Leading book discovery Vol. 119 No.

16
4/15/23

Spotlight on Spotlight on
Health & Relationship
Wellness Fiction

Focus on
Social-Emotional
Learning
Art from The Hospital Book,
by Lisa Brown.
SPRING INTO READING WITH FRESH
NEW BOOKS FOR ALL AGES!

MʅȔȒȓȌȍȐȋȓȏȋȐȋȔʅ˅ʅ
F.®ʅȎɲȑʅ˅ʅsʅ®
g.ʅȑɐȍȋɐȍȎ
MʅȔȒȓȋȎȒȏȎȌȍȌȒȑʅ˅ʅ
F.®ʅȏɲȓʅ˅ʅsʅ®
g.ʅȐɐȍɐȍȎ
MʅȔȒȓȌȍȐȋȓȎȋȑȍȎʅ˅ʅ
F.®ʅȎɲȑʅ˅ʅsʅ®
g.ʅsÛ

A lettuce who thinks he’s a melting A laugh-out-loud picture book about A young child learns that even
iceberg learns how to cool himself a hare, a bear, and some pie to superheroes hurt too in this
ĔůNjţʅNjŀƪĻʅƪĻěʅĻěŘƓʅůijʅĻŀƞʅijƖŀěţĔƞɐ share—a must-read companion to ĻěðƖƪƖěţĔŀţĴʅƓŀčƪƲƖěʅČůůŕɐ
Jory John’s ®ůšěƪĻŀţĴɼƞʅÛƖůţĴɍ

MʅȔȒȓȋȎȒȏȎȌȎȋȍȔʅ˅ʅ
F.®ʅȌȋɲȌȏʅ˅ʅsʅ®
g.ʅȐɐȎȋɐȍȎ
MʅȔȒȓȌȍȐȋȓȌȋȏȎȏʅ˅ʅ
F.®ʅȓɲȌȍʅ˅ʅsʅ®
g.ʅȓɐȌȐɐȍȎ

MʅȔȒȓȋȎȒȏȎȔȌȎȒȔʅ˅ʅ
F.®ʅȓɲȌȍʅ˅ʅsʅ®
g.ʅȑɐȑɐȍȎ

EƖůšʅ¦ěšǑʅgðŀʅčůšěƞʅðʅţěNjʅ ƓěţʅðʅĔůůƖʅƪůʅƪĻěʅðĔNJěţƪƲƖěʅůijʅ EƖůšʅŀţĔŀěɮƓůƓʅƪNjŀţɮƞŀƞƪěƖʅĔƲůʅ»ěĴðţʅ

contemporary fantasy graphic a lifetime in this stunning debut and Sara comes a middle-grade
ţůNJěŘʅðČůƲƪʅijƖŀěţĔƞĻŀƓɋʅƞðčƖŀȆʅčěɋʅ šŀĔĔŘěɮĴƖðĔěʅijðţƪðƞǑʅƞěƖŀěƞɐ graphic novel that explores growing up,
ðţĔʅƪĻěʅƲţƞěěţʅĴĻůƞƪʅNjůƖŘĔɐ čůšŀţĴʅůƲƪɋʅðţĔʅȆʅţĔŀţĴʅǑůƲƖƞěŘijɐ
MʅȔȒȓȌȍȐȋȓȋȔȒȍȓʅ˅ʅ
F.®ʅȌȏɲȌȓʅ˅ʅsʅ®
g.ʅȑɐȍȋɐȍȎ
MʅȔȒȓȋȎȒȏȎȓȓȓȓȌʅ˅ʅ
F.®ʅȌȍɲȌȓʅ˅ʅsʅ®
g.ʅȐɐȍȎɐȍȎ

MʅȔȒȓȌȍȐȋȓȎȌȌȑȎʅ˅ʅ
F.®ʅȌȏɲȌȓʅ˅ʅsʅ®
g.ʅȐɐȌȑɐȍȎ

A poignant YA novel in verse from A moving YA graphic memoir about Return to a world of scrappy heroines
the author of In the Key of Us, a Vietnamese immigrant boy’s and vengeful gods in this sequel to
ƖěčŀƓŀěţƪʅůijʅƪĻěʅ®ƪůţěNjðŘŘʅMůţůƖɐ ƞěðƖčĻʅijůƖʅČěŘůţĴŀţĴʅŀţʅ
šěƖŀčðɐ qðƖĴðƖěƪʅNjěţɼƞʅgŀƪƪŘěʅ»ĻŀěNJěƞɐ

I M P R I N T S O F M AC M I L L A N C H I L D R E N ’ S P U B L I S H I N G G R O U P M A C K I D S S C H O O L A N D L I B R A RY. C O M
 April 15, 2023
Volume 119, Issue 16
Editor / Publisher Letter from the Editor / George Kendall
George Kendall

T
Editorial & Production Staff
Donna Seaman, Editor, Adult Books
wo weeks ago, our April 1 issue highlighted series nonfiction and a
Susan Maguire, Senior Editor, Collection focus on summer reading (youth) and our annual installment of To
Management and Library Outreach Beach Their Own (adult). Who isn’t looking forward to summer and
Annie Bostrom, Senior Editor, Adult Books perhaps reading at the beach or outside in the sun (or in the shade!)? The
Bill Ott, Contributing Editor, Adult Books
thought brings feelings of joy and connection. So often, for me, reading a
Sarah Hunter, Editor, Books for Youth
Maggie Reagan, Senior Editor, Books powerful book in a new or different setting, especially in nature, links story
for Youth and place, uniting and enhancing memories of both.
Julia Smith, Senior Editor, Books for Youth This issue, featuring spotlights on Health & Wellness and Relationship
Ronny Khuri, Senior Editor, Books for Youth Fiction is, in a world seemingly on the edge, important. The news is
Carolyn Phelan, Contributing Reviewer,
Books for Youth
depressing. War is escalating; the economy is shaky. Unstable social
Heather Booth, Editor, Audio conditions have a way of seeping into consciousness and fostering
Terry Hong, Contributing Reviewer, negativity. That’s why it’s crucial to concentrate on our health and wellness,
Adult, Youth, Audio
on our loved ones, and on developing positive relationships. This is not to
Ben Segedin, Production Director
Carlos Orellana, Senior Production Editor say we should disregard the world around us. It’s vital to do our part and
Michael Ruzicka, Operations Manager help reinforce beneficial change
Chris Anderson, Editorial Assistant where possible. A good example is
Kelly Ferreira, Editorial Assistant our work at Booklist in conjunction On the Cover
Abeje Schnake, Editorial Assistant From The Hospital Book, written
with the American Library and illustrated by Lisa Brown and
Sales & Marketing published by Neal Porter Books/
Association’s Office for Intellectual Holiday House. The Hospital Book
Grace Rosean, Marketing Specialist
Daniel Kaplan, Subscriptions Freedom (OIF). According to OIF appears in this issue’s Top 10 Health &
Wellness Books for Youth. Illustration
Linda Cohen, Advertising Sales, New York data, the 1,269 demands to censor © 2023 by Lisa Brown. Used by
permission of the publisher.
(914-944-0135) library books and resources in
Ryan King, Advertising Sales, Midwest & West 2022 was the highest number of
(773-414-9292)
Cynthia Harden, Ad Traffic
attempted book bans since ALA
Biz Hyzy, Marketing Specialist began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago.
Taylor Crossley, Marketing Coordinator This is why we are part of the #UnitedAgainstBookBans campaign to stop
censorship and find tools to fight for the right to read.
Advisory Board Amid this and other life struggles, a deep focus on self-care is imperative.
Montoya Barker As is so often the case, books are instructive and invaluable. For example,
Crystal Chen
Katie Clausen
Donna Seaman notes in “The Essentials: Women’s Health” that “the time is
Aryssa Damron right for clarifying and empowering books about women’s bodies and well-
Brian Kenney being” (p.16). And, in “When Parents Get Sick” (p.50), Julia Smith explores
Jamie Kurumaji middle-grade novels that take “nuanced looks at kid characters finding
Sara Martínez
Heather-Marie Montilla
inner strength and external support to weather unforeseen health crises.”
Shamika Simpson I’m running out of room and haven’t yet discussed relationship fiction,
Rebecca Vnuk but I can’t express it better than Susan Maguire in “Intergenerational
Printed in USA Relationship Fiction” (p.33): “you can’t go it alone, and there is wisdom to
www.booklistonline.com be had in both youth and age.” Yes, I will read some of Susan’s excellent
Follow us on social: recommendations, perhaps outside, maybe at the beach, or in a park.
Please take care of yourselves and those close to you!

Booklist (ISSN 0006-7385) is published twice monthly September through June and monthly in July and August by the American Library Association (225 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1300, Chicago, IL
60601). Address editorial correspondence to Booklist, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601. Subscriptions: USA and Canada: $174.95 per year; PUAS, and other countries, $209.95.
Single copy $10. Address new subscriptions, renewals, and related correspondence to Booklist, P.O. Box 421027, Palm Coast, FL 32142 (phone: 888-350-0949; fax: 386-447-2321). New orders and
renewals may also be submitted via e-mail: booklist@emailcustomerservice.com. Periodicals postage paid at Chicago, Illinois, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes
to Booklist, P.O. Box 421027, Palm Coast, FL 32142. Copyright © 2023 by American Library Association. All materials in this journal subject to copyright by the American Library Association may
be photocopied for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. For other reprinting, photocopying,
or translating, address requests to George Kendall (gkendall@ala.org). Opinions expressed in Booklist, Book Links, and Booklist Reader columns are those of the author and do not reflect ALA views
unless so stated.
I LIVE BETTER, LONGER, WITH
THE BLUE ZONES LIFESTYLE

978-1-4262-2247-4 978-1-4262-2013-5 978-1-4262-0948-2

978-1-4262-2194-1 978-1-4262-1192-8 978-1-4262-1848-4

AVA I L A B L E W H E R E V E R B O O K S A R E S O L D
NatGeoBooks @NatGeoBooks © 2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC
April 15, 2023
Volume 119, Issue 16
Sections
4 Adult Nonfiction
In This Issue
20 Adult Fiction
35 Graphic Novels
38 Youth Nonfiction
41 Continuing Series Nonfiction
Showcase
53 Youth Fiction
60 Audio

p. 19, 34, 46

Spotlight on Health & Wellness Features

13 New Health & Wellness Books 26 Self-Published Books Showcase
by BlueInk Review
14 Top 10 Health & Wellness Books
39 Carte Blanche
15 Trade Secrets The Best of Times . . . Well, You Know the Rest
A Reproductive Justice Approach to Readers’ Advisory by Michael Cart
by Barbara Alvarez
60 Video Watch
16 The Essentials
Women’s Health 62 Now Hear This
by Donna Seaman Edoardo Ballerini
by Heather Booth
43 New Health & Wellness Books for Youth
64 Booklist Backlist
44 Top 10 Health & Wellness Books for Youth MerMay
45 Trade Secrets by Biz Hyzy
My Secret Weapon
by Shelly McNerney

48 Focus on SEL
50 The Essentials
When Parents Get Sick
by Julia Smith

Spotlight on
Relationship Fiction p. 30, 48, 62
31 New Relationship Fiction
32 Top 10 Relationship Fiction Index to Advertisers
Abrams cover 3
33 The Essentials Bloomsbury 55
HarperCollins cover 4
Intergenerational Relationship Fiction Lerner 47
by Susan Maguire Macmillan cover 2
National Geographic 2
61 Top 10 Relationship Fiction on Audio Pajama 44
Pegasus 5
Rowman & Littlefield 17
Shadow Mountain Publishing 46, 52

