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FictionInspirational FictionHistorical Fiction

Two inspirational novels seek to warm readers’ hearts

Feature by Edith Kanyagia

From the Greek isle of Corfu to Washington’s Whidbey Island, hope can always be found in friendship.

★ Where the Wandering Ends

The latest novel from bestselling author and three-time Emmy Award-winning producer and journalist Yvette Manessis Corporon is a work of incredible depth, brimming with turmoil, compassion and remarkable historical detail.

Set on the gorgeous Greek island of Corfu, Where the Wandering Ends is a multigenerational, decades-spanning story that begins in 1946, when Greece appears to be on the verge of civil war. Despite the brewing unrest, life in Katerina’s village of Pelekito remains calm. She even has the opportunity to go to school, unlike provincial girls in older generations. 

As the conflict between communists and monarchists escalates, the war eventually reaches Pelekito, and the villagers are forced to flee. Katerina is separated from her best friend, Marco, but they both promise to someday return.

Corporon’s characters are indelible and authentic. Katerina’s father, Laki, is horrified by the divisions in his country: “Greek killing Greek. Cousin killing cousin. Brother killing brother. . . . Laki never would have imagined that his own people would turn against each other the way they had.” Meanwhile, Marco’s mother, Yianna, holds fast to the stories told by her own mother, who was a maid to Princess Alice, wife of Prince Andrew, both of whom were exiled from Greece after the Greco-Turkish War of 1922.

Written with a perceptive eye, Where the Wandering Ends considers the challenges faced by people during wartime and highlights the determination to survive despite painful circumstances. Corfu’s beauty, which Corporon describes in sumptuous detail, is juxtaposed against the turbulence and devastation caused by war. Fascinating historical facts and references to mythological Greek tales intertwine with moving scenes, tension-building plot points and surprising revelations to create a powerful, soaring story. This is a spectacular novel about the enduring devotion of family and the steadfast loyalty between friends.

★ Heirlooms

Bestselling author Sandra Byrd blends romance, laughter, community and family secrets in her novel Heirlooms, a delightful story of uplifting female friendships.

After her husband’s death, Choi Eunhee, a Korean woman living in the United States, turns to Helen Devries for help. It’s 1958, and both women are Navy widows. While living together in Helen’s farmhouse on Whidbey Island, Washington, the women assist each other through their losses and develop a lifelong friendship. 

In the present day, Helen’s dying wish is that her granddaughter Cassidy Quinn will pack up the attic at the Whidbey Island house with help from Eunhee’s granddaughter Grace Kim. While going through Helen’s hope chest, Cassidy and Grace discover a family secret. 

Meanwhile, Cassidy must work to save her grandmother’s property from foreclosure, so she turns to her ex-boyfriend Nick for help. Helen’s house was the setting of many beloved summers for Cassidy, and she dreams of reinstating her grandmother’s garden to its former glory. 

Helen and Eunhee’s friendship is much like the garden, tended with loving care over many years. As the women draw faith and strength from each other, their bond becomes akin to sisterhood. From this foundation grows Cassidy and Grace’s own connection, and the two young women learn to lean on each other throughout Cassidy’s fight for her grandmother’s house and garden and as Grace begins to doubt her chosen career path.

With warmth and sensitivity, Heirlooms examines the challenges faced by immigrants living in the United States, and the difficulties for women seeking health care and financial security for both themselves and their children throughout American history. As friends become family, readers will marvel at the strength found in community and the deep connections that can exist between generations.

Authors Yvette Manessis Corporon and Sandra Byrd intertwine past and present in two stories of love, courage and survival.
RomanceParanormal RomanceHistorical RomanceContemporary Romance

Romance: September 2022

Feature by Christie Ridgway

★ Ruby Fever

In Ilona Andrews’ Hidden Legacy series, the world is dominated by magical families known as Houses. Catalina Baylor is the Deputy Warden of Texas and a Prime, an extremely powerful magic user. She’s moving her House and her fiancé, assassin Alessandro Sagredo, into a new compound when an important politician is killed and a powerful family friend is severely injured. An assassin kingpin is responsible for both events, and now he has his sights set on Alessandro. Can they stop him before he succeeds? Ruby Fever starts with a bang and races on from there. This installment has everything Andrews’ readers love: a large cast of magical characters, fast-paced plot and dialogue, and imaginative scenes of electrifying combat described in technicolor detail. Told in Catalina’s engaging first-person voice as she capably handles all that’s thrown at her, this superlative romance doesn’t have a single dull moment. Sit back and happily immerse yourself in Andrews’ unparalleled paranormal world.

Do You Take This Man

The central couple of Denise Williams’ Do You Take This Man doesn’t really have a meet cute. In fact, it’s more of a meet mad. RJ Brooks is a high-powered, ambitious divorce attorney with a surprising side gig: She officiates marriage ceremonies. Which is why she keeps meeting and mutually antagonizing event planner Lear Campbell again, and again, and again. The enemies-to-lovers trope is a romance fan favorite for a reason, and when RJ and Lear finally succumb to their attraction, their love scenes sizzle. There’s enough authentic angst between the two, both of whom have been hurt badly in the past, to keep the reader doubting and wishing for their happily ever after in equal measure.

Aphrodite and the Duke

First loves try to get it right the second time around in J.J. McAvoy’s “Bridgerton”-esque Regency romance, Aphrodite and the Duke. Aphrodite Du Bell can’t help but feel her acclaimed beauty might be something of a curse. The only man she ever cared for, Evander Eagleman, the Duke of Everely, married someone else. In the four years since, she’s retreated from society. But when it’s her sister’s turn to hunt for a husband, Aphrodite gets dragged back to the London season. There, she’s reunited with Evander, who’s newly widowed and immediately begins to pursue Aphrodite. She thinks she’d be mad to trust him again with her heart, until he reveals what prompted his first marriage and they begin to work through their differences. However, new dangers await the couple. The characters’ somewhat formal voices lend a verisimilitude that balances the enjoyable escape of McAvoy’s Regency world of balls, gowns and romance.

Ilona Andrews' Hidden Legacy series returns! Read our romance columnist's review of Ruby Fever.
NonfictionScienceAnimals

4 riveting science books that are perfect for your book club

Feature by Julie Hale

Mary Roach investigates the uneasy relationship that exists between humans and wildlife in Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law. Traveling to India, Vatican City and other locales, she meets with a wide cast of characters that includes predator attack investigators, a bear manager and a human-elephant conflict specialist, all in an effort to understand how humankind is striving to coexist with the animal kingdom. Roach mixes expert reporting with moving insights into the natural world while unearthing pertinent questions about wildlife and habitat preservation.

