“I could understand anything, under the right circumstances and for the right person. It was both a strength and a weakness.” – Katie Kitamura, Intimacies
Audition by Katie Kitamura ★
fiction.
Two people meet for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant. She’s an accomplished actress in rehearsals for an upcoming premiere. He’s attractive, troubling, young—young enough to be her son. Who is he to her, and who is she to him? In this compulsively readable, brilliantly constructed novel, two competing narratives unspool, rewriting our understanding of the roles we play every day – partner, parent, creator, muse – and the truths every performance masks, especially from those who think they know us most intimately.
Taut and hypnotic, Audition is Katie Kitamura at her virtuosic best.
“…taut and alluring… a complex and engrossing portrayal of her characters’ blurry boundaries. Readers won’t be able to put this down.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“In this searing, chilly, and psychologically profound story lies insight into some harrowing human questions.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] blisteringly incisive, coolly devastating tour de force of controlled menace… [Kitamura] writes sentences that glitter with steely power and produces fiction of uncommon psychological nuance… a radically disquieting and eerily unnerving meditation on the nature of identity and the construction of selfhood… Bold, stark, genre-bending, Audition will haunt your dreams.” – Priscilla Gilman, Boston Globe
“In Kitamura’s fictional universe, everyone is always watching and being watched, and adapting their behavior to fit the expectations of others. Even in our most intimate moments, this novel suggests, we are always onstage… In her spare, cerebral novels, Kitamura reveals how much lies beneath the surfaces of our bodies and our sentences, and how much about one another we cannot know. ” – Maggie Doherty, The New Republic
Authority: Essays by Andrea Long Chu
nonfiction / essays.
Since her canonical 2017 essay “On Liking Women,” the Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Andrea Long Chu has established herself as a public intellectual straight out of the 1960s. With devastating wit and polemical clarity, she defies the imperative to leave politics out of art, instead modeling how the left might brave the culture wars without throwing in with the cynics and doomsayers. Authority brings together Chu’s critical work across a wide range of media—novels, television, theater, video games—as well as an acclaimed tetralogy of literary essays first published in n+1. Chu places The Phantom of the Opera within a centuries-old conflict between music and drama; questions the enduring habit of reading Octavia Butler’s science fiction as a parable of slavery; and charges fellow critics like Maggie Nelson and Zadie Smith with a complacent humanism.
Criticism today is having a crisis of authority—but so says every generation of critics. In two magisterial new essays, Chu offers a revised intellectual history of this perennial crisis, tracing the surprisingly political contours of criticism from its origins in the Enlightenment to our present age of social media. Rather than succumbing to an endless cycle of trumped-up emergencies, Authority makes a compelling case for how to do criticism in light of the genuine crises, from authoritarianism to genocide, that confront us today.
“Chu is provocative, disruptive and very funny, and her criticism is as blistering as it is well-informed… Authority is what it looks like to take nothing for granted, even the books you love and the movies you don’t understand why you love, and to continually ask the hard questions.” – Cat Acree, BookPage, STARRED REVIEW
“…brilliant… Intellectually rigorous and lucidly argued, this affirms Chu’s status as one of the most incisive critics working today.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Chu is an insightful writer with a sharp eye and little tolerance for hypocrisy. This is a sparkling read, timely and relevant.” – June Sawyers, Booklist
Cold Eternity by S.A. Barnes
fiction / horror / science fiction / suspense / mystery.
Halley is on the run from an interplanetary political scandal that has put a huge target on her back. She heads for what seems like the perfect place to lay low: a gigantic space barge storing the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth’s most fortunate citizens from more than a century ago…
The cryo program, created by trillionaire tech genius Zale Winfeld, is long defunct, and the AI hologram “hosts,” ghoulishly created in the likeness of Winfeld’s three adult children, are glitchy. The ship feels like a crypt, and the isolation gets to Halley almost immediately. She starts to see figures crawling in the hallways, and there’s a constant scraping, slithering, and rattling echoing in the vents.
