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FictionPopular FictionFamily Saga

A Great Country

Review by Alden Mudge

In her fourth novel, bestselling author Shilpi Somaya Gowda continues her empathic exploration of Indian American immigrant identity and experience. The central characters of A Great Country unexpectedly find themselves at the intersection of some of the nation’s most perilous social and political fault lines.

The novel opens on a Saturday night at a dinner party held to welcome Ashok and Priya Shah to their new neighborhood in Southern California’s wealthy Pacific Hills. The Shahs arrived in the U.S. some 20 years ago as penniless students and worked “their way up the socioeconomic ladder, as they were expected to as new immigrants.” This new life in the hills is a financial stretch, but they hope they can convince their longtime friends, also at the dinner, to make the move as well.

Meanwhile, the Shahs’ U.S.-born children are in trouble. Oldest daughter Deepa, a junior in high school, is being detained with her friend Paco after a protest at the U.S.-Mexico border turned violent. Their middle child, Maya, finds herself preoccupied with the Bakers, the Shahs’ extremely wealthy neighbors. And their 12-year-old son, Ajay, has just landed in jail, suspected of being a terrorist after flying a home-built drone next to the airport.

It’s Ajay’s arrest that sets the plot rolling like a ricocheting ball in a pinball machine. Ajay is scientifically gifted, brown skinned and tall enough to look older than he is. He might long ago have been diagnosed as autistic except that his father resisted the “culture of overdiagnosis in this country.” Ajay is misidentified by the press as a Muslim. The family is embarrassed when activists against police brutality take up their cause. Their inner domestic lives are blasted open in a media frenzy that makes most of their new neighbors suspicious of them.

If this sounds like a lot, it is. But somehow, in A Great Country, it mostly works. Gowda is superb at plotting and pacing, and the book spirits readers along. At the same time we learn enough of the histories of her characters to slow down and understand their dilemmas and the deep emotional stress these events place the family under. We feel for them and we will continue to think about them. Which, really, is just about the best we can hope for from a good read.

In Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s A Great Country, an Indian American immigrant family is unexpectedly thrown into the intersection of some of the nation’s most perilous social and political fault lines.
FictionPopular FictionFamily Drama

Relative Strangers

Review by Sydney Hankin

There’s much to love in this heartwarming reimagining of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility: a wonderfully diverse ensemble of protagonists, a picturesque setting and lots and lots of baked goods. Author A.H. Kim’s second novel, Relative Strangers, is a refreshing story of two middle-aged sisters relearning how to navigate their lives together.

When former restaurateur Amelia Bae-Wood returns to her California hometown, she finds that her mother, Tabitha, has been forced out of the family home after her husband’s death; a legal dispute, initiated by an apparent stranger, has gone south. She follows a note on the door to the Master’s Cottage at the nearby Arcadia Cancer Retreat Center, where she is warmly embraced by Tabitha and her sister Eleanor. Over the span of a year, Amelia’s sense of self will be tested as she resets from the hectic lifestyle she left behind. Her transformation lends the novel a coming-of-age feel that blends smoothly with its natural comedy, romance and drama.

Amelia’s relatives are the standout characters: her niece Maggie’s up-and-down college search, Eleanor’s inspiring but overwhelming daily workload, and Tabitha’s perseverance amid grief pop out of the page with authenticity. As the Bae-Wood women continue the legal fight for their family home, they simultaneously immerse themselves in daily life at the cancer retreat center, a setting that soon becomes beautifully sentimental, if a bit unsubtle. As they fall in and out of love and friendship with the employees and guests at the center, we learn the secrets of many side characters in secondary narratives that Kim develops just enough to build up the world while preserving the lightness of the read.

Relative Strangers’ Eleanor and Amelia take on the logically and emotionally driven associations of their respective counterparts Elinor and Marianne, and Kim’s novel may resonate more with those who have read Austen’s work. However, Relative Strangers is still easily engaging in its own right: an innovative, fast-paced novel that retains the comforting and delightful feel of a classic.

A.H. Kim’s heartwarming reimagining of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility is easily engaging in its own right: an innovative, fast-paced novel that retains the comforting and delightful feel of a classic.
FictionLiterary FictionComing of Age

Habitations

Review by Chika Gujarathi

Place, purpose and self-worth are front and center in Sheila Sundar’s debut novel, Habitations, about a young girl’s journey into womanhood. We begin in the mid-’90s in South India and follow Sundar’s protagonist, Vega Gopalan, through a childhood marked by the devastating loss of her younger sister, her developing interest in sociology, her sexual longings and experiments, and the overall angst of being young.

