I’ve been remiss in mention the various books I’ve read over the past week or so. Here’s a sentence or two about each:

• The Patterns of Paper Monsters by Emma Rathbone: A really strong debut novel written from the perspective of a 17 year old in a juvenile detention center. Jacob narrates his romance with Andrea; their romance is conducted through eye rolls, and stolen moments in a place with no privacy. She’s certainly a writer to watch.
• Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik: The 6th book in the Temeraire series finds Laurence and Temeraire exiled in Australia. One of my favorite series, it’s Patrick O’Brian with dragons. The historical details make the exploration of Australia all the more interesting. I wish I had read it slower, now that I have to wait a year for another!
• Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky: Dermansky excels at writing those characters whom if you met in real life, you might find exasperating at first but you find yourself liking the  more you know them. Marie is just out of prison, a live-in babysitter for a childhood friend–only they’re not really friends as it turns out–and she makes some odd choices.
• West of Here by Jonathan Evison: Okay, I really  really really liked this book, but wasn’t sure how to review it. I loved his previous novel All About Lulu and was not disappointed with this book. I won’t explain the complicated plot here. Just go read it when it comes out. I promise you’ll love it.