the editors of BookPage

We love many fictional characters, but when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, it takes a special person to earn a place at our families’ tables. These characters would get our plus-ones. Now, who remembers if we pass to the left or right?

Barbie Chang from Barbie Chang
By Victoria Chang
For the eponymous main character in Chang’s poetry collection, being a child is about grieving and caring for an ailing mother; for me, childhood was particularly the latter. My mother gratefully calls me a hero for doing something as simple as writing her resume or taking care of her when she’s sick. My conversation with Barbie Chang would be about not only the mother-child relationship, but also distance and sacrifice, “how quickly the air // around [us fills] in the space afterwards” when our mothers leave—Barbie Chang’s mother in death, mine as I matriculate into adulthood—and the sacrifices mothers make. I want to have dinner with Barbie Chang, and I also cannot wait to have dinner with my mother.

—Prince, Editorial Intern

Helen Loomis from Dandelion Wine
By Ray Bradbury
I consider this summery, small-town novel to be Bradbury’s masterpiece, its series of short stories offering some of the most beloved, idyllic scenes in my reading memory, from a paean to mowing the grass to the hopeful creation of a “Happiness Machine.” Some tales crackle with the discovery of being alive, while others curl into the bittersweetness of memory and old age. In one story, we meet 95-year-old Helen Loomis, who is like a Miss Rumphius who speaks graciously, openly and ever kindly about her long and eventful life, the loneliness and freedom of her travels, her wildness and never marrying. Her story is one of love—and everyone at my family dinner would fall totally and helplessly in love with her.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

Ralph S. Mouse from The Mouse and the Motorcycle
By Beverly Cleary
My family likes animals. When my dad was in college, he had a rooster named Jack who lived in his apartment. Later, he and my mom had a kinkajou named Pooh Bear who slept in the cabinets. I’ve picked up the exotic animal baton by adopting two chinchillas (Rupert and Terrence Howard). So if I had to bring a guest of honor to dinner, my family would certainly appreciate if it were a mouse. There are, of course, many fine mice in literature, but Ralph S. Mouse is the obvious standout choice. He’s cute, he has great stories about escaping danger (essential for an ideal dinner guest), and best of all—at least in my Suzuki-driving family—he can do motorcycle tricks.

—Christy, Associate Editor

Gansey from The Raven Boys
By Maggie Stiefvater
Under the right circumstances, I’d love to meet any of Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle protagonists, but Richard Campbell Gansey III is the only one who’d be at ease in any social situation, including dinner with my family. For example: “Because of his money and his good family name, because of his handsome smile and his easy laugh, because he liked people and . . . they liked him back, Gansey could have had any and all of the friends that he wanted.” He’d bring flowers for my mother. He’d call my father “sir.” He’d compliment the meal and offer to help with the dishes. And after dinner, driving me home in his beat-up Camaro, he’d ask, a gleam in his eye, “How much do you know about dead Welsh kings?”

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

Circe from Circe
By Madeline Miller
There is probably no one with a more extensive or fascinating array of stories to tell at the Thanksgiving table than Circe. In Miller’s gorgeous reimagining of the legendary sorceress, Circe encounters Medea, Odysseus, Hermes, Athena and many more iconic figures. She is witness to some of the most well-known stories in Greek mythology, and through Miller’s clear-eyed, rigorously researched perspective, figures of fable become complicated, contradictory beings of flesh and blood (or ichor) rather than cold marble. Also, it’s important to note that many characters are either deeply dismissive of or outright hostile to poor, exiled Circe. As such, she quite frankly deserves a nice family meal where she can sit back and be the highly deserved center of love and attention.

—Savanna, Assistant Editor

We love many fictional characters, but when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, it takes a special person to earn a place at our families’ tables. These characters would get our plus-ones.

16 women to watch in 2020

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

During Women’s History Month, we shout from the rooftops about the contributions of women. (Truthfully, we do that every month.) We also share our annual list of women to watch.

Every year brings its challenges, and 2020 has been a particular gut-punch. But there is plenty to be grateful for—in particular, the new and on-the-rise women authors who have already blown us away this year. Kiley Reid kicked down the door with her debut; Anna Wiener and Alexis Coe opened our eyes; Maisy Card swept us away; Jenny Lee went straight for the heart; Mikki Kendall filled us with righteous rage. And then there’s Kate Elizabeth Russell, Bess Kalb, Sarah Ramey, K.S. Villoso, Sharon Cameron, Cathy Park Hong and so many others, each showing up in big ways.

Meet the 16 women who should be on your radar in 2020.

Katharine Schellman
THE BODY IN THE GARDEN
April 7 • Crooked Lane

It takes a special blend of discernment and humor to write a light-hearted but not whitewashed historical mystery. Katharine Schellman’s 1815-set debut has all the glittering trappings of the era, while examining the privilege and racism at its core. Schellman, who studied theater and history at the College of William & Mary, also spent time working as a political consultant, an experience she says she is “still recovering from.”

C Pam Zhang
HOW MUCH OF THESE HILLS IS GOLD
April 7 • Riverhead

We were not prepared for the powerhouse that is C Pam Zhang. In a totally unique voice, Zhang sucked us into her story set in the gold rush-era American West, where two sisters seek a new life after their immigrant parents’ deaths. It’s part historical saga, part family drama, part modern immigration novel—and nothing like you’ve ever read before. Zhang was born in Beijing but calls herself an “artifact” of the United States. She has lived in 13 cities across four countries, and her ongoing search for home plays a major role in this tremendous novel.

