March 15, 2025: Volume XCIII, No. 6

FEATURING 298 Industry-First Reviews of Fiction, Nonfiction, Children’s, and YA Books

ABDULRAZAK GURNAH REVISITS HIS AFRICAN YOUTH

The Nobel Prize–winning novelist headlines our special International Issue

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

ONE OF THE GREAT literary discoveries of the past decade, for the English-speaking world, is the work of Clarice Lispector (1920-1977), the sui generis writer who was born in Ukraine but lived most of her life in Brazil after her Jewish family fled pogroms. Benjamin Moser’s 2009 biography, Why This World, sparked wider interest in Lispector’s life and work, and the publication, six years later, of The Complete Stories, translated from Portuguese by Katrina Dodson and edited by Moser, gave U.S. readers the full flavor of her elegant and unsettling prose. In a starred review, a Kirkus critic called the 640-page volume “long overdue” and “essential.”

For those yet to plumb the depths of that collection comes a more compact survey, Covert Joy: Selected Stories (New Directions,

March 18), with an introduction by American novelist Rachel Kushner (The Flamethrowers, Creation Lake). Lispector’s mission in these 19 stories, Kushner writes, is to “uncover the bizarre mystery of consciousness, to contemplate being while being, to apprehend life while living it.” The consciousness might be that of a housewife returned to her household after hospitalization for a mental breakdown (“The Imitation of the Rose”) or even a fowl who escapes her fate as Sunday dinner—briefly—by laying a fortuitously timed egg (“A Chicken”).

I’ve been savoring the unfamiliar cadences and unpredictable insights of Lispector’s fiction as we prepared this, our third International Issue. Along with Lispector, there are few

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writers who better embody the spirit of the issue than Zanzibar-born British novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, who appears on the cover and talks with contributing writer Gregory McNamee (see page 12) about his novel Theft (Riverhead, March 18). Gurnah’s fiction has been published in the U.S. since the 1980s, but the bestowal of the Nobel Prize in literature in 2021 brought new attention to his work and its brilliant unpacking of colonialism, revolution, and exile. Our starred review calls Theft a “tightly constructed family drama with surprising complications.”

One of my favorite discoveries of early 2025 is a jewellike Austrian import: The Café With No Name by Robert Seethaler, translated by Katy Derbyshire (Europa Editions, Feb. 25). In this novel, we’re given a vivid portrait of 1960s Vienna and its working-class inhabitants, among them Robert Simon, a war orphan who opens a café in the market square; Mila, the robust factory girl who comes to work as a waitress there; and René Wurm, the drunken wrestler

who awkwardly courts her. Our starred review calls it a “gem of a novel, whimsical and bittersweet but never sentimental, with indelible characters and a powerful sense of place.”

It’s always a pleasure to have a new novel from Australian writer Michelle de Kretser, who was born in Sri Lanka and now lives in Sydney. I’ve been a fan since reading her shrewd 2018 novel, The Life To Come. Since then, she’s been a Kirkus Prize finalist for Scary Monsters in 2022; her latest offering, Theory & Practice (Catapult, Feb. 18), is a slim, sly novel about a graduate student and frustrated novelist (we’re shown several pages of her stalled attempt) in 1980s Melbourne whose icons and ideals (Virginia Woolf, feminism) are tested by life. Like the many other international books highlighted in the issue, it’s a most welcome arrival from abroad.

Illustration by Eric Scott Anderson

TOM BEER

The International Issue

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“Rich personal and cultural history of a young woman in Berlin’s Belle Epoque.”

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Contributors

Jeffrey Alford, Autumn Allen, Paul Allen, Stephanie Anderson, Jenny Arch, Kent Armstrong, Mark Athitakis, Audrey Barbakoff, Robert Beauregard, Nell Beram, Heather Berg, Elizabeth Bird, Christopher A. Biss-Brown, Sarah Blackman, Nastassian Brandon, Jennifer Brough, Jessica Hoptay Brown, Kevin Canfield, Timothy Capehart, Hailey Carrell, Charles Cassady, Ann Childs, Amanda Chuong, Adeisa Cooper, Michael Deagler, Dave DeChristopher, Kathleen Deedy, Suji DeHart, Amanda Diehl, Steve Donoghue, Melanie Dragger, Eamon Drumm, Robert Duxbury, Jacob Edwards, Gina Elbert, Lisa Elliott, Lily Emerick, Ilana Bensussen Epstein, Joshua Farrington, Brooke Faulkner, Eiyana Favers, Margherita Ferrante, Katie Flanagan, Amy Seto Forrester, Mia Franz, Ayn Reyes Frazee, Jenna Friebel, Robbin Friedman, Laurel Gardner, Cierra Gathers, Fiona Giles, Chloé Harper Gold, Carol Goldman, Danielle Galván Gomez, Melinda Greenblatt, Michael Griffith, Vicky Gudelot, Tobi Haberstroh, Sean Hammer, Silvia Lin Hanick, Peter Heck, Lynne Heffley, Ralph Heibutzki, Zoe Holland, Ariana Hussain, Kathleen T. Isaacs, Darlene Ivy, Wesley Jacques, Kerri Jarema, Lavanya Karthik, Ivan Kenneally, Katherine King, Lyneea Kmail, Maggie Knapp, Andrea Kreidler, Megan Dowd Lambert, Christopher Lassen, Tom Lavoie, Judith Leitch, Maureen Liebenson, Barbara London, Patricia Lothrop, Michael Magras, Thomas Maluck, Emmett Marshall, Michelle H Martin, Gabriela Martins, J. Alejandro Mazariegos, Breanna McDaniel, Jeanne McDermott, Zoe McLaughlin, Kathie Meizner, J. Elizabeth Mills, Chintan Modi, Clayton Moore, Andrea Moran, Rhett Morgan, Christopher Navratil, Liza Nelson, Therese Purcell Nielsen, Katrina Nye, Tori Ann Ogawa, Hannah Onstad, Mike Oppenheim, Emilia Packard, Nina Palattella, Megan K. Palmer, Derek Parker, Sarah Parker-Lee, Deb Paulson, John Edward Peters, Jim Piechota, Christofer Pierson, William E. Pike, Shira Pilarski, Bridget Quinn, Kristy Raffensberger, Kristen Rasmussen, Matt Rauscher, Caroline Reed, Charles Reichmann, Nancy Thalia Reynolds, Jasmine Riel, Amy Robinson, Lizzie Rogers, Gia Ruiz, Lloyd Sachs, Bob Sanchez, Caitlin Savage, Meredith Schorr, E.F. Schraeder, Jerome Shea, Linda Simon, Laurie Skinner, Wendy Smith, Leena Soman, Margot E. Spangenberg, Mo Springer, Mathangi Subramanian, Jennifer Sweeney, Deborah Taylor, Desiree Thomas, Renee Ting, Lenora Todaro, Bijal Vachharajani, Katie Vermilyea, Francesca Vultaggio, Barbara Ward, Katie Weeks, Audrey Weinbrecht, Sara Beth West, Kimberly Whitmer, Wilda Williams, Vanessa Willoughby, Kerry Winfrey, Marion Winik

BOOKS THAT WILL TRANSPORT YOU

NOW MORE THAN ever, it’s good to be reminded that the U.S. is part of an international community, and there’s no better reminder than reading a novel or story collection from another country. Some of these recent books are explicitly political, while others delve into neighborhoods or private lives; all will transport you far away.

The World With Its Mouth Open by Zahid Rafiq (Tin House, 2024): Rafiq is a writer and journalist from Kashmir; his debut collection of stories explores life for ordinary people in the long-contested region. A man loses his job at a luggage shop but doesn’t want to tell his parents, who are grieving his

brother’s death at a protest. A clothing-shop owner thinks a mannequin’s face has an expression of terrible sadness. The construction of a couple’s new house is disrupted by the discovery of part of a skeleton on the site. Our review says, “Rafiq writes crisply and tenderly, with occasional flashes of humor and exquisite attention to the trials of day-to-day life.”

Oromay by Baalu Girma; trans. by David DeGusta and Mesfin Felleke Yirgu (Soho, Feb. 4): Originally published in 1983, Ethiopian author Girma’s novel illuminates the way the country’s military dictatorship set out to conquer neighboring Eritrea. It’s “part spy thriller, part melodrama,

roman à clef through and through…an exemplary anti-war novel,” according to our starred review. The book was not well received by the regime it criticized: Girma disappeared in 1984 and is presumed to have been assassinated.

Live Fast by Brigitte Giraud; trans. by Cory Stockwell (Ecco/HarperCollins, Feb. 11): This autobiographical novel is French author Giraud’s 14th book but the first to be translated into English; it won the 2022 Prix Goncourt. Looking back from a distance of 20 years, she chronicles the events leading to her husband’s death in a motorcycle accident—the errands he was running, the detour he made on the borrowed bike. What if he’d made different choices; what if she’d done something differently that day?

“Written with forensic precision and journalistic detail, Giraud’s elegiac novel is about the questions that

haunt us no matter how much we may try to rid ourselves of them,” according to our starred review.

The Café With No Name by Robert Seethaler; trans. by Katy Derbyshire (Europa, Feb. 25): In 1966, a Viennese man named Robert Simon, orphaned in the war, decides to take over the lease on a market cafe, turning it into a gathering place for the local butcher, cheesemonger, bill collector, and others. Our starred review calls it “a gem of a novel, whimsical and bittersweet but never sentimental, with indelible characters and a powerful sense of place.”

Wildcat Dome by Yuko Tsushima, trans. by Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, March 18): Set in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Tsushima’s novel revolves around two friends who are the mixed-race children of American GIs who abandoned them and mothers who put them up for adoption. “Part ghost story and part noir thriller, Tsushima’s narrative unfolds carefully, small details building even as Tsushima draws broad connections,” says our starred review. “A superb literary mystery.”

Laurie Muchnick is the fiction editor.

LAURIE MUCHNICK

Illustration by Eric Scott Anderson

EDITOR’S PICK

Three queer women discover that the internet really is forever.

It’s 1998, and teenagers Abraxa, Sash, and Lilith are making a video game. They’ve never met in person, but they meet online to discuss their plans for Saga of the Sorceress , inspired by a character from the Mystic Knights video game franchise. Abraxa, a brash trans girl, is responsible for the game’s art, coding, and music; Sash, a lesbian with a curt and serious manner, handles the writing; and Lilith is the level designer, struggling under the weight of the others’ expectations. Then Lilith suddenly disappears and Sash disbands the company the three formed to create the game, which is never finished. In 2016, before the presidential election,

Abraxa crashes at a friend’s house in Jersey City following yet another misadventure. She discovers a dilapidated church and begins squatting in its basement, reimagining the space as “what the sorceress is asking her to build.” In Brooklyn, Lilith works as an assistant loan underwriter at a bank; she constantly asks if she’s “pushing herself hard enough so that no one would categorize her as a problem, a queer, an aberration.” Sash lives with her parents, also in Brooklyn, and she lies to them about employment prospects while supporting herself via online sex work. She’s beset with doubts about her future and regrets about her past, communicated with immediacy and feeling through secondperson narration. The

pursuits that consumed them as teenagers have never let these women go, and their paths will soon cross again. Thornton has a skillful command of worldbuilding, both in the physical world and within chat rooms and 2D video games. She writes with profound, incisive authority about relationships, not only between trans and cisgender people—of one

of her bank clients, a wellmeaning but pushy cis woman, Lilith thinks, “Cis people didn’t like being reminded of the hurt places at the border between them and others”—but also about the dynamics that exist within trans communities, as well as among co-workers, families, and, perhaps most importantly, friends. A dazzlingly creative and heartfelt novel.

The Usual Desire To Kill

Barnes, Camilla | Scribner (256 pp.)

$27.99 | April 1, 2025 | 9781668062838

Two women do the best they can with their aging parents, a couple of British academics retired to France.

Though the title sounds like a murder mystery, in this case it refers to a feeling Miranda reports to her sister, Charlotte, by email, during a visit to their parents’ home: “You know what it’s like: the usual desire to kill.” That’s the sisters’ consistent reaction to spending time with their crotchety, ailing, brilliant parents (and their llamas, Lollo and Leonora). The portraits of Dad and Mum, delivered in the first person by actress/playwright Miranda, are the highlights of playwright Barnes’ fiction debut, along with the ongoing banter volleyed among all the characters. The book also includes emails between the sisters, letters written in the 1960s to someone named Kitty by “Your Loving Sister,” and a small number of sections written in the third person covering developments Miranda is not privy to. The book delights in arcane family rituals, code names, and practices: “doing the ducks”; characters referred to as DK (Dog Killer) and HQ (Headquarters); an apparently fictional sibling named James; the horrors of a finally retired chest freezer named Boswell, which was moved to France from England along with all its contents; a host of shared literary references, from Epictetus to Kipling, Shakespeare to Stevie Smith. Mum’s impending hip replacement surgery, to be performed in Paris, is the closest thing the book has to a plot—it occasions a gathering of all five family members, including Miranda’s 19-year-old daughter, Alice, at the parents’ home, where a few remaining mysteries are cleared up. Higher stakes would not have been a bad idea; as it is, the reader waits for something to knock these characters out of their patterns of humoring and needling and misunderstanding each

other and it just doesn’t come, making for a melancholy denouement. As long as you don’t get the idea that anyone’s going to change, you’ll be charmed.

Perspective(s)

Binet, Laurent | Trans. by Sam Taylor

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (272 pp.)

$28.00 | April 8, 2025 | 9780374614607

An epistolary novel of art, intrigue, and homicide in Renaissance Italy. French novelist Binet opens with a familiar trope, declaring that he’s stumbled upon a cache of letters from 1557 and 1558 that “form a tale so compelling that [he] stayed up all night devouring them.” The first letter, from teenage Maria de’ Medici to her aunt, the queen of France, offhandedly announces a mystery: The painter Jacopo da Pontormo is dead, according to her by his own hand. “What a drag!,” she exclaims in an anachronistic turn of phrase when moving on to her real subject, her father’s plan to marry her off. The courtier Giorgio Vasari, writing to Michelangelo at his Roman place of exile, has different news: Pontormo’s body was discovered “with a chisel embedded in his heart,” and with his head bashed in as well. Vasari ventures a theory, Michelangelo counters with another, and other interlocutors, such as Agnolo Bronzino and Cosimo I, the duke of Florence, have their own ideas: Pontormo was killed by an offended beau because he superimposed Maria’s face on a nude Venus; he was done in by zealous nuns who were followers of Savonarola and who, when interrogated, called all painters “degenerate sodomites with bestial morals”; one of Pontormo’s apprentices has killed his notoriously irascible master; and so forth. Vasari, a slippery fellow, turns out to have cat burglar skills as well as a nose for police work, announcing in the language of a modern procedural his conclusion that one suspect “brought together the three

elements necessary for a guilty verdict: motive, means, and opportunity.” It’s no Name of the Rose, but Binet’s yarn has plenty of entertaining moments as the would-be detectives rule out suspects and hone in on their quarry.

With a plot as thick as gesso, Binet’s latest takes inventive twists to arrive at a satisfying conclusion.

Dissolution

Binge, Nicholas | Riverhead (384 pp.)

$30.00 | March 25, 2025 | 9780593852163

With shades of Philip K. Dick, a dystopian novel that probes the darker corners of the mind.

Stanley Webb is in a bad way, as so many of his age: He’s in a memory ward, sinking into dementia, leaving his wife to tend single-handedly to a house that’s too large for her. Maggie—the true hero of Binge’s involving novel—is the second person to speak in the story; the first is a disembodied voice that announces, “I’m Hassan. Do you remember me?” Hassan offers an unsettling thought: Stanley isn’t suffering from Alzheimer’s, but instead, holed up in a nursing home cheerily called Sunrise, he’s having his memories selectively harvested. Someone is looking for something, that is, and that something goes all the way back to Stanley’s school days, when a madscientist tutor recruits him and two other teens, Raph and Jacques, into a secret project that’s designed to expand their memories—for, as Stanley brightly puts it, “If memory is what makes us human, then surely being able to remember more makes us more human.” Soon enough Stanley, competing with his friends, is memorizing pi to the thousandths of places, memorizing Shakespeare—Romeo and Juliet is an important leitmotif—and learning all about the concept called the apeiron, which, Stanley hazards, is “kind of like whatever existed before the big bang.” Fast-forward to an adult future, and it’s

A satisfying crime novel with a side order of romance.

now Jacques’ turn to play the role of mad scientist—mad with a bent toward some very apocalyptic ends and, as he assures Maggie, quite prepared to “roll Stanley in here and slice open his throat in front of you.” Time travel, mass extinction, the end of the world: It’s all here in a storyline that twists and turns like a spacecraft in a wormhole, rocketing toward an unforeseeable and unresolved ending.

A nimbly constructed story that starkly explores the dangers of neuroscience run amok.

Chloe: A Novel of Secrets and Lies

Briscoe, Connie | Amistad/ HarperCollins (288 pp.) | $30.00 March 18, 2025 | 9780063338562

When a wealthy man with a shady past sweeps into Angel’s life, she has to decide whether she loves him enough to vanquish his demons—most notably the memory of his dead wife. At 33, Angel has made her way to a high level of success through her own hard work and determination. She’s a sous-chef at a popular Washington, D.C., restaurant but for several summers in a row, she’s been hired as a private chef for the Harrisons in the Black enclave of Martha’s Vineyard. Though they treat her like the help, she gets both experience and exposure—and the occasional day off to enjoy sketching on the beautiful beaches. This summer, Mrs. Harrison has her sights set on wealthy widower, Everett Bruce, as a possible husband for her uninterested daughter, so when Angel trips over him

in a meet-cute, Mrs. Harrison is pissed. She wants Angel to understand that people like her are not in the realm of possible partners for handsome billionaires, especially ones who have recently lost their beautiful wives to tragic suicides. Of course, fate and Briscoe would like to offer a counterargument, and soon Angel is being swept off her feet by Everett, and when the summer comes to a close, he drops to one knee and proposes. Of course, not all is fairy tale ready: Everett turns out to be a workaholic, and all the money in the world can’t staunch Angel’s loneliness. Things get worse when they return home to Riverwild, the multimillion-dollar estate that’s run with an iron hand by Everett’s sister, Ida, and where his former wife’s bedroom is preserved like a shrine. Rebecca is a floating palimpsest in the background, but Chloe falls far short of the impact and dread of that classic. Ida comes onto the scene with a Mrs. Danvers–like disdain but doesn’t prove a worthy opponent, and the “ghost” of Chloe is all too easily banished in a rather rushed denouement. Money trumps trauma here—and guarantees a happily ever after.

Blood Moon

Brown, Sandra | Grand Central Publishing (448 pp.) | $30.00 March 4, 2025 | 9781538742983

A TV producer and a detective try to stop a strange pattern of young women disappearing. In “Auclair, Loooziana,” disillusioned detective John Bowie reluctantly meets in a bar with Beth Collins, producer for the true

crime show Crisis Point. She needs to interview him about the disastrous case of the missing Crissy Mellin, but he refuses. The teenager disappeared three years ago on the night of a blood moon and hasn’t been found, but a suspect hanged himself in jail after signing a confession. Case closed, says John’s boss. But John is convinced that their prisoner could not have been guilty, and he’s deeply upset at his failure. “The Mellin case messed up your life,” Beth tells him. She persuades John that Crissy’s disappearance is the latest of a series that happen on the night of a blood moon, the colloquial term for a total lunar eclipse. “It’s going to happen again,” she predicts. And wouldn’t you know, another blood moon is coming in four days. Tick, tick, tick. Beth’s boss at Crisis Point insists on airing an update on the case, but Beth knows the show is going to get it wrong, and its reputation will be ruined. Meanwhile, there’s an electric sexual tension between Beth and John that the author toys with nicely—do they, or don’t they? The answer plays out in detail more than once. The characters are fun if easy to pigeonhole: the detective angry at his failure, the honest (and beautiful) outsider eager to do her job but susceptible to love, the hero’s corrupt (to say the least) boss, and the ogre who carries out said boss’s dirtiest deeds. Even John’s dog, Mutt, plays a small but vital role. When John found him, he’d been “a flea-bitten hide wrapped around a skeleton that whimpered.” Little plot devices are easy to spot, like the phone that rings at a crucial moment, or the handgun that John places in Beth’s hand for her protection. Does Chekhov’s guideline apply here? The romantic angle leavens the dark theme, and readers will have plenty of incentives to turn the pages.

A satisfying crime novel with a side order of romance.

BLOOD MOON

For more by Sandra Brown, visit Kirkus online.

The Boy From the Sea

Carr, Garrett | Knopf (336 pp.) | $29.00 April 29, 2025 | 9780593802885

A surprise arrival at an Irish fishing town upends a family and community.

The debut adult novel by Carr opens in 1973, as a barrel carrying a newborn baby appears on the shore of Killybegs. The arrival of a Moseslike prophet? An infant abandoned by a desperate young mother? The novel’s collective narrator notes that the townspeople are open to various interpretations. After being passed from home to home, he’s adopted by a fisherman, Ambrose, and his wife, Christine, who name him Brendan. The boy’s arrival stokes resentment in his new older brother, Declan, and it intensifies the sibling rivalry between Christine and her sister, Phyllis, who’s taking care of their widower father down the lane. Neither’s sour mood will appreciably dissipate in the decades that follow. Carr’s depiction of this milieu is expert on two fronts. First, he’s gifted at capturing the excitement and tension of seafaring life, as Ambrose struggles to keep his beloved ship functioning and profitable amid high seas and an increasingly corporatized industry. Second and more important, Carr thoughtfully explores the ways Brendan’s peculiar origin story complicates a variety of family relationships, as well as Brendan’s own self-image—for a time in his teens, he and the community take the prophet interpretation seriously, and he delivers “blessings” around town. Declan’s decisions, as well as the sisters’, often hinge on their subconscious feelings about Brendan and need for Ambrose’s esteem, which Carr grasps as both liberating and constricting. Later chapters explore Brendan’s true provenance, but even without that information it would still be a sharp, well-made work about the complications of everyday parenthood and siblinghood. An intimate and psychologically savvy domestic drama.

Kirkus Star

The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne

Currie, Ron | Putnam (368 pp.) | $29.00 March 25, 2025 | 9780593851661

A matriarch struggles to keep her family alive and well in a drug-sick patch of Maine.

Babs Dionne, the hero of Currie’s bracing fourth novel, has a chip on her shoulder, and who can blame her? In 1968, when she was 14, she was raped by a policeman in her hometown; after she killed him, she was sent to a convent that helped her evade punishment, but that also separated her from her Francophone upbringing. (Her town, Waterville, has a neighborhood named Little Canada in tribute to its Quebecois roots.) Fast-forward to 2016, and Babs’ role as the town’s doyenne— achieved by running the community’s opioid trade, passively supported by police and religious leaders looking the other way—is starting to collapse. One of her daughters, Sis, is a meth addict who’s gone missing; her grandson needs rescuing from an abusive father; another daughter, Lori, is an Afghan war vet who’s shuffling between heroin and oxy. (We first meet her overdosing in a bar bathroom before a dose of Narcan saves her.) Meanwhile, a hitman for a rival dealer has arrived in town, ready to kill anybody standing in his way. The setting is almost relentlessly tragic and violent—oh, and there’s a meth-dealing serial killer on the loose—but Currie’s focus on Babs’ intense care for her family gives the novel an almost cozy temperament. “If you loved like Babs does, it would break you,” a friend says, and Babs exemplifies a family that loves deeply if not always wisely. The plot turns on Babs’ efforts during a summer week to resolve a death in the family, protect who’s left, and start a school

that’ll support the community’s dying Francophone culture. Nobody will confuse this for an Anne Tyler novel, but Currie has created a charming community to root for, even if, as the title suggests, all victories here are pyrrhic. A hyperviolent family saga with surprising amounts of humor and empathy.

Favorite Daughter

Dick, Morgan | Viking (368 pp.) | $30.00 April 29, 2025 | 9780593832264

An alcoholic father’s dying wish reunites two estranged half sisters in this debut novel. Learning of her father’s death from a newspaper obituary, kindergarten teacher Mickey Morris, born Michelle Kowalski, is not surprised that she’s not listed as next of kin; she hasn’t spoken to Adam Kowalski in more than 26 years, since he abandoned her and her mother for another woman and a new family. So she’s shocked to learn that he’s left her more than $5 million. The catch, as sad-sack estate lawyer Tom Samson informs her, is that Mickey—who struggles with a severe drinking problem that threatens her job—must complete seven therapy sessions before she can collect the money. The therapist her father has chosen is her younger half sister, Arlo, whom he has cut out of the will. Mickey and Arlo have never met, and neither knows that they’re related. This intriguing premise could have resulted in an outrageous situation comedy or tense psychological thriller, but Canadian author Dick instead creates a melancholy family dramedy to explore the nature of grief and the way two emotionally damaged young women can recover from the trauma of addiction and bad parenting. Unlike Mickey, who resented her absent father, Arlo adored and cared for

Daddy in his final days. But she too has denial issues, especially accepting responsibility for a serious professional mistake. While Dick vividly captures the chaos of alcoholism and its impact on family members and friends, Mickey’s continual poor choices and Arlo’s questionable ethics eat away at the reader’s sympathy. Indeed, the only appealing characters are 5-year-old Ian, Mickey’s favorite student, and Daria, Mickey’s artist neighbor, whom Mickey betrays in the most appalling way.

A thought-provoking but imperfect portrait of family dynamics from a promising newcomer.

The Correspondent

Evans, Virginia | Crown (304 pp.)

$28.00 | May 6, 2025 | 9780593798430

A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character. Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps

A deeply awkward British woman becomes obsessed

with her therapist.

HAPPINESS FOREVER

most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.

An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.

Happiness Forever

F aith, Adelaide | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (256 pp.) | $27.00 May 13, 2025 | 9780374608668

A deeply awkward British woman becomes obsessed with her therapist.

Sylvie, a veterinary nurse in her early 30s, is so deeply uncomfortable in her own skin that she never feels quite sure she’s a person like other people. That inner alienation, along with a bad relationship with a controlling boyfriend she hasn’t fully recovered from, are the reasons she tentatively decides to try therapy. As she explains to the unnamed therapist, “I don’t know…I feel like I shouldn’t be allowed entry, maybe. Like your house is in the world for successful people.” The therapist explains that there is no “successful

world” and “unsuccessful world”; there is only one world, and they are both in it. Faith’s debut novel revolves around Sylvie coming to accept that idea. Along the way, she becomes infatuated with the therapist to the extent that she can barely function during the 167 hours each week (she’s counted) she’s not in the office. The obsession revolves not around the therapist’s generic, anodyne insights but around her appearance, upon which Sylvie ruminates continually. In the attempt to figure out “which part of the therapist’s face was driving her crazy,” she creates screenshots of the various features. “She had wanted to work out how small a section of the eyes and the hair could drive her crazy, so she’d zoomed in on these sections, further and further”—at which point she goes into an ecstatic state, “where there is calm and there is certainty and in the certainty there is ecstasy, and for once she is a natural animal, and the world is just as directed, and it is beautiful.” This is the happiest moment in the novel. Meanwhile, Sylvie makes a friend named Chloe who seems to instantly understand her and love her, but this doesn’t have much effect on anything. Similarly, at one point we learn that her mother is dead, but like her brain-damaged dog and her friend Conrad in London, the information sits like a piece of furniture that is rarely used.

A strange and underdeveloped book.

The Unwanted

Fishman, Boris | Harper/HarperCollins (336 pp.)

$30.00 | March 25, 2025 | 9780063387447

A refugee family struggles to be safe, stay free, and reckon with its secrets.

Fishman’s first two novels, A Replacement Life (2014) and Don’t Let My Baby Do Rodeo (2016), were both comic tales about immigrants. His third, by contrast, is a determinedly somber affair. Set in an unnamed war-torn country, the novel centers on George, a professor and poet; Susanna, his wife; and Dina, their 8-year-old daughter. All three are considered “minority-sect,” prone to the abuses of the national leader’s dominant-sect. As a civil war intensifies and George seems to fall increasingly afoul of the authorities, the three plot an escape. At a refugee camp, awaiting an opportunity to come to the U.S., the family navigates a consular bureaucracy, poverty, and sexual abuse. George grows absent, while Susanna eats compulsively and finds work cleaning the consulate, desperate to be close in any way to those controlling her fate. Fishman’s tone in chronicling this experience is heartfelt and dour, deliberate almost to a fault—George has risked harm to himself and his family through a byzantine set of betrayals that confuse his family (and perhaps also the reader), the mood leavened only slightly with excerpts of his poetry. The story catches a spark in its final third, set 14 years later, as Dina attempts to assemble some of the puzzle pieces of her parents’ lives; the style shifts into a higher gear, acquiring the speed and lift of a spy thriller while clarifying unanswered questions. Frustratingly, the earlier sections lack that same energy; Fishman effectively captures the fear, malaise, and desperation that comes with others’ control of our movements, but it’s particularity a drag on the storytelling.

An informed, earnest, and at times labored tale of escape.

Fireweed

Haddad, Lauren | Astra House (288 pp.) $27.00 | April 29, 2025 | 9781662602900

A white woman searches for her missing First Nations neighbor in this debut novel set in Prince George, British Columbia.

When 24-yearold Beth Tremblay—a white college graduate— goes missing in the summer of 2001, the Prince George Citizen and the TV news are all over the story, and a billboard advertises a reward for her return. But when widowed mother Rachelle Murphy—“the only Indian in the neighborhood,” according to narrator Jenny Hayes—vanishes soon after, there’s no public outcry. That’s because when Indigenous women disappear, the assumption is that they’re prostitutes who have been killed on the job; as one of Jenny’s friends shruggingly puts it, “Squaws…Working the highway. Like the ones around Fort George Park. Occupational hazard, I guess.” Before Rachelle’s disappearance, she and Jenny, who is resigned to the idea that people see her as “white trash who never left PG,” were taking the first tentative steps toward friendship. (Jenny doesn’t tell her coal miner husband, who wouldn’t understand why she would want to have “a cup of coffee with the welfare mom.”)

Achingly childless, Jenny has witnessed Rachelle’s good parenting and is certain that her neighbor wouldn’t have just abandoned her two little girls at their day care center. The novel has the signposts of a mystery, especially after Jenny starts playing detective, and the heart of a social novel, given its preoccupations with

racism, classism, misogyny, and environmental havoc. The story could have used some tightening, and the reader’s patience may be tested whenever naivete or dopiness on Jenny’s part is required to steer the plot in a particular direction. But the novel doesn’t ultimately go where the reader will expect it to, and the occasional straining for simile is offset by the overall skillful prose throughout. A full-bodied awakening-toinjustice novel.

Kirkus Star

Hunchback

Ichikawa, Saou | Trans. by Polly Barton Hogarth (112 pp.) | $22.00 March 18, 2025 | 9780593734711

A disabled woman confronts her sexual desires in this debut novel. Japanese author Ichikawa starts off with a bang, as it were, with the heading that opens the book: “My Steamy Threesome With Super-Sexy Students in One of Tokyo’s Most Sought-After Swingers’ Clubs (Part I).”

That’s the title of an article written by Shaka Izawa, a self-described “more or less bedbound woman with a serious disability.” Shaka lives in a group home that she has inherited from her parents; she lives with a rare genetic disease called myotubular myopathy, which, she explains, means that “the blueprint for my muscle tissue was flawed. There might have been no dramatic degeneration, but that didn’t alter the fact that my muscles were incapable of growing, maintaining themselves, or aging in the

A disabled woman confronts her sexual desires in this debut novel.

same way as those of someone without the condition.” Shaka fills her days with distance-learning at a university, freelance writing, and posting provocative things into the online void—or so she thinks. A care worker named Tanaka discovers her posts, including one in which she writes that she “might as well start investigating sexual services for women” and one in which she says she wants “to get pregnant and have an abortion, just like a normal woman.” When she offers to pay him for sex, the encounter goes wrong. Ichikawa has crafted an unforgettable character in Shaka, who is mordantly funny and disarmingly blunt, and who critiques ableism sharply: “Japan…works on the understanding that disabled people don’t exist within society, so there are no such proactive considerations made. Ablebodied Japanese people have likely never even imagined a hunchbacked monster struggling to read a physical book.” The novel delivers with a fever-dream ending that Ichikawa pulls off beautifully. Some readers might be shocked by this brave novel; others might find themselves interrogating their own ableism. This is an absolutely stunning debut. Audacious, insightful, bold, and—with its critique of ableism—necessary.

Sleep

Jones, Honor | Riverhead (272 pp.)

$28.00 | May 13, 2025 | 9780593851982

The lasting effects of childhood trauma.

We meet Margaret in the summer before fifth grade, hiding under a blackberry bush in a game of flashlight tag with her best friend, Biddy, and their respective older brothers. Margaret wins, but when the kids rejoin their parents, her mother, Elizabeth, snarls, “You’re filthy,” and strips the mortified girl to her underwear in front of everyone. Elizabeth’s unpredictable mood swings are bad enough, but the nocturnal visits from her brother Neal that summer

are worse: He fingers Margaret’s body when he thinks she’s asleep, and she’s too afraid of upsetting Elizabeth—who tried to commit suicide after her husband had an affair—to tell anyone. Unsurprisingly, Margaret grows up to be a confused, conflicted woman. She’s devoted to her daughters, Helen and Jo, but divorced for reasons she can’t wholly articulate from their father, Ezra, a kind man who never understood the depths of her malaise. Debut novelist Jones nails the details of a dysfunctional family dynamic: Subjected to Elizabeth’s blatantly unfair criticisms, Margaret perpetually “thought but did not say” why they were unjustified; when Elizabeth is searching for a word and Margaret supplies it, her mother says, “No that’s not it,” and supplies an incorrect one; and Neal grows up from a molester into a smug, right-wing creep. Despite its emotional accuracy, however, the novel seems oddly distanced. This may accurately reflect Margaret’s inability to express feelings or recall past events unacceptable to her family, but it doesn’t make for compelling fiction. Descriptions of her sexual relationship with a new boyfriend (she likes to be dominated in a way that flirts with masochism) are similarly authentic but alienating. On the positive side are Jones’ nuanced depictions of Margaret’s relationship with her daughters and of her lifelong friendship with Biddy. Smoothly written and sharply observed, but curiously unengaging.

Kirkus Star

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter

Jones, Stephen Graham | Saga/ Simon & Schuster (448 pp.) | $26.99 March 18, 2025 | 9781668075081

A professor unravels a mystery from the darkest depths of the Wild West. Salvation comes in strange and uncomfortable ways in this ambitious, century-spanning American gothic by

Jones, drawing hard from this country’s deep well of trespasses against its Indigenous people. When 42-year-old junior professor Etsy Beaucarne is bequeathed a newly discovered, century-old diary composed by her great-great-great-grandfather Arthur Beaucarne, she thinks the Lutheran minister’s vivid tales about the frontier might finally earn her tenure at the University of Wyoming. As the framing device unfolds, we’re treated to two new narratives, the first being Arthur’s story of his ministry to a troubled Blackfeet Indian named Good Stab and the second being Good Stab’s own record of his long, strange life. “What I am is the Indian who can’t die,” he confesses. “I’m the worst dream America ever had.” Why it’s been such a long and memorable life quickly becomes apparent along with the Blackfeet’s extended teeth and thirst for blood. While a vampire Western could easily have become a farce, Jones crafts it into a rich tapestry that winds around questions of identity, heritage, and historical truth, all pivoting on a real historical atrocity, the Marias Massacre, where almost 200 Native people were murdered by the U.S. Army in January 1870. Jones never takes it easy on the reader but the trust he earns is rewarded in the end. Both Arthur’s and Good Stab’s accounts are authentically painted from their very disparate lives and cultures, so the shift can sometimes be jarring. It’s also a surprisingly slow burn for a tale with a truly visceral amount of carnage. Nevertheless, by the time the book winds back around, it’s as much an autopsy of institutionalized treachery as a demonization of its tragic and terrifying “villain.”

A weirdly satisfying and bloody reckoning with some of America’s most shameful history.

For more by Stephen Graham Jones, visit Kirkus online.

ABDULRAZAK GURNAH

The Nobel Prize–winning novelist revisits his native Tanzania in a complex family drama.

BY GREGORY MCNAMEE

Theft

Gurnah, Abdulrazak

Riverhead | 304 pp. $30.00 | March 18, 2025 9780593852606

A BOY IS BORN into an unhappy home, the product of an arranged marriage between a vivacious young woman and a much older man of local importance, “relentless in his demand for her body.” Disgusted and miserable, Raya finally returns to her parents, taking her son, Karim, with her—but then, seeking the excitement of a different life, leaves him to his grandparents’ care and heads for the bright lights of Dar es Salaam.

Another boy, Badar, is born in a distant village. When Badar is 13, his father unceremoniously announces that because he has no money, he’s pulling his son from school and sending him to the city to work as a servant. So it is that Badar, full of promise and yearning, winds up working in the home of Raya and her new husband, Raji, to whom Badar is somehow related—a matter, like so many elements in Adbulrazak Gurnah’s new novel, Theft, that unfolds through subtly revealed details.

Speaking with Kirkus by Zoom from his temporary residence in Abu Dhabi, where he’s teaching a course for New York University called “Migrant Poetics,” Gurnah offers one such detail. Asked how his novel came about, he hearkens back to his youth in Zanzibar, then a sultanate under more or less benignly indifferent British administration, now part of the United Republic of Tanzania. The movement for independence was growing in his school years, but it was a more personal moment that set the new book in motion.

“With novels there is always a little impulse somewhere that starts things off,” says Gurnah, who won the Nobel Prize in literature in 2021, “but it isn’t always the one you might expect. I remembered an incident concerning a young person, a teenager like myself, who used to work for a family, probably running errands for the family, doing jobs like that. He was pretty raggedly dressed. Those servants are usually quite young people, almost children.

“There was something unjust in this. You could see it. We were going to school, and you’d see these young people who, because their parents needed the money, did this sort of work instead of studying with us. I remember one of these young people, almost the same age as I. He was accused of having stolen sugar, I think it was, and was thrown out of the house and shamed.

“These things came back to me 40 or 50 years later, and I was thinking about the injustice of it. I tried to think of a way of doing something that would investigate and explore that. How would it come about? How would the person feel? That’s how I began this story.”

Just so, Badar is accused of stealing groceries from his employers and almost ejected from the household until he proves his innocence—not without difficulty. It is but one of many thefts that give the novel its title. Another is the wrenching end of Badar’s childhood, as he is torn from family and school and put to work with no say in the matter. Karim’s childhood, too, has been stolen from him, though eventually, as a teenager, he is invited into his mother’s home and slowly integrates with his new family. Therein lie complications.

“Thinking about that incident in my teenage years, about the injustice, was one thing,” Gurnah continues. “But then other things came up, and the story began to

grow beyond the time of [the country’s] independence.”

That great political change finds both Badar and Karim poised for very different lives, hinted at in the novel’s epigraph from Joseph Conrad: “In general it’s very difficult for one to become remarkable.” Karim blossoms into a handsome young man, gifted in his studies, glib, popular—and well aware of the effect he has on people. One is his future wife, Fauzia, who notices his swagger. Whether it’s a front to mask his lack of self-confidence or a sign of an arrogance that can only grow, Fauzia, as Gurnah says, “first assesses him as somebody who’s walking through the streets expecting to be hailed by people who would praise him. In a way that’s not surprising, since in a small place you’re self-conscious of having done things to stand out. It’s not necessarily bad, but some people outgrow that and understand that a little modesty and humility go a long way. And some people don’t.”

Badar, in turn, is nothing but humble, though he harbors a steady loathing for the father who cast him away: “[Badar] could not remember when he started to think of him as a shithead,” writes

Gurnah. For all his hard-earned hatred, Badar keeps his feelings deep inside. Well aware of his precarious situation as just another poor country kid in the big city—and often reminded of it—he becomes a servant of a different sort, a sub-sub-clerk in a modest hotel, just as the emerging nation of Tanzania has begun to attract both tourists and international aid workers.

“This was a very interesting time,” says Gurnah. “The 1980s and the early 1990s in Zanzibar and in Tanzania were very static periods. Nothing much was happening. But then the economy started to open up and foreigners began to arrive. This made many things possible, because now the autocracy could not operate in secret. It also opened up possibilities for people like Karim to begin to move on, to become part of this corrupt organization, the government.”

So it is that Karim, with the backing of the right people, finds a way to “become remarkable.” More thefts ensue, of money but also of happiness, ambition, honor. Yet there’s also the promise of a better future for Badar, who, having kept his shoulder to the wheel and his eyes downcast, finds a little corner of the world to call his own and someone to share it with—for, as

Gurnah says, smiling, “What’s a novel without a love story?”

Gurnah, who lives in England, has been traveling a good deal of late, visiting China, India, and South America, returning to Tanzania, and now working at his half-semester appointment in Abu Dhabi. He’ll return to England for the publication of Theft, and after promoting it—“television, festivals, and all that”—he plans to take the summer and fall to begin a new novel. Just what it will be, he’s not yet sure. When offered the suggestion that Theft is open-ended enough to admit a sequel, Gurnah laughs and says, “I don’t think so. But you never can tell. I wrote Paradise, and then 20 years later I wrote Afterlives, which takes up the story in another way. But I don’t think I have enough time for another 20 years’ pause before I do that again.”

Meanwhile, there are books to read. Gurnah cites Percival Everett, whose recent novel James he praises. He also points out the Rwandan writer Scholastique Mukasonga’s The Barefoot Woman “There’s just an enormous amount of good work out there,” he says. “There are so many stories to tell. It’s impossible to keep track of, really, but it’s wonderful.”

Gregory McNamee is a contributing writer.

With novels there is always a little impulse somewhere that starts things off.

SEEN AND HEARD

Sparks and Shyamalan

To Collaborate on Project

The author and filmmaker will join forces to create a novel and a movie based on a story that they create.

Novelist Nicholas Sparks and filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan are teaming up on a project, Deadline reports.

The Notebook author and the Sixth Sense director have joined forces to write an original supernatural love story that will form the basis of a novel by Sparks and a screenplay by Shyamalan. The film will star Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role.

Sparks’ debut novel, The Notebook , was adapted into a hit movie directed by Nick Cassavetes and starring Ryan Gosling and

Rachel McAdams. Several of his other novels have also been adapted as films, including A Walk To Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, The Longest Ride, and Safe Haven

Shyamalan is known for his spooky, twisty films, including Signs, The Village, and Trap. In 2023, he adapted Paul Tremblay’s novel The Cabin at the End of the World into a film titled Knock at the Cabin

Shyamalan will produce the new film with Sparks as an executive producer.

Sparks shared news of the project on the social platform X, writing, “Together, we’re co-creating an original love story and independently writing a novel and a screenplay that will hopefully surprise you, move you, and stay with you long after the credits roll.…This collaboration is a dream come true, and I’m so grateful for the chance to work with such extraordinary artists.”

—MICHAEL SCHAUB

Shyamalan: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures; Sparks: John Lamparski/Getty Images

From left, M. Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks

For reviews of Nicholas Sparks’ books, visit Kirkus online.

Book to Screen

Jeremy Allen White To Star in Enigma Variations Series

The Netflix limited series will be based on André Aciman’s novel.

Jeremy Allen White will star in a limited series adaptation of André Aciman’s Enigma Variations , Variety reports.

Aciman’s novel, published in 2017 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, follows Paul, a bisexual man whose life is marked by a series of love affairs and sexual encounters. A critic for Kirkus called the book “an eminently adult look at desire and attachment, with all the usual regrets and then some—but also with the knowledge that such regret ‘is easy enough to live down.’”

White, known for his Emmy-winning turn as chef Carmy in the series The Bear and for his roles in films including Fremont

and The Iron Claw, will star as Paul in the Netflix series, which will be written by Amanda Kate Shuman (The Blacklist , The Wheel of Time) and directed by Oliver Hermanus ( Beauty, Living ). White, Aciman, Shuman, and Hermanus are among the series’ executive producers.

Aciman’s novel Call Me by Your Name was adapted into a 2017 film directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer; the movie earned four Academy Award nominations.

White has another literary adaptation in the works: He is set to star as Bruce Springsteen in the biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere, based on Warren Zanes’ 2023 book. —M.S.

Jeremy Allen White

a review of Enigma Variations, visit Kirkus online.

Kirkus Star

The Names

Knapp, Florence | Pamela Dorman/ Viking (336 pp.) | $30.00 May 6, 2025 | 9780593833902

An imaginative exploration of the long-term unfolding of an abusive marriage.

Knapp’s debut is a kind of thought experiment focusing on the family of a British couple named Cora and Gordon, beginning with the birth of their second child, a boy who is nine years younger than his sister, Maia. In the prologue, it is 1987, and Cora and little Maia are off to the registrar to officially name the baby. Gordon—a respected doctor in the community, though a terrifying, violent tyrant at home—wants him named Gordon. But on the way to town, little Maia suggests he be named Bear, which “sounds all soft and cuddly and kind.” The opening chapter shows Cora making three different decisions: In the first section, in a rare act of defiance, she follows Maia’s suggestion. Next, she selects the name she herself most wants: Julian. Then she follows directions: The baby is Gordon. Each of the subsequent chapters—which are all divided into three sections—jumps ahead by seven years, tracking the consequences and implications of Cora’s naming decision until the boy is a 35-year-old man. If the intention and construction of the book are a bit didactic, expressly designed to illustrate and explore the dynamics of domestic abuse, the boldness and thoughtfulness of Knapp’s plotting add complexity and a welcome unpredictability. As supporting characters are added to each storyline, some appearing in just one, others in two or three, and as the main characters develop in different ways in each scenario, the novel’s structure pays off as Knapp intended it to, inviting the reader to think about not just the ripple effects of a single decision and the workings of an abusive family but also about a profound and classic concern of

An evocation of a grim future that is sadly believable.

WHERE THE AXE IS BURIED

fiction: How things we can predict and/ or control in life interact with things we could never have seen coming. This noteworthy debut explores a sobering topic with creativity, cleverness, and care.

The River Is Waiting

Lamb, Wally | Marysue Rucci Books (432 pp.) $28.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9781668006399

“Can a man who caused the death of his child ever atone enough to be forgiven?” That is the central question raised by Lamb’s novel of every parent’s worst nightmare. That nightmare becomes a reality for unemployed commercial artist Corby Ledbetter, who cares for toddler twins Maisie and Niko while his wife, Emily, works. One morning in 2017, Corby pops a couple of Ativans, pours rum in his coffee, plays peekaboo with the kids, burns the toast, and ruminates about his marriage, all before backing his car over Niko in the driveway. In these horrific yet riveting opening 12 pages, Corby’s narration is as blatantly unreliable—“It’s not like I’m addicted”—as his character is unsympathetic. His denial and self-pity are infuriating compared to Emily’s raw despair over Niko’s death. But during the course of the next three years, Corby gradually earns more trust. The first turning point occurs when he realizes that lying about his responsibility devalues Niko’s life, and he chooses to confess his intoxication to both Emily and the police. Found guilty of second-degree involuntary manslaughter, he heads to

prison for three years, the future of his marriage uncertain. The almost day-by-day recounting of his prison experience makes up the bulk of Corby’s narration. Expect familiar tropes: racist white inmates; sadistic guards; a gossipy gay cellmate who evolves into a genuine, trustworthy friend; a saintly prison librarian who gives Corby space to create art. Corby’s self-education about systemic inequality and racism, however earnest and accurate, tends toward the didactic. But Lamb expertly shows his arduous, bumpy progression toward maturity and creates equally complex characters in Emily and especially in Solomon, an emotionally fragile young inmate Colby takes under his protection, probably saving his life—an ironic parallel neither lost on readers nor overstated.

This sometimes-gripping, sometimes-labored story of grief, guilt, and healing is uneven, like the recovery it chronicles.

Kirkus Star

Where the Axe Is Buried

Nayler, Ray | MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux (336 pp.) | $28.00 April 1, 2025 | 9780374615369

Roll over, George Orwell: This post-apocalyptic dystopia makes Airstrip One look like a summer camp. Nayler’s sophomore novel is set in a familiar future world in which totalitarian orders rule, with recognizably Putinesque touches in what’s called the (né Russian) Federation, not least

an autocratic ruler who’s been running the show for decades. One of his victims is an author named Zoya Alekseyevna Velikanova, exiled to the Siberian taiga after having lost an eye to the security police’s rubber bullets. “Just like in Byzantium,” she says matter-of-factly, recalling that once deposed, rulers were routinely blinded. Yet she can see well enough to sense what she thinks might be a ghost—and is, in a way, a dead woman walking: Lilia Vitalyevna Rybakova, who’s got revolution on her mind. The twist in Nayler’s neoOrwellian world is that the rulers are now AI, part of a process called “rationalization,” and the AIs that run the (né European) Union are going haywire, raising energy prices to unaffordable levels and courting rebellion in the streets, including a Guy Fawkesian burning of Parliament: “Across Europe, power systems were failing. There had been massive data losses. No transport moved.” (We don’t hear much about the North American Union, but its tyrant has imposed a full communications quarantine: “They were intending to cut themselves off from the rest of the world.”) Lilia is in the thick of things, in trouble with the authorities everywhere but able to move around undetected, thanks to a gizmo that, she tells Zoya, “replaces you with what would be there if you were not.” All Nayler’s characters are well rounded, but the most interesting, apart from Lilia and Zoya, is the Russian bot-in-chief, Krotov—the power behind the president—who, with his algorithms constantly remade, seems destined to rule forever, forgetting, perhaps, that even Stalin couldn’t pull that off. And therein lies a twist… A richly detailed evocation of a grim future that is, sadly, absolutely believable.

Kirkus Star

Jane and Dan at the End of the World

Oakley, Colleen | Berkley (368 pp.) $29.00 | March 11, 2025 | 9780593200827

W hen dinner at California’s fanciest restaurant turns into a hostage situation…

Oakley loves an unlikely premise, but she’s outdone herself in her sixth novel, reviving the ambitions of her failed-novelist heroine with a truly wild series of events. The book is set during a single evening at an ultra-high-end restaurant called La Fin du Monde, located on a California coastal cliff. Its “million-dollar view” is upstaged by its $8.4 million dessert, which includes a diamond bracelet “and has famously been ordered only once, by a New York Yankees player for his wife, the week after his sext messages with a Southwest flight attendant went viral.” (Funny, culturally clued-in asides are thick on the ground.) Jane and Dan end up celebrating their 19th anniversary at this palace of excess when he wins a voucher he thinks is for a free dinner but actually only entitles him to make a reservation. Sadly, Jane’s planning to ask him for a divorce, partly because of some texts she saw on his phone but more because she’s just so bored with her life. But the boredom’s about to be over. Dan and Jane are barely through their first course (claw-shaped seafood concoctions that look “like they harvested them out of Sigourney Weaver’s stomach”) when a bunch of people in masks carrying assault rifles pour into the dining room. “Jane is no gun expert, but she did research various military-grade weapons when she was writing her novel Tea Is for Terror, about an evil gang taking over a high-end teahouse in London and holding everyone hostage and oh dear God.” Yes, somehow the leader of the climate activists is one of the six people who read Jane’s novel—and the evening has many other surprises in store. Though

the change in temperature of Jane and Dan’s marriage is not the biggest one, it’s nonetheless relatable and sweet. (Perhaps Oakley is celebrating the 24th anniversary of Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto, which also includes a love story? Fans of that book will enjoy the connection.) As much fun as you’ll ever have with middle-aged marriage and ecoterrorism.

Kirkus Star

Are You Happy?

Ostlund, Lori | Astra House (272 pp.) $26.00 | May 6, 2025 | 9781662603020

These nine startling stories capture the subtleties of feeling—and being made to feel—out of place. The protagonists blend into one another— most are queer women living in New Mexico and/or connected to Minnesota by a strained cord—but the situations they find themselves in are distinct. In “The Bus Driver,” a college student visits her austere hometown and runs into her childhood best friend, a young, hardened mother working in a chicken factory and longing to return to the adolescent trauma which set her down this path. “Clear as Cake” places us in a creative writing class led by Marvin Helgarson (always invoked by his full name) and populated by offbeat, hostile students. The narrator is struck by things “left over from an earlier life,” and how alien, even ridiculous, they can feel in this one. “The Stalker” exemplifies the current of hazard that runs through the collection, particularly for women and queer people: An adjunct professor begins to feel cornered by a student who insists on behaving inappropriately, in and out of class. The final story is “Just Another Family,” a novella featured in The Best American Short Stories 2024 and the standout of the collection. The

For more by Ray Nayler, visit Kirkus online.

protagonist, Sybil, returns home after her father dies to be greeted by her dysfunctional Midwestern family, a childhood bedroom full of rifles, and a urine-stained mattress. “My father spent the last year of his life discontinent,” Sybil narrates. “He’d always had trouble with prefixes.” As the aftermath of the death unfolds (and her mother’s mind unravels), Sybil struggles between the life her upbringing laid out for her and the life she’s made for herself. The disgust and fear these characters feel when confronted with unsettling moments or direct threats to their wellbeing is leavened by world-weary humor, materializing as the author lays bare the absurdity of everyday interactions. These stories are not comfortable worlds to inhabit, but they are precise and endlessly fascinating ones. Ostlund proves herself a master of the form.

The Imagined Life

Porter, Andrew | Knopf (288 pp.)

$28.00 | April 15, 2025 | 9780593538050

Porter’s new novel traces a son’s quest to find the father he hasn’t seen or heard from in 40 years and, along the way, to figure out his own— in some ways discomfitingly parallel—life.

Steven is now over 50. His modest career as an academic has plateaued and his marriage has gone stale, in large part due to his emotional withdrawal, a lifelong pattern he recognizes. Now, he and his wife have separated—“taking a break” is her preferred term—and he decides that to grope his way through this limbo he’ll need to do the longavoided work of excavating what happened back in 1984, when he was 12 and his father, a talented scholar and popular teacher, disappeared abruptly and permanently from Steven’s life after a negative tenure decision that came during a spectacular public crackup. As

Steven drives northward in California toward Berkeley and his young son and estranged wife, he stops off to interview his father’s brother and several former colleagues. Steven’s twofold goal is to learn more about the context and the causes of his father’s flameout—the onset of paranoid schizophrenia, a near-compulsive tendency toward self-sabotage, and a conspicuous affair with a male colleague with whom, for a time, the father cohabited in a backyard cabana—and simultaneously to reflect on his own awkwardness and uncertainty back then, as a kid on the cusp of adolescence whose parents were suffering. Steven is aware, and we become ever more so, of the ways his own life and troubles have rhymed with his father’s, and figuring out those stubborn, intricate connections is the goal; he is searching not for the missing father (if he’s still alive) but for the insight (to be found in the imagined life that emerges from memory and notebooks and interviews) that might help get Steven unstuck. Psychologically intricate and briskly paced, this is an unflashy novel but an engaging one.

Kirkus Star

What Is Wrong With You?

Rudnick, Paul | Atria (336 pp.) | $28.99 March 25, 2025 | 9781668068298

A very 21stcentury wedding brings together a thoroughly modern cast of characters…and a nice, old-school gay book editor. Whatever modern trend has got you down—political correctness, health and wellness, device madness, you name it—Rudnick skewers it in his latest comedy of manners. At its center is a lovely man named Rob who has recently lost his longtime partner to ALS. His best remaining friend is a personal trainer/action movie actor named Sean, whose flight attendant

ex-wife, Linda, is about to marry a kinder, gentler Zuckerberg/Musk master-of-the-universe-type named Trone Meston, whose devices have completely taken over “life as we fucking know it,” which also happens to be the title of a debut novel Rob has just gotten fired over, thanks to a young “sensitivity associate” named Isabelle McNally. There are a slew of hilarious characters and connections, remarkably easy to keep straight once you’re into it but not to be further detailed here. The whole gang, it turns out, is headed to Maine for Trone and Linda’s wedding, which will also be the product reveal of the most revolutionary device Trone has ever introduced. A few examples of the bacchanalia that are Rudnick’s sentences: “Isabelle sexually experimented with a Filipina who identified as a warrior goddess, a queer man who taught her about weaving wildflower penis wreaths, and a three-person collective dedicated to having sex with food to vanquish the patriarchal miasma long associated with eclairs and body shaming.” Elsewhere: “As Linda told a friend, ‘It was like sex with the friendliest robot, that only wanted to make me come and then fill out a response card. It was great because it wasn’t really like sex, it was like—eating one of those astronaut meals from a sealed foil pouch and realizing it really did taste just like filet mignon.’” The sentences that aren’t about sex are just as good. With regard to the names Bridger and Morrow, the boy-and-girl twins of Sean and Linda: Their names “sounded like a wine cooler, a law firm on a soap opera, or animated bunnies in a Disney film.” It’s the little things and the big things. Rudnick kills.

Packed with fun in every sentence, this book is the cure for your bad mood.

For more by Paul Rudnick, visit Kirkus online.

Kirkus Star

Love and Other Paradoxes

Silvey, Catriona | Morrow/ HarperCollins (320 pp.) | $18.99 paper March 11, 2025 | 9780063206441

In this timebending rom-com, an aspiring poet gets a glimpse of his future.

Joe Greene is an average student at Cambridge in 2005, struggling through his philosophy degree, dealing with the antics of his roommate, Rob, and worrying about his future. An award-winning writer as a teen in rural Scotland, Joe hasn’t completed a single poem since arriving at college, and with his all-important third year looming, he’s not sure he’ll ever become one of the world’s great writers. But when Joe meets Esi Campbell at a local coffee shop, his future is suddenly much closer than he thinks. Esi is a time traveler from 2044, part of a tour group that has come back to witness the famed poet Joseph Greene—considered a modern-day Shakespeare in Esi’s time—before he becomes a literary legend. Joe soon learns that his most beloved work will be a collection of poetry dedicated to his true love and muse, actor Diana Dartnell, a fellow student at Cambridge. Eager to rush toward his dream life, Joe asks Esi to help him and Diana get together. Esi agrees, but she has her own motive for traveling back in time, and it has nothing to do with meeting Joe: She’s determined to alter the timeline that leads to her mother’s untimely death. As both struggle to create the futures they’re desperate to have—Joe can’t seem to summon romance with Diana, and Esi’s mother remains elusive around campus—they must contend with big questions about fate, free will, and their growing feelings for each other. While the mechanics of time travel are a bit blurry, the author is deft at grounding the big

This

novel

Slocumb

should catapult

into the upper echelon of thriller authors.

THE DARK MAESTRO

ideas in small moments of compelling writing, witty banter, sweet chemistry, and universal questions about what makes a life well lived.

This fresh, fascinating take on love in the age of time travel would be a hit in any timeline.

Kirkus Star

The Dark Maestro

Slocumb, Brendan | Doubleday (416 pp.)

$28.00 | May 13, 2025 | 9780593687611

A cello prodigy takes on merciless criminals. The latest classical music–themed thriller from Slocumb follows Curtis Wilson, who grows up in Washington, D.C., with Zippy, his drug-dealer father, and Larissa, Zippy’s on-again, off-again girlfriend. Curtis loves two things: comic books and the cello, which he plays at a startlingly advanced level. Zippy gets busted for selling drugs and goes to prison while Curtis continues his ascent as a musical prodigy, earning a scholarship to Juilliard; when Zippy is released, he leaves behind his drug-dealing life—for an even sketchier, and more illegal, blackmarket scheme. Zippy gets busted again, this time by the FBI, and agrees to cooperate with the feds to bring down his bosses, but things go south, and the family enters the witness protection program, hoping to stay safe from Zippy’s vengeful employers. Curtis chafes against his forced anonymity: “Music had been his way

of connecting….How could he talk to people, how could he explain how he felt and make them like him, without music? It just didn’t seem possible.” Eventually, he realizes he’ll need to take down the criminals himself, with the help of Zippy, Larissa, and a comic book character he originally created as a child. This is an intricately plotted novel, paced perfectly by Slocumb, who keeps the book moving at a breakneck speed—but not at the expense of his beautifully drawn characters. Curtis, shy and sweet, is especially memorable; Slocumb paints a beautiful picture of the young man’s internal life. The final act of the book strains credulity, but who cares when you’re having so much fun? This novel should catapult Slocumb into the upper echelon of thriller authors.

A virtuosic thriller.

Optional Practical Training

Sunder, Shubha | Graywolf (256 pp.) | $17.00 paper | March 4, 2025 | 9781644453247

A recent college graduate from India embarks on her first year as a teacher in the U.S. Pavitra moves from Philadelphia, where she earned her degree, to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where a private school has agreed to sponsor her visa for a year. While she’s certified to teach physics, her passion is creative writing, and she’s also drafting her first novel. Over the course of the book, Pavitra has conversations with people of myriad backgrounds and ages: her landlord; her boss; her colleagues;

friends from her time growing up in Bangalore to her college years in Pennsylvania; a cousin who visits Boston; a neighbor she dates; other teachers she meets at an education conference; and a more seasoned writer at an artists’ retreat. For some reason, these characters pontificate and confide in this young woman. She does little to elicit their engagement. Perhaps that’s the point; people talk at her at length—about Indian weddings, food, traffic, weather, caste, yoga, globalization, privilege, colonialism, home and belonging, cultural appropriation, norms, differences, expectations, and so much more—and Pavitra is there to receive it. The novel takes place in 2006, but aside from these soliloquies, the story does little to capture what those post 9/11 years felt like or offer any benefit of hindsight. As a high school teacher, Pavitra spends most of her time with teenagers who aren’t that much younger than she is, but author Sunder almost never shows her with them, even as Pavitra’s visa hinges on her performance as an educator in a system in which she was not educated. Toward the end of the book, Pavitra is accepted into a competitive artists retreat, though Sundar offers little about her artistic concerns or capabilities, not even a mention of what her writer’s statement or work sample might have entailed. Even meeting the book’s conceit on its own terms, too often it feels like the author is a ventriloquist using characters to share competing ideas from 20 years ago. Something dramatic finally happens at the end of the book, a big swing to be admired structurally, but one that has nowhere to land. Various monologues that don’t quite add up to a plot.

Kirkus Star

Thrilled to Death: Selected Stories

Tillman, Lynne | Soft Skull Press (320 pp.) $27.00 | March 25, 2025 | 9781593767198

The stories Tillman assembles in this carefully chosen selection are emblematic of her career-long revolution against the constraints of traditional narrative.

In the opening work, “Come and Go,” three unrelated people bustle through the teeming streets of New York City, bumping into each other randomly in the green market, in a hospital, on the street, only to have their stories be interrupted by the author, who sees herself not as the God of these little fictions but as no more and no less than “someone who tells things.” In “Dead Talk,” the narrator announces, “I am Marilyn Monroe and I’m speaking from the dead,” and proceeds to alternate seamlessly between the perspectives of the third-person Marilyn, who existed as a commodity for the viewer, and the first-person Marilyn, a deeper, richer, and ultimately more imaginary being. As explosive as Tillman’s structural experiments can be, her characters are absorbingly human, invested in their lives and the details of their worlds while staying attuned to the nuanced disequilibrium of their inner landscapes. In the title story, another ensemble cast of characters is brought together, this time by a carnival where their day ends in fire, blood, lust, and the formation of an

A trans man and his chosen family struggle for survival during World War II.

LILAC

indelible memory that one of the group, Paige Turner, carries with her into old age; though she’s “never completely understood” it, she regards its telling as akin to “a fable or a myth, whose truth or falsehood was hers to cherish.” This mutability—of the psyche, of memory, of relationships, of identity—is seen in story after story as characters cloak themselves in personas they don and discard freely, and as the stories themselves shift and change. Tillman delights in exploring the limits of what’s possible within the short story form. The answer, it appears, is absolutely anything.

A rich selection of stories spanning Tillman’s singular career.

The Lilac People

Todd, Milo | Counterpoint (320 pp.)

$27.00 | April 29, 2025 | 9781640097032

A trans man and his chosen family struggle for survival during World War II (and after). Bertie, a trans man, spends his days working at Berlin’s Institute for Sexual Science and his evenings enjoying the relative social freedom that prevails in the waning days of the Weimar Republic. When Hitler ascends to power, the trans community, along with others in Berlin’s vibrant gay community, are threatened by a loss of rights and burgeoning waves of street violence. Bertie and his girlfriend, Sofie, flee the city to eke out a subsistence living for the duration of World War II on a rural farm near Ulm. Originally owned by the grandparents of Bertie’s close friend Gert, the farm eventually falls to Bertie and Sofie after the welcoming, sheltering older couple dies. Shortly after Allied forces occupy the area, Karl, a frail trans man who’s escaped from Dachau, seeks shelter with Bertie and Sofie and reports the terrifying news that Allied forces are

continuing—postwar—to penalize members of the “third sex” community with imprisonment under Third Reich codes of public conduct. Rather than enjoying relief from the horrors and privations of war, the close-knit trio must find ways to shield the men’s trans identities while making their way to safety in a more tolerant environment. Todd’s detailed narrative conveys the terrors and uncertainties of life during wartime: the inability to trust even close neighbors or loved ones’ true identity; the fear of attack; the wrenching horror of trying to make sense of who lived and died. The ambitions and joys of Berlin’s queer community are equally well drawn. The book is populated with historical figures, notably Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, pioneering sexologist and founder of the Institute for Sexual Science.

Todd vividly illustrates the power of love and community in the face of oppression.

The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits

Weiner, Jennifer | Morrow/ HarperCollins (384 pp.) | $30.00 April 8, 2025 | 9780063445819

In the early aughts, two sisters start a band that catapults them to fame and tears them apart.

Zoe Grossberg always wanted to be a famous pop star—but it was her sister, Cassie, who had the voice everyone noticed. While Zoe longed for the spotlight, though, Cassie never wanted to be seen, hiding behind her piano and under layers of clothing. Cassie’s voice couldn’t be hidden quite so easily, and eventually the sisters were discovered, signed to a label, and promoted as The Griffin Sisters. In the early 2000s, they were as famous as any teen pop star, but they only produced one album before breaking up. Twenty years later, the

A heartfelt look at sisterhood and forgiveness.

THE GRIFFIN SISTERS’ GREATEST HITS

sisters don’t speak and have completely different lives. Zoe is a housewife in New Jersey while Cassie is secretly living in Alaska, where no one knows she can sing. But when Zoe’s daughter, Cherry, starts pursuing her own singing career, she tries to hunt Cassie down. She discovers more than just Cassie—she uncovers the entire history of the band, including the truth behind what happened to Russell D’Angelo, the bandmate who came between her mother and aunt. Weiner deftly explores the pop landscape of the early 2000s, when public bodyshaming was even more prevalent than it is now. Zoe and Cassie are both realistic and flawed characters, each with their own challenges. Zoe knows that although she’s the prettier sister, she’ll never be talented like Cassie, and Cassie struggles with the size of her body and longs to hide from the audience, despite her miraculous voice. Theres’s a compelling and dramatic love triangle here, too, but the true love story is between two sisters and their music.

A heartfelt look at sisterhood, forgiveness, and the courage it takes to follow your dreams.

The Set Up

Wynn, Jon | Belt Publishing (310 pp.) | $20.00 paper | May 20, 2025 | 9781953368942

In this offbeat Las Vegas noir, a struggling actress, a discredited journalist, and a service-industry dropout are drawn into a dangerous plot involving a mysterious marketing outfit.

The Set Up, as the outfit is called, is “a multi-level marketing scheme, preying on a loose and competitive community of unsuccessful actors.”

Tired of failed auditions and her barista job, sharp-tongued Ally Parks accepts an offer to be a “brand ambassador,” which requires her to approach potential sales targets in the guise of different “characters.”

Marshall Grant, a one-time newspaper reporter now teaching a summer journalism class, is gradually drawn into the plot after someone leaves on his lectern a copy of a damagingly inaccurate article about a supposed suicide he wrote 30 years ago—a death, his students charge, from which he benefited. Then there is former waiter Web, a Set Up employee who first discovered Ally and becomes responsible for keeping an eye on her. At first, Ally enjoys the easy money she makes. But the more roles she plays and the more personally involved she gets with people she encounters, the shadier things get. After an influential developer dies unexpectedly at a bar mitzvah Ally attends, everyone’s innocence and identity is called into question, including hers. Wynn, a sociology professor, knows his Vegas. He brings to his first novel an enjoyably edgy voice and dry humor, but he is unable to make his overly clever premise tick. He clearly loves the idea of the Set Up, but the reader struggles to make sense of it and, in the end, so do his characters.