Adult Nonfiction
Philosophy & Psychology
Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get
Unstuck When It Matters Most.
By Adam Alter.
May 2023. 320p. Simon & Schuster, $28.99
(9781982182960). 158.1.
Professor of marketing and author Alter
(Irresistible, 2018) wants us to rethink the
way we, as a society, herald success while
often disregarding the struggles it takes to
achieve it. Brie Larson, for example, was
an ambitious actress from the age of six
and faced stinging rejections for years be-
fore winning an Academy Award in 2016.
Airbnb faced skepticism from investors in
its initial years. Amazon operated at a loss
until the end of 2001 and faced hurdles with
getting their shipments delivered on time.
Both companies pushed through creative in-
ertia, hired the right personnel, and became
giants. Alter emphasizes the importance of
people and businesses getting unstuck from
their ruts, even at the risk of failure, making
this a helpful guide to freeing oneself from
the shackles of uncertainty and doubt. Al-
ter also sees examples in Miles Davis, A-ha,
and Doctor Who as he illustrates the power of
persistence, innovation, and pivoting. Alter’s
work will strike a chord with many looking
to break out in their fields. —Philip Zozzaro
Social Sciences
The Bookseller at the End of the World.
By Ruth Shaw.
May 2023. 320p. Allen & Unwin, paper, $18.99
(9781988547756). 381.450.
At first glance, readers might believe
Shaw’s life is common and quaint. She be-
gins by describing her Two Wee Bookshops,
located in Manapouri, New Zealand, and
provides anecdotes about the custom-
ers who pass through. But Shaw’s story is
far more than that of her bookshops. Af-
ter surviving a sexual assault as a teenager,
Shaw became pregnant and had to give up
her son for adoption. She threw herself into
adventure, taking all manner of jobs, from
sailor to gambler to cook and more. Shaw
is unafraid to take risks; she recounts a time
when she “borrowed” a dress from a neigh-
bor’s clothesline because she needed it for
an interview. Anytime she felt restless, she’d
run away, traveling to Papua New Guinea
or Australia. It wasn’t until she was reunited
with Lance, the love of her life in their youth,
that she settled down in Manapouri. Despite
the deep tragedies that Shaw has faced—
including the loss of a second pregnancy
and the dissolution of two marriages—she
maintains a spunky and positive voice, pro-
ducing a delightful and fascinating memoir.
—Cari Dubiel
4 Booklist April 15, 2023
Everybody Come Alive: A Memoir in
Essays.
By Marcie Alvis Walker.
May 2023. 288p. Convergent, $27 (9780593443729).
305.48.
Walker’s debut memoir is a collection of per-
sonal essays about family, faith, and identity.
She explores the pain of being a dark-skinned
African American woman who never felt seen
or experienced the comfort and ease that comes
with belonging. Walker observes that Black
women “pull their weight like a tug-of-war
team against all the heavyweight champs of
the world—Misogyny, Patriarchy, White Su-
premacy, Sexism.” While growing up, she lived
in two different socioeconomic settings, two
worlds ladened with emotional abuse. Dur-
ing the school year, she stayed in an affluent
white neighborhood with her grandparents; in
the summer, she moved back to a Black com-
munity with her mother. Her mother found
inspiration in God and Black culture, but was
constantly tormented by mental illness. Walker
provides lots of quotes throughout her mem-
oir-in-essays about love, Black experiences and
identity, race relations, and religion. Everybody
Come Alive is an appropriate fit for a diversity,
equity, and inclusion book collection, and will
challenge readers to create their own stories by
looking within, considering the people who
shape them, and questioning the world around
them. —Sharon Wyatt
Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 Years of
Wild Experiments Can Teach Us about
the Good Life.
By Kristen R. Ghodsee.
May 2023. 352p. Simon & Schuster, $29.99
(9781982190217). 335.
Most would say a utopian society is some-
thing that sounds like a wonderful but
unattainable dream. Yet many individuals,
cultures, countries, and religious groups have
set out to achieve just that—a perfect world
for humanity. Ghodsee (Red Valkyries, 2022)
outlines experimental communities and ways
of life atypical in the Western world, span-
ning from antiquity to today. The good and
bad, successes and failures of everything from
Pythagoras’ seaside community to modern
cohousing communities to matrilineal and
matrilocal societies both modern and historical
are discussed in depth. Ghodsee extrapolates
the lessons that can be learned from these
experiments and how they could be applied
to modern society in order to achieve a bet-
ter, easier way of life. The text is rounded out
with endnotes, a bibliography, and chapter-
by-chapter reading recommendations, an
invaluable addition for readers seeking more
utopian philosophy and history. Everyday Uto-
pia is perfect for readers interested in utopian
societies, history, and sociology and for those
looking for an uplifting look at what the fu-
ture may hold. —Kathleen Townsend
Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture
from the K-Beauty Capital.
By Elise Hu.
May 2023. 384p. Dutton, $29 (9780593184189). 391.
In her engaging debut, journalist and
podcaster Elise Hu examines the globally
influential K-beauty industry. “I’ve seen the
future,” she writes, “and it is poreless.” Mov-
ing to Seoul in 2015, Hu is overwhelmed by
the time and money South Koreans spend in
pursuit of beauty. Government investment
in K-beauty and medical tourism created a
hugely profitable and innovative industry that
is seamlessly integrated into other Korean cul-
tural exports, like K-pop and K-dramas, all
of which have a profound impact on Korean
ideals. Hu dives into the complex historical
and cultural factors underpinning the indus-
try, revealing a society that equates beauty
with goodness and pressures women and girls
into conforming to a perpetually young and
thin “prototype” with perfect, blemish-free
skin. She also explores the #EscapeTheCorset
movement, which rejects South Korea’s per-
vasive patriarchal culture. Hu skillfully walks
the line between understanding Korean wom-
en’s investment in their looks as “the fear of
being a social outcast” and “a genuine desire
for empowerment.” A well-researched, acces-
sible, and fascinating look at Korean culture
and the beauty industry. —Rebecca Hopman
The Great American Transit Disaster:
A Century of Austerity, Auto-Centric
Planning, and White Flight.
By Nicholas Dagen Bloom.
May 2023. 368p. illus. Univ. of Chicago, $35
(9780226824406). 388.40973.
There has been a steady decline in mass
transit ridership in the U.S., primarily owing
to mounting inconveniences like fare hikes
and service changes, with commuters opting
to drive their own cars instead of taking trains
or buses. Author Bloom cites three factors
leading to the decline of mass transit: austerity
funding (or pay-as-you-go), autocentric plan-
ning, and racist white flight. He examines the
mass transit systems of a variety of cities, such
as Baltimore, Chicago, and New York, and
how they were funded. The success of mass
transit—whether through trains, streetcars, or
buses—depends on more than demographics.
Consistent lifetime funding and planning for
the future are of paramount concern. The cit-
ies that have experienced a transit downturn
need to look to the cities that have succeed-
ed. In this excellent socioeconomic history,
Bloom offers a comprehensive and thought-
YA Recommendations
Adult titles recommended for teens are
marked with the following symbols: YA,
for books of general YA interest; YA/C, for
books with particular curricular value; and
YA/S, for books that will appeal most to
teens with a special interest in a specific
subject.
www.booklistonline.com
provoking account of the rise and fall of U.S.
mass transit, skillfully assessing successes and
stumbles so that we may learn from them and
correct course. —Philip Zozzaro
Lessons Learned and Cherished: The
Teacher Who Changed My Life.
By Deborah Roberts.
May 2023. 192p. Disney/Andscape, $26.99
(9781368095051); e-book (9781368095082). 371.100.
Journalist Roberts presents stories from
famous contributors, including Oprah Win-
frey, Lucy Liu, Rosie Perez, and more, of the
teachers who changed their lives. Educators
faced a multitude of problems before the
pandemic, which made the profession even
more challenging. Between banned books,
staff shortages, and funding woes, educators
need affirming literature that reminds them
how much of a difference they make. Some
essays, like Winfrey’s, are more substantive
and provide a glimpse into the challenges she
faced. The teachers who valued her made her
feel seen and heard and taught her that she
mattered. Others, like Octavia Spencer, share
how they worked through learning disabilities
at a time when the lack of understanding on
these matters derailed many students. Most of
the short essays are uplifting tales that make
a great gift for educators. The book will also
fit well in public library displays celebrating
teachers. Perfect for fans of the show Abbott
Elementary, Lessons Learned and Cherished
spring highlights from
PEGASUS BOOKS
Courting India
by Nandini Das
“Beautifully written
and masterfully
researched, this has
the makings of
a classic.”
—Peter Frankopan
Books Give You Wings
www.booklistonline.com
highlights the pivotal role that educators play
in the lives of countless people. —A. E. Siraki
The T Guide: Our Trans Experiences and
a Celebration of Gender Expression—
Man, Woman, Nonbinary, and Beyond.
By Gigi Gorgeous and Gottmik.
May 2023. 208p. illus. DK, $24.99 (9780744070590).
306.768.
YouTube star Gigi Gorgeous (He Said, She
Said, 2019) and drag performer Gottmik, who
was the first openly trans man to compete on
RuPaul’s Drag Race, collaborated to share “all
the information we wish we had when we were
first starting out.” Before they were coauthors,
they were best friends, which comes across eas-
ily in writing that’s formatted as a conversation
in two-color text (pink for Gigi Gorgeous and
blue for Gottmik). They break the story into
three parts (“Coming Out,” “Transformation,”
and “Your New Life”) with contributions from
the authors’ parents, friends, and role models,
including Adam Lambert, Jazz Jennings, Paris
Hilton, and Sarah McBride. Magnificently
fun photos throughout show Gigi Gorgeous
and Gottmik in high-fashion looks and cozy
poses, in one instance even lounging on car-
toon-giant bottles labeled Testosterone and
Estrogen. Covering the spiritual and emo-
tional sides of transitioning as well as practical
concerns like undergoing surgeries and using
public restrooms, the authors embrace vulner-
ability, their own and readers’, and assure that
Shakespeare’s Book Charleston
by Chris Laoutaris by Susan Crawford
“This is a fascinating,
“Laoutaris is an in-depth, soul-searching
indefatigable look at a beautiful city
researcher and a fine with a dark past and an
prose stylist.” uncertain future.”
—Providence Journal —Laura Trethewey,
author of Imperiled Ocean
they aren’t here to gatekeep. It all adds up to
an accessible, welcoming, and beyond-useful
guide. —Annie Bostrom
YA: Whether as a mirror or a window,
this loving guide has valuable info about
the trans experience to offer every reader.
AB.
Unbroken Chains: The Hidden Role of
Human Trafficking in the American
Economy.
By Melissa Hope Ditmore.
May 2023. 240p. Beacon, $27.95 (9780807006771).
364.1534.
When most Americans hear the phrase hu-
man trafficking, they’re likely to think first
and only of girls and women trafficked into
the sex trade. But the problem of trafficking
is much more extensive. Shrewdly, Ditmore
(Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work,
2006) kicks off her book with the case study
of magazine subscription sales crews, a seem-
ingly aboveboard job that, in fact, is deeply
exploitative and meets the definition of traf-
ficking. It’s an effective reminder of the many
faces human trafficking wears and the many
lives it touches. Ditmore then shares the
stories of people trafficked into agriculture,
domestic labor, manufacturing, and sex work,
and then, in alternating chapters, explores
the histories of exploitation in each of those
industries. Though these historical interludes
emphasize the role of racism and xenophobia
The House of Dudley
by Joanne Paul
“An immensely
entertaining history,
capturing in full
Tudor brilliance the
cut-throat glamour of
the English throne.”
—The Sunday Times (London)
April 15, 2023 Booklist 5
in American labor, they’re of limited useful-
ness in contextualizing today’s trafficking
crisis. Ditmore effectively shows how the stig-
ma of sex work and an unwillingness to listen
to survivors makes it harder for trafficked
workers—including those trafficked into sex
work—to get help. A stirring and compas-
sionate book. —Jenny Hamilton
Who Needs Gay Bars? Bar-Hopping
through America’s Endangered LGBTQ+
Spaces.
By Greggor Mattson.
May 2023. 384p. Redwood, $30 (9781503629202). 301.
Gay bars have long been an essential, if not
central, component of gay life. But as society
evolves and becomes more complicated, and
with it the LGBTQ community, so the bars
have had to evolve as well. Mattson spent
several years visiting gay bars across the U.S.,
researching how LGBTQ communities have
changed and how gay bars have adapted to
those changes, or not. It’s a complex and
sometimes hazardous situation. Frequently,
especially in rural red states, gay bars face
hostility from locals but also serve as the only
refuge for hundreds of miles for LGBTQ
people. But as the gay community has ex-
panded into the LGBTQ community, many
bars have had to accommodate a changing
demographic in order to survive, sometimes
reluctantly. Mattson does his best to survey
as many of the myriad issues as possible,
faced by an equally myriad number of bars
of a dazzling variety. It’s also a personal jour-
ney by the author that many LGBTQ readers
will identify with. —Gary Day
Business
Chained to the Desk in a Hybrid World:
A Guide to Work-Life Balance.
By Bryan E. Robinson.
May 2023. 368p. NYU, paper, $21.95 (9781479818853). 155.2.
The world of work is in flux, as Robinson
is keenly aware. In this updated edition of
Chained to the Desk, he provides insights into
the world of hybrid work and the increasing
pervasiveness of workaholic employees and
bosses. Although slow to be acknowledged
in the psychotherapy community as a seri-
ous health and wellness threat, workaholism
is spreading and taking a toll on the global
workforce. Symptoms include physical health
issues (such as heart attacks) and mental
health challenges (anxiety, depression) that
often mirror those of alcoholism and the
abuse of other addictive substances. Practical
content for identifying and addressing worka-
holic tendencies is directed at both employees
and the therapists who may be treating them.
Resources include survey assessments, “10
Rules of Engagement” for a workaholic cul-
ture, and strategies for shifting to life-balance
and mindfulness. Actions range from “avoid
cabin fever” for those working remotely to the
more abstract challenge of “knowing what is
realistically possible.” This useful book will
6 Booklist April 15, 2023
find a broad audience in both academic and
public library collections. —Val Edwards
Science
The (Big) Year That Flew By: Twelve
Months, Six Continents, and the
Ultimate Birding Record.
By Arjan Dwarshuis.
May 2023. 256p. Chelsea Green, paper, $22.95
(9781645021919); e-book (9781645021926). 598.
A “Big Year” is a personal challenge among
birders who attempt to identify as many spe-
cies of birds as possible by sight or sound
within a single calendar year. In 2016,
Dwarshuis, a Dutch lifelong birder, set out
to break the world record. To give himself
every advantage, he picked a leap year. He
and his team of friends, family, birders, and
guides who joined him along the trek faced
daunting challenges including weather, geo-
political forces, transportation troubles, and
illness. Entries (each with a header indicating
the location and year) bounce around in time
from Dwarshuis’ childhood as a young per-
son bullied for his love of birds to his journal
entries from his global trek. His descriptions
of the exhaustion caused by the never-ending
logistics, ceaseless predawn departure times,
and relentless travel are palpable. As he checks
birds off his list, he fervently conveys informa-
tion about the impact of climate change and
habitat loss and the importance of conserva-
tion. Dwarshuis’ exhilarating race against
time across 40 countries and 6 continents
in his attempt to break the world record will
thrill armchair readers and bird enthusiasts
alike. —Maren Ostergard
Bluebird Seasons: Witnessing Climate
Change in My Place in the Wild.
By Mary Taylor Young.
May 2023. 256p. Chicago Review, paper, $18.99
(9781641608138). 551.6038.
It’s one thing to speculate about the po-
tential effects of climate change. It’s another
to read Young’s memoir that drives home
the point that the crisis has been unfolding
and accelerating in our lifetime. She writes,
“I didn’t set out to become a witness to cli-
mate change. But if I had, I couldn’t have
chosen a piece of land that better represents
the many chapters of the story. Our land tells
the saga of climate change in microcosm—a
century of fossil fuel extraction.” This patch
of land is in the Colorado wilderness, where
the author and her family had decided to
make their home. The plot they chose was
more scrubland than snow-covered moun-
tains. Starting in 1999, Young has observed a
number of phenomena—decreasing popula-
tions of bluebirds, elk, and other species. She
is witness to an increase in wildfires as well as
extreme snowstorms. While the overall thesis
of this book inevitably covers familiar ground,
Young infuses her accessible climate chronicle
with a sense of wonder and a small measure of
hope. —Poornima Apte
The Deadly Balance: Predators and
People in a Crowded World.
By Adam Hart.
May 2023. 368p. Bloomsbury/Sigma, $28 (9781472985361).
591.6.
“Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my!” That
worry, voiced by actors in The Wizard of Oz,
is echoed by biologist Hart in his thoughtful
and thorough presentation of “our relationship
with predatory animals.” As natural habitats
shrink, food is depleted, and contact with
people is more common, causing an increase
in interactions with wildlife resulting in injury
or death. Despite the importance of protecting
endangered species, human safety must be safe-
guarded. Hart formulates strategies to protect
people from predation and to protect animals
from us. The roster of human-eating animals
around the world includes crocodiles, pythons,
cougars, jaguars, coyotes, wolves, leopards, and
of course, lions, tigers, and bears. Poverty plays
a major role in the likelihood of being assailed
by a predatory animal, and official statistics
for fatal attacks on humans are likely under-
estimated. Caution advised: Hart’s accounts
of human predation are tragic and frequently
gory. This study pairs well with Mary Roach’s
Fuzz (2021) and Bethany Brookshire’s Pests
(2022), which are also concerned with human-
wildlife conflict. “Man-eaters” simultaneously
fascinate and frighten us. Both reactions are
appropriate. —Tony Miksanek
The Next Supercontinent: Solving the
Puzzle of a Future Pangea.
By Ross Mitchell.
May 2023. 304p. illus. Univ. of Chicago, $30
(9780226824918). 551.
Locked in rocks, mountains, and oceans
lies evidence of an ancient, active earth. Sub-
duction, plate tectonics, and volcanic activity
continually reshape continents. Approximately
200 million years ago, North America, South
America, Africa, and Europe formed a land-
mass named Pangea. Mitchell, professor at the
Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences, begins with a
look at Pangea while simultaneously reviewing
earth’s structure and mechanics. Scientists gen-
erally agree that several supercontinents formed
during earth’s 4.5 billion-year history. Prior to
the relatively recent Pangea, plates and oceans
undulated, creating the early supercontinent,
Columbia, which eventually fragmented. Mil-
lions of years later, landmasses reshaped into
Rodinia. As Rodinia fractured, the planet
plunged into Snowball Earth, over time reform-
ing again into Pangea. In the future, oceans will
close, and new mountain ranges will emerge.
Tectonic activity will induce extreme climate
conditions that may result in mass extinctions
but could eventually lead to proliferations of
new life. In the final chapters, Mitchell ex-
plores a future 200 million years from now as
landmasses form what becomes earth’s next su-
percontinent. —George Kendall
YA/S: Teens interested in geology and
geophysics will appreciate Mitchell’s
compelling vision and research. GK.
www.booklistonline.com
Ocean Bestiary: Meeting Marine Life
from Abalone to Orca to Zooplankton.
By Richard J. King.
May 2023. 320p. illus. Univ. of Chicago, $22.50
(9780226818030). 591.77.
In medieval times, bestiaries offered beau-
tifully illustrated texts of real or imagined
creatures, accompanied by their natural histo-
ry and moral lessons. In this work, the author
takes a different approach. There are pictures,
but text dominates and focuses on personal
accounts of people who have encountered the
forty marine species detailed here. Through
stories, the reader learns more about the crea-
tures, including parts of their natural history
and how humans have responded to them.
These first-hand accounts come from books,
rare manuscripts, oral histories, interviews,
podcasts, newspapers, archaeological reports,
and more, and include perspectives from John
James Audubon and Christopher Columbus.
Each story is around seven pages, and includes
a few simple, black-and-white drawings of the
species. The work concludes with a selected
bibliography of each entry, ranging from four
to seven sources. Ocean Bestiary lacks the col-
orful drawings from bestiaries of the past, but
does capture some of the whimsy portrayed
in those texts. Although not all stories are in-
triguing or contain significant natural history,
many do, and overall, the book will capture
readers’ attention. —Kevin McDonough
Quantum Supremacy: How the Quantum
Computer Revolution Will Change
Everything.
By Michio Kaku.
May 2023. 320p. illus. Doubleday, $30 (9780385548366).
004.3.
Moore’s law, named after the late Intel found-
er Gordon Moore, states that “computer power
doubles every eighteen months.” This rule has
held, more or less, since the dawn of computers,
yet advancement in the Age of Silicon will in-
evitably slow. Microchips are now “so compact
that the thinnest layer of transistors is twenty
atoms across.” At this phase, digital technol-
ogy is at a crossroads. So, what’s next? Physicist
and best-selling science writer Kaku answers
that question in his latest illuminating book,
revealing a breathtaking, expansive look into
the promise, power, and possibility of quan-
tum computing. Kaku begins by reviewing the
limitations of our current digital realm, then
moves quickly to explain and affirm the ad-
vantages of a quantum-computing future state,
full of potential and myriad uses. Throughout,
Kaku focuses on ways that quantum comput-
ers will advance human understanding of the
earth, ourselves, and the universe. From tack-
ling the daunting problems of climate change
to developing novel approaches to medicine
and solving longstanding cosmic mysteries,
quantum computers, Kaku believes, will lead
humanity into a new age, an age of quantum
supremacy. —George Kendall
YA/S: Kaku will spark the imagination of
teens interested in the nexus of computers
and quantum mechanics. GK.
www.booklistonline.com
Te c h n o l o g y
Building: A Carpenter’s Notes on Life
and the Art of Good Work.
By Mark Ellison.
May 2023. 304p. Random, $28.99 (9780593449127). 684.
Ellison didn’t necessarily want to become
a carpenter, but he possessed a natural talent
for building. From an early age, he observed
the importance of a strong work ethic as he
watched his mother attend medical school
while raising her children. In spite of some
shortcomings, Ellison showed a tenacity that
earned him the respect of a local carpenter
willing to take him on as an assistant, a posi-
tion that shined a light on key concepts like
the importance of understanding the owner’s
intent on a project and clearing up misconcep-
tions. Talent, competence, and creativity are
important, but a builder must not be afraid to
fail. Four decades into his career, Ellison has
worked on many projects, and his ability to
look beyond a building’s facade and know the
intricacies of construction has left him in high
demand and regard. And his desire to create
has only grown stronger. Ellison’s inspiring
autobiography relays entertaining anecdotes
from his career, along with keys to finding
success in work and life. —Philip Zozzaro
Fancy Bear Goes Phishing: The Dark
History of the Information Age, in Five
Extraordinary Hacks.
By Scott J. Shapiro.
May 2023. 432p. Farrar, $30 (9780374601171); e-book
(9780374601188). 005.87.
Shapiro, philosophy professor at Yale Law
School, set out to answer three questions: de-
cades after the internet’s invention, why does
it remain so insecure? How do hackers access
data from anywhere? What could be done in
response to these vulnerabilities? Using five
significant hacks, he outlines the history of the
internet and the parallel evolution of hacking
and cybercrime. Shapiro describes the Morris
Worm, a self-replicating program that infected
computers across the U.S. within hours of its
release by a Cornell graduate student in 1988.
He explains how weak security in T-Mobile’s
phones allowed a 16-year-old to steal Paris Hil-
ton’s cell phone data. Another example centers
on how the Russian military intelligence unit
Fancy Bear used phishing schemes to hack the
DNC and Clinton campaign emails during the
2016 election. Shapiro explores cyberwar, the
psychology of hackers, and the impact of tech
giants such as Microsoft and AOL. Written for
readers without deep technical backgrounds,
this is an engaging and thought-provoking
examination of the human elements of tech-
nology. —Laura Chanoux
YA: Teens will enjoy Shapiro’s narrative
approach to the internet and hacking. LC.
Size: How It Explains the World.
By Vaclav Smil.
May 2023. 304p. Morrow, $32 (9780063324091); e-book
(9780063324114). 530.8.
From the miniature and microscopic to the
colossal and cosmic, scientist and prolific au-
thor Smil (How the World Really Works, 2022)
traverses the extremes and plenty in between.
Beyond physical dimensions, size really matters
in all kinds of ways, economic, social, cultural,
and aspirational. Even language is not immune
to the influence of size. Smil notes that “large
has always been a byword for importance and
grandeur in the human imagination.” But
great size often connotes danger and fear, too.
While people generally favor larger sizes, big is
not necessarily better. Consider human height.
There is a connection between taller stature and
higher risk of several types of cancer. Smil ex-
plores size distribution and scaling, designs and
ergonomics, perceptions and illusions, growth
and limits. He considers the travels of Gulliv-
er and Lewis Carroll’s size-morphing Alice.
Gargantuan tankers transporting crude oil,
shape-shifting creatures, architecture, micro-
processors packed with billions of components
are all examined. Evolution and biological size
are addressed. Smil concludes this fascinating
inquiry with a paradox, “Some things we may
prefer small, others do not appear ever to be
large enough.” —Tony Miksanek
Cooker y
100 Morning Treats: With Muffins, Rolls,
Biscuits, Sweet and Savory Breakfast
Breads, and More.
By Sarah Kieffer.
May 2023. 304p. illus. Chronicle, $27.50 (9781797216164);
e-book (9781797216171). 641.5.
Kieffer’s ample offerings leave no sugar-
topped pastry untouched. Quick breads,
muffins, scones, laminated pastry, coffee cakes,
brioche, and pull-apart breads beckon from
the pages, jumping off of airy, white-marbled
backgrounds and glistening with glazes. Some
of the more nuanced recipes from the Vanilla
Bean blogger include grapefruit-glazed muffins,
lemon meringue bread, giant carrot cake cin-
namon rolls, brioche bagels, and lemon curd
bostock. There are plenty of bakery classics
to choose from as well: morning buns, Dan-
ishes, donuts, and sweet yeast rolls will make
mouths water. Those who eschew sweet treats
can also find a few decadent savory options in
eggy brunch bakes like sheet pan breakfast (a
Danish dough-lined, kitchen-sink–versatile
dish) and individual quiches, or an enticing
pesto pull-apart bread. Most of these are any-
thing but one-bowl bakes, requiring additional
time to prepare one of Kieffer’s base doughs,
a filling, or a topping of some sort, but the
dedicated baker will surely earn and enjoy their
special Saturday morning treat by putting forth
the effort. —Jessica S. Levy
The Flavor Thesaurus: More Flavors:
Plant-Led Pairings, Recipes, and Ideas
for Cooks.
By Niki Segnit.
May 2023. 368p. illus. Bloomsbury, $32 (9781639731138).
641.5.
This follow-up to Segnit’s Flavor Thesaurus
April 15, 2023 Booklist 7
(2012) will please all foodies who want to nerd
out on the tiniest details of nature’s edible de-
lights and their pairing potential. The prose
hums with poetic cadence in descriptions such
as caramel roasted, flower and meadow, creamy
fruity, zesty woody, nutty milky, and anima-
lic, making it a whimsical read for those who
simply want to be delighted by a discussion of
food. For instance, elderflower, known for its
use in cordials (aka sugar syrups), couples up
humorously with family member elderberry
(“adding elderflower restores some youthful
buoyancy”) or with passion fruit (“Too much?
Like wearing top to toe leopard print”). Trivia
and anecdotes dominate this reference on
foods from cashew to kale and Jerusalem ar-
tichoke to yuzu, with an occasional recipe
like the one for a turmeric and vanilla-infused
cake—this an attempt to prove that the famil-
iarity of vanilla can subdue turmeric’s powerful
flavor in a dessert. Clever, unusual, and over-
whelmingly intriguing, part two of The Flavor
Thesaurus adds pizzazz to cookbook collections
with its offbeat, choose-your-own-adventure
look at the possibility of flavor pairings today.
—Jessica S. Levy
That Cheese Plate Wants to Party:
Festive Boards, Spreads, and Recipes
with the Cheese by Numbers Method.
By Marissa Mullen.
Apr. 2023. 288p. Dial, $30 (9780593446683). 641.6.
Following up That Cheese Plate Will Change
Your Life (2020), Mullen shares her creative
“Cheese by Numbers” technique for creat-
ing yummy and beautiful cheese boards. She
starts with the basics of her approach, her fa-
vorite tools, and guidelines for cheese pairing.
Chapters focus on broad themes, such as small
boards perfect for a weekend night in. Clever
photography and illustrations highlight the
allure of each board while simultaneously
revealing its construction in step-by-step
layouts. While her instructions may at times
seem rigid, Mullen reminds us that it’s about
enjoying the food, and she encourages sub-
stitutions and creativity. Once readers have
mastered the craft, building a board with
ingredients rummaged from the pantry and
fridge will be a cinch. Recipes are included
for a variety of board-enhancers: stuffed
dates, garlic bread, and classic cocktails to
support all the snacking. Recommended for
everyone looking for a no-pressure solution to
entertaining that will wow guests and please
palates. —Sarah Tansley
Crafts & Hobbies
Watercolour Flowers for the Absolute
Beginner.
By Fiona Peart.
May 2023. 144p. illus. Search, paper, $19.95
(9781800920149). 751.42.
True to its title, this is a complete course in
painting watercolor flowers for anyone who is
inspired or curious about giving it a try, but
who may be intimidated by a lack of experience
8 Booklist April 15, 2023
or skill. Lifelong painter Peart, who specializes
in teaching art to adults, sets an encouraging
tone with friendly, down-to-earth advice and
instruction. Included are 20 full-size traceable
outlines, so even readers without drawing skills
can jump right in. A list of essential supplies
is provided, along with step-by-step instruc-
tions for quick projects, including bookmarks
and greeting cards. The author starts with the
basics, gradually introducing more advanced
skills, like adding depth, backgrounds, light,
tone, and texture to paintings. Over 300 full-
color illustrations provide inspiration and clear
guidance. This is sure to be a practical and pop-
ular addition to hobby and crafts collections.
While targeted to the absolute beginner, there
are enough advanced techniques here to make
it a useful resource for artists at a variety of skill
levels. —Jane Harper
The Arts
The Chieftain and the Chair: The Rise of
Danish Design in Postwar America.
By Maggie Taft.
May 2023. 200p. Univ. of Chicago, $22.50
(9780226550329). 749.09489.
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright sagely de-
clared that form follows function, a principle
that Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner surely drew
upon when they designed their most iconic
furniture, the Chieftain and the Round Chair,
respectively. In the immediate aftermath of
WWII, Danish design was embraced around
the world for its simplicity and serviceability;
it is now enjoying a renaissance, thanks to
its streamlined elegance. As art historian Taft
documents, the creations of Juhl and Wegner
captured the imagination of postwar consum-
ers, forming the foundation for the interior
design movement that came to be known as
Danish Modern. This, in turn, catapulted the
artisan-driven aesthetic into far more than a de-
cor fad, it inspired an internationally admired
way of life. The overwhelming popularity of
their designs also fundamentally changed the
ways all furniture was marketed to retail outlets
and manufactured for global mass production.
A prolific author with contributions to nation-
al arts and design publications, Taft presents a
deeply researched yet thoroughly accessible ex-
amination of the multidimensional impact of
two reigning chairs and, more broadly, inspired
artistic expression. —Carol Haggas
Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making
of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.
By Warren Zanes.
May 2023. 320p. Crown, $28 (9780593237410). 782.4216.
Nebraska is considered Springsteen’s mas-
terpiece even though it was not a huge
commercial success. In this “biography” of
the album, Zanes observes that it addresses
1980s America, was initially “passed around
like a rumor,” and has tremendous staying
power, remaining vital and relevant. Artists
from Patty Griffin and Rosanne Cash to Rich-
ard Thompson and Steve Earle have sung its
praises. Perhaps Matt Berninger of the band
the National said it best: “I think Nebraska
was the big bang of . . . indie rock.” Zanes
explores the mental state Springsteen was in
when he famously recorded the album in his
bedroom (“a little lost”). He examines the nu-
merous influences that went into the writing
of the songs, from Flannery O’Connor’s short
stories to Terrence Malick’s film Badlands to
Springsteen’s own childhood. It was also made
during a time when Springsteen was at a cross-
roads in his career. Music lovers who admire
Springsteen in particular and the broader
Americana musical genre in general should
appreciate this heartfelt examination of one
of the most important albums in American
musical history. —June Sawyers
Wildflower.
By Aurora James.
May 2023. 304p. Crown, $27 (9780593239452). 740.
Fashion-philes, fans of reality shows about
entrepreneurs, and social justice–minded read-
ers will all appreciate this inside view of how
Aurora James was able to parlay a shoestring
small business into a full-fledged move-
ment. The entrepreneur, activist, and CFDA
award–winner describes her arduous journey
from a traumatic childhood to the creation of
her wildly popular Brother Vellies accessories
brand. James credits her mother’s influence
and multiethnic ancestry for her reverence for
culturally symbolic items handmade by Af-
rican artisans using traditional methods and
materials. Without the professional training
and celebrity-fueled funding of most design-
ers, James obtained a loyal customer base and
established high-profile connections. Her
growing media presence provided a forum for
expanding her mission with the Fifteen Percent
Pledge: a call for major retailers to radically
increase the number of products sourced from
Black-owned and -operated small businesses.
With sincerity and passion, James confesses
her naïveté and acknowledges her missteps in
overcoming the personal, professional, and
sociopolitical barriers she faced. This inspiring
memoir serves as an autobiographical success
story and as a prescription for change within
the monolithic fashion industry. —Joelle Egan
Sports & Recreation
Got Your Number: The Greatest Sports
Legends and the Numbers They Own.
By Mike Greenberg and Paul Hembekides.
Apr. 2023. 320p. Hyperion Avenue, $25.99
(9781368073561); e-book, $12.99 (9781368092821). 796.
Greenberg, former cohost of ESPN’s Mike
& Mike, for which he and partner Mike Golic
were inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of
Fame, and coauthor Paul Hembekides, con-
tent producer for Greenberg’s current podcast,
ESPN’s Get Up, have curated a celebration of
athletic greatness built around numbers, from
1 to 100, many of them on jerseys. Entries
are built on stats: Tom Brady (12) won 35
postseason games, more than all but two NFL
www.booklistonline.com
franchises. Wayne Gretzky (99) would still
have the most total career points even if his
goals weren’t counted. Bill Russell (6) played
in 21 winner-take-all games and won them
all. Tennessee’s legendary women’s basketball
coach, Pat Summitt, coached 38 seasons and
never had a losing record. When approached
by University of Tennessee officials to coach
the men’s basketball team, Summitt, accord-
ing to the authors, dismissed the overture,
asking, “Why is that a step up?” A wonder-
fully inspiring book, though probably just a
bit ephemeral. —Alan Moores
Power Players: Sports, Politics, and the
American Presidency.
By Chris Cillizza.
Apr. 2023. 320p. illus. Twelve, $30 (9781538720608);
e-book (9781538720622). 973.09.
Presidential politics and sports go hand
in hand, and many of the lessons and skills
one learns by participating in sports can be
adapted to the world of politics. Starting with
Dwight D. Eisenhower and ending with Joe
Biden, Cillizza, a political reporter and sports
podcast host, explores how various sports
(especially golf ) have influenced modern pres-
idents and shaped the way they govern. Some
of what’s here will be familiar to many, like
Gerald Ford’s football prowess and the Bush
family’s love of baseball, but there are some
lesser-known nuggets, too (including the
fact that George H. W. Bush ran a horseshoe
league from the White House). Cillizza shines
at showing how these presidents have used
sports to influence people and further their
political careers, including faking an interest
in baseball for the chance to schmooze with
a potential ally. There are a few superfluous
details that add little to the narrative (the lists
feel out of place), but overall, this is a fun and
informative addition to the less-serious side of
presidential history. —Stephanie Howes
Literature
The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto
of Drag.
By Sasha Velour.
Apr. 2023. 240p. illus. Harper, $35 (9780358508083). 810.
Sasha Velour, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race
and known for her iconic looks, show-stop-
ping lip syncs, and Judith Butler impressions,
has written a moving memoir and an infor-
mative look at the history and meaning of
drag. Velour details what it was like growing
up as a burgeoning queer artist and how drag
helped her find herself and express her multi-
faceted identity. Part of Velour’s brilliance in
drag is her thoughtful intellect and surprising
wit, two elements that combined made her
a queen unlike any that Drag Race viewers
had seen before. This same intelligence and
intentionality come through in her writing.
Reading this memoir gives readers a peek into
her brain and allows us to even further admire
the genius of her art form. Peppered through-
out are stories of her family, her influences,
www.booklistonline.com
and the artists who came before her. Sasha Ve-
lour’s memoir is a must-read for fans of drag,
advocates of the LGBTQ community, and
anyone looking for a path to revealing their
truest self. —Alice Burton
YA: YA fans of Drag Race will love
hearing Velour discuss her life and art.
AB.
Don’t Call Me Home.
By Alexandra Auder.
May 2023. 336p. Viking, $28 (9780593299951). 810.
Writer and actress Auder is the daughter of
Viva, one of Andy Warhol’s superstars, and
filmmaker Michel Auder. She grew up in
New York City’s Chelsea Hotel, the very heart
of 1970s and ’80s Bohemia, and her gritty
playground ranged from the hotel’s rambunc-
tious lobby to the nearby Squat Theatre to
her father’s Tribeca loft. In her memoir she
tells a story of boundaries crossed and roles
reversed. Auder’s paycheck for a childhood
film role pays for Viva’s facelift. The daughter’s
forbidden crush becomes her mother’s prob-
lematic lover. The daughter must console and
care for her moody and demanding mother
and coparent her younger sister, carrying her
up and down the stairs of the Chelsea Ho-
tel to soothe her to sleep. Auder’s frustration
comes through loud and clear, but so does a
deep and abiding love, and she manages to
reflect on her chaotic and unconventional
upbringing with a refreshing lack of prejudice
and judgment. In many ways, it seems, her
mother raised her right. —Freda Love Smith
YA/S: Older YAs interested in the art
world will find Auder’s tale of a bohemian
childhood intriguing. FLS.
Ford Madox Ford.
By Max Saunders.
May 2023. 216p. Reaktion, paper, $19 (9781789147018).
820.
Ford Madox Hueffer was already a success-
ful author when he changed his surname to
one more alliterative and less Teutonic in the
wake of WWI. As Saunders deftly illustrates
in this assured study, Ford was constantly
evolving. Raised among painters, poets, and
musicians, Ford lived a life that reflected these
early influences. He founded and edited lit-
erary journals. He encouraged and published
Henry James, H.G. Wells, Stephen Crane,
and Joseph Conrad, a regular collaborator,
and later discovered Ezra Pound and D. H.
Lawrence. Ford’s life would serve as the inter-
section of four decades of major writers and
artists. Ford was equally innovative in his own
work, publishing novels, criticism, poetry, his-
tory, and travel books. He was as influential
as he was prolific and nearly as prolific in his
romantic life, having a proclivity for falling in
love. His seminal novels The Good Soldier and
Parade’s End explored the psychology of class,
sexuality, and war while effectively inventing
the unreliable narrator. Ford’s influence can
be found in generations of writers, including
contemporary masters Julian Barnes and Ian
McEwan. —Bill Kelly
Oh My Mother! A Memoir in Nine
Adventures.
By Connie Wang.
May 2023. 256p. Viking, $28 (9780593490921); e-book
(9780593490938). 810.
Journalist and fashion editor Wang, whose
globe-trotting career blossomed during a
time of rich personal-essay writing, often
found herself returning to
the subject of her mother,
despite that “to write about
your mom, especially if it’s
your job to write, is to re-
veal that you have nothing
much to write about in the
first place.” Wang calls this
collection of travel essays
her and Qing’s shared memoir: her attempt
to understand her fascination and maybe see
her mother fully, finally. In Wang’s family’s
first years in the U.S. after immigrating from
China, road trips meant freedom. Later, an
unprecedented splurge on a timeshare took
them to resorts in Cancùn and Hawaii, and
gave Qing a reason to remind the college-
age author that she wasn’t so much better
than everyone else. In Disney World, Wang
brings her mom to tears; in Vegas, to the live
show based on one of Qing’s favorite mov-
ies, Magic Mike XXL. On a trip to China in
February 2020, mother and daughter take
the news of a so-called pandemic differently.
This charming joint memoir, fact-checked by
Qing, is by turns hilarious and touching, and
defined by Wang’s loving refusal to take her
mother, and anything about her, for granted.
—Annie Bostrom
The Questions that Matter Most:
Reading, Writing, and the Exercise of
Freedom.
By Jane Smiley.
June 2023. 256p. Heyday, $30 (9781597146050). 809.
Smiley has graced readers with seven
novels since her avidly read last nonfiction
collection, Thirteen Ways of Looking at the
Novel (2005). Here she gathers essays (and
two stories) composed with wit, enthusiasm,
expertise, and candor that fulfill her mission
“to understand that topic, or issue, with more
clarity and nuance.” Smiley writes about her
family (her absent, troubled, WWII veteran
father; her journalist mother; her rambunc-
tious boy cousins) and her love for her
childhood home in St. Louis and her adopt-
ed state, California. With keen and original
analysis she considers mothers in literature
and mothers, like her, who write. She shreds
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for its
moral and artistic failures and explains why
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a far superior novel and
why it isn’t celebrated as such. Smiley aligns
history and historical fiction, and parses the
accomplishments of such intriguing creators
as Marguerite of Navarre, Alice Munro, and
Jessica and Nancy Mitford. Smiley’s agile,
seemingly blithe inquiries are wryly inci-
sive, ethically rigorous, and propelled by her
profound passion for literature as an end-
April 15, 2023 Booklist 9
less source of illumination and liberation.
—Donna Seaman
Quietly Hostile.
By Samantha Irby.
May 2023. 304p. Vintage, paper, $17 (9780593315699);
e-book (9780593315705). 814.
Irby (Wow, No Thank You, 2020) returns
with another collection of humorous, self-
reflective essays. She is at her comic best in
several pieces, like the one in which she ex-
periences a life-threatening
allergy to probiotics, yet
still cracks jokes in the ER,
or in the wonderfully titled
“Oh, So You Don’t Actually
Wanna Make a Show about
a Horny Fat Bitch with Di-
arrhea? Okay!” detailing the
trials and tribulations of
writing a pilot based on her life. Of course,
she still has sex on the brain, whether re-
counting her performance anxiety with a
boyfriend who wanted her to pee on him
or giving an in-depth review of her favorite
porn, “Two Old Nuns Having Amzing [Sic]
Lesbian Sex.” Don’t be fooled, though—
there’s tons of emotional depth hidden under
the layers of comedy, especially in the essays
about the author’s family and her mother’s
death from MS. Some readers might get
bogged down in the chapter about rewriting
episodes of Sex and the City or the one about
Irby’s favorite Dave Matthews songs, but
Irby’s many fans, and anyone whose anxiety
and hermit-like qualities ramped up during
the pandemic, will celebrate and identify
with her latest. —Kathy Sexton
To Name the Bigger Lie: A Memoir
in Two Stories.
By Sarah Viren.
June 2023. 304p. Scribner, $28 (9781982166595). 810.
When memoirist and professor Sarah Viren
was in high school in Florida in the 1990s,
she had an impactful philosophy teacher who
instructed his students to question everything
and then began incorpo-
rating into lesson plans
conspiracy theories, includ-
ing Holocaust denialism.
Decades later, after Viren
was offered a job at the Uni-
versity of Michigan, another
applicant falsified a series of
anonymous Title IX com-
plaints about Viren’s partner, also a professor,
thus sabotaging the job offer (a story Viren
told in a widely read 2020 New York Times
Magazine article). These two experiences in-
tertwine in To Name the Bigger Lie, and both
stories are gripping; they unfurl with a sense
of suspenseful foreboding to show how lies
can tear apart the fabric of everyday life and
our most intimate relationships. But under-
lying them is a more groping, philosophical
inquiry that chases the implications of Plato’s
Allegory of the Cave to probe our sense of what
is real, how we know, and, most importantly,
10 Booklist April 15, 2023
how we come to that knowledge together. Ul-
timately, Viren argues less for the pursuit of
truth than the pursuit of understanding, and
the necessity of this—of “acknowledging the
truth of one another’s lived experience”—as a
social responsibility. This, she says, is the work
of storytelling. —Maggie Taft
Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir
in Love Poems, Recipes, Letters, and
Remembrances.
By Kwame Alexander.
May 2023. 240p. Little, Brown, $28 (9780316417228). 810.
A prolific poet and author of children’s lit-
erature, Alexander deploys his skillful lyricism
to explore themes of failure in family and love
in this genre-blending memoir. In narrative
poems and short prose chapters, Alexander
examines his relationships with his parents,
his spouse, and his children with character-
istic candor. Recollecting the unraveling of
his parents’ relationship (“I never saw my par-
ents hold / each other’s hands”), the author
turns to address his child as his own marriage
falls apart: “you’re wondering why you never
saw us / holding hands.” But Alexander also
makes space for sizzling moments of sensual-
ity from the early days of dating: “Maybe she
is thirsty, / so she pulls the cork / the wet legs
on her glass / pressing for a sweet taste.” An
epicure at heart, Alexander intersperses reci-
pes throughout the book, including those for
7 Up pound cake and jollof Caesar salad, of-
ten pairing recipes with music to enjoy while
preparing the dishes, such as “Love Tastes like
Strawberries,” by Somi, and “Moody’s Mood,”
by George Benson. A refreshing entry in the
author’s bountiful oeuvre. —Diego Báez
Women We Buried, Women We Burned.
By Rachel Louise Snyder.
May 2023. 272p. Bloomsbury, $29 (9781635579123). 810.
Snyder’s most recent book, No Visible
Bruises (2019), explored the psychological
entanglements of domestic violence. This
offering once again considers complex rela-
tionships, but at a personal level. The memoir
begins with the death of Snyder’s beloved,
playful mother, who died from cancer when
the author was seven. Snyder’s bereft father re-
turned to his Evangelical Christian roots and
hastily remarried. His new wife, Barb, who
dropped out of school at 16, married young,
and then divorced her physically abusive first
husband, stood in stark contrast to the au-
thor’s sophisticated and well-educated Jewish
mother. Barb tried to forge a new family, but
Snyder was rebellious, getting expelled and
experimenting with drugs, alcohol, and sex.
The book details Snyder’s ensuing homeless-
ness, her many jobs and long climb back,
the found family she made for herself and
her daughter, and her eventual reconciliation
with her father and stepmother—ironically,
to nurse Barb through a fatal bout of can-
cer. At long last came conversation, healing,
and the discovery of deep love—and now,
this searingly honest and moving tribute.
—Kathleen McBroom
Poetr y
Deal: New and Selected Poems.
By Randall Mann.
May 2023. 144p. Copper Canyon, paper, $20
(9781556596766). 811.
A midcareer author with five books of po-
etry under his belt, Mann revels in risqué
subject matter while leveraging humor at
nearly every turn. The new poems—nar-
row columns of quick,
stacked stanzas—show-
case his range, whether in
a revealing depiction of a
Floridian drag queen—“A
monocle / dangled / in
her razored // neckline; /
she saw us all / for what  /
we were”—or through
clever play with rhyme and line breaks—
“I never sleep // through the night, / and
my nightmare / is not getting / assigned
the aisle // on a flight.” The new work is a
stunning departure from the stoic imagism
of his earliest poems. The signature shape
of Mann’s slender stanzas begins to emerge
in Proprietary (2017), and his poems win-
now to the thinnest manageable strips by
A Better Life (2021): “Night, / a sex / site /
of white / boys / with an / aversion / to la-
tex.” Mann’s poetic output for the past two
decades has proven consistently provocative
and rewarding, and this collection provides
an excellent overview of the work of an ex-
ceedingly fine poet. —Diego Báez
Overland.
By Natalie Eilbert.
May 2023. 128p. Copper Canyon, paper, $18
(9781556596681). 811.
Snapshots of everyday life examine envi-
ronmental devastation, violence, and the
complex range of human experience, from
the deeply personal to the universal, in Eil-
bert’s elegant third collection. Beginning with
the titular poem, whittled down moments
in time are the catalysts for deeper scrutiny.
The bite of an apple invokes thoughts of for-
profit orchards, a sip of water introduces the
conundrum of how to explain the “gunmetal
ocean” to a younger generation. In Eilbert’s
vision, humans and the environment they
inhabit are often indistinguishable: “The
sky a colorful sarcoma under which all be-
ings die” (“Green Bay, Wisconsin”); “I walk
a bridge toward a future so slowly, a wisteria
tracing the air for animal warmth” (“There
Is Hope”). The voice of “Kolumbo 1650”
belongs to a casualty of an historic volcanic
eruption and vividly describes a fusion with
the earth through death. The works here
communicate our inextricable and bountiful
connection with language. A powerful and
striking collection. —Allison Escoto
Saltwater Demands a Psalm.
By Kweku Abimbola.
Apr. 2023. 96p. Graywolf, paper, $16 (9781644452271). 811.
In this elegant poetry debut, Abimbola
www.booklistonline.com
draws on his Gambian, Ghanaian, and Si-
erra Leonean heritage to bridge African and
African American traditions and histories
through shared ceremonies and the unifying
yet equally divisive conceit of the Atlantic:
“Water is memory / forever trying // to get
back / to where it was.” Many poems cen-
ter around the importance of names, since
the “day of a child’s naming / is their real
birth.” Abimbola punctuates the collection
with poems that memorialize Black victims
of police violence, which notably includes
names that are not frequently invoked, such
as Tarika Wilson, Orlando Barlow, and Rita
Lloyd. Abimbola shapes their names into an
avian pictogram that appends each memory
poem, nodding to the Ghanaian Adinkra
symbols that decorate the book’s pages. Else-
where, the poet leavens this heaviness with
a keen mind for music, as when he peppers
lyrics with zesty references to 1970s Afrobeat
(“the kola tang of Fela’s Zombie”) and riffs on
William Carlos Williams, “So much depends
upon the DJ’s siren, / on their trademark
pew-pew-pew-peeeew.” A brave and gracious
debut. —Diego Báez
West: A Translation.
By Paisley Rekdal.
May 2023. 176p. Copper Canyon, paper, $22
(9781556596568). 811.
The powerful latest poetry and essay col-
lection by Utah poet laureate Rekdal tells
the story of the transcontinental railroad
through the voices of the workers who built
it. Commemorating the
railroad’s one-hundred-
fiftieth anniversary,
connecting the comple-
tion of the railroad to
the commencement of
the Chinese Exclusion
Act and drawing direct
inspiration from one
of the many Chinese elegies carved on the
walls of a former California detention center,
this work gives a voice to many who have
been lost to history. Using each character of
the elegy as a foundation, each piece offers
a unique and evocative perspective, portray-
ing migrant workers, railroad tycoons, labor
activists, and politicians, among many oth-
ers. Direct connections through history to
the present are drawn, as in the contrapuntal
poem, “Sad,” which interchangeably pro-
files Andrew Johnson and Donald Trump,
two presidents exactly 150 years apart. The
elegantly written essays give historical and
cultural context to the ordeals of the people
affected by the railroad as well as personal
family experiences. Startling glimpses into
the railroad’s effects on the environment,
populations, and history of America are pre-
sented through concise, poetic prose. There
is an accompanying website with compan-
ion videos and audio to enhance an already
immersive and stunning collection. A must-
have for libraries. —Allison Escoto
www.booklistonline.com
G e o g r a p h y & Tr a v e l
All Hands on Deck: A Modern-Day High
Seas Adventure to the Far Side of the
World.
By Will Sofrin.
Apr. 2023. 320p. Abrams, $28 (9781419767067). 910.
Sailing a three-masted ship from New-
port, Rhode Island, to San Diego should be
a routine affair, but life on the seas is ever
unpredictable. Here, the boat in question is
the Rose, a carefully crafted reproduction of
an eighteenth-century British frigate. Out-
fitted with enough conveniences to render
it safe and seaworthy, the ship was requisi-
tioned by a Hollywood studio and destined
to become a crucial part of the set for the
2003 film Master and Commander: The Far
Side of the World, starring Russell Crowe.
Author Sofrin brought to the 30-person
crew his enthusiasm and some knowledge of
boatbuilding. The voyage toward the Pana-
ma Canal seemed routine. Then a dreaded
rogue wave hit the Rose, and part of a mast
snapped, crippling the vessel and delaying its
arrival for film production. Sofrin spares lit-
tle detail, making all the issues of sailing and
shipbuilding much less intimidating through
carefully rendered diagrams, with all parts of
the ship’s superstructure and complex rig-
ging meticulously labeled. Fans of the movie
and serious sailors will revel in Sofrin’s tale.
—Mark Knoblauch
Sea Change: An Atlas of Islands in
a Rising Ocean.
By Christina Gerhardt.
May 2023. 320p. illus. Univ. of California, $34.95
(9780520304826). 912.
How often does an atlas command imme-
diate attention, warranting a page-by-page
perusal? This offering from Gerhardt and
mapmaker Molly Roy
is much more than
a geological survey
of the many islands
around the world be-
ing affected by rising
sea levels caused by
climate change. There
are compelling maps
that indicate current coastlines and what
the coastlines consist of (volcanic rock, ice
shelves, mangrove forests) and project what
coastlines will look like in 2050 and 2100.
Lengthy essays introduce the inhabitants of
these often-remote places, detailing their
unique languages, histories, and ways of life.
These essays also discuss how island dwellers
are being challenged by climate factors, in-
cluding loss of inhabitable and arable land,
crop failures and increasingly heavy demands
on natural resources, and loss of access to
fresh water. Poignant poetry and literary se-
lections by indigenous writers conclude each
section, adding nuance and perspective. The
lasting negative effects of colonialism become
apparent, as do grievous environmental injus-
tices; many of these island nations rank in the
very bottom of carbon-emission producers
but suffer the most damaging consequences
resulting from the actions of larger, richer
countries. This unique approach documents
dramatic climate change while mounting
an impassioned plea to save what remains
of these remarkable island communities.
—Kathleen McBroom
History
A Brutal Reckoning: Andrew
Jackson, the Creek Indians, and
the Epic War for the American South.
By Peter Cozzens.
Apr. 2023. 464p. Knopf, $35 (9780525659457); e-book
(9780525659464). 973.5.
Creek Indians—Indigenous Americans who
lived in the southeast of what was to become
the United States—had
a history and a distinc-
tive culture of their own
before the European set-
tlers’ westward expansion.
Prolific historian Cozzens
(Tecumseh and the Prophet,
2020) looks closely at the
conflicts between Native
peoples and settlers from the colonial period
through Andrew Jackson’s presidency, and at
the ultimate displacement of the tribes to the
west of the Mississippi River. Cozzens vividly
describes the Creek Indians’ advanced society
and clashes with other tribes, giving a grand
sense of their civilization. Gradual assimila-
tion of European ideas of property, along with
prosperity from trade in deerskin, quickly
transformed the Creeks into a society of haves
and have-nots. The Creeks’ role in both shel-
tering and turning in escaped enslaved people
encapsulates the moral ambiguities of the pre-
Civil War era. Equally well brought to life,
Cozzens’ dramatic, often gory descriptions of
armed conflicts among the Creeks and white
settlers put flesh to myth-encased events.
Battle maps are helpful, and an appendix
guides readers through the names of Creeks
in both their native and Anglicized versions.
A valuable addition to the history of Native
Americans and the early years of the American
republic. —Mark Knoblauch
Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of
Jackie Bouvier Kennedy.
By Carl Sferrazza Anthony.
May 2023. 400p. Gallery, $29.99 (9781982141875); e-book
(9781982141899). 973.9220.
While there seems to be no stone unturned
when it comes to her life after marrying John
F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Bouvier’s early years are
generally less deeply probed. A prolific biogra-
pher of first ladies and first families, Anthony
uses the hook of Jackie’s early obsession with
photography to cover the years from 1949 to
1953, charting Jackie’s metamorphosis from
frivolous debutante to inquisitive internation-
April 15, 2023 Booklist 11
al student, enterprising photojournalist, and
circumspect political helpmate. Of note is the
contentious relationship between Jackie’s di-
vorced parents and the way their individual
custodial battles influenced her behavior. Por-
traying her father, John “Black Jack” Bouvier,
as inappropriately dependent and overly at-
tentive, and her mother, Janet Auchincloss,
as psychologically abusive and fiercely domi-
neering, Anthony uncovers the root of Jackie’s
distinctive blend of rebelliousness and vul-
nerability, independence and insecurity that
would attract and confound supporters and
critics alike. By drawing on extensive inter-
views with Jackie’s contemporaries and family,
oral histories, and presidential archives, An-
thony delivers a well-rounded depiction of
this eternally fascinating, covertly complicat-
ed, and perennially misunderstood historical
and cultural icon. —Carol Haggas
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of
Happiness: Britain and the
American Dream.
By Peter Moore.
June 2023. 592p. Farrar, $35 (9780374600594); e-book
(9780374600600). 900.
Although the phrase “life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness” is closely identified
with Thomas Jefferson and
the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, historian Moore
traces the ascending im-
portance of these concepts
in Britain from the 1740s
through the 1770s. Fallout
from the cost of the Seven
Years’ War between Britain
and France led to internal dissent in Brit-
ain and between Britain and the colonies.
With much time spent in Britain, Benjamin
Franklin had a front-row seat for debates on
debt, taxation, free speech, and other En-
lightenment ideas, which helps explain his
transformation from Royalist to rebel. An ex-
ploration of Franklin’s friendship with British
printer William Strahan, whose background
and professional transformation from printer
to statesman was similar to Franklin’s, shows
how two people exposed to the same ideas
can end up on opposite ends of the political
spectrum. Moore also highlights the contri-
butions of politician John Wilkes, historian
Catharine Macaulay, writer Samuel Johnson,
and activist Thomas Paine, detailing the in-
fluence of their writings about life, liberty,
and happiness to political discourse in Britain
and the young U.S. The vivid descriptions
of people, modes of communication, and
social life are fascinating and give this well-
researched history the readability of fiction.
—Laurie Unger Skinner
Lincoln’s God: How Faith Transformed a
President and a Nation.
By Joshua Zeitz.
May 2023. 336p. Viking, $30 (9781984882219); e-book
(9781984882226). 973.7.
Another biography of Lincoln? No: historian,
12 Booklist April 15, 2023
Politico editor, and author Zeitz (Building the
Great Society, 2018) here examines the impact
of the Civil War on Lincoln’s and Northern-
ers’ spiritual worldviews and how that affected
the nation. Zeitz sets the stage by defining the
early American religious state, which moved
from Calvinism to Arminianism as new
Protestant denominations proliferated while
the country grew. The fledgling Republican
Party came of age alongside these new sects,
as Northern views on slavery evolved from
merely antislavery to abolitionist. Lincoln was
a religious outlier, never joining a church and
only attending services sporadically; he had an
intellectual acknowledgement of God and read
the Bible extensively, shrewdly quoting it in
persuasive speeches. Pressures of the war and
the shattering loss of his son, Willie, in 1862
transformed Lincoln’s beliefs, which echoed
the increasing blend of sacred and secular rhet-
oric heard in churches and partisan campaigns.
Zeitz’s timely, thoroughly documented account
compellingly portrays how the war crumbled
Jefferson’s wall separating church and state and
presaged lingering changes in American dis-
course. —Karen Clements
The Soldier’s Truth: Ernie Pyle and
the Story of World War II.
By David Chrisinger.
May 2023. 400p. Penguin, $30 (9781984881311). 940.54.
Chrisinger, who teaches writing at the Uni-
versity of Chicago and contributes to the War
Horse, a nonprofit newsroom covering the
human impact of military service, delivers
a fine account of legendary
reporter Ernie Pyle, who, as
a hugely popular columnist
for Scripps-Howard during
WWII, commanded an au-
dience of some 14 million
readers among 500 publica-
tions. Chrisinger teases out
the exquisite, often painful
balancing act Pyle had to perform as a war
correspondent; he wrote around military
censors while pounding out hard-nosed
battle reportage, expressed the senselessness
and tragedy of combat while reassuring the
American public that all was not lost, report-
ed on the privations endured by the soldiers
while suffering them himself, and comforted
an increasingly untethered wife waiting for
him Stateside, even as he teetered on the
edge of insanity and despair on battlefields
in Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, France (D-Day), and,
finally, the Pacific. And he did it all while
always somehow taking inspiration and
ennoblement from the humble American
GI. An excellent reassessment of a singular
American journalist. —Alan Moores
The Watchdog: How the Truman
Committee Battled Corruption and
Helped Win World War Two.
By Steve Drummond.
May 2023. 448p. Hanover Square, $32.99 (9781335449504);
e-book (9780369733078). 973.918.
WWII was the good war, the one that was
honorably fought against implacable foes.
America was the arsenal of democracy, its
mighty industries mass-producing weapons
and supplies for the Allies. Business patrioti-
cally mobilized for war without corruption,
and management and labor put aside their
differences. How did this home front coop-
eration come about? Journalist Drummond
tells the little-known story about legislative
oversight and accountability and the effective
and humble use of the law and government
to efficiently marshal an economy for war.
He does an excellent job illustrating the
personality and experience of then-Senator
Harry Truman, the perfect person to analyze
and remedy problems and fight profiteering,
corner cutting, and poor planning. Truman
didn’t do it alone; Drummond highlights his
colleagues and the lawyers and investigators
who did so much to fix problems and save
taxpayer money. Drummond used a trove of
documents to create this excellent narrative,
including Truman’s correspondence, tran-
scripts of hearings, and investigative reports.
The result is a well-written, engaging analysis
of an often-overlooked and instructive aspect
of Truman’s career that was essential to the
war effort. —James Pekoll
Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a
Marriage.
By Jonny Steinberg.
May 2023. 576p. Knopf, $35 (9780525656852). 968.07.
Can love, power, and politics ever coexist
in a marriage? At 38, Nelson Mandela was
married and a local superstar when he met
20-year-old Nomzamo Winifred Madikiz-
ela, a force of nature from
a powerful political family.
In acclaimed South African
writer Steinberg’s elegant
and masterful account, we
see them as the “first politi-
cal celebrity couple,” who
would revolutionize South
African society. Despite
spending most of their early years apart since
they had only been married two years before
Nelson went to prison for the first time, it is
clear from the many letters they exchanged
how profoundly each influenced the other and
how much they were in each other’s thoughts.
With Nelson’s travails at Robben Island more
well-known, Steinberg gives Winnie her due
as an implacable freedom fighter. Imprisoned
and repeatedly tortured, she coolly described
how the experience sharpened her commit-
ment and realization that there could be no
compromise in the demand for Black rights.
Despite multiple infidelities, political in-
fighting, and accusations of corruption and
murder leading to a savage divorce, Winnie
and Nelson remained fiercely committed to
each other. At the end of his life, afflicted
with dementia, it was Winnie Nelson who
was called on to feed him and share his final
moments. Steinberg has created a landmark
biography of two unforgettable civil rights
heroes. —Lesley Williams
www.booklistonline.com
Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a
Changing World.
By Theresa MacPhail.
May 2023. 368p. Random, $28.99 (9780593229194). 616.97.
Allergic disease includes seasonal allergies,
some types of asthma, antibiotic allergies,
poison ivy rash, food allergies, and even
death from anaphylaxis. Its occurrence is
widespread and rising. Medical anthropolo-
gist and allergy sufferer MacPhail poses a
seemingly straightforward question, “Why
are we all so irritated?” She finds the answer
is complex and incomplete. Her interest
in the subject was sparked by the death of
her father from a reaction to a bee sting.
MacPhail interviews allergists, research-
ers, and patients. She reviews the diagnosis
(skin-prick testing, blood tests, a good deal
of detective work), theories about causation
(genetic influence, environmental triggers,
microbiome alterations, the hygiene hy-
pothesis), and treatments of allergic disease.
Pollen and air pollutants, IgE antibodies
and mast cells, antihistamines and EpiPens
receive appropriate attention. Newer thera-
pies, including Dupixent for eczema and
Palforzia for peanut allergy are spotlighted.
Possible future remedies (gene therapy, vac-
cines to reduce symptoms, nanoparticle
immunotherapy) are briefly introduced.
Fundamentally, MacPhail addresses our
vulnerability, noting that deteriorating air
quality, worsening climate change, and per-
vasive chemical products are undeniably
harming human health. Help cannot arrive
soon enough for our overworked immune
systems. —Tony Miksanek
American Breakdown: Our Ailing
Nation, My Body’s Revolt, and the
Nineteenth-Century Woman Who
Brought Me Back to Life.
By Jennifer Lunden.
May 2023. 464p. HarperCollins/HarperWave, $32
(9780062941374); e-book (9780062941381). 362.10973.
The woman who brought Jennifer Lun-
den back to life was diarist
Alice James, the sister of
two famous brothers, Wil-
liam, the psychologist, and
Henry, the author. Lunden
was 26 in 1994 when she
first read a biography of
Alice; she had been sick for
five years. She was curious
about Alice James and her condition because
they had something in common, “We’d both
been felled by a mysterious fatigue.” The Alice
James bio, Lunden writes, became her “trea-
sure” as well as “my company, my work, my
healing.” This is both a tribute to Alice James
and her resiliency and a memoir of how Lun-
den learned to cope with her situation. Why
was Alice sick? Why was Lunden sick? James’
doctors called her illness neurasthenia. When
Lunden had similar devastating fatigue, she
was told she had mononucleosis and that it
would pass. But it didn’t. Eventually, she was
diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and
www.booklistonline.com
Spotlight on Health & Wellness
multiple chemical sensitivity, two severe ill-
nesses that have usually been associated with
women and not taken seriously for years. This
is an important book not only about perse-
verance and determination but also about
practical things (such as paying for medical
bills one can’t afford), and especially about
gender bias in health care. —June Sawyers
Beautiful Trauma: An Explosion, an
Obsession, and a New Lease on Life.
By Rebecca Fogg.
Apr. 2023. 272p. Penguin, $26 (9780593086773). 616.85.
Fogg’s right hand is severely damaged when
the toilet in her Brooklyn apartment ex-
plodes. By stanching the blood with a towel,
managing to call 911, and getting help from
neighbors and paramedics, she survives. A
team of skilled surgeons reattach torn liga-
ments, fixing her “spaghetti wrist,” leading to
endless rounds of therapy, pain, and adjust-
ments. This is where the author turns lemons
into lemonade. An acquaintance who had
suffered a similar injury encourages her to ex-
plore the science behind her body as a way
to spark healing, and Fogg jumps in. Digging
into medical books, questioning doctors, and
searching on the internet, she is able to piece
together an accessible version of the steps her
surgeons took, the way the body heals, and
the way the mind overcomes trauma. In al-
ternating chapters, Fogg balances the story of
her step-by-step recovery with this scientific
data, creating a fascinating mix of drama and
science. Readers will be reminded of the ev-
eryday miracles we so often take for granted
and feel inspired by Fogg’s determined steps
to regain her life. —Candace Smith
The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship,
Madness, and the Tragedy of Good
Intentions.
By Jonathan Rosen.
Apr. 2023. 560p. Penguin, $32 (9781594206573); e-book
(9780698196520). 616.89.
This true story is not a happily-ever-after
tale about someone conquering mental ill-
ness. Instead, Rosen shares the tragic life of his
close childhood friend, Michael Laudor. The
brilliant boy grew up to be a 6-foot-3 genius
who graduated summa cum laude from Yale.
Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with schizo-
phrenia. Still, he attended Yale law school,
then landed a $2.1 million book-and-movie
deal about his life and moved to New Ro-
chelle with his sweet, petite girlfriend, Carrie,
who accepted it when he told her about his
mental illness. According to Michael, Carrie’s
Adult
Art from Unwell Women.
parents weren’t happy that their daughter was
in love with a Jewish man with schizophrenia.
It turned out they were right to worry. Mi-
chael stopped taking his medication, suffered
from more severe delusions, and ultimately
thought Carrie, by then his fiancée, was a
robot or doll who had been sent to torture
and kill him and fatally stabbed her. In this
well-written, affecting account, Rosen notes
that a Yale forensic psychologist said Mi-
chael showed how “we get lulled by successful
people” and fail to understand the severity of
mental illness. —Karen Springen
Carry Strong: An Empowered Approach
to Navigating Pregnancy and Work.
By Stephanie Kramer.
May 2023. 352p. Penguin Life, paper, $20 (9780143137283).
618.2.
In this guide for working moms and moms-
to-be, Kramer, the chief human resources
officer at L’Oreal USA and a mother of two
young sons, shares firsthand knowledge and
wisdom based on her own experiences and
contributed by other women. The advice
ranges from “the spread coverage situation”
(ensuring clear hand-offs while you’re away)
and a reminder that “maternity leave is not
a vacation.” The well-phrased chapter titles
include, “Deciding to have it all, not at the
same time.” To make her points, Kramer
adds the voices of many other women as
she includes their tales. No one profiled is
blue-collar or pink-collar, but Kramer ac-
knowledges that fact. Though she works, she
notes without judgment that some women
may not want to tackle “the great return” to
the office. (It’s “okay!” she says.) Her hope
for the future is that the phrase working mom
will become obsolete. After all, people rarely
refer to “working fathers.” Readers will find
lots of feel-good, can-do messages and ad-
vice. —Karen Springen
Dancing with Disruption: A New
Approach to Navigating Life’s Biggest
Changes.
By Linda Rossetti.
May 2023. 200p. Rowman & Littlefield, $32
(9781538169377); e-book (9781538169384). 152.4.
We all experience upheaval in our lives.
There’s the unexpected illness, the unfaithful
spouse, the layoffs at work, and, of course,
the pandemic. The important thing, accord-
ing to Rossetti, an expert on “individual
transformation,” is how we respond. We can
either make small changes to stay afloat
(holding on to our perceived identity) or use
April 15, 2023 Booklist 13
 the event to transform our lives (and possibly
find our true calling). The key to transfor-
Top 10 Health & Wellness Books mation is looking inward for expectations
Spotlight

