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Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS



The Books of World Book Night 2012 (page 4)

Cover art for BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE
CHILDREN'S
Released: March 1, 2000
Kirkus Star BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE
by Kate DiCamillo
"A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)"
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE POISONWOOD BIBLE
FICTION
Released: Nov. 1, 1998
Kirkus Star THE POISONWOOD BIBLE
by Barbara Kingsolver
"A triumph."
The first novel in five years from the ever-popular Kingsolver (Pigs in Heaven, 1993, etc.) is a large-scale saga of an American family's enlightening and disillusioning African adventure. Read full book review >
Cover art for BLOOD WORK
FICTION
Released: March 1, 1998
BLOOD WORK
by Michael Connelly
"A tormented hero, a canny and malicious killer, endlessly patient detective work alternating with dark threats and tense action scenes: Connelly seems bent on wiring together every cliche of the mano-a-mano genre and juicing them fill they sing."
Another of Connelly's volcanic lawmen confronts his nightmare double—the killer whose brutal crime saved the hero's life. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE STAND
FICTION
Released: May 5, 1990
THE STAND: EXPANDED EDITION: FOR THE FIRST TIME COMPLETE AND UNCUT (SIGNET)
by Stephen King
"Tiresome, man."
King's fifth novel returns, 12 years after its first publication, with 230 of its original pages restored. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
FICTION
Released: March 28, 1990
THE THINGS THEY CARRIED
by Tim O’Brien
"A disappointment."
It's being called a novel, but it is more a hybrid: short-stories/essays/confessions about the Vietnam War—the subject that O'Brien reasonably comes back to with every book. Read full book review >
Cover art for A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY
FICTION
Released: March 30, 1989
Kirkus Star A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY
by John Irving
"The result is a novel that seems sincere but turns too bombastic and insistent in its opinions about literature, religion, and politics."
Irving's novels, which often begin in autobiographical commonplace, get transformed along the way: sometimes into fairy tale (The Hotel New Hampshire), sometimes into modern-day ironic fable (The World According to Garp). Read full book review >