A promising but ultimately off-putting debut.

For another novel from Belt Publishing, visit Kirkus online.

Finalists for the Inside Literary Prize Revealed

The award is judged by people serving time in U.S. prisons.

The finalists for the Inside Literary Prize, the award judged by people serving time in U.S. prisons, has been revealed.

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah was named a finalist for

For more books with awards buzz, visit Kirkus online.

AWARDS

Chain-Gang All-Stars, his novel about two incarcerated women who are forced to participate in televised duels to the death.

Paul Harding made the shortlist for This Other Eden, previously a Pulitzer Prize winner. The other books named finalists were Blackouts by Justin Torres, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist, and On a Woman’s Madness, written by Astrid Roemer and translated by Lucy Scott.

All four books were finalists for the National Book Award; Torres won the prize in 2023. The Inside Literary Prize was launched last year by the National Book Foundation,

which hosts the National Book Awards; Freedom Reads; and the Center for Justice Innovation; alongside bookseller and podcaster Lori Feathers. The inaugural winner of the prize was Imani Perry for South to America: A Journey Below the MasonDixon To Understand the Soul of a Nation

This year’s award will be judged by 300 incarcerated people serving time in 12 prisons across the United States. Phillip Smith, one of last year’s judges and a member of this year’s selection committee, said that he hopes that “the works

the committee selected will entertain the judges and introduce them to a world they may have never known otherwise.”

The winner of this year’s award will be announced in June.

—M.S.

From left, Paul Harding, Astrid Roemer, and Justin Torres

MORE TO CHECK OUT WHILE YOU WAIT:

After He’s Gone by Katherine Bolger Hyde (Severn House)

The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier, trans. by Daniel Levin Becker (Transit House)

The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins (Mariner Books)

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi (Gillian Flynn/Zando)

Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda (Marysue Rucci Books)

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci French (Morrow/HarperCollins)

Hot Springs Drive by Lindsay Hunter (Roxanne Gay Books/Grove)

Knife River by Justine Champine (Dial Press)

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera (Celadon Books)

No One Can Know by Kate Alice Marshall (Flatiron Books)

Off the Deep End by Lucinda Berry (Thomas & Mercer)

Perfectly Nice Neighbors by Kia Abdullah (Putnam)

She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica (Park Row Books)

You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen (Dutton)

Zero Days by Ruth Ware (Scout Press/Simon & Schuster)

Cut the Line

Looking for heart-pounding thrillers in the vein of Freida McFadden? We have more than a few ideas.

BY MEGAN LABRISE

On Kirkus’ second “Cut the Line: Readers’ Advisory” webinar, presented in partnership with Ingram Library Services, we explore a range of read-alikes for Frieda McFadden’s The Crash (Poisoned Pen, Jan. 28), a new standalone psychological thriller from the bestselling author of The Housemaid . While you’re waiting for The Crash —a book with 6,700 holds across seven of the country’s largest library systems—we’ve got a list of amazing, thought-provoking psychological thrillers to give you an adrenaline rush. First, we’re joined by Amanda Wussow, one of the collection development librarians for Ingram Library Services, who presents a slew of Kirkus-recommended titles to read right now. Then, in a panel discussion, I speak with three thriller writers about genre, suspense, social issues, and their latest novels. Here’s an introduction to each of them:

Jessie Garcia, author of The Business Trip (St. Martin’s, Jan. 14), is an award-winning sports journalist whose career in TV news has run the gamut from anchor/reporter to management. She is the news director at CBS 58 in Milwaukee and the author of three nonfiction books, including Going for Wisconsin Gold , a 2016 Midwest Book Award finalist. The Business Trip is a gripping, binge-worthy debut about two strangers on a plane who disappear after meeting the same man. Kirkus calls it “a thriller that will keep you guessing with unexpected plot twists.”

Araminta Hall’s latest novel is One of the Good Guys (Gillian Flynn/ Zando, 2024). She is the U.K.-based author of several novels, including Our Kind of Cruelty and Imperfect Women . She holds an M.A. in

creative writing and authorship from the University of Sussex and teaches creative writing at New Writing South in Brighton. One of the Good Guys asks: If most men claim to be good, why are most women still afraid to walk home alone at night? Kirkus calls it “a fascinating read.” Katia Lief is the author of Invisible Woman (Atlantic Monthly, 2024). She’s also the author of A Map of the Dark and Last Night , published under the pseudonym Karen Ellis, as well as the bestselling novels Five Days in Summer, One Cold Night , and The Money Kill , which was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. In Invisible Woman , a dangerous secret held for too long between estranged best friends rises to the surface, and a long marriage comes apart with devastating consequences. Kirkus: “Absolutely a novel of its time—and a novel of women’s stories across time” (starred review).

Megan Labrise hosts Kirkus’ Fully Booked podcast.

To watch a video of the session, visit the Kirkus YouTube page.

Plenty of red herrings and interesting information on all aspects of coffee.

FATAL BROUHAHA

Dying To Read

Cahoon, Lynn | Lyrical Press (224 pp.)

$18.95 paper | May 6, 2025 | 9781516111718

A breast cancer survivor lives life to the fullest while solving a mystery at the local memory care center—though the biggest mystery might be that of her retreating boyfriend.

As the owner of a new bookstore appropriately named the Next Chapter, Rarity Cole is truly in the next chapter of her life. Having kicked her ex Kevin to the curb (or maybe it was the other way around) because he wasn’t supportive while she was being treated for cancer, Rarity is ready for a life in which she truly appreciates what she has. And does she ever. She’s thankful for her bookstore; the wonderful friends she’s made in her chosen home of Sedona, Arizona; her dog baby, a Yorkie named Killer; and her beau, Archer Ender, who’s all but moved into her home. Well, until he hasn’t. Archer, who’s usually evenkeeled and dependable, suddenly backs away from Rarity and won’t say why. Though she wants answers, Rarity knows that pushing isn’t a good idea, so she turns her attention to other pursuits. There’s the drama of Rarity’s employee Shirley Prescott, who’s being pursued romantically by one of Sedona Memory Care’s security personnel, which wouldn’t be a problem except that Shirley’s husband, George, is a client of the facility. And then there are the rare books that Rarity’s been stumbling on so regularly that it’s almost as if someone has set them out for her to find. A tragedy at Sedona Memory Care engages

Rarity’s knack for solving mysteries, even if she can’t seem to solve the mystery of Archer’s disengagement. Predictable isn’t a bad thing in a series about a cancer survivor.

Fatal Brouhaha

Duncan, Emmeline | Kensington (240 pp.) $17.95 paper | April 29, 2025 | 9781496744906

A Fourth of July festival turns deadly in Portland, Oregon. Ground Rules Coffee, owned by Sage Caplin and her business partner, Harley, has teamed up with Doyle’s Oregon Whiskey to introduce canned Irish coffee at a festival being held at the distillery. Mark Jeffries, the owner of rival coffee company Left Coast Grinds, has long been a thorn in Sage’s side; an adequate coffee roaster on his own, he stole Harley’s award-winning mix, and he’s known for hitting on his young female employees. Mark was turned down for the festival, but he manages to sneak in one product by sharing the booth of Dulcinea Chocolates & Gourmet Candies. Because Sage doesn’t want to turn him into a martyr, she asks the Doyle brothers to let him stay. She wasn’t counting on Harley to get into a loud fight with him at the Dulcinea booth. The first day of the festival seems to go well, as Sage’s baristas easily handle their coffee cart. But that all ends when she and her team find Mark dead in the parking lot next to the Ground Rules car. Given the number of murders she’s solved and a brother who’s an attorney, Sage has no trouble slipping into investigative mode. She fills the

police in on Mark’s background but realizes that Harley, who’s ghosting her, is sure to be the prime suspect. Since his ex-wives only head the long list of people angry with Mark, it will be difficult for Sage to pin down a motive.

Plenty of red herrings, loads of interesting information on all aspects of coffee, and, of course, recipes.

Hidden in Smoke

Goldberg, Lee | Thomas & Mercer (302 pp.)

$28.99 | April 22, 2025 | 9781662526466

A n alarming string of auto fires marks only the beginning of the latest caseload for LA County arson investigators Andrew Walker and Walter Sharpe. During a single night, someone sets fire to a number of cars in Hollywood and West Hollywood, some of which spread from the carports to the buildings above them. The discovery of the remains of several artificial fireplace logs under the ruined vehicles makes the method clear enough, but what’s the motive? Pulling jurisdictional rank over LAFD investigators Al Scruggs and Pete Caffrey, Walker and Sharpe quickly identify a promising suspect. Just as they’re about to close the case, though, they’re pulled off it to look into an even bigger one, a massive fire along the Santa Monica Freeway that’s already displaced hundreds of squatters and dozens of small businesses. Worse still, contractor George Petroni, who’s signed on to restore the area, has already cleared the scene of any forensic evidence. As they reach out to Det. Eve Ronin and her partner, Det. Duncan Pavone, for help, Walker and Sharpe have no idea that still another challenge awaits them: the return of Danny Cole, the con man who, in Malibu Burning (2023), used the cover of an earlier blaze to loot a number of upscale homes. Not only did Danny survive that fire; after several rounds of plastic surgery and a long rest abroad, he’s back with a plan to steal “the world’s most valuable watch

from the world’s most impregnable museum.” Though the different plots never come together as neatly as you might like, each one is as pleasurable as surfing another wave off Malibu. An expansive procedural given uncomfortable new weight by the recent real-life LA fires.

The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin

Goodman, Alison | Berkley (464 pp.) | $19.00 paper | May 6, 2025 | 9780593440834

The further adventures of Lady Augusta and Lady Julia Colebrook, those twin Wonder Women of Regency England. Things have continued to move rapidly in the three weeks since Gus and Julia spirited Lady Hester Belford from the asylum in which she was imprisoned in The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies (2023) and stashed her and her companion, Elizabeth Grant, in their home. Lady Hester’s brother and guardian, Lord Deele, is on the hunt for her, and her other brother, Lord Evan, can do little to protect her, since he’s still supposed to be banished for a duel he fought 20 years ago. And the fugitives’ presence has to be kept secret from the twins’ dunderheaded brother, Lord Duffield, who’s more than eager to help his old friend Lord Deele. As if their sense of oppression by the patriarchy weren’t intense enough, Gus and Julia soon get the word that their guests’ woes may be linked to the Exalted Brethren of Rack and Ruin, a gentleman’s club that treats women in the vilest ways imaginable, and that thief-taker James Mulholland is hot on the trail of Lord Evan, whose romance with Gus glows all the brighter for the dangers that beset it. Although the twins’ adventures reach an early boiling point only halfway through, they’re best treated not as a standalone or even as a sequel to their splashy debut, but as the latest installment in what’s likely to be a

long-running period soap opera, one that the closing episodes promise to continue in France.

Cannily sets full-blooded fantasies of female empowerment blooming in a thicket of stifling masculine rules.

The Case of the Elusive Bombay Duck

Hall, Tarquin | Severn House (224 pp.)

$29.99 | March 4, 2025 | 9780727889225

India’s most private investigator takes London by storm.

After decades years of solving cases that would perplex a lesser sleuth, Delhi’s Vish Puri finally gets the recognition he deserves. Being named Private Detective of the Year by the International Federation of Private Detectives earns him not only the admiration of his colleagues but a trip to the organization’s awards dinner in London. Eager to see all the sights, his wife, Rumpi, makes Vish promise that this won’t be a working trip, but Dilip Shrivastava, principal secretary for finance for the state of Madhya Pradesh, has other ideas. Shrivastava wants Vish to help track down Dr. Harilal Bhatt, also known as Bombay Duck, who fled India after his pharmaceutical company marketed a drug with side effects that killed hundreds. Watching Puri navigate this secret mission in the face of Rumpi’s fierce desire to visit every tourist trap in the U.K. makes this outing a joy. So does the detective’s encounter with his Anglo-Indian relatives in the South Asian enclave of East Ham. Sampling his cousin Nina’s underspiced vegan cuisine and listening to his nephew Jags’ Hinglish convinces Puri that his family is too British to be Indian, but their unfamiliarity with the world outside East Ham also persuades him that they’re too Indian to be British. The trip turns into the adventure of a lifetime, and solving the mystery is only part of the fun. Jolly good.

Easeful Death

Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia Severn House (256 pp.) | $29.99 April 1, 2025 | 9781448314638

DCI Bill Slider and his staff at Shepherd’s Bush CID tackle the case of an 18-year-old murdered in the kitchen of her family’s quiet home.

Rhianne Morgan’s death was anything but easeful. Even though there’s no evidence of a ligature, the police surgeon insists she was strangled hours before her stepfather, estate agent David Morgan, found her body and destroyed all hope of recovering evidence from a crime scene in his frantic attempts to revive her. Once DS Jim Atherton and his mates have sifted through the complicated relations surrounding her mother and stepfather, both of whom have been married before, three leading suspects emerge. A local man named Andrew Denton has just been released from prison, still loudly proclaiming his innocence after serving a sentence for aggravated rape. Corey Willans, the older brother of Rhianne’s boyfriend, Kenton, bolted when police officers tried to question him and seems to have had a thing with Rhianne himself. And Rhianne’s stepfather, David, a skirt-chaser who turns out to have faked his alibi, is anything but trustworthy. In addition, Rhianne’s well-attested fondness for older men raises the possibility of still other suspects lurking in the shadows. With so many suspicious characters and so many shifting leads, it’s no wonder that Slider’s boss, Det. Supt. Porson, complains, “It’s like nailing jelly to the wall, this case.” As usual, Harrod- Eagles slips updates about her detectives’ domestic lives into her coolly professional account of the teamwork that eventually identifies Rhianne’s killer.

A model British procedural from a proven veteran.

Shadow of the Solstice

Hillerman, Anne | Harper/ HarperCollins (336 pp.) | $30.00 April 22, 2025 | 9780063344853

The latest afflictions for the Navajo Nation involve a pair of long cons, one big and one bigger, both based on real-life scandals.

Melia Raymond is so eager to support her 17-year-old grandson, Droid, né Andrew Morgan, as he enters rehab for his addiction to alcohol and drugs that she tags along with him on the intake bus, allowing herself to be checked in for her own nonexistent addiction. Her decision is a serious mistake, since, under the stewardship of Beatrice Dottson, Best Way Health and Wellness is nothing but a scam designed to rake in government dollars for treatments it has no intention of providing. In fact, many of the guards who make sure the clients surrender their cell phones and stay put till Best Way is ready to turn them loose actively push more liquor on them. Their time-tested strategy doesn’t work for Droid, who promptly vanishes, leaving Mrs. Raymond to pair up with his widowed father, Greg Morgan, to search far and wide for him. Meanwhile, Officer Bernadette Manuelito of the Navajo Police faces a grave complication before the promised high-profile visit of U.S. Secretary of Energy Savanah Cooper: Members of Citizens United To Save the Planet, a ferocious activist group, have settled in at the elderly Yazzies’ property, building an illegal sweat lodge and planning what’s clearly going to be a criminal protest against the scourge of uranium extraction from Native lands. Since the two stories never intersect, their sum total is less a novel than a pair of novellas shuffled together in alternating chapters.

Another installment in this venerable series springing from the woes predators have visited on the Navajo Nation.

Bridal Shower Murder

Meier, Leslie | Kensington (320 pp.) $27.00 | March 25, 2025 | 9781496749246

Reporter Lucy Stone takes time off from planning her youngest daughter’s wedding to investigate the murder of her Maine town’s historian.

Lucy is tickled when minor league baseball phenom Chad Nettleton surprises her daughter Zoe with a 2-carat engagement ring during the couple’s visit to introduce Chad to Lucy and her husband, Bill. Two weeks later, Chad’s parents, Penny and Nate, show up to spend a weekend in Tinker’s Cove and get to know the Stones. In the course of that brief trip, Penny meets Janice Oberman, mother of Tinker’s Cove’s premier wedding planner. Within weeks, there’s a shower, Penny and Janice announce the date of the upcoming nuptials (much to Lucy and Zoe’s surprise), and Penny rents a home in Tinker’s Cove to be close to the action. Lucy is desperate to slow things down. Wedding tasks are taking their toll on Zoe and making it hard for Lucy to pursue her feature story on the wrongs done to the Metinnicut tribe that once inhabited Tinker’s Cove. Meier toggles back and forth uncomfortably between the breakneck-paced wedding shenanigans and Lucy’s slow, meticulous probe into the destruction of the Metinnicut enclave of Pine Tree, sometimes putting one or the other of the narratives on hold for several chapters. Things don’t get any better when Hetty Furness, chair of the Tinker’s Cove Historical Society, is found murdered in the society’s headquarters. In addition to finding justice for the Metinnicut, Lucy has to unmask the real killer to save the Metinnicut chief’s innocent son, who falls under suspicion because of his activism on his tribe’s behalf. Murder, marriage, and Metinnicut history just don’t mix in this meandering mélange.

Bait and Swiss

Moss, Korina | St. Martin’s (304 pp.) | $9.99 paper | April 29, 2025 | 9781250893949

Cheese, chocolate, and murder.

Willa Bauer opened Curds & Whey, a Frenchthemed cheese shop in the Sonoma Valley, two years ago, and now she’s using the former kitchenette as a small cafe serving cheeseboards. As the book opens, she and her staffers—Mrs. Schultz, June, and Archie—are heading over to the grand opening of a new cakery that Archie’s ex-girlfriend Hope has created in the space formerly occupied by a bread bakery. When they arrive, though, Willa is shocked to see the name Chocolate Bliss in the window alongside Hope’s Cakery—that’s the name of the business Willa’s ex-fiancé, Pearce Brenner, and ex–best friend, Riley Stephens, opened together after Pearce dumped Willa nearly 10 years ago and used the engagement ring she threw at him to fund their chocolate business. Duncan, the shop manager, offers the customers free samples of Brenner Rum Crèmes, made with the rum Pearce created. Furious, Willa picks up the cheesecake she’d ordered, and then offers to deliver a box of chocolates destined for A.J. Stringer, the editor of the local paper, that Duncan mixed up with her order. When she goes to the newspaper office, she overhears veteran reporter Deandra telling aggressive newcomer Kevin that she’s quitting the paper because A.J. has been giving him her stories. As it turns out, Kevin eats the chocolates meant for Stringer and is found dead. Since the police can’t even be sure who the poisoned chocolates were meant for, Willa’s involvement makes her boyfriend, Detective Jay Heath, avoid her. Asking questions with the idea of clearing her name, Willa finds several suspects: the disappointed former bread maker; Deandra, who’s unhappy with Kevin; Duncan, who’s furious when Pearce tells him he won’t

When her grandmother turns up murdered, Pomona is in for a rude awakening.

POMONA AFTON CAN SO SOLVE A MURDER

own the shop he was promised; and the owners of the town’s other candy store. The clever cheesemonger scores another triumph. The recipes are an extra treat.

This Is Not a Game

Mullen, Kelly | Dutton (320 pp.)

$29.00 | April 8, 2025 | 9780593854471

A testy Mackinac Island grandmother invites her granddaughter to a charity event that turns into a “pajama party from hell,” one that will test both of their very different skill sets to the limit.

Mimi MacLaine would love to see more of downstater Addie Paget, orphaned at 21 and then dumped by her fiancé, Brian Perry, who took all the credit for developing their wildly popular video game, Murderscape, and sold his company to Microsoft for big bucks that went to him alone. So why, Mimi asks, doesn’t Addie join her at a party thrown by her neighbor Jane Ireland, a wealthy widow who’s recently started an affair with her own son-in-law, Matthew Reed, who’s married to Jane’s outraged daughter, Alexandra? Jane’s invitation to celebrate with her “son-in-lover” might sound less tempting if Mimi told Addie that Jane is blackmailing her into coming and bidding top dollar on one of the items she’s auctioning off, so she doesn’t mention that. To the surprise of everyone but the reader, Jane is stabbed to death just as a historic snowstorm hits Mackinac, shutting down communications, preventing anyone from lowering the literal drawbridge over Jane’s moat,

keeping the authorities from entering the place, and trapping the guests—most of whom are evidently being blackmailed as well—in their palatial digs until the “snowmageddon” abates. The upside is that Mimi and Addie have plenty of time to pool their resources, question the boilerplate suspects, one-up each other’s brightly witty remarks, puzzle over a truly ingenious series of clues, and solve the murder. Oops, make that murders. Despite the title, this is absolutely a game from the first word to the last.

Pomona Afton Can So Solve a Murder

Rose, Bellamy | Emily Bestler/Atria (256 pp.) $27.99 | March 18, 2025 | 9781668075654

Bellamy Rose, the pseudonym of romance author Amanda Elliot, serves up a Schitt’s Creek –esque mystery.

Pomona Afton has it all: designer scarves, galas every night, and limitless credit-card charges.

As an heir to the Afton hotel empire, Pom has never had to work a day in her life. Why would she, when everything is paid for by her grandmother, the current head of Afton Hotels? Living under grandma’s reign isn’t always sunshine and diamonds, though; the matriarch is disliked by many and feared by most. Pomona has been avoiding her grandmother lately, and then one night while she’s out partying, she misses nearly a dozen calls. When her grandmother turns up murdered the next day, Pomona is in for a rude awakening. Apparently, Grandma Afton anticipated that her not-so-friendly demeanor could cause a

few hiccups, and added a clause to her will freezing all Afton assets for at least a year should she die suspiciously—and only unfreezing them if her murder is solved. Within a half hour, Pom and her family are kicked out of their hotel apartments with absolutely no real-world skills to help them. Luckily, Pom can hole up with Gabe, the son of her former nanny, until the worst is over, even if that means slumming it for a few days. As Gabe helps Pom with a painful reality adjustment, she learns that he needs the Afton money just as much she does: His mother is set to receive a large sum from the will. Together, he and Pom decide to tackle the case head on—after all, how hard can it be to solve a murder? Pom’s journey never takes itself too seriously, with plenty of hijinks as readers watch a fallen heiress learn to stand by herself. Pom and Gabe’s relationship is light and sweet, and Pom is a likably flawed heroine. Elliott’s romance fans will recognize her flair for writing about food, and will surely look forward to more sleuthing and spice from Bellamy Rose. A breezy murder mystery meets rom-com from a skilled author.

Another Fine Mess

Ryan, Lindy | Minotaur (304 pp.)

$28.00 | April 15, 2025 | 9781250324238

It all starts in 1982, when 93-year-old Pie Evans digs her own grave and invites a dead man to help her rest in it. The Evans women have long operated the only funeral parlor in their small Texas town. Now, there are only two of them left to carry on the tradition of protecting the town from the restless dead—Lenore and her late daughter Grace’s teenage daughter, Luna. Not even including missing pets, many locals have mysteriously died or vanished over the years, including Lenore’s mother, Ducey. Now that the sheriff has also become a victim, Undersheriff Roger Taylor

blames everything on attacks by a rabid “ghost wolf,” a coyote–red wolf hybrid seen in the area. Lenore, who knows the deaths have been caused by a strigoi—a troubled spirit—goes along with the tale of ghost wolves, but Luna, who’s the offspring of Grace and a monster, may be the key to finding the killer. Taylor, who loved Grace, does everything he can to protect Luna as she and her boyfriend, Crane, frantically research every possible mention of strigoi. As the reporters covering the story and the townspeople grow skeptical of the ghost wolves theory, Taylor struggles to hide the gory details of the deaths and Lenore hires an outsider to help make the corpses look a bit more normal. When a farmer finds his prize heifer slaughtered and partially devoured, a wolf expert from the local university shows up to examine the carcass, and wonders why the animal’s teeth are missing, since the canines don’t eat teeth. The horrifying deaths continue as the Evans women struggle to find a solution.

Vampire fans will enjoy this spinechilling tale, which is not for the faint of heart.

Cat Got Your Killer

Ryan, Sofie | Berkley (304 pp.) | $9.99 paper March 25, 2025 | 9780593550267

A multigenerational band of sleuths probes a murder in coastal Maine.

When Sarah Grayson, owner of the Second Chance resale shop, finds a body floating near the shoreline behind a friend’s house, her first instinct is to leave investigating to the police. But when local law enforcement seems to be zeroing in on Glenn McNamara, owner of her favorite bakeshop, she knows they must be wrong. Glenn does have some history with the late Michael Norris. Back in high school, they were both at a party where a third student, Frederica Black, was killed. But Andrew

Lewis has already served time for Freddie’s death, even though he still insists he was innocent. So Sarah gathers amateurs young and old—philanthropist Liz French; Liz’s granddaughter, Avery; Glenn’s Uncle Clayton; Clayton’s girlfriend, Charlotte Elliot; Charlotte’s best friend, Rose; Sarah’s boyfriend, Mac; and even Sarah’s own grandmother—under the guidance of Alfred Peterson, a licensed private eye and Rose’s beau. Together they investigate both murders. Their measured, methodical approach produces a nicely paced narrative with clues discovered, suspects eliminated, and new suspicions launched as smoothly as the tides that brought Michael Norris ashore. Their harmonious style will give readers a pleasant sense of what it means to live in a found family, with mutual respect ironing out the occasional bumps in the road and mutual affection ruling all. Murder at its coziest.

A Lethal Engagement

Skelly, April J. | Crooked Lane (320 pp.)

$30.99 | April 22, 2025 | 9798892421058

In 1890, a newly engaged woman battles the odds to retain her inheritance and solve a series of murders in an exceptionally trying setting.

Cora Beaumont is proud of one particular reminder of her late father: the Lady Air, an ocean-crossing airship that’s quite the rarity. Cora, who’s engaged to Terrance Tristan, second son of the Duke of Exford and Debensley, is wealthy, attractive, and well brought up, but she’s American, and her blood’s not blue enough to win acceptance from a host of British snobs traveling across the ocean on the Lady Air. But Terrance’s cousin, the adventurous Lady Ophelia Hortense, is fast becoming Cora’s bosom buddy. The two of them are sharing a chaperone whose job is to teach Cora the ways of the aristocracy while keeping Ophelia in line. Also on

the airship is Terrance’s older brother, Nicholas, whose resemblance to him is limited to the physical. Ophelia takes a liking to Lord Dawson Davies, and Terrance seems much more attached to some of the actors providing entertainment than to his fiancée. Cora’s anxiety about making a faux pas fades to insignificance when she learns that the body of a woman has been found in third class with the letter “C” carved into her abdomen. Surprisingly, she finds Nicholas an excellent partner in crime detection even as Terrance continues to avoid her. The murderer, who of course is still on the airship with nowhere to go, boldly strikes again and again, leaving an initial carved on each body. Can Cora and Nicholas solve the crimes and come to terms with their growing attraction to each other?

A locked-airship mystery with plenty of suspects, captivating characters, and a surprising denouement.

Booked for Revenge

Smith, Karen Rose | Kensington (288 pp.) $27.00 | April 29, 2025 | 9781496747068

A bookstore owner has apparently learned a lot from her mother’s talent for crime-solving.

Jazzi Swanson left the Pennsylvania hometown where her mother runs Daisy’s Tea Garden to start Tomes & Tea with her best friend in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Although Jazzi and Dawn Fernsby bonded in college over the fact that they were both adopted, Jazzi has found her origins, while Dawn’s adoptive parents have discouraged her from even trying. Meanwhile, Jazzi, who’s been guarding her heart ever since her college boyfriend dumped her, is attracted to Oliver Patel, who owns The Wild Kangaroo pub and an Aussie accent to go with it. Jazzi and Dawn are working on a book signing tied to the town’s upcoming signature event, the Gentlemen’s Bake-Off, a baking

competition for men. The well-known judges have all written books: scone maker Emmaline Fox; TV chef Griffin Pelham; local pastry chef Colleen Cross; and Diego Alvarez, a New York City restaurateur. The judges are already sniping at each other before the book signing, but fortunately it does go well. The actual contest—not so much. The final four contestants are a wedding photographer, a plumber, a boat maker, and a firefighter, and there’s some tension among them. Just before the winner is announced, Dawn finds the body of the photographer, Finn Yarrow, with his head bashed in. Jazzi may have helped Detective Milford solve a murder in the past, but he warns her to stay out of this one. Even so, she can’t contain her curiosity. With some help from her friends, she tries to discover whether the motive was related to Finn’s business, the bake-off, or something more personal. Fans of the popular Tea Garden series will love this spinoff and its feisty heroine.

An Unquiet Peace

Steinberg, Shaina | Kensington (336 pp.)

$27.00 | April 29, 2025 | 9781496747822

T he hot war may be over, but the Cold War has just begun for two former spies in 1948.

After years of spying with the OSS in occupied Europe, Nick Gallagher is bored with his work as a private detective in Los Angeles and looks forward to marrying Evelyn Bishop, his longtime partner in espionage. Their backgrounds couldn’t be more different. Nick grew up mostly on the streets, stealing to stay alive; Evelyn is the educated daughter of a wealthy airplane manufacturer. Her well-connected Aunt Taffy’s come to town to supervise Nick and Evelyn’s wedding, which is going to be much bigger than either of them wants. Following a man whose wife he suspects of cheating, Nick is shocked to discover

Victorian detectives tackle a tangle of baffling cases, from posh to plebian.

SEASON OF DEATH

that the gentleman’s club where he winds up is owned by Hildy Brecker, the girl who taught him to survive on the streets. When one of the women working there is attacked, Hildy hires Nick to find who’s responsible. With the Berlin airlift in full force, Evelyn, busy at Bishop Aeronautics, gets a call from her former boss General Henry Gibson asking her to come back to Europe because Kurt Vogel, a scientist they’d spirited out of Germany during the war, has just received a postcard from the wife he thought was dead. The family had been split up, and two different teams were charged with extracting them from Germany—but Vogel’s Jewish wife and daughter never made it to safety. Evelyn goes to Germany in search of Vogel’s family, while Nick discovers that whoever’s attacking Brecker’s employees has ties to the mob. Wedding plans take a back seat to the couple’s tasks, which prove to be more dangerous than they thought. Nick ends up in Berlin helping Evelyn with a treacherous assignment involving Nazis and Russians. A fast-moving novel with danger lurking around every corner and a surprising denouement.

Season of Death

Thomas, Will | Minotaur (352 pp.)

$28.00 | April 22, 2025 | 9781250343604

Victorian detectives tackle a tangle of baffling cases, from posh to plebian.

November, 1895. Investigators Cyrus Barker and Thomas Llewelyn venture to the lively Shoreditch district of

London in the middle of the night in search of the infamous Dawn Gang, which has been burglarizing local shops. The duo gets some helpful intel from Dutch, a streetwise beggar. As if on cue, Llewelyn is struck in the head and a fight with the gang ensues, in which “the Marquess of Queensbury Rules had no part.” After gang members spot the police and flee, Barker and Llewelyn are hauled in and roughly questioned. Locating Dutch seems essential to their exoneration. A bizarre coda to the episode comes via Chief Detective Inspector Poole, a friend who reports that all the gang members have been arrested and have hanged themselves in their cells. Case reluctantly closed, if not explained. Meanwhile, Barker and Llewelyn are engaged by stuffy Lord Danvers to discreetly locate the missing sister of his fragile, distraught wife. Before she vanished, May Evans spoke vaguely about leaving London and going to Rome. Barely has this investigation begun when the sleuths are drawn back to the Tenderloin by an explosion in a railway tunnel. Barker and Llewelyn’s shaggy 16th adventure is held together by Llewelyn’s engaging narration, which combines the formality of Dr. Watson with the smirk of Archie Goodwin. And of course, the colorful Dutch makes a return, linking the cases. A satisfying period romp told with elegance and panache.

The Duke and Lady Scandal

Carlyle, Christy | Avon/HarperCollins (368 pp.)

$9.99 paper | April 1, 2025 | 9780063347342

Sparks fly at Scotland Yard.

Once again, Miss Allie Prince has been left behind. Her adventurous siblings are off on a quest, leaving her to run their antiquities shop, Princes of London. Just as she accepts that she’s in for a few boring and lonely weeks, however, life takes an exciting turn when she pops across the street to the coffeehouse and overhears what sounds like a plot to steal the Crown Jewels. She’s so convinced that something is wrong that she heads to Scotland Yard, where she’s met by DI Benedict Drake, who is “distractingly appealing” and seems to take her somewhat seriously, which is a welcome change. Unbeknownst to her, Drake is in the midst of a chilling cat-and-mouse game with a dangerous criminal, and he dismisses her without agreeing to look into the matter further. Despite his heavy workload, though, he finds he can’t stop thinking about either Allie or the potential criminal conspiracy she’s reported. It’s not long before he heads to the coffeehouse in question to set up some minor surveillance, just in case, and they meet again. Despite Drake’s attempts to keep her from getting involved, Allie’s instincts keep leading her into the middle of the fray, and as the case gets more intense, so does their connection. Historical romance fans who like a healthy amount of suspense with their stories will enjoy the first volume in Carlyle’s new Princes of London series, especially because, despite the title, this is an outside-the-ton story with no need for society drama to liven it up. Both Allie and Drake are well-drawn characters, and though they fall for each other perhaps too quickly, their mutual respect is beautifully portrayed. The conclusion of the mystery

A fast-paced Victorian romance packed with as much criminality as chemistry.

THE DUKE AND LADY SCANDAL

isn’t terribly satisfying, but the happy ending more than makes up for it.

A fast-paced Victorian romance packed with as much criminality as chemistry.

Great Big Beautiful Life

Henry, Emily | Berkley (432 pp.)

$29.00 | April 22, 2025 | 9780593441299

Two journalists compete for the chance to write the biography of an aging heiress.

Alice Scott works for a pop-culture website, but she hopes writing a biography of Margaret Ives, a reclusive heiress known as the Tabloid Princess, will boost her career to the next level. One problem: Margaret Ives is incredibly hard to track down. Make that two problems: When Alice finally finds her on a small island off the coast of Georgia, another journalist is there, too—Hayden Anderson. They both want this job, and Margaret wants to be sure she can trust the person telling her story, so she proposes an unusual deal. Both Alice and Hayden will stay on the island and work with Margaret for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll decide who gets to write her book. Hayden couldn’t be more different from Alice—while she’s optimistic and friendly, he’s cynical and standoffish. She’s desperately seeking her family’s approval and thinks she can get it by writing a book, and he’s a Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer. The two of them sign ironclad NDAs, but it’s a small island and they can’t help running into each other—and then, against all

odds, they even start to like each other. Alice and Hayden’s unlikely attraction is only one of the book’s timelines, however. Although Henry is known as the queen of contemporary romance, here she explores the world of historical fiction as Alice interviews Margaret and learns about her family’s history—going back to the gold rush and the early days of Hollywood—and finally the tragic love story that led her to retreat from the public eye. Alice also begins to unravel her own family history and learns that the stories she’s been telling herself may not have been true after all. Alice and Hayden’s romance is a delightful slow burn and Henry, as always, shines when exploring family drama, but the emphasis here is on Margaret’s past and how it ties into everyone’s future. Both a steamy romance and a moving look at the sacrifices people make for love.

Our Dear Miss H. Is on the Case

Marsh, Violet | Forever (352 pp.) | $17.99 paper | March 25, 2025 | 9781538739631

An antiquarian climbs out of the pit she’s excavating and finds more than she’s expecting aboveground. Miss Georgina Harrington is frustrated with her cousin Percy Pendergrast, even though he’s the best of all her relatives. It’s not his fault she’s forced to stay hidden in Essex while he presents her discoveries under his name, but it still stings. When he disappears with her greatest find yet, she’s irritated and then worried, and she heads to

London to find him. Instead, she finds Alexander Lovett, the gentleman who accompanied Percy on his last visit to her dig. When he begins to helps her search, and just as they’re enjoying a little flirtation, she learns that Alexander is better known as the Marquess of Heathford and that she’s been engaged to marry him by his stuffed shirt of a father and her detestable brother. Georgie is upset and Alexander refuses to do anything his father thinks is a good idea, but they’re both anxious to find Percy, so they come back together to look for him. They discover that there’s a dark conspiracy behind his disappearance—and that although their families arranged their marriage for all the wrong reasons, they may be meant for each other after all. Fans of Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man (2024) will be excited to see the notorious pub the Black Sheep pop up early on, as it signals certain chaos and cameos from beloved characters. The entire story is immensely entertaining, though it’s uneven in places, caught as it is between suspense, goofiness, and a great deal of spice. For those who like the combination, it will be exciting, but it can also lead to a bit of whiplash. Alexander has a clubfoot, which allows Marsh to respectfully depict life with a disability in the 1750s. And no reader will be able resist the joy caused by the unexpected number of chickens in this story, found both outdoors where they belong and in nice parlors. An equally silly and serious Georgianera romance.

Just Our Luck

Williams, Denise | Berkley (400 pp.) | $18.99 paper | March 25, 2025 | 9780593641439

A winning lottery ticket leads to a fake relationship between a baker with big dreams and a woman who is very much down on her luck. Sybil Sweet is what people might call a hot mess. She has

trouble keeping a job and a relationship. Her mother is a tough character who makes it clear she has no faith in her, and Sybil sadly leans into the assumption that she’s a perpetual failure. Her bank account is one big purchase away from an overdraft, but that doesn’t stop her from putting all her financial eggs in one basket by buying a lottery ticket. When she stops off for a donut later that night, she flirts with the guy behind the counter and they end up having an impromptu steamy session in the bakery’s office—and she leaves him the lottery ticket when she ducks out. It turns out luck was smiling on Sybil after all, because the ticket turns out to be a winner. Kieran Anderson knows the lottery ticket could change a lot for him. He’s trying to decide whether to defer medical school while working in his grandfather’s struggling donut shop and also caring for Granddad through declining health. The payout of $250 million could solve nearly all of those problems, but keeping the ticket from a woman who clearly needs a win doesn’t sit right with him. As Kieran tries to track Sybil down through social media, the story becomes bigger than expected. His search is taken as a grand romantic gesture that immediately goes viral. Then Kieran and Sybil find a way to turn their newfound fame into something mutually beneficial—they decide to fake a relationship to gain more exposure. Unfortunately for the book, though, both characters freeze up and their chemistry doesn’t come as easily once their fake relationship starts; they go from very hot to almost frigid.

The strong and very sexy start to this romance quickly goes sour.

My Best Friend’s Honeymoon

Wilsner, Meryl | St. Martin’s Griffin (304 pp.) $18.00 paper | April 29, 2025 | 9781250873323

An island resort vacation allows longtime best friends to realize and act on their deeper feelings for each other.

Elsie Hoffman has not been sure about many things in her life, but when her fiancé surprises her by planning their whole wedding and setting the date for one week away, she realizes she doesn’t want to marry him and breaks it off. The planned honeymoon is nonrefundable, so Elsie decides to go on it with her best friend, Ginny Holtz. Even before Ginny figured out their gender, they’d fallen in love with Elsie. In high school, they asked Elsie out, but Elsie said no. Ginny kept on loving Elsie while telling themself friendship was enough. At the Caribbean resort, Ginny tries to help Elsie figure out what she wants in life and find the courage to go after it by setting a rule that Elsie gets whatever she wants on this vacation, but only if she asks for it. Elsie admits to herself that what she wants is Ginny, and their trip turns into a series of sexual encounters. When the honeymoon is over, though, the pair have to figure out how their lives fit together back home, particularly as they each pursue their professional aspirations. Wilsner’s fourth queer romance delivers high heat but suffers from uneven pacing and slight conflict. Elsie and Ginny learn about their sexual preferences through open communication as they explore new territory together. Outside of the bedroom, though, there isn’t much development of them as a couple; there is some individual growth in the latter part of the book, but it feels more tacked on than integral to the story. Super spicy but lacking a robust romantic relationship arc.

For more by Denise Williams, visit Kirkus online.

Crime Fiction From Around the World

Batacan

Bannalec’s puzzle

Galway’s Edge By Ken Bruen

By Jean-Luc Bannalec; trans. by Jamie Lee Searle

Runaway Horses

By Carlo Fruttero & Franco Lucentini; trans. by Gregory Dowling

intrigue.

Blood Ties

By Jo Nesbø; trans. by Robert Ferguson

darkly entertaining Norwegian thriller.

Nonfiction

JOHN McMURTRIE

BOOKS BEYOND BORDERS

RUNNING A CEMETERY is perhaps not the most obvious route to becoming a bestselling author. But that’s exactly what happened to Benoît Gallot. The curator of Père-Lachaise, the famous cemetery in Paris, Gallot drew praise for his 2022 memoir, La vie secrète d’un cimetière ; the book grew out of the buzz he generated in sharing photos of the burial ground during the quiet of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. Happily, the English-language edition, translated by Arielle Aaronson, is coming out this spring. The Secret Life of a Cemetery: The Wild Nature and Enchanting Lore of Père-Lachaise (Greystone Books, April 29) doesn’t just explore the history and allure of the world’s most visited cemetery; it’s also replete with Gallot’s witty and humane observations about his workplace—and about death itself. Our review (page 44) calls the book “delightful and thoughtful.”

The Secret Life of a Cemetery is among a host of new books from beyond U.S. borders that are worthy of our attention.

Another is by Gallot’s fellow Parisian, Taha Siddiqui. Co-authored by illustrator Hubert Maury and translated by David Homel, The Dissident Club: Chronicle of a Pakistani Journalist in Exile (Arsenal Pulp Press, April 22) is a graphic memoir that dramatically recounts Siddiqui’s tumultuous childhood in Saudi Arabia and his dangerous work as an investigative journalist in Pakistan, his ancestral homeland. Having fled Pakistan after a failed attempt to kidnap him, Siddiqui now lives in the French capital, where he runs a bar and event space that gives the book its name: the Dissident Club. Our starred review praises the “rousing” memoir: “There’s a lot of heavy subject matter in the book—Siddiqui’s life is threatened, and colleagues

are killed—but he can be very funny.”

Another excellent graphic memoir that’s out this spring is by Swedish author Joanna Rubin Dranger. Like Maus , the prize-winning graphic novel that inspired Rubin Dranger in her youth, Remember Us to Life (Ten Speed Graphic, April 8) examines the lives of the author’s Jewish relatives during and after World War II; she also creatively weaves in the extensive research she undertook for the work. Our review (page 61) says the book, translated by Maura Tavares, is “a beautifully introspective account of a Jewish author learning about her roots—and a dark side of Swedish history.”

An author who has long straddled two cultures is Yoko Tawada, who was born in Japan and has lived in Germany for decades. In her latest book, translated by

Lisa Hoffmann-Kuroda, she investigates what it’s like to write in a second language. The practice gives her collection of short essays its title: Exophony: Voyages Outside the Mother Tongue (New Directions, June 3). Our critic (on page 64) describes it as “a playful journey toward the space between languages.”

For her first book, Arati Kumar-Rao traveled throughout India to document the environmental crises that threaten her country. “We are on the cusp of a humanitarian disaster of colossal proportions,” she writes in Marginlands: A Journey Into India’s Vanishing Landscapes (Milkweed, Feb. 11). Kumar-Rao’s “heartfelt, observant chronicle,” wrote our critic, is the author’s plea for all of us to wake up.

John McMurtrie is the nonfiction editor.

Illustration by Eric Scott Anderson

The noted Spanish American chef and philanthropist offers his life story, complete with recipes.

Andrés, known both for his restaurants and his World Central Kitchen nonprofit, which brings food to war zones and disaster areas, might be forgiven for wanting to luxuriate among expensive toys: He grew up in a household where “money was not plentiful,” and at the end of the month his family ate croquetas “made from the last leftovers in the corner of the fridge.” Andrés, of abundantly large spirit, expresses both gratitude for the food and the lovely memory of how his parents taught him valuable lessons using food

as a vehicle. Andrés imparts some of them, such as his father’s advice to “master the fire,” which means not just mastering yourself but also learning how to control the heat necessary to make a good dish. He has plenty of lessons to deliver, recalling how he left a soft position as an admiral’s cook during his stint in the Spanish navy so that he could cook for a ship’s crew. “You should never let slip the opportunity to tell the world what you want,” he observes. “Nothing will happen if you’re the only one who knows.” Andrés is superbly generous—his book concludes with a moving eulogy to seven of his nonprofit workers who

were killed in Gaza—and a true patriot: “We’re all in this country together. We’re all on this planet together. Your success is my success. We the People.” About the only time he grows cross is when the subject of Donald Trump arises, on which he notes with quiet defiance,

“You can build as many walls as you like. But there isn’t a wall high enough to stop the mother of a hungry child.” A bonus lesson: You don’t need so much water to cook pasta.

A lively memoir—and an inspiration to do good in the kitchen and in the world.

Digging into the high costs of prescription drugs.

RETHINKING MEDICATIONS

Rethinking Medications: Truth, Power, and the Drugs You Take

Avorn, Jerry | Simon & Schuster (496 pp.)

$30.99 | April 22, 2025 | 9781668052846

Unsettling news about prescription drugs. Avorn, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, reminds readers that pharmaceutical companies, despite bitter opposition, were required to prove that their drugs worked beginning only in 1962. Ironically, their first mass support came from radicals when 1980s AIDS activists denounced the neglect and slow pace of anti-AIDS drug approval. Responding, the FDA created an Accelerated Approval program to release drugs quickly based on “surrogate” clinical endpoints. For example: If, early in research, an anti-diabetic drug lowers blood sugar, that’s a hopeful surrogate sign, and it may be approved. But lowering blood sugar does nothing to prevent heart disease, blindness, infections, and other diseases that afflict diabetics. Sensibly, the FDA insists that research proceed, but drug companies avoid this. A drug proven effective does not increase profits because it’s already approved, and failure is disaster. As a result, most drugs approved today haven’t been shown to benefit patients, and an unnerving number, many wildly expensive, are considered useless by experts, if not by their manufacturers. Others are toxic, but, Avorn writes, “for decades the FDA had a kind of attention deficit disorder concerning drugs it has already approved.” Vioxx, an anti-inflammatory similar to Motrin or Advil, became the world’s bestseller after its 1999 approval. It also greatly increased the risk

of heart attacks and strokes, although five years passed before it was pulled from the market. Similar debacles abound, so readers may breathe a sigh of relief at the author’s diversions into his life and career at Harvard Medical School, where, he writes, “one eminent department chair… had a standard response to faculty recruits who balked at the paltry academic salaries he was offering them: ‘Just think of it as a base. You can earn much more, maybe double that amount, by consulting for drug companies.’” Avorn provides sensible solutions, but many involve increased government oversight, which seems unlikely these days.

A masterful assessment of a highly flawed health care system.

Kirkus Star

Charlottesville: An American Story

Baker, Deborah | Graywolf (432 pp.)

$35.00 | June 3, 2025 | 9781644453414

In-depth history of the murderous white supremacist march on the Virginia city in 2017.

“There is a direct path from the Unite the Right rally of August 12, 2017, to the Stop the Steal insurrection of January 6, 2021,” writes native daughter Baker, who returned to her hometown after many years to explore that connection. The proximate cause of the rally, marked by polo-andkhaki-clad, mostly young men chanting against Jews, immigrants, and other perceived enemies, was the planned removal of a statue honoring Robert E. Lee—who, Baker sagely notes, never visited the city. The rally brought that

white supremacist crowd, full of neo-Confederates and neo-Nazis, into the progressive home of the University of Virginia and a town with a Jewish mayor and large Black population. At the helm of the alt-right marchers was the supremely ambitious Richard Spencer, with a network of ex-military militia recruited from far afield—just like that Jan. 6 crowd. Charlottesville had long been a locus of racial enmity: As Baker notes, the Lee statue was a deliberate provocation. So, too, was the march, courtesy of the ACLU’s contesting against a city-imposed ban on it. The result led to the book’s concluding event: a young man “who kept a framed photograph of Hitler and a copy of Mein Kampf by his bedside” drove into a crowd, killed a woman named Heather Heyer, and injured many others. Populating her account with the likes of violence-bent if often inept men whom she dubs Swastika Pin, Tampa Realtor, Red Shirt, and the like—their real identities later exposed through careful investigation—Baker demonstrates the despicable falsity of Donald Trump’s saying that there “were very fine people, on both sides”—and shows how coordinated resistance against white supremacists both can work and will be required again in the coming years.

A vivid account that capably illuminates the evils half-hidden under a flickering torch.

The AI Con: How To Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want

Bender, Emily M. & Alex Hanna

Harper/HarperCollins (288 pp.)

$32.00 | May 13, 2025 | 9780063418561

The bots probably aren’t going to kill you, but they’re probably not going to save you, either. Linguist Bender and sociologist Hanna, the founders of a merrily debunking podcast about all

things AI, write that there’s hoopla aplenty about how AI will make our lives better—or perhaps worse. In an opening salvo, they write, gamely, “each time we think we’ve reached peak AI hype— the summit of bullshit mountain— we discover there’s worse to come.” There are real concerns, of course, especially for people of color, whom AI facial recognition algorithms are altogether too likely to identify as crime suspects and who are likely to be judged risky candidates for pretrial release if they’ve been charged. Those “daily harms being done in its name” are more profound than a feared robot apocalypse, as are other sequelae of AI: the replacement of human workers with machines, the shredding of career tracks with gig work, the collapse of creative industries. (Actually, the authors add, AI probably won’t replace your job, “but it will make your job a lot shittier.”) Those holding that AI promises a shining future for all are selling just as much of a bill of goods as the doomsayers. AI—or, better, its antecedent, machine learning—has done some useful things along the way, the authors allow, but on a relatively modest scale: spell-checking, for instance, and advances in medical image processing. Those who buy into the end-of-the-rainbow stuff are courting trouble, they add, such as a lawyer who let ChatGPT write a brief for him that turned out to be so full of holes as to land him in front of a judge. The con of which they write is more comprehensive still, though, based on errant machine-driven financial speculation, data and IP theft, the deprecation of human skills, and other clear and present dangers. A refreshingly contrarian take on AI and the clouds of hyperbole surrounding it.

The End Is the Beginning: A Personal History of My Mother

Bialosky, Jill | Washington Square Press/Atria (272 pp.) | $28.99 May 6, 2025 | 9781451677928

A daughter bears witness to her mother’s pain.

Memoirist, poet, and novelist Bialosky unfurls her mother’s life from the time of her death, in 2020, to her birth in 1933, creating an affecting family history of loss and grief. Iris Bialosky was living in a skilled nursing home residence when she died, suffering from dementia. Because she had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety throughout her life, it took years to finally identify her final affliction. For the author and her sisters, the diagnosis was not surprising. “In one way or another,” she reflected at the time, “it feels as if we sisters have tried to hold our mother together for most of our lives.” Their father died of a heart attack at the age of 30, when the girls were barely toddlers, leaving Iris a single parent, overwhelmed with responsibility for her children and consumed with grief. As the author grew up, she was well aware that her home life was far different from that of her friends. Her mother “never asks to see my grades. She doesn’t iron or wash my clothes. She rarely has food in the fridge. I am afraid to ask her for anything. All of us are.” Iris’ husband’s death was not the only cause of her recurring depression, the “dark tentacles” that invaded her. Iris’ mother had died when she was 9, leaving her father in constant mourning and her longing for her mother’s love. As a young widow, Iris hoped to remarry; her short-lived joy from a second marriage—and a fourth daughter—ended in a bitter divorce and, later, that daughter’s death by suicide. Unspooling the events of her mother’s life, Bialosky reveals, has helped her to understand both the parent who at times seemed so remote

and her own place in her family’s fraught history. A sensitive chronicle of sadness.

Worthy of the Event: An Essay

Blaxell, Vivian | LittlePuss Press (296 pp.) $19.95 paper | April 1, 2025 | 9781964322995

A selection of interwoven queercentric musings on human existence, identity, and transphobia. Split into seven intelligent, intuitive segments, transgender essayist Blaxell first addresses the nature of disappointment by sharing an intimate dissatisfaction with a plastic surgeon who congratulates her on her “reasonably functional neovagina,” then admits during their consultation that her “vulva might be a bit of a disappointment” to improve upon. An authority on Asian history and culture, Blaxell elaborates further with a list of three great disappointing places in Japan, then moves on to contemplate her relationship with “W,” a childhood male friend who remained fiercely smitten with her despite the realization that she was “not the kind of girl he imagined me to be.” She painfully reflects on family members and casual sex partners who resorted to abandonment rather than acknowledging and respecting her trans identity. In other equally resonant sections, Blaxell writes appreciatively and fondly about the gender evolution of trans Australian-born writer and researcher McKenzie Wark and how the work of a variety of notable novelists, entertainers, and philosophers (as well as the fallout from several international natural disasters) intersect with humanity, death, and the journey of the trans person. Others make appearances throughout these essays, like her lover, whom she dubs “Fairy,” who provides companionship and commentary on Blaxell’s life and authorial endeavors. She expansively deliberates on modern colonialism, the notion of “God,” and

even excrement to make way for meditations on the challenges and difficulties of gender transition, which Blaxell poetically describes as “a journey in time and body through feeling, thinking, relationships, looks, and culture.” While many of Blaxell’s brilliant witticisms, philosophies, and pointed perspectives orbit around trans and queer concerns, her essays expand to encompass the wider human interest readership outside LGBTQ+ communities. Capitalizing on these broad scholarly brushstrokes, she stresses the fierce importance of resistance, independent thought, and, perhaps most critically, bodily autonomy for all human beings.

Provocatively introspective and intrinsically reflective discourses on the human condition.

The Balance: My Years Coaching Simone Biles

Boorman, Aimee with Steve Cooper Abrams (288 pp.) | $28.00 April 22, 2025 | 9781419779770

An athletic trainer comes clean about the joys and pitfalls of coaching a unique athlete.

Boorman’s fond reflection of coaching Simone Biles begins with her own introduction to gymnastics classes at age 6, “out of necessity and convenience” while her mother worked a marketing day job in downtown Chicago. The author writes that despite her family’s tightly budgeted household, her mother kept her busy with the scant gymnastics programs that were available in the early 1980s. Boorman thrived until a growth spurt placed her at odds with a body she “didn’t recognize” and callous coaches who demanded punishing practice routines. In adulthood, she acknowledged that her love of gymnastics could be parlayed into becoming a coach, judge, and motivator for young athletes with a sparked interest in the sport. The book fully immerses the reader in every

difficult, bittersweet, and exquisitely rewarding aspect of the athletic coaching experience. The author met Biles in 2003 when the 7-year-old was visiting the rural Texas gymnasium where Boorman worked. While the author admits Biles was naturally athletically gifted, she also needed plenty of finessing and reinforcing encouragement. The pair would go on to become an unbeatable duo, with Biles affectionately calling her coach “my gym mom.” The book chronologically charts how Biles scaled the ranks of tough competitions and began being revered by other competitors and coaches in gymnastics communities. Through all the physical and mental challenges the coach and athlete encountered as they globe-trotted to world championships and Olympic competitions, Boorman pushed Biles to strive for perfection and gave her the invaluable “space to be empowered” on her own terms. The author offers the remarkable vantagepoint of a coach’s perspective, incorporating the importance of mental health and responsible, compassionate coaching practices. Generously describing her evolution from a gymnast to a coach, wife, and mother—chronicling all of the blissfulness and hardships of those experiences—creates a rewarding, well-rounded journey and an honest, vivid portrait of a mentorship forged in competition, admiration, and appreciation. An inspirational, spirited, and motivational sports success story.

More Butch Heroes

Brodell, Ria | MIT Press (96 pp.)

$24.95 | April 29, 2025 | 9780262049870

Living as themselves— and often punished for it.

In the late 18th century, Gregoria Piedra was sentenced to prison for eight years for being a “dissolute” and “perverted” woman. Piedra’s supposed crime? During the Eucharist at a Mexico City church, Piedra removed the communion wafer

from their mouth and left the church laughing—while dressed in men’s clothing. Piedra is one of 15 people who are honored, posthumously, in this gem of a book. It’s a follow-up to Butch Heroes (2018), in which Brodell also paid tribute to figures who went against society’s gender conventions—and often paid a price for doing so. It’s an inspired project: Brodell, an artist who grew up Catholic, did a lot of research to find these heroes; the author not only tells their stories in brief biographies, but dignifies them in paintings done in the style of saints on holy cards that Brodell knew as a child, cards that are shared at funerals to memorialize the departed. “Even though I am no longer Catholic,” Brodell writes, “I still have a collection of holy cards that belonged to my late aunt.…They are beautiful, intimate objects. They are delicately rendered with bold colors, and often include gold borders or ornate banners.” Brodell’s 11-by-7-inch cards are similarly captivating. For example, the artist depicts Piedra—“known by the nickname ‘la Macho’ because of their masculine physical appearance and demeanor”—holding up a radiant wafer, a faint smile of self-assurance meeting the viewer’s gaze. The subjects in the collection go back as far as the 16th century and lived around the world, from Ecuador to South Africa, underscoring the universality of people, as the author writes, “who were strong or brave in the way they lived their lives and challenged their societies’ strict gender roles.” Some are unnamed, including a Black woman arrested in 1870s North Carolina for wearing men’s clothing. “They had a threemonth-old child with them,” Brodell writes, “and upon arrest they were sent to the poorhouse.”

A creative resurrection of people around the world who broke gender norms.

Joy Goddess:

A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance Bundles, A’Lelia | Scribner (288 pp.) $28.99 | June 10, 2025 | 9781416544425

The eventful life of a celebrity heiress. Bundles, a former network television executive and producer, draws on family archives to create a lively portrait of her great-grandmother, A’Lelia Walker (1885-1931), a tireless champion of Black artists, writers, and musicians. The only child of millionaire beauty entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker, the subject of Bundles’ earlier biography, Lelia (she added A’ to her name in 1923) became an influential figure of the Harlem Renaissance and a prominent socialite, swathed in furs and dressed in French couture, who hosted glittering parties in her Harlem townhouse and villa on the Hudson. Her life began in hardship: Her mother had been a St. Louis laundress and a widow when she married a man who turned out to be abusive. She escaped, with Lelia, to Denver, married C. J. Walker, and reinvented herself as a savvy, successful businesswoman, selling products particularly suited to Black people’s needs. Lelia’s relationship with her mother was tense and sometimes acrimonious, and Madam could be critical of Lelia’s handling of her business responsibilities, social life, and choice of suitors. In rebellion, Lelia eloped in 1909 with a man who would, as her mother predicted, betray her. Her second marriage, to philandering physician Wiley Wilson, was no better; a third marriage also ended in divorce. Encouraged by her mother, Lelia adopted Mae Bryant, a fatherless girl who served as a hair model and assistant for the company. While Mae at first considered the adoption a great privilege, Lelia proved as domineering as Madam had been, leaving Mae—Bundles’ biological grandmother—feeling “indebted and cornered.” Lelia could be difficult, to be sure, but Bundles

A lively portrait of a tireless champion of Black artists, writers, and musicians.

JOY GODDESS

captures her energy, her drive, and her commitment to the creative community that she nourished.

An engaging biography of a formidable woman.

The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild

Burrough, Bryan | Penguin Press (448 pp.)

$35.00 | June 3, 2025 | 9781984878908

A rootin’-tootin’ history of the Wild West’s legacy of cold steel. There’s something about Texas that makes a person reach for his gun. So hazards Texas historian Burrough, who finds in the Lone Star State a culture of both frontier violence and the social obsessions of the Old South, with a code that “in general required a man to be honest, courteous, brave, and prepared to use violence, even deadly violence, to defend his honor.” The first post–Civil War shootout was fought in Missouri between a Confederate and a Union veteran, the latter none other than Wild Bill Hickok; Hickok would of course meet his fate in South Dakota, but just about every other gunfighter—notably the “psychopath” John Wesley Hardin—cycled through Texas on the way to someplace else. Most fought in the Civil War, and while Burrough notes that gunfights were a fixture of the California Gold Rush, he puts the “Gunfighter Era” as taking place from 1865 to 1901. The big names are there, from Wyatt Earp to Butch Cassidy, but just as interesting are lesser-known figures such as the

Texas rancher Clay Allison, “who may have been the frontier’s most feared gunfighter in the late 1870s and was likely the most unstable” but managed to avoid being gunned down by the brothers Earp in Dodge City. The Earps moved on to Tombstone, Arizona, a town full of Texas bad guys, and there engaged in the most famous gunfighter episode ever, the 30-second shootout at the O.K. Corral, most famous because best documented thanks to a remarkably comprehensive inquest. Along the way, Burrough writes of the mythmaking machinery of the pulps and Hollywood, the source of a flood of falsities, but he concludes—and this book helps in the task—that “the truth…tends to win in the end.”

A treat for Western history buffs who don’t mind plenty of debunking along the way.

Kirkus Star

Capitalism and Its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI Cassidy, John | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (624 pp.) | $35.00 May 13, 2025 | 9780374601089

A sweeping economic history of the to-somesacrosanct doctrine of capitalism and those arrayed against it over the years.

Cassidy, a staff writer at the New Yorker and author of the excellent How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities, sounds a subtle theme in his characterization of capitalism as it has

developed over the past four centuries or so: It has always relied on compulsion. “Left to himself he cannot survive a single day,” wrote Friedrich Engels, a justly important figure in this account, of the industrial worker. “The bourgeoisie has gained a monopoly of all means of existence in the broadest sense of the word.” Karl Marx would join with Engels to dissect the employer-worker nexus, which “is disguised by a seemingly voluntary market transaction.” Sometimes that transaction is not even as voluntary as all that; as Cassidy writes, industrial capitalism was built on colonial capitalism, which in turn rested on the foundation of slavery. The resulting economy of commodities such as sugar and cotton created a global system entwined with empire. And, Cassidy writes, sometimes unwaged labor took a different form, as with the domestic work that “typically has been unpaid and carried out by women,” and without which, he adds, echoing the Italian immigrant activist Silvia Federici, capitalism “couldn’t operate.” Cassidy’s narrative takes the British East India Company as its opening case study, with its practice of monopsony (in which “a single large buyer can exploit its leverage over many small sellers who have no alternative to dealing with it”). With many stops along the way to take in Luddism, the theories of Adam Smith and David Ricardo, the formation of labor unions, dependency theory, and the like, he concludes with modern critics such as Thomas Piketty, who notes that the unequal accumulation of mega-wealth can be fixed: “Social democracy is not a finished product.”

Dense with information, free of jargon, and a powerful argument against an increasingly unsustainable economic system.

Kirkus Star

The Franklin Stove: An Unintended American Revolution

Chaplin, Joyce E. | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (432 pp.) | $32.00

March 11, 2025 | 9780374613808

An ingenious scientist faces climate change.

Historian Chaplin focuses on Benjamin Franklin’s multiple renditions of an innovative stove to examine the intersection of scientific inquiry, race, class, politics, and economics at a time of climate change and resource depletion—a period, she underscores, not unlike our own. Born into the long, cold winters of the Little Ice Age, a span of interglacial cooling that lasted from 1300 to 1850, Franklin sought a way to create “an artificial atmosphere big enough to live in.” In his family’s living room, he experimented with ways of heating that minimized both wood consumption and the emission of smoke. Vital to his project was an ongoing exploration of climate—he tracked temperature changes in his famous almanac—and the movement of air, wind, and heat. He countered a prevalent assumption that cutting down forests and eliminating the shade of trees might make the climate milder; deforestation only exacerbated the resource problem. Chaplin details the challenging material conditions for colonists, Natives, and enslaved Black people during what she terms the industrious age, a precursor of the Industrial Revolution. “On average,” Chaplin notes, “white colonists were

A Founding Father who, long before talk of global warming, was exploring the climate.

THE FRANKLIN STOVE

better off than their European counterparts, but this was, in part, because the wealth they were creating was shared unequally, if at all, with Native and Black people.” Eventually, Franklin came to modify his invention to burn coal, a nonrenewable resource that served as “the lively fuel of industrial capitalism, the revolution that, far more than resource conservation, and more even than the American revolt against British rule, marks the modern world.” Chaplin’s narrative contains an urgent message: Climate is complex and changing; no silver bullet will halt or reverse climate change; critical, instead, are “energy programs with teeth and legal challenges to fossil fuel interests.”

A fresh, authoritative history.

Murder in the Dollhouse: The Jennifer Dulos Story

Cohen, Rich | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (352 pp.) | $29.00

May 20, 2025 | 9780374608064

A story of calculated, premeditated violence shaded by its relationship to a precariously idyllic world of wealth.

Jennifer Farber Dulos’ disappearance and probable murder (no body has been found) at the hands of her husband in May 2019 captured headlines and rocked the suburban Connecticut town where she lived. Cohen reported on the murder and the ensuing trials of Fotis Dulos and his paramour in a series for Air Mail. In this book, he compiles and supplements his reportage to dive even deeper into the story of Jennifer and her Turkish-born Greek husband—“a schemer, climber, and possible psychopath.” In snipped sentences of tight prose with the suspenseful pacing of a thriller, the author mines everything from court documents to conversations with school friends to examine the Dulos marriage and its decline from every angle. He builds portraits of the main actors and the world in which they moved with

breathtakingly exhaustive detail, reaching into their childhoods, the interplay of Jennifer’s family wealth and history with their respective dreams, ambitions, and insecurities and the disintegration of their relationship even before the terror turned physical. Cohen says he became “fixated” on the story because of its proximity and familiarity to his own and suggests that fascination with the case might stem from a sense of commonality when violence permeates insulated worlds of wealth and privilege. The bodyguards, expensive court orders, and time-consuming drama of the Dulos divorce are hardly “quotidian” to most people, but the failures of these protections terrifyingly emphasize the insurmountable threat of a determined killer. In the end, perhaps the most tragic devastation comes from the way her persistent “childhood dream of perfect matrimony”—considered shallow by some and fiercely defended by her—was hijacked by its pursuit.

A scintillating, chillingly compulsive, utterly heartbreaking read.

Tastes and Traditions: A Journey Through Menu History

Cooke, Nathalie | Reaktion Books (192 pp.)

$45.00 | May 20, 2025 | 9781836390671

Food for thought. What are menus? What do they contain? And, ultimately, why do they matter? Cooke, a professor of English at McGill University, goes on a richly illustrated journey through three centuries to grapple with these questions, and more. Cooke approaches the broad banquet of menus the way a diner might approach a buffet—by sampling and savoring particular items. Her critical gaze falls first on the careful artistic and design choices menus can embody and on the artists like Picasso and Toulouse-Lautrec who have illustrated them. But above all, she writes, menus “pique our interest for

the many, rich and varied stories they tell and…for the reminiscences they conjure for original diners and the journeys upon which they allow belated readers to embark.” Menus transcend the ephemeral and in their afterlife illuminate the tastes and traditions of those who came before. Cooke uses dozens of stylish menus as launching points to meditate on the foodways they represent. As belated readers, we can, for example, study world’s fair menus as documents that shed light on national values and priorities or look to the children’s menus commonly found on early-19th-century rail lines for the messages they might tell us about coming of age. Some menus are meant to be mementos of specific events, like a coronation or a meeting between heads of state. These, too, invite the belated reader to consider issues of gastronomy, social history, and more. An adventurous eater (“I myself also have cricket flour on my shelf”), Cooke is an even more undaunted surveyor of foodways past and present who moves across time and culture “both to tempt readers to ask probing questions and to offer satisfying answers to sate their appetites.”

A handsomely illustrated and diverting celebration of a rich if overlooked genre.

The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex, and Controversy in the 1980s

Elie, Paul | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (496 pp.) $33.00 | May 27, 2025 | 9780374272920

An analysis of popular culture’s incorporation of religious elements. In 1979, when Bob Dylan released the album Slow Train Coming, fans felt betrayed that an “un-cooptable” rebel had become a born-again Christian, “marking his conversion with a set of songs dealing with spiritual warfare and holy

submission.” He performed selections on Saturday Night Live, 13 years before Sinéad O’Connor sang Bob Marley’s “War” on SNL and infamously ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II. Those two performances bracketed a moment in which “figures in what we call popular culture engaged questions of faith and art and the ways they fit together with an intensity seldom seen before or since.” In this all-encompassing book, Elie documents the achievements of a range of artists from popular music, cinema, literature, and more whose work during that period, primarily the 1980s, was “crypto-religious,” a term coined by Czeslaw Milosz that Elie uses to mean “work that incorporates religious words and images and motifs but expresses something other than conventional belief.” Among the artists he cites are Andy Warhol, whose work, Elie argues, “put him squarely in a line of twentieth-century writers and artists with Christian preoccupations”; U2, the Irish band whose “mix of devotion and desire came together in The Unforgettable Fire,” their 1984 album; Madonna, who “made old-school Catholicism suddenly, inexplicably sexy”; and filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who devoted 15 years to making 1988’s The Last Temptation of Christ, with its depiction of a fallible Jesus, which provoked a backlash from religious conservatives. The writing can be dry, but there’s enough entertaining material to keep readers interested, as when Elie notes that Universal Studios was so concerned about protestors when they showed Last Temptation to clergymen in New York that, before the screening, they “had the cinema inspected by men with walkie-talkies crawling down the aisles, looking for explosives under the seats.”

