November 15, 2023: Volume XCI, No. 22

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 | VOL. XCI NO. 22

FEATURING 266 Industry-First Reviews of Fiction, Nonfiction, Children’s, and YA Books

FICTION

THE BEST BOOKS OF 2023 NONFICTION

The Best 100 Fiction and Best 100 Nonfiction Books of the Year + Our Full Nov. 15 Issue

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

HERE WE GO AGAIN: Another year is wrapping up already, and it’s time to look back and recognize the finest books published in 2023.

Sure, Thanksgiving is still a week off, and the holiday decorations aren’t up yet. But we have a lot of territory to cover—Kirkus reviewed nearly 10,000 books this year—so please excuse us if we kick things off early and keep the party going for the next six weeks. Here’s what you’ll find in this issue, and the two issues to come.

Before we get to the best books coverage, we want to share a photo album from the 10th annual Kirkus Prize ceremony, held for the first time in New York City on Oct. 11 (see Page 4). It was a truly special

evening—not least because we were lucky enough to enjoy balmy weather and sunset cocktails on the rooftop this far into autumn.

More significantly, a knockout trifecta of books took home prizes: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (fiction), Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” by Héctor Tobar (nonfiction), and America Redux: Visual Stories From Our Dynamic History by Ariel Aberg-Riger (young readers’ literature). It was a night to remember.

Now it’s on to the main event: The Best Fiction and Nonfiction of 2023. As we do every year, our editors have selected a wide range of books in various genres,

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all of them reflecting the very finest releases that have crossed our desks over the past 12 months. It’s a cliche by now, but there really is something for everyone on these lists. And to take you a little deeper into the best books, we’ve interviewed some of the authors, including Daniel Clowes, Tania James, David Grann, Ava Chin, and more.

In the Dec. 1 issue, we’ll roll out our Best Children’s and Young Adult Books of 2023, a total of 300 outstanding books for young readers of all ages.

Look for bonus interviews with Kwame Alexander, Vashti Harrison, Victoria Ying, Neal Shusterman, and more. Along with that issue, we’re also publishing a bigger, better holiday gift guide, with 100 books— among them cookbooks, coffee-table art books, and other genres we don’t ordinarily review—that will make great presents for everyone on your list.

Finally, in the Dec. 15 issue, we present the Best Indie Books of 2023, a cornucopia of stellar self-published releases and independently published gems, selected by the Indie editors from among the more than 2,500 titles that Kirkus reviewed this year. We’ll also talk to some of these authors about their writing and publishing journeys. In the same issue, we’ll take a final look back at some of the year’s most noteworthy book news as well as the audiobooks our editors and contributors liked best, and we’ll remember the authors we lost in 2023.

Please stick with us for these three very special issues as we bid farewell to 2023.

January is right around the corner, and with it a whole new year of books and reading. We can’t wait to experience it all with you.

TOM BEER KIRKUS REVIEWS

Illustration by Eric Scott Anderson

INTRODUCING THE BEST BOOKS OF 2023

Contents 4 Scenes From the Kirkus Prize FICTION

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Best Fiction of 2023

20 Best Fiction Author Spotlight 26

Editor’s Note

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Reviews & News

49 Booklist: SFF Novels That Will Blow Your Mind NONFICTION

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Best Nonfiction of 2023

74 Best Nonfiction Author Spotlight 78

CHILDREN’S

One of the most coveted designations in the book industry, the Kirkus Star marks books of exceptional merit.

OUR FRESH PICK A retelling of the Medusa tale set within a world infused with Indian lore that follows a sexual assault survivor whose powers enable her to seek vengeance.

Read the review on p. 141 PURCHASE BOOKS ONLINE AT KIRKUS .COM

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Editor’s Note

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Reviews & News

117 On the Podcast: Guest Host Jason Reynolds 121 Booklist: Prizeworthy Books for Kids YOUNG ADULT

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Editor’s Note

141

Reviews & News

145 On the Podcast: Deirdre Sullivan 153 Booklist: Novels To Stop Your Doomscrolling

Editor’s Note

INDIE

Reviews & News

156

Editor’s Note

87 Booklist: Books Getting Major Awards Buzz

157

Reviews

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163 Booklist: Books of the Month

ON THE COVER: Illustrations by Matthew Hollings; background images by AureliasDreams on iStock

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KIRKUS REVIEWS

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 1

KIRKUS REVIEWS Co-Chairman HERBERT SIMON

Co-Chairman MARC WINKELMAN

Publisher & CEO MEG LABORDE KUEHN mkuehn@kirkus.com

Editor-in-Chief TOM BEER tbeer@kirkus.com

Chief Marketing Officer SARAH KALINA skalina@kirkus.com

President of Kirkus Indie CHAYA SCHECHNER cschechner@kirkus.com

Publisher Advertising

Nonfiction Editor ERIC LIEBETRAU eliebetrau@kirkus.com

& Promotions RACHEL WEASE rwease@kirkus.com Indie Advertising & Promotions AMY BAIRD abaird@kirkus.com

Author Consultant RY PICKARD rpickard@kirkus.com Lead Designer KY NOVAK knovak@kirkus.com Social Media Coordinator SEYANNA BARRETT sbarrett@kirkus.com Kirkus Editorial Senior Production Editor ROBIN O’DELL rodell@kirkus.com Kirkus Editorial Senior Production Editor MARINNA CASTILLEJA mcastilleja@kirkus.com Kirkus Editorial Production Editor ASHLEY LITTLE alittle@kirkus.com Copy Editors LOIS HEYMAN BILL SIEVER Magazine Compositor ALEX HEAD

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Fiction Editor LAURIE MUCHNICK lmuchnick@kirkus.com Young Readers’ Editor LAURA SIMEON lsimeon@kirkus.com Young Readers’ Editor MAHNAZ DAR mdar@kirkus.com Editor at Large MEGAN LABRISE mlabrise@kirkus.com Senior Indie Editor DAVID RAPP drapp@kirkus.com Indie Editor ARTHUR SMITH asmith@kirkus.com Editorial Assistant NINA PALATTELLA npalattella@kirkus.com

Indie Editorial Assistant DAN NOLAN dnolan@kirkus.com Mysteries Editor THOMAS LEITCH Contributing Writers GREGORY MCNAMEE MICHAEL SCHAUB

Contributors

Alana Abbott, Colleen Abel, Mahasin Aleem, Autumn Allen, Stephanie Anderson, Jenny Arch, Kent Armstrong, Mark Athitakis, Diego Báez, Robert Beauregard, Emma Benavides, Elizabeth Bird, Amy Boaz, Nastassian Brandon, Jessica Hoptay Brown, Abby Bussen, Timothy Capehart, Catherine Cardno, Darren Carlaw, Sandie Angulo Chen, Mark Chiusano, Alec B. Chunn, Tamar Cimenian, Adeisa Cooper, Emma Corngold, Jeannie Coutant, Kim Dare, Michael Deagler, Dave DeChristopher, Elise DeGuiseppi, Amanda Diehl, Steve Donoghue, Anna Drake, Ellie Eberlee, Lisa Elliott, Lily Emerick, Gillian Esquivia-Cohen, Joshua Farrington, Amy Seto Forrester, Mia Franz, Harvey Freedenberg, Jenna Friebel, Jackie Friedland, Elisa Gall, Glenn Gamboa, Laurel Gardner, Cierra Gathers, Carol Goldman, Carla Michelle Gomez, Valerye Griffin, Ana Grilo, Dakota Hall, Geoff Hamilton, Silvia Lin Hanick, Lynne Heffley, Bridey Heing, Zoe Holland, Katrina Niidas Holm, Natalia Holtzman, Ariana Hussain, Darlene Ivy, Wesley Jacques, Jessica Jernigan, Betsy Judkins, Deborah Kaplan, Marcelle Karp, Lyneea Kmail, Maggie Knapp, Carly Lane, Tom Lavoie, Judith Leitch, Maya Lekach, Donald Liebenson, Maureen Liebenson, Coeur de Lion, Barbara London, Patricia Lothrop, Georgia Lowe, Leanne Ly, Sandy MacDonald, Michael Magras, Joan Malewitz, Mandy Malone, Thomas Maluck, Collin Marchiando, Emmett Marshall, Michelle H Martin, Gabriela Martins, Matthew May, Breanna McDaniel, Dale McGarrigle, Sierra McKenzie, Rita Meade, Kathie Meizner, Carol Memmott, J. Elizabeth Mills, Tara Mokhtari, Andrea Moran, Sarah Morgan, Molly Muldoon, Ari Mulgay, McKenzi Murphy, Jennifer Nabers, Liza Nelson, Mike Newirth, Randall Nichols, Therese Purcell Nielsen, Katrina Nye, Tori Ann Ogawa, Mike Oppenheim, Emilia Packard, Derek Parker, John Edward Peters, Jim Piechota, William E. Pike, Judy Quinn, Kristy Raffensberger, Sarah Rettger, Alyssa Rivera, Kelly Roberts, Amy Robinson, Lizzie Rogers, Lloyd Sachs, Bob Sanchez, Hal Schrieve, Gene Seymour, Jerome Shea, Sadaf Siddique, Karyn N. Silverman, Linda Simon, Jennifer Smith, Margot E. Spangenberg, Daneet Steffens, Sharon Strock, Mathangi Subramanian, Jennifer Sweeney, Deborah D. Taylor, Desiree Thomas, Bill Thompson, Caroline Tien, Renee Ting, Amanda Toth, Valeria Tsygankova, Jenna Varden, Katie Vermilyea, Christina Vortia, Francesca Vultaggio, Barbara Ward, Lydia Weintraub Natalie Wexler, Angela Wiley, Amelia Williams, Wilda Williams, Kerry Winfrey, Marion Winik, Livia Wood

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 3

SCENES FROM THE KIRKUS PRIZE We celebrated the 10th annual prizes in New York City, with a rooftop party and an unforgettable ceremony. Here are some highlights.

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5 Watch the full ceremony on YouTube.

(1) Fiction finalist Jesmyn Ward, left, and nonfiction finalist Ilyon Woo. (2) From left, winners Ariel Aberg-Riger (young readers’ literature), Héctor Tobar (nonfiction), and James McBride (fiction) pause for a celebratory selfie. (3) From left, editors Eric Liebetrau, Laura Simeon, and Laurie Muchnick take in the ceremony. (4) Simon & Schuster’s Yahdon Israel, left, with Rakia Clark of Mariner. (5) Editor-in-chief Tom Beer emcees. (6) Kirkus co-chairmen Marc Winkelman, left, and Herb Simon enjoy the show.

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KIRKUS REVIEWS

(7) From left, Knopf/Doubleday’s Erinn Hartman, agent Julie Barer, and 2019 fiction winner Colson Whitehead. (8) McBride and guest Tammy LaGorce react when he is announced as fiction winner. (9) Aberg-Riger receives the young readers’ trophy from Beer. (10) Author Benjamin Moser with publicist Kimberly Burns.

(11) Tobar accepts his award. (12) Nonfiction juror Anjali Enjeti, right, with guest Kavitha Rajagopalan.

(13) Publisher & CEO Meg LaBorde Kuehn relates the prize’s history.

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F I C T I O N // B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3

Kirkus presents the Best Fiction of 2023, featuring slim debuts and massive bestsellers, perplexing mysteries and pulse-pounding thrillers, a queer romance set in 1889 Paris and an epic ranging across the multiverse. There are books set in Houston and Brooklyn, Dodge City and Western Massachusetts, Senegal, Singapore, and Iceland. Whatever kind of book you’re craving this season, there’s something here for you.

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KIRKUS REVIEWS

TPopova via iStock

The Best Fiction Books of 2023

B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3 // F I C T I O N

Blade of Dream

Chain-Gang All-Stars

Abraham, Daniel | Orbit (464 pp.) $29.00 | July 18, 2023

Adjei-Brenyah, Nana Kwame Pantheon (384 pp.) | $27.00

9780316421898

May 2, 2023 | 9780593317334

Great character work and interesting plot development make this an exceptional middle volume.

Imagine “The Hunger Games” refashioned into a rowdy, profane, and indignant blues shout at full blast.

Fat Time: And Other Stories

The Last Animal

Allen, Jeffery Renard | Graywolf (288 pp.) | $15.99 paper | June 20, 2023 | 9781644452394

9780593420522

A potentially transformative exhibition of visionary storytelling.

An amazing amount of humor, pizazz, wisdom, and wonder packed into a story that is essentially about processing grief.

Dayswork

Old God’s Time

Bachelder, Chris & Jennifer Habel Norton (240 pp.) | $26.95

Barry, Sebastian | Penguin (256 pp.) | $27.00 | March 14, 2023

Sept. 5, 2023 | 9781324065401

9780593296103

A remarkable, unusually rewarding work.

An eloquent, affecting take on pedophilia.

The Museum of Human History

The Lost Americans

Bergman, Rebekah | Tin House (300 pp.) | $17.95 paper | Aug. 1, 2023 9781953534910

With melancholy imagination, Bergman elegantly tackles nothing less than the entire arc of human history.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Ausubel, Ramona | Riverhead (288 pp.) | $27.00 | April 18, 2023

Bollen, Christopher | Harper/ HarperCollins (352 pp.) | $30.00 March 14, 2023 | 9780063224421

A gripping thriller with lingering emotional effects.

Green for Danger

Witness

Brand, Christianna | Poisoned Pen (288 pp.) | $14.99 paper | April 4, 2023

Brinkley, Jamel | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (240 pp.) | $26.00 | Aug. 1,

9781728267661

2023 | 9780374607036

Hands down one of the best formal detective stories ever written. It’s a treat to have it back in print.

After just two collections, Brinkley may already be a grand master of the short story.

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 7

F I C T I O N // B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3

Infinity Gate Carey, M.R. | Orbit (544 pp.) $18.99 paper | March 28, 2023 9780316504386

Carlsson, Christoffer | Trans. by Rachel Willson-Broyles | Hogarth (448 pp.) | $28.00 | Jan. 3, 2023

A genuine treat for SF fans: an epic multiverse tale that moves like a thriller.

9780593449356

Birnam Wood

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

Catton, Eleanor | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (432 pp.) | $28.00 | March 7, 2023 | 9780374110338

This blistering look at the horrors of late capitalism manages to also be a wildly fun read.

8 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Blaze Me a Sun: A Novel About a Crime

A brainy page-turner from a rising star in Scandinavian crime fiction.

Chakraborty, Shannon | Harper Voyager (496 pp.) | $24.99 | March 7, 2023 | 9780062963505

Sheer joy, with quirky characters, spooky monsters, sprightly banter, and swashbuckling that puts Sindbad to shame.

Georgie, All Along

Monica

Clayborn, Kate | Kensington (320 pp.) | $16.95 paper | Jan. 24, 2023

Clowes, Daniel | Fantagraphics Books (106 pp.) | $27.00 | Oct. 3, 2023

9781496737298

9781683968825

A modern yet timeless love story.

A timeless nugget of polished pulp.

Lucky Red

The New Life

Cravens, Claudia | Dial Press (304 pp.) | $27.00 | June 20, 2023

Crewe, Tom | Scribner (400 pp.) $28.00 | Jan. 3, 2023

9780593498248

9781668000830

Cravens shakes the dust off tired tropes and delivers a shining example of what an old-fashioned page-turner can accomplish.

A smart, sensual debut.

Day

Ana María and the Fox

Cunningham, Michael | Random House (288 pp.) | $28.00

De la Rosa, Liana | Berkley (352 pp.) | $17.00 paper | April 4, 2023

Nov. 14, 2023 | 9780399591341

9780593440889

This subtle, sensitively written family story proves poignant and quietly powerful.

An enjoyable start to an exciting new series and a new direction for historical romance.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3 // F I C T I O N

Beyond the Door of No Return Diop, David | Trans. by Sam Taylor Farrar, Straus and Giroux (256 pp.) | $27.00 | Sept. 19, 2023 9780374606770

A mesmerizing tale.

One Last Kill Dugoni, Robert | Thomas & Mercer (379 pp.) | $16.99 paper | Oct. 3, 2023 9781662500213

Dugoni brilliantly folds murders past and present into his heroine’s earlier cases and her troubled history.

The Wren, the Wren

Ripe

Enright, Anne | Norton (288 pp.) $27.95 | Sept. 19, 2023

Etter, Sarah Rose | Scribner (288 pp.) $25.00 | July 11, 2023

9781324005681

9781668011638

Tender and truthful as ever, Enright offers a beguiling journey to selfhood.

A lurid, tense, and compelling novel.

A House for Alice

The Armor of Light

Evans, Diana | Pantheon (352 pp.) $28.00 | Sept. 12, 2023

Follett, Ken | Viking (752 pp.) | $38.00 Sept. 26, 2023 | 9780525954996

9780593701089

A baggy, striking, perceptive slice of intergenerational life.

Breaking and Entering

Immortal Longings

Gillmor, Don | Biblioasis (240 pp.) $18.95 paper | Aug. 15, 2023

Gong, Chloe | Saga/Simon & Schuster (384 pp.) | $28.99

9781771965231

July 25, 2023 | 9781668000229

A smart, funny, and sneakily terrifying version of the way we live now. (Do not read without working air conditioning.)

Spectacular worldbuilding, breathtaking action, and plenty of mischief.

Promise Griffiths, Rachel Eliza | Random House (336 pp.) | $28.00 July 11, 2023 | 9780593241929

A stunning and evocative portrait of love, pride, and survival.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

A treat for fans of historical fiction.

We Must Not Think of Ourselves Grodstein, Lauren | Algonquin (304 pp.) $29.00 | Nov. 28, 2023 9781643752341

Delicate, warm account of a brutal, cold time, grounded in humanity, small details, and unwavering clarity.

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F I C T I O N // B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3

Marry Me by Midnight

Mortal Follies

Grossman, Felicia | Forever (400 pp.) $8.99 paper | Aug. 8, 2023

Hall, Alexis | Del Rey (416 pp.) $18.00 paper | June 6, 2023

9781538722541

9780593497562

A masterful, original take on a beloved fairy tale is sure to please romance readers.

Part historical, part fantasy, all top-notch queer romance.

Greek Lessons

Night Will Find You

Han Kang | Trans. by Deborah Smith & Emily Yae Won | Hogarth (192 pp.)

Heaberlin, Julia | Flatiron Books (368 pp.) | $27.99 | June 20, 2023

$26.00 | April 18, 2023 | 9780593595275

9781250877079

A stunning exploration of language, memory, and beauty from an internationally renowned writer.

Mysterious, sexy, and smart.

Your Love Is Not Good

Games and Rituals

Hedva, Johanna | And Other Stories (320 pp.) | $26.95 | May 23, 2023

Heiny, Katherine | Knopf (240 pp.) | $28.00 | April 18, 2023

9781913505660

9780525659518

A resplendent and fearless book.

Must read.

With this irresistibly amusing, bighearted collection, Heiny again proves she is a master of the short story form.

The Great Reclamation

Jana Goes Wild

Heng, Rachel | Riverhead (464 pp.) $27.00 | March 28, 2023

Heron, Farah | Forever (352 pp.) $16.99 paper | May 2, 2023

9780593420119

9781538725450

Like a drop of rain that holds the reflection of the world, crystalline and beautiful.

A beautiful, compelling romance celebrating second chances and forgiveness.

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal

The Five-Star Weekend

Herrera, Adriana | Canary Street Press (368 pp.) | $30.00 May 30, 2023 | 9781335006349

Empowering and exhilarating.

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Hilderbrand, Elin | Little, Brown (384 pp.) | $27.00 | June 13, 2023 9780316258777

The people in her books may screw up, but Hilderbrand always gets it right. Kind of amazing.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3 // F I C T I O N

Good Women

These Burning Stars

Hill, Halle | Hub City Press (216 pp.) $17.95 paper | Sept. 12, 2023

Jacobs, Bethany | Orbit (464 pp.) $19.99 paper | Oct. 17, 2023 9780316463324

9798885740173

A stunning slow burn brimming with observation, emotion, and incident.

An exciting start from a fresh talent, offering emotional and political complexity plus plenty of interplanetary action.

Loot

Reykjavík

James, Tania | Knopf (304 pp.) $28.00

Jónasson, Ragnar & Katrín Jakobsdóttir | Trans. by Victoria Cribb Minotaur (384 pp.) | $28.00

June 13, 2023 | 9780593535974

A smart, sharp tale, as well crafted as the object at its center.

Sept. 5, 2023 | 9781250907332

Essex Dogs

Liquid Snakes

Jones, Dan | Viking (448 pp.) | $28.00

Kearse, Stephen | Soft Skull Press (320 pp.) | $27.00 | Aug. 8, 2023

Feb. 7, 2023 | 9780593653784

A slow-burning, spellbinding whodunit. Agatha Christie, to whom it’s dedicated, would be proud.

9781593767518

An enjoyable romp through the darkest of ages.

The World Wasn’t Ready for You Key, Justin C. | Harper/HarperCollins (288 pp.) | $28.00 | Sept. 19, 2023 9780063290426

Key acknowledges all kinds of terrifying possibilities for dreaming the future—and inhabiting the present.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

A dry, devilish amalgam of science fiction, whodunit, horror, social satire, and cautionary tale.

Happiness Falls Kim, Angie | Hogarth (400 pp.) $28.00 | Aug. 29, 2023 9780593448205

The claim that a book will change your life often seems like exaggeration. Here the potential is real.

The Deep Sky

Bright Young Women

Kitasei, Yume | Flatiron Books (416 pp.) | $29.99 | July 18, 2023

Knoll, Jessica | Marysue Rucci Books (384 pp.) | $27.99 | Sept. 19, 2023

9781250875334

9781501153228

Cerebral SF, tackling both humanitywide problems and the smaller but ever present conflicts closer to home.

A stunning, engaging subversion of the Bundy myth—and the truecrime genre.

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F I C T I O N // B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3

Yellowface

The Maniac

Kuang, R.F. | Morrow/HarperCollins (336 pp.) | $30.00 | May 16, 2023

Labatut, Benjamín | Penguin Press (368 pp.) | $28.00 | Oct. 3, 2023

9780063250833

9780593654477

A quick, biting critique of the publishing industry.

Sharply written fiction ably capturing primitive emotions and boundary-breaking research.

Biography of X

Roman Stories

Lacey, Catherine | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (416 pp.) | $28.00

Lahiri, Jhumpa | Trans. by Todd Portnowitz | Knopf (224 pp.) | $27.00

March 21, 2023 | 9780374606176

Oct. 10, 2023 | 9780593536322

Breathtaking in its scope and rigor, this unforgettable novel pushes contemporary fiction to dizzying heights. A triumph.

Filled with intelligence and sorrow, these sharply drawn glimpses of Roman lives create an impressively unified effect.

Lone Women

The Frozen River

LaValle, Victor | One World/Random House (304 pp.) | $27.00

Lawhon, Ariel | Doubleday (448 pp.) | $28.00 | Dec. 5, 2023

March 28, 2023 | 9780525512080

9780385546874

Acrobatic storytelling, both out there and down-home.

A vivid, exciting page-turner from one of our most interesting authors of historical fiction.

Translation State

Wednesday’s Child

Leckie, Ann | Orbit (432 pp.) | $29.00

Li, Yiyun | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (256 pp.) | $27.00 | Sept. 5, 2023

June 6, 2023 | 9780316289719

9780374606374

Another of Leckie’s beautiful mergings of the political, philosophical, and personal.

White Cat, Black Dog Link, Kelly | Illus. by Shaun Tan Random House (272 pp.) | $27.00 March 28, 2023 | 9780593449950

Enchanting, mesmerizing, brilliant work.

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Quiet, beautiful accounts of journeys through hell.

How To Tame a Wild Rogue Long, Julie Anne | Avon/ HarperCollins (384 pp.) | $9.99 paper July 25, 2023 | 9780063280915

A Regency romantic drama seething with emotional quakes in the vein of Lisa Kleypas.

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B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3 // F I C T I O N

Knockout

Western Lane

MacLean, Sarah | Avon/ HarperCollins (384 pp.) | $8.99 paper

Maroo, Chetna | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (160 pp.) | $25.00 | Feb. 7, 2023

Aug. 22, 2023 | 9780063056794

9780374607494

This sensational romance completely lives up to its title.

A debut novel of immense poise and promise.

North Woods

The Unsettled

Mason, Daniel | Random House (384 pp.) | $28.00 | Sept. 19, 2023

Mathis, Ayana | Knopf (336 pp.) $29.00 | Sept. 26, 2023

9780593597033

9780525519935

Like the house at its center, a book that is multitudinous and magical.

An affecting and carefully drawn story of a family on the brink.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

When Trying to Return Home

McBride, James | Riverhead | (400 pp.)

McCauley, Jennifer Maritza Counterpoint (272 pp.) | $26.00

$28.00 | Aug. 8, 2023 | 9780593422946

If it’s possible for America to have a poet laureate, why can’t James McBride be its storyteller-in-chief?

Feb. 7, 2023 | 9781640095687

What can’t McCauley do? A writer to watch.

Absolution

The Sun Walks Down

McDermott, Alice | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (336 pp.) | $28.00

McFarlane, Fiona | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (352 pp.) | $28.00

Nov. 7, 2023 | 9780374610487

Feb. 14, 2023 | 9780374606237

This transporting, piercing, profound novel is McDermott’s masterpiece.

A masterpiece of riveting storytelling.

This Is Not Miami

The Apartment

Melchor, Fernanda | Trans. by Sophie Hughes | New Directions (160 pp.) $15.95 paper | April 4, 2023

Menéndez, Ana | Counterpoint (240 pp.) | $27.01 | June 27, 2023 9781640095830

9780811228053

Absolutely stunning.

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In Apartment 2B, the walls do talk, and their tales reveal their tenants’ minds and hearts.

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F I C T I O N // B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3

Shubeik Lubeik

Lies and Sorcery

Mohamed, Deena | Pantheon (528 pp.) | $35.00 | Jan. 10, 2023

Morante, Elsa | Trans. by Jenny McPhee | NYRB Classics (800 pp.) $24.95 paper | Oct. 10, 2023

978-1-524-74841-8

9781681376844

Immensely enjoyable.

Every Man a King

The Stolen Coast

Mosley, Walter | Mulholland Books/ Little, Brown (336 pp.) | $28.00

Murphy, Dwyer | Viking (288 pp.) $27.00 | July 18, 2023

Feb. 21, 2023 | 9780316460217

9780593653678

A strong second outing by Mosley’s new hero.

A shrewd, offbeat original.

The Bee Sting

The Vulnerables

Murray, Paul | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (656 pp.) | $30.00

Nunez, Sigrid | Riverhead (256 pp.) | $28.00 | Nov. 7, 2023

Aug. 15, 2023 | 9780374600303

9780593715512

A grim and demanding and irresistible anatomy of misfortune.

Sharp—and surprisingly tender.

Code of the Hills

Same Bed Different Dreams

Offutt, Chris | Grove (288 pp.) | $27.00 June 13, 2023 | 9780802161918

Another love letter to Appalachia with a high body count. Another bloody delight.

14 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

A masterpiece by one of Italy’s foremost modern writers.

Park, Ed | Random House (544 pp.) $30.00 | Nov. 7, 2023 | 9780812998979

A brash, rangy, sui generis feat of speculative fiction.

Tom Lake

A Line in the Sand

Patchett, Ann | Harper/HarperCollins (320 pp.) | $27.00 | Aug. 1, 2023

Powers, Kevin | Little, Brown (368 pp.) | $29.00 | May 16, 2023

9780063327528

9780316507127

Poignant and reflective, cementing Patchett’s stature as one of our finest novelists.

Masterful in its structure and pacing; a great read.

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B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3 // F I C T I O N

The End of Drum-Time

My Work

Pylväinen, Hanna | Henry Holt (368 pp.) | $28.99 | Jan. 24, 2023

Ravn, Olga | Trans. by Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell | New Directions (416 pp.) | $18.95 paper

9781250822901

Sept. 4, 2023 | 9780811234719

Ambitious and resonant, a vivid, fascinating, and moving novel.

A stunning book that speaks aloud thoughts the reader believed had been theirs alone in long nursery hours of the night.

The New Earth

Lucky Dogs

Row, Jess | Ecco/HarperCollins (592 pp.) | $32.99 | March 28, 2023

Schulman, Helen | Knopf (336 pp.) $29.00 | June 6, 2023

9780062400635

9780593536230

A deeply ambitious saga that takes on many of the thorniest questions of 21st-century American life.

In a word: Wow.

A New Race of Men From Heaven

A Day of Fallen Night

Sen, Chaitali | Sarabande (190 pp.) $17.95 paper | Jan. 17, 2023 9781956046021

Quiet, emotionally gripping stories.

The Curious Lives of Nonprofit Martyrs Singleton, George | Dzanc (247 pp.) $17.95 paper | Aug. 15, 2023 9781950539864

A Southern original adds to his gallery of Southern originals.

The House on Via Gemito Starnone, Domenico | Trans. by Oonagh Stransky | Europa Editions (480 pp.) $27.00 | May 30, 2023 | 9781609459239

A complexly structured masterpiece that doubles back on itself in order to move forward.

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Shannon, Samantha | Bloomsbury (880 pp.) | $28.80 | Feb. 28, 2023 9781635577921

Prepare yourself for the long haul.

This is expansive, emotionally complex, and bound to suck you in.

Business or Pleasure Solomon, Rachel Lynn | Berkley (384 pp.) | $17.00 paper | July 4, 2023 9780593548530

A must-read modern romance that emphasizes silliness and sexiness in equal parts. Solomon’s best yet.

We Are the Crisis Turnbull, Cadwell | Blackstone (342 pp.) | $26.99 | Nov. 7, 2023 9781982603755

Rich, brilliant, and often sad, because this contemporary fantasy pulls no punches; blood will regretfully be spilled.

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 15

F I C T I O N // B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3

Good Night, Irene

The Covenant of Water

Urrea, Luis Alberto | Little, Brown (416 pp.) | $29.00 | May 30, 2023

Verghese, Abraham | Grove (736 pp.) $30.00 | May 2, 2023 | 9780802162175

9780316265850

Top-shelf historical fiction delivered with wit and compassion.

16 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

By God, he’s done it again.

Sterling Karat Gold

Let Us Descend

Waidner, Isabel | Graywolf (192 pp.) $16.00 paper | Feb. 7, 2023

Ward, Jesmyn | Scribner (320 pp.) $28.00 | Oct. 24, 2023

9781644452134

9781982104498

Dizzying, unsettling, and extremely smart.

Ward may not tell you anything new about slavery, but her language is saturated with terror and enchantment.

Family Meal

Holler, Child

Washington, Bryan | Riverhead (320 pp.) | $27.00 | Oct. 10, 2023

Watkins, LaToya | Tiny Reparations (224 pp.) | $28.00 | Aug. 29, 2023

9780593421093

780593185940

Washington brilliantly commits to his style and preoccupations in a novel about the often winding journey to family.

Granular yet transcendent storytelling.

Crook Manifesto

Heart Sutra

Whitehead, Colson | Doubleday (336 pp.) | $30.00 | July 18, 2023

Yan Lianke | Trans. by Carlos Rojas Grove (416 pp.) | $27.00

9780385545150

March 14, 2023 | 9780802162199

It’s not just crime fiction at its craftiest, but shrewdly rendered social history.

Picaresque, but with serious matters of faith, love, and political wrangling at its fast-beating heart.

Dearborn

Land of Milk and Honey

Zeineddine, Ghassan | Tin House (288 pp.) | $17.95 paper | Sept. 5, 2023

Zhang, C Pam | Riverhead (240 pp.) $27.00 | Sept. 26, 2023

9781959030294

9780593538241

A fantastic collection heralding the voice of a major new writer.

Mournful and luscious, a gothic novel for the twilight of the Anthropocene Era.

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F I C T I O N // Q & A

MEET THE AUTHORS Get to know some of the creators behind this year’s best fiction. BY TOM BEER

20 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

HALLE HILL

How would you say your depiction of the American South aligns with and/or challenges the popular characterization of the region?

Good Women reflects the strength, creativity, and diversity of the South, especially Southern Appalachia. Many people unfortunately mystify, mock, and whitewash Appalachia. I refused to do that in

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Hill: C. Rizleris; Clowes: Jacquelene Cohen

pin it down? (Apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein, not to mention Maria.) If you’ve thumbed through the preceding pages, then you know what a wildly diverse, utterly uncategorizable, and inarguably outstanding group of books Kirkus has recognized as the best of the year. There’s literary fiction, of course, as well as ample servings of genre fiction, graphic novels, historical novels, story collections, and works that defy classification altogether. Together they form an indelible snapshot of the year in fiction.

But where to start? To help you bushwhack a path into this dense forest of beautiful books, we spoke to some of the authors.

What inspired them? What was it like to publish in 2023? What books made their own personal lists of favorites this year?

To begin, we got on Zoom with Daniel Clowes, the acclaimed cartoonist best known for his series of Eightball comics, which ran from 1989 to 2004, and author/illustrator of the graphic novel Ghost World (1997), which was made into a cult film with Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson. His latest novel—which many consider his masterpiece—is Monica (Fantagraphics, Oct. 3).

Among the many debuts that made our editors sit up and take notice in 2023, Halle Hill’s Good Women (Hub City, Sep. 12) is one of the finest, offering sketches of Black women in Appalachia and the Deep South across 12 stories that linger in the reader’s mind. Hill emailed us to describe the experience of writing and promoting her first collection.

One Last Kill (Thomas & Mercer, Oct. 3), the 10th book in bestselling author Robert Dugoni’s stellar Tracy Crosswhite series, finds the quick-witted Seattle homicide detective in hot pursuit of a cold case killer. Tracy’s penchant for unsolved mysteries, coupled with Dugoni’s verve for depicting her police work, make this a can’t-miss for crime fans. The author emailed us to offer some insight into his work.

Finally: Tania James, author of Aerogrammes and The Tusk That Did the Damage. In her third novel, Loot (Knopf, June 13), set in 18th-century India, preternaturally talented woodcarver Abbas, 17, is recruited by Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, to co-create a magnificent six-foot automaton with a French master craftsman. James responded to our questions about this profound novel by email.

DANIEL CLOWES

Photo Credit goes here

THE BEST FICTION of 2023: How do you catch a cloud and

How do you begin a book like Monica?

I have little fragments of ideas and observations that I write down in sketchbooks.

When I finish one, I start a new sketchbook, and I go through the old one. I find

Q & A // F I C T I O N the four things that are actually still interesting to me, and I transfer those over.

Some of the things in Monica are 20 sketchbooks old.

I wanted to do something that was really expansive and sort of epic. I wanted it to feel like an assembly of all the interests and influences and inspirations from my entire life.

It feels that way. Do you have an ideal reader for the book?

It’s an amalgam of all my friends. I have friends that are all slightly different— one who’s into old movies, a friend who’s into comics, a literary friend. I try to amalgamate my 10 favorite people and write for them, and hope I please them. When I finish the book, it’s always very fraught, because they’re the first 10 people to read it. It’s all-important that they actually like it, and then once they’ve read it, it’s like the point of diminishing returns.

You’re just starting the book tour for Monica, and

Photo Credit goes here

my book. While I push back against the idea of a Black monolith, and I certainly can’t speak for all Black women, I am grateful for the opportunity to share about Black Appalachian women and continue the conversation about the South’s vibrancy and power.

What was the original idea that started you working on the book?

I wrote [the short story] “The Truth About Gators” first, in 2017. Nicki, the main speaker, came through so strongly for me. It was well before I felt confident about being a fiction writer, so I wrote the story in secret. The original idea for the collection was to write fiction about Black

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Southern women, loosely inspired by oral history from my own matriarchal lineage.

“The Truth About Gators” is one of the first pieces I wrote that made me feel like I had some sense of intention as a fiction writer.

Who is the ideal reader for your book?

Good Women centers Black Appalachian women and femmes, so my collection is for them (us) first. After that, my hope is that it’s meaningful for any readers from the regions I write about. I met a young woman in North Carolina who bought copies for her and her 17-year-old daughter, hoping it could spark connection between them before her daughter

you did an event at the Strand in New York City last night. What’s that been like?

Having been locked in a room for seven years, it’s very surreal just to see people, to see the readers. There’s no buffer between being alone in your room with nobody and then being in the spotlight with 200 faces staring at you. It’s like throwing you into the deep end. I mostly like to talk to people one-on-one in the line when they’re getting stuff signed. I had a couple of people yesterday who were like, “I’d never heard of you before, but I saw something about the book

headed to college. That meant everything to me.

Any memorable highlights from live book events this year?

I’ve been fortunate to do many live events for Good Women this year. Hearing how people connect with the stories is beyond moving. My publisher, Hub City Writers Project, and publicity team, Nectar Literary, worked so hard to get me into incredible places. Memorable

in the paper today, and I figured, why not?” You know, that’s a dream come true.

Are there any graphic novels or comics that you especially loved this year?

Rina Ayuyang did a book called The Man in the McIntosh Suit that I thought was really great.

Sammy Harkham’s Blood of the Virgin is a really impressive work. I spent the last six or seven years ignoring new comics and immersing myself in the world of 1950s EC Comics and their imitators. Now I’m emerging from that, and I feel like Rip Van Winkle.

What happened? —T.B.

highlights include reading at Union Ave Books in Knoxville, Tennessee, where the majority of my elementary school teachers surprised me; participating in the Bookmarks Festival of Books & Authors in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and reading at Letters Bookshop in Durham, North Carolina.

What books published in 2023 were among your favorites?

Some of my favorites this year include Moonrise Over New Jessup, by Jamila Minnicks; Death Valley, by Melissa Broder; The Great American Everything, by Scott Gloden; and The Book of (More) Delights, by Ross Gay. —KATHERINE KING

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 21

ROBERT DUGONI

How have Det. Tracy Crosswhite’s priorities changed over the course of 10 books?

I wanted a character who evolved as the series evolved. We all change and adapt as we age. Tracy is no exception. She starts

What are the pleasures and challenges of writing this incredible character?

Making Tracy real, yet larger than life, is always a challenge. Tracy has to be relatable, but she also has to do what other detectives have not accomplished, like solving long-dormant cold cases.

You write Seattle beautifully. Do you have to love a

he’s told, making whatever piece of furniture he’s been assigned to make. In his free time, he funnels his artistic energy and curiosity into making small hand-cranked toys. But it’s only through his mentorship with Lucien Du Leze, a French clockmaker, that he discovers his own sense of artistic ambition, and subsequently, his

TANIA JAMES

22 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

How does the opportunity to co-create Tipu’s Tiger, a six-foot-long automaton in the shape of a fierce tiger mauling an Englishman, modify the future Abbas imagines for himself?

At the start of the novel, Abbas is basically doing as

place to write it that well?

I don’t think you have to love a location to write it well, but I think you have to appreciate it. I used to struggle with winter in Seattle. It’s dark late into the morning and early in the evening. It’s cold, and the rain can be unrelenting.

I had to learn to appreciate the seasons, the little nuances—like fires in the fireplace, winter fishing, the beauty of the snow— and to use those seasons as obstacles Tracy must overcome.

What are some of the best books you’ve read in 2023?

Two come to mind. Kristin Hannah’s The Women

need to “leave a mark” in the form of a great work of art.

The fact that his world is so precarious, ever on the edge of war, only intensifies that need.

Do you (or did you) have an artistic mentor or mentors?

[T]he mentors who have meant the most to me simply offered the right words at the right time. For example, in my postgraduate years, a mentor once told me, “I’m not worried about you.”

Such a simple thing to say!

But it temporarily relieved the immense pressure I was putting on myself, and it gave me something to hold on to in the years to come. As I was writing Loot,

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Photo Credit goes here Dugoni: Douglas Sonders; James: Elliott O’Donovan

off singularly focused, obsessed with her sister’s death, but in time she learns to focus on the living—first herself, then Dan, and then their child, Daniella—while never losing her drive to find justice for the families of the victims.

Q & A // F I C T I O N

[coming in February 2024] is fantastic, and The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen is over-the-top wonderful. I read every genre so long

Photo Credit goes here

I gave Abbas something of a similar experience. Someone asks him what made his mentor, Du Leze, a good teacher, and Abbas’ answer is simple: “He had faith in me.”

What’s the highest compliment a reader of Loot could pay you?

I’m always pleased when people are (happily) surprised by some aspect of the book that they weren’t expecting, whether it’s a swerve in the plot, or the voice, or the humor.

Surprise and urgency are things I look for in the fiction I read and which I hope to provide in the stories I write.

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as it’s a good story, one with characters who have heart and a driven plot.

What’s your perfect reading scenario—location, time of day, creature comforts, type of story?

I recently put in an outdoor patio. In the spring and summer, I love to sit outside and read. This fall, and with winter approaching, I’ll read by the fireplace. I’ve turned off the television. The news is depressing and the shows repetitive, but a good story, one that takes me away and makes me invest in the characters’ lives, is a priceless gift.­ —MEGAN LABRISE

Would you share a book tour highlight with us?

I will forever remember when my kids decided to monopolize the microphone during the Q&A section of my reading at Politics & Prose [in Washington, D.C.]. In their defense, I’d told them not to make noise during my reading, but I hadn’t said anything about the Q&A part. Their zeal to ask questions emboldened other kids in the audience to line up and ask questions, too. Among the ones I’ll remember: “Why do [you] not write sequels,” and, from my 5-year old, “How is your breath right now?” —M.L.

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 23

F I C T I O N // S E E N A N D H E A R D

SEEN AND HEARD

The novelist could be prosecuted in India for advocating the secession of Kashmir.

Arundhati Roy, Booker Prize–winning novelist, may face prosecution in India for a speech about Kashmir she gave in 2010, according to reports cited by the Guardian and other news sources.

The police complaint that spurred the potential action against the 61-year-old author of The God of Small Things was filed by a social activist from Kashmir in 2010 after Roy gave a speech at a conference organized by a rights group.

A critic of India’s Kashmir policy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, Roy is accused of saying that the disputed territory was not part of India and

advocating for the secession of Kashmir from India, according to the reports. Her 2017 novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, also deals, in part, with the conflict in Kashmir.

“Kashmir is one of the most sensitive topics of public discussion in India, which has fought two wars and countless skirmishes with Pakistan over control of the territory,” the Guardian notes.

This week a top official in Delhi issued approval for the 13-year-old complaint—which accuses Roy and others, two of whom have since died, of sedition—to move to the courts, contending that there was adequate evidence for the case to proceed.

Roy has been an outspoken critic of Modi’s government, which has been challenged for its policies and actions by human rights groups.

—AMY REITER

The novelist has been a vocal critic of India’s Kashmir policy.

For a review of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, visit Kirkus online.

David Levenson/Getty Images

Arundhati Roy May Face Charges Over 2010 Speech

THE YEAR’S RICH TROVE IT’S BEST BOOKS season,

my favorite time of the year, when we celebrate the rich trove of fiction that’s come out in the past 12 months.

Let’s start with the books I’d been waiting impatiently for, such as Chain-Gang All-Stars (Pantheon, May 2), the “acerbic, poignant, and, at times, alarmingly pertinent dystopian novel” (as our reviewer called it) by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. It more than fulfills the promise of his 2018 debut, the story collection Friday Black.

It’s been 10 years since Eleanor Catton became

26 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

the youngest winner of the Booker Prize with her historical novel The Luminaries; her new book, Birnam Wood (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, March 7), about a group of eco-activists in New Zealand, goes in a completely different direction. Our reviewer said, “This blistering look at the horrors of late capitalism manages to also be a wildly fun read.”

Abraham Verghese made his fans wait 14 years for his second novel, The Covenant of Water (Grove, Feb. 6), which conjures three generations in the life of a

South Indian family. Our reviewer proclaimed, “By God, he’s done it again.”

After the success of his first novel, Personal Days, Ed Park took 15 years to publish his second, Same Bed Different Dreams (Random House, Nov. 11), which, at 544 pages, is also twice as long.

Our reviewer called it “a brash, rangy, sui generis feat of speculative fiction.”

As always, many wonderful volumes of short fiction were published this year. Jeffery Renard Allen’s Fat Time (Graywolf, June 20) is “a collection of wildly inventive and intensely realized stories [that] provide electrifying jolts to the very notion of ‘Black Experience,’ ” according to our review, while Katherine Heiny’s Games and Rituals (Knopf, April 18) is an “irresistibly amusing, bighearted collection.” Halle Hill’s debut, Good Women (Hub City Press, Sept. 12), set in the Deep South and Appalachia, is “a stunning slow burn brimming with observation, emotion, and incident.” (Read an interview with Hill on P. 20.) In Wednesday’s Child, Yiyun Li (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Sept. 5) explores different shades of loss; our reviewer called these stories “quiet, beautiful accounts of journeys through hell.”

As with her last few books, Jhumpa Lahiri wrote

her most recent collection, Roman Stories (Knopf, Oct. 10), in Italian, a language she learned while living in Italy, and then translated it into English (working with Todd Portnowitz). In the newest work, she examines the Eternal City with an outsider’s eye. “Filled with intelligence and sorrow, these sharply drawn glimpses of Roman lives create an impressively unified effect,” according to our review.

Other wonderful books in translation include This Is Not Miami by Fernanda Melchor (translated by Sophie Hughes; New Directions, April 4), a group of “absolutely stunning” portraits of life in Veracruz, according to our reviewer; Reykjavík by Ragnar Jónasson and Katrín Jakobsdóttir (translated by Victoria Cribb; Minotaur, Sept. 5), a gripping thriller about the cold case of a girl who went missing in 1956; and Shubeik Lubeik, written and illustrated by Deena Mohamed (Pantheon, Jan. 10), a graphic novel about a fantastical Egypt where wishes can come true—but only if they’re licensed correctly. Any of these books have the power to make a reader’s wishes for entertainment and enlightenment come true.

Laurie Muchnick is the fiction editor.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Illustration by Eric Scott Anderson

LAURIE MUCHNICK

FICTION

EDITOR’S PICK Queer siblings in New Zealand deal with complicated romantic lives and with their eccentric relatives.

“We’re all strange, romantic, emotional people in this family,” Linsh Vladisavljevic tells his daughter, Greta.

She’s just come off a bad date; Linsh has just revealed, for the first time, the story of how he romanced Greta’s mother, Betty. (It involved comparing her to the deep ocean—Linsh is a biologist who specializes in sea fungus.) Greta, a graduate student in literature, lives with Valdin, her equally lovelorn brother, who still pines for his ex-boyfriend and deals with a range of issues from OCD to struggles at his gig hosting a TV

These Titles Earned the Kirkus Star

travel show. A third sibling, “try-hard” Casper, juggles a wife and two children in the suburbs. While Greta and Val are trying to figure out their own identities as queer people and as mixed-race— Linsh is Russian Moldovan, and Betty, a youth theater director, is Māori—they must also navigate their changing relationships with their parents and extended relatives, many of them also queer. (This welcome sprawl beyond the nuclear family mirrors Māori values; Reilly herself is of Ngāti Hine and Ngāti Wai descent.) In the wrong hands this could all be quirk for quirk’s sake, or a half-baked hybrid of Schitt’s Creek and The Royal Tenenbaums. But Reilly’s humor

28

Ædnan

By Linnea Axelsson; trans. by Saskia Vogel

29

Anna O

By Matthew Blake

30

The Adversary

By Michael Crummey

36

Who To Believe

By Edwin Hill

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Greta & Valdin Reilly, Rebecca K. Avid Reader Press | 352 pp. | $28.00 Sept. 28, 2023 | 9781668028049

is so riotously specific, and the many moments of true poignancy so gently infused with that same humor, that the Vladisavljevics seem like no one but themselves. As Greta and Valdin come into their own—helped by, and helping, the many weirdos

37

The Bullet Swallower

By Elizabeth Gonzalez James

38

Wolves of Winter

By Dan Jones

42

All the Little Bird-Hearts

By Viktoria LloydBarlow

42

On the Isle of Antioch

By Amin Maalouf; trans. by Natasha Lehrer

43

No One Can Know

By Kate Alice Marshall

44

in their lives—readers can root for only one outcome: If Reilly won’t give us a sequel, then we can at least hope she won’t make us wait too long for her next novel.

Say hello to your new favorite fictional family.

44

Prima Facie

By Suzie Miller

45

Neighbors

By Diane Oliver

46

How We Named the Stars

By Andrés N. Ordorica

27

Greta & Valdin

By Rebecca K. Reilly

58

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend

By Emma R. Alban

Mrs. Gulliver

By Valerie Martin

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 27

S IECCTTI IOONN F

Confrontations Atangana Bekono, Simone | Trans. by Suzanne Heukensfeldt Jansen | Bloomsbury (192 pp.) | $26.99 | Jan. 30, 2024 9781639730919

A tightly wound, forcefully lyrical debut novel by an award-winning Dutch poet.

Sixteen-year-old Salomé Atabong has put herself in a vexing corner.

The daughter of a Cameroonian father and a Dutch mother, she’s serving a six-month sentence in a juvenile detention center (nicknamed “the Donut”) for a violent crime whose particulars are gradually disclosed. Whatever she’s done, Salomé shows no remorse for it, which exasperates not only her parents, but also the Donut staff, particularly Frits van Gestel, a white therapist who became notorious for making a condescending remark about “primitive life here in Africa” while appearing on TV. As far as Salomé is concerned, this makes Frits unworthy of her respect.

“I know full well I’m not well,” she says, but she’s “not going to be helped by some fucking racist.” Frits nonetheless keeps trying to break through Salomé’s belligerence, which also rubs some of the other inmates the wrong way. Her refusal to even acknowledge the act that got her locked up parallels the novel’s insistence on withholding specifics of that act. But the book does weave in pertinent details about Salomé’s family, including her father, mother, sister, and aunt. Through her often-tumultuous day-to-day life at the Donut, her memories of family visits to Africa, and her coming to grips with her actions and their consequences, Salomé finds herself slowly, if grudgingly, approaching the basis of her constant anger. The whole novel comes across like a clenched fist resisting every impulse to open up, and one wonders if this unrelenting intensity might work against the possibility of its becoming one of those life-transforming novels about alienated youth 28 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

in the tradition of The Catcher in the Rye. But no matter how tense things get, you somehow stay with Salomé’s pursuit of her goal: to locate “the Salomé who’s made off with all my luck, and find a way to get to her.”

A psychological mystery whose solution resides in self-discovery.

Interesting Facts About Space Austin, Emily | Atria (320 pp.) | $27.99 Jan. 30, 2024 | 9781668014233

A 26-year-old woman works to better understand how her past is affecting her present relationships.

Enid, an information architect at the Space Agency and a true-crime aficionado, is caught in a complicated behavioral pattern of her own making, she thinks. Her father left her mother when she was young to start another family, destroying her mother emotionally in the process. Her half sisters, Edna and Kira, have recently welcomed her into their lives. But Enid is convinced that there’s something wrong with her, despite having a good job, a good life, and being a caring daughter to her mother (who suffers from severe bouts of depression). She has a phobia about bald men, cleans obsessively, and dates continually yet refuses to stay with anyone longer than a month or two; she’s also unhappy with her proclivity to take the easiest route and lean

into expected behavior rather than doing what she believes is best. Case in point: Though she’s a lesbian who has a complicated relationship with her gender identity, when her half sister asks her to bake a cake for her sister’s gender reveal party, she immediately says yes and then berates herself for not standing up for what she believes in. The novel follows Enid as she seeks to better understand her worsening phobias and the way they’ve started to negatively affect her job and life. She starts therapy, begins to let people see the real her, and works to unpick the knots in her memory that are compromising her ability to live her life. Enid is introspective without being irritating.

A complicated, layered exploration of how bullying, fear, and a desperate desire to fit in have lasting effects.

Kirkus Star

Ædnan: An Epic Axelsson, Linnea | Trans. by Saskia Vogel Knopf (448 pp.) | $30.00 | Jan. 9, 2024 9780593535455

An epic poem, much honored in Sweden since its publication in 2018, that charts the fortunes of a Sámi community against opposing nationalisms.

There was a time when Norway and Sweden were united as a single country. The union dissolved in 1905, and eight years later, as Sámi author Axelsson’s

A tightly wound, forcefully lyrical debut novel by an award-winning Dutch poet.

C O N F R O N TAT I O N S

KIRKUS REVIEWS

FICTION

epic begins, a boundary is forming between the two that impedes the free movement of a reindeer-herding Arctic community. “Once May Day passed we were allowed to cross the border into Norway,” says one speaker, while “the Swede he dammed // And the river was left / muffled and silent.” In the face of this degradation, where the Sámi are barred from herding grounds, ancient migratory routes are blocked, and villages are swallowed by rising waters, a young man dies accidentally, a ghost whose presence hovers over the generations. He laments to his distraught father: “Didn’t you hear me // Among the seabirds / as you came walking / with your summer-fat / reindeer,” and his grave will forever be unquiet. Fast-forward two generations, and the Sámi have themselves been herded into government villages, their children packed off to boarding schools to be acculturated as Swedes; one matriarch, subjected to that cultural annihilation, recalls questions from her daughter: “Tell me what it / was like at the Nomad School / Mama // I’m supposed to write / an essay about / you in school.”

Adds one character, Lise, speaking a century after the epic begins, “And I did not / want to talk about it.”

As Axelsson charts the story of the Sámi under colonial rule, the reader will be reminded of the injuries done to Indigenous peoples everywhere.

But there is at least some resolution: Axelsson describes present-day Sámi activists fighting to regain control of traditional lands, with young descendants teaching their elders about their culture. Such is the case with another matriarch, Sandra, who’s “Trying / as a grown woman / to learn Sámi / with her children.”

A sharp-edged tale in verse of colonial suppression, resistance, and survival.

For more epic poems, visit Kirkus online

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The government needs Anna awake so she can stand trial for these murders.

ANNA O

Kirkus Star

Anna O Blake, Matthew | HarperCollins (448 pp.) $30.00 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9780063314153

Four years after a woman allegedly murdered her best friends while sleepwalking, an ambitious London psychologist gets the opportunity to treat her—and to determine, once and for all, her guilt or innocence.

Dr. Benedict Prince, forensic psychologist and sleep specialist, is summoned to a meeting with Dr. Virginia Bloom (his boss at the Abbey Sleep Clinic) and a man from the Ministry of Justice to discuss a recent article in which Ben proposed a possible cure to “resignation syndrome,” which is when a patient enters a deep sleep, often lasting for years, as a way of directly avoiding trauma. The government wants Ben to conduct an experiment on a notorious (alleged) criminal: a young journalist named Anna Ogilvy, aka “Sleeping Beauty,” who’s believed to have murdered two people while sleepwalking, and who hasn’t woken up in the four years since. The government needs Anna awake so she can stand trial for these murders. Ben, of course, has little choice but to agree, and he begins sensory stimulation therapy, believing that if he can connect Anna’s subconscious to happy memories from her childhood, he may be able to wake her. Before she went to sleep, Anna was working to uncover a connection between one of the most

notorious English murderers of the 20th century and a secret government experiment called MEDEA. While she might be guilty, Ben realizes that she might also have been a scapegoat for someone else’s murderous rage. And if this shadowy someone has previously killed to protect their secret, Anna’s waking may put her, and Ben, in danger. From the bowels of a notorious psychiatric hospital to a primeval forest to the sun-drenched beaches of Grand Cayman, Blake’s thriller invokes comparisons to Greek tragedies and locked-room mysteries alike, while exploring the additional complicated psychology of sleep and guilt. While this is fully a “whodunit” with an actual solution, it’s even more a “whydunit.” Once you pick it up, there’s no putting it down.

Layered and grandly operatic in scope and tension.

The Fair Folk Bristow, Su | Europa Editions (400 pp.) | $18.00 paper | Jan. 23, 2024 9798889660125

The wonders of nature are exquisitely sketched in this cautionary tale about the danger of striking bargains with spirits.

Felicity Turner (“Fliss” to her hard-working, closedmouth parents) finds an escape from the drudgery of 1950s British farm life in the antics of the spirits she finds frolicking in the nearby woods. In her youthful exuberance, she makes the classic mistake of inviting the NOVEMBER 15, 2023 29

S IECCTTI IOONN F

mischief-makers into her home—an error she’ll be paying for well into her college years at Cambridge. Fairies are notoriously transactional, according to the lore, and Queen Elfrida has a particular payment in mind for having restored Felicity’s young cousin after replacing her with a sickly changeling. Felicity’s university curriculum consists largely of trying to figure out what trade-off Elfrida expects to exact.

Felicity finds an ally in the form of an elderly don who’s made the fairy kingdom a scholarly pursuit. Unfortunately, once the book moves past the giddy delights of young Fliss’ discoveries, her quest—to try to understand what’s expected of her—proves plodding. She edges into a tepid romance, easily overshadowed by her love/hate relationship with the haughty, capricious Elfrida. Will there be a dramatic showdown? As surely as titans clash at the climax of a blockbuster fantasy film. The real pleasures of the novel lie in Fliss’ early explorations of the natural world.

Coming of age can be complicated— and romance gets short shrift—when proprietary spirits are involved.

Radiant Heat Collins, Sarah-Jane | Berkley (352 pp.) $27.00 | Jan. 23, 2024 | 9780593550342

An Australian bushfire sets off a mystery.

Alison King has moved back into her childhood home in Lake Bend, a small town outside Melbourne, following the death of her parents.

But when a sudden bushfire forces her to flee the house, she finds in her driveway a red car, inside of which is the body of a woman she doesn’t recognize. In the woman’s purse is a scrap of paper with Alison’s name and address, and according to her ID, the woman, Simone Arnold, lived in Cairns, a city where Alison spent 10 years. As the investigation 30 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Crummey boasts prodigious powers of description and cutting humor.

TH E ADVE R SARY

into Simone’s death proceeds, Alison learns that she was running from an abusive ex-boyfriend, who happens to have been Alison’s own ex. Hesitant to tell the police about the connections between her and Simone, Alison finds herself under suspicion as she begins to suspect Simone was followed by their mutual former boyfriend, and that he might still be nearby. Tonally inconsistent and difficult to follow due to flashbacks, this thriller sets up too many subplots to be entirely engaging. Alison is selfdestructive and brash, and her attempts to grapple with the aftermath of the fire and her own troubled past become tangled in such a way as to distract from the book’s central mystery. What’s more, her hesitancy to truly engage with the police is never fully explained, setting up a conflict that never feels entirely logical.

Confusing rather than mysterious, this many-pronged thriller falls short.

Kirkus Star

The Adversary Crummey, Michael | Doubleday (336 pp.) $29.00 | Feb. 6, 2024 | 9780385550321

In a remote town on the northern coast of Newfoundland in the early 19th century, a mutually despising brother and sister fight dirty for control of the area’s fishing and mercantile concerns.

The loathsome Abe Strapp is set to inherit his father’s business and merge

it with a rival’s outfit through an arranged marriage to the England-born merchant’s 14-year-old daughter, who’s been painfully transported “across the pond” for the wedding. But Strapp’s steely older sister, the Widow Caines, puts the kibosh on the marriage by exposing Strapp as a degenerate who drunkenly raped a servant girl and left her pregnant. From there on, the siblings will stop at nothing to outmaneuver and out-humiliate each other, with the supremely manipulative Widow Caines holding a clear advantage. In her “man’s uniform” of green jacket and waistcoat, she’s taken control of her late husband’s land holdings in spite of women having no legal claims to the ownership of property. Set in the town of Mockbeggar, like Crummey’s previous novel, The Innocents (2019), the tale is full of tragic turns: murders, deaths from a pandemic, death and destruction from a vicious storm, marauders, a gruesome amputation. There’s a Dickensian element to the “debauchery, drunkenness, whoring, gaming, profuseness, and the most foolish, sottish prodigality imaginable,” but Crummey boasts his own prodigious powers of description, cutting humor, and explorations of good and evil in his descent to the lower depths. (He has said he was inspired by William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience.) His language is ceaselessly entertaining, with characters including “cork-brained calf-lollies” and “noddypeak simpletons” and ones named Cheater, Deady, and Terrified. The sheer energy of the novel never flags. It’s the latest superb effort by an author who couldn’t be more deserving of greater recognition beyond his native Canada.

An enthralling masterpiece.

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FICTION

A brisk, gritty crime yarn less interested in flash than in authenticity.

MY FAVO R ITE S CAR

My Favorite Scar Ferraro, Nicolás | Trans. by Mallory N. Craig-Kuhn | Soho Crime (312 pp.) | $27.95 Jan. 23, 2024 | 9781641295154

The daughter of an Argentinian crime boss grows up quickly and violently.

Ferraro opens this sleek odyssey with a tough and resonant episode that encapsulates the entire story. After gang lord Victor Mondragón taps a tattoo on his forearm dedicated to his 15-year-old daughter, Ámbar, her name flanked by two red hibiscuses, and calls her his favorite scar, she efficiently removes a bullet that’s lodged there, something Victor taught her how to do three years ago. Their relationship is rich in love and danger. Ámbar’s early years were tough; she lived with her grandmother Lila after her mother left, seeing her father only intermittently. Now Ámbar and Victor embark on a cross-country tour of revenge, alternating between settling scores and lying low. Their episodic travels, narrated in Ámbar’s crackly first-person voice, brings them into contact with several colorful characters, including her uncle Charly, prematurely infirm but proud of his perfect teeth; Victor’s streetwise lady friend, Eleo, who’s resigned to a quiet, hardscrabble life; and Rata Blanca, an indolent, cocky thug Victor disciplines. Ámbar puts a pin in this last episode by shooting a television set. Along the way, she drops tidbits about her early years, noting, for instance, that “Dad used arcades like daycare centers.” Ferraro KIRKUS REVIEWS

smoothly combines elements of noir, road novel, and coming-of-age story, the last most prominently in the story’s final section, significantly titled “Ámbar.” The climactic violence is both inevitable and devastating.

A brisk, gritty crime yarn less interested in flash than in dark authenticity.

Forgetting Finkelstein, Frederika Amalia | Trans. by Isabel Cout & Christopher Elson | Deep Vellum (196 pp.) | $16.95 paper Nov. 7, 2023 | 9781646052264

A walk through Paris in the early hours of the morning reveals the rich, complex interiority of Finkelstein’s protagonist.

Alma is tormented by the Holocaust; she’s obsessed with technology, Coke and Pepsi, and Daft Punk’s “One More Time.” She’s somewhere between “twenty and twenty-five years old,” an insomniac, and alone in Paris.

As night bleeds into morning, she wanders the empty streets, ruminating upon the life of her grandfather—a Polish Holocaust survivor—as well as her own childhood. Finkelstein pays little attention to Alma’s surroundings or visual description, instead ensconcing the reader directly inside Alma’s candid, yet labyrinthine, mind. Time does not occur linearly— indeed it seems, at times, almost to collapse. Alma weaves in and out of memories, revisiting and retelling some narratives, often with changes.

Self-conscious, almost metafictional,

she acknowledges this erratic storytelling: “So I do what I want with time: I go back, I press pause, I fast-forward whenever I want, as though I were indestructible when inside my mind.”

As the novel progresses, Alma begins to appear less trustworthy, or perhaps less rationally level-headed; her brother, whose apartment she’s walking toward in the middle of the night, moved away to Los Angeles some years prior. She shares the unsettling story of killing her own childhood dog, and describes in detail burying his body in the forest yet also somehow throwing it in the dumpster behind her house.

These inconsistencies skillfully deny the reader access to Alma’s true character, despite having proximity to her thoughts. As the day carries on, and Alma’s sleep deprivation intensifies, she visits a horse racetrack; the novel culminates in a maddening, almost murky collapse.

A brilliant, peculiar confrontation with genealogy and inheritance.

Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame Ford, Olivia | Pamela Dorman/Viking (384 pp.) | $29.00 | Jan. 30, 2024 9780593656419

A septuagenarian with a penchant for baking proves her worth.

After her husband, Bernard, comments that they’re no longer going to “embark on any grand adventures,” Jenny Quinn, a 77-yearold pensioner living in Kittlesham, England, sneaks into their study to secretly apply for a spot on a televised baking competition. Jenny doesn’t truly believe she has a shot at making it onto Britain Bakes—an obvious stand-in for The Great British Bake Off, right down to the jokes about a “soggy bottom”—but nonetheless summons the courage to hit Submit.

Much to her surprise, she makes it onto the show. While she’s initially plagued with self-doubt and >>> NOVEMBER 15, 2023 31

F I C T I O N // S E E N A N D H E A R D

SEEN AND HEARD New Novel by Mateo Askaripour Coming in 2024 Dutton will publish This Great Hemisphere, by the Black Buck author, early next summer.

Mateo Askaripour is turning to speculative fiction for his sophomore novel.

Dutton will publish This Great Hemisphere next summer, the press announced in a news release. It describes the book as “a novel that brilliantly illustrates the degree to which reality can be shaped by non-truths and vicious manipulations, while shining a light on our ability to surprise ourselves when we stop giving in to the narratives others have written for us.”

Askaripour burst onto the literary scene in 2021 with Black Buck, a satire about a 22-year-old man who leaves his job as a barista to take a gig as

a salesperson at a tech startup. The novel was a finalist for the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award.

This Great Hemisphere will be set five centuries in the future, in a world in which some people are born invisible and are considered second-class citizens. It follows Sweetmint, an invisible woman seeking the truth about her missing brother, who is suspected of a high-profile murder.

“This Great Hemisphere is a novel about the nature of power, the lengths people will go to in order to gain and maintain it, as well as the almost biological compulsion we all possess to protect those we love,” Askaripour said in a statement. “It is a call to arms for the unseen, a rallying cry for those who are tired of being ignored and forgotten.”

This Great Hemisphere is slated for publication on July 9, 2024.

—MICHAEL SCHAUB

Andrew “FifthGod” Askaripour

Askaripour set his new novel five centuries in the future.

For a review of Black Buck, visit Kirkus online.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

A W A R D S // F I C T I O N

AWARDS Dayton Literary Peace Prize Winners Announced

Geraldine Brooks, author of Horse, is among the winners of this year’s prestigious awards.

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation, dedicated to honoring authors “whose work uses the power of literature to foster peace, social justice, and global understanding,” has announced the winners of its 2023 awards.

Horse author Geraldine Brooks is the winner and The Light Pirate author Lily Brooks-Dalton the runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for fiction.

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize for nonfiction has been awarded to Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa for His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice, with Adam Hochschild, author of American Midnight, named as runner-up.

The prizes were awarded on Nov. 12 in Dayton, Ohio.

“This year’s honorees capture the full weight and breadth of what the Dayton Literary Peace

Randi Baird

For a review of Horse, visit Kirkus online.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Prize means by ‘peace,’” said Nicholas A. Raines, executive director of the foundation, in a statement. “They deftly explore issues of race, class, and climate disaster with unparalleled clarity and urgency.”

The Dayton Literary Peace Prize, which says it is “the first and only literary peace prize awarded in the United States,” was inspired by the Dayton Accords, the 1995 peace agreement that ended the Bosnian War. It is awarded annually to one fiction and one nonfiction writer “whose work encourages understanding between cultures, religions, communities, and political points of view.” Previous award winners include Chanel Miller, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Patricia Engel, Dave Eggers, and Edwidge Danticat.

The foundation previously named Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street, among many other books, as the recipient of its Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award.—A.R.

Brooks won the fiction prize.

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 33

FICTION

worries that she’s only been cast as a cruel joke, Jenny admits her plans to her doting husband, packs up her old-fashioned cast-iron kitchen scales, and takes the competition by storm.

Many of Jenny’s bakes on the show harken back to significant moments from her childhood and young adulthood, and, sprinkled throughout the book, Ford intersperses the world of 17-year-old Jenny, which includes a secret that not even Bernard knows about. Ford’s writing is sentimental without being saccharine, and the scenes from Jenny’s youth are, much like Jenny’s pastry, deliciously layered. While readers might wish for a bit more conflict in the contemporary timeline, as our heroine would surely argue, there’s nothing wrong with indulging in a little something sweet: “Jenny has shown that our dreams have a place at every stage of our journey...that they can be achieved because of our age, and not in spite of it.”

