Cornell's elegant and mysterious sculptures."

Best American Magazine Writing
edited by The American Society of Magazine Editors
From 1,586 entries in the National Magazine Award (or "Ellie") competition, 200 editors narrowed the field to 19 winning articles, which are presented here in 400-plus pages of fascinating reading. Magazine junkies, rejoice: This is the book for you! These articles, originally published in 2000, hail from magazines such as Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Zoetrope: All-Story, and Gourmet, and cover a wide variety of topics, from pop music to firemen to campaigning with John McCain. The Contributors section offers biographical information about each writer -- so, if you're taken with their work, you can track down the books many of them have written (Malcolm Gladwell and Donna Tartt are among the authors featured in this edition), and enjoy their writing all the more!

Jell-o: A Biography
by Carolyn Wyman
Wyman, author of SPAM: A Biography, is back with another paean to one of America's favorite jelled junk foods. An exhaustive history of the wiggly stuff is sprinkled with sidebars on everything from a history of Jell-o commercials to reproductions of old advertisements to recipes. Have a hankering for a Shredded Wheat Jell-o Apple Sandwich, or perhaps Lime Jell-o Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise? You'll find the how-to instructions right here. Depending on your taste, it's a delectable -- or unsettling -- look at this popular product.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
by Ann Brashares
A Book Sense 76 pick by Marjorie Bowman, independent bookseller at Davis-Kidd Booksellers in Memphis, TN. Marjorie says this book is "A fresh, lively look at the friendship of four teenagers facing one inevitable part of growing up: the possibility of growing apart. Poignant, funny, and real, this story -- along with the letters the friends write to each other over the summer -- will remind you of all the best parts of being best friends."

Slap Your Sides
by M.E. Kerr
M.E. Kerr's latest book takes a hard look at how people stand up against the mainstream if they believe the mainstream is wrong. She makes the reader ask if there is space in the U.S. for different opinions? (Maybe we should ask Susan Sontag about that.) Is all that talk about diversity and multiculturalism just hogwash when it gets down to the nitty gritty?

In World War II Pennsylvania, life has just become a whole lot more complicated for Jubal Shoemaker and his family. It wasn't anything Jubal did, it was what his family believed. His brother has decided to follow their Quaker beliefs and isn't going to fight in the war. The people of his town aren't exactly impressed by his decision and that's where complications for the Shoemaker family settle in. It's not a simple story of black and white or right and wrong. Kerr is intent on making the reader think about living with people who are different from us, and there's nothing more timely than that.

Also not to be missed, is Kerr's earlier book, Gentlehands. Boy meets girl in summer and the (almost) inevitable occurs. However, there's a certain family secret about to come out into the open and Buddy Boyle's life will never be the same.

Holes
by Louis Sachar
Kids love it, adults love it. What is it? It's Louis Sachar's Newbery Medal winning YA Crime and Punishment novel Holes. In a case of mistaken identity (and a continuing and active family curse), Stanley Yelnats (read it backwards) gets sent to a juvenile detention facility, Camp Green Lake. At the time it seemed like a better choice than jail, but as Stanley realizes his summer will be spent digging holes in the dried-up lakebed, he begins to wonder. Not just an existential meditation(!) on what a person should do with their life and whether they can escape their fate, Holes is a great story of a boy finding himself -- and friends -- in the desert.

Whale Talk
by Chris Crutcher
A May/June 2001 Book Sense 76 pick!
T.J. is a hyper-smart, super-athletic, teenager who, by his senior year in high school, has worked through many of his emotional issues, and feels no guilt when he consistently refuses to join the "jock" crowd (or any sports teams) at his high school. That is, until T.J. catches one of the football players harassing a brain-damaged boy because the boy is wearing his dead brother's varsity jacket. Angry and determined, T.J. channels his indignance at the injustice, and -- with the help of a kind and savvy coach -- forms a swim team, recruiting only the least-cool students at his school. Crutcher deftly captures the humor and pathos of the situation as he depicts the escalation of the conflict between the students, as well as T.J.'s increasing awareness and wisdom. From start to finish, this book is well worth your time -- anyone who's in, has been, or is going to be in high school should read it.

Read our interview with Chris Crutcher!

Check out the most recent Book Sense 76!

When Zachary Beaver Came to Town
by Kimberly Willis Holt
This book -- which won the 1999 National Book Award and was a Jan./Feb. 2000 Book Sense 76 pick -- is a captivating read. Holt sensitively and humorously tells the story of what happens when a sideshow starring 600-pound Zachary Beaver, billed as the "World's Fattest Boy," comes to a small Texas town. Thirteen-year-old Toby and his friend Cal at first are fascinated and repulsed by the boy, but when Zachary's manager leaves him behind, they become his allies, and eventually his friends. The book is hardly all sweetness and light -- Zachary isn't entirely pleasant, Toby's mother ran away to become a country singer, and Cal's older brother is in Vietnam -- and that's what makes Zachary Beaver so engaging and thought-provoking. Holt writes about growing up, its strangeness and sadness and joy and beauty, with skill and compassion.

Rope Burns: Stories From The Corner
by F.X. Toole
Knockouts, cracked teeth, flying blood, eyes swollen shut…sound like your kinda read, kid? If so, you're in good hands with Toole; the guy's lived the fight game for years, first as a fighter and then as a trainer and a cut man. He packs in the kind of details that prove it, and cracks his prose like a true champ throughout the five stories and one novella compiled here. The going is dirty and rough among this band of men who work the circuit in and around East L.A., but you can't look away from this no-holding-back mess as everybody learns the heavy price of shooting for the title. If you've ever wondered what kind of hero or fool would risk it all in all the ring, then this one's for you.