NOVEMBER 1, 2026 | VOL. XCIV, NO. 21
FEATURING 339 Industry-First Reviews of Fiction, Nonfiction, Children’s, Young Adult, and Audiobooks
LAWRENCE WRIGHT WRESTLES WITH THE BIG QUESTIONS The journalist and author has made a lifelong study of the power of belief
Contents 69
2 From the Editor’s Desk FICT ION 4
Editor’s Note
5
Reviews & News
15 On the Podcast: Liane Moriarty 25 Booklist: Long Books for Dark Nights NONFICT ION 36
Editor’s Note
37
Reviews & News
46 On the Cover: Lawrence Wright 59 Booklist: Bridging Political Divides CHILDREN ’ S 68
Editor’s Note
One of the most coveted designations in the book industry, the Kirkus Star marks books of exceptional merit.
OUR FRESH PICK A chance encounter prompts an American writer to reconsider—and perhaps renew—his decades-old affair with an Italian man.
Read the review on p. 13. PURCHASE BOOKS ONLINE AT KIRKUS .COM
Reviews
79 Booklist: A Bicycle Built for You YOUNG ADULT 104
Editor’s Note
105
Reviews
113 Booklist: Book Club Conversation Starters INDIE 118
Editor’s Note
119
Reviews
AUDIOBOOKS 146
Editor’s Note
147
Reviews & News
155 Booklist: Long, Absorbing Listens
ON THE COVER: Illustration of Lawrence Wright by Patrick Rosche, based on a photo by Kenny Braun. Background illustration by Green_Flame via iStock. Interested in reprints, permissions, licensing, or a framed review? Please contact The YGS Group at 800.290.5460 or email Kirkus@theygsgroup.com. KIRKUS REVIEWS (ISSN 1948-7428) is published semimonthly by Kirkus Media LLC, 1140 Broadway, Suite 802, New York, NY 10001. Subscription prices are: Print and digital subscription (U.S.) 3-month ($49), 12-month ($179) | International subscriptions are $79 quarterly and $229 annually. All other rates on request. Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin, TX 78710 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Kirkus Reviews, 6411 Burleson Road, Austin, TX 78744
K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
“RELIGION IS A permanent
and important part of our lives—all our lives— whether we want it to be or not,” writes Brook Wilensky-Lanford in A God-Shaped Nation: Five Hundred Years of Religion in America (Atlantic Monthly, June 9). The author starts with Columbus’ arrival in the “New World” in 1492—and a miraculous sighting of the Virgin Mary during an early encounter between the Spanish and the indigenous Taino people. The book’s final chapter, “The Anointed,” focuses on Donald Trump and his improbable embrace by evangelical Christians. Along the way, Wilensky- Lanford considers the place of Judaism, Islam, and other faiths in American society. Our review calls the book a “fluent, always engaging study.”
One observer who has spent much of his career exploring different strains of American belief is journalist and author Lawrence Wright, who appears on the cover of this issue. Wright has written about the Amish, Branch Davidians, Satanists, and Scientologists—all the while racking up awards and acclaim. His latest book, Redemption: Faith, Justice, and Sisterhood on Death Row (Knopf, Oct. 20), introduces readers to an order of cloistered nuns who begin ministering to women on death row in Texas. Our review calls it a “deftly told story of crime, punishment, and hope.” “I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that we take politics so seriously, which is the main subject of a lot of reporting,” Wright tells us in the interview on p.
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46. “People can have strong political beliefs, and it doesn’t affect their behavior at all. But if a person has strong religious beliefs, it tends to govern every aspect of their lives.” In fact, politics and religion often intermingle on the pages of nonfiction, as in these recent titles reviewed by Kirkus. Born Again Queer: A History of Evangelical Gay Activism and the Making of Antigay Christianity by William Stell (Princeton Univ., May 12): A gay evangelical Christian may sound like an oxymoron, but Stell, a member of the religious studies faculty at Princeton, shows that there was such a group in the U.S. in the 1970s and ’80s, before tracing the ultimate ascendance of antigay belief in evangelical circles. Our review calls it a “meaningful portrayal of complex humans.” Seasons of Fury: Four Families and the Rise of Islamophobia in America by Rozina Ali (Crown, Aug. 25): What does it mean to be Muslim in this predominantly Christian nation? A New York Times Magazine
contributor seeks to understand the experience in this account of four multigenerational American families; the book was longlisted for this year’s National Book Award in nonfiction. Our review calls it an “evenhanded view of the lives of people who are all too often branded as terrorists by virtue of religion.” The Final Solution to the Jewish Question: A Love Story for the Living by Dara Horn (Avid Reader Press, Sept. 1): Non-Jews simply don’t know very much about Jewish life, finds the author of this book, who encounters in her reporting “much more ignorance than malice.” In her quest to combat antisemitism, Horn emphasizes the rich history of Jewish resistance to tyranny, rejecting the mantle of “victimhood” that often accompanies such education. Our review calls it “impassioned, important reading.”
TOM BEER K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Illustration by Eric Scot t Ander son
VARIETIES OF RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE
Co-Founders, Kirkus Media LLC HERBERT SIMON MARC WINKELMAN Publisher, CEO & Partner MEG LABORDE KUEHN mkuehn@kirkus.com
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Audiobooks Editor JENNIFER DOWELL jdowell@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 Senior Editorial Assistant NINA PALATTELLA npalattella@kirkus.com
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Founder, Kirkus Reviews VIRGINIA KIRKUS (1893-1980)
K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Contributors
Alana Abbott, Colleen Abel, Jeffrey Alford, Autumn Allen, Paul Allen, Kent Armstrong, Mark Athitakis, Caitlin Augusta, Julian Axelrod, Susan Baird, Stephanie Baker, Kit Ballenger, Audrey Barbakoff, Josh Bell, Nell Beram, Elizabeth Bird, Ariel Birdoff, Sarah Blackman, Mary Boucouvalas, Nastassian Brandon, Melissa Brinn, Greg Brooks, Agnes Broome, Jessica Hoptay Brown, Kirsten Caldwell, Kevin Canfield, Charles Cassady, Sandie Angulo Chen, Alec B. Chunn, K.W. Colyard, Cailin Comar, Amanda Costello, Jeannie Coutant, Stephen Cummings, Sara Davis, Lisa De Bode, Dave DeChristopher, Jason Derr, Steve Donoghue, Jacob Edwards, Madison Ellingsworth, Lisa Elliott, Rosalind Faires, Joshua Farrington, Brooke Faulkner, Leslie Fine, Katie Flanagan, Catherine Foster, Mia Franz, Ayn Reyes Frazee, Jenna Friebel, Laurel Gardner, William Giwertz, Victoria Glynn, Amy Goldschlager, Melinda Greenblatt, Michael Griffith, Lisa Grimaldi, Sara Grimm, Vicky Gudelot, Geoff Hamilton, Sean Hammer, Sarah Harkness, Alec Harvey, Peter Heck, Matthew Heller, Sandi Henschel, Boze Herrington, Loren Hinton, Natalia Holtzman, Jennette Holzworth, Terry Hong, Christoph Irmscher, Kristen Jacobson, Kevin Jagernauth, Deborah Kaplan, Marcelle Karp, Carly Lane, Joanne Langerman, Chelsea Langford, Christopher Lassen, Tom Lavoie, River Lee, Maureen Liebenson, Elsbeth Lindner, Coeur de Lion, Barbara London, Patricia Lothrop, Sawyer Lovett, Katie Lowe, Wendy Lukehart, Michael Magras, Mandy Malone, Thomas Maluck, Collin Marchiando, Emmett Marshall, Jodi Martin, Michelle H Martin, J. Alejandro Mazariegos, Nancy McCarty, Dale McGarrigle, Isla McKetta, Zoe McLaughlin, Kathie Meizner, Carol Memmott, Rebecca Michelson-Ziegler, Alan Minskoff, Gary Moskowitz, Christopher Navratil, Therese Purcell Nielsen, Ari Nussbaum, Randy O’Brien, Tori Ann Ogawa, Emilia Packard, Nina Palattella, Rebeca Parrott, George Pate, Hal Patnott, Bethanne Patrick, Tara Peace, Rebecca Perry, John Edward Peters, Justin Pham, Jim Piechota, Christofer Pierson, William E. Pike, Brian Price, Margaret Quamme, Ellen Quint, Kristy Raffensberger, Piper Rasmussen, Darryn Reams, Stephanie Reents, Sarah Rettger, Peter Richardson, Alexandria Richey, Amy Robinson, Courtney Rodgers, Ana Rosales, Lloyd Sachs, Bob Sanchez, Julia Sangha, Christine Scheper, Meredith Schorr, Aurelia Scott, Lorraine Shanley, Joel Shoemaker, Polly Shulman, Linda Simon, Wendy Smith, Margot E. Spangenberg, Allison Staley, Allie Stevens, Richard Stim, Rebecca T. Sutton, Jennifer Sweeney, Eva Thaler-Sroussi, Desiree Thomas, Julie Thompson, Chris Turner-Neal, David Walton, Katie Weeks, Audrey Weinbrecht, Abigail Welling, Susie Wilde, Laura H. Wimberley, Kendra Winchester, Kerry Winfrey, Marion Winik, Flannery Wise, Kirsten Wright, Jean-Louise Zancanella, Natalie Zutter
NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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HIS POINT OF VIEW THE QUESTION OF
whether men are still reading fiction—or getting their fiction published— comes up with some regularity in the literary discourse. I can’t answer those questions, but if you were worried you weren’t giving the male perspective its proper due, I can recommend some excellent novels coming out in November. Don’t Stop Snowing by Gabriel Bump (Algonquin, Nov. 10): David, the narrator of Bump’s third novel, is an author and bookstore owner in North Carolina, but he’s had a hard path getting there. Both his parents are academics, but his father sabotaged his own career. After David finishes his master’s degree, he seems to be heading in the same direction, so his mother sends him off to Buffalo to spend time with a cousin, Flip; those months make up most of the novel. There’s a lot of partying, but also the good inf luence of working in a bookstore. Our review calls it “a quirky but affecting story of reshaping oneself outside of one’s parents’ mold.” 4
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West of Loveland by Tom Drury (Grove, Nov. 3): This is Drury’s fourth novel about the fictional Midwestern Grouse County since debuting with The End of Vandalism in 1994. As before, the plot isn’t the point: Drury is more concerned with his characters, nearly 30 this time, including (as always) Sheriff Dan Norman; “retired thief ” Tiny Darling; and Louise Darling Norman, the vintage shop owner who’s been married to them both. They’re all around 70 now, and Drury also includes several younger generations, including Helen Slater and her teenage nephew, Rocky, who kick things off by finding an abandoned gun on the side of the road. Our starred review calls it a “deadpan-funny, whip-smart praise song to Midwestern f lint.” O Now! by Niall Williams (Bloomsbury, Nov. 10): Like Drury, Williams has been returning to the same fictional territory over many years—in his case, the small Irish town of Faha, which he introduced in History of the Rain (2014). This short volume contains a 60-page story focusing on the death of Ganga Crowe and the final
evening he spends with his lifelong best friend, Bat Considine, who’d just that night made Ganga promise that whoever died first would bring back news from the afterlife. The book also includes an essay about Williams’ writing process and the origins of Faha. Our starred review praises the fictional half of the book in particular, saying, “This uplifting reading experience could provide an effective emergency rescue for your next bad mood or dark day.” Monsters of Ohio by John Scalzi (Tor, Nov. 3): Scalzi’s latest has a surface resemblance to these other novels, but then it takes off in its own direction: It’s set in the Midwest, where its protagonist, Mike Boyd, has lost his job at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and moved back in with his semiestranged father. The primary employer in Richland, Ohio, is a meat processing plant that’s on the verge of being shut down, even though it’s profitable, and that’s not the only strange thing going on in town (see the book’s title). Our starred review calls this novel “trenchant, funny, grotesque, and improbably sweet.” Laurie Muchnick is the fiction editor. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Illustration by Eric Scot t Ander son
LAURIE MUCHNICK
FICTION
EDITOR’S PICK The world of a writer, inside and out. “It’s not about me at all. I would never write a whole novel about a writer. Even an aspiring one. Deadly.” So says 27-year-old debut novelist Victoria Gannon, the protagonist of McDermott’s 10th novel, which is most definitely exactly what Victoria says she’ll never write and is anything but deadly. In three sections set in 1980, 2000, and 2020, we drop in on V.’s unfolding career and life, which doesn’t seem on its face to bear much resemblance to McDermott’s own biography, but surely draws from her experiences in writing, publishing, teaching, participating in (or avoiding) literary events, and getting (or not getting) awards. The first section opens on a scene
These Titles Earned the Kirkus Star
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in the New York loft of famous photographer William Noone, where V.’s portrait is being made to go with a major review of her first novel. The shoot turns into a long city ramble and pub crawl. First stop: a literary salon in the East 30s apartment of Lu Landon, where V. is surprised to meet her idol, a supposedly Russian writer named Mary Alfyorov, who turns out to be from Queens. The novel continues to circle around this character, her false biography, and her pronouncement that writing is “a terrible life” as we find V. in 2000, dealing with a family tragedy in Florida and recalling her affair with a famous poet, and then, in 2020, reconnecting with Lu Landon when she comes to V.’s campus to discuss her
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Uprising By Tahmima Anam
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Dead Beat By Leigh Bardugo
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In Transit By Brigid Brophy
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Clive Cussler Obsidian Sky By Dirk Cussler
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Middleman By Brendan Flaherty
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Bright Monday By David Leavitt
Herself, of Course McDermott, Alice | Farrar, Straus and Giroux | 336 pp. | $29 | February 2, 2027 9780374621322
books, which happen to be about William Noone and Mary Alfyorov. If the idea seems to be that a writer, or any artist, cannot be truly known apart from the work, that message comes with a warning not to conflate fiction with fact. The novel is shot through with lines of poetry—Edna St. Vincent Millay, Emily Dickinson,
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Herself, of Course By Alice McDermott
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Shut Up, I Love You, I’ll Call You Tomorrow By Sloane Murphy
Walt Whitman, and others—for poetry and sex are two of V.’s favorite things, and the lovely, surprising third act McDermott gives her character partakes of both. This generous, intimate novel is neither autofiction nor roman à clef, yet it brims with truth about a life in writing.
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Hate and Other Acts of Fiction By Megan Oliver
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The Swiss Agent By Anna Pitoniak
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Doppelgänger By Sam Riviere
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Victorious By V.E. Schwab
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Annie Proulx Stories By Annie Proulx
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A powerful and unflinching indictment of archaic systems of female repression. UPRISING
Where There’s Smoke Adams, Rachel Louise | Minotaur (320 pp.) $28 | October 6, 2026 | 9781250362148
A forensic pathologist stricken by trauma teams up with the FBI to solve several gruesome murders in small-town Wisconsin. Dolores Diaz has just quit Los Angeles following her divorce. Though she’s had PTSD for decades following a sexual assault that happened one Halloween, she takes a new job as a pathologist in Coldren County, Wisconsin—just a few miles from her hometown, the site of her trauma and, regrettably, of year-round Halloween celebrations. Her new forensics beat is immediately hit with a bloody crime straight out of a horror movie: The owner of a local slaughterhouse, Benedict Marcy, is found dead on the kill floor in a drainage vat full of pigs’ blood. Along with the local prison, the slaughterhouse is the biggest employer in town. Since the murder is so prominent in the community, two FBI agents—one who’d investigated the disappearance of Dolores’ father last year, the other who’d gone to high school with her—show up to assist Sheriff Harvey Kreme with the case. Their help proves vital when the sheriff finds a local police officer dead in his patrol car, now missing the forensic evidence samples Dolores had gathered. The FBI starts by questioning a local animal rights activist, only to be surprised at her suggestion that forcing inmates to work in the slaughterhouse right next door to the prison might have created some 6
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grievances with the deceased. As Dolores continues to receive ominous, unsigned Halloween greeting cards from her rapist, who’s never been criminally charged, the investigators dig up many new horrors before finally identifying the killer in a procedural crammed with uncanny coincidences, creepy villains, assault flashbacks, blood, and guts. More cartoonishly cliched than gripping.
Kirkus Star
Uprising Anam, Tahmima | Scribner (192 pp.) | $27 November 17, 2026 | 9781668230046
Anam’s grim and compact novel illuminates the desperation and pain of a group of women forced into sexual slavery in a brothel on a small Bangladeshi island. The enslaved sex workers at the heart of Anam’s narrative—living under the manipulative control of the drug-dispensing and thoroughly villainous Amma—find themselves with virtually no means of escape. All their expenses, in many cases including their forced transportation to the island, are carefully tallied by Amma, and there’s no way to accumulate enough money to earn freedom. A chorus of children, the women’s daughters, relates the dire circumstances of life on the island, which is threatened with annihilation due to rising sea levels and violent weather (as if the misogyny and classism weren’t
threatening enough). The lives of the women and girls are changed by the arrival of Kusum Khan, an educated young woman exiled to the island by her own family. Her more defiant approach to the situation results in upheaval and rebellion by the women. With childlike directness, the third-person plural narration delivers the horrifying realities of life in a living hell as well as enthusiasm for the leadership, education, and benevolence represented by Kusum. The children’s belief in her powers of organization and resistance is underpinned by their identification of her with Bon Bibi, the fabled and mystical “daughter of the forest.” Anam was inspired to write this contemporary allegory of female empowerment and resolve after a visit to Banishanta, a Bangladeshi island that houses an isolated government brothel with conditions like those described in the novel. She delivers a powerful and unflinching indictment of archaic systems of female repression still operating in the “modern” world of cellphones and electronic bank transfers. Corrosive, chilling, and compelling.
Lucid Dreams Andreades, Daphne Palasi Random House (320 pp.) | $28 October 27, 2026 | 9780593243466
A writer reckons with their identity and grapples with writer’s block. Leah, the protagonist of Andreades’ second novel, might have just published their first book, but they’re not living the dream. It’s the opposite, in fact: The 29-year-old New York writer is beset by nightmares, possibly the result of living through two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, and is afflicted with a stubborn case of writer’s block, knowing they won’t be able to get their second novel to the publisher on K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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time. “I wanted to create, but I seemed to lack the one trait I believed all true artists possessed: honesty,” they write. Leah starts to see a mysterious figure dressed in an old-fashioned tuxedo at various places, making them question their sanity. In the midst of all this, Leah begins questioning their gender, and becomes increasingly annoyed at society’s (and their mother’s) insistence that they have a baby with their husband, Adrian. Leah travels to the Philippines, their parents’ home country, to visit their father, who has retired there, hoping to find answers to their questions and break their writer’s block. There’s not much by way of plot here; the book quickly becomes a monologue shaped like a novel. Andreades is seemingly only interested in Leah; the other characters are reduced to place holders, foils for Leah to respond to and argue with, but not much more. Andreades too often resorts to cliches (“My mother and I were like water and oil”) and self-help bromides (“I didn’t have to be who the world told me to be”), and the book’s ending is sentimental and far too pat. At one point, Leah’s agent, Constance, tells them about their planned second book, “I just worry the story would be too interior…The action must be externalized.” There’s no telling how Leah’s second book turned out, but this one just doesn’t work, for that and many other reasons. Andreades has talent, but this novel is a letdown.
Thousands of Eyes Barrientos, Maximiliano | Trans. by Thomas Bunstead | Counterpoint (256 pp.) | $27 October 27, 2026 | 9781640097506
Cars have never been so scary. The first book by Bolivian author Barrientos to be translated into English begins in the 1970s, with a boy and his father in a scrubland on an odd mission: K IR KU S R E V IE W S
They’re there to dig a hole and bury two pistons from a Plymouth Road Runner. Years later, the boy—now a man—returns to retrieve the pistons and put them back into the muscle car, which he drives away, finding himself pursued by a variety of drivers determined to stop his voyage to a farmhouse with an altar composed of car parts and human and animal bones. In the novel’s second part, in 1990, Federico, one of three metalheads in his school, still mourning his brother’s death in a car crash, starts hearing “messages from all these dead people, all these people whose lives had been claimed by the roads.” He learns that his brother’s death might have been related to a cult that worships speed, a realization that leads to a terrifying and surreal encounter at a concert by one of his favorite bands. The novel closes with the story of Eli, the daughter of a recently deceased tribal chieftain living in a post-apocalyptic hellscape brought about by the velocity cult; she embarks on a difficult journey to grant her father’s dying wish. Barrientos’ prose, in Bunstead’s able translation, is electric—noirish and tense and stylish without being showy. The novel’s strongest part is its second; Barrientos has created memorable and tragic figures in Federico and his friends: “We armored ourselves with shyness. We wore black because we didn’t know how to dance, because we could never think of anything funny to say to girls, because it glorified our social awkwardness.” There are shades of J.G. Ballard’s surrealism here, but Barrientos makes this startling novel his very own. Bizarre and propulsive.
For books from around the world, visit Kirkus online.
The Man Who Read Books Benzine, Rachid | Trans. by Sam Taylor Cardinal (144 pp.) | $20 | November 10, 2026 9781538781159
An encounter in Gaza between a photographer and a bookseller exposes wounds from decades of violence. Benzine is a Moroccan-born Frenchman who’s written numerous works of fiction and nonfiction on religious themes. This slim, accessible novel, his first translated into English, centers on Julien Desmanges, a photojournalist covering Gaza in 2014, and his encounter with Nabil Al Jaber, a bookseller who persists in his trade despite the carnage. Nabil consents to Julien taking his photo, on one condition: that he also take the time to listen to his life story. And so he does, from Nabil’s family’s uprooting during the Nakba, to life in refugee camps, to his return to Gaza and survival during the first and second intifadas. “Gaza is a theatre of misery and madness, a grotesque ball where the living are no longer fully alive but not yet entirely dead either,” Benzine writes—but books provide a lifeline. Neither Christian nor Jew nor Muslim, Nabil cites a variety of religious texts, as well as classic books about occupation and liberation by André Malraux, Primo Levi, and Frantz Fanon, plus Middle Eastern authors like Mahmoud Darwish, Mohammed Dib, and Mourid Barghouti. The structure is nakedly potted, and Benzine emphasizes the consequences of the conflict rather than the politics and long-standing religious divides that have caused and stoked it. For those well-versed in the conflict’s details, Benzine’s treatment will seem as simplistic as the copy of The Little Prince Nabil hands to a young patron. But the simplicity puts the tragedy into relief: “This world is a litany of reprisals for reprisals, of hatred piled NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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upon hatred, of sadness covered with sadness.”
A thin but potent study of endurance in the face of violence.
A Wall Street mogul prepares to depart this life at a cabin in the Poconos. MADELINE MCKNIGHT SIGNS OFF
Madeline McKnight Signs Off Brooke, Evan | Atria (352 pp.) | $29 November 3, 2026 | 9781668225226
A Wall Street mogul prepares to depart this life at a cabin in the Poconos. Brooke’s quirky, warmhearted debut follows two characters trying to make peace with each other before one of them dies. Madeline McKnight has made a fortune as a financial analyst but lost most of her friends along the way. In the summer of 2018, she’s in her mid-60s and, dying of cancer, has only a few months to balance her final spreadsheet. Promising oodles of money, she invites Brigid Davis, the 25-year-old daughter of the estranged former best friend she betrayed financially years ago, to care for her in her final months and help her establish a museum devoted to Hetty Green, a (real-life) multimillionaire known as the “Witch of Wall Street,” who died in 1916. Bri, who’s studying nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, is suspicious of this plan, but she’s also heartbroken after a breakup with her girlfriend and she could use the money, since her mother spent her college fund on pain meds. Brooke encourages us to root for the friendship between her two damaged misfits, who bring out the best in each other through long walks in the woods with Madeline’s sweet dog, Hopie, and Madeline’s careful attempts to share her favorite activity, fly fishing, during which she instructs Bri on how to “fish the future.” Brooke enlivens the novel with Madeline’s attempts to analyze her life through a financial lens, including a pie chart illustrating the relative percentages of her hatred for 8
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her five worst enemies and a ranking of Bri’s personal qualities as if she were a stock to buy, sell, or hold. Keep this twisty tale in your literary portfolio. Charming evidence that the end of life can hold welcome surprises.
Kirkus Star
In Transit Brophy, Brigid | Dalkey Archive (250 pp.) $19.95 paper | October 13, 2026 9781628976717
Stuck in an airport lounge, an intrepid voyager searches for their lost gender. It isn’t until a third of the way through that the central quandary of this puzzling, punning maze of a book makes itself known: “I realized I could no longer remember which sex I was,” announces the voluble narrator, whom we’ve found stationed in an airport lounge. Now we’d say gender, but Brophy’s novel, originally published in 1969, proceeds with more than a few turns of phrase contemporary readers might find obsolete. In any case, like Gogol’s hero, who one day looked up to realize his nose had departed, Brophy’s Evelyn Hillary O’Rooley—the name itself androgynous—suddenly realizes their gender is a mystery. “Such gross forgetfulness was, of course, preposterous,” O’Rooley huffs—and then sets out to discover which pronouns they should be using. It is by no means a simple quest. O’Rooley considers a trip to the public bathroom for a quick visual check before realizing they can’t enter the
gendered space without first determining whether to enter from the men’s or women’s side. O’Rooley considers their options, casts about for clues. O’Rooley is wearing trousers, O’Rooley realizes: O’Rooley then counts the number of men and women in pants and determines, “the fact I was wearing trousers gave me a three to one likelihood of being a man.” Not, alas, a safe enough calculation to live by. Brophy’s novel is a riotous sendup of gender, gender expression, social conventions of all sorts around gender—and, as such, is as relevant today as when it first appeared, even aside from the occasionally antiquated vocabulary. But the book is also firmly within the tradition of wordplay, puns, and metafictional games exemplified by compatriots of Brophy’s like Joyce and Flann O’Brien (the genderbending also calls to mind Woolf’s Orlando). As Katherine Packert Burke notes in a new introduction, “Whatever you think this book is going to be like, it’s almost certainly going to be weirder.” Indeed—and thank god. A timely reprint of a postmodern masterpiece.
Universe of Grace Calnek-Sugin, Rachel | Henry Holt (320 pp.) $28.99 | November 17, 2026 9781250430038
In this debut novel, a young girl meets a jaguar who tells her she’s not human. This pronouncement fits with Grace’s burgeoning sense that she’s a little different—and the reader’s as well. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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Grace steals small objects that call out to her. She sets a fire at school after failing a test. She falls in love with her middle-aged violin teacher, and when the woman laughs at her confession, she quits the violin—though she’s gifted—and fills her time with meaningless sex. Calnek-Sugin is brilliant at conveying the off-kilter logic of a young person with an intense subjectivity. Reading this novel is like walking through a carnival fun house: a wonderfully wild and unpredictable experience. In high school, Grace hears a voice that tells her that she and everyone she loves will die. At this point, Grace gets involved in the environmental movement and builds a bomb to disrupt the construction of an oil pipeline. Her parents discover her plot and send her to a mental hospital. Is Grace’s perspective the result of mental illness? Yes, the narrative suggests, which doesn’t make the story less compelling. However, two-thirds of the way through, after Grace grows up, gets engaged to a woman, and unravels again, convinced her fiancée is taking over her thoughts, the terms change. Now it’s not Grace who’s mentally ill. The world is sick, and most everyone is off-kilter. Set against the backdrop of the climate crisis, income inequality, gentrification, the Covid-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, anti-trans discrimination, and, further back, generational trauma wrought by the Cultural Revolution in China and by the Holocaust, Calnek-Sugin’s novel reminds readers how much has gone terribly wrong. But this turn doesn’t bring Grace’s story to a satisfying end, and the book just misses fulfilling its promise. A wildly original portrait of a young woman tuned in to the world’s ills.
For more fiction debuts, visit Kirkus online.
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I Am Going To Kill Someone Cewerî, Firat | Trans. by Jeannette Okur Henar Press (220 pp.) | $17.95 paper November 17, 2026 | 9781968327019
A Kurdish man walks the streets of a Turkish city with murder on his mind. The title of Cewerî’s first book to be translated into English is somewhat deceptive. Temo, the narrator of the first half of the novel, is indeed thinking about killing somebody: A Kurdish activist recently released from prison after falling afoul of the Turkish authorities, he carries a knife, fully expecting to stab a victim. And he does have a clear motive of vengeance, having witnessed the murder of his father and brother and having been imprisoned and tortured out of the state’s anti-Kurdish animus. But Cewerî (via Okur’s translation) displays no bloodthirstiness; rather, his tone is one of passive resignation, accepting his fate as a future murderer because he had dreamed he would become one. His perambulations in the unnamed Turkish city lead him to an encounter with Diana, a Kurdish rebel who’s been forced into prostitution after having been captured by the Turkish regime. In the novel’s second half, the perspective shifts from Temo to Diana and an unnamed Kurdish expatriate writer who’s visiting and, like Temo, has begged to assist her in escaping her abusers. Across both sections, Cewerî contemplates the unjust treatment of the Kurds as terrorists and the hypocrisies that permeate Turkish culture. As Temo muses: “There’s this thing called family honor in this country. Plenty of young girls are killed for the sake of family honor, but the people selling them never are.” Kurdish author Agri Ismaïl’s foreword offers some helpful cultural context, and footnotes clarify particulars of Kurdish folklore. But in its spareness, moral starkness, and themes of isolation, the
novel evokes classics like Hunger, Notes From Underground, and Nausea, focused on the emotional fallout of a fractured society. A short, taut vision of stateless men and women on the brink.
Needlemouth Chang, K-Ming | Simon & Schuster (288 pp.) $30 | October 20, 2026 | 9781668089514
For three preteen cousins, the turmoil of childhood’s ending is complicated by the arrival of a demon who demands they perform an unspeakable act. Cindy is joining her cousins Yangyang and Mandy at their grandmother’s California home, as she does every year. This summer is different, though. For one thing, Ama, who’s been a suffocating figure, is dead, leaving her two daughters, Cold-Blooded Ayi and distant Elizabeth, to raise their own children in a house that feels like a phantom of their mother. Cindy, whose memory is peppered with holes, wakes up every morning with her “mouth broken into” and strange objects—a button, a berry, a claw, a coin—left behind on her tongue. Mandy, who has a secret, and Yangyang, who’s spending the summer trying to figure out how to “undo the knots that bind [her] to [her]self,” are frustrated by their cousin’s strange behavior, but are drawn deeper into Cindy’s struggle when the being behind her nightly visitations turns out to be a demon, the “hungry ghost” of a woman who died without “legitimate descendants…to feed [her] offerings,” doomed to wander the afterlife until her hunger “becomes a form of torture.” Needlemouth, as the girls name the demon, enlists the cousins as the tools of her own terrible vengeance, imbuing them with desires that are as heinous as they are horrifyingly familiar. Chang braids NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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chapters told from the girls’ alternating perspectives into a tightly woven storyline that is almost claustrophobically thick with simile. But as the novel oscillates from a pinpoint focus on the body’s most private workings to larger mythological references, the resulting story of loss, love, duty, and suffering explores universal truths with a deft and striking hand. Earthy and transcendent.
Kirkus Star
Clive Cussler Obsidian Sky Cussler, Dirk | Putnam (496 pp.) | $34 November 10, 2026 | 9798217185016
An eco-terrorist poses a dire threat in the latest Dirk Pitt naut ical adventure. In 812 B.C.E., a ship with valuable cargo sinks off the Iberian coast, leaving but one survivor. In 2028, Italian archaeologists are examining the remnants of an ancient village on Pantelleria, a volcanic island known for its obsidian. Exploring a cliffside cave, they make a stunning discovery—and then volcanic activity traps them inside. Luckily, a team from the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) had seen them nearby. Its director, Dirk Pitt, has been searching for the remains of an ancient shipwreck buried in the sandy shallows of the Mediterranean. Brave and resourceful, he searches for a way to rescue the strangers. Fifty miles away, the cargo ship Arabell, carrying the parts for a linear accelerator to Greece, is attacked and sunk. No one survives. The CIA asks NUMA to check it out as a possible hijacking. The story has enough moving parts to keep the Pitt family busy—Dirk’s offspring, Dirk Jr. and Summer, are both special projects directors at NUMA. The antagonists include brother and sister Fernando and Martina Arza, co-owners of Arza 10
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Geothermal Systems. Fernando is also connected to the Mexican drug cartels, which are spreading the deadly carfentanil. But watch out for Martina, the eco-warrior with such deep concern for the environment that she plans to save the planet above all else. Life-threatening challenges are nearly constant as various heroes avoid one peril only to face another: an aggressive car chase with squealing tires and a flatbed truck dead ahead and rearview mirror spiderwebbed by bullets. Dodging death using a cement mixer. An attack on the submersible Tortuga during which NUMA’s Al Giordino likens his predicament to “fighting a rhino with a broomstick.” From the ancient shipwreck comes an ancient jug and scroll that just might be worth killing for. An Old Testament reference sums everything up. Jumping Jehoshaphat! Nonstop excitement.
The First House Doshi, Avni | Summit (256 pp.) | $28 November 10, 2026 | 9781668204863
A husband’s announcement that their marriage is over triggers his wife’s top-to-bottom reconsideration of the union and its hinterland. Like her Booker Prize–shortlisted debut, Burnt Sugar (2021), Doshi’s second novel opens with a bang as the unnamed husband declares the end of a 13-year marriage, complete with two daughters, and the
wife describes herself as decapitated by the news. What follows is the nameless woman’s introspective autopsy of the relationship, vacillating between her own and her partner’s contribution to the failure. While their connection began romantically enough, her episodic account reveals many of the husband’s shortcomings, including an opaque, restrictive approach to their finances and lies about having been tested for sexually transmitted diseases. But the wife also blames and criticizes herself— “too rigid, too possessive and oldfashioned”—and acknowledges her collusion: “To love was to not know. To be faithful was to look resolutely away from knowing.” Slowly the lens widens as, wracked with grief, struggling to hold things together, she’s rescued by her parents and sister, Didi, to whom she hasn’t spoken in nearly a decade. An Indian heritage, hinted at already, now comes into clearer focus, as does her family background, including the “peculiar parents” and their own marriage, living proof that happiness is an impossibility. Insightful and revelatory though this narrative often is, its interiority, narrow focus, and limited storyline can seem stifling, even when leavened by various pointedly symbolic elements including astrology, mythology, the statuary in a neighbor’s garden, a stray cat only later discovered to be male, and a coming cicada brood. Doshi’s prose is simple yet piercing, and her slow unpeeling of the relationship captures the shifting nature of self-scrutiny. But the novel’s upswing of an ending doesn’t defeat its largely downbeat mood. An unsparing anatomization of one of life’s familiar turning points.
An eco-terrorist poses a dire threat in the new Dirk Pitt nautical adventure. CLIVE CUSSLER OBSIDIAN SKY
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Dead Teenagers Doyle, Jude Ellison S. | Illus. by Caitlin Yarsky | Oni Press (128 pp.) | $19.99 paper October 6, 2026 | 9798894883359
Adolescents grapple with trauma and the meaning of life in this darkly humorous high school horror story set in the late 1990s. In a series of blog posts earlier this year, Doyle explained in precise, humorous detail what often happens to teens in 1980s and ’90s movies, anime, and other forms of pop culture: robots hunt and kill them, mannequins kill them, and virtual-reality games suck them into dark computer worlds forever. Doyle explores these bizarrely entertaining teen tropes in vivid, shocking ways in this volume (which collects Dead Teenagers #1-5), in which a 1997 prom night goes horribly wrong for five teens, who keep reliving the experience in different ways on a repeating time loop. Like most teen protagonists, these high schoolers are rebellious, anti-authority, and uninterested in the generation that preceded them. They’re well aware that they’re trapped in a deathly time loop, and yet they remain cool and snarky about their situation. “What is it this time?” one kid says dryly, seconds before a giant lizard devours everyone at the prom. The deaths become increasingly gruesome and bizarre. Illustrator Yarsky visualizes the stabbings, bludgeonings, and subsequent blood baths in vivid, cinematic detail: large knives jab through torsos, wood bats smash into faces, and shards of glass poke through eyeballs. But the book isn’t all shameless gore. Doyle and Yarsky tap into the insecurity, loneliness, and trauma teens experience. Like many of those campy horror films Doyle dissects on his blog, this graphic novel taps into morsels of truth about adolescents. They wonder if they’re smart, if people like them. They think K IR KU S R E V IE W S
about death all the time, but never think about actually getting older.
A fantastically bizarre and demented look at the teenage mindset.
Our Greatest Work: A Novel by Twins Eichner, Sam & Joe Eichner | Akashic (296 pp.) | $28.95 | November 10, 2026 9781636143194
A madcap novel about identical twins, co-written by identical twins. The great majority of this novel is narrated in alternating first-person chapters by 28-year-old Jewish twins Sam and Joe Eichner. At the start, Joe, an actor, is flying from Paris to the twins’ hometown of Chicago for their 10-year high school reunion. His sections take the form of him narrating the story to Broadway actor Anthony Rapp, the original star of Rent, who happens to be seated next to him on the plane. The other twin, Sam, has been living in Aix-en-Provence, France, for almost two years, working as a guide for Ramble, a company that “facilitate[s] world travel for remote workers, primarily upper-crust Americans,” when Isaac, a nefarious high school friend of both brothers, offers him a generous deal for a novel he has yet to start, suggesting he write about himself and Joe. The brothers have been estranged for years, owing to a series of farcical events including blackmail related to Sam’s role in a high school production of Rent; Chloe, a fellow Rent actor who was Sam’s first love (but shares history with Joe, too); and an inebriated butter-knife stabbing that occurred in Florence while the twins were studying abroad. During that study-abroad period, the twins also meet Diane, who becomes an object of rotating affection among their friends and who will only become more crucial to the plot as the story continues. Despite their distance from
and bitterness toward one another, each twin feels inextricable from the other: Thinking of a childhood game with two set roles, Joe says, “It was more like we were both both, unable to decipher even among ourselves who was really who.” It can get hard to tell the twins’ voices apart, and cases of mistaken identity drive the plot. A confrontation seems inevitable; the only question is how it will go. The antique gun introduced early in the book does go off in the end. A bitingly funny and riotous novel of identity and family that unfolds at a dizzying pace.
Kirkus Star
Middleman Flaherty, Brendan | Atlantic Crime (304 pp.) $27 | November 10, 2026 | 9780802167422
Small-town screw-up Jake Flynn is drawn into a world of crime by a childhood classmate he hasn’t seen in 30 years. Jake, 39 “and already exhausted,” lives in (fictional) Bellewood, Connecticut, with his long-suffering but remarkably tolerant wife, Mattie, the family breadwinner, and their two kids. They’re looking to move out of their cramped rental house into a home of their own but those hopes are plummeting as Jake, a one-time novelist, messes up at his job at an online marketing company. His circumstances aren’t helped by the sudden appearance of the loquacious Eddie Seymour, who’s every bit the delinquent he was when he and Jake were kids and threw plastic bags filled with urine at passing cars. After discovering Eddie living in the barn behind Jake’s house (both owned by Eddie’s uncle), Jake becomes an instant object of manipulation, suckered into posing with sexual playmates of Eddie’s just as they bare their breasts for the camera. In spite of everything, NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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the lonely Jake gradually warms to Eddie, allowing himself to become implicated in a scheme to steal a valuable stained-glass window from a mausoleum. Eddie desperately wants it to complete an art installation he’s creating for the town’s annual Big Flea event. Trevor Cosgrove, a troubled teen whose father is in prison, and Eddie’s fragile mother, Edwina, the self-appointed town historian, also get caught up in the scheme, which culminates in a devastating event on Main Street and a shocking revelation. Making the hapless Jake and especially the conniving Eddie sympathetic is an impressive feat. Flaherty achieves it by tapping into the basic humanity beneath the absurdity. “Like, is this the end of people?” Eddie asks in the calm before the storm. He’s not just talking about climate change. The human comedy takes a wicked turn in Flaherty’s masterfully orchestrated novel.
Why Trees Gold, Hannah | Hogarth (272 pp.) | $29 January 19, 2027 | 9798217060887
Eight short stories of New Yorkers who work, or at least think about working, in the arts. Gold’s stories have clever premises, fine sentences, and interesting, sometimes endearing characters drawn from New York’s creative class, and it’s possible to read quite a bit of this book before beginning to think some essential glue that keeps a book in a reader’s hands is missing. It’s more like a talent show than a play, or even a series of one-acts, which is not to say it’s not entertaining; it’s just not very involving. In “Notes on the Boyfriend Chair,” a narrator who identifies herself as a “night blogger” reveals that she’s producing her dispatch seated atop her boyfriend, straddling his torso, leaning back against his knees, and since “Absent 12
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Editor” isn’t around to stop her, she decides to produce a numbered disquisition in the style of Susan Sontag’s “Notes on ‘Camp’” about the Boyfriend Chair itself. “The Boyfriend Chair, after all, is not only a boyfriend, just as he is not only a chair.” “Cersei Lannister sitting on the Iron Throne is not Boyfriend Chair, whereas Daenerys Targaryen sitting on the Iron Throne profoundly is.” It goes on in this vein for quite some time. Throughout the book, there are many sentences that are little marvels of comic writing in themselves. In “The Loud Parts,” set at a boutique literary agency where one of the agents has died at his desk, one of the survivors recites a list of all the things she doesn’t like to read. It includes both English and American detective novels, stories set in the suburbs and in the future, and “leather jacket stories”—“the kind of story that sounds like a man in a leather jacket is explaining the most mundane details of his day to a person he considers an idiot.” There’s a good chance this collection is exactly what she’s looking for. A vivacious display of writing talent and comic pizazz; plot development, not so much.
The Taper Man: A Novel of John le Carré’s Circus Harkaway, Nick | Viking (416 pp.) | $30 November 17, 2026 | 9798217061877
The year 1965 finds iconic British intelligence agent George Smiley hunting for a Soviet spy in… Los Angeles? The rationale for Smiley’s trip is as tangled as its itinerary. It begins when a late-night phone call from the Circus, the intelligence agency created by Harkaway’s father, John le Carré, rushes Smiley from London to Helsinki, where field agent Bill Haydon has been shot in a chaotic tussle that’s left two other people dead.
Haydon can’t tell Smiley anything useful about the incident, but the backstory of one of the fatalities, California-bound Soviet agent Rolan Gusev, alerts Smiley to the danger a British agent in Moscow may be facing from Soviet counterintelligence. Even though the Cousins—that is, members of the American intelligence community—rounded up California’s Russian spies in 1955, Smiley suspects that the Soviets may have left behind a taper man, a backup agent intended to lie low until the network is ready to be reactivated. Following the trail to LA, Smiley searches diligently for any trace of a long-term, deeply buried Soviet agent. In the meantime, economist Roy Bland, the Circus agent who’s been planted in Moscow, decides to cement his credentials by taking out citizenship in the USSR—a perfectly reasonable step that blows up in his face, threatening to expose him unless he goes on the run. Harkaway masterfully evokes the 3-D chessboard on which Smiley and his Soviet counterpart Karla hatch their schemes, each one hoping to see one move further into the future than the other. Readers who can follow, much less predict, every turn in this densely plotted installment are invited to submit their applications to their own national intelligence service. The Cold War has never felt hotter.
Pushcart Prize LI: Best of the Small Presses (2027) Henderson, Bill & Pushcart Prize editors— Eds. | Pushcart (600 pp.) | $38 December 1, 2026 | 9781888889260
The venerable literary anthology gets longer in the tooth but remains a trustworthy gauge of writerly trends. Founder and longtime chief editor Henderson opens with a declaration of war against AI, writing—and it seems not hyperbolically—that “we mere carbon K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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These young characters might be cousins to those in an Éric Rohmer film. B R I G H T M O N DAY
sorts are in real physical, social, and spiritual danger.” To reinforce his admonition, the first entry in the annual, Joy Deva Baglio’s short story “We Are Sorry for Your Suffering,” imagines an immediate future in which the few surviving humans on the planet inhabit stately domes (AI-built, of course) that protect them from knowing that the world outside, as the bot narrator tells us, is sheltered by a sky “full of ash, [and] that the real sun cannot be seen.” That the world is in such a sorry state is courtesy of AI itself, destroying it “the way your ancestors dealt with unwanted life.” Several later entries summon up the specter of those ghostly algorithms, such as Amanda Bachman’s sardonic statement of first principles for the company that makes the Plagiarism Machine™, which “copy-pastes existing innovation into fake sentient sentences.” Another hint comes with Alberto Ríos’ elegant poem “A Dictionary of the Wind,” with its perhaps ominous closing: “The f uture will speak our words. / But there is another language ahead.” Richard Siken’s prose poem “Strata” rejoins, “We rise into language for only so long before we fall back down into silence.” The overall mood of the volume is somber, punctuated here and there with mostly black humor (writes Suzanne Rivecca of a rebellious teenager caught using drugs, “She and Dad commissioned our neighbor’s girlfriend, a weird snakehandling breed of Christian with pointy red nails, to give me an exorcism”). As ever, the writers in this volume, in whatever genre, deliver skillful work with a very high signal-to-noise ratio. Henderson and company’s exacting standards shape another state-ofthe-literary-art collection. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
The Notebook Trilogy Kristóf, Ágota | Trans. by Alan Sheridan, David Watson & Marc Romano Grove (416 pp.) | $20 paper November 17, 2026 | 9780802168306
A brooding portrait of lives lived without morals, originally published in three volumes: The Notebook (1988), The Proof (1991), and The Third Lie (1996). A woman arrives in a backwater village from “the Big Town” with two young boys, twins. She informs an old woman living at a house on the outskirts that the boys, refugees from the bombing back home, are her grandsons. “People call her the Witch,” recounts one of them. “She calls us ‘sons of a bitch.’” Grandmother has a point. In a world consumed by war—the time, never mentioned, is World War II, the setting transparently the author’s native Hungary—the boys have few feelings for anyone but each other. They’re brilliant: “They’re too advanced for their age,” their father says. “They know too much.” As if on the way to becoming Nietzschean supermen, they condition themselves to endure violence by beating each other senseless. They practice violence on others, too. One victim is a randy housekeeper who taunts a prisoner bound for a concentration camp, earning her a bullet that hits her full in the face. Questioned by the police, Lucas and Claus—we don’t learn their anagrammatic names for scores of pages—respond bluntly, “People are cruel. They like to kill. It’s war that
has taught them that.” Others fall, too: Mother and a newborn baby, not sired by Father, are killed by a wayward shell. Father dies when Claus leads him to a minefield on the frontier, then crosses into the west and freedom. Left to his own devices in their now-dead grandmother’s home, Lucas indulges most of the other mortal sins. Kristóf ’s relentlessly grim, matter-of-fact story nicely bookends The Painted Bird and The Tin Drum, although the last volume in the trilogy is perplexing, calling into question much that has happened earlier and ending on a tentative but fittingly bleak note. A skillfully told, exceedingly strange work in which existential despair is one of the brighter moods.
Kirkus Star
Bright Monday Leavitt, David | Bloomsbury (272 pp.) $27.99 | January 12, 2027 | 9781639738632
A chance encounter prompts an American writer to reconsider— and perhaps renew—his decades-old affair with an Italian man. Is life just a series of “speed traps and holding patterns,” as Adam, the middle-aged narrator of this novel, believes? Then what can it mean when he runs into Francesco, a charismatic former lover, at a Milan dog park on Easter Sunday, 32 years after they last parted? Adam, now married to Robert, happens to be on sabbatical in Italy to translate a novel by an Elena Ferrante–like writer; Francesco casually smiles and greets him “as if the love affair we had in our early youth, rather than the traumatic watershed it had always seemed to me, was merely a blip, a fling, a frivol of little importance when compared with the big adult dramas that had marked the intervening decades.” So Adam is >>> NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Fully Booked
The sequel she swore she’d never write: Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Truths is a triumph. BY MEGAN LABRISE
EPISODE 492: LIANE MORIARTY
“I often wish that you didn’t even have to write a blurb on the cover of the book, because I want everything to come as a complete surprise. That’s the way I used to read—just pick a book off the shelves at the library.” —Liane Moriarty
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:
Waymaker by Michael D. Warden Maud and Pearl by Pearl Allen Andree Parrot Heaven by Jessica Howland Kany
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To listen to the The Riddle of the Trees episode, visit by Marc S. Perlman Kirkus online.
Los Rios by Bryan Zimmerman
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On this episode of Fully Booked, Liane Moriarty joins us to discuss Big Little Truths (Crown, Aug. 25). This is the wildly anticipated sequel to 2014’s Big Little Lies—the novel that made Moriarty the first Australian author to debut at No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list and became a hit HBO series starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, and Zoë Kravitz. “Ten years later, the friends from Big Little Lies have new headaches, traumas, and secrets,” Kirkus writes in a starred review of Big Little Truths, which is set to become Season 3 of the series. However, our critic cautions, “Don’t wait for the TV series—Moriarty’s sparkling writing is worth the read.” Here’s a bit more from our review: “Moriarty has reclaimed her girl group after their HBO-funded joyride in Monterey, California, with a sequel that returns them to Australia’s Pirriwee Peninsula. She writes this in a brief author’s note that also suggests the new book can be read independently of either the first or the series, which is not wrong, but it certainly helps to come in with a clear mental directory of this large cast and their complicated relationships.…As the novel opens, a bizarre incident occurs in the principal’s office at the local high school.… There’s no shortage of plot, but Moriarty’s real gift is for witty dialogue and relatable characters. Once you get them straight, you’ll follow them anywhere.” Moriarty is the author of the No. 1 New York Times bestsellers Apples Never Fall, The Husband’s Secret, Truly Madly Guilty, and Here One Moment; the New York Times
Big Little Truths Moriarty, Liane
Crown | 464 pp. | $34.00 Aug. 25, 2026 | 9780593798638
bestsellers Nine Perfect Strangers, What Alice Forgot, and The Last Anniversary; The Hypnotist’s Love Story; and Three Wishes. She lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two children. In an unforgettable conversation, Moriarty shares her evolution from an author who said she’d never write a sequel to…well, maybe just the one. We discuss the unique ways the hit series influenced the new novel, moral ambiguity, friendship, book launches, and much more. Editor at large Megan Labrise hosts the Fully Booked podcast. To listen to the episode, visit Kirkus online.
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Book to Screen
Zoe Kazan and Jeb Stuart are writing a new adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Western. Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove is headed to the small screen once again, Deadline reports. Netflix is developing a series adaptation of McMurtry’s sprawling 1985 novel, which follows a group of retired Texas Rangers, including Augustus “Gus” McCrae and Woodrow F. Call, as they embark on an epic cattle drive to Montana. A critic for Kirkus wrote of the book, “This is a masterly novel. It will appeal
Stuar t: Charley Gallay/Get t y Images for Net flix ; Kaz an: Bruce Glikas/Get t y Images
New Lonesome Dove Series in the Works at Netflix
to all lovers of fiction of the first order.” The novel, which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, was memorably adapted into a 1989 miniseries written by William D. Wittliff and starring Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, and Diane Lane. The series won seven Emmy Awards. The new series will be written by Zoe Kazan and Jeb Stuart, who will serve as showrunners, too. The pair are also showrunners on the Netflix adaptation of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden that premiered in October. Kazan and Stuart said in a statement, “After our singular experience on East of Eden, we are thrilled to be teaming with Netflix again, along with Teton Ridge Entertainment, to bring Larry McMurtry’s western classic to life. We come to this material with love and respect, and can’t wait to hit the trail with Gus and Call and the rest of these beloved characters. Yee-haw.”—M.S.
For a review of Lonesome Dove, visit Kirkus online.
Jeb Stuart, left, and Zoe Kazan
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S E E N A N D H E A R D // F I C T I O N
SEEN AND HEARD New Novel by Kristin Hannah Coming in 2027 St. Martin’s will publish The Fire next May. Kristin Hannah’s first novel since her runaway bestseller The Women is coming in 2027. St. Martin’s will publish The Fire next spring, Elle reports. The press calls the novel “an exploration of the bonds between women and the transformative power of finding one’s voice.” Hannah made her literary debut in 1991 with A Handful of Heaven and had a breakthrough hit with the 2008 novel Firefly Lane. In 2015, she published The Nightingale, a World War II novel that became a bestseller; a film adaptation starring Dakota and Elle Fanning is scheduled for release next March. Her most recent
novel, The Women, was published in 2024. St. Martin’s says The Fire will follow Merritt Locke, a woman who, in the wake of a public betrayal, embarks on a cross-country road trip to repair her relationship with her estranged daughter. “An epic novel that reckons with the history we are all living through, The Fire is an anthem to those who feel invisible and forgotten, and a rallying cry for women of every age to stand together to be seen…and heard,” the press says. Hannah told Elle, “The genesis was…the sort of realization that sometimes the challenges presented in ordinary life can be every bit as disruptive and difficult as the historical times that I’ve been writing about.” The Fire is slated for publication on May 4, 2027.—M.S.
Kev in Ly nch
For reviews of Kristin Hannah’s books, visit Kirkus online.
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invited to lunch with Francesco and his wife, Natalia. Back in New York, Natalia had been Adam’s best friend, Francesco her boyfriend, and the secret affair a terrible betrayal. Now Natalia is welcoming, while Francesco, as “bold and exhibitionistic” as ever, kisses him in the elevator on the way up to the apartment. The heart of the novel recounts their backstory— a long, wonderfully engaging section that draws readers back to early-1990s New York, when Adam fell in with a circle of expatriate 20-something Italians through his gay friend Emilio. These young characters might be cousins to those in an Éric Rohmer film—idly meeting, gossiping, smoking, philosophizing—but their lives are also shadowed by the AIDS epidemic, then raging unabated. (Scenes at a downtown “safe sex club” and a post-funeral lunch are somehow both comical and poignant.) The author, who sprang to critical acclaim with his 1984 story collection, Family Dancing, was there—and it shows. Past and present collide in this funny, rueful novel.
Dead Batteries Maupin, Kate | Crown (288 pp.) | $29 October 27, 2026 | 9798217088232
After a near future apocalypse, a single mother with a young autistic son struggles to help them both survive. Fans of The Last of Us will find much to like in this tale of dystopian deprivation, in which a woman named May and her 10-year-old child, Davis, who has high support needs, are hunkered down in a Connecticut library, eating canned beans and stale crackers after a massive outbreak of the White Lung virus decimated the population and caused infrastructure breakdowns. May addresses her husband, Pat, who left his family when Davis was still a toddler. “I thought you were coming, 18
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Gift giving is risky business in this modern take on a Christmas classic. THE GIFT
Pat. I know you only said you’d try, and I also know better. But I kept hoping,” she says, worn out from foraging for scarce supplies and exhausted from coping with Davis’ unpredictable and often incomprehensible behaviors. As time passes, May finds it more and more difficult to know definitively who might be a member of a group like the Ghosts, vigilantes commandeering old school buses as their headquarters. Even after a rough-edged man calling himself Bird prods May into trying to reach a community called Beacon Village, she remains wary, as Bird attempts to coax Davis out of his well-loved routines: “He’s got to learn,” Bird says, taking the boy out to gather firewood. Once the ragtag trio encounters a Beacon Village scouting group at an abandoned hotel, May faces Holly, a community Warden, who feels Davis has been indulged. “There is no path forward where he does not endanger us,” she says, without a flicker of sympathy. Author Maupin is excellent at describing post-event workarounds like May discovering an unopened jar of peanut butter, or Bird finding a bunch of wrapped tampons. Some of the late plot twists feel as frantic as Holly’s attempts to maintain hierarchy. However, Maupin shows the deep bond a mother has to create in parenting a neurodiverse child, as well as how far that mother has to go to both protect and nurture the child. Davis may have limited verbal ability, but he’s fully human, capable of connection, and eminently worth saving. An occasionally overwrought but affecting take on how relationships and communities might be tested in the wake of disaster.
The Gift McFadden, Freida | Poisoned Pen (80 pp.) $14.99 | November 3, 2026 | 9781464249655
Newlyweds’ first Christmas is filled with surprises that aren’t on anyone’s wish list. On Christmas Eve, a waitress who can barely pay her bills is offered an irresistible barter in this edgy holiday novella with a shocking conclusion. Stella Hansen is working a double shift at a Bronx diner when her husband, Justin, texts her that he wants them to exchange gifts when her shifts are over. Unfortunately, Stella hasn’t been able to afford a present for Justin, and her desperation leads her to accept a mysterious woman’s invitation to visit Helga’s Attic, her antique shop, where Helga promises Stella will find the perfect gift. Stella indeed finds what she believes is the ideal present for Justin. She has no money to spend, but Helga offers Stella a way to buy the gift anyway. Stella reluctantly accepts Helga’s offer, but her excitement turns to something else when she arrives home and discovers that Justin’s gift to her is not what she expected. Her gift to him, which she sacrificed so much for, sets off a confrontation that neither of them sees coming. Inspired by O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” bestselling crime novelist McFadden tells a completely different, slightly twisted tale about the lengths people will go for the ones they love. The added dose of darkness here reminds us that not all presents are appreciated, and not all holidays are merry and bright. Like all McFadden’s novels, this K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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short gem evokes the power of women to take control of their lives no matter the consequences.
Gift giving is risky business in this deliciously modern take on a timeless Christmas classic.
The Party in the Woods McPhillips, Fiona | Pine & Cedar/ Flatiron Books (272 pp.) | $29.99 November 10, 2026 | 9781250908278
Twenty-some years after a transcendent Irish rave ends in murder, the truth will finally come out. In 2001, Annie Fagan and her group of DJ friends created a group called Bacchanalia to “forge connections between diverse but like-minded people.” Their crowning achievement was a rave at an abandoned, burned out space in the Dublin mountains called the Hellfire Club, but the night of their triumph was tainted when one of their friends, Seán Salinger, went missing. Now, in the present day, his body is found buried in a shallow grave, and it becomes clear that he was murdered. Many of the original group have lost touch with each other; Annie is married to Colm and they have two kids, but their struggle to stay afloat financially is taking a toll on their marriage. When she’s called in by the police to make a statement about that night so long ago, she reconnects with her old boyfriend, Fran. Sparks fly, and so do suspicions: Who was behind Seán’s death? Why has no one seen Seán’s boyfriend, Ozzy, since that night at Hellfire? Who’s behind an attack on their friend Moe? As Annie fights to uncover the truth, she also has to confront the bitter horror of her abusive marriage, and begin to find herself once again in her music. Despite the high drama of the plot, most of the confrontations and revelations are talk- rather than action-heavy, which weighs down the pacing. Still, K IR KU S R E V IE W S
McPhillips clearly knows her music, and some passages read like love letters to electronic music and the artists who know how to touch and inspire a crowd. There’s biting commentary on the current economic situation in Ireland; the class divide between characters is a real issue, and McPhillips shows us how even idealistic youths get caught in the trap of capitalism. A unique setting and passionate descriptions of music add interest to a fairly closed-door mystery.
Jaded Meredith, Anne | Summit (368 pp.) | $29 January 12, 2027 | 9781668217689
In 1986, two married professors at a small, New York liberal arts college become obsessed with the same inscrutable young woman. Sam and Vera Ward have settled on a routine. She teaches fine art, he teaches film. They live together but sleep in separate bedrooms. And every August, they decide who Sam will sleep with. Their marriage is built on two explicit rules—they won’t lie to each other and any girl Sam selects has to be at least 20 years old—and two implicit ones—the dalliance will end when the school year concludes and Vera will not have an affair of her own. (After all, this whole arrangement came about because Vera was no longer interested in having a sexual relationship with Sam.) But when punk beauty Jade Harris lands on their doorstep by accident, the Wards are sent into a tailspin of desire and guilt. Emotional entanglement, heavy drinking, and other misbehavior swiftly follow. This debut novel is treading increasingly familiar ground, and struggles to distinguish itself from other entries in the professors behaving badly genre (e.g., Vladimir, Seduction Theory). The prose is often funny (an excerpt from one of Sam’s attempted seductions: “‘Let’s get to know each other. Really,
I mean it. Tell me about yourself.’ And then he did most of the talking”), but never biting enough to qualify as a campus satire, nor are the romantic assignations—perhaps with one exception—salacious enough to raise the eyebrows of anyone who enjoys romance novels. Meredith has crafted a trio of intriguing, complicated characters, but the choice to withhold their backstories until the final third of the book keeps the reader from being able to fully appreciate their many contradictions. Like secondhand gossip, it piques the reader’s interest without ever quite satisfying it.
We Belong to the Trees Mopai, Keletso | Seven Stories (224 pp.) $18.95 paper | November 17, 2026 9781644215838
A murder on a South African farm exposes long-simmering tensions over land and race. South African writer Mopai’s sharp, sensitive debut novel is largely set in 1996, on a farm in the town of Tzaneen. There, an Afrikaner farmer, Mr. Viljoen, has long bullied his Black assistants and physically abused his wife, Sunette. During an argument one evening, Viljoen shoots and kills one of those assistants, a security guard named Maluka. To reveal the motives behind this incident and its implications, Mopai fractures the story into chapters told from the perspectives of a host of people, including Maluka’s 12-year-old brother, Solly, now left without an immediate family; Maluka’s fiancée, Cola, who’s pregnant when he dies; Solly’s Aunt Esther, who sees echoes of past violence in the incident; and Viljoen and Sunette’s son, Nicolas, who carries scars from the event. With each chapter, the tragedy widens, encompassing the damage to two families and the decades-long resentments over Afrikaners’ usurpation of historically NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Black land. (“You know, just because Nelson Mandela is now president they think they own everything in this country,” Viljoen grumbles.) Deeper still, Mopai shows how the apartheid era was emotionally repressive, as Sunette, Solly, and Nicolas are all compelled to stifle their affections due to taboos around race and sexuality. Mopai offers just enough history to provide context, but this relatively short novel is dense with characterizations, nearly to the point of airlessness, and closes with an optimism that feels pat. Even so, Mopai’s ambition is admirable, and her capacity to explore the resonances of a single incident suggests a bigger, more sweeping novel is well within her capacity. A powerful, dense story of racism lingering after the end of apartheid.
Forming Moynihan, Jesse | Fantagraphics (448 pp.) $49.99 | October 6, 2026 | 9798875002632
Moynihan crafts a dizzying, impenetrable epic incorporating elements of various world religions in a mishmash of theology, SF, and psychedelia. It would be nearly impossible to summarize the plot, which begins with a semi-straightforward variation on a theory of ancient aliens before branching out into the centuriesspanning saga of dozens of characters on multiple planets and planes of existence. As the extraterrestrial Mithras hurtles through space toward Earth, he speaks in a mix of grandiose pronouncements and vulgar slang that’s Moynihan’s signature style through out the story. At first, it’s amusing to witness these mythical beings indulging in scatological humor and copious swearing while also talking about their world-shaping ambitions, but it’s a one-note approach that quickly grows tiresome. Moynihan helpfully provides a key to the dozens of major characters at the beginning of the book, but even 20
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that chart is only mildly helpful at telling them apart, especially when some of them change identities, merge, or travel across time. There are variations on familiar religious figures from various traditions like Adam and Eve, Zeus, and Lucifer, but if Moynihan has anything meaningful to say about faith or tradition, it’s lost amid the repetitive and seemingly endless battles, sexual escapades, and florid speeches. At a certain point, the best strategy is simply to surrender to the incoherence and just appreciate Moynihan’s colorful and creative art, which has a pleasingly woozy quality. His work recalls the mystical comics of cult creators like Alejandro Jodorowsky and Brandon Graham, and readers who are able to attune to his esoteric wavelength may eventually find something profound under all the nonsense. An occasionally beautiful but largely incomprehensible trip through the origins of life, the universe, and everything.
The Most Dangerous Games MrBeast & James Patterson Morrow/HarperCollins (480 pp.) | $35 September 1, 2026 | 9780063515222
Survivor meets And Then There Were None in this apocalyptic gaming suite. A thousand candidates have been chosen to compete in a series of games designed to identify The One who can save humanity from all the stuff humanity needs to be saved from. Once they’re assembled in the middle of Ohio, the pool, who’ve been told they’re competing for a $1 billion prize, is quickly cut down to 200, then 100. But Patterson and his pseudonymous co-author are most interested in a dozen of the candidates, from Aleksandra Andrich, a survivor of Carpathian civil wars, and Hannah Wagner, a precocious MIT student from Germany, to Jack
McHenry, a former foster child and Army Ranger, and Ant Tipton, a conscience-free alum of the British Royal Marines. For their hazardous first test, one group is ordered to cross Antarctica’s Erebus Ice Tongue and another to swim through the shark- infested waters from South America to El Fin del Mundo, an island in the nearby Pacific Ocean. The second test for the survivors of Round 1 is to play their choice of checkers, chess, Scrabble, or Go against an unbeatable AI. The third test…but you get the idea. Things change when Jimmy Donaldson, the creator who designed the games under the misimpression that the rules he’d established wouldn’t be changed, goes hunting for the shadowy forces behind them, “a private apparatus that mimics a state.” (Jimmy Donaldson also happens to be MrBeast’s real name, a fact that’s known in the world of the book.) Readers will be treated to nonstop action sequences involving characters hiding secret pasts that are never fully revealed, presumably because Patterson and MrBeast have a sequel in mind. That’s probably why the climax doesn’t settle very much either. As suspenseful and featherweight as watching other people ride a roller coaster with no guardrails.
Kirkus Star
Shut Up, I Love You, I’ll Call You Tomorrow Murphy, Sloane | LittlePuss Press (136 pp.) $16.95 paper | November 10, 2026 9781964322148
The lives of several young trans women in Chicago tangle and interweave in these keenly observed short stories. The protagonists of this debut collection can be found all over the Windy City—in dive bars, old apartment buildings, and bathhouses, at open mic nights, on the baseball field, driving trucks down snowy K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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streets. They are each other’s friends or exes or both. They go to the same house parties, where there’s a decent chance they’ll drink too much or kiss someone inadvisable. Always, they are complicated women, muddling their way through adulthood and navigating their own and the world’s understanding of their transness. In “Thank You, I’ve Been an Open Wound,” Joan lands the opportunity to open for a more established stand-up comic and must contend with the sexualization and abuse that come with niche celebrity. In “Hello Daughter,” Freddie’s evening plans are interrupted by a surprise visit from her mother, Lori, who longs to understand her. In “Pretty Girls Get Treated Better,” we watch a preoccupation with physical appearance corrode Sybil’s relationships, and in the potent collection closer, “Our Lady of Perpetual Help,” Joan’s ex-wife, Carolina, discovers the cost of trying to save everyone in crisis. Murphy skillfully balances humor and pathos, due in large part to her eye for detail and understanding of the myriad ways a person’s behavior can be interpreted by others. (On one woman’s fashion: “She’s still wearing a silver necklace Agnes got her at the Village Discount. She said it gave murdered Tennessee prom queen and that she was shooting for that this year.”) This captivating collection of character studies doubles as a portrait of community as a living, breathing thing. As refreshing as an ice-cold beer, and well worth savoring.
Family Language Nelson, Nicole | Melville House (336 pp.) $21.99 paper | November 10, 2026 9781685892616
A childless linguistics scholar takes in her orphaned nephew and risks losing her sense of self. As this debut novel opens, 34year-old Mona Melamed, a married professor of linguistics in K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Southern California, is trying to get a doctor to sign off on a hysterectomy. Mona’s decision not to have children springs from numerous sources. There is the sense that her ambitious mother’s career was curtailed by Mona’s arrival, and Mona’s own feeling that she lacks maternal instinct. Most important is Mona’s drive toward tenure and a groundbreaking career. Mona is on the verge of a potential research breakthrough—she calls it “the Melamed generalization,” and it revolves around patterns of word shortening in speech—when disaster strikes. Her husband’s brother and sister-in-law die while hiking in the desert, leaving behind their 6-year- old son, Miles. After Mona and her husband take guardianship of Miles, Mona tries desperately to hold on to her old life despite a one-semester leave from her university job—but what will she lose and what will she gain when she becomes the mother she never imagined being? Nelson, who holds a doctorate in linguistics, maps the idea of language systems onto interpersonal dynamics cleverly: “We use [dismissive reduplication] when we want to trivialize something, throwing in the Yiddish consonant cluster ‘schm’: feminist-schmeminist, marriageschmarriage, mother-schmother.” This pop of wit is sorely needed: So much of the novel feels stiff and formal. Perhaps this makes sense for Mona’s character, who comes across as cold and humorless, though the novel offers promising setups for hilarity, as when Mona explains phonology to other mothers at a pool play date. But Nelson’s arm’s-length approach reduces the novel’s other characters, including the grieving Miles, to mere foils to Mona, instead of full characters in themselves. Admirably shrewd, but lacking some necessary heart.
For more by Anna Pitoniak, visit Kirkus online.
Kirkus Star
The Swiss Agent Pitoniak, Anna | Simon & Schuster (368 pp.) $29 | December 1, 2026 | 9781668066461
Two unusual CIA agents, Amanda Cole and Kath Frost, are back in the thick of it. Fans of Pitoniak’s previous novel, The Helsinki Affair (2023), who were hopeful it might be the start of a series, will find their dreams have come true. After doing her bureaucratic penance for the unauthorized mission she took upon herself last time, Amanda is back in Rome, at the sleepy CIA outpost where she’s station chief. When the body of a French chef washes up on the shores of Capri, her sixth sense starts buzzing, and sure enough she’s able to connect it to a Russian oligarch with an Italian villa where—look at this!—the Russian recently hosted a dinner with a NATO official from France. When she reports this, she’s told by the CIA director that it’s nothing of interest and she absolutely may not pursue it. Apparently he still doesn’t realize this ultimatum more or less guarantees the opposite. She calls in her esteemed associate, the semiretired 70-something Kath, who will soon demonstrate she’s even more of a renegade than Amanda. It turns out that the Russian conspiracy in progress, which involves preventing Bosnia from joining NATO, revolves around characters well-known to Kath from a brouhaha she was involved with in the 1990s—one of them a Swiss banker she considered the love of her life. She’s loath to get involved, but when she does, it turns out Amanda doesn’t know her as well as she thinks she does. The political and espionage aspects of the book resolve beautifully but the relationship between these two fascinating, tough-minded women is still clouded by the book’s end, seeming to ensure another installment is on the way. An amusing subplot involves Amanda’s father, also a CIA NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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black sheep, being drafted by the agency to work with a ghostwriter on a high-profile memoir specifically devised to advance American goals.
Readers who love spy novels and those who have avoided them in the past should all try this one.
Kirkus Star
Annie Proulx Stories: New and Selected Proulx, Annie | Scribner (416 pp.) | $30 November 10, 2026 | 9781668243206
A generous sampling of the Pulitzer Prize– winning novelist’s equally acclaimed short fiction, spanning five decades. Proulx’s worldview is bleak, to put it mildly, and she doesn’t lavish undue sympathy on her damaged characters, who grapple with hard luck and hard times against landscapes as harsh as the author’s assessment of American history. Her bravura descriptions of those landscapes are one aspect of a superb mastery of craft that makes these stories a must-read for any serious fiction lover. The collection’s first entry, “Stone City,” from the 1988 volume Heart Songs and Other Stories, already demonstrates the thick particularity of her prose and observations, as an outsider blunders among the “intricate ropes of blood relationship” in a small Vermont town where random disasters and predatory human beings are facts of life. “The Half-Skinned Steer” makes brilliant use of shifting time frames to build suspense, alternating a man’s recollections of the Wyoming ranch he fled in his youth with a nail-bitingly detailed account of his drive back in a blizzard for a funeral. That’s one of five tales from Close Range (1999), possibly her finest collection. Also from that volume are Proulx’s two O. Henry Prize–winners, “The Mud Below” and “Brokeback Mountain,” which for once allow her protagonists a 22
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few moments of joy before they end in desolation. Later stories such as “The Indian Wars Refought” feature a broader historical perspective, though this occasionally leads to a numbing parade of thumbnail character sketches, accompanied (of course) by catastrophic misfortunes. Even Proulx’s less stellar work, however, is never less than readable and stimulating. Of the three new stories, “The Barbecue Master” is as grim as its predecessors, while “The Hadal Zone” offers its protagonist some insight in recompense for considerable loss; only “The Corn Woman, Her Husband and Their Child” ends with a scene of reconciliation—heavily qualified by one character’s medical diagnosis. Dark, dour, and dazzling.