Scarlett Peckham
THE RAKESS
April 28 • Avon

Scarlett Peckham has received rave reviews for her angsty, ambitious and sex-positive romances, the first of which, The Duke I Tempted, was a USA Today bestseller and a Golden Heart winner. Her unapologetic alpha heroines and gothic-influenced plots are as present as ever in her print debut, The Rakess, which takes inspiration from feminist firebrands like Mary Wollstonecraft.

Sara Sligar
TAKE ME APART
April 28 • MCD

A nervy thriller set in a famed, deceased artist’s magnificent home on the California coast, Sligar’s debut stands out from the pack with its elegant, precise prose and keen insight into the ways that society alternately deifies and censures female creatives. Sligar teaches English and creative writing at the University of Southern California, and already has a second novel in the works with MCD.

Alina Boyden
STEALING THUNDER
May 12 • Ace

Alina Boyden’s luminous, utterly magical fantasy, inspired by Mughal India, feels like escaping into a beloved book from your childhood. It’s escapist and evocative, but also quietly revolutionary due to its trans protagonist Razia, who was once the crown prince of a powerful kingdom before running away to become a dancer, courtesan and thief. Boyden is also a trans rights activist and a Ph.D. candidate in cultural anthropology, and her work with the transgender women of India and Pakistan inspired her debut novel.

Morgan Jerkins
WANDERING IN STRANGE LANDS
May 12 • Harper

If you missed the Morgan Jerkins train the first time around, when her debut essay collection, This Will Be My Undoing, came out in 2018, here’s your next chance to get onboard. Wandering in Strange Lands is a historical and personal examination of the legacy of the Great Migration, told with sharp insight from this rising star of cultural criticism.

Meredith Talusan
FAIREST: A MEMOIR
May 26 • Viking

Meredith Talusan’s debut memoir is a soft, thoughtful coming-of-age story that beautifully illuminates the intersections of the author’s different identities. As an award-winning journalist, Talusan writes about disability, immigration and trans issues, and Fairest incorporates all of these perspectives into a lyrical narrative of their childhood in the Philippines and adolescence in America, learning to navigating matters of sexuality, class, activism and artistry.

Kelly Yang
PARACHUTES
May 26 • Katherine Tegen

In the spring of 2018, Kelly Yang took the world of children’s literature by storm with her debut middle grade novel, Front Desk. Beloved by both critics and readers, Front Desk became a bestseller and an award winner, receiving numerous accolades including the 2019 Asian Pacific American Award for Literature. Yang has a highly anticipated sequel to Front Desk coming in the fall, but her spring release has really put her in our spotlight: She’s making the jump to YA with Parachutes, the story of a wealthy Chinese teenager coming to the U.S. for high school and the ambitious teen whose family hosts her.

Megha Majumdar
A BURNING
June 2 • Knopf

Megha Majumdar—who was born in Kolkata, India, and came to the U.S. at age 18 to attend Harvard—is an editor at Catapult, which means that she knows that every word counts. Her contemporary India-set debut novel may be slim, but it is mighty, as Majumdar explores the lives of three characters with notable confidence. Through taut and propulsive short chapters, we follow a Muslim girl accused of a terrorist attack, a trans woman taking acting classes and a populist supporter.

Katie Mack
THE END OF EVERYTHING (ASTROPHYSICALLY SPEAKING)
June 9 • Scribner

Unless you’re deeply entrenched in Science Twitter, you may not yet be familiar with theoretical astrophysicist and writer Katie Mack. Luckily, with her debut book coming out this summer, now is the perfect time to acquaint yourself. The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking) is an accessible, deceptively funny introduction to cosmology, quantum mechanics and the top five ways the universe could end (at any moment!). Trust us, with Mack at the helm of this sinking astrophysical ship, it’s way more fun than it sounds.

Kate Russo
SUPER HOST
June 9 • Putnam

We’ve lost track of the number of novels compared to Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine—and for the most part, those comparisons have fallen short. Kate Russo’s first novel hasn’t yet been compared to Eleanor, but it should be. The character at its heart—a formerly big-time artist who, after a divorce, must make ends meet by listing his home on an Airbnb-type site—is the perfect blend of impossible and beloved, and the story is handled with a mix of wise humor and compassion. Born in Maine, Russo is a painter who exhibits in both the U.S. and the U.K., so she has an edge on depicting the art world. It must also be noted that Russo’s writing chops run deep: She is the daughter of Richard Russo, and her sister runs Print, an independent bookstore in Maine.

Diane Cook
THE NEW WILDERNESS
August 11 • Harper

Diane Cook, a former producer for “This American Life” and a recipient of a 2016 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, gained literary attention in 2014 for her award-winning and critically acclaimed story collection, Man V. Nature. She returns this summer with her first novel, a dystopian tale being compared to Station Eleven. A mother and daughter flee the dangers of pollution and join a community that hopes to build a new life in protected wilderness. But how to live in nature and not destroy it? These are questions many of us are already asking, and we can’t wait to dive into Cook’s exploration.

Sara Seager
THE SMALLEST LIGHTS IN THE UNIVERSE
August 18 • Random House

You may know Sara Seager as the MIT astronomer searching for exoplanets throughout the universe that could support life. And if you don’t, you’ll soon be able to learn about her work as not only a planetary scientist but also a writer in her debut memoir, The Smallest Lights in the Universe. After becoming a widow and single mother at age 40, Seager had to learn to navigate a different kind of darkness. Her one-of-a-kind perspective on the relative hugeness and smallness of human heartbreak shines bright in this exceptional story.

