The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation by Elizabeth Letts
"America loves underdogs and stories that go against the odds. You couldn't get much longer odds than a plow-horse headed for the knacker's yard and a cash-strapped Dutchman winning the National Horse Show in Madison Square Garden. But win they did, inspiring the nation with the Cinderella story of a horse who escaped the butcher and learned how to fly. This is one for the heart!"
The Leftovers: A Novel by Tom Perrotta
"Perrotta's latest describes an apocalyptic event known as the Sudden Departure. In the middle of an ordinary day, millions of people around the world have disappeared. 'It's not the rapture!' cried the Christians left behind, as Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and atheists also disappeared. Using the event as a prism through which to view the residents of a small suburban town who must cope with their losses, understand the inexplicable, and move on with their lives, Perrotta employs his trademark humor and invites the reader to suspend disbelief and get to know and love the Leftovers."
The Most DangerousThing by Laura Lippman
"The past is always with us, and no one knows that better than Laura Lippman. The not-so-innocent games of five children have consequences that resonate through decades, changing some lives and destroying others. Using narration from various viewpoints, including a haunting collective voice, Lippman once again demonstrates her incisive abilities of observation, which make her one of the finest chroniclers of modern society."
The Night Circus: A Novel by Erin Morgenstern
"This elegant debut is a striking example of a nostalgic yet modern fairy tale. When two competing magicians lay a wager as to which can mold the more powerful protege, they opt to use a fantastical traveling wonderland -- The Night Circus -- as the venue for the competition. What is meant to be a battle of magical skills evolves into something much deeper as apprentices Celia and Marco enchant not only the circus around them, but also each other. The real conflict arises when the two realize how the competition is meant to end and they set about trying to change their predestined fate. I adored diving into Morgenstern's mesmerizing world and mourned when I reached the end."