It’s not long before Halley realizes she may have gotten herself trapped in an even more dangerous situation than the one she was running from…
“Readers won’t want to put down Barnes’ latest sf–horror hybrid.” – Carrie Rasak, Booklist
“…chilling… The suspense builds to a fever pitch as Halley begins questioning her sanity. Barnes also paints a believable, if bleak, portrait of the state of humanity several centuries from now, which adds to the terror of the events unfolding within the novel. It’s not for the faint of heart.” – Publishers Weekly
“Barnes is skilled at recognizing what readers will expect and manipulating their hypotheses born from consuming countless horror stories. The twists will have them wondering if this is akin to Alien, Midnight Mass, The Others, or anything in between. Theorizing is a delight, even as each guess is ravaged… Space horror at its most entertaining… atmospheric chills and visceral horrors [in] one of literature’s creepiest horror settings.” – Matthew Galloway, Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
The Determined Spy: The Turbulent Life and Times of CIA Pioneer Frank Wisner by Douglas Waller
nonfiction / biography / history.
Frank Wisner was one of the most powerful men in 1950s Washington, though few knew it. Reporting directly to senior U.S. officials–his work largely hidden from Congress and the public– Wisner masterminded some of the CIA’s most daring and controversial operations in the early years of the Cold War, commanding thousands of clandestine agents around the world.
Following an early career marked by exciting escapades as a key World War II spy under General William “Wild Bill” Donovan, Wisner quickly rose through the postwar intelligence ranks to lead a newly created top-secret unit tasked–under little oversight–with overseeing massive propaganda, economic warfare, sabotage, subversion, and guerrilla operations all over the world, including such daring initiatives as the CIA-backed coups in Iran and Guatemala.
But simultaneously, Wisner faced a demon few at the time understood: bipolar disorder. When this debilitating disease resulted in his breakdown and transfer to a mental hospital, the repercussions were felt throughout Washington’s highest levels of power.
Waller’s sensitive and exhaustively researched biography is the riveting story of both Frank Wisner as a national figure who inspired a cadre of future CIA secret warriors, and also an intimate and empathetic portrait of a man whose harrowing struggle with bipolar disorder makes his impressive accomplishments on the world stage even more remarkable.
“[A] sweeping, immersive, and full-bodied study… Waller’s fine volume ultimately asks and goes a long way in answering the question to what end, and at what cost?” – Alan Moores, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“A revealing look at the early history of a spy agency with a decidedly checkered past.” – Kirkus Reviews
“With its richly detailed historical context, this biography will entertain readers seeking a deeper understanding of the Cold War era.” – Lawrence Mello, Library Journal
Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory ★
fiction / romance.
Avery Jensen is almost thirty, fresh off a breakup, and she’s tired of always being so uptight and well-behaved. She wants to get a hobby, date around (especially women), flirt with everyone she sees, wear something not from the business casual section of her closet—all the fun stuff normal people do in their twenties. One problem: Avery doesn’t know where to start. She doesn’t have a lot of dating experience, with men or women, and despite being self-assured at work, she doesn’t have a lot of confidence when it comes to romance.
Enter Taylor Cameron, Napa Valley’s biggest flirt and champion heartbreaker. Taylor just broke up with her most recent girlfriend, and her best friend bet her that she can’t make it until Labor Day without sleeping with someone. (Two whole months? Without sex? Taylor?!?!) So, she offers to give Avery flirting lessons. It should keep her busy and stop her from texting people she shouldn’t. And it might take her mind off how inadequate she feels compared to her friends, who all seem much more settled and adult than Taylor.
At first, Avery is stiff and nervous, but Taylor is patient and encouraging, and soon, Avery looks forward to their weekly lessons. With Taylor’s help, Avery finally has the life she always wanted. The only issue is: now she wants Taylor. Their attraction becomes impossible to ignore, despite them both insisting to themselves and everyone else that it isn’t serious. When Taylor is forced to confront her feelings for Avery, she doesn’t know what to do—and most importantly, if she’s already ruined the best thing she’s ever had.
“…genuinely innovative, heart-pumping, and swoonily romantic…” – Emma Specter, Vogue
“Guillory delivers a well-written, satisfying sapphic romance.” – Sierra Wilson, Library Journal
“Best-selling Guillory’s sexy-sweet, opposites-attract, friends-to-lovers romance, enriched with found-family vibes, is an absolute delight.” – Diana Tixier Herald, Booklist
“I tore through this delicious, will-they-or-won’t-they romance in a single weekend. If you love heartwarming, sexy reads filled with relatable, loveable characters, Flirting Lessons will grab you, instantly.” – Tia Williams, People
The Float Test by Lynn Steger Strong
fiction.
