Book Reviews | Chapter 16

Normal is Boring

Escaping from Houdini, Kerri Maniscalco’s new YA mystery, combines science, magic, and murder

By Tina Chambers | September 19, 2018

In Kerri Maniscalco’s Escaping from Houdini, magic and mayhem abound as teenager and forensic scientist Audrey Rose Wadsworth investigates a series of grisly murders onboard an ocean liner filled with carnival performers. Maniscalco will appear at Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Vanderbilt on September 22, at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on September 24, and at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.

Blood and Profit

Journalist Shane Bauer spent four months undercover in a private prison

By Aram Goudsouzian | September 18, 2018

American Prison by Shane Bauer is a searing indictment of for-profit prisons, both in his own experience and in American history. Bauer will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 22.

Spreading the Gospel of Southern Living

Actress and entrepreneur Reese Witherspoon adds “author” to her list of titles

By Tina Chambers | September 17, 2018

The principal charm of Whiskey in a Teacup is Reese Witherspoon’s narrative voice, which is so sincere, un-fussy, and personable, it’s like you’re sharing a casual chat with an old friend over a Moon Pie and an RC Cola. Witherspoon will discuss her book at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville on September 23.

What’s Wrong with Me?

Young men stumble on the path to adulthood in J.M. Holmes’s How Are You Going To Save Yourself

By Sean Kinch | September 14, 2018

J.M. Holmes’s debut story collection, How Are You Going To Save Yourself, tracks four friends who form a posse in their teens but drift apart in their twenties. The book addresses twenty-first-century issues, particularly those facing young African-Americans, without sugar-coating. Holmes will appear at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.

Confessions of a Fangirl

With Dead Girls, Alice Bolin navigates fantasy and reality in pop culture and beyond

By Erica Ciccarone | September 13, 2018

Alice Bolin’s essay collection, Dead Girls, is a savvy mix of cultural critique, coming-of-age diary, and confessions of a pop-culture fangirl. Bolin will read at Novel in Memphis on September 20, at The Bookshop in Nashville on September 23, and at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.

The Scourge of War and the Perils of Peace

In The Thin Light of Freedom, Edward L. Ayers reconsiders the Civil War through two communities on opposite sides

By Ed Tarkington | September 12, 2018

With The Thin Light of Freedom, Edward L. Ayers casts new light on the Civil War through the experience of two communities—one Northern, one Southern—occupied by enemy armies made up of their former countrymen. Ayers will appear at the 2018 Southern Festival of Books, held in Nashville October 12-14.

Camilla and the Caterpillars

By Frances Figart, illustrated by Matt Brass
Smokies Life
68 pages
$14.95

A young girl’s encounter with an extraordinary caterpillar in the Great Smoky Mountains leads her and her family on a quest to plant a national park right in their own backyard.

This environmentally themed chapter book for ages 6 through 11 introduces young readers to important ecological concepts including habitat loss and the interdependence of native species and offers a compelling grassroots solution through native-plant gardening that invites anyone to take part in addressing the growing biodiversity crisis.

~the publisher