2book multi

Beautiful vistas. Shocking greenery. Bright, airy calm. Nature is magnificent, but sometimes the bug bites, poison ivy and boot-staining mud are not. Here are five literary landscapes you can discover from the comfort of your couch.

A Girl of the Limberlost

The U.S. is full of landscapes that capture the imagination, but the ones that remain are only a fraction of what once existed. Gene Stratton-Porter has preserved one of these lost natural wonders, the Limberlost Swamp of Indiana, in her bestselling 1909 book, A Girl of the Limberlost. As lonely young Elnora Comstock roams the swamp to collect moth specimens, Stratton-Porter uses her keen naturalist’s eye to bring its eerie beauty, watery dangers (quicksand!) and unique fauna to life. She hoped the book would encourage conservation of the wetlands, which were being ravaged by oil rigs and drained for agriculture. Read this classic to immerse yourself in a lost world, then console yourself with the fact that, due to recent conservation efforts, a small portion of the swamp has begun to bounce back.

—Trisha, Publisher

A Wizard of Earthsea

Practically all of the important action in Ursula K. Le Guin’s iconic fantasy novel happens outdoors on the windswept seas and craggy islands of Earthsea. Le Guin’s mages skip along the enormous ocean in small boats pushed by winds that they command, or they transform into birds to fly from island to island. As her protagonist, Ged, travels from the harsh island of Gont to a school for wizards on the island of Roke and then embarks on a quest to hunt down a shadow creature, Le Guin treats readers to one stunning vista after another. My personal favorite is the island of Pendor, which was once a stronghold for pirates and outlaws before their vast treasure attracted the attention of dragons. Once the dragons took over the island, they used the towers of Pendor as glamorous perches before flying off to terrorize unsuspecting villagers.

—Savanna, Associate Editor

Gathering Moss

Recently I have fallen back in love with moss, that ubiquitous, unexamined miniature landscape that is, rather surprisingly, absolutely everywhere—on the driveway and in sidewalk cracks, adorning tree trunks and hiding in the garden. It’s so small that it can easily become set dressing to the larger wonders of the forest, but through naturalist Robin Wall Kimmerer’s eyes, there is nothing more exciting or life-giving than a carpet of moss. In this loving series of personal essays, she is a gracious guide to the boundary layer where mosses flourish, blending scientific detail with poetic ruminations on her life spent observing these tiny rainforests. Her love of the mossy world is as buoyant as deep peat, and she leaves her readers with a profound sense of stewardship. If you’re like me, you’ll soon find any opportunity to stop and pet the moss.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Who better to deliver a shock to your stay-at-home system than Annie Dillard? Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is her nature writing masterpiece, full of all the scenery and savagery, tranquility and tragedy, mystery and miracle of the great outdoors—“beauty tangled in a rapture with violence,” as Dillard put it. This work of narrative nonfiction documents a year she spent exploring the natural world around her home in Virginia’s Roanoke Valley, through which the titular Tinker Creek runs. Dillard plays the part of pious sojourner, venerating monarch butterflies, muskrats, grasshoppers and pond scum in prose that is alternatingly lilting and electric. If summer’s monotony has dulled your senses, I recommend dipping into this iconic collection for a jolt of wonder.

—Christy, Associate Editor

Prodigal Summer

I read Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer for the first time one summer in Boston. I’d moved into an attic bedroom in a sprawling old house in Lower Allston, a neighborhood overrun with college students like myself. It had unfinished wood floors, mice and no air conditioning, so I often stayed up into the cooler hours of the morning reading, then caught a few hours of sleep before I had to head downtown for work. Kingsolver’s tale of the intersecting lives of humans and creatures in Appalachia was intoxicating. Reading it felt like falling under an enchantment—particularly since I was in the heart of a big city. Kingsolver explores the connections between humans and nature in many of her works, but this is the one I find myself returning to every year when the trees turn green and the sun shines warm.

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

A Girl of the Limberlost

The U.S.…

American History, Audio, Memoir, Nonfiction, Romance, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Technology

Science Fiction & Fantasy Romance Nonfiction Audio Technology Memoir American History

Lockdown listening: Our favorite quarantine audiobooks

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

For years, audiobooks have been our constant companions while cooking, cleaning and gardening—and in the age of COVID-19, we’re spending a lot more time doing those things than we used to. A few of the BookPage editors share the audiobooks that have been keeping us company in quarantine.

Cat, Deputy Editor

Of all the quarantine reading and listening I’ve done, no audiobook has inspired more people to ask me for more information than You Never Forget Your First, Alexis Coe’s myth-busting biography of George Washington. Coe contextualizes and humanizes Washington’s victories and losses on the battlefield, his many (many) illnesses, his politics and home life in a whole new way, and it’s made all the more accessible by Brittany Pressley’s wry, clear narration. Most importantly, you’ll explore the hypocrisy in Washington’s fight for liberation from British rule while keeping black people enslaved. For readers interested in thinking critically about American history, this is a good start.

I didn’t think it was possible to be more chained to my phone—and thus, more uncomfortable with my relationship to social media—but here we are in a pandemic, and nearly all our social interactions are now on screens. Jenny Odell’s How to Do Nothing has helped temper those feelings by providing guidance to resist the guilt of feeling unproductive and the demands on our attention. I find Rebecca Gibel’s narration to be hypnotic in its dryness, allowing me to reprioritize and realign where I give my focus.

Stephanie, Associate Editor

My thoughts have increasingly strayed to the week each year my family spends at a condo on the Florida gulf—specifically, to the books I read on last summer’s trip, one of which was Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue, which feels like an Aaron Sorkin production with the more melodramatic moments of “The Crown.” When I decided to reexperience it via the audiobook, I’m not sure whether I was motivated by a desire to return to the world McQuiston’s ebullient romance between the president’s son and an English prince, to return to the beach itself or to transport myself to a happy moment in a simpler time. Probably a bit of all three. Regardless, the absorbing and rapid-fire story, paired with Ramón de Ocampo’s warm, exuberant narration (and fantastic British accent, when performing Prince Henry’s lines) made for the perfect, swoonworthy escape.

Ninth House is an addicting mystery set at a magical secret society at Yale University, author Leigh Bardugo’s alma mater. Narrators Lauren Fortgang and Michael David Axtell alternate between Galaxy “Alex” Stern and Daniel “Darlington” Arlington; of the two, Fortgang is the standout. Her performance is as sharp as Alex herself, who’s been through a lot before arriving at Yale. Scenes where Alex lets her rage and trauma surface are riveting as Fortgang snarls and performs through clenched teeth. Fortgang’s visceral performance of Alex’s anger makes the rare moments of genuine affection that Alex permits herself—particularly toward Hellie, a close friend, and Pamela Dawes, the society’s in-house researcher—moving in their tenderness, as Fortgang softens her voice to convey Alex’s vulnerability. Anyone looking to be swept up in a story of dark magic in which nothing is as it seems should give Ninth House a try.

Christy, Associate Editor

I read a hard copy of Kiese Laymon’s memoir Heavy when it came out in 2018 and loved it—in that had-to-lie-down-for-two-and-a-half-hours-afterward kind of way. (The book is aptly named.) When my professor assigned it for a graduate class I took this spring, I decided to give the award-winning audiobook a try for my second reading. Hearing Laymon’s words in his own voice was even more affecting than reading them on the page. In the audio version, you get the full playfulness of he and LaThon’s middle school riffing on words like “galore” (gal-low), “meager” (mee-guh) and “y’all don’t even know.” You also hear the full tenderness of Laymon’s conversations with his mother, in which they try to tell each other the truth about addiction, abuse, deception and love. When I finished listening to Heavy this time, I still had to lie down afterward to digest its contents—white supremacy, disordered eating and violence against Black Americans, among other things—but since a late afternoon stress-nap was already a staple in my quarantine routine, it turned out to be a perfect pandemic listen.

I was two chapters into my hardcover of Trick Mirror when the audiobook became available to check out from the library. (Apparently, I had placed it on hold during pre-COVID times and then, along with all the other trappings of normal life, forgot about it.) Jia Tolentino’s nuanced essays are the sort of reading you want to absorb every word of, so I wasn’t sure the audiobook would be the best fit. But out of curiosity (and a desire to make good on the library’s monthslong waitlist), I checked it out and grabbed my headphones. Next thing I knew, I was three hours in and plumbing the depths of my to-do list for more things to work on so I could keep listening. With an engaging balance between the personal and the reported, Tolentino’s exacting explorations of feminism, the internet and the self lend themselves nicely to audio, as it turns out. And as for my to-do list, her intellectual, no-frills narration provided the perfect soundtrack for taking a walk, doing the dishes, brushing the cats, making banana bread and mending that tear in my duvet cover.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Discover more of our favorite audiobooks.

Children's & YA, Fiction, Middle Grade, Nonfiction, Romance, True Crime, YA, YA Fiction

Romance Nonfiction Fiction Children's & YA YA Fiction YA True Crime Middle Grade

The Hold List: Crimes we can’t help but admire

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

Generally we’re a law-abiding group, we promise. But something about Private Eye July makes us revel in bad behavior. These are some of our favorite crimes and criminals in literature.