When a scholarship takes Vega to graduate school at Columbia University in New York City, the comforts and privileges she knew as an upper-caste Brahmin dissolve into the confusing and often lonely experience of being an immigrant student in the U.S. Meek and naive, however, she is not. Vega’s intelligence, humor and curiosity keep her open and engaged with new experiences.

Reflections on race, sex, caste and social norms remain the focus as Vega navigates the labyrinth of her immigrant community, academia, friendships, lovers and, eventually, a marriage not for love, but for a precious green card that will allow her to live in the U.S. and pursue her academic interests. Career developments and the birth of her daughter, Asha, unfold new challenges for Vega. But through these challenges, she becomes a surer, more hopeful woman ready to live life on her own terms.

There are many reasons to love this novel. Vega’s journey will resonate in one way or another with anyone who has suffered loss or struggled with self-doubt. Sundar’s supporting characters and rich depiction of immigrant life round out Vega’s story, no doubt drawing on the author’s own experience growing up in the ’90s as the child of Indian immigrants to the U.S. Best of all, the novel speaks to the human experience of how the burdens we carry eventually come to define our strengths.

Insightful and hopeful, Habitations delivers on all fronts.

Insightful and hopeful, Sheila Sundar’s debut novel Habitations follows a young Indian American woman’s experiences with academia, immigrant community, marriage and motherhood.
Children's & YAYA FictionYA

The Prisoner’s Throne

Review by Jessica Peng

Since the advent of The Folk of the Air series in 2018, Holly Black has held legions of YA fantasy readers in thrall to the world of Faerie: its acorn cups and everapples, redcaps and ragwort steeds, mad revels and delicate, deadly riddles. Her latest novel, The Prisoner’s Throne, is another delicious descent into the intricacies of Faerie family and politics. 

The Prisoner’s Throne is the sequel to The Stolen Heir and the final installment in the Novels of Elfhame duology, which follow the faerie Prince Oak, heir to the throne of the kingdom of Elfhame, and the Queen of the Court of Teeth, Suren, now known as Wren. 

Whereas The Stolen Heir centered primarily on Wren, this time, we delve into the storm of calculations and insecurities that swirl beneath Oak’s curling hair and curving horns. Oak finds himself Wren’s prisoner after his last misstep shattered the tentative trust they had begun to build. His imprisonment beckons war between Elfhame, which is ruled by his sister Jude, and Wren’s Court of Teeth. Oak’s loyalties are torn: On one hand, he understands his family’s anger; on the other hand, his feelings for Wren and his knowledge of her character have him convinced she is not his enemy. 

Readers will identify with Oak’s desperation for peace as well as his struggles with being a people pleaser. He is undeniably a teenage boy, complete with an overprotective mother and a tad too much angst over whether he is truly known or loved. Wren is less present in this book, but her wintry demeanor is as endearing as it was in The Stolen Heir, and her relationship with Oak retains its innocent, wistful heartbeat. The greatest charm of The Prisoner’s Throne is in the secrets that Oak must unravel, from hidden motives to conspiracies to “straightforward” questions with complicated answers. If you’ve known Oak since his Folk of the Air days, he is no longer a little prince—this is as much a coming-of-age story as it is a saga of magic and mischief.

For fans of Oak and Suren, The Prisoner’s Throne is a fraught and fitting conclusion to their tangled, wild adventures. Fans of Jude and Cardan from the first series: You will not be disappointed.

Holly Black captivated legions—and we mean legions—of fans with the Folk of the Air series, then she whisked them away once more to Elfhame with the Stolen Heir duology. The Prisoner’s Throne picks up where The Stolen Heir left off, switching to Prince Oak’s perspective as he struggles through the explosive consequences of his journey north with Wren. Audience favorites Jude and Cardan might just make an appearance.
Children's & YAYA FictionYA

Under This Red Rock

Review by Nicole Brinkley

Since the underground caverns are the only place in her town of East Independence, Ohio, where she doesn’t experience hallucinations, 16-year-old Neely takes a job there as a tour guide. There, she meets Mila, a leggy, confident college kid who leads the cavern tour groups. As Neely seeks peace away from her hereditary mental illness and her brother’s haunting suicide, she is drawn to Mila’s kindness, and the two grow closer, eventually buddying up at the staff party—which, between the weed and the alcohol, Neely doesn’t reliably remember anything about. When she and the other tour guides find Mila murdered in the caverns, Neely’s mind breaks. If Neely can figure out who killed Mila, maybe she can get her hallucinations back under control. Assuming, of course, that Neely isn’t the killer.