and values. The author uses her own experi-

ences and case studies of people she’s worked
with on their journeys to offer a road map
C andid medical memoirs, new takes on medical history, and
fresh approaches to self-care, each distinguished by narra-
tive power and emotional richness, stand as the most compelling
to recovery. She addresses obstacles, includ-
ing emotions, expectations, and the input of
health and wellness titles reviewed in Booklist over the past 12 others, and demonstrates ways to use such
months. —Donna Seaman challenges to enrich our lives. Rossetti urges
readers to use a toolkit dubbed “The Incuba-
And Finally: Matters of Life and Death. By Henry Marsh. 2023. St. tor” to face the uncertainty of change and
Martin’s, $27.99 (9781250286086). nurture their true selves. Each chapter ends
After learning he has cancer, retired neurosurgeon Marsh discovers “just how great with prompts for self-reflection and an ex-
is the distance that separates patients from doctors,” as he reveals in this far-reaching ample of someone using the techniques
successfully. Anyone facing life issues (which
chronicle.
is just about everyone) will be inspired by
Body Language: Writers on Identity, Physicality, and Making Space for Ourselves. Ed. Rossetti’s solid guidance. —Candace Smith
by Nicole Chung and Matt Ortile. 2022. Catapult, paper, $16.95 (9781646221318).
Chung and Ortile present 30 essays by diverse writers about the ways bodies “move Fatal Conveniences: The Toxic Products
and Harmful Habits That Are Making
within (and against) expectations of race, gender, health, and ability.”
You Sick and the Simple Changes That
Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus. By David Quammen. 2022. Will Save Your Health.
Simon & Schuster, $28.99 (9781982164362). By Darin Olien.
May 2023. 304p. Harper Wave, $32 (9780063114531);
Quammen presents a veritable biography of COVID-19 within a masterful scientific
e-book (9780063114555). 615.9.
detective story.
Olien (SuperLife, 2015) wants readers to
The Day I Die: The Untold Story of Assisted Dying in America. By Anita Hannig. 2022. understand how the chemicals inherent in
Sourcebooks, $27.99 (9781728244914). everyday manufactured materials affect the
Cultural anthropologist Hannig reports on assisted deaths and the issues involved, human body. He rages against the dyes and
fragrances in personal care products and
drawing on her stint as a hospice volunteer and conversations with hundreds of peo-
cleaning supplies, decries food and drink ad-
ple seeking a “good death.” ditives that include hidden sources of sugar,
The Empress and the English Doctor: How Catherine the Great Defied a Deadly and warns about tiny plastic microfibers em-
Virus. By Lucy Ward. 2022. Oneworld, $30 (9780861542451). bedded in denim. Electromagnetic radiation
leaching from energy lines, modems, and
Ward offers a fascinating look at the eighteenth-century smallpox pandemic and
smart phones; aluminum foil, air fresheners,
how Catherine the Great of Russia launched the mother of all public-health campaigns. and just about every modern convenience
Get Rooted: Reclaim Your Soul, Serenity, and Sisterhood through the Healing come under attack—or at least suspicion—
Medicine of the Grandmothers. By Robyn Moreno. 2022. Hachette Go, $29 since science has not yet determined how to
measure the combined negative effects from
(9780306926273).
exposure to unnatural influences (studies
TV host, podcaster, and life-coach Moreno’s guide to self-knowledge and self-love is refer to this as the cumulative body burden).
rooted in her Mexican heritage, especially the Indigenous traditions of Aztec and Ma- Olien is passionate, and with good reason—
yan curanderas. a chemical sensitivity disorder led to his
father’s untimely death in the 1990s. Olien
How Are You, Really? Living Your Truth One Answer at a Time. By Jenna Kutcher.
offers solutions at every turn, most involving
2022. Morrow/Dey St., $27.99 (9780063221949). a return to organic foods, natural resources,
Tired of advice like “fake it till you make it,” Kutcher says it’s time to find out who we and practices that predate mass manufactur-
are, who we have around us, and what we’re going to do to improve our lives. ing and heedless consumption. The book
ends with DIY recipes and referrals to spe-
Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me out of My Head and into the
cific companies and products. This sobering
World. By Gretchen Rubin. Apr. 2023. Crown, $28 (9780593442746). content will give readers plenty to think
A medical scare prompts Rubin to focus on our five senses and their contributions about. —Kathleen McBroom
to our well-being, which she specifies in inventive ways in this entertaining and illumi- YA/S: Teens concerned about their
nating self-help narrative. health and the health of the planet
will appreciate this accessible guide to
Little Earthquakes. By Sarah Mandel. 2023. Harper, $30 (9780063270916). alternative products and practices. KM.
In a remarkably upbeat memoir, clinical psychologist Mandel recounts her success in
beating breast cancer during her second pregnancy only to be hit with another form Fertility Rules: The Definitive
of cancer. Guide to Male and Female
Reproductive Health.
Twice as Hard: The Stories of Black Women Who Fought to Become Physicians, By Leslie Schrock.
from the Civil War to the 21st Century. By Jasmine Brown. 2023. Beacon, $24.95 June 2023. 336p. Simon Element, paper, $18.99
(9780807025086). (9781668000144); e-book (9781668000151). 612.6.
Brown portrays nine trailblazing Black women physicians who faced immense adver- In this comprehensive and welcoming look
sity, including Dr. Edith Irby Jones, who persevered under Jim Crow and inspired many,
including Dr. Jocelyn Elders, surgeon general in the Clinton administration. Continued on p.18

