Enclave

by Ann Aguirre | 262 pgs, published 2011

I know, I say this all the time, but it’s worth repeating for quite a few of the books you’ll see reviews for in the next bit: I don’t keep track of where I got a book recommendation from, or what genre the book is, and I definitely don’t read reviews beforehand.

So I didn’t know that this was a zombie book.

Wait, wait! Now that we’ve got that out in the open, let me say, it’s a fascinating, well-written YA dystopian book. Very worth your time. Just…zombies, ok? Hear me out.

There’s been a massive plague, society has disintegrated, so far this is typical dystopian stuff. Life expectancy is barely two decades. The main character, Deuce, lives in an enclave of survivors in the underground tunnels of New York. Totally not weird: there are tunnel monsters, or Freaks. Yes, those are zombies. But the way the enclave has structured its little society is fascinating, the story is fast-paced, the characters are interesting.

Some post-apocalyptic zombie books where they never say “zombies” are no good. This one, great. Trust me!

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

by Alan Bradley | 384 pgs, published 2009

Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce likes spending time in the laboratory and experimenting with poisons. It adds some interest to her otherwise boring life. Fortunately, early one morning she finds a man lying in the garden outside her window, and once he dies, she has plenty to do: solve his murder.

Think chemistry + stamp collecting + Harriet the Spy + English countryside in the 1950s. If this sounds good, please read the book! I seldom go for mysteries, but this was immensely fun to read. Very enjoyable. There are, apparently, other Flavia de Luce books, but this is a perfectly good stand-alone book.

Buy The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie on Amazon

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick

by Chris Van Allsburg et al. | 192 pgs, published 2011

Please tell me you’ve read The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.

It’s a collection of drawings by Chris Van Allsburg – well, allegedly by Harris Burdick. The editor’s note in the book says a children’s book editor named Peter Wenders had a man named Harris Burdick bring the drawings and captions for 14 stories in to his office one day, promising to bring the complete manuscripts if Wenders was interested. But Burdick never came back, so eventually Wenders published the drawings as “mysteries” in hopes it would lead to Burdick.

The drawings and captions are exquisitely enigmatic.

So I thought when 14 well-known authors each wrote a story for The Chronicles last year, they would be the 14 best short stories I had ever read. Sadly, I created too much hype. I hate to say it, but the book was a disappointment.

Please go read The Mysteries of Harris Burdick if you haven’t yet. Buy me a copy, too, because right now I only have The Chronicles and it’s kind of a letdown.

Buy The Chronicles of Harris Burdick on Amazon