Our editors serve up 150 of the season’s tastiest titles
Plus Annie Ernaux, Teju Cole, Jason Reynolds, Grace Lin, and more
Publishing trends come and go, but you can always depend on the fall season to be fabulous, whatever books might be on the menu. This year is no different, so we’re delighted to bring you our annual Fall Preview Issue, spotlighting 150 books across the genres for readers of all ages. At the front of the issue you’ll find our reviews of all these titles, some of them appearing here for the very first time.
We also emailed some of our favorite authors—all with new releases this fall—to learn more about their books and to find out what fall books they are looking forward to. Read on to find our correspondence with Annie Ernaux, whose memoir The Young Man is her first release in the U.S. since winning the Nobel Prize last year; Teju Cole, whose novel Tremor is his first work of fiction in 12 years; and Jason Reynolds, the former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, who is releasing his first picture book, There Was a Party for Langston (with illustrations by Jerome Pumphrey and Jarrett Pumphrey). And that’s just the beginning. Elsewhere in the issue, you’ll find columns by editors Laurie Muchnick, Eric Liebetrau, Mahnaz Dar, and Laura Simeon, highlighting some fall books that demonstrate the range and the quality of the season’s offerings in fiction, nonfiction, children’s, and young adult. To kick things off, I’ll offer my own fall TBR list—the books I’m especially looking forward to:
Everything/Nothing/Someone: A Memoir by Alice Carrière (Spiegel & Grau, Aug. 29): The fall schedule is typically chockablock with marquee names, but the debuts are inevitably strong. This memoir by the daughter of artist Jennifer Bartlett and actor Mathieu Carrière promises to be, according to our starred review, “spellbinding”—the account of a privileged and unorthodox childhood and a struggle with mental illness.
North Woods by Daniel Mason (Random House, Sept. 19): I’m besotted with Mason’s fiction, especially his novel The Winter Soldier and his story collection, A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth. His new novel tracks the fortunes of a New England home and its fascinating inhabitants—both living and ghostly—across three centuries in a dizzying array of styles. Our starred review calls it “multitudinous and magical.”
A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Grove, Oct. 3): The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sympathizer (2015) and The Committed (2020) is another writer whose new work I eagerly anticipate. This fall, Nguyen returns with a memoir, reflecting on his family’s experience as refugees from Vietnam arriving in California in the 1970s, as well as his own development as a writer and a citizen in a country whose grapplings with the Vietnam War remain incomplete. Our review calls the book “lyrical and biting.”
Family Meal by Bryan Washington (Riverhead, Oct. 10): Houston, Texas, is once again the setting for this new novel by the author of Lot and Memorial. Family, food, gay life, grief, addiction—they’re all here in their many permutations. Says our starred review: “Washington brilliantly commits to his style and preoccupations in a novel about the often winding journey to family.”
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Boyt, Susie
New York Review Books
(224 pp.)
$17.95 paper | Sept. 19, 2023
9781681377810
A single mother navigates custody of her granddaughter—and tries to correct mistakes she made the first time around— in this gentle but heart-wrenching story. When London schoolteacher Ruth learns that her daughter, Eleanor, is pregnant, the two are sharing a meager Christmas dinner on a park bench. Eleanor is years into debilitating addiction, living on and off the streets with her baby’s father, Ben, but Ruth pushes past Eleanor’s resistance to offer help when Lily is born—holding vigil as the newborn goes through withdrawal in the hospital, taking control of the baptism as Eleanor and Ben keep wandering off, regularly stopping by their apartment to make sure they’re eating. When Ruth finds an unresponsive person in Eleanor’s apartment—ostensibly an overdose—she flees with Lily, anticipating a fight for custody that never comes. The years pass swiftly, almost perfunctorily, as Lily grows into a kind, strong-willed, and precocious child, “someone who knows life is a serious business, perhaps a few years before she might,” as Ruth’s friend describes her. The pacing matches Ruth’s own matter-of-factness: Her outsize shame leaves little berth for wallowing, and her self-deprecating wit resists maudlin sentimentality. (The greatest source of comic relief comes from Jean Reynolds, Ruth’s co-worker, whose brashness and loyalty make her impossible not to love.) Through intimate first-person narration, Ruth balances the pain of losing a daughter against the hope of a second chance. Her relationship with Lily brings a cautious joy. Ruth can’t look at the girl without seeing the trail of maternal pain that originated with her own mother, who drank disinfectant after Ruth’s father left, and led to Lily’s miraculous birth. Love can go awry—see the double meaning of the title, which Lily discovers on a tombstone: “It kind of sounds like the person tried to be loving but…the aim was wrong”—but can that misdirection be righted? Though Lily isn’t immune from trauma—this is clear when her perspective abruptly takes over in the final third of the book—she is propped up by the strength of Ruth’s devotion. Readers who are averse to crying in public be warned: You’ll want to sit with this astounding story at home.
Clare, Cassandra Del Rey (624 pp.)
$27.00 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780525619994
YA giant Clare makes her adult debut with a whirlwind epic fantasy featuring secret plots, ancient magic, and hidden identities.
The nobility of Castellane know Kel only as Prince Conor’s aristocratic cousin and closest confidant, but a select few know the truth: Kel is an orphan plucked from obscurity because he bears a passing resemblance to Conor and proved able to handle being trained as Conor’s “Sword Catcher.” A Sword Catcher has all the typical duties of a bodyguard, but Kel’s responsibilities also include wearing a magical amulet that makes people think he’s Conor, allowing him to take the prince’s place at public events when the palace head of security deems it too risky for the prince himself. But when Conor becomes old enough to consider marriage, Kel learns that it will take more than hidden daggers to protect his charge. On the other side of Castellane society is Lin, a young woman who is a member of the Ashkar, a small community that’s forbidden from living outside their walled community. The Ashkar are the only people who can still use magic, and even though using or even learning about most kinds of magic is banned, they are still feared and discriminated against by the rest of the world. Lin has worked hard to be allowed to study medicine even though she’s a woman, but when her medical talents aren’t enough to help heal her best friend, she wonders if the answer lies in the study of forbidden magic. The tangle of political disputes and shadowy plots that leads to Kel and Lin crossing paths is not only thick enough to make the several hundred pages fly by, it will leave readers eager for a series full of twists and turns. Clare expertly balances the needs of a satisfying plot with dropping tantalizing hints of what’s to come in future installments. Her worldbuilding is instantly immersive, and the many characters are all detailed and memorable, so swapping between storylines flows easily for the reader. A wonderfully enjoyable series opener.
MONICA Clowes, Daniel Fantagraphics Books (106 pp.)
$27.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781683968825
Clowes’ latest graphic novel weaves nine interrelated stories into a tale of curiosity, corruption, and humanity’s addiction to significance.
The book opens with a two-page spread of the roiling waters, cratered land, and fiery skies of our primordial planet, then runs through snapshots of history: single-cell organisms, ancient Egyptians, the plague, Shakespeare,
Hitler, The Beverly Hillbillies. It’s an ambitious opening that the book lives up to through its intersecting narratives of Vietnam soldiers, counterculture, horror, ambition, control, and mommy issues—all spinning around the orbit of a woman named Monica and her quest for her origins. Initially we meet Monica’s mother, Penny, as an art student in the 1960s, seduced away from her sedate life plans by the ideas of her new bohemian lover and his friends. As Penny delves deeper into free love and artistic pursuits, she soon finds herself a mother to young Monica and the subject of Monica’s observations as Penny cycles through men, eventually abandoning Monica to follow her own path—perhaps into the clutches of a desert-dwelling cult. After a macabre interlude about a young man’s return to his boyhood home only to find the town under a sinister influence, we catch up with Monica as an adult, dealing with her own loss and encounter with the uncanny. In pursuit of her longgone mother, Monica peels back opulent and fantastical layers of her own life until she finds the haunting core. Clowes strikes an irresistible balance of cultural criticism, philosophy, and pulp. The pacing and interconnection of the stories tease the reader along as narration and dialogue pop with insight and humor. Clowes’ art retains a classic comics aesthetic while delivering a thoroughly modern vibe.
A timeless nugget of polished pulp.
Cole, Teju Random House (256 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780812997118
Cole’s first novel in 12 years provides a master class in the morality of art as an Ivy League professor revisits his Nigerian homeland and confronts his doubleness.
Like his protagonist, Tunde, the novelist is a Harvard professor, raised in Lagos, a photographer and writer and cultural critic with a seemingly omnivorous appetite for artistic expression. (They even share an occasional vision problem in one eye.) But this thematically multilayered novel has much higher ambitions than fictionalized memoir. It’s a novel of ideas but also of voices, of different perspectives claiming the first-person narrative I The precision of detail stresses the importance of seeing, but identity, perspective, and context determine who is seeing what. Tunde experiences push back over what and whom he shoots in his photos. He raises questions in the classroom and public lectures about who determines the value of a work and who profits from it, as he lives within a realm of white privilege that plunders and dehumanizes so much of the globe. “After nearly three decades in the U.S. his sympathies have been tutored in certain directions,” Cole writes. “He learned early that a ‘terrible tragedy’ meant the victims were white.” Tensions in Tunde’s marriage to a woman of Japanese descent send him to revisit Lagos, which he sees with fresh eyes. Always looming is the possibility in the title, the tremor of an earthquake, another natural
Welcome to the fall publishing season—you’ll want to clear some shelf space for the cornucopia of exciting books to come. Let’s start with some debuts: Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas (Overlook, Sept. 12) tells the story of two teenagers at a Manhattan private school. Our review says, “equal parts funny and insightful, this is a propulsive exploration of gender identity, sexuality, and self-discovery.”
Molly McGhee’s Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind (Astra House, Oct. 17) follows the title character as he begins a job as a “dream auditor,” cleaning up people’s dreams to make them better workers. “Though the novel is a brutal examination of the psychological pressures and ethical complexity required to survive under late capitalism,” says our review, “McGhee’s wry humor, tenderness, and razor-sharp writing…infuses it with a real, if melancholy, kind of hope.” (Read an interview with McGhee on Page 14.) Eskor David Johnson’s debut, Pay As You Go (McSweeney’s, Oct. 24), is “a madcap odyssey through the hellscape that is the metropolis of the near future,” according to our starred review.
Cassandra Clare’s Sword Catcher (Del Rey, Oct. 10) is certainly not a debut, but it is her first novel for adults, and our review calls it “a whirlwind epic fantasy featuring secret plots, ancient magic, and hidden identities.” Kel may be Prince Conor’s best friend, but what most people don’t know is that he’s also the prince’s Sword Catcher, trained to make people think he’s Conor in risky situations. It’s the beginning of a new series, and Clare’s fans will want to get in on the ground floor.
Let’s not forget the sophomore novels, including C Pam Zhang’s Land of Milk and Honey (Riverhead, Sept. 26), about a young chef working at an “elite research community” on top of an Italian mountain where residents can escape the smog blanketing the Earth. “Mournful and luscious, a gothic novel for the twilight of the Anthropocene
Era,” says our starred review. Then there’s Angie Kim’s Happiness Falls (Hogarth, Aug. 29): When Adam Parson disappears, his 20-year-old daughter, Mia, tries to figure out what happened to him, even though the only person who might know is her neurodiverse brother, Eugene, who can’t speak but has an “unusually happy demeanor.” Our starred review says, “The claim that a book will change your life often seems like an exaggeration. Here the potential is real.”
The Unsettled (Knopf, Oct. 24) is Ayana Mathis’ first novel since her acclaimed 2013 debut, The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, and she again follows several generations of a Black family, this time divided between Philadelphia and Alabama. “Mathis powerfully evokes the heartbreak and ways best efforts are undermined by social and legal machinery,” according to our starred review.
It’s always exciting when a favorite author publishes a book after a long gap, and Michael Cunningham returns for the first time in almost a decade with Day (Random House, Nov. 14), which peeks in on a Brooklyn family on one day—April 5th—in the tumultuous years of 2020, 2021, and 2022. Our starred review says, “This subtle, sensitively written family story proves poignant and quietly powerful.” And Jesmyn Ward returns to the shelves with Let Us Descend (Scribner, Oct. 24), which our starred review calls “an intensely wrought tone poem [about] an enslaved girl’s tortuous passage through the man-made and natural perils of the antebellum Deep South.”
Finally, a new Alice McDermott novel is always a thrill, and our starred review calls Absolution (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, Nov. 7) her masterpiece. Set among a group of American corporate wives in 1963 Saigon, the book is “an exquisitely conceived and executed novel that explores McDermott’s signature topic, moral obligation, against the backdrop of the fraught time preceding the Vietnam War.”
disaster, or a medical diagnosis. He lives in a world where everything seemingly solid shifts but where the richness of Coltrane and Calvino, Bergman and Monk not only persists but illuminates. “How great is what surrounds us,” he feels, in a shift of perspective, “how insubstantial what preoccupies us.”
A provocative and profound meditation on art and life in a world of terror.
Cunningham, Michael Random House (288 pp.)
$28.00 | Nov. 14, 2023
9780399591341
The Pulitzer Prize–winning Cunningham follows a Brooklyn family over the span of three years.
Cunningham focuses his first novel since The Snow Queen (2014) on two siblings—Isabel, a flinty photo editor, wife, and mother of two; and Robbie, her softhearted younger brother, who lives in the attic of her brownstone—and the rest of their somewhat loosely defined family, glimpsing them in snapshots of time over three years: “April 5, 2019: Morning,” “April 5, 2020: Afternoon,” and “April 5, 2021: Evening.” During the course of those days, which comprise the three sections of the book and are punctuated by the pandemic, Isabel’s marriage to aging musician Dan deteriorates; her two children, precocious elementary-schooler Violet and angsty preteen Nathan, struggle and grow; and Dan’s brother, bad-boy artist Garth, contends with his deepening feelings for his friend Chess and the child they share, Odin. But it is Robbie—the sweet emotional center of the family, whom everyone adores; who is trading an unfulfilling role as a schoolteacher for a life of exotic travel and, eventually, he hopes, medical school; and who has amassed a significant Instagram following under the guise of an alter-ego, Wolfe— whose life changes most dramatically. Writing with empathy, insight, keen observation, and elegant subtlety, Cunningham reveals something not only about the characters whose lives he limns in these pages, but also about the crises and traumas, awakenings and opportunities for growth the world writ large experienced during a particularly challenging era—and about the way people found a way to connect with one another and themselves as individuals in a time heightened by love and loss. This subtle, sensitively written family story proves poignant and quietly powerful. (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Davis, Lydia Bookshop Editions (304 pp.)
$26.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9798987717103
Davis, whose prodigious output includes translations, essays, and stories, is back with an overflowing treasure chest of jewel-like stories.
Davis’ stories, some no longer than a sentence, others arranged on the page like poems, eschew the conventions of fiction and instead focus on small, significant moments. “I saw something white moving through the air by the side of the house,” the narrator in “A Matter of Perspective” observes. “I thought it was a large white butterfly fluttering by— / a rare white butterfly! / But it was only a special delivery letter, / Coming past the window in the postman’s hand.” This attention to perspective, to the significance of details as well as the possibility of misperception and miscommunication, animates Davis’ work. In some cases, it’s linguistic, as in “Caramel Drizzle,” a playful piece about the difference between adding “caramel syrup” or “caramel drizzle” to a coffee drink, or “Letter to the Father,” in which a poet whose father is dead wonders, “Do I have a father, or did I have a father?” How much can depend on our perceptions? these stories relentlessly ask. In “Incident on the Train,” a woman asks a young couple to watch her belongings only to begin to worry that they aren’t responsible because “the guy’s eyes are bloodshot, and the girl has a lot of tattoos.” As in many of Davis’ stories, the narrator’s second-guessing leads not to clarity but only more confusion and chaos. Though these stories pose serious questions, their tone is always playful, tender, and irreverent. A series of pieces titled “Claim to Fame” poke gentle fun at the practice of claiming fame by association: “In Detroit, standing in a line, I met a woman who turned out to be the daughter of Samuel Beckett’s publisher Barney Rossett.” And in “Pardon the Intrusion,” Davis creates a community board of things that people are giving away or seeking. Some of the requests are ordinary (“Would anyone like this toddler bed?”) and others slightly wacky (“Pardon the intrusion, but I and the Professor have a surfeit of borage. Any suggestions?”), but together they tell a story about how our idiosyncrasies bring us together. A collection that you’ll want to keep on your bedside table by one of America’s most original short story writers.
(304 pp.)
$27.99 | Oct. 31, 2023
9781982188344
No matter how much you’ll want to look away from the callous injustice and horrific abuse depicted here, this period thriller’s investment of urgency and imagination keeps you riveted.
It’s 1950 and the relatively sheltered life of Robert Stephens, a 12-year-old African American boy living in Florida, is changed forever when he comes to the aid of his older sister, Gloria, who is harassed by the teenage son of their town’s wealthiest white man. Though Robert does nothing more than kick Lyle McCormack, reprisals only begin with Lyle’s father brutally boxing Robert’s right ear. Robert is soon handcuffed, dragged away by police, and given a quick trial. He’s sentenced to six months at the Gracetown School for Boys, euphemistically known as “The Reformatory,” an institution known for racism and brutality toward its adolescent population. Thirty years before, a fire at the school killed 25 boys, many of whom were buried in a gravesite on the grounds along with the bodies of other inmates who died prematurely (and mysteriously). Somehow, Robert can communicate with these dead boys’ ghosts, and the institution’s creepy and corrupt Warden Haddock promises Robert early release if he will somehow help him put these “haints” in something called a “collection jar.” And yes, the spirits are out to get the warden, too. For revenge. But mostly, they want Robert to help set them free and let them be at peace. Meanwhile, Gloria is fiercely, doggedly determined to set Robert free, using whatever legal means are available to a young Black woman in the still-segregated South, including the NAACP. Like Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer-winning The Nickel Boys (2019), this novel is based on Florida’s infamous Dozier School for Boys. Due brings her own gifts in the supernatural-fantasy genre as well as elements of her own family history (the book is dedicated in part to her great-uncle, who died at Dozier in 1937) to this vividly realized page-turner, which is at once an ingenious ghost story, a white-knuckle adventure, and an illuminating if infuriating look back at a shameful period in American jurisprudence that, somehow, doesn’t seem so far away.
A novel that reminds its readers that racism forges its own lasting, unbearable nightmares. (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Enright, Anne Norton (288 pp.)
$27.95 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781324005681
The exceptional, multigarlanded Irish writer returns with a three-generation, woman-centered family portrait marked by “inheritance, of both trauma and of wonder,” and melodious, poetic echoes.
After a nonfiction book (Making Babies, 2012) and a novel (Actress, 2020) exploring parenting, Enright continues to mine this fertile territory, here considering the bonds between daughter Nell and mother Carmel, each influenced by Carmel’s father, Phil McDaragh, “the finest love poet of his generation,” also remembered for “the shouting and the hitting.” His titular poem, dedicated to Carmel, is a romantic vision of the bird, “so fierce and light / I did not feel / the push / of her ascent / away from me / in a blur of love….” But it’s Phil who, bit by bit, leaves for pastures and wives new, gifting responsibility and debt to his two daughters alongside the care of their mother, who’s dying of cancer. Carmel, in turn, “would not have a man in her life,” and Nell, raised cherished but fatherless, seems ill-equipped in her dealings with the opposite sex, notably when falling for Felim, a coercive, increasingly unkind figure. She’s also searching for her own niche as a writer, leaving Ireland to wander around Europe, then the world, in pursuit of a future. The narrative switches point of view among Nell, Carmel, and Phil, and Enright adapts her gifts of musical, seamless prose, wit, capacious insight, and textured personality to each in turn. Lyrical poems of birds punctuate the text, as do snatches of cruelty and violence between men and women, sisters, men and animals, even parents and children. But the familial connections are indelible and enduring. Carmel, watching a long-ago filmed interview with Phil, remembers how devastatingly easy it was to love him. Modern young woman Nell, reaching a place of “happy separateness,” watches it too: “The connection between us is more than a strand of DNA, it is a rope thrown from the past, a fat twisted rope, full of blood.”
Tender and truthful as ever, Enright offers a beguiling journey to selfhood.
Evans, Diana
Pantheon (352 pp.)
$28.00 | Sept. 12, 2023
9780593701089
The shifting sands of relationships, time, and place frame a vibrant new novel from an award-winning British writer.
Broad in range, vivid in detail, alight often with eloquent language, Evans’ fourth novel, set among a Black community in London, takes time to reveal itself. Readers of her
preceding work, Ordinary People (2018), will be familiar with its two central couples—Melissa and Michael and Stephanie and Damian—but years have passed, their relationships have shifted, the lens has widened, and new readers can start here. Now the focus includes Melissa’s two sisters and, notably, her mother, Alice, while the couples’ relationships have buckled. In a virtuoso opening chapter, Alice’s husband, Cornelius, from whom she is separated, meets an unfortunate end, freeing Alice to plan a return to her homeland, Nigeria. The timing and circumstances of Cornelius’ death coincide with the Grenfell Tower fire, the horrific London apartment house blaze that killed 72 people in 2017 and raised multiple issues of negligence, poverty, race, and responsibility. Evans weaves recent politics and social issues—“the doomful cloud of Boris Johnson, the underlying permanence of British racism”—into the narrative as she explores the two former couples’ new, more separate, often restless existences, still connected by their children. There’s Melissa’s debatable new relationship, Michael’s second marriage to a gregarious singer, Damian’s mental health struggle, and much more. Caretaking, of elders and children, is a theme that resonates at many levels, a role not always performed successfully. The notion of home, actual and symbolic, dominates: “More than simply land, but the threads you have spun in your life, the ties you have made with your blood and company.” Sprawling but always engaging, the novel’s cast is filled with rounded individuals, their problems and options as Black, middle-class Londoners showcased at work and play and contemplation, with humor and empathy.
A baggy, striking, perceptive slice of intergenerational life.
Garner, Helen Pantheon (176 pp.)
$25.00 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780553387414
In late-1970s suburban Melbourne, a cluster of family and friends is disrupted by shifting allegiances.
This new edition of the short 1984 novel many consider the eminent Australian author’s masterpiece has a foreword by Rumaan Alam in which he admits to having a hard time encapsulating its virtues. In the end, he cedes the mic to Garner herself, quoting from her diary: “The best I can do is to write books that are small but oblique enough to stick in people’s gullets so that they remember them.” This small, oblique, and gullet-sticking book circles around a group of nine people: Dexter and Athena Fox; their children, Billy, who has a developmental disability, and Arthur; Dexter’s long-ago ex Elizabeth, who in the wake of her mother’s death has been joined by her teenage sister, Vicki; Elizabeth’s sort-of boyfriend, a rocker named Philip; and Philip’s daughter, Poppy. In brief scenes, the perspective of the novel flits around the group from one shoulder to the next, often not making it immediately clear which characters are involved. This elusiveness inspires careful reading
and works to closely focus attention on the key issue of how each character understands and misunderstands the others. For example: “Athena’s life was mysterious to Vicki. She seemed contained, without needs, never restless.” Young Vicki is going to be quite surprised when Athena’s needs and restlessness drive her to an action that affects everyone in the group. Garner gives a master class in her own technique with some advice musician Philip offers an aspiring songwriter: “Take out the clichés....Just leave in the images. Know what I mean? You have to steer a line between what you understand and what you don’t. Between cliché and the other thing. Make gaps. Don’t chew on it. Don’t explain everything. Leave holes. The music will do the rest.” There are continual references to music in this book, but it’s the music of the prose and the hyperlucid imagery that “do the rest” here. One small example—as Athena and Elizabeth’s friendship becomes ever more complicated due to shifting relationships with men, the two of them collaborate to fold a sheet coming off the clothesline, passing it by the corners, one relinquishing, one accepting, as “the light left the garden.”
Brilliantly constructed and puzzling in a good way, the way that even our own lives can be puzzling to us.
Groff, Lauren Riverhead (272 pp.)
$28.00 | Sept. 12, 2023 9780593418390
This historical fever dream of a novel follows the flight of a servant girl through the Colonial American wilderness, red in tooth and claw.
As in her last novel, Matrix (2021), Groff’s imaginative journey into a distant time and place is powered by a thrumming engine of language and rhythm. “She had chosen to flee, and in so choosing, she had left behind her everything she had, her roof, her home, her country, her language, the only family she had ever known, the child Bess, who had been born into her care when she was herself a small child of four years or so, her innocence, her understanding of who she was, her dreams of who she might one day be if only she could survive this starving time.” Those onrushing sentences will follow the girl, “sixteen or seventeen or perhaps eighteen years of age,” through the wilderness surrounding the desperate colony, driven by famine and plague into barbarism, through the territory of “the powhatan and pamunkey” to what she hopes will be “the settlements of frenchmen, canada,” a place she once saw pointed out on a map. The focus is on the terrors of survival, the exigencies of starvation, the challenges of locomotion, the miseries of a body wounded, infected, and pushed beyond its limit. What plot there is centers on learning the reason for her flight and how it will end, but the book must be read primarily for its sentences and the light it shines on the place of humans in the order of the world. Whether she is eating baby birds and stealing the fluff from the mother’s nest to line her boots, having a little tea party with her meager trove of
“Brilliantly constructed and puzzling in a good way, the way that even our own lives can be puzzling to us.”
the children’s bach
Gerard Manley Hopkins. For Hopkins, everything in creation had its own unique character, its own “inscape,” and each thing is at its best self when it expresses that character. A hawk hunts, a flower blooms. “Each mortal thing does one thing and the same,” he writes, “deals out that being indoors each one dwells.” I apply this thinking to fiction, nonfiction, and photography. There are inherent possibilities in each (the use of words, the use of light, the reliance of fact, the relationship to time, etc.) that the others can’t quite replicate. But what I find most interesting is that any art form, brought to fruition, has effects commensurable with other art forms: We are moved, we are changed. In other words, the path to universality is through a very stringent specificity.
Who is your ideal reader for this book?
In Tremor (Random House, Oct. 17), as in his first novel, Open City , Teju Cole has created a protagonist who resembles himself—in this case Tunde, a photographer, writer, and Harvard professor raised in Nigeria. Tunde contemplates music and art, friendship and marriage, race, identity, and authority. Our starred review calls it “a provocative and profound meditation on art and life.” We asked the author some questions by email; his answers have been edited for length and clarity.
What can you express through fiction that you can’t through nonfiction or photography?
This question makes me think of the concept of “inscape” as developed by the 19th-century poet
In my mind, a novel is an invitation to step into a space that will be somewhat unfamiliar. I think some readers have an opposite definition: They read novels in order to get exactly what they expect. Those are not my readers. My ideal reader trusts that I will take them somewhere, not knowing quite where that will be. And yet this unpredictability, in retrospect, should feel necessary and whole.
Were you a big reader as a kid?
Yes, and I read good stuff: Achebe, Twain, Lamb’s abridged Shakespeare. In my early teens, the reading got a bit more generic: Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie. Book after book of those series. I learned something there, I suppose. But beginning at 19 and into my early 20s, the truly formative reading experiences happened, and those were Hemingway, Salinger, Joyce, Kundera, and a large variety of 20th-century poets. That’s what really alerted me to the making of literature, and to the weird intensity that literature could
sponsor, and that planted in me the desire to make literature myself.
What book do you absolutely love that is not as well known as it deserves to be?
I often give different answers when asked to name my favorite book (I take this as an exercise in free will) but my most frequent answers, over the years, are Michael Ondaatje’s Running in the Family and Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memoirs of Hadrian . Recently, Miriam Toews’ Women Talking knocked me off my feet. No, I haven’t seen the film and no, I don’t want to. But I admired the book a great deal.
What fall release(s) are you most looking forward to reading?
I’m actually not that clued in to what’s coming up. I’m curious about Zadie Smith’s The Fraud and Ben Lerner’s [poetry collection] The Lights —two of my peers who do what they do on an extremely high level. But, otherwise, it’s the usual wait and see. In any case, I rarely get around to reading something in the year it’s published. If I were not the author of Tremor , I’d be intrigued by it but probably not get to it until 2027.
Interview by Laurie Muchnickpossessions, temporarily living inside a tree trunk that comes with a pantry full of grubs (spiders prove less tasty), or finally coming to rest in a way neither she nor we can foresee, immersion in the girl’s experience provides a virtual vacation from civilization that readers may find deeply satisfying.
The writing is inspired, the imaginative power near mystic, but some will wish for more plot.
Johnson, Eskor David McSweeney’s (502 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781952119743
A madcap odyssey through the hellscape that is the metropolis of the near future.
In a narrative that’s long on rich description and has a playful love of language, the protagonist, Slide, is a young man with a problem: He lives in a seedy neighborhood where orphans steal his socks from the laundromat and one of his roommates sneaks into his bedroom at night for reasons unclear but likely untoward. Confronted by preteen hoodlums who demand to know which gang he swears allegiance to—“You run with Gulag? Uncle Death? One Shot? Diablos? Why’re you wearing shorts?”—Slide decides to find his own place in a better part of Polis, about which his roomie warns him, “Polis is a friend to no one. It will only take what you give and spit back the bones, even your past, which it holds in reserve to taunt you.” That’s just so, and as Slide goes out into the city, moving from one pitiless zone to the next, he meets some extremely odd characters, such as a hot dog vendor who demands that he eat a suspicious-looking tube steak before proceeding (“Can’t help the streets if you ain’t buying the meats!”) and a tent-city denizen decked out in two tracksuits even in the “June heat that wrapped our throats like pythons.” Finally Slide reaches a part of town “where the light shines brighter,” where the coffee shops have dozens of varieties of beans and “everyone’s clothes were of a higher thread count”—a paradise that’s inaccessible to him. Like Dante, Slide wanders in circles, soaking in weirdness, tragedies, and occasional flashes of beauty. And like Joyce, Johnson builds a world that, for all its improbabilities, is recognizable, with characters who dispense rough and memorable wisdom to help survive an ominous future; as one Uglygod instructs: “You don’t step into a snake’s mouth because it says it’s got its teeth pulled.”
An inventive, beautifully written debut that will leave readers wanting more.
Kim, Angie Hogarth (400 pp.)
$28.00 | Aug. 29, 2023
9780593448205
When her father disappears, 20-yearold Mia Parkson cannot ask the one person who knows what happened—her brother, who does not speak.
After Miracle Creek (2019), the title of Kim’s second novel could make it seem to be part of a series—and thematically, it is, again combining an exploration of neurodiversity and its effects on family dynamics with a mystery, in this case a missing person story, again set in the Northern Virginia suburbs, again with a smart woman lawyer named Shannon Haug on the scene to make brilliant charts. Here, Kim has done even more with what are now clearly her signature materials by nesting this whole situation inside the philosophical question of what creates happiness, one which the missing man, Adam Parson, was privately studying in notebooks documenting his research and experimentation (most of it on his own family). All of this comes to us through the narrator, his daughter, Mia, a brilliant, acerbic chatterbox whose relentless analysis spills from long, ropy sentences into parentheticals and footnotes that lasso the reader into turning the pages. Listen to her: “Labeling anything about our family ‘typical’—I just have to shake my head. I’m not even thinking about the typical-adjacent stuff like John’s and my boy-girl twin thing, our biracial mix (Korean and white), untraditional parental gender roles (working mom, stay-at-home dad), or different last names (Parson for Dad + Park for Mom = mashed up into Parkson for us kids)....Where we’re indubitably, inherently atypical is with my little brother Eugene’s dual diagnosis: autism and a rare genetic disorder called mosaic Angelman syndrome (AS), which means he can’t talk, has motor difficulties, and—this is what fascinates many people who’ve never heard of AS—has an unusually happy demeanor with frequent smiles and laughter.” Got all that? Mia is an amazing creation, as is Eugene. But what is most remarkable about this book is the way Mia’s father’s “happiness quotient” theory ripples not just through the plot of the novel, but through the life of the reader.
The claim that a book will change your life often seems like exaggeration. Here the potential is real.
Labatut, Benjamín
Penguin Press (368 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780593654477
Lightly fictionalized studies of envelope-pushing science and its consequences.
Much like Chilean author Labatut’s excellent When We Cease To Understand the World (2021), this novel turns on brilliant
minds leading troubled lives. First in its triptych of profiles is Austrian physicist Paul Ehrenfest, who killed his son with Down syndrome before killing himself. (Labatut notes that among Ehrenfest’s scholarly interests was turbulence.) The second and most substantive concerns Johnny von Neumann, a prodigiously brilliant Hungarian physicist and mathematician who worked on the Manhattan Project and spearheaded a host of developments in quantum mechanics and computing. The book’s title refers to MANIAC, a successor to the pioneering computer ENIAC, though as von Neumann’s broken relationships and decline become clear, the title becomes double-edged. The third section moves closer to the present day and concerns Lee Sedol, a Korean master of the notoriously challenging board game Go; in 2016 he was defeated by AlphaGo, an AI program, leaving him so devastated he retired from the game. In each section, but especially the latter two, Labatut elegantly captures the sense of geniuses outstripping the typical boundaries of intellectual achievement and paying a price for it. In Sedol’s case, his matches with AlphaGo are characterized not simply as man-versus-machine battles, but a hint of what an AI–driven future might look like; they were “casting a new and terrible beauty, a logic more powerful than reason.” Labatut can approach this with a certain optimism about the magic of unfettered genius. (Sections narrated by physicist Richard Feynman lighten the tone.) But the prevailing mood is dread; as Labatut tracks the ethical debates regarding the A-bomb and the impact of AlphaGo’s triumph, he sounds a concern that humanity is engineering its undoing.
Sharply written fiction ably capturing primitive emotions and boundary-breaking research.
Lahiri, Jhumpa
Trans. by Jhumpa Lahiri with Todd Portnowitz
Knopf (224 pp.)
$27.00 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780593536322
A brilliant return to the short story form by an author of protean accomplishments.
Lahiri’s third collection follows her Pulitzer-winning debut collection, Interpreter of Maladies (1999), and Unaccustomed Earth (2008), with novels and essays interspersed. In 2011, she moved from the U.S. to Rome, where she has become a prolific translator and editor in Italian, and like its immediate predecessor, the novel Whereabouts (2021), the stories in this book were written in Italian then translated to English. As a group, they evoke her new city from the perspective of an outsider looking in—sometimes one character peering into the life of another, or characters staying in houses that belong to other people. The first story, “The Boundary,” establishes this theme, narrated by a girl whose family rents out a guesthouse on their property—she watches the renters, listens to them, and draws conclusions about them, and it
later turns out they’re watching right back. In the moving and wonderfully economical “The Procession,” a couple cannot get settled in the apartment they’ve rented, the wife particularly agitated by a locked room and a dangerous-looking chandelier. In “Well-Lit House,” an immigrant couple with five children is hounded from their home by bigots; the wife and kids return to their country, and the man wanders the city, homeless. Darkskinned people in numerous stories are tormented by random acts of cruelty, in several cases by children. The central story of the book, “The Steps,” is like the game of picking out passersby and imagining what lives they have. Seven characters are seen on an ancient staircase of 126 travertine steps in the middle of town, and each is presented in their own story: the mother, the widow, the expat wife, the girl, two brothers (who share a section), the screenwriter. In the last story, “Dante Alighieri,” a woman at her mother-in-law’s funeral reflects on the long-ago loss of a friend, a memory that connects to other losses and distances. “Our deepest memories are like infinite roots reflected in the brook, a simulacrum without end.” She comforts herself by going for pizza with a group of women friends, one of whom utters the book’s perfect last line: “This city is shit….But so damn beautiful.”
Filled with intelligence and sorrow, these sharply drawn glimpses of Roman lives create an impressively unified effect.
Mason, Daniel Random House (384 pp.)
$28.00 | Sept. 19, 2023
9780593597033
The story of a house, the humans who inhabit it, the ghosts who haunt it, and the New England forest encompassing them all.
In the opening chapter of the fourth novel by Mason—a Pulitzer Prize finalist for A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth (2020)—a pair of rebellious young lovers flee their Puritan Massachusetts village to seek refuge in the “north woods”: “They were Nature’s wards now, he told her, they had crossed into a Realm.” Readers, too, will find themselves in an entrancing fictional realm where the human, natural, and supernatural mingle, all captured in the author’s effortlessly virtuosic prose. Across the centuries, the cabin built by those lovers will transform and house a host of characters, among them Charles Osgood, a British colonist who establishes an apple orchard there; Osgood’s twin daughters, Alice and Mary, whose mutual spinsterhood conceals a bitter jealousy; and Karl Farnsworth, an avid hunter who sees the land as a “sportsman’s paradise” in which to open a private lodge (he hopes to host Teddy Roosevelt despite the “vile” sounds his distraught wife hears in the old structure). Many chapters read like found historical documents, including one side of the correspondence between painter William Henry Teale and his friend Erasmus Nash, a poet, whose visit to the north woods house will have an unexpected impact on both their lives—and those
of future inhabitants. Elsewhere we find “Case Notes on Robert S.,” in which a psychiatrist pays a house call to a resident suffering from possible schizophrenia and given to auditory hallucinations while wandering the forest; and “Murder Most Cold,” a dispatch by TRUE CRIME! columnist Jack Dunne, summoned from New York to look into a gory death on the property. Throughout, this loose and limber novel explores themes of illicit desire, madness, the occult, the palimpsest of human history, and the inexorable workings of the natural world (a passage recounting the fateful mating of an elm bark beetle is unforgettable), all handled with a touch that is light and sure.
Like the house at its center, a book that is multitudinous and magical.
Mathis, Ayana
Knopf (336 pp.)
$29.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780525519935
A family’s struggles in Philadelphia are echoed in turmoil in its ancestral Alabama.
Mathis’ follow-up to her brilliant debut, the novel-in-stories The Twelve Tribes of Hattie (2013), concerns three generations of one Black family. In 1985, Ava Carson has escaped her abusive husband, Abemi Reed, but is left homeless and jobless; the shelter that accepts her and her young son, Toussaint, is roach-infested, and lingering trauma interferes with her ability to get her life in order. Toussaint, meanwhile, plays truant and becomes enmeshed in the neighborhood’s street life. Mathis alternates Ava and Toussaint’s ongoing plight with a storyline narrated by Ava’s mother, Dutchess, a one-time traveling blues singer. She’s one of the last residents of an Alabama town, Bonaparte, which is slowly becoming overrun, at times violently, by encroaching white developers from the ironically named Progress Corp., which “pulled it up like a weed and threw it facedown in the dirt.” A glimmer of hope appears with the reemergence of Toussaint’s father, Cassius Wright, a doctor and former Black Panther who’s trying to launch a much-needed (if technically illegal) neighborhood health clinic and strictly run commune. But order proves slippery, and the novel’s very structure implies that Black families separated by distance and broken by (mainly white) policing and development become nearly impossible to sustain. Mathis’ themes, and sometimes her prose, echo Their Eyes Were Watching God and Sula, two similarly lyrical stories rooted in place and relationships. Though this novel doesn’t enter their ranks, Mathis powerfully evokes the heartbreak and ways best efforts are undermined by social and legal machinery. A determination among all three characters defines the story—Dutchess, Ava, and Toussaint are inheritors of abuse, but Mathis makes them objects of indomitability, not pity.
An affecting and carefully drawn story of a family on the brink. (This review is printed here for the first time.)
“Like the house at its center, a book that is multitudinous and magical.”
north woods
My mom passed away during 2020, and I was suddenly responsible for 20 years’ worth of debt. I was very lonely during this time. I was very depressed. I was struggling to find meaning. And every day, despite all this, I woke up and logged into my job.
It is physically impossible to power through depression. Your body begins to shut down. An overwhelming exhaustion pervades you. What’s funny about sadness is that it also has a way of interrupting your sleep, so that even though you are exhausted, you cannot alleviate your fatigue. You either find yourself sleeping too much, or not enough, yet both experiences remain deeply unsatisfying, and the oscillation between the two can have really strange impacts on your waking life.
Molly McGhee is a writer of fiction and essays as well as a professor of undergraduate creative writing at Columbia University. In her debut novel, Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind (Astra House, Oct. 17), the titular character undertakes a bizarre job in the hope of ridding himself of his crippling debt, resulting in a tale that a Kirkus critic calls “Upton Sinclair meets modern workplace satire—with a lot of heart.” McGhee answered these questions via email; the responses have been edited for length and clarity.
What inspired you to explore the impact of debt through fiction?
Debt has a way of consuming its accruer. Overwhelming debt can be hopeless, and hopelessness can be crushing. Trying to understand inspiration is a bit like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg.
During this time, I was having visceral, fullbody nightmares. My nightmares involved a man who was trapped in a Sisyphean cycle of paying off his debt. Every night he would descend into the dreams of others to try to alleviate their sadness at the expense of himself. I wanted to capture the feeling of this nightmare in fiction. I thought of Nabokov and his collection of pinned butterflies. I believed if I could somehow capture and pin down the diaphanous wings of sadness, I could observe it rather than be victim to it.
What do you hope readers take away from this book?
Every reader is unique, and every reading is different. The goal of my art is to invoke an embodied experience that allows us to transcend the limitations of self. I don’t know if I am successful in that goal, nor what the experience of my readers will be. I guess if I had to stop being evasive, I would say: I hope this book allows at least one person to leave the limits of themself and catch a glimpse of the unknowable other.
Are there any formative books you remember from your youth?
I was really lucky. My dad taught me to read very early and, growing up, my dad was the “stay-at-
home” parent. It’s not that he stayed at home, exactly. He was a “jack of all trades” with a penchant for farmwork. This line of work was flexible enough that he could bring two feral children with him.
I was a precocious, obsessive reader, but I was limited to the fiction my local library had. I read it all: Vonnegut, Nancy Drew, Wuthering Heights, Crime and Punishment. My dad encouraged me to read everything and I did.
What fall releases are you most excited to read?
Kelsey Norris’ short story collection, House Gone Quiet; Olga Ravn’s novel in translation, My Work; Melissa Lozada Olivia’s novel of intergenerational apocalypse, Candelaria; Mona Awad’s gothic fairytale, Rouge; Isle McElroy’s absurdist People Collide; and Samantha Harvey’s meditative Orbital.
Interview by Nina PalattellaMcDermott, Alice
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (336 pp.)
$28.00 | Nov. 7, 2023
9780374610487
The complicated, unseen lives of American corporate wives in Saigon, 1963.
For more than 40 years, McDermott’s deep understanding of human nature and wizardry in creating characters has been the seedbed of one bestselling, award-winning novel after another. Now she has outdone herself with an exquisitely conceived and executed novel that explores her signature topic, moral obligation, against the backdrop of the fraught time preceding the Vietnam War. It would be a shame to reveal the structure of the novel (don’t even read the jacket description!), but it opens with a scene packed like a perfect suitcase with every important theme, character, and concern. The narrator, Patricia, begins in an epistolary vein, describing the languorous morning of a woman whose primary role is “helpmeet” to her husband, a lawyer for the Navy: doing her nails, writing letters, bathing, finally putting on her panty girdle and dressing for lunch. These observations are addressed to a “you,” whom we then meet at the party (it’s like one of those brilliant rolling long shots in a movie): “She was about seven or eight, in her Sunday best like the rest of us...She held a Barbie doll in the crook of her arm, like a scepter.” This is Rainey; she has a baby brother whom Patricia accepts happily from their busy, bossy mother, Charlene (Patricia dearly hopes to be a mother herself soon), but who immediately vomits all over her. While the housegirl, Lily, helps her clean her dress, Rainey shows her the gorgeous clothes Lily’s made for Barbie. Lily, a talented seamstress, whips out another outfit then and there, a “perfect little áo dài: the slim white pants, the long overdress.” As soon as she sees “Saigon Barbie,” Charlene is inspired to a charitable fundraising scheme, which she pretends Patricia came up with (poor Patricia, feeling crankier and more ill-used by the second), brusquely relieving Rainey of her doll to begin production without delay. “The tears that stood in your eyes, illuminating, or so it seemed, the blue of your irises, withdrew themselves—there was no other word for it. Not a one ever fell.” After you finish the book, you’ll want to reread this chapter. How the heck did she do it? All the complications of power, control, and selfcontrol; who does and doesn’t get what they want; the crimes committed in service of “helping” people—what a brilliant way to tell a story about Vietnam.
This transporting, piercing, profound novel is McDermott’s masterpiece. (This review is printed here for the first time.)
pp.)
$27.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781662602115
What would happen if, instead of taking a person’s soul, a Faustian bargain actually revealed it?
The opening of McGhee’s debut novel finds the eponymous Jonathan Abernathy in a dreary waiting room, and the sharp-tongued narrator tells us it’s his “spiritual cousin: chairs of vinyl, cluttered secretarial space, carpet that’s almost as downtrodden as he.” On the edge of eviction and drowning in a pool of debt “so diverse ecologists would be within their jurisdiction to classify the collection as ‘an ecosystem,’ ” Abernathy has been lured to Archival Office 508 by the opportunity to become a “dream auditor” and have his loans forgiven. All he has to do is don a white jumpsuit, go to sleep, and enter people’s dreams; once there, he’ll be taking notes and cleaning up anything that makes the dreamers unproductive workers. The problem is that he’s horrible at it. He’s unable to read the dreamers’ subconscious symbolism or emotional states—shortcomings for which Kai, his no-nonsense and short-tempered boss, constantly berates him. Meanwhile, in waking life, he’s growing closer to his next-door neighbor, Rhoda, and her daughter, Timmy, but their blossoming intimacy is overshadowed by past traumas that they struggle to process. After a series of strange events, Abernathy begins to uncover the (even) darker side of the Archival Office’s work and Kai’s entanglement in it. Sleep and wakefulness bleed into each other as the places that Abernathy’s dreams bring him start looking eerily familiar. Though the novel is a brutal examination of the psychological pressures and ethical complexity required to survive under late capitalism, McGhee’s wry humor, tenderness, and razor-sharp writing keeps it from veering into nihilism and infuses it with a real, if melancholy, kind of hope.
Upton Sinclair meets modern workplace satire—with a lot of heart. (This review is printed here for the first time.)
O’Brien, Tim Mariner Books (400 pp.)
$32.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780063318502
A satirical romp through a country plagued by deceit.
One day in 2019 a man named Boyd Halverson, who feels his life is “a breathtaking failure,” robs a bank in Fulda, California and kidnaps the teller, a 4-foot-10-inch talkaholic named Angie Bing. They light out for Mexico and soon become reluctant allies as Boyd seeks to confront his former father-in-law, an unscrupulous industrialist
named Jim Dooney. He ruined Boyd 10 years earlier—and forestalled a damaging news article—by revealing all the falsehoods on which the younger man, a compulsive liar, had built his journalism career. Dooney, fearing Boyd wants to kill him, moves from one mansion to another in Texas, Minnesota, and California. Angie’s boyfriend, “a piece of stupid wrapped up in cowboy clothes,” goes after his gal but gets waylaid by two excons, on whom he gets medieval with a hoe. Dooney’s successor at his conglomerate (and the current husband of Boyd’s ex-wife) tells his CFO, a sadistic thug distantly related to mass murderer Richard Speck, to find Boyd and hurt him. The owners of the Fulda bank, who’ve been cooking the books for years, decide to rob the bank themselves. Running through all this amusing chaos are the shadows of Boyd’s existential crisis, not least of which is the mystery behind his toddler son’s accidental death. O’Brien also periodically pauses to rant on the national affliction of mythomania or lying, and takes swipes at the White House, fake news, big business, racism, and the extreme right. There are echoes of his famous Vietnam War novel, Going After Cacciato (1977), a book built on a darkly absurd pursuit amid individual and national uncertainty. O’Brien is less focused here, favoring scattershot barbs and humor over cohesion. Yet it’s one of those books where you can sense the author enjoying himself and it’s fun to be along for the ride.
A broadly engaging and entertaining work. (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Ravn, Olga
Trans. by Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell
New Directions (416 pp.)
$18.95 paper | Sept. 4, 2023 9780811234719
An intimate exploration of the brutal wonders of motherhood.
Anna, a Danish author, and Aksel, a Swedish playwright, have just had their first baby. Or they are pregnant with their first baby. Or their eldest child is turning 4 and Anna is pregnant with their second. All these time frames are alternatingly true in this heady, iconoclastic examination of Anna’s journey through pregnancy and into motherhood. In the decentralized space of the novel, Anna’s diaries and journal notes have been compiled in a chronology that appears random, but would be better described as intuitive, by an unnamed curatorial presence to whom Anna has entrusted “the pages [that] lay haphazardly in a large pile.” This curatorial presence ascribes a pattern to Anna’s thoughts, which veer steeply into a dark psychology of anxiety, isolation, and fear as the pregnancy progresses, a condition that worsens in the early years of the child’s infancy. Anna describes the book she herself is writing in these pages as a “dirty book, a misshapen book, a book cut wrong….A book written in the child’s time. A chopped-up, stuttering book. A book with bottomless holes to fall into, like never-ending breastfeedings…a book that creates
the fragile threads of power
space for pain and from this space engenders a possible future happiness,” upon which the curatorial presence seeks to impose some kind of transliterated order. The fact that the curatorial presence is likely also the author, that Anna herself is an invention created to preserve a necessary distance between the experience of pain and the arrangement of pain into art, does nothing to lessen the intensity of the intimacy created between the reader and Anna. As page after page unfolds—sometimes in diary entries, sometimes in verse, sometimes in recorded scraps of pregnancy advice or ad copy—what is created is an unflinchingly honest reflection of a woman’s experience of her own body as it becomes a body that belongs also to the child. This experience includes beauty and pain, rage and tenderness, fear, suspicion, doubt, and the imperative Anna feels to do her work: the work of writing, of mothering, but above all, as Anna says, “These parts of me, separate yet linked, to connect them, to gather them in one place; that is my work.”
A stunning book that speaks aloud thoughts the reader believed had been theirs alone in long nursery hours of the night.
Schwab, V.E.
Tor (656 pp.)
$26.99 | Sept. 26, 2023 9780765387493
The opener for a new series set in Red, White, Grey, and Black London.
It’s been seven years since Kell, Lila, and Holland defeated the evil force known as Osaron. Lila has spent those seven years as captain of a ship, exploring her new magical world and occasionally spying for the Crown. Kell has spent them learning to fight with ordinary weapons now that wielding his magic causes him intense pain. Holland, of course, gave his life to defeat Osaron. But now a shadowy organization called the Hand is plotting against Kell’s brother, King Rhy, and they’ve set their sights on a powerful magical object. Lila, Kell, Rhy, and Rhy’s husband, Alucard, will all be drawn into new danger in their efforts to uncover the plot and protect their family. Meanwhile, a young girl named Tes with the rare ability to see and manipulate the threads of magic is hiding out in Red London, fixing magical objects—and Kosika, the young queen of White London, will do whatever it takes to restore her world’s magic. Returning to the world of her fantastic A Darker Shade of Magic (2015) and its sequels, Schwab gives readers more of everything they love about that series: dynamic, unconventional characters; suspenseful plots; rich worldbuilding; and compelling relationships. New characters Tes and Kosika more than hold their own against returning fan favorites. Schwab’s pacing is confident, assured, and the book weaves a masterful spell on the reader.
A delicious treat for fans of the Shades of Magic series and a lush, suspenseful fantasy in its own right.
Smith, Zadie
Penguin Press (464 pp.)
$26.10 | Sept. 5, 2023
9780525558965
An obscure English novelist and a missing-heir trial are the real historical springboards for Smith’s latest fiction.
Eliza Touchet is cousin and housekeeper to William Ainsworth, whose novel Jack Sheppard once outsold Oliver Twist but who, by 1868, has been far eclipsed by his erstwhile friend Dickens. Widower William is about to marry his maid Sarah Wells, who has borne him a child. Characteristically, he leaves the arrangements to Eliza, who manages everything about his life except the novels he keeps cranking out, which his shrewd cousin knows are dreadful. The new Mrs. Ainsworth is obsessed with the man claiming to be Sir Roger Tichborne, heir to a family fortune who was reported drowned in a shipwreck. The Claimant, as he is called, is likely a butcher from Wapping, but Sarah is one of many working-class Britons who passionately defend him as a man of the people being done wrong by the toffs. Eliza gets drawn into the trial by her fascination with Andrew Bogle, formerly enslaved by the Tichbornes in Jamaica, who recognizes the Claimant as Sir Roger. A Roman Catholic in Protestant Britain and William’s former lover who’s been supplanted by a younger woman, Eliza feels a connection to Bogle as a fellow outsider. (Some pointed scenes, however, make it clear that this sense of kinship is one-sided and that well-intentioned Eliza can be as patronizing as any other white Briton.) Smith alternates the progress of the trial with Eliza’s memories of the past, which include tart assessments of William’s circle of literary pals, who eventually make clear their disdain for his work, and intriguing allusions to her affair with William’s first wife and to her S&M sex with William. (Eliza wielded the whips.) It’s skillfully done, but the minutely detailed trial scenes provide more information than most readers will want, and a lengthy middle section recounting Bogle’s African ancestry and enslaved life, though gripping, further blurs the narrative’s focus. Historical fiction doesn’t seem to bring out Smith’s strongest gifts; this rather pallid narrative lacks the zest of her previous novels’ depictions of contemporary life.
Intelligent and thoughtful but not quite at this groundbreaking writer’s usual level of excellence.
“A delicious treat for fans of the Shades of Magic series and a lush, suspenseful fantasy in its own right.”
Thomas, James Frankie Overlook (400
pp.)
$28.00 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781419769146
Two teenagers wrestle with friendship and attraction at a New York City private school in this hilarious and sexy debut.
In the early 2000s, Nell and Fay are best friends at Idlewild, a private Quaker school in lower Manhattan. Nell “is good at numbers and homework,” while Fay “is good at having big tits and being the boss.” Together they form the “F&N unit,” and for most of senior year, they move through the school with a sense of urgent inseparability. Under the surface, though, are unspoken tensions—like the fact that shy, sincere Nell has a massive crush on brash, confident Fay. Whereas Nell is out, Fay’s sexuality remains mysterious and elusive. In class, Fay is known for passionately arguing that literature from The Great Gatsby to Othello is full of “HoYay,” an internet term meaning “Homoeroticism: Yay!” Fay’s fantasies about gayness, what qualities attract and excite her, are explored with subtlety, precision, and originality, even as they are likely to feel relatable to many readers. While in the process of naming her desires, Fay’s vacillation between frustration and exhilaration is movingly conjured on the page. Everything changes when Fay and Nell befriend two sophomore boys: the enigmatic, erratic Theo and his puppy-doggish friend and roommate, Christopher. At first, Fay is fascinated by the boys’ friendship, living arrangement, and possible sexual chemistry— but soon, Fay’s interest shifts specifically to Theo, who seems to understand parts of Fay that no one else has. Narrated in turns by the adult Nell and Fay, looking back at their Idlewild years, and the royal “we” of the F&N unit in 2002, the novel bursts with voice, skillfully conjuring both the easy banter of best friends on AIM and the ruminating uncertainty of adolescence.
Equal parts funny and insightful, this is a propulsive exploration of gender identity, sexuality, and self-discovery.
(This review is printed here for the first time.)
Vara, Vauhini
Norton (224 pp.)
$26.95 | Sept. 26, 2023
9780393541731
A haunting short story collection from the author of The Immortal King Rao (2022), a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction.
In “The Irates,” a girl grieving the death of her brother tries to work at a Seattle phone sex hotline. “I, Buffalo” follows a high-achieving woman, recently fired from her law firm and struggling with substance abuse, who tries to be a good aunt. The protagonist
of “This Is Salvaged” is an experimental artist who attempts to construct a replica of Noah’s Ark in Seattle with the help of a group of men from a Christian homeless shelter. In “You Are Not Alone,” a girl celebrating her eighth birthday meets her father’s new wife in the Orlando airport. The prose in this wideranging collection flows seamlessly, one rhythmic sentence after another. The stories range in perspective, going from an intimate first person to a distant third person that only identifies the protagonist as “the girl.” Some stories are formally inventive. “Unknown Unknowns,” the shortest inclusion, is a five-paragraph sketch of a woman’s relationship with her son and a meditation on truths and untruths. “The Hormone Hypothesis” unfolds primarily as a conversation between two women. “The Eighteen Girls” tells a tragic story of sisterhood and loss through segments ostensibly about different girls (“the first girl,” “the second girl,” etc.). Motifs reemerge across the collection’s pages: repellant parts of the body (sweat and dried up dead skin), girlhood, divorce, faith. If the collection could be said to have a theme, it would be human relationships: those between best friends, aunts and nieces, lovers, mothers and sons, sisters, daughters and fathers. Although many of the stories dwell in the realm of alienation, they generally end on a note of redemption, however small. The reader emerges from these stories contemplative but not pessimistic.
A poignant collection of stories that glimpse the salvation of human connection in the midst of modern alienation.
Ward, Jesmyn
Scribner (320 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781982104498
This intensely wrought tone poem stalks an enslaved girl’s tortuous passage through the human-made and natural perils of the antebellum Deep South.
Ward follows her award-winning Bois Sauvage trilogy (Where the Line Bleeds, 2008; Salvage the Bones, 2011; Sing, Unburied, Sing, 2017) by moving away from her native Mississippi and back in time to the rice fields of pre–Civil War North Carolina, where Annis, a bright young Black woman who has learned from her mother, enslaved like her, that the white man who owns her is also her father and his daughters (on whose school lessons about Aristotle and the social habits of bees she eavesdrops) are her sisters. Annis’ mother enhances the younger woman’s education with lessons in self-defense and survival tactics she carried with her from Africa, where, as she informs her daughter, her mother was a warrior queen. Annis will need all this inherited cunning and resilience after her “sire” sells her mother. Away from her chores, Annis finds solace from her lover, Safi, the bees carrying out their own chores in the nearby forest, and words from a poem about an “ancient Italian” descending into hell as intoned by her sisters’ tutor. After Safi flees the plantation, Annis and other slave women are herded like cattle and sent off on a
family meal
long, grueling march further south. Along the way, Annis has her first encounter with a dynamic woman spirit bearing the name Mama Aza, an imperious and enigmatic guardian angel guiding and protecting Annis from the more malevolent spirits that endanger the women’s lives en route to the slave markets of New Orleans, which Annis likens to the “grief-racked city” of Dante’s poem. There’s little that Ward’s narrative contributes to the literature of American slavery in its basic historic details. But what gives this volume its stature and heft among other recent novels are the power, precision, and visionary flow of Ward’s writing, the way she makes the unimaginable horror, soul-crushing drudgery, and haphazard cruelties of the distant past vivid to her readers. Every time you think this novel is taking you places you’ve been before, Ward startles you with an image, a metaphor, a rhetorical surge that makes both Annis and her travails worth your attention. And admiration.
Ward may not tell you anything new about slavery, but her language is saturated with terror and enchantment.
Washington, Bryan Riverhead (320 pp.)
$27.00 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780593421093
Food, family, and sex drive this intimate novel about the difficult search for true connections.
After the tragic death of his boyfriend, Cam returns to Houston adrift, struggling with drug and sex addiction, and often seeing Kai’s ghost. He gets a job as a bartender and finds himself pulled into the life and family of TJ, his former best friend, from whom he had drifted. Cam’s grief and TJ’s resentment keep them from fully reconciling, while Cam’s addictions slowly overpower him. Readers of Washington’s other work will find a familiar style and themes here. There are several narrators who tell the story in sections, some as short as a sentence or two. The characters are rarely alone but feel isolated or alienated from their families. For a book driven by dialogue, the characters often talk at a slant, not quite saying what’s actually on their minds. The characters are part of both biological and built families. Cam and TJ grew up together and are closer than brothers. Co-workers aren’t just colleagues, but members of a family focused on achieving something together, whether that’s hanging on to one of the last gay bars in a fastgentrifying Houston neighborhood or nourishing body and soul in TJ’s family bakery. Grief over Kai’s death creates another network. Characters find themselves pushed and pulled from their families in an often futile attempt to get away. The many families in the book are brought together through the act of cooking, and few writers bring food to life like Washington. When things are going well, the kitchens here are humming. People know exactly where everything is located, the cooks communicate almost telepathically, and the reader can nearly taste the food. Thankfully, Washington luxuriates in descriptions of smells,
tastes, and textures without letting the narrative get bogged down. Many of the characters are happiest when they’re cooking or eating because that allows them to communicate without the burden of words. As Kai says, “My family taught me the difference between acceptance, allowance, and understanding. Also: just being. Sometimes they overlap. Usually, they don’t.” Washington brilliantly commits to his style and preoccupations in a novel about the often winding journey to family.
Watkins, LaToya
Tiny Reparations (224 pp.)
$28.00 | Aug. 29, 2023
9780593185940
Eleven searingly alive stories about Black men and women from West Texas explore the ways remorse and resentment can coexist in secrecy.
The opening story, “The Mother,” carries an emotional wallop while setting up the collection’s theme through the voice of a self-proclaimed “old junkie whore” forced to face troubling memories about her role in shaping her long-abandoned son, a cult leader who claimed to be the Messiah and led his mostly white followers to commit mass suicide. The title story, another tour de force, also concerns a single mother, who must decide how far she’ll go to protect her “good kid” after he’s accused of a violent act not unlike one she suffered but keeps secret. Children, in person or memory, haunt these pages, beloved even when sources of grief. For mothers, of course, but in a refreshing turn, Watkins also pays serious attention to the importance of paternal love. After the death of his infant son in “Dog Person,” a father’s problematic attachment to his Great Dane—animals play symbolic roles throughout—obscures the secret betrayals destroying his once-perfect marriage. In “Tipping,” a woman almost overlooks her dead husband’s cheating and lying because he was a loving stepfather. Watkins’ protagonists want to rise above traumatic childhoods but fear, often correctly, that they are failing as parents and spouses. The politics of race are a given in these stories, and equally important are the socioeconomic differences—money, social status, education—that cause divisions difficult to surmount. “Cutting Horse” is an aria about the doomed attempts of a “part gangster, part cowboy” to reinvent himself for his genteel accountant wife. Watkins powerfully depicts unsustainable relationships, but she offers solace in the tough-minded love story “Moving the Animal,” about a woman caring for her husband after his stroke. In the final story, “Time After,” a sister’s search for the brother she rejected out of religious rigidity reveals love’s redemptive possibilities.
Granular yet transcendent storytelling.
“Food, family, and sex drive this intimate novel about the difficult search for true connections.”
Zeineddine, Ghassan
Tin House (288 pp.)
$17.95 paper | Sept. 5, 2023
9781959030294
Stories full of humor and warmth about an Arab American community. In his debut collection, Zeineddine toes the impossibly delicate line between pathos and humor with the grace and finesse of a tightrope walker. His subject is Dearborn, Michigan, a city made up primarily of Arab Americans. In 10 stories, Zeineddine brings that community alive. His voice is irresistible—warm, funny, and unrelenting. “Money Chickens” begins: “Some folks store their money in safes; Baba used chickens. I was six the first time I saw him shove a Ziploc bag filled with bills inside a chicken in the kitchen of our twobedroom house….” The story is nearly impossible to put down. Zeineddine writes as sympathetically from the points of view of his women characters as he does from his men, and in “Yusra,” he writes beautifully about Yasser, who on Fridays likes to dress up in heels, lipstick, and a hijab and call himself Yusra. Each of Zeineddine’s characters is marvelously complex: Some are devout, some secular; some run cons, some toil in honest work, while others strive toward a creative outlet. “Speedoman” is narrated in the first person plural, first by the men of the community, then by the women, and back again. A stranger has shown up at the local pool with images of Lebanon printed across the backside of his Speedo, inspiring nostalgia—and perhaps some other emotions—in both the men and women. It’s a masterfully told story. What Zeineddine can do with a simple storyline and a few pages is a thing of wonder.
A fantastic collection heralding the voice of a major new writer.
Zhang, C Pam
Riverhead (240 pp.)
$27.00 | Sept. 26, 2023 9780593538241
Climate disaster provides both setting and a sense of urgency to Zhang’s second novel.
“I fled to that country because I would have gone anywhere, done anything, for one last taste of green sharp enough to pierce the caul of my life.” A cloud of smog has enveloped the Earth, hiding the sun and killing most of the planet’s food crops. A young chef takes a job at an “elite research community” perched atop an Italian mountain. Her employer is enigmatic and unnerving. His daughter is brilliant and headstrong. And the chef soon discovers that she is imprisoned in a simulacrum of paradise bound by secrets and ghosts. But, as she cooks lavish meals for those
who can afford to escape the smog, she has access to crème fraîche, strawberries, and a French breed of chicken that should be extinct. To say that the narrator represents the moral center of this universe is not to say that she is incorruptible. This is, among other things, a story of what survival looks like in a world riven by gross inequality, and the narrator’s choices are driven by self-interest. Often, those choices come with a side order of self-loathing—a familiar dynamic for many participating in late capitalism. None of this, however, should suggest that Zhang has written a manifesto. Instead, she reminds us of what it’s like to be embodied and living on Earth with sumptuous scenes of food and sex. Zhang earned bountiful accolades—including being longlisted for the Booker Prize—for How Much of These Hills Is Gold (2020), and her skills have only increased since she wrote her stunning debut.
Mournful and luscious, a gothic novel for the twilight of the Anthropocene Era.
Carrière, Alice Spiegel & Grau (288 pp.)
$27.00 | Aug. 29, 2023 9781954118294
A memoir of mental illness from the daughter of actor Mathieu Carrière and artist Jennifer Bartlett.
Alice Carrière’s childhood was underscored by the wealth, power, and notoriety of her parents along with the idiosyncrasies and aloofness that these markers often confer. In her literary debut, she establishes the push and pull of her mother, father, and beloved Nanny, “the British governess paid to raise me,” a motherly figure “who could be fired and disappear at any moment.” Each struggled with their own backgrounds of trauma, from indoctrination in perverse cultural movements to up-close encounters with suicide. The inheritance of these scars—and the attendant distance and inappropriateness—contributed to the author’s mental illness, which included self-harm, first inflicted at age 7. “With a tiny, shiny blade I learned I could unlock a doorway that led to a place that was entirely my own, even if I could only stay there for a moment within those seconds of pain,” she recalls. Throughout this visceral text, the author propels readers forward with the gut-wrenching descriptions of her struggles and how they were exacerbated by the lack of a recognizable support system. Meanwhile, she artfully establishes an equally disturbing undercurrent: the sucker punch of egregious malpractice to which she was subjected by a series of doctors who overprescribed a number of powerful drugs and mismanaged therapy sessions. It can be difficult to ignore the advantages of Carrière’s privilege— e.g., lengthy stays at expensive inpatient facilities, the ability to drop in and out of elite universities—but her artistic prowess and determination to unearth and interpret the true narrative arc of her life and healing shine through. “Things only became real when they were turned into language,” she writes, and “that language was often the only thing left when that reality fell apart.” This book is the exemplification of that ideal, rendering real and poignant her experience—both material and interior— in stunning prose.
Welcome to the 2023 Fall Preview. Here are 10 nonfiction favorites, representing an array of subjects, arranged by publication date.
Let’s start with one of my favorite New Yorker writers, Jill Lepore. The Deadline (Liveright/Norton, Aug. 29), a gathering of essays from the past decade, is yet another winner for the prolific author. Whether she’s discussing Ruth Bader Ginsburg, #MeToo, or MobyDick, she delivers what our starred review calls “a noteworthy collection from an indispensable writer and thinker.”
As summer winds down, the baseball playoff races heat up, and Joe Posnanski’s Why We Love Baseball: A History of 50 Moments (Dutton, Sept. 5) covers all the bases, from legendary moments to more obscure factoids. Digging deep into the archives of baseball lore, the author creates what our critic calls “a book for any baseball fan to cherish.”
Road ecology may not be familiar to many readers, but Ben Goldfarb makes the subject come alive in Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet (Norton, Sept. 12), which “chronicles his journeys through numerous countries with colleagues to conduct extensive field research and mixes his findings with historical research showing the effects of roads on our ecology.” It’s a surprisingly entertaining journey, as the author takes us into “an astonishingly deep pool of wonders.”
Debates about public education continue to rage, and Bettina L. Love adds significantly to the conversation with Punished for Dreaming: How School Reform Harms Black Children and How We Heal (St. Martin’s, Sept. 12), “a stark critique of 40 years of education policies that were deliberately crafted ‘to punish Black people for believing in and fighting for their right to quality public education,’ ” our reviewer says. Not just “an impassioned plea for educational justice,” this book is a must-read for policymakers and parents alike.
Ditto Black AF History: The UnWhitewashed Story of America (Dey Street/HarperCollins, Sept. 19) by Michael Harriot, illustrated by Jibola Fagbamiye, a “simultaneously humorous and heartbreaking” history that masterfully counters countless whitewashed myths about the U.S. As our critic notes,
“Fresh eyes and bold, entertaining language combine in this authoritative, essential work of U.S. history.”
Acclaimed naturalist Sy Montgomery is back with Of Time and Turtles: Melding the World, Shell by Shattered Shell (Mariner Books, Sept. 19), illustrated by Matt Patterson, a wondrous celebration of a fascinating animal. Like all Montgomery’s books, this one is an “engaging, informative, and colorful journey” into the natural world, according to our review.
How To Say Babylon (Simon & Schuster, Oct. 3), by Safiya Sinclair, is one of the best memoirs of the year, a sharp exploration of her upbringing within a strict, sexist brand of Rastafari. “Sinclair’s gorgeous prose is rife with glimmering details, and the narrative’s ending lands as both inevitable and surprising,” notes our starred review. “More than catharsis; this is memoir as liberation.”
“[Werner] Herzog in all his extravagant, perspicacious glory.” That’s how our critic opens the starred review of the inimitable director’s memoir, Every Man for Himself and God Against All (Penguin Press, Oct. 10), translated by Michael Hofmann, a captivating chronicle of an eventful life and brilliant, idiosyncratic mind.
In her follow-up to the acclaimed Flying Couch, Amy Kurzweil “continues to expand the possibilities of the graphic memoir with an exploration of her patrilineal ancestors,” according to our review. Artificial: A Love Story (Catapult, Oct. 17) is a striking multigenerational saga involving the author; her grandfather, an Austrian conductor who escaped the Nazis; and her father, an early pioneer in AI technology. “Intimate reflections and powerful visual elements combine in an exemplary work of graphic nonfiction,” writes our critic.
Speaking of exemplary graphic nonfiction: Roz Chast, whose latest, I Must Be Dreaming (Bloomsbury, Oct. 24), is a delightful dream journal from the inaugural winner of the Kirkus Prize for nonfiction. Chast, notes our review, delivers “a sharp compendium of dreamy visions that could only have come from the iconic cartoonist’s sleeping mind.”
Eric Liebetrau is the nonfiction and managing editor.
Photo courtesy Leah Overstreet
NONFICTION | Eric Liebetrau
summer of hamn
Chast, Roz
Bloomsbury (128 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781620403228
The renowned cartoonist taps into Freud, Jung, and Kabbalah to discuss what happens when the head hits the pillow.
Chast, famed New Yorker cartoonist and winner of the inaugural Kirkus Prize for Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? makes it clear that while your own dreams may be inherently interesting, listening to other’ dreams is markedly not. Thankfully, the author’s thumbnail depictions of dreams that span a cross section of her bedside dream journal bring just enough humor and wit for readers to be charmed instantly. “This book is dedicated to the Dream District of our brains,” writes the author, “that weird and uncolonized area where anything can happen, from the sublime to the mundane to the ridiculous to the off-the-charts bats.” Familiar classics—“alone at a party,” “teeth falling out”—sit alongside the bizarre and hilarious—e.g., “too many birds not enough cages.” Even actor Wallace Shawn, son of former New Yorker editor William Shawn, makes an appearance: “He and I were walking down Main Street in a town in Connecticut and I needed to point something out to him: ‘Look, It’s a Broccoli Patch!’ ” From “Recurring Dreams” to “Nightmares” to “Dream Fragments or Ones That Got Away,” Chast explores beyond the first blush of the strange and personal in dreams. She writes, “here’s what’s interesting: dreams come out of my brain… as I sleep, I am creating them…so why, as they unfold, am I always so surprised?!??” The author reaches for answers beyond Freud and Jung to a wider range of insights from Kabbalah, Aristotle, neuroscientists, molecular biologists, and more. Illustrations and visual storytelling weave together a broad range of content on dreams that offers insight while never feeling burdensome or overly analytical. Easy on the eyes and witty, this book will have readers reaching for their own dream journals.
A sharp compendium of dreamy visions that could only have come from the iconic cartoonist’s sleeping mind.
Chuck D
Enemy Books/Akashic (240 pp.)
$19.95 paper | Oct. 3, 2023
9781636141527
With his latest work of graphic nonfiction, Chuck D uses his art and hip-hop rhymes to show how the U.S. has been held hostage by gun violence and a growing sense of hopelessness.
Unlike the sprawling yet powerful collection Stewdio, which tried to make sense of the chaos of the early period of the
Covid-19 pandemic, the author’s latest has a tight focus and engaging structure. The Public Enemy frontman draws impressionistic portraits of news events and then crafts a rhyme to explain it. “At every turn this summer, so much visible hate… Salman Rushdie…is bum rushed and stabbed on stage in Western New York State,” he writes to accompany a poignant sketch of the incident, including the looks of horror from the audience. The bulk of the events Chuck D chronicles are shootings—at a convenience store in California and a shopping mall in Ohio, or the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe—and the continuing disastrous effects of climate change, including flooding in Las Vegas and Texas. This is heavy material, but just as Flavor Flav provided enough levity to balance the hard-hitting subject matter of Public Enemy’s albums, Chuck D’s outside interests—basketball, space exploration, and, of course, hip-hop—lighten the mood enough to keep readers moving through this compelling narrative. Few recaps of the summer of 2022 would include drought’s effect on Lake Mead, a critique of Ye’s fashion designs for The Gap, and the importance of the trade of the Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers. But that’s how Chuck D’s fascinating mind works, and this chronicle of his interests is both brilliant and relatable. He closes with a poignant plea: “Indian summer awaits to cool down the heat and the hate…Protect your fam this fall…The end of hamn.”
A focused, fresh, urgent text filled with pictures worth 1,000 words and rhymes worth thousands more.
Ernaux, Annie
Trans. by Alison L. Strayer
Seven Stories (64 pp.)
$13.95 paper | Sept. 12, 2023
9781644213209
The Nobel laureate revisits a love affair with a much younger man.
In her latest book to appear in English, Ernaux recounts a brief love affair with A., a man who was 30 years her junior. “He gave me pleasure and made me relive things I would never have imagined experiencing again,” she writes. The book, which is slim, occasionally stark, and very much to the point— more an essay than a full-length volume—is by no means a florid account. Instead, Ernaux candidly describes how the relationship caused her to reexamine not only sex and sensuality, but memory and time itself. “With him I traveled through all the ages of life, my life,” she writes. Fittingly, she spends less time describing A. as a person than she does the various insights their relationship revealed. She was with a younger man “so that I would not continually be looking at the timeworn face of a man my age, the face of my own aging. When A.’s face was before me, mine was young too. Men have known this forever, and I saw no reason to deprive myself.” The major pleasure in reading this book—and it is a major pleasure—comes not so much from gasping over sensual details but from savoring Ernaux’s
“A focused, fresh, urgent text filled with pictures worth 1,000 words and rhymes worth thousands more.”
sentences and the searing clarity of her thinking. It isn’t just that she avoids sentimentality, though she does that, too. It’s that the author can (and does) analyze all kinds of intersecting threads—aging, class, desire, regret—without a sense of shame or an impulse to sugarcoat any of the truths she uncovered during her time with A. She even delves into the possibility of motherhood: “He wanted to have a child with me. This desire troubled me and made me feel the profound unfairness of being in good physical shape but no longer able to conceive.”
A crucial addition to Ernaux’s oeuvre.
Goldfarb, Ben Norton (384 pp.)
$30.00 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781324005896
A wide-ranging, fascinating exploration of roads, which are “not merely a symptom of civilization but a distinct disease.”
Goldfarb’s follow-up to Eager, his award-winning book on beavers, is another illuminating, witty work. He chronicles his journeys through numerous countries with colleagues to conduct extensive field research and mixes his findings with historical research showing the effects of roads on our ecology. Pavement, he writes, “blankets less than 1 percent” of the U.S., “but its ecological influence “covers a full 20 percent.” Goldfarb sadly notes that it “has never been more dangerous to set paw, hoof, or scaly belly on the highway.” With the rise of cars and roads in the 20th century, the degrading word roadkill was born, and the deer became primary victims. The author bemoans how the “Interstate Highway System lopped off migration routes as neatly as a guillotine,” and roads with more than 10,000 vehicles per day loom as what road ecologists call “absolute barriers to most wildlife.” The sprawling Los Angeles freeway labyrinth, with its “clean as a scalpel” east-west habitat fragmentation, has disrupted practically every species, especially the mountain lion. As a result of roadkill, Goldfarb sadly notes, 21 critters, especially reptiles and amphibians, face extinction, and he reveals how the National Forest Service’s many roads have become “proxy battlegrounds in a cultural war” and how they’re working to reduce them. Excessive road noise is equally pernicious, as is excessive salt on roads. Not to be overlooked, usually on a car’s front, is the ongoing insect liquidation, but many shrubby roadsides have also become insect sanctuaries. “The necrobiome,” Goldfarb writes, “airbrushes our roadsides, camouflaging a crisis by devouring it.” Fortunately, in Europe and Canada, recent innovations in under- and overpasses have helped reduce the number of dead animals, and the author is optimistic about the roles of citizen scientists, self-driving cars, and achievements in Brazil, which “seem[s] to sit at road ecology’s forefront.”
An astonishingly deep pool of wonders.
Grescoe, Taras
Greystone Books (312 pp.)
$28.95 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781771647632
A surprising, flavorsome tour of ancient cuisines demonstrating how the way forward involves looking back. This is not just another slick volume about cooking exotic food. Montreal-based Grescoe, author of a number of awardwinning books, including Straphanger and Bottomfeeder, loves food and is an adventurous diner, but he also has serious points to make. He is deeply concerned with the shrinking biodiversity of food production and the lack of real nutrition in processed foods. The answer, he believes, is to look at what earlier civilizations ate. In the course of his research, he visited ancient sites and met with farmers and Indigenous peoples who are resurrecting preindustrial methods of agriculture. He sampled axayacatl, an important insect in the Aztec diet. In Greece, he indulged in oil from very old olive trees, which leads to a discussion of the role that olives played in the spread of civilization. He tasted a salty fish sauce called garum, which has been around for centuries. On Vancouver Island, Grescoe tried the native camas, “a tuber that was widely consumed on the Northwest Coast before the Europeans came.” Along the way, the author learned that pigs were brought to the Americas by the conquistadors and that the first cheeses were made more than 7,000 years ago. Grescoe has tried to re-create some of the dishes he discovered in his own kitchen, with a surprising degree of success. His final effort involved making bread using ingredients and methods gleaned from the study of a Neolithic site in Turkey. Grescoe advises readers to look beyond the supermarket shelves, think before they buy, and take some culinary chances. “For those who champion the Earth’s dwindling nutritional diversity,” he concludes, “the message is as simple as it is urgent: to save it, you’ve got to eat it.”
Grescoe writes with color, energy, and humor, and the result is a fascinating book that leaves you hungry for more.
Gurba, Myriam
Avid Reader Press (288 pp.)
$27.00 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781982186494
A queer Latine author explores the multifaceted concept of a “creep.”
Gurba, the author of the acclaimed memoir Mean, begins her latest book with a memory of her and her friend Renee Jr.—daughter of
Renee Sr., who gave the author her “second perm”—flinging “lesbian” Barbie dolls out of a 10th-story window purely to delight in the toys’ untimely deaths. “It’s easy to get sucked into playing morbid games,” writes Gurba, using this wickedly hilarious scene to frame a larger question: Who is called a creep, and why? In this and the following essays, the author compares her harmless childhood fascination with the macabre to legitimate creeps. These include writer William Burroughs, a “queer nihilist” and “outlaw” who got away with killing his wife; former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, who shot and killed the family maid when he was just 4 years old; and Gurba’s own abusers, including a rapist named Tommy Jesse Martinez and an ex-boyfriend she calls Q, who “routinely raped, beat, and tortured me not because I’m stupid, not because I’m a masochist, and not because I’m insane. He did it because I’m a woman.” One of the most touching pieces traces how Gurba’s cousin’s search for basic safety ultimately landed her in jail, an outcome the author clearly connects to the racist war on drugs. Gurba’s lyrical prose forces us to face the sexism, racism, homophobia, and other systems of oppression that allow some Americans to get away with murder while the rest of us live in constant fear. Every piece is rife with well-timed humor and surprising conclusions, many of which come from the author’s staggering command of history. Profoundly insightful, thoroughly researched, incredibly inventive, and laugh-out-loud funny, this book is a masterpiece of wit and vulnerability.
A truly exceptional essay collection about safety, fear, and power.
The Un-Whitewashed Story of America
Harriot, Michael Illus. by
Jibola FagbamiyeDey Street/HarperCollins (432 pp.)
$32.50 | Sept. 19, 2023
9780358439165
A vibrant retelling of American history that explodes “the whitewashed mythology enshrined in our collective memory.”
In his simultaneously humorous and heartbreaking debut book, journalist and cultural critic Harriot offers an impressively researched and thoughtful exploration of the African diaspora over the past 500 years. The author weaves humor and wit with history and advocacy, and he takes readers on countless edifying twists and turns that debunk myths or clarify accepted terms and conditions. Harriot is adept at reframing conventional history, showing us how the slave trade was human trafficking, plantations were “forced labor enterprises,” Jim Crow was American apartheid, and lynch mobsters were serial killers and ethnic cleansers. Though pertinent historical names and events come to the forefront, forgotten players and details receive equal attention. “The Emancipation Proclamation couldn’t free the slaves,” he writes. “Black people freed themselves. And in doing so, they defeated the Confederacy and freed America
from its most undemocratic institution.” Harriot also injects appropriate modern analogies—e.g., regarding W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington, “this beef was bigger than Jay-Z vs. Nas; shadier than Michael Jackson vs. Prince; more contentious than sugar vs. salt in grits.” After noting Ida B. Wells’ “allergy to white nonsense and patriarchy,” the author later devotes an entire chapter to the women who started and contributed to the Civil Rights Movement. In a nod to family, the book is also seasoned with stories from Harriot’s own life and family history, including the “Top-Secret Recipe for Aunt Phyllis’s Fried Chicken.” An uncle even steps in to share some of the narrating duties. Each chapter concludes with an amusing yet informative quiz, and the text includes a wide variety of digressive asides and illuminating sidebar passages—e.g., “The Difference Between Soul Food and Southern Cuisine,” “The Real Wakanda.” Fagbamiye’s illustrations complement the text well.
Fresh eyes and bold, entertaining language combine in this authoritative, essential work of U.S. history.
The King of New York Hermes, Will Farrar, Straus and Giroux (560 pp.)
$35.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780374193393
The mercurial life and career of the singularly talented rock artist Lou Reed (1942-2013).
In the decade following his death, Reed’s legacy has generated considerable attention, fueling further interest and debate about this legendary performer’s artistic stature. In addition to Anthony DeCurtis’ recent biography, Todd Haynes’ acclaimed 2021 documentary on the Velvet Underground introduced Reed to younger audiences. Rolling Stone contributor Hermes, author of Love Goes to Buildings on Fire, covers a good amount of familiar territory. He traces Reed’s early writing and musical roots, from his performing in high school bands on Long Island to studying poetry at Syracuse with early mentor Delmore Schwartz to his formation of the Velvet Underground in 1965 with John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Angus MacLise. With Reed serving as the band’s principal songwriter, singer, and guitarist, they caught the attention of Andy Warhol, who for two years would become their manager. Reed quit the band in 1970 and launched a successful solo career, continuing for several decades. Hermes shrewdly probes Reed’s complex personal and professional life and his frequently erratic behavior; his struggles with mental illness and depression; drug and alcohol abuse; intimate relationships with women and men and his self-identifying queer or nonbinary sexuality; partnerships with David Bowie, Warhol, and Laurie Anderson; and his influence on performers including Patti Smith and the Talking Heads. The author interviewed many of Reed’s closest friends and relations and, unlike previous biographers, accessed the New York Public Library’s recently acquired Reed archives. Hermes’ strength is in identifying and
“Fresh eyes and bold, entertaining language combine in this authoritative, essential work of U.S. history.”
black af history
the passage of time for you to approach a subject? And how do you know when you are ready to write about an episode in your life? Most of my books relate to past events in my life. I have always been unable to grasp, to understand, things in the moment when they are happening; I simply experience them, and often quite powerfully. That is where memory intervenes. For one of the epigraphs to Happening, I put a quote from the Japanese writer Yūko Tsushima: I wonder if memory is not simply a question of following things through to the end. This is exactly the function that memory plays in my writing: It brings me memories—images, words—that I then decipher as an archaeologist does excavated objects.
The decision to write grows little by little, it does not develop overnight. Each of my texts has required a different maturation time, was sometimes abandoned, and then resumed.
The world’s readers are finally catching up to French writer Annie Ernaux, who has been crafting intense autobiographical meditations for nearly five decades. Last fall, Ernaux, 82, received the Nobel Prize in Literature; when the news broke, she told journalists, with characteristically dry brevity, “I am very happy, I am very proud. Voilà, that’s all.” In the United States, the award sparked a heightened interest in her work—especially such titles as A Girl’s Story, about a short-lived affair when she was 18; Happening, about her illegal abortion in 1963; and The Years, a sweeping memoir that takes in decades of private and public life. This fall brings a new book—an essay, really—entitled The Young Man (Seven Stories, Sept. 12), her reflection on an affair with a much younger man when she was in her 50s. In a starred review, Kirkus calls it a “crucial addition to Ernaux’s oeuvre.” The author answered our questions by email.
The events of The Young Man took place decades before you wrote about them. How important is
This is the most recent of several books to be translated into English by Alison L. Strayer. How would you describe your collaboration with her, and what quality is most important to you in a translation of your work?
I never intervene in Alison’s translation work, but she can ask me for clarification about the meaning I attach to a sentence, or a word. What is most important in the translation of my texts is to convey their voice. By this I mean the lexical register and the sentence rhythm. Alison does this brilliantly, for example in The Years, a book that must have been very difficult to translate.
The Young Man is essentially the first of your books to be published in the U.S. since you were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2022. What kind of reception has your work received from American readers?
I don’t yet know how The Young Man will be received. The reception by the American public has evolved over the years, it seems to me, but I think that my
editor Daniel Simon, the same for 30 years, is more qualified than I am to answer.
In your Nobel acceptance speech, you spoke about how important it is for writing by women to be recognized by the literary establishment. Are there contemporary women writers whose work you especially admire and look forward to reading?
There are many writers I look forward to reading each time they release a new book—Virginie Despentes, Rachel Cusk, Svetlana Alexievich, for example. But I am also attentive to new voices that are emerging.
Interview by Tom Beer. Translation by Alison L. Strayer
articulating the transformational brilliance of Reed’s songwriting and performances within the context of the 1960s and ’70s music scene. Reverent about his artistry, he’s also discerningly cognizant of Reed’s temperamental shortcomings. “Tales of his rudeness were legion,” writes the author, and he had “a privileged celebrity’s sense of entitlement. Reed craved the freedom of anonymity, but still wanted his perks.”
An engrossing, fully dimensional portrait of an influential yet elusive performer.
Herzog, Werner
Trans. by Michael Hofmann
Penguin Press (368 pp.)
$30.00 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780593490297
Herzog in all his extravagant, perspicacious glory.
Now 80, the acclaimed director, documentarian, and author, a “product of my mistakes and misjudgments,” recalls his “archaic,” poverty-stricken early years in the Bavarian Alps on the edge of a war before digressing into the making of The Wild Blue Yonder, “a completely fantastical science fiction film.” Throughout, Herzog is witty and captivating as he recollects all kinds of odd, curious, and outlandish events, people, and injuries—maybe, he speculates, some memories aren’t real. Discussing ski jumping as a boy, he shifts to a film he made about it. When the family moved to Munich, the author met the maniacal Klaus Kinski, who would appear in his films. “I knew what I was letting myself in for,” he writes. Herzog’s brief time at university was a “sham”; he was already making films. “Even physically, I was hardly ever there; there were entire semesters when I showed up once, maybe twice,” he writes. The author became a Catholic as a teenager, and while he later left the faith, he admits to a “distant echo of divinity” in some films. “There are various recurring tropes in my films,” he notes, “that are almost always derived from personal experience.” Past and present mix as Herzog rambles widely from job to job, country to country, memory to memory. He chronicles how he learned from others’ bad films, scrambled to raise money for projects, and acted in other people’s films, and he touches on the genesis of his own. The atmosphere in Aguirre, the Wrath of God was “dire,” and Herzog swapped his “good shoes for a bathtub full of fish” to feed his starving crew. During the filming of Fitzcarraldo, almost everything went wrong. “I don’t see the things that fascinate me as esoteric,” he writes near the conclusion of the book, which ends midsentence.
Fans and neophytes alike will relish the opportunity to delve deeply into Herzog’s fascinating mind.
Klein, Naomi
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (416 pp.)
$30.00 | Sept. 12, 2023 9780374610326
Klein’s sociopolitical commentary takes a personal turn when she realizes she is being conflated with Naomi Wolf. While Wolf went from outspoken feminist to a regular on Steve Bannon’s War Room, Klein has held her place on the democratic socialist, environmentally concerned left, which fights for “social policies that are inclusive and caring.” Attempting to untangle the knot between seriousness and ridiculousness that defines both doppelgängers and conspiracy theories, Klein dives deep into the work of cultural figures such as Sigmund Freud, Philip Roth, and bell hooks, and she explores the many distortions and doubles we do battle with, from our bodies to our children to our online engagement. Simultaneously, she immerses herself in the narratives of the “the other side” espoused by Wolf. Klein’s prose is tight and urgent, almost breathless, evoking both laughter and dismay and entrancingly matching the mounting frenzy of seeing your public self morph into someone else—or of watching conspiracy theories take hold, particularly in the destabilizing context of the pandemic. Braiding cultural criticism with a charitable attempt to humanize the “Other Naomi,” Klein excavates legitimacy beneath sensational fears and exposes the failures of both sides of so many of the world’s binaries. Some issues, such as the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, fit less snugly into her doppelgänger theme than others, and the second half of the book is sometimes overstretched and repetitive. Still, the author’s comprehensive and nuanced treatments of these issues are valuable and compelling in their own rights, and she shows us how to conduct conversations that resist binary thinking, distill the truths of dividing lines, and create a path to collective action on the pressing issues of our time that embraces the porousness of unnecessary borders. Rather than undermining Klein’s work as a “serious” writer, this book reinforces it, to readers’ benefit.
A disarming and addictive call to solidarity.
Krishnamurthy, Sowmya Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (304 pp.)
$28.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781982176327
A cogent study of hip-hop’s outsized influence on fashion trends.
The link between hip-hop and high fashion is so tight that
many consider them part of the same package. In this fastpaced, deeply researched history, Krishnamurthy chronicles how and why that deep bond continues today. The music journalist, known for her work in Rolling Stone, New York magazine, Vibe, and Essence, deconstructs the connection all the way back to Harlem-based custom tailor and designer Dapper Dan in the late 1980s. “A custom Dapper Dan ’fit could run into the tens of thousands of dollars,” writes Krishnamurthy, so price was a barrier to entry when hip-hop was still young (and broke).” But with success and increasing paychecks came distinctive, aspirational fashion. “Real hip-hop had skill and style—and wore Dapper Dan,” writes the author. Krishnamurthy follows that thread through the intertwined journeys of hip-hop’s music and fashion, with fascinating detours into the crews who “terrorized high-end retail in New York City by boosting Polo Ralph Lauren”; the erroneous viral rumors about Tommy Hilfiger, the “white designer who faced inaccurate accusations about bigotry”; Kanye West’s first trip to the Paris fashion shows; and the power of Young Thug’s decision to wear an Alessandro Trincone dress on the cover of one of his mixtapes. Krishnamurthy peppers the storyline of how hip-hop fashion transformed into lucrative brands with her own experiences, including her stint as one of Sean Combs’ assistants at Bad Boy Records. Though that job didn’t last long, it does help explain how the author is able to so effortlessly weave together tales of music and fashion and history. She lived a lot of it, and what she didn’t experience firsthand, she absorbed from research involving a wide array of musicians, designers, scholars, and business execs who did.
Exciting and exhaustive, this fun hip-hop history explains what your favorite rappers are wearing and why.
Kurzweil, Amy Catapult (368 pp.)
$38.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781948226387
Kurzweil continues to expand the possibilities of the graphic memoir with an exploration of her patrilineal ancestors.
Braiding together the stories of her paternal grandfather, an Austrian conductor and pianist who narrowly escaped Nazicontrolled Vienna, and her father, an early innovator in artificial intelligence research, New Yorker cartoonist Kurzweil, author of Flying Couch, navigates the complexities of recollecting and framing pieces of her family history. Pages expand with maximalist detail that reflects a true-to-life experience of digging into the past, where insights are dispersed between various family memories and physical artifacts often nestled in dusty storage facilities. Stunningly re-created archival materials, from newspaper clippings to handwritten letters, lend visceral impact to each discovery. The story of the Kurzweil family’s innate connection to the vanguard of technology also breaches questions of collective memory and the ways in which technology
“Exciting and exhaustive, this fun hip-hop history explains what your favorite rappers are wearing and why.”
fashion killa
might become a new conduit for the voices of the past. When do our loved ones really pass into the beyond? Is it when they die or when those who remain no longer remember them? How much can we learn from what remains of our ancestors? An AI chatbot trained on the correspondences of her late grandfather becomes a sometimes-inadequate interlocutor for Kurzweil as she reflects on her own influences and navigates her family’s desire to maintain a connection with the past. Nonetheless, these interactions bear fruit as new questions arise. Couched in the casual conversations among family and the genuine desire to connect and preserve specific memories, these inquiries avoid becoming overburdened by stodgy philosophical ramblings or overly enamored techno-proselytizing. The deeply personal and sometimes frenetic energy of the book delivers an intimate and cohesive vision of the past as well as life lived in the influence of parents and ancestors.
Intimate reflections and powerful visual elements combine in an exemplary work of graphic nonfiction.
Lee, SungYoon
PublicAffairs (304 pp.)
$30.00 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781541704121
In the dark labyrinth of North Korean politics, a princess has emerged as a major power.
Lee is a U.S.–based academic who has been studying and writing about North Korea and the Kim family for many years, so he is perfectly situated to provide a detailed examination of Kim Yo Jong (b. 1987), the younger sister of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and the likely heir apparent. She holds only a minor position in the government hierarchy, but her power, which includes the ability to sentence anyone to death for any reason, stems from being “First Sister” and a key member of the royal family. She first made headlines as North Korea’s representative at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, and since that time, her profile has increased. She now makes public statements about regime policy, especially regarding foreign affairs. The Kim family has always had a reputation for bellicosity, but Kim Yo Jong has taken it to a new level, with barrages of personal insults and threats delivered in a tone of vicious sarcasm. Lee is unsurprised by her behavior, as she was called “princess” in her childhood and learned the art of disdain at her father’s knee. As chief propagandist, she has cemented the power of the dynasty, emphasizing the mythical idea of the “Mount Paektu Bloodline” that began with North Korea’s founder, Kim Il Sung. Lee believes that she enjoys being feared and has a wide streak of cruelty. Sometimes, she makes her brother look like the sensible and restrained member of the family. She can put on a charming face for media consumption, but the author warns commentators to be wary. She is, quite simply, an extremely
dangerous person and would be even more threatening in the top position. It is a worrying but unavoidable conclusion.
A vivid portrait of a ruthless, egocentric woman driven by an unrelenting sense of entitlement and destiny.
Essays
Lepore, Jill
Liveright/Norton (624 pp.)
$45.00 | Aug. 29, 2023 9781631496127
Shrewd perspectives on a tumultuous decade.
In intellectually rigorous essays lightened with “domestic metaphors” and “maternal asides,” historian Lepore brings her vibrant curiosity and wide-ranging erudition to a host of topics, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Barbie and Bratz dolls, bicycles, VW buses, and MobyDick. While most essays appeared over the past 10 years in the New Yorker, where Lepore is a staff writer, two have never been published: “The Everyman Library,” which pays homage to her father and grandfather; and “The Return of the Pervert,” from 2018, in which Lepore critiques the narrowness of the #MeToo movement. Many essays reverberate far beyond the events that inspired them. For example, “Battleground America,” from 2012, begins with a school shooting in Ohio and expands to consider the history of the Second Amendment, the murder of Trayvon Martin, the National Rifle Association’s rise and vociferous interpretation of the meaning of an armed militia, and the organization’s moneyed lobbying of politicians, which has repeatedly thwarted gun safety legislation. “When carrying a concealed weapon for self-defense is understood not as a failure of civil society, to be mourned, but as an act of citizenship, to be vaunted, there is little civilian life left,” writes the author. Sprightly essays on technology are informed by firsthand reporting and deep research: Lepore chronicles her visit to the Internet Archive in San Francisco while putting the trend for disruption (“everyone is either disrupting or being disrupted”) in historical context and tamping down the fear of a robot invasion. “Panic is not evidence of danger,” she calmly notes; “it’s evidence of panic.” The moving title essay is an elegy to a dear friend whose life, and untimely death from leukemia, led to Lepore’s becoming a writer. “All historians are coroners,” she remarks, explaining her deft dissection of past lives, but not all bring to their writing Lepore’s grace, precision, and deep humanity.
A noteworthy collection from an indispensable writer and thinker.