In Liquid Rules: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives, Mark Miodownik examines the prominence of liquids (drinking water, bottled soap, the list goes on) and the critical roles they play in the modern world. The narrative is framed by a transatlantic flight during which Miodownik notes the ubiquity of liquid matter, from the fuel that powers the plane to the offerings on the airline’s refreshment cart. Illustrations and photos add an appealing visual dimension to the book, and topics like climate change and conservation will inspire lively dialogue among readers.

Bill Bryson’s The Body: A Guide for Occupants is an engaging survey of the human physique. Bryson delves into the history of anatomy, examines the nature of disease and pain, and generally explores the ways in which our bodies function. He blends scientific fact and input from experts with humanizing anecdotes, and his trademark wit is on display throughout the proceedings. An illuminating look at the systems, organs and processes that define the human organism, The Body is filled with fascinating facts. From start to finish, it’s vintage Bryson.

Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life by Helen Czerski is a reader-friendly overview of the ways in which physics shapes our lives. Making connections between commonplace activities (popping popcorn, for instance) and larger phenomena, from weather patterns to medical technology, Czerski demonstrates that scientific processes large and small take place all around us. Over the course of nine chapters, she covers a range of fundamental physics concepts, writing in an accessible, offbeat style. With a gift for intriguing anecdotes, Czerski makes physics fun.

You don't need scientific training to enjoy these entertaining, offbeat books.
NonfictionBody, Mind & Spirit

Cover reveal: ‘Enchantment’ by Katherine May

Feature by Christy, Associate Editor

When British author Katherine May released her debut book, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, in 2020, the editors of BookPage became deeply obsessed. (Forming a cult was briefly discussed, but the thought was ultimately abandoned as cults require too much administrative work.) We knew right away that this was a book to return to year after year, a ritual to bring us comfort during the months when sunlight grows sparse and we need someone to remind us how to embrace the darkness.

Since then, readers the world over have been enchanted by May’s flowing, rhythmic writing, both in Wintering and in her follow-up book, The Electricity of Every Living Thing, about walking the southwestern coast of England as May reckoned with the realization that she is autistic. Her next book, Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age, is one of our most anticipated books of 2023, and this description from Riverhead will make it clear why:

Many of us feel trapped in a grind of constant change: rolling news cycles, the chatter of social media, our families split along partisan lines. We feel fearful and tired, on edge in our bodies, not quite knowing what has us perpetually depleted. For Katherine May, this low hum of fatigue and anxiety made her wonder what she was missing. Could there be a different way to relate to the world, one that would allow her feel more rested and at ease, even as seismic changes unfold on the planet? Might there be a way for all of us to move through life with curiosity and tenderness, sensitized to the subtle magic all around?

In Enchantment, May invites the reader to come with her on a journey to reawaken our innate sense of wonder and awe. With humor, candor, and warmth, she shares stories of her own struggles with work, family, and the aftereffects of pandemic, particularly the feelings of overwhelm as the world rushes to reopen. Craving a different way to live, May begins to explore the restorative properties of the natural world, moving through the elements of earth, water, fire, and air, and identifying the quiet traces of magic that can be found only when we look for them. Through deliberate attention and ritual, she unearths the potency and nourishment that come from quiet reconnection with our immediate environment. Blending lyricism and storytelling, sensitivity and empathy, Enchantment invites each of us to open the door to human experience in all its sensual complexity, and to find the beauty waiting for us there.

Here’s what the author had to say about why Enchantment is such an essential book for our times:

“Enchantment asks how we live after we’ve survived difficult times. We’re all reeling from so many aftermaths, and I wanted to explore how we can find sanctuary again. Enchantment is a book about noticing, cutting through the brain fog and despair to reconnect with our sense of delight and wonder at the world around us. As I wrote it, I felt like I was uncovering a seam of magic that I’d forgotten how to sense.”

—Katherine May

Enchantment will be available at your local bookstore or library on March 7, 2023, and you can preorder it here. Until then, feast your eyes on and whet your appetite with this beautiful cover.

Enchantment by Katherine May
Enchantment by Katherine May, to be published March 7, 2023, by Riverhead Books

Cover art by Lauren Peters-Collaer/Riverhead Books

We’re thrilled to reveal the cover of the newest book from Katherine May, bestselling author of Wintering.
Fiction

Fall 2022 preview: Most anticipated fiction

Feature by Cat, Deputy Editor

Fall 2022 is a blockbuster season for fiction, with new releases from such heavy-hitters as Ian McEwan, Barbara Kingsolver and Celeste Ng. Discover the 21 novels we’re most excited to read.

Afterlives book cover

Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Riverhead | August 23

Prior to being awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, Tanzanian British novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah was little known in the U.S. and his masterpieces nearly impossible to find. For readers who’ve waited ever so patiently, Afterlives will deliver an expert examination of postcolonial survival, a deft decentering of European history and a tender portrayal of the trauma of warfare. Spanning decades over the turn of the 19th century, it’s an epic novel that follows the lives of three young people after Germany’s colonization of east Africa.

Haven by Emma Donoghue
Little, Brown | August 23

Irish Canadian author Emma Donoghue dives into early Christianity for a novel that sounds perfect for readers who loved Lauren Groff’s Matrix. Set in 7th-century Ireland and imbued with descriptions of illuminated manuscripts and ancient parables, it’s the story of a priest and two monks who head out by boat in search of a place to build a monastery, and they end up on the island known today as Skellig Michael.

The House of Fortune book cover

The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton
Bloomsbury | August 30

On the (relatively short) list of novels that immediately demand a sequel, Jessie Burton’s 2014 breakout debut, The Miniaturist (which was adapted into a PBS miniseries in 2017, starring Anya Taylor-Joy), ranks high. We have questions that have never been answered, so we’re queued up for The House of Fortune, a standalone companion novel that picks up the story 18 years later. In 1705 Amsterdam, young Thea lives with her patchwork family (all returning characters): her aunt, the widow Nella; Thea’s father, Otto; and the family’s longtime cook and maid, Cordelia. Money is hard to come by, so brokering a marriage for Thea could solve some financial woes—but Thea only has eyes for a handsome set painter at the local theater. And then the miniaturist makes a return.

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Knopf | September 6

Maggie O’Farrell’s brilliant, bestselling novel Hamnet, about the death of William Shakespeare’s son from the bubonic plague, was high on our list of the Best Books of 2020. For some of us sheltering in lockdown during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, her novel hit a little too close to home; for others, it was exactly what we needed. Her next novel, The Marriage Portrait, arrives with a similar sense of doom as Hamnet: It’s set in 16th-century Europe amid the Italian Renaissance, and we know on the outset that young duchess Lucrezia de’Medici will die, likely murdered at the hand of her husband. Give us ducal intrigue and dial it up to 11, please.