The Kenner siblings are at odds. Jenn is a harried mom struggling under the weight of family obligations. Fred is a novelist who can’t write, maybe because she’s lost faith in storytelling itself. Jude is a recovering corporate lawyer with her own story to tell, and a grudge against her former favorite sister, Fred. George, the baby, is estranged from his wife and harboring both a secret about his former employer and an ill-advised crush on one of his sisters’ friends. Gathered after a major loss, each sibling needs the others more than ever—if only they could trust each other.
A family story is, of course, only as honest as the person telling it. This family story in particular is fraught with secrets about kids and sex and jobs and why the Kenner matriarch had a gun in her underwear drawer. The biggest secret of all though is the secret of what happened between Jude and Fred to create such a rift between the two once-close middle sisters. Over the course of a sweltering Florida summer, the Kenner siblings will revisit what it means to be a family and, if they are smart and kind and lucky, come out on the other side better for having each other.
A rich exploration of family, ambition, secrets, and love, The Float Test is an elegant and gripping testament to the power that family has to both nurture and destroy us from a critically acclaimed writer working at the top of her craft.
“The Float Test is a family drama at its finest.” – Town & Country
“…remarkable… Not only does the story yield a fascinating meditation on the nature of fiction, but it exhibits profound empathy for each of the characters. This is Strong’s best yet.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Strong maintains her position as queen of the quietly devastating novel with her latest offering… [we] are gifted with a kind of literary puzzle in which one has the task of untangling the highs and lows of each relationship to determine where it all went wrong for this family. The Float Test is a novel readers will become fully engaged with.” – Enobong Tommelleo, Booklist
The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner
fiction.
Cassie and Zoe Grossberg were thrust into the spotlight as The Griffin Sisters, a pop duo that defined the aughts. Together, they skyrocketed to the top, gracing MTV, SNL, and the cover of Rolling Stone. Cassie, a musical genius who never felt at ease in her own skin, preferred to stay in the shadows. Zoe, full of confidence and craving fame, lived for the stage. But fame has a price, and after one turbulent year, the band abruptly broke up.
Now, two decades later, the sisters couldn’t be further apart. Zoe is a suburban mom warning her daughter Cherry to avoid the spotlight, while Cassie has disappeared from public life entirely. But when Cherry begins unearthing the truth behind their breathtaking rise and infamous breakup, long-buried secrets surface, forcing all three women to confront their choices, their desires, and their complicated bonds.
With richly developed characters, a nostalgic nod to the pop culture of the 2000s, and a resonant tale of ambition, forgiveness, and family, The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits will captivate readers from the first note to the final encore. Whether you’ve followed Jennifer Weiner for years or are discovering her for the first time, this book is a must-read for music lovers, fans of sisterly dramas, and anyone who cherishes a great story of second chances.
“[A] dazzling story of sisterhood, stardom, and buried secrets…” – Isabelle McConville, B&N Reads
“Weiner is at her best when she’s writing about sisters, and her latest features a memorable pair… page-turning and heartbreaking… an irresistible, multigenerational tale from a master of her craft.” – Susan Maguire, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“…irresistible… breathes new life into the love triangle trope and offers a nuanced view of sisterhood’s complexities. Weiner’s fans will be delighted.” – Publishers Weekly
Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
fiction / historical fiction.
Nikki hasn’t seen her grandmother in years. So when the elder calls out of the blue with an urgent request for Nikki to visit her in the hills of western North Carolina, Nikki hesitates only for a moment. After years of silence in her family, due to a mysterious estrangement between her mother and grandmother, she’s determined to learn the truth while she still can.
But instead of answers about the recent past, Mother Rita tells Nikki an incredible story of a kingdom on this very mountain, and of her great-great-great grandmother, Luella, who would become its queen.
It sounds like the makings of a fairy tale—royalty among a community of freed people. But the more Nikki learns about the Kingdom of the Happy Land, and the lives of those who dwelled in the ruins she discovers in the woods, the more she realizes how much of her identity and her family’s secrets are wrapped up in these hills. Because this land is their legacy, and it will be up to her to protect it before it, like so much else, is stolen away.