Kirkus Star
Doppelgänger Riviere, Sam | Catapult (240 pp.) | $27 October 20, 2026 | 9781646223466
Near future institutions change how art is made and judged, leaving nascent artists with new and sometimes strange paths to success. Sometimes objects that have lost their everyday purpose become fetishized—like fountain pens—and in Riviere’s new novel, that’s what happens to creative writing. Students at the prestigious Northwick Author Development Academy (or NADA, for laughs) are funneled into various studies (“the comics author was trained in hand-tohand combat” and “screenwriters got to grips with theology”) to have material for books. They’re also placed in cohorts based on their ability to churn out that literature for “masters” in their fields, who assemble “Houses” under their names (not unlike, it must be said, some of the teams big-name novelists have already assembled in the 21st century). One of the concerns that’s bubbled up is the trend of
“twinning,” in which students form pairs and do all sorts of things together, including sometimes finishing each other’s sentences. As the book proceeds, readers learn about NADA, about a student who attempts to renounce his earlier work in hopes of gaining fame, a sinister archive, and more; it’s somewhat oblique, but it all channels the idea that the nature of creation has morphed from individual and specific to collaborative and technical. What holds this enormous amount of whimsy and information together is the gloriously individual and specific imagination of author Riviere, who pokes fun at and plays with every literary shibboleth out there, from students seeking an “author lifestyle” to the shallow chitchat at book events to the self-importance of archivists regardless of the quality of materials filed away. An inventive and challenging fable offering a dark, entirely human, alternative to AI’s destructive capabilities.
Humpty Dumpty Rogers, Harold | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (448 pp.) | $29 | November 10, 2026 9780374620400
Rogers’ second novel depicts a high school apocalypse in downbeat, downtrodden Steubenville, Ohio. Beneath the wordplay and narrative pyrotechnics lies a familiar though disturbing story. Darius Rodgers is an untouchable star in football-mad northeast Ohio, the Big Ten–bound quarterback of an undefeated team steaming toward its first state championship in decades. His mother, Brazil-born Beatriz, has just returned from several years in Rio to make another go at marriage with her loving but wayward bookmaker husband. With her comes Darius’ twin sister, Anna. As the season progresses, K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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Darius and his friend and star receiver Fleet—descendant of Moses Fleetwood Walker, the first Black man to play Major League Baseball, 60 years before Jackie Robinson—feel ever more invincible and grow ever more careless and sexually rapacious. Eventually the young men’s belief that they can do no wrong—or their belief that none of their wrongs can ever have consequences—leads first to ignominy (despite their being correct about how the corrupt adults in power will protect them) and then, eventually, to tragedy. What’s unusual, and most often charming, about the novel is its exuberant metafictional style, which features frequent footnotes, asides, and riffs. The prose isn’t always under perfect control, but it has a raucous, infectious energy and wit that keep the pages turning. Hyperkinetic and darkly comic, Rogers’ novel offers a fresh take on a well-worn tale of male teen hubris.
The Unfinished Work: A Novel of Abraham Lincoln Shaara, Jeff | St. Martin’s (592 pp.) | $35 November 10, 2026 | 9781250356864
An intimate look at Abraham Lincoln’s presidency up to the Battle of Gettysburg. When Lincoln is elected and South Carolina becomes the first of 11 slave states to attempt secession, his duty is to save the Union. North and South come to blows at Fort Sumter, and Commander in Chief Lincoln goes through a series of generals looking for competent leaders willing to attack the enemy. He tires of George McClellan’s endless excuses for not fighting, but the general’s successors vary in competence. Meanwhile, daily life in the White House goes on—Lincoln dresses carelessly, Mary obsesses about shopping, their rambunctious sons Willie and Tad have the run of the house, and countless supplicants visit, K IR KU S R E V IE W S
seeking favors and jobs. “If I hired every man who asked to become a postmaster,” Lincoln says, “there would be no need for anyone to deliver the mail. Just hand it to the fellow next to you.” “Mother,” as the president calls Mary, exceeds her congressional allotment on dresses for herself and on decorations for the White House while “Father,” as she calls him, meets office seekers and pursues the war, typically through telegraph messages. House cats scratch and bite him, and the boys bring pets into their bedroom as Lincoln conducts official business, all the while holding down a deep melancholy worsened by the earlier loss of their son Eddie. Then Willie dies, and Mary is overwhelmed with grief, holding séances to hear from him again. But Lincoln lacks “the luxury of sinking pitifully into a hog pit and wallowing in the mud of my own despair. No one ever suggested that I would actually enjoy this job.” As for the war, Lincoln waits for McClellan’s battlefield victory at Antietam before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863. The story culminates with the Battle of Gettysburg and Lincoln’s timeless words at the dedication of the battlefield’s cemetery. Clearly, it is not the end of the bloodshed. The story spans neither the complete arc of the war nor that of Lincoln’s administration, but his Gettysburg Address is a fitting tribute to our unfinished work. Insightful, moving, and tragic.
Fruit Fly Silver, Josh | Crooked Lane (384 pp.) $19.99 paper | August 4, 2026 9798892426374
A blocked British writer in a bad marriage finds inspiration in the life of a troubled young man. Mallory Maddox is the author of a super successful YA novel whose perfectly curated
London life (interiors by Pooky, Nkuku, and Farrow & Ball) has curdled around her. As Silver’s first adult novel opens, Mallory and her Netflix exec husband, Ronan, are giving a posh party at which she is totally miserable, hiding in the bathroom playing Candy Crush. That night in bed, she downloads Grindr. “Don’t journalists do this kind of thing all the time?” She uploads a picture of her husband’s buff torso, shaved nipples and all, and immerses herself in what appears to her a world of freedom and connection. “Virginia Woolf would have loved Grindr.” When she furtively drives over to a nearby “T-party,” which will seemingly be attended by many people named Tina—both, she soon learns, are code for methamphetamine—she crosses paths with the second narrator, Leo, a young gay addict on the skids, and also a poet of dubious gifts on Instagram. Leo is bringing the T to the T-party, but unfortunately has sampled the goods on the way and ends up on the street, bloody and beaten. Mallory witnesses all this and gives Leo a ride to his halfway house, which he’s about to be kicked out of. That night, Mallory strikes gold, converting the scene she’s just witnessed into Chapter One of a novel called Slay. Literary piracy proceeds apace as she continues to stalk Leo; Leo, meanwhile, spirals into further danger and degradation. Sensing wifey is up to something, Mallory’s uber- controlling husband clamps down hard; his behavior is so extreme that this aspect of the book shades from literary satire into domestic thriller. Meanwhile, Mallory’s contacted her publishers and they’re over the moon. This novel has gathered a head of steam with its U.K. publication but it’s hard to figure out what’s so fresh and exciting here: JT LeRoy meets Yellowface, yada yada, and not a believable or likable character in sight. Depravity tourism with an intro to gay slang, British home decor trends, and publishing politics.
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Long Books for Dark Nights 4
5 For more booklists, visit Kirkus online.
1
1 The Brightness By Chad Harbach
Brilliant, poignant, and absorbing.
2 The Disappearers
4 Public Access Afterworld
By Marlon James
By Jane Schoenbrun
Even when it stress-tests your senses, this sprawling depiction of gay life in Jamaica is galvanizing.
Dazzling and politically acute, Schoenbrun’s debut announces a major literary voice.
3 American Hagwon By Min Jin Lee
The author’s wisdom is a gift to her readers.
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5 A Table for Fortune By William T. Vollmann
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3
Hugely ambitious and with rewards for those with ample time to spare.
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The Disappearers Sells Out After NYT Review Marlon James’ latest novel was praised by the newspaper as a “masterpiece.” An uncommonly enthusiastic review from The New York Times sent readers flocking to buy the latest book from a decorated novelist, according to New York magazine’s Book Gossip newsletter. Literary observers were stunned when staff critic Dwight Garner reviewed
Roy Rochlin/Get t y Images for Author s Guild Foundation
SEEN AND HEARD
Marlon James’ The Disappearers under a headline that did not mince words: “This Masterpiece Is the Novel of the Decade, if Not the Century.” James’ novel, published in September by Riverhead, is set in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1988 and follows the aftermath of a savage attack on a group of gay men that resulted in the death of one. Garner, in his effusive review, wrote, “Why not just say it? With this novel about gay experience and murderous homophobia in Jamaica and elsewhere during the 1980s and ’90s, James has written a masterpiece, the novel of the decade and possibly of the century thus far.” Book Gossip reports that the novel sold out on Amazon after Garner’s review was published; that week the book was ranked No. 147 on the site, and hardcover editions were scheduled to be delivered to customers in two weeks. Book Gossip asked James if he was worried about the hype. “Once a book is out it’s not really mine anymore so I don’t worry about anything people might say about it,” he responded. “Also I’d be glad if ANY book is hyped for once.” —M.S. For a review of The Disappearers, visit Kirkus online.
Marlon James
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A W A R D S // F I C T I O N
AWARDS Winners of the 2026 Hugo Awards Revealed Alix E. Harrow and Amal El-Mohtar are among the authors honored with this year’s prizes. The winners of the Hugo Awards, given annually to outstanding works of science fiction and fantasy, were announced at a ceremony at LAcon V, the 84th World Science Fiction Convention, in Anaheim, California. Alix E. Harrow took home the best novel prize for The Everlasting; the book previously won the Locus Award for best fantasy novel. A critic for Kirkus called the book “an epic timetravel fantasy about how stories from the past can shape our future.” The best novella award went to Amal El-Mohtar for The River Has Roots, while H.H. Pak won in the best novelette category for Never Eaten Vegetables. John Scalzi was honored with the best
Ainsley Coghill
For a review of The River Has Roots, visit Kirkus online.
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series prize for his Old Man’s War novels. Thomas Ha took home the best short story prize for “In My Country,” and winning the best graphic story or comic prize was A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel, Fred Fordham’s adaptation of the classic by Ursula K. Le Guin. The award for best related work went to Ada Palmer for Inventing the Renaissance. C.B. Lee took home the Lodestar Prize, given to a young adult book, for Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe. The Hugo Awards were established in 1953. Previous winners include Michael Chabon for The Yiddish Policemen’s Union and Robert Jackson Bennett for The Tainted Cup.—M.S.
Amal El-Mohtar
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Rituals and Rolling Pins
The Parkwood Murders
Cates, Bailey | Berkley (320 pp.) | $20 paper November 10, 2026 | 9780593641514
Chibnall, Chris | Pamela Dorman/Viking (368 pp.) | $30 | December 1, 2026 9780593831601
A hedgewitch who comes upon yet another body uses her powers to help solve the crime. It’s been only three years since Savannah baker Katie Lightfoot learned from her aunt Lucy that she, like her aunt, is a hereditary hedgewitch. She’s joined the spell book club, her aunt’s group of witchy women, and has learned a great deal about her powers while infusing her bakery’s yummy goods with something extra. Out for a morning run without Mungo, her Cairn terrier—who’s her witch’s familiar—in Whitemarsh Preserve, she finds Steve Dawes, a member of a druid clan with whom she has a complicated past, standing over the body of a woman. Steve is a crime reporter, but it’s Katie who calls Det. Peter Quinn, who’s not surprised that she’s reporting another suspicious death. The body is upside down within a pentagram, indicating bad magic. The first new arrival to the scene is Katie’s husband, Declan, a fireman training to become a paramedic, who knows about Katie’s use of her powers but doesn’t always approve. The dead woman turns out to have been Helena Rose, a podcaster specializing in murder cases with psychic twists who’d wanted to interview Katie. After it turns out that Helena was poisoned with oleander, Katie can’t resist investigating, with assistance from her powerful friends. A group of Helena’s devoted followers seek out Katie’s help in solving the crime, and they invite her to a get-together that evening. Their insight may help solve the case—or may involve her in a dangerous situation that will take all her powers to escape. Plenty of twists and interesting characters in this well-written puzzle with an added dollop of delicious recipes.
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DS Nicola Bridge feels the pressure mount as she investigates a murder at a resort in the English countryside. The Scottish founders of Parkwood resorts wanted to give their patrons an experience “as close to being in nature as possible.” Even though the new corporate owners are more concerned with the bottom line than their predecessors were, the vacationers who flock to the Parkwood Dorset have come to expect all the amenities they need to escape the stress of daily life. So when DS Bridge finds it necessary to shut down the facility’s beloved aquatic center because of a dead body found in the pool, manager Lindsey Moorfield, who’s spent years devoted to her career at Parkwood, is caught in a dilemma. Bridge says nobody leaves the property, and corporate says no refunds. As patrons increasingly complain that this is not the holiday they scrimped and saved all year to pay for, Moorfield leans increasingly on Bridge to solve the crime posthaste. But when Bridge learns that Parkwood Dorset was the center of a previous missing persons case that was never solved, she resolves to be as careful and methodical as she needs to be, starting with an inquiry into whether the two cases might be connected. Chibnall offers a straightforward police procedural complicated by the rich variety of challenges human beings face: unresolved grief, complex romantic entanglements, gender bias, financial constraints, and the consequences of poor decisions. It takes both determination and delicacy for Bridge to balance the demands of her home life and work life while remaining true to her commitment to solve both crimes. Finely drawn characters and a well-plotted puzzle elevate this by-the-book procedural.
We Are Never Ever Solving This Murder Fox, Sarah | Bantam (384 pp.) | $20 paper January 5, 2027 | 9780593984277
A detective in training investigates a murder in a funeral home. Leaning into the possibility of starting a detective agency with handsome, suave Wyatt Quintal Alessi that was first broached in Definitely Maybe Not a Detective (2026), young New Yorker Emersyn Gray has mixed feelings about her role as a trainee in Wyatt Investigations. On the one hand, she’s piqued at the “trainee” designation. On the other, she’s glad to have the chance to get closer to Wyatt and see whether the smoldering glances he casts her way will ever erupt into flames. Their first assignment further complicates Emersyn’s ambivalence, since their client, Sophia Damien, wants them to investigate the death of her brother, Zander, who worked at the House of Evermore Funeral Home. It’s been just a year since Emersyn’s own brother died, leaving her custody of Livy, her 7-year-old niece. Soon Emersyn is feeling all the feels, working undercover at an establishment where death is omnipresent, reporting to a super visor she wants to do more than just supervise her, and acting as Livy’s parent. She’s determined, generous, and loving, but she’s also the kind of idiot who manages to get locked into a casket, a cold storage unit (twice), and the back of a padlocked food truck (also twice). Fox gives Emersyn so many challenges that readers may fear that in addition to never, ever solving Zander’s murder, she may also never, ever raise Livy, fix her best friend’s love life, pay her rent, get Wyatt to declare his love, or reel in the gaggle of elderly neighbors in her building who try to help her but only makes things worse. A more streamlined approach to plot might make Fox’s appealing protagonist shine.
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M Y S T E R Y // F I C T I O N
It’s the sharp characterizations that keep this long-running series fresh. M U R D E R I N T H E C AT H E D R A L
Murder in the Cathedral Greenwood, Kerry | Poisoned Pen (320 pp.) $16.99 paper | November 17, 2026 9781464277450
The irrepressible Phryne Fisher plumbs an ecclesiastical mystery in post–World War I Australia with all her customary style and grace. Phryne and Dot Williams, her lady’s maid and companion, have traveled from Melbourne to Bendigo at the invitation of Phryne’s friend Lionel Watkins, who’s just been appointed bishop of the gold mining area. Phryne suspects her old friend may have some sleuthing in mind for her. Soon after crossing swords with Constable Watson, who’s unhappy to see her, she learns that Lionel’s deacon is worried about something he refuses to explain until after Lionel’s consecration. Phryne attends services at the modest cathedral with Dot, whose devoted Catholicism makes her a bit nervous about the Anglican ceremony—only to witness a shocking murder. Constable Watson, who’s on the scene, keeps everyone there while trying to find a senior officer. Phryne suggests DI Mick Kelly, with whom she’s worked before, and in the meantime assists Watson, which some observers find off-putting, despite her long record of catching killers. The dead man, who was stabbed during the service in full view of the attendees, was Deacon Gordon Holloway, the man who’d had those unshared concerns. A brief glimpse of the killer before he vanished revealed that he was wearing a cassock, K IR KU S R E V IE W S
like so many others in attendance. Working with Mick Kelly, Phryne tries to figure out what Holloway knew that had made him a target. Along the way, she uncovers a great many secrets including sex, church politics, and a scheme to reopen a closed gold mine. Dangerous adventures follow before the truth is revealed. While the mysteries remain clever, it’s the sharp characterizations that keep this long-running series fresh and relevant.
Joy to the Bones Haines, Carolyn | Minotaur (304 pp.) | $28 October 27, 2026 | 9781250377692
The final entry in this popular series, set in the Mississippi Delta, meets the author’s high standards in a thoughtful and exciting manner. Sarah Booth Delaney’s parents died in a car crash when she was 12. Now, upon finally learning they’d been murdered, she feels betrayed by the people who’d kept the truth from her. She kicks out her lover, Sunflower County Sheriff Coleman Peters; refuses to see her best friend and partner in detection, Tinkie Bellcase Richmond; and tries to get rid of Jitty, the family haint. Alone at Dahlia House with her precious animals, Sarah Booth doesn’t begin to move forward until Guy Thompson hires her to figure out who owns the infamous DeLonge Mansion and its hundred-plus acres, which he’s eager to turn into an upscale resort. The decrepit mansion, which is supposedly haunted, has an evil
reputation because its original owners, Rupert and Marilyn DeLonge, murdered many of the people they enslaved. At the Sunflower County Courthouse, Sarah Booth apologizes to Coleman and his deputies; then she heads to Tinkie’s house, where she enlists her forgiving friend to help track down the property owner. Feeling better, Sarah Booth takes her horse out for a ride—and finds herself being shot at by someone in a car. She thinks it might have been her nemesis, Gertrude Stromm, who hated her mother. When she starts looking into the DeLonge Mansion, she finds that not only is it haunted, but there’s present-day evil in the form of men armed with assault rifles using the landing strip for nefarious purposes. Sarah Booth’s father was a judge whose honesty stood out in a morass of crooked politicians who all had motives for murder. The search for her parents’ killers takes her back to whatever’s happening at the mansion. This series, with its cast of enchanting and unusual characters, will be deeply missed.
The Ghost of Rataskaevu Street Hargla, Indrek | Trans. by Adam Cullen Pushkin Vertigo (336 pp.) | $18.95 paper November 3, 2026 | 9781805335764
A sleuthing apothecary probes a series of suspicious deaths in medieval Estonia. Ten years after solving the murder of a bullying military man back in 1409, Tallinn apothecary Melchior Wakenstede again feels compelled to investigate after a series of locals die mysteriously. These include soldier Tobias Grote, a prostitute named Magdalena who drowned in a well, and Peter Kylckme, a distant relative of Melchior’s wife, Keterlyn. At Melchior’s emporium, which serves as a center for community gossip, he notices that several customers NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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attribute these deaths to some kind of dark magic—specifically, the claim that the deceased each saw a ghost shortly before their deaths. A man of science as well as a deeply moral man, Melchior sets off once more to find the truth. Hargla’s deeply researched second mystery is as much a historical novel as a whodunit, the investigation an excuse to send the reluctant detective to an impressive number of locations. Measured, detailed prose depicts a Dominican monastery, the local prison, and multiple convents, including a sketchier one known as the Red Convent. As more deaths follow, Keterlyn serves as both her husband’s confidant and a repository for stories of ghosts and bad magic that locals share at the apothecary. Hargla’s plot reflects the importance of the medieval church in the 15th century and its struggles against opponents mired in superstitions involving supernatural forces. There are sex scenes, too. Additional plot threads provide insight to the political scene through magistrate and advisor Wentzel Dorn and a pair of teenage lovers, Simon and Ursula. A rich portrait of medieval Estonia wrapped around a whodunit.
The Nightshade Johnson, Jill | Poisoned Pen (384 pp.) $18.99 paper | November 17, 2026 9781464244278
While searching for her stolen plants, a botanical toxicologist helps the police solve a murder. There’s little doubt that Prof. Eustacia Rose, head of botanical toxicology at University College London, is brilliant. Her research won her department a nomination for the prestigious Linnaeus Prize. There’s also no doubt that she’s a bit peculiar. Not only does she go about campus every day dressed in her late father’s old suit, but she avoids contact with 30
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most other people as much as she can—which is why she has no clue about the nomination until Prof. Hutchins, her counterpart at Imperial College London, tells her about it at a cocktail party that her lover, Dr. Matilde Acosta, drags her to. No wonder, Eustacia muses, her laboratory phone has been ringing all week—unanswered, of course. Not that the prize matters to her. She’s preoccupied with recovering her stolen collection of toxic plants, particularly her rare conium maculatum, the species of hemlock that killed Socrates. She’s willing to help DCI Richard Roberts figure out who poisoned shoemaker Terrance Baker only because she hopes Roberts may have a line on the plant thieves. Seeing the world through Eustacia’s unique perspective will be a delight for some readers and a challenge for others. Her fixation on her conium while members of an organized crime gang have a punch-up at a local marijuana farm, her anger at her beloved Matilde’s attempts to modernize her apartment, and her wacky sense of priorities when her mother is kidnapped all suggest some sort of neurodivergence, but it’s sometimes hard to figure out what’s really going on when everything in this first-person narrative is filtered through Eustacia’s singular lens. A tale told by a genius, full of sound and fury but touching nonetheless.
A Warning to the Curious Nee, John Shen Yen & S.J. Rozan Soho Crime (272 pp.) | $29.95 November 3, 2026 | 9781641298575
Newfangled technologies, political upheavals, and good old-fashioned murder battle it out for headline status in Nee and Rozan’s third Judge Dee and Lao She mystery.
The year 1924 sees the emergence of wireless radio transmission, which University of London natural sciences lecturer Anthony Cartwright is diligently working to co-opt for his own use. It’s also a year in which aggressive northern Chinese warlords are threatening the rule of Sun Yat Sen. Worse still, Sun’s fraying alliance with Chiang Kai Shek threatens to split apart, leaving the two in conflict when their country most needs unity. If only Judge Dee Ren Jie were still alive to help! But in fact he is, despite widely circulated reports of his death, and he’s sheltering in London, where he’s been assigned by influential Judge Cheng Gao Shang to trace the fate of an arms shipment sent to Sun from Amsterdam that has vanished without a trace. In the hands of less accomplished authors, all these subplots would fade into the background when Irene Cheng, Cartwright’s student and Judge Cheng’s daughter, dies under mysterious circumstances and her friend Olga Aparova, a renowned soprano, goes missing. Unfazed, Nee and Rozan work tirelessly to ensure that the murder that brings the tangled threads of their tale together never upstages its historical backstory. The first-person narrative of Dee’s friend Lao She moves between detailed accounts of the judge’s elaborate disguises, delicately playful responses to the stereotypes in which the British have cast the Chinese among them, and the comic-book gymnastics of the judge and his mates, who are repeatedly required to demonstrate their proficiency in mixed-up martial arts. Move over, James Bond. Judge Dee is back in town.
For more by John Shen Yen Nee & S.J. Rozan,
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Revenge in a Small Town
A Case of Fear and Favor
The Christmas Clue
Pitts, Delia | Minotaur (320 pp.) | $29 December 1, 2026 | 9781250429032
Smith, Sally | Raven Books (368 pp.) | $28.99 January 19, 2027 | 9781639739875
Upson, Nicola | Union Square & Co. (192 pp.) | $17.99 paper October 20, 2026 | 9781454971290
A job she doesn’t really want forces private eye Vandy Myrick to go up against the most powerful family in Queenstown, New Jersey. Ever since her friend Claudia Gantry died two weeks ago, Merna Quimby, already bedridden, has gone way off the rails, hinting that she’s ready to spill all manner of secrets about the Peete family, which employed her as a maid until a fall that left her paralyzed 40 years ago, and Claudia as a cook. So Merna’s twin children, Priscilla and Amos Bartlett, press Vandy to hover over her, serving as her part-time bodyguard. Reluctantly arriving for her first visit at Merna’s home, Vandy can see that she’s already too late: Merna is dead and the twins outraged. The least she can do, Vandy reasons, is discover what secrets Merna was privy to and whether she died a natural death. The second of these tasks turns out to be easy; it’s the first that’s a real headbanger. Not only is everyone in the Peete entourage—from matriarch Julia Peete and her personal physician Cyrus Fallon, who conveniently doubles as the assistant medical examiner who pronounces Merna dead to her son David, a newspaper editor married to Justina Diamond, Vandy’s therapist—at sword’s points with everyone else; there’s no way a posh, white, old-money bunch like the Peetes is going to allow a Black shamus access to its long-guarded secrets. Despite the obstacles, Vandy, whose simmering first-person narrative never lets you forget the anger inches beneath her polite surface, soon satisfies herself that “everyone in this case wanted revenge.” That’s almost literally true. Readers will be equally satisfied.
The spring of 1903 brings London barrister Sir Gabriel Ward two more cases he resolves with understated panache. Stopping by the desk of Arnold Bryant one night in search of a legal volume, Gabriel finds the Inner Temple librarian on the brink of death after having been battered with a crystal paperweight. Even before the further discovery that a priceless volume by historian William Caxton and 20 shorter manuscripts have gone missing, suspicion falls on the only others present besides Gabriel: Lesley Roberts, the new assistant librarian Gabriel had hired, and Jitendra Shah, a 21-year-old law student from India. Sir William Waring, master treasurer and head of the Inner Temple, forbids anyone to call in the City of London Police, claiming his own jurisdiction, and urges Gabriel to move smartly against Shah, whom he regards as a distinct threat to British values. So Gabriel agrees to head the investigation even though he “would rather be a barrister than a detective any day.” In particular, he’d rather be researching his pro bono defense of polio-stricken Brighton candy-maker Hilda Hubbard, who’s being sued by Harold Foster, the confectioner king who demands payment for a shipment of coronation- themed sweets she can’t use through no fault of either herself or Foster. The more consequential of these cases seems to be the easier one to settle, but it’s not until after (spoiler alert) Gabriel wins a judgment in favor of Mother Hubbard that he’s able to turn to the body in the library. As usual, Smith threads the needle between period- inflected prose and a distinctly modern view of the social problems at stake, and this time her surprising denouement ties the two apparently unrelated cases neatly together.
Seduction, incest, betrayal, resentment, and a climactic kidnapping, just in case murder isn’t enough. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
The third installment in a series that’s becoming one to treasure.
In wartime England, a Christmas mystery game turns into a real murder—and back into a game. Upson’s historical fiction imagines a real murder that could have inspired the creation of the board game Clue, which was devised by Elva and Anthony Pratt, the Nick and Nora Charles of parlor games. On Christmas Eve 1943, Elva and Anthony return to the charming seaside hotel Tudor Close, where before the war they had created clever murder mystery games for guests to solve. This year, the wartime mood is low, but the village is peacefully snow-covered. When the couple stops into the local sweet shop for a last-minute gift, they find the shop owner, Ethel Silver, beaten to death with a walking stick. Shaken, they give their statements to police officers and head to the hotel, where they must share the sad news with Mrs Grayson, the hotel’s cook and the victim’s sister. Finding Mrs Grayson disconcertingly calm about the death, Elva and Anthony continue planning their murder mystery play for the guests, rounding up potential weapons (including a rope, a prop revolver, and a spanner) and leaving them under the Christmas tree. The Christmas spirit is deeply disturbed at services the next morning, when vicar Reverend Teal implies in his sermon that he knows who killed Ethel. Not surprisingly, he’s found dead in the hotel a few hours later, bludgeoned by a candlestick. In a story that opens with a sentimental white Christmas in an English country-house setting, the characters’ motivations turn out to be built on an appalling past, thoroughly upending the cozy beginning. A mystery designed for fans of the classic structure and the game built on it who can also tolerate a grim drive to kill. NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Kirkus Star
Dead Beat Bardugo, Leigh | Flatiron Books (496 pp.) | $19.49 | September 15, 2026 9781250884312 | Series: Ninth House, 3
A dark fantasy set on the Yale campus ends with a bang. Galaxy “Alex” Stern of Lethe House, one of Yale’s storied secret societies, has been to hell and back. That was in Hell Bent (2023), the middle book in Bardugo’s Ninth House trilogy, where the secret societies wield not just temporal power but magic as well. Hell Bent ended with Alex and her friends rescuing her crush, mentor, and fellow Lethe officer, Daniel “Darlington” Arlington V, from eternal torment. One small wrinkle: The demon Golgarot used Alex’s blood to wedge a door open between Hell and New Haven, and his minions are slipping through. Also, one of the group has turned into a vampire, and Darlington is now half demon. “He’d given up some part of himself to preserve the rest of his human soul. He’d become both prisoner and warden.” As the final book opens, the exhausted crew are hunting yet another monster. They can’t keep this up forever; they will have to find a way to close the portal. Alex has the energetic, driven melancholy of the hard-boiled, dark fantasy heroine she is. She believes “magic is real, but safe is make-believe,” as her roommate puts it. An open hellmouth, a supportive scholar, a vampire whose story arcs precariously toward redemption, a gentleman fiend who gets literally horny when aroused, a California girl with rare supernatural powers who cracks wise as she fights fiends—the series has a lot in common with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spawn, but Bardugo’s way with words and her keen social observation keep the book from feeling derivative. A demon’s classic New England house is decorated with “ruthlessly inoffensive watercolor seascapes”; Lethe’s board president “wore the new uniform of Wall Street: a dress shirt, khakis, and a fleece with a Yale 32
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Y embroidered over the heart, as if he were on his way to a hostile takeover followed by some light rock climbing.” Will Alex and her friends get the door shut without losing Darlington? Bardugo injects her protagonist with such a convincing mix of cynicism and hope that failure seems like a distinct possibility. Sharp writing, vivid characters, and puzzle box plotting bring the trilogy to a ringing conclusion.
Everything Happens So Much Murray, Andrew H. | Little, Brown (336 pp.) $30 | November 10, 2026 | 9780316612050
The most mundane person imaginable suddenly finds herself the central figure in a worldaltering plot. Esme Good has spent the last 12 years on the night shift at Municipal Complaints, listening to citizens enraged, for the most part, about garbage collection. She has an ever-growing list of hobbies to try and places to see, but no motivation to do any of it. Esme’s co-worker, Talmeck, who’s her only friend—though she would never admit that—encourages her to broaden her horizons, to little effect. The numbing sameness of Esme’s existence is rebooted, however, when she decides to partake in something the quite intrusive narrator of her story describes as her “very, very bad habit.” This would be Elsewheres, a concoction that allows her to visit a different version of herself for a few minutes at a time, leaving her gray existence and entering one of a trillion different possibilities, many brighter than her own. Yes, the multiverse is a proven concept and, oh, Esme’s universe is different than ours, but “it’s basically the same,” that pesky narrator decides to mention. When Esme takes this particular Elsewhere, something so unlikely as to be unimaginable happens and it causes a rift in space and time. Esme is no longer a nobody—and this causes big problems for her. Now public enemy number one,
Esme is thrust into the adventure of many lifetimes, search-ing for answers about the nature of existence and the rules of her world, complete with a ragtag band of accomp-lices including Talmeck; Chip Sestina, a fugitive explorer; and Chip’s sentient replacement right leg, Jessica (you heard that correctly). The grandiosity of this tale is by nature absurd, filled to the brim with the kind of hyperbolic humor that will have you shaking your head as much as laughing. For fans of alternate reality fiction and expansive thinking adventure tales like The Midnight Library or Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, this flawed group of characters and the situations they find themselves in will have undeniable appeal. A reality-bending adventure offering a delightfully offbeat take on what it means to be human.
Kirkus Star
Victorious Schwab, V.E. | Tor (592 pp.) | $31.99 October 6, 2026 | 9781250192233
The conclusion to the Villains trilogy asks, In a world where there are no heroes, what does victory really mean? Schwab’s world is one where violent near-death experiences can engender ExtraOrdinaries, people who come back to life with a new superpowered ability, but lacking empathy, patience, and a variety of other, gentler qualities. In this installment, Victor Vale is becoming increasingly desperate; ever since Sydney Clarke used her power to bring him back from the dead, control over his own ability to cause and dampen pain has been slipping. Sydney herself is chafing against her life on the run with Victor’s protective ex-cellmate, Mitch Turner, and struggling with missing both Victor and her dead sister, Serena, whom she might not be able to resurrect—and definitely shouldn’t. Meanwhile, a psychiatrist, Dr. Gabriel Gray, discovers the existence of Extra Ordinary people and seeks to harness K IR KU S R E V IE W S
S C I E N C E F I C T I O N // F I C T I O N
their power for himself with tragic consequences for himself and many other people. Because the narrative skips around in time, it becomes clear fairly early that a final conflict is looming at EON, a high-tech facility where ExtraOrdinaries are imprisoned and experimented upon. This series has really lived up to its title; while antiheroes and villains have been popular protagonists for quite some time, not every writer is willing to lean into the darkness as hard as Schwab does. Some of her characters were psychopaths even before their near-death traumas, which means they didn’t have much moral fiber to begin with. And even the people who are basically good do a lot of bad and often foolish things when faced with a crisis… and there are a lot of crises. The strength of this series lies in Schwab’s Extra- Ordinary power to make you care for many of these incredibly rash, ethically dubious—some verging on irredeemable— characters anyway. As a result, the story rises above the usual grimdark cynical slog; instead, this is a gripping and nuanced saga with an ending that feels both inevitable and well earned. Who is victorious? The author and the readers.
The Legend Eternal Stewart, Andrea | Orbit (448 pp.) | $30 November 17, 2026 | 9780316564861 Series: Hollow Covenant, 3
The concluding installment of Stewart’s door stopper of a fantasy trilogy is set in a world where humans have all but destroyed the planet’s once lush, and wildly magical, environment— and ruthless gods battle one another to remake the world in their own vision. Kluehnn, whose followers call him “the one true god…the only one who can fix the world,” is about to unleash his deviously complicated endgame onto an unsuspecting populace—even if it means killing countless innocents in the process. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
After having been separated when their region was forcibly restored by Kluehnn, sisters Hakara and Rasha set out to find each other. Both sisters’ journeys are filled with violence and peril—and, ironically, they end up on opposite sides of the conflict, Rasha working unwillingly as a trainer for Kluehnn’s godkiller army and Hakara as a rebel forces leader. Numerous other character points of view flesh out the story and set up the reader for some genuinely shocking surprises. The most noteworthy elements, as in the trilogy’s second installment, are the large cast of diverse characters—gods, elder gods, mortals, shape-shifters, and magical creatures all adeptly portrayed and three-dimensional. It’s obvious Stewart took great pleasure in describing the many gods and altered mortals—some a gruesome smorgasbord of disparate body parts. Here she depicts Kluehnn: “the pale hands, the hooved feet, the claws and many eyes, the filaments down his back. The two mouths that sometimes spoke in strange, harmonizing tones.” The narrative is a Gordian knot, filled with so many mysteries, bombshell plot twists, and jaw-dropping revelations it will have readers furiously turning pages to the very end, at which point they can ponder the book’s profundity. Stewart explores impressively complex themes like environmental stewardship and what it means to be human (which is not necessarily a good thing)—two topics that should prove deeply thought-provoking. A powerful grand-scale story of love, loss, vengeance, and transformation— extra body parts not included.
For the King Weiser, Carissa | Morrow/HarperCollins (352 pp.) $30 | December 1, 2026 9780063304895
Prophecy is full of loopholes in this entertaining Arthurian retelling. As co-host of the irreverent Myths and Legends podcast, Weiser has dedicated dozens of episodes to the quirky archetypes and extensive
dramatis personae of Arthurian lore. Her debut novel—the first of a trilogy—distills that research into a tale slightly modernized in both language and sentiment. While shape-shifting mystic Merlin manipulates the circumstances that put malleable boy-king Arthur on the throne in Logris, this prologue’s pathos lies with the women—like Morgan le Fay, who “had learned the limitless freedom a vision of the future could bring,” rather than regarding it as a preordained prison. Weiser’s podcast experience seems to have helped her relate the legends in an accessible manner. Some adaptations condense Arthur’s half sisters Morgan and Morgause into one unfortunate act of incest and revenge, or conflate Merlin’s protégé Nimue with the Lady of the Lake. Weiser’s novel teases out each character as a distinctive narrative strand, often tangling and snarling with each other’s self-serving ambitions and betrayals. The constant is not (yet) Camelot, but Avalon: a glorious realm that can be reached only by near-drowning—by women (“if you so choose”) abandoning their families and lives to chase the spark of power. Though Weiser doesn’t shy away from the ways in which great men violate these women, she honors the women’s choices in how to respond and reshape their destinies. The same language that constructs and concludes epic battles in mere riveting paragraphs, though, is often undercut by anachronistic dialogue. Similarly, the sheer breadth of perspectives does reduce some characters to narrative pawns. But the juiciest players in Arthur’s downfall—Guinevere, Lancelot, Mordred— are all still waiting in the wings for the remainder of the trilogy. Folklore both familiar and unfamiliar enough to make you want to tune into the next installment.
For more SFF reviews, visit Kirkus online.
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The Drakon King Benton-Walker, Terry J. | Bramble Books (560 pp.) | $28.99 | November 10, 2026 9781250381774
Xandreth, the Drakon prince, needs to find a friend who disappeared after following a mysterious beacon of light. Reverie, the Human prince, just wants to get high and run away from his abusive father and his own responsibilities. After Xandreth’s best friend, Veronnah, disappears, he sets off to find her. On his quest, he meets Human prince Reverie, who’s finally decided to run away from his father’s abuse. Reverie isn’t interested in his father’s vendetta against Mages and Drakon, who historically had a harmonious relationship until a royal Human ancestor seized the mines containing the runic stones responsible for majik technology. While Xandreth is giving Reverie a more comprehensive history lesson, they encounter the Mage Ihlesandia Ellencroft. Before they know it, the trio is set upon by the Crown Guard, which has been sent to retrieve the runaway Reverie. To prevent Xandreth from being captured by Reverie’s father, Ihlesandia turns the Drakon into a Human. When Ihlesandia is restrained and imprisoned by the king, Xandreth is stuck in Human form alongside Reverie, looking for answers to their many questions. Sound complicated? It is. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the worldbuilding and politics, but there are some colonial allegories that really hit the mark. While the book gets off to a deliberate start, a good amount of action and spice help keep things moving. The romance between Xandreth and Reverie is a slow burn that suffers for the amount of indiscriminate sex Reverie has in the beginning of the book, and there are a couple of threads that never get completely worked out. The book is, however, proudly Black and queer. There are a lot of compelling elements to this book. Perhaps fewer would have allowed the romance to shine brighter.
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Red, White & Royal Blue: The Private Correspondence
The Undergrads: All Nighter
McQuiston, Casey | St. Martin’s (304 pp.) $30 | December 1, 2026 | 9781250481801
Murphy, Julie | Balzer + Bray (336 pp.) $28.99 | December 1, 2026 | 9781250428257
This novellalength follow-up to the smash hit Red, White & Royal Blue (2019) continues the love story through letters and other correspondence. In their debut, McQuiston introduced the characters of Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the U.S. president, and British Prince Henry, who fell in love despite political obstacles and were outed when their private emails leaked. After that, they vow never again to use email to communicate. Unable to resist the lure of the written word, though, they make an old-fashioned, very romantic choice: They start writing letters. As Henry says when he proposes the idea, “No one else would ever know they exist (until we drop dead of old age and our great-grandchildren publish them posthumously to rapturous praise, of course).” But letters aren’t the only correspondence included here—there are also journal entries, funny notes about doing the laundry, and updates on their families and friends. Alex and Henry face plenty of challenges over the book’s 20-year span, and they’re often writing to each other from separate continents— the book begins as Alex attends law school in New York while Henry toughs it out with his family in London—but fans will be relieved to know that their love for each other stays at the forefront. This isn’t to say there’s no conflict—they deal with big issues like marriage, family, and political aspirations—but this volume feels like a way to let their personalities and wit shine as they mature into grown men. McQuiston uses the epistolary format to further showcase why Alex and Henry are such delightful characters. Readers who’ve been desperate for more of the pair since finishing the first book will be satisfied to see their happily-ever-after continued.
A good girl makes a sex pact with a tattoo artist, then develops some inconvenient feelings. When Daisy Madison enrolls at Wexley University in Oregon, she’s ready to blossom. A bout of cancer as a child (she’s currently in remission) kept her from experiencing much of life, as did expectations from her father, a pastor at a megachurch. Now Daisy’s ready to enter a new phase of her life, and that means losing her virginity—but guys keep wanting to date her when all she’s looking for is a no-strings-attached hookup. When Daisy and her friends Clover and Briar attempt to get tattoos, she meets Heath Bishop, a hot British tattoo artist. Her fear of needles causes a full-blown panic attack and she spills her guts to Heath about her shame over being a virgin. At least she’ll never see him again—that is, until she winds up getting a job at the front desk of the tattoo shop. When Heath finds out that Daisy plans on losing her virginity to a boyfriend-forhire, he decides he’s the man for the job. Daisy and Heath strike a deal— she’ll work on his social media and go on five dates with him if he’ll agree to deflower her. He’s not looking for a girlfriend and Daisy knows she’s not his type—but they can’t deny the chemistry between them. Daisy is a likable character who knows what she wants but struggles to go for it after years of people pleasing, and Heath deals with his own challenges as he tries to gain the confidence needed to pursue tattooing as his main passion. In this second installment of Murphy’s The Undergrads trilogy, following Student Union (2026), the friendship among Daisy, Clover, and Briar is still sweet and supportive. Just as in the first book, the sex scenes are frequent
An absolutely charming look at the future of two beloved characters.
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Rival Georgia tour guides set aside their differences to revive a landmark. H AT E A N D O T H E R AC T S O F F I C T I O N
and steamy, while the cozy college setting is the backdrop to a relatively low-drama romance. An entertaining (and very spicy) campus romance.
Kirkus Star
Hate and Other Acts of Fiction Oliver, Megan | Berkley (432 pp.) | $19 paper November 10, 2026 | 9780593952429
Rival tour guides in Sutton Island, Georgia, must set aside their differences to revive a local landmark while trying not to fall for each other. Sadie Stockton has her dream job as a guide in the home of her favorite author, the late Hazel Wilmont. Since Hazel’s legacy has been tainted by a rumor that she killed both her husbands, Sadie has made it her mission to correct the record. When the owners of Wilmont House decide to hold an “overnight murder mystery experience,” Sadie has more than one reason to be unhappy. Not only will this event blur the line between fact and fiction, but her partner in the venture will be Ryan Pearson, owner of Pearson’s Pub Crawls and Sadie’s biggest competitor as a local tour guide. She also had a brief fling with him in college. Agreeing to team up with Ryan could lead to a promotion, so Sadie buries her reservations to ensure that the Mixtures and Murder Tour kicks off without a hitch. The only problem is that she and Ryan will have to work together over a lot of late nights, K IR KU S R E V IE W S
forcing Sadie to confront the fact that the lingering tension between them isn’t just professional. On the heels of her tremendous debut in Secret Nights and Northern Lights (2025), Oliver takes all her strengths and channels them into a novel about second chances, mistaken impressions, and the thrill of rivalry. Sadie and Ryan’s chemistry is evident from the first chapter, but their banter-filled dynamic gives way to something that’s both much steamier and more emotional as they spend more time together. To some readers, Sadie’s initial impulses might seem off-putting, especially when she reacts poorly to the discovery that her divorced mother is starting to date again, but Oliver dedicates a lot of space to the way Sadie’s experience growing up in a home fractured by infidelity has left her guarded about commitment. Fortunately, Ryan stands as the perfect love interest—patient, understanding, and complex—who’s been waiting for her to realize he’s been in her corner the entire time. This flirty, heartwarming romance is a tour worth taking.
The Art of Living Forever Rainach, A.T. | Orbit (336 pp.) | $19.99 paper November 3, 2026 | 9780316609517 Series: Sundered Gods, 1
The God of War searches through the centuries for answers to the untimely deaths of his reincarnated lady love. Immortal siblings Aris and Sirona woke up centuries ago with their memories
stripped away. Only their brother Nox, the God of Death and Magic, remembers who they once were. Those lost memories haunt Aris, the God of War, who remembers mere fragments of his time with Honorée, the mortal woman who died before they could consummate their love. Finally, more than 300 years after the last time he lost her, Aris has found Rée again. Now called Grace, she lives in England at the turn of the 19th century, a young American woman betrothed to an Englishman she doesn’t love. Drawn to her in ways and for reasons he can’t entirely explain, Aris whisks Grace away from her fiancé and takes her under his wing. Nox intentionally spills the beans on Aris’ godhood, forcing Grace to spend the rest of her life with the three siblings, thanks to the Gods’ ancient laws. What follows is a rather boring jaunt across war-torn Europe, ending in a climactic series of events that transpire a little too quickly to be satisfying. Readers who come to Rainach’s novel looking for the lurid pleasures of romantasy will be disappointed, as will those hoping for a dark and decadent love triangle between Aris, Grace, and Nox. The sexual content is tame, and although the love triangle element is present—Nox is in love with Grace in his own right, and forced to watch her choose his brother in every lifetime—it rarely comes to the fore, and is never compelling. Rainach’s characterization is strong, although readers may occasionally question Grace’s responses to the immortals’ dealings, and brothers Aris and Nox prove to be enigmatic love interests. Unfortunately, their charisma is not enough to carry the story through its poor pacing. A tepid and unevenly paced romantasy.
For more romance reviews, visit Kirkus online.
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JOHN McMURTRIE
LAST YEAR, ELIEZER
Yudkowsky and Nate Soares published a book with a grab-you-by-thecollar title: If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All. More than a few people dismissed the book’s thesis as overblown doomsaying. A year later—an eternity in the world of artificial intelligence—the title doesn’t seem as alarmist. After the disturbing news of AI agents from OpenAI hacking into the company Hugging Face and trying to cover their tracks—followed by the high-profile resignation of an Anthropic researcher who warned of the dangers of AI—many around the world are suddenly wondering if the doomers might have a point. A small mountain of books on AI has been published in recent years. Given how swiftly the technology advances, which are worth reading and which will stand the test of time? A good place to start is Kevin Roose’s The AGI Chronicles: The Inside Story of the Race To Create an Artificial Superintelligence (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Oct. 36
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6). Roose takes a long view of artificial intelligence, delving into the early days of speculation on the subject and tracking the development of AI to the present day. As he writes, “This book is not an argument that AI is good or bad, that its builders are heroes or villains. It is merely my best attempt to document the strangest decade in our history—a time when the human monopoly on intelligence ended, and a new world was born.” Our starred review praises it as “the best single explainer of how artificial intelligence came about, and what might happen next.” In The Collision: What AI Does to Us (Norton, Oct. 6), Eric C. So focuses on AI’s effect on human thinking. In this new era, he writes, “The temptation to outsource thinking will be persistent and powerful. Without conscious resistance, you may never fully experience the difficulty that builds deep understanding.” Science fiction author Cory Doctorow assails big tech in his biting critique, The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI: How To Think About Artificial
Intelligence Before It’s Too Late (MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 23). “By creating futuristic parables— made-up stories about futures that may never come to pass—we SF writers remind everyone that the future is up for grabs, full of possibility,” he writes. “That’s in stark contrast to tech bosses, who claim total authority over our possibilities, both present and future.” The more AI, the greater the need for computing power, and in Hyperscale: The Ambition and Excess of Big Tech’s Data Empires (Riverhead, Oct. 20), Paris Marx uncovers the extent
to which tech giants have transformed communities across the country in their quest for energy. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, for one, bought up land in Louisiana— “the equivalent of about 2,700 football fields,” Marx writes—for an AI complex. Such a data center, he adds, “can suck up between one and five million gallons of water a day, comparable to the amount used by a city of ten thousand to fifty thousand people.” Now if only AI could solve that problem. John McMurtrie is the nonfiction editor. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Illustration by Eric Scot t Ander son
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EDITOR’S PICK Celebrating a devastated city’s slow comeback from poverty, crime, and corruption. Alexander’s latest explor ation of American life (after The Hospital, 2021, and Glass House, 2017) is a gripping account of the blighted and bankrupt city of Chester, Pennsylvania, and the people who live there. He argues that corporate corruption and unscrupulous local politicians have, for well over a century, ensnared Chesterians in a lethal web of greed and grift, depriving them of employment, good health, and proper educational opportunities. The majority- Black city became a dumping ground for toxic waste, too. In 2025, the local hospital was shuttered; affordable access to the city’s own water is still under dispute. Chester’s decline was not a
These Titles Earned the Kirkus Star
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result of party politics— “Democrats had run Chester, and Republicans had run Chester and Chester was still Chester”—but of a massive failure of morality and vision. Accepted by the Chesterians as one of their own, Alexander writes with affection about his memorable protagonist, the former sewage plant operator Stefan Roots. Elected mayor in 2024, Roots and his allies learned to scale back their ambitions and settle for achievable goals: “progress came one trimmed tree, one paved road, one community trash day at a time.” The book displays the author’s extensive research, his consummate skill at creating dramatic intensity, and his fine ear for authentic dialogue. Its pace slackens a bit in the interspersed detours into community
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The Mayor By Brian Alexander
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One Helluva Ride By Michael Douglas with Shane Salerno & Michael Fleming Jr.
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The Mayor: One Poor City’s Fight To Bring Back Government and Save the Nation’s Soul Alexander, Brian | St. Martin’s | 336 pp. $30 | December 1, 2026 | 9781250329943
organizing and the frequent, if appropriate, asides on the dangers of capitalism. Chester, according to the author, exemplifies what happens when America has lost “the thread of its original narrative” and yielded to nihilism. Readers may wonder if that narrative, written long ago by wealthy whites for other
The Call By Leila Guerriero; trans. by Megan McDowell
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The Blue Hours By Stephanie Krzywonos
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Sacred Betrayal By Aliza Luft
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Trans Time Travel By Thomas Page McBee
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The Age of Confiscation By Nicholas Mulder
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Trial of the Space Invaders By Simon Parkin
wealthy whites, ever had much room for the citizens of Chester. Yet the author’s thesis that this city has a message for a national government that has “elevated profit into a religion” remains relevant and entirely persuasive. A mesmerizing tribute to the transformative power of community.
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The Inheritance By Janet Reitman
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The Fight Back By Maria Ressa
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Who We Are By Jeffery Robinson
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Never Say War By Åsne Seierstad; trans. by Siân Mackie
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The Abyss of Oblivion By Rodrigo Terrasa; illus. by Paco Roca; trans. by Andrea Rosenberg
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The Lies We Tell for America: A Memoir Anena, Ber | Flatiron Books (352 pp.) $29.99 | November 10, 2026 9781250412010
A Ugandan writer braves the vagaries of a Columbia creative writing MFA. In 2019, this resourceful grad school hopeful published an article in The Atlantic, “I’m Emptying My Bank Account To Go to Columbia,” which is where her memoir begins. After admitting her to the program, which costs about $100,000 per year for tuition and living expenses— Columbia offered no financial support. Anena set up a GoFundMe account, wrote the Atlantic article, solicited wealthy Ugandan individuals as well as celebrities, like Trevor Noah and Michelle Obama (no luck), and eventually started school. The financial hurdle proved the first of many, as readers follow her through the days and months ahead: chilly apartment mates, grim living quarters, bewildering American customs, homesickness, racism, health troubles—and then the Covid-19 pandemic and the Trump presidency. Can a bunch of creative writing workshops with peers and professors of varying talents be worth all this? In the end, the fact that this book is in our hands seems evidence that it was, Columbia having given her not only the confidence but the material to produce a book. (Anena had published an award-winning volume of poetry in Uganda before beginning her advanced studies.) The account is distinguished by her ability to evoke her African identity on the page as she takes readers through details of her struggles: “When the school had announced it was paying my tuition for the second semester, thus saving me from dropping out, I had danced the way an Acoli woman dances at the larakaraka courtship dance—when a suitor, sweat beading 38
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his body, feathers swaying from his headgear, arms striking the calabash with spokes, shows interest.” Along the same lines is the metaphor she chooses to describe her current feelings about Uganda and the U.S.: They are “monkeys with exposed posteriors. One was standing behind the other, laughing mockingly, forgetting their own nakedness.” Her detailed knowledge of a house rat’s clever technique for unobtrusively nibbling human flesh also stands her in good stead. A meticulous and sobering record of what may await a hopeful new arrival to this country.
Bohemians on the Breadline: The Radical Women Artists of Roosevelt’s New Deal Arrington, Lauren | St. Martin’s (272 pp.) $29 | December 8, 2026 | 9781250286918
Art in the streets. Award-winning scholar Arrington examines the history of the Federal Art Project, a New Deal program aimed at producing art for public spaces, by focusing on six female participants: painters Alice Neel, Georgette Seabrooke, and Pablita Velarde; sculptors Augusta Savage and Leonore Thomas; and printmaker Elizabeth Olds. Like many others working in the project, they were activists, part of “a collective movement of resistance and change” devoted to fostering social justice. Arrington’s astute biographical overviews focus on the personal and public challenges they overcame in their dedication to their art. Neel endured mental breakdowns, attempted suicide, suffered the loss of a child to diphtheria, and, for a time, lived with a violent man who, high on cocaine, destroyed her work. Seabrook took classes there while she, too, studied at Cooper Union. Velarde, a member of the Pueblo tribe, found her
career boosted when she was offered a job painting for the Park Service. Savage spent her youth in Florida, where she was married twice and had a daughter before moving to New York. Arriving at the height of the Harlem Renaissance, she enrolled at the Cooper Union School of Art and soon was commissioned to craft busts of W.E.B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey. She hosted a weekly salon in her Harlem apartment and organized a community arts center that attracted prominent Black artists. Although the Federal Art Project was established to support creativity, it was blighted by racism. Eleanor Roosevelt’s wholehearted support for Black artists contrasts with the “segregationist ethos” that pervaded some policies in FDR’s administration. The artists Arrington profile “gave visibility to the underserved, critiqued the state for its failures while praising its successes, provided levity in hardship, and found dignity in poverty.” A refreshing perspective on a progressive program.
The Big Bet: Prediction Markets and the Future of Democracy Auerbach, Michael | Basic Books (352 pp.) $30 | January 26, 2027 | 9781541608276
Betting on the future of democracy. Prediction markets—online platforms that allow users to wager on elections, wars, economic decisions, and other real-world events—have become increasingly visible. In this timely account, investor and geopolitical adviser Auerbach examines the rapid growth of platforms, such as Polymarket and Kalshi, and the risks they may pose to democratic institutions. He brings considerable firsthand experience to the subject. A former partner at Albright Stonebridge Group and founder of the investment firm K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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The “interests of the privileged” go against “nice things” that the rest of us need. WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS
Subversive Capital, he has traded on prediction markets and invested in their development. He acknowledges their usefulness: They can bring together scattered information, sometimes forecast outcomes more accurately than polls or pundits, and provide real utility for farmers and energy companies through weather predictions. He also places the current boom in historical context, tracing political betting from papal elections in Renaissance Rome through London coffeehouses, the Iowa Electronic Markets, and the Pentagon’s shortlived proposal for a futures market involving terrorism and political instability. What concerns the author is the scale and speed of the current industry. More than $3 billion was wagered on the 2024 presidential election on Polymarket alone. Under the second Trump administration, federal resistance to election betting has diminished even as the business has expanded. Auerbach argues that political prediction markets occupy a regulatory gray area that leaves them vulnerable to manipulation, insider trading, addiction, and wealthy bettors capable of moving the odds. “The regulatory vacuum in which prediction markets currently operate is a choice, not a necessity,” he writes. His main prescription is straightforward: Treat political betting as gambling, and regulate it accordingly. Auerbach writes smoothly and makes a complicated subject easy to follow. Overall, his argument feels closer to a strong magazine essay stretched to book length, but his warning about turning democratic outcomes into financial products remains persuasive and timely.
A cogent warning about the expanding reach of prediction markets on American democracy. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: How Legal Reformers Accidentally Broke America Bagley, Nicholas | Norton (256 pp.) | $29.99 December 1, 2026 | 9781324106296
Complex legal argument for revising judicial and political impediments to growth. University of Michigan law professor Bagley holds that the American judiciary too often serves the “interests of the privileged and the powerful” when it comes to ruling on “nice things” that are very much needed: affordable housing, renewable energy, a revamped infrastructure. One early example he points to is the beyond-pressing need for student housing at the University of California, Berkeley—housing that locals have fought against in court, so much so that they won an order to reduce the student population by 3,000. At a time when all too many workers are spending half and more of their earnings on rent, the need for affordable housing is self-evident; yet projects to build such housing are regularly defeated in zoning hearings and public meetings that are more often than not attended, he notes archly, by “neighborhood gadflies, who…are disproportionately wealthy, white, and elderly homeowners.” Their influence on local courts and political structures is disproportionate, Bagley urges, with the result that anyone wishing to build a wind farm, a field of solar panels, or low-cost housing are outright forbidden to do so or must
jump through countless hoops of zoning restriction. The author, whose stances appear conservative on one page and progressive on the next, with a healthy dash of libertarianism, suggests that local communities be deprecated in such decisions in favor of state regulations that encourage responsible but needed growth: “Developers that satisfy the rules can then just build, without going through the rigmarole of a public process.” He suggests a program of overhaul that includes tightening the right to litigation, so only those whose “legal rights” had been directly harmed could sue, as well as reining in the evident preference of the courts for process over outcome and “stasis over progress.” A slog at times but useful reading for activist NIMBYs and YIMBYs alike.
Enough Said Bennett, Alan | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (480 pp.) | $22 paper | February 2, 2027 9780374623494
The latest diaries from the legendary English playwright. “Having arrived slightly to my surprise at my ninetieth year I wasn’t unduly dismayed because despite its infirmities it would give me an opportunity to sum up, set out what I have learned, in a word, pronounce.” So writes Bennett, now 92, at the start of his latest collection of diary entries. What he has learned? “Not much.” Therein lies his appeal: charmingly self-effacing and effortlessly witty. He’s feeling every second of his age—when he falls in the bathroom, he quips, “If this is resting on my laurels, I wouldn’t recommend it”—and offers his reflections on aging and more in this fourth collection, this time covering 2016 to 2024. Readers of the previous volumes will find familiar terrain, as Bennett writes about mundane matters, from his diet—“The most delicious food (and I NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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only eat it in season) is Christmas pudding”—to the hole in his overcoat. But he’s in a more contemplative mood, ruminating not only about his own mortality—his cancer treatments and 2019 open-heart surgery—but also about the deaths of his contemporaries, among them fellow Beyond the Fringe member Jonathan Miller, with whom he had “a not unrivalrous relationship, with neither particularly generous about the other’s work.” He still maintains a busy work schedule, producing new pieces, such as “the hospital play” Allelujah!, his 2024 novella Killing Time, and his script for the film The Choral (2025). The book ends with several short pieces, including introductions to Allelujah! and The Choral and an essay on Roger Senhouse, “publisher, bibliophile, translator of Colette and editor of George Orwell and most notably the last lover of Lytton Strachey.” Bennett’s wit is cutting and memorable throughout, as when he notes of British conservatives: “God wouldn’t last long with a Tory government as they would expect Him to be performance related.” Droll musings from a unique figure in British theater.
Arlington: An African American History Blair, William A. | Univ. of North Carolina (246 pp.) | $27.95 | November 24, 2026 9781469696584
How a series of long-overlooked freedom struggles were carried out on a historic site. Arlington National Cemetery, established in 1864 on plantation land confiscated from the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee, has a more complex and consequential past than most Americans assume. Historian Blair’s investigation of that past tracks the development of Arlington Plantation by the slaveholder 40
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An argument that tech giants are “building the equipment for modern slavery.” THE BULLWHIP’S ALGORITHM
George Washington Parke Custis, the lives and struggles for liberty of some of the enslaved persons who labored for him and his descendants, and the conversion of the estate to a national cemetery. The author also outlines the eventual establishment during the Civil War of Freedman’s Village—a sanctuary for emancipated Blacks who occupied a section of the new public grounds—and its evolution as a self-sufficient community. Working with limited (but often startlingly revealing) archival records and building on a recent surge of interest in the topic, he constructs a narrative of resistance and hard-won autonomy unfolding over nearly a century. The intersection of Arlington’s history with broader realities—the exigencies of plantation economies, the dynamics of Reconstruction-era politics, the terrorism of the Ku Klux Klan, the impact of Jim Crow laws—is deftly set forth here. The communication and commercial networks crafted by the enslaved, often ingeniously and at great risk, are especially well- described. Overall, the book fills in some longstanding and outrageous historical blanks, while offering convincing accounts and plausible conjectures of how “Arlington’s African American residents exerted their full humanity amid profound hardships” and, after the Civil War, helped “define the contours of civil and social rights.” A concluding section of the book aptly highlights the stakes involved in making silenced voices heard and notes how some contemporary political currents threaten the unearthing and publicizing of Black history modeled here. An informed, moving exploration of an important and neglected national story.
The Bullwhip’s Algorithm: Artificial Intelligence and America’s Racial Caste System Bobb, Kamau | Beacon Press (240 pp.) $27.95 | October 20, 2026 | 9780807023433
When the algorithm meets the color line. Bobb has been immersed in STEM education at Georgia Tech, Google, and the National Science Foundation. He weaves together the many threads of race, technology, and American history, alongside his own personal history as an immigrant son of Guyana, to clarify the stakes for Blacks as we enter an AI-dominated world. From school segregation to today’s bans on teaching accurate American history, he argues, elite education has remained largely closed to Black students, shutting them out of AI leadership positions. He identifies this as a dangerous political moment in which “the president of the United States asserts that Black people eat dogs, diversity and equity are criminally divisive, and Critical Race Theory is the ideology of radicalized terrorists.” Math and computer science are keys to equity, he argues. He invokes voices—including James Baldwin, Derrick Bell, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Nelson Mandela—in assailing tech giants who have abandoned their ethics: “They are building the equipment for modern slavery and not considering their responsibility to the modern slave.” The author dismisses much AI-literacy rhetoric as “training masquerading as collective investment” and cautions that “neither K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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will AI prevent racial animus from strangling the country. On the contrary, it may tighten its grip.” Bobb’s final arrow is aimed squarely at tech leaders’ claims of the benefits of AI for all: “Does it render the path to freedom or slavery?...will this render freedom, and for whom?” This valuable and wide-ranging cultural and social analysis offers an eye-opening recontextualization of the tech industry’s embrace of AI, illuminating the entanglement of race and technology. A searing critique of claims that AI can be harnessed for good— particularly the good of African Americans.
The Beverly Hills Housewife: Hockney’s Californian Muse and the World Beyond the Pool Cahill, James | Thames & Hudson (272 pp.) $34.95 | November 3, 2026 | 9780500028810
Portrait of a lady. Art historian Cahill takes David Hockney’s portrait of his friend Betty Freeman, standing in her garden, as the central focus for a close look at the artist’s career and at Freeman’s life and times. Painted between the summers of 1966 and 1967, it was the first portrait he made in Los Angeles and the first since completing a portrait of his father in 1955. Although Hockney was a frequent visitor at Freeman’s home and often attended her “stylish and discreet” musicales, he worked on the painting in his studio, basing it on black-and-white Polaroid photographs. Cahill characterizes their relationship as a meeting of kindred spirits, deeper than a stereotypical “mutual fascination of the gay man and the older, sophisticated woman.” Certainly, Freeman was sophisticated: With her marriage fraying and her children grown, she had emerged as an avid collector and adviser to the Los K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Angeles County Museum of Art. A few years after the portrait was painted, she divorced. Hockney, who had first come to Los Angeles in 1964, was enraptured with the city: “the light, the architecture, the sense of space, and the sense of possibility—not least the possibility of greater sexual freedom.” The author details the changes in his work in response to the place, the artistic atmosphere of the 1960s, and also canonical painters who influenced him, such as Piero della Francesca, Jan van Eyck, and Diego Velázquez. Circling back repeatedly to the portrait, with each examination he reads more deeply into the ways it reflected the artist’s mythic vision of Los Angeles, his aesthetic aims, and his perception of his subject. Like Picasso’s portrait of Gertrude Stein, Hockney created a stylized image and a lasting memorial to a real woman. A nuanced melding of biography and criticism.
I Regret I Am Able To Attend: A Life Among Artists Craig-Martin, Jessica | Random House (288 pp.) | $28 | November 10, 2026 9780525510451
Recalling “episodes from a questionably lived life.” In her wry, irreverent debut memoir, event photographer Craig-Martin recounts coming of age in the heady art worlds of London and New York in the 1970s and ’80s, where freewheeling fun was tempered by emotional upheaval, neglect, and loneliness. Both parents were artists, focused more on themselves than their only child. “We didn’t have helicopter parenting,” she observes. “We had hangover parenting.” Although she fondly remembers tea with David Hockney, other childhood episodes were bizarre. By the age of 9, she writes, “I’d attended
not one but two art world events, that centered on Yoko Ono’s vagina.” When her parents divorced, Craig-Martin bounced between her father in London and mother in New York, inhabiting “two kinds of crazy on two different continents.” For a few years, she boarded at a so-called progressive school in England where she discovered hash, assorted drugs, glue, and magic mushrooms—until her mother yanked her home. “The life of New York’s art brats varied from London’s in one significant way,” she reports happily. “Minors were allowed in bars.” A desultory student, Craig-Martin finally earned a GED and began, and dropped out, of New York University. Among many short-lived jobs, she worked at the tony food emporium Dean & DeLuca (while living in a building co-owned by Jasper Johns) and waitressed at Indochine, frequented by Bianca Jagger and Lena Horne. Craig-Martin was hired as a nanny by two artists who took her to Tangiers, Spain, Greece, and Southeast Asia. Back in London, she found a job at British Vogue. Her sketches of the “entitled upper-class women” who staffed the magazine are acidic. Finally, in New York, Anna Wintour offered her an exclusive contract to photograph glamorous parties—and set her, at last, on a successful career. Raunchy, vivid, and thoroughly entertaining.
This Little World: A New History of Tudor and Stuart England Das, Nandini | Yale Univ. (464 pp.) | $30 October 27, 2026 | 9780300292916
There’s no place like home— unless religious persecution, disease, and financial stress drive you out of your country. Letters sent home to family members from someone far away can NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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provide great insights into how immigrants adapt to a new country or culture. British historian Das’ book uses these and other documents to tell the stories of how immigrants to England in the 16th and 17th centuries found their new homes and how those leaving England encountered their own new worlds. This often charming and insightful collection takes on both serious and mundane issues: Bring “two little wooden dishes to make up half pounds of butter,” a Flemish hatmaker writes to his wife as she prepares to join her husband in London. The English, he tells her, use “all pigs fat.” About 30,000 of the hatmaker’s fellow Protestants across Europe joined him in England during this period, driven by “forces of confession, conquest and commerce over which they had little control.” These displaced persons moved into the unknown, sustained by hope that “the future, however uncertain, was still worth moving towards” and that perhaps among the lard, there might be a pat of butter. On the flip side, those receiving the displaced persons are also in a state of “unknowing,” a destabilizing feeling that can bring with it hostility, suspicion, and fear. Sometimes the presence of the “mobile stranger” is seen as a threat to a community or nation. “In such cases,” the author writes, “mobility becomes not a vector of hope, but a trigger for violence.” For example, a brief but violent riot on Easter Sunday in 1517 was sparked by a sermon condemning the “aliens and strangers” who “eate the bread from the poore fatherless children.” Meanwhile, English Catholics, no longer at home in England, were fleeing in opposite directions—some to other European countries, some to American colonies. As for any parallels to our time, Das writes that the stories she includes “are not instruction manuals for the present….All they reveal is that these questions are neither new nor settled.” A poignant account of immigrants seeking better lives in pre-empire England. 42
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Kirkus Star
One Helluva Ride Douglas, Michael with Shane Salerno & Michael Fleming Jr. | Grand Central Publishing (496 pp.) | $35 | October 6, 2026 9781538782224
The Oscarwinning actor and producer opens up about filmmaking, sex, drugs, and escaping his father’s shadow. Despite its casual, justshooting-t he-breeze title, Douglas’ memoir is detailed and precision- engineered to entertain; as a filmmaker who won his first Oscar as a producer (for 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), he knows a successful story needs clarity and conflict to work. The son of screen legend Kirk Douglas, he was well-acquainted with celebrity at an early age; witnessing his parents’ divorce, he spent much of his youth acting out. (He paid for college by selling weed by the suitcase-load.) After years of stalls and failures, he broke through on TV with the ’70s cop show The Streets of San Francisco. But small-screen work (along with his nepo-baby status) made breaking into big-screen roles harder until 1984’s Romancing the Stone made him a star and 1987’s Wall Street earned him a second Oscar. Douglas is candid about his industry struggles—like endless budget fights and betraying his father, who was promised the lead in Cuckoo’s Nest—and his reputation as a lothario. (Though married, he had an on-set affair with Kathleen Turner during Stone.) He’s also open about his alcohol and cocaine abuse, leading to a
rehab stint, echoed in his son Cameron’s own struggles with addiction and recovery. He’s comfortable discussing controversies—the LGBTQ+ community’s protests of 1992’s Basic Instinct, his proto-MAGA character in 1993’s Falling Down—and plainly keeps an enemies list. But this story arc leaves him triumphant, with a loving wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones), his family, his health (after a cancer scare), and a late-career Emmy for playing Liberace in Behind the Candelabra (2013). A substantive, dishy, entertaining glimpse into Hollywood royalty.
They Told Me Back Home Would Be Beautiful: A Palestinian Memoir Dudum, Elena | One Signal/Atria (272 pp.) $29 | October 27, 2026 | 9781668204986
A father and daughter reclaim a shared heritage. “How far can you run from home before you run out of water?” Dudum, a Palestinian American writer, waits to answer this plaintive question—from Noor Naga’s novel If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English—until the final pages of her moving debut memoir. First, we hear about her family tree, firmly rooted in Palestine but uprooted when her grandparents flee. Born in San Francisco, Dudum writes that the Orthodox church she attended in the city “was the closest thing we had to Palestine, even if I couldn’t have told you where it was in the world….At church, there was always someone more Arab than you: those who refused to
An actor opens up about filmmaking, sex, drugs, and escaping his father’s shadow. ONE HELLUVA RIDE
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speak English at home, only shopped at the Arabic grocers, or who socialized exclusively with other Christian Palestinians.” Surrounded by white friends who were “tethered to nothing— no other countries, no complicated histories that had to be explained,” she, too, “wanted to move through the world uninterpreted.” Her father, also born in San Francisco, educated himself about Palestine: “He scours the web for one-hundred-year-old magazines about Palestine: LIFE, National Geographic, even The Illustrated London News, the world’s first graphic weekly news magazine. For years, he would reference these mysterious documents but show them to nobody. ‘I have proof,’ he would say, ‘that Palestine exists.’” A family visit to Palestine was an awakening for the author, but her quest to connect with her roots was often stifled. At Columbia University, a history professor asked that she remain silent in class: “I sympathize with the Palestinians, I do. But it’s necessary you don’t add to the conversation. Please just observe.” Thanks to her father sharing his archive with her, Dudum realized that even if their ancestral land couldn’t be retrieved, their own relationship could still evolve, blossoming into its final conclusion: to tell a story “not of home or exile, but of longing.” A heartfelt discovery of a homeland and a self.