14 Booklist April 15, 2023 www.booklistonline.com


Trade Secrets
A Reproductive Justice Approach
to Readers’ Advisory
By Barbara Alvarez
L
ast year I surveyed 179 library professionals across the
country about the sexual and reproductive health informa-
tion that they do or do not provide in their collections. A
significant number explained that they have limited resources in
their collections and do not have programs or partnerships on
these topics because patrons do not ask for them. However, just
because people are not outwardly asking for this information
does not mean that they do not need it. Shame, stigma, and fear
are just a few reasons that some people may not be comfort-
able going to their local library to ask for reproductive-health
information. As librarians, we can frame our community con-
nections, build our collections, and develop partnerships that
advance reproductive health. The Reproductive Justice frame-
work can help us do that.
So often when people talk about reproductive-health issues,
particularly birth control, pregnancy, and abortion, the conver-
sation comes down to concepts of “choice” and opposition to
certain forms of health care. Such discussions focus on personal
preference as opposed to systemic inequities. That’s why I prefer
to use the Reproductive Justice framework. Reproductive Justice
combines concepts surrounding reproductive health and social
justice for a more inclusive, holistic approach to discussing re-
productive health.
Reproductive Justice was formally introduced in 1994 by
a group of Black women in Chicago as a way to counter the
traditional women’s rights movement, which centered white,
middle-class women. SisterSong, a Reproductive Justice collec-
tive, defines it as “the human right to maintain personal bodily
autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the
children we have in safe and sustainable communities.” Black
women, Indigenous women, women of color, and trans women
have faced, and continue to face, barriers to reproductive health
care.
That’s why Reproductive Justice is necessary, because it means
that we are not solely providing information about someone’s
personal preferences. After all, many people make reproductive
decisions based not on choice, but on laws determining health
care and health-care availability, their socioeconomic status, ac-
cess to housing, livable wages, ability to obtain clean water and
fresh food, child-care costs, and the ramifications of the prison-
industrial complex on their family and community. That’s why
I consider information to be a Reproductive Justice concept.
While there are larger, systemic issues that must be addressed
in order to support safe, thriving communities and health care,
library workers can play an important role in empowering our
patrons through information. To make informed decisions and
access comprehensive health care, one needs to be able to ac-
www.booklistonline.com
Spotlight
cess credible, unbiased sources of information. As librarians
who provide reference and reader’s advisory services, we can and
should offer those resources. By providing this information, even
though many people are afraid or reluctant to ask for it, we are
communicating to our patrons that we are supportive of their
reproductive-health choices. Access to reproductive-health infor-
mation is also part of upholding intellectual freedom.
These are the books and other resources that I recommend all
librarians read, add to their collections, and recommend to their
communities through programs, book discussions, displays, and
readers’ advisory lists. I also think that there are opportunities
for librarians to develop partnerships and programs with Repro-
ductive Justice collectives.
Books
Reproductive Justice: An Introduction. By Loretta Ross and Rickie
Solinger.
Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of
Liberty. By Dorothy Roberts.
Reproductive Justice: The Politics of Health Care for Native
American Women. By Barbara Gurr.
The New Handbook for a Post-Roe America. By Robin Marty.
When Abortion Was a Crime. By Leslie J. Reagan.
The Turnaway Study. By Diana Greene Foster.
Other Resources
SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective:
sistersong.net/
If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice: ifwhenhow.
org/
Guttmacher Institute: guttmacher.org/
National Network of Abortion Funds: abortionfunds.org/
Plan C: plancpills.org/
Digital Defense Fund: digitaldefensefund.org/
Barbara Alvarez is a PhD student in Information Science at University of Wisconsin–
Madison with a focus on reproductive health and the author of The Library’s Guide to
Sexual and Reproductive Health Information published by ALA Editions. Alvarez is a
2011 Spectrum Scholar and a 2022 Library Journal Mover & Shaker.
April 15, 2023 Booklist 15
Booklist The Essentials

Women’s Health
by Donna Seaman

W
Art from Period. End of Sentence.

omen’s health and healthcare have always been crash course conducted with passion and
humor.
warped and undermined by systemic misogyny in the
medical profession and society-at-large, a dangerous Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and
Myth in a Man-Made World. By
form of inequity doubled by racism for women of color, and Elinor Cleghorn. 2021. Penguin, $28
now the long struggle for universal reproductive health has (9780593182956).
As long as there have been physicians,
once again intensified. The time is right for clarifying and most have been male and most have
empowering books about women’s bodies and well-being. viewed women as somehow inferior to
men, an insidious bias that has had seri-
Birthing Liberation: How Reproductive forthright champion of women’s health ous medical consequences pertaining to
Justice Can Set Us Free. By Sabia and rights, seeks to empower women with everything from the female reproductive
Wade. 2023. Chicago Review, $28.99 this frank and expert, informative and system to autoimmune and endocrine
(9781641607964). reassuring look at menopause. diseases and mental-health disorders.
Wade, a Black doula and educator, Period. End of Sentence: A New Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage.
strongly promotes reproductive justice for Chapter in the Fight for Menstrual By Rachel E. Gross. 2022. Norton, $30
all, while revealing how far Black people Justice. By Anita Diamant. 2021. (9781324006312).
are from that goal while citing statistics, Scribner, $17 (9781982144296). Recognizing that the mainstream medi-
delving into history, and addressing sys-
Best-selling novelist Diamant’s scorch- cal approach to “the female reproductive
temic racism in women’s reproductive ing and utterly unforgettable narrative system” was insufficient, Gross sets out
health and far beyond. covers history, politics, economics, to define more accurately what it means
Linea Nigra. By Jazmina Barrera. Tr. by and individual women’s stories as she to be female, focusing on anatomy and
Christina MacSweeney. 2022. Two Lines, details how societies around the world women’s rights and expertly combining
$21.95 (9781949641301). have long treated the normal, natural authoritative sources, history, and scientif-
The linea nigra—the pregnancy line—is function of menstruation as a source ic data with frank discussions by medical
the dark, vertical line that runs down the of shame and how this abuse is being professionals, scientists, and people of all
bellies of many pregnant women and an eradicated. genders.
apt title for Barrera’s refreshingly different Talking to My Tatas: All You Need to Womb: The Inside Story of Where We
alternative to traditional what-to-expect Know from a Breast Cancer Researcher All Began. By Leah Hazard. 2023. Ecco,
titles for mothers-to-be. Prepare to feel in and Survivor. By Dana Brantley-Sieders. $28.99 (9780063157620).
awe of the female body and of Barrera’s 2022. Rowman & Littlefield, $36 In this homage to the womb, Hazard—
way with words. (9781538155103). midwife, writer, podcast host, and mother
The Menopause Manifesto: Owning Brantley-Sieders, a breast-cancer re- of two girls—engagingly and unabashedly
Your Health with Facts and Feminism. By searcher and survivor, talks a lot about shares the fascinating, sometimes-gory
Jen Gunter. 2021. Kensington/Citadel, tatas and how they feed “tiny humans” details of periods, conception, labor,
$18.95 (9780806540665). and offers in-depth information about menopause, and hysterectomies, offering
Gunter, author of the best-selling The breast cancer, sharing her own experience easy-to-understand explanations of this
Vagina Bible (2019), an OB/GYN, and a and dispelling myths in a “cancer 101” oddly underappreciated organ.
16 Booklist April 15, 2023 www.booklistonline.com
 Great Reads For Your

Spotlight
Physical and Mental Health

9781538185476 • Jul 2023 • Paper 9781538172803 • Dec 2022 • Cloth 9781538164235 • Mar 2023 • Cloth 9781538169735 • Mar 2023 • Cloth

9781538169377 • May 2023 • Cloth 9781538164532 • Jan 2023 • Cloth 9781538161746 • Dec 2022 • Cloth 9781538166536 • Dec 2022 • Cloth

9781475871258 • Mar 2023 • Paper 9781538165577 • Feb 2023 • Paper 9781538173695 • May 2023 • Paper 9781538162361 • Jan 2023 • Cloth

Rowman.com | 800-462-6420
 Continued from p.14
at fertility, Schrock addresses what people
Spotlight
who want to conceive should know. This is a
much-needed book. At least one in six couples
struggles to conceive. She
frankly shares her own story
of two miscarriages and, ul-
timately, two healthy sons.
Over the past half-century,
sperm concentration and
count have dropped mysteri-
ously. Endocrine-disrupting
hormones, pollution, mari-
juana, steroids, and even heated car seats seem
to be detrimental when it comes to fertility.
Couples can do more than they think they
can; Schrock advises and reassures readers that
“becoming a parent has nothing to do with
the ability to conceive ‘naturally.’” Women
should know that their fertility starts to de-
cline between ages 25 and 30; around 37 is
the age when it significantly drops. Declining
egg quality and “diminished ovarian reserves”
are inevitable with aging. It’s a guy issue, too.
First- and second-trimester pregnancy loss in-
creases by 27 percent in fathers older than 35
and doubles in 50-year-olds, and the risk of
schizophrenia, Down syndrome, autism, and
genetic mutations increases with paternal age.
With lots of interesting tidbits—it takes sperm
about ten minutes to travel from the penis into
the uterine canal—Schrock’s coverage lives up
to the promise of the subtitle. This is a defini-
tive and highly useful guide to reproductive
health. —Karen Springen
If It Sounds like a Quack . . .: A Journey
to the Fringes of American Medicine.
By Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling.
Apr. 2023. 336p. PublicAffairs, $29 (9781541788879);
e-book (9781541788862). 615.8.
Hucksters have convinced vulnerable
Americans try crazy treatments; leeches,
anyone? In this well-reported look at current
dubious non-traditional medicine, award-
winning journalist Hongoltz-Hetling
presents a motley cast of characters on the
furthest fringes of health and healing. Meet
Toby McAdam, a failed gubernatorial candi-
date from Billings, Montana, who marketed
Bloodroot Toothpaste, created supplements
to treat his mom’s cancer, and who believes
that a bad person can turn others into zom-
bies with an easily transmissible virus, like
rabies. Scarily, McAdam notes that it’s legal
for registered researchers like him to order
up to five vials of anthrax and smallpox.
Consumers are gullible. One study showed
that illegally selling the erection-improving
drug sildenafil through a bogus online phar-
macy was 2,000 times more profitable than
selling cocaine and less likely to result in
criminal penalties. Hongoltz-Hetling revels
in the weirdness as he recounts a variety of
questionable alternative treatments touted
by the so-called medical freedom movement,
with Donald Trump tapped as its “game
18 Booklist April 15, 2023
show host.” Be prepared to both laugh and
feel horrified. —Karen Springen
Joy Is My Justice: Reclaim What Is
Yours.
By Tanmeet Sethi.
May 2023. 288p. Hachette, $28 (9780306830037). 158.1.
Joy is not the same as happiness, says Sethi,
a Sikh American physician, activist, and
meditation teacher. Nine months pregnant,
she is devastated when her three-year-old son
is diagnosed with Duch-
enne muscular dystrophy.
Desperate for hope, Sethi
begins a search for joy with-
in herself. The joy she finds
acknowledges deep feelings
and past histories. It leads
to power, connection, and
belonging. It’s an act of resis-
tance and justice. Sethi scatters “Take a Pause”
breaks throughout, describing exercises, med-
itations, and journal prompts to help readers
with their own search for joy. Though Sethi is
frank, her memoir is filled with heartbreak-
ing thoughts and images. In an attempt to
learn from her young son’s journey, she seeks
to change “Why me?” into “Why not me?,”
to experience beauty and awe, and to open
herself to gratitude. Sethi freely shares her set-
backs, challenges, and breakdowns as well as
her moments of joy as she moves toward pain
rather than fleeing from it. She describes ses-
sions where participants make breakthroughs
by acknowledging their feelings and writing
their own, new story. Sethi doesn’t claim the
journey will be free of pain or effort, but her
wise counsel, written so lovingly, will certainly
help readers heal themselves as they face life
challenges. —Candace Smith
A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely
Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention.
By Kristina Marusic.
May 2023. 224p. Island, $28 (9781642832198). 614.59.
In this series of engaging profiles linked by
an overarching investigation into the negative
impacts of chemical pollution, readers will find
themselves learning from researchers, health
advocates, lawyers, and com-
munity activists about the
many insidious ways cancer
has been invited into our dai-
ly lives. Grounded in decades
of published studies and re-
search, the men and women
whom environmental health
and justice journalist Maru-
sic writes about look beyond the obvious into
how low-dose exposures to tens of thousands
of unregulated chemicals can combine to dis-
rupt natural hormone processes and result in
a variety of cancers. These chemicals reach us
through the food we eat and its packaging, the
personal care products we put on our bodies,
the environments in which our children learn
and play, and our building materials. This is
critical, painstaking work that requires years of
diligent focus, and yet this information is of-
ten lost in the search for treatments and cures.
What if, Marusic posits, we tried to prevent
cancer from ever occurring? Why accept that
places like Cancer Alley in Louisiana should
even exist? This a surprising and significant look
at cancer research, an eye-opening book readers
will feel compelled to talk about with everyone
they know. —Colleen Mondor
YA/S: Any student interested in pursuing
a career in public health will be thrilled
to dive into these candid and compelling
profiles. CM.
No Longer Radical: Understanding
Mastectomies and Choosing the Breast
Cancer Care That’s Right for You.
By Rachel Brem and Christy Teal.
May 2023. 352p. Simon Element, $30 (9781668001141);
e-book (9781668001158). 616.99.
The authors, a breast radiologist and a breast
surgeon who had mastectomies themselves,
want other women to feel empowered to get
them. “The decision to undergo preventive
mastectomies is no longer radical,” they say.
The two George Washington University doc-
tors wisely start with their own stories. At just
33, Brem’s mom was diagnosed with breast
cancer. When Brem was 37, she got tested for
the BRCA mutation, learned she had it, and
scheduled prophylactic surgery. Two weeks be-
fore her bilateral mastectomies, she learned she
already had breast cancer. Despite not carrying
a BRCA gene, Teal, whose mother had breast
cancer, got prophylactic mastectomies. The
authors frequently refer to studies as they help
women make the best choice. It’s vital. In 2020,
breast cancer became the most common cancer
in the world; one in eight women are diagnosed
with it. The good news: 40 percent fewer wom-
en die of breast cancer now than two decades
ago, largely because of advances in detection,
hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery.
Reconstruction is far better, too. An invaluable,
forthright, upbeat resource. —Karen Springen
Say Anarcha: A Young Woman, a
Devious Surgeon, and the
Harrowing Birth of Modern Women’s
Health.
By J. C. Hallman.
June 2023. 448p. illus. Holt, $29.99 (9781250868466);
e-book (9781250868473). 613.
Hallman tells the appalling stories of J.
Marion Sims, a ruthlessly ambitious physi-
cian from South Carolina,
and the enslaved woman
known as Anarcha, who
made possible Sims’ ac-
claim as the alleged “father
of modern gynecology” by
repeatedly enduring his
brutal and reckless experi-
ments. Sims was determined
to attain wealth and fame with a cure for
the miseries of obstetric fistula, no matter
how horribly Anarcha and other enslaved
women suffered during his surgeries. Hall-
www.booklistonline.com
man’s forthright chronicling of the horrors of
slavery and the era’s toxic misogyny sets the
stage for Sims’ monstrous procedures, which
won him renown in Europe during the Civil
War as he supported the Confederacy. Hall-
man assiduously tracked down every shred
of documentation pertaining to Anarcha,
but to fully align her life with Sims’, he cre-
ated what he describes as a “comprehensively
researched work of speculative nonfiction.”
That is, he imagines the details of Anarcha’s
experiences as an historical novelist would,
following her path from plantation to plan-
tation, Richmond, New York, Philadelphia,
and back to Alabama as she became a pro-
ficient herbalist, midwife, and nurse, as well
as a wife and mother, all while she struggled
with fistula and the cruelties of slavery.
Though Hallman goes overboard in this
graphic, exhaustive, tangent-prone exposé,
his righteous passion and galvanizing prose
are commanding and affecting; the realities
he reveals are harrowing, tragic, and grimly
relevant. —Donna Seaman
Taking Care: The Story of Nursing and
Its Power to Change Our World.
By Sarah DiGregorio.
May 2023. 336p. Harper, $32 (9780063071285); e-book
(9780063071308). 610.73.
DiGregorio’s experiences with health care
as the parent of an extremely premature baby
and daughter of a cancer patient inspired her
to explore the history of nursing. The result is
uniquely fresh and expansive as she spans cen-
turies and cultures. DiGregorio tells the stories
of nurses who push past all stereotypical imag-
es, looking to the distant past and far beyond
hospital walls to profile diverse caregivers
who forged new paths and had tremendous
if unrecognized impacts. She recounts how
knowledgeable and trained people of color,
those working outside the lines of established
health care, and women were all kept from
providing their expertise in mainstream insti-
tutions. Even when the military was desperate
for qualified nurses, for example, many had
to fight for their right to serve. DiGregorio
links two nurses, a couple in rural Tennessee,
guiding community members in diabetes care
to community nursing in turn of the century
New York’s tenements. She profiles a nurse re-
searcher battling the effects of climate change
among migrant workers. DiGregorio succeeds
in offering a new, eye-opening perspective on
the significance of nursing and nurses’ power
to better lives. —Cynthia Dieden
To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is
Making Us Sick—and How We Can
Fight Back.
By Alden Wicker.
June 2023. 304p. Putnam, $29 (9780593422618). 613.
Fashion journalist Wicker opens this in-
vestigation into the dangerous chemicals in
clothing dyes with a shocking discussion of
flight attendants who recently became ill from
their uniforms. Interviews with airline employ-
www.booklistonline.com
ees who had careers destroyed by the outfits
they were required to wear is a powerful open-
ing salvo in a book that delivers one stunning
revelation after another. The author’s mastery
of her chosen subject is impressive, while it
is her ability to not only enlighten readers re-
garding the obvious—fashion, she notes, does
not come with an ingredient list—but also
to drive home the seriousness of her research
that makes this a crucial book. The fact that
40 to 60 thousand chemicals
are used in the U.S. without
having been tested for their
impact on humans is equal
parts enraging and terrifying
and, as Wicker repeatedly
proves, absolutely cause for
concern. The dyes, she notes,
are used in everything, and
yet consumers have no idea what they’re made
of. Her gripping and deadly serious investi-
gation of this long-overlooked topic hits all
the right marks. To Dye For should be widely
read and has the potential of being a game
changer in an increasingly scrutinized industry.
—Colleen Mondor
YA: Teens are way ahead of the curve
with sustainable fashion, and they will
appreciate this smart investigation. CM.
The Well-Lived Life: A 102-Year-Old
Doctor’s Six Secrets to Health and
Happiness at Every Age.
By Gladys McGarey.
May 2023. 256p. Atria, $27.99 (9781668014486); e-book
(9781668014509). 613.2.
You are here for a reason. All life needs to
move. Love is the most powerful medicine.
You are never truly alone. Everything is your
teacher. Spend your energy wildly. These six
concepts form the backbone of McGarey’s
inspiring book about how to live life fully
and holistically. McGarey, cofounder of the
American Holistic Medical Association and
mother of six, is more than100 years old and
still practicing medicine in Arizona. Reading
between the lines, one can tell that she has
seen and lived through a lot! The “secrets” she
shares aren’t really secrets. Rather, they make
perfect sense as she takes readers through vi-
gnettes from her extraordinary life and offers
practices and exercises related to each chap-
ter’s focus. McGarey’s remarkable anecdotes
genuinely bolster her message. Additionally,
she makes it clear that each secret may not
pertain to everyone and encourages readers
to focus on what means the most to them.
The Well-Lived Life is refreshingly simple and
practical. The good doctor’s sound advice feels
achievable, and readers will feel inspired and
energized. —Patricia Smith
Who We Lost: A Portable Covid
Memorial.
Ed. by Martha Greenwald.
May 2023. 201p. Belt, paper, $18.95 (9781953368539).
155.937.
Kentucky-based poet Greenwald (Other
Prohibited Items, 2010) founded and main-
tains the WhoWeLost Project (whowelost.
org), inviting people to share mini-mem-
Spotlight
oirs about friends and relatives who died of
COVID-19 from 2020 to the present. This
book gathers several dozen of these brief,
touching stories in which, revealing close
ties and sweet personal details, the authors
pay tribute to those they miss. The often-
wrenching voices include sons and daughters,
sisters, and brothers; survivors of the virus
whose relatives weren’t so lucky; and a Navajo
woman who lost 42 family members to the
pandemic. Contributors share dreams of their
loved ones, favorite recipes, and happy recol-
lections. Their work is joined by health care
workers reporting on their own experience of
the pandemic. Greenwald also includes help-
ful pages of advice for those looking to make
their own contributions to the ongoing proj-
ect. The collection, with many hopeful notes
among its heartbreaking ones, should serve to
connect readers who might feel alone in their
losses and may inspire others to join the proj-
ect. —Margaret Quamme
You or Someone You Love:
Reflections from an Abortion
Doula.
By Hannah Matthews.
May 2023. 336p. Atria, paper, $18.99 (9781668005255);
e-book (9781668005262). 362.1988.
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June
2022, the realities of reproductive health care
in the U.S. have been turned
upside down as well. In an
attempt to shout human
truths above the abstract
din, abortion doula Hannah
Matthews offers this fierce,
beautiful, compassionate
book, equal parts memoir
and informative nonfiction.
Matthews, a reproductive health-care worker,
writer, wife, and mother, also works as an
abortion doula for people looking to become
un-pregnant. Many people are familiar with
birth and death doulas, who guide patients
through the emotional and physical processes
involved with childbirth and the end of life.
Abortion doulas perform similar tasks for
people undergoing the stress of a surgical or
medical abortion. Matthews starts by sharing
her own abortion experience, comforting read-
ers and building trust with her brave, heartfelt,
and gorgeous prose. The details of her proce-
dure also form the framework for the rest of the
book, wherein she outlines the real truths of
abortion in general: deeply complex emotional
experiences, logistical difficulties, social inequi-
ties, political and legal repercussions, and the
heroes sacrificing everything for the reproduc-
tive freedom movement. Readers will leave
with much knowledge—and a new role model
and friend in Matthews. —Courtney Eathorne
YA: Teens who are passionate about
reproductive freedom will rejoice at
Matthews’ candor and heart. CE.
April 15, 2023 Booklist 19