Inspired by true events, Happy Land is a transporting multi-generational novel about the stories that shape us and the dazzling courage it takes to dream.
“[An] intergenerational epic with urgent contemporary stakes… Replete with confounding human dilemmas, intricately nuanced characters, and startlingly original romance, this intimate family drama subtly weaves into a national indictment of ongoing predatory property law and the history of Black land loss.” – Charley Burlock, Oprah Daily
“This is a lyrical and unique work of historical fiction. The Kingdom is based on a real place about which readers will want to know more after reading Perkins-Valdez’s novel. Fans of hidden-history narratives will enjoy her hopeful, empowering tale.” – Kristen Stewart, Library Journal
“…exquisite… a beautifully rendered depiction of a lost world, one that gains even more power as Nikki comes to terms with the struggles her ancestors faced and the truth about her family’s recent discord. Readers will be deeply satisfied.” – Publishers Weekly
The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer
fiction / mystery / historical fiction.
How do you find something that doesn’t exist?
1926. On the cliffs of Yorkshire, men are lowered on ropes to steal the eggs of the sea birds who nest there. The most beautiful are sold for large sums. A small girl—penniless and neglected by her family—retrieves one such treasure. Its discovery will forever alter the course of her life.
A century later. In a remote cottage in Wales, Patrick Fort finds his friend, Nick, and his mother tied up and robbed. The only thing missing: a carved case containing an incredible scarlet egg. Doggedly attempting to retrieve it, Patrick and Nick discover the cruel world of egg trafficking, and soon find themselves on the trail of a priceless collection of eggs lost to history. Until now.
A taut, wonderfully imagined novel brimming with skullduggery at every turn, The Impossible Thing is a blazing testament to Belinda Bauer’s status as one of our greatest living crime writers.
“Bauer tugs at the heartstrings in this extraordinary literary mystery… Bauer’s deep empathy—for both her human characters and for the birds whose nests are looted—elevates the immersive and unpredictable plot. It’s another winner from an impressively versatile writer.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Succeeds not only in its intricately balanced plot, but also in its emotional weight.” – Kirkus Reviews
“The Impossible Thing is the can’t-miss book you’ve been waiting for… Belinda Bauer’s 10th novel is a pure pleasure machine, all the moving parts of which are designed to delight.” – Chris Hewitt, Minneapolis Star Tribune
John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie
nonfiction / biography / history / music.
The Beatles shook the world to its core in the 1960’s and, to this day, new generations continue to fall in love with their songs and their story. At the heart of this phenomenon lies the dynamic between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Few other musical partnerships have been rooted in such a deep, intense and complicated personal relationship.
John and Paul’s relationship was defined by its complexity: compulsive, tender and tempestuous; full of longing, riven by jealousy. Like the band, their relationship was always in motion, never in equilibrium for long. John & Paul traces its twists and turns and reveals how these shifts manifested themselves in the music. The two of them shared a private language, rooted in the stories, comedy and songs they both loved as teenagers, and later, in the lyrics of Beatles songs.
In John & Paul, acclaimed writer Ian Leslie uses the songs they wrote to trace the shared journey of these two compelling men before, during, and after The Beatles. Drawing on recently released footage and recordings, Leslie offers us an intimate and insightful new look at two of the greatest icons in music history, and rich insights into the nature of creativity, collaboration, and human intimacy.
“A well-written and touching story of two very different men, their glorious songs, and how they changed the cultural landscape forever.” – June Sawyers, Booklist
“Fans will love this fresh, insightful approach to the band.” – Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] new and more compelling image of the Lennon-McCartney relationship. This fascinating book will be a hit among music fans…” – Brett Rohlwing, Library Journal
The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose
fiction / mystery / suspense / romance / historical fiction.
Molly Gray’s life is about to change in ways she could never have imagined. As the esteemed Head Maid and Special Events Manager of the Regency Grand Hotel, two good things are just around the corner—a taping of the hit antiquities TV show Hidden Treasures and, even more exciting, her wedding to Juan Manuel.
When Molly brings in some old trinkets to be appraised on the show, one item is revealed to be a rare and coveted artifact worth millions. Molly becomes a rags-to-riches sensation, and a media frenzy swirls as she prepares to sell her priceless treasure. Then, on auction day, the treasure suddenly vanishes, and Molly and her friends find themselves at the center of the boldest art heist in recent memory.