Susan Abulhawa
AGAINST THE LOVELESS WORLD
August 25 • Atria

Born to Palestinian refugees of the Six-Day War in 1967, Susan Abulhawa is a powerful force: She is a human rights activist and political commentator with a background in medical science, as well as the founder of Playgrounds for Palestine, an organization dedicated to upholding the “Right to Play” for Palestinian children. She is also the author of two novels, including the international bestseller Mornings in Jenin. Her writing is absolutely gorgeous, and her third novel follows a Palestinian refugee seeking a better life for her family in the Middle East. Don’t miss this one.

Anne Helen Petersen
CAN’T EVEN: HOW MILLENNIALS BECAME THE BURNOUT GENERATION
September 22 • HMH

Anne Helen Petersen, who is responsible for the single best profile of Enya ever written (among other things), became the mouthpiece for millennial burnout after her article on the subject went viral in early 2019. Now she’ll explore this perfect storm of late-stage capitalism in book form with Can’t Even. Her reporting at BuzzFeed News has already singled her out one of the best longform culture writers working today, and we expect her next book to solidify this reputation as a journalist and author to be reckoned with.

Kelly Loy Gilbert
WHEN WE WERE INFINTE
October 20 • Simon & Schuster

Kelly Loy Gilbert’s two YA novels, 2015’s Conviction and 2018’s Picture Us in the Light, garnered an astonishing eight starred reviews, and Conviction was one of five finalists for ALA’s William C. Morris Award, which honors the best debut YA novels published each year. This year, she has a new publisher and a new YA novel, When We Were Infinite. Gilbert is, quite simply, one of the most gifted writers working in YA today, and any new offering from her is cause for celebration.

Abulhawa photo by T. Sauppe. Boyden photo by Spencer Micka. Gilbert photo by Dayna Falls. Majumdar photo by Elena Seibert. Petersen photo by Charles Aydlett. Russo photo by Tom Butler. Sligar photo by Abbey Mackay. Talusan photo by Albrica Tierra. Zhang photo by Gioia Zloczower.

During Women’s History Month, we shout from the rooftops about the contributions of women. (Truthfully, we do that every month.) We also share our annual list of women to watch. Meet the 16 women who should be on your radar in 2020.

Editors’ choice: All the BookPage gift roundups of 2019

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

Winter is coming, and so is gift-giving season. Fortunately, the BookPage editors have selected their very favorite gift books for 2019, so make your list, check it twice and then dash off to your local bookstore.

For homebodies who are secretly glad their plans got canceled
If you can’t convince your introverted friends to come out to your holiday party, just leave one of these comfy, cozy, beautiful books on their doorstep instead.

For the friend who’s read more books than you
Book lovers, bibliomaniacs, librarians at heart—call them what you will, some readers take the contents of their shelves very seriously.

For the human who likes animals more than people
Cats, dogs and wildlife mixed with humor, art and photographic beauty—these books offer a bit of everything.

For the gardener, the composter, the lover of flowers
As in one of the loveliest lines attributed to Margaret Atwood, “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”

For the outdoorsy person who’s always planning their next hike
Find your way home with these special books.

For the friend with the best dinner reservations
These books jump out of the oven and onto your shelf.

For the eternally, incurably curious
They’ve got probing minds and roving intellects. They simply must unlock the secrets of every subject. And they’re going to love these books.

For your most stressed-out friend
The world is a tad intense these days. This holiday season, don’t hesitate to give your loved ones (or yourself) a helping hand.

For the mensch with the most
The nights are getting longer, the weather is getting colder, and Hanukkah is just around the corner.

For trailblazers and seekers of inspiration
It’s always a delight to celebrate the women who make us laugh, who have shaped popular culture and politics and who have defined (and redefined) aging.

For resisters & persisters
Four books honor our friends who fight for justice, the right to love and the possibility of a better future.

For the culture vulture who’s seen everything
Why choose between the page and the screen? These books are great for the friend who wants to enjoy the two together.

For the film buff who dreams in black and white
These four books usher readers behind the scenes and offer a bit of dish, a lot of insight and plenty of glam Old Hollywood fun.

For musicians, audiophiles and anyone with a song in their heart
These are sure to please the person at your holiday gathering who always asks, “Hey, do you mind if I change the music?”

For the artistic soul plugged in to all creative outlets
Creativity is often born under unexpected circumstances, as these books so beautifully demonstrate.

For new parents
New babies need all sorts of paraphernalia—but don’t forget that new parents need prezzies, too.

For the young and the young at heart
Three delightful new Disney-related titles have arrived in time for the gift-giving weeks that lie ahead, with options for adults and little readers alike.

For YA readers who can’t wait to see how the story ends (or continues!)
Anyone who’s been reading along with some of the most popular YA series would be overjoyed to find one of these titles in their stocking.

For curious young minds
Brimming with eye-opening information and hands-on activities, these innovative books will inspire readers to think, create and collaborate.

Best Books of 2019: Nonfiction

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

Tom Wolfe said, “The problem with fiction, it has to be plausible. That’s not true with nonfiction.” This year’s crop of wild, weighty, without a doubt true stories prove this 20 times over. Here are the best history, memoir, science, social science and true crime books of 2019.

20. No Visible Bruises by Rachel Louise Snyder

All of us have a stake in becoming more aware of and responsive to private violence, and this book proves why.

19. The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

Reaching far beyond the boundaries of memoir, Sarah M. Broom revisits the world of her childhood, decimated by Katrina, as she searches for the meaning of home and family.

18. Once More We Saw Stars by Jayson Greene

Once More We Saw Stars isn’t about the tragedy that befell a family—although Greene recounts with exquisite detail how he felt in the tragic days that ended his daughter’s life. The memoir is instead a story of a couple who faced one of the worst things imaginable and still continued to choose life.

17. Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur

Brodeur was only 14 when her mother, Malabar, divulged that she had taken a family friend as her lover. Brodeur kept their affair a secret from her stepfather, both families, her friends and, later, even her own spouse. Wild Game explores this secret’s impact on all of their lives, but primarily Brodeur’s own.

16. The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer

David Treuer, a member of the Ojibwe tribe, offers a compelling counternarrative to popular U.S. history with a combination of reportage, interviews and memoir about American Indian life in the recent past.

15. Mama’s Last Hug by Frans de Waal

In 2016, the 80-year-old biologist Jan van Hooff visited his old friend Mama, a dying 59-year-old chimpanzee matriarch. Their videotaped emotional reunion was seen around the world. In Mama’s Last Hug, Frans de Waal begins with that endearing goodbye, then dives into his decades of experience studying our fellow hominids.

14. Make It Scream, Make It Burn by Leslie Jamison

Leslie Jamison explores longing, connection and distance in 14 breathtaking essays.

13. Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz

The stunning beauty of Díaz’s memoir grows out of its passion, its defiance, its longing, its love and its clear-eyed honesty. Díaz’s story hums with a vibrant beauty, shining a light out of the darkness that shadowed her life.

12. Figuring by Maria Popova

This audacious new work of intellectual history focuses on the lives of a coterie of brilliant female scientists.

11. The Plateau by Maggie Paxson

Although it has elements of memoir, biography and anthropological fieldwork, The Plateau is more than the sum of its parts. It’s a complex portrait of a place whose inhabitants have made a commitment to loving the stranger who arrives at their door, even when to do so demands the greatest sacrifice.

10. Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

This is by necessity a ruthless book as it explores the half-concealed aspects of not only the female sex life but also the inner and secret lives of women.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Looking for something a little lighter? Check out this list of the best lighthearted nonfiction of 2019.

9. Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl

The essays that compose Late Migrations stand on their own, offering glimpses into loss and living as they toggle between Renkl’s past and present across the Southern U.S. Taken together, though, they create a narrative that depicts not only the migrations of winged creatures but also the lives of Renkl’s family.

8. How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones

Award-winning poet Saeed Jones weaves a series of stinging, memorable vignettes into a powerful coming-of-age memoir.

7. The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson

The British Are Coming is a superb ode to the grit and everyday heroism that eventually won the Revolutionary War.

6. The End of the Myth by Greg Grandin

Historian Greg Grandin’s The End of the Myth is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the fractious debate over immigration and the attendant controversy over a wall along the United States’ southern border.

5. Inheritance by Dani Shapiro

Dani Shapiro has been thinking about secrets all of her life, exploring the theme repeatedly in five novels and four memoirs. But it wasn’t until a few years ago that she unwittingly uncovered the biggest secret of all: Her beloved, late father wasn’t her biological father.

4. Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

Say Nothing is a gripping, revelatory and unsettling account of one woman’s murder and its reverberations throughout the 30-year spasm of violence in Northern Ireland known as the “troubles.”

3. Underland by Robert Macfarlane

How often do we wonder what lies below the grass or sidewalks we tread on every day? Macfarlane’s mesmerizing study of what lies beneath is a magical read.

2. Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino

Every single essay in Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion is a standout, and Jia Tolentino sets the bar higher for every other essay writer.

1. In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

Carmen Maria Machado has pulled off an amazing feat: a memoir that comments on its own existence and the silences it endeavors to fill; a work deeply informed by a sense of identity and community; and page after page of flawless, flaying, addictive prose. In the Dream House is astonishingly good.

Here are the best history, memoir, science and true crime books of 2019.

Best Books of 2019

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

Twelve issues wrapped. More than 1,300 new books reviewed in print and online. The editors have read so much that we’re all going to have to update our glasses prescriptions. But here they are: BookPage’s best books of 2019.

BEST FICTION

BEST NONFICTION

BEST LIGHTHEARTED NONFICTION

BEST MYSTERY

BEST ROMANCE

BEST SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

BEST YOUNG ADULT

BEST MIDDLE GRADE

BEST PICTURE BOOKS

The Hold List: Reading resolutions

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

As you contemplate your New Year’s resolutions, don’t forget those books you’ve been meaning to read, or that you’re embarrassed to not have already read. At BookPage, we’ve vowed to make 2020 our best reading year yet.

Apeirogon by Colum McCann

Since this is a safe space and we’re all being honest, I have to admit that I avoid reading long books. Towering generational sagas, sweeping epics—I eschew them all in favor of weird little novels about dreamscapes and ghosts and anxieties. But my 2020 reading resolution is to find some hefty doorstoppers and dig in. First up, I’ve got my eye on Apeirogon, the new novel from Colum McCann, which publishes in late February. Its title refers to a shape with an infinite number of sides, and its story of two men in the Holy Land—one Palestinian, one Israeli—over the course of a single day is composed of so many parts as to seem infinite. It’s being called monumental, risky and daring—an experiment and a feat—and that’s the kind of book I’m ready to commit to. —Cat, Deputy Editor

The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor

Growing up in the South, Flannery O’Connor was widely lauded. We read her in school, we discussed her in our free time, we took a special liking to peacocks. So it was sort of easy, after all that, for me to go on pretending that I had read more than “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” which Mrs. Jacobs assigned for my 10th-grade English class. Alas, it has all been a ruse. I’ve still never read a complete FOC story collection or novel—partly because I didn’t major in English in college, and partly because I usually prefer reading nonfiction. (Hello, it’s me, the nonfiction editor.) But this year, I’m ready to stop making excuses and start reading about sin, demonic pigs, violence, Catholicism and grace. —Christy, Associate Editor

