In the typical Urquhart mold, A Map of Glass is a novel about the past, the land, and art, subjects found in many of her previous novels. A young artist, Jerome, is alone on Timber Island to take photos of temporary art creations, or "absences," he has dug in the snow. While there, he finds the body of Andrew Woodman, an Alzheimer's sufferer, frozen in the ice of the river. Later, an older woman, Sylvia, searches out Jerome and his girlfriend in Toronto. Slightly autistic, she has fled her doctor husband in rural eastern Ontario because she wants to talk to Jerome about Andrew, her lover. The three sections of the book are intelligently constructed, with the two contemporary sections framing the central section, which recounts the history of the Woodman family, 19th-century shipbuilders and hotelkeepers on Lake Ontario. Urquhart's writing is extremely resonant and always echoes her larger themes: "How wonderful the snow was; every change of direction, each whim, even the compulsion of hunger was marked on its surface, like memory, for a brief season." Her writing is also highly cerebral--little happens in this novel but there is an enormous quantity of thoughtful reflection. The depiction of the Woodman past, with its near-mythical characters and its grand hotel invaded by sand, is so deeply realized that the present feels amorphous in contrast, its characters infused with the ambiguity of modernism. In the end, however, Urquhart shows how this makes perfect sense for, with profound subtlety, she raises a startling question: In the face of shocking change--in landscapes, in memories that fade to nothing, even in the complete dissolution of the human personality in Alzheimer's--what can still be called reality? Urquhart is a subtle master at work. --Mark Frutkin Views: 12
A girl walks across the Brooklyn Bridge, a backpack full of knitting slung over her shoulder, a green fish kite in her hand. A boy balances on the bridge#146;s crisscross webbing, waiting for the girl to pass. Are they angels? Spiders? In love? Or in danger? Once they connect, they#146;ll start a chain of events that could stretch out smoothly like the river below them -- or become knotted like a tangled web of spider silk.From School Library JournalGrade 7 Up - Sixteen-year-old Nancy's family is odd. It's not that her mother is white and her father is black - she lives in New York, where biracial families are not uncommon. It's not even that her mother, a master weaver, is agoraphobic, or that her father moves out of their basement apartment every spring to live on a nearby rooftop. It's that her father produces sticky silk threads from his hands to help him travel Brooklyn by rooftop, and her mother comes from a line of powerful healers. So far, Nancy is neither spider nor healer, and she can't get her parents to tell her why. She meets strange, ghostly Dion as he balances on a high railing above the East River, and feels an obvious connection. Their families have more in common than they know, and the author unravels this web of connections one deliberate and deftly foreshadowed thread at a time. Young's prose is simple and graceful, and her depictions, including several freakishly authentic New York neighborhoods, are subtly drawn. Nancy's struggle with spider/human identity is as touching and real as any coming of age: thoughtful, earnest, and more innocent than her urban upbringing might suggest. To sustain mystery, Young drops otherworldly details into an otherwise realistic story, to the temporary confusion of readers and, often, to the protagonist as well. While this might frustrate those unwilling to suspend disbelief, adventurous readers will gladly put the pieces of family history and personal destiny together as Nancy does. - Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistGr. 9-12. Brooklyn teenager Nancy has an unusual dilemma: "No spinnerets inside her, no silk." She descends from a "peculiar family" whose arachnid genes give rise to spidery specialties: her Scottish-Italian mother weaves; her Jamaican father applies his uncanny climbing abilities to a career in roofing; her maternal grandmother uses her cobweb silk to heal wounds. But not a hint of spiderness emerges from Nancy. Feeling suffocated by her hovering family, she becomes increasingly interested in Dion, a runaway whose knowing gaze is both disturbing and compelling. Young's novel forms a literal web of connections--from a blackmail scheme that involves both Nancy's and Dion's families to the evil-averting Angel of Brooklyn, a real-life superhero whose identity is an ongoing puzzle. Some readers may be mystified by the story strands' refusal to braid neatly together; others, especially teens of an artistic, assertively alternative stripe, will happily immerse themselves in the poetic, free-associative narrative, and the imaginative, comic book-inspired premise. Jennifer MattsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Views: 12
How can you pack for the journey of a lifetime?George Baxter has settled for a comfortable life, content as the years unfold predictably - until Win, his wife of twenty-six years, dies.With his loyal dog Monty by his side, George throws himself into his work as an antiques dealer. His business is at the heart of the village and all sorts pass through the doors, each person in search of their own little piece of history. When George meets local widow Sylvia Newsome, he imagines a different kind of future. But life has more revelations to offer him. Over the course of an English summer George uncovers some unexpected mysteries from his past, which could shape his tomorrows . . . Views: 12