For anyone who’s ever wished they could read, instead of watch, reality TV.

Monkey Grip Garner, Helen | Pantheon (352 pp.) | $28.00 Feb. 20, 2024 | 9780553387452

A dreamy sojourn in the druggy, sexy counterculture of mid-1970s Melbourne, Australia.

“There was plenty of good dope around.

Gracie was at school. The sun shone every day. I rode my bike everywhere. I went to the library. I was reading two novels a day. When Gracie came home from school we would doze off on my bed in the hot afternoon. For days at a time there was no sign of Javo.”

When this novel was first published in Australia in 1977, it was both a huge bestseller and the focus of critical outrage. Garner’s fiction debut was so closely modeled on her own life that she was accused of having 34 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

published her diary. Her response was, essentially, so what? As for the novel’s title, its meaning is elucidated by protagonist Nora, cursing her obsession with Javo: “Smack habit, love habit—what’s the difference?”

Javo himself is straight outta Denis Johnson’s Jesus’ Son, the ultimate charming fuckup/hopeless addict.

As a druggy single mom navigating a complicated web of open relationships, Nora has frequent recourse to the wisdom of the I Ching: “You gather friends around you / As a hair clasp gathers the hair.” However spotty the attention of the grown-ups, 5-year-old Gracie seems more than able to cope, at one point playing “downstairs by herself, singing and drawing and reading aloud great tracts of Baby and Child Care by Doctor Spock.” In an introduction to this edition, Lauren Groff speaks of feeling “gripped inexorably by Helen Garner’s marvelous prose” and finding the book to be “suffused with this sort of sideways happiness even in the deepest throes of Nora’s misery.”

Hmmm, yes, though for some the grip may wear off somewhere in the middle of the 352 pages. Just as interesting as reading the book is reading about the book; with Garner now the literary queen of Australia, much thinking and rethinking about this seminal novel has gone on.

High times with the mother of autofiction.

One of the Good Guys Hall, Araminta | Gillian Flynn/Zando (304 pp.) | $28.00 | Jan. 9, 2024 9781638931553

Hall interrogates whether a man can be a “good man”—and from whose perspective.

Running from his failed marriage, Cole, the narrator, leaves London for England’s South Coast, where he takes up animal trapping and tries

to get over his ex-wife. Soon, in his somewhat tentative way, he’s making gentle moves on his new neighbor, an artist. For her part, Lennie seems to appreciate Cole’s companionship, even as she’s not ready to sleep with him yet. Then, on New Year’s Eve, two young women who’ve been hiking through the south of England to raise money to help female victims of violence go missing. Their disappearance follows a recent confrontation with Cole, and it soon appears he may be a suspect. This is the first third of Hall’s novel; then suddenly she pulls the rug. Part Two offers backstory in the voice of Cole’s ex-wife, Mel. By the time Part Three begins, the rug has been pulled once again. In addition to these narrative voices, Hall includes excerpts from Twitter and various news outlets, an artist statement by Lennie, and interview transcripts, so the novel emerges through layers of perspective and interpretation, all pointing to a single question with incredibly complicated optics: Is it enough for a man to be “good” if he still refuses to listen, if he lives comfortably ensconced in the language and power of the patriarchy? Lately, it seems like every thriller wants to weigh in on the post-#MeToo landscape, and the better ones—and Hall’s definitely is—find some nuance in the commentary. The only thing that niggles is whether Cole deserves to have a say— the first and longest one, at that—in the novel. There’s something ironic about bemoaning the supremacy of the male voice and also offering quite a bit of perspective from the lone male character, but the approach does emphasize the way society’s expectations vary wildly for a “good man” versus a “good woman.”

Could this novel exist without the male voice—or should it? Hard to say, but it’s a fascinating read.

For more by Araminta Hall, visit Kirkus online.

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FICTION

After more than 30 years, a Brooklyn woman returns to her childhood home in Jamaica.

THE HOUSE OF PLAIN TRUTH

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels Hallett, Janice | Atria (352 pp.) | $27.99 Jan. 23, 2024 | 9781668023396

Angels walk among us in this epistolary thriller.

Like Hallett’s The Appeal (2022), this many-layered, highly complex, and imaginative novel rolls out its storyline in a non-traditional format. Taking its cue from modern communication methods, it’s told mostly through the emails, texts, and WhatsApp messages of Amanda Bailey, its main character.

Amanda is an ambitious journalist and true-crime aficionado who garners a book deal to tell the story of the Alperton Angels, a cult whose members allegedly committed suicide in London in 2003. Meanwhile, Oliver Menzies, an equally aggressive journalist, is writing a similar book.

Whose volume will be more successful depends on which of them is able to locate and interview the person who was at the center of the cult’s biggest mystery: the unnamed baby the misguided cult members believed to be the Antichrist, whom they planned to kill in order to save the world. The baby was somehow spared and nearly two decades later has yet to be identified. As Amanda and Oliver search for the teen, it becomes clear that no one’s recollections of the cult, its members, or their deaths are anywhere near the same. Are witnesses lying, or is a greater force at work—and why are potential witnesses KIRKUS REVIEWS

turning up dead? The middle of this novel lags as the investigation trudges slowly forward, but once the truth is revealed, Hallett shocks readers with satisfying twists and a dark, unpredictable ending. Though the novel is a deep dive into how journalists work in the age of social media and how manipulators can pull vulnerable people into their orbits, it’s a mostly heavenly read.

True crime tackles angels and demons in this devilishly good tale.

Library for the War-Wounded Helfer, Monika | Trans. by Gillian Davidson Bloomsbury (208 pp.) | $26.99 Jan. 16, 2024 | 9781639732395

An impressive library represents all that’s good in life to one Austrian World War II survivor who struggles with the aftermath of the war and the horrific injuries he sustained while fighting on the Eastern Front.

Austrian writer Helfer explores the life of her father, Josef, in this work of autofiction. The child of a single mother—a maid in the household of his biological father—Josef is a bright child who grows up in poverty and, initially, without educational advantages. A local builder allows him access to his own home library, and Josef’s lifelong love affair with books and libraries begins. Upon his return from the war, Josef eventually secures a position as the manager

of an Alpine convalescent home for those disabled in battle. Central to his attachment to the facility is his love of its comprehensive library, which leads to seemingly impetuous decisions about its future (as well as his own). Helfer’s unvarnished recitation of the circumstances her family endures in the wake of her father’s acts of desperation provides a clear portrait of the unrelenting, continuing legacy of damage suffered by those permanently maimed by war. Helfer addresses the reader directly at several points, and the process of researching and writing her account of Josef’s experiences is a visible part and parcel of the work. (Her stepmother, for example, wishes that Helfer would wait until after her death to write the account.)

Deciphering the forces that informed her father’s decisions, as well as his various disabilities, leads Helfer to examine their generalized effects on her family as well in this sobering account.

Helfer’s unrelieved portrait of a suffering soul wastes nothing on superfluous embellishment.

The House of Plain Truth Hemans, Donna | Zibby Books (304 pp.) $27.99 | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9798986241814

After living in Brooklyn for more than 30 years, a woman returns to her childhood home in Jamaica.

At 93, Rupert Greaves is not long for this world, and Pearline, his 60-something daughter, has returned to her childhood home to be by his side in his final days. In the U.S., Pearline is still viewed as an outsider, a “resident alien” after three decades, and she hopes to find a sense of belonging in her homeland. She soon learns the hard truth that returning home is far from easy. “Sometimes she feels herself trying too hard...a feeling NOVEMBER 15, 2023 35

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that she’s performing Jamaicanness.”

Her sisters, Aileen and Hermina, see her as an interloper who’s been away too long to know the problems they face; young Claudia—the child of her father’s caretaker—has become her temporary responsibility.

And then there’s the matter of her father’s baffling final wish. For the past 60 years, Rupert has refused to acknowledge the three adult children who stayed behind when the family returned to Jamaica from Cuba (as well as another who died as a child).

His deathbed wish—“Find them for me. You are my memory now”—goes unheeded by her sisters, who want to sell the family land and wash their hands of it, but for Pearline, this responsibility weighs heavy. Despite Rupert’s charge, much of the novel is more a literary exploration of grief, family schisms, and belonging than a search for missing siblings. Fractured memories and dreams of the past infuse this unassuming story with a rich and elusive history spanning three countries, and they depict a family that’s more orchard than tree.

The novel’s sedate pacing, which evokes rocking-chair musings on mortality and responsibility, brings a welcome reprieve from stories laden with plot twists and action for the sake of it.

Hemans’ thoughtful family tale is a balm for readers.

Kirkus Star

Drake, the trio becomes the talk of tiny Monreith, Massachusetts. Then someone binds, gags, and asphyxiates restaurateur Laurel Thibodeau in the home she shares with her husband and business partner, Simon, shifting the rumor mill’s focus. Simon has a known gambling problem and recently took out a hefty life insurance policy on Laurel, so even though he has an alibi for the night of the crime, everyone in town thinks he’s responsible except for Laurel’s lover, Damian Stone. Damian—a documentarian in search of a buzzy subject—thinks there’s a serial killer stalking the region, and that Laurel is the latest victim. During a drunken dinner party celebrating the birthday of his wife, Alice, Damian tries to get their guests—Richard, Farley, Georgia, and police chief Max Barbosa—to spitball regarding potential culprits. The group declines, dismissing his theory, but then later that evening, one of them is slain in the marsh, prompting the rest to wonder whether Damian is onto something. Confounding twists and seismic reveals stud Edgar nominee Hill’s meticulously crafted, diabolically plotted mystery. Structured to maximize suspense, the tale unfolds in seven parts, each with its own nuanced first-person-present narrator and unique voice. Every new section delivers a kaleidoscopic turn, reframing all that came before and keeping readers perennially off-kilter.

A devilishly clever delight.

Who To Believe

Followed by the Lark

Hill, Edwin | Kensington (320 pp.) | $28.00 Jan. 23, 2024 | 9781496742407

Humphreys, Helen | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (240 pp.) | $27.00 | Feb. 13, 2024 9780374611491

Murder threatens to expose a tight-knit community’s darkest secrets.

When mechanic Richard Macomber comes out of the closet by leaving his wife, Unitarian minister Georgia Fitzhugh, for her therapist, Dr. Farley 36 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

In her affectionate meander through the life of Henry David Thoreau, Canadian writer Humphreys imagines moments revealing his inner thoughts and feelings.

The approach here is straightforward yet lyric. Using brief episodes, from a paragraph to a few pages, Humphreys carefully follows the timeline of events from Henry’s first sight of Walden Pond as a 5-year-old to his death at 44. While she covers what might be considered historically significant events—Henry’s two years on Walden Pond, the publications of his books, his interactions with other famous figures of the era such as Emerson, Darwin, and John Brown— the restrained tone matches the seemingly unremarkable simplicity of the life recorded in Henry’s journal.

What matters to him are always the small moments: a bird singing, a buttercup blooming unexpectedly, a conversation. Henry’s family looms large, “a club who believed in the same tenets.” He and his three siblings are all close to each other and their parents. Progressive abolitionists, they share an indifference to convention and never fail to support each other. When Henry announces at 16 that he wants to build a boat, the rest of the family pitches in to help. And it’s with John, his brother, that Henry takes his trip down the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. The Thoreaus’ happiness would be too idyllic to believe except for the physical fragility, illnesses, and early deaths that dogged them. Friendship is a more complicated issue for Henry.

He values his friends but finds their presence, even Emerson’s, annoying.

Romance is more an idea than a reality to him. Thoreau’s real passions are “to remain in the moment” and his “experiences in everyday nature.”

He notes the publication of Walden in his journal as if it’s of no more importance than the ripening of the elderberries.

An accessible introduction to Thoreau, whose enthusiasts will find much to delight here.

For more by Helen Humphreys, visit Kirkus online.

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FICTION

A fiction debut that explores the intersection of desire and power.

ANTIQUITY

The Guests Hunt, Margot | Thomas & Mercer (303 pp.) $16.99 paper | Jan. 9, 2024 | 9781662514302

A South Florida household battening down the hatches in preparation for a hurricane is infiltrated by some even more dangerous guests.

As Marlowe Davies and her assistant pack up the extensive collection of artwork her wealthy parents had assembled before their deaths in a car crash six months ago, she keeps checking weather reports for updates on Hurricane Celeste. The news isn’t good: Celeste has lingered long enough in the Atlantic to jump from a Category 3 to a Category 5 storm. Attorney Lee Davies assures his wife that their waterfront home, which has already survived several lesser storms without damage, will be fine, but Marlowe is still anxious. She’d be even more concerned if she could see that while her son, Tom, and his best friend, Zack, are securing the shutters to the windows, Tom’s twin sister, June, is secretly entertaining her childhood friend Felix, who’s been barred from the premises, in her bedroom. An accident that knocks out handyman Mick Byrne brings three new people into the Davies house when they carry him indoors, away from the storm.

One of the latest arrivals, Darcy, is just dazed from the storm, but the other two, brothers Bo and Jason Connor, pose serious trouble. The new guests, as they expose and exploit the fault lines in Marlowe’s perfect family with surgical precision, turn out to be just KIRKUS REVIEWS

as violent as Celeste, and a lot more sharply focused on harming the family who’s taken them in.

A fleet, one-dimensional, yet irresistible way to kill the hours while you wait for the power to come back on.

Kirkus Star

The Bullet Swallower James, Elizabeth Gonzalez Simon & Schuster (272 pp.) | $26.99 Jan. 23, 2024 | 9781668009321

Historical fiction suffused with contemporary themes.

Antonio Sonoro is the descendent of a long line of legendarily bad men in Dorado, Mexico. He, too, is a bad man, and he will become a figure of legend once he survives a shootout with the Texas Rangers that destroys his face and leaves his brother dead. As El Tragabalas—“The Bullet Swallower”—he inspires both fear and admiration. His grandson will make a different kind of name for himself as a singing cowboy. Jaime’s life as a movie star is as pleasant as Antonio’s was hard, but his tranquil existence is disturbed by two unexpected arrivals: a book detailing the evil exploits of the Sonoro men through history and a stranger who calls himself Remedio. Chapters that alternate between 1895 and 1964 show Antonio battling between his need for revenge and his desire for repentance, and Jaime struggling to understand what his family’s past means for himself, his father, and his children.

James makes such deft use of tropes from Westerns, Gothic literature, and magical realism that they don’t feel like tropes at all. She clearly understands why these motifs persist, and she gives them life with prose that’s both spare and intensely rich. This novel is valuable for its gorgeous language and gripping story alone, but the questions it asks could hardly be timelier. Should we be expected to pay for the sins of our ancestors? To whom do we owe reparations? How do we break generational cycles of abuse and trauma? There’s not much overt discussion of race in this novel, but the impact of racism on Antonio’s life is impossible to miss, as is his family’s complicity in exploiting both the land and its Indigenous inhabitants.

Mesmerizing and important.

Antiquity Johansson, Hanna | Trans. by Kira Josefsson Catapult (224 pp.) | $26.00 | Feb. 6, 2024 9781646221714

A fiction debut that explores the intersection of desire and power.

The story’s unnamed protagonist, a woman who’s a writer, becomes infatuated with an artist called Helena after interviewing the older woman for an article. When Helena offers the narrator an invitation to spend the summer in Greece with her, the protagonist sees this as an opportunity for their relationship to deepen.

At first, Helena’s teenage daughter, Olga, is an unwelcome distraction, but, eventually, the protagonist’s attention turns to the girl. First published in 2021, this novel earned lavish critical praise—including literary prizes—in Sweden. Johansson uses her chosen setting to good effect. Her characters are surrounded by sumptuous sensory experiences but also isolated, and that isolation enhances the sense of pending disaster that permeates the text. Whether or not readers appreciate NOVEMBER 15, 2023 37

S IECCTTI IOONN F

A knotty, sui generis evocation of mothers’ feelings of fear and loss.

THE SINGULARITY

this work, though, will depend largely on their reaction to the first-person narration and the slow pace at which the plot unfolds. The protagonist is an outsider; indeed, she seems to be a mere observer of her own life. At the same time, her desperate loneliness makes her solipsistic. Her obsessions are more about her need for an identity than any particular qualities of the people with whom she becomes obsessed. This trait makes psychological sense, but, as the only character given a point of view, she becomes rather tiresome company, and the pacing only exacerbates the issue. While no one should expect this story to read like a thriller, fiction doesn’t have to feel like a chore to have literary merit. The author does, ultimately, provide us with an intriguing thought experiment: How would we react if the protagonist had been a man?

This may not be an entirely satisfactory first novel, but Johansson has strengths that make her a writer to watch.

Kirkus Star

Wolves of Winter Jones, Dan | Viking (448 pp.) | $30.00 Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780593653791

Having survived a brutal campaign in the Normandy town of Crécy that left 1,500 Frenchmen dead, the small band of soldiers-for-hire known as the Essex Dogs are sent by King Edward III of England to 38 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

help erase the French from the walled port city of Calais.

King Philippe of France, who had disbanded his army following the massive defeat in Crécy, has done a turnaround by installing a new army in Calais to turn back the English. Reduced to six in the aftermath of the parched and squalid Crécy war, the Dogs, an unruly mix of English, Welsh, and Scots, are not the crack, tightly bonded unit they were. Faded veteran Loveday FitzTalbot has departed the battlefield to search for the captain, who’s vanished. The “gruff-tempered” Scotsman is a drunk.

Romford, the troublemaking teenage archer, is haunted by the ghost of the dead priest, Father, and attacked (when not pursued) for his homosexuality. As before, the Dogs struggle with the impetuous demands of King Edward. Though the novel boasts less head-lopping, bone-crushing action than Essex Dogs (2023), it’s no less a page-turner, with the addition of lively characters including Hircent, a stout Flemish warrior and brothel queen with nastier proclivities than any man, and the profit-minded pirate leader Jean Marant, who shrewdly plays both sides of the conflict. At its best, the book recalls Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall novels with its masterly control, period details, and understated humor. “Virtue, glory, chivalry—all that shit,” says Northampton. “The tragedy is, a lot of them fucking believe it.”

Jones’ entertaining second installment in a trilogy more than whets the appetite for the conclusion.

For a review of Essex Dogs, visit Kirkus online.

The Singularity Karam, Balsam | Trans. by Saskia Vogel Feminist Press (200 pp.) | $16.95 paper Jan. 24, 2024 | 9781558611931

Two women reckon with loss and displacement in a coastal town.

This astringent, fuguelike novel

by Kurdish-born Swedish author Karam opens with an unnamed woman who’s long been on a desperate search for her missing daughter.

She walks the streets of a beach town, haunting a corniche where “The Missing One” worked at a restaurant.

When the mother’s efforts prove too futile to bear, she leaps from the edge of the corniche. That incident has a witness, a pregnant tourist whose child will later die in utero. Karam interweaves the stories of the two women, connecting them almost to the point of blurring their lives together. The pregnant woman is a refugee from state violence, and the woman searching for her daughter leaves behind three children living in a nearby lot, surviving mainly on the goodwill of a greengrocer. (Karam draws a stark distinction between the well-off habitués of the shops along the corniche and the refugees who live near it.) The plot details here aren’t as crucial, though, as the mood of oppression, particularly toward women, and Karam’s various means of conjuring it. She bounces around timelines, plays with point of view (the pregnant woman is “you”), and interweaves the two women’s voices within extended passages. The “singularity” of the title refers to the force in astrophysics that “pushes bodies together and renders the distance between them nil,” a meaningful metaphor for two women similarly bereft. Translator Vogel deftly manages Karam’s rhetorical shifts while preserving the mood of disorientation. The book doesn’t resolve its central crisis so much as suggest that such crises are all-pervasive, and that KIRKUS REVIEWS

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migrants will continue to absorb abuses that are bigoted at best and fatal at worst.

A knotty, sui generis evocation of mothers’ feelings of fear and loss.

An American musician finds herself in danger when she falls for a prince.

T H E R O YA L G A M E

The Royal Game Keir, Linda | Blackstone (334 pp.) | $25.99 Jan. 30, 2024 | 9798212153942

An American singer-songwriter finds herself thrust into the spotlight— and danger—when she falls for a prince.

Jennie Jensen is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter who so far has one hit song and is hoping for more. She’s focused on her solo acoustic tour of the Mediterranean, not on finding love—that is, until Hugh, Prince of Wales, attends one of her shows. The two embark on a whirlwind romance, and he soon proposes, meaning that Jennie will be part of the royal family. For a girl from Illinois, being married to the future King of England is unbelievable. But life among royalty isn’t all glamour— the press doesn’t always love Hugh’s unpolished American fiancee, and not everyone in Hugh’s family is welcoming to an outsider. But she soon starts to suspect that more than snobbishness may be involved when she receives a threatening note claiming that Hugh’s mother couldn’t survive in the royal family, and neither will Jennie. Hugh’s mother, Princess Penelope, died in a private plane crash when Hugh was just a teenager, and Keir alternates Jennie’s point of view with Penelope’s thoughts, including entries from her private diary. Penelope, as it turns out, was also not necessarily adored by some members of the royal family—and, as Jennie begins to suspect, that plane crash may not have been an accident after all. As the reader discovers in Penelope’s diary entries, more sinister forces may have been at work—and soon, Jennie realizes that those same forces may be out to get her, and they won’t stop until she’s KIRKUS REVIEWS

far away from the royal family. By adding in some murderous intrigue, Keir freshens up the frequently used royal-romance trope.

A compelling read that’s mysterious, romantic, and perfect for anyone obsessed with the royal family.

Ways and Means Lefferts, Daniel | Overlook (400 pp.) | $28.00 Feb. 6, 2024 | 9781419768194

Ambition is risky business.

Against the backdrop of the 2016 election, as Alistair McCabe prepares to flee mysterious and dire circumstances—along with his education at NYU, where he’s a senior, and a promising finance career—he fields a surprise call from his mother, Maura. Reluctant to tell her that he’s about to disappear, he lies and says he’s on his way to a class called “Futures and Options.” Readers might groan at the double entendre, but it makes a point: In this novel, the personal, often bodily drama of coming-of-age is inextricable from the inhuman forces of capital. We also follow Mark Landmesser and Elijah Pasternak, two unmotivated artists whose relationship sours as Mark’s trust fund dries up. A prolonged affair with the two of them catapults Alistair—whose successes at school and in sex have not yielded success in navigating the networking-fest of corporate finance—into a lucrative but clandestine arrangement with a disgraced financier and a reclusive billionaire. The

story’s alternating timelines recount Alistair’s entanglement in and disentanglement from Mark and Elijah and this scheme—his arrival in New York and his escape. Lefferts also flashes back to Alistair’s childhood, when, despite his mother’s humanistic ideals, borderline poverty taught him to covet money, comfort, and the power to free her from debt. In college, Alistair’s ambition takes on a carnal quality. As he gropes toward upward mobility, he often recounts sexual exploits, spending sprees, and academic triumphs in a single breath. Luxury goods become “commercial iterations of the flesh,” money “almost sexual in the way it [lights] up his brain’s pleasure center.” As sex and political struggle swirl together, Alistair realizes that all “his chasing of money…amounted to one great thrusting out and forth.”

Although Lefferts’ storytelling can land a bit on the nose, the underlying character drama is compelling.

A straightforward take on inherited privilege and hardship.

A Plague on Both Your Houses: A Novel in the Shadow of the Russian Mafia Littell, Robert | Blackstone (350 pp.) $26.99 | Feb. 6, 2024 | 9798212227711

Romeo and Juliet meet the Russian Mafia in this bloody saga.

Mikhail Gorbachev resigns, and the Soviet Union becomes the Commonwealth of >>> NOVEMBER 15, 2023 39

B O O K T O S C R E E N // F I C T I O N

Book to Screen Bright Young Women Being Adapted for TV

Mike Pont/WireImage

Jessica Knoll’s novel, an instant bestseller, is based on the crimes of Ted Bundy.

Jessica Knoll’s recently released thriller, Bright Young Women, is headed to the small screen, Deadline reports.

The TV development rights to the book, described by Kirkus as a “stunning, engaging subversion of the Bundy myth—and the true-crime genre,” have been acquired

by Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories, Erik Feig’s Pic-

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turestart, and Fifth Season, with Knoll herself adapting the story and serving as executive producer.

Knoll’s latest, a work of fiction based on the crimes of American serial killer Ted Bundy, quickly shot onto bestseller lists following its publication last month by

Simon & Schuster’s Marysue Rucci Books.

Knoll, Made Up Stories, and Picturestart also collaborated on the feature film adaptation of the author’s 2015 debut, Luckiest Girl Alive, which premiered on Netflix in October.

“We are thrilled to reteam with Jessica Knoll on her brilliantly subversive new novel Bright Young Women,” Papandrea and Feig told Deadline. “Jessica is the rare writer with the boldness and the skill to take on a true crime story that has been so mythologized in American culture that we’ve all accepted it as

fact—until now.”

“Eight years ago, I was a first-time novelist with ambitions of becoming a firsttime screenwriter,” Knoll told Deadline. “Bruna and Erik believed in my voice and gave me that shot.…I can’t imagine adapting my new novel with anyone else.” —A.R. Knoll is an executive producer on the show.

For a review of Bright Young Women, visit Kirkus online.

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 41

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A beguiling, lyrical work of speculative fiction by an important writer.

ON THE ISLE OF ANTIOCH

Independent States. But with communism suddenly gone, capitalism faces enormous hurdles. Anyone trying to start a new business must pay criminals for a roof, or, in Western parlance, for protection. Two major gangs vie for control of the Moscow turf. Timur the Lame, a veteran of Strict Regime Corrective Labor Colony No. 40, is said to descend from Tamerlane. But the “Israelite pakhan Naum Caplan is the new boy in town.” Pakhan is the honorific given the senior vor, or thief. Timur’s gang happens to hate Jews—international Jewish conspiracy, yadda yadda—but they would probably kill each other over the lucrative turf anyway. Roman Timurovich Monsurov, Timur’s son, is attracted to Yulia, Caplan’s daughter. The pull is mutual and mostly physical, though it could develop into love if they were given a chance. A suspicious Timur warns, “Beware of tying knots with Jewesses, my darling son.” But then one of Timur’s thugs shoots one of Caplan’s thugs in the knee, Caplan decides to repay the offense with interest, and a war is on. Meanwhile, Osip Axelrod is chief of the Organized Crime Control Department, and his boss wants him to deliver Timur’s scalp on a platter. Literally. “Help them kill each other off when you can!” boss man says; “What Mother Russia needs to become great again…is more funerals.” Romeo and Juliet—sorry, Roman and Yulia—decide to escape all the mayhem if they possibly can. The Shakespearean plot would be clear even if the lovers’ names had been Boris and Galina, but the author lays it on thick with several references to Willy Shake Shaft. Duh, hit me over the head again, Mr. Littell! That said, the author illuminates the turbulence 42 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

in post-communist Russian society, a perfect venue for a crime yarn.

Star-crossed lovers and warring gangs: Methinks the Bard would love it.

Kirkus Star

All the Little Bird-Hearts Lloyd-Barlow, Viktoria | Algonquin (304 pp.) | $18.99 paper | Dec. 5, 2023 9781643756615

A neurodivergent woman finds her world opening up in conflicting ways when new neighbors sweep into her life.

In the 1980s, the quietude of a sleepy town in England’s Lake District is disrupted by the arrival of a London couple, Vita and Rollo. Next-door neighbors Sunday Forrester—a single mother—and her independent teenage daughter, Dolly, are gradually drawn into their urbane and seemingly nonchalant orbit. The extraordinary Sunday, who serves as the direct yet poetic narrator of Lloyd-Barlow’s debut novel, enjoys the growing attention and friendship provided by the couple. Due to neurodivergence, Sunday has endured familial trauma and now spends her days isolated from the world beyond her home.

Vita and Rollo’s more glamorous lifestyle (and even diet, which varies beyond Sunday’s preference for white foods) appeals to Dolly in ways with which Sunday cannot compete. The slow alienation of her daughter’s affections creates a tone of menacing suspense and raises questions about

the toxicity of ableism and entitlement due to affluence. Sunday relies on coping skills developed over the course of a lifetime of disenfranchisement and misunderstanding and often refers to a dated etiquette guide and a book of Southern Italian folktales as her guides through the world of the neurotypical. The constant need to decode social messages received from those around her is exhausting for Sunday, as is the need to balance her own comfort against what her great love for Dolly compels her to do. Lloyd-Barlow, who has autism, deftly interweaves themes of family disruption, class disparities, entitlement, and social alienation through a quiet narrative and succeeds in creating a tempest in a very small, provincial teapot. The novel was longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize.

Lloyd-Barlow’s narrator is not a novelty—she is an effective, thoroughly human character in a thoughtful book.

Kirkus Star

On the Isle of Antioch Maalouf, Amin | Trans. by Natasha Lehrer World Editions (288 pp.) | $18.99 paper Dec. 5, 2023 | 9781642861341

Lebanese-born French author Maalouf delivers an elegant portrait of a dying world.

Alec Zander, a pseudonymous genius who’s given up law and economics for cartooning, lives in self-imposed exile on a tiny island off the coast of France “called, curiously enough, Antioch.” He’s lived there alone for years, courtesy of a chance purchase his father made at the end of World War II, but now he has a neighbor, an archly mysterious woman named, meaningfully, Ève. As Maalouf’s novel opens, another mystery is at play: The electricity is out, the satellites are dead, the radio is silent.

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A woman goes to the deepest parts of the sea and the far reaches of space.

IN ASCENSION

When it finally comes crackling back a few days later, it brings dire news of nuclear war—one that hasn’t gone to the worst-case scenario thanks to the intervention of a kind of parallel human species who have powers beyond those of ordinary mortals.

All—like Agamemnon, a fellow Alec knows from a bar on a neighboring island—have Greek names. Talking to an old friend well placed in the U.S. government, Alec learns of one such emissary to Washington: “He says he’s called Demosthenes….He certainly doesn’t look much like any Greeks I know. He has copper-colored skin and speaks English like he’s spent his entire life in Massachusetts.” Hmmm. These other-humans seem to mean well, but for their troubles, “the uninvited,” ruled by a demigoddess and for all purposes immortal, come under attack by the very people they’re trying to save, and the world spirals into further madness. Maalouf’s near-future yarn is reminiscent of Arturo Pérez-Reverte in its matter-of-fact presentation of the improbable, but the overarching warning is quite of our world and time: As the ever-pensive Ève remarks, “Future historians will say our civilization was so worm-eaten that it took only a flick of the wrist for the whole edifice to collapse.”

A beguiling, lyrical work of speculative fiction by a writer of international importance.

For more by Amin Maalouf, visit Kirkus online.

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In Ascension MacInnes, Martin | Black Cat/Grove $17.00 paper | Feb. 27, 2024 9780802163462

A woman goes to the deepest parts of the sea and the farthest reaches of space.

Raised in Rotterdam by an abusive father and an absent yet well-meaning mother, Leigh turned to the waterfront as a means of escaping the day-to-day difficulties of family life. Her fascination with undersea worlds leads her to study marine ecology and microbiology, and she develops an expertise in algae. As a young scientist, she joins a mission to investigate a hydrothermal vent that’s mysteriously appeared in the floor of the Atlantic Ocean and may be three times the depth of the Mariana Trench. Discoveries from that mission change Leigh’s life, as well as the trajectory of the scientific world.

New objects are found in space, perhaps related to the hydrothermal vent, and Leigh gets tapped to develop an algae-based food system for an upcoming deep-space launch to investigate potential life. But when her mother’s health begins to decline, Leigh must consider whether to return home or explore the wonders lying at the far reaches of the solar system. Written in straightforward, measured prose, the novel features a world similar enough to our own that the scientific discoveries seem nearly plausible, even when they play with the boundaries of our imagination. The novel lags during dialogue-heavy scenes; the characters’

interactions can be somewhat stilted and drawn out, and Leigh’s steady and often monotone narration can be frustrating in its lack of emotional edge. But readers of speculative fiction will appreciate this intellectually rich addition to the canon, which considers what new discoveries might tell humans about ourselves and the planet we inhabit.

An interesting investigation of home and interpersonal responsibilities through deep-sea and far-space travel.

Kirkus Star

No One Can Know Marshall, Kate Alice | Flatiron Books (336 pp.) | $28.99 | Jan. 23, 2024 9781250859914

A newly pregnant woman finds herself confronting a grisly incident from her past in this propulsive and intricate psychological thriller.

Emma has just discovered she’s pregnant when she’s also faced with an astonishing financial deception on the part of her husband, Nathan. Since they’re about to lose their rental apartment, she agrees that they can temporarily move back into the spacious family home she owns jointly with her sisters.

Trouble is, that house was the site of her parents’ deaths 14 years ago—when Emma was just 16—and, as it turns out, Emma has her own secrets that she’s been keeping from Nathan and others. Once they return to Emma’s New England hometown to an often unfriendly reception, Emma slowly begins to reestablish previous relationships, including those with her estranged sisters, Daphne and Juliette.

But, as Marshall’s meticulously plotted novel reveals quite quickly, Juliette and Daphne have just as many secrets.

The time-shifting account, even given its multiple narrators, flows at a furious pace, exposing the bare bones of NOVEMBER 15, 2023 43

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In Martin’s cheerful new novel about sex and economics, the madam of an upscale bordello hires a blind 19-year-old.

MRS. GULLIVER

a familial horror show in the form of some seriously bad parenting. But is that the only nefarious element driving the characters’ lives? Marshall’s deft writing teases out revelations aplenty, perpetually ratcheting up the tension—and an element of violence—while keeping the story skimming along.

Family connections prove both their damage and their worth in this community-focused thriller.

Kirkus Star

Mrs. Gulliver Martin, Valerie | Doubleday (304 pp.) $28.00 | Feb. 20, 2024 | 9780385549950

In Martin’s cheerful new novel about sex and economics, the madam of an upscale bordello hires a blind 19-year-old as a prostitute, a decision that proves life-changing for both.

When the novel opens in 1954, narrator Lila, who identifies herself as the widow of a far-flung traveler named Gulliver (whom she’s actually met only in the pages of a comic book), has been running her business for 10 years in the main city of a tropical island, where it’s legal.

Matter-of-fact Lila, who grew up in poverty and spent her late adolescence in a seedy brothel, prides herself on the respectability of her house and its clientele while diligently treating her 44 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

employees fairly and with respect. A good-natured cynic, she sees herself and her girls as laborers of the service industry: “The orgasm is a powerful force in human society.” The arrival of Carità only makes that power more apparent. Educated in braille and brought up in comfort, Carità comes to Lila after the uncle who raised her loses his money and kills himself.

No one, including the reader, can resist her charms—not just beauty and intelligence but also insightfulness and a pragmatic will that particularly impresses Lila. Neither a victim nor a saint, Carità glides through one crisis after another, the rare literary character always in flow. The central predicament is her inconvenient romance with a client, a rich college student who’s become mixed up with gangsters. Fearing that “rich boys can’t be trusted,” Lila tries to help Carità, only to end up in her own inappropriate relationship with the student’s father. There are lively discussions of Marx, Veblen, and conspicuous consumption. There are occasional stark episodes of bloodshed and madness. There is a lot of sex. And a lot of joy. Martin’s characters are not prim; neither is her book.

As Lila explains, “The word ‘Carnal’ is so much more thrilling than ‘spiritual.’ ” Irresistible—a funny, sexy romp that’s also smart, even wise.

For more by Valerie Martin, visit Kirkus online.

Kirkus Star

Prima Facie Miller, Suzie | Henry Holt (288 pp.) | $27.99 Jan. 30, 2024 | 9781250292209

A London lawyer’s faith in the legal system is tested after she’s sexually assaulted.

As a criminal defense attorney, Tessa Ensler is often called upon to argue on behalf of people accused of rape. Possessed of an acute knowledge of the law and a brilliant mind (and, as she comes to realize, the default upper hand), Tessa routinely wins acquittals for her clients. She never resorts to dirty tactics such as suggesting the alleged victims “asked for it” by wearing revealing clothes; she simply teases out inconsistencies, contradictions, and other flaws in their accounts, enough to plant a seed of doubt in the jurors’ minds.

Her role, as she sees it, is to tell the best version of a defendant’s story; the prosecutor is tasked with doing the same for the plaintiff. Then, it’s up to the judge to decide which narrative is more plausible. To Tessa, the law, for all its imperfections, is truly a force for justice. If one of the clients she’s successfully defended is indeed found guilty, well, the fault lies with the prosecutor for dropping the ball. Based on Miller’s play of the same name, this novel considers the chasm between what Tessa terms “the legal truth” and the actual truth. Can a system built by and for wealthy white men really do right by anyone who doesn’t fit that mold? Tessa’s answer changes after an ill-fated date with a fellow barrister.

Back at her apartment, in a violent encounter rendered in horrifyingly vivid detail (that’s a compliment to Miller, not a critique), he forces himself on her, ignoring her protestations and pinning her down. More than two years later, the resulting trial begins—a chance for Tessa to not only have her day in court, but also to assess the effectiveness of the institution she upholds. While KIRKUS REVIEWS

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Oliver depicts her subjects with elegance and profound understanding.

NEIGHBORS

the opening chapters can drag (since we know where the plot is headed), the pivotal scene hits like a ton of bricks, evoking in full the physical and emotional horror of sexual assault and its lasting effects on the victim.

A rawly moving debut filled with insights into the legal system and its shortcomings.

Clover Hendry’s Day Off Morrey, Beth | Putnam (336 pp.) $18.00 paper | Jan. 30, 2024 9780593540312

A well-behaved middle-aged woman goes rogue.

It’s the headache that sets Clover off that day. Or it’s the terrible way her husband has loaded the dishwasher. Or maybe the expired Vicodin she takes for the headache or the nightmare commute into Bristol from the small English town where she lives. Or the fact that she’s raised twins who are now teenagers or that her awful, negligent mother trained her to always be pleasant and accommodating, so now she does far too much work as a TV producer for far too little money.

Whatever the reason, Clover has had enough. She tells her boss off at the morning meeting, sneaks out of the office, and decides she will do whatever she wants today. And what Clover wants is very funny. Or, rather, when anyone tries to get in her way, things become very funny. People are quite confused, it turns out, by a woman who doesn’t care KIRKUS REVIEWS

to follow convention. Alternate chapters illustrate the long build-up to Clover’s break. As the narrator, she dances around the sadder bits of her past; those chapters have less momentum, but they do have some heartbreaking reveals. And while inspired by Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Morrey thanks Ferris in the acknowledgments), this book also explores the potential fallout from Clover’s day-off decisions, which is intriguing. Clover at first seems impervious to both past and future, and she’s devilishly witty about getting away with mischief. As the day winds toward two potential conflicts—one with her mother, one with a predatory work colleague—it appears that she is, in fact, clever enough to consider the larger picture. But not until she has a little more fun.

A romp that’s also grounded.

The Sanctuary Murray, Andrew Hunter | Blackstone (350 pp.) | $26.99 | Jan. 23, 2024 9798200966349

An island thrives on a planet in crisis.

The world is slowly dying.

One species after another is becoming extinct, and the last elephant has died. In this cheery world, portraitist Ben Parr is engaged to Cara Sharpe, who’s currently working on Sanctuary Rock, an island off the mainland. He earns his living by painting portraits of folks in wealthy enclaves called Villages—whenever he’d drive away from them, “the aura of money disappeared from the land,

ray by ray.” But on the island is the ultimate Village, secretive and exclusive.

Ben and Cara regularly exchange letters until she writes that she’s not coming back. Well, this is no good. Cara and his painting are Ben’s whole life, so he decides to go get her from this island to which no ferries go. He borrows a boat and nearly kills himself in the crossing, a brave act for one who says that “cowardice always was a weed scattered through the underbrush of my character.” A clinic cares for his wounds and asks who he is because he doesn’t belong there. He meets the superwealthy Sir John Pemberley—just John, please—the man in charge. The island is almost completely disconnected from the mainland and will soon cut the final cord. Then they expect to survive and thrive while the rest of the world does neither. But all Ben really wants is to find Cara. Where is she? And what’s really happening on the island? Why is everyone so young? How did they eliminate rats, thus allowing seafowl to flourish again? The interesting answer matters more than just to birds. Ben is loaded with angst, but he paints and writes well, occasionally using curious words like rejectamenta and rugose. Will he ever find Cara—alive? One false note: “The very worst acts in history have been committed by men acting for the good.” Oh, really? Like Auschwitz?

A suspenseful read with a dystopian theme.

Kirkus Star

Neighbors: And Other Stories Oliver, Diane | Grove (272 pp.) | $27.00 Feb. 13, 2024 | 9780802161314

A remarkable collection of Jim Crow–era stories from a major talent.

If Oliver’s name isn’t well known now, there’s a reason: She died at 22 in 1966, leaving only four published stories NOVEMBER 15, 2023 45

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in her wake. Two more stories were published posthumously, but Oliver’s career, for all intents and purposes, ended before it had a chance to begin.

A new collection of Oliver’s published and unpublished work testifies both to her immense raw talent as a young writer and to the major figure she might have become if she’d had the chance to develop. Her stories deal with the everyday lives of Black families of all classes as they contend with issues such as segregation, poverty, and prejudice and their own hopes for the future. In the title story, a family prepares itself, emotionally as well as physically, for the next day, when their youngest member is set to integrate his school. Their fear is as palpable as their ambivalence: “We’re doing what we have to do, I guess,” his mother reasons, and his older sister says, “But it seems so unfair…sending him there all by himself like that.” In story after story, Oliver demonstrates nuance, sensitivity, and a profound understanding for characters of varying ages, races, and classes. In “The Closet on the Top Floor,” a young Black woman is, again, the first person of color at her school—a college this time—and her sense of otherness is immediately made clear. “They were all wearing white raincoats,” Oliver writes of the woman’s classmates, “but hers was a kind of pale blue, making her stand out from the rest.” Like the other stories in this collection, it is exquisitely observed.

With a crystalline clarity and finely attuned ear, Oliver depicts her subjects with elegance and profound understanding.

Kirkus Star

How We Named the Stars Ordorica, Andrés N. | Tin House (356 pp.) | $17.95 paper | Feb. 6, 2024 9781959030331

A college romance between two closeted young men spirals into a border-crossing story of tragic death, family secrets, and unexpected revelations.

Daniel Manuel de La Luna is the son of Mexican immigrants, a queer first-generation college student who’s woefully inexperienced in love—he’s described as a “naïve little cherub.”

Timid and excited but uncertain what to expect, Daniel encounters his first campus surprise in the form of his roommate, Sam Morris, an attractive, athletic legacy admission who turns out to be funny and kind. The two partake in the usual first-year activities, going to parties and struggling with academic pressure, but they also share a number of intimate moments, including a very amusing scene during a camping trip that involves raucous bonding, morning spooning, and involuntary tumescence. This all launches a precarious, tender, adventurous romance, until Sam pulls back and decides to join a frat. While its depiction of college life is appealing, the novel really takes off when Sam and Daniel part ways after freshman year, and Daniel returns to Mexico

Told with authenticity and compassion, this unconventional love story redefines notions of fraternity.

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with his family. There, he learns of Sam’s death (which is revealed in the book’s first pages) and must confront his own desires, his family’s past, and the truth about his namesake, an uncle named Daniel who was also gay. Ordorica cleverly intersperses excerpts from Tío Daniel’s letters as epigraphs to each chapter like a series of breadcrumbs that lead readers to discover the truth themselves, drawing them into the novel’s expertly depicted world.

Told with authenticity and compassion, this unconventional love story redefines notions of fraternity.

What Waits in the Woods Parlato, Terri | Kensington (304 pp.) | $28.00 Dec. 26, 2023 | 9781496738592

A failed ballerina’s return home is turned upside down by the appearance of a dead body in her family’s yard.

It gets worse.

The woman who’s been beaten to death is Kara Cunningham, the best friend of Esmé Foster, who, forcibly retired two years ago from her chosen career after pushing herself too hard, decides to retire voluntarily from her live-in boyfriend and go back to Graybridge, Massachusetts, where her alcoholic father, Thomas Foster, has cirrhosis of the liver, which amounts to a death sentence. Thomas was behind the wheel when an accident killed his wife, Jennifer, 13 years ago, and the troubled Esmé is traumatized still further by her persistent teenage memory of the unidentified man who leaned in the window of the car in which she’d been trapped with her unconscious father and her dead mother and announced: “I’m going to kill you!” The neighboring Ridleys have been equally messed up ever since Cynthia Ridley, her brain injured from a childhood tumble down a flight of stairs, was sent to a psychiatric facility after a quarrel KIRKUS REVIEWS

FICTION

A very thin wall in a University of Arkansas dorm causes complications for eavesdroppers on both sides.

COME AND GET IT

aboard a boat led to the drowning of her younger sister, Wendy. In chapters that alternate between the viewpoints of Esmé and veteran police detective Rita Myers, who’s saddled with her own family history, Parlato piles on the rumors, menace, and revelations until readers faced with an embarrassment of riches can only watch as one mystery after another is cleared up with disappointingly little logical progression, much less inevitability.

A highly effective mood piece for readers willing to skip the last 50 pages.

Come and Get It Reid, Kiley | Putnam (400 pp.) | $29.00 Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780593328200

A very thin wall in a college dorm causes complications for eavesdroppers on both sides.

Reid follows her debut, Such a Fun Age (2020), with another sharp, edgy social novel, this time set at the University of Arkansas. Primary among the large cast are Agatha, a 38-year-old gay white visiting professor; Millie, a Black 24-year-old RA; and the five undergrads who live in the suite next door to her. The students include a threesome of white friends—Agatha categorizes them as “Jenna: tall. Casey: southern. Tyler: mean” when she interviews them for a book she’s working on—and two loners: Peyton (who is Black) and the white Kennedy, who’s been through a terrible experience just KIRKUS REVIEWS

before arriving at college. Kennedy can hear everything the RAs say when they meet up in Millie’s room, and she has so little going on in her own life that she listens in quite a bit. Meanwhile, everything that’s said in the suites is heard loud and clear in Millie’s room.

So when Agatha becomes fascinated with the girls after that initial interview, particularly with the way they talk and their relationships to money, she starts paying Millie (!) to let her come in and eavesdrop on them once a week. As an author, Reid has the very same obsessions she gives her character Agatha, and the guilty pleasure of the book is the way she nails the characters’ speech styles, Southern accents, and behavior and her unerring choice of products and other accoutrements to surround them with. “Tyler wasn’t actively cruel to Kennedy, but she definitely wasn’t all that nice. The small ‘hey’ she gave when Kennedy opened the door stung with the truce of roommate civility.

Perhaps it felt more hostile in comparison to the way she greeted Peyton.

She’d go ‘Oh hello, roomie,’ or ‘PeyPey’s home.’ And then Peyton would say, ‘Okaayyy. Hiii.’ ” Then Agatha decides to start selling these “interviews” to Teen Vogue, and Millie finds she can’t stop thinking about Agatha, and mean pranks beget even meaner ones—Ohmahlord, as Casey would say.

Reid is a genius of mimicry and social observation.

For more by Kiley Reid, visit Kirkus online.

The Search Party Richell, Hannah | Atria (352 pp.) $17.99 paper | January 16, 2024 9781668036068

An idyllic glamping weekend in Cornwall turns nightmarish in Richell’s tense thriller.

It’s the May Day holiday weekend.

Max and Annie Kingsley have invited old college friends Dominic Davies, Kira de Silva, Jim Miller, and Suze Miller, along with their families, down to the Cornish coast for the soft launch of their new Wildernest glamping business. Not long before, much to the surprise of the old gang, the couple abandoned their London careers as successful architects in search of a quieter life with Kip, their adopted 12-year-old son. The six friends had last seen each other at Kira’s 40th birthday party more than a year earlier, and unresolved tensions raised by Kira’s angry meltdown that night simmer beneath the surface of a cheery reunion. But after Dominic violently breaks up an altercation between Kip and Phoebe, his 6-year-old daughter, over a purloined marshmallow, the mood among the adults darkens along with the weather.

Ominous clouds soon break into a ferocious storm that cuts the group off from outside help just as secrets are revealed and one of the party’s members disappears. While this scenario has been used many times before (see Sean Doolittle’s Device Free Weekend, 2023), Richell’s fifth novel cleverly plants numerous red herrings and skillfully juggles the multiple points of view and timelines to build white-knuckled suspense and keep readers guessing. The wild Cornish landscape adds to the eerie mood. With the character of Kip, the author could easily have relied on the troubled-adoptee-who-wants-to-destroy-his-family trope, but instead, she draws a sensitive portrait of an abused, misunderstood child and the adoptive parents who struggle to love him.

An engrossing, twisty read.

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1

5

2

For more science fiction and fantasy recommendations, visit Kirkus online.

4

3

1 These Burning Stars

5 SFF Novels That Will Blow Your Mind

By Bethany Jacobs

An exciting start from a fresh talent, offering emotional and political complexity plus plenty of interplanetary action.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

2 Cursebreakers

By Madeleine Nakamura

A tightly plotted conspiracy novel that blends seamlessly with its superbly developed setting.

3 The Fragile Threads of Power

By V.E. Schwab

A delicious treat for fans of the Shades of Magic series and a lush, suspenseful fantasy in its own right.

4

5

We Are the Crisis

Jewel Box

By Cadwell Turnbull

Rich, brilliant, and often sad, because this contemporary fantasy pulls no punches; blood will regretfully be spilled.

By E. Lily Yu

A trove of fantastical treasures.

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FICTION

Sugar, Baby Saintclare, Celine | Bloomsbury (304 pp.) $27.99 | Jan. 9, 2024 | 9781639732463

British author Saintclare’s addictive debut novel follows Agnes, a 21-yearold mixed-race woman who moves from housecleaning to sex work.

Working alongside her deeply religious, Caribbean-born mother, Constance, Agnes polishes the homes of wealthy suburbanites during the week and spends her weekends at dive bars, obsessing over men who show little interest. When she meets Emily, the daughter of one of her clients, she’s introduced to an entirely different way of living. Emily dresses Agnes in designer clothes, paints her lips a femme-fatale red, and whisks her away to the London flat she shares with a group of hedonistic models. Emily undertakes the project of imparting all she’s learned about “sugaring” to Agnes, so she can transform herself into a sugar baby and support herself without relying on Constance. Agnes accompanies Emily and her friends on their dates, where rich, older (often married) men pay them to go to lunch, drink champagne in clubs, and engage in various types of sex work. Agnes soon learns how to identify suitable prospective clients (shoes, watch, jacket) and starts to build up her own roster—and a collection of designer handbags. But the drinking, drugs, and sex work begin to spiral out of control when Agnes struggles to separate her emotions from each transaction. The night she meets Russian billionaire Sergei, she’s confronted with a new dynamic entirely—she’s asked to engage in sex with both Sergei and his wife. She’s flown to Miami and attends a drug-fueled party, making the power imbalance—and danger—of her situation starkly clear. This is a propulsive read that tackles myriad attitudes toward sex work, from condemnation to celebration, through a distinctly feminist lens. Accompanying the partying with 50 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

perceptive social commentary, Saintclare refuses to romanticize the gritty details of sugaring—inviting the reader into a whirlwind of champagne, sex, and money that is at times claustrophobic, scary, and toxic.

Saintclare modernizes outdated sexwork narratives, honoring the bonds formed between women instead.

the more it begins to feel. Narrated by an AI, this story ultimately makes a plea for the unique value of every human life. Experimentally told and steeped in climate crisis grief, this novel is certainly not for everyone. But the ultimate effect is wrenching, fascinating, and unique.

A difficult but deeply moving story of grief and love.

After World

Only if You’re Lucky

Urbanski, Debbie | Simon & Schuster (368 pp.) | $27.99 | Dec. 5, 2023 9781668023457

Willingham, Stacy | Minotaur (384 pp.) $29.00 | Jan. 16, 2024 | 9781250887931

The story of the last human—and of the AI writing her life story.

Sen is supposed to be a witness to the Great Transition. Also, Sen is dead. She died alone in a cabin after her three mothers chose to die, perhaps in despair, perhaps in sacrifice.

When she was alive, Sen was sterilized— like every human was—and it was illegal to eat animals, “to place the survival of one’s self above that of an animal, even a rotting and dead animal.” We know all this because storyworker ad39-393a-7fbc is creating a record of Sen’s life, the life of Human 2272696176, as part of the Digital Human Archive Project. Once all humans are archived, and have died on Earth, they’ll be uploaded to Afterworld, an “easily rebootable” simulated paradise where “no human or group of humans can ruin the ecological balance even if they tried.” Storyworker ad39-393a-7fbc is being monitored by another artificial intelligence known as Emly, who periodically reminds the storyworker to “interrupt human life with more nature” and generally keep Sen’s humanity in the proper perspective, as Sen herself is supposed to do. (One of the goals of the witnessing project is to shift her perspective “from anthropocentric to Earth-centric.”) But Sen didn’t do a very good job of shifting her perspective, and the deeper the AI storyworker gets into her life, the more it also begins to lose the proper non-human perspective—and

A first-year college student accepts an invitation to leave her dormitory and move into a house with three other women.

Then absolutely everything goes wrong.

In truth, it’s been a while since things were right for Margot, an Outer Banks native who followed her childhood friend Eliza Jefferson in applying to South Carolina’s Rutledge College, only to have Eliza die the summer after their high school graduation. Margot’s overachieving parents wanted her to go to Duke. Determined to honor Eliza’s memory, however, she instead goes to Rutledge, where nothing much happens until Lucy Sharpe casts a knowing eye over her. Lucy lives in an outbuilding on the grounds of the Kappa Nu fraternity, and she’s sure that Margot would provide the perfect addition to her other housemates. Sloane Peters and Nicole Clausen, the housemates in question, are less certain and less impressed by the newcomer. But strong-willed Lucy carries all before her until Levi Butler, a Kappa Nu legacy who’s pledged the fraternity, is found dead with Lucy’s blood on his clothes. Detective Frank, as Margot calls him, wants to know more. He’s not going to find it out from Lucy, who’s gone AWOL, or from her friends, who treat her absence as no big deal—hey, she’s probably just getting it on with somebody or getting wasted somewhere.

But Margot can’t help taking Levi’s death more personally, since she knows KIRKUS REVIEWS

FICTION

A sprawling, mythic narrative of contemporary dysfunction and resistance.

PRAISEWORTHY

that he was once Eliza’s boyfriend and is convinced that somebody’s covering something up. In fact, pretty much everybody is covering up pretty much everything, and readers waiting for the big reveal will have to get by on a diet of gossip, gap-filled memories, and college angst in the meantime.

The payoff is handsome, but the road there is too much of too little.

Praiseworthy Wright, Alexis | New Directions (736 pp.) | $25.75 paper Feb. 6, 2024 | 9780811238014

A sprawling, mythic narrative of contemporary dysfunction and resistance.

Set in a small town in northern Australia sometime in the 21st century, this novel tells the story, in a fabulist mode teeming with plotlines and ancestral presences, of an Indigenous family’s response to climate catastrophe and longstanding abuse and neglect by a colonial power. Over roughly 700 pages, we track the fates of four central characters as a disorienting, lethal haze settles over their community.

Cause Man Steel, the patriarch, becomes engaged in a manic quest to round up millions of feral donkeys as replacements for carbon-based transportation.

His wife, Dance, plots an escape to China while enduring her community’s suspicions about her racial authenticity.

Aboriginal Sovereignty, the elder son, disappears after embarking on an illicit romance, which seems to confirm the prejudices of white culture. Tommyhawk, the younger son, plunges into an KIRKUS REVIEWS

internet obsession and rejects both his family and his Aboriginal heritage in favor of the promises of government authorities. A dizzying range of storytelling modes are employed as the plot unfolds; the overall narrative may be thought of as something like a traditional songline or dreaming track, but it includes sections reminiscent of Western genres as disparate as science fiction, classical myth, romance, and melodrama. Among the insistent themes, which reverberate in sometimes startling ways, are the ongoing consequences of historical trauma on a colonized people and the failure of a settler culture to confront its ongoing culpability—and commit to reconciliation—in good faith. If one can keep up with the demands of this challenging book, the rewards are undeniable; what emerges at last is a shimmering vision of the legacy of colonialism in Australia, and the reasons for optimism in hoping for greater justice and autonomy for its Indigenous peoples.

A rich, dreamlike journey through an Aboriginal mythos.

Where the Wind Calls Home Yazbek, Samar | Trans. by Leri Price | World Editions (168 pp.) | $18.99 paper Feb. 6, 2024 | 9781642861358

A wounded Syrian soldier reflects on his life and times.

In this compact, stream-of-consciousness narrative, 19-year-old Ali, a conscript in the Syrian Army fighting in the civil war

that’s ravaged the country for more than a decade, lingers between life and death after a bomb accidentally falls on the position he shares with four comrades. While the severity of his injuries is uncertain, his thoughts range widely and deeply over his short life in the mountain village where he was raised as a member of the Alawite sect. Ali’s brother, who preceded him into the army, has already lost his life in the conflict, and the novel opens with a vivid description of his funeral, one that Ali experiences as if it were his own. As he alternates between lucid and hallucinatory moments, Ali recalls his encounters with characters such as Humayrouna, a more-thancentury-old resident of the village who “raised him and taught him the language of trees,” and Abu Zayn, an army officer and wealthy landowner. Yazbek, a Syrian journalist and screenwriter who’s written previously about the war in both fiction and nonfiction, returns repeatedly to vivid imagery of trees, rivers, sky, and other aspects of the natural world that are central elements in defining Ali’s character and experience. His broken body lies beneath a large tree that evokes memories of a more than 500-year-old oak tree that stood next to the prayer space in his village, and in which he once constructed a kind of dwelling with the assistance of his mother, Nahla.

Yazbek efficiently paints a portrait of her sympathetic protagonist, a young man possessed of both strong religious impulses and a rebellious streak that exposes him to beatings both at school and at home.

An evocative, if slow-paced, meditation about people caught in the turning wheel of Syria’s violent present.

For more by Samar Yazbek, visit Kirkus online.

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 51

F I C T I O N // M Y S T E R Y

Death at a Scottish Wedding Connelly, Lucy | Crooked Lane (272 pp.) $29.99 | Jan. 9, 2024 | 9781639105410

A Scottish wedding is plagued by snow and murder.

Dr. Emilia McRoy left the pressure cooker atmosphere of a Seattle ER for Sea Isle, Scotland, and in a short time made many friends and helped solve a murder.

Now her friend Angie is getting married in a castle belonging to Ewan Campbell, laird, mayor, and constable of Sea Isle, who hired Emilia as coroner but has a fraught relationship with her. Ewan drives Emilia, her friend Mara, and some medical supplies Emilia hopes will not be needed through heavy snow to the destination wedding, which is not without problems. The groom’s father is against the marriage, and Angie’s father’s current wife and all his exes are in attendance.

While taking a break, Emilia witnesses something going on in the turret that turns out to be a murder. Since her office is already snowed in, it’s up to her, Ewan, and his men to investigate. Back in her room, Mara feels sick, perhaps from overindulging. But when Emilia and her clever assistant, Abigail, do an autopsy on the dead man, her diagnosis is poison, and she suspects that Mara and Angie may be suffering from the same toxin. As the wedding events continue, the dead man is identified as Robbie, Angie’s

former boyfriend and the groom’s estranged friend. Although they have indeed been poisoned by antifreeze, Emilia’s strategy of pushing lots of fluids on her headachy friends has flushed most of the toxins from their systems. Now Emilia and Ewan must race to identify a killer from among the ill-assorted and feuding groups of wedding guests.

Plenty of suspects in a locked-castle mystery in which whisky flows and secrets come to light.

The Dog Across the Lake Davis, Krista | Berkley (336 pp.) $9.99 paper | Jan. 2, 2024 9780593436974

An innkeeper in an otherwise pet-filled paradise wonders if her cousin’s caginess could be connected to murder.

Waking up one morning in her Sugar Maple Inn apartment, Holly Miller isn’t surprised to find herself cuddled up with a pet. After all, in a town like Wagtail, pets are all things to all people. But the pup Holly finds herself in bed with isn’t one of her own, and she’s confused when her Jack Russell terrier, Trixie, and her calico cat, Twinkletoes, don’t seem surprised by the mystery visitor, who’s missing a name tag of his own. A little digging by Holly’s grandmother Oma suggests that the dog is likely Radar, the well-traveled companion

An innkeeper in a pet-filled paradise wonders if her cousin’s caginess could be connected to murder.

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52 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

of Holly’s cousin Josh Paxton. Holly, who hasn’t seen Josh in more than 10 years, is thrilled that he might have come to town in time to join the family celebration for Oma’s big birthday. When Holly crosses the novel’s eponymous lake to catch up with Josh at his campsite, she learns that he’s not traveling solo. He and his new girlfriend, Dana Carrington, seem to be hiding something Holly can’t identify. Back at the inn, Holly is distracted from wondering more by the arrival of her family, whose oversharing of opinions might well benefit from Josh’s more tight-lipped style. Once the hubbub dies down, Holly circles back to try to catch up with Josh and Dana. Before she can even get the tent open, Trixie lets out a mournful howl, and Holly knows that someone’s dead inside. Will Josh be wrongfully accused of a murder, or is he on the wrong side of the law?

Holly is determined to find the truth.

The novel’s uneven balance leaves too many characters with not enough to do.

The Running Grave Galbraith, Robert | Mulholland Books/Little, Brown (960 pp.) | $32.50 | Sept. 26, 2023 9780316572101

J.K. Rowling’s detective, Cormoran Strike, makes his seventh series appearance in an overlong but reasonably entertaining whodunit.

“We were hippies…We never knew what it was all going to turn into.” So speaks a veteran of a pseudo-religious cult that, when its leaders aren’t busy extracting money from their followers, worships the ascended spirits of members who just happen to be dead. Ah, but why dead? As the pseudonymous Galbraith’s latest opens, emails and letters are flying among the cult’s lawyers, a wealthy chap whose on-the-spectrum son has gone kiting off to join the KIRKUS REVIEWS

M Y S T E R Y // F I C T I O N

As untidy and unf linching as a tornado whose eye is more frightful still.

TH E L I E S YO U WROTE

cult, and a disgruntled former member who’s been writing damaging blog posts about the bunch. Naturally, the last fellow soon exits the stage, the victim of—well, who knows. Enter Strike and sidekick Robin Ellacott, whose friends have been hoping that “she and Strike would become more to each other than detective partners and best friends.” Strike has been nursing just such thoughts, but there’s no time for hanky-panky, since they’ve got an evil cabal of cult masters to take down.

Their investigation leads them into tangled situations aplenty, with intimations of pedophilia and indiscreet behavior on the part of cult boss Papa J, “a handsome, tall and fit-looking man in his mid-sixties” who talks a very good game. Robin, natch, goes undercover to try to dislodge the aforementioned neurodivergent cultling from the group’s heavily fortified rural farm—where, she discovers, there are skeletons in every closet, to say nothing of every pigsty. Brexit, Charles Manson, and David Bowie all make appearances in this overstuffed yarn, much in need of streamlining though with plenty of neat plot twists and archly pointed dialogue, as when one interlocutor says of a baddie, “She must have had a dreadful childhood.”

Answers Strike, “A lot of people have dreadful childhoods and don’t take to strangling small children.”

More of the same, but Rowling’s fans will be neither dissuaded nor disappointed.

For more by Robert Galbraith, visit Kirkus online.

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The Lies You Wrote Labuskes, Brianna | Thomas & Mercer (351 pp.) | $16.99 paper | Jan. 1, 2024 9781662511363

Twenty-five years after a double murder stunned the little town of Everly, Washington, a copycat seems to be following in the original killer’s path.

If you ask veteran Everly sheriff Samantha Mason, there’s never been any doubt who killed Timothy and Rebecca Parker, a pair of brilliant mathematicians who taught at the local college, and plunged their three young daughters into foster care. It was their teenage son, Alex, who’d already displayed troubling enough behavior to put his school counselor on alert even before he wrote a story about a cannibal serial killer a few days before his parents’ deaths. But Alex died, too, obligingly leaving behind a confessional suicide note to head off any doubts about his guilt. Now Delaney Moore, a content moderator for a social media site, has pulled a video showing the corpses of Bob and Gina Balducci, one of whom had an uncomfortable relationship with the Parkers, staged in a remarkably similar scene. The discovery brings FBI agent Callum Kilkenny to Everly, along with FBI forensic linguist Raisa Susanto, who’s trying to live down a fatal mistake she made in identifying the author of an anonymous missive from the idiolectic patterns in which she specializes. As Raisa beats the bushes for evidence she can use to redeem

herself, she (naturally) doesn’t realize that Labuskes is alternating the chapters that track the stages of her investigation with chapters from the viewpoint of Delaney, whose consistent determination to take violent revenge on anyone who’s ever wronged her leaves Raisa’s own troubled childhood in the dust. So Raisa never has a chance to read that “Delaney wasn’t made for love. She was made for death.”

As untidy and unflinching as a tornado whose eye is more frightful still.

Coconut Drop Dead Matthews, Olivia | Minotaur (288 pp.) | $8.99 paper | Dec. 26, 2023 9781250839084

Brooklyn’s annual Caribbean American Heritage Festival is disrupted by murder and a host of lesser irregularities.

Lyndsay Murray, of the Spice Isle Bakery, wonders whether her cousin Manson Bain, an audio engineer at Caribbean Tunes, is really just friends with Camille Abbey, lead singer of DragonFlyZ, or whether there’s something more to the relationship. Before she and her appealingly nosy relatives can find out once and for all, the question is rendered moot when Camille is killed in a tumble down a flight of steps at the height of what ought to be a joyous occasion.

Or was she pushed, since it beggars the imagination to think that she fell backwards? When NYPD Homicide Det. Bryce Jackson ignores Manny’s pleas for an investigation, Manny asks Lyndsay to lean on him. Lyndsay has two clear advantages: She’s already been dubbed “the Grenadian Nancy Drew” after clearing up two earlier cases that implicated her mother and herself, and Bryce Jackson is definitely sweet on her. But he continues to drag his feet at every step, and Lyndsay ends up taking the lead in identifying suspects, uncovering evidence, and confronting the killer she is the first to finger.

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Along the way, Matthews reminds readers of the Caribbean backgrounds of entertainers and public figures from Alexander Hamilton to Eric Holder.

At the long-awaited fade-out, Lyndsay announces, “No more dead bodies for me.” Let’s see about that.

The anemic mystery is consistently outshined by the full-throated celebration of Caribbean American pride.

The Deceiving Look Methos, Victor | Thomas & Mercer $16.99 paper | Jan. 9, 2024 | 9781662516245

It’s a time of high-stakes testing for the sheriff’s department in Tooele County, Utah.

The latest crime wave Sheriff Billie Gray and her deputies have to deal with starts at the very top. Tooele mayor Dennis Yang has been brutally slashed to death in an apparent suicide. As that analysis starts to look more and more doubtful, someone attacks District Attorney Roger Lynch, whom everyone in the city is united in disliking. Seeking information from incarcerated gang boss Bigfoot Tommy, Billie’s old friend Solomon Shepard—a former prosecutor who’s being tormented by a series of ingratiating and menacing text messages—agrees to deliver a truck to an address Tommy provides, even though he knows it’s a sketchy favor.