Heresy

An all-female gang of Robin Hood-style outlaws in the Old West, robbing stagecoaches and seeking revenge on horseback? I’m in my boots and already out the door. In Melissa Lenhardt’s novel, the first daylight bank robbery in Colorado was not by Butch Cassidy in 1889, by rather by Margaret Parker and her Parker Gang in 1873. The women on Margaret’s ranch just want to make a home and care for their horses. But men, furious at their success, destroy everything, so the women take up a life of crime. They capitalize on being underestimated and then take what they want, only to use the ill-gotten gains to support their ranch and town. As far as reckless, unrepentant outlaws go, Margaret is one of my favorites, making the most of a lawless West and then distributing the wealth to those who need it most. If you loved Netflix’s “Godless,” then this feminist Western is for you.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

When it comes to trespassing, Claudia and Jamie Kincaid really know how to make a crime count. Twelve-year-old Claudia wants to run away from home, but she knows she doesn’t have what it takes to make it in the wide world, with all its bugs and sun and other trifles. So she devises a plan to disappear in style, by sneaking into the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and living there with her younger brother until further notice. When I read this renowned middle grade novel for the first time (at age 31), I immediately related to Claudia’s poised practicality and fussy tastes. Why even bother breaking the law unless you’ll get to bathe in a marble fountain and sleep in an elaborate canopy bed? No matter your age, this childhood classic is sure to break and enter into your heart.

—Christy, Associate Editor

The Thief

I love a good con. Strictly speaking, the events that unfold in Megan Whalen Turner’s series opener, The Thief, are more of a con-heist hybrid, as Gen steals the king’s signet ring, gets caught when he boasts of having done so, is thrown in prison and is freed only under the condition that he steal something even more valuable on behalf of the king. But Gen has as much in common with successful con artists as he does with successful thieves. He’s patient and highly skilled at playing a very long game. He understands the power of misdirection, turning the expectations of others to his advantage repeatedly. The Thief’s best con, however, is on the reader, as Turner gradually reveals that nothing and no one in her story are what they seem. The first time I read it, I was, as they say, a total mark. It was the most enjoyable deception I’d ever experienced.

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

The Feather Thief

It’s easy to think of theft as a victimless crime: Items of financial value usually belong to people who can afford to part with them. But in The Feather Thief, Kirk Wallace Johnson writes about a real-life theft with an impact far beyond the financial. In 2009, Edwin Rist broke into a London museum to steal the skins of 299 rare birds. By the time Rist was arrested, more than half of the skins had been sold or stripped of their valuable feathers. Johnson’s quest to discover why leads him to a network of Victorian salmon fly-tying fanatics who’ll pay to pursue their esoteric hobby, as well as through the history of the birds, many of which were painstakingly preserved for 150 years before their ignominious end. A good crime story says something about the world: What do we value? What is worth protecting? Rist’s crime is a perfect, if heartbreaking, one, because of the answers Johnson finds.

—Trisha, Publisher

An Unnatural Vice

In K.J. Charles’ atmospheric Victorian romance, Justin Lazarus swindles his trusting clients out of their money by pretending to be a spiritualist. And while, yes, that frequently means taking advantage of people’s grief, it’s hard not to root for him given the desperate poverty of his background and the relative prosperity of his targets, not to mention his habit of taking in stray orphans, whom he in no way cares for, by the way—why on earth would you suggest such a thing? Justin’s love interest, idealistic journalist Nathaniel Roy, admits, in spite of himself, that to actually make people believe you can talk to the dead takes nerves of steel and a keen insight into human psychology. Charles puts readers in the same thrilling, uncomfortable place as Nathaniel: You know that what Justin is doing is wrong, but you also want to keep watching him do it.

—Savanna, Associate Editor

Generally we’re a law-abiding group, we promise. But something about Private Eye July makes us revel in bad behavior. These are some of our favorite crimes and criminals in literature.

Fiction, Nonfiction, True Crime

Nonfiction Fiction True Crime

Book Clubs: Four thoughtful takes on #MeToo

Feature by Julie Hale

by Julie Hale

More than two years after the #MeToo movement took off, writers have shaped the resulting conversation about sexual harassment and abuse into meaningful fiction and nonfiction that are sure to spark further discussion.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey deliver a watershed work of investigative journalism with She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement. The authors, who broke the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault story for the New York Times, have crafted an eye-opening look at how #MeToo took off, sharing details about how they located sources and persuaded them to talk about Weinstein.

In Chandler Baker’s novel, Whisper Network, Rosalita, Ardie, Grace and Sloane work under Ames, who is set to become CEO of Truviv, Inc. Ames has a reputation for making advances toward women, and his latest in-office transgression leaves the four co-workers determined to take action. Writing with humor and poise about a sensitive subject, Baker introduces complicated topics that will spark plenty of conversation and spins a suspenseful plot full of surprises that book clubs will enjoy unraveling.

Susan Choi’s novel Trust Exercise, which won the National Book Award in 2019, explores #MeToo concerns from the perspective of a group of students at a performing arts school who are manipulated by their elders, particularly their formidable drama teacher, Mr. Kingsley. The novel is at once a beautifully executed coming-of-age story and an unflinching account of lost innocence and idealism. It’s sure to prompt deep discussions of gender and age dynamics, especially the power plays that occur between teens and those whom they idolize.

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow is an electrifying account of the fall of convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein and the difficulties Farrow faced in bringing the media mogul’s story to light. Farrow also looks at abuses of power by Donald Trump, Matt Lauer and other high-profile figures as he creates—and sustains—a mood of suspense throughout the narrative. From ethics questions related to journalism to issues of gender discrimination, the book offers numerous subjects for conversation.

More than two years after the #MeToo movement took off, writers have shaped the resulting conversation about sexual harassment and abuse into meaningful fiction and nonfiction.

Mystery

Mystery

Whodunit: July 2020

Feature by Bruce Tierney

by Bruce Tierney

A sign-off to a beloved series, a not-so-accidental death and a sleuth who just might be the next Jack Reacher.

★ The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot

The latest Dr. Siri book by Colin Cotterill, The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot, is the last in a quirky, fiendishly clever series that has long been one of my absolute favorites. It’s 1981, and Siri Paiboun, the former national coroner of Laos, has received a mysterious gift: the diary of a Japanese kamikaze pilot who was stationed with occupation forces in Laos during World War II. The diary is fascinating for many reasons, not least of which is the officer’s evident descent into madness as the journal unfolds. Written half in Lao and half in Japanese, the diary ends abruptly and is missing a half-dozen pages—pages that may hold the key to the location of a gold fortune that mysteriously went AWOL as the Japanese beat their retreat from Southeast Asia. Furthering the intrigue, the notebook’s anonymous donor attached a note: “Dr. Siri, we need your help most urgently.” Although Siri, at his advanced age, is relatively unmotivated by hidden treasure, he and his wife, Madame Daeng, cannot resist a good mystery. And folks, neither can I. If this is indeed the final volume of the Siri series, he and Cotterill leave it on a high note. You cannot ask for more out of life than that.

Once You Go This Far

At first glance, Columbus, Ohio, doesn’t seem a likely candidate for the epicenter of private investigations, but there are certainly enough cases to keep PI Roxane Weary busy, as evidenced by Kristen Lepionka’s fourth novel about her, Once You Go This Far. The book starts with what appears to be an accident: A woman suffers an unfortunate, fatal fall from a park trail, and Roxane discovers the body during a morning hike. The daughter of the deceased woman thinks it was no accident and strongly suspects the victim’s ex-husband of having given his ex-wife the heave-ho in more ways than one. And who better to investigate than Roxane Weary, PI? It doesn’t take her long to find out that the ex is a real piece of work (not my first choice of descriptors, but hey, this is a family publication). That doesn’t necessarily make him a killer, however. Further muddying the waters is the victim’s connection to a cultish church, or perhaps a churchish cult, which in either case is a clear and present danger to both the resolution of the case and perhaps the safety of anyone who gets a bit too close to the group’s secrets. Read this one and see if it doesn’t send you scurrying in search of the previous three books in Lepionka’s series.

The Shadows

The Shadows is the second in a series by British author Alex North, set in the small (and fictional) English town of Featherbank, which was rocked by a bloody murder 25 years back and is now the scene of what may well be a copycat killing. Or worse, perhaps the new homicide marks the return of the original killer, who was never apprehended nor, for that matter, conclusively identified (although there was little doubt in anyone’s mind as to who the responsible party was). Paul Adams was friends with both the key suspect, Charlie Crabtree, and the killer’s victim. He has just made his way back to Featherbank to take care of his ailing mother, whom he has not seen in the intervening years. Although she is suffering from dementia, Paul’s mother is clearly frightened out of her wits about something, and her fear quickly becomes contagious. There are elements of the supernatural, or at least the not conventionally explainable, in the book, but more in the manner of John Connolly or T. Jefferson Parker than of, say, Stephen King. But it’s still probably not a good idea for late-night reading in a house with creaky doors. . . .