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

To work at BookPage is to be constantly accruing reading resolutions. One of my overarching goals has been to rectify some of my literary blind spots, especially in the genres I cover. For sci-fi and fantasy, that has led me to the works of Ursula K. Le Guin and The Silmarillion (thus achieving eternal nerd bragging rights). However, it’s time to pivot to more recent masterpieces, and I’m starting with acclaimed fantasy superstar N.K. Jemisin. First up? The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Jemisin’s sensational debut novel and the start of her Inheritance Trilogy. A murder mystery, political drama and epic fantasy saga rolled into one, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms will start my reading year off with a bang. —Savanna, Assistant Editor

Middlemarch by George Eliot

I’m putting it in writing: 2020 will be the year that I finish George Eliot’s Victorian classic Middlemarch. I have tried and failed to read this book at least three times over the past 10 years, although not for lack of enjoyment. (Books I do not enjoy languish unread with zero regrets.) Is it technology, or a potentially dwindling attention span? Whatever the reason, something takes me away just long enough for me to become disconnected from the story. Doing it justice means starting over—and I want to do justice to this one. Each time I reenter the world of smart, strong Dorothea Brooke, Eliot’s wisdom about relationships and compassion for her characters resonate on a new level. I can’t wait to see what I find there this year (including how it all turns out). —Trisha, Publisher

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

My friend Court has read Markus Zusak’s I Am the Messenger dozens of times. When we worked together at a bookstore, I listened to her ask customers, “Can I show you my favorite book in this whole store?” and then press it into their hands so many times, I lost count. Court is both a reader and a writer, someone who thinks long and hard about stories and what makes the good ones tick. So I don’t know why I’ve never picked up I Am the Messenger, particularly since Zusak’s best-known work, The Book Thief, is one of my all-time favorites. Who can say why we do the things we do? In a time of uncertainty, maybe I’ve just wanted to hold on to the promise of something sure: a book I know I’ll love. —Stephanie, Associate Editor

What's your reading resolution? At BookPage, we're determined to knock these titles of our TBR in 2020.

Fiction, Memoir, Nonfiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA, YA Fiction

Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction Fiction YA Fiction YA Memoir

The Hold List: A love letter written to me

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

Greek to Me by Mary Norris

Mary Norris is sort of my idol. A grammar virtuoso, with a storied career editing some of the greatest writers of the last 40 years, and she studied Greek? In college I minored in Koine Greek, an ancient language so systematic that translating a sentence often feels like solving an algebra problem. In fact, my love for the precision of Greek led me to my current occupation as an editor. Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen is so suited to my interests that reading it makes me physically giddy—but I assure you that people with fewer than 18 credit hours of Greek to their name will also find plenty to love here. Norris is a sharp-witted, word-perfect narrator, and her wells of knowledge are as deep as they are lyrical. Anybody with a reverence for words will bow down to this book.

—Christy, Associate Editor

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

I’m a simple woman with simple tastes, and if a book can be genuinely described as a “romp,” I’m probably going to like it. Scott Lynch’s debut novel is a romp set in a fantasy version of Venice populated by con artists, gangsters and a cranky priest/mentor named Father Chains, so I was contractually obligated to love it to pieces. Our titular hero, a snarky trickster who’s very bad with a sword but very good at swindling people out of their money, decides to continue his most ambitious con yet, even though the mysterious Gray King is killing off members of the criminal underworld. Irrepressibly funny even as it goes to some very dark places, Locke Lamora’s heart is pure gold, albeit a bit crooked.

—Savanna, Assistant Editor

Stag’s Leap by Sharon Olds

Throughout life, I have lost many things. Many of those things cannot come back, and many of those things have been people. Every time I return to this collection, I am susceptible to a sense of longing. Every loss becomes current again, even the things I’ve recovered: The one that got away is getting away, the neighborhood I left is leaving, the dead in my family are dying. In my own poetry, I am open to returning to any point in my life, even the most heartbreaking. I love longing and reading about longing. Sharon Olds’ obituary for her marriage brings about feelings I share and enjoy taking notice of. I have found an abundance in loss, and I think, more likely than not, it can unite and bring about something else, or someone else—that someone else possibly being a better me.

—Prince, Editorial Intern

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

I was 7 years old the first time I heard a pennywhistle. It was on a Chieftains cassette my mom played in the car. Something about that music—the plaintive whistle, the lumbering bagpipes, the sprightly fiddle, the pulsing bodhran—called to something deep in my bones. That same call sings in Maggie Stiefvater’s award-winning novel The Scorpio Races, a salt-soaked, wind-whipped ode to the way a fast horse at a flat-out gallop can feel like flight and freedom. The story is set on a small fictional island off the coast of Scotland you’ll be shocked not to find on a map. If you’ve ever experienced the bittersweet desire to visit a place that feels real but isn’t, the next boat for Thisby leaves on the first page of The Scorpio Races.

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

Virgil Wander by Leif Enger

I moved away from Minnesota when I was 11, so I can’t claim any ownership of its lakes and woods beyond my earliest memories. But almost better than those recollections is the Minnesota that lives in my imagination, and Leif Enger has contributed to that vision in no small way. Minnesota is a heavenly and forbidding landscape, this I know to be true, but I’ve never had a chance to understand the people who choose to live in such a cold place. Enger’s stories give me a little bit of that, and his third novel finds the members of a small town doing their best to cultivate some collective healing. The reader is looped in to their process through Virgil, who’s attempting to reclaim his life after a car crash. Like the kites flown over Lake Superior by an elderly character, the heart can’t help but lift.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

The Hold List features special reading lists compiled by BookPage staff—our personal favorites, old and new.