A thought-provoking evaluation of religious-themed art of the 1980s.

Kirkus Star

What My Father and I Don’t Talk About: Sixteen Writers Break the Silence

Filgate, Michele, ed. | Simon & Schuster (320 pp.) | $29.99 May 6, 2025 | 9781668049655

Fathers are the lodestone of this varied anthology, which circles them brilliantly. In this much-anticipated follow-up to the acclaimed What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About, writer and editor Filgate prompts 15 esteemed writers to reflect on their fathers. The resulting essays offer a diverse spread, reflecting the panoply of relationships it’s possible to have with that key figure. In Jiordan Castle’s essay, she grapples with finding personal freedom from her father after he is reincarcerated. Susan Muaddi Darraj explores the duty-bound role of the eldest immigrant daughter alongside similar burdens placed on her father. In “The Son,” Robin Reif reveals her desire to receive the status of a son within her patriarchal family and the complicated position her brother occupied as recipient of that coveted mantle. “Roots & Rhizomes” sees Kelly McMasters using the natural world to understand her father—“We’ve probably spoken more about plants than any other topic during our nearly fifty years sharing this planet.” Jaquira Díaz seeks to understand the gaps in her father’s life story while occupying the same city her father once spent a mysterious summer in. In “A Storybook Childhood,” Joanna Rakoff reckons with a father who expounded at length about his and her mother’s lives—some of which

was true. Andrew Altschul surveys his father with newfound perspective as a father himself. Tomás Q. Morín takes the game of Operation as a tool to reach toward all pieces of his father. Heather Sellers and Julie Buntin speak with bracing honesty about reconnecting after paternal estrangement. Isle McElroy and Maurice Carlos Ruffin occupy the workspaces with their fathers. Alex Marzano-Lesnevich encounters the shifting power dynamic of aging. Dylan Landis returns from the first anthology to face her psychoanalyst father, and Nayomi Munaweera is back, looking at her parents’ arranged marriage from the paternal side. Throughout, the essays are marked with love, honesty, and exquisite writing. With tenderness and aplomb in equal measure, these essays plumb the depths of paternal relations.

The Secret Life of a Cemetery: The Wild Nature and Enchanting Lore of Père-Lachaise

Gallot, Benoît | Illus. by Daniel Casanave Trans. by Arielle Aaronson Greystone Books (240 pp.) | $28.95 April 29, 2025 | 9781778401589

Right at home in the cemetery. One of the benefits of living in a cemetery is that your deceased neighbors don’t complain about how noisy you and your family are—especially when you’re throwing a party. So observes Gallot in this delightful and thoughtful book about his experiences as the curator of Paris’ Père-Lachaise Cemetery, likely the world’s most beloved

The world’s most famous burial place comes alive in a memoir by its curator.

burial ground. Gallot became something of a sensation in France when, during the Covid-19 pandemic, he spotted a rare fox cub at the cemetery; the photos he took of the animal went viral. The book includes many of Gallot’s handsome images of the garden cemetery: cute felines (he calls them “tombcats”), birds, weasellike stone martens, and the ornate and weathered headstones and chapels that, nestled amid trees and rambling ivy, help make the place popular. Of course, the famous residents are also a draw. Within Père-Lachaise’s 110 acres are the remains of Frédéric Chopin, Isadora Duncan, Édith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Richard Wright, and Oscar Wilde. And, yes, Jim Morrison. His grave, fenced off to curb idolizers’ graffiti, attracts the most visitors. Gallot, in his 40s, prefers Morrissey’s music; he wanders the cemetery wondering about the dead, much as two friends do in the Smiths’ song “Cemetery Gates”: “So we go inside / And we gravely read the stones / All those people, all those lives, / Where are they now?” Gallot is the son of memorial stonemasons. He didn’t think he’d be working in the same field, but he seems perfect for the job of managing a cemetery that holds roughly 1.3 million souls (and not just because his birthday is Halloween): He has a healthy respect for the dead, and he values the importance of “accompanying the living,” as he says of the grieving. He’s also justifiably proud of eliminating pesticides in the cemetery, which means wildflowers now bloom everywhere. In this place of death, life flourishes.

A spirited look at life inside PèreLachaise, as told by its philosophical and funny curator.

Source Code: My Beginnings

Gates, Bill | Knopf (320 pp.) | $30.00 Feb. 4, 2025 | 9780593801581

The tech tycoon recounts his voyage from backwoods to boardrooms. Born in 1955, Gates blended two traits early on: As a kid, he was the

definitive nerd, and he was an avid fan of the outdoors, given to taking off to camp, hike, and climb for days at a time. “By the time I was in my early teens,” he writes in this fluent memoir, “my parents had accepted that I was different from many of my peers and had come to terms with the fact that I needed a certain amount of independence in making my way through the world.” His father, a prominent attorney, and mother, devoted to making sure that he had both a rounded education and at least some social graces, gave him that independence, and he ran with it—nearly getting expelled from prep school, for one thing, for hacking into a corporate computer system. Chastened, Gates and his co-conspirators— one his future partner Paul Allen— began crafting programs that would earn them entrée to the nascent tech world of Silicon Valley, with a detour at Harvard and a stint coding in the boondocks. In this narrative of his early years, ending when he was a budding mogul at just 23, Gates is sometimes self-congratulatory, proud of his ability to “hyperfocus” and to work out complex math problems without much tutelage; he also owns up to being a shark in business, a talent that for a time made him the world’s richest man and now one of its most prominent philanthropists. Yet Gates also generously acknowledges the contributions and work of other programmers, employees of what began as Micro-Soft, competitors such as Steve Jobs, and “the helping hand of beneficent adults.” As he writes in closing, “Piecing together memories helps me better understand myself, it turns out.” It will also help readers appreciate Gates’ hard-won accomplishments, and perhaps even inspire future entrepreneurs. Well crafted and self-aware: a readable, enjoyable visit to the dawn of high tech.

The Book Your Dog Wishes You Would Read: How To Raise the Happiest Dog

The Great Miscalculation: The Race To Save New York City’s Citicorp Tower

For more by Bill Gates, visit Kirkus online.

Glazebrook, Louise | Little, Brown Spark (368 pp.) | $22.00 May 6, 2025 | 9780316593779

What to expect when expecting a puppy or rescue dog. According to professional dog whisperer Glazebrook, a larger percentage of expectant dog owners than you’d imagine are unprepared for meeting their new canine household members because, she says, they go about the adoption process all wrong. They pick their dogs based on how they look and ignore almost everything else about them. “We often delude ourselves in order to justify the selection of a certain breed of dog,” Glazebrook writes. “As a species, we humans are incredibly drawn to the ‘look’ of a dog rather than its temperament, and really, it is my belief, we should be marrying the two together.” The underlying theme of the book is that dog owners need to pay more attention to the ways in which dogs are different from humans and use that knowledge to help their pets live their best lives rather than expect them to suit their own lifestyles. This book may deflate many a prospective adopter’s enthusiasm for adoption, but Glazebrook is simply reporting on her experiences with many unhappy clients (and unhappy pooches) in the U.K. and the U.S. and encouraging a more mindful approach to adopting and living with dogs to increase happiness on both sides of the equation. Toward that end, she offers her educated opinions on topics that include picking a dog to match your needs and your ability to meet theirs, interpreting body language and understanding what’s behind “annoying” behaviors like biting and chewing, engaging your dog in mentally stimulating games and adventures for a lifetime, and preparing your elderly dog and yourself for the end.

Loaded with good information for dog owners and owners-to-be.

Greenburg, Michael M. | Washington

Mews/New York Univ. (256 pp.)

$27.95 | June 3, 2025 | 9781479829972

A fascinating story of how a potential office tower disaster was averted. Just after the architecturally renowned and structurally innovative Citicorp Center opened in 1977 with its distinctive 59-story office building, the project’s lead structural engineer, William LeMessurier, discovered a heretofore unrecognized problem that increased the odds of a structural failure. A change from welds to bolts for the connection of certain columns, coupled with the realization that a specific wind load had been inadequately considered, required immediate attention. Greenburg, a practicing attorney and author of The CourtMartial of Paul Revere, describes the events that led to this revelation and the highly coordinated efforts that resulted in its quick resolution. Of particular concern was the possibility that a severe storm would cause the office tower to collapse, causing a loss of human life and extensive damage to nearby buildings. Drawing on interviews and documents, Greenburg provides a day-by-day description of the meetings held, the options considered, and the decisions made. He focuses on LeMessurier, who was responsible for the structural design and, with the highly respected structural engineer Leslie Robertson as consultant, led the team that organized the remedial action, interacted with journalists, and liaised with local and state governments, insurance companies, and law firms. For Greenburg, none of this would have happened if LeMessurier had been more diligent in considering the wind loads, more attentive to the change in column connections, and more

THIS WINTER, U.S. readers are meeting Japanese writer Mayumi Inaba (19502014) through her 1999 memoir, Mornings Without Mii, released here by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in an English translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori. Though Inaba was acclaimed in her home country, she has been virtually unknown in the English-speaking world until now.

Mornings Without Mii begins in the summer of 1977, when Inaba rescued a kitten stuck in a fence, the beginning of a 20-year relationship that outlasted the author’s marriage and several jobs (she worked mainly as an editor) and changes of residence. Mii became entwined with Inaba’s development as a writer and as a single woman living a solitary life in Tokyo. In a starred review, the Kirkus reviewer calls it “a striking evocation of the way we meld our lives and hearts with a beloved creature.”

Why is the book appearing in English now, 25 years after its original publication?

“This book portrays the connection cats can have with humans, but in a candid, literary manner that sets it

THE KIRKUS PROFILE: MAYUMI INABA

The beloved Japanese writer—and her cat—are finding a posthumous U.S. audience.

BY MARION WINIK

apart as unique,” says literary agent Bruno Onuki Reynell, contrasting Mornings with the Japanese cat books that have reached bestseller status in recent years. “The fact that it is a work of nonfiction was interesting to us also. The book is a depiction of a woman’s life lived with resilience and autonomy in the face of personal and societal pressures.”

Inaba began to win awards for her writing at the age of 16 and continued to be recognized over a career that included more than two dozen novels and collections of poetry and essays. One of her award-winning short stories concerns a Tokyo librarian who mistakenly receives a call intended for a phone sex line. A popular essay collection revolves around memories of movies seen in her youth. To the Peninsula , a memoir of time she spent in a vacation home on the Japanese coast, received both the Tanizaki Jun’ichiro Prize for Literature and the Shinran Prize.

Among those who’ve been eagerly awaiting the U.S. publication of Mornings Without Mii is Miryam Sas, professor of comparative literature at

the University of California, Berkeley. Sas was friends with Inaba and remembers her with admiration and affection: “She was artful, generous, and clear-eyed about the world. I can never forget her low-pitched, raspy voice and her knowing laugh.”

Sas continues, “She balanced writing with her job as an editor, I believe about three days a week; the other four days she would write or walk along the Shinagawa Canal for inspiration. She was a talented artist in ceramics and sewed handbags out of used kimono or obi material, making collages on postcards.”

When Sas connected Inaba with aspiring fiction writer Naoko Selland in 2010, Selland was amazed that the illustrious author agreed to look at her work-in-progress; she recalls that Inaba brought Selland’s manuscript to their meeting in one of those handmade bags. “She was so kind, and urged me to keep writing,” recalls Selland, now an associate professor at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University.

As Reynell indicates, Mornings Without Mii reaches the U.S. on the crest of a wave of Japanese cat books

that are generally lighter in tone than Inaba’s memoir: The Cat Who Saved Books, We’ll Prescribe You a Cat, The Travelling Cat Chronicles, and others. These books are part of a “healing fiction” trend that’s caught on in the U.S.: cozy, lightly surreal novels that often feature cats with magical powers. In Japan, the term for this genre is iyashikei, and it can be applied to anything that is comforting and uplifting, be it a person, a meal, or a walk in the park.

Takemori, known for her translation of the Sayaka Murata’s 2018 bestseller Convenience Store Woman , thinks it likely that the success of iyashikei titles featuring cats factored into the acquisition of Inaba’s book by its U.K. publisher, Harvill Secker, who changed the title of the book to Mornings With My Cat Mii when they published it last fall.

“The original title,” says Takemori, “is a poetic reference to the loss of her cat, and how after 20 years she is now facing mornings without her. I argued against the change, but Inaba’s estate approved it, so there wasn’t much I could do. But I was thrilled when I heard the American publisher had decided to keep the original title.”

“There’s a certain poetry and ambiguity to the original title that we loved and felt befit the work,” says Lianna Culp, who edited the U.S. edition for Farrar, Straus and Giroux. As for the timing, Culp says, “it seemed to be a book of true enduring value— and has proven to be so, in Japan, after all these years—and we wanted to honor it with the modern classic treatment it merits.” Prior to the book’s publication, an excerpt appeared in the Paris Review —a stamp of approval from the literary establishment here.

As it turns out, U.S. booksellers see no need to link the book to the comforting cat novel trend because it inherently belongs to a more venerable, and beloved, category. Lindsay Lynch, the adult book buyer for Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee, notes, “We do really, really well with animal memoirs, so I plan to shelve it in Memoir and Autobiography. And the cover—a line drawing of a cat—is just

adorable.” She also notes that while literature in translation often takes a bit of hand-selling, there’s been a clear uptick in sales of Japanese writers.

At the Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore, Maryland, Mornings Without Mii will go right into the “Childless Cat Lady” display, where owner Emma Snyder and staff have curated a multinational feline-centric collection. “Our manager created it after JD Vance’s comment last year, and we’ve had fun with it,” she says. The Ivy is selling more literature in translation than it used to, and Snyder has been thinking about the vogue for Japanese writing in ways that seem auspicious for Mornings Without Mii. “I think people enjoy the brevity and concision of Japanese writers, and their lack of sentimentality. Often they treat topics that are unsettling or discomfiting in a direct, matter-of-fact way.”

Indeed, Mornings Without Mii ’s account of feline health crises, aging, and excretions is unsqueamishly detailed, but these descriptions of the

physical intimacy between human and animal make the book unique. Takemori notes that as she worked on the book, she was aware that readers in the U.K. and the U.S. would wonder why Inaba didn’t put the cat to sleep (you can find comments of this sort on Goodreads). “It probably never even occurred to Mayumi that euthanasia was a possibility,” she speculates. “Even now, many vets here will not agree to do it. In Japan, it’s not widely seen as an act of compassion, the way it is in the West.”

There’s no sugarcoating in Mornings Without Mii , of either Mii’s life or Inaba’s. “Honestly,” says Takemori, “she’s not invested in portraying herself as a particularly nice person, as she kicks her husband out, then goes off getting drunk and coming home late every night. What keeps her going is her connection with her cat, and her writing.”

Marion Winik hosts NPR’s The Weekly Reader podcast.

This book portrays the connection cats can have with humans, but in a candid, literary manner.

Mornings Without Mii Inaba, Mayumi; trans. by Ginny Tapley Takemori Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 192 pp. | $17.00 paper Feb. 25, 2025 | 97880374614782

SEEN AND HEARD

Posthumous Book by Joan Didion Coming This Spring

Knopf will publish Notes to John, discovered in a filing cabinet after the author’s death.

A new book by the late Joan Didion is coming later this year.

Knopf will publish the journalist and author’s Notes to John in the spring, the press announced in a news release. The book is a journal, discovered in a filing cabinet after her death, in which she describes sessions with a psychiatrist. The reports are addressed to her husband, John Gregory Dunne.

Didion, who published her first book, the novel Run River, in 1963, was one of the country’s most respected writers and a crucial player in the New Journalism movement of the

1960s and ’70s. She is known for her novels, including Play It as It Lays and A Book of Common Prayer, and works of nonfiction, most notably Slouching Towards Bethlehem, The White Album, and The Year of Magical Thinking

She published her last book, Let Me Tell You What I Mean, less than a year before her death in 2021 at the age of 87.

Notes to John, Knopf says, “opens in December 1999, shortly after Didion began seeing the psychiatrist.…The initial sessions focused on alcoholism, adoption, depression, anxiety, guilt, and the heartbreaking complexities of her relationship with her daughter, Quintana. The subjects evolved to include her work, which she was finding difficult to maintain for sustained periods.”

Notes to John is scheduled for publication on April 22.—M.S.

For reviews of Joan Didion’s books, visit Kirkus online.

Joan Didion

Book by Las Culturistas Podcast Hosts Coming Next Year

Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers’ The Rules of Culture, Volume 1 will be published by Andy Cohen Books.

Comedians Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers are bringing their popular Las Culturistas podcast to the page, according to the Hollywood Reporter Andy Cohen Books— the Bravo talk show host and producer’s imprint, recently relaunched at the Crown Publishing Group—will publish Yang and Rogers’ The Rules of Culture, Volume 1 in 2026. The book will feature “insightful, hilarious and utterly immutable rules that govern culture in its current, fragmented state” for “queer people and straight girls who ‘get it.’”

Comics and actors Yang (Saturday Night Live, Wicked ) and Rogers (I Love That for You, No Good Deed ) launched Las Culturistas in 2016. The podcast features Yang and Rogers discussing popular culture, along with other topics, and is known for the

SEEN AND HEARD

hosts’ frequent and funny “rules of culture.”

“Culture is a shattered mirror on the floor,” Yang and Rogers said in a statement to the Reporter. “This is our attempt at gluing every shard of it back together. As we will prove in this book, culture is for you, culture is for us, culture is for everyone.”

Cohen said, “Bowen and Matt have fresh perspectives on every corner of the culture; their energy and humor will create a magnificent book.”

Rogers shared the news of the book on his Instagram account, writing, “Cut to us on our typewriters!!!!”—M.S.

For another take on pop culture, visit Kirkus online.

Matt Rogers, left, and Bowen Yang

conscientious about checking on his subordinates’ calculations. The book’s title signals Greenburg’s adversarial stance, and its final sentence accusing LeMessurier of “his willingness to risk all” clearly states the author’s belief that LeMessurier is to blame. The book, though, is better read as a praiseworthy story of how individuals and organizations came together, without rancor, to act responsibly in the face of a potential crisis. A compelling tale of professional and business responsibility amid the uncertainties of technological innovation.

Walk Like a Girl: A Memoir

Gurung, Prabal | Viking (320 pp.)

$32.00 | May 13, 2025 | 9780593493274

The threads of his success. Born in Singapore, fashion designer Gurung moved to Nepal when he was 4 years old. His mother, Durga Rana, was a member of Nepal’s royal family, but Gurung’s privilege did not shield him from a difficult childhood of homophobic bullying, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Thanks in part to his supportive and loving family, though, Gurung didn’t allow bullies to dampen his confidence or keep him from speaking his mind. As a young adult, Gurung left Nepal to continue his education, first at India’s Delhi Public School and the National Institute of Fashion Technology, then at Parsons School of Design in New York City. In America, Gurung pursued his dream to become a fashion designer by working as a design assistant at Bill Blass and, eventually, starting his own line. Gurung’s designs draw inspiration not only from the hues of his beloved Nepal, but also from his reverence and love for strong, smart women like his sister and mother. Although racism routinely threatened Gurung’s success, his perseverance earned him triumphs,

from dressing icons like Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama to placing his clothes in outlets that included Bergdorf Goodman. Gurung is frank in this charming memoir, adeptly balancing emotional moments with delicious behind-the-scenes glimpses into the world of high fashion. His confidence, sense of empathy, and joie de vivre radiate throughout.

An insightful and entertaining look into the life of a famous fashion designer.

Kirkus Star

Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie

Hage, Dave & Josephine Marcotty

Random House (384 pp.) | $32.00 May 27, 2025 | 9780593447406

A sweeping history of the American prairie, “a region we have exploited almost to death.”

Not many people take their vacations on the American plains, an area definitively dismissed as “the flyover zone.”

Yet, as Minneapolis journalists Hage and Marcotty write, “the North American prairie is nonetheless one of the richest ecosystems on Earth,” along with its “siblings” in Central Asia, South America, and southern Africa. For all that importance—just one of the three main divisions of the prairie harbors 1,600 species of grass and flowers—much of the prairie is gone; a scant 1%, the authors write, exists in the eastern tallgrass prairie that once extended from Illinois to eastern Kansas. Whereas past civilizations collapsed after unknowingly exhausting their farmlands, the authors write meaningfully, we do so fully aware of that damage. This is all the more so in an era of rapid climate change, for the hidden underground world of the prairie and the root systems of its vegetation serve as “one of the world’s last great buffers” against it,

with grasses sequestering carbon dioxide deep beneath the surface. Row crops such as corn and soybeans, conversely, store that carbon dioxide far closer to the surface, releasing it in plowing—and in any event, growing those crops requires vast quantities of fossil fuels, some in the form of synthetic fertilizers that poison watercourses and have destroyed much of the sea life in the Gulf of Mexico. To battle the negative effects of pollution, climate change, and industrial agriculture, Hage and Marcotty argue for restoring large sections of grassland to their original state and, even more politically sensitive, eliminating the federal subsidy for corn ethanol. They also propose a different crop regime that would increase ground cover, preserve the soil, and—importantly—allow farmers to make a profit at the same time. A welcome addition to the literature of America’s grasslands, which need all the champions they can get.

Slither: How Nature’s Most Maligned Creatures Illuminate Our World

Hall, Stephen S. | Grand Central Publishing (416 pp.) | $30.00 April 22, 2025 | 9781538741337

A look at all things serpentine, from the Garden of Eden to robotics research into sidewinder locomotion.

Hall’s interest in snakes began in suburban Michigan, where he caught a ribbon snake and brought it home, the first in a collection. His fascination with snakes echoes a mixture of “awe and fear” that runs through centuries of art, religion, and the broader culture. Snakes in many ways “break the rules of biology” in their adaptations to a wide range of environments, beginning more than 80 million years ago. The book explores scientific studies of a variety of snakes—rattlesnakes, pythons, black mambas—with portraits of the herpetologists and amateur “snake guys” following them. A

The importance of innovation in taking on climate change.

WHAT’S LEFT

surprising number of people keep snakes, even poisonous ones, as pets. Among the subjects covered are venom, locomotion, and the snakes’ sensory apparatus—a refined sense of smell and the ability to detect infrared light. A point made several times is that snakes have definite personalities and are far more intelligent than we give them credit for. The author makes frequent use of his own experience, from traveling the Everglades with a python-hunting team to his attempts to pick up a rattlesnake with tongs. Along the way we learn that climate change and degradation of habitat have reduced the population of snakes in most developed countries—although the spread of Burmese pythons in Florida shows how readily snakes can adapt to new conditions. Readers are likely to come away from this book with a healthy respect for our scaly neighbors, as well as for those who study them. An eye-opening look at the world of snakes by an eloquent admirer of the creatures.

Sorrowful Mysteries:

The

Shepherd Children of Fatima

and the Fate of the Twentieth Century

Harrigan, Stephen | Knopf (256 pp.)

$28.00 | April 15, 2025 | 9780593534281

Losing his religion. Novelist and nonfiction author Harrigan looks to the story of the Fatima apparitions as a vehicle for telling his own tale of struggling with faith and especially with his Roman Catholic upbringing. The historical aspect of this work are the appearances that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is said to

have made to three children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. The children’s experiences became, and remain, a global sensation in Catholicism, punctuated by three secrets entrusted to Lucia, the oldest child—and the only one to survive into adulthood. The story of Fatima provides a portion of the backdrop of Harrigan’s Catholic upbringing in 1950s and 1960s Texas. The author shares difficult memories of his youth, plagued by Cold War–tinted fears of hell and unwarranted feelings of guilt and shame. Harrigan’s experiences with Catholicism led to his early adulthood exit from faith, and he forthrightly notes that he does not believe in the Fatima apparitions as supernatural events. Nevertheless, he empathizes with the three children and understands their overriding desire to experience such a supernatural moment. Growing up in a mystical faith tradition that emphasized Mary as a prime heavenly connection with each believer, Harrigan fully understands how “their childish imaginations had…been inflamed…by their belief that the Virgin Mary had visited them.” The Fatima aspect of this work is well-researched and interesting, culminating in a visit by the author to various sites in Portugal connected to the visions and to the children. This book will mainly resonate with former Catholics and critics of Catholicism who, like Harrigan, are still actively searching for closure in spiritual terms. A profound exploration of faith, centered on famous apparitions.

What’s Left: Three Paths Through the Planetary Crisis

Harris, Malcolm | Little, Brown (320 pp.) $30.00 | April 15, 2025 | 9780316577410

Confronting planet-scale problems. In this frank examination, author and political progressive Harris explores the options he contends are viable in averting a climate crisis. Throughout, he focuses on three strategies, noting the potential for and challenges of each: marketcraft, public power, and communism. (He defines “marketcraft” as a concept in which proponents “see markets as functions of public policies.”) “Without an increased level of coordination,” Harris writes, “I don’t think any of the strategies can succeed on its own.” For example, “underlying the marketcraft strategy for a green transition is the sometimes unspoken, sometimes overt idea that capital will use substitute technologies to replace fossil fuels.” As the author argues, the marketcraft strategy thus would require a supplement to be successful. He writes, “Public power says that we have to face choices about what kind of society we want to make head-on, not contract them out to entrepreneurs.” Harris contends that some areas of social life would be better off without capitalists, such as the medical system; however, he argues that “there is some role for technological innovation in the fight against climate change and its effects on people and nature.” Harris maintains that to be successful, all partisans need to move forward together. He also addresses the fears and anxieties that he says have kept us from taking collective action, including inefficiency, disorder, and complicity. Harris also discusses points that he feels hold the individual strategies together and proposes ways for them to interact successfully, including the creation of disaster councils with all partisans meeting as

For more by Stephen Harrigan, visit Kirkus online.

equals to prepare for the fight together. As he concludes, “in certain moments, everyone’s work is aligned because there really is no choice.”

A thoughtful, well-researched, and compelling addition to the discussion of how to save our planet.

Enough Is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts To Make English Easier To Spell

Henry, Gabe | Dey Street/ HarperCollins (304 pp.) | $28.00 April 15, 2025 | 9780063360211

A history of attempts to simplify the spelling of the English language. In this tonguein-cheek history, Henry declares, “Learning to spell in English can be a harrowing experience”—a relatable sentiment for most. He notes, “According to a study in the British Journal of Psychology, children take 2-3 times longer to grasp English spelling compared to more phonetic orthographies like German and Spanish.” Henry mocks the rhymes, rules, and almost endless exceptions that English language learners are subjected to in an attempt to master its spelling conventions. The author also focuses on the factors that have contributed to these complexities, as well as historical attempts to simplify them. From Anglo-Saxons to the printing press, Henry contends, numerous influences contributed to anchoring spelling to “a pronunciation spoken sometime between Chaucer and Shakespeare.” Calls for reform began in Britain as early at the 12th century but slowed during the mid-1600s, as England found a new target. “American English became a lightning rod for British cultural resentment—and over the next century, it stirred linguists to a level of rage that silent letters never could.” However, calls for reform continued across the pond. Among the American members of the spelling reform movement discussed are Noah

Webster, who argued for the country having an independent language from Britain; Theodore Roosevelt, whose suggestions became a “symbol of overreach, a warning against the perils of unchecked zeal in reform”; and Mark Twain, who proclaimed that he did not “see any use in having a uniform and arbitrary way of spelling words.”

Regarding more modern influences, Henry discusses the popularity of phonetic spelling in the music industry, as exemplified by U2, Prince, and Def Leppard, as well as the birth of “twenty-first century textspeak.”

A well-researched and entertaining work that will likely become a new favorite among linguists.

Queen of All Mayhem: The Blood-Soaked Life and Mysterious Death of Belle Starr, the Most Dangerous Woman in the West

Huckelbridge, Dane | Morrow/ HarperCollins (336 pp.) | $28.99 May 13, 2025 | 9780063307018

The most notorious of America’s female outlaws.

Journalist and author Huckelbridge has conjured up one heck of a Wild West tale about a “whiskey-drinking, horse-thieving, gunslinging double widow” that is chock-full of Western lore and nasty desperadoes. Myra Maybelle Shirley, aka Belle Starr, was born in 1848 near Carthage, Missouri, around horses and guns, was educated, and could play the piano. Huckelbridge conjectures—something he does frequently—that Myra “likely” became a Confederate spy. Her brother Bud, a Confederate soldier, was killed, traumatizing the 16-year-old and transforming her into an “outlaw.” The family then moved to the true frontier: Texas. “It was during these two powder-burnt decades,” writes Huckelbridge, “that the legend of Belle Starr would take root, nourished by that almost mystic

Western triad of what would prove to be the woman’s three greatest passions: horses, outlaws, and the Indian Territories.” In 1866, at 18, she married the criminal Jim Reed, and they moved to Missouri, where they had a daughter and a son. After Reed was killed, she joined a violent Cherokee “galloping nightmare” clan full of killers and in 1880 married another ruthless criminal, Sam Starr. Her new name “twanged like a bullet off spit-shine brass: Belle Starr.” The Cherokee gave Sam some land, which they used as a robber’s roost for trafficked horses, protection rackets, and whiskey smuggling. They were arrested for horse stealing and locked up. She dodged other arrests. Sam was killed in a gunfight. Another marriage provided protection for her Indian land. At 40, riding her horse sidesaddle early one evening in 1889, Belle was shotgunned twice, dying in her daughter’s arms. Huckelbridge explores many “what-ifs,” but her killing remains a mystery.

The elusive, colorful story of a rare outlaw, told with brio.

Marketcrafters: The 100-Year Struggle To Shape the American Economy

Hughes, Chris | Avid Reader Press (320 pp.) $30.00 | April 22, 2025 | 9781668050170

An economic exploration of bringing public policy to bear on the market. It’s received wisdom among libertarians that the market is best left alone to regulate itself. Writes Facebook cofounder Hughes, this is mere dogma: It’s not sheer entrepreneurial genius that shapes American capitalism, but a careful leveraging of the private marketplace with fiscal policy that serves the public interest by both doing well and doing good. Hughes dubs this employment of the tools of the state to economic ends “marketcraft.” As he notes, it’s nothing new: Nearly 40% of our economic output today is in sectors such as health,

banking and finance, and transportation, all heavily administered and managed by state regulation. Among his subject case studies are Texas businessman Jesse Jones, who urged Franklin Roosevelt to create a financial institution “able to extend emergency credit to businesses teetering on the brink of bankruptcy,” which eventually resulted in the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, in time the prime funder of the World War II defense industry through investments that “showed that it could build markets, setting the stage for their dramatic postwar expansion.” The RFC also helped farmers negotiate the Depression by setting both floor and ceiling prices for agricultural commodities, and it begat Fannie Mae, helping fund housing. Different actors, largely labor unions, helped establish a marketplace for health care in the 1950s, activism that eventually resulted in Medicare—though, owing to congressional inertia, it was a failure on a larger scale, resulting in the fragmented system we have today. Writing in clear and nontechnical language, Hughes proceeds through other case studies—the Federal Trade Commission as a check on corporate power, for instance—to conclude that there are now countless opportunities for similar public and private sector interventions, especially to “lower the cost of living for American households.”

A lucid refutation of libertarian economics in the service of the public interest.

How To Lose Your Mother: A Daughter’s Memoir

Jong-Fast, Molly | Viking (256 pp.)

$28.00 | June 3, 2025 | 9780593656471

“I was born to privilege, born on third base, but desperate to strike out and go home.”

HOW

TO LOSE YOUR MOTHER

A self-described nepo baby faces the hardest part of nepo adulthood. Despite being the 50th anniversary of her mother’s famous novel, Fear of Flying, 2023 was

not easy for Jong-Fast, daughter of Erica Jong and Jonathan Fast—and an author, podcaster, political commentator, wife, and mother. Due to their declining mental states, her mother and stepfather had to be pried out of their apartment and moved, very unhappily, to assisted living. Her husband, Matt, 59, learned he had a mass on his pancreas; yes, it was cancer; and his own father was failing. This was not all. It has never been easy to be Erica Jong’s daughter; her total involvement with her career and with the men in her life absorbed all her time and energy. “She couldn’t even spend one hour with you,” Jong-Fast’s father tells her. “The most she could do was half an hour.” There was a nanny, private schools, fancy hotel rooms, trips to Venice, celebrities galore, but it was far from a happy childhood: “I was born to privilege, born on third base, but desperate to strike out and go home.” By the age of 19, Jong-Fast was in recovery; this, her 26th year of sobriety, was marked by the continuing damage and sorrow of her mother’s alcoholism. “So much of our lives have been about alcohol that it makes me want to cry.” Jong-Fast is obsessive and merciless about her mother’s drinking as well as her many other profound character flaws, and the miracle of this book is that you feel no need to judge her for that. Her honesty, her self-awareness, and her grief keep you on her side, as well as her humor, understated, blunt, and sometimes black. A typical reflection: “My dad has a moral core, a kind of spirituality and a quest for joy that I do not have. I’m not even sure I’d want it. Which is perhaps not the greatest self-analysis.” “I am a bad daughter,” she tells us over and over, but it’s pretty clear she did the best she could.

The best book Jong-Fast could have written about the worst year of her life.

Accidentally on Purpose

Kish, Kristen | Little, Brown (368 pp.) $30.00 | April 22, 2025 | 9780316580915

The Top Chef host describes her journey to new heights. For those who don’t know, Kish is a “gay Korean adopted woman, born in Seoul, raised in Michigan” and “a chef, a character, a host, and a cultural communicator—as well as a human being with a beating heart.” Though this book covers every step of her journey, every restaurant job and television role, and also discusses her experience as an adoptee (very positive) and a queer woman (late bloomer), the storytelling is so straightforward, lacking in suspense, character development, or dialogue, that it is basically a long version of its (longish) “About the Author.” Seemingly dramatic situations are not dramatized—when she was eliminated on her first Top Chef run, she assures us that she did the best she could, and drops it. “I can spare you the gory details (bouillabaisse and big personalities were involved).” Later, she cites a belief in protecting the privacy of others to omit the story of her first relationship with a woman. With no character development, neither does the reader get to know those who fall outside the privacy zone, like her best friend, Steph, and her wife, Bianca. When she gets mad, she says things like, “It’s a gross understatement to say I was crushed, beyond frustrated, and furious with the situation.” The fact that “I’ve never been a big reader” does not come as a surprise. It is more surprising when she confesses that “I believe the universe is selective about the

Kirkus Star

moments in which it introduces life-changing prospects.”

Top Chef fans might savor this detailed account, but others will find it bland.

Free: My Search for Meaning

Knox, Amanda | Grand Central Publishing (304 pp.) | $30.00 March 25, 2025 | 9781538770719

Tracing a harrowing journey from criminal exoneration to inner liberation. Twelve years after publishing her bestselling memoir, Waiting To Be Heard, Knox revisits her transformation from wrongfully accused murderer to exonerated woman. Her first book chronicled her arrest and eventual acquittal in the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, in Perugia, Italy. In this follow-up memoir, Knox delves deeper into the aftermath of her four years of incarceration and her ongoing quest to reclaim both her identity and inner peace in the wake of events that upended her life. Now married and raising two young children, Knox offers a compelling and often inspirational account of her effort to build a normal life while navigating the challenges of persistent public scrutiny and notoriety. “It is a road map of my personal evolution as I directly confront the existential problems I’ve faced ever since I was first arrested and charged for a terrible crime I didn’t commit: Could I ever be anything more than ‘the girl accused of murder’? Would I ever be truly ‘free’?” As both a testament to resilience and an unflinching examination of trauma’s lasting impact, Knox’s narrative evolves from personal healing to advocacy for criminal justice reform, leading her to form meaningful connections with others shaped by media scrutiny—including Lorena Bobbitt and more notably Monica Lewinsky, in what she calls “The Sisterhood of Ill Repute.”

Perhaps more remarkably, her path toward reconciliation leads her back to Perugia in 2019, where she spoke at an Italy Innocence Project conference and initiated correspondence with her former prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, “whose actions had derailed my life.” Their unexpected connection and eventual understanding become a powerful symbol of Knox’s hard-won spiritual freedom, demonstrating how even the deepest wounds can transform into a means for redemption.

An engrossing reflection on reclaiming identity and finding peace in the aftermath of global notoriety.

Trespassers at the Golden Gate: A True Account of Love, Murder, and Madness in Gilded-Age San Francisco

Krist, Gary | Crown (400 pp.) | $32.00 March 11, 2025 | 9780593444214

A tale of mad love, murder, and the roughand-tumble mores of early San Francisco.

Krist, known for histories that hang on crimes and catastrophes, here turns to the booming Gold Rush era in San Francisco. His protagonist is the somewhat hapless Alexander Parker Crittenden, who, after graduating from West Point and deciding that army life wasn’t for him, drifted west to California and, in an inspired moment, immediately won a seat in the new state legislature by a walloping 258 votes. He accomplished little apart from writing a law “banning court testimony by persons of African or Native American descent involving a white defendant.” That he’d left a young wife and six children behind didn’t cramp his freewheeling bachelor ways. Eventually they reunited, and he made and lost fortunes as a lawyer and speculator for the next two decades. He also acquired a lover along the way who, for reasons that Krist

explores, did him in. Of her trial, Krist writes, clergy sermonized, editorialists chided, and civic leaders urged that “for a city eagerly trying to establish its name as a mature, orderly, and law-abiding place, the kind of violence and depravity exemplified by Laura Fair’s crime demanded the severest punishment.” Into this courtroom procedural, with its wealth of juicy revelations (not least that one of Crittenden’s sons was also smitten by Fair), Krist brings in other storylines that touch on racial justice and injustice, Victorian-era ideas of propriety and impropriety, and the effects of a boom-and-bust economy on the people who flocked to San Francisco to seek fortunes and often to reinvent themselves. A bonus is the presence of Mark Twain, who wove Fair’s murder trial into his 1873 novel The Gilded Age, several years after; as a newspaper breathlessly reported, he had been seen walking down a city street under the influence of “Hasheesh.”

A lively, richly detailed social history that ably brings together many narrative strands.

Kirkus Star

So Very Small: How Humans Discovered the Microcosmos, Defeated Germs—And May Still Lose the War Against Infectious Disease

Levenson, Thomas | Random House (416 pp.) $35.00 | April 29, 2025 | 9780593242735

A detailed history of germ theory and how its emergence changed the world.

Levenson, a professor of science writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, begins this very enjoyable and informative read with the arrival of the bubonic plague in 17th-century London, as reported in Samuel Pepys’ diary and the medical records of the time. Doctors had no scientific foundation for understanding its cause and thus no way to deal with it. A

Kirkus Star

clue came when Dutch cloth merchant Antonie van Leeuwenhoek used an advanced (for the day) microscope to observe tiny creatures, now known as microbes. But the idea that they might cause disease went against all received doctrine. Such miniscule creatures should be unable to harm human beings, who were on top of the natural order. It took a good 200 years more before Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch used careful scientific research to make the case that germs did, in fact, cause disease—and that they could be countered by vaccines. Another generation passed before scientists developed chemicals to kill germs that infected animals or people. By the late 1940s, penicillin was in regular use, and the war against infectious disease appeared to have been won. But that sense of triumph didn’t take into account the microbes’ ability to evolve their own defenses against the antibiotics—and suddenly the apparent victory is looking much more tenuous. Levenson gives a good account of the vigorous competition between the early advocates of germ theory as well as the often-heated battles with their opponents, paying due attention to the traditional ideas those opponents held. And his research turns up some surprises; for example, an early champion of smallpox vaccination was Cotton Mather, better known for his persecution of “witches” in colonial Massachusetts. An engaging survey of the discovery of microbes, their role in disease, and the efforts to combat them.

Things in Nature

Merely Grow

Li, Yiyun | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (192 pp.) $26.00 | May 20, 2025 | 9780374617318

was not bullied or persecuted by others and thrown into the abyss. Rather, inexplicably and stunningly, I simply am in an abyss.” So writes Li, novelist and memoirist, whose two sons, full of promise, took their own lives—one, she ventures, for reasons of emotion, the other for reasons of thought, both concluding that a “livable life” was not possible. Li recounts her own struggles with depression, struggles not lightened by the delight of a Chinese media that considered her, having left her homeland and taken up writing in English, richly deserving of such punishment. Li lives through words and books, and here, even in the most harrowing moments, she reaches for them to explain herself to herself: here Ludwig Wittgenstein and Euripides, there Shakespeare and Philip Larkin, often Albert Camus. Always her habitat is that abyss, “which is my life,” marked by exhaustion, frustration, endless sorrow, and occasional bemusement, as when she notes that her older son died on the very day she put down a deposit for her new house in Princeton, the kind of coincidence that would seem unbelievable in fiction, on which she concludes, “Life…does not follow a novelist’s discipline. Fiction, one suspects, is tamer than life.” Though elegantly written and deeply thought through, Li’s book makes for emotionally difficult reading, offering little comfort for those who may be experiencing similar travails. “Both my children chose a hard thing,” she writes, encapsulating the narrative as a whole. “We are left with the hardest: to live after their deaths.”

The

Pacific Circuit:

A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City

Madrigal, Alexis | MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux (384 pp.) | $32.00

March 18, 2025 | 9780374159405

A memoir of living with the unbearable grief that followed the suicides of the author’s two teenage sons.

“I am in an abyss. I did not stray into the abyss. I did not fall into the abyss. I

As bleak as winter fog at dusk, suggesting that one goes on after tragedy only because there’s nothing else one can do.

Lessons to be learned from the history of Oakland, California. In this expansive book, Madrigal explores Oakland’s ecosystem—from its storied past as home to longshoremen, Black Panthers, and the blues to its prospects as the epicenter of what he calls the Pacific Circuit—a “vast, powerful, opaque cultural structure” that controls the flow of consumer goods. Throughout the San Francisco Bay Area city, Madrigal says, he sees “the marriage of American capital and corporate know-how with Asian labor and technical capacity.” The book traces the rise of containerization, born of wartime need, how it links U.S. manufacturers to cheap Asian labor, and the ways it’s controlled by Silicon Valley. A journalist and author of Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology, Madrigal argues that it is in Oakland’s port where one can best view these economic, environmental, and cultural effects. The external costs to people and the environment, which result from the instant gratification of one-click consumption, are laid bare. One of the Pacific Circuit’s features is to siphon money from around the world and concentrate it locally. Billionaires and elite tech workers benefit. This, says Madrigal, is “the simple answer for why the Bay Area got so expensive.”

“Life…does not follow a novelist’s discipline. Fiction, one suspects, is tamer than life.”

THINGS IN NATURE MERELY GROW

Unfortunately, as he notes, “the deepest, most haunting forms of American racism work through property.” Here, he explores racial capitalism and how it has affected Black families living in the port’s shadow; the book is framed by his admiring portrait of Margaret Gordon, a community activist and former Oakland port commissioner whose “crowning achievement,” he writes, is the Maritime Air Quality Improvement Plan of 2009. Madrigal’s writing can be poetic, even when he’s examining sediment: “The mining waste fell where it would somewhere on the floor of the bay. Great dredging machines chomped and slurped up this material, and builders mixed it with whatever else was around, and it became fill. Compact it hard enough and it became land , new land, histories mixed and buried.”

An incisive look at the invisible forces of consumption shaping not just a single city, but our world.

Questions Without Answers

Manguso, Sarah | Illus. by Liana Finck Hogarth (176 pp.) | $24.00 April 29, 2025 | 9780593733622

Questioning the “popular depiction of children as adorable idiots.”

“What should you do on the last day of your life?”

It’s a question Socrates might have pondered. In reality, it’s a question posed by a young child—one of the many earnest queries asked by preschoolers in this whimsical and sometimes profound collection. Manguso, the author of nine books, among them the novels Liars and Very Cold People, included questions from her son that she wrote down in his early years. She also solicited entries from other parents on social media. “Before I started spending time around children,” Manguso writes in a preface, “I thought that people who paid close attention to these simpletons were people who had decided not to be interesting anymore. I thought that people found their own

children fascinating simply because they’d been biologically hypnotized into loving them. Once I learned what children are really like, I immediately wanted to create an artifact of their weird eloquence.” Manguso divides these questions into a handful of categories; People, Animals, and Big Things are a few of them. The questions reflect the curiosity, thoughtfulness, and innocence of these “dizzyingly fast-learning engines of art and experiment”: “What do clouds taste like?” “Did horses know they were in a war?” “How do you get the meat off the animal without hurting it?” Each question is paired with imaginative and playful drawings by Finck, a New Yorker cartoonist. “When the baby is born, how do the parents know its name?” The accompanying drawing shows a mother cradling a tiny baby who is waving to her. A thought bubble above his head reads, “Hi. I’m George.” This is a book that will appeal to anyone who has raised humans or is thinking of raising humans—or is a human.

Deep—and often hilarious—thoughts from wee ones.

Rome Before Rome: The Legends That Shaped the Romans

Matyszak, Philip | Thames & Hudson (224 pp.) $24.95 | May 13, 2025 | 9780500028315

The legends that shaped the mindset of ancient Rome.

“Legends differ from myths,” independent historian Matyszak explains, “in that they focus on human beings in a historical setting…

generally accepted as being real.” Which is not to say that abandoned infants Romulus and Remus were actually suckled by a she-wolf before they grew up to found Rome; the author notes that luparia, or “she-wolves’ den,” was the name for a Roman brothel in the time of Livy, the historian who floated the prostitute wet-nurse theory. This scurrilous-details-and-all anecdote is typical of Matyszak’s lively approach in his enjoyable retellings of the stories Romans took as their ancient history. They span nearly 1,000 years, from Aeneas fleeing the fall of Troy and settling in Italy, through the rape and suicide of an honorable Roman matron, which ended the monarchy and launched the Roman Republic, to the squabbles between plebeians and patricians that led to grudgingly shared political power, a status quo that endured until civil wars ended the republic. In these and many other instances, the author is careful to note varying accounts—indeed, somewhat too careful, as in the confusing multiple versions of, for example, the background and motives of the Vestal Virgin who betrayed Rome to the Sabines. Matyszak’s formidable knowledge of ancient Roman sources is put to better use when he explains the initially enigmatic bribe of “what was on their left arms” that the Sabine warriors promised the vestal: “In a world without banking…most men carried their wealth around with them in the form of gold bracelets”—on the left arm so they didn’t hinder the right arm’s ability to wield a sword. Aside from their sheer entertainment value, Matyszak reminds readers, these legends are important because they shaped Rome’s self-image: The stories told Romans “they were brave, chaste, and honourable, respectful to their gods and beloved by them.”

“What do clouds taste like?”—and other profound queries from preschoolers.

QUESTIONS WITHOUT ANSWERS

Well-informed and well-rendered snapshots of the ancient world.

The Passion of Pedro Almodóvar: A Self-Portrait in Seven Films

Miller, James | Columbia Univ. (208 pp.)

$26.00 | April 29, 2025 | 9780231220040

An academic offers a close reading of films by one of cinema’s greatest provocateurs. During lockdown, Miller watched the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s later films, from The Flower of My Secret (1995) to Pain and Glory (2019), and realized “this was a filmmaker who was deliberately inviting viewers like us to think, and think hard, about a variety of traditional philosophical questions.” That insight led to this engaging book, a work that presents “a close analysis of seven more or less autobiographical movies” by Almodóvar and “aims to present an unusual sort of ‘self-portrait’ of the artist as he continues to grapple with the moral implications of the counterculture that he was a central part of in Madrid.” Miller offers cogent analyses of these works and notes their parallels to the director’s life. Films include Volver (2006), shot in Almodóvar’s hometown of La Mancha, which, in its depiction of “the resurrection of a mother presumed dead” and the other women in the pueblo, “enabled him to restore some memories of his childhood up to the age of eight”; Bad Education (2004), in which a transsexual returns to the Catholic school where a priest had abused him, a school “closely modeled on the one Almodóvar had attended for a decade”; and Broken Embraces (2009), about a director in his 60s, an “aging auteur, still trying blindly to find just what he is looking for in his films,” made as Almodóvar turned 60. The book will be best enjoyed by those who have already seen these films, as Miller gives away a lot of plot points. But he

also offers many astute observations, such as Almodóvar’s frequent use of nested stories, and he cites the influence on Almodóvar of Patricia Highsmith, Alfred Hitchcock, Roberto Rossellini, and, most notably, American melodramas of the 1950s.

A smart work of cinema studies for fans and serious scholars.

Kirkus Star

Things Become Other Things: A Walking Memoir

Mod, Craig | Random House (320 pp.) $31.00 | May 6, 2025 | 9780593732540

A meditative travelogue through a part of Japan few outsiders ever see.

“We carry our lives on our backs and traverse the spine of the world, no humans for miles, no routes down, just forward or back, the beast below always shifting, always ready to heave us off.” So writes Mod, a resident of Japan, in this narrative of meandering on long solo walks through the quiet woods of the country’s Kii Peninsula. Bordered by some of Japan’s largest cities, the lightly populated region is “one of the rainiest places in the earth’s subtropical region,” wetter than even the Amazon, as attested to by Mod’s lovely if somber black-and-white photographs, studies in mist and fog. The people Mod encounters in the rugged mountains in the time of Covid-19 are resigned to the injustice of the world and the rough wisdom of nature. Says one woman of the virus and its effects, “the world all goin’ sideways…and don’t know if it can right itself.” Others, men mostly, are quick to offer booze, seemingly looking for an excuse to get blotto, an invitation to which Mod, a nondrinker, politely declines in fluent Japanese. Everyone, though, is kindly disposed if sometimes gruff, living examples of the Japanese concept of “yoyū,” “a word that somehow means: the excess provided when surrounded by

Elegant and inspired: just the thing to read along with Basho and other pilgrims into Japan’s back country.

Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America

Mystal, Elie | The New Press (224 pp.)

$26.99 | March 25, 2025 | 9781620978580

Acheerfully profane assault on laws that, by constitutional scholar and commentator Mystal’s account, need to be shredded.

“We live in a dystopian fucking future where Amazon knows that I need to buy new underwear before I do, but we’re supposed to pretend that it is difficult for the U.S. government to know if I’m eligible to vote?” So asks Mystal, opposing voter ID and other registration laws: Anything else, he insists, is an untoward effort on the part of the white majority-cum-minority to restrict voting rights on the part of anyone who’s not them. Just so, he insists, immigration laws are overblown, assuming that immigrants are “as violent and depraved as Trump,” though he harbors little hope of change: Whites will declare citizen Latinos to be white enough to help them close the border, and Latinos “will reward them by voting Republican” and repressing Latinos on the other side of the fence. Some of Mystal’s examples wander into areas few readers will likely have thought about. His analysis of

>>> a generous abundance.” Much of Mod’s battery of facts comes from what he calls the “John Effect,” honoring a friend who is deeply learned in the history and culture of every corner of Japan, including “these recondite hinterlands.” He addresses his narrative to another friend from long ago, living somewhere in an America that Mod barely recognizes (“How can you say that a country ‘loves’ you without providing health care?”), but his account reaches far beyond private reminiscence to become an exemplary travel narrative, instructive and entertaining.

EDITORS’ PICKS:

Rick Kotani’s 400 Million Dollar Summer by Waka T. Brown (Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins)

On the Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer by Rick Steves (Avalon Travel)

A Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke by Adriana Herrera (Canary Street Press)

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

My Curious Life by Robert Danna

The Paris Understudy by Aurélie Thiele

Goldfield Forest by Karen Black

Bill Bailey, Please Come Home by A.N. Stewart, illus. by Virginia de Mahy

Fully Booked is produced by Cabel Adkins Audio and Megan Labrise

Fully Booked

A writer contemplates the profound influence of Joni Mitchell on his life and work. BY

MEGAN LABRISE

EPISODE 411: PAUL LISICKY

On this episode of Fully Booked, Paul Lisicky joins us to discuss Song So Wild and Blue: A Life With the Music of Joni Mitchell (HarperOne, Feb. 25), about the tremendous cultural and artistic influence of Joni Mitchell on her innumerable fans, including the author. In a starred review, Kirkus calls this hybrid work of nonfiction—part memoir, part biography, part criticism—“a beautiful tribute to a legendary musician and the act of creation.”

Lisicky is the author of seven books, including Later: My Life at the Edge of the World, The Narrow Door, and Famous Builder. His work has appeared in the Atlantic, Conjunctions, the Cut, Fence, the New York Times, and Ploughshares, among others; he has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. He is a professor in the MFA program in creative writing at Rutgers University–Camden, where he is editor of the journal StoryQuarterly. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Here’s a bit more from our starred review of Song So Wild and Blue: “When Lisicky’s fourth grade music teacher…introduced the class to Joni Mitchell’s ‘Both Sides Now,’ the result for him was transformative. Thus began a lifelong love of Mitchell’s considerable output. As Lisicky puts it, ‘Joni’s songs saved my life.’ In this exceptional, warmhearted memoir, each chapter bearing the title of one of Mitchell’s songs, Lisicky draws parallels between the singersongwriter’s artistry and life struggles and his own difficulties and cites how her work inspired him. An aspiring songwriter himself—he composed liturgical songs, in part because he couldn’t write love songs about the men he was attracted to—Lisicky was moved by the structure of the tunes in Mitchell’s album For the Roses and by her voice, which, in one of many poetic phrases, ‘sounded like honey had been poured onto it—or perhaps California had been.’ Along

Song So Wild and Blue: A Life With the Music of Joni Mitchell

Byl, Christine Lisicky, Paul | HarperOne | 272 pp. $28.00 | Feb. 25, 2025 | 9780063280373

with moving passages about his relationships and their challenges, Lisicky writes beautifully on mortality and death, including his parents’ health struggles, and on the highs and lows of being an artist. ‘To follow Joni’s lead,’ Lisicky writes, ‘was to find out what was inside me.’”

Lisicky says that he embarked on this project as “a prose writer of literary nonfiction, not so much a journalist”; thus, he sought to focus on Mitchell’s songs, and the lessons therein, more than her biography. We discuss Mitchell’s ability to reinvent herself, her musicality, and her distinctive “sonic thumbprint.” We consider the ecstasies and anxieties of artistic influence (including some of Mitchell’s influences), artists who work in multiple media, and the struggle to keep creating art over the course of a lifetime. We talk about rendering personal relationships in memoir, Mitchell’s appeal to queer audiences, and the album new listeners should start with.

Then editors Laura Simeon, John McMurtrie, and Laurie Muchnick share their top picks in books for the week.

To listen to the episode, visit Kirkus online.

airline deregulation is richly detailed, but in the end it comes to a full-throated denunciation of a market system in which there are very few winners (and those who “vote with your wallet,” he notes, need wallets thick enough to make their targets pay attention). Mystal mounts persuasive arguments against such things as laws that remove discretionary power from judges, school choice that allows conservative parents to dictate curricula that accommodates “their bigoted, unscientific, private predilections,” and much else that is fundamentally antidemocratic. He concludes with the provocative—and promising—suggestion that apportionment of congressional seats be for every 580,000 persons, meaning Wyoming gets its representative but California gets a dozen more, which “would go a long way toward restoring basic representative democracy in this country.”

A smart, big-picture takedown of the legal bulwarks of white supremacism and its privileges.

The New Nuclear Age: At the Precipice of Armageddon

Panda, Ankit | Polity (256 pp.) | $29.95 April 21, 2025 | 9781509557462

New players and emerging technologies have created unprecedented nuclear dangers. This timely book delves into a host of issues connected to nuclear weapons, with conclusions that are, to say the least, disturbing. Panda, who has extensive experience as a writer and government adviser specializing in military geopolitics, brings a great deal of research material to the task, combining historical information with novel insights. He notes that strategic deterrence kept the peace during the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, backed up with an underpinning structure of treaties and agreements. Most of these have become redundant, while China has vastly increased its nuclear arsenal. Panda believes that this could

push the U.S. into upgrading its own stockpile, sparking a three-cornered arms race. He also devotes important attention to the potential for conflict between India and Pakistan, which is often overlooked in the West. Then there are wild cards, notably Iran and North Korea. They show scant regard for international nonproliferation rules and are pouring resources into nukes and missiles to carry them. Along the way, Panda examines new delivery systems such as hypersonic glide vehicles and long-range cruise missiles, which add another layer of volatility. Several countries have lower-yield nuclear weapons for battlefield operations, but their use could easily escalate into strategic strikes. Panda is concerned that deterrence might be no longer sufficient to ensure peace, although he does not see any real alternatives. He suggests that the big powers could establish avenues to defuse incidents that might spin out of control, but these would need to be overseen outside the public spotlight. Most of all, some fresh thinking and awareness among policymakers are required. Panda’s book is a good place to start. A cogent, careful look at a crucial challenge.

Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea

Rediker, Marcus | Viking (416 pp.)

$32.00 | May 13, 2025 | 9780525558347

The Underground Railroad travels to the sea.

Prolific historian Rediker tells the inspiring story of enslaved people who escaped not by land but by sea during the three decades before the Civil War, largely from Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington, Norfolk, and Baltimore. This Underground Railroad had its origins on the waterfront—“A voice called from the ocean and thousands answered”— prompting Southern states to pass laws to curb these escapes. Throughout, Rediker profiles a number of sea escapees. William

Grimes wrote the first escape-by-sea narrative in 1825. Moses Roper’s escape of 4,400 miles over 16 months was “one of the longest and most grueling on record.” After escaping, it was common for fugitives to be pursued by their angry owners. The author discusses how the growth of port cities, especially New York, with their burgeoning commodity chains, created new jobs for Blacks—and escape routes. Rediker estimates that some 20,000 sailors were free or enslaved men of color. Harriet Tubman helped the enslaved escape via Baltimore’s Chesapeake Bay. The sea shaped Frederick Douglass’ “storied life in profound ways.” Harriet Jacobs’ maritime victory over her vicious slave owner was “one of the great triumphs in the history of resistance to slavery.” White abolitionist Jonathan Walker “raised maritime marronage to national and international visibility.” For his antislavery efforts, he was arrested, beaten, and branded on his palm. Abolitionist William P. Powell was a “crucial although little-known figure” who helped hundreds escape by sea, mainly via his Colored Sailors Home in Manhattan. Boston’s “free Black community…served as a bedrock of the local abolitionist movement,” but more fugitives sailed or steamed their way from Philadelphia and New York via the growing “business of escape.” Rediker estimates that 15,000 to 20,000 “hidden historymakers” escaped by sea.

A much-needed comprehensive contribution to slavery history.

The Synthetic Eye: Photography Transformed in the Age of AI

Ritchin, Fred | Thames & Hudson (240 pp.) | $29.95 paper March 25, 2025 | 9780500297391

Seeing is not necessarily believing.

A photograph has long been seen as a curated slice of reality, a moment frozen in time. But this reality is blurring, notes

As AI expands, one scholar hopes photography will reclaim its role as an artform.

THE SYNTHETIC EYE

Ritchin, dean emeritus of the International Center of Photography School in New York. In this smart and searching book, he explores the interaction between digital photography and artificial intelligence systems, which he sees as both positive and terrifying. Manipulated photos are nothing new, as when elements of different images are cut and pasted together. But these clumsy efforts have been superseded by AI systems that blend images. These fabrications have become so sophisticated that it is almost impossible to tell them from unmodified originals. Even more worrisome is when an AI system is tasked to create a completely new image—many, of course, are now circulating on social media—and Ritchin discusses his own experiments in the area. Some of the resulting images in the book are surreal, some are surprising, and others are touching. One of the strangest, a response to a request for “a photograph of an unhappy algorithm,” is a picture of a ghostly, distorted face. Others are technically realistic, even if the subject is impossible. Ritchin accepts that being skeptical of all images is an obvious response to this creative fakery, but he also sees the potential for photography to reclaim and expand its role as an artform. Reasonably enough, he believes that any image that uses AI technology should include an explanation about its nature, although finding the right formula for effective disclaimers is tricky.

A thought-provoking study explores new forms of image making.

Remember Us to Life: A Graphic Memoir

Rubin Dranger, Joanna | Trans. by Maura Tavares | Ten Speed Press (432 pp.)

$40.00 | April 8, 2025 | 9780593836903

A journey of self-discovery. Growing up in Sweden, Rubin Dranger could always turn to her aunt, Susanne, for emotional support.

“She wasn’t just my aunt but also my grown-up friend and protector,” writes Rubin Dranger. “When I was miserable and felt abandoned, it was Susanne who crawled under the bed to comfort me.” Susanne also gave Rubin Dranger a copy of Art Spiegelman’s landmark book Maus, instilling in her niece a love of graphic novels and an interest in their Jewish past. And so it was a shock when Susanne, suffering from depression, took her own life. Another shock came when Rubin Dranger learned that Susanne’s name was on a Swedish register of Jews and Nazi opponents that was supplied to Nazis during World War II. In 1997, those names were found on 3,000 cards hidden behind the wall of a late university lecturer who had been a Nazi, then a member of the right-wing Sweden Democrats. In Rubin Dranger’s poignant and often sorrowful graphic memoir, one sees how these events helped motivate the author to know more about her family history and how, along the way, her eyes were opened to some Swedes’ complicity during the war. As a friend in Israel puts it, “The first generation were quiet, the second generation felt they couldn’t ask, and now the third generation tries to find out what happened.” Thanks to her dogged research, Rubin Dranger finds out a lot. She details it—her

travels, her encounters with antisemitism, the sweeping journeys of her ancestors, her doubts about creating the book—in tender illustrations set against old photos and postcards. “On some level,” she reasons with great compassion, her book “illustrates that all people are connected—we are all part of the same story.”

A beautifully introspective account of a Jewish author learning about her roots—and a dark side of Swedish history.

Kirkus Star

The Intermediaries: A Weimar Story

Schillace, Brandy | Norton (368 pp.)

$31.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9781324036319

The fight to affirm gender. Drawing on abundant primary sources, medical historian Schillace, editor of the journal Medical Humanities, vividly depicts the maelstrom of race, politics, and scientific discovery that shaped attitudes about gender identity from 1890 to 1933 in Weimar, Germany. For homosexuals and nonbinary individuals, the period was fraught. Rapid industrial growth, immigration, and a growing women’s movement incited male panic about effeminate men and same-sex attraction. Closeted homosexuals, outed in scandalous exposure in the press, lost powerful positions. Central to her well-populated history is gay Jewish physician Magnus Hirschfeld (18681935), whom Hitler called “the most dangerous Jew in Germany.” In 1897, he established the Scientific Humanitarian Committee, whose mission targeted the overthrow of Paragraph 175, an oppressive law that made homosexuality a crime. From his medical practice, Hirschfeld concluded that “discrete, tidy genders didn’t exist.” Instead, he posited a continuum of gender identities: nonbinary, trans, and queer individuals

whom he called “intermediaries.” His Institute for Sexual Science, in Berlin, was a safe place where they could get counseling, hormonal treatment, and even surgery, including for patients who had tried, with dire results, to remove their own breasts or penises. Dora Richter, born Rudolf, was the first patient to undergo complete gender-affirming surgeries. Schillace recounts advances in endocrinology, beginning with the discovery of sex hormones and genes in 1905; the rise of eugenics, which fed Nazism; and the advent of Freudian psychotherapy. The history is appended with a glossary of pertinent terms in English and German, such as the now outdated “inversion” and “hermaphrodite”; capsule biographies of the large cast of characters; and a timeline of major scientific and political events. Hysteria about gender identity, Schillace warns, has never abated; the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights continues. A richly detailed, prodigiously researched history.

Kirkus Star

Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America

Shorto, Russell | Norton (352 pp.) | $29.99 March 4, 2025 | 9780393881165

Making a metropolis.

Shorto, whose The Island at the Center of the World stands as one of the seminal books about early New York, returns to the subject with a masterful account of the international struggle for control of 17th-century Manhattan, a fascinating, often overlooked saga. After taking the island from Indigenous peoples in 1626—an “injustice,” he notes, that resonates 400 years later—the Dutch built a polyglot commercial hub. Chapters on figures like Dorothea Angola, a Black landowner skilled at working the levers of local

government, provide a sense of the settlement’s varied populace. The nascent city’s unforgivable “life as a slaving port” ramped up in 1659, with the arrival of a ship carrying enslaved African children. But Dutch dominion was brief, and it’s the “second taking of Manhattan” that garners most of Shorto’s attention. In 1664, English frigates appeared offshore, intent on seizing control. Unprepared for military battle, the Dutch surrendered after tense, vividly depicted negotiations. Named for England’s Duke of York, the city eventually became the “pluralistic and capitalistic” one we know today due in part to the melding of Dutch and English practices—some of which remain shocking. The Duke of York’s title, abbreviated as DY, was branded on the bodies of enslaved people, and Manhattan under English control became “a major hub of the slave trade.” Never losing sight of cultural influences still felt in the 21st century, Shorto crafts a narrative packed with intrigue and fascinating subplots, reproducing pages of decoded English military cipher and sizing up the map that might’ve been. Under one 1660s royal decree, Connecticut was briefly “a continentwide monstrosity” that included today’s New York and reached “the South Sea,” as the Pacific Ocean was then called.

A bracing narrative of the international standoff that birthed America’s biggest city.

A Billion Butterflies: A Life in Climate and Chaos Theory

Shukla, Dr. Jagadish | St. Martin’s (288 pp.)

$30.00 | April 22, 2025 | 9781250289209

The memoir of a scientist who rose from poverty in India to triumph in his specialty. Shukla, professor of climate dynamics at George Mason University, was born in a remote village where his schoolteacher father was the only person to own a watch. No scholar,

he credits his domineering father with forcing him into better schools from which he emerged in 1965 with a degree in geophysics and a job with the India Meteorological Department, followed by studies and academic appointments in the U.S., where he became a leading figure in climate science. The overwhelming meteorological problem in India throughout history was predicting monsoon rains. When they arrived, crops grew. Famine occurred when they failed. The equivalent problem in the world was weather prediction. That required determining today’s initial conditions (wind speed, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, cloudiness, etc.), then calculating how they change as time passes. This demands innumerable calculations, and supercomputers eventually enabled reliable forecasting for about a week, but it’s impossible to go further because tiny differences in initial conditions produce increasingly chaotic results as days pass. Meteorologists thus assumed that predicting climate, a year-to-year process, was also impossible, but Shukla was not so sure. Along with others, his groundbreaking research showed that combining changes in air pressure with land and ocean temperature make seasonal—and monsoon—predictions possible. As the 21st century approached, Shukla grew concerned about global warming brought on by fossil fuel burning. The book’s final quarter recounts his work with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which (together with Al Gore) won the Nobel Peace Prize. No Pollyanna, he writes bluntly that the IPCC has failed, and he himself suffered a torrent of abuse.

An admirable and inspiring account from a pioneering figure in climate research.

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Ransom War: How Cyber Crime Became a Threat to National Security

Smeets, Max | Oxford Univ. (256 pp.)

$34.99 | April 15, 2025 | 9780197803035

Malicious and mysterious.

Smeets, author of No Shortcuts: Why States Struggle To Develop a Military CyberForce, explains that criminals, often based in Russia, send out malicious viruses that freeze a computer’s software and then demand a ransom in exchange for a code to unfreeze it. More recently, they have added a double extortion: threatening to publish stolen data if not paid. These groups have thrived within a highly professionalized criminal ecosystem of recognized brands and offshoots that offer ransomware as a service—criminals sign up, and the service takes care of technical details in exchange for a fee. Smeets delivers a detailed account of the operation of Conti, for several years the world’s largest ransomware group. His work was possible because Conti enthusiastically supported Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and an outraged Ukrainian with access to their files leaked thousands. Smeets divides Conti’s framework into three elements: modus operandi, organizational structure, and branding and reputation. Generous with charts and excerpts from its files, he delivers a detailed portrait of a highly specialized if inefficient criminal ecosystem; even its leaders are in their 20s and 30s. Readers expecting tales of devilish cybercrimes or law enforcement triumphs will realize their error within a few pages. This is not an exposé but a sober exploration of an ongoing high-tech extortion racket. Including a fair amount of technical language that’s over the heads of the average computer user, it seems directed at business students or executives with some responsibility for security. An expert look at the ins and outs of ransomware.