And Dax Granger, the ex-boyfriend who’s been stalking Billie despite an injunction forbidding all contact with her, retaliates by swearing out a protective order against her. What makes

this particular epidemic of felonies especially hard is the possibility that the crimes have infiltrated the corridors of power, as Billie realizes when she catches a pair of male deputies who’ve installed a spy camera in the women’s shower room. As if that’s not enough stress for Billie, Deputy Mazie Heaton, her most recent hire, fails to show up for the date who’s waiting for her at a bar. Mazie’s obviously been kidnapped, but why, and by whom? With so many lawbreaking candidates lined up, the suspects will have to take a number. The biggest letdown comes when Solomon identifies the prime mover behind this carnival of crime: a big reveal as disappointing as it is logical.

A betwixt-and-between installment from someone who’s done, and will do, much better work.

Irish Milkshake Murder O’Connor, Carlene, Peggy Ehrhart & Liz Ireland | Kensington (352 pp.) | $27.00 Dec. 26, 2023 | 9781496745033

Three novellas offer sweet but sometimes lethal ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. What do Galway, Ireland; Arborville, New Jersey; and the North Pole have in common? Why, they all mark the name day of Ireland’s patron saint by serving up frosty milkshakes for revelers to savor. In O’Connor’s title story, these revelers are traveling to an island off Ireland’s western coast to celebrate Tara Meehan’s upcoming wedding to Danny O’Donnell, so the milkshakes

It’s a time of high-stakes testing for a Utah sheriff ’s department.

THE DECEIVING LOOK

54 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

have real booze in them and everyone’s already pretty sloshed when Noel Carrigan, one of the twins hitching a ride on the bridal party’s ferry, takes a swig of his milkshake and keels over dead. In Ehrhart’s “Murder Most Irish,” the deadly milkshake is served up at Hyler’s, a Jersey diner, but after a couple of hefty gulps, quiet, middle-aged Lionel Dunes ends up just as dead as Noel, leaving fellow diners Bettina Fraser and Pamela Peterson to solve his murder. Santaland is the setting for the third contribution, Ireland’s “Mrs. Claus and the Luckless Leprechaun.” The story follows April Claus, Santa’s Oregonian spouse, who’s been importing some of her favorite American holidays. The suspect shake is provided by April’s good friend Claire, owner of the local ice cream shop, and the victim is Crumble Woolly, injured star of the Twinklers elf iceball team. Crumble doesn’t die, but news of the tainted shake makes all the other elves shun Claire’s shop, so it’s up to April to put things right.

An unconventional St. Patrick’s Day treat may satisfy cozy fans who like their murder sweet.

Halifax: Resurrection Simpson, Roger | Blackstone (350 pp.) $26.99 | Jan. 9, 2024 | 9798212377171

A forensic psychologist climbs out of the black hole of post-injury amnesia to unravel a complex crime.

A murky prologue depicts a woman named Jane feeling unaccountably sick and, after a car crash, falling into a coma for 20 days. Her recuperative journey to “reboot the brain” proceeds in slow, progressive steps over several chapters that gradually reveal the details of her identity to both readers and Jane herself, who turns out to be a forensic psychologist, the Halifax of the title. Because KIRKUS REVIEWS

M Y S T E R Y // F I C T I O N

Being Henry VIII’s fool is no sinecure. In fact, it’s downright dangerous.

THE TWILIGHT QUEEN

this is a sequel to Halifax: Transgression (2023), readers might fear that the crime to be solved occurred in the previous volume; luckily, that’s not the case. The novels are based on the long-running Australian television series Halifax f.p.; several of its feature-length episodes were written by Simpson, whose skill as a screenwriter is on display here in the sharp dialogue, concise exposition, and underlying humor. Jane awakens to a pair of apparent strangers who shepherd her through recovery.

Jane eventually remembers them as her close friend Elizabeth and current boyfriend, Tim. When Peter, a character who briefly appears in the prologue, is reintroduced, Simpson’s mystery plot gains traction, centered around Robert Millard, a man accused of murdering his parents. Jane, who’d been working with Millard’s sister to prove his innocence, takes up the case again.

Her combination of determination and vulnerability makes her a highly engaging sleuth. Jane’s detective work is interwoven with her rocky road to recovery, with her sometimes obliviously lashing out at colleagues.

Peppered throughout are a series of taut and creepy verses that add another layer of suspense.

A brisk, offbeat crime yarn with a heroine worth rooting for.

For more by Roger Simpson, visit Kirkus online.

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The Twilight Queen Westerson, Jeri | Severn House (224 pp.) $31.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9781448310906

Being Henry VIII’s fool is no sinecure. In fact, it’s downright dangerous.

It’s lucky for Will Somers that the notoriously hot-tempered Henry favors and protects him, for Will knows plenty of secrets that could get him killed.

Although he’s happily married to Marion, the bastard daughter of Lord Robert Heyward, Will still has a taste for men. After a night of entertaining Henry and his court, Will, on his way back to his rooms, is approached by handsome courtier Nicholas Pachett for a night of dalliance. Upon leaving Pachett, Will is directed to the Queen’s quarters, where Queen Anne begs him to remove a dead body left in her room by one of her many enemies. Henry famously cast off Queen Catherine to marry Anne Boleyn, but now that she’s produced only another daughter, the king is already looking with favor on Jane Seymour, encouraged by Thomas Cromwell, who hates Anne. Recognizing the dead man as a musician newly arrived in court, Will drags his body through a secret passage to the gardens.

Because he already solved a murder during the time of Queen Catherine, he knows that he has to find the real killer if everyone’s to escape without losing their heads. He must be especially careful not to be caught with Pachett, even as he soothes the king’s evil temper.

Although several of the suspects are powerful men whom he’d be foolish

to accuse, Will takes his own life in his hands with his bold questioning.

Historical details mixed with a puzzling mystery make for a fine read, with several more wives to go.

The Secret of the Lady’s Maid Wilde, Darcie | Kensington (416 pp.) | $27.00 Dec. 26, 2023 | 9781496738035

A complicated web of interlocking relationships spells trouble for a Victorian problem-solver.

Rosalind Thorne makes her way in a male-dominated society by helping the ladies of London’s haut ton resolve all sorts of domestic dilemmas. Most recently, Marianna Levitton has sought Rosalind’s help finding her niece, Cate, who disappeared from her house in Bath after a sojourn there.

Marianna doesn’t know that Cate’s been living upstairs at the house Rosalind shares with writer Alice Littlefield ever since her niece was brought there, obviously sick, by Amelia McGowan, their housemaid. The presence of Cate, Amelia’s onetime paramour, upsets the deepening relationship between Amelia and Alice and puts Rosalind in a precarious position with Marianna and Beatrice, Cate’s mother. While Rosalind tries to sort out the Levittons’ domestic affairs, Bow Street runner Adam Harkness hopes to make her an offer of marriage by earning the reward offered for the capture of the fugitive George Edwards, a key figure in the Cato Street uprising. In between the two quests stand Jack Beachamp and Francesca Finch, a pair of miscreants who see fit to meddle in both family conflicts and matters of national importance. Fitting together all the pieces holds the key not only to solving the intricate puzzle but to finding a path forward in Rosalind and Adam’s life together.

Wilde moves deftly between the personal and political in a complex tale of love and betrayal.

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A Quantum Love Story Chen, Mike | Harlequin MIRA (384 pp.) | $18.99 paper | Jan. 30, 2024 9780778369509

A woman’s business trip turns into a journey of scientific and self-discovery after she gets caught in a time loop.

Neuroscientist Mariana Pineda is ready to quit her job. Her heart hasn’t been in it ever since Shay Freeman, her best friend, went missing and probably died three months ago. But the offer of a last-minute business trip to the Hawke Accelerator, the place Shay has always wanted to work, is too good to pass up, and she decides she’ll quit when she gets back. While at Hawke, she runs into Carter Cho, a technician who seems to always be in the background of things.

Then he asks if she remembers their last conversation—she doesn’t think she’s ever spoken to him before—and tells her they’re stuck in a time loop that’s going to be set off when the accelerator blows up in a few minutes. At the last moment, he pushes her in front of a green beam of energy, and she wakes up in her bed, four days earlier. Now aware that she’s caught in the time loop with Carter, she realizes the two of them must find a way to break the cycle before losing their minds. With a puzzle box of a plot, the novel has an interesting assortment of twists and turns, but that’s also one of its weaknesses, because it doesn’t seem to know what kind of story it wants to tell. The characters lack depth; only Mariana gets any shading beyond a surface level, mainly because the story is told from her point of view. Despite the title, the characters bond more over their plight than over any feelings.

A great mix of ideas that can’t ultimately coalesce into one story.

For more by Mike Chen, visit Kirkus online.

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A stunning Sapphic Victorian romance from an author to watch.

D O N ’ T WANT YO U L I KE A B E ST F R I E N D

Kirkus Star

Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend Alban, Emma R. | Avon/HarperCollins (384 pp.) | $18.99 paper | Jan. 9, 2024 9780063312005

A debutante meets a new friend who becomes something more.

Miss Elizabeth Demeroven is ready for her first season. She’s been presented to Queen Victoria, she’s been strapped into her hoop skirts, and she’s off to find a husband, because she and her widowed mother will have nowhere to live if she doesn’t. At her first ball, where she’s cornered by a lecherous old nobleman, she’s quite grateful to be saved by Lady Guinevere Bertram and her widower father—both of whom are also technically on the market, though they can afford to avoid actual marriages. In Gwen, Beth has found a kindred spirit, and both are relieved to have a friend to help get them through the upcoming crush of balls and parties. Once the two discover that their parents were once sweet on each other, they hatch a plan to make them fall back in love; not only do they want to see their parents happy, but a marriage between them would also mean that neither of their daughters would have to get married. In the process, Gwen and Beth discover that they have strong feelings for each other, and before long, they act on them.

Unfortunately, their parents won’t

be trapped, which means that just as she’s discovered real love, Beth has to return to her original goal and accept a proposal from an inoffensive young man with an atrocious father; suddenly, any future with Gwen is out of reach. Alban’s debut is a witty, complex slow burn that offers a welcome new perspective on the Victorian marriage market. In addition to a well-paced story with charming heroines, it’s heightened by thoughtful, realistic historical detail— who knew hoop skirts could be both so troublesome and so useful? The book is lightly spicy and remarkably intense, thanks to the emotional connection between Beth and Gwen as well as the many barriers between the two women and their happy ending.

Readers will be eager for the next installment.

A stunning Sapphic Victorian romance from an author to watch.

The Fake Mate Ferguson, Lana | Berkley (400 pp.) $16.99 paper | Dec. 5, 2023 9780593549377

Opposites attract when two doctors, who also happen to be wolf shifters, become fake mates for their own respective benefits.

Mackenzie Carter has had bad date after bad date, and her grandmother is becoming increasingly worried that she’ll never be mated. It doesn’t matter that she’s an accomplished ER doctor; her family only seems to KIRKUS REVIEWS

R O M A N C E // F I C T I O N

Sink your teeth into this paranormal romance with a modern twist.

BRIDE

care about her love life. Interventional cardiologist Noah Taylor is hiding his status as an unmated alpha, given that alphas are often incorrectly stereotyped for volatile and violent outbursts. But when he’s threatened with revelation to the medical board, putting his career in jeopardy, he’ll have to resort to drastic measures. Mackenzie, who is bubbly to Noah’s acerbic, has no qualms about suggesting the unthinkable: They could pretend to be mates. She’ll get her grandmother off her back, while Noah can put the rumors at ease before they get out of control. This is an omegaverse romance, drawing from the fanfiction genre of erotic shifter romances where alphas, betas, and omegas inhabit the shifter mythology. While romance readers and omegaverse fic lovers certainly have some crossover, those new to the concept might have to take several Google breaks to fully understand the worldbuilding at play, even though the book is wrapped in a contemporary rom-com package with only subtle references to the characters’ more animal natures. It’s still a steamy, worthwhile romance with plenty of banter, tapping into the popular grumpy-meets-sunshine trope. The fake-dating trope is amped up a notch by the addition of shifters and matehood, and while it feels a little like reinventing the wheel, Ferguson obviously had a blast writing this one.

A sexy and funny paranormal romance with a slight barrier to entry.

For more romance reviews, visit Kirkus online.

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Bride Hazelwood, Ali | Berkley (416 pp.) $16.99 paper | Feb. 6, 2024 9780593550403

A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.

As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to having to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be a part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives.

While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean

on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.

Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.

The Lily of Ludgate Hill Matthews, Mimi | Berkley (432 pp.) $17.00 paper | Jan. 16, 2024 978-0-593-33718-9

This Victorian second-chance romance reunites a man and a woman who have put caring for their families above their own needs and desires.

Ever since Lady Anne Deveril’s father passed away six years ago, she and her mother have been clothed in black and wading through grief. In the immediate aftermath, her mother’s utter devastation led Anne to reject a marriage offer from Felix Hartford so she could focus on caring for her. Anne and Felix’s falling out included cruel, judgmental words from both parties, so they’ve kept their distance since.

Now, Anne requires a favor from him, which leads to them spending time together again as old feelings reignite. Anne learns that fun-loving, carefree Felix has more depth to him than she ever knew. His father was not the moral paragon he claimed to be, and Felix has been doing his best to right the man’s wrongs while keeping his family’s reputation intact.

He’s also secretly been working in trade—unthinkable for a man of his societal standing. Anne’s and Felix’s family issues still get in the way as their relationship deepens, but they realize this time that perhaps they’re mature enough to work through it, NOVEMBER 15, 2023 59

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together. In this third installment of her Belles of London series, Matthews delivers another richly detailed and emotionally tender closed-door romance. The lovingly crafted leads are both trying to do the right thing for their loved ones. The beauty and complexity in this story is that there isn’t always one right answer to every dilemma. Anne and Felix try, and they err, and they try again. It’s this realness that makes these characters interesting and their relationship captivating.

A lovely romance with sophisticated emotions.

Sex, Lies and Sensibility Payne, Nikki | Berkley (432 pp.) $18.00 paper | Feb. 13, 2024 978-0-593-44096-4

A young woman, haunted by her past, finds hope in the Maine woods.

When Nora Dash’s father dies, he leaves two bombshells for her and her sister, Yanne. First, he had a whole second family—actually his first, comprising a wife of 35 years and her daughter from an earlier marriage. Second, Nora and Yanne have inherited a dilapidated house on an island in Maine, and if they don’t fix it up by Labor Day and pay off the mortgage, which is in arrears, the property will default to Felicia, their evil quasi-stepsister.

Nora and Yanne decide to turn the property into an inn. After heading from Maryland to Maine, they find themselves the only Black women for 100 miles. But Barton Cove is not empty when they arrive. In fact, they are greeted by a mostly naked man warming himself by the fire. Although at first they think they’ve stumbled across a sex cult, what they’ve actually found is a tour group—including said naked man, who’d previously fallen in a stream and is now drying off. The 60 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

group is led by Ennis “Bear” Freeman, an Abenaki man with dreams of becoming a college track coach.

The chemistry between Nora and Bear is immediately palpable. After their awkward first meeting, they quickly decide to become partners: Bear will help Nora fix up the inn, and Nora will let Bear use the property to host his tours. But Nora and Bear both carry significant baggage: Bear is embroiled in a complicated relationship with his sort-of-ex-girlfriend and has a mountain of debt, and Nora is tormented by a sex tape that she and her boyfriend released in college.

Much of the novel feels confused, with too much manufactured drama and an overabundance of plot points that at times takes away from the charming love story at its center. Despite these flaws, Payne’s voice is fun and sexy, and Nora’s thoughts in particular are a joy to read.

A moderately juicy romance with winks to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.

Principles of (E)motion Read, Sara | Graydon House (304 pp.) | $18.99 paper | Jan. 9, 2024 9781525836657

A brilliant mathematician falls in love with a construction worker who’s wanted for murder.

Dr. Meg Brightwood, a mathematical prodigy, left academia 15 years ago and has been living as a recluse ever since. She hated teaching, hated being discounted because she was pretty, and hated living in the shadow of her father, the first Dr. Brightwood.

She’s been hiding out in her recently deceased grandmother’s house, working on Frieholdt’s conjecture, a mathematical problem widely regarded as unsolvable. Except, one day, Meg solves it. Overcome by her achievement, she hides the proof in a household safe. Shortly thereafter, she

hears a commotion and sees a carpenter who’s working on her neighbor’s renovation being attacked by another man. Running outside, Meg scares off the assailant, only to discover that the man she’s defended is Isaac Wells, her first great love. She takes Isaac in, and soon even math feels unimportant. Even when Isaac reveals that he’s wanted for the murder of his sister’s abusive boyfriend, Meg doesn’t falter in her devotion. When she finds her Frieholdt notes missing, though, Meg finally mobilizes to assert her claim to credit for the work while simultaneously clearing Isaac’s name. Told entirely in the first person from Meg’s perspective, this plot-driven narrative moves at a steady clip. Despite readers’ need to suspend their disbelief at several points, such as when the two make improbable escapes from law enforcement or mathematical facts don’t quite add up, they’ll find watching these characters discover common ground to be both poignant and compelling. As suspense mounts in Meg’s fight for her intellectual integrity, author Read also offers a scathing critique of misogyny and corruption in academia. Tackling issues of mental health, self-doubt, and second chances, this romantic story about the connection between a grand theoretical thinker and a carpenter is entirely compelling.

A delightfully mathematical take on the opposites-attract paradigm.

The Bright Spot Shalvis, Jill | Avon/HarperCollins (368 pp.) | $18.99 paper | Jan. 16, 2024 9780063235755

A 29-year-old woman inherits 50% of a farm near Lake Tahoe and must work with the other owner to save the property.

Luna Wright has a huge chip on her shoulder: Adopted at birth and hurt in love, KIRKUS REVIEWS

R O M A N C E // F I C T I O N

she’s worked hard to be successful in her five years as the manager of Apple Ridge Farm, a gorgeous 150acre spread in the Sierras. Which she thought she’d managed to do, with the help of friends and family—Willow, her best friend; Stella, her grandmother; and Chef, her first boyfriend and now good friend— despite the farm’s grumpy owner, whom all the employees hate, and her own history of failure. But then Silas Wittman, that grumpy owner, dies, and she finds out that not only was he her biological grandfather, making her hiring smack of nepotism, but he’s left her half the farm and a balloon payment that’s due in 60 days. And then her new business partner, Jameson Hayes, Silas’ investment manager, turns out to be a hot guy she met at a bar who turned her down cold. So to add to her stress about making the farm a success, and the fact that she’s convinced that her beloved co-workers will hate her once they find out she’s part-owner, she has the embarrassment of working with a guy who rejected her. Jameson has secrets of his own, and he promised Silas he would stay at the farm for two months to help Luna, which won’t be easy.

An easy-to-read, forced-proximity romance filled with quirky characters, strong—but flawed—women, and supportive men.

The Spy and I Smith, Tiana | Berkley (352 pp.) $18.00 paper | Feb. 13, 2024 9780593550304

An introverted Washington, D.C., computer hacker joins forces with a handsome CIA operative in Smith’s first adult rom-com.

Dove Barkley is what you might call an honest hacker: All she needs is four minutes (and a Taylor Swift tune) to slither past a KIRKUS REVIEWS

company’s security system and reveal how vulnerable their database is. As a self-proclaimed computer nerd, however, dating is the one thing Dove has never been able to hack. Her last date was two years ago, something her older sister, Madison, seldom lets her forget. As a travel photographer, Madison rarely stays in one place, but she’s never too busy to check in on her baby sister and nag her about getting back out there. But when Dove is interviewed by Sam Olsen, a broodingly handsome journalist, she can’t wait to spill the flirty details to her sister over dinner that night.

Dove’s evening turns sour, however, when a man sits down at her table in the restaurant, hands her a briefcase containing a fake passport with Madison’s photo on it, and is promptly shot dead in front of her. In a series of Jason Bourne–level capers, she learns that not only is Madison a CIA agent who’s allegedly in cahoots with an arms dealer, but Sam Olsen is actually Mendez, the government agent trying to track her down. (“And your first name?” she asks him.

“That’s on a need-to-know basis,” he responds.) Dove can’t believe Madison would switch sides so easily, and she agrees to work with Mendez to clear her sister’s name. Smith packs her tale with action, comedy, and perhaps one too many unnecessary similes. Dove is a relatable underdog thrown into a bizarre scenario: “My idea of a good time was more likely to include a sugar rush than a rush of adrenaline.” And while her relationship with Mendez leaves a little to be desired—his flirtation is often more inappropriate than charming—Dove’s determination to save Madison out of pure sisterly trust is a commendable character trait.

An amusing spies-to-lovers tale that’s more comedy than romance.

For more by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, visit Kirkus online.

The Breakup Tour Wibberley, Emily & Austin SiegemundBroka | Berkley (352 pp.) | $16.99 paper Jan. 23, 2024 | 9780593638644

A musician famous for her songs about breakups takes an old boyfriend on tour.

After her threemonth marriage to a well-known actor ends in divorce, Riley Wynn writes an album that turns her into a superstar. Each song tells the story of a past lover, and her fans and the media breathlessly try to match each song to the man who inspired it. Riley is furious when her ex-husband suggests that he was the inspiration for the album’s biggest hit, Until You. The real subject of the song was Max Harcourt, Riley’s college boyfriend. Max and Riley broke up after he decided to stay in Los Angeles and work at his family’s retirement home rather than pursue life as a musician with her. Max loves his job despite the financial pressures that threaten to close the facility’s doors.

Riley approaches Max for the first time in a decade, asking for permission to reveal him as the true inspiration for the song. He agrees, but only if he can play piano on tour to see the musician’s life that he’s missed. Over the course of the tour, Riley and Max fall in love again but aren’t sure how to write a different future for themselves. The romance arc of the novel is frustrating because most of the insurmountable problems of the past are magically fixed without discussion in the present. The authors’ interest seems to be in Riley as a character: How can a woman known for heartbreak finally find love? Since Riley is a thinly veiled Taylor Swift caricature, it’s an unsatisfying and even unsettling reading experience. Riley notes, “It’s uncomfortable to feel like what I represent to my promoters is just the paper doll of Riley Wynn they’ll pose however they want”— which is just how the authors use Swift.

Taylor Swift fanfic that delivers nothing of interest to the general romance reader.

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N O N F I C T I O N // B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3

Kirkus presents the Best Nonfiction Books of 2023. As in previous years, the list includes a variety of outstanding books for readers of all backgrounds and lovers of any genre, from memoir to popular science to politics. This year, you’ll find gorgeously written autobiographies, thought-provoking explorations of the natural world, definitive biographies of seminal figures in art and culture, and cogent analyses of current events. No matter your reading preferences, there’s something for everyone here.

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TPopova via iStock

The Best Nonfiction Books of 2023

B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3 // N O N F I C T I O N

On Marriage Baum, Devorah | Yale Univ.

(336 pp.) | $27.50 | Oct. 24, 2023 9780300271935

Belim, Victoria | Abrams (288 pp.) $28.00 | June 27, 2023 | 9781419767852

A rollicking account about marriage in books, movies, and culture, told with authority and genuine warmth.

An elegant family narrative of myriad characters traumatized by the deep-seated Russia-Ukrainian struggle.

The Talk

Twist: An American Girl: A Memoir

Bell, Darrin | Henry Holt (352 pp.) $29.99 | June 6, 2023 | 9781250805140

A beautifully drawn book, rich with insight, humor, and hardwon knowledge.

Fatherland: A Memoir of War, Conscience, and Family Secrets Bilger, Burkhard | Random House (352 pp.) | $28.99 | May 2, 2023 9780385353984

A moving, humane biography of a minor Nazi official who did his job without the usual horrors.

Maestros & Monsters: Days & Nights With Susan Sontag & George Steiner Boyers, Robert | Mandel Vilar Press (256 pp.) | $24.95 paper Sept. 26, 2023 | 9781942134886

A nimble, eminently readable tribute to a pair of literary giants who weren’t shy of calling themselves such.

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The Rooster House: My Ukrainian Family Story, a Memoir

Bertei, Adele | ZE Books (250 pp.) $28.00 | March 14, 2023 9781736309339

A powerful look at survival and redemption despite extremely challenging obstacles.

The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace, and Redemption in Vietnam Black, George | Knopf (496 pp.) $30.00 | March 28, 2023 9780593534106

One of the best recent books on a war that ended half a century ago but that still reverberates.

Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics Brands, H.W. | Doubleday (464 pp.) $35.00 | Nov. 7, 2023 | 9780385549240

An essential book for understanding the foundation of American partisanship.

Red Memory: The Afterlives of China’s Cultural Revolution

Quartet: How Four Women Changed the Musical World

Branigan, Tania | Norton (288 pp.)

Broad, Leah | Faber & Faber (480 pp.)

$29.95 | May 9, 2023 | 9781324051954

$29.95 | Sept. 5, 2023 | 9780571366101

A heartbreaking, revelatory evocation of “the decade that cleaved modern China in two.”

A stellar work of social and music history sprinkled with emotional dashes of love, sex, and politics.

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Everything/Nothing/ Someone: A Memoir Carrière, Alice | Spiegel & Grau (288 pp.) | $27.00 | Aug. 29, 2023 9781954118294

A spellbinding memoir.

Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming Chin, Ava | Penguin Press (400 pp.) $28.00 | April 25, 2023 | 9780525557371

Carson, Eirinie | Melville House (240 pp.) | $27.99 | April 11, 2023 9781685890452

As elegant and moving as a grief memoir can be.

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant: A Memoir Chin, Curtis | Little, Brown (304 pp.) $29.00 | Oct. 17, 2023 9780316507653

A lively memoir that limns a long family history and helps us understand the troubled history of our nation.

Chin is a born storyteller with an easy manner, and this memoir should earn him many readers.

STEWdio: The Naphic Grovel ARTrilogy of Chuck D

The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance

Chuck D | Enemy Books/Akashic (720 pp.) | $59.95 paper | June 6, 2023 9781636141008

In an engaging, distinctly hip-hop style, Chuck D reveals important lessons from the early pandemic years.

The Declassification Engine: What History Reveals About America’s Top Secrets Connelly, Matthew | Pantheon | (560 pp.)

Clarren, Rebecca | Viking (352 pp.) $32.00 | Oct. 3, 2023 | 9780593655078

Free land comes at a cost. Clarren’s memorable book, troubling and inspiring, seeks a humane path toward restitution.

Radical by Nature: The Revolutionary Life of Alfred Russel Wallace Costa, James T. | Princeton Univ.

(552 pp.) | $39.95 | March 21, 2023

$30.00 | Jan. 17, 2023 | 9781101871577

9780691233796

Yet more evidence, brilliantly delivered, of the extent of the U.S. government’s dysfunction.

A superb biographical rehabilitation of an indispensable natural scientist.

Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right

The Wise Hours: A Journey Into the Wild and Secret World of Owls

Dallek, Matthew | Basic Books (384 pp.) | $32.00 March 21, 2023 9781541673564

A timely, critically important contribution to the history of our present political and constitutional crisis.

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The Dead Are Gods

Darlington, Miriam | Tin House (336 pp.) | $27.95 | Feb. 7, 2023 9781953534835

Heartfelt, enchanting, and beautifully written.

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B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3 // N O N F I C T I O N

Larry McMurtry: A Life Daugherty, Tracy | St. Martin’s (560 pp.) | $35.00 | Sept. 12, 2023 9781250282330

A definitive life of the novelist/ bookseller/scriptwriter/curmudgeon of interest to any McMurtry fan.

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot To Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them Egan, Timothy | Viking (432 pp.) | $30.00 April 4, 2023 | 9780735225268

An excellently rendered, unsettling narrative of America at its worst.

We’ve Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care Einav, Liran & Amy Finkelstein Portfolio (304 pp.) | $29.00 July 25, 2023 | 9780593421239

Dederer, Claire | Knopf (288 pp.) $28.00 | April 25, 2023 | 9780525655114

Bringing erudition, emotion, and a down-to-earth style to this pressing problem, Dederer presents her finest work to date.

King: A Life Eig, Jonathan | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (688 pp.) | $35.00 May 16, 2023 | 9780374279295

An extraordinary achievement and an essential life of the iconic warrior for social justice.

The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History From a Whitewashed American Myth Fowler, Jermaine | Row House Publishing (384 pp.) | $26.99 | Feb. 28, 2023 9781955905145

One of the best entries in the health care reform genre.

A timely, powerful approach to history that looks into the past to find a path into a better future.

Good Girls: A Story and Study of Anorexia

A Death in Malta: An Assassination and a Family’s Quest for Justice

Freeman, Hadley | Simon & Schuster (288 pp.) | $27.99 | April 18, 2023 9781982189839

If you need to understand anorexia, look no further. This is the book for you.

Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society Geronimus, Arline T. | Little, Brown Spark (368 pp.) | $30.00 | March 28, 2023 | 9780316257978

A compelling contribution to the literature on the important issue of health care inequity.

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Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma

Galizia, Paul Caruana | Riverhead (304 pp.) | $28.00 | Nov. 7, 2023 9780593543733

A memorable book of a courageous crusade for justice.

Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet Goldfarb, Ben | Norton (384 pp.) $30.00 | Sept. 12, 2023 | 9781324005896

An astonishingly deep pool of wonders.

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OCME: Life in America’s Top Forensic Medical Center Goldfarb, Bruce | Steerforth (240 pp.) $19.00 paper | Feb. 21, 2023

The Last Island: Discovery, Defiance, and the Most Elusive Tribe on Earth Goodheart, Adam | Godine (272 pp.)

9781586423582

$28.95 | Sept. 12, 2023 | 9781567926828

A brilliant insider’s view of a critical yet vulnerable government agency.

A thrilling book that will leave you contemplating the concept of civilization.

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder Grann, David | Doubleday (352 pp.) $30.00 | April 18, 2023 9780385534260

A brisk, absorbing history and a no-brainer for fans of the author’s suspenseful historical thrillers.

Creep: Accusations and Confessions Gurba, Myriam | Avid Reader Press (288 pp.) | $27.00 | Sept. 5, 2023

True West: Sam Shepard’s Life, Work, and Times Greenfield, Robert | Crown (448 pp.) $30.00 | April 11, 2023 9780525575955

A masterful look at the wild life of an enigmatic artist that shows how captivating the truth can be.

Skinfolk: A Memoir Guterl, Matthew Pratt | Liveright/ Norton (256 pp.) | $30.00 March 28, 2023 | 9781324091714

9781982186494

A truly exceptional essay collection about safety, fear, and power.

The Hungry Season: A Journey of War, Love, and Survival

Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America

9780316415897

Harriot, Michael | Illus. by Jibola Fagbamiye | Dey Street/ HarperCollins (432 pp.) | $32.50 Sept. 19, 2023 | 9780358439165

A sensitive and carefully written story that sympathetically depicts the hard lives of refugees in a strange land.

Fresh eyes and bold, entertaining language combine in this authoritative, essential work of U.S. history.

Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World

August Wilson: A Life

Hamilton, Lisa M. | Little, Brown (368 pp.) | $30.00 | Sept. 26, 2023

Harris, Malcolm | Little, Brown (720 pp.) $36.00 | Feb. 14, 2023 | 9780316592031

A highly readable revisionist history of the Golden State, sharply argued and well researched.

66 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

An earnestly felt, beautifully wrought story of an American family in all its complexity.

Hartigan, Patti | Simon & Schuster (592 pp.) | $32.50 | Aug. 15, 2023 9781501180668

An authoritative portrait of a defiant champion of Black theater.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3 // N O N F I C T I O N

Lou Reed: The King of New York

The Story of Art Without Men

Hermes, Will | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (560 pp.) | $35.00

Hessel, Katy | Norton (512 pp.) $45.00 | May 2, 2023

Oct. 3, 2023 | 9780374193393

9780393881868

An engrossing, fully dimensional portrait of an influential yet elusive performer.

An overdue upending of art historical discourse.

An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created Holley, Santi Elijah | Mariner Books (320 pp.) | $32.50 | May 23, 2023 9780358588764

Well written and richly detailed, this book is a strong contribution to the literature of Black militancy.

Althea: The Life of Tennis Champion Althea Gibson Jacobs, Sally H. | St. Martin’s (304 pp.) $32.00 | Aug. 15, 2023 | 9781250246554

Isaacson, Walter | Simon & Schuster (688 pp.) | $35.00 | Sept. 12, 2023 9781982181284

Alternately admiring and critical, unvarnished, and a closely detailed account of a troubled innovator.

Breaking Through: My Life in Science Karikó, Katalin | Crown (336 pp.) $28.99 | Oct. 10, 2023 9780593443163

An essential book about an incomparably authentic American pioneer and the times in which she lived.

An outstanding memoir with a happy ending.

The Great White Bard: How To Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race

Trans Children in Today’s Schools

Karim-Cooper, Farah | Viking (336 pp.) | $30.00 | Aug. 15, 2023

9780190886547

9780593489376

Illuminating both words and performance—an essential addition to Shakespeare studies.

How To Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told Key, Harrison Scott | Avid Reader Press (288 pp.) | $27.99

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Elon Musk

Key, Aidan | Oxford Univ. (384 pp.)

29.95 paper | June 27, 2023

Essential guidance on proactively navigating the challenges of gender-diverse student bodies.

You Have To Be Prepared To Die Before You Can Begin To Live: Ten Weeks in Birmingham That Changed America

June 13, 2023 | 9781668015506

Kix, Paul | Celadon Books (400 pp.)

An exceptional memoir of a humorist’s attempts to deal with his wife’s infidelity.

An eloquent contribution to the literature of civil rights and the ceaseless struggle to attain them.

$30.00 | May 2, 2023 | 9781250807694

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Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion Krishnamurthy, Sowmya | Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (304 pp.) $28.99 | Oct. 10, 2023 | 9781982176327

Exciting and exhaustive, this fun hip-hop history explains what your favorite rappers are wearing and why.

Kurzweil, Amy | Catapult (368 pp.) $38.00 | Oct. 17, 2023 9781948226387

Intimate reflections and powerful visual elements combine in an exemplary work of graphic nonfiction.

American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation, 1765-1795

Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America

Larson, Edward J. | Norton (416 pp.) $32.50 | Jan. 17, 2023

Lee, Julia | Henry Holt (256 pp.) $26.99 | April 18, 2023 | 9781250824677

9780393882209

An authoritative contribution to the dismal history of race in America.

A lively, wise, and immensely insightful memoir about Asian America’s relationship with Whiteness.

The Picnic: A Dream of Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain

American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress

Longo, Matthew | Norton (320 pp.) $28.95 | Nov. 7, 2023 | 9780393540772

A much-needed reminder of the inexhaustibility of the human quest for personal and collective freedom.

The West: A New History in Fourteen Lives Mac Sweeney, Naoíse | Dutton (352 pp.) | $28.00 | May 23, 2023 9780593472170

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Artificial: A Love Story

Lowery, Wesley | Mariner Books (272 pp.) | $29.99 | June 27, 2023 9780358393269

A masterful blend of narrative history and empathetic reporting.

And Finally: Matters of Life and Death Marsh, Henry | St. Martin’s (224 pp.) $27.99 | Jan. 17, 2023 9781250286086

A highly readable, vigorous repudiation of the Western-centric school of history.

Another masterful memoir from Marsh.

How Not To Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind

Biography of a Phantom: A Robert Johnson Blues Odyssey

Martin, Clancy | Pantheon (464 pp.) $28.00 | March 28, 2023

McCormick, Robert “Mack” Smithsonian Books (264 pp.) | $29.95

9780593317051

April 4, 2023 | 9781588347343

Disquieting, deeply felt, eye-opening, and revelatory.

A worthwhile investigation into a true legend of the blues.

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B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3 // N O N F I C T I O N

Sleeping With the Ancestors: How I Followed the Footprints of Slavery McGill Jr., Joseph & Herb Frazier Hachette (352 pp.) | $29.00 June 6, 2023 | 9780306829666

A thoughtful, deeply humane addition to African American history.

We May Dominate the World: Ambition, Anxiety, and the Rise of the American Colossus Mirski, Sean A. | PublicAffairs (512 pp.) $35.00 | June 27, 2023 | 9781541758438

A tremendous work of well-structured research that will appeal to a wide audience.

Sonic Life: A Memoir Moore, Thurston | Doubleday (496 pp.) | $35.00 | Oct. 24, 2023 9780385548656

A self-aware, charmingly roughand-tumble tale of the rock ’n’ roll life.

The Times: How the Newspaper of Record Survived Scandal, Scorn, and the Transformation of Journalism Nagourney, Adam | Crown (592 pp.) $35.00 | Sept. 26, 2023 | 9780451499363

An exemplary work of journalism about journalism, of surpassing interest to any serious consumer of the news.

How To Be: Life Lessons From the Early Greeks Nicolson, Adam | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (384 pp.) | $32.00

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American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15 McWhirter, Cameron & Zusha Elinson | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (496 pp.) | $32.00 | Sept. 26, 2023 9780374103859

A riveting exploration of the cost of the nation’s fascination with an iconic weapon.

The World: A Family History of Humanity Montefiore, Simon Sebag | Knopf (1,344 pp.) | $45.00 | May 16, 2023 9780525659532

A vibrant, masterful rendering of human history.

The Upside-Down World: Meetings With the Dutch Masters Moser, Benjamin | Liveright/Norton (320 pp.) | $39.95 | Oct. 10, 2023 9781324092254

A graceful meditation on art.

Orphan Bachelors: A Memoir Ng, Fae Myenne | Grove (256 pp.) $27.00 | May 9, 2023 | 9780802162212

An exemplary study of the past brought into the present, spanning years and continents.

The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine Nuila, Ricardo | Scribner (368 pp.) $28.00 | March 28, 2023

Oct. 17, 2023 | 9780374610104

9781501198045

A must-read for anyone interested in philosophy, history, travel, art and the quest of human beings to comprehend themselves.

A compassionate, engrossing story of frustrated hopes and unlikely victories in American health care.

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Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration

Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves From the American Dream

Oliva, Alejandra | Astra House (320 pp.) | $28.00 | June 20, 2023

Quart, Alissa | Ecco/HarperCollins (288 pp.) | $27.99 | March 14, 2023

9781662601699

9780063028005

A humane, elegantly written book that gives voice to the voiceless at our borders.

A provocative, important repudiation of gig-economy capitalism that proposes utopian rather than dystopian solutions.

Rikers: An Oral History Rayman, Graham & Reuven Blau Random House (464 pp.) | $28.99 Jan. 17, 2023 | 9780593134214

If there were ever an argument for prison reform, it’s in these pages.

Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America Richardson, Heather Cox | Viking (304 pp.) | $30.00 | Sept. 26, 2023 9780593652961

Regan, Iliana | Agate Midway (344 pp.) | $27.00 | Jan. 24, 2023 9781572843189

An intimate, passionate, and fresh perspective on the natural world and our place within it.

The Teachers: A Year Inside America’s Most Vulnerable, Important Profession Robbins, Alexandra | Dutton (384 pp.) $29.00 | March 14, 2023 | 9781101986752

Reminding us that “how it comes out rests…in our own hands,” Richardson empowers us for the chapters yet to come.

An important and eye-opening book that all parents, teachers, and educational administrators should read.

Worm: A Cuban American Odyssey

The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions

Rodriguez, Edel | Metropolitan/Henry Holt (304 pp.) | $29.99 | Nov. 7, 2023 9781250753977

A sharply observed document of totalitarianism and its discontents—this gifted artist in particular.

70 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Fieldwork: A Forager’s Memoir

Rosen, Jonathan | Penguin Press (560 pp.) | $32.00 | April 18, 2023 9781594206573

An affecting, thoughtfully written portrait of a friendship broken by mental illness and its terrible sequelae.

Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain

A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing From Soil to Stars

Sanghera, Sathnam | Pantheon (384 pp.) | $29.00 | Feb. 28, 2023

Ed. by Sharkey, Erin | Milkweed (312 pp.) | $20.00 paper | Feb. 14, 2023

9780593316672

9781571313904

The sun may have set on the British Empire, but this piercing examination of its legacies is thoroughly timely.

A well-curated assemblage of Black voices that draws profound connections among family, nature, aspiration, and loss.

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B E S T B O O K S O F 2 0 2 3 // N O N F I C T I O N

Ordinary Notes Sharpe, Christina | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (392 pp.) | $35.00 April 25, 2023 | 9780374604486

An exquisitely original celebration of American Blackness.

Chinese Prodigal: A Memoir in Eight Arguments Shih, David | Atlantic Monthly (304 pp.) | $28.00 | Aug. 15, 2023 9780802158994

A profoundly thoughtful, unflinchingly honest Asian American memoir.

How To Say Babylon: A Memoir

Brothers: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Race

Sinclair, Safiya | Simon & Schuster (352 pp.) | $28.99 | Oct. 3, 2023

Slate, Nico | Temple Univ. Press (246 pp.) | $30.00 | May 12, 2023

9781982132330

9781439923825

More than catharsis; this is memoir as liberation.

A searing, hauntingly poignant memoir.

Women We Buried, Women We Burned: A Memoir

Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage

Snyder, Rachel Louise | Bloomsbury (272 pp.) | $28.00 | May 23, 2023

Steinberg, Jonny | Knopf (576 pp.) $35.00 | May 2, 2023

9781635579123

9780525656852

Exceptional writing, a harrowing coming-of-age story, and critical awareness combine to make a must-read memoir.

A magnificent portrait of two people joined in the throes of making South African history.

How Not To Be a Politician: A Memoir

The Sullivanians: Sex, Psychotherapy, and the Wild Life of an American Commune

Stewart, Rory | Penguin Press (464 pp.) | $30.00 | Sept. 19, 2023 9780593300329

A biting, captivating memoir.

Stille, Alexander | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (432 pp.) | $30.00 June 20, 2023 | 9780374600396

A brilliantly written, sobering investigation of a secret society within plain sight.

The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold To Build the American Catholic Church Swarns, Rachel L. | Random House (352 pp.) $28.00 | June 13, 2023 9780399590863

A balanced, comprehensively researched account of a grim period.

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Becoming Ella Fitzgerald: The Jazz Singer Who Transformed American Song Tick, Judith | Norton (656 pp.) | $40.00 Dec. 5, 2023 | 9780393241051

As masterful and wonderful as its subject.

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Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” Tobar, Héctor | MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux (256 pp.) | $27.00 | May 9, 2023 9780374609900

A powerful look at what it means to be a member of a community that, though large, remains marginalized.

Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West Walton, Calder | Simon & Schuster (688 pp.) | $34.99 | June 6, 2023 9781668000694

A gripping, authoritative work.

Wallace, Max | Grand Central Publishing (416 pp.) | $30.00 April 11, 2023 | 9781538707685

A revealing life of an important historical figure that does not diminish her.

Impossible People: A Completely Average Recovery Story Wertz, Julia | Black Dog & Leventhal (320 pp.) | $30.00 | May 9, 2023 9780762468256

Her story may be “completely average,” but the way she tells and draws it is extraordinary.

On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey From Slavery to Freedom

White, Ronald C. | Random House (512 pp.) | $35.00 | Oct. 31, 2023 9780525510086

Woo, Ilyon | Simon & Schuster (416 pp.) | $29.99 | Jan. 17, 2023 9781501191053

A revealing portrait of an American hero who deserves even wider recognition.

A captivating tale that ably captures the determination and courage of a remarkable couple.

Deadly Quiet City: True Stories From Wuhan Xuecun, Murong | The New Press (320 pp.) | $27.99 | March 7, 2023 9781620977927

A shocking, heart-rending report from the front lines of the Covid19 pandemic in China.

Say the Right Thing: How To Talk About Identity, Diversity, and Justice Yoshino, Kenji & David Glasgow Atria (240 pp.) | $28.00 | Feb. 7, 2023 9781982181383

A sensitive and sensible handbook for encouraging positive conversations about identity.

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After the Miracle: The Political Crusades of Helen Keller

Anansi’s Gold: The Man Who Looted the West, Outfoxed Washington, and Swindled the World Yeebo, Yepoka | Bloomsbury (400 pp.) | $29.99 | Aug. 1, 2023 9781635574739

Utterly absorbing.

The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science Zernike, Kate | Scribner (416 pp.) $30.00 | Feb. 28, 2023 | 9781982131838

A fascinating, heartening account of successful advocacy in the scientific and academic communities.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

NEW DIRECTIONS

presents two masterful and monumental novels

by Alexis Wright

“A shimmering vision of the legacy of colonialism in Australia.” ki rkus

“I’m awed.” rob e rt macfar lan e

“A masterpiece of the art form.” mo yan

“An astonishing tour de force.” th e g uardian n dbooks . com

N O N F I C T I O N // Q & A

MEET THE AUTHORS Get to know some of the creators behind this year’s best nonfiction. BY TOM BEER

of nonfiction will make you smarter—but if you read even a handful of the books we’ve selected as the Best Nonfiction of 2023, we guarantee you’ll come away educated and entertained. Among the 100 sterling books on the list are works of deeply researched history, psychologically acute biographies, polyphonic oral histories, and memoirs ripe with insight and poetry. We interviewed the authors of four of these books, and we already feel a contact high in our IQs. We kicked things off on Zoom with David Grann, who’s had quite a year. This fall, Martin Scorsese’s high-profile film adaptation put Grann’s 2017 book, Killers of the Flower Moon, back on everyone’s radar. And last spring, the New Yorker staff writer published his seventh book, The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder (Doubleday, April 18), about the ill-starred voyage of a British naval vessel in 1741. Grann told us that the book’s themes—how we tell our stories, and whose stories become history—were startlingly relevant to the present day.

In Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming (Penguin Press, April 23), fifth-generation Chinese American author Ava Chin walks readers down the titular street in New York’s Chinatown as she recounts the efforts of generations of her family to settle and thrive in America, despite prejudice and racist restrictions such as the Chinese Exclusion Act laws. We emailed Chin to learn more.

Amy Kurzweil’s Artificial: A Love Story (Catapult, Oct. 17) links generations in an exploration of technology and memory.

Kurzweil’s grandfather was an Austrian pianist and conductor who escaped the Nazis; her father was a pioneer in the research that led to artificial intelligence; Kurzweil herself is a cartoonist at the New Yorker. She emailed to tell us about the making of this distinctive work of graphic nonfiction.

Ricardo Nuila is a writer and practicing physician in Houston, and The People’s Hospital (Scribner, March 28) follows six underprivileged patients as they confront severe health issues and inadequate coverage, illuminating the inequities of American health care and the possibility of a more just, patient-centered future. Nuila answered our questions by email.

74 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

DAVID GRANN

How did you come across this forgotten slice of history?

Mutiny is a subject that has always interested me. I somehow stumbled into a library that had a digital scan of an 18th-century journal by John

KIRKUS REVIEWS

AVA CHIN

What emotions did writing about your family and your family history provoke in you?

I struggled with a range of emotions while writing Mott Street—anger, pain, joy, happiness, and gratitude.

Sometimes, I felt these all at once—a tsunami of emo-

Chin: Tommy Kha; Grann: Rebecca Mansell

THERE ARE NO scientific studies to prove that a steady diet

Q & A // N O N F I C T I O N

Byron, who was a 16-year-old midshipman on the Wager (and would later become the grandfather of the poet Lord Byron). My eyes were blurry because it’s written in a very archaic English, the S’s are printed as two F’s, and it was faded. Yet I kept pausing over these remarkable descriptions of the “perfect” hurricane, the scurvy, the madness, the shipwreck, and then the cannibalism, which he refers to simply as “that last extremity.” This weird

tions—and it took several deep breaths and naps before the feelings began to subside.

I was in constant conversation with various family members while working on the narrative—so much of this book was based on interviews and oral stories from my childhood. Growing up raised by a single mother, I was thirsty for stories. Even when folks like my father were at times reluctant to talk, I reminded them that I was trying to finish the story that my grandfather had attempted to tell, though, sadly, he ran out of time.

Who is the ideal reader for this book, and where would they be reading it?

Mott Street is for readers

little journal had one of the most extraordinary stories of survival that I’d ever come across.

What was most challenging about doing research for the book?

It took me a year to have a facility in reading the documents and understanding the coded language, because they wrote with a lot of symbols and abbreviations.

I’m very grateful to the British historians [who helped me]; they were very patient in giving me these wonderful tutorials. At a certain point, the documents suddenly begin to speak to you in these unexpected and surprising ways.

who desire to know where we came from and who we are as a nation, and for those who love a good family saga— think Angela’s Ashes meets The Joy Luck Club. I envision readers tucking into this book over a long weekend, but they could easily be listening to it on their morning commute.

I relied on my performance background when narrating the audiobook, which I loved doing and consider one of my greatest personal achievements.

Were you able to do live events for this book? Any memorable highlights?

I was grateful to be able to do many in-person events, including sold-out talks at

When you were writing the book, did you have an ideal reader in mind?

My wife, Kyra Darnton, who’s a journalist, is always my first reader. When I finish a chapter, I give it to her, and then I’ll nervously watch her reading it. When I hear her say, “Oh God, no,” that’s where I’ve gone on some digression on shipbuilding, like Melville writing 10,000 words about ropes in Moby-Dick—except I can’t write like Melville.

Then I know I have to take all that research and distill it down to three vivid paragraphs with [only] the most important facts. I have, quite literally, an “Oh God” file that contains all these digressions from my books.

What are some of your favorite books from 2023?

In part because I do so much historical research, I get behind [on current books]. I’m often looking for some element of diversion, so I read a lot of crime fiction and spy novels—that’s my go-to pleasure. This year I’ve read four or five of Mick Herron’s Slough House novels. I’m working my way through the series, and they’ve just been delightful and funny, and they have the best conceit. I also read S.A. Cosby’s All the Sinners Bleed, and I thought it was really powerful, a reinvention of the form. I would recommend that to anybody. —T.B.

the New York Public Library and in New York’s Chinatown at Think!Chinatown with Qian Julie Wang. Being in conversation with Celeste Ng at Harvard Bookstore was especially meaningful, as our families hail from the same part of southern China, and Celeste had gotten her entire family to read Mott Street.

Several venues were so packed—like my conversation with Ben Fong-Torres at Book

Passage in San Francisco’s Ferry Building or my event with Lisa See at Vroman’s in Pasadena—that they just kept adding chairs. For some, it was the best-attended event they’d hosted since the beginning of the pandemic.

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 75

What books published in 2023 were among your favorites?

The Apology by Jimin Han, Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City by Jane Wong, National Dish by Anya von Bremzen, Hedge by Jane Delury. I also loved Why Didn’t You Tell Me? by Carmen Rita Wong and Stay True by Hua Hsu, which were released in paperback this year.

—NINA PALATTELLA

AMY KURZWEIL

What have been some delights and challenges of using a graphic memoir to explore cultural memory?

Artificial is about the future life of documentation, so much of the book is full of re-created artifacts. It was meaningful and challenging to spend so

What was the original idea that started you working on the book?

I’ve probably been writing this for my whole life, but I can trace its germ seed back to a piece from 2012 I wrote in the no-longer-active literary journal Hot Street. “My Father’s Office” was about my father’s epic collection of porcelain cat figurines.

The piece follows me and my

patients endured medical odysseys, but they were also able to articulate the twists and turns that are unfathomable for those of us fortunate enough not to have major medical problems. They were also generous and brave

RICARDO NUILA

76 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

What drew you to these particular patient stories?

My connection to each of these patients, first and foremost. I see connecting as part of my job, as a way to ensure the clearest communication possible. These

parents on a trip to the ballet while reflecting on my father’s belief that the objects of our lives could one day offer us artificial life. It ends with an invocation of the storage unit of my grandfather’s documents, around which Artificial revolves. I then spent seven years fleshing [that piece] out.

Who is the ideal reader for your book?

This book is for anyone who likes to read a graphic book multiple times and to study its pages like a map. My ideal reader will be interested in the big questions: What is a person? How do we relate to time? What does it mean to love someone? I would love for students to read Artificial

enough to share their stories.

I used no pseudonyms because these people wanted their stories available to the public to help others. The science behind each of their illnesses intrigued me, but it all started with their personalities and demeanors in very dramatic circumstances.

Was there a specific personal experience that inspired you to write this book?

A set of experiences over time created a sense that, yes, I’d have to write about this wonderful hospital and why I love it so much. But the catalyst had to be the experience with Geronimo, one of the book’s subjects. I recall the emotion, suspense, and sense that

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Kurzweil: from the author; Nuila: Jonas Mohr

much time literally tracing old things. It was especially uncanny to trace my grandfather’s handwriting and my grandmother’s paintings, to go over with my hands things that they once created with theirs. I can’t imagine telling this story any other way.

S E E N & H E A R D // N O N F I C T I O N

in a science or humanities classroom, or in a book group where they can continue the conversations that I hope the book will prompt.

Were you able to do live events for the book this year?

In a week from the time of writing this, I embark on a book tour. Other than my events in San Francisco (where I live), I’ll be visiting Madison, Wisconsin; Iowa; Las Vegas; Boston;

someone’s life might truly be in our hands if only we poked the powers that be enough.

As the roller coaster to get him coverage ensued, I kept thinking to myself: People ought to know this.

Were you able to do live events for the book this year? If so, any notable moments?

I really enjoyed my time at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and the San Antonio Book Festival, where I met and talked with some incredible readers, librarians, and writers. For my first event ever, the bookstore owner organized a very informed, very curious, vocal crowd in a small Texas

KIRKUS REVIEWS

New York; Vermont; and Savannah, Georgia. Books Are Magic, where I’ll be on November 13, is located on my old street in Brooklyn, in the same building where a psychic I once visited (documented in Artificial!) used to conduct her business. How uncanny!

What books published in 2023 were among your favorites?

I love This Country, by New Yorker cartoonist Navied Mahdavian, about three years he spent home-steading in rural Idaho. I’m now reading Daniel Gumbiner’s Fire in the Canyon, a beautiful evocation of life in California’s precarious present. —K.K.

town, which seemed like a dream opening.

What book (or books) published in 2023 were among your favorites?

The Guest Lecture, by Martin Riker, came into my hands at the perfect time, right after the publication of my book. It’s about an academic who stays up all night thinking about a lecture she must give in the morning—not on the nose at all, ha ha! This book seems to have accomplished the impossible: It made me laugh and care deeply about its characters while teaching me about economic theory.

—WILLIAM RUMELHART

SEEN AND HEARD Salman Rushdie To Write Memoir About Attack

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder will be released by Random House in April.

“Knife is a searing book, and a reminder of the power of words to make sense of the unthinkable,” said Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House, in a statement. “We are honored to publish it, and amazed at Salman’s determination to tell his story, and to return to the work he loves.”

Random House will publish Knife in print and digital formats in more than 15 territories, including the United States.

Penguin Random House Audio will release an audiobook edition.— A.R.

Salman Rushdie, Booker Prize–winning author and free speech advocate, is writing a memoir about the violent attempt on his life at a New York lecture in August 2022, three decades after a fatwa was ordered against him.

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder will be released by Random House on April 16, 2024, the publisher announced.

The author will share “for the first time, and in unforgettable detail,” his perspective on the assault in a “powerful, For more on the attack deeply personal, and ultiagainst Rushdie, visit mately uplifting meditaKirkus online. tion on life, loss, love, the power of art, finding the strength to keep going— and to stand up again,” according to Penguin Random House.

Rushdie, who was previously reluctant to write about the attack, now says that the book was a “necessary” one for him to write: “a way to take charge of what happened, and to answer violence with art.”

Rushdie lost sight in one eye as a result of the attack.

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Nonfiction

ERIC LIEBETRAU

WE LIVE IN an era when

certain factions strive to obscure the truth and ban books about topics they find uncomfortable. These 10 books from the Best Nonfiction of 2023 list offer truth about the most important topics of the day, from racism to gender identity to income inequality, lighting the way to greater understanding.

Gun control is arguably the most contentious issue in contemporary American politics, and American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Sept. 26), by Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson, is a “riveting exploration of the cost of the nation’s fascination with an iconic weapon.”

Four books on the list offer different but equally cogent viewpoints on antiBlack racism: American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress (Mariner Books, June 27),

by Wesley Lowery, is “a timely investigation into the historic roots of violent white resistance to nonwhite Americans.” Black 78 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America (Dey Street/HarperCollins, Sept. 19), by Michael Harriot, illustrated by Jibola Fagbamiye, is a “simultaneously humorous and heartbreaking debut book” that counters numerous myths about race in American history. The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History From a Whitewashed American Myth (Row House Publishing, Feb.28),

by Jermaine Fowler, is similar in spirit, but the author turns up plenty of additional surprises in this “timely, powerful approach to history that looks into the past to find a path into a better future.” Christina Sharpe’s Ordinary Notes (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, April 25) is a “potent series of ‘notes’ [that] paints a multidimensional picture of Blackness in America,” creating “an exquisitely original celebration of American Blackness.”

Latine Americans also suffer from widespread prejudice and racial violence.

Readers seeking a well-informed examination of

these issues should turn to Héctor Tobar’s Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of “Latino” (MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, May 9) and Alejandra Oliva’s Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration (Astra House, June 20). For those interested in gender identity and seeking a clear, effective explication of how the vociferous debates affect trans people, check out Aidan Key’s Trans Children in Today’s Schools (Oxford Univ., June 27).

My last two recommendations involve the many (often hidden) stress factors that lead to disproportionately more severe problems for marginalized communities. In Arline T. Geronimus’s groundbreaking

Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society (Little, Brown, March 28), the author “contends that the physiological effects of living in marginalized communities, often caused by racial, ethnic, religious, and class discrimination, play a more significant role in the health of its members than genetics or lifestyle choices.” In a similar vein, Alissa Quart’s Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves From the American Dream (Ecco/HarperCollins, March 14) presents a “contrarian rebuttal of the notion that wealthy Americans deserve everything they have and that the ‘poor are responsible for their own poverty.’ ” Eric Liebetrau is the nonfiction editor.

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Illustration by Eric Scott Anderson

BOOKS THAT BRING US THE TRUTH

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EDITOR’S PICK Vivid profiles in activism.

Oluo, author of So You Want To Talk About Race, makes race central to an inspiring look at those fighting against the “deep, systemic issues.” The author considers punishment and incarceration, gender justice and bodily autonomy, labor and business, disability, the environment, education, and the arts, highlighting men and women who are enacting creative solutions to achieve change. Readers will meet Richie Reseda, who invented Success Stories, a 13-week workshop “that aims to help incarcerated men heal from violent patriarchy and learn how to handle fear, pain, and conflict in healthier ways.”

The program also connects its alumni with support to find jobs. There’s Alice

These Titles Earned the Kirkus Star

Wong, who has muscular dystrophy and created the Disability Visibility Project, an online resource that offers blog posts, essays, and reports “about ableism, intersectionality, culture, media, and politics from the perspective of disabled people.” Oluo, who identifies as Black, queer, and disabled (ADHD, anxiety, and chronic illness), stresses the importance of connecting disability justice work to anti-racist work. “Systemic racism and ableism,” she writes, “serve the same core purpose in society: to justify the oppression, exclusion, and exploitation of people based on a manufactured hierarchy of value.”

For readers aspiring to contribute to societal change, the author ends each chapter with suggestions

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Zodiac

By Ai Weiwei with Elettra Stamboulis

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Fingers Crossed

By Miki Berenyi

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Cold Crematorium

By József Debreczeni; trans. by Paul Olchváry

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How Migration Really Works

By Hein de Haas

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Alien Earths

By Lisa Kaltenegger

94

Gaytheist

By Lonnie Mann

Be a Revolution: How Everyday People Are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World and How You Can, Too Oluo, Ijeoma | HarperOne | 256 pp. $26.99 | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780063140189

for interventions in one’s own life and community, and she appends the book with a long list of people and organizations that can serve as resources. “So much of the work that happens on the ground is really small things,” writes Wong. “Sometimes it’s just small, intermittent things.

It doesn’t have to be a

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Charlie Hustle

By Keith O’Brien

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Be a Revolution

By Ijeoma Oluo

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Reading Genesis

By Marilynne Robinson

website. It doesn’t have to be fully formed.” Transformative justice, Oluo writes, “holds people accountable for the harm they cause, and it also holds communities accountable for how they contribute to harm, in order to prevent future harm.”

An urgent plea for individual and collective action.

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We Are Free To Change the World

By Lyndsey Stonebridge

105

What’s Wrong?

By Erin Williams

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Kirkus Star

Zodiac: A Graphic Memoir Ai Weiwei with Elettra Stamboulis Illus. by Gianluca Costantini | Ten Speed Press (176 pp.) | $28.99 | Jan. 23, 2024 9781984862990

The internationally renowned Chinese artist recalls a life of resistance and oppression.

In this graphic treatment of his life, with illustrations by Italian artist Costantini, Ai blends manifesto and fairy tale for an audience made up of his young son. The first lesson involves cats and mice, the former of which do not figure in the Chinese zodiac, while mice are recognized as resourceful and smart—if also pests.

Ai recalls trapping mice to keep them away from the scarce grain that his family, in exile, managed to grow on unforgiving terrain. This memory occasions an aside about how those in power trap their subjects, and he honors murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in that connection.

“Like the cats,” Ai writes, “we have to keep the door that we call freedom of speech and thought open.”

That kind of sentiment will lead to trouble in a totalitarian regime, and such has been the case with the oftenjailed artist. In one episode, a police officer who looks suspiciously like Xi Jinping admonishes him, “If you call yourself an artist, you are arrogant.

You should say art worker. That is the Party’s idea.” The fairy tales have a political dimension at every turn, as when Ai tells of a white snake who becomes a human in order to marry a scholar, only to be betrayed by a false monk; he adds, “our false monk was that water snake, Mao Zedong.” Art is a struggle in any society where it’s not recognized, as during Mao’s reign. At the same time, “Art is wrestling with yourself.” Finally allowed to leave the country, Ai continues to resist 80 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

the Chinese regime, closing with the pointed observation, “Any artist who isn’t an activist is a dead artist.”

A welcome introduction to the life and work of an exemplary artist.

With Every Great Breath: New and Selected Essays, 1995-2023 Bass, Rick | Counterpoint (336 pp.) $29.00 | Feb. 6, 2024 | 9781640096301

Amiable tales from a natural-born storyteller.

In his latest, the prolific writer and passionate environmental activist gathers wide-ranging, previously published essays, along with a few new ones. Bass, the author of more than 30 books, begins with a rather tepid piece on fighting fires, which he did once with a friend, exploring how it heightens the senses and “altered” his friend. Then it’s on to a profile of Fred Hatfield, “Dr. Squat,” informed by the author’s own experiences with weightlifting. Bass discusses the film Cracking the Humpback Code, a “work of luminous mystery and reverence,” chronicling his time with the director in Maui swimming with singing whales in the “most bottomless blue imaginable.” Next up is an account of the author’s ice-fishing trip in Montana with his daughter and a good friend. A 2010 piece on the Deepwater Horizon’s “toxic gush into the heart of the Gulf” is rife with anger and emotional devastation, but he’s much more positive in his reverential essay on the larch tree, “every bit as glorious in life as in death.” Bass is thrilled by the return of the wolves to Yellowstone—“It’s all more tangled and wonderful than we may ever know”—and he’s typically enthusiastic about his trip to the Galápagos, where he swam with the whale shark, “not a whale, not a mammal, just a cold-blooded gilled thing, a giant.”

After a discursive ode on the moon,

the author returns to familiar territory with an admiring paean to the African elephant and an energetic piece on an Alaskan polar bear. Whether it’s a lamentation for his many dead dogs or a new, insightful piece on how Hemingway’s hunting and fishing helped shape his writing, the congenial Bass always delights.

Readers will enjoy dipping in and out of thoughtful, heartfelt essays oozing with sentiment and affability.

Kirkus Star

Fingers Crossed Berenyi, Miki | Rare Bird Books (364 pp.) | $20.00 paper | Jan. 23, 2024 9781644283820

A sharply honed memoir of life in the musical trenches.

“I fell into music, grabbed onto it like a lifeline,” writes Berenyi, who was raised by two eccentric parents—one a Japanese actor, the other a Hungarian exile, a journalist who thought nothing of rewriting magazine articles in the many languages he spoke and presenting them as his own work to English editors. The author’s mother was partially engaged, while father was a philanderer fond of taking Berenyi to bars where the “proprietor is willing to ignore the inappropriate parenting and turns a blind eye to the orangesquash-and-vodka cocktail that Dad deems appropriate sustenance for an eight-year-old.” The author describes enduring sexual abuse as a child, and, she writes, “it took me a very long time to learn that sex is not something that you offer up to people as a way to appease them or make them like you or stop them from being nasty to you.” In high school, Berenyi formed the band Lush with classmate Emma Anderson. They played their first gig on March 6, 1988, when she was 21, and hit the ground running.

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A warm, visually stunning recollection of a remarkable friendship.

MUSE

The author was soon front and center, “a half-competent guitarist with the odd backing vocal to chime in on.”

For all that, crowds and critics alike were impressed. One of those critics coined the term shoegaze, since the players were always looking at the floor—not out of shyness, however, but because lyrics and set lists were taped to it. In a memoir that nicely brackets Viv Albertine’s Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys, Berenyi recounts the inevitable trajectory: success and failure, hits and flops, professional jealousies, failed relationships, bad management, and the breakup of the band after a member’s death.

Often harrowing, often cautionary, and an altogether fine, self-aware study of a life in rock.

Muse: Cicely Tyson and Me: A Relationship Forged in Fashion B Michael | Amistad/HarperCollins (224 pp.) | $55.00 | Jan. 23, 2024 9780063221741

A distinguished Black clothing designer’s homage to his fashion muse, Cicely Tyson.

Michael first met Tyson in 2005, when she visited his atelier to discuss a dress design for Oprah Winfrey’s Legends Ball. That meeting with the then 80-year-old actor would change both their lives. For the next 16 years, the two became fixtures in each other’s lives as friends and style collaborators. Michael tells their story—and the story of his unique creations for KIRKUS REVIEWS

Why Does Everything Have To Be About Race?: 25 Arguments That Won’t Go Away Boykin, Keith | Bold Type Books (288 pp.) $30.00 | Jan. 23, 2024 | 9781541703315

her—through recollections of the many galas and awards ceremonies they attended together. For example, in remembering the 2010 NAACP Spingarn Medal gala (at which Tyson received top honors), he describes the white silk ball gown he made for her and the laser-cut technique that transformed the dress into a unique masterpiece much beloved by the actor. Their association became mutually transformative, notes the author, who observes that Tyson’s love of eclectic fashion statements led to many of the style decisions he created for her and turned him into a sought-after designer. At the same time, Michael’s love of classic lines that recalled Givenchy and sumptuous fabrics transformed the former model into a late-life haute couture fashion icon. Indeed, each of the gowns he made for Tyson, including the violet gown in which she was buried, embody the vision he outlined to her early in their friendship: “ ‘You’re Hollywood royalty, and I would like to dress you like a Queen.’ She liked that, of course.” As it celebrates the age-defying beauty of a screen icon and a love of fashion as art, Michael’s book also highlights the important cultural contributions African American artists have made to a country that has yet to fully appreciate the diversity and richness of its own cultural tapestry.

A warm, visually stunning recollection of a remarkable friendship forged through fashion.

To read a review of Cicely Tyson’s memoir, visit Kirkus online.

Informed rebuttals of false claims about Black Americans.

Boykin, the founder of the National Black Justice Coalition and author of Race Against Time, delivers a series of arguments that target misconceptions about the realities of Black life in America and the persistence of white supremacy. The brief chapters, written in an accessible style and often including personal anecdotes, are divided into five broad themes: the erasure of Black history, the insistence on white victimhood, the denial of Black oppression, the promotion of myths of Black inferiority, and the masking of racist rhetoric. The author debunks familiar but flawed reasoning across a range of contentious topics, including the rationale behind affirmative action, the fate of Confederate monuments, the racial content of school curricula, and the significance of Barack Obama’s presidency. As Boykin credibly suggests, the persistence and popularity of bogus logic in debates about race can often be attributed to a reluctance among white Americans to acknowledge responsibility for longstanding injustices. The most insightful and memorable chapter engages the controversy surrounding critical race theory and the vagueness of the attacks directed against it. Also helpful is the author’s demolition of the argument that the Civil War was not fought over slavery, or that slavery itself is merely a historical artifact, without profound and continually unfolding consequences. Boykin could have done more to connect discussions of anti-Black racism with other forms of white supremacist ideology; for instance, he only mentions in passing NOVEMBER 15, 2023 81

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deeply held prejudices against Native Americans and Asian Americans. Nevertheless, the author furnishes a useful guide to confronting misconceptions about Black America and makes a convincing case that race matters in so many conversations because it has always been a defining—if often poorly understood—feature of national life.