When a book finds its ideal reader, it feels like the best kind of magic—as if the author has written a love letter straight to you. Though these books are loved by many, we accept them as the perfect gifts that they are.

Coming of Age, Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA, YA Fiction

Science Fiction & Fantasy Fiction YA Fiction YA Coming of Age

4 platonic love stories show how much a heart can hold

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

What if we considered our lives as marked not by romantic entanglements but by the big friendships that nourish and thwart us? The first in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, My Brilliant Friend depicts the early lives of narrator Lenù and her best friend Lila, who come of age, dramatically, by the book’s end. Their impoverished Naples neighborhood is rife with violence: Early in the novel, Lila’s father throws her out a window, breaking her arm, and the girls routinely witness neighbors being beaten in the street by the local mafia. Both girls show promise in elementary school; while Lenù must study hard, Lila seems to excel without trying. Idolatrous as much as they are envious of each other, Lila and Lenù are cutthroat competitive, but they find that their friendship creates space for imagination, creativity and envisioning a future outside of their neighborhood. Until that space abruptly closes, and Lila sees that her future will be one of mere survival. Few narratives capture the euphoric, gutting fluctuations of friendship so specifically. Translated from Italian by Ann Goldstein, Lenù’s singular voice is propulsive and urgent. You will see yourself in both characters, and you will be drawn to the darkness.

—Erica, Associate Editor

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Growing up, I was utterly obsessed with the ocean, and I wanted to be a marine biologist. Unfortunately, I eventually learned that marine biology was more science and less dolphin whispering, but I still get excited when I come across a story that recognizes the magic of the marine world. The premise of Remarkably Bright Creatures immediately caught my eye: a giant Pacific octopus befriends an elderly woman and helps her solve the mystery of her son’s death. Tova, our protagonist, is gentle yet resilient, earning the adoration of Marcellus (the octopus) as she works the night shift cleaning his aquarium. Marcellus has an agenda of his own—yes, we get to hear the octopus’s thoughts—but he balances it with compassion for Tova and for the human race that humans, honestly, could learn from. The characters in this story are kind to each other, yet the goodness doesn’t feel contrived. Rather, Shelby Van Pelt has achieved a tale where there are no villains but the stakes are still high. Tova and Marcellus each have a heart as big as the deep blue sea, and their unique bond reminds us what we stand to gain from offering love, empathy and generosity to the remarkably bright creatures around us.

—Jessica, Editorial Intern

First Test by Tamora Pierce

In First Test, Tamora Pierce takes readers back to the enchanting and beloved realm of Tortall, which was first introduced in her acclaimed young adult fantasy series, the Song of the Lioness. Although it has been 10 years since it was decreed legal for women to become knights, Keladry of Mindelan (Kel) is the first girl brave enough to openly train for knighthood. Facing extreme scrutiny, an unfair probationary year and a training master hellbent on her failure, it seems like Kel might never achieve her dream. Enter Nealean of Queenscove (Neal), who is also considered an oddity as the oldest of the first-year pages. Neal takes Kel under his wing and becomes one of her biggest champions in her uphill battle to prove that she’s just as good as the male pages. As they bond over being set apart due to their unusual circumstances, their friendship allows them to overcome every obstacle thrown their way, from hazing taken way too far to being thrown into the middle of a very real battle. Together, best friends Kel and Neal prove that they are exactly where they are meant to be.

—Meagan, Production

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is an unusual love letter—written by a son to his mother, even though she cannot read. As a child in Vietnam, her school was destroyed by American napalm. Her son, called Little Dog, grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, after she immigrated there with him, and became a writer. With this letter, he is putting into words the physical language of harm and care that forms their intricate bond. He describes the impact of her PTSD from living through the Vietnam War, combined with the isolation and vulnerability of being unable to speak English in Hartford: When he tells his mother he was attacked by bullies at school, her response is to hit him, then admonish him to use his English to protect himself, because she cannot. In a way, his journey into writing is an act of love towards her, the fulfillment of her wish, even as it takes him further and further from her. Vuong tells this story with arresting beauty and intensity, following Little Dog through world-shifting experiences with love, sex and loss into his adulthood as a published writer.

—Phoebe, Associate Editor

Valentine’s Day draws our attention to romance, but these four tales of friendship, connection and the parent-child bond affirm that platonic love is just as beautiful and impactful as romantic love—if not more.

Our most anticipated books of 2020

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

May your 2020 be blessed with good days, loving animals, friends, family and only the best books. To help get you started with that last one, the editors of BookPage have selected more than 200 books they’re most looking forward to reading this year.

FICTION

NONFICTION

MYSTERIES AND THRILLERS

ROMANCE

SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

YOUNG ADULT

YA SEQUELS AND SERIES TITLES

YA DEBUTS

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Classics, Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction & Fantasy, YA, YA Fiction

Science Fiction & Fantasy Fiction YA Fiction YA Mystery Classics

The Hold List: Zombie apocalypse survival teammate

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

In the event of a zombie apocalypse, it would be wise to have a plan in place. Perhaps most importantly, who would be on your team? We’ve picked our preferred partners—magical powers are allowed, but no dragons, bears or mythical beasts!

