Playlist October featuring IF YOU'RE LUCKY by Yvonne Prinz

I love music and I love books, which means I really love book playlists. So all through October I'm going to be posting book playlists. I've invited a bunch of authors to contribute, so hopefully we'll all discover some great new music and good reads.

Today, I have Yvonne Prinz talking about her playlist picks for her new novel, IF YOU'RE LUCKY.

First, the book summary:

When seventeen-year-old Georgia’s brother drowns while surfing halfway around the world in Australia, she refuses to believe Lucky’s death was just bad luck. Lucky was smart. He wouldn’t have surfed in waters more dangerous than he could handle. Then a stranger named Fin arrives in False Bay, claiming to have been Lucky’s best friend. Soon Fin is working for Lucky’s father, charming Lucky’s mother, dating his girlfriend. Georgia begins to wonder: did Fin murder Lucky in order to take over his whole life?

Determined to clear the fog from her mind in order to uncover the truth about Lucky’s death, Georgia secretly stops taking the medication that keeps away the voices in her head. Georgia is certain she’s getting closer and closer to the truth about Fin, but as she does, her mental state becomes more and more precarious, and no one seems to trust what she’s saying. 

As the chilling narrative unfolds, the reader must decide whether Georgia’s descent into madness is causing her to see things that don’t exist–or to see a deadly truth that no one else can.

And now, Yvonne's song picks!

1. Somewhere Down The Road- Feist

A sad, pretty song for Georgia and how I imagine she yearns for her dead brother, Lucky.


2. Poison Oak- Bright Eyes. 

I love these lyrics. I think that Oberst wrote this song to go with my story. That isn’t true, of course, but the song reminds me of my character, Georgia, and her brother, Lucky. Georgia has always been in awe of Lucky’s ease in his life. He brought the world home to False Bay with him when he returned from his adventures and he made it seem small and friendly. After he’s gone, Georgia doesn’t know how to look at the world anymore.

“I fell asleep with you still talking to me and you said you weren’t afraid to die”

3. Dearly Departed- Shakey Graves 

If You’re Lucky is part ghost story and this song seemed appropriate. I adore Shakey Graves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkDycke-u6M



4. Wild is the Wind- Cat Powers

This is a beautiful cover of a David Bowie hit. I played it a lot while I wrote about Georgia losing touch with what’s real.



5. Sailor Song- The Felice Brothers

The Felice Brothers are self-proclaimed slouching Hudson River Pirates. I think this song speaks to Georgia’s slide downward. Her delusions start to define her life as she slips away from reality. I love the sea shanty feel of this tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFFI_VZT6to


6. Shangri-la-Mark Knopfler

Lots of surf culture in this story. Lucky thrived in that life. He worked here and there and then followed the waves around the world. I’ve always loved the way this song speaks to that Gypsy life that Lucky embraced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsO-O8SG7yc


7. Oh, Lonesome Me- M. Ward featuring Lucinda Williams 

The coastline where I set the book in Northern California is one I’m very familiar with and this track is just how I feel when I drive that lonesome highway along the edge of the western world, overlooking the Pacific. There are lots of versions of this Neil Young song but nothing quite touches the soulfulness of this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MRysO58leA


8. The Riptide-Beirut

Georgia fears the water though it’s all around her while she’s awake and in her dreams. Beirut is a big favorite of mine. I love their rich multi-instrumental arrangements. I like this video too. It’s reminiscent of the scene where Georgia’s family scatters Lucky’s ashes into the ocean.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX7fd8uQle


9. Minor Swing- Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli

Sonia (Lucky’s girlfriend) and Georgia take a drive down to a small bar in Bodega (near where Tom Waits now lives, incidentally) to see a Gypsy Swing band. They’re surprised when Fin gets onstage to sit in with the band. He’s obviously an accomplished guitar player and neither of them knew anything about this. I loved building a character with a flourish like this, another dollop of intrigue, another layer to explore.


10. In My Sleep- Austin Hartley and Kendall Jane Meade

This one’s a weeper. I see Georgia is hanging on to her dead brother too tight and she sees him in her dreams, always in the water, always reaching for her.