But the key to this mystery lies in the past, in a long-forgotten diary written by Molly’s Gran. For the first time ever, Molly learns about her grandmother’s secrets: how she was born into a wealthy family and fell head-over-heels in love with a young man her parents deemed below her. As fate would have it, Gran’s greatest love was someone Molly knows quite well.
A spirited heist caper and an epic love story, The Maid’s Secret is a spell-binding whodunit that will capture your heart.
“…wonderful… The perfectly timed reveals in each story line complement each other, and Prose seamlessly integrates the tones of 1950s melodrama and zany contemporary caper. Energetic and full of heart, this proves that Prose’s series deserves a long run.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] gripping sequel that not only delivers on suspense but also deals with the emotional tapestry of love and legacy… Prose gives us a captivating story of high-stakes intrigue and heartfelt storytelling that makes every page worth savoring.” – Justin Soderberg, Capes & Tights
The Matchmaker by Aisha Saeed
fiction / mystery / romance / suspense.
Business has never been better for Nura Khan, a third-generation matchmaker in Atlanta. Her exclusive clientele benefits from her impeccable track record. And while a single thirty-one-year-old matchmaker would normally raise some perfectly threaded eyebrows in the community, Nura’s childhood best friend, Azar, is willing to double as her pretend fiancé at her clients’ weddings—even though Nura’s feelings for him might not be so pretend.
But all that glitters isn’t gold. While it’s not uncommon to get the occasional hate mail from rejected prospective clients, Nura is blindsided after a couple’s carefully constructed wedding implodes, the first in a cascading chain of suspicious and increasingly terrifying events. Someone is taking things too far, and with Azar and her matchmaking team by her side, Nura embarks on a dangerous cat-and-mouse game that threatens not only her safety but everything she’s worked so hard to build.
“A warm, winning debut with intelligence and storytelling panache to spare.” – Kirkus Reviews
“This romantic thriller reminds us how dangerous falling in love can be, and how fraught weddings get—not just the worry about a dress mishap or seating chart snafu, but actual sabotage and murder… a fun romp.” – Natalie Zutter, Paste
“Saeed, celebrated for her juvenile novels (such as Amal Unbound), offers a satisfying thriller debut here that’s centered on Nura’s good-hearted tenacity, romantic tension with Azar, and enlightening immersion in Desi culture.” – Christine Tran, Booklist
Mỹ Documents by Kevin Nguyen
fiction.
Ursula, Alvin, Jen, and Duncan grew up as cousins in the sprawling Nguyen family. As young adults, they’re on the precipice of new ventures: Ursula as a budding journalist in Manhattan, Alvin as an engineering intern for Google, Jen as a naïve freshman at NYU, and Duncan as a promising newcomer on his high school football team. Their lives are upended when a series of violent, senseless attacks across America creates a national panic, prompting a government policy that pushes Vietnamese Americans into internment camps. Jen and Duncan are sent with their mother to Camp Tacoma while Ursula and Alvin receive exemptions.
Cut off entirely from the outside world, forced to work jobs they hate, Jen and Duncan try to withstand long, dusty days in camp and acclimate to life without the internet. That is, until Jen discovers a way to get messages to the outside. Her first instinct is to reach out to Ursula, who sees this connection as a chance to tell the world about the horrors of camp—and as an opportunity to bolster her own reporting career in the process.
Informed by real-life events, from Japanese incarceration to the Vietnam War and modern-day immigrant detention, Kevin Nguyen’s novel gives us a version of reality only a few degrees away from our own. Moving and finely attuned to both the brutalities and mundanities of racism, Mỹ Documents is a strangely funny and touching portrait of American ambition, fear, and family. The story of the Nguyens is one of resilience and how we return to one another, and to ourselves, after tragedy.
“Mỹ Documents portrays a vision of the country that is distressing in its realism, a memorable, unsettling reminder that both the conditions we allow and the ways in which we resist are crucial sides of the American story.” – Sydney Hankin, BookPage
“[A] trenchant and quick-witted exploration of racism, ambition, and family ties.” – Vanity Fair
“…intelligent and chilling… This poignant narrative is an emotional roller coaster.” – Publishers Weekly
No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson by Gardiner Harris
nonfiction / history / business / true crime.