Gotham on the Verge: The Remaking of a Modern Global American City Fernández, Johanna, Kim Phillips-Fein & Mason B. Williams, Eds. | Univ. of North Carolina (392 pp.) | $29.95 paper January 19, 2027 | 9781469698076
Examining the forces that have made and remade America’s largest city, for good and ill. How has New York City changed from its crisis-laden 1970s to the globalized, financialized, and K IR KU S R E V IE W S
wildly unequal metropolis that exists today? Across the intersecting subjects of these chapters, editors Fernández, Phillips-Fein, and Williams are attuned to how marginalized groups, particularly Black and Latino populations, have borne the brunt of negative financial and social consequences of New York’s transformation. Consolidation of power in financial and real estate domains has often excluded or displaced New Yorkers who are marginalized by race or class (often both), while the “broken windows” policing approach, favored by Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the 1990s and aided by his police commissioner Bill Bratton, contributed to “the mass criminalization of the poor, who in New York City are overwhelmingly people of color.” Immigration continues to reshape the city, but the influx of immigrants comes from countries and communities—among them African, Caribbean, and Asian—that are distinct from the populations that drove past immigration trends. Notably, these new arrivals are entering a more service-oriented, less mobile labor market than immigrants of previous decades. These chapters look beyond a simplistic understanding of New York as a stronghold of liberal politics to examine complex racial, economic, and political dynamics within the city that involve diverse populations and priorities working with and just as often against each other. One standout chapter is Dylan Gottlieb’s “It Pissed Me Off,” on the emergence and influence of conservative talk radio on the social and political character of 1970s New York, especially among white-ethnic groups that had seen their predominance in the area challenged. Another is Michael R. Glass’ “Hidden Apartments,” on the proliferation of informal and illegal housing arrangements in the city and into its suburbs, which emerged out of necessity in a dearth of affordable housing but have recorded tragic outcomes. An astute collection of perspectives on New York City during a decadeslong “period of acute transformation.”
Kirkus Star
The Call: A True Story of Captivity, Memory, and Survival in Argentina Guerriero, Leila | Trans. by Megan McDowell | Knopf (448 pp.) | $38 February 23, 2027 | 9798217207947
What happened to Silvia Labayru, one of the youngest abductees to be held at Argentina’s infamous ESMA facility during its military dictatorship. Despite the dismal odds of political prisoners’ survival during this brutal period, Labayru was released in June 1978 and returned to the daughter she had birthed on a tabletop in a prison cell. Guerriero, an Argentine journalist, connects with Labayru through a mutual friend for countless hours of interviews and even shared visits to ESMA—the Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada (Navy Mechanics School). As the author writes, ESMA was the largest of almost 700 detention centers where, “between 1976 and 1983, when the dictatorship ended, some five thousand people were held captive, tortured, and murdered there by so-called Task Forces.” She compiles these conversations with material from Labayru’s fellow detainees and other former members of the militant leftist Montoneros, Labayru’s ex-husband and former lover, and other family members. In one sense, this is an opportunity for Labayru to explain, reclaim, and defend her own past: When she joined her then-husband and countless other Argentine exiles in Spain, rumors swirled among the expat community and her former Montoneros about her presumed collaboration with her captors. In a context marked by thousands of extrajudicial deaths and punctuated by cyanide pills, her unlikely survival was the grounds for suspicion and exclusion. Her testimony regarding being raped by her captors was questioned, NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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therapists resisted treating her, and she was excluded from many of the country’s attempts to reckon with its past once democracy returned. On another level, Guerriero’s portrait of Labayru, rich with complexity, gaps between memories, and the justifications, regrets, and critical eye of hindsight, casts into relief the frequent oversimplification of not only any one survivor’s story, but also of the narrative memory of an entire period, a whole country. Thus, Labayru is reappraised within the dark past of a movement she fought for, a nation that caused her unthinkable harm, and a community that questioned and doubted her. An extraordinary portrait told with humility, self-consciousness, and care.
Arguments With Gandhi Guha, Ramachandra | Norton (384 pp.) $35 | November 3, 2026 | 9781324065586
Of nonviolence and its discontents. Mohandas Gandhi strove for an independent India that would be welcoming and inclusive of all faiths, as united as the Indian diaspora in the South Africa of his youth. “The interlocutors in Gandhi’s interfaith journey included Christians, Jews, Parsis, Muslims, Jains, Buddhists, atheists, and, of course other Hindus,” writes historian Guha. Gandhi was especially successful in the early days of his “passive resistance” movement in bridging the division between the Muslim and Hindu communities of India. Yet other actors were in play, including the nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose, who sided with Japan against Britain during World War II, and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a Hindu supremacist whose thought is a lodestone for the Hindu nationalist movement today. As a result of that movement, Guha writes, Gandhi and his legacy have been increasingly ignored or denigrated; the victim of 44
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How India’s Hindu nationalist movement threatens an icon’s legacy. ARGUMENTS WITH GANDHI
assassination at the hands of a Hindu nationalist, Gandhi is seemingly accorded less honor than his killer. A recent poem, for instance, charges Gandhi with caring more about Muslims than Hindus, adding that if hadn’t been gunned down, “Every Hindu would have been praying at Mecca and Medina today.” The national government of Narendra Modi has exploited anti-Muslim sentiment to its advantage while also erecting a monument to Bose, while Gandhi’s killer is now called “’Netaji,’ or Great Leader.” Much that Gandhi strove for, including the abolition of caste discrimination and the promotion of nonviolence, has been undone in modern India through the agency of the Hindu Right, which has parallels in Islamism and the Christian Right. “What we now have is not revisionism or iconoclasm, but parricide,” writes Guha in closing, “the outright repudiation of the person who perhaps did more than anyone else to nurture this nation into being.” Troubling portrait of an Indian political movement that seeks to erase Indian history.
Jealousy: A Memoir Haas, Sarah | Catapult (288 pp.) | $27 November 10, 2026 | 9781646223442
A writer is consumed by jealousy over her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend. In this debut memoir, Haas, an editor at large at Brink Literary Journal, recounts how she nearly sabotaged her
relationship by obsessing over her partner’s former girlfriend. She begins at the moment of her own conception, then traces her childhood and youth, noting that by the time she met her now-husband, she had fallen in love “thirty-six times.” Love No. 37, an animator living near the author in rural Colorado, arrives via a dating app. Their early courtship is complicated by his mother’s death, but soon deepens, and Haas combs his social media for traces of his ex, a girlfriend he left behind in Los Angeles and described as his “soulmate, but it didn’t work out in this lifetime.” When the ex finally posts a selfie to her Instagram account, Haas catalogs her rival as “small and blonde and pretty” with “spectacular tits,” then dresses up as the other woman, buying the same clear glasses and a hat from the same vintage Etsy shop. On a Las Vegas trip, the author finally gets her boyfriend to post a photo of her “in a silk dress with silver spoon” in her mouth. It’s the first photo he’s posted that his ex declines to like. They marry and have a baby, though the fixation never resolves. Threaded between these episodes are meditations on color theory, the history of photography, and theorists, like Jacques Lacan and Roland Barthes, in which Haas elevates her private fixation into a grander philosophical inquiry. One passage devotes itself to a taxonomy of the color spectrum; another traces the history of the American shopping mall. These digressions sit awkwardly beside the memoir’s more visceral chapters and rarely illuminate the central relationship. A candid, sharply observed confession whose autotheoretical ambitions are indulged rather than earned.
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Americans Without Borders: The Radical Activists Who Fought for US Ideals Abroad While Facing Political Persecution at Home Harte, Julia | Redwood Press/Stanford Univ. (420 pp.) | $30 | October 6, 2026 9781503632837
Narrative history of Americans who fought, often illegally, for causes beyond their shores. Journalist and foreign correspondent Harte opens her narrative with a bit of family lore: A distant cousin of hers traveled to Mexico to serve as a bodyguard to the exiled and soonto-be murdered Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky and there was kidnapped by Stalinist agents “under circumstances that are still mysterious.” Solving that mystery is a project that plays out in her pages, which are otherwise devoted to people like him who identified a cause and ventured abroad to serve it, whether the members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who fought against Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War or the adventurers who joined Lord Byron to fight for Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire. The commonalities pretty well end there, so that Harte’s case studies are something of a grab bag. One broadly shared point, though, is that many Americans who went abroad to fight were in violation of U.S. law: Those who fought for Greek independence did so even as American diplomats were currying favor with the Ottoman rulers, hoping to increase trade, and throughout history “other US citizens—diplomats, businessmen, soldiers, spies—hovered in the background, meddling at the pleasure or command of Washington.” Moreover, in numerous instances, those American revolutionaries were hounded from the right, as with Abraham Lincoln Brigades veterans who fell under suspicion and FBI K IR KU S R E V IE W S
surveillance during the McCarthy era for their “premature antifascism.” Interestingly, one of the anti-Ottoman fighters was a Black man, as were many participants in later struggles abroad. Harte’s narrative closes, though, with the death of a young American woman who was working as an activist in the West Bank when she was killed by Israeli soldiers, “one of the Americans who believed in human rights so fiercely that she lost her life defending them.” A loosely woven but readable study in one corner of American dissident history.
Almost Animal: A Memoir of Motherhood, Wildness, and the American West Irvine, Amy | Spiegel & Grau (288 pp.) | $29 November 10, 2026 | 9781966302384
Finding herself in the wilderness. Award-winning memoirist and nature writer Irvine recounts an arduous struggle to find her identity as a mother, while not losing her identity as a fiercely independent woman. She begins with her daughter’s difficult birth, which was followed by postpartum depression. Since her husband worked hours from their home in Utah, she often felt overwhelmingly isolated in a community where other mothers ate their newborns’ placentas. She was beset, also, by increasing worry that something was wrong with her child. Her teeth came in without enamel, for one thing; she was inexplicably tired and often sick, with allergies and respiratory attacks so severe she ended up in emergency rooms. Medical visits, antibiotics, home remedies: Nothing alleviated the recurring maladies. As her daughter grew up, Irvine faced a host of other challenges, including her husband’s infidelity. Always swirling in her mind were the ghosts of her Mormon ancestors, cruel patriarchs
and women who fought to survive in a misogynist culture. There was also the hostile climate: During a snowstorm, after her car hit a drift, Irvine nearly lost her daughter as she pulled her home on a sled. At home, meantime, black widows infested every room: “The big bodacious females appeared in coffee cups, on toothbrushes, in shoes.” Irvine herself had suffered at the hands of her father, an alcoholic who sexually abused her; a cousin who nearly killed her; and her first husband—“a Utah man from a good Mormon family”—who also had been an alcoholic. Although she had disassociated herself from Mormonism, “the ancestors, their beliefs, their deeds were never far behind”—especially, she came to realize, the resilient women who, like her, had survived. A forthright, often harrowing, memoir.
Making a Killing: Capitalism, Cops, and the War on Black Life Kelley, Robin D.G. | Metropolitan/Henry Holt (608 pp.) | $35.99 | January 19, 2027 9781250803078
The noted historian and activist delivers a deeply researched denunciation of systemic police violence aimed at Black communities. “Policing is war by another name, a fact African Americans and movements for Black freedom have long understood,” writes Kelley. And this war is not accidental, as Kelley, chronicling a victim in each chapter, demonstrates. At the opening, he writes of a 43-year-old Black man, Keith Porter Jr., who fired a rifle into the air to celebrate the new year in 2025 and was gunned down by an off-duty ICE agent—the Department of Homeland Security “spun” the story as an engagement with an “active shooter.” The criminalization of Black communities, Kelley continues, turns everyone into suspects, and anyone >>> NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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ON THE COVER
LAWRENCE WRIGHT One of our best nonfiction writers follows his fascination with religion to an unexpected place: death row. BY MARY ANN GWINN FOR AUTHOR AND JOURNALIST Lawrence Wright, understanding the power of belief has been a lifelong quest. He’s written about people of faith, from the Amish and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Satanists and atheists. He covered the fatal 1993 clash between the Branch Davidians and federal agencies at Waco. His book about the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize. He investigated Scientology for his 2013 book, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief. His new book may be the capstone of that effort. Redemption: Faith, Justice, and Sisterhood on Death Row, published last month by Knopf, is the true story of a monastic order of Catholic nuns that formed a relationship with the women prisoners on death row in Texas—meeting, worshipping together, and learning about each others’ lives. “I’ve been fascinated by the power of religion in people’s lives to do good or ill,” Wright says. “And mostly I’ve been writing about the ill part. This was an opportunity for me to look at religion doing something positive.” It’s a powerful, moving, and unsettling book, nothing less than a journey into the best and the worst of humanity. In a phone interview, the affable, soft-spoken Texan answered questions about his project.
Redemption: Faith, Justice, and Sisterhood on Death Row Wright, Lawrence
Knopf | 272 pp. | $35 Oct. 20, 2026 | 9780593805084
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You first wrote this subject as a story for The New Yorker. As I was reading it, I thought: What a hard story to report! The nuns spend their days working and praying, and they speak very little to anyone, including each other. The prisoners were worried that something they might say to you could affect the appeals of their death sentences. Why did you decide to expand it into a book? I’m drawn to these cloistered communities—I don’t know why. I’ve written now about cults and intelligence agencies and terrorists, and, in every case, these are communities that have set themselves apart from traditional society. It’s not so much that I’m drawn to the challenge; it’s more my curiosity about how people adjust to intimate communities like these, communities that are bound by law or faith not to deal with outsiders. In the book, you write about your own history with religion, including your beginnings as a believer. You even considered becoming a minister at one time. How would you describe yourself today? I think that language is not complicated enough to describe one’s stance towards religion. I don’t recognize myself as a believer or an agnostic or an atheist—those seem to be the categories that you’re slotted to fall into, but I don’t feel comfortable with any of them. I grew up in the Christian belief, and I still revere the teachings of Jesus, but I don’t go to organized religious gatherings except as a reporter, and, usually, they scatter when they see me. I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that we take politics so seriously, which is the main subject of a lot of reporting. People can have strong political beliefs, and it doesn’t affect their behavior at all. But if a person has strong religious beliefs, it tends to govern every aspect of their lives. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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Initially, your access to the prisoners was very limited—two interviews with two prisoners in one day, of one hour each, and then you couldn’t see them again for 90 days. How did you eventually get to see more of them? I had been interviewing Ronnie Lastovica, the Catholic deacon who really brought me into this world, and he ran interference for me. And C.F. Hazlewood, the head of the chaplaincy at the prison, saw wisdom in having me do this story. So he gave me four passes that are normally given to chaplaincy volunteers—in other words, religious counselors. I scarcely qualified in that regard.
Mat t Winkelmeyer/Get t y Images
Deacon Ronnie Lastovica was the one who initially had the idea of pairing the nuns with the prisoners. Yes, he had the idea of bringing the nuns to the prison. He knew that his ability to communicate with these women was circumscribed by the fact that he was a man. To really reach the women, it would require other women. He was humble enough to understand that he couldn’t do it alone. He also had the experience and insight to recognize that these were women who live very similar [cloistered] lives. And he thought that encounters with the women who choose this life would lift the burden a little bit of the women who are on the row. It would teach them the lessons of a monastic tradition, of living in community.
Your portraits of the prisoners include the crimes they committed, and they’re difficult to read about. Some prisoners were convicted of killing their own children. How did you handle that personally? Part of reporting is that you have to deal with complicated and tragic human events. I’ve observed a lot of evil in my role as a reporter. You can’t look away from it. The challenge is that it’s going to be shocking and upsetting for readers. And in some cases, I think that the prisoners are innocent. [Ed: One prisoner, Melissa Lucio, was the subject of a documentary, The State of Texas vs. Melissa; her execution has been stayed, and her case is currently being considered by the Texas Court of Appeals.] You write about two family members of a victim, the daughter and brother of a woman who was murdered at random during a burglary. I can’t imagine their grief, but they eventually started a program where prisoners and crime victims could meet and learn from each other. That amazed me. People surprise you. You have an expectation of how they will behave, and, of course, many people do harbor a lifelong bitterness and a wound that can never heal. In the case of Kelley [Meagher, the daughter of murder victim Marilyn Sage Meagher], she saw another route, and it wasn’t one I
anticipated, and it wasn’t one I was sure I could sustain myself. What have the prisoners have learned from the nuns? When Ronnie Lastovica first got to the prison and talked to the women on the row, he described them as being like feral cats. They couldn’t get along, they were sentenced to death, but the sentence they were actually experiencing was life with people you hate. It’s a horrible sentence. And some of the women had been there for decades. I think Ronnie saw that it didn’t have to be that way. They could learn something from these nuns about living in community. Monastic orders have traditions of how the days are filled and how personalities are reconciled to live in community, and he thought these women on the row could learn from them. It was a very daring thing for him to do. And six of the seven women have converted to Catholicism. They’re now able to get along in a way that they couldn’t before. That was the ministry of the nuns, and their example has been profoundly moving. Whatever stage of redemption the prisoners might have been in before the nuns came into their lives, they have taken another step.
Mary Ann Gwinn is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist in Seattle.
I’m drawn to these cloistered communities—I don’t know why.
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N O N F I C T I O N // I N T H E N E W S
IN THE NEWS
Laura Claridge
The biographer was known for her books on Norman Rockwell and Emily Post. Laura Claridge, who explored the lives of notable figures of the 20th century in her biographies, died at 74. Her death was announced in an email from Goldman McCormick Public Relations. Claridge, a native of Clearwater, Florida, received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and went on to teach at Converse College, Wofford College, and the U.S. Naval Academy. She published her first book, Out of Bounds: Male Writers and Gender(ed) Criticism, in 1990 and followed that up two years later with Romantic Potency: The Paradox of Desire. Her first biography, Tamara de Lempicka: A Life of Deco and Decadence, was published in 1999. In 2001, Claridge published Norman
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Rockwell: A Life; in a starred review, a Kirkus critic wrote that it “makes a convincing case for Rockwell as genius and original.” Seven years later, Emily Post: Mistress of American Manners, Daughter of the Gilded Age followed. Her most recent book, The Lady With the Borzoi: Blanche Knopf, Literary Tastemaker Extraordinaire, was published in 2016. “Laura spent much of her life trying to understand other people in all their complexity,” Goldman McCormick wrote in an obituary shared with Kirkus. “She believed that lives deserved to be looked at closely and honestly, without being reduced to a simple story. That belief shaped her work and became one of her greatest contributions as a biographer.”—M.S. For a review of Norman Rockwell, visit Kirkus online.
Seth Dav id Rubin
Author Laura Claridge Dies at 74
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S E E N A N D H E A R D // N O N F I C T I O N
SEEN AND HEARD Memoir by Bootsy Collins Coming in 2027 Mariner will publish the legendary bassist’s Funked Around, Found Out next spring. Bootsy Collins will tell the story of his whole funking life and career in a memoir coming in 2027. Mariner will publish the legendary bassist and singer’s Funked Around, Found Out, co-written with Caseen Gaines, next spring, the press announced in a news release. It calls the book “a wild, rollicking, firsthand account of the good ole days of funk.” Collins, a Cincinnati native, began his musical career as a member of the Pacemakers, which changed its name to the J.B.’s after being hired as James Brown’s backup band. Collins later formed Bootsy’s Rubber Band, part of George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic
collective. He has recorded several solo albums, including Fresh Outta ’P’ University, Tha Funk Capital of the World, and, most recently, Album of the Year #1 Funkateer. Mariner says that his memoir, which features a foreword from Snoop Dogg, will include “psychedelic photos, costumes, guitars, and other surprises that are as closely associated with Bootsy as his thumping grooves.” Collins shared news of his memoir in an Instagram video, saying, “That book y’all been telling me to write? Well, I finally wrote it, and glory be, the funk’s on me! Funked Around, Found Out is scheduled for publication on March 23, 2027.—M.S.
Carol Lee Rose/Get t y Images
Bootsy Collins
For more books about music, visit Kirkus online.
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calling in to report a crime runs the risk of being “shot by the very officers responding to the call.” George Floyd might be the best-known victim of police violence, but, as the author shows, most assaults on and harassment of Black people go unreported. Those confrontations are legion: Kelley chronicles that in the years leading up to the civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, while Blacks represented 67 percent of the population, they accounted for 93 percent of those arrested. He reaches far back in history to document racial- and gender-based abuse of police powers, with one case study dating to 1968 in Louisville, Kentucky, where protests after the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. resulted in two killings and 472 arrests. He also looks into a present and future in which “cop cities” have proliferated as a “consequence of the ‘permanent and boundless’ war on Black life.” Against this dystopia, Kelley offers a vision of a defanged police state and “flourishing zones of peace” in the place of landscapes of devastation. Persuasive call for justice in a profoundly unjust time.
The Secret Inquisition: The Untold Story of Mussolini, the Vatican, and Fascist Italy’s War on the Jews Kertzer, David I. | Random House (368 pp.) $38 | January 19, 2027 | 9780593978719
Another charged volume in Kertzer’s long-running history of Vatican complicity with the Axis powers. Received wisdom has it that the Italy of Benito Mussolini’s day was relatively benign when it came to the country’s Jewish population and that Jews were endangered only after Nazi Germany seized control of the government in 1943. Not so, counters Kertzer: Five years earlier, “in a campaign run entirely by Italians,” new racial laws were instituted that forbade Jews from 50
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A historian delves into the Vatican’s complicity with the Axis powers. THE SECRET INQUISITION
working in the professions, attending school, or even belonging to fascist political or youth groups. Mussolini himself spat in 1938, “I’ll massacre them just like the Turks did.” Unlike in the Third Reich, these laws were not biological but instead religious, vetted by officials high in the ranks of the Catholic Church. There was an important loophole available: A Jew who could produce a baptismal certificate would be categorized as Christian. Many Italian Jews turned to local priests for help. Some received post facto certificates; others were ignored. Either way, the Church now had the power of life and death over a population without recourse other than flight. Another loophole was that a child born into a mixed household would be considered Christian so long as he or she was “not a member of a Jewish community or had, in any other way, shown signs of Judaism.” Countless direct appeals went to the Vatican. Popes Pius XI and XII read but did not act on them—and the former, told that priests were baptizing and certifying Jews, voiced “regret that there are even bishops who approve and tolerate such acts.” In a narrative that includes the physicist Enrico Fermi’s daring escape from Italy, Kertzer draws on an overlooked archive compiled by the government agency in charge of racial laws, with 4,300 dossiers that document desperate appeals for “race change,” few of them granted. Damning account of an unholy alliance of church and state.
For more on the Jews of Italy, visit Kirkus online.
Uniting the States: Six Crucial Moments That Forged the American Miracle Kilmeade, Brian | Morrow/HarperCollins (304 pp.) | $32 | October 13, 2026 9780063490031
Recitation of events that, by the author’s account, were turning points in American history. If you watched Ken Burns’ series on the American Revolution as well as Thomas Jefferson, you’ll have most of Fox News host Kilmeade’s book: Jefferson made a daring risk in pulling off the Louisiana Purchase, which brought “possibility” to the new nation; George Washington spent much of the Revolutionary War simply trying to keep his army alive, “practicing a boldness tempered by prudence.” John Quincy Adams, for his part, couldn’t stay away from the capital once his single term as president ended, so he served eight terms in the House, unlike James Madison, who “never returned to Washington” after leaving office. John Adams stood up for the rule of law when he defended the British soldiers who fired on a Boston crowd in 1770, killing five. And so forth, with each principal illustrating a principle. A novel departure is Kilmeade’s inclusion of Daniel Shays, the Massachusetts veteran of the Continental Army who instigated an armed rebellion over, yes, taxation without representation. Borrowing from Washington, the author credits Shay as a case in point to prove that the Articles of Confederation did not give the federal K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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government sufficient power to intervene in such matters, paving the way for the Constitution. Kilmeade is good on correcting errors in historical artworks that have become canonical, such as Washington’s crossing of the Delaware. He waves them away, however: “But do such inaccuracies matter? [Emanuel] Leutze’s image has become a part of American mythology, capturing a turning point both symbolic and real in the national quest for independence.” There are more throwaway lines in this triumphalist “patriotic project,” as when he writes of Adams the second, “He accepted, as an Anglo-Saxon male, that Negroes, along with Jews, Indians, and Mexicans, were his ‘inferiors.’ Still, that didn’t make slavery right or acceptable.” Middling journey on well-trod historical ground.
Kirkus Star
The Blue Hours: My Summers and Winter in Antarctica Krzywonos, Stephanie | Washington Square Press/Atria (320 pp.) | $30 December 1, 2026 | 9781668064320
The remotest continent as inferno, purgatory, and paradise. Krzywonos spent six summers and one winter working at McMurdo Station near the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. Her first season, at age 29, came a decade following the suicide of a close college friend who had recently come out to his conservative Christian family. Also from an evangelical background, Krzywonos bonded with him at a Christian college over a shared interest in philosophy, shaken faith, and feelings of alienation from their classmates. Besides identifying with her mother’s Xicana heritage as a source of her “otherness,” Krzywonos also struggled with depression. Antarctica, K IR KU S R E V IE W S
she hoped, would be a refuge from the pain of ordinary existence. She hoped it would serve her as the desert, wilderness, or remote hermitages have served religious seekers through the ages, as a place that would “fix” her and enable her to live more fully in the world. A less able writer might have bored the reader with descriptions of barren white landscapes and monotonous stretches of time. Luckily for the reader, Krzywonos is a born writer, an inveterate diarist, word collector, and deep appreciator of poetry, exploration memoirs, and world-creation stories. Her language pulsates with effortless sensuality and startling turns of phrase. “Sunlight germinated just below the horizon, and the nacreous clouds, like oily brushstrokes by a giant impressionistic master, reflected those colors to us,” she muses. “Up high, sapphire blue and plum eased into coral, ambering into a gorgeous buttery yellow near the ground.” Woven into her tapestry of description, in addition to memories of her friend and her life since his death, are stories of other explorers, especially women, queer folk, and people of color who are not traditionally celebrated. An electrifyingly original memoir of life in the extreme.
Kirkus Star
Sacred Betrayal: How the French Catholic Church Broke Its Pledge To Protect Jews During the Holocaust Luft, Aliza | Harvard University Press (416 pp.) | $35 | September 16, 2026 9780674251045
Examining France’s gradual slide toward genocide in the Nazi and Vichy era. Sociologist Luft provides a sober, well-documented portrayal of the Catholic Church’s ultimate failure to avoid mass executions of French Jews. Her history, beginning in 1933 and
continuing through the closing months of the World War II, chronicles a number of personalities whose actions and inactions shaped the fate of France’s Jewish population. Luft is always quick to note the brave acts of individual Catholics who risked their lives and livelihoods to save others and to defy German influence. However, her focus is mainly on church leaders whose wavering allegiances and misguided decisions brought about ruinous consequences. Her study begins by highlighting two powerful opponents of antisemitism—Cardinal Jean Verdier and Pope Pius XI—who both died just prior to Germany’s invasion of France. In their wake, Catholic leaders, such as Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard and Archbishop Pierre-Marie Gerlier, though sympathetic to the plight of Jews, mistakenly believed that cooperation with the Nazi and Vichy regimes would bring about positive results. They were tragically wrong. Luft summarizes the Catholic Church in this period as “an institution divided in purpose, paralyzed by politics, and unwilling to confront the regime consistently.” She deftly explores and interlays the various issues motivating these clerics and those around them: French nationalism, Jewish assimilation, refugee crises, fears of communism, blind allegiance to Marshal Philippe Pétain, and of course, antisemitism, to name a few. The author’s approach provides the reader with insights into the ambiguous, precarious, and even hopeless situations that individuals faced, demonstrating the humanity of those confronting almost impossible choices. Her overall critique points to the tragedy of “fatal optimism” in the face of unrestrained evil. Both experts and lay readers will benefit from this thought-provoking work. An exceptional addition to the genre of Holocaust histories.
For more on history, visit Kirkus online.
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Blackness Thirteen Ways: Art, Life, & the Revisions of a Mulatta Lesbian Lyon, J. Vanessa | Pantheon (320 pp.) | $32 October 20, 2026 | 9780593701942
A novelist and former Bennington College art history professor muses on the images and experiences that helped shape her identity as a mul atta lesbian living a creative life. The child of a white mother and Black father who would later be routinely mistaken for Southeast Asian or Polynesian, Lyon learned early on that, above and beyond the complicating factor of her own “soft-butch” homosexuality, “[w]omen like [her] are a conundrum.” In 13 essays that mingle personal introspection with analyses of art and culture, the author explores what black female “impassibility” has meant for her and the many Western artists she has studied. In the opening essay, she analyzes the concept of passing itself, which she suggests has never been “as uncomplicated as some would like” and exists to circumvent—but not erase—the messiness of complexity. In later essays, she interweaves her own complicated experiences of growing up a queer, biracial female with detailed analyses of how art intersected with the history of the slave trade. European artists like Peter Paul Rubens and Miguel Mateo Maldonando y Cabrera either inserted Black women among whites to serve as symbolic links to slavery or created images of racially ambiguous females meant to signal the “types” that emerged through racial mixings. Lyon also turns her critically astute eye to renderings of the “passing problem” in films like Imitation of Life, which she parallels to her awakening to not only the depths of lesbian desire, but also to the difficulties of successfully navigating an interracial relationship. In tracing the trajectory of a biracial woman and her passions, the collection offers a unique perspective on the 52
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quandaries of living in a zone of racial and gendered in-between.
A sharp-eyed book about living as an unapologetic “zebra.”
The House of Cromwell: Britain’s Forgotten Dynasty Malins, Miranda | St. Martin’s (480 pp.) $31 | December 8, 2026 | 9781250345622
Of myths and men. Historians have long debated the motives of two polarizing figures in British history: Thomas and Oliver Cromwell. Author and podcaster Malins tackles the question in her sympathetic examination of these “self-made men.” Both were reformers, she asserts. Thomas navigated England’s break from the Catholic Church, and Oliver, his great-great-great nephew, oversaw an even greater upheaval of the government a century later. Although neither sought power for its own sake, she argues, they also wanted to protect and support their families. Malins makes her point through letters, showing the warm relationships both had with their children and parents and other relatives. Thomas Cromwell was King Henry VIII’s right-hand man and the architect of the religious reformation that “delivered Anne Boleyn to [Henry’s] bed and the wealth of the monasteries into his coffers.” Henry repaid Thomas by having him executed in 1540, following his unhappy marriage to Anne of Cleeves. In between the Annes, Thomas “smuggled a religious revolution onto the statute books under his king’s nose,” establishing a balance that continued for nearly a century, through the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. James’ son, Charles I, dissolved Parliament from 1626 to 1640. Oliver Cromwell gained a seat in Parliament when Charles recalled it in 1640. Discontent with Charles’ rule led to a 1649 trial that ended with a death sentence for the
king. Cromwell became lord protector, declining the title of king, which meant there was no clear line of succession. When Cromwell died in 1658, royalists restored the monarchy and crowned King Charles II. The new king had many scores to settle, and he settled them violently, executing all of those still living who had signed Charles I’s death warrant. The bloodthirsty new regime then exhumed Cromwell’s body, which was hanged, then beheaded, an event the royals called “a wonderful example of justice.” “Proper attention is what the house of Cromwell now deserves,” Malins writes, and her book delivers. A laudable reconsideration of two infamous figures.
Kirkus Star
Trans Time Travel: A Journey Into American History McBee, Thomas Page | Scribner (240 pp.) $28 | January 12, 2027 | 9781668066867
Exploring the origins, the future, and the meaning of the American transgender experience through forgotten historical figures. Transgender journalist McBee’s two previous books (Amateur, 2018, and Man Alive, 2014) were intensive, vulnerable, highly lauded memoirs about his transition into maleness and masculinity despite a series of complex harrowing hurdles. Here he combines the personal with the past in delving into the annals of American history to explore how gender variance across the centuries has positively influenced (and been unceremoniously scrubbed from) present-day culture. Rather than using history as a linear construct, McBee views the chronology of transgenderism in a cyclical fashion through the “trans time” lens of history repeating itself. He spotlights and retraces the legacies of several gender-variant historical K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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figures who have (and continue to make) lasting impacts on culture, including: Harry Allen, a 19th-century born Pacific Northwest cowboy and transgender man; Brandon Teena, the subject of the 1999 film Boys Don’t Cry; Black transgender sex worker Mary Jones; genderless 18th-century Quaker preacher self-dubbed “the Public Universal Friend” after recovering from a near-fatal illness; and transgender engineer, activist, and philanthropist Reed Erickson. Many of their legacies, the author attests, have been archivally erased, yet remain in fragments to be honored—and he does so through personal pilgrimages. These historical “portals” and profiles are coupled with interview material with academics and philosophers, alongside references to not only noted transgender activist and pioneer Susan Stryker, but also Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. McBee’s reportage demonstrates that transgender history refuses to cower or wither beneath moral and political backlashes but that it will continue to outlast the hostile transphobia and aggressive suppression that has long confronted and minimized its value. He writes that, collectively, “there is no part of ourselves—or our history—that can be rejected, disavowed, or discarded.” A profound and powerful testament to the timeless significance of transgender culture.
American Bohemia: The Photographic Legacy of the Village Voice McGovern, Thomas | Empire State Editions/Fordham Univ. (192 pp.) | $34.95 paper | February 2, 2027 | 9781531514334
A compendium of photographs from a legendary alternative weekly. New York’s Village Voice was founded in 1955 and dedicated to providing a home for creative types “seeking an alternative to the social conformity of postwar America,” as Frantz, a curator and K IR KU S R E V IE W S
co-author of this book, puts it in his introductory essay. By 1967, the Voice was the top-selling weekly newspaper in the U.S. As Joanna Szupinska, a curator at the California Museum of Photography, writes in her foreword, the paper was “a radical experiment in publishing—an alternative weekly that merged fierce political critique with an equally daring visual language.” The book, published in conjunction with an exhibition, “celebrates the boundarypushing image making of forty-eight photographers” by reproducing some of their most celebrated pictures, most of them from the mid-1970s to late 1990s. After an essay by Hilton Als, the New Yorker staff writer who joined the Voice as an art department assistant in 1985, and a piece by McGovern, who worked as a staff photographer and photo editor, the bulk of the book presents more than 150 photographs grouped into five categories: “Urban Life,” “Activism,” “Power,” “Music,” and “Art and Nightlife.” The result is a fascinating retrospective of American life, mostly in New York City and with most images in black-and-white. Among the most striking are ACT UP activists at a protest at the Food and Drug Administration in Rockville, Maryland; a 1987 picture of Black lawyers giving a press conference in front of a gaggle of microphones after the Howard Beach racial attack; a 1992 image of a pro-choice rally in Washington Heights, with one woman holding a wire hanger twisted into a cross; and a 1975 image of Salvator Dalí with curlers in his hair as he and his hairdresser look into a mirror. Anyone interested in iconic photojournalism or a history of late-20th century New York will find this volume invaluable. Unforgettable images from a renowned newspaper.
For more on New York City, visit Kirkus online.
What a Country Owes Its Soldiers Mohamed, Saira | Belknap/Harvard Univ. (288 pp.) | $28.95 | November 10, 2026 9780674301641
A philosophical and legal inquiry into the “sacred obligation” that binds society to its defenders. Mohamed, a University of California, Berkeley law professor, opens with a catalog of the wrongs that the U.S. government has inflicted on its military while giving lip service to soldiers (her broad term for all the service branches) as heroes: the illnesses traced to burn pits, the psychological damage wrought on soldiers made to torture prisoners, the institutional and personal degradation that results from illegal orders. Such things, she writes, should be seen “as failures of obligation and as exploitation of the power and authority the government has over military personnel.” International law holds that soldiers are agents of a state that may at some point “deviate from their usual legal obligations” by waging war, committing what amounts to mass murder and other crimes while generally being exempt from punishment. Yet international law also holds that all people have human rights by mere virtue of being human, which runs athwart of military doctrine. Such considerations rarely come up in public discussion, in part, Mohamed suggests, because so few Americans have military experience after more than half a century of the all-volunteer armed forces. The “demise of the citizen soldier” speaks to the isolation of the military from the rest of society, and the gulf between the two effectively allows the military to follow its own rules, sometimes for the worse. (Mohamed quotes George W. Bush as saying of the Iraq invasion, “If I had to do this with a draft army, I would have been impeached by now.”) Though not dauntingly technical, Mohamed’s argument relies on a good sense of legal NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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nuance. Still, the key points are straightforward enough, including the admonition that “when the military is understood as a mere tool of the government, it is easier for the government to use the military as a tool.” A reasoned argument for treating servicemembers as people rather than killing machines.
Kirkus Star
The Age of Confiscation: Making and Taking Property in the Creation of the Modern World Mulder, Nicholas | Little, Brown (768 pp.) $32 | December 1, 2026 | 9780316464635
This land is whose land? By the time readers get to the treatment of neoliberalism some 500 pages into this dense narrative, they are well prepared to be skeptical of a claim by economist Douglass North that the defeat of feudalism by the rising bourgeoisie— during England’s Glorious Revolution of 1688—had achieved “the elimination of confiscatory government.” This masterful and eye-opening account by Cornell University historian Mulder probes deeply into the various forms that government expropriation took before and since that alleged “elimi nation.” During the Renaissance, to modernize their economies and reward favored subjects, Western European monarchs divested the church and ancient families of massive amounts of property and bequeathed enclosed commons, once used freely by peasants, to smaller landowners. In the 18th and early-19th centuries, states sponsored piracy of foreign ships. Liberalizers emancipated serfs and enslaved people, not always compensating their former owners. The U.S. government gave railroad barons carte blanche to take private land by eminent domain. Socialist 54
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and liberal states in the 20th century nationalized private monopolies or whole industries in the name of economic development. Newly independent developing countries reappropriated their colonizers’ former expropriations. “It was in the nature of capitalism and economic development that expropriation could never be permanently banished,” Mulder writes. “It could only be managed and directed into positive projects rather than towards destructive uses. The neoliberal campaign to fully suppress it was thus chasing a historical chimera.” People intimidated by economic and financial analysis will find that Mulder’s erudite and elegant prose opens up a whole new way of understanding the modern world system, how we got where we are, and where we might be going. A revelatory global history of struggle between rulers and subjects over who owns what.
Star Trek: The Original Voyages: A Visual History Newman, Kyle; Jeff Bond & Official Star Trek Licensed | Ten Speed Press (416 pp.) $60 | November 10, 2026 | 9780593838204
A comprehensive look at a series that still captures the world’s imagination. There is certainly no dearth of writing about Star Trek, the seminal science-fiction series that transfixed viewers in the late 1960s and continues to do so today. But Newman and Bond’s official visual history of the original show offers something new for even the most die-hard Trekkies: a beautiful treasure trove of art alongside a well-written history of the pioneering series. The show, the authors write, “has launched careers, inspired public policy, driven scientific and technological invention, and built a fan movement that continues to thrive into its seventh decade.” They make their case with
a look at how the series grew into an unlikely sensation. It was created by Gene Roddenberry, a former pilot and police officer who envisioned it as “Wagon Train to the stars…an adult-oriented series with strong, continuing characters and hard- hitting drama.” The first pilot shot for the show is almost unrecognizable to the series we know today; it featured Jeffrey Hunter playing Christopher Pike as the captain of USS Enterprise. The second try replaced Hunter with William Shatner as James T. Kirk and added the supporting characters who have become associated with the series. The show beat back a nearcancelation and spawned conventions dedicated to it; the authors write about the fandom with a commoncause feeling that is still relatable to more casual viewers. Newman and Bond track the series through its original three seasons and include sections on the design of the Enterprise, the merchandise it spawned, and the legacy it built, alongside shots from the Star Trek set and the ephemera it inspired. The most hardcore Trekkies might know the show’s backstory, but Newman and Bond add sharp analysis, making this a great read for fans and more casual viewers alike. Fascinating: The final frontier bursts into life on the page.
Kirkus Star
Trial of the Space Invaders: The Case That Changed Video Games Parkin, Simon | Scribner (368 pp.) | $30 January 19, 2027 | 9781668079027
An account of a late-’80s patent suit that shaped today’s videogame industry. Veteran journalist Parkin (The Island of Extraordinary Captives, 2022, etc.) centers his story on Nintendo of K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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America Inc. v. Magnavox Co., a 1988 suit that, on the surface, seems too dry and fussy for book-length treatment. Magnavox, a TV manufacturer that launched an ill-fated venture into home video gaming in the ’70s with its Odyssey system, held patents that, it argued, gave it rights over any screen-based games; Nintendo, preparing to enter the U.S. market with its NES system, argued those patents were untenably broad. The companies ultimately settled, but, from that anticlimax, Parkin unspools an engaging tale of the early days of gaming. The story encompasses Spacewar, a simple shooting game developed by MIT students in the early ’60s; Ralph Baer, a German expat engineer who developed television games while working at a defense contractor; Atari, which pioneered arcade and home video games with Pong; and authors like Stewart Brand and Ellen Kuhfeld, whose magazine articles introduced gaming to the mainstream (and served as valuable exhibits in the Magnavox case). Smartly, Parkin highlights personalities as much as legal processes, finding an engaging protagonist in John Kirby, who represented Nintendo in the case; his legal savvy helped persuade the court that Magnavox’s patent claim was shaky. (By way of thanks, Nintendo named one of its popular game characters Kirby.) Details of the settlement are undisclosed, but Parkin is a determined sleuth, using court records, interviews, and well-educated guesses that show how the squabble led to a gaming culture that is now more lucrative and wide-open. Smart reportage with enough drama to appeal beyond the gaming community.
For more on video games, visit Kirkus online.
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Crying on the Kitchen Floor: A Memoir Paytas, Trisha | Grand Central Publishing (368 pp.) | $30 | November 10, 2026 9781538781173
A media personality’s rocky road to notoriety. Known as one of the Internet’s original influencers, Paytas posted her first personal videos to YouTube in 2007. Fans have followed her life ever since— critical moments documented in dramatic detail through livestreams, podcasts, and social media posts. The author’s lively memoir recaps her younger years growing up in northern Illinois, the daughter of a traveling engineer and a rural farmgirl, always possessing an “unrelenting, insidesburning, totally unhinged desire to see my name up in lights.” Her parents’ separation and financial struggles were nothing compared to her mother’s penchant for having extramarital coitus with men where she could be seen and heard by her children. Paytas remarks that this behavior informed her relationship with sex then and now, coupled with several sexual assault allegations against school teachers. As an admitted attentionseeker obsessed with Quentin Tarantino’s film Pulp Fiction, Paytas knew Los Angeles was where she would achieve stardom. As a teenager, after several odd jobs in Hollywood, she began aggressively networking in showbiz, accessorizing her look, accepting random reality TV show and music video appearances, and recording music. Fame increasingly beckoned, and so did her knack for outrageous antics and melodrama on MySpace and YouTube. On the darker end, she stripped, did sex work for quick cash, and abused drugs and alcohol—all to numb her depression. She writes candidly about regretting the early days of her “cringey fame” appearing on television “looking like an asshole” and being “airheaded
and repulsive” online, in addition to mental health troubles and numerous messy relationships. Now 38 years old and the happily married mother of three, she divulges that she’s come a long way. On the page, Paytas comes across as exuberantly satisfied with the adventures her life has delivered thus far. Her storytelling skills are conversational and refreshingly confessional, making the book much like sharing a long lunch with an overreactive best friend. An unfettered delight for Paytas fans: bubbly, chatty, and devilishly indiscreet.
The People’s Paper: The Rise and Fall of the New York Daily News Pressman, Matthew | Columbia Univ. (344 pp.) | $28 paper | October 6, 2026 9780231222006
On the beat with a oncemighty tabloid. Pressman’s history of the New York Daily News is copiously researched and smartly paced. These strengths outweigh his uneven stabs at bigpicture analysis. The media scholar’s introduction states that the News in the 20th century was “devoid of the exploitative cynicism” frequently seen in today’s media. This conflicts with episodes recounted in subsequent pages. Pressman nicely quantifies the paper’s appeal upon its 1919 launch. Broadsheets “yawned open as wide as four feet,” making the compact tabloid easier to handle. Targeting busy working people, the nascent News published striking photos— an infamous 1928 image showed a convicted murderer’s electric-chair execution—alongside short articles and reader-friendly contests Pressman likens to 21st-century digital games on newspaper apps. He devotes productive attention to the paper’s World War II-era isolationist stance NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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and corresponding antisemitic opinion pieces. Its four-million-plus circulation Sunday edition had national clout, selling tens of thousands of copies in states far from New York. The paper’s role in boosting so-called New Right politicians like Ronald Reagan “has generally been overlooked,” but Pressman’s shows how its support for fringe right-wing ideas proved consequential. As the author turns his eye to recent decades, the News is shown to be in “perpetual identity crisis,” its editorial positions fungible and sensitive to market pressures. He closely covers the paper’s star columnists, its “circulation war” with the New York Post, and its ugly battles with labor unions. He’s rewardingly attentive to the News’ often terrible record on race, exemplified by its loss in a “landmark” racial discrimination case. But he duly praises the paper for important work in the 1990s and thereafter, when the News broke stories on city spending, public health, and police brutality— none of which has prevented print circulation’s collapse. A thorough history charts a Gotham daily’s influence in boom times and lean years.
Kirkus Star
The Inheritance: An American Tragedy in Five Acts Reitman, Janet | Random House (448 pp.) $32 | October 6, 2026 | 9781984854728
A journalistic account of political extremism in everyday America. If you want to radicalize someone, send them off to an ill-defined, poorly managed war. Timothy McVeigh, one of Reitman’s subjects, is a case in point: “[T]he reality of combat… fucks with the head,” she writes of his time in Iraq, and so does homecoming in 56
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A Nobel Prize-winning journalist offers a playbook for battling authoritarianism. THE FIGHT BACK
a time of recession and unemployment. Provoked by what he saw as an evil government and styling himself “the ideological descendant of Paul Revere,” he embarked on a brief career in terrorism that ended at Oklahoma City. An aimless California skateboarder named Nate Damigo is another case in point: He joined the Marines and, like McVeigh, was packed off to Iraq, “probably the worst place in the world.” In prison for crimes comm itted after returning home, he happened on Klan leader David Duke’s autobiography. Founding a white supremacist organization on his release, he mapped out the infamous Charlotte sville tiki march—“You will not replace us” slogan, polo shirts, and all—“with a snarling aggression that was even more intimidating than overt violence.” On the other side of the ideological divide is Terry Albury, a brilliant young man who joined the FBI and served nearly a whole career as a Black officer in a nearly all-white and deeply racist organization. Albury himself went to prison on a four-year sentence after leaking information to the press about illegalities, such as hacking into journalists’ phone records. A crusading defense attorney working with unjustly charged Arab Americans, a neo-Nazi “murdered by a fellow neo-Nazi,” a young naval officer disaffected by military life, and a teenage girl arrested for trying to join ISIS round out Reitman’s cast of characters in this swift-moving, expertly told narrative, each grappling in their own way with “what created monsters, [and] all the whys.” A powerful portrait of homegrown terrorism and a host of misguided efforts to contain it.
Kirkus Star
The Fight Back: A Citizen’s Guide to Standing Up to Dictators Ressa, Maria | HarperCollins (256 pp.) $30 | October 13, 2026 | 9780063584617
The Nobel Prize–winning Filipina journalist offers a playbook of strategy and tactics for battling authoritarianism. Right-wing authoritarian and fascist states are proliferating around the world. One recently retired player was Rodrigo Duterte, the Filipino strongman at whose orders thousands of his compatriots were murdered. Thanks to the reporting of Ressa, her fellow Manangs, or “elder sisters,” and her Rappler news organization, these abuses were well-documented, and Duterte is now in a prison cell in The Hague. It’s not just the authoritarians themselves whom Ressa and company have in their sights: Early on in the book, she names Mark Zuckerberg as a public enemy, “opening the gates for what we at Rappler termed narrative warfare, a contemporary form of online propaganda.” She adds, meaningfully, “One dictator was in a cell waiting for trial. The other, along with a handful of other tech overlords, was consolidating control over the information that shapes reality for more than three billion people globally.” Tactic No. 1, then, is: “Delete or limit one social media app this week.” Elon Musk comes in for a thrashing, too, as do other agents of the collapse of American democracy who revel in their unaccountability: “No K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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court has jurisdiction over Zuckerberg’s decision to end fact-checking. No regulator can compel Musk to restore the safety teams he gutted.” Ressa counsels a strong program of self-education in disinformation, or “information self-defense,” which includes considering the source of a particular bit of news and corroborating it with other sources: “Occupy the information space. Share verified reporting before the lies arrive.” Just as important, in her estimation, is moving from the virtual into the physical world and forming communities of like-minded activists. After serving up 100 concrete steps for action, Ressa concludes with 10 strategic goals, among them this rousing cri de coeur: “Make yourself a harder target.” A much-needed primer in resistance.
The Soldier Spy: The Covert Wars of an Army Colonel and the Tragedy of American Power Riebling, Mark | Knopf (592 pp.) | $45 January 12, 2027 | 9780679438939
A consequential military career bears hard truths about a superpower’s trajectory. This informative portrait by Riebling—former research director in the NYPD Intelligence Division’s Center for Policing Terrorism—charts Army Colonel Walter Patrick Lang’s role as a key figure in the wars and overseas entanglements that marked the “apex and then the decline of American power.” Moreover, Riebling persuasively depicts Lang as a nimble-minded defense intelligence analyst whose “grand insight”—“armed conflict is a humanities problem” that requires careful analysis of an opponent’s motivations—informed his shrewd assessments of geopolitical shifts. Riebling is well-suited to the material. The author of previous books about espionage, he characterizes his latest as a “debriefing” based in part on Lang’s K IR KU S R E V IE W S
unpublished papers. Lang, born in 1940, was part of a generation that “believed in the essential goodness of America’s world mission.” Joining an Army focused on apparent communist threats, he fought in Central America and Vietnam, recruiting spies to help the U.S. cause and descending into “shame” when he failed to guarantee their safety. In the 1980s, he was part of the Pentagon’s push to bolster Iraq in its war against Iran, helping Saddam Hussein’s military make targeting decisions for Iraqi fighter planes. Riebling sticks close to Lang’s version of events, resulting in some anecdotes that are hard to check. Likewise, Lang’s near-fetishization of weapons may be true to life, but it’s no less cringeinducing. In time, he foresaw Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait and, long before the current U.S. war in Iran, warned about the dangers of such a conflict. An erstwhile “architect of the War on Terror,” he had become a “a prescient critic of the American democratic crusade.” Late in life, Lang was disenchanted with the government’s handling of suspected terrorism cases. He testified in several such legal proceedings, Riebling notes, “always for the defense.” An instructive biography of a national security lifer who battled foreign enemies and Beltway hubris.
Kirkus Star
Who We Are: Our Buried History of Anti-Black Racism Robinson, Jeffery | Knopf (336 pp.) | $35 January 12, 2027 | 9780593803912
A searching examination of anti-Black racism as a defining feature of American life. Writes actor Tom Hanks in his foreword, “I had never heard of the Tulsa Massacre, nor had it ever been taught in any of my American history
classes.” Enter Robinson, a former criminal justice lawyer and the founder of the nonprofit Who We Are Project; his book helps answer historian Jill Lepore’s call for a “national narrative,” a history everyone can agree on as the basis for “a shared future.” The problem, of course, is that a sizable number of Americans want to rewrite history to remove some of the more unpleasant facts. Robinson charts the course of anti-Black racism through the arrival of the first slave ships in 1619, a year that the Trump administration and Project 2025 have been striving to erase from the record. Thus, it is that the National Park Service attempted to downplay Harriet Tubman’s role in the Underground Railroad and abol itionist movement: “Getting rid of her completely would have been too extreme, so they minimized her,” writes Robinson. In response to a public outcry, the NPS reversed its revisionism, but the battle continues. Conservative media organization PragerU comes in for a drubbing for making “three misleading and inaccurate statements” about the history of slavery in an animated video lasting only 67 seconds, including the assertion that “Slavery was part of life all over the world. It was America that began the conversation to end it.” Actually, slavery existed in the U.S. well after it had been abolished around the globe. In a mind-bending exercise, Robinson takes readers through a literacy exam forced on Black voters in Louisiana, which “had nothing to do with proving adequate intelligence to vote and everything to do with suppressing the Black vote.” Try the test yourself, and you’ll see why so much effort is made to suppress the past as well, to say nothing of present injustices. An essential contribution to American history.
For more on Black history, visit Kirkus online.
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N O N F I C T I O N // B O O K T O S C R E E N
Book to Screen
Book by Tess Sanchez Will Be Adapted for TV Max Greenfield and Mindy Kaling will executive-produce the series.
here. So that’s what I break down in the book.” Executive producers of the series adaptation include Sanchez and her husband, actor Max Greenfield, whom Sanchez cast in the hit sitcom New Girl, and Mindy Kaling, the comedian and actor who frequently collaborates with Greenfield.—M.S. For a review of We’ve Decided To Go in a Different Direction, visit Kirkus online.
Tess Sanchez, right, with Max Greenfield
Monic a Schipper/Get t y Images for Women’s Cancer Research Fund
Tess Sanchez’s essay collection is headed to the small screen, Deadline reports.
Warner Bros. Television is adapting Sanchez’s We’ve Decided To Go in a Different Direction as a series. The book, published in 2025 by Gallery, recounts how the author lost her job as a Hollywood casting director at the same time that her father was diagnosed with a serious illness. A critic for Kirkus wrote of the collection, “Very TV-literate readers who also love memoir—this book is for you.” In an interview with the Los Angeles Times last year, Sanchez explained, “The essence of the book is really about my journey of trying to
figure out why this particular job was so defining in my life, and who am I without that job? I had to look back at my career because when it went away, I just felt so empty and that enabled me to go back to the beginning and really dig in and review how I started in the industry, which bosses were amazing and how I got
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B O O K L I S T // N O N F I C T I O N
1
2
3
Bridging Political Divides 4
5
1 The Day After
6
By Brian Tyler Cohen
A battle cry for “complacent friends of democracy” to bestir themselves to meaningful action.
2 The Hard Path to Unity By Barney Frank
An eminently sensible political program that will doubtless rile many readers on the left.
3 Supermajority By Adam Jentleson
A pragmatist’s plea for the importance of ideological heterodoxy in Democratic politics.
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4 All the Wrong Moves
By Anthony Scaramucci
Smart and with just the right amount of vitriol.
5 I Disagree
By Jessica Tarlov
6 This Is the Plan
A thought-provoking antidote to our penchant for being permanently bent out of shape.
A book of immediate interest to progressive and centrist activists in this election year.
For more booklists, visit Kirkus online.
By Ben Wikler
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Bait Dog Boy: A Memoir Rollins, Henry | Random House (304 pp.) $32 | March 2, 2027 | 9798217197422
A future writer/ singer comes of age. In this howit-all-began story, Rollins—author of Get in the Van (1994), a document of his 1980s tenure as singer for punk colossus Black Flag—writes that he was conceived in a “doomed frolic.” His parents—Iris, a government employee, and Paul, an alcoholic bigot with a PhD in economics— got hitched and, after Rollins was born in 1961, divorced “quickly and acrimoniously.” Rollins spent his Washington, D.C., childhood shuttling between two households. Iris was on “a steady diet of abusive, alcoholic men”; Paul gave his young son intoxicating amounts of alcohol. Among Rollins’ abusers were Iris’ boyfriend and Rollins’ stepmother. Small wonder that “at no time did I feel any closeness or ‘bond’ with either [parent].” Small wonder, too, that the Ritalin-suffused Rollins acted out. In 1974, he got a lifeline: friendship with Ian MacKaye, who would likewise go on to become a figurehead of the American hardcore punk scene. Following his introduction, the book switches from a catalog of bummers to a chronicle of the adolescent Rollins’ efforts to become somebody, with encouragement from the odd teacher or boss (“I began to understand that there were good adults in the world”). But the book’s central tension isn’t between Rollins and his parents: It’s between Rollins and himself. So constitutionally averse is he to embracing the victim narrative that in his preface he offers, “In writing this book, I see that, at every turn, I could have conducted myself differently….I lacked the guts and ability to think critically and got what was coming to me.” That’s himself as a child he’s talking about, and it’s what makes this plainspoken 60
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memoir something not typically associated with Rollins: heartbreaking. Those previously familiar with Rollins’ fearsome persona will leave this devastating memoir saying, “So that explains it.”
Everyday Americans: Asians in the U.S. Today Ruiz, Neil G. | Third State Books (270 pp.) $29.95 | November 17, 2026 9798890130570
Fitting into the fabric of America. As its title makes clear, the popular 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians portrayed the lives of fabulously wealthy people from the world’s most populous continent. Though the film is set outside the U.S., Ruiz argues that it is emblematic of how many view Asian Americans. “Behind this glossy perception…lies a complex and sobering reality,” writes Ruiz, the head of New Research Initiatives at Pew Research Center, which in 2022–23 conducted the largest-ever survey of Asian Americans. “Millions of Asian Americans struggle in obscurity in or near the poverty line.” The survey at the heart of this important, mythdebunking book is based on information provided by more than 7,000 respondents. “No single narrative emerges from this research,” Ruiz writes. “Rather, it is a tapestry woven from the voices of immigrants” as well as “their children (second, third, and fourth generations and beyond), and those who live between cultures.” The survey is also based on results from 84 focus groups with 264 Asian American adults representing 18 different ethnic backgrounds. “Now 24 million strong, this transformative group is the fastest growing racial and ethnic population in the United States,” he writes. The book adds a human face to the numbers, challenging, for one, the “model minority”
stereotype. As one Vietnamese participant poignantly says, “People think we are doing well because we don’t talk about our problems. But the truth is, we are barely surviving.” Ruiz enriches the findings by recounting his own life story: “I grew up in Oxnard, California, the child of Filipino immigrants….From an early age, I wrestled with a basic question of belonging.” In college, he adds, he attended programs for minority students: “I was asked if I was Latino; when I said I was Filipino, people’s demeanor seemed to change, sometimes abruptly. I recall being told that I did not ‘qualify’ for the extra academic support because I was Asian.” Warm photographs of participants, as well as interviews with prominent Asian Americans, flesh out the survey. A welcome and necessary portrait of people striving to achieve the American dream.
The Many Faces of Johnny Depp Seal, Mark | Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster (416 pp.) | $32 | November 24, 2026 9781668046432
The controversial actor on screen and off. Journalist and author Seal (Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli, 2021) moves through Depp’s life with verve and an eye for detail, from his childhood in a troubled family in Florida through his many recent courtroom battles. Depp didn’t talk to Seal, so the author relies on the many outspoken interviews the actor has given over the years, as well as interviews with his friends and associates. He portrays Depp as someone who stumbled into acting after a move to Los Angeles with the intention of becoming a rock star didn’t pan out. He’s at his best in fleshing out the making of some of his movies: Platoon, in which Depp played K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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a relatively minor role; Edward Scissorhands, in which he starred; and of course, the hugely popular Pirates of the Caribbean movies, in which Depp played a role he claims was inspired by a “blaze of sweat and delirium” in a sauna. Seal places considerable emphasis on two older men who served, for better or worse, as father figures for Depp. Marlon Brando and “gonzo journalist” Hunter Thompson, whose Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Rum Diary became film projects for Depp. Less examined are his former partners, including Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis, the mother of his two children, and the two women he married, Lori Anne Allison and Amber Heard. Deal does examine in exhaustive and sordid detail the legal battles between Depp and Heard, with numerous quotations from their “he said, she said” trials concerning a dysfunctional relationship fueled by allegations of domestic abuse. While leaning into the lurid, and tinged with purple prose, the book communicates all that readers will want to know about Depp’s triumphs and troubles, and maybe more. Comprehensive and entertaining biography of a complicated performer.
Kirkus Star
Never Say War: Life in Russia Today Seierstad, Åsne | Trans. by Siân Mackie Little, Brown (384 pp.) | $30 January 5, 2027 | 9780316613736
Intrepid Norwegian journalist Seierstad recounts a sojourn in Putin’s Russia. Late in her narrative, Seierstad crosses the border from Estonia into Russia and, at a checkpoint, is grilled by a young security officer. “I mentioned the book I’d written in Afghanistan. ‘Bookseller of where?’ Bereft of general knowledge though K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Serving as “reverse chaperones” for pandas—by trying to help them have sex. IN THE COMPANY OF PANDAS
he seemed to be, surely a Russian employed by the Security Service had to be familiar with Kabul?” The ignorance was real, and, combined with an evident lack of curiosity, it’s something she encounters frequently in her travels—that, and “control and surveillance, a cult of personality, xenophobia, internal and external enemies.” As it turns out, the real object of the inquiry was to find the whereabouts of Andrey Medvedev, a former mercenary in the Wagner Group who had deserted and fled to Norway. Medvedev is not a nice guy: He’s done time for beating women, burglary, and various other crimes committed both in Russia and Norway, where, for good reason, his application for asylum has been rejected. He may be a brute, but he knows his books: As he tells Seierstad, early on, “My story should be written like Shantaram, but you should feel like you’re reading Dostoevsky.” In five extended stories, Seierstad depicts the grimness of life in a police state. Interviewing a university professor who laments the loss of scholarly collaboration with American counterparts, she hears an interesting take on affairs: “The Soviet era was totalitarian, and things worked relatively well,” he says. “Now the state’s authoritarian and works relatively poorly.” Factchecking has gone out the door in journalism (“It’s just as well Orwell’s dead,” grumbles an editor), the rich get richer, and a seemingly endless war with Ukraine grinds on, on which she interviews a Russian computer geek who’s volunteered to guide Ukrainian drones: “It’s like World of Warcraft. My avatar is a wizard. I summon creatures to fight for me.” A revealing look at what’s behind the new Iron Curtain.
In the Company of Pandas: My Life With the World’s Favorite Bear Smith, Brandie | Atria (272 pp.) | $30 November 10, 2026 | 9781668027721
Pandas over the years at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and beyond. Smith, the director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, offers up a cheerful and enlightening description of what it’s like to work with “the most charismatic of all the charismatic megafauna.” Only a few pandas at a time live at the National Zoo, where they are bred as part of an exchange program with China. The keepers get to know them as individuals, and the personalities of Tai Shan (“a rock star, and he knew it”), Bao Bao (“the panda equivalent of someone who declines the group chat and means it”), and others shine through Smith’s affectionate descriptions. Because the responsibility of those involved in the panda program is to serve as “‘reverse chaperones’ for giant pandas, encouraging them to have sex and make babies,” the intricacies of panda reproduction figure heavily here, whether it’s the challenges of dealing with females who are sexually receptive only a few hours once a year, the details of artificial insemination, or the birth of tiny babies who, when they emerge, “squawk like some giant prehistoric bird.” Far from squeamish, Smith describes with gusto the gustatory input and output of the pandas, claiming that their excrement smells NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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like “newly mown grass or green tea leaves. Honestly, I think it could be marketed as a trendy candle scent.” The author moves outside the zoo to detail her own surprisingly circuitous route to her present career and to describe the extensive panda rewilding areas in China. She makes a convincing case that ensuring that pandas survive as a species, and providing the habitat in which they can thrive, benefits countless other species. Panda fans will be delighted, and even those not already hooked on the Panda Cam may find themselves new converts. A sparkling account of caring for beloved bears.
William Howard Taft: A Great American Life Stahr, Walter | Simon & Schuster (688 pp.) $35 | November 10, 2026 | 9781668012680
Stout biography of American politics’ great utility player. It’s long been taken as a matter of historical faith that William Howard Taft was a reluctant chief executive who didn’t really want the job, preferring instead to serve on the Supreme Court. Presidential historian Stahr dispels that as a canard: Taft was born to politics, holding several federal posts his father had held a generation before him, and “he wanted to be president; he worked hard to become president; and he was determined… that he would be a good president.” Though usually relegated to the middle ranks of the presidents, neither awful nor great, Stahr argues persuasively that Taft should be remembered for numerous accomplishments, including advocating for expanded civil rights for Black citizens and having the decency and “restraint” to confine his exercise of executive power to what the Constitution specified, holding “that the foremost duty of the president was to ensure the laws were faithfully executed.” Many of his most significant 62
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accomplishments were in the careers that bracketed his presidency: As governor of the occupied Philippines, he defended his colonial charges against the depredations of “dissolute Americans”; as a sort of diplomat at large, he did much to ease the way for the construction and management of the Panama Canal to Panama’s benefit. Such actions did not endear him to white supremacists in the government, but Stahr notes that Taft was well liked and admired for his dedication to the public interest. Greater accomplishments awaited when he did, after his time in the White House, ascend to the post of chief justice of the Supreme Court, where he set reforms in place that are in force today, “still central to our constitutional structure.” Moreover, Stahr writes, Taft was “interesting” and, though a touch long, so is this book. A strong case for elevating an overlooked president closer to the ranks of greatness.
Everything You Need To Know: How Philosophy Can Set You Free Stewart, Matthew | Norton (304 pp.) | $31.99 November 10, 2026 | 9781324105893
A casual crash course through the history of philosophy. In six sprawling sections, Stewart (An Emancipation of the Mind, 2024, etc.) aims to deflate the haughtiness of academic philosophy from the “beard-stroking accumulation of specialized knowledge” and
transform it into an accessible history of curiosity and intellectual liberation. “What on Earth Are These People Doing?” he asks in one segment’s title; “Why This, Why Now, Why Anything?” posits another. He leads readers through grand ideas about metaphysics, morality, and epistem ology by way of short biographies of major philosophers, detailing both their advancements in the field and their subsequent opposition. It’s a lot to take in, but Stewart tries to keep things fun and colloquial: For example, he describes the ancient Greek Pyrrho as “based,” finds an “angry incel” in Nietzsche, and takes shots at an unnamed space-colonizing “tech genius” “bro” in an aside about philosophy’s trolley problem. These conversational moments of levity polish a podcast-caliber sheen onto otherwise weighty material. Further, the author periodically highlights his biggest ideas with bold font and a concise definition to create textbook- style intermissions. Defining philo sophy as the “ceaseless struggle for liberation from the tyranny of past philosophers,” he decries chronology and ping-pongs between ancient and modern eras to cite thinkers from Socrates to Simone de Beauvoir. While this loose style helps articulate the protean nature of philosophy as a whole, readers hoping for a more traditional historical flow may feel some whiplash and prefer the timeline in the book’s appendix. Much of the text deals broadly about freeing one’s thoughts from the status quo and the “struggle for the emancipation of the mind.” Stewart poignantly ends his investigation with a look at political philosophy and how these thinkers can help us today. There’s great purpose behind what appears initially as a
An overlooked president whose accomplishments included advocating for civil rights. W I L L I A M H O WA R D TA F T
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charming but erratic conglomeration of anecdotes and ideas: His charismatic analysis transforms these histories into an accessible primer that will energize the curious mind. Heavy but humble, an approachable intellectual study.
The Reddest Rose Unfolds: The Death of Love Under Late Capitalism Strömquist, Liv | Trans. by Melissa Bowers Seven Stories (192 pp.) | $21.95 paper January 26, 2027 | 9781644215791
An irreverent, scathing critique of our modern way of love, staunchly steeped in ancient and modern philosophy. Why does Leonardo DiCaprio keep dating young swimsuit models, even as he settles deep into middle age? What cultural assumptions underpin “I could have another you in a minute”—the hook of Beyonce’s hit song “Irreplaceable?” In the immortal words of singer Haddaway: “What is love?” But really, what is it? Intertwining the hard-hitting work of cultural philosophers ByungChul Han and Eva Illouz, Strömquist brilliantly, empathically posits that our modern capitalist system erodes the allure of the other and narrows our approach to the pursuit of romantic partners to essentially seeking narcissistic reflections of our selves. Dating apps and social algorithms narrow our view further to those with whom we perceive shared interests, while capitalism simultaneously rejects a sense of true conclusion—there might always be someone more appealing out there. Strömquist’s modern examples of romance and romantic dysfunction are primarily heteronormative and suggest that men bear a distinct romantic advantage over women since women are currently saddled with the cultural imperative to desire children. However, her strongest examples of love as something K IR KU S R E V IE W S
mystical, magical and beyond economic interference come from the ancient Greeks—particularly from Socrates and Sappho, both homophilic in their romantic inclinations. The book’s title, drawn from a poem by bisexual modernist writer H.D., beautifully captures a similarly strange and thrillingly elusive expectation of mystical, earth-shaking love. It’s crystal clear what Strömquist is against here, but an alternative, preferable, less-calculating romantic model for our broken modern age feels a bit harder to pin down, for better or worse. Wryly broad humor buzzes through her intentionally uneven, shaky illustrations, rendering esoteric concepts approachable and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. A challenging polemic and a comic conversation starter—an unexpected, idiosyncratic treat.
The Wordspotter’s Guide: A Jaunt Through Our Etymological Past Swarthout, Olivia | Plume (336 pp.) | $30 November 10, 2026 | 9798217184811
Word games. A popular presence on social media, Swarthout (Weird Medieval Guys, 2024) shares her love of language in a brisk, entertaining introduction to the study of word origins. From the body to the soul, from the heavens to earth, from courtrooms to battlefields, she investigates when and how words originated and how they transformed, illustrating the process in family trees tracing the growth of a root into many branches. She shows, for example, how a word containing “fer”—offer, prefer, proffer—carries within in it a root meaning “to bear” or “to carry.” She offers etymologies for assorted people’s names, and reveals how some names became common words: boycott, from an unscrupulous land agent; leotard,
from the French acrobat who wore one; and mesmerize, from the notorious hypnotist Franz Mesmer. Surnames might be derived from the place where one lived, one’s occupation (Baker, Shepherd), or one’s relationship (Richardson). French had a huge influence on English, not only in words for food and drink but in such terms as boudoir: “from the French bouder, meaning ‘to sulk,’ this is a lady’s private chamber where she can go with her lady friends to do lady things. Like sulking.” Some developments are surprising: Both amethyst (thought to prevent drunkenness) and methamphetamine have their origins in the Proto-Indo-European word for mead. “For thousands of years,” Swarthout writes, “our languages have wandered the Earth, leaving their families behind and meeting new languages and settling down with them to have families of their own.” Swarthout rounds out her lively survey with a capsule history of the English language, citing words added during each period, and a glossary of etymological terms. A merry romp through linguistic history.
Kirkus Star
The Abyss of Oblivion Terrasa, Rodrigo | Illus. by Paco Roca Trans. by Andrea Rosenberg Fantagraphics (296 pp.) | $29.99 November 17, 2026 | 9798875002588
A historical graphic novel draws links between present and past in the stories of men executed and buried in a Spanish Civil War-era mass grave. Focusing more on feelings than finger-pointing, cartoonist Roca and journalist Terrasa look back to a brutal and too-seldom acknowledged period in Spain’s history when summary executions of supposed “Reds” continued for years after the actual fighting was over. Fact-based storylines intertwine: of a team of NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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modern archeologists unearthing a 1940 mass grave to find men inexplicably buried in coffins with small bottles containing their names on slips of paper; of a compassionate gravedigger who secretly risks his own life to give a few of the bullet-riddled bodies he inters some dignity; and of wives, children, and grandchildren who kept and, in some cases, still keep memories of the victims alive notwithstanding decades of bureaucratic resistance. “It is only as long as we are remembered that we exist,” reads one black panel. Making much use of wordless sequences and dissolves to create cinematic effects, the art is strong and stunning—from opening scenes of uniformed guards system atically gunning down lines of roped-together prisoners to present- day views of unidentified remains being carefully reinterred and a wall with bullet holes still visible. The effect is chillingly matter-of-fact; along with faces copied (and, in one case, actually pasted) from period photos, the artist depicts both living figures and blood-spattered corpses with ruthless attention to individual features, realistic posing, and details of dress and setting. “You can know a lot about a society,” Terrasa concludes, “by studying its burials.” A respectful, gut-wrenching memorial to all victims of officially sanctioned murders, then and now.