11. Jayne’s Blue Wish- Tom Waits- A nice poetic note to end on. A touch of hope for Georgia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-hYKy62DZM

 Thanks, Yvonne - all these songs are new to me. How fun!

Find out more about IF YOU'RE LUCKY at Yvonne's website and look for it in stores starting October 20th! 

BEA Recap Part 1: The Books

Book Expo America is a book lover's dream, and this year I was lucky enough to be able to attend my 5th BEA since 2009. And this year, I was not only there as press, I was also there as an author signing copies of THE MEMORY OF AFTER in the signing area (dream come true, for reals!).

Like most attendees, I had a list of "must get" books, but what I love most about BEA is the serendipity of discovering new titles. There were so many great finds this year that I ended up bringing back 37 titles with me (not including books I bought at the many bookstores I visited in the city) that I'm excited to read and cover on the blog in the months to come.  Today I'm going to spotlight some of my favorites. (NOTE: I was approved for some of the big BEA titles - such as Jandy Nelson's I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN and Scott Westerfeld's AFTERWORLDS - on Netgally and Edelweiss and so I skipped getting physical copies to save space)

Top 10 "must get" books that I snagged:

GLORY O'BRIEN'S HISTORY OF THE FUTURE by AS King (Oct 14, 2014, Little Brown) - Luckily I was invited to Little Brown's Brunch Preview where I unapologetically grabbed a copy of this before BEA even started. It's no secret I'm an AS King fangirl, so I'm super excited about GLORY.

SINNER by Maggie Stiefvater (July 1, 2014, Scholastic) - My very favorite thing about LINGER and FOREVER? Cole St. Clair. I've been saying for years that Cole needs his own novel, so when I heard about SINNER, I was struck with major book lust. I braved the galley drop at the Scholastic booth to get my hands on this pretty. I also got to chat with Maggie briefly at the Scholastic breakfast before BookCon (delicious smoothies!)

ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER by Stephanie Perkins (August 2014, Penguin) - this wasn't really at BEA, but it was part of a raffle of all three Stephanie Perkins books at the #YAparty. Amazingly, I won the raffle and instantly became the most hated/envied person in the room. Naturally, I couldn't wait long to read this. My teasers for you? a) It's HOT. Isla and Josh's chemistry is through the roof. b) It's my favorite of the trilogy. c) I can't wait to discuss the ending with you -- squee!

STITCHING SNOW by RC Lewis (Oct 14, 2014, Disney-Hyperion) - A sci-fi fairytale retelling? Sign me up! This debut has been on my radar for some time, and when I heard (thanks Debby!) there were stacks of it sitting in a secret room in the bowels of the Javits (in reality, left over from Book Blogger Con), I dashed over to stash this in my tote.

THE BONE CLOCKS by David Mitchell (Sept 2, 2014, Random House) - Okay, so David Mitchell was signing his newest novel at 2 pm Friday after my own 1 pm signing, so I knew I'd never make it to his line and I was pretty devastated about it. But David also had a panel as part of Book Con on Saturday, and so I went about an hour early to line up for it (making me about #50 in line). A RH publicist gave everyone at the front of the line tickets to pick up galleys at the RH booth after the panel and we trembled with excitement. (Seriously, so much trembling in that line).

The panel between David and his editor was glorious. I loved his advice to "shoplift" from the best writers and his anecdotes about his writing process. And then. After the panel, I made my way to the podium to say hi. I told David it was my birthday (it was) and he gave me a birthday handshake. Here's hoping a tiny bit of his genius rubbed off on me.

ROOMS by Lauren Oliver (Sept 23, 2014, Ecco) - I acquired Lauren's adult debut thanks to our shared agent on a visit to the agency the week before BEA and thus was able to avoid one of her monster lines (I did stand in line for PANIC, however, which turned out to be quite a fun line thanks to Marlon).

MY REAL CHILDREN by Jo Walton (available now, Tor) - I stood in a line to get the hardcover of this signed. It's an adult speculative fiction title about (possible) parallel lives, which is one of my favorite topics right now.