Adult Fiction
Austral.
By Carlos Fonseca. Tr. by Megan
McDowell.
May 2023. 224p. illus. Farrar, $27 (9780374606657);
e-book (9780374606664).
Austral means “of or relating to the South-
ern Hemisphere,” the setting and the soul of
Fonseca’s intense and intricate novel elegantly
translated by McDowell. As
in Natural History (2020),
the plot follows a protagonist
on a quest—in this case, Cos-
ta Rican literature professor
Julio Gamboa as he chases
down clues found in a myste-
rious manuscript. Julio’s first
love, Aliza/Alicia Abravanel,
had become a novelist who, before dying,
asked that Julio edit and publish her final
book. Excerpts from Abravanel’s manuscript,
italicized text, photos, drawings, and typewrit-
ten scraps of paper enliven this tour de force.
Julio’s quest unravels at least three strands of in-
quiry that send him spiraling ever deeper into
the conundrum at the heart of the novel: how
did language, culture, and memory survive
the brutal Austral annihilation of Indigenous
communities after WWII? Part one takes Ju-
lio to a remote Argentine artists’ commune. In
part two, he returns to Cincinnati for a lonely
Christmas season haunted by memories of the
Central American trip he took with Abravanel
when they were young lovers. In part three, Ju-
lio confronts his own memories and choices at
the bizarre Theater of Memory on the site of a
Guatemalan village destroyed in the genocidal
civil war. —Sara Martinez
The Bird Hotel.
By Joyce Maynard.
May 2023. 432p. Arcade, $29.99 (9781956763744).
Raised by her grandmother after her
free-spirited mother is presumed dead in a
Weather Underground bombing, Irene has
spent most of her life hiding her true iden-
tity. On the brink of suicide after losing her
husband and young son, she boards a bus to
Mexico and ultimately ends up in the tiny
town of La Esperanza (a fictional stand-in
for Maynard’s home base on Lake Atitlan,
Guatemala). She checks into La Llorona, a
tumbledown hotel in a remote paradise run
by American expat Leila. As the days become
months, Irene begins to heal, and when Leila
abruptly dies and leaves her the hotel, she
finds a new purpose in restoring the property
with the help of neighbors Gus and Dora.
Setbacks in the form of natural disasters, be-
trayals, and the arrival of a detective seeking
information about her mother’s role in the
long-ago bombing threaten but do not derail
her new life. Maynard (Count the Ways, 2021)
combines lush, evocative prose with elements
of magic realism in this modern-day fairy tale
about the power of love. —Lindsay Harmon
20 Booklist April 15, 2023
The Darlings.
By Hannah McKinnon.
May 2023. 320p. Atria/Emily Bestler, paper, $17.99
(9781982195533).
The Darling family’s beloved Cape Cod cot-
tage, Riptide, has expanded over the years, but
the heart of the home has stayed true. Darling
family matriarch Tish hasn’t stepped foot in
Riptide in years. As the cottage’s sole owner, she
has the power to decide its future—and she’ll
have to divulge a long-hidden family secret
in order to keep the house in Darling hands.
The scents of sea air, hydrangeas, and lobster
rolls infuse every page of McKinnon’s (Message
in the Sand, 2021) latest, offering readers an
idyllic New England escape that highlights the
strength of family, whether related by blood,
marriage, or choice. In the vein of J. Courtney
Sullivan, Erin Hilderbrand, and Jennifer Close,
and contrasting picturesque coastal perfection
with the messiness of real life, this multigen-
erational saga sets familial obligations against
the freedom of new opportunities, all wrapped
up in a heartwarming bow. —Stephanie Turza
The Disappeared.
By Andrew Porter.
Apr. 2023. 240p. Knopf, $28 (9780593534304).
While the disappeared character in the ti-
tle story is truly missing—he never returned
from a hike in Joshua Tree National Park—
many of the others in
Porter’s latest collection are
physically present but emo-
tionally absent. His deeply
introspective (and primarily
male) protagonists search
for meaning by reflecting on
past and present relation-
ships. In the poignant and
devastating “The Bees,” a husband struggles
with his wife’s decision to rent an apartment
near her office. As she becomes increasingly
distant, a colony of bees gradually return
to a hive inside a wall in the family’s home,
menacing the husband and child. Award-win-
ner Porter (The Theory of Light and Matter,
2010) is a master of the form, and some of
the collection’s briefest entries pack the big-
gest emotional punch. In less than two pages,
the narrator of “Chili” reflects on the prema-
ture death of a neighbor who brought him a
beautiful but toxic pepper from her garden,
“the child she’d never had, or a painting she’d
always wanted to make, this tiny, beautiful
thing, so full of heat it might kill you.” The
understated prose of these reflective stories
will appeal to fans of Richard Ford, Elizabeth
Strout, and Alice Munro. —Lindsay Harmon
Dykette.
By Jenny Fran Davis.
May 2023. 320p. Holt, $26.99 (9781250843135); e-book
(9781250843128).
Sasha and Jesse, twentysomethings who’ve
been together for a year or so, get the invite of
a lifetime: a winter week upstate at the Hud-
son, New York, home of their “queer elders,”
iconic national news anchor Jules Todd and
her therapist partner, Miranda. Joining them
are a couple whose relationship is even fresher
than Sasha and Jesse’s, their friend Lou and
blue-check-verified Darcy, “of artsy-elite, Slav-
ic-vibes internet fame.” This first adult book
from the author of the YA novel Everything
Must Go (2017) unfolds from the perspective
of Sasha, who’s working on a doctorate in gen-
der studies and quotes Leslie Feinberg, Chris
Kraus, Sarah Schulman, and Vanderpump Rules
in equal measure. Because Sasha can only be
herself, “frenetic and dissociated, believing
that emotional presence actually ruined most
things,” mysteries and jealousies abound for
her and us: Who keeps texting Miranda? Do
Miranda and Jules still have sex? Is Jesse crush-
ing on Darcy, or is the erotic/disturbing art
piece they’re working on together just that? An
engagingly self-aware and entertainingly claus-
trophobic story of performance and realness.
—Annie Bostrom
Glassworks.
By Olivia Wolfgang-Smith.
May 2023. 368p. Bloomsbury, $28.99 (9781635578775).
Olivia Wolfgang-Smith’s first novel is a gen-
eration-spanning epic of family, inheritance,
and identity. In Boston in 1910, woman of
means Agnes Carter brings
Czech glass artist Ignace No-
vak to create botanical and
zoological models for “the
university” (Harvard). Agnes’
and Ignace’s shared passion
for the natural world sustains
Agnes as she struggles against
the limits imposed by her
new and violent marriage. In 1938, Edward
Novak leaves his parents in Chicago to ap-
prentice at a glass workshop in Boston. After
constant failures, he finds hope in Charlotte
Callaghan, heir to a communion wafer compa-
ny. In 1986, queer window washer Novak cares
for her father and her community in New York.
Her best friend, Felix, drags her to a Broadway
show, where Novak’s life collides with that of
young actress Cecily Wonder. Novak Bright-
man, who goes by Flip, struggles to stay afloat
in 2015, while her twin sister, Tabitha, man-
ages their aging mother’s care. Stuck living with
her ex-girlfriend, Flip sees only her broken
relationships and failures. These intertwined
stories explore isolation and connection. With
richly drawn characters and deft storytelling,
Glassworks is a beautifully crafted, memorable
debut. —Laura Chanoux
YA: YA fans of queer and historical fiction
will love Wolfgang-Smith’s family epic.
LC.
The God of Good Looks.
By Breanne Mc Ivor.
May 2023. 384p. Morrow, $27.99 (9780063278813); e-book
(9780063278837).
Mc Ivor’s debut novel, set in her home
www.booklistonline.com
country of Trinidad and Tobago and rich in
social commentary, presents aspiring writer
Bianca Bridge, who rather reluctantly accepts
notoriously bossy entrepreneur Obadiah
Cortland’s offer of a position with a beauty
magazine. In the alternating voices of Bianca
and Obadiah, Mc Ivor effectively captures a
surprising and evolving relationship in a mix
of humor and drama. Along the way, she in-
novatively expands the established tropes of
Caribbean literature, cleverly using the beauty
industry to challenge conventional notions
of womanhood and attractiveness. Trinidad’s
current social and political reality forms a
provocative backdrop as Bianca struggles at
her lowest point, professionally and person-
ally, then slowly gains confidence in a tale that
tracks the universal theme of female agency
in familial, professional, and social settings.
Obadiah’s character arc, though different,
also captures the growing self-awareness of a
person who has tackled social hierarchies by
concealing his true self. Memorable charac-
ters, evocative descriptions, and a well-paced
story make this an eminently enjoyable novel.
—Shoba Viswanathan
The Half-White Album.
By Cynthia J. Sylvester.
Apr. 2023. 184p. Univ. of New Mexico, paper, $19.95
(9780826364715); e-book (9780826364685).
In her debut book, Sylvester, an en-
rolled member of the Diné, born into the
Kiyaa’áanii Clan for the Bilagáana Clan, in-
troduces readers to a Diné family and then
unravels their family history through poetry,
short stories, and nonfiction writing. The col-
lection finds a rhythm through the Covers,
a band whose live shows are headings that
separate the book into 10 parts. This musical
thread connects family members, as readers
get to see how each generation of this family
deals with the changing realities of being Na-
tive American in the U.S. The book begins
with Sylvester sitting down to write what she
remembers about her upbringing. In short
chapters that have a sense of urgency, fam-
ily members grapple with residential schools
and the erasure of their culture one day at a
time. We see the impacts of these experiences
while also getting to see Indigenous culture
represented through a contemporary lens.
Sylvester’s writing is emotionally driven and
lyrical, making this a relevant and needed
addition to the canon of writing from the
American Southwest. —BoDean Warnock
Harold.
By Steven Wright.
May 2023. 256p. Simon & Schuster, $26 (9781668022696).
Harold is a third-grader who “loved living
in the circus of his head.” He pictures count-
less tiny birds in there, each a thought; so
when a bird, of species real and imagined, flies
through the little open rectangle in his brain,
that’s what he thinks about. Such as: what if
people kept growing taller and taller like trees?
He sits at his desk on a typical school day in
the early 1960s, alert to his crush, Elizabeth;
www.booklistonline.com
enamored of and enraged by his teacher;
winging off into reveries and daydreams, his
surprisingly edgy sensibility shaped by classic
black-and-white movies and his affectionate,
iconoclastic grandfather. His elaborately sur-
real and provocative inner journeys take him
beneath a cemetery and to the moon. His
wildly pivoting yet incisive commentary is
spiked by his ire over war and dictators; he
muses on the nature of time. “Harold was a
wondering machine.” Readers enthralled by
stand-up comedian Wright’s uniquely brainy,
topsy-turvy, metaphysical, and epigrammatic
humor will revel in Harold’s uncanny, sharply
funny, and profound ponderings in this sar-
donic yet tender tale of life’s mysteries and the
mind’s marvels. —Donna Seaman
Just a Regular Boy.
By Catherine Ryan Hyde.
May 2023. 336p. Amazon/Lake Union, $28.99
(9781662504372); paper (9781662504358); e-book
(9781662504365).
When Remy Blake was five years old, his
survivalist father, Roy, drove him into the
wilderness, away from everything he had
ever known. Roy was convinced that mod-
ern society was approaching a fiery downfall,
and he alone would be able to keep Remy
safe. But when Roy succumbs to a heart
condition, Remy has to fend for himself,
living on the outskirts of society. After be-
ing captured by the authorities, Remy is
released to experienced foster mother Anne,
who believes every child deserves love and
rehabilitation. As Anne and Remy build
on a shaky foundation of mutual trust and
understanding, they learn more about each
other—and themselves—than they ever
could have imagined. Prolific author Hyde
applies her heartwarming style to the dy-
namic between a foster parent and child,
highlighting the power of therapy and the
reliability of inner strength. Fans of Hannah
Mary McKinnon and Diane Chamberlain
will appreciate the author’s commitment to
illuminating under-the-radar relationships
and the many opportunities for growth and
change that lie therein. —Stephanie Turza
La Tercera.
By Gina Apostol.
May 2023. 480p. Soho, $27 (9781641293907); e-book
(9781641293914).
Apostol’s (Bibliolepsy, 2022) periphrastic
and digressive story follows Rosario Del-
gado, a New York-based Filipino immigrant
and novelist whose last name, hometown,
and profession are coincidentally similar to
the author’s. She is nicknamed Inday by her
mom; a term that can be considered equally
affectionate and condescending, providing
a hint of the complex mother-daughter dy-
namics that course throughout the novel.
When her mother dies, Rosario delays going
home to settle her mom’s affairs, but becomes
intrigued with the mystery behind a piece
of valuable land called La Tercera. Through
sardonic reminiscences, readers are given
backstories and disjointed events featuring
Rosario’s numerous family members and ac-
quaintances. Apostol’s use of dialect, cultural
references, and descriptive details may con-
found non-Filipino readers. The excessively
meandering narrative vividly chronicles the
Delgado family’s desires, idiosyncrasies,
and preoccupations, while the minutiae
of the land’s provenance and stories, pep-
pered with side-wink remarks on Philippine
political and historical events, will either
tax readers’ patience or engage and amuse.
—Andrienne Cruz
Late Bloomers.
By Deepa Varadarajan.
May 2023. 368p. Random, paper, $18 (9780593498026);
e-book (9780593498033).
After 36 years of marriage and two grown
children, Lata Raman put herself first and
found a new place to live and a job she loves
in a university’s music library. Surprised by
the divorce, Suresh turned to dating apps
and a wide geographic range from his home
in Clayton, Texas, as the solution. Their son,
Nikesh, is in New York City with his part-
ner and their baby, making it easier for him
to find the situation amusing, but his older
sister, Priya, is nearby and finds the whole
thing exhausting, especially as she struggles
with her own dysfunctional romance. What’s
a divided family to do? Readers looking for
new fictional friends to cherish will be smit-
ten with the Ramans from page one. Each
of first-time novelist Varadarajan’s characters
has their own journey and personal growth,
and the family interactions acknowledge past
decisions that still resonate. Details about the
couple’s arranged marriage, favorite foods,
and celebrations add even greater depth to
these engaging characters, while a lively sense
of humor guides them through challenges and
joys. —Stacey Hayman
Like the Appearance of Horses.
By Andrew Krivak.
May 2023. 288p. Bellevue, $28.99 (9781954276130); e-book
(9781954276147).
Krivak’s resplendent multigenerational fam-
ily saga expertly braids the horrors of war
with the struggles of those waiting for loved
ones to return home. He again features the
Vinich family, introduced
in The Sojourn (2011) and
The Signal Flame (2017),
now completing the Dardan
Trilogy. When 14-year-old
Bexhet (Becks) Konar, hav-
ing escaped fascist Hungary
in 1933, arrives at the home
of Jozef Vinich in Dardan,
Pennsylvania, he is reunited with the man who
saved his life when he was an orphaned infant
in WWI. He also meets Jozef ’s daughter, Han-
nah, who will become his wife. Becks returns
to Europe to fight for his adopted homeland
in WWII, is separated from his unit, and
endures a harrowing journey home. Krivak’s
prose is earthy, assured, and exquisitely ren-
April 15, 2023 Booklist 21
dered in evocative descriptions of the natural
world juxtaposed with visceral combat scenes.
The language is lush, alternating in cadence to
reflect the action and settings. The accounts of
survival in war-torn countries are particularly
striking, illustrating the dichotomy of beauty
and death. Krivak is equally adept at explor-
ing the emotional sinews connecting family,
community, and country. As successive gen-
erations of the Vinich and Konar family are
called to war, incurring scars both physical
and psychological, it is those human bonds
that provide healing. —Bill Kelly
No Two Persons.
By Erica Bauermeister.
May 2023. 320p. St. Martin’s, $28 (9781250284372); e-book
(9781250284389).
Alice always found a refuge in stories. First
reading them, disappearing into their pages,
and then writing them herself. It surprised
her that characters would grab hold and not
let her go, making it less like writing and more
like being channeled. After Alice’s debut novel
becomes a best-seller, each subsequent chapter
explores the life of one of its readers, from an
intimidating publishing doyenne to a high-
schooler keeping a secret. The book seems to
attach itself firmly to everyone who encounters
it. Bauermeister (The Scent Keeper, 2019) pens a
love letter to novels, imagining the far reach and
deep hold of the stories we carry with us. Fans
of Karen Dukess’ The Last Book Party (2019),
and Tatiana de Rosnay’s The Other Story (2014)
will appreciate Bauermeister’s deep respect for
the written word and the power a well-told
story can have on anyone. Bauermeister’s lat-
est inspiring and introspective novel offers a
peek inside the world of publishing, but more
importantly, it explores what happens after a
long-held dream is achieved. —Stephanie Turza
Shy.
By Max Porter.
May 2023. 136p. Graywolf, $25 (9781644452295).
Porter’s (Lanny, 2019) well-deserved repu-
tation for capturing the intricacies of how a
mind works is reinforced in this recounting of
a few hours in the life of a troubled teenager,
Shy, who is at Last Chance, an institution for
kids who have had difficult life experiences.
As Shy walks through the night fields to-
wards a pond carrying a rucksack of rocks, we
learn in snippets about all that brought him
to this place and time. Porter’s writing, spare
and specific, is uncanny in evoking rooted-
ness as Shy’s mind wanders between the past
and the present, and Porter captures diffi-
cult emotions without wallowing in them.
This novella’s brevity belies the complicated
themes it tackles as Porter illuminates Shy’s
despair, anger, delight in music, and eagerness
to belong. The supporting characters—his
mom, stepdad, teacher and peers—are deftly
defined and anchor this teenager’s particular
angst even as this tale offers an unforgettable
rendering of universal experiences of alien-
ation and sorrow. Readers who appreciate a
deep dive into the human psyche will recog-
22 Booklist April 15, 2023
nize the grace with which Porter renders his
poignant protagonist. —Shoba Viswanathan
YA: YAs who enjoy lyrical, interiorized
fiction will be enthralled by Porter’s
depiction of a music-loving teen’s
emotional turmoil. SV.
The Sorrows of Others.
By Ada Zhang.
May 2023. 160p. Public Space, paper, $18
(9781736370964); e-book (9781736370971).
Writers with virtually perfect debuts are cer-
tainly rare; Zhang joins that short list with a
magnificent ten-story collection filled with lost
souls aching for connection on both sides of
the world. Xi’an is home for
many of her characters, those
who stayed in that Chinese
city and those who left, most
often for Texan destinations.
In the titular tale, a daughter
finds her long-widowed fa-
ther a wife via a dating app.
“Silence” reveals three gen-
erations of broken bonds between partners and
parents; “Compromise” examines a Texas fam-
ily abandoned 18 years ago by a philandering
husband who returns home to die. The rela-
tionship between a single father and his “already
sick of the world” daughter frays in “One Day.”
Marriage for an immigrant couple is made
tolerable by casseroles in “Any Good Wife.” A
seemingly inseparable friendship between two
college besties abruptly ruptures in “Julia.” Two
of the strongest stories feature brilliantly un-
expected endings. In the superb opener, “The
Subject,” a Manhattan college student moves to
a Flushing sublet and makes her septuagenar-
ian Chinese immigrant roommate the subject
of her senior thesis. In “Knowing,” the protago-
nist, disgruntled as a girl at having to call an
elder stranger Yeye (grandfather), finally learns
decades later why her mother insisted on that
moniker. Zhang’s prodigious performance
awaits lucky audiences. —Terry Hong
The Three of Us.
By Ore Agbaje-Williams.
May 2023. 192p. Putnam, $25 (9780593540718).
In Agbaje-Williams’ wonderfully witty debut
novel, the precarious détente between a wife,
her husband, and her best friend blows up over
the course of one fateful, wine-fueled day. The
wealthy British Nigerian couple are trying for
a baby, and both profess to want a “fuss-free”
traditional married life—although not, per-
haps, on precisely the same terms. And then
there is Temi (the only one of the three who is
named)—loud, brash, contemptuous of men,
pursuing life strictly on her own terms, “by my-
self, for myself.” Temi and the husband loathe
one another, each sure they know the woman
the wife really is (or should be). Provocations
escalate, devastating secrets spill out, and the
wife, who thought she was in control, is sur-
prised to find herself “a woman in between two
selves undecided as to which she can remain
loyal.” This wry comedy of manners unfolds in
a trio of engagingly self-absorbed, revealingly
unreliable first-person narratives. Agbaje-Wil-
liams sharply renders each character’s unique
voice, building depth and tension as the story
is told and retold. —Anne Foley
The Whole Animal.
By Corinna Chong.
May 2023. 192p. Arsenal Pulp, $17.95 (9781551529158).
Teetering on the edge of surrealism, The
Whole Animal lures readers in with a familiar
sight: beef, or as Chong describes it, “a vast red
landscape, leaking blood from every fissure.”
So begins the first short story in this twisted
collection, which confronts the extremities and
vulnerabilities of the flesh. Human and animal
bodies are contorted and prodded with a pe-
culiar coldness, often paralleling a search for
identity and control. A single coarse hair grows
from the eyelid of Queenie’s mom in one such
tale, no matter how many times she tries to
pull it out. Meanwhile, Queenie, who is part-
Chinese, faces racism on the playground and
when she’s with her dad. In another story, col-
lege student Gavin is embarrassed by his mom’s
sudden obsession with bodybuilding and Ar-
nold Schwarzenegger. However, this only
underscores his own vapid and feeble-minded
nature. Chong cleverly wields this technique
again and again, often jumping between two
experiences in a character’s life that perfectly
play off each other. A provocative debut for
those who enjoy dark humor. —Allison Cho
Crime Fiction
Beware the Woman.
By Megan Abbott.
May 2023. 304p. Putnam, $28.95 (9780593084939); e-book
(9780593084946).
The author of You Will Know Me (2016),
Give Me Your Hand (2018), The Turnout
(2021), and many more outstanding crime
novels delivers another knockout perfor-
mance with her new thriller.
New Yorkers Jacy and her
husband, Jed, are happily
anticipating the birth of their
first child. A visit to Jed’s
father in Michigan’s remote
Upper Peninsula feels a little
stressful, but Jacy likes the
man, a doctor, so she’s not
overly concerned. An unexpected bacterial
infection adds a complication to the visit, but
Jacy is sure it’s nothing some antibiotics can’t
clear up. Then something changes in the small
cottage—something seemingly insubstantial
yet somehow claustrophobically threatening.
A housekeeper who seemed a little standoffish
now seems menacing. Jed’s mother, dead for
years and barely mentioned, becomes almost
like an actual presence in the cottage. A sense
of foreboding falls over the story, a feeling of
something evil lurking just out of sight. Is
Jacy simply imagining things, or are she and
the baby inside her in real trouble? Abbott is
an accomplished storyteller (she’s won or been
nominated for numerous awards, including the
www.booklistonline.com
Edgar and the Anthony), and this is one of her
most compelling and well-constructed novels.
A real treat for the author’s many fans and for
everyone who treasures that sense of Gothic-
tinged trouble both within and without. Think
Rebecca in the UP. —David Pitt
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Abbott was
once a cult favorite, but those times are
long gone. She’s a crime-fiction A-lister now.
Dark Angel.
By John Sandford.
Apr. 2023. 384p. Putnam, $29.95 (9780593422410); e-book
(9780593422427).
A young woman is in a gun standoff. She
knows there’s going to be shooting, and she’s
going to win. But not now. Too loud. She waits
until the CD she’s put on gets to the monster
drum solo. Then BAM! One shot-up bad guy.
This is the second in author Sandford’s se-
ries featuring Letty Davenport, government
agent and adopted daughter of Sandford’s
series megastar Lucas Davenport. Both series
show Sandford’s mastery of character and ac-
tion. Here Letty, a fellow gun expert, and a
computer wizard go undercover to figure out
what’s doing with a hacker group called Ordi-
nary People. Turns out the war in Ukraine is
on the table in a bad way. Still more bad guys
wanting a chunk of the action enter, leading to
a 50-page chase and firefight, along with end-
less one-liners. Readers may wonder why, with
all this comedy, the tension has them clutch-
ing the arms of their chairs. That’s Sandford at
work. He even finds a way to tell us why WWI
flyers wore those silk scarves. Kept their necks
from chafing. —Don Crinklaw
The Devil You Know.
By Chris Hauty.
May 2023. 320p. Atria/Emily Bestler, $27.99
(9781982175887); e-book (9781982175931).
Deep State (2020) introduced readers to
Hayley Chill, a White House intern who’s not
entirely what she seems. Hauty followed with
Savage Road (2021) and Storm Rising (2022),
which made it clear just what Hayley is ca-
pable of when her back is to the wall. Now,
in the fourth book in the series, she’s handed
her toughest assignment yet. A Supreme Court
justice has been murdered—gunned down,
apparently by a cop. Elsewhere, a group of
children has been abducted; the kidnapper
will trade them for the life of another Supreme
Court justice. Hayley doesn’t have a lot of
time to save the kids and keep the justice alive.
Hauty, who wrote a handful of action movies
before he switched to novel-writing, uses the
race-against-time structure to its maximum ef-
fect: the pacing is perfect, the characters’ sense
of urgency transferring to the readers, who will
start turning pages with increasing speed. Se-
ries fans will love this one. —David Pitt
Going Zero.
By Anthony McCarten.
Apr. 2023. 304p. Harper, $28.99 (9780063227071); e-book
(9780063227088).
McCarten, both a novelist (Spinners) and
www.booklistonline.com
an Oscar-nominated screenwriter (The Theory
of Everything), presents a story that is timely,
frightening, exciting, suspenseful, and surpris-
ing. In a groundbreaking collaboration between
private enterprise and the American govern-
ment, 10 people have been chosen to test a
new kind of spyware. Their
challenge: to disappear and
elude their pursuers, who will
be using the most advanced
high-tech surveillance tools
ever developed, for a month.
One of the 10 is Kaitlin Day,
a Boston librarian, who leads
the spyware’s creator, Cy
Baxter, on a not-so-merry chase to find her. At
stake: Cy’s company, his reputation, and mil-
lions of dollars in prize money if Kaitlin eludes
capture before the deadline expires. But, as it
turns out, there’s a lot more going on here than
a simple cat-and-mouse game. There are a lot of
well-crafted characters in the mix, with many
of them not who they appear to be, and secrets
and neck-wrenching plot twists abound; the
reader is never quite sure where the story will
go next. The subject of high-tech surveillance
has become a hot-button issue, and McCarten
cleverly and plausibly extrapolates from today’s
technology to what we may well see tomorrow.
An outstanding thriller. —David Pitt
A Line in the Sand.
By Kevin Powers.
May 2023. 368p. Little, Brown, $29 (9780316507127);
e-book (9780316507554).
In Norfolk, Virginia, a sloppy attempted hit
draws hard-shelled police detective Catherine
Wheel and her new partner, Lamar Adams,
into a defense contractor’s ruthless scheme to
hide war crimes. After his daily swim, Arman
Bajalan, a former translator for American sol-
diers in Afghanistan, discovers a man’s body
on the beach. It’s clearly murder, and Arman
knows instantly that the bullet was meant for
him. His family was killed in Afghanistan after
he provided evidence of a unit of U.S. contract
soldiers’ crimes against civilians, and he barely
escaped with his life. Catherine finally extracts
Arman’s story and his suspicions, but not before
the next wave of assassins arrive. On the run
in Tidewater country, Catherine, Lamar, Ar-
man, and a well-connected cub reporter evade
hit squads as they race to expose the defense
contractor’s crimes. PEN/Hemingway award-
winner Powers’ skill as a fiction writer, as well
as his experience as an Iraq War veteran, are
both on display here, especially in the thought-
fully developed relationships between veterans,
which add insight and heart to this thriller’s
unrelenting suspense. —Christine Tran
Not of This World.
By Simon R. Green.
Apr. 2023. 192p. Severn, $31.99 (9781448305780).
Gideon Sable, the professional thief who spe-
cializes in obtaining things of an otherworldly,
supernatural nature, returns for a fourth adven-
ture. In the Preserve, Britain’s version of Area
51 in the U.S., all manner of supernatural and
extraterrestrial artifacts are kept under heavy
guard. Gideon has been hired to get into the
Preserve and steal perhaps the most unstealable
item in the world: a ghost. How can he and
his crack team of uniquely talented cohorts
possibly carry out this mission? Green, who’s
known for his novels about Ishmael Jones,
an alien living among humans, shows readers
with the Gideon Sable books that he has a seri-
ously good grasp of the intricacies of the caper
novel. His characters are full-bodied, and their
alternate-world Britain setting is gripping, but
the series would fail if it didn’t have solid heist
stories at the core. The story here (and in the
previous three series installments) is so strong
that it should satisfy even the most demand-
ing of caper-novel devotees. Keep ’em coming!
—David Pitt
Ozark Dogs.
By Eli Cranor.
Apr. 2023. Soho, $26.95 (9781641294539); e-book
(9781641294546).
Cranor follows his dynamite first novel, Don’t
Know Tough (2022), with another scorching
country noir, this one about two feuding fami-
lies in a small Ozark town. It’s the Fitzjurls vs.
the Ledfords, but this is no
garden-variety squabble. As
former Vietnam sniper Jer-
emiah Fitzjurl attempts to
explain to his granddaughter,
Joanna, “Beyond that door
were bloodlines and violence
that ran deeper than the
limestone caves burrowing
their way through the Ozarks.” So, naturally,
Jeremiah attempts to keep the door closed, all
but imprisoning high-school senior Joanna in
the junkyard home where they live. But Joanna,
whose father is languishing in the penitentiary
after killing one of the Ledfords, is not one to
be contained, and so begins the conflagration
that this bloodiest of blood feuds (don’t forget,
there’s a sniper in the mix) has been building
toward for years. Yes, there is a Romeo and
Juliet angle here, but there are deeply hidden
secrets, too, secrets that have spawned fester-
ing sores that long ago turned malignant. And,
above all, there is not one character on either
side of the family divide who doesn’t bring the
reader up short by displaying an unexpected
layer of complexity—and even, sometimes,
compassion. In only his second novel, Cranor
has transformed a familiar noir theme into a
multidimensional tragedy of great power and
beauty. —Bill Ott
Small Mercies.
By Dennis Lehane.
Apr. 2023. 320p. Harper, $28.99 (9780062129482); e-book
(9780062129505).
One sweltering night in Boston’s Southie
neighborhood in 1974, Mary Pat Fennessy’s
daughter, Jules, disappears, and a young Black
man, Auggie Williamson, is killed in the sub-
way. So begins Lehane’s masterful historical
thriller, which vividly evokes the racism of
the era, not only encompassing the busing
April 15, 2023 Booklist 23
controversy that was tearing apart Irish Ameri-
can Southie that summer, but also extending
beyond the historical moment to the roots of
racism. As Mary Pat begins to
search the neighborhood, she
finds herself forced to con-
front the fact that Jules may
have been involved in the
subway death, which forces
her to reexamine her life and
the fabric of her world. The
trail leads inevitably to Marty
Butler, the gangster who runs Southie and is
thought of by the locals as a kind of protec-
tor. One world-shattering realization leads to
another in a kind of chain reaction that takes
Mary Pat from being an organizer in the anti-
busing protests to a woman willing to defy all
those around her in an effort to find the truth:
“I sold my daughter lies . . . you wear them
down until you scoop all the good out of their
lives and replace it with poison.” Lehane makes
Mary Pat’s transformation utterly convincing,
thanks to his ability to invest his characters
with a bedrock humanity that defies easy an-
swers. A complex, multidimensional tragedy of
epic proportions. —Bill Ott
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Lehane
straddles the line between historical fiction
and thriller as dexterously as anyone, and
this is his best work so far.
Unnatural Ends.
By Christopher Huang.
June 2023. 402p. Inkshares, paper, $18.99
(9781950301065); e-book (9781950301058).
Huang (A Gentleman’s Murder, 2018) is back
with another stellar historical mystery that
channels Agatha Christie, giving readers a tale
that honors the past while providing thought-
provoking fodder for our
present. It’s April 1921,
and Sir Lawrence Linwood,
the patron of a Yorkshire
hamlet, has been murdered.
His adopted adult children
return for the funeral, Alan
from an archaeological site
in South America, Roger, a
successful engineer, from London, and Caro-
line from Paris, where she is a journalist. The
children find out that Linwood Hall will be
left to the sibling who can solve the murder.
The setup immediately draws readers in as
Huang introduces the siblings in more detail,
moving the point of view around and building
the gripping backstory of their relationships
with one other and their parents. This is an
immersive read with satisfyingly intricate plot-
ting, but where this mystery excels is in how
Huang seamlessly incorporates issues from its
time and makes them integral to the resolu-
tion—race, class, gender, eugenics, and PTSD
are issues that will resonate with contemporary
readers. A great choice for fans of family-dra-
ma-fueled mysteries featuring strong, likable
characters, such as Alan Bradley’s Flavia de
Luce mysteries or Lan Samantha Chang’s The
Family Chao (2022). —Becky Spratford
24 Booklist April 15, 2023
The Way of the Bear.
By Anne Hillerman.
Apr. 2023. 288p. Harper, $30 (9780062908391); e-book
(9780062908414).
Hillerman continues her father Tony’s se-
ries featuring cops Joe Leaphorn and Jim
Chee, focusing on the nature and Indigenous
peoples—mainly Navajos—of the Southwest.
Here Jim and his wife, Bernie, also a cop, head
to Utah so that Jim can meet Chapman Dulles,
a rich paleontologist who’s agreed to make a
substantial donation to the Fallen Officers
Fund. But their plan to find time for relaxing
is spoiled after a series of shocking events: two
men try to kill Bernie after she discovers some
badly damaged petroglyphs; a paleontologist is
murdered; Bernie has to deliver a baby when a
blizzard keeps the child’s parents from reaching
the hospital; and Chap Dulles disappears after
his house is burgled. Jim and Bernie eventually
uncover a plot to steal a priceless dinosaur skull
Chap discovered. Besides offering an involving
mystery, Hillerman delivers meaty insights on
the natural world, paleontology, ancient and
enduring Navajo customs and traditions, and
the role of Indigenous people in preserving the
land and nature’s bounty. —Emily Melton
Historical Fiction
After Anne: A Novel of Lucy Maud
Montgomery.
By Logan Steiner.
May 2023. 368p. Morrow, paper, $18.99 (9780063246454);
e-book (9780063246461).
Diving into the life and mind of Anne of
Green Gables author Lucy Maud Montgomery,
Steiner explores the unique writer who would
go on to create one of the most cherished book
series of all time. Opening in 1942 with her
untimely death, the story recounts Maud’s life
from her own perspective, from reminiscences
about her childhood under the watchful eye
of her disapproving and upright grandmoth-
er and the antics of her bosom friend and
cousin, Frede, to later in life, after she found
success as an author but was trapped in an un-
happy marriage. This dramatized retelling of
Montgomery’s life makes her struggles with de-
pression, loneliness, and loss come to life, and
the book also deals with themes of suicide. A
sensitive soul with an active imagination not
dissimilar to her favorite heroine, she interacts
with her character and hears Anne’s voice clear-
ly in her mind, letting the reader experience
Anne Shirley all over again. Perfect for readers
who love Montgomery’s seminal work or other
classics like Little Women, with strong female
leads who refuse to conform to societal stan-
dards or give up their passions. —Tessa Terry
Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl.
By Renée Rosen.
Apr. 2023. 432p. Berkley, paper, $16.99 (9780593335666);
e-book (9780593335673).
Even titans of industry need a shoulder to cry
on. The story of how Estée Lauder and Glo-
ria Downing, nee Dowaziac, became lifelong
friends and sometime enemies unfolds over
decades, from a chance meeting in a rundown
Depression-era beauty parlor to Lauder’s rise
as a defining brand in American cosmetics.
Gloria is reeling from the very public shaming
of her father, who is imprisoned for a Bernie
Madoffesque Ponzi scheme that pierced their
rarefied social circle. Estée alludes to her own
aristocratic heritage, though she’s just as finan-
cially compromised as Gloria. She is, however,
armed with unflagging ambition to make it in
the beauty business, while Gloria can only see
her future through the cracked lens of her fa-
ther’s past. How Estée realizes her dream and
Gloria overcomes her self-doubt is the surefire
stuff of buddy fiction, but through deft charac-
terization, lively pacing, and insider glimpses of
the retail industry, Rosen elevates this “two gals
against the world” trope in a reassuring and
stylish tale about the power of true friendship.
—Carol Haggas
First Blood.
By Amélie Nothomb. Tr. by Alison Anderson.
May 2023. 112p. Europa, paper, $17 (9781609458447).
This slim, award-winning novel from Bel-
gian author Nothomb imagines her father’s life
as he, a 28-year-old diplomat, stands before a
firing squad and remembers everything that
preceded this moment. Patrick never knew his
own father, who died a heroic soldier’s death
shortly before WWII. Devastated by the loss,
his mother relinquished him to her upper-class
parents, and Patrick’s main interactions with
his mother happened via a portrait painted of
the two of them by a celebrated artist. While
Grandmama doted, Grandpapa, a retired gen-
eral, fretted over Patrick’s need for “toughening
up,” and thus the six-year-old boy got to know
the free-for-all of his paternal family, a raucous
and regally descended crowd reciting poetry
and fighting over food in a moldering chateau
in the wild Ardennes region—an enchanting
experience of both family and deprivation that
would prepare him for the hostage situation in
the People’s Republic of the Congo, where the
story begins and ends. Nothomb’s crystalline
re-remembrance is a spell-casting, one-sitting
read that’s Technicolor vivid and rich in joy,
humor, and love. —Annie Bostrom
Hotel Cuba.
By Aaron Hamburger.
May 2023. 400p. HarperPerennial, $18.99
(9780063221444).
Pearl and her younger sister, Frieda, never
planned to go to Cuba. It’s 1922, and what
was once Russia has become part of Poland,
so they join other Jews fleeing small border
towns for the promise of America. But chang-
ing immigration laws make that destination
a dream, and instead they come to the island
nation as a temporary way station. While her
teenage sister dreams of joining her fiancé in
America, determined Pearl goes about find-
ing the sisters work and lodging so they can
cross the small but seemingly insurmountable
distance between the two countries. Steeped in
rich detail about the challenges of coming to
www.booklistonline.com
a foreign country and constantly guessing at
the intentions of those offering help, this is a
nuanced narrative that uncovers the harsh re-
alities of uprooting your life, even if you reach
your destination. It’s impossible not to cheer
on Pearl, whose keen observations and desire to
be her own boss push her through setbacks and
trauma in a riveting journey to find her own
freedom in an unjust world. —Bridget Thoreson
The King’s Pleasure.
By Alison Weir.
May 2023. 608p. Ballantine, $30 (9780593355060).
He was a ginger-haired second son, the ath-
letic, charismatic “spare” to his overly serious
elder brother. Henry VIII, nicknamed Harry
in his youth, wasn’t born to be king, but he
has come down in history as a larger-than-life
monarch, known for his marriages and role
in the English Reformation. In her newest
biographical novel, royal expert Weir explores
the viewpoint of this towering figure, begin-
ning with the passing of his beloved mother,
the subject of her previous book, The Last
White Rose (2022). Henry inherits a wealthy
kingdom and indulges in tourneys, feasts,
and luxurious clothing, which Weir evokes in
detailed scenes of jaw-dropping extravagance.
In well-paced fashion, readers view his trans-
formation from fun-loving Renaissance man
consumed with his glorious image to an ag-
ing, tyrannical king desperate to ensure the
succession. Weir meticulously illustrates his
significant relationships with not just his six
wives but also his political allies and rivals and
such shrewd advisers as Wolsey and Crom-
well. Readers of her Six Tudor Queens series
won’t find unexpected revelations here, but
this believable tale is a solid choice for histori-
cal fiction devotees. —Sarah Johnson
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women.
By Lisa See.
June 2023. 368p. Scribner, $28 (9781982117085); e-book
(9781982117108).
In fifteenth-century China, Tan Yunxian
loses her mother at a young age, and her fa-
ther quickly remarries, sending Yunxian to
live with her grandparents. There she finds
her passion, learning the art
of medicine from her grand-
mother. She also befriends a
midwife’s daughter, Meiling,
a tie complicated by their
vastly different social strata.
When Yunxian marries into
the wealthy and traditional
Yang family, her life con-
stricts, and she fights loneliness in her new,
oppressive environment. Her husband is kind
but mediocre, her mother-in-law constant-
ly critical. In her latest engaging historical
novel, following The Island of Sea Women
(2019), best-selling See tells a tale of female
relationships, portraying women who hold
historically authentic worldviews as they face
the complexities of Chinese medicine and the
matter-of-fact acceptance of the brutal foot-
binding their husbands find so beautiful. See
www.booklistonline.com
creates a cultural smorgasbord as she adeptly
depicts the strict delineation and separation
of the sexes and the minute details of the so-
cial hierarchy, especially among the women,
from wives to concubines, widows, daughters,
and servants. Based on the writings of an his-
torical Ming dynasty female physician, See’s
accomplished novel immerses readers in a fas-
cinating life lived within a fascinating culture.
—Bethany Latham
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: See’s re-
nown will have readers watching for her
latest enthralling, women-focused histori-
cal tale.
The Lioness of Boston.
By Emily Franklin.
Apr. 2023. 400p. Godine, $28.95 (9781567927405); e-book
(9781567927412).
Famous for her idiosyncratic, frozen-in-
time Boston museum, smart, inquisitive,
independent, and scandalous Isabella Stewart
Gardner is as enticing a subject for a historical
novelist as she was for John Singer Sargent,
whose portrait of her so shocked the blue
bloods. Franklin avails herself of many in-
triguing facts, but gives her imagination free
rein as she writes from Isabella’s perspective.
As an intrepid young newlywed from New
York, Isabella is hurt by the frostiness of her
wealthy husband’s conservative social circle.
She hopes that motherhood will make her
more acceptable, but tragedy strikes. The
cure, she decides, is to unleash her energies
and throw off the chains of sexism. She finds
a sense of purpose in her travels and in acquir-
ing rare books and art. Franklin orchestrates
interactions with invented characters and
such historic figures as Charles Eliot Norton,
Henry James, Oscar Wilde, Berthe Morisot,
and Bernard Berenson as Isabella becomes a
virtuoso of the witty riposte, a foe of intoler-
ance, and a champion of art and freedom. A
lusciously well-written, amusing, and involv-
ing improvisation on an endlessly intriguing
figure. —Donna Seaman
Love, Honor, Betray.
By Mary Monroe.
Apr. 2023. 320p. Dafina, $27 (9781496732644); e-book
(9781496732668).
Scandal and sorrow descend once again
upon the Wiggins family of Lexington, Ala-
bama. Formerly widowed newlyweds Hubert
and Jessie Wiggins finally have a new begin-
ning, but their happily ever after is not what
it seems. Jessie is desperate for the intimacy
Hubert insists he can no longer give, while
Hubert continues to hide his increasingly
passionate relationship with a man from a
neighboring town. In the wake of the De-
pression and with WWII looming, their
community is struck by racial violence and
unexplained disappearances. As Hubert and
Jessie plunge deeper into secrecy and deceit,
they realize the road to their individual hap-
piness is riddled with guilt and shame. In the
third title in her popular Lexington series, fol-
lowing Mrs. Wiggins (2021) and Empty Vows
(2022), Monroe extends Hubert’s story in a
drama laced with suspenseful twists and ten-
sion. The novel’s gritty narrative delves into
themes of moral relativism, intimacy, and sex-
uality, capturing the intensity of suppressed
passion and the discontent of unexpressed
expectations in a drama sure to please award-
winning and best-selling Monroe’s many fans.
—Kate Campos
The Old Lion: A Novel of Theodore
Roosevelt.
By Jeff Shaara.
May 2023. 480p. St. Martin’s, $30 (9781250279941);
e-book (9781250279958).
Theodore Roosevelt, the twenty-sixth presi-
dent of the U.S., led a much-documented
robust and eventful life. Most readers know
the bullet points—San Juan Hill, the Square
Deal, the Nobel Prize—and, of course, he has
been the subject of numerous award-winning
biographies, including David McCullough’s
Mornings on Horseback, Edmund Morris’ The
Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, and Doris Kearns
Goodwin’s The Bully Pulpit. Now historical-
fiction master Shaara, the author of Gods and
Generals and The Eagle’s Claw (among many
others), offers a fictional take on TR, taking
us inside the mind of the man and speculat-
ing on his motivations, uncertainties, and
frailties. The novel is structured around a
late-in-life interview Roosevelt did with his
biographer Hermann Hagedorn; but once
TR starts talking, it follows a mostly chrono-
logical order, with plenty of asides, allowing
Shaara to show the aging former president re-
flecting on his life. It’s a colorful portrait of a
colorful man, and as Shaara has done with his
Civil War and WWII novels, he achieves both
a vividly realized landscape and a full-bodied
portrait of his subject. —David Pitt
Romance
Best Men.
By Sidney Karger.
May 2023. 368p. Berkley, paper, $17 (9780593439487);
e-book (9780593439494).
Who does Chasten Benchley think he is?
Max Moody has been Paige Greendale’s BFF
for more than 30 years, and if anyone is going
to be at her side during her upcoming wed-
ding to Chasten’s brother, Austin, it is going
to be Max. Setting aside their awkward (to say
the least) one-time hookup, if Chasten thinks
he can become Paige’s go-to guy for all things
nuptial by showing Max up with his superior
fashion sense and amazing bachelorette-party
planning skills, well, he can just think again.
Max is Paige’s man of honor, and Chasten is
Austin’s best man. It shouldn’t be a competi-
tion between them. But if it is, then it is one
Max is definitely going to win. With a spot-
on gift for writing dryly witty banter and a
deliciously acerbic sense of humor in the Nora
Ephron mode, Karger, an award-winning
Continued on p.28
April 15, 2023 Booklist 25
Self-Published Books Showcase

