strange and random happenstance: Jennifer Worth

The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles De Lint and Charles Vess
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 12th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The magic is all around you, if only you open your eyes....

Lillian Kindred spends her days exploring the Tanglewood Forest, a magical, rolling wilderness that she imagines to be full of fairies. The trouble is, Lillian has never seen a wisp of magic in her hills--until the day the cats of the forest save her life by transforming her into a kitten. Now Lillian must set out on a perilous adventure that will lead her through untamed lands of fabled creatures--from Old Mother Possum to the fearsome Bear People--to find a way to make things right.

In this whimsical, original folktale written and illustrated throughout in vibrant full color by two celebrated masters of modern fantasy, a young girl's journey becomes an enchanting coming-of-age story about magic, friendship, and the courage to shape one's own destiny."

It's cats! Well, it's also a wonderful storyteller combined with one of my favorite illustrators... but really, it's about cats, and your cat overlords demand that you go and buy it to read to them.

Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 12th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Bluebeard fairy tale retold. . . .

When seventeen-year-old Sophia Petheram’s beloved father dies, she receives an unexpected letter. An invitation—on fine ivory paper, in bold black handwriting—from the mysterious Monsieur Bernard de Cressac, her godfather. With no money and fewer options, Sophie accepts, leaving her humble childhood home for the astonishingly lavish Wyndriven Abbey, in the heart of Mississippi.

Sophie has always longed for a comfortable life, and she finds herself both attracted to and shocked by the charm and easy manners of her overgenerous guardian. But as she begins to piece together the mystery of his past, it’s as if, thread by thread, a silken net is tightening around her. And as she gathers stories and catches whispers of his former wives—all with hair as red as her own—in the forgotten corners of the abbey, Sophie knows she’s trapped in the passion and danger of de Cressac’s intoxicating world.

Glowing strands of romance, mystery, and suspense are woven into this breathtaking debut—a thrilling retelling of the “Bluebeard” fairy tale."

I've recently become very interested in the tales about Bluebeard. They seem to be very interesting and gruesome, but less mainstream. Therefore with my love of Fairy Tale re-tellings combined with this new interest, this is the perfect book for me right now!

Code: A Virals Novel by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs
Published by: Putnam Juvenile
Publication Date: March 12th, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Virals are put to the ultimate test when they find a geocache containing an ornate puzzle box. Shelton decodes the cipher inside, only to find more tantalizing clues left by "The Gamemaster." A second, greater geocache is within reach--if the Virals are up to the challenge.

But the hunt takes a dark turn when Tory locates the other box--a fake bomb, along with a sinister proposal from The Gamemaster. Now, the real game has begun: another bomb is out there--a real one--and the clock is ticking.

So first off, what's with this blase new cover design? Secondly, is Kathy now handing this series off to person of unknown relation to her but has the same last name?

Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth
Published by: Ecco
Publication Date: March 12th, 2013
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Jennifer Worth trained as a nurse at the Royal Berk-shire Hospital in Reading, and was later ward sister at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital in London, then the Marie Curie Hospital, also in London. Music had always been her passion, and in 1973 she left nursing in order to study music intensively, teaching piano and singing for about twenty-five years. Jennifer died in May 2011 after a short illness, leaving her husband, Philip; two daughters; and three grandchildren. Her books have all been bestsellers in England."

The final book that Jennifer Worth wrote about her life of midwifery, so enjoy it! At least once you finish the books you'll still have the tv show!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments

Labels: Bluebeard, Call the Midwife, Charles De Lint, Charles Vess, Code, Jane Nickerson, Jennifer Worth, Kathy Reichs, Strands of Bronze and Gold, The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, Virals

Villa Triste by Lucretia Grindle
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: January 22nd, 2013
Format: Paperback, 640 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Florence, 1943. Two sisters, Isabella and Caterina Cammaccio, find themselves surrounded by terror and death; and with Italy trapped under the heel of a brutal Nazi occupation, bands of Partisans rise up.