SAM AND DAVE DIG A HOLE by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen (Oct 14, 2014, Candlewick) - I had the pleasure of meeting Mac at the Irma Black ceremony and lunch at Bankstreet College the week before BEA (more about that in a later post), and then I stood in line to meet Jon and get an F&G of their newest collaboration. First of all, Jon is super adorable and took the time to show me a video of his cat lounging while signing my book. (!!!) And the book is adorable too. Both Daniel and I love it and the vaguely sci-fi ending.

I'M MY OWN DOG by David Ezra Stein (August 5, 2014, Candlewick) - David Ezra Stein's INTERRUPTING CHICKEN is one of my top 10 picture book favorites of all time, so I was bummed that his signing was directly after mine and I'd never make his line. But, as luck would have it, we ran into each other in the author green room after my signing, and his lovely editor gave me a front of the line pass for his signing. #authorperks! I'M MY OWN DOG is super cute and funny, too.

THE BOOK WITH NO PICTURES by BJ Novak (Sept 30, 2014, Penguin) - Yep, I was more than an hour early and the third person in line for this (behind the YA book twins), the only celebrity signing line that I attempted. Since it was at the Penguin booth, we weren't really allowed to line up early, so we just sort of hovered. I haven't actually read this yet (because only words, no pictures, ha!), but I'll report back when I do.

Top 5 serendipitous finds:

WE ALL LOOKED UP by Tommy Wallach (March 31, 2015, S&S) - Tommy and I share an editor at S&S and that editor gifted me an early copy of Tommy's debut. Then, at the #YAparty, Tommy was playing piano (he's a singer/songwriter too - check out his forthcoming album "I Meant it to be Sweet"), and we got to chat. That weekend, I went up to Bushwick where he took me to a block party. Fun! The novel looks incredibly intriguing, and I can't wait to dig in.

THE ART OF SECRETS by James Klise (available now, Algonquin) - I stopped by the Algonquin booth on Saturday and since it was so quiet, I got to chat with Editor Elise Howard for quite some time. I told her I only had room for one more book, so she pitched me several and I was won over by her pitch for this. Really all she had to say was "twists" and I was sold.

BAILEY BOAT CAT by Louise Kennedy (Sept 2, 2014, Bloomsbury) - This might have been my favorite random find at BEA. There was a small giveaway stack at the Bloomsbury booth and I was instantly smitten by this cat on a boat. Full color photos throughout of Bailey cuteness.

ONE DEATH, NINE STORIES, short story anthology (August 2014, Candlewick) - This was a booth giveaway and I was instantly attracted by the list of contributors, including AS King, Ellen Hopkins and Rita Williams-Garcia. All 9 stories are linked by the death of one 19 year old named Kevin.

EVEN IN PARADISE by Chelsey Philpot (October 14, 2014, HarperTeen) - Chelsey and I share an agent and since he has such great taste, I must read this! I got to meet her in the author green room after our signings (we were signing at the same time -- rivals!!).



If you want to see my entire book haul, check out my instagram.

Book Review and Giveaway: When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

In a near-future America, Hannah wakes up a (red) Chrome after being sentenced for killing her unborn child. Abhorred by society, Chromes often don’t live out their sentence because they are hunted down by vigilante groups or feel so isolated that they commit suicide.  Shunned by her religious family and community, Hannah doesn’t know where to go or who to trust, but she’ll have to be strong if she’s going to survive.

WHEN SHE WOKE is a compelling page turner that takes the themes of Hawthorne’s SCARLET LETTER and explores them a political dystopia where criminals must literally wear their shame. Hester Prynne’s Puritans are Hannah Payne’s Evangelicals and Hester’s clergyman lover Arthur Dimmesdale is Hannah’s mega-church pastor Aiden Dale.  There are other shout-outs to the Hawthorne’s book too (for example when Hannah is forced to make and name a doll to represent her aborted child, she calls her Pearl), and the action stays very close to Hannah’s personal journey from quietly rebellious believer to tough, world-weary skeptic.