Award-winning author Mindy McGinnis’ Under This Red Rock is a gritty, brutal young adult novel that blurs the line between broken imagination and reality.

Readers should be prepared for serious themes, including blunt descriptions of suicide, physical and sexual assault, and animal abuse. Those who prefer their psychological thrillers with a raw edge will find McGinnis’s slow-burn plot and fast-paced writing more than satisfactory. Explorations of drug use, the darker side of Internet culture, and how society abandons poorer folks to struggle alone ground a story that could otherwise feel fantastical firmly in reality. Neely’s position as an unreliable narrator will keep readers guessing, leading to several stomach-dropping twists and an ultimately satisfying conclusion.

Disturbing yet compelling, Under This Red Rock is a must-read for readers of unflinching teen thrillers. Fans of Courtney Summers and Tiffany D. Jackson should pick this one up.

Award-winning author Mindy McGinnis' Under This Red Rock is a gritty, brutal young adult novel that blurs the line between broken imagination and reality.
Children's & YAYA FictionYA

Six Truths and a Lie

Review by Tami Orendain

Every year, Muslim students from different Los Angeles high schools celebrate Independence Day together at Monarch Beach. But this year, while everyone’s waiting for the fireworks, an offshore explosion detonates, destroying the beach, injuring many and even causing death. Police detain six Muslim teenagers at the scene, calling it terrorism. Samia, Nasreen, Qays, Muzhda, Abdullahi and Zamzam are caught in a court case that seems stacked against them, and proving their innocence might mean giving up personal secrets from that night. Can they work together to find the truth? Who can they really trust?

Six Truths and a Lie is a powerful examination of modern justice. The story unfolds from six different points of view, in a dizzying experience that sets up heart-racing tension from the very beginning. As the large cast of characters reveal bits and pieces of the truth, the reader—like the teenagers—must figure out how everything fits together.

The suspects are determined to defend their innocence, at the risk of revealing their true whereabouts and intentions on the night in question. Their dreams and dignity are threatened by accusations of terrorism, and the authorities seem determined to take everything from them.

Ultimately, each teenager just wants to walk free. But Six Truths and a Lie forces them, and readers, to reconsider: What does freedom really mean? And what are you willing to sacrifice, for even just a piece of it? The book holds a mirror up to our modern world and asks us to acknowledge how racism and prejudice still plague our legal system and our everyday interactions—and how our preconceived notions of people can mislead us.

Harrowing and heartbreaking, Six Truths and Lie sheds light on the uncomfortable truth that justice is not blind, while demonstrating the inspiring bravery of those who fight for true justice, no matter what it costs.

Harrowing and heartbreaking, Six Truths and a Lie sheds light on the uncomfortable truth that justice is not blind, while demonstrating the inspiring bravery of those who fight for true justice.
Children's & YAYA FictionYA

No Going Back

Review by Sara Beth West

To grab a young reader’s attention, a book often needs to combine the familiar and the outrageous. Patrick Flores-Scott deftly employs this equation. In No Going Back, he introduces readers to Antonio Echeverria Sullivan on the morning he’s released on parole. After 18 months at Zephyr Woods Detention Center, Antonio has gotten sober and is ready to make amends to those he has harmed, particularly his mom and his best friend, Maya. The conditions of his parole are strict but manageable—even the part about having zero contact with his dad. 

No Going Back opens with a “Dear Reader” letter from Antonio, where he explains what’s about to unfold: the “whole honest-to-God true tale of the seventy-two hours after my release . . . including the improbable and gripping encounter with the same stolen money that got me stuck in Zephyr in the first place.” Teen readers will be compelled by how Antonio navigates returning to a home and a life that looks completely different. The book alternates between short narrative chapters (each with a day and timestamp at its heading) and free verse poems from Antonio’s perspective that describe his relatively happy childhood as well as his father’s alcoholism and abuse. The fast pace of the book will keep readers engaged as they bounce between the present and the past, learning more about Antonio. Eventually, the story accelerates into the thrilling, leaving readers wondering how Antonio might escape from a dangerous situation. Antonio’s voice is inconsistent at times, but the energy of his story will sweep interested readers along, and they will sympathize with his desire to become the person he knows he can be throughout this novel focused on friendship, loyalty and redemption.