Product DescriptionJosephineTulip is definitely a smart chick, a twenty–first century female MacGyver whowrites a helpful hints column and solves mysteries in her spare time. Herbest friend, Danny, is a talented photographer who longs to succeed in hiscareer...perhaps a cover photo on NationalGeographic? When Jo’s next–door neighbor is accused of murder, Jorealizes the police have the wrong suspect. As she and Danny analyze clues, followup on leads, and fall in and out of trouble, she recovers from a broken heartand he discovers that he has feelings for her. Will Danny have the courage toreveal them, or will he continue to hide them behind a façade of friendship?About the AuthorMindy Starns Clark is the author of many books, which include the popular Smart Chick Mysteries, Whispers of the Bayou, Shadows of Lancaster County, and Under the Cajun Moon. In addition, Mindy's plays and musicals have been featured in schools and churches across the United States. Views: 12
Tertuliano Máximo Afonso is a divorced, depressed history teacher. To lift his spirits, a colleague suggests he rent a certain video. Tertuliano watches the film, unimpressed. But during the night, when he is awakened by noises in his apartment, he goes into the living room to find that the VCR is replaying the video. He watches in astonishment as a man who looks exactly like him-or, more specifically, exactly like he did five years before, mustachioed and fuller in the face-appears on the screen. He sleeps badly. Against his better judgment, Tertuliano decides to pursue his double. As he roots out the man's identity, what begins as a whimsical story becomes a "wonderfully twisted meditation on identity and individuality" (The Boston Globe). Saramago displays his remarkable talent in this haunting tale of appearance versus reality. Views: 12
Summer in Portside: The beach! The gelato! The murder...Belinda's peace from scandal and her grandmother is short-lived when a painting - and then a body - wash up on her favorite beach. As she and Bennett team with Det. Jonas Parker to figure out how the two connect, a possible art forgery comes to light - and another victim.Belinda continues to grow into her new role as a part-time amateur detective, swimming through suspects and broken connections, while Bennett starts to rebuild his life, and Jonas breaks free from work to pursue a potential new romance.With the heat of summer upon them, the future is more unpredictable than ever.Other Books in This Series:Cliffhanger (Book One)Auf'd (Book Two)Drive-Bye (Book Three) Views: 12
Maia and the other Effigies seek out the true origins of the phantoms that terrorize their world in this follow-up to Fate of Flames, which Elise Chapman called "an immersive and monstrously fun read."There's nowhere to hide. Not when you're an Effigy. No matter where they go, Maia and the other Effigies can't escape the eyes of the press—especially not after failing to capture Saul, whose power to control the monstrous Phantoms has left the world in a state of panic. It's been two months since Saul's disappearance, and there's still no sign of him, leaving the public to wonder whether the Sect—and the Effigies—are capable of protecting anyone. When Saul suddenly surfaces in the middle of the Sahara desert, the Sect sends Maia and her friends out after him. But instead of Saul, they discover a dying soldier engineered with Effigy-like abilities. And although these soldiers seem to answer to Saul, Maia can't help but wonder if he has... Views: 12
When a married businessman falls for a small-town minx, his obsessive love will spur him to give up anything to have her Jeff Flanders has a nice little job, a nice little wife, and absolutely nothing to get excited about. All that goes down the drain when he meets Candy, a small-town girl who looks as sweet as her name, but is bitter to the core. She offers him her body—the best he’s ever seen—for the bargain price of $1,000, and he can’t refuse. The affair turns Jeff’s world inside out, and he takes to her like she’s a drug, giving up half his paycheck every week for the privilege of taking Candy to bed. But when Candy finds a new keeper on Park Avenue, Jeff’s life spins out of control. His addiction to Candy will drive him to do anything to get her back—even kill. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Lawrence Block, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from his personal collection, and a new afterword written by the author.
Review “Block is one-up on the alchemists: He can turn base material into literary gold.” — Los Angeles Times “How Block can be so prolific and maintain such a high degree of originality is itself a mystery.” — The Kansas City Star “Block is one of the best!” — The Washington Post Views: 12
Two babies go on two big-city adventures, and there are so many exciting sights to see! In New York, Baby!, Times Square, Broadway, Central Park, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art number among the top destinations; while in San Francisco, Baby!, the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, and Alcatraz are some of the main attractions. Rhyming text and charming illustrations make these picture books perfect for babies and parents who are always on the go, or who have big-city dreams! Views: 12
