From the New Shelf

The Book of Fires
Jane Borodale

Borodale deftly conjures up mid-eighteenth-century London in her spectacular debut. The premise is a familiar one--pregnant and unwed, an impoverished young county girl sets out for the big city desperately seeking to hide her disgrace--but the story that unfolds is also a fresh and fascinating investigation into the art and the science of pyrotechnics. When fortune lands desperate Agnes Trussel on the doorstep of an embittered fireworks maker, she becomes Mr. J. Blacklock's apprentice. Teaching her the tricks of his trade, he also works feverishly on an innovative formula to infuse color into fireworks. As her condition becomes increasingly difficult to hide, a world rife with new possibilities seems to dangle just beyond her reach. In addition to her pregnancy, Agnes also harbors another shameful secret that threatens her precarious security and gnaws away at her soul. Readers who loved Jane Eyre will appreciate the atmosphere of tension and foreboding that permeates the narrative.
Booklist Review; December 2009.

The Red Velvet Turnshoe
Cassandra Clark

Set in 1383, Clark's compelling second historical (after Hangman Blind) takes Sister Hildegard, healer and sleuth, to Italy on a secret mission 'to bring back the legendary cross of Constantine,' a powerful relic coveted by the archbishop of York. In the guise of a pilgrim, Hildegard joins an armed baggage train that includes a shipment of wool. When the stinking corpse of a clerk with his throat slashed turns up in a crate of wool on the travelers' arrival in Flanders, Hildegard has to wonder who would want to murder a lowly clerk. With England in the middle of the Hundred Years' War and Europe divided between rival popes, everyone's allegiances and loyalties are uncertain. The author paints an authentic picture of late medieval life as Hildegard journeys from the Yorkshire moors to thriving Flemish towns and on to alpine passes leading to the wealth of early Renaissance Italy. Enough questions remain at the end to leave readers eagerly anticipating the next installment.
Publishers Weekly Review; October 2009.

The Ingenious Edgar Jones
Elizabeth Garner

Misunderstood, misfit hero Edgar Jones, a boy who revels in invention, who literally wants to fly, whose very body marks him as strange, will grab your heart. Edgar's personality rivals that of John Irving's Owen Meany--a brilliant, odd little boy with a naive trust in human nature and a childish thirst for adventure that sets him apart from the staid Victorian world. Edgar's inquisitiveness lands him in trouble with his masters: first the blacksmith; then the ironworkers; then his beloved professor, an inventor; and finally his own father. Like any inventor, Edgar must first learn to take things apart, and that's what he does; but it's what he creates and why he does it that make him so compelling. Garner uses Edgar's character as a way of exploring the ideological revolution in Oxford during the early 1800s, as science battles religion for supremacy. Edgar's parents find themselves trapped in this changing world, first encouraging their son's ingenuity and boldness, then shocked by the outcome. The lovely cadence of Garner's language and her careful attention to the physical world as a story mirror create an atmosphere of excitement and wonder.
Booklist Review; April 2009.

The Listener
Shira Nayman

Word for word, sentence for sentence, paragraph for paragraph, Nayman creates a gripping narrative with style and depth. Set in a post-World War II asylum, the cast of characters interact within their defined roles of clinicians, nurses, and patients. However, when Dr. Harrison encounters a mysterious patient with a dark secret in his counseling sessions, the well-defined boundaries that separate the characters slowly erode as their lives intertwine. In the process, the arbitrary lines between sanity and insanity are exposed. Nayman paces the narrative well, with thick, sensuous writing throughout, developing each character with a compelling reality. Much like her collection of short stories, Awake in the Dark, this novel continues to explore the ways in which individuals negotiate and construct their sense of identity. Featuring a plot as rich as the characters, this is a thought-provoking and psychological exploration of love, war, and human identity. Readers who enjoyed Ian McEwan's Atonement will enjoy the introspective tone of Nayman's work.
Library Journal Review; October 2009.

The Bride’s Farewell
Meg Rosoff

Pell Ridley is the adventurous heroine in this serviceably told tale, the fourth novel for London-based Rosoff, who has written successfully for the YA market. On her wedding day, Pell leaves town on her faithful horse, Jack, grudgingly bringing along her mute younger brother, Bean. Pell shirks expectations and jilts her childhood beau, Birdie, with an oddly modern defiance of 1850s England convention. No matter that Birdie seems a nice enough man, unlike her abusive father-- Pell is stubborn in her desire to flee the domestic life in Nomansland that mires her mother in a sea of children and overwork. Pell arrives at the Salisbury horse fair and her adventures begin. She is separated from Bean and her horse but meets a poacher she dubs Dogman (he travels with a pack of dogs) and together they wander the countryside living on bread crusts and flickering hope. Pell's love and knowledge of horses factors largely in her fight for survival, but it's human love-- romantic and familial--that drives plucky Pell and leads us to this simple but satisfying story's happy if unsurprising conclusion.
Publishers Weekly Review; June 2009.

Lady Vernon and Her Daughter
Jane Rubino

Inspired by Jane Austen's novella Lady Susan, this biting social comedy from mother-daughter duo Rubino (the veteran author) and Rubino-Bradway (the first-timer) is a delightful, worthy homage to Austen. In 19th- century England, Lady Susan Vernon is left nearly penniless after her honorable, wealthy husband dies and his unscrupulous little brother, Charles, bilks Susan and her daughter, Frederica, of their share of his fortune. Forced to rely upon the kindness of friends, the two spend several months bouncing from home to home. Subjected to the two-faced machinations of her social circle (particularly from Charles's wife, Catherine), Susan cleverly (and believably) turns several of her enemies against each other, using their own words. As in Austen's novels, securing a generous dowry and a 'good' marriage (that is, one with money and status) is the all-important goal of every woman, but Susan is a dynamic character more than capable of delivering a shocking surprise.
Publishers Weekly Review; August 2009.

Tomato Rhapsody
Adam Schell

It takes a lot of confidence to encroach on Shakespearean territory, but Schell displays sufficient moxie in this delectable debut. The lush Tuscan countryside is the predictable yet appropriate setting of his sixteenth-century romp through a multitude of humorous scenarios involving both forbidden love and the introduction of the tomato into the heart, soul, and stomach of the Italian populace. At the core of the novel is a deceptively simple boy-meets-girl plot featuring a lovelorn Jewish tomato farmer and the beautiful Catholic daughter of a devious olive magnate. Of course, anyone who knows their Shakespeare knows that the course of true love never runs smoothly, and Schell displays the finesse of a master chef as he spices up the story with a delicious array of humorous subplots--ranging from the bawdy to the sweet--guaranteed to appeal to discerning literary palates.
Booklist Review; May 2009.

The Penny Pinchers Club
Sarah Strohmeyer

Kat's incurable shopping habit and her husband Griff's enabling have driven them into serious debt. When she discovers Griff's secret bank account and condom wrappers in his pocket, her friends are certain he is planning to divorce her, suspicions further fueled by Griff's whispered conversations with his attractive assistant. To survive a divorce, Kat needs to shape up her finances. She joins the Penny Pinchers Club, a quirky support group, and soon she gives up Starbucks and buying in bulk. As she adopts more drastic measures, a wealthy former boyfriend hires her to decorate his historic home. When Griff confronts her about their spartan lifestyle and the time she is spending away from home, she has no choice but to reveal her fears. Strohmeyer, author of The Cinderella Pact (2006), creates a relatable protagonist with a timely problem. The twists are predictable, but the ending is satisfying.
Booklist Review; June 2009.