And what thrilling action it is – the story pulsates with constant threats to Hannah’s safety and we’re immersed in a fascinating and carefully constructed dystopian landscape of legalized morality. 

Really the only aspect that muted my enjoyment of this novel was the thorough and very unsubtle condemnation and vilifying of the religious establishment.  With the exception of a one scene walk-on of a sympathetic minister, every religious character is portrayed as sadistic, weak-willed or both.  I found this to be an unfortunate over-simplification in an otherwise thought-provoking narrative.

WHEN SHE WOKE is set for publication on October 4, 2011. Find out more about it on the author’s website.

Zombie chickens say:  Could be more nuanced, but otherwise, highly recommended.

Song for the Ultimate Dystopian Playlist: Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh. Sample lyric: “I will never forget the way you look tonight, lady in red.” (Ok, this is somewhat ironic, but also kinda fitting)

Thanks to Algonquin, I have 3 ARCs up for grabs for readers in the US.  To enter, fill out this form by Sept 3, 2011 at 11:59 pm CST.  Good luck!

See index of all dystopian reviews on Presenting Lenore

Book Review: A Friend of the Family by Lauren Grodstein

At 53, Pete Dizinoff feels like he has built a successful life for himself: successful marriage, great friends, a respected physician practice and all the trappings. But when he sees his only son, Alec, veer off the path Pete hopes for him, Pete’s desperation to “save his son” devastates his whole life.

To be honest, Pete reminded me a bit of Neil Perry’s father in Dead Poets Society (you know, the mean man who wouldn’t let Sean Robert Leonard pursue his dream of acting), and that made it very difficult for me to sympathize with him at all. He actually thinks things like if his son doesn’t graduate from college, he won’t be able to look people in the eye anymore because they will give him looks of pity. Ummm…ok.

The novel is actually set up in such a way that we start by knowing Pete has done some horrible thing which has distanced him from his wife, son and longstanding best friends Joe and Iris. And we suspect it has something to do with Joe and Iris’ oldest daughter Laura, who has come back to town after more than a decade away and begins a relationship with Alec. Laura, by the way, is by far the character with the most intriguing story – at 17 she gave birth to a premature baby in the library bathroom and smashed in its skull – but unfortunately her motivation is never explored in any real depth which makes her seem more like a plot point than a real person. In any case, due to this narrative structure, you are compelled to read on to find out what Pete could’ve done that was so terrible he even lost his practice.

Grodstein is a great writer – scenes flowed, sentences impressed, the story engaged – but I was a bit disappointed in the big showdown at the end where we finally find out what Pete did to fall from grace. The revelation was frankly disproportionate to the amount of pages it takes to get there.

Where it does excel is as a portrait of a middle-aged man trying to come to terms with life and death and contemplating his own legacy. So if you enjoy in-depth character studies of not-so sympathetic men as they grapple with family dynamics, this one is a real winner.

A FRIEND OF THE FAMILY is available now in hardcover (the book jacket featured is from the paperback which will come out in November 2010). Find out more about it at the author’s website.

Book Review: Secret Son by Laila Lalami

18 year old Youssef El Mekki has lived all his life with his mother in the slums of Casablanca thinking that his father died in an accident when he was a baby. When he finds out his father is not only alive but also a rich businessman, Youssef tracks him down and father and son begin a tentative relationship. Youssef begins to enjoy a life of privilege and allows himself to finally hope for a brighter future – but forces beyond his control threaten to take his new life away from him.

One of my favorite aspects of reading international fiction is being able to immerse myself in the culture that the author is presenting – in this case modern Morocco. Author Lalami writes with such immediacy and passion that it’s easy to get drawn into Youssef’s story. As is often the case with sagas involving family secrets, selfishness and a lamentable lack of communication shape the characters’ destinies.