One day in 2004, Gardiner Harris, a pharmaceutical reporter for The New York Times, was early for a flight and sat down at an airport bar. He struck up a conversation with the woman on the barstool next to him, who happened to be a drug sales rep for Johnson & Johnson. Her horrific story about unethical sales practices and the devastating impact they’d had on her family fundamentally changed the nature of how Harris would cover the company—and the entire pharmaceutical industry—for the Times. His subsequent investigations and ongoing research since that very first conversation led to this book—a blistering exposé of a trusted American institution and the largest healthcare conglomerate in the world.
Harris takes us light-years away from the company’s image as the child-friendly “baby company” as he uncovers reams of evidence showing decades of deceitful and dangerous corporate practices that have threatened the lives of millions. He covers multiple disasters: lies and cover-ups regarding the link of Johnson’s Baby Powder to cancer, the surprising dangers of Tylenol, a criminal campaign to sell antipsychotics that have cost countless lives, a popular drug used to support cancer patients that actually increases the risk that cancer tumors will grow, and deceptive marketing that accelerated opioid addictions through their product Duragesic (fentanyl) that rival even those of the Sacklers and Purdue Pharma.
Filled with shocking and infuriating but utterly necessary revelations, No More Tears is a landmark work of investigative journalism that lays bare the deeply rooted corruption behind the image of babies bathing with a smile.
“Harris conducts consummate investigative journalism in this gangbuster exposé of the Johnson & Johnson corporation… It is very nearly impossible to believe that this company could be capable of so many layers of deceit and dishonesty, yet that is exactly what Harris lays bare in this masterfully researched title with a narrative akin to a thriller in its intensity. An absolutely unforgettable must-read.” – Colleen Mondor, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Harris supports his takedown with a mountain of evidence and conveys his findings in scorching prose. The result is a masterpiece of muckraking.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“[A] damning portrait… comprehensively reported and researched… Harris’ book provides a valuable history that’s not limited to Johnson & Johnson, and helps for a broader understanding of today’s health care system.” – Andrew DeMillo, Associated Press
Precious Rubbish by Kayla E.
nonfiction / graphic novel / memoir.
“If an exorcism can ever be slow and quiet, then every panel I’ve finished has felt something like an exorcism. The gutters give me space to make sense of things: to connect dots and close gaps. To remember.”
Kayla E.’s Precious Rubbish is an experimental graphic memoir drawn in a style that references the aesthetics of mid-century children’s comics and tells the story of a childhood shaped by maternal emotional dysregulation, rural poverty, and incest. The author’s childhood is portrayed as a collection of short-form comics and gag panels punctuated by interactive elements like paper dolls, satirical advertisements, games, and puzzles.
While the work is concerned with violence and a particularly Texan brand of Pentecostal fanaticism, it is presented in a playful visual language with a deadpan humor that elevates the material beyond mere graphic memoir. Precious Rubbish is a landmark work of comics storytelling and graphic medicine.
The debut graphic novel from artist Kayla E., Precious Rubbish asks the reader to do the extratextual work of filling out narrative gaps, which mirrors the challenge of trauma recollection. The reader is invited to co-labor in the meaning-making process, an exercise that facilitates an intimacy (between the author, the subject, and the reader) that is at once horrifying and hilarious.
“…unflinching… disarming and disturbing… Kayla E. uses her medium to striking effect: her wry portrait reveals a fresh eye, at once vulnerable and undaunted.” – Françoise Mouly & Genevieve Bormes, The New Yorker
“In this fierce and fabulous debut, book designer and indie cartoonist Kayla E. reconfigures the impersonal visual language of 20th-century commercial art into the harrowing, deeply personal story of her traumatic childhood… This four-color atomic bomb of a comic signals the arrival of a formidable talent.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
“Texas-born, Harvard-educated artist Kayla E.’s uniquely unconventional, hauntingly shocking debut graphic memoir is reminiscent of a complicated mosaic that’s missing pieces but has been filled in with unexpected replacements to create a disturbing collage both horrific and beautiful.” – Terry Hong, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
Terrestrial History by Joe Mungo Reed
fiction / science fiction.
