How Soon Is Never?
by Marc Spitz
There has been a resurgence of interest in the pop music that exploded out of working-class Manchester, England, in the early 1980s. First there was the exuberant film 24-Hour Party People, a paean to the band Joy Division, and now comes this first novel-cum-homage to the Smiths. Dissipated music journalist Joe Green longs to reclaim the purity of his young rock 'n' roll soul. He fondly recalls his fellow high-school outcasts and their unquenchable enthusiasm for local alternative rock station WLIR, which led them to their greatest discovery: the angst-ridden music of the Smiths, whose songs made loneliness, sadness, and outrage seem cool. Although the band has long since broken up, Joe and fellow Headphones magazine employee Miki become obsessed with the idea of reuniting the band. They pitch the idea to their editor and are soon on their way to England, where they meet face-to-face with their personal rock gods while rediscovering their love for the music of their youth. An infectiously enthusiastic ode to rock 'n' roll.
Dirty Liar
by Brian James
Benji moves in with his emotionally distant father and well-meaning stepmother, Janet, to escape his alcoholic mothers boyfriends abuse. Unfortunately, he cant escape his demons. He spends his days at his Oregon high school scribbling his misery in notebooks and getting stoned with other misfits. His only hopeful thoughts are of Lacie, the troubled girl he left behind. These feelings become conflicted when he is attracted to Rianna, a popular girl from a poor family who works hard to achieve the goals set by her parents. Benjis inner turmoil, though authentic to his situation, grows tiresome, and the plot becomes mired in overwritten self-flagellation. Jamess female characters shine; Rianna and Lacie are both sharply drawn in relatively few strokes. Earnest, levelheaded Janet is the unlikely heroine, and her gentle absolution when Benji confesses his abuse defies centuries of stepmother stereotyping. This poignant climactic scene is masterfully written and points the story smoothly to its satisfying, uplifting conclusion.
God-Shaped Hole
by Tiffanie DeBartolo
“If your intentions are pure I am seeking a friend for the end of the world.” the add placed by Jacob.
This is a love story. A true, dyed-in-the-wool love story for the twenty first century. This love story is depicted realistically, with the young woman protagonist making bad choices based on who she is and where she came from rather than a glossed-over, Hollywood version. For these reasons, this book rocks!
Beatrice "Trixie" Jordan was only twelve when a carnival fortune teller predicted that she would meet her soul mate, only to lose him to tragedy. That portentous pronouncement follows Beatrice into adulthood.
A jewelry-artist with her star on the rise, Beatrice meets Jacob Grace, a man two years her senior. It's immediately apparent that the pair's trajectories are following the same arc. And for the reader, an excellent tension-builder, for we know that this is Beatrice's doomed soul mate. Their lives together makes both of them more happy than they've ever been...and we know that a love like theirs happens rarely. That's why we want that long-ago fortune teller to be wrong, for their love to prevail over all.
