FICTION
BOOTH by Karen Joy Fowler is published in hardback by Serpent's Tail, priced £18.99 (ebook £14.49)
WE KNOW before starting the novel the twisted timelines of American history and the Booth family will lead to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. In Booth, Karen Joy Fowler looks beyond the criminal, John Wilkes Booth. She tells the story through his eccentric theatrical family, whose points of view and personalities collide. The bulk of the story follows the Booth children's acting careers. Fowler's portrayal of the industry is captivating, and the most poignant voice in the novel comes from sister and caregiver Rosalie, with Fowler shining a light on a sibling thrust into the shadows. Booth is an intimate historical novel beginning in celebrity – and ending in notoriety.
9/10
REPUTATION by Sarah Vaughan is published in hardback by Simon & Schuster, priced £14.99 (ebook £6.99)
MP EMMA Webster is trying to live up to her father's dreams of making a difference, launching a campaign to protect women from vile online bullying, increasing her media profile by giving a feature-length newspaper interview and entrusting a political editor to support her cause. But she becomes the victim of nasty online abuse, her teenage daughter is bullied at school, and her friendship with the tabloid journalist turns sour. Her determination to stay strong is spectacularly derailed as events combine to bring her close to ruin – and even closer to prison for murder. The book is a thrilling mix of political, courtroom and personal drama, told with expertise by an author who worked as a journalist in Parliament and the courts, giving her first-hand access to amazing characters and settings. It really is a tense story for our times.
8/10
OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA by Julia Armfield is published in hardback by Picador, priced £16.99 (ebook £8.99)
OUR Wives Under the Sea is the debut novel by Julia Armfield, telling the story of wives Miri and Leah. Leah has returned from a deep sea mission that did not go to plan, and it has changed her. She spends most of her time in the bath, not speaking to Miri about what happened to her. The chapters alternate between Miri, who speaks of the beginnings of their relationship and the struggles they are now facing together, and Leah, who more abruptly details her failed underwater mission. Armfield creates a haunting and eerie atmosphere, making for a somewhat strange book that comes heaped with praise from the likes of Sarah Waters and Florence Welch.
7/10
NON-FICTION
IN THE MARGINS: ON THE PLEASURES OF READING AND WRITING by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein, is published in hardback by Europa Editions, priced £12.99 (ebook £10.99)
THIS collection of essays is billed as a meditation on the pleasures of creating and consuming the written word. In reality, it focuses more on the limitations of the craft, the noble pursuit of putting pen to paper (even though one might never find the right words to convey one's deepest thoughts or feelings), and Ferrante's fears, as a fledgling writer, that she's not up to the task. You don't need to have read the Italian author's blockbuster Neapolitan novels to enjoy this, her third foray into non-fiction, but you will need a decent vocabulary (or a dictionary to hand) to keep up with the intellectual prose, and familiarity with the works of Dante Alighieri will also help in the case of fourth essay Dante's Rib. For that reason, this short but dense book is perhaps better suited to Ferrante superfans (of which there are many), or aspiring authors, than casual readers.
6/10
CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK
BABY LOVE by Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Rachael Dean, is published in hardback by Penguin, priced £12.99 (ebook £8.99). Available now
LAURA is just like any other girl growing up – desperate to fit in and discover how to get close to boys, without getting too close. Following the lead of her glamorous friend, she trips headlong into the grown-up world of make-up, music and boys becoming men. A brief moment of delight becomes a world of pain in the early 1960s, when the summer of love is just beginning to shoot into life. Part of a traditionally-minded family, Laura pays a heavy price for being born on the cheap side of town. Jacqueline Wilson has weaved together an electric cast of characters – a rollercoaster of emotions, it is a testament to a time when tradition and parents' word still carried incredible weight. If you are a fan of Tracy Beaker, this story of the change from child to young adult will keep you gripped.
9/10
BOOK CHARTS – HARDBACK (FICTION)
1. Gallant by VE Schwab
2. Run Rose Run by Dolly Parton & James Patterson
3. Galatea by Madeline Miller
4. Atlas Six by Olivie Blake
5. The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola
6. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
7. House Of Sky And Breath by Sarah J. Maas
8. Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes
9. Daughter Of The Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
10. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
(Compiled by Waterstones)