T
hese books are recommended by BlueInk Review, a fee-based review
service. Every month, BlueInk will compile a list of their favorite
self-published titles for Booklist, as a service to librarians hoping
to incorporate self-published work into their collections. BlueInk was
founded by Patti Thorn, former book review editor of Denver’s Rocky
Mountain News, and Patricia Moosbrugger, a literary agent who represents
several best-selling authors. The company delivers professional, unbiased
reviews of self-published books written by critics drawn largely from major
mainstream publications and by editors from prominent publishing houses.
Stars reflect the decisions of BlueInk reviewers and editors. Booklist is
happy to bring this curated collection of the best in self-publishing for
adults and youth to our audience.

Adult
Along Came Hell, or So I Thought.
By Lois Young.
2022. 220p. Xlibris, paper, $17.99 (9781669835158). 248.
Young chronicles her journey to a life
of peace in this compelling memoir about
trusting God through life’s darkest days. Af-
ter 44 years of marriage, Young’s husband,
a respected leader in their church, was con-
victed of child molestation
and sentenced to 10 years
in prison. In this deeply in-
spirational memoir, Young
shares how she believed
“this is hell,” but through
patient faith and obedience
to God arrived “at a point of
contentment in [her] life.”
With vulnerable honesty, Young shares her
thoughts, including her challenges: depres-
sion, self-pity, loneliness even in a room full
of people, and an inability to feel emotions.
With beautifully illustrative personal stories,
she shows readers how God’s faithfulness
helps her overcome each struggle and slowly
“molt” away wrong thinking. It took over a
decade, but Young rejoices that “what seemed
impossible to me was indeed possible for
God.” Typographical errors as well as a section
where her husband’s name changes from Ed
to Gary mar the book’s polished professional
presentation, but Young’s ability as a writer
and storyteller make these glitches forgivable.
Anyone walking through the aftermath of
betrayal will find this inspiring, encouraging,
and worth sharing with others.
Briefly Borrowed.
By Loryn Kramer Staley.
2022. 406p. Archway, paper, $23.99 (9781665716284).
Staley’s humorous novel pivots around
Molly Lambert, a manipulative woman who
will stop at nothing to rise above her im-
poverished past. The story begins as Molly’s
husband, Clay, catches Molly and his (former)
friend Richard in the act. Clay threatens to
shoot Richard, then supposedly sets him up
as the perpetrator of a crime. Clay’s discov-
ery doesn’t change Molly’s ways, and the pace
gallops on as Clay’s medical school classmate,
Preston, invites Clay to join his practice. Little
does Clay know that Preston and Molly are
old friends, now rekindling their dalliance.
As the affair heats up, the morally bankrupt,
gold-digging Molly makes it clear to Preston
that she will stop at little until he leaves his
wife and marries her. This is a raucous, rapid-
fire tale rich with metaphor and witty banter.
The writing is vivid, and the story is filled
with tart humor and lively characters. While
the characters are sometimes stereotypical and
one-dimensional, few will care as this engag-
ing romp unfolds, satisfying those who like
fast action, characters that never bore, and
wicked fun.
The Fear of Winter.
By S. C. Sterling.
2023. 234p. No Bueno, paper, $12.99 (9780997017526).
Tom Floyd’s daughter, Megan, disappeared
after leaving her job in Fraser, Colorado. A
year later, the mystery remains unsolved.
Desperate for answers, Tom hires a private
investigator to find his daughter and hopes
to also repair his marriage, as Megan’s ab-
sence has divided Tom and his wife, Lisa:
Tom wants to keep looking for Megan,
while Lisa believes she’s dead and feels they
should move on. Former detective Marshall
York and his assistant, Hannah Jacobs, are
eager to help solve the case for their own rea-
sons. Marshall lives with the guilt of failing
to save a missing child, and Hannah is still
struggling to solve the mystery of her own
sister’s killing. Tom, Marshall, and Hannah
each work a different end of the case, and
as the investigation reveals that Megan led a
double life, they all face an invisible, disrup-
tive force: Megan’s murderer. An effective,
plausible, and immersive thriller, the novel
reveals the potential killer’s identity early on;
rather than puzzling over whodunit, readers
will be engrossed by the thrill of the why.
The Human Paradox: It’s Time to
Think and Act as a Species.
By Gilbert E. Mulley.
2022. 292p. Xlibris, paper, $17.99 (9781669821090). 301.
In this exciting and exceedingly well-
written book, Mulley illuminates the
interconnectedness of a host of problems
humankind faces today. Mulley, a retired
writer-editor, succinctly
describes sources of issues
like pollution, poverty,
racism, and diminishing
natural resources. While
most of his examples come
from U.S. politics, he
highlights the role democ-
racy and capitalism play
worldwide in these man-made ills, without
villainizing them. Mulley says the problems
exist because humans love to differentiate—
Black from white, Christians from Jews, elites
from the rest of us—when we should instead
focus on our commonalities and act in our
shared interests, starting with preserving the
planet. The “human paradox” is, thus, that
we are all essentially the same yet also unique
and all too eager to celebrate our subtle dif-
ferences with others who share them. With a
light touch and absence of rancor, Mulley ac-
knowledges humans would be pretty boring
without differentiation. What can bring us

