Kosmic Blues

Jane Green is a New York Times bestselling author (Promises to Keep, The Beach House, Jemima J).   Her latest work,  Another Piece of My Heart: A Novel, was released on March 13, 2012.   Here is a synopsis of the story:

Andi has always dreamed of becoming a wife and mother.   At age 37, Andi finds Ethan and quickly finds herself being both a wife and the stepmother of two daughters.   Teenaged Emily, the apple of Ethan’s eye, decides to reject Andi from the start.   In her eyes, Andi is the other woman; no replacement for her “real” mother, and – most critically – a gigantic obstacle between her and her father’s affection.   The tension from Emily’s issues begin to infiltrate Andi and Ethan’s marriage until dramatic events threaten to destroy everything that the members of the family have come to rely on.

Library Journal called Another Piece of My Heart:  “Green at her best…  (a novel that delivers a) clear-eyed look at our idealized notions of love, family and motherhood.”   Adriana Trigiani, author of Lucia, Lucia and the Valentine series says about Another Piece:  “You will laugh and cry as you read…  and you’ll be inspired to pick up the phone and call your best friend.   It’s that good.”

You can begin reading Another Piece of My Heart now by clicking on this link:

http://us.macmillan.com/BookCustomPage_New.aspx?isbn=9780312591823

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Oxford Messed Up

Oxford Messed Up: A Novel by Andrea Kaufman has been getting a lot of buzz in the publishing trade.   This debut novel by Kaufman is about a young, academically brilliant woman –  Gloria Zimmerman – with severe Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder who attends Oxford University.   There she meets a unique and tragedy-stricken neighbor by the name of Henry Young.   Gloria and Henry find themselves drawn together by a shared obsession with the music and lyrics of one Van Morrison.

“Van Morrison’s lyrics provide a backdrop for this narrative, which is more than a love story – it is a study of fatalistic optimism.   I couldn’t put this book down because Kaufman makes you care deeply about the individual journeys of her two protagonists.”   Kathleen McCartney, Ph.D., Dean, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Oxford Messed Up is a hardbound release from Grant Place Press ($24.95, 328 pages).   It is also available as a Kindle Edition or Nook Book download.   You can sample the book now by clicking on this link:

http://andreakaynekaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/OMU_Preview_Download.pdf

Joseph Arellano

Read Roam

Roam is a novel by Alan Lazar about a lost dog.   As summarized by the Sacramento Bee:  “Nelson is half-poodle, half-beagle and a natural-born wanderer.   One day he roams too far from home and his beloved owner, Katey, and finds himself lost.   His determined odyssey of trying to reunite (with Katey) spans eight adventurous years.”

According to the official synopsis from Simon and Schuster:  “Roam follows Nelson on his eight-ear stray from home, until one day he is miraculously reunited with his family.   Through it all, Nelson maintains his optimistic spirit and unflagging yearning for the Great Love, his first owner, a concert pianist named Katey.   He never stops longing for her, and she in turn never stops searching for him.”

Bookpage said that, “(Roam) will likely be added to bookshelves that include titles like Dewey the Library Cat, The Art of Racing in the Rain and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.”   Publisher’s Weekly added, “Nelson’s adventures on the fringe are fascinating…  a touching page-turner…”

I think that anyone who loved Huck: The Remarkable True Story of…  One Lost Puppy by Janet Elder (Broadway, $15.00, 301 pages; also available as a Nook Book and Kindle Edition download) will also probably like or love Roam.   You can click on the link below to read the first chapter of Roam: A Novel with Music by author-composer Alan Lazar.

http://alanlazar.com/roam-chapter1.pdf

Roam: A Novel by Alan Lazar (Atria Books, $22.00, 336 pages).   Also available in e-book editions (Kindle and Nook Book),  and as an unabridged audiobook read by Patrick Lawlor.

Joseph Arellano