A Dangerous Breed

When Van Shaw receives a reunion invitation addressed to his dead mother, he hardly realizes it will be his stepping-off point to a whole new existence. Glen Erik Hamilton’s critically acclaimed suspense series returns with A Dangerous Breed. Van’s mother, Moira, lived a short but troubled life, leaving her young son to be raised by his stern yet criminally inclined grandfather. This upbringing put young Van in touch with some decidedly unsavory characters, a number of whom he nowadays counts as his closest friends. While doing a bit of sleuthing into his mom’s past, he stumbles onto information that hints at his father’s identity; it seems he could be a man well known in crime circles as someone not to be trifled with. Meanwhile, courtesy of one of his ne’er-do-well friends, Van is drawn into an extortion scheme that leaves him forced to choose between committing an act of domestic terrorism or watching several of his closest friends die slow and agonizing deaths. In best mystery fashion, nothing is quite what it seems, and as our hero begins to make some connections, he gets closer to an understanding that will place him directly in the crosshairs. If you’re a Jack Reacher fan, you’ll love Van Shaw.

A sign-off to a beloved series, a not-so-accidental death and a sleuth who just might be the next Jack Reacher.

★ The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot

The latest Dr. Siri book by Colin Cotterill, The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot, is the last in…

Mystery

Mystery

Thrills for every reader

Feature by BookPage contributors

by BookPage contributors

The phrase “summer thriller” tends to conjure up a specific sort of book, but our favorites for the season run the gamut from meditative mysteries to relentless page turners.

★ The Girl From Widow Hills

Killer line: “My head swam in a sudden rush of understanding. I moved the branches of the bushes aside to be sure: the shape of a torso; arms; the back of a head.”

Arden Maynor was sleepwalking when a flash flood swept her away. The country breathed a sigh of relief when the 6-year-old was found—and on every anniversary of that day, the media’s spotlight has returned to Arden and her mother. In Megan Miranda’s The Girl From Widow Hills, we get to know the Arden of two decades later. Now 26, she goes by Olivia Wells and lives in North Carolina. She’s beginning to feel secure in her life’s rhythms, but one horrible night, she sleepwalks and awakens with a bloodied body at her feet. Is the looming 20th anniversary stirring up tamped-down trauma? Or is someone from the past trying to torment her anew? Step by suspenseful step, Miranda lays a path for readers to follow as Olivia tries to separate dreams and reality, fear and fact, with a tenacious local detective not far behind. The Girl From Widow Hills is a creepy, compelling portrait of a life forever warped by unwanted fame—a timely theme in this era of internet celebrity and the fall from grace that often follows.

—Linda M. Castellitto

The Mountains Wild

Killer line: “When I turned around, I could no longer see the road. We were all alone in the woods.”

Sarah Stewart Taylor’s simmering The Mountains Wild is the first entry in a new series featuring homicide detective Maggie D’arcy. A divorced mother living on Long Island, New York, Maggie felt called to become a detective after her cousin, Erin, vanished in the woods of Wicklow, Ireland, in the 1990s. At the age of 23, Maggie traveled there to look for Erin, but neither she nor the Irish Guards, the national police, could locate her. After Erin’s scarf is found by investigators searching for a different woman, Maggie returns to Ireland to do some sleuthing, reentering a maze of painful memories. Taylor moves nimbly through the decades, flashing back to Maggie’s earlier trip to Ireland and providing glimpses of her friendship with Erin. Featuring a memorable cast that includes cheeky Irish Guards, sinister suspects and a not-to-be-messed-with female lead, The Mountains Wild makes for perfect summer reading. Maggie is a first-class protagonist—an ace investigator and appealing everywoman with smarts and heart. Suspense fans are sure to welcome her to the crime scene.

—Julie Hale

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Sarah Stewart Taylor reveals the haunting events that inspired her debut novel.

Out of Time

For fans of: Thrillers by David Baldacci or James Patterson and ripping through the pages of a good FBI search.

Author and screenwriter David Klass turns the serial killer mythos on its head in his new novel, Out of Time, in which the killer is intent on saving humankind through his inconceivable deeds. The Green Man, so dubbed by the media and the FBI pursuing him, doesn’t kill for the sake of some insatiable, perverse sexual desire but out of an acute calling to save the environment. His terrorist acts are meant to call attention to climate change and heighten awareness of its adverse effects. But FBI data analyst Tom Smith—not exactly a memorable name, he admits, adding, “I didn’t choose it”—and a task force of 300 FBI agents only see a killer who must be stopped. So begins a fast-paced game of cat and mouse as Smith zeros in on the Green Man’s identity and tries to stop him before more lives are lost. Klass writes with terse, straightforward prose, alternating between Smith’s and the Green Man’s points of view to allow readers a close-up perspective of each character’s motivations and desires. The fun is in the thrill of the chase, and in that respect Klass delivers.

—G. Robert Frazier

★ The Mist

Killer line: “ ‘Oh, the nights here are something else,’ Erla said quietly. . . . ‘I hope you’re not afraid of the dark.’ ”

The Mist is the third and final book in Ragnar Jónasson’s electrifying Hidden Iceland series. These labyrinthine murder mysteries, set against the bleak backdrop of Iceland, feature Hulda Hermannsdóttir, detective inspector with the Reykjavík Police Department. It’s Christmas in 1987, and Erla and Einar Einarsson are preparing for the holiday. In their region of Iceland, winter days don’t begin to brighten until 11 a.m., brutal blizzards are a regular occurrence, and skiing is easier than walking or driving. In the midst of a pummeling snowstorm, a stranger named Leó shows up at the farm looking for shelter. Leó claims to have gotten lost during a hunting trip with friends, but Erla doesn’t believe his story. She’s frightened of him from the start, and her fears worsen after the electricity goes out, leaving the farmhouse in darkness. Two months later, Hulda is asked to look into a pair of murders that occurred at the farm. Jónasson turns up the tension to a nearly unendurable degree as the novel unfolds. His complete design isn’t revealed until late in the book, when the story’s multiple threads coalesce in a surprising conclusion. Masterfully plotted and paced, The Mist is atmospheric, haunting and not for the faint of heart.

—Julie Hale

A Royal Affair

For fans of: Keeping calm and carrying on, drinking tea with a bit of fortification and maintaining a stiff upper lip until such time as a therapist can be seen.

In their second adventure, Iris Sparks and Gwendolyn Bainbridge would like nothing more than to get back to running their business, The Right Sort Marriage Bureau. But in Allison Montclair’s A Royal Affair, their reputation as crime fighters precedes them, so in addition to pairing off various lonely hearts, they’re also working for Lady Matheson, who herself works for the queen. Discretion is required as Gwen and Iris search for a cache of letters that could derail Princess Elizabeth’s engagement, and they quickly realize this is information that people will kill for. The balance Montclair strikes between humor and hard truths is arresting. Postwar England has raucous parties and a lot of can-do spirit, but the entire nation is still reeling—and rationing, for that matter. (Can a birthday party be any fun if the cake has “tooth powder frosting”?) Have faith, though: There’s not much that can stop this pair, and the climactic scene laying out the whodunit (and why) is like a maraschino cherry in a complex cocktail. Here’s to the return of these formidable women, and to many more chances to enjoy their company.

—Heather Seggel

★ The Distant Dead

Killer line: “It takes longer than you might think, for a man to burn.”

The small town of Lovelock, Nevada, is nestled in brush-dotted hills that crouch under unending blue sky—an eerie desert landscape that sets a tone of creeping dread in Heather Young’s The Distant Dead. Sixth grader Sal Prentiss goes to the fire station to report that he’s found a burned body while, in another part of town, social studies teacher Nora Wheaton is wondering why her colleague Adam Merkel hasn’t shown up to work. He’s a math teacher, and it’s Pi Day; surely he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to have math-centric fun with his class? No one else seems very concerned, as the enigmatic Adam has always kept to himself and doesn’t engage in gossip, but Nora can’t shake the feeling that something’s wrong. Alas, her instincts are validated when she learns that Adam is the victim Sal found. Young takes the reader back and forth in time as she unfurls the characters’ relationships and life paths, with all their secrets and hopes and disappointments. The suspense is slow and steady in this meditative, artistic take on the murder mystery. Young’s language is poetic, and her contemplation of the corrosiveness of suppressed emotion is both sympathetic and impatient in this unusual, compelling portrait of a people and a place.

—Linda M. Castellitto

Blacktop Wasteland

For fans of: Bullitt, The Fast and the Furious and gritty Elmore Leonard-style noir.