Who is your ideal reader for this book, and where would they be reading it?
The Fashion Killa reader is someone who loves hip-hop, fashion, and pop culture. This book is an accessory to their lifestyle. They’re carrying it in their Telfar bag, reading it while a Byredo Bibliothèque candle burns nearby, or setting it on their coffee table next to Tom Ford or Virgil Abloh.
Were you a big reader as a kid? Are there any formative books you remember from your youth, or any adults who influenced you as a reader or writer? My mom took me to the library every week as a kid. It was such a big deal getting my own library card. I read everything from Nancy Drew and Sweet Valley Twins to Goosebumps. My favorite was Choose Your Own Adventure, and I would always read ahead to make sure I was selecting the right path.
Sowmya Krishnamurthy is a music journalist and pop culture expert. Her debut book, Fashion Killa: How HipHop Revolutionized High Fashion (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster, Oct. 10), examines the impact of radio on the runway (and vice versa). In 1973, the Bronx’s DJ Kool Herc, aka Clive Campbell, spun a party to raise money for new back to school wardrobes for himself and his sister. This afternoon, and all those which followed, sparked a genre that the author calls “the arbiter of culture—the most dominant music genre.” Krishnamurthy draws on extensive research and interviews with leading hip-hop and high-fashion figures to examine the intensely political call-and-response collage of American pop culture. This book is, in the words of a Kirkus reviewer, an “exciting and exhaustive…hip-hop history.” Krishnamurthy answered our questions by email; our exchange has been edited for length and clarity.
In Fashion Killa, you discuss your adolescent obsessions with hip-hop and fashion, specifically your desire to replicate singer Aaliyah’s iconic Tommy Hilfiger look. Is there a hip-hop artist active today who gives you comparable style inspiration?
If I could take one rapper’s closet, it would be Pusha T. He’s the epitome of street and luxury fashion. From Balmain to Carhartt WIP, he makes every label his own. He can wear a Thom Browne short suit at New York Fashion Week and make it gangsta. I would kill to have his clothes (in my size!).
What book do you absolutely love that is not as well known as it deserves to be? Or what book released in the past few years deserved more attention?
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby is such a visceral, fun thriller. I also loved Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. I never thought I’d be tearing up over a fictitious octopus.
What fall release(s) are you most looking forward to reading?
Tupac Shakur: The Authorized Biography by Staci Robinson is on my list. There have been numerous books on the fascinating late rapper, but this is the first and only estate-authorized title.
Katherine King is an editorial intern.
Love, Bettina L. St. Martin’s (352 pp.)
$29.00 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781250280381
An uncompromising indictment of education reform.
Educator Love, co-founder of the Abolitionist Teaching Network, expands on her previous book, We Want To Do More Than Survive, to offer a stark critique of 40 years of education policies that were deliberately crafted “to punish Black people for believing in and fighting for their right to quality public education.” Why, she asks, “instead of learning,” are Black students “punished with low expectations, physical violence, surveillance, standardized testing, and frequent suspensions?” The author condemns education reform under Nixon, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Clinton for enacting an agenda “that ushered in a new sort of Black bondage, a system in which Black Americans would be educationally neglected, economically starved, denied assistance, and incarcerated for selling drugs that the government itself allowed to be put out on the street.” Such policies, she asserts, are a form of white rage, “organized, well-funded, and cruel.” Policymakers with superficially progressive ideas—Bill and Melinda Gates, Mike Bloomberg, and Barack Obama, for example—nevertheless perpetrate harmful educational practices such as charter schools, virtual schools, and vouchers. “Many charter schools,” Love asserts, “are awash in corporate sponsors, philanthropic dollars, and the expectation that failure is an important part of the entrepreneurial process.” Love faults George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind policy, which emphasized standardized testing and graded schools on test scores. “I worked at an F school in Florida,” she writes, a depressing experience for both teachers and students. Love calls for supporting abolitionists in their fight for “healing justice, environmental justice, disability justice, health justice, immigrant justice, reproductive justice, economic justice, body justice, gender justice, and LGBTQI justice.” She advocates, as well, for reparations that would go beyond economic restitution to include funding “wellresourced state-of-the-art schools with curricula that honor different cultures and traditions with love and admiration.”
An impassioned plea for educational justice.
Miles, Tiya
Norton (192 pp.)
$22.00 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781324020875
How women discovered themselves in nature.
Harvard historian Miles, a MacArthur fellow and National Book Award winner for All That She Carried, offers a sensitive examination of the lives of women— primarily Black and Native American—for whom the natural world served as an “imagination station and training ground.” For women such as escaped slave Harriet Tubman, Indigenous explorer Sacagawea, and science fiction writer Octavia Butler, the natural world provided “a space to discover who they were and what they were capable of.” Tubman, who labored largely in fields, farms, and forests, learned how “to listen to, forage, and navigate the woods,” skills that enabled her to successfully liberate dozens of slaves. Similarly, Harriet Jacobs, who was formerly enslaved, saw “trees and woods as places of relief, restoration, secrecy, and refuge.” For Tubman, Jacobs, and white abolitionist Laura Smith Haviland, “nature’s classroom” made them acutely aware of societal and political subjugation and oppression. Miles connects love of nature with a celebration of “wild freedom” in the works of Louisa May Alcott, a self-proclaimed tomboy who loved to romp in the woods, escaping the strictures of Victorian girlhood; and in the writings of Native American poet Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, for whom the “uncomfortable realities of colonial intimacies” underlay her lyrical depictions of beloved landscapes. When Native American children were forcibly sent to government boarding schools, wrenched from their natural surroundings, many rebelled against the cultural and physical confinement they endured. Among 20th-century women whose lives were indelibly shaped by their outdoor experiences, Miles includes Chinese American activist Grace Lee Boggs and Mexican American labor activist Dolores Huerta. The author’s own reverence for nature intensified during the pandemic, when her backyard became a place of solace and beauty. Acknowledging the privilege that affords her this space for herself and her family, she makes a compelling plea for fostering “outside equity” to allow everyone to partake of nature’s gifts.
A fresh, graceful contribution to women’s history.
“An impassioned plea for educational justice.”
punished for dreaming
Illus. by Matt Patterson Mariner Books (272 pp.)
$28.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9780358458180
A celebration of a magnificent animal. Melding science and memoir, naturalist Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus, The Hummingbirds’ Gift, and other celebrated nature books, shares her experiences as a volunteer at the Turtle Rescue League, in Massachusetts, where, along with wildlife artist Patterson, she worked laboriously to care for “the most imperiled major group of animals on earth.” Turtles fall victim to myriad threats: They are often run over by vehicles, “dogs and cats chew them, lawn mowers and farm equipment shred them, curious children harass and kidnap them, and asphalt and concrete displace their nesting areas.” Some are caught in the illegal wildlife trade: “A single Yunnan box turtle could command $200,000 on the black market. A Chinese three-striped box turtle, whose powdered plastron is rumored (incorrectly) to cure cancer, can fetch as much as $25,000.” Turtle eggs are vulnerable to predators such as raccoons and skunks and even trees, whose roots will penetrate the eggs to suck moisture in times of drought. Besides conveying the turtle’s amazing longevity and capacity for healing—they are able to regenerate nerve tissue— Montgomery offers vivid portraits of the distinct personalities of patients under the care of the heroic TRL staff: Among the many box turtles, spotted turtles, sea turtles, tortoises, and painted turtles were the feisty Fire Chief, a huge great snapper; the beloved painted turtle Sugarloaf; and gregarious red-footed tortoise Pizza Man. Each had a special relationship to caregivers— and to one another. Montgomery was surprised to learn that turtles communicate verbally. “Some species of Australian and South American river turtle nestlings,” she reveals, “communicate vocally with each other, and with their mothers, while still inside the egg.” Montgomery is justifiably admiring of the devoted TRL staff, who work to heal, restore, and rehabilitate their injured patients so they can be released back into the wild. The book includes Patterson’s delicate drawings.
An engaging, informative, and colorful journey into the world of turtles.
Mundy, Liza Crown (480 pp.)
$32.50 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780593238172
With painstaking research, an awardwinning journalist reveals the crucial roles undertaken by women in the intelligence arena.
The Cold War and, later, the war on terror were conflicts fought in the shadows, a deadly game meant to prevent largescale conflict. However, there was another battle conducted within the CIA: the struggle of women within the organization who had to fight sexism and discrimination to have their voices heard. Mundy covered related ground in her acclaimed 2017 book, Code Girls, but this book features a much larger canvas. The story spans seven decades, from the establishment of the CIA to the assassination of Osama bin Laden. Many highly qualified women applied to serve in the fledgling CIA, but those who made it through the grueling selection process usually found themselves shunted into typing and filing jobs. There was a culture of toxic masculinity in the organization, and women were often seen as little more than objects. Nevertheless, some managed to work their ways into field operations. They proved to be remarkably good at the tradecraft of spying, but there was little recognition from superiors. At the same time, women were doing critical tasks in intelligence analysis, and this group stepped into a new role when the threat of terrorism emerged. It required interpreting scraps of information, from financial transactions to the movement of dangerous radicals. Few people in the senior echelons of the CIA, however, were interested in their reports on Islamic militants. After 9/11, there were attempts to elbow the women out of the picture, but they managed to continue their work, eventually tracking down bin Laden. Mundy is able to keep the sprawling narrative and huge cast on track, drawing on interviews and declassified records. The result is a vivid, compelling, and important book.
Another winner from Mundy, who tells a story that deserves to be told about women who deserve to be remembered.
Nguyen, Viet Thanh Grove (400 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780802160508
A Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist sifts through his influences and experiences in a kaleidoscopic memoir.
“This is a war story,” writes Nguyen, an acclaimed author of fiction (The Sympathizer, The Refugees)
and nonfiction (Nothing Ever Dies), in an autobiography that is deeply personal and intensely political. In nonlinear fashion, the author recounts his family’s flight from wartime Vietnam in 1975, when he was 4; a childhood in San José, California, where his parents (called, in their native tongue, Ba Má) operated a Vietnamese grocery store; and his development as a writer, scholar (he is a professor of English, American studies, and ethnicity at the University of Southern California), and conflicted citizen of what he sardonically calls AMERICA™—a process that inevitably widens the gap with his immigrant parents. Along the way, Nguyen offers sharp assessments of Vietnam War films such as Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, The Deer Hunter, and The Green Berets, the latter a “work of propaganda so spectacular and atrocious that only the Third Reich or Hollywood could have produced it.” If the author’s criticism is understandably scathing, there is also a mischievous sense of humor, as when he includes a page of one-star Amazon reviews of The Sympathizer (“Absurdist and repulsive”; “If you like torture read this book”; “Bafflingly overpraised”). The sections about Ba Má, shaded by the unreliability of memory, strike a melancholy note, although his parents remain somewhat hazy as characters. Idiosyncratic typographical treatments—passages set like lines of poetry; words blown up in large type—add visual variety without quite justifying themselves. Readers seeking the anchor of narrative will be frustrated, but Nguyen indisputably captures the workings of a quicksilver and penetrating mind. The author includes a selection of black-and-white photos.
A fragmentary reflection on the refugee experience, at once lyrical and biting, by one of our leading writers.
ní Dochartaigh, Kerri Milkweed
$26.00 | Nov. 14, 2023
9781571311573
The author’s day-book follow-up to her acclaimed debut, Thin Places.
In her latest memoir, Irish writer ní Dochartaigh reflects on 2020, which she spent in isolation with her partner in a small stone cottage that he had inherited two years prior. Coupled with the tumult of the pandemic was the uncertainty that the author would ever be able to bear a child. She chronicles her thoughts and feelings from that year in various forms, including journal entries and poems. At times overly fragmented, the narrative expresses the author’s strong emotions and often-obsessive thoughts about her inability to carry a pregnancy to term. “I cried and cried and cried because of grief,” she writes. “Grief I have already spent far too much time, energy and ink on.” On the whole, ní Dochartaigh’s observations are lyrical and relatable. She describes how she took up gardening, which provided both distraction and comfort. “I wish I’d known, long before now, that sowing is a way to grieve,” she writes. Throughout, ní Dochartaigh shares details of various dreams and her attempts to interpret them, including a
recurring one of a “bird-child,” which brought about a shift in her mindset. She also found herself consumed with memories and the meaning they hold in our lives, and she expresses being drawn to moths and “the resilience of small things.” A voracious reader, ní Dochartaigh discusses works of literature that served as important companions and helped her navigate her emotions. I have found myself, in the thick of a global pandemic, utterly obsessed with Virginia Woolf,” she writes. “More specifically: with her journals….Even more specifically, still: I am hungry for accounts of time experienced by women.” Reflecting on the changes that the year brought for her and all of us, she notes, “I can’t go back to who I was before that year.”
A raw, honest, and poetic memoir. (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Posnanski, Joe Dutton (400 pp.)
$29.00 | Sept. 5, 2023
9780593472675
The celebrated sportswriter circles the bases, calling out exceptional moments in the history of the game.
“Henry Aaron’s 715th home run is the most magical moment in baseball history,” writes Posnanski, author of The Baseball 100 It’s a tall claim, but it holds up, illustrating Aaron’s quiet resistance to White hatred and proving his repeated claim that in baseball, “All that matters is if you can play.” There are plenty of other noteworthy events in Posnanski’s pages—and well more than 50, in fact: He counts 108, coincidentally the number of stitches in a standard ball and number of years between Chicago Cubs championships. Some of the moments are well known, such as Babe Ruth’s calling the home run he was about to hit. Others are buried deep in baseball lore, including an appearance on the mound by Jackie Mitchell, a young woman who just so happened to strike Ruth out at an exhibition bout after Ruth loudly proclaimed that women were “too delicate” for the game. One of Posnanski’s winning ploys is to dig into the archives to find such hidden gems and especially to celebrate the mediocre players who, for one of those magical moments, pulled something out of their caps and hit a surprise homer—as with Bartolo Colón, the 42-year-old portly pitcher who smacked one out of the park and then took so long to round the bases that one announcer was moved to explain, charitably, “I think that’s how fast he runs.” Other of Posnanski’s diamond heroes, famed and obscure, have more hustle, including 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall, who pitched for the Cincinnati Reds when the grown-ups were fighting in World War II; J.L. Wilkinson, who introduced lights and night games to the field by way of the old Negro League; and Ichiro Suzuki, the ever smiling Mariner—“Has there ever been a more joyous player than Ichiro?”—who showed what love of the game is all about. A book for any baseball fan to cherish.
“A raw, honest, and poetic memoir.”
cacophony of bone
Richardson, Heather Cox Viking (304 pp.)
$30.00 | Sept. 26, 2023
9780593652961
A fresh historical interpretation of American democracy and its many challenges.
Since its birth, the U.S. has been caught between two competing schools of thought, one tending toward authoritarianism and the other seeking to widen its embrace of pluralism. So argues Richardson, a professor of U.S. history, author of How the South Won the Civil War, and creator of the popular Substack newsletter “Letters From an American.” “America is at a crossroads,” she writes. “A country that once stood as the global symbol of democracy has been teetering on the brink of authoritarianism. How did this happen?” In the calm, deliberate prose her newsletter readers will recognize, Richardson traces the rise of the modern right wing from the 1930s, finding its roots in a New Deal–era rejection of governmental intervention. It struggled against the post–World War II liberal consensus but gained ground with Nixon’s Southern Strategy and culminated in Trumpism. The author devotes 10 chapters to the Trump presidency, which she calls “the authoritarian experiment.” Her summary of the excesses of the era is laid out with her trademark combination of passion and restraint, the explicit comparisons to European fascism bolstered, horrifyingly, by Mein Kampf, among other voices from both past and present. However, Richardson doesn’t end with the wreckage left by Trump. Following a dismal recap of the 2021-2022 Supreme Court session, she takes readers back to the nation’s founding, writing about the emergence of our imperfect union and its halting expansion of rights. Never losing sight of the fact that it was “those excluded from an equal seat at the table [who] would redefine what it meant to be an American, keeping a dream of human equality alive,” the author escorts readers to the modern era. It’s an unusual but effective structure, allowing Richardson to do what she does best: show her readers how history and the present are in constant conversation.
Reminding us that “how it comes out rests…in our own hands,” Richardson empowers us for the chapters yet to come.
Rothschild, Mike Melville House (336 pp.)
$28.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781685890643
Trekking through the maze of accusations surrounding the Rothschild dynasty.
Journalist Rothschild, a conspiracy theory expert and author of The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, is not related to the famous Rothschild family, but he readily admits that the name is one of the most recognizable in the world. Synonymous with untold riches, luxurious indulgence, and shadowy power, the Rothschild family has been accused of almost everything, from manipulating wars for profit to controlling the weather and even starting the California wildfires with an orbiting solar generator (hence the book’s title). Much of the ire is rooted in antisemitic tropes, and the author carefully unpacks the connections. The dynasty began in the mid-16th century, when Isak Rothschild scrambled out of the Frankfurt ghetto and established himself as a banker. The myth really took off when the family became financier to various European governments, cementing the idea of commercial acumen turning into political influence. The conspiracy theories evolved, with proponents endlessly quoting each other and connecting bits of “evidence” to concoct lurid tableaux of power wielded in secret. The notion that the family “owns” the U.S. Federal Reserve is particularly outlandish, illustrating how contrary evidence can be folded into the conspiracy. “Whenever Western pop culture needs a wealthy and secretive family to be running some kind of hidden puppet-master routine,” writes the author, “the Rothschilds are available.” A new generation of Rothschild conspiracy theories has taken hold in Asia and the Muslim world, and they have even found a niche in hip-hop. The Rothschilds, for their part, largely maintain a dignified silence. The author does a solid job of separating fact from fantasy, creating an interesting examination of how conspiracy theories appear, spread, and metastasize—not unlike tumors.
With solid research and engaging humor, this book takes apart the conspiracy theories surrounding the Rothschild family.
Schama, Simon
Ecco/HarperCollins (480 pp.)
$32.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781328974839
A history of the contest between contagion and medical research.
Schama, a professor of history and art history at Columbia, has won numerous awards for his many books and TV documentaries. At first glance, a book dealing with diseases would not seem to be a good match for the author, but his methods work well with the subject. Schama focuses on the 18th and 19th centuries, chronicling the smallpox outbreak in London, the cholera epidemic in Paris, and the bubonic plague that swept through India. Smallpox killed tens of thousands, and there seemed to be no answer to it. Eventually, however, it was discovered that deliberately infecting people with a diluted dose could give them immunity against the virus. This seemed counterintuitive, and the medical establishment was solidly opposed to it (a recurring theme of the book). Nonetheless, the concept gradually took hold and became a founding principle of immunology. Cholera, being bacterial in nature, required a different approach, and Schama examines the various theories put forward on the way to the solutions of better sanitation and water filtration. Bubonic plague had been around for centuries, but its reemergence in the late 19th century caught researchers by surprise. Schama notes that a key figure in fighting it in India was the “saintly scientist” Waldemar Haffkine, a gifted microbiologist who developed many of the testing protocols that would eventually underpin the field. He was also instrumental in organizing a large-scale vaccination effort, saving an untold number of lives. This is a broad canvas, but Schama, a diligent and experienced historian, keeps the narrative on track, and he has a good eye for illustrative anecdotes. It adds up to a strong story that, in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, speaks to us all.
A vivid account of the horror of epidemics and the breakthroughs that can bring them under control.
Sebestyen, Victor Pantheon (432 pp.)
$35.00 | Sept. 5, 2023
9780593317563
A satisfying history of a city that, “after London, Paris, and Rome…receives more tourists than any other capital in Europe.”
London-based journalist Sebestyen, author of Lenin and Revolution 1989, was an infant when his Hungarian family fled
the city after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, a cataclysmic event he chronicled in his 2006 book, Twelve Days. His evident love for the city emerges clearly in this engaging chronological account, and he provides a cleareyed sense of the “characteristic Hungarian pessimism.” Over the centuries, the strategic geopolitical locations of Buda and Pest, on either of the Danube, had drawn the attention of conquering armies, from the Romans to the early marauding Magyars, the Ottomans, Austrians, Nazis, and Soviets. Throughout his sweeping history, the author emphasizes the recurrent theme that the city often had to stand alone against these onslaughts. The Ottomans ruled for 150 years and left lasting legacies, such as the coffeehouse, and they mostly tolerated a large Jewish population in Pest. As religious wars in Europe heated up, Hungarian royals “threw in their lot” with the ultra-Catholic Austrian Hapsburgs, bestowing favors and titles on a few mega-loyal families who would come to dominate in decades to come. Nationalism drove the valiant but ultimately doomed first Hungarian Revolution of 1848, yet during the Austrian backlash, Jews were awarded unprecedented liberties. “Nowhere in Middle Europe,” writes the author, “did Jews play such a prominent part in modernization as in Hungary—in industry, commerce, banking, the professions.” The combining of the two parts of the city and replacement of the German language with Hungarian also fueled national pride. Despite being on the wrong side of both world wars and siding closely with Hitler, the Hungarians gained the world’s sympathy with what Sebestyen calls “the defining moment of the Cold War”— standing up to the Soviet army in 1956.
A beautifully wrought, admiring portrait of a beloved, beleaguered city and its people.
Sinclair, Safiya
Simon & Schuster (352 pp.)
$28.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781982132330
A tale of reckoning and revelation focused on the author’s fraught relationship with her father.
Sinclair, a poet whose 2016 collection, Cannibal, won multiple prestigious awards, mines her peripatetic Jamaican upbringing as the eldest of four children raised by a father who adhered to a strict brand of Rastafari. She rebelled against her father’s expectations that she be a woman who “cooked and cleaned and demurred to her man, bringing girlchild after girlchild into this world who cooked and cleaned and demurred to her man.” The bulk of the book describes Sinclair’s chaotic childhood, during which she, her mother, and siblings felt terrorized by her father. “Beatings became a fact of life, like dirt and air, and they arrived without warning, without reason,” she writes. “There was no pattern, except the chaos of my father’s interior life.” Less frequently, the author attempts to depict him as sympathetic: “Through reggae music, he began to identify his own helpless rage at the history of Black
enslavement at the hands of colonial powers, and his disgust at the mistreatment of Black Jamaicans in a newly postcolonial society. In the island-wide abuse lobbied against the Rastafari, my father soon began to see himself.” Despite his strictness, however, her father sometimes broke the rules. “In the months that had passed since I snooped on my father watching television,” the author writes, “the more I had grown disillusioned with his lessons of purity, and the more my questions about him swarmed.” Sinclair found solace and release through writing poetry, and she overcame her father’s objections, along with other obstacles, to attend college in the U.S. Even after leaving, the author has continued to be haunted by her father. “The scorch-marks of his anger were everywhere I looked, my family withered and blistered.” Sinclair’s gorgeous prose is rife with glimmering details, and the narrative’s ending lands as both inevitable and surprising.
More than catharsis; this is memoir as liberation.
Suleyman, Mustafa with Michael Bhaskar
Crown (352 pp.)
$32.50 | Sept. 5, 2023
9780593593950
Amid the flood of optimism about artificial intelligence, the significant dangers must be understood and assessed. Suleyman might seem like a strange person to write a book about the dangers of AI. He is the CEO and co-founder of Inflection AI, and, before that, he co-founded DeepMind (now owned by Alphabet), a company working at the leading edge of AI research. As the author shows, however, it is precisely because he is an expert that he knows enough to be fearful. He believes that within a few years, AI systems will break into the broad public market, placing enormous computing power in the hands of anyone with a few thousand dollars and a bit of expertise. Suleyman recognizes that this could bring remarkable benefits, but he argues that the negatives are even greater. One frightening possibility is a disgruntled individual using off-the-shelf AI to manufacture a deadly, unstoppable virus. Other scenarios range from disrupting financial markets to creating floods of disinformation. Suleyman accepts that the AI genie is too far out of the bottle to be put back; the questions are now about containment and regulation. There is a model in the framework established by the biomedical sector to set guidelines and moral limits on what genetic experiments could take place. The author also suggests looking at “choke points,” including the manufacturers of advanced chips and the companies that manage the cloud. The key step, however, would be the development of a culture of caution in the AI community. As Suleyman admits, any of these proposals would be extremely difficult to implement. Nonetheless, he states his case with clarity and authority, and the result is a
worrying, provocative book. “Containment is not, on the face of it, possible,” he concludes. “And yet for all our sakes, containment must be possible.”
An informative yet disturbing study and a clear warning from someone whose voice cannot be ignored.
Venter, J. Craig & David Ewing Duncan
Belknap/Harvard Univ. (336 pp.)
$27.95 | Sept. 12, 2023
9780674246478
Seagoing research is a burgeoning popular science genre, and this is a solid addition.
The central figure is Venter, biotechnologist and entrepreneur, best known for racing (and probably winning) the competition to sequence the human genome in 2000. Less well known is the team, led by Venter, that sequenced the first cellular genome—that of a bacteria—in 1995. Fascinated by infectious disease since his Navy service in Vietnam and obsessed with learning how life works, Venter discovered that simple life forms are more complicated than scientists thought and that the genes of microbes “were trying to tell us far more than we could understand.” Never shy about taking risks and skilled at acquiring grants, Venter decided to explore the dominant life form on Earth, microorganisms, in the planet’s largest, mostly unexplored habitat: the ocean. Using his cutting-edge “shotgun genomic sequencing,” Venter’s researchers would blast DNA from an organism (or from hundreds or thousands of organisms) into short fragments and then use sequencing machines to identify them and computers to find overlaps in order to reassemble them and compare them to existing bacterial genomes. Vastly cheaper and faster than the old method of culturing individual bacteria in a petri dish, this method allowed his team and their ship, the Sorcerer II, sailing the world for 15 years, to discover millions of novel genes in thousands of new and often bizarre bacterial and viral species. Writing with award-winning science journalist Duncan, Venter presents a lively account of a groundbreaking exploration of the microbiome of the Earth’s waters. Toward the end, the authors explain a modest amount of science and deliver the obligatory bad news about humanity’s poisoning and littering of the oceans, but throughout, they emphasize adventure: storms, accidents, clashing personalities, equipment functions and malfunctions, political and bureaucratic difficulties, little-known global cultures, triumphs, and disappointments.
Important and adventurous science on the high seas.
the golden screen
Yang, Jeff Black Dog & Leventhal (304 pp.)
$40.00 | Oct. 31, 2023
9780762482221
A wide-ranging celebration of Asian Americans in film.
Once opened, this book is hard to close. Lushly produced with a mix of screenshots and illustrations, it unwraps the history of Asian cinema in the U.S., punctuated by interviews with important figures. Yang, co-author of Rise: A Pop History of Asian America From the Nineties to Now, has worked in this area for long enough to speak with understated authority, and he looks at 136 films, providing reviews and background information. He groups them into categories such as immigration, family, action, and romance, which demonstrates the breadth of Asian cinema. His criteria for inclusion seem rather loose, with some movies made by Asian directors, some made in Asia that were imported by U.S. distributors, some with Asian headline stars, and others where only a minor character is Asian. In Hollywood movies in the postwar era, Asian characters were often portrayed by Westerners with heavy makeup and appalling accents, and most were pushed into stereotypical roles. But there was a slow process of change, helped along by directors like John Woo and Ang Lee. On the anime side, the visually stunning Akira (1988) broke through to the American teenage audience. Slumdog Millionaire won a slew of awards, and the huge success of Crazy Rich Asians cemented the commercial viability of Asian-themed movies. By the time Michelle Yeoh (who provides a foreword to the book) stepped up in the wildly enjoyable Everything Everywhere All at Once, Asian faces on the screen were no longer remarkable. Fortunately, most of the movies Yang discusses can be accessed in some way, and many readers will find themselves making a list. Perhaps the author might have delved deeper into the future of Asian American cinema, but this is not a fatal shortcoming, and the book is a fun, informative piece of work.
Whether you dip into it or read it from cover to cover, this book brings a hidden history to life.
“Whether you dip into it or read it from cover to cover, this book brings a hidden history to life.”
DESERT QUEEN
Gopal, Jyoti Rajan
Illus. by Svabhu Kohli
Levine Querido (56 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781646142620
AbdulQaadir, Bilqis with Judith Henderson
Illus. by Katherine Ahmed
Kids Can (40 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781525310034
Series: CitizenKid
Love of sports and unwavering faith play starring roles in this true story.
Abdul-Qaadir, a Black athlete and the first Muslim woman to play NCAA Division I basketball while wearing a hijab, shows talent in childhood, dunking the ball in a child-sized hoop at age 3 and playing against boys at 12. Her grandmother is her biggest cheerleader; her mother reminds her to choose her battles. In high school, she’s a star player—but in a playoff game, a referee says she can’t play in her hijab. Her teammates back her up, and she plays, becoming the all-time lead scorer in Massachusetts state history. Abdul-Qaadir plays college basketball and is recognized by President Barack Obama for her accomplishments. She’s ready to play professionally when “it happens again”: She is told she can’t play wearing her hijab. She must choose, and she chooses her faith. By the time Abdul-Qaadir and supporters help convince the International Basketball Federation to change the rules, it’s too late for her own athletic career but not for other girls’. Lingering on key moments, the well-paced, crisp verse highlights Abdul-Qaadir’s strength of character, emphasizing that despite the injustices she faced, she triumphed by living by her principles. Ahmed’s playful images of an active Muslim girl dispel stereotypes with joyful representation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Stirring and impactful. (more information on Abdul-Qaadir, questions, references) (Picturebook biography. 58)
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi
Illus. by Joelle Avelino
Knopf (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
978-0-593-53557-8
A young Black child plays with her mama’s sleeping scarf while Mama is gone. In her children’s book debut, Adichie (writing as Nwa Grace-James) presents a story of a girl named
Chino who admires her mother’s soft, silky scarf. When Mama has to go to work, she offers Chino her sleeping scarf to play with until she returns. The green fabric with “big red circles” and “little blue circles” can be a blanket for her stuffed bunny, a curtain for peekaboo, and a scarf for Chino, which she wears at dinner when Mama comes home. Finally the scarf returns to Mama at bedtime. Throughout the day, spent playing games, eating snacks, and exercising with Papa, Grandpa, Grandma, and Bunny, the scarf connects Chino to Mama. Avelino’s playful illustrations depict a family with a range of skin tones and hair colors, a refreshing reflection of the true diversity of the Black community. Bright, fantastical backgrounds with repeating circular patterns feature various shapes and colors while placing the focus on Chino’s relationships with her loved ones. The straightforward text lingers on each scene, inviting readers to dwell in Chino’s world. This is a cozy read-aloud to help little ones wind down before a nap or bed. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Solidly reassuring. (Picture book. 36)
Desnitskaya, Anna
Trans. by Lena Traer
Eerdmans (48 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9780802856128
Series: Stories From Latin America
Finding a friend might be easier than it seems.
Vera lives in Russia, on the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula; Lucas lives in a small town on the coast of Chile. They reside on opposite edges of the world, in desolate locations by the Pacific Ocean; both long for a friend with whom they can share their days. This uniquely designed work, translated from Russian, allows readers to choose which character’s life to explore first. They can follow Vera on a typical day of playing with Mukha the dog and making a sekretik, a “little secret treasure,” or they can flip the book over to accompany Lucas on a day playing soccer and reading. A yellow line drawing of the friend whom each hopes for accompanies both children throughout the rich, stylized illustrations. For both, the day culminates in a trip to the beach, where they stand at the shore with a flashlight and transmit a greeting in Morse code, hoping to befriend someone beyond the edge of the world. Despite the physical impossibility of their messages reaching anyone, they each receive a response. The book is formatted so that Vera’s and Lucas’ flashlight messages make up the hinge of the book, linking the two stories and forming the beating heart of this sweet, whimsical tale of loneliness and connection against the odds. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Will spark joy and inspire. (International Morse code alphabet) (Picture book. 711)
Fang, X. Tundra Books (48 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781774881989
A child takes a fantastical journey to the Dim Sum Palace.
Liddy, a round girl with plump cheeks and Asian features, is too excited to fall asleep—tomorrow her family is going to the Dim Sum Palace. “Is it a real palace?” Liddy wonders. When a heavenly aroma wafts through her bedroom door, she follows it to a grand palace, where two giant chefs are making delectable dim sum. Liddy is tiny in comparison, and when she falls into a bowl of dumpling filling, she is scooped up, folded into a bun, and served to the gigantic Empress herself (cued Asian, like the chefs) in a surreal twist of fate. “STOP! Don’t eat me!” The Empress instead invites Liddy to join her in a meal. Finally, Liddy awakens in her own bed, “hungry for more dim sum.”
“A sweet story of immigrant connections.”
Kirkus Reviews
“Beautifully written and illustrated.”
Bao Phi, Bao Phi, Caldecott Honor and Zolotow Awardwinning author of A Different Pond and You Are Life
“Bound to have a wide appeal.”
Sara O’Leary, author of A Kid Is a Kid Is a Kid WATCH
Fall always feels like a magical time, an opportunity for new beginnings. For bibliophiles, it’s a special time, too—it’s the season when scores of new titles are released. This year’s Fall Preview picture books are absolute treasures; below are a few I’m especially anticipating.
Several kid-lit giants return with can’t-miss new works. Caldecott honoree Brendan Wenzel’s Every Dreaming Creature (Little, Brown, Sept. 26) is a beautifully surreal lullaby in which a narrator imagines transforming into a series of animals, from a vibrantly hued salamander to a massive elephant. Sydney Smith’s Do You Remember? (Neal Porter/Holiday House, Oct. 3) tells the story of a parent and child adjusting to a new home after a big move; Smith once again demonstrates the keen emotional awareness that has long distinguished his work.
Jason Reynolds fans will be thrilled to learn he’s making his picture-book debut. In There Was a Party for Langston (Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum, Oct. 3), vividly illustrated by Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey, he lays down verse that’s more than worthy of his subject. Poet Langston Hughes’ words bounce across the page, as full of energy as the people who gathered in 1991 at the opening of an auditorium named for him at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center.
(Read our interview with Reynolds on Page 48.)
Those eager for more picture-book biographies should read Jyoti Rajan Gopal’s Desert Queen (Levine Querido, Oct. 3). Gopal’s spellbinding verse blends with Svabhu Kohli’s sumptuous artwork for the heartbreaking yet uplifting tale of Queen Harish, an Indian drag performer who persevered despite prejudice.
Several noteworthy books pay tribute to the ties that bind.
In Kim Rogers’ A Letter for Bob (Heartdrum, Sept. 19), illustrated by Jonathan Nelson, a child bids farewell to the family car, now on its last legs. Anchored in everyday joys, this is a stirring ode to Indig-
enous family life. Reminiscences about a lost loved one also figure heavily in Xelena González’s tenderly told Remembering (Simon & Schuster, Aug. 29), illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia, in which a Latine family honors a deceased pet.
On a lighter note, Frank Viva’s Gotta Go! Toon Level 2 (Toon Books/Astra Books for Young Readers, Sept. 5) is another reminder of the importance of family. When Owen has to pee now, it’s Grandpa who distracts the child with a series of hilarious dances. Viva’s inspired design results in a charming graphic novel for the youngest set.
Some of my favorite upcoming works plant seeds of social activism, like Amanda Gorman’s captivating Something, Someday (Viking, Sept. 26). Aware that many readers are upset about the state of the world, the national youth poet laureate urges them to be “a little hopeful” as well. Christian Robinson’s collage artwork depicts a group of children transforming a trash heap into a well-tended garden—a kidfriendly metaphor for the way a community can effect change.
Readers seeking a role model will find one in Muslim athlete Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir. Her poignant picture-book autobiography, Lion on the Inside: How One Girl Changed Basketball (Kids Can, Sept. 5), co-written with Judith Henderson and illustrated by Katherine Ahmed, explains how her dreams of playing professionally were dashed when she was told she couldn’t wear her hijab on the court—a moment that spurred her to lobby for change. Margaret Chiu Greanias’ How This Book Got Red (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, Oct. 1), illustrated by Melissa Iwai, is set in a world dominated by black-and-white pandas. A red panda feels unseen and unheard—until she writes a book about red pandas.
Mahnaz Dar is a young readers’ editor.
Liddy’s family then visits the real Dim Sum Palace, which isn’t “a palace at all” and has no Empress, but the food is even more satisfying. Saturated teal, blue, and salmon dominate in Fang’s enticing graphite and digital artwork. Human forms are plump, and both the theme and look are reminiscent of Maurice Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen (1970). The spread of the real Dim Sum Palace’s bright orange interior featuring tables full of diverse diners is a delightful touch. Endpapers highlight different types of dim sum. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A real (delicious) trip. (Picture book. 47)
Giddens, Rhiannon
Illus. by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu Candlewick (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Nov. 7, 2023
9781536222548
A Black mother-daughter pair connect to their ancestral stories in this picture-book rendering of a song by folk musician Giddens.
The two are sitting outside near a wood when the child asks about a sparrow she sees. Why can the sparrow fly away when the girl cannot? Her mother tells her that her Granny Liza used to fly, connected as she was to both the ancestors, who could fly, and to her grandchild, in whom she saw “the old-time ways.” As the pair share the old stories and their own links to their people, the child feels the time has come, and together they take flight, searching for the promised land. The spare, beautiful verses of this powerful song are well suited to a picture book and well laid out among stirring spreads of artwork in Uchendu’s distinctive textured style highlighting vast landscapes, deep skies of sunset orange, purple, and dark blue, and figures of ancestors whose presence is felt deeply though they are depicted only as shadowy silhouettes. Drawing inspiration from Virginia Lee Hamilton and Leo and Diane Dillon’s classic folktale collection The People Could Fly (1985), this work wraps readers in a warm embrace. Perfect for bedtime, naptime, storytime, or sharing in schools, this magical picture book will have readers entranced. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sublime. (author’s and illustrator’s notes) (Picture book. 39)
González, Xelena
Illus. by Adriana M. Garcia
Simon & Schuster (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Aug. 29, 2023
9781534499638
In González and Garcia’s latest collaboration, a Latine child builds a loving altar for the family dog.
When faced with the death of a beloved pet, the unnamed young narrator of this striking picture book methodically collects materials to construct an ofrenda, an altar associated with
Dia de los Muertos consisting of photos, candles, foods, and other items to remind loved ones of the departed. The narrator “[gathers] all your treasured toys and bring[s] you the brightest flowers.” In the acrylic illustrations, swirls and paw prints representing the canine’s spirit surround the family as they mourn and remember. They spread flower petals to make a path to their front door “to guide your way home, on this sacred night… / when we welcome back our loving, loyal friends.” Even the most cynical reader might find themselves choking back tears at the beautiful, plaintive text and the lush, realistic illustrations in which the beloved dog is too memorable and too large to even fit within the borders of photo frames. If that doesn’t put a reader over the top, emotionally, the author’s and illustrator’s notes will; both of them drew inspiration from the losses of their own pets. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gorgeous, deeply touching exploration of grief and remembrance. (information on building an ofrenda) (Picture book. 48)
Gopal, Jyoti Rajan
Illus. by Svabhu Kohli
Levine Querido (56 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781646142620
A young boy thrust into the role of breadwinner turns to his love of dance. Though Harish is entranced by the music and dance of his native Rajasthan, he is careful not to show how they affect him. Only when playing the Hindu god Krishna in a school play does he embrace the “flowing fabric / and dazzling jewels” that leave him feeling “shiny and / glittery and / NEW.” When he and his sisters are orphaned, he performs in drag to make ends meet. His heart soars under the cover of night but is broken by the taunts he faces by day, living in a society with strict gender norms. This double life weighs on him, but his talent also earns him respect and praise. Based on the real-life story of drag performer Queen Harish (1979-2019), the narrative traces his pain and uncertainty and his joys and triumphs. Vibrant, kaleidoscopic illustrations inspired by the desert environs and the textiles, architecture, and artwork of the city of Jaisalmer capture the joyful dancer’s whirling and swirling movements as he embodies another form: “Not / Boy OR girl. / Man OR woman. / But / fluid / flowing / like a dance / in between / and all around.” Lyrical poetry mirrors the sounds and beats of the local folk music and complements the dreamlike visuals. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Evocative and electrifying. (author’s and illustrator’s notes, more information on Queen Harish) (Picturebook biography. 48)
something, someday
Gorman, Amanda Illus. by Christian Robinson Viking (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9780593203255
In this collaboration from National Youth Poet Laureate Gorman and Caldecott Medalist Robinson, a small child finds a way to make a big impact on the community.
The Black-presenting youngster notices something wrong but is told it is “not a problem,” that it “cannot be fixed,” and that it is “too big for you.” But the child is determined to try. Writing in second person, Gorman immerses readers in the experience, assuring them that they are not alone in their longings for a better world. The powerfully spare lines of text convey the concerns that can occupy the mind of a thoughtful person in a society full of problems and complacency. Robinson’s signature simple, child-friendly collage art brings the text into concrete detail as the protagonist notices an oversized trash heap on the sidewalk and begins to work at cleaning it up. With help from diverse friends who are eager to make a difference, too, the child replaces the trash with a raised bed garden, which disappoints with withered seedlings before ultimately blooming into “something that work[s],” something to be proud of. Robinson’s scenes are set against plenty of white space, giving text and art equal weight—both are sure to spark meaningful and productive conversations. (This book was reviewed digitally.) An engaging offering whose hopeful message will resonate with readers of all ages. (Picture book. 48)
Graziano, Jonathan
Illus. by Dan Tavis McElderry (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Nov. 7, 2023
9781665941679
Series: Noodle and Jonathan
Noodle the pug sets his sights on getting to the top of the snuggliest pile of couch blankets.
Nowhere seems comfy enough for Noodle, not even his perfectly fluffed bed. He finally spies the ideal spot: Comfy Mountain. Noodle tries to get his little pug legs up onto the couch to reach the mound of blankets, but he can’t get to the summit. Finally, he reaches the top thanks to a helping hand from his light-skinned human, Jonathan. This is Graziano’s second picture book starring Noodle, his real-life pug who gained a huge social media following for videos reminding viewers of the importance of self-care (if Noodle slumped over after Graziano held him up, it was a “no-bones day,” devoted to rest and relaxation). Noodle’s perspective is sweet and charming, and readers will relate to the peace that comes from settling in to the perfect cuddle nook. Tavis’ soft illustrations depict a wide-eyed,
rotund little pup who’s impossible not to love. The shimmering golden light that falls on Comfy Mountain is pitch-perfect, as is Noodle’s perspective over his human’s domain. There’s a sweet little dust ball of a spider that hangs out on multiple pages and plenty of other charming touches. The message—that we all need a little help from a pal once in a while—is a familiar but sound one, and what better way to convey it than through a story of (hu)man’s best friend? (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A cozy, comforting read. (Picture book. 46) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Greanias, Margaret Chiu
Illus. by Melissa Iwai
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 1, 2023
9781728265650
A red panda notices that media is dominated by giant pandas.
One day, Red (an adorable red panda) and her friend Gee (an equally cute black-and-white giant panda) find a book about pandas. Red’s initial excitement turns to disappointment when she sees that the entire book is about giant pandas, with nary a red panda in sight. “Who wrote this anyway!?” she fumes. “Ohhhhhhh!” says Gee as they spot a giant panda’s author photo on the back flap. Red decides to write her own book about red pandas, but as the pair walk through the town, readers will notice all the giant panda merchandise (even red panda children have black-and-white dolls), including the bookstore display. “No one wants to read about red pandas,” Red concludes and tosses her half-finished book away. Later, the friends find a group of pandas crowded around her unfinished book. “That one looks just like me!” one red panda points out. They tell Red that they want and need this book, which inspires her to persevere. Greanias illustrates perfectly, in a way that children will intuitively understand, why it’s so crucial for everyone to see themselves depicted in media; Iwai’s lovable panda characters, rendered in colorful watercolor, pencil, and digital tools, are irresistible. A final joyful spread portrays a future in which both types of pandas are represented everywhere, and crayon-drawn endpapers show pages from Red’s book. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Astute and adorable commentary on media representation. (Picture book. 48)
“An engaging offering whose hopeful message will resonate with readers of all ages.”
Henderson, Judith
Illus. by Nahid Kazemi Owlkids Books (32 pp.)
$18.95 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781771475891
A bear finds love in both music and a feathered friend.
Bear groggily wakes from a winter slumber, lumbering outside to greet the world. But if he had slept one more second, he would have missed it: “the moment—the moment—in a day that started everything.” An enchanting song is heard. Bear follows the sound and finds a dainty chickadee singing her heart out. She is, in fact, practicing for the opera. “AHHH-PERA,” says Bear. And then questions: “What’s the Opera?” (“It’s a story with lots of singing.”) Bear wonders if he could be part of the opera, too. Bird’s wide-eyed expression at Bear’s “BASSO PROFUNDO” voice leads readers to guess that his talents might be lacking. The two practice together and audition. In an unexpected twist, Bear does not get the part (though Bird does). But the love that has developed between them transcends all. They are still an undeniable duet, and when winter returns, Bird promises to watch over Bear as he sleeps. Kazemi’s ethereal forest, full of smudged trees and floating dandelion wisps, enhances the sentimental atmosphere of these sweet soul mates. The intended audience might not immediately hear John Paul Young’s crooning voice once the title is read, but listening to “Love Is in the Air” or an operatic aria is a logical next step. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Elevates standard hibernation fare to a new level. (Picture book. 48)
Orchard/Scholastic (48 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 31, 2023
9781338715941
An eloquent tribute to the ways this renowned Chinese artist has worked to shed light on the international refugee crisis. Having spent much of his youth as a forcibly relocated person in China and so knowing what it’s like to live (as Ho puts it in a paraphrased comment from the artist’s mother) “on the tip of a wave, far from home and always in danger,” Ai Weiwei has not only personally helped crowds of refugees coming ashore on an Aegean island, but created widely viewed art to highlight their plight—notably Safe Passage, an installation made up of hundreds of their discarded life jackets. Chien’s sensitive, impressionistic scenes pop with the bright orange of those jackets and also the deep blue in flowing brushed lines both of water and of hazy adults and children fleeing wars and natural disasters with
little beyond “memories, fears, hopes, and dreams.” In the simply phrased main narrative and a substantial afterword, author and illustrator also follow Ai’s career as he learned to turn the “dignity in his hands” to striking, memorable art made from simple items, from one coat hanger to thousands of backpacks and millions of hand-painted sunflower seeds. Several inset stills from his recent video documentaries likewise commemorate how he has “invited the world to take action” and “helped the world remember humanity.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Inspiring insights into how art can reify vital current issues. (Picturebook biography. 79)
Hodder, Bridget & Fawzia GilaniWilliams
Illus. by Cinzia Battistel
Kar-Ben (24 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781728460246
Two children find enduring friendship in a small village in Morocco.
Hassan, who is Muslim, attends school in the mosque, while Jacob, who is Jewish and whose family moved here from Spain years ago, learns from the rabbi in the synagogue. The boys love to spend time in Jacob’s family’s garden, splashing in the pool and dashing among the lush plants, and the two families share meals there each week. “A garden is a prayer,” Hassan’s father often says, to which Jacob’s father adds, “A garden is also a promise.” Hassan and Jacob know that promises must be kept and vow to care for the garden together. They paint the benches and nurture the plants, feeling pride and thanking Allah and HaShem. Then world events interfere. Danger to the Jews is looming (the historical note has context about World War II), and Jacob’s family must leave. With the saddest of goodbyes, Hassan vows that he will keep his promise to care for the garden. The friends finally meet again decades later in the still beautiful garden. The tale is told simply and gently, with deep understanding of the characters’ cultural backgrounds and the friendship that sustains them. Detailed, glowing, emotionally charged illustrations match the text and bring to life the Moroccan setting. The backmatter notes that the tale is based on a real event that had a less satisfying conclusion than the authors have chosen to provide young readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Tender and heart-rending. (Picture book. 59)
keep the traditional Korean mood with contemporary interpretations.
When you’re working on a book that you’re both writing and illustrating, what comes to you first— the idea for the text or the idea for the visuals?
It really depends on the project, but usually the images come first. I’m used to thinking visually. I make a series of images first, and then I go back and forth, creating some visual narratives, adding and subtracting images to make a story. The Shade Tree is a more interesting case. When I got to know this story, I immediately thought of the image of the endlessly long shade of the tree, which covers more than two pages of the book. I picked the physical book form first, and then I wrote the text to fill the specific format.
How would you describe your style as an illustrator?
Suzy Lee’s newest picture book, The Shade Tree (Aldana Libros/Greystone Kids, Sept. 5), translated from Korean by Helen Mixter, is “a gorgeous fable celebrating generosity and wit,” according to Kirkus’ starred review. Lee answered these questions via email, and her responses have been edited for length and clarity.
What influenced your visual choices for this book?
The poor and weak playing tricks on the rich and powerful is a classic motif in old folktales around the world. These are usually event-driven tales, with no backstory or inner description of the main characters. That’s why I silhouetted all the characters in this story without any physical description. It doesn’t matter where the young traveler comes from or what the rich man looks like. All that matters is that the young traveler has taken action against the rich man, who is greedy and treats the villagers badly. The limited color palette was used to make the silhouetted figures stand out more, and I tried to
I call myself a “picture book artist” rather than an “illustrator.” In those words, everything I do is well explained: I make pictures, I make books, and I am an artist. I’m primarily interested in storytelling through the power of images, and I’m also interested in the form of a book, which is part of the story. And the term artist makes me feel that I’m dealing with the whole process of creating art. My style of making picture books is also closely related to this idea. My books Wave, Shadow, and Mirror are called the Border Trilogy because they all use the gutter of the book as a border between fantasy and reality. For children, reading books is also playing with books. I’ve been trying to create picture books that could enrich the reading experience by treating the book as an object with the power of visual storytelling.
What are you working on now?
I just launched the new book White Porcelain Opposites at Seoul International Book Fair in Korea last month. This book is simply a dictionary of opposites, but I contrast the diversity of Korean white porcelain from the collection of the National Museum of Korea. Porcelains are just objects, but if you
look at them with different eyes, they seem to be living beings with personalities: big and little, easygoing and picky, thrifty and generous, and so on. I’m also finishing an essay on my picture books. It will mainly be about the thoughts behind the picture books I’ve been making for over 20 years, but it will also be a tribute to my love for the picturebook genre in general. This essay will come out this fall in Korea.
Interview by Nina PalattellaJoof, Emily
Illus. by Matilda Ruta
Floris (32 pp.)
$17.95 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781782508298
With nurturing from Mama, a young child gradually learns to love swimming.
Strapped to Mama’s chest, an infant is initially frightened by the water: “When I first saw the big blue sea / I was scared and confused. / It crashed so loud and spread so wide. / It made me feel small inside ” Subsequent trips to other bodies of water as the child grows older are conveyed through simple rhythmic text. The young narrator considers the attributes of a deep, “quiet lake” and a river with “water rushing by” and mulls venturing into the water, each time opting to go in...next time. Encouraging words, plenty of patience, and an imaginative journey through “watery worlds,” experienced from the comfort of Mama’s arms, lay the foundation for the protagonist’s eventual decision to dive into a swimming pool. Illustrations hand drawn in ink and painted using watercolors contribute to the nurturing feel of the text. Both the mother and child, whose gender is not identified, are depicted with dark brown skin and tightly curled black hair. Translated from Swedish, the story offers a model for parents looking to quell children’s fears, support their dreams, and allow them room to grow. Given that many swimming pools have historically excluded African American communities and that Black children face an elevated risk of drowning, a narrative that spotlights a Black family reveling in the water is especially welcome. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Gentle, inspiring, and important. (Picture book. 35)
Kamalyan, Astrid
Illus. by Anait Semirdzhyan
Charlesbridge (32 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781623543587
Tato, a young Armenian child, eagerly awaits rug-washing day.
As Tato gathers with siblings and neighbors outside under the watchful eye of Bábo (grandma), the space transforms into a lively playground where the children wash rugs. The book captures the essence of childhood, depicting the sheer thrill of jumping, scrubbing, and playing with bubbles and water. With compelling descriptions and inspired metaphors, young Tato paints a vivid picture of textures, smells, and sights. “Bounce clouds!” “Snowflakes!” squeals Tato as a sudsy foam forms. Tato is bigger and more mature since the last rug-washing day and gets to prove it by helping out when the chickens get loose. Cultural elements are seamlessly woven throughout the book, from the significance of a wedding gift rug to the apricot pie that
delights the hardworking children at the end of the day. The intricate, vibrant rugs pop in the beautiful, earth-toned illustrations. Filled with action and dramatic angles, the art brings this tale to life and adds whimsy to the text. Armenian words in the Artsakh dialect are interspersed and explained in a glossary. In an author’s note, Kamalyan discusses how her own grandmother and her experiences growing up in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, inspired this story. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An enchanting celebration of heritage and childhood joy. (about Armenian carpet-weaving tradition) (Picture book. 510)
Lee, Suzy
Trans. by Helen Mixter
Aldana Libros/Greystone Kids (32 pp.)
$18.95 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781778400186
Series: Aldana Libros
A traveler attempts to rest in the shade of a tree.
The traveler, along with several villagers, is soon driven off when the rich man who owns the land the tree sits on demands they leave his property. The traveler makes a deal with the rich man. Parting with all his money, he purchases the right to sit in the tree’s shadow wherever it may land for as long as he wants. The rich man believes he’s made some easy money, but as the day lengthens, so does the tree’s shadow, allowing the traveler to reach unexpected places. Eventually he gets the better of the rich man and finds a way to allow all the villagers to share in his happiness. Abstract backgrounds and characters presented as silhouettes meld with the narrative, a retelling of a Korean folktale, to create a fairy tale–like mood. The eponymous tree features in nearly every illustration, and clever layouts and a dramatic gatefold demonstrate the true extent of its shade as the day goes on, making for a stunning dusk scene as the traveler literally dances along the shadow’s length. The soothing cadence of the story paired with the simple but beautiful illustrations and amusing ending make for a calming and satisfying read, translated from Korean and reformatted for a North American audience. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gorgeous fable celebrating generosity and wit. (Picture book. 48)
Lindstrom, Carole
Illus. by Bridget George Roaring Brook Press (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781250795274
The true story of a young Anishinaabe woman and her family’s legacy of Native water activism.
In the foreword, Anishinaabe activist Autumn Peltier explains, “In our culture, we look at water as a living being, and we’re taught to treat it with the same respect we would show another human.” With this ethic in mind, Lindstrom (Anishinaabe/Métis) and George (Anishinaabe) tell their story from the perspective of nibi (Anishinaabe for water) itself. Beginning with the Anishinaabe tradition of “looking seven generations into the future” to ensure that water is clean for everyone, nibi celebrates Indigenous land and water stewardship. But “over time, more people came” and polluted and mistreated water, and Native women “were forced to get louder” in the fight for water protection—including Grandma Josephine, Autumn Peltier’s great-aunt. A water warrior famous for trekking around the Great Lakes with a copper water pail, Grandma Josephine inspired young Autumn to also make waves. George’s rich, cartoon images reverently depict Autumn’s growth as an organizer under her ancestors’ guidance, honoring their intergenerational struggles. After the story concludes with an invitation to join Autumn in the fight for water rights, backmatter offers more details about Grandma Josephine and Autumn’s activism. Lindstrom’s latest is a moving tribute to Native women and their crucial leadership in Indigenous and water rights. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A touching ode to Indigenous activists organizing for generations of clean water. (glossary, further reading) (Informational picture book. 510)
Llanos, Mariana
Illus. by Cocoretto
Barefoot Books (32 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9798888590027
Creatures from Peruvian folklore try, unsuccessfully, to haunt a young reader.
What is a poor spirit to do with a little girl like Benita? Cuco, a creature who appears in the brown-skinned, pigtailed young girl’s bedroom one night, can’t get a scare out of her. Instead, Benita throws the monster a lollipop and continues reading her book. So Cuco enlists other creatures, including green Tunche, black cat Yanapuma, and horned spirit Supay. One by one they appear and are shushed by the girl. (“Cuco and Tunche were shocked! Who did this child think she was?”) The child eventually screams at the group: “CAN’T YOU ALL BE QUIET? DON’T
just because
YOU SEE I’M READING A BOOK?” The book wins out; by story’s end Benita is reading to the becalmed creatures, with “stories and pictures frolicking in front of their eyes, creating some sort of enchanted magic….Reading magic!” This brief book charms, with each spirit distinct and beautifully imagined in the simple art that relies on bright, flat colors. An author’s note reveals that Llanos grew up during “a violent time” in Peru but that books were her escape. Information about the night creatures Benita meets and facts about Peru close out this tale. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An imaginative peek at colorful monsters. (illustrator’s note) (Picture book. 47)
Mahdavi, Azam
Illus. by Maryam Tahmasebi
Trans. by Parisa Saranj
Lee & Low Books (48 pp.)
$21.95 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781643796222
A child’s-eye view of the emotional impact of losing a parent.
In a dark apartment building, a tan-skinned protagonist stares at a photograph—“the last picture of Mom and me and the last pot we planted together.” The young narrator explains that soon after the picture was taken, Mom died. Empty, a translucent, bloblike figure, showed up soon after and became the narrator’s new constant companion and sole friend. Empty not only rides the bus with the narrator and walks the child home from school, Empty also literally comes between the narrator and Dad at dinner, on trips to the amusement park, and at bedtime. Slowly but surely, the protagonist’s relationship with Empty changes. The shift begins when the plant that the narrator planted with Mom flowers, and the narrator gives Empty one of the flowers. Soon after, the protagonist and Empty adopt a lost kitten. Featuring exquisite, muted illustrations, this heartbreakingly tender story includes spare text in both English and Persian. The author and artist portray the protagonist’s grief starkly and frankly while leaving plenty of literal and metaphorical space for readers to apply their own experiences. The ambiguous ending—it’s not clear what becomes of Empty—may confuse some readers given that the plot is otherwise straightforward, but with grounding from caregivers and educators, it may also spark conversation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A devastatingly honest book about loss, mourning, and recovery. (Picture book. 28)
Illus. by Renée Kurilla Viking (32 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 12, 2023 9780593622032
Oscar winner McConaughey offers intriguing life observations.
The series of pithy, wry comments, each starting with the phrase “Just because,” makes clear that each of us is a mass of contradictions: “Just because we’re friends, / doesn’t mean you can’t burn me. / Just because I’m stubborn, / doesn’t mean that you can’t turn me.” Witty, digitally rendered vignettes portray youngsters diverse in terms of race and ability (occasionally with pets looking on) dealing with everything from friendship drama to a nerve-wracking footrace. “Just because I’m dirty, / doesn’t mean I can’t get clean” is paired with an image of a youngster taking a bath while another character (possibly an older sibling) sits nearby, smiling. “Just because you’re nice, / doesn’t mean you can’t get mean” depicts the older one berating the younger one for tracking mud into the house. The artwork effectively brings to life the succinct, rhyming text and will help readers make sense of it. Perhaps, after studying the illustrations and gaining further insight into the comments, kids will reread and reflect upon them further. The final page unites the characters from earlier pages with a reassuring message for readers: “Just because the sun has set, / doesn’t mean it will not rise. / Because every day is a gift, / each one a new surprise. BELIEVE IT.” As a follow-up, readers should be encouraged to make their own suggestions to complete the titular phrase. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes. (Picture book. 58)
Mentzel, Cara & Idina Menzel
Illus. by Jaclyn Sinquett
Disney-Hyperion (48 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781368080996
Educator Mentzel and her sister, Tony Award–winning actor Menzel, tell the story of a little rodent attempting to get out of her superstar sibling’s shadow.
As made clear in Loud Mouse (2022), Dee’s a talented singer with a powerful set of lungs. Soft-spoken little sis Cara Lee is a different kind of rodent, but she utterly adores her older sister. Cara Lee is delighted to finally start school. But as the day wears on, she must continually field questions from well-intentioned adults about whether she can sing or play tennis like Dee. By the end, she’s confused and frustrated but determined to figure herself out. On her own, she realizes that she may be like her sister a little, but she’s her own person, and she’s not afraid to say so. Any younger sibling faced with a barrage of teachers who keep bringing up their older siblings will be able to identify with
“Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes.”
sort of an easy go-to. There was what seemed at the time to be a simplicity to the language. Of course now I know that it’s much more complex than one might think. But there’s an ease to the language that as a young person I gravitated toward because everything else seemed so confusing. Langston Hughes obviously lived in a very different time than I did. Yet it still felt like something that was mine, something that I could connect to, like someone in my family was speaking.
Why did you decide to write a picture book about Langston rather than, say, a middle-grade or a YA book?
Langston is the main character, so to speak, of the story. But it’s almost a red herring. We’re going to celebrate this man who could put together words in such an intricate and interesting way. But really what we’re doing is celebrating where those words get to live and how they play out in our lives, which I think is more important. Langston is only the arbiter of that story. But it’s not really about him.
For Jason Reynolds, a library is a playground, a dance floor, a place to experience the whole range of human emotion—and no one better exemplifies that mindset than Langston Hughes. Exploring the poet’s life and literary legacy, Reynolds’ debut picture book, There Was a Party for Langston (Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum, Oct. 3), illustrated by Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey, focuses on a 1991 gathering at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center, where luminaries such as Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka came together to fete Hughes, to celebrate the opening of an auditorium named for him, and to dance with joyful abandon. Reynolds answered our questions about the book via phone, and his responses have been edited for length and clarity.
What drew you to Langston Hughes?
I think Langston Hughes was the first poet I read. And when I finally started reading poetry, that was
We look at Langston Hughes as this incredible figure, this giant when it comes to letters. But we should also be looking at the spaces in which those letters live—[they’re] just as fascinating and just as exciting. If you’re a child, the library should feel just like a playground; it should feel like a seesaw or merry-go-round or jungle gym. Except instead of doing a flip upside down or running in to play tag, you’re flipping through pages of a book and figuring out how to get caught by the stories and language and the energy of the people who wrote those books.
If someone were going to write the story of you and your life, who would you choose, and why?
I used to say Kiese Laymon, just because I love Kiese Laymon, and I think he’d take care of me, and I think he’d be loving, because that’s how he is. I think he’s a brilliant writer who could make my life pulse on a page.
But as I think about it now, it would probably have to be, hopefully, lots of people who could contribute a paragraph or chapter. I’d like to believe that my life has been odd enough and dynamic
Cara Lee’s struggle. And while her tale may not divulge any particularly scintillating insights, there’s a comfort in recognition. As before, the middling messaging is helped considerably by art that gives weight and personality to the characters. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Little sibs unite and distinguish yourselves! A nice lesson for kids who sometimes get lost in the shuffle. (Picture book. 36)
Patel, Sanjay & Emily Haynes
Illus. by Sanjay Patel
Chronicle Books (52 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781797224855
Haynes and Patel retell the story of Ganesha and Kartikeya’s race around the world.
Divine siblings Ganesha, the elephant-headed god of beginnings, and Kartikeya, the god of war, find a mango that they are unable to share. Their parents, the god Shiva and the goddess Parvati, explain that because the family received the mango from the gods, it has magical properties. Notably, it can only be eaten by someone who wins it in a competition. Delighted, the athletic Kartikeya suggests that the two brothers compete by racing around the world. Ganesha, who is no physical match for his brother, tries to change his sibling’s mind. The tactic backfires: Shiva, overhearing the conversation, declares that the two boys should circle the Earth three times instead of just once. While Kartikeya eagerly jets into orbit, Ganesha decides to do what he does best and uses his brain instead of his body. Ganesha is sure he is going to lose until the last minute, when a revelation from the Vedas—Hinduism’s holy scriptures—gives him the solution he needs. This version of a popular Hindu tale is witty, clever, and entertaining, focusing on the story rather than the moral. Ganesha is an endearing hero, and laudably, the vibrant, quirky illustrations, full of geometric shapes and eyecatching patterns, include dark-skinned versions of the gods. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A charming interpretation of a Hindu myth. (Picture book. 47)
Reynolds, Jason
Illus. by Jerome Pumphrey & Jarrett Pumphrey
Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum (56 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781534439443
Reynolds and the Pumphrey brothers take readers on a dazzling journey through Langston Hughes’ legacy.
“There was a party for Langston at the library. / A jam in
enough and interesting enough and broad enough for people around the world to contribute a little bit of something about their experiences with me or the things that I’ve made.
I don’t believe that everyone will have something kind to say. I’m a whole person, not without flaw. And I would want it to be an honest story, one that is full and whole and complex, as complex as I am.
Dar
a letter for bob
Harlem to celebrate the word-making man— // Langston, the king of letters.” And what a party! When Langston writes, words move, they collide, they big bang into the very atoms of connection. On shelves in the background, fellow Black writers and poets peer out from the spines of their books, looking on in delight as Langston’s “word-children” Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka whirl with joy and inspiration, their own word-making mastery a credit to Langston’s legacy. Inspired by a joyous photo of Angelou and Baraka snapped in 1991 at the opening of the Langston Hughes Auditorium at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Reynolds sets a syncopated pace with his debut picture book, delivering not only a celebratory dance of a biography, but a primer in Hughes’ own jazz poetry. Not missing a beat and laying down one all their own, the Pumphrey brothers’ illustrations incorporate verses from Hughes’ poems and other words he set into motion to create a thrumming visual landscape where meaning takes literal flight. This book demonstrates that Hughes’ work is the epitome of what words can be. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A bar set stratospherically high and cleared with room to spare. (Informational picture book. 38)
$19.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9780063044555
An Indigenous child’s touching tribute to Bob, the trusty family car.
“Dear Bob,” begins Rogers’ (Wichita) latest picture book, told from the perspective of a kid named Katie. “Mom and Dad told me about / the day they bought you / at the dealership / when I was a baby…. / They said that your paint sparkled in the sun, / your seats felt feather-soft, / and you had that new car smell.” What starts as a simple ode to a well-cherished sedan quickly becomes a more nuanced love letter to Native families, accompanied by emotion-driven, comic art from Nelson (Diné). Readers will find themselves riding along as the family attends the Wichita Annual Dance, speeds away from a formidable moose while on a road trip to Grand Teton, visits Aka:h (Wichita for grandparent) in her Shaconage (Smoky Mountains) home, and goes on everyday excursions to school, the library, and friends’ houses. Far from a mere piece of machinery, Bob is a treasured member of the close-knit family—“When we got into / a fender bender, / you kept us safe, / and we took care of / you then, too.” The narrative ends with a bittersweet so:ti:c?a (thank you) and goodbye as Bob is traded in for a car to better fit the growing family. For its tender vignettes of modern Indigenous life, this tale will make a glowing addition to any personal, school, or public library. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Slice-of-life Native stories told with joy and reverence. (author’s note, glossary, info on current tribal locations, publisher’s note) (Picture book. 410)
Silva, Cassie
Illus. by Frances Ives Lantana (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781915244482
As Jacki’s mother begins to lose her hearing, the two of them learn sign language. Jacki (who is brown-skinned like Mama) wants to remain close to her mom; she even tries to block sound “and listen… to the quiet.” She seems reluctant to enjoy Music Appreciation Days, when children in her diverse class must demonstrate musical skills. Tan-skinned Sam makes sounds with a rainstick; brown-skinned Carlos beats a bombo drum. After realizing that Mama can feel vibrations coming from speakers playing a beloved song, Jacki decides to share the tune in sign language and asks her classmates to stomp or tap their feet. Her mom comes to class, too, and “signs back.” The book was inspired by an actual incident in Silva’s life, discussed in an author’s note that mentions American and British sign language and other versions of sign language. Practical aids for people with hearing loss are deftly integrated into the narrative. When Jacki and her mom forget to monitor a cake in the oven, a smoke alarm flashes. Fairy lights connected to a motion sensor twinkle to let them know that visitors are here. Mama’s friends always face her so that she can read their lips. A few signs (with meanings in small print) are incorporated into the serene, muted multimedia illustrations, which occasionally erupt in movement. This gently loving story will be especially appreciated by readers whose family members, friends, or classmates are experiencing hearing loss. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A personal, child-friendly approach to sensory changes. (Picture book. 47)
Smith, Sydney Neal Porter/Holiday House (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780823442621
A parent and child share memories during their first day in a new home.
Hands, feet, faces. Close-ups of these body parts indicate proximity of child to parent in this quietly affecting story of separation and change. The book opens on two light-skinned faces wreathed with dark hair snuggled into bed pillows. The color of the text indicates the speaker (pink for the parent, blue for the child). Each episode begins with parent or child asking the titular question, and as time shifts between present and past, the design goes from double-page spreads to square, sequential panels, allowing Smith to home in on details: the parents sitting on a blue checkered picnic blanket in the hazy sunshine as the child presents berries; the child riding a bicycle before crashing, laughing, into a haystack; Grandpa’s lantern—its glow
“Slice-of-life Native stories told with joy and reverence.”
contrasting with the darkness the night the power went out. As in Smith’s previous stories, sensory descriptions beautifully gird the emotions of the visual narrative, and a sensitive caretaker and child face challenges with loving attention to one another. The parent and child recall how they got lost driving to the new dwelling; the child handed the parent the teddy bear that Dad—who hasn’t come with them—had given them. Gazing out the apartment window at dawn, surrounded by these familiar objects, the child wonders if this “magic” moment will also be a memory one day. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An immensely satisfying glimpse of a family’s ability to navigate challenges through honest conversation and mutual support. (Picture book. 47)
Tonatiuh, Duncan Abrams (48 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781419764585
The mighty history of capoeira—and one of the form’s central figures.
A cultural expression that blends fighting, music, dance, and theatrics, capoeira arose from the beliefs and customs of the African peoples who were forced into slavery by the Portuguese in Brazil. Tonatiuh details capoeira’s tumultuous rise, from its banning in Brazil in 1890, two years after the abolition of slavery, to “a celebrated art” across the early 20th century. Mestre Bimba (born Manoel dos Reis Machado in 1899) developed a new kind of capoeira called Luta Regional Baiana. Determined to change the form’s “bad reputation,” Bimba opened an academia and taught capoeira in a formalized manner, leading to public bouts that reinforced his notion of capoeira as an artistic expression of resistance. Thanks to Mestre Bimba’s struggles, as well as the endeavors of other capoeiristas and a slightly more tolerant Brazilian government, capoeira eventually was decriminalized in the 1950s, leading to greater participation, including among previously excluded segments of the population such as women. The author/illustrator’s trademark preColombian-flavored artwork lends itself wonderfully to the subject matter, with exaggerated poses and razor-sharp linework conveying body movements. Several illustrations depict shadows of capoeiristas as silhouettes of enslaved people, emphasizing the form’s origins. A glossary and in-depth author’s note provide further illuminating context. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A superb portrait of Afro-Brazilian endurance. (endnotes, photos, bibliography) (Informational picture book. 510)
Toon Level 2
Viva, Frank
TOON Books/Astra Books for Young
Readers (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781662665073
In this graphic easy reader, Owen learns techniques for forestalling the inevitable need to pee.
Absorbed with a game in the car, Owen realizes 10 minutes from Grandpa’s house that “I gotta go!” Mom helps the child think of something else (steering Owen away from such counterproductive images as a waterfall, running faucet, and water pistol). As the child rushes into the bathroom of Grandpa’s third-floor walk-up just in time, Viva fills a double-page spread with Owen’s relieved face. At the park with Grandpa and Whizzer the dog, Owen learns that older folks get up early because they need to pee. Grandpa wryly introduces the child to several dances that help him stem the urge. After learning the “Tinkle Twist” and the “Wee-Wee Walk,” Owen collaborates with Grandpa on the “Pee-pee Hop,” the “Piddle Patter,” and the “Leaky Shake.” (Unbeknownst to the pair, an ever growing line has formed for the public restrooms behind them.) When Mom arrives to pick Owen up, she’s introduced to the dances as the line of waiting-to-go people, practicing their own set of urge diversions, begin to adopt some of the intergenerational duo’s moves. Viva’s crisply stylized graphics employ a palette of flat black, white, and gray, accented with a certain yellow in a watercolorlike texture. The family’s skin tone is light brown; other characters are diverse. Comics conventions like silhouettes and exaggerated perspective round out the package. Funny—and comically instructive. (Graphic easy reader. 47)
Wenzel, Brendan Little, Brown (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9780316512534
What if you could dream yourself into another animal?
A bright eye peeks from under a tree. Orange-on-blue shapes, first seen on the front endpapers, become a salamander’s patterned skin. An unseen narrator begins, “I had a dream I was a sleeping salamander… // until you came…and woke me from that dream.” The salamander becomes an octopus: “Bursts of wonder tingling down the minds of my arms /…until you came… and woke me from that dream.” Octopus becomes elephant becomes falcon becomes tiger. Wenzel’s creatures are full of personality and spirited energy—they telegraph their natures: secretive, undulating, fearsome, massive, tiny. Light and shadow, camouflage and plumage, bright colors and bold lines pop from the pages, the illustrations combining with the spare text to create a melodic pacing. The dreamer becomes other animals
in an accelerating montage: “Then there I was. / And was, / and was / and was again.” Finally, there is a tan-skinned child “full of funny thoughts and comfort and family.” Here a snowy day of play gives way to striped pajamas, a warm blanket, and a dream. Caldecott winner Wenzel cultivates senses of empathy and imagination in this appreciation of the ways other creatures experience the world, resulting in a buoyantly reverent celebration of the myriad wonders and complexity of life on Earth. The simple poetry of the narrative creates a glorious conversation starter: Who is the dreamer? (This book was reviewed digitally.) Dazzling. (Picture book. 37)
Wong, Jack Annick Press (44 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781773217970
Angie uses her English skills to help her dad and other Chinese immigrants in their neighborhood.
When Angie and her dad arrived in Canada, they knew very little English. But now that Angie has been going to school, she is able to help Dad, who still speaks only Cantonese, talk to strangers, read menus and labels, and even create signs for the office building where he works as a janitor (“Please do not carry your coffee up and down the stairs,” “Please don’t leave food to rot in the fridge”). This ability inspires her to start a sign-making business for the Chinese-owned shops in the neighborhood. But when the owner of the laundromat complains that the instructions she wrote for the machines are wrong, it’s her dad’s turn to use his language skills to help Angie. Cartoon-style art in natural colors and fine detail offers an expressive and compassionate glimpse into the struggles immigrants face but most clearly shows the love between Angie and her father and their mutual respect for each other’s skills. While Angie’s first-person narration is in English, Cantonese speakers’ dialogue is printed in Chinese as well as in italicized English, giving readers an authentic experience of what the conversations feel like. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet story of immigrant connections. (author’s note) (Picture book. 48) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Applegate, Katherine & Gennifer Choldenko
Illus. by Wallace West
Feiwel & Friends (352 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781250811608
Series: Dogtown, 1
A loquacious, lovable dog narrates the challenges of shelter life as he longs for a home.
Friendly three-legged Chance is the perfect guide to Dogtown, a shelter that houses both warmblooded and robot dogs. In fact, she’s “Management’s lucky charm,” roaming freely without being confined to a cage and leaving kibble for her mouse friend. Life is pretty good. But she still yearns for reunification with her family and, like many of the living pups, harbors suspicion of her robot counterparts, who are convenient and more easily adoptable but lacking in personality. When Metal Head, an oddly engineered e-dog, bonds with a child during a shelter reading program, Chance’s assumptions about heartless robot dogs are upended. As Chance connects with Metal Head, the two make a brief escape into the wider world, and Chance learns a familiar lesson: Everyone longs for a place to belong. Memories of Chance’s happy home loom large in her mind: Easy days with the Bessers, a sweet Black family, were disrupted by a neglectful dogsitter, the accident that cost Chance her leg, and Chance’s flight in search of safety. Chance’s chatty narrative style includes flashbacks, vignettes about fellow shelter pets, and thoughtful observations, for example, about the “boohoos,” or sad new arrivals. The story offers many moments of laughter and reflection, all greatly enhanced by West’s utterly charming grayscale illustrations of irresistible pooches.
9780399545467
Eminently readable and appealing; will tug at dog-loving readers’ heartstrings. (Fiction. 812)
Baitie, ElizabethIrene Norton Young Readers (208 pp.)
$18.95 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781324052678
A Ghanaian youngster is excited to finally explore the island that his late father had helped transform into a bird sanctuary.
Middle graders seeking a new fall read are in luck; this season’s haul includes a primer on bird behavior, captivating fantasies, probing friendship tales, graphic novels galore, and more. Here are some highlights.
Cat on the Run in Cat of Death! written and illustrated by Aaron Blabey (Scholastic Paperbacks, Sept. 5): Princess Beautiful, an internet-famous feline, finds her life turned upside down when she’s framed by mysterious villains. Bad Guys creator Blabey’s latest graphic novel has everything readers love about his work: wild antics, subversive humor, and plot twists aplenty.
Mascot by Charles Waters and Traci Sorell (Charlesbridge, Sept. 5): This verse novel told in multiple voices makes a complex topic accessible to middle graders, exploring intense emotions and evolving opinions without sacrificing nuance as a small community, home of the Rye Middle School Braves, reckons with anti-Indigenous racism in sports.
The House of the Lost on the Cape by Sachiko Kashiwaba, translated by Avery Fischer Udagawa, illustrated by Yukiko Saito (Yonder, Sept. 12): This heartfelt novel by a popular Japanese children’s author has been made into an anime film. It centers found family, weaving folklore, and magic into a tale of healing in the wake of natural disaster—the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
Cross My Heart and Never Lie written and illustrated by Nora Dåsnes, translated by Matt Bagguley (Hippo Park/Astra Books for Young Readers, Sept. 19): Adolescence means change—and changes can be bumpy, as 12-year-old Tuva learns in this charmingly sincere and appealingly illustrated graphic novel from Norway. Her close-knit friendship trio is disrupted by budding crushes, questions of what is cool (or not), and more.
Enlighten Me (A Graphic Novel) by Minh Lê, illustrated by Chan Chau (Little, Brown Ink; Sept. 19): Binh is skeptical at the idea of attending a meditation camp, but as he listens to stories of the Buddha, his imagination takes flight and he begins to grapple with his own problems. Lush artwork and inspired storytelling combine for an immersive tale about a young Vietnamese American boy’s growing appreciation for Buddhism.
What It’s Like To Be a Bird (Adapted for Young Readers): From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing—What Birds Are Doing and Why written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley (Delacorte, Oct. 3): A master ornithologist sets young readers on the path to becoming expert birders. Children will emerge well versed in bird behavior—and eager to learn more.
Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books, Oct. 10): Sage’s world is in turmoil, from the mysterious fires plaguing her neighborhood to the frequently scary changes wrought by adolescence. Woodson’s beautifully layered work is both a love letter to her native Bushwick and an insightful portrayal of a Black tween coming of age.
The Winterton Deception: Final Word by Janet Sumner Johnson (Pixel+Ink, Oct. 24): A missing Jane Austen manuscript, the shocking identity of an unknown father, a spelling bee at a grand chalet with a $500,000 prize, and a cast of wildly eccentric characters are just some of the ingredients in this wellcrafted, page-turning mystery.
The Dubious Pranks of Shaindy Goodman by Mari Lowe (Levine Querido, Nov. 7): Lonely Shaindy sees an opportunity for friendship when popular Gayil asks her to help her prank the other students at their school for Orthodox Jewish girls. With this tender, at times heartbreaking tale, Lowe exhibits a profound understanding of the complexities of middle-school friendship.
Billy and the Giant Adventure by Jamie Oliver, illustrated by Mónica Armiño (Tundra Books, Nov. 14): “What the jammy doughnut is going on?!” Readers will be swept along with plucky protagonist Billy and his friends on magical adventures in the woods near their English village in this environmentally conscious, unapologetically silly adventure by the celebrity chef.
In this engaging sequel to Crossing the Stream (2021), Ato and his friends Dzifa and Leslie join other young people for a weeklong visit to Nnoma. By taking part in activities such as photographing wild animals by night and building rafts out of natural materials, they have a chance to earn the title of Asafo, a protector of the natural world, which had been Ato’s father’s wish for him. Ato is also determined to discover his father’s plan to protect the island from those who would do it harm. The activities are both physically and mentally challenging, leaving Ato little time to look into his father’s plan. And as they approach the end of the week, Eyra, the island’s owner, who had seemed so charismatic and wise, starts to behave erratically. Ato and his friends must work together to figure out what’s going on—and safeguard the island. Ato is, once again, an irresistible hero, and his friends, old and new, are well-rounded contributing characters. Baitie offers a beautiful depiction of contemporary Ghana, with rich cultural details that ground the narrative and create a page-turning experience.
A highly affecting novel about young people working together to preserve the richness of their environment. (Fiction. 812)
Blabey, Aaron Scholastic Paperbacks (192 pp.)
$7.99 paper | Sept. 5, 2023
9781338831825
Series: Cat on the Run, 1
A celebrity cat–turned–unwitting outlaw fumbles hilariously through a series of calamities.
Princess Beautiful needs her vanilla latte! Right now! No, make that a green tea! She’s preparing for a date with suave billionaire Catrick Cash, and she’s all out of sorts. This sort of outburst is par for the course in the life of a superfamous cat. Princess Beautiful is wildly popular, racking up over 3 billion likes on goofy videos in which she chases laser pointer beams, smashes her paws haphazardly on a computer keyboard while wearing googly-eye glasses, and activates top-secret nuclear missile codes for the whole world to see. Wait, that last one seems a bit off. Princess Beautiful, set up by shadowy enemies, swiftly finds public opinion turned against her. She’s arrested, spectacularly destroys a prison bus and a Supermax prison, and attempts to flee in disguise in a series of snowballing catastrophes that make her appear much more evil than she is. Princess Beautiful, a delightful new addition to the Bad Guys universe, is a true diva, glamorous and self-obsessed yet perpetually uneasy, not unlike the iconic Miss Piggy. Each character she encounters is equally dramatic and broad, and every turn of the page brings fresh disaster. Punctuated with red, Blabey’s dynamic grayscale art brings to life Princess Beautiful’s pratfalls with the same enjoyably chaotic energy as in his Bad Guys books.
The perils of online celebrity take the form of frantic feline antics in this capable, caper-filled series starter. (Graphic fiction. 712)
Cham, Jorge
Amulet/Abrams (256 pp.)
$15.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781419764080
Series: Oliver’s Great Big Universe, 1
A stellar confluence of comic episodes and cosmic information.
Robotics Ph.D., author, podcaster, and PBS Kids’ show creator Cham offers a straightforward and amusing guide to the universe through the eyes of a middle schooler. Copious cartoon vignettes and graphics ramp up both the instruction and entertainment. Oliver introduces himself as a normal 11-year-old, not always on task or even paying attention. One day in fifth grade, however, he became enthralled and motivated by space and decided to become an astrophysicist. Dr. Howard, the catalyst and his preternaturally patient ongoing mentor, is the scientist husband of his teacher. Folded into the science (along with groanworthy puns, helpfully indexed fart jokes, and bathroom humor) is a storyline about transitioning to middle school, where, happily, Oliver makes a friend in Evie, an artistic girl he creates planet cartoons with—along with the book we’re reading. In addition to brilliantly integrated comic moments—an escaped hamster, a run-in with the principal, a hypothetical chat with an alien— surprising plot twists add narrative pizzazz to a serious raft of data about the universe. Common experiences, like a road trip, sibling dealmaking, and Halloween scares, will make readers chuckle. Terms are defined in the text. A bonus spread supplies especially jaw-dropping data crumbs that will make a big bang in family dinner conversations. Oliver and his family have paperwhite skin and black hair; Dr. Howard and Evie read Black, and Mrs. Howard appears white.
An irresistibly entertaining introduction to astrophysics. (resources, index) (Graphic nonfiction. 812)
Chokshi, Roshani
Rick Riordan Presents/Disney (320 pp.)
$16.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781368093392
An open heart leads a girl to what she needs in this page-turner embedded in Filipino mythology.
Corazon Lopez comes from a family of babaylans, mortals “who guarded the boundaries between the human world and the realm of spirits.” She must wait until her 12th birthday for her powerful magic to awaken so she can be trained by her aunt Tina. Corazon is especially eager to develop the ability to bring her deceased parents back to life instead of just having weekly dinners with their ghosts. Despite the presence of Saso, her anito or spirit companion who takes the form of a
small lizard, and being cared for by Tina’s sentient home, Corazon feels lonely. Things take a turn for the worse when Corazon encounters Flordeliza, a vengeful ghost who steals her soul key, a token of powerful magic gifted to her by her mother that is essential to bringing her parents back. Soon the Library of Mirrors that contains portals to the spirit realms shows warning signs of an imbalance between worlds. Corazon, Saso, and their new ghost friend, Leo, must attempt to surmount daunting obstacles before it’s too late in Chokshi’s action-packed quest that balances tragedy and grief with comical antics. Family secrets, folktales, and the cultural diversity of the Philippines add interest to this story that ends on a hopeful note.
A thrilling tale brimming with magic and love. (author’s note, glossary) (Adventure. 912)
Colfer, Eoin
Illus. by P.J. Lynch
Candlewick (112 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 3, 2023 9781536229998
A peaceful prince, an aging dragon, and a mysterious maiden forge a unique alliance.
Prince Lir does not possess the power to summon the wolfhounds and is thus unworthy to govern his kingdom. So begins a story of gifts discovered in struggle and friendship forged in adversity. Lir’s stepbrother, Delbayne, who has sinister motives, sends him to fight a dragon, anticipating his demise. Lir is an unlikely questing knight, a bookish young man interested in natural sciences and happy to serve his kingdom humbly in the royal library. Arriving at the dragon’s secluded island, he finds a lethargic beast incapable of flying or breathing fire and drunk on cherry wine made from berries stomped by Cethlenn, a servant girl with a hazy past in the palace kitchens. Adhering to tradition, Lir proposes to perform three tasks to free Cethlenn. Instead of challenging the dragon, Lir endeavors, rather radically, to restore him to health using his scientific skill. Simultaneously, the omniscient narrator slowly unravels Delbayne’s plans for violent attack, which build to an epic, cinematically dramatic battle whose outcome will depend upon the island trio’s nascent trust in one another. Colfer draws out details of kingdom-building in lyrical language while interweaving his characters’ relatable idiosyncrasies, motives, and griefs. Lynch’s sandy orange and misty blue hued watercolor illustrations, replete with detailed dragon profiles and majestic wolfhounds, seamlessly frame the story and bring Colfer’s mostly white-presenting characters fully to life.
An elegant and inspired fairy tale that feels both familiar and freshly penned. (Fantasy. 814)
Dåsnes, Nora
Trans. by Matt Bagguley
Hippo Park/Astra Books for Young Readers (248 pp.)
$24.99 | $17.99 paper | Sept. 19, 2023
9781662640544
9781662640575 paper
A new school year brings difficult— and exhilarating—changes for a seventh grader.
In this diary-format graphic novel from Norway, 12-yearold Tuva is looking forward to seeing best friends Bao and Linnéa. The three girls spent the previous school year playing in the woods near their school, but Tuva and Bao are shocked to discover that Linnéa not only has found a boyfriend, she also now scorns their old activities as childish and wants to do “girly things.” Bao has no time for romance, but Tuva is torn between her besties: She still wants to run around in the woods, but she’s secretly curious about love and worried about being left behind. None of the boys she knows seem like soul-mate material. But there’s Mariam, the nice, interesting new girl at school; being around her makes Tuva feel shy, and at first, she’s not sure why. This charming story captures the challenges of navigating strains on friendship bonds; following some emotional highs and lows, the girls reassuringly find their ways back to one another. The sketchy lines of Dåsnes’ digital art combined with the hand-lettered font convey the feeling of a tween’s diary. The fresh color palette with ample white space is visually appealing and effectively adds emotional impact to Tuva’s journey. Bagguley’s translation reads smoothly, and the humorous and intense moments alike read completely naturally. The cast is racially diverse.
An absorbing, sincerely told story of adolescent self-discovery and connection. (author’s note) (Graphic fiction. 913)
Diaz, Alexandra
Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (336 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781534495401
Twelve-year-old Victoria is forced to leave her beloved Cuba, not knowing if she will ever be able to return after communist dictator Fidel Castro takes control of the island.
It was a perfect summer on the family finca, or farm, but things start changing quickly: News from outside the island is blocked, and protesters are arrested. Victoria’s father decides he must act fast; as an engineer, Papi knows he and other professionals are being stopped from leaving the country. Forced to abandon everything of value, Victoria, her parents, and
My personal connection to the sport is through my oldest daughter, Isabelle, who in 2016 became a synchronized swimmer at the age of 7. For 10 years, she traveled all over California and even competed at the Junior Olympics with the L.A. AquaNymphs, a Black-owned Los Angeles team. L.A. AquaNymphs was diverse in every way, and I was so in awe of what the kids could do in the water. Synchronized swimming—or artistic swimming, as it’s called now—was such a huge part of both of our lives and became the inspiration behind Barely Floating. Who is your ideal reader for Barely Floating? Nat is a fat girl who loves herself and falls for a sport her parents are not happy about. The ideal reader would be someone who wants to laugh (Nat is pretty funny!), who wants to enter a new world (synchronized swimming is glamorous and hard!), and who wants to read a book about friendship and family and standing up for yourself. This middle-grade book is also a sports book, so readers will obsess over the competitiveness of it all. And lastly, if you love Lisa Fipps’ Starfish and Renée Watson’s Ryan Hart series, I think you’ll love Barely Floating.
Barely Floating (Kokila, Aug. 29) tells the story of Natalia De La Cruz Rivera y Santiago, a tenacious 12-year-old who dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer. Brimming with self-confidence and determination, she lets nothing and no one stand in her way. But to realize her synchronized swimming ambition, Nat must contend with her parents’ hostility toward the sport, growing conflicts with teammates, and a deepening rift with her best friend. Lilliam Rivera’s new middle-grade novel is a buoyant tale of self-empowerment that our review says is “sure to make a splash.” Rivera answered questions by email; the exchange has been edited for length and clarity.
You dedicate this book to your “synchro water baby, Isabelle” and present synchronized swimming in the story as a source of community and individual fulfillment. What’s your personal connection to the sport?
What were some of the most formative books for you as a child?
I love adventurous young girls, so my early books were Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum. Barely Floating follows in their footsteps with 12-year-old Natalia De La Cruz, who is very confident and outspoken. She likes what she likes. It would be fun to imagine Nat meeting Alice and Dorothy, all three ready to go on an adventure.
What genre(s) do you read the most?
My reading choices are usually all over the place. For example, I’m currently reading Jane Eyre, a classic I’ve never read, new short stories by Argentine author Agustina Bazterrica, and the wonderful graphic book The Magic Fish, by Trung Le Nguyen. I don’t like to be tied down to writing in only one genre, so if you look at my history of books published, you’ll find dystopian worlds, superheroes, and contempo-
rary coming-of-age stories. It’s fun to play among all these genres, and that’s how I view reading. I want to explore.
What books coming out this fall are you most looking forward to reading?
I’m looking forward to reading Brandy Colbert’s young adult novel The Blackwoods. It’s a multigenerational novel centering on the Black Hollywood experience. I also can’t wait to get a copy of debut author Letisha Marrero’s Salsa Magic. I’ve known Letisha for many years, and I’m so excited to celebrate her middle-grade debut.
Interview by William Rumelhart
siblings make it to Miami in October 1960; little do they know that they won’t be returning home soon, and life in America is not going to be easy. This is a story of heartbreak that Cuban refugees know well. As Victoria’s family navigates a new culture, where they face misinformed and hostile people, language barriers, and limited job opportunities, Jackie, her beloved cousin left behind in Cuba, witnesses a rise in terror. She ultimately makes the brave choice to leave on her own, through Operation Peter Pan. This accessible story, based on Diaz’s family’s experiences, rings true—the details, including people’s names, food, Spanish words, and more, have an authentically Cuban feel. The main characters are racially diverse, like so many Cuban families. Readers will be able to relate to the coming-of-age elements while learning about an important and difficult part of Cuba’s history.
An evocative and transportive read. (glossary, author’s note) (Historical fiction. 913)
DuPrau, Jeanne Random House (224 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780593643808
Several hundred years in the future, one boy has the chance to fly—but at what cost?
When 13-year-old Keith Arlo’s family receives word that his aunt and uncle have unexpectedly passed away, he is sent to collect Lulu, his 6-year-old cousin, and bring her back to live with them. Most people in Keith’s country live in one of seven cities surrounded by nature, and most people do not travel far, so Keith is excited to finally experience train travel. On the journey, he happens upon a man who’s involved with the mysterious Project F, and he cannot contain his curiosity. Even after he returns home, Keith keeps thinking about the project and its wonders. Project F has a darker side, however, one that is tied to the times that came before, the use of fossil fuels, and the massive changes humanity experienced long before Keith’s birth. Meanwhile, Lulu struggles with the loss of her parents and the large secrets that she carries. This deliberately paced story, reminiscent in tone to older classics but original and timely in its subject matter, explores issues of environmental degradation, renewable energy, and how the future might be shaped. The narrative is satisfying and the questions prescient; young readers looking for something slightly different will enjoy speculating about how our future might appear. Main characters appear to be white.
A compelling, nostalgic-feeling story exploring contemporary issues in a futuristic setting. (author’s note) (Postapocalyptic. 812) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Durham, David Anthony
Illus. by Eric Wilkerson Tu Books(400 pp.)
$21.95 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781643796093
Series: The Shadow Prince, 2
Young hero Ash literally finds himself in the belly of the beast after evil Lord Set feeds the sun god Ra to a giant serpent.
Newly designated to be the prince’s shadow, or lifelong bodyguard, for Pharaoh Neferu’s reckless preteen son, Prince Khufu, Ash finds his work cut out for him—even before malign prankster Set pitches Ra down Apep’s throat to cut off the solar power on which Egypt’s advanced technology depends, traps all the other gods in a temple, and enlists an army of demons to terrorize the mortal population. With Thea, a young mortal attendant of Ra’s who wears leg braces and has her hair in Afro puffs, as guide, Khufu, Ash, and allies ride the magic Night Barge down into Duat, the underworld, to Apep’s lair on a rescue mission that takes them past hazards ranging from meerkats with blinding flashbulb butts to a demon who poses deadly riddles. From there it’s back to the surface to send Lord Set and his minions packing (Set: “I’m out of here”) and free the gods to restore order. Along with exhilarating solar-powered speed racing and magically produced ice cream, Durham tucks in plenty of brisk but bloodless fighting, new hints of orphaned Ash’s heritage and hidden powers of cognitive magic, and an enigmatic prophecy that heralds future exploits for him and a growing cast of friends, foes, and immortals.
Nile-style adventures; just the ticket for Percy Jackson fans. (glossary of the gods) (Fantasy. 913)
GREEN Gino, Alex Scholastic (240 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781338776140
A contemporary, character-driven, coming-of-age story about a queer tween and their crush.
Nonbinary Green Gibson is active in Jung Middle School’s Rainbow Spectrum affinity group and is looking forward to auditioning for their school’s revamped production of The Wizard of Oz, in which actors get to choose the genders of their roles. Green isn’t cast in the play, but their disappointment turns to curiosity when their crush, Ronnie, signs up to help behind the scenes. When Green joins the stage crew as well, Ronnie—who is white, has two moms, and describes himself as a “cis het guy”—keeps signaling his interest, and Green can’t stop thinking about Ronnie. This situation leads Green,
who’s also dealing with looming questions related to the onset of puberty, to interrogate everything and embrace complexity and ambiguity. Filled with age-relevant experiences and deeper, more introspective reflections on bodily autonomy, identity, and internalized oppression, the plot stays laser-focused on Green and their close-knit, caring, and wise intergenerational sphere. Information-packed dialogue that at times feels a bit forced embeds history and possibility into the upbeat and affirming narrative, educating readers about topics such as gender theorist Judith Butler and the term friend of Dorothy. Readers familiar with Gino’s Melissa (2015) and Rick (2020) will recognize the setting as well as some of the characters and occasional nods to their backstories. Green is cued white; the school community is broadly diverse.
A compassionate, feel-good story affording readers opportunities for identification, information, and inspiration. (Fiction. 812) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Hiaasen, Carl Knopf (336 pp.)
$18.99 | $21.99 PLB | Sept. 26, 2023
9780593376287
9780593376294 PLB
During the pandemic, a teen inadvertently gets caught up in a crime ring in his touristy hometown of Key West.
Fifteen-year-old Valdez Jones VIII calls himself Wrecker, after his ancestors who made a living salvaging shipwrecks. He is thriving thanks to the online schooling during lockdown that allows him the flexibility to be out on his boat. The flexibility also helps with his odd job, one that has him working graveyard shifts in an actual graveyard: A British man pays him $50 per week to clean one particular headstone of the accumulated iguana excrement that follows a day of reptilian sunbathing. One night, while he’s at work in the cemetery, Wrecker is approached by a silver-mustachioed man who wants to hire him to keep an eye on a brandnew crypt, but there is something fishy about the situation and intimidating about the man, and soon Wrecker is being coerced into doing things that he is certain are tied to illegal activity. This thrilling story featuring wry, witty writing also explores the history of racism in Key West, the environmental impacts of cruise tourism, and the effects of Covid-19 on both people’s lives and criminal activities. Wrecker is a sympathetic character whose intelligence, savvy, and strong moral compass lead to a satisfying finish. Wrecker is biracial, with Black and white ancestry; most main characters read white.
A batten-down-the-hatches thriller anchored by critical real-life themes. (Thriller. 1014)
“A compassionate, feel-good story affording readers opportunities for identification, information, and inspiration.”
green
Higuera, Donna Barba
Illus. by David Álvarez
Levine Querido (336 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781646142637
Thirteen-year-old Leandro Rivera and his 9-year-old sister, Gabi, brave the harsh reality of a segregated settlement in post-apocalyptic California.
