This April, there are a number of new ebooks for the Amazon Kindle. The Amazon Editors have compiled a great list of authors and genres, so there is something for everyone. Likely, the biggest title is the new Lebron James biography, everyone knows who this guy is, and you can get a sense of where he came from and where he is going. This is also a number of highly-anticipated new releases from the likes of Jeannette Walls, Don Winslow, David Grann, Curtis Sittenfeld, J. Ryan Stradal, and more.
Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls
A feisty tomboy, bootleggers, wheelin’ and dealin’ family members, quickie marriages, and a shootout juice the pages of Jeannette Walls’ enthralling historical novel. Set in Virginia during Prohibition, Hang the Moon charts the life of Sallie Kincaid, sent away by her stepmother at a young age, who returns home nine years later as a woman to be reckoned with. As she takes her place within the family business and at “the Big House,” she comes to realize that the youthful impressions she had of her do-good father, affectionately known as “the Duke,” are a far cry from reality. Sallie has grit and gumption, and is a narrator to root for—not just because she defies convention by wearing pants, carrying a gun, and refusing to marry—but because she genuinely wrestles with her family legacy, however good, bad, and ugly it may be. Filled with fiery and larger-than-life characters—some conniving, others just looking for love—Walls’ latest is a pure pleasure to read and to talk about. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
City of Dreams by Don Winslow
City of Dreams picks up exactly where City on Fire left off, and the result is even sharper, funnier, and more brilliant than its predecessor. Defeated, without stopping even to bury his dead, Danny Ryan, along with his ailing father, his toddler son, and the rag-tag remains of the Irish crew, flees west, leaving behind a vengeful fed and some angry Italians. During a stop in Las Vegas, help arrives—like it often does for Danny—from an unexpected source. But sudden wealth necessitates one more move, and trying to get the crew to lay low in Hollywood proves dangerously and hilariously difficult, as the Altar Boys act up, and Danny meets his Dido in the desert. Being a passenger in Danny’s head can be unnerving, because he never met a wrong choice he didn’t want to make, but Winslow makes this Aeneid-inspired tale soar—sometimes from epic to venal, or from poignant to comical—and it makes the wait for the third book unbearable. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
Pomegranate by Helen Elaine Lee
“People like to think fiction’s less serious than other kinds of writing, and I’m here to tell you it can make the real more bearable.” So quoth Ranita Atwater, the protagonist of Helen Elaine Lee’s Pomegranate, a sly paeon to the power of great fiction and its ability to be a Trojan horse delivering the truth. At the start of the novel, Ranita has just been released from a four-year stint in prison, her sobriety is precarious, and she has yet to earn the privilege of seeing her two kids again. First, she must face the trauma that put her on this trajectory, and it’ll take a village—including Ranita’s formidable but forgiving aunts, her dubious but hopeful son and daughter, an unflappable therapist, and an unexpected love, to help get her there. Lee takes her time revealing the flashpoint, and it’s a testament to her deft character development that this revelation isn’t even necessary to engender compassion for someone so deeply flawed, but winningly well-intentioned. You’ll root for Ranita as she struggles to give herself the same kind of grace being shown to her, and as she tries to understand, and put into practice, aunt Jessie’s edict to “love with accountability.” There’s no avoiding the simile: This empathy-expanding novel is like a pomegranate—break it open and you’ll find a treasure trove inside. —Erin Kodicek, Amazon Editor
Juno Loves Legs by Karl Geary
Juno Loves Legs reads like Shuggie Bain as written by Roddy Doyle, with a touch of John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies. Juno’s family is not just poor, they’re abjectly go-to-bed-hungry, send-the-kids-to-school-dirty, poor. Meanwhile, Legs is tormented in class—by nuns and kids alike—for his sexuality. It’s a harrowing but lovely coming-of-age tale where two violently ostracized kids have only each other to get them through the daily gauntlet run of life on a working-class housing estate in 1980s Dublin. Their friendship is the spark that promises to light the way, even as catastrophe nips constantly at their heels. The novel is laugh-out-loud funny on one hand, and tenderly written, piercingly sad, and defiantly hopeful on the other. Your heart will hurt for these two kids, then swell as you cheer them on. —Vannessa Cronin, Amazon Editor
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann
David Grann, author of the best seller—and Amazon Best Book of the Year—Killers of the Flower Moon, unfurls a story of mayhem and murder, adventure, and reckless ambition on the high seas. Drawing on “archival debris: the washed-out logbooks, the moldering correspondence, the half-truthful journals, the surviving records from the troubling court-martial,” Grann brilliantly retells the story of the Wager—a British boat bound for South America on a secret mission during the Imperial War with Spain. The fate of the captain and crew was not to be one of conquest or fortune, but frightening storms, shipwreck, savagery, and betrayal. While you can almost feel the salt spray on your skin and the creak and crashing of wood against rock, Grann also captures the pomp and circumstance of imperialism, the brazen bravado of power-hungry men, and the inhuman brutality that fear conjures. The personalities aboard this 18th century ship are made for the history books, as the saying goes, and Grann, once again, has written an epic narrative that is both shocking and utterly absorbing. —Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Curtis Sittenfeld (Prep, American Wife) shape shifts her talent yet again in this fun and thought-provoking…romantic comedy. Sally Milz works for a show that is a clone for Saturday Night Live, and notices how many gorgeous female stars end up with average Joes. So, she’s as shocked as anyone when she connects with one of the hosts/musical acts, Noah Brewster. Gorgeous male stars aren’t supposed to fall for any average Jane, right? What follows is exactly what you want in a romantic comedy: you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wish the main characters were real so they could be your best friends. Sittenfeld has a unique talent of re-inventing herself with each new release. She’s a writer who can’t be put in a box, and this is yet another book that readers will love. —Sarah Gelman, Amazon Editor