Beauregard “Bug” Montage thought he was out—out of the rackets and the crimes that dominated his early life. He opened his own garage, settled down with a loving wife and had several children. But the past and the demands of the present have a way of catching up with people. In Bug’s case, mounting expenses leave him with nowhere else to turn. So, when an old associate, Ronnie, approaches him about a job that could set everything right, Bug reluctantly agrees. Author S.A. Cosby quickly establishes Bug’s financial burdens and emotional dilemma in his new novel, Blacktop Wasteland and never lets up on the gas. The result is a high-octane, white-knuckle thriller that will have readers whipping through the pages at breakneck speed. Needless to say, not everything goes to plan. Bug and Ronnie’s “simple” heist of a jewelry store goes horribly awry in more ways than one. Bug’s skills as a wheelman—and the Plymouth Duster he inherited from his father—enable him and his crew to get away with their lives, but it’s not enough to keep greed, betrayal and vengeance from closing in at every turn. Cosby’s tightfisted prose fuels this story with heart-pumping (and often brutal) action that begs to be adapted for the big screen but never loses its compassionate edge.

—G. Robert Frazier

The phrase “summer thriller” tends to conjure up a specific sort of book, but our favorites for the season run the gamut from meditative mysteries to relentless page turners.

★ The Girl From Widow Hills

Killer line: “My head swam in a sudden rush of…

YA, YA Fiction

YA Fiction YA

Most likely to . . . become your new favorite YA author

Feature by BookPage contributors

by BookPage contributors

We asked eight YA authors, first-timers and seasoned veterans alike, to talk about their new releases and reflect on their creative journeys.

THE FRESHMEN

Roseanne A. Brown

A refugee and a princess find themselves on a romantic, dangerous collision course in A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, a West Africa-inspired fantasy. Brown raises the stakes by exploring how we all have a responsibility to right the wrongs of injustice. (Click here to read the full review.)

What do you hope readers will love about A Song of Wraiths and Ruin?
The protagonists represent characters I wish I’d gotten to read when I was growing up. Their struggles are informed by the emotional roller coaster of my teen years, so I hope readers see themselves in these characters’ lows and triumphs.

How did you feel when you found out you were going to be published?
I got the call when I was living in Japan; my agent called me at 5 a.m. to break the news, and I was so delirious with sleep that I was half-convinced I was dreaming. As a black immigrant, the thought that I could actually get anything traditionally published had always felt about as likely as me becoming the first person on Mars. Some days, I wake up and it still doesn’t feel real.

A year from now, what impact do you hope A Song of Wraiths and Ruin will have made on readers?
It’s difficult to even imagine what the world might look like a year from now, but I hope that A Song of Wraiths and Ruin will help readers learn that they can draw their greatest strength from the parts of their identities the world has taught them to hate. I also hope the book helps them to know that healing from trauma is often a messy, painful process with no clear finish line, but it’s a journey that is always worth it.

Lora Beth Johnson

Andra wakes up after a long journey to a new planet and slowly puts together a horrifying truth: She’s been asleep for hundreds of years longer than she should have been. Goddess in the Machine offers a vision of how society, technology and language will be transformed over time that’s thoughtful and inventive but never weighs down the emotional urgency of Andra’s plight. (Click here to read the full review.)

What are you most proud of in Goddess in the Machine?
The dialect of some of the characters is my own rendition of a futuristic English, based on trends in linguistic evolution. It was difficult to develop and a challenge to write in, but it’s been amazing to experience early readers using it to communicate with me.

A year from now, what impact do you hope your novel will have made on readers?
It would be cool if readers were using my futuristic dialect in casual conversation! I also hope the book helps readers realize the power of their words—the way that language literally creates and re-creates the world around us.

How did you feel when you found out you were going to be published?
Honestly, I still don’t think it’s hit me. Probably one day, I’ll be perusing the shelves at my local bookstore and see my book and just start weeping.

Laura Wood

In the summer of 1929, Lou Trevelyan feels hemmed in by her small Cornwall town, under pressure to grow up and settle down, until she is swept into the intoxicating, glamorous world of the wealthy Cardew siblings. Wood creates an atmosphere in A Sky Painted Gold that readers can dive into headfirst. Lou’s whole world is tinted with an undercurrent of magic. (Click here to read the full review.)

What are you most proud of in A Sky Painted Gold?
I’m proud of how personal it is. I love Cornwall so much, and A Sky Painted Gold is a very heartfelt expression of that. I worked hard to try to capture the beauty and magic of the place, and the way it makes me feel. My family are Cornish and I included stories that my Nan told me. For example, my great-grandmother was called Midge, just like like Lou’s mother, and anecdotes from her life are woven through the story. It’s another way in which I feel close to it, a way that the story is a part of myself. It makes you very vulnerable as a writer, but I’m proud of that—it’s really the book of my heart.

What do you hope readers will love about the book?
Setting the book in the 1920s meant that I could go all out on the clothes and the music and the parties. It’s decadent, not just in the Gatsby–esque sense of the word, but in the pleasure it takes in small things, in warm seas and moonlit swims and the whisper of a silk dress.

How did you feel when you found out you were going to be published?
Stunned. I’d had the idea for such a long time, and it really is an amalgamation of all of my favorite things. I knew I would want to read it, but it’s a quiet book in a lot of ways—delicate, maybe a little old-fashioned—so I wasn’t sure anyone would want to publish it.

THE SOPHOMORES

Rory Power

In the small town where her mom grew up, Margot uncovers darkness lurking in the poisonous roots of her family tree. Whip-smart and suspenseful, Burn Our Bodies Down builds to a fantastically unsettling resolution. (Click here to read the full review.)

What are you most proud of in Burn Your Bodies Down?
I’m most proud of Margot, the main character. She’s grown up in an emotionally abusive household, so she has a particular mindset that is often at odds with what we expect and want from a thriller protagonist. Rather than always pushing for more answers, Margot often defaults to ignoring what’s going on around her, because she’s afraid of finding out something that will hurt her. Balancing that mindset with the needs of the story was tricky, and of everything in the book, I’m most proud of how that turned out.

What do you hope readers will love about the book?
I hope they’ll love getting to hang out in the town of Phalene. It was a joy to create this run-down farming town in the middle of nowhere, full of secrets and creepy cornfields.

How was writing your second book different than your first book?
Burn Our Bodies Down was a more difficult book to construct. With Wilder Girls, I took great care to cut my characters off from the world, which meant I could bring in speculative elements without having to consider any response from law enforcement or the media, but Burn operates on a larger scale and interacts with the world around it, which was entirely new to me.

What’s one of your favorite things you’ve heard from readers since your first book, Wilder Girls, was published?
I’ve been so lucky to receive a lot of really wonderful messages from readers, but I’m particularly fond of readers responding to the queer representation in the book. I know how much it’s meant to me to be able to see myself reflected in literature, so to be able to give that to a reader is an incredible feeling.

Liara Tamani

Carli and Rex have promising basketball careers ahead of them, but their whirlwind romance is challenged by loss, grief and the pressure to succeed. All the Things We Never Knew offers a raw, honest portrait of the bond between two teens on and off the court. (Click here to read the full review.)

What are you most proud of in All the Things We Never Knew?
I’m most proud that Carli and Rex’s love feels real. Experiencing love for the first time is such an overwhelming sensation. I remember feeling like every ounce of my teenage body was buzzing with it. But knowing the feeling and putting it into words are different. I had to dive deep into their psyches and find language to articulate the very specific love between Rex and Carli.

What do you hope readers will love about the book?
I hope readers will fall in love with Rex and Carli. The book alternates between their perspectives, so readers will get to know them both and see both sides of their first love. Carli is fiery; Rex is sensitive. They’re both deep thinkers who are dealing with family drama and pain. Their love journey is a messy, complicated one, but there’s lots of talking and ruminations along the way. In those shared exchanges and private reflections, I hope readers will come to know and care about Carli and Rex deeply.

How was writing this book different from writing your first book?
The process for writing my first book, Calling My Name, was meandering and exploratory. That novel begins when Taja, the main character, is 12 years old and ends when she’s 17, so it spans several years. It’s structured in vignettes and short stories that I wrote out of order. I didn’t outline at all and allowed the book to come together piece by piece. Writing All the Things We Never Knew was more straightforward. Its events only span a couple of months of Carli’s and Rex’s junior year, so the plot is much tighter. I started with an outline (which was super short, because I still like to give the characters space to make their own decisions), and I wrote it chronologically.

What’s one of your favorite things you’ve heard from readers since your first book was published?
Many teens have written me to say Calling My Name inspired them to be themselves, and every time, I’m filled with so much gratitude. There’s so much pressure for young people to fit in⎯really, for all of us to fit in. So many people sacrifice so much of themselves to feel like they belong. It’s hard to be completely free and face whatever judgement comes with it. It takes bravery, which is something that I’m constantly working on and trying to inspire with my words.

THE UPPERCLASSMEN

Tanaz Bhathena

After her parents are murdered by the king’s army, Gul’s desire for vengeance could destroy the kingdom—and with it, everyone she has come to care about. Hunted by the Sky is a medieval India-inspired fantasy that’s beautiful, brutal, fresh and feminist. (Click here to read the full review.)

What are you most proud of in Hunted by the Sky?
It’s in a completely different genre! I spent 10 years focusing on contemporary fiction. I’d dabble in fantasy, but I never had the courage to write a whole novel—until now.

