Petra Mayer

School's Out: 5 Great Summer Reads For Teens

Petra Mayer — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:03:00 +0000

I'm surrounded here at NPR Books by people with sophisticated, grown-up tastes — happy to dive into the latest Claire Messud or Daniel Alarcon or James Salter. Meanwhile, give me — any day — a book about teenagers (and preferably dragons). A good YA novel is a polished gem of solid storytelling, but more than that, it draws us back in time to the teenagers we once were — or never were, or wanted desperately to be.

'Cinnamon And Gunpowder': Haute Cuisine On The High Seas

Petra Mayer — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:01:00 +0000

Food porn and rip-roaring pirate adventure are two great tastes that taste great together in Eli Brown's rollicking Cinnamon and Gunpowder.

Questions For Barbara J. King, Author Of 'How Animals Grieve'

Petra Mayer — Mon, 27 May 2013 12:33:00 +0000

Attributing human characteristics to animals makes for great cartoons, but it's not usually considered rigorous science. Now, a new book argues that animals do think and feel in ways similar to humans.

Barbara J. King is a professor of anthropology and a commentator on NPR's science blog, 13.7.

A Bird-Watching Babe In The Woods Stumbles Toward Maturity

Petra Mayer — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:03:00 +0000

Oh no, I thought, cracking open Brian Kimberling's debut novel, Snapper. It's a collection of linked stories. Starring an aimless birdwatcher. Who drives an ancient, glitter-encrusted pickup truck named Gypsy Moth and has a grand passion for an honest-to-God Manic Pixie Dream Girl with red hair, floaty dresses, a flute and a killer pancake recipe. And her name is Lola. Lola! I was braced for a thorough beat-down with the dreaded Whimsy Hammer.

But then the book ...

Samba, Spiderbots And 'Summer' Love In Far-Future Brazil

Petra Mayer — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 15:27:00 +0000

In the 17th century, fugitive slaves founded a free community in the mountains of northeastern Brazil. They called it Palmares.

Questions For Alaya Dawn Johnson, Author Of 'The Summer Prince'

Petra Mayer — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 12:03:00 +0000

Alaya Dawn Johnson has written a number of novels for adults (including the delightful Zephyr Hollis series), and now she's venturing onto the young adult shelves with The Summer Prince, a complex science-fiction narrative set in post-apocalyptic Brazil. The action takes place in the city of Palmares Tres, which is entirely contained in a giant pyramidal structure on a bay, surrounded and fed by giant algae vats.

For 'Wheel Of Time' Fans, The Last Battle Is At Hand

Petra Mayer — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 11:15:00 +0000

It's the moment fantasy fans have been waiting for (really!): After more than 20 years, and 13 doorstopper volumes, the last book in the best-selling Wheel of Time series comes out Tuesday. The series unfolds an epic battle between good and evil — think Game of Thrones but more so: more characters, more magic, more tiny little world-building details, more everything.

And I've read all 14 of them. Plus the prequel.

Catching The 'Shadow' Of A Lost World

Petra Mayer — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:15:00 +0000

Photographer Edward Curtis started off his career at the tail end of the 19th century, making portraits of Seattle's wealthiest citizens. But a preoccupation with Native Americans and a chance encounter on a mountaintop triggered an idea: Curtis decided to chronicle the experience of the vanishing tribes — all of them. It was an unbelievably ambitious project that would define Curtis, his work and his legacy.

Writer Tim Egan has just completed a new biography of Curtis. It's called Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: the Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis.

A Mashup Of Mundane And Magical In 'Dragonslayer'

Petra Mayer — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 11:03:00 +0000

It's been a big year — well, a big few years — for young adult fiction, which I'm not going to complain about in the slightest; nothing beats a good YA novel for pure storytelling punch. But I might complain, just a little, about the overwhelming sameness of some of the plots. Dystopian futures, quiet-yet-spunky teenage girls, doomed love triangles — sound familiar? Suzanne Collins has a lot to answer for.

This Week's 5 Must-Read Stories From NPR Books

Petra Mayer — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 19:19:00 +0000

1. The Healing Power Of Stories

Cambodian author Vaddey Ratner was just a child when the Khmer Rouge came banging on the doors of her aristocratic family's compound in Phnom Penh.