On the Rooftop book cover

On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
Ecco | September 6

The joyful third novel from the award-winning author of A Kind of Freedom and The Revisioners is a historical tale set in 1950s San Francisco, within a Black cultural and musical hub known as the Fillmore District. A novel of resilience and ambition that was loosely inspired by Fiddler on the Roof, it revolves around a mother and her three singing daughters who are on the cusp of stardom. No doubt you’ll fall in love with the neighborhood at the novel’s heart, where jazz clubs line the streets, and where dreamers share the stage with legends.

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma
FSG | September 13

Little did Ling Ma know when she wrote her debut novel, Severance, that it would be so prescient about life in 2020. With this story of a young woman living through an apocalyptic pandemic, Ming put her finger on the very heartbeat of what it’s like to clock in for work amid a global disaster. Severance was one of the first great millennial novels, so Ma’s upcoming story collection (which includes eight tales) is well deserving of your attention. And what a title: “Bliss montage” evokes one of those gauzy series of scenes as a movie’s tragic protagonist remembers a former love. We can already hear the bittersweet Debussy.

People Person book cover

People Person by Candice Carty-Williams
Scout | September 13

The titular lead character of Candice Carty-Williams’ 2019 debut novel, Queenie, was funny, sharp and a total individual as she navigated the ups and downs of life as a single Black woman in London. In Queenie’s story, we witnessed the kind of characterization that makes a hero feel real, and that’s what we’re looking forward to most in Carty-Williams’ second novel. The scope of People Person is broader than Queenie, with five half-siblings who share the same absent father coming together in adulthood after a dramatic event. We’re expecting a family drama with bite.

Lessons by Ian McEwan
Knopf | September 13

Admit it: Fans of Ian McEwan are gluttons for emotional punishment, because no one devastates quite like he does. His next novel is an epic one, spanning the life of Roland Baines across decades. Historical events such as the disaster at Chernobyl and the falling of the Berlin Wall align with moments from Roland’s life, including traumatic early relationships, his wife’s disappearance and more. The publisher has claimed that it’s “inspired” by McEwan’s own life, and while McEwan has made clear it’s not completely autobiographical, he has said that he’s “raided” elements of his own history.

The Book of Goose book cover

The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li
FSG | September 20

We’re treated to the quiet, devastating brilliance of Yiyun Li once more, this time in a new novel that winds from the French countryside to Pennsylvania, where a woman, after the death of her childhood friend, finally feels free to tell her story. Li is the author of six works of fiction and the memoir Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life, and she’s received a whole heap of awards, including a PEN/Hemingway Award and a MacArthur Fellowship.

Less Is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer
Little, Brown | September 20

The ending of Andrew Sean Greer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Less, did not demand a sequel—it ended so perfectly—but lucky us, we’re getting one anyway. Beloved Arthur Less, once again fleeing his problems, accepts invitations to a bunch of literary events and heads out on the road. This time, he’s traveling throughout the United States. As he proved with Less, Greer excels at pinpointing the funniest parts of the writerly life, and we expect him to return to this winning comic realm.

Best of Friends book cover

Best of Friends by Kamila Shamsie
Riverhead | September 27

At first glance, the premise of Kamila Shamsie’s latest novel isn’t all that fresh: Two girls were friends; now as adults, they’re forced to look back on their friendship and reckon with their differences. That being said, it’s rare to come across positive depictions of great lifelong friendships in fiction, and Shamsie has promised that Best of Friends focuses on what holds us together, not what drives us apart. Plus, her previous novel, Home Fire, won the Women’s Prize for Fiction and was long-listed for the Booker Prize, so we know we’re in good hands.

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson
Doubleday | September 27

British author Kate Atkinson has written some of our favorite works of historical fiction, deploying her stellar sense of pacing and phenomenal manipulation of plot. Her latest novel takes us to post-World War I London, where the Soho nightlife is hopping. Wherever there’s glam, there’s a dark underbelly, and no one knows this better than Nellie Coker. She’s made a place for herself at the top, and she’ll use her position to help her six kids move up in the world—no matter how many targets are on her back.

The Winners book cover

The Winners by Fredrik Backman
Atria | September 27

The author of A Man Called Ove brings his popular series, set within a small hockey town, to its much-anticipated finale. Beartown has been the backdrop to some of the darkest dramas of the human heart, but there are still more secrets, rivalries and resentments to contend with in this final installment.

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Penguin Press | October 4

With her bestselling 2017 novel, Little Fires Everywhere (which was adapted by Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington for an Emmy-nominated Hulu series), Celeste Ng took a relatively familiar setup (escalating divisions within a privileged suburban bubble) to a whole new level, bringing an incredible depth of understanding to the situation. In Our Missing Hearts, she continues to track the growing divide between Americans through the intimate relationships of well-crafted characters, but as these rifts have escalated to a nationwide horror show of brazen xenophobia, racism and violence, her storytelling style has likewise amplified to contend with these dangers. Her third novel veers into dystopian territory, but as always, Ng brings deep compassion to her characters.

Demon Copperhead book cover

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Harper | October 18

It’s apparently unnecessary to read Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield to enjoy the latest from bestselling, award-winning author Barbara Kingsolver. Dickens pulled from his own experiences with poverty to write his 1849 novel, which Kingsolver reportedly drew from to create her rural southern Appalachia-set world. In the hill country of southwestern Virginia (where Kingsolver lives), a boy is born to a teenage mother, and together they live in a single-wide trailer. His life will inevitably bring him through some of the greatest failures of the American experiment: foster care, derelict school systems and the feeling of being invisible to the wider world. Folks looking for a book that compassionately, realistically reflects rural Appalachian stories (or to be more honest, anyone who hated Hillbilly Elegy), this is the book to read next.

The Last Chairlift by John Irving
Simon & Schuster | October 18

There are few novels that need to be 900+ pages, but when you’re John Irving (The World According to Garp, The Cider House Rules) and you haven’t written a novel in seven years, you get to have all 912 pages. It’s a story of ghosts and skiing, beginning with a slalom skier who gets pregnant in Aspen, Colorado, in 1941, and then following her son during his own voyage to Aspen, where he seeks to make sense of the story of his conception.

liberation day book cover

 

Liberation Day by George Saunders
Random House | October 18

Whether he’s guiding us through the Russian literary greats (A Swim in a Pond in the Rain), getting spooky with Booker Prize-winning historical fiction (Lincoln in the Bardo) or writing short fiction for Chipotle’s to-go bags, George Saunders does marvelous, utterly original work. We have a special soft spot for his short stories, where his breadth of imagination and balance of ambition and restraint really shine. Liberation Day, his first collection in eight years (after Tenth of December, a finalist for the National Book Award), includes four new stories along with five tales previously published in The New Yorker.