Spanish-speaking Cascabeles like Leandro are forced to work the fields to provide for elite Englishspeaking Pocatelans or risk exile and certain death in the desolate and dangerous monster-filled outside world. Descended from farmers who worked the land before the calamity that made everything barren, the orphaned siblings, who survive as pickpockets, face discrimination within the city’s walls and are threatened with deadly punishment for even minor offenses. Leandro and Gabi hatch a plan to escape from their oppressors, live free in the wild, and return to the ways of their people. Their plans derail, however, when Leandro is banished for stealing after he covers for Gabi’s impulsive theft of a strawberry. But Leandro’s magical transformation leads to a breathtaking discovery that could transform the lives of everyone in Pocatel. In Leandro’s hero’s journey, alebrijes are brilliantly cast as animalistic machines from another era and saviors of the living. The story examines how people can build better societies from the ashes of unequal, oppressive, and corrupt ones. Softly rendered black-and-white illustrations evoke the terrors and wonders of a broken world through a child’s eyes. Strong worldbuilding uses the familiar and the fantastic to prod readers to consider the story’s parallels to real-world injustices and the ethics of power, storytelling, and greed.
This heartfelt adventure signals hope for humanity, even in the aftermath of darkness. (map) (Dystopian. 1014) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Johnson, Janet Sumner
Pixel+Ink (336 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781645951964
Series: The Winterton Deception, 1
Thirteen-year-old Hope Smith learns the value of family.
Hope and her twin brother, Gordon, have been brought up by their single mom, who, despite working two jobs, can only afford a cheap motel room for them to live in. The twins, unbeknownst to their mother, find out that their father was a member of the wealthy Winterton family, publishers of The Winterton Dictionary and sponsors of a lucrative local spelling bee. Gordon wants to participate—he wants
to know more about the Wintertons—but Hope resents the very thought of them. Eventually, desperately needing the prize money, Hope and her mother agree she’ll take part too. The weeklong competition, held at the grand Winterton Chalet, has overtones of Agatha Christie as all the contestants (most of whom are estranged members of the Winterton family) arrive. Once ensconced, each family receives an unexpected letter unrelated to the spelling bee: It describes a missing original Jane Austen manuscript and gives the first clue in a treasure hunt to find it. The winner gets to keep the manuscript, worth millions. The intriguing plot adroitly unveils family dynamics and secrets against the backdrop of the dual tensions of nail-biting daily spelling bees and the competition to solve the scavenger hunt clues. Hope’s chip-on-the-shoulder personality is thoroughly unlikable for a large portion of the book—and is essential for the ending to work (which it does). Hope and Gordon are cued white; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast.
Intelligent, intricately plotted, and ultimately moving. (family tree) (Mystery. 1014) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Jordan, Anna E.
Chronicle Books (332 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781797215655
When two Jewish girls born the same day in the same hospital meet up just before they turn 13, magic is set in motion.
Though her imaginary town, Idylldale, represents a fantasy merger of New York’s Lower East Side and the Catskills roughly circa 1940, the characters peopling Jordan’s debut novel could not be more vibrantly real. Esther is the daughter of Fannie Rosenbaum, better known as Red Hot Fanny, a flamboyant actress in the Yiddish theater and a single mom who cannot understand why her studious, religiously inclined daughter has no love for the stage—or in the upcoming talent contest that will win some lucky kid a spot on national television. Across town, widowed Rabbi Epstein is frustrated by his failure to interest daughter Shira in her bat mitzvah preparations: All she wants to do is sing and dance. Leave it to 14-yearold Benny, the bellhop at Scheinfeld’s Resort and Cottages, to bring these girls together for a wonderful twist on the Freaky Friday switcheroo. Narrated with an Old World cadence and Yiddishisms by Morty the deli man, a magically omniscient narrator who addresses readers as “mayne kinder” (my children), the novel includes a glossary as well as explanations throughout. As Jordan states in her author’s note, “I wanted to write a story full of Jewish joy and laughter without the drumbeat that linked my identity to constant oppression.” She certainly has.
Adult readers may wish they were young again, so this could instantly become their favorite book. (Fiction. 913) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
who has struggled with her identity, I could easily see the same words said about me.
The idea came to me to make a book [about] American Chinese food—I wanted to show this kind of food some respect! Yes, every Chinese dish served in an American restaurant has been adapted and changed. Yes, most do not have the flavors of traditional Chinese cuisine. But American Chinese cuisine is the flavor of resilience, the flavor of adaptability, the flavor of persistence and triumph. Above anything, this food is the flavor of America. Is there any one story in Chinese Menu that evokes a special sense of nostalgia in you? The ones that are most nostalgic are the ones I remember from my childhood—for example, “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.” I can remember my father sitting at the dinner table, telling the story of the dish that “smelled so good” that the monks jumped over the wall to find out what it was, laughing and speaking with his eyes twinkling. I think he enjoyed telling the story even more than I did hearing it!
Were you a big reader as a kid?
Celebrated children’s book author and illustrator Grace Lin highlights the rich stories feeding American Chinese cuisine in Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods (Little, Brown; Sept. 12), which a Kirkus reviewer applauds as “an utterly delectable feast of history and storytelling.” Lin responded to our questions by email; her answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Back in 2004, I wrote and illustrated a picture book, Fortune Cookie Fortunes. During my research, I found out that the fortune cookie was a completely American invention. Whenever I mentioned that to people, they often replied, “Oh, so fortune cookies aren’t really Chinese?” This was usually said in a tone of disdain, sometimes disgust, and that kind of bothered me. As an American-born Asian person
I have many fond memories of hiding from my mom behind her large banana tree plant, reading a book. I read all the classics and loved them: Anne of Green Gables, The Search for Delicious, “B” Is for Betsy, The Boxcar Children, etc. They all influenced me, but not just because they contributed to my love of reading. They also left me with a strong yearning to see someone who looked like me in books—a yearning which I am fulfilling in adulthood.
But probably what influenced me the most is when, in sixth or seventh grade, I won fourth place in the Written and Illustrated by…Awards Contest for Students. It was a big national contest, and I received $,1000. I was absolutely thrilled and decided then and there that I wanted to make books for life. By the way, the first-place winner of that contest was none other than Dav Pilkey!
What do you read for pleasure?
I used to read exclusively middle-grade fiction, but in the last few years, it’s been almost exclusively
nonfiction. The reason for that is twofold. One, I do most of my reading via audiobook these days. I pair my listening with my morning runs—it’s what motivates me to exercise. Nonfiction is easier to digest while working up a sweat. The second reason is that I’m at a stage in my life where I feel like I need help! Currently I’m listening to Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions Into Adulthood, by Lisa Damour. Can you tell that my daughter just became a tween?
Interview by Katherine King
Kadarusman, Michelle Pajama Press (208 pp.)
$18.95 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781772782851
Turtles swim in and out of this collection of nine gentle stories.
Canadian novelist Kadarusman uses short stories to deftly explore emotional turning points in young lives. At some point in each of these moving narratives, the young protagonists encounter turtles, usually sea turtles. A boy in New York City is profoundly disturbed by the plight of sea turtles but is helped by a neighbor who understands his neurodivergence. A girl who lost her father in the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004 likes to imagine him reincarnated as a kura kura, a sea turtle. On an island in Canada a girl assures two grieving visitors that the sight of a snapping turtle is lucky. Only the account of an illeducated traveler encountering the real “Little Mermaid” tale in Denmark seems stretched. All have a strong environmental component; the writer’s own love for the natural world is evident. The settings are well depicted, and the racially, nationally, and economically diverse characters are distinctive. The collection is bracketed by accounts of several sea turtles’ long journeys and an imagined first-person reflection from one. “We the sea turtles are ancient stewards of our planet.” Like the turtles, these stories range widely around the world, from Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada, to Malaysia and Singapore. Tales set in countries where Indigenous peoples were the original occupants are prefaced by a land acknowledgment.
An exploration to be savored. (about sea and snapping turtles, author’s note, interview with author) (Fiction. 812)
Kashiwaba, Sachiko
Illus. by Yukiko Saito
Trans. by Avery Fischer Udagawa
Yonder (224 pp.)
$18.00 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781632063373
Modern and mythological worlds collide in this moving novel from Japan that has been made into an anime.
Kashiwaba and translator Udagawa, known for their Batchelder Award–winning Temple Alley Summer (2021), return with a tale of individual, family, and communal healing amid the tragic aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan. Three lone souls meet in a shelter in the town of Kitsunezaki, or Fox’s Point: Hiyori, a silent, orphaned girl around age 10; Yui, a woman escaping her abusive husband; and Kiwa, a mysterious woman in her 80s whom the others call Obāchan, or grandma. Cut loose from their former
lives, they move into a mayoiga, a type of magical, uninhabited house, overlooking the sea. As they begin to bond as a family, an ancient threat appears. The tsunami destroyed a shrine built over the cave of a menacing sea snake from an old legend. With the help of river spirits, wise animals called Futtachi, and statues of Jizō guardian deities, the trio must face their fears to battle this vindictive creature. Japanese folklore is woven into the stories Obāchan shares, from a shape-shifting fox to a red-eyed demon child. The tender emotions following collective trauma are skillfully blended with the riveting supernatural action. Can hope be found in such devastating circumstances? Saito’s fullpage, black-and-white illustrations appear throughout, evoking a sense of rural nostalgia and bringing the setting to life.
A powerful story of healing. (map) (Fiction. 813)
Kim, Julie
Little Bigfoot/Sasquatch (120 pp.)
$22.00 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781632174154
The Korean siblings introduced in Where’s Halmoni? (2017) encounter a new conflict and some fantastical familiar faces.
Jin is alarmed by the mess in the kitchen, and her younger brother, Joon, is nowhere to be found. Her grandmother Halmoni uses magic to investigate and, using her magical door handles, sends Jin through a window to the world of the first book to deliver rice cakes to Halmoni’s friend Jo-harabuji. Halmoni mentions Joon will probably be waiting there for Jin. Jin, equipped with a door handle that will return her home, as well as some smarts from her previous foray into the magical land, sets out. Meanwhile Joon, who needs help repairing Halmoni’s beloved cooking pot, knows exactly where he’s going with his own door handle and reunites with his friend Tokki, a spunky rabbit. Hilarity ensues as characters from Korean folktales are portrayed with dynamic expressions amid a whimsical backdrop of colorful mountain ranges and roaring rivers. Joon and Tokki struggle to fix Halmoni’s pot while Jin looks for Joon, outfoxes a familiar trickster tiger, and delivers rice cakes. Kim deftly balances all of the characters and their evolving goals as the siblings inadvertently reunite spirit friends and bring Halmoni fortuitous cooking alternatives. Korean dialogue is interspersed throughout the panels of this graphic novel, with translations and guides to folktales following the story.
Rich in folklore, comedy, and color, a riotous and pleasurable treat. (Graphic fiction. 710)
Book 1
LaCour, Nina
Illus. by Sònia Albert Chronicle Books (132 pp.)
$14.99 | Nov. 7, 2023
9781797213736
It’s wonderful having great neighbors. Ella Josephine Norwood, 9, lives with her two moms in a pink, green-trimmed apartment building on San Francisco’s Poppy Hill. Ella’s close with everybody there, except the elderly Robinsons, who cultivate magnificent rose bushes and have occupied the top floor for years but are never seen in public. Ella befriends a newly arrived engaged couple and teaches them how to deal with a few household “glitches.” She keeps regular tea dates with a free-spirited neighbor and walks the dogs of a gay married couple whose wedding she attended as a flower girl. After Ella writes a “top-secret letter” to the Robinsons, they invite her to visit and ask for a favor. The shy Robinsons, living in a rose-bedecked apartment, need Ella’s help tying bows for gifts they plan to give the neighbors. Their gift for Ella? A rose-shaped gold pin, like the one they wear, because she has “blossomed.” Ella is sweet and self-assured, with a good sense of humor; like her building, this chapter book is cozy and comforting. Aside from a lone reference to teachers and friends, readers learn nothing about Ella’s schooling or interactions with people her own age. Still, those who enjoy stories about warm, quirky interpersonal relationships will appreciate this one. Ella and most of the other characters appear light-skinned in the attractive, atmospheric black-and-white illustrations, though Mr. Robinson and several other neighbors are people of color. Readers will want to move in here and meet these folks. (Chapter book. 710) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Lê, Minh
Illus. by Chan Chau
Little, Brown Ink (144 pp.)
$12.99 paper | Sept. 19, 2023
9780759555488
Stories of Buddha’s past lives help a young boy “find [himself] in the moment.”
Binh and his siblings, who are of Vietnamese descent, can’t believe they’re spending the weekend at a silent meditation retreat. Binh would rather play his Game Boy so he doesn’t have to meditate and inevitably think about the bullies at school. It is only when Sister Peace tells stories about the Buddha and his past life that Binh is able to imagine himself entering a video game–inspired world and thus process his feelings of shame, isolation, and anger. With each Jataka tale, Binh’s awareness expands, and so, too, does his ability to be present
for and helpful to those around him. A welcome addition to the handful of middle-grade stories featuring Buddhist protagonists, this exploration of identity and Buddhist principles will find an audience with young readers who love Raina Telgemeier but aren’t quite ready to level up to the complexity and nuance of Gene Luen Yang’s epic American Born Chinese (2006). The video game elements are compelling, although they understandably diminish as the story progresses and the protagonist’s inner life grows. Warm fall colors and luscious black lines anchor the story as it transitions among flashbacks, stories, and the present day. Filled with talking animals, the parables can be a little heavy-handed, but the witty banter between Binh and the narrator during fantasy sequences provides levity. (This review was updated for accuracy.)
A thoughtful, humorous, community-centered exploration of identity and Buddhism. (bibliography) (Graphic fiction. 912)
Lin, Grace Little, Brown (288 pp.)
$24.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9780316486002
The hidden histories, fantastical folklore, and tastiest tidbits of American Chinese cuisine. Organized like a meal, from appetizers and soups to chef’s specials and desserts, Lin uncovers the secrets behind the most famous dishes of American Chinese restaurant menus. Each section contains a brief introduction, with first-person narration offering context through personal anecdotes and historical facts. Then it’s off to the banquet: a bounty of wondrous, romantic, and sometimes grotesque tales that trace the origins of rice, wontons, Peking duck, and more. As with much folklore, the stories sometimes contain references to dark or mature topics (poverty, suicide, concubines), but thoughtful, age-appropriate commentary strikes an effective balance. The volume is liberally illustrated—contemporary images are rendered in full color, while illustrations of the stories appear in limited palettes, drawing a clear distinction between the past and the present. Many tales take place in dynastic China, but stories like “General Tso’s Chicken” and “Chop Suey” underscore the truly American natures of these dishes. Although the vast ground covered here could, in less skilled hands, overwhelm the uninitiated—the dishes chronicled extend as far back as 7000 BCE and up to the 1950s—Lin’s conversational asides and the book’s meticulous supporting materials, including a timeline and extensive endnotes, ensure that readers never lose their way. The illustrations and tone indicate a young readership, but there’s much here for readers and eaters of all ages.
An utterly delectable feast of history and storytelling. (map, author’s note, recipe, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 813)
Lowe, Mari
Levine Querido (176 pp.)
$18.99 | Nov. 7, 2023
9781646142644
Shaindy and Gayil are neighbors and classmates, but they have never been friends.
It’s the beginning of sixth grade, and Shaindy and Gayil attend an Orthodox Jewish girls’ school that prizes both education and kindness. Awkward, chubby Shaindy feels invisible, while smart, popular Gayil is considered the perfect student. Their community is celebrating the High Holidays, with their particular emphasis on repentance (teshuva) and atonement. Ironically, Gayil chooses to begin a series of “harmless” pranks at this time, and she enlists Shaindy as her partner-in-crime. Shaindy craves a friend so much that she eagerly participates, but Gayil’s schemes soon escalate from putting slime on a good friend’s hairbrush to unleashing bees in the classroom (despite the potential danger to an allergic student) to faking another girl’s handwriting to get her in trouble with the teacher. Shaindy’s conscience starts to bother her until it finally all comes to a head and Gayil reveals the secret behind her unusual behavior. This is a nuanced exploration of the intricacies of friendship, and the fully realized setting, a close-knit development for Orthodox Jews, offers a very specific picture of Shaindy’s home and school life. Transliterated Hebrew words will be familiar to some (there is no glossary), but the universal themes of desiring friendship and popularity will resonate with many. Characters are cued as Jewish and white. Engrossing and deeply relatable. (Fiction. 912) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Miles, Shanna Union Square Kids (288 pp.)
$16.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
978-1-4549-4930-5
A Black boy with magical abilities must save his family and his ancestral home in Charleston from dark forces that seek to ruin them.
When he’s not spending time with his magical family of aunts (both alive and ghostly) and his cousins Issa and Femi, 12-year-old Theo Tatterly is a loner. As the Tatterlys’ only working medium, he can see a constant stream of ghosts—and despite his family’s protests, Theo often exorcises ghosts by himself. But something goes wrong during a seemingly routine exorcism. Then, a ghostly hag ambushes Theo and Issa while they’re at the aquarium. On top of that, his aunts are concerned about increasing efforts by someone unknown to disprove their legal ownership of the home that Tatterlys have
“An utterly delectable feast of history and storytelling.”
chinese menu
barely floating
occupied for generations; further back, the family lived on this land when they were enslaved. Theo’s convinced that all the pieces are connected, but he’s unsure how. It’ll take relying on friends and family to help piece together the history and folklore behind the Tatterly name and save everything Theo cares about. Through limited omniscient narration, the author builds a steady tension as Theo pieces together information about their enemy, leading readers toward a momentous climax. Clear, reverent descriptions of Charleston’s rich culture make the city just as much of a character as the members of Theo’s diverse community, each of whom has a well-developed personality. A richly detailed story that amplifies the importance of connections and community. (Paranormal. 812) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Oliver, Jamie
Illus. by Mónica Armiño
Tundra Books (336 pp.)
$18.99 | Nov. 14, 2023
9781774884140
The popular chef invites readers on a food-filled quest to save both our planet and a magic forest.
Waking to a savory bacon sandwich served by his publican mother, 9 ½-year-old Billy throws off the sheets and rises to join his best friends on a venture into mysterious Waterfall Woods. Intrepid Anna grew up in foster care before being adopted; Andy has earned his nickname, the Fart Blaster; and avid naturalist Jimmy, who moved to the village from London, is Black in a human cast that otherwise appears white. While stopping to share yummy smoked salmon and other snacks, the kids meet Basil the Sprite and go on to a quick series of exploits, including exposing an illegal operation that is polluting the local river while turning factory-farmed turkeys into pink slime nuggets. Billy finds a way to approach more common challenges too, such as coping with his reading and attention difficulties at school. Along with plenty of spot art and some snigger-inducing scenes, such as one showing Anna lighting up one of Andy’s humungous blasts, Armiño strews lively, full-page views of the pals grabbing a bite, hanging out in a spacious treehouse, or marveling at a flock of Sprites. Oliver dangles several open threads to spice up interest in future episodes, leaves his Everylad chowing down on a luscious ploughman’s lunch, and tempts further kitchen exploits with a trio of recipes.
Dishes up a tasty round of youthful derring-do with several meaty topics on the side. (Fantasy. 812) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Snow Day
Quigley, Dawn
Illus. by Tara Audibert Heartdrum (96 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9780063015432
Series: Jo Jo Makoons, 3
An Ojibwe girl learns that being healthy goes beyond diet.
It seems everyone in 7-year-old Jo Jo’s life is trying to be healthy—her Mama, her Kokum, even her cat, Mimi, who takes vitamins. When her first grade class begins a unit on healthy eating, Jo Jo jumps in with both feet, even if her ideas of “healthy” are often harebrained (like substituting ice cream for milk in her cereal). At the same time, Jo Jo, who lives on the fictional Pembina Ojibwe Reservation, does her best to heed her tribal chair and check in on her neighbors, especially her Elders. When school is canceled due to a snowstorm, Jo Jo proposes that she and her classmates hold their own “winner” Olympics and invite Elders to participate, too. What unfolds are the Ojibwe Olympics, complete with lippointing races and round-dancing, and Jo Jo learns that being in community is an important part of being healthy. This third book in Quigley’s (Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe) series is a charmer, with the spunky, bighearted protagonist continuing to raise laughs and inspire. Readers will be enchanted by Jo Jo’s voice and Audibert’s (of Wolastoqey and French heritage) cute, cartoon-style illustrations, rendered in grayscale. Ojibwe values are woven deftly into the fabric of the story. A glossary of the Ojibwe and Michif words enhances the reading experience. Jo Jo’s classmates are diverse in the artwork.
An absolute delight. (about this story, author’s note, letter to readers by editor Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Fiction. 610)
Rivera, Lilliam
Kokila (240 pp.)
$17.99 | Aug. 29, 2023
9780593323120
Tough-talking 12-year-old Natalia never backs down from a challenge. Whether it’s a fistfight with a boy who is disrespecting her cousin or a swimming race against a much older teen at the city pool, Nat’s confidence and tenacity compel her to finish anything she starts, no matter what the odds. Nat’s parents, a community activist and a college professor, have instilled a strong sense of justice in her and her three older brothers. When she becomes enchanted with Blackowned synchronized swimming team the L.A. Mermaids, she knows she needs to try out—even if her fat body and Latina heritage aren’t the norm for the sport. Her parents veto the idea, citing the dominance in elite synchronized swimming of thin,
“A body-positive story of growing up that’s sure to make a splash.”
White girls. In an ill-conceived plan, headstrong Nat decides to join the team anyway and begins learning the sport in secret. Joining the L.A. Mermaids brings her new friends—Daniel, whose race is not specified and who is the sole boy in a femaledominated sport, and Ethiopian American Ayana, who struggles with an overzealous mom. In contrast to these blooming friendships, Nat’s connection with her best friend has frayed over the summer, and she isn’t sure why. She must tame her temper and learn to own her mistakes to keep her relationships with family and friends afloat. Nat’s radical self-acceptance is a beautiful example for readers: Her unapologetic self-love and empathy make her a compelling character.
A body-positive story of growing up that’s sure to make a splash. (Fiction. 913)
Sundquist, Josh Viking (176 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9780593621998
In this adaptation of a memoir for adults, comedian and Paralympic skier Sundquist recounts how he learned to persevere after losing his leg to cancer.
From
Delacorte (208 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 3, 2023 978-0-593-43018-7
An expert ornithologist lays out the hows, whats, and whys of bird behavior.
Sibley, the much-admired creator of a popular series of identification guides for birds, has adapted his adult title What It’s Like To Be a Bird (2020). But, in fact, his initial impetus for that book was his desire to write an introduction to birds for young readers—not a field guide but an album that would foster appreciation for the birds around us. And here it is. In organization and presentation, this adaptation is very like the source material; a concise overview of birds in general is followed by profiles of various species. Sibley covers a broad set of the most familiar birds in the continental United States and Canada. His illustrations are striking and meticulously accurate. The format—short, informative paragraphs that focus on a particular species but also answer broader questions about bird physiology and behavior—works both for browsers and those reading from cover to cover and is just as appealing as the original. The biggest change is a good one: The introduction to each species depicted now appears at the beginning of the entry, near a portrait of the bird, rather than as part of an index in the back. Some wording has been simplified and some details left out, but overall, this is an immensely entertaining and enlightening volume that will entice both adults and children.
Splendid. (Nonfiction. 815)
Nine-year-old Josh is dismayed when Dad announces the whole family will be relocating from Virginia to Florida so Dad can attend seminary. But everything changes—including the move—when Josh is diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, necessitating the amputation of his leg. An avid soccer player, Josh must now relearn to walk with crutches and a prosthesis. He wonders how he can play sports again; he keeps falling, even when he discovers a knack for skiing. But as he grows, he realizes that the most important thing is getting right back up. At 16, he sets his sights on making the 2006 Paralympic ski team, putting his determination to the test. Though his stream-of-consciousness narration is occasionally difficult to follow, pitch-perfect kid logic renders his discussions of such tough topics as hospitalization, chemotherapy, and death alternately humorous, poignant, and insightful. While Josh candidly expresses anger and frustration, his overall pragmatism is reassuring, especially for kids navigating similar circumstances. His Christianity also comforts him. His family’s support grounds the story as, in heartbreaking and heartwarming scenes, Josh details the impact of his cancer on his parents and younger brothers. However, he emphasizes, life goes on—a sentiment illustrated particularly vividly by his hilariously awkward transition from home schooling to public high school.
Witty, encouraging, and perceptive. (Memoir. 813)
Waters, Charles & Traci Sorell
Charlesbridge (256 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781623543808
Waters and Sorell (Cherokee Nation) join forces to write about the power of being true to oneself.
In a middle school in Rye, a fictional town near Washington, D.C., a racist mural and offensive pep rally chants shock new student Callie Crossland, who is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and African American. Callie shares a heartfelt poem with her seventh grade honors English class, reminding everyone that the “stupid tomahawk-chop chant” and the “cheap chicken-feather headdress” are nothing less than symbols of “white supremacy.” Afterward, Ms. Williams, her teacher,
assigns a persuasive writing and oration project entitled “Pros and Cons of Indigenous Peoples as Mascots.” The small, broadly diverse group of students is assigned to work in pairs; Callie is matched with Franklin, who is Black and a proud fan of the Rye Braves football team. Franklin insists, “I wish we could Lysol racism away. / It’s a bad odor,” but he feels conflicted: “I still don’t think our mascot is racist though. It brings so much joy. / …what’s the big deal?” This clever novel unfolds in poems told in multiple voices showing the wide range of students’, families’, and community responses to the controversy; for some, initial feelings of opposition, hesitation, or indifference change and friendships are tested. The compelling, highly relevant subject matter and accessible text invite readers to understand different perspectives and witness individual growth.
A brilliant story not to be missed; deeply engaging from the first page. (glossary, additional information and resources) (Verse fiction. 1014)
Woodson, Jacqueline
Nancy Paulsen Books (176 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780399545467
An African American tween’s world is turned upside down by mysterious fires in her neighborhood and by self-doubt as she comes of age.
Sage’s mother wants them to move to a safer area, but Sage is reluctant to leave their community, where her father, a fireman killed in the line of duty, grew up. Her mother was always one of the first to help families when fires struck, and Sage finds herself drawn to the little kids who play in the residue left behind. Rough-andtumble, basketball-loving Sage grapples with feeling different from the makeup-wearing girls who used to be her friends. The words of a menacing teen who harasses her on the basketball court haunt her (“What kind of girl are you?” “I should punch you in the face just to show you you ain’t a dude…”), and her hurt turns to an anger that nearly has a catastrophic outcome. After one of the neighborhood children is killed in yet another fire, Sage finds herself reflecting on her own loss. Drawing on her own experiences growing up in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood during the ’70s and ’80s, Woodson has crafted a beautifully lyrical narrative of change, healing, and growth. Her ability to evoke time and place is masterful; every word feels perfectly chosen. Sage is an irresistible character with a rich interior life, and her relationships with her mother and her friend Freddy are exceptionally well drawn.
An exquisitely wrought story of self and community. (author’s note) (Fiction. 1013) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Allen, Autumn Kokila (432 pp.)
$19.99 | Aug. 29, 2023 9780593619049
Chronicles the experiences of two Black students balancing family and personal expectations while engaging in the precarious work of organizing.
In 1995, Massachusetts high school senior Gibran’s ambivalent about attending a mostly white prep school. When a talent show performance by white students uses Black rapper aesthetics for cheap laughs, Gibran, quite literally, pulls the plug on it. This small act results in a strong warning: one more “disruption” before he’s expelled. His sympathetic mother reminds him to focus on his Howard University scholarship: “The question is, do you deserve the punishment you’re going to get for giving them what they deserve?” But when Gibran and others who wish to honor the upcoming Million Man March clash with administrators, his choices place him in jeopardy. In 1968, the day after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, Columbia University student Kevin is organizing with the Society of Afro-American Students. They oppose Columbia’s expansion into Harlem, which would displace residents, and, as the Vietnam War rages, they want the university to renounce ties to war research. After reading sensationalized headlines, Kevin’s parents try to dissuade him from further participation in the lengthy, increasingly hostile student-led campus occupation. Allen constructs a vivid narrative that balances both timelines seamlessly and pointedly highlights often overlooked history. The crisp, succinct prose and fully realized characters make this a shining example of how principled research in lock step with exceptional writing creates an unforgettable reading experience.
An electric debut: a must-read for all. (acronyms and organizations, author’s note) (Fiction. 1218)
PHOEBE’S DIARY
Wahl, Phoebe
Little, Brown (464 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9780316363563
Arnold, Elana K.
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (400 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780062990853
There are millions of Holocaust stories. This is one you haven’t heard yet.
Acclaimed author Arnold leaves behind her metaphor-laden fantastical fare
Each year, Kirkus editors choose a sampling of books from the busy fall publishing season to draw special attention to. Here are 10 unmissable teen books that represent the strength of this year’s new releases. The range of reading experiences offered by this selection means there’s something likely to appeal to nearly anyone.
Genre fiction remains a top choice for pleasure reading—and it’s exciting to see the available titles expanding in both representation and subject matter.
Roses & Violets by Gry Kappel Jensen, translated by Sharon E. Rhodes (Arctis Books, Sept. 26): The first volume in a popular Danish author’s Rosenholm Trilogy is sure to be a hit, bringing well-realized Nordic folklore and mystery elements to a magical boarding school setting.
Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis (Nancy Paulsen Books, Sept. 26): No wonder this book has already been optioned for film—what can match the allure of a thrilling heist? With her mother’s life on the line, a globetrotting Bahamian teen faces steep challenges.
A Pretty Implausible Premise by Karen Rivers (Algonquin, Sept. 26): Readers will revel in the intense emotions of this romance about two sharply depicted teens, each on a journey of grief and healing, drawn together by uncanny parallels in their lives.
The Fall of Whit Rivera by Crystal Maldonado (Holiday House, Oct. 10): Those seeking a cozy, feel-good romance with substance featuring a broadly and realistically inclusive cast of characters—regular teens whose identities are not framed as problematic issues—will adore this book.
Graphic novels are booming, and with a rise in numbers, we’re also seeing more stories that fall outside the genres traditionally associated with this format.
Phoebe’s Diary by Phoebe Wahl (Little, Brown, Sept. 5): Wahl has an ardent following for her picture books and range of cottagecore products featuring her graphic designs. This fictional story inspired by her high school diaries thoughtfully explores early-2000s adolescence.
Mall Goth written and illustrated by Kate Leth, colors by Diana Sousa (Simon & Schuster, Sept. 26): Fashion and technology may have changed since 2003, but this quietly impactful story about a queer teen making new friends and dealing with harassment from a creepy teacher will resonate deeply.
YA literature holds the power to help adolescents navigate serious issues with greater insight and understanding.
All the Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman (Carolrhoda Lab, Oct. 3): Mental health is the focus of this sensitive and ultimately uplifting debut about British teens Mehreen, Cara, and Olivia, who meet through MementoMori.com, a website for those struggling with suicidal ideation.
The Blood Years by Elana K. Arnold (Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, Oct. 10): Drawing upon her Jewish Romanian grandmother’s life, Arnold, known for her unflinching exploration of tough topics, presents a gripping story that adds new and important perspectives to Holocaust literature.
Although nonfiction makes up a disappointingly small slice of YA, the quality of the books coming out is better than ever.
More Than a Dream: The Radical March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom by Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Aug. 29): This gripping, highly relevant account by two expert researchers takes readers behind the scenes to understand the critical work of social justice organizing in the context of 1963’s March on Washington.
Discovering Life’s Story: Biology’s Beginnings by Joy Hakim (MITeen Press/Candlewick, Sept. 12): This series opener by a veteran nonfiction author is an accessibly written visual feast that will spark curiosity about life science. Readers come to understand discoveries in their social and historical contexts.
Laura Simeon is a young readers’ editor.
the prince & the coyote
to tell the fictional tale of Frederieke Teitler, a Jewish girl whose life was inspired by that of the author’s grandmother Frieda Teitler during the Holocaust in then-Romanian Czernowitz, where nearly 40% of the population was Jewish. Painstakingly researched (the extensive backmatter details the blend of scholarship and family history) and sometimes painful to read, this book is many things: an examination of love and duty, a revelatory account of a Holocaust experience many won’t know, and a wrenching coming-ofage story. Rieke experiences hunger, illness, rape, and the loss of all she has known, yet somehow holds on to hope and love. The small and sometimes terrible complexities of familial drama play out against the vastness of the Holocaust. Rieke’s mother pines for her unfaithful husband; Astra, Rieke’s older sister, is the axis around which all things must turn, and someone Rieke adores beyond reason despite her chronic, careless malice, belied by sudden gestures of immense love. The rock amid this tumult is Opa, her grandfather, whose steady kindness and honor remain, even as the world around them descends into hate and violence.
A moving glimpse into a past that is an all-too-possible vision of our future. (foreword, timeline, author’s note, archival materials, reading list) (Historical fiction. 1318) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Baker, Kylie Lee
Inkyard Press (416 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781335458018
A young alchemist uses unconventional practices to climb the social ladder. Seventeen-year-old Fan Zilan, who is Hàn Chinese and Scotian, dreams of becoming a royal alchemist like those who discovered the immortality elixir made of gold. Orphaned in a small village in Guangzhou, Zilan works at Auntie So and Uncle Fan’s struggling store, where they make and sell míngqì— clay vessels for burials. She illegally performs life alchemy to resurrect the dead and bring in extra money. Zilan and her cousins finally get the chance for better lives by heading up north to the capital to take the all-important civil service exams. Competition is fierce, and, as someone poor and half-foreign, the odds are against her, but Zilan must succeed in order to provide for her family. She’s garnered a reputation in Chang’an for her resurrections, and Crown Prince Li Hong seeks out her services. Tangled up in royal secrets, dangerous politics, and monstrous alchemical experiments, fierce Zilan struggles and fights for her place. Set in an alternate Tang dynasty China, this dark historical fantasy presents an enchanting, immersive world in which the manipulation of elements knows no bounds. Centered around life and death, this fast-paced story is gory and gruesome but lightened by moments of levity. Baker touches on racism, sexism, classism, identity, and family and friendship ties. Contemporary Mandarin and Cantonese words are woven into this dark duology opener.
Grisly, dark, and utterly entrancing. (content note, historical note) (Historical fantasy. 1418) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Bowles, David
Illus. by Amanda Mijangos
Levine Querido (336 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781646141777
Fight alongside young Nezahualcoyotl as he comes of age and earns his crown.
In pre-Columbian Mexico in the year 1418, a forced peace has granted the Acolhua people temporary reprieve. Fifteen-year-old crown prince Nezahualcoyotl (then called by his birth name, Acolmiztli) must leave the palace for the calmecac and become a man. This rite of passage is interrupted, however, when battle returns to Tetzcoco and everything changes forever. Nezahualcoyotl kills a man for the first time. He also watches silently from a tree as his father is slain. Shedding his clothes and his birth name, Nezahualcoyotl goes into hiding until the time is right to return. In a maelstrom of oscillating joy and tragedy, the story follows Nezahualcoyotl (of contemporary 100-peso bill fame) until the age of 23 in this grand adventure. While most of the four-part story is told through prose, scattered verse showcases Nezahualcoyotl’s poetic gifts (including some direct translations of Nahuatl poems). Political machinations abound alongside an exceedingly high body count. Bowles deftly uses the first-person present tense to add immediacy to Nezahualcoyotl’s otherwise distant story. Gender and sexuality are understood differently in Nezahualcoyotl’s culture, but significantly, a main love interest is xochihuah (“a queer gender in Nahua culture that doesn’t quite align to modern perceptions”). Though sparse, Mijangos’ full-color illustrations add a regal beauty to the book’s design. An appended “Guide to Unfamiliar Concepts” offers extensive additional context for each chapter.
Riveting. (family trees, map, pronunciation notes, author’s note) (Historical epic. 1418)
Cheng, Linda
Roaring Brook Press (320 pp.)
$19.99 | Nov. 7, 2023
9781250864994
A cutthroat competition becomes haunting.
It’s been two years since Mina Park, Sunny Lee’s best friend, died, and although her death was ruled a suicide,
“A maelstrom of oscillating joy and tragedy.”
those pink mountain nights
Sunny was there that night. While she’s not sure exactly what happened, she knows something much darker was going on. Mina’s passing, following a scandal around leaked nude photos, was the final blow to Sweet Cadence, their all-girl Asian American pop group. After descending into obscurity and relocating to Atlanta from Los Angeles, Sunny is ready to try a workshop that offers a chance at K-pop stardom. She’s also motivated by the chance it offers to be face to face with Candie Tsai, who will also be participating. Former close friend and bandmate Candie was also there when Mina died. Seemingly flawless Candie has the perfect idol persona, but Sunny knows she is dangerous— and that she knows what really happened to Mina. Sunny will do everything in her power to get to the truth. As the days blend together, Sunny’s night terrors become reality, and strange things start happening to the girls in the program—and it all leads back to Candie. The narrative is haunting and magnetic, and an example of masterfully executed psychological horror that readers will find difficult to put down. True to its title, the gore is disturbing. Sunny’s parents are from Taiwan and Hong Kong; Candie’s family came from China, and Mina was Korean American. Immensely and terrifyingly satisfying from beginning to end. (Thriller. 1418) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Croucher, Lex Wednesday Books (416 pp.)
$18.99 | Nov. 28, 2023
9781250847218
A lively queer Camelot for modern audiences.
Several hundred years after the time of the fabled king Arthur Pendragon, Gwendoline and her older brother, Gabriel, are princess and prince of Camelot. Gwen has been betrothed since birth to Arthur Delacey, whose father’s family claims ancestry from Mordred. Gwen’s first problem with this arrangement is that she and Arthur hate each other. The second is revealed when Arthur comes to the royal castle for the summer tournament in which knights compete for renown—and Gwen catches him making out with a servant boy. But then Arthur obtains proof of Gwen’s obsession with Lady Bridget Leclair, England’s only female knight and a competitor in the tourney. Engaging in mutual blackmail, they form an understanding, though over the course of the summer it turns into an initially begrudging, then supportive friendship, especially when Arthur starts learning more about heir-to-thethrone Gabe. In this fun summer romance, Croucher creates main characters who feel distinctly modern in their dialogue and interactions. They maneuver through the historical setting, including social expectations and limited medical care, in ways that both seem natural and often offer commentary on more current affairs. This is a wonderful expansion of the YA romance genre. Gwen and her family are white, and she is coded queer and demisexual. Arthur is Iranian on his mother’s side and coded gay, as is Gabe. There is additional diversity in the supporting cast.
Frankly a delight. (Historical romance. 1318) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Donohue, Caitlin
Zest Books (184 pp.)
$38.65 PLB | Sept. 5, 2023 9781728429533
A Mexico City–based journalist’s conversational exploration of the social context, possible harms, and potential benefits of cannabis.
Each brief chapter is based on an interview with an individual who has cannabis-related expertise, including a medical professional, a young medical marijuana patient, an edible cannabis consumer, a food media professional, a hemp-based construction specialist, an Indigenous activist, a drug education program professional, and a Uruguayan government policymaker. This information from a diverse group of North and South American voices is presented in a first-person essay format, providing a broad background covering history, economics, politics, and medical and recreational uses. The personal testimonies offer both expertise and authenticity, beginning with Donohue’s own story of first-time cannabis use at age 15 and subsequent journey through excess to moderation. The coverage of edibles includes recipes. Nonpsychoactive uses of cannabis and hemp are described, as are the consequences of criminalization, the complexities of legalization, and social protests. Sidebar definitions of key words, parenthetical explanations, and explorations of racism and racial justice in drug prohibitions add depth to readers’ understanding. Donohue does not skirt the real risks of cannabis, urging readers to wait until they are out of their teens to use it given the unknown risks to developing brains while emphasizing education and responsible use.
Solid research and a global perspective create a useful approach focusing on harm reduction. (source notes, bibliography, additional resources, index) (Nonfiction. 1418)
Ferguson, Jen Heartdrum (352 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9780063086210
Berlin Chambers, a Métis 17-yearold, is stunned when she sees her missing classmate near the popular pizza parlor where she works.
Kiki Cheyanne Sound, who is Black and Cree, disappeared five months ago. Exhausted from her evening shift at Pink Mountain Pizza, Berlin is unsure if she
“Intimate and impactful.”
can trust her eyes. Nonetheless, she alerts Cameron Sound, her co-worker and childhood nemesis, who’s deeply affected by his cousin’s disappearance but hides his anxiety beneath a relaxed persona. Rule-following, perfectionist Berlin has always been at odds with Cam, but their shared hope that Kiki is alive, renewed by the sighting, forms a fragile bond between them. Unfortunately, bad news soon follows when it’s announced that the pizza parlor will be sold and franchised. Queer, white Jessie Hampton, the newest teen employee, is upset but unsurprised since the restaurant’s purchase is being conducted by her domineering, sexist father whose expectations she defies by working there. When Berlin, who views the loss of this local, Black-owned business as a betrayal of their community, decides to convince the owner to reverse his decision, Jessie and Cam agree to lend their support. Set in Alberta, this introspective, character-driven story examines heavy topics, including Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, depression, and antiBlackness, with sensitivity and compassion. This sophomore outing by Michif/Métis and white author Ferguson features lyrical prose that softens the emotionally fraught narrative
without sacrificing suspense, resulting in a mystery that subtly builds to a shocking reveal.
Intimate and impactful. (content warning, author’s note) (Fiction. 1318)
Hakim, Joy
MITeen Press/Candlewick (192 pp.)
$22.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781536222937
Series: Discovering Life’s Story, 1
In this well-researched, well-designed, and informatively written book, the fascinating story of life science as it was discovered throughout the ages is explored.
Written for teens, this book delivers an engaging and accessible history of life science focusing on the Western world but
I was actually introduced to King Arthur by Disney’s film The Sword in the Stone, and my main memory is being completely terrified of Madam Mim. I don’t think I even connected that film with King Arthur—it was just the scary fish and dragon film! It’s based on T.H. White’s The Once and Future King, which I read as an adult and completely fell in love with. Any book where a hedgehog sings a little song is golden to me.
Who is your ideal reader for this book, and where would they be reading it?
The British legend of King Arthur is eternal, but every generation puts its own stamp on it, from Thomas Malory’s 15th-century Le Morte D’Arthur to Marion Zimmer Bradley’s 1980s retelling, The Mists of Avalon. Now Gen Z gets its own version with Gwen & Art Are Not in Love (Wednesday Books, Nov. 28), the YA debut of London-based writer Lex Croucher. “Frankly a delight,” says our reviewer of this irresistible novel featuring a female knight, jousting tournaments, clandestine palace alliances, and a queer romance. (No, Gwen and Art are really not in love.) Croucher answered some questions by email; the exchange has been edited for length and clarity.
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love offers readers a fun twist on the Arthurian legends. Were those stories a big part of your childhood? Were there particular retellings that you loved?
I wrote this book to entertain myself during lockdown, so it was very much written for both my past and present selves—the version of me as a teenager who didn’t have access to any queer YA books, and the lucky version of me who got to read stacks of them during lockdown to make up for everything I’d missed. Ideally, I’d like everybody to read this sitting in the rose garden of a castle—but, failing that, any cozy corner will do. I read a lot of my favorite books as a teen in the middle of the night, when I was` definitely supposed to be asleep, so I take it as an enormous compliment when people tell me they were up reading until the early hours.
What kind of reader are you: digital or physical books? Audio or print? Fiction or nonfiction? All of the above? Do you typically have lots of books on the go at once?
I read everything, although I definitely skew more fiction than non. My brain overheats if I have too many books on the go, so I usually try to stick to one book on audio and one on paper. I’ve started listening to audiobooks while I run, and it’s a bit of a weird sensory experience to have romance in your ears while you’re absolutely fighting for your life in the park, but I can always tell when I’ve been getting in a lot of training, because it also means I’m doing a lot of reading.
If a writer were going to tell the story of Lex Croucher’s life, who would you choose (and why)?
Casey McQuiston. Firstly, because they’d make me sound much funnier than I actually am. Secondly, because if my life is a Casey McQuiston novel, then I’m guaranteed ride-or-die friendship, hot romance, and a happy ending.
What fall release(s) are you most looking forward to reading?
Alecto the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir, the last book in the Locked Tomb series—although I have a feeling I might be waiting until early 2024 for that one. Tamsyn is a genius, and I’m going to steal her brain.
Interviewtouching on discoveries from other regions as well. Each of the 12 chapters features two or more scientists from a particular era and weaves together the stories of what they discovered, how they made those discoveries, and their impacts on human society, then and now. Perhaps most notably, the narrative for each chapter makes a point of linking seemingly disparate events for example, connecting the invention of the printing press to the rise of literacy, which then leads to a flourishing of curiosity about the world’s life forms—encouraging readers to develop their own critical thinking skills. Written in the present tense, the text draws readers into the story rather than keeping them at a distance. While most of the scientists featured are white men who had the privilege and wealth to pursue higher education, Hakim does highlight some women and Onesimus, an African man enslaved by Cotton Mather, for their contributions and further highlights their achievements by setting them in design-rich sidebars. Many photos, contemporaneous drawings, and portraits enhance the sparkling narrative.
Thoroughly engrossing and highly recommended. (further reading, source notes, bibliography, image credits, index) (Nonfiction. 1318)
June, Jason
Melissa de la Cruz Studio (352 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781368089234
Series: The Spells We Cast, 1
Two magicians facing off in a competition discover the strengths—and dangers—of their powers that are amplified as a result of their attraction.
It’s finally time for Nigel Barrett, a Texan cowboy with elf magic, to participate in the Culling, a tournament in which thousands of 18-year-old magicians—descendants of elves, fae, goblins, nymphs, and sprites—will be whittled down. The best of the best will join the Guild and fight the Depraved, while the rest will be stripped of their powers. When bighearted Nigel encounters Orion Olson during his first trial, he feels a connection, but prickly Ori is not here to make friends. The boys soon realize that being together boosts their powers, but what at first seems like remarkable magic ends up coming with a giant helping of risk. This captivating story with propulsive action features nuanced characterizations of its white leads and racially diverse secondary characters. It sets itself apart from others in the genre by its original worldbuilding, particularly its version of how demons are formed by human hate and cruelty. Fighting them with love-based magic could easily have seemed too twee, but the story works due to its increasingly heavy stakes and surprising turns. The fact that queer love is what is so powerful makes this story especially affirming and noteworthy. The ending enticingly sets readers up for a sequel.
With Texas-sized heart and cinematic action, this magical fantasy is a crowd pleaser. (Fantasy. 1318) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
ROSES & VIOLETS
Kappel Jensen, Gry
Trans. by Sharon E. RhodesArctis Books (345 pp.)
$18.00 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781646900121
Series: The Rosenholm Trilogy, 1
This trilogy opener, translated from the original Danish, brings together a restless spirit and four new friends investigating an unsolved murder.
Four protagonists narrate this well-written and well-conceived story. Wealthy, stylish, but haunted Victoria; prickly, direct Malou; insecure, unworldly Kirstine; and cozy, maternal Chamomile have been accepted as first-year students at Rosenholm Academy on Zealand. Not your average boarding school, Rosenholm teaches four branches of magic: Earth, Growth, Blood, and Death, and each student becomes a mage in one of them. Not unexpectedly (but helpfully for character development) Kirstine, Malou, Victoria, and Chamomile each have different mage abilities. In its narrative style as well as its emphasis on Norse mythology and magic, this one mostly walks its own path within a setting that holds evergreen appeal as a genre staple. As the story unfolds, Trine, the spirit who is haunting Victoria, reveals to the four girls during a séance that she was murdered at Rosenholm. Trine offers a mysterious warning and asks the friends to discover who killed her. The choice to alternate among the third-person perspectives of the different narrators works well, giving the novel a lively narrative lilt. Text messages, some cryptic, some not, liven up both the design and the intrigue factor. The ending sets up the next book in the series. Main characters read white.
The Scandinavian atmosphere and engaging narrative voices uplift and deepen this magical boarding school story.
(Fantasy. 1418)
Ed. by King, A.S. Dutton (384 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9780593620281
Ten acclaimed YA authors explore the artistry and emotion behind the human instinct to collect.
This anthology centers around the question: “Why do we collect things?”
Each story features a different type of collection, from the tangible (glass bluebirds and fandom memorabilia) to the experiential (skateboarding in empty swimming pools) and the intangible (misery, doubts, dreams, and moments that you wish could last forever). The characters discover strengths and yearned-for connections to themselves and others through what they collect. When men aggressively pursue her beautiful mother, a Latine
teen living in white suburbia protects herself and her home in Anna-Marie McLemore’s “Play House.” In “Take It From Me” by David Levithan, first love makes a nonbinary teen question the purpose and the impact of their collection that’s curated from objects stolen from other collections. Randy Ribay’s “The White Savior Does Not Save the Day” centers a Filipino and white teen who collects scripts from a canceled superhero show and crosses dimensions, searching for clarity about herself and her absent white mother. Cory McCarthy presents “museum of misery,” an emotionally raw, illustrated tour through a museum of trauma and internalized self-hatred. Embracing weirdness, many of the stories defy genre categories, blending reality with fantastical metaphors. Although honest about the weight of complex social themes, including systemic injustice, gun violence, abuse, and self-harm, this anthology balances heaviness with hope. Across the stories, the cast of characters includes a diverse range of identities.
An eclectic, poignant, and introspective treasure trove. (Anthology. 1418)
Krause, Autumn
Peachtree Teen (352 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781682636473
Folklore, fantasy, and horror are interwoven in this story of a 17-year-old’s journey to save her brother set in 1836 Wisconsin.
The story unfolds as Catalina’s father dies and her brother, Jose Luis, is stolen by the Man of Sap, a monstrosity of bark and leaves. Pa ranted about the terror of the Man of Sap’s deadly apples before he succumbed to them, but when the monster disappears with Jose Luis, Catalina’s world falls apart. Taking a satchel of supplies, Mamá’s beloved book of poetry by Sor Juana de la Cruz—a treasure from her Mexican homeland—and a knife that belonged to her white Pa, Catalina sets off to find her brother and destroy the Man of Sap. Along the way, she finds friendship, terrifying creatures, whispers of magic, and the key to believing that love is not always lost. Surrounded by poetry, both that of de la Cruz and her own personal writing that she cannot finish, Catalina finds words are a redemptive force. Readers are thrown into an exploration of the heartbreak and loneliness following death and loss, and each character, whether human or otherwise, brings introspection and courage to the tale. Mesmerizingly told through the eyes of both Catalina and the monster, the book invites readers to travel with characters who are reckoning with greed, fear, and love as they consider what makes a monster—and whether monsters can be redeemed.
Highly imaginative and powerfully affecting. (author’s note) (Speculative fiction. 1418)
$22.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781534476950
A high school girl is unhappy about starting over in a new town and school, but she finds solace at the local mall.
It’s 2003, and 15-year-old, proudly out bisexual Liv Holme is struggling after her family’s move. Navigating high school is hard enough, especially since being bullied at her old school after the other girls found out about her crush on Angelina Jolie has left Liv feeling defensive. On top of that, her parents’ marriage is in trouble, and her father is gone a lot. But Liv enjoys hanging out at the mall where her mother works and where she meets some fellow goths who go to her school. Poetry lover Liv also receives attention and support from Mr. Trent, her English teacher: He goes out of his way to compliment her, gives her a copy of Lolita, and chats with her online outside of school hours. Over time, Mr. Trent’s behavior makes Liv increasingly uncomfortable, and she struggles with intense feelings she doesn’t know how to handle. Liv’s emotional struggles, vividly shown in the expressive art, will feel relatable to many readers. Leth’s clean, uncluttered illustrations expertly transport readers back to early 2000s suburbia through details such as technology, fashion, pop-culture references, and mall storefronts. Sousa’s muted color palette adds to the feeling of nostalgia. Liv and most other characters read white.
A thoughtful, relationship-driven story. (Graphic fiction.
1217)
Lewis, Kayvion
Nancy Paulsen Books (304 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9780593625361
The ultimate competition between thieves tests friendships and family ties.
Seventeen-year-old Rosalyn “Ross” Quest, a member of a notorious Black Bahamian family of globe-trotting thieves, has spent her entire life honing her skills and following in her mother’s footsteps. But now she just wants to live a normal life, go to college, and make some friends her age. When her attempt to evade her family and secretly make it to a summer gymnastics camp goes awry, Ross’ mother is left in a life-threatening situation, and the only way Ross can save her is by competing in the Thieves’ Gambit, a potentially deadly heist competition that offers its winner one wish. Ross is up against the biggest names in the game from around the world, including Noelia, a Swiss girl who’s her childhood enemy. Hopping from country to country as she competes in increasingly dangerous challenges, Ross must discern whom
she can trust, if anyone, while her feelings for fellow competitor Devroe, a Black British boy, grow. In a manner true to the genre, the pacing is fast, and readers will experience the best kind of whiplash as the story moves from one heist to the next. The characters are also fully realized, and it’s impossible not to root for Ross as she tries to figure out who she’s meant to be.
A fast-paced roller coaster of a read. (Thriller. 1318)
Maldonado, Crystal Holiday House (320 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780823452361
A meaningful exploration of self-love and a cozy ode to autumn.
Whit Rivera, a bisexual Puerto Rican teenager living in a quaint Massachusetts town with her abuela and younger sister, Lily, is ready for the perfect summer and senior year. But then her boyfriend moves away and she is diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome, a chronic illness that keeps her in doctors’ offices most of the summer when she would rather be lying by the pool with best friends Marisol, who is gay and Latina, and Sophie, who is Vietnamese American and has diabetes. To achieve the perfect senior year, Whit will help Lily, who is autistic, settle into life as a high schooler while planning Fall Fest, her school’s annual celebration where her grandparents met and fell in love decades before. But Whit’s plans become even more complicated when she finds out her co-organizer for Fall Fest is Afro-Latino Isaiah Ortiz, the ex who broke her heart in sixth grade. Rich, multidimensional character development showing the intersections of identity within each individual will lead readers to feel like they know Whit and her friends in real life. Authentic, naturally integrated representation of marginalized identities makes this novel, which never becomes didactic, an important addition to YA literature; the characters are memorable not because of their identities, but as fully developed individuals.
A sentimental story about friendship, family, and love as sweet as a pumpkin spice latte. (author’s note with content warning) (Fiction. 1418)
McAdam, Tash
Soho Teen (288 pp.)
$18.99 | Nov. 7, 2023
9781641294898
After coming out as trans to the most popular boy in school and burning their budding relationship to the ground, Max wants nothing more than to disappear.
The arrival of a mysterious new girl turns Max’s life utterly inside out,
“As sweet as a pumpkin spice latte.”
the fall of whit rivera
I think fairy tales are the reason I am a writer. Like so many other children, I fell in love with reading and writing when my parents read fairy tales to me as bedtime stories, and they never left me. I loved the heroines of these stories, but I also was fascinated by the witches, maybe even more so. Seeing these female characters with agency and, in the villains’ case, with magic, was particularly inspiring for me at a time when the other media I was consuming—television, films—did not have strong female leads. Additionally, the themes of most fairy tales are timeless—good versus evil, the search for true love. But in retelling those stories I get to find the nuances in those tales and answer the questions that I always had while reading them: What happened to make the evil queen so vengeful? Is there redemption or happily-ever-after even for the characters who are “evil”?
Who is your ideal reader for Wish of the Wicked?
Danielle Paige’s new YA novel, Wish of the Wicked (Bloomsbury, Nov. 7), explores the origin of Cinderella’s fairy godmother, Farrow, and her startling motive for whisking Cinderella to the ball: retribution. Farrow is the lone survivor of the Entente, a magic-wielding collective decimated in a crackdown ordered by the queen. Thirsting for revenge, she seeks to punish the queen through her son, the prince. But as Farrow’s feelings shift, she must confront her own insecurities and the human cost of vengeance. The book is the first installment in the Fairy Godmother series. Paige answered questions by email; the exchange has been edited for length and clarity.
Like your Dorothy Must Die series, this book puts a dark spin on a beloved fairy tale. What draws you to these classic stories for creative inspiration?
I started this book with the question: Why did the Fairy Godmother help Cinderella? And I answered that question with some what ifs. What if all the characters we thought were evil in the fairy tale world were once part of the same coven that was persecuted, and they are now bent on revenge? What if the Fairy Godmother was also part of that sect and must decide if she will choose revenge or forgiveness? I hope anyone who loves fairy tales and wants to explore the catalyst for arguably the most popular fairy tale, Cinderella, finds this book. This fairy godmother origin story has been with me for a long time, longer than Dorothy Must Die . So, I am just so happy to finally bring it to the page.
What books had the greatest influence on you as a reader and writer?
Well, obviously, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which I must have read dozens of times. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein for her boundless imagination. Everything by Dickens for the breadth of his storytelling. The Brontë sisters for their romanticism. And more recently, Gregory Maguire and Marissa Meyer for paving the Yellow Brick Road of retell-
ings and really giving me a sense of permission and freedom in doing so.
What books coming out this fall are you most looking forward to reading?
Meg Cabot’s Enchanted to Meet You. Meg Cabot is a forever favorite and friend, and I cannot wait to see what she does with grown-up witches. And I got an early copy of Don P. Hopper’s True True This stunning debut is a powerful and timely portrayal of a teenager on the cusp of vengeance or forgiveness.
Interview by William Rumelhart.however. Gloss is everything Max is not: rich, sophisticated, sure of herself and her place in the world. Yet she sees him for who he truly is, defends his identity, and forces others to acknowledge his truth. She is his salvation and destruction, and now she’s in jail because of him. Max’s small, predominantly white English town—the setting for this book that is part coming-of-age story and part murder mystery—is well realized. Max is a keen musician who expresses himself in the lyrics he writes; McAdam’s masterfully musical language effectively brings this theme to the novel as a whole. There’s a maturity and depth to the raw emotion and a hypersaturated intensity to the imagery. Max is a vulnerable, honest, engaging narrator, whose search for truths—his own, Gloss’, and that of the fateful night his old life died—unfurls at an addictively relentless pace. His relationship with Gloss is painfully compelling, equal parts beautifully selfaffirming and toxic. The inner lives of supporting characters are rich and muddled, reflecting the complexity of life.
Poignant and intoxicating. (Fiction. 1418) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
The Graphic Novel
Medina, Meg
Adapt. by Mel Valentine Vargas
Illus. by the adapter
Colors by Mary Lee Fenner
Candlewick (288 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781536224771
Vargas adapts Medina’s Pura Belpré Award winner into graphic-novel form.
Piedad Maria Sanchez, Piddy for short, is starting sophomore year at a new school in Queens while her best friend, Mitzi, is off to school in Long Island. Piddy is Cuban and Dominican, but she struggles to find a place with her Latine peers in her new school. In fact, Yaqui Delgado wants to kick her ass; as Piddy says, “I don’t fit her idea of a Latina at all.” Though Piddy tries to keep her head down and avoid confrontation, the bullying at school continues to escalate from threats and misogynistic name-calling to being jumped by a group of girls on her way home. Living with constant anxiety takes its toll on Piddy: She pushes away her mom and Mitzi and even ponders dropping out of school altogether to escape her tormentors. Readers will find themselves in turns rooting for Piddy and frustrated by her choices. In each of her relationships, Piddy learns how secrets can fester and that intimacy and trust are built through transparency. This graphic adaptation is a fast-paced page-turner. Vargas keeps the text to a minimum and communicates much of Piddy’s inner turmoil wordlessly, proving the effectiveness of this format. The panels, illustrated in blue, gray, black, and white, have clean, minimalist backgrounds, putting the people and their emotions front and center.
A decade on, as relevant as ever and likely to capture the hearts of even more readers. (Graphic fiction. 1418)
Montoya, Angela
Joy Revolution (384 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 31, 2023
9780593643334
A beautiful witch tricks a handsome pirate into helping her escape from exile. Majestics are powerful women blessed with magical gifts by the goddess Xiomara. After a former monarch of the Kingdom of Coronado learned how to weaken their powers, and the church deemed them wicked, Majestics were banished to Sinner’s Isle. Once a Majestic comes of age, she’s eligible to participate in the Offering, an annual event during which the king and noblemen visit the island to ritually bind with a Majestic of their choosing. Everyone knows that Rosalinda, who can control terrifying phantoms, is the most likely prospect for King Sebastián. When she and Juana, her seer best friend, are caught by their controlling mistress, Doña Lucía, as they attempt to run away, Rosa submits to her fate. But then she meets Mariano, the Prince of Pirates, whose ship was overtaken by the king’s men. Initially, Mariano, whose mother was killed by a Majestic, would do anything to get off the island, but after meeting Rosa, whom he finds both conniving and enchanting, he’s determined to escape with her at his side. Montoya’s debut is a stunning addition to its genre, offering a world infused with Mexican folklore, a charming cast, a bewitching romance, and a fast, yet evenly paced, adventure. Spanish is seamlessly woven throughout the text. Readers will fall for Rosa and Mariano, who are unapologetically irresistible and strong-willed. Characters are various shades of brown; some are queer.
A swashbuckling, swoonworthy standout. (map, author’s note) (Fantasy. 1318) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Oseman, Alice
Scholastic (128 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781338885132
Series: Heartstopper
When Charlie returns home from in-patient anorexia treatment in a psychiatric ward, he and his older sister, Tori, navigate a difficult Christmas with their family in this Heartstopper novella.
Tori thought her parents might learn to open up after Charlie started treatment, but they—especially Mum—still avoid discussing anything serious. Now that Charlie is home from the hospital, all Tori wants is to spend time with him, but the pressure of the holiday increases family tensions and threatens to drive Charlie away. Set during unexplored moments of Volume 4 of the Heartstopper graphic-novel series, this three-chapter
novella zooms in on Christmas Day. Each chapter moves the story forward from a different perspective, shifting from Tori to Charlie to their 7-year-old brother, Oliver. Nick, Charlie’s boyfriend, makes an appearance as a source of comfort, but the conflict focuses on Charlie and his family. As Tori tries to support Charlie, she wrestles with guilt and loneliness. Meanwhile, Charlie and his mum, who both want a normal holiday, keep clashing. Although the story handles heavy themes of mental illness, Oseman balances the fraught emotions with tender moments and a hopeful but honest outlook on recovery that emphasizes the value of therapy. There will be greater emotional impact for those familiar with the original stories, but as a bonus entry, this novella has high appeal for devoted fans. Occasional illustrations add to the charm.
Short and sweet. (resources) (Fiction. 1418)
Paige, Danielle
Bloomsbury (384 pp.)
$18.99 | Nov. 7, 2023
978-1-68119-686-2
Series: A Fairy Godmother Novel, 1
When a ruthless queen attempts to banish a mysterious coterie of magicwielding sisters, the youngest of them develops an intricate plan of revenge in this spin on “Cinderella.”
Each member of Entente has a distinct magical gift, but Farrow, the youngest member of the collective, has difficulty managing hers. “My magic was late, not absent altogether,” something she reminds herself when her insecurities begin to simmer. The Entente is led by Les Soeurs, three sisters also known as the Fates—Past, Present, and Future—who guide the rulers of the Thirteen Queendoms. Entente members live apart from humans and even disguise themselves when visiting the royals they counsel. After the Burning (a public attack directed by Queen Magrit against magic) destroys the Entente, young Farrow, the sole survivor, is left alone in an orphanage. She’s serendipitously plucked to accept a lowly position in the palace, where she longs to carry out her revenge. With plans of retribution, Farrow, who has light-brown skin and curly dark hair, finds refuge in the legendary Enchanted Forest, determined to regain her magic. Prolific, bestselling YA novelist Paige presents an original backstory in which Cinderella’s fairy godmother becomes the brooding protagonist at the heart of her own story. The writing is lively, even as Farrow ruminates on morality and makes vengeance her purpose.
This sprawling, action-packed origin story, layered in mystique, will pull readers into its fascinating world. (Fantasy. 1217) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
“A stunning addition to its genre.”
sinner’s isle
Rahman, Yasmin Carolrhoda Lab (440 pp.)
$20.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781728467108
Three suicidal teens find reasons to live when they develop friendships while preparing for their ends.
Mehreen Miah, Cara Saunders, and Olivia Castleton have one thing in common: They want to end their lives. The three girls meet via the website MementoMori.com, “a matchmaking service for suicide partners.” As a practicing Muslim, Bengali British Mehreen feels the site offers the loophole she needs—“someone else to take away the guilt, take the blame”—as she tries to escape the negative voice in her head she calls the Chaos. Lesbian Cara was left paraplegic by a tragic car accident and is struggling to adjust; she seeks assistance to end her life. Meanwhile, Olivia is counting on the site to help her escape sexual abuse by her mother’s boyfriend. Cara and Olivia read white. With each meeting after they’re matched, the girls feel more seen and understood. But when the tasks set forth by MementoMori get more sinister, the girls decide that suicide may not be the answer. Even so, their demons are not so easily shaken off. Rahman thoughtfully fleshes out each character. The jagged typeface representing Mehreen’s intrusive thoughts and the striking layout of the free verse in Olivia’s chapters amplify their perspectives and enhance Rahman’s skillful writing. Though friendship becomes a reason to live, it is not a magic cure; the characters’ struggles despite their new relationships feel poignantly realistic. Honestly portrays the dark parts of life—and shows that there is hope. (author’s note, content warning, resources) (Fiction. 1318) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
Rivers, Karen
Algonquin (384 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781616208165
Two teens navigating recent tragedies feel an instant connection when they meet on their first day of senior year, but the guilt they each carry threatens their burgeoning relationship.
Hattie’s mother took off 11 years ago. Since then, Hattie and her dad have fantasized about how the three will be reunited when Hattie swims on the U.S. team at the Olympics. But since 7-year-old Elijah drowned while Hattie was lifeguarding, Hattie has been unable to fathom a future that involves swimming. Presley has relocated from Victoria, British Columbia, to Southern California with his mum and her wife. He and his twin brother, Mac, were ice-skating phenoms until Mac was
killed in an auto accident that left Presley with injuries that ended his competitive figure skating dreams. Both feel responsible for the people they have lost, and both deal with physical manifestations of their grief; it is mutual recognition of loss that draws the two together. Their relationship quickly deepens in ways that uncannily parallel the romance novel that has been Hattie’s lifeline since Elijah’s death. Caring friends, an evacuation spurred by wildfires, and an impromptu road trip all play parts in helping the teens move toward healing. Rivers explores trauma with sensitivity: Readers see the wide range of emotions and coping mechanisms that can come into play. Hattie and Presley are cued white; there is some diversity in race and sexual orientation among their friends.
Implausible? Maybe, but also smart and infused with enough heart to make suspending disbelief a pleasure. (Fiction. 1218)
Rusch, Elizabeth Greenwillow Books (304 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9780063220850
A nail-biting account of a still-unresolved landmark case.
In Juliana v. United States, 21 plaintiffs ages 8 to 19 sued the federal government for undermining their constitutional rights to a safe and healthy environment. These young people were helped by Our Children’s Trust, a nonprofit founded by Julia Olson, the attorney whose passion for the environment led her to dream up this initiative in 2010 and seek out young people willing to be plaintiffs. They sought acknowledgment of the kids’ Fifth Amendment rights and that the government cease its “active support of the fossil fuel system.” This taut, quick-moving story told in short, lively chapters employs novelistic suspense and focuses effectively on people and their experiences as much as on principles. Vivid details and the plaintiffs’ own words convey their personalities and passions; the author’s admiration for the kids and their attorneys is clear. Rusch acknowledges the distinct roles of individuals, the impact of economic systems, and the overarching power of government. The young people come from a range of ethnic, geographical, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Quotations from legal experts expand readers’ understanding. Government lawyers did not speak with Rusch, who used court documents to convey the defendants’ perspectives. Extensive backmatter covers scientific and legal information, resources for young activists, and an update on the plaintiffs. Rigorously researched, this work offers a clear summary of a complex and critically important lawsuit.
A moving and absorbing account of an urgent case. (list of individuals, timeline, research process, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 1318)
Ruthnum, Naben ECW Press (300 pp.)
$19.95 paper | Sept. 26, 2023
9781770417045
A high school student joins forces with an unconventional duo to battle against evil.
After spending two years at a Vancouver Island boarding school, 15-yearold Indian Canadian Vish Maurya is back in mainland British Columbia living with his parents—much to his annoyance. It’s 1996, and his psychiatrist father is recovering from an addiction to prescription pills. Vish resents his parents for sending him away to school while his father entered rehab and got clean. Although his insulated, overwhelmingly white boarding school wasn’t a paradise, Vish isn’t looking forward to an entire summer pretending his peers don’t know about his father’s struggles. When heavy metal fan Vish visits the local bookstore, he’s expecting to catch up on his favorite ghost stories, not become the target of a ghastly parasitic creature from German folklore who harvests souls. Vish soon realizes that magic is real and learns that more than 12,000 ravenous souls may be unleashed on his sleepy town of Kelowna. Together with bookstore owner Agastya and young bookstore employee Gisela, he’s drawn into a battle for survival. This briskly paced horror novel offers cinematic imagery and suspenseful intrigue. The narrative grounds the rules of magic in the laws of science, and details about identity and marginalization are thoughtfully incorporated while providing deeper insight into Vish’s worldview.
A satisfying supernatural tale centering a reluctant hero who discovers the universe’s time-bending secrets. (Horror.
1318)
Sawyerr, Hannah V. Amulet/Abrams (400 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781419762611
This page-turning novel in verse shows a 16-year-old Baltimore girl’s resilience after surviving a sexual assault by a powerful church leader.
Amina Conteh’s father credits her late mother, “a woman who knew her / rage was as powerful as her love,” for her fighting spirit, something he doesn’t always approve of. After Amina gets in trouble at school for standing up to a disrespectful classmate, he decides she’ll help out at church as punishment, which ultimately leads to Pastor Johnson’s raping her. Amina has an emotionally and physically fulfilling relationship with Deon, the pastor’s adored nephew. He and her best friend, Talia, a queer, fashion-conscious Dominican
girl, provide relief from her strained relationship with her strict, highly religious father. But as she endures the aftermath of her trauma, Amina, the daughter of immigrants from Sierra Leone, finds that her relationships and confidence suffer. Interspersed throughout the stunning verse are journal entries, text messages, police interview transcripts, and news articles that highlight various people’s perspectives, intricately building suspense when the news breaks of another victim of Pastor Johnson. The expectations for women at Amina’s church are oppressive and sexist, though the Black church community provided Amina’s parents with comfort, adding complexity as she wrestles with whether to speak out. Amina’s emotional growth and experiences in therapy feel authentic, leading to a satisfying ending that is properly earned.
An unforgettable story of healing told through phenomenal poetry. (author’s note, resources) (Verse fiction. 1418)
Schwartz, Leanne
Page Street (368 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781645678885
A warrior and a religious scholar seek justice in this fantasy debut set in an Italian-inspired world.
Gia believes she’s found an ally in Ennio, Magna’s head templar. After Gia arranges a meeting between him and Lena, her sister who is a principessa and head templar of Alta, she is stunned to discover she’s just a pawn in Ennio’s plan to take control of Trestatto. Deciding to fight back, Gia instead becomes one of many victims Ennio traps in stone. One thousand years later, people honor Primo Sanct Ennio. At the temple, Milo is fascinated by the statue of an anonymous sanct who sacrificed herself, giving her life to save Trestatto. When he accidentally releases Gia from her imprisonment, they both find themselves questioning their identities and how to right the wrongs of a millennia. Gia and Milo share the third-person narration, giving readers emotional glimpses into inner conflicts over guilt and faith while shining a light on injustice and contemplating truth and the accuracy of historical narratives. Gia self-describes as fat; she endures some negative judgment for her size. Milo identifies as autistic; his methods for moving through the world are described, and the effort it takes him to mask is acknowledged. Well-detailed action sequences, including revenge plots and battles, are sprinkled throughout. A variety of skin tones are present, and queer people are a natural part of this society.
Perfectly balanced action, reflection, and intrigue; sure to offer wide appeal. (content warning) (Fantasy. 1418)
Shusterman, Neal
Illus. by Andrés Vera MartínezGraphix/Scholastic (256 pp.)
$14.99 paper | Oct. 31, 2023
9780545313483
Answering a call to witness, Shusterman offers five original tales of Jews resisting and escaping Nazis with help from miracles, wonders, and legends.
Inspired by actual examples of aid and rescue recounted in brief between each story, the author celebrates courage in the face of brutality and terror—beginning with a group of orphaned children in Hamburg narrowly escaping a Nazi roundup through a window in their apartment that becomes a portal to a peaceful world. There are also striking tales of a golem at Auschwitz, resistance fighters freeing a train of captives with help from Baba Yaga and the people of Chelm, and a teenager who wields the staff of Moses to raise a bridge of sunken boats, helping Danish Jews escape across the Øresund strait to Sweden. In a pointed final story, an American child passes back and forth between this time and an alternate present in which the Holocaust never happened, but antisemitic violence is ominously on the rise. Noting the influence of Marvel Comics on his work, Martínez offers clean-lined period scenes of ordinary-looking heroes enduring fear and hardship, and “fighting for justice on every page.” Resonating with an earlier acknowledgment that Roma and other minorities also suffered Nazi persecution, Martínez finds common personal ground in his own Tejano family’s experiences with white supremacists.
Moving examples of the power of culture and folklore to offer help, hope, and inspiration to act. (photo credits, author’s notes, illustrator’s note, bibliography, note on Hebrew letters) (Graphic fiction. 1218) (This review is printed here for the first time.)
PHOEBE’S DIARY
Wahl, Phoebe
Little, Brown (464 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9780316363563
In this work adapted from the popular artist’s own high school diaries, lonely Phoebe joins a play and finds friendship and first love.
It is 2006 in Bellingham, Washington, and 15-year-old Phoebe is in love with three different boys. She is chubby with an “elfin pig nose,” obsessed with vintage fashion and indie rock, and desperately wants skinny jeans and a boyfriend. After spending freshman year on the sidelines (she’s a home-schooler taking “only the fun classes” at her local high school), Phoebe works up the courage to audition for the summer play. From there, her life opens up. There is a rainy ride
home with Owen, rehearsals with David, and kisses on the cheek from unattainable Lukas (part of the script but still thrilling). As summer wanes, her crushes fade. There’s always another production, though, and when Phoebe makes the cast of the fall play, she finds herself dreaming about smart, serious “sex god” Sam and his chiseled jaw. Phoebe’s crushes dominate the narrative, but watching her friendships develop during gossipy sleepovers, cozy snowy days, and rowdy Passover seders is no less meaningful. The story, illustrated throughout, captures the anguish of wanting to belong, to feel at home in your body, and to give and receive pleasure. Wahl’s distinctive, instantly recognizable art adds humor and heart to each page. Most characters appear white; Phoebe and Sam are Jewish.
An earnest, relatable, and affecting celebration of teenage yearning. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14adult)
Williams, Yohuru & Michael G. Long
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (272 pp.)
$19.99 | Aug. 29, 2023
9780374391744
A frank and perspicuous study of the watershed 1963 event in the Civil Rights Movement.
Rather than build their thoroughly researched account around Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Williams and Long focus on what went on behind the scenes to organize the one-day March on Washington, thrash out a unified vision of its purpose in the face of conflicting agendas, and bring it off without sparking violence from either marchers or police. (There were, astonishingly, no event-related arrests.) As in their powerful profile of Jackie Robinson (Call Him Jack, 2022), the authors unflinchingly retain the racist language in many of their period quotes to illuminate the violent temper of the times. They also offer eye-opening portrayals of the generally idolized Kennedy brothers and scorching views of the secondary roles Black women were forced to take by the march’s male leaders. They brightly commend the courage and organizing skills of “gay, pacifist, socialist ex-convict” Bayard Rustin and highlight march director A. Philip Randolph’s dreams of working change through collective action as well as the rousing speeches of young firebrand John Lewis and others. Numerous photos and news clippings add immediacy to events, and though the main story closes with the dispersal of the crowd at the historic day’s end, rich troves of additional facts and questions posed to readers spur further research and reflection.
young adult
more than a dream
Adam, Pip
Dorothy (272 pp.)
$16.95 paper | Oct. 3, 2023
9781948980173
New Zealander Adam centers her novel around a doomed fashion photo shoot for which the clothes will not arrive in time.
It is not a merry band: hairstylist Carla, who is obsessed with aging out of the business, lives with a murderous pit bull, originally bought as a prop for a shoot; Tommy, the head of the brand (along with nonentities Cal and Kurt) is insulated from all sense of responsibility by his wealth; Elodie, the makeup artist, is described as sweet, fat, and in bed with everyone. There are generational divides and monologues about being directionless and low-paid. Suddenly, the plot unexpectedly swerves, and one of the characters—up to that point a minor one—goes on a cataclysmic, folkloric odyssey that reminds readers that fashion is, in the end, just waste. Adam’s writing style can be plain, and the characters feel flat. The book seems to be aiming for a Bret Easton Ellis–style affectlessness, but you can’t be sure the lifelessness is intentional in lines like, “His father just kept making more and more money and he believed in Tommy in a way that infected Tommy with hope and love.” The twist at the end, in which the book’s messaging becomes political-cartoon-clear, will surprise readers, possibly because there is no setup for it. It includes apparently earnest attempts to equate scenes of environmental desolation with the horror of being fat while working in fashion. If that sounds unconvincing, it is. Adam writes, “Kurt loves unicorns, he feels like they really say something about the pre-apocalyptic mess they were all drowning in. Sing, they said. Dance.” In this book, there are no unicorns—only a devious pit bull waiting to attack and some fashionistas with a hard bite.
An unpredictable end punctuates an otherwise prosaic read—for a book about style, there isn’t much of it.
Armstrong, Kelley St. Martin’s (304 pp.)
$29.00 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781250284198
Dark doings on a private island retreat.
Laney Kilpatrick could never have afforded a 2,000-square foot house on a five-acre private island in Lake Superior on a high school teacher’s salary. But Hemlock House on Hemlock Island was a present from Christian “Kit” Hayes, CEO of his family’s tech company, and now Laney’s ex-husband. Although Kit generously turned Laney’s dream home over to her when they split, the only way she can maintain his costly gift is to rent it out to vacationers. Of course, being a landlord means handling a variety of complaints, from dirty towels left on the floor to unreliable cell phone service. But when her latest renter, Mrs. Abbas, calls to report blood in the closet of the green bedroom, Laney feels obliged to investigate in person. She reluctantly brings her niece, Madison, since she’s served as the teenager’s guardian since her sister’s death. Kit and his sister, Jayla, show up, alerted by the owner of a nearby campground. So do Laney’s high-school classmate Sadie Emerson and her policeman brother, Garrett. All hell promptly breaks loose. The band of frenemies has barely begun inquiries when a storm cuts them off from the mainland, while someone or something blows up all their boats. Armstrong piles on the calamities, with detailed descriptions of blood, gore, and other derangements, until the investigation’s initial purpose fades in the distance. The result is a mishmash of mayhem, with wilderness adventure, supernatural phenomena, environmental activism, teenage angst, and #MeToo feminism all vying for the whiplashed reader’s attention.
Hard to imagine the audience for this.
Auster, Paul Atlantic Monthly (208 pp.)
$27.00 | Nov. 7, 2023
9780802161444
An elderly philosophy professor sorts through grief, mortality, and late love.
Raised by a mother surnamed Auster in Newark, New Jersey, educated at Columbia University and in Paris, married to a translator—for the title character of his latest, Auster dips often into the autobiographical well. As the book opens, S.T. Baumgartner, age 70, has been mourning his late wife, Anna, for 10 years when mishaps darken an otherwise ordinary day. He has a nasty fall, he learns that his cleaning lady’s husband has severed two fingers in a work accident, and he burns a pot he’s had since he first met his wife. Auster likes to stir up apprehension, but none of these misfortunes
can match the frisson when a disconnected phone in his late wife’s study impossibly brings a call from her, telling him about the afterlife and how they remain connected. As Baumgartner, amid typical worries about how much future he has, frequently revisits the past, the narrative of his falling for Anna and their marriage takes shape—yet the strange phone call also frees him to enjoy love again, with a colleague at Princeton. Then another woman appears and seems to promise a different sort of emotional investment, this one tied to his late wife. Auster is not as textually tricky here as he has been in previous novels. He does bring back publisher Morris Heller and son Miles from Sunset Park (2010). He has Baumgartner working on “a serio-comic, quasi-fictional discourse on the self in relation to other selves,” which sounds like a study of Auster’s fiction. Baumgartner’s mind is full of late-life insights and angst, while his capacity for love provides a rich emotional seam. Auster packs a lot into this slim novel, including, alas, prose so prone to cliché that the mind winces.
An always intriguing writer mostly playing to his strengths.
Biespiel, David
Stephen F. Austin State University Press (250 pp.)
$24.00 paper | Oct. 24, 2023
9781622882441
In 1980s Texas, two young men bond over their love of literature.
To grow up in Texas with the name Jon Wain likely makes being nicknamed “Duke” inevitable. So it is with the narrator of Biespiel’s novel, who ponders desire, literature, and his best friend, Manolo Salazar, as he looks back on their youth. Much of the novel follows the two friends over a handful of days in 1981, when they’re 18, as they travel to the beach. Duke is well aware of their differing backgrounds: “Him, the oldest son of a broadcast evangelist. Me, the only son of the Grand Rabbi of Houston.” There’s also the matter of Salazar being gay, which Duke addresses about a quarter of the way through the book as it prompts him to rethink the ways he might have been unwittingly cruel to his friend. “It was like I had taken a strange drug and needed to arrange my mind and balance my feet,” he thinks after learning of his friend’s sexuality. But ultimately, the bond between the two endures. As Duke tells another character late in the novel, “We were born seven days apart, in February, 1964….We got made under the same sky.” Salazar will soon head to boot camp, which his father isn’t happy about. Both men have a lot on their minds, including whether or not they will take up their fathers’ respective religious positions. They’re also fond of discussing literature and following the exploits of Nolan Ryan. The novel’s second half introduces more characters, including a reactionary Vietnam veteran and a young woman to whom Duke is drawn—and who may have a secret connection to Salazar. It’s a largely satisfying
novel, even if Salazar sometimes comes off as the more compelling of the two lead characters.
A heady, thoughtful novel about two heady, thoughtful friends.
Broder, Melissa
Scribner (240 pp.)
$27.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781668024843
A writer whose father is dying escapes to the desert to face (or avoid) her grief and ends up with much more than she bargained for.
A woman wanders in the California desert. She hikes through scrub, shadowy dunes, the “orchestral quiet” of the rocks, plants, and animal life. Back in Los Angeles, her father is in the intensive
care unit, walking the knife’s edge between life and death after a car accident. She’s also left behind a disabled husband whose illness has complicated their marriage. As the woman walks, she contemplates the natural world, the ties that bind us to the ones we love, the nature of God. She watches lizards and rabbits; she talks to rocks. She comes to a fork in the trail: One route leads back to her life in LA; the other leads deep into the ruthless desert. Which will she take? If this all sounds a bit woo woo, a taste of Burning Man with a touch of Siddhartha, fear not: This is Broder, the poet, essayist, novelist, and author of some of Twitter’s most viral bons mots as @sosadtoday. Her style mixes therapy-adjacent hyper-self-awareness, dark humor, and a jovially narcissistic approach to tragedy (“I am still the kind of the person who makes another person’s coma all about me”). It is also, among all its other guises, a book about writing: The narrator is struggling with her novel-in-progress (about a woman with an ill husband and a dying father, natch) whose structure she cannot figure out. This is not a subtle book—the protagonist is very literally walking in the valley of the shadow of death—but it’s as wise in its way as any spiritualism about vision quests or finding enlightenment.
A 100 percent Broder take on grief and empathy: embodied but cerebral, hilarious but heart-wrenching.
Brooke, Dinah McNally Editions (264 pp.) $18.00 paper | Oct. 3, 2023 9781946022646
The pitiable subject of a cruel upbringing evolves into a rudderless adult, the nemesis of the privileged family that failed him.
Brooke’s withering portrait of the British upper class, originally published in 1973, now reissued and available for the first time in the U.S. with a foreword by Ottessa Moshfegh, is a dispassionate, sardonic parable of tragic dysfunction. It traces in detail the origins of Giles Trenchard, a.k.a. “the infant Prince,” oldest child of parents referred to as the King and Queen but in truth a boozy solicitor and his ineffectual wife, both products of English social and financial inheritance. Neglected by his mother, bullied by his father, left in the brutal “care” of a nanny, the infant Giles is bruised, tortured, and starved of tenderness. His only weapons in “the dark battles of the nursery” are screams, withdrawal, and the refusal of food. Brooke relates these horrors in a distinctive, chilly tone—“The Prince learns in the end, but a rat would have learned sooner”—while depicting the adults in grotesque terms, notably detailing their sexual proclivities. Even after his horrible nanny is replaced, it’s too late for Giles; he’s sent to a private school where he endures and fits in but can’t learn and makes no friends, even though he’s good at cricket. Another school follows, and a psychiatrist, but then World War II intervenes. Working as a humble sailor, Giles endures grim experiences but finds some social acceptance in
the ranks. Afterward, it’s back to a life of nonachievement, failing law exams, drinking excessively, and stealing from his parents and others. This downward slide, underpinned by disgust and disgrace at home, is not slowed by love for an unsuitable 19-year-old, and Brooke finally reaches the Lord Jim-esque lapse, unsurprising in a tale of such implacable determinism, yet still shocking.
A domestic and class horror story delivered in clinical, brilliant prose.
BOURNVILLE
Coe, Jonathan Europa Editions (400 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781609459420
One family’s odyssey spotlights England’s transformation between VE Day and the coronavirus pandemic.
Just south of grimy industrial Birmingham, Bournville was established in the late 19th century by the Cadbury family as a model village with healthy housing and amenities for the workers in their chocolate factory. It’s there in 1945 that 11-year-old Mary joins a celebration of the European war’s end that introduces her to her future husband—and to the bigoted nationalism that will contend into the next century with a more expansive view of Britain’s future. In 1953, she becomes engaged to stodgy, conservative Geoffrey Lamb around the time of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation; it’s the second in a series of iconic events on which Coe hangs his exploration of intermingled societal and personal change. By the time of the England-West Germany World Cup final in 1966, the Lambs have three sons with very different personalities and outlooks. Eldest Jack has Mary’s outgoing nature but shares Geoffrey’s values; by the end of the novel, he’s a Brexit supporter and admirer of Boris Johnson. (Johnson flits around the fringes of the story, seen first as a joke and then revealed to be a shrewd manipulator of social anxieties.) Quiet, deliberate Martin—married to a Black woman, to Geoffrey’s open dismay—works for Cadbury; his efforts to get English chocolate certified for sale in the European Union provide a hilarious scene of E.U. dysfunction. Youngest son Peter, a musician, finally acknowledges that he’s gay during the period of turbulent emotionalism surrounding the death of Princess Diana, an episode of national hysteria that most of the Lamb family (except Jack, of course) regard with bemusement. As Coe follows his richly characterized cast across 75 years, he hews to the venerable traditions of the English realistic novel, capturing Britain’s increasingly diverse, cosmopolitan society in the varying reactions of his characters. The pandemic-restricted commemorations of VE Day’s 75th anniversary bring this pensive novel to an appropriately sober close.
Perfect for readers who appreciate thoughtful and substantive fiction.
Coulson, Christine
Avid Reader Press (208 pp.)
$25.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781668027783
The life of Caroline Margaret “Kitty” Brooks Whitaker is related entirely in the form of museum wall labels, as if she were a painting.
Coulson is a former writer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and here she endeavors to conjure a woman’s life entirely through wall labels. The labels follow the variously cruel, obsessive, and disaffected Kitty from her gilded childhood in the early 1910s—when she’s described as a “golden child, a delirious display of Bernini verve and unrivaled WASP artistry”—through several marriages and to her death. “A pretty thing entitled to pretty things,” Kitty wavers between reveling in the admiration and envy garnered by being a human objet d’art and her longing for freedom from the
ISBN 978-1-958972-06-9
“A powerful poetic reckoning with motherhood and religion.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Perfect for readers who appreciate thoughtful and substantive fiction.”
bournville
restraining gaze of others. Coulson is gifted at conveying astute observations through small, often humorous details: A supportive husband is compared to a “sterling silver knife rest” and small sandwiches are described as “an abstract portrait of caloric constraint” rendered with “Mondrian rigor.” Coulson’s innovative form is the perfect vehicle for her wry commentary on the conventions of art criticism, the complexities of seeing and being seen, and the desire for possession that is inherent in the art collections of the wealthy. The collecting of art on this scale, the novel seems to suggest, seems to tempt the collectors to see everything, even themselves and others, as objects made for consumption. Reading the novel effectively gives readers a sense of being held captive by the same forces that constrain Kitty. We observe and admire, but always with the sense that reality remains obscured by an excessively slick finish or a too-bright bit of gold leaf. While a pleasure to read and occasionally insightful, the novel never quite attains the depth required to elevate it from a fun satire to a truly profound commentary on art and the upper classes.
A jewel box of a novel that could have used a bit of polish to make it truly shine.
DeMille, Nelson & Alex DeMille
Scribner (512 pp.)
$20.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781501101816
Second in the military crime series featuring Special Agents Scott Brodie and Magnolia “Maggie” Taylor, after The Deserter (2019).
In Berlin, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Harry Vance slips out of his lover’s bed for a mysterious nighttime meeting. He is an operative in the American Terrorism and Criminal Investigation Unit, or TCIU, and a sniper shoots him dead. Army brass speculates that this is the work of Islamic terrorists, so they bring in Brodie of the Criminal Investigation Division and assign him Taylor as his partner. On foreign soil, “officially and legally” they cannot gather evidence, question witnesses, or make arrests. The two have a one-novel history together, including tension both
professional and sexual. “Sex, lies, and betrayal notwithstanding,” though, “they made a pretty good team.” As they search for justice for their fallen colleague, maybe they can figure out why the assassin killed from long range and then apparently walked over and gouged out Vance’s left eye. Maybe evil forces are up to much more than meets the eye, if you’ll pardon the expression. Anyway, the partners complement each other: Taylor is the more rational and level-headed, while Brodie blatantly disregards jurisdictional boundaries when he needs to. He has that nothing-to-lose attitude, given that his career is swirling down the toilet bowl anyway. So if it seems a bit odd that she trusts his judgment, it’s because he’s usually right. Co-authors Nelson DeMille and his son Alex have created interesting characters, though Brodie might be the type that appears more in fiction than in the real world: About to be handcuffed by a pair of armed men, he “suddenly spun around and delivered a ball-busting kick, under the guy’s ballistic vest, and into his non-ballistic balls.” Then he bloodies the other fellow before he can draw his weapon. The partners deliver a few punchlines of their own in this fast-moving story that’s replete with twists and danger. Brodie and Taylor are sympathetic characters who accomplish a lot given their limited authority.
Entertaining and sure to please thriller fans.
Dolan, Naoise Ecco/HarperCollins (288 pp.)
$28.99 | Nov. 7, 2023
9780063330467
As their wedding approaches, a young couple—and their friends and family—wonder if they are making the right decision.
Celine and Luke are a newly engaged couple who are happy enough, though not exactly happy, in Dolan’s deeply Irish sophomore novel. Quietly introspective and dryly funny, the novel is broken up into six parts, with each of the first five narrated by a different character: Celine (“The Bride”), Phoebe (“The Bridesmaid”), Archie (“The Best Man”), Luke (“The Groom”), and Vivian (“The Guest”). In the last part, “Wedding Day,” Dolan begins to fasten off all the narrative threads she has been weaving throughout the novel. These unique viewpoints offer a bricolage of not only Celine and Luke’s relationship but also their relationships with their friends and family. Celine is a talented pianist whose first love is music; she tends to ignore Luke’s faults, which include his penchant for lying, disappearing, and being ambivalent. Phoebe would rather spend her time tracking down Luke than on bridesmaid duties, whereas Archie is loath to be best man because he’s in love with the groom. To round it all out, Vivian, a friend and ex-fling of Luke’s, offers a fairly objective perspective on the state of the couple’s relationship on the morning of their wedding. Dolan’s characters feel irritatingly real in both their indecisiveness and their propensity for making poor decisions. The novel’s formal playfulness—which
includes having Luke narrate through drafts of his unfinished wedding speech and showing Vivian’s past through her “encounters with paintings”—offers a fuller picture not only of the characters, but all of the social and cultural dynamics at play. Dolan writes beautifully about yearning and unhappiness: “Loneliness wasn’t having no one. Loneliness was the gap between what you hoped for and what you got.” Ultimately, Celine and Luke’s happiness depends on whether what they got is better than what they hoped for—and if loving one another is more important than being in love.
A quiet novel that questions and upends the traditional marriage plot.
“A quiet novel that questions and upends the traditional marriage plot.”
the happy couple
Elliott, Alicia Dutton (368 pp.)
$28.00 | Sept. 26, 2023
9780593473085
A tale of compromise, madness, and recuperation by a Mohawk writer in Ontario.
Alice, a young Mohawk woman and new mother to a baby girl named Dawn, finds herself living comfortably in Toronto, married to a white man whose academic specialty happens to be her own culture. Unsettling encounters with prying neighbors, whose racism emerges in both subtle and obvious ways, mark the beginning of Alice’s deteriorating mental health. Her salvation, as she understands it, is to retell the Haudenosaunee Creation Story, though an increasing paranoia and apparent psychosis complicate her efforts. This novel seems, in part, like a contemporary, Indigenized retelling of
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s classic short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” with the first-person narration here similarly highlighting not just a woman’s descent into insanity, but the bigotries and toxic power relations that structure society. Alice’s observations, however unreliable they become, suggest above all the significance of cultural erasure and appropriation for Indigenous peoples, the ongoing impact of policies of cultural genocide, and the rest of the country’s routine incomprehension of or indifference to Indigenous suffering. Particularly intriguing is the representation of Alice’s self-doubt as she attempts to modernize a traditional story without betraying it and the people it represents. As she asks herself, in a passage that seems to sum up a conundrum facing many contemporary Indigenous artists: “Is there a definite, observable moment where interpretation becomes bastardization? If there is I’m flirting with it. I mean, I’m writing my people’s Creation Story—the story that lays out our entire worldview as Haudenosaunee—in the voice of a gossipy, irreverent young woman when common sense (and stereotypes) say I should be writing it in the voice of a sage old Indian man.”
A tale of injustice and veiled persecution seen through a fevered imagination.
Ed. by Freeman, John Grove (256 pp.)
$17.00 paper | Oct. 10, 2023 9780802161475
The definitive issue of a venerated literary journal.
For the last decade, Freeman, an author as well as an executive editor at Knopf, has curated a uniquely well-realized literary journal to which he has lent his name, with issues loosely devoted to themes like family, home, power, and animals. The 10th and final issue is fittingly devoted to conclusions, and features writing from an all-star cast, including Sandra Cisneros, Dave Eggers, Omar El Akkad, Louise Erdrich, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Denis Johnson, Mieko Kawakami, Rebecca Makkai, Colum McCann, Tommy Orange, and many others, with a fine mix of emerging and established writers. At first glance, that “conclusions” theme seems like a less-than-clever dodge: Every story has a conclusion, and any that doesn’t can be said to resist the constraints of traditional narrative—so any story fits the theme. In the end, though—pardon the pun—the quality of the writing included is such that there’s no need to quibble over Freeman’s criteria one way or the other. In one of three poems by renowned Song Dynasty writer Li Qingzhao, gorgeously translated by Wendy Chen, Li describes “Late spring. Why still / such bitter homesickness? / Ill, I comb my hair, / my regret long as each strand.” In a short essay, Aleksandar Hemon describes how, at the end of a visit, his father would sit down and demand, “Conclusions!” This was a habit that at first annoyed Hemon, but then, “as per the usual process, it became
an amusing story I would tell, which then naturally led to my doing the same thing, except ironically”—and then not so ironically. In “The Endlings,” Tania James describes a pair of Neanderthal sisters, “the product of a bizarre and illegal in-vitro experiment,” who escape from their enclosure, and the young mother, on vacation with her husband’s family, who becomes interested in their story. Every piece in this collection stands on its own and is as expertly faceted as a gem.
Filled with expertly crafted stories, essays, and poems, this volume is a triumph.
Griffith, Nicola
MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
(736 pp.)
$35.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780374208080
Griffith picks up Hild’s story where her eponymous 2013 novel left off.
When last we saw Hild, she had just been made the Lady of Elmet. She and her new husband (and half brother), Cian Boldcloak, are responsible for holding southern Northumbre for her uncle Edwin, the king. The 7th century was a tumultuous time in Britain. Regional rulers like Edwin clashed as they sought to control the whole island and Christian priests vied with old gods. Hild survived a perilous childhood by making a reputation as a seer and, later, by becoming a fierce warrior. What she wants isn’t power; it’s a safe home for those she loves and those in her care. She knows that war is coming, and leading her people through it will require foresight, cunning, and terrible sacrifice. As she did in Hild, Griffith offers a richly textured vision of life in early-medieval Britain. She takes incredible care in the language she uses, avoiding modern metaphors and generally choosing words of Germanic or Celtic origin over Latinate words. She also dots her text with terms straight from Old English, which has the wonderfully paradoxical effect of pulling the reader into Hild’s universe while reminding us that this place is, for us, strange and ultimately irrecoverable. And there are moments of exquisite poetry throughout the text, particularly in descriptions of the natural world. Where this book falters is in its length, its pace, and a list of characters that will be unmanageable for most readers. For example, the first quarter of the book—almost 200 pages—describes the lead-up to a war between Edwin and rival kings. The political machinations are not easy to follow; nor are they, ultimately, very enlightening. Most of the conversations among Hild, Edwin, and other powerful players are about what they don’t know and, given that the text seldom strays from Hild’s point of view, the reader receives no insights that she doesn’t have. There’s also a tremendous amount of repetition. The word “seax”—a type of knife—occurs 92 times in this novel and, in most instances, Hild is grasping hers or adjusting hers or drawing attention to hers because she feels uneasy or wishes to assert her power. And every time she does it, she becomes more of a figure from pantomime than a real and singular woman.