Edmond Dantès from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

I have long resigned myself to my own lack of apocalypse survival skills. I can’t run without getting winded. I don’t have combat skills. I can’t farm or dress wounds or build shelter or tools. In truth, I would be among the first to go—unless I aligned myself with someone wealthy and powerful. Edmond Dantès is the perfect choice: rich, scrappy and weirdly fixated on avenging himself against those who have wronged him. We could quite comfortably wait out the apocalypse from inside his château. And if that fails, the man owns his own island. Everybody knows zombies can’t swim, so a quick yacht ride to the Island of Monte Cristo would solve our little army-of-the-undead problem.

—Christy, Associate Editor

Sabriel from Sabriel by Garth Nix

Like many of my colleagues, my talents are perhaps better suited to rebuilding the world after the zombie apocalypse than surviving it in the first place. That’s why I need someone like Sabriel on my team, and not only because she possesses a bandoleer of seven magical bells with the power to send the dead back through the nine gates of death to their final rest, although I acknowledge that will come in handy. But Sabriel is also resourceful, adept at other forms of magic, brave and kind. As we make our way to a population-sparse area like—ha, as if I’d tell you my plans—I know she’ll leave me behind only if she absolutely has to, and if I get bitten, she’ll make my death swift and ensure I stay dead.

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

Frank Mackey from Faithful Place by Tana French

My biggest fear wouldn’t be zombies, as they are usually stupid. I’m more afraid of humans in a crisis, as they are, historically, the worst. And that’s why I want Irish undercover cop Frank Mackey on my team. First introduced in Tana French’s The Likeness, Frank becomes the central character in Faithful Place, which puts his ability to pursue multiple, sometimes conflicting objectives—while manipulating almost everyone around him—to the hardest test, as he has to do it to his own dysfunctional family. If he can do that and emerge (somewhat) in one piece, he’d easily survive the human chaos of an apocalypse. Frank is also funny as hell, so we’d have some laughs while trying not to die.

—Savanna, Associate Editor

Vasya from The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

To give myself a real shot at living through this, I need a partner with knowledge of mythical and otherworldly situations, as well as the powers to match—and I need her to live in the middle of nowhere. In Katherine Arden’s debut novel, headstrong young Vasya is an heir to old magic and has the abilities to protect her family from dangers that are plucked straight out of folklore. She’s got a great attitude—which I’ll appreciate when I get upset about the situation—and she excels at riding horses and saving people, so we’ll get along great. We’ll treat the apocalypse like it’s a long winter night, hidden away so deeply in the wilderness of northern Russia that we might not even notice when the end of the world is over.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

Captain Woodrow F. Call from Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Genre-bending is prominent in today’s cultural landscape. From rock with hip-hop beats to Mexican-Korean fusion, the lines have dissolved. All of these hybrids make me think that a cowboy would feel right at home in the zombie apocalypse, and Captain Woodrow F. Call—brave, strong, levelheaded and loyal to the bone—is the paragon of cowboy-ness. Take, for example, when Call saves Newt, the youngest member of the Hat Creek Outfit, from a soldier harassing him. Call beats the man to a pulp until Gus McCrae has to lasso him off. The only explanation Call offers for this violent outburst: “I hate rude behavior in a man. I won’t tolerate it.” Just imagine what the man would do to a zombie!

—Eric, Editorial Intern

In the event of a zombie apocalypse, it would be wise to have a plan in place. Perhaps most importantly, who would be on your team?

The Hold List: Raining cats and dogs

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

The battle of cats versus dogs has raged among BookPagers for more than 30 years. This month, we’re picking sides and sharing some of our favorite literary cats and dogs.

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare

Taken aback by a duke’s proposal of marriage (he wants an heir to spite his annoying cousin, just go with it), Emma Gladstone insists on bringing her cat to their new home. Emma doesn’t actually have a cat, but she wants something she can love while entering into a marriage that promises to be little more than a business arrangement. But a harried Emma only has time to find Breeches, the angriest and ugliest alley cat in all the land. Breeches proceeds to stalk through the chapters of Dare’s hilarious historical romance like the xenomorph from Alien, interrupting love scenes, stealing fish from the dining table and generally being a total nuisance. The reveal of why Emma named him Breeches in the first place is both giddily funny and oddly touching, which is basically The Duchess Deal in a nutshell.

—Savanna, Associate Editor

A Small Thing . . . but Big by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Hadley Hooper

A Small Thing . . . but Big is a deceptively simple charmer. A little girl goes to the park and, gradually, overcomes her fear of dogs, thanks to a fuzzy muppet named Cecile and the dog’s owner, who is only ever referred to as “the old man.” Illustrator Hadley Hooper’s spreads are a masterclass in expression and framing, and Tony Johnston’s language is delicate and playful, as Lizzie “carefully, oh carefully” pats Cecile, then works her way up to “springingly, oh springingly” walking her around the park. “All dogs are good if you give them a chance,” Cecile’s owner tells Lizzie, and by the end of the book, it’s clear that Lizzie agrees. It’s a practically perfect picture book: a small thing . . . but big.

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

Dewey by Vicki Myron

When you are a notorious cat lady, people send you cat stuff—cat memes, cat socks, cat salt and pepper shakers and, occasionally, cat books. My grandma sent me a copy of Dewey when I was in college, and initially I thought, “Thanks, Grandma, but I’ve got a lot of Sartre to get through before I have time for a heartwarming cat memoir.” Reluctantly, I started skimming. A helpless kitten is abandoned through the book-return slot of an Iowa library. A librarian fallen on hard times discovers and raises him. A community is transformed through the affections of a bushy, orange cat. Before I knew it, I was reading this book every night before bed, and by the end, I was openly weeping. Fellow cat ladies and laddies, put your pretensions aside and give this one a chance.

