Best reviewed books of the week: Caldwell, Tremblay and Jackson top the list

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Paul Tremblay’s Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep , Colin Asher’s The Midnight Special , and Jenny Jackson’s The Shampoo Effect all feature among the best reviewed books of the week.

Brought to you by Book Marks , Lit Hub’s home for book reviews.

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Fiction

1. Devotions by Lucy Caldwell

(Faber & Faber)

6 Rave • 1 Positive

“Lucy Caldwell is less well known here than she should be; it’s time to correct that … A genuinely ambitious and rewarding collection … If Caldwell’s short story project were to end with Devotions, circling back to the idea that fate relies on knowing when and how to let go is a tremendously satisfying conclusion.”

–Cory Oldweiler ( The Boston Globe )

2. Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay

(William Morrow)

6 Rave

“ Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep will likely be a divisive novel, even among the Tremblay die-hards … Readers who choose to take the hand Tremblay has outstretched here, though, will find themselves entertained, enraged and satisfied … One of Tremblay’s greatest strengths is his ability to keep a surprising number of narrative balls in the air; wildly different tonal threads coexist in his stories without the boundaries between them becoming muddled … If the author’s cri de coeur about A.I. occasionally overshadows the story, I think he’s earned it.”

–Emily C. Hughes ( The New York Times Book Review )

3. The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson

(Pamela Dorman Books)

4 Rave • 1 Positive

“Offers sharp social commentary on millennials navigating middle age, set in a close-knit Massachusetts beach town … Fueled by humor, sex, and drugs, this pointed, character-driven novel will appeal to fans of Emma Straub or Taffy Brodesser-Akner.”

–Stacy Alesi ( Library Journal )

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Nonfiction

1. On the Origin of Sex: The Weird and Wonderful Science of Reproduction by Lixing Sun

(Basic Books)

2 Rave • 5 Positive

“Sun winningly takes his experience and knowledge and translates it into a book for the masses. The writing style and flow are easy to follow, keeping readers engaged and eager to read the next line … A terrific example of a scholar sharing his knowledge with the public in a way that is engaging and understandable to a wide range of people while remaining intellectually stimulating.”

–Aaron Paul ( Library Journal )

2. The Midnight Special: The Secret Prison History of American Music by Colin Asher

(W. W. Norton)

3 Rave • 1 Rave

“Asher’s book is a Midnight Special of its own. It’s a fog-piercing down-bound train of a book, better than it had to be … If these profiles had been straightforward, that might’ve been enough. But Asher is a calm and sophisticated storyteller who picks you up and sets you back down in places you didn’t anticipate. Like a good film director, he knows how to stagger his material.”

–Dwight Garner ( The New York Times )

3. Thundering Waters: The Toxic Legacy of Niagara Falls by Christen E. Civiletto

(Island Press)

2 Rave • 1 Positive

“Simultaneously a crime thriller, environmental exposé, geographic history, and personal memoir, Civiletto’s granular examination of an ecological disaster makes for sobering, frightening reading.”

–Carol Haggas ( Booklist )