Jacob Jankowski says: “I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other.” At the beginning of Water for Elephants, he is living out his days in a nursing home, hating every second of it. His life wasn’t always like this, however, because Jacob ran away and joined the circus when he was twenty-one. It wasn’t a romantic, carefree decision, to be sure. His parents were killed in an auto accident one week before he was to sit for his veterinary medicine exams at Cornell. He buried his parents, learned that they left him nothing because they had mortgaged everything to pay his tuition, returned to school, went to the exams, and didn’t write a single word. He walked out without completing the test and wound up on a circus train. The circus he joins, in Depression-era America, is second-rate at best. With Ringling Brothers as the standard, Benzini Brothers is far down the scale and pale by comparison.

Water for Elephants is the story of Jacob’s life with this circus. Sara Gruen spares no detail in chronicling the squalid, filthy, brutish circumstances in which he finds himself. The animals are mangy, underfed or fed rotten food, and abused. Jacob, once it becomes known that he has veterinary skills, is put in charge of the “menagerie” and all its ills. Uncle Al, the circus impresario, is a self-serving, venal creep who slaps people around because he can. August, the animal trainer, is a certified paranoid schizophrenic whose occasional flights into madness and brutality often have Jacob as their object. Jacob is the only person in the book who has a handle on a moral compass and as his reward he spends most of the novel beaten, broken, concussed, bleeding, swollen and hungover. He is the self-appointed Protector of the Downtrodden, and… he falls in love with Marlena, crazy August’s wife. Not his best idea.

