This Week in Calendar

The following reviews are scheduled:

Patt Morrison reviews “Sammy’s House,” a novel by Kristin Gore.

Jonathan Kirsch reviews “Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician,” a novel by Daniel Wallace.

Tim Rutten reviews “The Night Ferry,” a novel by Michael Robotham.

Michael Harris reviews “The Fabric of America: How Our Borders and Boundaries Shaped the Country and Forged Our National Identity” by Andro Linklater.

Marc Weingarten reviews “Nine Ways to Cross a River: Midstream Reflections on Swimming and Getting There From Here” by Akiko Busch.

On the Web

At latimes.com/books this week, Sonja Bolle devotes her Word Play column to three new books for middle readers, all of which riff off the old admonition to “stay out of the woods.” In Lyn Gardner’s “Into the Woods,” Brandon Mull’s “Fablehaven” books and Rebecca Stead’s “First Light,” children disobey their minders -- with the result that they are initiated into a more complex, adult world. It’s a vivid turn on the standard fairy tale construction, but then, Bolle suggests, that’s entirely the point. Middle readers, after all, are often at that halfway point between childhood and adolescence, eager to see what’s happening outside the safety of home but apprehensive about it all the same. What these books offer is a template, a way of reimagining disobedience as necessary, an essential part of growing up.

Also on the Web, look for expanded bestseller lists, as well as comprehensive listings of Southern California literary events. And don’t miss “Jacket Copy,” our book and publishing information blog.