They're popular, but are they good? Use our critics' verdicts as a guide:
Buy It = this is a can't-miss, fabulous book; Borrow It = not perfect, but we think you'll enjoy it; Skip It = critical miss
FICTION
Released: May 7, 2013
VERDICT:
BUY IT
"Sandford keeps every stage of the investigation clear, compelling and suspenseful while peeling back layer after layer of a world in which "everybody was hot, everybody was rich.""
CHILDREN'S
Released: May 7, 2013
VERDICT:
BUY IT
"Nothing short of amazing. (Science fiction. 14 & up)"
The challenge? Surviving the genocide of the human race when aliens attack Earth in the not-too-distant future.
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FICTION
Released: May 7, 2013
VERDICT:
SKIP IT
"The stories collected on this journey, as in life, are left unfinished, raise many questions and, depending on what the reader brings, might provide some answers. "
The diary of a traveler. The young widower, Alan Christoffersen, decides to deal with his grief by planning a walk across America from Seattle to Key West.
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FICTION
Released: May 7, 2013
VERDICT:
BUY IT
"Resolutely keeping potential action sequences just offstage, le Carré (Our Kind of Traitor, 2010, etc.) focuses instead on the moral rot and creeping terror barely concealed by the affable old-boy blather that marks the pillars of the intelligence community."
The distinguished chronicler of Cold War espionage and its costs casts his cold eye on the fog of war and its legacy when the war sets terrorists against the mercenaries and independent contractors to whom international security has been farmed out.
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FICTION
Released: May 7, 2013
VERDICT:
SKIP IT
Spenser goes to bat for an old friend whose condo in Revere has become a most desirable property for all the wrong reasons.
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FICTION
Released: May 7, 2013
VERDICT:
SKIP IT
"Lots of great scenes shoehorned into a story that seems uncertain how to mix its social commentary and courtroom drama with the regulars' continuing soap opera."
Six years after an impromptu conspiracy locked San Francisco lawyer Dismas Hardy and several of his best buds into a coverup (
A Plague of Secrets, 2009), the whole shooting match is threatened when one of the conspirators, Hardy's brother-in-law, Moses McGuire, is arrested for murder.
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NONFICTION
Released: May 7, 2013
VERDICT:
SKIP IT
"Hardly groundbreaking comedy material, but the book will appeal to Gaffigan's fans. Others can stick to his usually funny Twitter feed."
NONFICTION
Released: May 7, 2013
VERDICT:
BORROW IT
"A motivational, inspirational addition to the ever-expanding library of total-health guidebooks."
The co-host of MSNBC's
Morning Joe parlays her lifelong preoccupation with food into re-educating an increasingly corpulent nation about smarter eating practices.
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NONFICTION
Released: May 6, 2013
VERDICT:
BORROW IT
"Edsel's knowledge and appreciation of art amplifies this celebration of the unheralded group of men who ensured the safety of Italy's greatest treasures."
Edsel (
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, 2009, etc.) continues his work chronicling the small band of artists and art historians who tracked down and saved Europe's artistic heritage, this time focusing on Italy.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 7, 2013
VERDICT:
BUY IT
"Perfectly crafted. (Adventure. 8-12)"
Following a massive earthquake, leashed dogs and strays alike try to find a way to weather a world turned on end by the catastrophe.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: May 7, 2013
VERDICT:
SKIP IT
"Wholesome? Yes. Proper hard work and teamwork values in place? Yes. Paint by numbers? Oh, yes. (soccer glossary) (Fiction. 8-10)"
Olympic gold medalist Morgan runs down the celebrity-sports-fiction checklist in this series opener: New school? Check. New friends? Check. New boyfriend? Maybe! New soccer team? Check. Inspire said team to take on snooty archrival private school? Check.
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CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 21, 2012
VERDICT:
BUY IT
"Wild and wonderful adventure for middle-graders. (Adventure. 8-12)"
In this dog-themed series opener from the team behind the Warriors franchise, dogs must learn to face not only the results of the devastating earthquake that has turned their world upside down, but their own feelings of loyalty and independence.
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