Overlong and slow-paced, but compelling despite its flaws.
Gumbiner, Daniel
Astra House (304 pp.)
$27.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781662602429
A rural California family, struggling to make financial and emotional ends meet, faces the destructive threat of wildfires.
In the gold country of the California foothills, a place of picturesque natural beauty, residents know full well that conditions are always primed for a forest fire, that, in the words of Wallace Stegner—used here as an epigraph—the beautiful land ultimately “imposes itself” on them, and “sets the rules for [their] existence.” Briefly imprisoned a decade ago for growing medical marijuana, 65-year-old grape farmer Ben Hecht has been keeping a low profile, a little tired but grateful to have returned to his challenging yet rewarding farm life and to Ada, his novelist
wife. Like early-evening sunlight streaming down the mountains, their world lately has been looking good, even promising. Their son, Yoel, has been painfully estranged from Ben, but now, back home after working in Los Angeles, seems surprisingly interested in reconciliation. Family and new friends surround them, proffering glasses of good wine or an occasional joint, just as they are surrounded by a happy menagerie of dogs, chickens, geese, and emus. There has even emerged the distinct possibility of Ben starting a wine-making business. Then, one day, a distant black plume of smoke changes everything. The wildfire that eventually tears through the area hurts the Hechts financially, but it is the obliteration of Ada’s work in progress that tips the family into a tailspin—this, and Yoel’s sudden involvement with an environmental group preparing to move from complaint to physical action, and Ben’s now-constant, justified worry of another, greater fire that would plunge them into poverty. Gumbiner examines the minutiae of the Hecht family’s life, their viniculture, their industry, their mellow California woods culture, sometimes to the detriment of narrative action, but his characters glow tenderly on the page. They are a good group
“An
Like one of the writer characters in her twisty new thriller, Jesse Q. Sutanto has had a prolific and genrecrossing start to her career since her debut novel, Dial A for Aunties, was published in 2021. Sutanto sets her seventh release, I’m Not Done With You Yet (Berkley, Aug. 22), in a world she knows well—the publishing industry—to craft a page-turner about two writers. When Jane Morgan sees her former Oxford classmate and best friend, Thalia Ashcraft, hit the bestseller list with her new novel, she will do anything to reconnect. The book follows a trail of Jane and Thalia’s secrets, alternating between their inseparable bond at the MFA program and their present day as working writers. After publishing cozy
mysteries and young adult romance, this thriller may feel like a departure for Sutanto, but it still has the voice and humor that have made her prior work a success.
In a conversation over Zoom from her home in Jakarta, Sutanto spoke to us about writing about writers, where she draws her inspiration, and the rise of womendriven thrillers. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
This book is a little bit of a darker turn as your first true adult thriller. What inspired you to lean into suspense for this project?
Suspense, thrillers have always been my bread and butter. It’s my favorite genre to read, especially adult suspense. So I always wanted to write one, but for some reason, I just never dared to. And it wasn’t until my really good friend, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, who wrote The Girls Are All So Nice Here, encouraged me to write one that I was like, OK, I’ll give it a go. She was cheerleading for me the entire time. That’s why the book is dedicated to her, because it just wouldn’t have happened without her.
The book’s central friendship, between Jane and Thalia, is marked by Jane’s obsession with Thalia. Maybe it’s purely platonic, maybe it’s erotic, maybe it’s something else, but it keeps coming back to this idea that Thalia is Jane’s muse. Do you have a muse?
I would say no, I don’t have a muse the way that Jane does. I mostly get my ideas from devouring all sorts of content, like TV shows or reading books, and then either thinking, Oh my God, this was so fun. I wish I could do something with the same vibes, or thinking, This wasn’t well executed. I want to explore it in a way that this didn’t do. I definitely don’t have an individual who is a muse. If you did, then just imagine how much pressure that
her first adult thriller, the Jakarta-based writer turned to a world she knew well: the publishing industryJesse Q. Sutanto
brings to that relationship where you’re like, I can’t ever lose this friendship
While this book was darker, it was still very funny, and it felt like it was really fun to write. What was one of the most fun parts of writing this book?
I came up with the twist before I came up with anything else. So the whole time that I was outlining it, and then I was writing it, I had that twist in mind. When I finally got to that reveal, I thought, finally, and I was writing that chapter with this intense look of excitement the whole time.
Since you’ve now written multiple books about murder, I’m sure that your search history is very interesting when you’re researching and writing. Do you have any funny highlights from your search history for the writing and research of this book?
I was obviously looking for ways to kill someone that you could potentially get away with. So I was looking up all these different poisons, like ricin. I feel like suspense writers must be on a watchlist where the FBI is following them until they’re like, Oh, it’s just some nerdy writer. Forget it, it’s fine. I was looking at what they actually look for when they do an autopsy. Interestingly, I found out that usually autopsies are not as cool and thorough as they make it seem on CSI. They actually have quite a limited number of things that they test for, because they have limited resources. So unless they find traces of a very specific poison, they wouldn’t necessarily test for it. They can’t test for everything. And so I was like, Oh, my God, it’s actually a lot easier to get away with poisoning than CSI makes it look.
Some of the fun elements of the book are these big set pieces set in the world of professional writing, like conferences and writers’ retreats. Why did you decide to write about writers, and what did you hope to show about the publishing world?
The truth is that I am lazy. I like to have professions that I’m already familiar with. For example, I used to work as a wedding photographer, and that’s why in Dial A for Aunties my main character is a wedding photographer. When I was writing this book, I thought, I know a lot about writers. The thing about publishing is that it’s so quietly competitive. If you’re not in publishing, you probably wouldn’t be aware of the pettiness or competition that goes on behind the scenes. I realized it could be really fun using things like writing retreats; there are a lot of hierarchies and cliques. Especially as someone
who isn’t based in the United States, I always have such FOMO, because I see writers going on retreats or going to cons and book festivals, and I’m always wondering, When can I go? So that emotion of feeling left out is already there, and it was easy for me to tap into that, as someone who feels like an outsider.
The women in this book, and your other books, hold a lot of the power. How do you like to present these women characters in these stories about murder and suspense?
Up until around 10 years ago, I hated reading suspense thrillers, because it was so male dominated. The question wasn’t even, did someone get raped, brutally and graphically, and then killed? The question was, who was raped and who did the rape? I just got so sick of it. Women were getting “fridged” left and right. Then Gillian Flynn came along with Gone Girl, and she created a whole subgenre of psychological suspense. All of a sudden, I was like, I can read this genre now. When I started writing suspense, I guess I had an agenda to even the score. I wanted it to be that the female characters are using the male characters the way that female characters have been used in suspense thrillers, as victims to further the plot or as pieces that they just move freely around the board without much care for motivations or character development.
of people to root for, at the shifting mercy of the winds that blow past their heads, trapped inside an ecosystem heating up steadily, past the point of hopeful disregard. Gumbiner crafts an important story, the fictional equivalent of outdoor warning sirens screaming above smoldering pine trees.
An engaging, Steinbeckian look at climate change and its emotional costs.
Gunaratne, Guy Pantheon (384 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780593701423
Poetry and terrorism color this tense coming-of-age story.
Yahya Bas, the son of a British woman and an Iraqi man, is raised as a Muslim in London by an uncle and several women
who share a kind of refugee home. His father disappeared after returning to the Middle East in 1991. His mother is mentally disturbed and constantly sews until one day, Penelope–like, she begins undoing stitches. His uncle teaches Yahya about poetry, which he begins writing as a teen under the influence of the Iraq War and images from Abu Ghraib. He becomes a popular propagandist at pro-Muslim rallies. When the novel opens, Yahya is in prison, responding to interrogation from the titular “Mister” by writing his life story. The sense that the detainee faces some grim reckoning—although Gunaratne suggests otherwise by making him the first-person narrator—sustains the main thread of suspense. Allusions to the Beatles recall the Islamic State foursome given that nickname. Yahya travels overseas along a route taken by would-be jihadists. As in their first novel, In Our Mad and Furious City (2018), the author draws on actual news reports; here, in particular, stories of British jihadists who seek to come home. But the book—which recalls aspects and certainly the title of Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist—goes beyond political disenchantment, exploring questions of religious and racial alienation, the power of art and oratory, the consolations of community. Gunaratne creates in their narrator, Yahya, a perceptive, sensitive character with an energetic and affecting voice. Most important, the author avoids cant or easy answers, underlining the inescapable ambivalence of such lives by closing with an ironic nod to David Copperfield, “Whether I turn out to be the hero of my own life, or the villain of yours, these pages will show.”
A penetrating view of the legacies of extremism.
Jackson, Greg
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (480 pp.)
$30.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780374298494
Amid the convergence of dream, memory, and virtual reality, an investigative reporter suspects he’s being played.
If this debut novel had a soundtrack, its theme song could be Bob Dylan’s “Ballad of a Thin Man,” and this would be the key line: “You know something’s happening but you don’t know what it is / Do you, Mr. Jones?” A veteran journalist, Quentin Jones definitely knows something is happening—something involving emergent technology, the erosion of privacy, and the amoral exercise of power by both government and private enterprise. A piece involving some of this had been spiked by his newspaper, even though it was well sourced, because of pressures from above. Whether causal or coincidental, his romantic relationship had crumbled as well, while he was on leave from the paper. Undaunted, he plunged deeper into his investigation that nobody wanted him to report, and he discovered that he had barely scratched the surface. He unearthed a corruptive and corrosive hellhole, with a heart of darkness that is way darker than anything Conrad could conjure. Is humanity really this relentlessly inhuman? Or is this some sort of elaborate
a dictator calls
video game? The book’s framework is a further source of mystification, as Jones isn’t narrating his story directly but rather telling it to a group of reunited journalists, friends from j-school, and this group must be wondering if their friend has lost his mind—not to mention wondering how he manages to recall page after page of dialogue that is often more like soliloquy. The backstory becomes foregrounded, focusing on a former protégé of Jones’, an embedded journalist gone rogue, now feared dead. Somewhere in this vortex where past meets present, perhaps some answers lie.
There is a shuddering power to this relentlessly grim narration.
Kadare, Ismail
Trans. by John Hodgson
Counterpoint (240 pp.)
$16.95 paper | Sept. 19, 2023
9781640096080
A poet’s collision with a tyrant, from 13 points of view.
Kadare, Albania’s preeminent poet and novelist, often makes the short list of candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and this slim, melancholy tale is in part about the perils of international acclaim in the shadow of repressive regimes. The core of the story concerns a 1934 phone call Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin made to Boris Pasternak, who had lifelong battles with Soviet leadership. (His most famous work, the 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago, was published in the West against the state’s wishes, propelling him to the Nobel.) Stalin called to ask about the dissident poet Osip Mandelstam, who’d been arrested for
young adultwriting a poem criticizing Stalin. But what exactly was Stalin asking? How did Pasternak respond? And what was Mandelstam critiquing, exactly? The narrator—a Kadare manqué who’s had his own troubles with state censorship—considers the question by exploring the multiple variations of the story of the call. Pasternak’s wife recalls her husband as poised on the phone, requesting Mandelstam’s release; his lover suggests he was more fearful and equivocating. Other versions characterize Pasternak as alternately more timid or defiant, Stalin as more opaque or threatening. “Anybody who takes the plunge in search of the truth, who thinks at first that thirteen versions are too many, may by the end of the case think that these are insufficient!” the narrator writes. But 13 are enough to convey the sense that a writer under totalitarianism has reasons to cloak emotions and massage details, and the variety of stories speaks to how widely Stalin’s intimidation spread. Kadare’s novel is an appealingly plainspoken lament, and Hodgson’s translation captures a somber mood. The run-through of variations leaves the story without an arc, but delivers a strong case against dictatorial meddling in art.
An interior, prismatic tale of writerly defiance.
Key, Justin C.
Harper/HarperCollins (288 pp.)
$28.00 | Sept. 19, 2023
9780063290426
Short stories using the tropes of horror and science fiction with intelligence, compassion, and wry abandon to analyze and analogize racial misunderstanding.
One of many distinctive new Black American voices in the fantasy genre, Key shows throughout these eight stories the range and ingenuity of such grandmasters as Ray Bradbury, Robert Sheckley, and Theodore Sturgeon, with whom he also shares acute empathy for human vulnerability—even when, as in the poignant title story, an extraterrestrial race is involved. That story examines the life of Jordan, a “Keplan” who, along with his human father, is compelled to engage with earthbound bigotry and injustice in their grandest and pettiest manifestations. In “Spider King,” an inmate is released from custody after receiving an injection that transforms his body into a breeding nest for spiders. It may sound like high-concept gore, but as in other Key stories, “Spider King” is elevated above such fare by its up-to-the-minute social detail about the struggles of ex-convicts to avoid both recidivism and stigmatization. As in the best SF, the topical and the universal blend seamlessly here. “Wellness Check,” for instance, convincingly presents an alternate version of our world whose social norms have been battered and restructured by a series of pandemics. (Never leave home without your Viral Detection Reality glasses!) Another “what-if” tale, “Afiya’s Song,” imagines a different pre-Civil War South where a young girl’s resistance to her master lights the fuse for what becomes a widespread, successful slave insurgence. About 200 years later, in “Customer Service,” an unhappy client of something called Two Places at Once finds his A.I. doppelgänger going way too far in his prescribed duties as a substitute. Perhaps the most haunting and heartbreaking is “The Perfection of Theresa Watkins,” in which a grieving husband downloads the consciousness of his dead Black wife into the body of a white woman with distressing psychic baggage of her own. Key resolutely carries on the tradition of the modern SF writers who always found new and rueful ways of reminding readers that no matter how much technology changes, humanity, in its loneliness, folly, and constricted vision, somehow never does.
Key acknowledges all kinds of terrifying possibilities for dreaming the future—and inhabiting the present.
Lagioia, Nicola
Trans. by Ann Goldstein
Europa Editions (432 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781609458317
In Cold Blood meets Less Than Zero, Roman style, in a fact-based novel about a notorious 2016 murder.
Though the victim, 23-year-old mechanic Luca Varani, was bludgeoned with a hammer and stabbed with knives over two hours by his assailants, the barbarism of the attack was less noteworthy than the absence of any apparent reason for it. Manuel Foffo, 29, a successful event organizer, and Marco Prato, 29, a failed university student and son of a restaurateur, were hardly killer types. However nasty their intentions were with Luca, who supplemented his income as a gay prostitute, they didn’t plan on subjecting him to more than a “fake rape.” But after ingesting
massive amounts of cocaine and alcohol, which they shared with the victim, they gave in to their darkest impulses, killing him just to see what it was like. Lagioia deeply researched the story, using testimony from the largely unreliable main characters as well as friends and family of all three men. He sees the killers and their victim as products of difficult childhoods as well as the rot and despair of a rat-infested Rome, in which “you breathed a tense, angry air that could inspire imprudent behavior.” Most of the novel acts as a prelude to descriptions of the gory murder scene, which is recounted late in the book. Rather than provide a Rashōmon-like complexity to the narrative, all the contrasting views of Manuel, Marco, and Luca tend to bog things down. The author of the Strega Prize–winning novel Ferocity (2017) and host of a podcast based on the Varani murder, Lagioia makes brief appearances as himself in the role of interviewer. He’s more effective in that role than in dispensing grand bits of philosophy: “No human being measures up to the tragedies that befall him.”
An absorbing, if sometimes excessive, study of the banality of evil.
Lourey, Jess Thomas & Mercer (332 pp.)
$16.99 paper | Sept. 19, 2023
9781662507618
A police officer fights for her job and her life in this creepy psychological thriller.
Agent Evangeline “Van” Reed grew up physically and mentally abused in a cult known as The Farm. Perhaps that’s why she has premonitions that her former partner on the Minneapolis Police Department took seriously. After his death, she was forced out and now works cold cases for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, where she’s mentoring Kyle Kaminski, whose early morning call about an odd homicide with a connection to a cold case plunges her into a nightmare. An unhoused person found and tried to rescue a woman buried alive but was too late. Since the lead detective on the case, Dave Comstock, was instrumental in forcing Van out of the MPD, she knows she’s in for trouble. Guided by the findings of legendary crime scene processor Harry Steinbeck, the team thinks the victim is one of the Taken Ones—three girls who walked into the woods 15 miles northwest of Minneapolis in 1980, while only one, Rue Larsen, came out, too traumatized to remember anything. Near the body is a necklace that looks like one that belonged to Rue— half of a heart, whose other half was worn by one of her missing friends. All the while, Van’s recurrent visions of children being tortured revive the bad memories of her own childhood. The original case of the missing girls was horrifying, and digging into the files disturbs Van’s peace of mind, a state she attains only while volunteering at the animal shelter. Comstock, who’s still her enemy, does what he can to make her look bad, but he’s covering up some big mistakes of his own. Van’s insights and some
new forensic evidence may crack the case, but not before her life is almost destroyed.
Twists and turns you don’t see coming make for a real page-turner.
Mavor, Elizabeth
McNally Editions (224 pp.)
$18.00 paper | Sept. 19, 2023
9781946022684
One year, three affairs, and a woman transformed.
In a reissue of the late Mavor’s 1973 Booker Prize–shortlisted novel, heroine Hero Kinoull is already in the throes of an affair—the first of three she will have over the course of a year. “Through books, beautiful but so dangerous books,” antiquarian and bookbinder
Hero meets and begins falling for Hugh Shafto, the appointed guardian of the Rococo collection at Beaudesert Park. Married to Belle, an earnest optimist, Hugh finds himself bored by her opinions and beliefs—while also comforted and romanced by her tolerance and compassion. When the two women finally meet, Belle is still unaware of her husband’s affair and welcomes Hero into her inner circle. Quickly Hero is roped into one of Belle’s hopeful missions, which includes saving a historic fixture at Beaudesert. As the two women become closer, Hero struggles with the “spoiling maggot of truth” beneath their seeming friendship. After a traumatic accident, Belle and Hero are sent to recover at the home of Hugh’s mother and Belle’s mother-in-law, Kate Shafto. Hugh has always had a complicated relationship with his mother, whose enormous life and dogged pursuit of experience has left him feeling inferior. Their relationship is further strained when his mistress and wife strike up a short-lived affair of their own under his mother’s roof. After Hero recovers, she does not leave Kate Shafto’s “small kingdom”; instead, she forges a relationship with her that transcends categorization. Mavor writes beautifully about time and
“One
a green equinox
explores how each affair gives Hero the opportunity to orient her relationship to it: With Hugh, she revels in the past; with Belle, she looks hopefully toward the future; and with Kate Shafto, she finally lives unapologetically in the present. Though Mavor’s lush and ornate prose and dialogue meanders at times, she effectively captures the timelessness of love, grief, sexuality, illness, and desire.
A transgressive novel about love, art, and gender is given new life.
McMahon, Jennifer
Scout Press/Simon & Schuster (320 pp.)
$28.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781668019061
Alison barely survived a traumatic childhood with her wildly unpredictable, alcoholic mother, Mavis. So it is with no small amount of trepidation that she agrees to bring her mother home to die of cancer.
Mavis’ longtime assistant, Paul, seems agitated when they arrive at Alison’s Vermont farmhouse, but once he leaves, the two women seem to settle into an uneasy truce, and Mavis is sweet and engaging with Alison’s two daughters, especially 6-year-old Olivia. Sixteen-year-old Izzy finds her “creepy,” but soon, she, too, is joining Mavis for tea and interviewing her for a film project. Haunted by childhood memories and disturbed by the rock her mother keeps by her at all times and seems to value above all else, Alison feels like she’s the only one suspicious about her mother’s motives in coming to Vermont, but she can’t deny that the rest of the family has been charmed. Olivia, however, begins to have nightmares, and Mavis taunts Alison with some of her childhood secrets that no one could know. Then Paul—who’s come to visit—runs out of the house after a brief exchange with his employer, telling Alison, “That’s not Mavis.” What follows is chilling, and terrifying, and heartbreakingly terrific horror writing. Alison must unravel her mother’s secrets and begins to realize that her mother’s abuse, perhaps, was in part driven by a desire to protect her. While there is a clear and logical explanation for all the mystery, it’s not one that any other person in Alison’s life can understand or accept, so she finds herself alone, losing the trust of her loved ones as she fights like hell to protect her daughters. While it’s common in horror for secondary characters to cling to a more “realistic” explanation, like mental illness due to trauma, in lieu of accepting evidence of the supernatural, it’s somewhat discouraging to see this trope here. Alison’s strength deserves a better, kick-ass outcome—even if the ending proves how inevitably evil may triumph. Just once: Listen and believe the woman!
Freakin’ terrifying.
McNeil, Joanne
MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux (288 pp.)
$18.00 paper | Nov. 14, 2023
9780374610661
A woman with a long history of temporary employment finds her latest gig as a driver of a new, supposedly driverless vehicle.
“This could be a good job,” Teresa thinks aboard the shuttle bus taking her and 50 fellow trainees
from Boston’s South Station to the gleaming suburban headquarters of AllOver, an “experience company” that claims to “shape the digital economy to fit neighborhood-centric needs.” She’s had plenty of jobs to compare it with; McNeil’s debut novel opens with Teresa swimming laps at a local Y while she recalls the many jobs she’s had and lost for one reason or another over several decades. At 48, living at home with her mother because she can’t afford her own place, all she hopes for is a decent paycheck. She is bemused but doesn’t really care that she will be hidden inside a “working prototype” that AllOver is promoting and putting on the road as an actual self-driving car. This seems like a possible setup for a thriller exposing a sinister corporation with some evil plan, but the insufferably woke AllOver never appears to be more than just another profit-centered business pretending to care about customers and employees. McNeil, author of a well-regarded critical history of the Internet (Lurking: How a Person Became a User, 2020), focuses here on America’s disorienting transition from an industrial to a service economy and its consequences for working people. Teresa is her case study, and the major flaw in this sharply observed,
extremely well-written novel is that we are more than halfway through it before readers learn why this obviously intelligent woman is so passive and has such minimal expectations. When we do, it supplements McNeil’s powerful portrait of an unequal economy with a biting example of class privilege as an instrument of upward employment mobility. Unfortunately, the novel has been permeated for so long with Teresa’s alienated, apathetic personality that it never develops narrative momentum, and a dramatic final event leads to a painfully ironic last line rather than closure.
Strong, stinging social observation that doesn’t entirely work as fiction.
the night house
Nesbø, Jo
Trans. by Neil Smith Knopf (256 pp.)$28.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780593537169
Dark horror by the renowned Norwegian crime novelist.
In the town of Ballantyne, Richard Elauved is a troubled 14-year-old outcast who bullies his classmates. He coerces Tom into a telephone booth (remember those?) and gets him to call Imu Jonasson, an apparently random person whose name he finds in the phone book. But the phone digs into the poor boy’s flesh and eats him up until all traces disappear. Richard goes to the police but cannot persuade them of the horrible truth—for one thing, they can’t find Jonasson’s name in the book—and they demand to know if Richard drowned Tom in the river. In the first third of the tale, all
the main characters are teens. Fifteen years pass, and Richard attends a class reunion. Now he is the author of The Night House, the story they’re in and “the teenage horror novel that had changed my life.” He says he came to the reunion to apologize for having bullied everyone, yet all his fellow alums insist he’d been an okay kid, not the nasty bully he’d portrayed in his famous book. So who’s right? Creepy stuff continues, including death by hanging, blood drooling down a car window, transmogrification into a cockroach—you know, standard horror fare. What adds a level of interest is Richard Hansen, who had invented the surname “Elauved” for a curious reason. Perhaps he has a mental illness, given that events belie perception. What is true, and what is the detritus of his fevered brain? Is this a dream within a dream? Some of the evil comes from a surprising source, who advises young Richard, “If you really want to kill them, you have to do it twice. If you don’t, they come back.” But an ill-fated fiend named Jack has the best line: “We’d actually prefer it if you tried to escape. It’s a well-known fact that adrenaline gives meat a bit of extra flavor.”
Scary fun that won’t cause nightmares—or will it?
Newman, Sandra Mariner Books (400 pp.)
$30.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780063265332
In a retelling of 1984, Winston Smith’s lover takes center stage.
As the author of two previous dystopian novels (The Heavens, 2019; The Men, 2022) and a humorous guide to classic literature (The Western Lit Survival Kit, 2012), Newman seems uniquely qualified to update Orwell’s anti-fascist cri du cœur. If you haven’t recently read 1984, it’s worth perusing a plot summary to appreciate her achievement, placing Julia Worthing at the center of the action and moving Smith to a supporting role. All the familiar lineaments are here—Airstrip One, Oceania, Big Brother, Newspeak, the Ministries of Truth and Love, the dreaded Room 101, the rats (oy, the rats), as well as every character, many of them revised in clever ways. Though Newman sticks with the worldbuilding Orwell planned in 1949, not adding post-’84 developments like smartphones, home assistants, or the internet (though these actually do seem to play the surveillance role that Orwell assigned to the telescreens), she embroiders the edges of the original WWII-flavored vision with myriad amusing flourishes (and if you remember anything about 1984, you remember that amusing is not one of the adjectives that comes to mind). For example, though Julia is still a mechanic, working on the machines of Fiction, her first job at the Ministry of Truth was producing porno novels for proles, e.g., Inner Party Sinners: ‘My Telescreen is Broken, Comrade!’ She meets “a very willing but ignorant girl with the preposterous name of Typity. It was one of the new ultraParty names; its letters stood for ‘Three-Year Plan In Two Years.’ ” Orwell described Julia as “a rebel from the waist down” and
“Scary fun that won’t cause nightmares or will it?”
Newman runs with that, making Winston Smith one of many lovers and recasting his noble anti-state obsessions through Julia’s much more pragmatic eyes. “Most folk muddled along, but Old Misery Smith couldn’t even say ‘ungood’ without looking as if it scalded his mouth.” Book clubs could have great fun reading the two together.
Adding a major plot twist, a nice shot of (somewhat cynical) hope, and more graphic sex should win over even purists.
Norris, Kelsey
Scribner (224 pp.)
$18.00 paper | Oct. 17, 2023
9781668016312
A debut collection of imaginative, dark, and haunting stories tied loosely to themes of community, violence, and belonging.
These 10 magnetic stories range from otherworldly to intimate, dealing with a trio of depressive radio hosts, a kooky relative hoarding miniature dolls, and a group of women forced to marry enemy soldiers. Many stories take clear inspiration from the real world, such as in “Decency Rule,” when a power-hungry politician uses vulgarity and clownish humor to improve the lives of “people who were exactly like him.” But these stories spin familiar premises toward the absurd and comic. In “Such Great Height and Consequence,” a town reckons with the
removal of a Confederate monument. Shenanigans ensue when the empty platform becomes a space for citizens to stand, sunbathe, practice violin, and spill secrets. Many of Norris’ stories find moments of stunning beauty in bleak and grizzly events. In “Certain Truths and Miracles,” a boy swallows mouthfuls of twinkling, poisonous plankton that will eventually kill him, but for a moment transform him into “a shimmering conduit of the sea’s bright light.” Often narrated by an omniscient “we” and usually featuring a cast of characters rather than an individual narrator, these stories build a lush sense of place through a chorus of voices. While Norris’ lyric prose often creates a thorough and detailed environment, several stories fizzle out, missing the propulsion of a narrative arc, character development, or plot movement. They occasionally struggle to build momentum beyond elegiac and clever descriptions.
Moments of striking prose, sudden humor, and sharp analysis of social groups shine in this uneven collection.
Salam, Anbara
Tin House (384 pp.)
$17.95 paper | Oct. 17, 2023
9781959030133
A middle-class Scottish couple dives into Spiritualism surrounded by the bohemian Bright Young Things.
After the national trauma of the Great War, and the even greater personal trauma of the death of her beloved older sister, Dolores, Evelyn Hazard dreams of being nothing more than a normal middle-class housewife. But her husband, Robert, who still feels guilty that his weak heart exempted him from fighting, has other ideas. He’s been contacted by the spirit world and is determined to refine his “gift” at Edinburgh’s local Spiritualist Library and Psychical Research Centre. Despite Evelyn’s objections, soon Robert isn’t merely a patron of the library but a medium himself, conducting séances to speak to the dead. Before long, Robert and Evelyn are touring the country alongside a psychic child prodigy and socializing with aristocrats and military heroes—a life that seems even better than being normal, as long as Evelyn doesn’t think too hard about whether or not Robert really is “gifted.” As juicy as the concept and setting of this novel may be, Salam’s failure to persuasively depict this historical moment is a problem. Spiritualism was hugely popular in Great Britain in the 1920s, for instance, which makes Evelyn’s abject horror at the thought of Robert expressing interest in the practice ring false. Salam’s vision of gender and marriage at this time is equally muddled. Evelyn imagines divorcing Robert after his foray into spiritualism, wondering, “Was this the sort of thing one divorced over?” In reality, divorces were rare, and only granted in cases of adultery and abandonment. These lapses might make more sense if the characters were more idiosyncratically drawn; instead, they lack depth and are burdened with confusing backstories that are never fully explained.
A historical novel that skimps on history.
Sanders, Shannon
Graywolf (208 pp.)
$27.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781644452516
In 13 stories centered on several generations of the Collinses and their friends and acquaintances, Sanders examines the complex dynamics of a large Black family.
Launching the collection is “The Good, Good Men,” which describes the efforts of Theo and Miles MacHale to protect their mother, Lee Collins, from what they perceive to be yet another in a series of freeloading men (a duty first imposed on them in childhood by their soon-to-be absent father). In “Rule Number One,” Bellamy Lamb recounts the life lessons imparted to her over
the years by her dying mother, Suzette Collins, lessons ignored or forgotten or disparaged by Bellamy’s younger sister, Aubrey. Janet, a disappointed and sidelined mother-in-law (and a dean at the university where Cassandra Collins is the provost), mulls over her long-term friendship with “Stephanie fucking Simmons,” a woman who, despite a history of petty differences, provides moral support and comfort in “The Gatekeepers.” The Collins brood is depicted at the beginning of the book in a handwritten family tree, complete with corrections, that serves as a directory to the characters, some of whose given names mature into nicknames as they age. The stories take place over several recent generations and are, primarily, set in the Washington, D.C., region (with some of the younger set venturing to Brooklyn). The passage of time allows Sanders to show slow growth (sometimes of resentment) and the repetition of behavior across generations. Subtly crafted and sometimes ending equivocally, the stories gradually reveal motivations and perspectives that aren’t obvious at first. The difficult aspects of negotiating family relationships are gently examined but, more interestingly, respected in their recounting.
The complicated circuitry behind family alliances and breakdowns is artfully revealed.
Shockey, Jim
Emily Bestler/Atria (400 pp.)
$27.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781668010358
A mysterious manuscript sends a young journalist on a collision course with an ancient and deadly secret society. Buried in Shockey’s thriller is a potentially interesting story about a preternaturally gifted child, a murderous secret society, a race for priceless art, and a young journalist on the verge of bringing a 250-year mystery to light. But getting past the roadblocks Shockey erects in order to find the good stuff is harder than it should be. The story begins when journalist Nyala finds a manuscript left at her door, written by a mysterious author who calls himself Tsau-z. He writes of a boy named Hunter who possesses a unique supernatural talent: He can immediately tell the value of antique objects. Animals defer to him: Dogs “seemed to nod” at him and “birds never flew away” from him. Nyala shares that gift: “Deer didn’t run from her. Neither did rabbits hop away as she walked by.” She’s fascinated and sets out to verify the story. But Shockey seems to have a muddled understanding of how journalism works, and Nyala herself smacks of wishful thinking, the result of the cultural and political agenda of the author rather than an actual person. She’s a beautiful but virginal 20-something with “exotic” looks and “coppery skin.” She disdains other journalists as fake news and thinks guys with man buns are “gender-confused.” She admires Hemingway, John Wayne, and the Guess Who, and loves to watch the hunting channel. This is convenient: The villain using Hunter for nefarious purposes is an animal rights
activist who dreams of banning hunting altogether. The plot grows increasingly convoluted, making it frustrating to follow, and Shockey’s inability to flesh out characters in any meaningful way robs the narrative of urgency. Add long search descriptions from Wikipedia and Google, and your interest in Tsau-z’s tale wanes long before his secrets are revealed.
Poor character development and a convoluted plot hurt what might have been an interesting story.
IV. Winter
Undset, Sigrid
Trans. by Tiina Nunnally
Univ. of Minnesota (352 pp.)
$17.95 paper | Oct. 24, 2023 9781517915414
Nobel Prize–winning Norwegian author Undset brings her tetralogy of medieval life to a resounding, memorable, and death-haunted close.
Though she is best known for her 1920 trilogy Kristin Lavransdatter, Undset’s most ambitious work may be her Olav Audunssøn series (1925–27), set in a time when Norway was transforming from a land of Viking war chiefs and blood vendettas to a Christian monarchy based on law. At the opening of this story, a young man named Aslak Gunnarssøn asks Olav, now a wealthy landowner in the fjord country west of Oslo, for sanctuary: Aslak has killed a man and is hiding from the law. The reluctant, morose Olav, still haunted by the long-ago death of his wife, Ingunn Steinfinnsdatter, grants Aslak’s wish, but when Aslak falls in love with his young daughter, Cecilia, Olav sends him away. Cecilia’s smile in Aslak’s presence, which “radiated such sweetness and secret joy that Olav couldn’t recall seeing a fairer sight,” soon fades away into gloom. Just so, Olav’s son, Eirik, whom he’s raised as his own although fathered with Ingunn by another man, loses his beloved to an ugly bout of scrofula and, though once a good candidate for the outlaw life, joins a monastery. Lacking heirs, aging and weakening, Olav marries Cecilia off to a loser named Jørund, which introduces still more misery into their daily lives. Cecilia gets her revenge, though, and so, in his own way, does the would-be saint Eirik. The overall glumness of Undset’s concluding volume is of a piece with the earlier books, and it would do a suite of Bergman films proud; the reader should be prepared to accommodate plenty of Nordic darkness punctuated by the occasional flash of a dagger. As always, Undset’s deep knowledge of Catholic doctrine and Scandinavian history informs her work, which, while cheerless and sometimes rather graphic (“Relief set in as soon as he stopped vomiting blood”), is both elegantly written and well translated.
A fine conclusion to an eminently readable classic of modernist historical fiction.
Wendig, Chuck Del Rey (640 pp.)
$26.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9780593158746
The myth of the poisoned apple belies the very real evil growing in a Pennsylvania orchard.
If Wendig’s latest is less paranoiainducing than his techno-themed thrillers, it’s just as squelchy, made more so by the primeval nature of the antagonist. In Harrow, Pennsylvania, Dan Paxson is trying to raise his daughter, Calla, with good intentions, but he’s also a man with a chip on his shoulder. Little Dan, as he’s known to the members of the Crossed Keys, a nasty little social club, is determined to rescue his dead father’s legacy by resurrecting the family apple orchard and growing a singular, invasive species Calla dubs the Ruby Slipper. While Dan is already counting his future fortunes, we get to know Calla, 17-year-old burgeoning internet influencer, and her jock boyfriend, Marco, as well as plenty of other townsfolk. Among them are ultra-controlling lawyer Meg and her do-gooder wife, Emily, as well as Joanie and husband, Graham, whose S&M–themed Airbnb has rankled the locals. There are plenty of hints that something is amiss with Dan’s apple, but as he begins selling it at local farmers markets, it begins to change the people who eat it, making them stronger, more formidable, and meaner. Into this mix stumbles easily the oddest and most likable outlier, John Compass, a modern-day combination of trained soldier, newly minted Quaker, and Johnny Appleseed, who’s looking for a friend who went missing while searching for a long-rumored Dutch varietal. On the other end is Edward Naberius, a mysterious, white-cloaked “restorer of lost dignities,” who is clearly more than he seems as well. Wendig writes doorstoppers, but it’s safe to say there’s something for everyone here, from the creepy Eyes Wide Shut vibe (complete with sacrificial rituals) to the Stephen King–laced dichotomy between the world’s everyday cruelty and the truly grotesque carnage that follows.
Both complex and compelling, a nightmare-inducing parable about our own wickedness.
Woods, Stuart & Brett Battles
Putnam (320 pp.)
$29.00 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780593188484
Teddy Fay steps up to deal with felonious complications on the set of Centurion Studios’ aptly named new project, Storm’s Eye. Tech billionaire Carl Novak is only just starting his own production company, so he has no reason to know that Billy Barnett, the
producer of Storm’s Eye, is actually Teddy, a former CIA agent who also moonlights as Oscar-winning actor Mark Weldon. But it’s a lucky thing for him that Teddy’s on hand when Carl’s wife, Rebecca, is kidnapped by Croatian gang leader Zoran Janic, since Teddy’s even more at home hunting down vermin like Janic than he is in the Hollywood scene. Janic claims he’s holding Rebecca for a hefty ransom, but Carl thinks he’s really out for bloody revenge, since he’s convinced that Carl was responsible for his brother’s death. That means both high stakes and a short timeline. As if the abduction weren’t drama enough, Matthew Wagner, a fan who’s been stalking Oscar-winning actor Tessa Tweed Bacchetti, finally succeeds in insinuating himself onto the set, where he plots to make Tessa his own by eliminating her husband, Centurion head Ben Bacchetti. Because he’s Teddy Fay, Teddy picks up the bad vibe from Matthew almost as quickly as he realizes that the kidnapping depends on a contact in Carl’s inner circle. Calculating that he can’t afford to put off dealing with either bad guy because of the imminent (though unrelated) dangers they pose, he resolves to take care of them both on the same night, and does so in a neat one-two punch that leaves one of them sitting in a car outside the other one’s lair before the closer.
Battles effortlessly apes the late Woods’ fleet pace and trademark lack of depth.
Barron, Stephanie Soho Crime (312 pp.)
$27.95 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781641295055
Though it’s set in an insular English boarding school, the fictional Jane Austen’s 15th and final case strikes uncomfortably close to home.
At first the death of Arthur Prendergast, a bullying prefect at Winchester College, is a cause for rejoicing for William Heathcote, the nephew of Jane’s dear friend Alethea Bigg, whose stutter made him a natural target for Prenders’ daily torments. But several rapid developments dramatically reverse William’s feelings. The overbearing prefect didn’t throw himself into the culvert in which he apparently drowned but was bashed on the head beforehand. The note inviting Prenders to a meeting there was written by William himself. And after Peter Insley, the prefect’s chief disciple, testifies to a coroner’s jury that William had been involved in an unseemly relationship with a local woman, William, who’s also suspected of starting a suspicious fire at the college, is indicted for Prendergast’s murder and carried off to jail. The fatal bout of
“The myth of the poisoned apple belies the very real evil growing in a Pennsylvania orchard.”
black river orchard
apoplexy of Baronet Frederick Beaumont, the prefect’s father, signals further troubles that persist beyond William’s arrest. Luckily, Jane, alerted by her nephew Edward, a Winchester alumnus who’s remained interested in the college, is on the case. Despite the gnawing illness that will soon end her life at 41, she descends sedately but incisively on the college, raising questions no one else dares to raise with the headmaster, Dr. Gabell, and his elderly and resentful second-in-command, Ruthven Clarke, and eventually uncovering a secret birthright that provides a motive for a suspect whom many readers will have been watching alertly from the beginning.
An appropriately decorous, if not terribly mystifying, valediction for a surprisingly resourceful sleuth.
Beaton, M.C. with R.W. Green
Minotaur (256 pp.)
$27.00 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781250898647
More murder and mayhem greet Agatha Raisin in the Cotswolds. Between eavesdropping on family arguments, trying her hand at archery, and watching police detective John Glass, her current boyfriend, fill in as a Morris dancer, Agatha finds the Carsely Village Fete vastly amusing. Her former lover Sir Charles Fraith is on hand, accompanied by Sir Godfrey Pride, whose land is the setting for the fete. Pride, who’s rude and crude, claims an interest in Agatha’s skills as a detective, and they plan on a future meeting. Agatha is pleased that her first attempt at archery goes well, but when a lost puppy leads her to discover Pride dying from an arrow wound, she immediately becomes a suspect to bumbling DCI Wilkes, who can’t stand her. Meanwhile, Agatha’s old friend Roy Silver has become entangled in a business deal with Pride and gangster Freddy Evans. Evans threatens him with bodily harm when he learns that the deal may have died with Pride. Although Wilkes hates Agatha, the rest of her connections with the police are much more accommodating, and with the help of them and the excellent staff at her detective agency, Agatha sets out to solve the crime. There are plenty of suspects who might have killed Pride, a womanizer who was fighting with his children over his country estate. Agatha just needs to find the correct motive and evade aggravation and worse from Wilkes and Evans.
A twisty tale packed with Cotswold trivia and the feisty detective’s ongoing romantic problems.
Benedict, Alexandra
Poisoned Pen (272 pp.)
$7.99 paper | Oct. 3, 2023
9781728284415
A surprisingly deeply felt adjunct to Benedict’s aggressively brainy The Christmas Murder Game (2022).
DI Rosalind Parker, who’s parted ways with Lewisham’s Criminal Investigation Division after 25 years, is on her way to Fort William, Scotland, to be with her very pregnant daughter, who’s gone into labor during Christmas week. But the train, inspired, like so many other details here, by Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, is delayed by bad weather and then suffers a partial derailment that brings it to an abrupt stop in the middle of nowhere. As Heather Parker’s fiancee, Ellie, relays the increasingly dire details of her delivery, Roz is flooded with unwelcome memories of her own experience giving birth to Heather only a few months after being raped while pregnant with her. Luckily, there are plenty of distractions aboard the train, where singer/ influencer/exhaustingly oversized personality Meg Forth has been found dead, and her companion, a serial abuser who’s the most likely suspect in her murder, Britain’s Best Boyfriend star Grant McVey, soon follows. The surviving characters—including a family of six, a quartet of undergraduates vying for a spot on the quiz show Geek Street, an IT resource person at King’s College London, and a Crown Prosecutor who has an unexpectedly close tie to Roz—are sadly less interesting. But that doesn’t stop Benedict from raining down red herrings, plot complications, and false solutions, spiced up by a series of meta-games involving anagrams, Kate Bush songs, three rounds of a Christmas quiz, and the obligatory recipe. What stands out most, though, is how poignant the central situation is, once you finally wrap your head around it.
Who says puzzles can’t be heartfelt? Merry Christmas!
Bonner, Hilary
Severn House (256 pp.)
$31.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781448309351
A clever killer ruins a bucolic English book festival.
DCI David Vogel is called away from a pleasant Sunday lunch with his wife, Mary, and daughter, Rosamund, to investigate a possible murder at the nearby Appledore Book Festival. Having succinctly set the table for the mystery to come, Bonner rolls the clock back three days to introduce the large cast and give armchair detectives a head start. At the center is renowned romance author Delia Day, the star attraction, who regrets her decision to
“A
the deadliest legacy
attend a festival in drab North Devon. She dreads the scheduled “In Conversation” session with her recent collaborator, unpleasant screenwriter James Harding, and plenty of the other characters circling Delia at the festival would make good murder suspects, too. There’s something familiar about imperious, elderly Amelia Bowden, who greets Delia with an insult. Amelia’s awkward great-nephew William seems a bit off. Delia’s driver, Michael, trapped in a loveless marriage, is engaged in unspecified secret activities. Delia’s twin superfans, Tina and Tilly Tucker, veer perilously close to stalking their idol. Birdlike festival director Carolyne Smedley is hard to read. Mayor Jeremy Roberts is imposing, though not as imposing as George and Felicity Smythe, who write crime novels together. An anonymous message threatening Delia in all caps puts her on guard. A second underscores the threat. So it’s quite a surprise when someone who isn’t Delia falls dead during an onstage interview with her. Enter Vogel, who methodically interrogates the suspects, progressively recreates the crime, and confidently identifies the killer. Bonner’s literary backdrop provides ample opportunity for some gentle teasing of the bookish.
A delightful whodunit told with brisk aplomb.
Brett, Simon
Severn House (192 pp.)
$31.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781448311286
An unfortunate discovery triggers another dunk in the pool of felons the late Lionel Pargeter ran with for his imperturbably ignorant widow.
The trouble with Melita Pargeter’s patio is that there’s a skeleton buried beneath it. It’s not the first time a body has been found on the construction site, but the 25 years since Mrs Pargeter’s Plot (1998) have lulled the homeowner into a deceptive sense of placidity. As so often before, Mrs. Pargeter reaches out to private investigator Truffler Mason, an ex-crook who worked closely with her husband, and he reaches out to a long list of variously shady types from builder Concrete Jacket, who’s now in prison once more, to makeup artist Tina the Transformer and plastic surgeon “Melting Maurice” Sinclair, for their help in identifying the corpse and explaining how it came to its final resting place. The news that villainous Chippie Lex frequently hired Marek Grabowski, the Polish builder who worked with Concrete on the project, to hide awkward bodies produces a strong air of suspicion, especially since Concrete refuses to add Mrs. Pargeter to his visitors list. Relief is promised by Mrs. Pargeter’s interest in the private life of her gardener, Kirstie Rollins, a former burglar whose father disappeared on her ninth birthday. But the two cases inevitably turn out to be connected, and the responsible parties behind them both are pretty obvious from early on. Even so, fans will appreciate Brett’s customary inventiveness in unveiling crimes and misdemeanors old and new and the wit of
the elaborate circumlocutions with which all interested parties disavow any criminal intent.
A one-joke story, but the joke is a rich one.
de Castrique, Mark Poisoned Pen (320 pp.)
$16.99 paper | Oct. 24, 2023
9781728258331
A Washington, D.C., crime web is unraveled by an elderly sleuth who looks like Marple but acts like Marlowe.
Law clerks Robert Finley and Brooke Chaplin head back to Robert’s apartment after a highly competitive one-onone basketball game and a congenial dinner at the Dubliner. Then an explosion on the stoop turns the friendly evening tragic. The perp is Ronald Drake, a scruffy thug who receives instructions by phone from an anonymous handler who texts him to get out of town. Robert, who worked for U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Clarissa Baxter, is killed, and Brooke, the niece of Arlington homicide detective Frank Mancini, lands in a coma. Fortunately, Brooke rents a room from the 70-something Ethel Fiona Crestwater, who quickly jumps on the case. Significantly, Brooke’s laptop has gone missing. After introducing a daunting number of characters with complicated backstories in the opening chapters, de Castrique takes mercy on his readers, and the numerous layers and “surprise” reveals in the sinuous plot take a backseat to the charisma of savvy senior sleuth Ethel, who shrewdly sorts them all out. Ethel is consistently underestimated by virtually everyone except Mancini, who knows her history as a former FBI agent, and Jesse Cooper, a victim in Ethel’s debut (Secret Lives, 2022) and now an eager, wide-eyed protégé and reader stand-in. The duo has a delightful chemistry. When the initials BLM cause Jesse to wonder how Black Lives Matter relates to the case, the astute Ethel points out that the initials also stand for the Bureau of Land Management.
An appealing hybrid of cozy mystery and P.I. caper.
Delany, Vicki
Crooked Lane (288 pp.)
$28.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781639104635
The denizens of the Lake Ontario town of Rudolph, New York, must cope with a murder that threatens the excellent living they make promoting Christmas all year round.
Now that it’s actually the Christmas season, the Rudolph Community Theater Players are hard at work getting ready to present a musical version of A Christmas Carol. Their last play
best be prepared
bombed, costing them money, but luckily newcomer Catherine Renshaw is underwriting the new production. Unfortunately, her demands for creative input put her at odds with director Desmond Kerslake and other cast members, whose amateur status doesn’t prevent them from having their own ideas. One performer is no amateur: famous retired opera singer Aline Steiner, whose daughter, Merry Wilkinson, owns the gift store Mrs. Claus’s Treasures and has a history as a sleuth. Merry’s skills are called into play when Paula Monahan, a troublesome member of the cast, is strangled in her store, and Merry’s shop assistant, Jackie O’Reilly, another enthusiastic thespian, is a suspect. It’s true that Jackie was Paula’s understudy, but a better part hardly seems a compelling motive for murder, especially when almost everyone in the cast and crew is angling for changes, and the nastiness is ratcheting up. With her diva mother deeply involved and the reputation of the town, where her dad is the year-round Santa, at stake, Merry ignores warnings and taps into the local gossip network in an attempt to pick out a killer from a bunch of wannabe stars.
A modest mystery with an amusing touch of theatrics and plenty of Christmas spirit.
Dugoni, Robert Thomas & Mercer (379 pp.)
$16.99 paper | Oct. 3, 2023
9781662500213
The only member of the Seattle PD’s Cold Case Unit gets assigned to an ancient case with an improbably tight timeline.
The Seattle Times is about to begin marking the 25th anniversary of a series of strangulations that mysteriously ended two years after it began without a single arrest. Determined to upstage the paper, police chief Marcella Weber orders Det. Tracy Crosswhite to reopen the case, partnering her with Capt. Johnny Nolasco, the superior officer whose empty-handed heading of the original investigation marks him as anything but superior. All the mysteries of the Route 99 Killer raised back in the 1990s persist. Why did he (presumably the perp was a male) shift from prostitutes to middle-class family women with his 10th through 13th victims? Why did he carve a set of angel’s wings onto the shoulder of every one of them? And why did the killings cease as suddenly as they’d started? Recognizing that Weber has staked her out as the sacrificial lamb if she doesn’t produce results and that Nolasco will be as careful to avoid sharing the blame if the pair strike out as he will be to hog the credit if they find something, Tracy begins poring over the old records and quickly realizes that retired task-force control detective Moss Gunderson is acting unusually defensive, presumably because the force failed to follow up some promising leads and misplaced evidence about crucial discoveries. The providential reemergence of an earlier suspect who’s just beaten a prostitute convinces Nolasco and Weber that they’ve found their man, but Tracy has a bad feeling
about this, and as usual, her bad feelings are right on the money. Dugoni brilliantly folds murders past and present into his heroine’s earlier cases and her troubled history.
Erickson, Alex
Kensington (320 pp.)
$8.99 paper | Sept. 26, 2023
9781496736697
The Christmas spirit is threatened by malice and murder.
Krissy Hancock’s bookstore café is serving up Christmas cheer, but not everyone is pleased. While she’s decorating a local church for a meeting of a writer’s group that meets there, she’s verbally attacked by Doris Appleton and a few other women, who think Christmas is being ruined by commercialism and that only they are entitled to use the church hall. Fortunately, Krissy’s father, James Hancock, a famous author and mystery maven, arrives with his girlfriend, Laura Dresden, just in time to lift Krissy’s spirits. Krissy’s boyfriend, Officer Paul Dalton, adds joy to the holiday even though a short-staffed police department is keeping him busy. When Krissy stops into a new gift shop looking for an artificial tree, she finds owner Andrew Carver harassing a young man dressed in black, telling him to leave. Stung by the owner’s off-putting manner and high prices, she departs—just before Carver is killed, as it turns out. Later, she’s alarmed to see that a mysterious box left at her pal Jules Phan’s candy store looks identical to another she’d spotted at Carver’s shop. Although the police want her to mind her own business, Krissy, her father, and friends can’t help but do some sleuthing on their own, and they manage to turn up a good deal of information they think could catch a killer.
A Christmas treat with realistic characters and plenty of suspects.
Florio, Gwen
Severn House (256 pp.)
$31.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780727850782
A middle school teacher’s end-ofterm project lands her smack in the middle of murder.
Nora Best is doing her darnedest to repair her life after a traumatic stint at a residential program for troubled girls. Teaching seventh grade at Peninsula Middle School in a coastal town between Seattle and Portland has its challenges, but it offers Nora a chance to get in touch with her creative side. Her frustrations include Principal Louann Everhart, who
“Florio continues to put a contemporary spin on the old-fashioned whodunit.”
sarcastically congratulates her after the school’s latest tsunami drill on shepherding almost half her class to safety. But the same drill gives Nora incentive to collaborate with colleague Sheila Connor on a joint class project sampling local citizens’ reactions to a tsunami tower that local developer Spencer Templeton is building. Although the tower is a loss leader for Templeton, whose real aim is to get approval to build a luxury hotel at the sandy end of the peninsula, it’s controversial enough to invite Nora’s band of budding Woodwards and Bernsteins to explore a wide range of public opinion. Unfortunately, it’s also controversial enough to land Nora in the middle of the investigation of the death of environmental activist Ward Austin, who opposed the project, and whose body is discovered near the shore during the drill. Florio gives a neat tutorial on how to probe a political issue from a variety of perspectives without necessarily taking sides. Although the solution to the puzzle is a little pat, watching Nora with her students is a dream.
Florio continues to put a contemporary spin on the oldfashioned whodunit.
Flower, Amanda Kensington (304 pp.)
$8.99 paper | Oct. 24, 2023
9781496737489
Amish and English worlds collide when the murder of a quilt competition judge places a possible witness in danger.
Millie Fisher and her closest friend, Lois Henry, are like chalk and cheese. But somehow the pairing of the Amish matchmaker and her purple-spikedhaired best friend works, maybe because the two share the same sense of justice in a sometimes troubled world. Though Millie is close to God and her Amish community, her penchant for solving mysteries means that she’s allowed certain modern affordances, like a phone line, that help keep her safe in her informal investigations. And investigations always seem to find Millie and Lois. The latest is the murder of Tara Barron, the difficult head judge of the local fair’s quilt competition, a competition in which Millie has entered a beautiful wedding-ring quilt. Millie knows that murder doesn’t discriminate among communities, so she and Lois use their separate connections to find a potential motive, while Lois tries not to get sidetracked by her own potential love matches. Being 68 makes Lois even more keenly aware of her desire for a partner, whereas Millie’s age and experience as a widow makes her nervous about finding a new man, even though Lois keeps pointing out that their longtime friend Uriah Schrock is interested in Millie as a match. As the investigation into Tara’s death intensifies, Millie meets Zach Troyer, a young Amish boy, and his beloved Pygmy goat, Scooter, whose presence at the fair may make them valuable witnesses to the crime—so long as Millie can keep them safe long enough for Zach to tell his story.
A melding of Amish culture with a traditional cozy, with a cute goat to boot.
Hannah, Sophie
Morrow/HarperCollins (384 pp.)
$30.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780062991638
Belgium’s enduring gift to the annals of detection travels to Norfolk to solve a murder case that grows more and more vexing.
Arnold Laurier, the math teacher who’s inherited Frellingsloe House, is dying. But before he goes, his wife, Vivienne, has two wishes she conveys to her best friend, Cynthia Catchpool: She’d like Poirot to visit Arnold, who’s long idolized him, for Christmas week 1931, and she’d like him to figure out who killed inoffensive Stanley Niven, a patient in St. Walstan’s Cottage Hospital, before Arnold takes up residence in the hospital room next door. Poirot agrees to make the trip, and his amanuensis, Scotland Yard Inspector Edward Catchpool, is so devoted to him that he tags along even though it means spending a week with his long-estranged mother, by far the most amusing character here. The timing of Niven’s fatal bashing identifies the principal suspects as Arnold’s closest relatives: his wife; his sons, Douglas and Jonathan; and their wives, Madeline and Janet. The main reason that Arnold doesn’t want Poirot to solve the mystery, however, is not that he’s unwilling to implicate his loved ones but that he wants the glory of solving it himself, even if the cost is his own life. Hannah paints such a suffocating picture of Christmas at Frellingsloe House that Poirot’s inquiries among the staff at St. Walstan’s come as a relief. When the inevitable second murder takes place on Poirot’s watch, he applies the principle of “now that it’s there” that Catchpool has proposed in a quite different context to unpack the well-nigh undetectable motive for both murders.
A fiendishly inventive serving of humble pie, or Christmas pudding, for puzzle-solvers who think they’re clever.
Jones, Valona
Crooked Lane (288 pp.)
$28.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781639105076
Energy-shifting twins have to hone in on a killer to avoid suspicion, all without the support of their aunt.
Fraternal twins Tabby and Sage Winslow are very close even though they can be very different. Sage is a bit of a hothead with a tendency to blow up at others; Tabby’s more of a caretaker, sharing her energy whenever Sage inevitably gets depleted and supporting Sage through their telepathic twinspeak connection. While the two aren’t always balanced, their complementary relationship works for them, and they’re good at splitting the tasks at their aptly named handmade candle
store, The Book and Candle Shop. Creative Tabby puts her positive energy into custom creations like her latest soul-warmer, Savannah Sunshine; Sage keeps the books, as she was taught by their Auntie O. Sage also works at Savannah’s All Good Things Nursery and Landscaping, where she may be the only one not put off by boss Loren Lee’s brusque manner with his staff. In fact, she’s worried because Loren’s health seems to be fading. She’s not wrong, and the twins soon learn that Loren has unexpectedly passed away. But they’re surprised to hear that Loren’s death wasn’t the result of illness but a deliberate murder. As Sage frets about the future of the gardening business, the police wonder whether the twins’ knowledge of herbal concoctions marks them as Loren’s poisoners. And that’s just the beginning of a story that has Auntie O and her partner, Frankie, going into hiding and leaving the twins and Tabby’s boyfriend, medical examiner Quig, to fend for themselves during a murder investigation.
All these doings may be too much in a cozy mystery more in touch with the dark side of magic than most.
Kelly, Sofie Berkley (304 pp.)
$27.00 | Oct. 17, 2023 9780593548707
A body discovered behind drywall leads an adopted woman in a small town to question where she’s really from.
Kathleen Paulson is a dependable friend. She’s somebody you can call to help with rodent duty, which is exactly what her friend Maggie does when a pipe bursts in the River Arts building, her artists’ co-op, leaving her with the unenviable tasks of ripping out drywall and finding God-knows-what in the walls. It’s not that Kathleen is some sort of rodent Dr. Doolittle; she just has the help of supernaturally talented cats Owen and Hercules to do some of the dirty work. As they would say, Merow. While tearing down the walls, Kathleen, Maggie, and Harry the maintenance man find something more shocking than a mouse or two: a human body shrouded in plastic and probably hidden in the wall a few decades ago. In bucolic Mayville Heights, Minnesota, it’s appalling enough to find a body, but Kathleen’s fiance, Det. Marcus Gordon, and the rest of the department think the body is that of a murder victim. When it’s identified as Lily Abbott, a heavily pregnant teen who everyone assumed had run away, Kathleen is saddened to imagine what may have happened. And she’s scandalized when Ella King approaches her with the suggestion that Lily had given birth before her death, and that she, Ella, is Lily’s daughter. Given her great track record of nosing into past Mayville mysteries and with Marcus as an inside connection to the police, Kathleen is determined to help Ella learn the truth about her origins. Heavy on the world of continuing characters, with a few cat moments thrown in as crowd pleasers.
Masters, Priscilla
Severn House (208 pp.)
$31.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781448311897
A serial liar’s just fate sets off a fresh round of accusations.
Poppy Kelloway has always enjoyed the spotlight, which she’s claimed repeatedly by accusing other people of imaginary crimes. One of them, gas fitter Harry Bloxham, was so distressed by her claims of sexual harassment that he hanged himself six months after he was fired from his job. His sister, Lisa Graham, blames Poppy but also blames Dr. Claire Roget, of the Greatbach Secure Psychiatric Unit, who’s seeing Poppy as an outpatient, for not calling her out. So Lisa sheds no tears when Poppy is butchered in her home in Newcastle-under-Lyme by someone who douses her knickers in caustic acid, presumably in a literal version of the accusation “Liar, liar, pants on fire.” Urged by DS Zed Willard to take action, Claire begins to ask questions about other people whose lives Poppy may have disrupted with her lies. There turn out to be many, from her ex-husband, Robbie Kelloway, to schizophrenic hospital porter Tre Marshall, who jumps to his death before Claire has a chance to find out exactly what he knows. Apart from an appointment card with Claire that Poppy seems to have torn up, the principal clue is the testimony of Poppy’s three children, Tommy, Neil, and Holly-Anne, and Claire is deeply discouraged to realize that they may well have inherited their mother’s talent for lying. The mystery builds to a climax that’s over so fast you may well turn the last page wondering if you really know whodunit.
Fills the bill expertly and efficiently.
McDermid, Val Atlantic Monthly $27.00 | Nov. 14, 2023
9780802161499
Edinburgh DCI Karen Pirie of the Historic Cases Unit takes on a fiendishly difficult assignment made even harder by the exigencies of the Covid-19 lockdown.
Now that Hamish Mackenzie, her coffee chain–owning boyfriend, is off in the Highlands, Karen’s settled into his home together with DS Daisy Mortimer, her lockdown flatmate. She’s allowed one hour of outdoor exercise a day, and she’s been warned to keep her distance from members of the public. So it’s lucky for her that mystery novelist Jake Stein, the leading suspect in the disappearance of Lara Hardie, an EU student who vanished a year ago, has died himself in the meantime. The weightiest piece of evidence against Jake, whose career had taken a sudden downturn after an ex-lover’s public accusations of sexual abuse had
case of the bleus
sent both his wife and publisher heading for the exits, is truly chilling: The Vanishing of Laurel Oliver, an unfinished manuscript he left behind that laid out in meticulous detail how fictional crime writer Jamie Cobain, an obvious stand-in for his author, lured the title character into an isolated location and strangled her so that he could frame his chess partner and professional rival Rob Thomas, a thinly disguised version of Ross McEwen, the rising mystery novelist and chess partner who’d taken up with Jake’s ex-wife, for the murder. The tricky setup sounds like Anthony Horowitz, but the subplot, which concerns Karen’s troubled efforts to shelter a Syrian refugee on the run from the assassins whose attack back home led to the deaths of his wife and son, is pure McDermid.
Ingenious, humane, and all too telling as a reminder of the costs of the pandemic even on its survivors.
Moss, Korina
Minotaur (304 pp.)
$8.99 paper | Sept. 26, 2023
9781250893895
A dead cheesemaker provides a motive for murder.
Willa Bauer’s dream came true when she opened Curds & Whey, her Frenchthemed cheese shop in the Sonoma Valley. Now her mentor, Max Dumas, who died in a car accident, is to be honored at the Northwest Cheese Invitational for his body of work, especially his famous Church Bleu, which won the best cheese award an unprecedented three times. In town for the event are Kendall Waterstone, Claire Ingram, and Pepper Sheffield, Willa’s former co-workers from Max’s store, along with newcomer Freddie Yang, who together plan on buying Max’s Church Cheese shop from his daughter, Maxine, who had a love/hate relationship with her father and has even less interest in cheese. The only problem is that Max never revealed the secret for making Church Bleu to any of them while he was alive, saying only that he’d leave it to his favorite cheesemonger. When Max’s will is read before the invitational, it doesn’t mention Willa, but he did give her his copy of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca when she set off on her own. Undeterred, the rest of the group and Hugo Potts, president of the board of the Northwest Cheese Society, continue to squabble over who Max would have given the secret recipe to. When Kendall dies from an allergic reaction, Willa’s friend Roman, who sold the honey-based mead that killed her, is blamed. Handsome Detective Heath is not best pleased when Willa blurts out that her death must be murder. Since Max loved puzzles, Willa isn’t surprised when a posthumous letter arrives from him with hints about using Rebecca to find the secrets of Church Bleu. Placed in an awkward and dangerous position, Willa turns detective.
Plenty of cheese lore enriches a mystery that’s puzzling in more ways than one.
Penrose, Andrea
Kensington (304 pp.)
$27.00 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781496739933
Regency aristocrats take an unusual interest in scientific inventions, social issues, and murder.
Charlotte, Countess of Wrexford, is known to a select few people as satirical cartoonist A.J. Quill, a thorn in the side of the powers that be. With her husband, Wrexford, their friend Christopher “Kit” Sheffield, and Kit’s fiancee and business partner, Lady Cordelia Mansfield, a mathematician, she’s solved many a mystery with a scientific bent. The Wrexfords’ clever wards, former street urchins Raven and Hawk, can easily help them by slipping back into their old roles if need be. A fire in a warehouse housing the research lab of brilliant engineer Henry Maudslay kicks off an investigation that will uncover dangerous secrets. Maudslay is one of many people striving to invent a steam engine powerful enough to propel a ship across the ocean by a method yet to be perfected. Then Wrex gets a letter from Neville Greeley, head librarian at Oxford’s Merton College Library and his late brother’s best friend, asking him to visit as soon as possible; when he arrives, he finds that Greeley has been murdered, prompting him to investigate. Did a British traitor set up the French ambush that killed Wrex’s brother, Thomas? One likely clue is a stolen manuscript that may be involved in the struggle between monied interests and foreign powers to bring the steamship to life. Despite their different paths of investigation, all the sleuths come together to solve a case with surprising ramifications.
An excellent mystery bolstered by fascinating information about a life-changing invention.
Redmond, Heather Kensington (320 pp.)
$27.00 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781496737991
Redmond kicks off a new historical series by exploring the relationship between stepsisters Mary Godwin and Jane Clairmont.
The marriage of philosopher William Godwin, widower of feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, to French/English translator Mary Jane de Vial Clairmont created a blended family like no other. Clairmont’s oldest son, Charles, is largely absent from Redmond’s story, leaving Godwin’s stepdaughter, Fanny Imlay; his daughter, Mary; and Clairmont’s daughter, Jane, to mind the family bookstore while their parents struggle to makes ends meet. Despite the daughters’ different temperaments, they’re united in their disdain for their feckless parents, whose pursuit of political
“A
enlightenment leaves them utterly incapable of providing for their large family, which includes not only the girls but Godwin and Clairmont’s young son, Willy. The daughters are also united in their fascination with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, a frequent visitor at their meager dinner table. Redmond’s family saga is punctuated by a murder: Young poet Cecil Campbell is found stabbed to death in the bookstore, and Bow Street Runner Fitzwalter Abel is charged with finding his killer. But the real mystery is whether the Godwin girls will ever make peace with their straitened circumstances and each other. Readers familiar with the ultimate trajectory of the sisters’ relationship with Shelley may find this fictional look at its early years unsettling. But Redmond’s rendition of the dynamics of this most unconventional family is lively and colorful.
A promising series debut for historical mystery buffs.
Van Dine, S.S.
Poisoned Pen (352 pp.)
$14.99 paper | Sept. 26, 2023
9781728283302
A heavily and appropriately annotated reprinting of Philo Vance’s celebrated second case, first published in 1927.
When showgirl Margaret Odell, widely known as the Canary, is strangled in her West Side apartment, the obvious suspects are the men she was most recently involved with, all of whom seem to have been engaged in mysterious activities: neurologist Ambroise Lindquist, whose love for his patient was unrequited; manufacturer Kenneth Spotswoode, the beau who dropped her off shortly before she was killed; career politician Charles “Pop” Cleaver, whom she threw over for Spotswoode; and raffish fur importer Louis Mannix. But District Attorney John F.-X. Markham and homicide Sgt. Ernest Heath focus instead on Tony Skeel, a burglar who was almost certainly inside the Canary’s apartment, either as a witness or as a perp, at the moment of her death. Vance, the famously irritating dilettante friend of Markham’s, offers to help out with the case. The main assistance he provides for most of the running time is supplying a stream of facetious allusions and foreign phrases that editor Leslie S. Klinger conscientiously translates. The murder of Skeel seems to render the case unsolvable until Vance, disclaiming physical evidence for psychology, invites the surviving suspects to an evening at poker, after which he throws out all the previously assembled clues in favor of his sublime assurance that he can now identify the killer. The solution, which hinges on one of the most notorious clichés in golden age detective fiction—Agatha Christie used it twice, and it begs to be added to the list of forbidden devices that conclude Van Dine’s appended “Twenty Rules for Detective Stories”—will surprise most readers a lot less than the sleuths on the case.
An annoying but undeniable landmark in the history of the genre.
Buckell, Tobias S. Tachyon (256 pp.)
$17.95 paper | Oct. 17, 2023
9781616963989
In a world where books are sacrilegious, a musketress and a librarian search for the truth.
Lilith and her 12 brothers and sisters are musketeers of Ninetha, a walled city. Their family controls the cornucopia, which gives them enough to survive, though they must constantly monitor the common people so that their city does not collapse on itself. Then a librarian arrives, carrying with him the unthinkable: a book. Kira, who sometimes acts as Lilith’s bodyguard, sometimes as her teacher, and sometimes almost as a mother figure, wants to execute the librarian at once, but though Lilith knows that books are forbidden, she also wants to honor the rare appearance of a traveler and feels responsible for the man’s fate. The librarian’s arrival heralds a rupture in Lilith’s own life as she witnesses her city and family in turmoil. Ultimately, Lilith journeys beyond the city walls, accompanied, unexpectedly, by the librarian. Despite their differences, the two must rely on each other to survive in a world stranger than either of them could have imagined. While the worldbuilding and mystery surrounding technology and books are fascinating, a constant distance from Lilith’s emotions and sometimes even from the action utterly disrupting her life makes the story less than fully engaging. Though the stakes should be high, only Lilith’s unknowing journey to stumble upon the central conceit of her world propels the story to its singular revelation.
A worthy concept that struggles with its execution.
Guanzon, Thea
Harper Voyager (480 pp.)
$27.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780063277274
A young woman with a magical ability to harness light discovers she is royalty.
Talasyn is a foot soldier for her homeland of Sardovia, which has been under attack for the past decade by the powerful and evil Night Empire, a conflict known as the Hurricane Wars. Talasyn is an orphan with no knowledge of her family, but she assumes they might be the
source of her rare, magical Lightweaving talent. During a battle with the forces of the Night Empire, Talasyn spars with Prince Alaric, a fierce warrior who is the son and heir to the Night Emperor. Talasyn is sent on a covert mission into Nenavar, a nearby matriarchy that has remained neutral during the Hurricane Wars, to try to access a Light Sever which could hone and refine her magic. Instead, she discovers she is the heir to their royal throne; she and her mother, now presumed dead, disappeared under mysterious circumstances when she was a year old. Alaric follows her into Nenavar, and they discover his magical ability to cast darkness and shadows produces shocking results when mixed with her Lightweaving. A few weeks later, the Night Empire defeats Sardovia and ends the Hurricane Wars, and the novel transitions to a tedious, slow-moving story of court intrigue and diplomacy. A group of Sardovian soldiers and refugees seek asylum in Nenavar, but Talasyn’s grandmother agrees to protect them only if Talasyn agrees to join the royal court and marry Alaric. The politics surrounding the impending wedding is the primary plot for the rest of the novel, and it’s a slog. The glacially slow pacing only serves to highlight the confusing world building and underdeveloped characters. It’s unclear why Alaric and Talasyn are attracted to each other, and their tentative romance is just as stuck in a rut as the plot. Slow and plodding.
Farmer, Kelly Alcove Press (304 pp.)
$17.99 paper | Oct. 17, 2023
9781639106042
A Sapphic romance remake of It’s a Wonderful Life.
After years of deferring her dream of living in the big city, Bailey George is tired of managing her small town’s Christmas fest, not to mention shouldering her family’s realty business. Just as she’s on the verge of escaping, the festival’s new planner has an emergency and Bailey must step up again. One person who seems delighted that she’s there is Maria Hatcher, Bailey’s teen crush who has just moved back to become the town librarian. Though their attraction reignites, Bailey is determined to leave. Meanwhile, a trio of drag queens is watching, with Clara Angel determined to spin some (real) Christmas magic and remind Bailey of what she loves about her town and community. Her mission is also in service of earning the wings for her drag costume. The author updates the classic Capra movie for a modern audience, with a female/female second-chance Christmas romance and several queer characters who have supportive allies. Assorted cutesy
elements abound: goofy dogs, descriptions of holiday traditions and local dynamics, a Grinch-like villain who comes around at the end. The frame of the original story is not comfortable, however, with Bailey’s sacrifices and discontent taking up most of the narrative. Its echoes linger in the reader’s mind even after the happy resolution, when Clara forces Bailey to remember her love for their hometown.
For fans of chaste Christmas romances and narratives that glorify small-town America.
Jenkins, Beverly
Avon/HarperCollins (304 pp.) $18.99 paper | Oct. 24, 2023 9780063018211
People in a small town evaluate their familial and romantic relationships.
Henry Adams, Kansas has a rich historical legacy as a town that was founded by freed slaves. In the first book of this long-running series, Bernadine Brown bought the town on eBay and saved it from dying. She also found community and the love of her life, Malachi July. In this installment, Bernadine and Mal have put past dramas and betrayals behind them and are finally ready to tie the knot. While excited and committed to marriage, they each secretly worry about what will happen when they combine their households. Meanwhile, a handsome new chef named Thornton Webb relocates to Henry Adams from San Francisco. He’s attracted to the cool and capable Reverend Paula Grant, an integral member of the community. She helps her flock manage their interpersonal relationships: There’s an octogenarian remembering his first crush, a young man hurt by contact with his birth mother, and a pair of high school seniors fearing that college will break them up. Although the town is a thriving place for families and seniors, Henry Adams is losing a dynamic young teacher who feels isolated and cut off from other people his age. This forces Bernadine to contemplate a move she has long rejected: growing and expanding Henry Adams to ensure its future. The book is jam-packed with characters and ongoing plot lines, but Jenkins provides enough background to remind returning readers of past events or enable new readers to jump right in. The books are a testament to the power of community and how love—whether romantic or between family members or friends—can heal all wounds. Strong, capable women are the core of the story, learning to love and speak up for themselves. Or, as one of Thorn’s new friends explains to him, “Women here are something else. Nothing small-town about any of them at all.”
A lovely, affirming novel about the power of love.
“A lovely, affirming novel about the power of love.”
a christmas to remember
Jordan, Sophie
Avon/HarperCollins (352 pp.)
$9.99 paper | Oct. 24, 2023
9780063035751
A duke with a secret past meets a housekeeper with a secret past.
From the beginning, they both know better than to be attracted to each other. Susanna Lockhart has been the housekeeper to the Duke of Penning for years, quite an honor at the young age of 28. A woman of “humble roots and precarious background,” she’s unable to return home due to one reckless mistake in her youth, so she’s been content to busy herself with a life of proper work. Until now. Lucian, the unexpected new Duke of Penning, is a bit harder to ignore than the previous duke—he’s both more attractive, and more arrogant, despite having come from an impoverished background. Like Susanna, he’s also trying to stay focused, on two things in particular: first, keeping hidden his past as a young man who “peddled his flesh for coin,” and second, making good matches for his young sisters so that they can live comfortably. Both Susanna and Lucian require nothing less than perfection to make good on their second chances at respectability, and they have it. That changes when the duke’s valet is put temporarily out of commission, Susanna needs to attend to the duke in his stead, and their carefully tended boundaries start to collapse. Before long, their chemistry is evident to everyone around them, but it takes several twists of fate for them to overcome their fears of a scandal and be together. The final entry in Jordan’s Duke Hunt quartet is just about as steamy as the earlier volumes, and adds a new twist by introducing both a heroine and a hero who fear ruination. Unfortunately, though it’s an intriguing concept and there are some potentially interesting side plots, the story remains largely superficial and doesn’t engage with the characters as deeply as it could have. Jordan’s fans will find plenty to appreciate, though, and it’s still an enjoyable, albeit somewhat uneven, Regency.
A slow build of a historical romance that ignites but doesn’t fully burn.
Kinsella, Sophie
Dial Press (416 pp.)
$28.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780593730393
When her job drives her bonkers, an overworked 30-something briefly considers the convent.
You didn’t use Zoose? That’s the advertising slogan of a successful travel app called Zoose, where Sasha is director of special promotions. But as the title of Kinsella’s latest rom-com suggests, Sasha’s burgeoning inbox, her massive responsibilities,
and her evil overlords—Joanne, the “empowerment and wellbeing officer,” and Asher, the nepotistically chosen department head—have all passed the outer limits of tolerability some time ago. She’s so far down she can’t even respond to the overtures of the handsome counter man at the takeout place where she buys the exact same dinner every night. She flips out and races to the convent across the street from her flat to sign up, and when they reject her application, runs out of the building and into a literal brick wall. When she wakes up, her mother has arranged for her to take a health and wellness break at a seaside hotel the family used to visit annually in Sasha’s childhood. On the train there, she meets her hot, nasty Mr. Darcy, also a corporate burnout, also a longtime visitor to the area, and an enemies-to-lovers plot clicks into play. It’s hard to know the absolute maximum number of rundown hotel jokes and disgusting kale smoothie jokes that would be funny, but this number is definitely exceeded in the pages that follow. When the enemies finally turn into lovers, the obstacle produced to throw them off course one last time is annoyingly familiar and silly. It’s not even worth having an obstacle if it’s not going to be a little better than this. We had the bang, don’t need the whimper.
This book can be read on autopilot, as it was likely written, but it does get you there.
Vale, Lillie Putnam (368 pp.)
$17.00 paper | Sept. 26, 2023 9780593422045
Vale takes her celebration of smalltown life from YA romance to adults-only.
Elisha Rowe left a good job in Atlanta to return to the quaint Poconos village of Piney Peaks to become the film and media liaison for the chamber of commerce. She and her family live across the street from the late Maeve Hollins’ Christmas House, made famous for its role in the 1970s romance Sleighbells Under Starlight. On the 50th anniversary of the movie that put Piney Peaks on the map, Elisha has brokered a sequel that will boost the economy of her beloved village and revitalize other small towns in the Pennsylvania region. But the deal hinges on using the house, and with Maeve’s recent death, it’s been bequeathed to her great-nephew, handsome city boy Ves Hollins, a writer of YA fantasy novels, who wants to strip the house, sell it, and get out of town. Elisha is the small-town girl with the world’s biggest heart; Ves is the big-city boy who doesn’t believe love will ever come his way. After the meet-cute—she thinks he’s a burglar and runs over to defend her much-loved neighbor’s house in bunny slippers, brandishing a candy cane—they take the usual romance steps from verbal fencing to flirtation, lust, mutual admiration, and love. Elisha’s family and friends embrace Ves, who has never really known a loving family. With hugs and laughter, great food and all-around kindness, he’s persuaded to stay long enough to allow the production company to use his home. But then he’s
leaving. Elisha has a history of men who wouldn’t stick around in her small town. Piney Peaks is a snow globe of Christmas motifs: When Ves is aroused, his “lord[’s] a-leaping.” Vale’s small-town snow globe has a cosmic heart that embraces people of all ethnicities, genders, and faiths. Everyone is entitled to joy. And good food.
A typical holiday sleigh ride but with quick wit and good sex.
My
Adams, Charles with Jason Turbow Hachette (304 pp.)
$29.00 | Sept. 12, 2023 9780306830549
Engaging account of grappling with inequities as a Black police officer and football coach.
In his debut, Adams raises awareness about the conflicting linkages among policing, athletics, and ideals of manhood in Black communities. “Gun violence is common in my neighborhood, the Northside of Minneapolis…. but for me it was home.” As a longtime coach at North Community High School, “the city’s poorest school in the city’s poorest neighborhood,” the author documents striving to field championship teams through increasingly dispiriting circumstances, with the 2020 murder of George Floyd as an unavoidable flashpoint. “I will never stop being an advocate,” he writes, “yet my working for an employer known for killing Black people became a massive issue.” His examination of the Minneapolis police department is unsparing; he portrays an organization hobbled by structural racism and bureaucratic malaise. Regarding his policing career, he concludes, “I want a force that prioritizes effective communication with people over gunning those same people down.” Following tours as a school resource officer, he became head football coach at North High, in part because the school was nearly defunded. “We started to win games,” writes Adams, “and we became a beacon to others around the area.” While his unsettling experiences as a police officer are revelatory—particularly the Floyd killing’s grim aftermath, including riots and an exodus of Black officers—the heart of the narrative lies in the author’s exploration of the holistic and communication aspects of building championship teams: “Success is watching your players move on in their post-football lives, continuing to use the lessons you taught them on the field.” Adams conveys a strong understanding of the cultural resilience of Black communities. The writing style is approachable, mordant, and sometimes funny or profane, although the increasing focus on his coaching experiences may dilute a broader social urgency. A valuable perspective on the challenges facing both police and ordinary citizens
places like Minneapolis.
Aftel, Mandy
Photos by Foster CurryAbbeville Press (252 pp.)
$40.00 | Oct. 31, 2023
9780789214713
The world of perfumes is a universe all its own, and Aftel’s book is a colorful, authoritative guide.
There are some authors who know everything there is to know about their field. Aftel, author of Fragrant and Essence and Alchemy, is one of them, and the result is this sumptuous book. She is a creator of bespoke perfumes and has an impressive client list. In 2017, she opened a small museum at her home in Berkeley, California, called the Aftel Archive of Curious Scents, to educate people about the history and culture of perfumes. Her latest book is another step in this project, cataloguing her collection of essences and oils, as well as prints, photographs, and maps. She disdains the trend toward artificial scents, arguing that only natural perfumes can provide true aromatic beauty. Her exploration of the origin of each ingredient features an exquisite drawing, with categories of flowers, woods, leaves and grasses, and resins, and an account of the painstaking distilling processes. Aftel explains how a perfume is created through the careful balancing of three “chords” that might require dozens of components, measured at the molecular level. Her museum also houses collections of antique perfume bottles and evocative recipe books. “It’s not that the world of scent contains these objects so much as they contain the world,” writes the author. “This world kindles a sense of shared humanity that transcends the boundaries of culture and travels down through the eras. It shakes us out of our usual way of responding to the modern world, as a lifeless place; the universe of aromatics has the power to vivify our very being.” This is an inspiring view, founded in nature and enhanced by artistry. This book could be read straight through or dipped into randomly. Many readers will want to sample the fragrances that Aftel describes.
A beautiful book about beautiful things, with a fascinating narrative told by an author who loves her subject.
1789
George Washington and the Founders Create America
Allen, Thomas B.
Rowman & Littlefield (400 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 1, 2023
9781538183090
A history of how the Constitution was put into practice.
Allen (1929-2018) accepts the myth that Americans disliked the weak Articles
of Confederation, which guided the Colonies through and after the Revolution. In fact, most Americans, from farmers to city workers, had few objections. Only the educated elite—northern lawyers and businessmen, southern planters—hated dealing with 13 separate currencies, banks, commercial regulations, and legal systems. Assembling in in 1787, they cobbled together the Constitution, a mixture of specific and ambiguous guidelines for a more or less democratic central government. That was the easy part. Assembling a functioning government from these guidelines was exceedingly difficult. However, it’s fun to read about, and readers will enjoy Allen’s lively account of what followed as the first Congress assembled in New York in spring 1789 and welcomed the first president. After inventing a ceremonial inauguration, it spent the following two years inventing the federal government literally from scratch. While George Washington invented the presidency, the House and Senate, notes the author, “completed a dizzying list of tasks, creating the departments of State, Treasury, and War, devising a federal judiciary system…building a financial structure for raising and collecting taxes and tariffs; approving a plan for funding foreign and domestic war debts.” Congress members also established a national bank, patent office, and navy (but no army), conducted a census, passed the Bill of Rights, and allowed Washington to move the capital to “somewhere along the Potomac River in Virginia.” Allen doesn’t delve deeply enough into the issue of slavery, but he provides a solid overview of how early leaders mostly came together to create a new system of government. Fergus Bordewich’s The First Congress is perhaps the best popular account of the foundation of the U.S. government, but this is a worthy competitor.
A fairly inspiring, mostly traditional work of early American history.
Appelman, J. Reuben
Harper/HarperCollins (304 pp.)
$18.99 paper | Oct. 3, 2023
9780063346697
How a quadruple homicide upended an Idaho college town.
In his latest, Appelman, a private investigator and author of The Kill Jar, engrossingly analyzes the 2022 case involving the murders of four University of Idaho students. Early on, he brings the young victims into focus and then generously elaborates on their lives throughout the book. On Nov. 13, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogan, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin were slaughtered by a knife-wielding intruder in their off-campus residence. Only two roommates survived—one frozen in fear as the murderer brushed past her in a darkened hallway. Appelman brings these chilling details to life as he sifts through police files and witness statements to piece together a crime that flooded the college town with FBI,
“A beautiful book about beautiful things, with a fascinating narrative told by an author who loves her subject.”
the museum of scent
local police, press, and citizen detectives. Security video catching a white vehicle repeatedly passing by the property complemented DNA found on the military blade sheath left behind at the scene. Diligent detective spadework and a digital device trail led to the arrest and indictment of Bryan Kohberger, a criminology doctorate student and teaching assistant who had a history of depression and heroin use. Grim forensics amplify the disturbing nature of the crime and ensuing investigation, including Kohberger’s historically sociopathic behavior and details on the gore-soaked crime scene. However premeditated his alleged murderous fantasy was, a series of crucial missteps (besides leaving the knife sheath behind) showed his involvement, including using his own car to return to the location the next morning with his phone, which authorities tracked. In fairness, Appelman also examines numerous gaping “holes” in the prosecution’s package, which weakens the case against Kohberger, as well as fascinating social media speculation. Riveting reenactments, intimate human-interest profiles, and urgent prose combine to create a tale of horrific butchery and a must-have exposé for readers following the
still-ongoing developments.
A chilling, balanced, meticulously reported true crime story.
Princeton Architectural Press (160 pp.)
$24.95 paper | Oct. 17, 2023
9781797223322
A cartoonist reflects on her struggles with codependency.
Piecing together her life in cartoons and words, freelance cartoonist and regular New Yorker contributor Ash describes her mental health journey as a woman dealing repeatedly with codependency in romantic relationships. As the author shows, it can lead to being stuck in a cycle of abuse, and she does not sugarcoat issues such as depression and substance and domestic abuse. Ash writes about codependency as a part of her identity, something she will always have to live with and overcome, and her memoir reads as a psychologically informative text. Ash tackles these moments with humor and relatability, but it doesn’t take away from the power of selfreclamation. The full-color illustrations are simple and clear, as the author leads us through her parents’ divorce, a poignant summer camp trip, old boyfriends, art school, therapy, the pandemic, and recovery. Ash pairs each chapter with facts and statistics about codependents, ending with material for getting help. The sincere moments of life and the complex dynamics of growing into your best self are the tenets of this “tragi-comedy,” which acts as a therapeutic output for both reader and writer. Ash’s humor is a shrug after a tragic fall, comforting readers as they, too, seek to investigate difficult periods in their lives, and the book serves as a tender confession of something that the majority of Americans will experience at some point in their lives. The cartoons themselves aren’t exceptionally beautiful, and one can assume Ash was going more for a jocular approach to balance out the subject matter. The author breaks the fourth wall plenty of times, and the resulting feeling is that she is not so much guiding us through her memoir as giving a class on it.
A quirky graphic memoir sheds light on an overlooked mental health issue.
$39.99 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780063279933
Rock journalist Azerrad revisits his well-received 1993 study of Nirvana and its doomed leader, Kurt Cobain.
“He had this sort of fascination with dead pop stars.” So said a photographer of the mercurial Cobain, who was a fan long before he became a musician. When he did become a musician, he worked out his angst in iconic songs such as “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Come As You Are.” Writing in 1993, expanding on a long piece he wrote for Rolling Stone that met with Cobain’s approval, Azerrad urged that Cobain not be considered a Dylanesque spokesperson for his generation: “He makes an anguished wail, reveling in negative ecstasy,” writes the author. “And if that is the sound of teen spirit these days, so be it.” Yet Cobain’s ethos fit perfectly with the latchkey kids of his cohort, forgotten and powerless, frequently children of divorce—a fact that, by Azerrad’s account, helps explain Cobain’s despair more than any other. Even though addicted to drugs (“Junkies, I learned, are very comfortable with being deceptive”), Cobain never forgot those downtrodden fans. Nirvana was also musically more inventive than many people have assumed, thanks to the input of the urbane bassist Krist Novoselic and the inordinately good-natured drummer Dave Grohl. For all the doctrinaire punk rejection of hippiedom, Nirvana embraced all sorts of music. As Grohl said, “We all discovered punk rock and grew up listening to Black Flag but we also love John Fogerty.” Cobain’s is the usual rock cautionary tale: Drugs and mental illness played a role, but so did a rock-star machine populated by people who, said producer Steve Albini, are “pieces of shit.” Azerrad closes his long but readable account by pondering what might have been had Cobain lived, with Michael Stipe suggesting that their sound would be “very quiet and acoustic, with lots of stringed instruments.”
Better than the usual run of rock biographies and essential for Nirvana fans.
Bailar, Schuyler
Hachette Go (256 pp.)
$29.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780306831874
Understanding the realities of gender identities.
In this remarkable book, Bailar, the first trans athlete to play a sport on an NCAA Division 1 men’s
team and now a prominent advocate for trans rights, reflects on his experiences as a trans man and explains how we might best comprehend and discuss gender identity. In four sections, the author provides definitions of critical concepts related to gender, recommendations about ways to discuss complex and sensitive issues, scientifically informed debunking of common misconceptions, and guidance about how trans individuals and their allies can successfully navigate the challenges of an often transphobic society. Along the way, Bailar astutely unpacks the assumptions informing key debates that have become flashpoints in the nation’s culture wars: the appropriateness of surgery and hormone treatments for young people; the participation of trans individuals in sports; the politics of bathrooms; the significance of pronoun use; and the relationship between trans identities and mental illness. Among the many strengths of this book is the author’s patient, informed unfolding of his arguments. Though his claims are obviously deeply held and passionately rendered, Bailar refrains from polemics and remains generous toward those who might disagree. Another key point is the author’s linking of transphobia to other forms of prejudice and indictment of deep-seated cultural anxieties about gender and sexual orientation. Trans individuals, he writes, “are a threat because our very identities disrupt the most basic conventions of Western society: cis white patriarchal power—the system of oppression that has built and controlled this country since its inception…we know ourselves even when those in power say it is impossible for us to exist.” Bailar’s appeals for understanding could not be timelier, given the recent rise of anti-trans legislation as well as anti-trans violence. For those seeking such understanding, this is an invaluable resource.
A wonderfully clear and convincing guide to comprehending and defending gender diversity.
Baron, Martin
Flatiron Books (560 pp.)
$34.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781250844200
A newspaper resists manipulation and lies.
Making an engrossing debut, Baron recounts in candid detail his more than eight-year tenure as executive editor of the Washington Post , which Jeff Bezos purchased just months after he assumed his position. Bezos’ advent as owner immediately generated unease among the staff, who wondered what his interest was in buying a major newspaper—and whether he intended to control editorial content. Baron realized quickly, though, that Bezos was making a genuine commitment to invest in the Post ’s success. “The era of ceaseless cutbacks had come to a halt,” he writes. Although focused on metrics and finances, Bezos staunchly supported editorial independence and journalistic integrity, a stance that put him on a
“A wonderfully clear and convincing guide to comprehending and defending gender diversity.”
he/she/they
collision course with Donald Trump, who expected Bezos to rein in the Post ’s coverage of him and his administration. When that did not happen, he unleashed the “raw abuse of power” for which he was notorious. Among an apparently limitless list of Trump’s grievances, “atop them all was the press, and atop the press was The Post .” Bezos, though, proved unflappable. When he met with staff, Baron saw, “he had read and absorbed every memo to the slightest detail.” He discovered, and nurtured, the dedication that shaped the newspaper’s reputation. Offering his editor’s-eye view of decision–making challenges, Baron chronicles nearly a decade of history marked by sensitive, controversial stories such as Edward Snowden’s revelations of government surveillance; investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails; Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony against Brett Kavanaugh; the murder of contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi; George Floyd’s killing, which incited considerable unrest at the paper over issues of diversity; and the consequences of Trump’s defeat in 2020. His memoir is testimony to the efforts of a devoted staff whose commitment is reflected in
a motto created by the paper just one month into Trump’s presidency: “Democracy Dies in Darkness.”
An impassioned argument for objective journalism.
Bass, Gary J. Knopf (912 pp.)
$48.00 | Oct. 17, 2023 9781101947104
An authoritative account of the post–World War II Tokyo war-crimes trial, which was both inadequate in resolution and crucial to building the future of Asia.
The global leaders who convened the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials sought to bring to justice the perpetrators of the war and achieve a reckoning for the victims. Yet unlike the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals, which attained a “nearuniversal national repentance and grief that are at the core of German politics and society,” the Tokyo trial was marred by politics and the haunting specter of the end-of-war American firebombing of Japanese cities and atomic bomb devastation. As Bass, the author of The Blood Telegram, amply demonstrates in this monumental history, the trial allowed “patriotic quarrels” to fester for decades across the Asia Pacific region. The prosecutors and judges, drawn from 11 Allied nations and three Asian countries (yet glaringly none from Korea or Taiwan), attempted to enshrine international law to combat atrocities against prisoners of war and civilians. The guilt of Emperor Hirohito was hotly debated, though the Americans excused him in order to ease the postwar occupation. While the Americans were gunning for justice for Pearl Harbor, there was vivid witness testimony about the war crimes committed against the Chinese in Manchuria and Nanjing, as well as the “use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.” Bass argues convincingly that the failure to prosecute Shirō Ishii, the chief of Unit 731, “Japan’s secret biological weapons operation,” remains “one of the gravest stains of the Tokyo trial.” The author painstakingly delineates the daily toll on the judges and defendants, laying out the strategies of Tojo Hideki, general of the Imperial Japanese Army; Radhabinod Pal, the Indian jurist who vociferously denounced European imperialism in his dissent; and numerous others. Bass consistently demonstrates how the trial reflected the tenor of the postwar geopolitical theater, from the imminent victory of communists in China, to the entrenchment of Cold War thinking.
A towering work of research resurrects a pivotal moment in history.
Baum, Devorah Yale Univ. (336 pp.)
$27.50 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780300271935
A comprehensively researched, wry examination of the many dimensions of marriage and how it has evolved.
Baum begins with the odd assertion that there has not been much intellectual analysis of marriage, and she proceeds to round up the work of philosophers, novelists, filmmakers, and even comedians on the subject. It makes for fascinating reading, and the author punctuates the story with vignettes and commentary about her own marriage, which gives the research a personal touch. She brings an engaging element of humor to the proceedings; in fact, her sense of fun was revealed in her 2017 book, The Jewish Joke. As a professor of literature, she seems to have read everything connected to marriage, from Shakespeare’s tragedies to Nora Ephron’s novels. She organizes the book in sections dealing with marriage as an ongoing conversation, marriage as entertainment, the religious underpinnings, and the tricky subject of divorce. The institution of marriage goes back centuries, and although it has sometimes been attacked as a way to lock women into a cage of domesticity, it continues to thrive. Matrimony is a life goal for most people and is widely seen as the best structure for a family. A problem is that it is a long-term commitment, and when the early glow of romance fades, the participants realize there is a long road ahead. Some people can travel it successfully, while others cannot. One thing is certain: It never turns out to be like a rom-com; it is always messier and harder and involves more housework. Still, Baum accepts that it is for her (she is married to director and screenwriter Josh Appignanesi), and for many others. Marriage, she concludes, “continues to carry and shape our human story,” and “we are likely to see it remaining with us long into the future, until death do us part.”
A rollicking account about marriage in books, movies, and culture, told with authority and genuine warmth.
Beard, Mary
Liveright/Norton (512 pp.)
$37.95 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780871404220
Bookshelves groan under the weight of accounts of Roman emperors, but when Beard decides to add another, readers should perk up.
Ancient history specialist Beard, author of SPQR, Twelve Caesars, and other acclaimed books, ably conveys the difficulty of examining thousands of papyri as well as stone and bronze
inscriptions dug out by archaeologists, many still unread. She emphasizes the empire’s crippling weakness that was never corrected: succession. Later, European thrones passed to the eldest child, which assured stability if not competence, but this was never the Roman system. Rarely did a son follow his father; more often, an emperor legally adopted a designated successor. When this happened, leadership tended to pass smoothly, but many admired emperors owed their position to assassination, civil war, mass murder, and assorted skullduggery. Beard maintains that this answers an age-old puzzle: why Roman emperors are pronounced either “good” or “bad.” In reality, emperors succeeded by their chosen candidate ended up with a broadly favorable reputation; no one dared offend the current ruler. Having covered the big picture in SPQR and not wanting to repeat herself, Beard focuses on the details of how emperors lived, governed, traveled, dined, and amused themselves, and the result is a mixed bag. Chapters on imperial dining rooms and imperial palaces reveal the impressive skill of archaeologists in resurrecting crumbling ruins, but they also contain more architectural minutiae than casual readers will want. An emperor’s face
how to know a person
appears on thousands of surviving sculptures and millions of coins and bric-a-brac, but few readers will be surprised to learn that none are accurate portraits. Beard is deft in her exploration of imperial bureaucracy, showing how it dealt with an avalanche of paperwork from distant officials, cities, military leaders, and individuals in an era with no postal service. Emperors’ deaths, natural or otherwise, led to fascinating consequences. A sometimes-delightful Roman miscellany.
Brooks, David Random House (320 pp.)