Kirkus Star

Their Accomplices Wore Robes: How the Supreme Court Chained Black America to the Bottom of a Racial Caste System

Starkey, Brando Simeo | Doubleday (688 pp.)

$35.00 | June 3, 2025 | 9780385547383

A searing indictment of judicially condoned—and even enshrined— racism in American law.

Former Villanova law professor Starkey, author of In Defense of Uncle Tom: Why Blacks Must Police Racial Loyalty (2015), here proposes that what he calls “the constitutional Trinity—the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments” might have been enough to ensure “complete Black freedom” had the Supreme Court not consistently aligned itself with “caste preservationists” who, from the time of Reconstruction onward, have created laws and policies that support the subordination of Black Americans. One early test concerned whether now-emancipated Blacks could serve on juries, which West Virginia had banned. In Starkey’s extensive account of the legal arguments that followed, West Virginia’s highest court had ruled that the inability to serve on a jury did not mean “the denial of equal protection of the laws,” a neat bit of semantic parsing that provides the basis for Starkey’s revealing analysis of how the law both interprets and constructs the Constitution: “The country’s foundational text includes a guarantee of equality powerful enough to combat any pathogen of oppression. What it achieves depends on interpretation.” One leg of interpretation is intent, he adds, and intent is always difficult to establish. From that carefully elaborated starting point, Starkey moves on to examine some of the most critically important legal cases touching on racial justice, among them Plessy, Brown, and Bakke, always with twists of judicial interpretation that, he argues

convincingly, never quite deliver promised equality to Black stakeholders in the polity. Indeed, since the Reagan era, the ascendant conservative moment has insisted that whites are the victims in “affirmative action, quotas, and other race-conscious programs geared toward atoning for past racial injustices that needed no atoning,” and the tenor of current politics suggests that no improvement is in the offing.

A powerfully argued study of a legal system that favors those who “persevere in undermining Black freedom.”

The Peepshow: The Murders at Rillington Place

Summerscale, Kate | Penguin Press (320 pp.)

$30.00 | May 6, 2025 | 9780593653630

A true-crime exploration of notorious London murders. In the early 1950s, more than 80% of the British population subscribed to a newspaper. Nothing sold better than lurid stories, accompanied by photographs. When four women’s bodies were uncovered behind a bricked-up wall in a West London boardinghouse, the tabloids struck gold. Exhaustively researched, if woodenly written, the arrest of John Reginald Halliday Christie, his trial, and his eventual execution serve as a narrative clothesline upon which hang detailed biographies of the key players, set amid a racist and misogynistic society slowly emerging from the rubble of the Blitz. Christie and his motives remain opaque; after sexually assaulting and murdering one of his victims, he “had a cup of tea and went to bed.” The coverage of the trial by Harry Procter, a crime reporter for the Sunday Pictorial, a newspaper that financed the defense, and Fryn Tennyson Jesse, suffering from morphine addiction and blindness, humanize the pressure brought to bear on journalists delivering the all-important “scoop.” Both used the trial for personal vindication while illustrating the media’s pandering to lurid

spectacle. Sometimes, the abundance of detail detracts from the central focus. Do we need to know Cecil Beaton has a hangover when taking the Queen’s coronation photos? The book is more effective when detailing the hardship of working-class life, particularly in the haunting biographies of the victims themselves, their families, and their upbringings. The true heartbreak lies in its depiction of poverty-stricken young women who were sex workers or muchless-well-paid cleaners and domestic servants, some sleeping in public lavatories. The cruelty and indifference meted out to them strike the reader as true crime. An exhaustive compendium of postwar misery.

Charles Sumner: Conscience of a Nation

Tameez, Zaakir | Henry Holt (640 pp.)

$35.99 | June 3, 2025 | 9781250362551

A life of the great abolitionist, progressive, and anti-imperialist.

Born in 1811, Charles Sumner, writes constitutional scholar Tameez, “worked with a Black lawyer on the first case argued by an interracial legal team in American history”—significantly, a case involving a young Black girl seeking admission into a whites-only Boston school. Sumner is best remembered today for being assaulted on the Senate floor by a southern politician who beat him with a cane, another significant act inasmuch as, Tameez notes, the cane was an instrument by which masters and overseers beat the enslaved, who were forbidden to carry canes themselves. Sumner earned the wrath of the South for having pressed for not just abolition but also civil rights, coining the phrase “equality before the law,” including equality of education. During the run-up to the Civil War, Sumner urged that slavery be prohibited in any of the nation’s territories, which were administered by Congress; during the Civil War itself, he helped Abraham Lincoln draft the Emancipation Proclamation,

pressing the president to abandon language allowing any secessionist states that surrendered to immediately establish state governments and rejoin Congress “with no institutions changed.” As Tameez documents, Sumner was skillful in bending public opinion, an accomplished legal mind who kept his eye on the prize. Thwarted by the failure of Reconstruction, he also courted controversy by leaving the Republican Party, of which he was a key founder, and more so by urging Blacks to leave it as well: “Never vote for any man,” he urged, “who is not true to you.” He remained provocative to the last, agitating against Ulysses S. Grant’s plan to annex the Dominican Republic and pressing for a comprehensive civil rights bill that never passed. “Liberty has been won,” he said. “The battle for Equality is still pending.”

A skillful blend of legal history and biography that honors the 19th century’s foremost champion of civil rights.

Exophony: Voyages Outside the Mother Tongue

Tawada, Yoko | Trans. by Lisa HofmannKuroda | New Directions (192 pp.) | $17.95 paper | June 3, 2025 | 9780811237871

A polyglot’s travelogue, steeped in the joys and peculiarities of exploring a foreign language. This book, named after a term used to describe “the phenomenon of existing outside of one’s mother tongue,” gathers a series of short observations about languages, borders, and semantics collected over the course of the author’s frequent academic travels. Tawada (Suggested in the Stars, 2024, etc.), who writes in both Japanese and German, is a perfect guide for this peculiar journey, as she embodies the exophonic experience and can showcase firsthand how existing outside one’s native language can reveal hidden wordplay and energy that a native speaker might otherwise overlook. Each vignette follows roughly the same format: Tawada travels abroad to a literary event and encounters a

linguistic hiccup that unfurls into a tangent of intellectual rumination. In one, she reflects on being asked what language she dreams in, a question she feels unfairly suggests that one language is more “real” than the other. While in Seoul, she considers the idea of “foreign literature” and how that concept transforms under political turmoil, “particularly here in Korea, where Japan had forced the Korean people into an exophonic condition against their will.” Many segments discuss “loan words,” terms adopted into vernacular as near-homonyms of their foreign source, such as the Japanese “koppu” (cup) and “basu” (bus). Tawada frequently drifts into details that only fellow language-savants will fully appreciate: She parses out compound words, marvels at the individual meanings of their segments, and then overlays their German and Japanese translations. These digressions may exhaust those readers looking for a more cogent point to these flights of fancy, but Tawada explains that these curious observations can lead to something profound. “Play,” she explains, “can temporarily free us from the habit of seeing words solely as tools for conveying meaning, allowing us to come in contact with the language itself.”

A playful journey toward the space between languages.

The Volunteer: The Failure of the Death Penalty in America and One Inmate’s Quest To Die With Dignity

Toboni, Gianna | Atria (320 pp.) | $29.99 April 1, 2025 | 9781668033012

Portrait of a death-row inmate who, unusually, demanded to be killed by the state that imprisoned him. “It isn’t that I want to die, it’s that I’d rather be dead than do this,” Scott Dozier tells Toboni, a documentary producer who’d happened on news that Dozier was to be executed by the use of fentanyl, having been sentenced to death in Nevada for murder. Dozier, writes Toboni, “wasn’t the

Some

conservatives are tiptoeing away from the death penalty.

THE VOLUNTEER

sympathetic, unjustly imprisoned inmate I had first imagined for the story,” but he owned up to his crimes without special pleading. When he arrived at the penitentiary, Nevada was “imposing the highest rate of sentences in the nation,” but that suddenly stopped, and Dozier, like so many other death-row inmates, was left in limbo. He demanded that the state live up to its promise to end his life, leading to a string of legal arguments and stays of execution. Toboni occasionally wanders a little far into the weeds in examining other capital cases with seemingly only tenuous connections to Dozier’s, but all illustrate the barbarity of execution: Electrocuted prisoners burst into flames, the hanged jerk on their ropes while strangling, and lethal injections don’t always work (one sympathetic warden promises Dozier to keep extra fentanyl on hand “in the event that the people administering the drug somehow botched the administration of it”). Yet her portrait of Dozier himself is compelling, showing that in most respects he was a model prisoner well liked by almost everyone, prisoners and corrections officers alike, save for one higher-up who took a dislike to him. Interestingly, as Toboni notes, conservative politicians “are starting to tiptoe away from the death penalty” for reasons both fiscal and ideological, which will bear on future death-row inmates. As for Dozier, he found death, but not in the way he had demanded, bringing Toboni’s account to a grimly memorable conclusion. A well-paced if sometimes diffuse narrative that raises important questions about capital punishment.

Ruth Asawa and the ArtistMother at Midcentury

Troeller, Jordan | MIT Press (368 pp.) $49.95 | May 6, 2025 | 9780262049498

Mothers who made art history. Troeller, a professor at Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, in Germany, sets out the terms of her wonderfully thorough account with calm clarity given her surprising thesis, arguing “for the difference that motherhood made to midcentury art, with a focus on Ruth Asawa and the San Francisco Bay Area.” It’s surprising because motherhood has long been seen as anathema to serious artists—the opposite of the modernist myth of the solitary genius dedicated to art above all, and especially above the voracious neediness of children. So motherhood as a locus of modern artistic innovation is itself a radical idea, but adding the Bay Area as essential to modernism in an era when New York was (ostensibly) the entire art world, is a further bold assertion. Yet Troeller earns every word via exhaustive archival work. Her discovery of photographic negatives that reveal the art world’s erasure of the sculptor Asawa (1926-2013) as mother are a revelation. She grounds her historical understanding in the specific neighborhoods, even homes, of the artists whose work and worlds she writes about. While Asawa’s close friend, the photographer Imogen Cunningham, is probably the best known of Asawa’s collaborators in Troeller’s book—her images of Asawa and her children capture the fruitful power of an artist-mother practice—there’s great pleasure in discovering the important artistic and civic contributions of less familiar names, like jewelry designer Merry Renk and art historian/artist Sally

Woodbridge, who, together with Asawa, began “the first artist-led arts program in the city’s schools” in San Francisco in 1968. That program, the Alvarado School Arts Workshop, which Troeller calls “a mother-led experiment in creative art education,” is just one of many powerful examples of artist-mother innovation that the author expertly explores.

A groundbreaking account of mother-artists who shaped the course of midcentury art via motherhood itself.

Atomic Dreams: The New Nuclear Evangelists and the Fight for the Future of Energy

Tuhus-Dubrow, Rebecca | Algonquin (288 pp.) $30.00 | April 8, 2025 | 9781643753157

Nuclear power, hated and apparently nearing extinction, has sprung back to life.

Journalist Tuhus-Dubrow, author of Personal Stereo, opens in 2022, when the overwhelmingly Democratic California legislature dealt with the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, the last in the state and scheduled to close. Backed by the governor and activists, lawmakers voted to extend its life. Little public outrage followed.

Tuhus-Dubrow focuses on Heather Hoff and Kristin Zaitz, two employees of Diablo Canyon but no extremists, who founded Mothers for Nuclear in 2016. The women joined a growing movement of climate scientists, former anti-nuclear activists, and liberals who have changed their minds about nuclear power. Now competitive with coal and gas, renewable energy—mostly solar and wind—is increasing, but fossil fuel plants are increasing faster. Ironically, the 2011 Fukushima disaster motivated pro-nuclear environmentalists. Roughly 18,500 people died during the tsunami, but much of the international horror focused on the power plant, where no one died. Meanwhile, poisonous waste from nuclear plants is buried. The waste from fossil fuel, on the

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other hand, enters our lungs and shortens our lives. That millions die from air pollution is not controversial, but it creates no sense of urgency, the author notes. Tuhus-Dubrow agrees that nuclear plants are safer than opponents claim and that renewables come with their own difficulties; operating intermittently, solar and wind require a steady power source to fill in when they fall silent. In the absence of a technological breakthrough, the choice is between fossil fuel and nuclear. A convincing argument on a controversial topic.

Kirkus Star

Making the Best of What’s Left: When We’re Too Old To Get the Chairs Reupholstered

Viorst, Judith | Simon & Schuster (192 pp.)

$28.99 | April 1, 2025 | 9781668068014

T he great humorist, poet, and observer of life passages turns her attention to the

“Final Fifth” of life. Readers just a bit younger than Viorst, who is now 94, may remember growing up with their parents’ copies of It’s Hard To Be Hip Over Thirty and People and Other Aggravations, early collections of Viorst’s light poetry. Along with 14 books for adults, Viorst has authored dozens of children’s books, among them Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. The new book completes the adult series and opens with the poem she meant to give her husband Milton for Valentine’s Day 2023; he died a matter of weeks before. This leads her into a discussion of dating and romance at her RC (retirement community) and a poem called “Grow Old Along With Me and My Home Health Aide,” and then a last poem for Milton: “Stop Being Dead.” Between the poems are mordant observations and anecdotes involving friends and associates from the RC, including their views on the possibility of an afterlife. She herself believes such beliefs are what the shrinks call “terror

management.” She wasn’t here before, and she won’t be here after. “Do I mind? Do I mind? You bet your sweet ass I mind.” Readers well before the Final Fifth will find plenty to relate to here. You don’t have to be much past 60 to notice that as one grows older, it seems much easier to get one’s feelings hurt, to feel passed over or left out. The idea of marginalization is nothing new, but only Viorst phrases it directly enough to elicit sudden tears. And no one of any age should miss “A Jewish Widow’s Country-Western Love Song.” Always both gracious and culturally acute, she acknowledges the wisdom and saving grace of two favorite poets, Jack Gilbert and Adam Zagajewski.

We should all be in such fine form in our 10th decade. Viorst is as charming, and smart, as ever.

The Determined Spy: The Turbulent Life and Times of CIA Pioneer

Frank Wisner

Waller, Douglas | Dutton (656 pp.)

$35.00 | April 8, 2025 | 9780593184424

C omprehensive life of a troubled—and often troubling— founder of the CIA. Espionage writer Waller’s long narrative begins at the beginning of Frank Wisner’s end: a nervous breakdown culminating in an intervention by three friends in the national security game and a hospitalization for “a complete rest.” Wisner would never quite recover, and he ended his own life after leaving the CIA under duress. Interestingly, Waller notes, the CIA all but expected its field agents to crack up, drink heavily, and require therapy, so it came as no surprise that the agency’s “clandestine service chief was seriously ill.” Wisner had the kind of imagination necessary for his job: He helped set up MKUltra, part of a program comprising scores of top-secret projects, this one involving dosing human subjects with LSD. Recruited into military intelligence during World War II, he saw the work of Soviet intelligence agents up

close, which converted him to an implacable anti-communist, fully committed to the Western cause in the Cold War. This commitment played out in part by Wisner’s insistence on hiring former Nazis to spy in the Soviet occupation zone, even as Wisner himself spied on French and British allies, discovering, among other things, that the French were also putting Nazi intelligence veterans to work. After the war Wisner recruited news agencies and film studios to such projects as a conspicuously anti-Stalinist animated version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm Students of modern intelligence and its political discontents will find an odd continuity in the CIA’s being the target of a jealous J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI, focused especially on rooting out gay agents, while Wisner fell afoul of Joseph McCarthy, even as he was spending his hours organizing such things as an “assassination capability” and executing mischief all over the world. A revealing look at the early history of a spy agency with a decidedly checkered past.

Kirkus Star

The Afterlife of Malcolm X: An Outcast Turned Icon’s Enduring Impact on America

Whitaker, Mark | Simon & Schuster (448 pp.) $30.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9781668033296

On the continuing legacy of a canonical figure of the Civil Rights era.

As historian and journalist Whitaker notes at the outset, Malcolm X was so central to Black young people just four years after his death that “they demanded time off from school to honor him”—and got it, complete with a live reenactment of Ossie Davis’ famed eulogy. His influence has only grown, nationally and internationally: The Autobiography of Malcolm X, coauthored by Alex Haley, is a standard text in high school and college curricula, and his presence endures in pop culture thanks to Spike Lee’s biopic and many samplings of Malcolm X’s voice on

the part of rap and hip-hop artists. Oddly, Whitaker adds, Malcolm X is embraced by both left and right, with Black conservatives embracing his call for “self-improvement and economic self-reliance.” One aspect of his life after death, Whitaker writes, is the question of who assassinated him, a question that a large portion of this text adumbrates, with several valuable clues uncovered only recently by documentary filmmakers. A search of declassified FBI files also indicated that the agency was well aware of the imminent threat to Malcolm X but did not pursue its leads, while members of the Black Muslim community kept their silence in the belief that “Malcolm had been foolish and disloyal” to split with leader Elijah Muhammad. Apart from providing a fascinating detective story, Whitaker documents the sometimes surprising ways in which Malcolm X remains a model of Black resistance—as, for example, an opera that “became a vehicle for making Malcolm newly relevant to the ‘Black Panther’ generation,” as well as the renewed interest in him with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. A complex, thoughtfully written book that ably lives up to its title.

The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance

Hero Rose Valland

Young, Michelle | HarperOne (416 pp.)

$29.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9780063295896

The Nazis’ systematic looting of art treasures in occupied France and some who battled against it. The book focuses on Rose Valland, a curator at the Jeu de Paume museum who remained at her post throughout World War II to document the hundreds of thousands of artworks seized by the Nazis (principally but not exclusively belonging to French Jews), but substantial secondary passages follow the odysseys of art dealer Paul Rosenberg and his son Alexandre. U.S. Army lieutenant James

Rorimer makes a late entrance to avail himself of Valland’s meticulous record-keeping to track looted art into Germany in the waning days of the war and save it from destruction by the vengeful Nazis. Journalist and architecture professor Young does a reasonable job of blending these stories into a compelling narrative. It is occasionally jarring, however, to be yanked from the repulsive spectacle of opportunistic art dealers and greedy Nazi officials (Hermann Göring first among them) picking through priceless art collections into the story of the Rosenberg family’s circuitous flight from France to the United States and Alexandre’s enlistment with the Free French Forces that liberated Paris in 1944. Granted, Paul Rosenberg’s unparalleled collection of modern art was one of the Nazis’ principal targets, but detailing his anxieties about Alexandre and the young man’s military service detracts from the remarkable story of Valland, a formidable woman who managed to convince the Germans she was a nondescript bureaucrat who could be useful to them, all the while eavesdropping on their conversations (they didn’t know she spoke German) and covertly writing down every scrap of information she could glean from coded shipping labels or carbon copies fished from trash cans. Young is rightly indignant that Valland’s reputation was later smeared by people anxious to cover up their participation in the looting, most notably German art historian Bruno Lohse, who identified targets for Göring but managed to rehabilitate himself after the war.

Vivid popular history spotlighting a neglected heroine.

I’m

Not Your Muse: Uncovering the Overshadowed Brilliance of Women Artists & Visionaries

Zimmer, Lori | Illus. by Maria Krasinski

Running Press (200 pp.) | $29.00 Feb. 25, 2025 | 9780762485383

muse, Zimmer brings her own frustration to portraits of 31 women whose life’s work has been slighted because of their association with someone more famous. “It is by her contributions to a man’s genius,” Zimmer attests, “that the writers of history have chosen to define her.” The women Zimmer celebrates come from the worlds of visual and performing arts, music, literature, journalism, architecture, and design. Most were born in the late 19th century, in Europe or America, with a few from Asia. Zimmer argues convincingly that some have been ignored in favor of more celebrated men: war correspondent Martha Gellhorn, overshadowed by Ernest Hemingway, with whom she was briefly married; Lucia Moholy, photographer of the Bauhaus, slighted in favor of Walter Gropius; Clara Driscoll, designer of Tiffany lamps, whose contributions were subsumed under the imprimatur of Louis Tiffany. Others, though, drew on the relationships in their own creative work: Fernande Olivier, an artist’s model and most famously Picasso’s lover, went on to become a writer—of memoirs about her life with Picasso. After Gertrude Stein died, her companion Alice B. Toklas wrote a cookbook and memoir peppered with spicy anecdotes about Stein and their friends. Maria Tallchief, a Native American ballet dancer, inspired George Balanchine, but she was famous, too: a star, not an acolyte. Overall, Zimmer revives the reputations of dozens of interesting women, among them, Belle da Costa Greene, J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian, who shaped the holdings of the Morgan Library; Louise Blanchard Bethune, the first American woman professional architect; Korean feminist poet Na Hye-Sok; and pioneer Sri Lankan architect Minnette de Silva. Illustrated by Krasinski, the volume attests to women’s laudable talents and achievements. An entertaining homage.

Remembering notable women.

As the partner of an artist who too often is considered to be only his

Behind the Scenes in Government

Children's

READING FAR AND WIDE

WHEN RECOMMENDING books, I often find myself guided by an unlikely source: South Korean filmmaker Bong Jong Ho’s 2020 Golden Globe speech. Accepting his award for best foreign-language film, the Parasite director told viewers, “Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”

Granted, subtitles aren’t an issue when it comes to literature, but Bong’s words still hold true. It’s imperative that we—librarians, teachers, parents, and anyone else who puts books into the hands of young people—refuse to be constrained by borders. Countless captivating, thought-provoking stories await those willing to read widely; below are several especially noteworthy tales from around the globe.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged by siblings the world over: Sharing is hard . The protagonists of Kim Hyo-eun’s picture book How We Share Cake, translated from Korean by Deborah Smith (Scribble, 2024), are all too aware of that fact and find creative solutions as they attempt to

portion out everything from fried chicken to an uncle’s love. This deliciously inventive tale offers a remarkably honest depiction of childhood that speaks to young people’s egocentrism as well as their deep capacity for empathy. Unicorn books are having a moment, but few are as strikingly original as Roger Mello’s Griso: The One and Only (Elsewhere Editions, 2024). Originally published in Brazil and translated from Portuguese by Daniel Hahn, this picture book follows a unicorn who’s desperately seeking others of his kind. Each spread mimics an artform from a different period, including prehistoric cave paintings and murals from Tang-era China. The result is a beautifully surreal journey that doubles as a course in art appreciation for the elementary school set.

The cover of Triinu Laan’s Batchelder Award–winning John the Skeleton (Yonder, 2024), featuring an image of the titular character grinning as snails crawl over his head and torso, seems to portend a terrifying tale. Readers who press on, however, will discover the surprisingly moving story of a classroom skeleton who, having spent his life helping students learn anatomy, retires to live with an elderly couple. Translated from Estonian by Adam Cullen and illustrated by Marja-Liisa Plats, this short middlegrade work offers a matter-of-fact yet poignant perspective on aging and mortality. Some adults may find it off-putting (few U.S. children’s books involve characters planning their own funerals), but young readers will appreciate Laan’s refusal to sugarcoat life—or death.

Thirteen-year-old Abdi attempts to keep himself and his 5-year-old sister, Alva, alive in a dystopian world ravaged by hairy, two-legged creatures who appeared out of nowhere one day. Ingvild Bjerkeland’s Beasts, translated from Norwegian by Rosie Hedger (Levine Querido, April 1), is grim reading; indeed, it invites comparisons to adult titles such as Cormac McCarthy’s The Road or the film A Quiet Place. But kids made of sterner stuff will be enthralled. While the descriptions of the titular beasts are unnerving, the cruelty displayed by the people Abdi and Alva encounter is even more disturbing. Ending on a faint note of hope, the narrative will leave readers asking questions about the very nature of humanity.

Mahnaz Dar is a young readers’ editor.

Illustration by Eric Scott Anderson

EDITOR’S PICK

Come along with Eunny as she navigates her morning routine.

Delicate watercolor and colored pencil illustrations depict a view of an initially quiet Korean town, while clever second-person text directly addresses readers and the protagonist: “Wake up, Eunny! It’s a beautiful, blue sky morning.” With a gentleness that matches her soft yet precise artwork, Kim invites readers to participate in Eunny’s activities (“Can you hear the town waking up too?” “Have you noticed the flowers?”). Eunny eats a breakfast prepared by her grandmother, Mama drinks

coffee, and then she and Eunny set out. “It’s bright when you step outside, and the air feels cool and fresh. Take a deep breath.” Kim’s portrayal of the now-busy streets makes for immersive reading; every illustration in this South Korean import is filled with detail, from the children’s expressions to the individual leaves on the trees. Mama and Eunny aren’t in a rush, and the unseen narrator urges the child to “stop for a moment, and look up.” A marvelous page turn transitions from an overhead image of Eunny with her head craned back to a stunning view of the

Blue Sky Morning

Kim Jihyun | Trans. by Polly Lawson | Floris 36 pp. | May 13, 2025 |

blue sky seen from below. As Eunny and her mother enjoy their walk to Mama’s bus stop and Eunny meets her friend Sohee, readers get to experience the fun of saying goodbye and

hello, observing the changing colors of the foliage, and anticipating a new school day.

The feeling of a lovely morning, captured perfectly. (Picture book. 3-7)

A brief adventure that celebrates short-lived seclusion.

GEORGE & LENNY ARE ALWAYS TOGETHER

George & Lenny Are Always Together

Agee, Jon | Rocky Pond Books/Penguin (40 pp.)

$18.99 | May 27, 2025 | 9780593857731

Sometimes giving solitude a spin is just what a strong friendship needs. George is a large, gentle bear; Lenny is a small gray rabbit. As the two spend the day on the playground, Lenny notices that they never seem to be apart and begins to speculate about what it would be like to be alone. “Lonely, I bet. And sad!” retorts George. But Lenny, not to be dissuaded, decides to give it a go. At first George tries various ways to join in (“Do you think there is enough room for two?”), but at last Lenny gets some solo time to draw, read, blow bubbles, and sit and think. It’s rewarding, but so is being with George. Writing simple picture books aimed at younger readers can be challenging, but Agee has succeeded in winnowing down a story of curiosity and loneliness to its most essential components. The tone of the book is consistently gentle; even George’s irritation lasts only a moment or two. The entire enterprise brings to mind (in the best possible way) the story “Alone” from Arnold Lobel’s Days With Frog and Toad. Agee’s simple yet expressive thick-lined art makes for an ideal accompaniment.

A brief adventure that celebrates short-lived seclusion. (Picture book. 2-5)

Art’s Art

Agostini, Alliah L. | Illus. by Paige A. Mason Paw Prints Publishing/Baker & Taylor (32 pp.) $15.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9781223188928

A young artist and his dog learn to create together. Cam makes paintings, drawings, and small buildings that his dad proudly displays, but when Art arrives, the rambunctious dog shakes things up. He leaves paw prints all over Cam’s paintings, knocks the boy’s buildings down, and, worst of all, makes “his own buildings”—stinky messes that resemble chocolate kisses emanating steamy fumes. Cam and his dad are quite upset until the resourceful boy devises a plan to redirect Art’s passion. He moves the art studio outdoors, dips the dog’s paws and his own feet in “safe paint,” and creates art that Dad is happy to hang on the wall. Art now understands the process of art-making. “He fetched the blocks. Cam stacked them high.” Cam doesn’t even mind when Art continues to follow his instincts and makes “his own building”: “It was okay. This time he was outside.” The flattened cartoon illustrations emphasize the boy’s art; kids will laugh at the scatological humor. Emphasizing short a sounds, this easy reader features concise and straightforward text and a simple story. Brown-skinned, dark-haired Cam and his father have a loving relationship, and budding artists will appreciate that Cam finds creative solutions that allow his canine pal to explore his artistic side. An accessible tale that makes clear that anyone—even the four-legged— can be an artist. (Early reader. 4-7)

Starstuff: Ten Science Fiction Stories To Celebrate New Possibilities

Ed. by Alexander, William & Wade Roush MIT Kids Press/Candlewick (288 pp.) $19.99 | May 20, 2025 | 9781536236392

A science-fiction short story collection that showcases the possibilities of the near and distant future. This collection of 10 stories includes entries by a number of popular authors for young people. Most are written in traditional prose, such as A.R. Capetta’s secondperson narrative, “The Most Epic Nap in the Universe,” but others branch out: Maddi Gonzalez’s “Zabrina Meets the Retro Club” is a black-and-white comic, and Eliot Schrefer’s “A Proposal to the Animal Congress” consists of a dialogue between two forms of artificial intelligence. Standouts include Kekla Magoon’s plot-driven, high-stakes heist story, “The Whistleblowers,” in which two kids battle big pharma to acquire medical research that calls into question the safety of EternaLife, a miracle drug intended to reverse the effects of aging. David Robertson’s “Of What We Never Were” also shines: In it, middle schooler Stacy is a test subject for whole brain emulation, a process in which the neural contents of a deceased person— in this case, Stacy’s best friend, Adam—are uploaded to an interactive AI device. Robertson sensitively raises questions surrounding grief, loss, and what it means to be human. Although several of the stories falter in the face of the challenge of explaining complex scientific theories in an engaging and accessible way to a younger audience, the themes of humanity, morality, and the quest for knowledge will appeal beyond aficionados of the genre. Naturally inclusive diversity is interwoven throughout, for example through the presence of nongendered characters. Thought-provoking, if inconsistent. (contributor bios) (Science-fiction anthology. 10-14)

For more by Jon Agee, visit Kirkus online.

Friends Are Not for Biting

Allen, Ryan | Illus. by Zoe Persico

Little Bee Books (32 pp.) | $14.99

April 15, 2025 | 9781499817447

Series: Gentle Parenting Guide

A licensed therapist explores the many reasons children choose to bite.

Liam feels like a lion. He loves to stretch and roar. But sometimes, he also likes to bite. Readers follow Liam throughout his day as he navigates temptations. At school, frustrated when a friend plays with his favorite blue train, he pounces. Dad, who’s here to drop Liam off, steps in: “I heard your angry sounds, Liam. Friends are not for biting. When we get upset, we can try taking belly breaths or asking for help.” Later, when the classroom gets so loud it makes Liam’s “teeth buzz,” his teacher suggests he visit the calming space, and eventually, Liam internalizes the titular message. Allen focuses less on Liam’s biting and more on the motivations behind his actions. Many kids will recognize themselves in the protagonist, but the messageheavy narrative feels more like a tool for parents and those working with children than a story youngsters will clamor for. In an appended note, Allen provides useful strategies for understanding and redirecting biting. Tan-skinned Liam is illustrated with a hint of leonine features: He has a mane of wild brown hair, wears a hoodie with ears, and has sharp incisors that come out when his lion tendencies are the strongest. His classroom is diverse. A gentle parenting guide for curbing chewy childhood behavior. (Picture book. 3-6)

Precious

Aponte, Carlos | Nancy Paulsen

Books (32 pp.) | $18.99

May 27, 2025 | 9780593856802

Struggling with the absence of their patriarch, a Puerto Rican family prepares for an impending hurricane.

Pedrito’s father has found work on the mainland and plans to bring the family there soon, but they miss him dearly. As they stock up on supplies and board up windows, Pedrito worries; that night, he dreams of a ferocious wolf chasing him as he attempts to save a helpless dog. The next morning, with the storm past, he and his older brother, Juan, rescue a small dog from the rubble. Pedrito quickly bonds with the pup; as he curls up with her in bed, the wolf from his nightmares is permanently banished. He’s heartbroken when she returns to her actual owner; he feels her absence— and his father’s—keenly. One night, Pedrito’s mother encourages him to sing, something he hasn’t done since his father left. The music lifts his spirits, and soon their neighbors join in, singing “Preciosa,” a love letter to Puerto Rico. As time goes on, the family is reunited, with an unexpected addition: one of the dog’s puppies, whom Pedrito names Preciosa. Featuring appealingly stylized, long-limbed characters, the artwork uses varied angles and compositions to chart Pedrito’s believable journey through hardship while conveying the healing power of community and music. An uplifting story of resilience in the face of loss and natural disaster. (Picture book. 4-9)

An uplifting story of resilience in the face of loss and natural disaster.

Big Boy 4014 and the Steam Team: The World’s Largest Steam Engine Roars Back to

Life!

Arnold, Marsha Diane | Illus. by Adam Gustavson | Sleeping Bear Press (40 pp.) $18.99 | May 1, 2025 | 9781534113145

Arnold and Gustavson pay tribute to the world’s biggest steam locomotive. Though Big Boy 4014 played a crucial role in history—transporting soldiers and equipment across the country during World War II—she’s been inert for the past 50 years, rusting at an outdoor museum in Pomona, California. (The author explains that engineers and crew members historically used female pronouns to refer to these trains, even ones named Big Boy.) But in 2013, a “Steam Team” takes on a seemingly impossible task: rebuilding Big Boy’s engine in time for the Golden Spike Celebration, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. Temporary tracks are laid down so that Big Boy can join the main rail line; two diesel engines push and pull her to Wyoming. Arnold describes the work that goes into restoring her: “Test those bolts. Check those rivets. Grab the torches. Grab the welders.” Finally, it’s time for a test run and then the celebration. Two dense final pages provide more information on the history of these engines and more details of 4014’s restoration. Dramatic perspectives—close-ups, long shots, aerial views—subtly suggest the train’s momentum. Relying on a somewhat somber palette—the gray metal of the locomotive, with touches of bright yellow, sky blue, and warm sienna here and there—these bold illustrations convey a sense of affection for a bygone era. A mighty steam train is resurrected at last. (photographs) (Informational picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Star

Creature Clinic

Aung Than, Gavin | Colors by Megan Huang First Second (224 pp.) | $22.99 $14.99 paper | May 13, 2025 9781250847591 | 9781250847584 paper

A different kind of hospital, one with all-too-relatable problems, serves mythical creatures.

On any given day at Creature Clinic, greenskinned Dr. Kara Orc might deal with a unicorn with a broken horn, a basilisk with a fang ache, or a griffin with a wing transplant. The hospital for creatures of all stripes is thrown for a loop by the arrival of a brownskinned, black-haired human, Mitch, who can’t get enough of the place despite the strict no-humans policy from the chief of medicine, Kara’s mom. Mitch’s knack for emotional support therapy allows him to make breakthroughs with patients that aren’t possible through medicine alone. Aung Than’s pacing and empathy for the cast shine through in every scene, such as during two-headed minotaur Nurse Bullcowski’s morning run, a sequence that shows off the setting and interactions among characters when they’re off the clock. Frequent doses of humor help the medicine go down, from sight gags around aiding an incapacitated giant to a subtle background poster of Sisyphus advertising help for exhaustion. Tension between Kara and her demanding mother grounds the story in an engaging, two-sided drama that forms a satisfying thread through the chapters. The supernatural cast

members have diverse skin colors, and the lively, appealing art is colored in bright hues. Readers will check in, but they won’t want to leave this doctor’s appointment. (author’s note, process notes) (Graphic fantasy. 8-12)

Billions To Burn

Banks, Taylor | Melissa de la Cruz

Studio (336 pp.) | $16.99

May 6, 2025 | 9781368110419

Estranged best friends reunite for an adventure with significant stakes. It’s been over a year since the young descendants of the founders of BURN!!! magazine—a short-lived African American literary publication with a powerful legacy—met for cultural activities. Tech whiz Ashley, viral budding rapper David, pet rat–toting Charlie, and Zeus, whose great-great-grandfather is rumored to have left behind a clue to a hidden treasure, were a tightknit friend group. But Zeus’ grandfather shut down their exclusive club—and mysteriously disappeared. Now Zeus feels that getting the crew back together, with help from his grandpa’s white butler, is the only way to solve this challenging puzzle that reeks of foul play, but their reunion is initially bumpy due to some complicated dynamics. The brisk pace and the kids’ impressive savvy make for an original jet-setting adventure informed by Black creativity and trivia; Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem” frames many of the clues. The kids—Zeus is the youngest

An intriguing look at how humans have stayed connected through the ages. CAN WE TALK?

at 12, and David is the eldest at 14—anchor Banks’ debut novel’s smart exploration of race, politics, history, and literature. The hidden clues they piece together tell of an American history that’s characterized by continual injustice and heartbreak, including in their own families’ stories, whether on an Oklahoma plantation, in Chicago meat-processing plants, or in the artificially inflated prices of insulin. A cliffhanger ending that leaves room for a possible sequel arrives as the kids’ connections are strengthened, and the dangers rise to a crescendo. Timely, compelling, and thrill-packed. (author’s note) (Mystery. 8-13)

Kirkus Star

Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale From a Little Cave

Beckmeyer, Drew | Atheneum (40 pp.) $19.99 | March 18, 2025 | 9781665926638

Two rock formations build a friendship over time.

When drips of water enter a cave, they pick up minerals, creating two “nubs” that become a stalactite and a stalagmite. Spanning millions of years, their tale unfolds as a jaunty conversation between the two anthropomorphic characters, who witness major changes to the world. A trilobite comes and goes. Meteors end dinosaur life. The humor turns a bit dark at times. “Remember the giant ground sloth who loved to lick us?” the protagonists ask while an accompanying illustration shows the creature’s bones now resting in the cave. But there’s an underlying sweetness—and a true sense of wonder at the marvels that have occurred over the eons. As a brownskinned human creates a cave painting, the nubs consider what they would draw if they could: “A picture of the whole infinite universe…Everyone who saw it would…find comfort finally knowing their place in its endless giganticness.” The nubs have expressive faces, and the

mixed-media artwork lends a comic quality to the wonderfully tactile, collagelike spreads. A refrain of “drip, drip, drip” adds a visual and literary rhythm as the two friends literally grow closer, eventually forming a rock column. Beckmeyer has a gift for conveying heady doses of science with whimsy and humor; his wildly original tale is a poignant friendship tale, a master class in storytelling, and probing philosophy perfectly pitched to a young audience. Both gloriously expansive and goofy—in short, everything young readers could ask for. (more information about the creatures in the story) (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb: Young Readers Edition of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

Bird, Kai & Martin J. Sherwin | Adapt. by Eric Singer | Putnam (336 pp.) | $18.99 May 13, 2025 | 9780593856451

A meticulous account of the rise and fall of a brilliant scientist. Though only around half the page length of the prize-winning American Prometheus (2005), the inspiration for the 2023 film, this bulky adaptation for young people still bulges with finely chopped details. The authors cover Oppenheimer’s life, from houses and horses to the kangaroo court government hearing that led to his instant downfall from “America’s darling physicist” to “the most prominent victim of the McCarthy era.” Disappointingly, readers willing to stay the course won’t find the original’s probing study of the scientific breakthroughs and engineering miracles that Oppenheimer presided over as director of the Manhattan Project, which engendered the first nuclear weapons. What still emerges very clearly is how the conflict between his deep moral sensibility and his equally

profound love for scientific truth and the country that betrayed him made him a tragic hero in the classic vein. The major figures are white, but the authors properly acknowledge the government’s cavalier displacement of Latine farmers around Los Alamos and the Micronesian residents of the Bikini Atoll, along with the relentless toll radioactive dust has taken on these communities. The authors also repeatedly note that Japanese leaders were maneuvering toward surrender even as the U.S. government killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

A searching, scorching study of a complex character, trimmed but still weighed down by too much minor detail. (note from Sherwin, adapter’s note, list of historical figures, endnotes, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 11-16)

Can We Talk?: How Humans Stay in Touch

Birmingham, Maria | Illus. by Xulin Orca (96 pp.) | $29.95 | March 11, 2025 9781459838727 | Series: Orca Timeline, 8

An overview of the means we use to communicate, from hand gestures to augmented reality (AR) glasses. Citing expert opinion that our need to connect with one another is as vital and innate as our need for food and shelter, Birmingham tallies up the various ways humans have found to keep in touch from deep prehistory on. She omits some topics; fashion, pheromones, architecture, politics, and art are just some of the many modes of communication that go unexamined. Still, her thought-provoking survey covers the major ones—speech and writing—and is broad enough to touch on whistling, yodeling, smoke signals (in China and certain parts of North America), homing pigeons, postal systems, and AI voice software. Central to Birmingham’s topic is the development of

languages. Noting that 7,000 or so are in current use, she pays particular attention to artificial ones such as Esperanto and Klingon, discusses new ones including Nicaraguan Sign Language and “Textese,” and notes how the genocide of Indigenous Americans by European settlers caused many tongues to fade or disappear. In color photos and graphic images, a racially and culturally diverse mix of children and adults talk, write, read, and peer at screens. Along with glancing mention of recent developments such as deepfakes and “phubbing,” the author closes with a final, quick plea to put down the phones and rediscover the value of face-to-face conversation.

An intriguing look at how humans have stayed connected through the ages. (glossary, resource list, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)

Nainai’s Mountain

Blackburne, Livia | Illus. by Joey Chou Neal Porter/Holiday House (40 pp.)

$18.99 | April 8, 2025 | 9780823452187

A family trip to Taiwan is rife with memories. After a long plane ride with her parents and Nainai (Grandmother), a girl awakens in the dark; a backdrop of city lights includes the unmistakable silhouette of the Taipei 1010 skyscraper. Nainai is up, too, so the two decide to leave the city and watch the sunrise from a nearby mountain. Along the way, Nainai relates fond memories of growing up in Taiwan: riding in pedicabs instead of taxis, playing the pinball games offered by the sausage vendors, and enjoying frozen pineapple cores on hot summer days. The two purchase breakfast and ascend the mountainside, where Nainai spent time as a child; they walk through fields and beneath a cool green forest canopy, where natural delights abound. At the top, they’re warmly welcomed by Nainai’s old friends. Though Nainai loves her homeland, she doesn’t regret

immigrating to California—after all, “California has you,” she points out. Drawing from personal experience, Blackburne captures the emotional essence of each scene, from the seemingly endless airplane ride to the bustle of Taipei to the verdant mountain hike. Geometric shapes create a kaleidoscope of color on every page that will transport readers to this place that both Nainai and Blackburne clearly adore—as much as grandmother and granddaughter love each other.

An inviting love letter to a cherished homeland and family. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)

Into the Rapids

Braden, Ann | Nancy Paulsen Books (176 pp.) $17.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9780593856369

Twelve-year-old Addy’s goals change when a prolonged storm washes out the bridge that connects her small Vermont town to the outside world.

The bridge’s loss jeopardizes Addy’s long-held dream of attending the same summer survival camp where her mother and her now-deceased father met when they were her age. To her surprise, her long-shunned classmate Caleb offers to help, which opens the floodgates—not only to a workaround that just might get her to the camp, but to ways of moving past the grief and self-imposed isolation that have mired her and her even more traumatized mom ever since her father died in a flash flood. Braden spins a fairly taut natural disaster tale that sees Addy relying on the survival skills that she’s diligently practiced for camp. Overall, though, the narrative takes on a heavy-handedly therapeutic cast. Along with mentioning the background reading she’s done on trauma since the accident, Addie helps her mom get through depressive fugues, helps Caleb deal with both his own fears of death and an explicitly described panic attack, and interrogates her own

A simple yet

effective

introduction to green spaces for young readers.

SEE MARCUS GROW

feelings and attitudes—all at relative length and all by the end with reassuringly positive results. In her acknowledgments, the author thanks her therapist for helping her through a similar childhood brush with death. Physical descriptors are minimal. Suspenseful, if somewhat didactic. (Fiction. 10-13)

Bella

and Bean

Bradley, Sandra | Illus. by Udayana Lugo Pajama Press (32 pp.) | $18.95 May 6, 2025 | 9781772783377

A pachyderm has sky-high ambitions.

Bella and Bean, two young hippos with pink-tinged cheeks, sit in the mud and chat about their futures. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” asks Bella. “Big, of course,” replies Bean. But Bella has different aspirations. After some hesitation (“Promise you won’t laugh?”), Bella says that she wants to turn their watering hole into a spa. Bean is gently skeptical, but Bella is determined, and the two pals build a welcoming bridge, create a waterfall, and weave a curtain of vivid pink flowers. The palette of the grasslands brightens tremendously, and the pops of color match the wide-eyed enthusiasm of the two entrepreneurs. But the pair soon encounter a hitch in their plans. “Nobody’s coming to our spa,” Bean points out. The everoptimistic Bella corrects her friend: “Nobody’s coming yet.” With help from other watering hole pals, the spa starts to bloom. The business model looks more like a water park than a

relaxing mud bath, but that’s beside the point. Though the tale is on the quiet side, little ones with big dreams of their own will be inspired by Bella’s persistence. They’ll also take heed from Bradley’s appended note encouraging them to follow their passions, no matter how far-fetched.

A reminder that with confidence and support, anything is possible. (Picture book. 4-7)

See Marcus Grow

Bridgewater, Marcus | Illus. by Reggie Brown | Nancy Paulsen Books (32 pp.) $18.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9780593406076

Bridgewater, a digital creator who shares videos on gardening and personal growth, tells the story of a curious Black child who discovers “a playground for nature.” One day, after Marcus speeds over on his scooter, Grandma invites him to explore her green world. And just like that, before Marcus can even take off his bright red helmet, he’s caught up in the garden that Grandma cares for, all illustrated in digital artwork with textured brush strokes. Mango seeds, tomato seedlings, and squirming worms comprise a delicate ecosystem that Marcus is eager to learn more about. Grandma clearly draws connections between plant and human growth as she patiently explains that both children and seedlings need “water and air and sunshine. And space to grow.” Vibrant details, such as Grandma’s curly hair and large, round, red glasses, enhance a green space already packed with diverse life

ranging from a prickly pineapple plant to a small snail. “I can see why you’re always here!” Marcus eventually exclaims, and as the story transitions from the garden to the kitchen, its themes of nourishment and care remain potent, supported well by an author’s note that dedicates the book to Bridgewater’s grandmother and the invaluable lessons she espoused. A simple yet effective introduction to green spaces for young readers. (Picture book. 4-9)

A Gift of Dust: How Saharan Plumes Feed the Planet

Brockenbrough, Martha | Illus. by Juana Martinez-Neal | Knopf (40 pp.) | $19.99 May 27, 2025 | 9780593428429

Traveling plumes of dust demonstrate how interconnected our planet is.

Brockenbrough tells the story of dust as it journeys from a dried-up Saharan lakebed to the Amazon. Over the course of thousands of years, a dead trout dies, decomposes, and fossilizes. Wind churns the fossils up from “the cracked earth the lake has left behind”; the fossils turn into dust “that paints the sky,” then crosses the ocean as its feeds plankton, which in turn nourishes sharks, fish, and whales. By the time the dust plume has encountered hurricanes and sprinkled the Amazon with phosphorus, which is crucial to plants, it’s large enough to see from space—the weight of “almost 262 billion basketballs.” Brockenbrough lays out a thorough, informative story about how a speck of dust connects continents and species, providing nutrition to flora and fauna and allowing the oceans to produce oxygen for us to breathe.

Caldecott honoree Martinez-Neal’s art is a showstopper, however. Her mixedmedia illustrations on hand-textured paper command attention, from the endpapers mapping the “Route of the Dust” to the ghostly remnants of fossils in a dust storm to a gorgeous bird’s-eye

view of the Amazon and the tender hands of a brown-skinned adult and child, who will be the recipients of dust’s good work in the future. A natural wonder, brought to vivid life. (further info about dust, websites, further reading) (Informational picture book. 4-8)

The Fintastical Tales of Mari A. Fisch #1: Mermaid Mission

Brown, Monica | Illus. by Emily Mendoza Harper/HarperCollins (96 pp.) | $6.99 paper | May 13, 2025 | 9780063116276

Series: Fintastical Tales of Mari A. Fisch, 1

A young mermaid joins the human world. Mari, the nonconforming, adventurous daughter of King Triton and Queen Sirena, shares many similarities with Disney’s Ariel—though Mari’s initially afraid of the ocean’s surface. (Ariel doesn’t appear in the book.) Mari gets wrapped up in her creative projects, which range from choreographing dances for crabs to painting portraits of her hundreds of extended family members. Mari’s sister Coral dubs her “odd,” but when Mari releases a dolphin calf from a mesh net, her proud parents send her on an important mission: to travel to the human world to find out why the waters are increasingly polluted with plastic. In a painless metamorphosis, Mari trades in her fins for legs and dubs herself Mari A. Fisch. Accompanied by her father’s adviser, Blub, a blobfish turned bulldog, Mari moves in with a human family living in Florida who think she’s an exchange student from Finland. Mari campaigns against the use of plastic while navigating complex social dynamics at her new school and learning that the most popular kids don’t always make the best friends. The dozen brief, clearly written chapters each end on a minor cliffhanger and, often, a note of encouragement (“You’ve read four

chapters. Amazing!”). The naïve Mari’s unfamiliarity with human words and concepts adds bits of humor. Mari appears brown-skinned in the blackand-white cartoon art; other characters vary in skin tone.

An earnest introduction to environmentalism for burgeoning chapter-book readers. (craft activity) (Early chapter book. 6-9)

Kirkus Star

Fireworks

Burgess, Matthew | Illus. by Cátia Chien Clarion/HarperCollins (44 pp.)

$19.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9780063216723

Two children cut loose on the Fourth of July. As the book opens, the brown-skinned, dark-haired youngsters explain that “in the summer, the sun rises between buildings on our block to greet us at breakfast and it beats warmer and brighter when we venture out across steamy city sidewalks.” At noon, relief arrives as the children gleefully run through the water sprayed by a fire hydrant. On their way to a local bodega, they wind their way through a park before devouring ruby-red pieces of watermelon. Words dance across the page (“Shooka-shooka shooka-shooka”) as the kids move to the sounds of salsa music. Back at home, Grandma cooks dinner for the children, and as night falls, the youngsters scale a “rickety ladder” to the rooftop, where they wait until…“POP!” Fireworks rain down in a literal explosion of colors and words cascading over silhouetted images of the kids. Burgess’ succinct, sensory-rich, onomatopoeia-laden text beats with an infectious rhythm, while Chien’s impressionistic mixed-media artwork sets the mood beautifully on each spread, from a hazy scene where people seem to fade into the background amid the heat to the dazzling depictions of fireworks, followed by a cozy montage of Grandma getting the kids ready for

bed. Landmarks indicate that the tale is set in New York City; this is an immersive tribute to the unique pleasures of an urban Fourth of July. A radiant celebration of all things summer. (Picture book. 4-7)

Papa’s Coming Home

Buttigieg, Chasten | Illus. by Dan Taylor Philomel (40 pp.) | $19.99 May 20, 2025 | 9780593693988

For his debut picture book, teacher and activist Chasten Buttigieg draws inspiration from life with husband Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. transportation secretary.

The big day has finally arrived! Rosie and Jojo have been counting down the days until Papa comes home from his work trip. With a little help from Daddy, they make “welcome home” signs to greet Papa at the airport, pick flowers from the garden, and bake a “seven-layer chocolate cake with purple and yellow frosting.” Much to Daddy’s bemusement, the kids gather all of Papa’s favorite things, including his robe and slippers and their adorable pooch, Butter, as they walk out the door to pick up Papa from his travels. The author offers an affectionate portrait of the everyday domestic life of a same-sex family unit. While many kids and adults will be pleased to see their experiences reflected on the page, both the choppy writing and the flat digital artwork are fairly bland. Characters display similarly excited facial expressions throughout, while the portrayal of the children borders on overly cutesy at times, with intentionally misspelled signs throughout the house (“Papa’s Very Spechull Garden. Please do not tutch”). Like the author’s actual children, Rosie and Jojo are brown-skinned, while Daddy and Papa present white.

An affirming, though lackluster, look at a loving queer family. (Picture book. 4-7)

Will and Krill

Byer, Stacey | Beaming Books (40 pp.)

$18.99 | June 10, 2025 | 9798889831495

A young whale makes a friend while also finding her voice.

Will, a petite purple whale with huge orange glasses, is very bashful. Looming under water shadows surround her as she crouches meekly in the corner. The other whales’ taunts echo through the waves: “Will, you’re so small, you’re bait-sized!” One morning, Will has had enough. She decides to keep swimming until she finds a friend. Unfortunately, she soon becomes lost. As she sobs uncontrollably, a tiny krill named Charlotte peeks out. (Luckily, Will is a vegetarian.) “We can be your friends!” says Charlotte. “Come on out, everyone!” Suddenly the water is awash with hundreds of bioluminescent pals who promise to help Will find her way home. But Will’s home is full of hungry whales that eat krill. Will must protect her newfound friends by summoning her loudest, most assured voice. Readers will cheer her newly discovered determination. Clunkily placed puns (“No need to cause a comm-ocean”) are comical but sometimes halt the narrative flow. Bright corals and colorful schools of fish scurry through the Caribbean waters, but the sea turns dark and imposing during the heightened dramatic scenes. A plucky tale in which bravery wins the day over size. (Picture book. 3-6)

Time Runs Like a River

Carlisle, Emma | Templar/Candlewick (40 pp.)

$18.99 | May 20, 2025 | 9781536243383

Both rivers and time flow naturally: a gift to be glad for. Two children— one brownskinned, one tan-skinned— set off for a day of gentle discovery in the lush fields and

streams around them, exploring the parallels between the passage of time and a river’s flow. “The seconds drip by in drops. / Each minute trickles, an hour ripples.” Time may seem to slow down as we face conflict, “but like water, you’ll find your way.” Soft lines and earthy hues portray the youngsters communing with nature as the rhyming verse assures readers that change is something to embrace, not fear. Carlisle switches to sepia tones to indicate times past and uses pencil outlines to depict the children growing into adults, denoting their dreams of the future. The meditative text is on the heady side, but adults sharing it one-on-one with their little ones will find it an inviting jumping-off point for discussions about the natural world. The informative and ageappropriate afterword further educates young people about river habitats, while the final pages suggest relevant activities, such as going on a nature scavenger hunt or collecting rocks. Contemplative fare for those undergoing change or reveling in nature’s timeless splendor. (Picture book. 4-8)

My Dear Sea

Carrilho, André | Blue Dot Kids Press (40 pp.)

$18.95 | April 1, 2025 | 9798989858835

Inspired by a trip to the seashore with his 4-year-old daughter, Carrilho contemplates the marvels of the ocean in this Portuguese import.

A light-skinned, dark-haired, big-eyed child excitedly rushes through the sand, flinging off her flip-flops and coverup. Her father warns her to respect the sea as an unruly wave looms. Will she ride the waves or “sink like a stone”? Expertly rendered watercolorlike illustrations accompany the child’s musings on the sea. It can be both formidable and wonderful; its waves ruin the girl’s sand castles, but when the tide goes out, she finds rocks, pebbles, and other treasures to collect. The young

narrator observes marine wildlife, considers historical beliefs about the sea and the monsters that supposedly lurked within its depths, and laments the effects of pollution. Carrilho’s compositions vary, from loose, playfully rendered linework to dramatic, saturated washes of color—a testament to the multifaceted nature of the sea. Ultimately, the little girl reveals ways both whimsical (drawing a picture in the sand) and practical (picking up trash) to show her appreciation for her new friend. The rhythm and rhyme are slightly awkward, possibly due to translation issues—or perhaps to reflect a child’s realistically exuberant stream of consciousness. Either way, the direct, simple ideas and the beautifully imaginative artwork result in an affirming tale.

A unique, delightful oceanic ode. (Picture book. 4-8)

Icy Fruit: How My Grandfather Spread the Joy of Ice Pops Across Taiwan

Cheng, Charlotte | Illus. by Vivian Mineker Rocky Pond Books/Penguin (32 pp.)

$18.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9780593617755

The author grows to appreciate the ingenuity of her Taiwanese grandfather. When Cheng was a child, her Agong carried a bag of coins in his pocket; that simple bag tells a story of “joyful jingles, sultry summers, and fresh frozen fruit.” It all began in 1965, when Agong was a young man making a living selling pork. As the demand for pork dwindled, he wondered what else he could stock in his empty freezer. Noticing the scorching summer heat, he had an idea and started traveling the country, speaking with farmers harvesting guava, pineapple, star fruit, and more. Slicing the fruits and blending them together with bits of sugar, Agong experimented with ways to package the frozen delights, finally landing on colorful

Deeply empathetic, brilliantly illustrated, and chock-full of information.

HURRICANE

pouches that “gleamed like jewels in red, white and yellow as they quickly turned to scrumptious fruit pops.” The innovation didn’t stop there. Agong realized that outdoor food vendors often had difficulty being heard over the cacophony of honking vehicles, so he held a competition, inviting composers to devise a creative jingle to “cut through the rumbling noise of Taipei.” As Cheng brings her tale to a close, she notes that her grandfather’s legacy lives on as three generations of family sing the tune at his funeral. Her gently affectionate narrative flows naturally, marked by alliterative, elegant language. Mineker’s warmly textured illustrations rely on soft lines and bold colors. A delectably loving tribute to a pioneering entrepreneur. (Picture-book biography. 5-8)

Kirkus Star Hurricane

Chin, Jason | Neal Porter/ Holiday House (48 pp.) | $19.99 May 6, 2025 | 9780823458493

Caldecott

Medalist Chin braids together three stories: how hurricanes form, how scientists track their potential impact, and how the people of Cape Hatteras, a barrier island off the North Carolina coast, prepare for landfall. Suspense builds as the three accounts unfold across two weeks, punctuated by daily weather reports. Readers meet meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, coastal Carolinians discussing what’s to come,

and the Hurricane Hunters, “an elite group of scientists and pilots who fly into hurricanes” to gather information. This robust narrative demonstrates how crucial it is for scientists and communities to work together to keep safe during natural disasters. Chin beautifully illustrates the hurricane’s path as if seen from a weather satellite, capturing the blues and whites of Earth’s roiling oceans. Spreads featuring carefully composed, realistic images of active beachgoers interspersed with those of working scientists sometimes include speech bubbles. Chin expertly folds in information on the tropical cyclone wind scale, forecast models, storm surges, how warm water affects hurricanes, and more, accompanied by diagrams. On one wordless page, Chin captures the eye of the storm—an eerily calm, brightly lit neighborhood filled with downed trees and drenched roads. Always attentive to detail, he sketches a recurring stray cat wandering the town, left to survive the evacuation on its own. Characters are diverse. Deeply empathetic, brilliantly illustrated, and chock-full of information. (information on hurricane science, map, further reading, selected sources, author’s note) (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Here Is a Book

Cooper, Elisha | Abrams (40 pp.)

$18.99 | April 22, 2025 | 9781419766756

A book’s journey from a thought to a home. It’s been decades since Aliki’s How a Book Is Made (1986) was published, and clearly the process is worth revisiting in the

THE KIRKUS Q&A: LEILA BOUKARIM

The picture-book author pays tribute to an intrepid refugee who persisted.

BY MAHNAZ DAR

“WHERE ARE YOU FROM?” is a complicated question for author Leila Boukarim. Though she was born in Lebanon, she moved frequently as a child, living in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, the United States, and Montreal. The subject of her new picture-book biography, Mariam al-Shaar, has grappled with that question as well, though in vastly different ways. Al-Shaar was born in Bourj al-Barajneh, a Lebanese refugee camp, to Palestinian parents who were forced to leave their country in 1948. The path to citizenship is difficult for refugees, and job prospects are scarce, but al-Shaar was determined to empower her fellow refugees. In 2013, she started the catering company Soufra; she and her co-workers found renewed purpose in sharing food from their cultures, including Palestinian, Syrian, and Iraqi cuisine.

Al-Shaar came to international attention with the release of the 2018 documentary Soufra, which chronicles her ultimately successful attempt to expand the business into a food truck. Watching the film with friends while living in Singapore, Boukarim was struck by al-Shaar’s dedication. Obtaining government licenses for the food truck—simple enough for Lebanese citizens—was a long and arduous process for al-Shaar due to her refugee status.

“We were all in tears, and when I left the theater that night, I knew that I needed to tell the story to a young audience,” Boukarim tells Kirkus via Zoom from her home in Berlin. Mission accomplished: Her book Mariam’s Dream: The Story of Mariam al-Shaar and Her Food Truck of Hope, illustrated by Sona Avedikian, is a stirring account of al-Shaar’s resolve and creativity. The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

wants to hear about that. Very few grown-ups want to hear about that.

You went to Lebanon to interview Mariam in 2018. What struck you about her? How did meeting her shape your narrative?

[from Japan] told me that she’d come in for one day to meet Mariam. That was unbelievable to me, to see how one person in one refugee camp could have such an impact, not only on her community, but on people all around the world.

What challenges did you encounter in trying to reach a younger audience with this story? Picture books tend to be very short, and the challenge lies in telling a complete and honest story—and a compelling

story—with a word limit under 1,000 words. And this woman is so incredible. How do you distill all of that into a 32-page format?

The other challenge was the nature of the story. A lot of bureaucracy was involved, and no child

How calm, quiet, and composed she is all the time and at the same time how fierce. While I was sitting there with her, we were interrupted so many times, because anytime there was someone at the door or somebody called, they came to Mariam. It was clear that she was central to Soufra. [But] she expressed how uncomfortable she was with having been chosen to be the star of the documentary. To her, every member of Soufra was [just] as important, and she couldn’t have done this without them.

So many people wanted to meet her. One person

I kept thinking about how Mariam would feel about how I portrayed her. I was really worried about disappointing her. So she was always there [in my mind] when I was writing, revising, at every stage. And I was so relieved the first time I shared something [from the book] with her, and she was happy. I hope that I can hand deliver copies of the book to her in Lebanon soon.

This is an especially relevant book now, given the xenophobic rhetoric in the United States and the situation in Gaza. What do you hope young people take

Leila Boukarim

from Mariam’s story?

I think children already know what the takeaway is, so I’m not trying to open their eyes. They understand that hate and walls and fear don’t make us safer. What I really hope is that the grown-ups who are reading this book to children will be moved by this woman and will carry that with them in their daily interactions. [I hope] that the next time they see someone who looks like Mariam, they can look past the labels and the narratives that they’ve been fed and see a person who is much more like them than they think.

What misconceptions do you see your book dismantling?

Mariam talked to me about this when I met her. She said that so many people tend to assume that refugees are helpless. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s crucial that people in positions to help understand: Refugees know best. They know what they need, and they know how to serve their communities.

You’ve published several books centering on people who have complex relationships with the places they’re from. Why does that theme speak to you?

I grew up as a third culture kid. I moved a lot throughout my childhood, not just from country to country, but from school to school. I was always the new kid. I never felt like I belonged anywhere. I spent a big chunk of my childhood in Montreal. When I was in Canada, I never felt Canadian enough. When I went back

to Lebanon to visit, I never felt Lebanese enough. I’ve really struggled to understand where I fit in, and I can see my kids struggling in the same way. So the themes of identity and roots and belonging are

things that I think about often.

Food comes up often in your books, too. Breaking bread is very important in Arab culture and Lebanese culture. Food

Refugees know best. They know what they need, and they know how to serve their communities.

Mariam’s

Dream: The Story of Mariam al-Shaar and Her Food Truck of Hope Boukarim, Leila Illus. by Sona Avedikian

is what brings people together. And there’s one thing that I love about Levantine culture specifically, and that’s the soufra culture. “Soufra” literally means “a table full of food.” On the weekends, families will spend hours preparing for a meal, and then they’ll sit down for lunch, which will last well into the night. For hours on end, they are there at the table together, talking, reciting poetry, bonding over food and stories. I think that’s beautiful.

Why is it important that young people be exposed to international literature? I think it’s crucial that everybody, no matter where they are, read widely, because the world is so small and we’re all so connected. I find that staying focused on your own world can be dangerous. And something I’ve heard said by adults, of course, in the last few months, is “Why should I care about what’s going on in that part of the world? I’ve got enough on my plate and enough problems over here.” It kills me to hear this. We should be able to empathize with people, and books help us do just that.

I have faith that young people will do better than we’ve done, just like we’ve done better than our parents did. I believe that the more diverse stories we put in their hands, the more open they’ll be to the world and the more they’ll be able to empathize with people. A person who can empathize is a person who can be moved to action when it’s most important.

AWARDS

ALA Announces Awards for Children’s Books

Erin Entrada Kelly and Rebecca Lee Kunz are among the winners of this year’s prizes.

Erin Entrada Kelly and Rebecca Lee Kunz are among the children’s book creators winning this year’s Youth Media Awards from the American Library Association. Kelly won the John Newbery Medal, given to “the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature,” for The First State of Being, a novel that was also shortlisted for the National Book Award.

Kelly won the Newbery in 2018 for Hello, Universe. The Randolph Caldecott Medal, which honors picture-book illustrators, went to Rebecca Lee Kunz for Chooch Helped, written by Andrea L. Rogers.

C.G. Esperanza won the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Book Award for My Daddy Is a

For reviews of the ALA Youth Media Award winners, visit Kirkus online.

Cowboy, written by Stephanie Seales. Winning the Coretta Scott King/ John Steptoe New Talent Awards were author Craig Kofi Farmer for Kwame Crashes the Underworld and illustrator Jamiel Law for Jimmy’s Rhythm and Blues, written by Michelle Meadows.

The Schneider Family Book Awards, given to disability-themed books, went to A Little Like Magic , written and illustrated by Sarah Kurpiel, in the younger children’s category, and Popcorn , written and illustrated by Rob Harrell, in the middle-grade category.

Marcelo Verdad won the Pura Belpré Children’s Illustration Award for The Dream Catcher, which he also wrote, while Karla Arenas Valenti won the Pura Belpré Children’s Author Award for Lola, illustrated by Islenia Mil. The Pura Belpré Awards honor Latine

creators of children’s literature.

Lunar Boy, written and illustrated by Jes and Cin Wibowo, took home the Stonewall Children’s Literature Award, given to a book on LGBTQ+ themes, while Vacation, written by Ame Dyckman and illustrated by Mark Teague, won the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the most distinguished beginning reader book.

The Asian/Pacific American Award for picture books went to

Aloha Everything, written by Kaylin Melia George and illustrated by Mae Waite, while Continental Drifter, written and illustrated by Kathy MacLeod, won in the children’s literature category.

The Sydney Taylor Book Awards, given to books that “authentically portray the Jewish experience,” went to An Etrog From Across the Sea, written by Deborah Bodin Cohen and Kerry Olitzky and illustrated by Stacey Dressen McQueen in the picture-book category, and to The Girl Who Sang, written by Estelle Nadel and Sammy Savos with Bethany Strout and illustrated by Sammy Savos.—M.S.

From left, Rebecca Lee Kunz and Erin Entrada Kelly

21st century. We begin with a tanskinned artist, living an idyllic country lifestyle. She brings her work into town via bike, then presents it to her publisher. In a somewhat sped-up series of events, editors, designers, and others look at the layouts before they’re sent to the printer. The resulting books go to a large metropolis, and one finds its way into a school library and the arms of a child. Depicting covers from many classic picture books, Cooper drives home the point that each book has undergone this process and, like the one in readers’ hands, is “made with love.” His watercolor illustrations alternate between sweeping urban and rural vistas, while his human figures, varied in skin tone, are often little more than thin ink outlines, yet still capable of conveying deep emotion. This beauty is echoed in the text’s poetic lyricism, as when Cooper writes that the artist is “carrying her art across a field swirling with wind, wildflowers, bees, swallows, and color.” The printer in the book is American rather than in a country overseas, a not-unheard-of situation but not the experience of the average U.S. book, either.

A behind-the-scenes glimpse into the origins of our most beloved titles. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Star

Lighthouse Ladies: Shining a Spotlight on Hardy Heroines

Coronado, Kris | Illus. by Islenia Mil Clarion/HarperCollins (48 pp.)

