J. Roslyn's Books: 04/09/17

Sunday, April 9, 2017

The End of Normal: A Wife's Anguish, A Widow's New Life, by Stephanie Madoff Mack

Stephanie Madoff Mack (she changed her name to Mack after Bernie Madoff went to jail) writes 272 pages about how she refuses to be a victim of Bernie Madoff, her father-in-all. That would be something to be proud of if she didn't spend much of her book writing about how much she has been victimized by Madoff, his wife, Ruth, and every other adult member of the Madoff family.

Mack's husband committed suicide, devastated at the constant attacks on his family and him. It was a tragedy, but Mack's narrative about closure is shockingly tone deaf. After having him cremated, Mack, who is not Jewish, divided up his ashes into little boxes which she offers to his Jewish ex-wife for their children to dispose of, and to his Jewish brother. When they tell her they want none of it, she makes zero effort to understand why not. She seems to have forgotten, or never bothered to learn, that Jewish people, even non-observant ones, do not like cremation, and certainly don't like the idea of little packages of ashes being doled out like candy.

To her credit, Mack does write a competent book about her family and its reaction to the Madoff scandal as it unfolds. Unfortunately, she devotes way too much of the book to discussing her own anger, and her own need for revenge, including devoting many pages to discussing the multiple letters she sent to Ruth and Bernie Madoff scolding them, blaming them, and informing them that she was cutting them out of her life and her children's lives. It's all too much drama and venom for this reader.

* Print Length: 272 pages
* Publisher: Plume; 1 edition (October 20, 2011)
* Publication Date: October 20, 2011
* Sold by: Penguin Group (USA) LLC

Buzz Books 2017 Young Adult Spring/ Summer

Buzz Books is used by publishing insiders to decide which books to purchase ahead of publication. Their 2017 sampler of recently published or soon-to-be published Young Adult books offers some fascinating choices that young adults and their parents or older sibs will enjoy. Moreover, some of the covers are fabulous!

Don't take my word on this, this edition of Buzz Books is available for downloading free at http://buzz.publishersmarketplace.com

Here are just a few of the books that jumped out me.

FUTURE THREAT, by Albert Whitman & Elizabeth Briggs (Publisher: Albert Whitman Teen)

"Six months ago Aether Corporation sent Elena, Adam, and three other recruits on a trip to the future where they brought back secret information—but not everyone made it back to the present alive. Now Elena’s dealing with her survivor’s guilt and trying to make her relationship with Adam work. All she knows for sure is that she’s done with time travel and Aether Corporation."

* Print Length: 276 pages
* Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0807526843
* Publisher: AW Teen; 1 edition (March 1, 2017)
* Publication Date: March 1, 2017
* Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

DREAM ME, by Kathryn Berla (Publisher: Amberjack)

"Babe’s dreams of the perfect guy, Zat, seem so real that she willingly suffers extreme migraines for the chance to spend another night touring her memories and meeting her acquaintances with him. Zat, a dreamer from a time in the distant future when humans no longer dream, risks it all to travel back in time and live in Babe’s dreams."

* Paperback: 275 pages
* Publisher: Amberjack Publishing (July 11, 2017)

SPIRIT QUEST, by Jennifer Frick-Ruppert (Publisher: Amberjack)

"Skyco, an Algonquin boy, is heir to the great chief Menatonon, but he has much to learn before he can take his place within the tribe. He studies with the shaman Roncommock, who teaches him how to enter the spirit world and communicate with spirits and other animals, while he also learns practical skills of hunting, fishing, and starting a fire from other men in his village."

* Print Length: 271 pages
* Publisher: Amberjack Publishing (April 18, 2017)
* Publication Date: April 18, 2017
* Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

PIPER PERISH, by Kayla Cagan (Publisher: Chronicle Books)

"Piper Perish inhales air and exhales art. The sooner she and her best friends can get out of Houston and get to New York City, the better. Art school has been Piper’s dream her whole life, and now that senior year is halfway over, she’s never felt more ready. But in the final months before graduation, things are weird with her friends and stressful with three different guys, and Piper’s sister’s tyrannical mental state seems to thwart every attempt at happiness for the close-knit Perish family. Piper’s art just might be enough to get her out."

* Print Length: 416 pages
* Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC (March 7, 2017)
* Publication Date: March 7, 2017
* Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

HOW TO BE A SUPERVILLAIN, by Michael Fry (Publisher: JIMMY Patterson, an imprint of Hachette)

"Victor Spoil comes from a long line of famous supervillains and he’s fully expected to join their ranks one day. But to his family’s utter disappointment, Victor doesn’t have a single bad-guy bone in his body. He won’t run with scissors, he always finishes his peas, and he can’t stand to be messy. Hopeless!"

* Print Length: 320 pages
* Publisher: jimmy patterson (May 2, 2017)
* Publication Date: May 2, 2017
* Sold by: Hachette Book Group

LAUGH OUT LOUD, by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein (Publisher: JIMMY Patterson, an imprint of Hachette)

"Jimmy loves reading so much that he’s inspired to start his own book company—as marvelous and fun as Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. It’s a big dream for a twelve-year-old boy—some would even say it’s laugh-out-loud ridiculous! But Jimmy’s doubters soon learn that he’s not the kind of kid who gives up easily."

* Print Length: 304 pages
* Publisher: jimmy patterson (August 28, 2017)
* Publication Date: August 28, 2017
* Sold by: Hachette Book Group

THE ONE MEMORY OF FLORA BANKS, by Emily Barr (Publisher: Philomel Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House)

"Seventeen-year-old Flora Banks has no short-term memory. Her mind resets itself several times a day, and has since the age of ten, when the tumor that was removed from Flora’s brain took with it her ability to make new memories. That is, until she kisses Drake, her best friend’s boyfriend, the night before he leaves town."

* Print Length: 304 pages
* Publisher: Philomel Books (May 2, 2017)
* Publication Date: May 2, 2017
* Sold by: Penguin Group (USA) LLC

Gem & Dixie, by Sara Zarr (Publisher: Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books)

"Gem has never known what it is to have security. She’s never known an adult she can truly rely on. But the one constant in her life has been Dixie, the sister she’s taken care of when no one else could. Even as Gem and Dixie have grown apart, they’ve always had each other. When their dad returns home for the first time in years and tries to insert himself back into their lives, Gem finds herself with an unexpected opportunity: three days with Dixie—on their own in Seattle and beyond. But this short trip soon becomes something more, as Gem discovers that that to save herself, she may have to sever the one bond she’s tried so hard to keep."