As I’ve told a couple of friends since reading this, it seems that Lalami already had an ending in mind and then fashioned a narrative that would lead to that end. I can understand why Lalami would want to tell a story with the type of ending she has chosen, but she put so much effort into Youssef’s character that this ending ends up feeling like a cop-out and not the inevitable one she may have been going for. SPOILER: (Roll over the following text with your mouse to read) The ending has strong similarities to the Jeff Bridges/Tom Robbins movie Arlington Road – but the movie’s ending was better set-up and just better. I guess if you haven't seem the movie, this isn't much of a spoiler, but if you have, you know what I am talking about.

SECRET SON is available in hardcover now. Find out more about the book (and watch the trailer) at the author's website.

Book Review: The Music Teacher by Barbara Hall

I used to play the clarinet. I started in 7th grade, years after most kids started, so I spent my 4 years in band playing third clarinet, the easy parts. My mother and her mother before her also played the clarinet in high school, and wanting to encourage me, my grandmother bought me a wood clarinet which I was forced to drag out around during the holidays to butcher carols. Perhaps mercifully, my brother pawned my instrument while I was in college for drug money. I do sometimes miss it though, and while I was never the most musically gifted myself, I certainly appreciate those who are.

In The Music Teacher, Pearl has given up on ever being a truly great musician herself. She started the violin too late and her parents could never afford proper lessons. But she can recognize talent, and when she gets a new student at the music store she works at who shows amazing promise, she can’t help investing in her future. One terrible mistake with Hallie forces her to reevaluate and come to terms with what her life has become.

Pearl charmed me from the first page with her honest, down-to-earth realism and her self-depreciating humor. Her voice is a strong thread that pulls the reader through this very philosophical justification of a musician’s life.

Author Barbara Hall, an award winning writer of quite a few hit television series, knows how to pace her writing to keep it flowing well. The mystery concerning the mistake she made with Hallie is a successful narrative device that kept me extremely engaged in Pearl’s story and the deep introspection that allows her to realize some core truths about herself.

Through Pearl and her coworkers at the music store, Hall ruminates on music and how music relates to life and relationships. You can open this novel to almost any page and find a quotable passage. Don’t believe me? Wait a second. I’ll open to a page at random… Ok… page 84 (ARC version, so this may be different in the final print):

Music is like communion or something. You don’t do it because you’re perfect. You do it because you glimpse perfection. You realize it can take you a step closer. You move toward it because you are hoping it can make you better.

Here’s another passage that I found remarkable where Pearl thinks about how isolated she is from society and what the reason for that is:

I’ve always been isolated. It was a condition I was born with. Some children get to arrive on earth with one simple assurance: You were invited, and you are welcome. Those of us who imposed our existence on a couple of angry and resistant participants spend most of our lives feeling sorry that we came. (p. 210, ARC)

I’ve seen reviewers say this has too much talk and not enough action – and the talk does outweigh the action by far – but this novel just worked for me. I enjoyed reading it immensely.

The Music Teacher is available in hardcover now.

Book Review: Tomato Girl by Jayne Pupek

Ellie is 11 years old, it’s nearly Easter and she’s excited about finally being able to take home one of the chicks from her father’s store. A sunny beginning, to be sure, but there are dark clouds on the horizon. Her mother’s behavior is increasingly erratic, and when she falls down the stairs and is admitted to the hospital, her father brings home the teenage “tomato girl” to help take care of things and things go from bad to worse.

Since the book is told from innocent Ellie’s point of view, a lot of the clues that adults pick up as to what is actually going on (her father’s affair, the police taking advantage of her mother, etc.) sail over her head. As the narrative progresses, it’s heartbreaking to have to see how events gradually cause Ellie to lose her innocence and force to her to grow up way too fast. Despite Ellie’s age, this is not a book for middle or YA readers (though more mature teens who seek out intense, challenging literature could handle it).

This novel is not in any way high concept (my favorite type of book) and most definitely does not fall in the thriller genre, but it sucked me in so completely that I lost track of time and read compulsively until I turned the last page. It’s hard for me to pinpoint exactly what makes it so great - certainly the sure, authentic voice and the sympathetically rendered characters – but there is some intangible magic to it which every writer hopes to achieve and every reader longs to discover. Thanks to the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program for allowing me to discover this one.

Look for it on August 26th.