What do you hope readers will love about the book?
I’m biased, but I love the book’s medieval India-inspired setting and I hope readers will love it too! I want them to be able to escape to a world of magic, romance and fierce women warriors.

How has your readership impacted your writing over the course of your career?
My readership definitely keeps me on track about ensuring accurate representation in my books—especially about communities I don’t belong to. But other than that, I find readers very open to the stories I want to tell. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that I am my first reader and if I don’t like the story, no one else will.

What themes have you carried forward from your previous books into this new novel?
Love and courage are common themes in all my novels, and they’re usually explored through flawed main characters. Gul is a fierce girl who loves deeply, but her mission of avenging her parents’ murders sets off a chain of events with disastrous consequences. There are warrior women with strong bonds of sisterhood, but they are also thieves who engage in vigilante justice. Love and courage bring out the best and the worst in us, even when we are aiming for great things.

Lori M. Lee

When Sirscha’s best friend, Saengo, is killed in battle and Sirscha unexpectedly resurrects her, the awakening of Sirscha’s magical powers forces the two to undertake a dangerous journey to the Dead Wood and its ruler, the ancient and mysterious Spider King. The horrors faced by the heroines of Forest of Souls echo their inner conflicts as they confront terrifying spirits and bloody battles as well as fear, prejudice and loss. (Click here to read the full review.)

What are you most proud of in Forest of Souls?
I’m super proud of the journey my main character Sirscha takes in Forest of Souls. Many of her insecurities were modeled after my own at a young age, and her path towards self-acceptance and self-worth is one I hope resonates with others as well.

What do you hope readers will love about the book?
I want the story to linger inside readers. I hope they will love the friendship between Sirscha and Saengo. It was really important to me to portray a friendship between girls that was unconditional and sweet but also real and complex. I hope that Sirscha’s path toward self-acceptance resonates as well.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I wanted to be a writer from a very early age. I’ve always loved stories because they hold a very specific escapist kind of magic. Writing was my way of claiming that magic for myself.

Editor’s note: In the print issue of BookPage, we placed Lori M. Lee under the ‘Freshmen’ header, incorrectly suggesting that Forest of Souls is Lee’s first YA book. Lee is the author of two previous YA novels, Gates of Thread and Stone and The Infinite.

Rachel Lynn Solomon

On the last day of high school, Rowan is determined to beat her nemesis, Neil, in the annual senior class scavenger hunt. Today Tonight Tomorrow is a puzzle, a nostalgic reflection on a rite of passage and a delicious romance. (Click here to read the full review.)

What are you most proud of in Today Tonight Tomorrow?
When I started writing Today Tonight Tomorrow, I knew the book would take place over 24 hours on the last day of senior year. I also knew I didn’t want to include lengthy flashback scenes, because I wanted it to feel like a snapshot of this one day that changes everything. I decided to scatter ephemera throughout the book—emails, lists, receipts and other tidbits—to enhance the relationship. I’m proud that I was able to tell a full story, a full romance, with this short timeline. My publisher did an incredible job with the design of the book, and the final version feels like a scrapbook of Rowan’s high school journey.

What do you hope readers will love about Today Tonight Tomorrow?
The slow burn of the rivals-to-lovers relationship! Rowan begins the book despising Neil—though readers will probably pick up on some hidden attraction—and gradually discovers the person she’s spending the last day of high school with is completely different from the nemesis whose demise she spent four years plotting. Over the course of 24 hours that take them all over the city, they share secrets and fears and a slow dance in an empty library. “Just kiss already” is what I hope readers will think as they turn the pages.

How has your readership impacted your writing over the course of your career?
It’s made me so wildly grateful. When I saw the reaction my first book received from Jewish readers, I made a vow to myself that I’d only write Jewish protagonists moving forward. Some of my characters are religious and some aren’t, but they are all Jewish, and that is a vital piece of their identity, as well as mine. There are still so few Jewish characters in contemporary YA novels, and I feel very proud to contribute to this small but important category.

What themes have you carried forward from your previous books into this new novel?
Every female protagonist I write is ambitious and full of yearning, with all the messiness that comes with wanting something that may be just out of reach. I think that sense of yearning appears in all my books in slightly different ways—yearning for another person, a dream school, a future career. In Today Tonight Tomorrow, Rowan wants to write romance novels, a passion she hides because she’s been judged in the past. Alongside her real-life romance, her story is about gaining the confidence to embrace what she loves without shame.

Photo credits: Roseanne A. Brown photo by Ashley Hirasuna; Lora Beth Johnson photo by Kailan Sindelar; Rory Power photo by Henriette Lazaridis; Liara Tamani photo by Seneca Shahara Brand; Tanaz Bhathena photo by Nettie Photography; Lori M. Lee photo by PrettyGeeky Photography; Rachel Lynn Solomon photo by Sabreen Lakhani.

We asked eight YA authors, first-timers and seasoned veterans alike, to talk about their new releases and reflect on their creative journeys.

THE FRESHMEN

Roseanne A. Brown

A refugee and…

Children's & YA, Picture Book

Children's & YA Picture Book

Tips for Teachers: Seek-and-find adventures

Feature by Emmie Stuart

by Emmie Stuart

Tips for Teachers is a monthly column in which experienced teacher and children’s librarian Emmie Stuart shares book recommendations and a corresponding teaching guide for fellow elementary school teachers.

Driving home one night, I stopped at a red light behind an SUV. Because it was dark outside, I had a clear view of its two flip-down television screens, and I decided to try to determine which animated movie or TV show the passengers were watching. I looked for a familiar character or setting—an image of Woody or Buzz, or perhaps a city street built with Legos.

The light turned green before I could figure it out, but I thought about the animation’s fast pace for the rest of my drive home. In the brief time that we were stopped together, I saw several characters with animal-ish features and oversize eyes, a couple of explosions, an underwater scene and what looked like some type of monster or . . . dinosaur?

Child psychiatrists Jay N. Giedd and Judith L. Rapoport assert that 95% of brain development and growth happens before a child turns 6 years old. Babies are born with all their brain cells, but the connections formed between these cells are what enable the brain to function. During a child’s first 5 years, the brain forms at least a million new neural connections as it grows. These connections, created through daily experiences, build upon each other and provide a strong foundation for more complex thinking and learning. After the brain is finished growing, it is harder to form new neural connections or to break existing ones.

What are the short- and long-term effects of hours of fast-paced media consumption on children? What happens when a developing brain is saturated by a steady stream of rapidly changing images designed to capture and keep a child’s attention—for the primary purpose of maintaining either the value of ad sales or a reliable subscription-based income? How and why has the visual pacing of children’s audiovisual media increased over time? If you think it hasn’t, watch a few minutes of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” then flip to whatever’s currently airing on the Cartoon Network. Thoughts?

In my library classroom over the past decade, I have noticed a steady decline in my students’ ability to focus independently. Looking page by page through a picture book is a skill most children do not possess when they begin kindergarten. I usually spend the first four months of each school year teaching my kindergarteners how to look independently at a picture book. It’s a painstaking process, but by winter break, the children develop strong visual thinking habits. For example, they know how to use a book’s cover to make predictions about the story. They notice a book’s front and back endpapers. They can identify the title page and know that sometimes, the story begins on the title page. They can “read” the pictures, even if they can’t yet read the words.

One of my favorite habit-forming activities is to give each student a familiar picture book. After they read the pictures, I prompt them, “Find your favorite illustration and study it for 30 seconds. What small details can you discover?” After a quiet and focused 30 seconds, the students practically burst with excitement and eagerness to share what they discovered. This quick visual thinking exercise gives children the time and tools they need savor illustrations, but I don’t expect them to do it with every illustration and every book.

How can picture study translate to longer periods of independent focus? How can illustrated books increase a child’s mental stamina and attention span? Seek-and-find books are one excellent way to do this. The four books below span a wide audience range, and their range of format and content is just as wide. But all four share a few elements in common. They’re all imports, originally published outside of the United States; the challenge and thrill of a seek-and-find transcends continents and cultures. They also all incorporate a seek-and-find challenge within a larger narrative or conceptual context. As children search for characters, animals and artwork, they will also be strengthening their mental stamina and learning more about the world and its people.

All Around Bustletown: Summer
by Rotraut Susanne Berner

It’s summertime, and the people of Bustletown are fully embracing the season. Karen serves cool treats from her ice cream cart; Ellen and her son, Tommy, watch the construction of the new school; and babysitter Silva keeps the kids occupied with a trip to the museum and a picnic. The playgrounds are full, and the roads and train station are busy with vacationers. A sudden summer thunderstorm pops up but passes in time for everyone to make it to the park for Cara’s birthday party.

Readers can trace storylines of characters identified on the book’s back cover through each of the seven oversize colorful spreads. Children will love diving deep into the book’s detailed illustrations and searching for the mouse who is hiding on each page. In the spirit of Richard Scarry, this German import welcomes children into a bustling community that will capture both their attention and their heart.

