Editor’s Choice
A Fair Maiden, by Joyce Carol Oates, $22. A summer nanny in an upscale New Jersey Shore community, 15-year-old Katya Spivak is approached by wealthy 68-year-old author and artist Marcus Kidder — and one immediately wonders where this is leading. The answer to the question of whether Kidder’s intentions are good or evil lead to the climax of this short but satisfying novel. Library Journal
FICTION
Ransom, by David Malouf, $24. Revisiting scenes from “The Iliad” and delving into the hearts of two ancient heroes, Malouf (“Remembering Babylon”) evokes the final days of the Trojan War with cinematic vividness. Publishers Weekly
Unfinished Desires, by Gail Godwin, $26. Best-selling author Godwin brings readers back in time to the early 1950s in this endearing story of Catholic schoolgirls and the nuns who oversee them. Poignant and transporting, this faux memoir makes a convincing, satisfying novel. Publishers Weekly
NONFICTION
Into the Story: A Writer’s Journey Through Life, Politics, Sports and Loss, by David Maraniss, $26.
In this collection of previously published articles and excerpts from his books, Pulitzer Prize-winner Maraniss ranges over topics from the death of his sister and the deaths of strangers on 9/11 to the political fortunes of Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Al Gore, and the timeless contributions to sports of legendary figures like Vince Lombardi, Muhammad Ali and Roberto Clemente. Publishers Weekly
Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security — From World War II to the War on Terrorism, by Julian E. Zelizer, $35. Wide-ranging examination of the nexus between domestic politics and foreign policy during the past 60 years. Zelizer reminds us of episodes that have set off foreign-policy debates — the major wars, of course, and also now dimly remembered disputes over who lost China, the so-called missile gap with the Soviet Union, the rise of the military-industrial complex and more. Kirkus
Diabetes Rising: How a Rare Disease Became a Modern Pandemic, and What to Do About It, by Dan Hurley, $26.95.
Prize-winning journalist Hurley, diagnosed at age 18 with Type 1 diabetes, recounts the 3,500-year history of the disease, its possible causes, and the latest promising treatments and cures with a professional writer’s skills and a patient’s passion. Library Journal
PAPERBACKS
Life in the Wrong Lane: Why Journalists Go In When Everyone Else Wants Out, by Greg Dobbs, $13.95. Local author Dobbs worked for more than two decades at ABC News, 10 years overseas as a correspondent. Here is a retelling of some of the many experiences he had as he traveled the world reporting all sorts of stories — scary, funny, distasteful, unwise. The Denver Post
The Women, by T.C. Boyle, $16. In his trademark style, Boyle uses a fictional narrator to tell the story of an American original: Frank Lloyd Wright, that flamboyant genius of 20th-century architecture. The tale unfolds through the experiences of four women who loved Wright. Library Journal
Snark: It’s Mean, It’s Personal, and It’s Ruining Our Conversation, by David Denby, $12. Denby traces the origins of snark to ancient Greece and is not himself above naming names, counting writers James Wolcott, Joe Queenan, Tom Wolfe and Maureen Dowd (who actually gets a whole “fit,” as the book’s sections are called, to herself) among its better-known current practitioners. Library Journal
COMING UP
Imperfect Birds, by Anne Lamott, $25.95. LaMott’s newest novel tells the story of Rosie Ferguson, a 17-year-old whose near-perfect life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. (April)