$30.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780593230060
The virtues of seeing and being seen. Recognizing how the breakdown of basic moral and social skills has been leading to “a massive civilizational failure,” a theme that New York Times op-ed columnist Brooks has examined in previous books (The Second Mountain, The Road to Character, etc.), the author offers yet another inspirational roadmap to building strong moral character and achieving authentic self-actualization. “There is one skill,” he writes, “that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen—to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood. That is at the heart of being a good person, the ultimate gift you can give to others and to yourself.” In fleshing out his deeply earnest, relatable objective, Brooks references an assortment of literary, scientific, and psychological sources, shares personal anecdotes, and relates longer profile stories of a host of notables, including Vivian Gornick, Zora Neale Hurston, and Frederick Buechner. He also applies ideals from the writing of Iris Murdoch as a kind of moral compass, particularly evidenced in her book The Sovereignty of Good. This book reads like a more practical how-to guide than the author’s previous ones. In his aim to equip readers on their quest to a better understanding of fellow human beings, he poses thoughtprovoking questions and holistic insights—e.g., “A person is a point of view. Every person you meet is a creative artist who takes the events of life and, over time, creates a very personal way of seeing the world.” Brooks occasionally stumbles in his descriptions of experiences from the framework of his own largely affluent inner circle of acquaintances and the many insights gathered from lofty dinner-party conversations. Cumulatively, these examples occasionally undermine his specified intent of truly seeing people from all walks of life. However, his intentions seem sound and heartfelt.
A hands-on guide to making meaningful human connections.
“A
Brown, Sarah Dutton (272 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780593186411
A scientist of cat behavior explores the various ways domestic cats communicate. Brown, author of The Cat: A Natural and Cultural History, began studying cat behavior in the late 1980s while gaining her doctorate and working as a research assistant at the Anthrozoology Institute at the University of Southampton in the UK. As she notes, domestic cats descended from “shy, solitary North African wildcats” and now can be found throughout the world, including in more than 45 million households in the U.S. The author approaches her study of domestic cats from a scientific perspective, offering her firsthand observations and analysis of recent research
studies in a writing style that is easily comprehendible and captivating. According to Brown, one of the cat’s primary communication tactics is marking territory through spraying and scratching. But don’t automatically yell at your cat to stop it. “Tension and conflict within the home,” she writes, “may bring on more scratching than normal as the cat feels the urge to increase their marking behavior.” Brown examines alternatives to the invasive and painful procedure of declawing, and she discusses the true purpose of meowing, noting that the rate of meowing tends to increase the longer feral cats are in the company of humans, as well as how cats use their tails and ears to express emotions. The author shares the benefits, beyond hygiene, that cats receive from grooming each other and investigates the “secret ingredient” of catnip and other plants that provide a special allure for cats. Brown also ponders the question of whether cats have personalities and discusses the “FiveFactor Scale of Domestic Cat Personality,” known as the “Feline Five,” to analyze cat temperament. As the research that Brown presents indicates, cats have made impressive strides in adapting and learning to communicate with humans.
“I don’t think I could have written a memoir in the more traditional sense,” says David Shih, author of Chinese Prodigal: A Memoir in Eight Arguments (Atlantic Monthly, Aug. 15). A professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, Shih eschews a chronological narrative, instead examining his life experiences as an Asian American through a series of essays, or “arguments,” as he calls them. Born in Hong Kong, Shih came to the U.S. with his parents as an infant in 1971, and his sense of self has transformed as the meanings of Asian American identity have changed in this country. In a starred review, a Kirkus critic calls it a “profoundly thoughtful, unflinchingly honest Asian American memoir.” We spoke with Shih, 53, on Zoom a couple of days before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, a central subject of the book. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Can you say something about the meaning of the title, Chinese Prodigal?
It’s a pun on Chinese prodigy. I don’t believe in Chinese prodigies. I don’t believe that there’s anything that’s natural about being an Asian American or a Chinese Ameri-
can in this society—that is, there’s nothing genetic or biological or essential about who you are. Who you are is a construction, an invention. And what that does—what it did, to me, especially—is force you into a series of disguises. One of those disguises was that I really belonged in the world that I found myself in [Texas in the 1970s and ’80s] more than the world of my immigrant parents, which is why I wanted to leave it. So it’s also a little bit of a riff on the prodigal son story from the Bible—having to leave home and feeling as though that’s where you belong more. And then coming home hat in hand, if you will. In my case, with my father already gone.
Yes—you open with an essay about your father’s death. You learned that he was in the hospital, but you didn’t rush right back to see him, and he died before you were able to get there. That must have been an extremely painful subject to write about.
After my father died in 2019, I had to write about it, to deal with it. The first chapter is about my father being what I’ll call an imperfect problem solver—the way that all immigrants are. You are presented with a situation, and you just don’t have a lot of choice about what to do, when you have a family to support. You do what you can with what you have and then deal with the consequences later. Maybe that’s buying a house with a huge mortgage at a high interest rate because you need to provide for your family. I wanted to contrast that with the way the son of an immigrant—I’m an immigrant myself, but I came at the age of 1—approaches problems in a very different way. You almost revel in them, if you will; there’s a certain pleasure to thinking about problems and having the luxury of time to be circumspect about them. And that’s what I wanted to get across in that first chapter, the luxury of the way that we deal with the problems in our lives—it simply doesn’t compare with what my father and mother had to do.
Can you say something about the form of the memoir?
It’s really a series of eight essays, or “arguments,” as you call them.
Because I’m Asian American, because I’m not white, the meaning of my identity comes through these historical events that I’ve discussed—affirmative action, interracial love and mixed-race parentage, law enforcement. This is a point I often make to my students: We’re socialized to think of ourselves as individuals, but how often do we expect complete strangers to treat us as members of groups? We come to see that our identity is much more groupbased than it is [based] in this sense of individuality. And so that’s why the book is a memoir in essays—who I am is because of Vincent Chin [the Chinese American man killed by two white autoworkers in 1982], because of Allan Bakke [the white man who challenged the University of California’s affirmative action policy in 1978], because of Peter Liang [the Chinese American police officer convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the killing of an unarmed Black New Yorker in 2014].
You mention affirmative action, which is the subject of one chapter and is currently on the Supreme Court docket.
A couple of weeks ago, I published a piece for the New Republic on affirmative action. I talk about a fellowship that I received [from the University of Michigan] in 1993, when I was getting my doctorate there. The name of it is great: the Rackham Merit Fellowship for Historically Underrepresented Groups. They couldn’t call it that anymore, after 2006, when they got rid of affirmative action in Michigan, but it told the truth about why affirmative action was needed in the first place—which is not diversity. I’m afraid that the meaning people now assign to Asian Americans is that we’re victims of affirmative action. If Asian Americans are honorary whites, what affirmative action has shown us is that whites now want to be honorary Asian Americans, because they can’t advocate for their privilege without a group like us as the shock troops. So, that’s a huge shift in the meaning. When I had that fellowship in ’93, I was the victim of structural racism, right? Because if there are underrepresented groups, somebody’s got to be overrepresented, but they’re not going to say that in the name of the fellowship. But within 30 years, you kind of have that flip-flopped. Of course, Asian Americans now do need affirmative action—maybe not so much East Asian Americans like me, especially middle-class East Asian Americans. But when we talk about Southeast Asian Americans, then affirmative action is absolutely necessary.
Anything else you’d like readers to know about the book?
One of the things that I really hope people get from this book is that it’s not a book about trauma. The Asian American narrative centers so much on trauma, on generational trauma, and I’m not here to say that my parents didn’t have some of that. Both of them, at different points in their lives, were refugees from the communists and the Japanese. But there was so much joy in our family as well, and I hope it comes through that they really did support me in what I want. They weren’t these “tiger parents” that people stereotypically associate with Asian immigrant parents. The book’s “arguments” are really arguments about what race means in our society. Asian American identity probably doesn’t mean what you think it does; we have to think about it in a much broader context. That includes issues like affirmative action, which means that it must include discussions of Black history. The meaning of Asian American is inseparable from the meaning of Black and white, and that’s what I want the reader to know.
With her lighthearted yet authoritative approach, Brown helps us better understand our feline companions.
BTS with Myeongseok Kang
Trans. by Anton Hur, Clare Richards & Slin Jung
Flatiron Books (544 pp.)
July 9, 2023
The first 10 years of one of the world’s most popular acts.
RM, SUGA, j-hope, Jung Kook, V, Jimin, and Jin. If these names are immediately familiar, no review is going to dissuade you from buying—or persuade you to buy—this book. If, however, you have no idea who these people are, read on. They are BTS, a boy band that, as of 2023, are the bestselling recording artists in South
Korean history. Their fandom is massive and international. This vibrant, full-color book is a detailed account of their journey from young K-pop hopefuls to global megastars. Myeongseok Kang takes readers inside the idol–making system of K-pop and intersperses his narrative with quotes from BTS members. The text is studded with QR codes that take readers to official videos and vlogs, blog posts, the official BTS Twitter feed, and other digital content. There are also countless photos—no surprise given the highly visual nature of K-pop, whose albums are often packaged with a photo book, photo cards, and posters, in addition to being issued in multiple editions with different packaging. From the Monkees to the Backstreet Boys, it’s always been easy to mock boy bands as superficial and sappy, but this book makes it clear that BTS take their craft seriously. When SUGA joined Big Hit Entertainment at 17, he was already making money as a songwriter in his hometown of Daegu. Jimin was planning to attend a high school for the arts so that he could continue to study dance. Even while they were enduring the punishing hours of practice required to have a shot at stardom, they were pushing back against their producer’s wishes for a more commercial sound. The fact that BTS redefined what “commercial” sounds like for a generation of fans around the world suggests they were right to insist on their vision.
A must-have for the BTS ARMY and a deep dive into South Korean culture and music.
Bunker, Nick Basic Books (496 pp.)
$35.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781541675544
A vivid look at a pivotal year at the beginning of the Cold War.
Most readers are familiar with the circumstances surrounding Harry Truman’s spectacular election upset in 1948. Fewer recall that this momentous event was followed by four disheartening years. Bunker, the winner of the George Washington Book Prize for An Empire on the Edge, delivers a sympathetic portrait but emphasizes that Franklin Roosevelt was a hard act to follow. The author begins on Labor Day 1949. The day before, Paul Robeson, brilliant baritone and “hero of the far left,” performed for an audience of 15,000 until a mob broke it up, hurling rocks and overturning cars. The day after, a World War II veteran killed 13 people in Camden, New Jersey. Alternating between international and domestic affairs, Bunker constructs a convincing argument that 1950 was a disaster. It began as America was reeling from news that Russia had the atom bomb and that Mao’s communists had conquered China, thus making the world’s most populous nation (in the minds of many) another Soviet satellite. Six months later, North Korea invaded the South. Domestic affairs verged on the grotesque. Even before the “volatile, intemperate, and unpopular”
“A vivid look at a pivotal year at the beginning of the Cold War.”
in the shadow of fear
Joseph McCarthy exploded into the headlines, it was widely accepted in the popular mind that clever communists had burrowed deep into government and schools, stealing secrets and corrupting our children. Maddened by 20 years out of power, Republicans focused narrowly on winning it back by opposing every Truman policy without exception. He desegregated the armed forces on his own authority, but Congress would not pass a broader civil rights program. “Most Republicans supported civil rights reform; but if it came to a choice between that and weakening the president, their leadership would opt for the latter,” writes Bunker. Despite his admiration, the author, a diligent, evenhanded writer, notes that Truman lost his political prowess after 1948, and he and his party failed to pass the reforms of his vaunted “Fair Deal.”
Great history of a dismal period.
Chachra, Deb
Riverhead (320 pp.)
$29.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780593086599
A welcome new entry in the howstuff-works genre.
Everyone knows that roads and bridges are pieces of infrastructure, but so are light switches, sewers, telephone poles, and mailboxes; this imaginative book tells us how they work and what they mean. Writing about her childhood, Chachra, a professor at Olin College of Engineering, chronicles how her middle-class family in urban India received running water for one hour, twice per day, which they collected in buckets for bathing and flushing toilets and boiled for drinking. Electrical brownouts were routine. The author delivers a fine education on
in light of all darkness
the technology that provides a seamless life for the lucky “global 10 percent.” All infrastructure requires energy. The automobile, which speeds us from place to place in a metal shell, requires enormous energy to manufacture and transport to the local dealership, but flipping a light switch makes us no less a human-machine hybrid. Infrastructure is “vast and collective,” but it makes us free. Chachra criticizes the idea of “off the grid,” a life that would be dominated by maintaining personal systems to deal with water, electricity, heat, cleaning, and producing and cooking food. The author devotes the second half of this superbly rendered book to the ongoing problems of her subject. A company can profit by building a pipeline or bridge; legislators boast of promoting it; the media celebrate its opening. Thereafter, like all infrastructure, it requires ongoing maintenance, which is boring and expensive and—all experts agree—wildly inadequate. Due to aging pipe systems, “15% of all clean drinking water in the U.S. is lost to leaks.” Every decade or so, when a bridge collapses, we mourn the victims, but little changes. Turning to “plan for abundant energy and finite materials,” Chachra is more optimistic than most, noting that “we are not doomed to a dystopian future of failing systems.”
A rare book on engineering and its economics that will satisfy general readers.
Cooper, Sarah Dutton (288 pp.)
$29.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780593473184
A chronicle of a comedic writer’s journey to stardom.
Before going viral for lip-synching to speeches made by Donald Trump, Cooper jumped in and out of a career in tech with giants like Yahoo! and Google during Silicon Valley’s heyday, while periodically pursuing her dream of writing comedy. Her new memoir starts earlier, with essays about her childhood that cover the themes one might expect from the youngest child of Jamaican immigrants—e.g., road trips and parental expectations of achievement—as well as amusing episodes that might have foreshadowed her path (catching Bret Michaels’ guitar pick at a Poison concert). With comic finesse and a self-awareness that is neither aggrandizing nor deprecating, Cooper chronicles her experiences from high school drama classes, to office conference rooms, to TikTok glory and the doors it opened. While entertaining, playful, and frequently laugh-out-loud hysterical, the collection also earnestly pokes and prods at the more poignant truths beneath the easy veneer of Cooper’s rise, with pieces about her infertility and the decline of her marriage. Some essays feel disjointed and out of place—e.g., “Periwinkle Can Go Fuck Itself: My Life in Colors” and “Sibling Rivalry”—and the author’s repeated refrains about being high, while often amusing, occasionally undermine her insight. Nonetheless, Cooper demonstrates her prowess and staying power as
a comedian, co-opting laughter to uncover something essential about the relationship immigrants have with race in America, the way love and desire create blind spots, and the self-consciousness and chaos that can so easily accompany fame, especially the rapid, viral kind. Despite Cooper’s insistence on her own laziness, her persistence in honing her skill is evident, and her appeal to audiences in a variety of formats will endure beyond her most recent explosion of recognition.
A delightful collection of essays that are both funny and revealing.
Cross, Kim
Grand Central Publishing (464 pp.)
$32.50 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781538725061
An in-depth account of the lengthy investigation into the 1993 abduction of 12-year-old Polly Klaas from her home in Petaluma, California.
Cross, author of What Stands in a Storm, writes, “I am the daughter-in-law of Eddie Freyer, the FBI case agent in charge of the [Klaas case],” a connection that granted the author unprecedented access. She was drawn to this project in part because of the case’s significance in terms of how it used technology “at the dawn of the Internet age” and investigative skills that, as one agent told her, “changed the way the FBI does business.” Over 42 tight chapters, each as searing as the next, Cross chronologically pieces together the narratives: the knifepoint “stranger abduction” during a slumber party at Klaas’ house; reports from neighbors and police of a trespasser the same night; and forensics work of the FBI’s Evidence Response Teams (“these mavericks were initially considered rogues”) and their lifting of a partial palm print that ultimately helped to convict. The author accounts for all of the investigative angles and tactics, worthwhile and otherwise, in addition to logistics—e.g., reports being “handwritten or typed” and the challenge of a “paper-based leadtracking system.” Word of Klaas’ disappearance spread via the news, word of mouth, and flyers. This suspenseful narrative includes the trails of clues that led to the arrest and conviction of Richard Allen Davis, who was found guilty of abducting and murdering Klaas. Cross points to the “brutal interrogation” of the victim’s two sleepover guests as “one of the biggest mistakes of the case.” Despite her family’s involvement with the case, the author comes across as objective. Her credibility stems from her criticisms of systematic failures and her orchestration of innumerable personal and technical details, and she effectively humanizes the victim and others involved in the case.
A riveting tale that demonstrates the investigation’s effect on solving cases even three decades later.
“A riveting tale that demonstrates the investigation’s effect on solving cases even three decades later.”
Darnton, Robert Norton (608 pp.)
$45.00 | Nov. 7, 2023
9781324035589
A page-turner on the 40 years before the fall of the Bastille.
The kings during this period were Louis XV and his grandson, Louis XVI, absolute monarchs whose rule was far from absolute, writes veteran historian Darnton, recipient of the National Humanities Medal and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. Despite an oppressive police force, Paris citizenry remained touchy, often disrespectful, and sometimes violent. Royal power also faced resistance from the Parlement, which was not a legislative body but an assembly that oversaw the courts and legal system. A law wasn’t official until Parlement published it,
and it regularly used this power to express disagreement. Inevitably, wars dominated these decades. Following the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years’ War was a disaster; victory supporting the American colonies seemed satisfying revenge over Britain but swelled an already massive debt. Wars are expensive, and since the church and aristocracy paid no taxes, they weighed heavily on the poor. Throughout this prodigiously researched narrative, Darnton concentrates on scandal and royal infighting, a reasonable tactic because kings preferred to leave the boring details of governing to underlings. The author accomplishes the impressive feat of bringing to vivid life these men, largely unknown to American readers, who were preoccupied with raising money. Reforms to require the church and aristocracy to contribute always failed, but borrowing was easy, so that’s what they did until 1787, when investors refused to subscribe to the latest loan. Declaring “partial bankruptcy,” officials cut interest payments, mostly to annuities that provided income to average citizens. This “produced outrage and panic” that was not relieved with news that the king would summon the Estates General, an ancient advisory body last called in 1614,
which would, in theory, establish a constitution, reform the tax system, and regenerate France. It met two years later, and Darnton capably chronicles what followed, but riots and mass murder were already well under way.
The run-up to the French Revolution in expert hands.
Deming, Richard Viking (336 pp.)
$29.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780593492512
An attempt to understand isolation through a blend of memoir, biography, and a history of the emotion itself.
“I believe we must reinvent loneliness in order to survive it. I have been trying to do this my whole life,” writes Deming, director of creative writing at Yale and author of Art of the Ordinary. In 2021, a Harvard study found that 36% of adults “described themselves as experiencing ‘serious loneliness’ ” In young adults 18-25, the percentage was even higher: a “staggering” 63%. Despite its purported ability to provide human connection, the internet has been increasingly shown to exacerbate feelings of loneliness. Meanwhile, the emotion remains heavily stigmatized and difficult to discuss. The feeling, however, is nothing new, and Deming traces the lives of six figures whose lives were shaped largely by their feelings of seclusion. They include psychoanalyst Melanie Klein, writer Zora Neale Hurston, photojournalist Walker Evans, philosopher and cultural critic Walter Benjamin, expressionist painter Egon Schiele, and Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling. Throughout his study of these artists, Deming interweaves descriptions of his own struggles with loneliness, as well as its previous manifestation as addiction. The question, in all cases, is what can be done with isolation: Is it useful, or even necessary, to experience loneliness in order to create memorable art? The author ably navigates the timely and poignant concern of how to manage “the dailiness of contemporary isolation,” though the mini-biographies are too brief to create a lasting momentum. Still, the examples combine to create a fuller picture of how the emotion can be used creatively. This is an uplifting book that provides a blueprint on how to manage such a common yet challenging emotion, and Deming’s personal experiences add necessary heft to the text. The author charts a navigable course for embracing one of the most painful and universal human emotions.
Dixon, Athena
Tin House (192 pp.)
$17.95 paper | Oct. 3, 2023
9781959030126
A candid examination of the loneliness that lurks beyond our ubiquitous screens and the humanity that radiates in our bids for connection with one another.
Poet, essayist, and editor Dixon presents a series of braided essays that explore the loneliness that pervades a world that seems more globalized and interconnected than ever before. Throughout the book, the author cultivates a palpable sense of community with her readers, diving into the dark side of late-stage capitalist society. Examining the ease with which one can be forgotten in the digital age, she also looks at the unexpectedly intimate joys that can sprout when one chooses to be alone. With lyrical, memorable prose, Dixon cracks open the fear of not being remembered and invites readers to reexamine their own sense of self amid the chaos of the modern world. “I am overwhelmingly lonely. And I cannot believe that doesn’t matter and I will not believe there are not scores of others like me,” she writes. “I know there are those who feel the world is always just a little too far away or a little too close—never comfortable in either situation. Those who would love to be a part of all life has to offer fully, but something just doesn’t click.” The author emphasizes how being lonely is not something to be ignored or overlooked; it’s important and something worthy of being talked about openly. Dixon offers her own story and demons in order to bring attention to the adverse effects of loneliness during the recent pandemic as well as the need for empathy in a post-pandemic world. Though the author tackles difficult topics, she does it in an inviting way that allows readers to dissect their own struggles with loneliness. Her story is not only relatable, but significant, as she creates a sense of comfort for anyone who feels a little lonely sometimes. An honest and captivating investigation into human connection within an increasingly digital world.
Duncan, Dayton & Ken Burns
Knopf (352 pp.)
$40.00 | Oct. 31, 2023
9780593537343
Dutiful companion to the soon-toair Burns documentary series on the fate of the American bison.
American bison, “the largest land animals in the Western Hemisphere,” are no strangers to extinction: The present species represents the fortunate survivors of an earlier extinction
“An honest and captivating investigation into human connection within an increasingly digital world.”
the loneliness files
BY TUCKER SHAW
To read Jim Fielding’s resume is to stroll a path of some of the most coveted leadership positions of the past 30 years, including C-level roles at Disney, DreamWorks, the Gap, and 20th Century Fox. He’s directed multinational creative teams, developed global brand-building strategies, and navigated some of the most shark-infested corporate waters in the world. An exciting career, but not always an easy one, particularly for an out gay man. In his new book, All Pride, No Ego: A Queer Executive’s Journey to Living and Leading Authentically (Wiley, Aug. 15), Fielding looks back at the road he’s traveled—sometimes smooth, sometimes rough—to mine lessons for today’s leaders, and tomorrow’s. We spoke with Fielding, who lives in Georgia, by video chat; our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
In my 30-plus years in big corporate media, I wasn’t allowed to have an opinion that wasn’t on the company line. When you’re in the C-suite, you always have to think, well, what’s going to be the impact on the company if I say this? During the pandemic, I started to get more political, more vocal in my online posts, and then publishers started reaching out. My editor at Wiley said, “I think you should write the book that 56-year-old Jim wishes he had when he was starting his career at 26.” When I was struggling with coming out early in my career there wasn’t a book like this for me to go to, to say it’s actually going to be OK, and here’s some advice. I particularly want to reach young leaders who think they don’t see themselves in the C-suite, or who don’t see a place for themselves in corporate life. I want them to know that there is a place. It may not be easy, but it’s there.
We moved the publication date up [from 2024] because of what’s happening in the world, the insane amount of anti–LGBTQ+ legislation. The far right has organized their machine, and it’s been so successful. It’s a form of bullying, and when you’re getting bullied you have to stand up. So the time is now. We have to tell our stories, and we have to own our stories. We have to say, “Hey, I was born this way, I’m proud of myself, this is who I am, and I’m going to be more productive in society, and more productive for your business, if I’m allowed to be my authentic self.”
One refrain you return to often is “don’t dim your light.” But as a gay person in a mostly straight corporate environment, you do have to manage your light.
Gay people are very good at reading a room. We have to be. When we walk into a dinner party or a bar or a conference, we ask, OK, is this a safe environment? We’ve been preparing our whole lives to read a situation, to prepare properly, for safety. But it is tiring. So the other point I make is,
please don’t modulate your life outside of work. Hopefully somewhere in your life you get to be fully you. If not, there are mental and physical strains that come from that. I went through it: Migraines, stomach ailments. It was super hard, and it was all stress.
Your book is, on balance, optimistic. But you don’t shy away from sharing difficult anecdotes, too. What’s the value of being vulnerable in print?
Leaving Disney [in 2012] was one of the lowest points in my life. I loved that job, but I was working for a boss who was bullying me. I was a mess. I became horrible to my partner. I cut myself off from friends and family. And I misplayed corporate politics; I got screwed. But people need to know, this is corporate America. It’s not the land of milk and honey. Young leaders need to understand this. I had to share these experiences, because otherwise I’m not being authentic.
When does the need for personal authenticity become a wider responsibility? In other words, is there a point on a career path when it becomes incumbent on a leader who is queer to set an example?
For me, it started circa 2004, when I became a senior vice president at Disney and I was managing a global team of 200-300 people. At that point I had earned the title and responsibility, and I was comfortable. I was working for a boss who had my back. I could then start to allow people into my personal life. It wasn’t like I was coming out, it was like I was inviting them into my life. Talking about my weekend with my partner, for example. It’s a cliché, but representation matters. You have to be visible for the next generation, so that they see people who look and sound like them.
[But] I would never advocate being the kind of leader where you’re only hiring clones of yourself. If I hired 50 of me, we would kill each other. You don’t need a bunch of Type A control freaks. Everyone has a story and a place. I will never be successful if I can only manage gay people. I have to be able to manage everyone.
Lately, it seems brands are having a harder and harder time dealing with LGBTQ+ issues publicly. We’ve seen
many missteps this year, with Bud Light, Starbucks, and other brands. What should corporations be doing? Increasingly, people look to companies and corporations for guidance. I think what’s gone on this summer is insane. Is Starbucks our ally or not? Is Target our ally or not? The younger generation is extremely aware of corporate policies and what they’re doing about the environment, about human rights, about social justice. You’re going to lose customers if you’re not open and visible about what your stances are. Bob Iger [CEO of the Walt Disney Company] is fighting this fight with [Florida governor] Ron DeSantis. Besides the fact that Disney has an incredible legal department, they’re on the right side of this. They’re arguing for sanity. Knowing Bob, much of it is coming from his moral fiber. As the CEO of one of the world’s largest companies, he is willing to use his position to advocate for what is right, and I admire that.
Tucker Shaw is a journalist and the author of When You Call My Name All Pride, No Ego was reviewed in the July 15, 2023, issue.
event that wiped out kin that were larger still. The prolific grasslands of the North American plains nurtured the species to keystone status, so that by the time Europeans arrived, herds were uncountably huge and seemingly inexhaustible, as well as uncommonly trusting. In his overland journal, Meriwether Lewis recorded that his men had to chase curious animals away with sticks and stones. For many reasons, as Duncan writes in his latest collaboration with Burns, subsequent Euro-American arrivals to the plains were bent on destroying the bison, and just about every central player in the history of the 19th-century West had some part in that destruction: Duncan brings Daniel Boone, Philip Sheridan, George Armstrong Custer, and assorted European noblemen into his account. Duncan borrows a long-standing trope that links the fate of the bison to that of the Native American peoples who once hunted them and whose descendants are now preserving them. As he notes, the National Bison Range is now under Native management, and, after a Lakota woman suggested to a founder of an intertribal council, “it’s best you ask the buffalo if they want to come back,” more than 80 tribes host herds that graze on more than 1 million acres of tribal land. This book is a useful survey, although any number of earlier titles, such as Steven Rinella’s American Buffalo and Dan O’Brien’s Wild Idea, tell the story of near-extermination and recovery more vividly. Duncan draws on their insights along with many secondary sources, as well as the work of cutting-edge historians such as Pekka Hämäläinen and Dan Flores.
A sturdy, reliable narrative that sometimes reads like a data dump of research.
Fancy Feast
Algonquin (256 pp.)
$18.99 paper | Oct. 10, 2023
9781643752372
Intimate essays from a performer who challenges outdated constructs regarding art, sex, and love.
A burlesque dancer, sex educator, and social worker, Fancy Feast began her stage life early on, with her high school’s production of Cabaret, originally cast as Fräulein Schneider. “It was a juicy role but I didn’t want it,” she writes. “The role of the old, sexless crone or pathetic undesirable always, always goes to the fat girl.” Instead, she asked to be cast as a Kit Kat Girl (part of the chorus line); she completely engulfed herself in the character and embraced the sexiness the role invited. The author points to this moment, at age 15, as pivotal to her eventual career. “Nuns are called to serve Christ,” she writes, “and I was called to serve burlesque.” From then on, she was dedicated to creating a life on the stage. She attended countless events to teach herself the art of burlesque and of performance in general. While divulging the secrets of the industry—from pastie (“a miracle of engineering”) fixes to what she always
carries before a show—the author uses humor and wit to keep readers on their toes, wondering what item of clothing, what layer, she is going to strip off next. She consistently entertains with her often jaw-dropping stories of the nightcrawlers who frequented the sex shop where she worked and other anecdotes about her love life, and she is candid about the elements of shame involved with being an overweight woman who is often desired only in the dark. The author invites us to confront our own views on sexuality, communication, acceptance, and power while honestly sharing her experiences. Ultimately, she makes us question our assumptions about which bodies deserve to be seen and celebrated.
A meaningful, vulnerable look at the world of burlesque from a storyteller who isn’t afraid to show a little skin.
Fedderly, Eva
Avid Reader Press (224 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781982193911
A study of how jails perpetuate injustice and a host of possible solutions. In this brief but insightful debut book, investigative journalist Fedderly explores the history of the Rikers Island jails and reflects on what it tells us about the cruelty and senselessness of the criminal justice system in the U.S. The author’s commentary on the conditions at the jails is informed by the input of a broad range of people who have encountered the institution in different roles, from prisoners to police officers, judges, psychologists, and the families of the incarcerated. A rough consensus can be discerned among all parties: The decision to close Rikers and replace it with a new jail system does not address deep-seated problems, rooted in systemic inequity, racism, and a broader social indifference to the fate of those accused of criminal behavior. In making her case, Fedderly vividly catalogs some of the worst problems at Rikers: overcrowding, unsanitary environments, routine violence, rampant and unaddressed mental health problems, and extraordinarily long wait times before court dates. (For further eye-popping details on the inhumane conditions at Rikers, see Graham Rayman and Reuven Blau’s Rikers.) The author describes several cases in wrenching detail, such as that of Kalief Browder, a teenager who committed suicide after being held at Rikers for three years, more than half of which was spent in solitary confinement. Also striking is Fedderly’s examination of the racist ideology informing the treatment of the incarcerated. “Both reformists and abolitionists agree that incarceration picked up where slavery left off,” she writes, “fortifying and enabling racism and discrimination in a new way, using the architecture of prisons and jails to conceal it.” The author concludes convincingly that versions of restorative justice, the expansion of community policing, and broader efforts
“A meaningful, vulnerable look at the world of burlesque from a storyteller who isn’t afraid to show a little skin.”
naked
to reduce poverty and promote social equity are essential to making the penal system more just and humane.
A bracing look at how the nation’s jails—and the nation itself—ought to be reformed.
Fox, Robin Lane
Basic Books (464 pp.)
$32.50 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781541600447
A thorough analysis of “the world’s greatest poem.”
Classicist Fox, author of Augustine and The Classical World and winner of the James Tait Black Award and Duff Cooper Prize, reminds readers that the verses of the Iliad survive in three times as many ancient papyri as those from the Odyssey, with other literary works far more scanty. At 15,000 lines, it’s far longer than other Greek poems, but it remains distinctive for the “concentrated direction of its plot and the compression of its action’s timespan.” In this deeply learned literary companion, Fox makes use of more than 2,000 years of opinion and scholarship, settling many longstanding controversies to his own satisfaction. “It remains overwhelming,” he writes. “It makes us marvel, sometimes smile and often cry. Whenever I read it, it reduces me to tears.” The author maintains that an individual named Homer wrote the Iliad around 750-740 BC, rejecting the theory that it is a “patchwork” assembled by many poets. Fox points out that the poem contains accurate descriptions of landscape features in the relevant regions; together with archaeological findings, this satisfies him (and most scholars) that Troy was a real city, although it remains uncertain that a specific Trojan war took place. The author maintains that Homer is a master of literary pathos and irony, with perhaps Tolstoy being “his only equal.” But there is no doubt that Hellenic culture of the era he describes, as well as the motivations of his characters, requires a nearly page-bypage explication. The result is a rich textual companion for university students majoring in classics or world literature with a rare bonus of being entirely free of turgid academic prose. For average readers, Fox’s book contains far more information than they will want to know, although a Homer enthusiast will learn a great deal.
A lucid, scholarly exploration into an immortal work.
Gray, Edward G.
Harvard Univ. (368 pp.)
$35.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780674987616
A study of how the eponymous demarcation line has long been seen as far more than just an abstract border.
The surveying party led by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon was organized in the aftermath of the French and Indian War to settle border disputes among Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The region, writes Florida State historian Gray, had long been torn by war: neighbor against neighbor, white against Indigenous, with spectacular violence committed against the peaceful peoples of the Susquehanna River area. Indeed, “the story of the Line is really a story of Americans and their relationship to government,” a relationship largely marked by hostility and antagonism, and by the usual ironies: The settlers along the borderlands demanded security from the government but resisted paying the taxes to underwrite that protection. Ironically, the Mason-Dixon line, which took that name decades after the survey was completed, would eventually come to be seen as the dividing line between North and South, between slavery and freedom—ironically, that is, because, as Gray notes in this data-rich narrative, for much of the 18th century New York had nearly three times more enslaved people than Pennsylvania, whose Quaker leaders took to abolitionism early on. During the Civil War, though they remained in the Union, Delaware and Maryland allowed slavery, at least in a roundabout way. Their politicians opposed the slave trade but not slavery itself, which had the effect of raising the prices of enslaved people. Delaware defied emancipation, albeit “the position of Delaware’s Democrats was more the stuff of farce than even the rudest form of political posturing.” Finally, if briefly, the Line marked the division between free and slave states, long after it had acquired ethnic partition lines that more or less continue today, grouping a few Indigenous communities, a small number of African Americans, and sometimes contending European populations dominated by Protestant German and Scots-Irish farmers.
A rich history of regional distinctions, especially as they shaped the antebellum Republic.
Gray, John Farrar, Straus and Giroux (208 pp.)
$26.00 | Nov. 7, 2023 9780374609733
In a challenging book, an esteemed philosopher examines how liberalism yielded to a totalitarianism impulse.
Gray is emeritus professor of European thought at the London School of Economics and a prolific author. In his latest, he gathers a number of the themes he has pursued throughout his life and work. He uses Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan as a starting point, explaining how Hobbes believed that a powerful government was necessary to protect people from one another and from external enemies—and nothing more. In the past century, however, we have seen the rise of the “New Leviathans,” who want to go much further, to “become engineers of souls.” Gray looks at the attempts of the Soviet leaders to mold people and at how that pattern was adopted by Putin. It justifies a totalitarian level of control, all in the name of the greater good. There is a similar pattern in China, with leaders who see themselves as fulfilling a quasi-divine purpose. A related strain of thinking Gray labels as “hyper-liberalism,” which “vulgarizes post-modern philosophy.” Though “enclaves of freedom persist…a liberal civilization based on the practice of tolerance has passed into history,” writes the author. “In schools and universities, education inculcates conformity with the ruling progressive ideology. The arts are judged by whether they serve approved political goals.” Gray questions the obsession with race and slavery, noting that slavery and racism have had many faces throughout history, and he views as arrogant the idea that the American experience represents a universal experience. Gray does not provide an easy solution, but he sees an obligation to fight totalitarianism in whatever way we can. He concludes: “If we go on, it is because we cannot do otherwise. It is life that pulls us on, against the tide, life that steers us into the storm.”
Dense with provocative ideas—a solid choice for budding political philosophers.
Groom, Kelle
Tupelo Press (286 pp.)
$21.95 paper | Oct. 1, 2023
9781946482839
A collection of essays that traces the edges of past losses and dislocations, assembling guidance from years of wandering.
“For two years, I’ve been traveling to places I’ve never been before, where I know no one,” writes Groom, author of I Wore the Ocean in the
Shape of a Girl. “Trying to understand what home is, where it is. For myself, who left Cape Cod as a child, traveling to a new state every few years, a new country in my teens…Is home the place you left, or the place you are now?” In 28 essays, many previously published in literary magazines, the author looks for ways to accommodate life’s wounds—among them, a grandmother’s death, a broken engagement, recovery from alcoholism, and the death of her infant son, 40 years earlier, who was being raised by her aunt and uncle in Boston at the time he succumbed to leukemia. The backstory is not forthcoming. In general, the author shies away from narrative storytelling and plot in favor of imagery, interiority, and a magpie approach to acquiring wisdom from various sources. For example, she writes about finding solace for her loss via a scientific study revealing that women carry within them the cells of their offspring for the rest of their lives. Each essay is subtitled with a place and a year, and Groom introduces many characters along the way. One of the most memorable is M, a Japanese student who faced extreme emotional difficulties, including deaths of loved ones and suicide attempts, and whom the author feels she failed—though it turns out the woman made it through tough times. M reappears in the final essay, “Call Yourself Alive,” as Groom realizes, decades later, that M’s approach has guided her all along: “Go to a new land. Learn to ask for what you need.”
With her dreamy, lustrous writing, Groom invites readers to share her journeys across permeable boundaries.
Gulman, Gary
Flatiron Books (304 pp.)
$28.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781250777065
A stand-up comic chronicles his life from childhood through adolescence.
In his famous routine about the way states received their two-letter abbreviations, Gulman quotes zingers from a fictitious, wisecracking pistol of a secretary named Dottie. “How Dottie is this?” he says before citing dialogue that demonstrates his considerable talent for deploying the correct word for maximum comedic effect. Anyone who wondered whether that talent would translate to the page will be happy to know that it has. In this genial memoir, the author takes readers through his formative experiences growing up Jewish in suburban Boston during the 1970s and ’80s. As a framing device, he intersperses quick scenes from the harrowing period he endured in the mid-2010s when, after six blissful months of marriage, “a sinister third wheel had joined: crippling depression and anxiety.” At the time, 46-year-old Gulman left his Manhattan apartment to move back to his Massachusetts boyhood home with his mother. Most of this book, however, focuses on his upbringing as the youngest of three sons of divorced parents. He takes readers from kindergarten, where he claimed to speak French but could only “pronounce certain words with
“With her dreamy, lustrous writing, Groom invites readers to share her journeys across permeable boundaries.”
how to live
a French accent” after seeing Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther films; through high school, where he “became obsessed with jokes, their components and the components of the components, the words,” and discovered his calling. Some scenes, especially from his teen years, are standard biographical fare—playing football, hoping to get a girlfriend—and his depression starts to feel incidental after a while. Some readers may wish to have learned more about his ordeal. However, he tells his story well, and his knack for creating a well-crafted phrase is very much in evidence, as when he writes of his “Jew in name only” mother: She “couldn’t have named ten commandments if you spotted her nine plus ‘Thou shalt not…’ and fired a pistol.”
A good-natured, hilarious memoir from a gifted comedian.
Hale, Grace Elizabeth Little, Brown (256 pp.)
$29.00 | Nov. 7, 2023
9780316564748
A painful tale of “a lynching and a lie.” Hale is a University of Virginia professor of history and American studies and author of Making Whiteness and Cool Town. Her grandfather, Oury Berry, was “a great bear of a man I called Pa” and a white man who, as sheriff of Mississippi’s Jefferson Davis County in 1947, carried out the extrajudicial killing of a Black man, Versie Johnson, accused of the rape of a white woman. The lie is the family legend that Berry held off a lynch mob at the jail and had nothing to do with the murder. It is also the lie of white supremacy that sustained Jim Crow in the majority-Black county. Hale undertakes the exposure of the lie to do her part in “dismantling” white supremacy and to “lay the groundwork for repair, for acknowledgement and apology [and] also for reparations.” She also strives “to place Versie Johnson himself at the center of this particular historical tale.” In this way, the account that unfolds is a study in historiography as Hale parses both Black and white media and census for what scraps of truth about Black life in Mississippi she can find. The historical neglect of Black stories combines with the efforts of mid-20th-century white record-keepers to conceal lynching, and thereby suppress anti-lynching campaigns, to make this a tale of inference and speculation; words such as possibly and likely abound, underscoring the many gaps Hale struggles to understand. The frequent repetition of another phrase, my grandfather, however, simultaneously undermines the author’s attempts to center Johnson even as it makes clear her determination to accept her family’s implication in white supremacy. Still, Hale’s thorough focus on what locals still call Jeff Davis County ensures that readers emerge with an appreciation of the variations in Black experiences of Jim Crow. Some one-third of the county’s eligible Black population was registered to vote in 1954, for instance, and many were landowners.
A worthwhile addition to the literature on lynching.
Hanauer, Nick & Joan Walsh & Donald Cohen
The New Press (176 pp.)
$24.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781620977514
Able dissection of the lies corporations and their reputation handlers tell to “defend the indefensible.”
We hear it all the time: Raise the minimum wage, and jobs will disappear. The free market regulates itself more effectively than the government can. Raise taxes on wealthy people and— yes, jobs will disappear. Hanauer, Walsh, and Cohen calls these specimens of “concern-trolling” part of a spurious “protection racket for the superrich,” always with a hidden threat that if you don’t give them what they want, the plutocrats will pick up their toys and go home. By the authors’ account, the arguments the superrich and their vassals make hinge on six major tenets, ranging from the overarching thought that any attempt at reform will only make matters worse to the familiar canard that efforts at economic justice are socialism in action. As the narrative proceeds, they pepper it with supporting quotations from oligarch-adjacent organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which once held—in the face of any number of workplace violations—that “employers do not deliberately allow work conditions to exist which cause injury or illness.” Just so, a former Reagan-era secretary of the interior insisted that climate change in the form of a disappearing ozone layer affected only people who stood out in the sun, as if a sizable portion of the workforce didn’t labor outdoors. As the authors note, it has always been this way. When Grover Cleveland first called for an income tax on “the top 1 percent at the time…howls of complaint ensued.” Today those factories of disinformation persist in the form of think tanks, ad agencies, PACs, and—well, politicians of a certain party, all of whom the authors urge be combatted by asking hard questions: “Who’s telling the story, and how do they stand to benefit from the status quo?”
A welcome user’s guide to maneuvering the thicket of lies that constitutes so much discourse today.
One Farm, Six Generations, and the Future of Food
Harris, Will with Amely Greeven Viking (304 pp.)
$29.00 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780593300473
A farmer revitalizes his family’s farm.
Livestock farmer Harris, owner of White Oak Pastures in southwest Georgia, makes his book debut with an impassioned plea for
the boy from kyiv
regenerative agriculture and resilient food production—i.e., farming in harmony with nature. Now comprising thousands of acres, and tens of thousands of animals and employing nearly 200 people, the farm was started by his great-grandfather in 1866 and continued as “a highly local, producer-to-consumer food system” through the next generation. The author’s father, though, heading the farm at a time when “manufactured” seemed better than homemade, and “sterile better than living,” began industrializing the farm, applying chemical fertilizer, treating cattle with hormones and antibiotics, and selling his calves to the commodity beef industry. In 1990, Harris took over, and in a few years had a sudden epiphany. Certain that what he was doing wasn’t right for the animals, he decided to walk away “from the altar of technology,” heal the land that chemicals had harmed, and reverse “the downhill plummet” of environmental damage. From being a cattle rancher, he evolved into raising 10 species of livestock, providing them with a “natural diet, natural environment, constant movement, little stress.” Harris recounts the “very steep and expensive learning curve” involved in regenerative agriculture. “Switching [your] system,” he admits, requires “sheer grit” and determination. He encountered unforeseen risks (and costs) to raising poultry, for example, and he faced the challenge of finding grocery chains willing to stock his products—no easy task in the rural South. Still, he discovered that the changes benefited the larger community when he hired local labor and brought in new people who spent money on the town’s goods and services. The author provides an appendix of resources for consumers who want to rethink the quality of the food they eat and question the impact of their food choices.
A compelling argument for real food.
Harss, Marina
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (464 pp.)
$35.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780374102616
The career of an acclaimed choreographer.
Dance writer Harss makes a lively book debut with an appreciative, richly detailed, generously illustrated biography of dancer and choreographer Alexei Ratmansky, formerly director of the Bolshoi Ballet, artist in residence at the American Ballet Theatre, and presently artist in residence at the New York City Ballet. Born in Leningrad in 1968 to Ukrainian parents, he began studying dance at the famed Bolshoi Academy. Because students from the Soviet republics were referred to by their place of origin, the young Alexei became known as “the boy from Kyiv.” Harss recounts the trajectory of Ratmansky’s dancing career: the National Ballet of Ukraine, which sent him touring to Western Europe, Japan, and Mexico; the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, where he was promoted to principal dancer; and the Royal Danish
Ballet. Besides dancing, he began to create works, and by the end of 2002, he had made nearly 30 ballets, including two fulllength pieces. Invited to become the director of the Bolshoi Ballet in 2003, Ratmansky faced a difficult challenge: The venerable company, with nearly 230 dancers, was suspicious of him. At first, his strategy “was to simply ignore the grumblings and keep moving forward,” but the struggle wore him down. In 2009, he accepted an invitation from the American Ballet Theatre. Harss insightfully chronicles Ratmansky’s works, many characterized by “youthful nonchalance” and irreverent charm, others paying homage to acclaimed choreographers such as Petipa and Bournonville. Ratmansky, Harss writes, “is a playful absurdist, an artist who combines the oddity of Lewis Carroll and Daniil Kharms with the glow of Tiepolo and the vulnerability of Mozart.” Although Ratmansky has drawn from international influences, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has inspired in him “a sense of belonging,” he told Harss, “and it’s something very new to me. I feel it is my duty to support Ukrainian culture.”
A delightful gift for ballet fans.
Hill, Kashmir
Random House (368 pp.)
$28.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9780593448564
A New York Times tech reporter delivers an exposé of the frightening possibilities of a new facial-recognition technology company.
In January 2020, Hill published an article in the Times bringing Clearview AI to public scrutiny as an exceedingly secretive startup company that could identify everything about a person’s life based on a photograph. Regarded previously as a “dystopian technology that most people associated only with science fiction novels or movies such as Minority Report,” facial recognition has proven exciting to many law enforcement agencies and terrifying to privacy-conscious citizens. Working on a tip in late 2019 about claims by Clearview’s high-profile lawyer, Paul Clement, formerly solicitor general under George W. Bush, Hill learned that more than 200 law enforcement agencies “were already using the tool,” and “the company had hired a fancy lawyer to reassure officers that they weren’t committing a crime by doing so.” The author partially chronicles the history about the company, started by a “ragtag crew with rightward leanings”— namely, Vietnamese Australian technophile Hoan Ton-That and conservative troll Chuck Johnson. Drawing on outdated theories of physiognomy and “genetic determinism,” as well as similar surveillance technology then developing in China and Russia, Clearview originally called the technology smartcheckr.com, “a tool that could theoretically identify and root out extreme liberals.” Indiana State Police became its first official customers in 2019, with many others to follow, including the Department of
“A delightful gift for ballet fans.”
Homeland Security. Hill underscores the danger of misidentification and the huge ethical ramifications for a company “willing to cross a line that other technology companies feared, for good reason.” Due to the pandemic, she was unable to pursue this technology in Russia and China, which makes the book feel incomplete. Still, the author provides a solid foundation for further investigative digging.
Though not fully fleshed, a haunting portrait of sci-fi darkness in the real world.
Houseman, Victoria Princeton Univ. (528 pp.)
$39.95 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780691236186
Comprehensive biography of the noted classicist and mythologist, whose life contained multitudes—and whispered secrets.
Edith Hamilton (1867-1963) had two lifelong intellectual interests: the ancient Greek language, which was “a reflection, she felt, of the clarity of the ancient Greek mind,” and Christianity. She was politically conservative and anti-communist, though she was also committed to women’s suffrage, pacifism, antifascism, nuclear disarmament, civil rights, and the abolition of the death penalty. More than that, Hamilton was a lesbian at a time when homosexuality was punishable by imprisonment in some places. Even so, historian Houseman chronicles, Hamilton was able to live openly with her partner, many years younger than she and once a student at the school where she was headmistress. Moreover, in the conservative circles that surrounded her home in Washington, D.C., populated by the likes of Ohio Senator Robert Taft, a U.S. Army general, and numerous journalists and government functionaries, no one blinked an eye at her living arrangements. Houseman takes no prurient interest in the matter but instead treats it as an example of Hamilton’s principled determination to live life on her own terms. “In her private life and in her published writing,” writes the author, “she was a strong advocate of individual freedom. This position was widely accepted by her friends, who worried that the spread of communism would make the individual citizen insignificant and powerless.” That published writing was prolific, including books such as Mythology—a book complicated by the rise of the Nazis and their heavy borrowings from the Norse pantheon— and The Greek Way. A writer of popular scholarship, Hamilton found a vast audience, whom she rewarded by connecting ancient themes to modern concerns such as “the meaning of citizenship in a democratic society.” It’s telling that 60 years after Hamilton’s death, Mythology remains in print.
A long overdue life of the multifaceted, deeply learned writer and explorer of the past.
Jacobellis, Lindsey with Daniel Paisner
Harper/HarperCollins (240 pp.)
$30.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780063294479
The greatest female snowboard cross athlete of all time tells the story of “an unending, uncompromising determination to push myself.”
“They’ve become the manifestation of every dream I’ve allowed myself to dream,” writes Jacobellis, with the assistance of veteran ghostwriter and collaborator Paisner, about the two gold medals she won at the 2022 Olympics. About the aftermath of her devastating fall at the 2006 Olympics, when she was 20, the author writes, “In the end I came to believe that it was the fall that drove me to keep competing, to keep pushing myself long past the age when most athletes hang it up.” Now 37, Jacobellis describes a life driven by unrelenting, obsessive tenacity—e.g., “I couldn’t keep from pushing myself,” “I was always looking to push myself, to outrace and outhustle everyone else,” “I was really pushing it every time I went out.” Sharing a lesson she has learned over decades committed to a sport that “can be unforgiving for so long,” the former five-time world champion and 10-time X Games champion notes, “In any discipline, it’s never about them—meaning the other riders in the field. It’s always about me—meaning no one else has the power to dictate the outcome. That’s the mindset you need to embrace.” It’s a theme she emphasizes throughout this inspiring yet often repetitive book. The author delivers a variety of relatable family and sports stories, including accounts of the many injuries she endured and numerous years of competitions fueled by dogged, laser-focused perseverance. “I’m still the same person,” Jacobellis writes now, more than a year after becoming an Olympic champion. “I’m still chasing, still pushing myself to be the best I can be. Still wondering what my life is going to look like away from snowboarding. Because that’s how I’m wired.”
Sure to appeal to fans of Jacobellis as well as the sport.
Jones, Mark William
Basic Books (432 pp.)
$32.00 | Aug. 29, 2023
9781541600201
A history of a pivotal year in the Weimar Republic.
Jones, professor of history and author of Founding Weimar, reminds us that the Treaty of Versailles required Germany to pay massive reparations, mostly to France, which had suffered enormous physical destruction.
Although largely undamaged, an exhausted Germany was slow to pay, so a frustrated France sent troops into the industrial Ruhr Valley in January 1923 to extract resources. The occupation outraged almost every German but, hobbled by its tiny post-Versailles army, the Weimar government proclaimed a policy of passive resistance. Neither nation benefited. France obtained far less material after the invasion than the year before, and the cost of Germany’s passive resistance—paying striking workers, supporting resisters expelled from their homes—was greater than it spent on reparations. With no tax revenue from the occupied areas, the government was forced to print more money. By spring, inflation was accelerating; by fall, it had reached catastrophic proportions. That year proved a bonanza for Hitler, whose charisma enraptured innumerable fanatic splinter parties searching for a messiah to make Germany great again. By 1923, he was a major player in Bavaria. Putsches were a regular feature of postwar Germany, and Hitler launched his in November. However, incompetence and police quashed it within a day. Jones emphasizes that Bavaria was governed by right-wing Weimar-haters who had no objection to Hitler’s violent, antisemitic politics, but also considered him a rival. By December, financial reforms, a new chancellor, and international pressures on France were improving matters. The author concludes that Weimar’s survival for another decade proves the resilience of democracy, but readers may conclude that Hitler represented the wave of the future. Lenin and Mussolini took power by coups, but Hitler was appointed legally in 1933. In the 21st century, free elections have chosen autocrats in a dozen nations, and hyper-nationalistic parties are flourishing in other democracies, including Germany. This book makes a good complement to Volker Ullrich’s Germany 1923
Dispiriting yet solidly rendered history.
Judis, John B. & Ruy Teixeira
Henry Holt (336 pp.)
$25.99 | Nov. 7, 2023
9781250877499
Two respected political analysts look at the shifting landscape and find much to worry the Democratic Party.
At first glance, this would seem to be an odd time for this book. The theme is that the Democrats are in trouble, which is strange to think about when the party holds the White House, the Senate, and two dozen governorships. However, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Judis and Talking Points
Memo editor at large Teixeira focus on the broader trends underlying political changes. They acknowledge that their allegiance lies with the Democrats, and they are displeased with what they see as the party’s radical turn to the left. In an influential 2002 book, The Emerging Democratic Majority, the authors argued that Democratic-leaning ethnic minorities would grow
while the Republican base would shrink, but they emphasized that the Democrats would have to actively court votes from the Latino and Asian American populations, while striving to keep white, blue-collar voters. This critical point was often ignored, and the past decade has seen large chunks of these groups switch to the Republicans. Teixeira and Judis examine the Democratic “shadow party” of foundations, lobby groups, quasi-socialist academics and Wall Street donors, which loudly pushes an agenda of identity politics and free trade that is out of alignment with mainstream values. Attacking anyone who disagrees as a deplorable racist does not help to win support. Joe Biden has tried to distance himself from the extreme end of the spectrum, but the rot runs deep. The strongest card for the Democrats seems to be the unpopularity of Trump, but that will not be enough to overcome the long-term impact of the trends the authors analyze. The obvious solution is for the party to move back toward the center, but the authors do not sound optimistic about it.
Backed by solid research, this book sounds a powerful warning that should resonate throughout the Democratic leadership.
Karikó, Katalin
Crown (336 pp.)
$28.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780593443163
A fine memoir from a biochemist whose decades of work contributed to the formulation of the Covid-19 vaccine.
In this inspiring, riveting narrative, Karikó describes the science behind her work but also delves deeply into her childhood, education, and bumpy career. She was born in Hungary in 1955. Devastated by World War II and under communist rule, the country was impoverished, as was her family, living in a poorly heated adobe hut. Nonetheless, it was a loving family, and her butcher father always provided. The author beings with a scene in which she watches, fascinated, as her father dismembers a pig. Curious and hardworking, Karikó excelled in school. It may be surprising for some readers to learn that in this communist nation, teachers encouraged her, and the government showered her with honors and smoothed her path into a university and a research position. Ironically, moving to America in 1985 gave her more opportunities but less freedom and no prosperity. She found American academic research fiercely hierarchical, overly competitive, preoccupied with money and publication, and often simply nasty. She also found it cheaper to send her daughter to relatives in Hungary for long periods than pay for American child care. Karikó survived through stubbornness, exquisite precision in her experiments, and success in perfecting a fragile molecule, messenger RNA, to treat disease. For more than three decades, she labored with support from a few scientists but not her university employer, who denied her tenure or a permanent job. It
“An outstanding memoir with a happy ending.” breaking through
was only after she was forcibly “retired” in 2013 that entrepreneurs began taking mRNA seriously. She became a celebrity in 2021 when pharmaceutical companies using her discoveries won the race to produce Covid-19 vaccines. Developing a new vaccine had never taken fewer than four years; creating one with mRNA succeeded in less than one.
An outstanding memoir with a happy ending.
Adventures in Ephemera
Kephart, Beth Temple Univ. Press (336 pp.)
$30.00 | Nov. 3, 2023
9781439923948
An award-winning writer interweaves a narrative about her life with stories drawn from the obscure, sometimes beautiful world of paper and papermaking.
Kephart opens this prose-poem memoir with self-reflexive musings on Dard Hunter, a master printer and papermaker whose 1958 autobiography My Life with Paper inspired her own. Hunter’s book found its way to Kephart through her brother, who retrieved it from their deceased mother’s belongings. Over time, it became a contemplative instrument the author used “to find out what paper means and what I might mean.” In an early chapter, the author recalls how the “bursting paper bags” filled with craft items inform a memory of making handmade cards with a beloved uncle. That recollection then becomes a springboard into a brief history of the paper bag itself. In Kephart’s skilled hands, an everyday item made of plant fibers becomes a repository not just for personal history, but also “varnished intimacies.” The poignant irony that undergirds the author’s explorations of everything from report cards to birth and death certificates is that while paper serves as an instrument for history, it is as ephemeral as the lives it documents. What makes paper so powerful are the many ways it weaves together relationships, such as the happy one Kephart has with her husband and fellow papermaking enthusiast, and the more complicated one she had with the mother. Threaded throughout Kephart’s elegantly nonlinear narrative are her imaginative ruminations on the life of Hunter, a man who traveled “more than a million miles to track down the secrets and tools and traditions of those who make their paper by hand.” As she offers insight into the fascinating world of papermaking, Kephart also reveals the intimate connection between memory and its most ubiquitous—and also most fragile—receptacle.
An eloquent and unique memoir.
Trans. by Bela Shayevich & Ilona Yazhbin
Chavasse
Penguin Press (384 pp.)
$30.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780593655269
A veteran Russian journalist reflects on her journey over the decades of increasingly stringent government censorship and violence.
In a vernacular style, Kostyuchenko, whose coverage of Russian’s invasion of Ukraine contributed to the 2022 shuttering of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, charts her early passion for journalism in the late 1990s when she began to read the work of the fearless Anna Politkovskaya, who was murdered in 2006, to learn what was really happening with the war in Chechnya. Growing up in Yaroslavl, Kostyuchenko learned the “official” line from TV, which her mother and neighbors listened to without asking questions, about the annexation of Crimea, and she began working at the activist newspaper when she was only 14. Within the loosely chronological, sometimes uneven narrative, the author inserts her own journalistic pieces that reveal unsettling strata of Russia social and political life. She writes about “stalkers, diggers, suiciders, guards, and ghosts” inhabiting the abandoned Hovrino hospital, a piece that becomes a kind of sad statement on the greater Russian society; going undercover as an apprentice criminologist in Moscow in 2009; trying to cover the aftermath of the storming of the Beslan school in 2004, “the worst terrorist attack in Russian history,” and being thwarted by authorities; and getting stonewalled regarding the causes and environmental effects of the 2020 oil spill in Norilsk. The essays delineating the author’s work in the “internat,” a hugely understaffed facility for neurologically impaired inmates, are intimately, disturbingly detailed. Near the end, Kostyuchenko writes about the harried staff at Novaya Gazeta, and she movingly describes how they tried to tell the truth about Ukraine before they were shut down: “Outside, fascism was descending on our country.” For English readers, the translation may appear uneven and choppy and occasionally ungrammatical, but the author’s stories are important.
A deeply felt, fractured collection reveals a fractured, benumbed society.
Kurlansky, Mark Bloomsbury (240 pp.)
$27.49 | Nov. 7, 2023
9781635575934
A sweet, earthy aroma permeates this book, as Kurlansky delves into our enduring love affair with onions.
Julia Child once said that it was difficult to imagine a civilization without onions. This is borne out by the historical record, compiled in this engaging, colorful book. Kurlansky, acclaimed author of Cod, Salt, Salmon, Milk!, and other food-related books, has a wonderful time with his subject, noting that onions have long been eaten in nearly every corner of the globe. They were even mentioned in the Code of Hammurabi. Onions have been sought for their combination of sweetness (from dextrose) and pungency (from sulfur, which is also the cause of the teary experience when peeling), and can provide a depth of taste when added to nearly any dish. Kurlansky even coins the word cepaphile, meaning a person who loves onions. They are easy to grow and travel well. This means that varieties have spread and intermixed across the world with waves of immigrants. The Pilgrim Fathers brought onions to the Americas with them on the Mayflower, although they found that several types grew wild. George Washington had a passion for onions, and Thomas Jefferson cultivated them. Kurlansky examines the myriad ways in which they have been used in cooking, offering 100 recipes drawn from a library of cookbooks and including soup, sauces, omelettes, bread, and puddings. He does not, however, recommend the onion-and-peanut-butter sandwich favored by Ernest Hemingway. Americans have always loved onions, consuming more per capita—more than 20 pounds annually—than any other country in the world. In total, the world grows 93.17 metric tons of onions per year, and China and India are the leading producers. The onion might be humble, but it is ubiquitous— and will surely remain so.
A delightful journey that unravels the story of a key piece of nearly every national cuisine.
Leibovitz, Liel
Norton (320 pp.)
$30.00 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781324020820
Excavating truths from an ancient tome.
Descended from a long line of rabbis, Israeli-born journalist Leibovitz, co-host of the podcast
Unorthodox, describes himself as a non-observant Jew. He had never read the Talmud—a huge work containing “a record of centuries of arguments”—but during a particularly traumatic time in his life, he turned to the book hoping to find wisdom and solace. Donald Trump was elected, his favorite artist, Leonard Cohen, died, and then the pandemic arrived: He needed to figure out how to make sense of the world. As Leibovitz sees it, the Talmud, the central text of Jewish theology, ethics, and laws, is the best self-help book ever written, “concerned with both divine will and with human desire,” and intended to guide Jews “through uncertainty and violence”—both blighting his own life. Among many “thorny topics” the Talmud considers are how to be a grown-up, come to terms with your body, and be a good friend, as well as how conflict can bring you closer to others, how to find your voice, and how to prepare for death. Leibovitz juxtaposes the plight of some well-known individuals—scholar Erich Auerbach, author of Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature; singer Billie Holliday; C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, whose friendship was ruptured by Tolkien’s rejection of Lewis’ Narnia manuscript—with intricately detailed, often funny, sometimes bawdy Talmudic stories to tease out their lessons. We can understand reality, writes the author, as “a biblical account, maddening and inscrutable and demanding that we investigate and complicate every intricacy until it makes sense to us, allowing us to grow the more we understand.” The Talmud, Leibovitz maintains, opens a path to self-knowledge and, most of all, stands as “a call to community.”
An erudite and accessible examination of a baffling work.
Marr, Johnny
Photos by Pat Graham
Dey Street/HarperCollins (288 pp.)
$60.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780063311060
A celebration of more than 50 guitars from Marr’s personal collection.
Marr founded the seminal 1980s British band the Smiths and later went on to play with the Pretenders, Electronica, and Modest Mouse, among many other musicians. “Some instruments come with songs in them,” he writes in this lovingly photographed book. These include a 1980 Gibson Les Paul, the first professional guitar that Marr owned, chosen because his “first hero,” Marc Bolan of T. Rex, played one. Marr wrote the first Smiths songs on a 1977 Gretsch Super Axe that is now on exhibit at the British Pop Archive in Manchester. Drawn to music with guitar hooks, Marr writes, “I still regard the guitar as the star” of any band. His instruments receive the full glamour treatment in Graham’s “guitar portraits,” which present them in more than 320 photos as true fetish objects. “Always, I hoped that my latest guitar would make me do something new,” writes Marr, and one example is a 1963 acoustic Gibson that “brought a bit of a beat group sensibility to my writing.” By the 2000s, Marr became a Fender endorsee, and the company produced his own
“An erudite and accessible examination of a baffling work.”
how the talmud can change your life
signature guitar made to his exact specifications. This inventory of gorgeous electric and acoustic instruments is supplemented by music writer Martin Kelly’s interview, in three parts, with Marr, in which he discusses the influence of 1960s girl-group sounds on the Smiths songs he wrote. Marr also acknowledges his influences and friendships with many famous musicians, including Nile Rodgers, Pete Townshend, and Johnny Thunders—but, tellingly, not with his Smiths bandmate Morrissey, with whom he had a notorious falling-out. Though his 1963 Epiphone Casino produced the famous tremolo riff on “How Soon Is Now?,” he has nothing to say about the song’s star vocalist. A great choice for any aficionado of rock guitar.
McEntire, Reba
Harper Celebrate (288 pp.)
$34.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781400238255
Lessons for the simple life from the country music star.
A longtime resident of Nashville, McEntire (b. 1955) grew up in rural Oklahoma. Following her mother’s death at the beginning of the pandemic, she returned to her home state to spend time reconnecting with her family. In this coffee-table book, which contains dozens of full-color photos and sidebars (“Clothes Every Cowgirl Should Own,” “Bring the Outside In”), the author reflects on that time, memories of her childhood, and her professional career as a musician, actor, retailer, and restaurateur. Throughout, she also includes numerous recipes, including “wild west” chili, chicken-fried steak, fried green tomatoes, and her “hands-down” personal favorite, pinto beans and cornbread. In addition to music and food, Christian faith is an important theme. “On the ranch,” she writes, “we make it a point to put God first, take care of our families, work hard, eat well, and always make time for a good, hearty laugh….Okies know that the secret to a good life is to keep things simple and be thankful for the things the good Lord’s given you.” In that vein, McEntire shares her favorite religious songs and gives advice about talking to God. She offers lighthearted lifestyle tips, including how to talk like a native Oklahoman or approximate her signature hairstyles. As McEntire notes, she couldn’t have achieved her level of success alone. To that end, she presents guidance received from her family and friends, including what she learned from the women who came before her in country music, and she is candid about the difficulties she had to overcome as a female singer. While McEntire’s advice is relatable, the text leans heavily toward self-promotion and marketing of her brand, reducing the feel of sincerity. Garth Brooks provides the foreword.
Down-home, straightforward guidance that will appeal most to McEntire fans and the HGTV set.
Menconi, David
Univ. of North Carolina (208 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781469674995
A history of an independent record label that has left an indelible imprint on musical culture.
This admiring tribute to Rounder Records shows just what a remarkable achievement it has been for the label to last a half-century, release so many albums, and cover so much of the musical map, geographically and stylistically—especially considering that it began as a labor of love for three college students who had no business background nor interest in the commercial mainstream. Menconi provides interesting biographies of those three—Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy, and Bill Nowlin—whose partnership itself seems like a remarkable fluke. The two men met as randomly assigned roommates when they entered college, and Irwin and Leighton Levy were a couple during a period when all three of them lived together. Their only real criterion for the music they would release was, “Do we like this?” Often their tastes were very similar, and the passion of one for a project could influence the others. “Rounder began as less a conventional record company,” writes the author, “than a quixotic quest that unexpectedly lasted for decades.” Early on, the label began releasing more albums than was financially viable and made significant inroads with bluegrass in particular, a genre in which Rounder’s leftist politics and female presence (in ownership and on the roster) made it a progressive anomaly. Though it amassed a well-respected catalog, the success of two artists proved transformative. The first was George Thorogood, whose aggressive, rock-oriented, bar-band blues was a contrast to the label’s folk approach. The second was Alison Krauss, discovered by the label when she was 13 and then nurtured into critical renown and commercial success. Much of the book is more about business than music, culminating in the sale of the label in 2010.
A well-researched celebration of Rounder’s influence and accomplishments.
From the French Revolution to the End of the Cold War
Milanovic, Branko
Belknap/Harvard Univ. (304 pp.)
$32.95 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780674264144
A noted economist examines the thinking of six of his predecessors on how income is distributed and the conditions that favor or hinder the accumulation of wealth.
Although he figures in these pages, which require a solid background in economics, Thomas Piketty was not the first economist to think about inequality. He may have been the timeliest, however, given the spectacular rise of that inequality, which, by some economic theories, shouldn’t be happening. By Piketty’s own theorizing we might well see an economy in which the top earners capture so much income that “it threatens to swallow the entire output of the society.” Economists who preceded him formulated the problem in different ways, conditioned by their time. François Quesnay, who ranks among the first economists to deserve the name, lived in a time when French society was divided into “estates,” classes assumed to be more or less static, in which “all workers are assumed to be poorer than all capitalists, and all capitalists to be poorer than all landlords.” A small problem lies in this formulation, with Adam Smith and then David Ricardo, Karl Marx, and Vilfredo Pareto puzzling out what happens when class eventually gives way to individuals and the rise of individual elites. Milanovic’s final case study concerns Simon Kuznets, who discounted inequality in a time when it was far less pronounced than earlier (and today) and when class distinctions were suppressed in the anti-Marxist narrative of the Cold War. No matter how problematic their theories, each of these economists contributed to an evolving view of inequality: Marx, for example, by understanding that inequality is relative (“Our wants and pleasures have their origin in society; we therefore measure them in relation to society”), and Pareto by understanding that whatever the social structure, “the underlying distribution of wealth and income could not be affected”—or, in other words, that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
A dense, numerically knotty, bracing companion to contemporary economic thinkers on the problem of inequality.
Mitchell, Andy Harper Wave (320 pp.)
$29.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780063220386
A British clinical neuropsychologist attempts to answer some “big questions” about psychedelic drugs by taking them himself.
The author addresses his skepticism of psychedelics, particularly the drugs’ efficacy as a treatment for trauma and the “relative lack of academic interest in the experiences themselves.” Of his first ayahuasca trip, he writes, “this is what real healing feels like.” In a chronological narrative, Mitchell records his experiences with psychedelic drugs in 10 locations in just over a month; before the final one, he writes, “it was becoming increasingly difficult to separate all the trips from all the trips.” In addition to various works of scientists, researchers, philosophers, and poets, the author offers details about each incident—e.g., “There’s no denying it: these mushrooms really fucking work!”
and “I’d go so far as to say that I experienced transcendence.” Most experiences proved positive, although one trip was “the single most terrifying episode of my life,” during which he felt “different expressions of insanity.” Ketamine, he writes, was “more shallow than it was deep, a private weirdness to insulate one from the weirdness of the world.” After being told by a shaman in Colombia, “I drink my own medicine. Without it, I know nothing,” Mitchell writes, “There it was in a nutshell: the fusion of first and third person which harked back to the nearly obscured tradition of self-experimentation in Western science.” Calling psychedelics “MRIs of the soul,” Mitchell writes that these drugs can make you euphoric, intelligent, fearless, and enlightened, but also “uncertain, terrified, crazy, Republican, anarchic, delinquent.” Ultimately, he concludes, “the most fundamental lesson of my various trips is that these drugs defy our attempts to design them.”
Short on definitive conclusions, but worthwhile for those interested in the current and future role of psychedelics.
Moore, Thurston
Doubleday (496 pp.)
$35.00 | Oct. 24, 2023 9780385548656
The Sonic Youth guitarist and songwriter delivers a literate, absorbing account of life in the New York of CBGB, no wave, and affordable spaces for artists.
Born in Florida and raised in Connecticut, Moore was surrounded by classical music—“at least until ‘Louie Louie’ came breaking and entering in.” Then, he began a surreptitious campaign of sneaking into his older brother’s room to play his guitar until finally getting a “noise machine” of his own. While his young peers favored such things as prog rock or “the denim-shirt balladry of America,” Moore fell in love with David Bowie, Kiss, and especially Patti Smith. Nearby New York beckoned with seedy clubs where firstwave punk bands lurked. It was “a new vanguard of punk rock destruction,” he writes, and he “wanted in.” He got there, hanging out with the likes of Suicide and Television, taking the stage at some of those dingy clubs, and haunting bookstores such as the Gotham Book Mart. In time, he found Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo and formed Sonic Youth, a band that never exactly smashed the charts but nonetheless earned a highly devoted following. Moore is insightful on many aspects of the scene. For example, he writes that even though the Ramones and the Sex Pistols were all the rage, it was the “women-centric groups [that] struck the era’s most significant, radical, and fascinating chords.” He also remains insistent on the virtues of what he calls “sonic democracy,” whereby everyone’s ideas deserve a chance to find their way to the stage or dance floor. Not that the whole tale is halcyon. Moore allows that his breakup with Gordon was untidy, and his New York may have been affordable but also a touch dangerous, with “low-level heroin dealers [who] skulked
“A self-aware, charmingly rough-and-tumble tale of the rock ’n’ roll life.”
sonic life
about the neighborhood” and heat waves that threatened to fell those who couldn’t afford air conditioning in the days when it was possible to be poor and live in Manhattan.
A self-aware, charmingly rough-and-tumble tale of the rock ’n’ roll life.
Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman: A Love Affair in Words and Pictures
Newman, Melissa Voracious/Little, Brown (288 pp.)
$50.00 | Oct. 10, 2023 9780316526005
A daughter’s tribute to two legendary actors.
Reading a book about two beautiful, rich, and famous people finding love may not be many readers’ cup of tea, but Melissa Newman, an artist and teacher, beautifully captures their lives together and shows off their famed love affair. The author made the wise decision to let photos of her parents do most of the talking, and the fact that the bulk of the photos were taken by some of the 20th century’s greatest photographers—including Richard Avedon, Gordon Parks, and Philippe Halsman—only adds to the appeal. An Avedon photo shows Newman and Woodward sharing a lighthearted moment when it looks like Newman is about to chew on her nose. One Parks photo shows them as the epitome of cool on the streets of Manhattan’s East Village in 1959. At times, Newman and Woodward are playful; at others, they gaze at each other adoringly; more often than not, they look like they are simply enjoying each other’s company. “My parents,” writes the author, “were inexorable, they were forever…It wasn’t always a fairy tale, but I wanted to remember the best, dreamiest, most sublime part, and that part just happens to be true.” Aside from the introduction, she peppers the rest of the book with quotes from her parents to explain their relationship and their careers. “Paul is not only a great actor—and that’s all I can do, is act,” Joanne says. “He can write, he can produce and direct, race cars and run corporations, and he’s a pretty good husband, too.” Notes Paul, “No one sings like Woodward, or acts like Woodward, or bitches like Woodward or kisses like Woodward or talks like Woodward, or talks as long as Woodward, or wipes water out of her eyes like Woodward, or smiles like Woodward or cusses like Woodward.”
A showcase of a singular romance that also serves as a broader demonstration of love.
Norton, Laurah
Hachette (352 pp.)
$30.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780306828805
A comprehensive study of the difficult task of figuring out the identities of faceless victims of violent crime.
One of the most astonishing facts in this book is that there are approximately 40,000 unidentified decedents in the U.S. each year. That is the official number, but the real count might be much higher. Many are people who were already marginalized: unhoused, undocumented immigrants, sex workers, and people with addictions or mental illnesses. Norton, an Atlantabased writer, former academic, and podcaster, has long been fascinated with “cold cases,” especially those in which the victim is hard to identify. The narrative follows her attempts to identify a victim whose severed head was found near a scenic lake in Illinois in 1993. The victim was known only as Ina Jane Doe for many years, and there were no real clues about the crime. Norton uses the case, and several others, to examine the new generation of forensic tools, such as DNA anthropology, skeletal analysis, dental comparisons, and genetic genealogy. In the case of Ina Jane Doe, it turned out that one tooth, which had been the subject of unusual dental treatment, was the key. The trail eventually led to a woman who had apparently gone shopping and never returned. The killer has not been found, but Norton and her colleagues were satisfied that they had given the victim an identity. It also gave the family a sense of closure. The author emphasizes that despite the available forensic tools, there are often many unanswered questions; this is not a TV show, where everything is neatly finalized before the credits roll. Norton’s story sometimes becomes bogged down in details and detours, but it will appeal to fans of true-crime podcasts and documentaries, as well as Barbara Butcher’s What the Dead Know and similar books.
Norton’s dive into forensic technology reveals a dark world that is being slowly illuminated by science and dedication.
Parton, Dolly with Holly GeorgeWarren & Rebecca Seaver
Ten Speed Press (336 pp.)
$50.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781984862129
The sparkly story of country music’s most recognizable woman told through an archive of outfits.
Featuring fringe, vibrant color, and rhinestones, Parton’s fashion sense has always contributed to
her immense popularity. In this effervescent, full-color volume, Parton, along with veteran music and pop-culture writer George-Warren and Seaver, the director of archive services for the author, recounts the vivid tales behind the clothes. Blocks of text run alongside photographs as Parton looks back on her poor childhood, when she was fascinated with clothing and creating makeup from foraged household items. Inspired by Mae West, she writes about many of her pivotal career moments, including her move to Nashville in 1964 to become a country musician, despite warnings to tone down her image. “From early on, I loved the big hair and makeup,” she writes, “the long nails, the high heels, the flashy clothes, and—as soon as I could afford them—the rhinestones!” Passion is the common element throughout this graciously and generously illuminated book, commemorating her celebrity, zest for sparkling fashion, and identity as a funny, outspoken, effortlessly charming personality. A woman who wins over audiences with bubbly giggles, candid opinions, and a bedazzled, often risk-taking wardrobe, Parton moves with ease through the design innovations that have marked her decadeslong career as a music and fashion trailblazer. From album cover shots to photos from TV and movie appearances and award ceremonies, Parton’s personal style shines brightly as she shares the intricate details behind the glittered fringe, coiffured wigs, rhinestone stilettos, and glamorous designer collaborations that have made her wardrobe unique. She also writes frankly about how the weight of those outfits could be overwhelming, often making it a challenge to perform on stage. From beneath its splashy hot-pink cover emerges an unforgettable personal and professional history of a beloved country music performer whose outfits “reflect my innermost self, my own personal truth.”
A must-have treasury for diehard Dolly fans and armchair fashionistas.
Ramón, Paula
Trans. by Julia Sanches & Jennifer Shyue
Amazon Crossing (269 pp.)
$28.99 | Oct. 31, 2023
9781542036900
A Venezuelan reporter who left her home country in 2010 chronicles the traumatic fate of her family and her broken nation.
Ramón (b. 1981), a Los Angeles–based reporter for Agence France-Presse, takes us from the heyday of Venezuela’s booming oil industry and bloated welfare system of the 1970s, when her parents first met, to the tragedy of a bankrupt economy in the wake of Hugo Chávez’s “revolution.” She describes how the “mirage made possible by oil” sustained her country through the decades, but there was little accountability for the government and wealthy citizens, who squandered the country’s riches in gross mismanagement, corruption, and embezzlement. The youngest daughter of a Spanish-born entrepreneur who had
come through the Nazi concentration camps and resettled in Venezuela after the war, and a hardscrabble teacher who retired early because of arthritis, Ramón was her father’s favorite, largely insulated from the turbulence of Venezuelan politics and economy. Growing up in Maracaibo, the hub of the oncebooming oil industry, the author evokes the early optimism of her mother, who bought a two-story house for the family that would become a kind of curse in later decades. At first, writes Ramón, “we lived in a country where taxes were rarely collected and dreams were the daily currency.” In 1998, Chávez was elected president. Despite the hope for a popular revolution, after his 14 years in power, there was little to show but an economy tied to exports, a broken-down supply chain, elevated crime levels, and huge devaluation of the currency. Ramón brings readers directly into Venezuela’s social and economic disintegration by showing the struggles of her widowed mother, who was ill, alone in an increasingly dangerous neighborhood, passing her days in long lines for dwindling food supplies, and beset by power outages, among other crises. Throughout, the author vividly portrays the unfolding tragedy shared by all Venezuelans.
The collapse of a nation told through the poignant story of one family.
Reid, Stuart A.
Knopf (624 pp.)
$35.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781524748814
A powerful account of “extensive U.S. meddling” in a foreign government, “a habit it perfected in the Congo.”
The plot hatched by the CIA under the Eisenhower administration to rid the newly independent Congo of its elected prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, was considered a “model” intervention at the time. As Reid, an executive editor at Foreign Affairs, shows, the Congo proved to be the first “theater” in which the U.S. and the Soviet Union transformed the Cold War “into a truly global struggle.” In this carefully nuanced study, the author underscores how ill-advised American officials were at the time about Lumumba and his supposed communist intentions. Fears of a communist takeover were perpetuated by the CIA’s station chief in the Congo at the time, Larry Devlin, and others who failed to fully grasp the significance of many African nations’ long struggles to decolonize. On June 30, 1960, the Congo tentatively declared itself free from Belgian rule, and UN peacekeeping forces were stationed there to aid the transition. However, UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, wary of the newly elected Lumumba, who he thought “was being used by leftist Africans and the Soviet Union,” refused his plea for more aid to help quell a military mutiny and secessionist worries. When Lumumba turned to the Soviets for help (Nikita Khrushchev was largely noncommittal), the Americans
“An evenhanded work of deep scholarship that clearly elucidates a largely hidden piece of U.S. foreign policy.”
the lumumba plot
sprang into action. Reid grippingly narrates the horrific tale of Lumumba’s imprisonment, torture, and execution by the henchmen of then-army chief Joseph Mobutu, a former Lumumba protégé and eager recipient of American cash. Sifting through significant new documentation, the author casts tremendous clarity on this important period and how essentially the world looked away. “The rest of the world seemed to decide [that] in the Congo, occasional barbarity was the price of stability.”
An evenhanded work of deep scholarship that clearly elucidates a largely hidden piece of U.S. foreign policy.
Reilly, Ryan J. PublicAffairs (480 pp.)
$29.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781541701809
An overstuffed yet fascinating study of the citizen sleuths helping chase down the perpetrators of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The buffoonish “QAnon Shaman” was quickly identified after the Capitol invasion mostly because he was a publicity hound. Another criminal shouted out ads for her Texas realestate business. Many perpetrators, though, took great pains to scrub evidence of their presence and felonies—an effort that, notes NBC News justice reporter Reilly, might have been successful had it not been for the efforts of a loose-knit band of volunteer investigators whose apps and algorithms have “aided in hundreds of cases against Jan. 6 defendants,” to say nothing of hundreds of other cases that have yet to be prosecuted. As the author shows, the Department of Justice’s handling of the project has been “a clusterfuck,” hampered by inadequate technology and officials who appear to sympathize with the aims of the rioters. Agents and investigators are not allowed to use filesharing services and have email accounts that can accept only the smallest of attachments, meaning that the “Sedition Hunters” have to provide them with thumb drives containing the videos and photographs they’ve unscrubbed, along with the case files identifying the criminals. Institutional roadblocks also include the FBI’s emphasis on foreign terrorism, even though the vast number of terrorist acts have been committed by the homegrown variety: “The federal government had spent more than two decades going after one kind of terrorism,” writes Reilly, “so it should come as no surprise that it has struggled to pivot to handling the growing threat of domestic terrorism.” Chasing down the facts via citizen crowdsourcing has proved essential to bringing Jan. 6 criminals to justice. Indeed, as one searcher said of a well-known radical whom government agents failed to identify, “He probably would’ve gotten away with it…if it weren’t for these meddling sleuths.”
A strong, fast-moving story that exposes systemic flaws while lauding the work of true American patriots.
Renkl, Margaret Spiegel & Grau (288 pp.)
$32.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781954118461
Serene reflections on the changes of the seasons.
In her third book of essays, following Late Migrations and Graceland, At Last, Renkl turns her attention to her own backyard. In 52 chapters, she contemplates the changes that take place in the wild over the course of the four seasons. Although she views her life as a “linear narrative,” she experiences the natural world as a “repeating pattern.” Rather than writing about a single year, Renkl gathers bits from across several years, and offers insightful observations related to those repetitions. By immersing herself in the natural world, the author maintains that she is able to cope with the toxic politics of today’s world—not to hide, but to achieve balance. Particularly during the early days of the pandemic, she found that while TV news was “full of terror,” the trees were “full of music” from blue jays, chickadees, and redbirds. One polarizing topic that Renkl cannot avoid by a trip outdoors is climate change. Throughout, she discusses the shifts she witnessed in nature as a result, including the reduction in the bee population. This is one reason she does not use poisonous chemicals on her lawn and prefers planting wildflowers to maintaining a manicured landscape. “I can’t change Americans’ love affair with poison, and I can’t solve the problems of climate change,” she writes, “but I can plant a garden.” Among the touching and relatable moments that nature lovers will appreciate are Renkl’s memories of catching tadpoles in spring with her brother as a child in Alabama, the sound of summer thunderstorms and cicadas, and the unparalleled beauty of autumn light, “the loveliest light there is.” Despite the death that comes with winter, which she once considered her least favorite season, she finds comfort that there “will always be a resurrection.”
A welcome escape from the hectic world.
Swearing Is Shocking, Rude, and Fun
Roache, Rebecca
Oxford Univ. (264 pp.)
$21.95 | Nov. 1, 2023
9780190665067
A senior academic offers a tonguein-cheek examination of why, how, and when we swear.
One might expect that an author who teaches philosophy at the University of London would be on the stuffy side, but Roache, host of the Academic Perfectionist podcast, is anything but dull. Her book is a lively examination
of swearing in all its forms, and although it is often humorous, Roache also has serious points to make. Swearing is sometimes meant to be offensive, but much depends on the context. It can signal solidarity within a group or class, be used to emphasize a point and denote surprise, and have a cathartic quality that prevents disputes from escalating to violence. Brain scans suggest that swearing is intuitive and automatic rather than logical, an idea that fits its emotional basis. A surprising number of researchers have looked into this field, and Roache draws together their findings. She is mainly interested in swearing in the English language, and she traces the history of the key words and underlying concepts. There have been numerous attempts to censor swearing, but they have seldom worked, and there are terms that can be more offensive than a swear word, including racial slurs. The author disdains the use of asterisks when swear words are written since everyone will know what the word is anyway. Swearing was once seen as a lower-class phenomenon, but in recent decades, it has crossed socioeconomic and gender boundaries, to the point that it might have lost its power to shock and sting. Despite this, there are still some prohibitions. Swearing in front of children and from public figures is widely considered unacceptable. Those who are easily offended might want to avoid the book, but the rest of us will find it to be an informative, entertaining read.
With dry wit and a storyteller’s eye, Roache romps through the history and social meaning of colorful language.
Safina, Carl Norton (352 pp.)
$32.50 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781324065463
An award-winning ecologist examines his transformative connection to a bird.
When Safina, the author of Beyond Words and Becoming Wild, rescued a screech owl nestling, he did not foresee the transcendent relationship he would forge with the tiny bird that he named Alfie. He and his wife nursed her back to health, hoping to release her into the wild once she was healed. But when her flight feathers were slow to emerge, Safina worried about her ability to fly; then he worried that she would not molt, also putting her in peril. He worried, too, that her “protracted protective custody” would interfere with her hunting instincts. “Did Alfie realize that she was an owl?” he wondered. As Safina lyrically recounts his observations of and interactions with Alfie, he reflects on spirituality, reverence, and the contrast between Indigenous, traditional Asian, and Western ways of being and knowing. Indigenous peoples, he writes, “understand the world as relationships,” while Western thinkers such as Plato, Descartes, and Bacon proclaimed mindbody dualism that taught us “to loathe our natural selves” and underlies our estrangement from nature. He argues vociferously
against the materialistic reductionism that he sees prevalent in modern biology. “I happen to find the material world rather wondrous,” he writes. Alfie, he asserts, “is a seer of things, a holder of deep innate knowledge.” She has brought him the gift of perceiving “what is possible when we soften our sense of contrast at the species boundary.” Although photographs of Alfie reveal an adorable bird—in one, she kisses Safina on the lips—readers may be put off by his portrayal of her in human terms: When she responds to a male’s courtship, for example, he describes them as hesitant lovers; when they finally copulate, he calls them honeymooners, “performing a mainly emotional function.” Nonetheless, the author amply conveys a sense of Alfie’s “consistent magic” and essential mystery.
A fervent homage to a dynamic, interdependent universe.
Schneider, Amy Avid Reader Press (288 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781668013304
The Jeopardy! champion turns in a wryly funny memoir.
“How are you so smart?” The question has dogged Schneider since childhood. The author is undeniably smart and not at all disinclined to show it off, whether with a joke about Immanuel Kant or a disquisition on English etymology and the virtues of knowing a little something about it. Other questions emerged after Schneider won a whopping $1,382,000 purse on her two-month championship run: “How does it feel to be so successful? What are you going to do with the money? How does it feel to be so trans?” About all these things, she has much to say. Clearly, the author is comfortable with the fame and money, and she is a winningly clear-voiced and often irreverent champion of trans rights as well. “Trans people are just people. They need to pee sometimes. Let them,” she writes regarding gender bathroom controversies. On an equally personal note, Schneider enumerates what might be perceived as weaknesses that turn out to be Jeopardy! superpowers. For example, “ADD made me literally addicted to learning,” and because the game rewards a broad base of knowledge more than mastery of a particular subject (incidentally, Schneider holds a doctorate in computer science), neurodivergence proved useful. Fittingly, the author darts from subject to subject: a complex love life, memories of teachers great and terrible, experimentation with drugs, notes on a political scene that finds her “targeted because many of my fellow citizens wish me ill, and base their vote at least in part on whether or not it will hurt me.” Would-be Jeopardy! contestants should turn to Bob Harris’ Prisoner of Trebekistan for the nutsand-bolts of gameplay, but for a funny, memorable, philosophical take on life, Schneider’s book is far and away the winner. Only incidentally about the show that won her fame, but a pleasure and an education awaits in the reading.
“A fervent homage to a dynamic, interdependent universe.”
alfie and me
Smith, Craig R. St. Martin’s (304 pp.)
$29.00 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781250278531
Reflections from an esteemed physician.
Cardiothoracic surgeon Smith, who performed a coronary bypass operation on Bill Clinton in 2004, makes his book debut with a forthright memoir about his roundabout path to medicine and the commitment and accountability inherent in being a physician. When the pandemic shut down elective surgeries from March to May 2020, the author, chief cardiothoracic surgeon at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, wrote 59 daily email updates to everyone in his department. Hoping “to inform and reassure, and—possibly—to inspire,” he found himself sharing “surprising extrospection and intimacy,” a project he continues here. An awkward, accident-prone child, Smith endured many hospital stays. Though comfortable in that environment, he did not feel compelled to follow in his grandparents’ steps to become a doctor. After graduating from Williams College, he worked as a lineman, earning his first post-college degree from the Framingham pole climbing school. Graduate study in biology took him to Dartmouth, but he soon decided on medical school instead. During his residency, he was drawn to surgery because of its challenges. “Every year,” he writes, “a surgeon is doing more surgery, more difficult surgery, and doing it better.” However, he was undecided about a specialty until he scrubbed on a cardiac surgery case: “I was hooked and never looked back. It was bold and complex, there was risk, every stitch seemed to matter, and feedback was immediate. Get it right or the patient might not leave the room alive.” Besides recounting many medical cases (Clinton’s led to unforeseen complications) and reflecting on hospital culture, Smith reveals the social anxiety leading to “autonomic storms” that beset him for decades. “Social life became a minefield,” he admits, until he devised strategies to help him cope. The author underscores a physician’s responsibility to the patient. Certainly, surgeons must face “the personal impact of bad outcomes,” but, he asserts, should not seek to minimize that risk to maximize their own wellness.
A candid picture of a surgeon’s life.
Smith, Marty
Twelve (256 pp.)
$30.00 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781538758380
Coaches set out the reasons for their achievements.
As a popular face of ESPN and a respected sports journalist, Smith, author of Never Settle, has the prestige and connections to line up interviews with 20 championship coaches, from Nick Saban to Doc Rivers. The author examines their methods to draw out the common factors and then apply the lessons to broad leadership challenges. He organizes the discussions around themes such as building trust, effective communication, delegation, and developing the right culture. Effective leadership often involves painful choices, and the right decisions might not be popular. See it through and wear the consequences, say the coaches; someone has to, and there is no place for excuses. The same is true with off-field crises, and it is often here where years of team character building pay off. Coaches must also apply ruthless self-evaluation, recognizing that what worked yesterday might not work today—and likely won’t work tomorrow. This can be a difficult process, especially for coaches who have built their success on a signature style. The comments of the coaches are interesting enough, but the problem is that Smith doesn’t balance their insights with sufficient analysis. At least 70% of the book is interview material, and there is a good amount of repetition, which makes the text feel like a collection of disparate pieces rather than a cohesive whole. Although Smith brackets each chapter with summaries, it’s unclear how the leadership lessons of the coaches could be transferred to other fields. He obviously put a great deal of time and energy into compiling the interviews, but this one is for hardcore sports fans. Other contributors include Roy Williams, Kim Mulkey, Frank Beamer, John Calipari, Lane Kiffin, Nancy Lieberman, Mack Brown, Joe Gibbs, and Tom Izzo, and Tim Tebow provides the foreword. A wealth of expertise in a mixed-bag package.
The Athletic NFL Staff
Morrow/HarperCollins (672 pp.)
$40.00 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780063329096
The editors of a popular sports publication rank the best 100 players in NFL history.
Lead editors and panel members Dan Pompei and Mike Sando lay out the criteria for “the most irresistible exercise in sports: ranking the all-time greats,” including Hall of Fame membership, Pro Bowl appearances and All-Pro
the warped side of our universe
selections, metrics for various positions, and the more subjective difficulties of comparing different eras with different rules and attempting to guard against recency bias. The editors rank the 100 honorees in descending order, accompanied by feature articles written by several contributors that offer enlightening vignettes about each player’s background, skills, and attributes on and off the field. Hardcore and casual fans alike may head directly for the chapter about O.J. Simpson, which happens to be one of the most compellingly written profiles in the book. Overcoming recency bias may well have been impossible; of the top 10, the panel included seven players who played in the 1980s, 1990s, or 21st century. As they always do with such lists, purists will have many problems with the order, especially given rule changes and the varying levels of competition. For example, how can Tom Brady be ranked ahead of Joe Montana, when Montana remained vulnerable to crushing hits by some of the greatest defenses in league history just to get to the Super Bowl, while Brady played in an era that protected quarterbacks and ran roughshod over an outmatched NFC East division? Of course, such exercises in ranking are often fool’s errands. Perhaps it’s best to take the approach of the late Green Bay Packers great Ray Nitschke (ranked 66th), who made it his business to remind newly enshrined Hall of Famers that no honored player loomed larger than any other. But what’s the fun in that? If Brady and Jim Brown are 1 and 2, who’s no. 3? The book includes forewords by Bruce Smith and Mike Ditka.
An engaging book that NFL fans will love and argue over endlessly.
Thorne, Kip S.
Illus. by Lia Halloran
Liveright/Norton (240 pp.)
$50.00 | Oct. 31, 2023
9781631498541
Art and verse celebrating extreme cosmological phenomena. Nobel Prize winner Thorne has been a notable theoretical physicist, author, and media scientist a la Carl Sagan for the past 50 years. Award-winning artist Halloran’s work features images that straddle the worlds of art and science. The result of nearly 20 years of collaboration, this is a lavish, vivid book dominated by Halloran’s dazzling, more or less representational paintings, accompanied by Thorne’s commentary, often in free verse. Although it lacks consistent rhyme and meter, free verse remains verbal music. No discerning reader—nor Thorne himself—would claim to find poetic mastery in his text, which might better be described as prose written with irregular margins. Nonetheless, the author’s descriptions serve their purpose, which is not to provide lessons in popular science but to explore spectacularly weird astrophysical phenomena and illustrate
how they might affect a person experiencing them. Readers who skim the text in favor of the illustrations will not regret the experience, but they would do well to slow down later in the text, when Thorne converts to prose, offering a fine history of relativistic phenomena since Einstein pointed them out, along with a sketchy explanation of the science. Since Einstein, writes the author, “we physicists have studied the prediction of [his] laws in depth and have gradually learned that the universe has a rich warped side: its big bang birth, black holes, gravitational waves, and possibly wormholes, time machines, cosmic strings and naked singularities, and almost certainly some huge surprises.” Readers seeking a deeper understanding should consult Thorne’s 1994 book, Black Holes & Time Warps, in which he makes a sincere attempt to explain difficult concepts such as warped space and flexible time as well as bizarre cosmological wonders that definitely exist (black holes, gravity waves) and those that may not (worm holes, time travel).
Beautiful art in the service of cutting-edge astrophysics.
Tyson, Neil deGrasse & Lindsey Nyx Walker National Geographic (320 pp.)
$30.00 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781426223303
A synthesis of the latest thinking and research on space exploration, it sets out the meaning for humanity.
Tyson is the presenter of the award–winning StarTalk podcast and author of numerous books on popular science, including Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, and Walker is the senior producer of the series. This book, linked to a special mini-season of the podcast, features astonishing astronomical photographs as well as useful explanatory illustrations. The theme is how humanity began to explore space, although there are many interesting detours into questions, including the real color of the sun, the difference between a vacuum and a void, and the formation of black holes. The authors examine each of the planets in the solar system, drawing on novel research material gathered by the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft, as well as orbital telescopes. Many of these subjects have been discussed in-depth elsewhere, but deGrasse and Walker find new things to say, and they have a knack for using anecdotes to explain complex phenomena and scientific issues. They have a good time deconstructing the technology that appears in various sci-fi movies and TV shows, pointing out the problems of faster-than-light travel, the real effects of a lack of gravity, and the dangers of unregulated excursions through time. Worrying matters, certainly, but the tone is generally optimistic, and the authors clearly love the concept of space exploration. They also note that things once considered beyond the bounds of plausibility are now commonplace, and they conclude this engaging, accessible work with further optimism: “Scientific thinking
always leaves the door ajar for the seemingly impossible. So perhaps we exaggerate—but only just a little—when we declare that infinity is only a moment’s pause on the way to unlimited destinations that await us.”
This is a book that makes you want to go out and look up at the night sky. Buzz Lightyear would be proud.
GREAT FALLS, MT Fast Times, PostPunk Weirdos, and a Tale of Coming Home Again
Watts, Reggie Tiny Reparations (352 pp.)
