From the back cover: New York Times best-selling author Jodi Picoult—known for tackling today's hot-button issues—delivers the riveting tale of one small town's entanglement with high school violence. New superior court judge Alex Cormier is assigned to preside over the case of the alleged Sterling High School shooter. Lawyer Jordan McAffee represents Peter—the boy who, on … [Read more...] about Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult: B+
General Fiction
Live at Five by David Haynes: B-
From the inside flap: Brandon Wilson anchors a television newscast that is regularly trounced by reruns of "The Facts of Life." When a new producer, hell-bent on raising channel 13's ratings, decides that his middle-class African-American anchor with a penthouse isn't "black" enough, he has a brainstorm: Brandon is to redefine himself by doing a series from a new home in the … [Read more...] about Live at Five by David Haynes: B-
The Pursuit of Alice Thrift by Elinor Lipman: A-
From the back cover: You can't help but feel sorry for Alice Thrift, who has recently tumbled from the top of her Harvard Medical School class to the probationary wing of her student internship. It doesn't help that her social skills cause her mother to suggest she might be slightly autistic. So when Ray Russo, a social-climbing purveyor of carnival fudge, dedicates himself … [Read more...] about The Pursuit of Alice Thrift by Elinor Lipman: A-
Austenland by Shannon Hale: C
From the back cover: Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her life. No real man can compare. When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the … [Read more...] about Austenland by Shannon Hale: C
My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman: A
From the back cover: Born and raised in a college dorm and chafing under the care of "the most annoyingly evenhanded parental team in the history of civilization," Frederica Hatch is starting to feel that her life is stiflingly snug. But then, into this cozy but claustrophobic world, comes Laura Lee French, a wannabe Rockette and the new dorm mother at the lackluster women's … [Read more...] about My Latest Grievance by Elinor Lipman: A