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro
Knopf | October 18

Dani Shapiro’s powers as a memoirist are well-known due to the power of such books as Inheritance and Devotion. However, you’d be forgiven for being unaware that she’s also a skilled novelist, as it’s been 15 years since her previous work of fiction. After the success of her memoirs, and with help from her podcast “Family Secrets,” Shapiro has become the queen of family secrets—or if not the queen, she’s at least sitting at the royal table. She undoubtedly will bring new insight to a popular setup: A car crash reverberates throughout several families, transforming a community for years to come.

The Passenger book cover

The Passenger and Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy
Knopf | October 25 and December 6

One of the most talked-about releases of the year is this one-two punch from The Road author Cormac McCarthy. This duology is reportedly the final work for the 87-year-old author, who has won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and plenty other accolades, and who has seen several of his novels transformed into masterful films (All the Pretty Horses, No Country for Old Men). The premise of the two novels is an intriguing puzzle: The Passenger is a sprawling saga, while Stella Maris unfolds in dialogue, and together they create a story of a grieving brother and sister.

Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
Ecco | November 8

As we wait for the film adaptation of Nothing to See Here, we can turn to the next novel from bestselling author Kevin Wilson. Now Is Not the Time to Panic has a setup that just can’t be beat: Two young people find a romantic and creative connection during what was supposed to be a very lonely, miserable summer in Coalfield, Tennessee. Together they design a poster emblazoned with the phrase “The edge is a shantytown filled with gold seekers. We are fugitives, and the law is skinny with hunger for us,” and the posters soon take on a power of their own. In a note included with advanced editions of Now Is Not the Time to Panic, Wilson explains that “I’ve had recurring thoughts since I was a kid, which was diagnosed as Tourette syndrome as an adult,” and the novel’s phrase has been a mantra and source of comfort to the author for 25 years. It’s mentioned in the The Family Fang, but now it has finally found its place at the center of a novel about art, creativity, memory and nostalgia.

Discover all our most anticipated books of fall 2022.

This fall, “I don’t have anything to read” is officially an invalid excuse.
Audio

Fall 2022 preview: Most anticipated audiobooks

Feature by Cat, Deputy Editor

Audiobook listeners never have to live a single moment without the joy of stories. No errand, no chore, no leisurely stroll is complete without a book. These are the 14 audiobooks that we’re most excited to check out this fall.

Starry Messenger cover

Starry Messenger by Neil deGrasse Tyson, read by the author
Macmillan Audio | September 20

Neil deGrasse Tyson, everyone’s favorite astrophysicist, reads his own “Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization.” Imagine star-gazing while listening to this one—yes, please.

The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander, read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Hachette Audio | September 27

Stories told in verse can be especially powerful as an audiobook, and no one writes verse novels quite like Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, who delivered an outstanding performance for the audiobook of Alex Michaelides’ The Maidens, will bring to life this story of a young boy’s epic journey.

The Sporty One by Melanie Chisholm, read by the author
Hachette Audio | September 27

Yooooo I’ll tell you what I want: a memoir by Sporty Spice, read by Sporty Spice. This will be so much fun for fans of the 1990s icon—queen of the high pony and badass in track pants.

Making a Scene cover

Making a Scene by Constance Wu, read by the author
Simon & Schuster Audio | October 4

The Golden Globe-nominated star of Crazy Rich Asians and Hustlers narrates her own collection of essays, about her life both in and out of Hollywood, which she wrote in the aftermath of severe backlash to her tweets about the “Fresh Off the Boat” reboot. “While my book is not always the most flattering portrayal, it’s as honest as I know how to be,” she tweeted in July. We’re looking forward to hearing about the experience in her own words. 

A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga, read by Ariana Delawari and Jacob McNatt
HarperAudio | October 4 

The next middle grade novel from Jasmine Warga (The Shape of Thunder) is primarily narrated by a fictional Mars Rover, whose little robot voice will be uniquely fun on audio. The other narrative voice is Sophia, the daughter of the lead engineer on the robot and who writes letters to the determined little rover. For most of the novel, Sophia is a child, but while Rover goes on its mission, Sophia begins to grow up, which will be an interesting narrator challenge.

Dying of Politeness by Geena Davis, read by the author
HarperAudio | October 10

Here’s another big Hollywood memoir, read by the author—this one from two-time Academy Award winner Geena Davis, best known for her iconic roles in Thelma & Louise and A League of Their Own.

The Botany of Desire cover

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan, read by the author
Random House Audio | October 18

One of the best things about the burgeoning audiobook industry is that publishers are going back and rerecording old audiobooks, or even producing audiobooks for the very first time. Michael Pollan does an outstanding job narrating his own books, so this new production of his 2001 book, about the relationship between humans and our domesticated plants, is sure to be a winner.

Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater, read by Will Patton
Scholastic | October 18

Will Patton is one of the best audiobook narrators out there, so it’s no wonder that he’s the go-to voice for Maggie Stiefvater’s books. (He’s also read a ton of Stephen King and James Lee Burke audiobooks, as well as Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann.) This fall, he brings his talents to the highly anticipated third book in Stiefvater’s Dreamer Trilogy.

Signal Fires cover

Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro, read by the author
Random House Audio | October 18

Dani Shapiro is best known as a memoirist, and thanks to the success of her book Inheritance and subsequent podcast, “Family Secrets,” she has been universally embraced as something of an expert on the process of discovering and coming to terms with skeletons in the family closet. She brings all that background to the narration of her upcoming novel, about a terrible car crash and its long-term impact on several families.

Inciting Joy by Ross Gay
Hachette Audio | October 25

It hasn’t been announced yet, but what if Ross Gay narrates his upcoming essay collection? He read The Book of Delights, after all. And while we don’t want to make assumptions, our fingers are crossed.

Surrender cover

Surrender by Bono, read by the author
Random House Audio | November 1

Bono, activist and lead singer of the Irish rock band U2, created 40 original drawings for his first memoir, which will make for an appealing package for fans—but we feel like listening to him read his own audiobook will be even better.

Have I Told You This Already? by Lauren Graham, read by the author
Random House Audio | November 15

We’re expecting lots of reasons to laugh when listening to this new essay collection from “Gilmore Girls” actor Lauren Graham, who has proven herself to be a strong writer of both fiction and nonfiction. We especially when she reads her own audiobooks because she’s totally unafraid to be a little silly.

The Light We Carry cover

The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama, read by the author
Random House Audio | November 15

First Lady Michelle Obama’s narration of her previous memoir, the bestselling Becoming, was a real standout, and fans have continued to enjoy her insight and benefit from her expertise by listening to her winning podcast. To our delight, Obama will narrate her next book—a mixture of memoir and self-help—as well.