26 Booklist April 15, 2023 www.booklistonline.com

together? With writing that feels fresh, never
polemical or preachy, the author’s persuasive
argument will leave readers better informed,
hopeful, and maybe even inspired.
Jack Tuesday.
By F. Nelson Smith.
2023. 283p. Bearhill, paper, $19.62 (9781989071335).
Jack ran away from his mob family when
he was 17. Two decades later, having changed
his name and done a stint in the Royal Ca-
nadian Dragoon, Jack lives in Edmonton,
far removed from familial ties. It’s 1971, and
Jack is an enigma among
his colleagues on the Ed-
monton police force, who
know little about him.
Tenacious and intelligent,
Jack’s a loner, except for his
relationship with his part-
ner and best friend, Brodie.
When Brodie is killed in an
undercover raid gone bad and Jack’s gun is
identified as the murder weapon, everyone
is quick to suspect Jack, who is left injured
and with no memory of the incident. In
Jack’s quest to prove his innocence, his life is
endangered, and additional murders ensue.
This is a credible mystery rich with surprises,
including the possibility of romance, the
theft of a classic Dutch painting, and the
story of a Yugoslavian Communist revolu-
tionary named Tito. Rapid pacing, a cast
of vividly portrayed characters, numerous
twists and turns, and just enough clues to
keep readers riveted make Jack Tuesday im-
possible to set aside.
Mantle of the World Ruler.
By Kate Gateley.
2023. 531p. Kate Gateley, e-book, $9.99 (9781039155275).
This is the second installment of Gateley’s
The Lost Wells Trilogy. In the first book,
30-year-old linguistics student Julia Harrison
learned she was a witch with a love connec-
tion to Irish scholar Dom O’Brien that had
already spanned countless lifetimes. The pair
worked with allies to thwart Cassius, a vil-
lainous “Child of Rome” hunting Julia for
millennia. As this new story begins, Julia
and Dom have derailed an ominous ancient
prophecy, but Cassius returns to Rome to
glean another prediction from an ancient sib-
yl, in hopes of defeating his longtime nemesis
and achieving immortality. As Julia and Dom
work to decode the new prophecy, Gateley
melds a knack for storytelling with academic
expertise in ancient history, Celtic mythology,
and epic fiction. Her roots in the romance
genre are clear, as she bides her time exploring
the longtime ties between the lovers, which
lends nice balance to the story’s plentiful ac-
tion, intrigue, and adventure. For those more
accustomed to a rapid rollout, patience pays
off in this exciting installment of this promis-
ing trilogy.
www.booklistonline.com
Most Famous Short Film of All Time.
By Tucker Lieberman.
2022. 455p. tRaum, paper, $25 (9783949666087).
In the 2010s, Lev Ockenshaw is ditched
on a date by a terrible boy, argues and makes
up with his friend Stanley, fields an email
threat to the security camera business where
he works, and wrestles with a ghost who
died in 1900. Interwoven are footnoted
musings on literature, culture, history, and
metaphysics, with wide-ranging points of
reference, including Beowulf, Kierkegaard,
and the Muppets. Lev’s real concerns are
identity and reality, which for him are con-
structed by being Jewish, transgender, and
bilingual, and suffering what he calls “spe-
culirium”—the seeing of spirits. The book
consists of two short segments on each page,
with occasional illustrations. The title refers
to the 26-second Zapruder clip of the Ken-
nedy assassination, frames of which provide
chapter headings. The speculations and
digressions will hold readers’ attention ac-
cording to their patience. But the book’s real
accomplishment is its examination of what
it means to be trans in a world carefully con-
structed by what Lev calls the “cis-tem.” In
its intelligent philosophizing on the nature
of stories, identity, and being, this offering is
compellingly unique.
Red Odyssey: A Voyage across the
Crumbling Empire.
By Marat Akchurin.
2022. 440p. iUniverse, paper, $28.99 (9781663209115).
915.8.
The year 1990 found poet, publisher, and
translator Akchurin living in Moscow and ob-
serving his changing country
with wary hope for democ-
racy. Interested in seeing for
himself how people outside
Moscow reacted to these
changes, he decided to drive
through Russian territory
and the USSR’s oft-ignored
yet resource-rich south, in-
cluding the (now independent) republics of
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the author’s
own native Uzbekistan. Akchurin’s trip takes
him over rough, ill-maintained roads, sees
him fending off roaming youth gangs and
barracks-brutalized soldiers, and booking
hotel rooms from uncooperative clerks. His
travails illustrate the countless deprivations
and small indignities of daily Soviet life. His
journey also points toward the vast empire’s
undecided future, about which everyone he
encounters has opinions, and touches on
old, pre-Communist customs. In Tajikistan,
he visits a room where silkworms are reared,
producing a “ceaseless noise . . . like an au-
tumn drizzle” as they feed on mulberry leaves.
Readers interested in Russia’s fraught relations
with its neighbors will gain ample insight and
pleasure from this superbly crafted account.
Yo u t h
Do the Robot!
By David Horn.
2023. 93p. David Horn, e-book, $4.99 (9781736677469).
In book three of Horn’s Eudora Space
Kid series, third-grader Eudora is peeved
when, in a school play aboard the AstroLiner
Athena, where she lives, she’s cast as a lowly
shrub while her “perfect-at-everything” sister
Molly snags the starring role of Snow White.
So Eudora uses her technology skills to play
a prank: Molly’s crush, playing the prince, is
seconds from kissing Molly when the ship’s
robot, Walter, dressed as a dwarf, kisses her
instead. Eudora is sent to the brig, where
her mother urges her to share her feelings
of jealousy and anger. Later, Eudora grows
increasingly frustrated as Walter hand-
ily beats her in a game. When she throws a
game piece in anger, the real trouble—and
fun—starts. Through Eudora’s delightfully
funny, conversational narrative, Horn re-
veals her observations and insecurities. He’s
also a master at putting Eudora in hilarious,
precarious situations that are sparked by
emotions relatable to young readers. Simple
but highly expressive illustrations add more
humor. At book’s end, readers will be raring
for more kookiness and fun from this spunky
star.
A Freak in the Family Tree.
By Katherine Green.
2023. 266p. Golden Mind, $24.99 (9780986182518).
In this compelling YA fantasy, 12-year-
old Kit, who identifies as white, feels like
an outcast in her small town because of
her junk-collector father and his eccentric
family, even as she rides horses and attends
private school due to her wealthy stepfa-
ther. After an initial misunderstanding with
Whitney, a smart, confident, biracial girl, the
girls become best friends. When Kit discov-
ers a tree filled with her ancestors’ spirits,
she and Whitney time travel to the Old
West to help Kit’s Lakota ancestor bury sa-
cred objects she had promised her tribe to
protect long ago. Narrator Kit is a believable
twenty-first-century American girl: almost
cockily self-assured in some areas, blindingly
ignorant in others. Readers will enjoy watch-
ing her and Whitney’s relationship develop.
Whitney’s knowledge of history helps them
navigate their adventure; she also calls Kit
on her unintentional racism and classism.
The “rules” involving Kit’s family tree and
the time travel are occasionally confusing.
Also, Whitney’s speech can seem more like
an adult’s. But this is easy to overlook due
to the appealing characters and compelling
plot, filled with action and thoughtful reflec-
tions.
April 15, 2023 Booklist 27
Continued from p.25
screenwriter and television contributor (in-
cluding Saturday Night Live), makes his
fiction debut. A fun and flirty rom-com that
is the perfect addition to beach bags and suit-
cases. —John Charles
The Boyfriend Candidate.
By Ashley Winstead.
May 2023. 384p. Graydon, paper, $18.99 (9781525804960);
e-book (9780369734655).
A consummate younger sister, Alexis Stone
is usually happiest on the sidelines—a good
thing, as her outspoken older sister, Lee,
commands more than her share of the pro-
verbial spotlight as a state senator. Despite
being fairly plugged into the Texas political
scene thanks to Lee, Alexis doesn’t recognize
up-and-coming gubernatorial candidate Lo-
gan Arthur when she’s out at one of Austin’s
hottest bars. Their chance meeting turns into
an opportunity for Alexis to contribute her
time and talents to Logan’s campaign, and
she soon finds herself in the spotlight’s full
beam. Readers of Fool Me Once (2022) will
recognize some familiar characters, but The
Boyfriend Candidate stands on its own merits
too. Mixing political and romantic intrigue,
Winstead’s novel combines the darker side
of politics with the lighter side of life. With
a few steamy encounters and a ripped-from-
the-headlines feel, The Boyfriend Candidate
will appeal to fans of Lianne Moriarty, Ellen
Meister, Amy Mason Doan, and anyone look-
ing for a little more escapism in their political
diet. —Stephanie Turza
The Dueling Duchess.
By Minerva Spencer.
May 2023. 384p. Kensington, paper, $16.95
(9781496738110); e-book (9781496738127).
Gaius Darlington, Marquess of Carlisle,
is used to women wanting to kiss him, but
Cecile Tremblay is the first woman who says
she wants to take a shot at him. Granted, tak-
ing aim with a gun at Gaius
is part of Cecile’s act as a
markswoman for Farnham’s
Fantastical Female Fayre,
but Gaius (who is work-
ing incognito in the circus
as Guy Darling) still can’t
figure out why Cecile is
the one woman who seems
immune to his legendary charm. Given her
secret craving for reading London’s gossip
columns, Cecile knows exactly who Gaius
really is. What’s more, Cecile knows getting
involved with someone who is fated to wed
an heiress is asking for trouble. So why, af-
ter just one kiss, does Cecile wonder what a
future with Gaius—in which she takes only
verbal shots at him—might be like? With the
second inventively populated and ingeniously
plotted addition to her Wicked Women of
Whitechapel series, following The Boxing
Baroness (2022), Spencer scores a direct bull’s-
eye with another carefully calibrated mix of
28 Booklist April 15, 2023
steamy passion, delectably dry humor, and
daringly original characters. —John Charles
Love, Theoretically.
By Ali Hazelwood.
June 2023. 400p. Berkley, paper, $17 (9780593336861).
The reigning queen of STEMinist rom-
coms returns with a tale set in the cutthroat
world of elite academia full of delightful hu-
mor, realistic emotions, and the messy search
for self-acceptance. Theoretical physicist (and
chronic people pleaser) Elsie
Hannaway’s career could
shift dramatically, from
barely making ends meet
as an adjunct to potentially
joining the physics depart-
ment at MIT as a tenured
professor. There’s only one
person in her way. Experi-
mental physicist Jack Smith-Turner has had a
bit of a crush on Elsie since they first met at a
family gathering, and is surprised to discover
she’s a candidate at MIT. He knows the hiring
process is rigged and not in Elsie’s favor. Jack
is infamous for publishing a paper that nearly
destroyed the reputation of Elsie’s mentor and
riled theoretical physicists everywhere, so Elsie
is on her guard. Hilarious misunderstandings
and well-paced, clever plot twists keep the
pages turning as these adversaries transform
into lovers with chemistry that’s off the charts.
Hazelwood is perfecting her best-selling for-
mula, incorporating fake dating (The Love
Hypothesis, 2021) and enemies-to-lovers (Love
on the Brain, 2022) in a rom-com certain to
please her fans and all who enjoy smart, sexy
love stories. —Kristina Giovanni
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Hazel-
wood’s best-selling blend of brainy and
sexy has romance and rom-com fans dizzy
with delight.
Mortal Follies.
By Alexis Hall.
June 2023. 416p. Del Rey, paper, $18 (9780593497562);
e-book (9780593497579).
If scandal is the currency that fuels high so-
ciety, Maelys “Mae” Mitchelmore is about to
give London’s gossips a real windfall. While
attending a ball, Mae suddenly realizes her
gown is literally dissolving. Fortunately, with
some unexpected help from Lady Georgianna
Landrake, nicknamed the Duke of Annadale,
Mae is able to escape detection by the rest of
the ball’s attendees. Now the pressing ques-
tion is, who would want to target her with a
magical curse? In addition, given that Geor-
gianna is rumored to be a powerful sorceress,
are the feelings Mae has for her some kind of
spell Georgianna has cast, or is it just human
chemistry? From the book’s puckish narra-
tor—whose sly observations on humanity
add another layer of humor to the story—
to the whimsically wonderful, witty writing
that evokes Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde,
Hall (Paris Daillencourt Is about to Crumble,
2022) works her own brand of magic, creat-
ing an effervescent, genre-blurring romantic
confection that will be utterly irresistible to
fans of Patricia C. Wrede, Caroline Stever-
mer, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Zen Cho.
—John Charles
Sugar, Spice, and Can’t Play Nice.
By Annika Sharma.
May 2023. 416p. Sourcebooks/Casablanca, paper, $16.99
(9781492665434).
In Sharma’s smart sequel to Love, Chai, and
Other Four-Letter Words (2021), two British
Indian entrepreneurs fake an engagement
while their family businesses engage in a prof-
itable merger. Fashion designer Payal Mehra
agreed to an arranged marriage with Ayaan
Malhotra only after her parents begged her to
save their London-based family business, but
she has no intention of going through with it.
Ayaan is a notorious player and a superb sales-
man who can barely commit to a woman, let
alone a marriage/business merger. However,
he’s determined to prove to his family that
he can step up once his father is ready to step
down. What their parents don’t know is that
they already shared a hot night together, and
now a misunderstanding makes Payal doubt
if Ayaan is trustworthy. They have just ten
months left to date and discover if they can
even tolerate each other long enough to make
this arrangement look real. Sharma’s brilliant
twist on fake dating and arranged marriage
is both culturally sensitive and incredibly
sexy as these hardheaded enemies-to-lovers
trade barbs as though engaged in foreplay.
—Kristina Giovanni
We Could Be So Good.
By Cat Sebastian.
June 2023. 384p. Avon, paper, $18.99 (9780063272767);
e-book (9780063272774).
Well, this is just great. Reporter Nick Russo
has enough to worry about (like preferring the
company of men in a world
where this is frowned upon,
to say the least) without
having to basically babysit
Andy Fleming, the New
York Chronicle owner’s son
and heir apparent. How-
ever, given that Andy is such
a sincerely nice guy—and
not to mention he is engaged to Nick’s friend
Emily Warburton—Nick can’t help but take
Andy under his journalistic wing. But the
fledgling friendship sprouting up between
the two is thrown for a loop when Andy’s
wedding plans take an unexpected turn and
Nick discovers that Andy might want to be
more than just friends. Few authors have Se-
bastian’s (The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes,
2022) flair for deftly exploring the intricate,
often messy nature of human relationships,
from moments of heartbreak to happiness,
with such insight and compassion. While the
vividly evoked 1950s setting is new for this
author, everything else about this sublimely
romantic love story, including the dryly witty
writing and graceful characterization, is signa-
ture Sebastian. —John Charles
www.booklistonline.com
Will They or Won’t They.
By Ava Wilder.
June 2023. 384p. Dell, $17 (9780593358979).
Wilder’s second novel, following How to
Fake It in Hollywood (2022), does not dis-
appoint, and fans of Mazey Eddings and
Sophie Cousens will devour her new Holly-
wood-centric story. Lilah Hunter and Shane
McCarthy have played onscreen star-crossed
lovers for years on a hit TV show. In real life
they can barely stand each other, so much
so that they often take promotional photos
separately, leaving the art department to work
magic to bring them together. Despite their
mutual loathing, they’ve always managed to
play nice for the cameras. But now, during the
show’s final season, the tension between them
is seriously affecting their performances. As a
result, they’re forced to face the truth about
their relationship and the fleeting (and secret)
romance they shared during season one that
went up in flames. As they work toward giv-
ing the fans of the show the finale they want,
Shane and Lilah might just end up with a
Hollywood ending of their own. For fans of
enemies-to-lovers and slow-burn romances,
this quick-witted book is the perfect summer
beach read. —Patricia Smith
SF/ Fantasy & Horror
Bang Bang Bodhisattva.
By Aubrey Wood.
May 2023. 400p. Solaris, $26.99 (9781786187017); e-book
(9781786187000).
When Kiera, a trans woman trying to make
rent and save money for her voice-box-mod
surgery, accepts a hacker job from Angel, a
former police officer turned PI, she has no
idea she and Angel will soon be falsely accused
of murdering someone. Or that proving their
innocence will be seemingly impossible with
the entire New Carson Police Department
and their police-dog robots out to frame
them for the murder. With no options but
to find the real killer, Kiera and Angel will
walk back the events of that night and pull
threads many people with power and influ-
ence would rather leave untouched. But when
anyone with enough money can trade in body
parts, faces, and whole identities, she will
have to call upon those who matter most to
her for help as well as a cast of unique char-
acters, from a liberated, sentient robot to her
old-school server friends. Wood melds genres
with ease—noir and cyberpunk, mystery and
sf—in a wickedly funny and heart-wrenching,
dystopian thrill ride. Bang Bang Bodhisattva
will knock readers off kilter in the best way
possible. —Sal A. Joyce
The Beast You Are.
By Paul Tremblay.
July 2023. 368p. Morrow, $30 (9780063069961).
From the author of The Cabin at the End
of the World (2018), Survivor Song (2020),
and The Pallbearers Club (2022) comes this
wonderful collection of short fiction. These
www.booklistonline.com
15 gems, polished to perfection, range from
straight-up horror to speculative fiction
to psychological terror. Some of the sto-
ries conceal their purpose for most of their
duration (in “The Last Conversation,” for
example, a man in a room converses with a
woman via intercom); others leap right in
(“Mostly Size” opens with a giant monster
terrorizing a city). The writing, too, shifts
dramatically from piece to piece. One story
is a single, multipage paragraph; another
one’s in the form of a series of blog entries,
with comments from readers. Oh, and here’s
one written in the manner of an epic saga.
Present tense, past tense, first person, third
person, even the rarely used second person
all take a turn—a brilliant display of Trem-
blay’s versatility as a writer. Fourteen of the
stories were previously published, but the
title story, which is also the book’s longest,
appears here for the first time. As an add-
ed bonus, the author includes notes on the
creation of each story, giving us a fascinat-
ing glimpse into a writer’s mind. For fans of
Tremblay, horror, or short fiction in general,
this one’s a must-have. —David Pitt
City of Last Chances.
By Adrian Tchaikovsky.
May 2023. 496p. IPG/Head of Zeus, $29.99
(9781801108423).
“Ilmar, City of Last Chances, City of Bad
Decisions, the Port to Nowhere.” Tchai-
kovsky paints a portrait of an ancient city
in crisis, filled with sorcerers, intellectuals,
gangsters, noble families,
and dreamers, occupied by
the Palleseens, who wish
to impose their brand of
Correctness where it is not
wanted. On the western
side of Ilmar lies the An-
chorwood, guarded by the
mysterious Indwellers, and
the Reproach, a district haunted by the ghosts
of an outcast noble family. The Sage-Archivist
of the Palleseen School of Correct Erudition
attempts to explore the mysterious Anchor-
wood, but while overstepping his authority,
he finds he has lost a ward of protection and
is killed. The stolen ward appears during a
special session of chaq, where it was put up
as collateral, but disappears when the game
is interrupted by news of the Sage-Archivist’s
death. An Allorwen mage, a college profes-
sor, and several others become suspects to be
persecuted by forces of the occupation. Their
ties to various factions of the resistance will
be the tinder for the fires of a revolt. No one
is a complete angel nor devil as the suspense
builds, but Ilmar will live up to its many
names in this clever and engaging fantasy.
—Don Vicha
Fractal Noise.
By Christopher Paolini.
May 2023. Tor, $28.99 (9781250862488); e-book
(9781250870162).
Fleeing from personal tragedy, xenobiolo-
gist Alex Crichton is assigned to a corporate
exploration ship scouting a new star system
for potentially habitable planets when the
team discovers an anomaly: a gigantic, per-
fectly circular hole in a planet that emits a
regular signal encoding the Mandelbrot set.
Despite his misgivings, and spurred by the
memory of who he lost, Alex volunteers to be
on the landing crew sent down to explore the
planet’s surface. What follows is a torturous
journey of mounting tension, danger, and un-
certainty. It’s a pressure cooker that gradually
wears away at the characters’ psyches. Things
get dark. This is a deep character portrait,
enhanced by the mystery and disconcert-
ing nature of the setting. Layered on top is a
meditation on grief and faith. It’s a heady mix
of ingredients. The central mystery is never
solved, and the ending is left unresolved, but
it finishes with a welcome note of hope. Frac-
tal Noise is very different in length and tone
from its predecessor (To Sleep in a Sea of Stars,
2020), and it shows Paolini’s range as a story-
teller. —John Keogh
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Since leav-
ing his YA fantasy series behind, Paolini’s
sf star has shone more brightly with every
new release.
Loki.
By Melvin Burgess.
May 2023. 272p. Pegasus, $26.95 (9781639364398); e-book
(9781639364404).
Longstanding children’s author Burgess
returns with Loki, his first adult novel. Read-
ers are given a fresh look at Norse mythology
through Loki’s eyes, starting with the sto-
ries chronicling the world’s creation. Loki,
born inside a tree trunk engulfed in flames,
is immediately cast as an outsider in Asgard
but quickly works to both ingratiate himself
with and annoy the gods. The novel func-
tions almost as an autobiography, as readers
are taken through Loki’s struggles finding
belonging and relationships—both familial
and romantic—that don’t always end well for
him. Burgess paints Asgard with rich imagery,
and the contemporary writing style is easily
accessible. Though Loki is at best an unreli-
able narrator, the overarching message here
is to challenge the old ways and initiate new
ways of the world. He has unexpectedly be-
come a sympathetic character who is relatable
for readers, mortals they may be. The end-
ing is unexpected as well. Burgess’ spin on
Norse mythology will delight fans of different
genres. —Carrie Rasak
The Lost War.
By Justin Lee Anderson.
May 2023. 480p. Orbit, paper, $18.99 (9780316454070);
e-book (9780316454179).
A war is a useful device for a novel because the
conflict is already built in. But a lot of society’s
hard work happens after the battles are won.
In Anderson’s debut, Eidyn is overrun with
plague, raiders, and the undead. Aranok, envoy
to the king and one of the rare magic users in
the country, has an impossible task: to save the
April 15, 2023 Booklist 29
deposed queen of a nearby kingdom as part of
the recovery effort. As he and his band of war-
riors, wounded in spirit if not in body, fight
their way across the land, a greater conspiracy
unfolds before them. The war may be over, but
the fight continues, and not everyone will sur-
vive. The Lost War is full of exciting action, but
the interpersonal relationships of the party are
even more compelling. Samily, a holy warrior
who clashes with her less-religious teammates,
is a special standout. This tightly plotted magi-
cal odyssey, which was originally self-published,
will be a hit with fans of grimdark fantasy
like Joe Abercrombie’s Half a War (2015) or
Nicholas Eames’ Kings of the Wyld (2017).
—Ashley Rayner
Maeve Fly.
By CJ Leede.
June 2023. 288p. Tor Nightfire, $26.99 (9781250857859);
e-book (9781250857873).
Leede’s bloody and gory debut will make
readers clutch their metaphorical pearls in
the best way possible. The novel focuses on
twenty-something Maeve as she interacts
with her rigorously craft-
ed routine, specially
curated relationships, and
meticulously selected job as
a popular-ice-princess im-
personator in the Happiest
Place on Earth. The old-
Hollywood descendant fits
perfectly in her superficial
and gritty Los Angeles bubble full of desperate
stars, shady wannabes, and kitschy surround-
ings. Despite her best attempts, things start to
unravel quickly when Maeve meets her closest
friend’s brother, while her sick grandmother
(and role model) progressively deteriorates.
Instead of adapting and evolving, the self-pro-
claimed misanthrope adopts a bolder, more
dangerous persona, and those who offend her
get to meet the nightmare behind the mask.
This is the story of a ruthless antihero who
becomes unhinged when her reality turns up-
side down and slips right through her fingers.
Horror fans who enjoy villain-origin stories,
social commentary, terrifying female char-
acters, and unreliable narrators will devour
each deliciously morbid and shocking page.
—Verónica N. Rodríguez
Night’s Edge.
By Liz Kerin.
June 2023. 288p. Tor Nightfire, $26.99 (9781250835673);
e-book (9781250835680).
In 2023, the world is learning how to
manage after the Saratov-syndrome global
pandemic of 2010, which turned the infected
into vampires. Mia was 10 when her mom,
Izzy, became a “Sara,” and instead of turning
herself in, Izzy adapted by feeding off of Mia
and working only after dark. Now 23, Mia is
stuck protecting her mom’s dangerous secret,
never allowed to get close to anyone, faced
with no future, always returning home at
sundown to provide her mother’s meal until
the day she meets Jade and starts to question
30 Booklist April 15, 2023
everything. The book is told in Mia’s conver-
sational and honest narration from alternating
time lines in 2010 and 2023; readers fall right
into the novel as the details of the world and
Mia and Izzy’s life are effortlessly relayed
through the compelling story, simultaneously
hammering home the anxiety and hopeless-
ness of this speculative world alongside the
very real horrors of addiction and toxic family
relationships. A morally gray and timely story
that is bursting with Sookie Stackhouse vibes
but will also appeal to fans of Cartriona Ward
and Zoje Stage. —Becky Spratford
On Earth as It Is on Television.
By Emily Jane.
June 2023. 352p. Disney/Hyperion, $27.99
(9781368092999); e-book (9781368093859).
When spaceships hover over Earth’s major
cities for an extended period of time and leave
without doing anything, humans struggle
with the way forward, particularly a few be-
ings that live in the Los Angeles area. The
departure of the spaceships starts a domino
effect for some, but this isn’t a novel about
fighting the aliens or the politics of how to
deal with them but about family and love. It
turns out the aliens have been on Earth for the
past 19 years and have created relationships
against orders from the home planet. They
aren’t sure what the future holds, but they
want to protect their loved ones. Cats, televi-
sion, and bacon all play important roles in the
book; cats can perceive things humans can’t
and are given powers that help the characters
find their way, and the funny way television
changes the aliens’ minds about their own
culture is quite the commentary on our
world. A compelling plot with some quirky
features makes this book a great entry for a
new sf reader. —Emily Whitmore
The Salt Grows Heavy.
By Cassandra Khaw.
May 2023. 112p. Tor Nightfire, $21.99 (9781250830913);
e-book (9781250830920).
In this viciously dark fantasy, a horrific siren
who can’t speak, thanks to a cruel husband
who captured her and cut out her tongue, and
a plague doctor who has watched the king-
dom succumb to a plague impossible for them
to stop leave their now-desolate city in search
of a new adventure. When the two creatures
stumble on a sinister cult of children who be-
lieve gods can resurrect them, their interest is
piqued. But then, in the snow-covered, frigid
forest, they meet the children’s gods, the kind
of monsters who enjoy taking apart a child
and stitching it back together, and the siren
and the doctor realize that it will take quick
thinking, sharp teeth, and a lot of courage to
get out alive. This novella is short but action-
packed, unctuous, and deliciously creepy, a
mash-up of Angela Carter’s dark fairy-tale
retellings and the poetic love story core of
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal
el-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (2019). The
book is overflowing with eerie body horror,
sensory details of cold snow and warm blood,
and terrifying monsters (both protagonists
and villains). —Leah von Essen
Scarlet.
By Genevieve Cogman.
May 2023. 368p. Ace, paper, $17 (9780593638286).
Taking a break from her Invisible Library
series (The Untold Story, 2021), Cogman kicks
off a new historical fantasy trilogy, reimagin-
ing Baroness Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel with
a feminist and supernatural twist. The Terror
of the French Revolution has begun and aris-
tocrats, both living and vampire, are being
arrested and guillotined. In England, an ambi-
tious serving maid named Eleanor finds herself
loaned out by her patrician vampire mistress to
a pair of living aristocrats, Sir Percy Blakeney
and his wife, Marguerite. Eleanor bears a strik-
ing resemblance to Marie Antoinette and is
asked by the infamous Scarlet Pimpernel to aid
in rescuing the French Queen and her young
son from their prison in Paris. Eleanor’s down-
stairs viewpoint and the inclusion of vampire
nobility offer insights into societal differences
not addressed in the classic novel. While not
as lighthearted or romantic as the original, due
to Eleanor’s coming-of-age and social justice
awakening, it will be fun to see the League of
the Scarlet Pimpernel back in action again with
the next book in the Scarlet Revolution series.
—Lucy Lockley
Translation State.
By Ann Leckie.
June 2023. 432p. Orbit, $29 (9780316289719); e-book
(9780316290241).
Leckie’s latest stand-alone is set in the same
world as her Imperial Radch trilogy (Ancillary
Justice, 2013) but focuses on human com-
munities far outside Radchaai space and dives
deeper into the mysterious
Presger Translators. The nov-
el starts as Enae (who uses
gender-neutral hir pronouns)
is thrust by hir domineering
grandmother’s death into
a career as a diplomatic of-
ficer. Hir first, somewhat
make-work assignment is to
find a Translator, one of the humanlike emis-
saries of the mysterious and powerful Presger,
who disappeared 200 years ago. Enae’s jour-
ney takes hir to a segment of space shaped by
a thousand years of colonialism, leading to
an encounter with Reet Hluid, a young man
troubled by mysterious dreams of aggression
and transformation. Both Enae and Reet’s lives
will become intertwined with Qven, a Presger
Translator juvenile who rebels at their poorly
understood fate, and with other players and
factions throughout space. Leckie’s ability to
seamlessly weave in alternate conceptions of
gender, identity, and alien experience remains
as strong as ever, as does the propulsive and
exciting tenor of her prose. An excellent addi-
tion to Leckie’s already well-realized and often
strange and exciting universe, this new novel is
accessible, and essential, to new readers and old
fans alike. —Nell Keep
www.booklistonline.com
All the Days of Summer.
By Nancy Thayer.
May 2023. 352p. Ballantine, $28 (9780593358450).
Heather Willette is at a crossroads. Near-
ing 50 and an empty nester no longer in love
with her husband, Heather is ready to figure
out the next phase of her life. When the op-
portunity to rent a small home on the island
of Nantucket proves too serendipitous to pass
up, Heather serves her husband divorce papers
and prepares to spend the summer finding her-
self again. What she doesn’t anticipate is her
son, Ross, moving to Nantucket as well. Kailee
Essex is Nantucket royalty; her family lineage
goes back at least a century, and they own a
powerful construction company responsible
for the seaside escapes on the island. Kailee
can’t wait to spend the summer finally working
in the family business alongside her boyfriend,
Ross Willette. What she doesn’t anticipate is
her boyfriend’s mother joining them on the is-
land as well. Both women tread lightly around
each other, but when secrets and devastation
bring them together, they’ll learn Nantucket
has room for both of them. Best-selling author
Thayer delivers another heartwarming story
that fans will enjoy. —LynnDee Wathen
The Collected Regrets of Clover.
By Mikki Brammer.
May 2023. 320p. St. Martin’s, $28 (9781250284396); e-book
(9781250284402).
Clover Brooks is a death doula. She provides
an empathetic and comforting presence as she
guides her clients peacefully through the end of
their lives. To honor each person, she compiles
their last words into three journals: “Advice,”
“Confessions,” and “Regrets.” However, as
comfortable as she feels with the dying, Clo-
ver has always felt awkward with everyone else
and keeps others at arm’s length. That changes
when she takes on a new client, a new neigh-
bor is determined to be friends, and a possible
love interest arrives, and Clover has to confront
whether she has learned anything from collect-
ing those final words. While this heartwarming
debut novel deals with death, it never becomes
maudlin, instead focusing on what makes a life
worth living. Readers who appreciate seeing
quirky, isolated characters come into their own,
such as in Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine,
by Gail Honeyman, or The Bookish Life of Nina
Hill, by Abbi Waxman, will find much to love
in this moving novel. —Halle Carlson
The Comeback Summer.
By Ali Brady.
May 2023. 480p. Berkley, paper, $17 (9780593440179);
e-book (9780593440186).
Just as Freedom Group, the Chicago-based
PR firm founded by their grandmother Ruth,
is about to go under financially, sisters Han-
nah and Libby Freedman are thrown a lifeline.
TED Talk sensation and Crush Your Comfort
Zone lifestyle philosophy developer Lou (just
Lou, like Madonna or Beyoncé) proposes a
deal. If Libby and Hannah agree to successfully
participate in the Crush Your Comfort Zone
twelve-week course, Lou will hire them to
www.booklistonline.com
Spotlight on Relationship Fiction
create a new PR campaign for her brand. Step-
ping out of your comfort zone is never easy,
but Libby and Hannah will do anything to
save their beloved GiGi’s business legacy. After
charming readers with their debut, The Beach
Trap (2022), Alison Hammer and Bradleigh
Godfrey, writing as Ali Brady, are back with
another winsome and winning tale that neatly
pivots between the two sisters’ viewpoints and
delivers the maximum measure of sharp humor
and smoldering romance, all while insight-
fully underscoring the importance of the bond
between siblings and the rewards found in em-
bracing new challenges in life. —John Charles
Esme Cahill Fails Spectacularly.
By Marie Bostwick.
May 2023. 368p. Morrow, paper, $18.99 (9780062997319);
e-book (9780062997326).
Best-selling Bostwick takes readers to
Asheville, North Carolina, where a publish-
ing executive will learn that a successful life
doesn’t have to be well planned. After 15 years
in New York City, Esme Cahill is returning
to her hometown with her tail between her
legs. She’s been let go from her job and got-
ten divorced; her life is NOT going according
to plan. When she arrives in Asheville, Esme
discovers that her grandparents’ lodge has
become run down. Renovations are in store,
giving Esme something to do while she figures
out next steps. When she discovers her grand-
mother Adele’s quilts—it’s been years since
they’ve seen the light of day—she’s inspired
to write about her grandmother. Adele’s story
is also one of life going differently than ex-
pected, and Esme learns to appreciate where
her own life is leading her. Bostwick once
again expertly addresses finding your own
path, healing relationships, and living a life
you love. —LynnDee Wathen
The Five-Star Weekend.
By Elin Hilderbrand.
June 2023. 384p. Little, Brown, $30 (9780316258777);
e-book (9780316259385).
Lifestyle guru Hollis Shaw is still reeling
from the sudden death of her husband, but
after months of mourning, she needs to do
something. So she concocts a Five-Star Week-
end, inviting one best friend from four stages
of her life on a weekend getaway to her beloved
Nantucket, with daughter Caroline along to
film it for her website. She invites childhood
friend Tatum, who is awaiting the results of a
biopsy; college roommate Dru-Ann, a success-
ful sports agent about to be cancelled; prime
of life bestie Brooke, who is worried she won’t
Adult
Art from Summer on the Bluffs.
fit in; and a wild card, Gigi, who is a com-
menter-turned-friend on Hollis’ blog. There is
immediate tension. Tatum still feels like Hollis
abandoned her for life off the island. Brooke is
annoying everyone, and Gigi is hiding an in-
credible secret. Hildebrand’s latest is dripping
with her signature Nantucket details; the food
descriptions alone are enough to get readers to
book the next ferry. Readers will be transported
both by the setting and the emotional drama
as Hilderbrand sets up seemingly impossible
odds, then manages a convincing happy end-
ing. —Susan Maguire
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: It’s not
officially summer without a novel from
Hilderbrand, and she delivers exactly what
her readers want—female friendship, fam-
ily drama, and gorgeous descriptions of
Nantucket.
Graceland.
By Nancy Crochiere.
May 2023. 384p. Avon, paper, $18.99 (9780063288430);
e-book (9780063288447).
A faded soap star, her estranged daughter,
and her teenage granddaughter all head to
Memphis in Crochiere’s debut, a humorous
and entertaining exploration of matriarchal
family dynamics that will leave readers with a
smile. Olivia Grant is an aging, former soap-
star legend who refuses to leave life with a
whimper. Tasked with wearing a cannula at
all times and at risk of being forgotten by her
formerly adoring public, Olivia wants to spend
her final hours at Graceland, home of the King
(and her maybe former lover?). But the only
way to get to Graceland is for her estranged
daughter, Hope, to take her there. Hope has
her own reasons for avoiding Memphis that
have to do with her daughter, Dylan. When
Hope refuses to take Olivia, Olivia ropes Dylan
into her plan, which will lead to an explosive
secret being exposed that will force the women
to find grace with one another. Graceland is a
charming novel that will delight fans of Elyssa
Friedland. —LynnDee Wathen
How to Be Remembered.
By Michael Thompson.
June 2023. 368p. Sourcebooks, paper, $16.99
(9781728265803).
Every year on his birthday, Tommy Llewellyn
wakes to a world that no longer remembers that
he exists. The reader experiences Tommy’s child-
hood, where his parents forget they have a baby
when Tommy turns one; his adolescence, where
he rebefriends his group-home companions
on every birthday; and finally, his adulthood,
April 15, 2023 Booklist 31
 where, yearly, he reconvinces his best friend and
business partner to hire him. Tommy rebuilds
Top 10 Relationship Fiction his life, reinserting himself into his world and
Spotlight

