Weekend picks for book lovers
What should you read this weekend? USA TODAY’s picks for book lovers include the new book by Dr. Seuss and a pair of mysteries, Eeny Meeny and A Necessary End.
What Pet Should I Get? by Dr. Seuss; Random House, 48 pp., ages 4 and up
We’re having a 1950s moment in the book world.
First came Go Set a Watchman, the instant best seller by Harper Lee that’s making waves for its shocking portrayal of Atticus Finch as a bigot.
And now here’s What Pet Should I Get?, a newly discovered kids’ title from Dr. Seuss believed to date to 1958-62.
The story is simple: A brother and sister go to the pet store with permission from Mom and Dad (who are nowhere in sight) to “pick just one” pet to bring home by noon.
But it’s so hard to “Make Up Your Mind,” as a banner proclaims! Brother wants a dog, sister wants a cat … or a rabbit, or a bird, or a fish.
And what the heck is that long-nosed thing called a Yent that could live in a tent?
USA TODAY says *** out of four. “Look for tiny beginning readers who are just sharpening their critics’ pencils to flash a big thumbs-up for this cute entry into the Seuss canon…it’s hard not to smile at this retro charmer.”
Smokejumper: A Memoir by One of America’s Most Select Airborne Firefighters by Jason A. Ramos and Julian Smith; William Morrow, 214 pp.; non-fiction
A memoir by Jason Ramos,one of fewer than 500 smokejumpers on duty in the USA, wildland firefighters who routinely parachute into otherwise inaccessible areas to counter raging fires.
USA TODAY says ***. “Fast-paced …Ramos is an expert guide through a fearful world.”
Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge; NAL, 395 pp.; fiction
The story opens at the bottom of an empty swimming pool, where a kidnapped couple slowly starve to death. Freedom is possible — but only for one of them, and as time passes the gun sitting nearby, loaded with a single bullet, starts to beckon.
USA TODAY says ***1/2. A “gripping debut… Boy, do the pages fly by.”
A Necessary End by Holly Brown; William Morrow, 386 pp.; fiction
Gabe and Adrienne can’t conceive, and, desperate to be parents, they agree to an “open adoption,” which means their baby’s mother, a beautiful 19-year-old named Leah, will come and live with them for a year before legally relinquishing the child. What could go wrong?
USA TODAY says ***. A “thoughtful, perceptive novel.”
The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck; Simon & Schuster, 416 pp.; non-fiction
A Northeastern journalist takes four months to drive a three-mule wagon train from Missouri to Oregon, recreating a journey made by thousands of Americans in the 1800s.
USA TODAY says ****. “A joy to read.”
Contributing reviewers: Jocelyn McClurg, Matt Damsker, Charles Finch, Ray Locker