Butts by Heather Radke, read by the author
Simon & Schuster Audio | November 22

Heather Radke is a contributing editor and reporter at the Peabody Award-winning program “RadioLab,” so her narration of this scientific and cultural history of the female butt should be fascinating and wildly entertaining.

Discover all our most anticipated books of fall 2022.

We’re looking ahead to audiobooks from Michelle Obama, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bono and more.
Science Fiction & FantasyNonfictionFictionSocial ScienceScienceMemoirLiterary FictionFantasy

4 award-winning books to read with your book club

Feature by Julie Hale

Winner of the 2021 National Book Award for fiction, Jason Mott’s Hell of a Book is a searing portrayal of the Black authorial experience. At the center of the novel is an unnamed Black author on his first book tour struggling to navigate the publishing industry and make sense of the modern world. His narrative is offset by chapters recounting the story of Soot, a young Black boy in the South. Poignant and often funny, Mott’s novel draws readers in as it scrutinizes race in American society and the power of storytelling.

Marlon James’ epic fantasy Black Leopard, Red Wolf is narrated by Tracker, a hunter with an acute sense of smell. Accompanied by a shape-shifter named Leopard and a band of misfit mercenaries, Tracker travels through a landscape inspired by African mythology and ancient history on a dangerous quest to find a lost boy. Hallucinatory and violent yet marvelously poetic, this first entry in James’ Dark Star trilogy won the 2019 L.A. Times Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculative Fiction. There are an abundance of potential topics for discussion, such as James’ folkloric inspirations and Tracker’s unreliable narration.

Following the death of her aunt from an uncommon ailment called Chagas, or the kissing bug disease, Daisy Hernández decided to research the illness. She shares her findings in The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation’s Neglect of a Deadly Disease. Hernández talked to physicians and disease experts throughout the United States, and her interviews with patients reveal the human cost of the American healthcare system’s inadequacies. Hernández displays impressive storytelling skills in this masterfully researched volume, which won the 2022 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award.

In the Dream House, Carmen Maria Machado’s powerful chronicle of a toxic love affair, won the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ nonfiction. In the book, Machado reveals that she fell hard for a magnetic, emotionally unpredictable woman who became abusive. In structuring her memoir, she draws upon various narrative devices and traditions (coming-of-age, choose your own adventure and more), and the result is a multifaceted, daring and creative portrayal of a deeply dysfunctional relationship.

Pick a guaranteed winner for your reading group.
RomanceHistorical Romance

4 Regency romances to read after you’ve watched “Bridgerton”

Feature by Elizabeth Mazer

So, you made your way through not only “Bridgerton” but every other historical miniseries you could get your hands on, and now you’re faced with the daunting task of picking out a Regency romance novel from approximately one million titles. Don’t worry—we’re here to help. There are tons of terrific books out there, and because the subgenre has more variety than you might expect, we’ve added a complementary television series to each recommendation below to help you scope out the vibe.

A Duchess by Midnight

Miss Drewsmina “Drew” Trelayne is determined to make a name for herself as a guide for young debutantes embarking on their London season in A Duchess by Midnight by Charis Michaels. When her newly royal stepsister, Cynde, uses her connections to secure Drew’s first paying client, Drew has her work cut out for her. How can she teach the Duke of Lachlan’s troubled nieces proper deportment and etiquette when she can’t seem to stop herself from breaking all the rules with the irresistible, scandal-ridden duke?

Read if you loved “The Baby-Sitters Club”

Yes, we’re really comparing a Regency romance to a TV show based on a series of chapter books, and here’s why. Both A Duchess by Midnight and the recent Netflix adaptation of Ann M. Martin’s popular series, which launched in 1986, take a story that had grown a bit stagnant in our imaginations and make it feel fresh without losing the magic of the original. Drewsmina is a Regency version of the stepsisters from Disney’s Cinderella, and through her, Michaels breathes new life into a slightly dusty fairy tale. Far from being a two-dimensional figure, Drewsmina becomes the fully realized heroine of her own story by being willing to grow and change. Her less-than-perfect past makes her the ideal person to reach the lonely, isolated duke and his two wary girls in this charming twist on an age-old story.

Nobody’s Princess

Kunigunde “Kuni” de Heusch is determined to become the first Royal Guardswoman of Balcovia. She can’t get distracted by anyone or anything—not even Graham Wynchester. But when Graham interferes with her mission at the beginning of Erica Ridley’s Nobody’s Princess, Kuni ends up falling in with the astonishing Wynchester clan—going on adventures, learning acrobatic skills and discovering a brand of heroism and service that is like nothing she’s ever known. Her time in England is limited, and the future of her dreams is waiting for her in Balcovia. She’ll soon have everything she ever wanted . . . except for a certain remarkable man.

Read if you loved “The Umbrella Academy”

Unlike the characters in the comic book-inspired Netflix series, the Wynchesters don’t have supernatural powers, but that doesn’t stop them from trying to make the world a better place. These adopted siblings use their fortune to right wrongs and protect the innocent. They bicker with and tease and aggravate one another, while still coming together when there’s an enemy to face. It’s lovely to see Kuni fall for not only the eminently lovable Graham but also his entire family and their appreciation of and support for one another. Ridley’s take on the Regency period is quirkier and broader than the norm, but that just makes Nobody’s Princess all the more compelling and fun.

The Rake’s Daughter

In Anne Gracie’s The Rake’s Daughter half sisters Clarissa and Isobel Studley have no one but each other—and if their father had had his way, they wouldn’t even have that. Isobel is the illegitimate daughter whom the unscrupulous baronet had no interest in raising, and only Clarissa’s stubborn loyalty kept the girls together through childhood. They cling to each other even tighter when their father dies and they are sent to London to live with their new guardian, Leo Thorne, the Earl of Salcott. Because his opinion of Isobel stems from her father’s viciously cruel descriptions, Leo is appalled by his instantaneous and fierce attraction to her. As they both try to shepherd Clarissa through her first season, the fiery Isobel challenges Leo to see past his preconceptions.

Read if you loved “The Good Place”

Gracie takes a warmer, sweeter view of Regency high society; there are still challenges and prejudices, but there are also examples of extraordinary kindness, devotion and compassion. Like Eleanor and Michael in the afterlife-set TV show, the characters in The Rake’s Daughter have vibrant, rich personalities that make it easy to root for them. Leo has a particularly impressive character arc, starting off almost as an antagonist before becoming the hero he always had the potential to be. And it’s not just the lead characters who will steal your heart: Loyal, kind, insightful but insecure Clarissa is reminiscent of Chidi from “The Good Place,” and one can only hope she gets her own book soon.