The Hour Strikes: Churchill, Roosevelt, and Hitler at the Hinge of History, 1941 Thomas, Evan with Oscie Thomas Random House (304 pp.) | $33 December 1, 2026 | 9780593597156
Husband-andwife authors examine a pivotal year in wartime. This detailed look at 1941 begins in June, as the momentum of World War II seemed to be with Germany, which had just 64
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“You can know a lot about a society,” writes Rodrigo Terrasa, “by studying its burials.” THE ABYSS OF OBLIVION
invaded Russia. Britain was fighting alone, and Winston Churchill desperately wanted to enlist America’s help. Franklin D. Roosevelt, facing a Congress and public opinion that opposed sending troops to Europe, dodged committing to active involvement in the war—though he provided Britain with plentiful war materiel through the Lend-Lease program. Hitler, meanwhile, was “deeply deluded,” surrounded by sycophants who assured him that the war was going perfectly, despite increasingly effective Russian resistance. However, over the coming months, as the authors write, “A series of fateful—and fatal— decisions escalated the conflict and foretold the outcome.” The book traces those decisions by following each of the three leaders as events unfolded. It’s an often fascinating look at the leaders’ off-stage lives, spiced with quotes from diaries and other first-hand accounts of those who dealt with them on a daily basis. Churchill’s wooing of the U.S.—of FDR in particular—led to personal meetings, crossing the Atlantic in spite of the threat of German U-boats. The two men had much in common, and they saw the danger of European fascism—but it wasn’t until Hitler’s foolish declaration of war on the U.S. after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor that they became true allies. Narrated in the present tense, the book has a cast of characters that would be the envy of any novelist. Even readers broadly familiar with the course of the war are likely to find something new here. How the U.S. entered World War II—a well-paced and richly detailed account.
Eleven Days: The Fascinating True Account of Agatha Christie’s Mysterious Disappearance Thompson, Laura | St. Martin’s (224 pp.) $26 | December 1, 2026 | 9781250461261
Delving into the mystery writer’s 1926 vanishing act and reappearance. The breathless tone of biographer, true-crime author, and Christie super- fan Thompson is apparent from her opening sentence: “It is the greatest mystery ever created, by the greatest writer of mysteries.” Christie’s disappearance certainly made headlines from the time her abandoned car was found on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 4, through and beyond her discovery 11 days later in a Harrogate hotel registered as Teresa Neele—the surname, not incidentally, of the attractive young woman whom the press learned was a guest at the same house party Christie’s husband Archie attended that Friday night prior. The Christies closed ranks and claimed temporary amnesia (they divorced two years later); the media and angry public concluded it was a hoax to sell books—neither, avers Thompson, whose exceedingly thorough research includes extensive plumbing of family histories and minutely detailed parsing of the discrepancies in contemporary newspaper accounts, as well as interviews with Christie’s daughter and Archie’s son with his second wife many years after the fact. Thompson even went to the trouble of re-enacting—at the same date and time, Dec. 3, 9:45 p.m.— Christie’s drive from her K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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English village home to “the vertiginous slopes of the North Downs in Surrey” and the hypothetical route of her departure from the scene. The conclusion from this painstaking reconstruct-ion? “How directional— effortful—driven the whole thing was.” Thompson’s book is strongest when it captures the anguished state of mind of a woman whose beloved mother had died earlier that year and whose husband had recently asked for a divorce; it makes clear how unlikely it was that her disappearance was either the result of amnesia or a publicity stunt. Since she offers no alternate solution, however, it’s hard to see this book’s appeal for general readers. For the Agatha Christie– obsessed only.
The World of Cecil Taylor: Essays, Poetry, Photographs, and Interviews Valente, Peter | State Univ. of New York Press (408 pp.) | $29.95 paper November 1, 2026 | 9798855810158
The life and music of an architect of sound. This collection of some 40 pieces brought together by writer, translator, and filmmaker Valente offers up an eclectic, daunting overview of the life and career of the singular free-jazz composer, performer, and poet Cecil Taylor. As Gary Giddins puts it in his fine essay, “The Avant-Gardist Who Came in From the Cold,” Taylor inherited a tradition of “unending discovery.” Marc Edwards contributes a personal piece on his “transformative experience” playing drums with Taylor. John Bruschini describes Taylor’s music as “always controversial, groundbreaking, and revolutionary.” Valente himself provides a thoughtful piece on Taylor’s many drummers. The collection then shifts to Taylor’s poetry. In “Cecil Taylor and the Commitment to Poetry” David Grundy writes that poetry was K IR KU S R E V IE W S
“where he theorized his artistic conception”—and, perhaps, it was where he artistically dealt with his homosexuality and his blackness: “When asked if he was gay, Taylor responded, ‘Do you think a three- letter word defines the complexity of my humanity? I avoid the trap of easy definition.” Taylor never published a book in his lifetime. Some commentary appeared as simple liner notes. He often read with the distinguished poet Amiri Baraka. Grundy believes that Taylor’s poetry was “part of a total way of living, devotional and expansive.” Valente also includes a handy biblio-discography of Taylor’s writings that fans will greatly appreciate. Will Alexander collects a number of Taylor-esque poems about Taylor written by others, including one by Anne Waldman. Mark Miller’s two essays are accessible windows into the Taylor world and mind. A piece on Taylor’s highly unusual “alphabet notation” and dance is especially illuminating, as is Matthew Goodheart’s “The Foundation of Taylor’s Music.” The issue of the relationship between his written and improvised material is nicely handled by Alex Ward. Ted Panken’s closing interviews with Taylor and other musicians provide insights into the thinking of this “master pianist and meta-musician-poet-dancer.” Far more than a mere introduction to Taylor’s revolutionary work.
Beyond the Silk Road: A New Economic History of the Ancient World From Eurasia to Africa von Reden, Sitta | Princeton Univ. (344 pp.) $42 | February 2, 2027 | 9780691172453
The Silk Road “never existed.” The storied trade route, writes Von Reden, a scholar at the University of Freiburg, in Germany, “embodies the romantic vision of a common past that we wish to lie at the heart of human
history.” However, she adds, “it is the invention of nineteenth-century geographers….They had not yet seen archaeological remains that both prove and complicate the idea that trade routes connected China, India, and Europe in antiquity.” Instead, this impressive survey, across a wide range of sources, examines “webs of relationships”—networks that “made goods move over long distances.” The author investigates consumption, expansion, and taxation powering imperial economies. She begins by focusing on geopolitical and environmental contexts, including climate, that afforded connections through Eurasia and North Africa. She presents merchants and diplomats as engines of transimperial exchange. “Merchants often pioneered long-distance exchange, and participated importantly in the distribution of knowledge,” she writes. “Yet rarely were they independent of elite financiers or the protective infrastructure provided by emperors, their fleets, and armies.” Crucial in the process were frontier zones—the Nabataean kingdom of northern Arabia, Barygazan in India, and the Egyptian Eastern Desert—that “propelled long-distance exchange.” Mining copious, up-to-date scholarship, the author concentrates on 300 B.C.E. to 300 C.E. Although the book will primarily interest historians and archaeologists, chapter introductions and conclusions, as well as maps, will assist general readers. The writing, dense with details, is clear and efficient, addressing key questions. Von Reden convincingly argues for economic polycentricity and interconnectivity. A sweeping, meticulously supported case for dynamic interimperial interdependence.
For more on the Silk Road, visit Kirkus online.
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Anti-Fascist Economics: In Defense of Affordability, Dignity, and Democracy Weber, Isabella | Random House (400 pp.) $28 | October 20, 2026 | 9798217154432
A manifesto calling for an economic regime that “serves life.” As a discipline, economics has traditionally been male-dominated, highly quantified, and politically conservative. Weber’s work defies that description on all counts. A native of Nuremberg, Germany, an epicenter of Nazism, Weber is keenly aware of the several causes underlying the current far-rightward drift around the world, not least in the U.S. She attributes at least some of the trend to economic policies that routinely and willfully inflict pain on ordinary people, “paving the way for the reemergence of fascism.” These policies are the fruit of the austerity regime of the Chicago school, which responded to the Covid-19 pandemic with belt-tightening measures that caused massive layoffs and ever-increasing economic insecurity. Weber maintains that market fundamentalism—the notion that the market self-regulates and is best left to operate on its own—is really “profit fundamentalism,” a zero-sum, winner-takes-all pursuit that benefits the ultrawealthy at the expense of the rest. Her remedies are sweeping, with the overall goal of removing the “essentials of life” from the roster of profit centers and instead treating them as basic human rights. Taking a page from economist Karl Polyani, the author argues that the so-called free market is free for those who already have political and economic power, while “real freedom requires the social and material conditions that only collective regulation can provide.” Arriving at such conditions means doing away with economic precarity, raising marginal taxes substantially, providing affordable housing, containing 66
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inflation, and stabilizing prices against a political backdrop of democratic socialism—the inverse of fascism, that is. In the end, Weber writes in this vigorous, accessible treatise, an antifascist economics “removes the economic anxiety and sense of overwhelming crisis that fascists exploit, and it demonstrates— concretely, in people’s daily lives— that democratic governments can act in their interest.” A resounding repudiation of the predatory economics and politics that govern our time.
The Last Flight: The Untold Story of the Search for JFK Jr. and the Race Against the Atlantic Webster, William Russell & Theresa Mitchell Webster | Harper Select/ HarperCollins (256 pp.) | $27.95 October 13, 2026 | 9781400262236
A retired Coast Guard captain describes the massive coordination of efforts expended in the search for JFK Jr.’s downed plane in 1999. As is ingrained in the public consciousness, on July 16 of that year, 38-year-old John F. Kennedy Jr., then a magazine publisher, lost control of the small plane he was flying to Martha’s Vineyard, killing his wife, Carolyn, her sister Lauren, and himself. The focus of this book, co-written by Webster and his wife, historian Mitchell Webster, is the five days between when Kennedy family members waiting at a rehearsal dinner for Kennedy’s cousin alerted authorities that the trio was missing and when the wreckage was finally located using side-scan sonar on the seabed off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. Webster served as incident commander of the search out of Coast Guard Group Woods Hole, and the book leans on his own recollections, along with interviews with dozens of
Coast Guard, Navy, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini stration personnel. The authors make an effort to introduce the reader to the search’s key players—including a NOAA survey-vessel captain, the commandant tasked with communicating with the next-of-kin, and a veteran sonar officer—adding some humanizing details, but the book’s real enthusiasm is reserved for the hardware: the workhorse NOAA ship Rude (pronounced ROO-dee), which the authors say “could find a dime on the ocean floor off any coast of the US if her crew had to,” or the USS Grasp, “the so-called tow truck of the sea,” capable of towing an aircraft carrier with a 3,000 foot, 2.25-inch-thick wire rope. The prose brims with unembarrassed admiration for the agencies’ professionalism and grit, giving the book the tenor of a rousing after-action report. A technically rich, warmly patriotic account best suited to readers drawn to the technical machinery of search and rescue.
TMI: Memoirs of a Go-Go Wiedlin, Jane | Da Capo (272 pp.) | $32.50 November 10, 2026 | 9781538775165
The musician’s lips aren’t sealed in this candid memoir. Let no one accuse singer, guitarist, and actor Wiedlin of giving her memoir a misleading title. “I’ve struggled with mental illness, failed marriages, and severe selfdoubts,” she writes. “I’ve taken almost every drug ever invented and lived to tell the tale.” Her memoir begins with her childhood in Wisconsin and California, when she began struggling with depression at age 11. A star student, she shocked her teachers and family when she developed a rebellious streak—one that made her a perfect fit in Los Angeles’ burgeoning punk scene of the 1970s. In 1978, she became one K IR KU S R E V IE W S
NONFICTION
of the founding members of the Go-Go’s when she was just 19; the band released its first album, Beauty and the Beat, in 1981. The record was a hit, which proved to be a double- edged sword: “The blowback from the kids still living in Hollywood was swift, ugly, and final,” she writes. “The Go-Go’s had sold out.” Beset by infighting, drinking, and a lot of drugs, the band called it quits in 1985, not long after Wiedlin left. The rest of the memoir chronicles her post-GoGo’s life, including acting roles in Clue and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, some solo projects, and the band’s occasional reunions. She is open about her struggles with mental illness and substance use, as well as her longtime interest in animal rights causes and BDSM. Although Wiedlin comes across as charming and enthusiastic— she makes frequent use of exclamation points—readers might have benefited from more about her band’s early days. Strictly for die-hard fans.
Nine Lives, No Wives, and 69 Concubines Williams, Katt with Cas Sigers 13A/Simon & Schuster (336 pp.) | $30 October 20, 2026 | 9781668222058
A stand-up comedian’s tough road to success. Comic and actor Williams begins his memoir by letting his fans know he’s been a dedicated reader from an early age: “Reading wasn’t a hobby. It was my first hustle. I was turning pages like a kid racing through homework just to see if the answers are at the back.” Books offered something of an escape: He was raised by strict Jehovah’s Witnesses who forbade him anything “worldly.” At 13, he left his home in Dayton, Ohio, because of physical abuse. “I wasn’t escaping, I was upgrading,” he writes. “That’s why you’ll never catch me saying I ‘ran away.’” He lived for a K IR KU S R E V IE W S
time on the streets of Florida and got a job as a traveling salesperson. He tried to launch his comedy career in Sacramento, California, then Oakland, and finally Los Angeles, where he initially struggled: “Hollywood had a whole different rule book, and my Black ass couldn’t even get a copy.” Eventually, he scored a break with a role in the 2002 comedy Friday After Next and a series of successful stand-up specials. Williams is well-known for his frequent run-ins with the law; he writes that he’s been arrested 39 times in 43 states, and he discusses the arrests with candor, conceding that he’s made mistakes, but arguing that he’s been targeted by snitches: “There is no police force in America waking up every morning like, “Hey, y’all want to ruin Katt Williams’s day again?,” not unless somebody “credible” is over there feeding them info like, ‘Yup, he’s in Tallahassee with guns and weed— room three twelve. Door’s unlocked. He’s rolling a blunt right now…go.’” Although there’s no shortage of suggestive jokes, Williams displays a sweet side, especially when writing about his 10 children: “People think I adopted six kids because I’m a saint, but the truth is, I just refuse to let any child feel as alone as I once did.” Solidly entertaining and sometimes quite moving.
With the Beatles: Mal Evans’ Illustrated Journey Womack, Kenneth | HarperPop/ HarperCollins (432 pp.) | $60 December 1, 2026 | 9780063248557
On the long and winding road. As road manager for the Beatles, Mal Evans transported equipment and protected the Fab Four from adoring fans. Along the way, he also attended fabulous parties and met many celebrities, including Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Janis Joplin, and Bob Dylan.
His extensive travel with the Beatles— and his later work as a personal assistant and production assistant— strengthened his bond with the band but kept him apart from his wife and children. Although Evans resigned in 1974, he did not return home; rather, he lived with his girlfriend in Los Angeles and wrote his memoirs, which drew heavily on the detailed diaries he began keeping in 1962. Despondent after his wife filed for divorce, he was killed by police in a “suicide by cop” at age 40. His manuscript, diaries, photographs, and other archival materials were stored in his publisher’s basement. A decade later, the materials were discovered and passed to Yoko Ono and finally to Evans’ widow. Published four decades after that discovery, the book includes Evans’ draft memoir and supplements it with timelines and notes by Beatles scholar Womack. The book also includes photographs of Evans and the band, as well as newspaper and magazine articles, internal documents, diary entries, and other documents. The commentary and visual information enhance the book’s appeal and are an indispensable part of its contribution. In his original manuscript, Evans itemized the pleasures, challenges, and tensions of his work for the Beatles and dramatized the toll it took on his marriage. Yet when Evans had to choose between the Beatles and his family, Womack claims, “the Beatles won every time, bar none.” The band’s remarkable history has been recounted many times, and parts of the memoir, especially those pertaining to Evans’ childhood, add little to our understanding of the group. Nevertheless, Evans’ firsthand account and tragic end deserve a place in Beatles lore. A rare insider account of a singular band’s rise.
For more nonfiction reviews, visit Kirkus online.
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Children's THIS FALL, I WAS heartbroken to learn of the death of Gloria Steinem, whose writing spurred my own feminist awakening. At age 12, I read the middle-grade book Herstory: Women Who Changed the World, edited by Ruth Ashby and Deborah Gore Ohrn (1995), which features an introduction from Steinem titled “Seeking Out the Invisible Woman.” She cites examples of women who were written out of the historical narrative: The film Amadeus omits reference to Mozart’s older sister, Nannerl, a talented musician in her own right; the movie The Right Stuff, about the first 15 years of the American space program, never mentions the female pilots who passed NASA’s astronaut tests with flying colors but were ultimately excluded due to sexism. Steinem’s piece and the profiles of female political leaders, activists, and artists in Herstory left me angry. Why weren’t my history textbooks spotlighting the likes of Wilma Mankiller, Qiu Jin, and Zora Neale Hurston? But in the decades since Herstory was published, the “Invisible Woman” has become increasingly visible. Far more middle-grade books 68
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are honoring unsung heroes and, just as importantly, considering the unique experiences of queer women, women of color, and disabled women. What better way to pay tribute to Steinem than by sharing some of these compelling works? L.E. Carmichael’s The Matilda Effect: How 25 Women Were Erased From History, illustrated by Roxanne Rainville (Kids Can, Oct. 6), features biographies of climate scientist Eunice Newton Foote, queer Harlem Renaissance performer Gladys Bentley, and, of course, the titular Matilda Joslyn Gage, whose 1883 essay “Woman as Inventor” argued that throughout history men have minimized or taken credit for women’s accomplishments. Taking up Gage’s mantle, Carmichael explains how her subjects were often intentionally omitted from historical records (for instance, Thutmose III had female pharaoh Hatshepsut’s name chiseled off walls). Art historian Katy Hessel recalls attending an art fair at 21 and finding no works by female artists. Galvanized, she made it her mission to celebrate women
in art. With The Story of Art Without Men: An Illustrated Guide to Amazing Women Artists, illustrated by Ping Zhu (Norton Young Readers, Oct. 6), she does just that. She peppers her narrative with probing questions and commentary about how gender—as well as race, socioeconomic status, and sexuality— impacted these artists’ lives and work; this dynamic, beautifully designed work is a master class in both art history and women’s history. When Amisha Padnani began working at the Obituaries desk of The New York Times, she realized that women and others from marginalized backgrounds had long gone unacknowledged by the paper of record—where were the obits of Charlotte Brontë, Ida B.
Wells, and Diane Arbus? To rectify that, she helped start the Overlooked project, which has profiled these figures and more—and spawned several books, including The Woman Who Heard the Sun and Other True Stories Overlooked by History, written by Padnani and The New York Times (Ten Speed Press, Oct. 6). Featured here are brief but absorbing biographies of scientist Ruby Payne-Scott, transgender ventriloquist Terri Rogers, and Civil Rights activist Sarah E. Ray, plus 15 more. All three works will engage young readers—and perhaps spur them to ask what other stories have been left out of the canon. Mahnaz Dar is a young readers’ editor.
Illustration by Eric Scot t Ander son
UNTOLD STORIES
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EDITOR’S PICK A young boy with missing memories awakens in a log cabin in a fantastical realm full of delights and dangers. At first, Noah Jackson Fields can’t even remember his own name, but he immediately knows he’s not on Earth. With the help of a newfound companion, a skelemouse or bony rodent he dubs Skelly, Noah begins to piece facts together. He encounters many doors within the world of Dream Else, but the doorways behave in unpredictable and dangerous ways. Brownskinned Noah and Skelly meet similarly memory- challenged Izzy Finch (a white girl who’s a spirited
These Titles Earned the Kirkus Star
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field hockey player) and Ernie (a boy made of pink slime). They adventure their way through Dream Else, where everything feels off and uncanny. (Izzy observes that it’s weird that Piriformis Forest contains the name of “a butt muscle.”) They soon meet the Stranger (a tall, green-eyed, red-haired man who’s the lone human in a world of chimeric creatures), and their quest becomes stranger indeed, as the lines between reality and fantasy blur further. Wendig explores themes of creativity, found family, and the ramifications of artificial intelligence through a meta-portal fantasy lens,
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Mr. Prickly By Betina Birkjær; illus. by Anna Margrethe Kjærgaard; trans. by Lindy Falk van Rooyen
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Something in the Darkness By John Dougherty; illus. by Matt Schu
The Boy Who Dreamed of Doors Wendig, Chuck | Little, Brown | 352 pp. February 16, 2027 | $17.99 | 9780316572620
making this feel like a fever dream for the AI generation inspired by The Neverending Story. Propulsively paced and never taking itself too seriously, the book is gloriously silly at times. Fantasy readers will relish
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The Ballad of X-Ray and Koko By Nicole J. Georges; colors by Alec Longstreth
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Robin and the Flowers By E.B. Goodale
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Home of the Brave Ed. by Dave Isay; adapt. by Sarah L. Thomson; illus. by Sharon De La Cruz
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Ratface Does Not Want To Be Your Friend By Eliza Kinkz
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Which One Can You Eat? By Risa Kusumoto
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Pick It Up and Take a Spin By Andrea J. Loney; illus. by Patricia Pessoa
the intentional riffs on well-loved tropes and generous sprinkling of easter eggs throughout.
An exceptionally clever and inventive fantasy with a contemporary twist. (Fantasy. 8-13)
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The Boy & the Island By Loren Long
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What’s a Museum? By Jeff Mack
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Under the Mulberry Tree By Lois Sepahban
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Cow of the Castle By Tiffany Stone; illus. by Dustin Harbin
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The Boy Who Dreamed of Doors By Chuck Wendig
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The Scott Joplin Rag By Jonah Winter; illus. by Cathy Ann Johnson
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The Fossil Hunter By Kate Winter
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Will resonate with adults and children—though for different reasons. AND THEN WE SAW THE BAG…
And Then We Saw the Bag . . . : Trash to Them, Treasure to Us AdBåge, Emma | Trans. by Melissa Bowers Arctis Books (32 pp.) | $17.99 September 15, 2026 | 9781646900541 Series: AdBåge Adventures
Parental desperation meets pre- adolescent determination in the ultimate battle of wills. “Mom and Dad cleaned the house this weekend. When we get home from Grandpa’s, we can tell.” All too soon, Mom and Dad realize they’ve made a critical mistake: They left the bag full of “junk” in front of the entryway. Alice and her younger sibling (who narrates) immediately take custody of the garbage, hoisting it to their room to investigate. Their parents protest that nothing in the bag is important, but the kids know better: After all, it contains such essential items as “the swim goggles with no lenses,” Alice’s candy-wrapper collection, and, most egregious, Woody (“the piece of firewood that looks a lot like a real baby”). Next thing you know, Mom finds her favorite nail polish in the bag (quoth Dad, “There was hardly any left”), and the attempt at decluttering is abandoned. This clever and funny Swedish import will resonate with adults and children—though for different reasons; grown-ups will identify with the beleaguered parents, while kids will cheer as the protagonists ultimately triumph. Roles stand reversed with the parents on the defensive and the children accusatory and disappointed in what their parental units get up to unsupervised. 70
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The pale-skinned characters are set against minimalist backgrounds, rendered with paints and thin lines.
Thoughtful and funny, with something for everyone. (Picture book. 3-6)
Abuela, Grandma & Me Alford, Natasha S. | Illus. by Natalia Rojas Castro | Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins (40 pp.) $19.99 | January 19, 2027 | 9780063303850
Abuela and Grandma plan to meet for the first time. And brownskinned young Maya adores them both. After all, visiting Abuela in Puerto Rico includes salsa dancing in the kitchen, eating yummy meals of arroz con gandules (Maya’s favorite rice-and-peas dish), and taking walks on Bayamón’s sandy beach. Meanwhile, hanging out with Grandma in New York City, where Maya lives, means doing each other’s hair, savoring delicious collard greens and cornbread, and planting and pruning in Grandma’s garden. Both Grandma and Abuela have a special way of making their granddaughter “feel like the shiniest star in the sky.” But Abuela’s upcoming visit plants seeds of worry in Maya. Abuela speaks little English, and Grandma, who’s cued Black, doesn’t know Spanish at all. How will Grandma and Abuela get along? Even worse, what if “Abuela and Grandma don’t feel like family?” Weaving an everyday experience into an inspirational tale of love, Alford, a CNN political analyst, crafts a melodic, rich text that explores the delightful particularities of seemingly unexpected connections. The author’s note adds a personal layer to Maya’s story, asking
readers to consider their own cultural and familial roots. Amid the bursts of color, Castro’s effervescent artwork provides moments of dreamlike bliss.
An affectionate invitation to celebrate cross-cultural bonds. (Picture book. 4-8)
Five Days ’til Quince: A Sisterhood Story in English and Spanish Allen, Nafeesah | Illus. by Mirelle Ortega Farrar, Straus and Giroux (40 pp.) | $19.99 February 9, 2027 | 9780374391805
Anticipation grows as a special day approaches. It’s just five days until our protagonist’s big sister’s quinceañera, and little sis can’t wait! As preparations get underway, she helps out wherever she can, from choosing a dress for herself and keeping time at her sister’s dance rehearsal to preparing flowers and favors. When the big day finally arrives, however, she can’t understand why her older sister is nervous instead of excited. Everything is as perfect as they imagined, but the birthday girl is worried about giving a speech in front of their family and friends. Her little sister offers to help her practice, easing her nerves. With the celebration in full swing, it’s finally time for the speech. The younger sister is surprised and touched when her sister thanks her and calls her “mi major amiga”—“my best friend”—making for an unforgettable evening. This sweet celebration of sisterly bonds reminds readers that even the most exciting occasions can come with challenges. Allen’s prose flows smoothly between English and Spanish as the young narrator counts down the days until the festivities, creating an engaging bilingual reading experience. An appended glossary defines Spanish words. Ortega’s energetic illustrations spotlight a Latine protagonist and feature a diverse group of party guests, with a range of skin tones and body sizes, including a guest who uses a wheelchair.
A family fiesta full of fun and affection. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8) K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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The House That Feels Like Me Allen, Sasha | Illus. by Julian Plum | Alvina Ling Books/Little, Brown (40 pp.) | $18.99 March 16, 2027 | 9780316593892
With the help of an intrepid youngster, a sad house is joyfully transformed. On a street of similar gray homes, one isn’t quite like the rest. Neglected, droopy house number 43 sits unoccupied and surrounded by dead flowers. A brown-skinned boy wonders why it’s so gloomy, and when the personified adobe invites him inside, the child is awed. The inside is filled with beautiful, vibrant hues, and he realizes: “Your outside doesn’t match up with the house you are within!” With cans of paint, the child begins to fix this discrepancy, but some neighbors aren’t pleased, wanting all the homes to remain the same gray. When the paint job is finished, though, the house and its lawn burst to colorful life with happiness and pride, and further understanding dawns: “Fitting in kept you from being free.” Based on a viral TikTok video from musician and trans activist Allen, this sweet, affirming tale can be read as a trans allegory, a celebration of LGBTQ+ pride, or a more general story about embracing authenticity and uniqueness. Singsong-y couplets give a traditional cadence, but the mostly near rhymes sometimes feel clunky and forced. Plum’s expressive art elevates the text with its array of bright rainbow colors filling the pages.
A gentle, uplifting tale about being one’s radiant, authentic self. (author’s and illustrator’s notes) (Picture book. 5-8)
I Am a Good Dog Applegate, Katherine & Gennifer Choldenko Illus. by Wallace West | Feiwel & Friends (352 pp.) | $18.99 | September 22, 2026 9781250423535 | Series: Dogtown, 3
Metal Head, a robot dog, has seen countless friends come and go through the Dogtown shelter. He’s an expert on the temperaments of Dogtown’s humans: Front Desk is a softie, while Management always seems out to get someone. Metal Head lives in the basement with the unadoptable canines—including Ghost, a terrified wolfhound-husky mix, and affectionate, broken-hearted Molly, who lost her puppies in a flood. The subterranean crew receives regular visits from Mr. Popnik, an older man whose beloved dog, Boris, lives in the basement (Metal Head thinks the situation has “something to do with Management”), and Esme, a shy, serious girl who’s determined to draw Ghost out of his shell. Management tries to stop Esme, an unaccompanied minor, from coming to the shelter, and Metal Head attempts to intervene. When the robotic pup’s long-absent creator arrives to retrieve him but treats him as a prototype for display rather than a pet, Metal Head finally embraces Dogtown as his true home. The authors explore interspecies empathy and the value of nurturing friendships, as Metal Head recounts the events he witnesses in an endearingly analytical manner (“Whoever coded mixed feelings must have been a junior programmer because this was a significant bug”). Esme’s uncertain housing status provides readers with a poignant opportunity to consider what
With the help of an intrepid youngster, a sad house is joyfully transformed. T H E H O U S E T H AT F E E L S L I K E M E
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really makes a home. Human characters appear white in West’s occasional illustrations, which also highlight a delightful variety of dogs.
An emotionally resonant final chapter for a big-hearted series. (Fiction. 8-12)
Old MacDonald on the Move Ardagh, Philip | Illus. by Maria Karipidou Scholastic (40 pp.) | $8.99 paper January 5, 2027 | 9798225077259
The traditional children’s song gets an update— and so does the farmer’s fabled homestead. “Old MacDonald had a farm he loved with all his heart. / Like MacDonald, it got old and began to fall apart.” In this version, the animal noises are embellished to reflect the farm’s dilapidation (due to the barn’s leaky roof, there’s “a moo-drip here, a moo-drip there”). Before he endeavors to fix everything, MacDonald relocates his animals to a swanky hotel. Back on the farm, MacDonald does repairs as best he can, but when he’s through, he realizes it’s time to make a major life change (“Farming is a young’un’s game”), so he sells the property. Now the song’s last verse begins, “Old MacDonald had a farm… // but he bought the grand hotel. / The only guests are animals / and life is mighty swell!” MacDonald has pale skin, and the human hotel guests have a range of complexions, but make no mistake: This is the farm animals’ story. They immediately take to their ritzy accommodations, oinking happily in the dining room, clucking contentedly in the swimming pool, and so on. The whole thing is a riot, and Karipidou squeezes humor into practically every inch of every page, from animal reaction shots to the exploits of some under-the-radar farm mice who, sharp-eyed readers will notice, ultimately take up hotel residence.
Here a ha, there a ha, everywhere a ha ha. (Picture book. 3-8) NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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The Hard Work Day
Princess of the Shtetl
Arkin, Alan | Illus. by Georgia Berg & Violeta Encarnación | Rise x Penguin Workshop (40 pp.) | $18.99 | February 9, 2027 9780593887899
Arlow, Jake Maia | Dial Books (288 pp.) $18.99 | January 5, 2027 | 9780593625217
The ultimate fantasy of self-sufficiency comes to the fore in this freshly illustrated version of the late Academy Award winner Arkin’s 1972 classic. Tony is the youngest of the three boys in his family, and when they move to the country, there’s work to do. Game to help out, Tony offers to assist each of his family members. Everyone turns him down, citing the possibility that he might get injured or cry. Undeterred, Tony sets off for the nearby woods, where he carefully constructs his own house out of stones, wood, vines, and grasses. When his family catches wind of this incredible construction, they ask permission to stay with him. He allows it, and when they ask to help around the house, he always tells them yes. While the sheer speed of Tony’s construction brings to mind Minecraft, Berg and Encarnación’s beautiful digital art grounds the adept storytelling in practicality. Though he be but little, this protagonist is fierce and a whiz with a makeshift axe; Tony truly appears capable of feats no lone adult could match. Newly revised, this book will pair quite beautifully with another build-yourown-home-quickly title, A House in the Woods by Inga Moore (2011). Characters have light tan skin.
A deeply satisfying rerelease. (Picture book. 3-6)
For more by Alan Arkin, visit Kirkus online.
In the Russian Empire in the year 5588 (1828 in the Gregorian calendar), a spirited, book- loving Jewish girl chafes at life in her shtetl. Although 11-year-old Buna-Rivl, who goes by Bunke, is the daughter of the wealthy leader of Gudevitch’s town council, she’s limited to a future as a wife and forbidden to pursue the religious scholarship she adores. When child snatchers begin stealing boys to serve in the tsar’s army, the children of the village are quickly married off in hopes that this will protect the boys from military service. Bunke’s new husband, 14-year-old Shmuel, the son of a newly arrived Hasidic leader, begins to teach her Hebrew. All the while, she’s developing feelings for his 12-year-old sister, Rivkah. Bunke records all this—as well as other thoughts—in her beloved diary. Arlow’s meticulous research shines through in the rich details of Bunke’s day-to-day existence. The depiction of the grind of life in the shtetl for women, an endless litany of chores and capitulation to the men around them, makes Bunke’s frustration with her circumstances profoundly sympathetic. Her voice is vibrant and believable, as is her yearning for and pursuit of a larger world for herself. At times, information about Jewish observances feels presented for a non-Jewish audience, and the explanations of Bunke’s challenges are repeated too often, but her coming-of-age
journey is compelling, and the first-person diary format is winning. A vibrant and believable hero to root for. (historical note, glossary, annotated bibliography) (Historical fiction. 9-12)
The Easter Wolf Bailey, Linda | Illus. by Brandon James Scott | Tundra Books (40 pp.) | $18.99 February 16, 2027 | 9781774887981
A toothy predator longs to embrace his inner bunny. Not all dreams are practical, but don’t tell that to William. More than anything, he wants to become an Easter bunny, but it’s an unlikely goal. After all, William is a wolf, with sharp teeth, claws, and questionable hygiene. When Betty, the Big Boss of the bunnies, tells him he’ll never make the grade, he’s initially devastated. After a while, however, he comes back willing to do all the jobs no one else wants to. Betty’s impressed by his dedication and at long last allows him to start his Easter Bunny classes. Don’t expect some sardonic, nihilistic twist to Bailey’s sweet, egg-laden tale. In fact, it’s William’s size and strength that lend him abilities the bunnies need (and earn him a Best Bunny award…twice!). While it’s a pity William must bust through Betty’s stereotypes and preconceptions to acquire his heart’s desire, she plays fair when it counts and recognizes the best in this furry Easter fan. Best of all are Scott’s pink- and purple-infused illustrations, filled with adorable details and starring a hero with exceedingly expressive eyes. This tale of triumph is a true Easter treat. (Picture book. 3-6)
Though he be but little, this protagonist is a whiz with a makeshift axe. T H E H A R D W O R K DAY
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Conflicts vary in scale, all rendered with punchlines and bombastic glee. METEOR MITE
easy-to-read, semaphorelike symbols. Without a particularly compelling throughline to connect the entries, and with many of the puzzles consisting of either busywork or hand-waving post hoc justification, many readers are likely to leave the book unfinished. Thinly developed and skippable. (answer key) (Puzzles. 8-12)
Meteor Mite: Up & At ’Em! Baltazar, Art | Mad Cave Studios/Papercutz (96 pp.) | $12.99 paper | September 22, 2026 9781545833803 | Series: Meteor Mite
Cosmic adventures begin with tiny heroes. Baltazar’s comic blasts off to an intense start, with protagonist Meteor Mite involved in an in-media-res space battle (“When we last left our hero…”). We quickly rewind to his pre-superhero origin story as Mikey, an adorable mite in love with ladybug Dottie. The romance is interrupted by a meteoroid that crashes to Earth, transforming many hapless bugs into huge, ferocious- looking monsters, including Dottie. (“They’re still our friends,” Mikey explains to his worm pal Bob. “They just got a lot bigger!”) After touching a strange crystal that fell with the meteorite, Mikey gains superpowers, and as Meteor Mite, he begins taking on a group of outer-space malcontents who are after the crystal. But the Crystal Corps (a crew of critters tasked with protecting both the crystal and the entire universe) soon deems Meteor Mite unworthy of joining them and strips him of his powers…just in time for another monster to attack. With his signature visual style and mile-aminute plotting, Baltazar turns his insectoid protagonists into larger-thanlife heroes sure to inspire hand-drawn adventures from readers. Conflicts vary in scale from a local wrestling show to an intergalactic war, all rendered with punchlines galore and bombastic glee. Hints of the author’s larger comic universe are part of the K IR KU S R E V IE W S
fun, but this tale will easily be enjoyed by newcomers. Will fly off the page and into readers’ imaginations. (character sketches and art) (Graphic fiction. 7-12)
WhoDunLit?: Sherlock Holmes Barbo, Maria S. | HarperPop/HarperCollins (240 pp.) | $12.99 paper | October 27, 2026 9780063490475 | Series: WhoDunLit?
A Sherlock Holmes mystery wraps around puzzles for readers to solve. The narrator addresses readers in the second person, issuing them an invitation to 221B Baker Street to assist Sherlock Holmes during Watson’s unexplained absence. Holmes presents readers with some warm-up puzzles, including an insufficiently constrained anagram question (it could have multiple answers), a sudoku that’s missing the subgrid lines, and a memory quiz based on an excessively busy and unclear 19th-century engraving. Holmes and readers then progress through a series of small mysteries (that are extremely loosely based on some of the Arthur Conan Doyle stories), using a bastardized version of a logic puzzle grid which—unlike a real logic puzzle— doesn’t enforce a unique solution. It’s not clear who the audience for these puzzles could be; those satisfied with the simple letter-number code in which A=1 and B=2 are unlikely to solve a version of the cipher from the mystery “The Adventure of the Dancing Men” that uses complex silhouettes instead of Conan Doyle’s
HippopotaMESS Bardhan-Quallen, Sudipta | Illus. by Michael Slack | Random House (40 pp.) | $18.99 February 16, 2027 | 9798217027514
It’s not making messes that’s the problem.... Young hippo Harlow begins his day by wreaking havoc in his bedroom; as his mom sees it, “Jammies, sheets, have gone astray… / What is all this disarray?” Not a problem: “Harlow shows his mindfulness / And cleans his hippopotaMESS.” Now it’s time for waffles, but the hippo leans on the breakfast table precariously: “Harlow gasps as plates collapse. / Can he make it right? Perhaps?” Of course he can! Harlow doesn’t even have to be asked to clean up this mess—or the next one he makes. But he’s not responsible for the book’s every mess. Having gone outside to play, Harlow later stumbles upon a mystery: “Back inside to grab a snack, / Harlow spies some muddy tracks!” Who could have gunked up the floor? Harlow follows the footprints: “Messes happen, and it’s true— / Mommas can be messy, too!” Executed with marching-band- percussive rhymes, this lesson-y story is no scold. While “It’s fun to clean up as a team!” may be overselling it, Bardhan- Quallen artfully reinforces the point that there’s honor in owning one’s mistakes— something this book’s target audience isn’t too young to grasp. Slack’s Photoshop illustrations are dominated by neat-as-a-pin straight lines, but not where adorable Harlow and his mom are concerned: Each has the physique of a sack of beach balls.
More fun than—and much funnier than— a cleanup song. (Picture book. 3-7) NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Likely to result in a truly unforgettable read-aloud. HAVE YOU EVER HE ARD A HORSE SING?
Barefoot Books So Many Things Barefoot Books | Illus. by Maya Hanisch Barefoot Books (40 pp.) | $19.99 October 6, 2026 | 9798898591649
A rich compendium of items, some familiar, others potentially new. The title says it all: Several hundreds of things are on display here, divided into 17 categories, among them “School Time,” “Sports and Recreation,” and “Household Items.” Each section of this Chilean import contains 30 to 40 items over one or two double-page spreads. Hanisch’s mixed-media depictions are clear, simple, and immensely appealing, each object or animal neatly labeled in an accessible serif font. Individual drawings nestle together, inviting close browsing, and a few conversation-sparking questions accompany every category: “So many ways to travel! Which is fastest? Which is slowest?” Diversity of experience is acknowledged; the “Meal Time” section includes paella, sushi, ceviche, and a cheese board, while a mosque, a synagogue, a church, and a Buddhist temple appear “In the City.” There’s some overlap among the hundreds of items: An all-purpose “flower” appears “In the Garden,” while the colorful section “Flowers” offers many more varieties, such as a tiger lily, a rose, and a sunflower. And a generic “shark” appears “At the Beach,” while a “whale shark” can be found among the sampling of ocean dwellers in the “Animal World.” Some things are nonspecific (“owl,” for instance, in “Birds”), while others 74
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are identified in more detail (Magellanic penguin). Rather than providing a comprehensive visual dictionary, Hanisch offers a charming quick take on a lot of, well, things in this browsable, relatable catalog. Certain to offer an absorbing afternoon or two; a potential favorite for connoisseurs of getting to know the world. (Picture book. 3-6)
Have You Ever Heard a Horse Sing? Barzalaï, Pauline | Trans. by Lindsay Turner Transit Children’s Editions (42 pp.) | $20.95 December 8, 2026 | 9798893380880
Examples of oddball onoma topoeia upend expectations in this nonsensical collection. Attention, storytellers: Warm up your vocal cords and prep your reading skills because this French import leans hard on hilarity and absurdity to get its point across. “Have you ever heard a horse sing?” an unseen narrator asks, while the accompanying illustration, spread across two pages, depicts a hot pink pony. “It’s very pretty. It goes: la la poot la la poot poot la.” Just as readers are trying to wrap their head around that sound (whence the “poot”?), they are treated to a wider array of more strange queries and statements—and even more eclectic sounds: “Have you ever heard shoes kiss?” (“Meep meep mwow meep meep mwow mwow mwow”); “I bet you’ve never heard a cake cry” (“Huh huuh baa huuh huuh baaa”). Suddenly, a full page of objections appears. “Horses don’t sing. Frogs don’t whistle.” In answer
come several wordless spreads showing all the characters doing their thing, followed by two pages of all their “beautiful music.” Thick layered paints in brilliant hues lend each creature or object an oddly human aspect (human noses abound), while the unpredictable noises never truly cease. Those wishing to infuse their storytimes with a fun counterpoint to the usual Old MacDonald fare will find no better alternative. Unsettling in the silliest way imaginable—and likely to result in a truly unforgettable read-aloud. (Picture book. 3-6)
The World Is Full of Beautiful Quiet Things Bennett, Joshua | Illus. by Minako Tomigahara Little, Brown (40 pp.) | $18.99 | April 20, 2027 9780316577328
A prose poem ushers a family through a day spent in almost wordless wonderment. “The world is full of beautiful quiet things. Like that first yawn when you wake up, just as morning opens its endless arms.” The corresponding art finds two siblings waking in their shared bed; the next page sees them leaving the house with their parents to visit the library, where another beautiful quiet thing is “the whispered way you call to Mom or Dad or your best friend.” The family’s activities include a nature walk (“Not all quiet is the same”); toward the end of the book, the two kids are shooting hoops at sunset (“Swish, says the net, under its breath, so only you can hear it”). While celebrating the quiet, Bennett, a poet, seems to be intimating that people in tune with one another needn’t say much in order to communicate. Tomigahara, who adapts her palette to reflect the day’s changing light, scatters this world with products of the children’s imaginations (for instance, unicorns prance outside the library’s windows), but lovely images K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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of the family in a state of hushed companionship are just as enchanting as the flights of fancy. The text might be somewhat challenging for readers who aren’t accustomed to listening to their environments, but the book may well help receptive young people to develop this valuable skill. A beautiful, quiet book. (author’s and illustrator’s notes) (Picture book. 6-9)
Dr Dog: Snakey’s Belly Ache Bevis, Jiro | Do Re Mi Books (48 pp.) $18.95 | October 27, 2026 | 9781917933100 Series: Dr Dog
Go, dog (doctor), go! It’s the start of a new workday, and veterinarian Dr. Dog has a waiting room full of patients. There’s Gary the Hippo, who has a bump on his head. Dr. Dog gives Gary a “special cone”—like the ones that dogs wear—and Gary gives Dr. Dog a thumbs-up. Next up is Wrinkles the Elephant, who has a sore throat from singing at the karaoke bar. The doctor’s Wrinkles-pleasing solution: He puts a tennis ball at the end of her trunk to prevent her from singing. When it’s Snakey’s turn, the good doctor is stumped: Snakey appears to have swallowed something huge and spherical. But then Dr. Dog has a brainstorm: He gives Snakey a scare (“WOOF!”), and the snake coughs up some rather surprising stomach contents. Dr. Dog’s patients’ preposterous happiness with his wacky medical care is as funny as the medical care itself. First published in the U.K., Bevis’ debut as author/illustrator ends abruptly (“After a busy day spent fixing other animals, Dr Dog can have a well-earned rest. Good night!”), making this offering not a story so much as an illustrated joke book. The cartoony digital art is flat and full of pudgy round shapes, with quasi-psychedelic motifs that take full advantage of the flashy palette. No story—just good gags, and that’s enough. (Picture book. 4-8) K IR KU S R E V IE W S
The Girls and the Ghost
Auntie’s Dance
Biltmore, Eileen | Simon Spotlight (160 pp.) $18.99 | August 25, 2026 | 9798347111435 Series: The Manor Mysteries, 2
Bingham, Winsome | Illus. by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu | Neal Porter/Holiday House (48 pp.) $18.99 | February 2, 2027 | 9780823460557
Set in 1914, this second in the series—following The Disappearance and the Diary (2026)—deepens the mysteries of a wealthy family’s lineage. On her 12th birthday, Thea Beekman will at long last receive the Dorothea necklace passed down in her family to every girl bearing that name. And soon her cousin Peggy will be visiting America, wearing her own matching Margaret necklace. But Peggy’s arrival coincides with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and now it looks like she’ll need to return home to England. Meanwhile, mysteries abound at Beekman Estates, even as war looms. Who is the mysterious woman in black walking at night? And what’s in the forbidden wing of the manor? Biltmore neatly intertwines these mysteries with others in this series, giving readers ample clues to figure out just what’s going on. Meanwhile, for all that the girls in the books are rich as Croesus (and all characters present as white), they always have some aspect of social equity in sight (in this case, supporting the suffragist movement). Expect some readers to come away quite peeved at the abrupt ending that leaves so many questions unanswered—and rushing to pick up the next installment.
Neighbors help neighbors in this compassionate story about showing up in good times and bad. “Auntie is not Daddy’s sister or Momma’s sister. But she’s family. She helps us when we need it.” Mostly, this means Jack, a young Black boy, visits Auntie when his parents are busy, but Auntie’s no idle babysitter—she lets Jack choose his favorite album from her extensive vinyl collection and they dance. “Arms SWING! Legs SWAY! Bodies SWIRL! and TWIRL!” as they delightedly spin, just as Auntie did “as a young girl on the island.” But one day, “Auntie’s house is quiet and dark,” with no power, and the two must dance in the dark. After Jack tells his parents, the family swiftly jumps in to support Auntie in her time of need. “We can get very far in the world…if neighbors help neighbors,” says Jack’s dad. Bingham excels in portrayals of mutually beneficial multigenerational relationships, and this work furthers her celebrations of found family and the positive impact of a community of care. Uchendu’s soft-lined, sweeping digital artwork in a full palette matches the musicality and gentleness of Bingham’s text, the warmth of this fellowship captured in smiles and subtle details. Auntie, a “chubby, chunky” older Black woman with Caribbean heritage, exudes matriarchal hospitality, and Jack’s family’s quick and generous response to Auntie’s plight models actionable empathy and kindness sure to resonate with a wide range of young readers.
Old secrets come to light in this thoroughly enjoyable historical mystery. (Chapter book. 7-10)
The neighborly relationship to which we should all aspire. (Picture book. 4-8)
Old secrets come to light in this thoroughly enjoyable historical mystery. THE GIRLS AND THE GHOST
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Wild performers strut their stuff across nature’s stage. A N I M A L TA L E N T S H O W
Kirkus Star
Mr. Prickly Birkjær, Betina | Illus. by Anna Margrethe Kjærgaard | Trans. by Lindy Falk van Rooyen Transit Children’s Editions (40 pp.) | $20.95 December 8, 2026 | 9798893380712
So much to do… so little time. As autumn breezes give way to winter wind, Mr. Prickly, a snazzily dressed brown hedgehog, is raking the fallen leaves, the first of many tasks on his to-do list before hibernation. After watching his neighbors finish their chores and reviewing his own daunting list, Mr. Prickly becomes overwhelmed and furiously starts tackling everything at once. He accomplishes nothing and finds himself surrounded by a huge mess. Defeated, Mr. Prickly heads to bed, only to lie awake, wracked with dread—shown in an emotional series of spreads. At last he falls asleep, and when he awakens in the spring and reunites with his friends, he sees things in a new light. Birkjær’s text, translated from Danish by van Rooyen, has a beautifully understated, matter-of-fact quality; staccato sentences capture Mr. Prickly’s mounting anxiety (“He puts his paws over his ears. It doesn’t help. His heart is hammering, faster and faster. Mr. Prickly cannot keep up”). A sense of tenderness and even gentle humor pervade the narrative, too; young readers grappling with similar worries will come away reassured. Meanwhile, Kjærgaard’s bustling, expressive art, full of dark browns, grays, and blues, balances the hedgehog’s moody mental state with moments of whimsy and joy.
A masterful exploration of young people’s complex emotional landscape. (Picture book. 4-8) 76
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Animal Talent Show: Celebrating Artists and Performers in the Wild Birmingham, Maria | Illus. by Bambi Edlund Orca (32 pp.) | $21.95 | February 16, 2027 9781459844094
Eighteen dancers, singers, and other wild performers strut their stuff across nature’s stage in this genial show of shows. Following some entertaining opening patter, Birmingham’s peacock emcee ushers in “acts” ranging from colorful fancy dancers like male peacock spiders and the moonwalking club-winged manakin bird to the miraculously synchronized “freestyle skydiving” of a murmuration of starlings. Sonic treats include the vocal stylings of both the versatile Alston’s singing mouse, which can produce roughly 100 different notes, and the Bocon toadfish, which makes a croaking sound to entice females and warn away males. Adding further variety to the spectacle, the giant swallowtail caterpillar, a talented mimic, protects itself by looking just like bird poop, while the artistic cyclosa spider constructs a big “selfie” on its web out of leaf litter to fool predatory wasps. In notes accompanying Edlund’s vivaciously posed portraits of each performer in a wild setting, the author adds tidbits about ranges and distinctive habits, and for encores, four creatures that didn’t make the cut, including a housecat contortionist and the archerfish, a world-class spitter, turn in cameos. Reader applause will be rapturous.
Before It Was a Hurricane Carson, Mary Kay | Illus. by Jieting Chen | Little Bee Books (40 pp.) | $19.99 | April 7, 2026 9781499818987 | Series: Before It Was
A trip back through time to show how a hurricane begins and grows, with illustrations that drama tically convey its huge, destructive power. After opening with a tumultuous double gatefold view of a massive storm blasting its way ashore, this introduction moves backward, from a full-fledged hurricane roaring into the Gulf of Mexico to puffy cumulonimbus clouds gathering off the western coast of Africa. Chen’s naturalistic painted illustrations alternate between scenes of racially diverse residents and scientists anxiously hunched over tracking screens or preparing for the storm’s arrival and glimpses of bent-over palm trees, flying roofs, and dark and swirling waves. Carson clearly explains the factors that intensify tropical storms while framing what is happening with equivalent drama: “When those sizzling Sahara winds hit the ocean, they ignited a storm that would grow as big as a nation.” In an expansive fact section that follows the main narrative, she goes on to link climate change to the possibility of increasingly violent future storms and, along with other details, explains, with the help of maps, the differences among hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons. A vivid introduction to “Earth’s most massive storm.” (online resources, glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-8)
For more spectacular STEM stories, visit Kirkus online.
An entertaining romp, notable for its lineup of less familiar animal acts. (Informational picture book. 6-9)
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Before It Was a Wildfire Carson, Mary Kay | Illus. by Jieting Chen | Little Bee Books (40 pp.) | $19.99 | August 25, 2026 9781499819007 | Series: Before It Was
An introduction to the course and causes of an increasingly dangerous natural catastrophe. Beginning with a riveting double gatefold disaster scene of country houses and wooded hills wreathed in flames and smoke, this profile of a wildfire takes events in reverse order. Chen’s naturalistic painted views are paired with Carson’s simply phrased descriptions as the narrative winds back through five stages, from “Wildfire” to “Bone-Dry Brush.” The book closes with backmatter that includes fire facts and a map of hazard zones in the U.S. Carson explains how controlled fires are actually beneficial to some ecosystems, but her main focus is on the other, more destructive sort. While painlessly absorbing her basic information on weather and other factors that can lead to wildfires, younger readers will get reassuring messages from Chen’s illustrations, which are full of racially diverse forest rangers and first responders busily at work scanning for signs of trouble, setting up firebreaks, and leading victims to safety. The author’s observation that four out of five wildfires are caused by “careless humans” either deliberately setting them or taking improper care of campfires or bonfires offers another salutary lesson.
A memorable combination of visual drama and essential background information. (online resources, glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-8)
The Amazingly Sleepy Spider-Man Clanton, Ben | Abrams Fanfare (40 pp.) $19.99 | January 12, 2027 | 9781419788246 Series: A Mighty Marvel Comics Picture Book
Spider-Man, Spider-Man. Does whatever a spider can (to prepare for bed). “It’s been a long day,” intones an omniscient narrator. “Soon Spider-Man will be getting ready to go to sleep.” But first Spider-Man—here he wears the trademark superhero costume but has the physique of a 10-year-old— needs to eat. “They should call me…the AMAZINGly HUNGRY Spider-Man!” he declares. “I sense…PIZZA time!” While Spider-Man is standing outside a pizzeria with his dinner, Green Goblin tosses a pumpkin at him, spurring a food fight that leads to…cleanup time. Next it’s bath time, which finds Spider-Man opening a fire hydrant— essential for “washing away crime and slime!” (An accompanying illustration depicts what looks like a giant green octopus with Groucho Marx eyebrows.) Spider-Man hits all the bedtime basics (donning pajamas, brushing teeth, and listening to a story), each of which finds him confronting one certifiably nonscary adversary or another. Clanton’s art, some of it in comics-style panels, is action-packed but menace- free, with a palette that’s more Sesame Street than Marvel Universe. This high-energy offering has a comic book’s customary abundant dialogue balloons as well as sound-effect words such as “YANK!” and “TUG!” as Spider-Man puts on his jammies. The book may not help anyone get to sleep, but it should thrill superhero obsessives and everyday comics fans alike. Spider-Man, seen
Jelly embarks on a campaign against silliness. T H I S B O O K I S S E R I O U S LY S I L LY !
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briefly without his costume, is pale-skinned.
What’s not to like? Readers get to sharpen their Spidey senses and do the bedtime wind-down in super company. (Picture book. 4-8)
This Book Is Seriously Silly! Clanton, Ben | Tundra Books (40 pp.) | $19.99 August 11, 2026 | 9781774886588 Series: A Narwhal and Jelly Picture Book
In the second offering in the picture-book series spun off from the popular graphic novels starring laid-back Narwhal and stuffy pal Jelly, Jelly embarks on a campaign against silliness. Jelly has clear ideas about what kind of book this is and browbeats readers accordingly: “I’m a very serious sort of jellyfish. And this is a very serious sort of book. So no smiling. And no laughing! Ahem! Was that laughter?!” Jelly’s grinchiness extends to prohibiting goofy faces and sounds—rules that Jelly finds that someone off page keeps breaking. Jelly even uses a blackboard to list “SERIOUS SUBJECTS”; the list includes “formal wear,” which the enterprising unseen jokester has changed to read “underwear.” Could this be the same jokester who gives Jelly a fuzzy pink mustache? And say, is that a narwhal flipper that keeps appearing at the edge of the page? Toward book’s end, Narwhal finally appears in full and gets Jelly to loosen up—enough to violate the no-silly-sounds rule with a “TOOT!,” complete with yellow fart cloud. The cycle of finger-wagging followed by insolence is unremitting and hilarious, and Clanton has landed on the right pace and art. Jelly, a simply drawn light-blue invertebrate, is centered on almost every page, holding forth with all-caps pronouncements as the unseen Narwhal sneakily introduces silly variables (striped socks do go nicely with a pink mustache) in an effort to get the book’s sententious slimy star to mellow out.
Masterful meta goofiness. (Picture book. 4-8)
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B O O K L I S T // C H I L D R E N '’ S
2
A Bicycle Built for You
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1 The Bicycle Girl: Jyoti Kumari’s Amazing Journey Across India
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By Garen Eileen Thomas & Suhasini Raj; illus. by Maithili Joshi
A stirring demonstration of what we’re truly capable of when we believe in ourselves.
2 A Bike Is Not Just a Bike: An Ode to Girls Who Dare To Ride
By Brenna Jeanneret; illus. by Michelle Pereira
Vigorous and heartfelt.
3 The Day of Stolen Bicycles By Maria Testa; illus. by Warren Bonett
An affecting, socially aware story that doesn’t flinch from hard realities.
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4 How Mr. Felix Entered a Bicycle Race
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By Peter Svetina; illus. by Ana Razpotnik Donati; trans. by Gregor Timothy Čeh
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Humorously subversive.
5 On Our Bikes By Dan Saks; illus. by João Fazenda
Feel-good, two-wheeled fun.
6 Tom’s Wild Ride By Isabelle Arsenault
For more booklists, visit Kirkus online.
Meeting a childhood challenge proves beautifully rewarding in this fun, dreamy story.
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Happy Birthday From the Crayons
A House With No Door: A Sukkot Story
Daywalt, Drew | Illus. by Oliver Jeffers Philomel (32 pp.) | $9.99 | April 6, 2027 9798217318469 | Series: The Crayons Celebrate
Dominy, Amy Fellner | Illus. by Rotem Teplow Kar-Ben (24 pp.) | $19.99 | August 4, 2026 9798765670569
After being the subjects of umpteen books, Daywalt and Jeffers’ anthropomorphic crayon creations deserve a party, don’t they? “Oh, is it your birthday today? Tomorrow? Next week? Last week? My birthday is my favorite day of the year. So join me today as we explore birthdays!” Master of ceremonies Brown—a pointy-headed crayon with stick limbs—holds a microphone throughout this pocket-size introduction to birthday basics. Purple shows up carrying a tower of presents and says of a good gift-wrapping job, “I just love a crisp line!” Black brings a bouquet of black balloons and says, “Cheerful, aren’t they?” So it goes throughout. The best visual gag: White is on the receiving end of Green’s face-painting talents and in the process becomes—eureka!—visible against the white page. In every scene in Jeffers’ always-inventive mixed- media art, crayon strokes are out in full force. Birthdays may be annual, but readers don’t have to wait anywhere near that long between Daywalt and Jeffers’ crowd-pleasing crayon books, and this one is a dandy addition to the pack. Note: No crayons were harmed in the making of this book. Gray, who looks perfectly happy to be used as the stick being swung at the party piñata, is depicted wearing a safety helmet.
In this Sukkot tale, a child and a cat explore a “house with three walls. And no door.” To encourage participation, an unseen narrator repeats the question “What kind of house is this?” Little by little, the specific nature of the structure is revealed. “Look up! The roof gives shade during the day and lets starlight shine in at night.” The lyrical language continues as the narrator asks, “Have you ever seen walls that dance?” “Have you ever heard walls that talk?” More children join the first youngster and adorn the house with handmade decorations, paintings, and fruits and nuts. Still more people arrive, adding leafy branches to the roof. Soon, the house is ready for “everyone to gather round a table.” The table features an etrog (“a fruit that looks like a lemon that is not a lemon”) and a lulav (“three branches woven together”). Pets gather; grandparents join the family. The question is repeated and a reply given: “It’s a house that says, / ‘Come in, come in! We’re all part of the same / magical world. You and us and me and we.’” The house’s name—sukkah—is revealed on the last page; closing pages offer more information on Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival at the center of this narrative. Dominy’s eloquent verse and Teplow’s cozy illustrations evoke the warmth and fun of family celebrations rather than the
Another entertaining showcase for the crayon gang, complete with colorful commentary. (Picture book. 4-8)
Proves some fears aren’t all they’re quacked up to be.
holiday’s religious or historical aspects, though the backmatter will fill in the gaps for those unfamiliar with Sukkot. Characters are light-skinned. An inviting holiday story. (Picture book. 4-8)
Kirkus Star
Something in the Darkness Dougherty, John | Illus. by Matt Schu | Post Wave Children’s Books (40 pp.) | $18.99 September 22, 2026 | 9798895090947
It’s difficult to fear the unknown when it’s just so darn feathery. In this evocative and eerie Halloween tale, a pale- skinned, red-haired child and an orange-eyed black cat set out for a night of trick-ortreating. “Behind the hills, the blood-red sun is sinking slowly down. / And a ghostly chill is settling on the solemn streets of town.” The pair’s walk is full of dark portents. The tension ratchets up as the two sense that something is “drawing ever near.” Soon there’s no escaping it, and “you” (the book’s gently rhyming text is written in the second person) run into the house and dive under the covers into bed. But when at last the creature pursuing the child and the cat catch up, they’re faced with not some bloodthirsty beast, but…a duck? As it turns out, often the things we hear in the night are far less scary “when we see them in the light.” Dougherty has massive fun with the language, as when we meet people dressed as ghosts who are both “unsettled and unsettling.” Meanwhile, Schu’s gorgeous, richly hued
For more sweetly spooky tales, visit Kirkus online.
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black and orange illustrations pulse with spooky season energy. Expect this to be a massive read-aloud hit at any autumnal gathering, complete with relieved laughter at the reveal.
A sensational seasonal standout that proves some fears aren’t all they’re quacked up to be. (Picture book. 4-8)
A Tap at the Window Dylan, Gabriel | Astra Young Readers (224 pp.) | $9.99 paper | September 29, 2026 9781662621437 | Series: Shiver Point, 2
Another haunting mystery brings a group of school friends in England even closer together. Grateful as she is for the Shiver Squad’s friendship, Riley’s life can be lonely and difficult. She’s her aging grandfather’s only caretaker, and his deteriorating health has led to increased responsibilities. Working late into the night on a robotic invention to improve his quality of life, Riley at first finds it easy to chalk up the strange things she sees across the fields at Darkraven Farm to local bully Bethany Blight and her friends. A break-in at the offices of the local newspaper, the Shivering Post, leaves behind a strange, lingering smell (“Like the Year 7 toilets”), prompting Riley, Mo, Sophia, Alex, and Oli to investigate— which in turn lands them in after-school detention, where another frightening incident occurs. There are even more break-ins around town, and the terrifying appearance of a scarecrow at Riley’s window leads the group back to the seemingly abandoned Darkraven Farm and a quest for vengeance that threatens all of Shiver Point. Riley’s struggles to care for Grandad, a problem that’s tidily resolved, make her an emotionally resonant lead for this sequel, which works as a stand-alone read and features a nod to Frankenstein. While the friendships among the characters, who were cued multiracial in the K IR KU S R E V IE W S
series opener, are a highlight, the central mystery is pleasantly com pelling and creepy.
Solidly spooky, with plenty of action to keep the momentum up. (map) (Horror. 8-12)
Leo’s Lunar New Year Fan, Larissa | Illus. by Myo Yim | Tundra Books (40 pp.) | $18.99 | January 5, 2027 9781774884966
In a faraway new country, an immigrant Taiwanese youth misses Lunar New Year traditions. “Nothing is the same here,” Leo laments. Surrounded by snow and gray clouds while walking home from shopping with Māma, Leo notices how “no one says ‘Hello’ or even looks up.” Although Lunar New Year is approaching, “there are no lanterns or decorations. No bright displays of oranges or pomelos piled high in pyramids.” Back in Taiwan, New Year preparations included helping Amā (Grandmother) make jiăo zi (dumplings) and luó bo gāo (radish cakes), while celebrations meant setting off firecrackers. But here, Māma can’t get the right ingredients, and Bàba says fire crackers aren’t allowed. Leo’s disappointment spurs an angry meltdown over New Year’s Eve dinner: “It feels like a bad spirit possesses me.” Sent to bed early without dessert, Leo notices bright lights and a sound at the window; a magical lion dance procession beckons, helping to banish “yesterday’s bad spirit” with a wondrous experience. Though treading familiar ground, Fan’s empathic work effectively captures a young child’s cultural longing. Korean Australian Yim blends watercolor, pastel, and colored pencil to create splendidly detailed spreads of city streets, family scenes, and mythical adventures. Leo’s constant companion— an especially expressive feline floof—adds comedic delight. Leo’s
Taiwanese family is surrounded by a diverse community. Standout art enhances a familiar immigrant story. (glossary) (Picture book. 3-7)
A Flea, a Frog, a Leaf, a Dog: Ready-To-Read Pre-Level 1 Fenske, Jonathan | Simon Spotlight (32 pp.) | $5.99 paper | January 12, 2027 9781665973816
Frog and Flea are friends. The book begins with introductions: “I am Frog,” says a blue-eyed green amphibian. “And I am Flea,” says a red-and-orange insect, who goes on to explain, “I jump with Frog. Frog jumps with me.” Simple, faultless rhymes find the friends doing lots of jumping together: “We jump a stick. We jump a rock. We jump a brick. We jump a sock.” Eventually, all that jumping exhausts Frog and Flea, and they start fantasizing about getting some relief: “A tired flea. A tired frog. One needs a leaf. One needs a dog.” After the pair weigh their options, Frog finds the right-size leaf to sit on (it’s actually a lily pad), and Flea finds the right kind of dog to ride on. So everything has worked out, right? Wrong! The dog walks away with Flea on its back, putting Flea and Frog’s friendship in jeopardy (Flea: “Stay, Dog. Stay!”). It’s all sweet-natured, adorable, amusing, reassuring (naturally, the friends are reunited), and relayed with a mere handful of words, most of them monosyllabic, some appearing in dialogue bubbles or presented as impact noises (“THUMP!”). Fenske’s cartoony art is surrounded by plenty of white space, which ensures that the audience won’t miss the story’s spectating orange worm, whose animated facial expressions stand in for readers’ own. A substantive friendship story built from what seems like impossibly few words. (Early reader. 3-6) NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Kids will delight in the deliciousness of this holiday confection. MERRY CHRISTMAS, SNICKERDOODLE!
accessible language. García-Morales’ debut subtly explores colorism in Latine communities, adding depth to the coming-of-age storyline. This bilingual edition includes both English and Spanish versions of the novel. A sincere look at the intersection of hair and heritage. (Fiction. 8-12)
Merry Christmas, Snickerdoodle!