The energy of No Going Back will sweep readers along, and they will sympathize with Antonio’s desire to become the person he knows he can be throughout this novel focused on friendship, loyalty and redemption.
Children's & YAYA FictionYA

Kindling

Review by Sara Beth West

A successful fantasy plunges readers into a world that feels removed from the ordinary, while still maintaining a familiarity or unexpected resonance. National Book Award finalist Traci Chee’s Kindling does exactly that as it takes readers into an unknown world ravaged by a war in which “kindlings”—teenage warriors trained since childhood to wield a dangerous magic—were deployed as an ultimate weapon, but always at a cost. Even if they survived the fighting, using their magic resulted in an early death by “burning out.”

The book opens after the war has ended, and kindling magic is taboo. This dramatic postwar shift means former kindlings can move on with their lives, but having known nothing but fighting and death, many are unable to find purpose and drift through the world as outsiders. However, formal peace doesn’t mean an absence of violence, and a threat on her village leads Tana to seek help from Amity, a powerful and influential kindling formerly known as a Deathbringer. Amity agrees and works to assemble a team of kindlings, all women or nonbinary, all carrying the trauma of their past battles and the uncertainty of their futures.

Chapters alternate between the eight main characters’ individual perspectives. Chee makes an unconventional choice in constructing the whole novel in the secondperson, referring to each character as “you.” This structure takes some getting used to, as does distinguishing the different characters who, while distinct, have much in common as well. Inspired by ensemble films such as Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, Kindling thoroughly reimagines the multi-voice story and offers readers something surprising.

Inspired by ensemble films such as Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven, Kindling thoroughly reimagines the multi-voice story and offers readers something surprising.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

Was it a Cat I Saw?

Review by Deborah Hopkinson

The title of Laura Bontje’s playful picture book is a palindrome sentence that can be read forward or backward. Palindromes are something that Hannah, protagonist of the delightful Was It a Cat I Saw?, loves: As Bontje tells us, “Anything Hannah could do forwards, she could do backwards too.” Hannah likes palindromes so much that she not only sees them everywhere—she also speaks in them.

Hannah is mostly alone in her palindrome-filled world until she meets a boy who has lost his cat. The feline’s name is Otto, of course! As they search their neighborhood for the missing feline, Hannah finds that her new friend appreciates wordplay just as much as she does. After meeting a variety of people and pets along the way, the two do find Otto, but it then turns out they’ve strayed so far from home that they’ve become lost. Never fear, though: Hannah has a trick up her sleeve to get them home safe and sound. (Astute readers may be able to pick up on the clues that reveal Otto’s journey—and the children’s way home.) Once back home, Hannah finds out her new friend’s name, in a final surprise for readers.

Each palindrome word or phrase is bolded, enabling young readers to easily identify them. Illustrator Emma Lidia Squillari’s muted palette includes gentle pinks, greens and yellows, giving the illustrations a traditional, retro feel. While the two main characters are white, there is some diversity presented in the children and families they encounter on their adventure.

Picture books encouraging wordplay make for fun read-alouds for the preschool crowd, and Was It a Cat I Saw? is an excellent choice for either the home or classroom. Even older readers who consider themselves beyond picture books may still be inspired to follow Hannah and start looking for palindromes everywhere they go.

Picture books encouraging wordplay make for fun read-alouds, and Was It a Cat I Saw? is an excellent, inspiring choice for either the home or classroom.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

The Book That Almost Rhymed

Review by Sara Beth West

With bold, cartoon-style art by illustrator Hatem Aly and delicious rhyming patterns by Omar Abed, The Book That Almost Rhymed (Dial, $18.99, 9780593406380) will immediately grab the eyes and ears of young readers and their caregivers. This picture book is a pure delight, sure to be a huge success at storytimes and bedtimes alike.

In rollicking iambic couplets, The Book That Almost Rhymed tells the story of a young writer proud to read his work aloud until his sister interrupts to alter every perfectly crafted rhyme. For example, what starts with “She ruined every rhyming verse, / so now my story sounds much—” concludes, thanks to his sister, with “MORE MAGNIFICENT!” Each time, the protagonist bravely soldiers on, adapting to the changes and keeping his cool, while Aly’s illustrations adjust accordingly in eclectic and exciting elements ways.

Despite the complexity of their design and the intricacies of layering digital illustrations, Aly keeps the illustrations visually simple and reminiscent of a child’s drawings. Because the rhymes are so tidy, young readers will easily be able to anticipate most of the originally intended rhyming words, which makes it even more fun when the page turns and the sister’s unexpected alterations arrive. Near the end, as the siblings prepare to face their biggest foe yet, the rhymes build the tension beautifully: “At last! They reached the treasure chest, / but something blocked them from their quest—/ the fiercest beast you could imagine! / A vicious, fire-breathing—” but instead of the expected “dragon,” the page turn reveals a surprise certain to result in peals of laughter.

