Fans (and there are many) of Peace Like a River (2001) by Leif Enger have been patiently awaiting his second novel, and finally it is here!  I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but all of the reviews (especially bookseller reviews) are terrific!  The new book, So Brave, Young and Handsome, is set in 1915, follows the misadventures of bestselling author Monte Becket, who cannot make his second novel work (is this somewhat autobiographical?).  He is just about to reclaim his old job at a small town Minnesota post office when he meets Glendon Hale, a former outlaw who is traveling to Mexico to find his estranged wife. Let the adventure begin!

Get out your chocolate stash – Joanne Harris revisits the characters we met in Chocolat (1999) in her new novel The Girl With No Shadow (Morrow, 2008, $24.95).  The novel opens five years after we left Vianne Rocher, daughter Anouk (now a preteen) and charismatic river traveler Roux.  Vianne (now Yanne) and Anouk (now Annie) and new daughter Rosette are living in the Montmartre district of Paris when the Halloween winds blow in the exotic Zozie…. A sensous tale about the dark arts, dark chocolate, and lives both bitter and sweet.

Now in paperback, Divisadero, by Michael Ondaatie (Vintage, 2008 $13.95) is the latest novel by the author of The English Patient.  The story opens in Northern California in the 1970’s, with a quiet man who lost his wifein childbirth, raising his two daughters and tending his farm with the assistance of a farm hand.  A violent act affects the three main characters and shadows how they lead their lives over the next several years.

And for kids…  Warriors Power of Three: Outcast by Erin Hunter (Harper, 2008, $16.99).  Full of adventure, suspense, beloved characters, and even a little romance, this third novel of The Power of Three series is a thrilling new chapter in the Chronicles of the Clans.

 
Also new this week is Five Ancestors #5: Eagle, by Jeff Stone (Random, 2008, $15.99).  In book five of this exciting series, Ying will never forgive the grandmaster… or anyone who has the grandmaster’s favor.  Then Ying begins to realize that he has been manipulated by Tonglong and must figure out who his friends and enemies are… and he needs to figure it out soon!