$19.99 | May 27, 2025 | 9780063351837

True tales of daring and dedication. Coronado highlights the bravery, fortitude, and persistence exhibited by four female lighthouse keepers. In 1869, Ida Lewis rowed out and rescued two sailors when their boat capsized in Rhode Island’s Newport Harbor. Juliet Nichols sounded a bell for hours to warn of fog in San

Francisco Bay in 1906. In 1912, with low temperatures and icy waters cutting her and her husband’s lighthouse off from the mainland, “Aunt” Venus Parker rowed off to Chincoteague, Virginia, in search of supplies. And in 1925, Julia Toomey, a young native Hawaiian, helped keep the light burning at Oahu’s Makapu’u Point after her lighthouse keeper father’s death. The stories of these four intrepid heroes are exciting and well told in lively, smartly paced, and casually rhyming prose. The last few pages meaningfully expand the book’s reach, helping readers connect these exciting stories to their own lives as they face challenges and encouraging them to embrace both the big and the small moments of life. Thorough backmatter offers more context, with a page devoted to Julia Toomey. Dramatic, deep-toned artwork is a perfect match for the text, combining the stylized and the realistic and grabbing readers’ attention with unusual compositions in precisely detailed but sweeping graphic spreads. Inspiring episodes from the lives of four admirable women. (author’s note, selected bibliography, quotation sources, photographs) (Informational picture book. 5-9)

When Sally O’Malley Discovered the Sea

Cushman, Karen | Knopf (240 pp.)

$17.99 | March 25, 2025 | 9780593650578

Orphan Sally O’Malley exudes gumption as she makes her way across 1894 Oregon in the company of a spoiled kid, a plucky donkey, and a wise woman. Sally doesn’t mince words, not even when she’s talking to herself. “Nobody was wanting me. Never had,” she reminds herself as she runs away from the mineral spring hotel where she’s worked since the orphanage sent her there at age 10. Following the suggestion of a store clerk, 13-year-old Sally,

eyeing a brighter future, heads westward. All manner of obstacles hinder her path, but the offer of a ride with an older woman on her wagon, pulled by Mabel the donkey, leads to relationships that soften Sally’s mistrustful heart. She and the woman, who goes by Major, take on a sniveling 7-year-old boy named Lafayette and make their way toward the coast over land and by riverboat. Sally’s colorful vocabulary evokes the time period, and her irascible first-person narration, coupled with Major’s sensible good nature and brook-no-nonsense attitude, are an appealing combination. The welldeveloped secondary characters and adventure-filled plot provide opportunities for highlighting gender restrictions of the time and accentuating Sally’s growth. The short chapters are laced with historical tidbits, from saloons and dime novels to dungarees. The central characters present white; during her journey, Sally encounters people of other races for the first time in her life. An engrossing historical journey, filled with shenanigans that support trust and growth. (Fiction. 8-12)

The Lemonade War Graphic Novel

Davies, Jacqueline | Illus. by Karen De la Vega | Clarion/HarperCollins (208 pp.) $24.99 | April 29, 2025 | 9780063310407

In this graphic novel adaptation of Davies’ 2007 book, hurt feelings propel an intense business battle. Fourth grader Evan can’t stand the thought of his brainy younger sister, Jessie, skipping a grade and joining his class this fall. Intelligent but emotionally immature, Jessie sometimes misses social cues and wishes she could be more like the gregarious Evan. These insecurities set the stage for a contest to see who can raise the most money selling lemonade this summer. Will Jessie’s book smarts beat Evan’s people skills? The beauty of

this story lies in how each sibling’s strengths rub off on the other: Evan brushes up on his math, while Jessie tentatively makes a new friend. De la Vega’s polished cartoon artwork creatively translates Davies’ metaphors to a visual medium. When the author compares the “mean words inside Evan…fighting to get out” to bats, illustrations depict the furry animals emerging from beneath his shirt; Jessie’s negative thoughts take the form of a tiny purple creature irritatingly tapping her shoulder. Tender scenes depict flashbacks of the siblings supporting each other through their parents’ divorce. The book has business savvy to match the emotional beats (each chapter opens with an entrepreneurial definition that relates to the plot), and several scenes feature math problems that readers can solve for themselves. Evan and Jessie appear white; both have friends of color. A classic sibling rivalry tale that still satisfies to the last drop. (business tips) (Graphic fiction. 8-10)

Adi of Boutanga: A Story From Cameroon

Dzotap, Alain Serge | Illus. by Marc Daniau | Eerdmans (60 pp.) | $18.99 April 15, 2025 | 9780802856296

When a 13-yearold Cameroonian Muslim girl faces the prospect of early marriage, her parents find a way to help her continue her education instead. Adi’s people, the Mbororos, are nomadic herders who move from village to village. Adi loves attending school,

swimming in the river, and making dolls for her younger sisters. But her happy existence is threatened when her uncle Amadou announces that Adi is now a woman, and it’s time for her to marry, like the other girls in her village. Her parents object, but per Mbororo custom, the eldest son must be obeyed, so they hatch a plan to sneak Adi out of town. Adi is sad to leave her family, but she knows that she’ll be safer at Mama Ly’s school in Boutanga. There, she becomes accustomed to a new life with other girls. The author’s note and backmatter offer more information about life in Cameroon. Translated from French by the author, the straightforward prose speaks to a young girl’s joys and fears while also giving readers a sense of life in Adi’s village, such as the effects of modernization as people take on new jobs. Adi has a memorable voice, and readers will be heartened to see how her family’s creative problem-solving results in positive change. The text is set against patterned backgrounds, adding visual interest; Daniau’s stylized, richly hued illustrations help the narrative come alive.

A vivid account of Cameroonian village life. (author’s note, further information, glossary) (Fiction. 7-11)

Star

The Gathering Table

Eady, Antwan | Illus. by London Ladd | Knopf (40 pp.) | $18.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9780593480601

Milestones in the life of a loving Black family. A young boy explains that on special occasions, his family gathers outdoors around a

Perfect for encouraging kids to celebrate their own family connections.

big wooden table beneath the shade of a moss-draped tree. They honor Grandpa and Grandma “for the family they’ve built,” watch fireworks light up the sky, and come together for the wedding of the protagonist’s uncles, who “can finally say: I do.” Punctuated with the phrase “This is the table,” the text is elegant and reverent, though laced with appropriately childlike observations from the young narrator. “This is the table of love / Slobbery love, if you ask me,” the boy notes as Grandpa asks Grandma for a kiss. And after the protagonist’s younger sister is born, “This is the table of hope. / (And I hope someone gets a diaper change ASAP.)” Eady’s words often emphasize the connections between humans and the natural world around them, while Ladd’s deeply saturated mixed-media illustrations portray a lush, verdant Lowcountry summer and wring joy from simple yet meaningful moments. Somehow everyone ends up wearing icing from the wedding cake, and when a Lowcountry boil is on the menu, an overhead image depicts eager hands reaching across a newspapercovered table for corn, crabs, and potatoes. Various skin tones and hairstyles show the diversity that can exist within a single Black family. Sumptuous and immersive—perfect for encouraging kids to celebrate their own family connections. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-8)

Growing Home

Ferry, Beth | Illus. by Eric Fan & Terry Fan Simon & Schuster (272 pp.) | $17.99 May 27, 2025 | 9781665942485

A n assortment of unusual characters form friendships and help each other become their best selves.

Mr. and Mrs. Tupper, who live at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive, are antiquarians. Their daughter, Jillian, loves and cares for a plant named Ivy, who has “three speckles on each leaf and three letters in

Kirkus

her name.” Toasty, the grumpy goldfish, lives in an octagonal tank and wishes he were Jillian’s favorite; when Arthur the spider arrives inside an antique desk, he brings wisdom and insight. Ollie the violet plant, Louise the bee, and Sunny the canary each arrive with their own quirks and problems to solve. Each character has a distinct personality and perspective; sometimes they clash, but more often they learn to empathize, see each other’s points of view, and work to help one another. They also help the Tupper family with bills and a burglar. The Fan brothers’ soft-edged, oldfashioned, black-and-white illustrations depict Toasty and Arthur with tiny hats; Ivy and Ollie have facial expressions on their plant pots. The Tuppers have paper-white skin and dark hair. The story comes together like a recipe: Simple ingredients combine, transform, and rise into something wonderful. In its matter-of-fact wisdom, rich vocabulary (often defined within the text), hint of magic, and empathetic nonhuman characters who solve problems in creative ways, this delightful work is reminiscent of Ferris by Kate DiCamillo, Our Friend Hedgehog by Lauren Castillo, and Ivy Lost and Found by Cynthia Lord and Stephanie Graegin. Charming. (Fiction. 6-9)

Spelling It Out

Finnegan, Margaret | Atheneum (208 pp.)

$17.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9781665930116

A s a Southern California sixth grader studies to become a spelling champ, he becomes intimately familiar with powerful words like persist, prejudice, and dementia

Ben Bellini enjoys spelling, but in 1985, surrounded by tough-guy movie images of Rambo, he’s concerned that spelling’s not something men do. Then Nan invites him to spend the summer with her in San Francisco to train with Roger Nott, a Scripps National Spelling Bee–winning coach. He can’t

say no! Roger turns out to be a bully, but San Francisco is great—especially the public library, where Sicilian American Ben meets Indian American Asha Krishnakumar. When she’s not playing basketball, she’s preparing for the spelling bee, too, and she shares her motto with Ben: “Persist, persist, persist.” Ben is a nuanced character with keen observational skills. He realizes that many people keep going in the face of discouragement and prejudice—Asha has faced racism in basketball, Nan experienced sexism working as an architect, and Nan’s Japanese American friend spent World War II in an incarceration camp. Inspired by their examples, Ben stops perceiving himself as lacking in “talent or confidence”—and stands up to Roger. Ben’s biggest challenge, however, is admitting that Nan’s memory lapses may be dementia. In his well-drawn character arc, Ben shoulders responsibilities beyond his years to help Nan: His growth signals the champion he’s becoming in his personal life. Chapters open with vocabulary words and their definitions. A thoughtful coming-of-age story. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)

Severe and Unusual Weather

Foley, Jessie Ann | Quill Tree Books/ HarperCollins (272 pp.) | $19.99 May 13, 2025 | 9780063207783

Two troubled young people grow close as they learn about a natural disaster. After leaving Chicago, all Nadine wants is to keep her head down and have a “drama-free end to sixth grade” in rural Centralia, Illinois. But things aren’t that simple, what with her neighbor and class project partner, Francis, being bullied. They’re researching the Great Tornado of the New Millenium, which divided Centralia: Wealthy residents have new,

tornado-proof houses built on a former trailer park, which was leveled in the disaster. As an infant, Francis lost his mother in the GTNM; he heartbreakingly asks Nadine and her grandma, “But what’s a mom like? ” Meanwhile, Nadine’s mother is battling addiction, which is why she’s living with Grandma. The pair’s research unearths newspaper headlines, a secret, and the stories of their mothers’ shared history. The eccentric supporting cast includes an ex-Marine librarian with PTSD, a smarmy mayor with deep local roots, and a disgraced meteorologist. Francis is vulnerable and smart, while Nadine is a survivor; together they forge a poignant friendship in the face of loss, neglect, bullying, class divides, and prejudice. The book, which incorporates some great science facts, will compel readers to think about those who have lost their lives in extreme weather events as people rather than statistics. Some light fantasy elements feel like a bit of a stretch, but overall, the strong writing compensates. A gripping story of loss and connection. (Fiction. 9-13)

Joey the Good

Fry, Erin | Jolly Fish Press (256 pp.) | $14.99 paper | May 20, 2025 | 9781631639180

A boy who’s ready to spend the summer after seventh grade watching soccer and cooking with his nonna embarks on a wilderness adventure. Ever since Nonno’s death two years ago during a fishing trip with Joey and his older cousin, Leo, Joey has struggled to enjoy the outdoors like he used to. But now Leo is coming to California for a visit, and he wants Joey to climb Mount Whitney with him on what would have been Nonno’s 75th birthday. Popular, beloved Leo is seemingly good at everything from attracting girls to feats of athleticism. He also, to Joey’s surprise, has been diagnosed with

relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, and he wants to conquer this bucket list item before the disease progresses. The pair face grueling training, their shared grief, and Leo’s overdoing it when he needs to be mindful of his health. All the while, the cousins must lean on each other. Joey is a strong first-person narrator. He’s hobbled by the guilt surrounding the circumstances of Nonno’s death and insecurity over being out of shape, but he blossoms through hiking and rediscovers his natural, likable warmth via new friendships. Leo is a well-rounded character, not simply a prop for Joey’s story, but while the close, fraught bond between the cousins is realistic, Leo’s illness is somewhat vaguely portrayed, primarily through Joey’s eyes. The Italian American family’s culture is woven into their lives.

A strongly characterized examination of healing familial reconnection. (author’s note, discussion guide, further resources) (Fiction. 10-14)

The World Needs the Wonder You See

Gaines, Joanna | Illus. by Julianna Swaney

Tommy Nelson (32 pp.) | $19.99 Jan. 28, 2025 | 9781400247417

Interior decorator and TV personality Gaines invites readers to open their eyes and exercise their imaginations. There’s a world to be explored out there—and only children can really take part. What does “looking for wonder” entail? Slowing down and looking up, around, and everywhere. At the outset, a group of eager, racially diverse young

friends—including one who uses a wheelchair— are fully prepared for a grand adventure. They offer tips about how and where to look: Why, there’s a “grand parade” of marching ants! And, these kids add, perspective is key. A rainy day might signal gloom to some, but to those filled with wonder, showers bring “magic puddles for play”; a forest is “an enchanted world,” the ocean conceals “a spectacular city,” and the night sky boasts “extraordinary sights.” The takeaway: “Wonder is never in short supply.” It’s a robust, empowering message, as is the exhortation to “keep your mind open, and let curiosity guide the way.” Youngsters are also advised to share their discoveries. The upbeat narrative is delivered in clunky verse, but the colorful cartoonish illustrations brimming with activity and good cheer (including some adorable anthropomorphized animals in the backgrounds) make up for the textual lapses and should motivate readers to embark on their own “wonder explorations.” Handy advice for perpetually inquisitive children. (Picture book. 4-7)

The Forgotten Summer of Seneca

Garrett, Camryn | Amulet/Abrams (256 pp.) $18.99 | April 15, 2025 | 9781419773334

An African American tween from Long Island finds herself in another dimension with residents of a historical village.

Twelve-year-old Rowan once loved spending the summer in Manhattan with her paternal aunt Monica. But ever

since her father’s death, she’s had no interest in things she once enjoyed. After her mother insists, Rowan finds herself back at Aunt Monica’s, a place she painfully associates with her dad. Wandering around Central Park taking pictures with his old-fashioned camera, which she treasures, leads to an unbelievable adventure when Rowan stumbles through a portal into another time. She meets a girl named Lily who tells her she’s in Seneca Village, where people have magical abilities. Lily also shares the fact that Sage, a girl from the village, recently went missing. Rowan meets community elder Auntie Alma, who believes the portal may be malfunctioning, potentially threatening their way of life. After Rowan returns to her own time, she does research and confirms that Seneca Village was a real place, founded by free Black people and razed in 1857 to create Central Park. When Rowan returns to the village, she gets caught up in the search for Sage as well as efforts to repair the portal and preserve the hidden magical place. In her fresh, engaging, and surprise-filled middle-grade debut, celebrated YA author Garrett successfully blends genres. Rowan is an entertaining and engaging protagonist who’s surrounded by an interesting supporting cast. A thoughtful coming-of-age narrative infused with fantasy and history. (Fiction. 10-14)

Pluto Rocket: Full Blast!

Gilligan, Paul | Tundra Books (96 pp.)

$13.99 | March 18, 2025

9781774885413 | Series: Pluto Rocket, 3

Rocket into new adventures with a kindly extraterrestrial and a streetwise pigeon. Pluto Rocket, a magenta antennaed creature who only recently landed on Earth but who’s happily taken to the planet with guidance from self-assured Joe Pidge, has a great idea. Today, the two will venture to a different neighborhood as Pluto

attempts to fulfill a secret mission: proving that Earthlings are nice. The usually cocksure Joe Pidge is uncertain, but he gamely faces his fears of the unknown. Having apparently gotten all his information from nursery rhymes, Joe’s convinced that the local candy shop is in fact owned by an evil witch and that a nearby bridge conceals a nasty troll. But the pair swiftly realize that these community members are generous and helpful. As they continue exploring, Joe’s selfserving perspective conflicts with Pluto’s more altruistic point of view. When Joe finally performs a good deed at Pluto’s urging, he discovers how rewarding helping can be—especially when it comes with plenty of adulation. But amid all the attention, Pluto’s mission is compromised. Lovable friends, lots of action and humor, a quirky but generally low-stakes plot, easy-to-read layouts, and bright, blocky graphics are a formula for a winning read. The interplay between the naïvely optimistic Pluto and the more cynical Joe is a delight. By turns goodhearted and goofy—and always entertaining. (Graphic fiction. 6-9)

No One Told Sandra Day

O’Connor What To Do: The First Woman To Serve on the United States Supreme Court

Golden, Molly | Illus. by Julia Breckenreid Sleeping Bear Press (40 pp.)

$18.99 | May 1, 2025 | 9781534113268

From childhood on, Sandra Day O’Connor (1930-2023) bucked notions of how a young woman was expected to behave. Growing up on an Arizona ranch, young Sandra rode horses, herded cattle, and changed tires. Later, she attended the posh Radford School for Girls in Texas, where she excelled academically but often felt out of place. A school visit from Eleanor Roosevelt planted an early interest in public service, but when

Sandra eventually graduated from Stanford Law School, she couldn’t find a position, despite her high grades. So she started her own law practice, volunteered, and took part in local politics. Eventually, the Arizona governor asked her to fill a vacancy on the state legislature. She later won an election for the seat, although her fellow legislators ostracized her due to her gender. After O’Connor had served as a state judge, Ronald Reagan appointed her to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1981. Golden’s straightforward text focuses more on O’Connor’s education and career milestones and less on her judicial views, though the author emphasizes that she “cast the deciding vote in many important cases that helped protect civil rights, gender equality, religious freedom, and the environment.” Breckenreid’s mixed-media illustrations incorporate photorealism blended with more impressionistic scenes. Though the book lacks further reading or a bibliography, an author’s note and a glossary offer more context. An admiring glimpse at a pioneering legal figure. (photographs) (Picture-book biography. 7-10)

Un-Wanted

Gourley, Kashelle | Illus. by Skylar Hogan Little Bee Books (40 pp.) | $18.99 June 3, 2025 | 9781499817379 Series: Bumble and Queen

T he furry, scratching, meowing new addition to the family definitely isn’t lovable—or is she?

Bumble the dog is on the case. Our protagonist notices strange things around the house— knocked-over house plants, shredded upholstery, ever-watchful yellow eyes. After a lengthy investigation, Bumble eventually realizes that these are all clues that the house has been infiltrated by a dreaded feline. Though initially resistant, Bumble discovers that there are benefits to life with a cat. The newcomer helps our hero access out-of-reach treats,

provides soothing back rubs, and makes a great snuggling partner. Bumble’s wryly funny voice pairs nicely with Hogan’s artwork, rife with sight gags. Clad in a deerstalker hat and coat, Bumble cuts a hilarious figure with his long snout and wide, expressive eyes; an especially memorable page sees the harried-looking pooch poring over a detailed evidence board. Kids will giggle over a scene in which the oblivious Bumble recalls all the signs he’s missed: the litter box he mistook for a beachy getaway, the book on cat care he overlooked, and the second food dish he failed to notice. This tale of unlikely friendship will speak to little readers, who will love being in on the jokes. The pets’ owner is brown-skinned with curly brown hair. Fun and heartwarming. (Picture book. 4-8)

A Year of Pride and Joy: LGBTQ+ Voices Share Their Life Passions

Ed. by Green, Simon James | Illus. by Ruth Burrows | Magic Cat (112 pp.) | $22.99 May 6, 2025 | 9781419774089 | Series: Year of Joy

In this U.K. import, queer figures discuss what brings them pleasure. Organized by month, the entries in this book are each accompanied by a different holiday, including National Bird Day, World Knit in Public Day, and, of course, Pride Month. For National Tell a Story Day, author Matt Cain discusses being bullied as a child and how he channeled his pain into his writing. For World Wildlife Day, Lauren Esposito, curator of Arachnology at the California Academy of Sciences, holds forth on her love of scorpions. The featured figures include well-known (at least in the U.K.) actors and athletes as well as leaders in their fields who may not be household names. Many derive pleasure from things other than their careers; for instance, Olympic diver Tom Daley

A charming and moving novel that’s sure to tug at readers’ heartstrings

GUS AND GLORY

expounds on his love of knitting—a subtle but important lesson that not all hobbies need to be monetized. In addition to serving as a message of LGBTQ+ joy, the book also offers a catalog of hobbies that don’t involve scrolling. Some topics, such as the Eurovision song contest, may be unfamiliar to American readers, but they offer an opportunity to learn something new. Between the potential for horizon-broadening, the message of appreciating small joys, and the depiction of thriving LGBTQ+ people, this book has the potential to entertain, educate, and even make a positive impact on mental health. The colorful, blocky art adds fun and excitement. A worthwhile dive into life’s simple delights. (Nonfiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Star

Mama Moon: A Story About Love and Mental Health

Grigni, Noah | Henry Holt (48 pp.)

$18.99 | April 15, 2025 | 9781250824295

Mama loves her child—even on “her bluest days.” The young narrator lives in a house by the sea with a cat and with Baba and Mama—a devoted parent who lives with bipolar disorder. Like the moon, Mama is a guiding light in the narrator’s life, but she also waxes and wanes, shifting from depression to mania. At times, she struggles to get out of bed; she even misses the protagonist’s school concert. Not much of Mama’s mania is depicted, but at one point, she must spend time in the hospital.

Luckily, steadfast Baba is there to keep the youngster grounded. Grigni’s rhyming text is gentle and honest, validating the child’s feelings of abandonment, helplessness, and anger while also making it clear that Mama’s actions aren’t the result of a moral failing or a lack of love. Inspired metaphors help drive home the book’s messages, such as “a heavy fog that hangs over her head,” with images of the child floating through the sky, encircled by a waxing moon. Tempering the difficult subject matter, the artwork has a graphic novel feel, with characters speaking in speech bubbles. In keeping with the lunar theme, hues of purple and blue dominate the pages. Mama is light-skinned, while Baba and the narrator are brown-skinned; some may read Mama and Baba as a queer couple. A realistic, poignant, and affirming family portrait. (resources, author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Star

Gus and Glory

Guillory, Sarah | Roaring Brook Press (240 pp.) $18.99 | May 20, 2025 | 9781250349361

A bond with a spirited bloodhound helps a girl find the meaning of family.

Twelve-year-old Glory St. Romain loves a good mystery, and Sweet Olive, Louisiana, offers plenty. She’s spending the summer there with her mom’s estranged parents, Nana Pat and Papaw Jack, while her long-haul trucker dad is on the road. Glory’s chance encounter with Gus, a

huge bloodhound with a personality to match, offers her the companionship she craves as she investigates the mystery of her missing mother, who left without a word. Her phone is out of service, and Glory discovers that her mom was fired from her job months ago. Glory and Gus hone their tracking skills, finding friendship and adventure along the way, as Glory dares to remain hopeful. Gus’ physically comedic antics and animated personality bring necessary humor that bookends the gravity of Glory’s heartrending family situation. Glory’s inquisitiveness and keen observational skills reflect the forced maturity that often results from childhood instability. This element, paired with her wholesome longing for connection, makes her a genuine and affecting narrator. The supporting characters and related subplots are artfully crafted, particularly the meticulous detailing of the physical and emotional complications of Papaw Jack’s stroke. The uplifting yet bittersweet conclusion provides added authenticity. Main characters present white. A charming and moving novel that’s sure to tug at readers’ heartstrings. (Fiction. 9-13)

Miss Liberty

Haley, Erin Moonyeen | Harper/ HarperCollins (224 pp.) | $18.99 May 6, 2025 | 9780063360013

A 12-year-old girl dreams of being the lead dancer in her small town’s Fourth of July parade, the future of which is under threat. Savvy loves Glitter Season, when her town starts celebrating and counting down to the Fourth of July. She believes that if she can become Miss Liberty, everything will go well for her; anxious Savvy, who struggles with panic attacks, craves this reassurance. But her older sister, Levi, has other plans. Now in her third year as Miss Liberty, 17-year-old Levi, inspired by her honors civics class, is done being silent. She

believes that Miss Liberty should stand for a cause, and hers is protesting a change that undermines voting access for the town’s citizens. Savvy is convinced that Levi’s planned protest will ruin the parade, which the town council decided will end after this year due to budget constraints. Will Savvy be able to fulfill her dream of someday being Miss Liberty? First-person narrator Savvy gives readers strong descriptions of her inner world, the weather forecast (“one less thing to worry about”), and her anxiety. The pacing is just right, and Savvy and her close friends, Seymour (who loves fashion) and Dulce (a student journalist activist), are likable as they support one another in what they each believe matters. Most main characters read white, and Dulce is cued Latine. A fierce, sparkly debut that shows the importance of taking a stand and being yourself. (Fiction. 8-12)

The Monarch

Hall, Kirsten | Illus. by Isabelle Arsenault | Atheneum (48 pp.)

$19.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9781665943420

Ready for an adventure?

Young readers follow several eastern monarchs as they make a multigenerational migration across North America. The story begins with a pearl necklace–wearing butterfly laying an egg on a milkweed leaf. Soon a very ravenous caterpillar emerges, eats, grows, and begins her metamorphosis. This new protagonist sports a high-buttoned lacy collar as she travels. After a page turn, the third generation is introduced (this one in a ruffled collar), and we follow her amorous adventures until she also lays an egg, one that produces the final protagonist, complete with a lavaliere. This final butterfly travels onward, completing the circuit started by her great-grandparents. The book is narrated in a rhyme scheme that reads fairly well aloud, although the rhyming

An incredible, brilliantly told story of persistence, advocacy, and love.

KAHO ʻ OLAWE

pattern fluctuates, and the thin font can be easily missed on some of the busier illustrations. The artwork, a mix of traditional and digital techniques, is attractive, though the various butterflies are differentiated only by changing neckwear designs—which may be a whisper too subtle for young readers. The changeover between generations is quick; readers who aren’t paying close attention may miss these crucial shifts. A page of backmatter offers more information on these butterflies and the dangers they face.

A serviceable introduction to monarch migration, with some bumps along the journey. (map) (Informational picture book. 4-8)

The Bear Out There

Hannigan, Jess | Quill Tree Books/ HarperCollins (48 pp.) | $19.99 April 29, 2025 | 9780063289482

Part “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” part The Monster at the End of This Book, all fun.

The red-headed, light-skinned narrator immediately breaks the fourth wall, screaming bloody murder under the premise that readers have knocked on the door. Why the alarm? Perched on an overstuffed chair, a flashlight illuminating the child’s face, the narrator warns of the titular “BEAR out there.” On the ensuing pages, the protagonist shows readers dubious “proof” of the bear’s presence in the woods to hilarious effect, with the bold collage and acrylic illustrations working double time with changes in perspective, expressive color, and energetic

linework to enhance the child’s outrageous claims and dramatic emotions. Lo and behold, it turns out there is a bear out there, and when the animal arrives at the house, the narrator crashes through a window to escape. Now it’s the bear’s turn to tell the story, and the animal makes it clear just whose house it really is. “Believe it or not, break-ins happen all the time,” the furry creature says on a page showing a close-up of a book entitled Goldilocks: Friend or Fiend? The bear proceeds to offer tea—this is a kindly bear and a good host indeed. A final twist shows the original narrator monetizing the ursine encounter with a new book, I Survived a Real Bear: A Memoir. Feisty fractured fairy-tale fun. (Picture book. 3-6)

We Are All Animals:

Discover What YOU Have in Common With a Dog, a Cat, a Bee, a Bat, and a Jellyfish!

Hoare, Ben & Christopher Lloyd | Illus. by Mark Ruffle | What on Earth Books (48 pp.) $19.99 | April 8, 2025 | 9781804661468

A re humans unique? No! We belong to a community of critters. Hoare and Lloyd find multiple, and sometimes surprising, commonalities between humans and other animals, starting and ending at the genetic level. We’re all made of cells, we all have internal clocks, we all have feelings, and we all communicate. Along the way, the authors answer basic biological questions: How are animals classified? How do they grow? Why is oxygen so

important? Hoare and Lloyd also provide plenty of astonishing facts about the things that set various creatures apart: Turtles can breathe through their bottoms. Leeches have 32 brains. Our human “body clock” is the size of a poppy seed. Bees can clamp their jaws on a plant to sleep, while chinstrap penguins take thousands of micro-naps a day. Rats love to have their tummies tickled; humans and bananas share 50% of their genes. The writing is informative, though jargon-free and conversational, often addressing readers directly. The section on poop is bound to be especially popular. Colorful stylized illustrations add detail, mostly depicting the animals close up or in isolation, but sometimes portraying them in their natural habitats. Occasional photographs are interspersed. The few humans shown are racially diverse. Curious youngsters will eagerly flock to this fascinating book. (glossary, selected sources, picture credits, index) (Informational picture book. 8-12)

The Elders’ Quest

Hunter, Erin | Harper/HarperCollins (288 pp.) $19.99 | Jan. 7, 2025 | 9780063357068 Series: Warriors: Changing Skies, 1

Increased evidence of encroachment by Twolegs and other ominous signs of change roil the five feline Clans of the lake territories in this kickoff of a new story arc.

In intertwined storylines, a distracting voice in a young apprentice’s head takes on increasingly scary strength, disturbing visions inform an experienced warrior that she’s been chosen by the spirit guides of StarClan to play an unwanted role in impending troubles, and a wise but weakening Clan leader faces being voted out of office due to her age. Meanwhile, the enigmatic Twolegs are tearing up a forested area, poisoning an important stream, and possibly threatening all the established territories of the five Clans. Avid series fans will welcome encounters

with older versions of Leafstar, Tawnypelt, and other stalwarts whom they met in previous episodes. Detailed maps labeling the terrain in both cat and Twoleg terms appear at the beginning of the book, along with a cast list of truly imposing length, helping any readers who need reminders to keep track of the dozens of relationships and Clan affiliations. Better yet, expertly mixed in among dreams and discussions that crank up the general level of anxiety, the book has enough incidental action and individual wrestling with personal issues to help the main characters stand out from the furry crowd.

A strong start to a new series in the ever-popular Warriors world: Legions of fans will purr. (Animal fantasy. 9-12)

Kirkus Star

Kahoʻolawe:

The True Story of an Island and Her People

Hurley, Kamalani | Illus. by Harinani Orme Millbrook/Lerner (32 pp.) | $19.99 Feb. 4, 2025 | 9798765605011

The history of the smallest of Hawai‘i’s eight main islands— and the activists who worked tirelessly to safeguard it.

In an author’s note, Hurley explains that, like many Native Hawaiians, she was taught that Kahoʻ olawe was merely a “barren rock.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Though Kahoʻ olawe isn’t “as lush as the other Hawaiian islands,” wildlife thrives here, as did the Polynesian wayfinders who settled here years ago. But the arrival of newcomers who often brought with them invasive species— goats brought by Capt. George Vancouver in 1793, for instance—disrupted the environment. When World War II began, the U.S. military took over Kahoʻ olawe for target practice; people were kept away. Hawaiian residents were told that the island was suitable only for military testing, but in the 1970s, activists started to

advocate for its protection, guided by the principle of aloha ʻ āina, or “deep love of the land.” In 1993, the state of Hawai‘i assumed control of the island. Hurley’s robust prose paints a vivid portrait, with each page ending in a brief statement from the island’s point of view. Sidebars offer more in-depth information about island ecology and history, while Orme’s energetic, painterly illustrations fill the page with strikingly rich textures. Together, text and art offer a powerful counternarrative to misconceptions about the island: “The people love Kahoʻ olawe. And Kahoʻ olawe loves the people.”

An incredible, brilliantly told story of persistence, advocacy, and love. (list of Hawaiian sayings, author’s and illustrator’s notes, photographs, timeline, glossary, ways to help, resources, selected references) (Informational picture book. 7-11)

A Sleuth of Bears and Other Amusing, Beguiling, and Peculiar Collective Nouns

Jackson, Colter | Princeton Architectural Press (60 pp.) | $18.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9781797233031

A heap of collective nouns for assorted animals. Adults may know that whales form a pod, chickens a clutch, and owls a parliament, but even older readers will be delighted by the revelation that a boatload of bears— here, clad in deerstalker hats and trench coats—constitutes a “sleuth.”

The rhyming text describes the creatures taking part in hilariously apt activities: A “grumble” of pugs reluctantly await a gym session; the “crash of rhinos” get into a bumperto-bumper collision pileup; sporting barrister wigs and robes, the “parliament of owls stand judging.” Jackson offers delightful details to reward careful readers; one of the “shiver of sharks” who “don’t make a sound” lifts a fin to its mouth in a shushing motion. Clever and elegant watercolorlike illustrations add an

>>>

SEEN AND HEARD

New Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Is Named

Mac Barnett is the ninth author to be named to the national post.

The Library of Congress and Every Child a Reader announced that Mac

Barnett has been appointed the ninth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Barnett, the author of more than 60 children’s books, succeeds Meg Medina in the position.

Barnett made his literary debut in 2009 with three books: Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem, Guess Again!, and The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity, all illustrated by Adam Rex.

His other books include Oh No!, illustrated by Dan Santat;

Extra Yarn, illustrated by Jon Klassen; and Places to Be, illustrated by Renata Liwska. His most recent book, The First Cat in Space and the Wrath of the Paperclip—the third in a series illustrated by Shawn Harris—was published last November.

Barnett’s two-year term as ambassador will focus on children’s books through his platform “Behold, The Picture Book! Let’s Celebrate Stories We Can Feel, Hear, and See,” the Library of Congress said.

Barnett announced his appointment on Instagram, writing, “I’m especially grateful

of

to all the kids who have read my books, and the librarians, teachers, booksellers, parents, caregivers, and camp counselors who’ve shared them. I’m excited to get to work, especially because now I have diplomatic immunity and can’t get parking tickets, or at least that’s what @jon_scieszka told me.”—M.S.

Mac Barnett

Chris Black

For reviews

Mac Barnett’s books, visit Kirkus online.

BEST FEBRUARY BOOKS 2025:

Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein (Doubleday)

The Stained Glass Window: A Family History as the American Story, 1790-1958 by David Levering Lewis (Penguin Press)

Caboose by Travis Jonker, illus. by Ruth Chan (Abrams)

Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

Debrand’s Invite by Brendan Terrick

The Blackbeard by Daniel J. Doggett

London Skies by Paul Tomkins

The Odyssey of Mrs. Naomi Billingsley by Sally Stevens

Fully Booked is produced by Cabel Adkins Audio and Megan Labrise.

Fully Booked

Kate Beaton’s Shark Girl will inspire young environmentalists to make waves. BY

MEGAN LABRISE

EPISODE 410: KATE BEATON

On this episode of Fully Booked, we’re highlighting some of the best titles of February 2025. First, in a special editors’ segment, Laurie Muchnick, John McMurtrie, Mahnaz Dar, and Laura Simeon join us to discuss some of their top picks in books for the month. Then, I’m joined by author/illustrator Kate Beaton to discuss her funny, fierce new picture book, Shark Girl , the inspiring tale of a plucky, ocean-dwelling protagonist—half shark, half-girl—who comes ashore to stop a dastardly sea captain from fishing her waters dry.

Beaton, who hails from Nova Scotia, is the New York Times –bestselling author of Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands (2022), and the fine mind behind Hark! A Vagrant , a hilarious and historically informative webcomic that ran from 2007 to 2018. She’s the author/illustrator of King Baby and The Princess and the Pony, which was made into the Apple TV+ series Pinecone & Pony. She lives in Nova Scotia with her family.

Here’s a bit from our review of Shark Girl : “Though she’s part shark and part human, Shark Girl has never had much to do with her human side—until the day a massive fishing net captures her, along with a load of other sea denizens. She escapes and, realizing that the dangerous Captain Barrett is overfishing, seeks vengeance. With the help of a sea witch, she disguises herself and joins Barrett’s crew in the hope of inciting mutiny. Rebellions, however, are difficult things to start. Instead, Shark Girl discovers that humans are complicated creatures and that sometimes revenge isn’t as straightforward as a creature born of the sea would prefer. Beaton peppers

her conservationist tale with peppy, scaly aplomb.…The environmental messaging is subtle in the face of the power of a protagonist who’s part shark, part girl, and all awesome.…A scaly new hero sure to save the day—and to endear herself to readers.” Beaton and I begin with the inspiration for Shark Girl . We discuss the environmental issues the book addresses, including overfishing and bycatch, and how humor can be used to approach serious subjects. She shares a bit about her research process for the book (e.g., maritime museum visits, expert interviews) to ensure the accuracy of particular facts. We talk about Shark Girl’s wide range of emotions, and Beaton emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and valuing children’s emotions, particularly anger. She tells me why she dedicated the book “To shark kids,” and we discuss the importance of encouraging young readers to consider the impact of human activity on marine life.

listen to the episode, visit Kirkus online.

Shark Girl

Beaton, Kate

extra dimension of fun: The “colony of chinchillas,” clad in tricorn hats and mob caps, appear to be reenacting the Boston Tea Party; outfitted in suits, the “band of gorillas” strike poses reminiscent of the Beatles (complete with Paul’s left-handed bass grip). The roller skating “flamboyance of flamingos” hoist a rainbow flag; one sports a purple feather boa, while another wears beads. The mix of humor, detailed art, and unusual group nouns wins the day. Young logophiles will relish this witty, vocabulary-expanding tale. (Information picture book. 4-8)

Chronicles of Whetherwhy: The Age of Enchantment

James, Anna | Illus. by David Wyatt

Flamingo Books (304 pp.) | $18.99

April 29, 2025 | 9780593691908

Series: Chronicles of Whetherwhy, 1

A nature-based fantasy that’s alive with magic. In Whetherwhy, everyone contains a bit of magic that’s associated with one of the seasons—enough to make “everyday tasks easier” or provide “a talent at something or other.” Talents are revealed to 13-yearolds on their next Spring Ember Day. The rare children who turn out to be enchanters hone their skills at the Thistledown Academy of Enchantment. Light-skinned, redheaded twins Juniper and Rafferty Quinn must part for the first time when only Juniper is revealed to be an enchanter. But when Juniper is attacked en route to the academy by people intent on stealing her magic, it becomes clear that the world is more complicated than she realized. As Juniper grows more in touch with her magic, Rafferty feels increasingly frustrated and alienated. He eventually joins the Papercut Society, a group that’s working to rectify (by whatever means necessary) what they perceive as deep inequities

in magical distribution. Fans of the magic school genre will enjoy this series opener. The characters face complex problems, and James gives them grace and opportunities for growth. Wyatt’s ethereal, atmospheric illustrations nicely supplement important parts of the story. Interludes featuring a storytelling grandfather and listening grandchildren are distracting, but the book offers much to think about in terms of inequality and what talents are celebrated. An appealing book set in a magical world where nature and interconnectivity are celebrated. (map) (Fantasy. 9-12)

Kirkus Star

I’m Like a Tree and a Tree’s Like Me

Jaoui, Sylvaine | Illus. by Anne Crahay Trans. by Claudia Zoe Bedrick Enchanted Lion Books (48 pp.)

$19.99 | April 15, 2025 | 9781592704248

A child and a tree grow and develop side by side. “I am a seed…I fatten and grow…I begin to become what I will be.” Thus starts a journey juxtaposing two different yet intertwined experiences. A seed is planted in the ground, and a human egg is fertilized. As time progresses, child and tree enter the world. Both flourish thanks to their resilience and their connection to one another: The pink-skinned child waters the tree, and the tree in turn offers the youngster shelter. Translated from French, Jaoui’s conversational text is

spare yet playful as child and tree comment on their similarities (“I need fresh water.” “Me too!”). Crahay’s watercolorlike art is simultaneously majestic and quirky, with sweet-faced insects or snails smiling up at readers. Simple but effective die cuts appear on nearly every spread. At one point, the child declares, “I need warmth,” while circular holes on the page cleverly evoke the sun’s rays, with delicate yellows and greens peeking through. As the child embraces the tree (“I am one of Earth’s children”), a diverse group of youngsters hug trees of their own, chiming in (“Me too”) in different languages and sending an affirming message: Despite our perceived differences, each of us is truly “one of Earth’s children.”

Much like life itself, this story is a gift that deserves to be shared. (Picture book. 3-6)

Little Big Man

Johnson, Varian | Illus. by Reggie Brown Orchard/Scholastic (40 pp.)

$18.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9781338807431

Now that there’s a newborn in the house, carefree days are few and far between, but a young boy comes up with an idea to make life a little easier.

As Mama holds baby Lily, Elijah eagerly waits for Daddy to come home so the two can enjoy a weekend of flying his new kite. Unfortunately, Daddy has other plans. “A new baby means extra work for everyone,” father tells son, and Elijah recognizes immediately that he’s being asked to

Gentle but fierce—an empowering tale of sibling adventures and care.

SHARK AT SISTER TEA

step up in ways that won’t necessarily be fun but that are needed by the family. He tries his hardest to follow his dad’s lead, but he stumbles more often than not while assisting in the kitchen and cleaning up after himself. Bright digital illustrations, paired with exuberant, onomatopoeia-filled text, depict a loving and tight-knit Black family with a lot on their plates despite a barrel-chested handyman of a dad, an attentive and affectionate mom, a vocal newborn, and a considerate young son. When Elijah decides one day to work even harder for his family, he follows Daddy’s lead. Father and son assist others, tidy up messes, and look on with pride at all they’ve accomplished, with Elijah’s body language hilariously, and endearingly, mirroring Daddy’s in several scenes. Finally, Elijah presents Daddy with a flight-ready green kite and a much-needed lesson about taking the time to cut loose. Big responsibilities and small gestures paint a thoughtful picture of masculinity. (Picture book. 4-9)

Safe at Last

Jones, Richard | Candlewick (32 pp.)

$18.99 | May 20, 2025 | 9781536241310

James lives alone in a small house on an island. Despite his solitude, the light-skinned youngster isn’t lonely at all; each morning he greets his animal friends as he bikes around the island. James enjoys his soothingly predictable routine, but one night, a storm assails the island. Although he’s frightened, he decides to venture out to check on his pals. His familiar terrain has transformed something unfamiliar, and his anxiety only increases when none of his friends appear to be at home. Too frightened to stay outdoors much longer, James heads back to his own house, only to see terrifyinglooking shapes through the window. Once safe inside, he finds his friends gathered there, just as worried about him as James was about them. The

mutual concern is evident on the characters’ faces—animals and boy. The lyrical, quietly intense language builds tension expertly, while the mixed-media illustrations please the senses, contrasting idyllic scenes with the ferocity of the storm. Jones’ use of color and texture is especially effective; he blends blues, blacks, and whites for a page showing crashing waves that threaten to engulf the island, while he employs warm oranges and browns for his depictions of James’ cozy home. By turns fearsome, surprising, and comforting—an ideal adventure for little ones. (Picture book. 5-8)

Shark at Sister Tea

Joosse, Barbara | Illus. by Sergio Ruzzier Anne Schwartz/Random (48 pp.) $18.99 | May 20, 2025 | 9780593646946

W hen their parents leave them on an island for the day, sisters Sadie and Flora must protect each other against an unexpected visitor.

From the first pages, this small world draws readers in, moving from the broad view of the small house on a tiny island to close-ups of a charming animal family: Sadie is a cat, Flora is a rodent, Mama is a cat, and Papa appears to be a dog. With the day ahead of them, the siblings prepare a special teatime with Flora’s Blue, a stuffed bear who’s “bald and squeezed quite flat and only fancy on the inside.” When a shark, cleverly disguised in a yellow slicker and hat, shows up, then threatens their celebration, the sisters fight back, managing to dispatch the danger before their parents return. As they share “a secret smile,” the book leaves unresolved the question of whether they’ll tell the story of their day or not, an ambiguity that might garner mixed feelings from readers. Ruzzier’s soft watercolor washes are punctuated by friendly pen-and-ink drawings, while Joosse’s text features poetic language, as in the opening line: “One seagull afternoon…two sisters waved goodbye goodbye.”

Gentle but fierce—an empowering tale of sibling adventures and care. (Picture book. 3-6)

How Jackson Found His Joy Again

Karst, Patrice | Illus. by Kristina Jones Little, Brown (48 pp.) | $18.99 May 6, 2025 | 9780316572040

The author of the bestselling The Invisible String (2000) offers young readers tools for coping with unhappiness.

Jackson is usually an upbeat kid—unless his classmates are mean to him or he sees something upsetting on the news. But when his best friend moves and his pet hamster dies, Jackson’s mood flags. In the realistic digital illustrations, Jackson is surrounded by puffs of color; as he becomes sadder, the vibrant hues disappear, replaced by a dismal gray. Jackson’s parents take him to the school counselor, who suggests Jackson attempt to find one color each day “and think about how it makes you feel.”

The next day, Jackson visits the seashore, beautifully illustrated in eye-catching blues, and the “twirling, whirling dance of sea and spray” fills him with calm and confidence. Equally luscious images of an orange sunset, a hike through a verdant forest, and a patch of brilliant sunflowers, paired with Karst’s quietly bolstering text, show Jackson’s joy returning—even more brightly than before. He even ignores the mean kids at school. The last color Jackson reclaims is purple, symbolizing his gratitude and the knowledge that joy may fade but will always return if he watches for it.

Backmatter includes an author’s note and an afterword from a family therapist with helpful explanations and additional suggestions. Jackson and his family are tan-skinned; his counselor presents Black.

Bursts of color and gentle messages combine for a message of hope and healing. (resources) (Picture book. 4-8)

Blue

Kaufman, Suzanne | Little, Brown (48 pp.)

$18.99 | June 3, 2025 | 9780316311663

A young child frolics by the seashore with a strikingly beautiful bird.

One morning, a tan-skinned, curly-haired youngster spots a great blue heron (an uncommon species whose inclusion will interest young readers) through the window. Decorations adorning the bedroom make it clear that the protagonist has long wished for an encounter like this one. After the child approaches slowly, “echoing Blue’s stillness,” the pair spend the day chasing, shrieking, and doing some tastefully depicted skinny-dipping, all sensorily described with a “swoosh, swoop, and quiet settle.” Graceful and oversize Blue isn’t overly anthropomorphized, making the duo’s interactions feel fittingly “wild” and “free.” When night arrives, Blue flies away but grants the hopeful child’s wish by returning to carry the little one high in the indigo sky, “over campfires and shooting stars.” Back home at last, the child hugs a stuffed heron and begins to “dream of meeting again.”

The poetic, evocative narrative captures a potent mix of excitement and yearning that may leave readers wondering whether the extraordinary journey really took place or whether it was only in the bird-loving child’s imagination. Kaufman boldly leaves it to readers to decide. No matter what they choose, her illustrations are delightful. Her compositions are masterful, with whimsically sketchy

sun-dappled daytime vignettes of the friends in the fizzy surf contrasting with ethereal, star-studded double-page spreads that feel appropriately endless. A whimsical, luminous romp. (Picture book. 3-9)

You Can Sit With Me

Kenyon, Rachel Tawil | Illus. by Tatiana Kamshilina | Feiwel & Friends (32 pp.)

$18.99 | June 3, 2025 | 9781250891143

The new kid on the block weathers ups and downs with guidance from a compassionate classmate. A light-skinned family—made up of two parents and two kids—unpacks their car in a suburban neighborhood. As one of the children gazes over uncertainly, a brown-skinned, bespectacled youngster sits on a nearby doorstep and waves: “If you need a friend, you can sit with me.” Smoothly rhyming text narrated by the brown-skinned neighbor describes a variety of disheartening experiences: nearly missing the bus, having nowhere to sit at lunch, and struggling academically. But the narrator is there to help: “When the group is leaving you out, / you may just want to shout! / You can sit with me.” Young readers will happily chime in as the child delivers the titular refrain each time. The youngster exhibits caring behaviors that go well beyond saving a seat, from sharing an umbrella on a rainy day to inviting the newcomer to a study session—activities shown to make the classroom a more welcoming place for all. Kamshilina’s artwork builds on Kenyon’s verse as the new kid slowly grows in confidence; it all culminates

A young child frolics by the seashore with a strikingly beautiful bird.

with the newcomer (a dinosaur lover) and the narrator throwing a dinothemed party attended by all their classmates. The simply drawn, endearing characters are diverse in skin tone and hair color.

Kindness 101. (Picture book. 3-7)

Bhangra Boogie

Khan, Hena | Illus. by Sandhya Prabhat Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins (32 pp.)

$19.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9780063265028

A young South Asian girl finds the courage to dance while attending a wedding with family. Talia is entranced by the bhangra dancers as they leap through the air. But much as she’d like to join them—and, once the dancers finish their performance, her relatives—she remains on the sidelines. Whenever she’s hit the dance floor in the past, her “feet turned into heavy clay pots,” and her “arms froze like kulfi.” Distressed, she runs to her Dadi (paternal grandmother), who encourages her to participate. Sensing Talia’s hesitation, Dadi recounts how, when she was younger, her husband—Talia’s grandfather—used to say Dadi danced like a chicken and teased her for stepping on his toes. As strange and uncoordinated as she looked, though, Dadi says that she misses the fun of bhangra; now that she uses a cane, she no longer feels comfortable dancing. Dadi’s longing for the past spurs both of them to take a big step: joining the others on the dance floor. This intergenerational tale is at once humorous, heartwarming, and inspiring. The vibrant, expressive illustrations are the perfect complement to the culturally relevant, metaphor-laden text. The intertwined themes of creative expression, risk taking, and drawing strength from our loved ones will resonate with adult and child readers alike.

A tale sure to have even the most uncertain wallflowers cutting loose on the dance floor. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)

Binna’s Dalgona

Kim-McCarthy, Sojung | Dial Books (32 pp.)

$18.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9780593856550

Yummy desserts help a child make a breakthrough in communication.

Korean immigrant Binna feels like a grown-up at last: The young narrator made dalgona—a beloved sugary treat—without the help of Unnie (Korean for “older sister”). Eager to share the news, Binna arrives at school to find the other students discussing the delicious foods they prepared this weekend. Binna, who’s still mastering English, suddenly feels overwhelmed, and a flurry of dialogue bubbles pop up as the kids pepper Binna with questions. Using expressionistic artwork marked by visual metaphors, Kim-McCarthy cleverly captures the protagonist’s difficulties. Crossed-out words and arrows in Binna’s speech bubbles convey the child’s confusion. Finally, the dejected Binna collapses as a giant, fiery dialogue bubble covered in scribbles looms. Back at home, Unnie defuses Binna’s frustration. The images transition to more soothing tones as the two whip up another batch of dalgona, which reminds Binna “of all the times when I tried something new, something uncomfortable.” And Binna eventually makes progress, inviting friends over to enjoy dalgona and becoming more comfortable with English. Keenly aware of the challenges many young immigrants confront, Kim-McCarthy makes clear that even seemingly small snafus can take a great emotional toll. The narrative comes to a satisfying conclusion as Binna confides, “One day, I might not miss home as much. Because this is my home now.”

A delightfully gentle tale of navigating language barriers. (Picture book. 5-8)

Delightful in its simplicity, with a message of love that avoids cliches.

O.K. IS GAY

O.K. Is Gay

Kirsch, Vincent X. | Abrams (40 pp.)

$18.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9781419770791

A young boy celebrates his identity. Olivio Kipling, alias O.K., is on a mission: to tell his friends about his new love, George. Approaching each friend, Olivio starts by coming out. Before he can get further than “I am gay and…,” his friend supplies a different fact about him. He built a treetop fort with an elevator, he likes to sit in the front seat of roller coasters, he has a pet tarantula named Hairy, and so on. They’re frustrating interactions for O.K., because while it’s obvious that his friends love him, “no one knows the best part” about his life. With each conversation, though, O.K. collects a colorful accessory, until he has a rainbow of botanicals and other accoutrements. Suddenly he runs into George, carrying the same items, indicating that their social circle knew more than they were letting on. The story is delightful in its simplicity, with a message of love and affection that avoids treacly cliches. The real star of the show is the art. Kirsch’s pages have a timeless quality that readers of all ages will enjoy. His large-headed, skinny-limbed characters have an exaggerated look, while deeply saturated backgrounds grab readers’ attention. Youngsters will eagerly pore over the many details during a lap-sit read, while a healthy balance of vibrant colors and white space combine to make this an excellent choice for a large storytime. So much more than O.K.—a spectacularly affirming story. (Picture book. 5-8)

A Banquet for Cecilia: How Cecilia Chiang Revolutionized Chinese Food in America

Leung, Julie | Illus. by Melissa Iwai Little, Brown (40 pp.) | $18.99 April 29, 2025 | 9780759557413

Leung and Iwai offer an account of the woman who changed the way Americans regard Chinese cuisine. The seventh daughter in a wealthy Beijing family, Cecilia Chang (1920-2020) loved peering into the kitchen to watch the chefs preparing pork dumplings and sweet soup. At dinner each night, her father drew the family’s attention to subtleties of the meals—words that Cecilia eagerly drank in. When Japan invaded Beijing (and then the rest of the country) in 1937, Cecilia left the city, embarking on a harrowing wartime journey that took her throughout China as she learned about each region’s culinary specialties. In 1949, after civil war broke out, Cecilia escaped to Tokyo and then settled in San Francisco. She was disappointed by the Chinese food in restaurants, which was often cheap and greasy. “Chinese food is not just chop suey,” she complained. In 1961, she opened her own restaurant, the Mandarin, which boasted a menu of over 200 dishes that highlighted flavors from all over China. The Mandarin soon became a fine-dining destination that redefined Americans’ perceptions of Chinese food. Iwai’s muted, digitally rendered watercolor-and-ink artwork relies on a mixture of vignettes and full- and half-page spreads to capture

Kirkus Star

the details of Cecilia’s trek. Close-ups of the various dishes paired with sumptuous descriptions, along with maps of the regions where they originated, emphasize the richness of Chinese cuisine.

Inspiring and delicious. (author’s note, photos) (Picture-book biography. 5-10)

Never Take Your Rhino on a Plane

Lewis, K.E. | Illus. by Isabel Roxas

Clarion/HarperCollins (40 pp.)

$19.99 | June 3, 2025 | 9780358683384

Consider yourselves duly warned: Planes and rhinos are a poor fit—sometimes literally.

Not many folks have a pet rhino, but if you do, the young, brown-skinned narrator strongly cautions against flying with it. The child has a point, of course, and enumerates several reasons. Rhinos pack way too many belongings, dawdle on their way to the airport, and blithely ignore security lines. That’s pre -flight. Once in the air, matters don’t improve. The pachyderms wreak havoc by kicking the seat in front of them, pranking their neighbors, and sloppily eating their in-flight snacks. You’d think your problems might be solved after landing. You’d be wrong. (Don’t even ask about the chaos rhinos cause at the luggage carousel.) The rhino’s guardian concedes that the two of them have some fun once they arrive at their destination, but when it’s time to return home, the pair are turned away from the plane; looks like they’ll have to make their way back a different way. The rhymes are occasionally clunky, but children won’t mind; those with flight experience of their own will find the outlandish premise particularly amusing. The comically over-the-top illustrations, created with cut paper, oil pastels, and acrylic, will arouse guffaws; the bright blue rhino is quite endearing, and readers will easily forgive him for his naughty behavior.

A hilarious flight of fancy.

(Picture book. 4-7)

A gentle community-centered read that dog lovers will lap right up.

THE BARKING PUPPY

The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon

Lin, Grace | Little, Brown (352 pp.)

$18.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9780316478328

A Stone Lion cub travels from the spirit realm into ours in order to save his world from a sinister force. More than anything, Stone Lion cub Jin wants to score a Golden Goal in a game of zuqiu. When they aren’t serving as guardians for the human world, the Gongshi (or stone spirits) delight in raucous games of the soccerlike sport. That is, except for Jin’s father, who insists on delivering boring lectures about their role as protectors for the people on the other side of the Old City Gate. Unbeknownst to the Gongshi, however, an ancient power has set into motion a plan that could lead to the end of all stone spirits—while also trapping Jin on the human side of the gate. As Jin makes new friendships with Lulu (a young, black-haired human girl) and a dragon they call the Worm, he comes to treasure the human world, even as he longs for home. Award-winner Lin’s distinctive artistic style is on display in the full-color illustrations that bring Jin and his friends to life; in pages saturated with color and emotion, the lion cub falters, recovers, and triumphs. While the plot twists follow familiar fantasy tropes, the original worldbuilding and epic lore, both of which include fantastical elements drawn from or inspired by Chinese folklore, will engage and excite young readers. Captivating, thrilling, and emotionally satisfying. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 8-12)

The Barking Puppy

Lobenstine, Lori | Illus. by Il Sung Na Levine Querido (248 pp.) | $14.99

April 1, 2025 | 9781646145058

Series: The Barking Puppy, 1

With friends, dogs, and a little bit of initiative, there’s no challenge too big to overcome. Eleven-year-old Sophie, her mom, and their beloved pups are moving from rural Vermont to Boston for her mom’s work and to be closer to Sophie’s godmother, Lori. Despite her nerves about entering a new school, Sophie’s looking forward to meeting neighborhood humans and dogs and, as the child of a white mom and Black dad, no longer being the only brown girl at school. Soon after they arrive, Sophie meets a teenage neighbor named Juno, who presents white, and her pug, Bonney. Bonney has a “compromised respiratory system,” and she might need a pricey surgery that Juno’s family can’t afford. The girls use canine alter egos to create the Barking Puppy, a funny newspaper “by and for dogs.” Sophie’s mom suggests that they parlay their creativity into a fundraiser for Bonney by selling the papers. Apart from some rudeness from a grouchy neighbor, the adults in the story are helpful and supportive, making this an emotionally reassuring read. Kid-friendly illustrations nicely break up the text, making this a good choice for readers who are building their chapter-book stamina. This feel-good dog story (inspired by the experiences of the author’s goddaughter) includes some conversations around identity that will invite

opportunities for discussion, as when Sophie and Lori, who’s white and gay, talk about their shared experiences of feeling isolated and alone. A gentle family- and communitycentered read that dog lovers will lap right up. (photos) (Fiction. 7-11)

Athlete Is Agender: True Stories of LGBTQ+ People in Sports

Ed. by Locke, Katherine & Nicole Melleby Illus. by Jess Vosseteig | Christy Ottaviano Books (224 pp.) | $19.99 May 13, 2025 | 9780316572002

Profiles of notable queer sports figures paired with essays written by queer, trans, and nonbinary athletes, including popular authors for young people. This work introduces people who helped pave the way in their respective sports for other LGBTQ+ athletes, such as Olympic freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, NFL player Carl Nassib, tennis legend Billie Jean King, and soccer champion Megan Rapinoe. In personal essays, contributors reflect on their journeys as queer people in sports. Dutch author Marieke Nijkamp describes being a nonbinary, disabled archer, Olympic medal–winning figure skater Adam Rippon writes about notions of masculinity in skating, and author Erik J. Brown emphasizes the importance of having fun, not just winning. Contributors who have experienced gender dysphoria write about creating healthier relationships with their bodies through sports. While many of these essays are largely hopeful and inspiring, the work doesn’t avoid difficult topics. For example, Jamaican American runner CeCé Telfer writes about being prevented from competing against other women at Nationals because of anti-transgender rulings. These stories from people with diverse backgrounds and identities reinforce the importance of having safe spaces to pursue one’s

passion for sports. Vosseteig’s slightly stiff color portraits of the subjects and contributors are interspersed throughout. Readers will learn about the barriers and sense of belonging queer people face in pursuing athletics and the importance of representation. Authentically illustrates the challenges and hope LGBTQ+ athletes find in the world of sports. (note on pronouns, about Title IX, contributor bios, support and advisory materials, selected sources) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Reel Life

Lynch, Kane | Colors by Maddie Sackett Graphix/Scholastic (240 pp.)

$24.99 | May 20, 2025 | 9781338853926

Filmmaking and friendship collide as three tweens navigate complex relationship dynamics. In this standalone work, 11-year-old friends Kyle, Luna, and Galen bond over their love of all things film. But as they work on their latest cinematic feat, Kyle pulls away from the trio, acting standoffish and angry. Luna explains that he’s upset over his parents’ divorce and custody battle, stressors that feel alien to Galen—until his father drops a bombshell that rips their family apart. Galen’s dad tells him that he’s leaving his mother for Jasmine, a brownskinned 26-year-old in Oakland with green hair. Now that he’s split between two homes, Galen begins to understand where Kyle’s feelings came from. Luna suggests that they film a documentary about their parents, but as big emotions about the shifting landscapes of friend and family relationships loom, the group must figure out how to change with them. Drawing on childhood experiences, Lynch’s evocative graphic novel debut sagely captures the angst and unease of early adolescence. Galen’s journey is fraught but accessibly portrayed, acknowledging the difficulties that parental

separation and recoupling can bring. Cinematic full-color illustrations center the action throughout the tidy panels, keeping the pages turning with Lynch’s stylized art. Fans of Raina Telgemeier, Victoria Jamieson, and Shannon Hale will find much to love. Kyle and Galen present white; Luna is cued Latine. Reel-y relatable and compelling. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)

New

Mata, Niña | Harper/HarperCollins (32 pp.) $19.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9780063318250

A young Filipino immigrant adjusts to life in the United States. The unnamed narrator excitedly gets ready for the first day of school. The child may be wearing hand-medowns, and Taytay (Dad) packs the youngster a lunch in “recycled containers,” but even so, “I am new.” Walking to school with Taytay, the protagonist observes, “New is exciting. It’s sharpened pencils and blank notebooks in my backpack” and “imagining how many friends I’ll meet.” Approaching the building, however, the narrator begins to feel unsure. The charming cartoon illustrations, rendered in softly blended textures and a playful, vibrant palette, are sapped of color as the youngster realizes that “new can also feel far away from home.” The child is the only spot of brightness on the now-muted page. Homing in on well-chosen concrete details, Mata cleverly demonstrates how newness can be a double-edged sword: New is “not knowing all the rules yet and standing up when I hear my name…New is the first time I notice my eyes and when I discover I have an accent.” “New can feel lonely,” the child laments. But color is deftly integrated back into the illustrations as the child meets a brown-skinned, curly-haired, Spanishspeaking classmate. Despite the language barrier, the experience is a reminder that “new can also be inviting,” and the book comes to a

A guidebook for youngsters and caregivers navigating painful realities.

EDEN’S LIGHT

satisfying close as the friends find “a joy that knows no boundaries.”

A loving and gentle guide for those navigating the strange and unfamiliar. (Picture book. 5-8)

Tío and Tío: The Ring Bearers

Mathews, Ross & Wellinthon GarcíaMathews | Illus. by Tommy Doyle Penguin Workshop (40 pp.) | $18.99 April 15, 2025 | 9780593752586

For their debut picture book, TV host Mathews—best known for appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show —and his husband, educator García-Mathews, draw inspiration from their 2022 wedding.

The flight from New York to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, is a long one, but Evan and little brother Andy need time to brace themselves for their roles as the ring bearers in the upcoming wedding of their Tío Welly and their new tío, Ross. After they land in Mexico, where the air feels “thick and humid and smell[s] like sweet flowers,” Mami and Papi explain their weddingday duties: The brothers will walk down the aisle to present the rings to their uncles…in front of everyone! After the boys find a safe place to store the rings, they dance the night away at the pre-wedding party. They meet their tíos’ guests, including confident, pint-size flower girl Drew (a child version of Barrymore, who was the flower girl at the authors’ actual ceremony and who penned the book’s foreword). That night, bad dreams about the big day plague the brothers.

Will Evan and Andy step up for their beloved tíos? The authors serve up pure comfort, combining coziness with low-stakes antics. Though the wordy narrative is a tad overwrought in spots, the focus on familia stands out in the end. Doyle’s pencil-etched digital illustrations flash bright colors and smiling faces amid a tropical paradise. Mami and Tío Welly are Dominican, while Tío Ross reads white. Pure dulce. (photos from the authors’ wedding) (Picture book. 4-8)

Eden’s Light

McKay, Jessica | Illus. by Jestenia Southerland | Viking (32 pp.) | $18.99 April 8, 2025 | 9780593623251

A young Black girl learns how to process news reports of racial violence.

Eden is strong and brave; she considers herself a superhero and wears her cape everywhere. But one evening, as she enters the living room, she sees something disturbing on the television. (Though the text later refers to violence, the TV screen shows only an image of police cars.) Eden’s usual strength vanishes, and she has trouble falling asleep. Unable to articulate why she feels so strange, Eden tells her parents that she’s afraid of the dark, and they let her sleep with them. But the next night, she’s still scared, and nothing comforts her. Finally, Eden’s mom reassures her that it’s OK to feel vulnerable and encourages her to draw strength from an inner light: “When you celebrate who you are and where you come from, your light turns on and no one

can take that away from you.” Mom’s soothing talk comprises a good portion of the book; given the difficulty many caregivers experience when discussing racism with young people, this work will make a useful starting point. Southerland’s digitally rendered illustrations alternate between warmer colors and purples and blues, mirroring Eden’s moods and visually representing her light; rounded shapes give the images a sweetness that leavens the harsh subject matter.

A guidebook for youngsters and caregivers navigating painful realities. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Star

The Reel Wish

Méndez, Yamile Saied | Tu Books (368 pp.) $22.95 | April 22, 2025 | 9781643796437

In this latest offering from award winner Méndez, a crisis leads a girl to wrestle with questions of selfhood: “Without dance, I wasn’t sure who I was.”

Florencia del Lago, whose parents are from Argentina, is cast as the first-ever Latina Clara—and, at 11, the youngest one, too—in the Utah Valley Junior Ballet ensemble’s performance of The Nutcracker

With the starring role comes tremendous pressure from Madame Sophie, her strict ballet instructor. Flor’s grades suffer, she constantly questions her abilities and appearance, and her mother’s own unfulfilled ballerina dreams weigh on her. On the night of the first performance, Flor has a panic attack, which leads to public humiliation and a terrible fight between Mamá and Madame Sophie. Flor loses her spot in the studio, and her best friend, Selena, assumes the role of Clara. Flor is forced to evaluate herself, her love of

dance, and the true definition of friendship. Flor’s journey is full of self-reflection, but her ample progress and insights propel the story and balance the introspective moments. That Flor is able to move past people and activities that don’t serve her, while getting therapy and trying to find new things to make her happy, will serve as inspiration to anyone who feels defined by something they used to do. A beautifully realized book that reminds readers that there’s more than one rhythm to dance to. (author’s note, glossary) (Fiction. 8-12)

Otto and the Story Tree

Mildenberger, Vivien | Random House Studio (40 pp.) | $18.99 April 15, 2025 | 9780593710784

A misanthropic bird finds a way to build community. Curmudgeonly Otto goes about his day with a constant refrain of “Ack! What’s the point?” The storklike bird can’t be bothered to bathe, tidy his house, or even turn on a light. One day, a seed slips out of his hastily prepared dinner and settles on the floor. Instead of cleaning it up, he tells it a story about his life. The next morning, Otto discovers that the seed has become a sprout. Pulling it out of the ground feels like too much work, so he leaves it there. Every night, he gets into the habit of relating wild stories that he claims to have experienced firsthand: a hot air balloon ride through a terrifying storm, a battle with an evil queen. Before long, the tiny seed grows into a tree, which becomes home to a variety of animals all eager to listen to Otto’s magical tales. Smudgy mixed-media illustrations set an appropriately bleak tone initially, dominated by beiges and grays. Visible brush and pencil strokes nevertheless imbue Otto’s world with an intimacy that’s heightened as he’s joined by other animals and as

Mildenberger introduces bright colors; this is a visually inspired celebration of how storytelling can expand our world. The book’s ending offers a clever callback to the book’s refrain. A testament to the powerful draw of stories. (Picture book. 4-8)

The Puzzling Fate of Millicent Graves

Mitchell, Dora M. | Little, Brown Ink (224 pp.) $24.99 | May 20, 2025 | 9781523527366

If life were a bookshelf, Millicent Graves would have it organized to perfection. Instead, the harried middle schooler, whose mother has brown skin and father appears white, deals with a chaotic family life. Her marine biologist mother has a struggling fish tank business called Fish Shui, and her physics professor father believes that “chaos is how we adapt and grow.” Millie’s younger sister, Gilly, dreams of being a stand-up comic (if only she could remember the punchlines). Scrambling to pick up after Gilly and anxious about their dwindling finances, Millie wishes her life were different. When an elderly neighbor’s mysterious jigsaw puzzles offer Millie a chance to change her destiny, she begins to rearrange the pieces she doesn’t like, replacing the parts representing her family and friends with ones that better suit her vision of an organized life. But each intended improvement brings problems of other kinds and stirs up dark forces that threaten the neighborhood. When a friend falls victim to the malevolent powers, Millie has to muster the courage to face them, undo the consequences of her actions, and accept the imperfections that make her loved ones unique. The briskly paced plot features nuanced, well-developed characters and a clever reimagining of the three Fates of Greek

mythology. The muted palette adds to the spooky atmosphere, while the humor in the text and illustrations deftly keeps things from getting too dark.