Hannah is a fusion scientist working alone at a remote cottage off the coast of Scotland when she sees a figure making his way from the sea. It is a visitor from the future, a young man from a human settlement on Mars, traveling backwards through time to try to make a crucial intervention in the fate of our dying planet, and he needs Hannah’s help. Laboring in the warmth of a Scottish summer, Hannah and the stranger are on the path towards a breakthrough—and then things go terribly wrong. Joe Mungo Reed’s intricately crafted novel expands from this extraordinary event, drawing together the stories of four lives reckoning with what it means to take fate into their own hands, moving from the last days of civilization on Earth through the birth of another on Mars.
Roban lives in the Colony, one of the first generation born to this sterile new outpost, where he is consumed by longing for the lost wonders of a home planet he never knew. Between Hannah and Roban, two generations, a father and a daughter, face an uncertain future in a world that is falling apart. Andrew is a politician running to be Scotland’s First Minister. Andrew believes there is still time for the human spirit to triumph, if only he can persuade people to band together. For his starkly rationalist daughter Kenzie, this idealism doesn’t offer the hard tools needed to keep the rising floods at bay. And so, she signs on to work for a company that would abandon Earth for the promise of a world beyond—in contravention of all Andrew stands for.
In considering which concerns should guide us in a time of crisis—social, technological, or familial—and reckoning with the question of whether there is meaning to be found in the pursuit of salvation beyond success itself, Joe Mungo Reed has written a novel of elegiac wonder and beauty.
“…moving and intelligent… A brilliant exploration of time and the possibilities inherent in any vision of the future, Terrestrial History manages to be both hopeful and devastating, a triumph of climate fiction.” – Sarth Beth West, Shelf Awareness
“Reed makes the epic upheaval of climate change deeply and profoundly personal, driving home the looming tragedy through the plight of these four flawed and achingly human characters. A triumph.” – Kristine Huntley, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“Reed puts his science fiction concepts in the service of intriguing philosophical questions, and the conclusion packs an emotional wallop. Readers of slipstream fiction like Cloud Atlas will find a great deal to enjoy here.” – Publishers Weekly
Their Monstrous Hearts by Yiğit Turhan
fiction / horror / mystery / suspense.
A mysterious stranger shows up at Riccardo’s apartment with some news: his grandmother Perihan has died, and Riccardo has inherited her villa in Milan along with her famed butterfly collection.
The struggling writer is out of options. He’s hoping the change of scenery in Milan will inspire him, and maybe there will be some money to keep him afloat. But Perihan’s house isn’t as opulent as he remembers. The butterflies pinned in their glass cases seem more ominous than artful. Perihan’s group of mysterious old friends is constantly lurking. And there’s something wrong in the greenhouse.
As Riccardo explores the decrepit estate, he stumbles upon Perihan’s diary, which might hold the key to her mysterious death. Or at least give him the inspiration he needs to finish his manuscript.
But he might not survive long enough to write it.
“[A] slow burn with a genuinely horrific ending.” – Stephanie Klose, Booklist
“A well-crafted and rather moving parable about dark bargains and cruel sacrifices.” – Molly Odintz, CrimeReads
“…what begins as a slow-burn gothic fable ventures out of its cocoon as a compelling, suspenseful, and lush grimdark fantasy, completing its metamorphosis with one final twist to emerge as an existentially terrifying tale that will put readers through the emotional wringer.” – Becky Spratford, Library Journal
These Days by Lucy Caldwell
fiction / historical fiction.
April 1941: Belfast has escaped the worst of the Second World War—so far. Over the next two months, it will be so destroyed from above that people will say, in horror, “My God, Belfast is finished.” Many won’t make it through, and those who do will be forever changed.
Living amid the rubble are sisters Emma and Audrey. One is engaged to be married; the other is in a secret relationship with another woman. As the bombs fall, and tomorrow feels further and further away, these young women must grapple with the cultural expectations standing firm around them, and try to seize control of their destinies. After all, Emma thinks, if one is to survive, one must survive for something.
Featuring the voices of the community—from their mother to the wee girl down the road—These Days is a timeless and poignant tale of interrupted girlhood, life under duress, and the struggle to stay true to ourselves. Winner of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Lucy Caldwell’s portrait of the Belfast Blitz is to be cherished.