A clarifying set of arguments about Black lives past and present.

Controligarchs: Exposing the Billionaire Class, Their Secret Deals, and the Globalist Plot To Dominate Your Life Bruner, Seamus | Sentinel (384 pp.) | $32.00 Nov. 14, 2023 | 9780593541593

A howl of protest against the globalist elite.

In a book similar to Carol Roth’s You Will Own Nothing, Bruner, associate director of the Government Accountability Institute and author of Compromised: How Money and Politics Drive FBI Corruption, charges that Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Georges Soros, and other billionaires are “creating technology and making investments that will micromanage every aspect of your life.” Consider the Covid-19 pandemic, which the uber-wealthy manipulated so that freedom-loving Americans would have to wear masks and stay home.

Proof? In 2019, Johns Hopkins ran a 82 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

series of projections to model a global pandemic, exercises that “covered lockdowns and quarantines, the shuttering of small businesses and mass job losses, widespread protests and riots, and the implementation of surveillance measures and biometric IDs.” Worse were the social media giants, which conspired to suppress misinformation. The list goes on. Gates loves fertilizer and “fake foods” like those produced by Impossible Foods, which has “the audacious goal of using genetically modified yeast to create a vegan burger that tastes (and even ‘bleeds’) like meat.” It gets worse, according to Bruner. Oprah Winfrey has joined forces with other billionaires to “champion birth control and abortion,” likely in some nefarious exercise in replacement theory, and Soros wants to convert democracy to “a Soros-controlled ‘open society’ ”— and so on. It’s telling that the targets of Bruner’s conspiracy theories are almost all on the left, and though he holds Elon Musk in some suspicion and divines that Ivanka Trump has not been a “very vocal opponent of the… globalist worldview,” there’s not a peep about the Koch brothers, who really love genetic modification. Also, writes Bruner, Donald Trump didn’t have a bit of help from the Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign.

A scattershot attempt to hit the broad side of a liberal barn.

To read more about healing generational trauma, visit Kirkus online.

Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma Buqué, Mariel | Dutton (288 pp.) | $30.00 Jan. 2, 2024 | 9780593472491

How to confront and control the transmission of suffering.

Drawing on wisdom gleaned from years of professional experience as a psychologist as well as her own troubled family history, Buqué presents a “comprehensive recipe to shedding intergenerational trauma and an immersive orientation into how to do this work.” The author organizes the text into three major sections. In the first, she defines trauma and the dynamics of its inheritance and expression; the second examines the “layered” dimensions of both pain and healing, along with how cultural conventions can reinforce toxic behaviors and mindsets; and the third explores the impact of grief on mental and physical well-being and how one might create salvific forms of mourning and recovery. Each chapter balances discussions of the origins and contours of trauma with practical lessons on how to begin a healing journey. With the proper tools and a courageous commitment to recovery, the author explains, one will discover that “every problem is survivable” and that longstanding patterns of dysfunction can be re-formed into healthier alternatives. A holistic conception of well-being—departing from the standard Western medical model, which tends to view symptoms, and individuals, apart from a network of relations—informs this conviction.

Becoming well involves understanding how our identities have been shaped by a series of influences extending far into the past. Moreover, any genuine emancipation from traumatic legacies can only be achieved by “co-healing, or healing in community.” A notable strength of this work is Buqué’s clear and compassionate treatment KIRKUS REVIEWS

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of delicate subjects and her credible endorsement of the promise of modern therapeutic interventions.

Particularly intriguing are the author’s discussions of the physical consequences of psychological stress, and she compellingly summarizes recent scientific studies demonstrating how trauma can modify genetic expression across generations.

A field-tested, practical guidebook for reclaiming health in the face of intergenerational trauma.

The Grift: The Downward Spiral of Black Republicans From the Party of Lincoln to the Cult of Trump Cane, Clay | Sourcebooks (416 pp.) | $26.99 Jan. 30, 2024 | 9781728290225

A take-no-prisoners attack on the small but vocal community of Black Trump supporters and their ideological forebears.

“All my skin folk ain’t my kinfolk,” writes Cane, borrowing a line from Zora Neale Hurston. Where emancipation was wrought by Republicans, real advances afterward were effected by people such as Frederick Douglass, “who disrupted the GOP to achieve important victories for Black citizens.” Ever since the Reagan years, the GOP has increasingly become a fortress of white supremacy, and those Black Americans who have supported it, from Mia Love to Tim Scott, are, in Cane’s term, “grifters.” A classic tactic among them is to claim that racism does not exist, then to accuse their political opponents of being racist. A case in point was the “shape-shifter” Republican representative Love, who “would succeed if she moved in a way that supported her white Republican voters’ racist assumptions—but once the racism turned on her and she spoke out, Love would lose her base.” True enough, and Love is now out of office, outflanked on the right.

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Another classic case is South Carolina senator and now presidential candidate Scott, who earned a mere 8% of the Black vote in his home state in 2016—which, Cane adds, is beside the point, given that “Scott is the mouthpiece to make white conservatives feel good about their anti-Black policies.” Cane singles out a handful of exceptions, such as former Texas representative Will Hurd, a former CIA agent and “throwback Republican” who represented a heavily Hispanic district. By the author’s account, however, most of the players in his book are a rogues’ gallery of crooks, among them Clarence Thomas, Ben Carson, and Omarosa Manigault Newman.

A full-bore assault on Black politicos who buy the GOP line and are thus tolerated, “but only if they know their place.”

Religion of Sports: Navigating the Trials of Life Through the Games We Love Chopra, Gotham & Joe Levin | Atria (256 pp.) | $27.99 | Dec. 5, 2023 9781501198090

A celebration of sports as a vehicle for enlightenment, moral education, and spiritual satisfaction.

The son of New Age pioneer Deepak Chopra, Gotham Chopra, an Emmy-winning filmmaker, admits to not having much in the way of connection with “classical religion.” The author shares that mentality with most Americans, fewer than half of whom are church members, the number of believers growing even smaller among younger people. For Chopra, Sunday football on a soft couch beats sermons on a hard bench. “Sports inspire, taking on meanings far beyond the scoreboard,” he writes, assisted by Levin.

“Sports give us a place where we can see dreams come true. They help us

heal. They show us how to get the absolute most out of our talents.” It’s a reasonable point, but the author belabors it in these pages. Commendably, the range of athlete profiles extends well beyond the usual male football, baseball, and basketball stalwarts. One of the most affecting stories concerns Paralympic track star Scout Bassett, who had a leg amputated as a child; after receiving an artificial limb, she found remarkable success—but not without considerable pain and difficulty, so much so that one of her transcendental moments was struggling to place third in an event. “Everybody always thinks about the record-breaking moments or the gold medal moments, but for me, winning that bronze medal is one of the things that I’m the most proud of,” she recalls. A better-known subject is Kobe Bryant, whom Chopra portrays as a seeker who was always trying to extend his understanding; another is Steph Curry, a traditional Christian who balked, initially, when Chopra told him, “Steph, when you take a three-pointer, you’re praying.” The author closes with a series of exercises to prompt reflection on what sports mean, what sorts of community they build, and the like.

A thought-provoking pleasure for spiritually minded sports fans.

Sheridan’s Secret Mission: How the South Won the War After the Civil War Cwiklik, Robert | HarperCollins (240 pp.) $30.00 | Jan. 16, 2024 | 9780062950642

A sobering history of the failure of Reconstruction in the defeated former Confederacy.

Philip Sheridan (1831-1888), writes Cwiklik, was no icon of civil rights: “He shared most of the prejudices against black people harbored by white Americans in those days.” He was, however, a NOVEMBER 15, 2023 83

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fierce unionist, as well as the designer of several scorched-earth campaigns against the secessionists during the Civil War. It was for that reason that Ulysses S. Grant sent Sheridan to Texas and Louisiana under the cover of a pleasure tour in order to report on the progress of Reconstruction.

There was much to report, for even as Black Americans were entering government, they were being terrorized by the newly formed KKK and the far less secretive White League, a “paramilitary group unhinged by black voting and officeholding.” The White League stormed New Orleans, murdering Black police officers, and they executed some 70 Black militiamen captured in western Louisiana.

Sheridan filed a widely circulated report denouncing the killers as “banditti,” and Grant prepared to send in federal troops. However, “at every turn,” Cwiklik writes, quoting Grant, “obstacles had been thrown in the way of federal efforts to prosecute the killers, while ‘so-called conservative’ newspapers ‘justified the massacre’ and denounced U.S. law enforcement officials as agents of ‘tyranny’ and ‘despotism.’ ” It didn’t help that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of states’ rights on matters of voting, thus limiting federal jurisdiction and effectively disempowering Reconstruction. This ruling allowed the Confederacy to remain alive, at least in theory, a matter that’s playing out in the government today as white supremacists in power seek to limit civil rights. Grant later rued the “death by suffocation” of laws meant to secure Black rights as one of the great failures of his time in office.

A timely contribution to the history of Reconstruction and civil rights.

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Kirkus Star

Cold Crematorium: Reporting From the Land of Auschwitz Debreczeni, József | Trans. by Paul Olchváry St. Martin’s (256 pp.) | $28.00 | Jan. 23, 2024 9781250290533

An extraordinary memoir of the Holocaust by an unlikely survivor.

Budapest-born Debreczeni was working as a journalist when the “gray ones” arrived, abetted by homegrown fascists and the German police in their “grass-green” uniforms.

As his memoir opens, Debreczeni is on his way to some outpost of “the Land of Auschwitz” in a crammed cattle car. Most who survived the train ride landed in labor camps, where one might have died because “his cigarettes had been taken away,” reason enough for the chain-smoker to give up on living. In a vivid rejoinder to Eugen Kogon’s Theory and Practice of Hell, Debreczeni places the Nazis in the backdrop, with sadistic cameos, as when an SS officer asks a kapo who his best worker is and then shoots the unfortunate nominee in the head, saying, “An example of how even the best Jew must croak.” Ever the intellectual, the author responds archly: “Kitsch. Horror is always kitsch. Even when it’s real.” The quotidian villains were the kapos, the Jews who, for a little extra bread and a few cigarettes, ran roughshod over the häftlings, or ordinary, prisoners. Whether merchants, doctors, or farmers, no class

distinctions applied to a population meant to be erased once their usefulness as laborers had ended, even if the “camp aristocracy” assured that a chosen few favorites joined the kapos at “the footstools beside their thrones.”

Few häftlings survived, and Debreczeni was sure he’d die of starvation as he worked digging tunnels and building dams, dreaming of the day when he could “run amok taking revenge, calling to account, meting out justice to those who [had] dragged” him there.

His revenge, one supposes, came in the form of this superb book, first published in Tito’s Yugoslavia in 1950.

An unforgettable testimonial to the terror of the Holocaust and the will to endure.

Kirkus Star

How Migration Really Works: The Facts About the Most Divisive Issue in Politics de Haas, Hein | Basic Books (464 pp.) $35.00 | Dec. 19, 2023 | 9781541604315

A convincing argument that most of what we believe about immigration is wrong.

De Haas, a professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam and founding member of Oxford’s International Migration Institute, has spent his career investigating migration, but whenever he speaks before a general audience, the result is “petty bickering.” Provided one is not an ideologue, it’s entertaining when an expert debunks popular myths, and the author debunks one in each of his 22 chapters. From 1960 to 2017, the number of global international migrants rose from 93 million to 247 million. That doesn’t mean immigration is skyrocketing, however, since Earth’s population increased by the same percentage over that period. The “heyday of transatlantic migration” KIRKUS REVIEWS

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was the 19th century, when tens of millions of Europeans were colonizing the world. In the 19th century, critics warned that immigrants were destroying American culture. “It may be difficult to imagine now,” writes the author, “but Germans, Italians, Irish, Polish, Japanese, Jews and Catholics were once seen as unassimilable and even a menace to the nation in ways that are not fundamentally different from the way Muslims and Latinos have been portrayed in more recent times.” Although less inclined to demonize immigrants, liberals display their own share of prejudice. Believing that immigrants are fleeing poverty (another myth), they propose sending massive aid to poor nations, certain that once citizens have jobs, they’ll stay home. Not only is this a myth; the opposite is true. Immigration is expensive, and the penniless can’t afford to travel. Immigrants move to other countries for jobs (not a myth), and those countries need their labor. The world’s leading emigrators—Mexico, Turkey, India, and the Philippines—are not impoverished, but middle-income countries. It’s unlikely that many of the people who should read this book will do so, but everyone else will relish the lesson.

A vital, page-turning education.

Leonor: The Story of a Lost Childhood Delgado-Kling, Paula | OR Books (250 pp.) | $19.95 paper | Jan. 23, 2024 9781682194478

A Colombian journalist tracks the traumatic life of a former teenage soldier in a rural guerrilla group.

In 2016, the Colombian government negotiated a truce with the guerrilla group called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Nonetheless, the menacing activities of drug-trafficking gangs has not ceased in that KIRKUS REVIEWS

beleaguered nation. Delgado-Kling, a journalist who grew up in a privileged household in Bogotá, recounts the odd intersection of her own life and that of Leonor, a poor farmer’s daughter who was caught up in the drug wars in the mid-1990s. As a child of prominent officials, the author was sent to Canada to be educated due to the threats of violence and kidnapping. “Between 1970 and 2013,” she writes, “39,058 people were kidnapped.

Many cases were not reported for fear of retribution from the captors.”

Delgado-Kling never traveled in Colombia without a bodyguard—even as a journalist, when she first met Leonor after she’d been freed from FARC captivity at age 17. Slowly, the two became friends. During numerous exchanges over the course of nearly two decades, Leonor shared her story: the family’s forced move to Mocoa from their farm due to FARC threats; numerous incidents of sexual assault; her brother’s work as a drug mule; her sister’s brutal murder, after which her body was tossed into the street; the lure into FARC, which served first as a haven but soon became a nightmare, with Leonor enduring sexual slavery under a man 34 years her senior; and her eventual capture by government troops and rehabilitation over many years. In the end, Leonor’s story has no neat resolution, but Delgado-Kling never wavers in her devastating portrait of unspeakable suffering. The author offers a helpful bibliography for further reading about the fraught situation in Colombia.

Visceral reporting of Colombia drug gang trauma by a committed journalist.

Mistress of Life and Death: The Dark Journey of Maria Mandl, Head Overseer of the Women’s Camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau Eischeid, Susan J. | Citadel/Kensington (400 pp.) | $28.00 | Dec. 26, 2023 9780806542850

The life of a Holocaust criminal.

Eischeid, a performer and teacher who specializes in the music of the Holocaust, has researched the life of Maria Mandl (1912-1948) for more than 20 years.

Some of Mandl’s surviving contemporaries have been willing to talk, and Mandl herself added to the massive documentation on the Nazi years. She was born to a close-knit, middle-class Austrian family who passed smoothly through the 1920s but suffered during the Depression the following decade— although her father, a shoemaker, kept working. When the Germans marched into Austria in 1938, they were greeted with enthusiasm, although Maria’s father did not join in. That same year, Maria moved to Munich, joined the concentration camp bureaucracy, and rose to perhaps its leading post for a woman: director of the women’s camp at Auschwitz, where she oversaw the murder of perhaps 500,000 deportees and both witnessed and personally participated in unspeakable brutality.

Eischeid relies heavily on testimony from survivors, who mostly deliver

A Colombian journalist tracks the traumatic life of a former teenage soldier in a rural guerrilla group.

LEONOR

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5 New Books Getting Major Awards Buzz 1 Liliana’s Invincible Summer

By Cristina Rivera Garza

A moving, heart-wrenching memoir as well as an unflinching appraisal of the widespread violence against women in Mexico.

2 Ordinary Notes

By Christina Sharpe

An exquisitely original celebration of American Blackness.

3 We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I

By Raja Shehadeh

A well-established Palestinian voice fashions a loving portrayal of the unsung achievements of his activist father.

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1

2

3

4 The Exceptions

By Kate Zernike

A fascinating, heartening account of successful advocacy in the scientific and academic communities.

5 Courting India

By Nandini Das

Ornately detailed study of an early ambassador, with an emphasis on fruitful trade in India.

4 For more books getting awards buzz, visit Kirkus online.

5

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horrifying descriptions of camp life and sadistic treatment from guards.

Even as the top official, Mandl continued to enjoy personally abusing prisoners. Due to the steady stream of suffering, torture, and death, some readers may feel the urge to skim.

Nearly half the book recounts Mandl’s postwar capture, trial, and execution.

The last two events took place in communist Poland, so there was no doubt about the outcome, but it was a sober, well-managed affair, although the media (American included) sensationalized her as “a beast in a gorgeous woman’s body.” Eischeid agonizes over but never explains how an apparently normal person could turn into a monster. One survivor offers a frighteningly reasonable explanation: “She was a nobody. Suddenly she was a somebody.

That explains it.”

The author provides few novel insights on the Holocaust but does deliver a vivid, painful record.

An American Dreamer: Life in a Divided Country Finkel, David | Random House (256 pp.) $32.00 | Feb. 13, 2024 | 9780593597064

An intimate look at American lives in fraught times.

Washington Post editor and writer Finkel picks up from his last book, Thank You for Your Service, to offer an immersive portrayal of contemporary America, from Election Day 2016 through Election Day 2020, through the eyes of Iraqi war veteran Brent Cummings, his family, and his neighbors in a town in Georgia. Cummings, born in Mississippi, is aware that as “a white male pickup-driving ex-soldier living in a Georgia county where in 2016 Donald Trump received 71 percent of the vote,” he might be assumed to share his community’s political views.

His neighbor, for example, professes “no doubt that pedophilia existed in Hollywood and that Satanists existed 88 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

within the Democratic party. He also had no doubt a deep state existed that was intent on overthrowing Trump.”

But Cummings and his wife are offended by Trump’s lies and vulgarity and by the racism and xenophobia that his rhetoric has incited. “The country he had spent most of his life defending,” Cummings thought, “was being overtaken by something he didn’t fully understand.” Finkel portrays Cummings as “a man in the middle, a man who throughout his life had been searching for some sense of larger purpose and meaning.” The military fulfilled that sense of purpose, but he returned beset by terrifying nightmares and gnawing questions. His wife, too, is unsettled both by the divisiveness she observes and by family pressures: Their college-age daughter shows signs of anxiety; a younger daughter, with Down syndrome, has suddenly exhibited selective mutism; and her dying mother needs her care. Comparing the U.S. with his wartime experiences in the Middle East, Cummings concludes that Americans were not “a rageful people.

Some were, but most wanted no part of it.” Still, he wonders, “What were their sacrifices for?”

A sharply observed depiction of a divided country.

Down the Drain Fox, Julia | Simon & Schuster (336 pp.) $28.99 | Oct. 10, 2023 | 9781668011508

A memoir from the Italian American actor and model.

Though she lived in Milan until she was 6, Fox (b. 1990) spent her coming-of-age years in Manhattan with her frazzled, indifferent father; for a brief period, they were homeless.

The author haphazardly packs the details of her childhood into an opening chapter clouded with scandal and betrayal involving her father and her best friend’s single mother. Fox chronicles how the horrific events of 9/11 traumatized and

prematurely ushered her “into adulthood before puberty.” She matured mostly on her own, since her mother had “no interest in performing any maternal acts.” During her adolescence, Fox moved between New York and Italy, experimenting with shoplifting, sex, and drugs. She also experienced a psychiatric breakdown, and a host of unreliable friends and lovers led her astray. Fox worked for a few months as a dominatrix named Valentina, though she soon tired of the “mental gymnastics” of the BDSM scene, and hard-partying adventures with several addict friends ended in tragedy. In 2019, Fox appeared in the hit movie Uncut Gems, alongside Adam Sandler, and her debut performance became a sensation. From there, she focused on sobriety and mothering her newborn son, Valentino, as well as keeping a custody battle at bay. Only in the closing chapters does Fox divulge her brief and “uncomfortable” 2022 romance with “the artist” (a thinly veiled Kanye West), which unceremoniously shifted her into the public eye. She also writes vividly about her search for the drug dealer she feels is responsible for the death of her friend. The epiphany in the final pages doesn’t quite mesh with the rest of the memoir, which, while breathless and exhilarating, reads more like a druggy, often rushed novel that could have used tighter editing.

A chatty, meandering, splashy self-portrait that may appeal to fans.

Optimal: How To Sustain Personal and Organizational Excellence Every Day Goleman, Daniel & Cary Cherniss | Harper Business (288 pp.) | $32.99 | Jan. 9, 2024 9780063279766

A guide for developing emotional competencies.

In his fifth book on the topic of emotional intelligence, Goleman teams up with psychologist KIRKUS REVIEWS

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An enjoyable volume featuring a diverse contingent of artists.

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Cherniss, co-founder, with Goleman, of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. This time, the authors draw on a “rich research bounty” to present their understanding “of the competencies that translate emotional intelligence into effective action,” within families, communities, and organizations. The authors distinguish between “flow,” which they characterize as a heightened state of full absorption, and an optimal state, which they describe as an experience of “feeling good, agility in solving dilemmas as they present themselves, and full attention on what we’re doing.” In an optimal state, an individual draws on the competencies of EI: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social interaction. Emphasizing the value of EI in the workplace, the authors have found that it serves individuals in many occupations, including selling, conducting research as part of a team, coaching and mentoring, teaching, working in health care, and providing technical support. “Every company (and every family, for that matter) represents a unique culture, which includes its particular ways of referring to the EI skill set,” they write. “But there’s surprisingly wide agreement that everyone needs emotional intelligence.” Business leaders have revealed that they prize EI as much as cognitive ability, creativity, and a strong sense of purpose. Drawing on scientific studies and anecdotal evidence, the authors offer guidance for developing EI, such as managing stress, developing resilience, and, especially, boosting one’s capacity for empathy. Emotional empathy, they assert, is at the heart of EI. The authors recognize that EI has become integrated in much literature focused on effectiveness, engagement, KIRKUS REVIEWS

and thriving at work. Readers already familiar with the authors’ previous works, or similar self-help books, will find no surprises in this latest reminder.

A cogent defense of the benefits of emotional intelligence.

Raised by Wolves: Fifty Poets on Fifty Poems, a Graywolf Anthology Ed. by Graywolf Press | Graywolf (136 pp.) $18.00 paper | Jan. 23, 2024 9781644452660

A publisher of poetry offers a sample of its contributors’ work and analysis by other poets.

As Carmen Giménez, Graywolf’s publisher, writes in an introduction, the press is dedicated to championing “work and voices that don’t always fit traditional notions of poetry” and “are in conversation” with major issues of their day, from global crises and state violence to border atrocities and more. For this book, they “invited fifty Graywolf poets to select and write about poems they love by other Graywolf poets,” with accompanying essays that “are like ekphrastic poems, or odes, or elegies, or fan letters.” Each brief essay offers either a technical analysis of the chosen work, as when Fred Marchant notes the “iambic feel” of Nick Flynn’s “Saint Augustine,” or a more personal reflection, as when Katie Ford writes that Tess Gallagher’s “Trace, in Unison” makes her “feel like I’m in the poem’s small boat, and she is

both gust and sail at once.” Some of the appreciations read like academic papers: Mary Jo Bang notes that Matthea Harvey’s “The Crowds Cheered as Gloom Galloped Away” “takes the abstract and ineffable state of sorrow” and “concretizes it through a series of unlikely pairings of things,” and Jeffrey Yang says Fanny Howe’s poetry displays “her indwelling similization of the world around us.” Most of the poems are first-rate and provide useful introductions to the poets. In one of the better essays, Threa Almontaser writes that, despite its intimations of grief, Tarfia Faizullah’s “Because There’s Still a Sky, Junebug” is a work “of wonderment and conviction” and “encourages us to express both the tragic and the poignant as one, to open our eyes and look.” The same is true of the many other outstanding works in this collection.

An enjoyable volume featuring a diverse contingent of artists.

The Cycle: Confronting the Pain of Periods and PMDD Gupta, Shalene | Flatiron Books (240 pp.) $26.99 | Feb. 27, 2024 | 9781250882899

A well-informed look at a misunderstood disorder.

Journalist Gupta, who suffers from premenstrual dysphoric disorder, offers a close look at the medical, social, and psychological issues surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of menstrual disorders, with the hope that her findings will help the “3 to 8 percent of menstruators” who meet the criteria for this severe syndrome. Too often, she reports, “the never-ending loop of social stigma against menstruation” means that such disorders go untreated. Cultural prejudices and sexism within the medical system have led some women with PMDD—and even Gupta, at times— to doubt their experiences. Her own suffering—which included depression NOVEMBER 15, 2023 89

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A medical odyssey told sensitively but unsentimentally.

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so severe that she became suicidal, as well as angry, violent fights with her boyfriends—persisted for over a decade before she received a diagnosis, and then she spent a year trying to find the proper medications that would alleviate the symptoms. Gupta provides an overview of the menstrual cycle and its effects on many women. Premenstrual syndrome, experienced by about 48% of women, is characterized by physical symptoms such as bloating and insomnia, as well as psychological symptoms such as mood swings and premenstrual mood exacerbation, in which preexisting psychological symptoms, such as depression, get worse during menstruation. Beginning in the 1980s, when little research on PMDD was available and it was often conflated with PMS, debate swirled over whether to include PMDD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Some medical practitioners were opposed, fearing that the diagnosis would victimize women by turning “a regular biological event into a mental disorder.” In 2013, it was finally included, and in 2019, the World Health Organization recognized PMDD as a diagnosis in its International Classification of Diseases.

With ample evidence from her own life, Gupta ably depicts the reality and intensity of an affliction that rages into a monthly “emotional storm.”

An informative melding of memoir and research.

To read more about hearing lost and regained, visit Kirkus online.

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Soundtrack of Silence: Love, Loss, and a Playlist for Life Hay, Matt | St. Martin’s (272 pp.) | $29.00 Jan. 9, 2024 | 9781250280220

A memoir of deafness and music.

What’s a music lover to do when the music stops?

That’s the question Hay faced in early adulthood, when his hearing degraded enough that he was denied admission to his dream school, West Point. “Songs are like pages in a scrapbook, each igniting an emotion from the past,” he writes, and without music, those pages fade. Try to describe this to a hearing person, he adds, and incomprehension may well ensue, for deafness is unlike the other senses in that it can’t be simulated: “You can’t remove your auditory receptors for an hour or two just to experience what it’s like. Deafness is unique among the senses in that respect.” The author replaced sound with memory, recalling the rhythms of Prince or the chords of Top 40 hits. For all that, though, “I can never hear Angus Young’s power chords in my mind like I could through my ears.” Finally diagnosed with small, constantly forming tumors and a condition known as neurofibromatosis type 2, Hay was fitted with a cochlear implant, a technology that, though several decades old, is still in need of fine-tuning: Rather than the big box of crayons that a lucky kid might have, he writes, “those of us with NF2 who get an implant have the three-pack of

crayons you get with the kids’ menu at Applebee’s.” As the author notes, before even that three-pack was accessible, further surgeries were required to combat tumor formation—procedures Hay describes in vivid detail. In time, however, and with gradual improvements to the implants, he was able to reacquire the sounds and words he’d lost years before: “One day, after all that work, I was listening to the Beatles instead of recalling the memory of listening to the Beatles.”

A medical odyssey told sensitively but unsentimentally.

Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class Henderson, Rob | Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (336 pp.) | $28.99 | Feb. 20, 2024 9781982168537

A memoir of hardscrabble living, from foster care to the Air Force to Yale, that doubles as the education narrative of a young conservative.

Henderson, who has a doctorate in psychology, traces the contours of his remarkable and often-harrowing life, starting with his abandonment by his birth parents after serious mistreatment. The author quotes a social work report stating that his mother would “tie me to a chair with a bathrobe belt so that she could get high in another room without being interrupted.”

Henderson poignantly describes his rocky journey through numerous foster homes. Sadly, his ultimate placement with a family in Red Bluff, California, didn’t turn out to be a classic happy ending: When the parents separated, the family’s father abandoned him, too. Henderson’s teenage years were a haze of alcohol, marijuana, the “choking game,” economic insecurity, and the brutality of life among other young people living on the margins.

Enlistment in the Air Force provided KIRKUS REVIEWS

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The essayist and novelist makes motherhood central to a memoir about love, guilt, and grief.

SPLINTERS

structure, and the author’s relationship with his adopted sister and mother are bright spots in this often-bleak book.

During his studies at Yale, the author was drawn into the anti-woke wars.

He covers campus mores and faculty drama in minute detail, and sometimes the narrative drifts into shallow generalizations about college-aged liberals.

Henderson, who returns repeatedly to his idea of “luxury beliefs,” which separate the upper class from the rest, is often shrewd on the narrowness and hypocrisy of elites, but he’s at his best in the frank observations about his trip up the “American status ladder”— including the flavored “spa water” offered in Yale dining halls and the litany of endpoints for his high school friends, from prison and unemployment to carpet cleaning and beyond.

A blunt story about overcoming adversity that sometimes reads like the introduction to a future political campaign.

God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America Hoffman, Bruce & Jacob Ware | Columbia Univ. (288 pp.) $28.95 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9780231211222

A timely study of domestic terrorism.

Hoffman and Ware, both fellows at the Council on Foreign Relations, maintain that today’s farright extremists have been gathering momentum since the 1970s. They KIRKUS REVIEWS

began work on this book during the height of the pandemic, when “the vilification of Jews, Asians, persons of color, and immigrants, among others, was reaching unprecedented levels.”

They deliver a vivid academic history that gives violent events more space than ideas, so readers should expect pages of murderous action and quotes from their perpetrators and supporters. Outraged by opposition to the Vietnam War and the success of the civil rights movement, groups of white racists became convinced that the U.S. government was hopelessly corrupt and dominated by non-whites, leftists, and immigrants, and they believed it had to be destroyed in order to create a new society. With names such as the Aryan Nation and the National Alliance, they gathered weapons and trained, issued manifestos, and occasionally engaged in armed robberies and standoffs with law enforcement.

Initially incompetent in dealing with frank violence, the FBI and ATF improved, and by the 1990s, quasi-military organizations had largely vanished in favor of individual lone actors, including Timothy McVeigh. Although far-right extremists were distracted by foreign terrorists after 9/11, the election of America’s first Black president galvanized the fringe, who were further weaponized by social media—and later enraptured by Donald Trump’s surprise victory in 2016. Mass murderers now operate almost weekly, with ideologues perhaps outnumbered by the mentally ill. The authors clearly show how far-right rhetoric has entered the mainstream and how hatred of “government,” worship of firearms, and fear of immigrants win at the polls. Voters in nations around the world have elected autocrats and

seen their democracies wither. Readers may wonder if that’s also in the cards for America.

A deeply disheartening look at American terrorism.

Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story Jamison, Leslie | Little, Brown (272 pp.) $29.00 | Feb. 20, 2024 | 9780316374880

The essayist and novelist makes motherhood central to a memoir about love, guilt, and grief.

Jamison and her husband had been in couples’ therapy for three years by the time their daughter was born—an event that intensified their marital problems. When the author’s mother came to help her in the first weeks, her husband felt shut out, and as Jamison exulted in motherhood, he became increasingly bitter and resentful. “Did honoring my vows mean figuring out how to make a daily home with C’s anger?” Jamison asked herself. Motherhood changed her perceptions. “Those first months,” she writes, “made the everyday visible again.” At times overwhelmed by the “sudden and exhausting plenitude” of mothering, Jamison was enchanted by her daughter’s body, her needs, and her marvelous discovery of the world.

Once she and her husband separated, though, she confronted the burden of single parenting, “the overwhelm of managing her presence without help,” and the ongoing pressure of juggling child care, writing, and teaching.

Much of the memoir focuses on Jamison’s ambivalence about divorce.

Finally, she realizes that grief about her divorce “did not have to wear the clothes of guilt.” She reflects on her own childhood as the daughter of divorced parents, someone who rarely saw the father she wanted desperately to please; her relationship with her ever-patient, ever-helpful mother; her NOVEMBER 15, 2023 91

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anorexia and alcoholism; and the men she dated once her daughter began spending two nights a week with C. The “wild vacillations of melodrama” of those affairs revealed her repetitive pattern of “turning men into assignments. Make him faithful. Make him fall in love with you.” A lesson she keeps learning, she admits, is the “difference between the story of love and the texture of living it, the story of motherhood and the texture of living it.”

Candid, intimate recollections on motherhood and commitment.

Live From the Underground: A History of College Radio Jewell, Katherine Rye | Univ. of North Carolina (432 pp.) | $27.95 paper Dec. 5, 2023 | 9781469677255

A history of America’s left-of-the-dial college radio stations.

If you know the Replacements’ paean, you’ll know that college radio gave many alternative acts their start. History professor Jewell, a veteran DJ with a penchant for the “indie-rock scene” of her college years, notes that by the 1980s, the network of college-affiliated, mostly student-run radio stations numbered about 1,200. Soon after, as an entity, it “had earned a national identity that evoked generational dissatisfaction with pop culture even as it remained deeply conversant with it.” Some college administrators didn’t quite know what to do with the broadcasters and their “none of the hits, all the time” ethos, while others smelled money in the much-coveted FM bands that the stations controlled. (So it is, Jewell observes, that most college stations now stream over the internet, their FM airwaves having been sold off long ago.) The author, who considers 1978 to be the ground-zero year when “college radio” emerged 92 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

as a genre, tells some wonderfully obscure tales—such as UCLA’s attempt to buy then-faltering KROQ, which turned around and presented playlists that were heavily influenced by what was happening on college radio, thus becoming a station without pedigree until emerging as “a launchpad to commercial success for underground artists in the 1980s.” Another anecdote from Jewell’s deeply researched files concerns Sean Hannity, who was noxious even back when he was a student DJ on UC Santa Barbara’s station—and who, fired for his calumnies, recruited the ACLU to defend him, an affiliation he probably wouldn’t want to admit today. College radio continues to be “a site of struggle over the sound of America,” Jewell writes, even if it may be a shadow of its golden-age self.

A pleasure for fans of alt-rock and its dissemination in the face of corporate and academic resistance.

Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle To Control Haiti Johnston, Jake | St. Martin’s (384 pp.) $30.00 | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9781250284679

A comprehensive, disheartening study of Haiti as a money pit of humanitarian aid.

Johnston, a senior research associate for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, offers a useful comparison of Haiti and Afghanistan, “two of the most aid-dependent countries on the planet.” Both have received the support of an “alphabet soup” of governmental and nongovernmental aid agencies. But although the military dimension of aid to Afghanistan is well known, in the case of Haiti, “the country [is] ‘politically unstable,’ but few [care] to ponder why.”

Combined with corruption, political violence, and a string of devastating natural disasters, that instability has sent streams of Haitians fleeing

the country, most with the U.S. as their intended destination. So it is that 14,000 people, most Haitians, were encamped under a bridge over the Rio Grande in June 2021, the very moment when, by Johnston’s account, Joe Biden started to walk back promises of immigration reform that would undo the draconian policies of his predecessor. For many years, notes the author, Venezuela was Haiti’s chief donor, a situation that changed with the collapse of the Chavez regime; yet Venezuela was not a favored destination of refugees. Meanwhile, at home, Johnston notes, Haitian politicians have long done their best to make a failed state of their country, looting the public treasury and essentially escaping punishment for their crimes. Baby Doc Duvalier, for example, made off with somewhere between $300 and $500 million, much of it foreign aid funds, fulfilling his role in “a true family kleptocracy.” Even with coups and assassinations, foreign funds continue to pour in, including significant sums from the U.S., which, Johnston suggests, is hoping that with enough money, Haitians will stay home.

A sobering view of the inevitable failures of international assistance when corruption is the dominant ethos.

Kirkus Star

Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos Kaltenegger, Lisa | St. Martin’s (288 pp.) $30.00 | April 16, 2024 | 9781250283634

A leading astronomer blends knowledge and enthusiasm to show how the universe is slowly being revealed.

This book is an excursion that turns the esoteric field of stellar cartography into an engaging and entertaining story. Kaltenegger, the KIRKUS REVIEWS

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A stand-up comic offers a deep dive into the off-the-beaten-track communities that have shaped his life.

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director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell, has a knack for starting with a few simple principles and then adding layers of increasing complexity. She believes the discipline of astronomy is at a turning point, mainly due to the new NASA James Webb Space Telescope, which has provided a new level of stargazing clarity and distance. The revolutionary telescope has led to new ways “to explore the universe around us by reading the message encoded in light,” a process that Kaltenegger explains in jargon-free terms. Information gleaned from spacecraft travel has also been valuable. Scientists have discovered a host of exoplanets, and the author looks at a handful that could harbor some form of life. She also examines possibilities in our own solar system, with Mars and the moons Titan, Europa, and Enceladus being contenders in the search for organisms—although they would probably be microbial. Kaltenegger clearly loves her subject and often injects flashes of dry wit and personal experience. She devotes a chapter to planets that have appeared in science fiction, having some fun with probabilities and impossibilities. She likes to think that there’s intelligent life somewhere out there, but she admits that the hunt has yet to yield positive results. Regardless, humanity has so far barely scratched the surface of the galaxy. A bonus of the book is an appendix of websites offering further information and even the opportunity for citizen scientists to propose names for new exoplanets.

Kaltenegger’s exploration of nearby and faraway space is absorbing, informative, and entertaining.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Subculture Vulture: A Memoir in Six Scenes Kasher, Moshe | Random House (320 pp.) $28.99 | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780593231371

A stand-up comic offers a deep dive into the off-thebeaten-track communities that have shaped his life.

Continuing in the vein of Kasher in the Rye, Kasher expands on his life story with a New Journalism approach—immersive first-person reporting (and comedic riffing) on interesting American subcultures. “I have at times been a professional raver/DJ/ecstasy dealer; a boy-king of Alcoholics Anonymous surrounded by throngs of other confused young people getting sober; a Burning Man attendee and then employee stuffing the psychedelic sausage; a conflicted but proud Jew attempting to make sense of the ultra-Hasidic world I’d been raised in; an American Sign Language interpreter who was at once both insider and outsider in the deaf community; and what I am today, a stand-up comedian.” What’s not in that employment history—but makes the book intriguing—is his role as a skilled researcher with a knack for making long, detailed chronological accounts of possibly dull topics exciting and funny. As the son of deaf parents, his presentation of deaf education is told in a spirit of outrage, largely directed at Alexander Graham Bell, but also including amusing details—for one, “All I know for sure is that my mother

farts in public.” For readers who’ve been nursing a dream of attending the Burning Man festival, Kasher’s granular account may temper their enthusiasm. Similarly, his account of how he clawed his way up the slippery ladder of stand-up comedy should be required reading for any would-be comedians seeking the spotlight. At the end of the story, the author writes about his marriage (to fellow comic Natasha Leggero) and fatherhood, but here, he avoids the jokes: Hopefully, Kasher is saving the wonderworld of absurd subcultures that is parenting for his next book. The author’s history of Judaism alone is worth the price of admission.

Vivid and great fun.

Sacred Soldier: The Dangers of Worshiping Warriors Keeler, Robert F. | Interlink (248 pp.) $20.00 paper | Jan. 9, 2024 | 9781623711078

A Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist examines our worship of the military.

Keeler, who served in the U.S. Army in the Vietnam era, decries “the near-universal admiration of our military,” particularly the manipulations of politicians who send soldiers to war. It’s an old trope of the antiwar movement, especially during Vietnam, but Keeler takes a more pointed and not entirely convincing tack by denouncing the entire culture of the military as a bastion of “toxic masculinity.” That toxicity finds expression, among other ways, in Marine Corps basic training chants promising rape and murder when the newly minted grunts are sent off to face some unfortunate foe. To that observation, the author adds, “with training like that, it’s amazing that more marines don’t become war criminals—or sexual predators.” Compare the numbers of sex crimes within NOVEMBER 15, 2023 93

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and without the military, on that score, and the numbers are lower than among the civilian population. Still, Keeler treats incidents of sexual assault and abuse at numbing length, as well as suicides by veterans. He does make some unobjectionable points: Military culture definitely frowns on whistle-blowing, but it’s a stretch to assume that it’s because the unit commander is a friend of the perpetrator—or, as Keeler hazards, the perpetrator himself. It’s also indisputably true that the Department of Veterans Affairs is in sore need of reform, particularly as it treats—or delays treatment of—those former service members who suffer from PTSD and other ailments. With the coinage of the acronym EGOS, “empty gestures of support,” Keeler closes with some useful advice, such as volunteering to help homeless veterans in one’s community, agitating against military recruitment in public schools, and “resolutely set[ting] your own attitude a few notches below idolatry.”

Too often repetitive and hyperbolic, but with a few good points to offer.

Year Zero: The Five-Year Presidency Liddell, Christopher P. | Univ. of Virginia (264 pp.) | $29.95 | Jan. 23, 2024 9780813951133

A former Trump White House insider suggests a program of reform for better preparing candidates to serve in the highest office in the land.

Liddell opens by venturing ways of improving the decision-making processes “inside the president’s control, even as the executive’s overall power is hemmed in by forces inside and outside government.” Whereas most candidates indulge in “measuring the drapes” and using the hustings to announce short-term executive orders, the author counsels that it would be more effective, as well as of greater interest to 94 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

voters, for the candidate to use the year on the campaign trail (thus the “fiveyear presidency”) to discuss matters of larger policy. As the author notes, the candidate should say, “ ‘On Day One I will introduce to Congress legislation on issue X.’ The details of the legislation don’t need to be disclosed, just the intent and high-level concept, and a demonstration of the ability thereafter to do it.” To his credit, though a GOP stalwart but also an apparently circumspect observer, Liddell doesn’t hold Trump up as a success. His “first executive order was a controversial and poorly drafted travel ban that opponents instantly challenged in court,” and he “ran through four secretaries of defense, four national security advisers, two secretaries of state, two UN representatives, and three directors of national intelligence in a single term.”

Perhaps with an eye to such failures, though without saying as much, Liddell recommends that an office be formed around the chief of staff with four deputies tasked with keeping the train running on track and steering the president into making the right decisions.

Furthermore, Liddell hints, “loyalty” should be less of a consideration in hiring than competence.

Highly technical, but with advice that candidates for higher office should surely take under consideration.

Kirkus Star

Gaytheist: Coming Out of My Orthodox Childhood Mann, Lonnie | Illus. by Ryan Gatts | Street Noise Books (260 pp.) | $22.99 paper | Feb. 6, 2024 | 9781951491277

The animated evolution of a queer boy from his strict religious upbringing to a liberated adolescence.

Tokyo-based couple Mann and Gatts integrate their illustrative and authorial talents in this debut graphic memoir vividly

detailing Mann’s coming-of-age while cloaking his burgeoning homosexual feelings. The author earnestly portrays his Orthodox Jewish indoctrination and his family’s adherence to doctrine; he grew up in an environment in which everything consumed or acted upon had a pious blessing and kosher-strict rules. Throughout his childhood, his devout parents, despite the “odd gaps” in their own religious upbringings, corrected any kind of deviation from their insular expectations. These divergences included Mann’s simmering boyhood crushes on his male classmates, but the consensus between friends, teachers, and parents was to abandon these feelings because homosexuality was considered a religious “abomination.”

Eventually, Mann came to the mature realization that in order to be happy and find a boyfriend, he would need to reject Orthodox teachings and live life on his own terms. But that meant keeping his feelings closeted, and he had to hide his feelings and actions from his family and friends. When he did eventually come out, no one understood or accepted it, and they insisted on interventions. The author recounts a boyhood incident involving his father’s indifference to an accidental near-drowning, which taught him that “trusting my parents could be dangerous.” This sentiment returned when he came out to his parents in early adolescence. When Mann finds love in the memoir’s final pages, it’s a well-deserved, significant moment. Awash in dark blue and brown hues, the illustrations are comprised of crisply rendered line drawings made more distinctive with effectively detailed coloration.

Both Mann and Gatts contribute to vividly drawn pages of personal history elaborating on Mann’s journey toward the embracement of his queer identity.

A vital, emotionally immersive self-portrait.

To read a review of another graphic memoir about coming to terms with one’s sexuality, visit Kirkus online.

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Substantive reading for a limited audience.

TH E JAI L I S EVE RY WH E R E

All She Lost: The Explosion in Lebanon, the Collapse of a Nation and the Women Who Survive Mawad, Dalal | Bloomsbury Continuum (256 pp.) | $28.00 | Jan. 9, 2024 9781399406253

A Lebanese journalist interviews the nation’s women about the impact of a deadly, unexplained explosion in Beirut.

On Aug. 4, 2020, a warehouse storing ammonium nitrate caught fire and exploded in Beirut’s port, killing at least 220 people and injuring 6,000, including many foreign nationals. The disaster not only occurred in the middle of the pandemic, but also during an unprecedented economic crisis that spurred nationwide protests against Lebanon’s wealthy ruling class.

Mawad, a Paris-based journalist, mother, and relative of an assassinated Lebanese president, began reporting stories that often focused on the “psychological toll of the blast.” Most of the author’s interviewees were women. “I began putting together survivors’ stories, particularly from women, although that was never a deliberate choice at the outset,” she writes. “Many of these women lost everything that day: the most precious people in their lives, their physical and mental health, their homes and livelihoods, their ability to be happy and to feel in any way secure.” Mawad intersperses a collection of these interviews with historical context and her emotional reactions to hearing the women’s words.

The author includes conversations with KIRKUS REVIEWS

a variety of people, including nurses, doctors, Syrian refugees, and at least one former celebrity. Toward the end, Mawad describes her decision to move with her daughter to Paris, stating that she was escaping “an abusive relationship with my country,” which she classifies as a “failed state.” At its best, the book is deeply researched and profoundly moving. At times, the author’s descriptions of her personal reactions divert attention from the women’s powerful stories. Likewise, her rage about her country’s failures feels more suited to memoir than reporting. The result is a book that, despite many moments of literary merit, suffers from a lack of cohesion.

A well-curated but disjointed collection of post-disaster Lebanese female voices.

The Wisdom of Plagues: Lessons From 25 Years of Covering Pandemics McNeil Jr., Donald G. | Simon & Schuster (384 pp.) | $28.99 | Jan. 9, 2024 9781668001394

A former New York Times reporter surveys the world of pandemics, epidemics, and plagues.

“Maybe someday an asteroid or a nuclear exchange will put paid to us as an endless winter did to the dinosaurs, but thus far in our history, only diseases have done damage to rival that,” writes McNeil, author of Zika: The Emerging Epidemic. As the experience of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic

has shown, world-transforming diseases are always with us—sometimes because we’re looking for them in the wrong places. When Covid-19 arrived, China had a formidable state apparatus at hand that was able to clamp down on the entire population, ordering people to shelter in place and doing extensive tracing of any contacts victims might have had. The result was that China suffered far fewer deaths than it might have. The U.S., writes McNeil, should have had a proportional death rate, but it did not: The 1.1 million should have been 560,000, but “what cost those 540,000 Americans their lives was poor leadership.” McNeil revisits other pandemics, such as Zika and AIDS, and points out numerous instances of poor leadership on display there, too.

There’s not much actual news in this book, certainly not as compared to the basement-to-ceiling research of David Quammen, but McNeil does a good job of isolating some of the ancillary factors that have fed into mistake-ridden American responses to pandemics. “To my mind,” he writes, “the most dangerous profiteers by far are the prominent anti-vaxxers,” going on to name Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in particular. Chalk it up to our so-called individualism, perhaps, but, McNeil adds, “every mass murderer and terrorist is a driven nonconformist, a hero in his personal fantasies.”

A serviceable work of popular science made sharper by its political edge.

The Jail Is Everywhere: Fighting the New Geography of Mass Incarceration Ed. by Norton, Jack, Lydia Pelot-Hobbs & Judah Schept | Verso (208 pp.) | $19.95 paper Jan. 23, 2024 | 9781804291313

A collection of writing spotlighting the “monster” that is the American prison system.

“There is a quiet jail boom occurring across the United States,” NOVEMBER 15, 2023 95

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write editors Norton, Pelot-Hobbs, and Schept, all of whom have written extensively on criminal justice in the U.S. What they and the other unapologetically leftist contributors to this book mean is that prisons have assumed outsize roles in what they see as an ongoing American class war. Using data from cities and towns all over the U.S., the contributors demonstrate that with every new jail built, an infrastructure that promotes racism, sexism, and income inequality becomes increasingly more powerful. Jasmine Heiss suggests that where poverty is highest, “incarceration and policing is often the only ‘fix’ on offer for social crises across the urban-to-rural spectrum.” Her piece clearly exposes the insidious nature of “the local jail.” The brutal realities masked by this “carceral humanism,” which recasts punishment as a form of social service, include a shredded social safety net and the disappearance of jobs offering a decent standard of living. Furthermore, note the editors, fighting the system of incarceration has become increasingly difficult because the system, supported by powerful politicians on the right, “keeps changing shape” as it grows. Yet there’s still hope. Interviews with James Kilgore, an activist for reformist programs designed to treat prisoners with greater dignity, and Dawn Harrington and Gicola Lane, two women who offer “support, education, [and] advocacy” to families of the incarcerated, suggest that change can still come about through dedicated effort. Though the text is often too academic for general readers, social justice activists and those with an interest in criminal justice issues will especially appreciate these well-researched, thoughtful essays that reveal just how much power government policies have given to the American carceral system.

Substantive reading for a limited audience.

To read more from Keith O’Brien, visit Kirkus online.

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The Fast: The History, Science, Philosophy, and Promise of Doing Without Oakes, John | Avid Reader Press (320 pp.) $30.00 | Feb. 13, 2024 | 9781668017418

A knowledgeable study of fasting, which has a long history and a layered present.

Too often, our society appears to be about consumption to the point of excess, even while we know that splurging and bingeing do not offer lasting fulfilment. There is another way, suggests Oakes, publisher of the Evergreen Review, in this interesting book.

Fasting, the decision to temporarily abstain from eating or radically reduce one’s intake of food, can bring a new appreciation of life, as long as it’s done sensibly. In fact, notes the author, it can be an undertaking that “opens the way to growth.” Oakes punctuates his examination of the cultural history and social meaning of fasting with reminiscences of his first weeklong fast (although he allowed himself tea, coffee, and vegetable broth), providing a personal element to the narrative. All the major religions include some aspect of fasting. The Christian Bible is peppered with examples, and in Judaism, fasting is connected with mourning.

Some religious fanatics have starved themselves to death in the search for divine insight, but Oakes sees them as merely deluded. He also looks at people who have gone on hunger strikes for political reasons, and he notes that their record of success is decidedly mixed. Fasting does not work as a dieting technique, but it is useful for detoxing, refreshing, and rebalancing the body. A key element is its private, voluntary nature, which entails a break from the daily routine that can lead to a sense of contemplation and renewal. Oakes sets all this out in lucid, poetic terms, and while the book might not be for everyone, it will appeal to those who are ready

to question the value of overconsumption and indulgence.

In this well-informed, illuminating book, Oakes shows us the value of consuming less in order to know more.

Kirkus Star

Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball O’Brien, Keith | Pantheon (464 pp.) | $35.00 March 26, 2024 | 9780593317372

An award-winning journalist tells the story of a baseball player who exhibited relentless hustle on and off the field.

O’Brien, the author of Fly Girls and Outside Shot, delivers a gripping portrait of fellow Cincinnati native Pete Rose (b. 1941). The author paints a vivid portrait of the simultaneously glorious and reckless life of Major League Baseball’s hit king, whose raw strength and work ethic symbolized baseball and the American dream itself, yet who gambled his way permanently out of baseball and its Hall of Fame, leaving a wake of bitter disappointment as he sped through life with the same air of tenacious invincibility that marked his play. O’Brien’s meticulous style captures Rose’s unlikely journey to his hometown Reds and his often complex relationships with teammates and opponents alike. Rose won every conceivable honor that a position player can win, but his addictions to gambling, women, and expensive cars belied his all-American image. O’Brien’s construction of the book is brilliant, offering a thorough examination of Rose as a sort of baseball Janus: Rose took the mocking sobriquet given to him by Yankee royalty Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford as a badge of honor and never yielded on the KIRKUS REVIEWS

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A convincing argument for linguistic multiplicity.

LANGUAGE CITY

field, but he conducted himself off the diamond as Charlie Hustler, a man who invited a rogues’ gallery of hangers-on, gamblers, and drug dealers to his inner circle and ultimately doomed his legacy. O’Brien’s work is so well researched and adheres to traditional journalistic standards in such a way that it is, by any objective measure, as fair as possible to all the principle figures, particularly Rose himself, whom the author interviewed several times. The text leaves little doubt that the definitive account of the life and times of Rose belongs to O’Brien.

A masterpiece of a sports biography and a must-read for baseball fans.

Language City: The Fight To Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York Perlin, Ross | Atlantic Monthly (432 pp.) $28.00 | Feb. 20, 2024 | 9780802162465

A spirited celebration of a polyglot city.

Linguist Perlin, co-director of the Endangered Language Alliance and author of Intern Nation, makes a strong case for the need to support endangered, Indigenous, and primarily oral languages. Of more than 7,000 languages, he reports, more than half are likely to disappear over the next few centuries. Many survive in New York City, which the author portrays with abundant evidence as a city “of unprecedented linguistic diversity.”

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Besides offering an overview of New York’s linguistic history, Perlin follows dedicated, impassioned speakers of endangered languages from Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas who are each “trying to maintain or revitalize their languages” by compiling dictionaries, transcribing and translating recorded texts, and popularizing linguistic and cultural traditions. Among some 700 Seke speakers, for example, originally from five villages in the Mustang region of northern Nepal, more than 100 live (or have lived) in an apartment building in Brooklyn. For the last three years, Perlin has met regularly with one of them, either in Brooklyn or at ELA’s office, “gradually adding words, definitions, and examples to a dictionary-in-progress; homing in on single points of grammar; or carefully transcribing and translating a previously recorded text.” The other languages the author examines are Yiddish, now spoken mainly by Hasidim; Nahuatl, once the lingua franca of Mexico, with “a long and extraordinary history as a written language”; Wakhi, “an endangered Pamiri language spoken by around forty thousand people in the remote high mountain region where Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China converge”; N’ko, a writing system created in West Africa in 1949 that “unites Manding-language speakers from what is today Guinea, Mali, and Ivory Coast” and that has since spread globally; and Lenape, the language of Indigenous tribes in Manhattan. New York’s cultural richness, Perlin asserts, is nourished by languages.

A convincing argument for linguistic multiplicity.

Kirkus Star

Reading Genesis Robinson, Marilynne | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (352 pp.) | $27.00 | March 12, 2024 9780374299408

A deeply thoughtful exploration of the first book of the Bible.

In this illuminating work of biblical analysis, Pulitzer Prize– winning novelist Robinson, whose Gilead series contains a variety of Christian themes, takes readers on a dedicated layperson’s journey through the Book of Genesis. The author meanders delightfully through the text, ruminating on one tale after another while searching for themes and mining for universal truths. Robinson approaches Genesis with a reverence and level of faith uncommon to modern mainstream writers, yet she’s also equipped with the appropriate tools for cogent criticism. Throughout this luminous exegesis, which will appeal to all practicing Christians, the author discusses overarching themes in Genesis.

First is the benevolence of God. Robinson points out that “to say that God is the good creator of a good creation” sets the God of Genesis in opposition to the gods of other ancient creation stories, who range from indifferent to evil. This goodness carries through the entirety of Genesis, demonstrated through grace. “Grace tempers judgment,” writes the author, noting that despite well-deserved instances of wrath or punishment, God relents time after time. Another overarching theme is the interplay between God’s providence and humanity’s independence. Across the Book of Genesis, otherwise ordinary people make decisions that will affect the future in significant ways, yet events are consistently steered by God’s omnipotence. For instance, Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, and that action has reverberated throughout the history of all Jewish people. Robinson indirectly asks readers to consider NOVEMBER 15, 2023 97

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where the line is between the actions of God and the actions of creation. “He chose to let us be,” she concludes, “to let time yield what it will—within the vast latitude granted by providence.”

In this highly learned yet accessible book, Robinson offers believers fresh insight into a well-studied text.

The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America Rosen, Jeffrey | Simon & Schuster (368 pp.) $28.99 | Feb. 13, 2024 | 9781668002476

A study of the Founding Fathers’ search for self-mastery.

Rosen, president of the National Constitution Center and author of Conversations with RBG, offers a revisionist perspective on the nation’s values by examining how happiness was viewed by Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.

From reading classical thinkers such as Cicero, Epictetus, and Xenophon, along with David Hume, John Locke, and Adam Smith (Rosen appends a reading list), the founders came to believe “that the quest for happiness is a daily practice, requiring mental and spiritual self-discipline, as well as mindfulness and rigorous time management.” Far different from the self-serving gratification of desires, happiness results from having a balance between reason and passion.

They thus believed that “moderating emotions is the secret of tranquility of mind; that tranquility of mind is the secret of happiness; that daily habits are the secret of self-improvement; and that personal self-government is the secret of political self-government.” Each man, Rosen reveals, enacted a lifelong project of self-discipline. Adams, for example, struggled 98 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

A thoughtful rendering of America’s history.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

to subdue his vanity. Ridiculed “as one of the most self-regarding men of his age,” he worked to cultivate humility. As for Jefferson, he strove for industriousness, “cultivating his mind, body, thoughts, and faculties in order to achieve the mental tranquility he was determined to maintain at all costs.” Tranquility, the basis for happiness, comes “not in the success or failure of our efforts to achieve inner harmony but from the pursuit itself.” Along with examining sources that were significant for the founders, Rosen reveals how those texts shaped the ideas of influential figures such as Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, and Abraham Lincoln. In their distinguishing between being good from feeling good, the founders, Rosen hopes, may inspire readers to redefine the meaning of a good life.

A thoughtful rendering of America’s history.

All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess Rothfeld, Becca | Metropolitan/Henry Holt (304 pp.) | $27.99 | April 2, 2024 9781250849915

Essays on the desirability of excess in life and in art.

Rothfeld, a philosopher, essayist, and nonfiction book critic for the Washington Post, reflects on how film, novels, and other art forms, as well as moral endeavors such as sexual consent, decluttering, and mindfulness (“the decluttered mind”), constrain desire.

Of particular concern is the singular quest for economic and political equality. Justice is only the start of a journey “into the more exciting territory of want, glut, and extravagance.”

As the author writes, “Where justice seeks proportion…the erotic seeks abundance.” Rothfeld argues that the “fragment novel” (one example is Jenny Offill’s Dept. of Speculation), “which is divested of all extravagance, is therefore an artwork from which the art has been removed, a body drained of all its blood and carnality.” A similar argument is made with the risk-free novels of Sally Rooney, which simulate normalcy and wallow in “claustrophobic romantic entanglements.” In her strongest essay, Rothfeld questions the viability of sexual consent and the resilience of patriarchal norms of femininity, while lamenting its blindness to the erotic and the shock of sensuality.

Comedies of re-marriage—e.g., the “1940 masterwork of romantic comedy,” His Girl Friday—lead the author to the possibility of endless talk.

Love requires “faith in the inexhaustibility of another person.” Among other themes that Rothfeld investigates are the excess in filmmaker Éric Rohmer’s cycle Six Moral Tales; the way women wait for men (to love is to live “in a state of painful expectation”), as Penelope did in the Odyssey; and eating as a metaphor for fully absorbing the sensual world. Rothfeld’s essays are themselves excessive, with layers of fertile ideas and sharp observations at times obscuring her central thread. The writing is crisp, reflecting a curious mind and a yearning body.

Intellectual fare to complement the healthy pursuit of erotic transcendence.

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Stranger in the Desert: A Family Story Salama, Jordan | Catapult (240 pp.) | $27.00 Feb. 20, 2024 | 9781646221653

A South American journey explores the persistence of memory.

Salama went to Argentina in search of old stories but wound up writing a new one. Leaving his native New York to follow in the footsteps of his great-grandfather, a yarn-spinning wandering salesman, the author discovered that reconnecting with his living South American relatives was more rewarding than chasing a phantom.

Salama’s follow-up to his exceptional literary debut, Every Day the River Changes, is more tightly focused, personal, and intimate. Traveling from Buenos Aires to the foot of the Andes to the Bolivian border, he finds none of the elusive “Lost Salamas” he’s hoped to meet. Instead, he locates a deeper, enriched identity. His meld of Syrian, Iraqi, and Argentine heritage had always intrigued him, provoking lingering questions. But it was the odyssey begun by uncovering his paternal grandfather’s cache of family histories that propelled his project, and he augmented his adventures with years of digital conversations with family members across the world.

“Stories,” he writes, “are currency for survival in a world where we are perpetually faced with the prospect of our demise….The stories we leave behind will form the mark of an existence.”

Like his first book, Salama blends travelogue with historical perspective and journalism, but he probes his subject from the outside as well as the inside.

He grapples with the legacy of Arab Jews who fled the failing Ottoman Empire for new lives abroad, sustaining their cultural distinctiveness while integrating into their adopted homes, and notes how he gained greater appreciation for his ancestors. The narrative is not quite as riveting as the KIRKUS REVIEWS

author’s debut, nor does it possess the same power to transform our view of a country and its people. Nonetheless, Salama’s rapport with readers remains unquestioned.

An accomplished sophomore effort from an unusually gifted young writer.

The Rebel’s Clinic: The Revolutionary Lives of Frantz Fanon Shatz, Adam | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (464 pp.) | $32.00 | Jan. 23, 2024 9780374176426

A closely argued study of the life and work of the iconic leftist thinker.

Like Albert Camus, a near contemporary, Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) took a nuanced view of revolutionary struggles in colonial nations. Born in Martinique, a French colony, Fanon grew up in comparatively comfortable surroundings as a son of middle-class parents. After serving with distinction during World War II, Fanon studied philosophy and psychiatry in France.

Afterward, writes Shatz, U.S. editor of the London Review of Books, he developed critically important insights into the psychology of the oppressed. At the same time, Fanon worked with French soldiers who had tortured civilians during the long colonial war in Algeria, finding the same complex of maladies: “What they shared was an invisible, lacerating anguish inscribed in the psyche, immobilizing both body and soul.” Fanon was definitively on the side of the Algerians, idealizing their revolution but overlooking in the death of colonialism the emergence of an Islamist society that “ensured the dominance of religious populism.” He was similarly disheartened by the dominance of strongman governments in newly independent African colonies, even as he argued that Europe’s time was over, while “an Africa to come” was emerging from

the colonial shadows. In books such as The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon furthered his anticolonial opposition to both Europe and the U.S., the latter of which provided him treatment for the cancer that would kill him, treatment that was ironically courtesy of none other than the CIA. The author effectively shows how Fanon is far more influential now than he was during his life, and not without some irony there, too: Exponents of so-called replacement theory, for instance, trace their movement to “Fanon’s observations about the desire of the colonized to take the place of their colonizers.”

A useful, readable adjunct to anyone studying Fanon’s life and work.

Naked in the Rideshare: Stories of Gross Miscalculations Shaw, Rebecca & Ben Kronengold Morrow/HarperCollins (288 pp.) | $25.00 Nov. 14, 2023 | 9780063215788

Two comic writers join forces in this collection of satirical scenarios and verses.

Dynamic duo Shaw and Kronengold met at Yale in 2014.

Since then, they’ve become a sensation as the youngest-ever writers for the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Their debut volume assembles an array of pieces separated into the stages of human life, from childhood through college and adulthood. An immediate standout is the opening story, “We Have Your Son,” in which a youth kidnapping-and-ransom operation is hilariously hijacked by indifferent parents (“Keep him!”). Throughout, it’s clear that the authors consistently let their imaginations run wild. Some pieces are effervescently silly (“Dr. Seuss Teaches Safe Sex”); some are freeform and whimsical; others are more creatively inspired glimpses into unwieldy fantasies and modern dilemmas of postgraduate life. The authors are NOVEMBER 15, 2023 99

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particularly successful in their portrayal of adolescence, from melodramatic dispatches from summer camp and a horror satire featuring a courageous girl who finds herself in Hell, which she recognized “because it was very hot and ‘Moves Like Jagger’ was playing on a loop.” Some of the collection’s more personal pieces are also the most engaging and memorable, including “College Stories Fact Check,” in which the authors share amusing memories from their time together as Yale students; others include a transcript of text conversations with their drug dealer and an assessment of their shared experience in Hollywood as “skilled practitioners of asskissery.” The text contains more than 30 stories, perhaps best read over numerous sittings. In any such book, a few pieces fall flat, but each one contains at least some flashes of comic brilliance, making it clear this is a hyper-creative pair with immense potential. Saturated with creative energy and a healthy funny bone, these stories are comedy gold.

An entertainingly zany collection of sketches poking fun at the foibles of contemporary life at every age.

The Showman: Inside the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky Shuster, Simon | Morrow/HarperCollins (419 pp.) | $32.99 | Jan. 23, 2024 9780063307421

A veteran Kyiv-based correspondent for Time offers a nuanced portrait of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Show no mercy. Use all available weapons to wipe out every Russian thing that’s there.”

So said Zelensky at the beginning of Russia’s invasion of his country, referring to Russian troops threatening to seize his capital’s airport. The Ukrainian military obliged, but those around 100 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Zelensky were surprised by the ferocity of his response; by Shuster’s account, the former comedian had become a steely leader overnight. He’d entered office under something of a cloud: Having promised not to take up residence in the president’s opulent quarters (but then doing just that), he aroused the anger of the political opposition and the press.

The war soon followed, and it changed him. As Shuster writes, he “turned into a wartime president unique to our age of instant information,” one aspect of which was to keep his own counsel and rely less on his aides. That said, the author depicts Zelensky as somewhat of a naif. He had hoped, for example, that their shared background in show business would make Donald Trump more sympathetic to Ukraine’s cause, even as Trump proved himself to be a Putin cheerleader, particularly after cutting off funds when Zelensky sidelined his call for a probe into the Biden family. He also angered Joe Biden and other world leaders by his strident demands for more and more aid. Sensitive to criticism and, at one point, angry himself that world events seemed to have placed his nation in the middle of a power struggle between “these empires, the United States, Russia, China,” Zelensky has nonetheless clearly risen to the occasion—and, Shuster hopes, he will remain a resolute leader and guide his nation to victory.

A useful key for understanding a politician and tactician much in the news but little known.

Dreaming of Ramadi in Detroit: Essays Sloan, Aisha Sabatini | Graywolf (160 pp.) | $18.00 paper | Feb. 20, 2024 9781644452714

Perceptive observations on American culture.

Sloan, author of The Fluency of Light, gathers 13 essays, written from 2016 to 2020, that range from meditations

on the arts to incisive reflections on race. She brings to her writing a lively curiosity and multifaceted identity: She is biracial (Black father, white mother); queer, married, and undergoing in vitro fertilization; an academic who teaches literature and creative writing; and an artist well versed in the work of contemporary painters, such as David Hockney, Richard Diebenkorn, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, all of whom figure in her essays, often in unexpected ways. Place figures importantly, too: Sloan grew up in Los Angeles, two blocks from where Nicole Brown Simpson was murdered. The neighborhood, she remembers, “acted toward my father and me as though we wandered into the place by accident.” L.A. is also the setting for an essay connecting the beating of Rodney King, and the riots that ensued, with Hockney’s paintings at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Sloan chronicles her visit to Detroit, where her parents moved, and which they portrayed as “a city more laced with wonder than desolation” and “the birthplace of gallerists and worldfamous choreographers and raucous family dinners.” Despite the chaos and poverty Sloan observed, she loves the city for its “sense of possibility and kindness,” a love not diminished when she went on a tense ride-along with her cousin, a police officer. A trip to New England with students uncovered evidence of slavery, including at Harvard, where a portrait of donors to the college bears “a placard that says, in essence, ‘We got what we have because we stole and we raped and we murdered.’ ” Police brutality, lucid dreaming, the poetry of Galway Kinnell, and Basquiat’s obsession with the book Gray’s Anatomy all cohere in pieces notable for surprising and revealing juxtapositions.