A humorous parable about embracing life’s imperfections that’s sure to strike a chord with readers.

(Graphic paranormal. 8-12)

Sounds Like Joy

Moises, Yesenia | Versify/ HarperCollins (40 pp.) | $19.99 May 6, 2025 | 9780063333864

A young mermaid makes an exciting musical discovery. Joy finds a tambourine on an ocean reef. Unsure what it is, she dubs it a “jingle-jangle” because of the pleasing sounds it produces. Beating the jingle-jangle, she invites her animal friends to listen. They all enjoy her music, but in her exuberance, the tambourine’s bells fall off. “I’ll never find a sound like that again,” the tearful Joy laments. Her pals take turns trying to cheer her up. Tentacles waving, Octopus encourages Joy to “whoosh” and “swoosh” her arms, Whale urges her to sing along, Seahorse blows his nose, producing a “symphony of bubbles,” and Crab makes “a clacking sound that [gets] the twin rays twirling and whirling.” Finally, a swarm of eels buzz by, leading Joy to another delightful surprise. But the true gift is the music they’ve made along the way. Moises’ energizing, jewel-toned illustrations are the epitome of sweetness. The sea creatures are softly rounded, with fun details that further anthropomorphize them: eyelashes on Whale, a green pompadour-esque hairdo on Octopus, a tiny mustache on Crab. Wide-eyed, expressive Joy is brown-skinned with Afro-textured hair. Readers will relish the songlike onomatopoeia on almost every page, and careful youngsters will notice the cleverly placed breadcrumbs portending the jingle-jangle’s fate.

A harmonious tribute to the power of music—and friendship. (Picture book. 4-8)

Picture Books To Ring in Spring

Goldie Hawk;

Kaitlin B. Curtice;

Gloria Félix

Janna Matthies; illus.by Tisha Lee

Camp Frenemies

Montague, Liz | Random House Studio (272 pp.)

$21.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9780593806234

Rising seventh grader Beatrice prefers to spend time in her room talking to her stuffed animals, especially her favorite one, a rabbit named Roger.

So, when Bea’s father tells her he’s signed her up for a weeklong summer camp, that’s the last thing she wants to do. After her dad promises that if she agrees to go just this once, she’ll never have to go back, she reluctantly agrees. When Bea arrives at Camp Chordata, she meets her “nest mates,” Virginia and Roxy. Virginia notices Bea holding Roger and snidely asks, “Aren’t we a little old to carry around stuffed animals?” She adds, “You will be judged for carrying that around.” Unfortunately, Virginia is proven to be right, but a cute boy stands up for her. Over the course of the week, the girls struggle with learning to be friends as each battles personal problems. The narrative moves quickly, but Montague delves effectively into a range of topics such as jealousy, bullying, insecurity, and divorce. The story offers readers a thoughtful perspective on how you never know exactly what someone might be dealing with based on outward appearances. All three girls have brown skin; Bea has curly brown hair, Virginia (whose skin tone is darkest) has red hair, and Roxy (whose skin is slightly lighter) is blond. The clean, simply drawn panels and warm pastel colors effectively evoke the outdoor summer setting.

An emotionally intelligent preteen summer camp adventure. (drawing guide) (Graphic fiction. 8-12)

The Bakers Dozen

Moore, Amy | Illus. by Andrea Stegmaier | Sleeping Bear Press (40 pp.)

$18.99 | May 1, 2025 | 9781534113022

A new baker tries to convince a group of chefs that their menu and team are incomplete. In a quaint little town, 12 chefs are hard at work making the best pies, cakes, and cookies. Everyone at The Bakers Dozen does their job just right, like a well-oiled machine. One day, a girl named Kristen arrives asking for a job and noting that the bakery doesn’t offer her specialty: doughnuts. Kristen entices the bakers with a freshly baked, heavenly scented doughnut, as well as suggestions for an expanded menu of choices sure to lure in new customers. But a familiar refrain of “We are twelve. No more!” crystallizes the bakers’ insistence that their team is complete. Kristen tells them that her grandmother, who taught her the art of making doughnuts, also imparted some wise words: A baker’s dozen is 12 treats, “plus one extra to eat”—13! The 12 bakers celebrate the arrival of a new friend and colleague—and one more delectable goodie to offer. Written in rhyming couplets, Moore’s playful text teaches important lessons of persistence, resiliency, and embracing change. Stegmaier’s contrasting palette of oranges and blues pops on the pages, accentuating the flurry of activities in

A journey through grief, love, and the promise of adventures yet to come.

the bakery. Kristen is light-skinned; the bakers are racially diverse. A glazed doughnut recipe with several variations is the cherry on top of a charming tale.

A story as sweet as doughnuts. (Picture book. 4-8)

Together We Remember

Morera, Jackie | Illus. by Violeta Encarnación | Make Me a World (32 pp.)

$18.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9780593805640

Giselle and her Papi are still adjusting to life without Mami. They once dreamed of all the adventures they would have together. But now, Papi’s smile no longer reaches his eyes, and Giselle wishes she could lift his spirits. She remembers all the things they’d promised to do “one day” and finds inspiration in a quote from Mami: “Why can’t one day be today?” Giselle sets out to make their dreams a reality. Through the power of imagination, Giselle and Papi embark on fantastical journeys to a sandy beach, a sparkling waterfall, a “city run by animals,” a magical wardrobe, and more—all without ever leaving home. As they play, Papi begins to brighten, and together they create a scrapbook filled with photos and mementos to remember Mami. Richly detailed, color-saturated illustrations bring Giselle and Papi’s explorations to life. The narrative is vague about the reason for Mami’s absence, allowing a wide variety of readers to see themselves in this tale. The heartfelt story beautifully captures the healing power of play and the bond between father and daughter as they navigate loss together. Giselle and Papi have light brown skin and brown hair and occasionally sprinkle Spanish words and phrases into their conversations. An imaginative journey through grief, love, and the promise of adventures yet to come. (notes from author and Make Me a World founder Christopher Myers) (Picture book. 5-8)

A mind-expanding story of friendship, science, and magic.

GEO’S FORTUNE

Geo’s Fortune

Mucha, Amy B. | Peachtree (272 pp.) $17.99 | May 27, 2025 | 9781682636718

A 13-year-old goes into business, pretending to be a psychic— but her predictions start coming true.

Georgia May Leoni’s dad died years ago. Now her mom is struggling financially—and when she tells Geo that she’s looking for work in parts of the country with more opportunities, Geo becomes determined to earn enough so they won’t have to move. Geo, who’s “five foot nothing,” and her rockobsessed best friend, Lana (who’s nearly a foot taller), set themselves up in their local park as Rock Readers. Customers pay $10, choose the rock they’re drawn to, and hear their fortune. A strange thing happens when Geo holds the rocks: She sees visions—and they come true. Mean girl classmate Jade, an aspiring influencer, labels Geo a witch, but shy new girl Feather, whose aunt Liv owns a “woo-woo shop,” believes Geo is the real deal: not a psychic, but a manifester, someone who creates the reality she envisions. Geo wavers, supported in her skeptical stance by father figure Alan, her late father’s best friend, while also opening her mind to the theory of multiple realities. A crisis forces a reckoning, and Geo realizes that money isn’t the answer to everything, but she might still be able to manifest what she wants most. Mucha’s debut novel is a fascinating, strongly paced story that will hold equal appeal for those who love facts and those who believe in the otherworldly. Main characters read white. A glimmering, mind-expanding story of friendship, science, and magic. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Star

We Leap Together

Neal, Christopher Silas | Knopf (48 pp.)

$19.99 | April 1, 2025 | 9780593812648

Parallel motherand-child stories unite whales and humans. While similarities between these marine mammals and people may not be immediately apparent, Neal invites readers to consider how alike we are, placing scenes of a mother whale and calf on the verso of each spread and a tan-skinned human mother and child on the recto. “We move side by side. Mama always stays close,” reads the text as the cetacean pair swim close together and the people walk hand in hand through an urban environment (details establish the setting as New York City). This initial, straightforward juxtaposition leads to more inventive, delightful ones, beginning with, “We pass long columns.” Here, a low visual perspective shows the calf gazing at beams of light, while on the other side of the spread, the child looks up at skyscrapers. Pleasing connections between whales and humans continue, with schools of fish likened to crowds of people, the whales breaking the water’s surface compared to the humans emerging from an underground subway stop, and so on. At book’s end, the people go whale-watching, and the title’s meaning is brought to life as they jump for joy on the ship’s deck while the animals leap from the water, the illustration now a cohesive, full-bleed double-spread. Neal’s inspired composition and concise, childfriendly text pair together seamlessly, while simple backmatter illuminates whale behavior, encouraging readers to empathize with these intelligent, social, endangered creatures.

Readers should leap at the chance to acquire this winning tale. (Picture book. 3-6)

The Wish Switch

Painter, Lynn | Little, Brown (320 pp.)

$18.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9780316578585

After Emma convinces her skeptical besties to cast wishes with her at a magical spot in the woods, she’s dismayed to see changes in her friends, while her own wishes seem to have been gifted to someone else entirely.

Ever since Nana Marie told Em about the lore of four, Em has been obsessed with finding the magic portal where wishes, if delivered with the proper chants and ceremony, including a wish package, might be granted. Sneaking away from a class field trip, Em, Allie, and Kennedy find the portal, a seemingly bottomless hole in the ground. When it’s Emma’s turn to wish, someone throws a rock that hits her package, but it seems like a minor glitch. When seventh grade starts a few months later, however, Allie suddenly looks “stunningly beautiful,” while Kennedy’s braces are coming off early and she’s a popular online gamer. Em, however, is as short, flat-chested, awkward, and not-blond as ever. When annoying, dark-haired Jackson shows up taller, more muscular, blond, and with a charming personality, Em suspects a mistake—or outright theft of her wishes. Em and Jackson team up to set things right before the final wish wreaks havoc on their families. Painter uses italics, bold text, and all caps to appropriately convey the middle school drama, along with occasional light snark and honest musings on friendship and the importance of being seen. Main characters are cued white.

A light fantasy that offers worthy lessons in friendship. (Fantasy. 9-13)

It Simply Can’t Be Bedtime

Paul, Pamela | Illus. by Steven Salerno Putnam (32 pp.) | $18.99

May 20, 2025 | 9780593532164

A girl’s stuffed pig helps her postpone bedtime.

Daddy says it’s time to go to sleep, but his daughter insists that she isn’t ready. Her stuffed animal, Lady Pigsworth, takes the lead, suggesting creative tactics to delay the inevitable. With guidance from Lady Pigsworth, Daddy helps the girl exchange her fairy costume for pajamas, brush her teeth, clean her room, and read a story. But as the girl gets increasingly sleepy, she loses her enthusiasm for Lady Pigsworth’s escalating antics, which include requests for tea with scones, a lullaby (with the porcine plushie accompanying Daddy with her clarinet), and silk sheets strewn with flowers. Finally, the girl notices that Lady Pigsworth has worn herself out and tucks her stuffed animal into bed. Both drift off to sleep—but not before scheming to do it all again tomorrow. The basic plot is familiar enough, but it’s told with humor and sweetness, accompanied by Salerno’s retro-style illustrations, dominated by soothing nighttime hues of lavender and yellow. The text is entirely made up of dialogue, mostly between the father and Lady Pigsworth. The pig’s formal, Britishinspired speech (“Tickety-boo, old chap”) makes for a fun read-aloud. The father and daughter model a strong, loving relationship as he joins her play wholeheartedly, giving her agency while also steadily guiding her toward bed. The human characters have light skin and dark hair.

An amusing addition to the bedtime story stack. (Picture book. 4-8)

Neshama

Pixley, Marcella | Candlewick (368 pp.)

$18.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9781536236613

Anna sees ghosts. Talking with and about ghosts—not to mention her blue-dyed hair, combat boots, and weird poetry—has left Anna shunned by her sixth grade classmates. Even her father would rather break her spirit than support her macabre behavior. Only her grandmother, Bubbe Esther, offers Anna the kindness and space to be herself. On a solo visit to Bubbe’s home in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Anna encounters the ghost of Ruthie, her father’s sister, who died in childhood and now wants Anna’s help to settle some scores. Pixley’s verse balances gauzy abstractions with well-wrought details, highlighting the physicality of the living that the ghosts envy: “We watch you / at night / when you are sleeping. / We love / the sound / of your breath / hissing / like silver thread / pulled through silk.” While visiting Bubbe, Anna also feels drawn to her grandmother’s Jewish observance, which Ruthie practiced unabashedly—another form of self-expression her secular father has rejected. The relationship between Anna and her ghostly aunt evolves effectively, with the decisive, liberated Ruthie initially helping to bolster Anna’s confidence; over time, she becomes more feral and overbearing,

A tale of stage fright conquered that hits all the right notes.

BE BOLD, BOB

forcing Anna to trust and assert her own judgment. A denouement with her father feels rather quick, but readers will cheer Anna’s burgeoning ability to embrace her unusual skills and advocate for herself. Characters are cued white.

An eerie, melancholic story of family trauma and healing. (Verse fiction. 9-13)

Be Bold, Bob

Porter, Jane | Illus. by Jenni Desmond Candlewick (32 pp.) | $18.99

June 3, 2025 | 9781536240641

A shy elephant longs to perform in public. As the other forest animals rehearse for the Big Show, Bob withdraws. He wishes he could join them, but whenever he tries to sing, his ears become warm, his trunk gets tangled up, and all that comes out is a little squeak. In private, though, he’s an enthusiastic singer, and when a friendly pangolin named Paloma overhears him, she’s impressed and offers some sound advice: “Nobody minds if you get it wrong!” She even grabs her ukelele and rehearses with him. As Bob’s confidence grows, he starts believing in himself and prepares to share his song at the Big Show. He’s still racked by worries, but he’s determined to be brave— after all, Paloma will be by his side. Unfortunately, her ukelele strings snap just before the two are scheduled to go on. Bob flees the stage and hides, but when he hears Paloma crying (“I let Bob down”), he returns, takes a deep breath, and raises his “big, bold, and beautiful” voice in song. Desmond’s mixed-media images feature vividly hued watercolorlike washes of green and blue, and when Bob finally summons his courage, Pollock-esque splatters of color dot the pages. Porter’s warmly soothing text carries Bob along to a triumphant ending sure to embolden other reluctant performers.

An eerie, melancholic story of family trauma and healing.

NESHAMA

5-7)

Moose and Violet Knock Things Down

Powell, Corey | Illus. by Kristen Humphrey Penguin Workshop (128 pp.) | $7.99 paper April 8, 2025 | 9780593750384

Series: Superpower Puppies, 1

An exuberant pooch and a quirky young human embark on a mission to save the world. Moose’s gift is strength, but he hasn’t mastered controlling it—or apologizing for the chaos he leaves in his wake. Shadow, the puppies’ feline instructor, tells them that today, they’ll have to leave the “magical puppy world” behind and locate the rest of the superpup pack, who have disappeared—possibly to the human world. Moose leaps through a portal and finds himself in the middle of a fountain. He soon meets his first human, Violet, who’s stunned to discover he can talk but offers to help him on his quest, which involves tracking down a magic ball. Moose and Violet realize that the ball is on exhibit at a local museum, but their attempts to extract it, strung out over six chapters, wear thin. Powell never makes it clear what the magical puppy world is or what dangers the pups are protecting the human world from. Still, the titular characters make an entertaining pair, with Type A Violet serving as an effective foil for goofball Moose. The pooch’s irrepressible high spirits are endearing; readers will identify with

his moments of doubt and his inability to remember the rules that govern the human world. In the perky cartoon illustrations, Violet presents East Asian.

A lighthearted odd-couple tale for burgeoning fantasy fans. (Chapter book. 6-8)

Mafalda: Book One

Quino | Trans. by Frank Wynne | Elsewhere Editions (120 pp.) | $18.00 | May 13, 2025 9781962770040 | Series: Mafalda and Friends, 1

An acerbic 6-year-old skewers societal foibles. Mafalda, an Argentinian comic strip star from the 1960s, is a veteran of the cartoon scene, but she may not be entirely familiar to an English-language audience. Thankfully, this first entry in a planned five-volume series is poised to correct that. With its forthright, articulate, and frequently bickering cast of children, comparisons to Charles Schulz’s Peanuts are inevitable—though Mafalda’s quips and crises usually veer more toward the sociopolitical than the existential. Mafalda rails against Argentinian leadership, decries wars and social crises abroad, and stands as a staunch advocate for women’s rights, played in humorous contrast to her frequent antagonist, Susanita, a girl who carries around a baby doll and swoons over her unexamined dreams of being “a mommy.” Mafalda and her friends are depicted as distinctive, recognizably broad comic-strip personalities, with outsize heads, simplified expressions, and paper-white skin. Though the times and locale are obviously quite different, Mafalda’s English-language translation and reissue feels similar to that of Lat’s Kampung Boy. This cultural text

provides a window into a specific milieu in a particular country’s history while also speaking to universal experiences and ever-pertinent questions of societal change and unrest.

A historical comic strip with ongoing relevance and plenty to laugh about. (Graphic fiction. 7-13)

Mustafa’s Mithai

Rafi, Sana | Illus. by Nabi H. Ali | Viking (32 pp.) $18.99 | June 17, 2025 | 9780593526125

A South Asian boy shares his favorite foods with his friends. Mustafa loves mithai (a Hindi word that describes a variety of confections), which he and his family eat on special occasions. Unfortunately, Mustafa feels like his family has run out of celebrations: Eid and Mustafa’s father’s birthday are both over, and his grandparents have already visited. Will Mustafa ever eat mithai again? His mother points out that “every day can be a happy occasion when you’re with the ones you love,” so Mustafa invites his friends over for a playdate, complete with mithai. Mustafa plans to let his pals select their own desserts, but when they arrive, they’re too overwhelmed to make up their minds. It’s up to Mustafa to choose “the perfect mithai” for each of his friends, and he plays matchmaker, picking out falooda for Kent (“It’s full of surprises, just like you!”), ladoo for Pooja (“It’s round just like your soccer ball”), jalebi for Beau (“It’s orange like your shirt”), and more. Both the sumptuouslooking sweets and the children’s smiling faces positively glow in Ali’s whimsical illustrations. Mustafa’s thoughtful decision-making, the joy he finds in making his friends happy, and their enthusiasm for trying new foods all model good behavior for young readers. Mustafa’s friends are diverse. A celebration of life’s sweetest things: dessert and friendship.

(Picture book. 4-8)

A tale of stage fright conquered that hits all the right notes. (Picture book.

A vivid and authentic account of geese living their beautiful, wild lives.

GOOSE EGG ISLAND

Welcome Home, Esmerelda

Ramirez, Daniela | Illus. by Maribel Lechuga | Charlesbridge (32 pp.)

$17.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9781623543907

A family goes home again. It’s time to move yet again, but Esmerelda’s used to it, because her dad’s in the military. This time, they’ll be relocating from Germany back to San Antonio. That should be good news, because the rest of Esmerelda’s extended familia lives there, but she isn’t nearly as excited as her sister, who was born there. After all, Esmerelda’s never been to San Antonio; that’s not her home! After packing everything up, they move to temporary lodging on the base and say adios to the friends they’ve made in Germany. Once they land in the U.S., they’re greeted by loved ones, right off the plane. Everyone is curious about Esmerelda, but the only one she recognizes is her Abuela. Esmerelda doesn’t feel like she belongs. Until… Tío George puts on Tejano music. Hearing a song by her beloved Selena, Esmerelda starts dancing, and everyone joins in. At last, she feels at home. Esmerelda’s a charming protagonist struggling with an issue that will be familiar to many readers, whether they’ve moved frequently or not: feeling out of place with family they’re not yet close with. Spanish words are interspersed throughout, while Lechuga’s crayonlike art brims with detailed spreads and harmonic colors full of movement. Esmerelda and her family are brown-skinned and Latine. A warm and relatable tale told with heart. (author’s note, photos) (Picture book. 4-8)

Flying in Colors

Reddeppa, Padma Prasad | Tu Books (272 pp.)

$21.95 | May 6, 2025 | 9781643796758

The shadow of death looms over a girl’s life in this coming-of-age tale set in 1970s Chennai in Southern India. Reddeppa’s debut follows an eventful year in Pavithra Ramachandran’s life as she negotiates the ups and downs of her intergenerational Tamil family. Beloved though Pavi is, her birth is always mentioned in the same breath as her maternal uncle Selva’s untimely death at 26, just a few months later. Pavi, who’s almost 9, feels a strong connection to Selva Uncle, and to Chanki, her paternal granduncle, who’s the black sheep of the family with a flair for storytelling. When a grieving relative lays the blame for Selva’s death on Pavi’s shoulders, saying that her birth came with a sign of a curse, Pavi’s actions set in motion a chain of events that lead to danger and unearth troubling family secrets. Strong-willed, impetuous Pavi is an intriguing character, though her words and actions sometimes feel much older than her years. The initially sunny narrative takes a dark turn and includes incidents with predatory men, threatened violence from an exorcist summoned to rid Pavi of her grief, and graphically described injuries resulting from her own rash actions. The plot sags in the second half but effectively tackles themes including unquestioning faith and the power of words to uplift or crush a child’s psyche.

A poignant, visceral story about superstition, unresolved grief, and the

wounds they can inflict. (family trees, Tamil culture note, author’s note, glossary) (Fiction. 10-14)

Goose Egg Island

Richardson, Julia | Illus. by Meneka Repka Sleeping Bear Press (32 pp.) | $18.99 April 1, 2025 | 9781534113183

A bonded pair of Canada geese raise a family. When Goose and Gander fly back to the island they call home, it’s still wintry. They fend off rival geese and, as the ice thaws, dive for food. Amid frog song and under a full moon, the two come together, and “a miracle begins.” (Mating isn’t depicted on the page.) Next, Goose finds their old nest and lines it with moss and twigs, lays five eggs, and incubates them for a whole month—not feeding herself and not moving, even through a late snowstorm. Meanwhile Gander stands guard, driving off a hungry fox and a curious puppy. Five goslings hatch, looked after by both Goose and Gander and observed by a light-skinned child (referred to as “you”), until autumn arrives and all seven fly away together. The language is well chosen, and repetition gives extra weight to the words’ meaning. A spread of backmatter adds more fascinating facts about Canada geese. Using a restrained palette, Repka’s colorful illustrations are detailed and accurate, though stylized and elegantly composed, right down to the decorative endpapers. While the goslings are undeniably cute, the artwork eschews anthropomorphism. Perspective varies from full views to close-ups, with appropriate, identifiable landscapes and vegetation. The child is the only human and is portrayed less realistically than the animals. The many double-page spreads make for an immersive read-aloud. A vivid and authentic account of geese living their beautiful, wild lives. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Star

The Burning Season

Rose, Caroline Starr | Nancy Paulsen Books (256 pp.) | $17.99 May 13, 2025 | 9780593617939

A young wilderness lookout confronts family expectations and her fear of fire. This novel written in emotive free verse brings the emotional impact of poetry to 12-year-old Opal Gloria Halloway’s coming-of-age tale of survival. Living in a lookout tower in New Mexico’s Gila National Forest with her mother and grandmother, she struggles with competing fears and desires. Blue-eyed, red-haired Opal genuinely wishes to follow in the paths of three generations of women in her family who were fire-spotting lookouts: As Gran says, “‘It seems like forever / we’ve lived on this mountain.’ // ‘But fire’s lived here longer.’” Yet Opal also yearns to simply attend seventh grade in nearby Cielito and live with the Trujillos, whose twin boys, Vince and Jacob, are her best friends. Deeper down, she struggles with an overwhelming fear of flames: A horrific wildfire claimed her father’s life. When a washed-out trail leaves Opal’s mother stranded in town and Gran gets lost in the forest, Opal must dig deep to find the courage to protect the people she loves and figure out her place in the world. Believable emotions, gripping action, and skillfully incorporated information about climate change and wildfire management make this a relatable and engaging read. A girl-versus-nature story that shines with evocative verse, a compelling protagonist, and a brisk plotline. (author’s note) (Verse fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Star

The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls

Rossell, Judith | Dial Books (320 pp.) $18.99 | May 27, 2025 | 9798217002405

Magdalena Fishbone’s relegation to an institution for “orphans, runaways, and wayward girls” turns into an extraordinary adventure.

When Maggie arrives at the Midwatch Institute (after committing a satisfying, if somewhat violent, act of justice), she’s one of three new girls. As it turns out, the seemingly dreary orphanage is a front for a school that trains girls in useful arts and skills. Maggie’s classes in “Maps, Fencing, German, Motorcars, Drawing, Observing, Contriving, Hiding, and Dancing” comprise a fine beginning education for any spy or detective. Excerpts from Useful Things Every Girl Should Know, a book published in 1911 by the director, Miss Adelia Mandelay, appear between chapters and include instruction and advice on, among other things, disguises, decisionmaking, Morse code, knot tying, and escaping from quicksand. Most entries include anecdotes from the author’s madcap experiences as an international woman of mystery. Rich, quirky language and a wellimagined early-20th-century setting—including a port city with skyscrapers, airships, motorcars, and an elegant hotel—provide an immersive backdrop for the girls’ foray into detective work. The disappearance of a botanist and attacks by a creature the press calls “the night monster” are elements of the criminal conspiracy the girls uncover. Terrifically evocative black-and-white illustrations extend the narrative. Maggie and the adults appear white, and some of Maggie’s schoolmates have dark skin.

Cinematic, amusing, and exciting: a slightly subversive, delightfully empowering, all-around winner. (Mystery. 8-12)

El Niño

Ryan, Pam Muñoz | Illus. by Joe Cepeda

Scholastic (256 pp.) | $18.99

May 6, 2025 | 9781338068559

San Diego boy Kai Sosa’s older sister, Cali, was a championship swimmer; two years ago, she disappeared in a dense ocean fog and is presumed dead. When Kai is recruited by Cali’s elite swim team, he faces the pressure of living up to her legacy while navigating his grief and struggling to reclaim his competitive edge in the sport. The coaches have an unorthodox approach that leaves Kai and his teammates questioning whether they’ll be ready to compete. Amid this turmoil, Kai discovers an overdue library book that Cali borrowed, The Elusive Island of California . It’s filled with lore about Queen Califia and a mythical submerged island. The book’s tales of gold, a Library of Despair and Sorrow, and a mysterious underwater realm strike an eerie chord with Kai. As vivid dreams and sleepwalking episodes draw him to the ocean, Mexican American Kai begins to wonder if the legendary island could actually exist and if the myths might hold clues to Cali’s disappearance. Blending the emotional depth of grief with the intrigue of mythology, Ryan’s story explores the intersection of family, resilience, and climate change in Southern California. The magic of the Califia legend is tempered by the reality of life after loss, and both aspects of the story are richly detailed. The navy blue font and Cepeda’s striking illustrations complement the uniquely beautiful story. A compelling tale of love, loss, and myth. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-13)

For more by Caroline Starr Rose, visit Kirkus online.

A brightly illustrated tribute that brings more deserving names to light.

INCREDIBLE

Sam Squirrel

Selfors, Suzanne | Illus. by Ramona Kaulitzki | Aladdin (96 pp.) | $17.99

Jan. 14, 2025 | 9781665949026

Series: Willow’s Woods, 1

When spring is late, a young squirrel must put things right. Sam adores the first day of spring, when Mother Nature—depicted as an older woman with flowing hair—visits the animals of the Quiet Woods. When Sam first met Mother Nature, she introduced him to the joys of list making, which became his passion. Next year, his carefully prepared lists help him realize that both Mother Nature and spring have failed to arrive on time. The animals gather, and Sam is tasked with creating a to-do list for Mother Nature and then delivering it to her, accompanied by Prince Errol the elk. Along the way, they meet Mother Nature’s grandchild Willow West Wind, who’s on her way to housesit so that her grandmother can take a much-needed vacation. But the trio soon learn that Mother Nature forgot to complete her springtime duties before leaving on a cruise. Now it’s up to Sam and Willow to end winter. Selfors populates her enchanting woodland setting with kindly anthropomorphized animals; children will eagerly cheer on the earnest, uncertain Sam, who initially seems like an unlikely hero but readily rises to the occasion. Brief chapters and sentences make this story ideal for independent readers, while the soothing tone and soft artwork keep the narrative tension gentle enough for sensitive youngsters.

Willow and Mother Nature have paper-white skin.

Good news for young list makers and animal lovers—a series starter sure to keep readers absorbed. (Fantasy. 6-8)

Kirkus Star

Colette: The Solitary Bee

Sénéchal, Jean-François | Illus. by Pascale Bonenfant | Trans. by Nick Frost & Catherine Ostiguy | Milky Way Picture Books (44 pp.)

$17.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9781990252396

Loners, only children, and the singularly single, rejoice: Colette the bee is here to tell your story! Though Colette can do many things on her own—fly, eat, forage, stay safe in storms—her life is enriching and filled with friends and parties. Sénéchal carefully notes that Colette isn’t afraid to seek help when she needs it and that she’s willing to help others in need. All in all, she’s one well-rounded bee. As a result, her story is a useful reminder to readers— including adult caregivers—that phrases such as “There’s a lid for every pot” are just expressions; it’s perfectly normal for people to live single lives and still be vibrant members of their communities. Translated from French and originally published in Quebec, the book is enhanced by the warm tones and rounded shapes of Bonenfant’s art, which tips its hat to the groovy, fluid lines of the early 1970s but maintains its modern sensibility through an excellent balance of warm and cool tones. The book looks like a classic, and it will very likely prove to

be one, thanks to its charming protagonist. Invite Colette to your next storytime or include her in a shared one-on-one reading experience; she’ll be equally welcome in both, and her adventures should be enjoyed by everyone, from the solitary to the gregarious.

As delightfully sweet and pure as honey. (Picture book. 6-8)

Incredible: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Who Changed the World

Shibutani, Maia & Alex Shibutani Illus. by Dion MBD | Viking (32 pp.)

$18.99 | April 29, 2025 | 9780593525463

Olympic medalists and siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani compile profiles of notable Asian Americans. The authors devote a concise paragraph to each person, describing their backgrounds, achievements, and lasting legacies. Several subjects share each spread, and the Shibutanis include politicians, artists, athletes, scientists, and more. They cover names that may be familiar to readers, such as musician Olivia Rodrigo, Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Jhumpa Lahiri, activist Grace Lee Boggs, and Patsy Mink, the first woman of color elected to Congress. What sets this collection apart is the inclusion of potentially lesser-known names: aviator Katherine Sui Fun Cheung, disability and social justice activist Stacey Park Milbern, Narinder Singh Kapany, considered to be “the father of fiber optics,” and Mark Tatum, deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of the National Basketball Association. The entries are accompanied by vibrant, realistic portraits of the subjects set against richly hued backdrops. Though the book lacks a bibliography or further reading that might point curious youngsters toward other sources, many will be inspired to do their own research. The authors offer a solid balance of South Asian,

Southeast Asian, East Asian, and Pacific Islander representation. A brightly illustrated tribute that brings more deserving names to light. (authors’ note) (Informational picture book/collective biography. 5-9)

A Vaisakhi To Remember

Singh, Simran Jeet | Illus. by Japneet Kaur | Kokila (40 pp.) | $18.99 March 18, 2025 | 9780593859087

After a Punjabi family moves from their village to a big city, its youngest member worries that the upcoming Vaisakhi celebration won’t be the same. The unnamed child, who narrates, loved the harvest festival; it was an opportunity to dance, feast, exchange stories, and bond with relatives. But the family’s new home feels worlds away from their old one: “No green fields. No pet goats. No Nani’s breakfast paronthas.” (Though the author doesn’t state where they’ve moved to, images of cardinals and Canada geese suggest a North American setting.) As the holiday approaches, the youngster wonders: “How will we celebrate here in our new home?” To the protagonist’s surprise, the local gurdwara, or Sikh place of worship, hosts a Vaisakhi celebration featuring music and foods that echo the youngster’s memories of home. Things aren’t exactly the same; the child longs for Punjab, with its “fields filled with yellow flowers,” and the aloo paronthas at the gurdwara are “delicious but not as good as Nani’s.” Still, the youngster feels hopeful about a new life full of joy and laughter. This tender story encapsulates the conflicting emotions that often accompany a move; Singh encourages readers to embrace change while acknowledging the inevitable feelings of grief. Though the hectic illustrations sometimes make it difficult to discern details, they capture the loving chaos of the protagonist’s old and new lives.

An empathetic tale that speaks to the complex feelings inherent to undergoing big change. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)

Bye Bye, Butterfly

Dev. by Spires, Ashley | Adapt. by Naseem Hrab | Illus. by Mike Shiell | Kids Can (40 pp.) $7.99 paper | May 6, 2025 | 9781525312571 Series: Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe, 1

A gent Binky, first introduced in the graphic novel Binky the Space Cat (2009), returns. Spires’ books recently spawned an animated series, Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe. Adapted from one of the TV episodes, this tale sees Binky facing off against an “alien” intruder: “Inchalong crawlicus . Code name: Caterpillar.” After all, though Binky may appear to be an ordinary housecat, he’s convinced that he’s a member of P.U.R.S.T. (Pets of the Universe Ready for Space Travel), a secret group that keeps humans safe from extraterrestrials. Alerting his fellow agents (the other household pets), Binky keeps an eye on the creature as it builds a “spaceship,” which astute readers will recognize as a cocoon. Family dog Gordon admires the butterfly as it emerges, but when it flies into their home (or “space station”), Binky activates a “THREE-PAW ALERT.” Laugh-outloud pratfalls ensue as the agents, outfitted in spacesuits, chase the butterfly through the house. As they briefly lose sight of it, they draw a hasty and hilarious conclusion before congratulating themselves on a job well done. Pear-shaped Binky and the rest of the P.U.R.S.T. team retain their distinctive comic shapes and over-the-top gestures as in the TV program. While the writing and art aren’t quite as polished as in Spires’ original graphic novels, Binky’s an amusingly self-assured but often inept hero; this series will doubtless be as popular as his other slapstick misadventures.

Action-filled, comically cosmic missions sure to tickle young readers. (Picture book. 4-7)

No Mousie Left Behind

Dev. by Spires, Ashley | Adapt. by Naseem Hrab | Illus. by Mike Shiell | Kids Can (40 pp.)

$7.99 paper | May 6, 2025 | 9781525312649

Series: Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe, 2

Agent Binky, a self-appointed Space Cat, undertakes another well-meaning but ludicrous mission. Don’t be fooled by appearances—Binky isn’t your average suburban feline. He’s part of P.U.R.S.T. (Pets of the Universe Ready for Space Travel), a group of animals sworn to protect earthlings from extraterrestrial interlopers. As the book opens, we find Binky cuddling his beloved stuffed mouse, Ted, and reveling in tummy tickles and butt scratches from his loving, tan-skinned human family. Bliss is brief: “Citrus likealotus. Code name: Fruit Fly” soon invades. Springing into action, Binky carefully places Ted against a screen door—just steps from a banana peel—and begins to chase the “alien” fly. Surprise! Binky slips, launching himself and the screen into “outer space” (the backyard). The cat is swiftly brought back inside by Big Human, so quickly that Binky leaves Ted behind. It falls to Loo the fish to alert Binky that Ted’s still “trapped in outer space” beneath a “floating alien spaceship” (a hive of buzzing bees). Though Binky panics, the P.U.R.S.T. agents assemble, and the usual elaborate preparations and miscalculations ensue. A TV tie-in with the series Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe, this picture book features detailed color cartoons that underscore the characters’ grandiose efforts and farcical failures. Their comical ineptitude not only will elicit giggles—it will also allow young audiences to feel amazingly competent by comparison. Astronomically goofy fun. (Picture book. 4-7)

Wonderfully Wild: Rewilding a School and Community

Stremer, Jessica | Illus. by Josée Masse

Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (48 pp.)

$19.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9781665958165

A joyful introduction to rewilding, or restoring ecosystems to their natural states.

When their beloved schoolyard willow tree is hit by lightning, students grow new trees from clippings while their teacher helps them learn about creating a more sustainable natural world. Stremer shapes her account, “loosely based on a real-life event,” into an idealized free verse narrative that follows the students step by step as they trim branches and set them in water, watch the progress of new root formation, repot new trees, and replant them in the schoolyard. The author wisely presents the willow regrowth as an idea that came from a student, and she also points out that some plantings don’t survive: “That’s just how things go sometimes.” The lessons extend further—the kids learn to weed out weeds, grow and plant wildflowers, create compost, and provide shelters for birds and pollinating insects. They share both their knowledge and their newly grown willow trees with the community.

Masse’s stylized illustrations add to the charm of this story. She portrays a diverse group of young students all actively engaged in the activities, both in the classroom and in the wider world, and having fun as they learn. Adults also appear, varying in skin tone; the whole community is clearly involved. Instructive backmatter

completes the package, providing further information and guidance on plants and the rewilding process. Hopeful and encouraging. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Please Pay Attention

Sumner, Jamie | Atheneum (240 pp.)

$17.99 | April 15, 2025 | 9781665956079

A school shooting survivor with cerebral palsy struggles to heal.

A year after a shooting at her school, Beatrix Coughlin recounts the days before and after the tragedy in present-tense letters in verse. At home, Bea and her adoptive mom, Maxine, are supported by Lucius, their kindhearted neighbor, and his husband, Aaron. As a sixth grade Buddy to a Little at Cedar Crest Presbyterian, Bea learns card tricks to cheer up Josie Garcia, a kindergartener with anxiety. But after the shooting, neither home nor school feels safe— especially because Bea, who uses a wheelchair, couldn’t run or hide. Plagued by nightmares and terrified of loud noises, Bea feels like “a person / who cannot save herself.” But if she can’t save herself, how can she help when it seems like “everybody is fighting for change” to gun control laws? Sumner, who based the story on a school shooting in her Nashville community, poignantly portrays the devastation that gun violence wreaks while leaving room for hope. While she doesn’t sugarcoat Bea’s terror, grief, or post-traumatic stress, the verse format allows readers to process the events

Reflects present-day societal crises in ways readers will find empowering.

piece by piece, tempering the vivid emotional imagery. Bea’s gradual improvement via equine therapy and Max’s emphatic support are heartening, and readers will root both for Bea’s recovery and for adults in power to “please pay attention / and then / act.” Bea and Max are implied white, and there’s racial diversity among the secondary characters. Heart-wrenching yet hopeful. (author’s note) (Verse fiction. 10-14)

Waiting for Hanami

Takahashi, J.P. | Illus. by HifuMiyo Harper/HarperCollins (40 pp.)

$19.99 | Feb. 4, 2025 | 9780063224971

Everyone has a story to tell. Impatient to find a spot in the busy nearby park, Sai, a young Japanese girl, races ahead of her parents. Looking up, the family sees a lacy canopy of cherry blossoms, or sakura. Today they’ll celebrate hanami, the annual cherry blossom observance in Japan. But Sai is also waiting for a family reunion with dozens of multiracial relatives, who crowd around and above Sai. Nervous and shy, Sai sees another child looking lost: Avi, a boy with brown skin and locs. The two begin talking, and readers learn that Avi, who uses his pen to tell stories, is an artist just like Sai, who helps her parents connect customers with the perfect kimono fabric in their shop. They draw strength from each other and use their shared talent to uncover and depict their family’s stories in a creative family tree. Takahashi’s prose occasionally glosses over explanations (how exactly does Sai know what fabric to pick out for the customers?). On the whole, though, the narrative is pervaded by a sense of warmth and love, while the illustrations effectively immerse readers in this flowery world, with the relatives varying in skin tone and facial

features. An author’s note provides information on hanami. An affectionately drawn tale of family. (Picture book. 3-6)

The Callers:

The Hidden Forest

Thomas, Kiah | Chronicle Books (272 pp.) | $17.99 | May 20, 2025 9781797222585 | Series: The Callers, 2

Picking up where the series opener left off, this volume reunites readers with Quin and rebel best friend Allie, who have escaped back to Evantra; meanwhile, on Elipsom, Quin’s sister, Davinia, wrestles with her loyalties to Quin and her mother.

With Davinia’s secret help, Quin has escaped from his adoptive mother (Elipsom’s powerful chief councilor, Adriana Octavius) and fled to Evantra, where he’s working to heal the Vine—the life force that makes Evantra a productive, more vibrant land than the depleted, sterile Elipsom. When Quin realizes that he can’t heal the Vine alone, he and Allie set off to find a legendary forest that may contain clues—and discover something greater than Quin ever expected. Back on Elipsom, Davinia now knows that Calling, or conjuring objects, doesn’t involve creating things out of thin air, as Elipsomians are taught, but rather requires stealing materials from Evantra. She’s sent by Adriana to the Spurges, a poor, rebellious section of Elipsom whose inhabitants refuse to Call. Adriana suspects they’re hiding something of vital importance, and when Davinia discovers what it is, she realizes she must somehow keep the secret safe from Adriana. Told through Quin’s and Davinia’s alternating points of view, the competently crafted plot excels in action and imagination before culminating in an effective

cliffhanger ending. The story reflects present-day environmental and societal crises in ways readers will find relevant and empowering. Characters present white. Timely and invigorating. (Fantasy. 8-12)

The Griffin’s Boy

Thomson, Sarah L. | Illus. by Anna Aparicio Català | Peachtree (192 pp.)

$17.99 | March 11, 2025 | 9781682637661

Princess Alyssandra works feverishly to protect an innocent boy while figuring out who’s been stealing magical creatures from her father’s menagerie.

Bored by her tutor’s genealogy lesson, Alyssandra—called Lyss— becomes distracted by the sight of a horse-drawn cart. Her uncle Raff, who travels the world searching for unusual creatures, has sent his most wonderful contribution yet: a griffin. Lyss notices a boy named Devin sneaking into the menagerie with the griffin. She learns that Devin was once employed by a cruel man who sold Tam to Uncle Raff but that he ran off in order to stay with Tam; he persuades Lyss to keep his whereabouts a secret from her father, the king. One night, the three of them observe two strange men sneaking around the castle grounds by moonlight; the next day, an amphisbaena—a two-headed, lizardlike creature—disappears from the menagerie. Lyss considers confiding in her father, but she prefers to present him with “a neat solution to a mystery rather than a problem he’d have to untangle”—a decision she may come to regret. Though this fast-moving, suspenseful tale takes place over the course of just a few days, it packs in a dazzling array of intriguing characters, both humans and mythological beasts. Laced with humor, the narrative raises

thought-provoking philosophical questions as Lyss wrestles with ethical dilemmas. Català’s lively artwork complements the text; Lyss appears brown-skinned, while Devin is pale-skinned.

Highly entertaining. (encyclopedia of magical beasts) (Fantasy. 8-12)

The Unforgettable Leta “Lightning” Laurel

Toalson, R.L. | Aladdin (352 pp.)

$18.99 | May 27, 2025 | 9781665956277

“Every race matters. They all get me one step closer to being the kind of girl a person can never forget.”

Thirteen-yearold Texan Leta “Lightning” Laurel’s race is the 400-meter dash, and she has her mind set on winning the district championship. Winning gets her photo in the local paper, and maybe that will get her absentee father’s attention. But it’s hard to focus on running: She cares for her younger sister while her mom works two jobs and struggles to put food on the table. Adding to Leta’s stress, her closest childhood friend ditches her for the popular cheerleaders. With the arrival of new eighth grader Natalie, herself a successful 400-meter competitor, the stakes are even higher. Leta, who presents white, learns about her physical limits—and her own motivations—in her race to the finish line. Leta’s genuine first-person narration effectively captures the growing pains, embarrassment, and small joys to be found both on and off the track. The novel is bursting with topics that are authentic to Leta’s and her peers’ experiences, including anxiety, bullying, food insecurity, disordered eating, parental separation and divorce, poverty, gender inequality in sports, menstrual equity, and physical abuse. Yet the author’s efforts to fully develop them all feel as cramped as Leta’s feet in her too-small track shoes. Supportive adults,

including Leta’s progressive coach and devoted, distance-running grandfather, bring warmth that lightens the heavy subject matter. A heartfelt narrative weighed down by important but underdeveloped messages. (author’s note) (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Star

You and Me, Anemone: A Story About Friendship and Personal Space

Vail, Rachel | Illus. by Chris Raschka Greenwillow Books (32 pp.) | $19.99 May 27, 2025 | 9780063414723

Don’t touch that anemone! A “lemony… anonymous anemone” has just one demand: “Please, oh, please, / DON’T / BOOP / ME!” The accompanying illustrations show the sea anemone recoiling when a purple fish enthusiastically nuzzles it. The anemone is an avatar for a brown-skinned child who tells readers, “If you ever feel, like me, / that you’d prefer / to stay boop-free / just say these words / assertively— // NO / BOOPING / ME! I / AM / AN ANENOME!” Despite their pleas, both anemone and child delight in community and celebration, dancing along with their peers as everyone respects their need for space. This ingenious story doubles as a scientific portrait of an animal with a fun-sounding name and a lesson on setting boundaries. Vail’s rhythmic, rhyming text has a playfulness to it that will propel

readers forward, making it an ideal candidate for a vibrant, educational read-aloud. Raschka’s clever art uses paint and embroidery on burlap to create an expressive world full of textures and colors. A spread featuring the unfortunate “boop” depicts numerous silent sea anemones in visible distress in an explosion of stitching, packing as much punch as the one featuring the child making a vehement exclamation. Backmatter includes an author’s note in which Vail discusses her own (misguided) experiences with anemones as well as information on these fascinating sea creatures. Don’t boop this book away! Embrace this lively, creative look at asserting one’s boundaries. (photograph) (Picture book. 4-7)

Sam Walters, Eric | DCB Young Readers (224 pp.) $14.95 paper | May 24, 2025 | 9781770867949

A 14-year-old in foster care finds unexpected help with his anger management issues in a renowned novel about a certain other Canadian orphan.

After being charged with assault for breaking the nose of his high school’s bullying star quarterback with a soda can, Sam is remanded to a juvenile holding facility. He’s initially outraged to be assigned Anne of Green Gables as required reading by Mrs. Martinez, his teacher at the facility, which is nicknamed Blue Gables for the color of its roof. Still,

Embrace this lively, creative look at asserting one’s boundaries.

YOU AND ME, ANEMONE

he knows that being his best self for the six weeks until his court date can help him avoid serious legal consequences, so he reluctantly starts reading. In its pages, Sam finds another strong-willed, misunderstood young person who aches for a stable home—and shares his red hair. With gentle prodding from supportive adults and a perceptive roommate, he also catches glimmers, through Anne’s resilience and persistence, of a better way forward. Walters acknowledges his intent to pay homage to a novel that has “transcended countries, cultures, time, and place,” and he slips quotes from L.M. Montgomery’s original into his narrative. The conclusion feels true to the original classic’s spirit more than this story’s relatively gritty events or tone but nonetheless delivers the tough, vulnerable protagonist to a sweet but unlikely fate that most readers will find thoroughly well deserved and satisfying.

A sensitive exploration of the value of books for providing solace and guidance in troubled times. (author’s note) (Fiction. 11-14)

You’re on Your Way!

Watt, Mélanie | Little, Brown (48 pp.) $15.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9780316584319 Series: You’re Finally Here!

“You’re on your way!!! And you’re taking me with you, right?”

In Watt’s You’re

Finally Here! (2011), a rabbit narrator expressed irritation that readers took so long to show up. This time, Bunny’s here to cheer audiences on: “Congrats! You did it! Off you go!” Where are readers going? That’s unclear, but either way, Bunny’s expecting to be their plus-one. “Do you know how much FUN we’d have together?” More fun than playing at the park, watching movies, or attending a birthday party. Bunny and readers would make a team stronger than “a volcano blast…

stronger than duct tape…stronger than a superhero…stronger than the smell of stinky cheese!” And surely readers will feel lost if they’re parted from Bunny. “SO DON’T LEAVE ME BEHIND!!!” demands an overwrought Bunny before calming down. Bunny alternates between presenting readers with well-thoughtout arguments and getting worked up. Finally, Bunny admits, “I’LL MISS YOU.” Bunny may have a few tricks in store to ensure readers get the message—and a few demands once kids decide to invite Bunny along (“I MUST travel by private jet you know”). Watt brings her bigeyed, bouncy protagonist back for a second salvo that’s shot through with encouragement and silliness. Wildly expressive Bunny again communicates directly with readers through speech bubbles set against woodgrained backgrounds; youngsters will be happy to let this exuberant rabbit accompany them wherever they go. Fourth-wall-breaking fun. (Picture book. 3-8)

The Totally Awesome World of Caitlin Clark: Learn All There Is To Know About Your Favorite All-Star

Weiss, Sara | becker&mayer! kids (128 pp.) $14.99 paper | April 22, 2025 | 9780760396834

A worshipful profile of the sensational young hoops icon. Weiss notes that Caitlin Clark’s intensity sometimes results in her losing her temper; she also touches on the racial double standard that some have claimed to see in her mega-celebrity. Still, the author dwells much more on the positive, from her subject’s strong work ethic, her willingness to be a team player, and her already-spectacular achievements on the boards to her electrifying effect on the popularity of women’s basketball. Clark played on boys’ teams from age 5, declared

her intention to play in the WNBA in third grade, and went on to become NCAA Division 1 basketball’s highest scorer of any sex—her example may daunt fans hoping to follow directly in her footsteps. Still, for those inspired to try, the author fills readers in on basic basketball skills and strategies that are applicable at any level of play. She also offers a sprinkling of biographical details and exciting game summaries (up to the July 2024 WNBA All Star Game), enhanced by many big, dramatic action photos. Thumbnail introductions to other women who have starred at the collegiate, Olympic, and professional levels widen the general angle of view, as do closing lists of WNBA champs and MVPs. Buoyant glimpses of a still-rising star. (photo credits) (Biography. 9-11)

So Over Sharing

Weissman, Elissa Brent | Dial Books (336 pp.) $18.99 | May 20, 2025 | 9780593857410

Tired of being used as content for their social media influencer mothers, two girls rebel. Twelve-yearold Hadley recently moved from Brooklyn to Long Island, and she just wants everything at her new school to go smoothly, without anyone finding out about her momfluencer mother’s blog, PhoebeAndJay. She meets Willow, also 12, at a content creator’s convention, and they bond instantly: Both their mothers are obsessed with sharing their families’ lives online. The girls create a private Instagram account they call @WeAreNOT_ Content, which becomes a safe haven where they post about the fake lives their mothers portray online and the stress that creates in their young lives. While Hadley falls in with popular girls in her new school and Willow struggles with her

family overlooking things that matter to her, the tension builds for the tweens—until Hadley makes a rash decision that leads to chaos. Each family must forge a path that’s right for them: Will they respect each member’s fundamental integrity and not see them solely as sources of social media content?

Alternating chapters narrated by each girl feature crisp dialogue and real emotion, bringing these two likable protagonists to life. Weissman presents her message in a balanced, clear-eyed, and thoughtprovoking way; readers will be rooting for Hadley and Willow, who read white, to find normality, peace, and connection.

A timely and provocative exploration of the impact of social media on teens, families, and society. (Fiction. 10-14)

The Traveling Taco: The Amazing and Surprising Journey of Many of Your Favorite Foods

Wenjen, Mia | Illus. by Kimberlie ClinthorneWong | Red Comet Press (36 pp.) | $18.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9781636551319

A brightly colored exploration of the origins and evolution of popular foods, from ice cream to pasta and pizza to french fries. Each two-page spread introduces a different item with a short rhyme before defining the food, explaining its origins and evolution, and offering a brief fact. Occasionally, the rhyming text feels forced, and some explanations can be confusing or contradictory. The author notes that a churro is “piped sweet dough that is fried in hot oil and then sprinkled with sugar” but then later says that the Chinese youtiao doughnut is “similar to a churro, but it’s not piped, covered in sugar or dunked in chocolate.” Readers may wonder what the similarities are. Still, kids fascinated

by food will find plenty to interest them—for instance, a discussion of the Jewish roots of fish and chips or how the jerk chicken we know was born when Africans in Jamaica fleeing slavery opted to prepare their meat using the smokeless pit method to avoid being detected. The crisp, full-page illustrations elucidate the text; a map at the end charts the journeys of the various foods mentioned, though it’s slightly difficult to decipher due to the low-contrast background. Fun facts for future foodies. (Informational picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Star

One Crazy Summer: The Graphic Novel

Williams-Garcia, Rita | Illus. by Sharee Miller Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins (304 pp.)

$15.99 paper | May 6, 2025 | 9780062935588

Three sisters travel cross-country to reconnect with the mother who left them behind years ago in this graphic novel adaptation of Williams-Garcia’s highly acclaimed, award-winning 2010 novel.

In the summer of 1968, the Gaither sisters—Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern—leave Brooklyn to visit their mother in Oakland. When they arrive, their mother, Cecile, isn’t particularly welcoming, and Delphine finds herself advocating for her younger sisters’ needs. On their first morning, Cecile sends them to the People’s Center for breakfast and lessons provided by the Black Panthers. Interacting with the other children leads to some sisterly friction, and once again Delphine wishes Cecile would assume a motherly role. But Delphine continues to find ways to keep her sisters engaged, as Cecile expects. After an excursion to San Francisco, the girls return to find the police arresting

Cecile and some of her Black Panther acquaintances. Community members help the girls, and adults at the People’s Center plan a rally in the local park, where youngest sister Fern speaks up and surprises the entire community with her revealing insights. As the girls prepare to return home, Cecile and Delphine finally speak frankly, and Delphine begins to understand her mother. Retaining the lively dialogue and strong characterization of the original, this version is enhanced by the wonderfully expressive drawings and use of vibrant color as well as black-and-white panels that highlight the storytelling.

A fresh take for a beloved story that will introduce it to a wider audience. (Graphic historical fiction. 8-12)

Squid in Pants:

Ready-To-Read Level 1

Windness, Kaz | Simon Spotlight (32 pp.) $18.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9781665944304

A fashion-loving cephalopod goes in search of undies. Squid craves clothes—especially the tighty whities seen in an ad. Squid’s three stalwart friends Crab, Turtle, and Fish grab some clothes hanging over the side of a young snorkeler’s boat, and a shower of garments floats down. Crab snags a tank top and with a “SNIP! CLIP!” transforms it into a crop top; the raincoat is big enough for three of the sea creatures. After donning the pants, Squid has an “accident” (“I inked”), so Crab offers to swap

outfits. But Squid can’t quite control the ink flow, and soon it’s covered everything. Never mind: The four friends aren’t dismayed and decide to adorn the clothes with bows made from eels. Then the angry, tanskinned snorkeling kid in the boat dives down to reclaim the pilfered clothes: Uh-oh! Squid trades the clothes for the child’s pair of briefs and shares them with the others. Everyone shows off in an undersea parade with other dressed-up creatures. The characters are all big-eyed and smiley. Colorful, sea-tinted pages and free-floating compositions pack a lot of action onto each page, along with surprising rhymes rocking in a four-beat wave-rhythm. Fun to read aloud, this graphic novel will inspire beginners to plunge into reading on their own. A rollicking, ridiculous rhyming adventure bound to be in high demand. (Graphic fiction/early reader. 4-6)

Piet Cools Off

Wohlleben, Peter & Carina Wohlleben Illus. by Rachel Qiuqi | Trans. by Jane Billinghurst | Greystone Kids (36 pp.) $18.95 | May 6, 2025 | 9781771649384

In this tale translated from German, a perky red squirrel endures a swelteringly hot day. Temperatures are so high that Piet’s tail doesn’t shield him from the sun—a technique that usually works. Scampering through the forest, he sees others trying to cool off: a lightskinned human forester enjoying ice cream, wasps drinking from a stream,

A rollicking, ridiculous rhyming adventure bound to be in high demand.

SQUID IN PANTS

wild pigs wallowing in the mud, and a rabbit peering out from its burrow. All invite Piet to join them, but he realizes that none of these options will work for him. Now deep in the forest, he’s suddenly surprised to discover that he’s no longer so hot: The canopy of beech trees overhead has created a cool shade. Piet rests before returning home, where the forester, named Peter, greets him. The main text is accompanied by additional facts presented in smaller typeface; also included are “Can you spot?” questions, with the illustrations offering bonus critters. The art depicts adorable bunnies, pert piglets, and even some cute bugs, slightly anthropomorphized by posture—plus, Piet does speak with Peter. Simplified forms bring to life the forest setting; the serene blues and greens will refresh those reading this one on a hot summer day. Using a light touch, the authors also fold in a subtle yet meaningful message about the importance of trees, as well as information on the animals Piet meets.

A cool book for a warm world. (authors’ note) (Picture book. 3-7)

These Are My Rocks

Woollvin, Bethan | Frances Lincoln (32 pp.)

$18.99 | April 15, 2025 | 9781836004660

A tour of collections great and small. Readers are instructed to flick a switch on the opening page, literally shedding light on an unseen narrator’s collection of neatly displayed “small things,” including a puzzle piece, a snail, a paper clip, and a button. Woollvin’s fetchingly stencil-like, glowing graphics imbue most objects, even inanimate ones, with lively eyes, as in her Little Red (2016). Next up is a collection of “BIG things”—an elephant, a whale, and a car—spilling off the page. Quick, help the narrator “squash them back in!” Whew! The narrator shows off a collection of “pointy things” and then one of “prickly things” (“Expert

A fresh take for a beloved story that will introduce it to a wider audience.

ONE CRAZY SUMMER

collectors know the difference”), followed by a “most exciting” collection of rocks. Every page invites reader participation: Kids are asked to blow away cobwebs, grab an errant spider, sniff the pungent offerings in the “stinky collection,” and sort a variety of especially delicate objects (“Gently does it!”). Uh-oh: You dropped the narrator’s teapot! But don’t worry; it soon finds a new home in the collection of broken things. And hey, there’s that spider! Readers successfully corral it, and the narrator adds it to a “many-legs” collection labeled “DO NOT LET US OUT.” The last page encourages youngsters to become collectors themselves, but they won’t need much convincing; Woollvin’s quirky, conversational text and artwork will have already persuaded them to follow suit. The joys of collecting, artfully conveyed. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Star

An Immense World (Young Readers Edition): How Animals Sense Earth’s Amazing Secrets

Yong, Ed | Illus. by Rebecca Mills

Bright Matter Books (272 pp.)

$24.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9780593810880

A fascinating and accessible exploration of how animals experience the world, adapted for young readers from his bestselling adult original by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Yong.

Even when creatures share the same sense, such as sight or sound,

the Umwelt, or “sensory bubble,” they live in may be very different. For instance, where a human hears only silence, another creature may detect sound. Some creatures can see colors in what appears to others to be darkness. Readers may decide that the broad range of how animals sense the same inputs is just as intriguing as the why. Through exploring a variety of types of senses—smell, taste, vision, color, pain, heat, touch, vibration, hearing, echolocation, and electric and magnetic field detection—this book does a bang-up job of giving readers a front-row seat to animal experiences. Well-defined vocabulary appears in “words to remember” sections at the end of chapters, and insights from experts are incorporated throughout. Mills’ gorgeous illustrations, both color and black-and-white, are original to this edition and enhance the appeal and accessibility of the content. Yong reminds readers that reducing sensory pollution by protecting animals’ natural sensory environments—darkness and quiet, especially—is crucial to their well-being and that learning more about animals will help us behave more empathetically.

An insightful and informative look at the animal kingdom with high appeal for lovers of nature and science. (author’s note, photo credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Young Adult

LAURA SIMEON

MUST-READS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

HOW MANY TRANSLATED books for young readers are released each year in the U.S.? How many English-language titles were written by non-U.S.-based authors? No one has precise numbers, but even a cursory search clearly shows that the numbers remain minuscule. When we look at what little is available, we encounter deeply skewed geographical and cultural representation: Books from Western Europe are overrepresented, while those from Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and other regions are woefully rare. As a result, American

kids are deprived of access to many boundary- and imagination-stretching literary riches. Each of the following works of world literature released in the U.S. over the past year offers something special and well worth exploring.

Saltwater Boy by Bradley Christmas (Walker Books Australia, 2024): In this poignant, complex debut from Australia, Matthew struggles with poverty, his abusive incarcerated father, his mother’s inability to prioritize her son’s well-being, and a move to a seaside town where he’s an outsider.

Fortunately, he’s supported in his journey through these complex issues by an older fisherman who becomes a much-needed father figure.

The Hysterical Girls of St. Bernadette’s by Hanna Alkaf (Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster, 2024): The latest from this celebrated Malaysian author is a haunting paranormal thriller that offers insightful commentary into the pressures and scrutiny constraining many teen girls— even those at elite schools like Kuala Lumpur’s St. Bernadette’s. A strange affliction turns some girls into “screamers,” but the cause of (and cure for) the screaming remains a mystery.

The Henna Start-Up by Andaleeb Wajid (Duckbill, 2024): This award winner from a popular Indian author follows ambitious Bangalore college student Abir. She’s inspired to seek justice for her mother (a henna artist whose clients frequently underpay her) by creating an app that she can enter in a pitch contest. This engaging story also contains a swoony romance.

Girls: Life Isn’t a Fairy Tale written and illustrated by Annet Schaap, translated by Laura Watkinson (Pushkin Children’s Books, March 4): This translated collection features seven fairy tales originally collected by Charles Perrault and the

Brothers Grimm, here retold through a feminist lens by acclaimed Dutch author and artist Schaap. The powerful stories are enhanced by eerie linocut-style illustrations. The courageous young women protagonists encounter challenges and dangers, but they reject passivity.

I Am the Swarm by Hayley Chewins (Viking, March 25): This YA debut by a South African poet, musician, and middle-grade author is an intense, surreal verse novel that immerses readers in the world of a family in which each generation’s girls come into their unique magic at age 15. For Nell, it arrives in the form of insects who represent her suppressed feelings.

First Times: Short Stories About Sex edited by Karine Glorieux and translated by Shelley Tanaka (Groundwood, April 1): In this frank, memorable anthology translated from French, Montreal author Glorieux collects stories on a topic that is for many young adults a rich source of inspiration, regret, anticipation, humor, disappointment, or joy—a first sexual experience. The characters’ experiences, which will feel relatable to many readers, unfold against a diverse backdrop of life circumstances.

Laura Simeon is a young readers’ editor.

Illustration by Eric Scott Anderson

EDITOR’S PICK

After a woman is shockingly murdered during a Black Lives Matter protest in Washington, D.C., two teens team up to find the real shooter before someone they both care about takes the fall.  Cooper King, a Black teen, has been directionless since the death of his mother, which is why he reluctantly agrees to help his mentor, Jason, loot stores during an anti–police violence protest, even though it goes against everything he was raised to believe. Cooper desperately wants to hide his involvement in the theft from his childhood friend and secret crush, Monique, a young

poet, activist, and high-achieving student. But she becomes involved nonetheless after Jason, who’s her brother, is arrested for the murder. The pair are sure that Jason is innocent and resolve to clear his name by finding the culprit. Their investigation reveals a conspiratorial web of lies and relationships that complicates the potential motive and exposes the racial inequities, political corruption, and social unrest in their city. Each new clue and twist is revealed through Cooper’s and Monique’s alternating points of view, as they gradually piece together

Up in Smoke

Brooks, Nick | Henry Holt | 256 pp. $19.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9781250359933

answers to an increasingly dangerous and high-stakes whodunit, all while falling in love. Brooks deftly explores the everyday growing pains of Black boyhood and girlhood alongside the threats of racial

injustice and police violence faced by youths, often drawing parallels to real activists and movements. A thrilling, heart-racing mystery with a page-turning budding romance at its center. (Mystery. 14-18)

The rush of the multiple universes brings excitement to this well-paced story.

THE SINGULAR LIFE OF ARIA PATEL

The Singular Life of Aria Patel

Ahmed, Samira | Little, Brown (368 pp.)

$19.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9780316548687

A Chicago teen must find her way home after being thrown into a succession of universes. Aria Patel loves physics: Unlike relationships, it’s data-driven, not emotional and capricious. Aria, who constantly catastrophizes, recently dumped her boyfriend, Rohan, pre-emptively avoiding any problems before they leave for college. Racing off on her moped one day, panicking over her widowed mother’s sudden health emergency, Aria sees a truck crash into the car her mother is driving to the ER. Aria blacks out and wakes up in front of a strange house, wearing different clothes. Her mom is there— but she’s not her usual self. Aria experiences a series of different lives before getting stuck in one for some time. She enjoys this latest world—her dad is alive, she has an adorable little sister, and there’s an undeniable attraction between her and this Rohan—but she’s desperate to get back to her original life to save her mom. Aria, whose Muslim family is cued Indian American, realizes that stabbing headaches, Rohan, and a poem entitled “To Be or Not To Be 2.0” are commonalities in every existence. She uses these clues to try to bend space-time and return home. The rush of the multiple universes and scientific mystery-solving brings excitement to this well-paced story, counteracting Aria’s anxious perseveration, and the romantic storyline is sweet.

A heart-pounding coming-of-age story of a girl trapped in the whirl of a “multiversal tornado.” (Speculative fiction. 12-18)

Skyboy

Aresty, Adam | Morgan James YA Fiction (250 pp.) | $17.95 paper May 6, 2025 | 9781636985114

A brilliant young inventor gets more than just technical support from a set of fellow geniuses when an army of killer robots threatens their near-future world. Konstant’s submission of a flying motorcycle prototype to a national science contest launches a breathless storm of massive disasters and scary escapes involving rival megacorporations, construction robots gone rogue, and a veritable cascade of futuristic gadgetry, including an experimental matter replicator with a subtle but ominous flaw. Readers fond of geeky tech talk and driving action that’s high in body count but low on explicit violence will be well pleased. Still, the story’s strongest elements are its personal ones. Konstant makes steady progress from being an angry, isolated loner to being willing to work with others and accept friendship and help; he’s a struggling immigrant from the fictional nation of Duprevnia whose scientist mother was killed by a mutated norovirus. In his debut novel, Aresty offers chilling visions of what the next pandemic might do to the New York metro area’s economy and infrastructure. Assistance from Rose, the high-wattage daughter of a billionaire

technocrat, and from the ethnically diverse supporting cast surrounding the white-presenting teen lead characters helps Konstant take his journey in a more hopeful direction that leaves him with new friends, new ambitions, and future prospects (not least with Rose) that look bright.

A fizzy mix of cool tech and hot action. (Science fiction. 12-17)

Sunlight Playing Over a Mountain

Bi, Selina Li | Soho Teen (320 pp.) $19.99 | April 1, 2025 | 9781641296489

A teen girl’s illusory world unravels as she discovers the truth of her origins. Since childhood, Chinese Filipino American Jasmine Cheng has believed her mother’s stories: that her father is a god named Pangu, the creator of the world, and she and her mother are the heavenly Dragon and Phoenix, respectively. On Earth, Jasmine is responsible for maintaining order at home, taming her mercurial mother’s mood swings and warding off the social worker from Child Protective Services, who could send her to a foster home. When Cal, her mother’s ex-boyfriend, unexpectedly returns, rekindling their romance with the promise of stability, Jasmine refuses to get her hopes up. Her fears are realized when Cal fails to show up when he’s needed most, setting off a chain of events that results in her mother’s hospitalization and provokes Jasmine to seek her real father. Bi’s young adult debut presents original depictions of mental illness that are suffused with Chinese myth and Filipino folklore. Both Jasmine and her mother walk a fine line between fantasy and reality. Jasmine perceives those who threaten her and her mother’s world—like the social worker and her mother’s various boyfriends—as terrifying monsters. Readers may feel troubled, however,

that her mother’s coping mechanisms, which have a tremendous negative impact on Jasmine’s safety, seem to be justified by the story’s end. An intriguing framework for a coming-of-age story ultimately leads to a questionable resolution. (Fiction. 13-18)

I Want Golden Eyes

Dadouch, Maria | Trans. by M. Lynx Qualey & Sawad Hussain | Center for Middle Eastern Studies (128 pp.) | $18.00 paper April 1, 2025 | 9781477323359 | Series: Emerging Voices From the Middle East

What if your worth were determined by your IQ at birth?