The most interesting aspect of the book is all the circus lore that Gruen has so carefully researched. She has all the right vocabulary: grifters, roustabouts, workers, cooch tent, rubes, First of May, what the band plays when there’s trouble, Jamaican ginger paralysis, life on a circus train, set-up and take-down, being run out of town by the “revenooers” or the cops, and losing all your hooch. There is one glorious passage about Marlena and Rosie, the bull elephant, that truly evokes the magic a circus can create. It is easy to see Marlena’s and Rosie’s pink sequins under the Big Top and to imagine their perfect choreography as they perform unbelievable stunts. The crowd loves it–and so will the reader. The ending is absolutely ludicrous and really quite lovely. –Valerie Ryan –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly With its spotlight on elephants, Gruen’s romantic page-turner hinges on the human-animal bonds that drove her debut and its sequel (Riding Lessons and Flying Changes)—but without the mass appeal that horses hold. The novel, told in flashback by nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski, recounts the wild and wonderful period he spent with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a traveling circus he joined during the Great Depression. When 23-year-old Jankowski learns that his parents have been killed in a car crash, leaving him penniless, he drops out of Cornell veterinary school and parlays his expertise with animals into a job with the circus, where he cares for a menagerie of exotic creatures[...] He also falls in love with Marlena, one of the show’s star performers—a romance complicated by Marlena’s husband, the unbalanced, sadistic circus boss who beats both his wife and the animals Jankowski cares for. Despite her often clichéd prose and the predictability of the story’s ending, Gruen skillfully humanizes the midgets, drunks, rubes and freaks who populate her book. (May 26)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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From Publishers Weekly The nice little life that account executive Lisa Alvarez has spent the last eight years constructing is about to fall apart. She’s due to marry her boss in barely a month when painful reminders of her dead baby daughter and her ex-husband Nick Maddux force themselves on her. Both Lisa and Nick have tried to make new lives for themselves since the baby’s death, although Nick has embraced his daughter’s short life by becoming a master craftsman of cradles while Lisa has simply shut the door on her past. Their reunion is fiery, passionate and difficult to read, in part because Lisa is not a congenial character, having turned herself into a career-driven robot. The story veers between Lisa and Nick’s rediscovery of their love and the burgeoning love of Nick’s sister, Maggie, and sexy screen writer Jeremy Hunt. Maggie and Jeremy are both attractive and deserved more length and breadth than author Freethy (Daniel’s Gift) gave them. A magical leitmotif throughout does, however, go some way towards transcending these weaknesses.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal Four weeks before she is to be married, a frantic call for help from her childhood best friend drags Lisa Alvarez out of her safe, well-ordered existence in Los Angeles and back into a life she thought she had left behind, with painful, romantic, and ultimately satisfying results. A pair of wary, emotionally fragile protagonists, a cast of exceptional secondary characters (including three engagingly realistic children), and a multilayered plot that deftly interweaves humor, passion, and the tragedy of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome result in a poignant, heartwrenching, yet heartwarming story that is laced with love and a gentle hint of fantasy. It may appeal to readers who enjoy the work of Debbie Macomber, LaVyrle Spencer, and Kristin Hannah. Freethy (Ask Mariah, Avon, 1997) won a Rita Award in 1997 and lives in the San Francisco Bay area.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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From Publishers Weekly The nice little life that account executive Lisa Alvarez has spent the last eight years constructing is about to fall apart. She’s due to marry her boss in barely a month when painful reminders of her dead baby daughter and her ex-husband Nick Maddux force themselves on her. Both Lisa and Nick have tried to make new lives for themselves since the baby’s death, although Nick has embraced his daughter’s short life by becoming a master craftsman of cradles while Lisa has simply shut the door on her past. Their reunion is fiery, passionate and difficult to read, in part because Lisa is not a congenial character, having turned herself into a career-driven robot. The story veers between Lisa and Nick’s rediscovery of their love and the burgeoning love of Nick’s sister, Maggie, and sexy screen writer Jeremy Hunt. Maggie and Jeremy are both attractive and deserved more length and breadth than author Freethy (Daniel’s Gift) gave them. A magical leitmotif throughout does, however, go some way towards transcending these weaknesses.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal Four weeks before she is to be married, a frantic call for help from her childhood best friend drags Lisa Alvarez out of her safe, well-ordered existence in Los Angeles and back into a life she thought she had left behind, with painful, romantic, and ultimately satisfying results. A pair of wary, emotionally fragile protagonists, a cast of exceptional secondary characters (including three engagingly realistic children), and a multilayered plot that deftly interweaves humor, passion, and the tragedy of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome result in a poignant, heartwrenching, yet heartwarming story that is laced with love and a gentle hint of fantasy. It may appeal to readers who enjoy the work of Debbie Macomber, LaVyrle Spencer, and Kristin Hannah. Freethy (Ask Mariah, Avon, 1997) won a Rita Award in 1997 and lives in the San Francisco Bay area.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Description

A young boy emerges from life-saving surgery with remarkable stories of his visit to heaven.

Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn’t know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how “reaaally big” God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit “shoots down power” from heaven to help us.

Told by the father, but often in Colton’s own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

About the Author Todd Burpo is pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan, a wrestling coach, a volunteer fireman, and he operates a garage door company with his wife, Sonja, who is also a children’s minister, busy pastor’s wife, and mom. Colton, now an active 11-year-old, has an older sister Cassie and a younger brother Colby. The family lives in Imperial, Nebraska.