“Beautiful and poignant, this intimate and vivid portrayal of wartime life shines a light on the personal toll of war while quietly recognizing the resilience and unity of communities under attack. A powerful read and a great selection for book clubs.” – Grace Rosean, Booklist
“[Caldwell] doesn’t describe characters: with great deftness she incarnates them on the page… The eye for detail is sharp and the insight into family, especially parenting, is striking… breathtakingly poignant… The surrealism of wartime violence drifts like smoke from the writing.” – Joseph O’Connor, The Guardian
“In pared-down prose, Caldwell affects a sense of immediacy, showing the surreal and terrifying impact of the early-morning bombings via nightmarish sounds and eerie imagery. Fans of WWII historical fiction will be enthralled.” – Publishers Weekly
To Save and To Destroy: Writing as an Other by Viet Thanh Nguyen
nonfiction / essays / memoir / writing.
Born in war-ravaged Vietnam, Viet Nguyen arrived in the United States as a child refugee in 1975. The Nguyen family would soon move to San Jose, California, where the author grew up, attending UC Berkeley in the aftermath of the shocking murder of Vincent Chin, which shaped the political sensibilities of a new generation of Asian Americans.
The essays here, delivered originally as the prestigious Norton Lectures, proffer a new answer to a classic literary question: What does the outsider mean to literary writing? Over the course of six captivating and moving chapters, Nguyen explores the idea of being an outsider through lenses that are, by turns, literary, historical, political, and familial.
Each piece moves between writers who influenced Nguyen’s craft and weaves in the haunting story of his late mother’s mental illness. Nguyen unfolds the novels and nonfiction of Herman Melville, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ralph Ellison, William Carlos Williams, and Maxine Hong Kingston, until aesthetic theories give way to pressing concerns raised by war and politics. What is a writer’s responsibility in a time of violence? Should we celebrate fiction that gives voice to the voiceless—or do we confront the forces that render millions voiceless in the first place? What are the burdens and pleasures of the “minor” writer in any society? Unsatisfied with the modest inclusion accorded to “model minorities” such as Asian Americans, Nguyen sets the agenda for a more radical and disquieting solidarity with those whose lives have been devastated by imperialism and forever wars.
“A provocative exploration of the writer as storyteller, anthropologist, and knowing outsider.” – Kirkus Reviews
“[An] erudite, crystalline collection… Throughout each lecture, he affectingly weaves his Vietnamese refugee family history and his expansive literary command of the works of dead white men and more empathic ‘at the moment’ writers in order to consider and confront (in)authenticity, being other(ed), Israel’s war on Palestine, being ‘minor,’ and finding joy in otherness.” – Terry Hong, Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
“To Save and to Destroy is true to its didactic roots, it is both patient and challenging, an ode to literature, but also a call to political activation for writers of color. Nguyen urges readers to resist national borders in our analysis of the world, to strive toward solidarity, and to understand that our freedoms depend on it.” – Malavika Kannan, The Emancipator
What to Expect When You’re Dead: An Ancient Tour of Death and the Afterlife by Robert Garland
nonfiction / history / mythology.
A lively story of death, What to Expect When You’re Dead explores the fascinating death-related beliefs and practices of a wide range of ancient cultures and traditions—Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Hindu, Jewish, Zoroastrian, Etruscan, Greek, Roman, Early Christian, and Islamic. By drawing on the latest scholarship on ancient archaeology, art, literature, and funerary inscriptions, Robert Garland invites readers to put themselves in the sandals of ancient peoples and to imagine their mental state moment by moment as they sought—in ways that turn out to be remarkably similar to ours—to assist the dead on their journey to the next world and to understand life’s greatest mystery.
What to Expect When You’re Dead chronicles the ways ancient peoples answered questions such How to achieve a good death and afterlife? What’s the best way to dispose of a body? Do the dead face a postmortem judgement—and where do they end up? Do the dead have bodies in the afterlife—and can they eat, drink, and have sex? And what can the living do to stay on good terms with the nonliving?
Filled with intriguing stories and frequent humor, What to Expect When You’re Dead will be a morbidly delicious treat for every reader alive.
“Your inner goth kid’s gonna want to read this one.” – James Folta, Literary Hub
“[A] lively (pun intended) stroll through the strange, dramatic, and occasionally hilarious ways ancient civilizations prepared for the Great Beyond.” – Classical Wisdom
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