—Christy, Associate Editor

Good Boy by Jennifer Finney Boylan

Jennifer Finney Boylan knows that to write about dogs is to write about the very nature of love. “Nothing is harder than loving human beings,” she writes, but loving a very good dog has the power to remind us of our best selves—and to reveal who we are in our human relationships. Boylan offers an ode to all the dogs she’s loved before in Good Boy, a memoir-via-dogs coming April 21. Dog books are sometimes just a vehicle for crying, so for me, the inevitable bittersweetness can never be maudlin. And if memoir can help us better understand our own stories, then breaking up our memories into dog treat-size bites is a special exercise for anyone who puts unreasonable expectations on their best friend. (For the record, my dog is very good. Perfect, even.)

—Cat, Deputy Editor

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Cats are intelligent, if not outright magical creatures. Their attitudes, their curiosity, the uncannily human pathos in their meows all let us know there is something going on beneath the surface. Japanese author Haruki Murakami is aware of this, and so he took advantage of cats’ magic in Kafka on the Shore. In the story, Mr. Nakata, one of two central characters, has the ability to speak to cats and makes a living searching for lost felines. We see Mr. Nakata use his abilities in a few hilarious scenes before he loses his ability to speak to cats, but as the story unfolds, cats become a central part in unlocking the mysteries that send Mr. Nakata on a journey across Japan. Murakami uses the whimsical magic of cats to unfold grand metaphysical mysteries.

—Eric, Editorial Intern

The battle of cats versus dogs has raged among BookPagers for more than 30 years. This month, we’re picking sides and sharing some of our favorite literary cats and dogs.

Biography, Fiction, Nonfiction, YA, YA Fiction

Nonfiction Fiction YA Fiction YA Biography

The Hold List: Remarkable people in remarkable times

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

These books highlight heroes who give courage to our souls—but most of all, they reveal the true, relatable humanity beneath their subjects’ seemingly supernatural heroism.

The Black Rose by Tananarive Due

The story of Madame C.J. Walker, the first self-made female millionaire, is one of the most remarkable American success stories. Her life inspired Netflix’s recent series “Self Made,” but I prefer The Black Rose, a gripping work of historical fiction by award-winning author Tananarive Due that chronicles Walker’s rags-to-riches rise. The first person in her family born free, Walker survived an abusive marriage and raised a daughter on a meager salary before launching a hair-care empire for black women. Ambitious and tenacious, Walker held fast to the idea that women like her deserved to feel beautiful and were willing to pay for it—despite naysayers all around, including famous men like Booker T. Washington. But money talks, and Walker’s success soon spoke for itself. She never forgot where she came from, giving back until her untimely death at 51.

—Trisha, Publisher

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

Mackenzi Lee followed The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue with another smashingly entertaining historical road trip, this time focused on aspiring doctor Felicity Montague. Entering the medical field was nearly impossible for an 18th-century woman (even a rich, white woman), and Lee strikes the perfect balance between inspiration and historical realism. This is not a simple “girl power” fable. Felicity confronts her own internalized misogyny as she comes to appreciate women whose dreams and personalities are different from her own but no less valid or deserving of respect. The characters in Lady’s Guide know they are outliers in their own time, but they press forward anyway, confident that they are blazing a path for the generations of women who will come after them.

—Savanna, Associate Editor

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

The Mirabal sisters of Julia Alvarez’s powerful novel may sound like the stuff of myth, but they were real. Four women, known as “the Butterflies,” joined an underground movement in the late 1950s against President Rafael Trujillo and became legends of resistance for the Dominican people. Three sisters died in the process, but they mobilized a nation to liberate itself from a decades-long dictatorship. Alvarez’s novel, like many feminist Latin American works, is rebellious even in its form, mixing timelines and genres in a polyphonic, metafictive masterpiece. During dark times, our impulse can be to protect ourselves before others, to stay silent out of fear. Stirring to its very core, Alvarez’s novel captures the crucial shift when a person decides to stand up for what they truly believe in, no matter the cost.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

The Life of Frederick Douglass by David F. Walker, illustrated by Damon Smyth & Marissa Louise

Few Americans are more remarkable than Frederick Douglass. To learn about his extraordinary life and work, you could read the autobiographies he wrote during his lifetime, or one of the thorough biographies that have been penned since his death. Or, for a totally different avenue into the history of abolition, you could read David F. Walker’s stunning graphic biography. Written in the voice of Douglass himself and illustrated with at times violent, at times beautiful scenes from Douglass’ life, this book offers a high-level portrait that is more humanizing, vivid and heart-stirring than words alone could paint. When the world seems full of impassable obstacles, The Life of Frederick Douglass is a helpful reminder of how to knock them down.

—Christy, Associate Editor

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

Blood Water Paint is an incredible true story. Artemisia Gentileschi, the daughter of an art dealer in Rome during the early 1600s and a talented painter in her own right, was attacked and raped by one of her father’s business associates. Defying convention, Gentileschi pressed charges against her attacker, risking everything—including her future as an artist—to seek justice for herself. Joy McCullough tells Gentileschi’s story in 99 poems, interspersed with the prose stories of Susanna and Judith, the biblical women depicted in two of Gentileschi’s best-known paintings. Gentileschi’s voice on the page is arresting, and her determination to prevail and carve out a life for herself as an artist, even in the face of horror and trauma, is unforgettable. You’ll never look at Gentileschi’s paintings the same way again.

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

Each month, BookPage staff share special reading lists comprised of our personal favorites, old and new.

These books highlight heroes who give courage to our souls—but most of all, they reveal the true, relatable humanity beneath their subjects’ seemingly supernatural heroism.

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