Lynn Vincent is the New York Times best-selling writer of Same Kind of Different as Me and Going Rogue: An American Life. The author or co-author of nine books, Vincent is a senior writer for WORLD magazine and a lecturer in writing at the King’s College in New York City. She lives in San Diego, California. –This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. SignatureReviewed by Megan Whalen TurnerIf there really are only seven original plots in the world, it’s odd that boy meets girl is always mentioned, and society goes bad and attacks the good guy never is. Yet we have Fahrenheit 451, The Giver, The House of the Scorpion—and now, following a long tradition of Brave New Worlds, The Hunger Games. Collins hasn’t tied her future to a specific date, or weighted it down with too much finger wagging. Rather less 1984 and rather more Death Race 2000, hers is a gripping story set in a postapocalyptic world where a replacement for the United States demands a tribute from each of its territories: two children to be used as gladiators in a televised fight to the death.Katniss, from what was once Appalachia, offers to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, but after this ultimate sacrifice, she is entirely focused on survival at any cost. It is her teammate, Peeta, who recognizes the importance of holding on to one’s humanity in such inhuman circumstances. It’s a credit to Collins’s skill at characterization that Katniss, like a new Theseus, is cold, calculating and still likable. She has the attributes to be a winner, where Peeta has the grace to be a good loser.It’s no accident that these games are presented as pop culture. Every generation projects its fear: runaway science, communism, overpopulation, nuclear wars and, now, reality TV. The State of Panem—which needs to keep its tributaries subdued and its citizens complacent—may have created the Games, but mindless television is the real danger, the means by which society pacifies its citizens and punishes those who fail to conform. Will its connection to reality TV, ubiquitous today, date the book? It might, but for now, it makes this the right book at the right time. What happens if we choose entertainment over humanity? In Collins’s world, we’ll be obsessed with grooming, we’ll talk funny, and all our sentences will end with the same rise as questions. When Katniss is sent to stylists to be made more telegenic before she competes, she stands naked in front of them, strangely unembarrassed. They’re so unlike people that I’m no more self-conscious than if a trio of oddly colored birds were pecking around my feet, she thinks. In order not to hate these creatures who are sending her to her death, she imagines them as pets. It isn’t just the contestants who risk the loss of their humanity. It is all who watch.Katniss struggles to win not only the Games but the inherent contest for audience approval. Because this is the first book in a series, not everything is resolved, and what is left unanswered is the central question. Has she sacrificed too much? We know what she has given up to survive, but not whether the price was too high. Readers will wait eagerly to learn more.Megan Whalen Turner is the author of the Newbery Honor book The Thief and its sequels, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia. The next book in the series will be published by Greenwillow in 2010.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal Grade 7 Up -In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch. When 16-year-old Katniss’s young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district’s female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. Collins’s characters are completely realistic and sympathetic as they form alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing. This book will definitely resonate with the generation raised on reality shows like ‘Survivor’ and ‘American Gladiator.’ Book one of a planned trilogy.Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Four peerless actors render an array of sharply defined black and white characters in the nascent years of the civil rights movement. They each handle a variety of Southern accents with aplomb and draw out the daily humiliation and pain the maids are subject to, as well as their abiding affection for their white charges. The actors handle the narration and dialogue so well that no character is ever stereotyped, the humor is always delightful, and the listener is led through the multilayered stories of maids and mistresses. The novel is a superb intertwining of personal and political history in Jackson, Miss., in the early 1960s, but this reading gives it a deeper and fuller power. A Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 1). (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From Bookmarks Magazine In writing about such a troubled time in American history, Southern-born Stockett takes a big risk, one that paid off enormously. Critics praised Stockett’s skillful depiction of the ironies and hypocrisies that defined an era, without resorting to depressing or controversial clich√©s. Rather, Stockett focuses on the fascinating and complex relationships between vastly different members of a household. Additionally, reviewers loved (and loathed) Stockett’s three-dimensional characters—and cheered and hissed their favorites to the end. Several critics questioned Stockett’s decision to use a heavy dialect solely for the black characters. Overall, however, The Help is a compassionate, original story, as well as an excellent choice for book groups. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Young Kitty Charing stands to inherit a vast fortune from her irascible great-uncle Matthew–provided she marries one of her cousins. Kitty is not wholly adverse to the plan, if the right nephew proposes. Unfortunately, Kitty has set her heart on Jack Westruther, a confirmed rake, who seems to have no inclination to marry her anytime soon. In an effort to make Jack jealous, and to see a little more of the world than her isolated life on her great-uncle’s estate has afforded her, Kitty devises a plan. She convinces yet another of her cousins, the honorable Freddy Standen, to pretend to be engaged to her. Her plan would bring her to London on a visit to Freddy’s family and (hopefully) render the elusive Mr. Westruther madly jealous. Thus begins Cotillion, arguably the funniest, most charming of Georgette Heyer’s many delightful Regency romances.

