Summer, we hardly knew ye…
Welcome to March and the first days of Autumn. If you’re already yearning for the Summer months again, I can’t bring it back for you (who do you think I am anyway? Thor?) though I’ll comfort you as best I can with a round up of the biggest books for March. And the first is a real biggie.
Jodi Piccoult’s new novel Lone Wolf is available the 7th of March, very close to the American release date which is great news for fans in the southern hemisphere. Lone Wolf focuses on a fractured family who become further divided by the prospect of turning off life support for one of its members. With an emotional plot, ethical issues aplenty and a big twist, Lone Wolf delivers exactly what Piccoult fans are after.
Another big release from an author with a legion of fans is The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer. This is the hotly anticipated sequel to Only Time Will Tell, which continues the ambitious, multi-character Clifton saga.
With New Zealand Book Month underway, there are a bunch of local new releases to get excited about too. For those who like their fiction a little saucy, Leigh Marsden returns with the intriguing Crush. If you liked Marsden’s previous novel Scarlet, then Crush will not disappoint with sex and relationship dramas aplenty.
Another notable local fiction release is of course The Day She Cradled Me by Sacha De Bazin. Based on of the life of Minnie Dean, the baby farmer who was the only woman in New Zealand history to be hanged, this is an ambitious and memorable debut novel certainly deserving of a spot on your bookshelf.
One of the most popular books for March already is Big Fat Lies. It’s from David Gillespie, who made a name for himself with the super successful Sweet Poison series. In Big Fat Lies, Gillespie takes the lucrative fitness and health industries to task over their desire for profit over truth. There are a heap of ‘don’t eat this, don’t eat that’ books out there but Gillespie is a genuine advocate for good health and some of the information in this book is quite terrifying.
Having said that, beloved author Marian Keyes believes that dessert saved her life. Take that Gillespie! In all seriousness Saved by Cake is a touching food memoir where Keyes opens up about her struggles with depression and the realisation that ‘baking was what she needed to do in order to get her through each day’. The recipes are mouthwatering so maybe save the anti-sugar book for a few days later…
Still on the subject of memoirs, kiwi human rights lawyer Marianne Elliott has released Zen Under Fire, an account of her time in Afghanistan as part of the U.N. peace mission. I’m partway through and it’s a surprisingly forthright and thoroughly written book, highly recommended for anybody with an interest in foreign affairs. Be warned though, Elliott is such a natural overachiever that you may come down with a severe case of jealousy.
And finally comes a book which has been a real quiet achiever over the last month or so. It’s Wonder by R.J Pallacio and it continues this recent trend of young adult books being so damn good they’ll elicit a tear from the most jaded adult reader. In Wonder we follow a boy with severe facial disfigurement who is about to experience mainstream school for the first time. It’s clever, subtle and just a gem you really should take a chance on.