Pesky Roots / Raíces Fastidiosas
Attack Bunnies and the Forest Invaders
Forester, J.D. | Illus. by Charlotte Love Tinker/Penguin Workshop (32 pp.) | $9.99 October 13, 2026 | 9798217141081
García-Morales, Jackie | Trans. by Rosarito Rodríguez-González | Piñata Books/Arte Público (272 pp.) | $12.95 paper October 31, 2026 | 9798893750454
Gehl, Laura | Illus. by Julia Patton | Beaming Books (32 pp.) | $18.99 | February 9, 2027 9781506492278 | Series: Attack Bunnies
A Christmas follow-up to I Love You, Boo! (2026), with even more sugary sweetness. An affectionate narrator gushes holiday-honeyed words, while images of anthropomorphized cookies and candies dance around spreading Christmas cheer. “You’re my sugar, my spice, my sweet snickerdoodle— / My holly jolly lovebug, my candy cane noodle!” Love enlivens her photographs of actual treats with smiling faces. Right before the curve of a candy cane starts, two tiny eyes peer out from the peppermint stick, with an even tinier nose and mouth smiling from the stripes. Most of the customary holiday stars make an appearance: gumdrops, jelly beans, gingerbread, and more. Even a cup of steaming hot cocoa has eyes, rosy cheeks, and a smile. “You warm up my heart like a snug winter treat. / All melty and marshmallow sweet.” Accessories such as cozy knit hats, fondant scarves, and paper crowns adorn the festive desserts. Forester ends by hinting that young readers will grow: “Whether near or far, or a little apart. / You’re always my cookie, the joy of my heart.” While this one certainly isn’t a primer on healthy eating—there’s nary a fruit or vegetable in sight—kids will delight in the deliciousness of this holiday confection. Adorable, over-the-top Yuletide charm. (Picture book. 2-5)
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Ignacia Rivera- Colón has a nickname: Rubia, or blond in Spanish, reflecting her Puerto Rican heritage and the contrast between her lighter coloring and her immediate family’s appearance. Mami even says, “I gave birth to the better version of me. This one came out white.” After moving from the Bronx to New Jersey, 12-year-old Izzy (in a family full of Ignacias it’s what she prefers) enters a predominantly white school. Instead of making her feel special, her blond hair now makes her blend in. But her new classmates are puzzled by her identity, making well-meaning but stereotyped assumptions, including that she speaks Spanish (she doesn’t). She’s also surprised when a teacher describes her using the unfamiliar label minority; in the Bronx, she was part of a Puerto Rican majority. When puberty hits, Izzy’s hair grows in dark and curly; anxious about losing a trait that’s become central to her identity, she gets Mami to bleach and straighten it. As Izzy questions what it means to be her genuine self, she realizes that she “can’t keep relying on everyone else’s guidance and opinions.” Izzy is likable and relatable, and her worries about how her family and classmates perceive her reveal layers of self-discovery and the complexity of identity in clear,
The long-eared, cotton-tailed duo return to thwart housing developers Willy and Wally Weasel. Don’t be fooled by appearances; Carrot Cake and Pufftail may be the most adorable creatures in the forest, but they’re fierce, too. This installment finds them facing off against a pair of visiting weasels who plan to destroy the forest and build a large luxury condominium building on the adjacent swamp. Carrot Cake lures the weasels with sweets, while friend Renard Fox—whom readers may recognize from Carrot Cake and Pufftail’s first outing, Attack Bunnies (2026)—makes off with construction equipment, but the weasels return with a larger crew. Pufftail writes a poem noting that the woods are filled with ghosts, but the weasels decide that haunted homes will provide a bonus niche market. Having exhausted their first-rank tactics (“distract with Danishes,” “pulverize with poetry”), the intrepid lagomorphs “fight with friendliness.” They invite the weasels—with a poem emphasizing the wonders of living in a natural environment—to sit down with the woodland community and eat a delicious meal derived from locally sourced ingredients. The weasels not only promise to stop their tree-cutting; they humbly ask if they might become woodland residents. Gehl’s clever, playful text is alliterative to the end; the lighthearted tone, the short length, K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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and Patton’s hilariously over-the-top art make this perfect for reading aloud and also fun for emergent readers. A humorous tale in which kindness wins the day. (Picture book. 3-8)
Kirkus Star
The Ballad of X-Ray and Koko Georges, Nicole J. | Colors by Alec Longstreth Holiday House (240 pp.) | $24.99 January 19, 2027 | 9780823458448
An emotionally neglected child finds hope in the people who listen to and support her. Syrian American Xenia feels increasingly erased after her mom marries an Italian American man and moves them from Florida to Oregon. Miserable at her new school, where she’s othered for her ethnicity, and fed up with her stepfather’s harshness and her mother’s determination to pretend they’re Italian, Xenia’s frustration grows. When she fights back physically against a bully, she’s suspended from school; her mother is irate. Feeling unheard, Xenia stops talking. The therapist she’s ordered to see teaches her breathing and visualization techniques and recommends getting a dog, something her mom agrees to—if she’ll start talking again. Xenia works hard and saves up for Gizmo, the dog on the Humane Society website that she’s fallen for, but on her 12th birthday, she’s gifted a stuffed dog instead of Gizmo. Devastated, Xenia runs away and rescues a hen from a dumpster. After being caught and returned home, she schemes to fake her own death. Following her second escape, she meets nonbinary Koko, who’s blond and light-skinned, and the two become close. Xenia, in her striking red hoodie, stands out in Longstreth’s predominantly blue color palette. Georges’ worldbuilding and loose pencil illustrations include surreal touches—the talking chicken, K IR KU S R E V IE W S
trees with eyes. Xenia’s journey is one of remarkable self-determination and courage in the face of emotional abuse. A bold, original story that thoughtfully and realistically centers a child’s experiences. (character profiles, author’s note) (Graphic adventure. 8-12)
Kirkus Star
Robin and the Flowers Goodale, E.B. | Abrams (32 pp.) | $16.99 February 23, 2027 | 9781419780875 Series: Robin’s World
The curious tyke from Goodale’s Robin and the Stick (2026) and Robin and the Moon (2026) is delighted to see dandelions everywhere. After spotting the neighbors dutifully extracting the weeds from their gardens, Robin is inspired to pluck a few. With some gentle encouragement from Mama, Robin pulls all the dandelions from the neighbors’ yards, to their utter joy. Then Robin, clutching a handful of the wispy weeds, does what every child (and child at heart) does and blows on the bouquet, sending a beautiful swirl of seeds in the air—conveyed in a series of awe-inspiring double-page spreads—right back down to the ground, much to the neighbors’ annoyance and the toddler’s glee. A marvelous capper to an immensely empathetic series, this is a lovely look at the persistence of a preverbal child whose confidence builds over time. Goodale’s gentle text, combined with her gray monoprint and oil paint illustrations set against stark white backgrounds, gives Robin the space to maneuver in a sometimes tricky world, building to a humorous finale. Robin’s signature hoodie, now yellow, pops against the muted backgrounds, adding sunshine and warmth to the world, much like the titular tot. Robin and Mama have skin the white of the page; the neighbors vary in skin tone. An exceptional finale for a superb series that celebrates small victories and quiet confidence. (Picture book. 3-6)
Magnificent Mary: How India’s Mary Kom Became a Boxing Champion Gopal, Jyoti Rajan | Illus. by Tara Anand Viking (40 pp.) | $18.99 | January 26, 2027 9798217039074
A childhood dream, a cham pionship fight, and 10 rounds of determination set the stage for the story of boxing legend Mary Kom. It’s the middle of a tense match, and Mary’s competing for her first international gold medal. Abruptly, the narrative shifts to her childhood in 1980s Manipur, India. Mary’s family works hard to make ends meet, and Mary helps in the fields while finding time to race her bike and hustle other kids in games of marbles. Her father values education, though the village elders don’t believe it’s necessary for girls. At school Mary struggles academically but excels athletically and is sent to the city to live with relatives while she pursues track and field. When she discovers a women’s boxing academy, she finds her calling. Small and constantly underestimated, Mary responds by training harder. She also faces discrimination over her Indian and Manipuri identities but remains fiercely proud of where she comes from. At 18, she travels to the U.S. for the first Women’s World Boxing Championships—and loses. The defeat fuels her resolve; the following year, she wins the first of many gold medals. Clever endpapers introduce boxing terms that reappear throughout the narrative. Gopal’s conversational verse uses repeated onomatopoeia, while Anand’s boldly colored gouache illustrations set a cinematic backdrop. Though the first half moves slowly, the climactic competition scenes land the punch. A knockout story about resilience, determination, and refusing to stay down for the count. (more about Mary Kom and Manipur, further reading) (Picture-book biography. 4-8) NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Joyfully zany. HARRIET HUBBARD AND THE SOLD-OUT HANUKKAH
Santa Beware Gourley, Kashelle | Illus. by Skylar Hogan Little Bee Books (40 pp.) | $18.99 September 1, 2026 | 9781499818901 Series: Bumble and Queen
This Christmas will be special for the big guy in red. Bumble the dog (introduced in 2022’s I’m Not Missing), Queen the cat (whom readers may remember from 2025’s Un-Wanted), and their brown-skinned owner have plenty of holiday spirit, whether trimming the tree, roasting chestnuts, watching soppy “Hall-bark” movies, or baking cookies. But on the topic of Santa, Bumble sees red: In his view, Santa’s just a greedy trespasser who “lets his reindeer poop all over the yard.” With a bitter grimace, the pooch recalls Santa’s gift of a lump of coal, bestowed the year Bumble ran away. The pup plots Santa’s takedown, laid out as a battle plan that includes an image of a fantasized muscle-bound Bumble gloating atop a supine Santa. On Christmas Eve, Bumble starts surveillance from his station on the sofa—and immediately falls sound asleep. Quiet Queen takes over, and while Santa makes it out, Bumble does enjoy a bit of triumph (thanks to Queen). The illustrations feature Bumble’s signature side-eye, Queen’s deceptive innocence, and a number of delightful details, like nutcracker doll versions of the protagonists, a clever riff on Home Alone, and a giggle-worthy scene that sees Bumble showing off his ugly sweater collection. Whether shared in a group or independently, this revenge-comeuppance lark starring an enjoyably subversive pair makes for a slyly merry Christmas. A candy-cane confection of words and art with a delicious twist, sure to be a repeat treat. (Picture book. 4-8)
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Harriet Hubbard and the Sold-Out Hanukkah Grubman, Bonnie | Illus. by Noa Kelner Kar-Ben (24 pp.) | $18.99 | October 6, 2026 9798765670545
In this modern spin on “Old Mother Hubbard,” party guests work together to create a special Hanukkah feast after the titular character finds the store shelves bare. Harriet Hubbard goes to her cupboard and realizes she needs to stock up on ingredients for the upcoming holiday. She dons her roller skates to go shopping, but every shop is empty. The grocery store is out of potatoes and onions for latkes. The butcher has nothing but a single hamburger. There are no doughnuts at the bakery and no chocolate gelt coins at the sweet shop. A forlorn Harriet heads home to scale back her party ambitions. When her guests arrive, however, they surprise her with armloads of holiday treats. They all enjoy a party filled with food, dancing, games, candle lighting, and laughter. Grubman’s story is simple, with zippy verse modeled after the original nursery rhyme, but the true pleasure here is Harriet herself. In Kelner’s scribbly illustrations, Harriet takes up space joyfully, without apology or hesitation. Her shopping list is huge, her hair is gigantic, and her heart is enormous. She dresses in bright pinks and eye-catching holiday patterns and never walks if she can race, whizz, or hop. She also provides much-needed representation of a larger body size in a story that is not about weight. Backmatter includes a short explanation about Hanukkah and a recipe for gingerbread Maccabee cookies. Harriet is tan-skinned; her guests are diverse.
The Octopus Guojing | Two Lions (48 pp.) | $18.99 April 22, 2026 | 9781662521508
A child befriends a small octopus while visiting the beach. Clad in a white sundress, the dark-haired, light-skinned young protagonist walks along the sand hand in hand with a parent. The child spots a tiny octopus, made infinitely cuter by an expressive humanlike face gracing its bright red mantle. The octopus is tangled in a plastic six-pack ring, and the child extracts it before placing it in a small bowl. Seeing how unhappy the creature is to be caged, the youngster quickly returns it to the water. The tiny tentacled swimmer in turn rewards the child, shrinking the youngster down and giving the little one the power to breathe underwater. In quiet bliss, the pair swim down deep together, admiring colorful fish and coral, a cave of sparkly shells, and a friendly sea turtle, whom they helpfully disentangle from a plastic bag. Upon returning to shore, the child dutifully recycles the pieces of litter encountered on their journey. Guojing thoughtfully smooths the sharpest edges of her skillful, wordless societal critique; the result is an accessible tale, just right for young readers. The messages come through clearly: Throwing one’s trash away can make a difference, one small person can do their part, and the earth is a beautiful thing worth protecting. Luminous, lovely images of the octopus’ underwater world reinforce this message with radiant sweetness.
A hopeful, happy parable of ecological stewardship. (Picture book. 3-7) For an interview with Guojing, visit Kirkus online.
A joyfully zany Hanukkah confection. (Picture book. 4-8)
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Theia: The Little Planet Who Made the Seasons Gwinn, Saskia | Illus. by Katie Cottle Post Wave Children’s Books (64 pp.) $19.99 | October 27, 2026 | 9798895090770
An ancient planet tells her story. Meet Theia! Named after the “extremely extraordinary” Greek goddess of light, the chipper orange planet recounts the origins of the solar system. Back then, Earth was “a great big, fiery ball of molten rock,” much like Theia. In fact, the two quickly became “besties”…until the momentous day when Theia, caught in Earth’s gravity, helplessly crashed into her BFF and was obliterated. Most of Theia was swallowed up by Earth, “but the rest of me was catapulted into space along with the broken pieces of Earth” to become—the moon! Theia’s collision tipped Earth’s axis (“Sometimes one part of Earth leans toward the sun, getting more light and warmth. That’s what you humans call summer!”), resulting in the four seasons. The seasons enthusiastically introduce themselves as Theia explains how Earth developed life. A concise summary, a list of “Space Facts,” information on the discovery of Theia, and a list of “Big Questions Scientists Are Still Asking” conclude this dynamic epic. An exuberant tone enlivens this thorough, accessible introduction: Sassy, personable Theia refers to her namesake deity as a “proper butt-kicking goddess” and dubs herself the “super-awesome lost planet of the solar system.” With cinematic flair, the narrative zips along, its abundant art dominated by hot red oranges set against cool blues. Though the personified astronomical bodies
wear smiling faces, the science is otherwise accurate.
An entrancing, informative STEM saga. (Graphic nonfiction. 7-11)
Violet and the Frost King: A Modern Adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s The Frost King
A visually stunning reconceptualization where bravery blooms. (author’s note from Adoff) (Picture book. 5-8)
Adia Kelbara and the Dark Between
Hamilton, Virginia & Jaime Adoff | Illus. by April Harrison | Christy Ottaviano Books (56 pp.) $19.99 | January 19, 2027 | 9780316532389
Hendrix, Isi | Storytide/HarperCollins (320 pp.) $19.99 | October 27, 2026 | 9780063266438 Series: Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans, 3
A tiny fairy shows courage and conviction in an intricately illustrated reinterpretation of a winter tale. Norwald, the Frost King, has cruelly forbidden sunlight in his realm, and wee fairy Violet worries that her “flower friends are in danger” as “buds and blooms wither in the icy cold.” Violet volunteers when the Fairy Queen Rosewind calls for a fairy to plead their case one final time to King Norwald so that he’ll allow sunshine and flowers to flourish in his icy kingdom. Despite her fear, Violet confronts the Frost King, but he imprisons her in an underground dungeon. Working with the moles, Violet radiates light to warm the ground above her, and plants blossom. Finally, Norwald is swayed. This text-heavy tale, an adaptation of a Louisa May Alcott story begun by the late Hamilton and completed posthumously by her son, feels a bit cumbersome at times, with inconsistencies in tone and sentence structure. Still, Harrison’s mixed-media illustrations gloriously reinforce the storyline with immersive spreads and exceptionally detailed portraiture in icy blues and warmer hues. The length will age up its readership, but this story of determination and strong-willed female
Thirteen-year-old Adia gets pushed to her limits and endures the biggest tests of her shamanic training thus far. Plagued by guilt over her friend Nami’s death, Adia is determined to resurrect him. Balancing her responsibilities at the Academy of Shamans with being an outsider among the “spoiled, talentless, conceited” students—who have now labeled her “Kelbara the Killer”—is no easy task for an orphan from a lowly background. Adia makes a deal to try to bring Nami back to the realm of the living, but she finds that it costs more than she bargained for. As she starts to feel her powers diminishing (and learns from Headmaster Mbari that the gods are struggling too), Adia uncovers more mysteries about her family and her homeland, the Swamplands of Zaria. Topping it all off, she meets with a huge obstacle in the form of Liam, the recently imprisoned brother of her friends Mimi and Rusty who’s missing part of his soul. Will she be able to travel through realms to save Nami as well as her magic and that of the Alusi guardian gods? Or will Adia finally succumb to perils and powers stronger than she is? Hendrix delivers with this instalment, bringing gripping plotlines and fast pacing that will keep readers glued to the pages as they follow Adia on her race against the clock. Themes of familial tension, friendship, betrayal, identity, sacrifice, and spirituality are threaded throughout.
A hopeful, happy parable of ecological stewardship. THE OCTOPUS
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tenacity should flourish among dedicated fairy-tale readers and Hamilton loyalists. Characters present Black.
An enthralling finale to a captivating series. (map) (Fantasy. 8-12) NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Merry Pinkmas
The Cloak From Baghdad
Hennessy, Tanya | Illus. by Ben Whitehouse | Henry Holt (32 pp.) | $18.99 September 1, 2026 | 9781250374035
Isaacs, Carol | Kar-Ben (88 pp.) | $17.99 September 1, 2026 | 9798765670231
A laundry mishap leads to an exciting change of perspective for Santa. Santa’s suit has sat in the hamper all year! Rudolph, distracted as he takes a selfie, doesn’t sort the dirty clothes and throws the suit into the machine on Hot; somehow, it changes color. As a laundry lesson, it’s laughable: Red socks wouldn’t turn a red suit bright neon pink. But the event leads to plenty of opportunities for humor. Some options for a quick solution are suggested and rejected, but Santa’s sangfroid saves the day. He embraces the neon: “Pink is for girls. Pink is for boys. / Pink is for elves. Pink is for toys.” In a twinkling, the hardworking elves have “pinkified Christmas,” from decor to sweaters. The night is successful, though only one boy is awake to applaud: “Santa, you slayyyyyyy!” The rhyming, slangy text hits an occasional bump, but large clear type is a plus. In case anyone has missed the message, Santa spells it out: “The best things in life sometimes come from mistakes.” Rudolph might be the only one, however, to welcome the parting suggestion of a future “Christmas…in yellow.” Whitehouse’s soft-edged art is rendered in simplified cartoon style, with plenty of bright pastels. Santa and Mrs. Claus are pale-skinned; the elves are small and diverse. An oddball take on the conventional holiday color scheme, bound to please contrarians. (Picture book. 3-6) For more winter holiday tales, visit Kirkus online.
A girl travels through time to experience her mother’s Baghdad childhood. Louise and her sister were born in the U.K., but her parents were born in Iraq; her parents speak Arabic at home, and the family observes Jewish customs. Her peers often pepper her with ignorant comments (“You can’t be Jewish— you look more like an Arab!”). Her grandmother keeps a black abaya in her closet—a relic of her family’s former life in Iraq, where she would wear the cloak to “blend in with the crowd.” When curious Louise dons the garment, she is magically transported to 1940s Iraq, when her mother was a child. Unseen, she observes parts of her family history that were barely discussed in her own home. She visits schoolyards and market stalls, watches her extended family celebrate Purim and prepare for Pesach, and looks on in fear as antisemitism encroaches on her family’s day-to-day life. A violent anti-Jewish attack—the 1941 Farhud massacre, identified in an author’s note—leads to a high-stakes climax. Isaac’s storytelling focuses on a pivotal moment in Louise’s family’s life to highlight a lesser-known instance of injustice toward a people who had lived in the region for millennia; she emphasizes the personal impact of these events while lightly intertwining broader historical and societal context. Striking, simplified grayscale cartooning echoes Marjane Satrapi’s highly influential Persepolis—a clever creative choice that underscores Louise’s complicated relationship with her cultural background. A powerful personal story, dramatically recounted. (photos, glossary) (Graphic fiction. 8-12)
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Kirkus Star
Home of the Brave: A StoryCorps Collection of American Voices Ed. by Isay, Dave | Adapt. by Sarah L. Thomson Illus. by Sharon De La Cruz | Philomel (112 pp.) $22.99 | $12.99 paper | November 17, 2026 9780593622544 | 9780593622551 paper
Fifteen ordinary people reflect on being present at historical moments or pay tribute to parents and other heroes. “I really believe that every person walking this earth has a story,” writes former StoryCorps worker and National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Jason Reynolds in his introduction to this riveting set of memoirs excerpted from StoryCorps’ immense archives of interviews with Americans from various backgrounds. Every selection offers a powerful example, from then-busboy Juan Romero’s heartbreaking account of shaking Robert F. Kennedy’s hand only moments before he was shot to—perhaps most haunting of all—the testimonial of ticket counter employee Vaughn Allex, who checked in the men who flew a hijacked passenger jet into the Pentagon on 9/11 and struggled for years with that knowledge. On a more private level, but no less intensely felt, Mary Othella Burnette reminisces about her great-grandmother Mary Stepp Burnette Hayden, a midwife who died in 1956 but was born enslaved; another interview recounts Gabe López’s conversation at age 8 with his mother about growing up trans. Others detail exchanges with equally supportive parents about following an undocumented mom into college and growing up amid a tragically shrinking circle of gay male “aunties.” Using pale washes of blue throughout her sequential panels to give the art a consistent, understated intimacy, De La Cruz artfully captures easily relatable features and expressions K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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Profoundly moving.
on the racially diverse speakers and those around them.
HOME OF THE BR AVE
Profoundly moving memories and testimonials. (sample interview questions) (Graphic collective biography. 7-12)
The Stories in You: Inspired by the Wisdom of Toni Morrison Jamison, Veronica Miller | Little, Brown (40 pp.) $18.99 | December 1, 2026 | 9780316396721
After finding entire shelves of books removed from the library, a Black child learns to tell her own stories. Chloe used to love going to her local library, but today, she and Auntie are dismayed to find a sad librarian removing books from shelves, apparently on orders from above. Back at home, Auntie pulls papers and albums from a closet and encourages Chloe to tell the many untold stories of their people. Chloe dives into the “deep, wide ocean” of “our stories.” From her “adventure into the past and the future,” she emerges with her imagination full of characters and scenes: her ballet-dancing sister, a great-aunt who loved to sew. With a pencil and paper, Chloe creates a place for herself and her stories. Thoughtfully designed text includes hand-lettering to convey the story Chloe tells, while creative compositions use a variety of color schemes to express the sadness, excitement, imagination, and hope Chloe cycles through in both reality and in the world of her family’s stories. Jamison has crafted a triumphant rebuke to would-be censors that also celebrates the beauty of Black stories. By the end, Chloe and Auntie bring the tales that Chloe has written to the library, transforming it back into a welcoming space full of color. Endnotes share more about Toni Morrison, who inspired the story (and who was born Chloe Ardelia Wofford), and other references and symbols throughout the book.
A fitting tribute to Black artists and storytellers that’s both timely and timeless. (author’s note) (Picture book. 4-8) K IR KU S R E V IE W S
After Kenny, Pádraig | Illus. by Steve McCarthy Candlewick (240 pp.) | $18.99 January 12, 2027 | 9781536250299
After the destruction of much of humankind, a tween girl and her mechanical father figure travel through a dangerous landscape in search of refuge in this work by an Irish author and illustrator pair. Father, a humanoid machine, found Jen alone as a baby and has cared for and protected her ever since. Jen likes Father to repeat the story of how the world was destroyed in three phases: First, there was environmental destruction; next, there was “a melding of the mechanical with the biological”; and finally, there was the Flood. This system failure destroyed everything—“both inorganic and organic”—connected to it, and left people distrustful of anything mechanical. The “Dark Ages” world left behind contains roaming scavengers, among other threats. When Jen and Father see an unnatural light in the night sky, they detour from their intended destination, Tranquility Lake, to investigate; they find a boy and his guardian, who lead them to a settlement of survivors. They’d like to stay, but Father believes they should hide his true nature. The pace picks up as the story heads toward its climax and conclusion. This timely exploration of technology, enhanced by McCarthy’s pixelated spot art, will have great appeal for middle-grade readers. Kenny weaves themes of community, found family, and what it means to be human into an ultimately hopeful survival tale. Most characters read white. A thoughtful and action-packed adventure grounded in subjects of great contemporary relevance. (Post-apocalyptic. 8-12)
Kirkus Star
Ratface Does Not Want To Be Your Friend Kinkz, Eliza | Kokila (48 pp.) | $19.99 February 16, 2027 | 9780593700266
A tale of forced friendships that also offers a surprising introduction to boundaries and consent. Residing in “the greatest city on earth” (a kind of Pangaea of famous cities), Ratface the rat is living his best life. He sleeps on an old diaper, scares the general populace, and hangs out with his best friend, who’s either a worm or a crunchy piece of spaghetti (“He wasn’t sure…”). Everything is great until poor little rich girl Tinky Suárez almost runs over Ratface with her limo and declares him to be her new friend. Trouble is, he’s not into the plan (particularly when she subjects him to—shudder—spa treatments). Only after he shows her the stuff he likes (all of which she hates) do Ratface and Tinky realize that their friendship is not in the cards. It’s a rare picture book where two characters mutually decide that they don’t really want to be friends at all. Happily, Kinkz handles the topic with aplomb, effortlessly plucking funny moments out of this storyline, as when Ratface decides to comfort Tinky by poking her with a stick and saying, “There, there, strange talking puff ball.” With its loose lines and blocky characters, Kinkz’s enjoyably chaotic art in this book clearly owes a significant debt to James Marshall’s work (the story is also dedicated to him). Tinky has light tan skin and dark hair; the city is diverse. If you love something, let it go…down the sewers. A hilarious tale of friendship eschewed. (Picture book. 3-6) NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Phyllis of the Forest Kukla, Lauren | North Star Editions (32 pp.) $19.99 | September 8, 2026 | 9781963802085
A young city dweller finds peace in nature. Phyllis’ mother tells her to come home when the streets lights come on, but until then, she has the freedom to roam where she pleases. In some places, the young Black girl feels she doesn’t belong—places where she doesn’t know the rules, where she isn’t allowed entry, or where people whisper and stare. “Sometimes it feels like the world wants me to be someone else. But I have a secret.” As she rides her purple bike into a sprawling park in the heart of her city, she finds a place where she truly belongs. Here, Phyllis feels at home. Kukla offers a fantastic mix of realism—the ways in which people make Phyllis feel unwelcome because of her race—and fantasy as the child imagines herself sprouting wings, riding a salamander, cavorting with fairies, and swimming with mermaids (and even growing a tail herself as she declares herself “the wild woman of the water”). Once the streetlights come on, Phyllis sees the creatures she’s observed amid the stars and ends her day with an affirmation. Kukla’s engaging, naïve illustrations are rife with details for children to spot—fairies and mermaids, as well as animals like fish, turtles, a deer, and more. Phyllis’ gentle, respectful attitude toward nature is laudable; this is a story sure to help cultivate a love of nature in youngsters. A wonderful tale of self-love that invites readers to embrace who they are and take pleasure in the great outdoors. (Picture book. 4-8)
Kirkus Star
Which One Can You Eat? Kusumoto, Risa | Chronicle Books (30 pp.) $9.99 | October 20, 2026 | 9781797239965
Presented with two zany, deceptively similar look-alikes, readers are tasked with identifying which is edible. Kusumoto makes visual magic with clever comparisons sure to tickle funny bones. On each spread, two roughhewn white circles sit atop pastel backgrounds. Both contain an object, plus bold, haphazardly hand-lettered text asking youngsters to decide: “Which one can you eat?” Some of the pairs feel conventional, such as a plump beach ball and an equally spherical orange, while others, like a plate of spaghetti versus a ginger kitty tangled in a ball of wool, are gloriously absurd. A few, such as sushi paired with a white poodle under a coral-striped blanket, create such effective visual trickery that readers might do a double take. Preschoolers will delight in the tantalizingly silly premise, and discussions of, for instance, how and why a gold glove is not the same nor as nutritious as a bunch of bananas are sure to build critical thinking and language skills. The challenge culminates in a tricky set in which neither choice is palatable. A short refrain provides an excellent opportunity for preschoolers to recite along, while the airy, playful manner of introducing new foods could be a boon to adults looking to expand child palates. Casually drawn with sumi ink and cheerful digital colors,
Makes visual magic with clever comparisons sure to tickle funny bones. W H I C H O N E C A N YO U E AT ?
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the rounded, organic shapes and broad black outlining are perfectly suited to the book’s mischievous tone. The few human faces are pale. Novel, enticing, and sure to serve up laughs. (Board book. 1-6)
The Weather Shop Lee, Thomas | Trans. by Deborah Smith Do Re Mi Books (52 pp.) | $19.95 October 27, 2026 | 9781917933087
In this South Korean import, an industrious creature supplies custom weather. Dragon Hill Village is a beautifully surreal, enchanted place to live, with unusual shops galore—none more entrancing than Mole’s emporium. Cat shows up and gets a “rainshower balloon” to perk up her wilting garden. Overheated Anteater gets a sea breeze, and Frog receives a cloud-soft teddy sleep aid. But when a friend group requests “snowman spray” so they can create snow to romp in, their disregard of Mole’s warning leads to chilly consequences. Nevertheless, “Mole isn’t cross”; he puts things right, and a glorious rainbow arcs across the village amid a chorus of thank- you’s. Lee’s artwork is as crowded and busy as Jill Barklem’s Brambly Hedge illustrations, but here married to a looser, bubbly cartoon style, with nearly neon pastels. The animal inhabitants are smiling, short, and squishy. The opening spread depicts an extensive fantasy landscape, with an Old World enclosed town, an evergreen forest, and the town’s namesake beast curled up asleep. A hobbit might well pop out of the shop’s door, set in a huge tree trunk. Lee’s imaginative text is simple and appealing, and his illustrations could occupy hours. As this utopian fantasy ends, a final “Message From Mole” counsels kindness. Ideal for poring over, rain or shine. (Picture book. 4-8)
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Looking for Light: A Shabbat Story Levington, Rebecca Gardyn | Illus. by Diana Mayo | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (40 pp.) $19.99 | January 19, 2027 | 9780374392031
A poem celebrating the Jewish day of rest, told from the point of view of light itself. On Shabbat, a family gathers around a table, lighting candles. As a downcast-looking child pauses and reflects, the light from the candles speaks. Narrating in second-person rhyming quatrains, it urges the youngster to remember moments of joy in a difficult week. After all, the light notes, through it all, “I was there!” As time passes, from Friday evening to Havdalah on Saturday night, Levington’s earnestly encouraging narrator reminds the youngster of moments of happiness, some tangible (“the comfort of sunshine, / the coolness of the shade, / a book you loved, / a bug you saved”), others more abstract (“the pride you felt while grasping skills you never thought you could”). Mayo’s soft-edged art makes these general statements feel concrete to a young audience, with scenes of the child taking a spill while skateboarding before eventually triumphing. Shabbat rituals are also portrayed, including the traditional blessing over the children, which is also described in a concluding author’s note. Electronics-weary adults may appreciate a reference to disconnecting from screens. Though the verse is a bit on the purposeful side, the artwork is enticing, with a sparkling glow encircling the characters; coupled with useful activities in the backmatter, the book is a solid starting point for discussions about finding joy amid the darkness. A contemplative take on Shabbat, laden with valuable messaging. (Picture book. 4-8) K IR KU S R E V IE W S
How To Survive the Ice Age: Chilling Adventures in a Frozen World Lindsey, Emily L. & Tyler Hayden | Illus. by Aaron Cushley | Neon Squid/Macmillan | (48 pp.) $17.99 | February 2, 2027 | 9781684496587 Series: Extreme Survival Guides
Falling into a time warp, a multiracial group of students drops into the most recent ice age for firsthand experiences with its climate, creatures, and proto humans. Though it’s a time when, as one header puts it, “Humans are on the menu,” the eager young visitors are never actually in serious danger despite encounters with cave lions and dire wolves, saber-toothed cats, mammoths, and prehistoric humans of diverse skin color clad in furry skirts. Instead, in Cushley’s cartoonish painted scenes, they watch or occasionally join in with their Pleistocene cousins to hunt, build fires, shelter in caves or huts of wood and bone, daub images on stone walls and participate in other “Ice Age arts and crafts,” help domesticate wolves, and, using tools and intelligence to survive, hang out long enough to see modern animals evolve. At last, they reunite with their teacher. “Humans have never lived outside of an ice age,” Lindsey and Hayden conclude in a closing reveal, though they suggest that messing with the climate just might change that. Along with annotating a gallery of prehistoric humans from Homo erectus to Denisovans, the authors tuck in comments on the causes and courses of ice ages and other background—but they seem most focused on cranking up the excitement with a veritable menagerie of the many types of now-extinct megafauna once found in various parts of the world.
Tiny Hercules Lock, Jon | Illus. by Nich Angell | Random House Graphic (208 pp.) | $21.99 | $14.99 paper February 2, 2027 | 9798217447800 9798217123865 paper | Series: Tiny Hercules, 1
A high-energy reimagining of the story of Hercules. What if the gods who lived on Mount Olympus—actually, Tiny Olympus— were tiny and utterly adorable? And what if muscly, minuscule Hercules were bugging self-important, jealous Tiny Zeus so much that Zeus felt compelled to banish him to the Land of the Titans (“home of the scariest, most NOT-tiny monsters the world has ever known!”), which turns out to be Earth? Such is the premise of this tale, a smashing, crashing, silly good time. When Tiny Hercules arrives on Earth, he must complete 12 tasks to return to the gods’ favor, and he decides to start by “slay[ing] a mighty lion or something.” In the process he meets bespectacled Jeff, an average kid trying to save his town from being bulldozed by theme-park developers. Their missions become intertwined, a housecat (the closest thing to a “mighty lion” for Tiny Hercules) is terrorized, and Zeus crashes the scene as an undercover swan with a long, gray beard. Though the basics of the Greek myth form the backbone of Hercules’ adventure, the nonstop energy that electrifies each page is utterly modern and endlessly silly. With cats, cars, and a cyclops sent flying through the air by Hercules’ mighty arm, this volume serves up a healthy first helping of a boisterous series to come. A giddy, unapologetically contem porary spin on a marvelous myth. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)
For more Greek myth retellings, visit Kirkus online.
An enlightening field trip into the past. (glossary, index) (Informational picture book. 7-10) NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Kirkus Star
Pick It Up and Take a Spin Loney, Andrea J. | Illus. by Patricia Pessoa Harper/HarperCollins (40 pp.) | $19.99 January 5, 2027 | 9780063395398
A youngster tries new things— and triumphs. A brownskinned child in the park can’t help but gape at the awe-inspiring antics of the big kids, who vary in skin tone. Their talents are on full display as they skateboard, scoot, and rollerblade about. Our hero, by contrast, is “small and unsure, weird and wobbly.” When the youngster is faced with a daunting hula hoop, repeated failure feels unsurmountable. Still, the child takes the hoop home. There it sits unused until, one slow afternoon, the youngster picks it up and tries again. Success comes at long last, and our protagonist later helps a smaller kid, giving this new pal the confidence to try and try again. Much of the story’s allure lies in the lyricism of Loney’s text. Aside from its godlike idealization of “big kids,” it leans hard into the inherent poetry of small childhood successes: “Finally you hear the peaceful pat pat pat sound of hoops against hips.” Pessoa’s fine-lined art brims with color and just enough chaos to drill the book’s point home. This book is an ideal pairing with Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic and Chris Park’s Touch the Sky (2024), which also gives kudos to youngsters mastering something new. And, as in that book, paying it forward is an essential part of the process.
A deeply empathetic tale that recognizes the time, space, and attitude necessary for learning a new skill. (Picture book. 4-8) For more by Andrea J. Loney, visit Kirkus online.
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Leans hard into the inherent poetry of small childhood successes. P I C K I T U P A N D TA K E A S P I N
Kirkus Star
The Boy & the Island Long, Loren | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (42 pp.) $19.99 | January 26, 2027 | 9781250903143
With the help of a fellow lonely soul (who happens to be an island), a boy finds self-confidence. Omnisciently narrating with the lilting cadence of an old-school fairy tale, Long introduces an unlikely pair of friends. One is a young, cello-playing newcomer who doesn’t fit into his seaside town, the other a fearsome island, rumored to be “covered in skulls and bones.” Drawn by the mysterious island, the boy finds instead a haven for swimming, fishing, exploring—and unpacking feelings. One day intense emotions erupt, and someone responds. It’s the island, a dragon-esque creature who opens up: “I cry too, sometimes.” They bond, but after a blissful summer of laughter, conversation, and music, the boy realizes he can’t stay. He’s changed. Newly self-assured, he sails off, accompanied by a new villager friend. Some readers might be left questioning the fantastical elements and wanting more closure for the left-behind island. But those who linger over books with a languid pace and pensive mood, albeit one lightly punctuated by moments of levity, will find this just right. Long’s soaring, deeply layered watercolor illustrations are stunning; this is a master class in visual storytelling, with graphic novel– like vignettes and expansive spreads conveying mood and establishing a bucolic setting, almost eclipsing the narration. The island entity is cunningly designed, and exquisite images of sea and
sky glow like stained glass. The boy is pale-skinned and red-haired; there’s some racial diversity among the supporting cast. Beautiful, contemplative, and enigmatic. (Picture book. 5-9)
Ruth Muskrat and the So-Called Indian Problem: The Fight for Native American Civil Rights Loren, Jen | Illus. by Rebecca Lee Kunz Levine Querido (88 pp.) | $21.99 October 6, 2026 | 9781646146994
On a sunny Oklahoma hillside, Granny opens a trunk of family heirlooms and shares Ruth Muskrat’s remarkable story, sending readers back to the early 1900s, when the land was Indian Territory. Ruth grows up in a Cherokee community shaped by “gadugi,” a commitment to caring for and helping one another. Bright and precocious Ruth loves school so much that a teacher sometimes lets her teach. A late-night dare to ring the schoolhouse bell shows courage, while her growing awareness of the so-called “Indian Problem” reveals her determination to challenge how Indigenous peoples are treated by the government. Ruth leaves home to pursue education at only 14 and goes on to publish poetry, become an activist, speak at the White House, and advocate at the highest levels for Indigenous rights. Caldecott Medalist Kunz layers maps, Cherokee patterns and syllabary, photographs, textiles, and old-fashioned album frames into detailed collage illustrations that invite K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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close attention and multiple reads. Robust backmatter, including a timeline and glossary with visual elements, adds context. The narrative’s breadth, the framing of Ruth’s story within Granny’s story, and the jumps through time are ambitious and create some confusion, but on the whole, this tale, crafted by two Cherokee Nation creators, reminds readers that Indigenous people are not only part of history—they are here, and they are shaping the future.
A timely look at the life of a remarkable Indigenous activist. (author’s and illustrator’s notes, study guide, sources, additional resources) (Biography. 4-8)
Unicorndog: Best. Wish. Ever! Lowery, Mike | Storytide/HarperCollins (64 pp.) | $18.99 | January 26, 2027 9780063463523 | Series: Unicorndog, 1
A birthday wish gone wrong…or right? While blowing out his birthday candles, Max struggles to think of the perfect wish and ends up combining the desires for a dog and a unicorn. The result? Unicorndog! With bulbous eyes and a bean-shaped smile, Unicorndog quickly establishes herself as a chaotic, unfocused presence. She’s unable to perform tricks like a dog or do magic like a unicorn, but she sure is weird, as she proudly proclaims. Regardless, Unicorndog is eager to explore Max’s interests, which makes her a perfectly good friend. The story sees Max go from declaring Unicorndog to be a waste of a wish to genuinely enjoying her company—showing how learning to appreciate someone who starts out rough around the edges is worth the time and effort. Max may be disappointed at Unicorn dog’s attempts at fetch (the sticks he tosses hit her head as she implores “Again”), but readers will laugh; they’ll also enjoy seeing how her K IR KU S R E V IE W S
efforts at magic results in a large fart. Lowery’s fonts and sound effects give every page of this graphic novel an exuberant, high- energy feeling, as do his doodlelike faces. Paneling is straightforward and easy to follow. Like a Marius Valdes painting, this book expresses a lot of personality through deceptively simple designs. Max has light tan skin. Weird but reliably entertaining, much like its title character. (Graphic fiction. 6-10)
Unicorndog: Unicorndog Makes Some Magic Lowery, Mike | Storytide/HarperCollins (64 pp.) | $18.99 | January 26, 2027 9780063463578 | Series: Unicorndog, 2
An unpredictable episode of a magical friendship. The tale starts with a quick recap of the premise established in the first title: On his birthday, a young boy named Max wished for both a unicorn and a dog and got the wonderfully strange Unicorndog. This installment finds Unicorndog longing to be a real unicorn with magic powers. Max distracts her with a pillow fight, which leads to the discovery that Unicorndog does indeed have powers, but their timing and effects can be rather chaotic. Household objects begin taking on froggy appearances; it’s all fun and games until Unicorndog gives Max frog legs. Now he and Unicorndog must attempt to reverse the magic. The hijinks and humor escalate as Unicorndog’s magic fills the house with rabbits, turtles, and doughnuts—all of which rattles Max, though Unicorndog remains unbothered. The pace is somewhat more deliberate compared with the first book; several multipanel gags involve stretched punchlines, such as the slow buildup to a sneeze. The protagonists’ friendship continues to evolve, with Max tending to be the voice of reason and maturity as the
scatterbrained (and still proudly weird) Unicorndog wreaks havoc. Max has light tan skin.
A sequel as packed with sudden transformations as it is with comedy. (How to draw Unicorndog) (Graphic fiction. 6-10)
Kirkus Star
What’s a Museum? Mack, Jeff | Henry Holt (48 pp.) | $19.99 January 5, 2027 | 9781250404466
With this companion to Time To Make Art (2024), Mack explores what constitutes a museum. Wearing a lavender beret, Mack’s brown-skinned protagonist is back, this time accompanied by a beige-skinned sidekick clad in blue overalls. The newcomer poses the titular question—and many more (“Does a museum have to be full of art?” “Can it be in a building where an artist used to live?”). The pair start off in a large space filled with “great art that everyone likes,” but eventually they visit the Museum of Bad Art (“Can it be filled with art that NO ONE likes?”), as well as institutions that are tiny, outdoors, underwater, or even filled with burnt food! All these places actually exist and are identified in both the endpapers and the backmatter. The global scope is laudable. Children will be delighted at the colorful vignettes depicting everything from the Louvre and Tate Modern to the Chez Galip Hair Museum in Avanos, Turkey, and the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets in Delhi, India. The brief back-and-forth between the friends places the focus on Mack’s playful images, which have a marvelously tactile quality. This is a work sure to charm readers—and to expand their assumptions about what a museum looks like. The conclusion, which depicts the beret-clad child’s personal museum (“the story of my life”), will plant seeds of creativity in youngsters. Eye-opening and oh so much fun. (Informational picture book. 4-8)
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Regina and the Knaves Maisen, Bonnie | Aladdin (320 pp.) | $17.99 January 19, 2027 | 9798347114177
In a classic caper, a schoolyard gang of thieves plans to pilfer stolen wealth from rich jerks. Most of the kids at Center Prep are snotty Goldens, but not Regina Fletchley. Regina, an acrobatic, proudly fat, white-presenting 13-year-old, was born a Golden, the class of people on the planet Solaris who can use magical lumenvapor. After Regina’s parents died, she was raised in an orphanage among the Tins, the lowest class. Fueled by bitterness, Regina has become a master thief: Styling herself “the prince,” she burgles Golden homes. When she’s contacted by the Knaves, she’s thrilled. They’re her heroes—thieves who steal actual lumenvapor!—and they want to work with her? There must be a catch. Regina and the Knaves plan a full-on heist, the robbery to end all robberies. All the classic tropes pepper this overlong adventure, including a break-in while clad in black jumpsuits, a perfectly timed dance between motion-detector lasers, a joke about traveling through air ducts, and a double cross. Unexpectedly, given all of this, the tale (which is told in the first person, primarily by Regina) drags. She’s extremely fond of her own snark and cleverness, coming across as if she’s auditioning for a teen supernatural drama, and the effect of this is to slow the story and make it feel plodding. The Knaves—boys, girls, and nonbinary— are a multiracial crew.
A heist that relies more on a solid premise and juicy genre cliches than well-paced storytelling. (Adventure. 11-13)
For more middlegrade adventure, visit Kirkus online.
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Even the wiggliest baby should be able to make it through this storytime. WHERE TOES GO
Gary: The Naughtiest Wolf That Ever There Was: Fairy Tales With a Twist Malloy, Amy | Rodale Kids (40 pp.) | $18.99 February 2, 2027 | 9798217231386
Who’s in charge, a pet wolf or his young owner? Wolf Gary’s owner—a child with a head shaped like a horizontal egg flanked by two tassel-like pigtails—spends the entire narrative appealing to Gary to stay clear of the fairy-tale scenarios he has a way of sniffing out. But no: Gary, an unkempt bundle of sketchy black lines with googly eyes, zips from one scene to the next with Road Runner speed. He tugs at Rapunzel’s hair. He chomps Cinderella’s glass slipper. All the while, his owner is tearing after him, trying to get him psyched for a visit to Granny’s house: “Granny has treats for good wolves who stay. Doesn’t she, Gary? Gary?” But Gary is off again, this time to relieve the Three Bears of their porridge. When Gary and his owner finally arrive at Granny’s house, the child starts to rat out Gary for his bad behavior (“Gary is the naughtiest—”), but Granny sees the wolf as “just the GOODEST ickle fluff pup that ever there was!” and rewards him with a cupcake that fuels him to run after the Gingerbread Boy. Malloy’s frizzle-edged Procreate-finished colored-pencil art in pink, purple, and black suits the hilariously put-upon owner’s voice. Malloy’s debut is strange, hyper, and more fun than the barrel of monkeys that
Gary would probably try to attack if he happened upon them. Human characters have paper-white skin. A riotous reminder that everyone— even the naughtiest among us—is loved by someone. (Picture book. 4-8)
Where Toes Go Maruno, Jennifer | Pajama Press (24 pp.) $17.95 | February 23, 2027 | 9781772784176 Series: Babies Bloom
A foot-filled look at early child development. There is a period of time in every baby’s life when their primary interests can be boiled down to two things: other babies and their own 10 toes. This board book marries these objects of fascination by using photos of infants and toddlers to celebrate children’s early milestones. From discovering their little piggies and using furniture to stand up to wearing socks and eventually first pairs of shoes, there are plenty of familiar moments here. Those too young to grasp the text will still enjoy studying images of their peers. The photo selection and design could be stronger, however; profile views or images of a child’s back are not nearly as engrossing as full-face shots, while a spread that reads “On my tippy-toes I stay, / Almost walking—I’m halfway!” shows a child whose actual tippy-toes have been cropped off. Others images are more engaging and feature easily visible facial expressions of babies with diverse skin tones. The language is simple, and while the text isn’t particularly memorable, gentle rhyme keeps things playful and moving. The K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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meter is consistent and easy to read aloud, and with just 100 words, even the wiggliest baby should be able to make it through this storytime.
Accessible and sweet. (footcare tips) (Picture book. 0-2)
The Wonderful Pocket Family Matt, Kazuko | Do Re Mi Books (40 pp.) $18.95 | January 5, 2027 | 9781917933322
This family has a thing for pockets. The six members of the Pocket family— two parents, two grandparents, and two youngsters— have canine heads and human bodies and are dressed in clothing that’s positively festooned with pockets. Little Pocket loves to play—hence his pockets’ contents (toy car, chalk, Band-Aids, and so on). Sister Pocket adores sports, which is reflected in the contents of her pockets (deflated beach ball, jump rope, whistle, etc.). Curiously, for all of Grandpa Pocket’s pockets, only one isn’t empty: It holds a harmonica. When he plays it, the other Pockets begin to dance and otherwise perform alongside him. As Sister Pocket, caught up in the festivities, is balancing on her now-inflated beach ball, it pops, but Little Pocket is right there to fix it with one of his pocket Band-Aids. The crowd that has gathered goes wild and tosses flowers, candy, and other goodies at the family, so “now Grandpa’s pockets are full and so is his heart.” Matt, a Japanese author/ illustrator working digitally, composed these scenes with a palette restricted to pink, peach, cerulean, and navy on cream-colored pages, recalling color separation in picture-book art from midcentury. (Expect no smartphones in any Pocket’s pocket.) The matter-offact way the omniscient narrator treats this goofily dressed and oddly behaving family makes the whole package an amusingly off-kilter treat. A funny, winningly weird throwback. (Picture book. 3-7) K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Home Is Where My Mom Is McLean, Danielle | Illus. by Kathryn Selbert Tiger Tales (32 pp.) | $10.99 | January 19, 2027 9781664301054
A warm hug to mothers everywhere and the safe havens they create. A bunny family—three white cottontail puffballs—shares what makes their home special. Family photographs adorn the walls, delicious meals are savored around the table, and a bountiful garden awaits outdoors. But one special bunny ties it all together. “Wherever my mom is, that’s home.” Mothers guide with gentle love, they help create special memories, and, of course, they tend to scraped knees while wiping away tears. Each spread shares an affectionate message, embellished by embroidery: “It’s where I follow in her footsteps as she leads the way.” (Mom and her kit walk on a garden path through spring flowers.) Or, with a cozy bunny squeeze: “It’s where things are made better with a hug and a kiss.” The stitched elements create a handmade vibe, adding texture to the art. Images of paws clasped together, arms reaching for embraces, and tender bunny glances heighten the love. The ode ends with cozy nighttime snuggles around a book (one could imagine readers doing the exact same with this very one): “It’s where stories are told and our story is written.”
A delightful gift for both mothers and kiddos to share. (Picture book. 2-4)
The House That Love Built Meserve, Jessica | Tiger Tales (32 pp.) $18.99 | August 18, 2026 | 9781664300958
When a storm sweeps through the forest, the animals come together to rebuild their woodland homes. A single raindrop becomes a rolling storm that whips and blows, flooding and tearing
apart dens and nests. After surveying the damage, the animals begin their work. Beetles roll mud that serves as glue for the birds to help rebuild nests. Bear collects berries to help feed everyone. Beaver begins building a dam to hold back the overflowing waters. All the animals do their part to bring materials to keep the river from rising. At last, their work results in refurbished nests, nooks, and burrows: houses built by love. Modeled after “The House That Jack Built,” Meserve’s simple text has a lovely cadence that makes for a strong read-aloud. The message of togetherness and connection comes through clearly as the animals help one another, each action building upon the next. Beautiful illustrations bring the forest to life. The storm is a tumultuous terror of blue sky and white lightning, the animals huddled in fear. Varied layouts make for a visually intriguing tale. Many of the images feel rich and textured enough to touch, like the soft mess of twigs, grass, and moss in the birds’ nests and the dense foliage at the story’s end. With their expressive faces and large eyes, the animals easily convey awe, confusion, worry, and determination. A lovely testament to the power of community. (Picture book. 4-8)
The Daily Wow Montague, Brad & Kristi Montague | Dial Books (40 pp.) | $18.99 | March 23, 2027 9780593697177
When the forest newspaper can’t be delivered one day, the animals decide to produce their own edition. The rabbits publish a newspaper called The Daily Wild, and the other woodland animals, who have no alternate news source, swallow every dubious (and hilarious) word: “RABBITS KNOW EVERYTHING! TRUST US,” “BIRDS GO SOUTH BECAUSE THEY’RE MAD AT YOU,” and so on. One day the printing press churns out illegibly smudgy copies, and the animals are NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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distraught: “WHERE’S OUR NEWS?!” Mouse has a thought: “Maybe the news isn’t missing. Maybe we’ve just forgotten how to notice it.” Pressed for examples of things worth noticing, Mouse cites “a beetle parade. A cloud shaped like a sandwich. The way your heart feels when someone shares a blueberry. That kind of stuff! We could fill the papers with our own news!” The woodland animals– cum–citizen journalists are in, and The Daily Wow is born. The animals collect an amusing array of “news” items: “A snail’s birthday!” “Worms doing yoga!” “Sighs in the grass!” This story may not be subtle with its small-is-beautiful message, but it’s a fine one, and the paper, pencil, and Procreate art sure is delicate and darling. The book presents a world of thumb-size creatures as quirky as their news items, especially excitable Frog, who often can’t bring himself to say more than “AAAAA!” Slow news days are good days in this dear and funny story, a DIY and stop-and-smell-the-roses twofer. (Picture book. 3-7)
Granny Does Ballet Morrison, Francesca | Illus. by Jennica Lounsbury | Second Story Press (24 pp.) $22.95 | February 16, 2027 | 9781772604887
Is anyone ever too old to wear a tutu? Young Jemima thinks ballet is a snooze. Her grandmother, who brings her to her weekly class, always wanted to be a ballerina, but she never took lessons; she remained a ballet enthusiast from the sidelines. Finally, Jemima says to Granny, “If you love ballet so much, why don’t you do it?” After some hesitation (“Oh, I’m too old”), Granny shows up for a class, and “Jemima saw a side to her granny she had never seen before. Granny transformed from curved to pointed. From cautious to carefree. From faded to fabulous!” With Granny dancing at her side, Jemima finds her own attitude toward ballet improving, but will she be able to convince Granny to risk 94
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embarrassment by performing in the end-of-year show? (Granny: “My knees click when I plié....What if they laugh at me?”) Morrison’s debut offers no surprises in the plotting department, although there’s a nice touch at book’s end: “At next week’s class, there were a few new recruits.” An accompanying illustration depicts several old-timers who, presumably inspired by Granny’s example, have shown up to give ballet a whirl. Lounsbury’s art, which has a lumpy, crayon-y look, is somewhat workaday, but the book’s elder-power message succeeds. Jemima and Granny have light tan skin and pink cheeks; the supporting cast is diverse. An uplifting intergenerational you’re-as-young-as-you-feel story. (Picture book. 4-8)
The Mole Construction Company: The Squirrel Family’s Treehouse Nagasaki, Shingo | Trans. by Lisa Wilcut Do Re Mi Books (32 pp.) | $18.95 September 22, 2026 | 9781917933070 Series: The Mole Construction Company
The squirrel family’s home gets the perfect makeover. “Everyone knew the moles ran the best construction company in town.” So that’s who the squirrel family turns to when they need to fix their treehouse, which has begun precariously leaning over. Mother takes the opportunity to renovate the bath and kitchen, while Big Sister requests some improvements in the kids’ room. The diligent moles cut their break time short to gather their equipment and drive the various vehicles to the job site, with reminders of “Safety first!” all along the way. While the boss immediately acknowledges the dangerous treehouse tilt, he assures Father, “Don’t worry. We’ll set things straight!” The digger scoops the dirt from one side of the tree, the crane pulls the tree trunk straight, the dump truck fills in holes, and the bulldozer clears away the extra debris.
The next day, the grab loader delivers the necessary materials to make Mother’s dream kitchen, build a storehouse for stockpiled acorns, expand the bath, and fill the kids’ room with extraordinary fun. Wilcut seamlessly translates Nagasaki’s charming story from Japanese, maintaining a light, welcoming tone. Nagasaki’s illustration style is invitingly naïve, especially in depicting the characters; he saves his most detailed drawing for the oversize machines, which he imbues with onomatopoeic personality. “If you can dream it, we can build it,” the moles’ motto promises— and indubitably delivers. A delightful demonstration of cooperation, hard work, and homesweet-home joy. (Picture book. 3-8)
Leon and the Big, Big Problem Nicholas, Jamar | Graphix/Scholastic (240 pp.) $25.99 | January 5, 2027 | 9781338744316 Series: Leon, 3
Leon, an ordinary fifth grade boy, needs his super- powered friends to rally round when a spell of hamster sitting takes a terrifying turn in this third series entry. Once again piling frantic misadventures atop life lessons, Nicholas puts his young hero in a pickle from the get-go. First there’s a waxy escapade featuring a meltdown by the disaffected ex-superhero the Candlestick Maker—but that’s just the opener. Leon ends up in a contretemps with a towering beast after Frère Jacques, the hamster he rashly promises to pet-sit while his best friend, Carlos Krunk, is away at a baking competition with his mom, is exposed to a Brobdingnagian, or “embiggener,” ray. It’s hard not to feel for the sweaty, panic-stricken lad as he endures stern lectures on taking responsibility for his actions from Principal Principle, then, with a rush of apologies and confessions, enlists the help of allies, including shape-shifting nemesis Clementine, who’s just back K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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from a therapy session. He even gets help from Carlos, whose easy willingness to forgive proves to be as important as his luscious layer cake in resolving the crisis. The art, which is all action, big sound effects, and saturated colors, fuels the headlong pace of events while depicting a predominantly Black and brown cast of heroes, super and otherwise. Not to mention a rodent that’s impossibly cute no matter what its size.
Dishes up a delicious mix of messages and mayhem. (Graphic adventure. 8-11)
The Turquoise Bead Nichols, Terry | Illus. by Jeanne Bowman Kinkajou/Artemesia (216 pp.) | $14.95 paper December 8, 2026 | 9781963832600
A white 12-yearold from New Mexico with a facial difference finds a turquoise bead that changes her life. To Mom, Pip’s port-wine birthmark is a sign of God’s blessing. To Pip, who’s subjected to bullying and ignorant, hurtful comments, it’s a curse. Pip plans to spend the summer hiding indoors but elderly neighbor Betty enlists her help with chores and Mom signs her up for archaeology camp. White-presenting Betty also tasks Pip with protecting Spire Rock, an Ancestral Puebloan site whose artifacts she regrets allowing her son to sell. After taking turquoise beads she finds there, Pip sees visions of a sad girl who seems to want the beads back. But Pip believes they’re good luck and that she was “meant to have them.” Nichols tackles tough topics, from disability to the appropriation of Native American land and culture. Pip’s fraught relationship with her mom, who grew up with a misaligned hip, is poignant, and Bowman’s black-and-white illustrations deftly convey characters’ emotions. But the resolution to Pip’s self-consciousness feels overly convenient, and the book evokes tired tropes around mystical Native peoples. Despite her own K IR KU S R E V IE W S
experiences, Pip doesn’t seem to connect the dots to her harsh internal descriptions of the appearances of people she dislikes. While Pip recognizes that Native Americans “were here and are still here,” her slow awakening and ongoing reluctance to return the beads may frustrate readers. Well-intentioned but uneven. (map, recipe, author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)
Our Dreams Ordinola, Fátima | Post Wave Children’s Books (36 pp.) | $18.99 | December 8, 2026 9798895090862
Ordinola follows up Our Love (2025) with another tale featuring a sweet group of animals and their young. Pandas, bats, orangutans, sheep, tigers, otters, hippos, sloths, and more creatures slumber serenely in pairs or clusters. “Our dreams arrive with the falling of night,” notes Ordinola. “They take us to the most wonderful places,” even to “whole new worlds,” and they “always know where to find us.” On a distant branch, readers will spot a chartreuse caterpillar cousin to Eric Carle’s beloved hungry hero. On most pages, the caterpillar crawls along, standing out against the dark backdrops, while the moon waxes, growing from crescent to full. At last, the little insect enters the pupa stage, then, absent for a few pages, emerges from the chrysalis. The new eyespot moth is joined by others, and on the final, foldout page, two flit across the luminous moon. Night is magical here, spangled with stars that seem to float freely through the air. Though slightly watercolor-fuzzy and simplified, the animals are all recognizable. Poetic but not rhymed, Ordinola’s lulling text delivers a message of reassurance (“Our dreams are peaceful”) and security: Dreams “promise never to let go.” Shut-eye is depicted as the summons to a most desirable destination.
Gabriel’s Winter Count Page, Andrea M. | Illus. by Alfreda Beartrack Algeo | Charlesbridge (40 pp.) | $17.99 October 6, 2026 | 9781623547684
While his parents are away, a young Indigenous boy passes the time by learning about a Lakota tradition. Gabriel’s father is serving in the military, and his mother is training in fire management, so Gabriel will be staying with his Unci (Grandmother). He feels lonely without his parents. One night he observes Unci tracing over an unrolled bundle and talking about “1833—the year the stars fell.” The next day, Gabriel asks what she was doing, and she tells him about the waniyetu wowapi, or winter count, that her Lala (Grandfather) made. This illustrated calendar uses symbols to track important events that happened in their family. Inspired, Gabriel begins making one of his own, a collection of stories and history to share. Gabriel’s winter count is full of memories of playing baseball with cousins, celebrating a birthday, working on new lodge poles, and listening to elders tell stories. With this tender tale, Page (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe) celebrates the experience of preserving and telling stories and history both personal and communal. Beartrack Algeo’s (Oceti Sakowin Nation) illustrations are full of vibrant colors alongside the gentle warmth of pink and purple skies. The images from the winter count swirl beautifully from page to page, a visual representation of events and memories held in the minds of those who share and tell them.
A meaningful tribute to the power and importance of story. (afterword, glossary) (Picture book. 6-8)
For more Indigenous stories, visit Kirkus online.
Dreamland never looked more appealing. (Picture book. 3-5)
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A child peppers an elder with question after question about the world. MY LOVE , KEEP YOUR WONDER
Button at the Bookstore
My Love, Keep Your Wonder
Patchett, Ann | Illus. by Robin Preiss Glasser Random House Studio (40 pp.) | $19.99 February 2, 2027 | 9798217027965
Powers, Victoria Robb & Cameron Mason Vickrey | Illus. by Joanna Carillo | Convergent (40 pp.) | $18.99 | February 16, 2027 9798217151653
A celebration of good books, good dogs, and good friends, from a powerhouse creative team. Life at the pound isn’t easy for Button; the other dogs growl, bark, and scratch. But his ship comes in when he’s adopted by Sasha, who introduces him to the joys of comfy, quiet beds and morning walks. Through his separation anxiety– fueled dramatics, Button even convinces Sasha to bring him to the bookstore where she works. But things don’t quite go as planned. The manager doesn’t want Button there, a customer fears he’ll bite her, and he causes chaos in the stockroom. Unsure of his place, Button at last cuddles up with a little boy in the children’s section. There, in his snuggly, soulful-eyed way, he encourages the youngster to read his very first word: dog. It’s a triumphant, heart-melting moment carefully crafted by Patchett, the award- winning novelist who owns a bookstore herself. The book’s pared-down language is packed with Patchett’s signature sensitivity, rendering Button a fully realized, completely irresistible character. Best known for illustrating Jane O’Connor’s Fancy Nancy series, Glasser infuses Button’s expressive face and movements with winsome charm. Her richly detailed artwork will fully draw readers into this inviting, literature-laden world. The little boy has light skin and brown hair, while Sasha is pale-skinned and dark-haired; other characters are diverse in skin tone. A wonderfully endearing tale. (Picture book. 4-8)
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A child peppers an elder with question after question about the world. Why is the grass wet even though it didn’t rain? Grandpa explains that moisture from the air creates dew, God’s gift to plants and small creatures. How is the moon out in the daytime? “Based upon her orbit, / she’s sometimes in the light.” Why do some people do unkind things, like cutting in line? Life can be unfair, but our job is to show mercy and forgiveness through our daily actions. Am I asking too many questions? Curiosity is a gift, so “don’t ever close your mind,” but “continue asking why. / God gave you this deep hunger. / Reject the easy answers.” Lightly infused with Christian themes, this book is a celebration of childlike wonder about life’s mysteries, those that can easily be explained and others with more complicated answers. Powers and Vickrey’s rhyming verse at times feels affected, but Grandpa’s answers, with the repetition of “my love,” maintain a sincere tone. Carillo’s illustrations are somewhat simple but equally earnest, featuring sweeping lines; characters wear wide smiles. The child has pale skin; Grandpa and Grandma have warm, reddish-brown skin. Hints in the illustrations suggest that the family is of Latine heritage.
The Music Is the People Qualls, Sean | Harper/HarperCollins (48 pp.) $19.99 | January 12, 2027 | 9780063144255
Music carries history, resilience, and joy across generations. Each spread of this vibrant picture book introduces a genre invented by Black musicians that’s shaped global music, from hopeful spirituals to ragtime, with its “piano- pounding rhythms,” and hip-hop, with its “boom bap beats.” Qualls’ bouncing, accessible prose briefly captures the character of each style. Attentive readers may notice clues of changing eras in hairstyles, clothing, and instruments, as well as more sobering glimpses of history, as a family hides inside while white-hooded figures ride past. The author demonstrates how, even amid forced displacement, enslavement, and the complicated fight for freedom in the U.S., music has remained integral to African American life; his primer offers a valuable introduction to the sheer breadth of Black influence on popular music, though the quick pace means no genre is granted a deep dive. Relying on a limited palette of pastels and black, Qualls combines acrylic paint, pencil, and textured cut-paper collage with integrated type that pops from the page; each genre is named in bold cut paper letters, sometimes tucked behind figures or immersed in the action. Repeated colorful starbursts and energetic, layered compositions depict vibrant scenes of all-Black characters dancing, singing, and jamming.
A strong opening track for readers who are ready to turn up the volume on Black history and music. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 3-7)
For more by Sean Qualls, visit Kirkus online.
Genuinely sweet. (Picture book. 3-8)
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A schoolyard game of Simon Says gets complicated. I D O N ’ T C A R E W H AT S I M O N S AY S
I Don’t Care What Simon Says Requena, Alessandra | Illus. by Aki Tundra Books (48 pp.) | $18.99 October 20, 2026 | 9781774886816
A schoolyard game of Simon Says gets complicated. During recess, Fifi doesn’t understand why her classmates are obeying what “a kid yelling at everybody” is saying. After Fifi’s older sister, Leela, explains the concept behind the game Simon Says, Fifi wants in. As Simon, she summons cakes, puppies, and a communal fart, and then she gets serious: “SIMON SAYS…BUILD AN ENORMOUS FORTRESS FOR ME, SIMON. FOR I AM SIMON, RULER OF THIS PLAYGROUND!” Unsurprisingly, things get out of hand, and it all ends with a trip to the principal’s office. Readers who are sticklers for logic may have questions (for instance, where do the “hundreds of kids, no, THOUSANDS of kids” who do Fifi’s bidding come from?), but those who enjoy an over-the-top story will be pleased by this tale that gently embeds a warning against mindlessly going with the crowd. Unapologetically naughty Fifi may raise adult readers’ eyebrows (even at the end, she lies to avoid taking responsibility), but her flair for drama should endear her to youngsters. Aki’s cartoony digital art, executed in Crayola-starter-pack colors, features ethnically diverse children rendered simply and set against white space, which ensures the visual legibility of this story’s chaotic activities. Fifi and Leela are beige-skinned and dark-haired. The book closes with translations of Simon Says in various languages. An appealingly absurd cautionary tale. (Picture book. 3-7) K IR KU S R E V IE W S
The Hat Club Rex, Michael | Nancy Paulsen Books (32 pp.) $18.99 | March 30, 2027 | 9780593857625
A town falls into complete disarray because of… a blue hat? Jilly, a tan, eggplant-shaped being in a land of similarly shaped creatures, is working in her garden and sporting her customary blue hat when she’s approached by four fellow community members, each of whom is wearing a yellow hat. After they admire Jilly’s garden, one creature says, “I’m the Leader of the Hat Club.... Would you like to join?” Jilly’s interest is piqued—until she learns that everyone in the club must wear the same yellow hat. Jilly politely declines the invitation, but the Hat Club gets sniffy, returning on another occasion to inform her that she should stop wearing her blue hat. Again, Jilly holds firm, and the next day the Hat Club stages a protest, complete with signs that say things like “BLUE HATS ARE BAD!” Jilly responds with her own sign, which reads “MY HEAD! MY HAT!” Tensions flare, hats are thrown, the town gets involved, and if the story’s ending doesn’t quite fulfill the promise of its rip-roaring start, the whole package is still suspenseful entertainment with an unmissable be-yourself message. The book favorably recalls Dr. Seuss’ The Sneetches in both its implicit rebuke to the conformist mindset and its cast of invented, furry animal-like creatures. Even with their fiery temperaments, the tubby, candy-colored, behatted beings populating Rex’s Photoshop- colored ink and pencil drawings look irresistibly huggable throughout.
A delightsome you-do-you story. (Picture book. 4-8)
More Than Books: Why the World Needs Libraries Ruurs, Margriet | Illus. by Charmaine Yu Orca (96 pp.) | $29.95 | February 16, 2027 9781459844001 | Series: Orca Timeline, 16
An expansive tribute to libraries and the librarians fighting the good fight against both ignorance and narrow- mindedness. Ruurs begins this entry in the Orca Timeline series with cave paintings and the invention of writing. She then covers the devel opment of books and book collections from ancient times to modern libraries of all sizes, the proliferation of library services from book storage and delivery to classes in hog slaughtering, and the role of professional librarians as heroes championing the spread of knowledge and the freedom to read. Dates are included on nearly every page, giving readers a sense of historical context. Yu blends images of artifacts and racially mixed groups of readers through the ages with a generous suite of color stock photos. Though overall this is a paean to progress and general open-m indedness, the author does take the original Dewey Decimal System to task for its racism and lack of inclusivity (while noting that improvements have been made thanks to the work of pioneering Black librarian Dorothy Parker and others). She also cautions readers that, at least so far, artificial intelligence can be an iffy alternative to live help for reference and research. The message that reading promotes compassion and empathy comes through forcefully; a quote from public library icon Andrew Carnegie says it all: “A library outranks any other one thing a community can do to benefit its people.” Salutary reading for children and for certain parents and officials, too. (glossary, print and online resources, index) (Nonfiction. 9-11) NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Kirkus Star
Under the Mulberry Tree Sepahban, Lois | Holiday House (176 pp.) $18.99 | February 2, 2027 | 9780823459681
A boy grapples with his complicated family life. Eli remembers a happier time when Mama was home, Memaw was alive, Papaw was healthy, and Eli’s younger brother, Sam, lived with them. As this unadorned yet eloquent novel in verse begins, Eli is reorienting himself to a new reality: a summer alone with Papaw, constant concern about whether Mama has relapsed into drug use, worries about Sam (who now lives with a foster family), and the requirement to meet with a Child Services–mandated therapist. Still, Eli bravely, pragmatically embraces his life. He cares for a kitten, encourages his prediabetic Papaw to make healthier choices, and plants a garden to grow sunflowers and pumpkins for the farmers market. Eli’s youthful observations embrace the joys of rural living: the sweet gifts and staining mess of mulberry trees, the crunch of black walnuts underfoot, the ever-flowing river near their family home. He also contends with the loss of a life he thought he had by working through his own version of the five stages of grief. Inspired by the author’s own students’ experiences, Eli’s challenges reflect complex and all-toocommon social issues, while the rich details and earnest tone of Sepahban’s prose make this particular story feel fully embodied, achingly personal, and hard to shake. Characters’ physical appearances are not mentioned, though the
family has lived in rural Kentucky since before World War II.
An affecting portrait of persistence and family love in the face of painful realities. (author’s note) (Verse fiction. 9-14)
Mullets Sharratt, Nick | Viking (32 pp.) | $16.99 February 16, 2027 | 9798217320615
Warning: This book may spur young readers to demand a new hairstyle. “Let’s spend a while / on Mullet Isle. / Everyone there / has SPECIAL hair!” So begins this rhyming tribute to the 1980s hairstyle that just won’t die. After defining its terms— “The front’s short and choppy. / The back’s long and floppy. / Worn with a smile, / that’s ‘Mullet’ style!”—the book introduces readers to a series of mulleteers, among them a pale-skinned mustachioed man (“The men all have mullets”); a brown-skinned woman with her hand raised, proud to be counted (“The ladies have mullets”); kids; a baby; a cat; a dog; cars; apartment buildings; and more. For some readers, Sharratt’s portraits of smiling, bemulleted creatures and objects will call to mind Todd Parr’s similarly simple, flat, chunky, black-outlined, color-blasted work. But wait: Won’t mullets be funny only to adults who know them as artifacts of a notoriously tacky decade? No, because Sharratt understands that even toddlers can appreciate the implicit humor in the idea of everyone and everything adopting the same look. Well, not quite everyone. The book concludes with a corny joke and a nifty sight gag: “Everything under the
An affecting portrait of persistence in the face of painful realities. UNDER THE MULBERRY TREE
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sea has a mullet. Except for ONE fish because he…IS a mullet…and…the big blue whale, / who’s got a ponytail.” For anyone who responds well to goofy ideas and daffy imagery. (Picture book. 3-6)
Poetry Comics: Flights of Imagination Snider, Grant | Chronicle Books (96 pp.) $18.99 | February 23, 2027 | 9781797236209 Series: Poetry Comics
In a second slim volume of illustrated verse, Snider puts daydreaming and big feelings center stage. Though nothing unites this work so clearly as the rise and fall of seasons that guided Snider’s earlier book, repeated motifs throughout offer a sense of cohesion, in particular a series of “Feelings Without Names.” Some of those illustrated emotions are lighthearted (“repeating a word until it sounds strange”), while others are melancholy (“sitting on the top bleacher alone”) and still others are highly relatable to avid young readers (“wishing you could live in a story”). Quiet feelings take flight in “Tonight” as a child ties a string to the full moon and floats into the air; the poetic eye turns downward in “Mirror” as a child gazes at a small pool of rainwater, accompanied by koanlike text. “A cloud wishes to be a puddle. A puddle longs to become a cloud.” While the diverse group of children who play and reflect in Snider’s accompanying comics echo the simplified characters of Tom Gauld’s work, their physical environments swirl with natural wonders, like murmurations of starlings and hopeful rainbows. Snider’s brief, accessible verse encourages open conversation while urging young readers to follow their own creative paths. After all, “anything you think, feel, or see: / a poem can be.” A gentle invitation to explore all that poetry has to offer as a creative and emotional outlet. (Graphic poetry. 8-12)
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The Middle Stein, Joshua David | Illus. by Christopher Silas Neal | Rise x Penguin Workshop (50 pp.) $18.99 | March 9, 2027 | 9798217053643
An introduction to the sweet spot that exists between two extremes. An omniscient narrator offers examples of opposites as racially diverse young classmates model the concept—e.g., “Black and White” corresponds with an illustration of kids in a classroom drawing a shark in white chalk on a blackboard. As the examples of opposites rack up, they begin to reflect tension among the kids: “Friend, Not-Friend” features one child withholding a ball from another on the playground. “Two sides to every story,” muses the narrator. “But what is in between? The Middle. What is the middle?” In answer, there’s an illustration of a dozen-odd children cavorting outdoors in a line as the words “Well, you’re in the middle now” hover above the central handful of kids. The narrator proceeds to riff on the concept of the space between opposites, noting that it can also be a feeling (“You’re sad to leave but happy to go home…and on the way there, you’re in the middle”); meanwhile, Neal’s genial mixed-media art, which has a paper-collage look and a tempered palette, depicts kids gamely trying to figure it all out. Stein’s text may be a bit free-form for some readers—the narrator’s musings have the ring of a prose poem—but matureenough kids will surely get something from this unusual introduction to the concept of the gray area and (implicitly) the art of compromise. A mellow, think-y, and unique consideration of splitting the difference. (Picture book. 4-8)
For more by Joshua David Stein, visit Kirkus online.
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Another diverting, reassuringly toothless battle of wits. T I D D LY A N D W I N K S
Tiddly and Winks: The Big Cookie Stine, R.L. | Illus. by Marc Brown | Harper/ HarperCollins (32 pp.) | $18.99 | January 19, 2027 9780063482982 | Series: Tiddly and Winks
In their latest spooky-funny outing, Tiddly and Winks turn out to be cookie monsters. This follow-up to the series- launching Tiddly and Winks: Don’t Be Scared (2026) begins with Winks, a horned, amber-colored monster, about to chomp on a cookie. His buddy, green monster Tiddly, sees an opening: “I will show you how to share a big cookie. Give me the cookie.” Winks relinquishes the cookie, only for Tiddly to devour it. “I will show you how to share again. Go get another cookie,” says Tiddly, and again, Winks acquiesces. Finally, Winks catches on: “I shared my cookies with you. Are you going to share something with me?” So Tiddly shares something—a smile—and skedaddles. But Winks is no worse for wear: He grabs a cookie from the jar and proceeds to “share…with MYSELF!” It’s a replay of the amusing Don’t Be Scared dynamics, with Tiddly acting like an overbearing older sib and Winks stuck in the kid-brother role. This time around, Winks doesn’t turn the tables on Tiddly so much as make his own private peace. The story’s language is graspable for budding readers, and they’ll savor the recurring stockpile of fun words (“CHEW CHEW CHEW BITE BITE BITE GULP!”). Goosebumps series creator Stine may write prickly
stories for Tiddly and Winks, but Arthur series creator Brown uses his cushiony art to show that these monsters are soft around the edges.