No sooner does Kitty arrive in London than she becomes embroiled in the romantic difficulties of several new acquaintances. Kitty’s French cousin, Camille, a professional gambler, has won the heart of her new friend, Olivia–who also happens to be the object of Jack Westruther’s dishonorable intentions. Meanwhile, Kitty’s doltish cousin Lord Dolphinton has fallen in love with a merchant’s daughter who’s embattled with his mother and needs his help. Finally, there is Kitty herself, who begins to wonder if the dandified Freddy might not be the man for her after all. As in all of Georgette Heyer’s books, Cotillion transcends genre–it is, quite simply, wonderful literature. Historically accurate down to the finest details of dress, deportment, and speech, Heyer was also a master at creating unforgettable, comic characters, and Kitty Charing and Freddy Standen stand out as one of her most charming romantic duos ever. –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal Miss Catherine Charing is in a difficult situation. Her irascible and eccentric guardian, Mr. Matthew Penicuik, will bestow his entire fortune on her only if she will marry one of his great-nephews, not a choice lot. The Rev. Hugh Rattney is a self-righteous prig; Capt. Claud Rattney is a well-known rake; Lord Dolphinton is none too bright and frightened to death of his Mama; the Honorable Frederick Standon is a useless fribble; and Kitty’s hero, Capt. Jack Westruther, resisting Uncle Matthew’s tyrannical ways, has refused to even show up. If Kitty does not accept one of them, she will be penniless and homeless. Driven to folly by these circumstances, she attempts to flee to London to find a position as a governess. Heyer’s characterizations are at their sharpest as her people change and grow in unexpected directions. The book is a joy to listen to, as Phyllida Nash manages to keep the complicated cast of characters both separate and equal. Highly recommended for all public library collections where romance or the author’s works are popular.ABarbara Rhodes, Northeast Texas Lib. Syst., Garland
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. –This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Four peerless actors render an array of sharply defined black and white characters in the nascent years of the civil rights movement. They each handle a variety of Southern accents with aplomb and draw out the daily humiliation and pain the maids are subject to, as well as their abiding affection for their white charges. The actors handle the narration and dialogue so well that no character is ever stereotyped, the humor is always delightful, and the listener is led through the multilayered stories of maids and mistresses. The novel is a superb intertwining of personal and political history in Jackson, Miss., in the early 1960s, but this reading gives it a deeper and fuller power. A Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 1). (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From Bookmarks Magazine In writing about such a troubled time in American history, Southern-born Stockett takes a big risk, one that paid off enormously. Critics praised Stockett’s skillful depiction of the ironies and hypocrisies that defined an era, without resorting to depressing or controversial clich√©s. Rather, Stockett focuses on the fascinating and complex relationships between vastly different members of a household. Additionally, reviewers loved (and loathed) Stockett’s three-dimensional characters—and cheered and hissed their favorites to the end. Several critics questioned Stockett’s decision to use a heavy dialect solely for the black characters. Overall, however, The Help is a compassionate, original story, as well as an excellent choice for book groups. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Review Raves for James LePore’s A World I Never Made:

“Jim LePore is a great discovery.” — William Landay

“An outstanding first novel, and a wonderful thriller.” — Blogcritics

“I highly recommend this compelling suspense story filled with vivid characters and haunting storylines. A story that will stay with the reader long after the final page.” — Bella Online

“A compelling page-turner––one of those wonderful books with characters as strong as the story and a story worth read- ing. Don’t miss it.” — M.J. Rose, author of The Memorist

“Nothing could have torn my attention away from this story. A World I Never Made by James LePore is a must read for thriller fans!” — Cheryl’s Book Nook