$28.00 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780593472460
A pleasingly offbeat memoir of growing up biracial on the Montana plains. Watts, a comedian and house bandleader for the Late Late Show With James Corden, writes of his boyhood and teenage years in Great Falls, an Air Force town along the Missouri River that helped shape his future life as “a musician, comedian, and consummate weirdo.” The author was at first daunted by Montana’s trademark big sky, “so huge it felt like it could swallow me up at any moment,” but he soon came to be at home in a place that, in its own way, accepted him for who he was, even though he was “one of nine Black kids” in his high school and thus “an unknown quantity.” Early on in life, he writes, “I absorbed the reality of my jumbled identity, and I embraced it.” Among memories of star-crossed teen romance, the donning of various masks of identity—e.g., “the sensitive James Bond, the funny James Bond, the James Bond who respected women” and Duckie of John Hughes film fame—and occasional forays into behavior that he is sometimes reticent to discuss (not that it stops him from writing candidly), Watts deftly describes the formative 1980s pop cultural landmarks that formed him. Although his hometown had its shortcomings, quickly revealed once he took up residence after high school in Seattle and then Los Angeles, he writes, affectionately, that it allowed him to be whatever he wanted to be—which, in the end, turned out to be “weird, even among other weird people.” It all makes for a lively, endlessly entertaining rejoinder to Chuck Klosterman’s Fargo Rock City with a dash of Questlove for good measure. Watts captures a once-fresh era now rapidly receding into historical memory.
Fans of Watts will revel in this enjoyable stroll into the past, and those new to him could have no better introduction.
Wenner, Jann S. Little, Brown (368 pp.)
$30.00 | Sept. 26, 2023
9780316571050
Rock gods in conversation with one of their biggest fans.
Wenner’s latest book is a serious, self-important undertaking, a visit to the Mt. Olympus of rock, the pinnacle of achievement where only immortals reside. All of the interviewees are white men of a certain age, as is their interviewer, who launched Rolling Stone in 1967 to chronicle and celebrate the culture galvanized by such music. “That there are no women or Black musicians in this collection is obvious,” writes Wenner. “This is reflective of the prejudices and practices of the times.” Well, yes and no. Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder and Sly Stone were all making popular, important, and influential music at the time, but these rambling, chatty interviews are evocative of the editor’s taste and comfort level. It’s illuminating to revisit Pete Townshend in 1968, talking at length about a rock opera that the Who had yet to record or title Tommy; to watch Jerry Garcia explain in 1972 just how and why the Grateful Dead came together and why they would remain so far outside the realm of commercial acceptance; and to hear the cathartic anger from John Lennon in 1970 in the wake of the Beatles breakup, directed toward Paul McCartney in particular. There are two visits with Bob Dylan, 40 years apart, that lack the edge that other Rolling Stone interviewers would bring to that challenge. Then there are Mick Jagger (from 1995), Bono (2005), and Bruce Springsteen (2023), the latter two (along with their wives) included in the book’s dedication to “dearest friends.” Though Wenner turns up a few interesting insights, there’s too much mutual glad-handing and back-scratching and not enough of the sort of questioning that might make an interviewee uncomfortable. A fairly stale collection best suited for Wenner and/or Rolling Stone completists.
gray areas
Willrich, Michael Basic Books (480 pp.)
$35.00 | Oct. 31, 2023
9781541697379
Vigorous history of the anarchist movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In this well-written narrative, history professor Willrich, author of Pox: An American History, focuses on the agitators who immigrated to the U.S. and quickly became involved in the Gilded Age struggle for workers’ rights—some peacefully, some with bombs, some using both nonviolent and violent strategies. The author also investigates the invention of the modern surveillance state, tracing it to “the nation’s extraordinarily brutal and explicitly racist colonial war in the Philippines,” a horror show of mock trials and summary executions that, applied to the anarchist movement in the U.S., put soldiers on the streets to monitor and suppress American citizens. As Willrich writes, many lawmakers and law enforcement agents thrived in the era of Palmer raids and the post-Haymarket crackdown on suspected labor activists. The NYPD bomb squad, for instance, collaborated with the Justice Department to prosecute Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman and to have them deported to Russia after New York’s U.S. attorney characterized them as “exceedingly dangerous to the peace and security of the United States.” Against a broad range of oppressors stood the anarchists themselves, who organized workers in places such as the West Virginia coal fields and Chicago steel mills, as well as numerous sympathizers—and, more, devotees of civil liberties, including a lawyer named Louis Post, who wrote in an editorial, “Public indignation at the reckless violence of a few foreigners overshadows all other thought and affords an excellent screen behind which freedom of assembly, of speech, of the press, is being strangled.” As Willrich capably shows, the efforts of Post and like-minded lawyers and government officials helped slow the wave of deportations, established truly legal procedures for proving the anarchists’ supposed crimes, and “breathed new life into the Bill of Rights.”
A memorable portrait of an era of official lawlessness in the name of law and order, one with echoes to this day.
Wingfield, Adia Harvey
Amistad/HarperCollins (320 pp.)
$29.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780063079816
Addressing racial inequities facing Black workers.
In her latest book, sociologist Wingfield, author of Flatlining, argues that a powerful set of implicit attitudes and informal practices limits the opportunities and blights the well-being of Black Americans in the contemporary workplace. The author structures the book around analyses of seven representative figures and their experiences as Black employees who have confronted this “gray area.” The experiences of Constance, a chemical engineer, teach us about the hidden prejudices lurking within science departments in academia and of a generalized reluctance among university administrators to confront systemic forms of discrimination. Via Max, who works in emergency medicine, Wingfield explores some of the challenges Black doctors face when confronting racism in the public they have pledged to serve. Through Alex, a food delivery driver, we discover how working as an independent contractor can seem to provide both autonomy and equal treatment, though the conditions of such employment may in fact obscure significant inequities. Overall, Wingfield makes a convincing case for how entrenched conventions related to hiring, networking, and promotion produce substantial—and often invisible or disguised—barriers in the workplace. “Key aspects of work—from getting a job and establishing workplace norms to advancement and mobility—were not built with Black people in mind,” she writes. Wingfield’s discussion of the evolving dynamics of gig work, and of the sometimes false promises of supposedly progressive environments such as universities, is especially compelling. Also useful is her series of practical suggestions on how workplaces might be restructured to eliminate or mitigate some of the injustices that currently exist. Though the focus on Black workers helps give the author’s argument clarity, an extended consideration of how discrimination impacts other nonwhite groups in the workplace might have been illuminating.
An informed, incisive consideration of how racial biases at work could be overcome.
“An informed, incisive consideration of how racial biases at work could be overcome.”
$30.00 | Oct. 31, 2023
9781250888099
The beloved actor, director, and producer tells his warm-hearted story.
Life after being the Fonz wasn’t all happy days for Winkler (b. 1945), but this well-crafted autobiography—complete with welcome interjections from Stacey, his wife of 45 years—shows how the acclaimed yet anxious actor learned how to be cool. This is no celebrity tell-all. The author regularly holds back on names or distinguishing details when he offers unflattering tales about anyone other than himself. Instead, he goes deep into his troubled relationship with his Holocaust–surviving parents, his long-undiagnosed dyslexia, and his struggle to find work following his superstar breakthrough as Arthur Fonzarelli in Happy Days. Whether he’s relaying a difficult stretch of his life; how he came to co-author the Hank Zipzer children’s book series; or how he landed the memorable roles of Barry Zuckerkorn on Arrested Development and Gene Cousineau on Barry, Winkler tells stories like he would at a dinner with friends. One minute, he’s discussing his role in Adam Sandler’s The Waterboy; the next, it’s a failed meeting with Neil Simon. In a less genuine writer’s hands, the chapter in which he discusses the family dogs and how they interact with him and each other could come across as filler. With Winkler, it’s clearly a deeply felt explanation of his love for Linus, Charlotte, Hamlet, Scruffy, and Ringo. The author also offers plenty of occasionally offbeat but largely sage advice. “When I give talks these days, I say, ‘Your head knows some things; your tummy knows everything’,” he writes. “I say it to kindergarteners, I say it to seniors. I say it to everybody, because it is the law of living.” Winkler’s current late-career, Emmy–winning resurgence shows that his tummy knows what it’s doing.
This charming autobiography of personal struggles during times of career success and challenge deserves a big thumbs-up.
Yee, Amy Univ. of North Carolina (272 pp.)
$22.00 paper | Oct. 17, 2023
9781469675510
A Chinese American journalist uses the lives of three Tibetan refugees living in India to illustrate the personal costs of Tibet’s political struggle.
In March 2008, at a talk commemorating the Tibetan Uprising of 1959, journalist Yee, a former Delhi correspondent for the Financial Times, was stunned when the Dalai Lama singled her out in front of a crowd of reporters. Referencing her heritage, he told Yee that it was up to journalists like her to tell the stories necessary to broker a lasting peace between China and Tibet. Following his directive seriously, the author wrote this “close-up look at the lives of ordinary Tibetans in exile who make their way in the world far from their homeland.” In the introduction, Yee writes that the story focuses on three refugees: Topden, a monk and avid basketball fan, and “unlikely veterinary assistant”; Deckyi, a Mandarin speaker who fled China with her husband after photocopying fliers for Tibetan monks active in the resistance; and Norbu, a cook who the author met when he invited her to a rehearsal for a play about the experience of Chinese imprisonment. Yee also writes about her encounters with other relevant individuals, including Chinese activist Chin Jin, who believes that the battle for Chinese democracy is intertwined with the Tibetan freedom struggle; Kelsang Wangmo, a Buddhist nun from Germany who was studying for her geshe degree, “the equivalent of a PhD for Tibetan monastics”; and Vinayak Sharma, an Indian lawyer who attended a Tibetan primary school and now does pro bono legal work for the community. This densely researched book is stuffed with atmospheric details, historical facts, and scenes from daily life in India, all of which Yee recounts in a narratorial voice that is eager, vulnerable, and charming. Unfortunately, the narrative is structurally weak, bouncing between disparate topics at a dizzying pace, which may lose some readers.
A well-intentioned, comprehensive, meandering look at the Tibetan refugee experience.
Abraham, Aylar Clavis (32 pp.)
$18.95 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781605379500
So what else is new?
A young child complains about a recent move. There’s an unfamiliar new pool and trees and a curly-haired boy next door keen to make friends. This lonely grumbler regrets having left behind treasured belongings, except for a beloved, worn-out tricycle that still provides comforting familiarity. When it breaks, Dad can’t fix it, so he purchases a new two-wheeler for the protagonist. After they both apply stickers to it, Dad helps the wary child take it for a spin. At first, this new experience is scary, but going fast is also fun. “Maybe new things aren’t so bad after all?” the child muses. The little one decides to try more new things: swimming in the pool, appreciating the trees’ comforting shade, checking out the new playhouse, and going on adventures with Sam, the child’s new best friend, formerly known as “the boy next door.” This wise, sweet story, translated from Dutch, depicts a situation that will be familiar to many. Young readers will feel reassured to see another child taking those first steps toward navigating potentially unnerving situations with courage and self-confidence (and some encouraging adult backup). The soft, colorful, calming illustrations portray the child and Dad as light-skinned and Sam as brown-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Proof that new things can be wonderful. (Picture book. 47)
Alexander, Jed Creston (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781954354258
BOYOGI How a Wounded Family Learned To Heal Moore, David Barclay Illus. by Noa Denmon Candlewick (32 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781536213706
A climb up an unusually tall tree rewards an intrepid child with exhilarating adventures and readers with some large (and small) insights.
As he’s done before in Red (2018) and Gold (2022), Alexander adds single-color highlights (here a light, translucent green) to finely detailed line drawings for a wordless rendition of a familiar folktale kitted with expectation-confounding twists. An East Asian–presenting child clambers up a humongous olive tree that has grown up overnight and gets a friendly reception at the top by a giant—also East Asian—who offers an olive the size of a basketball as a snack, then sets the tiny
visitor on one shoulder and proceeds to dance and spin balletically on the clouds. Following a short nap beneath a big leaf, the little child climbs back down to the ground and abruptly becomes the giant by bending down to offer a ride to a tiny mouse. All the dancing, plus spread layouts that switch from horizontal to vertical and back, give a playful lilt to these sudden, dramatic changes of scale and perspective. Along with giving budding critical skills a workout by inviting comparisons with the original, this inspired take on “Jack and the Beanstalk” is sure to plant seeds of thought about how “big” and “little” are relative notions. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A heady spin, rich in thought-provoking themes and fee-fifo-fun tweaks. (Picture book. 58)
Alley, R.W. Kane Press (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781662670275
Series: Breezy Valley at Work
A save-the-day story sprinkled with firefighter facts.
What happens when the Tabby Twins get stuck on an ice cream cone sign during a kitchen fire? Led by cheerful, orderly Chief Piggie, the firefighters of Breezy Valley—a group of anthropomorphic animals—spring into action! At the scene of the emergency, the Tabby Twins argue while stranded on the ice cream cone sign. “You’re breathing my air,” snipes one. “Am NOT!” retorts the other. Their squabble lightens the mood and signals that all will be OK, and sure enough, they are returned to their mother promptly so the crew can fight the flames below. Next, it’s on to fight a meadow fire and then time to unwind at the firehouse…until a late-night siren interrupts again—a firefighter’s job is never done! The illustrations are reminiscent of Richard Scarry’s work. Bustling scenes will keep readers searching for stories within the story. The main narrative, conveyed in blocky black text, can be followed easily, while the use of speech bubbles in the art adds to the fun. Early on, an elaborately labeled illustration of turnout gear is followed by diagrams of pumper and ladder engines and Brush Breaker trucks, making this a true love letter to firefighters and their tools. At the end of the book, Alley encourages readers to go back and spot details hidden in the art. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Classic in style, rich in information, and sweet in story. (Picture book. 48)
Allman, John Robert Illus. by Peter Emmerich Doubleday (48 pp.)
$18.99 | $21.99 PLB | Oct. 3, 2023
9780593565186
9780593565193 PLB
The team behind A Is for Audra (2019) returns with an alphabet book devoted to female movie stars from Hollywood’s golden age.
“A is for Audrey, a sudden sensation / when she played a princess in Rome on vacation.” The opening lines of this work are accompanied by an image of a fresh-faced Audrey Hepburn smiling from a Vespa, muted scenes of the city in the background. Pages of rhythmic, rhyming accolades follow as Allman introduces performers such as Carmen Miranda, Hattie McDaniel, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Some letters refer to several actors (“D is for Debbie and Donna and Doris, / the dynamite Dorothy, and dazzling Dolores”). Most subjects are depicted wearing costumes from famous film roles. The colorful, stylized art achieves likeness without ever resorting to caricature. Each woman’s full name, a movie role, and that movie’s date appear in a small font toward the bottom of the page. Cleverly, the letter X refers to behind-the-scenes “eXperts,” such as editor Barbara McLean and costume designer Edith Head. Endnotes offer more information but not enough for a 21st-century child reading this alone. Kids will likely have questions. Just for starters: Who was Alfred Hitchcock? What is Grauman’s Chinese Theatre? Nonetheless, it’s a slick, enjoyable package. Kudos to Allman for rhyming aquatic with hypnotic to describe swimmerturned-actor Esther Williams. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Perfect for an adult old-movie buff to share with a younger friend. (Informational picture book. 48)
Barnett, Mac
Illus. by Shawn Harris
Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins (272 pp.) $16.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780063084117
Series: The First Cat in Space, 2
A taste of poisoned soup spurs the Queen of the Moon and her feline companion into embarking on a quest for a curative fruit from the orbiting orb’s only golden glumpfoozle tree.
In further exploits attended by the monosyllabic, spacesuitclad titular feline (“Meow”), Harris and Barnett bring back the cast of The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza (2022), from diaperwearing buccaneer Captain Babybeard to computerized toenail clipper LOZ 4000, for a lunar ramble past a pair of mysterious killbots, Psychic Flying Eyeballs of Death, and other hazards.
how not to be a vampire slayer
Depicted in rolling arrays of changing palettes and panel sizes and led by the opalescent Queen of the Moon—who, ignoring her loudly rumbling tummy, stoutly declares that “my reign will not be cut short by soup”—the expedition fetches up at last on the edge of a bottomless crater for a last-minute save, appropriately over-the-top grandstanding by a familiar AI with futile protagonistic ambitions (“How many pages did I get this time? 73?”), and a closing celebratory soupfest, depicted Last Supper–style by a vermiform da Vinci. This volume continues the nonstop madcap fun; returning readers will not be disappointed, and new ones will quickly become avid followers of the world’s first feline astronaut.
Fans of unbridled, melodramatic tomfoolery will be over the moon. (Graphic science fiction. 811)
BenhamYazdani, Ashley Candlewick (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781536223231
A periodic visitor marks many years, and many changes, on a certain wondrous planet.
Halley’s Comet, depicted as an anthropomorphized shining orb with a long, flowing tail, sails across multihued skies in Benham-Yazdani’s luminescent paintings—lighting natural landscapes that, over the years, give way to a growing human presence. From two brown-skinned faces peering up from a thicket (“The first time the comet visited Earth, nobody noticed. Well, almost nobody”) to, centuries later, hands painted on a rock wall, scenes depict herders giving way to early cities, 13th-century Mongol warriors charging down a hill, and (in 1607) actors being viewed from above in an open-roofed theater. At last, in 1986, as two children (one dark-skinned, one light-skinned) watch from a beach beneath a smoky, industrial city, space probes surround the comet. They leave it to continue its long orbit, to reflect on Earth, “small and vast all at once, / holding so much life and such great promise,” and to dream of “all it might see the next time.” In closing notes the author identifies specific worldwide settings that she’s depicted, from Argentina’s Cueva de las Manos for the cave art to a traditional Hopituh Shi-nu-mu (Hopi) settlement. In addition to explaining who Edmond Halley was, she puts in a plea to leverage our works and will to “ensure that humanity’s future is bright, not brief.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A splendid reminder that past, present, and future are connected. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 79)
Birchall, Katy
Scholastic (272 pp.)
$8.99 paper | Oct. 3, 2023
9781338893090
Vampire and vampire slayer meet and become good friends.
Initially, at least, 11-year-old Londoner Maggie Helsby has no idea why she’s immune to the terror spell that keeps local residents out of the woods abutting the wonky old house in a rural village that Mum and Dad inherited from Great-Uncle Bram. But this imperviousness allows her to meet Sharptooth Shadow, a resolutely vegetarian student at a hidden vampire training academy who is fascinated with all things human. The two immediately click, and soon Maggie is secretly introducing her fanged friend to classmates, inviting her to venture out of the woods for Halloween fun, expanding her beetjuice diet by introducing her to ketchup (“What is this magical food?”), and loaning her Roald Dahl novels. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before the grown-ups find out. In the wake of learning that she’s actually the latest in a long line of slayers—hence her immunity to vampiric spells—Maggie wages peace. She reaffirms an ancient treaty by standing between Sharptooth’s roused vampiric clan and a mob of townspeople whipped into a frenzy of fear by their clownishly corrupt mayor, who wants to level the woods and build a golf course. Birchall pulls off a happy ending, complete with a dance party and shows of mutual respect between neighbors with (rather) different lifestyles. The cast, undead and otherwise, reads white.
A “fang-tastic” twist on the theme of dangerous friends. (Humorous paranormal. 812)
SIR MORIEN
The Legend of a Knight of the Round Table
Black, Holly & Kaliis Smith
Illus. by Ebony Glenn
Little, Brown (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780316424134
Brave Prince Morien sets out to find the father he’s never met.
Prince Morien lives in Northern Africa with his mother, a princess who accompanies him on adventures: taming dragons, surfing on the backs of crocodiles, and vanquishing dinnertime vegetables. Although he enjoys his life with his mother, he longs to meet his father, Sir Aglovale, a knight of King Arthur’s Round Table, who left long ago on a quest and never returned. So Prince Morien travels to England in search of his father. Sadly, no one has news of Sir Aglovale, and the other knights he encounters are interested only in fighting—until he meets Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain. After a rough start, the three soon
“A
become good friends and an unstoppable team who eventually put things right. An authors’ note explains that this book is an adaptation of a 13th-century Arthurian tale. Digitally created illustrations employ a muted palette that effectively brings to life this medieval-set story. The use of panels and speech bubbles gives the work a graphic novel–like feel that will appeal to children. Prince Morien and his mother are brown-skinned, reflecting their Moorish heritage, while Lancelot and Gawain present white. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A winsome adaptation of a lesser-known Arthurian legend. (Picture book. 58)
Blume, Lesley M.M. Knopf (208 pp.)
$16.99 | $19.99 PLB | Oct. 10, 2023
9780553536812
9780553536829 PLB
Alice Atherton, a fictional 10-yearold, visits real-life American expatriates Sara and Gerald Murphy in Antibes— and meets luminaries such as Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway.
Simple yet elegant text immediately sets the time and place: New York, 1927. Stuck in the stuffy parlor, Alice fantasizes about playing outside in the snow instead of listening to boring Old Miss Pennyweather. When she starts to drift off, the governess becomes worried and hustles her to bed. After a visit from the family doctor, Alice’s father agrees that she is suffering due to her mother’s recent death. His solution: send Alice and Miss Pennyweather to France to stay with his friends the Murphys; there, Alice will acquire “the art of living fully.” Miss Pennyweather, a rigid and easily scandalized stock character, presents plenty of humorous diversion on the ocean voyage and subsequent travels, returning home almost immediately after arriving at the unconventional Murphy household. Alice, on the other hand, is delighted to stay. In no time, she’s running about barefoot, riding donkeys with the Murphy children, and, indeed, learning valuable life lessons. Occasionally, the text references Alice’s grieving process, but mostly the story revolves around a fast-paced, humorous series of adventures, including a treasure hunt instigated by Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald. Uplifting though didactic messages about overcoming loss and finding oneself are woven through tantalizing bits of period artifacts, history, and biography. Characters are cued white.
Sweetly entertaining. (author’s note, afterword, biographies of the real-life people mentioned, photographs) (Historical fiction. 711)
Booth, Leslie Barnard
Illus. by Marc Martin
McElderry (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781534496941
The many transformations minerals may undergo in the formation of stone are described in spare, lyrical text.
“A stone has been wrenched apart by roots. // Crushed and dragged by a glacier. / Swept up in the foam of a rushing river. // Molded. / Carved. / Ground down to a speck of sand / and sent to the sea.” And so it goes, various geologic forces eroding, then compressing the stone so that it cycles over the pages from igneous to sedimentary to metamorphic rock. These words do not appear in the primary text; rather, they are reserved for an author’s note that describes the fundamentals of geology. The narrative itself consists of wispy lines set against muddy watercolors that will have readers wondering whether the author is
referencing one stone or many—as well as when the story will begin. Adults flipping back and forth from the backmatter to the main text will see how the stone’s progress tracks from one type of rock to the next, but concrete young thinkers will likely be befuddled. Just how does the stone that began as magma find itself “thrust upward, / skyward, / …risen / high / into the heart of a mountain”? The illustrations are likewise diffuse and even at times mystifying. Deb Pilutti’s Old Rock (Is Not Boring) (2020) covers similar ground with both clarity and a compelling central character; share it with budding geologists instead. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A stone may be a story, but this is not. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 47)
Bowes, Arnolda Dufour
Illus. by Karlene Harvey Groundwood (220 pp.)
$14.99 paper | Oct. 3, 2023
9781773068817
Introduces a delightful Métis family that many Indigenous people will relate to, especially through their joking, and that all readers will love getting to know.
Twelve-year-old Maggie Lou’s brilliant ideas get her (and sometimes her siblings) into mischief and inspire her nickname, Firefox. After seeing Maggie Lou play fighting outside, Moshôm, her grandfather, offers to teach her how to box. However, boxing is not as exhilarating at first as she imagined it to be. She needs to “know how to listen and follow directions” and is put to work mopping the ring. She also gets picked on by some sexist boys and finds the drills boring. But she follows Moshôm’s teachings—and has the upper hand when it finally comes time to step in the ring. Over summer vacation, Maggie Lou keeps busy building things from her notebook labeled “Plans to Dominate the World,” and she gets Dad to allow her to help out with his construction crew. Surrounded by the women in her family, Maggie Lou learns how to shoot her mom’s Winchester rifle in preparation for hunting season. After an unsuccessful hunt with her uncle and older brother, all three become the center of their family’s teasing. Métis author Bowes weaves cultural elements, including Northern Michif words, into this charming story that skillfully captures sweetly hilarious and loving everyday moments. Black-and-white illustrations enhance the text.
An amusing story showcasing Métis humor at its finest. (author’s note, glossary) (Fiction. 913)
Brandus, Julia Taylor with Paul Brandus
Post Hill Press (256 pp.)
$16.00 paper | Sept. 5, 2023
9781637589939
A collection of interviews with women working in fields including technology, education, government, business, sports, the military, journalism, and more.
Julia, the 11-year-old daughter of author, historian, and journalist Brandus, collaborated with her father on a quest to interview 50 successful women in various industries. Each subject is allocated 2-3 pages in a Q&A format, answering questions about her professional role, what skills it requires, what she likes about her job, what she studied, what she wishes she had known as a child, and what advice she has for young girls. Each one shares a favorite inspirational quote. The names will largely be unfamiliar to young readers; the collection extends in interesting ways beyond the usual types of people chosen for such works. Readers may wonder how the subjects were selected, how access to them was achieved, and how the interviews were conducted. The volume would have benefited greatly from photographs or illustrations to add visual interest and personalize the profiles. Information about the subjects’ identities must often be surmised from names or contextual clues, such as a reference to attending Spelman College. The tone is largely positive, shying away from addressing serious obstacles, as in this comment: “I am a minority immigrant woman but I never felt at a disadvantage. In the United States, hard work, expertise, and intellect are respected. With hard work and tenacity, I captured opportunities and flourished.”
Somewhat dense, but some may enjoy browsing. (authors’ note, index) (Nonfiction. 1014)
STAR STUFF
Burkert, Rand
Illus. by Chris Raschka
Michael di Capua/HarperCollins (32 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780062858177
A whimsical tale that creatively introduces three constellations.
Specialists in Sky Repair, Giovanni, a jolly, light-skinned mustachioed fellow, and his sweet donkey, Lorenzo, roam the skies as custodians of heavenly matter. They fill holes in the universe with “star stuff,” which magically morphs into bright stars. When Lorenzo’s hoof is trapped by a nebula, Giovanni needs help freeing his friend. Who can help them? Readers meet Orion, the Hunter; Taurus, the Bull; and Cancer, the Crab, as they try to pull Lorenzo out of trouble, echoing Winnie-the-Pooh’s sticky situation. Raschka’s
soft and luminous illustrations engage, with bold brush strokes that create celestial energy. The pops of red on the donkey’s bridle and Giovanni’s hat and shoes provide excellent contrast to the dark heavens. The text pales in comparison. The rhyming has an uneven meter, making reading aloud clumsy. Both nebulas and constellations are undefined (do nebulas have gravitational pull?), and the constellations quickly enter and exit the scene—a missed opportunity to offer clues to both the science and the mythology. Yet the man and his donkey, like Sancho Panza and Dapple, are affectionally portrayed, full of compassion and care for each other. This is a curious introduction to constellations—a better story about helping one’s donkey friend. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Dreamlike and quirky. (Picture book. 48)
DAWN OF THE JAGUAR
Cervantes, J.C.
Rick Riordan Presents/Disney (336 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781368067027
Series: Shadow Bruja, 2
Young shadow bruja Renata Santiago scrambles to thwart the resurgent Lords of Night.
Following her preplanned death— intended to halt her forced coronation as queen of the nine formidable Aztec gods known as the Lords of Night—Ren wakes up in the Mayan underworld. There she makes a deal with the Mayan goddess Ixtab. In exchange for a return to the land of the living, Ren must retrieve Ixtab’s lost crown of jade and shadow and return it to her within seven days. Without her shadow magic and reliable time rope, during her brief detour through the underworld, Ren uncovers a surprising new set of powers, one stemming from her godborn might. To save the rogue godborns who have fallen under the Lords’ wrath and finally defeat the malevolent Aztec gods, Ren seeks to expose the truth behind the crown that threatens to upset her world forever. She’s assisted by friends Edison and Monty, as well as Ah-Puch, her best bud and newly restored Mayan god of death and destruction. Equal in thrills and twists to its predecessor, this duology closer crackles with a brisk pace that is maintained to the last page. Here the inspired blend of Mayan and Aztec lore takes a slight back seat to Ren’s journey of selfdiscovery, which proves to be captivating overall. Cervantes keeps the action humming along, and readers will appreciate reuniting with the enjoyable characters.
A satisfying wrap-up of a gripping duology. (glossary) (Fantasy. 812)
Colfer, Eoin
Illus. by Chaaya Prabhat
Roaring Brook Press (368 pp.)
$22.99 | Oct. 31, 2023
9781250321947
When her loving mum, Jennifer, goes missing, 11-year-old Juniper calls on Santa Claus for help.
The strategy isn’t as unlikely as it might seem. Nicholas Claus is currently hiding out in a nearby London park, having left the North Pole workshop nearly a decade ago, after the death of the love of his life. He now helps homeless residents build better shelters but resolutely avoids all contact with children. A movie version of this story would practically make itself. Colfer weaves a love story with numerous characters, including a stray reindeer calf, a ruthless crook intent on getting her hands on Santa’s magical sack (much larger on the inside than the outside), a crew of elves out to find their boss and put him back in harness, and grinchy bureaucrats out to quash a holiday charity event. The story centers on the determined efforts of Colfer’s perceptive and big-hearted young protagonist to find the grumpy, grieving gift giver and extort his reluctant cooperation in her search. On the way to a thoroughly heartwarming ending, the author also supplies perfectly reasonable explanations for where Santa gets all those presents and why and how he delivers them in one night. In Prabhat’s rare but appropriately twinkly illustrations, Juniper—the brownskinned child of a white mother and a kindly, deceased, muchmissed father from Ghana—joins select cast members posing in festive, or at least cold-weather, garb.
A soaring flight fueled by joys, sorrows, and deeds both ill and good. (Fantasy. 812)
Comrie, Courtne
Harper/HarperCollins (272 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780063159778
Amid new challenges, Rain Washington, the Black girl readers met in Rain Rising (2022), continues her journey of healing old wounds and loving herself.
Changes abound during Rain’s first year at City High School. Her beloved brother is away at college, she’s in classes without her best friends, and she misses the healing circle she relied on in middle school for processing her feelings. To make matters worse, Rain isn’t clicking with her new counselor, who makes their time together feel more like an interrogation than a safe space for growth. When a sophomore boy showers her with compliments and invites her to meet alone at his home, Rain must decide how to proceed. With everything
“A soaring flight fueled by joys, sorrows, and deeds both ill and good.”
juniper’s christmas
happening, she abandons some of her coping mechanisms, and the sadness she once faced begins to creep back in. Fortunately, she still has her support system, and they rally around as she remembers who she is, that she has choices, and that she’s more than the sum of her lowest moments. Contemporary issues are part of Rain’s and her friends’ lives, including the arrest and potential deportation of a close friend’s beloved uncle. The rhythm of the verse is engrossing, successfully allowing readers to connect with Rain’s struggles and triumphs. The authentic, skillfully paced dialogue captures the tension and evolution of Rain’s feelings and emotions as she explores her first romance and heartbreak.
A satisfying, well-written, and authentic sequel highlighting the ways healing and self-love are ongoing processes. (Verse novel. 1014)
Illus. by Moe
ButterflyJessica Kingsley Publishers (48 pp.)
$17.95 | Sept. 21, 2023
9781839977626
A window into an array of genders that exist outside the Western binary.
“When you look at me, which gender do you see?” asks Alawa, the narrator of Corrigan’s latest book on gender. Dressed in traditional regalia, the Indigenous (Nêhiyaw) narrator proudly declares that they are Moosomin First Nation and Two Spirit, “an umbrella term used to describe a variety of gender identities specific to Indigenous tribes across North America.” Alawa introduces readers to their friends from all over the world, including Alohilani, a Native Hawai’ian māhū person; Nayeli, an Oaxacan muxe person; Chideziri, a “female husband” from Nigeria; and Kohei, an X-gender person from Japan. Each friend shares a brief description of their gender and its ethnic context; their joy and cultural pride are warmly conveyed by Butterfly’s cartoon-inspired art. The narrative concludes with Alawa and their friends saying goodbye in their respective languages. The profiles offer only a sliver of information about each gender, and the book would have benefited from bibliographic references. Still, the richness of nonbinary genders across the globe will amaze young readers, and the volume’s limited scope is reasonable, given that this is an introductory picture book. Readers will learn much about the diverse ways that people can understand and express gender. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Nonbinary genders shine in all their splendor. (author’s note, cultural gender identities activity, map) (Informational picture book. 612)
Cottrell Boyce, Frank
Illus. by Steven Lenton
Macmillan Children’s Books (320 pp.)
$8.99 paper | Oct. 3, 2023
9781509887910
A boy and a robot bond.
Alfie is missing a hand. Eric is missing a leg. Alfie’s a 12-year-old kid; Eric’s an enormous robot. Alfie, looking for his misplaced bionic hand in the lostproperty office at the airport, encounters Eric, who declares that he desires nothing more than to serve him as part butler, part questing knight (“WE RIDE AT DAWN!” “STAND ASIDE, VARLET!”). This leads to a series of adventures during which Alfie helps Eric escape from authorities who are bent on turning him into scrap metal. Set in a near-future world that is full of robots—chatty, mood-reading doors (“Come in, Alfie… I’ll put the kettle on. Why not sit down and stabilize your metabolism?”), self-driving buses, and highly sophisticated prosthetics—this novel is an imaginative reflection on the ethical neutrality of automation. In this world, technology is only as helpful or harmful as humans allow it to be. A parallel plot thread centers the kids at the Limb Lab, where Alfie comes to terms with the accident that cost him his hand. Other kids there include Shatila, a sardonic hijabi girl from Bosnia, who lost her foot to a land mine. An emotional revelation late in the second act shifts the story’s momentum into high gear as it nears an emotional conclusion. Humorous illustrations throughout add to the sense of adventure. Alfie is depicted with brown skin and black hair.
Wit and teamwork win the day in this android adventure. (author’s note) (Adventure. 912)
Crowe, Caroline Illus. by Carlos Vélez Floris (32 pp.)
$17.95 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781782508328
A beloved pup helps a kid find happiness.
Sam the dog has a superpower: happiness (“His tail NEVER stops wagging”). Sam’s young owner is feeling blue after Dad heads off to work, leaving the protagonist in Granny’s care. The child decides to follow Sam’s lead, and the two pair up and seek out happiness. They find it in the smell of the cookies Granny bakes, in Granny’s smile, and in a romp through the mud. And, of course, the biggest rush of happiness comes when Dad returns. The child narrates the story, explaining that “Happiness is all around us. Sometimes you just have to be more dog to find it.” The text is well paced for young readers, with a well-conveyed message about finding your own joy. The lively illustrations are full of movement, from the splashes
“A meaningful story about looking within for happiness with a little support from our (four-legged) friends.”
be more dog
of rain around the child’s bike tires to Sam’s endlessly wagging tail. Sam is an appropriately scruffy, adorable pup. The narrator, Dad, and Granny are tan-skinned, and the child is depicted using hearing aids, though this doesn’t play a role in the story. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A meaningful story about looking within for happiness— with a little support from our (four-legged) friends. (Picture book. 36)
Darnton, Tracy
Illus.by Yasmeen
IsmailMcElderry (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781665942089
A family eagerly awaits the arrival of their newest member.
At first, Dad tells the young narrator that the still-unborn little one is a poppy seed. Adult readers will realize he’s referring to the baby’s size, but the soon-to-be-big-sibling takes it literally and smiles at the prospect of carrying the baby around everywhere—unless he gets blown away in the wind. Next, the little brother is a bean. But what kind? Jumping or jelly? Later, he’s a Brussels sprout, so not everyone will like him (and he may get blamed for funny smells). Then, he’s a lemon, probably with a big smile and lots of dimples. Soon he’s an avocado—a nerve-racking prospect, since “he could be really hard or soft and mushy.” When the time comes, the new baby isn’t as Dad described (in more ways than one). This charming tale brings a cute metaphor for pregnancy gestation to adorable life. Readers see the protagonist interacting with various food items, each of which sports a little face, while, in the background, Mom’s tummy grows bigger. The older sibling’s enthusiasm is infectious, and the anticipation builds with each food item. Toward the end, Ismail depicts all the foods lined up for a handy, quick reference. The cartoon-style watercolor-and-ink illustrations are earnest, with just the right hint of impish glee. Mom and the narrator have dark brown skin and hair, while Dad is lighterskinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Too fun! (Picture book. 37)
Dionne, Erin
Illus. by Jenn Harney
Pixel+Ink (144 pp.)
$14.99 | Aug. 1, 2023
9781645951674
Series: Shiver by the Sea, 1
Bella Gosi’s new town is stranger than it seems.
Bella finds it hard to believe that Shiver-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, can possibly be as special as her mom promises. After all, her
friends, dad, and favorite things are still back in New York City. Bella feels a spark of hope when she meets a boy named Cooper in front of the possibly haunted theater her mother purchased earlier this summer. While browsing a trunk full of film reels, the two discover a small bat that transforms into a pale-skinned boy named Bram. Bram, a vampire with a thirst for sugary liquids, got lost after running away from home—like Bella, he was frustrated when his parents decided to uproot the family. So Bella and Cooper decide to help reunite Bram with his family. Character ages are not specified, but illustrations suggest that they are preteens, and Bella’s attempts at agency as she helps Bram are appropriate and understandable for an older child in an unfamiliar setting, trying to discover the boundaries of independence. While the kids face frustrating challenges and sometimes break the rules, they clearly have loving caregivers willing to give them room to grow and be who they are. Dynamic, emotive black-and-white illustrations break up the text; watercoloresque flourishes of semitonal gray along the edges add visual interest. Bella is tan-skinned in the art, while Cooper presents Black.
Wonder and magic wait to be discovered in these pages. (Paranormal fiction. 710)
Dow, Alechia
Feiwel & Friends (304 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781250829115
Two 12-year-olds find the friendship they’ve craved and unite to save their magical town.
Winifred has grown up in Honeycrisp Hill, Rhode Island, where her family is despised, thanks to her biological mother’s curse. The only place she feels at home is the family bakery, but as the cost of enchanted ingredients rises, business is suffering. Wini’s plan to help involves executing a slightly illegal love spell from her family’s grimoire. Her first goal: finding her dad the perfect man. Meanwhile, Kaliope is from Boston, where she couldn’t practice magic. She welcomes the move to Honeycrisp Hill, hoping it’ll mean more time with her frequently absent father, but the grandfather she knew nothing about shows up to help them reopen the town’s haunted bookstore. Next, an Enchantment Agency officer arrives to investigate “a wickedness that’s been called to town.” Despite a bumpy start, Wini and Kal become friends; together they try to banish the wickedness and even play matchmaker between their dads. YA author Dow’s middle-grade debut is brimming with magic—and enticing recipes for readers to try. She holds space for the loneliness that both girls experience and for Kal’s struggles with anxiety. Her superb worldbuilding and the authentic dialogue between the quirky, beguiling characters will draw readers in, while the heart-pounding tension and strong pacing will lead them to the satisfying conclusion. Wini and her family are Black; Kal’s dad
is white, and her birth mom is from Chile. An enchanting tale of love. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 812)
Fenske, Jonathan Scholastic (40 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781338892437
Series: Fish Tank Friends, 1
Sharing can be hard. With a satisfied smirk, a self-assured angelfish shows off its tank. A cave, a treasure chest, an ornamental diver: Everything here is a prized possession. Then, with a sudden “PLOP!” a smaller goldfish is dropped in—and is promptly warned off every item, even down to a tiny piece of gravel. The newcomer’s very polite request for just one pebble is grudgingly granted, in return for a commitment to “stop touching my stuff.” The grateful goldfish immediately turns the little rock into a pet and offers the one thing the angelfish doesn’t have: friendship. They share the pet pebble and play with it together, using the treasure chest, the cave, and even the bubbles produced by the toy diver. The arrival of three more little fish and a snail causes a moment of suspense: Will the angelfish regress to selfish bullying? Looks like our hero has learned a much-needed lesson. The bright blue cartoon angelfish dominates every scene, its big mouth and expressive eyebrows comically conveying its various moods. The first in a projected series, this tale offers a sound takeaway sure to resonate with its young audience. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gentle and amusing adventure in socialization, with a happy but not unrealistic outcome. (Picture book. 35)
$18.95 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781772782967
When Zander the goose decides to stay through the winter, he may be starting a trend.
Zander is tired of the same old, same old. So when the other geese close up the summer home and pack their bags (literally—they have rolling suitcases!), Zander waves goodbye. He does the usual autumn things—jumping in leaves, taking sunset walks—but when the cold settles in, Zander decides he needs some advice about winter. None of the other animals’ tips seem to apply, however. He doesn’t like nuts like the squirrel, and painting himself all white (echoing the snowshoe hare’s color change), snuggling with bats upside down, and stuffing himself like a bear in anticipation of hibernation don’t feel right either— though the images are sure to provoke giggles. When flakes start to fall, Zander is at first delighted, then simply downright cold. Just when conditions are becoming dire, he’s rescued by
a young light-skinned girl named Grace, whose winter adaptations suit him just fine. In fact, their activities are so much fun that the rest of the flock is tempted to stay the next winter. An author’s note describes the winter adaptations of bears, geese, bats, snowshoe hares, and humans and discusses hibernation and migration. Ritchie’s palette changes with the seasons, with the charming pencil, ink, and digital illustrations centering the goose and his every emotion. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Readers are sure to want a goose of their own to overwinter with. (Picture book. 38)
Fitzharris, Lindsey & Adrian Teal
Illus. by Adrian Teal Bloomsbury (176 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781547606030
A lively illustration of the perils of illness in the olden days.
In her middle-grade debut, medical historian Fitzharris partners with her husband, Teal, to cheerfully and often humorously chronicle efforts to discover the causes of and cures for six historically fatal diseases: plague, smallpox, rabies, tuberculosis, cholera, and scurvy. Her descriptions of the discomforts and devastations of each disease, as well as the not always appreciated work of disease fighters, are enlivened by Teal’s blackand-white caricatures, accented with bold blood-red. Each chapter opens with on-the-scene action, detailing what the disease was like in its heyday. The main narrative shifts to a more traditional but chatty and informal exposition that occasionally addresses young readers directly. Full of intriguing facts and high on the “ew” factor, each chapter concludes with short biographies of famous people who were felled by that particular disease. Pullout boxes break up the text and add to the appeal. A final chapter sums up these medical struggles: “Figuring stuff out and changing minds sometimes takes centuries.” Though these epidemics were worldwide, most of the people depicted present white. The Covid-19 pandemic is mentioned only briefly a couple of times, but readers will certainly make the connection between past and present. There’s a lengthy list of sources and excellent suggestions for further reading, as might be expected from an experienced author of acclaimed science history for adults.
A relevant and timely history. (maps, index) (Nonfiction. 1015)
Fletcher, Tom Random House (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 31, 2023
9780593703991
Series: Who’s in Your Book?
Can you bear a cute bedtime story?
A night-capped brown bear stars in this adorable interactive story intended to help parents lull their little ones to sleep. Turns out those little ones are supposed to get Bear ready for a peaceful night’s slumber. The diminutive ursine is first introduced as having had a “big picnic.” Now a “very full and very tired” Bear needs a bath. This requires youngsters to shake the book vigorously to ensure Bear gets his tub “super-duper-bubbly.” Readers are invited to pop the bubbles, then to “FLAP the book like a fan” to towel Bear off. Just as Bear drifts off, youngsters having aided this effort by rocking the book, a blue monster wakes Bear up—and kids are urged to manipulate the book and perform other activities— e.g., wagging a finger, yawning, imagining five sheep, then singing them a lullaby—before Bear and a now-well-behaved Monster (and most of the sheep) finally settle down for the night. Children will be thoroughly entertained by these humorous shenanigans and, parents can only hope, feel pooped enough to easily drop off to sleep themselves, having dispatched Bear and company snugly off to dreamland. The sweet, colorful, lively illustrations incorporate large, capitalized onomatopoeic words and “instructions” for maneuvering the book; set in various fonts, these heighten visual interest and the fun. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
“Beary” cute and endearing; a bedtime charmer. (Picture book. 25)
Fountain, Ele
Pushkin Children’s Books (256 pp.)
$13.95 paper | Sept. 12, 2023
9781782692553
An economically privileged girl unexpectedly experiences urban homelessness.
Lola and Amit, her brother, live a comfortable life with their widowed father. They have a servant, go to good schools, and want for nothing. But in quick succession, their housekeeper has a baby and quits working for them, the school break begins, and their father fails to return from work one day during the height of monsoon season. As days turn to weeks without any word from Dad, the children begin to fear the worst. They are ultimately evicted from their home and must adapt to street life. Their possessions are stolen, they do odd jobs, and they rest in dark corners and rusted-out train cars. Matters are made worse when Lola and Amit are separated by crowds during a festival. Lola links up with more seasoned street kids, who divulge the particulars of their circumstances
with her. A terse boy named Rafi shares his shelter and supplies and helps her hold on to hope. This story succeeds as a pageturning survival adventure and as an indictment of global capitalism’s brutality. However, with a tidy conclusion and a setting devoid of distinct cultural markers, it holds the real challenges of millions struggling in urban poverty throughout the world at arm’s length. Contextual clues suggest that the story might be set in South Asia.
Suspenseful and gripping, if lacking in texture: a fable of hope in harrowing conditions. (Fiction. 914)
Fragoso, José
Trans. by Cecilia Ross
NubeOcho (84 pp.)
$14.99 paper | Sept. 19, 2023
9788419253552
Series: Olivia Wolf, 1
Something strange is afoot in Monstrocity, where monsters and humans live together in harmony…for the most part.
Classes are about to start at Monstrocity Academy. Professor Swamp, the first to arrive, has a horrifying encounter with an off-screen terror. The book’s narrator explains: “It’s best you don’t see what happened to Professor Swamp. It’s far too gruesome….” But it’s a normal morning in the rest of Monstrocity. Olivia Wolf boards the bus for Monstrocity Academy. When a noxious gas beast attacks the city (“These things sometimes happen in Monstrocity”), the young werewolf and her vampire buddy leap into action to save the day. At school, after Olivia’s teacher, a zombie, gives a lecture on mold and decomposition, the students learn that Fred the Fly’s six-month-old cheese sandwich has gone missing. Could the missing professor and the sandwich be related? It turns out they are. Fred’s sandwich, now a giant mold monster, threatens to overrun the city, so the students work together to put things right again. Translated from Spanish, this fast-paced graphic novel features colorful pages with one to four panels; text is minimal. Monstrocity’s monsters are generally smiling and are lovable, relatable, and definitely not scary, and the imaginative dangers they face are slightly spooky, slightly gooey, and just plain fun. A list of character bios prefaces the work.
A sweetly scary reminder that friends, even monsters, must look out for each other. (Graphic fiction. 68)
“A monstrously good time.”
olivia wolf and the night of the giant monsters
otter doesn’t know
Fragoso, José
Trans. by Cecilia Ross NubeOcho (84 pp.)
$14.99 paper | Sept. 19, 2023
9788419253576
Series: Olivia Wolf, 2
A young werewolf and her friends face off against gigantic creatures attacking their home.
In Monstrocity, “monsters and humans live peacefully side by side”…most of the time. Terrifying gigantic monsters—some as big as skyscrapers, others small ankle-biters—have invaded the city. Usually they remain in the shadows to avoid the sun, which would melt them, but this morning there is no sun. Fresh from a slumber party, Olivia Wolf and her friends Bela the vampire and Elliot, a light-skinned human who loves dressing up as a vampire, venture out to save the city. They soon find the problem. A giant pink baby lightguzzler is feeding on all the light, resulting in never-ending night. Surprisingly, Olivia’s baby brother, Carter, becomes key to dealing with the lightguzzler, and parents and friends assist in a lighthearted series of battles against the other monsters. The final pages of this graphic novel, translated from Spanish, hint at more conflicts to come. Easyto-follow illustrations are rich with colorful but not too scary monsters. Each page contains one to four panels with minimal text per spread. The narrator’s comments, identified in yellow text boxes, aid story transitions, and though there’s a flashback at one point, it’s clearly indicated. Brief bios of the main characters preface the story—comics newbies will find this an accessible read.
A monstrously good time. (Graphic fiction. 68)
Fritz, Andrea Orca (32 pp.)
$21.95 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781459836211
Series: Coast Salish Tales, 1
Thuqi’, a resourceful sockeye salmon, gets lost on her way to Sta’lo’, the ancestral spawning river.
Thuqi’ swims through Leeyqsun (“the place of many Douglas firs”) and Tth’hwumqsun (“the Shining Point”). When she asks Tumus the otter for help, he brushes her aside. Left to fend for herself, she draws on the love of her family and ancestors to keep her focused. Thuqi’ and Tumus cross paths again—this time, because Tumus has become turned around in the dark water and demands help in getting home. Though Tumus had little compassion for Thuqi’, the empathetic fish realizes how alone he must feel. She decides to accompany him home, and her generous spirit sparks regret in the once-selfish otter. In return, Tumus steers Thuqi’ in the right direction, and the fish
learns that “no matter what [happens], her kindness and her bravery [will] help her find a way.” Drawing on Coast Salish storytelling and artistic techniques, Fritz (Lyackson First Nation) has crafted a heartwarming tale that encourages readers to persevere despite uncertainty. Her bright, flat artwork makes intriguing use of geometric shapes, and she thoughtfully weaves Hul’q’umi’num’ words (defined in an appended glossary) into the text. If, as Fritz puts it in her foreword, “storytelling is a basic building block of a healthy community,” then Coast Salish culture is safe in her deft hands. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gem of Coast Salish storytelling. (language guide, information on learning Hul’q’umi’num’, online resources) (Picture book. 69)
Funk, Josh Illus. by Charles Santoso Viking (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9780593206942
Letters fly back and forth between a child and a unicorn until the two finally meet in person.
The initial double-page spread shows a light-skinned teacher facing a class of children at their easels. “Our art and pen pal units have been combined,” the teacher tells them. “We’ll be mailing pictures and images along with each letter.” On the next page, a unicorn teacher extends the lecture—to a group of chubby young diversely hued unicorns. This teacher advises the students to ask their pen pals questions, to talk about their own lives, to be creative, and to enjoy themselves. Over the course of the school year, we see a light-skinned child called Constance Nace-Ayer (who, as her name suggests, is a little grumpy about the pen pal project, at least initially) exchange handwritten letters and artwork with a more upbeat pink unicorn named Nicole Sharp. There is plenty of wordplay and some sly, subtle indications that the pen pals sometimes misunderstand each other. At the book’s climax, when the pen pals all meet face to face, Constance and Nicole are surprised to learn each other’s respective species. While young readers will appreciate the cutesy illustrations, the pen pals’ decision to remain friends despite their differences falls a bit flat. The story depicts this moment as a huge triumph, but what human—no matter how narrow-minded—would reject an offer of unicorn friendship? (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Adorable but unlikely to hold children’s attention on rereads. (Picture book. 46)
“A
$18.99 | Oct. 31, 2023
9780063358089
Gaiman’s free-verse meditation on coming in from, or at least temporarily fending off, the cold is accompanied by artwork from 13 illustrators.
An ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the author put out a social media appeal in 2019 asking people about their memories of warmth; the result is this picture book, whose proceeds will go to the UNHCR. For many refugees and other displaced persons, Gaiman writes, “food and friends, / home, a bed, even a blanket, / become just memories.” Here he gathers images that signify warmth, from waking in a bed “burrowed beneath blankets / and comforters” to simply holding a baked potato or being offered a scarf. Using palettes limited to black and the warm orange in which most of the text is printed, an international slate of illustrators give these images visual form, and 12 of the 13 add comments about their intentions or responses. The war in Ukraine is on the minds of Pam Smy and Bagram Ibatoulline, while Majid Adin recalls his time as a refugee in France’s “Calais jungle” camp. “You have the right to be here,” the poet concludes, which may give some comfort to those facing the cold winds of public opinion in too many of the places where refugees fetch up. The characters depicted are diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
No substitute for blankets or shelter, but perhaps a way of securing some warmth for those in need. (Picture book. 69)
Gastaldi, Federico
Christy Ottaviano Books (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780316381840
A witty, comforting paean to a beloved lost fish.
A young boy named Atticus wakes to find that his goldfish, Chip, is no longer in his bowl. Where has he gone? Atticus’ mother points skyward and explains, “Chip lives up there now.” Atticus’ father says that Chip has “moved on.” Atticus’ favorite uncle says, “Chip is in a better place.” Whimsical, appealing, and gently humorous artwork dominated by blues and oranges shows Atticus’ confusion as he tries to make sense of these vague explanations. He imagines Chip attached to a balloon, suspended in the sky (along with his grandmother, also apparently deceased). He thinks of Chip swimming through the ocean alongside a whale, and he wonders if an amusement park would be a better place for Chip. Atticus’ mom suggests getting a new fish, but Atticus needs time to remember all that he and Chip have experienced together. Gastaldi is like a magician;
both the text and illustrations retain a light touch as the child deals with his loss. The author/illustrator clearly takes Atticus’ feelings seriously, however, and he shows how treasured memories may help children cope with loss. “Chip was gone. But Atticus remembered. He would always remember.” Atticus and his family are brown-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Perfectly captures a child’s response to death with respect, sensitivity, and reassuring humor. (online resources, recommended reading) (Picture book. 38)
FUNGI GROW
Gianferrari, Maria
Illus. by Diana Sudyka
Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster (48 pp.) $18.99 | Oct. 17, 2023 9781665903653
Molds and mushrooms flourish in this introduction to the fungal life cycle. With a bright palette and vigorous brushwork, illustrator Sudyka portrays exuberant arrays of mushrooms blasting out swirls of spores with a “PUFF!” “PLOP!” “POOF!” or, for the aptly named dog stinkhorn, “PEEEW!” Then, as author Gianferrari describes how hyphae release enzymes that break down rock and wood into nutrients and minerals—“making / by unmaking”—cross-sectional views reveal underground habitats crowded with roots, rocks, burrowing insects and other wildlife, and fungal threads winding through to create an interactive “wood-wide web.” A second explosion of fruiting bodies, each with an inconspicuous identifying label, leads to a further burst of fungal facts, featuring zombie ants and species that feed on plastic or even (as at Chernobyl) gamma radiation. The author and illustrator stick to land-based species, so marine fungi go unmentioned. Likewise, they draw attention to neither lichens nor (aside from a nod to penicillium) molds, and spores remain just dustlike clouds without any closer looks. Still, readers will come away dazzled by the kingdom’s huge variety of forms and colors, a bit more informed about fungi’s potential uses for industry and waste disposal, and properly warned off from eating any found mushrooms without an expert’s OK. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A bit thin on coverage but exuberant and engaging. (glossary, more information on fungi, diagram of the fungal life cycle, resource lists) (Informational picture book. 68)
THE UNSTOPPABLE JAMIE Givens, Joy Illus. by Courtney Dawson
Two Lions (40 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781662505768
A child with Down syndrome learns to self-regulate during a trip to New York City.
Jamie is “unstoppable”—in fact, he’s a “SUPERHERO,” with an arsenal of gadgets. Headphones muffle loud noises, and “ super focus” helps him stay calm. Most important is his red superhero cape. Jamie is so super that his photo will be displayed in Times Square as part of the Buddy Walk (backmatter explains that it’s an annual fundraiser sponsored by the National Down Syndrome Society). Mom, Dad, Jamie, and Jamie’s brother, Ben, travel to New York to see it. But when Jamie loses his headphones, the bustling big city puts his powers to the test. Amid a cacophony of sounds, Jamie huddles on the sidewalk, cape over his head. Is Jamie still a superhero? With his family’s support, Jamie realizes that he’s a superhero just for being himself. Warm, cartoon illustrations gently convey Jamie’s emotions and his family’s love. An author’s note explains that Jamie is based on Givens’ son Joshua, who has Down syndrome, and offers more information on the condition. However, Down syndrome is unnamed in the story. Not all readers will recognize its subtle depiction in Jamie’s facial features, and while the billboard mentions the National Down Syndrome Society, the tiny words are barely legible. Nevertheless, kids who sometimes find things “WAY too loud” will especially root for Jamie. Jamie, Mom, and Ben have light-brown skin; Dad has lighter skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Heartwarming and reassuring. (Picture book. 47)
Goodluck, Laurel
Illus. by Madelyn Goodnight
Heartdrum (32 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780063099890
A tribute to moccasins and the Indigenous kids who sport them.
It’s Rock Your Mocs Week! Children from tribes throughout Turtle Island don their moccasins with pride, celebrating their cultures and traditions as they dance, play, and attend school. The diversity of activities that the kids engage in makes it clear that mocs don’t need to be special-occasion footwear donned only for ceremony. With each page turn, readers learn more about the significance of mocs: They are works of art, repositories of cultural knowledge, and, above all, a way to “honor our deep-rooted traditions while adapting to our sacred present.” The book depicts a variety of moccasin styles and materials, worn by children from tribes throughout the United States and Canada. A pronunciation guide at the beginning of the story helps readers work out potentially unfamiliar words from different Indigenous languages. Both informative and inspiring, Goodluck’s (Mandan/Hidatsa) text is concise. The upbeat tone is echoed in Goodnight’s (Chickasaw Nation) bright illustrations, which feature people in urban, suburban, and rural landscapes. The children and adults are diverse in skin tone and hair texture. Backmatter explains the origins of Rock Your Mocs Day (and later Week) and discusses the cultural significance of moccasins. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Joyfully inspiring. (note from editor Cynthia Leitich Smith) (Picture book. 48)
Greenwald, Tommy
Illus. by Lesley Vamos
Amulet/Abrams (144 pp.)
$14.99 | April 11, 2023
9781419763656
Series: The Good Sports League, 1
A talented young soccer player leaves the recreational league for a more competitive team and discovers a different sports culture.
Ben Cutler loves playing soccer with his best friend, Jay-Jay Wright, in the Pizza League. Their team, the Anchovies, celebrate their goals with silly dances and enjoy postgame snacks, win or lose. But when Coach Cleary invites Ben to play for the West Harbor Soccer Academy, Ben finds a much more serious and less fun environment. He feels nervous before games and is surprised and confused by the “no joking around in soccer” attitude of both coach and players; charts listing the differences between West Harbor and the Pizza League are featured throughout. “Host-slash-narrator-slash-play-by-play man” Freddy introduces the Good Sports League series and pops up in graphic novel–style illustrations interspersed throughout; many readers will appreciate a break from the text, while some might find the switch between formats jarring. Freddy states the moral up front—sports should be enjoyable—and this fast-paced, heartfelt story bears out the message. The story closes out with fun activities, including an invitation for readers to create their own sporty nicknames, a sports quiz, and space for readers to write down a list of their goals in life. Ben presents white in the dynamic grayscale illustrations, while Jay-Jay is Black, and Freddy appears to be brown-skinned. Secondary characters are diverse.
Good-hearted sporty fun. (Fiction. 812)
Guarnaccia, Steven Minerva (48 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781662651441
Nothing equals something.
Pals Oona and Otto visit the Museum of Nothing. In the Nobody Room, they’re greeted by a sign featuring lines from Emily Dickinson’s “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?” and a “statue” of the Invisible Man “stands” on a base. (Otto shakes hands.) The Blank Library contains books with empty pages, while the Zero Wing displays works of art that depict the number zero in several languages (along with a portrait of actor Zero Mostel, his head shaped like a zero). The kids visit the gift shop and, upon arriving home, announce they saw NOTHING! at the museum. This cheeky, overly hip metaphysical journey will appeal to adults more than children—though the Hall of Holes is kid-level fun—and will
require much explaining from grown-ups. References to “Yayoi, Kaholo, and Ono” on a sign will likely go over youngsters’ heads, as will Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None in the Blank Library. An appendix, “The Catalog of the Museum of Nothing,” is a boon, even for adults. Still, crisp ink and digitally colored illustrations include numerous cleverly embedded zeroes and letter Os to represent the concept of “nothing”; children will enjoy scouring the pages to locate them and may want to illustrate their own ideas about nothingness. Blond, pale-skinned Oona and dark-haired, brown-skinned Otto wear clothes featuring zeroes. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Much ado about a lot of stuff most youngsters won’t fully get or appreciate. (Picture book. 69)
Hafiza, Radiya
Illus. by Rhaida el Touny
Macmillan Children’s Books (240 pp.)
$8.99 paper | Sept. 19, 2023
9781529038309
Retellings of three classic fairy tales—“Rapunzel,” “Cinderella,” and “Sleeping Beauty”—with a Muslim twist.
Golden-skinned, dark-haired Rumaysa was taken from her parents by a witch, trapped in a tower in an enchanted forest, and forced to spin straw into gold. Her only friend is Zabina, an owl. Inspired to make a very long hijab to help her escape, Rumaysa is lowering herself to the ground when she meets Suleiman, a lost boy in possession of a magic carpet, sent by his parents to search for a princess taken by a dragon. In the second of these three interconnected stories, Rumaysa meets brown-skinned, curly-haired Ayla in Qamaroon. She’s an orphan who lives with her demanding stepmother and stepsisters. Rumaysa helps Ayla transform herself for the royal Eid ball, where Ayla meets the prince. But fearful of being caught by her stepmother, she runs off, leaving one golden shoe behind. Finally, Rumaysa is transported to a tower guarded by a dragon, where Princess Sara, who has warm brown skin and “a beautiful big body,” is under a sleeping spell. There she also runs into Suleiman. Working together, Rumaysa and Suleiman defeat the villain and reunite the princess with her parents. Rather than focus on happily-ever-afters or romance, Hafiza portrays the women in her story as strong, independent, and clever. Suleiman has his own journey of pushing back against gender expectations. Cultural elements are seamlessly woven in, and grayscale illustrations punctuate the text.
Adventurous, humorous, and magical. (Fantasy. 811)
HalliwellHorner, Geri
Philomel (464 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780593623343
Series: Rosie Frost, 1
A 13-year-old is sent to a school with ties to the Tudors on a mysterious English island populated by endangered species in this U.S. debut by former Spice Girl Halliwell-Horner.
Rosie Frost’s world is upended when her mum dies, leaving her an orphan. Per her mother’s last wishes, the pale, gingerhaired girl is whisked away to Bloodstone Island, a “conservation hotspot” and the site of Heverbridge, a school founded by Queen Elizabeth I, which now has an ethnically diverse population of pupils and teachers. New scholarship student Rosie immediately seems to get on the bad side of the deputy head, Mr. Hemlock. She soon comes to believe he has plans that will harm the island’s flora and fauna. Hoping to make her voice heard and discover more about who she is, Rosie enters the Falcon Queen Games, a competition aligned with the school’s values of courage, power, and freedom. She faces danger and bullying, but along the way she makes friends and allies who help her. This contemporary, girl-power story has light paranormal and fantastical elements and is fueled by a captivating mystery and adventure. The good-versus-evil narrative is clear cut and straightforward. Many of the character types and plot elements present here are popular staples of the genre, adding to the lively story’s wide appeal. It also features quick pacing, fun and engaging worldbuilding, and a lead character who is easy to root for.
Exuberant, action-packed, and warmhearted. (map, glossary, family tree) (Fantasy. 1014)
Hendrix, Isi
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (352 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9780063266339
Series: Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans, 1
A 12-year-old orphan sets out to save herself and her homeland.
Adia Kelbara lives in the Swamplands of Zaria with her aunt, uncle, and cousin. Much to the dismay of Aunt Ife and Uncle Eric, who have embraced the missionaries’ new god, Adia’s year of practicality placement is an apprenticeship in the kitchens of the Academy of Shamans. Even worse, Adia suddenly develops magical powers, causes an earthquake in her village, and is labeled an ogbanje, or cursed child who’s destined to bring misfortune. Adia desperately hopes a shaman
“Adventurous, humorous, and magical.”
rumaysa
at the academy will help rid her of demonic influences. But life there is not what she expected. She meets Nami, a boy training to become one of the harshly punitive capital soldiers, and makes an enemy of Mallorie, the richest girl at school. She also learns that Emperor Darian, who will be visiting the academy, has been possessed by the demon Olark the Tormentor, whom many believe had perished—and the guardian goddess Ginikanwa thinks Adia may be critical in the plan to exorcise him. Hoping that helping Gini might also solve her own magical problems, Adia embarks on a quest with the goddess, Nami, and Thyme, a warrior girl from a centuries-old queendom. Hendrix’s skillfully built, West African–inspired fantasy is populated with multidimensional characters. Readers will become invested in Adia’s journey of self-discovery. The story organically touches on loss, grief, religion versus spirituality, and racial and socioeconomic inequalities.
An engrossing and layered series opener. (map) (Fantasy. 812)
Higgins, Ryan T.
Disney-Hyperion (32 pp.)
$9.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781368090223
Series: Mother Bruce
Bruce the bear can’t go out, so the mice bring winter indoors to him.
Poor Bruce has a cold. The mice feel bad that he’s missing all the wintry fun, so they hatch a plan to cheer Bruce up. They transport the “snow family” they’ve made into the house, including a “Snow Bruce” (complete with a unibrow made from a stick). Of course, when they drag a bedraggled Bruce off the couch to see their handiwork, all that’s left is a puddle. But not to fear—the mice have another idea. They flood the bathroom to create an ice rink! Paws windmilling for balance, Bruce slides out into the hall, where he falls onto the ski jump that the mice have set up on the stairs. With a tremendous crash, he lands back on the sofa where he was originally snoozing. The mice decide, after all that…ahem, fun, that Bruce really needs to rest. But with a tiny “ACHOOOO!” it becomes clear that there are three new patients in the house. Bruce’s grumpy nature and the mice’s overzealous helpfulness both shine triumphantly in this latest in the series. As always, Higgins’ signature cartoon illustrations are a delight, using exaggerated expressions and body language to convey a range of emotions. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Silly mix-ups for the younger set are sure to bring a smile. (Picture book. 35)
Hillman, Jonathan
Illus. by Nadia Alam Simon & Schuster (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781665922302
Sam and Mom go to the laundromat one last time before they move in with Grandpa.
The young narrator isn’t so sure about the impending move, which will mean leaving the friends Sam and Mom see at the laundromat every Sunday. Sam makes a wish on the coins that are inserted into the machines and asks other people what theirs would be. Their answers include a new scooter, a green card, and a fluffy cat. Sam wants just one thing: “to stay in our apartment.” After the laundry is done, enough coins are left for Sam to buy cookies from the vending machine, and when the machine spits out a flood of coins (“Enough for the rent!”), it seems Sam’s wish has magically come true—though Mom gently points out they can’t keep the money. The many diverse background characters and occasional fantastical elements make for a colorful and stimulating read. Though Sam grapples with big emotions, the simple and sometimes silly text allows room both for moments of fun and those where the child’s concerns are addressed. Sam’s love for Mom and their community shines through their heavily implied poverty, and both the protagonist and readers are left with the message that despite hardship, being together with loved ones trumps everything else. Sam and Mom are lightskinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
By turns whimsical and deeply honest, this is a moving testament to the power of love in the face of change. (Picture book. 48)
Holm, Jennifer L.
Illus. by Matthew Holm
Random House Graphic (224 pp.)
$21.99 | $13.99 paper | $25.00 PLB
Oct. 3, 2023
9780593430941
9780593430972 paper
9780593430958 PLB
Series: The Big Adventures of Babymouse, 2
Babymouse is back, still in graphic format but with an expanded page count that allows her galloping imagination even freer rein.
The storyline is a familiar one, but in the Holms’ inimitable hands it takes loops and swirls that will keep readers riveted from first page to last. Led by longtime bestie Wilson (“…we just go together!” “Like comics and cupcakes!”), Babymouse’s circle of close middle school friends are always good for a spare
“By turns whimsical and deeply honest, this is a moving testament to the power of love in the face of change.”
the wishing machine
gym shirt in place of a forgotten one or a pep talk before a pop quiz. But then, new student Kara arrives and, being ridiculously cute and friendly, quickly becomes the center of attention. Even Wilson seems besotted with her, and soon Babymouse is feeling like such an outsider that she’s hanging out with her tentacled locker and trying to edge her way into the sycophantic clique surrounding classmate Felicia to make Wilson jealous. Eventually, following various flights of fancy—ranging from a trip to Candyville, where the clouds are marshmallows but the gummi bears turn out to be surprisingly hostile, to a depressive stretch where the world drains of color and everyone disappears—plus some nudges from an omniscient narrator, Babymouse realizes that real friendship can be neither bought nor lost. And so, one air-clearing conversation with her wise, gentle bestie later, Babymouse and all her buds are marching into a comics convention proudly duded up as alien bunnies.
“Typical” (as she is wont to mutter). Typically great, that is. (Graphic fiction. 710)
Hopkinson, Deborah
Scholastic (272 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781338660586
At the behest of Queen Elizabeth I’s spymaster, a young musician turns secret agent to infiltrate the household of Mary, Queen of Scots.
It’s 1582, and 13-year-old Emilia Bassano has been dispatched by her guardian, Sir Francis Walsingham, from bustling London to dreary Sheffield Castle, the residence of exiled Queen Mary. Emilia’s purpose is to verify rumors of yet another scheme to assassinate Elizabeth. Emilia (a historical figure, like most of the cast) smartly carries her mission out to a successful conclusion with a clever closing twist. That fictive storyline is more like the main event on a crowded bill, though, with Hopkinson pausing frequently to include infodumps about Elizabethan life and theater, slip in numerous period portraits and images, and have her characters make pointed observations about how only white male actors are allowed on stage and how unfair it is that women can’t write books or plays or receive proper educations. Meanwhile, in her spare time, Emilia writes a one-act play that revises the old tale of King Alfred and the cakes, giving his future warrior queen daughter, Aethelflaed, a starring role—which is appended in full and preceded by extensive production notes and a general performance license to encourage young thespians. That all of this hangs together nicely is a real tribute to the veteran author’s skill, not to mention her chops as a researcher.
A fully packed feminist treat. (cast list, bibliography, timeline) (Historical fiction. 913)
Jones, Jennifer & Lissette Norman
Illus. by Robert Paul Jr.
Harper/HarperCollins (40 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 31, 2023
9780063087064
The first African American Rockette tells her story. Jennifer Jones fell in love with dance in her first class at age 9. Using her body to express herself as she danced ballet, jazz, and tap, she felt free and bold. Outside of class, though, she was painfully shy—her mother was white and her father was Black, and their family stood out in their New Jersey town. After an ignorant clerk yelled at her for dancing in a store (“Girls like you don’t become dancers”), Jennifer’s joy was nearly diminished, but her father brought home a piece of linoleum for Jennifer to practice dancing on. From then on, she danced every day and felt free from the ignorance of others. Her first stage performance, in fourth grade, “felt like home,” but that clerk’s mean comment still lingered. When her parents took her to see The Wiz on Broadway, the sight of the all-Black cast gave her the confidence she needed to eventually audition for the Radio City Rockettes, where she danced for 15 years. Though this tale explores painful emotions, its focus on Jennifer’s personal experience and the pleasure she found in dance make it an absolute delight. In relatable first-person narration, Jones ends the narrative by addressing children: “What will your story be?” Paul deftly uses gestures and facial expressions in the line-and-color illustrations to lead readers through Jones’ emotional journey. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Exhilarating. (about Jennifer Jones and the Rockettes) (Picturebook autobiography. 48)
Joy, Angela Illus. by Jacqueline Alcántara
Roaring Brook Press (32 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781250797032
Lavender-washed pages background this picture-book tribute to Prince.
Author Joy grew up in Prince’s childhood neighborhood in Minneapolis’ Northside and even performed with him once; her lyrical tribute to the groundbreaking Black musician is allusive and evocative, eliciting feelings rather than unreeling facts. “Shouts and silence, / slamming doors; / whispering lilacs, basement floors; / the thud of a basketball, / boomboom; / the echo of lonely in / a crowded room.” Lines such as these paint a picture of an unnamed “beautiful boy” and a difficult childhood
characterized by hunger and a constant shuffle from household to household. Basketball and, especially, music coaxed from a guitar lightened these “ordinary days.” Alcántara contributes vignettes of a small but recognizable Prince huddling beneath a piano or sleeping on a couch. These images of unsettled unhappiness are balanced by paintings of the young artist concentrating with his eyes closed over a guitar or piano, the lavender hues warming to purple with the introduction of red tones. A threepage author’s note furnishes any facts that the primary text elides; children content to mull over its moods can do so, while their caregivers can glean necessary context for when their little ones ask questions. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Children will come away with a hazy sense of Prince but a firmer grasp on the healing power of music in hard times. (discography) (Picturebook biography. 58)
ZAIN’S SUPER FRIDAY
Khan, Hena
Illus. by Nez Riaz Lee & Low Books (32 pp.)
$19.95 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781643794242
A young Muslim boy goes to the mosque with his father. Zain wakes up ready to play at battling space aliens with his father. Disappointed that Dad must work, Zain busies himself with other adventures. When they head out for Friday prayers, Zain rushes to the playground, but his father gently guides him to the mosque. They perform wudu—the ritual washing up before prayers—and Zain’s attention wavers again as they remove their shoes, enter the prayer hall, and settle in to listen to the imam’s sermon. Zain is fidgety, and just as the congregation lines up for prayers, he makes a beeline for the front. The imam spots him and asks him to lead prayers with him. Zain prays with the imam, reining in his distractions, and his proud father treats him to a special reward after. Featuring a playful father-son dynamic, this tale explores Islamic rituals and traditions on the holiest day of the Muslim week, when Muslims gather for jumu’ah prayers. Though Zain may be antsy, his patient father and the imam foster a warm community spirit— it’s clear everyone is welcome here. Cartoon illustrations propel a fun and lively story that captures the spirited young boy’s energy. Zain and his dad are brown-skinned; their mosque is diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A lovely tale of father-son bonding set against the backdrop of jumu’ah prayers at the mosque. (author’s note) (Picture book. 48)
Kimmelman, Leslie
Illus. by Irina Avgustinovich
Apples & Honey Press (32 pp.)
$17.95 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781681156255
Everything is completely new and unknown on the first day of human existence.
Eve’s first day finds her thankful and unafraid. Not even the “brilliant ball of yellow burning above” worries her. She notices a two-legged creature, who seems friendly and calls himself Adam. Together they give names to everything they see. Eve considers Adam’s ideas for names—“dog,” “cat,” “ant”—somewhat boring, while hers are more interesting: “nightingale” and “strawberry,” for instance. Perhaps it’s because God had some practice before he made her. Eve emerges as the more dominant of the two, but she finds Adam kind and beautiful. Relying on faith—and each other—the pair deal with the strangeness of everything, from rain to sundown and night to the miracle of sunrise on their second day. The familiar tale is told in the ancient Jewish tradition of midrash, a way of interpreting and enriching Bible stories. Kimmelman employs soaring, highly descriptive language imbued with gentle humor, imagination, wonder, and awe, brought to vivid life by Avgustinovich’s lush artwork. The brown-skinned duo are nude but covered up by Eve’s thick black hair and, in Adam’s case, a strategically placed leaf. Never demanding belief or denying science, this is a fresh take on the oldest interpretation of the beginning. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Gloriously beautiful and tender. (author’s note) (Religious picture book. 49)
Lang, Heidi & Kati Bartkowski McElderry (368 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781665921916
Series: Whispering Pines, 4
Zombies, giant centipedes, and tentacled alien horrors come home to roost in this series closer.
Determined to shove as much ick into their climactic episode as possible, Lang and Bartkowski open with a young character who’s still bleeding from the incision left from cutting giant bugs out of his stomach while he was awake (“Horribly, terribly awake”). While he’s fleeing a crowd of zombies spitting infectious loogies, fellow middle schoolers brave hazards ranging from tentacled trees to giant exploding centipedes in an effort to prevent partly alien creepy crawlies (which the corrupt eco-corporation Green On! is trying to weaponize) from escaping into Connecticut. For readers who delight in tales about intrepid young teens fighting multi-eyed monsters (“Rae’s thumbs sank in deep. She
ignored the hot splash of gooey liquid trickling down her hands and arms”) or wrestling with both literal and figurative inner demons in eerie settings amid splashes of blood and ichor and the odd severed limb or cut-off scream, the town of Whispering Pines definitely merits a visit. And, just to show that it was all in fun, one humongous explosion later, nearly all the central cast staggers out alive for fence-mending (“I’m sorry I tried to drink your blood”) and a pizza party.
Everything but vampires…oh, wait. (Horror. 813)
Leavitt, Lindsey
Godwin Books (288 pp.)
$18.99 | June 6, 2023
9781250858498
A Tacoma, Washington, girl with anxiety who longs for safety and security experiences dramatic changes when her father announces plans to remarry.
Stella Blue North—“twelve, almost thirteen”—and her brother, Ridge, 10, are taken completely by surprise when their dad announces he’s engaged to Whitney, his “surprise fiancée,” and that they’re moving to Las Vegas to blend their families. Ridge goes with the flow, but surprises are not good for Stella’s anxiety, and Whitney’s 15-year-old daughter, Vivian, is not enthused about sharing her room. Stella and Vivian form an alliance they call Supernova Quest to break up the impending marriage so they can return to their normal lives. The girls also attempt to see— and change—the future by consulting a mystic and a palm reader, getting a tarot card reading, and buying crystals. But the wedding seems inevitable, even when Stella’s mom reappears after completing rehab. Stella’s first-person narration gives readers an understanding of what it’s like to live with anxiety; she uses strategies from therapy, plays Tetris, and pets her emotional support pug, Pog. Some chapters open with upbeat postcards between Stella and a friend back home, and Stella develops a friendship with (and crush on) Cooper, a boy she meets in Las Vegas. Main characters are coded white; Cooper is Black.
The lovingly depicted birth of a blended family. (information about the zodiac, crystals, palmistry, and Chinese zodiac) (Fiction. 1014)
SUPERBABY
Ledyard, Stephanie Parsley
Illus. by Lincoln Agnew Neal Porter/Holiday House (40 pp.)$18.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780823445585
Face it: Grown-ups don’t stand a chance against babies.
Who knew such small, cute, cuddly, and innocent-looking beings were so capable? There’s a reason for that: Those
adorable infants we go gaga over are actually superbabies. They can do just about anything, like blasting off into the air (the accompanying image depicts the arms of a loving adult flinging the little one into the air). Superbabies can make bananas disappear without leaving so much as a mushy trace behind, and don’t even ask about the decibel levels a superbaby’s caterwauling can achieve. Of course, every self-respecting superbaby needs to recharge (aka take a nap) and activate their “stink shield” (diaper change, anyone?) every now and then before performing other astonishing feats, like saving the world from “green slime” (the image portrays the little one knocking her meal off a highchair). And when it looks like someone’s superpowers are fading, there’s just enough time for kisses and storytime before Superbaby hits the sack to get ready for the next superday. This sweet, witty, knowing book will thoroughly delight listeners and their carers and will make a perfect gift for baby showers and new parents. The charming, lively illustrations featuring a paleskinned, wide-eyed infant wearing a bandanna atop her blond head were created digitally and with pencil crayon. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
When it comes to softening the toughest hearts, no one’s better than a superbaby. (Picture book. 24)
Leiloglou, Carolyn
Illus. by Vivienne To WaterBrook (320 pp.)
$13.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9780593579527
Series: The Restorationists, 1
Famous paintings become portals in this fantasy series opener.
Twelve-year-old Vincent is less than excited about spending spring break in Texas with his art restorer uncle, Leo, while his parents head off on a cruise, but his mother seems to think it will somehow reignite his lost interest in art. Uncle Leo’s house does contain many famous paintings that catch Vincent’s eye, though, and cousin Georgia is clearly hiding something, so he isn’t quite as bored as expected. Then Lili, Vincent’s 6-year-old sister, disappears into thin air, and Vincent finally discovers the truth about his family: They are Restorationists, genetically related people who can travel through paintings, working to prevent the evil Distortionists from manipulating art for nefarious purposes. Colorful descriptions will send curious readers searching for images of the paintings mentioned, while discussions of art as a vehicle for the expression of truth and beauty add depth to a plot that feels disjointed at times. References to Jesus (following an interaction with a painted representation of Jesus) beginning three-quarters of the way into the story are awkwardly placed, given the lack of overt religious content earlier in the book. Vincent and Georgia read white; Lili was adopted from China at age 3. To’s expressive, delicately rendered illustrations enhance the text.
An interesting premise weakened by a somewhat muddled plot. (author’s note, list of paintings and artists) (Fantasy. 812)
more than words
MacLean, Roz
Henry Holt (48 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781250864505
You don’t always need to use words to make yourself heard.
Nathan, a brown-skinned boy, doesn’t say much, but he is thinking a lot. The text then examines ways that people say things without talking: making facial expressions; writing with a pencil, brailler, or tablet; using an alphabet board; signing; using text- or symbol-to-speech technology; singing and making sounds; moving, playing, and building; and painting or drawing. Each spread shows children using these methods to communicate. Ending pages circle back to Nathan and the interconnected channels and pools he has dug in the schoolyard for the little boats he has crafted out of walnuts and leaves. Even without a single word exchanged, the other children find a way to listen to him and reach out a hand in friendship. MacLean’s gouache, pencil crayon, acrylic ink, and digital illustrations depict a class diverse in skin tone, ethnicity, religion, and ability. We see children who use wheelchairs, a child with a hearing impairment, a service dog, and a student who uses oxygen tubing. The backmatter distinguishes between expressive and receptive communication, emphasizes that “Even if someone doesn’t express themselves in the same way as you, it doesn’t mean they don’t understand you,” and lists ways to ensure everyone has communication access. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A warmly inclusive look at the many ways we communicate with one another. (Informational picture book. 410)
Mangal, Sakshi
Kids Can (40 pp.)
$21.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781525306662
The daughter of a hardworking toymaker adds a splash of color to the family business.
Asha believes that her father “makes the best wooden toys in India.” He sells the toys in the market so he can afford to send Asha to school. Papa never went to school, and he tells Asha that she must study hard in order to take advantage of the opportunities he missed—opportunities that will keep her from going hungry. Aware that her father struggles to make ends meet, she secretly enters his workshop and, in an attempt to make his wares more enticing, paints all his toys. As Asha says, “A little bit of colorful paint makes anything beautiful.” But will Papa appreciate her efforts, or will he feel that she has overstepped by focusing on her painting instead of her homework? The story’s greatest strength is the layered, loving relationship
between Asha and her father, and it explains Papa’s past poverty with empathy. The conflict between the characters rings true, as does Asha’s sweet and spunky narratorial voice. While the illustrations are whimsical and vibrant, the small text is sometimes awkwardly placed and difficult to find. Nevertheless, this tale of a loving father-daughter bond is sure to delight readers of all ages. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A tender depiction of a loving, working-class Indian family. (author’s note) (Picture book. 48)
Marshall, Linda Elovitz
Illus. by Grasya Oliyko
Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins (32 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
978-0063294141
A worshipful profile of Ukraine’s staunch leader.
Joining a flurry of recent biographies of the comedianturned-president, this paean is light on specific detail and sometimes bends what facts it does offer to present its subject in the brightest of heroic lights—for instance, substituting the ambiguous “supplies” for weapons in a tally of foreign aid that poured into Ukraine after the Russian invasion to create the impression that said aid was entirely humanitarian. The author begins by presenting Volodymyr (without any cited evidence) as a child who “hated lies,” then takes him from early years growing up in a land historically hostile to its Jewish residents to success as a performer. Next, after deciding to emulate a character in one of his own shows who was elected president and run “for real,” he finds himself at the head of a country facing invasion by a much larger one, “like David fighting the giant, Goliath,” and becoming a defender of freedom. Except for images of the Ukrainian flag and a few random colorful highlights, Oliyko’s sketched illustrations run to drab grayscale crowds of small faces and figures. The story and even the timeline at the end cut off in February of 2022, so the content is already significantly out of date. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Appreciative (and properly so), but superficial and dated. (author’s note, bibliography) (Picturebook biography. 69)
McAnulty, Stacy
Illus. by Claire Keane
Chronicle Books (40 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 31, 2023
9781797214405
A girl uses cunning to get exactly what she wants.
“I want 100 dogs,” the child muses. Her nonplussed parents raise a practical question: “Where would 100 dogs sleep?” Their daughter has a ready answer: “My 100 dogs will sleep on my bed.”
“A warmly inclusive look at the many ways we communicate with one another.”
Parents: “More likely, 100 dogs would sleep on you.” Reconsidering, the girl asks for 90 dogs. But how will she walk them? After all, 90 dogs would walk her. And so it goes, with the child subsequently decreasing her request by 10 each time and her parents asking realistic questions about that quantity, listening to her responses, then explaining why her plans still won’t work. Examples: 70 dogs need lots of food; grooming 30 dogs would be very messy; and—unhappiest prospect—guess who’d clean up after 10 dogs “go number 2”? Finally, the child “settles” for just one and chooses a floppy-eared pooch at a shelter. Her parents can’t believe they talked her out of 100 dogs; the girl can’t believe she talked her parents into getting one—clearly, her plan all along. This is a humorous, imaginative tale with a comically ironic ending; the child-parent relationship is close, warm, and playful. There’s good counting-backward-by-10s practice here, too. The digital illustrations are funny, with each parental question and the girl’s responses vividly, dynamically portrayed. The gap-toothed daughter and both parents are tan-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Bow-WOW! Who needs 100 dogs when just one cuddly, fluffy, perfect pup will do? (Picture book. 47)
McBride, Amber Feiwel & Friends (352 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781250850492
A 12-year-old Black girl deals with fear, grief, pain, and suffering caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and America’s history of enslavement and racist violence.
It’s the year 2111, and Inmate Eleven is undergoing a test. She must decide which is better: the blond, blue-eyed, light-skinned doll or the doll with blue skin and hair like her own. Inmate Eleven’s world is cruel and fractured: As a Blue, she’s separated from the pale-skinned Clones and has been isolated in a cell her whole life. Her only source of comfort is her dog, Ira; they both long for escape. “Bible Boot” flash cards fill in the backstory through references to an alternate but recognizable history: a 2016 election, xenophobia, a wall, a worldwide virus, and vaccines. Blues are regarded as inferior, their bodies exploited to prolong the lives of Clones; they are actually Black Americans whose stolen freedom has caused them to turn blue with sadness. Back in 2022, Imogen is trapped by fear and grief from racist violence and devastating pandemic losses. She finds relief and healing through sharing her stories and builds relationships with Black role models like her therapist and her mentor from the Big Sister program. Textbook pages at the ends of chapters share true Black history. McBride’s multidimensional genius shines through, artfully exposing the reality that Black Americans have lived lifetimes of dystopias. She scrupulously guides the complicated storyline and hard histories with context, definitions, and word choices.
Raw, incisive, and authentic. (author’s note) (Fiction. 1116)
McCurdy, Janelle
Aladdin (400 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781665901307
Series: Umbra Tales, 2
A girl attempts to use her emerging powers to ferret out the truth about a hidden plot against her community in this follow-up to 2022’s The Lightcasters
Mia and her brother, Lucas, are lightcasters whose powers of the sun and moon manifested during a battle with the Reaper King. Mia is in training to become an umbra tamer and is trying her best to manage her powers, but even after saving the kingdom, she’s viewed as dangerous. She’s also missing her former-best-friend-turned-enemy, Miles, who went missing after the battle. Now the Reaper King is showing up in Mia’s dreams, along with the voice of a mysterious woman who gives her cryptic clues. Mia’s desperation to find answers to the nightmares that plague her comes to a head when her umbra, Nox, is possessed by a mysterious force. Mia travels to Astaroth, the old home of the Reaper King and his minions, the Elite, where she meets Layla, a girl who seems to hold many answers. Now Mia is trying to figure out what her dreams mean and how she can protect her family and friends. This sequel set in a multicultural world delves deeper into the backstories of the original lightcasters, the Reaper King, Queen Lucina, and Queen Katiya. Returning fans will also enjoy learning more about Mia’s and Lucas’ powers. The thrilling storyline includes some fantastically creepy plot twists.
An engaging read with strong worldbuilding and complex relationships. (map) (Fantasy. 913)
MelkiWegner, Skye
Henry Holt (304 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781250827708
Series: The Deadlands, 2
Seeking to escape carnivorous pursuers, a band of exiled prehistoric plant eaters go from the frying pan into the fire (literally) in this follow-up to The Deadlands (2023).
Calamities compound as a desperate flight over the treacherous, volcanic Salted Scorch—with a carnotaurus colonel and a squad of raptors hot on their trail—leads oryctodromeus Eleri and his four herbivorous allies not to the hoped-for safety of the Drylands but straight into the magma-heated tunnels of the Fire Peak: the headquarters of the Carrion Kingdom. There, along with the very personal danger of being captured and eaten at any moment, the fugitives find not only a captive herd of fellow herbivores in need of rescue but a cache of terrifying weapons certain to turn the tide in the larger ongoing war between
predator and prey species. As is proper for a middle volume, Melki-Wegner raises the stakes while developing characters and relationships within the contentious main group. And if she continues to lean too heavily on a conveniently broad magical premise to move her story along, she does effectively sweep readers toward a climax that leaves the captives (including a bonded couple of elderly female triceratops) released and the Carrion Kingdom dealt a fiery, but not final, setback.
Jurassic juniors again thwart toothy foes, but the prospects for a plant-based peace remain dim. (Adventure. 912)
Melling, David Candlewick (32 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781536231557
What’s a scared pooch to do?
Ruffles, a white puppy with a dark spot around one eye, is back, and once more, he has definite opinions. He loves howling, scratching, sniffing, chewing, and many other doggie pastimes. But he’s not so fond of loud noises—those make him crouch and creep and skitter and run. Worst of all is when loud noises happen at night! And when they’re accompanied by a boom and a flash and a crash, it must be a thunderstorm. Those make Ruffles want to hide. But where? He attempts to conceal himself behind a towel, under the cupboard, in a laundry basket, and even under a colander…but none of those are “quiet, cozy, and safe.” Ruffles gets an idea, though: His basket bed is all those things, especially with his cushion and his blanket. There, he weathers the nighttime storm and is able to get back to all the things he loves in the morning. Melling’s charming, headstrong puppy confronts fears in his fourth outing, which is sure to comfort little ones scared of storms and other noises. The author/illustrator once more relies on digitally colored pencil drawings; brief, endearing vignettes depict Ruffles’ various favorite and not-so-favorite things. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Fans of this adorable pup will giggle their fears away. (Picture book. 26)
PENGUIN HUDDLE
Montgomery, Ross
Illus. by Sarah Warburton
Walker US/Candlewick (32 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781536231311
A silly, chilly calamity unfolds in the South Pole.
One night, while a group of penguins are all huddled together to keep warm against the blowing winds, they wake to find that they are frozen to each other! A few tiny webbed feet poke out here or there, and a flipper or two are free,
but the pack is, well, tightly packed, in ice. How can they escape? Their friends attempt to help, but nothing works. Pipsqueak, a tiny penguin with a fuzzy woolen cap and scarf, decides a trip to the city might be their only hope. An albatross carries the “penguin ice pop” across the seas, and a whale takes them the rest of the way. Once they reach the bustling metropolis, populated by anthropomorphic animals, other pals offer solutions (a lobster attempts to snip them free at the barber shop, and beetles try to break the ice at the bowling alley), but the “Doctopus” (a doctor octopus, of course) is the only one who can save the day. The penguins’ wide eyes are incredibly expressive, imbuing their hijinks with hilarity, and there’s plenty of fun vocab sprinkled through—their “huddle” turns into a “struggle,” which is certainly a “muddle” but luckily ends in a “puddle” with a “cuddle.” (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A gleeful ode to friendship and problem-solving. (Picture book. 47)
Moore, David Barclay
Illus. by Noa Denmon
Candlewick (32 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781536213706
When a father returns from overseas military duty changed, his son misses who he used to be—until both find healing through yoga.
Before coming back from “far away,” Daddy slept deeply, liked to talk, and was fun to be around. Now that he’s home, Daddy has nightmares, is angry, and spends a lot of time alone. When the child narrator—referred to as Butta Bean—asks his mama what’s wrong with Daddy, she explains that bad things that happened overseas had “harmed his mind” and that the family is trying to figure out how to make him better. One day, Mama brings Daddy and Butta Bean to the YMCA for a yoga class. Daddy likes it and continues going, and the child accompanies him. With time spent consistently in yoga and in therapy, Daddy begins to feel better and is able to have fun with his family again. Moore and Denmon shine a powerful spotlight on a difficult topic, treading carefully and offering understanding and hope for families of veterans and other traumatized adults. Depicting self-care, wellness, and healthy, supportive relationships in the context of a loving Black family facing a serious challenge, this story makes a transformative contribution to the world of picture books. Denmon’s muted palette, with contrasting yellow and blue tones, effectively denotes happy and gloomy emotions and times, strengthening readers’ comprehension of the characters’ evolution. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Necessary and memorable. (Picture book. 38)
Moorjani, Niall
Illus. by Nanette Regan Lantana (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781915244574
A young boy learns to name complex emotions with guidance from his father.
Rajiv experiences a variety of feelings, from confidence and happiness to impatience, anger, and frustration. One evening, he’s angry but doesn’t know why. His sympathetic father shows him a trick to help him articulate his feelings. As the two stroll through the park and climb the tallest tree to gaze at the night sky, Rajiv’s dad encourages him to visualize his feelings in the constellations. Dad points to a group of stars that form “the shape of my happiness”: a vision of him cooking. Rajiv squints at the sky until he sees his happiness—an image of him playing catch on the moon. The pair identify other feelings such as shyness, gentleness, hurt, and loneliness. His father points out his own feelings of anger, which helps Rajiv realize why he was upset. Teaching Rajiv life lessons in a gentle yet practical way, Dad explains that emotions guide our actions, just as constellations helped early explorers to find their way and astronauts to navigate through the darkness of space. This is an inspiring story that links astral wonders to everyday emotions. With swirls of color, the dazzling illustrations create a sense of wonder that fires up the imagination. Rajiv and his father are of Indian descent. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A meditative, moving tale that will spur readers to make sense of their own feelings. (Picture book. 48)
Moriarty, Jaclyn
Levine Querido (352
pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781646142613
A birthday gift, her very first, gives a 10-year-old Australian girl a chance to prove her mettle.
Astounded though she is when the harshly repressive grandmother who has raised her in isolation presents her with a pickle jar full of gold coins, that’s only the first of a string of wonders as Lillian is unexpectedly shoved over and over into the magical land of Kingdoms and Empires. There, she’s informed by a mysterious collector that the coins pay for wishes. Each visit leads to encounters in which a person or creature (including, once, a huge dragon) is in a pickle and needs help. Actually, Lillian turns out to be a pawn in an evil and potentially deadly scheme, and around its twists and turns, Moriarty weaves a complex tale involving sprites and genies, time travel, fearsome dangers, hard decisions…and also the Mettlestones, a clan whose
11 sisters and their offspring have gone on to all sorts of splendid feats. The clan’s close-knit, noisy dynamics give Lillian an eye-opening view of what family life could be like. Presented through multiple points of view, the tale has an overstretched feel; the author sends Lillian back and forth more than 15 times, strings out the suspenseful climax, and repeats herself occasionally. Still, watching kind, smart, and brave Lillian overcome an upbringing designed to leave her mousy and fearful makes for compelling reading, as does watching the intricacies of the plot unfold. Most characters read white.
Absorbingly rich and strange. (Fantasy. 913)
Nelson, Colleen & Kathie MacIsaac
Illus. by Scot Ritchie
Pajama Press (64 pp.)
$19.95 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781772782882
Skydiving instructor, paleontologist, and electrical engineer are just a few of the options highlighted in this career guide.
Nelson, MacIsaac, and Ritchie have built on their earlier work, If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It (2022), with profiles of 25 new people pursuing their dreams. Laudably, the subjects are diverse in terms of race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and ability. Standup comedian and actor Maysoon Zayid, who has cerebral palsy, notes that she was drawn to comedy because “Hollywood doesn’t cast a lot of Disabled people.” Funeral director Vilosanan Sivatharman’s cultural background makes him especially well suited for serving members of the Tamil community. The bubbly style of the writing conveys these people’s excitement for their chosen paths; readers will immediately be pulled in and come away spurred to mull their own ambitions.
“Spin-Off Job, “Pro Tip,” “Why Not Try,” and “Inspiring Individual” sidebars enliven the text. Useful backmatter includes a section on all the people involved in the making of this volume (those considering going into publishing will be pleased at the many opportunities available), while “Meet the Employment Experts” offers valuable information about getting started with job searching.
Solid inspiration to help young people think big about their futures. (photo credits, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 1113)
“Absorbingly rich and strange.”
the secret of lillian velvet
Ordóñez, Rafael
Illus. by Laure du Fäy Trans. by Cecilia Ross NubeOcho(48 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9788419607096
Series: Somos8
Poop in all sizes and shapes serves as the catalyst for this hilarious tale.
A horse kicks this tale off as he admires his leavings. Unimpressed, a goat, a cow, and a duck all show off their own poop. They each tout the various properties that make their contributions the best. Texture, odor, consistency, and “general poopiness” are all debated. Enter a pig, a self-declared expert on the subject, who will judge a contest to determine the best poop of all, open to all who wish to participate. Dozens of creatures from all over the world and beyond—one of the participants is an extraterrestrial—show off poop in all varieties of shapes, sizes, and smells before a large, enthusiastic crowd. But the winner is even more surprising, for there’s a purpose to its poop. Large-scale, colorful cartoons depict the animals in oftenstartling hues and with alert, delighted expressions, even when they’re holding their noses. The dialogue is fun and colloquial, and every contestant’s contribution is described in wonderfully detailed language. A few charming rhymes are scattered through the narration, though some may have lost something in the translation from Spanish. Nevertheless, the proceedings will elicit happy shouts of “Ew!” and “Yuck!” from young readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Laugh-out-loud funny and utterly delightful. (Picture book. 48)
Overy, Alexandra
Inkyard Press (288 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781335457974
Series: The Gingerbread Witch, 2
Fledgling witch Maud answers a call to help her unlikely friends save their people from a dangerous sleeping curse.