Phonic practice

Its oversize dimensions make All Around Bustletown: Summer ideal for buddy reading. Emergent and early readers can work on their phonics through an I Spy activity. The activity can be adjusted in conjunction with current classroom learning or targeted to specific skills for students who need reinforcements. Laminate the activity cards and keep them in tucked in the cover of the book.

Oral narration

Partner narration is an effective and natural way for young learners to develop and refine strong speaking and listening skills. Invite children to choose one of the Bustletown characters identified on the back cover. Starting with the first spread, children will locate their character in each illustration and narrate what they think is happening with the character’s story to their partner. Encourage the listening partner to ask questions that encourage elaboration.

Everybody Counts: A Counting Story From 0 to 75
by Kristin Roskifte

This import won several awards in its home country of Norway, and it’s easy to see why. Beginning with “no one” in a forest, it takes readers on a counting journey in individual increments up to 30 and then in larger increments that culminate with “seven and a half billion people on the same planet.” Author-illustrator Kristin Roskifte interweaves small human narratives into the numerical progression. For example, there are a hundred people in the schoolyard. Readers learn that “One of them will soon fall and get hurt. One of them will develop a vaccine that saves millions of lives.”

Astute readers will pick out the clues Roskifte provides and begin to make associations and connections within the illustrations. An illustrated grid at the end of the book asks about “secrets” that require flipping back through the book to hunt for the answers. Roskifte intersperses these search-and-find questions with more philosophical questions that include “Does everyone share the same truth?” and “What is outside our universe?” Is Everybody Counts a counting book or a seek-and-find book? Is it a celebration of humanity or a philosophical primer? It’s all of the above and more, a brilliantly composed and crafted picture book that will keep children engaged for hours.

Puzzle drawings

Gather two boxes and label them “Numbers” and “Feelings.” Place folded slips of paper with various numbers and feeling words in the respective boxes, and let children take a slip from each box. Children will use their slips to create a page in the style of the book. Each page will contain the number and two sentences that give clues about what is happening in the picture. The feeling word must be incorporated into one of the sentences. Allow time for students to share their puzzle drawings with each other.

Act of kindness

Write the lines of the last page of the book on the board: “Seven and a half billion people on the same planet. Every single one of them has their own unique story. Everybody counts. One of them is you!” Take time to discuss these lines with students. Ask open-ended questions to ensure that children do most of the talking. Afterward, extend the book’s central theme and encourage children to commit a few intentional acts of kindness for others. Check in with students through the next few weeks to hear about their experiences.

All Along the River
by Magnus Weightman

Bunny and her two brothers are playing in the river at the base of a glacier “high above the clouds.” When Bunny’s toy duck floats away, the trio goes after it in their little red boat. Their pursuit takes them on a river journey through forests, meadowlands, marshes, waterfalls, fields of flowers and past various buildings and and other structures. The two-page spreads are full of detail and a feeling of purposeful busy-ness. Readers will enjoy searching for the toy duck and the story’s other readily identifiable anthropomorphic animal characters, including the Road Hogs and Chuck, a roller-skating chicken. A surprise ending makes it impossible to resist turning back to the book’s beginning for another journey along the river.

River research

The river takes Little Duck and her crew from “way high in the clouds” all the way “out to sea.” The back endpapers contain an aerial view of the river that shows all the different biomes it passes through on its way out to sea. Read more about rivers and their journey to the sea, or research some rivers of the world.

Can you find?

There is so much to spot in this book! Print out these checklists, or create your own and let children work individually or in pairs to find the items.

What a Masterpiece!
by Riccardo Guasco

Originally published in Italy, this wordless story follows a boy on a journey through recognizable pieces of Western art. The boy wakes up in his Vincent Van Gogh-esque bedroom by a Salvador Dali clock, descends an M.C. Escher staircase and is followed to the bathroom by a shadow that resembles a statue by Alberto Giocometti. The boy ends his pilgrimage at a large sculpture composed of pieces and parts of the artworks he encountered during his journey. A key in the back of the book provides detailed information about each work of art that will prompt students to go back and identify each iconic piece.

Mix and match

Print, laminate and cut out Masterpiece Artwork Cards. Put them in a plastic bag or envelope labeled “Can you match the masterpieces?” Invite children to work individually or with a partner to match the photos of the art with events in the book.

Masterpiece mashup

Provide several books about fine arts and allow time for students to peruse them until they find a piece of art that that captures their attention. In the spirit of Guasco’s story, invite students to create a piece of art that incorporates or alludes to their chosen masterpiece. Provide different art mediums (colored paper, pastels, graphite pencils, markers, clay and so on) for children to use. Older students can write a story to go along with their mashup, or they can research and provide more information on their chosen piece of art and its artist.

Experienced teacher and children’s librarian Emmie Stuart explores four fabulous seek-and-find books and suggests activities to incorporate them into the curriculum.

Coming of Age, Family Drama, Fiction

Fiction Family Drama Coming of Age

8 major debuts of the summer

Feature by BookPage contributors

by BookPage contributors

Summer 2020 has been a season of big shifts, including in the world of fiction. We’re delighted to give a warm welcome to these new voices and their debut novels.

Cherie Dimaline, author of Empire of Wild

The author: Writer and activist Cherie Dimaline is a member of the Georgian Bay Métis Community in Ontario. She has published five books in Canada and makes her U.S. adult debut with Empire of Wild.

The book: Drawing inspiration from legends of the werewolf-like rougarou, Dimaline’s powerful and inventive novel follows a woman who is searching for the truth behind her husband’s mysterious disappearance and even more suspicious return.

For fans of: Literary thrillers that draw from the author’s cultural heritage, such as LaRose by Louise Erdrich.

Read it for: Indigenous empowerment and a flawless mixture of supernatural events and realistic characters.

Raven Leilani, author of Luster

The author: A former student of Zadie Smith (who hyped Luster earlier this year in Harper’s Bazaar), Raven Leilani has won multiple prizes for her fiction and poetry and is the Axinn Foundation Writer-in-Residence at NYU.

The book: This gritty novel explores many appetites—for sex, companionship, attention and money—and what happens when those lusts are sated.

For fans of: Spike Lee’s 2017 reboot of She’s Gotta Have It and heavy-hitting millennial writers like Ling Ma and Catherine Lacey.

Read it for: Leilani’s cerebral, raw writing and keen social observations—especially about the truths that some people don’t want to see.

Rónán Hession, author of Leonard and Hungry Paul

The author: Dublin-based author Rónán Hession is a social worker and songwriter who has released three lyrical acoustic albums as Mumblin’ Deaf Ro.

The book: Hession explores the ordinary lives of two everyday guys in their 30s. Leonard’s mom has just died, and he’s working through his grief and loneliness. Hungry Paul lives at home with his parents and is occasionally accosted with motivational speeches by his older sister. These two lifelong friends go to work (or not, as the case may be), meet new people, try new things—the stuff of everyday life.

For fans of: Stories of lives well lived from Maeve Binchy and Mark Haddon.

Read it for: The reminder that we’re all just doing our best. Simple and straightforward stories often get overlooked in our noisy world, but not by Hession.

Alex Landragin, author of Crossings

The author: French Armenian Australian writer Alex Landragin is a former author of Lonely Planet travel guides.

The book: Crossings is composed of three imaginative tales: a ghost story written by Charles Baudelaire, a German Jewish exile’s dark love story on the precipice of the Nazi invasion of Paris and a memoir by a woman who lives through seven generations. The reader can read each story individually or follow the “Baroness” style, following directions to leap between the three tales.

For fans of: Books that play with storytelling structure, like Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life or Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves.

Read it for: The totally unexpected reading experience, which is as incredibly fun as it is nuanced and engaging.

Charlotte McConaghy, author of Migrations

The author: Charlotte McConaghy has published eight books in her native Australia and has worked in script development for film and TV for several years.

The book: Set in a near-future world that’s facing the mass extinction of animals, McConaghy’s U.S. debut follows a young woman named Franny who, grappling with a lifelong inability to define the nature of home, joins a fishing crew to follow the last migration of Arctic terns.

For fans of: Emotionally resonant tales like Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips and H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald.

Read it for: A message of hope when all feels hopeless.

Lysley Tenorio, author of The Son of Good Fortune

The author: Lysley Tenorio is a Filipino American professor at Saint Mary’s College of California whose stories have been adapted for the stage in New York City and San Francisco.

The book: Excel, a young Filipino immigrant living in California, lives paycheck to paycheck with his mother, a former low-budget movie star who now scams men online. When Excel meets a girl named Sab, the two run away and find themselves at the whimsical desert community of Hello City.

For fans of: Unique perspectives of the immigrant experience, such as The Leavers by Lisa Ko.

Read it for: A powerful examination of the bond between mother, son and motherland.

Sanaë Lemoine, author of The Margot Affair

The author: Born in Paris to a Japanese mother and French father, Sanaë Lemoine was raised in France and Australia. She now lives in New York, where she has worked as a recipe writer and cookbook editor.

The book: Margot Louve is the product of a long affair between a married public figure and a well-known actress. In her final year of high school, Margot decides that she is ready to expose the lie and go public with her story—anonymously.