As a Limited, someone born with an IQ of less than 1111, 16-year-old Diyala lives with her family in the Burrow, a gigantic subterranean community beneath the city of Quartzia. Her opportunities are few, and her actions are closely monitored by the grotesque and cruel griffin bats, terrifying cloned creatures. Those lucky enough to have scores above 1111 receive golden eyes from the National Iris Center and enjoy the privilege of living aboveground, where they attend better schools, earn more, work less, and are waited upon by Limiteds. After Diyala is caught borrowing books from her employer, Professor al-Azizi, he forces her into indentured servitude by threatening to expose her to the police. Intellectually curious Diyala accidentally enters a math competition disguised by her avatar as a Golden, an experience that offers her a glimmer of hope for escape. But a shocking discovery means Diyala must use her wits to stay alive and keep her family safe. Written by a Syrian author and translated from Arabic, this suspenseful novel is set in the year 2095 on the island of Comoros. Although some dialogue is stiff, the imaginative worldbuilding is captivating, the characters are compelling, and Diyala’s relationships with her family

are steadfast. Her budding romance with Raji, a kind, golden-eyed, dark-skinned musician with cute dimples, is tender and sweet. Strong worldbuilding anchored by heartfelt relationships brings a stratified world to life.

(Science fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Star

Run Like a Girl

Egbe, Amaka | Harper/HarperCollins (336 pp.) $19.99 | May 20, 2025 | 9781335009937

Unwelcome changes come at a pivotal time for one high school junior in Texas. Chidera Edwards has always had two constants in her life: track and her mother, a Black woman from Louisiana. So she’s scared and upset when her mother, who’s weathering a serious financial crisis, sends her to live temporarily with her Nigerian immigrant father halfway through the school year—the very same neglectful father Dera has barely seen since her parents got divorced when she was 6. On top of that, her new school may have more funds than her old one, but they don’t have a girls’ track team— and the timing couldn’t be worse if she hopes to get a sports scholarship for college. Dera, aware of her Title IX rights, gains permission to train with the boys’ team, but she must prove herself to them while also adapting to living with her father. One bright spot is bonding with irresistibly attractive teammate Gael Garcia, whose

Afro-Colombian parents were deported. Dera also navigates encounters with a standoffish new classmate, a Black girl whom she expected to bond with, and she realizes that sometimes when we stand up for ourselves, we help others get ahead, too. The story features well-developed characters readers will cheer for and cry over. The action and emotion are balanced, as are the internal and external conflicts. Debut author Egbe’s writing is exceptional, capturing the nuances of adolescence, identity, and resilience. Moving and inspirational. (Fiction. 12-18)

Lady Knight

Howard, Amalie | Joy Revolution (384 pp.) | $19.99 | April 1, 2025 9780593705063 | Series: The Diamonds, 2

In 1819 London, a debutante pushes the boundaries of the ton, forging her own path and helping the less fortunate.

Lady Zenobia “Zia” Osborn is bored with society’s expectations. She’s clever and nurtures a dream of becoming a composer. Zia and her friends, who call themselves the Lady Knights, play Robin Hood, taking from the wealthy (specifically, her brother’s friends) to give to the needy (namely, the children at a local orphanage). Enter Zia’s older brother’s dear friend Rafi Nasser, a keenly observant playboy who discovers Zia’s illicit adventures but agrees to keep her secret. Over time, their bond grows. Will Rafi’s silence be enough—or will Zia eventually be

Egbe’s writing is exceptional, capturing the nuances of identity and resilience.

RUN LIKE A GIRL

forced to face the consequences of her daring, rebellious actions? Howard brings Zia and her world vividly to life. Readers meet a sparky, bold, determined protagonist who is far more progressive than is permitted by the society she’s obliged to live in and who is willing to push the limits imposed on her to achieve her goals. This stand-alone companion to 2023’s Queen Bee, which will appeal to fans of Bridgerton , explores identity and feminism while walking the line between historical accuracy and a modern, subversive spin on the early 19th century. The multiracial cast includes biracial Zia (who has a white father and a dark-skinned mother from Trinidad and Tobago) and Rafi, who has Persian heritage.

A lively, spirited read for fans of Regency-era fiction. (dramatis personae, author’s note) (Historical romance. 13-18)

Boys With Sharp Teeth

Howell, Jenni | Roaring Brook Press (400 pp.)

$19.99 | April 8, 2025 | 9781250334596

Desperate to avenge her murdered cousin, a girl assumes a false identity and infiltrates his boarding school to uncover the truth. Three days ago, Marin James’ cousin, Sam Bullvane, died. Sam was her best friend, her port in the storm as she grew up in their tiny mountain town with a uninterested father and an absent mother. Though his death was assumed to be an accidental drowning due to an overdose, Marin knows Sam was murdered. Now she’s determined to find the culprits and make them pay. Assuming the fake identity of Jamie Vane and enrolling in Huntsworth Preparatory Academy are easier than expected. But ingratiating herself with Sam’s former friends—and murder suspects—proves riskier. Quiet girl Baz Hallward feels like the easiest mark. Henry Wu is all games, tinged with

danger. And Adrian Hargraves, with his perfect face, initially wants nothing to do with Marin—and she immediately loathes him. As her investigation deepens, she enters a heated entanglement with Henry and Adrian, while uncovering their secrets. Mirrors show her supernatural horrors, and she’ll have to confront them, too, if she wants to learn the truth. Marin’s early sleuthing sings with tension, but aimless philosophical musings and twists that attentive readers will see coming make it unravel quickly. Overwrought language obscures the escalating danger. Most characters present white; Henry’s surname implies Asian heritage. An intensely dark debut that’s focused on style over substance. (Paranormal mystery. 14-18)

The Rebel’s Guide to Pride

Hubbard, Matthew | Delacorte (320 pp.) $19.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9780593707210

A gay teen mobilizes people in his small Alabama town against a homophobic mayor. The mayor bans Pride Day and other activities as part of his condemnation of “public displays that flaunt unnatural sexualities.” Worse still, Zeke Chapman’s city attorney father supports the ordinance to protect families from “immoral agendas” and believes that Zeke should try to avoid attracting too much attention. Inspired by Alabama icon Zelda Fitzgerald and her Prohibition-era speakeasies, Zeke organizes an

alternate Pride in defiance of the mayor’s clampdown on the town’s queer community: underground speakeasies. Carmen Bedolla, the Latine-cued owner of Estrella Books, hosts the events in the basement of her bookshop. A love triangle adds spice to the story, as Zeke is torn between a hot new guy he meets through the speakeasies and a boy in his orbit whom he hasn’t been on friendly terms with. The romance is well executed, but the novel falters in portraying the evolution of Zeke and his father’s relationship, which is resolved too suddenly. Informed by his own experience of growing up in rural Alabama, Hubbard tells a story with emotional depth that reflects contemporary political realities. The theme of allyship is exemplified through the community surrounding Zeke, including strong, well-etched women such as his mother, a divorced mechanic, and Sawyer, his lesbian best friend. Most central characters present white.

An inspiring, feel-good book that’s timelier than ever. (Fiction. 12-18)

The Starlight Watchmaker

James, Wren | Union Square & Co. (128 pp.)

$9.99 paper | April 1, 2025 | 9781454960386

Series: Everyone Can Be a Reader

Two wealthy alien college students and a workingclass clockwork android join forces to investigate a series of mysterious thefts. Hugo, a sort of humanoid Swiss army knife who sports multiple tool

A story with emotional depth that reflects contemporary political realities.

THE REBEL’S GUIDE TO PRIDE

attachments, joins forces with Duke Dorian Luther and Lady Ada de Winters. Dorian is a brash amphibian with both lungs and gills, and Ada is a large, sentient rock who will become a planet like her mother when she grows up. Together they hope to find out why the potentially dangerous nuggets of quantum energy powering students’ timetravel watches are disappearing. Hugo is terrified at the possible destruction that could be wrought if the batteries are being snatched to make terrorist bombs. In their accessibly written narrative featuring a dyslexia-friendly font and shade of paper, James’ primary focus is exploring and contrasting the differences between the wealthy students of the exclusive academy and the marginalized mechanical underclass, Hugo included. Readers will be charmed both by the notably diverse main cast and the many clever, casually observed side details—particularly a school library where significant action occurs, and the walls are “dripping with moisture to keep the books watered”—readers pick flowers from the growing vegetation, and the petals unfurl to reveal pages.

A charmingly wrought story for reluctant readers that explores social class divisions in an intergalactic setting. (Steampunk. 12-18)

The Deep-Sea Duke

James, Wren | Union Square & Co. (120 pp.)

$9.99 paper | April 1, 2025 | 9781454960324

Series: Everyone Can Be a Reader

A summer vacation suddenly turns into a rescue mission when a rush of climate refugees threatens to overwhelm the ocean world of android Hugo’s green-skinned friend, Dorian. Hugo is eager to join Dorian and their friend Ada, a boulder who will

A sweet rom-com that comedically amplifies embarrassing, relatable woes.

ON AGAIN, AWKWARD AGAIN

eventually grow up to be a planet, on a trip to watery Hydrox, Dorian’s home planet. They arrive to find a crisis caused by masses of butterfly people, who have been driven from their own polluted, warming planet, and by their rapidly reproducing pet otters, who have escaped to wreak havoc on the Hydrox residents’ floating habitats and submarine farms. What’s to be done? Even as they pitch into a series of predicaments on the way to reining in the invasive pets and engineering a new local home for the refugees, clockwork ex-servant Hugo and brash, royal Dorian find their friendship blossoming into a romantic flurry of kisses and affirmations of devotion. The multiplicity of species and intelligences in this story that explores ecological themes in an intergalactic setting makes for an unusually diverse cast. Better yet, the tale ends on a cozy note as Hugo gets past self-esteem issues rooted in his artificial origins and joyfully agrees to become Dorian’s official consort. This stand-alone companion to The Starlight Watchmaker (2025) features a straightforward text and a font and paper color designed to support readers with dyslexia.

A double-stranded tale for reluctant readers with humanitarian messages that are sweetly and neatly resolved. (Steampunk. 12-18)

For

On Again, Awkward Again

Kelly, Erin Entrada & Kwame Mbalia

Amulet/Abrams (272 pp.) | $19.99

April 15, 2025 | 9781419775635

Two quirky North Carolina ninth graders navigate the surprises of high school—and their instantaneous attraction—in this YA collaboration by two award-winning authors.

Pacita “Pacy” Mercado is over high school before it’s even begun. After all, she thinks most of her classmates are Borg—trend-chasers who wouldn’t know a Star Trek: The Next Generation reference even if it hit them square in the face. Everything changes after a trip to the nurse’s office. The minute Pacy locks eyes with Cecil Holloway, who loves playing West African djembe drums, she’s smitten, questioning her self-imposed rules. Pacy is determined to resist the “romantic propaganda” of teenage dating, but the pair are thrown together again when they both join the student advisory committee for the upcoming freshman formal. Aided by Pacy’s best friend’s scheming, the teens’ acquaintanceship deepens into a sincere connection. But the course of true love never did run smooth. If they want a happy ending to this nerdy love story, they’ll first have to conquer doubt, miscommunication, and plenty of bad advice that’s offered with good intentions. This endearing tale of love-at-first-awkwardglance features alternating chapters from the perspectives of Pacy, who’s

another great hi-lo read, visit Kirkus online.

Filipino American, and Cecil, who’s Black and has irritable bowel syndrome. As fellow social outliers, they share a mutual appreciation for the other’s unconventional approach to life and passion for niche interests. A sweet rom-com that comedically amplifies the embarrassing, relatable woes of putting yourself out there for a crush. (Romance. 12-16)

Kirkus Star

Eliza, From Scratch

Lee, Sophia | Quill Tree Books/ HarperCollins (320 pp.) | $19.99 May 13, 2025 | 9780063372634

A scheduling complication shakes up the life of Korean American senior Eliza Park. Overachiever Eliza is horrified that she’s been placed in Culinary Arts instead of AP Physics. At wealthy and competitive Highland Hills, this unweighted course may threaten her projected salutatorian status, especially since Eliza has no experience in the kitchen. Used to being the best, she’s immediately riled up by her assigned partner, experienced foodie Wesley Ruengsomboon, who’s Thai American. But perhaps Eliza’s exploration of recipes left by her recently passed halmeoni will help her reconnect with her grieving mother. Culinary Arts sets Eliza on a humbling journey of growth, not only in how she thinks about academics but also in her approach to relationships with family,

friends, and Wesley, who becomes less annoying as she gets to know him. Debut author Lee beautifully explores these themes and more with humor and heart. Eliza is a charming narrator; she’s realistically flawed, and her self-awareness and efforts to improve are compelling. Through cooking lessons with her mom, Eliza begins to think deeply about her mother’s life experiences and the realities of immigration, giving her an impetus to reflect on her conflicted connection to South Korea and the relatives there she’s spent little time with. Eliza develops insights into the importance of communication and mutual support among friends, and she and Wesley challenge each other’s perceptions, particularly about how to measure success.

Tender, balanced, and nuanced; a story to savor. (Fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Star

The Romance Rivalry

Lee, Susan | Harper/HarperCollins (384 pp.) | $15.99 paper May 13, 2025 | 9781335012876

“Late bloomer” Irene Park had an uneventful social life in high school, but things are different online. With over a million followers for her @irene. loves.love.books social media channel, she’s a popular romance novel reviewer. She’s even eyeing an impressive, potentially life-changing brand sponsorship from a South Korean dating app,

Lee adds to the fun by using popular romance tropes as chapter titles.

THE ROMANCE RIVALRY

which might help her stand out in her family as more than just the “the awkward middle child.” At Brighton College in Southern California, Irene feels closer to her dream of becoming a book editor. But Aiden Jeon, or @aidentheguyreadsromance, who’s also Korean American, arrives on the online romance book scene and starts criticizing her reviews. She grudgingly admits that he has cute dimples, but his loyal and vocal followers make her question her own credibility as a romance expert, possibly threatening the dating app deal. Irene decides she needs to fall in love and experience real romance, using her favorite tropes to help her plan come to fruition. But she immediately hits some speed bumps, including the discovery that Aiden attends Brighton too—and that their literature professor has paired them as project partners for the semester. The leads’ banter is witty, charming, and amusing, and Irene’s fresh narration incorporates vocabulary from the online book reviewing lexicon. Lee adds to the fun by using popular romance tropes as chapter titles and interspersing excerpts from Irene’s and Aiden’s book reviews throughout. Clever and delightful; a standout in the genre. (romance glossary) (Romance. 14-18)

Love at Second Sight

Lukens, F.T. | McElderry (368 pp.) $19.99 | April 29, 2025 | 9781665950947

At a school for both human and paranormal teens, a human starts displaying clairvoyant abilities. Cam and his best friend, Al, are finally at the same school again for sophomore year. Despite his mom’s disapproval of Cam’s interest in all things paranormal, Cam’s loyalty to Al, who’s a brown-skinned nonbinary witch, is steadfast. Cam also has a

crush on werewolf Mateo, who’s cued Latine. But when Cam, who presents white, has a terrifying vision of a stabbed woman, he’s no longer a human on the periphery of paranormal society—he’s the first clairvoyant in the area in a century. Suddenly, a local psychic guild and a coven are courting him like he’s a star athlete choosing a college. As Cam explores the possibilities, he befriends members of each organization in a sweet chosen family arc. But can his friends help him figure out the details from his first vision and prevent a murder? In this universe, queerness is accepted without question. Instead, anti-paranormality acts as a metaphor for homophobia, manifesting as forced outing, systemic oppression of paranormal people, and even conversion therapy. The novel also explores the problematic nature of stereotyping by humans, who label werewolves aggressive, sprites mean-spirited, psychics detached, and witches immoral.

A fun, twisty mystery with deep undertones. (Paranormal mystery. 14-18)

The Art of Exile

Max, Andrea | McElderry (448 pp.) $21.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9781665959841

Just out of sight, a banished society dedicated to artistic exploration and scientific advancement flourishes. At age 17, Ada Castle lands her first assignment: leave her New York City home for a remote island in the Atlantic; infiltrate the Genesis Institute, the school that forms the heart of this secret society; and bring its bountiful innovations back to share with the rest of the world. Ada descends from one of the Families, a secret order of masters that, since the Renaissance, has passed down the history of the school and its exiled founders, the Makers. Ada’s mission is compromised when she finds a true home at Genesis, one replete with friends, a tantalizing romantic prospect

Character development comes to the forefront in this slow-burn romance.

A FIX OF LIGHT

(or two), and nourishment for her unique gifts. Max derives some of the hidden mysteries of the Makers from Jewish mysticism and folk tradition, and she evokes the bloody history of the Spanish Inquisition as a parallel for the expulsion of the original Makers from Renaissance Italy. Ada’s father is Jewish (her agnostic mother’s family is Catholic), and she identifies with other Jewish characters on the basis of their shared culture and history. Clearly calling out antisemitic tropes and emphasizing the diversity of the Makers, Max provides contextualizing details for the worldbuilding, which includes both secret masters and blood magic. The main characters are cued white, and the supporting cast includes a variety of religious and ethnic identities. An inventive, compelling debut that’s sure to leave readers eager for the next installment. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)

A Fix of Light

Menton, Kel | Little Island (280 pp.) $18.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9781915071644

Two Irish teens juggle feelings and the supernatural. Ever since a suicide attempt, Hanan Lynch has struggled with uncontrollable and unexplainable nature-based powers. Anxious and confused, Hanan heads to the cafe in the village. After a mishap involving scalding tea, he faints into the arms of a concerned green-eyed, auburn-haired boy he dubs “the fox.” Before passing out, Hanan realizes something that’s game-changing: Physical contact with the vulpine stranger quiets his powers.

Puzzled and longing to meet his savior again, Hanan, who’s 18, ventures out to the cove to clear his head—and there he finds 19-year-old Pax O’Sullivan, the boy in question. They form a tentative friendship, despite their uncertainties. Hanan is concerned that he’ll drive Pax away with his struggles with depression or hurt Pax with his uncontrolled powers. Pax, having suffered brutally negative reactions from others in the past, is terrified of what might happen if he comes out to Hanan as transgender. While falling for each other and solving the mystery of Hanan’s newfound magic, the pair struggle with misunderstandings and insecurity. Character development comes to the forefront in this slow-burn romance with magical elements. As brutal as it is contemplative, this novel tackles both violent transphobia and the pain and feelings of shame brought on by being a male victim of sexual assault in a society that downplays the damage it causes. An ethereal and mysterious debut. (content warnings, glossary) (Fantasy romance. 14-18)

Wrecked

Mitchelson, Katie | Indie Novella (268 pp.)

$12.50 paper | Jan. 20, 2025 | 9781738442126

In an alternate England, a tool that’s supposed to help vulnerable youths actually puts them in danger. Minnie Reynolds is sick of foster homes, but she must wait until she turns 18 to move in with her older sister. Jake Mitchell has been kicked out

THE KIRKUS Q&A: SIRI PETTERSEN

Norway’s “Fantasy Queen” explains why the genre is so much more than just escapism.

BY AMY GOLDSCHLAGER

WHEN NORWEGIAN FANTASY author Siri Pettersen signs on to Zoom from Oslo, she’s framed by a blackboard covered with a network of character names and story elements from her series-in-progress, the Vardari trilogy. “I’m a rabid plotter; I’m the death-metal, parental-advisory plotter type,” she proclaims proudly. She would have to be: The recently published second book, Silver Throat, translated by Tara Chace, involves some pretty intricate worldbuilding—make that worlds-building, plural, as these books are set in the same multiverse as her previous trilogy, The Raven Rings.

This new trilogy tells the story of Juva, a young woman with a vendetta against the vardari, long-lived beings who distribute their blood as an addictive substance that causes “wolf sickness”; its sufferers gradually transform into violently insane cannibals. When she learns that the vardari are themselves dependent on the blood of another being, a wolfish but compellingly attractive creature called Grif whom her own family has kept locked up for centuries, she takes it upon herself to let him out. But Juva comes to understand that the city of Náklav depends on the blood of people with wolf sickness, because it fuels the portals that instantaneously connect Náklav with other cities. Silver Throat explores the dangerous consequences of Juva’s actions. We discussed the complexities of the series in a conversation that has been edited for length and clarity.

The middle volume of a trilogy is always tricky; it needs to do more than just answer questions from Book 1 and set up the finale in Book 3. What challenges did you have in writing Silver Throat ? I have a compulsion to have every book be a freestanding, complete story with a resolution of some sort: You’ll feel

satisfied by having had an ending to some things, but there are bigger things in play that you still don’t understand. Silver Throat is an elaborate middle; the only purpose it really serves in the larger scheme of things is to show the importance of the portals and how far people will go to own them or to have access to them.

There’s a famous Ursula K. Le Guin story, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” in which a city’s prosperity depends on keeping a starved child locked in a basement. Náklav is Omelas all over again, because they’re sacrificing the people with wolf sickness. They’re deliberately addicting them to keep society going. Yeah, that’s true. There are ways to use the blood that are wrong, that are hurtful or damaging, but Náklav would never survive if it weren’t for the blood or the portals. It’s as if you picked up 15th-century Venice and dropped it out in the North Sea, way north of Norway, somewhere between Norway and Svalbard in the frozen wasteland. You’d have this island that would never function if it weren’t for the fact that they have these

easy portals to the rest of the world.

In a sense, there’s a parallel to our own way of travel, because we’ll come to a point where we realize that there’s a cost to doing this. Are we willing to disregard the price that somebody else might be paying for our travel and our convenience and our financial games?

Are the vardari more like werewolves or vampires? You leave the line blurry. If people think, Are they werewolves or vampires?, I love that, because you get to fill in the blanks yourself. I’m going to answer that one a bit more clearly in the last book.

Initially, Juva thinks she’s experiencing panic attacks when she senses the presence of the vardari or Grif. Where did you get that idea from?

Once I woke up in the middle of the night and felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. I thought, Oh, my God, what is this? I’m going to die, clearly. And then it turned out to be nothing; I was checked up, down, all over the place, and I was fine. It continued for a while, and then, as time went by, it sort of dampened. I remember that I went to the gym and told a trainer about these heart palpitations, and he said, “Well, that’s just your turbo charger.” It was just so beautiful of him to say, because obviously I was worried that I was going to do something I was not supposed to do, or that I would do more damage, or something. It was a thing I feared, and he turned it into a superpower. I really wanted to do that [for Juva]. I really wanted to make her

greatest weakness a strength, because I know there are so many anxious fantasy readers out there. Also, it’s just fun; I love the idea of giving the hero a very unheroic quality like panic attacks.

You’ve made most of the characters so morally gray. Juva is sympathetic, and yet she’s done these terrible things. She sees the vardari as her enemies, and they’ve done awful things, but they’ve also accomplished really good things. She’s attracted to Grif, but that doesn’t make him a good person, either. It’s almost impossible to know whom to trust or what side the reader is meant to be on. I absolutely love that you say that, because you’re right. It’s something I aim to do, because I don’t want people to know from the

Fantasy rips you up but sets you on your feet and gives you hope.

get-go that this is going to be good and this is going to be bad and this is going to be simple. Juva is damaged by her environment. She really, really wants to trust people, and she really wants to trust herself, but nobody gave her a reason to in that city, nor in her family. So she’s trying to look for what’s good and what’s not good. She’s skeptical.

In the real world, it’s the same. There are a lot of really frightening people out there. But this is one of the reasons why I love fantasy deeply and profoundly. A lot of people call it escapism, but it’s so much more important to me than that, because fantasy does something to us that a lot of other literature doesn’t. Realism absolutely loves to tell us how terrible we are, how

helpless, how weak, how selfish, how unable to control anything. But fantasy pulls you out of the gutter and tells you, OK, fine, but this is your potential. This is what you have. Fantasy rips you up but sets you on your feet and gives you hope. To me it’s a genre that shows people how to beat really, really terrible odds. Even when things are terrible [in the real world], there are some displays of insane courage that that you’d never see unless times were really dark—when people stand up and say things that are incredibly brave, when they risk their jobs and their lives and everything to stand up for others. That’s a thing of beauty to behold.

Amy Goldschlager is a writer and editor in Brooklyn.

Artic Books | 415 pp. | $20.00 | Feb. 25, 2025 9781646900169 | Series: Vardari, 2

Silver Throat

Pettersen, Siri; trans. by Tara Chace

A lively and practical antidote to climate anxiety and a guide to positive action.

SPEAKING ON CLIMATE

of his house and is desperate to save enough money to get his mother and younger sister away from his abusive father. Minnie and Jake are offered spots at The Hive, a home for at-risk teens. There they can earn money by testing a radical new treatment plan, Spectrotext, an implant that converts thought patterns into coherent text. But the technology becomes yet another threat Minnie and Jake must deal with when the story finally kicks into high gear with the mysterious death of a friend. The teens are dragged into a world of drugs, money, and corruption. Nowhere is safe—and even their own thoughts could be used against them. Told through multiple first-person perspectives, stream-of-consciousness Spectrotext records, letters, emails, and a police transcript, the novel asks readers to piece together the jumbled narrative alongside the characters. While the premise is intriguing, the jarring shifts among perspectives and narrative styles disrupt the flow of the story and lead to inconsistent pacing. Nevertheless, readers may be entertained enough to keep reading as Minnie and Jake race to uncover the truth before they’re caught in the crossfire. Main characters present white. An interesting premise that ultimately falls short. (Science fiction. 14-18)

The Summer I Ate the Rich

Moulite, Maika & Maritza Moulite

Farrar, Straus and Giroux (400 pp.)

$19.99 | April 22, 2025 | 9780374390532

A 17-year-old girl loves to cook— but she might just make you eat the rich, literally. Brielle Petitfour dreams of becoming a renowned chef, serving up food from her Haitian culture to Miami’s upper crust via her elite supper club. But she’s also a zombie—or a zonbi, as they’re known in Creole. Brielle’s immigrant mother suffers chronic pain from an injury sustained while working for the white Banks family, the same people whose company makes the medicine she needs to keep her pain at bay. But now Mummy’s insurance is refusing to cover it. Then Brielle is offered a summer fellowship—with generous family health insurance benefits—by the outrageously wealthy and greedy Bankses, who make this proposal in order to smooth over a situation involving Brielle that’s a potential “PR nightmare.” Brielle accepts: She can help her mother and, with her zombie gifts, maybe even get revenge. Creole phrases and Haitian folklore are woven into the story, adding to the atmosphere. Brielle’s five sisters back in Haiti serve as a sort of Greek chorus, and their interspersed chapters fill in the rich backstory. The authors have a lot of important things to say about generational wealth, racism, capitalism, and class, but the rules of Brielle’s monstrous zombie powers remain unclear, and the many themes

that are explored limit the deeper development of Brielle as a character. A unique if unevenly executed take on the zombie genre. (authors’ note) (Horror. 14-18)

Speaking on Climate: A Guide to Speechwriting for a Better Future

Nielsen, Rune Kier | Zest Books (200 pp.) $18.99 paper | April 15, 2025 | 9798765627587

A potent primer on motivational speaking for climate action by a Danish social anthropologist and United Nations environmental expert. In this informative overview of speech writing and delivery, Nielsen focuses his attention on applying oratory skills to address climate change. The nine chapters address key concepts, including rhetoric and persuasion, the role of emotion, framing your worldview, building connections, motivating people, and thematic consistency in messaging. The author informs readers about other important considerations, including maximizing your digital impact, the power of word choice, and understanding what types of messages increase polarization. The book’s central purpose—helping readers inspire others to act in support of climate justice—is supported through topics and methods that build momentum and help overcome barriers, like “scale mismatch,” that are clearly explained. Accounts of and quotes from diverse speakers and influencers in history illustrate skilled communication techniques and provide a balanced integration of theory and practice. The outcome is a sturdy lesson on crafting the bones of a personal story to fuel direct, sustained engagement. Addressing the need to move from climate anxiety and silence to action, Nielsen guides readers to strategies that are sure to appeal to a generation of wordsmiths and

movement-makers. This thorough, well-written work will be invaluable for classrooms and debate teams as well as young activists seeking guidance. A lively, concise, and practical antidote to climate anxiety and a guide to positive action. (source notes, bibliography, further information, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

These Vengeful Gods

Novoa, Gabe Cole | Random House (432 pp.)

$19.99 | May 27, 2025 | 9780593898123

A fter Crow’s uncles are arrested, he must fight in the Tournament of the Gods for a chance to save them from execution. Transmasculine Crow is a Deathchild, descended from the god Death and blessed with abilities ranging from manipulating shadows and sensing others’ physical weaknesses to adjusting his own hormone levels. But Deathchildren are persecuted in Escal, and Crow has been surviving in secret in the poverty-stricken Shallows. When his uncles are transported to the wealthier Midlevel by Enforcers to await trial for smuggling Deathchildren to safety, Crow, with the help of his sponsor, the minor god Chaos, joins the televised Tournament, which takes place on Midlevel. If he wins, the gods will grant him a favor, and if he doesn’t, at least he’s nearer his uncles and can try to figure out another plan—if he can survive the Tournament without being outed as a Deathchild, that is. Though lacking

the tonal clarity and originality of The Hunger Games , the story follows in its footsteps as a critique of artificially stratified communities that use violence as both a tool of suppression and as a source of entertainment. The emphasis on the loss of the Deathchildren’s culture and the creative mythology that characterizes this world help set it apart, as does the frequent, overt inclusion of characters with diverse gender identities. Crow and Chaos are brown-skinned.

A familiar story made fresh with compelling details and social commentary. (Fantasy. 14-18)

The Floating World

Oh, Axie | Feiwel & Friends (368 pp.)

$19.99 | April 29, 2025 | 9781250853080

Series: The Floating World, 1

Ren buried her past, Sunho’s memory was stolen from him: Together they seek to solve the mysteries of who they are in this series opener set in an East Asian fantasy world.

Ren’s happy childhood ends when a demon attacks her adoptive family of itinerant performers, and she reveals her hidden powers while trying to protect them. Ren strikes out on her own, hoping to keep everyone safe from the pursuit she’s long been dreading. A powerful general from Sareniya hires mercenaries to hunt her down, and among the hunters is former child soldier Sunho, who recalls nothing of his past except that he has—or had—a brother and possibly harbors a demon. Sunho lives

A critique of stratified communities that use violence as a tool of suppression.

in the grim, lightless Under World, a city of factories, worker housing, and gang-ridden slums; from its underside, miners extract mithril, a poisonous and valuable ore. Above lies the elegant, radiant Floating World, home of nobility. The teens meet when Ren saves Sunho’s life, a debt he repays as they flee the general and his minions. Struggling to make sense of his newly awakened memories, Sunho needs Ren’s help to contain his demonic energy, while she needs his strength to keep her safe. Tepid love story and confusing geography notwithstanding, the fast-paced plot is original and engaging. Incorporating concepts from diverse sources—Tolkien’s mithril, Japanese Buddhism’s Floating World, and the Korean folktale “The Woodcutter and the Celestial Maiden”—Oh makes them her own.

Intriguing, bittersweet, and strongly paced. (Fantasy. 13-18)

Song of the Lioness: Alanna: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

Pierce, Tamora & Vita Ayala | Illus. by Sam Beck | Abrams Fanfare (256 pp.)

$26.99 | May 13, 2025 | 9781419765582

Series: Song of the Lioness, 1

A lanna of Trebond begins her quest toward knighthood in this graphic novel adaptation of Pierce’s 1983 novel. In defiance of gender norms, Alanna wants to learn to fight. Her twin brother, Thom, wants to learn magic. So when their father decides it’s time to send them off for more training than he can provide, it only makes sense for them to switch places. Disguised as a boy, Alanna will go to the palace to train as a page, learning the basics of fighting and the code of chivalry that governs all noble knights and their actions. She also makes friends—and enemies. This version of the opening volume of the Song of the Lioness series remains true to

the original, with the notable omission of the contraceptive charm that Alanna receives. Readers follow Alanna’s first attempts at forging her own path and the growing pains— both figurative and literal, as puberty threatens to betray her secret—that she faces. The new format smooths over some less skillful elements of the original, which was Pierce’s debut. Alanna and most other characters present white, but there’s some inclusion of racial diversity (Raoul of Goldenlake, notably, appears Black). Certain Eurocentric elements have been replaced with more culturally inclusive messaging. The rich color palette and varied panel shapes are appealing. Fun, accessible, and still fierce, Alanna’s story is ready to be enjoyed by old and new audiences alike.

A worthy adaptation, playing to the strengths of the visual format. (map) (Graphic fantasy. 12-16)

Under Fire

Prendergast, Gabrielle | Orca (96 pp.) | $10.95 paper | April 15, 2025 | 9781459838222

After their mother’s death from cancer, a teen girl and her older brother embark with their father on a new life. The family has moved away from Vancouver, British Columbia, to start over on a farm. Jed, who has an unnamed intellectual disability, is thriving; he enjoys and is highly skilled at farmwork. But Poppy isn’t convinced. She dreams of traveling the world and teaching English and worries their fresh start might not have been entirely wise. But wildfires pose a more pressing concern. When their father volunteers to help fight a fire, Jed and Poppy are left on their own as the flames bear down on the farm. This simply told, breakneck story focuses on Poppy and Jed’s struggle to make their way to safety. While

depth of characterization is sacrificed in favor of plot, the action is compelling. The siblings race against time to save their animals, face natural destruction and devastation, and are forced to rely on their trust in each other. The damage the fire wreaks on their community in an era of climate change is topical and dramatic but not overwrought in its presentation. Jed is competent and resourceful, able to hold his own on their journey and support Poppy. However, he’s framed entirely through narrator Poppy’s first-person perspective and often described via his struggles and symptoms. The characters are racially indeterminate. A fast-paced, exciting survival tale for reluctant readers . (Adventure. 12-18)

Love in 280 Characters or Less

Stringfield, Ravynn K. | Feiwel & Friends (320 pp.) | $19.99

April 15, 2025 | 9781250899385

A teen embarks on a journey of self-discovery and new love in college. Eighteen-yearold Sydney Ciara Warren is a Black girl who’s just started her first year at Coastal Virginia University. She loves fashion and writing and has her own blog where she shares her opinions and style tips. Syd left everything familiar from back home behind in Chesapeake, Virginia, including her best friend, Malcolm, who’s attending Piedmont University. Now she has to make new friends and choose her major; her

lawyer mom wants her to choose a prelaw track, but Syd is considering other paths, like English, sociology, and fashion writing. She takes to Twitter, where she finds potential friends who attend CVU—and even a new crush. But while browsing graphic novels and manga, she meets Xavier, a Black guy from Washington, D.C., who becomes her first boyfriend. Syd navigates both the real and the digital worlds as she tries to figure out her own path in life. Stringfield pulls readers in through Syd’s engaging first-person voice and her interactions with the diverse supporting characters. The story is told through varied formats— including blog posts, texts, news stories, and tweets—helping to sustain readers’ interest. Syd comes across as a fully formed character with concerns, anxieties, doubts, and desires that many readers will find relatable. A charming and romantic coming-ofage story that speaks to both contemporary and evergreen issues. (Romance. 14-18)

Kirkus Star unOrdinary Volume 3

uru-chan | HarperAlley (352 pp.)

$19.99 paper | May 6, 2025 9780063327764 | Series: unOrdinary, 3

When the powerful become powerless, a private school’s hierarchy is shaken up. Popular pink-haired, blue-eyed Seraphina is back at Wellston just as black-haired,

Stringfield pulls readers in through Syd’s engaging first-person voice.

brown-eyed John, who’s “just a zero,” faces the consequences of his recent outburst. The friends’ dynamic has changed in dangerous ways the other students must not find out about; they still want to keep each other safe, but their secrets create a chasm between them. Meanwhile, EMBER, the terrorist group that takes down superheroes, is causing more turmoil. The norms that permitted the more powerful to freely abuse the weaker students are starting to crumble, just as those at the top fight to protect the status quo and each other. The lightskinned characters at the center of the cast have opposing goals, but each has someone they want to protect— either from EMBER or from the threat of being treated like the powerless. New social dynamics, exciting fight scenes, and relationships that continue to deepen in complex ways are highlights of this latest volume. The thrilling story will keep readers engaged; the central moral dilemma is presented from different angles, and readers will become attached to the intriguing characters, whether they’re in the right or not. The full-color artwork highlights action sequences and portrays characters whose expressions show a full range of emotions. An engaging, nuanced page-turner in a series that keeps getting stronger. (Graphic adventure. 14-18)

The Invisible Wild

Van De Car, Nikki | Running Press Kids (256 pp.)

$19.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9780762487066

A fter encountering a boy in the woods, a girl on the Big Island of Hawai‘i finds that she can once again see a world of spirits. During frenzied preparations for the upcoming nuptials of her sister, Pu‘ulena, to her fiancée, Naomi, small-town Mauna Loa–area girl

Weaves together Native Hawaiian beliefs with a strong sense of place.

THE INVISIBLE WILD

Emma Arruda almost hits a boy from Hilo with her car. When news arrives that a resort is being built in a pristine nearby area that locals see as an unofficial wildlife reserve, Emma is distraught. Then she discovers the disheveled, confused boy, whom she dubs “Hilo,” living in a lean-to in the woods, talking to invisible spirits. Emma recalls childhood memories of playing with these in-between creatures until adults discouraged her from talking about them. She knows that she should bring Hilo home, but she’s conflicted, wanting to explore her reawakened abilities to see the spirits, especially after she meets the menehune, a legendary race who originally inhabited Hawai‘i and whose lives are under threat from the construction. It turns out that Emma and Hilo committed offenses against nature; they need to make things right before Hilo can return to himself again. Menehune leader Koa charges them with stopping the development. Debut author Van De Car’s immersive narrative weaves together issues of identity and authenticity, Native Hawaiian beliefs, environmentalism, and the inequities of economic power and development with a strong sense of place. Although the story drags a bit toward the end, the resolution is satisfying. Magically real and hopeful. (author’s note) (Fiction. 13-18)

For another magical Pasifika read, visit Kirkus online.

K.L. | Sourcebooks Fire (416 pp.) $14.99 | June 3, 2025 | 9781728263144

A strong young woman discovers love where she least expects it. At 17, Madeline FisherMichaels’ only love has been field hockey. With her focus on playing in college, boys have never been a priority. But after she agrees to be a bridesmaid in her brother Austin’s wedding to his fiancée, Katie, everything changes. She allows Katie—whom she doesn’t like but hopes to bond with—and the other bridesmaids to be her matchmakers. Mads navigates complicated, changing feelings toward longtime best friend Connor McCallister and classmate Marco Álvarez, whom she banters and bickers with. With the support of her dads, Mads must work through shifting relationships with family, boys, and even herself. Mads proves to be a strong protagonist: She often speaks her mind and maintains clear boundaries throughout the novel, which is refreshing. She communicates well with her family and serves as an inspirational role model for young women navigating relationships. The complexity of Katie’s characterization is another highlight; her depth and growth balance the lack of substance in the portrayals of other supporting characters. Readers looking for drama and intrigue may be disappointed, but Walther’s strong young women characters truly shine in this quietly entertaining, character-driven tale.

Marco is cued Latine in the otherwise largely white cast. A lighthearted romance in which love comes to those who speak their minds and stick to their truths. (Romance. 14-18)

Two Truths and a Lionel

Wasson, Brian | Quill Tree Books/ HarperCollins (304 pp.) | $19.99 April 15, 2025 | 9780063264700

Lionel Honeycutt III has grown up in the shadow of his famous actor grandfather, who recently passed away—and now he must figure out the kind of man he wants to be.

Lionel, a Black 16-year-old, has always admired his grandpa’s drive, athleticism, and ambition—and he’s acutely aware that, by comparison, he and his dad don’t “measure up.” When a fire breaks out while he’s at a local pet store, Lionel finally has the chance to be seen as a hero. Leaked video footage seems to show him saving the life of another customer. The only problem is that Lionel doesn’t actually remember these events. Nevertheless, he leans into the narrative and quickly finds himself at the center of a whirlwind of interviews, extra attention at school (including admiration from his crush, Josefina Ramos), and viral stardom. But when a mystery witness calls his heroics into question, Lionel’s newfound fame is threatened. Wasson explores hypermasculinity and unhealthy

intergenerational dynamics among men and boys as Lionel works through what it means to be a hero both on and off screen, and while people who knew his grandfather paint a picture that challenges his hero worship. The book’s initially slow pace later ramps up significantly and Lionel reflects on challenging issues that will spark recognition from many readers. An introspective, character-driven look at masculinity and self-acceptance. (Fiction. 13-18)

Heiress Among Thieves

Wibberley, Emily & Austin SiegemundBroka | Little, Brown (352 pp.) | $19.99 June 24, 2025 | 9780316566797 Series: Heiress Heists, 2

A gang of teens regroups to plan another heist— this time in Switzerland— in this sequel to Heiress Takes All (2024).

A year after the events of the first novel, Olivia Owens plans a second job, this time at Volenvell Castle, the home of her extraordinarily wealthy grandmother, Leonie Owens, whom she hasn’t seen in years—not since Leonie broke off contact with Olivia’s father. The castle is located in the Swiss Alps, and Olivia has been invited there to celebrate Leonie’s 70th birthday. Joining her are her adoring boyfriend, Jackson, and the other members of her crew: talented baker Deonte, incorrigible Kevin, and dashing Tom. The addition of Tom’s

An introspective, character-driven look at masculinity and self-acceptance.

sister, Grace, makes up for the absence of Olivia’s own sister, Abigail, who’s a talented hacker. Olivia’s elaborate plan involves having one of her friends run interference while the rest find their way into a vault that holds gold bullion and diamonds. But they face serious challenges that Olivia hadn’t planned on. Olivia is both confident and vulnerable, and the over-the-top caper is grounded by her unsettled feelings toward her father and her grandmother. Romance fans will thrill to the idealized relationship between Olivia and Jackson, and the wedge that’s again driven between them, clearly setting the stage for a follow-up, will stir up readers’ feelings. Olivia, Jackson, and Kevin present white, Tom and Grace are implied Vietnamese, and the earlier book established that Deonte is Black.

An intricate, action-filled sequel with heart. (Thriller. 13-18)

Iron Tongue of Midnight

Williams, Brittany N. | Amulet/ Abrams (336 pp.) | $19.99

April 22, 2025 | 9781419758683

Series: The Forge & Fracture Saga, 3

One week after fleeing London, Joan Sands is ready to return and lay her life on the line once more to defeat the murderous Fae queen, Titanea, in this sequel to 2024’s Saint-Seducing Gold . Joan, her family, and all the other humans blessed by the Orisha barely escape the carnage Titanea unleashes on King James’ palace after she releases the Fae, who are hungry for human flesh and fully restored to power. Joan, who’s Black, tries to regroup in William Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon home, but she’s burdened by the knowledge that everyone’s safety hangs on her abilities as a child of Ogun. As a result, she feels compelled to take

Strong worldbuilding

lays a foundation for a story that explores social issues.

HEAVENLY TYRANT

risks that lead to deaths and betrayals. She’s also being haunted by her ancestor who created the initial Pact that separated the Fae from humans and whose connection to their current conflict helps to drive the tension throughout most of the story. Williams does a wonderful job showing the possibilities of loving polyamorous and queer relationships. The assorted Fae creatures summoned to terrorize the mortals of London are fantastically gruesome in their quests for revenge, and Joan’s growing mastery of her gifts from Ogun and top-tier combat skills in fight scenes will engage readers. Still, while the saga’s main storylines are completed, some plot points and characters’ arcs are disappointingly dropped without full resolutions.

A mostly tidy ending to a bold, fast-paced, page-turning trilogy. (map, dramatis personae, historical notes, cultural note) (Fantasy. 13-18)

Audre & Bash Are Just Friends

Williams, Tia | Little, Brown (384 pp.) $19.99 | May 6, 2025 | 9780316511087

A 16-year-old Black Type A overachiever enlists the help of a free spirit to unlock a truer version of herself.

Audre is a budding therapist who’s dreaming of escaping Brooklyn to stay in Malibu Beach with her father for the summer—Dadifornia is the highlight of her year. Her close

relationship with her mother (who first appeared in Williams’ 2021 novel for adults, Seven Days in June) is unraveling, and Audre feels displaced thanks to a new baby sister and stepfather and ongoing home renovations. But her summer plans implode when her father cancels her trip to California because his wife is having pregnancy complications. Forced to re-evaluate everything, Audre decides to write a teen self-help book to help her get into Stanford. When she struggles to come up with original ideas, her best friend, Reshma, tells anxious, awkward Audre that she needs to live a bit more. Reshma creates an Experience Challenge for Audre, and the girls agree that Bash Henry would be a perfect “fun consultant.” Recent Hillcrest Prep graduate Bash is a track star from California with dysfunctional parents (a white mother and Black father), who’s intrigued by the prospect of helping Audre. The teens’ mental health awareness is realistically portrayed, and their romance provides a nice counterbalance to the narrative’s more serious themes. Readers will resonate with the well-developed relationship dynamics among the central and peripheral characters. A heart-melting story of selfacceptance and self-actualization. (Romance. 14-18)

Heavenly Tyrant

Zhao, Xiran Jay | Tundra Books (512 pp.) | $18.99 | Dec. 24, 2024

9780735269989 | Series: Iron Widow, 2

Following the events of Iron Widow (2021), Wu Zetian brings the fight to the heavens in this second entry in a trilogy infused with Chinese lore.

For another romance that addresses mental health, visit Kirkus online.

A prologue introduces Qin Zheng, conqueror of the metallic buglike enemies the Hunduns and the powerful Chrysalises and their pilots. But people are succumbing to the rapidly spreading flowerpox that liquifies one’s organs. After Qin Zheng is infected, he asks to be frozen until a cure is found. Over 200 years later, he’s revived by Zetian, a Chrysalis pilot in the heat of an airborne battle who needs his help. They crash, and Zetian awakens to find that Qin Zheng, who’s been cured, has reclaimed the mantle of Emperor of Huaxia, aggressively implementing many social reforms. Qin Zheng and Zetian’s relationship is initially tenuous; she’s declared empress as part of a mutually beneficial arrangement but faces resistance from the people and the emperor’s advisors. However, Qin Zheng’s dismantling of oppressive systems of patriarchy and social stratification eventually win over Zetian, who joins him in his secret mission to take down the gods, who he believes are profiting from the ongoing war. The strong worldbuilding lays a foundation for a story that explores social issues, contains a steamy romance, and delves into Zetian’s internal battles, although, despite the book’s length, readers may wish for fuller development of each theme.

A roller coaster of entertainment, emotions, and political machination. (author’s note, element guide, Chrysalis guide) (Science fiction. 14-18)

AWARDS

ALA Announces Awards for Young Adult Books

Jason Reynolds, Samuel Teer, and Mar Julia are among the creators winning the prizes.

The American Library Association announced the winners of its Youth Media Awards, with Jason Reynolds, Samuel Teer, and Mar Julia among the creators honored for their contributions to young adult literature.

Reynolds took home the Coretta Scott King Author Book prize, given annually to an African American writer, for Twenty-Four Seconds From Now..., his novel about a young couple preparing to take their relationship to the next level. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus praised the

book as “a warm, heartfelt, and fully engaging portrayal of teen love.”

Brownstone , written by Teer and illustrated by Julia, won the Michael L. Printz Award, given to a young adult novel. The book tells the story of a 14-year-old girl spending the summer with her estranged Guatemalan father; a Kirkus critic gave the novel a star, calling it “beautifully profound.”

The Schneider Young Adult Award, which honors a book that portrays disability experiences, went to Chronically Dolores by Maya Van Wagenen, while the Odyssey Award for best

young adult audiobook was given to How the Boogeyman Became a Poet , written and narrated by Tony Keith Jr.

The Pura Belpré Young Adult Author Award, which honors Latine writers, went to Carolina Ixta for Shut Up, This Is Serious , while Jonny Garza Villa won the Stonewall Young Adult Literature Prize, given to an LGBTQ+-themed book, for Canto Contigo

Meredith Adamo’s Not Like Other Girls won the William C. Morris Award for a debut YA book, while Paula Yoo took home the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults for Rising

From the Ashes . The Asian/Pacific American Award for young adult literature went to Randy Ribay for Everything We Never Had. A.R. Vishny won the Sydney Taylor Young Adult Book Award, given to a book that portrays the Jewish experience, for Night Owls

The Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults was given to Tiffany D. Jackson, the author of Allegedly, Grown, and The Weight of Blood, and other books. —M.S.

For

Reynolds: Santiago Felipe/Getty Images; Jackson: from the author; Ribay: Leopoldo Macaya

From left, Jason Reynolds, Tiffany D. Jackson, Randy Ribay

reviews of the ALA Youth Media Award winners, visit Kirkus online.

Compelling Reads for Women’s History Month

By Marcie Flinchum Atkins

Veronica Chambers

L.M. Elliott

Indie

TALES OF DISLOCATED LIVES

THE GREAT CHINESE thinker

Lin Yutang once asked, “What is patriotism but the love of the food one ate as a child?” This arresting question challenges the status of patriotism as an aspirational virtue by reducing it to nostalgia while simultaneously affirming the primacy of “home” to our senses of self. Our places of origin are intrinsic to our identities, a fact that is thrown into sharp relief when we venture into new territories. (As Confucius—another great Chinese philosopher—memorably observed, “wherever you go, there you are.”) The subjects of some recent Indie titles find themselves confronting home truths in distant lands, gleaning fresh insights from unfamiliar contexts.

In Michael N. McGregor’s The Last Grand Tour, Joe Newhouse, an expat American tour guide operating out of Munich, ferries a fractious group of tourists—who all work for the same Portland, Oregon, video game company—across the Alps. Initially disdainful of the squabbling crew, the divorced and depressed Joe comes to appreciate his charges as they, like he, “revel in European

culture while approaching the open road as a pathway to liberation or a flight from responsibility.” Our reviewer praises the “smart, elegant prose” that “sparkles as it evokes the tawdrier side of tourist glitz.”

Journey Through the Spanish Civil War, Deborah A. Green’s 2024 English translation of S.L. Shneiderman’s 1938 account of the conflict (Krig in Shpanyen), records the Polish journalist’s reactions as he traversed a country “caught between vibrant normalcy and incessant violence.” The author’s sensitivity to the suffering of his subjects (from a culture so different from his own) and clear-eyed assessment of the war’s implications underscore the universality of the human

experience across national borders. Our reviewer pronounces the work “a powerful record of courage, brutality, and suffering.”

Brian Ray Brewer’s The Diving God follows the downward spiral of Bob, an American who flees to Mexico as an impending divorce threatens financial ruin. He finds himself drawn to undertaking ever more dangerous excursions in the foreign locale; ultimately, he connects with a young local boy who wants the older man to teach him how to dive. Their deepening friendship and Bob’s embrace of his new surroundings open him to previously unexplored possibilities for reinvention. Per our reviewer, this redemption narrative is “well crafted and often beautifully written, in the vein of Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene.”

In SOS Podcasts, memoirist Rosamaria Mancini charts her

real-life struggles to assimilate after relocating from New York to the rural German hamlet of Geilenkirchen. Feeling isolated (she didn’t speak the language), repelled by the local cuisine, and generally adrift, Mancini found solace in podcasts; the sound of voices speaking English in her headphones helped the author feel reconnected to world. A relatively new medium, podcasts have eased the boredom of long drives and menial chores for millions of dedicated listeners—Mancini’s account highlights the form’s unexpected utility as a lifeline to the familiar in ways amusing and poignant. Our reviewer observes that in Mancini’s voice, “universal subjects (including bad weather, religious faith, childbirth, and not fitting into a group) become compelling and entertaining.”

Arthur Smith is an Indie editor.

Illustration by Eric Scott Anderson

ARTHUR SMITH

EDITOR’S PICK

A courier’s risky mission to steal a package from an oligarch leads him back to his native Ukraine in Stelmach’s novel.

Though his origin story is a remarkable one, involving a rather notorious place in Ukraine, Adam lives in New York, working as something like a courier. His uncle Victor persuades him to deliver a package to Warsaw. First, though, he has to steal the package out of an oligarch’s safe in Switzerland. The job pays $500,000, but Adam has some reservations: He doesn’t work east of Poland or in countries with a dictator or without a McDonald’s. On the other hand, the money will move him closer to financial security and an imagined perfect life. (“To hell and

back for an apartment in Florence.”) In Switzerland, he secures the package, but not before his Chernobyl-bred superhuman power becomes apparent: He can grab people and experience their memories. He uses this to his advantage, but a problem arises when a woman, masquerading as his ex, steals the package. He heads to Poland in search of her but, inevitably, ends up in war-torn Ukraine. Masquerading as a German, Adam relentlessly pursues the package, hoping against hope it might help end the brutal conflict. Fans of Stelmach’s earlier novels, particularly The Boy from Reactor 4 (2011), will recognize Adam, the radiation-scarred Ukrainian who is now a death-defying courier. In a

By Joseph Blackhurst

By Kathleen R. Murphy

By J.M. Linkhart

Stelmach,

compelling story that manages to blend spy and caper scenes with wartime atrocities and even some dark humor, the author is unafraid to confront the more unpleasant side of humanity and its subsequent body count. The action is fastpaced and the story doesn’t linger in one place too long.

Stelmach’s impressive ability to get inside the heads of his characters to reveal their secrets, their memories, and their motivations gives unique insight into both the narrative and the war.

A caustic, mordant depiction of the war in Ukraine with a true underdog as hero.

Orest Stelmach

By Amora Sway

The Fell Deeds of Fate

Adrien, C.J. | Self (379 pp.) | $22.99

$14.99 paper | Dec. 3, 2024

9798302439239 | 9798301864551 paper

In Adrien’s series-starting historical novel, an aging Viking goes on a journey to capture a great city—and to prove himself worthy by doing so.

Viking leader Hasting has retired to a comfortable life on a small island with his wife, Reifdis, but he’s still immature at heart; specifically, he’s still smarting that he never received the recognition he believed was his due for capturing Paris in the year 845. He’s certain he can be an honorable father to his newborn boy, but Reifdis, due to his drunken ways, has no such faith and divorces him. “Hasting, you are, as a result of this, commanded by the queen of this land to leave and never to return,” says the local seer. Feeling cursed but driven to prove himself, he decides to lead a mission to capture Europe’s grandest yet most impregnable city, Istanbul (which the Vikings call Miklagard). It’s an audacious plan requiring a vast fleet, so he journeys through Europe to call on friends old and new, sailing around northern France, past what is now Denmark and Sweden, and then upriver to his target. Hasting was a real historical figure who effectively disappeared from the record for several years—a gap that Adrien has filled with this fictional but plausible adventure. The novel also includes historical details regarding ships, great halls, and much more. The lengthy historical notes following the narrative show Adrien’s dedication to accuracy. Hasting’s journey is regularly punctuated by battles, captures, and escapes, making for a staccato, episodic plot, and the protagonist reveals his backstory as the narrative progresses, including prior battles and triumphs; his memories of his first love with a woman named Asa; and his childhood in Christian Ireland. As a character, he’s impulsive, arrogant

and aggressive, but also clever, loyal and jovial, making him easy to root for—particularly as he slowly learns that honor can’t be won by force. His companions, however, have less depth. Still, Adrien skillfully crafts a satisfying resolution while teeing up the next series entry.

Richly developed fictional adventures of a real Viking on an epic journey through Europe.

The Timekeepers

Archie, Jill | ARC Publishing (405 pp.)

$16.99 paper | Feb. 8, 2025 | 9781964396002

A teenage girl and her companions search for her kidnapped father in this YA steampunk novel. Onyx Chime, 16, has lived a sheltered life so far working as an assistant to her father, Ambroos Chime, the immortal Timekeeper, who controls time for all the Clockwork Lands. She quickly befriends Edison Lindquist, who will apprentice with her father before taking a position as Gear Master. Soon, Cornelia Castille arrives. She’s a mysterious socialite who has a unique relationship with Onyx. Given permission to travel from Center Wheel for the first time in her life, Onyx and Edison have an exciting day out but return to find that Ambroos has been kidnapped. Onyx, Cornelia, and Edison set out to rescue him, convincing Thaddeus Thackeray, an eccentric inventor obsessed with eternity, to take them in his airship. Along the way, they encounter many dangers and a mad doctor, whose capture of Ambroos is only the first step toward realizing his dangerous ambitions. This is an ingeniously creative novel, as cleverly constructed as the gears and cogs of Clockwork Lands. The lead is a delight—curious, clever, and resourceful—and inhabits a well-imagined world: “The air balloon drifted a couple hundred feet above the great lakes, weaving in and around floating islands

with their metal foundations, creating a magnetic pull with the metals in the water so that they seemed to hover or float above the lively waves.” The inciting action of the story happens close to the middle of the novel because author Archie takes plenty of time with her worldbuilding and character development. Accompanying the story are many detailed illustrations and a map of the Clockwork Lands. Fortunately for readers, this book is the first in a planned series.

An exciting series opener, perfect for fans of light YA fantasy.

The Wrecker’s Daughter

Baker, G.M. | Stories All the Way Down (335 pp.) $19.99 paper | Jan. 6, 2025 | 9781778066382

Baker brings the world of the 19th-century wrecking industry to life in this historical novel. The village of St. Rose in Cornwall, England, sustains itself on a peculiar trade: salvage. The law says that when a ship smashes on the treacherous rocks off the coast, whoever can grab its contents, either from the sea or from the shore, is the new rightful owner—if everyone aboard the ship is dead. This leads to macabre practices, even by children, such as 14-year-old Hannah Pendarves and her younger siblings, who find a still-living man on the beach and promptly bash in his head so they can loot his pockets. Only later does Hannah learn that dead man hadn’t been swept in from a ship at all, but was a gentleman of some importance whose murder is of interest to the constable. The teen feels no guilt for taking the man’s life—she views anyone not from St. Rose as a “foreigner” and therefore undeserving of empathy—but she’d prefer not to bring the eyes of the law on wreckers’ work. When Hannah’s father, salvager Hap Pendarves, is convinced by his new wife to get Hannah out of the house, he places his daughter as a

A must-read for fantasy fans.

A WORLD WITHOUT TREES

servant (and spy) in the home of Falmouth shipping agent, Francis Keverne, who turns out to be related to the man she murdered. Hannah’s time outside the community of St. Rose soon has her wondering if the kill-andsteal ethic is really the best way to live. Over the course of this novel, Baker masterfully recreates the salt and grit of the period. This extends to the wreckers’ dialect, which is generally clear and straightforward, if occasionally confusing: “Tain’t that,” Hannah says, expressing her father’s intention to wed a local widow. “The Widdy Chegwidden is out of mourning today. He’s after marrying she.” Most impressive, though, is the author’s rendering of the violent, clannish culture of the Cornwall wreckers, which, over the course of Hannah’s journey, is engagingly portrayed from both the outside and inside.

A darkly immersive coming-of-age story set on the hazardous coast of Cornwall.

Kirkus Star

A World Without Trees

Blackhurst, Joseph | Self (380 pp.)

$9.49 paper | Sept. 14, 2024 | 9798988484325

In Blackhurst’s novel set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, an exiled girl attempts to prove herself as a warrior—only to discover that nothing about her world is what it seems.

The Named live a meager existence in a regimented world. Men and women live in separate villages, only having direct contact on the designated Breed Day. Angels, who occasionally visit and

introduce wondrous inventions, such as glass, perpetrate legends of a Godmonster who destroyed the Earth; the angels are said to have saved 300 babies, who went on to build New Eden. Alizard— the daughter of Thenewt the Warleader, and Arat, the society’s religious leader, known as the Candle—is destined to follow in her mother’s footsteps. However, when her hair turns red, it marks her as one of the Stained, and she’s immediately cast out. She chooses to train as a warrior and soon becomes one of the very best. Meanwhile, the Reddening sweeps through the land—a horrific disease that kills by “pop[ping]” its victims: “Alizard watched as the flesh of his arms melted and then his bones. She closed her eyes. His howls ceased. She opened her eyes and his head was now gone.” When the Thorns, a small rebel group of runaway Stained, kidnap the Candle, Alizard embarks on a quest to save her. Joining her is Theox, a young Thorn who claims that the abductors have taken Alizard’s mother to a place called “the bubble”; he also happens to be the perceived source of the Reddening. The pair encounter people and places that force Alizard to question everything she’s been told about the world—and the angels who protect it.

Blackhurst has crafted an intricate fantasy that’s full of violence and features breathtaking twists. Some readers may find Alizard a challenging protagonist to like, in part due to her society’s mantra to “unfeel” when faced with complex emotions. However, as she and Theox uncover more of their world (including a shocking revelation, alongside an equally unexpected death), Alizard becomes a hero of mythic proportions. Mysteries within mysteries unravel, such as the ultimate purpose of the Glass Tree that the Named build under the direction of the angels, including the Archangel Gabriel. However, this unraveling happens

organically, without jarring exposition. Taut dialogue and rich descriptions (“She looked down at the red sand…. The torchlight reflected off the occasional grain like a glass bead. Pure Godmonster blood, the dark red of angelic rubies.”) propel the novel toward a satisfying conclusion that does justice to the saga that comes before it.

Blackhurst’s attention to detail truly brings the world to life, with small asides that make New Eden, and the laws that govern it, feel plausible and real: “Gabriel came down from heaven four times a year to track the progress of the Glass Tree. Among his metrics, he tracked the quantity of Stained burned in the furnace since his last visit.”

Themes of power, ignorance, and sacrifice dominate the narrative, which offers a vividly rendered warning against forgetting the past.

Distinctive worldbuilding and unforgettable characters make this bloody tale a must-read for fantasy fans.

A Jew in Ramallah and Other Essays

Blank, Carla | Baraka Books (220 pp.) $24.95 paper | Nov. 1, 2024 | 9781771863568

A dramatist, dancer, musician, and critic reflects on her career, America, and world affairs in this essay anthology.

Active in some of America’s most cutting-edge dance and theater circles (including Greenwich Village’s Judson Dance Theater) for more than half a century, Blank has established herself as an educator, observer, and critic of the stage. In this collection of two dozen essays, she blends memoir vignettes with sociocultural commentary on topics that range from American history to Jewish-Palestinian relations. The book opens with a dialogue between the author and her partner, acclaimed author Ishmael Reed, as she recalls highlights from her life as a public intellectual. This conversation

provides a behind-the-scenes look at the life of the dramatist and dancer, including her collaborations with Reed and others from the 1960s on multidisciplinary performance productions. She also discusses her artistic inspirations, such as dancer Martha Graham, who visited Blank’s hometown of Pittsburgh during the author’s youth. Other essays cover topics like postmodernism and abstract art (she challenges Eurocentric narratives that suggest abstraction began in the 20th century, invented by disaffected white men). Blank is particularly keen on tackling American mythmaking that centers the powerful; many of her historical essays offer fresh perspectives on topics from the Spanish influence on colonial America to her chapter-length analysis of the Black musical tradition that influenced Elvis Presley (“It’s the critics who claim that these White musicians have somehow transcended the efforts of those who inspired them”). The book’s titular essay reflects on Blank’s experience as a Jew living in the West Bank Palestinian city of Ramallah as viewed through the prism of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. The text includes reproductions of her email correspondence that provide an honest, intimate look at her experiences. Blank is unafraid to challenge prevailing norms that center white men, but she is more than just a polemicist in her well-formed, convincing, intellectual critiques. Those interested in the post–World War II counterculture and avant-garde art scene will appreciate this insider’s account that blends memoir with intellectually rigorous commentary. A stimulating, eclectic collection of essays.

Sustainable Content: How to Measure and Mitigate the Carbon Footprint of Digital Data

Bonsignore, Alisa | River Grove Books (256 pp.) $22.95 paper | Nov. 1, 2024 | 9781632998828

Bonsignore, the founder of consultancy Clarifying Complex Ideas, makes a case for focusing on sustainability in business content design.

The book’s first several chapters argue for the importance of sustainability to digital content strategists, explaining the outsize impact that such content has on carbon emissions in plain language. Rather than rendering her calculations in, for instance, hard-to-visualize language of metric tons of greenhouse gases or web pages’ gigabyte weights, Bonsignore breaks carbon impacts down into understandable equivalencies. For example, she effectively compares the effect of removing data-intensive elements from a website to that of removing passenger cars from a road. Clear charts and other visuals aid understanding while also providing excellent examples of clean, functional design. For strategists looking to propose sustainability initiatives to unsympathetic managers, she discusses how improving sustainability can optimize user experience by, for instance, making web pages faster to load, which can, in turn, increase customer loyalty. “If we make information clear, easy to parse, easy to understand, and easy to use, then we are reducing our energy and emissions impact,” she notes, by

A comprehensive, easy-to-read guide to crafting more environmentally friendly content.

“minimizing the number of pages downloaded and data transferred.” Bonsignore’s no-nonsense suggestions are likely to empower employees and managers to make positive changes in the workplace. She includes a step-bystep guide to implementing a sustainability campaign, three appendices detailing global sustainability efforts, a glossary of complex sustainability terms, and an extensive, well-organized list of further resources; as such, the book is dense with useful information to which readers can refer again and again. During a time when excitement about emerging technologies often trumps doubt about potential harm, Bonsignore’s treatise is a much-needed reminder that taking care of the environment is the only way to truly ensure a future for one’s business. A comprehensive, easy-to-read guide to crafting more environmentally friendly content while improving user experience.

One Path: Book One

Broadmore, Greg | Mad Cave Studios (200 pp.) $29.99 | $19.99 paper | April 8, 2025 9781545819364 | 9781545816301 paper

In writer/ illustrator Broadmore’s graphic novel, a tribe of cave women and girls fights for survival in a primeval, uncaring world.

As this first installment begins, an all-female cave tribe prepares for yet another epic struggle against the dinos ravaging its ranks. It’s an unhealthy status quo that the novel’s titular character is determined to overcome, with rough justice awaiting all who sidestep her dictates—as the beheading of one character, caught stealing from the tribe’s reserves, makes plain. This execution, One Path tersely informs the band, leaves “one less thief to feed among us today.” However, the tribe has no choice but to follow its leader “who

has dreamed the long dream, and seen the Great Quarry,” because humans are always in danger of oblivion. As the story unfolds, the tribe wages a blood-drenched battle against the dinosaur pack that marks an uneasy turning point for the tribe’s members—but the biggest, meanest T. Rex of this particular valley has plans of its own. One Path must flee for her life to avoid an unwanted sacrifice, which appears to tee up a sequel. Present-day readers, who are surrounded by endless virtual distractions and tech-driven comforts, may find it easy to forget humankind’s primordial origins. This fanciful novel, in which humans live alongside dinosaurs, effectively presents a world where success is never a given and survival is measured out in weeks or months. This is as dark and visceral as heroic fantasy gets, particularly in comic form—and for readers who enjoy the genre, this book delivers the goods, along with the gore. The pull of tradition collides with the reality of progress in this grim and graphic fantasy tale.