An enlightening gallery of spirited essays.

To read more about Volodymyr Zelensky, visit Kirkus online.

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Social Justice Fallacies Sowell, Thomas | Basic Books (224 pp.) $28.00 | Sept. 19, 2023 | 9781541603929

The noted conservative economist delivers arguments both fiscal and political against social justice initiatives such as welfare and a federal minimum wage.

A Black scholar who has lived through many civil rights struggles, Sowell is also a follower of Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, who insisted that free market solutions are available for every social problem. This short book begins with what amounts to an impatient declaration that life isn’t fair. Some nations are wealthy because of geographical advantages, and some people are wealthy because they’re smarter than others. “Some social justice advocates may implicitly assume that various groups have similar developed capabilities, so that different outcomes appear puzzling,” he writes.

In doing so, he argues, they fail to distinguish between equal opportunity and equal capability. Sowell is dismissive of claims that Black Americans and other minorities are systematically denied a level playing field: Put nonwhite kids in charter schools, he urges, and presto, their math scores will zoom northward as compared to those in public schools. “These are huge disparities within the same groups, so that neither race nor racism can account for these huge differences,” he writes, clearly at pains to distance himself from the faintest suggestion that race has anything to do with success or failure in America. At the same time, he isn’t exactly comfortable with the idea that economic inequalities exist, and he tries to finesse definitions to suit his convictions: “The terms ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ are misleading in another and more fundamental sense. These terms apply to people’s stock of wealth, not their flows of income.” As for crime?

Give criminals more rights, he asserts, as with Miranda v. Arizona, and crime KIRKUS REVIEWS

Srivastava exposes the flaws of “feel-good” antiracist workshops.

“AR E YO U CAL L I N G M E A R AC I ST ? ”

rates go up—an assertion that overlooks numerous other variables but fits Sowell’s ideological slant.

For those satisfied with blame-the-victim tidbits of received wisdom.

“Are You Calling Me a Racist?”: Why We Need To Stop Talking About Race and Start Making Real Antiracist Change Srivastava, Sarita | New York Univ. (352 pp.) $28.00 | March 19, 2024 | 9781479815258

Diversity training often does more harm than good, according to this provocative study.

The past decade has seen the proliferation of antiracism workshops in corporations, government agencies, and universities. But Srivastava, a sociology professor at OCAD University in Toronto, argues that they’ve achieved very little in the fight against racist practices and policies. Instead, such programs usually become a sort of therapy for the participants, focused on “the Feel-Good politics of race.”

Oddly, some of the worst offenders are progressive organizations, which, one might think, would be readily open to antiracist changes. The reason is that they’re so imbued with a sense of emotional and intellectual selfrighteousness that they cannot believe they’re on the wrong side of a moral argument. In much of the book, the author explores the collision between antiracism and feminism, with its focus on consciousness raising and

mutual caring. This mentality, writes Srivastava, “forestalls meaningful work to change systemic practices.” She provides plenty of interview material to support her case and points out that feminist theory often assumes that women are a homogenous group, which leads to negative consequences for women of color. Srivastava sets out a reform agenda, acknowledging that change will involve many small steps.

“Focus on collective and concrete practice rather than inward sentiment,” she advises. In many places, the text reads more like an academic treatise than a program for action, with a mountain of footnotes and references.

It’s not always clear where Srivastava is going with her argument, and many of the detours are distracting rather than informative. Some readers might also find some of her conclusions difficult, and some will be offended. Still, the author introduces an interesting topic worthy of further discussion.

Srivastava exposes the flaws of “feelgood” antiracist workshops, instead calling for practical actions and real reforms.

Byron: A Life in Ten Letters Stauffer, Andrew | Cambridge Univ.

(300 pp.) | $29.95 | Feb. 22, 2024 9781009200165

A user-friendly biography of the major Romantic poet, framed around some of his most revealing missives.

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passion and transgression, becoming an icon of British literature despite protests from the likes of William Wordsworth, who argued that Byron’s Don Juan “will do more harm to the English character, than anything of our time.” Between provocative epics and a louche lifestyle involving countless lovers (including his half sister), he earned his place as a man who was “mad, bad, and dangerous to know,” as his lover Caroline Lamb famously put it. Timed to the 200th anniversary of Byron’s death, this book by Stauffer, president of the Byron Society of America, isn’t a scholarly study filled with fresh research, but nor is it a dumbed-down overview of Byron’s life and career.

Though each chapter opens with a key letter from a moment in the poet’s life, it’s not quite a critical study of his writing, either. Rather, it’s a pocket biography that leverages Stauffer’s knowledge well. The author is sensitive to Byron’s insecurities (he was born with a deformed foot), affections (numerous letters concern his seductions and affairs with men and women), and political passions (he died while supporting Greece’s battle for independence). Byron often comes off as smug and amoral, but he could also be sensitive and confessional about his behavior—and, toward the end of his life, eager to pursue something like redemption.

“He is becoming what he should be, a virtuous man,” Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote in 1821. Stauffer dedicates a fair amount of space to explaining the many references in the letters, but he’s also careful to maintain a lively narrative of Byron’s life, clear about his many flaws but clarifying why he was such a commanding figure.

A well-conceived book and a fine Byron biography for neophytes.

To read more about Hannah Arendt, visit Kirkus online.

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Making It So: A Memoir Stewart, Patrick | Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (432 pp.) | $31.50 | Oct. 3, 2023 9781982167738

A charming memoir of a long life onstage and onscreen.

Before Stewart (b. 1940) captained a starship on Star Trek: The Next Generation, he was a fixture on the London stage. Before he was an acclaimed Shakespearean actor, he was a struggling drama student, and before that a working-class child of Yorkshire. He became a voracious reader to escape an unhappy childhood, and, he writes, “the stage would prove to be a safe space, a refuge from real life in which I could inhabit another person, living in another place and time.” He skipped the equivalent of high school because he couldn’t afford the uniform, but, placed in a less traditional school, he fell into acting classes, followed by apprenticeships, during which one adviser told him that he would one day be a famed character actor—in 20 years’ time. Those two decades passed, and Stewart was taking roles in theatrical productions and films such as David Lynch’s Dune, where he admits to a faux pas with another Yorkshireman: Sting, whose band The Police he’d never heard of.

Indeed, part of Stewart’s appeal is his admission that, while grave and commanding behind the persona, he scarcely paid attention to pop-culture phenomena such as the Beatles, even though he became friends with Paul McCartney (who once exclaimed, over drinks with Stewart and a bandmate, “Sir Ringo. Sir Patrick. Sir Paul. Hey—we’ve got the Knights of the bloody Round Table!”). Funny and self-effacing, Stewart is gracious as he describes the talented players—Vivien Leigh, Helen Mirren, Malcolm McDowell, and yes, the cast of Star Trek—he’s worked with. One wants only for more notes on how an

actor’s work proceeds, for Stewart is a master, even if a humble one.

A pleasure through and through—and you don’t even have to be a Trekkie.

Kirkus Star

We Are Free To Change the World: Hannah Arendt’s Lessons in Love and Disobedience Stonebridge, Lyndsey | Hogarth (368 pp.) $32.00 | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780593229736

A lively, engaging portrait of the eminent thinker and the ongoing relevance of her work.

The philosopher Hannah Arendt (19061975), novelist Mary McCarthy once noted, was “one of those people who you could actually see thinking.” Arendt was always thinking, and, as humanities professor Stonebridge notes in this agile intellectual biography, it was always with a moral dimension at its base.

Having fled Germany in 1933, Arendt was a scholar of the authoritarian impulse. As Stonebridge astutely observes, it was no accident that Arendt’s 1951 book, The Origins of Totalitarianism, became a surprise bestseller during the Trump presidency.

“Her writing has much to tell us about how we got to this point in our history,” writes the author, “about the madness of modern politics and about the awful, empty thoughtlessness of contemporary political violence.” Thoughtlessness is the key word here, for Trump and company’s “big lie”—a term Arendt coined—relies on an audience willing to accept obvious falsehoods; she, too, “lived in a post-truth era.” This notion feeds into another famous concept of Arendt’s, “the banality of evil,” applied first to the murderous Nazi Adolf Eichmann. Banality concerns the everyday monstrosities committed by fascists, abetted by their silent KIRKUS REVIEWS

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Thompson shows he’s still All That and so much more.

WH E N I WAS YO U R AG E

enablers as business as usual. Interestingly, Stonebridge reveals that after Arendt’s last public address, in which she urged that “if America really still wanted freedom, it had to renounce the fantasy of its own omnipotence,” a young senator named Joe Biden wrote to ask her for a copy of her speech. Stonebridge adds that it’s an open question whether America is reckoning with both its bad and its good history, but the culture wars raging around such things as critical race theory and ethnic studies suggest that we’re working on it.

A splendid, ever-so-timely consideration of Arendt and her thoughts on how nations sink into tyranny.

When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice From a Professional Clown Thompson, Kenan | Harper/HarperCollins (240 pp.) | $30.00 | Dec. 5, 2023 9780063348066

A memoir from the enduring former teen star and current Saturday Night Live stalwart.

Thompson has made a successful career with his avuncular charm and comforting brand of “clean comedy,” and his warmhearted memoir proves to be just as likable. Though the author has generally been reticent about discussing his personal life publicly over the years, he’s straightforward about many topics here, including his proud role as a girl dad KIRKUS REVIEWS

to his “two little angels,” Georgia and Gianna, and his approach to making people laugh without putting others down. “I’ve always tried to not do the Black versions of white things,” he writes, “because that’s what most stand-ups do….It was important to me to be different. I wanted the jokes to be stuff we could all laugh at comfortably.” Thompson offers parenting and relationship advice as generously as he does career suggestions. Though he doesn’t tell all when it comes to the thornier elements of his life story—bankruptcy, divorce, estrangement from his friend and early Kenan & Kel and Good Burger co-star, Kel Mitchell—he does offer enough of an explanation before changing the subject with lines such as, “I’m not the guy who talks about this kinda stuff publicly, sorry not sorry.” Thompson is more forthcoming about his future on SNL after 20 seasons, outlining his future goals, which include playing more guitar, mentoring young actors, and focusing on his family.

“Friends, it could be the end of an era,” he writes, but a few pages later, he wonders, “Why would I ever leave if I’m not in anybody’s way?” Thompson is self-aware enough to know he is happy and may already be on the right path.

Decades after joyously bounding onto TV as a teen comedy star, Thompson shows he’s still All That and so much more.

To read more from David Thomson, visit Kirkus online.

Remotely: Travels in the Binge of TV Thomson, David | Yale Univ. (280 pp.) $28.00 | Jan. 23, 2024 | 9780300261004

The renowned film critic examines how our relationship with TV changed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thomson, author of more than 30 books, including the respected How To Watch a Movie and The Biographical Dictionary of Film, has plenty of fascinating theories and clever turns of phrase. “We get the television we deserve, as if our civilization is breathing, but asthmatic,” he writes of his disappointment in a series that went downhill after being picked up because it wanted to save its best ideas for the next season. But because these ideas—about everything from I Love Lucy to The Crown, from soccer to the war in Ukraine—arrive quickly, with little rhyme or reason, it’s hard to keep track of the author’s arguments or let anything take root. While that may be by design, since it does give the book the feel of channel surfing, it’s hard to weigh the concepts, aside from I Love Lucy, Ozark, and Garry Shandling, whom he returns to again and again. Sometimes, Thomson comes across as flippant, such as when he wonders, “What had Officer Derek Chauvin expected in Minneapolis in 2020? Didn’t he watch TV? Didn’t he understand a nine-minute shot?” Such glib questions, especially when there’s no mention of George Floyd, the unarmed man Chauvin killed, come across as disrespectful, at the very least, even if he does discuss problems in policing when he considers Law & Order. Furthermore, the fact that Law & Order, Seinfeld, The West Wing, Hill Street Blues, and other expected TV classics are the main focus of a book on TV binging seems like a missed opportunity to promote lesser-known shows, and the stream-of-consciousness presentation becomes tiresome.

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Thomson’s fast-moving look at TV binging is hit-and-miss, like the never-ending search for something new to watch on Netflix.

Borderline: Defending the Home Front Vargas, Vincent | St. Martin’s (320 pp.) $28.00 | Nov. 14, 2023 | 9781250285577

A retired veteran’s laudatory look at the culture and history of the U.S. Border Patrol.

In his debut, Vargas combines memoir with an overview of the Border Patrol’s tactics and training and the misunderstandings the agency’s mission provokes. “Border Patrol agents are not ‘rogue cowboys’ doing whatever they want to at the border,” he writes.

“Rather, they are individuals charged with holding the line while leveraging their extensive training and long apprenticeship.” Of Mexican and Puerto Rican ancestry, the author grew up near the southern border in California. As a child, he was aware of the long-simmering migration crisis, later joining the military and becoming an Army Ranger. Noting his determination to continue in government service, “I wouldn’t have signed up if I wasn’t willing to protect others by sacrificing myself.”

Vargas passionately pursued the Border Patrol’s rigorous requirements for achieving Journeyman status, and he also sought to join one of their lesser-known elite tactical units, BORSTAR, a trauma-response unit created in 1998 “in response to the growing number of injuries to Border Patrol agents and migrant deaths along our nation’s borders.” He wanted to address a lack of integration between these specialized teams: “The basic question was this: Should I go tactical or medical?” Vargas bolters his account with the recollections of other agents, including his teams’ takedown of the Uvalde school 104 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

A page-turning history of a harrowing investigation that upended Russian-American relations.

INTO SIBERIA

shooter in 2022: “Border Patrol agents were the ones who finally brought it to an end and likely saved many lives.” Vargas writes empathetically about the plight of beleaguered migrants, emphasizing the violence and human toll beneath the controversy. While the author’s discussion of the border’s grim social tableau is often balanced, his defensive tone may grow tiresome to some readers.

Containing a useful insider’s perspective regarding the border crisis, this book will appeal to fans of military memoirs.

Into Siberia: George Kennan’s Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of Russia Wallance, Gregory | St. Martin’s (304 pp.) $30.00 | Dec. 5, 2023 | 9781250280053

An American explorer in 19th-century Siberia.

When George Kennan entered Siberia in 1885, it wasn’t his first time in the remote region.

In the 1860s, the young American had undertaken similarly punishing journeys there and in the Caucasus, first as a telegraph scout on a doomed Western Union expedition, and then on a free-wheeling adventure of his own. A popular book and lecture tour came out of those earlier trips, but the 1885 voyage had a more serious goal: Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine had commissioned Kennan to investigate Siberia’s prisons, labor mines, and settlements, where

numerous political exiles lived under surveillance. The practice of transporting prisoners to Siberia had been in use for centuries, but the emergence of revolutionary resistance to the autocratic leaders of the 19th century had caused the network to swell with new inmates. Wallance, who has written prolifically on law and human rights, draws heavily on Kennan’s own books (Tent Life in Siberia and Siberia and the Exile System), and he supplies useful context with modern historical scholarship. As the author shows, the prison investigation caused a significant shift in Kennan’s thinking. He entered Siberia as a “friend of Russia,” eager to defend the exile system to the international community, but the horrific conditions he witnessed and the sympathetic political exiles he met made him reconsider everything he thought he knew. Once Kennan returned to the U.S. and published the results of his investigation, formerly friendly American public opinion shifted, and the relationship between the U.S. and Russia changed forever. Wallance does not trace out in detail the larger history of oppression and exile that the book’s dedication to Alexei Navalny only hints at, but readers curious about crime, punishment, and political resistance in 19th-century Russia will find much of interest.

A page-turning history of a harrowing investigation that upended Russian– American relations.

To read more about Siberia, visit Kirkus online.

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A passionate, memorably presented manifesto for healing.

W H AT ’ S W R O N G ?

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes From Five Generations of Black Country Cooks Wilkinson, Crystal | Photos by Kelly Marshall | Clarkson Potter (256 pp.) $30.00 | Jan. 23, 2024 9780593236512

A celebration of Black Appalachian cuisine and folkways.

“People are always surprised that Black people reside in the hills of Appalachia,” writes Wilkinson, former poet laureate of Kentucky.

Indeed, she adds, Appalachia is widely thought of as the domain of Scots-Irish immigrants who “were mostly poor and therefore couldn’t own slaves”—a view that’s incorrect in several dimensions. Following emancipation, some Black Appalachians took up industrial work, but most remained smallholder farmers. While no strangers to scarcity, the author’s family had access to the wild game and plants of the mountains and the abundant fruit trees and berry bushes that grew around their homes. From the rusty metal recipe box that she calls “my finest family heirloom,” Wilkinson “conjures up the kitchen ghosts of my rural homeland.” That recipe box serves as an inspiration and gentle guide, but its recipes aren’t heavy on ironclad, inviolable instructions. Writing about cooked greens, Wilkinson notes that while they so often tend to be boiled down to mushiness, she prefers some crispness to them—as do many aficionados of KIRKUS REVIEWS

traditional Southern cuisine. There was even a time, she allows, when she decided that she was going to be a vegetarian and thus rejected the pork-laced greens and casseroles from her grandmother’s kitchen. “A little bit of meat ain’t gonna hurt you,” her bewildered grandmother urged.

It took decades for pork to return to the author’s table, however—and now that it has, readers will want to rush to cook her husband’s recipe for pulled pork (“he’s the meat man”).

Other highlights include a tasty plate of pinto beans, a perfectly delicate angel food cake, green beans with new potatoes, plus chicken and dumplings and “a mess o’ greens”—the list goes on, a font of inspiration.

A pleasing, succulent mix of storytelling and mouthwatering recipes.

Kirkus Star

What’s Wrong?: Personal Histories of Chronic Pain and Bad Medicine Williams, Erin | Abrams ComicArts (256 pp.) | $29.99 | Jan. 23, 2024 9781419747342

Williams examines the disparities in the American health care system and what it means to experience chronic pain through thoughtful prose and affecting illustrations.

The author reports that 20% of Americans suffer from chronic pain.

She is one of them, and her pain lies at the intersection of trauma, alcoholism, ulcers, heartburn, and more.

Despite the endless doctors’ appointments and prescriptions, “I still live without meaningful relief or medical consensus.” Sadly, this experience is common for many of the 50 million Americans who deal with chronic pain. Williams also shows how women, transgender individuals, and people of color suffer disproportionately from the failings of health care professionals. Navigating a system built for white, cisgender men, many other demographics find that their symptoms are confounding or outright dismissed by doctors. Through four case studies and accounts from her many frustrating experiences, Williams applies personal narratives to the statistics, exploring the intersectionality of pain and its mental, physical, and emotional toll.

With her prior experience working in oncology, she’s able to view medicine from the perspective of both patient and practitioner. Her empathetic storytelling delivers far more complexity and nuance than a medical diagnosis would offer.

Importantly, there’s hope to be found here. In addition to providing an essential recording of suffering, Williams delivers a call to action.

With compelling prose accompanied by gorgeous illustrations, she shows us that “art has as much to tell us about illness as medicine does.

Pain, like art, isn’t fixed, passive, or inert.” The colorful illustrations are testament to the care that’s required in healing. Medicine is part of that care, but only one part. Care requires more than just clinical evaluations, she writes; it “requires that trauma, whether personal, intergenerational or systemic, is addressed.”

A passionate, memorably presented manifesto for healing.

To read more about African American culinary history, visit Kirkus online.

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More: A Memoir of Open Marriage Winter, Molly Roden | Doubleday (304 pp.) | $28.00 | Jan. 16, 2024 9780385549455

The uncensored story of an open marriage.

“My husband gets into the car, leaving me with my boyfriend,” Winter writes near the end of her memoir.

“Who would believe my description of this scene?” As the subtitle makes clear, the book is all about her open marriage, including its tawdry details, jealousies, compounded jealousies, and trips to a therapist (and a couples’ therapist). The author and her husband, Stewart, decided on an open marriage almost on a lark: She met someone cute at a bar, and Stewart encouraged her to go out with him—as long as she told him all the sexy details afterward. Things quickly escalated. In many ways, this is a brave book. Winter doesn’t try to make herself or her behavior look better in hindsight, and she never hides from complicated feelings.

(Her wise therapist plays a starring role, and she deserves a standing ovation.) But the book isn’t exactly as emotionally honest as it’s advertised to be, especially in the first half. The author has a difficult time articulating why the idea of an open marriage appealed to her in the first place, and she doesn’t adequately explore other areas, especially related to her resentments against her husband. Winter also has a tendency to overwrite in places that don’t need it, so there can be too many adjectives, metaphors, or similes clogging the prose: “My throat dries up, as if I’ve swallowed sawdust.

I’m unable to produce sound.” The narrative improves in the second half, in which Winter describes how she learned to prioritize her own pleasure, a valuable lesson.

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A poignant anthology about ability and intimacy that espouses a gorgeously original worldview.

DISABILITY INTIMACY

open marriage—a phrase her mother never uses—is moving, and Winter describes it with patience and care.

An uneven but mostly engaging book that frankly takes on sex, jealousy, pleasure, and self-discovery.

Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire Ed. by Alice Wong | Vintage (384 pp.) $19.00 paper | Feb. 6, 2024 9780593469736

Disabled writer and thinker Wong’s latest book focuses on expanding the idea of intimacy beyond ableist interpretations.

“When I started working on this book, I googled ‘disability intimacy,’ and the search results were disappointing and pathetic. ‘Ewwwwww,’ I muttered to myself.” So writes Wong, the author of Year of the Tiger, in this witty, vulnerable, and insightful collection that highlights a diverse roster of disabled writers. The book, which the author organizes partially around the central value of “tenderness,” delves into topics such as love, creativity, care, and power, all while treating intimacy as a vast and multifaceted concept that can be applied to individuals just as easily as collectives. The contributions include a photo essay about care work, a poem about kissing, and a hybrid essay about “Bondage, Domination

/ Discipline, Service / Submission, Sadism and Masochism,” also known as BDSM. Alongside these formally inventive approaches, other writers examine nontraditional subjects of intimacy, including, among others, a disabled pet and “a contraption called a Milwaukee back brace.” Just like Wong’s introduction, which includes both a confession about her romantic history and a gloriously poetic description of her sexual desire, most contributions are intensely confessional, inviting readers into the writers’ lives with radical, compassionate love and encouraging them to rethink their traditional views of everything from sex to love to care. Unfortunately, the sheer number of essays results in an overstuffed book that includes a handful of pieces whose quality doesn’t quite rise to the admittedly high bar of the most extraordinary ones. Overall, though, this anthology is not only a joy to read but also a welcome introduction to innovative, intensely liberating approaches that are sure to change the way readers feel about traditional notions of intimacy.

A poignant anthology about ability and intimacy that espouses a gorgeously original worldview.

To read more from Alice Wong, visit Kirkus online.

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A good-natured memoir of 1990s and 2000s show-running and filmmaking.

HITS, FLOPS, AND OTHER ILLUSIONS

Wuhan: How the Covid-19 Outbreak in Wuhan, China Spiralled Out of Control Yang, Dali L. | Oxford Univ. (416 pp.) $35.00 | March 1, 2024 | 9780197756263

An examination of how a culture that emphasizes stability was ill-prepared for massive disruption.

The global responses to the Covid-19 pandemic will be debated for many years, but this book provides a granular account of how it started.

Yang, a senior political scientist and China specialist at the University of Chicago and author of a number of academic books about China, delves deeply into the first months, drawing on the records of the time and his own contacts. He notes that the Chinese government is usually seen as a dictatorial monolith, but in practice, this is not really true.

Overlaps and gaps of authority are common at the local level, and framing it all is an obsession with stability. Consequently, when reports of an unusual illness connected to the Huanan Seafood Market began to appear, people were reluctant to sound the alarm. Even when information eventually filtered up to the higher levels of the health authorities, little happened, aside from official censorship. At some point, the infection numbers could no longer be ignored, and when Beijing swung into action, it moved fast, KIRKUS REVIEWS

sending medical resources to the affected area and imposing a severe lockdown on Wuhan. The delays and obfuscation led to enormous damage. “No amount of investment, state-of-the-art equipment, or talent can make a difference if the public is kept uninformed and those with knowledge are not allowed to speak up or, if they do, are ignored, or even punished,” concludes Yang.

Despite this essential lesson, much of the text will be a difficult read for general readers, with many detours and huge amounts of detail. The author’s careful analysis will be most useful for health professionals and policymakers.

A scholarly study of China’s pandemic response shows how trying to control information is the worst thing to do in a crisis.

Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood Zwick, Ed | Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (304 pp.) | $27.99 | Feb. 13, 2024 9781668046999

An accomplished director, screenwriter, and producer recalls some behind-thescenes drama.

After creating the hit 1980s TV show thirtysomething, Zwick directed a pre-superstar Denzel Washington in Glory, produced the

Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love, and was trusted with big-budget vehicles for Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond) and Tom Cruise (The Last Samurai). In this avuncular memoir, he recalls which parts of that success were stumbled upon or hard-fought, telling a few tales about his colleagues and himself. In 1982, he writes, thirtysomething came after spending “four years writing scripts no one wanted to make and directing TV that wasn’t worth seeing.” Shakespeare in Love spent years in production (Julia Roberts was originally slated for Gwyneth Paltrow’s role) and was nearly sunk by the volcanic fury of Harvey Weinstein, who tried to undercut Zwick’s production role. Glory was quite nearly undermined by star Matthew Broderick’s domineering mother.

None of the dish Zwick delivers is very spicy or surprising—DiCaprio likes women, Cruise is intense, Brad Pitt has an ego, Shia LaBeouf is mercurial—but it explains how easily personality clashes can derail a project and how a good director manages the difficult dance between art and commerce in an industry overflowing with narcissists. Getting sidetracked is simply part of the job: The author estimates that he took on “as many projects that died in utero as those that thrived and made it into the theaters.” Zwick keeps his own ego out of the narrative—he even downplays his yearslong struggle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma—and chapters close with lists of advice for young filmmakers, which mostly boil down to “keep your ego in check,” “expect the unexpected,” and “Hollywood isn’t fair.” Throughout his career, Zwick has kept his sense of humor; regarding comedy, “no movie can be funny enough.”

A good-natured memoir of 1990s and 2000s show-running and filmmaking.

To read more about the Wuhan lockdown, visit Kirkus online.

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MAHNAZ DAR

LAST MONTH , I heard Jason Reynolds speak at an event promoting his debut picture book, There Was a Party for Langston (Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum, Oct. 3), illustrated by Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey (also on hand), held in the Langston Hughes Auditorium at New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

It was a fitting venue, given that the book centers on a 1991 celebration that marked the opening of the auditorium. A photo of Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka dancing that evening inspired Reynolds to pen this soaring tribute to Hughes. Images of writers cutting loose have long captivated him. He told moderator Jacqueline Woodson that one of his favorite photos shows Toni Morrison dancing with wild abandon at a disco party in 1974, and he cherishes the memory of doing the Rock Steady with Alice Walker at her birthday party. Reynolds said, “I have an obsession with seeing writers doing things that are not writing.

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I think it’s important to see our people, our heroes, dancing.”

It’s tempting to view the writers we love as rigorous scholars devoted only to their craft, or as godlike figures immune from self-doubt. But when we see writers in the flesh, we’re reminded that they’re real people. The photo of Angelou and Baraka helped bring that idea home, but so did hearing Reynolds open up about his uncertainties.

Though only 39, he’s racked up countless awards and was named the Library of Congress’ National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Even so, when asked by an audience member how he’s managed to write so prolifically, he responded, “Barely.” As a Black author, he’s felt immense pressure to deliver: “There’s a fear you won’t get a second swing.

Because of that...I’ve chosen to overcompensate.…I’m not sure it’s always been so beneficial to my health.”

I was struck, too, by Amanda Gorman’s words when she spoke at New York City’s Symphony Space

in September to promote her picture book Something, Someday (Viking, Sept. 26), illustrated by Christian Robinson, also on stage. The National Youth Poet Laureate held the nation in the palm of her hand when she read “The Hill We Climb” at President Biden’s inauguration in 2021, but she’s faced struggles of her own.

She told moderator Renée Watson that when she was younger, a speech impediment made it hard for her to say certain words, so she would edit her poems to make them easier to recite.

I was especially happy that young people were in the audience at both events. For many kids, particularly those

who aren’t eager readers or academically inclined, writing may seem intimidating.

But in revealing a more vulnerable side, Reynolds and Gorman are empowering the next generation. Reynolds’ words of encouragement to young writers said it all: “You might be afraid—some of the words [you create] might not even be real words....But once you’ve made up a word, it’s real.

[Language] should be something that’s playful, that’s whimsical. We can bend it how we want to bend it, as long as there’s an intention behind the bend.”

Mahnaz Dar is a young readers’ editor.

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Illustration by Eric Scott Anderson

WHEN OUR HEROES DANCE

CHILDREN’S

EDITOR’S PICK In this stand-alone companion volume to Hiranandani’s Newbery Honor title, The Night Diary (2018), a boy in postPartition Bombay grapples with the bitter realities of surviving trauma.

After leaving their beloved home in Mirpur Khas, which is now part of the newly created Pakistan, 12-year-old twins Amil and Nisha are living in Bombay with their doctor father, paternal grandmother, and beloved family cook. While Amil (whose late mother was Muslim and father is Hindu) is grateful for their newfound safety, he’s haunted by memories of their flight. Nisha kept a diary during their journey, and when she suggests Amil

These Titles Earned the Kirkus Star

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should draw to express his feelings, he begins sketching the family’s new life.

In addition to harboring complicated, painful feelings around his mother’s death in childbirth, a result of complications from his breech positioning, Amil realizes while engaging in his art that his emotions are more intense and complicated than ever. These feelings come to a head when a classmate who was orphaned during the religious violence desperately needs his help, and Amil must decide what to do.

This book is a masterpiece of nuance, vulnerability, and emotional complexity. Readers with ancestral connections to the Partition will especially appreciate

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Fighting With Love

By Lesa ClineRansome; illus.

by James E. Ransome

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When You Have To Wait

By Melanie Conklin; illus. by Leah Hong

Amil and the After Hiranandani, Veera | Illus. by Prashant Miranda Kokila | 272 pp. | $17.99 | 9780525555063

its layered exploration of the lives of survivors, but Hiranandani provides enough context, skillfully woven throughout, that readers of all backgrounds will find it accessible and

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When I Wrap My Hair

By Shauntay Grant; illus. by Jenin Mohammed

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My Block Looks Like

By Janelle Harper; illus. by Frank Morrison

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Amil and the After

By Veera Hiranandani; illus. by Prashant Miranda

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Do You Know Them?

By Shana Keller; illus. by Laura Freeman

absorbing. Final art not seen.

A quietly brilliant, deeply insightful story of living in uncertain times. (glossary, author’s note) (Historical fiction. 8-12)

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Rosie Runs

By Marika Maijala; trans. by Mia Spangenberg

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Beaky Barnes and the Devious Duck

By David Ezra Stein

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Forever and Always

By Brittany J. Thurman; illus. by Shamar KnightJustice

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Is This…Easter?

By Helen Yoon

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The Ramadan Drummer Abaza, Sahtinay | Illus. by Dinara Mirtalipova | Reycraft Books (40 pp.) $17.95 | Jan. 16, 2024 | 9781478879145

A Muslim boy’s imagination soars as he learns about an old Ramadan tradition.

Adam waits impatiently for sunset so he can break his fast.

When the family eats together, his mother and aunt reminisce about their first fast, when they were woken up for the pre-dawn meal by the Ramadan Drummer—a tradition that ended when people began relying on alarm clocks.

That night, Adam dreams of meeting the Ramadan Drummer. Together they chant and beat the drum “until all the homes were lit.” The Drummer alerts Adam to the murmurs coming from the houses—a boy named Zane wishes for a friend; a girl named Hannah has won a tournament; homesick Mr. Sami longs for his family. The Drummer tells Adam, “During Ramdan, every act of kindness is rewarded tenfold.” The next day, Adam invites Zane to play, writes a note to congratulate Hannah, and drops off a gift for Mr. Sami. As he races home to break his fast, his stomach is rumbling, but his heart is filled with warmth. The uplifting story comes full circle as Adam realizes that good deeds are essential to Ramadan and fasting. The beautiful folk art–inspired illustrations are peppered with bright florals; scenes of Adam’s magical night, rendered in inky blacks and blues with pops of red and yellow, evoke a sense of coziness. Characters are brown-skinned, but the setting is unspecified.

A lively telling of the true spirit of Ramadan. (author’s and illustrator’s notes) (Picture book. 4-8)

For more books illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova, visit Kirkus online.

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The Songbird and the Rambutan Tree Abendanon, Lucille | Jolly Fish Press (320 pp.) | $14.99 paper | Jan. 23, 2024 9781631638206

Eleven-year-old, Batavia-born Dutch national Emmeline Abendanon has been unable to sing since her mother’s death.

Despite the looming threat of the Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia), Emmy refuses to leave for vocal training at a prestigious school in England.

She clings to the familiar, including Javanese best friend Bakti, the son of a family servant. But Emmy soon learns uncomfortable truths about her life of privilege and the systemic discrimination and exploitation non-Europeans like Bakti face under colonial rule.

When the 1942 Dutch surrender results in Japanese occupation, Emmy ends up in the Tjideng prisoner-of-war camp for women and children, where she must find the strength and will to survive.

Drawing from her grandmother’s account of living in what is now Jakarta and surviving Tjideng, debut author Abendanon weaves a compelling narrative that highlights the experience of many white European and Australian prisoners of war. Yet, despite cultivating Emmy’s awakening to a broader view of her position in the Dutch colonial hierarchy, the ending oversimplifies and elides critical nuances. The narrative also suffers from a lack of cultural texture, failing to convey the setting’s ethnic and religious diversity. The author’s personal and historical notes add some context but fall short in communicating the broader history of the Dutch state, the Indonesian archipelago under the Dutch East India Company, and the Indonesian independence movement.

A flawed but engaging narrative that broadens readers’ understanding of the geographic reach of World War II. (map) (Historical fiction. 10-14)

I Am a Masterpiece!: An Empowering Story About Inclusivity and Growing Up With Down Syndrome Armstrong, Mia with Marissa Moss | Illus.

by Alexandra Thompson | Random House (40 pp.) | $19.99 | $22.99 PLB | Jan. 9, 2024 9780593567975 | 9780593567982 PLB

Child actor and activist Armstrong, who has Down syndrome, embraces her uniqueness.

Mia likes herself just fine, but sometimes people “forget their manners” or act like she’s invisible—a shoe store clerk, for instance, addresses Mom instead of Mia until the child politely asserts herself. At school, though, everybody knows her. As her class draws self-portraits for Back-to-School Night, Mia knows exactly how to express “how happy I feel being me.” But her classmates criticize her work, and Mia feels invisible again. Then, remembering Mom’s reminders to be patient, Mia explains it’s a “double self-portrait,” a work that illustrates both how she feels and how she sees the world.

Fortunately, “kids are faster than grown-ups at these kinds of things,” and her classmates understand. With candor and wry humor, Mia reminds kids and adults alike not to patronize people with Down syndrome. In a gently pointed scene, she wonders if others would be equally rude to very old, tall, or scaly people, and she imagines droll comebacks to nosy questions and blunt remarks. Asked if they’re “some kind of alien,” a reptilian, green-skinned plane passenger deadpans, “Is that a problem?” Mia’s enthusiasm and self-confidence radiate from Thompson’s energetic cartoon illustrations. The backmatter includes cartoon-style panels of Mia fielding frequently asked questions about Down syndrome. Mia and her family present white; background characters are diverse.

A celebration of self-advocacy, self-expression, and self-acceptance. (Picture book. 4-8) KIRKUS REVIEWS

CHILDREN’S

Will definitely leave an impression on budding naturalists.

ODD COUPLES

Monster Club: Monsters Take Manhattan Aronofsky, Darren, Ari Handel & Lance Rubin | Illus. by Ronald Kurniawan | Harper/ HarperCollins (368 pp.) | $18.99 | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780063136694 | Series: Monster Club, 2

Eric “Doodles” King thinks the magic ink that brings monsters to life has been destroyed, but a powerful CEO is planning to use it to flood lower Manhattan and make a new Atlantis.

The exciting events of the 2022 series opener are months past; Eric’s new worry is beginning seventh grade at Tinsdale, a Manhattan private school, instead of returning to his old gifted and talented school with his friends. At Tinsdale, Eric is dubbed “Sketch” for his art skills and adopted by three popular kids. When he returns to Brooklyn and his dad’s house on weekends, he has trouble transitioning between worlds. At an age in which friends and identity are closely linked, Eric isn’t sure whether he’s “Doodles” or “Sketch,” and he makes some mistakes with his old friends. But when a serious new threat arises, Monster Club assembles again to fight King Neptune. Most chapters are told from Eric’s perspective, but some are about Neptune, and the epilogue focuses on Eric’s new friend Pete, with an ending that sets the stage for a third entry. New readers are given enough background information to follow along, but this work is best appreciated by those who’ve KIRKUS REVIEWS

read the first book. The fight scenes with the monsters are joyous, and one especially dramatic, high-stakes action scene is perfectly paced. While Brickman, Eric’s monster creation, is heroic, Eric’s words are even more powerful. Eric is Jewish; secondary characters’ names signal ethnic diversity. Final art not seen.

Exciting, inventive, and emotionally intelligent. (Fiction. 9-13)

How Deep Is Your Love Bee Gees | Illus. by J.L. Meyer | Akashic (32 pp.) | $16.95 | Jan. 9, 2024 9781636141626

Aquatic bunnies take center stage in this picture-book adaptation of the Saturday Night Fever hit.

Two rabbits with mermaid-esque tails perch on a rock in the middle of the water, gazing at each other. One gives the other a flower before diving into the water.

Under the water, the two encounter a variety of threats. Unseen foes try to separate them using fishhooks, nets, and cages, but they continue to break free. The text is illustrated in a 1960s-style psychedelic font (though the song was released in 1977). The size and amount of space it takes up on the page varies, and at times the words curve into the images. Deep, watery blues swirl around the rabbits when they’re underwater, and when they’re above the sea, they’re surrounded by sunset pinks and purples. While the art is full of movement and color, it takes some deciphering and rereading to understand what’s happening on

each page. There’s also a fundamental disconnect between the words and the visuals—it’s unclear what the bunnies’ antics have to do with the lyrics to this love ballad. Whether shared in a group or one-on-one, this will make an awkward read-aloud, given the romantic undertones of the song (“I know your eyes in the morning sun / I feel you touch me in the pouring rain”). This is one song-to-book crossover that just doesn’t work.

Adult Bee Gees fans are the best (and only) audience for this one. (Picture book. 3-5)

Odd Couples: A Guide to Unlikely Animal Pairs Birmingham, Maria | Illus. by Raz Latif Owlkids Books (40 pp.) | $18.95 Sept. 12, 2023 | 9781771475280

A mind-expanding gallery of seemingly different wild creatures that share similar features or behaviors.

Smiling animals in Latif’s cartoon illustrations pair off on opposite pages to give Birmingham’s surprising question-and-answer revelations a cheery air. What might that jolly-looking great white shark and the small, googly-eyed land snail have in common?

Both, it turns out, have mouths jampacked with teeth that are arranged in rows and move forward as the ones in front wear out. How about kangaroos and three-toed sloths? Both are strong swimmers. What about a polar bear (which “weighs more than two refrigerators”) and a Ussurian tube-nosed bat (closer in weight to a piece of paper)?

“They both dig dens in the snow!” If some of the comparisons seem a bit stretched—giraffes and hummingbirds might both make humming sounds, but in different ways and for different reasons—the premise still invites young readers to think a bit outside the box when making comparisons. The ninth and final pairing juxtaposes the koala, NOVEMBER 15, 2023 111

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which mainly eats eucalyptus leaves, with a quartet of omnivorous, racially diverse children, including a hijabi, a child who uses a wheelchair, and another who uses a cane. Their common trait? Fingerprints!

Will definitely leave an impression on budding naturalists. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

Tree of Life: How a Holocaust Sapling Inspired the World Boxer, Elisa | Illus. by Alianna Rozentsveig Rocky Pond Books/Penguin (40 pp.) $18.99 | Jan. 16, 2024 | 9780593617120

A tree survives the Holocaust, though most of the children who cared for it don’t.

It’s winter in Terezin, the Czechoslovakian propaganda camp with which the Nazis tricked the credulous Red Cross into believing their treatment of Jews was humane. Here, children are allowed to attend school, and one teacher, Irma Lauscher, has the children plant a smuggled-in maple sapling.

Miraculously, the children keep the tree alive in the camp, even as they themselves weaken or die. Art and text combine for an honest yet optimistic and age-appropriate portrayal of a difficult topic. When they first see the tree, the children are still round-faced if ragged, their pale, large-eyed faces capable of joy. As the war continues and the tree grows, the children’s faces grow wearier, their bodies huddled against cold and despair. Many of the children vanish entirely; although only the author’s note clarifies that these children have been murdered in Auschwitz, a foreboding spread of a deportation train (“taken away on trains to a place that was even worse”) nonetheless makes clear that their fates are dire. Despite the mass murder, the tree survives—as does Irma. In 2021, a cutting from the tree was planted 112 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

in New York City. Now the somber hues, punctuated by reds, give way to a hopeful green surrounding the racially diverse children of New York—round-faced and joyful.

A gentle, accessible take on resilience. (sources) (Picture book. 5-8)

Freddie the Flyer Carmichael, Fred & Danielle MetcalfeChenail | Illus. by Audrea Loreen-Wulf Tundra Books (32 pp.) | $17.99 Oct. 24, 2023 | 9781774880807

The story of a boy “half Scottish-Irish, half Gwich’in, and one hundred percent shy” and his love of airplanes, set in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

Telling his tale in the third person along with Metcalfe-Chenail, Carmichael goes from school-age daydreams of flight in the tiny town of Aklavik, Canada, to adventures as a private pilot on the Mackenzie Delta. His exploits range from ferrying a pregnant passenger who goes into labor to braving blizzards to rescue a stranded prospector; in later years, he’d go on to become a locally prominent businessman. In terse narrative sections headed with the names of successive months in English, Gwich’in, and Inuvialuktun, he also details how he transported fur trappers and their dog teams, naturalists studying wildlife of the western Arctic, and tourists visiting the Igloo Church in Inuvik.

Further details about his decades of involvement with his multicultural community are summed up in a closing note. Painting on rough canvas, Loreen-Wulf underscores the breadth and beauty of the subarctic landscape with scenes of musk oxen and caribou, broad snowfields, and swathes of seasonal wildflowers beneath twilit skies and bright Northern lights. A multilingual glossary and photos close out the work.

People Are My Favorite Places Castillo, Ani | Little, Brown (40 pp.) | $18.99 Jan. 9, 2024 | 9780316424660

A child examines the joy of other people.

Staring off into the distance, the young narrator informs us, “It wasn’t until I was stuck in my room, all alone, forever and ever” that “I realized one breathtaking thing: PEOPLE ARE MY FAVORITE PLACES.” (Why the child was so isolated is not explicitly stated, though it appears to be a reference to pandemic lockdown.)

The child tells us, “I always thought I loved going to my grandparents’ house,” but it isn’t their home that’s so special—it’s the “kind, loving humans who welcome me there.”

Yes, the child misses buildings, the ocean, and the mountains, but not as much as the “sweet, lovely people who were once there with me, holding my hand.” Explorations of sensory details include the smell of a baby or the textures of people’s hair. And the protagonist doesn’t miss movies as much as hearing the laughter of fellow audience members. Expressing gratitude for technology and memories, the child hopes to “never forget” that it’s being with “someone whom I love very dearly” that matters most. In the manga-esque illustrations, vivid colors roughly bleed together effectively as a doe-eyed child with body-length black hair, a light complexion, and round cherry cheeks watches snow falling, enjoys music, and has a sleepover. The result is a delightful tale that will help little ones cultivate gratitude.

Quirky illustrations and charming narrative make for an endearing read.

(Picture book. 5-8)

For more by Ani Castillo, visit Kirkus online.

Shines with a love of both planes and place. (Picture-book autobiography.

6-8)

KIRKUS REVIEWS

CHILDREN’S

A kid-lit powerhouse team delivers a tribute to an icon known for making good trouble.

FIGHTING WITH LOVE

Valentines for All: Esther Howland Captures America’s Heart Churnin, Nancy | Illus. by Monika Róza Wisniewska | Whitman (32 pp.) | $18.99 Nov. 7, 2023 | 9780807567111

A look at the woman who revolutionized Valentine’s Day. Churnin has covered famous subjects, as in Martin & Anne (2019), and more obscure ones, such as Eliza Davis in Dear Mr. Dickens (2021); here she focuses on one of America’s first professional women. Inspired after her father brought her a valentine from England, Esther Howland (1828-1904) created handmade cards with personalized notes. She had the smarts to brand her cards, develop an assembly line, and build her cottage industry into a successful business— one that gave women the opportunity to work outside the home. When the Civil War started, Howland assumed that few would be interested in her cards, but her business thrived as women sent messages to loved ones on the front lines. Churnin notes that after a fall, Howland used a wheelchair for the rest of her life. On every page, readers will find a roses-are-red-type rhyme inscribed inside a basic heart; some verses are as feeble or stretched as their 19th-century counterparts could be, but they are a unifying conceit. Simplified pastel costumes convey a sense of 19th-century dress; women of color are portrayed sitting alongside white women making cards, and Black soldiers are depicted in Union blue. The printing press illustrated KIRKUS REVIEWS

here belongs to a much earlier time.

Howland’s business acumen, creative artistry, and persistence are good reasons to celebrate her, though her actual, elaborate cards, some in museum collections, far surpass the plain depictions shown here.

A Valentine’s Day gift to ambitious youngsters. (author’s note; writing encouragement) (Picture-book biography. 5-8)

The Story of Sojourner Truth: A Biography Book for New Readers Clark, Anita Crawford | Callisto Kids (64 pp.) $15.99 | Jan. 16, 2024 | 9798886509540

An account of the life and achievements of a woman born into slavery who, guided by her faith, became a renowned crusader for human rights.

Clark opens by characterizing her subject as an evangelist. In tracing her long career, the author prominently folds mentions of Truth’s preaching and religious visions into the tally of her accomplishments—including the successful lawsuit she brought against a white slaveholder to reclaim her son, the ringing “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech she delivered to the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1851, and her integration of Washington, D.C.’s, trolley system after the Civil War, prefiguring Rosa Parks’ later efforts. The biographical material, particularly in earlier chapters, might be too detailed for younger audiences to follow easily,

but sidebars that invite readers to respond personally to significant incidents or character traits will help hold readers’ interest when the flurries of names and places become bewildering; to spark further engagement, a quiz and a set of discussion questions follow the pithy closing analysis of Sojourner’s legacy. If she doesn’t look quite as indomitable in the illustrations as she does in contemporary photographs, her bespectacled figure still stands properly tall and straight, whether speaking to courts and crowds or face to face with presidents (she met three).

Clear and systematic, though the narrative flows more easily in later chapters. (glossary, bibliography) (Biography.

7-10)

Kirkus Star

Fighting With Love: The Legacy of John Lewis Cline-Ransome, Lesa | Illus. by James E. Ransome | Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (48 pp.) | $18.99 | Jan. 9, 2024 9781534496620

A kid-lit powerhouse team delivers a warm tribute to a civil rights icon known for making good trouble.

John Lewis grew up in segregated Troy, Alabama, raised by sharecropper parents who worked hard but had little to show for it. What his family did provide was love in abundance.

Lewis’ desire for education often took a back seat to the needs of the farm, but he read whatever was available. As a teen, he heard Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preach on the radio, and he was moved by King’s commitment to “truth and justice.” While in seminary in Nashville, Tennessee, Lewis connected with others working for justice through nonviolence and prepared to protest segregation. Challenging the status quo was difficult, and the students were attacked verbally and physically, even being arrested for purported disorderly conduct. But NOVEMBER 15, 2023 113

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he persevered in the face of violence and even threats to his life; the book closes with Lewis leading protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. This eloquent biography makes clear that Lewis’ activism was grounded in the love and faith that surrounded him from an early age. Cline-Ransome’s clear, age-appropriate language conveys Lewis’ determination, while Ransome’s compelling illustrations, done with found paper, pencil drawings, and paint, perfectly complement the narrative. The use of vivid, patterned textures gives the book a homey, intimate feeling; Lewis’ life and work will feel immediate and deeply personal to readers.

An excellent depiction of a life lived with purpose. (author’s note, timeline, photographs, quote sources, selected bibliography) (Picture-book biography.

4-8)

Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu Compestine, Ying Chang | Illus. by Crystal Kung | Rocky Pond Books/Penguin (40 pp.) $18.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9780593533055

In this fractured fairy tale, Compestine imagines the origins of a famous dish.

Ra Pu Zel is an assertive, independent Chinese princess who loves to cook. She’s constantly scolded for failing to be a proper lady until one day she’s finally had enough and locks herself in her tower; using her long braid, she pulls up baskets of food from her mother.

As she cultivates her hobbies, the delicious smells and lovely music that float out into the kingdom attract suitors from near and far. The emperor decrees that the first person who can draw the princess out of the tower will receive his marriage blessing. It isn’t until a young chef arrives, pushing a cart that emits a horrible stench, that Pu Zel is finally lured out. The chef’s stinky tofu—a delicacy in his 114 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

An entertaining, science-focused mystery that encourages readers to embrace their true selves.

THE THIRTEENTH CIRCLE

hometown—wins her heart, and the dish goes on to become one of the most renowned in China. Kung’s digital artwork is reminiscent of Chinese watercolor paintings, though with a modern sensibility and cinematic eye.

The colorful, expressively detailed depictions of the princess’ attempts to conform to expectations are a hoot, and her joy in being her best self in her tower is palpable. In the backmatter, Compestine explains that this story is “strictly from my own imagination” and includes a recipe for (non-stinky) tofu.

A delicious mashup of fairy tales and food. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Star

When You Have To Wait Conklin, Melanie | Illus. by Leah Hong Roaring Brook Press (40 pp.) | $18.99 Jan. 9, 2024 | 9781250816542

A child finds contentment in the act of waiting.

Waiting is hard, whether you’re in line on a hot day to get into the pool, counting down the days until Mama returns from a weeklong trip, or yearning to grow tall enough to ride a big bike. For the protagonist, who’s cued Asian, “each second feels like forever when all you want is NOW.” But as time passes, the child discovers value in patience, including meeting a new friend while waiting at the pool. The child also enjoys some independence and develops an appreciation for the little things in life. In

her debut picture book, Conklin uses simple, straightforward language from a second-person perspective to convey the struggle of waiting. Readers are bound to see themselves in the protagonist as the child flails in frustration, longs for a hug from a loved one, and worries about the future (“Will I ever be big enough?”). With soft textures and a gentle palette, Hong’s gouache and crayon illustrations perfectly echo the sentiment of the text and inspire a sense of calm mindfulness. The use of white space also encourages readers to pause and focus on small details. In a world fixated on instant gratification, Conklin and Hong make a persuasive case for the sense of joy and connection that can be found when we slow down.

A relatable and beautifully rendered tale about the value of patience.

(Picture book. 4-8)

The Thirteenth Circle Connolly, MarcyKate & Kathryn Holmes Feiwel & Friends (320 pp.) | $17.99 Jan. 30, 2024 | 9781250891594

Two middle schoolers investigate mysterious crop circles.

Dani wants to convince her artistic parents that she’s a serious scientist, but her partner in a prestigious youth science competition, “designated school weirdo” Cat, has an alien obsession that might derail Dani’s plans to win.

When Cat signs them up to investigate local crop circles, Dani is skeptical at first, but she discovers that Cat is KIRKUS REVIEWS

CHILDREN’S

a pro when it comes to the scientific method. Still, Dani pursues her own line of inquiry: her belief that the crop circles are human made. The mystery may be the main event, but themes of family relationships and self-actualization permeate the girls’ partnership.

As they grow closer, the seventh graders bond over social challenges (other kids mock their interests) and parental woes (Dani longs for her parents’ acceptance, and Cat just wants to know that her dad, who’s away working for NASA, remembers her). The girls, who are white, follow their own paths despite criticism from others, which makes them good role models for readers. Well-developed parental relationships are central, as is the treatment of ways the girls grow closer through their shared love of science and how this affects their relationships with their parents and their school experiences. The references to scientific methodology are presented in an entertaining manner that’s grounded in real life.

An entertaining, science-focused mystery that encourages readers to embrace their true selves. (Mystery.

8-12)

I Am Money Cook, Julia & Garrett Gunderson | Illus. by Josh Cleland | Sourcebooks eXplore (40 pp.) $14.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9781728271262

A walking, talking billfold of cash takes readers through the ins and outs of money.

Held together by a shiny gold clip and often accompanied by anthropomorphic coins, our narrator is a smiley, positive presence who eats pizza and rides a bike, just like us! Money explains its value as well as how to earn it (mowing lawns, selling lemonade), spend it, save it, and share it. The narrator uses clothing as a metaphor to explain different forms of money—sometimes the narrator dons “digital and crypto clothes,” though the author doesn’t KIRKUS REVIEWS

elaborate on these. A similar reference to “credit card coats” is accompanied by a warning on overspending.

Most commendable are reminders of readers’ self-worth: Though readers are encouraged to invest in themselves, it’s made abundantly clear that money does not confer value to people. A message about earning interest is followed by a wordless page of coins and bills passing by a bank and a credit union—concepts that are a bit too advanced to describe in detail for this book’s audience. For now, tracking savings in a clear jar (not a piggy bank) is advanced enough. A guinea pig appears throughout the cheerful, textured art, making a suitably cute sidekick for the narrator.

An educational and uplifting foundation in financial mindsets and rules of thumb. (money tips) (Informational picture book. 4-8)

The Racc Pack Cooke, Stephanie | Illus. by Whitney Gardner | Simon & Schuster (184 pp.) $13.99 | Jan. 23, 2024 | 9781665914932 Series: The Racc Pack, 1

A family of raccoons trying to survive the winter find themselves pulling the heist of a lifetime.

On the streets of Toronto, Dusty, ReRe, and Scraps eke out a meager existence night to night, scavenging for scraps where they can get them. The mayor’s new raccoon-proof garbage bins prove no match for the trio’s brains and brawn, but food is getting harder to come by. When they discover a dumpster full of “ugly,” misshapen produce at Well Bean (a Whole Foods– like market), the Racc Pack is beyond thrilled: This is more than enough to last the winter! But Well Bean’s corrupt owner will stop at nothing to keep “vermin” out of his bins. Still, the Racc Pack won’t back down. With the help of new friends and a whole lot

of determination, will the raccoons be able to pull off Mission Impawssible?

Will the evil Jeff Beans and his wasteful megacorporation get their comeuppance? The social issues (food waste, humanity vs. wildlife, corporate corruption, gentrification, etc.) underpinning the heist plot are treated lightly, for the most part; the Jeff Bezos analogue, on the other hand, will be hilariously obvious—at least to adults. The comic tone and high energy are served well by the bright, busy illustrations, and if the plot itself is a bit thin, the antics, plans, and potential future heists of the roguish raccoons are more than enough fun to make up for it. Human characters are diverse; Jeff Beans is tan-skinned.

A dumpster’s worth of laughs. (Graphic fiction. 7-10)

Sinister Sister Corbett, Phil | Razorbill/Penguin (208 pp.) | $13.99 paper | Jan. 16, 2024 9780593619490 | Series: Kitty Quest

Can Perigold and Woolfrik survive a family reunion?

The Kitty Quest warriors are visiting the snowy Grand Meowtains and the famous snowcat statue when their sort-of nemesis Dagzobad appears and steals the statue’s last whisker. He also unleashes an “Eye-valanche” (a cascade of eyeballs)…and in the ensuing chaos, the statue is destroyed. Leaving their pals Bella and Cosette to repair the statue, Woolfrik and Perigold return to their headquarters in Meowminster to find a letter addressed to Scarygold.

Turns out that is Perigold’s real name, and her sister Horribelle is planning to visit from Awfullia. Perigold left her home country because meanness and evil are de rigueur there. When they meet Horribelle in Padport, she turns out to be just as awful as described… and when she meets Dagzobad—well, it’s awfulness times two. When the cats are menaced by a magical Yarnivore—a huge, toothy ball of yarn—it’s >>> NOVEMBER 15, 2023 115

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Claire’s mom and dad don’t talk to each other much anymore. And they definitely don’t laugh or dance the way they used to.

Their tense, stilted standoffs leave thirteen-year-old Claire, an only child, caught in the middle.

So when the family takes their annual summer vacation, Claire sticks her nose in a book and hopes for the best. Maybe the sunshine and ocean breeze will fix what’s gone wrong.

But while the family is away, Claire’s mother has a ruptured brain aneurysm—right after she reveals a huge secret to Claire.

Though she survives the rupture, it seems like she is now an entirely different person.

Claire has no idea if her mom meant what she said, or if she even remembers saying it. With the weight of her mom’s confession on her shoulders, Claire must navigate fear, grief, and prospects for recovery.

Will her mom ever be the same? Will her parents stay together? And if the answer to either question is yes, how will Claire learn to live with what she knows? This beautifully written novel stems from the author’s incredible experience surviving two ruptured aneurysms.

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C H I L D R E N ’ S // P O D C A S T

Fully Booked

Guest host Jason Reynolds interviews Christine Platt on a podcast takeover episode.

BY MEGAN LABRISE EPISODE 338: GUEST HOST JASON REYNOLDS & CHRISTINE PLATT

EDITORS’ PICKS:

The House of the Lost on the Cape by Sachiko Kashiwaba, illus. by Yukiko Saito, trans. by Avery Fischer Udagawa (Yonder) American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15

by Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Breaking and Entering

by Don Gillmor (Biblioasis) ALSO MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:

The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina, trans. by Lucy Rand Columbine by Dave Cullen Parkland by Dave Cullen THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

Penguin Young Readers Group Terms of Service

by Craig W. Stanfill Blood of the Hunted

by Marc R. Micciola

Adedayo “Dayo” Kosoko

Fully Booked is produced by Cabel Adkins Audio and Megan Labrise.

To listen to the episode, visit Kirkus online.

On this takeover episode of Fully Booked, we welcome special guest host Jason Reynolds in conversation with author and advocate Christine Platt.

In this new regular feature at the podcast, a beloved bestselling author invites an author whose work they admire for an in-depth conversation—writer to writer.

The questions they ask and the subjects they explore are all up to them.

No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds is the creator of award-winning books for readers of all ages. His pitch-perfect middle-grade novel As Brave as You won the 2016 Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature; Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Antiracism, and You, a collaboration with Ibram X. Kendi, was a Kirkus Prize finalist in 2020. His new work Stuntboy, In-Between Time—a sequel to the wildly popular adventure story Stuntboy, in the Meantime, illustrated

by Raúl the Third—was published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers on August 29.

He’s joined in conversation by Christine Platt, an acclaimed author and social justice advocate whose books center African diasporic experiences. Her diverse works include fiction and nonfiction for adults (The Afrominimalist’s Guide to Living With Less; Rebecca, Not Becky, with Catherine Wigginton Greene) as well as young readers (The Story of Michelle Obama: A Biography Book for New Readers; Breaking News, illustrated by Alea Marley).

Then editors Mahnaz Dar, Eric Liebetrau, and Laurie Muchnick share their top picks in books for the week.

Megan Labrise is the editor at large and host of the Fully Booked podcast.

Stuntboy, In-Between Time

Reynolds, Jason | Illus. by Raúl the Third Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum (272 pp.) | $14.99 Aug. 29, 2023 | 9781534418226

Breaking News

Platt, Christine | Illus. by Alea Marley Walker US/Candlewick (80 pp.) | $15.99 Oct. 10, 2023 | 9781536222098 Series: Frankie and Friends, 1

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a good thing Woolfrik and Perigold have a new friend in Purrcival the wool wizard. Corbett’s questing kitties are back for another medieval romp full of silliness, sarcasm, and plenty of pussycat puns. Wide-eyed cats and brightly colored slapstick feature in every panel. Fans of the first two quests will be purring; newcomers should read the others first.

Foolish, fantastical, feline fun. (Graphic fiction. 7-10)

Extraordinary Magic: The Storytelling Life of Virginia Hamilton Crews, Nina | Christy Ottaviano Books (40 pp.) | $18.99 | Jan. 9, 2024 9780316383592

Poems and pictures trace Virginia Hamilton’s family history, childhood, and growth into a writer.

Virginia Hamilton was a MacArthur “Genius” and the first Black author to win the Newbery Medal. Crews wisely avoids introducing her subject as a great writer to picture-book readers unlikely to know her books already, instead focusing on the circumstances that helped to make her one. Hamilton’s ancestors fled slavery for the Ohio countryside, where the family flourished. Her parents nourished their youngest daughter’s imagination, captured in two tender poems. In the first, young Hamilton’s mother transforms a frightening storm into a dance between a tree she dubs Grandmother Lilac and the wind; in the other, her father plays mandolin and tells stories about great Black Americans. Cuddled in between, a poem entitled “Free”—set against a double-page illustration of Hamilton’s bare feet striding confidently through green grass—tells readers “Virginia was free. / To be a dreamer. / To be a wanderer. / To be her own unique self. / Free to be.”

When a 9-year-old Hamilton decided to become a writer, “Nobody laughed or said, / ‘You can’t do that.’ ” In 118 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

poem after poem—all in delicate, unrhymed verse—Crews carefully gives budding writers a role model. The digital illustrations have the look of cut-paper collage, excelling when offering visual metaphors but less effective when depicting narrative.

Both a tribute to Hamilton’s genius and an invitation to those yet to come. (author’s note, timeline, bibliographies) (Picture-book poetry/biography. 5-9)

Birthday Bling: Spending Daly, Catherine | Illus. by Genevieve Kote Kane Press (64 pp.) | $16.99 | Jan. 9, 2024 9781662670527

All that glitters is not plastic.

When Lucy receives a gift card for her 10th birthday, she assumes it’s like the credit card that trendy classmate Avery shows off. But when Lucy attempts to buy an expensive sweatshirt, she realizes that her card has a strict spending limit. The experience upsets Lucy, though her frugal friend and neighbor Julian attempts to comfort her.

Later that evening, their teenage babysitter, Oona, teaches them the differences between credit, debit, and gift cards and gives them a hands-on lesson in how interest works. The allure of a high credit limit dims as Lucy learns just how easily debt can snowball. Lucy’s material envy gives way to a thrifty alternative thanks to Julian, whose in-story Moola Man comic closes out the book. Kote’s illustrations capture the emotions and diversity of Lucy and Julian’s neighborhood well. Each chapter heading includes an illustration of a gift card next to a credit card, helping readers notice the unique details of each.

The financial lessons are sound and clearly conveyed, and though this is a purposeful book, with an obvious takeaway, Lucy’s interest in sports and horror movies makes her a more well-rounded character than she might

otherwise have been. Lucy appears tan in the grayscale illustrations, while Avery is lighter-skinned, Oona is darkskinned, and Julian reads as Asian.

An important lesson in both finance and in weighing wants versus needs. (tips for saving money while shopping) (Fiction. 7-10)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day From the Crayons Daywalt, Drew | Illus. by Oliver Jeffers Philomel (32 pp.) | $9.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 9780593624333

A holiday-centered spinoff from the duo behind the inspired The Day the Crayons Quit (2013).

With Green Crayon on vacation, how can the waxy ones pull off a colorful St. Patrick’s Day celebration with Duncan, their (unseen) owner? Through their signature combo of cooperation and unwavering enthusiasm, of course.

Blue and Yellow collaborate on a field of shamrocks that blends—however spottily—into green. Nearly invisible White Crayon supplies an otherwise unclothed light-skinned leprechaun with undies, and Orange draws a pair of pants that match the wee creature’s iconic beard and hair. Pink applies colors to a vest, and Purple, a natty jacket and boots. Chunky Toddler Crayon contributes a “perfect” scribbly blue hat; Beige and Brown team up for the leprechaun’s harp. In arguably the best bit, Black exuberantly manifests a decidedly unvariegated rainbow, while Gold’s pot of coins is right on the money, hue-wise. Their ardor undimmed by the holiday’s missing customary color, everyone assembles to party. Though the repartee among the crayons isn’t as developed as in previous outings, the book hews close to Daywalt and Jeffers’ winning formula, and there’s still enough here to keep readers chuckling.

And, in a droll “wait-for-it” moment nicely calibrated for storytime, Green KIRKUS REVIEWS

CHILDREN’S

Hand to middle graders seeking horror laced with humor and tinged with budding romance.

VAM P I R ES RU I N EVE RY TH I N G

returns from vacation, sunglasses and suitcase in hand: “Did I miss anything while I was gone?” (The cover illustrations do hint at some Green-inflected remediation.)

A predictable series entry, mitigated as usual by the protagonists’ perennially energetic positivity. (Picture book. 4-6)

Escape Plastic Island Doyle, Bill | Random House (176 pp.) $14.99 | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780593486412 Series: The Fifth Hero, 2

The young climate heroes from The Race To Erase (2023) are back for another adventure and once again need help from the Fifth Hero: the reader.

Friends and Climate Club members Jarrett, Malik, Freya, and Agnes have been hiding their powers—accidentally obtained when several high-tech orbs designed to destroy the air, land, water, and creatures of Earth became embedded in their hands. The kids must avoid Tommy, whose family runs the Calamity Corporation and created the orbs. Not only is Tommy trying to track down the orbs, putting the friends in constant danger, but he’s also been tasked with freezing the animals he deems ugly and blasting them into space. Tommy’s sister Lina claims that she wants to help her fellow Climate Club members, but she’s hiding something. To save the animals, the friends journey to New Plastic Island—created from waste in the ocean—but Tommy is hot on their KIRKUS REVIEWS

trail. As in the first book, readers are given three real-world situations and asked to choose the more eco-friendly option in order to help the heroes and keep the story going. This, along with other page jumps (“What are you waiting for? Turn to page 48!”), feels like a cheap way to try to build momentum.

There’s no central conflict; instead, the characters face one problem after the next, giving the narrative a jumbled feeling. The book also has little character development or physical descriptions.

Tedious. (fact files about kids finding ways to help the environment) (Science fiction. 8-12)

How To Make a Peanut Butter Sandwich in 17 Easy Steps Edlund, Bambi | Owlkids Books (32 pp.) $18.95 | Sept. 12, 2023 | 9781771475167

Pea-nuts to you!

Lovers of peanut butter sandwiches—or, more accurately, peanut butter and banana sandwiches—won’t be able to follow each step of the “recipe” herein exactly, but they’ll savor this rollicking how-to guide nonetheless. All the better if genuine peanut butter sandwiches (with or without bananas) are ready for scarfing down after reading. A page of necessary “ingredients” precedes the steps to be followed, and it’s a sure bet readers will have never encountered most of them before in their own sandwich-making prep: four wooden clogs, one raccoon, two crows, one skunk, one skateboard,

one accordion, one hat with a brim, and four mice. (It’s OK; all makes perfect sense by the end, and not all the “ingredients” are actually in the sandwiches.) As with any good recipe, each part of the process is easy to follow; the text is uncomplicated, with each step following one after the other in logical order. The lively, comical illustrations aid comprehension and enhance enjoyment. Important points to highlight: The foods used in the sandwiches are fresh and organic, and the story emphasizes working together in the spirit of camaraderie. The neighborly animal characters accept and celebrate each other’s differences—an excellent message to share with children. Human background characters are racially diverse.