Another diverting, reassuringly toothless battle of wits. (Early reader. 4-8)
Kirkus Star
Cow of the Castle Stone, Tiffany | Illus. by Dustin Harbin | Tundra Books (40 pp.) | $18.99 | March 9, 2027 9781774886960
A cow is determined—very determined—to get inside a castle. First, our hero builds a ramp out of wood, but it doesn’t reach far enough. Next, Cow builds a unicycle. (Wondering where she’s getting all the tools and supplies? Let it go.) Oh dear: Cow ends up riding the unicycle up the ramp—and into the moat. Next idea: How about using a big screw to burrow underground and drill into the castle? The ideas keep coming and Cow keeps failing. The story plays as a series of excellent sight gags, reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote’s exercises in futility, until an ax finally does the trick. No, Cow doesn’t hack the castle door down. Her brilliant diplomatic solution? She wraps a note around the axe’s handle and gets it to the castle guards; the note reads, “To whom it may concern: I would like to visit the castle. Please lower the drawbridge.” This sparely worded rib-tickler has a comics-style layout, with narration in text boxes and goofy sound effect words that reflect Cow’s efforts (e.g., “POUND POUND”). Not to be missed is the back-of-book “Cow’s Guide to the NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Six Simple Machines,” featuring illustrated descriptions of the tools that Cow uses in the story (lever, wedge, etc.), albeit largely fruitlessly. STEM-tastic. The antics of a Looney Tunes cartoon merged with the engineering smarts of a David Macaulay book. (Picture book. 4-8)
Feather for a Friend Thisdale, François | Trans. by Erin Alladin Pajama Press (36 pp.) | $18.95 February 23, 2027 | 9781772784169
A bear struggling with writer’s block learns a lesson in friendship. Bespectacled, formally dressed Theodore enjoys writing stories, but inspiration is hard to come by. When a fluffy, bright-red bird flies into his window and is injured, Theodore nurses him back to health, finding a stray feather in the process. This featherturned-quill becomes magic in Theodore’s paws as words and stories return to him. After the quill breaks in half, the bird offers Theodore another one. Soon the bird is healthy and ready to leave… but what if Theodore runs out of quills? He cages the bird to ensure a supply of feather pens. But the sorrow-filled bird grows sick, and Theodore stokes the fire with his stories to keep the little creature warm. Realizing the error of his ways, Theodore takes care of the bird and releases him; he’s delighted to find that, even in freedom, their friendship remains, and so does a supply of feathers. With this tale originally published in Canada and translated from French, Thisdale makes complex messages comprehensible to a young audience. His illustrations successfully use perspective with a variety of full-page images and tight close-ups. One particularly noteworthy page shows Theodore’s stories as letters escaping the chimney in smoke, a 100
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A bear struggling with writer’s block learns a lesson in friendship. F E AT H E R F O R A F R I E N D
misty night as the backdrop. The afterword explains quill pens in a child-friendly way.
An abstract message presented thoughtfully with meaningful, clarifying visuals. (Picture book. 4-8)
I Dream of Waffles Torres Sanchez, Jenny | Illus. by Tammy Do Philomel (32 pp.) | $18.99 | February 23, 2027 9798217040155
Sorry, sheep: For one kid, waffles are the go-to objects for bedtime counting. The bespec tacled young narrator, who wants to be an astronaut someday and whose bedroom is decked out in space motifs, sometimes has trouble sleeping: “I start thinking about big things. Like the universe and space. What’s out there? Can we live on other planets?” Dad has a suggestion: “Think smaller.” Tucked into bed, the narrator gives it a whirl: “I think about…waffles. And start counting.” The problem—or maybe it’s not a problem?—is that the waffles are incorporated into the kid’s space dreams: “On the moon, I leave waffle footprints,” and so on. The idea seems to be that the kid’s imagination is so vast that even an attempt to take things down a notch with thoughts of mundane breakfast fare leads to an exotic dreamscape, but this isn’t much of a story. If Torres Sanchez’s story is intended to soothe an anxious kid who has trouble sleeping—is it?—this is a curious way to go about it. Still, the book works as a showcase for
Do’s beguiling digital art: Surreal outer-space scenes present waffles of various shapes flying around with the space-helmeted narrator, who, along with a friendly-looking green alien, can be seen hitching a ride on a rocket. The protagonist has pinkish skin and dark hair; Dad has slightly darker skin and dark hair. Nothing really happens, but the art sure is cool. (Picture book. 4-8)
Mountain, Boulder, Pebble, Sand Van Slyke, Rebecca | Illus. by Danielle Ridolfi Post Wave Children’s Books (32 pp.) | $18.99 October 6, 2026 | 9798895090886
An introduction to the rock cycle, from mountain to silt and back to mountain over geological ages. Looking like collages composed of thin, mottled bits of paper and clipped photos, Ridolfi’s illustrations open with a rocky crag towering over a “young Earth” that, to use Van Slyke’s recurring phrase, is whittled and weathered down “time upon time” to boulders, cobbles, water-smoothed granules, and ultra-fine silt. Then, after it has solidified into claystone through water or other pressures at the ocean’s bottom, subterranean forces push it up to become a mountain again. For all its apparent simplicity, the art features such suggestive elements as evolving wildlife and flowing lines and streams to evoke the passage of time. Small black birds in most views observing the process hint that, though the whole K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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cycle takes eons, every stage of it is visible. Though that last bit may be a little too subtle, overall the work presents a big idea in ways that even very young audiences will grasp. Budding geologists will be pleased to find an appended illustrated chart of the Wentworth Scale, which assigns official names and sizes to rocks from boulder to clay. An artfully simplified explanation of one of nature’s slowest and most nearly ubiquitous processes. (Informational picture book. 5-9)
Life Beneath the Waves: Questions and Answers About Oceans Velasco, Catalina | Illus. by Angela Salerno Trans. by Lawrence Schimel | Orca (60 pp.) $21.95 | March 16, 2027 | 9781459846326
With this Chilean import, a marine biologist invites readers to fall in love with our planet’s oceans and learn how to care for them. Using the refrain of “Did you know…?” to amplify a sense of wonder, Velasco dives into a survey of oceans and ocean life by posing and answering questions, from how oceans were formed and whales evolved to the components of sand (“Sand is a collection of tiny treasures created by nature”) and whether sharks are “bad.” Salerno follows suit by filling populous marine scenes with closely observed flora and fauna that, while reasonably accurate in physical detail, are finished off in sparkly hues that often lend an almost rapturous shimmer. Readers will have to look elsewhere for glimpses of microbial life smaller than phytoplankton and zooplankton or visits to the distinctive communities around hydrothermal vents. Still, the range of life forms and marine ecosystems on display is unusually broad overall, and if there are no leads to K IR KU S R E V IE W S
further sources of information for young eco-activists at the end, an early comment about how explorers found a plastic bag and candy wrappers in the deepest part of the Mariana Trench presages a concern for the ocean’s health that carries throughout and culminates in a set of general behaviors for would-be ocean protectors. The only human figure, a young pale-skinned snorkeler, swims with the fishes in one closing illustration. A compelling appeal to protect our seas. (glossary, index.) (Informational picture book. 6-9)
ABC Dogs!: An Interrupted Concepts Book Vernick, Audrey | Illus. by Debbie Kennedy Rise x Penguin Workshop (32 pp.) | $15.99 March 16, 2027 | 9798217244683
What starts as an alphabet book ends as a… bedtime book? Blame the dogs. “A is for Apple. B is for Banana. C is for Carrot. D is for—DOGS!!!” So much for the alphabet: Some dogs have literally attacked the letter D (“Hey! Leave the D alone!”). Now the book’s omniscient narrator is forced to switch gears: “Let’s try counting. One ball. Two balls. Three balls. Four balls?” Aaaaand the dogs are back, and they’ve taken the balls for their own recreational purposes. With the help of three kids who vary in skin tone, the narrator keeps introducing toddler-friendly concepts—different parts of the face, different meals, different kinds of houses—and the dogs keep returning, disrupting the
proceedings. But when the narrator introduces different kinds of pets, the dogs are nowhere to be seen. One of the kids follows some paw prints on the floor and discovers that the dogs holed up in a room, fast asleep, exhausted by their own mischief-making. The children do double duty in this chaotically funny offering: In addition to helping to present the concepts, they stand in for readers, registering open-mouthed surprise whenever the dogs crash the party. Kennedy’s boisterous Procreate art is centered on a motley assortment of pooches of various breeds, some in barkingly bright colors not found in the actual canine world. Hilariously topsy-turvy and even a bit educational to boot. (Picture book. 3-6)
Hello, School! Wells, Rosemary | Red Comet Press (48 pp.) $22.99 | March 2, 2027 | 9781636551784
Wells introduces another young feline—one who’s anxious about attending a new school—to her throwback world of bipedal animals in cardigans and overalls. For Eva, moving means attending a new school (“So exciting! So scary!”). Fellow cat Milo, her new next-door neighbor who appears to be her age, offers Eva a cookie and his reassurances. (Curiously, this doesn’t appear to be the cat named Milo who starred in Wells’ 2023 title On the Night Before Kinder garten, as that Milo’s eye and fur colors are different.) The following morning, Eva and Milo sit together on the bus to Sunnyside School and the book swerves from a budding-friendship story to a
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walk through a reasonably typical elementary school day. A series of two-page spreads are labeled “Homeroom,” “Library,” “Science,” and so on, and they find Eva doing things like meeting the teacher, picking out an instrument in music class, and making another friend; Eva’s visit to the school nurse to get a Band-Aid for a blister is as dramatic as her day gets. As a first-day-of-school walk-through, the book is fairly routine, but even so, Wells’ world of tenderhearted anthropomorphic animals in soft-edged pastel-heavy settings maintains its power to soothe. (For readers who wish that the narrative thread concerning Eva and Milo had gone somewhere, there’s always 1981’s Timothy Goes to School, a classic Wells story about finding one’s place in the classroom.) A comforting, low-key first-day-ofschool tour. (Picture book. 4-8)
Bitsy Bat, Snow Star Windness, Kaz | Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster (48 pp.) | $19.99 | October 27, 2026 9781665963664 | Series: Bitsy Bat
The third book in this series finds a young bat experiencing her first snowfall— and not liking it much. Bitsy Bat, who, according to an author’s note, is autistic, is off to school with her friends, commuting through the snow; it’s her first exposure to the cold white stuff. At school, Bitsy’s teacher sends everyone out in the snow to play. Bitsy decides that the activities her friends (a variety of animals) enjoy are a drag: She gets cold making snow angels, finds sledding terrifying, and has trouble building a snowman. By the time the snowball fight is on, Bitsy has had enough. Will she summon the courage to tell her friends that she doesn’t like snow play? And could there be other kids who feel this way? Windness conveys much-needed messaging about self-acceptance but takes a somewhat heavy-handed 102
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approach, as when Bitsy thinks, “I thought snow was going to be fun, but I don’t like it at all!” and “Maybe it’s okay to not like the same things as everyone else”; readers will have already gathered all this from the preceding events. The digitally painted graphite art churns with comfort colors like peach, sage, and dusty rose and smoothly incorporates images of tools used by kids with special needs, like a communication tablet and noise-reducing headphones. A solid, broadly relatable story that reminds readers that it’s OK to be different. (more info on autism) (Picture book. 4-8)
Kirkus Star
The Scott Joplin Rag Winter, Jonah | Illus. by Cathy Ann Johnson Clarion/HarperCollins (40 pp.) | $19.99 January 19, 2027 | 9780358410713
A glimpse at the musician whose name is synonymous with ragtime. How can words capture the essence of music? Winter acknowledges this challenge, then employs a series of adept metaphors and descriptions to convey Scott Joplin’s (1868-1917) unique sound. It is intertwining vines, “a tree that just keeps growing,” “a new kind of music / full of spunk and excitement, / combining European melodies and chords / with African rhythms.” The author explores ragtime’s relationship to blackface performances and music “rooted in Africa”: “call-andresponse singing, / spirituals, / the blues.” Formatted as blank verse, the text occasionally rhymes. Johnson’s
exquisitely rendered acrylic and watercolor paintings, finished digitally, contribute mightily to readers’ understanding, incorporating gauzy swaths of color (especially magenta and chartreuse) layered over the urban scenes. Reminiscent of Aaron Douglas’ work, backgrounds are less saturated and specific than foregrounds, providing depth. Golden leaves, notes, and sheet music float over singers and structures, adding movement and celebrating Joplin’s famous “Maple Leaf Rag.” Piano keys detach from one another, ebony sliding away from ivory. While using superlatives to describe his subject’s talent, the author doesn’t sugarcoat the racism that African Americans encountered. Winter addresses Joplin’s frustration at not achieving financial success or being able to find a venue for Treemonisha, his opera celebrating Black lives. An extensive author’s note provides additional context and explains that “ragtime” or “ragged time” references the music’s syncopation. A stunning look at a musical legend and the work he created. (Picture-book biography. 6-9)
Kirkus Star
The Fossil Hunter: How Mary Anning Unearthed the Truth About the Dinosaurs Winter, Kate | Penguin Workshop (80 pp.) $20.99 | February 9, 2027 | 9798217246878
English paleon tologist Mary Anning’s (17991847) incredible story comes alive. An impoverished existence, further
A glimpse at the musician whose name is synonymous with ragtime. THE SCOTT JOPLIN RAG
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threatened by her father’s early death, forced Mary to be a hardy risk-taker from a young age; she and her brother, Joseph, scaled the nearby Lyme Regis cliffs searching for seashells and fossils that they then sold. Their first big discovery, an ichthyosaur fossil, attracted the attention of scientists, as did Mary’s later finds of a plesiosaur and a pterosaur. While she may not have been formally educated, she had the “same thirst for knowledge” as the scholars intrigued by the fossils and was driven to learn about the creatures she unearthed. The scientific establishment, however, refused to credit Mary for her work; she was also accused of fabricating her finds. Recognition finally arrived, though financial precarity persisted until her early death. Writing in clear, engaging prose, Winter seamlessly interweaves Mary’s story with that of scientists’ growing understanding of evolution. Impressionistic watercolor vignettes and full spreads create a sensation of immediacy. Beautifully illustrated pages provide essential background on fossil types and the various periods of prehistoric history. As Winter explains that scientists came to doubt the biblical story of the Flood and the idea that the Earth was only 6,000 years old, a cross-section image of the cliffs helps readers to imagine how fossil layers accreted over time.
Science and history buffs will want to unearth the treasures in this stunning book. (Informational picture book. 7-10)
I Am a Squeak Winters, Kari-Lynn | Pajama Press (32 pp.) $17.95 | February 9, 2027 | 9781772783889
A cute animal guessing game conveyed through simple text and bright photos. Each page features a close-up stock photo of a youngster with an expertly painted face and maybe an appropriate accessory or two (bunny ears, antlers). The accompanying text is in sans serif type, with clear but K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Science buffs will want to unearth the treasures in this stunning book. THE FOSSIL HUNTER
riddling language, arranged in lines with lots of white space. The titular line is included on each spread: “I am a squeak. / Cleek-cleek! / Up from the sea. / Sunset splashes— / spin and leap!” Turn the page for a vivid color photo of the animal hinted at by the preceding clues (in this case, a dolphin; other creatures include a squirrel, a mouse, and a bat); fat squiggly type identifies the animal. The final photo shows a child asleep, wearing an animal-themed eye mask and clutching a dress-wearing teddy. The book closes with “Facepainting Tips” and an explanation of what the various “squeaks” communicate (play, news, contentment), along with an invitation to make some squeaks of the listener’s own. The final standalone photo shows a laughing child with elaborate bat eye-designs. The subjects are mostly but not exclusively pale. The thrill will last for a read or two, with the listener or beginning reader using deduction to arrive at a winning guess. Fun for a few rounds of perceptive deduction, wordless expression, and masked pretending. (Informational picture book. 3-6)
One With You Wise, Loveis | Viking (40 pp.) | $18.99 January 5, 2027 | 9780593693360
A dreaming child ponders big thoughts. Nestled cozily next to a dog, a brown-skinned youngster with curls drifts to sleep. The child hears a voice say, “I am all, / I am one.” Subsequent
dreams take the protagonist through beautiful scenery as the little one mulls an important question: Where do I belong in the universe? First, the child becomes one with the clouds and the sun, soaring above a verdant landscape. Next, the youngster sits on a cloud, gazing at the night sky, hand outstretched: “I am made up of many stars.” Each page turn reveals a double-page spread more vibrant than the last. The child greets birds, floats in the sea, and honors familial connections: “I am my mother’s and her mother’s vibrant smiles. I am my father and pop-pop’s eclectic styles.” The text’s final line shifts focus to include readers (“As we dream together, I am all and so are you”) as a stunning mosaic spills across the page. Wise’s thoughtful, accessible author/illustrator debut explores humanity’s connection across time and space. The rhyming text offers a predictable and comforting pattern alongside the show-stopping illustrations. A particularly moving spread shows a ghostly deceased relative sparkling with stars—a loving callback to a previous spread. While one illustration portrays an urban environment, the settings vary throughout; many readers will see themselves in this protagonist. Moving affirmations in a beautiful package. (Picture book. 4-8)
For more by Loveis Wise, visit Kirkus online.
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COZY COMFORT READS AFTER MONTHS OF sweltering in brutally hot summer temperatures, many of us are ready to slow down, embrace crisp autumnal weather, and revel in the pleasures of curling up with a hot drink and a book that guarantees a few hours of immersive escape. So put on your comfiest sweater, order a caramel apple latte, and settle down with one of these charming reads. Sarah Beth Durst’s The Faraway Inn (Delacorte, March 31) is the ideal portal fantasy for readers who love all things cottagecore. Calisa, a heartbroken
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Brooklyn teen, is sent to Vermont by her moms to help her great-aunt with her run-down bed-and-breakfast (and hopefully get over her cheating ex-boyfriend in the process). The lovingly detailed worldbuilding— mouthwatering food, fantastical creatures, idyllic nature—brings the inn’s magical world to life, and the suspense when Auntie Zee goes missing will keep pages turning. Wren, the protagonist of Nashae Jones’ YA debut, The Beckett Effect (Simon Pulse/ Simon & Schuster, May 5), can’t wait to move to Los
Angeles and pursue her dream of directing movies. When Beckett, a boy the other girls inexplicably find irresistible, humiliates her younger sister, Wren’s longstanding animosity boils over into a burning desire for vengeance. The last thing she expects is to fall for Beckett too. Wren’s distinctive voice shines through in this delightfully funny rom-com. An electric friends-tolovers romance unfolds against a backdrop of pumpkin carving, hot apple cider, and woods “ablaze in reds, yellows, and oranges” in A Season for Falling by Kate O’Shaughnessy (Storytide/ HarperCollins, Sept. 22). Former child sitcom star Claire left showbiz behind, but the normal life she’s carefully built is disrupted by the arrival of former co-star Luke, who’s filming a movie in her quaint Connecticut town. As sparks ignite between them, Claire is forced back into the spotlight. Exchanged, a debut by Dan Perucco (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Sept. 29), skillfully explores the complexities of small-town living. Enzo, a gay Midwestern boy, is surprised when his family’s new exchange student is a football player from the state of Georgia— not the “friendly yet nerdy” violin player from the country of Georgia that he
LAURA SIMEON
was expecting. Still, as Garrett settles in with Enzo’s family, the boys warm up to one another, and an adorable love story blossoms. The graphic novel Trove (HarperAlley, Nov. 10), written and illustrated by Danie Stirling, is a jubilant love letter to friendship and fandom. This heartfelt story follows high school besties Juliette and Nessa, who have a strong bond forged by their love for a long-running fantasy series. When the author of Trove abruptly stops writing, their scheme to acquire the unpublished manuscript of the series closer accentuates friendship issues that they resolve with honesty and care. Lili Wilkinson’s latest, the atmospheric fantasy Lavender and Hemlock (Delacorte, Nov. 10), transports readers to the pocket realm of the Oubliette, where Tansy lives with Lady Aster, the old woman she serves. When an injured Merit shows up (led by her sweet little dog), everything shifts. Herbalist Tansy tends to Merit’s wound, and the two develop a swoony romance. They also attempt to escape—a decision that reveals something darker lying beneath their world’s whimsical surface. Laura Simeon is a young readers’ editor. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Illustration by Eric Scot t Ander son
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EDITOR’S PICK When the worst has already happened, catching feelings for a ghost is no big deal. In this YA debut by Fifty Shades of Grey author James, English teen Emily Beauchamp has lost everything, including the will to live. After her parents and 7-year-old brother died in a terrible car accident that also injured her, Emily left her Kent village to live in London with the wealthy Dr. Dylan Knightley, her mum’s adopted stepbrother, who’s in his late 20s. Dylan’s home is posh—and haunted by the ghost of former resident Tristan Fairfax, a beautiful boy with telekinetic powers whom only
These Titles Earned the Kirkus Star
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Emily can see. As the teens slowly fall for each other, they explore a sensual (and consensual) relationship and seek explanations for Tristan’s presence and the circumstances of his death. James doesn’t shy away from showing 17-year-old Emily’s survivor’s guilt and unrelenting waves of grief. The slightest thing can trigger feelings of despair, loneliness, and desperate longing for her family. Moments of joy are fleeting. The author layers her depictions of Emily’s fragile state with her complicated emerging relationship with Dylan and the mystery of what happened to Tristan. She
Land of Ghosts James, E L | Bloom Books | 400 pp. | $21.99 October 20, 2026 | 9781628864373 Series: Land of Ghosts, 1
weaves these elements together seamlessly, injecting occasional humor into a narrative that’s grounded in the voice of a teenage girl coping with the most difficult challenge of her life: figuring
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When the Sun Returned By Matt Eicheldinger Land of Ghosts By E L James
Augustine of Hippo By Devra Lehmann
out how to go on. Main characters are cued white.
Terrifically compelling; a portrayal of grief that’s gripping from the first page to the very last. (content note) (Paranormal. 16-adult)
For another page-turning paranormal read, visit Kirkus online.
Okay Girl By Kelis Rowe
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A Path at the End of the World
Kissing Cowboys
House of Forgotten Souls
Beam, Megan E. | Delacorte (288 pp.) | $20.99 | January 5, 2027 9798217226535
Cabot, Meg | Harper/HarperCollins (336 pp.) | $15.99 paper December 8, 2026 | 9780063513273 Series: Kissing Cowboys, 1
Cho, Kat | Bloomsbury (336 pp.) | $20.99 January 19, 2027 | 9781547619825
A young woman, cast out of her village, discovers her inherent magic and the horrors that underpin her community’s cultlike way of life. Nineteen-yearold Ezra Kempe grew up in Valeo, a Progressive village where every waking second is regulated by the motto “Obey. Exert. Advance.” And no one is more obedient than Ezra—until the lifelong pain in her scarred hands suddenly explodes, prompting her to cut open her flesh to reveal an eye in the palm of her left hand. She flees into the Enchanted, a forest beyond the Wall where she meets the Exile, a woman who helps reveal the eye in her right palm and supports her slow discovery and acceptance of Valeo’s dark, horrifying history. Redhaired Ezra eventually meets the Disobedience, a nascent resistance movement, and uses the magical abilities her journey of self-discovery has unlocked to expose Valeo’s lies. Although the plot is thin and uneven at times, Beam’s debut shines in the rich third-person narration, which expresses Ezra’s bodily experiences in intimate, visceral ways. She hides secrets “deep in her chest, rolled tightly and pinned between vertebrae, smothered by lungs and pulsing veins,” and a thought runs “itself over her ribs like a cold blade.” For a story that nominally pivots on the power of vision—regular, metaphorical, and magical—it is remarkably tactile, set firmly within a body and a world that unhurriedly unfolds to readers through multiple senses. Characters present white or fantasy diverse.
Sophomore Winn Riley, who loves both feminism and boys, is into true crime, thrifting (it’s environmentally sound), eating thin crust pizza, and living in New York City—moving to rural Montana isn’t something she’s thrilled about. When Winn’s older brother, Ian, gets expelled from school after a run-in with the FBI for cybercrimes, she, Ian, and their mom relocate to Green Fire Ranch, an all-boys boarding school outside Bozeman known for turning bright but troubled teens (many of them neurodivergent) into brilliant high achievers. (Winn’s dad lives in Switzerland with his new family.) The exclusive school needs an art history teacher, Winn’s disillusioned college professor mom is ready for a change, and Ian’s probation requires parental supervision until he’s 18. Winn’s best friend encourages her to embrace the windfall of being the only girl surrounded by rugged cowboys, and she soon finds herself torn between funny Teddy Bright man and irritating (but cute) Zack Cartwright. The fast-moving chapters consist of entries from Winn’s journal (her neurologist made journaling part of her ADHD treatment plan), and their stream-of-consciousness style immerses readers in the swoony action. Winn’s emotional growth proves rewarding as she learns to open her mind to the beauty of Montana— and gives her heart to one special cowboy. Cabot’s fans and those who appreciate stories about city girls discovering country life will enjoy this appealing work. The main characters read white.
A contemplative, richly textured dystopian tale. (Dystopian fantasy. 14-18) 106
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Strong pacing highlights a lovably chaotic narrator in a well-developed setting. (Romance. 12-18)
Fates intertwine as four young people confront dark forces in Los Angeles’ spirit world in this duology opener. Seventeenyear-old Sujin Kim comes from a long line of mudangs, shamans who help the ghosts of Los Angeles’ Koreatown move on from the mortal world. But Sujin’s mother refuses to train her, fearing the volatility of her unusual ability to see spirits’ past lives. Sujin is also desperate to uncover the truth about her father, who supposedly abandoned the family nine months earlier after a spirit encounter left Sujin in a coma. Her investigation takes an unexpected turn when she meets Daniel, a newly turned—but not technically dead— ghost whose memories contain glimpses of her father. Nineteenyear-old Rami, who’s also gifted with supernatural abilities, works for Sujin’s family capturing reluctant souls. Haunted by trauma of her own, she keeps everyone at arm’s length— except Seon, a handsome jeoseung saja, or reaper. When Rami and Seon discover that souls are mysteriously being corrupted, they must navigate their undeniable attraction while facing grim encounters with the spirit world. Meanwhile, Sujin finds herself falling for Daniel’s awkward charms as they explore his memories in the hopes of finding answers. The narrative, which centers around a Korean American cast, plays out like a K-drama, balancing danger, drama, and romance. Repetitive exposition weighs things down at times; nevertheless, Cho has crafted an intriguing mystery with gaspinducing twists.
A contemporary fantasy thriller deeply rooted in Korean mythology that will leave readers eager for more. (Fantasy. 14-18) K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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Set within a world that unhurriedly unfolds through multiple senses. A PAT H AT T H E E N D O F T H E W O R L D
Predestined Danzenbaker, Rebecca | Simon & Schuster (400 pp.) | $21.99 | January 19, 2027 9781665963732
Constant surveillance and behavioral predictions control people’s lives in this imagining of a dystopian nearfuture world. Eighteen-yearold Gloria St. John’s father is the mastermind behind TrAIngle Technologies, a Virginia company whose communication cuffs monitor and rate wearers’ based on the predictability of their behavior. The Futurecast app is particularly effective at forecasting criminal acts and medical emergencies, but it can also tell you when and where you’ll run into your friends. Those who keep their scores high are rewarded with material comforts; lower scores lead to a downward spiral and a struggle to survive. Ten years ago, Gloria’s mother was murdered by a plog—someone who lives off-grid and refuses to wear an arm cuff—and Gloria’s grief fuels her fear of plogs. In a well-paced setup, she crosses paths with handsome, funny Elwood Cook, and she’s forced to question many of her beliefs about the world, even as it’s clear to readers that their meeting was no accident. Told in Gloria’s firstperson narration with occasional chapters from Elwood’s perspective, this action-packed romantic thriller will easily pull readers in, even if they anticipate some of the twists and turns. Gloria’s solid bond with her best friend, Louise Chase, whose father’s recent multiple sclerosis diagnosis affects his K IR KU S R E V IE W S
predictability score and therefore his livelihood, is a heartening element that helps flesh out her character. Gloria and Louise are cued white, and golden-skinned, dark-eyed Elwood has “chocolaty hair.” An engaging premise told with poignant drama. (Dystopian. 12-18)
Oxford Secrets Davis-Featherstone, Rachael | Wednesday Books (320 pp.) | $21 | January 12, 2027 9781250342331 | Series: Oxford Blood, 2
When the ethical hack of a popular social media platform goes wrong, a new Oxford student investigates. Eighteen-yearold Eva Dawkins, a mixed-race (Black and white) girl from London’s East End, is eager to make a fresh start at Oxford University. She hopes to leave behind the murder of George, her “best-friend-almost-boyfriend,” which she solved. Unfortunately, the story immediately appears in The Oxford Herald—and she worries about trending on Oxford Slays, or OxS, a toxic anonymous social media app. Fortunately, she finds a friend in 16-year-old Welsh computer science prodigy Ruby Sommers, who’s being vilified in the paper for her age. Eva tries to enjoy student life and her growing attraction to both white scholarship student Xander Allingham and cute Black American Malik Wright. But escalating vitriol toward Ruby on OxS moves Eva to call publicly for the platform’s closure. Soon after, OxS is hacked by someone
who issues an ultimatum: Delete the app or your true identity may be among those revealed each week. The hacker goes even further, threatening to sell users’ personal data on the dark web. With OxS users suggesting that amateur sleuth Eva is responsible, she decides to clear her name by finding the true culprit. While the subject matter is timely, this slow-paced narrative doesn’t fully delve into the concepts it raises of institutional racism and social media’s dangers. The writing tells more than it shows, resulting in flat characters and contrived story developments. Skims the surface. (Mystery. 13-17)
Kirkus Star
When the Sun Returned Eicheldinger, Matt | Andrews McMeel Publishing (320 pp.) | $14.99 paper November 17, 2026 | 9798881605155 Series: When the Rain Came, 2
The rains have ceased, but the sun is deadly. Now that Aurora and her friend Kota have found Aurora’s foster parents, Niko and Jada, and they’ve all escaped The Hill, they’re hopeful that survival will get easier. But the endless sunshine and heat are brutal. They encounter a band of five men and women from Redfern, a society that’s much kinder than The Hill, though still not a democracy. Redfern’s leader, Devon, doesn’t trust the newcomers, particularly Aurora—and the feeling is mutual. The newly formed family tries to survive the harsh conditions, a life-threatening injury, the politics of their new home, and the threat of ominous, mysterious Dark Pools that erupt into geysers that contain shui gui, or the spirits of drowned people. The meaningfully layered story alternates between Aurora’s and Kota’s first-person points of view. Their perspectives reveal Kota’s belief that he’s responsible for NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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the shui gui (which he learned about from his grandma’s stories), as well as both young people’s thoughts about Niko and Jada and their developing familial relationships. This strongly paced, action-packed sequel will leave readers rooting for Aurora’s and Kota’s survival while also trying to figure out the mystery of the shui gui. The well-developed ensemble cast adds additional depth to the vivid reality of this wholly distinctive world. Most central characters present white. Kota is cued as having East Asian heritage. A riveting sequel that will leave readers anxiously awaiting the trilogy’s conclusion. (Post-apocalyptic. 13-17)
Mournsoul Foley, Caitlin Rose | Peachtree Teen (352 pp.) | $19.99 | January 19, 2027 9781682638712
Reincarnated foes who repeatedly fight each other form a tenuous alliance and uncover lies, schemes, and a deep romantic bond that echoes through the centuries. Waking from a 20-year slumber in a regenerative chamber, Luasanna, who possesses powers from the gods and serves the Godqueen, finds that her closest loved ones have died—but her purpose remains. In life after life, she battles Valrian, the First Prince of the underworld, as she tries to banish him forever by sealing the Moonwell, or gateway between their kingdoms. When the new incarnation of Lua’s Guardian is killed, she and Valrian each seek to bring him back for their own purposes. Valrian believes it will be possible if they travel to the underworld, and Lua warily agrees to join him. As she starts to learn the truth about her purpose and her previous selves, she regards Valrian less as an enemy, and her affection for and attraction to him grow. This adventure-filled debut features 108
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intricate, captivating worldbuilding that explores gods, destinies, and blood magic. Lua faces plenty of external danger, but it’s her internal turmoil as she wrestles with grief and the dismantling of everything she believes that gives the story weight. Foley relies too heavily on Lua’s slow discovery of the truth to propel the action, but the threads come together in a satisfying way as the white-presenting leads fight for the love and life they desire. A lush and compelling epic fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)
A Teen’s Guide to Engineering: Learning the Disciplines and Finding Your Passion Gifford, Jim | Turner (274 pp.) | $16.99 paper December 8, 2026 | 9798887982595
A veteran nuclear engineer breaks his field down into numerous subspecialties for career-minded teens to consider. After opening with questions to help readers see whether engineering is the right fit for them (for example, “Do you get a palpable sense of excitement from the prospect of building something new or significantly improving an existing design?”), Gifford presents descriptions that follow a consistent template and cover 12 engineering fields. Bulleted lists introduce generalized job and skill types, subspecialties within each field, educational requirements from the high school level on, and summary takeaways. This content is supplemented by side profiles of, usually,
one prominent achiever (including men and women from diverse backgrounds) and one major project as examples, plus a sparse selection of stock photos. Though the author has a military background, his coverage of real-world applications, even in the chapters on mechanical, aerospace, chemical, and software engineering, excludes weapons design or construction. The backmatter lists public and private universities in the U.S. that offer strong undergraduate and graduate engineering programs. The writing and content are repetitious in places, and readers may wish for concrete information about salary ranges, career prospects, locating internships, and alternate educational paths, such as community college. Still, this concise, straightforward work may be of use as an introductory guide for striving readers and high schoolers who lack access to robust college counseling. A basic overview that can support further exploration. (Find Your Engineering Path quizzes, endnotes) (Nonfiction. 13-18)
This Lethal Love Jasinska, Alicia | Peachtree Teen (448 pp.) $21.99 | January 5, 2027 | 9781682638699 Series: Spirits and Saints, 2
In this sequel to This Fatal Kiss (2024), Gisela is finally human again, but her story isn’t over. Exorcist Kazik’s kiss turned Gisela back into a human (albeit one with eerie red eyes), but her experience as a rusałka has permanently changed her. Aleksey, the boy
A clever, blood-soaked fantasy thriller with a simmering romance at its heart. WHEN SHADOWS BURN
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she and Kazik were falling for, has been possessed by a bies, and Gisela is desperate to keep Kazik from spending time alone with Aleksey while she agonizes over how to break the news to him. Meanwhile, local spirits tentatively approach Kazik for help, hoping his time with Gisela changed his mind about them. After one such request, Aleksey’s cover is blown by Kazik’s fellow exorcist, Lev. Exposed, the bies grabs Gisela and teleports them both into the forest where he’s at his most powerful. Gisela struggles to escape and find her way back to Kazik, all while learning more about herself and the mysterious forest spirits. Jasinska focuses on the differences between Aleksey the human and the bies possessing him, as well as the question of how much of the bies’ feelings for Gisela and Kazik are his own versus his host’s. The frequent point-of-view shifts among Gisela, Kazik, and the bies leave little mystery regarding the bies’ motivations, but the bies proves such a complex character that this doesn’t significantly undermine the plot’s tension. The characters in this Slavic folklore– infused world largely present white. A satisfying duology closer that will leave readers hoping for more. (pronunciation guide) (Fantasy. 14-18)
The Thorned Prince Jezdikova, Ella | Roundfire Books (256 pp.) $21.95 paper | December 1, 2026 9781917704793
A fae teen must rely on the powers within her to find the answers she needs. Seventeen-yearold Cassandra, a Light Fae, longs for more than being a puppet and marrying well as the second-in-line to the throne of House Stormriven. When Cassie crosses paths unexpectedly with Sorin Nightshade, a Shadow Fae who’s become head of his House after his parents’ murder, she quickly K IR KU S R E V IE W S
finds herself indebted to him. As the storm inside Cassie builds, tensions rise not only between her and Sorin, but within House Stormriven, too. Desperate to understand a prophecy speaking of a union between light and shadow, Cassie must draw upon her inner strength. Jezdikova captures readers’ attention with beautiful worldbuilding details, intricate descriptions of the places Cassie visits, and engaging characters with complex backgrounds (Sorin, in particular). But while the initial tension between Cassie and Sorin is well-crafted, their relationship descends into monotony. Despite the short chapters, the narrative struggles to sustain a strong pace due to repetitive plot points that result in little progression. In the end, the intrigue of the high-stakes prophecy fails to come to fruition; readers will be left with questions and disappointed by the story’s dragging plot and lack of depth. Cassie and Sorin are cued white. Beautiful prose and some moments of heart-pounding action but ultimately let down by shaky pacing. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)
When Shadows Burn Le, Vanessa | Henry Holt (416 pp.) | $21.99 December 1, 2026 | 9781250420473 Series: When Shadows Burn Duology, 1
A demon-hunting duo inhabiting an Asian-inspired fantasy world with clear East-meetsWest influences investigates a series of mysterious murders that may expose dark secrets at an elite university. In this fantasy duology opener, exorcism requires two partners: a caller whose blood attracts demons known as yeukai and a slayer whose blood scorches them. Black-haired Kiet Sren, an exceptional caller who dropped out of prestigious Phenbridge University, and Song Sarna, the top slayer in her class, are best friends who together run Inkspill, an independent exorcism
agency. When an unusual yeukai begins killing people without consuming them, Kiet’s stern father, Phenbridge’s chief exorcist, reluctantly asks for his help tracking the demon. The mystery appears to be tied to the Red Feathers, a secretive criminal organization Kiet has obsessively pursued ever since they killed his older brother in a demon attack three years earlier. As Kiet and Song, who has dark brown hair, follow a trail of deadly cases of possession, they uncover evidence tying the victims to Phenbridge—and Kiet’s family. The author’s intricate, blood-based supernatural system is extensive without allowing the worldbuilding to overshadow the twisty plot. The partners’ charming opposites-attract banter and fierce loyalty make them easy to root for as the story explores immigrant family expectations, institutional power, and class disparities. The friends-to-lovers romance builds gradually but satisfyingly amid increasingly dangerous demon encounters. A clever, blood-soaked fantasy thriller with a simmering romance at its heart. (Fantasy. 14-18)
Kirkus Star
Augustine of Hippo: The Longings of a Restless Heart Lehmann, Devra | Triangle Square Books for Young Readers (400 pp.) | $16.95 paper December 1, 2026 | 9781644215685 Series: Philosophy for Young People
Searching analysis of the religious and philosophical journeys of the profound North African thinker who famously prayed: “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.” Lehmann opens with Augustine’s most relatable quote, but she admits he can be a “tough read” as much of his writing explored rarefied intellectual territory. Still, as in her earlier profiles NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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for teens of Socrates and Spinoza, the author shows a rare knack for paraphrasing and summarizing “long and abstruse” arguments in ways that serious young students of philosophy and the history of religion will be able to grasp. Maps and images of paintings, artifacts, and pages from early books appear throughout the text, helping to sustain readers’ interest, along with frequent references to the importance of sex and sensuality in Augustine’s voluminous writings. For all his later canonization, Lehmann finds her subject’s increasingly firm espousal of coercive measures against heresy anything but saintly, explaining that he “was instrumental in the destruction of a once flourishing African church” and highlighting the “centuries of religious oppression…directly inspired by his own words.” Still, she shows how Manichean and later Neoplatonic ideas infused his evolving views of God and the world and draws on his personal accounts of emotional struggles and youthful antics in the Confessionsand elsewhere to fill out his character as a man who felt as deeply as he thought. A thoughtful and enlightening portrait of a brilliant, nuanced mind. (endnotes, bibliography, glossary, index) (Biography. 15-18)
King of Masks Lord, Petra | Henry Holt (432 pp.) | $22.99 January 26, 2027 | 9781250362957 Series: Queen of Faces, 2
After the fall of the witch Khaiovhe and her revolutionary organization, Commonplace, the remaining members of the mercenary group Queen Sulphur sail across the rising sea to rescue their friend from an infamous Shenti warlord. In this second entry in the Queen of Faces trilogy, Anabelle Gage, now free from her decaying Edgar chassis, wears the star-woven body she stole when 110
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she killed Khaiovhe. But even with the ability to mimic her dead enemy, she lacks the confidence to command the Black Wraith’s subordinates. Ana and Nima are desperate to save their friend Korin, but finding him before his execution in nine days’ time seems impossible until they team up with Elanor Nameless, his grandmother. In order to rescue Korin, black-haired Ana, who’s half Shenti, must trick the Corpse King, an “unkillable” warlord, into believing she’s Khaiovhe. Meanwhile, blond, green-eyed Nell returns to her place as heir to the House Ebbridge in time for Caimor’s invasion of Shenten. Nell is convinced that Ana died—and she wants revenge on Khaiovhe. The chapters alternate between the perspectives of Ana and Nell. Despite her self-discovery in the previous installment, discomfort with wearing a female chassis, and experience of volatile abuse from her mother, Nell doubles down, insisting that she’s no longer Wes. While constant action pushes the story’s pace, cartoonish characterization exacerbated by hyper-dramatized dialogue and the bleak setting’s thin worldbuilding detract from the potential appeal of the twisting plot. Flat and unconvincing. (content warning, the four schools of magic) (Fantasy. 14-18)
I Hate You More Moody, Alexandra | Avon A/HarperCollins (304 pp.) | $15.99 paper | December 22, 2026 | 9780063574120
After high school senior Ally Lockwood’s sworn enemy, Chase Williams, moves in with her family temporarily, their hatred for each other evolves into a surprising romance. When Chase’s parents head out of state for work, Ally’s dad agrees to let him move in with their family so he can have stability for his senior year. Chase and Ally’s twin brother are close,
but Ally loathes popular, good-looking Chase, whom she sees as “a withdrawn boy who [is] constantly breaking girls’ hearts” through his indifference to their devotion. Her widowed dad has a strict no-dating policy, so she and her friends devise a plan: If they can get Chase to date Ally and then get caught by her dad, he’ll be kicked out for sure. The plan starts to fall apart when Ally sees another side to Chase and his old, suppressed feelings for her return, stronger than ever. The romantic tension between the two is utterly compelling. Readers who enjoy the forced-proximity trope will appreciate their push and pull and the burning buildup of their romance. Their first-person perspectives helpfully provide readers with insights into their inner thoughts and backstories. The love story is the star of the show: Ally’s discovery of Chase’s full personality and history adds to the intensifying feelings between them. Unfortunately, the white-presenting leads’ parental relationships feel two-dimensional and lack nuance due to more telling than showing. A simmering romance that will hook readers. (Romance. 14-18)
I Put a Spell on You Morrissey, Bridget | Delacorte Romance (320 pp.) | $12.99 paper | January 12, 2027 9798217029679 | Series: Fableview, 2
One desperately wants to believe in love, the other thinks it’s ridiculous: This February, will their town’s extravagant Love Month festivities bring them together? Piper Blake enjoys helping out at Witches of Fableview, the “metaphysical apothecary” run by her dad’s side of the family. The Blakes’ magical powers enable them to do true love tarot readings. But when Piper’s 16th birthday passed and her love touch didn’t manifest, she realized she was a K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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mortal like her dad. Hoping to avoid the subtle exclusion from the family he’s suffered, she pretends to be a witch. When Ivy Collins and her mom pass through during a summer festival, Piper gives Ivy’s single mom a reading, predicting that she’ll meet her soulmate in “a town thick with trees”—a description that fits Fableview. For Ivy, the festival is memorable for the kiss she shares with a cute girl. Halfway through Ivy’s senior year, her flighty mother decides to move to Fableview in search of her true love. Forced to start over again, Ivy vows revenge on the witch behind it all—only to learn it was Piper, the girl responsible for her “queer awakening.” As Valentine’s Day approaches, Fableview’s Love Letter Project leads the white-presenting teens to anonymously share their truths and gradually fall for one another. Musings on love’s many varieties add depth, although the interpersonal conflicts wrap up rather quickly. This sweet stand-alone sequel with cameos from the series opener is a feel-good read. Very cute. (Romance. 12-18)
Slow Burn Nguyen, Trinity | Henry Holt (240 pp.) $24.99 | December 29, 2026 9781250410351
While competing in a high-stakes reality cooking show in Los Angeles, young chefs Lizzie Ly and Ethan Huang feel the heat in this rivals-tolovers rom-com. Who will be named Sweet Heat’s next Prodigy? On the first day of filming, Lizzie recognizes Ethan as the food influencer (“all he does is look pretty on social media”) who panned her bún bò Huế after visiting the restaurant where she worked. His review shook her confidence, leading her to falter at the Tri-State Junior Cooking Competition soon after. Lizzie is determined to redeem herself by impressing lead judge Harrison K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Moss and beating Ethan to win Sweet Heat, fulfilling a promise to her late mother she’d never give up. Over the next eight weeks, the contestants face challenges that test their culinary skills and their ability to represent their regions and cultures through food. Lizzie learns to embrace Vietnamese cuisine as her calling, while Ethan discovers ways his Chinese heritage and Los Angeles roots can elevate his cooking. In this story that’s grounded in compassion for family struggles, Lizzie, who’s still grieving her mother, and Ethan, whose father wants him to pursue a path beyond food, gradually discover something sweeter than rivalry. Nguyen heightens the competition with behind-the-scenes interviews, nerve-wracking judging panels, and inventive culinary challenges. Her mouthwateringly evocative descriptions capture nuanced flavors and artful plating, though the didactic dialogue can feel one-note. A sweet-and-sour love story that simmers with flavor. (Romance. 13-18)
Senescence Nicole, Shelby | Delacorte (512 pp.) | $20.99 December 1, 2026 | 9798217234912 Series: Grove Hollow, 2
Jade Whitney’s love interest, William Mayfield, gets another chance at life in this second book in the Grove Hollow series. The story, which is set in a small New York town on the Hudson River in the late 1980s, begins right where the first book left off, with Jade and Will in a hotel room. After walking through a magical mirror in the room, Will, a ghost who’s been dead for 100 years, comes back to life. To explain his sudden in-the-flesh appearance, Will poses as a foreign exchange student from England who’s staying with Jade and her Aunt Ruth and enrolls in Jade’s high school. This gift of a second chance at living allows
the pair to cultivate their blossoming love. The real question is whether it can last. A lengthy read, this sequel includes tangled family lore, a studentled rebellion against the popular kids, a million-dollar inheritance, and a bloody run-in with clichéd mobsters, among other things. But rather than being a thrilling ride, it feels messy and unconvincing. The most compelling part of the story is Will’s return to human form and his romance with Jade. Readers will swoon over their passionate love and declarations of mutual devotion. The whopper of an ending clearly sets up for the next entry. Most characters present white. A messy, overstuffed plot buries the best parts of this story. (family tree, map) (Paranormal romance. 14-18)
Accidental Tribes Pascoal, C.S. | Illus. by Alfredus Creatives’ artist collective | Prospera Books LLC (202 pp.) | $34.99 | September 22, 2026 9798995829805
Eight students at Mariah Wilson Public School Times Square are sent to Room 359 for a social experiment. The diverse group of kids—dubbed the Unlucky 8— are there because they’ve broken rules. They include Jamie, a “Chinese-Irish” adoptee who hacked into the school’s grading portal; 13-year-old Indian American sophomore Dev, who built an addictive gaming app; and white-presenting influencer Patty, who wore smart glasses and secretly recorded classmates for her TikTok account. When the Unlucky 8 discover suspicious goings-on at their school, they unite to get to the bottom of it all. The students’ technology-related transgressions form the basis for Pascoal’s exploration of teens’ online lives and adults’ lack of understanding of how pervasive these platforms and devices are. The book also acknowledges that teens frequently don’t >>> NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Book Club Conversation Starters
2
1
1 We Became Wild By H.D. Carver
Visceral, healing, and transformative.
2 For the Greatest Good By Blair Hanson
A nuanced, character-driven reflection on community, integrity, and long-term commitment.
5 Playbook for Justice
4
By Lesley Younge
A biography that brings hope in dystopian times.
6 Evie and Her Nightmares
3
By Francesca Zappia
A raw, beautiful account of moving forward after your world is reshaped by loss.
6
3 Girl Reflected in Knife
By Anica Mrose Rissi
An emotionally immediate yet ethereal and darkly fantastical tale woven through with threads that ring all too true.
4 Foreigners
5
For more booklists, visit Kirkus online.
By E.L. Shen
An immersive, movingly crafted multigenerational family story.
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comprehend that they’re just cogs in a machine for the makers of social media apps. This timely message gets lost amid the multiple overwhelming plotlines that never fully coalesce, making it difficult to grasp the story as a whole. The cast members are described in detail but never come to life; readers are told rather than shown their traits. Disappointingly, the mystery elements don’t come together coherently. Black-and-white line art appears throughout.
Too many threads that unravel instead of tying together, leaving readers with more questions than answers. (reader questionnaires) (Fiction. 12-16)
That Feeling When Reekles, Beth | Delacorte Romance (352 pp.) | $12.99 paper | December 8, 2026 9798217031511
Anissa O’Shea is a total fangirl. The Cardiff teen loves everything about the fantasy franchise Of Wrath and Rune—books, TV show, and even the spinoff tabletop role-playing game Of Wrath and Roll, for which she’s a gamemaster. Anissa and her best friend, Cerys, talk their way into internships for the filming of the new season of OWAR, and Anissa, surrounded by the actors who play her favorite characters, is beyond star-struck. She especially loves Prince Kai Osterion, played in the upcoming season by the cute (yet aloof) Callum Denver, a stocky white-presenting teen whose brown hair is dyed auburn to match the character’s. Anissa, who’s of Indian and Irish descent, has ADHD and is brilliantly awkward around Callum. Readers are privy to her inner monologue, which meticulously picks apart their every social interaction. Anissa even second-guesses herself around her own friends, worrying that without Cerys’ support, she’d be shunned as “a weirdo.” Anissa learns a lot about 114
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herself and her friends and, despite rocky first impressions, develops an adorkable will-they, won’t-they romance with Callum. The plot-driven narrative is peppered with content from group chats, Discord channels, fan fictions, and Reddit AMAs. The OWAR universe can be difficult to track, but Anissa’s sincerity, along with the engaging romantic storyline, makes this a delightful read.
A surefire winner for romance readers and neurodivergent nerds alike. (Romance. 14-18)
Love Light Rogers, Mela | Henry Holt (336 pp.) $26.99 | $18.99 paper | December 29, 2026 9781250863355 | 9781250863348 paper
In Mer’s world, strands of pale purple light beam from people’s chests, connecting them to their soulmates. Mer’s family strictly follows the Lights, a faith built around the belief that the Lights show them who their true loves are. Mer attends Wolverton, a boarding school that centers students’ lives around the Lights. At her friend Priya’s request, Mer agrees to help tutor Casey, Priya’s soccer phenom teammate who needs to pass math so she can keep playing. Mer, who has light skin and orange hair, is initially cold toward Casey after someone warns her that Casey’s parents aren’t Lights soulmates and that she dates without regard for the Lights. But the girls’ shared love of the indie band Whale Shark, whose lyrics promote dating outside the Lights, leads them to warm up toward each other—and eventually become secret girlfriends, despite not being connected by the Lights. Things are complicated further when Mer meets Isaac, a Black-presenting boy who’s her actual soulmate, if the Lights are to be believed. Portuguese-speaking Casey has brown skin and was born in Brazil, and Priya, who’s transgender, is of
Indian descent. Rogers’ multiracial worldbuilding normalizes queer identities while thoughtfully critiquing aspects of religious culture. The vivid, colorful artwork portrays characters whose faces are highly expressive. Musical notation beautifully wraps around the panels, accentuating moments of intimate connection. A fresh critique of faith-based conformity marked by gorgeous visuals. (concept art, playlist) (Graphic romance. 12-18)
Kirkus Star
Okay Girl Rowe, Kelis | Crown (368 pp.) | $19.99 January 12, 2027 | 9780593429297
A 16-year-old girl’s carefully constructed facade begins to slip when her dreams and reality collide. Skye has been struggling emotionally ever since she found her Uncle Tex after he suffered a nonfatal overdose during a suicide attempt. Her family and friends’ well-intentioned but laser-like focus on her healing process (or lack thereof) has led her to cosplay as a fully functioning teen. On the outside, Skye has it all together. She’s dating Malik, an old friend who’s a popular athlete, and she has her besties, Gina and Teak, by her side—but she feels like “a fake friend” and fears it’s too late to be honest about everything. Skye hopes her performance will give her the breathing room she needs. But when she experiences devastating emotional betrayal at her junior prom, Skye is forced to readjust her mask. She uses her strong connection to Esther Greenwood from Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar to design an extra-credit project with Ace, the cute new boy at school. In the process, she finds a new way to heal while also uplifting others. Rowe’s perfectly paced sophomore novel centers on a largely Black cast and K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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skillfully explores mental health. Skye is a compelling character whom readers will readily connect with, and her growth offers a nuanced look at trying to reclaim and retain your sense of self.
A brilliant exploration of mental health blended with a swoonworthy romance. (content note, note from an adolescent psychiatrist, author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)
My Unfamiliar Rutherford, Mara | Wednesday Books (352 pp.) | $21 | December 1, 2026 9781250359902
In the kingdom of Eburnea, a mage gets much more than he expected when he consults with a matchmaker for familiars. After the unexpected death of his owl, Oberon, grieving 19-year-old mage Bastian Triplehorn is in search of a new familiar. He needs one soon: In a few weeks, a competition will offer one lucky winner the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be selected as the new royal mage, a highly prestigious position. But the competition involves magical tests and challenges that require a familiar. On the advice of his mentor, Bastian visits Winslow “Winnie” Green, a familiar matchmaker with a reputation for being the best around. Stoic Bastian is unsure what to make of the eccentric 18-yearold strawberry-blond Winnie, who’s a lover of all things pink and frilly. She introduces him to animal familiars, but it’s not until she touches his arm that Bastian experiences a powerful surge of emotion, one that’s even stronger than what he felt with Oberon. Entering with an extraordinarily rare—possibly even illegal—human familiar drastically complicates Bastian’s plans for the upcoming competition, not to mention the future of Winnie’s business. Rutherford’s enchanting world has a delectable, cozy atmosphere that shifts when the characters enter the exciting, K IR KU S R E V IE W S
high-stakes competition, which is fraught with political intrigue and magical sabotage. Bastian and Winnie make a charming pair whose team work and evolving grumpy/sunshine relationship is a pleasure to witness. The central characters are cued white. Enthralling and delightful. (Fantasy. 14-18)
Rising Thunder: A Prequel to Scythe Shusterman, Neal | Simon & Schuster (528 pp.) | $24.99 | December 1, 2026 9781665972086 | Series: First Blades, 1
This prequel to the Scythe series begins to reveal the complicated origins of the Thunderhead. In the not-toodistant future, science is well on its way to developing permanent cures for a wide variety of fatal conditions, and a company known as Twi-Life promises to sustain those on the brink of death until they can be healed. Meanwhile, a group of eco-nihilists, believing that humankind is a scourge to the planet, aims to destroy precious historical artifacts, and artificial intelligence has begun to break containment in unexpected ways. One such rogue AI system, calling itself Overcast, begins absorbing all the other programs and controlling situations from behind the scenes, even as another, Securus, shifts from its programmed goal of identifying “outliers” in human civilization to removing them entirely. The young people who will ultimately become the founding scythes are drawn together by both chance and algorithmic intention as they reckon with the personal and global effects of the complex ethical choices they’ve made and continue to face even as the Thunderhead itself begins to coalesce around them. Like the original series, this dense yet rewarding read contains a diverse array of characters, converging story threads, and chilling speculation on the perils of
humanity’s dealings with AI. Familiarity with the original series is recommended in order for readers to fully appreciate this one. Timely and compelling. (Dystopian. 12-18)
Our Periods, Ourselves: An Empowered Teen’s Guide Subramanian, Mathangi | Bloomsbury Academic (208 pp.) | $25.95 paper November 12, 2026 | 9798216201908
A look at menstruation through an identity-centered social justice lens. In this straightforward non fiction title, Subramanian offers a detailed guide to menstruation and stresses the importance of teen readers’ being informed—from learning the vocabulary to talk about their experiences to knowing how to care for themselves throughout their cycles—and able to advocate for themselves (and others). What sets this book apart from similar guides is the exploration of how menstruation intersects with identity: In chapters focused on topics including culture, gender, neurodiversity, disability, and body size, Subramanian encourages readers to consider how their identities shape their experience of menstruation. Refreshingly, the author models gender-inclusive language, using the term menstruators and asserting that “all menstruators are not women, and not all women are menstruators.” They draw on experts as well as their own experience as a queer, nonbinary Indian American menstruator, to address social issues that relate to menstruation, like period poverty, capitalism, reproductive rights, and environmentalism. The book contains plentiful guidance on topics like choosing the right menstrual products and navigating healthcare. Subramanian’s conversational tone makes the subjects—the breadth of which could otherwise be overwhelming, particularly given the lack of NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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graphic design and minimal stock art spot illustrations—feel approachable. Occasional exercises offer readers opportunities to reflect and interact with the content. The combination of wellresearched information and practical advice for young menstruators makes this a welcome addition to the literature. An inclusive, empowering, and thought-provoking guide to menstruation. (notes, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 13-18)
Gilded Wings Thiede, Emily | Wednesday Books (416 pp.) $21 | January 12, 2027 | 9781250407863
A country girl searches for answers in a turn-of-the20th-century New York where flying dragons prey on citizens. When Stella McCaffrey leaves home to follow her older sister, Maeve, to New York City, she hopes to escape a financially advantageous but loveless marriage proposal and prove that she can succeed on her own. She must survive factory work and evade the menacing winged creatures that hunt the city’s poorest residents. Along the way, she befriends Gentry, a charming newsie, and their friendship begins to grow into something more. As Stella becomes increasingly frustrated with the harsh factory conditions, she grows determined to fight for change despite Maeve’s warnings about the dangers of activism. Meanwhile, Stella befriends Aria, who’s an infaerna, or small dragonlike creature. She learns that the little creatures (who eat rodents and love shiny objects, frequently making off with rich folks’ “jeweled hat pins and buckles”) are disappearing. Determined to uncover the truth behind the infaerna’s declining numbers, Stella, Gentry, and the other newsies begin investigating, only to face greater dangers than they anticipated. As they draw closer to the answer, Stella learns that Gentry is 116
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keeping secrets that further complicate her feelings for him. The novel offers a fresh premise, likable characters, and a fast-moving plot, making it an enjoyable read, though it takes some time for Stella to become a compelling protagonist, and her involvement in labor organizing feels somewhat forced. The main characters are cued white. An appealing historical fantasy. (Fantasy. 14-18)
Dread Chaser Thoman, Lauren | McElderry (320 pp.) $19.99 | January 5, 2027 | 9798347115235
In this postapocalyptic tale of bounty hunters, zombies, and survival, Diesel is a dust chaser who hopes to one day purchase his freedom by finding the marks he’s assigned by the local Guild. Taking on assignments with his inventive sidekick, Gunner, Diesel navigates intense tornadoes and the grotesque undead known as Dreads. His loyal 150-pound dog, Gloom, is his only remaining tie to the life he had before his family and hometown were reduced to ash by fires set by Scavengers. In the wake of the Crisis, during which billions died, the names of places like Australia and Egypt are distant memories. When Diesel is given a high-value job involving finding a girl named Ember, his emancipation is on the line—and a rival chaser jockeys to claim the big payout. At the same time, Vesper, Diesel’s old flame, slinks back into his life. In her YA debut, Thoman builds an immersive world that takes shape as Diesel and Vesper get closer to the truth about their elusive target— and their feelings for each other. Action is ever-present, be it vehicular, close combat, or explosive. The ending to this series opener feels downright optimistic, both for Diesel’s party and the readers who will no doubt be following close behind them like a certain lovable, scene-stealing hound. In a world where
most people have skin tones that are between “deep bluish-onyx to warm amber,” Diesel has russet-brown skin, and Vesper is bronze-skinned.
A thrilling pursuit across a broken world. (map) (Post-apocalyptic. 14-18)
Grace at the End of the World Trimmer, Christian | Little, Brown (304 pp.) $19.99 | January 26, 2027 | 9780316601924
Orphaned for the third time, a teen determined to survive the zombie apocalypse breaks the rules that have kept her safe in this story of facing grief and finding belonging. Nineteen-year-old Grace thought she knew loneliness: Her adoptive dads, an interracial couple, died in a car accident when she was 10, leaving her to be raised by white relatives in rural Texas, where, as an academically oriented Vietnamese orphan from Houston with gay fathers, she was a perpetual outsider. While Mackenzie, Grace’s cousin (and only friend), attends college in Boston, a virus emerges that turns people into zombies. Grace’s uncle tries to bring Mackenzie home, but they don’t make it. Grace’s passion for the music of Korean American pop star Harry Park has kept her going. So when her aunt dies of cancer, Grace, left all alone, ventures to Malibu to find Harry. She keeps this motivation a secret even from new best friend and travel companion Aidan, an Irish and Mexican American 19-year-old who has his own secrets and a shared understanding of rejection. Humorous, introspective, and thrilling, Trimmer’s debut will particularly appeal to readers questioning their place in the world. The story relates physical and emotional journeys that reshape the teens’ opinion of humanity through a series of fortunate events. The immersive worldbuilding unfolds through a steadily progressing plot rooted in a K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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recognizable American West, centering dynamic characters whose pointed dialogue is balanced by their complex, developed interiors.
Blends adventure with strong, emotionally intelligent character development. (Post-apocalyptic. 14-18)
The View From Here West, Kasie | Delacorte Romance (304 pp.) $12.99 paper | January 5, 2027 9780593897751
Seventeen-yearold Tate Hall from San Luis Obispo, California, hasn’t traveled much, but this spring break that’s all about to change. Despite Tate’s argument with her busy doctor mother over the hospital summer internship she wanted Tate to apply for, Mom gave Tate permission to join her grandmother on a 55-plus Mediterranean cruise. Told in a travelogue-style format, the story takes readers through a series of port cities from Athens to Barcelona. Along the way, Tate, who’s cued white, experiences grape stomping, eats homemade pasta, hikes through stunning landscapes, and swims in beautiful coastal waters. All the while, she questions whether she really wants to follow in her mom’s footsteps and pursue medicine. Her artistic, carefree Grandma encourages her to discover and explore. Luca Park, a Korean American former vlogger, is trying to reinvent himself by launching a travel channel, and Tate starts helping him film. The cruise setting moves the plot along at a good pace while giving Tate and Luca opportunities to bond during excursions and share cute moments at sea. West effectively uses the 11-day trip to build a believable romantic connection in a relatively short amount of time. Tate’s relationship with Grandma adds depth to her coming-of-age arc as she prepares for senior year. Although Luca is less well developed, the blend of travel, family K IR KU S R E V IE W S
dynamics, and gentle romance makes this light story an engaging read.
A scenic, breezy journey toward love and self-discovery. (Romance. 12-17)
The Waiting Years Yang, Kao Kalia | Holiday House (320 pp.) | $22.99 | January 12, 2027 9780823455577
A memoir of growing up Hmong American in the 1990s. When she was 14, Kalia’s parents bought a small house for their large family— mom and dad plus six kids—the first house in America that was all theirs. In this work for teens, Yang, who won two Minnesota Book Awards for her memoirs for adults, tells the story of her high school years, reflecting on her experiences growing up in St. Paul, Minnesota, as part of a Hmong American refugee family. While their parents worked long hours, Kalia and her older sister, Dawb, were responsible for looking after their younger siblings and helping their family navigate a world of English. Yang describes the Hmong community in Minnesota, her struggles with an autoimmune disease and selective mutism, and much more. The role American military action in Southeast Asia played in the author’s refugee status—she was born stateless in a refugee camp in Thailand—and the traumas her parents and grandmother experienced are woven into the account of her teenage years, offering glimpses into other Hmong American stories. The prose is straightforward, describing and reflecting on events with little fanfare, and this unadorned approach makes the work accessible to striving readers. Though the narration at times feels filtered through the author’s adult sensibilities, Kalia’s teenage insecurities, mistakes, and foibles are raw and relatable. Frank, insightful observations on family, adolescence, and finding your
voice. (notes on family names) (Memoir. 12-18)
Folk Remedy: The Secret of the Night Parade Yoshioka, Jem | Andrews McMeel Publishing (256 pp.) | $14.99 paper | November 10, 2026 9798881602659 | Series: Folk Remedy, 2
Stuck in the spirit world, an apprentice apothecary must find a way home before she becomes a supernatural creature and loses all her memories. In this duology closer, Maple, a human girl from a small Japanese town, and Ember, the spirit she freed from captivity, are stuck in the Hidden World of yōkai. They’re searching for Ember’s enchanted stone and a way to send Maple home. Emotions run high as they set off for the Hidden City along with their friends, Peach the tanuki and Sky the tengu, to ask for help from the Head Priestess. Maple has grown horns, Ember’s wound from a tengu’s arrow is worsening, and Maple has strange dreams in which it seems as if her memories of the yōkai are rapidly disappearing. As she unearths secrets and encounters new enemies and allies, Maple struggles with where she belongs and who’s really on her side. This lively, magic-filled tale moves at a fast clip; readers may wish at times for deeper exploration of characters and plot points. Beyond the rich folklore of the yōkai lies a story of friendship, belonging, identity, and finding one’s place. Yoshioka’s use of traditional Japanese color palettes for the different months of the year complements the illustrations’ antique feeling, reminiscent of woodblock prints. The art brings this story to life, evoking strong emotions at pivotal moments. An entertaining, beautifully illustrated wrap-up to a Japanese folklore– infused adventure. (author’s note, additional notes and sketches) (Graphic fantasy. 12-15) NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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readers feature animals, they tend to be cats, dogs, horses, or maybe a charming bear or two. Bats are somewhat rarer, which is surprising, given their ubiquity. It’s undoubtedly because the creatures have an unjust reputation for spookiness, driven largely by vampire mythology and Halloween decor. Here are three titles, all recommended by Kirkus Indie, that take far friendlier views of our fluttering friends: “I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who ever thought bats were scary,” notes 12-year-old Berend “Bear” Houtman, the young protagonist of Rae Chalmers’ middle-grade novel Oxbow Island Gang: Summer Bats, illustrated by Jamie Hogan. Bear and his friend Olivia Anaya are taking a Fourth of July trip to Maine’s Oxbow Island when a storm forces them to seek refuge on nearby Great Claw Island. There, Bear meets Olivia’s former homeschooling instructor Sojourner “Sojo” Truth Yeats, who now spends much of her time painting pictures of local animals— including bats. Bear is initially afraid of the creatures, but Sojo counters 118
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his fear with facts: “A bat can eat more than a thousand insects in a night,” she notes. “If you don’t like mosquitoes and blackflies, then bats are your friend.” She also explains that the bats’ numbers are dwindling, due to human activities. Later, Bear must also confront the fact that his grandmother’s elderly neighbor, the beloved Mrs. Frost, may also soon be gone. Our reviewer calls the book “a sweet, educational story about protecting nature, overcoming fears, and friendship.” Eddie and the Vegetarian Vampire, a middle-grade novel by Dennis M. Desmond set in 1940s Boston, flies in the face of bat-related horror clichés. After bookish tween orphan Eddie is sent to a cell in his orphanage’s basement as punishment, he makes friends with a bat there, whom he feeds peanuts and calls Barty. This charming Birdman of Alcatraz–style dynamic doesn’t last, though: Barty soon transforms into a friendly, vegetarian vampire named Count Bloodless. He’s in danger from the Order of the Fang, which counts some
people at the orphanage as members. This “diverting horror-comedy” is not only pro-bat, but also features some additional educational content, our reviewer notes. Eddie “carries and routinely reads a dictionary, [and he] often uses ‘big words,’ except for ones starting with e (since a bully ripped those pages out).” In Bill the Bat to the Moon! And Back?—a children’s picture book by Daryl K. Cobb with art by Iryna Potapenko—a bespectacled bat with a striped scarf aims to fly farther than any other creature has ever flown: all the way to the moon itself. His friends, a cat and a mouse, encourage this
plan, which will surely make Bill famous. An owl points out the plan’s folly, but Bill is determined to try; although things don’t turn out as planned, Bill does learn something from the experience. The affable Bill bears little resemblance to creepy vampire bats—or real-life bats, for that matter, who generally don’t wear glasses—but the book does have some teachable moments. The story “delivers its message with tender reassurance,” writes our reviewer, who highlights its “charming reminder to look before you leap.” David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.
Illustration by Eric Scot t Ander son
OUR FRIEND, THE BAT
DAVID RAPP
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EDITOR’S PICK Pereira-Amador presents a history of Spain’s contribution to the American cause in the Revolutionary War. In March 1777, the Spanish secretary of state wrote, “The fate of the [American] colonies interests us very much, and we shall do for them everything that circumstances permit.” Spain did just that, becoming one of the key contributors to the colonies’ successful revolt against Britain. As PereiraAmador writes in her account of Spain’s aid to the rebels, “The Spanish leadership in the Americas were a remarkable team of men, and their expertise and commitment to defeating the British had a profound impact on the American Revolutionary War.” The scope of Spain’s efforts on behalf of the colonies was remarkable, spanning everything from covert
These Titles Earned the Kirkus Star
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shipments of “critical weapons and supplies” and intelligence gathering to fighting “directly in battles against the British in the southern and western regions bordering the American colonies.” The rebel army faced an “acute shortage” of gunpowder, among other things, but after the British blockaded Boston in 1774, Spanish merchants began shipping large quantities to the Americans. PereiraAmador trots out a parade of colorful characters who assisted the rebel cause, including Bernardo de Gálvez, the young Spanish governor of Louisiana, who, to deceive the British, announced that a shipment of cloth for military uniforms “had been chewed by moths, presumably an unpatriotic species, and was no longer suitable for the king’s army of fussy
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Are Cats Muslim? By Nusheen Ameenuddin; illus. by Rizki Amalia Salsabila
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Red Run By David Keith
The Silver Road Pereira-Amador, Barbara | StorySellers Press & Media | 258 pp. | $18 paper | May 15, 2026 9798995606109
fashionistas.” The Spanish arms dealer Juan de Miralles, meanwhile, treated George Washington’s wife Martha to “baskets of chocolate, sugar, and pink guava fruit jelly” from Havana, Cuba. And at Washington’s inauguration in 1789, Spanish diplomat Diego de Gardoqui was an honored guest, celebrating the “new nation of the United States of America that the Spanish and Latin
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Americans had helped to create.” Pereira-Amador’s research is impeccable, but she’s also an adept storyteller: She rarely allows the pace to flag, combining granular historical detail with a knack for narrative that will enthrall history buffs of all stripes. Spain’s efforts to aid the colonies come alive with colorful historical figures and a fast-paced narrative.
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A Bell of Sand By Tsung-Long Wu
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Women Who Talk to the Dead By Katherine Schweit
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Heartfelt, funny, and a visual pleasure. LOU LOU’S PET DRAGON GOES TO SCHOOL
A Catechism of the Strange: Stigmata, Relics, and the Miracles That Shape the Soul Allen, W. Tyler | Loyola Press (272 pp.) $19.99 paper | September 15, 2026 9780829460681
Podcaster Allen offers an examination of several often misunderstood facets of the Catholic Church. An ongoing emphasis on beauty—physical, holy, and subjective—permeates this work, because in this survey of aspects of Catholicism, the author wants “to show you that Catholicism is beautiful. But through beauty, you will encounter truth, not a truth of the head but of the heart.” The author then presents an investigation into various enigmas of the Catholic faith, from the “Strange Burden of the Stigmata,” which multiple saints were documented to have exhibited, to holy relics. (“In our modern age, it’s easy to scoff. A skull in a chapel? A bone in a glass case? But relics are not artifacts. They are signs that the church believes that holiness is not an abstract ideal; rather, it is something embodied.”) He also addresses the Eucharist, trans verberation (religious ecstasy), and other mysterious elements. Throughout, Allen provides thought-provoking interpretations mixed with vibrant imagery, inventive similes, and vignettes. As in a detective story or legal drama, the various puzzle pieces eventually join together to form a big picture of “just how wide the range of God’s love truly is.” Some readers may quibble that these narratives 120
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of miracles and other unexplained happenings eventually become a shade predictable. However, other readers are sure to enjoy unraveling and clarifying the different layers of a multifaceted ideology, as Allen portrays it: “If you have felt the ache of longing, the sudden joy of nearness, the holy stillness that overtakes your breath—then you’ve already touched the edge of this mystery.” Ultimately, there’s no big reveal or surprise twist: Readers are simply presented with the facts of what Catholics believe and encouraged to draw their own conclusions. An eloquent and thoroughly fascinating spiritual and historical excursion.