★ A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting

Kitty Talbot, the heroine of Sophie Irwin’s A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting, is left with four sisters to care for and an ocean of debt after her father dies and her fiancé jilts her. The only thing left of value is herself, so it’s off to London and the marriage mart to find a rich match. Luck seems to be on her side when she’s able to catch the eye of sweet, easily manipulated Archie de Lacy, but her hopes are punctured when his disapproving older brother, Lord Radcliffe, comes to break up the match. Desperate to the point of recklessness, Kitty manages to convince Radcliffe to make a trade: She’ll leave his brother alone if he helps her find another match. But what starts out as a grudging alliance blooms into something more, something built on growing respect, admiration, attraction—and maybe even love.

Read if you loved “Inventing Anna”

If you loved the high-wire tension of the miniseries featuring Anna Delvey’s con artist exploits, then this is the Regency romance for you. But unlike Anna, Kitty is a heroine you can genuinely like, even as you marvel at her audacity. She’s clever and cunning, but she’s also wry, funny and refreshingly honest, with admirable reasons for her manipulative fortune-hunting. From the start, her sharp mind and ruthless practicality make the story relentlessly readable, charging scenes with terrific tension and biting wordplay. Crucially, however, there’s so much more to Kitty than her diamond-hard facade. She’s not a cipher but a vivid and relatable character. The more Radcliffe understands her, the more he loves her—as will readers.

Overwhelmed by the amount of Regency romances out there? Let us be your guide to this season's best reads.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

Celebrate the start of a new academic year with two picture books

Feature by Lisa Bubert

Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules

Lupe Lopez is ready to rock and roll her way into kindergarten. Fresh from a summer of drumming and perfecting her hip new look, she knows all rock stars make their own rules. Lupe is committed to never letting anyone tell her what to do, being as loud as possible and making “fans, not friends.” Unsurprisingly, this works great for Lupe—but not so well for Ms. Quintanilla, Lupe’s new teacher. 

Little by little, Lupe learns that even rock stars have to adhere to the rules (sometimes). Drumming belongs more on a stage than in the classroom, and friends are much better than fans—especially when they start a band together! Best of all, Lupe finds a way to remain the one-of-a-kind, “Texas-size” kindergarten rock star she is. 

Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules is a fun, fresh addition to the back-to-school picture book canon. It’s perfect for young readers who march to the beat of their own drums but may benefit from a gentle reminder to respect the needs of others around them. 

Lupe is the brainchild of a picture book dream team: co-writers e.E Charlton-Trujillo and Pat Zietlow Miller (Be Kind), and illustrator Joe Cepeda. Stonewall Award-winning Charlton-Trujillo’s influence as a South Texas native is clear in the familiar and joyful portrait of Lupe’s predominantly Latinx Hector P. Garcia Elementary school, complete with the requisite map of Texas on the classroom wall and bilingual labeling of classroom objects. (Don’t miss the nod to legendary Tejano musician Selena in Ms. Quintanilla’s name.) 

Zietlow Miller’s signature voice contributes to the story’s rhythm and narrative structure, both of which make Lupe Lopez: Rock Star Rules an excellent read-aloud. Children will love drumming along with Lupe when she shouts “¡Ran! ¡Rataplán! Boom-tica-bam! ¡Pit-a-pat. Rat-a-tat. Wham-wham-wham! ¡Soy famosa!” 

Pura Belpré Honor recipient Cepeda’s crisp, classical illustration style is perfect for a story with this much heart. He spares no detail in bringing Lupe to life on the page, right down to the pigtails in her hair and the pencils she uses for her drumsticks. 

Together, Charlton-Trujillo, Zietlow Miller and Cepeda have created an unforgettable heroine who will leap off the page and right onto your bookshelf. Fans of feisty heroines such as Russell and Lillian Hoban’s Frances, Ian Falconer’s Olivia and Monica Brown and Sara Palacios’ Marisol McDonald will be clamoring to join Lupe’s band.

One Boy Watching

As many children in rural areas know, living in the country often means being the first to board the school bus in the morning and the last to get dropped off at the end of the day. It means mornings of quiet reflection as the world wakes up and evenings spent on winding gravel roads toward home. 

One Boy Watching is a nearly wordless picture book that opens as the sun is just barely beginning to rise, when a school bus arrives at a boy’s rural home. Some introductory descriptions follow the unnamed protagonist as he steps onto the bus (“Twenty-eight empty seats. . . . One bus at sunrise under an infinite sky.”), but the scene’s beauty can be found in the serene spaces between those phrases. The reader is invited to sit peacefully, to breathe deeply, to soak in the prismatic watercolor and colored pencil sunrise skies. 

Author-illustrator Grant Snider, the creator of the popular webcomic “Incidental Comics,” reprises the same hushed feeling found in his earlier picture books, including What Color Is Night and What Sound Is Morning. His artistry seems simple: It’s light on distinct detail and heavy on bold lines, capturing the shapes of objects just barely visible in the early dawn, such as bulbous trees or the peak of a roof. Later spreads contain sights that will be familiar to rural school bus riders: pastures of hay bales, the glow of headlights in the early dawn, fields of rusted cars, water towers, the silhouettes of distant barns and feed silos. 

The real wow factor, however, is in the quietly powerful way that Snider uses color. By blending colors, lines and shapes into one another, Snider mimics the blur of what children see from a bus window on the way to school. As the journey continues and more children board the bus, the reader can almost hear the sound of their laughter, the rumble of the bus’s engine and the wail of a train horn at the railroad crossing—all with hardly any words on the page. 

Reserved, thoughtful readers who prefer to spend time lingering over illustrations or making up their own stories about the stories they read will especially appreciate One Boy Watching. It vividly conveys the experiences of those first-to-get-on, last-to-get-off students who witness a sunrise every morning and a sunset every evening as they mark the beginning and end of each school day.

The first day of school is a momentous occasion for many children. These picture books capture the experience with sparkle and style.
RomanceRomantic SuspenseParanormal RomanceContemporary Romance

Romance: August 2022

Feature by Christie Ridgway

★ Wolf in the Shadows

Maria Vale sweeps readers into a compelling paranormal world in her fifth entry in the Legend of All Wolves series, Wolf in the Shadows. Julia Martel, pampered shifter princess of Montreal, has been kidnapped by the Great North Pack, who live apart from human society and ritualistically shift to their wolf forms every full moon. Though she was raised to be “exquisitely inconsequential,” Julia finds her inner strength as she lives with the pack and gets to know Arthur, a wolf at the bottom of the pack’s hierarchy. Vale’s storytelling is immersive and fascinating as she chronicles Julia’s metamorphosis from plaything to predator. And Arthur is a uniquely appealing love interest: keenly attentive, sensitive and always willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Lushly described set pieces, from Julia’s embrace of her animal nature to the couple’s smoking hot love scenes, make for a fiercely beautiful read.