As clever as every line of this book is, perhaps the most impressive part is how Abed blends the frustrations and responsibilities that come with having a younger sibling with immensely creative wordplay, especially as the ending reveals that the sister’s additions weren’t quite as random as they first seemed. In a perfect combination of pictures and text, the siblings work together to save the day, reminding us all of the power of collaboration and spontaneity.

Omar Abed blends the frustrations and responsibilities that come with having a younger sibling with immensely creative wordplay, perfectly matched by Hatem Aly’s exciting, intricate illustrations.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

The Shadow and the Ghost

Review by Callie Ann Starkey

Each night, while the other ghosts are out haunting, Shinbi chooses to instead make tiny flower bouquets and look at the constellations from a rock that makes for a perfect viewing spot. One night she sees a shooting star and decides to follow it. As she chases, she makes a wish: Shinbi wants a friend. When she returns to her rock, she discovers that someone has left a message: “Hi.” Shinbi leaves a note in return: “Are you a ghost too?”

When the light of day arrives, the rock’s shadow stretches on the ground and opens his eyes. Upon finding Shinbi’s response, he quickly writes on a leaf, “I’m Greem. I am a shadow cast from this rock.” 

And so an unlikely friendship begins. Each night, Shinbi leaves a gift or note for Greem. Each day, Greem leaves a gift or note for Shinbi. As their friendship grows, these two friends wish for a way they could finally meet. 

Written and illustrated by Cat Min, The Shadow and the Ghost (Levine Querido, $18.99, 9781646143689) is a heartwarming tale of an unlikely pair doing whatever it takes to make their friendship work. With colored pencil sketching and watercolors, bright and vivid illustrations bring these sweet characters to life. Though Shinbi and Greem have simple designs, Min is able to give both of them personality and expression on every page. Multiple wordless spreads highlight the shifting colors of the sky as time passes, culminating in the friends coming together during a night illuminated with rich and vibrant shooting stars. 

Children will love watching this unlikely friendship bloom, and readers of all ages will enjoy pondering the creative ways friends find to connect. May Shinbi and Greem inspire us all to look up to the stars and wonder who else might be looking at the same sky. Just wish on a star and you might find out!

Cat Min brings two sweet characters to life in The Shadow and the Ghost, a heartwarming tale of an unlikely pair doing whatever it takes to make their friendship work.
Children's & YAPicture BookChildren's

Animal Albums from A to Z

Review by Julie Danielson

Cece Bell’s laugh-out-loud-funny Animal Albums From A to Z kicks off with a note about how she loves “finding and acquiring old albums, especially those created by animal musicians.” She then proceeds to present with wholehearted dedication and sincerity her collection of (fictional) animal record albums, starting with an armadillo on an accordion and ending with zebras playing zydeco.

In order from A to Z, the recto of each spread features a brilliantly composed album cover with rich colors, indelible characters and track listings, which offer song titles that alone hint at eccentric and enchanting settings and characters beyond what’s featured in the book. 

Lyrics for one song from each album are printed on the verso, and every set is a world of its own containing vivid characters, bizarre story lines and plenty of humor. There’s the armadillo with an “aromatic armpit”; the dramatic love triangle of Bud, Betty and Brad in the form of a barbershop tune sung by beagles; a “teeny tiny teacup toad”; and much more. It’s fortunate that the lyrics to “Whoa, That Weevil Is Weird,” which tell the story of Miss Tanya, who can juggle two fleas and a pea, make the cut for this collection. Expect giggles: Readers will struggle to keep a straight face during lyrics for songs like “Dare I Suggest a Different Deodorant” by Darryl and the Dodo Devilettes; “Edith’s Ensemble Is So Embarrassing” by Ella Fontaine; and “Our Umpire’s Out with an Ulcer” by Ursula Umbrellabird. 

Bell, who received a Newbery Honor for El Deafo, a graphic novel memoir about her hearing loss, demonstrates here that music is for everyone. She covers a wide range of genres: Western swing, surf music, rockabilly, jazz, folk and lots more. Backmatter includes biographies for each animal artist and a QR code that takes fans to recordings of the songs. Animal Albums, which will surely go down as one of the year’s top picture books, is the best kind of weird and wonderful—from A to Z.

Featuring songs with vivid characters, bizarre storylines and plenty of humor, Animal Albums from A to Z is the best kind of weird and wonderful.

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