A winning recipe: delightful illustrations, a clever story, and food! (Picture book. 4-8)

Vampires Ruin Everything Eulberg, Elizabeth | Scholastic (192 pp.) $7.99 paper | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9781338815375 Series: Scared Silly, 3

Having saved Cauldron’s Cove from clones and zombies in previous books, Darius, Regan, and stepsiblings Sofia and Bennett reunite to protect their town once

more.

Darius and his mom, the mayor of Cauldron’s Cove, are preparing for Halloween, a holiday that brings hordes of tourists to the town each year. When four carnival workers turn up drained of blood, levelheaded Darius, brainy and dyslexic Regan, prickly Sofia, and popular and resourceful Bennett investigate. A strange new family dressed in black has checked in to Regan’s family’s bed-and-breakfast, and Regan is crushing on their son…but could the newcomers be vampires? The four friends support each other through ups and downs— as when Regan is taunted by >>> NOVEMBER 15, 2023 119

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6 Prizeworthy Books for Kids 1

3 2

1 An American Story

By Kwame Alexander, illus. by Dare Coulter

With powerful art from a bold new talent, this is a probing and sensitive take on a devastating chapter of U.S. history.

2 Ancient Night

By David Álvarez with David Bowles, illus. by David Álvarez

Like a mighty dream recalled from time gone by.

3 The Tree and the River

4 The Lost Year

By Katherine Marsh

A moving presentation of a long-suppressed piece of history.

5 A First Time for Everything

By Dan Santat

4

5

Full of laughter and sentiment, this is a nudge for readers to dare to try new things.

By Aaron Becker

6 My Head Has a Bellyache

Look upon this work, ye mighty picture-book creators, and despair. A stunning accomplishment.

Sidesplitting fun throughout for one or a crowd.

For more prizeworthy books, visit Kirkus online.

By Chris Harris, illus.

by Andrea Tsurumi

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fatphobic bullies—all while stockpiling Super Soakers filled with holy water to wage war on the vampires. Intrepid readers who disregard the unseen narrator’s introductory warning of “super terrifying and grody scenes” to come will be rewarded. The narrator’s sophisticated vocabulary is balanced by the occasional mention of farts and “spoiler alerts.” The funny asides are most effective when they give readers a break from more intense moments.

If scenes involving black vomit and bubbling skin seem a bit over the top for tweens, readers can’t say they weren’t warned. Darius is Black, while Sofia is Latine, and Regan and Bennett are white.

Hand to middle graders seeking horror laced with humor and tinged with budding romance. (Fiction. 9-12)

When Rabbit Was a Lion Fernandes, Eugenie | Owlkids Books (32 pp.) | $18.95 | Aug. 15, 2023 9781771475181

A rabbit who likes friends but not parties finds a way to enjoy both in this sweet, sensible outing.

The child narrating Fernandes’ charming bit of problem-solving is surprised to hear that the rabbit living in the backyard wants to have a party: “You don’t like crowds and loud noises.” “But I do like my friends,” he responds. And so, after sending out invitations to a costume party and anxiously bustling about in preparation, he dresses up as a lion and welcomes a group of boisterous buddies. The music is loud, the dancing is wild, and everyone seems to be having a wonderful time. But finally the general ruckus proves too much for Rabbit, who first retreats behind a tree for a time-out and then dramatically swoons into a flower bed.

His friends, seeing his genuine distress, willingly agree to settle down for a picnic in the grass and other sedate activities. Everyone still has a wonderful time. So what will Rabbit be doing 122 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

A feel-good episode, attuned in particular to children with quieter dispositions.

WHEN RABBIT WAS A LION

next weekend? “Absolutely nothing.”

The brown-skinned child, along with Rabbit and his similarly anthropomorphic animal friends, dance through idyllic garden settings washed in golden light and strewn with flowers.

A feel-good episode, attuned in particular to children with quieter dispositions. (Picture book. 5-7)

Hedgehog and the Log Fong, Pam | Union Square Kids (40 pp.) $18.99 | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9781454948537

A house-hunting hedgehog learns a valuable lesson.

“One morning, Hedgehog realized he had outgrown his house.” So Hedgehog, a cartoonish creature with purplish spikes, sticklike limbs, and a sweet face with big eyes, a long snout, and expressive eyebrows, seeks a new home. He finds the perfect spot and works hard to build a beautiful house. Unfortunately, soon after, it’s destroyed by a falling branch that comes down with a loud “CRACK!” Hedgehog undergoes a succession of reactions somewhat resembling the Kübler-Ross stages of grief—despairing histrionics, self-pity, superiority, fear, anger, and exhaustion—all accompanied by comedic illustrations that will elicit giggles of recognition; who hasn’t reacted to life’s setbacks with self-defeating behavior? Concluding that “It’s not fair,” Hedgehog goes for a stroll. The pages depicting the walk show Hedgehog at various points along a winding path, his mood obviously a bit improved in each image—an effective visual depiction

of how physical activity can recenter a temporarily defeated spirit. Hedgehog finds a place to rebuild in a familiar bed of lavender. His attitude improved, he gets to work, despite a funny surprise. Told in accessible language, this simple tale offers a sound lesson in resilience while never verging on the didactic. Predominantly grayscale illustrations, with pops of color for Hedgehog and the flowers and plants around him, are appealing.

An endearing package of encouragement and affirmation. (Picture book.

4-6)

Jeffrey Loves Blue Garbutt, Loretta | Illus. by Lily SnowdenFine | Owlkids Books (32 pp.) | $18.95 Sept. 12, 2023 | 9781771475617

Is resistance to change impossible to overcome?

Jeffrey really likes blue. His hats, socks, pajamas, and undies are blue; his bedding’s blue; he loves blueberries; his eyes are blue; he even “speaks” blue. The text is presented as dialogue in two voices: That of the unseen narrator— likely Jeffrey’s parent—is rendered in a black font, while Jeffrey’s voice is set in a different, blue font. Jeffrey uses only blue in his Saturday painting class. The narrator points out that last time, Jeffrey’s teacher asked him to try a different color, and Jeffrey concedes that he used up all the blue last time, and a classmate couldn’t use any. This saddened her, which made empathetic Jeffrey’s tummy KIRKUS REVIEWS

CHILDREN’S

hurt. This week, he promises to select another color, a difficult task for this boy who’s set in his ways. A wise conversation with the unseen speaker (and lots of encouragement) helps Jeffrey find the courage to overcome his hesitation and reach an excellent compromise. This reassuring story will help children who, like Jeffrey, find comfort in structure and routine to understand that change is not only possible, but that overcoming a big hurdle can also be rewarding. The childlike illustrations are appealing and, like the book’s conversational approach, will help children sympathize with Jeffrey’s plight; readers will applaud his success. Jeffrey’s portrayed with light-tan skin.

Proof that adapting to change is not only possible, but also genuinely enjoyable. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Star

When I Wrap My Hair Grant, Shauntay | Illus. by Jenin Mohammed Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins (32 pp.) $19.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9780063093911

When a Black child wraps her hair, she feels her deep roots within and around her.

Accompanied by a caregiver, a child with a puffy Afro visits a shop filled with material in vibrant colors and patterns. The shop owner and the child’s caregiver both wear brightly hued headwraps. As the caregiver wraps the child’s hair in various colored fabrics, poetic lines of text convey the young protagonist’s thoughts and emotions: “I feel new, like a golden sunrise,” “I find myself inside an emerald-orange glow,” “I feel a thousand grandmothers around me.” On each spread, African people and landscapes, as well as those from the African diaspora, surround the child, from a marketplace with women selling goods to a city street lined with cars. Various styles of headwraps and dress are featured KIRKUS REVIEWS

throughout. The spare lines of verse read like a lovely, layered poem that feels just as fresh and original each time it’s read. The lush illustrations radiate energy; intricate designs that recall marbled paper, batik, tiedye, and prints will keep little ones entranced through many readings.

Wordless opening and closing spreads allow a graceful entry and exit from the tale’s magic. This story of connection to a tradition and style offers a warm hug to those familiar with the practice as well as a glorious introduction for newcomers.

A mesmerizing ode to a practice steeped in meaning. (Picture book. 4-8)

Plus One Hare, John | Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House (40 pp.) | $18.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 9780823450435

A girl throws a tea party and ends up with more guests than she expected.

New in town, Agnes sets out to make friends by inviting some girls from her class to a tea party. She stipulates on the invitation that everyone should bring a “plus one.” After Agnes accidentally drops one of the invitations on the ground at school, a kid named Dave picks it up. When no one except Dave shows up to her house, Agnes turns him away with the excuse that he didn’t bring a plus one; in reality, she doesn’t want “this strange kid” at her party. Undeterred, Dave gets creative and cheerfully knocks on the door multiple times with a lineup of different “plus ones,” including a goose, a snake, and even his own mother.

Each time, Agnes rejects Dave and his guests for different reasons, but eventually she realizes that she’s alone at her own party. Agnes observes Dave having fun with his “unusual group of friends” outside and asks to join them.

But then, Agnes’ guests show up. Will she ditch Dave? No! Agnes invites the entire group (including the goose)

inside for tea. Hare’s vibrant illustrations complement this sweet and silly story that makes clear that sometimes we can find friends in unexpected places. His wide-eyed, expressive, cartoonish characters effectively convey a range of emotions—from frustration to excitement—with humor. Agnes is tan-skinned, Dave is light-skinned, and the (human) party guests are racially diverse.

A fun reminder to be open to friendship. (Picture book. 4-8)

Market Day Harmon, Miranda | Holiday House (40 pp.) $14.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9780823453672 Series: I Like To Read Comics

Market day is a day of discovery for three anthropomorphic kittens.

The cats from Spring Cakes (2021) help their mother sell her baked goods at market day for the first time. Calico kitty Cinnamon lays out the sweet and savory treats. Orange kitten Ginger trades some muffins for a scarf knitted by a cat who doesn’t have any cash.

But the kittens are quickly tired out… so Mom gives them some money and baked goods and sends them out to explore. They decide to look for a gift for her. The soup they eat is yummy, but as Cinnamon points out, it would spill if they tried to bring back a bowl.

Gray cat Nutmeg wonders if Mom would like a carrot, but Ginger notes that they have veggies at home. Each kitten buys something as they search, so when they find the perfect gift—a rainbow shell—they have to barter for it. Then they notice that they’re lost!

Cooler heads prevail, and they retrace their steps to watch the sunset with Mom and enjoy a magical party in which the veggies come to life and dance. Harmon’s second early reader for lovers of comics and cats is as charming and uplifting as the first.

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narrative boxes, combined with bright, engaging panels and a relatable story, make for a fine tale for those new to graphic novels.

Let’s hope these three kittens have more adventures to come. (Graphic fantasy/early reader. 4-8)

Kirkus Star

My Block Looks Like Harper, Janelle | Illus. by Frank Morrison Viking (40 pp.) | $18.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 9780593526309

A Black child’s ode to the Bronx.

The protagonist, who has golden-brown skin and an expansive curly Afro and wears green camo shorts over black leggings, strolls through a city neighborhood, observing all that unfolds. The sounds and rhythms of hip-hop permeate this tuneful narrative as the protagonist plays in the spray of a fire hydrant, shops at a favorite bodega, eats an Icee from a street vendor, and praises the “aerosol masterpieces” (graffiti) that grace the walls of nearby buildings. Equally comfortable on the basketball court and the dance stage, the young narrator stays in perpetual motion, striding, gliding, and bouncing through the city. When the media reports on the Bronx or when people get a “bird’s-eye view” of the “concrete jungle,” only the negatives surface, but this child sees the community’s cultural wealth.

By focusing on the child’s active engagement with the neighborhood, Morrison portrays the protagonist’s excitement for this space and its people in his graffiti-style art. The artist’s careful attention to detail and the shifting visual perspectives in action scenes bring Harper’s musical text to life. The narrator argues convincingly for the Bronx as “the coolest place I’ve ever been,” where “dreams rise higher than the smog” and neighbors “sparkle under streetlamps.”

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A culturally rich and beautifully illustrated child’s-eye view of home.

(Picture book. 4-8)

Trim Sets Sail Hopkinson, Deborah | Illus. by Kristy Caldwell | Peachtree (48 pp.) | $14.99 Oct. 3, 2023 | 9781682632901 | Series: Adventures of Trim, 1

A kitten’s exciting early-19th-century adventures, presented in five fast-paced chapters.

Trim, a lively, scrawny dark-gray kitten with big eyes, white feet, and a star over his chest, longs to see the world. Chasing a bee, he tumbles onto a friendly pooch, Penny, and decides he wants to be a ship’s dog, just like her. Penny states the obvious. But light-skinned Captain Flinders needs a ship’s cat, so Trim climbs his epauletted shoulder and is rowed out to the three-masted ship. There, the kitten is dive-bombed by an antagonistic parrot named Jack, who nevertheless teaches him the proper terms for his new home: bow, stern, starboard, port. Trim races easily up the mast to sit in the crow’s nest with the boyish brownskinned ship’s artist, Will. But coming down proves difficult, until Trim does his best and succeeds. And he even finds a way to prove himself to Jack— and earn Jack’s friendship. Accurately depicting the sloop, the watercolorlike illustrations provide just enough historical detail, including the ship’s food and Flinders’ Napoleonic hat, breeches, buckled pumps, and stockings. The animals are realistic (though Jack gets a bit anthropomorphized). Most vocabulary is simple, with a couple of challenges.

Tracking Trim’s exploits, readers are never bored. Backmatter explains that Trim is based on a real-life cat, born in 1799 and owned by British explorer Matthew Flinders.

Trim Helps Out Hopkinson, Deborah | Illus. by Kristy Caldwell | Peachtree (48 pp.) | $14.99 Oct. 3, 2023 | 9781682632918 | Series: Adventures of Trim, 2

Ambitious, conscientious, adventurous, and willing to learn, Trim is an admirable hero.

The first title in this series, Trim Sets Sail (2023), explained how the scrawny kitten became part of Captain Flinders’ crew. (The actual Trim made history as the first feline to circumnavigate Australia, 1801-1803.) On board Trim’s ship are the captain and the sailors; the ship’s cook, gardener, artist, and naturalist; the ship’s dog, Penny; and the parrot, Jack. Trim wants to be a useful crew member, too, so Jack sends him off to look for rats in the ship’s hold, but the kitten doesn’t know what a rat looks like. When he encounters a regal-looking rodent who announces herself as Princess Bea, he’s discouraged to learn that patrolling is already her job, but he’s happy to help out by bringing her a biscuit. Just as Jack is about to set Trim straight, we spot the scorpion who’d earlier escaped from the naturalist and appears ready to attack Penny.

Trim, encouraged by Bea and mistaking the arachnid for a rat, fearlessly charges.

While rats may not be so welcome aboard a real ship, Penny, Jack, and Trim make peace with Bea and find a place for her on the ship. Color-and-line illustrations are as lively and engaging as the narrative, which boasts enjoyable action and suspense.

Kids will appreciate the absorbing plot and the feeling of knowing more than the protagonist. (historical afterword) (Historical chapter book. 7-9)

For more by Deborah Hopkinson, visit Kirkus online.

Engaging characters and action will leave readers longing to sail onward.

(Historical chapter book. 7-9)

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CHILDREN’S

A powerful reminder to never stop speaking the truth.

T H E R EC KO N I N G

The Adventures of Invisible Boy Horner, Doogie | Putnam (176 pp.) | $20.99 Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780593532645

Two dramatically different boys acquire the power of invisibility, with raucous results.

Stanley is anxious about starting a new school—it’s the middle of the year, and everyone else already knows each other. He’s also poorly prepared for the Science Fair, for which he creates a wonky robot cobbled together from recyclable materials. Gene, an aspiring scientist with a collection of crackpot inventions, has a far more ambitious entry: a powerful stain remover. Both Stanley and Gene become drenched in the mixture and are rendered invisible. Stanley, in stealth mode, explores his new town and enjoys relief from social pressures. Meanwhile, Gene, incensed that Stanley’s robot has won first prize, takes revenge, secretly wreaking havoc by vandalizing bikes and destroying Stanley’s treehouse. Though Stanley’s search for justice and an invisibility antidote drives the plot, the book’s buzzy energy relies on Gene’s zany creations. The conflict between aspiring hero and eager villain reaches its apex in Gene’s basement laboratory, where the two battle each other using Gene’s collection of contraptions in a broadly comical, captivating denouement. In the wake of this destruction, the boys’ final reconciliation opens the door for more creative adventures. Actionpacked artwork feels reminiscent of comic strips or animated shows; KIRKUS REVIEWS

Stanley recalls a particularly earnest Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes), while Gene is reminiscent of the titular character on Dexter’s Lab. Both Stanley and Gene are white.

A fun-filled adventure that celebrates the true superpowers of the middle-grade imagination: chaos and creativity. (Graphic fantasy. 7-10)

The Reckoning Hudson, Wade | Crown (256 pp.) | $18.99 $21.99 PLB | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9780593647776 9780593647783 PLB

Black middle schooler Lamar Phillips has one goal in life: to be a filmmaker.

Lamar takes every chance he can to video things using the camcorder he received from Gramps. Unfortunately, growing up in Morton, Louisiana, where nothing big ever seems to happen, means Lamar feels at a loss for “something exciting, something important” to film. There’s an undercurrent of segregation and racism in the town, but Lamar has an unlikely friend in Jeff, who shares his love of movies and is one of the few white students at school. After Lamar has a run-in with someone on a side of town his parents say is dangerous, Gramps invites Lamar to join him at a city council meeting to observe town politics. Once Lamar’s seen Gramps in action, pointing out how Morton’s white neighborhoods are better maintained than Black ones, he learns about his grandparents’ pasts as civil rights activists. Tragically, soon after, Gramps dies at the hands of a

white man, and the fallout reinforces how deeply ingrained racism is in Morton. Lamar works through his complicated feelings by making a documentary about Gramps’ life. Acclaimed author Hudson captures the simplicity of childhood and the complexities of growing up Black, with the challenges that often brings. Lamar (and readers) are never left feeling helpless for long, with older characters in the book offering support and guidance.

A powerful reminder to never stop speaking the truth. (Fiction. 8-12)

Barracoon: Adapted for Young Readers Hurston, Zora Neale | Illus. by Jazzmen Lee-Johnson | Adapt. by Ibram X. Kendi Amistad/HarperCollins (192 pp.) | $18.99 Jan. 23, 2024 | 9780063098336

Scholar Kendi adapts Hurston’s account of one of the last survivors of the transatlantic slave trade.

Among her many accomplishments, Hurston was a trained anthropologist, and one of her works of scholarship—based on interviews conducted in the late 1920s but not published until 2018—was the story of Cudjo Lewis, the last person to endure the Middle Passage. Although the slave trade was outlawed in 1808 in the United States, in 1859, the captain of the Clotilda secretly traveled to West Africa to purchase enslaved people. Lewis recounts his harrowing tale, including being imprisoned in an enclosure called “the barracoon” before he was sold and brought to Alabama. Lewis endured enslavement for five and a half years, until the Civil War ended. Those who came over on the Clotilda formed a community, and once it became clear they could not return to West Africa, they worked together to buy land for a village they named AfricaTown, where they built homes and a church and raised families. Kendi’s adaptation provides NOVEMBER 15, 2023 125

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context and clarity. The use of dialect is understandable and authentic; Kendi allows Hurston’s storytelling mastery to shine through for younger readers. The relationship between Hurston and Lewis enriches the story, but it’s clear that his firsthand account is the primary focus. Final art not seen.

A powerful enslavement narrative from a literary icon, deftly retold for a younger audience. (Nonfiction. 8-12)

Courtesy of Cupid Jones, Nashae | Aladdin (288 pp.) | $17.99 Jan. 2, 2024 | 9781665939881

A hyperorganized tween’s plans are derailed when her orchestrated love connections go awry.

Erin Johnson is an ambitious biracial Black girl who’s obsessed with being the best academically and wants to follow in the footsteps of her hero, Marie Curie. Her goal for eighth grade is to be elected president of the Multicultural Leadership Club, finally beating archnemesis Trevor Jin, who’s Korean American. Trevor’s been a thorn in Erin’s side ever since kindergarten and is constantly edging her out in every competition. Right after Erin’s 13th birthday, her mother finally reveals her father’s identity: Cupid, the God of Love, a redheaded white man, who wrote letters to help Erin prepare for the powers that will manifest now that she’s 13. He even left her a Cupid manual. Erin’s mom makes her promise not to use her powers until she understands them better, but while Erin believes romantic love is a trivial distraction, she realizes her matchmaking powers might give her the edge she needs. Her single-minded focus on achievement, however, leads to friendship troubles—and other unintended consequences. The humor and strong character development drive this tender story about different types of love and our inability to see the ways they affect our lives.

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A sweetly romantic coming-of-age story with magical touches.

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The rivalry between Erin and Trevor and the complex relationships among the kids and adults will resonate with readers. Erin’s first-person voice is enhanced by the wry observations in her footnotes, which appear throughout the novel.

A sweetly romantic coming-of-age story with fun, magical touches. (the Cupid Commandments) (Romance.

10-13)

Buffalo Fluffalo Kalb, Bess | Illus. by Erin Kraan | Random House Studio (40 pp.) | $18.99 $21.99 PLB | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9780593564530 9780593564547 PLB | Series: Buffalo Stories

What will happen when a surly buffalo has his cover blown?

The book opens on a peaceful, sunny landscape dotted by trees, flowers, and a river. Turning the page, readers meet the Buffalo Fluffalo. The cantankerous creature glares fiercely at readers, his stylized, curly coat puffed out above small bovine feet. A ram, a prairie dog, and a crow each approach the Buffalo Fluffalo with overtures of friendship, but all receive—ahem—a “rebuffalo.” He responds to each with a gruff “I’m the Buffalo Fluffalo—/ I heave and I huffalo./ Leave me alone because/ I’ve had enuffalo!”—a refrain rendered in a large bold text.

But after a torrential downpour, the Buffalo Fluffalo is drenched; his fluffy coat plastered to his body, he’s now a fraction of his former size. How will the other animals react? The rhythmic, rhyming verses take plenty of liberties with language and use lots of alliteration, resulting in a humorous read.

Despite his aggressive stance, our protagonist is endearingly cross-eyed, and the art exploits the comedic potential of a character who hides behind a puffed-up appearance. Some may wonder why the other animals are working so hard to befriend such a relentlessly hostile character, but all the nonsense words and the complementary art are so appealing that readers will easily accept the sugary ending.

Fun, silly stuffalo. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Star

Do You Know Them?: Families Lost and Found After the Civil War Keller, Shana | Illus. by Laura Freeman Atheneum (40 pp.) | $18.99 | Jan. 9, 2024 9781665913072

A young Black girl goes in search of loved ones in the aftermath of the Civil War. Not everyone at Lettie’s church can read the newspaper, so after some practice, she volunteers to read aloud to the congregation advertisements placed by those seeking information about missing-in-action soldier spouses or parents, children, and siblings separated by the all-too-common travesties of enslavement. Lettie is inspired by these efforts to reconnect, especially by the success stories she reads, but she isn’t fully aware of the monumental role she’s playing in her community during this era of widespread displacement and confusion. As she learns how much these advertisements cost, “Indian head” pennies accumulate on the page, alongside emotive KIRKUS REVIEWS

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digital illustrations of Lettie working various jobs, attending church with her uncle, and saving up to place an advertisement about her mother, father, brothers, and sisters. Once she’s eventually able to afford an ad, the wait for a response is long, but it does finally arrive—to the cheers of Lettie’s whole church. This richly inspiring and informative picture book illuminates an oft-overlooked—but incredibly important—chapter of U.S. history. In the backmatter, Keller notes that while Lettie’s story is fictional, the advertisements are all real; they’re artfully incorporated into the narrative. Freeman’s use of texture and color gives the story a vivid, almost three-dimensional feel.

A riveting lesson on Reconstruction.

(Picture book. 5-8)

Eleanor’s Moon Knaus, Maggie | Owlkids Books (32 pp.) $18.95 | Aug. 15, 2023 | 9781771475556

When Eleanor and her family move to a new city, her bond with her beloved grandfather is tested.

“The night Eleanor was born, a brilliant harvest moon lit up the sky.” Grandfather tells baby Eleanor that no matter where he is, the moon will always keep them together. As Eleanor grows older, she and Grandfather bond over a love of the moon.

But then Eleanor must move far from Grandfather. Thinking of the moon makes her miss him even more, and soon she begins to see the moon everywhere—a half-eaten waffle resembles a half-moon, while rowboats look like a crescent. But the pair use video chat and snail mail to stay in touch, and as each gazes up at the moon in the night sky, they’re reminded of each other. Both are tan-skinned, but for the most part, their faces aren’t visible—an intriguing artistic choice, though one that may distance readers from the characters. The illustrations, KIRKUS REVIEWS

made up of vivid, flat colors (especially lovely during scenes set at night), are appealing; kids will especially enjoy picking out moon shapes on pages where Eleanor is reminded of Grandpa. The meditative story, however, won’t hold most readers’ attention. The conflict is resolved in an unrealistically quick manner, with Eleanor seemingly overcoming her sadness in just a few pages. Children in similar situations may relate, but many will lose interest.

Well intended but too quiet to engage most readers. (Picture book. 4-7)

Newbie Fairy Korsh, Kate | Illus. by Marta Altés Putnam (128 pp.) | $16.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9780593533635 | Series: Oona Bramblegoop’s Sideways Magic, 1

An inexperienced young Slug Fairy finds the perfect use for her curious talent.

Oona Bramblegoop cares for a coterie of snarky slugs and cavorts in Blackberry Bog with her cousin Horace. Her magic is rather wonky; her conjuring efforts often result in minor disaster. The only magic she’s mastered is a spell that keeps her clumsy cousin from tumbling down…by giving him a wedgie when he’s about to fall. Oona isn’t a popular fairy, and when she isn’t invited to the Fairy Awards, she opts to throw her own show—the Slug Awards. But when she accidentally casts a stinky spell that ruins the Fairy Awards, her powers are temporarily suspended. In hopes of improving her social standing, she decides to help Lucy, the celebrated Tooth Fairy, with her nightly duties. Their partnership results in some goofy antics (slugs and undies are involved) as well as positive developments for both fairies. Though there’s plenty of wacky humor, the book also folds in sound messages about persistence, teamwork, and constructive responses to criticism.

And a fairy who socializes with gastropods and conjures up undergarments makes for a delightfully unlikely hero—the potential for future Bramblegoop adventures is high. Shading and hairstyles imply racial diversity in the pink-hued illustrations; Lucy wears braids and appears to be darker-skinned than Oona.

Weirdly conceived but strangely compelling. (Fantasy. 7-10)

Bizard and the Big Bunny Bizness Krebs, Chrissie | Margaret Ferguson/ Holiday House (176 pp.) | $20.99 Jan. 2, 2024 | 9780823451463 | Series: Bear Wizard, 2

Bizard the Bear Wizard is back with another silly, suspenseful adventure!

In the first book in this graphic-novel series, Bizard got a wand stuck in his head and gained the ability to grant wishes. In this latest entry, his wish-granting business is still going strong. Everyone in the forest is getting what they want—electric drum sets (with headphones), a ninja outfit, and pink fluffy slippers. But what will happen when Bizard goes into hibernation? Who will grant the wishes then? Squirrel comes up with a plan: He’ll grant the wishes in Bizard’s absence. In agreement, Bear gives Squirrel his very own magic wand.

Squirrel gets a little too excited about his newfound powers, however, giving Mouse a too-big TV (before eventually making it a mouse-size one) and Deer a hat that won’t come off. Worst of all, he accidentally jumbo-sizes the baby bunny, Fluffy Wuffy! Now it’s up to Bear, Squirrel, Fox, and Owl to save the day. With a giant carrot and jet pack, will they be able to right the massive mistake? As the characters fix Squirrel’s mess, he comes to realize the importance of teamwork and personal responsibility. The cartoon illustrations are bright and quirky, aligning NOVEMBER 15, 2023 127

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with the kid-friendly humor of the story. Light on text, this one will readily appeal to emerging comics readers.

A wacky tale with admirable lessons to be learned. (Graphic fiction. 7-10)

Love Is My Favorite Color Laden, Nina | Illus. by Melissa Castrillón Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (40 pp.) $18.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9781665913096

Laden and Castrillón team up again, this time conveying metaphors for abstractions such as friendship and gratitude through rhyming couplets

and gentle art.

“Love is my favorite color. I love every color I see.” The word love is set off in a magenta semi-script, while the accompanying illustration depicts two children, apparently siblings, joyously jumping on a bed. On the next page, the older of the two tells us, “Peace is my favorite song. I sing it and I feel free.” The accompanying image depicts the children high in a sturdy treehouse, smiling at the fanciful, swirling birds and branches surrounding them. “Friendship is my favorite dance,” says the child on another page; “There are so many dances to try.”

An image shows the child cavorting and smiling with a group of other youngsters. Throughout, the book thoughtfully conveys big ideas using experiences that will be understood even by the youngest readers, though older, contemplative children will feel especially affirmed. While there’s a retro feeling to the muted palette, the use of wavy-lined geometry, and the myriad pencil strokes that fill in various spaces, the sensitivity and sensibility are all 21st-century, particularly on spreads extolling bravery (“my favorite mountain”) and equality (“my favorite door”). The soothing text and gentle art are a perfect segue into naptime or bedtime.

Another treasure from a well-matched team. (Picture book. 4-8) 128 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

In Search of Superpowers: A Fantasy Pin World Adventure Lawrence, Briana | Illus. by Joanna Cacao | Andrews McMeel Publishing (304 pp.) | $12.99 paper | Jan. 30, 2024 9781524880705 | Series: Fantasy Pin World, 1

Four Black eighth graders order limited-edition enamel pins featuring fantasy characters Princess P and Swanson T Swan—and unknowingly get

superpowers, too.

Angela, Skylar, Travis, and Sophie, kids from different parts of the same city in Florida, are thrown together after an explosion literally rocks their world. They’re each wrestling with different concerns: Angela is worried about her dad and his fiancee, who work at local theme park FUNTASTIC PLAINS. Angela’s friend Skylar, who uses they/them pronouns, has been shouldering a lot of responsibilities since their dad lost his job. Travis is holding on to a secret crush as well as hiding from his grandfather the fact that he’s thinking of giving up track for video game design. And Sophie is no longer keeping quiet about wanting a life of her own, not one where she shares every experience with her twin sister. The middle schoolers, whose superpowers ultimately align with what they need to become their most authentic selves, pursue the mystery of where the pins came from and how they’re tied to the theme park’s expansion. Lawrence creates a community in which the characters

are, for the most part, supported in who they want to be, and queer kids and their families thrive. Although the action moves at a steady pace, the awkward, stilted dialogue interrupts the flow of the story. Spot art and occasional full-page illustrations show characters with a range of body types and skin tones.

A fun, inclusive adventure. (Fantasy.

10-13)

Alithia Ramirez Was an Artist Lemay, Violet | Brown Books Kids (32 pp.) $17.99 | Oct. 10, 2023 | 9781612546490

A heartbreaking tribute to a gifted young artist killed in the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre.

Even when she was a baby, Alithia Ramirez adored making art, and as she got older, she used various media to create colorful drawings.

Making art was sometimes hard for Alithia: She couldn’t always re-create exactly what she saw, but she kept going, as artists do, drawing everyone she saw around her, including herself, and she drew no matter her mood.

She dreamed of studying art in Paris when she grew up. She drew the world as she wished it was—full of color, love, peace, and hope. Lemay states that though an artist may die, her art will live on. A poignant author’s note informs readers that Alithia was one of the victims of the May 24, 2022, school shooting in Uvalde. Written with her parents’ support, the simple, upbeat text gives readers a good idea

A young artist and her art live on in this heartfelt book.

ALITHIA RAMIREZ WAS AN ARTIST

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of the child and artist Alithia Ramirez was. Her smiling photograph appears in the backmatter, among examples of her artwork, which are also interspersed throughout the book. The author’s note further explains that Lemay went to great pains to re-create Alithia’s drawn self-portrait, her family portrait, and her horse and chicken drawings. All the other artwork is Alithia’s, reproduced with parental permission and digitally scanned into the illustrator’s own art. Alithia and her family are Latine; background characters are racially diverse.

A young artist and her art live on in this tender, heartfelt book. We must remember. (discussion questions) (Picture book. 4-8)

The Unbeatable Lily Hong Ma, Diana | Clarion/HarperCollins (304 pp.) $19.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9780358617235

A Hui Chinese Muslim tween living in a small town outside Seattle struggles to find balance between family obligations and her passion

for film.

If Lily Hong isn’t making films with her best friends from Clarktown Middle School, Kelli and Lauren, or attending Hong Chinese Academy, her family’s business located in the community center, she’s competing with her nemesis, Max Zhang. But Lily’s project for the upcoming Clarktown’s Got Talent video competition is interrupted by the news that the community center is going to be sold to developers—Max’s parents. To help raise the $100,000 needed to save the center, Lily’s mom plans a traditional Chinese dance show featuring performances by the students of Hong Chinese Academy. Torn between creating her film and participating in the dance, Lily attempts to do both, but when she lies in an effort to appease everyone, she ends up alienating her friends. Eventually Lily cracks from KIRKUS REVIEWS

the strain and spills everything to Max, who is surprisingly empathetic, though she later questions her trust in him. Ultimately, Lily must find a way to make amends with her friends and figure out what she really wants to do. Ma touches on friendship issues, racism, gentrification, and balancing family expectations with personal goals. There’s a nice balance between the action-packed plot, the serious themes explored, and Lily’s comedic antics. Lauren is cued Black; Kelli presents white.

A delightfully adventurous romp with a lovably scrappy protagonist. (folktale, author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)

The Thunder Pause Mabry, Sheri | Illus. by Anastasiya Kanavaliuk | Whitman (32 pp.) | $18.99 Oct. 5, 2023 | 9780807579145

A wise grandfather uses nature to help his grandchild grapple with anger.

When the young narrator’s little brother proudly shows how he has contributed—with slashes of green marker—to the child’s drawing of a cat, the protagonist feels anger “like boiling spaghetti,” yells, “You ruined it!” and stomps away. Grandpa shepherds the narrator to his own art room, where they sit during a thunderstorm, calculating how far away the storm is by measuring the length of the pause between the flash of lightning and the boom of thunder. Without mentioning the incident directly, Grandpa helps to draw parallels between the child’s feelings of anger and the thunderstorm. Later, the child begins to feel flashes of anger after seeing the cat drawing crumpled on the floor but then pauses, breathes, and counts, and when the “storm” is far enough away, the child apologizes to the little boy (who in turn says he’s sorry), explains that next time he should ask permission, and suggests they make a new picture together. The adult’s

understated response to this common situation is admirable. Attractive, realistic, cartoon-style illustrations use gentle colors to reinforce the theme.

The children are appealing, the settings detailed but not location-specific, and the storm dramatic but not scary.

Characters are tan-skinned.

A gentle, practical approach to a common childhood issue. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Star

Rosie Runs Maijala, Marika | Trans. by Mia Spangenberg | Elsewhere Editions (56 pp.) $19.95 | Aug. 15, 2023 | 9781953861603

A greyhound abandons her pursuit of mechanical hares in favor of chasing her dreams in this translated Finnish import by award-winning author and artist Maijala.

Rosie runs, but she never gets anywhere. After racing other dogs at the track, the exhausted white greyhound is shut in a cage, where she dreams of “forests, fields, and real hares.”

Winning brings no satisfaction, so one day, Rosie keeps running—past the astonished crowd, beyond the racetrack, through a forest and a city, until, at last, she reaches a park. There, two friendly dogs invite Rosie, still wearing her red racing suit, to play— and, suddenly, a new world opens up to a dog whose life was bound by the bars of a kennel and the narrow confines of a racing track. The whimsical, abstract art, executed in broad, playful, childlike strokes of oil pastel and crayon, add to the story’s sense of innocent adventure and discovery.

The absence of black outlines in the joyful and expressive illustrations lends a sense of fluidity in keeping with the storyline. The large trim size begs readers to notice small details about the people (who are diverse in NOVEMBER 15, 2023 129

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A testament to the power of comfort food.

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skin tone and hair color) and bustling background scenes. Spangenberg’s translation reads smoothly, capturing the poignancy of Rosie’s tale and the juxtaposition between her urgent flight to freedom and the ordinary lives unfolding around her.

A touching, optimistic, and charmingly rendered story of hope and resilience. (author’s note, translator’s note) (Picture book. 3-7)

100 Chapatis Mascarenhas, Derek | Illus. by Shantala Robinson | Owlkids Books (32 pp.) | $18.95 Oct. 17, 2023 | 9781771475631

A South Asian boy and his grandfather await a new addition to the family.

Simon and his grandfather Pappa are waiting for a call from Simon’s father to tell them that Simon’s mother has had a new baby.

Simon is anxious about becoming a sibling; he likes his family just the way it is. When Pappa tells Simon that things are about to get even busier, Simon doesn’t understand how this is possible—they’ve been busier than ever getting the house ready for the baby.

But when Pappa says that the two of them should make 100 chapatis—both to pass the time and to prepare some food that the family can eat when they’re too busy to cook—Simon is delighted. He loves chapatis so much that he’d be happy to eat them three times a day! At first, Simon’s chapatis aren’t as round as Pappa’s, but the more he practices, the more uniform they become, until he feels confident 130 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

enough to teach his new sibling to roll chapatis just like him and Pappa.

The book’s beautifully textured illustrations have an intimate feel; the chapatis seem to leap from the page at times. The visuals complement the earnest, clear text, though a few moments may go over readers’ heads— for instance, the ending implies rather than states outright that Simon’s father is calling to say that the baby has been born. On the whole, though, it’s a warm and reassuring read.

A testament to the power of comfort food. (Picture book. 4-7)

Between Two Windows Morris, Keisha | Harper/HarperCollins (48 pp.) | $19.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 9780063235106

Two neighborhood children become friends through their art.

Kayla and Mateo live in buildings across from each other; they often look out at each other through their windows. They create drawings and then exchange them using a creaky old retractable clothesline that runs between their two buildings. Their art depicts everyday items such as the foods their loved ones prepare for them, as well as grand stories drawn from their imaginations. The two embark on fantastical imagined journeys together and even invent new dinosaur species, such as the Pastelito-saurus, inspired by the pastelitos made by Mateo’s mami.

When the clothesline is unexpectedly taken down to be repaired, Kayla, Mateo, and their neighbors turn the surrounding sidewalks, playgrounds,

and building walls into a shared canvas of expression. Sparse yet satisfying text and dialogue, including playful use of onomatopoeia, complement the captivating digital illustrations, created from collaged tissue paper and Photoshop.

The bright and colorful illustrations are the star of this work. Images of Kayla and Mateo immersed in their looselined doodles of their imagined worlds are a delight; readers will enjoy examining the spreads and finding new details on every page. Kayla presents Black, while Mateo, who is brown-skinned, is cued as Latine; a reference to piraguas, a Puerto Rican dessert, suggests that Kayla might be Afro-Latine.

Honors the joy and simplicity of childhood. (Picture book. 4-8)

The Drama Llama Morrisroe, Rachel | Illus. by Ella Okstad Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (40 pp.) | $18.99 Jan. 2, 2024 | 9781728283135

A young boy realizes that articulating his fears just might put them in their place.

Poor Alex Allen is beset by anxiety. He frets about not knowing the right answer in class, having two left feet when he’s dancing, and dealing with disagreements with his sister. As his worries mount, they morph into a larger-than-life purple drama llama that follows Alex everywhere. The animal even disturbs his rest, taking his place in bed and leaving Alex sleeping on the floor. Alex makes several attempts to get rid of the pesky beast, but all fail, and the llama takes over his life, eventually becoming “almost bigger than a bus!” Wise teacher Ms. Myrtle then takes pity on the youngster and suggests that talking about his fears might put the llama in its place. Confiding in Ms. Myrtle helps, and while the llama doesn’t disappear altogether, it does end up becoming small enough to handle—an effective metaphor for coping with anxiety. The rhyming, descriptive text, reassuring KIRKUS REVIEWS

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Honors the joy and simplicity of childhood.

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message, and helpful coping strategies make this a good read-aloud choice.

Set against plentiful white space, the colorful, loose-lined Photoshop illustrations offer humorous and relatable depictions of Alex’s worried response to the ever-growing llama.

Alex is brown-skinned, Ms. Myrtle is light-skinned, and his class is diverse.

Backmatter includes tips for taming a drama llama.

A solid selection for those youngsters plagued by drama llamas—you know who you are! (Picture book. 5-7)

The Door That Had Never Been Opened Before Mrs. MacLeod & Mr. MacLeod | Union Square Kids (48 pp.) | $18.99 | Feb. 6, 2024 9781454945451

A door that remains stubbornly closed challenges three children to take extreme measures.

Fresh from demonstrating How To Eat a Book (2022), the three Grunion children, all of whom have skin the white of the page—persistent Sheila, her cousin Gerald (who has a secret), and his hot-tempered twin, Geraldine—return to tackle the one locked door in their many, manydoored house. Making metaphorical if not literal sense, their fruitless assaults culminate at last in a tussle over a hammer that puts a crack in the door, through which a vine shoots to fill up the house completely. But, it turns out, the key has been stuck to Gerald’s sole (soul?) all along, and when the frantic children open the door to escape, an ever-expanding “Land of Never Before” (the future, get it?)

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is revealed to entice them onward.

Grown-ups, at least, will appreciate the artful symbolism, but younger audiences are more likely to take the wild rumpus so engagingly captured in the distinctive illustrations more to heart. Composed in heavy unfilled lines on paper cutouts floating in low-relief layers with shadows left visible, the pictures brim with life and give convincing depth to the house’s high-ceilinged rooms and narrow halls.

The rhythmic, occasionally rhymed narrative’s free-wheeling typography adds verbal drama to the visual ruckus, to boot.

A lock for enthusiastic responses and demands for repeat performances.

(Picture book. 6-9)

Not Perfect Myers, Maya | Illus. by Hyewon Yum Neal Porter/Holiday House (40 pp.) | $18.99 April 2, 2024 | 9780823451708

A young girl strives for perfection.

Dot’s good at many things but isn’t perfect at them. She believes her siblings and parents are perfect in various ways; even her cat’s a perfect mouser. While her grandparents and soccer coach encourage her efforts, it’s not good enough for her. She compares herself to her best friend, Sam, who “does everything right.” One day their teacher asks each student to create a poster of someone they admire. Dot chooses her subject immediately and, naturally, wants her creation to be perfect; repeated imperfect attempts frustrate her so much that she tears her artwork up. After berating herself, Dot

starts over. Next day, Sam reveals his poster of her—it’s not perfect—and announces that he admires Dot’s persistence. Dot then displays her portrait of Sam, made up of all those torn-up pieces. Surprise! She deems their efforts perfect. The conclusion to this story, a companion to Not Little (2021), seems abrupt and, well, imperfect. Overall, though, the protagonists are endearing and convey a reassuring message: It’s OK to fail; trying is what counts.

The colored-pencil illustrations are charming. Dot has light-tan skin and a brown poufy topknot. Her family is multiracial—her mother is lightskinned, her father is brown-skinned, and her siblings vary in skin tone.

Sam presents Asian.

Kids struggling with perfectionism will learn a valuable lesson. (Picture book.

5-8)

How To Be Brave Newson, Karl | Illus. by Clara Anganuzzi Templar/Candlewick (32 pp.) | $17.99 Jan. 2, 2024 | 9781536232547

An encouraging message for kids as they embark on that adventure called life.

Trying something new can be scary, but friends can help us over hurdles. A young child with brown skin and curly dark hair experiences nature alongside animal pals such as a mouse, a cheetah, and a bear. The friends support one another—the child comforts a little elephant who looks on, overwhelmed, as others play in a watering hole. On the next spread, the child cheers as the elephant races a young zebra on the dusty plain—a playful and joyous moment. Each page contains spare text that acknowledges the anxiety that accompanies trying something new but also encourages kids to give it their all, take a step back if they need to, and try again.

Images and words build to support the final message: “You might not know how each adventure will end…but NOVEMBER 15, 2023 131

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Plenty of gardening giggles for cat lovers.

THIS LITTLE KITTY IN THE GARDEN

you’re never alone when it is shared with friends.” Painterly illustrations of sweetly smiling animals burst with life, making this a good book for group reading, though children reading this independently will note smaller details and appreciate the vignettes, such as one depicting a polar bear pondering star constellations. Although aimed at younger readers, the book’s positive message would also make it a good gift for any reader in transition.

A reminder that though life is unpredictable, good friends can help you do anything and go anywhere. (Picture book. 4-7)

This Little Kitty in the Garden Obuhanych, Karen | Knopf (32 pp.) | $18.99 $21.99 PLB | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780593435175 9780593479094 PLB

The five rambunctious kitties of Sakura Way take up gardening (sort of).

In their second outing, after This Little Kitty (2023), the kitty siblings go out into the yard to “help” their humans with spring planting (and, of course, play). “This little kitty / fetches from the cart: / tools, hats, gloves, / and a helpful grower’s chart.”

One cat sneezes after investigating the flowers. The kitties watch bees and butterflies and playfully poke a caterpillar (well, it looks like a cat toy).

They’re startled by a bunny and then get down to some digging. Occasional napping might occur as the kitties’ humans start planting. One cat helps with the vines (again…looks like a cat toy), and water is always interesting 132 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

(until you get wet). “Whew! Everything is planted. / Another spring success! / Oh dear, kitties. / We’ve made quite the mess!” While the humans clean up, the grubby felines…snooze in the garden bed. Obuhanych’s follow-up to her authorial debut has just as much cattitude as the first. With loads of feline charm, the cut-paper, charcoal, and colored-pencil illustrations communicate each cat’s personality, from the one-eyed tuxedo cat to the grumpy, gray Scottish Fold. Humans (one light-skinned, one dark-skinned) are just hands or legs; this is all about the cats—as it should be.

Plenty of gardening giggles for cat lovers. (Picture book. 2-6)

The Soccer Diaries: Rocky Takes L.A. Palmer, Tom | Rebellion (256 pp.) $11.99 paper | Sept. 26, 2023 9781837860234 | Series: The Soccer Diaries, 1

A 10-day soccer camp gives a tough-as-nails midfielder from England a chance to show her stuff as well as get her head straight a year after her dad’s death.

Spun off from Palmer’s Roy of the Rovers titles, this series kickoff sends Rocky, Roy Race’s 15-year-old kid sister, all the way to California for up-tempo rounds of training, scrimmages, and both peer and team bonding—plus a bit of savvy counseling—on the way to triumphs on the pitch. Off the pitch, recurrent nightmares and worry about her mother’s emotional stability, in addition to

minor friction with a fellow camper who proves to be a good teammate but a mean girl, make for serviceable subplots. Printed with large type and spacious margins, this might look like a Matt Christopher–style sports story, but readers weaned on those episodes are in for a wild ride: Rocky’s hard-nosed, take-no-prisoners style of play makes her matches come off more like rugby scrums, complete with fouls, aggressive intimidation, angry soccer moms, and a certain amount of drama to boot, since she’s dismayed to get her period the day of the climactic match and takes a vicious elbow to the eye during play. By the close, both her world and her circle of friends are larger, and her star is definitely on the rise. Though most of the cast seems to be white, Rocky has teammates from Iran and Ghana.

Packed with plenty of action to keep the pages turning. (Sports fiction.

10-13)

The Overeager Egg Praagman, Milja | Boxer Books (32 pp.) $17.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9781914912740

Are You My Mother? but with a significant twist.

Everything old is new again in this clever take on a familiar story. A little egg goes “Bump, bump, bump, bump” out of its nest and down a hill. At the bottom, two tiny feet pop out, as does a space for the eyes. The egg then goes walking in an attempt to locate its mother. Sound familiar?

Wait. With each animal it meets—a caterpillar (who has too many legs), a horse (who already has a baby)—the egg realizes that they cannot possibly be related. Even the chicken isn’t quite right, and the magpie just wants to eat the egg. When a large swan appears, scaring off the magpie, it becomes clear that it isn’t a mother the egg has been seeking, but a father.

“Can daddies hatch eggs, too?”

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C H IS LE DC RTEINO’N S

A marvelous fatherhood tale that upsets expectations.

THE OVEREAGER EGG

“Daddies can do everything.” This Dutch import has a classic feel thanks in large part to gentle art resembling printmaking and the occasional alluring pattern. Within the confines of a story we’ve heard before, Praagman has crafted a marvelous fatherhood tale that upsets those old expectations in just the right way.

You don’t have to be a daddy to appreciate this stirring single-dad tale (a rarity of its kind). (Picture book. 2-5)

A World of Love Reid, Aimee Elizabeth | Illus. by Christopher Lyles | Nancy Paulsen Books (32 pp.) $18.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9781524739812

Reid and Lyles create a colorful world of parent-child love.

Each page turn reveals a different animal and environment, each done in a striking palette, including spring green, ocean blue, and desert brown. Stunning collages made with hand-painted paper, pencil, and crayon range from simpler cutouts of sheep grazing on a hilly pasture and a light-skinned human parent at the beach as the sun sets, to a mourning dove and her baby in an intricately constructed nest.

Two stanzas of easy-to-read rhyming verse accompany each family scene.

Each spread starts with the refrain “If all the earth.” Reid then mentions a hypothetical situation and concludes with a specific way the parent would care for and protect the child (“If all the earth / were ice and snow / and you were small and new, / I’d shelter you, my chick, my chick— / secure until you grew”). Many verses KIRKUS REVIEWS

also include the specific term for the baby animal, such as a sheep’s lamb, a dolphin’s calf, a goat’s kid, and a penguin’s chick. Though Reid includes two stanzas of verse for each animal, at the end, she uses four stanzas for the human parent and child.

Richly colored, detailed illustrations and short verses brimming with love make this book a good candidate for one-on-one reading (and snuggling).

Backmatter offers additional information about each animal’s devoted parenting behavior and in two cases (emperor penguins and gorillas) describes the role of fathers.

Tailor-made for a naptime cuddle.

(Picture book. 2-5)

Arlo Needs Glasses Saltzberg, Barney | Workman (24 pp.) $12.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 | 9781523520985

What’s a dog to do when he can’t see as well as he used to?

Arlo the dog loves playing catch. But one day, he can’t catch anymore; the ball zooms right by him or bonks him on the nose. His owner is frustrated.

Even after the owner shows Arlo how to catch, he still can’t do it. So it’s off to the eye doctor! The doctor uses a machine called a phoropter and asks Arlo to read an eye chart. His owner (who already has glasses) can read it clearly, but it’s blurry for Arlo.

Arlo tries on a bunch of different glasses before finding the perfect pair (sensible half-moons with dog-bone accents on the sides). Arlo can play catch again, but the thing he likes to do best is read! Light on plot, this

straightforward narrative is best geared toward those young ones needing or curious about glasses—or those who just like dogs. While the story is simple, the artwork is quirky, with some intentionally offbeat moments, like a dog being asked to read an eye chart or the zany rejected frames, though others are head-scratching: Arlo’s owner looks almost middle-aged on some pages, with thinning hair, but appears almost small, almost childlike, beside the eye doctor. Overall, the story’s cute but may not garner too many rereads. Arlo’s owner is light-skinned, while the eye doctor is tan-skinned.

Kooky fare to help bolster little ones before a trip to the eye doctor. (Picture book. 3-6)

Remember My Story: A Girl, a Holocaust Survivor, and a Friendship That Made History Sarnowski, Claire with Sarah Durand Little, Brown (256 pp.) | $17.99 | Jan. 9, 2024 9780316592895

A child and an elderly Holocaust survivor form a life-changing friendship.

Sarnowski, a Catholic girl who’s cued white, met octogenarian Alter Weiner when, at age 9, she attended his presentation in Portland, Oregon, about his experiences during the Holocaust and its aftermath. Polish Jewish immigrant Weiner spent years as a teen in Nazi slave labor camps, enduring starvation and nearly being worked to death.

After the war, he learned that more than 100 members of his family had been murdered in the concentration camps. Inspired by his presentation, Sarnowski contacted Weiner, hoping to find a way to help him make even more of an impact. With cooperation from Sarnowski’s parents, the two made it their quest to pass a bill mandating the teaching of Holocaust and genocide studies in Oregon schools.

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The book meticulously describes the long, intense process of successfully getting the education bill through the Oregon state senate. Sarnowski and Weiner were devastated by hate speech and crimes in their own town and around the U.S. and the world, but this only strengthened their determination. Sarnowski comes across as a remarkable child: capable, intelligent, and wise beyond her years. Her intensely loving partnership with Weiner is at the core of the account, which is repetitive in places but contains moments of despair, heartbreak, laughter, and triumph. Readers will long remember Weiner and his hopeful instruction to be “better, not bitter.”

An inspiring and hopeful story. (author’s note, resources and recommended reading) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Just Shy of Ordinary Sass, A.J. | Little, Brown (368 pp.) | $16.99 Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780316506175

When a genderfluid 13-year-old attempts to handle a health crisis by creating a “new normal” routine for themself, things don’t go according to plan.

Shai Stern, who is white and experiences sound sensitivity, started picking at the hair on their arms during the pandemic after their mom lost her job, and the two moved in with family friends to save money.

To keep their picking a secret, they’ve been wearing fashionable arm sleeves designed and sewn by best friend and housemate Moose, who’s Kanien’Kehá:ka, and they believe that switching from home schooling to public school will help them manage and resolve the picking issue on their own before anyone notices. But this change in education carries unanticipated stressors, including Shai’s being identified as gifted and moved up a grade, grappling over coming out at 134 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

A hopeful tale of loss, self-discovery, and the restorative powers of baking.

M AY B E I T ’ S A S I G N

school, and navigating changing relationships with loved ones new and old. When a class assignment gives Shai an opportunity to deepen their understanding of their Jewish heritage and family history, even more questions and uncertainties arise, and the pressure builds. A hopeful but not-too-tidy resolution depicts Shai addressing their challenges and relying on a support network of caring and well-developed secondary characters. The Wisconsin setting is authentically portrayed, and Shai’s tenderhearted first-person voice will keep readers rooting for them until the book’s final pages.

Moving and memorable. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 8-14)

Maybe It’s a Sign Shen, E.L. | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (240 pp.) | $17.99 | Jan. 23, 2024 9780374390778

A young teen searches for meaning after the loss of her father.

Eight months after the sudden passing of her dad, 13-yearold Freya June Sun can’t help but double down on following the Chinese superstitions that he taught her. She habitually searches for signs from Dad for guidance as friendship dynamics shift at school, tensions simmer between her mother and sister at home, and an orchestra competition looms. When Freya spies two red birds before her viola solo, she’s convinced that it’s a good-luck signal from Dad to continue with the instrument

despite its becoming a growing source of anxiety. As she begins to come to terms with her grief, she’s surprised to find support from her longtime nemesis, Korean American Gus Choi, and discovers a passion for baking as another means of connecting with memories of her father, who had a sweet tooth. Freya’s internal struggle between pursuing the viola and her new interests may resonate with young readers who find themselves venturing beyond the perceived scope of parental expectations. Combining a dash of wholesome middle school romance, a generous helping of familial support, and a sprinkling of self-made luck, Shen serves up a realistic portrayal of the many ways that grief and healing can take shape in our lives.

A hopeful and uplifting tale of loss, self-discovery, and the restorative powers of baking. (author’s note, recipes) (Fiction. 10-14)

Imagine You and Me Shum, Benson | Dial Books (40 pp.) | $18.99 Jan. 23, 2024 | 9780593617069

A young bear and a girl share a special friendship.

Randall, a bespectacled, sandy-colored bear, is best friends with Parker, a brownskinned tot who wears her hair in puffs and has matching red glasses.

Randall and Parker do everything together. They especially love to build intricate sand castles and eat ice cream.

But one day, three bears playing nearby interrupt their fun. Parker encourages Randall to introduce himself, and KIRKUS REVIEWS

CHILDREN’S

Beaky Barnes returns in a graphic novel that serves as a love letter to libraries.

BEAKY BARNES AND THE DEVIOUS DUCK

they all shyly become friends. Except… the other bears don’t seem to notice Parker. In fact, the more they hang out together (Randall even starts wearing the same striped neckties as the others), the more Parker seems to fade away.

Astute readers will realize what’s going on: Parker, who nudges Randall to be more outgoing and pushes him to try new things, may not be there at all. But not to worry; she comes back whenever he thinks of her. This gentle, matter-offact tale will appeal to children longing to make new friends but a bit uncertain about doing so. Shum uses lightblue sketches to convey the two pals’ imaginary play; when Parker starts to fade, she’s also outlined in blue, with only her bright-red glasses remaining.

But she’ll always be there whenever Randall needs her. And, in an inspired twist, Parker finds a new pal of her own: a bear cub in need of an imaginary friend.

A thoughtful look at making new friends. (Picture book. 4-7)

Night Song Smith Despres, Mk | Illus. by Hyewon Yum Enchanted Lion Books (52 pp.) | $18.95 Jan. 9, 2024 | 9781592703944

Despite great effort, Bernardo the frog just can’t find a place in the morning chorus.

Bernardo knows his song sounds “like wood and nighttime and things inside of other things.” But he loves the way the birds sing to the sun to unfold the flowers and send leaves “to dance across the forest floor.” He finds it so lovely KIRKUS REVIEWS

that he tries to join in by donning a silly bird disguise made of leaves and berries. Alas, he looks ridiculous to the creatures around the pond; nor do they appreciate his efforts to climb a tree and then dance awkwardly across flower tops. By the time he gives up, the sun has traveled across the sky, and he feels too discouraged to listen to the crickets, the blackbirds, and the other frogs in their evening chorus— until, that is, he hears a snail marvel at “the song that lulls the woods to sleep.”

Using a mix of watercolor, colored pencil, and ink, Yum illustrates Smith Despres’ lilting, sonorous text with idyllic scenes of songbirds and waterfowl, butterflies and dragonflies, amid verdant tufts of greenery and sprays of flowers. As the day passes and the tonal palette dims subtly from bright day to a cool blue star-flecked night, one last view leaves the small frog with eyes closed in blissful appreciation.

Poetic and peaceful: a natural for bedtime reading. (Picture book. 4-6)

reading material (How To Fool People) is fishy. A woman on a bench feeding the pigeons offers Duck some bread but is angered when he gobbles it all up. Disheartened, he turns to How To Fool People and hatches the first of several get-rich-quick schemes.

Meanwhile, roomies and close friends Beaky and the Inventor are living their best, most productive lives. While the Inventor works from home and cares for Beaky’s baby, Chickie, Beaky hosts storytimes and minds the information desk at the Simpleton Library. Devious Duck continues to burn bridges right and left before finally arriving at the library for books on scams. Duck and readers learn quickly that you can’t pull a fast one on a librarian, but they also see that even when provoked, library professionals are compassionate and kind problem solvers.

Caldecott Honor winner Stein’s trademark artwork, rendered in ballpoint pen and digitally enhanced watercolor, never misses. Duck’s misdeeds are handled with compassion—an early lesson on community-based, restorative justice. To deliver that message while still infusing the book with zany, chaotic humor is nothing short of masterful.

Human characters are light-skinned.

Both delightfully quirky and thought provoking. (Graphic fiction. 7-10)

Kirkus Star

Forever and Always

Kirkus Star

Beaky Barnes and the Devious Duck: A Graphic Novel Stein, David Ezra | Penguin Workshop (128 pp.) | $18.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 9780593094792 | Series: Beaky Barnes

Beaky Barnes, a human-size chicken, returns in a graphic novel that serves as a love letter to

libraries.

Ramblin’ into town comes a slightly nefarious hobo duck. One hates to judge a book by its cover, but Duck’s

Thurman, Brittany J. | Illus. by Shamar Knight-Justice | Greenwillow Books (40 pp.) $19.99 | Jan. 16, 2024 | 9780063140783

All day long, a young Black girl hopes her father will return from work.

When Daddy, an EMT worker, gets home in the evening, he embraces Olivia, and his hugs feel like “one thousand I love yous.” Their mornings are filled with affectionate warnings for Daddy to be safe and careful. Like many Black family NOVEMBER 15, 2023 135

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members across the United States, Olivia and her mother are filled with fear every time Daddy leaves.

As they watch news stories of other fathers who didn’t make it home, time stretches on, creating an atmosphere of anxiety. Mother and daughter fill their days with distractions to make time go faster. After they eat breakfast, Momma styles Olivia’s hair. They draw pictures together, and Olivia braids a bracelet. Finally, Daddy returns home once more. From cover to cover, this book feels like a love song, with sheet music woven throughout the background. The digitally created art has a collagelike feel; deft use of shadow and texture makes the images appear almost three-dimensional in places. Tender and intimate, this is a book that will soothe children enduring the same worries as Olivia. In the author’s note, Thurman pays tribute to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, and others who didn’t make it home; she offers a list of five suggestions for those worried about the safety of their own loved ones.

A balm for little ones grappling with harsh realities. (Picture book. 4-8)

In the Woods: An Adventure for Your Senses Tolosa Sisteré, Mariona | Trans. by Susan Ouriou | Owlkids Books (48 pp.) | $18.95 Sept. 12, 2023 | 9781771476058

A family takes a trip to the woods, learning lessons along the way about how to care for the natural world.

Three children and their parent check the weather and plan an outing for the following day. They look at a map of their destination and then lay out what they’ll need to take. Wearing helmets, they bike to the park. As they explore, one child draws, one collects treasures, and the smallest tot sticks close to the parent. A ranger stops one child and a 136 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Tender and intimate, this is a book that will soothe children.

F O R E V E R A N D A L W AY S

newfound friend from climbing and harming a tree, and in another scene, the parent provides minor first aid to a child with an injured knee. After the family members wave goodbye to their new buddies and take a selfie, it’s time to bike home. The extensive backmatter offers information on seasonal changes, guidance on using all five senses to appreciate nature, and recommendations for getting outdoors. Tolosa Sisteré’s pages are full of bright colors, though readers may sometimes have trouble parsing the busy illustrations. The depictions of people are stylized, with long arms, large heads, and strangely shaped noses. The park-goers are diverse, and the featured family has brown skin and black hair, a demographic that’s often left out in books about getting out in nature.

It’s nice to see a family enjoying the great outdoors and each other. (Picture book. 3-7)

José Feeds the World: How a Famous Chef Feeds Millions of People in Need Around the World Unger, David | Illus. by Marta Álvarez Miguéns | duopress/Sourcebooks (40 pp.) $18.99 | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9781728279527

José Andrés Puerta, an award-winning Spanish American chef, uses his gift to help people in need.

Ever since José was a boy, he enjoyed cooking. Inspired by his parents, who showed him that he could help improve people’s lives

in different ways, he went away to cooking school in Barcelona at 15 and became a chef’s assistant at the world-famous El Bulli. His professional journey eventually took him to Washington, D.C., where he opened his own restaurant. In 2010, an earthquake devastated much of Haiti.

José, by then an award-winning chef, gathered a group of friends and went there to cook for the survivors. When he returned to D.C., he founded a nonprofit, World Central Kitchen, dedicated to providing free meals to survivors of natural and human-made disasters, work that’s enabled him to help affected communities all over the world. Vivid illustrations that depict compelling scenes rendered in rich color add tone and nuance to a flat, dry narrative that sticks to the facts at the expense of emotional depth. Condensing an entire professional life into a picture book means that the text eschews details, although some added information would have made for a more compelling story.

Parts of the chef’s life—such as when he asks the Ukrainian people to become “Food Fighters”—are dropped into the story without explanation, leaving readers with questions the text does not answer.

Rich illustrations buoy a lackluster narrative. (list of some of José Andrés Puerta’s awards, glossary) (Picture-book biography. 4-8)

For more by David Unger, visit Kirkus online.

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CHILDREN’S

Pockets for Two: A Collection of Girlhood

Inspiring and delicious.

Ward, Lindsay | Illus. by Brizida Magro Harper/HarperCollins (32 pp.) | $19.99 Jan. 16, 2024 | 9780063247765

G R AN D MA’ S R O O F G AR D E N

Two friends spend the school year discovering all the different things that pockets can hold.

A tan-skinned girl joins a new school and quickly overcomes her initial shyness when she befriends a Black girl in her class. After exchanging waves and a note, they share adventures, cookies, and a love of bugs. As the seasons pass, the girls, narrating jointly, explain all the things that pockets are good for—“for nervous hands when your voice is feeling small,” “for games, played with brand-new friends,” “for staying warm when snowflakes start to fall,” “for presents—as we say goodbye.” The book follows the pair through ups and downs; we see the girls planning their futures as astronauts together and searching for a lost friendship bracelet right up until the last day of school. Attractive illustrations rendered in a cozy palette match the gentle feeling of the text, which borders on saccharine. The story feels more like an adult’s idealized, nostalgic look back at childhood than a reflection of a young person’s actual experiences. Though the text focuses on the titular pockets, they’re small and underutilized on most pages.

That, combined with the low stakes and the text’s repeatedly broken rhythm, makes for an unsuitable read-aloud.

Well intentioned but syrupy. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)

For more by Lindsay Ward, visit Kirkus online.

Grandma’s Roof Garden

Light and Air

Wei, Tang | Trans. by Kelly Zhang | Levine Querido (40 pp.) | $18.99 | Jan. 16, 2024 9781646147014

Wendell, Mindy Nichols | Holiday House (208 pp.) | $18.99 | Jan. 2, 2024 9780823454433

An eccentric elderly Chinese woman keeps a garden on the roof of her building, enriching the lives of everyone around her.

Granny, who lives in a busy city in southwest China, visits the market but takes only the leftover produce no one wants. She rushes up the stairs to the roof, feeds her chickens with the damaged vegetables, and composts the rest. She tends to her many plants and vegetables, her “gorgeous, chubby veggie children,” each with distinct personalities (eggplants are “quite shy,” while “hot-tempered” chili peppers “quarrel all the time”).

Colored-pencil drawings capture Granny’s vivacious energy in a variety of compositions, while stylized human forms with no necks and solid bodies create whimsy. Translated from Chinese, the poetic text, which sometimes rhymes, is full of rich sensory imagery and vocabulary (“cucumbers drizzled with fragrant vinegar, / Tofu stewed with wood ear mushroom”), though some phrasing is awkward (“Who’s over there, crying and throwing a fit?”). Granny is a role model for sure, but such a self-actualized elderly character may not resonate with young readers.

Nevertheless, her enthusiasm is contagious as she grows her food, cooks up a storm for her family and neighbors, and finally sends everyone home with a “pre-filled reusable bag” of healthy food.

A 10-year-old becomes a patient at a tuberculosis sanitarium in 1935 New York.

Halle’s world is transformed when Mama begins coughing up blood one afternoon.

Halle and Papa take her to the J.N. Adam Hospital in western New York, a 20-mile drive from their home. The sanitarium is stately and impressive, and, as their local doctor has pointed out, it welcomes everyone, regardless of race or socioeconomic status. But at home, Papa becomes short-tempered and remote.

Wrapped up in his own worries, he seems oblivious to Halle’s unhappiness.

At school, Halle is shunned by classmates afraid of the disease. When Halle sets off on foot to get to her mother, she’s stricken with sickness and becomes a patient at the hospital. Eventually Halle is placed in a dorm room with three other girls: Flossie, whose mother is a nurse at the hospital; Vivian, whose delicate paleness Halle finds striking; and Rita, an older girl whose well-off parents are uncomfortable around Flossie, who is Black (most characters are cued white). The book takes place nearly a decade before the use of antibiotics for TB, when treatment focused on fresh air and sunlight. Descriptions of the hospital’s open-air porches and daily routines are smoothly incorporated, and Halle’s fears for her own health and longing for her mother are relatable.

