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The Rabbi's Cat (film review), by Joann Sfar
I was recently sent a DVD screener of The Rabbi’s Cat, a 2011 animated film adaptation of Joann Sfar's graphic novel of the same name. I'm no film critic, and my previous experience with Sfar's work is limited to reading his sword-and-sorcery-on-drugs series Dungeon (which he co-created with Lewis Trondheim, and I have always found more exasperating than amusing), but I'll try anything once...
Raiders' Ransom, by Emily Diamand
Raiders' Ransom, the debut novel from writer Emily Diamand, was the winner of the inaugural London Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition, and it's easy to see why: Diamand's blend of ...
Raised by Wolves, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The cover of Jennifer Lynn Barnes' novel Raised by Wolves features a promotional quote from Melissa Marr describing the book as “[quite] simply, the most compelling YA werewolf book out there.” O...
Rampant, by Diana Peterfreund
The idea of carnivorous unicorns ranks pretty high on both the kitsch-o-meter and parody scale, but Diana Peterfreund's novel Rampant is neither. Instead, this surprising young adult book is...
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline
Ernest Cline's debut novel Ready Player One borrows its premise from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, its plot from TRON, and its conclusion from The Wizard of Oz, but that's actually okay: people are buying this novel to wallow in all the geek-oriented nostalgia, not marvel at the author's originality...
Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
(Sorry--this is less a Book of the Week Review than it is book-related musings.) So... have you all been following the completely bizarre courtship of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes? (And if not, you totally should be! May we suggest www.pinkisthenewblog.com as a particularly fine source for TomKat news?) Anyway, in a(nother) vaguely disturbing interview...
The Reckoning, by Kelley Armstrong
Kelley Armstrong is one of those authors whose work I rarely think about unless one of her books is right in front of me. I like her novels, but they just don't stick in my brain—at least, they h...
Restoree, by Anne McCaffrey
According to Anne McCaffrey’s website, her first novel, 1967’s sci-fi/romance Restoree, was intended as “a protest against the absurd and unrealistic portrayals of women in sci-fi novels in the 50s and early 60s”...
Revelations, by Melissa de la Cruz
I have an intense, long-standing, slightly guilty love for vampire stories, which allows me to tolerate literature I wouldn’t otherwise touch with a ten foot pole. This love might not be powerful enough...
Revolution, by Jennifer Donnelly
I avoid books about the French Revolution (angry mob stories freak me out), reading about time travel (the laws of causality!), or plots that hinge on the deaths of children (...this one is self-explanatory, right?). All three are featured in Jennifer Donnelly's YA novel Revolution, so the fact that I not only finished her book, but even found it reasonably entertaining, is a testament to the author's storytelling abilities...
The Rhythm of the Road, by Albyn Leah Hall
Albyn Leah Hall is an author to watch, but nobody would describe her as being remotely Wordcandy-friendly. Her book The Rhythm of the Road is full of familiar images from country music: miss...
Rin-ne: Vol. 1, by Rumiko Takahashi
Rin-ne is the fifth major series from manga great Rumiko Takahashi, following InuYasha, Ranma ½, Maison Ikkoku, and Urusei Yatsura. Rin-ne launched in...
Rockoholic, by C.J. Skuse
C.J. Skuse's YA novel Rockoholic centers around Jody, a British teenager totally obsessed with rock star Jackson Gatlin. Jody is convinced the meaning of life can be found in Jackson's music, but when she kidnaps him from one of his concerts (accidentally!), she discovers her idol has feet of clay. Actually, he's practically made of clay...
Romeo Redeemed, by Stacey Jay
Romeo Redeemed is the sequel to Stacey Jay's 2011 novel Juliet Immortal, and—like its predecessor—is best described as an incoherent mash-up of overwrought teenagers, poorly-explained supernatural hijinks, and Shakespearean-lite fanfiction...
Rough Justice, by Alex Ross
Comic book artist Alex Ross is best known for his work on Kingdom Come, a 1996 DC miniseries about a group of middle-aged superheroes battling a gang of new, amoral vigilantes (including, in some cases, their own children). Pantheon Books recently released a paperback edition of Rough Justice, a collection of images pulled from Ross's private sketchbooks, deleted scenes, and published work...
Ruby Red, by Kerstin Gier
While most of the books I write about are sent to us by publishers or PR groups, occasionally I read something so awesome that it cries out for a review, even if I had to spend my own money t...
Ruined and Unbroken, by Paula Morris
After reading Paula Morris's novel Dark Souls earlier this spring, I decided to hunt down the two books in her earlier series, Ruined and Unbroken. Dark Souls had some shaky characterization, but Morris's plot was creative, creepy, and rich in historical detail (all things I approve of in a ghost story), so my hopes were high...
Runemarks, by Joanne Harris
Joanne Harris’s novel Runemarks—her first book for children—features an intriguing female protagonist, a collection of secondary characters from Norse mythology, and an imaginative, fully-developed setting. There have been more impressive fantasy novels released in the past few years, but Runemarks is a solid entry into the growing field of entertaining novels for young readers written by “serious” authors...