For fans of: Stories of young women searching for truth, such as Saltwater by Jessica Andrews and Actress by Anne Enright.

Read it for: A realistic Parisian atmosphere and complicated, nuanced female characters.

Odie Lindsey, author of Some Go Home

The author: Combat veteran Odie Lindsey is the Writer-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University’s Center for Medicine, Health, and Society.

The book: Inspired by the author’s work as an editor of the Mississippi Encyclopedia, Some Go Home is set in the fictional town of Pitchlynn, Mississippi, where white residents are forced to face buried truths during a retrial for the violent, decades-old murder of a Black man.

For fans of: The Bitter Southerner and Southern novels that wrestle with the region’s complicated, brutal history.

Read it for: Reflections on how the sins of our ancestors replay in our own lives.

Cherie Dimaline photo by Wenzdae Brewster. Raven Leilani photo by Evan Davis. Rónán Hession photo by Barry Delany. Alex Landragin photo by Helga Salwe. Charlotte McConaghy photo by Emma Daniels. Lysley Tenorio photo by Laura Bianchi. Sanaë Lemoine photo by Gieves Anderson. Odie Lindsey photo by Dana DeLoca.

Summer 2020 has been a season of big shifts, including in the world of fiction. We’re delighted to give a warm welcome to these new voices and their debut novels.

Mystery

Mystery

Whodunit: August 2020

Feature by Bruce Tierney

by Bruce Tierney

A detective finds himself in the crosshairs of danger in T. Jefferson Parker's latest mystery, one of four August standouts.

★ Then She Vanished

There is a certain symmetry on display when an Iraq veteran working as a private investigator takes on a missing persons case for a brother-in-arms—semper fi and all that. Then She Vanished, T. Jefferson Parker’s fourth Roland Ford mystery, lodges the detective firmly in the crosshairs once again, as he discovers that his Republican war hero-turned-politician client, Dalton Strait, is not nearly as squeaky clean as he is portrayed in his bio and that the disappearance of his wife, Natalie, is suspicious to say the least. And let’s throw in a brewing war between California’s recently established legal marijuana dispensaries and a south-of-the-border drug cartel affected by this new order. Oh, and for good measure, add a bomber intent on sowing chaos and insurrection, who previews his next target on the nightly TV news and may be connected to Ford’s case. As told in the first person from Ford’s perspective, there is no contrived mystery to be found here. We find out what is happening as Ford connects the dots—and he is very good at connecting the dots. I’m not giving away the ending here at all, but on the last page there is a sweet nod to author John D. MacDonald and his beloved character Travis McGee, without whom an entire generation of modern suspense novelists would have had no archetype.

He Started It

One of the funniest memories of my childhood was a fight with my younger brother that was brought to a halt summarily by our mother, who asked angrily, “What’s the problem here?” My brother’s classic response: “It all started when Bruce hit me back . . .” So naturally, Samantha Downing’s He Started It was a shoo-in. Narrated in the first person by middle child Beth Morgan, the tale opens with a family trip to carry Grandpa’s ashes to their final resting place. But this is no ordinary family in an SUV on a nameless Alabama highway. This family bears most of the dis- and dys- prefixes you might care to apply: disturbed, disjointed and most decidedly dysfunctional. Their deceased grandpa, for his part, has added to the chaos by leaving a vast estate to be divvied up among the siblings after they have re-created a road trip they took with him when they were kids. Dutifully, and each with an eye on the prize, they make their way westward through the South. Then, as they are wont to do in suspense novels, things go remarkably sideways remarkably quickly, and at least one family member appears to be a killer. And who the heck is that guy in the black pickup truck that keeps turning up at the most inopportune moments?

Under Pressure

I reviewed Robert Pobi’s first Lucas Page novel, City of Windows, exactly one year ago. In that book, the double amputee ex-FBI agent found himself drafted back into service to unravel a series of sniper killings. He was the perfect choice for the assignment, given his exceptional talent for processing information and considering bits and bytes of intelligence that lesser detectives might overlook. In his latest adventure, Under Pressure, Lucas is called upon to investigate an unusual bombing at New York City’s Guggenheim Museum, in which 702 of the city’s wealthiest and most powerful people are killed, but there’s somehow remarkably little property damage. Lucas is a reluctant draftee, having settled rather comfortably into academia after suffering grievous bodily harm during the tragic events that ended his FBI career. But if Lucas has a character flaw at all, it’s that he cannot resist a challenging puzzle. The bombing is confounding on several fronts, both in terms of methodology and intended target(s). Was the attack aimed at one of the attendees in particular? What type of bomb can even do such a thing? There’s no sophomore slump here. Pobi has seriously upped his game.

The Silence of the White City

Eva García Sáenz’s White City Trilogy, of which the first novel, The Silence of the White City, has just been translated into English, is already a bestseller in Spain (as well as the basis for a popular Netflix series). It’s set in the atmospheric Basque Country of northern Spain, in the city of Vitoria. As the story opens, Inspector Unai “Kraken” López de Ayala is summoned to the scene of a homicide reminiscent of a series of murders that took place 20 years before. The accused killer, a respected archaeologist, was apprehended thanks to evidence supplied by his twin brother, a policeman. The archaeologist has languished in prison ever since, becoming something of an armchair criminologist in the intervening years. Clearly, he cannot have committed this latest murder, so does that suggest that he was innocent of the earlier murders, that he had an accomplice who was never charged, or is there a contemporary copycat killer? In much the same way that Cara Black or Donna Leon portray Paris or Venice in their respective mystery series, Sáenz lovingly depicts a unique and fascinating city, weaving in Basque folklore and culture while spinning a very complex and rich story.

A detective finds himself in the crosshairs of danger in T. Jefferson Parker's latest mystery, one of four August standouts.

★ Then She Vanished

There is a certain symmetry on display when an Iraq veteran working as a private investigator takes on a missing persons case…

Memoir, Nonfiction

Nonfiction Memoir

Book Clubs: True stories of insight and hope

Feature by Julie Hale

by Julie Hale

An outstanding memoir can rev up any reading group. These four authors share their incredible stories in expertly crafted narratives.

In Small Fry, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, daughter of artist Chrisann Brennan and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, looks back at her turbulent California upbringing. When the author was a child, Jobs wouldn’t acknowledge her as his daughter, and she and her mother struggled to make ends meet. Over time, she grew closer to her father, but his remote and thorny personality brought consistent friction to their relationship. This electrifying narrative provides an up-close look at Jobs while exploring timeless questions about family, loyalty and love.

In 1921, Françoise Frenkel established a French-language bookstore in Berlin. The Nazis ascended to power, and in the late 1930s she managed to flee to France and eventually to Switzerland. In 1945, she published A Bookshop in Berlin, a chronicle of her terrifying journey to escape persecution due to her Jewish heritage. The work was rediscovered more than six decades later and first published in the United States in 2019. This spellbinding and suspenseful memoir will prompt discussions on history, morality and human rights.

In Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law, Haben Girma tells her remarkable story. From a young age, Haben, the daughter of Eritrean refugees, was determined to make the world a better place for people like herself. In describing her experiences in school—she was the first deafblind student to graduate from Harvard Law—and as an advocate for those with disabilities, she offers inspiring anecdotes and life lessons with humor and heart.

Albert Woodfox’s Solitary is an unforgettable account of the author’s 40-plus years in solitary confinement. Woodfox, a member of the Black Panther Party, was doing time for armed robbery in Angola Prison in 1972 when a white guard there was murdered. Along with a fellow Black Panther, Woodfox was blamed for the killing, despite a clear lack of evidence, and sentenced to life in solitary confinement. His courageous memoir is an excellent jumping-off point for important conversations about race and the history of the American penal system. Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, it’s at once an invaluable critique and an outstanding personal narrative.

An outstanding memoir can rev up any reading group. These four authors share their incredible stories in expertly crafted narratives.

In Small Fry, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, daughter of artist Chrisann Brennan and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, looks back at her turbulent California upbringing. When the author…

Fiction, Nonfiction, Romance, World Fiction

Romance Nonfiction Fiction World Fiction

The Hold List: For anyone who’s ever brought a book to a ballgame

Feature by the editors of BookPage

by the editors of BookPage

Since most live sports are on hold this year, it’s book lovers’ time to shine. Whether you need something to fill the gaping hole left by cheering stadiums or just a fun read to go with your Sunday afternoon buffalo dip, these books are all winners.

We Ride Upon Sticks

Campy and surreal, Quan Barry’s second novel follows a high school field hockey team that’s desperate for a winning season—desperate enough to make a deal with the devil. All 11 Lady Falcons solemnly pledge their oath to the forces of darkness, signing a notebook emblazoned with an image of Emilio Estevez (did I mention this book takes place in 1989?). Of course, it’s not the first time such a deal has been struck in Danvers, Massachusetts, which is just a stone’s throw away from Salem, of witch trial fame. But as the devil’s demands increase along with the powers of the team, things begin to get complicated. Barry uses the first-person plural “we” to narrate the book, a choice that emphasizes the unity and collective force of the team. Full of dark humor and pitch-perfect 1980s details, We Ride Upon Sticks will appeal to anyone who’s ever put it all on the line to win.