“The plot of this intriguing, suspenseful novel is taut, moves rather rapidly, and mesmerizes the reader with each new complex, mysterious detail. James LePore knows how to spin an international thriller tale that slowly reveals an inner, fascinating depth to each character and to the developing connections between each and all. Well, well-done, James LePore!” — Crystal Reviews

“Author James LePore has created a remarkable, gripping tale of suspense in his debut novel. A World I Never Made is filled with strong, vividly described international characters to whom the reader will quickly form an attachment, all the while being transported through wonderfully described exotic lands. The combination creates an atmosphere of breathless suspense affording readers a desire to continue reading up until the thrilling, yet tender, conclusion.” — Feathered Quill Book Reviews

“The suspense will keep you white-knuckled as the plot unfolds with plenty of depth and intelligence. In fact, A World I Never Made kept me so enthralled that I simply didn’t want it to end. So if you’re looking for a new author who can knock you breathless with a clever thriller, James LePore is the one to pick.” — Nights and Weekends

“The key to this exciting thriller is the cast, especially the Nolan father and daughter . . . fans will enjoy this one sitting suspense thriller.” — The Mystery Gazette

“James LePore writes in an exciting and most readable style. He is an artist at building the suspense as the story progresses to its ultimate conclusion. There is just enough doubt about the possible outcomes to keep the reader wondering and turning pages. A World I Never Made is a fine tale filled with love, adventure, mystery and suspense.” — Mainly Mysteries

“A carefully crafted, well written book with a rich cast of characters and a plot as complicated and convoluted as the characters themselves.” — Reader Views

“An unputdownable novel.” — Everything Distills into Reading

Product Description When Jay Cassio’s best friend is murdered in a job clearly done by professionals, the walls that he has built to protect himself from the world of others begin to shatter. Dan Del Colliano had been his confidante and protector since the men were children on the savage streets of Newark, New Jersey. When Dan supports and revives Jay after Jay’s parents die in a plane crash, their bond deepens to something beyond brotherhood, beyond blood. Now Jay, a successful lawyer, must find out why Dan died and find a way to seek justice for his murder. Isabel Perez has lived a life both tainted and charmed since she was a teenager in Mexico. She holds powerful sway over men and has even more powerful alliances with people no one should ever try to cross. She desperately wants her freedom from the chains these people have placed on her. When Jay catapults into her world, their connection is electric, their alliance is lethal, and their future is anything but certain. Once again, James LePore has given us a novel of passions, intense moral complexities, and irresistible thrills. Filled with characters you will embrace and characters you will fear, Blood of My Brother is a story about a quest for revenge and redemption you won’t soon forget.

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From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Four peerless actors render an array of sharply defined black and white characters in the nascent years of the civil rights movement. They each handle a variety of Southern accents with aplomb and draw out the daily humiliation and pain the maids are subject to, as well as their abiding affection for their white charges. The actors handle the narration and dialogue so well that no character is ever stereotyped, the humor is always delightful, and the listener is led through the multilayered stories of maids and mistresses. The novel is a superb intertwining of personal and political history in Jackson, Miss., in the early 1960s, but this reading gives it a deeper and fuller power. A Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Dec. 1). (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From Bookmarks Magazine In writing about such a troubled time in American history, Southern-born Stockett takes a big risk, one that paid off enormously. Critics praised Stockett’s skillful depiction of the ironies and hypocrisies that defined an era, without resorting to depressing or controversial clich√©s. Rather, Stockett focuses on the fascinating and complex relationships between vastly different members of a household. Additionally, reviewers loved (and loathed) Stockett’s three-dimensional characters—and cheered and hissed their favorites to the end. Several critics questioned Stockett’s decision to use a heavy dialect solely for the black characters. Overall, however, The Help is a compassionate, original story, as well as an excellent choice for book groups. –This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Read More »