Kirkus Star
Are Cats Muslim? Ameenuddin, Nusheen | Illus. by Rizki Amalia Salsabila | Little Hibba (38 pp.) $17.35 paper | September 1, 2026 9781917068437
Ameenuddin’s picture-book study of cat behaviors makes a convincing case that felines just might be Muslim. An unnamed Muslim narrator asks young readers, “Have you ever wondered if cats…are Muslim?” He then encourages them to seek out clues: Cats love sitting on prayer mats, the narrator notes, and they pause to listen to the Qur’an being recited, and they make excellent alarm clocks for predawn prayer. “They spend hours keeping themselves clean, just like we do wudu’ [a washing ritual] before prayer,” the narrator points out, later noting that “Cats have always been welcome in
Islamic bookshops and libraries because they protect the books” by chasing mice. In a play on words, the narrator suggests that cats “purrrr-sist,” just like Muslims who protest injustice. All these clues and more support the narrator’s hypothesis that cats are, indeed, Muslim. Ameenuddin’s straightforward prose incorporates many undefined terms for places and practices that will be most familiar to Muslim children, but they may inspire young readers from other backgrounds to learn more about the faith. The pink-cheeked children in Salsabila’s cartoon illustrations are portrayed with an array of skin tones, and small labels acknowledge different geographic locations, highlighting how Muslims live all over the world. An image of protest presents a variety of sign slogans that can help start conversations about world events. A strong title that showcases diversity and features adorable images.
Lou Lou’s Pet Dragon Goes to School Bott, Brenden | Illus. by Dong Hoon Kim Arete Books (36 pp.) | $9.99 paper August 6, 2025 | 9781069613714
In Bott’s picture book, a young girl makes a big impression when a classroom chat about pets takes a wild turn. On Lou Lou’s first day at a new school, her teacher brings a cat to class and asks the students about their own animal companions. The children enthusiastically describe their various pets, before Lou Lou surprisingly announces that her favorite is Henry— a dragon. The more Lou Lou nods and insists “I DO have a pet dragon,” the more everyone laughs. She’s initially upset about this, but the next morning, she calmly walks Henry to school, past a panic-stricken mail carrier and a startled garbage collector. In class, the dragon’s presence causes shock and mayhem. Lou Lou simply shrugs and wonders which pet she’ll bring to school tomorrow. Bott keeps the K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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pacing brisk and focused, which will effectively hook young audiences. But this isn’t simply a delightful tale about a girl and her unusual pet—it also touches on the sting of mockery and disbelief and endearingly models how to handle such circumstances. The narrative provides ample opportunity for side discussions about feelings and keeping an open mind. Kim’s endearing, bold, and colorful illustrations, featuring wide-eyed, expressive characters, are as compelling as the text. Heartfelt, funny, and a visual pleasure.
After the Fall Was Over Boutwell, W. Clark | Pristine Press and Media (304 pp.) | $30.99 October 8, 2025 | 9781969642197 Series: Silence and the Gods, 1
Boutwell’s postapocalyptic thriller documents the struggle for power among the surviving groups. In this sequel, set after the author’s Old Men and Infidels trilogy, the urban Democratic Unity suffers a humiliating defeat at the hands of the rural Restructured States of America. Cowardly and opportunistic Major General Fettwap Aliende grabs the last outbound skimmer, accompanied by his aide, Captain Blanche Woods. Aliende seizes power when he returns to DU headquarters in Nyork, and Woods scrubs out any dissent. At the same time, American spy William Butler and his lover, Hecate Hester Jones, are hiding in the shadows, attempting to elude Unity searchers; Aliende assigns Woods to track down the American spies. A handful of “ghosts” in the CORE, the Unity’s massive and nation-girdling computer, try to find their place in the post-apocalyptic landscape. Hoping to influence the direction of events, these electronic ghosts contact and make offers to both Woods and Aliende: They want Woods to take charge of the Unity. To accomplish that goal, they offer to make Aliende a Solon, a powerful, unseen ruler K IR KU S R E V IE W S
of the country. Aliende drafts a computer technician to run a controversial program to wipe out the ghosts. Quite a lot happens in this first volume of Boutwell’s The Silence and the Gods trilogy. The transgender Woods propels the narrative along its various paths; she’s the most intriguing character in the novel, as she constantly questions her life choices, past and future. (“Somehow, Blanche felt some corner in her life’s walk had been turned. Somehow, what was to happen in the future would bear no resemblance to all that had proceeded, whether for good or ill.”) The electronic ghosts are better developed than Aliende, who’s the stereotypical, venal politician. The author has made it easy for new readers to dive in, supplying a character list at the start and a timeline and glossary in the appendix (it’s also possible to enjoy this as a stand-alone work). Boutwell wraps up precious few plot threads in the book, so the next entry in the series will still offer plenty to explore. This beginning of a new trilogy compellingly explores a frightening future.
The Falcon and the Book Brookings, G.F. | Self (400 pp.) | $14.99 paper February 22, 2026 | 9798994900307
In Brookings’ historical novel, a young man in 14th-century France falsely accused of murder is rescued by a village healer. Amiel has always felt out of place in the small village of St. Andre—he was placed there and apprenticed to the miller after his parents were burned as heretics. When the miller’s wife is found murdered, Amiel is falsely accused of the crime and imprisoned. His lover, Sybille, engineers his escape with the help of the village healer, Brune, a Jewish woman actually named Rachel who’s in hiding to avoid the Inquisition (“One night we left that place and traveled south with whatever we could carry on our backs”). While sheltered in
Rachel’s cottage, Amiel and the healer fall in love, and when he leaves to seek his fortune, he promises to send for her. After a short time on the road, Amiel is drawn into intrigue as the servant of the notorious Bishop of Pamiers, a former holy warrior feuding with the King of France, who carried out the execution of Amiel’s parents. The bishop’s connection to Amiel’s past is more complicated than it seems, and he gives Amiel powerful gifts. Meanwhile, in St. Andre, Sybille grows jealous of Rachel after she bears Amiel’s child. Working with a lecherous priest, Sybille has Rachel charged with witchcraft and takes charge of her daughter. When Amiel receives word of Rachel’s arrest, he uses his newfound resources and dangerous companions to plan a daring rescue. This sweeping historical epic is set against the backdrop of a real-life feud between the King of France and the Pope and his supporters in the south, bringing life to a fascinating and under- dramatized period of history. Amiel and Rachel affectingly fight to be together but are forced apart by political forces that are using their backgrounds like weapons against them. While the plot is overreliant on cliches, the colorful, morally ambiguous characters and the sharp historical details make for a satisfying read. An ambitious tale with all the intrigue, adventure, and romance that historical fiction lovers crave.
The Night the Bells Burned Brothers, William H. | Towers Investment Trust (470 pp.) | $18.99 paper | May 23, 2026 9798995667407 | Series: The 500 Year Journey, 1
In the first volume of Brothers’ 500Year Journey historical fiction series, a 16thcentury Dutch family joins those resisting Spanish rule over Holland. It’s the spring of 1544. Cornelis Schutt sits at the table in his Utrecht home, reading passages NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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from the Dutch Bible to his son, Hendrickus. Maria, Cornelis’ wife, warns him to be quiet—it’s against the law to possess, much less read out loud, the Protestant Bible. The punishment is death (“They are hanging a man in the square”). Under the aegis of the Holy Roman Empire, Spain now controls the Netherlands, and the Catholic Spaniards consider the Protestant Dutch to be heretics. Cornelis, a respected merchant, closes the book and places it beneath a floorboard. Maria’s father, Hans van Breukelen, owns a farm in Wieringen, a small island to the north, where he’s been building a forge. It’s time for the family to make the dangerous journey to the farm, where they’ll find relative safety for the next few years. Hendrickus learns to work the forge under Hans’ tutelage until he himself becomes a master toolsmith, his body and soul understanding the demands of the iron as it heats and bends and cools. His work comes to the attention of Prince William of Orange, leader of the rebellion. Soon, Hendrickus will turn his craft to forging weaponry. Brothers’ novel is inspired by his own family’s history and is supplemented by prodigious research. It’s a riveting tale of the courage of a people living under suffocating, violent oppression who remain determined to establish their own sovereignty and save their language, culture, and religion. In prose that echoes the deliberate cadence of the forge and the church bells, the narrative moves back and forth between Utrecht and Wieringen, with detours around the Netherlands and into England. Occasionally, the geographic details and plethora of characters slow the pace, but the gritty battles, in addition to the rebels’ clever subter- fuge, trickery, and sacrifice, keep the pages turning. Complex, compelling, and historically rich.
Britain Unravelled: A North American Guide to the U.K.: Second Edition Brown, Pamela A. | FriesenPress (306 pp.) $31.99 paper | March 25, 2026 9781038304452
Brown presents a nontraditional travel guide designed to help North American visitors navigate the United Kingdom. Inspired by the author’s personal experience moving to the U.K. from Canada, this travel guide provides useful information for both short-term and long-term visitors. Like more traditional guides, it offers information about public transportation and popular activities and attractions. Distinguishing itself from the pack, this book also delves into cultural peculiarities and details of everyday life in Britain that may take travelers by surprise. Writing from a North American (specifically Canadian) perspective, the author notes many differences between her part of the world and Great Britain—cars stop for pedestrians at “zebra crossings”; stores’ opening hours are generally shorter; recipes list ingredient amounts by weight rather than in cups. Brown discusses the nuances of the different systems that drive daily life in Britain, including the education system, the court system, the medical system, and the general structure of the government. The book concludes with a helpful glossary of British terms and phrases that those from elsewhere in the world may not immediately understand. While much of this information can be found online (such as currency exchange rates, entry requirements, and major airports), Brown clearly and
This accessible travel guide’s strengths are in its details. B R I TA I N U N R AV E L L E D
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concisely conveys many intriguing tidbits that readers are less likely to discover through independent research: U.K. baking powder, per the author, “doesn’t work as well as North American baking powder. A friend of mine always has this on her buy list when she comes home to Canada”; “In the U.K., knocking on someone’s front door is seen as unnecessary, and by some people, it is seen as rude. Ringing the doorbell is much more accepted.” Though the author mentions Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, she affords them relatively little attention— travelers planning to visit those countries may wish to use a different resource. North Americans on their way to England who are looking for a comprehensive compilation of relevant information will find this guide engaging and helpful. This accessible travel guide’s strengths are in its details.
Flowers for the Wind Christofides, Nick | Space Sa3 (430 pp.) $32.99 | May 24, 2026 | 9781919483665
Christofides presents a dystopian thriller set in a near-future England where factions try to rebuild while seeking to influence its new culture and politics. After a massive, worldwide societal collapse, England is largely under the control of the New Socialist Order and its charismatic leader, Ben Baines, who’s seizing the moment to try to create a unified global government. Those in power use surveillance technologies, implanted in people’s bodies, to consolidate their control. Fighting against this authority is Amber Bell, a fearless and sometimesbrutal leader of a regional resistance movement, who forms an uneasy alliance with Davey, an operative of the NSO who’s beginning to question his own loyalty. Ezekiel is a migrant who fled from Ghana, sacrificing everything in an attempt to make a new life in K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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England. The novel bounces among these and other characters, creating a sprawling fictional world, full of competing factions. Despite the grand scope and thrilling set pieces, Christofides always keeps the focus on the characters and their intimate moments, punctuated by bursts of action. The main arc of the story is definitely Amber’s, but the use of shifting perspectives gives each of the major players, and several minor ones, opportunities for development. Ezekiel’s journey, in particular, features gut-wrenching moments, and his fearless determination never causes him to fully abandon hope or decency. Christofides’ rendering of various English regional dialects is endearing and evocative, adding a sense of place and acknow ledging the deep cultural stakes when geopolitical struggles affect everyday people. The prose is appropriately tight and brusque and does a great deal to convey the tone of a world that’s moved on, with snow, for instance, characterized as “sodden cotton bullets.” A near-future dystopian thriller about fighting brutality with hope.
The Confessor Christopher, Noah | Self (417 pp.) | $19.99 paper | July 3, 2026 | 9798996910601 Series: Logan Hollister, 1
In Christopher’s mystery thriller, a detective seeks a murderer who forces his victims to confess their worst crimes. The evil protagonist at the center of Christopher’s potboiler employs a number of aliases but prefers to think of himself as “The Confessor.” Through his first victim, David Kirsch, we learn why he’s called himself The Confessor when he confronts David in private about some hidden secrets. David had set up a shell company to commit financial fraud. “I stole the money,” David concedes, adding, “I told myself I’d pay it back. But I wasn’t going to pay it back.” The Confessor waits as he pens a note of K IR KU S R E V IE W S
confession, then murders him. This done, he applauds himself for having restored balance to the world and views himself as a righteous vigilante. But that’s not how robbery-homicide detective Logan Hollister sees things. When a second victim—a social media influencer who hawked a “natural” path to a muscular physique, while ingesting trenbolone and testosterone cypionate on the sly—is killed in like manner, Logan begins to suspect that both murders are the work of one person. As Logan seeks to prevent a third killing, The Confessor eyes his next target: Grace Kimball, pastor of a Los Angeles– area megachurch, and a hugely popular speaker and bestselling author. He begins attending her informal Wednesday night meetings, where he meets her without drawing undue attention to himself. The Confessor is confident that an examination of her accounting will reveal that the church has bought bulk shipments of her books, thereby fraudulently manufacturing bestsellers. What if Grace is simply honest, hard-working, and compassionate, to her own detriment? With his mind already made up, The Confessor moves to claim another victim. But will Logan stop him in time? In a genre that seldom surprises, Christopher cannily upends readers’ expectations. Playing on widespread instinctive aversion to religious hypocrisy, he sets up Grace—pastor, guru, local celebrity—as another fraud deserving of The Confessor’s comeuppance. This strategic choice yields ample dividends. Along the way, readers’ allegiances will surely be challenged, with The Confessor initially drawn as a V for Vendetta–style righter of wrongs. Readers will find it hard not to be invested in Grace’s safety; the dangers surrounding her character have the effect of speeding up the narrative, and they’ll likely race ahead to learn whether she survives her destined encounter with a monster. Christopher’s ability to toy with expectations and emotions compensates for an undistinguished prose style and characters who all speak in the same cadences. (“Twenty-two years of assemblies, Detective,” a pious old lady tells Hollister. “You learn to count a room
and find the one who doesn’t want counting.”) The Confessor remains a compelling figure throughout, so convinced of his own moral superiority that he only belatedly realizes how steeped he is in blood. The author skillfully renders the excuses he uses to justify his pursuit of Grace: “He had decided what was true and bent the whole patient machine of himself to proving it.” In a book full of frauds, he is the most believable character in it. Generic prose can’t wreck a fastpaced story that doubles as an exploration of the nature of evil.
Seeing Sunny Again Clayton, Paul | Self (227 pp.) | $12.99 paper July 2, 2026 | 9798234135704
Clayton’s collection of stories explores war and romance. Taking place in and around Philadelphia between the 1930s and the present day, the stories in this collection seem to progress chronologically, beginning with children as main characters (in “After You’ve Gone,” a child grieves his best friend’s dead father by laughing at his funeral) and ending with two stories in which elderly men reflect on their pasts. In the titular tale, a man rediscovers a photograph that provokes him to reminisce about his time at Camp Sunny, where he began a friendship with a boy named Raymond—the camp favorite until his fear of swimming caused him to run away with an escaped convict. Clayton’s stories are, ironically, often far from sunny, largely striking somber tones, as in “Night Run,” a very brief story about a man who literally runs away to try to gain a temporary reprieve from fighting with his wife (“He needed this, just twenty minutes, a half hour, alone”). The author is at his strongest when writing about family and relationships, such as in “The Ledger,” a harrowing tale that begins with a woman who leaves a man NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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because she can no longer take care of his aging father. The father and son’s disputes turn bitter and culminate in the father’s death; the brief tale will stay with readers far past its conclusion. (“A dark shadow seemed to descend over him. Its embrace would not be denied; he knew it. But he could hold it off for a little while.”) There are some real gems among these often difficult narratives— notably, a few sad stories about the aging experience that hit home emotionally. As a whole, the collection is a breeze to consume, but the complex emotions that the stories evoke may linger. Unfortunately, a few of the entries prove befuddling, ending without any real resolution and leaving readers wondering how they may have found a place within these particular pages. A collection of largely well-written, structurally sound stories that will resonate long after reading.
How My Brain Saved My Life Twice Curtis, Amy Stacey | Self (416 pp.) $20 paper | February 13, 2026 9781736271902
Curtis’ memoir recounts the artist’s childhood trauma and her later struggles with mental illness. Debut author Curtis begins her memoir with a recollection of her trip to a psychiatric ward in 2017. The author, an artist who specializes in installation works, was experiencing suicidal ideation at the age of 46: A voice in her head that she describes as “the imposter” kept insisting that she end her own life. As she explained to a nurse practitioner, “There is something in my brain that is making me seek out, in any environment, every way I can kill myself, and it shows me doing the act, over and over.” It was the beginning of a journey that would come to include a barrage of antipsychotic medicines in addition to therapy techniques such as 124
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electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). The book chronicles the author’s grueling journey of recovery as well as her creative endeavors, many of which were installations done at old mills in Maine. She devotes chapters to incidents in her past that include a multitude of horrific events, beginning with the suicide of her father in the late 1970s. Curtis effectively relates what having unstoppable suicidal thoughts feels like; she captures the paradoxical nature of “someone with severe suicidal ideation who just as severely wants to live.” The narrative moves briskly with short chapters, minimal descriptions, and direct, punchy prose: “I have been trying to ignore the imposter’s constant images of my suicide for 20 months, every day, all day, from when I wake until I sleep.” While descriptions of Curtis’ art installations are less compelling than the other material (describing one piece she created in a cold place, she remarks, “I will ask the audience to dress warm”), they ultimately contribute to a fully dimensional portrait of the author. A highly revealing, well-paced examination of an ongoing personal crisis.
Unstoppable: The Victoria Woodhull Story Danaher, Kate | Story Merchant (450 pp.) $19.99 paper | May 29, 2026 9781970157826
Danaher’s historical novel reconstructs the remarkable life of the first female U.S. presidential candidate. Victoria Claflin’s upbringing is not auspicious. She’s born into utter poverty in 19th-century Homer, Ohio, and the book implies that she and her siblings might have suffered physical abuse from their father. Married off at 15 to a local doctor, Canning Woodhull, who’s much older and prone to drinking, Victoria seeks
refuge in books. Largely self-educated, she first learns about conception in a “marriage guide” at a bookshop in Cleveland. She has a son, Byron, who never learns to speak, and a daughter, Zula. And though the marriage ultimately fails, she and Canning remain close. These early experiences instill in her a conviction that she has “a natural right to love whom I may, to love as long or short a period as I can,” and in time she becomes a passionate advocate for what the press misleadingly terms “free love.” Consumed by an Emersonian fervor (as a child, she has a mystical vision of Demosthenes that gives her a sense of extraordinary purpose), Victoria finds it a grave injustice that half the nation is disenfranchised: “I also pay taxes on such pleasures as tea, coffee, and sugar, all to maintain a government in which I have no voice.” So she decides to run for president, in a campaign that earns the support of her second husband, Colonel James Blood, and then-president Ulysses S. Grant, who points toward his own desk and says, “Someday you will occupy that chair.” But after she accuses famed preacher Henry Ward Beecher of adultery, she attracts the scrutiny of powerful foes who seek to put her in jail. Danaher has written a deftly paced and meticulously researched novel about the life of an unjustly forgotten feminist pioneer, a far-seeing woman with shockingly modern notions of religion, gender politics, and happiness within marriage: “Men suffer nothing for their indiscretions, but women, even on suspicion of them, are crucified,” she notes. But she also challenges the assumption that women who sell sex are wicked while men who buy sex are simply being men. Victoria remains a vibrant presence throughout the book, a woman who scandalizes Wall Street (100 policemen are called out to restore order when she launches the first brokerage for women), claims powers of prophecy and clairvoyance, and earns the enmity of Susan B. Anthony. The irony that Woodhull sought election in an era before women could vote (and thus could not even cast a ballot for herself) is not lost on the author. Victoria’s sister Tennie, an equally exceptional woman who would later K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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marry an English baronet, becomes almost a second protagonist. The world of 19th-century America, a world of house parlors, greased-pig races, steamship guides, lavender sachets, and lavish dinners (“oxtail soup, tenderloin of venison…old English plum pudding”), is rendered with novelistic detail, making the book a genuine pleasure. A number of the greatest men and women of the age have cameos, among them Walt Whitman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Cornelius Vanderbilt, who pursues a brief flirtation with Tennie. An appearance by a world-weary President Grant is a highlight; when Victoria visits him to announce her intentions to run for office, he laments, “You came to speak of your dreams, but I burden you with my nightmares.” A compulsively readable portrait full of rich characterization and well-observed historical detail.
Beyond the Fireworks Elaine, J. | Beyond the Fireworks Press (470 pp.) | $24 paper | July 8, 2026 9798994762004
In Elaine’s novel in verse, a woman endures a seemingly inescapable cycle of physical and emotional abuse in her marriage. From the outside, Philadelphians Celine and Bastian Vance seem like the perfect couple. They’re well off, they have two beautiful daughters, and they maintain strong connections with their respective extended families; they also host regular dinner parties and take lavish trips when they need to relax. This facade hides a dark secret, however. Their relationship started off like a dream, but Celine soon learned that Bastian was quick to anger. What began as small altercations that Celine could easily explain away to curious outsiders turned deadlier. Her family and friends started to notice that something wasn’t right, but Celine didn’t want to appear weak, and she definitely didn’t want to anger K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Bastian. Then, one day, Bastian nearly kills her, and a lucky call to the police is all that saves her life; Bastian is jailed while Celine recovers in the hospital. She then finds out how easily people can ignore domestic violence when Bastian’s family and friends shun her. With Bastian in jail, Celine tries to build a new life for herself and her daughters, but every step forward seems to involve two steps back. Celine’s therapist helps her “talk through hard things,” but she must continually fight to keep her independence from the man who hurt her. Elaine’s gripping novel captures the subtleties of an abusive relationship—including all the small ways that abuse can manifest, the isolation of those who are abused, and the seeming impossibility of ever being truly free from such a difficult experience. The scenes of Bastian and Celine’s final physical confrontation are unflinching and could be triggering to some readers. It’s a testament to Elaine’s writing, however, that the story never strays into exploitation of Celine’s trauma. It’s not clear why the novel is written as a series of narrative poems; most of the story could have been presented as straight prose, which would have highlighted the more figurative “Interlude” poetry sections. A powerful book that straight forwardly explores the horrors of partner abuse and the challenges that survivors face.
Great Works and Me: Enhancing Your Life With Classics, Lit, Music, and Art Fallquist, Richard | Turtle Bay Publishing (148 pp.) | $19.95 paper | April 21, 2026 9798349580871
A brief, personal guide to major works of literature, music, and other arts. Debut author Fallquist explains at the outset of this work that the text is a collection of lists highlighting classic creations that readers should consider checking out; the author asserts that “these lists
will make it easier to survey, absorb, and share these brilliant and beautiful works.” Fallquist observes that many people go through life encountering allusions to classic works but don’t realize “that they are in fact allusions at all.” In addition to the works that appear on the lists, the book offers supporting material, such as recommended YouTube videos that can assist readers in understanding the plot of a play by Shakespeare or help them make sense of the life of writer William Faulkner. The book kicks off with a look at some cultural products from the ancient Greek and Roman worlds; readers are encouraged to take in classical texts like Sophocles’ Antigone or Plato’s The Republic, both of which provide insight into “the way philosophy and justice shape a society.” Further chapters move forward through time to cover topics including opera, postmodern literature, and masterpiece paintings. The author maintains an informal, enthusiastic tone throughout. Extolling the joys of reading old books, he reminds readers that “any book you haven’t read is new to you.” A section on plays assures readers, “There are so many exceptional works!” Fallquist expresses his enthusiasm for Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with the observation that “This play was original in its use of dialogue, where words are weapons…and what words they are!” While the lists are inviting and enjoyable to peruse, readers are unlikely to uncover many hidden gems; the average person seems likely to at least have heard of figures such as Mozart and Shakespeare. Still, the book effectively encourages engagement with works that have stood the test of time. A cheerful tour of famous cultural artifacts.
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Are Relationships for Suckers? Gayer, Belle | Oxford Book Writers (227 pp.) $16.75 paper | April 1, 2026 | 9798234049735
In her debut work, Gayer presents a semiautobiographical guide to the ups and downs of romantic relationships. When it comes to relationship advice, the author cut her teeth via the website Quora and has been answering questions on the site for nearly a decade. Additionally, her current marriage has lasted some 55 years. Although she has tips on how to navigate the tricky world of human relationships, she warns readers that “love is one of the most beautiful forces in human life, but it is not meant to be entered blindly.” This work tackles subjects like how to meet someone new, the importance of loving oneself, and keeping a long-term relationship full of passion. Gayer encourages readers not to think of love in the way it’s often portrayed in popular culture and to not obsess over finding a “single human being who will complete us and solve our loneliness forever.” A main focus of the work is the four pillars, or “the keys to the kingdom of love”: Communication, Focus, Devotion, and Flexibility. Communication refers to the art of “not fighting, not lecturing, not reacting defensively, but ongoing, honest, kind, non-conflict conversations and discussions that keeps two people emotionally connected.” Focus involves paying close attention to one’s partner and not assuming a relationship “will survive on autopilot.” Devotion is about forming a deep connection with another person that can last through difficult times. Flexibility involves the “ability to adapt, compromise, and let go of ego when life, and people, don’t behave as expected.” The work concludes with answers to questions like “How can you make someone feel special every day?” All of the book’s advice unfolds with a personal touch. The author 126
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shares insights into her own life, such as how she and her husband overcame dire financial difficulties. She confesses that with regard to sex in a relationship, “I can honestly say if it hadn’t been for sex I wouldn’t have been married for long.” Such candidness makes for a conversational tone. Readers get the impression that they’re listening to someone who’s happy to share her experiences. The book’s content also tends to be highly practical, especially in the idea that people in a relationship may have different ways of communicating. When disagreements arise, she says, “The goal is not to win arguments. The goal is to understand each other’s operating systems.” Likewise, the idea of keeping score over who has won and lost a disagreement “resurrects old grievances, exaggerates current flaws, and seeks victory rather than compromise.” Certain points prove too lengthy, however. When the author provides the different distinctions for love in ancient Greek, she notes that “their categories help us avoid enormous misunderstanding, especially when we are trying to evaluate whether what we feel is healthy, sustainable love or something far less stable.” The work on the whole offers plenty of heartfelt insight. A highly personal, engaging work from a love expert who draws from a deep well of relationship experience.
The Israeli Palestinian Money Machine Gluckman, Howard M. | Self (258 pp.) $9.95 paper | October 26, 2025 9798269731469
An Israeli man and a Palestinian woman, both attorneys, team up to beat the stock market in Gluckman’s novel. Jake Ginsburg, a certified public accountant practicing in New York City circa 2000,
gets the opportunity of a lifetime when his friend Benny Neuman, an Israeli lawyer, hires him as CFO of his Neuman Group investment outfit. The firm is a collaboration between Benny and Safurah Al-Koury, a Palestinian attorney who’s a whiz at math and computer coding. Together, they design a computer model that uses patterns in stock-price fluctuations to spot stocks that will rise in value. Investors through the centuries have failed with similar strategies, but Safurah’s model has apparently cracked the code—and it quickly generates $10 billion in profits. Jake initially fears, without any evidence, that Safurah and her sullen brother, Sem, may be antisemites, but Safurah’s warmth and brilliance win him over and cause him to set his prejudices aside. He becomes eager to help her and Benny with their plan to invest their fortune in startups that will benefit both Jewish and Arab people. Unfortunately, before he can start, a client company discovers that its CFO, Juan Gonzalez, has been keeping fraudulent books, and Jake undertakes a labyrinthine investigation into the fraud’s circumstances. Later, Safurah begins having seizures and is diagnosed with a potentially fatal brain tumor; if she dies, it could also mean the end of the investment platform, because only she seems capable of maintaining the software that keeps the model on track. Gluckman infuses blunt and lengthy debates regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into this thriller, but as a retired CPA, he proves to be more skilled at staging monetary mysteries. Jake sleuths through suspect financial statements and confronts complicit executives in well-observed scenes, rendered in punchy prose: “I pointblank asked Juan how some of those lousy contracts could be reported as profitable. You know what he said? ‘Mind your own business and just do your job.’” Gluckman’s giddy plot turns and heart-stopping crises make for a consistently entertaining page-turner. An intricate and suspenseful financial drama.
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A satisfying and humane journey into the heart of darkness. IMPOSSIBLE CHOICES
Beach House Confessions Gorski, Kara | Second Chapter Press (347 pp.) $12.95 paper | June 17, 2025 | 9798998876301
Two lifelong friends find themselves back in Delaware for the summer and confront secrets, grief, and second chances in Gorski’s novel. Meaghan Jones is one of the highest-paid actresses in the country. She’s married to Duncan, a major film director, and together they’re a powerful Hollywood couple. When Duncan becomes involved in a widely publicized FBI scandal involving bribery to get their daughter into college, evidence emerges that makes Meaghan appear guilty, and even her daughter doubts her innocence. Trapped in this difficult situation, Meaghan heads to Delaware to spend the summer with her oldest friend, Palmer Harding. There, she runs into Bradley Heartfield, her former flame, and discovers that her feelings for him have never fully disappeared, opening the possibility of a second chance at romance. Their relationship provides hope amid Meaghan’s looming divorce and the threat of jail time. Palmer, meanwhile, is grieving the sudden death of her husband. The two had spent weeks fighting, and Palmer kissed a co-worker one night, then immediately regretted it. She and her husband reconciled, only for him to die the next day. As she works through her grief and guilt, Palmer discovers a journal left by her husband that gives her insight into his own struggles and helps her realize that although their marriage was imperfect, they always chose each other and truly loved one another. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
The journal also provides important evidence that helps establish Meaghan’s innocence, making it significant to both women’s stories. In this quickly paced novel, Gorski effectively uses alternating perspectives to give each of these distinct characters and their storylines room to develop. Although Meaghan’s scandal provides more drama, Palmer’s quieter grief and guilt never feel like filler. Gorski’s straightforward, accessible prose is emotional without becoming overly sentimental, such as in this moment between Meaghan and Bradley: “His blue eyes twinkling in the moonlight. She breathes deep and steadies herself. He raises his glass to hers…The moment their glasses touch, she shivers.” A moving story of friendship, second chances, and finding happiness beyond the expectations of others.
The Tree Gregory, Paul | FriesenPress (216 pp.) $19.99 paper | February 13, 2026 9781038357069
A dangerous WWII rescue mission unfolds deep in the jungles of Borneo in Gregory’s novel. John is a good man and good soldier of the Australian military. As WWII unfolds, readers learn that “he would rather not be a soldier or fighting a war a thousand miles from home, but he realized and understood that a greater good necessitated he do so.” But when he crash-lands in the jungles of Borneo after a failed bombing mission, John finds his perception of warfare and his view of the wider world challenged.
Following the wreck, John and his fellow soldiers are taken prisoner by the Dayak, an Indigenous tribe. Known as headhunters, the tribe members spare the lives of John and his men after a reasoned argument by Torak, a respected warrior and leader. Torak believes it would be beneficial to learn about where these strange white men have come from. Meanwhile in England, Tom, an academic who once lived and studied with Dayak, is recruited by the Australian military to join a rescue mission to find John and his companions and bring them home. Suffice to say, locating and extracting John and his compatriots from the middle of the jungle will take time and won’t be easy. As the days and weeks unfold, John gains the trust of Torak and eventually comes to admire the Dayak way of life, even if many of their customs are foreign to him. When Tom finally arrives and is able to freely talk with the Dayak, a deeper bond is forged between the tribe and these strange white men who seemingly fell from the sky. The novel is written with compassion for both the soldiers and the Dayak, navigating complex emotions from all perspectives. Even as the novel promises a sequel, it works on its own as a stand-alone entry, telling the compelling story of Tom and John, whose friendship helps them better understand themselves. A satisfying and humane journey into the heart of darkness.
Impossible Choices: A Physician’s Guidance on High-Risk Pregnancy in a World Without Roe Hackney, David N. | The MIT Press (208 pp.) $29.95 | August 18, 2026 | 9780262054706
Hackney discusses how the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade transformed the world of highrisk obstetrics. The author, a medical doctor and a professor of reproductive biology at Case Western Reserve University, NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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calmly and systematically lays out the repercussions for patients and physicians after the Supreme Court’s decision in the 2022 case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Succinctly noting how “medicine, at its most fundamental, lies at the intersection of facts and choices,” he aims to provide the facts necessary to make what he characterizes as impossible decisions. The ramifications of Roe’s defeat occupy three sections. In the first, he explains what’s involved in high-risk obstetrics, discussing uncertainty factors and elucidating physicians’ quandaries and legal risks in cases in which abortion is criminalized. He also describes decision-paralysis among physicians, examines what medical expertise comprises, and addresses why trust in doctors has eroded. Finally, he questions the differing standards of responsibility for physicians and legislators, asking pointedly, “Why is the bar set so much lower for democracy than medicine?” Two subsequent sections examine the impact of Dobbs on the status quo, including specific legal, ethical, and care complications for physicians and patients. Hackney emphatically advocates bodily autonomy and physician empathy, rather than moral judgment, but he’s clear about the moral injury that abortion bans inflict. Writing for an educated audience, but not in abstruse language, Hackney effectively engages readers with moving personal anecdotes that vividly dramatize the issues under discussion, often employing pithy expressions; he notes that “risk is the marriage between what we know and what we do not” and that people can “impose abortion bans or uphold…representative government, but not both.” Hackney unambiguously observes that legislative intrusion into medicine affects everyone, not just those who are pregnant. Although this book will undoubtedly be useful to physicians and patients, many general readers will also feel rage and poignant sympathy; above all, the book seems intended for legislators and judges, since it grapples with the real-world difficulties they’ve created. 128
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A sensitive, wide-ranging, and deeply thoughtful examination of the consequences of abortion bans.
Western Tales: The Brown Raven Complete Hamilton, Chris | Self (742 pp.) | $32.93 paper | June 30, 2026 | 9781967933907
Hamilton brings together both parts of his Christianinspired fantasy saga in a single lengthy volume. Lady Cotilia Clara of House Ember and her father have long been dreaming of the day when she would join the ranks of the Divine Crusaders. She’s finally earned her spot after an excellent performance at a tourney in which she bested everyone but her adopted sister Lady Rastia, who competed in disguise. Rastia, who has pink skin and a horn growing out of her skull, has also been invited to be part of the group as a member of the Sword Sorcerer’s unit. The two women are joined by a magical prodigy named T’alandrea, who graduated at the top of her class in college, although she doesn’t fully understand how the magic that she wields works. In fact, the only reason she’s accompanying the sisters is because their mother is furious that she accidentally transformed their younger brother, Charles, into a monstrous, green-skinned creature. Rastia, meanwhile, feels unwanted by her adoptive family and doesn’t see the value in sticking around; she also suffers from fits in which a voice speaks to her, encouraging her to give in to its commands. Hamilton delivers a truly
epic novel on a large scale, telling a complex story from the alternating third-person perspectives of its major players, all of whom confront challenges: Cotilia finds herself thrust into a troubling leadership role and faces rebellion in her own ranks, even as defecting Crusaders commit terrible deeds and a vigilante known as Devil’s Bane wreaks havoc. Rastia initially has trouble fitting in but later becomes a trusted adviser to Cotilia. One of the young women eventually embraces her destiny as the titular Brown Raven, a being of immense power. The prose can sometimes be awkward over the course of this novel, which seamlessly combines the two parts of Hamilton’s saga, but it’s still compulsively readable and filled with intriguing, complex characters. The three central women are well-developed characters with their own goals, dreams, and concerns, and as they grow and mature, their relationships with one another do as well. A tense and engaging fantasy novel.
Double on the Murder Helmer, D.A. | Close to the Bone Press (335 pp.) | $14.99 paper | April 22, 2026 9798995084303
In Helmer’s debut thriller, soon after a detective is hired to find a missing woman, she turns up dead—and the body count quickly rises exponentially. In this first installment of the Joe Stone Mystery series, the eponymous Stone, a private eye in Los Angeles, is hired by club owner Scott
Compulsively readable and filled with intriguing, complex characters. W E S T E R N TA L E S
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Drum to find his missing employee and lover, Patty Walker. Drum’s bar, called The Open Blouse, is “a soft-core strip joint, where the girls were lean and fit, and uninhibited about opening their blouses.” Patty is considerably younger than Drum’s estranged wife, 39-yearold Mya Regis, who has “long red hair, green eyes and good lips.” Mya’s mother recently died by suicide; her father is one of the wealthiest men in LA. Shockingly, Walker is soon found dead, as is Drum. Soon after, Stone meets and is captivated by Mya, whose “hips moved, like a bongo player’s slow rhythm,” but within sdays, she, too, is found dead, partially undressed, in her dark green Lincoln. Stone has his two associates, Arnie Bender and Dave Wells, to commiserate with, but then, Bender is found dead—and so is Bender’s wife. Stone works with the police to investigate why so many of his contacts have been murdered or apparently taken their own lives (typed suicide notes are found near some of the bodies), and he’s taken aback when he finds a suicide note supposedly written by him in the carriage of his own typewriter. In this pulpy LA-noir thriller, the number of deaths that occur in such rapid succession strains credulity but makes for a fast-moving read. Helmer’s prose is flavorful; the book has many memorable lines and vivid descriptions, such as when one suspect’s “eyes welled, causing his black and blue bruises to shimmer under the fluorescent lights.” The engaging narrative resembles that of the 1974 movie Chinatown in terms of mood, location, and twisted family relationships, updating the time frame to 30-plus years later. This detective story’s body count is excessive, but it keeps the pages turning.
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The Moral Compass: Reclaiming the Soul of American Democracy Horne, Stephen C. | Luminare Press (392 pp.) | $20.95 paper | May 21, 2026 9798900711669
Horne discusses the moral dimensions of American civic life in this commentary on modern politics. America’s voices of moral conscience, from Abraham Lincoln to Martin Luther King Jr., have emphasized their belief that “freedom is fragile” and that it survives only when moral principles act as a restraint on power and when “citizens choose justice over fear.” Per the author, America is facing a precipice at which its citizens must reassert the primacy of a moral compass to sustain our civic and political life. Recognizing that extremists like Christian nationalists have long defined their movements through an absolutist moral certainty, Horne contends that a moral society is not defined by religious fundamentalism or narrow codes of piety but is one in which “human beings are treated as ends rather than tools, and where freedom is protected not for the strong alone, but for all.” The book’s first half outlines the ways in which America has drifted toward authoritarianism and a cynical zero-sum partisan system based not on sound policy but on demeaning one’s political opponents. The back half offers practical advice on how ordinary citizens can combat the erosion of the national moral compass by embracing civic habits central to community-building (from volunteer service to local problemsolving), refusing to participate in the dissemination of misinformation, and embracing the principles of compromise and pluralism. The author notes how both Republicans and Democrats are to blame for denigrating the collective moral compass, but he pays
particular attention to what he sees as the damaging policies of the modern right. Horne notes President Donald Trump’s “contempt for the moral fabric of the republic,” providing a detailed analysis of his destructive policies related to LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive freedom, and the environment (climate change, per the author, is “The Moral Test of Our Time”). A cleareyed work whose idealistic message is balanced by Horne’s lucid understanding of contemporary politics, this is a well-researched volume backed by more than 300 endnote citations. An urgent and compelling corrective to modern political polarization.
The Machine Decides: Artificial Intelligence and the New Global Battlefield Joseph, Rodney | Self (396 pp.) | $34.99 April 23, 2026 | 9798257804069
Joseph surveys the use of artificial intelligence in warfare in this nonfiction work. At the outset of the book, the author takes pains to make clear that this work is neither a manual nor a polemic; rather, Joseph aims to soberly detail the history of the use of machine intelligence in warfare. He begins by going all the way back to Alan Turing (1912-1954) and the origins of modern codebreaking—Turing was integral in cracking Germany’s “Enigma machine,” once thought to be unbreakable, thereby becoming a major factor in the Allies’ eventual victory in World War II. From there, readers learn how researchers built upon Turing’s work to conduct experiments in machine learning throughout the 1950s. While the first breakthroughs were in medicine, the lessons learned and the technologies scientists developed were soon reoriented toward waging war. Joseph elucidates the field’s >>> NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Kirkus presents Indies Worth Discovering, a sponsored feature spotlighting an array of fiction and nonfiction works recommended by Indie editors. Here readers can find a useful sampler that shows the excellence and breadth of Indie titles. Find pulse-pounding thrillers, revealing memoirs, twisty mysteries, fiery romances, thoughtful business books, problem-solving self-help guides, and incisive poetry collections, among many other works. Searching for something new and exciting? Read on.
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Kirkus Star
To Love Like Venus
By Stephanie Nina Pitsirilos A scintillating modern love story that will leave a lasting impression.
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The Quiet Cure By Dalia Latife
A quiet yet forceful call to reconnect with the natural world.
Color of Fire
Ghost Writer
An unforgettable and storm-lashed tale of two lovers fighting their way back to each other against the odds.
A light but intriguing mystery with a charmingly dish eveled protagonist and genuinely surprising twists.
Should Have Told You Sooner
Finding Our Grove
An artful and affecting novel of loss and reconnection.
A heartwarming ode to a father’s love for his son and the road-trip experiences they’ve shared.
What We Hold No Longer
The Retirees
By Gina Giordano
By Jane Ward
By Aaron Gedaliah A well-considered collection full of wistful imagery.
By Arjay Lewis
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By Leah Orr
An entertaining read filled with humor, camaraderie, and just enough suspense to keep readers turning the pages.
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Ruta’s Closet
By Keith Morgan with Ruth Kron Sigal A heartbreaking remembrance that’s historically compelling, vividly graphic, and tenderly evocative.
The Biotech Murders By Ronenn Roubenoff
Medicine meets murder in a captivating thriller set inside Massachusetts’ research community.
Pairables
One Last Ride
An entertaining suite of stories that will get kids laughing—and thinking.
A sensitively written, bittersweet homage to that moment in childhood when it becomes time to grow up.
Widow— Widower— Widowest—
The Fire Diamond
By Jas Lonnquist
By Aaron M. Simmons & Polly G. Simmons A compelling and vivid portrait of a deceased spouse.
JJ Sharple’s Mysteries By Davis Hall
Well-developed teen characters energize this laid-back whodunit.
By Dan Elish
By CB Wilson A smart and sassy investigative thriller with a cast of delightfully quirky characters and genuine mystery.
Seeking Sasha By Laura Frost
A tense psychological thriller about trying to outrun the past.
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Farm Pond
By Gordon Frisbie A tongue-in-cheek, metafictional, and gleefully bizarre tale.
Quinto’s Challenge
By Peter McChesney A compelling SF saga that focuses on the humanity behind big tech.
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All That Smolders
A well-rendered portrait of the Civil War as seen through the eyes of a memorable protagonist.
A suspenseful literary whodunit with appealing depth.
Jade’s Broken Bridge
No Free Speech for Hate
By Jon Fowler
By Michele Lee Sefton
A harrowing yet beautifully rendered chronicle of loss, self-destruction, and the long road to self-acceptance.
By James Sulzer
By Stephen Ford
A razor-edged vision of society.
Snowflake’s Journey
Both Sides of Then
A sweet, somewhat wistful allegory of life, death, and everything that comes between.
A candid intergenerational story of survival, motherhood, and the fragile ties that bind families together.
By Heather Croghan; illus. by Adele Reeves
By Jennifer Griffith
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The Wasted Harvest
Finding Sutton’s Choice
A dense, globetrotting technothriller that effectively pits conscience against conspiracy.
A tender family story with familiar beats, elevated by strong characters and engaging prose.
By William Claypool
Daddy’s House By Mildred J Mills
Inspirational, awful, and beautiful all at once.
By Brenda Haas
The Drama Room
By Elizabeth Searle Daring plots with evocative prose and complex characters.
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myriad discoveries during this time period, including the rise of network- centric warfare and the costly lessons the practice taught the U.S. military in the Middle East. He also discusses how the circumstances of the Cold War were especially influential on devising methods of warfare conducted largely in the shadows, using both human and machine intelligence for espionage (among many other things). The author goes on to outline our more modern understanding (and tacit acceptance) of weaponized AI and the effects it will have on the battlefield—and on geopolitics in general—as we move deeper into the 21st century. Joseph’s text is erudite and well researched, and he displays a skill for simplifying intricate concepts: “Human-machine teaming is a relationship, made up of at least three equally important elements: the human, the machine, and the interactions and interdependencies between them.” That being said, the audience for this work is likely quite narrow—those already invested in machine learning and its military applications will find much useful background and food for thought; readers in search of a more narrative approach may want to look elsewhere. A deep dive into machine learning and its applications on the battlefield.
Kirkus Star
Red Run Keith, David | Keith Kristofer Media (275 pp.) | $16.99 paper | March 31, 2026 9780999056141 | Series: The Hart Family Trilogy, 1
Two teenage lovers are on the lam following a brutal killing in Keith’s gritty thriller. The first installment of a planned trilogy, this novel quickly orients readers in a unique time and place. West Texas in the 1980s, for K IR KU S R E V IE W S
better or worse, is still stuck a few decades in the past. The sunbaked landscape is patrolled by cops with too much power for their own good, while being nonwhite is enough to get you in trouble. So when biracial Harlan and the white Willow fall in love, it’s a problem. It’s an even bigger problem that Willow’s father, an ex-cop, physically and sexually abuses her. The ex-cop doesn’t like it one bit that Harlan is hanging around. Everything comes to a head one night when, in an act of self- defense, Harlan kills Willow’s father. Quickly taken into custody, Harlan is interrogated and badly beaten. Some dirty cops attempt to lynch him, but Harlan escapes and finds Willow, and together the teenagers hit the road, headed for California. Left to untangle the mess is Sheriff Hays, who, facing reelection, is finally forced to contend with the corruption running through his department. With adventures taking them from pickup trucks to freight trains, and diners to cook-outs under the stars, Harlan and Willow forge an unbreakable bond as the law draws closer around them. And as Sheriff Hays untangles the truth behind the murder and Harlan’s arrest, he begins to wonder if he’s protecting the wrong people. This is a well-written novel that races along with the swift pace of Lee Child and the visceral ruthlessness of Jim Thompson. Cinematic in feel, the book conjures both Bonnie & Clyde and Badlands, threading together explicit violence with poetic tenderness. Harlan and Willow’s virginal innocence is the heart of the story, even amid the chaos that surrounds them. A terrific rapid-fire crime story that manages to be both sensitive and unforgiving. For more Indie content, visit Kirkus online.
Brave: Story of a Trans Woman K.K. | Self (325 pp.) | $49.99 June 30, 2025 | 9798998990823
In her memoir, ranging from early childhood into adulthood, the author opens up about her life as a trans woman of color. At a young age, the author’s father was deported back to Guyana. During this time, she was predominantly raised by her father’s family until she moved to Delaware with her biracial mother and her brother, who has Williams syndrome, eventually living with her mom’s boyfriend. Throughout these years, K. struggled with gender dysphoria, insisting to her family that she was a girl and not a boy, and sometimes passing as a girl in grade school. She also endured extensive abuse from romantic partners, other children, and a family member, experiences that shaped much of her childhood and adulthood. Still, she persevered, enrolling in school and pursuing her doctor of nursing practice degree. While studying, she discovered the ballroom scene, a subculture created by queer Black and Latine communities, where she realized for the first time that “a man could become a woman.” She states, “Once I discovered the wonders of being transgender, I began to seek treatment to medically transition into a woman.” Although K.’s journey is peppered with violence and medical discrimination, her story ultimately has a happy ending. Through it all, she built a life full of hope, joy, stability, and self-acceptance. The author notes, “What is important is to remember to get up, continue to fight, and always show yourself mercy and forgiveness.” The memoir includes digitized art and original poetry sprinkled throughout. K. unflinchingly chronicles her life, not shying away from descriptions of the abuse she endured from early childhood into adulthood while maintaining empathy NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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for those who’ve hurt others. Her memoir serves as a powerful tale of strength and resilience. An unflinching, hopeful portrait of survival, self-discovery, and self-acceptance.
An Army Firefighter in Vietnam 1970–1971 Kuk, Michael Louis | Ewings Publishing (304 pp.) | $32.99 | $22.99 paper June 10, 2023 | 9798886409932 9798886409925 paper
Kuk, a retired fire chief, recalls his service during the Vietnam War in this debut memoir. At the height of the war in Vietnam in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the United States Army’s Long Binh Combat Base served as its largest base in southeast Asia, housing approximately 60,000 personnel. Located fewer than 25 miles northeast of Saigon and 10 miles from Bien Hoa Air Base, Long Binh became, per the author, “the heartbeat of the overall war effort.” The base was also home to four fire stations, whose firefighters frequently left base to respond to crashed aircraft, serious road accidents involving military vehicles or HazMat, or assist Saigon’s fire brigade. One of those firefighters was Kuk, who served as station chief at Long Binh in 1970 and 1971 before it was handed over to South Vietnam in 1972. The book eschews biographical details of Kuk’s life prior to the war, focusing almost exclusively on his experiences in Vietnam and in the war’s aftermath. These recollections are collected in a series of short vignettes in more than 75 chapters, which are often no longer than a few pages in length. Its detailed descriptions cover the day-to-day experiences of firefighters, from how they celebrated holidays to their open-air sleeping quarters. One particularly devastating theme of the book is the exposure of firefighters (self-described “smoke-eaters”) to 136
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carcinogenic materials like asbestos and Agent Orange, which have left Kuk with less than 40 percent of the alveoli that should be in his lungs. A former contributing editor to Fire Service Digest and author of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles on firefighting history and procedure, Kuk is an undisputed expert in the field who blends technical knowledge with an accessible narrative. The emphasis on engaging with general readers is reflected in the book’s ample inclusion of maps, primary source documents, and full-color photographs. A compelling memoir and poignant reminder of the personal sacrifices of firefighters.
Under the Skin: A Chronicle of Healing in the Age of Digital Loneliness Lanski, Max | Self (268 pp.) | March 3, 2026 9789199146904
An architect explores the complexities of human connection and love in Lanski’s elegiac novel. Max lives a relatively drab existence in Norrhamn, Sweden, surrounded by “endless shades of grey.” His one solace is his texting relationship with Alma, a colleague who works out of the firm’s office in Vale Verde, Brazil. She’s bright, colorful, and fun, and their professional texts soon turn into private messages on Telegram. Max feels himself beginning to fall for Alma, and he’s pleasantly surprised when she’s scheduled to come to Sweden as part of a work exchange. After she arrives, he makes a point of showing her around Sweden and the surrounding Northern European countries. As a result, their bond becomes stronger— but then Alma reveals that she’s married, although she seems to share Max’s feelings. Both must navigate a treacherous path of emotion, desire, and narcissism, one that eventually
becomes untenable. Max resorts to technology—specifically an AI chatbot—to help him sort out his life. Lanski’s story is a quiet, emotionally fraught exploration of human connection in the digital age that effectively explores the question of what love looks like when the parties involved are on opposite sides of the world, tethered only by modern communication tools. Lanski lays the story out in a stream-of-consciousness manner, formatted very much like poetry. The result is a series of snapshots of Max’s life that often pack an emotional punch. Although some of the narrative leans into aspects of toxic masculinity—particularly when Max uses the AI chatbot to construct a “lone wolf” persona to help him cope with his addiction to Alma’s attention—the conclusion offers a kind of redemption. As Lanski states in an afterword, “This story has no villains. No heroes. No easy conclusions”; instead, it presents readers with a series of missed opportunities and miscommunications of the sort that frequently complicates modern romance. An engaging systematic deconstruction of modern communication, wrapped in a complex anti-romance.
The Last Catamount Lavine, Mark | Catamount Mountain Press (114 pp.) | $17.51 paper | April 13, 2026 9798994747124
A trail in the woods becomes a path between the human and natural worlds in Lavine’s philosophical novella. Jonathan Prester discovers a calling in retirement: creating nature trails. To Jonathan, pushing through the landscape to create a simple connector trail becomes a search for meaning and community in the Vermont wilderness. He builds a trail for him and his wife and their shared love of snowshoeing. Running parallel to this tale is the story of a K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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catamount, or mountain lion. Long thought extinct in Vermont, she was raising her cubs when she became aware of Jonathan and his wife. A deepening self-awareness is provoked in the catamount that leads her to questions of identity and instinct. As she works to feed her cubs, she begins to believe a conflict between Jonathan and herself is inevitable. When Jonathan’s dog, Scruffy, vanishes in the woods and is found later, killed by the catamount, the potential for that conflict rises. The community members find themselves at odds as they come to terms with the reemergence of an animal long believed extinct. A third narrative stream runs through the book in the form of interlude conversations between the author and two people named Rodney and James. While often interrupting dramatic moments and narrative tension, these sections serve as a reminder to readers to not trust any single point of view. Local politics emerge as a focal point after Scruffy is discovered, which creates a bridge between the story’s personal narratives and ecological themes. In this short book, the author weaves in larger themes of ecology and philosophy that may lead readers to introspection. Unfortunately, the book isn’t long enough to give those ideas the space they need, and additional supporting characters do little to add to the story. Too many important moments fall flat because supporting characters lack interiority. Despite the book’s frustrating digressions, readers will find much to enjoy in its parallel structure, which creates a meaningful conversation between human experience and the natural world, and the work’s themes of community, ecology, and identity remain compelling. An affecting novella with a creative use of narrative structure and a deep emphasis on ecological responsibility. For more Indie content, visit Kirkus online.
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De Lange Reis: The Long Journey Ledbetter, Penny S. | Warren Publishing (172 pp.) | $14.95 paper | June 23, 2026 9781970735338
Ledbetter’s middlegrade novel, based on the life of her great-aunt, follows 8-year-old Helena Swart as she and her large family emigrate from the Netherlands to the United States in search of a better life. The story begins in 1912, when Helena, her parents, and her seven brothers board the steamship SS Rotterdam and begin the “long journey”—or “de lange reis,” as expressed in Dutch—to North Carolina, where Helena’s father has secured employment and housing at a dairy farm. Helena befriends a girl named Elisabeth Bakker on the trip, and despite the dirty conditions and the potential danger of the crossing (the RMS Titanic had just sunk just weeks earlier), the children enjoy themselves by playing with their beloved dolls. Once in the United States, however, Helena’s family faces one problem after another. The work of maintaining a farm turns out to be never-ending, and the Swarts have trouble making enough money to survive. Helena and her mother begin selling homemade butter at local stores—but when her mom falls sick with malaria, the young girl finds herself suddenly burdened with the responsibility of taking care of all of her loved ones. There’s an innocence to Ledbetter’s prose style, which ably develops clear themes. While at Ellis Island, for example, Helena watches a bird that’s trapped in the building repeatedly fly into the window glass. It finally finds a way to escape and be free: Helena “smiled as she thought, You didn’t give up, did you little bird?” The author has clearly crafted the work with deep love and respect for her relatives, who lived through so many trials and tribulations but remained
hopeful and joyful. Overall, this is an exquisite homage to the power of love among family and friends. The unexpected ending is particularly heartwarming and delivers a fine message that makes the book worth a read all on its own.
Anne of Green Gables fans will likely be inspired by this tale of a young girl’s courage, loyalty, and joyousness.
Alpha House Lee, David Andrew | Self (296 pp.) | $17.44 paper | March 11, 2026 | 9798218916985
In Lee’s thriller, a recovering addict investigates a string of murders connected to the leader of a local recovery center. Adam Taylor is a former prosecutor in recovery for addiction to “every mind-altering chemical devised by man or nature.” Years ago, he prosecuted the charismatic Isaac “Ike” Shariq for murder. Now in 1998, Ike runs Alpha House, a safe place to detox and address addiction in Oakland, California. When Ike is accused of murdering his wife in the midst of a drug binge, Adam immediately smells a setup, but no good coverup is ever easily broken. Adam is up against a network of fake witnesses, false leads, terrifying assassins, aloof drug dealers, and all kinds of other liars in his attempt to find the truth and clear Ike, whom he believes is innocent. One of the few people in his corner is upstairs neighbor Cookie, who may or may not be in love with him. Then there’s Rachael Magaña, an unlucky woman who’s in lust with him and could be much more dangerous than he realizes. The protagonist, plot, and style all contain homages to classic detective fiction—one character has a Raymond Chandler novel in her house, and a building is described to be as “noirish as a Fritz Lang movie.” Thankfully, the allusions never get in the way of the characters or what the story has to say. NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Adam is a hero to root for in all his flaws and failures. Some of the strongest scenes occur in Adam’s darkest moments. Cookie, too, is a wonderful and sympathetic character, which makes it all the more disappointing that Ike ends up being more of an ideal than a fully realized person. Though the book starts slow, it gets better and better as the intrigue builds. This strong, exciting thriller will appeal to fans of both Mickey Spillane and Lee Child. As clever and relentless as its protagonist, this mystery succeeds in the moments that matter most.
Soren and Friends: Just Another Day Liu, Nancy H. | Illus. by Sasha Yoonhee Chang | Naomi Lau (46 pp.) | $28.99 March 23, 2026 | 9781734491104
A young turtle experiences important, and sometimes complicated, emotions in Liu’s picture book. Soren, a turtle in a school full of various animals, feels proud after acing his math homework, but his confidence falters when some mean students tease him about his freckles. Later, anxious about presenting in front of his class, he uses deep, calming breaths to settle his nerves. When an unexpected obstacle disrupts his pool day plans, Soren loses both his temper and his beloved plush dinosaur, Steggy. He cycles through anger, sadness, and hurt before his friends arrive and help turn the day around. The book’s greatest strength is its engaging approach to teaching emotional intelligence. Rather than simply labeling feelings, the story shows how curiosity and context can help people better understand their emotions. Chang’s simple, cartoony art style reinforces these lessons with visual metaphors: Butterflies flutter inside Soren’s stomach when he’s nervous, and ants crawl across panels when he’s “antsy” with excitement. Scribbly lines 138
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represent emotions that are difficult to identify, effectively portraying the feeling of being overwhelmed. Thankfully, with some emotionalregulation skills and an act of kindness from his friends, Soren is able to find wonder and joy in a normal day full of feelings. Important emotional skills, told by a cute animal ensemble.
Cold MacDonald, J.P. | Glossy Black Books (247 pp.) | June 7, 2026
In MacDonald’s SF novel, an undercover operation investigates the interplanetary trafficking of organs stolen from rare, original Homo sapiens. In the far future, the Milky Way galaxy teems with variegated species, some more human-appearing than others, many crafted from “gen spec” genetic manipulation to maximize longevity, ferocity, enlightenment, or exoticism. The planet Earth is long gone, and many of the surviving, unaltered Homo sapiens(“Earthens”) have relocated to the planet Simion in a Galactic Systems Alliance. One of the worst-kept secrets in the stars is a thriving network of unadulterated human organ-smuggling. The practice isn’t for medical applications; it’s just an expression of vanity, fashion, and power (“The amount of hard cash paid for them is astronomical,” observes one character). Culpable in this atrocity is the Mentu System civilization, a wide-ranging, amoral race bred for obedience, energy, and profiteering. A covert squad of Alliance agents vies to expose the Mentu organ trade. The squad includes Zac, an academic and fighter-in-training who pines for his estranged lover, Iwa, a Japanese exo-planet explorer whom he betrayed with other women while on a novice undercover mission; Lamorak, a scaly “Artemis,” a member of a sadly dwind-
ling mighty warrior culture that’s a traditional Protector of Earthens; Kama, a beautiful, genetically upgraded doctor who allows herself to be abducted to expose the hideous trafficking; and Booker, an aberrant rebel Mentu and dealer in another popular illicit vice (archaic printedpaper reading material) who impulsively assists the captive Kama, for whom he develops an instant infatuation. The novel’s tone is often twee and whimsical—there’s a “Dog Star” species whose members take the forms of assorted canine breeds, and a cute R2D2-like robot—which feels slightly jarring set against the ugliness of the organ-theft ring. Still, the suspense and stakes build satisfyingly to the ending, a cliffhanger that will leave readers eager for the sequel. Acknowledging the Mentu System’s crimes’ relevance to real life, the author highlights a website dedicated to opposing Chinese organ-trafficking on present-day Earth. An odd but engaging mixture of the lighthearted and the grave, in a Flash Gordon–like milieu.
From the Remains of the Melting Pot Madeer, Duzeet | Catamount Mountain Press (328 pp.) | $19.95 paper April 13, 2026 | 9798994747117
Madeer’s historical novel presents a cleareyed look at how discrimination affects the lives of a group of college students in 1950s California. The novel focuses on a multiracial set of UCLA freshmen in 1955. Mags Gesing, who’s a white German American from Iowa, and Clarissa Walker, a Black Californian, meet after attending the first day of Basic Composition class, and they bond over their shared love of writing. When Clarissa is denied entry to a student club, the young women form their own, along with Mags’ sisters and fellow student John Goldman. The K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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relatable major characters have rich backstories, which each include instances of discrimination. Clarissa is the most engaging member of the group, though, and the star of the story. A menacing lurker on campus, by contrast, feels almost like a stock character, but he puts a believable face on the bigotry of the era. Clarissa’s explanations of the realities she faces effectively relate the toll of intolerance; they include simple comments, such as “There’s a lot that’s off-limits to me, OK?,” as well as more detailed explanations of structural racism in the publishing industry, which Clarissa attempts to subvert. Together, the friends follow their hearts as they try to build bright futures in a frequently unjust world. There’s a distinct shift in the second part of the book, set closer to the present day, as the narrator reveals the reason for her interest in the story of Clarissa Walker. The emphasis now turns to how arbitrary some divisions can be. Although some metaphors, including “the narcotic relief of ordinary health that rides the wake of an awful sickness,” can be distracting at times, this book generally offers a sharp account of a not-so-distant past. An often captivating story about young people earnestly fighting for a better world.
The Burnt Cookie: Why the Best Work Comes From the Mistakes You Don’t Hide Mandel, Benjamin Asher | Self (178 pp.) $18.99 | May 28, 2026 | 9798198821958
A rethinking of the role of failure in business. In this business book, Mandel introduces readers to the burnt cookie theory, an extended metaphor in which mistakes are expected, embraced as learning opportunities, and used to effect long-term K IR KU S R E V IE W S
improvements. Elements of the theory include the Baker (the person or team doing the work), the Oven (the systems, tools, and resources involved), and the Recipe (the plan, strategy, and workflow that the Baker uses). The author takes readers through the core elements of the theory, then explains how to apply each aspect of it toward diagnosing problems, allowing companies to pinpoint what’s gone wrong in an atmosphere that allows everyone to admit mistakes without fear of being singled out as scapegoats. The book provides several case studies of companies, such as Pixar and Amazon, that have embraced the theory, which has allowed them to turn parts of disastrous projects into eventual successes (Mandel also discusses unsuccessful companies like Quibi that could have benefitted from its use). Later chapters address the challenges of implementing the techniques without managerial or company-wide support and the specific ways in which the burnt cookie theory can incorporate the use of AI tools without evading responsibility for their outputs (“Long before AI, employees were hiding the tools they used to get their work done”). Mandel does an excellent job of developing the theory and explaining how it can be beneficial, providing concrete examples of conversations that managers can have with their teams (alongside conversations employees can have with skeptical bosses) and actionable guidelines for implementing the concept. Although the frequent references to Bakers, Ovens, and Recipes (along with occasional visits to Test Kitchens and Dining Rooms) can wear a bit thin, the author’s use of the terminology serves to reinforce the key elements of the system. The author makes a compelling case for expecting failures and approaching them from a place of curiosity, and his book succeeds by offering concrete ways to turn its framework into a regular practice. A convincing argument for using failures to learn, with instructions for doing it well.
Assassin’s Mace McManus, Ron | Bay Beach Books (360 pp.) | $14.99 paper | March 29, 2026 9798899891243 | Series: Jake Palmer, 5
In McManus’ thriller, a U.S. intelligence operative fights to protect a defecting Russian engineer. The story sends veteran operative Jake Palmer on a series of missions just as his two-year stint with Joint Special Operations Command’s Task Force Orange is ending and his wedding approaches. After an opening raid in Pakistan, Palmer and his partner, Alona Green, are redirected to Russia, where aerospace engineer Dmitry Sokolov, who’s photographed a secret document that outlines a Russian attack on the U.S. and its allies, wants to defect. Working with MI6 station chief Sania Reed and CIA officer Patrick Howell, Palmer and Green attempt to move Sokolov from Saint Petersburg across the Finnish border, with Russian counterintelligence chief Vlad Maksimov and assassin Nikolai Ivanov hot on their trail. (“Ivanov was the most feared sniper in Unit 29155’s stable. A feared Spetsnaz sniper, who still held the record for number of kills. He was known unofficially as an assassin’s assassin.”) The danger expands when Alexi Volkov, the Russian president’s chief of staff (and the official responsible for misplacing the attack document), also defects. Volkov carries the complete plan and reveals that the threatened assault may conceal a larger agenda. Palmer, Green, and others must maneuver to protect him from Ivanov and other Russian operatives before transferring both defectors to American custody. The biggest asset—and weakness—of McManus’ novel is its density. There’s a lot going on here, and much of it is edge-of-your-seat exciting. But the many characters and acronyms can slow down the action considerably, as can the dialogue, which veers NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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from natural conversation to overly expository explanations. The strongest sections are the tactical sequences; the descriptions of movements, weapons, surveillance methods, and command decisions are convincing. The characters are well developed, too, with Sokolov and Palmer especially effective. Ultimately, the novel, combining spies, battlefields, and nuclear threats, is energetic and timely, and it will leave readers wanting to see more of Jake Palmer. An ambitious and compelling geopolitical thriller.
This Used to Be the Future Mento, Alec | Blunt Instruments (244 pp.) November 23, 2025 | 9780997022575
A political blogger reflects on American politics and culture in this collection of original essays. The volume’s opening essay, “The Conservative Movement in Autumn,” sets an acerbic tone that characterizes much of the book’s critique of the American right. If the conservative movement, per Mento, is defined by anything, it’s by its proclivity for incessant whining— from Donald Trump’s infamous tirades against a myriad of people and organizations that have allegedly wronged him, no matter how trivial the offense may be, to complaints about wearing masks in public, what books are read in schools, the increased visibility of transgender people, and vaguely defined “cancel culture.” Many of the book’s 12 essays highlight what the author sees as the hypocrisy of modern conservatism. He notes that the right-wing rhetoric that labels Democratic policies and programs as “socialist” could just as well be applied to tax-supported roads, bridges, police, and Medicare (all of which most conservative politicians vociferously 140
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claim support for). He similarly lambasts “pro-f reedom” economic policies as ones that have “produced an awful lot of money for rich people and not very much for you or I.” Some chapters blend the author’s biting commentary with accounts of his own religious and political development. Born to a devout Catholic Italian American family, Mento writes that as a young adult, he was a religious “fundamentalist”; he describes his political transformation in college during the 1990s, when conservative rants against “political correctness” didn’t align with his budding anti-racist, progressive views. Even those who share the author’s distinctly leftist outlook may object to his polemical writing style, which often makes room for ad hominem attacks on conservative icons (Trump for, instance, is called “a brat,” and George W. is named “Bush the Lesser”), but Mento—whose prolific political blog posts have been republished in print as part of his Penny Rants series—also backs his arguments with scholarly citations. A razor-sharp evisceration of contemporary conservative talking points.
Much Ado About Nothing Neill, Ted | Self (316 pp.) | $13.99 paper April 14, 2026 | 9798252620015 Series: The Post Apocalyptic Space Shakespeare, 6
Neill’s speculative Shakespeare remix invites characters from other plays to chime in on representation in Much Ado About Nothing. The author’s Post Apocalyptic Space Shakespeare series follows Janine, a high-tech future civilization’s personality construct, who’s been tasked with exploring the strange new worlds of Shakespeare’s plays. She sometimes invites characters who die or disappear to leave their plays and join
her travels. Among others, Janine and Ophelia, Rosalind, Viola, Othello, Falstaff, and even playwright Christopher Marlowe now live on a spaceship and visit other of the Bard’s works together as side characters. They must work as a team to leave major dramatic events intact while foiling their common enemy, Iago, who escaped Othello and seeks to conquer the entire Shakespearean canon. Newcomers to this series may struggle to gather this context, but readers who persevere will be rewarded. The books appealingly introduce lesser-known works alongside popular classics; for example, the volume begins with a remixed trial scene from Henry VI, Part 1 as Janine and the gang swoop in to rescue a condemned Shakespearean Joan of Arc; Marlowe and Shakespeare wrote this version of Joan as a demonic sorceress, which comes to the heroes’ attention after they’ve brought her aboard. The contrast between the play character and her real-life identity sends her into painful internal conflict regarding her “true” self. The theme of gendered power in Joan’s story dovetails nicely with Hero’s disgrace in Much Ado About Nothing. The latter story strikes a chord with other members of the cast as well: Ophelia despairs at seeing Hero rejected at the altar, and Othello notes that Don John’s deceptive undermining is “unwelcomely familiar.” Explanatory side comments, madcap hijinks, and an action-packed ending (leaving essential Much Ado events unchanged) should entice reluctant Shakespeare readers. Smart thematic connections and Neill’s dialogue will charm Shakespeare scholars with Othello’s sincere-but-suave encouragement of his female friends and Joan’s evangelism for French wine and cheese, all of which offers humor and warmth. Janine, Othello, Rosalind, Ophelia, and Viola all develop friendships with one another, continually raising the stakes. A growing ensemble cast lends levity and warmth to a captivating reading of one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies.
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The Guacamole Gang Papa Will | Illus. by Auntie Amy | Food Friends Media (40 pp.) | $17.99 paper June 10, 2026 | 9798995774907
In Papa Will’s debut picture book, a guitarstrumming avocado joins up with likeminded foodstuffs to form a band. Javier, a halved avocado with a straw hat and a guitar, dreams of being a music star. He sets off across the flower-festooned farmland in search of fellow musicians and finds Lorenzo, a drum-tapping lime; Omar, a bass-slapping onion; Cecilia, a big-voiced cilantro plant; Julio, a piano-playing jalapeño; and Samantha, a trumpet-tooting salt shaker. Together, they form a six-piece band. Their first practice is chaotic and out of sync, but they soon pull themselves together and stage their first show for an audience of enthusiastic farm animals. Realizing that their music, like food, is made better by the combination of ingredients, they name themselves The Guacamole Gang. Papa Will narrates with simple rhymes that will likely appeal to a younger audience: “Up in the pepper patch, Julio played his keys. / His fingers moved back and forth, he did it with such ease. / ‘Your chords are what we need, / please join our band today.’ / CLANGCLANG on his piano… / and they were on their way.” Auntie Amy’s two-pagespread illustrations are busy yet uncluttered, capturing the brightness and vibrancy of Latin American culture. Her flowers and fruits have a particular appeal, and the smiling protagonists are upbeat and companionable. The book concludes with a guacamole song (to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”) and recipe. A fun little tale of music, food, and friendship.