—Trisha, Publisher

The Bromance Book Club

If you’d prefer your books to be light on the sports and heavy on the romance, then Lyssa Kay Adams’ hilarious debut, The Bromance Book Club, is the book for you. When Major League Baseball player Gavin Scott’s marriage to Thea seems on the verge of collapse, his friends introduce him to their secret book club—which reads romance novels and only romance novels. What follows is an absolute joy of a romantic comedy as the club’s members try to convert Gavin to their love of the genre, pointing out all the ways in which reading romance can not only help him save his marriage but also help men empathize more fully with women. The zany goings-on (just wait until you meet “The Russian”) never overshadow the poignancy of Gavin’s devotion to doing the hard work to save his relationship.

—Savanna, Associate Editor

Sudden Death

I’m not sure if a more bizarre sports novel exists, but I’ve always wanted a reason to recommend Álvaro Enrigue’s bawdy tennis novel, so here we go. What begins as a 16th-century tennis match between Spanish poet Francisco de Quevedo and Italian painter Caravaggio fractures into a far-flung historical stream of consciousness, bouncing from scenes with Hernán Cortés or Galileo to emails with the book’s editor and then back to the court, where Quevedo and Caravaggio, both hungover, are volleying a ball made of Anne Boleyn’s hair. In between points, Enrigue’s metafictive tale (brilliantly translated by Natasha Wimmer) lampoons the Spanish conquest of Mexico, treats not one historical figure with anything resembling preciousness and positively revels in violence, beheadings and the like. It’s a postmodern riot; advantage, Enrigue.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

The Throwback Special

Chris Bachelder’s The Throwback Special is the only football novel I could ever love. Though it’s technically about a group of men who convene once a year to reenact the November 1985 “Monday Night Football” game in which Joe Theismann’s leg was brutally snapped in two, it’s not really about that at all. (Believe me—if it were, I wouldn’t read it.) Bachelder takes readers into the minds of 22 adult men and dissects their fears, failures, grievances and qualms with exacting humor. Fatherhood, marriage, middle age and masculinity—things with which I have no firsthand experience—are explored with such bizarre compassion that I absolutely could not look away. Don’t let a lack of football fanaticism keep you away from this gem of a book. Dare to peek into the male psyche, and have a good-natured laugh at what you find.

—Christy, Associate Editor

Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer

I’m going to make what feels like a bold claim: Warren St. John’s Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer is a book you’ll love whether you relish screaming at your television for three hours each weekend or you can’t explain the difference between a third down and a third inning. Football knowledge isn’t a prerequisite to enjoying this story of how St. John embedded himself in an RV-driving stampede of Alabama Crimson Tide fans for a season, because he didn’t write a book about football. What he wrote is a love story about a group of people, brought together by a common purpose and shared devotion to one of the winningest teams in college football history. It’s an affectionate and often erudite glimpse into the ways love can drive us all to madness. Speaking of: Roll Tide.

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

Children's & YA, Picture Book

Children's & YA Picture Book

Capturing the excitement, trepidation and curiosity of the first day of school

Feature by Linda M. Castellitto

by Linda M. Castellitto

Four picture books offer encouragement to youngsters as they embark on a thrilling rite of passage: the first day of school.

Give Pearl Goes to Preschool to any reader curious about trying something new but in need of a small, encouraging nudge. Pearl is a confident, energetic, tiara-loving girl who’s more than a bit skeptical when her mom raises the notion of preschool. After all, Pearl already attends daily classes at her mom’s ballet studio, and she even knows how to count (“First position! Second position! Third position!”). What could be better? Well, Mom explains, Pearl can meet kids her own age at preschool, and everyone gets to do finger painting, learn the alphabet and dress up. Pearl talks it over with her friend Violet, a plush mouse clad in a purple tutu, and the two decide that preschool’s worth a try.

Author-illustrator Julie Fortenberry’s painterly art hits the emotional mark. She masterfully conveys Pearl’s impatience, joy, nervousness and relief, as well as Pearl’s mom’s carefully concealed amusement as she negotiates with her spirited kiddo. A muted color palette makes a lovely backdrop for this engaging portrait of a strong parent-child relationship: Pearl feels safe in expressing herself, and her mom’s gentle guidance helps Pearl take ownership over big decisions. Pearl Goes to Preschool is a real treat.

A.E. Ali’s Our Favorite Day of the Year opens as Musa starts kindergarten. Despite what Musa’s teacher says, the boys at his table don’t “look like his friends. They were total strangers.” But Ms. Gupta has a plan: Throughout the year, students will share their favorite holidays as a sort of interactive show and tell (not to mention icebreaker and friendship builder).

Skepticism melts away as months pass and students treat each other to exciting new experiences. Musa goes first, decorating the classroom for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday at the end of Ramadan, while offering a brief history and sharing delicious treats. “Everyone could see why Eid was Musa’s favorite,” Ali writes. Other students share Rosh Hashanah, Los Posadas and Pi Day, and every time, all the kids agree—they can see why this holiday is the student’s favorite.

Rahele Jomepour Bell’s joyous illustrations make each celebration delightful, and her use of color and texture is impressive, whether she’s capturing a flickering candle or a frilly piñata. Be sure to check out her quiltlike endpapers, too. Readers will revel in this openhearted look at how friendships are easy to form when everyone is willing to share and rejoice in what makes each person unique.

Where’s my classroom? I dropped my backpack! Is that a hamster? I think I know her. What’s for lunch? With spot-on snippets of poetry and illustrations steeped in primary colors, All Welcome Here captures the swirling, frenetic energy of the first day of school. Author James Preller’s linked haiku lead readers through the maze of an exciting, chaotic and often humorous new adventure. A diverse group of children clamors for fresh school supplies (“All the bright new things / Smell like sunrise, like glitter”) and the release of recess (“Can we? Is it true? / Yes, recess. Run, RUN!”). They also consider the scariness of stepping onto a giant yellow school bus for the first time (“It’s dark and noisy / and what if they aren’t nice?”). The effect is sometimes impressionistic and always empathetic.

Fans of illustrator Mary GrandPré, Caldecott Honoree for The Noisy Paintbox, will be pleased to see her work here. Her collages and paintings, which make clever use of color and pattern, capture both the big splash of a water fountain prank and the engrossed calm of bookworms enjoying library time. Preller dedicates the book to “public school teachers everywhere” and GrandPré to “all young artists,” fitting tributes to those who inspired this spirited whirlwind of first-day jitters and delight.

Debut author-illustrator Anna Kim draws on personal experience in Danbi Leads the School Parade, a charming, moving story about a girl who’s leaping into the unknown not only at a new school but in a new country, too. Danbi and her parents immigrated to the United States from South Korea, and the time has come for Danbi to meet her new teacher, who smiles encouragingly, and a puppy-pile of classmates, who stare at her with curiosity.

Danbi’s heartbeat is the soundtrack to her determined but unsuccessful attempts to fit in, as she tries new dances and games. She is relieved when lunchtime arrives: “That, I knew how to do!” But when the other kids pull out sandwiches and juice boxes, her crystal dumplings and rainbow drops draw more stares and a big “Wow!” from the group. Ever resourceful, Danbi attempts to teach her classmates to use chopsticks, which turns into a comedy of errors. Pivoting again, she taps her lunchbox with a chopstick and kicks off a wild music-improv session, which then transforms into the magical parade of the book’s title.

In her artwork, Kim’s incredible eye for detail and expert lines evoke the swish of the teacher’s skirt, the trajectory of an errant block and the lushness of little-kid hair. Her characters’ emotions are finely wrought as well: Danbi’s early dismay is as palpable as her eventual thrill at making a new friend. In a touching author’s note, Kim shares her “belief that bridging our differences happens one human being at a time.”

Four picture books offer encouragement to youngsters as they embark on a thrilling rite of passage: the first day of school.

Give Pearl Goes to Preschool to any reader curious about trying something new but in need of a small, encouraging nudge. Pearl is a confident,…

Sign Up

Stay on top of new releases: Sign up for our newsletter to receive reading recommendations in your favorite genres.

2book multi

The Hold List: Explore the great outdoors

Lockdown listening: Our favorite quarantine audiobooks

The Hold List: Crimes we can’t help but admire

Book Clubs: Four thoughtful takes on #MeToo

Whodunit: July 2020

Thrills for every reader

Most likely to . . . become your new favorite YA author

THE FRESHMEN

THE SOPHOMORES

THE UPPERCLASSMEN

THE FRESHMEN

Tips for Teachers: Seek-and-find adventures

8 major debuts of the summer

Whodunit: August 2020

Book Clubs: True stories of insight and hope

The Hold List: For anyone who’s ever brought a book to a ballgame

Capturing the excitement, trepidation and curiosity of the first day of school

Sign Up

Trending Features

Our mystery columnist has a new favorite Nordic noir—and it’s written by an American

A 49-year-old Regency widow gets a second chance with her first love

Start the year with stories for your book club

Company

Subscriptions