Husband Material

A couple grapples with life, love and being true to themselves in Husband Material by Alexis Hall. It’s been two years since Lucien “Luc” O’Donnell and Oliver Blackwood got together in Boyfriend Material, and the opposites-attract pair are happy together—and happy to witness the people around them tie the knot. But does that mean they should follow suit? Narrated by Luc in a self-deprecating and often sarcastic first-person voice, the next phase in the men’s romance plays out with the help of their loyal but sometimes screwball friends. Family drama adds serious layers and provides an opportunity for soul-searching, even as Hall’s bouncy dialogue tumbles along through plenty of rom-com fun. As they grapple with their future, examining both compatibility and commitment, Luc and Oliver are amusing, authentic and eminently deserving of their happily ever after. 

Quarter to Midnight

Karen Rose’s latest romantic suspense novel, Quarter to Midnight, begins a new series set in New Orleans. When his father, a former police officer, dies under suspicious circumstances, chef Gabe Hebert hires a PI agency to look into the matter. Molly Sutton, former cop, former Marine and forever badass, takes on the case. A patron of Gabe’s renowned restaurant, she’s long admired his culinary skills and his good looks, and she’s committed to getting answers for him, no matter what she may uncover in the process. Rose always constructs an appealing team to aid her main couple and further engage the reader’s emotions; this time, the crew includes a brave young med student, a pair of canny brothers and two witty and determined older women. It’s a twisty, dangerous ride all the way to the end, with the French Quarter setting and the descriptions of Gabe’s food adding an extra je ne sais quoi to this entertaining read.

The long-awaited sequel to Boyfriend Material is finally here, plus two thrilling love stories in this month's romance column.
Mystery & SuspenseMystery

Whodunit: August 2022

Feature by Bruce Tierney

To Kill a Troubadour

Everyone’s favorite French police chief Benoît Courrèges—aka, Bruno, Chief of Police—faces a new threat to his usually bucolic Périgord existence: Spanish terrorists protesting the Catalonia separatist movement. As Martin Walker’s To Kill a Troubadour opens, controversy swirls around “Song for Catalonia,” a wildly popular song that, because of its tacit support for the separatists, has recently been banned by the Spanish government. Les Troubadours, the music group that popularized the song, are gearing up for a free concert in Périgord that promises to be the best-attended event of the summer. Meanwhile, Spanish nationalist extremists have been observed crossing the border into France, intent on inflicting mayhem—or worse—on the assembled music lovers who have given voice to the separatist movement. Then a bullet is found in the wreckage of a recently stolen car, a bullet designed for a high-powered sniper rifle that can kill from several kilometers away. Bruno fears snipers will set their crosshairs on the crowd, on the band or on the songwriter, who openly sympathizes with the Catalonia movement, but the real scheme is much, much worse. But do not fear—despite the tenser-than-usual plot, all of Walker’s fan-favorite characters are present and accounted for, as well as all of Bruno’s treasured pastimes: sports competitions, gourmet cooking and, of course, his engaging basset hound, Balzac.

★ The Shadow Lily

Swedish author Johanna Mo returns with The Shadow Lily, the suspense-laden second book in her series featuring police detective Hanna Duncker, who, after years of working in Stockholm’s urban center, has returned to her small island homeland of Öland. Both Hanna and the other islanders have mixed feelings about her return, as her father was convicted of one of the most brutal murders the community has ever seen. In her latest case, Hanna is tasked with locating a missing man and his infant son, knowing that as the hours tick by, the chances of finding them alive grow smaller and smaller. Mo employs alternating perspectives to great effect, using them to deepen the reader’s understanding of the events and the characters involved. One arc covers the final day of a character who is killed off relatively early in the narrative; in the second, we observe the day-to-day police procedural; in the third, Mo reveals the backstory of the victim from the first arc and the decisions that led to his untimely end. But most compelling of all, The Shadow Lily sheds further light on what drove Hanna back home: the visceral need to know the whole story about her father.

Death Doesn’t Forget

Jing-nan, a dumpling stall operator in a Taipei night market, is not your typical food dude. He is a tech-savvy social media influencer, a born marketer—and an inadvertent sleuth. While Jing-nan is cursed with nefarious family members and cronies, Death Doesn’t Forget starts out with some good fortune: Jing-nan’s girlfriend’s mother, Siu-lien, wins half of a sizable lottery, which she must share with her ne’er-do-well boyfriend. But by the very next day, the good fortune has all dried up. The boyfriend has been killed, the winnings are in the wind and Jing-nan is on the hook for finding, if not the murderer, at least the missing money. Complicating matters further is the fact that Jing-nan’s girlfriend, Nancy, wants to get married. Barring that, she wants a proposal that she can consider, so that “the egg timer would be set . . . a countdown to either getting married or breaking up for good.” Siu-lien looks on this union with disfavor, but successfully returning her money would go a long way toward warming her chill toward Jing-nan. Author Ed Lin recounts all this cultural and familial interplay with good humor, peppering the text with Taiwanese bromides both old and new. (My favorite is this gem regarding prison terms: “Sentences handed down were longer than the gaps between Ang Lee films.”) With its great suspense and plot development, Death Doesn’t Forget is good fun all-round.

★ The Murder Book

Mark Billingham’s Detective Inspector Tom Thorne books are consistently excellent, but his 18th entry in the popular series, The Murder Book, raises the bar considerably. In a twist that will thrill longtime fans of the series, arch villain Stuart Nicklin, described as “the most dangerous psychopath [Thorne] has ever put behind bars,” is back for a return engagement. This time, Nicklin is serving as Svengali for Rebecca Driver, a female serial killer who mutilates her victims a la the dictates of the three wise monkeys: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. For bonus points, she even honors a fourth monkey that is sometimes included in the traditional crew, along with the maxim “Do no evil.” (I will leave the details of Rebecca’s gruesome methodology to your imagination.) Nicklin’s own bad deeds were well chronicled in Thorne’s 12th adventure, The Bones Beneath, and suffice it to say that the intervening years have done nothing to mellow his penchant for brutality. Thorne turns to the ubiquitous British camera surveillance system to bring Rebecca to justice, but as Billingham takes pains to point out, surveillance cameras can be employed with devastating results on either side of the thin blue line. How, exactly? Thorne, and the reader, will soon find out.