Likable witch-in-training Maud returns in this follow-up to Overy’s The Gingerbread Witch (2022). After receiving a mysterious fire post from witch hunter Gretel (of “Hansel and Gretel” fame), Maud sets off to ensure that she and her other flash old friends are safe. What she discovers is a mysterious, unleashed curse. Working with Gretel and Ludo, Maud encounters powerful, unforgiving witches, visits a dragon library, and surprises even herself with her resourcefulness and loyalty to her friends. Readers will enjoy the return of Maud’s companions: scene-stealing squirrel Nuss, who is made of gingerbread and hazelnut mousse, and sweet wolf pup Grim. What makes the story so compelling isn’t just
the high-stakes magic or the thoughtful reimagining of “Sleeping Beauty” but rather the close relationships between young people who under normal circumstances wouldn’t and shouldn’t be friends. One particularly moving scene finds witch hunter Gretel declaring her friendship and loyalty to Maud. Queer representation is effortlessly included; most human characters are described as having light skin. Readers will come for the magic and adventure but will stay for the deep connections between characters and true-of-heart tests.
Satisfying and meaningful. (Fantasy. 812)
Peabody, J.D.
WorthyKids/Ideals (368 pp.)
$16.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781546004172
Series: The Inkwell Chronicles, 2
Two siblings enter a high-stakes chase to protect the creative world.
Bea and Everett are learning how to use the tools they recently received that can manipulate magical Ink—Everett has his dowsing sticks, and Bea has her pen, which contains remnants of Ink. Their Inkling father was recently rescued from a kidnapping by the blotters, who want to rid the world of Ink. Now Daddy is planning a trip to America to see about turning his comic books into films. But just as he’s about to leave, an invitation comes to attend the Globo Gardens Gala for the unveiling of Inkanto, a mysterious invention that may help with the world’s shrinking supply of Ink. Bea and Everett, with the support of some Fomentori, people with special connections to Ink, set out in their father’s place for Globo Gardens, located near the volcanic island of Krakatoa. With blotters in pursuit, they end up on a high-speed race from England to the Indian Ocean. Readers must be familiar with the first series entry, The Ink of Elspet (2022), to fully understand this episodic and choppy volume, which does little to develop the characterization and worldbuilding. Readers living in diverse communities may wonder about Bea’s utter shock that two Fomentori of different races might be siblings, let alone the explanation that “the land in which we live and work determines our physical characteristics,” as if nations were monoracial. Main characters read white.
This sequel falls short. (map) (Fantasy. 812)
“Laugh-out-loud funny and utterly delightful.”
the great poop contest
Percival, Tom Bloomsbury (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781547612932
Series: Big Bright Feelings
A lie threatens to overwhelm young Finn.
Finn and his sister, Simone, are excited to spend several days at Grandma’s house, which is full of “wonderful, beautiful but VERY fragile things.” While bouncing his ball in the house, Finn accidentally breaks Grandma’s clock. Rather than telling the truth, he tells her that Simone broke it. All weekend long, the lies pile up until finally he comes clean. Percival cleverly illustrates the weight of Finn’s fibs. After he tells his first one, a little blob appears, visible only to him. With each new lie, another blob appears. The blobs make it hard for Finn to snuggle up on the sofa with Grandma and Simone or for him to enjoy his picnic lunch. Once Finn tells the whole truth, however, the blobs pop and disappear, relieving him of their heavy presence. This is an incredibly effective metaphor to help young children understand how lying feels and how it can weigh us down. Percival makes lovely use of color, the vibrant blobs contrasting against the more muted backgrounds. Grandma is a reassuring, affirming presence; little ones will come away aware of the importance of telling the truth. Finn and Simone present Black, while their grandmother presents white. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A helpful reminder that honesty truly is the best policy. (Picture book. 36)
Persson, Klara
Illus. by Charlotte Ramel Trans. by Nichola SmalleyBerbay Publishing (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781922610621
Possessiveness goes to some (il)logical extremes in this highly amusing Swedish import.
Sally’s not the kind of kid naturally given to sharing. Put plainly, she’d rather shove everything that she deems hers into her wardrobe before her friend Nico comes over. Initially, it’s just little things. Her squirrel stuffy. A toy train. A picture of puppies. But as she shoves more and more items in, Sally gets ambitious. In goes the bed! Then the bathtub, the refrigerator, and even her own mother! Everything reaches a peak when Nico arrives and Sally, perturbed at the thought of her other friend Eva stopping by to play with him, shoves him in the wardrobe as well! Only when everything’s gone does Sally come to suspect that the objects in her wardrobe may be more fun when they’re on the outside. Persson skillfully eschews didacticism, allowing the
story to show rather than tell why Sally’s hoarding inclinations are less than ideal. The formatting of many pages will require readers to rotate the book, lending the read a dynamic energy that pairs well with the text. Kids will find the whole concept a hoot and will come away understanding that greed isn’t actually that good. Sally, her mom, and Eva are light-skinned, while Nico is darker-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A paean to the realization that while sharing may be caring, it’s also more fun! (Picture book. 36)
Phạm, Thọ & Sandra McTavish
Kids Can (160 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781525306556
In 1980s Vietnam, a boy suddenly becomes a refugee, lost amid a sea of uncertainty.
Thọ loves cricket fighting, and he and his best friend, Lâm, eagerly compete to see whose cricket will win. Despite this childhood joy, there are certain unsaid rules in their small village. It is not uncommon for young men and even families to disappear. No one talks about why this is happening, and if they do it is never the truth: People are trying to leave Vietnam to escape the required conscription of young men in the Communist army. If any of the families are caught, the surviving relatives will pay dearly. Though Thọ knows this, it doesn’t dull the pain of finding Lâm and Lâm’s brother, An, gone one day. Thọ’s own older brother, Vũ, is also nearing conscription age, and Thọ overhears his parents whispering at night and notices them quietly selling their furniture to earn money to send the boys away. Vũ leaves first, and a year later, Thọ boards a small boat. He stows away with pirates who raid the boat and eventually navigates life at a refugee camp in the Philippines; through it all, he longs to reunite with his brother. Based on Phạm’s own experiences of leaving Vietnam at age 12, this action-packed, emotionally intense story is counterbalanced by moments of kindness and joy.
A harrowing yet hopeful account of a compelling journey. (pronunciation guide, map, afterword, a brief recent history of Vietnam) (Historical fiction. 912)
Kiel
Illus. by Jacques Khouri
Graphic Universe (168 pp.)
$18.99 paper | Oct. 3, 2023
9798765607466
Ice hockey provides an outlet for young boys in a tough town, but the season comes with its own challenges.
The Strikers are a youth ice hockey team in 1980s Flint, Michigan, a club of misfits in a low-stakes league. Evan’s slightly skeptical about signing on with this crew and tempers his hopes for a successful season. He’s not wrong to doubt—the star player (also the coach’s son) wrecks his ACL in game one, leaving the team without a coach or captain. The season stays bumpy, with frustrating losses, a knock-down fight, and a few moments of glory. Disappointments abound off the ice as well. Evan’s mom’s boyfriend is unemployed and unreliable when Evan needs coaching support, and though Evan’s dad wants to coach, he has to leave town to work for extended periods. Other teammates face their own challenges, with their backgrounds detailed in trading card–style bios at the start of this graphic novel, but the central story is squarely Evan’s. Angular illustrations express emotional interactions effectively but feel a bit stiff for conveying dynamic game play. Ultimately, however, the sense that sports can tenuously hold things together for the kids, their parents, and their struggling city is poignant and palpable. Although most of the athletes present white, the lineup includes Black twin brothers who are multisport athletes keeping busy in their off-seasons.
Persistence in the face of defeat and disappointment defines a season of sports and adolescent life. (Graphic fiction. 814)
Rash, Andy Scholastic (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781338608823
A total solar eclipse brings a father and son closer together.
After learning in school about the eclipse’s impending arrival, a curious young boy excitedly figures out the best time and place to see it. His father agrees to transport him to the woods to view the eclipse, and the child describes everything that happens at various points—two months before the eclipse, then a month, a week, a day, an hour, a minute, and the exciting second before the sun slips behind the moon. Time seems to stand still, and the creatures in the woods are baffled by what appears to be an early nightfall. Then the countdown begins again, with the boy describing what happens after the eclipse—one second, one minute, one hour, one day, one year, and even longer. The moment has become a shared memory that enhances the bond between father and son and inspires future eclipse-chasing expeditions. Based on the author’s actual experience with his own son in 2017, this picture book features lively, child-friendly digital artwork filled with scenes of nature, matter-of-fact text that acknowledges the awesomeness of this rare phenomenon, and useful maps that chart the solar eclipse of 2017 and projected paths for future eclipses. Father and son are light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sure to have readers booking their own trips to catch the next brief but memorable solar eclipse. (more information on eclipses) (Picture book. 48)
Reagan, Jean Illus. by Eduardo Marticorena
Clarion/HarperCollins (40 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780063288935
Can a fast truck slow down?
One day, speedy Turbo is the only truck left in the lot, and brown-skinned Rosa, the supervisor, needs him for a special job: carrying fragile cargo. Before he leaves, Rosa reminds him he can’t make any fancy moves on the road, like zigging, zagging, bouncing, or sliding. Turbo ZOOMS out…but then remembers to s-l-o-w down. During the journey, he takes it easy and can’t believe other vehicles are actually passing him. But Turbo’s unhurried pace turns out to be a good thing, for it allows a duck family to amble across the road. Another positive of leisureliness? For the first time, Turbo notices fresh country air and beautiful scenery. Finally, Turbo moves downhill toward his final destination—the park—with his very precious load still perfectly, deliciously intact. This cute story reassures kids that controlling impulses isn’t as hard as it might seem—plus it offers noticeable benefits and immediate rewards. Readers will relate to cute Turbo, who’s an expressive, vulnerable stand-in for little ones who often find it hard to slow down. All-capped onomatopoeic words, incorporated into the colorful, lively digital artwork, enliven the proceedings. Background human characters are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A reminder that when life’s moving too fast, it’s OK to step on the brakes and rein yourself in. (Picture book. 47)
Reich, Susanna
Illus. by Raúl Colón
Neal Porter/Holiday House (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780823450855
At a family dinner, Baby brings joy and chaos.
The whole family has gathered for a home-cooked meal, and Baby is the star. With the table set, the candles lit, and the whole spread laid out—enchiladas and guacamole, ravioli and meatballs, black-eyed peas, olives, lemonade—guests take their seats and pass the baby around the table, sharing little bites and laptime. All goes well until Baby is seated in her highchair, where she makes a huge mess that the dog helps clean up. After the meal, the exhausted adults snooze in the living room; suddenly there’s no one to pass Baby around. Bored, Baby is poised to make a ruckus when her big sibling saves the evening. Written in rhyme, this story captures the joy and chaos of a family dinner when one of the guests is a beloved, doted-on baby. The baby’s big sibling appears in many of the illustrations observing from the sidelines. The chronology falters just once early in the book—the linear action suddenly and inexplicably backtracks to earlier preparations after everyone has just sat down at the table—but that’s a small issue. Colón’s handmade illustrations
give the tale a cozy feel. The characters have brown skin. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sweet reminder to siblings big and small that they are all important members of the family. (Picture book. 35)
ReynosoMorris, Alyssa
Illus. by Kim Holt
Christy Ottaviano Books (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780316397735
An Afro–Puerto Rican child explores the Bronx.
Santiago likes to visit the four other New York boroughs but is proud to say “The Bronx is my home.” With Mami, a teacher, Santiago spends one Saturday traveling to different sites around the borough that they love. They delight in the ordinary, like riding the subway and catching glimpses of the people below and stopping by Santiago’s godfather’s food truck. Santiago and Mami visit the Bronx Equestrian Center and see lions and butterflies at the Bronx Zoo. They hike the Siwanoy Trail, splash their feet in the waves at Orchard Beach, and eat Italian food on Arthur Avenue before crossing the historic High Bridge to spend the night at Abuela’s house. The childlike observations effectively draw readers into Santiago’s day, and the story serves as a satisfying introduction to an experience of fun urban living. Spanish phrases are incorporated into the dialogue between Santiago and Mami. Nods to local heroes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sonia Sotomayor are seamlessly worked in; facts about landmarks feel a bit forced and are most likely to appeal to those already familiar with the Bronx. Holt’s animation-style illustrations lend energy to the sweet relationships and diverse communities depicted. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A warm introduction to a culturally rich borough. (author’s and illustrator’s notes, bibliography) (Picture book. 48)
Runaway Gold
Rhodes, Jewell Parker
Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins (336 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780062998354
In this modern-day retelling of a classic centering a majority Black cast, a boy’s search for riches leads him to lesser-known parts of American history.
After his father’s untimely death, Zane’s mother takes in boarders to make ends meet. Zane has mixed feelings about one of them, the enigmatic “Captain Maddie of the Turbulent Underground Sea,” and her strange ramblings and warnings. But as her predictions materialize, their bond cements. What
about her instructions to “sail on that board of yours. Find the treasure”—is there really treasure waiting to be found? Zane’s friends Kiko (who is Japanese and Black and from a prosperous home) and Jack (whose trucker father is an abusive alcoholic), plus Zane’s feisty pup, Hip-Hop, set off to explore Manhattan, with the kids on their skateboards. Guided by an old, riddlefilled map, they visit several sites of historical events with echoes of the past. But they’re not the only ones interested in treasure, and they don’t know whom they can trust. Whether or not readers are familiar with Robert Louis Stevenson’s original, they’ll be drawn into this accessible, action-packed adventure, full of mysteries, pirates, skateboard drama, and a whole new underground world. The artful, verse-like sentence structures intentionally and effectively evoke the “resonance and rhythm of the African American oral tradition.” Select scenes are represented with appealing full-page illustrations.
Daringly honors old heroes, stunningly integrating past and present with pitch-perfect success. (skateboarding trick glossary, historical note) (Adventure. 914)
Rickert, David
Kane Press (128 pp.)
$17.99 | Oct. 31, 2023
9781662670138
A broader perspective for readers who think no further than cupboards and fridges when asked where their food comes from.
Constructing mini-narratives—some decidedly simplistic— as he goes meal by meal from the “Sad, Boring World Before Breakfast” to the “Sweet History of Dessert,” Rickert explains how, for instance, Central Asian herdsmen discovered yogurt; enslaved Black people made fried chicken at the behest of landowners in America but, after the Civil War, invented “shoebox” lunches on their own; and, before the 17th century (in, presumably, Europe), sweets were served among the courses rather than at meal’s end. (“Please pass the ham and cookies,” a diner requests.) Aside from occasionally spooning in critical comments about “cheap toys” and mountains of sugar in breakfast cereals, the author maintains a generally buoyant tone, reflected in the accompanying large cast of informally drawn, diversely clad and hued cartoon cooks and consumers uttering jokey side remarks. Along with breezy side notes on, say, the training of a sushi chef or the U.S. Navy’s “ice-cream barge” (which dished up, he claims, 800 million gallons to American sailors in World War II), he layers in tributes to “superheroes” associated with various foods or inventions, such as pioneering cookbook maven Eliza Leslie and Charles Cretors (creator of the popcorn wagon), and includes galleries of birthday cakes, pickles, pizzas, and sandwiches throughout. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Too light to be very filling but tasty nonetheless. (recipes, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 911)
“Daringly honors old heroes, stunningly integrating past and present with pitch-perfect success.”
treasure island
Roberts, Randy & Johnny
Smith Adapt. by Margeaux WestonChristy Ottaviano Books (224 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780316478854
This adaptation for young readers of Blood Brothers, the authors’ 2016 title for adults, traces the friendship between and impact of two African American icons.
Cassius Clay grew up under segregation in Kentucky and experienced the acute racism of his homeland, even after becoming a U.S. Olympic medalist. But as a teenager training in Miami, he began to spend time with members of the Nation of Islam and was drawn to their message of Black empowerment. When he met Malcolm X, the two men formed a close relationship. Like many, Clay was drawn to Malcolm’s charisma and knowledge. In turn, Malcolm appreciated Clay’s impact on the community. In 1964, Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam, gave Clay a new name, Muhammad Ali. This marked a pivotal turning point for Ali: Malcolm wanted the Nation of Islam to be more outspoken about the country’s civil rights struggles, while Elijah Muhammad feared more government scrutiny. With Malcolm’s suspension and later banishment from the Nation of Islam, Ali was forced to choose between his friend and his spiritual leader. This adaptation effectively shows how the intersection of these two magnetic personalities added powerful and complicating dimensions to their lives and the world around them. The tenor and tone of the period clearly come through, thanks to the extensive research and engaging prose.
An important volume for understanding a volatile time in U.S. history. (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 913)
Rogers, Lisa
Illus. by Il Sung Na
Anne Schwartz/Random (40 pp.)
$18.99 | $21.99 PLB | Oct. 10, 2023
9780593646625
9780593646632 PLB
The story of a composer and performer who didn’t just push musical envelopes…he shredded them.
Rogers presents the bad boy of 20th-century art music as an inveterate experimenter who was, from childhood on, hyperaware of the ambient urban sounds all around him and dedicated himself to finding new ways to make and use them. In this he might sound a lot like Charles Ives in Mordecai Gerstein’s What Charlie Heard (2002), but Cage ventured much further than Ives into weirdness—by tucking random junk into piano strings, for
instance. Whether accidentally setting himself on fire, as he did once (commenting “Isn’t that marvelous?”), writing music that resulted in alienated audiences walking out midway through a performance, or offering a piece consisting entirely of over four and a half minutes of silence, he “was serious,” the author argues, “about asking people to accept new ideas, recognize music in everyday life, and be still enough to hear sounds in silence.” Na incorporates a self-developed vocabulary of dots, squiggles, and slashing lines, assembled in a labeled glossary at the end, into evocatively vivid and jumbled scenes of city streets, explosions of color creeping into drably hued rooms, and images of concert halls filled with racially diverse, stunned-looking audiences and musicians. Young readers may not be attracted to Cage’s music but will come away with a strong sense of his liberating openmindedness. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Tantalizing glimpses of a composer who challenged the very definition of music. (author’s and illustrator’s notes, quotation sources, selected sources) (Picturebook biography. 69)
Román, José Carlos
Illus. by Elena Ferrándiz
Trans. by Jon Brokenbrow
Cuento de Luz (32 pp.)
$18.95 | Oct. 1, 2023
9788419464149
This import, translated from Spanish, enumerates the plethora of ways that elders enrich the lives of the children in their families.
Presented in the first-person plural and addressed to beloved caregivers, the narrated list runs adulatory. “You’ve shown us that home / is where your family is. // …And every night, you’ve opened the gateway to our / dreams with all the wonderful stories you’ve told us.” At times, it dips into specificity: “There hasn’t been a single day when we’ve been without hugs / at home or delicious cookies in the kitchen. // …You’ve done a great job pretending not to know who we are / when we come to see you in our Halloween costumes.” “For all these reasons,” the volume ends with a new list: 10 promises to which “the undersigned” agree, including giving “millions of hugs every day” and watching shooting stars and sunsets together. Last is the promise to “give you this book.” Ferrándiz’s palette ranges from the indigo of starry night skies to warm reds for clothing, a stage curtain, and the bark and leaves of trees entwined to form a heart; pastel tints tie the spreads together. The visual focus is on presumed grandparents and grandchildren, with varied skin colors, hair textures, and facial features suggesting a diversity of families. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A warmhearted intergenerational read-aloud, calibrated for gifting. (Picture book. 38)
“The story of a composer and performer who didn’t just push musical envelopes…he shredded them.”
beautiful noise
Rosen, Michael Illus. by
Daniel Egnéus Bloomsbury (32note explains that the story is based on an experience in Say’s childhood growing up in postwar Japan. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 31, 2023
9781547613304
A small bear getting ready for hibernation gathers other animals’ dreams so he won’t run out.
Little Bear has never been through the Sleep before, and he’s nervous about the unknown. He and Big Bear decide that the Sleep is a “Big Dreaming.” But Little Bear’s newest worry is that he will run out of dreams; “then there would be a Big Nothing.” So he sets off to look for some dreams, asking Squirrel, Rabbit, and Wolf if they have any spare dreams. “Squirrel, Squirrel, Squirrel,” he says. “We’re getting ready for the Big Dreaming, / we’re getting ready for the Sleep. / Do you have any spare dreams, / for when we sleep, deep, deep?” Each does, and it turns out to be a good thing, as their lessons prove vital in helping Little Bear find his way back to Big Bear once the snow starts falling. In palette, tone, and layout, Egnéus’ illustrations resemble the artwork from older Golden Books, with highlights of turquoise, orange, deep red, and greens. The animals are more realistic than not. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Be ready to share a dream with the little one who asks you to read this. (Picture book. 37)
Say, Allen
Clarion/HarperCollins (40 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780063248465
Letting go can be the hardest—and kindest—thing to do.
A beige-skinned, dark-haired, East Asian–presenting boy interrupts some bullies bothering a helpless baby sparrow and, in exchange for a few treasures, convinces them to give him the animal. Against his parents’ admonitions, the boy uses a straw to feed the bird and names him Kozo. Day by day, Kozo gets stronger and forms a special bond with the boy, chirping and flapping his wings with excitement when the child returns home from school. Even when Kozo gets loose outside, he comes right back to the boy. The boy’s teacher encourages him to bring Kozo to school to show the other children. Worried about Kozo’s safety, the boy nevertheless agrees when the teacher promises to keep a close eye on the class. However, the other children chase Kozo and frighten him, and then after school, the bullies return. To keep his friend safe, the boy makes a difficult decision to do the kindest thing, even if it hurts. Realistic illustrations rendered in watercolor, dip pen and brush, and pencil rely on ample white space to spotlight the boy’s connection with Kozo. This poignant yet straightforward narrative navigates complex themes of friendship, loneliness, kindness, and bravery. An author’s
A deeply personal tale that underscores the power of kindness. (Picture book. 59)
Sehgal, Kabir & Surishtha Sehgal
Illus. by Ani Bushry
Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781665936156
A rhyming introduction to bhangra. A toddler of South Asian descent watches the rest of the family dance bhangra, which the Sehgals describe in an authors’ note as a Punjabi folk dance. An adult notices the child imitating the dancers and invites the little one onto the dance floor to learn some traditional moves. Bhangra Baby’s brother and mother teach the youngster footwork, while the rest of the group guides the toddler in moving shoulders, hands, and legs in steps that the authors name in the backmatter. A drummer beats on the dhol, while the crowd yells out, “Balle! Balle!” (Hindi for “hooray”). By the end, the baby is an expert—albeit tired—dancer who bows triumphantly. The book’s fluorescent palette channels the energy of a bhangra dance floor, while the text provides a rhythmic tone well suited to the subject. Characters are depicted with uniform hair textures but varied skin tones. The small text can, at times, feel difficult to find amid the busy colors and details on every page. Overall, though, the combination of words and images results in an entertaining introduction to the fundamentals of bhangra and a sweet tribute to Punjabi culture. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sure to have readers on their feet dancing along. (glossary) (Picture book. 25)
Singh, Rina
Illus. by Nathalie Dion
Orca (32 pp.)
$21.95 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781459831438
A robin is a harbinger of hope.
Though snow and ice linger, winter is over; spring greenery beckons. A robin searches for someplace to build a nest. Observing that streets, roads, and playgrounds are quiet and empty, the bird finally spies a tree overlooking an apartment building. The robin chirps joyfully—and awakens the curiosity of the building’s tenants, still indoors. They flock to their windows, eager to witness this visitor, a reminder of the glorious natural world. A parent brings a youngster to see the robin up close; one resident photographs it; an elderly adult encourages a kid to view the bird through binoculars; another resident lifts a dog to look and listen; two
kids chat excitedly via next-door windows. The robin painstakingly builds a nest, lays eggs, and then feeds the hatchlings—all while diverse neighbors connect with nature and one another. This sweet, understated story is wordless—a perfect way to tell it, as it requires youngsters to relate to the illustrations in a unique, profoundly personal way. They’ll bring their own sensibilities, understanding, ideas, and vocabulary to the artwork and, in doing so, connect with the book’s theme—our deep connection to nature and the world around us. The elegant, lush, textured artwork, appearing as if produced on a soft cloth backing, was created using a combination of watercolor and gouache and finished digitally. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Refreshing, beautiful, moving, and meaningful. (Picture book. 36)
Slangerup, Erik Jon
Aladdin (496 pp.)
$18.99 | Aug. 22, 2023
9781534498020
Series: Far Flung Falls, 2
Molly McQuirter and her newly rebuilt superbike, Pink Lightning II, are back to save Far Flung Falls, Ohio, from Oldsmobile-eating mutant frogs.
In Molly and the Machine (2022), 11-year-old Molly and an unlikely assortment of heroes rescued her younger brother from a giant robot. Now Molly’s cat, Crank, and several other neighborhood pets have gone missing, and Molly and friends Arvin, Leonard, Margo, and new kid Finn are on the case. As they uncover the root of the disappearances—a combine-size, three-headed, many-legged frog they call Frogzilla and its slightly smaller siblings—they find unexpected allies in Number One, the robot head from the previous adventure; their punk rock bus driver, Ronda; and a multigenerational band of bootleggers. Pink Lightning II, with new and improved rescue contraptions, and Molly’s Great-Uncle Clovis’ Zap-OMatic ray gun, help the kids stay ahead of the ravenous amphibians. The action is nonstop, and the breath-holding moments are plentiful. Periodic chapters from the elderly, ailing cat’s point of view fill in gaps in the story and add poignancy. Navigating first crushes and first kisses brings relatable elements to the story, as does the death of Molly’s great-uncle and the changes in her family structure. The 1980s setting is developed through plenty of pop culture references and a special nod to Ozzy Osbourne’s infamous bat incident. The characters present white. An action-packed romp with heart. (Adventure. 812)
Slater, Scott
Illus. by Adam Ming
Clarion/HarperCollins (40 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 31, 2023
9780358683346
Never try to outsmart a wily rabbit.
Fox learns this lesson when he tries sweet-talking Rabbit into emerging from his burrow. Sitting beside the hole that leads to the burrow, Fox is all dulcet tones as he asks Rabbit to come out so he can ask him a question. Rabbit, wise to Fox’s trickery, says he can hear Fox just fine right where he is. A funny conversation ensues as Fox urges and Rabbit resists. When Fox gives Rabbit his word not to devour him, Rabbit promises to poke his ear closer to the hole but asks Fox to step back a few paces. Fox complies, not realizing that Rabbit has thus sneakily positioned him to stand over the entrance to a den belonging to someone else. Rabbit then tells Fox to vigorously jump up and down atop the hole to scare bugs away. Again, Fox agrees—to his eventual detriment. Children will appreciate that Fox gets his deserved comeuppance and will giggle over this spirited tale filled with comical banter that proves a smart, brave, levelheaded individual can outwit a bully. The dynamic, witty illustrations depict wonderfully expressive characters and droll underground details; kids will have fun poring over all the amusing activities happening in the bunnies’ habitat. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Readers will have a “hole” lot of fun with this entertaining book. (Picture book. 48)
Small, Steve
Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 24, 2023
9781665951104
A bear cub awakens his courage. Winter is nearly over, and after a long nap, it’s time for Arlo, his sister, Eva, and their mother to leave the den and travel to Spring Valley. Arlo is not sure he’s ready. He doesn’t like change. Eva is much braver, and as the trio journey to their new home, she races up the treetops and splashes in the water without a care. The trio reach a steep mountain ridge that they must cross to get to Spring Valley. Partway up the slope, a blinding late-season snowstorm descends. With snowflakes stinging his eyes, Arlo realizes that Eva has fallen behind. Without stopping to think of fear, Arlo turns back to find her. Reunited but separated from their mother, the two must make it over the ridge together. With great pluck, Arlo realizes he is braver than he thinks. Arlo and Eva are identical roly-poly little cubs, only distinguishable (slightly) by their coloring and Arlo’s blue-tinted nose. Small heightens the emotional toll of their journey with whirling snow and dramatic slides backward, with
my cousin’s mermaid
tiny, outstretched paws grasping for help. Luckily, cozy, snuggly family time (with all three together again) prevails. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A tender reminder that bravery comes from within. (Picture book. 36)
The Vaquita
Smith, Roland Sleeping Bear Press (240 pp.)
$17.95 | Aug. 15, 2023
9781534113077
Series: The Wildes, 2
Dangers lurk beneath the ocean’s surface—but sometimes the risks aboveground can be even worse.
This follow-up to The Wildes: The Amazon (2023) delivers a fast-paced thrill ride involving poachers, endangered porpoises, and a sinister businessman. When the danger-prone Wilde family embarks on a mission in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, it isn’t long before Asia and little brother Ring are mingling with the locals, getting to know the natural flora and fauna, and upsetting bad guys. The ecologically minded Wildes are preparing for the upcoming Vaquita Summit, designed to explore ecological concerns including how the highly endangered vaquitas, known as ghost porpoises, struggle to survive in captivity. Scientists, including the kids’ veterinarian father, Dr. Jack, and their conservation biologist mom, Dr. Jane, grapple with whether the benefits of penning the small porpoises for breeding to boost their population outweighs the likelihood of their dying from the stress of captivity. Engaging and informative nuggets are interspersed throughout. The siblings move through their adventures with distinct operating strategies: Ring is more interested in fishing and getting to know local people, while Asia is more committed to research and protecting the porpoises. While battling the elements—not to mention shady people more committed to tearing down the Wildes than uplifting the vaquitas—the kids once again face a boatload of challenges and must rely on their wits and teamwork.
An exciting story highlighting critical environmental issues. (Adventure. 912)
Sobrino, Javier
Illus. by Carolina Luzón Trans. by Jon BrokenbrowCuento de Luz (36 pp.)
$18.95 | Oct. 1, 2023
9788419464026
A ginger cat experiences the highs and lows of friendship.
The feline arrives at a gathering of wild animals. The cat doesn’t feel like it fits in; in fact, it feels as though the others
are afraid of it. But then the cat meets a Jack Russell terrier, and the two become fast friends. One day, the dog has a new pal and no longer wants to be friends with the cat. The heartbroken cat does not understand but eventually moves on, meets new friends, and is happy once more. The narrative is a bit unclear at times—we don’t know why the creatures have all gathered here, for instance, and at one point the cat mentions that it doesn’t hear well but doesn’t explain why. However, this vagueness also allows young readers to project their own experiences onto those of the cat, and many children will readily relate to feeling alone and friendless. Translated from Spanish, the text is simple and emotional, though sometimes stilted. The collagelike illustrations are the book’s strong point. Evocative and unique, they employ both color and grayscale. The photorealistic animal characters are depicted with readable emotions and a touch of personification; adults and children alike will be rapt. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A bit cryptic but ultimately a beautiful and moving tale of friends lost and found. (author’s note) (Picture book. 48)
Staniszewski, Anna
Illus. by Ewa PoklewskaKoziełło Barefoot Books (32 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9798888590041
Natalia and her mom are returning to Warsaw, Poland, to visit Natalia’s aunt and cousin Karolina.
Natalia feels uncertain, given her lack of confidence speaking Polish, and initially struggles to connect with Karolina. However, the two girls soon bond over a shared love of storytelling and mermaids as they stroll through the city. Karolina points out the statue of the Syrenka Warszawska, the Mermaid of Warsaw, who’s said to protect the city’s residents. Worried, Natalia asks if the mermaid will protect her, too (“I’m not really Polish,” she says, presumably because she lives elsewhere), but Karolina’s affirming response is a touching reminder that visits to a family’s country of origin can be an important, empowering experience. Poklewska-Kozietto highlights the beauty of Warsaw’s architecture and apartment living with incredible details such as beautiful wrought-iron balconies, houseplants, and fountains. The bright colors pop, especially when depicting a range of building types and varied textures. The characters are drawn with delightful rosy-circled cheeks; almost all are lightskinned, including Natalia and Karolina. Polish phrases are interspersed throughout with on-the-page phonetic pronunciations and English translations, making this an accessible text for non-Polish speakers. The backmatter includes useful and engaging information on Poland, its language, its landmarks, and its folklore. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A reassuring and warm tale of family connections. (author’s and illustrator’s notes) (Picture book. 48)
“A reassuring and warm tale of family connections.”
Stewart, Melissa Illus. by Jessica
Knopf (48 pp.)
Lanan$18.99 | $21.99 PLB | Oct. 10, 2023
9780593435076
9780593435083 PLB
A tribute to our only natural satellite, with atmospheric moonlit illustrations of nocturnal creatures.
In a series of thank-yous paired with brief notes on nature, Stewart points to the influence of the moon on wildlife—how it helps hunting lions when thinned to a crescent and their grazing prey when full, signals kangaroo rats to hide in the shadows and zooplankton to head for the sea’s darker depths when bright, and lights the way for black-headed night monkeys and hatchling leatherback turtles. The moon even triggers coral to spawn. Stewart claims that, in the only known instance of direct lunar influence on a plant’s life cycle, the moon stimulates joint pines to exude a sticky sap to draw pollinators when it’s full in July. She also invites readers to celebrate the moon’s beauty, along with a brown-skinned child who brackets Lanan’s shimmering nighttime scenes of wildlife in natural settings, “night after night, // and, sometimes, surprising us in the daytime, too.” This quietly appreciative survey is capped with a schematic explanation of lunar phases and further information about the moonlit flora and fauna readers have met earlier. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Lyrical and informative. (bibliography, source list) (Informational picture book. 68)
Stine, R.L.
Illus. by David SanAngeloFeiwel & Friends (224 pp.)
$17.99 | Aug. 29, 2023
9781250836311
Series: Stinetinglers, 2
A second gathering of fresh chillers under a title the author must have been waiting his whole life to use.
The 10 short tales are vintage Stine, dishing out twists that are creepy or comical in turn—such as “Lucky Me,” which serves up a reminder that there are two kinds of luck, and “The Stopwatch,” about a timepiece that allows a bullied lad to exact revenge by freezing his tormenters (until, that is, the watch stem breaks). There are encounters with a ghost and a werewolf, not to mention tentacled aliens and a hostile clan of secretive, red-capped “zoo gnomes.” Some of his young characters deserve what they get, but most are victims of either chance or circumstance and so are likely to elicit sympathy as well as
schadenfreude from readers. Aiming for the younger end of his fan base, the author keeps the explicit ick and ichor to a minimum and makes personal connections with introductory notes confiding some of the fears or incidents that inspired each story. The atmospheric headpiece vignettes set properly ominous tones; figures in the latter and names in the narratives cue some racial diversity in the cast, though most of the middle school–aged victims read white.
Easily digestible doses of terror featuring deserts both just and otherwise. (Horror. 812)
Sutherland, Tui T.
Illus. by Joy Ang
Scholastic (240 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781338634822
Series: Wings of Fire
A companion to Sutherland’s beloved dragon series.
Spanning a vast spectrum from prose and graphic novels to coloring books and how-to-draw manuals, the Wings of Fire franchise expands with this guide to the dragons and their corresponding realms. Ten chapters encompass the 10 different dragon types and their kingdoms, each one starting with a fullcolor map and a vibrant diagram of the creatures’ distinguishing characteristics. Aiming to make a “more true, more complete, more representative guide” to the dragon world, the coverage of each dragon tribe includes tidbits like music, cuisine, and legends. For example, the SilkWings chapter has a map showing their hives, an excerpt from their school curriculum, a list of their professions, and a recipe for honey drops. The SeaWings section has a guide to interpreting Aquatic (the bioluminescent language of their scales) and a passel of ancient letters between different generations. Sutherland’s extensive epic fantasy is intricately wrought; this text reflects that and assumes readers already have familiarity with the inhabitants of Pyrrhia and Pantala. Series aficionados may enjoy the additional worldbuilding, but those looking to use this as an entry point may be discouraged by the lack of introductory information. The art is attractive, but this is primarily a text-based work; fans of the graphic novel series may wish for more maps and depictions of dragons.
Wings of Fire devotees will enjoy revisiting the dragon world. (Fantasy. 812)
“Easily digestible doses of terror featuring deserts both just and otherwise.”
stinetinglers 2
Sweeney, Linda Booth
Illus. by Ariel Rutland
Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins (40 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9780063264618
A meditation on how separate things might make something new when they come together.
“APART, bricks and blocks / are bricks and blocks, but… // TOGETHER, they soar! / APART, players kick a ball, but… // TOGETHER, they score!” Likewise, in Rutland’s similarly spare illustrations, a random scattering of plastic blocks on one side of a spread is assembled on the other into a spaceship held by a gleeful light-skinned child, while on the next pages lightand dark-skinned young figures on a soccer pitch gather to guide a ball into a goal. Rutland suggests that something similar might happen when blue and yellow paint mix, when seeds and soil combine with sun and water, when bees visit flowers, and when flour joins other ingredients to produce a delicious cake. The hint of metaphorical purpose behind these observations becomes a little broader in closing views of a single bird gathering material for a nest and then nestling cozily in it with a brace of hatchlings: “Twigs and feathers / and / love // TOGETHER make a home.” Aha. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Gentle, oblique reassurance for children who may be facing changes in their own families or lives. (Picture book. 58)
Takahashi, J.P. Illus. by Minako Tomigahara
Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins (40 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780063224964
Eka makes the most of her last night in Tokyo. Dressed as a kitsune (or fox spirit), Eka, a brown-skinned child of Japanese origin, listens for the sounds of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, when the human world overlaps with that of the yōkai, supernatural creatures such as monsters or ghosts. This is her first time returning to her grandfather’s home in Tokyo since she and her family moved to New York, and she’s determined not to miss her favorite night of the year. As she walks the streets with the yōkai, they ask about her new home. Given how far away New York is, Eka doesn’t know when she’ll return to Tokyo, and no one seems to understand or care about yōkai in her new home. Though her heart aches, for now she’ll sing, hoot, dance, and enjoy herself. This is a sweet, whimsical story of a young immigrant who’s uncertain when she’ll see her beloved family and former home again. Eka’s questions about whether the yōkai are good or wicked offer intriguing food for thought—like humans, the yōkai contain multitudes. With its beautiful night palette, the artwork glows and brings the text and monsters to life. In an author’s
note, Takahashi discusses her own experiences growing up African American and Japanese in both the United States and Japan. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A beautiful tale of friendship and living in the moment. (Picture book. 48)
Tatsukawa, Maya
Henry Holt (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781250869647
A mole struggles with social anxiety.
“Should I actually go this time?” asks shy Mole upon receiving an invitation to Rabbit’s Moon Harvest Party. Mole tries different tactics in an attempt to feel brave: envisioning a positive outcome, preparing a sweet treat to delight the other guests, and even bargaining. Still, Mole is consumed with doubt, and the little creature travels to the party through a series of underground tunnels that become increasingly twisty and complex— a lovely visual touch that reflects Mole’s own emotions. Once aboveground, Mole finds a kindred spirit in Skunk, who’s also ambivalent about attending the soiree. When Rabbit lets the two of them in, they both decide not to enter. Rabbit lets the pair know they are loved and appreciated no matter what, and Mole and Skunk find themselves having a good time on their own. After all, a party for two is still a party. Soft, muted artwork depicts an utterly cozy and enchanting world. The illustrations are filled with a trove of delightful details, from the books in Mole’s chambers to hidden gems in the dirt surrounding the tunnels. Mole’s self-talk (“I never know what to say…” “It’s always so awkward”) is endearing and all too relatable. Ultimately, Tatsukawa brings this tale to a satisfying conclusion that lets young introverts know that they can have fun on their own terms. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sensitive, funny, yet deeply thoughtful exploration of difficult feelings. (Picture book. 38)
Thamizhmani, Lakshmi
Illus. by Debasmita Dasgupta
Barefoot Books (32 pp.)
$17.99 | Sept. 5, 2023
9781646869978
A young Indian girl champions a green alternative to save the river from pollution.
Prema is looking forward to the Ganesha Chaturthi celebrations, where idols of the elephant-headed god are venerated and submerged in the river at the end of 10-day festivities. In recent years, painted plaster statues have begun to clog the river, polluting the water. Prema knows this only too well— her mother fell sick from chemicals in the paint. Inspiration strikes when Prema realizes that she can use river clay to create
a Ganesh statue. She enlists the assistance of her friends, and slowly other children help her by sourcing natural elements to add to the biodegradable statues. When it comes time for the celebrations, most people still bring traditional plaster statues to the river, but Prema’s statues are the talk of the village—and Prema has high hopes for next year. Lively illustrations feature a range of brown-skinned characters; artist Dasgupta’s note mentions that she incorporated intricate local fabric patterns and geometric art designs known as kolam from Tamil Nadu, where the protagonist lives. Prema’s community is an inclusive one, with a child who uses a crutch and a Muslim child being depicted. The problem and solution feel too pat, however, with explanatory language breaking the flow of the story. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Vibrant illustrations highlight the beauty of the region, elevating a lackluster story. (information on Ganesh Chaturthi, instructions for creating sculpting dough and making a statue, author’s note) (Picture book. 510)
Thueson, Steve Graphic Universe (200 pp.)
$19.99 paper | Oct. 3, 2023
9798765607497
Series: Timothy Dinoman, 2
It’s up to Timothy Dinoman to save the world again.
A long literal cold open among the snowy mountains introduces readers to the villainous Brams and his accomplices: a group of dancing—and fighting—robots. After Timothy, an eyepatch-wearing secret agent iguanodon, is discovered infiltrating Brams’ mountain hideaway, he flees. Readers will be on the edge of their seats as he skis down slopes, slaloming between trees, pursued at each turn by the weapon-wielding robots. Dinoman’s team must work together to discover who created the dancing robots and why. They come across an intriguing lead: Brams’ robots are powered by batteries created by Heron Robotics. And, oddly, Ellis Heron, the wealthy founder of the company, has just unveiled a squad of dancing robots. Could he be involved? Newcomers to the series will appreciate this tale, though those who have read the first installment will get the most out of it. Richly colored artwork builds tension and depicts dynamic fight scenes. Humor abounds, too, like a scene where Ellis does celebrity impressions while appearing on a talk show. Readers will especially enjoy the James Bond–esque gadgets, like Timothy’s recorder, which squirts pink foam, and Ellis’ laser-powered grid security. While the narrative comes to a satisfying conclusion, it’s clear there are more exploits in store. Ellis presents white; other human characters are diverse.
A high-octane adventure fueled by humor, whimsy, and teamwork. (Graphic fiction. 1014)
Turk, Evan Abrams (48 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781419752902
A loving profile of one of the world’s most renowned contemporary artists.
In a summary overview of David Hockney’s youth and long career, Turk mentions significant events and people in his life— but with more of an eye to capturing his artistic sensibility than brushing in finer biographical details. Growing up passionate about drawing in a large British household “full of books, art, and love,” Hockney went on to break barriers by “put[ting] scenes of gay life into his paintings” (after experiencing his first crush, during a Boy Scout camping trip). Over decades of experimentation, he’s created distinctive, hugely popular art using computers, fax machines, and even iPhones as well as paint. Turk tracks his subject’s inspirations, from the early discovery that carefully drawing one blade of grass brought all the ones around it into sharper focus to the realization that slowing down to look closely allowed him to find multiple ways of seeing everything from portrait subjects to swimming pools. Young readers will find pathways to developing their own artistic visions and to properly appreciating those of others. In the colored pencil, gouache, and crayon illustrations, the artist, all big round glasses and brown (later blond) hair, smiles cheerily while working on or posing next to reasonably exact copies of actual select works. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A perceptive, thought-provoking, winning introduction. (biographical information, author’s note, cited quotes, referenced artwork) (Picturebook biography. 710)
VanderLugt, Dana Zonderkidz (288 pp.)
$16.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9780310155775
In a Michigan apple orchard in 1944, a German soldier and an American girl reflect on wartime life.
Claire DeBoer, a careworn 13-yearold Dutch American girl, bears countless responsibilities on her family’s farm and dreams of one day becoming a nurse. Karl Hartmann, a teenage German prisoner of war, arrives in Michigan to do agricultural work through a federal program. The book opens with atmospheric poems introducing each protagonist, effectively using George Ella Lyon’s “Where I’m From” format. This reflective verse novel alternates their perspectives as it explores their intersecting lives. Claire’s brother is fighting in Europe, so the dissonance of enemy soldiers on her farm feels like a cruel joke. Karl is
the young teacher and the great serpent
awakening to the immensity of Nazi atrocities and anti-American propaganda, though some of his more nationalistic fellow prisoners are determined to make him suffer. Calm and dread intertwine: The soothing harvest-time rhythms intermingle with the ever-present threat of tremendous loss. Karl and Claire, having lost their youths to a global conflict, discover a tenuous friendship; the hinted-at mutual romantic feelings between an eighth grader and someone described as “almost a man” might cause some discomfort. VanderLugt’s reflections on war’s personal toll and the tensions of having enemy troops working in America offer opportunities for readers to consider matters from many angles. An author’s note describes her inspiration— the German POWs who worked in her own grandfather’s fruit orchards during the war.
An emotionally layered vision of a difficult moment in history. (sources) (Verse historical fiction. 1014)
Van Draanen, Wendelin
Illus. by Laura Catalán Knopf (208 pp.)
$16.99 | $19.99 PLB | Oct. 3, 2023
9780593644300
9780593644317 PLB
Misty, 10, and Zelda, 11, search for their kidnapped dad, Professor Nanigan. Narrator Mr. Whiskers, a pun-loving stray dog who roams the neighborhood looking for a home, calls the sisters the Shenanigans and their father Henanigan. The family lives in a broken-down San Francisco boardinghouse owned by Aunties Tiana and Jada, who can’t afford to make much-needed repairs. After a suspicious-looking man claiming to be an FBI agent arrests the professor, and some supposed cops show up asking about stolen coins he was allegedly selling on the black market, the young sisters leap into action with Mr. Whiskers, who has a great sense of smell and some helpful fourlegged pals. The girls decipher the meaning of their dad’s parting words and discover some old coins in a secret room in the house. Is this what the phony law officers are after? Could this treasure help the Aunties? The girls and their doggy friend must use smarts and strengths to find the professor. The dog-related puns pile up as the narrative draws to a climax. Written by a prolific practitioner of the genre, this lighthearted, fast-paced mystery features an endearing canine lead, two fearless kids, and plenty of wordplay, all of which will appeal to young readers. The Nanigans present white in the detailed grayscale artwork, while the Aunties appear to be women of color.
A mystery both gripping and heartwarming. (Mystery. 810)
Vasco, Irene
Illus. by Juan Palomino
Trans. by Lawrence Schimel
Eerdmans (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780802856173
Series: Stories From Latin America
A convergence of traditions emerges when a young teacher joins an Indigenous community living beside the Amazon River.
Fresh off her studies, a young woman from the city reluctantly prepares for her first teaching assignment, at La Comunidad Las Delicias, where about 50 Indigenous families live. Her journey from the city to Las Delicias takes four days. Finally, she arrives at the village. Palomino’s panoramic artwork depicts the remarkable trek by featuring a series of expansive, formidable, lushly colored double-page spreads. The teacher settles into the ramshackle school with help from the children. Her treasured books are “the only things that [make] her feel sure of herself.” When a fearful storm brews one day, the students tell the teacher that the great serpent is coming. At first, she dismisses the warnings as mere legends, but as she heads to high ground with the rest of Las Delicias, she sees the river become “a great serpent of mud that carried off everything it found in its path,” including her books. To mend the young teacher’s heartbreak, the women and children of Las Delicias embroider and sew together cloth books, uniting their own stories and legends into a reforged library. Translated from Spanish, this is a gracefully told tale of cross-cultural dialogue, bolstered by stunning illustrations. A subtle, incisive rumination on the repercussions of colonization runs through the work, inviting further rereads. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Undeniably marvelous. (Picture book. 59)
White, Kathryn
Illus. by Rachael Dean Andersen Press USA (32 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9798765608326
Gentle, inviting pictures evoke empathy as they tell a story both happy and sad.
Jess, a brown-skinned kid, encounters an unhoused refugee outside a storefront. Though Jess’s light-skinned mother is comfortable first acknowledging, then talking with brown-skinned Grace, who wears a headscarf, Jess feels uneasy, thinking her “strange.” But Grace’s cat, Luna, helps spark a friendship. Jess and her mother prepare care packages for Grace and Luna, and, in turn, Grace shares her story: a journey through tyranny, hardship, and devastating loss, portrayed via evocative illustrations juxtaposed with joyful, loving memories. While Grace’s words,
“Undeniably marvelous.”
perhaps as understood by Jess, are light on details, illustrations tell a much deeper story of what Grace has experienced. Jess and her mother continue to visit, but when winter comes, Grace and Luna are no longer camped outside the storefront. Jess is concerned until a box of gifts appears, letting Jess and Mom know that Grace is safe. Grace’s story is nuanced, and readers will appreciate the depth of emotion conveyed by the illustrations. These provide an entry for conversation about the complexities of poverty, trauma, emigration, and inadequate support for unhoused people. The comforting ending, however, feels overly simplistic and misses an opportunity to further the conversation with more context about forced migration and support. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Heavy on emotion but light on information. (Picture book. 49)
BITE RISK
Wills, S.J.
Simon & Schuster (320 pp.)
$18.99 | Aug. 29, 2023
9781665938006
In a remote town where the older teens and adults turn into werewolflike creatures during the full moon, a 13-yearold begins to question Sequest, the medical research nonprofit in charge.
Twenty-five years ago, a virus spread around the world that created Rippers—what those in Tremorglade call the beasts that the afflicted become each month. Children and tweens become Caretakers for those evenings, locking their parents and older siblings in cages and staying alert with tranquilizer guns at the ready. This is a routine fact of life for Sel and his best friend, Elena, who have always lived in Tremorglade. But when they find a downed drone that appears to have been emitting infrasound and is marked as the property of Sequest, whose scientists are supposedly keeping them safe and searching for a cure, the friends start to dig into what the company is really up to, putting them and their families in grave danger. This genre mash-up is light on character development but full of action and intrigue. The dystopian and science-fiction elements are well-crafted and seamlessly introduced into the narrative, which makes for rich and interesting worldbuilding, while the horror bits are delightfully dark, thrilling, and not for the squeamish. Big twists and reveals are sure to shock many readers, particularly those newer to these genres. Sel is cued white; Elena is implied Latine.
An immersive, hair-raising page-turner. (Paranormal. 1014)
Winkler, Henry & Lin Oliver
Illus. by Dan Santat
Amulet/Abrams (80 pp.)
$14.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781419755132
Series: Detective Duck, 1
In this latest from actor and author Winkler and author Oliver, a little duck makes a big impact.
A lucky adoption has given Willow the duck a beaver dad, who encourages her to pursue her dream of being a detective. When a large saucer-shaped object crash-lands in their pond, Willow’s pal Sal, a comic-book-loving salamander; Harry, a depressed catfish; and Flitter, a dragonfly with a can-do attitude, jump to the conclusion that it’s an invading spaceship. Further investigation reveals a fiery red dragon and more spacecraft, throwing everyone into a panic. Only Willow asks the right questions, leading to the realization that the object is a stray tire from a truck. The plot now turns on an environmental issue: how to get rid of the floating tire, which is now interfering with pond life. So the friends form the Pond Squad and, with help from Willow’s dad and Aaron the heron, take on the tire. A subplot sees Willow attempting to shoo off Snout, a thieving, conniving weasel, by pelting him with a rubber band and a ball; dealing with Snout looks like a job for the second book. Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger, the pacing and characterization are engaging, and the message about treating the environment with respect is a sound one. Santat provides intense, googlyeyed animals at eye level, and Willow pops in bright yellow.
Mystery-loving readers will quickly detect the advent of a promising series. (Chapter book. 69)
Witherspoon, Reese
Illus. by Xindi Yan
Flamingo Books (40 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780593525128
Actor and author Witherspoon’s Busy Betty is back for another rollicking adventure.
Betty, a light-skinned child with enormous purple glasses and bouncy blond pigtails, always has “a MILLION questions and a BILLION ideas.” Betty’s latest idea is a big birthday surprise for Mom. To that end, Betty has enlisted best friends Mae (tan-skinned with dark hair) and Jeffrey (dark-skinned with soft locs) to help. First they list the things Betty’s mom likes. Then, exclaiming “Sweet cinnamon biscuits!” Betty lands on the idea of building a “humongous, tremendous, stupendous” backyard circus, starring the friends as clowns. The trio need costumes, makeup, a trapeze, a big tent, and most of all…a lion to tame—in
“Mystery-loving readers will quickly detect the advent of a promising series.”
the case of the strange splash
the form of Betty’s dog, Frank, who is none too keen. Unfortunately, it turns out that Mom’s birthday isn’t until next month, but Betty knows just how to fix the situation. Witherspoon’s jaunty, vivid text and Yan’s pastel palette and exaggerated design effectively convey Betty’s energy and spontaneity, keeping readers on the edge of their seats with each dramatic page turn. The author and illustrator have created another familiar and easily resolved tale, likely setting the stage for an ongoing series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A sure bet for a kid-tested, puppy-approved storytime. (Picture book. 36)
Yamasaki, Katie
Norton Young Readers (32 pp.)
$18.95 | Oct. 10, 2023
9781324017035
Hands are for touching, connecting, and loving—even from far away.
A brown-skinned child with dark hair lives in a big apartment building in a busy city. There’s a big bright yellow painted handprint set against a heart on one otherwise plain wall of the building. Racially diverse neighbors stop by; pressing their hands against the print, they reconnect with faraway or deceased loved ones as the wall transforms into a poignant remembered scene. Ms. Iris, who presents Asian, recalls cooking with her family back in her home country. Young Savannah, cued Latine, remembers assembling a puzzle with her late abuela, while Amani and Eli are reminded of their father, a migrant worker who went south recently. Yamasaki’s spare, expressive text pairs beautifully with lush, vivid scenes full of tiny, discoverable details. Images of people flying off in paper airplanes or walking across a rainbow bridge represent ways to connect with those who aren’t present. The protagonist, it turns out, has a story, too, one that inspired the creation of this magical handprint in the hopes a loved one will come home soon. In an author’s note, Yamasaki describes how her experiences making art with incarcerated women living in Mexico and the United States inspired this story; she includes a list of organizations that help families affected by incarceration. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Tender, affirming, and relevant for all families and communities. (Picture book. 47)
Yolen, Jane & John Patrick Pazdziora
Illus. by Lyndsay Roberts Rayne
Whitman (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 7, 2023
9780807574843
A father and son come to terms with their differences in this biographical anecdote.
His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather have been builders of lighthouses, but young Robert—affectionately nicknamed “Smout”—has no interest in taking up the Stevenson family trade. An aspiring writer, he dreams of “giants and knights in armor, hidden treasure, and pirates. Definitely pirates!” Struggling to keep up on an inspection tour along the coastal moors of Fife, he asks for a pirate yarn. His father stops posing leading questions about geology and engineering and obliges with a rousing tale of buccaneers dashed to bits on a rock because they stole its warning bell. As Yolen affirms in her afterword, that child indeed went on, with his family’s grudging support, to become a famous writer. But she also commends the Stevenson lighthouses, many of which, as shown on an appended map, are still active around Scotland’s rugged coast (and, she notes, the world). Using layers of cut paper, Rayne effectively alternates nautical scenes of castaways and corsairs with depictions of a small child and his cloaked father, both white like all the figures here, climbing lighthouse steps, crossing expanses of choppy water and rocky, windswept shores, and at last going off amicably together, hand in hand. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A glimpse of warm ties between a child who sees pirates and a parent who sees the light. (reading list) (Picturebook biography. 68)
Yoon, Susan
Illus. by Julie Kwon
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 24, 2023
9780374390228
Two Korean siblings inadvertently create a wonderful memory.
Sisters Haejin and Hanna are excited by the news that their appa is returning home tomorrow. The older Haejin explains to young Hanna, “That’s just one more sleep.” After their mother leaves for work, the girls decide to prepare something delicious for the homecoming. They settle on hotteok, a Korean pancake with a sweet filling. After scouring their house and raiding their piggy bank, the two trek through the cold to pick up one last ingredient from the nearby convenience store. A mishap with Hanna’s shoes results in Haejin having to carry her by piggyback on their way back home. A disaster in the kitchen ensues, and the sisters are out of ingredients and funds. Haejin is fed up, and Hanna becomes timid with guilt. But with some last-minute creativity and a little love, they find an alternative solution. Although the resulting treat is not edible, it’s still just as sweet and done just in time for Appa’s homecoming. Kwon’s deft use of exaggerated expressions, textured lines, and soft colors brings the emotions and comedy to the story, filling in the space left by the spare narration, resulting in a heartwarming tale sure to resonate with readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Quiet moments coupled with charming art make for an endearing venture. (author’s note, hotteok recipe) (Picture book. 58)
Atheneum (40 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781665917186
A child experiences a year and the shifts in nature that come with it.
An unnamed, black-haired, tanskinned child races through the grass, followed by a dog. As the story goes on, the seasons change. A spider spins a web, a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, and a bird builds a nest and raises its chick as a house is built in the background. Come autumn, the child has made friends with the new neighbor and taken in the subtle but beautiful transformations of the year, as exemplified in a persimmon tree taking several pages to finally bear fruit. The simplicity of this story results in its perfection. Repeated scenes of a branch of the persimmon tree, shown in different weather and at various times of day, will hold children’s interest during multiple rereads and help them learn about the seasons and other aspects of the natural world. The text urges readers to slow down: “When you slow down… // you see more. // You see big beginnings, // and small steps.” The precise, limited narrative and its message that good things can take time to develop will lull readers into a sense of calm appreciation, making this an ideal story for bedtime. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Delightful and soothing encouragement to slow down and enjoy life. (Picture book. 36)
9780063091597
THE FALLOUT
Acevedo, Kristy Sourcebooks Fire (368 pp.)
$11.99 paper | Sept. 5, 2023
9781728268422
Series: The Warning, 2
Hoping to rescue those who fled Earth’s supposed destruction for a parallel universe, a teenager finds herself enmeshed in an ominously appealing techno-utopia in this duology closer that’s an updated version of 2017’s Contribute
When Alexandra bursts through the interdimensional vertex, her news that everyone actually could go home again gets a mixed reaction—because (go figure) many human refugees are happy with the virtual nanoholocom paradise that mysterious rescuers known as the meritocracy have set up for them. In exchange, they promise that when they die, they will donate their brains to the collective network. (Star Trek fans: Insert “Resistance is futile!” here.) Lest many readers think this sounds like a good deal, Acevedo includes some unconvincing counterarguments, then stacks the deck by having the meritocracy turn out to be corrupt in some never really explained way. The rebel underground, meanwhile, plans a hack of the network in hopes of returning everyone to Earth. The author scales things down so that the whole refugee population seems about small-town-size, lessening the suspense over whether Alexandra will successfully reunite with brother Benji, main squeeze Dominick, and best friend Rita. Alexandra struggles with intense panic attacks and generalized anxiety disorder. The cast’s racial makeup is indeterminate; Benji has a husband. An unambitious jumble of fuzzy logic and conveniently arranged outcomes. (content warning) (Dystopian. 1316)
Allen, John ReferencePoint Press (64 pp.)
$32.95 | Sept. 1, 2023
9781678205904
Is social media more good than bad? That’s easy to answer: It depends.
The author’s careful “both sides” approach is evident from the start, with mention of the jaw-dropping income of a young U.S. TikTok
influencer followed by official concerns over TikTok’s Chinese Communist Party links. In chapters examining online misinformation, harassment and trafficking, addiction, and political disinformation and suppression, the negative aspects have the upper hand. That’s as it should be, since positive uses are readily summoned up, while social media’s dangerous side is often hidden. “Media saturation overload” and other forms of psychological stress can result from excessive exposure to these negatives. Moderation and parental monitoring are suggested; government intervention might or might not help; and tech companies themselves have made some efforts toward user protection. Negatives are analyzed so that readers can recognize and potentially avoid them, sometimes by using other tech, such as apps. Of course, the connection, communication, and learning made possible by social media are positive things, and AI offers hope for identifying disinformation. The book also describes the online organization of social justice and pro-democracy protests, as well as entrepreneurial endeavors. Sidebars repeat key quotations. Stock photos show people of different ages and races. This is a concise and thought-provoking overview of a critically important subject.
Clearly presented information on social media is helpful at any age: This book might benefit parents as well as teens. (picture credits, source notes, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 1218)
Brody, Stuart H.
Santa Monica Press (288 pp.)
$12.99 paper | Sept. 19, 2023
9781595801258
The fictionalized life and legacy of a forgotten progressive, through the eyes of a protégé.
Self-described shy kid Ray Elias, a white Jewish boy from Long Island, becomes an overnight celebrity when he scores the winning goal for his high school soccer team. The news, first of the Birmingham church bombing that kills four little Black girls, and, later, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, shocks his entire family and intensifies Ray’s social conscience. Brody then turns to Hubert Humphrey, whose first-person narrative alternates with Ray’s. It’s 1964, and Humphrey fulfills his promise to Kennedy to champion the pending Civil Rights bill. Brody’s ambitious novel attempts to both depict the era in all its turbulence and moral complexity and tell the story of Humphrey and Elias, and it often succeeds. After viewing a documentary about Humphrey’s run for the presidential candidacy, Ray feels an “instant connection.” While Ray goes to college, his best friend ends up in Vietnam. Humphrey, meanwhile, has become Lyndon B. Johnson’s vice president and sits in cabinet meetings in which the war predominates. Ray’s activism leads to an introduction to Humphrey and later a role in Humphrey’s 1968 presidential campaign. Through the final decade of his life, Humphrey
stumbles but struggles to do right. Brody, who was inspired by his own relationship with Humphrey, packs the novel with significant historic details, albeit sometimes at the expense of compelling storytelling.
An important chapter in American history told with clarity and honesty. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 1318)
Caletti, Deb Labyrinth Road (416 pp.) $18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023 9780593485545
The personal price of abortion bans.
Sixteen-year-old Ivy lives in Paris, Texas, an insular town with a fake Eiffel Tower and a culture of megachurches. She proudly works as an assistant manager at Euwing’s Drugs; she’s also a diligent student with plans for college who one day hopes to see the world. But when she gets pregnant, Ivy knows it could spell the end of her ambitions. People in her town are vitriolically antiabortion—and abortion in Texas is illegal after six weeks. She tells her boyfriend, Lorenzo, and he and Ivy’s mother organize a plan to drive to Oregon, where Ivy’s indomitable grandmother lives, to get an abortion. What ensues is both a poignant road trip through towns named after world cities so Ivy can, after a fashion, experience seeing the world and a searing reflection on the contrasting states of affairs around abortion access and community attitudes. Over the course of the trio’s journey, Ivy learns of other people’s abortion stories—and that one in four women gets one. This extraordinary story scrutinizes, through Ivy’s first-person, present-tense narrative, some of the historical and contemporary efforts to control women and the ways women have either been accessories to or have rebelled against them. The book offers a powerful argument for choice, bolstered by an exploration of women’s oppression and strength, told through a personal lens: It’s an individual story through which many readers will find universal commonalities. Main characters read white.
Brilliant and multilayered; an absolute must-read. (Fiction. 1218)
Campbell, Curtis
Annick Press (220 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9781773217871
A small-town gay kid tries to survive. Peter’s strategy has been to keep his head down until he can leave this Podunk place. The problem is that when pushed, he explodes in verbal assaults that draw far too much attention. When one such
“A powerful argument for choice, bolstered by an exploration of women’s oppression and strength.” plan a
outburst—targeting another gay kid in a way that’s personally cruel—is caught on camera and posted to social media, people respond with outraged comments. Alan, Peter’s much more out-and-proud (not to mention confidently fat) best friend, has a YouTube channel for his drag persona, Aggie Culture. After they meet Lorne, a cute visitor to town, both boys try to impress him, and in the process, they accidentally pledge to hold Mason County’s first-ever drag show. Peter finds himself in the role of producing the event. Will the show save his reputation? It might lead to his first kiss, ruin his friendship, and destroy his carefully cultivated safe existence. Peter’s narration is fueled by resentment—for his surroundings, his emotionally evasive parents, and his own appearance (“think of me as a middle-aged man-baby”). The verbal swordplay from the drag queens plus the generally cutting remarks from the other high schoolers give the novel an edge; many of the characters’ defenses will feel relatable for some readers. The narrative could have been tightened in places, but it offers a worthwhile message of acceptance. Main characters are cued white.
Fabulously acerbic. (Fiction. 1418)
Cawthon, Braden
Scholastic (304 pp.)
$12.99 paper | Sept. 19, 2023
9781338891973
When emergency sirens start sounding in the night, Joel sets out to rescue his mother and sister.
After staying home from the family trip to the movies because of a headache, college student Joel awakens to a series of distressing voicemails from his mom. His drive into the city reveals deserted neighborhoods; soon, abandoned cars blocking the roads force him to continue on foot. He’s dragged into a house by a young woman named Emily who explains the danger he’s in and describes the chaos of the previous night. They shelter in a basement, waiting out the sirens that begin when the moon rises. Journeying toward the city together, the pair encounter disturbed survivors and gruesome signs of violence. They meet a larger group of people who are working together, but Emily is suspicious of their leader, and Joel starts to hear voices alongside the sirens broadcasting an announcement for everyone to evacuate. Though the central mystery offers a good hook, the utilitarian writing style impedes the development of any true atmosphere. The few intriguing details get lost as the action moves the narrative along at a steady jog, smoothing over any chance for real emotional attachment to the characters. By the time readers reach what should have been an emotional ending, only surface-level questions have been answered, leaving the “why” behind all the preceding events unsatisfyingly lacking in resolution. Main characters are cued white.
An interesting premise undermined by bland characterization and incomplete catharsis. (Horror. 1218)
KWEEN
Chum, Vichet
Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins (352 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780063223356
Sixteen-year-old Soma Kear finds her voice after her father is deported back to Cambodia.
“She’s got those yellow-brown blues / Those Jungle Asian views / Of not feeling right / When you’re always in the fight.” Lowell, Massachusetts, junior Soma attracts attention online when she posts a video of her spoken-word poetry: her way of making sense of everything that’s changing in her life. Her mom is in Cambodia, trying to bring her dad back. Dahvy, Soma’s much older sister, moves back in and thinks she needs to be Ba and Ma combined. She’s gotten a job teaching at Soma’s high school and is engaged to Ruben Diaz, one of Soma’s former teachers. Will Ma return in time for the wedding? On the
mermaids never drown
upside, Britney Roe, Soma’s crush, who is Black, wants to go on a date with her. Reckoning with family, love, and jealousy, Soma channels her anger into art by entering the annual Jack Kerouac Poetry Competition with best friend Sophat’s encouragement. Soma explores religion and spirituality, discusses Octavia Butler with Britney (“God is change”), and writes a poem exploring the question, “What’s God to you?” Yet, despite all her writing, she can’t seem to return any of Ba’s emails. Debut author Chum offers readers an education in Cambodian history, the Khmer people, and their Lowell community throughout this heartfelt family drama. His cultural respect and humor amplify the book’s strong sense of place.
An empowering coming-of-age story with genuine character growth. (Fiction. 1318)
Colbert, Brandy Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
(384 pp.)
$19.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780063091597
Two young women from a Black Hollywood dynasty navigate the choppy waters of 21st-century celebrity while grieving the death of their famous great-grandmother.
Through decades of commitment to her craft and resilience in the face of discrimination, Blossom “Bebe” Blackwood cemented her legacy as an award-winning Black actor and trailblazer. When Blossom passes away at the age of 96, her family celebrates their beloved matriarch and feels adrift without her guidance. This is especially true for 17-year-old cousins Ardith and Hollis Blackwood, who sometimes struggle with the challenges of being born into a highly visible family. Bebe was best friend to Ardith, a devout churchgoer and rising actor. For Hollis, a grounded high schooler content to remain on the outskirts of the Hollywood elite, Bebe represented the beauty of triumph over adversity. As the teens adjust to their new normal, a longburied secret comes to light, forever changing their perceptions of the great-grandmother they all thought they knew. Colbert’s sprawling novel is a deeply felt love letter to Black Hollywood’s groundbreaking forebears and a tribute to the transformative power of maternal love. Chapters alternate between the voices of the teens in the present day and Blossom’s heartbreaking journey to stardom, providing rich emotional insights layered with thoughtful explorations of the intersectionalities around race, class, and gender.
A striking testament to the bonds of family and a perceptive study in how events can echo throughout generations. (family tree, author’s note) (Fiction. 1418)
Ed. by Córdova, Zoraida & Natalie C. Parker
Feiwel & Friends (320 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781250823816
Series: Untold Legends, 2
A seaworthy anthology featuring stories as original as they are enchanting by a range of beloved YA authors.
This inclusive anthology welcomes readers into worlds where mermaids long for acceptance, fall in love, and ignite social change. In Adriana Herrera’s “Sea Wolf in Prince’s Clothing,” a siren living in an archipelago of seven kingdoms where her people are forced to breed is determined to avenge her sister, who died at the hands of an evil prince. Katherine Locke’s “Nor’Easter” tells the story of a Polish immigrant family’s survival during the Great Nor’Easter of 1962, aided by Lem, a mer who feels trapped by a deadname in a “body that feels foreign.”
“The Deepwater Vandal,” by Darcie Little Badger, follows Cassia as she enlists the help of a dangerous sea-born criminal and tries to find her father, who was transformed into a leviathan. Julian Winters’ “We’ll Always Have June” is a story of romance and growth in which Cyrus, a merboy with deep brown skin and dark locs, rescues Kai from drowning. These entries are particular standouts, but each one offers a take on mermaids that expands the literature portraying these well-loved cryptids. Themes of self-discovery and bonds with nature recur throughout this anthology that features effortless and extensive queer representation.
Readers will find favorite tales of mermaid lore in this collection, brimming with myth and magic. (contributor biographies) (Anthology. 1418)
Dill, Khodi
Illus. by Stylo Starr
Annick Press (360 pp.)
$23.99 | Oct. 17, 2023
9781773218076
The Little Black Lives Matter (2022) author presents a mix of memoir and manifesto on anti-racism.
Dill writes that anti-racism work “at its core…centers compassion.” Born to a Black Bahamian mother and white father and raised in Saskatchewan, he experienced the “racial tightrope walking” of holding “ ‘honorary’ white status” among his white friends but being called “whiteboy” while visiting family in the Bahamas. Now armed with the language he lacked as a young person, he fills this book with terms and concepts that explain the social construction of race and its centuries-old
“Brimming
hierarchical system. As an educator, Dill dedicates a chapter to critiques of the educational systems of Canada and the U.S. He offers suggestions for reimagining schools: organizing for better resources, revamping curricula, and offering studentcentered learning, among others. He highlights the detrimental effects of racism that manifest in ways such as disparities in mental health treatment. Dill’s background as a spoken-word poet and his passion for hip-hop influence the conversational tone; he warmly addresses readers as “family.” Starr’s eye-catching collages help to showcase the sincere urgency of the text. Ultimately, while it contains much of value, the book struggles with everything it’s trying to accomplish. As a result, it feels a bit congested and may prove more helpful to educators than teen readers.
A well-intentioned primer on anti-racism, particularly useful for those supporting young activists. (land acknowledgment, author’s note, further reading, sources, index) (Nonfiction. 13adult)
Drisdelle, Rosemary SparkPress (320 pp.)
$17.95 paper | Sept. 19, 2023
9781684632183
Series: The Tales of Moerden, 1
None of Marise’s dabbling in Wicca could have prepared her for being magically transported to a world that wants her dead.
When Marise’s biology tutor disappears, she’s less distraught than she is determined to get her hands on one of the strange crystal balls she found in his desk. Scrying in a sphere she takes from his house, she sees a great eye gazing back at her—before she’s suddenly flung to the edge of a cliff, with a dragon bearing down on her. In the land of Moerden, dragons rule, but a mysterious disease is wiping them out, and many suspect human interlopers as the cause. Others hope that humans—Marise, for example—might hold the key to their salvation. With the aid of young dragon Javeer, who saves her life and becomes her friend, Marise must figure out how to help the dragons before it’s too late. Rife with magic, hair-raising survival scenarios, trial-by-fire friendships, and, of course, dragons, this series opener has a refreshingly old-fashioned feel; even the ostensibly modern real-world setting feels disconnected from time. A less effective disconnect occurs in the narration, which is somewhat lacking in emotional depth and occasionally rushes to plot points or conclusions without pausing for breath or to offer context. The unresolved ending leaves room for a sequel. The minimally described human characters seem to be white. Engaging and energetic if a bit slapdash. (map) (Fantasy.
1216)
Ellzey, Lauren Melissa
Bold Strokes Books (216 pp.)
$15.95 paper | Aug. 15, 2023
9781636794013
San Diego high school senior Ashly Harris just wants to play tennis, but the faeries keep ruining it for her.
Her whole life, Ashly has seen mischievous, green-skinned creatures with wings that no one else believes are real. When they play pranks, the humans around Ashly blame her; her supposed bad behavior has earned her poor grades, disqualification from the tennis team, and therapy. So now she lies to make the adults in her life happy, especially her Black dad and white mom, who don’t understand Ashly’s bisexuality either. No wonder she’s “pissed off all the time” and can only be herself around her best friend, Caris. In Ashly’s confessional narration, the occasional turn of phrase is a bit much—it’s hard to
imagine a jilted suitor’s face turning “a shade redder than my period blood”—but more often her thoughts provide trenchant observations about her experiences. She describes faerie identity politics as being similar to “being biracial. Everyone wants you to pick a side, but no one wants you on their side.” This is an accessible story with an interesting premise: The fantasy metaphor for Ashly’s adolescent alienation and despair works well and livens up the plot, especially when a revelation draws Ashly into the throes of a faerie war as well as a rewarding queer romance.
A relatable fantasy weaving in real-life issues. (Fantasy. 1418)
Epps, Omar & Clarence A. Haynes
Delacorte (352 pp.)
$19.99 | $21.99 PLB | Sept. 26, 2023
9780593428689
9780593428696 PLB
Series: Nubia, 2
With a stronger grasp of their immense power, awakened Nubian teens navigate the inequities of the future as well as threats from the past in this sequel centering Black characters coauthored by actor Epps and author and editor Haynes.
Empath, telepath, and budding telekinetic Uzochi, 16, is revered for his role as a Nubian catalyst, someone expected to amplify and guide the re-emerging abilities of his people in late-21st-century New York City. But even without powers, he sees how much his friends and family rely on him and how much fear his community feels as targets of the wealthy and prejudiced denizens of the Up High. In fact, as Lencho, his powerful, energy-absorbing cousin, makes a home in the ritzy, floating Manhattan neighborhood as a reward for betraying the Nubians living below, it becomes clear that class conflict plus family dysfunction make for an explosive combination in the buildup to another big battle. After a rescue mission to the Up High goes awry for Uzochi and friends, a shocking discovery coincides with Lencho’s being overtaken by an ancient evil that benefits as much from his ambitions and insecurities as from his tremendous powers. The narration alternates between multiple perspectives, reinforcing how this generation of Nubian youth remains burdened by the mistakes of their ancestors and ultimately must forge their own paths forward, for better or worse.
An ambitious return to a future of promise, danger, and self-discovery that fans of the first volume will enjoy. (map) (Fantasy. 1418)
Fahmy, Huda
Dial Books (208 pp.)
$24.99 | Oct. 10, 2023
9780593532799
In this follow-up to Huda F Are You? (2021), Egyptian American Huda and her family take a summer vacation.
Huda isn’t looking forward to the summer after ninth grade, until her father announces that they’ll be going to Disney World—sans sister Amani, who’s excited for her Quran intensive. But the 24-hour road trip from Michigan hardly nurtures close sisterly bonds as her parents intended. Instead, four sisters and two parents are packed into annoyingly tight quarters, using rest stops to eat, make ablutions, and pray with all eyes on them. Wishing she could just blend in, Huda is further discomfited by the prevalence of revealing clothing, alcohol consumption, and public intimacy at the theme park—not to mention their parents’ buddy system of assigned pairs of sisters for each day. Huda makes a literary connection with Kylie, a white girl she meets while waiting in line. But when Kylie’s bigoted friends harass Huda and her youngest sister for their Islamic practices and one boy makes unwanted advances, the fallout leads to Huda’s learning something important about her older sister and reinforces her family’s belief in having the right to joy and claiming their place as Muslim Americans. Comedic and poignant, Fahmy’s narrative captures universal feelings of fluctuating confidence and self-deprecation, the ups and downs of family dynamics, and the growing awareness of siblings’ humanity outside the family unit. The cartoonlike, full-color artwork is dynamic, with simplified features that accentuate facial expressions. Delightfully heartwarming. (making a graphic novel) (Graphic fiction. 1218)
Harris, Sharina Entangled Teen (464 pp.)
$18.99 | Aug. 29, 2023
9781649373311
Meet a vampire slayer like no other. Eighteen-year-old Raven is a Black girl who’s happy being a section leader in marching band, where she plays the saxophone. She’s definitely not ready for what happens as they’re returning home from a game. There’s a terrifying growl, then the students’ bus is attacked, and Raven’s best friend is left bleeding badly. Seeing their band director killed is traumatic enough, but when glowing signs appear on Raven’s palms, she’s thrust into a fight she knows nothing about. There’s an attractive guy with a Caribbean accent and a scar on his neck who’s taking on vampires using only his mind, and he calls Raven a “slayer.” Khamari, or Pretty Boy, as Raven thinks of him, offers to remove her
salt the water
traumatic memories, but she doesn’t want that. She wants to know exactly which forces are shaping her, even if neither she nor anyone else seems to know what she is exactly. As other slayers come to meet her, Raven’s new adventure begins, with each moment stranger than the one before. Delightful and action-packed, this novel centers an enchanting lead who is also a believable teen. The side characters add richness to the vivid and textured world.
Sure to be a hit with lovers of paranormal adventures. (Paranormal. 1418)
Heilman, Jaymie
Ronsdale Press (240 pp.)
$19.95 paper | Sept. 25, 2023 9781553806899
A lot can happen when young people take on the oil industry.
Alberta teens Davis Klein-Mah, Renzi Chan Cruz, and Jae Schmidt are fighting to protect the environment and their community from an oil pipeline. Unfortunately, local people rely on the pipeline for employment, complicating their task. Various personal circumstances also affect the girls’ involvement: Jae’s mother is a lawyer for Haus Oil, Davis’ parents are Haus Oil engineers, and Renzi is being pursued by Izzy Malone, a boy who’s a vocal activist—and Davis’ recent ex. The central characters are well-rounded, but they each deal with multiple issues that are not sufficiently developed. Davis struggles with PTSD after losing everything, including her beloved dog, in the Fort McMurray fire; she also endured a Twitter backlash for her environmental advocacy, and she struggles with the breakup with Izzy. Renzi is helping her abuelos in Puerto Rico, whose lives were devastated by hurricanes, and figuring out her feelings for Izzy. And Jae, who’s falling for another girl and is self-conscious about her wealth, has a power-hungry mother who’s oblivious to her daughter’s passion for the environment. The teens’ friendships and dedication are touching, but superfluous characters and multiple subplots detract from the power of the central storyline. Jae is white; Renzi is Chinese and Puerto Rican, and Davis is Chinese and implied white.
A thought-provoking and relevant, if overstuffed, tale. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 1318)
Iloh, Candice Dutton (288 pp.)
$18.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780593529317
A Bronx teen is compelled to explore a free, expressive life by any means necessary.
In this novel in verse, Cerulean Gene, a nonbinary Black high school senior, is frustrated with school, especially with their inexperienced, highly problematic teacher. For Cerulean, Mr. Schlauss’ apathy as an educator is a microcosm reflecting an inadequate educational system. Cerulean finds relief from repeated run-ins with their white teacher in a tightknit friend group that includes their partner, Zaria, and friends Irvin and Jai. The self-proclaimed “Bronx babies” save their money in hopes of funding a summer in California “to create some other kind of world / somewhere / that’d allow all of us to be ourselves.”
“Daring, beautiful, and necessary.”
Cerulean’s parents have built a vibrant and grounding home, encouraging them and their younger brother, Airyn, to become their full selves and to embrace self-preservation as needed: “my parents never / stopped living their lives / when they had us / they just moved things around / so that all of us could have whatever / we needed to keep becoming // ourselves.” But when a life-changing event befalls the Gene family, Cerulean must determine how free they want to be. Through artful writing, 2020 National Book Award finalist Iloh builds an intriguing and relatable world led by a charming protagonist. The poems ease into one another, threading a refreshing story of honing one’s voice, intuition, and independence.
Daring, beautiful, and necessary. (Verse fiction. 1318)
Jeffers, Oliver Philomel (112 pp.)
$26.99 | Oct. 3, 2023
9780593621554
Illustrations and text unite to sketch out human history and to make suggestions for a more human future in this work for older readers by acclaimed picture-book author and artist Jeffers.
What is the story of humanity? Jeffers ponders this question through spare, poetic prose and his signature artistic style. The book posits human evolution as a study in perseverance and optimism, the warmth of fire and the succor of community being central to each leap forward. Inspired by the stories of astronauts whose perspectives on identity and belonging shifted as a result of seeing the Earth from space, the book beseeches readers to view humankind as a “we,” rather than dividing ourselves into “us” versus “them.” Storytelling—“creating better stories”— is lifted up as one of our most powerful tools for shaping a better future. The message is nothing new, but it comes well stated and in a whimsical, gorgeously illustrated package. In an author’s note, Jeffers contextualizes his views on nationalism and violence within his personal history of growing up in Belfast, Northern Ireland. To older readers, the book may feel overly simplistic in its vision of a better world: The question of how to reform systems based on centuries of violence, greed, and bias is not addressed. But the book ultimately does not claim to be a road map; rather, it’s a highway sign, pointing hopefully at a hard-to-discern exit road.
A beautifully rendered, determinedly optimistic, zoomedout meditation on the human condition. (author’s note) (Illustrated fiction. 12adult)
JohnKehewin, Wanda
HighWater Press (216 pp.)
$16.95 paper | Sept. 5, 2023
9781774920831
Eva may live in a place called Hope, but she feels hopeless.
Fourteen-year-old Eva’s life in smalltown British Columbia is far from perfect—her mom is often gone and perpetually drunk or hungover, her best friend isn’t talking to her, and she gets teased at school—but she has the constant love of little brother Marcus, the stray cat she took in, and Nohkum, her maternal grandmother, who can magic up delicious soup from whatever she gets at the food bank. When Nohkum breaks her hip and ends up in the hospital and Marcus is found wandering several kilometers away from home, social services get involved. Eva ends up in a group home, while Marcus is placed with a foster family. As she adjusts to her new living situation, Eva gains the stability to reflect on her relationship with her mother and their Cree family’s inherited trauma due to abusive government policies. Readers, in turn, are offered an age-appropriate and nuanced exploration of the legacy of separation and alcoholism that was inflicted on Native families for generations. The story presents a path forward, one in which we can have empathy for trauma responses while also holding people accountable for their impact. This YA fiction debut by poet and graphic novelist John-Kehewin (Cree) is a tender and even humorous coming-of-age story that depicts the traumatic legacy of residential schools in Canada.
A resonant story of healing, belonging, and persisting despite the odds. (Fiction. 1217)
Josephson, Kalyn
Roaring Brook Press (400 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781250812360
In the complicated political fantasy landscape of Enderlain, Mikira Rusel and Arielle Kadar are strong young women forced into dire circumstances.
Ari uses banned Kinnish magic, based on the Jewish myth of the golem, to feed herself. Mikira is from a family who breeds magical horses. Early in the story, Ari is assaulted and robbed, while Mikira’s father, who is deeply in debt and using illegal enchantment to enhance his horses, is arrested. Using the girls’ desperation to their own advantage, Damien Adair and Rezek Kelbra, the sons of two warring noble houses, each devise plots to gain power to control the city. Damien enlists Ari and Mikira in a devious plan to win the Illinir, a series of dangerous horse races held once every decade: Mikira will be the jockey, and Ari will create a golem disguised as a horse. While this dual narrative
“A resonant story of healing, belonging, and persisting.”
hopeless in hope
told in the girls’ alternating points of view is original and engaging, the multiple storylines and numerous characters lead to plot holes that may confuse readers. The languid pace of most of the story leads up to an ending that comes too quickly and leaves many open storylines and unanswered questions. While it’s obvious that a sequel is in the works, the perplexing nature of this book might leave some readers feeling unfulfilled. The main characters have olive or light skin.
An elaborate yet convoluted high fantasy that references Jewish folklore. (map, family trees) (Fantasy. 1418)
Kallen, Stuart A.
ReferencePoint Press (64 pp.)
$32.95 | Sept. 1, 2023
9781678206109
Differentiating regular fans from superfans or stans, this book launches readers into a positive take on fan culture. One expert quoted highlights the importance of the space fandom provides for self-expression; another says that it can be good for mental health. While acknowledging the boost the internet has given to these communities, the book also covers pre-internet bands like the Beatles and the Grateful Dead. The internet has amplified everything, however: David Bowie’s fans were the first to get an artist-run ISP with specially crafted content, and Harry Potter contributed greatly to the explosion of fanfic. While Taylor
Swift was breaking records, Swifties were breaking the internet, and it’s impossible not to mention worldwide K-pop phenomenon BTS. The book also covers film and television (Bridgerton superfans bring their love off-screen to real events) and, of course, Star Trek, Star Wars, and Black Panther. Those who are into anime, comics, sports, and e-sports are also covered, from the vast sums spent on sports memorabilia to avid cosplayers. The sources largely consist of consumer publications, and some elements already feel dated (there is no mention of the tremendous backlash from fans against J.K. Rowling for her perceived transphobia). While passing mention is made of “some negative aspects to fan culture,” these are barely touched upon, making the guide feel incomplete for research purposes and more suited to casual browsing.
A lively if one-sided overview of a topic that touches many teens’ lives. (picture credits, resources, index) (Nonfiction. 1218)
Marcovitz, Hal
ReferencePoint Press (64 pp.)
$32.95 | Sept. 1, 2023
9781678205942
This brief survey covers hunting ghosts, communicating with the dead, foretelling the future, practicing witchcraft, and searching for cryptids.
The introduction describes the continued popularity of the supernatural in media, as evidenced by the number of vampire-focused books, films, and TV shows— as well as tourists visiting Transylvania. Focusing almost exclusively on the Western world, the book looks into ancient myths, fantasies, and practices. Mentalist Jaymes White, who leads séances, references the emotional evocation or validation participants experience. The book describes the entertainment value of belonging to a university’s paranormal society. At the end of each chapter, Marcovitz allows experts brief attempts at debunking, but this book is not for the skeptical. For example, Duke University anthropology professor Anne-Maria Makhulu is quoted: “We live in a bewildering world where we don’t have a lot of control. And we can imagine doing things through magic that we can’t do as ordinary human beings.” However, this insight follows nine pages that include quotes from practicing witches, including one YouTube personality, about the efficacy of their practices. This book is also not for the vulnerable: The author mentions only in passing the steep fees charged by mediums and ignores the scamming opportunities posed by phonebased psychics; instead, a text box touts the advantages of phone consultations with mediums and quotes a passage from a website selling keepsake jewelry. The source notes overall reflect this lack of academic rigor.
A largely uncritical survey of some common beliefs. (picture credits, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 1218)
pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781250754547
Series: The Nightmare-Verse, 3
Alice Kingston is back and ready for the ultimate showdown in the shadows of a war-torn Wonderland.
When new types of Nightmares start to rise up on Earth, Alice and her friends and family find themselves in increasing danger. Nothing can purge these Fiends—and they can take on different forms, which means Alice can’t trust anyone. After she’s forced to return to Wonderland in order to save her mother and Nana K, Alice’s world is turned topsy-turvy when she’s reunited with other Dreamwalkers and directed to the White Queen’s stronghold in Legracia. There, she learns more about her heritage and connection to Wonderland, while also confronting her feelings for a potential boo and facing the internal fears that keep her from breaking through the Looking Glass and embracing all of who she is. It’s a lot for a human teenager, on top of trying to save multiple worlds. The story is packed full of action from the very first chapter, and there are subtle, well-done nods to Lewis Carroll’s tales. With such a fast pace, however, some of the threads of the story get lost and are not picked back up again. Still, the excitement of new antagonists and a new beginning for Alice creates a longing for more adventures. Hopefully this won’t end as a curious dream: The author’s acknowledgments tease a possible return to McKinney’s Wonderland.
A fitting finale for a soulful and satisfying series. (Fantasy. 1418)
Nakaya, Andrea C. ReferencePoint Press (64 pp.)
$32.95 | Aug. 1, 2023
9781678205744
Hard-hitting facts and heartbreaking stories tell the tale of America’s brutal battle with deadly synthetic opioids.
In five chapters plus a short introduction, readers learn about the scope of the addiction crisis that the influx of synthetic opioids has exacerbated. The author traces the use of fentanyl and other drugs from their original medical origins to becoming the leading cause of the rising number of overdoses and deaths. Each chapter answers common questions surrounding these drugs and their impacts. Chapter 1 explains the drugs’ physical effects and the chemical reactions that cause overdoses to occur before diving into the opioid crisis itself and how fentanyl entered the scene. Chapter 2 turns the lens on synthetic opioids and what makes them so uniquely
dangerous, while Chapter 3 examines the drugs’ economic and social costs. Chapter 4 describes available treatments and prevention methods such as Narcan, methadone, and therapy. The author finishes by presenting various strategies for handling the crisis, such as providing more funding for treatment, reducing stigma, and cutting off the supplies of opioids from doctors and illicit dealers alike. Nakaya frames addiction as a disease and users as people deserving of treatment, not scorn. Personal accounts illustrate the fact that addiction can strike anyone. Text boxes offer useful additional context. This clear and compassionate approach to a complex and painful subject is a valuable resource.
Both distressing and useful academic material. (picture credits, source notes, organizations and websites, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 1218)
Nardo, Don ReferencePoint Press (64 pp.)
$32.95 | Sept. 1, 2023
9781678206024
A quick progress report on humanity’s study of our own solar neighborhood and those beyond.
Nardo provides a succinct justification for exploring outer space. “Earth is doomed,” he writes—and considering the astronomical evidence of cosmic disasters everywhere and the multiple “extinction events” our own planet has already experienced, he concludes that our space programs are “not merely academic pursuits.” Startled readers are likely to focus with some attention on his subsequent accounts of the current and next generations of space telescopes; of the massive fireballs over Tunguska, Siberia, in 1908 and the Russian city of Chelyabinsk in 2013; of landers that have been or are slated to be sent to Mars; and of probes to the outer moons, several of which have turned out to feature subsurface oceans and so may, at least theoretically, support life. The prospect of commercial space flight escapes mention, and his perfunctory glances at galaxies, black holes, exoplanets, and the challenges of actually living in space or on other worlds are as much filler as the sparse assortment of stock photos and images highlighted by random star fields, an astronaut aboard the ISS, and an Indonesian nickel mine. Still, there’s a sense of urgency here that comes through, however limited the author’s scope and judicious his tone.
More a call to (continued) action than a well-balanced survey, but reasonably up to date. (source notes, further reading, index, picture credits) (Nonfiction. 1218)
Nardo, Don
ReferencePoint Press (64 pp.)
$36.42 | Sept. 1, 2023
9781678205881
The lifesaving and life-changing magic of getting adequate sleep—and the perils of skimping on it, for both old and young.
Nardo covers the bases: what sleep is; why people today often don’t get enough; why this deficit is especially common among teens (short answer: electronic devices); the dangers of inadequate sleep; and how to improve our sleep quality and quotient. About one-third of an average lifespan is spent asleep—twice as much time as is spent working for a living. Sleep is cardiovascular-repair time, and it offers mood, alertness, coordination, and other dividends. REM sleep is brain-maintenance time. But sleep deprivation has perhaps reached epidemic proportions: about one-third of Americans do not get an optimal amount of sleep, leading to many negative outcomes. The perilous consequences of sleep deprivation, the focus of Chapter 4, appear in other contexts throughout the book. These effects are not fun, and avoiding them might involve sacrificing—or at least reducing our consumption of—enjoyable things like screen time, caffeine, alcohol, and socializing. Luckily, the best and easiest fix cited here is simply maintaining consistent sleep patterns. Nardo’s clear and succinct style and reliance on up-to-date research make the book effective and reliable. There is some minor repetition, but that is probably a plus for sleep-deprived readers.
Chock-full of eye-opening statistics, this book is certainly not sleep-inducing. (source notes, further reading, index, picture credits) (Nonfiction. 1218)
Nardo, Don ReferencePoint Press (64 pp.)
$32.95 | Sept. 1, 2023
9781678206086
A riveting investigation into how biomimicry influences design.
Inventions that imitate nature have emerged from centuries of research and development: Nardo describes Leonardo da Vinci’s famous bird-inspired flight designs as an example. The introduction describes a shopping center in Harare, Zimbabwe, whose architect used termite mounds as a model for cost-effective and efficient temperature control; throughout the rest of the book, sustainability benefits are also emphasized. Burdock burrs inspired Velcro; less benignly, briars gave us barbed wire. Eiffel’s tower mimics the femur; kingfisher beaks solved the problem of sonic booms from bullet trains. In
addition to engineering and construction, Nardo covers applications in medicine (including semaglutide, the focus of much recent excitement in treatment of Type 2 diabetes, inspired by Gila monster venom); military and athletic gear (like an aircraft coating developed from studying sharks’ skin; energy (quieter wind turbine blades modeled on owl wings); and robotics (a gecko- and inchworm-inspired robot). An additional bonus to these informative forays is the clear presentation of evidence that nature has many mysteries still to be decoded, which may inspire young people to explore STEM fields; the concise but information-packed chapters offer examples from engineering, medicine, the military, athletics, energy, and robotics. Ample color photographs enhance the text in this overview that is equally successful for pleasure reading or supplementing research.
Intriguingly explores natural design and celebrates the human benefits of studying and conserving nature for inspiration. (source notes, further reading, index, picture credits) (Nonfiction. 1218)
Nolan, Han
McElderry (336 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781665931786
A Virginia teen grieving the loss of her twin sister is bullied by people in her town and finds an outlet in ultra running.
Senior Scotlyn O’Doul’s sister, Cait, died in a car accident with their high school’s football coach, Jory Wilson. An absence of skid marks at the accident scene leads investigators to conjecture that Cait may have deliberately run the car into a wall, devastating Scotlyn and her mother, who has turned to heavy drinking since Cait’s death. Coach Jory was adored by the community, and many people accuse Scotlyn of lying when she reveals that Cait told her he’d raped her. When her Japanese American exercise physiology teacher tells her she would be perfect for ultra running, she finds a new purpose and a less painful coping mechanism for her grief than the self-harm she has been engaging in. Scotlyn’s vulnerable but tough first-person narrative tone will bring readers into her corner, and they’ll ache for her feelings of loneliness as her mother struggles more and more dramatically with her alcohol use disorder. Scotlyn, who is white, wonders if she can trust Nico, a Latine guy she has long had feelings for. The underlying answer to the mystery of what actually happened with the accident is complex. Scotlyn’s preparations to run the Hellgate, a 100K race, provide an unusual, auspicious thread that will spur readers on to the resolution.
A twist-filled, highly original mystery with a message of hope. (Mystery. 1418)
O’Brien, Lee Paige
Amulet/Abrams (384 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9781419765155
Series: The Broken Tower, 1
In this duology opener, a student at a magical university is hounded by a knight who can transform into a raven.
Rat Evans’ magic has always let them see dead passages—mystical paths and shortcuts leading to strange places—like the tower where they encountered a knight who wants to keep them with her. After Rat, who is trans and nonbinary, and their friend Harker Blakely, who is a trans boy, have a harrowing encounter with the knight, Rat vows not to use their powers again. Now Harker isn’t speaking to them. Rat comes from one of the oldest arcane bloodlines in the eastern U.S., and their mom has kept them safely at home since the incident—but now they are off to attend Bellamy Arts. All Rat wants is to coast by on the non-casting course, but when they see Harker on campus and realize the knight hasn’t given up her pursuit, their plans change. Rat joins forces with Harker and new friends Jinx and Agatha to uncover a long-buried campus secret and discover what the knight is after. Fascinating lore and an intriguing magic system combine to create a world readers will love exploring. The fey-like knight lends a looming sense of dread to every omen of her presence, building to a crescendo before her inhuman figure ever appears on page. Rat and Harker are cued white; supporting cast members are diverse in race, sexuality, and body type.
Dark, thrilling, and fantastical. (Fantasy. 1318)
Pitts, Rebecca
Triangle Square Books for Young Readers (240 pp.)
$19.95 paper | Sept. 12, 2023
9781644212998
Jane Jacobs fought for livable communities.
New York City–based neighborhood organizer, urban visionary, and Vietnam War protester: Jacobs wore a lot of hats as a “public intellectual” in the mid-20th century, but she is perhaps best known today for opposing “slum clearance” and supporting neighborhoods. Pitts’ biography is smoothly written and engaging. She highlights Jacobs’ major campaigns and the strategies she promoted. She makes clear both the power of those Jacobs fought against (especially classist and racist developer Robert Moses) and the effectiveness of less powerful but determined people who banded together. The author occasionally uses invented dialogue or adapted quotations to smooth the storytelling in this conversational
“A highly original mystery with a message of hope.”
running past dark
work that frequently addresses readers directly. Beginning with Jacobs’ Pennsylvania childhood in a “typical American uppermiddle-class white Protestant suburban family in the 1920s,” it traces many of her remarkable achievements but notably is not uncritically laudatory. For example, Pitts describes Jacobs’ initial resistance to acknowledging the impact of racism, rejecting her editor’s request that she consider the role of race on Black city residents in her seminal 1961 publication, The Death and Life of Great American Cities—although some years later, she did change her mind. Occasional black-and-white photos supplement the text; a greater number would have helped readers better envision many of the concepts and locations introduced. Overall, however, this is an engaging work that places a significant figure in historical context.