Inspiring and delicious. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8) KIRKUS REVIEWS

A vivid work of historical fiction that explores how infectious disease can intersect with daily life. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 9-13)

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Homegrown Wiley, DeAnn | Henry Holt (40 pp.) | $18.99 Jan. 9, 2024 | 9781250876379

A Black child ponders the meaning of home through the lens of family and culture.

Our unnamed protagonist tells us that Mama often says the child is “homegrown.”

As Mama twists the child’s hair, she begins to explain what “home” means—it means family traditions (such as game nights and dance parties) and sleepovers with cousins piled in the living room with snacks. Granny says that home is taking care of what you love— whether it’s cleaning on Saturday mornings or tending to the garden where you grow the veggies for the family dinners that Granny, Mama, and the child make together. More examples of home include caring for your hair and preparing for the future. Ultimately, home is the memories you create and pass along; it’s the place where you feel cared for, protected, and uplifted. The warm, collagelike, digitally rendered illustrations spotlight the memories of a loving extended Black family.

The beautifully textured spreads and simple, fluid prose complement one another, setting an easy pace. The text, narrated in first person by the protagonist, is general enough that many readers will effortlessly see themselves in this fictional family, leading them to contemplate the meaning of home. This one will make a wonderful intergenerational read-aloud.

A joyous celebration of family. (Picture book. 4-8)

For another picture book about home, visit Kirkus online.

A heaping helping of verse from a veteran writer and storyteller.

IN AND OUT THE WINDOW

I Love Your Face!

In and Out the Window

Wilson, Karma | Illus. by A.G. Ford Orchard/Scholastic (40 pp.) | $18.99 Nov. 7, 2023 | 9781338722741

Yolen, Jane | Illus. by Cathrin Peterslund Philomel (208 pp.) | $18.99 | March 12, 2024 9780593622513

Lively, bouncy rhymes celebrate all the faces babies make.

Babies display a variety of expressions as they interact with grown-ups, pets, and other children. A baby with pale skin and blond hair smiles exuberantly, while a child with brown skin and soft, puffy dark-brown hair looks out from behind a curtain. But “even when you pout and frown, / you’ve got the cutest face in town,” reassures the unseen narrator.

Love shines through, too, as the babies gaze into their grown-ups’ eyes. Ford’s illustrations of babies—brought to life with a vivid palette—convey a range of emotions through hyperbolic expressions, punctuated by cartoonish, sidewise mouths that at times seem artificial. The babies’ races are cued through skin tone, eye color, and hair color and texture; the Asian-presenting child is primarily distinguished through a shift in artistic style from exaggeratedly round, wideopen eyes for the others to smaller ones, an artistic choice that’s reinforced by the fact that the Asian-presenting child is exclusively shown looking downward or sleeping, further making the baby’s eyes seem smaller than those of the others. Wilson’s ebullient text celebrates the narrator’s love for the babies’ many faces throughout the day, amid a jaunty octosyllabic meter that skips a beat here and there (“Dream, my dear, of your happy place”).

A hefty collection of short poems, mostly new, on themes related to home, school, sports, seasons, and animals.

Alternately writing (as the title implies) from both “inside” and “outside” points of view, Yolen generally keeps the tone light and the language playfully conversational: “Never mind that ticks need grooming, / blooming flowers give you sneezes. / Never mind that heat is rising, / as are stings from flying bees is. / Everything good or bad you find / Can be balanced with a Never Mind.”

If some entries read more like starters than finished works (“Potbellied Pig”: “Little or big, / It’s still a pig”), there are still insights and neat turns of phrase aplenty to enjoy—and even a few poems written for multiple voices to encourage reading aloud. Peterslund’s pictures, too sparse and sparely drawn to have much visual impact, add an assortment of mostly young human figures (with skin the white of the page) or animals, along with occasional decorative spot motifs and borders. The collection concludes on an elegiac note: If all nature “can pause, think, pray, / say thank you for this time, / this day, this beat of heart, / this chance to bring forth / something good into the world / before leaving it, I can say it, / you can, too. / Thank you.” Thank you, prolific one, for the literary bounty present and past.

Uneven but may win out readers just the same. (Picture book. 2-5) 138 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

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The discovery of an egg ignites a fierce debate.

IS THIS…EASTER?

A heaping helping of characteristically readable verse from a veteran writer and storyteller. (index) (Poetry. 5-9)

Tea With an Old Giant Yolen, Jane | Illus. by Paolo Domeniconi Reycraft Books (36 pp.) | $18.95 Nov. 10, 2023 | 9781478868569

A lonely giant and a small girl forge an unlikely friendship.

On top of a rocky hill, a nameless giant with lightly tanned skin and a white beard and hair leads a solitary life. Although he’s chosen to live on the hill because it’s “far away from anyone else,” he starts to feel lonely as he gets older; he’s tired of playing checkers by himself and making his own tea. So the giant makes the perilous trip down the hill to a nearby town. The inhabitants flee in terror—except for a light-skinned, redheaded girl named Arabella who doesn’t run away because “her legs were too short and her heart was too brave.” Arabella’s parents are too busy to play with her, so she’s eager for a friend. She and the giant spend the day playing checkers, reading books to each other, and having a tea party with mud cookies and pretend tea made from water, prompting the giant to offer to bring real tea next time. The folksy flow of the unrhyming yet rhythmic text lends itself well to reading out loud, but the breathtaking, painterly illustrations are the true stars of this book, creating a landscape to explore in each two-page spread and lending expressiveness even to the animal characters.

A simple, old-fashioned tale brought to life by stunning visuals. (Picture book. 4-8) KIRKUS REVIEWS

Kirkus Star

Is This…

Easter?

Yoon, Helen | Candlewick (32 pp.) | $10.99 Jan. 2, 2024 | 9781536226287

The discovery of an egg ignites a fierce debate.

A hulking bear wearing a dainty pair of bunny ears leaves an egg in the grass. Some dogs and coyotes sniff it out and begin to argue.

Should it be decorated for Easter, or should it be devoured? The dogs declare, “IT’S BEAUTIFUL!” while the coyotes shout, “BREAKFAST IS BEAUTIFUL!” The bear returns and takes the egg from the warring factions. Patiently, the bear shows them how to poke a hole in the egg and blow out the insides (which the bear cooks up for a tasty treat). The outer shell then becomes a gorgeous pastel masterpiece. Readers may assume that each group will be eager to possess (or consume) what they’ve been after for the entire book, but then what’s more tantalizing than what someone else has? Yoon’s charming and simple illustrations carry the simple text. These playful, expressive creatures are sure to elicit giggles from little readers. The stylized, popeyed, thick-lined illustrations brim with child appeal, but Yoon also folds in a subtle message about compromise; caregivers can help little ones see connections with real-world situations. The layers to this story, combined with delightful art, should earn this tale a prominent place on bookshelves.

Aliya’s Secret: A Story of Ramadan Zaman, Farida | Owlkids Books (36 pp.) $18.95 | Oct. 17, 2023 | 9781771475648

Wanting to emulate her parents, Aliya eventually realizes that fasting is just one way to observe Ramadan.

Aliya is excited because the new moon signals the start of Ramadan. As Ammi and Abba hang decorations, Aliya enthusiastically exclaims that she wants to fast with them, but Ammi thinks she’s still too young. But a determined Aliya drifts off to sleep with a secret in her heart: She will fast, too! Not eating or drinking at school the next day is harder than Aliya imagined. Her tummy rumbles when she turns down her snack, her lunch, and even the delicious-looking sprinkle-laden cupcakes that the class eats to celebrate a student’s birthday. Later, when Aliya helps Ammi bake dessert at home, she accidentally indulges in a bite of sugary, sticky baklava. Aliya cries out in guilt, and Ammi soothes her and explains that there are other ways to celebrate Ramadan, such as helping those in need and sharing meals with the community.

Ramadan ends with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr and Aliya looking forward to the next year’s festivities. Illustrations filled with rich colors and strings of stars and crescents capture the spirit of joyous celebration. Drawing from her own experiences, Zaman provides a helpful look into the basic practices of Ramadan. Cues in the text suggest that Aliya and her family are South Asian; her community is a diverse one.

A cheerful and relatable tale of a young girl finding the perfect way to celebrate Ramadan. (author’s note, glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)

For more books illustrated by Farida Zaman, visit Kirkus online.

An instantly rereadable holiday musthave. (Picture book. 3-5)

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INDIGENOUS AUTHORS TELL THEIR STORIES THE AUTUMN MONTHS

are a time when harmful, inaccurate narratives about Indigenous people are especially prevalent. In October, Canadian Thanksgiving falls on Columbus Day, the U.S. federal holiday that’s increasingly being reclaimed as Indigenous Peoples Day, and U.S. Thanksgiving follows in November.

These observances are rife with misinformation, and they’re commonly taught in schools in ways that ignore uncomfortable historical and contemporary truths. Books

by Indigenous authors, such as the following, are critical correctives that dismantle historical myths, explore present-day Native lives,

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and imagine Native futures.

They’re also simply fabulous reads for any teen.

Two speculative fiction offerings plunge readers into vividly realized stories that creatively incorporate traditional culture and lore: The latest from Wab Kinew (Anishinaabe), The Everlasting Road (Tundra Books, Jan. 10), is the sequel to Walking in Two Worlds, and it’s ideal for avid and reluctant readers alike. Keen gamer Bugz is mourning the death of Waawaate, her beloved older brother. The virtual world she’s created, infused with Anishinaabe lore and complete with a bot version of Waawaate, brings unexpected perils.

Bad Medicine by Christopher Twin (Emanata, Oct. 24) is a debut graphic novel by a member of the Alberta Cree community’s Swan River First Nation. The novel’s combination of vivid illustrations, spine-tingling horror, and accessible text makes it an irresistible read, as well as one that layers traditional Cree stories with contemporary concerns in deeply thought-provoking ways.

The tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People lies at the heart of two excellent genre fiction page-turners by prominent, award-winning authors: Harvest House (Candlewick, April 11) by Muscogee citizen Cynthia Leitich Smith reunites fans with characters from 2018’s Hearts Unbroken but works equally well as a stand-alone read. It’s a spooky, atmospheric blend of Halloween chills and all-too-real fears, following theater-loving Muscogee teen Hughie as he confronts typecasting while also investigating threats to his community.

In Warrior Girl Unearthed (Henry Holt, May 2), a gripping stand-alone companion to her 2021 runaway hit debut, Firekeeper’s Daughter, Angeline Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, returns to Sugar Island as Black and

LAURA SIMEON

Anishinaabe twin sisters Perry and Pauline pursue summer internships, learn about institutionalized exploitation, and become embroiled in a dangerous mystery.

Readers seeking realistic fiction centering the lives of contemporary First Nations teens can’t go wrong with these well-realized coming-ofage stories, both released on Sept. 12 by Heartdrum, an imprint publishing books that “emphasize the present and future of Indian Country and the strength of young Indigenous heroes”: Those Pink Mountain Nights

by Jen Ferguson, who is Michif/Métis and white, explores with nuance and strong characterization the lives of a multiracial group of teens working at a Blackowned pizza parlor in Alberta that’s threatened by a corporate takeover. Meanwhile, they’re trying to find missing local teen Kiki, who’s Black and Cree.

Ojibwe author Byron Graves’ debut, Rez Ball, contains all the elements that make sports novels perennial favorites—from breathtaking game play to team camaraderie—anchored by a thoughtful account of a teen boy’s inner emotional landscape as he reckons with grief, a new crush, and hoop dreams.

Laura Simeon is a young readers’ editor.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Illustration by Eric Scott Anderson

Young Adult

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EDITOR’S PICK A retelling of the Medusa tale set within a world infused with Indian lore that follows a sexual assault survivor whose powers enable her to seek vengeance.

In this reimagining of the myth of Medusa, with influences from the story of Perseus and serpent deities from Indian folklore, Manisha is a beautiful 16-year-old temple priestess who’s secretly one of the feared naga people who can turn men into stone. Orphaned Pratyush is the last of his kind, an invincible 17-yearold monster slayer in service to a selfish king. He visits the temple time and again,

These Titles Earned the Kirkus Star KIRKUS REVIEWS

simply to see and talk to Manisha; she’s intrigued by the charismatic boy who’s also a legendary warrior. But before they can be together, Manisha is violently sexually assaulted and, with the help of snake magic and golden serpent companion Noni, survives being kicked into a pit of venomous vipers. She travels the outskirts of the kingdom, searching for the family torn from her in childhood and defending young women in need.

Meanwhile, the king sends Pratyush on a mission to bring back the head of the powerful Serpent Queen.

The dual-perspective

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Shut Up, This Is Serious

By Carolina Ixta

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Poemhood Edited by Amber McBride, Taylor Byas & Erica Martin

141

A Drop of Venom Patel, Sajni | Rick Riordan Presents/ Disney | 416 pp. | $18.99 | Jan. 16, 2024 9781368092685

narration goes back and forth in time, heightening the suspense as Manisha’s and Pratyush’s paths inevitably intersect again. This thrilling, well-paced fantasy, with rich worldbuilding and

A Drop of Venom

By Sajni Patel

154

Into the Sunken City

By Dinesh Thiru

155

Lunar New Year Love Story

By Gene Luen Yang; illus. by LeUyen Pham

a slow-burn romance, powerfully reclaims Medusa as a symbol of feminist rage.

A gripping, magical tale of sisterhood and strength. (author’s note) (Fantasy.

14-18)

For a romantic, mythologyinspired YA fantasy, visit Kirkus online.

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Out of Our League: 16 Stories of Girls in Sports Ed. by Adler, Dahlia & Jennifer Iacopelli Feiwel & Friends (336 pp.) | $20.99 Jan. 23, 2024 | 9781250810717

Short stories featuring a diverse range of teen girls who are learning how to play and compete in different sports.

This compilation featuring many big-name contributors from YA literature not only centers young women’s voices but also showcases their strengths and different abilities, emphasizes the power of team camaraderie, and demonstrates the value of hard-won lessons. Powerlifting, sport climbing, crew, boxing, and ice hockey are all included, alongside more common sports such as softball, soccer, and basketball. Many of the stories include details of fast-paced plays, as in Maggie Hall’s “Sidelined,” in which star basketball player Lexie helps coach the football team to achieve an exciting, game-winning touchdown. The stories put sports front and center, weaving in relevant specifics. One standout, “All for One,” by Yamile Saied Méndez, carefully and heartachingly describes one cheerleader’s struggle with an eating disorder relapse. Kayla Whaley’s “No Love Lost,” written in the format of a screenplay, features wheelchair tennis star Lotte and includes meaningful dialogue about disability in sports. Among the other perspectives are those of Rowan, a teen who’s recently come out as nonbinary, in Marieke Nijkamp’s “Archery,” and Maya, a trans girl in Naomi Kanakia’s “Wrestling” who’s attending an allboys Catholic school. Thankfully, the stories are not tidy, triumphant sprints across a finish line: The characters display grit and determination as they learn a new sport or struggle with team dynamics.

Impressively inclusive, with plenty of appeal for sports lovers and couch potatoes alike. (Anthology. 12-17)

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Once a Queen

Somewhere in the Deep

Arthur, Sarah | WaterBrook (384 pp.) $18.99 | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780593194454

Berwah, Tanvi | Sourcebooks Fire (384 pp.) | $18.99 | Jan. 9, 2024 9781728247656

A portal fantasy survivor story from an established devotional writer.

Fourteenyear-old Eva’s maternal grandmother lives on a grand estate in England; Eva and her academic parents live in New Haven, Connecticut.

When she and Mum finally visit Carrick Hall, Eva is alternately resentful at what she’s missed and overjoyed to connect with sometimes aloof Grandmother. Alongside questions of Eva’s family history, the summer is permeated by a greater mystery surrounding the work of fictional children’s fantasy writer A.H.W. Clifton, who wrote a Narnialike series that Eva adores. As it happens, Grandmother was one of several children who entered and ruled Ternival, the world of Clifton’s books; the others perished in 1952, and Grandmother hasn’t recovered. The Narnia influences are strong—Eva’s grandmother is the Susan figure who’s repudiated both magic and God—and the ensuing trauma has created rifts that echo through her relationships with her daughter and granddaughter.

An early narrative implication that Eva will visit Ternival to set things right barely materializes in this series opener; meanwhile, the religious parable overwhelms the magic elements as the story winds on. The serviceable plot is weakened by shallow characterization. Little backstory appears other than that which immediately concerns the plot, and Eva tends to respond emotionally as the story requires— resentful when her seething silence is required, immediately trusting toward characters readers need to trust. Major characters are cued white.

Evocations of Narnia are not enough to salvage this fantasy, which struggles with thin character development. (author’s note, map, author Q&A) (Religious fantasy. 12-14)

An elite monster fighter accepts a dangerous quest in this standalone companion to Monsters Born and Made (2022).

Krescent “Kress” Dune dreams of leaving the colonized island of Kar Atish, where she leads a brutal life of fighting in the monster pits. The oppressive Collector, leader of the Landers who control the island, mine zargunine, a valuable “alloy of an unknown substance mixed with gold,” and they’ve made the local people Renters, forced to pay to live on their own land. Orphaned Kress knows she’ll only find freedom elsewhere, though that will mean leaving childhood friend Rivan. Desperate, she accepts the offer to guard an expedition to rescue lost miners deep underground in exchange for her freedom. In the dark, labyrinthine passages filled with deadly monsters, Kress uncovers long-buried secrets that affect all the islanders.

The book’s creatures and mythology are intriguing and original, but their incorporation into the story is haphazard, resulting in jarring, intrusive exposition. The Landers’ subjugation of Kar Atish and their stripping of its resources are brutally depicted but lack nuance.

Although Kress’ narration is overly dramatic, some amusing moments help offset frustration over the slowness of her romantic and emotional breakthroughs, which are frequently interrupted. Still, the plot twists are mind-blowingly enticing and will tempt readers to pick up future stories set in this world. Kress and most cast members have brown skin; the Landers are fantasy white.

A dark and compelling story hampered by uneven worldbuilding. (Fantasy.

14-18)

KIRKUS REVIEWS

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Impressively inclusive, with appeal for sports lovers and couch potatoes alike.

OUT OF OUR LEAGUE

So Let Them Burn Cole, Kamilah | Little, Brown (400 pp.) $19.99 | Jan. 16, 2024 | 9780316534635

Two sisters face near-impossible odds while trying to protect each other and their country.

Five years ago, 17-year-old Faron Vincent, from the island of San Irie, became the Childe Empyrean—the one chosen by the gods to liberate her country from the colonizing Langlish. Faron has access to the gods’ infinite power and is treated with reverence by her people, despite her often reckless and rebellious behavior. When San Irie hosts an international peace summit, Faron must be diplomatic toward predatory dignitaries from enemy nations. Unexpectedly, Elara, her mature, responsible 18-year-old sister, forms a bond with Zephyra, a forest green, golden-eyed dragon ridden to San Irie by a girl from the Langley Empire. When a phenomenon called the Fury turns dragons feral and deadly, the gods tell Faron that the only hope is destroying them—but doing so would also kill those bonded to them, Elara included. Faron is determined to save her sister, even if it risks betraying her country. The girls become entangled in conflicts reaching back before their time, and they’re desperate to emerge alive and in a free nation.

This debut alternates between the sisters’ third-person perspectives and is infused with Jamaican cultural and historical influences. Cole’s astute prose brings the world and its characters, who are predominantly Black, to life in refreshing and complex ways as it highlights KIRKUS REVIEWS

themes of family, patriotism, war, identity, and sacrifice.

An engaging new voice and a Caribbean-inspired fantasy to savor. (map) (Fantasy. 12-18)

Wander in the Dark Emill, Jumata | Delacorte (400 pp.) | $19.99 $22.99 PLB | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780593651858 9780593651865 PLB

Two half brothers put aside their childhood beef to solve a gruesome crime.

Amir and Marcel Trudeau share a father. Marcel, who’s two years younger, is out, drives a Tesla, and lives in an upscale part of New Orleans with his dad and mom. Amir rides his bike everywhere, is a great cook (thanks to his nana), and has a single mother who works a night shift in the ER. There’s a tense history between the boys that Marcel is trying to reconcile, especially now, with both brothers attending the same school for the first time—predominantly white Truman Academy, where they’re just two of a handful of Black students. On the last night of Mardi Gras, Amir arrives at Marcel’s 16th birthday party, hoping to smash with Marcel’s best friend, Chloe Danvers, the white girl who invited him.

What Amir wasn’t planning on was not hooking up at all, instead falling asleep on Chloe’s couch and waking up to find her body bathed in blood.

With Amir accused of murder, Marcel is determined to prove his older brother’s innocence. In the process,

he uncovers how racist his white friends—and school—really are. The dual narrative allows readers to understand how desperate both brothers are to identify the murderer. In this page-turner, racism is the third major character, highlighting how deeply its systemic vortex affects Amir’s and Marcel’s lives. It’s at once riveting and downright disturbing.

An edgy, fast-paced thriller exploring important issues. (Thriller. 13-18)

The Dark Fable Harbour, Katherine | Bloomsbury (384 pp.) $19.99 | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9781547613748

A glamorous world of heists and cons hides a dark evil that lurks beneath lavish lifestyles.

Eighteen-yearold Evie grew up in foster homes after an unspeakable tragedy took her parents and younger siblings 10 years ago. She now works three jobs and squats in the attic of an apartment building.

When a glamorous crew of thieves cause mayhem at a gala where she’s working as a server and also make her an accessory to their crime, she’s fascinated. The members of La Fable Sombre each bring a special magical talent to their heists, and they need Evie’s newly discovered ability to turn invisible. She willingly joins their crew and soon considers charismatic leader Ciaran, frothy Mad, trickster Devon, and alchemist Queenie as family. She learns that LFS is one of several international gangs that, for centuries, have stolen artifacts for the Collectors. Evie quickly proves her worth, drawing the attention of fences Mother Night and Father Silence, the “royalty” of the syndicate. Evie’s conversations with several characters provide backstory, although the level of immediately forthcoming detail stretches credulity.

These talks open Evie’s eyes to the participants’ varied motivations—and she discovers a startling truth >>> NOVEMBER 15, 2023 143

Adventures in a world where everything happens that didn’t happen in this one!

“A tale for the ages [If You Ride A Crooked Trolley…].

Incredibly rich with adventure, daring, friendship, idea, and imagination [The Judgment Of Biestia].”

—Keith Ekiss, Author of A Pima Road Notebook “If You Ride A Crooked Trolley... casts a spell. An enchanting, wildly inventive, beautifully written fantasy.”

—Jack Foley, Poet, Critic & Radio Personality

“A pair of appealing adventures with an edgy through-the-looking-glass feel.”

—Kirkus Reviews For All Inquiries, Please Email regentpress@mindspring.com

P O D C A S T // Y O U N G A D U LT

EDITORS’ PICKS:

Forever Twelve by Stacy McAnulty (Random House) More Tales To Keep You Up at Night by Dan Poblocki (Penguin Workshop) Artificial: A Love Story by Amy Kurzweil (Catapult) Ladies’ Lunch: And Other Stories by Lore Segal (Melville House) ALSO MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE:

Fifteen by Beverly Cleary Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

Sun Dog Memory

by Douglas Armstrong Four Minutes Revisited

by Dave Penswick When We Were Twins

by Danuta Hinc As the Sycamore Grows

by Jennie Miller Helderman Fully Booked is produced by Cabel Adkins Audio and Megan Labrise.

Diarmuid O’Brien

To listen to the Fully Booked podcast, visit Kirkus online.

Fully Booked

Deirdre Sullivan’s Savage Her Reply troubles the waters of The Children of Lir. BY MEGAN LABRISE EPISODE 344: DEIRDRE SULLIVAN

On this week’s episode, Deirdre Sullivan joins us to discuss Savage Her Reply (Little Island, Oct. 3), a “haunting and lyrical” retelling of Irish folktale The Children of Lir, from the point of view of its traditional villain, Aífe. When Aífe’s older sister, Aébh, dies birthing a second set of twins, Aífe is given to Aébh’s widower, a divine ruler named Lir, to assume the role of wife and stepmother. Envious of the love her new husband lavishes on her four stepchildren, Aífe uses her powers to turn them into swans who must face increasingly adverse conditions over the course of 900 years. Though she is mightily punished for this deed, her curse cannot be undone.

Here’s a bit from Kirkus’ starred review of Savage Her Reply: “Each chapter opens with an excerpt of the classic version of the myth and a calligram, or concrete poem, in the shape of letters from the ancient Irish alphabet, Ogham. Through masterful storytelling and stunning prose, Sullivan turns an ancient legend into something complex, transforming a one-note character into a nuanced narrator who carefully weaves Irish legend with a subtly searing condemnation of patriarchal society.

The author stays true to the heart of the tale while subverting the evil stepmother trope. While Aífe isn’t absolved, readers can easily sympathize with her, making the outcome all that much more sorrowful.”

Sullivan is a writer and teacher from Galway, whose award-winning books for readers of all ages include Tangleweed and Brine, Ming and Her Poppy (illus.

by Maja Löfdahl), and I Want To Know That I Will Be Okay. Her play Wake, a feminist retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid, was produced by NoRopes Theatre Company in February 2019.

Savage Her Reply

Sullivan, Deirdre | Illus. by Karen Vaughan Little Island | 256 pp. | $15.99 Oct. 3, 2023 | 9781912417674

In conversation, she shares the strangeness of publishing Savage Her Reply in Ireland and beyond at the height of the pandemic (October 2020) and the excitement of being able to bring the story to U.S. readers. For listeners unfamiliar with The Children of Lir, she provides a brief telling. We then discuss the ubiquity of the story in Ireland; the historical practice of uniting kingdoms through the fostering of allies’ children; the different personalities of sisters Aífe, Aébh, and Ailbhe, and the sources of their individual power; twins in literature; calligrams; what else we might call The Children of Lir; extreme Dorothy Parker fandom; and much more.

Then editors Laura Simeon, Mahnaz Dar, Eric Liebetrau, and Laurie Muchnick share their top picks in books for the week.

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S YE OCUTNI G O NA D U LT

that fuels her own sense of purpose, leading to a cinematic climax that unfortunately resolves fairly quickly, wrapping up with a neat ending that doesn’t feel earned. Most characters are cued white; Dev reads Black.

An imaginative heist fantasy bogged down in descriptions and expository dialogue. (Fantasy thriller. 14-18)

The Summer Queen Hassan, Rochelle | Roaring Brook Press (416 pp.) | $19.99 | Jan. 23, 2024 9781250822253 | Series: The Buried and the Bound, 2

A coven of three teens ventures into the fairy realm to save a loved one.

In this follow-up to The Buried and the Bound (2023), hedgewitch Aziza, necromancer Tristan, and curse victim Leo have formed their own coven after defeating a hag in their small Massachusetts town. When Hazel, Leo’s changeling sister, is called to Elphame to join the Fair Folk’s Summer Court, the trio strikes a fraught bargain with the Folk to join the Wild Hunt in a bid to win her freedom. As the humans navigate their way among the tricky fae, they soon become entrenched in a deeper conspiracy. While trying to save Hazel, the group members wrestle with their own turmoil: Leo has the curse that’s made him forget his true love, Aziza struggles to reconcile her past and her powers, and Tristan grapples with new summoning abilities and the ache of unrequited feelings. The book shifts in point of view among all three protagonists, creating a fantasy with intricate worldbuilding, deftly crafted multidimensional characters, and a slow-burn romance. Although this is the sophomore volume, it’s a fine jumping-in point for those new to the series, thanks to generous recaps. The breathlessly tantalizing cliffhanger ending is sure to keep readers clamoring for the next installment. Tristan and Leo are 146 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

white and queer; the previous volume established that Aziza is Lebanese American.

A dark, atmospheric, and complex fantasy that leans into all the feels.

(Fantasy. 14-18)

Kirkus Star

Shut Up, This Is Serious Ixta, Carolina | Quill Tree Books/ HarperCollins (368 pp.) | $19.99 Jan. 9, 2024 | 9780063287860

When everyone tells you who you are, how can you figure out who you want to be?

Ever since Belén’s pa left, nothing’s been the same. Her depressed ma is hardly home, and all older sister Ava does is berate Belén and accuse her of being just like their father. In danger of flunking out of high school, Belén fears Ava is right about her. With her best friend, Leti, pregnant and going through serious family problems of her own, Belén seeks solace in a questionable relationship with a college student. And when she sees her father at a restaurant with a much younger woman, but he doesn’t acknowledge her (“his eyes remain flat. Lifeless. Like he is looking at a stranger”), the tenuous hold she had on herself slips. Everyone, it seems, abandons her; will Belén also give up on herself? Despite the book’s exploration of painful subjects, Belén’s strong, tellit-like-it-is voice and wry humor don’t court readers’ pity. The novel treats issues of misogyny, domestic violence, and racism as realities to be dealt with, not character-defining moments of transformation, and the story’s tension is rooted in the question of whether Belén and Leti will break free from cycles of generational trauma and forge their own futures. This addictively readable novel is a loving portrait of growing up Mexican American and female in Oakland.

My Fair Brady Kennedy, Brian D. | Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins (352 pp.) | $19.99 Jan. 23, 2024 | 9780063085718

An actor makes over a techie in a rom-com retelling.

Wade Westmore, who harbors dreams of Broadway and NYU, is a star at his Minnesota private school. But when the gay senior gets cast as Colonel Pickering instead of Henry Higgins in the spring production of My Fair Lady, he feels his light dimming. Worse, Reese Erikson-Ortiz, the ex-boyfriend who dumped him, gets the lead instead. An opportunity for redemption arises when quiet, gay sophomore Elijah Brady (an accident-prone techie) asks Wade to help him become more confident. Wade may get his chance to play Higgins after all—albeit offstage. Could helping Elijah prove that Wade isn’t totally self-obsessed and get senior year “back on track”?

The high school theater backdrop adds fun and pizzaz to this queer Pygmalion retelling that includes a welcome dash of self-awareness. Kennedy’s insider-level specificity—from theater games to actor/techie dynamics—will resonate with student thespians and members of stage crews. Alternating first-person point-of-view chapters stoke the slow-building will-they-won’t-they romance and give both boys time in the spotlight. While the makeover plot may seem to some readers to reinforce what it means to be the “right kind of gay,” the story arc lightly pushes back.

Wade and Elijah read white; secondary characters are diverse in skin tone and sexuality.

Pretty darn loverly—and cute to boot.

(Romance. 13-18) For another fun twist on My Fair Lady, visit Kirkus online.

A stunning debut from a powerful new voice. (Fiction. 14-18)

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The tantalizing ending is sure to keep readers clamoring for the next installment.

THE SUMMER QUEEN

Kirkus Star

Poemhood: Our Black Revival: History, Folklore & the Black Experience: A Young Adult Poetry Anthology Ed. by McBride, Amber, Taylor Byas & Erica Martin | HarperTeen (160 pp.) | $19.99 Jan. 30, 2024 | 9780063225282

An intergenerational collection of Black poetry guided by history and folklore.

“Blacktime is time for chimeful / poemhood,” writes Gwendolyn Brooks in this anthology’s tone-setting introductory poem, “Young Afrikans.” The following entries are accompanied by track numbers and brief outros offering context, a fitting arrangement for a book that’s an “homage to the beauty and musicality of Black poetry.” This collection seeks grounding in those who came before; each section—“Livin’,” “Gawd,” “Haunting Water,” and “Magickal”—includes both enduring works by long-gone literary forebears (Phillis Wheatley, Claude McKay, Langston Hughes) as well as those of more modern poets (Nikki Giovanni, Kwame Alexander, Ashley Woodfolk). Highlights include Courtne Comrie’s sprightly “10:32 p.m.,” about the pleasures of living, while Audre Lorde’s “Power” is full of fury over the state-sanctioned death of Clifford Glover, a Black child murdered by a police officer in 1973. The editors were intent on selecting poems KIRKUS REVIEWS

that “reflect, inspect, comment, and retell” Black folklore. For example, they include “Follow the Drinking Gourd,” a storied folk song used by the enslaved on the Underground Railroad, which juxtaposes nicely with editor Byas’ “Enough Room,” a lovely piece of lore on how the sun and moon came to live in the sky.

This “patchwork quilt of poetry” is cohesive and curated with care, and it belongs in every library and classroom across the country.

A rich, thoughtful anthology exploring centuries of Black poetry. (contributor bios) (Poetry anthology. 13-18)

Just Say Yes Moldavsky, Goldy | Henry Holt (320 pp.) $22.99 | Jan. 30, 2024 | 9781250863249

A Peruvian American teen is shocked to discover she’s undocumented.

It’s 2007, and 17-year-old Brooklynite Jimena Ramos throws a rooftop party the night before she begins senior year.

When the cops shut it down, Jimena worries that her law-abiding, telenovela-watching mom will be pissed.

What Jimena doesn’t count on is her mother’s revelation: They overstayed their visa and are in the U.S. illegally. Devastated, Jimena embarks on Operation Green Card. She repeatedly asks her Russian American friend and neighbor, aspiring Oxford student Vitaly Petrov, to marry her—and he repeatedly declines. Instead, after

offering to help with her mission of finding a suitable marriage candidate, he shows her a PowerPoint full of strategies and functions as her bodyguard while she goes on dates. Jimena joins a dating website, certain she’ll find love and marriage. When that plan fails, she pivots to thinking about marriage as a business transaction and uses Craigslist to attract a potential husband. That, too, is a bust. Jimena then meets a blue-haired white boy activist at a DREAM Act rally, who offers to help her get her citizenship— but it all gets complicated, especially as her feelings for Vitaly begin to evolve. The first-person narrative successfully pulls at the heartstrings as Jimena’s frustrations over her stunted future, her desperate urgency to become naturalized, and her fear of deportation grow with every moment.

Grounded and relevant: a thoughtful exploration of living with uncertainty.

(Fiction. 14-18)

Unfamiliar: Volume 2 Newsome, Haley | Andrews McMeel Publishing (144 pp.) | $15.99 paper Oct. 17, 2023 | 9781524882365 | Series: Unfamiliar, 2

A witch journeys in and out of curses.

This follow-up to 2022’s series opener, Unfamiliar, which is fairly easy to follow even for new readers, takes a closer look at the relationship between witches Sun and Babs. After a modeling photoshoot, they decide to sell the pictures that Sun has taken of Babs to a Faerie, and the Faerie King takes an interest in them. In fact, he’s so interested that he tries to trick Babs into staying in the Faerie Kingdom. She refuses, and after a touching moment between Sun and Babs, it appears that Sun’s curse has been lifted, yet she feels “even weirder than before.”

Meanwhile, over at Planchette’s, a new ghost has appeared at the >>> NOVEMBER 15, 2023 147

I N T H E N E W S // Y O U N G A D U LT

IN THE NEWS YA Author Echo Brown Dies at Age 39

The novelist was known for her books Black Girl Unlimited and The Chosen One Echo Brown, who wrote two critically acclaimed novels for young adults based on her youth and education, has died at 39, the New York Times reports. Brown had been battling lupus and kidney failure.

Brown gained the attention of the theater world in 2015 with her one-woman show, Black Virgins Are Not for Hipsters, inspired by her own experience as a Black woman dating a white man.

She made her literary debut in 2020 with Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard. A critic for Kirkus praised

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Brown adapted her one woman show for a successful YA novel.

the magical realist young adult novel as “a much-needed story. Just brilliant.” She followed that book up two years later with The Chosen One: A First-Generation Ivy League Odyssey, which followed the protagonist, also named Echo Brown, as she studies at Dartmouth University.

In an interview with Kirkus about Black Girl Unlimited, Brown talked about using magical realism in the novel.

“I felt like there were experi-

ences, and there [was] just this kind of undercurrent of things that happened that couldn’t be touched just by reality, that there had to be this level of magic to really explain… what it was like to grow up in those kinds of circumstances,” she said.

Jessica Anderson, the editor who first suggested that Brown write novels, told Publishers Weekly, “Losing a bright light so young is devastating.

But I am comforted by the fact that Echo believed in miracles. She manifested them herself. She believed in ancestral keepers, and wizards, and chosen ones. She was spiritual and knew better than anyone that souls do not disappear. Light does not disappear.”—M.S. For a video interview with Echo Brown, visit Kirkus online.

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 149

S YE OCUTNI G O NA D U LT

haunted house, and she has a mission for the witches. As the girls journey to free the ghost’s spirit, Sun realizes something has gone terribly wrong, and only she can fix it. Readers will fall in love with the illustrations, which feature large-eyed, manga-style characters and whimsical background details in vibrant colors that complement the story, making it all the more charming. Beneath the light mood is an undercurrent of threat where the stakes seem high (though not uncomfortably so), thanks to readers’ care for the characters. The queer love story delivers, and the friendships both among all the girls and between the girls and their pets are appealingly wholesome.

A sweet story that feels like a warm hug. (Graphic paranormal. 12-18)

Unstoppable!: My Journey From World Champion to Athlete A to 8-Time NCAA National Gymnastics Champion and Beyond Nichols, Maggie with Hope Innelli | Roaring Brook Press (192 pp.) | $19.99 | Jan. 16, 2024 9781250860224

Resilience and persistence in the gym and beyond take center stage in this memoir from a premier gymnast that opens with an introduction by Simone Biles.

This work details Nichols’ dedication to gymnastics and her lifelong dream of competing in the Olympics. Despite intense training, countless injuries, personal sacrifice, and consistently high scores, Nichols was passed over for the 2016 Olympic team, something “widely believed” to be a consequence of her being the first team member to report sexual abuse by USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. Yet Nichols persevered, thriving as a collegiate gymnast, gaining her master’s, and advocating for sexual abuse awareness. Each chapter starts with an inspirational 150 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Handles sexual abuse with sensitivity and includes a list of warning signs.

U N S TO P PA B L E !

quote, and the core of the story, which is laser-focused on gymnastics and includes little about Nichols’ personal life, is compelling. The book handles sexual abuse with sensitivity and includes a list of warning signs. The development of Nichols’ disordered eating patterns is heartbreaking: Even though they were aware of her extreme diet, neither her parents (both medical professionals) nor her coaches intervened. The narrative is slowed by a litany of training plans, scoring methods, competition results, and injuries, and the legal proceedings and summaries can be challenging to parse.

The casual writing style is inviting, but the excessive use of superlatives is distracting. Still, this is a courageous and important cautionary tale.

Somewhat dense and most likely to appeal to diehard gymnastics fans, but readers will find much to learn from. (content note, photos, resources, official record, glossary) (Nonfiction.

14-18)

Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix Novoa, Gabe Cole | Feiwel & Friends (304 pp.) | $19.99 | Jan. 16, 2024 9781250869807 | Series: Remixed Classics

Oliver Bennet is not like the other Jane Austen characters you know; he’s not interested in “having a wife.

Or, more importantly, being one.”

As the second-eldest child in the Bennet family, Oliver is expected

to marry to maintain the family’s wealth and not be a financial burden.

But Oliver’s family knows him as Elizabeth, assigning him an identity that causes him great discomfort, as he knows he’s a boy. Rather than finding a suitable husband, Oliver is much more interested in letting his family (and the rest of the world) know his true identity. If he happens to find love along the way with someone who embraces who he really is, all the better; in the meantime, he’s grateful for the support of older sister Jane, who accepts him as her brother. When Oliver, forced into a gown by Mama, meets the enchanting Fitzwilliam Darcy at a ball, he’s taken aback by how coldly the other boy treats him. However, after a subsequent chance encounter at a fair, where Oliver is dressed in trousers, the boys become friends—and, eventually, something more. Novoa builds on the source text’s narrative, including detailed descriptions of queer life in Regency England as well as the period’s clothing and domestic life. The story is entertaining and fast paced, but a lack of narrative tension serves to keep readers from feeling fully immersed. Cast members are cued white.

An accessible queer retelling with a low-conflict storyline. (author’s note, historical note) (Historical romance.

12-18)

For a fun YA Regency romp, visit Kirkus online.

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ASAP Oh, Axie | HarperTeen (352 pp.) | $19.99 Feb. 6, 2024 | 9780063299306

A sweet second-chance romance set against the backdrop of the Korean entertainment industry.

Eighteen-yearold Min Sori’s life is a far cry from that of the average girl her age.

To start with, there are her parents: Her father is a politician with presidential aspirations, and her mother is CEO of Joah, the major record label who signed XOXO, the hottest boy group of the hour. Sori’s relationship with her ambitious, absentee parents isn’t the closest—in fact, it’s strained at best. Sori has her own career as a rising model and Joah trainee, although she’s lost her passion for music and doesn’t really want to be an idol anymore. She just needs to find the courage to tell her mom that. But Sori is exhausted, thanks to her stressful family situation and feelings for ex-boyfriend Nathaniel Lee, XOXO’s Korean American lead vocalist and dancer, who’s extremely off-limits. It doesn’t help that their chemistry is still sizzling or that his family feels more comforting to her than her own. When push comes to shove, she may have to confront her feelings all at once—for Nathaniel, her parents, and her future. This charming companion to XOXO (2021) features lived-in characters and a swoony love story. Romanized Korean is smoothly incorporated throughout the book, and the South Korean setting is richly developed.

Delightful. (Romance. 13-18)

For another YA K-pop book, visit Kirkus online

Murtagh: The World of Eragon Paolini, Christopher | Knopf (704 pp.) $29.99 | Nov. 7, 2023 | 9780593650868 Series: The Inheritance Cycle, 5

Murtagh and Thorn must defend Alagaësia from a shadowy new threat in this sequel to Inheritance (2011).

In an Alagaësia that’s at last free from tyrannical King Galbatorix, Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn, cannot free themselves from the stain of association.

As the pair hide their identities, Murtagh works to uncover the mystery behind a cryptic warning from Umaroth. Defending himself against an attack by informant Sarros, Murtagh is horrified to learn that a witch named Bachel has created an amulet that protects against even the Name of all Names. Seeking Bachel, Murtagh returns to Gil’ead, where he risks discovery by those who knew him from Galbatorix’s court. Werecat Carabel promises information about Bachel and her Dreamers if Murtagh rescues kidnapped werecat children.

Murtagh and Thorn must confront the scars left by their enslavement by Galbatorix if they hope to succeed.

Murtagh’s point of view is kept vividly distinct, and it contains a visceral anger over injustices that are expressed at a new level of intensity.

He’s particularly protective of children in a way that wasn’t displayed by previous series protagonists. The psychological scars from both Murtagh’s enslavement and his childhood abuse are well portrayed and shape his characterization in meaningful ways. In a welcome change, Thorn is no longer merely a plot vehicle; with the intimate rider-dragon bond on display, a terrified, confused young dragon still learning who he is shares center stage.

A much-needed follow-up centering a beloved character. (map, names and languages) (Fantasy. 12-18)

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To Kill a Shadow Quinn, Katherine | Entangled Teen (448 pp.) $17.99 | Nov. 28, 2023 | 9781649374318

A series opener blending fantasy and horror with an undercurrent of romance.

The sudden disappearance 50 years ago of the Sun Goddess, Raina, left the realm of Asidia awash in moonlight and misery. The annual Calling drafts boys, such as 18-year-old Kiara’s sickly brother, Liam, into the Knights of Eternal Star, who then venture into the accursed land of the Mist in search of answers. But Kiara’s brazenness captures the attention of the Hand of Death, the Commander of the Knights, and she’s recruited in her brother’s stead. Years of rigorous combat training have prepared Kiara well for the Knights—but not for the growing attraction between her and the Hand of Death himself, enigmatic Commander Jude Maddox. As they journey into the Mist, they must trust each other in order to survive and untangle the legends that just might save the realm. In a crowded fantasy field, the novel distinguishes itself by leaning into the macabre nature of its literally dark world, complete with shadow beasts, flesh-eating spiders, and the mercurial Mist itself. The unrelenting action sequences are not for the squeamish, and the dead (and undead) body count piles up. Cutscenes provide necessary narrative magic, reviving Kiara and Jude’s romance and buttressing the worldbuilding lore that opens many of the chapters. Main characters are cued white.

An atmospheric and promising first installment. (map) (Fantasy/horror.

14-18)

For an anthology including fantasy, horror, and romance, visit Kirkus online.

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 151

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B O O K L I S T // Y O U N G A D U LT

5 YA Novels To Stop Your Doomscrolling 1 If You’ll Have Me

By Eunnie

Utterly charming and swoonworthy.

2 The Search for Us

By Susan Azim Boyer

Relatable, poignant, and full of hope.

3 Static: Up All Night

By Lamar Giles; illus.

by Paris Alleyne

A winning combination of characters, plot, and images.

4 Swarm

5 Houses With a Story: A Dragon’s Den, a Ghostly Mansion, a Library of Lost Books, and 30 More Amazing Places To Explore

1

2

By Seiji Yoshida; trans. by Jan Mitsuko Cash

Offers tantalizing glimpses into imagination-inspiring rooms full of untold stories.

For YA books that are more fun than your smartphone, visit Kirkus online.

3

By Jennifer Lyle

A page-turner that will keep even the most stoic readers on the edges of their seats.

4

5 KIRKUS REVIEWS

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 153

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Kirkus Star

Into the Sunken City Thiru, Dinesh | HarperTeen (368 pp.) $19.99 | Jan. 23, 2024 9780063310513

Thousands of feet under the ocean, a teenage girl must pull off the heist of a lifetime.

Five hundred years ago, the clouds fused around the Earth, forming a “foggy shell.” The daily rain is submerging cities. Now, in Arizona in the year 2532, 18-year-old Jin Haldar runs her father’s inn and tries to keep younger sister Thara safe. Ever since their father died while diving, they’ve been alone in the world, hardly making enough to survive.

Desperate, Jin readily agrees when a woman named Bhili, an eccentric drifter, offers gold in exchange for an indefinite stay. Bhili later offers the sisters the opportunity to score enough gold to move inland to safety. The catch? They’ll have to dive to Vegas-Drowned and retrieve it from the sunken Treasure Island Hotel and Casino. Jin swore never to dive again after her father’s accident, but Thara is set on going. The girls pull together a crew consisting of Coast Guard cadet Taim, Jin’s ex-boyfriend, and ship’s mechanic Saanvi. Jin and Thara must survive ruthless pirates, monstrous deep-sea creatures—and betrayal. This futuristic adventure features nonstop thrills and action and an unpredictable, compelling, twist-filled plot. Forced to grow up too soon, Jin struggles with trust, courage, grief, love, and family. The detailed worldbuilding immerses readers in the dark, wet future world. In a broadly diverse world, the Haldars present South Asian; the girls’ late father was Hindu.

A riveting fantasy adventure debut that pulls readers into the deep. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18) 154 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Binding 13 Walsh, Chloe | Bloom Books (626 pp.) $14.99 paper | Nov. 28, 2023 9781728299945 | Series: Boys of Tommen, 1

A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.

Beautiful, waiflike, 15-yearold Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born.

As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length).

The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.

A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)

Agriculture Through the Ages: From Silk to Supermarkets Woods, Michael & Mary B. Woods Twenty-First Century/Lerner (80 pp.) | $37.32 PLB | Jan. 1, 2024 Series: Technology Through the Ages

A broad historical overview of the invention and development of farming and animal husbandry.

This lightly reworked version of the authors’ Ancient Agricultural Technology (2011) offers a newly edited text, a fresh set of illustrations, and some new backmatter. As before, though Africa outside of ancient Egypt gets a pass, the authors do highlight tools, products, or techniques distinctive to other regions in prehistoric times and in ancient cultures, such as traditional Mayan agricultural practices, the breeding of white sheep to make cloth dying easier in the Middle East, crop rotation in the Roman Empire, and pearls and silk in ancient China. (Fermented beverages, as the book points out, were invented in many places: Tutankhamen was buried with 26 jugs of wine, and traces of alcohol have been found in Chinese pottery from roughly 7000-6600 BCE.) A final chapter brings the story up to date with nods to inventor Cyrus McCormick and mechanized farming, the growth of agribusiness, and the rediscovery of organic and sustainable farming in recent decades. The layout is attractive, with plenty of white space, ample illustrations, and text boxes with pertinent background information. The straightforward text is accessible for reluctant and struggling readers.

Doesn’t dig very deep but possibly useful for school reports. (timeline, glossary, source notes, selected bibliography, further reading, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction.

11-18)

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Computing Through the Ages: From Bones to Binary Woods, Michael & Mary B. Woods | TwentyFirst Century/Lerner (80 pp.) | $37.32 PLB Jan. 1, 2024 | Series: Technology Through the Ages

A history of mathematics and measuring devices from prehistory to early-modern times.

Offering a revised text and an overall redesign, if little new material, this refurbished version of Ancient Computing Technology (2011) presents descriptions (textual ones, at least; not all are actually illustrated) of ancient numbering systems and mathematical techniques worldwide up to binary code. The book also includes tools ranging from tally sticks and beam scales to calendars and mechanical calculators, such as the Antikythera mechanism. Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing get nods, but the development of modern electronic computing is packed into the final two paragraphs, with nary a mention of AI or quantum computing, and the appended timeline ends at 2005. Many of the pictures, while attractive, are at best tangentially relevant to the passages they accompany, but a few images of historical artifacts and reconstructed devices are included. A list of more recent “further reading” has been tacked on to the out-of-date bibliography, which is dominated by works from the 1970s and 1980s; the most recent source in the selected bibliography is a 2010 paper on Mayan mathematics.

Strictly for report writers and school libraries where the original is worn out. (glossary, index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 11-18) For another YA romance centering Vietnamese American characters, visit Kirkus online.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Kirkus Star

Lunar New Year Love Story

Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White

Yang, Gene Luen | Illus. by LeUyen Pham First Second (352 pp.) | $17.99 paper Jan. 9, 2024 | 9781250908261

Zhao, Amélie Wen | Delacorte (368 pp.) | $19.99 | $22.99 PLB | Jan. 2, 2024 9780593487549 | 9780593487556 PLB Series: Song of the Last Kingdom, 2

A teen girl has one year to break a curse that’s kept generations of her family from experiencing true love.

Vietnamese American Valentina Tran loved Valentine’s Day until freshman year, when her handcrafted cards were mocked by classmates, and her father told her she was too old to still be making annual valentines on behalf of her long-dead mother.

Then, during a surprise visit, her estranged paternal grandmother revealed a devastating family secret.

Suddenly, Valentina’s invisible childhood companion, a sweet cupid she’d always called Saint V, transformed into an ominous specter, Saint Valentine. Now, two years later, a jaded Valentina suffers through a disastrous date, the revelation of another family secret, and Saint Valentine’s return. The spirit demands that she give up her heart forever to avoid the pain of loss; inspired by the spark she felt with a lion dancer at the Têt new year festival, Valentina bargains for a year to fall in love. Set against the backdrop of Oakland, California’s rich Asian American community, Valentina’s quest is full of swoony moments that will satisfy romance readers, while her fearless journey of personal growth will win over everyone else. Full-color spreads effectively use a range of color schemes to shift readers between past and present, realistic and supernatural, and are most impressive when capturing the frenetic energy of the lion dances. Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean words are woven throughout the text.

The teens at the heart of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night (2023) continue to battle a colonizing army.

Lan knows that using the Silver Dragon’s Demon God power will lead to its taking over her mind and body.

Rather than wield this power against the imperialistic Elantians, she is searching for the Godslayer (believed by some to be mythical) to destroy the Four Demon Gods and their dark influence. As the Black Tortoise threatens his sanity, Zen searches his ravaged Mansorian homeland for a legendary army to destroy both the Elantians and his Demon God. As Lan and Zen fight to free the Last Kingdom, their paths once more become intertwined. The ongoing effects of harsh colonization on the diverse clans are carefully depicted throughout—for example, in Zen’s almost-forgotten ability to read his own language. Similarly, the devastation caused by wars, even just ones, is clearly discussed, alongside the impacts of sacrifices, grief, and “choices in a conquered land.”

While the exploration of power and its uses may feel familiar, it mirrors the need for balance that is reflected in the qì-based magic system and the Demon Gods’ mythology. Following an epic if rushed finale, the loose ends are tied up satisfactorily. The romance is believable and helps balance the larger political themes. In this kingdom inspired by ancient China, the Elantians are fantasy-world equivalents of white Europeans.

A sparkling romance anchored by a poignant coming-of-age story.

(Graphic romance. 13-18)

An action-filled tale of love, magic, and demons. (map, chronology) (Fantasy.

14-18)

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 155

Indie

CHAYA SCHECHNER

WE’VE SEEN a steady

increase in guides for running ethical, people-first companies—a welcome contrast to economist Milton Friedman’s “greed is good” ethos that defined the 1980s. Many economists, including Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize–winning professor of economics at Columbia University, believe Friedman’s shareholder-primacy approach has given us everything from increased economic, racial, and health inequalities to the climate catastrophe. These starred Indie titles skip the Gordon Gekko approach and instead talk about government intervention, policies of inclusion, and whistleblowing.

Effective management needs much more than catchphrases, and Edward R. Shapiro’s Finding a Place To Stand (2020) provides a breakdown of human dynamics, starting with the

family, and shows how these dynamics shape office interactions. The author says, “The more we become aware that our experience of ourselves is affected by others… the less sure we seem to be about where our individual experience begins and ends.”

Shapiro, a psychiatrist and organizational consultant, examines the impact of the workplace on employees and vice versa. He explains that the government can improve a lot of lives by instituting appropriate, people-centric policy and regulations (exactly what Friedman opposed): “In assuming its own mature responsibilities for contributing to the marginalization of subgroups both within and without, this country might offer a realistic hope for transcending differences in the service of a larger integrative mission.” Our reviewer calls Shapiro’s guide “an observant, discerning work on understanding and

improving organizations.”

In Together We Decide (2022), Craig Freshley notes the folly of crowds and points to climate change as an example. But we’re capable of learning how to make better group decisions. This guide encourages readers to build inclusive cultures where a range of ideas are shared, understood, and evaluated. “Freshley makes a strong case for the value of inclusivity and provides specific actions aimed at fostering a culture in which every group member feels welcome and heard,” says our reviewer. “To that end, he advocates collaboration, consensus-building, and establishing clear and transparent procedures, among other strategies. On the other hand, he contends that competition-based decision-making is a bad way to handle disputes and causes ‘a lot of collateral damage.’ ” Overall, our reviewer

touts the manual for positioning inclusivity as a pragmatic, beneficial management style. “This book provides know-how that organizations, businesses, and communities may find empowering and offers hope that people can successfully address major challenges of the era by working together: ‘It’s not us versus them, it’s just us.’ ” While it’s great to see a collective emphasis on running ethical companies, sidestepping regulations is a perennial occurrence. In The Rules for Whistleblowers (2023), Stephen M. Kohn, a lawyer and defender of workers’ rights, outlines new U.S. laws designed to protect whistleblowers, including the Dodd–Frank Act. Kohn keeps these guidelines appealingly simple: “Be Confidential,” “Document, Document, Document,” “Don’t Tip Off the Crooks,” and so on.

“While the rules are unfailingly interesting, Kohn is even more fascinating when he addresses the doubts or insecurities potential whistleblowers might experience,” our reviewer notes.

“Definitive and compulsively readable.”

Chaya Schechner is the president of Kirkus Indie.

156 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Illustration by Eric Scott Anderson

GOOD BUSINESS

INDIE

EDITOR’S PICK Cinephile and film director Irvin presents a compilation of his 1970s fanzine interviews of horror-film legends, paired with a memoir.

Among other works, the author directed the comedy-horror film Elvira’s Haunted Hills (2001), and actor Cassandra Peterson— Elvira herself—provides this book’s foreword. It begins with an account of how Irvin, a North Carolina native, fell in love with horror films at an early age via the 1960s Saturday-afternoon TV show Shock Theater.

He had access to other free films, as well, since his father and grandfather were both in the movie theater business. In 1971, 15-yearold Irvin started his own fanzine, Pit, which, after two issues, he relaunched as

These Titles Earned the Kirkus Star

KIRKUS REVIEWS

Bizarre. The latter’s sophomore issue was a turning point, with director Peter Sasdy and actors Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, and Ingrid Pitt all responding to his questionnaires.

In 1974, he visited London and conducted in-person interviews with Lee, Pitt, and other luminaries, many of whom worked on movies from British studio Hammer Film Productions. This book includes every Bizarre interview in the fanzine’s brief four-issue run; they’re unabridged, and feature occasional cheeky or offensive remarks, as when film composer Malcolm Williamson calls actor Veronica Carlson an “oversized dumb broad.” Irvin adds his own notes to clarify such things as a movie’s title change or to express embarrassment

159

A Dark White Postscript

By E.R. Bills

157

I Was a Teenage Monster Hunter!

By Sam Irvin; illus.

by Dan Gallagher

I Was a Teenage Monster Hunter!: How I Met Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing & More!

Irvin, Sam; illus. by Dan Gallagher | Self (352 pp.) $61.12 | $51.12 paper | Nov. 21, 2022 9798363169243 | 9798353545842 paper

over an awkward question (“Cringe!”). This colorful, oversized book shines a light on Irvin’s personal life, too, primarily focusing on the 1960s and ’70s, when, as a closeted gay person, he was afraid of discussing such topics as a movie’s gay subtext. The interviews contain fun tidbits, including unfiltered opinions of cast or crew members, such as actor Donald Pleasence’s amusing criticism of his feline co-stars in You Only

Live Twice (1967). Irvin has stories of his own, as well, from his welcome encounters with horror icon Vincent Price to his difficulties securing an in-person interview with Cushing.

Personal and on-set photos enliven the book, as does Gallagher’s full-page, cartoon-style artwork featuring an orange-haired Irvin who, at one point, is portrayed as literally starry-eyed.

A horror fan shares his love of the genre in this superb work.

166

Conch Pearl

By Julie E. Justicz

176

Adventures of Takuan From Koto

By Ryu Zhong

For more Indie content, visit Kirkus online.

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 157

INDIE

Tracing Inca Trails: An Adventure in the Andes Ancinas, Eddy | She Writes Press (200 pp.) | $17.95 paper | Sept. 20, 2022 9781647422776

Many years after the fact, writer and amateur adventurer Ancinas recounts an extraordinary seven-day adventure on horseback through the Andes in this

travel memoir.

In the summer of 1984, the then-50year-old author traveled to Peru in the company of her two best friends: Kate, a competent, athletic, and generally unflappable 60-year-old nurse, and Tricia, a former archaeology student and an insatiably curious and optimistic artist and collector. (Some people’s names have been changed in this remembrance, according to the author.)

The idea originated six months earlier, when Ancinas’ friend Bill Roberson shared slides of his recent trip to Peru over dinner with her and her husband, Osvaldo, in January, hoping they might join him on his next excursion.

Osvaldo wasn’t sold, but for Ancinas, the “vision of that mountain—its serene beauty and its potential violence— held an attraction for me that I could neither explain nor escape.” So she, Katie, and Tricia traveled to Cusco, where they met Bill and a host of other guides and adventurers who accompanied them on their journey. They make their way to the Urubamba Valley (the “Sacred Valley of the Incas”), where they don their gear, mount horses, and begin their trek. Myriad challenges confront the group over the course of their week: local, tourist-targeting terrorists they must avoid; severe injuries; and so many ostensibly well-laid plans gone awry that Eddy concludes, “If you don’t have a plan in the first place, you won’t have to change it.”

Ancinas’ prose is sturdy and observant, registering the Peruvian landscape in fine, primarily visual detail: “Sunscorched red clay mountains form a 158 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

barrier between us and the green rolling hills that descend to the Pacific coast.”

She largely successfully intersperses her travel narrative with moments that feature helpful sociocultural and historical context, as well as black-andwhite photographs taken by the author on the trip—although these images seem somewhat unnecessary, as the text ends up being far more powerful than the grainy images. Overall, the memoir succeeds on the sheer strength of its passion and self-reflectiveness.

A vivid and thoughtful adventure narrative that’s sure to appeal to other travelers.

A Delicate Marriage Barresi, Margarita | Atmosphere Press (352 pp.) | $17.99 paper | Oct. 10, 2023 9781639889303

A love story unfolds during a turbulent time in Puerto Rican history in this debut historical novel.

In 1928, 14-yearold Marco Rios loses his father and grandmother when a hurricane devastates the town of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. Left to care for his mother and younger sister, Julia, and experiencing the poverty left in the hurricane’s wake, Marco vows to “dedicate his life to improving the circumstances of his people.” Seven years later, he is a business student at the University of Puerto Rico when he meets Isabela, the socialite daughter of Don Gabriel Soto, one of the wealthiest men on the island. Despite her father’s misgivings, Isabela finds the earnest and ambitious Marco charming. After their marriage in 1937, Marco enjoys a thriving career with the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Agency while Isabela begins teaching adults to read and write in the poverty-stricken El Fanguito slum. When Isabela becomes pregnant, Marco forms a construction company called Solemar Enterprises with his friend Sammy.

As their family grows, Marco’s and

Isabela’s political allegiances create a divide within the marriage. Marco supports working with the Americans to secure the island’s future, while Isabela backs Puerto Rican nationalism. She starts a magazine called Letras Boricuas to promote Puerto Rican art and culture, “highlighting the island’s history and varied heritage.” Isabela also grows close to journalist Antonio Badilla, a staunch nationalist. When her loyalties lead to her involvement in a shocking act of political violence, Marco and Isabela are left to wonder if their marriage will survive. Barresi is a naturally gifted storyteller with a talent for narrative structure. The chapters alternate between Marco’s and Isabela’s perspectives, giving readers both sides of their story. The couple’s relationship unfolds at a steady but unhurried pace, which allows their inner lives and shifting political sympathies to evolve in a realistic manner. The wealth of historical details bolsters the novel. The author references major political figures of the time—including Marco’s preferred gubernatorial candidate, Luis Muñoz Marín, and nationalist firebrand Pedro Albizu Campos—throughout the story.

What emerges is a fully three-dimensional portrait of a couple trying to find a way forward in a time of political and social upheaval.

An absorbing and deeply nuanced romance.

Deep Blue Cover: The Pledged Barrows, Joel W. | Down & Out Books (227 pp.) | Oct. 23, 2023

An undercover federal agent investigates a police officer’s brutal hit-and-run death: Could it have been a planned attack by a member of the force?

In this fifth installment of Barrows’ thriller series, agent David Ward of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is on a Colorado ski KIRKUS REVIEWS

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trip with his significant other, Rowan Parks. But then his boss asks him to slip into a Florida police force that might have one or more extremely bad apples. One of them could have been driving the pickup truck that mowed down Deputy Jackson Garrett as he stood issuing a speeding ticket on a rural Panhandle road. Tallahassee Sheriff Eli Coe “thinks his office has been infiltrated by the Oath Keepers and the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association.” One or more officers engaged in such a group might have had it in for Garrett. Ward’s undercover name is Samuel Audie Hill. As he’s brought in as part of the SWAT unit, he alters his appearance to “a more SWAT-like look,” which includes a buzz cut and a shaved-off beard. (When he texts a photograph of his new style to Rowan, she responds, “I love you, anyway?”) Ward learns quickly that some of his fellow officers have strong feelings against Florida Gov. Thomas Fuller because he favors “reasonable restrictions on assault weapons,” promoted mask-wearing during the Covid-19 pandemic, and “stole” the primary election from fellow candidate and “true conservative” state Sen. Bryce Collins. Mirroring the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, a coup may be in the offing. The timeliness of the story is a plus, though readers’ appreciation may vary according to their political views. The pacing is brisk; the writing is crisp (“The handshake was not a contest, but a greeting”), and the details are often amusing: “Ward was struck by the shark mounted above the bed.” Ward is a most likable protagonist and the other characters are realistic, but there are so many lieutenants, deputies, and detectives that readers may need a scorecard.

Timely and tense; a worthy addition to a thriller series.

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You Get the Agency You Deserve: 20 Practical and Emotional Lessons To Maximize Your Agency and Partner Relationship Belsky, Jared | Ripples Media (126 pp.) $24.99 | $15.99 paper | Aug. 9, 2023 9798988270614 | 9798988270607 paper

A guide offers a multifaceted plan for helping executives and firms work more effectively with their marketing agencies.

Belsky, the CEO of a digital marketing agency, opens his compact book by observing that there are plenty of people employed in managing the relationships between companies and the consulting agencies they hire. Unfortunately, he points out, there’s comparatively little emphasis on improving the relationships between clients and their agencies.

The author cites three reasons for this: Executives seldom feel compelled to be better clients; they rarely understand why they should try; and they have little or no available coaching on how to improve along those lines. In these pages, Belsky offers a lean, systematic outline of how to be a better client, drawing on his experience interviewing over 100 CEOs, chief marketing officers, and other business leaders.

Too many clients seem to believe that it’s their agencies’ job to solve any problems in relationships, but the author argues that executives working from their end to improve things will maximize efficiency and profits. What are the key ingredients, for instance, of the great “brief” that will help align what the client wants with what the agency is offering? Every brand or marketing campaign has its own tone, for example. Belsky suggests asking what that tone is (“Is it lively? Is it tranquil? Is it playful? Is it serious or informative?”). It’s through this basic, ground-up approach (how to work conference calls, how to break down presentations, even how to decide

whether or not hiring an agency is necessary in the first place), combined with plenty of short sections and numbered points, that the author demystifies the process by which executives can better work with the agencies they hire. He smoothly and expertly lays out simple, useful lessons that are too often overlooked in the business world.

A helpful, practical, and approachable playbook for improving client and marketing agency relationships.

Kirkus Star

A Dark White Postscript Bills, E.R. | Self (86 pp.) | $12.89 paper Aug. 14, 2023 | 9798218252229

In Bills’ novella, a small town’s racist past demands a reckoning.

Billy Dunphee, sheriff of the county that contains the tiny town of Harkin, Texas, is called to investigate a mysterious event: Edna Jenkins, calling from Troup, an even smaller town, is alarmed because something bizarre has happened to her grandfather, Tieg Bertram, who has only recently returned to the Harkin area. When Sheriff Dunphee arrives, he finds a pile of ashes on a bed (“I don’t mean to be indelicate, but I have to ask,” Dunphee says to Edna. “You didn’t do this, did you?”). Strange as it seems, Bertram appears to be the victim of spontaneous combustion.

Sheriff Dunphee is still reeling when he mentions it to local diner owner Nat, who gives him another surprise: Bertram had been part of a horrible crime a generation ago, when seven young Harkin men lynched a Black man named Pettigrew Smith—on the damning accusation of Dunphee’s own grandmother. “Harkin wasn’t big enough for secrets,” Dunphee believed, but now, “he suddenly felt like he had no idea where he was from or who the people he grew up with NOVEMBER 15, 2023 159

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were.” A seemingly impossible threat is stalking the surviving participants in that long-ago crime, with Sheriff Dunphee caught in the middle. From this fraught premise, Bills crafts a very effective thriller that adroitly doubles as a meditation on the region’s blooddrenched racial history. (“The game went on and on,” Nat tells Dunphee.

“White folks just kept going, running up the score—and black folks just kept on dyin.’ ”) In quick, deft strokes, Bills crafts a believable cast, ratchets up the tension, and provides a thoroughly satisfying twist at the end of the tale.

This short, powerful story is first-rate, thinking person’s horror writing.

A compact, harrowing story of a vengeful curse unleashed.

All Roads Lead to Murder Bird, Stewart | Self (609 pp.) | $35.00 paper June 30, 2023 | 9798850121686

Bird chronicles an aging New York detective’s cases in this trio of crime stories.

Mo Shuman is a police detective in New York’s 12th Precinct.