This month's cleverest whodunits feature idiosyncratic, complicated gumshoes.
NonfictionSelf-HelpPhotographyFood & DrinkCookbooksArt

Books to help you behold the world’s beauty

Feature by Susannah Felts

★ Everything, Beautiful

In a world unspeakably darkened by crisis, it might seem trifling to even think about appreciating, cultivating or devoting our attention to beauty. Focusing on beauty might even read as an act of oblivious privilege. But perhaps a fuller contemplation of what beauty is, can be and has been, and what it can mean in our everyday lives, is in fact one step toward repairing massive-scale damage. Writer and illustrator Ella Frances Sanders believes it is. In Everything, Beautiful, she envisions learning to see beauty as a curative, even redemptive process, “like putting a delicate, very broken vase back together.” No matter how broken our world, it is nevertheless full of “tiny, beautiful things,” she writes. “Some are so invisible or silent that you may never see or understand them, but they are there.” Through text, illustration and guided prompts, Sanders upends and expands our notions of beauty and urges us to notice the ingredients for beauty that are all around us, such as “light, slowness, and the kind of air temperatures that feel like honey.”

Lost Places

I live in a boomtown where every old structure seems to either meet the wrecking ball or get a second life via adaptive reuse. Paging through the images in Lost Places, I’m swept into another world, one where the vestiges of America’s past are left, silent and uninhabited, to be transformed by weather and time. Heribert Niehues’ photographs of abandoned cars, houses, gas stations and other structures tell a story about our country’s past. They are also suffused with mystery: What lives did these places once contain? Who last passed through these doors? Scenes of decaying diner interiors are among the spookiest, with guests’ checks, condiment containers and fry baskets left behind. Car buffs will enjoy Niehues’ many images of rusted-out, early- to mid-20th-century models. Many of the abandoned edifices captured here fell victim to the interstate system when it rerouted travel in the 1950s and ’60; one wonders what of our present might be left behind a century from now, as climate change remaps the landscape.

Forever Beirut

Forever Beirut, a cookbook with accompanying essays and stunning photographs, was conceptualized by Barbara Abdeni Massaad as a way to help her beloved home country in the aftermath of a terrible 2020 explosion at the port of Beirut. In response to disaster and economic collapse, the book passionately preserves the treasures of Beirut’s culinary heritage, with recipes for favorites such as kibbeh, a dish of ground lamb, beef or vegetables kneaded together with bulgur; man’oushe, a traditional flatbread; mezze, small dishes served together such as chickpeas and yogurt; and semolina cake. This is the stuff of my culinary dreams: food that is aromatically spiced, uncomplicated and yet bursting with flavor, served to the reader within a deep, loving sociocultural context.

Look a little closer, and you’ll find beauty lurking in unexpected places. The three books in this month’s lifestyles column will help you spot it.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

2 picture books for young readers in their feelings

Feature by Julie Danielson

The best picture books tap honestly and unpatronizingly into children’s emotions. These two books remind children that being human means appreciating the complex emotions we all experience. 

Sometimes I Grumblesquinch

“I’m a really nice kid,” declares protagonist Katie Honors on the first page of author Rachel Vail and illustrator Hyewon Yum’s Sometimes I Grumblesquinch, a tale about the pitfalls of trying to tame emotions. Katie tries to be on her best behavior at all times. She’s “a good sport” when she loses a soccer match: “‘Good game,’ I say. . . . I hardly frown.” Katie’s mom declares that her daughter is “such a pleasure,” and Katie takes pride in knowing that her parents are proud of her. But readers, privy to Katie’s inner thoughts, know that she contains multitudes.

Katie’s little brother, Chuck, annoys her, and she routinely bottles up how he makes her feel. “Sometimes I grumblesquinch,” Katie confesses. When this happens, her “insides tighten” and she has “mean thoughts,” such as wishing that she had “a trampoline or a tree house or a giraffe instead of a brother.” Vail captures Katie’s feelings with an unequivocal, refreshing candor that’s deeply respectful toward Katie’s complicated interior life: “I wish I could pop [Chuck] like a balloon. . . . I wish he would disappear.” When Katie finally snaps, Yum’s soft color palette and smooth linework are transformed: Intense colors and ragged, angular lines embody Katie’s acute fear that her parents “won’t think I am such a pleasure anymore.” 

But Katie’s mother gently validates Katie’s feelings, telling her daughter that she understands how a person can hold both frustration and love for someone. A shocked Katie nods and tells readers, “This nod is true.” These four words convey so much about how children—especially girls—are encouraged to suppress their feelings and minimize their emotions. When Katie acknowledges that her nod is “true,” she’s also suggesting that some of her smiles have been insincere, even forced. 

It’s moving to watch Katie begin to understand that attempting to ignore healthy but negative emotions, all in the name of being likable, still causes harm. Even after failing to grumblesquinch all her feelings, Katie still receives a loving hug from her mom, who has space for “the whole me” in her arms.

What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking    

Polish author Tina Oziewicz offers readers a whole host of emotions in What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking, translated from the Polish by Jennifer Croft. (Kudos to Oziewicz’s American publisher, Elsewhere Editions, for placing the translator’s name prominently on the cover.) 

Because the book’s title tells readers precisely what to expect, the first spread dives right in, introducing Curiosity, a creature with large ears who sits atop a tall chimney, eager to see what’s beyond the horizon. Curiosity is followed by Joy, Gratitude, Calm, Envy, Insecurities, Shame, Courage, Bliss and more, each depicted on its own spread. 

Illustrator Aleksandra Zając (making her picture book debut) introduces an endearing cast of characters, conveying these emotions as furry, amicable creatures who move about on clean, uncluttered backgrounds. Her crisp, fine lines and gray-tone palette (with subtle touches of coral, sky blue and sage) ensure that even the more volatile emotions, such as Anger, won’t frighten the youngest readers.

This is a picture book filled with surprises. There are unexpected personifications (“Jitters sit in a rusty can in a dark corner under a wardrobe.” “Nostalgia sniffs a scarf.”), but Oziewicz also has a startlingly succinct and evocative way of capturing these feelings. “Anxiety juggles,” for one. These two words float amid ample white space next to an unhappy-looking creature atop a unicycle trying to keep five balls in the air, its mouth a thin, wavy line. A full-bleed illustration shows a wide-eyed creature attempting to blend in with patterned floral wallpaper: “Fear pretends it isn’t there.” And what else would Hope do but pack “a sandwich for the road”? 

Oziewicz and Zając link two spreads in an especially meaningful way: Readers learn that Hate “chews through links and cables. Can’t connect! Can’t connect!” But in the book’s final spread, Love, who is an electrician, holds an oversize lightbulb aglow with amber hues. The bulb seems to run from the same rose-colored cable Hate tried so vehemently to destroy. 

What Feelings Do When No One’s Looking will prompt thoughtful conversations about the wide range of feelings a person can experience. It’s exactly the sort of book that Katie Honors—and all children—need. 

These children’s books put some of our most complex emotions into words (and pictures!).

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