Kirkus Reviews is first out of the gate with their review of Macaulay Culkin's debut novel JUNIOR, which is finally making an appearance after several months of delays. And while the fact that Kirkus hates it is hardly news -- they hate lots of books -- the vitriol spewed upon Culkin's endeavor is even more pronounced, but certainly amusing. How can you not love a review with a tagline that says it "makes Ethan Hawke read like Philip Roth"?

Meanwhile, the critics are slightly kinder towards Ayelet Waldman's latest foray into literary fiction, LOVE AND OTHER IMPOSSIBLE PURSUITS (which shouldn't be confused with Laila Lalami's HOPE AND OTHER DANGEROUS PURSUITS.) Though the book won't be out for a couple of weeks, The Times of London already has a sneak preview and it looks to be, well, a book about a woman who understands herself less than other people do. Yeah, that does sound awfully familiar...