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.