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan
In the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan was at the height of its powers, with pro-KKK politicians in state and national office and a membership that was growing at a fast clip. D.C. Stephenson was one of the most powerful (and wealthiest) leaders in the Klan, responsible for much of its growth as an organization. In this page-turner of narrative nonfiction, Tim Egan shows how this man—only two years earlier existing as a womanizing grifter—was able to build his profile within the rapidly expanding hate group. And then Egan shows how, despite his charm in front of the crowds, Stephenson’s abhorrent behavior was eventually what took him down. Although the events occurred a century ago, readers will find parallels to our own age. This is a book with a lot of shocks, but it’s also a book that can lead the reader to greater understanding. And it’s thoroughly enjoyable. —Chris Schluep, Amazon Editor
Going Zero by Anthony McCarten
Going Zero starts out as an action adventure thriller—part The Amazing Race, part Hunted USA, part Michael Crichton technothriller—as 10 competitors face off against new cyber surveillance systems by trying to “go zero”—i.e. stay off the grid—for 30 days. If all 10 fail to outwit FUSION, then the company that created the surveillance system—and is sponsoring the competition—scores a lucrative government contract with unfettered access to the CIA’s cookie (read: data) jar. So, the sketchy [insert tech titan name of your choice here]-like CEO, Cy Baxter, is not pleased when, against all odds, a mousy librarian from Boston is consistently outwitting his fancy software. The answer to how she’s doing it—and why—causes the book to pivot midway to a full-throttle, high-stakes political thriller, complete with a white-knuckle ending. But it’s not all action: McCarten is a screenwriter, and knows just when to pump the brakes to let the characters shine through, and the plot thicken. Ultimately, if the prospect of a digital Big Brother wasn’t terrifying you up until now, allow Going Zero to rectify that. —Vannessa Cronin Amazon Editor
Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal
It can either be a blessing or a curse to be born into a brood that runs a family business. Ask Mariel Prager. Like her grandmother, she loves the Lakeside Supper Club in rural Minnesota. Her mom, Florence? Not so much. Still, this storied eatery is the tie that binds several generations in J. Ryan Stradal’s latest homage to the Midwest. For much of the novel, Florence and Mariel are in a stalemate: Mariel inheriting the Club rendered a deferred dream of Florence’s impossible to realize, and a catastrophic accident has profoundly deepened the fissure between them. While their story dominates, Stradal populates the novel with a motley cast of characters who feel more like friends with each page turned, and whose quiet triumphs and tragedies will have readers nodding with recognition and empathy. Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club goes down like a Brandy Old Fashioned—a little bitter, but mostly sweet. —Erin Kodicek, Amazon Editor
LeBron by Jeff Benedict
Americans love our stories of underdogs, villains, and heroes, and this page-turning biography of LeBron James has all three. The book opens as James boasts to millions on TV that he’s “taking my talents to South Beach,” leaving his beloved hometown team and becoming the “most hated man in all of sports”—a pop culture moment that made headlines and spurred outrage. Jeff Benedict—also the co-author of the best seller Tiger Woods—then walks us back through James’ hardscrabble childhood with a homeless teen mother who was ill-equipped to raise a child on her own. James perseveres against all odds—moving in with a series of coaches who nurture his savant-level athletic skills and building a joyful family among pals who are still his inner circle today. You’ll tremble, weep, pump your fists, and feel your heart grow as James hones his power on and off the court, marries his high school sweetheart, grapples with unfathomable wealth, and builds a legacy that will last long after he hangs up his jersey. —Lindsay Powers, Amazon Editor
Symphony of Secrets by Brendan Slocumb
Engrossing and heart pounding, this one had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Famous composer Frederic Delaney was considered a genius by many—his transformative work, mysterious end-of-career failures, and short life were intensely researched by scholars in the second half of the 20th century. Professor Bern Hendricks—regarded as a leading scholar on all things Frederic Delaney—is contacted by the Frederic Delaney Foundation when a highly confidential document was discovered. Interest more than piqued, Bern travels to New York to learn more about what was found. Uncharacteristic markings on the document drive Bern to reach out to his street-smart computer prodigy friend, Eboni. Together, they follow a trail of breadcrumbs and form a new narrative about the famed composer that ultimately has them running for their lives. This thriller is a cautionary tale about how some secrets can create havoc for generations. A must read! —Kami Tei, Amazon Editor
The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng
This beautiful and heartbreaking epic transcends genres. Set in a small coastal town in what will become Singapore, Ah Boon is a shy and thoughtful boy who prefers attending school and playing with his beloved friend, Siok Mei, over his family’s profession (fishing). As Ah Boon and Siok Mei grow up, they struggle with the complexities of the changing landscape: British colonialism, Japanese occupation, and the inevitable destruction of their village. Coming-of-age story, love story, historical fiction—Heng manages to do it all. You’ll ache for these characters, and the ending will leave you feeling equally satisfied, and bereft. The Great Reclamation begs to be a classic. —Sarah Gelman, Amazon Editor
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.