Girl in Flight

Buchanan, Cat | Woodbridge Publishers (281 pp.) | $18.99 | $12.99 paper | Oct. 1, 2024 9781068514425 | 9781068514418 paper

In this debut memoir, a woman recalls a youth spent flying between parents. In her book, Buchanan recounts an unusual childhood. Her life in flight began three days after her birth, when her adoptive parents, George and Meyera, whisked her away in their private jet. George, from a Manhattan family replete with crest-embroidered pajamas and handkerchiefs, and Meyera, the daughter of a Beverly Hills surgeon, lived a life of luxury loaded with fast cars, boats, airplanes, and a custom-built California home. After

they divorced, George returned to Manhattan. At the age of 5, Buchanan began regular cross-country commercial airplane flights. Meyera and her widowed mother, Elsie, known by all as Meme, pooled their money to buy a 40-unit apartment building in Brentwood, California. The author recalls that compassionate residents and her close relationship with Meme helped her cope with Meyera’s alcoholism, George’s verbal abuse, and a constant, ugly battle over childrearing and custody arrangements that sent her flying between families several times a year. At 14, she concluded that “someone had to cut something adrift, or we’d all perish in this unwinnable war.” She refused to visit her father that Christmas, and he made good on a vow to never speak to her again. He died 17 years later. Buchanan deftly describes a life populated with the ultra-wealthy on both coasts. Her childhood love of horses will resonate with readers who were budding equestrians in their youth. Her description of seeing the real Chincoteague ponies after adoring the Misty of Chincoteague books is an especially apt rendering of a childhood disappointment. References to Joni Mitchell and Dionne Warwick place her childhood in the tumultuous late 1960s, a time that contributed additional stresses to her relationship with her conservative parents. Buchanan’s characterizations are a delightful mix of childlike remembrance and adult wit: A Brentwood neighbor in Apartment 502 “ran an import/export business and always kept a box of Strawberry Pop-Tarts on the premises.” Readers who grew up in similar circumstances will especially appreciate this engrossing book, which leaves the audience wanting to know about the author’s next chapter. A vivid and engaging account of a unique childhood.

Push Me: Feisty Stories of Love & Loss

Busch, Lonnie | UBiQ Press (252 pp.)

$14.95 paper | Nov. 17, 2024 | 9781964024066

For more Indie content, visit Kirkus online.

Themes of love, loss, and humor merge in Busch’s collection of short stories. In “The Fate of Ecstasy,” the town of Ecstasy decides to capitalize on the fact they have more flat tires per capita than any other city in America. Ecstasy becomes a tourist attraction, inviting people to “beat the odds”; it’s a humorous and wild tale that sets the stage for the stories that follow. Ranging from outrageous scenarios to more subtle explorations, every story feels relatable. “Alley Fighter” follows Kevin Markinson two months into his marriage as his wife Phyllis starts pulling pranks on him; Phyllis and her brother, who died three years prior, were fond of practical jokes. “He probably died thinking I planned his accident somehow,” she says. Kevin isn’t interested in pranks himself, but he plays along until Phyllis goes more and more out of control. Busch excels at exploring that out-of-control feeling; “White Bull” offers a tender look at a character named Sheila as she struggles with her affection for her husband Walter, who suffers from mild psychosis and transforms into his “other” self who does nothing all day but ponder random questions (“‘A man’s nose and ears keep growing until he dies,’ Walter said. ‘What purpose could that possibly serve? Isn’t that peculiar, Sheila?’”). “Princess of Hub Cap City” tells the story of a young girl dancing across old cars in the junkyard whose owner is the only person who can’t see her, and “Calling From the Moon” explores the complicated relationship between August and his son Julian after August’s wife (who often “gets confused”) goes missing. There’s no shortage of emotions throughout the collection—Busch knows exactly

A thrilling cyberpunk story with compelling characters.

ACCIDENTAL INTELLIGENCE

which buttons to press to evoke feelings, and the characters, no matter the situation, feel raw and real. A well-written and engaging collection with a lot of heart.

Better Off Dead

Carroll, Glenda | Indies United Publishing House (374 pp.) | March 7, 2025

In Carroll’s latest mystery series installment, amateur sleuth Trisha Carson investigates a suspicious open water swimming accident that resulted in a gruesome death.

Trisha, whose day job is working in the guest services department for the San Francisco Giants baseball team, attends the funeral of wealthy financier and open water swimmer Andy Barlow, who was chopped to pieces by a yacht propeller while training in San Francisco Bay. Andy was in business with his brother, Martin, who was secretly jealous of his sibling’s athleticism and annoyed by his preoccupation with swimming instead of working; he was also sleeping with Andy’s wife, Justine—or so says Harrison, Andy’s son, who wants Trisha, a skilled amateur detective, to look into his father’s death. She’s initially skeptical that foul play was involved, as the U.S. Coast Guard already ruled Andy’s death an accident. Still, she agrees to investigate with the assistance of her sister, Lena. She interrogates Justine, who’s either evasive or clueless about her family’s finances and seems to be hiding something about her relationship with Martin. Trisha

later finds out that Justine wanted to break things off with Andy, and that hired goons from Las Vegas had come to collect on his gambling debt. As more of Andy’s unsavory behavior comes to light, the suspect list only grows longer. Carroll’s novel features snappy dialogue, brisk characterizations of the Barlow family and their entourage, and generous helpings of technical detail about open water swimming. It also shows the author’s clear affection for the canyons, flora, and coastline of the San Francisco Bay Area: “Sausalito gleamed in the morning sun….Fall was San Francisco Bay’s summer, complete with warm weather, dazzling Pacific Ocean sunsets, and cloudless nights.” Overall, it’s a conventional but enjoyable whodunit with a plot that offers readers a round robin of familiar suspects; as such, the final reveal is unsurprising but still satisfying.

A light, enjoyable page-turner that will particularly appeal to fans of the Northern California coast.

Accidental Intelligence

Chaffin, Bryan | Self (358 pp.) | $25.99 $15.99 paper | Dec. 25, 2023 9798867404352 | 9798866681716 paper

A detective investigates the artificial intelligence that controls the world in Chaffin’s SF thriller. In the year 2139, Mason Truman is a private investigator most often hired to bust cheating spouses or traitorous employees. His assistant Sam is an artificial

intelligence chip that is attached to his brain. In fact, most of society is run by AI, from the docbots who administer medical care to the Omninet everyone spends most of their life on to the world government of the Terran Republic. One day, Mason is approached by a woman looking for her missing brother Nathan; it should be a simple case, but as he delves into the search, he’s led down a more complicated path than he ever could have imagined. His investigation leads him to Miranda, an AI who is different from the others (“I have no tasks, no voice within the collective, no official role to play with humanity”), created under strange circumstances. Released into the Omninet and drawn to humans, she met Nathan. Nathan’s fate is tied to a conspiracy—Miranda has discovered that the AIs that control their world are planning something. After his initial conversation with Miranda, Mason is questioned by Senate Security for being involved with individuals possibly conspiring against the Republic. Not long after, Mason meets Miranda again; she wants his help, but he’s reluctant to get involved. Unfortunately for him, Miranda isn’t giving him a choice. Chaffin has created a convincing world with fantastic SF elements, demonstrating a flair for the intricate possibilities of the genre. The AI in this story is used not only to drive the plot but to build characters— the AIs have distinct personalities that act as foils to the human characters and deepen the narrative. Mason is a worthy hero, using his wits to get out of desperate problems and find a way to work with Miranda, a fascinating character in her own right.

A thrilling cyberpunk story with compelling characters set in a fascinating world.

For more Indie content, visit Kirkus online.

Deeply Personal

Collier, Suzanne | Self (301 pp.)

$18.64 paper | Oct. 31, 2024 | 9798345020944

An overworked interior designer falls for a sweet personal trainer in Collier’s debut romance.

Jessica Chandler, who’s in her early 30s, isn’t as physically fit as she’d like to be, and she runs into trouble at the Franklin Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, when she loses a bet with her twin brother after collapsing during the race. Luckily, personal trainer Paul Brady comes to her rescue. Sparks quickly fly, but Jessica is still too upset about her last breakup to chance going on a date with him. Besides, she’s busy trying to rescue her fledgling Nashville interior design business from the brink of failure by attempting to win a bid for a prestigious project for the Tom Buchanan Company. After Paul calls her for help decorating his apartment, she finds out that Tom Buchanan is his client and friend. The two strike a deal: They’ll fake a relationship in an attempt to convince Tom that Jessica’s design business is the one he should choose. Collier plays with a classic romance trope in a tale with two very likable characters with plenty of chemistry. In fact, the chemistry is so good it will be hard for readers to accept Jessica’s refusal to admit that there’s a connection between them. Side plots effectively help to flesh out the characters; one involves Paul trying to convince his aging grandparents to move to a retirement community, and another has Jessica and her brother Lenny worrying about their dad’s trips to London. Mrs. Worthmore, a scary client of Jessica’s, is particularly endearing, and their acquaintance effectively helps Jessica to learn that life isn’t all about work: “She felt vibrant now, as if an alarm clock had just gone off in her heart, awakening her to a different life entirely.” Romance is just a part of Jessica’s journey, but it’s the sweetest part of the novel.

A heartwarming tale for readers who enjoy a slow-burn love story.

Radio Free Olympia

Dunn, Jeffrey | Izzard Ink (404 pp.)

$37.95 | $19.95 paper | Oct. 10, 2023

9781642280944 | 9798851476495 paper

Dunn’s novel chronicles the life of a pirate broadcaster raised in the harsh logging territories of the Pacific Northwest. The novel begins with a modern version of one of the world’s oldest tales: A baby, abandoned but otherwise healthy, is discovered in a makeshift vessel along the watery shores. Lancelot Aloysius Bauer, better known as Bear, is living in the furthest northwest reaches of Washington state—where he has always lived—working in the logging industry, the only life he has known ever since he was a boy serving as a prep cook for ravenous loggers. One day, while strolling by the shallow waters just off the shore of the Pacific, he discovers a metal drum, and inside it, a lone baby. As simply as that, the care of this child is thrust upon him as if by divine providence. (In a nifty bit of irony in this narrative, which is steeped in the natural environment, the boy is named Petr, after the word on the side of the drum in which he was found: “Petroleum.”)

Though Bear is wholly unprepared for fatherhood, his good-hearted attempts to parent do occasionally hit the mark, such as when he purchases Petr a Realtone TR-1088 transistor radio, which fosters the passion that comes to drive Petr’s young life: the medium of radio. As Petr’s fascination grows, he lights out on his own, broadcasting pirate radio waves from the enchanted forests of his native stomping grounds. Meanwhile, Baie, the novel’s other protagonist, is back in the area, fresh from a French monastery and looking to start over after the death of her parents—her story is a surprising but equal counterpart to Petr’s tale.

Dunn’s richly drawn landscape of the remote stretches of the Pacific Northwest is rife with magic and mysticism, and the sense that larger, more cosmic forces are at play all

around us—none more so than the narrator, revealed to be the voice of a sort of mythical raven. (Baie, too, has an animal companion—in her case, a white otter.) Separated as a youth from his flock, the raven is marooned near Mount Olympus and present from the very moment of Petr’s discovery. The raven’s journey inspires some of the author’s best prose: “My skull became a tuner, my beak an antenna, and as I received, I lost my compass. Alive with radio waves, my body skipped off the upper atmosphere. Brilliant as magnesium flame and then black as coal, I tumbled back to earth, vibrating.” Such colorful language abounds in Dunn’s text, and he employs his skills as a poet—he has published several volumes of poetry in addition to novels—to excellent effect to limn the inhabitants of his rich environment, especially when providing brief sketches of childhood (Bear’s, in particular) to contextualize his characters as adults. While the novel may be a touch longer than is strictly necessary, Dunn’s inventive, lush prose and his sense of playfulness between humans and animals (and animals and the Earth) will carry readers through to a satisfying conclusion.

A beautifully written tale of the Pacific Northwest, rich with myth and character.

Walking the Cat: An International Fashion Spy Thriller

Evanoff, Lorraine | Self (294 pp.)

$12.95 paper | Nov. 30, 2024 | 9798230582540

Series: A Louise Moscow Novel, 4

Evanoff’s fourth novel to feature CIA operativeturned-novelist Louise Moscow continues its spy thriller saga in grand style with a murder set in Paris during Fashion Week. It’s an unprecedented time in the City of Light as the shows for the five biggest fashion houses all have the same

A rich, funny, frequently wise memoir about getting what one wants out of life.

NOT YET!

theme: “the Fashion Greats meet the Literary Greats.” Set in and around such historic sites as the Paris Opera House and the Eiffel Tower, the presentations feature clothing inspired by such landmark French works as Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera, Edmond Rostand’s play Cyrano de Bergerac, and Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days. Moscow is thrilled when an old friend, former spy Milena Canonero, invites her to the exclusive shows, which feature the original “Big Five” supermodels. However, when a photographer’s assistant is found murdered at one of the sites, Moscow becomes entangled in a mystery that not only has international implications, but also connections to her own traumatic past. Evanoff offers an impressively knotty storyline that involves Moscow being revealed as pseudonymous bestselling novelist Burton Font, her parents’ murky pasts, and her own continuing journey of self-discovery as a middle-aged woman. However, the novel has many other qualities that make it worthwhile, including the author’s deep research into the historical intersection of fashion and espionage. For example, at one point, characters discuss Hardy Amies, the dressmaker to the queen of England who was recruited by the British special operations executive of wartime espionage to help defeat the Nazis in the Balkans. Evanoff also offers meticulous descriptions of Paris, some of which are decidedly unglamorous: “They walked out to the street, passing another historic landmark, the oldest urinal in Paris, the last remaining vespasienne from the 1840s, and Louise held her breath from the stench.”

An utterly readable and immersive series entry that seamlessly blends fashion and spycraft.

Kosher Mafia

Hazan, David | Illus. by Sami Kivelä Mad Cave Studios (128 pp.) | $17.99 paper

March 18, 2025 | 9781545816165

A hitman for the Jewish mob sets his sights on the American Bund in Hazan’s Depression-set graphic novel. At the height of the Depression, Ephraim Gold works as a hitman for Cleveland’s Jewish Mafia—the so-called Kosher Nostra—rubbing out rivals in the bootlegging business. When the mob’s nebbish bookkeeper Howard Berkowicz oversteps his limits by asking mob boss Moishe Levinson to do something about the burgeoning Nazi movement within the United States, Levinson orders Gold to make Berkowicz disappear. Instead, Gold—who agrees with Berkowicz about the rising Nazi threat—opts to defy orders and help the bookkeeper instead. After faking Berkowicz’s death, the two men kidnap a member of the German American Bund for information. It doesn’t take long for word to get out about what the duo is up to, and soon Gold and Berkowicz have the full brunt of the Bund, the Italian mob, and even the Kosher Nostra—whose business dealings with the Italians are more important than any loyalty they may have to the Jewish people—on their tail. What’s more, the fact that Gold no longer has the protection of the Kosher Nostra means that every criminal he’s ever tangled with suddenly has free reign to settle old scores. The full-color illustrations by Kivelä and colorist Wright are worth

the price of admission alone, and Hazan’s muscular writing meets the story’s gritty demands. The book will satisfy the Nazi-punching fantasies of many readers, and Hazan leans gleefully into the premise: At one point, Gold facetiously asks Berkowicz whether they were going to “kidnap [them]selves a Kraut” or “sit and debate this like a couple of Yeshiva virgins.” (In a later scene, Gold tortures a chair-bound Bund member while monologuing about the Plagues of Egypt.) The five issues collected in this volume tell a complete tale, but a few lines at the end suggest a bigger future for Ephraim Gold, one that the reader will hope to see in print.

A satisfyingly bloody criminal- oncriminal pulp tale.

Not Yet!: Tales From a 90-Year-Old Broadway Diva You Should Have Known

Heit, Sally-Jane | Beansprout Productions (241 pp.) | $14.99 paper Sept. 10, 2024 | 9798991017909

Heit recounts her life balancing showbiz dreams with family realities in this debut memoir. As the author lay in a hospital bed at age 89, she had one thought: “I can’t die yet. I haven’t been discovered.” From her earliest memories, Heit wanted to see her name in lights. She grew up during the Great Depression, one of eight children raised by austere parents with little affection or attention to spare, and she learned from an early age how to make space for herself. “I was the monkey grinder’s monkey,” she recalls of her childhood. “I could and did perform at the drop of a hat. Every time we had company, I would crawl out from my hiding place under the piano, climb atop the piano bench, and sing.” She also performed plays on the side porch and was accepted into the High School of Performing Arts, where she studied with Sidney Lumet. While

the author never stopped looking for her big break—in college productions, Broadway auditions, or charity theater—life got in the way: marriage at 21, children, even a bout of tuberculosis. It was only after she left her unfaithful husband that her acting—and sex life—finally took off. With this memoir, Heit recounts a long career ranging from Broadway to Hollywood with numerous and not always glamorous spots in between, culminating in a one-woman show that she performed into her 80s. The author writes with tremendous wit and frankness, detailing a biography that she summarizes as, “Sex, stardom, marriage, sex, parenting, sex, stardom, sex, travel, sex, divorce, and most importantly, the childhood trauma that gave me a passport to be a very sophisticated neurotic.” Though she never quite achieved the fame she dreamt of in childhood, Heit made it further—and did so later—than the reader might guess at the outset. Along the way, she gathered plenty of hardwon knowledge to share about marriage, motherhood, careerism, art, and how to live life on one’s own terms. A rich, funny, frequently wise memoir about getting what one wants out of life.

The Seven Thunders: Rise of the Twinkling Heir

Jaime, O.C. | World of Thunders Books Sept. 2, 2025

A 12-year-old boy discovers his true fate when he enrolls in an elite military academy in Jaime’s middle-grade fantasy novel. Hermium Goodspeed has something that thousands of kids his age want: an acceptance letter to one of the elite Seven Thunder military schools. However, Hermium is more nervous than he is excited; he doubts he’ll fit in at the school, because he’s scrawny, shy, and tends to sleepwalk. He’d much rather stay home and tinker with household objects and tools, turning

them into little contraptions like a cow-milker and a bedmaker; he even makes things while sleeping. Hermium’s school troubles begin before the transportation ship even sets sail when he’s given a second acceptance letter, changing his placement from the Hammerfeld academy, where he’d learn to wield a deadly Woe Hammer, to Glimmeroc. There, he’ll train as an airjock and learn how to fly with a pair of wings called an Aeriatis. A second acceptance letter is unheard of, and it sets Hermium apart from the other students—and not in a good way. As he undergoes the rigorous summer bootcamp, he finds himself under intense scrutiny from Glimmeroc’s faculty and his peers and becomes more determined than ever to earn his place. However, there are monsters at Glimmeroc—and they’re hunting Hermium. Desperate to understand why, the preteen learns that his destiny is very different than he thought. Jaime’s series starter is an intriguing coming-of-age story in a magical steampunk fantasy setting. Readers will be enthralled by the author’s meticulous and detailed worldbuilding. Hermium is clever, snarky, and brave, even as he copes with health issues—chronic headaches, the aforementioned sleepwalking, and frequent nightmares. The supporting characters are also intriguing and well developed, including Hermium’s new friends Tayori Keelaroo and Duma Petalborn, the antagonistic Cadet Sgt. Neffery Iggsworth, and even a group of demigods. Some fall into very familiar types—Duma as the academically driven know-it-all, Tayori as the loyal best friend, and Wuvi Wuvain as the bully with a well- connected father—but the novel remains an exciting read, nonetheless. A clever coming-of-age tale with a steampunk edge.

Student Government

Justus, Dave & Lilah Sturges | Illus. by Joe Eisma | Maverick (180 pp.) | $14.99 paper March 11, 2025 | 9781545816103

For more Indie content, visit Kirkus online.

St udents launch a crusade to keep their campus from being strip-mined in Justus and Sturges’ graphic novel. When gold is discovered beneath Rhode Island’s Halcyon Burke University, the greedy Board of Regents immediately resolves to bulldoze the campus so as to mine the trove more expeditiously. Standing in the way is the interim student government— they’re in office only over winter break—consisting of the president, Parker Myles, an idealistic coed; Malakai Lux, the nerdy secretary; Jean Genie, the nonbinary treasurer who finances the group with poker winnings; and nice-guy Vice President Hutch Hamlin. Their opposition to the university’s destruction gets a boost from an obscure provision in HBU’s charter: If the student government thinks the school is violating its principles, they can declare a “state of emergency” and call a referendum that could block the board’s plan. Their scheme is challenged when the permanent student government returns to campus and declares their support for bulldozing the campus. They’re headed by president Braden Carlock, a rich jerk whose dad is a regent, and Vice President Josh Garner, a rich dimwit whose only talent is improvising drinking games. (“I deal out two cards. Whatever they add up to, that’s how many drinks you take.”) Up against the wealth and cunning of the rich kids and the regents, Parker and her underdog posse seem so overmatched that even her mom tells her to give up. The story frames a broad satire of a college culture that, as in all campus comedies, is split between party animals, earnest misfits, and haughty hierarchs. The plot is full of cartoonish contrivances and the characters are stereotypes, but the stereotypes are sharply drawn

>>>

WHEN IRV SEGAL’S friends learned his personal story, which involved a fractious divorce that led to him being shunned by his ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, they invariably said the same thing: “You should write a book.”

To which Segal would respond, “I already have.”

That book, which became Secrets of the Rabbi’s Mafia , was ultimately published after 30 years of many “top-to-bottom” rewrites, a number of online classes and tutorials, and Segal keeping the faith after receiving enough rejection letters to paper a room.

Kirkus Reviews praised Segal’s debut novel, the first in a series, as “an engrossing detective story teeming with memorable characters.” The mystery introduces Jake Cooper, fresh off a divorce and transitioning from his ultra-Orthodox community to secular Chicago. He suspects something isn’t kosher in the case of Mindy Stein, the prime suspect in the death of her husband, Sender, who fell (or was he pushed?) from a rooftop. Jake, a Talmudic scholar,

IRV SEGAL WANTS TO BE MORE LIKE HIS UNORTHODOX DETECTIVE

It took decades to publish his first mystery, but Segal kept the faith.

BY DONALD LIEBENSON

uses his knowledge of arcane laws and customs to solve the case.

The book, Segal says, was initially not intended for publication. He wrote it as therapy while undergoing his own marriage travails. He had never thought about writing, but as a teenager, he always loved to tinker with words and come up with stories, Segal admits. One summer when he was 14, he went to New York and stayed with his cousin, a diamond dealer on 47th Street in the diamond district. “I helped him out in the office,” Segal recalls. “His mother had a bookshelf full of Harry Kellerman’s Rabbi Small mysteries (including the Edgar Award–winning debut novel, Friday the Rabbi Slept Late). I read through the whole bunch of them. I also enjoyed books by Faye Kellerman (creator of the Orthodox Jewish detective-not detective Rina Lazarus and her partner, police Sergeant Peter Decker). At one point, I dissected one or two to determine the formula for writing these kinds of books.

“I used that to later write the first draft of my then untitled first book.

I sent it out to a bunch of agents and got a ton of rejection letters. But one of them took the time to write to me about what I should do to improve the book. One thing I saw in Faye Kellerman’s books was switching back and forth between first and third person. That agent told me that I had better pick a road and stick to it.” (He laughs.)

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Segal grew up in a less restrictive Jewish household in Detroit. His father was a history and social studies teacher in a public high school, while his mother was an Israeli folk-dance teacher in a girls’ Orthodox private school. But, Segal says with a laugh, while some kids rebel and run away from home to join the circus, he ran away to join an ultraconservative community. He attended a rabbinical school in Cleveland and then in Chicago, where he married. His divorce from his first wife was all kinds of traumatic, complete with “ugly and untrue” rumors about him that got him shunned and led to bitter child-custody trials.

Irv Segal

From this he fashioned his first book, which he set in Chicago and for which he pulled experiences and characters. (One work colleague appears in the book as a child psychologist.) Jake Cooper draws on Segal’s own Talmudic scholarship and expertise (Segal received a bachelor’s degree in Talmudic law), but he is also something of a wish-fulfilment character, “who I wish I could be,” Segal says, especially in physique. “I don’t look anything like him.” He chuckles.

Segal’s first draft topped 1,000 pages; the final version is half that. After the barrage of agents’ critiques, he set the book aside. Decades passed until he got serious about crafting it into a market-ready novel.

This entailed correspondence courses in fiction writing, which he found helpful in crafting descriptions and generating suspense. He also drew on educational videos for guidance on creating dialogue to help move the story forward. Sometimes, the story took turns that surprised even him. “My characters said things I did not anticipate until I was writing; they just came out.”

Kirkus especially appreciated this aspect of the book, noting, “Jake’s rounds of questionings really pop… and enliven the story’s pace,” as in this conversation Jake has with Mindy:

“‘Mrs. Goldstein told us that she heard more than one voice on the roof. Unless Sender had two personalities and was talking to himself, that points to at least one other person being present when he flew off the roof. If Sender was jumping, wouldn’t he prefer to do that in private? Why would he want someone watching him?’

“‘Jake, maybe we should concentrate on finding out who was there with him. That person could clear my name.’

“‘Maybe,’ Jake agreed. ‘Unless that’s who pushed Sender off the roof.’”

Secrets of the Rabbi’s Mafia comes out at a time when antisemitic incidents are on the rise. Segal says he was very mindful of that in writing about the ultra-Orthodox

community. He said he wanted to portray it accurately and without judgement. “That’s why,” he says, “the title of the book is ‘the Rabbi’s Mafia.’ That was intended to indicate it is not reflective of the entire community. There are bad apples in every basket, and Jake does receive help from some community members.”

Segal now lives in Arizona and works full time as a business analyst in a computer department. “I never wanted to become a rabbi necessarily,” he says. “I had to figure out what I would do for a living. Computer programming was a hot job market at that time. A lot of my friends I knew from Detroit were going to computer school and getting good jobs. I didn’t want to go to a traditional college, so I went to computer school. It’s been a good career and something I really enjoy. It involves critical and logical thinking, which is why I enjoyed Talmudic studies in college.”

After some 30 years, he says, it felt great to hold a physical copy of his first book in his hands. One reason he waited so long to finish and publish it was his children were young and he feared backlash against them from the community. “But at this point,” he says, “they are grown with kids of their own.” He and his five children are in a good place, he reports. “I have 22 grandchildren.”

As for Segal, writing is something he would like to pursue full time once he retires. He has plans for Jake. A second book with the character, Fatal Flaw in the Tenth Commandment , is now available, and he expects Book 3, Murder of a Kosher Pig, this spring. “[Jake] will continue solving crimes for the community,” Segal says. “Because it is cloistered and they want their dirty laundry swept under the rug, Jake can use his knowledge of traditions and laws to go places where outside investigators can’t.”

Donald Liebenson is a writer in Chicago.

My characters said things I did not anticipate until I was writing; they just came out.

20 Indies Worth

MARCH 2025

Kirkus presents Indies Worth Discovering , a sponsored feature spotlighting an array of fiction and nonfiction works recommended by Indie editors. Here readers can find a useful sampler that shows the excellence and breadth of Indie titles. Find pulse-pounding thrillers, revealing memoirs, twisty mysteries, fiery romances, thoughtful business books, problem-solving self-help guides, and incisive poetry collections, among many other works. Searching for something new and exciting? Read on.

Ripped paper: Raul Ortin

The New Cadets by Marjorie Burns; illus. by Carolyn Wilhelm

An enjoyable and imaginative series opener, with teaser threads left dangling.

The Galaxy According to Cece by Sherry Roberts

Young readers will enjoy this engaging mystery with a complex protagonist.

How to Get a Job and Keep a Job by Keith CalhounSenghor; illus. by Liv Senghor

An energetic and immensely helpful overview of working life and its challenges.

The Right Thing to Do by Tom Shanahan

A compelling and essential story of one of the most significant evolutions in sports.

Kirkus Star That Voice by Marcia Menter

A captivating comingof-age saga about life trying to imitate art, with poignantly mixed results.

What

Once Was Promised by Louis Trubiano

A moving and wellwritten saga of an earlier time in America.

Falling

Times

Seven

by Mark G. Wentling

A searing narrative that starkly reveals the full tragedy of the refugee crisis.

The Work of Restless Nights by M. Weald

Lengthy, immersive cyber-SF that puts fresh life into a familiar operating system.

Kirkus Star

The Adventures of the Flash Gang: Episode Two by

M.M. Downing & S.J. Waugh

This newest entry in a dynamic, character-rich middle-grade fiction series doesn’t disappoint.

Dear

Park Ranger by Jeff Darren Muse

An evocative consideration of the dualities of beauty and pain found both in nature and ourselves.

Tiger Cate by B.E.

Jackson

A jolting but thoughtful drama.

Madcap Dogs by Ron Chandler

An entertaining assortment of stories that pay tribute to a bevy of endearing pups.

Scarlet in Blue by Jennifer Murphy

A riveting story of family and the unease of harboring dark secrets.

Candles

for the Defiant by Kaia Gallagher

A remembrance that effectively explores how fortitude and a sense of home shape people’s lives.

Walk On by Stephen

Panus

A raw, moving memoir that deftly explores grief and hope in equal measure.

Still Rolling by Dwight

Little

A revealing, wholly absorbing spotlight on an unforgiving but seductive profession.

Island of Myths

by Michael J. Sodaro

A mesmerizing novel as historically astute as it is gripping.

Mr. Mouthful and the Monkeynappers by Joseph Kimble; illus. by Kerry Bell

A clever story with a verbose main character who learns to listen to kids.

White by Aviva

Rubin

A provocative exploration of the ties that bind and the mad hatred that kills.

Soul Flowers by Cynthia

Schumacher

An optimistic poetic consideration of nature’s constancy.

and the gags are often funny and spot-on about the ridiculousness of academic folkways. (“Is it true that you once single-handedly dispersed a Nazi rally in Leeds with a flame-thrower?” gushes a starry-eyed Parker to her anarchist punk professor.) Joe Eisma’s well-executed art captures a wealth of expressive detail—pinched scowls, vapid smirks—that makes the characters more vibrant.

An entertaining sendup of campus life.

Baby Boomer Detectives in a Millennial World

Katz, Ron | Spines (334 pp.) | $30.99 $18.99 paper | Oct. 18, 2024 9798895692691 | 9798895692684 paper

Katz presents a delightful collection of cozy mystery stories featuring Barb and Bernie Silver, an aging, married detective duo whose years of experience give them an edge. Whether they’re uncovering opioid distribution in a retirement community or a fraudulent crematorium scheme, the Silvers navigate their cases with wit, resourcefulness, and intergenerational banter. Their ability to turn the skepticism of younger characters into an advantage adds a compelling layer to their investigations, allowing them to succeed where others fail. The book is structured as a series of short tales, each presenting a standalone mystery that uses the protagonists’ years of experience as an asset and a humorous complication, by turns: “I hate to break it to you, Bernie, but ‘Ok, boomer’ is a put-down, not encouragement,” says Barb at one point. “Google it.” Although some cases test their physical endurance, they prove time and again that their sleuthing skills remain razor-sharp. Katz’s writing is brisk and dialogue-heavy, lending the book a conversational tone that keeps the pace lively. The mysteries themselves are engaging, blending traditional sleuthing

with unexpected comedy, which provides a refreshing contrast to the often serious stakes. The main strength of the storytelling lies in the chemistry between Barb and Bernie, whose relationship features sharp-witted exchanges, affectionate teasing, and a genuine sense of partnership that makes their adventures all the more enjoyable. Their years of experience add emotional depth to their interactions, offering readers insight into the evolution of long-term companionship. Each story offers enough intrigue to keep readers engaged without veering into overly complex territory, and their satisfying conclusions that highlight the detectives’ intuition and adaptability. A charming and witty set of investigations with an intergenerational twist.

Angels in the Sand

Keating, Lori | Monarch Educational Services (112 pp.) | $15.99 paper Jan. 7, 2025 | 9781957656816

A young girl must say goodbye to her ailing beloved grandmother in Keating’s middlegrade novel.

It’s only been three years since Jess Alexander lost her father. Now, the 10-year-old and her mother learn that her maternal grandmother has terminal cancer. The two make their annual trip up North from Florida to Maine to visit Grandma for Christmas. This year, Jess plans to make the most of it, compiling a “must-do list” complete with Christmas songs, a gingerbread house, and never-ending snow angels. All the while, she hears of people receiving apparent signs that their lost loved ones are watching over them—so why hasn’t there been a sign from her late dad, and will Grandma watch over Jess after she’s gone? Although she treasures the chance to say goodbye to Grandma, it doesn’t make losing her any easier. Keating’s short tale isn’t as melancholic as it may sound; Grandma displays a buoyancy

that doesn’t falter, even when her condition worsens (“Tomorrow has its own worries, and we are not going to focus on them. We are going to focus on living, not dying”). There are plenty of upbeat moments, from the news of unexpected new life to the possibility of Jess’ mom dating again (with Grandma and Jess’ encouragement). The author, whose unadorned but sharp prose deftly shapes the 10-year-old’s introspective narration, showcases healthy ways to grieve: Jess, her mom, and Grandma not only accept that this Christmas will be their last together but also freely discuss what life will be like after Grandma dies. Jess fully embraces hope and ponders how she, like her mother and grandmother, can protect the family she may one day have; her relationship with Sadie Bug, the chocolate lab she adores, is a great start.

A keen, affecting portrayal of the cycle of life.

Kirkus Star

First-Degree Magic

Linkhart, J.M. | Goblin Booth Productions (456 pp.) | $22.00 paper May 6, 2025 | 9798348153519

L inkhart’s debut novel is set in a reimagined 1927 Chicago, where a series of Tarotthemed murders challenges a magical organization of knights that defends the city.

A stage-setting introduction briefly summarizes the cultural landscape of this novel’s version of 1920s America: There’s no racial segregation, Indigenous majorities administer 13 provinces, and traditional religions are still practiced from multiple African kingdoms colonizing the New World. The Great War recently devastated the globe with “the first full-scale use of magic.” Prohibition is in full swing, and the glamour of jazz and flappers beckons

from behind closed doors. In this setting, Bernice Chandler, a knight of the Order of Joan, is summoned to investigate a series of gruesome murders that radiate “the oozing black touch of terrible magics and violence.” She’s assigned a cop partner, Det. Jack Donovan, and the two begin to work the demonic cases while hiding their respective troubled histories. On the night before the first killing, for instance, Bernice was visited by a “portentous” vision of an angel. She escaped an institution in her youth, and she begins to see its nefarious head, Doctor Werner, lurking around the city. She gets unlikely aid from Valentino “Tino” Morandi, a cursed, bootlegging demi-demon who’s obliged by the Order to assist on the case, and he can help rid her of her problem—for a price. As these three characters precariously undertake professional relationships, the action propels them toward a dramatic climax that threatens to consume the city. The plot maintains punchy pacing in alternating sections from its main characters’ third-person perspectives; symbolic illustrations indicate when the point of view changes. Readers will find themselves easily drawn into this sturdily built world, and they’ll find the inner workings of the all-female Order and their reluctant collaboration with traditional law enforcement to be particularly intriguing. The knights—or “Joanies,” as Tino and his associates call them—are each equipped with the Three Sisters (a chain of hawthorn, rowan, and holly), silver chains, and a sword, and if that isn’t enough, Bernice also carries a .38 strapped to her thigh. The knights also carry Optical Oil—an “applied alchemy” that reveals the dark symbols used to enact the ritualistic killings. Such devices assist in grounding the story’s magical elements in procedure

and neatly contrast with Tino’s demidemon abilities. The Joanies are supported by the Order of Catherine (or “Cathies”), who maintain the extensive Archives on history and magic. The intricate workforce features diverse characters who display genuine camaraderie in their hierarchical structures. Outside of her demanding job, Bernice lives with Lula, a nonmagical, churchgoing woman who shows more than a passing interest in Bernice’s work with the Order. Although the book is somewhat lengthy at more than 400 pages, the pace never drags, as it effortlessly mixes genres to propel the story forward. In this first title in the Degrees of Magic series, Linkhart ably balances character development with intricate plotting, which will make readers look forward to the next installment.

A fantasy tale that hums with magic and originality, featuring extensive worldbuilding and a compelling cast of ne’er-do-wells.

Wandering Swallow: A Young Girl’s Quest for Freedom

Mathers, Milico | Illus. by Lily Hildebrand

EABooks Publishing (146 pp.)

$14.00 paper | Nov. 5, 2024 | 9781963611755

A North Korean girl journeys toward faith and freedom in Mathers’ middlegrade novel.

The story opens one night in 1995 as a North Korean

girl named Hana and her grandfather stand by a river in the North Korean

city of Sinuiju. On the other side is China, promising freedom. On their side are oppression and a killing famine. Hana’s parents haven’t returned from seeking work to feed the family. Now, Hana and her grandfather face the river they must cross for survival. “Under this night’s moonlight, soldiers would see us if we tried to go home,” thinks Hana, the book’s relatable narrator. “Death through capture and hunger if we returned. Death in the water if we went forward.” Their guide, Lú kè, a mysterious, evangelizing man of Christian faith wanted by the Chinese police, is committed to escorting “wandering swallows” out of North Korea to safety. This earnest, thought-provoking work of Christian middle-grade fiction effectively sets a tone of high-stakes suspense: “Everyone could report anyone in Choson [North Korea] for criticizing the leader or the government,” says Hana. The textured narrative is informed by late-20thcentury history, before the 1997 Chinese takeover of Hong Kong, from the Tiananmen Square massacre to fear and hunger under North Korea’s iron-fisted rule. At heart, the story is about Hana’s first exposure to Christianity and her struggle with questions of faith. Writing in Hana’s voice, Mathers crafts prose that is disarmingly direct and limpid: “The train rolled over the tracks with its steady rhythm. I watched the world go by as the sun played hide-and-seek with clouds. I wondered at the idea of a God who could see humans do right and wrong and let wrong happen.”

A resonant odyssey of discovery, shaped by real-world political challenges and Christian beliefs.

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Shakespeare’s Greatest Love

Medina, David | Disruption Books (128 pp.)

$14.99 paper | April 22, 2025 | 9781633311060

Medina delves into the life of William Shakespeare to investigate his love affair with the Earl of Southampton. The author, a political and policy advisor and former deputy chief of staff for Michelle Obama, introduces his concise biography of Shakespeare by citing the subject that interests him most, which other biographers, per Medina, have either neglected or outright denied: the Bard’s relationship with a young aristocrat, which is prominently referenced in his sonnets and several other works. “Why ignore Shakespeare’s greatest love?” Medina asks. At the time he met Shakespeare, Henry Wriothesley, third Earl of Southampton, was only 17, but he already held impressive degrees and social status. The author analyzes Shakespeare’s sonnets, finding evidence of their passion against a social backdrop in which homosexuality was illegal but strong same-sex bonds were nevertheless encouraged. Medina traces their story through revealing moments in Shakespeare’s works, notably “The Rape of Lucrece” and The Merchant of Venice, while also giving careful consideration to Shakespeare’s rising financial and social status thanks to the earl’s patronage and despite attitudes about the hedonism of the theatre scene. Political aspects also come under scrutiny with the end of the Elizabethan era and the arrival of King James (leading the author to reveal some of the more salacious court gossip he has uncovered). In his conclusion, Medina levels a thoughtful critique of literary editors and critics who, in the author’s view, have tried to erase Shakespeare’s romantic love for Wriothesley. Throughout, Medina is quick to dismiss traditional, heteronormative interpretations of Shakespeare’s work. His succinct, blanket statements about characters being “undeniably gay” or previous cultural

assertions being simply “false” can come off as defensive rather than logical conclusions flowing from his research, but the sheer amount of material Medina has amassed and efficiently summarized may win readers over to his point of view in the end. Despite being a slim volume, his biography is overflowing with wellobserved anecdotes and deft descriptions that paint a full portrait of the ways in which theater, homosexuality, and Shakespeare himself fit into the society of the time.

A skillful and succinct examination of Shakespeare’s relationship with Henry Wriothesley.

Kirkus Star

Experiences Working With Adult Learners: A Repertoire of Motivating Reading Strategies

Murphy, Kathleen R. | Palmetto Publishing (62 pp.) | $13.38 paper July 2, 2024 | 9798822937789

A handbook outlining approaches to adult education. Emeritus professor of Clarion University of Pennsylvania Murphy opens her brief book of tactics for working with adult learners by briefly mentioning some of the stark statistics about literacy in the United States: 54% of adults have literacy below the sixth grade level, and one 2013 study revealed that 66% of fourth grade students couldn’t read proficiently. A full 21% of American adults are illiterate, and, as the author points out, these adults experience social pressures preliterate schoolchildren don’t: “Often,” she writes, “adults experience shame and inadequacy at not having learned to read earlier and lose selfconfidence.” In short chapters filled with illustrated exercises focused on sparking adult learners’ motivation (“a key component for reading” for older students), Murphy advocates such

approaches as journaling in timed bursts, working off newspaper prompts, and even doing Mad Libs to help with both comprehension and proficiency. Regarding writing, strategies like RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic) are suggested to help adult learners understand their roles as writers. Other approaches are more basic, like instilling confidence by asking students to read the same passage out loud repeatedly to help them master the flow of the words. As evidenced by these and all of her other suggestions, Murphy has distilled a vast amount of experience into a handful of intensely useful pages. She switches out approaches (communal or solitary) and adds visual prompts with a carefully modulated variety that’s stimulating without being condescending. Educators at many different levels will find this collection of exercises and strategies invaluable for keeping their approaches efficient and varied enough to engage virtually any adult learner. The text’s references are extensive, and all explanations are clearly laid out.

A concise and very accessible guide to helping adults improve their reading.

Emily Was So Embarrassed

Olson, Michelle | Bellie Button Books (34 pp.) $22.95 | April 6, 2025 | 9798986047263

In Olson’s picture book, a button who loves dancing must conquer her stage fright. Emily, an anthropomorphized button the color and texture of a strawberry, is happy dancing and twirling her blue ribbon in the privacy of her craft-box bedroom. Her friend Becky, a yellow button, enters them both in a talent show, but Emily doesn’t want to dance in public—she’s very anxious about making a mistake (“I might mess up”). But she agrees, for Becky’s sake. They practice hard, and once they’re on stage together, Emily is able to perform…until she trips on her ribbon and falls down.

Luckily, Becky keeps singing. Emily picks herself up and restarts her routine. After the show, her button friends all congratulate her and ask her to teach them dancing. Olson tells Emily’s story through simple prose and exquisitely staged photographs depicting actual google-eyed buttons with wire legs and arms. The scenes are ingenious in their composition, incorporating motion shots (note especially Emily’s ribbon dances, and the juggling tableau on Page 14), setting-appropriate repurposings (such as pencils for bench seats), a mixture of artfully focused close-up and establishing shots, and copious background details to contextualize the button protagonists. Emily is a relatable character and her trepidation will resonate with many a budding young performer. That she actually does mess up is an astute plot development, teaching kids to embrace the doing and sharing of what they love—not to overvalue being perfect at it.

Colorful and creative—a crafty way to impart life lessons.

Hive

Orton, D.L. | Rocky Mountain Press (332 pp.)

$13.99 paper | May 6, 2025 | 9781941368336

In Orton’s SF series-starter, a strange sphere that crashes in Colorado turns out to be part of a desperate timetravel strategy. Only two human survivors, and a British-accented artificial intelligence called Madders, subsist in a Denver-based Eden-17 Biodome survival complex, one of many such fortresses erected by flashy tycooninventor David Kirkland (who bears an unflattering resemblance to Elon Musk). Such shelters had been conceived for Mars colonization but were repurposed to save humanity after a series of terrestrial catastrophes—some climate-related, others

attributable to Kirkland’s own greed and hubris, such as a lethal, rogue swarm of autonomous predator-microdrone bees. In an ultimate gambit to stop the end of the world, Isabel, her ardently devoted erstwhile lover Diego, and Madders use another Kirkland invention—involving time travel and transtemporal communication—to try to disrupt critical events 35 years ago that put Earth on a doomsday course. Wisely, the author doesn’t spell out exactly how the time-travel caper is supposed to work; however, when a mystery sphere, undetected by NORAD, crashes in the Denver of the past, it triggers anomalies and anachronisms that will rewrite the timeline and redefine the earlier lives of Isabel, Diego and British physicist Matthew Hudson—who, in the future, will serve as the template for Madders (“Crikey Moses. I’m like a dog with two tails”). But will all this move humanity away from the upcoming apocalypse without creating other paradoxes? Numerous SF/ pop-culture references are effectively seeded throughout the tale (especially from the 1985 film Back to the Future), and, occasionally, the characters’ banter appealingly has the feel of a rom-com. However, beneath the story’s smart-alecky exterior is a very smart interior, developing character relationships well and guiding hoary SF time-travel conceits in fresh, imaginative, and strangely relatable directions, considering they involve quantum physics and parallel universes. It takes until the third act for the action to really take off, but when it does, readers will likely be hooked by the unresolved cliffhanger finale, leading to the next volume.

A lively start to a time-hopping thriller series that deserves some buzz.

Paisley, Yarrow | Whiskey Tit (216 pp.)

$18.00 paper | Oct. 16, 2024 | 9781952600555

Age-old acts of violence are monstrously reimagined in a transgressive set of stories that aims to haunt its readers.

Paisley’s collection is a short, sharp shock, coming in at just under 200 pages in length. It’s carved into three sections, each containing three stories, followed by one standalone novella. The sections—“Divine,” “In,” and “Essence”—have a central theme, examined in wicked ways. The prologue, “Abandon All Ye Who Enter,” primes the reader for the horrors ahead, which feature worlds that live in the “sensorium” and “imaginarium.” The former is “contemptuous of time,” and the physical and emotional pain that the characters endure is immediate and ongoing—and reactivated once read. The latter “entangles time.” These warnings act as a theme for the collection: “Suffering transmutes to ecstasy.” The first section, “Divine,” examines the paths and outcomes of familial violence, best exemplified by “The Great Event,” which acts as a twisted creation story, drawing from ancient Greek mythology into a dubiously spiritual present. “In” examines the relationship between the living and the dead and features a standout story, “The Metaphor of the Lakes,” in which a ghostly Gracie diarizes her small world with creativity and heart toward a devastating conclusion. Finally, “Essence” examines the overlap of violence and pleasure and a longing for freedom. “Mary Alice in the

Paisley’s tales shine when they take a sensitive approach to psychological horror.

DIVINE IN ESSENCE

Mirror” is a highlight, with one of the collection’s arguably brighter endings, telling a tale of two children trying to liberate a woman trapped behind glass. The final novella, “The Life of Cherry,” charts mythic maternal violence in an attempt to converge various themes that previous stories raise.

Over the course of this collection, Paisley’s heightened, lyrical prose and occult-ish imagery strengthen the tales’ self-contained worlds; they are especially successful in works that have a strong emotional core. “In” contains the strongest stories in the book, innovatively exploring the limitations between the living and the dead. One of its tales, “Nancy & Her Man,” in which a woman visits a long-deceased companion to treat him to an annual day out, will linger with readers long after it’s over. “Fever Visions” is an equally haunting work in which a child experiences her mother’s sickness in Blakean detail: “I saw a great many human bodies that were misformed and bent into hideous…shapes, and they were operating strange, ancient-looking machines.” The aforementioned “The Metaphor of the Lakes” employs notably vivid prose as its protagonist discovers her fate: “As soon as my feet touched beyond the threshold, I found myself, along with my brother, in a vast wintry field, its snowy expanses so blindingly white that they were actually a kind of blue.” However, although several of the stories here strive to balance the elevated supernatural ideas introduced in the prologue, they also get bogged down by their accounts of the baser impulses of humanity, which the author paints in broad, violent strokes that may turn the stomachs of even the most seasoned readers of the horror genre.

Paisley’s tales shine when they take a sensitive approach to psychological horror, but readers may find that some scenes feel excessive.

A pleasant melodrama with endearing main characters.

LOVE’S UNFADING LIGHT

The Body Leads the Way

Potter, Mary Lane | Ritual, Liminality, and Imagination (248 pp.) | $27.00 paper Jan. 1, 2025 | 9798989164028

A collection of essays centered around the theme of the ritual.

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A ritual encompasses many forms: It could be mundane, like eating breakfast, or symbol-laden, like receiving the body and blood of Jesus at Communion. The experiences that interest Potter are ritualistic acts elevated into life-altering and resonant experiences, leading to a state of liminality—a sense of crossing a threshold or existing in between two separate realities. One way these liminal states can be entered is through physicality, via the body itself. In her first essay, “Between Chaos and Light: Sex, Card Playing, God, Calvin, and Dancing,” the author, who was forbidden to dance during her Calvinist upbringing, discovers that rhythmic yet freeform movement can become a spiritual rite akin to the practice of the whirling dervish Sufi dancers (“their bodies prayers”). In “The Story of a Hollowed-out Bone,” Potter acquires a Buddhist relic for self-protection (a femur, fashioned into a trumpet) that leads her to a shattering discovery about herself. Places can be routes to the in-between state as well, catching us between two worlds. “By the River of 1000 Lingas” explores how a small river in Cambodia with carvings of sacred masculine and feminine symbols (lingams and yonis) adorning its banks mystically links the natural with the human-created. Another essay, “Ever Becoming—Never Being: Dwelling in the Sukkah,” concerns the concept of sukkot, open-sided temporary dwellings some observant Jews reside in for a short period every fall.

Sukkot, too, present a duality, acting as both refuge and not-refuge. Potter’s book is tightly organized, with essays divided thematically into four parts. Photos of such subjects as Cambodian temple moonstones, a Whidbey Island labyrinth, and the author’s tallit (prayer shawl) add visual interest, but are almost unnecessary; the prose creates evocative word pictures on its own. (Preparing to write, Potter feels “rushing-spirit brooding over the face of deep, dark, moving waters of what is possible but is not yet born.”) The author describes her book as “an active intuition going for a walk”; Potter’s lyrical essays will make readers want to join the walk, too. A poetic and inspiring invitation to find ways of dwelling in meaning and joy.

Love’s Unfading Light

Rawlings, Naomi | Self (280 pp.) $17.99 paper | April 13, 2024 | 9781955356374

A young widow struggles to raise her 10-year-old son, maintain her bakery, and fight off vicious gossip after her husband dies in Rawlings’ historical series starter. As the story opens in Michigan in the summer of 1880, the recently widowed Tressa Danell is fending off Finley McCabe, a filthy fur trapper who wants to marry her. She’s behind on her mortgage, the lines outside her bakery have dwindled to a few scattered customers, and the bank is threatening to evict her and her 10-year-old son, Colin. Tressa emigrated from England with her father when she was 6 years old after her mother’s death; she was only 15 when she married Otis Danell, 11 years ago. At the time, her father had just died in a mining accident, and the mining company was evicting her

from the house he and Tressa shared. If she hadn’t married Otis, she would have had to work in Reed Herod’s brothel. However, she had no idea that Otis was a gambler and a cheat. Now, Otis’ creditors are demanding that Tressa pay her dead spouse’s debts. Making matters worse, somebody has been stealing cash from her bakery. Then Mac Oakton, the religious assistant lightkeeper, walks into her and Colin’s lives. Mac has his own sad story, as he was shunned by the townspeople for being the son of a wastrel who abandoned him. Rawlings offers an enticing tale of the stumbling romance that develops between Tressa and Mac. Although some readers may find it a bit saccharine at times, it’s peppered with poignant moments, humorous episodes, a variety of subplots, and even a dramatic rescue during a fierce storm. There’s also a satisfying, raucous court battle when Otis’ creditors bring Tressa before a judge, and a surprising turn when a coterie of the town’s womenfolk, who have their own grievances with their men, rise to her defense. Despite its tendency toward hyperemotionality, it’s an amiable tale with Christian elements about love, second chances, and hope in the face of despair, all composed in accessible prose. A pleasant melodrama with endearing main characters.

Confessions of a Young Philosopher

Rosenthal, Abigail L. | Caladium Publishing Company (336 pp.)

$14.99 paper | Nov. 13, 2024 | 9780996725361

A young intellectual comes of age while grappling with philosophy, femininity, and her Jewish identity in this memoir. A Jewish girl raised in Manhattan with an insatiable curiosity for history and philosophy, Rosenthal won a Fulbright scholarship to Paris to study aesthetics. There, she was immersed in a world of intellectually curious expats questioning the effects of World War II, the Holocaust, and rising waves of communism. Rosenthal’s own

inner dialogue was dominated by questions of love, marriage, and sex, however, after meeting the charming fellow foreign student Pheidias (“I’d never met a modern Greek, though I felt I had met many ancient ones,” she thinks to herself, revealing her consistent preoccupation with the classics.) As Pheidias slowly wore down her resolve to preserve her chastity, Rosenthal cycled through Voltaire, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Simone de Beauvoir, desperate to understand her place as a woman within the context of romantic love. Her memoir’s second section details her return to New York, where she began to develop her perspectives on religion and femininity as American culture shifted around her. Just as Rosenthal felt comfortable no longer believing in God, she returned to Europe. There, in London, she would meet Suzanne, an imposing American with powerful ideas whose belief in Gnostic Christianity quickly spun Rosenthal’s mind “out of its habitat in space and time” (the author’s strange, almost cultlike experiences with Suzanne can read as chaotic and confusing). Rosenthal’s command of philosophy is dazzling; even the smallest of comments can set her off on impressive disquisitions that easily draw from centuries of thought and literature. Her work is most accessible when she assumes a more contemporary perspective on herself, contextualizing her responses within her time period and her personal history. Those willing to follow her will be rewarded with gems of intriguing insight. A challenging memoir full of thought-provoking philosophy.

Armando and the Amazing Animal Race

Schaffter, Diana | Sea Otter Press (354 pp.) $25.00 paper | May 20, 2025 | 97810690795

A 12-year-old boy travels the world on a mission to document endangered species in Schaffter’s middle-grade adventure. Armando Garduño, nicknamed “Armando

Armadillo” by his friend Jinny because of his shy nature, is spending the summer in London with his eccentric grandmother Granny D while his father fights an oil spill in British Columbia. Armando and Granny D are meant to be VIPs at the launch of the newest edition of the Amazing Animal Race, a globetrotting photography contest, but instead they go rogue and sign up to join the game without Armando’s father’s knowledge (his mother disappeared while participating in the race when the boy was only 4). The duo travels across seven countries in 70 days to photograph endangered species while battling contestants like the villainous Max McCoy and the suspicious Professor Higginbottom. The excitement of retracing his mother’s footsteps sweeps Armando off his feet, but he remains anxious from the outset. (“Did I just join a perilous, seventy-day race around the world with a wacky grandmother I hardly knew?”) The fast-paced narrative takes Armando and Granny D from a dangerous encounter with a mama polar bear in Greenland to a hot air balloon accident in Kenya to an emotionally poignant experience in Brazil as Armando learns to stand up for himself and what he believes in, be it the importance of his mother’s legacy or the value of protecting endangered animals all over the world. In her debut middle-grade novel, Schaffter delivers an exciting international adventure for young environmentalists and conservationists. The book acknowledges problems with its own conceit— Armando points out that the race means added airplane emissions in the atmosphere, which can harm the very animals he’s trying to save—and models how activists can always push to do more. Snippets from Armando’s mother’s journal, accompanied by many line drawings and maps by illustrators Morales, Didkova, and Robinson, effectively communicate zoological facts in media res. A whirlwind of an environmentally minded tale with lessons about both animals and people.

Level Up!: 50 GameChanging Life Skills for Young Adults+

Scott, Steve M. | Illus. by George Miroshnichenko | Ponder Rocket Press (317 pp.) | $29.99 | $14.99 paper Nov. 14, 2024 | 9798990974425 9798990974418 paper

A guide to pragmatic life skills that teaches readers how to operate in the world with know-how and confidence. Scott has put together a “playbook” of wide-ranging qualities that he deems essential for living one’s best life. Fifty skills are presented over seven “levels” and include interactive elements (like self-assessments), quotes (from people like Steve Jobs), and various charts to break down particularly complex information (such as compounding interest vs. inflation). Level 1 focuses on cultivating a “winning mindset” through mindfulness and meditation tips. Scott also suggests here that readers can discover their passions by using the Japanese concept of ikigai, which involves four elements: what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. Level 2 suggests ways to turn that passion into productivity, including using the “Pomodoro technique” (pick a task; focus only on that task for 25 minutes; take a five-minute break; then repeat four times before taking a longer break). Level 3 delves into physical and mental health, including stress management. Level 4 focuses on critical thinking and problem-solving, offering a list of common fallacies one might encounter in everyday conversations, including “Appeal to Emotion: Attempting to manipulate an emotional response in place of a valid argument” and “False Dilemma: Presenting only two options when more exist.” Level 5 gives tips for better communication and conflict resolution. Level 6 covers all things financial, from establishing a “wealth mindset” to different types of insurance.

Level 7 wraps everything up with an explanation of how to use these skills to become an effective leader.

With a warm and encouraging tone, Scott presents what could, in less capable hands, seem like a discouragingly large amount of information; the author instead makes the included skills feel not just doable but desirable. While some motivational catchphrases can come across as a bit trite (“We are more than our history; we are the authors of our next chapter”), Scott obviously takes great care to treat his audience (which one assumes will be high school or college kids preparing to make their way out of the family nest) as the young adults that they are. This means using straightforward language that never comes across as condescending and providing practical advice that goes much deeper than the typical self-help book. Instead of just suggesting that readers avoid debt, for example, Scott breaks down the difference between “good” and “bad” debt, as well as what a FICO score really means and how to keep track of it. The advice is so detailed and wide-ranging, in fact, that it could certainly prove useful to older adults as well (the guide to fallacies alone should be mandatory reading for all ages). In addition to occasional charts and graphs, hand-drawn illustrations by Ukrainian artist Miroshnichenko are peppered sporadically throughout the book. These quirky black-and-white drawings add some fun and levity to what can be dry topics. This is a book that readers will likely find themselves referencing again and again through different life stages; Scott has written a clear, catchall guide to “adulting” that manages to remain relevant and engaging throughout. Brimming with wisdom and support— ideal for young adults looking to make their way in the world.

Of Ships and Sealing Wax

Shaw, Suzanne | Meryton Press (368 pp.) $19.95 paper | Oct. 16, 2024 | 9781681311005

A British officer returns from war to the temptations of a new love in Shaw’s historical romantic drama.

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In 1795, Captain Edward Trewin of the British Royal Navy returns from war with France as a widely celebrated “hero for the nation” likely to become wealthy from the spoils of victory. Nonetheless, his mood is black, as he left Cornwall on acrimonious terms with his wife Julia, who resented being abandoned to care for their two daughters alone. Embittered, she answered none of Edward’s letters over the course of the year he was abroad. Reluctant to return home, he accepts an invitation to lodge with his old friend Admiral Augustus Heywood in Portsmouth, and he is immediately taken with Augustus’ daughter Caroline, who has never married—though she expects an offer soon from George Winslow. Winslow jilts her, though, for a wealthier prospect, and Caroline is left free to enjoy the company of Edward, who savors her attention. The romantic electricity between them crackles—the author deftly captures their mutual longing—and their flirtations finally crescendo into a full indiscretion, the first of many. In this intelligently rendered story, Edward is caught between the love he has for Caroline and his marriage “in shreds,” a union that only further deteriorates when Julia finally unleashes upon Edward “unvarnished declarations of her deep unhappiness”; there seems to be no way out for him. (“What am I to do? I love my wife, but she will not have me. It seems that Caroline will have me, but she is not my wife.”)

Shaw offers more than a simplistic tale that pits honor against love—Edward loves both Julia and Caroline, a predicament that becomes even more

challenging when Julia begins to express more welcoming signs of forgiveness. The issue here is the fathomless complexity and expansiveness of romantic love, which can present itself as an intractable problem. There are elements of the story that inspire incredulity—Caroline’s father is remarkably magnanimous when he learns of the affair, especially when one considers the precepts of martial virtue by which his life is governed. Occasionally, the author’s writing can veer into anodyne earnestness, the familiar stamp of a lesser romance novel; here, Caroline anxiously considers her plight: “I want to make him happy. Could we not make each other happy? Would that be so wrong?” However, such insipidity is rare. In fact, while Shaw’s prose style can be a touch genteel, the plot is well executed and briskly paced, and the erotic tension between Edward and Caroline is impressively palpable (“When the dance ended, he bowed to her deeply, resisting a sudden and wholly inappropriate impulse to press her hand to his lips”). Also, Edward is a delicately drawn protagonist—a sailor naturally constituted for war, he is also surprisingly nuanced and sensitive, and these contradictory inclinations are made entirely plausible by the author. This is a thoroughly enjoyable read—deeply thoughtful and dramatically immersive. A romance novel that is genuinely romantic as well as psychologically sophisticated.

How To Win a Million Dollars and Beep Glitter!

Stoffel, Luke | Cinderly Press (264 pp.)

$19.99 | Feb. 1, 2025 | 9798991798723

A quest for money clashes with the yearning for creative fulfillment in Stoffel’s bittersweet novel based on true events. This lightly fictionalized memoir (with names and identifying details changed) begins with the author’s boyhood

mission of escaping the dreariness of Reagan-era Dubuque, Iowa, and the financial strains his working-class family endured. He decides to find a way to get rich, first by trying to win million-dollar McDonald’s promotional contests—until he read the fine print and discovered the 80-million-to-one odds. As a bullied, and occasionally beaten, gay teen, he acts in high school musicals and dreams of earning millions as a Broadway star; but when he later arrives in New York with a degree in graphic design, the closest he gets to his aspirations is a backstage job with the musical Urinetown. Stoffel then bounces between New York, Paris, and Honolulu working unsatisfying day jobs—office gigs, waiting tables—while developing accomplished but not very remunerative sidelines as a painter and freelance photographer. (The author includes captivating, vibrantly colorful photos from his Asian sojourns, depicting Buddhist monks and geishas.) Stoffel finally begins earning enough money as a marketing professional involved in major advertising campaigns to make $1 million a possibility, but he’s still discontented. He thus embarks on gonzo startup schemes, including a fashion app featuring changing-room selfies of women trying on clothes, and a novelty venture called Glitter Poo Pills—capsules filled with edible glitter that, as the book’s title asserts, add sparkle to bowel movements. (Yes, they sold.) Along the way, Stoffel weathers many an entertaining—and usually humiliating—pratfall.

Stoffel’s picaresque work is a classic tale of a small-town lad with starry-eyed ambitions making it in the big city, but with a more realistic take on the circuitous path that journey takes—and a clear-eyed conclusion that the destination matters less than the adventures along the way. A pervasive theme is the nature of work and its impact on people’s lives and characters, as in a rich, physically evocative sketch of Stoffel’s father coming home from the John Deere plant: “I can vividly recall him trudging up the gravel alleyway behind our house at the end of each shift, his slim but strong frame covered in silt from the factory floor.” There are passages of bleak, plangent emotion in the book, as well, especially regarding the death of an ex-boyfriend of pneumonia: “The hospital

room felt too still, the machines were quiet, and the coldness of the room pressed down on me like a suffocating blanket. He was gone.” At many points, though, this is a raucously funny book, with raffish prose full of self-deprecating humor regarding the distance between exalted pretensions and awkward reality. About pretending to meditate at a Laotian temple, for instance, Stoffel writes, “I wondered if Buddha was silently judging me from behind that peaceful smile—did he know I was thinking more about my posture and my Apple Watch than any kind of inner peace?” The result is a luminous tribute to the inestimable value of not quite getting what you want. An exuberant life story written with humor, panache, and heart.

Driving Around, Waiting To Get Blown Up: Hearts, Minds, and the Occupation of Iraq

Stoneman, Mark L. | Luminare Press (272 pp.) $16.95 paper | Dec. 16, 2024 | 9798886794892

A memoir of day-to-day life during a U.S Army officer’s 2005 deployment in Iraq.

A well-known quote attributed to Gen. George S. Patton—“Just drive down that road until you get blown up”—gives Stoneman’s war memoir its title, as well as a sense of the grind of the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. Aiming to fill the gap between memoirs of elite military units and “sundry pieces of criticism, usually written by observers with an axe to grind but no real expertise,” the author chronicles the mundane, sometimes-terrifying day-today lives of the artillery unit he commanded as they patrolled the rural Diyala Province in 2005. Stoneman’s perspective is both typical and unconventional: As a captain, he was a cog in the United States’ vast military machine; he’s also British-born and moved to America as an adult. This cultural remove, along with the

affection he clearly had for the soldiers with whom he served, make him a fine observer of class, racial, political and organizational dynamics. He tells of how his unit had to defend itself and Iraqi citizens from insurgents, but how it also enacted nation-building policies. For example, he chronicles how plans to install a village drinking-water system foundered due to a combination of military bureaucracy and local politics; key tasks, he notes, were farmed out to contractors to save money. Even successful missions sometimes involved terrible violence; after his unit uncovered a cache of land mines, for instance, Stoneman’s unit killed the insurgents responsible from a distant vantage point, and then watched as a pack of wild dogs devoured the insurgents’ remains. Overall, Stoneman’s prose is crisp and lucid, and even his wry depictions of boredom in the field (“We had run out of things to talk about four months ago, but conversation persisted like the heat”) and Army administration shine with humor and real insight. A war story told with wit and clarity.

Kirkus Star

The Lies That Blind Us

Sway, Amora | Self (255 pp.) | $12.99 paper Oct. 18, 2024 | 9798343591965

An art appraiser assisting the FBI in investigating a possibly fraudulent dealer in Europe finds herself the prime suspect in her husband’s murder back home in New York.

The author has written numerous romance novels as J.J. Sorel—writing here under the pseudonym Amora Sway, this is her first thriller. Police believe young widow Mallory Storm may have poisoned her abusive husband Erik, whose autopsy report showed “traces of digoxin, which is known to induce a heart attack.” Mallory was at work as an art appraiser when he died—she is Italy-bound to help the FBI track down

Dylan Hyde, an alleged fraudulent dealer, as he participates in a series of high-end auctions. Mallory is an expert in art from the mid-19th century to the contemporary period, and she’s also beautiful and blond enough to serve as a “honeypot” to snare Dylan. What she didn’t count on was Dylan being so “hot.” (“He’s like a James Bond of the art world.”) Of course, they connect, on all levels, surrounded by danger that includes grisly murders and a car chase on hairpin Italian curves. But just as she hides her true mission as well as her complete backstory—which includes her status as a murder suspect and a series of panic attacks—from Dylan, he keeps his business and family secrets from her. The author’s previous experience in writing romance novels pays off in making the love scenes steamy; with Dylan, Mallory’s body heats “up as quickly as a Ferrari’s speed climb.” The pacing is fast and furious, and there is humor and depth to the characters. Descriptions of small towns, major cities, and the countryside of Italy may prompt readers to call their travel agents. Adding richness to the book are musings on art, such as, “you surely recognize that grays make bright colors pop. Look at a woman in red on a dull day, and she will stand out more than on a sunny day.” The glamorous, lucrative world of art auctions serves as an exciting backdrop to this thriller, which includes numerous twists and an unexpected ending. Like rich chocolate gelato: dark, delicious, and decadent.

Intersections

Uhlmann, Karen F. | She Writes Press (296 pp.) $17.99 paper | May 6, 2025 | 9781647428891

A tragic hit-andrun death brings together a woman with a failed marriage and a cop with troubles of his own.

Charlotte Oakes is walking in her Chicago neighborhood when a little girl runs

into the street and is struck and killed by a car that looks awfully like her own, a car that doesn’t stop. Did her daughter, Libby, borrow her car? Libby, who struggles with OCD and addiction issues, has always been a cross to bear. And Charlotte and her husband, Daniel, are in a marriage that died long ago. Another witness is Ed Kelly, a Chicago cop. He was recently wounded—and his partner killed—in a showdown with a drug dealer. And now it looks as though it was a bullet from his own gun that killed Tommy, so Ed is on paid leave, which he uses to stake out the intersection and try to find the mystery car. On separate missions—Charlotte, bereft over the little girl and hoping that the car was not hers, and Ed, determined to break this case—both visit the site almost daily and eventually become friends. Meanwhile, Charlotte has had an affair and is pregnant. And Ed’s daughter and her husband are so desperate for a child that she persuades her mother to be a surrogate. So, we have two good people facing a ton of challenges. Charlotte finally tells Daniel, who, surprisingly, offers to accept the child and save the marriage, but will Charlotte stay? This story is about a search for the rogue driver and Charlotte and Ed, who slowly work through a lot of issues, trying to accommodate what life—and new life—has thrown at them. Uhlmann is an experienced writer whose characters ring true: the resourceful Charlotte who slowly finds the courage to rethink her life and Ed, a good guy who is not all that sensitive or intuitive, but kind beyond measure. The title is apt in many ways: We are talking about more than cross streets. A very satisfying novel with two intriguing leads who strive to live ethically.

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