An accessible introduction to a 20th-century icon. (author’s note, resources, notes, image credits, index) (Nonfiction. 1216)
Powars, Page Delacorte (352 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 12, 2023
9780593568583
In the basement of Heron River High School, a transgender transfer student seeking acceptance stumbles into the school’s best and worst kept secret—the ultra-exclusive Borrow a Boyfriend Club. No one at Noah Byrd’s new school knows anything about him, and he intends to keep it that way until he can join a club manly enough to prevent the “little mistakes” that followed him at his old school. At the Football and Lamborghini After-School Club, Noah expects to find a group of super-bros, but instead he uncovers FALAC’s true identity. Operating under the teachers’ radar, the Borrow a Boyfriend Club provides people with temporary dates for social events. As absurd as the concept seems, their members’ reputation for being the hottest boys in school is exactly what Noah needs. But the club’s insufferably smug (and attractive) president, Asher Price, refuses to admit Noah into their ranks unless he can pass three tests of his dating skills, and help the club win the school’s talent show. A sassy enemies-tolovers romance adds a thrilling allure to the lighthearted drama as Noah tries to prove his worth to Asher. Noah and Asher, who are both white, show meaningful growth, but the wider, diverse roster of characters lack satisfying nuance in their development. Powars veers away from tired plot tropes that involve a scandalous coming out by shifting the focus to internalized transphobia. This coming-of-age romance will have high appeal for fans of manga series like Ouran High School Host Club.
Lighthearted and fun. (Romance. 1318)
Purdie, Kathryn
Wednesday Books (352 pp.)
$20.00 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781250873002
A prediction of untimely death was not what Clara Thurn expected when Grandmère read her fortune.
Clara could hardly wait for her 16th birthday and the coming-of-age rite in which she would make a secret wish on the Sortes Fortunae, or Book of Fortunes, just like every person in Grimm’s Hollow. But when she was 14, someone used their wish to commit murder, the Book of Fortunes went missing, and a curse now plagues the village. Clara’s mother was among the 67 Lost Ones who have since disappeared in the forest. Now there’s a lottery: The chosen person must enter the forest in search of the Lost and the Sortes Fortunae. Clara, 17, desperately hopes to be chosen in the lottery so she can save her mother. But instead, 19-year-old Axel Furst, whose fiancee became Lost, is selected. Clara, who has created a map of the forest based on information from those who entered it before the curse, takes off in pursuit of her friend. Clara is a strong and capable protagonist who has lost both her parents and is in chronic pain from scoliosis. Clara and Axel’s journey is an original and enjoyable take on Western European fairy tales. The characters’ rich and detailed backstories and the ominous, atmospheric prose are slightly let down by the pacing and conclusion, but this will not diminish readers’ overall enjoyment. Characters read white.
A satisfying story that pays homage to the dark narrative arcs of traditional fairy tales. (Fantasy. 1318)
Qureshi, Aamna
Tu Books (384 pp.)
$24.95 | Sept. 19, 2023
9781643795058
Eighteen-year-old Zahra Paracha’s tight hold on a secret spirals into a decision to run away from home.
A recent high school graduate who’s about to get married, Pakistani American Zahra feels suffocated by her controlling mother. Consumed by guilt from a mistake she made that’s at odds with her Muslim beliefs, she flees from California to Long Island. While attending prayers at the local masjid, she meets girls from a youth group and is befriended by the Chaudry sisters. They warmly invite her into their home, helping her find her bearings and a loving community. Struggling to control her depression and anxiety, a cautious Zahra slowly embraces her new life and begins to unpack her troubled mind and reevaluate her faith. As she heals, she confronts her past and seeks absolution to repair her new relationships. The story is an emotional journey of redemption, forgiveness, and moving forward that
explores themes of friendship, mental health struggles, and finding oneself. While Qureshi introduces a number of mental health issues—depression, anxiety, emotional and physical abuse, self-harm, suicidal ideation, slut shaming, and PTSD— they are not explored with sufficient depth. The overwrought writing is vague about Zahra’s trauma. Many problems are met with impromptu solutions by the Chaudry sisters, and the resolutions of her interpersonal conflicts happen so easily that they feel anticlimactic.
An underdeveloped story that misses opportunities to examine underrepresented mental health issues in Muslim communities. (trigger warnings, author’s note) (Fiction. 1318)
Sharp, Lydia Entangled Teen (400 pp.)
$11.99 paper | Aug. 29, 2023
9781649374097
With help from someone unexpected, an 18-year-old girl takes the summer after her senior year to explore her desires and learn about her passions.
Jessica Webster was OK being the shy, frumpy friend in her social group, until her brother called and told her that in a month, he’d be bringing his gorgeous college roommate home to stay before they head off together on a volunteer trip. This is the same roommate Jess has been crushing on but has been too shy to talk to. Enter hot frenemy Benjamin Oliver, quarterback and mayor’s son, who overhears her describing her dilemma and offers a solution: use the month to practice having sex with him so she’ll appeal to an experienced college boy. What starts off purely as physical exploration for Jess, who is white, turns into more as she discovers that Ben, who has a white dad and Venezuelan mom, is not the villain she’s made him out to be. In fact, he’s everything Jess wants in a partner. With Ben, Jess learns about intimacy and sex and how to voice her desires and state her boundaries. This is a compelling story about consent, empowerment, and owning one’s choices. The dialogue is witty and fun, with beautiful moments of honesty. Jess is a refreshing character who is OK with not having everything figured out, while Ben is an it boy who empowers those in his orbit.
A bold yet sweet story about sexuality, trust, and relationships. (author’s note) (Romance. 1418)
Simmons, Kristen
Tor Teen (272 pp.)
$18.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9781250851123
Estranged friends reunite to finish a game that claimed one of their number. When missing Ian comes back— appearing in ghastly encounters with each of his fellow Foxtail Five, asking why they left him and warning them that they must finish the game before dawn—the once-close friends are pulled back together. The characters—including overachieving, perfectionistic Madeline, who is Black and biracial; asexual white high school dropout and gamer Emerson; Owen, a bisexual star theater kid who is Japanese and white; and mysterious tan-skinned misfit Dax, whose ethnicity, like his father, is unknown to him—return to where it all began. There, they find the mysterious Japanese card game that took Ian. The ghost story gives way to a dark portal fantasy as they’re taken to the corrupted world of Meido and sent on a fetch quest, based on the game’s seven cards, to retrieve seven pieces of an empress’s body that were turned to stone. Through their trials, they come up against twists on Japanese mythology and lavishly described grotesque horrors through depictions of a gamified underworld. Though the dawn time limit adds tension, the number of retrievals creates a predictable pattern for the plot. Luckily, the tasks make emotional demands on the characters, which helps distinguish them; in early chapters, their voices feel similar. Late revelations about the nature of the game and its players lead to a twisted climax, and the denouement promises a sequel.
Fun for dark genre fans. (Fantasy. 1218)
Snyder, Gail
ReferencePoint Press (64 pp.)
$32.95 | Sept. 1, 2023
9781678206062
A clear and useful survey of the pros (and some cons) of distributed work.
The Covid-19 pandemic precipitated a significant labor shift: In the U.S. alone, some 28 million workers are now home-based or in hybrid work situations (partly commuting to work and partly working from home). Eliminating a commute has changed time and expense equations for many, as well as facilitating shared family responsibilities and accessibility for those with disabilities. Tools like Slack and Zoom have helped enable remote work, which can still look very different from worker to worker. The book briefly covers the history of telecommuting and work that cannot be carried out remotely, which is often done by those
see you on venus
with lower incomes and education levels. Remote work in the contexts of use of office space, federal government policies, managerial roles, unionization, productivity levels, and benefits to employers and the environment are considered. But Snyder does not overlook the social advantages of in-person employment: Closer mentoring, greater feelings of inclusion, and other in-person perks may support faster career advancement, while remote-work isolation and burnout are real risks. A final chapter speculates on future changes to this relatively novel situation, like virtual offices, a four-day workweek, more coworking spaces, and even the use of avatars and holograms. Color photos include a diverse range of people in varied workplace settings.
Innovative post-lockdown work situations persist: This book can help young people understand their future employment options. (source notes, further reading, index, picture credits) (Nonfiction. 1418)
Steffens, Bradley ReferencePoint Press (64 pp.)
$32.95 | Aug. 1, 2023
9781678205768
A concise examination of freedom of speech as interpreted by the courts, offering readers insights into debates surrounding this issue in today’s world.
The introduction highlights the complexities of this topic by offering an overview of a recent case involving the Albany Unified School District in California and the expulsion of students who posted racist content on Instagram. The first chapter, “The Doctrine of Free Speech,” delves into the counterspeech doctrine and the marketplace of ideas by examining the beliefs of people including John Milton, Elon Musk, and various Supreme Court justices. The remaining chapters—“Free Speech on Campus,” “False and Misleading Information,” “Regulating Hate Speech,” and “The War on Government Leaks”—include coverage of specific incidents that led to (or tested) precedent-setting cases as well as explanations of majority and dissenting opinions. Sidebars highlight important quotes from notable figures involved in First Amendment debates. The chapter on hate speech provides sobering statistics on the correlation between the rise in online hate speech and real-world hate crimes and the complications in relation to the standard for incitement set by the Supreme Court. Each scenario leads readers to a deeper understanding that laws surrounding free speech are far from definitively settled. The clean design and accessible text make this a valuable resource for report writers and others interested in this subject. A balanced, practical introduction to constitutional law and the thorny subject of free speech. (picture credits, source notes, organizations and websites, further reading, index)
(Nonfiction. 1218)
Sun, Miranda HarperTeen (368 pp.)
$19.99 | Sept. 26, 2023
9780063252769
Sixteen-year-old Cara Tang has been able to see ghosts since she was a child, but her power is more a burden than a blessing.
Raised by Laolao, her late grandmother, who is both a ghost and a powerful ghost speaker, and her anxious, protective single mother, who has repressed her own ability to see ghosts, Chinese American Cara feels caught between the two women, unable to fully embrace or reject her ghost-speaking inheritance. When she stumbles across the snake-bitten corpse of Zach Coleson, a handsome, wealthy, and irritating white boy who’s been her rival since childhood, she turns to Laolao for help. Her grandmother informs Cara of the existence of the Signet Snake, a harbinger of destruction whose lethal bite can be undone within seven days using antivenom from the snake’s counterpart residing in the liminal world. Zach’s ghost agrees to Cara’s bargain—$12,000 and a college recommendation letter from his influential dad in return for his resurrection—and the two set off on a dangerous journey across magical landscapes. Cara’s also contending with a growing awareness that her feelings for Zach—an unexpectedly resourceful and protective adventuring partner—might burn hotter than mere annoyance. Aside from a sprinkling of Chinese lore and original mythology, this ornately written debut focuses on themes of legacy and self-acceptance through Cara’s internal struggle with being a ghost speaker. The romantic tension running throughout is palpable but needs a little more substance to make the leads’ attraction feel completely convincing.
Enjoyably atmospheric. (Paranormal. 1318)
Vinuesa, Victoria
Delacorte (352 pp.)
$12.99 paper | $15.99 PLB | Sept. 5, 2023
9780593705131
9780593705148 PLB
Debut novelist Vinuesa pens a story of star-crossed teens in this dual-narrative novel.
Born with multiple heart defects, foster kid Mia has always known she’s living on borrowed time. Determined to find the biological mother who left her as an infant, Mia meticulously plans an 18th-birthday trip to her mother’s home country, Spain. But when Noah, her friend and travel partner, dies suddenly and Mia’s health deteriorates, she accelerates her timeline. Noah’s best friend, Kyle, blames himself for the crash that killed Noah and grievously injured Josh, another friend. Traumatized and depressed,
“Grab a box of tissues and prepare to ride an emotional roller coaster.”
he plans to end his own life as penance. After Mia interrupts Kyle, preventing him from carrying out his plan, she guilts him into accompanying her to Spain. The two set off on a whirlwind trip—Kyle begrudgingly and Mia enthusiastically. While the days fly by in a haze of lush scenery, delicious food, and meetings with possible birth mothers, the teens grow closer, though both are keeping secrets they fear may destroy their budding relationship. But just as Kyle’s heart starts to heal, Mia’s starts to fail, and neither may end up getting the closure they so desperately desire. Major characters are coded white; Mia’s foster sister has a cognitive disability. The heartbreaking but hopeful narrative flows beautifully, with easy banter and enticing exposition, and the characters are well-written and easy to root for.
Grab a box of tissues and prepare to ride an emotional roller coaster. (Romance. 1318)
Walters, Eric Orca (320 pp.)
$14.95 paper | Sept. 12, 2023
9781459835115
Series: The Rule of Three
When technology fails, a routine flight turns into a fight for survival in this stand-alone story set in Walters’ Rule of Three universe.
After visiting his grandmother, 13-year-old Jamie excitedly boards the plane from O’Hare airport that will take him back home. His parents are Delta pilots, so he’s an interested observer of flight details and procedures. But a problem during takeoff leaves the plane stranded on the runway without any power. Capt. Daley takes control, guiding passengers to the terminal and then to nearby hotels for safety. Unable to reach his grandmother, because cell phones are also not functioning, Jamie is stranded. Other planes have crashed, and cars are stopped on the roads. Jamie and others return to the plane to release all the dogs, and one of them, a large dog named Godzilla, immediately becomes Jamie’s faithful sidekick. As collective panic leads to societal breakdown, people start killing each other. With Capt. Daley in command, Jamie joins a small group setting off on foot for the plane’s original destination over 1,000 miles away. Against this apocalyptic backdrop, Jamie’s journey home becomes a coming-of-age odyssey as well as a survival story. Walters writes short, crisp chapters that will keep readers engaged. The novel’s haunting premise and adolescent perspective give familiar tropes an intriguing spin. Jamie and Capt. Daley are white; names and contextual clues point to diversity in the supporting cast.
A page-turning story of teen empowerment with a potent underlying message. (Adventure. 1215)
Auchterlonie, David and Jeffrey A. Lehman
Amplify Publishing (416 pp.)
$34.95 | $28.50 paper | $16.17 e-book
July 31, 2023
9781637557839
9781637558744 paper
Auchterlonie and Lehman offer an overview of forest fire management on United States public forest land.
The authors begin their nonfiction debut starkly: “The Earth is on fire.” Wildfires, they report, raged on every continent in 2020 and destroyed nearly 1 billion acres, 10 million in the U.S. alone, an area the size of Maryland and Delaware combined. And the severity of the problem is only increasing: Since 1970, the annual average temperature in the U.S. has risen by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit; earlier snowmelt leads to drier forests, which result in more and worse fires. These fires have an enormous impact on wildland-urban interface areas, destroying thousands of homes and forcing thousands of people to evacuate. “Wildfires impact over half the landmass of the United States,” Auchterlonie and Lehman write. In a series of concise, well-documented, and superbly illustrated chapters (graphs, charts, and full-color photos run throughout the book), they describe the history of the government’s responses to such dangers and propose possible improvements to those measures. The authors bullet point many of their key statistics and walk readers through their sources, governmental and otherwise, the goal being always to inform, never to entertain: Readers will need to be significantly invested in the topic of wildfire prevention and control before they dive into what is essentially a protracted white paper on the subject. But Auchterlonie and Lehman are clearly not writing primarily with a general readership in mind; this text, with its prodigious facts and figures all carefully and colorfully laid out, is obviously intended for specialists, frontline responders, and, especially, policymakers who could improve laws and regulations regarding everything from forestry to response protocols. This should be required reading for every incoming U.S. secretary of the interior.
A fact-heavy specialist’s guide to improving wildfire policies in a rapidly warming world.
Everyone loves a good birthday party, but it’s fair to say that little kids love them most of all—as demonstrated by the many, many children’s books about such celebrations. These three illustrated works, all recommended by Kirkus Indie, tell birthday tales that also teach young readers important lessons about the world in which they live.
In Philip M. Carr-Harris’ I Remember My Eighth Birthday (2022), illustrated by Jo Spencer, the narrator goes on a scavenger hunt on their eighth birthday and learns about the history of various things they find, which include a Canaanite pottery fragment and a trilobite fossil. Our reviewer notes that the book offers a “leisurely, evocative” journey in which “the promise of history in everyday objects will draw those interested in the echoes of the past.”
Birthday Acts of Kindness: The Gift of Food (2020) by Elizabeth Harr Pineda, featuring illustrations by Kaeden Stewart, tells the story of a boy named Alex, who, after learning about the important work of food banks, makes a decision that will help people in need on his eighth birthday. “Pineda does an excellent job of balancing Alex’s authentic feelings about wanting things for himself with his pride in the result of his kindness,” Kirkus’ reviewer writes.
Victor D.O. Santos’ Dylan’s Birthday Present (2020) offers a story that highlights the advantages of speaking more than one language. In the book, illustrated by Eszter Miklós, young Dylan, who speaks Portuguese, Ukrainian, and English at home, teams up with his South Africa–born friend Emma, who speaks Zulu and English, to find the boy’s missing pet chicken (which he just received as a birthday gift). The kids’ language knowledge ends up saving the day. Kirkus’ reviewer calls the work “a friendly approach to the pleasures of multilingualism.”
David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.
The Prophecy of Deliverance
Bailey, Natasha R.
WestBowPress (72 pp.)
$9.95 paper | $3.99 e-book | Sept. 7, 2022
9781664275836
A minister provides a guide to entering God’s kingdom.
The Hebrew Bible—and the Christian Old Testament—contains prophetic visions of the end of the world and the establishment of God’s rule on Earth. In the New Testament, prophecies ratify Jesus as the king who will usher in this neverending kingdom. In this slender volume, a Christian minister shares her interpretation of these teachings. Bailey establishes her authority by asserting that those “entering into the grace of God” must “handle sensitive information,” and this gets at the heart of her work. For the author, the “sensitive information” encoded in the Bible can be teased out by close reading, and as the title suggests, the concept of grace is her throughline. As she analyzes texts written in Hebrew and Greek, she is keenly attentive to the ways in which a translator’s choices can alter meaning—and the ways in which considering alternative translations can illuminate the material. She also brings her own interpretations of words that are significant to her. Here, for example, the word scroll denotes something more than a rolled piece of parchment used for all sorts of communication and record-keeping in antiquity. For Bailey, the Book of Daniel “communicates the advancement from a simple rolled material that was constructed from plant papyrus to a record regarding legislative accounts of eternal glory.” There is some lovely imagery here. The author compares God sitting on “the throne of grace” in the Bible to a mother bird warming her eggs in a nest. She also describes grace as “a prototype of eternity” and faith as “the garment of impossibility.” And although she never mentions St. Augustine, Bailey’s meditations on the relationship between grace and time provide a captivating complement to the writings of Christianity’s remarkable and influential theologian. It’s worth noting that this is not a book for newcomers to Christian exegesis. In addition to being well versed in the Bible, readers should be prepared to navigate ornate—and occasionally convoluted—prose that sometimes makes Bailey’s message a bit difficult to discern.
An intriguing work that offers much to contemplate for those seeking to understand Christian prophecies.
make money your thing!
Bajoria, Nita Inkstate Books (228 pp.)
$12.25 paper | $6.00 e-book | May 23, 2022
9789355590961
Two South Asian women defy sexist cultural traditions and find love in Bajoria’s two-story collection.
In two stories set in India, one young woman finds a first and second love when she pursues the male-dominated sport of archery; the other finds love after she spurns a marriage proposal to remain in her village to support her family and rise to power “in a male dominated world.” In “The Casket,” Kolkata-based university student Ahana finds an intricately carved wooden box and, intrigued by the trinkets within it, vows to return it to its rightful owner. With the help of her younger brother, Joy, she succeeds in finding Sanyukta Nandi, the woman who had buried it years ago. Receiving the box sparks Sanyukta’s memories of her pursuit to become a master archer and of Uttam, a handsome fellow archer who was attracted to her tenaciousness. In “Besky,” a university student named Karan falls for Besky, enchanted by her physical beauty and her singing voice. He soon proposes marriage, but she declines, expressing the difficulties of marriages between city and village people, so Karan suggests that he spend time in her village, hoping to change her mind. Both stories shed light on societal limitations on the lives of women and girls (“boys were groomed to become capable enough to earn and girls to get married, cook and fetch,” Bajoria writes in “The Casket”), and “Besky” candidly addresses difficult subject matter, including sex trafficking and the physical and psychological abuse of women. At the same time, both stories also feature male figures who take supportive roles in women’s lives. In “The Casket,” the prose is effectively energized by the lovers’ longing, while love is a consideration outweighed by greater concerns in “Besky”; however, both stories have enticing, will-they-or-won’t-they setups and tensions.
Stories that effectively address themes of love and compromise.
Boisvert, Kalee re:books (238 pp.)
$19.99 paper | $10.99 e-book | July 11, 2023
9781738670284
Financial adviser Boisvert offers women a crash course in fiscal literacy paired with a bit of friendly therapy.
The author uses her own experience as an example of how one can increase their wealth through strategy and planning. She divides her book into four simple parts and opens with an account of growing up in a financially precarious single-mom household. First,
she guides readers through discovering how they think about money, offering therapylike worksheets to examine preconceptions about money that readers may have formed as kids. The second section is about growing confidence through budgeting and demolishing excuses. Next, Boisvert encourages women to stay engaged with their income: “Because at the end of the day, it’s your money and the person who will love and care about it the most will always be you.” Along the way, she supplies examples drawn from her own life and those of women she’s helped as a financial adviser. Finally, the book urges women to truly embrace what money means in terms of what they value: traveling, education, early retirement, and so on. She references the work of self-help authors Brené Brown and Wayne W. Dyer at various points, and although there’s a bit of an affirmational vibe to this book, it’s fully supported by solid monetary guidance and insightful personal advice. Indeed, it’s Boisvert’s affable and compassionate voice that truly makes this book stand out. She never lectures readers on what they ought to be doing with their money; instead, she comes across as a kind friend offering invaluable counsel. Although her book’s message could have easily been watered down into something aimed at male or female readers, Boisvert admirably remains steadfast in her goal “to support women, to help them overcome their insecurities around money, and to help them believe in themselves and what they were capable of in their financial lives”—and frankly, she nails it.
A first-rate guide for women of any age looking to increase their wealth and feel confident doing so.
Breen, Paul Dutch Hollow Press (300 pp.)
$14.99 paper | $3.99 e-book | July 6, 2023
9798986208336
A musician with investigative chops connects a missing man with a money scam in Breen’s mystery novel.
In the author’s second installment in the Seamus O’Neill Mystery series, Seamus’ boss at the Ryder Detective Agency, John Ryder, knows his new part-time employee is in the office because it “smells like a distillery.” Thirty-three-year-old Seamus, a barfly and Midwestern rock musician of dwindling reputation by the 1990s, explains that his background in music helps him realize when something he is investigating is out of alignment: “There are keys and chord progressions, and, when something doesn’t work, you sense it more than see it.” He’s all ears when Mary Hoffman, one of his former lovers, asks Ryder to investigate what her younger brother Tom is up to. He’s withdrawn thousands of dollars from his account and has a shoe box full of fake documents; oddly, he also has a sudden interest in Shakespeare. Shortly after Mary contacts the detective agency, Kathy Siler hires Ryder for help in finding her missing father, multimillionaire Bertram Newman,
“A first-rate guide for women of any age looking to increase their wealth and feel confident doing so.”
the flaws of gravity
who, like Tom, suddenly became keen on the Bard. Beautiful—and towering at well over 6 feet tall—police detective Erin Meyer and Seamus consider multiple suspects in Bertram’s disappearance, including other local Shakespeare aficionados, such as Tom’s roommate, who knew Newman. The book has an easy pace, believable dialogue, and scenes that string together cohesively. But the author tends to go too much into the weeds; a section on the numerous times one of Seamus’ fellow musicians was shot does not move the story along, and the name-checking of brand-name drinks falls flat. References to the previous book in the series are unobtrusive, and it’s engaging to see Seamus evolve from a dive-bar musician hitting on multiple young women to a thoughtful investigator crushing on Erin because of her desire to help people (but her long legs are worth a look).
A compelling mystery anchored by a winningly roguish hero.
Caye, Stephanie Self (321 pp.)
$15.99 paper | $3.99 e-book | April 1, 2022 9781778064609
In Caye’s urban fantasy novel, a partFaerie, part-human adventurer combats mythological friends and foes.
Jude is a fiery, quick-witted young woman who’s been working as an allpurpose operative during what she calls a “supernatural cold war” between two organizations: the human Consilium and the Faerie Court. She’s quite literally thrown off her game when Spencer Aubrie, someone she thought was her friend, tosses her off a balcony and into a three-month coma. She wakes up to a dubious group of magical Faeries; Jude herself is half Faerie, half human. They have a daunting task for her: She must race to retrieve a spell that would allow the separate human and Faerie realms to merge and then stop her ex–best friend’s plan to rule both. All Jude wants is a carefree life on the beach: “I could almost taste the salt of the first margarita I’d have once I was safe on some sunny, far away beach. Okay, it’d probably be a tequila shot.” She doesn’t care how she gets there—she’ll do whatever job is necessary if it gets her enough money and a passport. The moment Jude receives this new assignment, the story proceeds at a breakneck pace, introducing a flood of new characters, creatures, and abilities along the way. As such, the book almost feels like a sequel, with readers left to play catch-up. Sirens, pixies, sprites, a dragon, and other magical beings flit in and out of the narrative. In this urban fantasy, however, it’s not the fantasy elements that make the novel stand out; in fact, despite taking place in a magical world, Caye develops the supernatural features rather sketchily. Instead, it’s the complex characters that make the story compelling. Jude, a fantastic antihero, is surrounded by equally mysterious players with subtle motives. Indeed, as the story goes on, readers are left to guess who the real
heroes and villains are—or if notions such as good and bad even exist in the novel’s morally gray world.
A brisk and often riveting fantasy thriller with a cast of cryptic characters.
Ceron, J.C.
Gold Coast Press (354 pp.)
$15.99 paper | $4.99 e-book | Aug. 30, 2022 979-8986255415
A New York City detective races against time to stop a terrorist attack in Venice, Italy, in Ceron’s thriller.
Although this assured thriller is the author’s first full-length novel, he introduced its protagonist Miles in a previous novella, Death of the Saltwater Blonde (2022). Miles Jordan—“Detective First Grade New York Police Department, FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force Officer, and Jamal’s Big & Tall Gold Star Customer”—is in Venice as part of a counterterrorism force partnering with the Italian military police. The mission: use captured sleeper agent Aarzam El-Hashem as bait to catch the elusive terrorist known as the Scorpion, assumed to be targeting the Israeli prime minister during the latter’s visit to the city in a few days. The task force’s plans go awry, and the arrogant, ambitious commander of the Venice Carabinieri, Col. Giuseppe Marino, blames Miles. However, the Scorpion sees Miles’ persistence and tendency to think outside the box as the real threats to him. Miles, who is Black, is about to be removed from the case by the American special agent in charge, a racist, “hardline good ol’ boy”; however, a clandestine meeting with a CIA operative opens new lines of inquiry and buys him more time. Ceron’s fast-paced, multilayered plot encompasses a meeting at the Roman Catholic Church archdiocese with an outspoken anti-Islam cardinal, a disturbing encounter with the leader of a shadowy organization of terrorist Catholic fanatics, and even a possible mole within the Carabinieri. The villains are a bit shallowly developed, but this is mitigated by the novel’s overall emotional resonance, particularly in the poignant tale of desperate father Nabeel Haddad, who unknowingly gets caught up in the lethal plot, and Miles’ burgeoning relationship with the haunted, Somalia-born Kamaria Uba of the Carabinieri.
A suspenseful crime story with deft plotting and a resourceful, well-developed protagonist.
“A brisk and often riveting fantasy thriller with a cast of cryptic characters.”
Clark, Shane T. Mindstir Media (282 pp.)
$14.95 paper | $2.99 e-book | April 27, 2023 9781960142719
An elderly man comes to the police with an incredible story behind a brutal prison murder in Clark’s thriller debut. The novel begins with the panicked discovery of prisoner Albert Clouser’s body in the Sherman Rehabilitation Center. Sherman hasn’t had a homicide in more than a decade, and the murder, according to one of the guards, “was as bad of a scene as you can imagine…He was tortured throughout the night.” Elmer Ray, an elderly retired assistant warden, hears the news from his three regular diner companions. They know the victim is “the scratch Elmer can’t itch.” Instead of excitement, Elmer feels “empty, hollow, and old.” But his anguish—over the fact that he will now never know how a young boy named Adrian died—is short-lived, replaced by a devastating shock when he receives a package from Adrian, who is very much alive. “The things he believes in the world, of Adrian’s fate, launched to the fable lands of fairy tales and myths after reading one sentence.” And so he approaches an initially skeptical Post Commander Murphy with a story that he promises will bring closure to all. “By the end of the day, you will know why Albert Clouser was murdered in his cell,” he promises. The author writes in a terse style, with punchy, short sentences that sometimes miss their mark but more often land with force, such as Elmer’s pensive reflection on his life and the losses of his beloved wife, Betsy, and Adrian, an abused neighbor boy he tried to take under his wing: “He juliennes his life like an onion, tears and all…Why was he spared and the two best people he had ever known taken long before him?” Clark deftly shifts between perspectives en route to Clouser’s grotesque demise. A coda involving Adrian’s letter to Ray is in some ways redundant, but it does deliver the promised closure.
A gripping, gritty mystery and psychological thriller.
de Villiers Graaff, Stephen Self (388 pp.)
$18.73 | $12.49 paper | April 28, 2023
9798391745457
9798390334003 paper
A kingdom’s populous seaport becomes a hub of violence in this dark fantasy debut.
After someone murders his wife and son, Dacian metes out swift vengeance. But as the killer he assassinates turns out to be the duke’s son, Dacian hides out in Sarsini, the largest port city in the Sarsinian Kingdom. Among the nearly million citizens are his new
friend Panos, a former Kingdom officer, who has laid low ever since witnessing his fellow legionnaires’ horrific deaths, and Kratos, who, on the duke’s behalf, leads the hunt for Dacian. These humans are largely oblivious to the immortal “Ascendant of Shadow,” who drifts from place to place as an “essence” and sways certain mortals to his will. As if Sarsini weren’t a busy enough seaport, one individual uses mysterious stones to open a portal, through which vicious creatures pass. These beasts— “all claws and teeth and insatiable hunger”—attack humans, forcing Panos and others to defend themselves in dangerous battles. De Villiers Graaff deftly packs this epic fantasy with a well-rounded cast and myriad subplots. The author’s regular updates on the various locales (including other Kingdom cities) and changing years (primarily flashbacks) keep the story lucid. But new characters randomly pop up throughout the series opener. De Villiers Graaff doesn’t skimp on developing each one, making for a leisurely paced tale and prompting narrative stretches without Dacian or Panos. On the plus side, it’s all the more startling when these well-defined individuals suddenly die or commit heinous deeds. They’re all immersed in a sublimely detailed atmosphere that rarely lets up—featuring the ever-present Ascendants (though all are not evil), the creatures’ unpredictable and bloody assaults, and rain perpetually showering the land. The ending, following a hectic final act, leaves copious avenues wide open for the sequel to explore.
A measured but ravishing supernatural tale overflowing with monsters and robust characters.
Dilenschneider, Robert L. Matt Holt/BenBella (256 pp.)
$28.00 | $13.99 e-book | July 25, 2023
9781637742938
A public relations executive and strategy consultant provides his thoughts on how to build, wield, and retain power and influence in an everchanging world in this advice guide.
Dilenschneider helmed Hill & Knowlton from 1986 to 1991 and now leads his own public relations firm, The Dilenschneider Group. In this book, he details how to develop personal power and influence while interacting with others in order to achieve one’s desired life and career goals. Its first part focuses on selfexamination: discovering what one’s passions and abilities are and collecting feedback on how one is perceived by others. This analysis, Dilenschneider asserts, is critical in informing and guiding one’s future actions and decision-making. The book then segues into offering tips regarding more specific activities, including networking (starting by cultivating three people as part of an ongoing process); effective communication (which, he says, is less about style and more about being clear in one’s messaging); and what Dilenschneider terms “memorable” management, which focuses on having respect and enthusiasm for other people’s opinions. Dilenschneider dedicates the final part
of the book to a discussion of how to maintain one’s power and influence while handling crises and dealing with everchanging trends in the industry, workplace, and society. He recommends having a team and plan in place for when crises occur, and assessing what are truly “hard trends” of lasting impact in one’s personal life and workplace. Dilenschneider concludes this book with a recommendation to help and advise others—and thus pay one’s power forward.
The author’s latest offering is a well-organized work that not only provides readers with valuable, evergreen core advice, particularly regarding self-assessment, but also useful commentary on hard trends, including how the Covid-19 pandemic has transformed the workplace. In the early pages of this book, Dilenschneider acknowledges there are countless other business books on these topics available to readers, but he can correctly claim that his “comes to you from decades of experience working with some of the most successful companies in the world—and the people who lead them.” The author certainly demonstrates a distinct and authoritative viewpoint on his subject matter, even if some of the examples that he provides along the way may be quite familiar to some readers. One of them, regarding recognizing when to pivot in one’s career, tells the story of James Patterson’s moving from a career as an advertising professional to a much more successful one as an author, which is an oft-told tale. Still, Dilenschneider also offers plenty of timely strategic pointers in this book, including recommendations to stay abreast of what’s happening on social media platforms, given their power in the business world, and to recognize that the hybrid workplace is indeed the new reality. Most of all, Dilenschneider provides readers with an important and inspiring ethical directive, demonstrated through examples in his career and others’, to have an element of the “commonweal” in one’s quest for personal influence and power.
An inspiring primer on navigating one’s life with selfknowledge and integrity.
Downing, M.M. & S.J. Waugh
Fitzroy Books (212 pp.)
$9.95 paper | $8.49 e-book | March 21, 2023
9781646033225
In Waugh and Downing’s middlegrade historical novel set in 1935, a boy with a dangerous secret and an unexpected sidekick flees ruthless enemies.
In Depression-era Pittsburgh, 11-year-old Lewis Carter is among the unhoused, hungry masses on the streets. His chemistry professor father left one day in 1934for a mysterious meeting and didn’t come back, and Lewis was thrown out by their landlady to fend for himself. He’s survived by using his father’s secret “Recipe” of substances that create a harmless but blinding flash of light, distracting shop owners long enough for him
to purloin food. The thefts are rumored to be the work of criminals dubbed the “Flash Gang” by local newspapers, but hardened criminals, aware of the existence of the Recipe, want to exploit its potential for lethal violence; the villains manage to track Lewis down; needing more information, they kidnap him and imprison him in a house. At this point, the tense plot takes a seemingly farcical turn: Pearl Alice Clavell, a girl wearing a sparkly pink tutu and ballet slippers, appears and rescues Lewis. It turns out that Pearl equates every danger with an episode of the popular weekly radio show “The Adventures of Lola Lavender,” whose hero she imitates. The authors, however, movingly balance Pearl’s eccentricities with the emerging truth of her plight. Later, the novel provides a startling revelation of who the kidnappers are and how they plan to use Lewis’ father’s Recipe. Lewis is relatably vulnerable throughout: He’s worried about his father’s fate and physically limited by asthma attacks that are made worse by “the thick smog of Pittsburgh,” which settles in his lungs “like soggy grit.” The pair also find allies in a sympathetic reporter and some tough but supportive street kids. The historical underpinnings of the plot—including widespread corruption, local mobsters, and the rise of Hitler sympathizers—are well researched, capturing a crisis-ridden time and place with immediacy. The novel ends with an intriguing teaser for the next book in the series.
A tale with plenty of humor and suspense, memorable characters, and a plot that’s vividly informed by a challenging time in U.S. history.
Edd, Stephanie (328 pp.)
Nov. 1, 2023 9780990482529
Edd’s 1947-set thriller features a gumshoe who could step right into the brogans of Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade.
Into Mel Gance’s San Francisco office sidles Miss Cecilia Le Cleur, who had “all the curves of Lombard Street with no stop signs in sight.” The Le Cleurs are very rich, but her father, August, was found shot to death in his study, and her brother, Stephan, has disappeared. This is not the first tragedy to strike the family; years ago her mother and sister perished in a Paris hotel fire. Can Gance find her father’s killer and her missing brother? And is Cecilia a grieving orphan or a femme fatale—or a bit of both? August Le Cleur, a hotel developer, seemed like an upright businessman, but he had a weakness: He wanted to play on the wild side. He was connected to an illegal casino and to a gangster named Rolland Zaslow; their friendship had soured. In the tradition of the genre, Gance has a formidable sidekick, his secretary, Grace “Ace” Springfield, whose skills include more than typing and filing. Then there’s cabbie Daphne Markos, who can crack wise and lose a tail on a moment’s notice (“You’re the boss, applesauce”). Of course, Mel winds up half in love with Cecilia, against all his better instincts. After many twists, turns,
and red herrings, the real villain is finally exposed. Some readers may guess the ending intuitively, though the finer points may be lost despite Mel’s explications. The author is clearly having fun: She has written a legitimate whodunit but also a sendup of the genre. It’s an engrossing cable car ride, back in the world of Hammett and Chandler, with a world-weary shamus, cigarettes and fedoras, elegant and mysterious clients, and the fog always rolling in (this ain’t Fresno). Perhaps Edd will send Mel and Ace on more adventures…that would be just swell.
A competently constructed period thriller with all the trappings.
Ed. by Elwell, Sue Levi, Jessica Greenbaum & Hara E. Person Central Conference of American Rabbis Press (168 pp.)
$18.95 paper | Aug. 1, 2023 9780881236309
A collection of short essays and poetry celebrating 50 years since the public ordination of the first female rabbi.
The ordination of Rabbi Sally Priesand in 1972 was a landmark moment in Jewish history. In short memoir, essays, and poetry, numerous authors celebrate her impact a half-century later in this anthology. Many of the writers are female rabbis themselves, and in these pieces, they speak here of the struggles of identity, of being interrupted and “mansplained” to, and of reshaping the patriarchal constructs and misogyny through religious teachings. As pointed out by Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg in “A New Paradigm and a New Era,” Jewish hierarchies were irrevocably changed, later welcoming LGBTQ+ voices, disabled people, and Black and brown Jewish people into positions of leadership; as she puts it, “Jews have always inhabited the margins of society.…now the margins of Jewish society are moving into a more central place.” The collection’s contributors come from a wide range of backgrounds, including Rabbi Richard F. Address, a classmate of Rabbi Priesand; Rabbi Suzanne Singer, an Emmy Award winner; Rabbi Elliot Kukla, the first openly transgender rabbi; and many more. Along with Rabbi Priesand, the collection highlights two of her fellow trailblazers: one who followed her, Rabbi Naamah Kelman, first female rabbi in Israel (and a contributor to this collection), and another who preceded her, the Rabbi Regina Jonas, who was privately ordained in 1935 in Nazi Germany and died at Auschwitz. Editors Elwell, Greenbaum, and Person effectively bring together more than 100 different voices for this compact collection, with each entry, whether poetry or prose, rarely exceeding two pages. Despite the book’s brevity, the importance of these pioneers and the significance of their impact never feel understated. These are often personal stories of inspiration, told with enthusiasm and sometimes with humor, but also an important look at feminism in recent history that readers outside of the Jewish faith will
find approachable. A glossary of Hebrew, Yiddish, and other words related to Judaism and its history aids this accessibility. A highly readable tribute to leaders in the Jewish faith.
Forooghian, Ziba and Farzin Forooghian
Illus. by Meriette Medina
Self (36 pp.)
$7.42 paper | $3.76 e-book | May 19, 2023
9798394862335
An affectionate heart learns that some friends don’t want to be touched in Ziba and Farzin Forooghian’s picture book.
Kissy the Kissy Heart loves touching to show affection. She gives tickles, hugs, and kisses even when they are not wanted. She touches Claire’s hair and earrings in music class, tickles Donna at swimming lessons, hugs Boba at gymnastics, and kisses Taco on Valentine’s Day, in each case overstepping her friends’ comfort zones. “They tell her she needs to ask permission before doing these things,” explains the narrator. Not wanting to make her friends uncomfortable, Kissy finds new ways to show her affection, including compliments, waves, and high-fives. This approach makes all involved happy. At the conclusion, Kissy gives advice on how to tell someone if their touching makes you uncomfortable. The authors use simple language to make the lesson clear. Preschoolers and early elementary readers still in the process of learning about appropriate touching are well supported by the large font size and bright pictures by Medina. Kissy’s quick understanding may set high expectations for changes in behavior, but the message is clear and admirable. The candy-colored digital illustrations show a variety of foods and drinks as humanlike characters, all in bright colors with shiny black eyes. (Taco charmingly boasts sour cream hair.)
An engaging and important lesson on respecting boundaries and being a good listener.
Golden, Lamar & Liana Golden Illus. by Veronica Guarino
Self (34 pp.)
$14.99 | $9.99 paper | $5.99 e-book
June 6, 2023
9781960976093
9781960976109 paper
An alien girl finds an unexpected new friend while playing with her sister in Lamar and Liana Golden’s picture book.
On a faraway, Earth-like planet named Venesha live two young sisters: Rika, the elder, and Jari, roughly preschool-age (the girls are fair-skinned and appear human). The two love to climb trees and play hide-and-seek together in the planet’s northern forest region. One day, instead of finding her hiding
“An engaging and important lesson on respecting boundaries and being a good listener.”
the kissy heart
the year of mourning
sister, Rika stumbles across a kitten concealed inside of a hollow log. The kitten immediately takes to her, and the two go off in search of Jari: “Rika called out to her sister. ‘Jari, come out! Look what I found!’ Jari appeared from behind a tree. ‘Poor thing!’ she said. ‘Where is her mommy?’ ” Rika doesn’t know, so the two sisters wait for a solution to appear. This picture book is cute and quiet, best for readers who prefer a calmer story. While it establishes a central conflict, it fails to deliver a satisfying resolution that ties the narrative together as a whole, and it isn’t clear why exactly the story is set on an Earth-like planet instead of Earth itself. Guarino’s illustrations depict scenery awash in twilight blues and purples that reflect the dissociation of feeling lost and provide contrast to the characters’ warmer tones.
A calm, beautifully illustrated picture book that lacks a strong narrative arc.
Grant, Lisa D..
Central Conference of American Rabbis Press (218 pp.)
$19.95 paper | $9.99 e-book | June 1, 2023 9780881236071
Grant presents a Reform Jewish guide to the mourning process. How can Jewish tradition, literature, and wisdom help someone who has suffered the loss of a loved one navigate the mourning process? In this anthology, the editor, the director of the New York rabbinical program of Hebrew Union College and the author, co-author, or co-editor of multiple other Jewish resources, presents a guidebook full of materials designed to assist the mourner through the process of grieving during the first year after a loss. Grant and Segal, her consulting editor, gather traditional and nontraditional materials from a variety of sources and movements within Judaism. The work includes songs and poems from Jewish religious thinkers ranging from lay liturgist and poet Alden Solovy (whose “In Sorrow” is included: “Air. / All I need is air. / A breath to give oxygen / To the anguish within”) to Rabbi Rachel Barenblat and the late Rabbi Rachel Cowan as well as classic Hebrew poems by Zelda and Rivka Miriam (whose “Tearing” observes, “There was a peaceful tearing / like the peaceful tearing of twilight / when the warp and woof are parted for an instant / so that their continuing can take place), translated by Rabbi Steven G. Sager. The anthology also contains a couple of non-Jewish sources, including Rumi and e.e. cummings. This book, written in response to the disruptive effects of the recent Covid pandemic on Jewish funerary practices, is presented specifically as a Jewish guide and includes plenty of Jewish liturgical excerpts as well as instructions to say the kaddish at the end of each unit. The concluding chapters offer information on enhancing the practices undertaken during various phases of Jewish mourning. Still, the themes explored in each unit, from pain and
brokenness to acceptance and gratitude, have the potential to engage other audiences.
A welcome Jewish resource for making the journey through loss.
Kohn, Stephen M.
Lyons Press (440 pp.)
$50.00 | $22.99 paper | $21.84 e-book
June 1, 2023
9781493072804
9781493059263 paper
Resources and advice for people considering becoming whistleblowers within their organizations.
Kohn, a lawyer and longtime champion of workers’ rights, cites a suite of new U.S. laws designed to help protect whistleblowers, including the Dodd-Frank Act, resulting in “stunning and almost unbelievable” success. Since 1986, corporations running afoul of the law have paid more than $100 billion in fines, which has had an enormous deterrent effect, saving an estimated $1 trillion, according to the 2022 Whistleblower’s Annual Report issued by the Security and Exchange Commission. Kohn notes that thanks to qui tam legislation, which entitles whistleblowers to a portion of the fines their employers incur (legislation that goes all the way back to 1779; a grateful Samuel Adams was compensated by Congress for his role in outing lawbreakers), the government has paid over $10 billion to employees. Qui tam, he writes, “puts teeth into the right of the people to expose fraud and misconduct,” and in these pages, he clarifies an array of detailed advice, “rules” for modern-day whistleblowers to follow in order to protect themselves. Kohn keeps these guidelines appealingly simple—“Be Confidential,” “Document, Document, Document,” “Don’t Tip Off the Crooks,” and so on. While the rules are unfailingly interesting, Kohn is even more fascinating when he addresses the doubts or insecurities potential whistleblowers might experience. He advises such candidates to consider whether they should risk covertly taping misconduct at work or if they might feel like they’ve betrayed their colleagues; he also recommends carefully drawing the distinction between whistleblowing and an employment dispute. Kohn is a vivid, authoritative guide, and it’s a testament to his narrative skill that he can make this niche subject so consistently gripping.
Definitive and compulsively readable.
“A
Letts, Madison Self (244 pp.)
$25.95 | $4.99 e-book | April 21, 2023
9798218177508
In her debut memoir, Letts navigates the devastating aftermath of the death of her boyfriend.
When the author was a 21-year-old junior at the University of Georgia, she attended a party. She scanned the room and noticed a young man she had never seen before. Their eyes met. He introduced himself and she felt an instant connection to him. But later that night, a friend told her, “That’s Knox. He had to take time off from school last semester. He has brain cancer.” This was not a deal breaker for Letts, who told friends, “I think it would be nice to be with someone who’s gone through something so intense. A boy who actually understands the fragility of life. The value of every day.” The author begins her memoir on the day he died (which, coincidentally, is the birthday of Dalton, her beloved cousin, who died of a fentanyl overdose—the book is dedicated to Knox and Dalton), then toggles between periods of her life before Knox and after. There are countless memoirs dealing with the death of a loved one: Laurie Kilmartin’s Dead People Suck goes at this immense subject with jet-black jokes; Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died comes to terms with a lifelong abusive parent. What distinguishes Letts’ memoir is her earnestness: “I want to share this. I want people to feel what I feel. I want them to know what I know,” she proclaims. She is unsparingly open and vulnerable, to the point that there are times the reader almost feels like an intruder, as when Letts is invited into Knox’s hospital room to say her goodbye: “I waved at him and he puckered his lips and blew me a kiss. I knew then that he was still Knox.”
An unabashed account that may provide those dealing with personal loss comfort and catharsis.
9 RULES TO DOMINATE YOUR MONEY AND LEARN WHAT 67% OF ADULTS DON’T KNOW Financial Literacy for Teens by a Teen (With a Little Help From Mom & Dad)
Lewis, Finley
Self (184 pp.)
$19.99 | $11.70 paper | $2.99 e-book
May 18, 2023
9798395147608
9798394941726 paper
Lewis presents a guide to helping other teens learn about money. As the author, a high school student, states at the outset of his book, in the United States, at the time of publication, only
23 out of 50 states require financial literacy for high school students, and the numbers are similar or worse in other parts of the world. “So doesn’t it seem weird that teens are required and encouraged to learn about Physics and French II but not their personal finances?” he asks. “And that’s sad because a class on earning, investing, and spending money might be exciting for teens.” With help from his parents, Lewis, an enthusiastic straight-A student, lays out just such a class in these pages, touching on everything from inflation to compound interest to the intricacies of investing (can you afford to buy even one share of Apple? Can you afford part of one share?). To help structure these discussions, he elaborates on nine rules teens can follow to increase their financial savvy, such as, “Don’t Just ‘Save’ or ‘Hide’ Your Money; Start Making Your Money Work for You” and “Establish Clear Money Goals.” The book is attractively designed, with plenty of breaks, illustrations, and inviting sections where readers can fill out checklists and answer prompts. The result is a winningly good-natured and nonintimidating primer on basic financial understanding that will be every bit as helpful to a great many adults as it will be to the author’s fellow teens. When Lewis writes, “You now have everything you need to get started. I’m confident you’ll get whatever you’re seeking,” readers will feel the sentiment is completely genuine.
An easy, upbeat breakdown of the complexities of personal finance for young people.
Lisec, Joshua Self (170 pp.)
$29.99 | $19.65 paper | $5.99 e-book
June 15, 2023
9798988347422
9798988347415 paper
Professional ghostwriter Lisec presents a systemic approach to success in this marketing guide.
In the modern marketplace, it’s not always enough to do good work for one’s clients. Instead, the author—who’s written more than 80 books for CEOs, celebrities, and other clients—asserts that talent must have a voice that can be heard over the noise of social media. A strong strategy, he says, can help one transition from being a silent expert in one’s field to being an undisputed authority with a reputation for consistent results. The key to his strategy is deceptively simple: systemization. Lisec asserts that most people are simply unaware of the full scope of their skills or the specific steps they need to take to achieve success. Without this knowledge, professionals can’t communicate their full value to others or reliably instruct others about their techniques when necessary. To address this, Lisec presents a straightforward approach to breaking down achievements into replicable frameworks. He points out that bold outcomes and great success may attract skeptics; however, he argues, criticism can be as effective as praise for increasing notoriety. Overall, Lisec offers an approach to
I DON’T WANT YOU TO REGRET ANYTHING A Memoiryoung adult
professional advancement that’s valuable and logical. At one point, for instance, he simply notes that those who can’t deliver results will lose opportunities to those with less talent and better marketing. Still, he says, those who can deliver consistent, transformative outcomes will ultimately triumph. Although Lisec’s use of the word genius to describe this aptitude may feel intimidating, he suggests that many people possess a capacity for excellence already. Nonetheless, this guide doesn’t contain quick fixes or hacks to achieving fame in one’s field. Instead, he stresses hard work, using a “System Design Table,” recommended research, and exercises to clarify his points. Lisec also offers advice on topics ranging from writing and developing a book to fee negotiation. His actionable advice and real-world examples offer tangible benefits from the first chapter.
An excellent guide for anyone wishing to achieve better brand recognition.
Lucci, Jack Koehler Books (108 pp.)
$15.95 paper | $7.99 e-book | March 28, 2023
9781646639120
This first installment of a memoir focuses on a young man’s rocky comingof-age in America and abroad.
Debut author Lucci hails from a “small town, mostly known for its wine and wheat fields,” in southeastern Washington state. When he eventually moved to Chicago (referred to as “the Land” throughout the book) for college, life in the city was an eye opener. But first the author transports readers to Italy. In Florence, he made a half-hearted attempt to learn Italian in a language school. His real priorities for the trip turned out to be wine, cigarettes, and carousing with different women. He managed a lengthy stay in Italy by working as a farmhand. He learned the ways of horses and gained insights into the struggles of life. Back in the United States, he attended Roosevelt University, a place “built on the concept of social justice.” Alluring Chicago offered endless avenues of excitement and substances. Much of this volume covers his indulgences with Adderall, cocaine, and alcohol. Nevertheless, he managed a serious relationship with a woman named Alina. Yet their liaison proved to be a volatile affair full of drug use and heated domestic spats. Throughout it all, he would come to understand how “life is a continual process of learning.” The candid series opener moves along quickly. If readers become bored by, say, a meditation on the “meaningless conversations” found in Washington state, the scenery soon changes. While many developments are typical of such a work (a young person experimenting with city life and different drugs), the engrossing memoir offers rich details. Take Lucci’s summary of an education from Roosevelt University: “I left there thinking I knew everything. I did not know how to run a business, but I felt I knew how to run a country. I was so sure I possessed all the knowledge I would ever need, and it was no thanks to my professors. I thought I was finished, but I
was only just beginning.” Ultimately, readers will appreciate the various lessons that the author learned about life, whether they came from a spilled wheelbarrow in the Italian countryside or the all-consuming effects of substance abuse.
Engaging and nuanced recollections from a restless young man.
MacLean, Katherine Green Writers Press (330 pp.)
$19.95 paper | $9.99 e-book | June 27, 2023
9788986532470
MacLean explores the transformative potential of psychedelics in this debut memoir.
In consistently thoughtful, meditative, and affable prose, the author, a research neuroscientist, recounts her years volleying between a wide array of emotional landscapes. The book poignantly begins with the death of her sister, Rebecca, at 29 years of age from breast cancer, a disease MacLean considers “our special family curse” as it’s afflicted many family members of both sexes. The author recalls that the heartbreaking event “shocked me out of my complacency” and spurred a desperate need to “confront my shadow, those things I was hiding from everyone, including myself.” This endeavor included the use of psychedelic drugs to not only ease her grief but open herself to processing her bittersweet, problematic relationships with her father, Richard, a corporate attorney, and her sister, to whom she dedicates the book. As a 19-year-old student at Dartmouth College, MacLean began experimenting with mushrooms, psychoactive plants which proved physically and emotionally therapeutic and eventually “walked with me through many a dark night” unearthing suppressed childhood trauma involving abuse from her father. These breakthroughs inspired MacLean to excel as a psychedelic researcher at Johns Hopkins University, conducting psilocybin behavioral trials. The author describes a long itinerary of Zen retreats, psychedelic conferences, mushroom ceremonies, MDMA research, and “spiritual tight-rope walks” which solidified her belief in psychedelic therapies, resolved her mental trauma, and, she asserts, even made her a more well-rounded mother to her two children. MacLean branched outward to share the scope of her knowledge and research into psychedelics with others who struggled with relationships, grief, and selflove. Refreshingly candid throughout the narrative, the author also discusses the nuances of her work in psychedelic therapy, vividly describing how her clients’ psilocybin journeys can become life-altering experiences for them.
A cathartic chronicle of an alternative medicine researcher’s liberating psychedelic healing.
everything’s better with you
$13.99 paper | $2.99 e-book | May 3, 2023 9781953433084
Two old friends reconnect when they both begin working at the same rural college in Merrill’s sports romance.
Dancer Joe Judd returns to his alma mater, Greenvale College in Iowa, for the first time in 15 years to see old friend and fellow alumnus Les Payton, a retired NFL player who is now a football coach at the school. For Les, Joe is the one who got away; Les was attracted to him back in college, but Joe was too ambitious to stick around after graduation. Joe’s hard work has paid off—he has a thriving career as a dancer and choreographer on TV and Broadway. As such, Les and his brother, Barry (the college president), want to hire him to coach the cheerleaders at Greenvale as part of a program to revamp the athletic department. After giving it some thought, Joe takes the job. Both men worry their bodies are falling apart; Les incurred head injuries in the NFL, and Joe knows he has a finite number of days in which he’ll be able to keep dancing. As they work together (and in competition) on a fundraising project, Les and Joe grow closer. But then Joe gets a call about a potential job on Broadway that reminds him he has other options beyond Iowa. Will he stay? As a romance, the narrative is charming—the author has an engaging voice. Still, there are small niggles: Not all of the dialogue sounds natural; both leads are constantly telling each other how glad they are that the other is there (“ ‘You’re here now. I’m so happy you’re here now.’ Joe leaned down and kissed his forehead. ‘I am here, and I’m not going anywhere’ ”). Given that Joe has gained fame—and possibly fortune—in a splashy career as a dancer, it seems like a step down to become the cheerleading coach at a small, rural college, though Joe treats it like a huge opportunity. There also isn’t much conflict, and everyone is very nice, which makes for a pleasant, if not always compelling read. Overall, though, the characters are likable, and some fun sports details keep the narrative lively.
A sweet, sporty romance.
Mettler, Lucy
Illus. by Nathaniel Eckstrom Elyon
Books(38 pp.)
$17.99 | June 27, 2023
9798985793024
A boy spends special time with family at the beach in Mettler’s picture book. The story opens with Gus waking up, enticed by the smell of a pancake breakfast. At the table, Gus realizes that Mama has looked especially tired since Gus and his sister Willa-Mae’s
father died. The pair spend lots of quality time with Pops, their grandfather, at the nearby beach on weekends. There, they hunt for shells, which Gus loves, and he thinks about the special connection that he shared with his dad. After saving an urchin, Gus looks at other shells with characteristics that remind him of his family. A protective conch for Mama, a “White Baby Ear” for Willa-Mae, and angel wings for Daddy. After a snack, Gus and Willa-Mae find a beautiful scallop shell for the very first time before beginning a thoughtful journey home. Overall, this story is about living with and processing grief in everyday moments. It effectively explains the importance of holding on to happy memories of someone while also understanding that they’re no longer in one’s life. Eckstrom’s sweet watercolor illustrations ably convey the joy that the children feel when spending time with Pops. The text contains references to religion (prayerlike, God, Heaven), which may prompt questions and additional conversation.
An appealing story about remembering those whom one has lost.
Micciola, Marc R.
Centaury Lilium Publishing (469 pp.)
$24.50 | $18.50 paper | $2.99 e-book
Dec. 13, 2022
9781777270780
9781777270797 paper
Oppressed supernatural creatures make a stand against tyranny in Micciola’s fantasy novel.
In a fantasy world where magical beings such as lycans, sprites, satyrs, and goblins were transported to a human realm to escape persecution, they only met more danger and prejudice in their new home. Nine years ago, Weylyn’s father was tortured and executed for the crime of being a lycan who stood up to the oppressive structures keeping all magical beings endangered and subjugated. Now, Weylyn leads the resistance movement, assisted by his closest friends, including Brina and Keagan (fellow lycans), Olwen (a sprite), and his human girlfriend, Rosalie. They ask Queen Sophia of Tudrose for aid, and she agrees to assist them—but only if they encourage rebellions and further resistance across the land. They leave Rosalie at home to lead the resistance there while Weylyn goes with Brina and Olwen goes with Keagen to foment resistance on multiple fronts. There is danger lying ahead greater than the expected enemy soldiers, gladiator tournaments, and dangerous mines: The Dove is a masked witch set on killing them, and the only hope against her may be Weylyn’s secret magical abilities (“You don’t know? Mystic Bloods are descendants of Druids. You all have the gift of magic wielding”).The author has created a complex and engaging world full of a range of characters, classes, lands, and languages. The different points of view that track Weylyn and his friends (and occasionally his enemies) keep the plot engaging and the stakes real. At times, the narrative can feel heavy with exposition, but this extra information
“A sweet, sporty romance.”
aids in the reader’s immersion into the novel’s vivid reality. Weylyn’s heroic arc drives the plot forward and highlights the emotional core of the story. This is an enterprising fantasy that is ambitious in its scale and successful in its worldbuilding. A fun adventure in a fantastical land.
Middleton, Jacquelyn
Kirkwall Books (372 pp.)
$16.95 paper | $0.99 e-book | Aug. 10, 2023
9781999275341
In Middleton’s novel, an old romance is rekindled when two ex-lovers face their past.
Thirty-one-year-old Evie Sutherland, who suffers from Crohn’s disease, lives a quiet life in the Orkney Islands in Scotland. She runs her parents’ tourist shop and café, does genealogical research for tourists, and writes romance novels under a pen name. Her dating life, on the other hand, is rather complicated, partly due to her self-consciousness about her illness and partly because she’s still not over her breakup with her first love—a famous London actor named Nick Balfour who used to spend summers on the island—even though it happened 13 years ago. When an accident at her parents’ shop injures the cook handling a catering job for a new TV production filming in town, Evie must take over, putting her in frequent contact with one of the executive producers—none other than Nick himself. The story is told through Evie’s and Nick’s third-person perspectives in different chapters and takes place in two different timelines. The earlier narrative unfolds mostly over teenage summers; Evie is 13 the first time she meets 16-year-old Nick and 18 when they break up. Middleton shows a real knack for creating realistic and deeply developed characters. Secondary players, such as Evie’s childhood friends Sunita Kumari and Fiona Groundwater, are vibrant, stable parts of her life, but are well developed in their own right. Nick’s private struggles with panic attacks, career mishaps, and a complicated relationship with his mother ground him as a character and make him sympathetic, as well. When the pair are reunited in the present day, it’s clear they both still have feelings for each other, and readers will want to find out what happened between them more than a decade ago—and hope to see them back together again.
An often charming tale of youth, forgiveness, and second chances.
Moore, L.S.
Illus. by Cristina Bencina
The Big Fig (352 pp.)
$14.99 paper | Aug. 1, 2023
9781633330696
In Moore’s YA debut, two brothers must come to terms with their inherited psychic powers and track down a killer before he can strike again.
Sixteen-year-old Hapkido black belt Will McCurty and his 20-year-old college student brother, Seth, live with their mother 40 miles outside Kansas City, Missouri. Eight years after their father, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty, their estranged grandmother appears and explains to Will that Seth, like their dad, is a “Bridge”—a human connection between the living and the dead. She goes on to say that Seth must bond with a “Keeper”—someone to protect him and remember what the dead say when they speak through him. It’s only after Will reluctantly agrees that he realizes that their grandma has herself passed on and is manifesting due to Seth’s power. The brothers’ new abilities take some getting used to. One desperate spirit possesses Seth completely, nearly killing Will when he mistakes him for his own murderer. Will, meanwhile, has developed an aura that brings him to the attention of Maureen “Reen” Gardener, his Wicca-practicing classmate and crush; however, the new status quo threatens to come between him and his best friend, Nico. As family friend Uncle Marcus mentors the siblings, they struggle to keep angry spirits at bay, uncover the truth behind a classmate’s disappearance, and bring a killer to justice. Moore relates the story with an assured blend of narrative prose, introspection, and teen-appropriate dialogue. From the outset, Will (the narrator) and Seth demonstrate a strong and endearing fraternal relationship that evokes the Hardy Boys, and their introduction to the supernatural world carries distinct ScoobyDoo, Where Are You? vibes, albeit with a darker edge. Supporting characters Reen, Nico, and Uncle Marcus add a grounding touch by exhibiting personality beyond mere plot function. The story’s antagonists are less nuanced, but this doesn’t detract from the rising sense of peril. Moore doesn’t invest much time in establishing setting, but the generic school environment and recurrent graveyards prove sufficient.
A fast-moving paranormal adventure for teens with heavy themes and an upbeat delivery.
“An
Moreno, Mario Neon Cat (244 pp.)
$24.99 | $16.99 paper | $9.99 e-book
Feb. 15, 2023
9798986799995
9798986799971 paper
A retelling of Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera (1910) that blends epic poetry, rap, and pop culture with a good old-fashioned slasher tale.
Readers will realize that they’re in for a wild ride from the opening lines of Moreno’s riotous narrative in verse: “Ayo, muse, gonna sing one for you— / gonna spit bars of truth, broadcasting from afar, / unmasking the view by spinning a playlist / dishing on the dawn when the monster was created, / and the villains, and the heroine, / and the broken night of the vengeance—.”
In 1999 Miami, talented rapper Apocalypse is tired of standing in the shadow of his colleague King Heavy. But when he attempts to strike out on his own, Apocalypse suffers horrific (and bloody) consequences. Seventeen years later, Melody, nicknamed Mel, is working double shifts as a hotel maid to make ends meet since her grandmother died. When she hears about a rap contest at the haunted Deco nightclub hosted by her idol, King Heavy, she decides to attend: “The BREAK-BEAT baits her. / She nods, trying to catch a flow. / A KICK and a SNARE waiting for her to ride them….” As the competition progresses, the narrative features gory murders, a kidnapping, and a truly shocking plot twist. The story is told in rhyming beats that will likely have readers nodding their heads as they read, and chapter titles are cleverly listed as “Playlist” tracks, including “Scarlet Jackson Pollock” and “Pretty-Dope’s Destination (Interlude).” Profanity abounds, and music scenes mingle intimately with straightforward scenes of horror (“Strange GURGLING GROWLS, / as if from another world, / pierce / and rip / the damp silence”). The graphically described violence is not for those with weak stomachs. However, there are also echoes of classics, such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey (including a namedrop of Odysseus on the very first page), paired with numbered lines common to epics, which gives the book a wizened heft that belies its modern references.
A colorful and chaotic tale of success and betrayal that will likely appeal to hip-hop and horror fans.
Polevoi, Lee
Running Wild Press (322 pp.)
$19.99 | $9.99 paper | May 23, 2023
9781955062589
An ambassador for a fictional Soviet bloc country gets in trouble for going off-message in Polevoi’s novel.
As a young boy, Gabriel Ash saved the life of King Josef of the small (fictional) European nation of Keshnev; now, 40 years later, he’s accused of trying to kill that nation’s dictator. He’s spent decades as the Keshnevan ambassador to the United Nations, parroting the Soviet line against the West while partaking liberally of the West’s decadent delights in New York City. Then, during the Falkland Islands conflict in 1982, he speaks his mind in front of the U.N. Security Council. The ramifications of his anti-colonial speech prove troublesome for him and deadly for others. Soon, he’s sitting in secluded imprisonment in a castle deep in the “Lesser Alps” of the Warsaw Pact satellite state. There, the menacing Comrade Pavel gives him the chance to record his “confessions” before facing a tribunal. How did it come to this? Ash is the American-born son of missionaries who moved to Europe after his younger brother Willy died of tuberculosis, and they eventually found their way to the village of Rogvald in Keshnev. During the king’s brief visit to that town in 1936, 12-year-old Gabriel saved him from assassination, which gives the youngster celebrity status. Over the course of this novel, Polevoi shows that he knows how to spin out a tale that delivers on all its promises while continuing to surprise to the very end. Readers learn Ash’s story through statements he records for his “confessions,” and in moments when the recorder is off, readers get Ash’s observations of his private imprisonment—and how he plans to escape. In a narrative choice that’s effectively reminiscent of the tall tales of Mark Helprin, Polevoi relates other parts of Ash’s life as the protagonist tells them to a rapt audience—one that’s enamored with the story of the boy who saved the king: “They all want to know what happens next….So do I, and I’ve already lived it.”
A winding but well-told historical drama.
Rodgers, A.M.
Self (409 pp.)
$14.99 paper | $1.99 e-book | May 24, 2023 9798988175001
In Rodgers’ YA fantasy novel, a young thief is roped into helping a wizard find a trove of magical artifacts.
Jule, a young woman, lives in Whirly, a city of steam, steel, and magic. Unfortunately for her, she comes from the city’s rough-and-tumble West Side, where a street orphan like her is
forced to turn to petty crime to feed herself. Luckily, she has some help from Jewel, one of the Fei (fairylike creatures that only Jule can see), who’s so obsessed with Jule that he names himself after her. She’s hired by a man she doesn’t know to steal a necklace from a house on the wealthy East Side—an easy job, or at least it should be; to her surprise, she discovers someone else robbing the exact same house at the exact same time. The rival thief is newly minted wizard Peter Murlock, fresh from earning his degree in magical studies at the university. The two are arrested while making their escape and find themselves before Chief of Police Earl Victor Kimball. Jule tells the earl everything, hoping he’ll let her slide, but instead, he places her in the custody of…Peter Murlock. “There will be rules,” the wizard tells her as they arrive at his stately townhouse. “You will not leave the house. You will do what I tell you. You will respect my staff and do what they tell you. If you cannot follow even those basic courtesies, I will send you back to Vic to deal with you however he bloody well pleases.” Jule soon discovers that Peter and the earl are both looking for a scattered collection of stolen magical objects—including Jule’s necklace—in the hope of reuniting them before they fall into the wrong hands. If Jule can assist them, she’ll get her freedom back. Even with the help of a wizard, though, the task before her will be a lot more difficult than the sort of work she’s used to. Someone has already been murdered over these objects—if Jule isn’t careful, she may be as well.
The author’s prose is richly detailed, and the world she paints is simultaneously grandiose and credible. She reveals how nearly every flight of fancy in the book—from magic to fairies to great airships—isn’t quite as otherworldly as it first appears: “The airship had been more impressive from the front of the station than from the top of the platform. Compared to the massive balloon casting a shadow over the entire airfield and the buildings beyond, the actual ship was small like a sloop or a single-sail schooner.” The book takes a few chapters to find its rhythm—the first chapter is particularly messy and rushed—but once the reader has a sense of the well-drawn characters, the story becomes quite immersive. With dashes of humor and a welcome restraint when it comes to describing the mechanics of magic, Rodgers creates a steampunk adventure that feels truly fantastical. Hopefully, more Whirly adventures are planned.
A delightful YA fantasy novel filled with endearing characters.
Savage, Bill BookBaby (200 pp.)
$12.00 paper | $2.99 e-book | June 27, 2023
9798350901948
In Savage’s novella, a textile mill offers hope and hardship to those looking to make a quick buck.
This three-part work opens in 1948 with 17-year-old Floyd hoping to find a summer job. Blake Silk Mill offers him work as a “bobbin boy,” monotonously cleaning empty spools
of yarn. His colleagues George Klumpfer and Maggie O’Hara attempt “to demonize, demoralize and disturb him,” because they see him as their inferior. Floyd leaves the mill to serve in Korea but returns after his tour of duty. A twist of fate leads him to become the protégé of “the chemist,” a man who trains him for a new role as “tester” in which he’ll be subordinate to no one. Book 2 opens in 1971, with 16-year-old Chris Tiller looking for work at what is now Blake Textile Mill; he, too, works as a bobbin boy. George is now a spiteful superintendent and Maggie a poisonous “floorlady.” Book 3 revisits the mill in 2001, charting the decline of the industry and its employees’ faltering dreams. Savage’s novella smartly and succinctly captures the power of mid-20th-century American industry as Floyd marvels at the seemingly inexorable might of the mill: “a symphony of auditory revolutions that made the boy wonder if every goshdarned factory on the East Coast had somehow had its sound piped into the hallways of this five-story roar-a-torium!” As the novella progresses, this sense of might is replaced by a lingering one of impermanence, as when Chris is told that “these places are all gonna be empty before too long.” Savage has a laconic writing style but regularly entertains with his unique descriptive approach: “The freight elevator moved as if it was being pushed by a couple of dying elephants.” However, the novella feels considerably underdeveloped; Floyd’s war years, for instance, are dealt with in just a few sentences, offering no satisfying sense of how they affected him. That said, this is largely a thoughtful tale that evocatively describes the American manufacturing peak and decline on a deeply human level.
An intriguing, if overly brief, story of a workplace and its workers.
Stevenson, Keith Coeur de Lion (352 pp.)
$16.99 paper | $4.99 e-book | Oct. 1, 2023 9780648197553
An Earth-based space empire exploits and enslaves Milky Way civilizations for its own selfish benefit while a crablike alien refugee and an outcast human warrior try to oppose its latest crimes.
Stevenson’s far-future SF series opener focuses on evil space invaders who happen to be human— an order called the Hegemony, which arose in the aftermath of a traumatic but victorious (though scarcely described in any detail) interplanetary war. Hegemony policy assures the safety of humankind by incorporating spacegoing alien civilizations in what is supposedly a protective alliance akin to the storied Federation of the Star Trek franchise. In fact, the oppressive arrangement subjugates and weakens the Hegemony’s coalition planets, making them little more than Earth vassals and underclasses. Rhees Lowrans, an eager human fighter pilot for the Hegemony, accidentally causes the death of a close comrade in a training exercise and is punished with a transfer to the much-disliked intelligence branch. There, she learns inside
“A potent SF depiction of humanity victimizing peaceful aliens.”
traitor’s run
dirt about a mystery attack on nonhuman colonies in which Hegemony military might did nothing to avert the slaughter of 13 billion aliens. In a parallel narrative (barely intersecting in this installment), Udun is a rare, space-traveling member of the Kresz—intelligent humanoid arthropods (“like a cross between a crab and a lobster but with only two arms and two legs, though these were strangely jointed and much longer than a human’s”) with an isolationist culture. Udun’s unheard-of voyages beyond Kresz territory give him ominous clues of an approaching crisis, but he is unprepared for the ruthless barbarism of the Hegemony. The captivating story ends at a turning point, and readers will eagerly look forward to the sequel. The author’s gift for xenofiction matches that of genre grandmasters like Hal Clement, Larry Niven, and C.J. Cherryh. Stevenson gets under the alien skins (or carapaces) and unique emotional makeup of the Kresz characters to the point that readers begin to see the ultimately amoral Homo sapiens as grotesque and “other” as any bug-eyed monster on the cover of yesteryear’s SF pulps. Comparisons between the Hegemony’s malevolence and real-world developments should be evident even without the words Homeland Security ever being deployed.
A potent SF depiction of humanity victimizing peaceful aliens.
Svec, Henry J., Mary J. Svec
The Publishing Shop (92 pp.)
$20.00 | $14.93 paper | $7.32 e-book | Jan. 30, 2023
9781989346983
9781989346969 paper
Henry and Mary Svec’s personal finance primer finds inspiration in beehives.
Beehives have served as a metaphor for capitalism and industry for centuries, and the authors lean into the comparison in this book, intended for parents and children to share. Writing from the perspective of a grandfather imparting wisdom to his grandchildren, the Svecs draw 10 lessons from his hives and show how they apply to the world of personal finance (“Being smart with your money means you have a system in place to take care of all those money problems that cause you stress. Like the healthy beehive, you thrive, are sustainable and can independently take care of your money needs”). The lessons include “Focus, Specialize and Be Efficient,” “Recycle,” “Be Strong, But Fight Only When Needed,” and “Know the Probability of Success.” Each chapter opens with a story from the world of bees, introduces a “Smart Money Lesson,” and concludes with an investment tip (Although the authors discuss specific companies they have invested in, they emphasize that the goal is for readers to understand the logic behind their choices, not follow them as an investment plan.) The beekeeping stories
are scientifically sound, grounded in observation and reflecting the reality of the honeybee life cycle. They serve as effective illustrations of frugality, efficiency, and resourcefulness, and the Svecs draw clear links between what the bees do and how humans can employ similar tactics in building up savings, choosing a place to live, and developing specialized skills. However, some of the book’s assumptions about economic behavior seem to favor idealism over reality; the authors repeatedly warn against living in expensive urban areas but do not explore how the town of 4,000 they suggest as an alternative might serve the same needs. Readers in the United States may be surprised by the book’s Canadian focus, which comes up frequently in the text, but aside from a few items, like the details of governmentbacked bonds, the book’s financial advice is broadly applicable to readers in all parts of the world.
A mostly solid introduction to financial topics through the lens of honeybees.
Van Den Hende, Carol Azine Press (346 pp.)
$32.95 | $19.95 paper | $9.99 e-book |
Oct. 24, 2023
9781958223000
9781958223048 paper
9781958223055 e-book
Trauma survivors reunite and pursue a future in this concluding book of Van Den Hende’s contemporary romance trilogy.
In a prologue set in the New York City subway system, Roy, who has “slid too easily from military veteran to unsheltered,” is pulled back from a suicide attempt by a stranger (entrepreneur Phoenix Walker) who is then trapped on the tracks himself. Nine months later, Chinese American marketer Orchid Paige, who is about to leave for a job in China, is asked by Phoenix (now with a prosthetic arm and prosthetic leg due to the subway incident) if they can “try again.” Orchid was traumatized by the death of her parents in a car accident when she was 12—Phoenix connected with her following his deceased jurist father’s directive to “bestow a good deed on one of my long-ago cases.” The couple developed a budding if skittish romance as they worked together on an ad campaign about veterans suffering from PTSD. After his accident, Phoenix “abandoned” Orchid to deal with his trauma and protect her from being triggered anew about her own. Now reunited, the couple advances toward a committed relationship as Phoenix goes with Orchid to China, where she creates visionary new products and a marketing campaign featuring the disabled. Concurrently, Roy emerges from his despair to cultivate new skills to help him locate the stranger who saved him. The author adeptly alternates between chapters focused on the points of view of Roy, Orchid, and Phoenix to convey three compelling journeys of post-traumatic recovery. The Orchid/Phoenix romance, featured in the previous two books of this trilogy, is the appealing main attraction. Van Den Hende beautifully dramatizes how this couple attains maturity
penelope’s big dream
in managing the new circumstances of their relationship by embracing positivity, resilience, and humor. She also weaves in various suspenseful subplots, perhaps setting the stage for a new series.
An engrossing, inspiring depiction of traumatized individuals growing amidst challenges.
Van Sickle, Kimberly Manuscript (162 pp.)
Sept. 12, 2023
A teenage assassin-in-training stumbles on dark family secrets and confronts an unforeseen menace in Van Sickle’s novel.
Hedy Hinterschott keeps a relatively low profile at the University of San Francisco High School. Eschewing parties and personal relationships isn’t her choice; it’s done for her family’s preservation—the Hinterschott ancestry includes generations of assassins going back half a millennium. Hedy’s parents have been coaching her and her half-witted twin brother, Gary, in talents befitting assassins.
This Issue’s Contributors #
ADULT
Colleen Abel • Stephanie Anderson • Ryan Asmussen • Mark Athitakis • Amy Boaz • Jeffrey Burke
Tobias Carroll • Julia Case-Levine • Morgan Davies • Dave DeChristopher • Coeur de Lion • Melanie Dragger • Lisa Elliott
• Lily Emerick • Katie Flanagan • Mia Franz • Roberto Friedman • Glenn
Gamboa • Geoff Hamilton
• Natalia Holtzman • Jessica Jernigan • Mikayla Kaber • Jayashree Kamblé
• Judith Leitch • Elsbeth Lindner
Don McLeese • Gregory McNamee
• Michael Magras
• Matthew May • Zoe McLaughlin
• Clayton Moore • Jennifer Nabers • Christopher Navratil
Mike Newirth • Therese Purcell Nielsen
Parker • Jim Piechota
• Carolyn Quimby
• Sarah Norris
• Amy Reiter
Gene Seymour • Maia Siegel • Leah Silvieus
• Connie Ogle • Mike Oppenheim • Derek
• Bella Rodrigues • Lloyd Sachs • Bob Sanchez
• Linda Simon
• Wendy Smith • Margot E. Spangenberg
Mathangi Subramanian • Amelia Weiss
CHILDREN’S & TEEN
Hedy meets Dave Corso, a fellow USF student who intrigues her like no other. Then she learns that her uniqueness—she’s the only Hinterschott female to be born in 500 years—comes from a horrific practice of her unusual family. As if this weren’t enough for a 17-year-old prospective assassin to handle, Hedy is abducted, though the motive isn’t immediately apparent. Are the kidnappers targeting a certain person she’s close to? Or is there another secret her parents haven’t gotten around to telling her? The story, aside from snippets of violence, is lighthearted. Much of it centers on the Hinterschott household, animated by the twins’ sibling banter and their grandmother’s German lilt. Hedy, who narrates, isn’t an instantly likable hero; she berates nearly everyone, from a teacher to Gary’s affectionate dog, with her brother taking the brunt of her incessant jibes (“You are too dumb to breathe”). However, she’s never outright cruel, and she proves bright and capable in all sorts of ways; the ever-vigilant Hedy “reads” strangers, assesses their threat level, and responds to them accordingly (“He’s a short man who approaches us with assertiveness. ‘You can’t loiter here!’ Little big-man syndrome. If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it a thousand times. Verdict: all talk, no action”). The final act amps up suspense when a villain steps into the spotlight. This narrative could easily serve as the first installment of a series that readers would surely welcome. A sly, unconventional household enlivens this edgy, delightful romp.
Vidalón, Mónica
Self (40 pp.)
$10.91 paper | $5.99 e-book
March 20, 2023
A child’s big, blue fluffy dream fills Vidalón’s book.
• Marion Winik
Nada Abdelrahim • Mahasin Aleem • Autumn Allen • Jenny Arch
Birdoff • Nastassian Brandon • Justina Bruns
Jeannie Coutant • Cathy DeCampli
• Sally Battle
• Timothy Capehart
• Dave DeChristopher
• Elizabeth Bird • Ariel
• Ann Childs
• Tamar Cimenian
• Elise DeGuiseppi • Ilana Bensussen
Epstein • Gillian Esquivia-Cohen • Heidi Estrada • Brooke Faulkner • Jenna Friebel • Nivair H.
Gabriel • Elisa Gall
• Laurel Gardner
• Carol Goldman
• Danielle Galván Gomez • Melinda
Greenblatt • Valerye Griffin • Tobi Haberstroh • Zoe Holland • Jessica Hoptay Brown • Abigail Hsu
Julie Hubble • Ariana Hussain • Kathleen T. Isaacs • Darlene Ivy • Wesley Jacques • Lenna Jawdat
Danielle Jones
• Betsy Judkins • Colleen King
Emmett Marshall
• Gabriela Martins
McKenzie • Zoe McLaughlin
• Patricia Lothrop
• J. Alejandro Mazariegos
• J. Elizabeth Mills
Emilia Packard • Hal Patnott • Deb Paulson
Justin Pham Vicki Pietrus
Riel • Kelly Roberts
• Danielle Pitter
• Amy Robinson
Silverman • Allie Stevens
Thomas • Wendy Thomas
• Lisa Moore
• Lesley Louder
• Joan Malewitz
• Breanna McDaniel • Sierra
• Katrina Nye
• Marguerite Penick-Parks
• Kristy Raffensberger
• Hadeal Salamah
• Tori Ann Ogawa
• John Edward Peters
• Kristen Rasmussen
• Caitlin Savage
• Mathangi Subramanian • Jennifer Sweeney
• Barbara Ward
• Angela Wiley
Winston
• Jasmine
• Sadaf Siddique • Karyn N.
• Deborah D. Taylor • Desiree
• Vanessa Willoughby
• Bean Yogi
INDIE
• Marion Winik
• S.D.
Alana Abbott • Kent Armstrong
Cassady
• Michael Deagler
Cierra Gathers
• Emma Benavides
• Steve Donoghue
• Carla Michelle Gomez
Liebenson • Maureen Liebenson • Corrie
Mokhtari • Andrea Moran
Bonardi Rapp
• Susan Breitzer
• Jacob Edwards
• Lynne Heffley
• Darren Carlaw
• Gina Elbert
• Jessica Jernigan
Locke-Hardy • Barbara London
• Randall Nichols
• Sarah Rettger
• Erin O’Brien
• Jeff Schwaner
• Charles
• Joshua Farrington
• Tracy Kelly
• Donald
• Collin Marchiando • Tara
• Jim Piechota
• Jerome Shea
• Judy Quinn
• Mo Springer
• Kristen
The sentient, smiling dream gives Penelope a sense of meaning and purpose in life, and in return, Penelope takes good care of it. As Penelope’s dream develops it grows so big that it begins to overwhelm Penelope’s life: It is too big to fit in cars, can’t get through doorways, and gets in the way of play dates. Penelope’s friends laugh at the size of her dream, which leaves her feeling embarrassed, so she decides to leave her dream in her bedroom from then on. Still, Penelope looks forward to seeing her dream at the end of each day. Soon the dream, feeling neglected, starts to shrink. One day Penelope comes home and can’t find her dream. She searches everywhere, finally finding the tiny blue puffy ball hiding in her dresser drawer. Penelope decides to again make room for her dream in her daily life no matter what people say. The author never explains exactly what Penelope’s dream is, nor whether it represents a specific life goal or simply a sense of hope: “After all, we all have a dream….” This ambiguity invites young readers to explore their own dreams and identify what they care about and why. The author’s own illustrations of Penelope with her fair skin and her cloudlike dream are bold and colorful, and the text is straightforward, occasionally employing fun typography for emphasis.
“A charming introduction to the meaning and value of childhood dreams.”
A charming introduction to the meaning and value of childhood dreams.
Virk, Rizwan
Bayview Books (372 pp.)
$14.95 paper | $9.99 e-book
June 8, 2023
9781954872103
Virk, an entrepreneur, revisits a 20thcentury spiritual classic.
Praised by readers who ranged from the Beatles’ George Harrison to Apple founder Steve Jobs, Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi (1946), per the author, was “the first and most important step to opening the door” of Eastern spirituality to Western readers. Using vignettes from his early life in India, Yogananda’s Autobiography was part of his lifelong quest to introduce yoga and meditation to the West, emphasizing that “ ‘God’ was not some external entity”; “God was self-realization, something that happened inside us.” As a successful entrepreneur, Virk is careful to emphasize that his life as a computer programmer, video game creator, and investor is very different from Yogananda’s—he has not forsaken the material world and certainly doesn’t consider himself to be a swami. Yet, on the “universal search” for spiritual fulfillment, he finds the Autobiography profoundly relevant. Distilling Yogananda’s tome into an accessible package, this book extracts the yogi’s more memorable stories into a collection of 14 lessons that are applicable “to our experience in the modern world.” While some of the lessons are deeply Eastern in their spirituality, covering topics from that range from karma and self-realization to the “ancient arts of bilocation, levitation and telepathy,” many combine the spiritual traditions of India with the scientism of the West. A self-described “modern technologist,” the author highlights the connections between Yogananda’s description of an “illusory world” and “the virtual worlds that we are now creating in cyberspace.” Many of the book’s lessons are also relevant to less spiritually inclined readers, providing guidance on general self-help topics like overcoming setbacks. Having written multiple books on entrepreneurship and Eastern spirituality, Virk’s writing style effectively blends engaging, accessible prose with a solid grasp on both Eastern and Western cultures that is supported by more than 150 endnotes. Incorporating 21st-century scientific breakthroughs in its analysis, this book is a fitting tribute to Yogananda’s mission to bridge East and West 80 years after his death.
A relevant, contemporary rereading of Autobiography of a Yogi .
Waterland, Teresa Mae
Illus. by Aletha Heyman
FriesenPress (145 pp.)
$3.99 e-book | June 19, 2023
Waterland presents an episodic children’s book about magical people, magical creatures, and grand life lessons.
While looking for amethyst crystals in Tree Forest, an accident causes magic-using fairy Auntie Hoolahoop to lose a wing and go falling through the clouds before landing under the nose of Mrs. Grupple, a sleeping yellow dog on Redbush Ranch. Luckily, her niece Quizzle, her friend Pinky Palm—an “everyanimal,” who is seen by others as a reflection of themselves —and Dragonfly and Hummingbird ensure everyone’s safe return home. The following summer, it’s time for Quizzle’s “flying up party” and she’s nervous about her command of her fairy wings. Pinky’s ordered a special present for Quizzle: a guardian angel named Titania with a magical whistle. A reassuring look from Pinky gives Quizzle the confidence she needs, and she flies into the party, then up and away through the ozone layer: “The Earth was as one body, populated with perfect little beings….Indeed, like waves in an ocean, they were each a different expression of the same thing—love.” On Halloween night, Wag the witch, angry that she wasn’t invited to Quizzle’s party, kidnaps Quizzle and Titania. The pair are terrified and lost in a dark tunnel until Quizzle remembers Titania’s whistle, which gives her some hope, and her fear decreases: “As their faith grew, the wicked witch began to shrink.” The creatures of this world are shown to learn things through experience, and a clear philosophy of love, empathy, and the mysteries of life connects each episode of the book. Pinky’s empathetic nature and his love for Quizzle lead him to find a new “me” identity without compromising his everyanimal abilities. Heyman’s black-and-white drawings with occasional colorful full-page illustrations ably decorate the narrative, which spans an entire year. Waterland’s prose features occasional cheeky rhymes, moments of humor, and detailed characterization—even of trees in the forest. No character is portrayed as completely evil; antagonists’ vulnerabilities are revealed, and foes often turn to friends.
A lighthearted book that blends magic with earthly themes and the loftier nature of all things.
those we leave behind: the cruelest crop
$15.79 | $8.04 paper | $3.99 e-book Dec. 27, 2022
9798371398185
9798364702326 paper
Winters presents a historical novel about a Southern family that struggles through grief and recovery after the loss of a beloved wife and mother.
It’s 1933, and on a small tobacco farm in Depression-era Tennessee, Ellie Felts has just died giving birth to her fifth child. Her husband, Harley, is left to raise a newborn daughter on his own as well as four sons, ranging in age from 2 to 12. Several months after the funeral, Harley arranges to take in the 19-yearold niece of the Gambils, a married couple the family knows from church; Sara, who’s visiting from Baltimore for a few months, will live with the Felts in exchange for taking care of baby Cassie and the younger boys. Cy, the eldest son, resents Harley’s bringing another woman into their home. Before long, however, the tender Sara gains the trust and love of all the youngsters, even as she comes to terms with her own troubles. Her parents have sent her to Tennessee because she’s pregnant and her wealthy fiance abandoned her. The story ambles at a comfortably languid pace until the town’s Independence Day celebrations, when Sara is assaulted by brothers Frank and Lloyd Mangrum, two local thugs. Harley and Cy come to rescue her, but she ends up rescuing Harley; this solidifies Sara’s status as a beloved member of the Felts family. However, it’s also the catalyst for a series of violent tragedies. Winters is an eloquent storyteller and skilled at drawing out suspense and adding twists just when readers think they know what will happen next. The dialogue flows easily, from Harley and Cy’s brief exchanges
to little Amos’ poignant baby talk, frequently capturing the family’s enduring grief over losing Ellie; at other times, Winters makes use of quiet to communicate the growing connection between Harley and Sara: “Again, neither spoke. Neither had to, silence sometimes has a way of going far beyond words, saying far more.” Despite occasionally verging on melodrama, this is a solid backcountry tale of family love and devoted friendships. A captivating mix of heartbreak, high action, and hope, with memorable characters.
Woo, Dan K. Buckrider Books (176 pp.)
$18.00 paper | March 21, 2023
9781989496626
In Woo’s novel, a young woman attempts to break free from her life under communist rule.
Little Comrade is unfulfilled. The young woman works 12 hours a day on a factory assembly line in the People’s Republic of Qina. She sleeps in a bunk house with other workers, including her best friend, Bo Bo, who teases her about her lack of a boyfriend. Little Comrade claims she’ll find one soon, but she isn’t very taken with her options. Indeed, she feels ambivalent about much of her existence—a perspective that puts her at odds with the state-mandated patriotism she should be feeling. To highlight this contradiction, the novel takes the form of a pamphlet put out by the Qinese Bureau of Public Affairs. The second-person narration addresses Little Comrade as a hypothetical standin for an entire generation of women: “You want to move to a nicer place like this ‘America’ you have heard so much about… maybe you have always felt this way, ever since you were a baby girl in your father’s village, before you got a job at the factory in the big city. Do not fret, this book can help you overcome that tiresome and unwanted desire.” The guide advises Little Comrade on how to navigate her relationships, check her ambitions, and learn to appreciate her motherland, but can she suppress her dreams of a better life in America without killing the best part of herself? Woo’s prose is deceptively nimble. While the format could easily feel gimmicky, it proves incredibly adaptive, capturing moments of beauty and sorrow in addition to the frequent flourishes of humor: “The inhabitants are still living there, growing vegetables in Styrofoam boxes…old grannies and grandpas with their teeth missing, with shrunken, shriveled bodies. You, too, if you are lucky, dear Little Comrade, will look like them one day.” It’s a short, devastating read, one that will stick with the reader long after it’s over.
An inventive, incisive novel about the psychology of modern China.
“A
FIREFLY LULLABY
Karen Weiss
An enchanting debut that captures the magic of nighttime backyard music.
Dave Fitzgerald
A cynical, misanthropic, foulmouthed novel that no curious reader will be able to put down.
THE YEAR OF FIVE EMPERORS
Robert Eckert
An entertaining sword-and-politics saga full of engrossing period detail and sharp drama.
THE POSEN LIBRARY OF JEWISH CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION: VOLUME 5
Ed. by Yosef Kaplan
A robust collection that sheds light on multiple aspects of Jewish history.
Jennie HeldermanMiller
At times a difficult read, but the humanity and McNeil’s indomitable spirit shine through.
THERE’S A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN
Martin J. Fenelon
A straight-talking and all-encompassing guide to assuming control of work in progress.
George Saunders is the winner of the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction.
The Library of Congress announced that Saunders is being given the award, which “honors an American literary writer whose body of work is distinguished not only for its mastery of the art but also for its originality of thought and imagination,” according to a news release.
Saunders is one of the country’s most acclaimed authors of short fiction. He made his literary debut in 1996 with the story collection CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, which was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. He followed that up four years later with Pastoralia
His other books include the story collections In Persuasion Nation and Tenth of December; the Booker Prize–winning novel, Lincoln in the Bardo; and the nonfiction books The Braindead Megaphone and A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. His latest book, the story collection Liberation Day, was published last October.
“George Saunders has an uncanny ability to reveal the complexities of life and death in his writing; in doing so, he points to the truth of our shared human condition,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement. “I am pleased to recognize his literary achievements with this honor.”
The Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction was established in 2008. Past winners include Isabel Allende, Toni Morrison, Colson Whitehead, and Jesmyn Ward.
Two authors are suing the artificial intelligence laboratory OpenAI, claiming that it used their books without permission to train its chatbot ChatGPT, Reuters reports.
The lawsuit was brought by novelists Mona Awad (13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl, All’s Well) and Paul Tremblay (The Cabin at the End of the World, Survivor Song) and filed in a federal court in San Francisco.
In the lawsuit, the attorneys representing Awad and Tremblay write, “[W]hen ChatGPT is prompted, ChatGPT generates summaries of Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works—something only possible if ChatGPT was trained on Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works. Defendants, by and through the use of ChatGPT, benefit [commercially] and profit richly from the use of Plaintiffs’ and Class members’ copyrighted materials.”
The writers’ lawyers claim that their books “were copied by OpenAI without consent, without credit, and without compensation.”
The lawsuit says that OpenAI engaged in direct and vicarious copyright infringement, unfair competition, negligence, and unjust enrichment. The attorneys are asking that the suit proceed as a class action and are seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.
OpenAI is at the center of other lawsuits. In June, a law firm initiated a class action suit against the company, accusing it of “data scraping” blog posts and other online material. And a Georgia radio host is suing OpenAI for alleged defamation, claiming that ChatGPT–generated text stated that he embezzled money from a nonprofit organization.
S.A. Cosby’s novels are more than gripping, gritty stories about crimes and who committed them. They’re dark and detailed maps to the landscape of the modern rural South, where racism, history, and poverty collide to create a fertile atmosphere for violence. The brutal beauty of these novels requires a masterful voice to do them justice. Fortunately Adam Lazarre-White, who has narrated all of Cosby’s work, provides a deep, haunting resonance with his performance in All the Sinners Bleed (Macmillan Audio, 13 hours and 5 minutes). He portrays Titus Crown, a former FBI agent–turned–sheriff of small-town Charon, Virginia. Violence is etched into Charon’s history, and when a school shooting sheds light on other unspeakable crimes, Titus finds himself tracking a killer whose actions are steeped in the town’s ugly past.
Cosby, whose sense of place and the time in which we live is strong and unerring, grounds this serial killer novel in reality and themes he has examined before with so much insight: the price we pay for violence and our inability to let go of the past. Lazarre-White’s unforgettable baritone matches and enhances that sensibility, reflecting Titus’ bone-weary anger and regret, guiding us through this brutal, gory, scary page-turner.
“Inside we all rage the same,” muses one of the hard, fascinating women who populate Ivy Pochoda’s Sing Her Down (Macmillan Audio, 8 hours and 33 minutes). She’s right: The four women in this fiery modern western about feminine anger, class, injustice, and violence are angry at an unjust world.
The story focuses on two inmates, Florence “Florida” Baum, who grew up wealthy but veered off her privileged path, and Diosmary “Dios” Sandoval, a scholarship girl from Queens who grows dangerously obsessed with Florida and is determined to unmask her as a savage woman. When the two are released from prison, Dios follows Florida to Los Angeles, where they are destined for a legendary showdown.
Acting as a one-woman Greek chorus to this inevitable face-off is Kace, another prisoner well acquainted with the dark side of life. Meanwhile, a cop named Lobos wrestles her own demons and races to stop the impending confrontation.
A memorable group of readers—Frankie Corzo, Kimberly M. Wetherell, Sophie Amoss and Victoria Villarreal—give voice to these women, highlighting their individuality in a way that a single reader might not have managed.
Adrian McKinty’s The Detective Up Late (Blackstone Publishing, 9 hours and 16 minutes) feels like a gift, the sort of present you weren’t expecting but love with all your heart. The seventh book in the series follows Catholic detective Sean Duffy’s last case as a full-time member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. As a new decade begins, Duffy is leaving for Scotland with his girlfriend and young daughter. But first, he’s got to solve a case involving a missing teenager—and contend with his own violent impulses.
The great Gerard Doyle, who also provides excellent narration for Mick Herron’s Slough House series, shows his usual versatility with nuance, allowing him to deliver Duffy’s cynical asides with flair but also to reflect Duffy’s poetic nature. His ability to elevate minor characters is unparalleled, too: If anyone else is better at sneering very Irish insults in a voice of menace, I don’t know who it is.
A beautifully illustrated holiday classic of hope , family , and finding your own magic for readers of all ages.
BELIEVE IN THE IMPOSSIBLE 10.31.23