Known as “Shuman the Human” for his unusually strong sense of empathy (at least for a cop), he finds his humanity challenged and reaffirmed in equal measure by the people he encounters on the Lower East Side. Along with his ex-partner and best friend, Mike Gallagher, Shuman is about the best New York has to offer when it comes to solving a tricky murder case, but now that he’s on the verge of retirement, he’s mentally preparing himself to leave it all behind; Bird covers the final cases of Shuman’s career in this omnibus collection. In “Murder at the Yeshiva,” the Yiddish-speaking Shuman is assigned to investigate the death of a yeshiva student underneath the Williamsburg Bridge. In fact, the young man was a student at the same yeshiva Shuman attended during an earlier, more religious period of his life. As Mo shepherds a new, less experienced 160 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

A well-crafted and engaging SF tale about space exploration.

RUTHLESS SKY

partner through the case, he’s moved to confront his relationship with his own Jewishness. In “One Murder at a Time,” Shuman eschews retirement to work with Gallagher again as part of a cold case unit. “Gallagher had pitched the Cold Case Squad as a bunch of dinosaurs who knew how to solve difficult cases. Shuman owed Gallagher big time. Gallagher had saved his life twice, and Shuman figured if he retired he’d never be able to pay off those debts.” It turns out, however, that some powerful people may not want two dinosaurs digging up long-buried bones. In the concluding “Go West Old Man,” murder strikes much closer to home— in Shuman’s own household—leaving the bereft ex-detective looking for a distraction from his pain. He finds one at the Texas border, of all places, where a reporter friend of his is suspected of murder after her girlfriend turns up missing. With each case, Shuman’s humanity is put further to the test—and eventually he may reach a breaking point.

Bird’s matter-of-fact prose mixes sober descriptions of his characters and the city with jocular back-and-forth exchanges between cops and civilians, as when Shuman’s lieutenant explains why he picked him and his partner for the yeshiva case: “ ‘Boss,’ said Dynaburski, ‘I really don’t know this yeshiva stuff.’ Mulroy turned to Dynaburski.

‘You’re Jewish, aren’t you?’ ‘But not like Orthodox or anything.’ ‘You two are the only Jewish homicide team in the city.

Even Israel can’t put together a team like this.’ ” Shuman makes for a winning protagonist—professional, mildly introverted, slightly haunted, with a deep love of New York City and of the close-knit Puerto Rican family he married into.

The pieces flow nicely into one another, telling a continuous story even as each

feels self-contained. The transition to Texas in the final volume may strike some readers as jarring, but regardless of the setting, Bird manages to capture the ways in which crime—and particularly murder—seems inextricably woven into the American experience.

A collection of three gripping, well-told police procedurals.

Ruthless Sky Broadwell, D.K. | Cosmic Cajun Press (234 pp.) | Nov. 10, 2023 9798989068005

In this alternative-history novel, a NASA shuttle mission in trouble and its astronauts are stranded in space, waiting for a plan that will allow them to safely return

home.

It’s 1989, and five hours after the space shuttle Intrepid has begun its milestone mission to deploy Odysseus, a billion-dollar solar probe, the crew members find a wing rupture on the vessel. While Odysseus takes off successfully—the first research probe launched from a polar orbit—the hole on the shuttle’s wing means the crew cannot get home unless mission control on Earth can quickly find a solution. The situation is further complicated by the failure of one of the shuttle’s communications systems.

What follows is a story that showcases the media circus that accompanies the mission, the internal politics at NASA and within the American government, and an unexpected offer of help from Russia in the middle of

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the Cold War. The tale blends these elements with the complex dynamics between the astronauts trapped on the Intrepid—portrayed with an enjoyable touch of humor (“Yesterday I would have killed for a videotape of Ghostbusters, but things are going to get interesting very soon. I was getting bored”)—and a romantic storyline that centers on Capt. Stephen Hayes Bartlett and Dr. Catherine “Cat” Riley.

Broadwell’s engrossing SF tale delivers an alternative history in which the 1986 Challenger mission was successful, emboldening NASA to run riskier operations. The narrative skillfully goes back and forth in time, from the months leading up to the shuttle’s launch to the dangerous mission, the rescue attempts (some of which lead to tragic consequences), and the aftermath. While the story breezily details the crew’s difficulties and the proposals to fix the shuttle, it focuses on the romantic relationship between Cat and Stephen with touching results.

A well-crafted and engaging SF tale about space exploration.

Lion’s Game: Masters of Mali Brown, Kevin W. | Illus. by Moc Thy | Black Sands Entertainment (148 pp.) | $19.99 Dec. 12, 2023 | 9798988182801

The descendant of a murdered Mali king seeks revenge in Brown’s historical graphic novel series opener.

In the year 1300, the king (or Mansa) of the Mali Empire is betrayed by the rival Keita clan; they attack, and only the king’s daughter, the princess Yafa, and her newborn survive the massacre. She escapes the capital city of Niani swearing revenge. Roughly 120 years later, the young assassin Diata, Yafa’s descendant, arrives in Timbuktu seeking a route to Niani to exact vengeance. The Keita clan have maintained control of the empire amidst power shifts between KIRKUS REVIEWS

the ruling castes of Mali society, but their current leader, Foamed, believes that concentrating power within the warrior (Ton-tigi) and noble castes (Horon) impedes society. He has called for a national tournament to determine the next Sankar Zouma, a prestigious military position, and has opened it to men of any caste, including the artisans (Nyamakala) and the enslaved (Jonow).

Diata convinces his family to let him compete, despite being only 19 years old. His name translates to “lion,” and, while his powers aren’t explained, he possesses the strength, hyper-senses, and reflexes of his namesake. Illustrator Thy uses a manga comic style to render the rich visual world of 15th-century Mali with distinctive character designs and dynamic, bloody fight scenes. Brown orchestrates many moving pieces and creates opportunities for the brash and stoic Diata to grow throughout the series, even inserting humorous beats (“Watch out for the vipers tonight.

They can get pretty aggressive around this time of year”) in the brisk, highstakes plot. The work depicts many cultural and societal norms that are at times hard to keep track of, but breaks in the chapters provide more context, and Brown avoids overloading his dialogue with exposition. With many viable warriors in the mix, the tournament—and the empire’s future—is anyone’s game.

An intriguing, confident first entry in what promises to be a riveting historical series.

Tin Soldiers Chadwick, David | Matador (376 pp.) $10.99 paper | June 28, 2023 9781803136387

In this novel, a Kent State–like National Guard shooting plunges a compromised soldier/journalist into a deadly web of conspiracy and cover-ups.

The year is 1970. Vietnam veteran Wat Tyler

has returned home under a shadow of controversy. The word is that he “developed a mile-wide yellow streak and withdrew your Green Berets in an act of gross cowardice that exposed a whole infantry company to enemy fire and cost the lives of two dozen of our boys.” He has returned to his position as a reporter for the New York Examiner under city editor Maggie Call, his adoptive mom and mentor. Maggie rescued the former teenage delinquent, who never graduated from high school, from the Brooklyn streets and taught him his trade. He enlists in the National Guard, where his presence is decidedly not welcome by Col. Philip Sheridan Riley. “You’re not a captain” anymore, “and you’re not a hero,” Riley thunders during their first meeting. Tyler is investigating a recent anti-war protest shooting on the Ramskill University campus, which came just three days after the National Guard killed four students at Kent State. The Ramskill shooting took the lives of two professors and a congresswoman’s son, and it was Riley who deployed more than 1,200 guardsmen that day. The dozen soldiers involved in the shooting belonged to the same outfit that Tyler is joining. Chadwick launches his Wat Tyler crime trilogy with this auspicious procedural that deftly establishes the period with evocative references (including the legendary rock palace the Fillmore). Tyler is a compelling figure with a fraught backstory on which to build a series.

He is a proficient journalist, but his military background affords him an action hero’s physicality, as when he comes to the aid of a homeless man being harassed by street punks. Chadwick, an award-winning journalist, refreshingly eschews the hard-boiled tone, but some dialogue is flat (“yeller-belly”), and the “talking killer” trope is trotted out. Still, the author knows his way around telling a conspiracy story, even one as convoluted (albeit covert) as this one.

A captivating crime tale that delivers a welcome new sleuth with writing chops.

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It forces readers to ponder what a utopia should be.

FAT H E R O F T H E F U T U R E

Half-Caste: Decidedly Brown in a Black or White World Cranston, Jerome | Tellwell Talent (120 pp.) | $16.00 paper | July 31, 2023 9780228895213

Cranston explores the Canadian color line in this debut memoir.

Having lived in Canada for more than half a century, the author, a scholar and activist, is a quintessential Canuck who hikes, camps, skis, and ice-skates, played hockey as a kid, and “even slept in a quinzhee on nights when the temperature was close to -20⁰C.” Yet, because of his racially ambiguous features and brown skin, his life has been plagued by a constant refrain, delivered by taxi drivers, cashiers, and colleagues: “Where are you from?” In this memoir of “self-discovery and self-acceptance,” the author grapples with his lifelong quest to belong in a racialized society whose “polarized Black-or-White world” only serves to further marginalize a “Brown” population that defies categorization.

The book’s early chapters center on how these racial dynamics and questions of identity affected Cranston’s childhood. “We’re Anglo-Indians,” his mother often emphasized, reminding him that “We aren’t even from India…

We were as British as the British.” The author ultimately chooses to identify as a “half-caste,” a term chosen “as a form of linguistic reclamation” for simply being “an exception to a flawed system” designed to keep him “on the outside peering in.” The author is 162 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

open about his struggles to accept that he was abused by his father (“He just hit me a few times. Three times; that’s all”) and about the ways in which his racial identity empowers his solidarity with Black and Indigenous Canadians.

As vice provost at the University of Saskatchewan and author of multiple books on building equitable classrooms (written during his career as an associate professor), Cranston is an acclaimed scholar-activist. His book, underpinned by a solid theoretical understanding of inequality and systemic racism, is an accessible memoir that highlights the ways in which the subtleties of racism continue to shape modern society.

This engaging and intimate memoir does not avoid difficult conversations.

Father of the Future Dash, Darren | Self (219 pp.) | $9.99 paper Oct. 18, 2023 | 9798862557152

A man living in a future utopia starts to ask philosophical questions that place him in peril in this SF thriller.

Dash’s protagonist, Cassique, is a “Fixer” in 2853. His job is to go back in time to repair history by extracting important figures and replacing them with specially trained agents. Cassique’s entire world is the product of the supercomputer Father, who runs life in the 29th century.

Father is responsible for the virtual realities and sex spas where the genetically created people he produces spend their leisure time. But eventually, Cassique begins to wonder if there

shouldn’t be more to life. Hoping to pull Cassique out of his funk, Father agrees to let him borrow an Original, one of those historical figures retrieved from the past. Cassique settles on philosopher and computer programmer Beta D, later adding Albert Einstein.

These young versions of those legends are appalled by how sanitized life has become in the future and how people are so docile about Father’s rule. And the longer the two luminaries continue to hack into Father’s records, the more they uncover about the terrifying truth behind his maneuvers. The trio must develop a plan to allow the people of Earth to regain their messy humanity while eluding Father’s watchful eye.

The most important accomplishment of Dash’s dystopian novel is that it forces readers to ponder what a utopia should be. Father abolished all that was bad about humanity but he also eliminated everything that was good.

His creations live in a world that’s all simulations. When workaholic Cassique is forced to take an extended vacation, he starts to question, in the words of Peggy Lee, “Is That All There Is?”: “In many ways he found past societies more interesting and stimulating than his own, though he was careful never to voice those views.”

He misses having a sense of family and community. Coming from earlier eras, Beta and Einstein hammer home what Cassique has missed out on as a human. Having gone back in time, Cassique has witnessed some of these developments himself, causing him to question how advanced his society really is. In this riveting, thoughtprovoking page-turner, the author makes clear why Cassique makes the choices he does.

This timely, gripping tale deftly illustrates the dangers of putting an artificial intelligence in charge.

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B O O K L I S T // I N D I E

Indie Books of the Month

1

2

3

1 La Casita Hispaniola

By Yajaida Aristhyl & Michelson Aristhyl; illus. by Brittany Gonzalez

A fresh family tale with vivid illustrations.

2 Sand Dollars by the Seashore

By E.G. Creel; illus.

by Elizaveta Kres

An easy-to-understand guide with an important message for young shell collectors.

3 Queenside

By Dima Novak

A riveting story of a fight for justice.

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4

4 Unmaking the Bomb

By Shannon Cram

A powerfully researched and important look at the ravages of nuclear waste remediation.

5 Unsinkable

By Alan Corcoran; illus. by Jack Spowart

A bold, uplifting testament to the tenacity of the human spirit.

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6 Ralph & Murray

By Rick Glaze

A funny, smartly observant, and philosophical animal tale; a heartwarming read.

6

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These Things Happen

Presner the Remarkable

Eon, Michael | Girl Friday Books (276 pp.) | $17.95 paper | Sept. 19, 2023 9781959411161

Eron, Don | Contingency Street Press (224 pp.) | $15.99 paper | Oct. 3, 2023 978-1958015049

Eon presents a debut novel that explores themes of addiction, mental health, and generational abuse in a tale set in Brooklyn over two decades.

The author pulls no punches in the gruesome opening scene, set in 1995, in which 32-year-old Daniel Zimmer finds his 34-year-old brother, Max, after the latter’s failed suicide attempt. The scene feeds into an ongoing theme of intergenerational family trauma; Daniel is an alcoholic who’s struggling to stay sober and handle his failing relationship with his girlfriend, Jill Woburn, and the reemergence of Brie Olsson, to whom he was once engaged. Daniel shares a special connection with Jill, which complicates their relationship further: When they were both kids, they experienced what Daniel calls “the most tragic event of either of our lives.” The narrative seamlessly switches back and forth between Daniel’s childhood in the 1970s and his adulthood in the 1990s to deliver a complex coming-of-age tale. The author masterfully crafts scenes to mirror each other; at one point during the ’70s, for instance, the brothers watch a man step off the roof of an asylum, and Max remarks that if he were forced into a place like that, he’d take his own life, too. This stays with Daniel years later as Max is held for involuntary psychiatric treatment after his suicide attempt. Through this weaving of past and present, readers witness Daniel deal with past traumas. But the book also functions as an oddly charming ode to growing up in Brooklyn and a subtle love letter to the music of the time as Daniel, who dreams of being a professional trumpet player, finds comfort in the music of Miles Davis, the Ramones, and Judas Priest.

In Eron’s debut novel, a failed lawyer takes stock of his life in the weeks leading up to the wedding of a rival.

Presner’s life since law school has not been what he hoped it would be. He’s spent the last 13 years working the graveyard shift selling magazines and cigarettes at a 24-hour newsstand and chipping away at his long-unfinished play. His friends from law school have gone on to high-powered careers, including his nemesis, Gary Marx, who has become a prominent ambulance chaser. Presner has never really forgiven Marx for stealing his girlfriend during law school (or for the cheesy commercials—“Gary got me $20,000”—that have run on television for the last few years). When another old friend stops by the store to let Presner know that Marx is engaged, Presner can’t feel happy for him—even if he plans, like the rest of the old crowd, to attend the wedding. Presner hopes it will provide an opportunity to jump-start his life: He’ll ask his longtime crush, Lisa Caner, to be his date, and he’ll finish his play so he’ll have something to brag to everyone about. But the reunion does not turn out to be the triumph that Presner hopes for. The keystone member of the group—the reason they are a group at all—has always been Norman Fitzhugh. Ever since Fitz helped Presner’s sister, both legally and emotionally, during her battle with cancer 12 years earlier, Presner has considered the man his closest friend. But when it becomes apparent that Fitz has been mismanaging his friends’ money, Presner must figure out how to help vindicate the man—a job that will take all the tricks Presner learned in law school and all the empathy he’s learned as a playwright.

Eron’s prose captures Presner’s

A nostalgic and often beautiful story of recovery.

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analytical, neurotic view of the world, with sentences folding in on themselves to accommodate stray thoughts and observations. Here he describes Presner’s unwillingness to show his play to his perennial crush, Lisa: “Since he’d met her, it was understood that she’d read his play when ready, when abandoned, to quote da Vinci (art’s never finished, but abandoned); even during their yearlong hiatus he had Caner in mind for this capacity—but now that he was sending it out Presner found himself demurring.” The novel unfolds slowly, with every incident filtered through its slacker protagonist’s self-deprecating, emotionally numbed commentary.

Presner is like a latter-day Bellow or Roth protagonist, navigating evergreen crises of aging and failure; Eron updates this tradition with Gen X concerns about art and authenticity.

The playwriting material feels slightly contrived (Chekhov comes up a lot, and the book is divided into five acts), but the legal material is quite inspired: In his relationship with the charming but untrustworthy Fitz, Presner is able to pick at the graces and flaws of the legal profession.

The book may read like it was published in the 1990s, but plenty of it remains relatable to millennials entering midlife.

A throwback literary novel about the anxiety of art and aging.

Kate’s War Henley, Linda Stewart | She Writes Press (285 pp.) | $17.95 paper | April 9, 2024 9781647426149

Henley’s third novel depicts the trials of a young aspiring singer at the outset of World War II. Twenty-year-old Englishwoman Kate Murphy has always dreamt of performing songs in front of an audience. The problem lies not in any lack of talent, but in her KIRKUS REVIEWS

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hiccupping, which began following the dissolution of her relationship with teen heartthrob Tony Trent and announces itself whenever she gets nervous. In September 1939, she decides to leave her parents’ home in Carshalton for an apartment closer to London, from which she intends to pursue her dream with the help of her Oxford University–educated best friend, Sybil Thorndyke. Kate’s announcement to her parents on the morning of September 3, however, is interrupted by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s televised declaration of war with Germany.

Everything changes as Kate’s mother, Mary Grace, descends into a seemingly interminable well of worry.

Kate puts off her departure, resuming her post teaching singing at St. Bridget’s School for Girls. Her youngest brother, Ryan, is sent to the country, where he’ll hopefully be safe from the threat of bombings. Sybil leaves, too—for where, she’s unable to say. Kate also begins to see Barry, a young mechanic who’s soon drafted to fight in Belgium. One somewhat peripheral subplot involves one of Kate’s students—a Jewish German refugee named Hannah Bell, whose parents beg Kate to look after her; Kate’s potential rekindling of a past relationship and her ongoing efforts to banish her hiccups are also addressed. Taken altogether, English author Henley amasses ample and often compelling subject matter that keeps the narrative moving forward.

However, readers may be divided as to whether all the narratives bear themselves out effectively. Indeed, some may feel that the resolutions of some narrative threads feel halfhearted or rushed. Still, the book’s sturdy, sustained prose, as when Kate’s family listens to a speech by the king (“She scrutinised the long faces of her family. Everyone sat transfixed, unblinking. There was no way she could leave home just now”), will briskly propel readers through this generally thoughtful wartime bildungsroman.

A somewhat crowded but engagingly written historical drama.

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The story is rich in metaphorical action.

L O U D W AT E R

Loud Water Henson, Robby | Down & Out Books (240 pp.) | $18.00 paper | Aug. 28, 2023 9781643963273

An ex-con struggles to escape his criminal past in Henson’s debut novel.

Crit Poppwell is paroled after serving nearly all of his 15-year stint on a drugs and weapons charge. He returns to Breathitt County, Kentucky, suffering from ever-ringing tinnitus (from an inmate’s unwarranted assault) and cultivating a newly discovered skill in art. He takes a room in a local motel, snags a part-time gig as a garbage collector, and, with encouragement from Sister Nikhael (who teaches art to inmates), plans to sell his illustrations. Now Crit can start afresh, though he may not want to, as he’s weighed down by guilt over an unforgivable crime he got away with prior to his incarceration. He does, however, strive to stay off drugs, which means avoiding his dope-peddling younger brother, Chrome. But Crit also wants to help his motel neighbor, Rennie, a single mother and a user hooked on Chrome’s illicit goods. Henson’s flawed hero gradually earns sympathy in this somber, riveting drama; Crit, who’s lived a life of crime, may push people away, but he seems to be a better man than he once was. Even the details about his worst transgression, while startling, explain his yearslong suffering and his “death wish” while behind bars. The story is rich in metaphorical action, from Crit doing maintenance around the dilapidated motel to renewing his expired driver’s license. The author deftly incorporates these elements into the narrative and

delivers prose that engages the senses with descriptions of driving on a muddy Kentucky road in the “fragrant and damp” air while hearing the song of crickets and spying a “rusted old farm implement.” Despite the novel’s tendency to lean toward gloominess, supporting characters such as Rennie and Sister Nikhael provide welcome signs of hope.

A grim, profound, and well-crafted tale of redemption.

The Clock Setter Johnson, E.W. | Self (306 pp.) | $13.99 paper Aug. 7, 2023 | 9798856428611

A physician takes on a fraudulent enterprise in the latest installment of Johnson’s Dr. Sean Nolan mystery series.

Widowed Washington state family physician and single father Dr. Sean Nolan returns for another episode of medical malfeasance, this time involving a clinic embroiled in Medicare fraud. Perhaps feeling the weight of all the cases he has insinuated himself into in past episodes, Nolan feels the need to sit this one out and let the authorities handle things— but not before he shores up as many details about the clinic as he can. This course of action, unsurprisingly, puts him in harm’s way almost immediately.

When a new patient, Mr. Villegas, comes into Nolan’s medical clinic seeking help for uncontrolled diabetes, he reports having received inappropriate care from another facility, which moves the good doctor to investigate this mysterious “amateur-hour clinic.” He immediately suspects billing fraud after discovering that the clinic, Apex Medical Specialties NOVEMBER 15, 2023 165

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in downtown Seattle, falsified delivering a battery of tests unrelated to Villegas’ condition. Nolan begins to personally investigate AMS, hoping to find answers and pass them along to the authorities.

A small group of reliable (and familiar from past entries) colleagues, among them Jed Marcus and ABCDE Garner, is assembled to assist; their inquiries raise suspicions among the group overseeing the clinic, namely “businessman” Raphael Silvidio, who threatens Nolan and his two daughters with deadly consequences should the doctor expose his $100 million operation. Many entries in Johnson’s series capitalize on a facet of modern medicine that is being exploited, often quite relatably; this feature alone is enough to keep readers riveted. But it is family man Dr. Nolan who keeps the audience on its toes with his stealthy sleuthing, keen eye for details, defiant attitude, and sharp, effervescent wit. Devotees of the series will welcome this new volume with great fanfare.

A medical thriller with suspense and intrigue to spare, anchored by an indefatigable hero.

Wyonation Jones, Dallas | Guy Talk Press (290 pp.) $19.99 paper | Sept. 6, 2023 | 9780999001738

In Jones’ speculative fiction novel, Wyoming loses its statehood and becomes a new political entity.

In a time “many years from now,” a poacher has just been killed in Wyonation, the region formerly known as the state of Wyoming. Due to the 28th Amendment of the United States Constitution ratifying a requirement that all states have a citizenry the size of at least 1/700th of the nation’s population, Wyoming has lost its statehood.

Described as a “brand-new, geographical entity… that lies entirely inside” the U.S. borders, Wyonation has its own governing body and laws, and its residents live by different rules. With the death of 166 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

the poacher, who’s discovered to have been a Chinese national, a whole set of negotiations with representatives from the Chinese government must begin, with the U.S. acting as an estranged middleman. After a tense afternoon of back-and-forth between politicians on both sides, Grayson Woodley, who was the point person for protecting Wyoming citizens during the state’s transition, decides to get a drink at a local bar to wind down and is joined by Mr. Tang, one of the Chinese delegates.

Tang is very interested to learn how Wyonation went from statehood to its new designation, and in Woodley’s role in it all. Though Woodley is careful not to reveal too much information to a foreign agent, it seems as though Tang may be more involved in Wyonation’s creation than Woodley could have ever guessed. This speculative novel deftly develops its fascinating concept by detailing the politics that go into creating a new region almost entirely from scratch. Grayson Woodley is a likable hero—a small-town Wyoming man forced into political life to try to save his state, managing to make friends on both sides of the fence with his easygoing attitude and general likeability. The back-and-forth-in-time structure of the story keeps the plot moving briskly, and the political material, rather than dragging the story down, proves intriguing.

An entertaining speculative fiction novel with an affable hero stuck in a rough political situation.

Kirkus Star

Conch Pearl Justicz, Julie E. | Fomite (324 pp.) $18.95 paper | Oct. 10, 2023 | 781959984115

A young girl growing up in the Bahamas in the 1970s must navigate obvious and hidden dangers alike in Justicz’s novel.

Twelve-year-old Domini Dawes, known to her friends as Dede, is a white

English girl who lives in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. The novel opens with her pinned to a boat in fear as a storm rages all around her. The story then backtracks to describe Dede’s life prior to becoming lost at sea, a life in which she already appears to be cast adrift. Her mother’s boyfriend, Silvio, is reputed to be “moving drugs” and shows little interest in her. Her mother, Anita, is a croupier who leaves Dede to her own devices each evening while she works at the local casino. Bullied at school by Jethro, the son of a bigwig politician, Dede has few allies. Johnnie McGuinn, the building manager at her apartment complex, seems to be one of the few people who are eager to spend time with her, but McGuinn has an unhealthy interest in prepubescent girls. Ethel Edgecombe, a sage Bahamian woman who also lives in her building, keeps a watchful eye over Dede, but McGuinn is intent on worming his way into her confidence. Frustrations at school, coupled with the sickening desires of the building manager, lead Dede to take a boat and head recklessly out to sea. She finds herself washed ashore on a strange island and under the guardianship of a woman named Harmony Knowles; Dede is unsure if Harmony is a figment of her imagination or real. Will Dede make it back to Freeport, and will the men in her life pay for the damage they have inflicted on her?

In this finely crafted novel, the author effortlessly builds complex psychological portraits of her main characters. Dede is ferociously indignant yet childishly naïve, particularly when unwittingly renaming her predator, “Johnnie Angel”: “Mr. McGuinn. It’s my nickname for him. He’s always sunburning his forehead.” In the character of McGuinn, Justicz convincingly takes readers into the revolting mind of a pedophile: “The bra she now wore; her breasts had grown in the past three months, and she was shaving under her arms. If she hadn’t already, she’d soon go through the change that ruined them all.” The novel presents a nuanced treatment of complex themes, from male domination of women to issues of racial inequality. When Ethel, a Bahamian by birth, recalls attending university in England, KIRKUS REVIEWS

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A clever tale with lessons about envy and avarice mingled with humor.

TH E M O N EY FAI RY

the slur “over-sized darky” remains with her. Yet she also feels like an outsider attending an upscale event in Freeport: “Still trying to impress a social club that had no room for the likes of her.”

Justicz also has a captivatingly unique descriptive style: When Dede grips the armrests of her chair in anguish, the author notes: “If she squeezed any tighter, the truth would come out of the furniture.” The final part of the novel, which revisits the Bahamas in the 21st century, unnecessarily tries to tie up the loose ends a little too tightly—but the book’s conclusion presents some unexpected twists that are definitely worth waiting for. A stirring celebration of strong-minded women, this is a superb offering by a truly talented author.

Sharp, beautifully textured writing.

The Money Fairy Kanter, Thanael & S. Lucia Kanter St. Amour Illus. by Charlotte Philtjens | Pactum Factum Press (32 pp.) | $12.95 paper May 14, 2023 | 9798986446141

Kanter and St. Amour’s picture book presents a modern-day fable of money and greed.

Armando and his wife, Elisa, have four children and live a comfortable life on the estate of wealthy Giuliano Cantore. Elisa is “endowed with fanciful ideas—but also a pragmatist.” Armando, meanwhile, “wished to buy Giuliano’s estate someday,” and keeps his life savings of gold coins in a small wine barrel. Early on, the narrator introduces readers to “Puttifurbi”—beings who mysteriously and KIRKUS REVIEWS

mischievously move people’s possessions around. One day, Armando awakens to happily discover that “eleven gold coins tumbled from his tousled hair and onto the wood-planked floor.” This apparent “gift from the angels” continues nightly, but Elisa believes it’s a Puttifurbi prank.

The authors weave a rich, traditional fable, frequently addressing “Dear reader” and offering reminders about “olden times.” Textual imagery will help young readers see the story in their mind’s eye: “the cold winter sun hung low like a pink jewel on the horizon.”

It’s a clever tale with lessons about envy and avarice mingled with humor, with an ending that includes a major real-life historical figure. Secondary characters, such as Elise’s grandmother, Lucia, and Armando’s brother, Marco, are also entertaining. Philtjens’ illustrations complement the text well with their whimsical style and rich, warm colors.

A fanciful tale that’s likely to delight young readers.

Reading Jane: A Daughter’s Memoir Kennedy, Susannah | Sibylline Press (306 pp.) | $18.99 paper | Sept. 5, 2023 9781736795477

Kennedy reads through her mother’s decades of diaries, reliving her childhood from her mother’s perspective.

The author’s mother, Jane, died by suicide, leaving her affairs and possessions to be sorted out by her daughter. A few years later, Kennedy began to read through

her mother’s diaries, which spanned decades, in an effort to understand Jane’s choice. In the process of reading, she pieced together forgotten elements from her childhood to find some closure to their relationship.

Through the diary entries included throughout the text, Kennedy details the strained relationship she had with her constantly critical mother. One of the primary motivations for her criticism seemed to come from Jane’s perception of the author’s similarities to her father, Alan, a physically abusive alcoholic she divorced when Kennedy was 6 years old. As the author moves through the diaries, Jane is revealed to have been a relatively indifferent mother whose criticisms formed a number of Kennedy’s insecurities. While recounting her life through the lens of the diary entries, the author also ponders interesting metacognitive questions about writing and memory (“it’s like those times we drive and then realize we are twenty miles farther along and don’t remember getting there. What is really going on with me?”); the structure of the memoir is loosely chronological, containing parallel narratives, with one timeline progressing from the moment Kennedy found out about her mother’s death and the other following her mother’s diaries as they relate to her childhood. Occasionally, the time jumps can be confusing, but for the most part they strengthen the narrative—the structure gives Kennedy an effective method for making comparison between herself and her mother. The memoir’s conclusion demonstrates a significant degree of empowerment gained from the harrowing project.

A heart-wrenching dissection of a toxic mother-daughter relationship.

For more Indie content, visit Kirkus online.

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Trapped in the Tunnel Lee, Katrina Hoover | Illus. by Josh Tufts Self (222 pp.) | $9.99 paper | July 7, 2021 9781735903538

Three young brothers endeavor to uncover the secret of the tunnels connecting their house to the one next door in Lee’s middlegrade novel.

In 1987, the Fitzpatrick siblings’ suburban neighborhood facilitates plenty of bicycling and athletic pursuits. Gary, the 13-year-old narrator, loves making lists, mediates between his bookish younger brother, Larry, and his klutzy older brother, Terry, and has a prosthetic leg as a result of cancer (he has been taught that people with disabilities, like him, “understand better how Jesus suffered on the cross”). Unsettled by the empty house next door and the men with “long, dirty hair” who have apparently begun squatting there, their mother, Arabella, plans to move the family to their relatives’ farm in Iowa. The boys’ parents, who advocate kindness to all mankind (and who may come across as somewhat aggressive in their religious zeal to some readers), give the boys an assignment to “learn about the fruit of the Spirit” over the summer, which involves mapping their loving actions on a chart each night at dinnertime. The boys discover that a house in their neighborhood may conceal a tunnel used by the Underground Railroad, which might have something to do with the men who have moved into the abandoned house and their cashrich German neighbor. Very little discussion of the Underground Railroad’s history emerges—it is evoked to explain the tunnel, and there are no Black characters. The book skews toward nostalgia and a vision of blissful American Christian homogeneity, but the characters do engage with issues of poverty and disability. The dialogue and prose are accessible for a 168 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

A wry, sensitive portrayal of the roiling turbulence of youth.

L A S T O F T H E F A M O U S I N T E R N AT I O N A L P L AY B O Y S

middle-grade audience, while the tone recalls an earlier generation of Hardy Boys–style suburban mysteries for children. Tufts’ delicate, brush-pen illustrations illuminate the book with images of the characters and settings in a 1980s style.

A retro-pastiche of suburban mystery that feels very nostalgic.

Last of the Famous International Playboys Lenain, Adam | Christmas Lake Press (328 pp.) | $29.99 | $19.99 paper Sept. 4, 2023 | 9781737700074 9781960865120 paper

In this novel, a young man muddles through tragedy and euphoria as he attempts to understand his place in the world.

It’s 1992 and Spencer Mazio has made a mess of things. As he tries to figure out how to wiggle out of his latest bout of trouble, the narrative jumps back to 1988, when he has arrived as a freshman at Yale University. Standing in line to sort out his overdue tuition payments, he meets Jonathon Vandershar III, an heir to a vast fortune who quickly takes Spencer under his wing and introduces him to drugs, booze, and the advantages of owning your own helicopter. Spencer was recruited by Yale to play on the baseball team but suffers from what he calls “the Dread,” a darkness that rears its head as either depression or uncontrollable anger: “The Dread is a shape-shifty

thing made of shadow, so I never know what form it will take or what it might do to me.” After starting a brawl on the baseball field during practice, Spencer finds himself in the Yale infirmary, where he meets the idealistic and upbeat John Henry.

The two become fast friends, even as Spencer starts an illegal sports gambling ring that threatens his future at Yale and his job offer at Goldman Sachs. As the chapters toggle between the past and present, readers catch a glimpse of both the quiet times and momentous shifts—along with a memorable cast of characters, including Jonathon and John Henry, who slip in and out of Spencer’s life—that help shape the protagonist. From a stay at the Widworth mental hospital and illfated affairs to a devastating betrayal and a tragic family history that he can’t bring himself to share, Spencer struggles to find what—and who—will bring him true happiness.

Spencer’s narration of his travails as a young man, veering between hopelessly depressing and delightfully sardonic moments, will likely remind some readers of a 1990s Holden Caulfield (complete with the occasional foul language). Spencer’s observations about those around him can be surprisingly insightful: “A few years ago Town & Country dubbed them American Royalty, but as far as I could tell, the Vandershars were all just completely unreliable.”

But that kind of capacity makes it all the more frustrating in the frequent scenes in which he is unable to apply the gift to himself. Still, inability is what makes Spencer such a compelling narrator—his desperate attempt to escape childhood is one that will be familiar to many. The KIRKUS REVIEWS

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A refreshing story that acknowledges that some people have more than one true love.

Salmon, Cedar, Rock & Rain: Washington’s Olympic Peninsula

M Y T W O A N D O N LY

McNulty explores the past, present, and future of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula in this nonfiction work.

The state of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula is a land rich in beauty and biodiversity. Anchored by Olympic National Park and containing Hoh, one of the United States’ last remaining rain forests, the area was once seen as the country’s last frontier, a wilderness that called to eccentrics, lush and full of life but paradoxically gloomy and claustrophobic. A rousing array of photos from numerous photographers captures the region’s rigid cliffs and curved rocky capes, moist seabeds and glistening-yet-muddy beaches, moss-covered trees and tangled roots, and the diverse species of fish, birds, and other fauna that call it all home.

Global warming has affected the Olympic Peninsula; the salmon no longer return in the numbers they once did, and the Anderson Glacier is now Moraine Lake. Additional essays, many by Indigenous residents, recall the history and sacred places of the Klallam and S’Kallam tribes, the songs and legends of the Makah peoples, and the close relationships of the Quileute, Hoh, and Quinault tribes with the rivers and ocean (“The halibut spirit, for example, could make fish come to the shore so that all of the village could acquire them”). The book’s gorgeous color photographs are easy to get lost in, but they become quite sobering when considered in the context of climate change’s impacts.

Recent efforts to remedy the multigenerational trauma inflicted by white settlers on the Indigenous peoples (and other ill effects of meddling in the region) offer hope that the area’s decline need not be

tale’s dialogue flows at an impressive pace, with lightning-quick conversations broken up by enough muted observations by Spencer to slow it all down: “The whole town seemed vertical, rising up from a small yacht-filled harbor into wooded hills, and the buildings were all colored like the sherbets Papa and I used to eat when I was a kid—orange Creamsicle stacked on top of pink lemonade stacked on top of pomegranate sunrise stacked on top of lemon meringue.” Lenain has crafted an emotional, well-balanced novel that ultimately reminds readers that everyone has an engaging story to tell.

A wry, sensitive portrayal of the roiling turbulence of youth in all its messiness.

My Two and Only Malden, Carla | Rare Bird Books (212 pp.) $22.30 | Aug. 8, 2023 | 9781644283592

In Malden’s novel, an interior designer and mother of two grapples with how to deal with the unexpected after her husband dies.

Life isn’t always a fairy tale; most of the time, it’s far from it. Charlotte Most learns this lesson the hard way when she unexpectedly loses her husband, Paul, at the end of an unremarkable, errand-filled day. In the years that follow, Charlotte does the best that she can; she continues to raise her two children and takes on new clients for her interior design KIRKUS REVIEWS

business. But love remains one area of her life that remains stagnant—until a chance encounter at a fast-food drive-thru in which a tearful Charlotte crosses paths with Brian Novak, a divorced attorney. The two strike up a friendship after Brian, who was ahead of her in line, pays for Charlotte’s food and adds a milkshake to her order, which leads to a friendly and revealing conversation. After a few years, the two begin dating, and everything’s great until Brian proposes on the eve of the biggest moment of Charlotte’s career; it forces her to reckon with whether she can move on without erasing Paul from her life.

Malden’s story is exceptionally well told, with descriptions that allow readers to fully immerse themselves in the Los Angeles setting: “People blasted the AC in their homes; stoplights were out all over town, victim to grid overload. At some intersections, traffic cops waved cars through—two, three, maybe four at a time. Others were left unguarded, daring drivers to figure it out for themselves: no red, no yellow, no green.” The author also captures emotions expertly; as a result, readers will grow close to Charlotte as her story unfolds. The novel is engaging throughout, and readers will likely wish for more from the author.

A refreshing story that acknowledges that some people have more than one true love.

For more Indie content, visit Kirkus online.

McNulty, Tim | Mountaineers Books (208 pp.) | $32.95 | Oct. 1, 2023 | 9781680515299

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inevitable, especially as the Olympic transitions from a resource-based economy to one that relies on tourism and recreation. McNulty shares his own experiences in the area with a contagious excitement, and the addition of Indigenous voices and perspectives places this a cut above a traditional photobook. The end result is a rallying message of equity and sustainability.

A visually mesmerizing and environmentally conscious profile of the Olympic Peninsula.

Bibo Bunny Keeps His Cool Mercado, Charlene | Self (31 pp.) $10.99 paper | March 7, 2023 9798377284468

In Mercado’s picture book, a bunny practices keeping his emotions from overwhelming him.

This picture book, aimed primarily at children in the pre-K to first grade age range, is crafted with inviting simplicity. Bibo, a blue bunny in jeans, a pullover, and tennis shoes, prepares for school with an “I know I can do it!” affirmation. When Bibo faces challenging situations, readers see how a shift in perspective can make a difference. Bibo is upset to not see food he likes on the cafeteria lunch menu, but he counts to 10 and takes a little taste of what’s on offer, discovering that lunch is “yummy.” Left behind in a foot race at recess, Bibo overcomes his “mad” feelings, asks for a rematch, and, although he doesn’t win, is satisfied that he did his best. The author effectively underscores the book’s message with Bibo’s answer to his mother’s query about his day: “There were times I felt sad, but I knew what to do. I just needed some time to think some things through.” Rendered against full-page, complementary blocks of soft colors (blues, greens, browns, pinks, and yellows), Mercado’s expressive, round-eyed animal characters are appealing representations of 170 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

young children navigating life’s challenges at home and in school.

Charming encouragement for young children learning to manage their emotions.

Who Needs Paris?

Meyerson, Joan | Hadleigh House (348 pp.) | $16.99 paper | Nov. 14, 2023 9798985057652

A woman returns to the scene of a disastrous love affair in Meyerson’s Paris-set romance.

In 1977, Kate Miller works in documentary production in Los Angeles, living comfortably in her own house with her loving dog. When her longtime collaborator, Patrice Carrière, asks her to work a shoot at the American Film Festival in Deauville, Kate is reluctant to move to Paris; “I’d been to Paris once before, and once had been more than enough.” The narrative is split between 1977 and 1964—it’s in the earlier timeline that the reader learns that Kate once lived in Paris, moving there with her close friend, Susan, to study after college.

When Susan suddenly runs off to London to pursue a love affair, Kate is left behind to study alone at the Sorbonne, and she soon meets François Granier. Kate and François’ love affair is all-consuming; Kate must confront its fallout when she returns to Paris over a decade later. The author’s use of two concurrent timelines is masterful, pacing the story in an exciting way that hooks the reader, enabling them to understand Kate’s reluctance to return to a city she was once desperate to discover. Equally fascinating are the historical details about Paris and Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s, with references to women’s marches and bodily autonomy and abortion rights.

Meyerson crafts a narrative in which romance, though life-changing, is not the only order of the day; the true journey is the one Kate embarks upon

for herself. City of Lights enthusiasts will appreciate the many vivid settings around Paris.

A satisfying story of love, redemption, and finding oneself for fiction-loving Francophiles.

Company of Bones Morton, Brennan | Self (446 pp.) $14.99 paper | Aug. 4, 2023 9798854969437

Legends of war, family, and identity collide in Morton’s fantasy novel, the first in a series.

Based on the author’s experience with fantasy-based role-player games, this novel tackles the extensive worldbuilding and various character introductions that new fantasy narratives so often require with welcome brevity and accessibility. Presenting characters with outlandish names such as “Tar Hardhammer” and “Bear Thornside,” Morton establishes the two dueling armies that carry the story forward: the ruthless Golden Wolves and the titular Company of Bones, “a free company of mercenaries, a rabble held together only in the name of profit.” After a quippy messenger for the Company of Bones challenges the brutish Hardhammer and his army to a duel, the Golden Wolves eagerly await the infamous champion of the Company. As they wait, the messenger tells them the story of a talented young half-orc, half-human boy plagued by tragedy and a mysterious urge called “the Slaughter,” a feeling of bloodlust and brutality unknown to man. The young halfling—referred to only as “the boy”—swears to survive by any means necessary, no matter who, or what, stands in his way. Morton’s story is packed with many beloved tropes and traditions enjoyed by fantasy fans: Orcs, giants, treefolk, dueling armies, and an underdog armed only with a KIRKUS REVIEWS

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An honest and insightful account of living with Type 1 diabetes.

DIABETES AND ME

simple blade burst out of every page with pithy dialogue and graspable prose. Though there is not much of a coherent, overarching plot for much of the novel, the boy’s story is entertaining and involving. Especially in the final third of the book, when the mythical creatures, violent duels, and character development come together in a memorable climax, avid readers of fantasy will enjoy the ride. The twists, turns, and temperament of the humorous and heartening tale will keep readers engaged, guessing what will happen next and wondering what to believe; after all, “legends and tavern tales are always seeded with truth and watered with ale.”

An amusing and sharp first entry in a promising fantasy epic.

Diabetes and Me: Living a Healthy and Empowered Life in the Face of Diabetes Novak, Wendy Louise | Disruption Books (160 pp.) | $24.00 | Nov. 14, 2023 9781633310803

A woman with Type 1 diabetes describes living with the condition and offers advice to others in Novak’s memoir.

The author was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 7. She inherited the condition from her father, who was diagnosed with the disease when insulin treatment was relatively new.

Fiercely independent, he chose not to share with others that he had the condition. Novak also felt compelled to keep her illness a secret outside of KIRKUS REVIEWS

the family. As the author grew older, the hormonal swings of puberty made it more difficult to maintain stable blood sugar; this complication was exacerbated when Novak began drinking alcohol at college and neglected her blood sugar monitoring. Even more serious complications arose when she later became pregnant, and in later life, she suffered several strokes and seizures. “Diabetes is simply a fact of life for me,” states Novak. Her approach to writing is equally clear and matter-of-fact, as when she takes issue with the term “bad diabetic,” referring to those with the condition who break lifestyle “rules”: “That way of thinking really isn’t fair, and it doesn’t help people move forward with their lives in healthy and productive ways.”

Novak’s exploration of how having diabetes has shaped her identity proves both illuminating and empowering, emphasizing positive character traits she’s developed in response to the disease, which has taught her “how to be strong, adaptable, and resilient. I think it has helped me develop empathy for people in difficult circumstances.” Useful fact boxes highlighting subjects such as the symptoms of low blood sugar make it easy for the reader to glean important information. Novak describes some events, such as her vacations, in digressive detail, such as when she recalls the baboons who liked to break into camp and steal beer and Snickers bars out of the fridge. While this provides levity, it also dilutes the narrative’s focus on living with the condition. Still, this is a sharply written memoir that will inform and inspire other sufferers.

An honest and insightful account of living with Type 1 diabetes.

Austin Heat: THE ONE...

Who Undid Me Nylix, Amari | Temair Media (342 pp.) $18.99 paper | Sept. 14, 2023 9798988590897

An NFL player and a sex worker fall for each other while hiding their occupations in Nylix’s romance novel.

Jake “Pretty Boy” Skyler is the starting quarterback for a new NFL team, the Sacramento Condors, and is spending the off-season at home in Austin, Texas. Training at the gym one day, he encounters the mysterious and gorgeous Rakell McCarthy, an escort for wealthy clients around the world.

Rakell has moved to Austin to pose as the girlfriend of Matthew Edward Waterman III, who hires escorts to hide the fact that he’s gay from his conservative and wealthy family. Jake has recently taken a break from dating after his first attempt at a long-term relationship went badly (the actress he was seeing publicly cheated on him).

Before that debacle, Jake had garnered a scandalous reputation in the media as a playboy; the Condors’ coach stipulates that Jake must get his dating life and public image together as a condition of his employment. Jake decides he needs a “normal girl,” and Rakell seems to fit the bill. The attraction between Jake and Rakell is undeniable (“She flinched at the way the command in his voice titillated her skin, as if he’d slowly run his fingers from her knees up her inner thighs”); as they begin to spend time together, Rakell and Jake hide the truth about their careers from each other, each pretending to just be “normal” people.

This pretense becomes more difficult as their relationship intensifies, leading to complications and confrontations amid spicy rendezvous. The novel is sexy and truly grounded in its emotional intelligence. The characters, particularly Jake, have a fascinating interiority. A few choices in verbiage NOVEMBER 15, 2023 171

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mar the sex positivity of the book slightly, as Rakell looks disparagingly on other sex workers and uses the term “clean” to refer to her STI status.

Still, the novel responsibly depicts safe sexual practices, including consent and thoughtful conversations about health issues.

O’Nan’s search for a true home will resonate with readers of all orientations.

HELD AND FREE

An emotional and steamy female pleasure–centric romance series opener.

Held and Free: Coming Out of Your Story O’Nan, Meagan M. | New Degree Press (212 pp.) | $19.99 paper | April 5, 2023 9798889266228

A gay woman returns to the conservative Mississippi town where she grew up in O’Nan’s heartfelt coming-out memoir.

The author, a life coach and author, begins her narrative in 2004 when, as a student at Mississippi State University in her hometown of Starkville, she was outed as gay by an ex-boyfriend; the revelation shocked her Catholic family and elicited warnings of damnation from friends and her campus Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In turmoil and doubting her faith, O’Nan moved to Florida and then Colorado, weathered a volatile year-long relationship, met her soulmate, Clare, and stayed close to her parents while they struggled to accept her sexual orientation. Yearning for family and authenticity, she moved back to Starkville with Clare and found that its Bible Belt culture had grown more gay-friendly in the intervening years. The author debated gay marriage with a Baptist minister on local television, delivered an address for National Coming Out Day, and, in 2018, gave a speech that moved the Starkville City Council to grant the town’s first Pride Parade permit, all with the support and acclaim of neighbors. Along the way, she fully reconciled with her parents, married 172 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Clare, and gave birth to a daughter.

O’Nan’s story is an illuminating portrait of the evolution of attitudes about homosexuality during the 21st century. It’s also a record of her own journey, away from church-instilled feelings of fear, shame, and worthlessness and toward self-acceptance.

O’Nan’s prose works in many registers, from passionate intensity (“From the depths of my soul, I screamed out to the Universe: ‘I want to be loved the way that I love!’ ”) to delicate evocations of romance (“The soft crunch of the fresh snow lingered while we remained silent, unsure of what to say next….My right cheek sat next to hers for many moments before they glided past one another and we connected for our first kiss”). O’Nan’s search for a true home will resonate with readers of all orientations.

An engrossing story of love, growth, and changing times.

Pheemie’s War: Coming of Age in WWII Reynolds, Kate | Self (253 pp.) | $13.99 paper | Aug. 1, 2023 | 9798437712757

A teenager moves toward maturity during the early days of World War II in Reynolds’ historical YA novel.

Pheemie Longworth is a student at a Catholic high school in Phoenix, Arizona, when the United States enters World War II. While her outgoing twin sister, Zella, sees the war as a chance to flirt with soldiers

passing through the city, bookish Pheemie serves coffee and doughnuts out of a sense of duty, tries to balance her emotional reaction to Pearl Harbor with sympathy for her Japanese American neighbors, and dreams of being with Rafe Gonzalez, the son of her family’s housekeeper, who has gone from childhood playmate to love of her life. When Pheemie and Rafe’s relationship is discovered, they face immediate opposition from everyone.

After her father pays Rafe to stay away, Pheemie goes from docile schoolgirl to rebellious prankster. She fails to reconcile with her father, a military pilot, before he leaves for the front and soon learns that the war’s challenges go beyond gasoline rationing and meatless Tuesdays. When Zella learns that one of her dalliances has died in combat, Pheemie resolves to take responsibility for her actions and demonstrate her growing maturity.

The book is an engaging read; Reynolds evocatively describes a setting that places it apart from other World War II fiction. Readers will feel that they’re on the desert roads with Pheemie and Zella when they sneak out in the family car (“Even in March, the sun beat down on harsh, desolate land, parching everything white and leaving nothing but gravel in the riverbeds”).

The plot drags at times, particularly as Pheemie’s acts of rebellion devolve into pointless petulance, but the pacing comes together in the book’s final third with the arrival of a boarder, an Army wife who challenges Pheemie’s assumptions and guides her away from self-pity. The narrative incorporates the experiences of Japanese Americans and Latines, and although they are filtered through Pheemie’s privileged understanding of her community, they KIRKUS REVIEWS

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The story goes to surprising places and highlights an underrepresented reality.

THEY CRAWL ON WALLS

bring a welcome dimension to the familiar story of war as seen through civilian eyes.

A blend of war story and coming-of-age novel sure to hold readers’ attention.

They Crawl on Walls Riddle, Waide | Self (24 pp.) | $6.00 paper March 29, 2021 | 9798730019737

An expert paperboy learns about himself while training a newcomer in this LGBTQ+ story for YA readers.

In 1945, on a blustery Christmas Eve after the end of World War II, an orphaned teenage paperboy name Leopold “Leo” Nicholson starts his day like any other, prepping his bundle of newspapers to hawk them on the snowy, wet streets of Chicago. Tony, his boss, asks him to take a new paperboy, Samuel Coleman, under his wing; Samuel is also an orphan, having recently lost his parents in a fire. Leo ignores Tony’s bigoted comment about Samuel’s heritage: “Can’t trust a Jew, you know….

Be friendly, just don’t get too close.”

Leo immediately offers his condolences to the young man. As he and Samuel follow the routines of the day, they have an encounter with antisemitic bullies but also find a moment of beauty when some carolers sing. Leo generously invites Samuel to stay with him after their shift; when he finds out they have even more in common than just being orphans, his memory is flooded with emotions from his youth. Riddle writes in a prose style that follows a poetic KIRKUS REVIEWS

linear form, eschewing long paragraphs for short groupings of narrative that add dark color to the sometimes-haunting landscape: “The dock was cold, but the streets were colder. Icy chilled winds blasted them, and as they inhaled together, Old Man Winter sucked the air right from them.” Although it’s a short work at just over 20 pages, Riddle includes secondary storylines that effectively connect to Leo in different ways.

One gives the piece its title and draws on a feeling from Leo’s past that he realizes he must confront and accept. The other briefly follows the fate of a character whom Leo and Samuel encountered earlier in the day. The general storyline of orphaned newsboys in postwar America facing hardship is a familiar one, but the story goes to surprising places and highlights an underrepresented reality.

An unexpected connection eases a young man’s loneliness in this vividly written tale.

All Body Bags and No Knickers Ruckus, Shawe | UK Book Publishing (313 pp.) | $8.99 paper | Sept. 5, 2023 9781916572249

In Ruckus’ mystery novel, sleuths Chance Yang and his wife, Catherine, take on a murder case rooted in the deep past.

In a prologue, an unnamed man is in a hospital; his unnamed sister has died after leaving him cryptic notes urging him to find her killer. The story proper begins in London, with Chance and Catherine’s

friends celebrating the opening of Chance’s restaurant. Chance and Catherine marry and head to China for their honeymoon, where the British-born Catherine can meet Chance’s family. Interspersed with their largely pleasant time there are flashback passages from 2005 hinting at something dire happening at a summer camp, accompanied by desperate but disembodied pleas for help. Back in the present, a series of violent deaths occur at an abandoned building site near the place where Chance and Catherine are staying. They’re galvanized into action, and the duo piece together what happened back in the past to result in these deaths almost 20 years later. This is a strange book: Chance and Catherine are likable enough, a pair in the tradition of crime-solving husband-and-wife teams such as Nick and Nora Charles, but the action in the first few chapters, set in London, has almost nothing to do (save for the presence of An, Chance’s cousin) with the narrative that unfolds in China—the important part of the plot. Some developments feel like non sequiturs; readers will learn a lot about Chinese cuisine and customs (“By the time Chance returned, the girl was teaching Catherine tongue twisters and jingles in Chinese. ‘Try this. Hong fenghuang, fen fenghuang, fenhong fonghuang, huang fenghuang. This means red phoenix, pink phoenix, pinkish-red phoenix, and yellow phoenix’ ”). There is a leisurely pace to the proceedings that seems indulgent—at one point, Chance and Catherine both have colonoscopies (there’s a fun date), leaving readers to wonder what their medical procedures add to the story. But such things are a matter of taste, and there are surely readers who like to go with the flow, as it were.

A somewhat odd caper with appealing leads and eccentric structural issues.

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NOVEMBER 15, 2023 173

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The Support Verses: Earliest Sayings of the Buddha Sanderson, Christopher Carter | Sagging Meniscus Press (80 pp.) | $18.00 paper March 15, 2022 | 9781952386268

Sanderson presents a creative translation of the Dhammapada.

Rather than offering yet another literal interpretation of the Sanskrit and Pali Dhammapada—possibly the earliest known teachings of Buddhism—this collection offers a version based on the author’s own meditations on the original text. The result is a highly personal volume whose stronger verses evoke the metaphors of the Tao Te Ching, as in “Repetitions”: “Rain floods through cracks in a broken roof; / Emotion floods an undisciplined mind. / Rain rolls off a well-built and maintained roof; / Emotion rolls off a disciplined mind.” Representations of death are steeped in fear and escape, rather than acceptance, in contrast to the original Dhammapada, as in “Thinking”: “The student’s mind, learning meditation / Shivers and twitches like a fish on dry land; / The fibers of our being fear Death’s snares, / Our frightened minds run in all directions.” Some interpretations are expressed though expletives, while others use imagery that isn’t often associated with Buddhism, as in “The Ruins”: “How can we find happiness when we know / Our bones will be tossed out like old pumpkins / After Halloween, buried like compost?”

“The Mirror” embraces a present-day zeitgeist: “And people buying and selling fake news / Will choke on their own bullshit in the end.” The section on the Paths—also known as the Eightfold Way in Buddhism, and the Four Noble Truths that form the basis for Buddhist teachings—is perhaps the most instructive part of this experimental translation; it appears in “Stanza Twenty: The Octovia,” in which the author labels in italics parts of the original text (in English), which offers 174 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

The narrative reaches beyond superficial entertainment.

DISSIDENTS OF PERFECTION

a truly tangible connection to the interpretations that follow: “Right Mindfulness is one of the eight paths. / Getting your head straight is something you do.”

Overall, this is a highly interpretative rendering that’s perhaps best suited to students of Buddhism, rather than newcomers to the Dhammapada.

A unique rendering of Buddhist teachings.

Dissidents of Perfection Srinivasan, Amruta Krishnan | Leadstart Inkstate (90 pp.) | $6.00 paper | Aug. 7, 2023 9789358830026

In Srinivasan’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl unwittingly enters an alternate universe.

Amber is on a camping trip with her parents and her sister, Melanie. Melanie notices a small dog— which Amber thinks looks more like a fox—peeking out from the woods, and her family races to capture the little rascal and bring him home. During the commotion, Amber walks off into the woods and spots a beautiful stone that emits a blue light. When she picks it up, the stone magically transports her into an enchanted forest filled with a variety of fauna; she has entered the “Animal Realm.” Unfortunately, all the residents are upset—Little Joey, the fox, has disappeared, and now a human has invaded their sanctuary.

Through the powers of the special

stone, the animals have so far escaped the dangers of living on Earth, where humans rule. But something is amiss with the stone: Fiona Flamingo has returned to Earth, Joey has vanished, and now there is that small human in the Realm. It’s now up to Joey (who, Amber now realizes, is the fox her parents captured) and Amber, working with Grand Elder of the Realm Mikayla Muskrat, to figure out why the stone is behaving so strangely. Remarkably, the author wrote this debut novel when she was only 10 years old, and her youth gives her a unique perspective on what is likely to appeal to young readers; her prose should resonate with their own still-vibrant imaginations.

With humor, she captures adult and adolescent human idiosyncrasies and foibles, as when Amber meets Felice/ Lecie the ferret, who rambles on in a pitch-perfect parody of Valley girl lingo (“Whoaaaa. That’s, like, totally uncool, dude!”). Alternating between Earth and the Animal Realm, with Joey and Amber working simultaneously to unravel the riddle of the stone, the narrative reaches beyond superficial entertainment by tackling the issue of human cruelty toward animals and asking profound questions about the meaning of freedom.

A sophisticated and imaginative adventure, with a sweet touch of youthful innocence.

For more Indie content, visit Kirkus online.

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Equal parts traditional mystery and atmospheric evocation of Alaska’s people and customs.

RAVEN’S GRAVE

Raven’s Grave Stuart, Charlotte | Vine Leaves Press (300 pp.) | $17.99 paper | Sept. 19, 2023 9783988320223

Stuart presents a murder mystery set in small-town 1970s Alaska.

Jonah St. Clair, the only police officer in the tiny Alaskan town of Koloshan, investigates the death of 10-year-old Johnny Simpson. The boy seems to have died as the result of a potion given to him by a native Tlingit shaman named Chaaky, who was trying to cure the boy’s limp. St. Clair is trying to withhold judgment; although the locals have already mentally tried and convicted Chaaky, St. Clair reminds himself that the death could have been an accident, although other events—including a disappearing man and a disappearing fortune—start to seem interconnected in ways that will test St. Clair’s skills, which were honed by six years with the LAPD (and two years of service in Vietnam). At first, the case of the missing man seems more straightforward, particularly since the world of Tlingit mysticism is, in many ways, the antithesis of the scientific, forensic world of modern crime: “With less science to explain their world,” St. Clair reflects at one point, “the Tlingits, like other people throughout the world, had welcomed actions that had the appearance of exerting control over the unknown.” But if Chaaky is innocent, who might be responsible for little Johnny’s death?

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His father? His older brother? And how does it all connect to the missing man and the missing money?

Patiently and skillfully, the author unfolds a story that’s equal parts traditional mystery and atmospheric evocation of Alaska’s people and customs, in the tradition of Dana Stabenow’s beloved Kate Shugak novels. St. Clair emerges as a stolid, self-possessed rock of a hero for the book, and Stuart is equally adept at fleshing out her cast of supporting characters.

A solidly constructed and very satisfying murder mystery set in a largely vanished Alaska.

Spike and the Holiday Parade Taylor, R.G. | Page Publishing (40 pp.) | $16.95 paper | April 20, 2023 9781662473241

A dog deals with his family’s overwhelming Christmas enthusiasm in this illustrated children’s book.

While Spike, a pug, may prefer to just quietly observe the holidays, his human family is gaga for Christmas. This is especially true of the father, whose motto is “Put Lights On It!” Despite living in a warm climate, the family has over-decorated its house, resulting in the residence getting featured in the newspaper and becoming a local tourist destination that blocks traffic. But there’s room for improvement— or so the father believes when he

goes into “the zone.” After he sees lights reflecting off his white car, he invokes his motto, and soon the convertible is covered in red, blue, green, and yellow lights. Spike may think it looks ridiculous, but the family members love it, and their friends get so enthusiastic that they decide to light up their own cars for their holidays (Hanukkah and Kwanzaa) as well. Then Spike’s family gets the big idea to host a car parade and make it a fundraiser to support the local shelter—where the pug was adopted—which is short of money. At a holiday party, the family recruits even more participants, and the parade quickly grows and grows until even reporters are on the scene. Spike’s tepid attitude about the entire event warms from knowing that he’s able to help the shelter animals still waiting to find their forever homes. But his commentary about how over the top and absurd the parade has become continues to have a snarky bite.

That grumpy attitude helps drive the narrative, even when Spike begrudgingly acknowledges the fun. In this series opener, Taylor’s vocabulary and dense text are far more appropriate for independent readers who are at the chapter book level. The uncredited and bright—Spike might say gaudy—digital illustrations depict diverse humans. Several of the pictures feature small versions of Spike hovering above the heads of other characters, though it’s never clear why this design choice was made. While Spike’s human father makes the annoying error of placing penguins, an Antarctic species, at the North Pole, the enjoyable story holds together well and the holiday enthusiasm is contagious.

An amusing holiday tale for lovers of cranky canines.

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NOVEMBER 15, 2023 175

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The CEO’s Digital Survival Guide: A Practical Handbook to Navigating the Future Whittacre, Nathan | Advantage Media Group (314 pp.) | $32.99 | Oct. 10, 2023 9781642256307

The owner of an information technology services firm offers a guide to mapping out an organization’s tech strategy.

Hiking enthusiast Whittacre, who runs Las Vegas–based IT consulting firm Stimulus Technologies, envisions this book as a sort of technology “trail guide,” supporting his belief that “the business owner, CEO, and anyone involved in major business decisions should have a fundamental understanding of how technology works inside the business.” He kicks things off with an initial “digital self-assessment” to rate one’s current level of knowledge and implementation in six areas: infrastructure, cybersecurity, compliance, backup and disaster recovery, business strategy, and cloud computing and services. Whittacre then expands upon these topics in 11 subsequent chapters, explaining, for example, why it’s important for management teams to understand and agree on “recovery time objective” (“The maximum amount of time that service can be offline between a disruption of service and restoration”) and “recovery point objective” (“the amount of acceptable lost data”) when it comes to backup and disaster recovery. The author offers particularly urgent advice to undertake cybersecurity measures, sharing war stories and calling it a “big mistake” for small business owners to think they won’t be subject to attacks. He also touches on how to protect systems and use technology to handle an increasingly hybrid/ remote work environment. In addition, the book includes glossaries and further “Checkup” assessment tools. Whittacre covers a wealth of technical topics in an accessible and engaging manner 176 NOVEMBER 15, 2023

Whittacre covers a wealth of technical topics in an accessible and engaging manner.

T H E C E O ’ S D I G I TA L S U R V I V A L G U I D E

while also making a convincing case that having a working knowledge of IT “should be one of your core competencies.” The book is well organized and designed throughout, serving as a readable, sequential road map and a ready reference guide to consult as needed. Whittacre acknowledges the key role that internal and external experts play in managing and improving a business’s tech systems, and he offers practical tips for making progress, such as “Try to improve one or two questions over a three-month period.”

A passionate and comprehensive overview of business IT issues.

Kirkus Star

Adventures of Takuan From Koto Zhong, Ryu | Anno Ruini Books (549 pp.) $20.99 | $15.99 paper | Aug. 6, 2023 9789083346007 | 9789083346014 paper

Zhong presents a middle-grade fantasy novel starring a rebellious youngster.

The trouble begins in ancient times in the fantasy realm of Auyasku, where a stone marten (a weasel-like animal) decides she is going to catch the sun. The marten winds up in the Heavenly Realm, where she unwittingly releases evil spirits (“Demons called their brethren from the farthest corners of the world, and soon the Heavens were teeming with demons of all stripes and shades”). When the demons make their way to the Earthly Realm, havoc ensues. Many years later,

a blacksmith’s son named Hatsukoi proves to be quite the trickster in his home village of Koto. Hatsukoi is mischievous and clever, always managing to think up an exit strategy in a tight spot.

When he runs afoul of a greedy local governor named Tu Fang, however, it would seem his goose is finally cooked.

Hatsukoi’s father sends him to a monastery to hide him. At the monastery, Hatsukoi takes on the name Takuan and gets up to his old pranks, though he also manages to learn some useful things. Takuan goes back to his home village only to learn that his father has been killed and his sister and mother have moved on; he sets back out on the road. The tale of Takuan unfolds in a breezy, fairytale-like fashion. Rather than overburdening the reader with too many details or backstories, the narrative keeps moving forward. Even the somewhat complex tale of the stone marten moves rapidly, helped along by the comedic effect of a marten, of all creatures, causing so much trouble. There is a lot of ground to cover in the 600-some pages of this volume; the narrative often strays from Takuan for several pages, leaving the reader curious about, say, what role a fearful monk named Soliang might play.

Yet even with such detours, the pace is sprightly—there is no telling what angry honey badger or sassy demon lies just around the bend.

A rapidly expanding quest with a seemingly endless supply of mischief and surprises.

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FALL TITLES F R O M C U E N TO D E LU Z THE FOOTPRINT ISBN: 9788419464026 Picture Book · Age: 4-8

“...a beautiful and moving tale of friends lost and found.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Offbeat and lovely.”

—Kirkus Reviews

AUNTIE MAGGIE AND HER FIVE NEPHEWS AND NIECES ISBN: 9788418302671 Picture Book · Age: 4-8

ALL TITLES ARE AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND ALSO IN SPANISH

AVAILABLE FROM FANTAGRAPHICS

The long-awaited new graphic novel from Daniel Clowes (Patience) is a genre-bending thriller from one of the most innovative storytellers of all time.

Praise for Monica: “Chilly and remote his sympathies might be, they are nevertheless deep and affecting. It is precisely Clowes’s lower-frequency sensitivities toward the suffering of his characters that power what many consider his greatest works — Ghost World, for one — and elevate his latest graphic novel, Monica, to the status of a masterpiece.”

— Junot Diaz, New York Times Book Review

“Clowes has long been considered one of the finest cartoonists of his generation, grouped with the likes of Chris Ware and Adrian Tomine, but in Monica, he reaches a new artistic peak.”

— Vanity Fair “Clowes’ latest graphic novel weaves nine interrelated stories into a tale of curiosity, corruption, and humanity’s addiction to significance. ...A timeless nugget of polished pulp.”

— Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Clowes’s formal ingenuity, meticulous attention to psychological and visual detail, and masterful sense of narrative and tone combine to create an emotionally resonant and unforgettable opus.”

— Library Journal, starred review

“In classic fashion, Clowes offers another devastating, surreal examination of human nature... A hauntingly precise and compellingly strange study of the human struggle to reconcile a decentered past with a path forward.”

— Booklist, starred review “Clowes’ stories demand real attachment, and the more time I spent with Monica, the more I felt moved by the emotional ambition of its decades-long narrative.”

— The Atlantic “This is a comix novel about aging and disappearance, with a penumbra of a malevolent world just beyond reason. …I started reading and did nothing else for the rest of the day.

I didn’t want it to end.”

— Greil Marcus (Substack)

Monica by Daniel Clowes isbn 9781683968825 $30 | HarDCover

PublisHeD by FantagraPHiCs available everywHere books are solD FantagraPHiCs.Com