Fresh Finds: New Books Published in December and January

Staff Reviews of New Releases 

The Story of Arthur Truluv : a novel by Elizabeth Berg

Goodreads Summary:

A moving novel about three people who find their way back from loss and loneliness to a different kind of happiness. Arthur, a widow, meets Maddy, a troubled teenage girl who is avoiding school by hiding out at the cemetery, where Arthur goes every day for lunch to have imaginary conversations with his late wife, and think about the lives of others. The two strike up a friendship that draws them out of isolation. Maddy gives Arthur the name Truluv, for his loving and positive responses to every outrageous thing she says or does. With Arthur’s nosy neighbor Lucille, they create a loving and unconventional family, proving that life’s most precious moments are sweeter when shared.

 

Joyce's Review:

(4 out of 5 stars) This is a kind, sentimental story of three people at different stages in their journey through life. As they reach out to each other they learn that a family can be created in many ways. A very enjoyable book.

 

Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden (publication date: December 5)

Goodreads Summary:

The magical adventure begun in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman, is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.
Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.

Katherine's Review

(5 out of 5 stars) Given my love for The Bear and the Nightingale, I was terrified that I would be disappointed in this sequel. I am happy to report that although it is different in some ways, I thoroughly enjoyed it and consciously made an effort to read slowly so that the experience would last longer. Katherine Arden is a master at placing the reader in the setting of the book and has developed memorable and thoroughly developed characters. I'm very grateful I got an ARC of this book, but am sad that I now have to wait until book three is available. 4.5 stars rounded up!

Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn (publication date: January 2)

Goodreads Summary:

Anna Fox lives alone, a recluse in her New York City home, unable to venture outside. She spends her day drinking wine (maybe too much), watching old movies, recalling happier times--and spying on her neighbors.
Then the Russells move into the house across the way: a father, a mother, and their teenage son. The perfect family. But when Anna, gazing out her window one night, sees something she shouldn’t, her world begins to crumble—and its shocking secrets are laid bare.
What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one—and nothing—is what it seems.

Katherine's Review:

(4 out of 5 stars) Fast-paced and intriguing. I found this one very hard to put down and enjoyed the discovery of both what happened in Anna's past and learning what is happening in the present. The ending was a complete surprise which I appreciated too. A fun read!

Jill's Review:

(4 out of 5 stars) I don't read many thrillers, but this was an interesting page-turner for me. Once I started, I ignored most other obligations to finish. I appreciate a book that can surprise me without being too graphic or violent. On the other hand, I have never read a book with so many references to wine and pills. It was a bit too much, and I am sure she would have been dead many times over just from her Merlot consumption. But anyway, 3.5 stars rounded to 4 because I could not put it down. Fun! 

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman (publication date: January 9)

Goodreads Summary:

Rowan and Citra take opposite stances on the morality of the Scythedom, putting them at odds, in the second novel of the chilling New York Times bestselling series from Neal Shusterman, author of the Unwind dystology.
Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.
Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?

 

Katherine's Review:

(4 out 5 stars) Another great book in Neal Shusterman's Scythe Series. I was not disappointed with this, the second book in the series. I enjoyed getting insight into Thunderhead and its decision making process. My attention wandered a bit during parts of the books but the ending is fantastic and you will definitely be turning pages.

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin (publication date: January 9)

Goodreads Review:

It's 1969 in New York City's Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children—four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness—sneak out to hear their fortunes.

Their prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in '80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11, hoping to control fate; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality.
 

Katherine's Review:

(4 out of 5 stars) A fascinating look at what knowing (or thinking you know) the date of your death can do to you. Great premise and it kept me turning pages. I was so interested in how things concluded. Some people may find the shifts in time during each characters' section to be confusing but I was able to follow what was going on. A very enjoyable read!

Jill's Review:

(3 out of 5 stars) It is a fascinating idea - If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life? Clearly the moral of this story is that we are better off as we are - not knowing!

The book tells each sibling's story after the encounter with the fortune teller, and I was intrigued to ponder the question for each of them - was the fortune teller correct or did they alter their life because of what she predicted? I was very interested in the dynamics of their family and their history, and the story left me with more awareness about how regret & guilt impact the quality of your life.

The reason for the 3 stars is that I felt the book covered too many things (AIDS, magicians, animals used in science, etc) rather than concentrating on fewer things and covering them more deeply. Still - quite a page turner!