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    		•  May paperback releases offer good choices for reading groups

    REVIEWS BY JULIE HALE

    Cover Riding Lessons
    Spurred by the success of her best-selling novel, Water for Elephants, which was recently named the 2007 Book Sense Book of the Year, HarperCollins is issuing a new paperback edition of Gruen's impressive debut novel, Riding Lessons. Here, Gruen examines the strong, mysterious bond that unites people and horses. Annemarie Zimmer was an Olympic-caliber horsewoman when she suffered a devastating accident during her teenage years—a tragedy that ended her equestrian career. Twenty years after relinquishing the riding life, Annemarie—now divorced and the mother of a rebellious 15-year-old named Eve—goes back to the horse farm her family owns in New Hampshire. There, she finds her own mother struggling to maintain the family business while her father slowly succumbs to Lou Gehrig's disease. Annemarie soon takes charge of the farm, devoting much of her time to an old horse that awakens memories of her past life as a rider. When Annemarie discovers the horse is related to her old favorite, Highland Harry, she becomes even more determined to save the farm and her family. Adding to the mix is the presence of an attractive new trainer named Dan, who happens to be Anne-marie's former beau. Gruen's portrait of this unusual family and its shifting relationships is beautifully rendered and sure to appeal to fans of The Horse Whisperer. Yet the book stands on its own as a finely crafted narrative about love, relationships and the important place animals occupy in the human world. A reading group guide is available in the book and online at www.harpercollins.com/readers/.

    Cover Recipes for a Perfect Marriage
    Set in New York City, this delightful romantic tale from Irish writer Prunty will resonate with female readers. Food writer Tressa Nolan is 38 when she marries Dan Mullins, the handyman in her building, for lack of a better suitor. Now that she's safely married, Tressa thinks she's ready to head into middle age, but life holds a few unexpected surprises. After a couple of months with her new husband, Tressa finds she's not in love with him and becomes increasingly discontented. Dan wants to move from New York to Yonkers—a transition Tressa can't fathom—and his pushy mother, Eileen, and a legion of other Irish-American relatives only make matters worse. Tressa finds herself longing for the advice of her dead grandmother, Bernadine, who had a seemingly perfect 50-year marriage to her grandfather James. When Tressa discovers Bernadine's journals and reads about her life, she learns that the path to a blissful marriage is rocky for everyone. Prunty skillfully weaves Bernadine's story, which is set in Ireland in the 1930s, into the main narrative, adding recipes from that era for old-fashioned treats like honey cake and rhubarb tart. The two contrasting plot threads play off one another in a revealing manner, adding to the charm and appeal of this unique novel. A reading group guide is available online at www.hyperionbooks.com.

    Cover Everything After
    This moving family drama is set in Arlington, Virginia, during the turbulent Vietnam era. The narrator, 19-year-old Iris Sunnaret, is caught in the middle of a family crisis when the war brings out conflicting loyalties in her loved ones. Iris and her three siblings—Eddie, Perry and Angie—were taken in by their Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Charlie after the loss of their parents. When Eddie and Perry volunteer for the war, they're supported by their aunt and uncle, but the rest of the family questions their decision, especially Angie, who opposes America's participation in the conflict and joins the protest movement. Everyone's perception of the war is altered after Eddie is killed in Vietnam and Perry disappears. To make matters worse, a soldier from the Sunnaret brothers' platoon pays the family a visit with the news that Perry is suspected of killing Eddie. Iris decides to find out for herself what happened to her brothers, and her quest leads to new and painful revelations about her splintered family. As Iris tries to bring her loved ones together, the rifts that separate them only seem to deepen. Pywell writes convincingly about the frictions and tensions experienced by this divided clan. This is a timely novel, at once artfully constructed and deeply provocative, full of rich details about an important epoch in America's history.

    Has your club recently read an excellent book that sparked good group discussion? If so, BookPage would like to hear about it. Contact us at reading@bookpage.com with a description of the book and the reasons for your recommendation. We'll pass the top choices along to our readers.

    © 2007 ProMotion, inc.