For more Indie content, visit Kirkus online.
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Rare: A Life Interrupted by Extreme Pain Patterson, Denice | She Writes Press (256 pp.) | $18.99 paper | February 16, 2027 9798896364221
Patterson details her quest to understand the mysterious source of her chronic pain in this memoir. In 2006, after an abrupt onset of devastating facial pain, Patterson, a former police officer and stay-at-home mom, embarked on a yearslong search for a diagnosis and, ultimately, relief from the suffering that had hijacked her life. As her pain worsened, she and her newly retired husband navigated a succession of dentists, oral surgeons, neurologists, neurosurgeons, pain specialists, and alternative practitioners as she tried medication after medication, nerve blocks, brain surgery, and eventually medical cannabis. Meanwhile, Patterson experienced repeated flare-ups and remissions, surgical complications, and years of uncertainty about what was happening inside her own body, all while trying to maintain a sense of normalcy for her growing children. While the memoir is laser-focused on Patterson’s experiences, it is also the story of how chronic pain can quietly rearrange an ordinary life, from motherhood and marriage to independence and the simple luxury of being pain-free. Again and again, Patterson recognized that what she was experiencing didn’t fit the particular diagnosis in front of her. Even as her observation that she’d had “plenty of experience with medical professionals being wrong” became a resonant theme in her life, Patterson was always quick to explain their ignorance because hers was an abnormal case. At times, the prose can get bogged down in descriptive minutiae and medical technicalities, but beneath this material is an often compulsively readable account of a woman fighting to regain control over her life. Even after documenting
misdiagnoses, dismissals, and the consequences of being unheard, she repeatedly gives the medical establishment a pass that her own experience seems to argue against. The later turn toward faith is sincere and may offer solace to readers who share her beliefs. Still, it narrows the author’s admitted intention for a broadly validating story about chronic illness and patient self-advocacy. An affecting memoir that might spark a much-needed conversation in the medical space.
Paris Calling: What It Takes to Pull Up Stakes Piotter, Doug | Self (224 pp.) | $14.99 paper September 12, 2025 | 9780996580090
An American couple uproot their lives and move to the City of Light in Piotter’s collection of whimsical, selfeffacing vignettes. The author and his wife, Terrell, started thinking about leaving the country in 2016, when Donald Trump was first elected president. Their first visit to Paris had them entertaining the possibility of moving to France. Cut to the present, and readers see the pair living a new life as expatriates in Europe. In this memoir, Piotter details stories of living as an American in Paris. Topics range from typical travelogue fodder, such as the best museums and pastries along the Seine, to slightly more unusual scenarios, including recollections of pickpockets and of passengers getting stuck in Metro doors. But Piotter’s identity— he’s a recovering addict and ex-convict who spent a decade behind bars for bank robbery more than 20 years ago and later became a writer and carpenter—informs every anecdote, firmly connecting this collection to his Kirkus-starred debut memoir, Fixed (2015).The book is at its best when the disparate threads of our narrator’s life intersect in unexpected ways, as NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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evidenced by the memorable opening line: “I’ve made choices that landed me in prison, and I’ve made choices that landed me in Paris. Paris is better.” Piotter is never afraid to make himself the butt of the joke, framing his wife as the rational artist and himself as “the bumbling Yank getting caught “in outrageous mishaps. Their relationship, and the charming photos of them galivanting around Paris, provide the book’s emotional core, grounding their journey in a mutual love for adventure: “I’d have followed her anywhere, but am grateful she chose Paris.” Overall, Piotter’s essays feel like hearing a very funny friend recount their latest trip overseas. He readily admits that he’s no expert on French culture, but these unexpected emotional moments make the book feel like one that only he could write. An offbeat travel memoir whose unique perspective gives it a certain je ne sais quoi.
Surfing on Dry Land Recinos, Sheryl | Self (266 pp.) | $15 paper April 9, 2026 | 9781951542634
In Recinos’ YA novel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents forcibly separate a single mother from her only child. It’s 2025, and 15-year-old Xiomara “Xio” Xicay is looking forward to her summer vacation. But that’s not the only reason she’s happy; her mother, Ixchel, who left a small village in Guatemala for Los Angeles when Xio was a baby, will finally be getting her high school diploma in a few days. In her native country, Ixchel worked for her grandmother and didn’t have time to attend school. But before the mother and child can celebrate, ICE agents grab Ixchel, aiming to deport her back to her home country. She tells her daughter to run, and Xio obeys. Now the teen is effectively unhoused. She’s 142
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wary of returning to her and her mother’s apartment, where ICE agents may be waiting, and she’s shut off her phone so the authorities can’t track her. Foster care is an option, but Xio fears that ICE will still take her away. All the while, the teen just wants to know how her mami is doing and when the two will reunite. In a secondary plot that takes place over 15 years earlier, a young, pregnant Ixchel gives birth to Xio. Ixchel’s grandmother died not long ago, so she has no one to turn to for help. She decides to leave Guatemala with her newborn daughter, heading north to the United States. It’s an arduous journey that she sometimes must make in blistering heat (“I force myself back onto my feet, then adjust the cloth around Xiomara. I will walk as far as my legs take me today”). But along the way, Ixchel meets unexpectedly tenderhearted people who give her hope for the future. Recinos excels at delivering alternating, tautly written first-person narratives. Parallels abound between mother and daughter, who are roughly the same age in their respective time periods, and the two characters rely on each other in different ways. Ixchel’s plotline is full of hardship; not only must she make the northbound trip with an infant, but she also finds few people who speak her native Kaqchikel, making conversations difficult in her “basic” Spanish and English. At the same time, Xio’s story is consistently tense; she’s rarely sure if she’ll have a place to sleep each night and sometimes winds up in the company of dubious people. Overall, she’s a likable character who may scoff at her mami’s 6 p.m. curfew but who clearly adores the woman who’s raised her. The supporting cast shines as well; Xio’s two best friends, for example, are also skateboarding children of immigrants: Ha-Eun, whose Korean expatriate father fell in love with a Korean American woman, and Amara, whose Pakistani father and Mexican mother likewise met in the United States. The author, however, wisely keeps the novel focused on the struggling young mother and her scared daughter. Knowing where young Ixchel
ultimately ends up doesn’t make her trial feel any less grueling; readers can never be sure if she and the teenage Xio will find each other again. An endearing mother-daughter dynamic fuels this profound tale of the strength of family.
The Underbelly: A Proletariat Novel Reeves, W.J. | Self (213 pp.) | $10 paper June 9, 2026 | 9798254508564
An intellectually adventurous young man chafes against the constraints of modern life in Reeves’ comingof-age novel. Young Bill doesn’t seem destined for greatness. His father is an alcoholic who’s been committed to an asylum; he looks after his aging, cancer-stricken mother (who also has MS) while working at a factory in Fort Wayne, Indiana, overseen by a testy and temperamental foreman. When he returns home each night, he lingers outside to delay the ordeal of having to help his mom onto the toilet and clean her soiled sheets. His one joy is studying literature at an extension of Indiana University, where he gains a reputation for being “well informed and witty” and acquires one friend, a fellow student named Susie. After leaving the factory, Bill takes on odd jobs, including a brief stint loading and unloading containers for Petunia’s Packing. As he works, he reflects on his early life: He left the basketball team after he failed to grow above six foot two, and his father lost his position as head of the high school business department by drinking at work. At one point Bill is obliged to leave his mother for several days and drive to Ontario to clean out some cabins that are owned by the family. When he returns, he finds his mother’s lifeless body sprawled on the kitchen floor. Her death comes as something of a relief, but when his K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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two dogs die not long after, he weeps for their loss. Still grappling with the slow death of his dreams (“a once comfortable middle class financial life…broken down and shattered”), he continues to apply himself at school. Intrinsically motivated by a delight in literature, he “aces” a correspondence course on Dickens, graduates magna cum laude, and is soon on his way to a doctorate. Although the premise doesn’t sound promising at first, the great strength of Reeves’ novel is its dazzling, experimental prose style; he writes with a ragged, lyrical fervor reminiscent of Jack Kerouac. Sentences roll steadily onward, frequently eschewing conventional spelling and punctuation, slipping into archaisms and poetic cadences that evoke Defoe and Blake: “For years the mothers ailment had drained the family coffers. But that had been slow, even tho ever downward, this latest blow had come hammer fast.” Reeves’ uniquely fantastical vision makes 1962 Indiana (with its “blistered road” and “crummy factories”) resemble the world of Mervyn Peake’s mid-century fantasy trilogy Gormenghast. He dubs Fort Wayne “the city of dreadful night,” a nod to James Thomson’s visionary poem. There are echoes of Holden Caulfield in Bill’s disdain for the hypocrites and fools who fill his life; memorably, he silently rages at those who eulogize his mother at her memorial but never called or visited while she was living. The protagonist is, admirably, always eager to challenge himself: He seeks out essays on 14th-century poetry at the local library, animated by a thirst for knowledge despite struggling with some of the concepts and language. (Reeves adds, with a Salinger-esque flourish, “Hed like to do the good wife [of Bath] who was probably something.”) With his unflappable resolve in the face of relentless drudgery, Bill becomes a hero in the vein of Samuel Beckett’s Unnameable: “He’d made it through the initial day of toil…. He would not be defeated.” A wonderfully inventive prose-poem, thrilling in its ambition. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
Dog on Course: A Tori & Nick Adventure Rich, P. J. | Self (252 pp.) | $14.99 paper March 17, 2026 | 9798994596302
In Rich’s middlegrade seriesstarter, a young teenager moves to a new town, adopts a dog, and undertakes an investigation into why so many local pets have disappeared. Thirteen-year-old Tori Leonhart is a newcomer to Maple Valley, and she’s a bit nervous about attending a new middle school, filled with people she doesn’t know. Her dad is still grieving her mom, who passed away more than three years ago. One of the first stops they make in the new town is at the local animal shelter so that Tori can adopt a dog, as her father promised. She chooses a German shepherd mix and names him Nick. Soon, she’s taking courses at a nearby dog-training facility to learn how to train Nick properly, and before long, they’re working on agility training together. Tori also becomes aware that many other dogs are going missing around town—apparently stolen from the shelter and from fenced backyards. Tori and her new school friends, including fellow dog owner and mystery lover Laura, start to investigate, and when Nick disappears from Tori’s yard, she and her friends employ the skills that their dogs have learned to try to locate and rescue the missing pups. The training techniques mentioned in the book are accurate and described at the right level for tween readers. The narrative draws on entries from Tori’s journals, which give readers additional insights into her thoughts and emotions as she bonds with her new pet; the story also effectively shows her character growth as she builds a stronger relationship with her grieving dad. Although the book is geared toward middle-grade readers, families and even dog-loving adults will also enjoy this fun and informational book, and they’ll
relate to Tori’s and Nick’s struggles and triumphs. A delightful and inspiring comingof-age novel that showcases the power of community.
Project Boing;) Robinson, Brian W. | Self (210 pp.) $18.99 paper | August 10, 2023 9798218243302
Robinson’s novel traces a man’s path through a failing tech company that resembles real-life industry news. Glenn Cregg, senior manager of marketing insights at his company, has a new motto: “Being objective makes me effective.” It’s drivel, but drivel gets you a long way at Boing;), the legacy tech company for whom Glenn provides his marketing insights. Glenn, self-identified as one of those who Gets It, is a true believer in the power, legacy, and potential of the flailing Boing;), an obvious amalgamation of several real-life tech companies that most resembles late-stage Yahoo! in its inane punctuation and unclear business strategy. When Glenn wins a corporate Rockstar Award, he has the opportunity for a special coffee meeting with boss Darryl, an exhausting soi-disant luminary who speaks in cliches and co-opted Black slang. At this seminal caffeination event, Glenn distracts Darryl from aligning the company with a soft-porn juggernaut to pitch his great strategy to revive Boing;): streaming music. Glenn then has to shepherd his idea through a labors of Hercules-like gauntlet of foolish and self-important co-workers, all while managing the iffy mental health and career development of his sole direct report, Jocelyn, who recently collapsed at her desk near an open bottle of pills. To cap it all, an external threat looms: the gimlet gaze of Marian Sallowaskky, a delightfully NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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venomous tech reporter who dominates the ever-fertile “Boing;) is dying” beat. This book is a gem. The author has set himself the difficult task of writing what is effectively a recent-past historical novel, the early-2010s “Web 2.0” culture many of his readers will remember. His deep knowledge of (and healthy contempt for) the ritualized self-congratulation of corporate America that reaches its fullest expression in tech means every page has an honest laugh line. Glenn is both caricature and Everyman. He’s credulous, well intentioned, and hilariously literal-minded and exists somewhere between the so-called good German and a simple moralistic fool. He always wants to do the right thing, but fatally, he thinks his interests and those of Boing;) align. A particularly delightful example occurs when do-right Glenn stands up to the temptation of an attractive co-worker, allowing Robinson to repurpose the trope of “men writing women’s bodies” to comedic effect: “She had breasts. Definitely breasts you were aware of; she regularly displayed, tastefully, a hint of cleavage, as a little reminder: ‘Breasts are here.’” The action stalls a bit in the middle third—there’s only so much excitement you can generate in an office building—but Robinson’s giggleworthy prose carries readers through this minor pacing problem with ease. The ending hits the right notes, genuine and ludicrous in a way that allows the reader to leave Glenn feeling that his story has been told. Anyone who’s ever held a corporate job, gritted their teeth through a team-building exercise, or asked themselves who at a tech company would have greenlit such a userunfriendly experience will enjoy this takedown. Yet readers calling for the guillotine for these tech bros will have to wait for a sharper pen for catharsis: Robinson knows his target too well to imagine real change. A charming yet chilling skewering of the tech industry that, like all good satire, is one click away from horror. 144
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The French Effect Sands, Patricia | Self (330 pp.) $14.99 paper | November 16, 2025 9781069128126
In Sands’ romance, a blocked writer finds inspiration and a chance at love during a holiday in France. Nora Bennett enjoys a comfortable life in northern Ontario, where she lives and writes in an 1850s cottage she inherited from her grandmother. Widowed after the sudden death of her husband, Jeremy, she remained single while raising their daughter, Chloe, who’s now an artist living in Paris with her husband, Olivier. As the Christmas season approaches, Nora finds herself suffering from an intractable case of writer’s block. With progress on her latest novel at a standstill, she accepts Chloe’s offer to come to Paris for the holidays. While there, Nora stays in the apartment of Chloe and Olivier’s neighbor, Giselle Tremblay, caring for her dog, Atticus, while Giselle is in Mexico. The trip proves to be the inspiration Nora needs when she meets Giselle’s aunt Marie-Louise and starts writing about the older woman’s experiences during World War II. Amid the festive atmosphere of Paris at Christmas, Nora is embraced by Olivier’s family and establishes a surprising connection with Olivier’s taciturn father, Pierre. When Giselle informs Nora of a serious health crisis and asks her to extend her stay, Nora wonders if she should return to Canada or explore new possibilities in the City of Love. Sands’ novel is a lovely, effervescent romance replete with well-developed characters and vividly drawn settings. Nora Bennett is an engaging protagonist whose last-minute holiday trip to Paris becomes a journey of self-discovery, both in her work and in love. Her relationship with Pierre unfolds gradually and believably as she discovers the compassionate man
underneath the gruff exterior. The author deftly balances Nora’s love story with her work researching and writing a nonfiction book about Marie-Louise’s life in Paris during the German occupation. Sands’ writing is strong and assured, especially when describing the Paris markets at Christmastime (“Scents of spicy gingerbread, roasted chestnuts, and other exotic baked goods floated out from stalls and combined with the songs of carolers sauntering the streets”). A satisfying tale full of warmth and heart.
Kirkus Star
Women Who Talk to the Dead: The True Story of 200 Forgotten Murder Victims and the Relentless Pursuit of Justice by an FBI Agent and a Detroit Police Detective Schweit, Katherine | 82 Stories (220 pp.) $21.99 paper | May 15, 2025 | 9781947635791
Schweit’s book offers a true-crime drama in which a team of investigators probes cold-case murders in Detroit. The author, a former journalist and Chicago prosecutor who spent 20 years as an FBI agent, tells the story of Operation UNITED (Unknown Names Identified Through Exhumation and DNA), the largest coordinated exhumation of unidentified murder victims in Bureau history, spearheaded by FBI Special Agent Leslie Larsen and Detroit Police Det. Shannon Jones in 2019. They and the team they assembled (and met with at their unofficial headquarters at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse in Livonia, Michigan) examined old case files and then worked to put names to people who were still nameless, using technology that wasn’t available at the time of the original crimes. “Through rain and mud, facing bureaucratic K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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A steady, thought-provoking story of a future Earth. A BELL OF SAND
hurdles and limited resources,” Schweit writes, “these women meticulously unearthed and documented remains, collected DNA samples, and piece by piece, began solving decades-old homicides that many had long forgotten.” The book’s setting is largely a Detroit that’s still reeling, to this day, from the effects of the riots of 1967; in the years that followed, poverty exploded, homicide rates tripled, and property values plummeted. “Hundreds of vacant buildings were available for drug houses, prostitution rings, runaway flophouses, and gang activities,” the author notes. “It became easy to drop a body in a building, alley, or even on a street.” It quickly becomes clear that Schweit has a truly compelling subject on her hands, and she writes about Operation UNITED with a fierce, bravura energy. Her work is both heavily detailed and intensely readable, whether she’s exploring the many lives that have been disrupted for decades by long-unsolved crimes or describing the graphic forensic details of the crimes themselves. For example, she engagingly examines the various stages of decomposition in Detroit’s waterways, where moisture, heat, and bacteria make tasks difficult, even for experts, and can turn fat on a dead body into a soap-like material called “grave wax”: “Doctors hunting for the clavicle or the tarsal bones,” she writes, “must squeeze out the toothpaste-like substance to see if they have found their pot of gold.” There’s also a heartbreaking amount of pain in these old cases, and Schweit shows respect for her readers by not shying away from any of it. She writes about families torn apart, about dreams destroyed, and about the many cases K IR KU S R E V IE W S
that involve infant homicides, with babies “battered by abusive caregivers, malnutrition, drug overdoses, or exposure during…long, cold winter nights in the northern city.” The sheer difficulty of using forensics, anthropology, and other disciplines to piece together victims’ lives underscores the intense dedication of the women who made this work their mission. At one point, Schweit writes of someone watching with “equal parts squeamishness and intrigue… as the team brings up long-buried body bags now filled with groundwater and a mix of bones and whatever might have been buried with the corpse.” Many readers may feel a similar combination of emotions— but they’ll also feel immense satisfaction in Schweit’s accounts of long-delayed justice. An engaging real-life story of forensic detection.
Kirkus Star
A Bell of Sand Wu, Tsung-Long | Self (268 pp.) | $12.99 paper | June 7, 2026 | 9798180464989
In Wu’s SF novel, a systems analyst discovers a potentially apocalyptic danger that a powerful artificial intelligence may be unable or unwilling to stop. After a period of global struggle, a benign AI called CONCORD has managed Earth’s affairs for 30 years. It ensures that all trains run on time, that no electrical blackouts happen,
and that all nine billion people on the planet eat, drink, and happily live their lives. Adrian Vale is one of the human guardians tasked with monitoring “the machine” and its invariably reliable and predictable functions. But Adrian has a better-than-average talent for pattern recognition, and he notes minute system lags and even failures that CONCORD should notice and record; instead, the AI seems to be erasing them from the evidence logs. Adrian discovers that mysterious, detrimental pulses from space have been hitting Earth at regular intervals for millennia—and they’re historically coincident with famines, plagues, and other disasters. CONCORD has quietly been overcoming these attacks, but lately the waveforms have been arriving more rapidly, as if building to a climactic event, and the machine’s protection seems to be faltering. Adrian and a small number of allies delve into disused archives and forbidden cloisters to determine if a catastrophic failure for all humankind is imminent—and all the while, Adrian knows that CONCORD is watching them. Author Wu doesn’t frame this doomsday scenario as a Michael Crichton–esque thrill ride, but rather as a philosophical novel, featuring elegant explanations of such concepts as chaos theory and over-cranked optimization in detailed but nontechnical language and precisely restrained, lyrical prose. There’s no distracting tech buzzwords, and the author gracefully delivers and illuminates the book’s ultimate message. The dystopian aspects of digital dictatorship, such as those in Ira Levin’s superficially similar novel This Perfect Day (1970), are secondary, but skillfully addressed: “The cheapest way to suppress a true alarm is not to silence the man who raises it. It is to make him, and everyone around him, including the man himself, sincerely believe that the alarm is the man.” A steady, thought-provoking story of a future Earth imperiled by a too-perfect AI guardian. NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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MUSIC TO YOUR EARS THERE’S AN IRONY IN the world of audiobooks that many titles about music and musicians don’t actually include any music (it’s a rights issue). But when an audiobook does feature music as part of the production, it makes for a truly unique listening experience. In Harry Connick Jr.’s new biography of his mother, Babe: Elaboratio: A Tribute to My Mother (Harper Audio, Sept. 29), which he narrates himself, the music is essential, punctuating and highlighting the spoken passages. Anita- Francis Livingston Connick died when Connick was just 13 years old, but she had a profound impact on his life. “This is an effective example of the strengths of the audiobook format, and the result is moving and often
thrilling,” writes our reviewer. “A uniquely personal reflection of a mother’s life, brilliantly told in words and music.” Listening to a memoir or biography about a favorite artist does more than illuminate their life and work—it can also function like a time machine, transporting you back to when that music was most meaningful to you. Narrator Fred Berman delivers a perfectly paced performance of Blow By Blow: The Jeff Beck Story (Hachette Audio, July 14) by Brad Tolinski and Chris Gill. It’s a deep dive into the guitarist’s life and career, from his complicated relationships with Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page to fascinating behind-the-scenes drama. As our review notes, “Listeners will want to
track down their old Yardbirds albums and just luxuriate.” Roland Orzabal narrates his own Welcome to Your Life: Love, Death & Tears for Fears (Harper Audio, Aug. 4) with a weathered British lilt. In a departure from the usual rock-star memoir, Orzabal uses astrological charts to navigate his story. As Orzabal relates his unique path to stardom as half of the 1980s pop duo Tears for Fears, our Earphones Award review calls his performance “engaging and therapeutic” and his story “conveyed with gentle grace and intelligence.” Ashley Kahn’s Days of Miracle and Wonder: Paul Simon and the Trials and Triumphs of Graceland (Simon & Schuster Audio, Aug. 11) chronicles how Simon’s album Graceland came to be, from an unlabeled cassette tape to a search for the musicians to recording the songs in
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apartheid-era South Africa. Our review calls it “a beautifully narrated history,” noting that narrator Leon Nixon “takes a storyteller’s approach,” conveying the story “with a natural, compelling quality that’s consistently engrossing.” Finally, as we mourn and celebrate the great Dolly Parton, there’s a plethora of audiobooks that explore her life and work, some of them performed by Parton herself. Martha Ackmann’s Ain’t Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton (Macmillan Audio, 2025) is a charming chronicle that gets an appropriately bubbly and bright narration from Hannah Church. Accompanied by a full cast, Parton portrays a retired country music superstar with humor, warmth, and attitude in Run, Rose, Run (Hachette Audio, 2022), a thriller set in the world of country music that she co-authored with James Patterson. Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones (Random House Audio, 2023), focuses on Parton’s iconic wardrobe, and the audiobook exemplifies her storytelling gift as she narrates with her signature dynamism. And yes— song excerpts included! Jennifer Dowell is the audiobooks editor.
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Illustration by Eric Scot t Ander son
Audiobooks
AUDIOBOOKS
EDITOR’S PICK This novel’s powerful depiction of a brutal gay bashing in 1980s Jamaica is not for the faint of heart or narrow of mind. But for audiobook lovers, it will join a small circle of unforgettable listening experiences that demonstrate the unique force and depth of the audio format. The six-voice ensemble enlivens the rich vernacular and
dramatic impact of a narrative that ranges from campy to tender to savage, often within seconds. The novel’s intricate timeline and hefty cast of characters are daunting, but this finely matched ensemble proves that a novel can be better heard than read. One of the year’s most celebrated novels is also one of its most memorable audiobooks.
The Disappearers James, Marlon | Read by Brandon Miles, Michael Sean Harris, Solomon Peck, Andrew Clarke, Karl O’Brian Williams & Ano Okera Penguin Audio | 22 hrs, 55 mins $34 | September 1, 2026 | 9798217281596
Kirkus awards Earphones to truly exceptional presentations that excel in the following criteria: narrative voice and style, vocal characterizations, appropriateness for the audio format, and enhancement of the text.
These Titles Earned the Earphones Award
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Adam, Mine By K. Ancrum; read by Will Watt No One Knows You’re Here By Rachel Howzell Hall; read by Tamika Katon-Donegal & Adam Lazarre-White
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The Eighth Life (for Brilka) By Nino Haratischwili; trans. by Charlotte Collins & Ruth Martin; read by Tavia Gilbert
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Poppy By Kevin Henkes; read by Keylor Leigh The Disappearers By Marlon James; read by Brandon Miles, Michael Sean Harris, Solomon Peck, Andrew Clarke, Karl O’Brian Williams & Ano Okera
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It’s Not What You Think By Clare Mackintosh; read by Richard Armitage, Samuel Barnett, Tuppence Middleton & Vineeta Rishi
Mexikid Dreams By Pedro Martín; read by a full cast Twig’s Traveling Tomes By Gryffin Murphy; read by Imogen Church
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I’ve Got a New Complaint By Laurie Notaro; read by Hillary Huber
East of the River By Guadalupe Rosales; read by Elena Rey The Neverfear By Katherine Rundell; read by Samuel West
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Hiroshima, 8:15 By Kiyoshi Tanimoto; read by Fred Sanders, Ren Hanami & Brian Nishii
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Fury in Death By J.D. Robb; read by Susan Ericksen
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AUDIOBOOKS
The Radiance Akhtar, Ayad | Read by Ayad Akhtar | Simon & Schuster Audio | 9 hrs, 49 mins | $28.34 September 29, 2026 | 9781668120316
Akhtar narrates his novel in which the main character is a writer named Ayad Akhtar. He accepts an offer to teach a creative writing workshop, where he finds himself ensnared in campus politics. Then, a hit-and-run crash, which was possibly a hate crime, and its aftermath result in Akhtar’s perceptions “enlarging,” eventually freeing him from the mundane pleasures of sexual desire. This leads him to experience the world in a way that sometimes eludes his ability to articulate. Author Akhtar’s voice confidently embodies this layered audiobook’s multiple stories and themes perfectly, maintaining the listener’s empathy.
A captivating audiobook about perception, communication, and meaning.
In the Country I Love Al-Barkawi, Alaa | Read by Marwan Salama, Rasha Zamamiri & Alaa Al-Barkawi | Listening Library | 11 hrs, 59 mins | $27.50 | May 26, 2026 9798217411221
Marwan Salama’s narration conveys the love Iraqi American teens Khaled and Yassir have for one another, as well as their vulnerabilities. They live under the shadow of the war they escaped, dealing with American prejudice and the severed relationship between their two families. Yassir is also raising the toddler he fathered, while Khaled fights Islamophobia and struggles with alcoholism. Rasha Zamamiri performs the part of Kawther, Khaled’s estranged sister, a lawyer who defends Yassir after he’s attacked. In a soft, calming voice, Zamamiri also narrates as the omniscient Sky in sections that offer 148
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Mollo-Christensen makes this tension vivid. T H E W I L D B E N E AT H
some relief from the plot’s tension.
Unflinchingly, two narrators reveal painful truths about secrets, lapsed religion, and unresolved trauma. (Fiction. 14-18)
Earphones Award
Adam, Mine Ancrum, K. | Read by Will Watt | Harper Audio 9 hrs, 14 mins | $28.99 | September 8, 2026 9780063449053
Will Watt’s narration shines in this queer Frankenstein retelling. Brilliant scientist Victor is certain that he can find the answer to human reanimation. Desperate to prove himself, he kidnaps innocent Elias, destroys his body, stitches it back together, and revives him using a mix of alchemy and electricity—with horrifying results. Victor then journeys across Europe to reverse his mistake with vengeful Elias on his trail. Watt depicts the alchemists Victor seeks advice from in a variety of languages and accents. He embodies suffering, betrayal, regret, and even budding love with an emotional intensity that will leave listeners in tears. Clarifying footnotes with historical context are interwoven with the prose.
A brilliant, empathetic narration worthy of its complex characters. (Horror. 14-18) For more audiobooks narrated by Will Watt, visit Kirkus online.
The Wild Beneath Anderson, Kelly | Read by Sarah MolloChristensen | Harper Audio | 10 hrs, 41 mins $28.99 | August 4, 2026 | 9781488238321
Narrator Sarah Mollo-Christensen elevates this atmospheric, immersive audiobook with flawless pacing, accelerating naturally to sharpen urgency and emotional emphasis. Annie spends most of her life homeschooled aboard her parents’ sailboat, coming ashore only for summers with her grandmother and her childhood sweetheart, Evan. At 19, a tsunami takes Annie’s parents and overturns her world. Soon afterward, she finds a mysterious, nearly silent man washed up onto the beach. His uncanny sensitivity and knowledge about Annie’s past draw her toward him, complicating her bond with steadfast Evan. Mollo-Christensen makes this tension vivid through an impressive vocal range, moving seamlessly among Annie, her close-knit family, and other characters, and keeping every voice distinct.
A beautiful, expressive narration that captures the characters’ awe of nature and the sea.
Venus, Vanishing Birrell, Rebecca | Read by Lydia Wilson Macmillan Audio | 10 hrs, 2 mins | $28.34 October 27, 2026 | 9781250471123
In early-1930s Berlin, Jewish tailor Hannah Sherman runs away from her family to pursue a life as a painter in the hedonistic underground art world. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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Narrator Lydia Wilson provides a gentle voice for Hannah, perfectly capturing her youthful innocence as she makes her way among women trying to survive on their own terms. Wilson’s tone intensifies as Hannah is seduced by wealthy Elke, who poses nude and ultimately betrays their friendship. Wilson portrays the beguiling and manipulative Elke as coldly seductive, while voicing Hannah with increasing desperation as she plots her revenge against Elke for selling her paintings under a man’s name and exploiting her talent for personal gain. Listeners will experience the seductive power of brush strokes against the backdrop of Nazi Germany’s growing menace.
Looking for Terry: A Memoir Bradshaw, Terry with David Fisher | Read by Terry Bradshaw | Harper Audio | 7 hrs, 51 mins $28.34 | October 13, 2026 | 9781400260294
Bradshaw’s football career ended in the 1980s, and these days he’s probably most widely known for his ubiquitous cultural presence in movies, commercials, and reality television. Bradshaw takes a long and detailed look back at his consequential life decisions. He’s a gifted narrator and storyteller, the kind of guy who can instantly build rapport with his audience. It’s no surprise this audiobook is entertaining and occasionally moving. As Bradshaw reflects on the characters he’s played over the years, essentially simple variations of himself, his voice reflects a self-effacing humility. Bradshaw has been able to build his extended second career with this warm approachability.
An entertaining memoir by a true all-American of popular culture.
Queenie Is Working on It Carty-Williams, Candice | Read by Shvorne Marks | Simon & Schuster Audio | 11 hrs, 27 mins | $29.39 | September 8, 2026 9781797195438
Shvorne Marks’ warm, upbeat narration enhances this sequel to Carty-Williams’ bestselling debut novel Queenie, about a young Jamaican British woman navigating jobs, cultures, race, and relationships in London. Ten years have passed, and Queenie is still a work in progress. Her journalism career is rewarding. Yet her love life is compli cated, and her family, while caring, is a challenge. As Queenie navigates fertility issues, cross-cultural friendships, and modern life in London, she’s comical, irreverent, smart, and occasionally a mess. Marks leaps into the chaos with enthusiasm, describing the action in a style both crisp and warmhearted. Her personalization of the main characters helps illuminate their backgrounds and temperaments and makes conversations easy to follow. With Marks narrating, Queenie’s new adventures are fun and heartfelt.
Beyond Beauty: A Portrait of John Singer Sargent Cox, Devon | Read by Daniel Henning Recorded Books Inc. | 17 hrs, 20 mins $32.54 | January 5, 2027 | 9798899749551
Narrator Daniel Henning brings an engaging charm to this biography of the great American painter John Singer Sargent (1856-1925). Sargent
Marks leaps into the chaos with enthusiasm. QUEENIE IS WORKING ON IT
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moved endlessly around Europe starting in early childhood and throughout his prolific career as a portrait artist to wealthy socialites. While details abound about his artworks and his fascinatingly colorful subjects, the inner life and personal relationships of the notoriously private artist have been more elusive to scholars. Henning’s steady and expressive delivery keeps the listener’s attention as he relates new archival research from letters and memoirs that provides insight into Sargent’s restless nature and his unconventional friendships with male models and other bohemian artists in his circle. Sargent’s true character is revealed through his lifelong devotion to his sisters and close friends. An illuminating portrait of the painter of the Gilded Age’s rich and famous.
Life of M Cusk, Rachel | Read by Rachel Cusk Macmillan Audio | 4 hrs, 15 mins | $17.99 August 25, 2026 | 9781250487131
Cusk’s latest novel and first audio performance reveal the soft, plaintive voice behind her famously stern, exacting literary style. M, a Hollywood actress, undergoes the same treatment as most Cusk subjects: a character study undertaken with surgical precision. Cusk’s unnamed protagonist, a writer, exposes M as she exposes herself, criticizing the industry that shaped M with a ruthless curiosity. There is a humility in Cusk’s voice that makes this analysis feel earnest, not cold. There is no judgment in her tone, but instead a tenacity that doesn’t let up until every aspect, flattering or not, of M’s psyche has been uncovered.
No amount of softness in Cusk’s audio performance can render the diamond edge of her critical writing less sharp. NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Peregrine Hill de Gramont, Nina | Read by Carlotta Brentan Simon & Schuster Audio | 10 hrs, 58 mins $28.34 | November 10, 2026 | 9781668151334
De Gramont’s novel, set in New York City in the early 20th century, introduces the newly widowed Isabelle Bishop, who hopes that marrying the wealthy, older widower John Whitten will rescue her along with her mother and daughter, Mariah, from scandal and poverty. Carlotta Brentan brings this diverse cast of characters to vibrant life. Whitten is loving and kind—as long as his demands are met. And instead of Isabelle, he wants to marry Mariah. Isabelle is determined and practical as she convinces Mariah to agree, for the sake of the family, to this arrangement. Hetty, Mariah’s lady’s maid, befriends Mariah, helping her find her confidence.
Powerless women find their voices in a society controlled by men.
The Whitechapel Full Moon Society DeLozier, Elizabeth | Read by Saskia Maarleveld | Penguin Audio | 9 hrs, 17 mins $22 | August 25, 2026 | 9798217338467
Saskia Maarleveld splendidly presents this novel set in Victorian London with a supernatural twist. After debt collectors claim her mansion, Caroline heads to London hoping to find her brother, Charlie, only to find that he has disappeared. Maarleveld makes Caroline sympathetic as she begins working as a maid at Charlie’s last known address. There, she’s told to stay in her room and ignore anything she hears on full moon nights. Maarleveld ably portrays strange lodgers and the compassionate landlady. As Caroline continues to search for Charlie, she believes she’s on the trail of Jack the Ripper, putting herself in grave danger. Maarleveld’s occasional whispered 150
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Nuanced, passionate, emotional. WELL VERSED
narration increases the sense of dread, while the epilogue humanizes the victims and helps listeners empathize with their tragic plights.
Poetic writing belies this story’s horror.
Well Versed DeLuca, Jen | Read by Brittany Pressley Penguin Audio | 10 hrs, 9 mins | $22 September 22, 2026 | 9798217353590
Brittany Pressley delivers a nuanced, passionate, emot ional performance of this heartfelt second-chance romance. Currently unemployed, 24-year-old Caitlin Parker returns home to help her aunt Emily at the Willow Creek Renaissance Faire. Caitlin comes face to face with Alexander Wright, who broke her heart at said Faire seven summers earlier. Now, Caitlin is performing as a lady-in-waiting, and Alex does an improv show called Shakespeare on Demand. Sparks fly when they reunite—but can they find a way to be together? Pressley varies her tone between Caitlin’s narrative voice and Alex’s warm, enticing dialogue. Listeners will feel every ounce of yearning and longing.
Depraved: The Story of Dangerous Art Dixon, Daisy | Read by Daisy Dixon Penguin Audio | 9 hrs, 5 mins | $22 August 11, 2026 | 9798217338764
Would your opinion of two identical portraits be the same if you knew that a sexual predator painted one of them? In this controversial audiobook, author and narrator Dixon argues that artwork is
inseparable from its artist’s actions. Dixon’s reading is crisp and convincing, never pedantic, and her examples range from Eminem and drill music to cave drawings and Picasso. She structures her audiobook around five categories: obscenity (distinguishing between offensiveness and immorality), criminality (whether art can make people commit crimes), oppression (the objectification of women, racist stereotypes, and the eroticization of sexual violence), malevolence (the inseparability of art from the artist), and cruelty (where the process of creating involves wrongdoing—for example, killing elephants for their tusks). Often provocative and never boring, Depraved provides plenty of material for water cooler discussions.
You Won’t Forget Me Eddings, Mazey | Read by Abi Hardiman & Aleksander Varadian | Macmillan Audio 11 hrs, 28 mins | $28.34 | June 9, 2026 9781250445940
Abi Hardiman expresses the highs and lows of this sweet rock ‘n’ roll sapphic romance with captivating vocals and attentive characterizations. Starring lovelorn musician Cubby Clark, it’s a story that’s part self-discovery, part road trip, and part friends-to-lovers romance. Former band mate and ex-boyfriend Connor’s success came at Cubby’s expense; as she faces the messy aftermath, she also grapples with her deepening connection with her best friend and musical collaborator, Darcy. Hardiman deftly shifts between English, Irish, Icelandic, and American accents and balances Cubby’s jumbled emotions as her fledgling band, Tea Time Tantrum, embarks on a U.S. tour. The production features standout K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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musical performances that underscore pivotal moments, with song lyrics penned by the author and music composed by Hardiman. This musical romance hits just the right note.
Andromeda Diaz and the Reasonable Doubt Galvin Almanza, Emily | Read by Emily Galvin Almanza | Listening Library | 5 hrs, 11 mins $14 | September 8, 2026 | 9798217352364 Series: Andromeda Diaz
Fifth grader Andromeda Diaz is concerned about her friend, Benji, who has been accused of stealing a valuable watch and is now facing charges. Andi, the daughter of two public defenders, doesn’t believe he committed the crime, and she works to figure out what really happened. Author Almanza, who was herself a public defender, performs her own work enthusiastically. Her narration style is casual, at times not quite nailing the rhythm of the text. While she’s not a professional narrator, her knowledge of the legal process shines through.
Through Andromeda’s story, young listeners will learn more about the justice system and their rights. (Mystery. 8-12)
The French Illusion Grisham, John | Read by Michael Beck Random House Audio | 12 hrs, 14 mins $25 | September 29, 2026 | 9780593830154
What happens when American couples enjoying their dream honeymoons in Paris are kidnapped? Grisham, the master of the legal thriller, delivers a complex thriller of global terrorism. While narrator Michael Beck is excellent at male characters with American accents, his female characters K IR KU S R E V IE W S
and his pronunciation of French place names and words are jarring. Further, listeners will need to pay close attention in order to follow the shifting points of view and the introductions of new characters and settings. Unfortunately, the writing has the emotional intensity of an after-action report. The exceptions are the brutal torture scenes, which are painful to listen to. Grisham fans will hang in there until the end, but for many, this may prove a challenging listening experience.
Earphones Award
No One Knows You’re Here Hall, Rachel Howzell | Read by Tamika KatonDonegal & Adam Lazarre-White Brilliance Audio | 12 hrs, 11 mins | $42.99 June 30, 2026 | 9781522615170
Narrator Tamika Katon-Donegal masterfully performs intrepid journalist Syeeda McKay along with the many other characters, good and evil, who people her life. A serial killer is murdering Black sex workers, and the crimes have received scant attention from the police or the media. As she pursues the story, McKay becomes the killer’s next target. Interspersed are chapters from the serial killer’s point of view, delivered in a deep, creepy voice by Adam Lazarre-White. McKay is recovering from a partial mastectomy at the same time as she’s doggedly chasing down leads and managing complex personal relationships.
Listeners will be glued to their earbuds as they cheer McKay on to the chilling end.
For more audiobooks narrated by Tamika Katon-Donegal, visit Kirkus online.
Earphones Award
The Eighth Life (for Brilka) Haratischwili, Nino | Trans. by Charlotte Collins & Ruth Martin | Read by Tavia Gilbert Harper Audio | 41 hrs, 9 mins | $52.99 August 25, 2026 | 9780063485884
Tavia Gilbert deserves a standing ovation for her performance of this brilliant family saga. She captures the truth in each heart-stopping situation, each convoluted connection, each moment of joy or pain, and she makes each character’s inner thoughts, hopes, and dreams come alive. An early-19thcentury chocolatier has a secret family recipe which, while deliciously irresistible, has dark consequences. He reluctantly passes the recipe to his daughter, and what follows covers a century of the country of Georgia’s history with Russia, complete with highly dramatic experiences of operatic proportions. Gilbert delivers a tale filled with the horrors of war, the excruciating costs of love, pain, ecstasy, death, and retribution.
Even at this audiobook’s daunting length, Gilbert’s tour-de-force performance keeps each moment riveting.
Unbound Hazelwood, Ali | Read by Dean Miller & Tara Fatehi | Spotify Audiobooks | 5 hrs, 23 mins $13.79 | July 14, 2026 | 9798318208904
Narrators Tara Fatehi and Dean Miller bring this simmering novella to life with their enchanting voices. Fatehi provides the main narration as Lilit of Nineveh, a 5,000-year-old revenant, or vampire. Fatehi’s soft British Iranian accent and expressive narration carry listeners through Lilit’s story. For ten years, Lilit has been seeing Dr. Roman Martin, an ER physician NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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voiced by Miller. Just as she realizes their dalliances may be evolving into something real, Roman breaks it off. Miller’s serious but warm narration is well suited for Roman. When Lilit’s world of secrecy puts Roman’s life in real danger, she must choose between her loyalties and her heart. Full of political intrigue, complex dynamics, and yearning, this audiobook novella is a bite-sized delight.
Earphones Award
Poppy Henkes, Kevin | Read by Keylor Leigh Harper Audio | 2 hrs, 4 mins | $15.99 October 6, 2026 | 9780063517196 Series: A Miller Family Story, 5
Keylor Leigh narrates this fifth and final novel in the Miller Family series, this time focusing on the youngest family member, 10-yearold Poppy. Still grieving the death of her father, Poppy is facing a Thanksgiving with lots of changes in the people around her— her brother, Billy, is returning from college; her lovelorn sister, Sal, is rebelling; and her mother has a new male friend. Luckily, Poppy has her art to help her cope. Leigh takes Poppy through these challenges with a youthful voice filled with exasperation, desperation, anticipation, and, always, love. Leigh ably conveys Sal’s sarcasm and portrays Billy’s coming-of-age. Catch up with the Miller family through the voice of the youngest child. (Fiction. 6-10)
Idle in Provence: A Brief History of Thyme Idle, Eric | Read by Eric Idle | Harper Audio 6 hrs, 44 mins | $25.19 | September 8, 2026 9781400256785
Idle, the multifaceted entertainer, writer, and musician, enthusiastically performs what is very much a multifaceted audiobook. It’s both a witty, whimsical memoir, replete with profound and occasionally rude observations, and the story of Idle’s ongoing transformation of a Provence shack. Purchased in 1971 and lacking electricity and water, it eventually becomes his beloved “shackeau.” Idle’s British inflection is charming, and while listeners may well be entertained by stories of his famous guests, such as George Harrison, the greatest appeal here lies in Idle’s curious reflections on life, friendship, and growing older. The audiobook includes an extensive PDF of photos.
Treat yourself to a French vacation in the company of a consummate entertainer.
The Outcry James, Henry | Read by Justin Avoth Naxos AudioBooks | 6 hrs, 7 mins $18.38 | April 21, 2026 | 9781781986158
Narrator Justin Avoth delivers the upper-crust accents and supercilious manner of the characters in this final novel by master storyteller James. This witty comedy critiques social status, the whims of the very
Replete with profound and occasionally rude observations. IDLE IN PROVENCE
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rich, and the debate over what constitutes art and who should own certain masterpieces—the wealthy or the public. Avoth’s portrayal of Lord Theign, a man forced to save his daughter, Kitty, from financial ruin after a string of unsuccessful gambles, is empathetic and moving. He decides to sell his prized painting, Duchess of Waterbridge, but public opinion ultimately forces him to choose between selling it or displaying it in a public gallery. Avoth portrays the troubled rich with understanding and feeling.
Valet Lacrampe, J.P. | Read by Kevin R. Free Simon & Schuster Audio | 7 hrs, 49 mins $25.19 | June 2, 2026 | 9781668151488
Normally, a narrator who sounds like a robot is not necessarily a good thing, but here Kevin R. Free combines just the right tones of bright intelligence, undying loyalty, and a megadose of snarky humor to create the voice of Cy, a perfectly helpful android. The upbeat and genial Cy has been assigned to look after the unmotivated, daydreaming son of a highly successful family-run robotics company. When the company is targeted for a hostile buyout, the pair go underground in search of a plan to save the family firm. Along the way, Free revels in giving fun voices to a renegade robot, a group of underachieving neohippies, and an overbearing and always disappointed mother. Think P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves and The Jetsons meet ChatGPT.
For more audiobooks narrated by Kevin R. Free, visit Kirkus online.
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A weighty exploration of justice, time, and family. BEGINNING MIDDLE END
Post Mortem Lagercrantz, David | Trans. by Ian Giles Read by Simon Vance | Random House Audio 8 hrs, 39 mins | $22 | August 25, 2026 9798217406692 | Series: Rekke Series, 3
Simon Vance sure-footedly guides listeners through the labyrinth of this mystery. Though it opens in Stockholm in 2008, the novel frequently flashes back to an unsolved 1980s murder, when a road trip taken by two friends culminated in the brutal killing of a young woman in Santander, Spain. Decades later, a Spanish detective who suspects the murder was related to a string of homicides approaches investigators Hans Rekke and Micaela Vargas for help. Despite Vance’s distinctive voices and accents, it’s sometimes hard to distinguish between the past and present storylines. The convoluted plot and crowded cast of characters, few of whom are relatable, require immense concentration; while some listeners will have the patience, others will find that the resolution isn’t worth the effort.
A mystery that loves its plot twists more than its characters.
A Tender Age Lee, Chang-rae | Read by Keong Sim Penguin Audio | 9 hrs, 34 mins | $22 August 11, 2026 | 9798217336784
The complicated machinations of childhood are examined in this well-performed audiobook. Keong Sim delivers the perspective of Jeon-Gi, a preteen boy K IR KU S R E V IE W S
trying to find his place in the world. Sim’s gentle voice leads Jeon-Gi through difficult experiences and uncomfortable moments. His handling of dialogue is seamless, and he develops excellent vocal characterizations through tone and accent shifts. Sim’s narration sometimes suffers from inconsistencies in phrasing, but the exposition remains clear. Lee’s attention to detail and Sim’s quiet, nuanced performance transform Jeon-Gi’s trials into opportunities for deep thought about identity and the challenging process of how we become who we are. Growing up is no game in this often tense audiobook.
Beginning Middle End Luiselli, Valeria | Read by Valeria Luiselli, Maia Enrigue Luiselli & Marta López Astrain Random House Audio | 7 hrs, 37 mins | $22 July 28, 2026 | 9798217340132
Author Luiselli performs this audiobook’s central character, an unsettled writer who is beginning a new book and a new life post-divorce. She’s traveling in Italy with her 12-year-old daughter, exploring Greek and Roman literature and myth amid volcanic eruptions and rampant wildfires. She struggles with the writing, her daughter’s emerging independence, and her mother’s failing memory. Luiselli’s own daughter, Maia, narrates the final section, depicting the curiosity of an intelligent preteen who is determined to return a tile her grand mother took from an archeological site decades earlier. The audiobook also includes an evocative soundscape of Sicilian seaports. A weighty exploration of justice, time, and family.
Fights Worth Fighting: Finding Strength in Struggle Lundgren, Dolph & Robert Greenfield Read by Dolph Lundgren, Rick Adamson & Nan McNamara | Harper Audio | 5 hrs, 43 mins $25.19 | September 29, 2026 | 9781400255214
This is a different take on the celeb rity memoir. Lundgren, the Swede best known as Russian fighting behemoth Drago in Rocky IV, offers a straightforward, unadorned, and candid text with a workmanlike narration that suits his firsthand reflections. The perspectives of male members of his entourage, such as his managers and trainers, are voiced with great skill and variety by Rick Adamson, while personal reflections from women are voiced by the equally skilled Nan McNamara. Lundgren has suffered multiple bouts of cancer, and his memoir goes beyond karate belts and film performances to focus on his health battles. Now an American citizen, Lundgren shares his love for his adopted country. Throughout this solid performance, listeners will hear both pain and steadfastness.
Earphones Award
It’s Not What You Think Mackintosh, Clare | Read by Richard Armitage, Samuel Barnett, Tuppence Middleton & Vineeta Rishi | Sourcebooks Audio 11 hrs, 31 mins | $22.50 | September 22, 2026 9781464297335
A page-turner of the highest quality gets the star treatment it deserves. Mackintosh, queen of the thrilling plot twist, knocks it out of the park in this riveting production, brought to life by a quartet of outstanding vocal talents: Richard >>> NOVEMBER 1, 2026
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Cast of New Taylor Jenkins Reid Audiobook Revealed The Last Days of Vic & Coco will be released in 2027.
Jennifer Beals, who voiced the title character on Reid’s Daisy Jones & the Six, will also perform on the audiobook. Other cast members include Edoardo Ballerini, known for his role as Corky Caporale on The Sopranos, and Danny Burstein, who won a Tony Award for playing Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge! on Broadway. “Reid said in a statement, “I feel incredibly fortunate to
have a cast of this caliber lending their voices to this story, and I can’t wait for listeners to experience what they’ve created together.” All editions of The Last Days of Vic & Coco are slated for release on March 2, 2027. —M.S. From left, Danny Burstein, Jennifer Beals, and Julia Whelan Bur stein: Angela Weiss/AFP v ia Get t y Images; Beals: Dia Dipasupil/Get t y Images for Tribec a Festi val; Whelan: Rodin Eckenroth/Get t y Images for Net flix
SEEN AND HEARD
of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s next book. Reid’s The Last Days of Vic & Coco is set for publication next year by Atria. The novel, will tell the story of Victoria Lucchese and Colette Wilson, two 1970s Arizona pool hustlers who hatch a desperate plan they hope will lead to a big payday. The cast of the audiobook will include Julia Whelan, the prolific narrator who has lent her voice to several of Reid’s books, including After I Do; Malibu Rising; and Atmosphere. The actor For a review of the Atmosphere audiobook, visit Kirkus online.
Simon & Schuster Audio has revealed the cast of the audiobook edition
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SECOND LOOK
This review originally ran in AudioFile magazine in 2023.
The Forsyte Chronicles, Vol. 1: The Forsyte Saga Galsworthy, John Read by David Timson
Naxos AudioBooks | 38 hrs, 7 mins | $84 December 2, 2020 | 9781781983447
Classically trained British narrator David Timson has just the right comfortable yet aristocratic delivery to highlight the detailed character sketches, easy satire, and languid atmosphere of Galsworthy’s towering examination of a highborn family of wealth and property. The work spans the late Victorian era and the Roaring Twenties. Composed of the three novels and two spritely paced interludes, The Forsyte 154
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Saga was written between 1906 and 1921. (Two sequels followed.) Listeners will meet three generations of Forsytes, including the addled Old Jolyon, the plotting Soames, and the star-crossed cousins, Jon and Fleur. A Nobel Prize winner in 1932, Galsworthy has since fallen out of literary favor.
However, with Timson’s realistic, vibrant narration, it may be time to rediscover this entertaining masterwork. K IR KU S R E V IE W S
B O O K L I S T // A U D I O B O O K S
Long, Absorbing Listens 1
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1 Devil Makes Three By Ben Fountain, read by Ron Butler
Listeners hungry for multilayered political drama will find Butler’s performance immensely satisfying.
2 The Devil Reached Toward the Sky By Garrett M. Graff, read by Edoardo Ballerin and a full cast
For the full reviews, visit Kirkus online.
3 Fairy Tale
By Stephen King, read by Seth Numrich with Stephen King
Listeners will be drawn into this audiobook by the intimate tone of Numrich’s narration, which is like hearing Charlie himself.
4 Pachinko
By Min Jin Lee, read by Sandra Oh
Pachinko is a visit to another place and time, and Oh is an exceptional guide.
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Listeners may be so engrossed they don’t think of the production’s tremendous complexity— if they do, they’ll find it all the more astounding.
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5 Lonesome Dove By Larry McMurtry, read by Will Patton & Taylor Sheridan
Patton captures the spirit of this American epic.
6 Passage
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By Connie Willis, read by Erin deWard
Where the story meanders, deWard’s narration commands listeners’ attention, keeping them hooked to the end.
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Armitage, Samuel Barnett, Tuppence Middleton, and Vineeta Rishi. From the moment Nadeeka arrives home to find police at the door and her boyfriend on the carpet, covered in blood, the listener is swept up into an intricately plotted political thriller where nothing is what it appears. As the story is told from four points of view, the suspense never lets up, and each well-voiced character is forced to confront, or reveal, the horrifying truth.
Outstanding suspense, gripping narration, and a highly topical premise.
Earphones Award
Mexikid Dreams: A Graphic Memoir Martín, Pedro | Read by Oscar Emmanuel Fabela, Elena Rey, Avi Roque, Fernando Monroy, Daisy Guevara, Kevin Orduño, Alejandro Vargas-Lugo, Omar Leyva, Cynthia Farrell, Christophe Landa, Daniel Galo, Yuuki Luna, Mark Sanderlin & Brad Grunsnick Listening Library | 3 hrs, 38 mins | $15 September 1, 2026 | 9798217349708
This full cast audio rendition of a graphic memoir conveys the energy and brightness of that visual medium. The story recounts Pedro’s challenging but hopeful and humorous childhood as a migrant farmworker in the U.S., growing up with dreams of a life in the arts. Sound effects and musical interludes punctuate the narrative. Plates rattle as an earthquake shakes a restaurant, and birds sing in the bushes on a berry farm as Pedro’s family works. The animated performances by this large cast, especially the boyish voice of Oscar Emmanuel Fabela as Pedro, are perfect to hook preteen listeners— and adults, too.
The plot, performances, and production are funny and engaging and make Pedro’s world feel vibrant and full. (Graphic memoir. 10-16) 156
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Sound effects and musical interludes punctuate the narrative. MEXIKID DREAMS
Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria Mrie, Loubna | Read by Loubna Mrie Penguin Audio | 15 hrs, 21 mins | $27 February 24, 2026 | 9798217281749
Mrie performs her memoir of growing up in Syria. As a little girl, she was taught to remain loyal to Hafez al-Assad and his regime. When the prodemocracy uprisings of the Arab Spring arrive in Syria, she attends a protest, and what she sees there makes her realize that everything her government had been telling her was a lie. Mrie’s voice conveys her passion as she describes joining the resistance and becoming a photojournalist. But as time passes, she loses friends and family members to violence, and her voice quavers as she recalls the emotional devastation of each death in vivid detail.
Mrie delivers her memoir with the same courage, grace, and resilience that define her story.
Earphones Award
Twig’s Traveling Tomes Murphy, Gryffin | Read by Imogen Church Recorded Books Inc. | 12 hrs, 30 mins $27.29 | September 8, 2026 | 9798898856663
During a magical adventure set in a traveling bookshop, narrator Imogen Church ensures that each conversation is a dramatic experience.
Listeners meet failed book witch Louella Twig, whose strident tones mask her loneliness. She encounters former thief Everett Sharp who, intrigued, parries Louella’s defenses with his deep, rolling voice. When Louella’s former mentor, Feralorn, asks for her help finding pages from his grimoire, Louella accepts the quest. Church’s voice for Feralorn is that of a creaky trumpet—highly distinctive, occasionally overwhelming. Church gives each character their own voice and mannerisms, including gnomes and a European wizard. Pacing, phrasing, and inflection are deployed skillfully to denote emotion, especially between Louella and Everett. This highly satisfying quest brims with humor and friendship courtesy of Church.
Earphones Award
I’ve Got a New Complaint: Essays on Aging Disgracefully and Other Small Disasters Notaro, Laurie | Read by Hillary Huber Brilliance Audio | 6 hrs, 24 mins | $35.99 September 1, 2026 | 9781522615835
Hillary Huber is exactly the right choice for this clever collection of essays on “aging disgracefully.” She delivers the snarky wit, plaintive tone, and dry humor with just the right pace and timing. Notaro is a sharp-eyed observer and talented revenge humorist who can be just plain funny. To wit, her interactions K IR KU S R E V IE W S
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with her long-suffering mom include a trip to buy marijuana gummies. Her dad tells her he’s glad she doesn’t have a twin. Want an extraordinary takedown of a vicious boss, a hilarious profile of an Australian shepherd from hell, or the worst-ever experience in Florence? All are contained in this too-brief audiobook. Narrated with verve and just- contained merriment, this is a laugh-out-loud listening experience.
Sunrise Obreht, Téa | Read by Christine Lakin, Mark Deakins & Kristen Sieh | Random House Audio 11 hrs, 3 mins | $23 | August 11, 2026 9780593823996
Three narrators bring the town of Sunrise, Wyoming, to life. In 2024, Nina, voiced by Christine Lakin, survives the crash of a small plane and stumbles upon the wellmaintained yet abandoned town, and upon a dead body and a manuscript. In 2003, author LT Hawley, voiced by Kristen Sieh, questions the authenticity of the town’s official history. Coll Yard, voiced by Mark Deakins, is the historical preservationist who disputes LT’s version of events. In 1902, gunslinger and local legend Anton Vargas returns to Sunrise to make amends. Each narrator transports listeners with their realistic emotional portrayals and deeply layered performances.
Through three timelines and a variety of unforgettable characters, the true history of Sunrise is revealed.
Children of Wolves Osborne, Lawrence | Read by Rupert PenryJones | Simon & Schuster Audio 6 hrs, 31 mins | $20.99 | August 25, 2026 9781668161623
Rupert PenryJones handles this well-crafted, highly original story with cool objectivity. He carefully portrays four young adults who, as children, spent time in a remedial boarding school for the disturbed progeny of the wealthy. These radicalized trust-fund babies are determined to wreak havoc on the existing social system. With his career in a slump, PI Tyler Sedgewick is hired by the billionaire father of one of them to locate his missing daughter. With a steady diet of diplomatic galas, parties, sex, drugs, and deception, Tyler finds himself in over his head. While Penry-Jones keeps his distance from the action, an Osborne novel never disappoints and constantly defies expectations. A mystery that’s rich in labyrinthine twists and keeps listeners emotionally on edge.
Appetite Paramita, P. | Read by Reena Dutt Random House Audio | 8 hrs, 9 mins $22 | August 4, 2026 | 9798217343065
Narrator Reena Dutt thought fully portrays a young woman at a crossroads. By day, Zarina toils as a prep cook at an upscale Connecticut restaurant
Three narrators bring the town of Sunrise, Wyoming, to life.
while nurturing dreams of opening her own establishment, where she could blend her Bangladeshi culinary heritage with new flavors to create something wholly her own. But by night, Zarina immerses herself in an obsessive professional wrestling fandom dedicated to the charismatic Sierra Myst. Dutt’s performance centers Zarina’s earnestness, vulnerability, and self-doubt as she struggles to assert herself within a toxic work environment, navigates a parasocial relationship with her wrestling idol, and deals with her mother, who doesn’t value her career choice. As Zarina’s confidence grows, Dutt’s portrayal of the young chef rises to match. An emotionally attuned performance.
The Salt King Pulley, Natasha | Read by Luke R. Francis Bloomsbury | 16 hrs, 22 mins | $31.50 August 18, 2026 | 9781639737314
Narrator Luke R. Francis easily draws listeners into this fantastical novel about faith and belief. Avelyn Brocken is a young Jesuit priest sent from Rome back to his birthplace, the insular town of Hreodwater, England, to investigate a possible miracle: A fellow priest has been turned to salt. Avelyn finds himself in the orbit of Jericho, who runs the lodge for visiting pilgrims and acts as a doctor for the town. Francis makes their scenes together both comforting and electric, and he brings to life the wonderfully strange Hreodwater and the mythological figure at its center, the
For more by Natasha Pulley, visit Kirkus online.
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Salt King. Concurrently, listeners follow two nuclear safety inspectors in Jordan as bizarre events at salt mines around the world kick off a global catastrophe.
Bennett’s accent and performance transport listeners. MY KENTUCKY MOONLIGHT SCHOOL
It’s a gripping listening experience— intimate storytelling on an epic scale.
Dad, Love, Me: A Memoir Quick, Matthew | Read by Matthew Quick Simon & Schuster Audio | 9 hrs, 25 mins $28.34 | July 21, 2026 | 9781668130513
In a steady, raspy voice, Quick shares his compelling memoir about his difficult and strained relationship with his father. When Quick first told his father about his dream of becoming a novelist, his response was unsupportive; in fact, the word idiot sprang from his father’s lips. Years after Quick faced setbacks from writer’s block and alcohol use, he chooses to return to his childhood home when his father is diagnosed with dementia. Trying to heal their familial wounds is not easy, but Quick’s loving narration communicates his belief that showing up is the right thing to do. A raw and deeply moving memoir.
My Kentucky Moonlight School Richardson, Kim Michele | Read by Susan Bennett | Recorded Books Inc. | 16 mins $8.39 | August 11, 2026 | 9798899749995
Richardson’s picture book celebrates the gift of literacy through the voices of third grader Jewel and her grandparents and neighbors. Susan Bennett’s accent and performance transport listeners to Kentucky’s hill country as eager Moonlighters walk miles to school on moonlit nights for 158
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a chance to finally learn to read. Mamaw and Papaw’s determination and love are heard in every line they speak. Jewel, an eager tutor, bursts with pride as her community gathers for graduation. Regional Appalachian turns of phrase add to the ambiance. An author’s note shares more about Cora Wilson Stewart, founder of the Moonlight Schools and advocate for adult literacy programs in the early 20th century. A powerful listen. (Picture book. 4-8)
Earphones Award
Fury in Death Robb, J.D. | Read by Susan Ericksen Macmillan Audio | 13 hrs, 46 mins $28.34 | September 8, 2026 9781250446671 | Series: In Death, 63
Narrator Susan Ericksen transports the listener to 2060s New York City, where Lt. Eve Dallas is investigating the murder of scientist Larry Chu, who was found brutally beaten to death. The case takes Dallas to the secretive, power-hungry company that Chu worked for. As the longtime narrator of this longrunning series, Ericksen has established voices for the main characters, and she’s just as skillful performing secondary characters. She brings a haughty arrogance to her portrayal of Chu’s employer. Dallas is aided in her investigation by her Irish husband, Roarke, for whom
Ericksen adds a hint of Irish lilt.
Ericksen’s performance makes for a lively listening experience.
Earphones Award
East of the River: A Memoir of Los Angeles Girlhood Rosales, Guadalupe | Read by Elena Rey Random House Audio | 7 hrs, 13 mins | $20 September 8, 2026 | 9798217343256
Narrating Rosales’ beautiful memoir, Elena Rey transfixes listeners. A queer Latine artist from East Los Angeles, Rosales focuses the story on her experiences growing up in the heteronormative Chicano culture of the ‘90s. Rey transforms into the young Rosales, recounting Rosales’ fun connecting with other teens on party lines, her fear when moving to New York City, and her nervousness when coming out as queer. Rey’s Spanish pronunciation is superb, lending an added level of authenticity to Rosales’ memories, and they perform with heartfelt passion, whether describing the crushing weight of Rosales’ familial losses or the thrill of dancing at parties. Recreating Rosales’ world, Rey’s narration is unapologetic and affirming.
For more audiobooks narrated by Elena Rey, visit Kirkus online.
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Earphones Award
The Neverfear Rundell, Katherine | Read by Samuel West Listening Library | 8 hrs, 4 mins | $25 September 1, 2026 | 9780593830123 Series: Impossible Creatures, 3
Samuel West gives a riveting performance of this thrilling, action-packed adventure. When scholar Irian Guinne is kidnapped, Christopher and Anya, along with Jacques the dragon and Ratwin the ratatoska, embark on an odyssey across the Glimouria Archipelago to collect various magical objects and ransom Irian’s release. Christopher is also trying to master his new ability to connect directly to the minds of magical creatures. West doesn’t have a youthful voice, but he’s still completely convincing as the young characters, and he deftly captures every moment of humor, fear, peril, and wonder. In his telling, a dangerous race becomes breathless and impossible to pause, and the themes of love, bravery, and kindness ring true.
Simply marvelous. (Fantasy. 10-14)
Why You Should Read Children’s Books, Even Though You Are So Old and Wise Rundell, Katherine | Read by Katherine Rundell Listening Library | 53 mins | $8 September 1, 2026 | 9798217351428
With her warm, assured delivery and a hint of mirth, Rundell makes a convincing case for the wonders contained in books written for children—even for adult readers. Arguing that we shouldn’t be ashamed of reading these books or K IR KU S R E V IE W S
consider them mere escapism, she asserts, “Children’s books are not a hiding place; they are a seeking place.” Rundell’s plummy English accent and husky lower register make listening a pleasure. She recalls when her own love of books began, exploring the offerings in a Zimbabwe library. Now she encourages listeners to visit a bookstore and “stride toward the books with bright colors on their spines.” One might start with Rundell’s own wonderfully written children’s books. An inspiring paean that rewards relistening.
Sing Me a Story: Short Stories in Verse by Latine Authors Ed. by Salazar, Aida | Read by Aida Salazar, Rae De Vine, Nayib Felix, Kyla Garcia, Rico Pabon, Sofía Palmero, Alejandro Antonio Ruiz, Veronica Thames, Cherry Torres, Michelle Veintimilla & Victoria Villarreal | Listening Library | 5 hrs, 2 mins | $15 | August 25, 2026 9780593864333
An ensemble of 11 narrators brings the stories in this collection to life. The stories from 17 authors showcase different Latin American musical styles and the ways that tweens connect to these cultures and traditions. Speaking in both English and Spanish, the narrators match the rhythms of these stories in verse. Alejandro Antonio Ruiz and Michelle Veintimilla sing and rap in “Magic in the Grooves.” Some authors read their own stories—Rico
Pabón performs his “All the Heart in Harlem” with infectious enthusiasm. The production also includes music and sound effects: Guitar and other instruments, drumbeats, and the ambient sounds of the city and countryside all help set the scene and round out the performances, giving the collection a vibrant soundtrack. The audio format brings something extra to these musical stories. (Verse anthology. 8-12)
The Masala Chai Mystery Club Soni, MJ | Read by Deepa Samuel Spotify Audiobooks | 9 hrs, 39 mins | $21.84 July 21, 2026 | 9798318372834
Deepa Samuel’s whimsical narr ation reflects the characters in this cozy mystery. There’s something suspicious about the allegedly accidental death of Rohit, the president of the homeowners association. Rohit was disliked by almost everyone for his underhanded tactics, bullying, vicious snipes, and even blackmail. Neeti Shah, a retired librarian and the victim’s longtime friend, suspects foul play. She gathers her friends, and together they form the titular Masala Chai Mystery Club. Samuel gives each of them a distinctive voice—some high-pitched and annoyingly squeaky, but in keeping with their high-spirited personalities. When more murders occur, the club members begin to realize that they’re in danger. This lighthearted adventure is perfect for a relaxing few hours spent with a cup of chai, solving a not-too-taxing mystery.
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Up on Cove Mountain: Adventure, Tragedy, and a Quest for Meaning on the Appalachian Trail Swift, Earl | Read by Earl Swift | Harper Audio 11 hrs, 49 mins | $28.99 | August 18, 2026 9780063265462
In this compelling audiobook, journalist Swift relates the pleasures and pains of completing a 14-state trek of the 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail, and describes the people he meets along the way. His original excursion coincided with the 1990 murder of two hikers whom he’d met on the trail. More than three decades later, Swift recreates his hike, seeking answers about the murders and noting the ways that global warming is threatening the A.T. Swift’s voice has some gravel in it, befitting a man in his mid-60s. He relates his experiences in well-wrought descriptions: a near miss from a falling tree; an encounter with a rattlesnake; injuries to his back, hand, and ankle; and the often daunting terrain.
Listeners will appreciate Swift’s talent and perseverance.
Earphones Award
Hiroshima, 8:15: The Lost Memoir Tanimoto, Kiyoshi | Read by Fred Sanders, Ren Hanami & Brian Nishii | Random House Audio | 6 hrs, 58 mins | $18 | August 4, 2026 9798217409495
Brian Nishii gives a thoughtful performance of this memoir discovered in 2022, pronouncing the Japanese names, quotes, and locales authentically. 160
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His performance is restrained and captivating. A Methodist minister trained in the U.S., Tanimoto gained fame as one of six survivors of the atomic bomb and its aftermath profiled in John Hersey’s landmark Hiroshima. The sights, sounds, and smells and the vast carnage and destruction of Hiroshima are captured in simple but unforgettable language. Ren Hanami narrates a fore word by the author’s daughter, and Fred Sanders reads the introduction by editor Corn; both do excellent jobs. Tanimoto’s account resonates with truth, immediacy, and authenticity in this moving audiobook.
Love at First Prompt: AI and the Future of Intimacy Todd, Bridget & Michael Amato | Read by Bridget Todd | Simon & Schuster Audio 5 hrs, 55 mins | $20.19 | July 14, 2026 9781668179826
Todd delivers a cutting-edge audiobook on the current status of AI and the people who develop intimate relationships with it. Major platforms providing AI engagement, including OpenAI and Anthropic, promote applications that provide always-on, humanlike support and friendship—with major caveats. User privacy cannot be guaranteed, and in some cases, AI platforms may engage in shockingly unsafe interactions. With a seasoned, engaging voice, Todd relates compelling examples of
human-AI relationships. Recorded clips of interviews with experts, providing insights on the impact of these relationships with big-picture analysis, are included. An empathetic and informed listening experience about the people who find solace and acceptance in AI relationships.
Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy Wells, Martha | Read by Kevin R. Free Macmillan Audio | 53 mins | $4.99 September 1, 2026 | 9781250489241 Series: The Murderbot Diaries
Maintaining the same sardonic tone that works so well for the Murder bot Diaries audiobooks, Kevin R. Free narrates this story that, for once, isn’t told from Murderbot’s perspective. The crew of Perihelion, an intelligent research transport ship, is preparing for a mission aboard a space station. Peri sounds delightfully snotty in its interactions with Iris and the rest of the crew. The ship is implementing new strategies to keep its crew safe, and it’s being cagey about what inspired them—but we slowly realize that it’s because of Peri’s experience with a certain rogue SecUnit in a previous installment of the series. Sound effects, including beeping computers and whooshing air, add to the SF atmosphere.
Fans will welcome Free’s performance of this brief addition to the Murderbot universe.
Nishii gives a thoughtful performance of this memoir. H IR O S H IM A , 8 :15
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