CRITIC'S CHOICE
REVIEWED BY CAROLINE LEAVITT
MEMOIR
When journalist Latus's younger sister Amy vanishes at age 37 in 2002, authorities find a chiller of a note in Amy's desk: "If I am missing or dead ... question Ron." Ron Ball is Amy's ex-con boyfriend, and when Amy's body is found, something shatters in Latus. A victim of abuse herself, Latus tunnels back to her difficult suburban childhood to decode why two smart, talented sisters might be so starving for love that they would risk their lives to get it. Latus's book unfolds like a gripping novel, getting at the brutal heart of darkness that underscores domestic violence. She writes gorgeous prose, but her real gift is bravery, which shines in her struggle to rediscover her own self-worth. For anyone who, like the author, has ever asked, "Why is there no finish line? Why must I always be better?" this is a story that can break your heart, and then start to heal it.
By Jennifer McMahon
NOVEL
"What's the worst thing you've ever done?" That's the question, posed by a stranger, that 41-year-old Kate Cypher can't get out of her mind in McMahon's impressive debut. Thirty years ago, Kate's best friend, impoverished and shunned Del, was murdered in the Vermont woods. Her killer was never found, and decades later the town believes Del's ghost still haunts them. But when another young girl is murdered in a copycat crime, fingers point at everyone from Kate's Alzheimer's-afflicted mother—who seems to be channeling Del's spirit—to Kate herself, who has returned home from Seattle to care for her mother and who harbors her own dark secrets. McMahon's gift is the deliciously twisty way she subverts all your expectations, keeping you guessing with wry wit and feverish chills. "The dead can blame," one character says. And the truth, this whip-smart novel reminds us, can break your heart.
By Walter Isaacson
REVIEWED BY KYLE SMITH
BIOGRAPHY
When Charlie Chaplin took Albert Einstein to the City Lights premiere, the crowds roared. "They cheer me because they all understand me," said Chaplin. "They cheer you because no one [does]." Isaacson understands Einstein and explains his discoveries while sharing riveting personal detail. Einstein never met his first child, obtained a divorce by offering his first wife prize money from the Nobel he predicted he'd win, and once told his mistress that the missus wouldn't mind if they all lived together. One intriguing chapter, "Einstein's God," explores his faith. A beach book this isn't; a triumph it is.
By Peter Godwin
REVIEWED BY MICHELLE GREEN
MEMOIR
This saga about one family's struggle in a Zimbabwe spinning apart under dictator Robert Mugabe melds political and personal history into a compelling whole. The son of expatriates, the author begins to chip away at the secret that has shaped his father when the elder Godwin suffers a heart attack. As thugs murder white settlers and plunder their farms, Godwin's parents barricade themselves into their home. Unraveling his father's past as he documents Mugabe's reign of terror, Godwin offers a haunting look at the persistence of evil—and the power of family love.
"If you see yourself in this book," writes Latus, "you are not alone."
EASTER EVERYWHERE by Darcey Steinke: In poignant prose, the daughter of a minister and a depressed former beauty queen details her religious disillusionment.
TO MY DEAREST FRIENDS by Patricia Volk: A mischievous novel featuring two amateur sleuths seeking clues about their deceased friend's secret lover.
BODY SURFING by Anita Shreve: The Pilot's Wife author's latest is a tale of heartbreak and betrayal centering on a young widow who finds love—and complications—at the beach.
In Dan Crowe's appealing new book, writers share the talismans that get them through. For The Post-Birthday World author Lionel Shriver, it's Clippity (above). He reminds her "to eschew fancy-schmancy character names," Shriver writes, "and to sometimes prefer the obvious."
PEOPLE asked celebs what they read to their kids at night. Their answers: tales of mice dancing, Sneetches partying ... and poverty?
JADA PINKETT SMITH Children's books by Fred Crump. "They're black fairy tales I found that are kind of underground," says the multitasking mom of three (in Los Angeles with daughter Willow Camille, 6, left), married to Will Smith since 1997. "They're written by a guy who took all of the classic fairy tales and re-created them with black characters. My daughter loves them. They're her favorite!"
RAINN WILSON Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems. "My son [Walter, 2] loves this book—it's about a little kid who leaves her stuffed rabbit in a washing machine," says The Office star, currently appearing in the sci-fi kids' movie The Last Mimzy. (In Mimzy Wilson plays a science teacher whose preteen student finds a futuristic hare.) "It's thrilling, but we haven't gotten to the end yet. I can't seem to get away from rabbits lately!"
LIV TYLER Anything from the Hairy Maclary series or Slinky Malinki by Lynley Dodd. Tyler's Lord of the Rings director, Peter Jackson, and his wife, Fran, "sent them when Milo [2, below] was born," says the actress. "He's obsessed with them because they are clever and really funny." But Mom's more of a traditionalist. "I like Goodnight Moon!" she says.
SARAH JESSICA PARKER For Every Child, a Better World, a United Nations publication. "It's the cold hard facts [about world poverty]. We've read it every night for weeks, and he still asks, 'Why don't those children have what they need?'" says Parker about son James Wilkie, 4. "Because he lives in a country where clean water and food are at arm's length, it's hard for him to internalize why they aren't available to everyone."
MARISKA HARGITAY The Sneetches and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss. "All of the Seuss books are so brilliant. They're rhythmic, and kids like that," says Hargitay. "My husband [Peter Hermann] and I read to our son August [10 months, right] and do different voices. Then August eats the books. He doesn't discriminate. He'll eat whatever we have."
GREG KINNEAR Anything in the Angelina Ballerina series by Katharine Holabird. "My daughter Lily is 3. She's consumed with ballet," says Kinnear. "There's a mouse who does ballet—it's absolutely baffling to her! But it will last about 15 minutes. Dr. Seuss's Oh, the Places You'll Go! is rising fast!"
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