Soon Isabella and Caterina will test their wits and deepest beliefs as never before. As the winter grinds on, they will be forced to make the most important decisions of their lives. Their choices will reverberate for decades.

In the present day, Alessandro Pallioti, a senior policeman agrees to oversee a murder investigation, after it emerges the victim was once a Partisan hero. When the case begins to unravel, Pallioti finds himself working to uncover a crime lost in the twilight of war, the consequences of which are as deadly today as they were over sixty years ago."

Past and present come together in a mystery that goes back to Italy during WWII, yes please!

Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth
Published by: Ecco
Publication Date: January 22nd, 2013
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The sequel to Jennifer Worth's New York Times bestselling memoir and the basis for the PBS series Call the Midwife

When twenty-two-year-old Jennifer Worth, from a comfortable middle-class upbringing, went to work as a midwife in the direst section of postwar London, she not only delivered hundreds of babies and touched many lives, she also became the neighborhood's most vivid chronicler. Woven into the ongoing tales of her life in the East End are the true stories of the people Worth met who grew up in the dreaded workhouse, a Dickensian institution that limped on into the middle of the twentieth century.

Orphaned brother and sister Peggy and Frank lived in the workhouse until Frank got free and returned to rescue his sister. Bubbly Jane's spirit was broken by the cruelty of the workhouse master until she found kindness and romance years later at Nonnatus House. Mr. Collett, a Boer War veteran, lost his family in the two world wars and died in the workhouse.

Though these are stories of unimaginable hardship, what shines through each is the resilience of the
human spirit and the strength, courage, and humor of people determined to build a future for themselves against the odds. This is an enduring work of literary nonfiction, at once a warmhearted coming-of-age story and a startling look at people's lives in the poorest section of postwar London."

When Call the Midwife started airing in England, all Jenny Worth's books shot straight into the bestsellers lists. Thankfully PBS is smart enough to release them stateside, so we don't have to order them from overseas. This is the second in Worth's three books, the third will be coming out in March and I just recently picked up the first.

Ever After by Kim Harrison
Published by: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: January 22nd, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The ever-after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It's up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between magic users and humans falls apart.

Of course, there's also the small fact that Rachel is the one who caused the ley line to rip in the first place, and her life is forfeit unless she can fix it. Not to mention the most powerful demon in the ever-after—the soul-eater Ku'Sox Sha-Ku'ru—has vowed to destroy her, and has kidnapped her friend and her goddaughter as leverage. If Rachel doesn't give herself up, they will die.

Forced by circumstance, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack—a partnership fraught with dangers of the heart as well as betrayal of the soul—to return to the ever-after and rescue those she loves. One world teeters on the brink of interspecies war, the other on the brink of its very demise—and it's up to Rachel to keep them both from being destroyed."

Urban Fantasy fans get ready for some more Kim Harrison!

Fables Volume 18: Cubs in Toyland by Bill Willingham
Published by: Vertigo
Publication Date: January 22nd, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For years, Snow White and Bigby Wolf's cubs have grown up knowing that one of them was destined for a much greater, more grave role amongst the Fables community. But no one knew how soon it would come.

When Snow and Bigby's cub Therese receives a Christmas gift from an unknown admirer, this red plastic boat magically takes her on a journey to a desolate place known as Toyland. Will Therese be their savior? Or their destroyer? FABLES VOL. 18: CUBS IN TOYLAND is the latest epic from New York Times best-selling author Bill Willingham's hit series FABLES, as the Bigby Wolf cubs learn that adventures in the land of misfit toys is much less fun than it sounds.

Also collected here are all the backup stories that feature Bufkin's exploits in the land of Oz, beautifully painted by Shaw McManus (CINDERELLA: FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE)."

Oh, seeing as I'm almost all caught up with Fables back issues, a new one is just what The Doctor ordered (and you know there's only one doctor I could mean...)