continuing to craft memories

with those who are destined
T he top 10 relationship fiction titles reviewed in Booklist from
April 15, 2022, through April 1, 2023, plumb depths of feeling
while exploring the power of human connection through intergener-
to forget him. Beyond the
trials and loneliness of be-
ing forgotten, Tommy is also
ational conflict, biological and found family, and, sometimes, humor. searching for the person he
—Susan Maguire fell in love with at 14 and is
The Bandit Queens. By Parini Shroff. 2023. Ballantine, $28 desperate to discover a way
(9780593498958). for her to remember him.
A woman in rural India with the (unearned) reputation for having Year after year, Tommy goes to great lengths to
thwart his “Reset,” to the reader’s amusement
done in her abusive husband finds other women turning to her for
and heartache. With turns of poignant hilarity
help in this darkly hilarious, cleverly subversive debut. and quiet grief, How to Be Remembered is sure
Black Candle Women. By Diane Marie Brown. 2023. Graydon, to be a new favorite for readers who enjoyed
$27.99 (9781525899911). V. E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
When teenager Nickie brings home a boy, her mother does (2020) or Paul Auster’s 4 3 2 1 (2017). Debut
everything she can to keep them apart, while her aunt is more novelist Thompson has crafted a stunning tale
sympathetic and her grandmother keeps family secrets close in this of a boy desperate to be remembered, never
hesitating to forge a path through his unusual
family drama with a touch of magic.
world. —Julia Maxwell
Hello Beautiful. By Ann Napolitano. 2023. Dial, $28
(9780593243732). The Island Villa.
A man who had a solitary upbringing is relieved to marry into By Sarah Morgan.
a boisterous Italian family until a depressive episode sours the May 2023. 384p. Canary Street, paper, $17.99
marriage in a novel that investigates the deep, maddening, and ever- (9781335630957); e-book (9780369706805).
present love of family, whether it’s a family by genetics or choice. Best-selling romance novelist Catherine
Swift is thrilled to be getting married for a
Other Birds. By Sarah Addison Allen. 2022. St. Martin’s, $27.99 fourth time. While her younger daughter,
(9781250019868). Cassie, is excited for her mother, her older
A young woman offers to clean out the condo of her dead daughter and Cassie’s half-sister, Adeline, is
neighbor, unearthing a decades-long secret in this alluring, magical- not. Even though she won’t admit it, Adeline
realism, Southern story. has not healed from her parents’ divorce when
she was eight. Catherine cheated on Adeline’s
Our Best Intentions. By Vibhuti Jain. 2023. Morrow, $27.99 (9780063278783). father, became pregnant with Cassie, divorced
In this portrayal of wealthy suburbia at its most toxic and insular, Jain navigates among Adeline’s father, and married her affair partner.
multiple points of view to tell a tale about a young swimmer who finds her best friend’s Adeline is about to RSVP “no” when her father
older brother stabbed. convinces her to go to the wedding, held at
Catherine’s villa in Corfu. When the sisters ar-
Romantic Comedy. By Curtis Sittenfeld. 2023. Random, $28 (9780399590948). rive in Greece, they are shocked to discover the
A sharp, intimacy-phobic writer for a Saturday Night Live–style show who turns her identity of Catherine’s fiancé. This shock gives
rage at uber-hot female celebrities dating her shmopey coworkers into a sketch, finds way to the uncovering of family secrets and the
herself connecting with an uber-hot musical guest in this meta-romance full of zippy dia- healing of decade-old hurts. As Cassie and Ade-
logue. line discover their own love stories, they also
learn much more about their mother and their
Rosewater. By Liv Little. 2023. Zando, $27 (9781638930228). own past. Astute readers will easily work out
Elsie, a queer, 28-year-old bartender and poet in south London, is estranged from her the twists in the book well before the characters
traditional Ghanaian family but finds a home with a longtime friend she hasn’t spoken to do, but those looking for a quick summer read
in months in this vividly rendered story of a dynamic young woman finding her way. will enjoy the romance, the Greek setting, and
the family drama. —Lynnanne Pearson
Varina Palladino’s Jersey Italian Love Story. By Terry-Lynne DeFino. 2023. Morrow,
$27.99 (9780063228436). The Museum of Ordinary People.
Seventy-year-old Varina needs a vacation, but her large, messy, New Jersey–Italian fam- By Mike Gayle.
ily—from her middle-aged children to her elderly mother—conspires to keep her from May 2023. 336p. Grand Central, paper, $18.99
her planned trip in this zesty novel. (9781538740842); e-book (9781538740859).
After losing the mother who raised her sin-
A Very Typical Family. By Sierra Godfrey. 2022. Sourcebooks/Landmark, $27.99
gle-handedly, Jess must complete the dreaded
(9781728255200).
task of emptying out her mom’s house. As she
In this atmospheric and uplifting debut about an anything-but-typical family, a woman sifts through her mother’s belongings, she finds
is obliged to reunite with her estranged brother and sister to secure a valuable if dilapi- a set of encyclopedias and can’t bear to throw
dated Santa Cruz home left by their late mother. them away. In searching for a place to donate
We Are the Light. By Matthew Quick. 2022. Simon & Schuster/Avid Reader, $27.99 them, Jess stumbles upon the Museum of Or-
(9781668005422). dinary People, a place where people can take
Survivors of a movie-theater shooting band together, but one man feels isolated until treasured and beloved mementos to be cared
for. Though it has existed thus far as a store-
the gunman’s younger brother approaches him with an idea for a project in this testa-
ment to trauma and recovery.
Continued on p.34
32 Booklist April 15, 2023 www.booklistonline.com
Booklist The Essentials
Intergenerational
Relationship Fiction
by Susan Maguire
G
enerations clash, sure, but they can also learn from one
another, as these tales of intergenerational relationships
attest. From humorous to heartbreaking, the tone of
these novels varies, but the lesson is the same: you can’t go it
alone, and there is wisdom to be had in both youth and age.
Black Candle Women. By Diane
Marie Brown. 2023. Graydon, $27.99
(9781525899911).
Four generations of Montrose women
navigate secrets and a family curse—any-
one the women fall in love with will die
prematurely—in a novel with multiple
narrators and a hint of spiritual magic.
Haven Point. By Virginia Hume. 2021.
St. Martin’s, $17.99 (9781250266545).
Three generations of women contend
with their complicated feelings toward
Haven Point, an upscale summer commu-
nity on the coast of Maine.
Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting. By
Clare Pooley. 2022. Pamela Dorman, $27
(9781984878649).
An aging advice columnist has one rule
for commuting—never talk to the other
passengers—which she breaks when one
of her fellow riders chokes on a grape, and
soon the varied cast of commuters inches
somewhere toward friendship.
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel. By
Elyssa Friedland. 2021. Berkley, $16
(9780593199725).
When someone offers to buy the ram-
shackle Catskills resort the Golden Hotel,
multiple generations of the two families
who own it must decide if it’s worth one last
summer in this witty and incisive novel.
Lost in Paris. By Elizabeth Thompson.
2021. Gallery, $16.99 (9781982149086).
A woman and her mother venture
www.booklistonline.com
to her grandmother’s Paris apartment,
untouched since the 1940s, to uncover
the family’s past and break the cycle of
mother-daughter estrangement.
The Lost Ticket. By Freya Sampson.
2022. Berkley, $17 (9780593201411).
An elderly man who is facing the fact
that he may not be able to live indepen-
dently anymore enlists his punk rock
carer and a misfit young woman to help
him find the love he lost 60 years ago.
The Love Story of Missy Carmichael.
By Beth Morrey. 2020. Putnam, $17
(9780525542452).
A lonely elderly woman who feels like her
life is over is invigorated by new friends: a
woman and her spirited young son, a big-
hearted neighbor, and a lovable mutt.
The Mostly True Story of Tanner
& Louise. By Colleen Oakley. 2023.
Berkley, $27 (9780593200803).
This lively odd-couple caper full of clev-
er surprises follows octogenarian Louise
and Tanner, her ex-soccer-player caregiver,
as they run from the law after Louise’s
past catches up to her.
Secrets in Summer. By Nancy Thayer.
2017. Ballantine, $17 (9781101967089).
After an ugly divorce, a librarian de-
camps to her grandmother’s house in
Nantucket only to find her ex staying
nearby, but she forges a friendship with
his bookish stepdaughter as well as an
elderly neighbor.
Art from The Love Story of Missy Carmichael.
Summer on the Bluffs. By Sunny Hostin.
2021. Harper, $16.99 (9780062994189).
Once a Wall Street tycoon, Ama is
now a beloved grandmother figure to
three beautiful, successful, grown god-
daughters, one of whom will inherit her
beautiful home in Oak Bluffs, a promi-
nent Black community on Martha’s
Vineyard.
Swimming for Sunlight. By Allie Larkin.
2019. Atria, $15.99 (9781501198489).
An anxious divorcée decamps with her
dog to her beloved Nan’s house, where
she offers to make the costumes for Nan
and her friends, who are reliving their
youth as “mermaids” at a roadside attrac-
tion.
Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop.
By Roselle Lim. 2020. Berkley, $16
(9781984803276).
A woman’s prophetic abilities have
spoiled weddings and ruined relation-
ships, so she flies to Paris to hone her
skills with her aunt, who is keeping se-
crets of her own.
The Vibrant Years. By Sonali Dev.
2022. Mindy’s Book Studio, $28.99
(9781662509261).
The lives of an Indian woman, her
daughter-in-law, and her granddaughter
change course when a Bollywood movie
mogul shows up in their Florida town
with a secret and a crush.
Well-Behaved Indian Women. By
Saumya Dave. 2020. Berkley, $16
(9781984806154).
Three generations of Indian women liv-
ing in India, New Jersey, and Manhattan
try in vain to do what is expected of them
and all fail by following their dreams in-
stead.
April 15, 2023 Booklist 33
 Continued from p.32
room in a warehouse, Jess sees the potential
Spotlight
of this collection of belongings and convinces
a reluctant Alex, the new owner of the ware-
house, to give her six months to turn it into
a real museum; but as Jess works to make the
museum a reality, she must also reevaluate her
own path in life. Moving and heartwarming,
this is a story about love and loss and holding
onto the memories that make us who we are.
Fans of character-driven relationship fiction by
Clare Pooley, Rachel Joyce, and Freya Sampson
will want to pick this one up. —Halle Carlson
Same Time Next Summer.
By Annabel Monaghan.
June 2023. 320p. Putnam, paper, $17 (9780593544969).
When Sam Holloway was a kid, she relished
her summers at her parents’ Long Island beach
house, surfing and making out in the tree
house with next-door neighbor Wyatt. Now, as
an adult, she dislikes how the visits disrupt her
perfectly ordered life. But this
year she’s bringing her per-
fectly ordered dermatologist
fiancé, Jack, and she’s wor-
ried about what he will think
of the hippy-dippy surround-
ings. To make matters worse,
Wyatt is back, writing songs
in the tree house. This is the
first time Sam has seen him since he broke her
heart when she was 17, but she’s determined
not to make it weird, despite the still-electric
chemistry between them. Monaghan’s follow-
up to Nora Goes off Script (2022) alternates
between Sam and Wyatt’s childhood summers
and Sam in the present, presenting her heart-
breakingly believable path to getting her life
under control. At the same time, Monaghan
makes the perfect case for Sam losing that con-
trol, however frightening the prospect is. With
likable, realistic characters, a breezy, beachy
setting, and an ideal balance of humor and
emotional depth, Same Time Next Summer is a
moving love story about a woman finding her
way back to herself. —Susan Maguire
Scent of a Garden.
By Namrata Patel.
June 2023. 300p. Amazon/Lake Union, $16.99
(9781542039086); e-book (9781542039093).
Born with a heightened sense of smell, Asha
Patel has been guided by her mother and grand-
mother to a career as a perfumer. After messing
up an important client pitch, Asha leaves Paris
and travels home to her family in Napa Valley.
Asha, though, has a secret: after a mild case of
COVID-19, she lost her ability to smell. Hop-
ing to get her career back on track, she submits
to her grandmother’s smell experiments and
her mother’s doctor recommendations. Distant
from her father, Asha begins to see him in a
new light when he asks for help at the family’s
hotel. Asha also spends time reconnecting to
her best friend, Millie, and Neel, Millie’s hand-
some brother and Asha’s former childhood
sweetheart. The extended time at home has
34 Booklist April 15, 2023
Asha reevaluating her career, her life, and her
distant relationship with her family. Patel has
written a touching tale of one young woman’s
reckoning with her family’s generational legacy,
staying true to her roots and traditions while at
the same time forging a path for herself. Full of
warmth and humor, this book is recommended
for all fiction collections. —Lynnanne Pearson
The Second Ending.
By Michelle Hoffman.
June 2023. 352p. Ballantine, $28 (9780593599136); e-book
(9780593599143).
Middle age is hitting Prudence Childs hard.
Her husband, Stuart, desperately wants to help
her, so he arranges to have her childhood piano
delivered to their home. Prudence was a child
prodigy who spent her youth
touring, until her grand-
mother’s abuse drained the
joy out of performing. She
wants nothing to do with the
Steinway or the memories it
carries, so she decides to auc-
tion it off—only to realize, at
the last minute, that music
belongs in her life. The news of the auction
brings Prudence’s past out of the woodwork
and presents a unique opportunity: an invi-
tation to perform on the hit television show
Alexei Petrov’s Dueling Piano Wars, hosted by
a Russian-born piano virtuoso. The timing is
good—Prudence is being blackmailed by her
ex-husband, who is out to prove that Prudence
plagiarized her most famous commercial jin-
gle—but returning to the stage won’t be easy.
Hoffman’s entertaining debut features a cast of
memorable characters, and Prudence, with her
dramatic turns and frequent overreactions, is
a standout. Despite some heavy themes, the
overall tone is lighthearted and frequently
funny, with unexpected comic turns through-
out. Fans of Amy Poeppel’s Musical Chairs
(2020) and Aja Gabel’s The Ensemble (2018)
will revel in this top-notch musical comedy.
—Nanette Donohue
The Summer of Songbirds.
By Kristy Woodson Harvey.
July 2023. 368p. Gallery, $27.99 (9781668010822); e-book
(9781668010846).
Harvey reminds us that sisterhood can take
many forms in her latest (after The Wedding
Veil, 2022). Fast friends from the moment they
met at Camp Holly Springs as six-year-olds,
Daphne and Lanier and Mary Stuart wove their
lives into a tangle that could only be described
as family. Now in their thirties, secrets threaten
their relationships as Daphne is forced to choose
between friendship and her career, and Lanier
realizes that her past actions may destroy her
chance at the future she wants. When Daphne’s
Aunt June, who owns Camp Holly Springs,
reveals that the camp will have to close down,
the one thing that pulled the friends together
as children could be the very thing that keeps
them from falling apart as adults. With a strong
dose of nostalgia and multiple narrations from
Daphne, Lanier, and June (who has her own
revelations about the role Camp Holly Springs
has played in her life), the book will appeal to
Mary Kay Andrews and Katherine Center fans,
who will revel in the support the women dem-
onstrate for one another. —Tracy Babiasz
Tell Me How This Ends.
By Jo Leevers.
May 2023. 358p. Amazon/Lake Union, paper, $16.99
(9781662506383); e-book (9781662506376).
Two lonely women form a tender bond in
this melancholy yet hopeful debut. Henrietta
Lockwood feels like she has failed. Having been
let go from several jobs, she is now struggling
to find something new. When she comes across
an ad for the Life Story project, an organization
that helps terminal patients write books reflect-
ing on their lives, she applies, not realizing the
position will change her forever. Henrietta
meets weekly with Annie Doyle, who has can-
cer, at a drop-in center for patients called the
Grief Café. Annie is still recovering from her
dead husband’s abuse and has never fully pro-
cessed her sister Kath’s mysterious disappearance
back in 1974. Each week, Henrietta becomes
more and more compelled to investigate what
really happened to Kath, knowing that if she
doesn’t find the truth, Annie will die without
it. The novel is both a character-driven mystery
and a heartfelt examination of what it means to
be alive; people can connect even when facing
death. For readers of Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor
Oliphant Is Completely Fine and Jodi Picoult’s
The Book of Two Ways. —Cari Dubiel
Watch Us Shine.
By Marisa de los Santos.
June 2023. 304p. Morrow, $27.99 (9780063095601);
e-book (9780063095625).
Cornelia Brown, a recurring character in de
los Santos’ novels, returns in this moving story
about the bond between sisters. After an ac-
cident, Cornelia’s mother, Eleanor, develops
cognitive issues. One eve-
ning, Eleanor asks Cornelia
to bring her the northern
lights, inspiring Cornelia to
look into Eleanor’s past to
understand why her mother
would make such a request.
Chapters alternate between
Cornelia’s recovery from a
traumatic incident and the story of Eleanor’s
young adult years, when she and her older
sister, Martha, sheltered each another from
their abusive mother. When Martha moves
to northern Minnesota, it’s an opportunity to
start over, until she meets a mysterious man
who changes her life in ways that Eleanor
cannot fathom, leaving a secret Eleanor has
hidden from her daughters. Fans will enjoy
revisiting these well-crafted characters, and
readers new to Cornelia and her family will
feel right at home. De los Santos draws readers
in, slowly revealing both Eleanor’s secret and
the act of violence that has shattered Cornelia’s
sense of security. This heartfelt, character-driv-
en novel will appeal to fans of Jojo Moyes and
Katherine Center. —Nanette Donohue
www.booklistonline.com

Graphic Novels
Adult
Amelia Aierwood: Basic Witch.
By Emily Hampshire and Eliot Rahal. Art by
Kristen Gudsnuk and others.
Apr. 2023. 136p. Z2 Comics, paper, $19.99 (9781954928510).
741.5.
Amelia Aierwood’s famous, boss witch
of a mother never intended on having bio-
logical children, only adopted ones. That
means Amelia’s birth was an accident (which
Amelia tells us while breaking the fourth
wall—witches can do that, you know!), and
she has continued to be accident prone ever
since. So accident prone, in fact, that she’s
even cut from her family’s reality-television
show, which makes Amelia increasingly des-
perate to prove her worth to her mother and
siblings. Amelia is a flawed yet well-meaning
narrator, always trying to help but making
herself the center of attention in the process.
The art style looks like something that could
easily be adapted into a Nickelodeon or
Cartoon Network series, especially in more
comedic moments, such as when Amelia’s
mint-and-white yeti brother and new friend,
a P. A. who’s a trans woman with pink-tipped
hair, drool and roll their eyes upwards while
devouring Amelia’s delicious hoagies. New-
adult readers, as well as some teens, will
relate to the likable hot mess that is Ame-
lia while also understanding why her family
doesn’t want to reward her shortsighted be-
havior. —Biz Hyzy
Derborence: When the Mountain Fell.
By Fabian Menor and Charles Ferdinand
Ramuz. Art by Fabian Menor. Tr. by Michelle
Bailat-Jones.
Apr. 2023. 128p. Helvetiq, $24.99 (9783907293928). 741.5.
In this adaptation of the 1934 Swiss novel
by Ramuz, newlyweds Antoine and Thérèse
are separated when Antoine and Thérèse’s
uncle Séraphin trek into the nearby moun-
tains with their herd of cattle. When a
massive landslide wipes out all of the herd-
ers on the mountain, everyone, including
Antoine, is presumed dead. When Antoine
appears in the village eight weeks later, many
superstitious villagers believe he is a ghost,
but when he finally makes his way home to a
pregnant Thérèse, he is unable to believe that
Séraphin is dead, leading him on a journey
back into the mountains. While this story
takes place around a tragedy, Thérèse’s devo-
tion to Antoine drives the story to the end.
Evoking a strong sense of place are the illus-
trations, finely drawn with plenty of texture,
particularly in the double-page spreads of
the mountains. Color is used cleverly with
muted brown tones for the village and slate
blue and green for the mountains. Hand this
to readers who enjoy graphic adaptations of
translated works, as well as romance readers.
—Suzanne Temple
www.booklistonline.com
The Last Count of Monte Cristo.
By Ayize Jama-Everett. Art by Tristan Roach.
Apr. 2023. 160p. Abrams ComicArts, $24.99
(9781419745508). 741.5.
Jama-Everett reimagines Alexandre Du-
mas’ classic revenge novel as an afrofuturist
tale set hundreds of years in the future
against a backdrop of ecological collapse.
While in prison, Quabbinah Dantes, first
mate of the Pharon, remembers his once-
carefree life: returning to port to marry his
fiancée, Jaya; being falsely accused of sedi-
tion against the Landed African Gentry;
and being tricked into imprisonment by
Regional Proctor Villefort. Dantes plots his
escape, promising to “donat[e] the entire
sum of my suffering to those responsible,”
with the tutelage of educated prisoner Mufti
Hajim, who tells Dantes the location of the
Monte Cristo, a ship lost over a century ago,
carrying a host of visionaries and all the
technologies they thought could save the
world. Jama-Everett doesn’t deviate from
Dumas’ story, instead using the retelling to
underscore social issues affecting Black peo-
ple, like the whitewashing of history, unjust
imprisonment, and climate change. Roach
brings to life this imaginative future setting
in his artwork, featuring angular, dynamic
lines and impeccable color choices, while
populating the backgrounds with stylishly
clothed characters, strange creatures, and
unusual technology. —Krista Hutley
Yo u n g A d u l t
83 Days in Mariupol: A War Diary.
By Don Brown. Art by the author.
May 2023. 128p. Clarion, $22.99 (9780063311565). Gr. 9–12.
741.5.
Throughout his career, Brown has covered
many historical events—September 11, the
Dust Bowl, Hurricane Katrina. His newest
on the war in Ukraine feels different. Here
Brown reports on the peo-
ple of Mariupol as they
resist the invading Russian
army while desperately
fleeing from the conflict.
Brown lets his images do
most of the talking, per-
haps partially because not
that much information is
available yet due to the ongoing nature of
the conflict. But it also feels as if Brown,
who has documented some of history’s sad-
dest moments, is at a loss for words, that a
war as vicious and pointless as this could still
happen. His artwork feels rougher in com-
parison to previous works. His sketch-heavy
style, a signature throughout his career, feels
more raw than usual—destroyed buildings
and bodies lying on the street are captured
through scrawling pen marks, at times even
scribbling subjects like a dismembered child
or a bombed-out shelter. Though his book
is as approachable as ever, his story is bleak
yet unapologetic, telling the tragic stories of
the survivors that escaped and those not so
lucky. Bolstered with robust source notes,
this is a flawless book about a senseless
atrocity. —Peter Blenski
Call the Name of the Night, v.1.
By Tama Mitsuboshi. Art by the author.
Tr. by Amanda Haley.
2023. 194p. Yen, paper, $13 (9781975352004). Gr. 5–11. 741.5.
Mira is a girl with a mysterious affliction
that causes everything but herself to turn
into night, including other people. The dark-
ness seeps out of her when she loses control,
especially when she be-
comes anxious or panicked.
She has come to live with
a doctor who is hoping to
cure her or help her control
the power. The two tend
a garden together, make
delicious treats, and gener-
ally try to keep Mira calm.
When one of the doctor’s old medical class-
mates pays them a visit, Mira finds herself
in a dangerous place confronting the dark-
ness within. Mira is dealing with complex
emotions for someone so young—things
like anxiety, self-doubt, feelings of worth,
and more. There are Shadows that behave
similarly to soot sprites from Spirited Away,
which adds a bit of whimsy to a story explor-
ing some difficult topics. The illustrations
for this charming magical story are detailed
and wondrous. Great attention was paid to
each character’s design and clothing, while
the settings and backgrounds boast the same
care and detail. Fantasy readers who love
Studio Ghibli stories or Coco’s similar jour-
ney in Witch Hat Atelier will connect with
Mira and become invested in her developing
self-acceptance and discovering the wonders
of her magic. —Sara Smith
Constellations.
By Kate Glasheen. Art by the author.
May 2023. 224p. Holiday, $22.99 (9780823450718); paper,
$14.99 (9780823454884); e-book, $11.99 (9780823455386).
Gr. 8–12. 741.5.
In this harrowing yet hopeful debut,
Claire cannot catch a break when it comes
to their identity—they consistently receive
harassment and are
asked the tasteless query
“You ’sposed to be a
boy or a girl?” in their
washed-out hometown
of Troy, New York. Pile
on the departure of a
best friend, adults who
never got over their
high-school-bully phase, and a family his-
tory of alcoholism, and you get Claire’s
bender, resulting in court-ordered addic-
tion rehabilitation. The work is awash with
subdued watercolor shading and playful,
April 15, 2023 Booklist 35
manga-like personification of big pubescent
emotions. The doodled notes taken during
group sessions on college-ruled pages blend
and rip with the reality of the panels. These
thoughtful artistic choices pair well with an
excellent, illustriously lyrical approach to
gender-expansive identity, peppered with in-
trospection on how it feels to be “neither” or
“both,” bound to provide a little euphoria to
anyone who feels similarly outside of those
“two boxes.” Glasheen’s narrative, heavily
inspired by their own journey with gender
and alcoholism, directly addresses addiction
and how it damages the patients and their
relationships, including with each other.
Guided by the “constellation” of values
gained through sobriety and the challenges
of being a small-town teenager in the 1980s,
Claire’s story is a multifaceted must-have for
young adult readers looking to better grasp
the intersection of addiction and identity.
—Kelly Ferreira
Gunhild, v.1: The New God?
By Fred Tornager. Art by the author.
Apr. 2023. 224p. Quarto/Rockport, paper, $13.99
(9780760381915). Gr. 6–11. 741.5.
Having been raised in a human orphanage,
Gunhild is a fire jotun with humble roots
who will stop at nothing to become a god
and stop Ragnarok from happening. Most
doubt her, including Thor, whose attention
she garners at her graduation. Nevertheless,
Gunhild sets off toward Asgard and, along
the way, becomes entangled with the affairs
of the gods. On her journey, she meets and
befriends Liv, who is calm and supportive—
a stark contrast to Gunhild’s boisterous and
fiery energy. This adventure is full of colorful
art and characters. Tornager brings freshness
to his rendition of Norse mythology by rede-
signing the pantheon, but he still imbues it
with enough familiarity for fans of the clas-
sic stories. The interior art is fully colorized,
which is different from most manga, but
Tornager masterfully uses solid coloring and
coordinating palettes to immerse readers ful-
ly in every page. Fans of One Piece and other
epic adventures will enjoy going along with
Gunhild for this ride. —Sara Smith
Love’s in Sight!, v.1.
By Uoyama. Art by the author.
Apr. 2023. 208p. VIZ Media, paper, $9.99 (9781974736812).
Gr. 9–12. 741.5.
Sparks fly instantly between Morio and
Yukiko in this romantic comedy about a
delinquent who falls in love with a visually
impaired girl. This funny and delightful
manga shows how Morio, known around
town as the Black Panther after a series
of fights left him with a scar over his eye,
and Yukiko, an assertive girl who can only
see vague shapes and colors, build up their
confidence in each other as a result of their
relationship. The story and artwork convey
Yukiko’s experiences, and there’s quite a bit
about how accessibility improves experi-
ences for all users. This delightful manga
36 Booklist April 15, 2023
is ultimately about confidence, growing
in experience, and the joys of first love. In
the first volume, there’s an excellent subplot
where Yukiko is firm with her sister, her
caretaker, about her need for independence
and growth and for her sister to see her and
not her disability. While there are plenty of
laughs in this comedy, there are also sin-
cere discussions around disability issues.
—Ashley Hawkins
Paper Planes.
By Jennie Wood. Art by Dozerdraws.
May 2023. 216p. Maverick, paper, $14.99 (9781952303548).
Gr. 7–11. 741.5.
Five years ago, at Leighton’s ninth birthday
party, she and Dylan cemented their friend-
ship with a tattoo-to-be.
Leighton, already a gifted
artist, drew a spaceship
for wannabe astronaut
Dylan that would even-
tually be inked by their
mother’s tattoo-artist boy-
friend, willing to disregard
Dylan’s young age. The
pair couldn’t be more different. Leighton—
her last name is aptly Worthington—is
wealthy, a tennis champion, and the perfect-
daughter foil to her rebellious older sister.
Dylan has none of Leighton’s privileges,
often left to fend for themself by a single
mother working three jobs to keep her fam-
ily afloat. The passing years only make the
duo more inseparable. By the summer after
eighth grade, however, Leighton and Dylan
are fighting for their futures at a camp for
troubled youth, following an incident with
an unrelenting bully. Creators Wood and
Dozerdraws are, like Dylan, both nonbinary,
adding empathic, multilayered nuance to
their exceptional collaboration. Their narra-
tive moves back and forth between struggles
at camp and the events that led to the teens’
fateful banishment. As details are revealed,
so, too, are their confrontations (or not) with
societal and parental pressures meant to deny
their authentic selves. Dozerdraws’ artistry is
especially notable, every inch saturated with
color, rollicking with motion, and illumi-
nated with feelings both stifled and shared.
—Terry Hong
Sunbeams in the Sky, v.1.
By Monika Kaname. Art by the author. Tr. by
Julie Goniwich.
Apr. 2023. 178p. Yen, paper, $13 (9781975352318). Gr. 6–12.
741.5.
A story about a young girl whose twin
is determined to help her overcome trau-
ma, Sunbeams in the Sky is a wonderful
manga about sisterly affection and growth.
Inseparable for most of their lives, identi-
cal twins Himari and Mio go to different
high schools—until Himari is attacked after
gently rejecting a boy so she can focus on
her studies. When Himari isolates herself
at home, Mio comes up with a plan to pull
her sister back into daily life: she convinces
Himari to take her place every so often at
her school, where Himari slowly begins to
form connections with others. The build-
ing of trust and the unwavering support the
twins have for each other make this a gentle
and refreshing read. The twin swapping is
convincing but not confusing; it’s always
clear who each twin is. While the story
starts on a dark note, it is ultimately uplift-
ing, and the reflections on trauma and how
it can impact a person’s life are thoughtful.
—Ashley Hawkins
Sunshine.
By Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Art by the author.
Apr. 2023. 240p. Scholastic/Graphix, $27.99
(9781338356328); paper, $14.99 (9781338356311); e-book,
$14.99 (9781338747621). Gr. 8–12. 741.5.
In a spiritual companion to his National
Book Award–winning Hey, Kiddo, Krosoc-
zka offers another autobiographical comic,
this time about the first year he spent volun-
teering at a summer camp for terminally ill
children and their families. He chronicles his
initial anxiety about working at the camp,
meeting and befriending the kids there, the
bonds he shared with the other counselors,
and his continuing commitment to similar
organizations. In a visual style similar to Hey,
Kiddo, peachy washes of orange and yel-
low create a nice sense of warmth, and that
feels very intentional; he’s careful to keep
the mood light and positive during scenes
at the camp. Of course, death looms in the
background, and once the summer is over,
he shares details about some of the campers
who eventually succumbed to their cancers.
While it’s gratifying to see the effect the camp
had on the children and their families in
Krosoczka’s respectful and thoughtful hands,
their perspectives are a noticeable (and in-
evitable) absence—one the artist’s no-doubt
life-changing experience can’t quite account
for. —Sarah Hunter
Tista, v.1.
By Tatsuya Endo. Art by the author.
Apr. 2023. 208p. VIZ Media, paper, $9.99 (9781974736713).
Gr. 9–12. 741.5.
Tista is a socially inept college student who
keeps to herself until she’s saved from a speed-
ing vehicle by Arty Drawer, an art student
who attends some of her same classes. But
Tista can’t get too close to anyone because her
real job, her main purpose in life, is to use her
special abilities and monstrous sight as Sister
Militia, a deadly assassin who can snipe targets
from more than 1,500 feet away. Tista’s mis-
sions revolve around ridding the world of evil,
and her religious teachings and masters steer
her toward targets who are drug lords, sexual
offenders, and murderers. While this narrative
is not as clean and tidy as Spy x Family, Endo’s
most famous work, this tackles some of the
same principles. The illustrations are a little
unpolished, with a distinct lack of heavy lines
and clear definitions, especially when charac-
ters are in motion. However, there are some
incredibly detailed scenes of photographic-
www.booklistonline.com
quality churches and the devilishly detailed
weapons Tista uses. This work might be bet-
ter suited to larger collections where Burn the
Witch or Mission: Yozakura Family have strong
readership. —Sara Smith
Middle
Another Band’s Treasure: A Story of
Recycled Instruments.
By Hua Lin Xie. Art by the author. Tr. by
Edward Gauvin.
Apr. 2023. 128p. Lerner/Graphic Universe, paper, $14.99
(9781728478234); lib. ed., $29.32 (9781728460376).
Gr. 3–6. 741.5.
Based on a true story, Another Band’s Trea-
sure tells the tale of Diego, living in a small
town in Paraguay, who completely changes
the lives of local children by introducing
them to music. With no school in town, the
children’s main source of entertainment is
a garbage dump where they go to find hid-
den treasures. Diego, a musician by nature,
has the brilliant idea to offer music lessons
to the children. He believes music can keep
them out of trouble and teach them valuable
skills. The lessons are a hit, but unfortunately
Diego does not have enough instruments to
provide for the entire class. Enter Nicolas, a
local handyman who takes on the challenge
of crafting instruments made from common
items found at the landfill. The students are
amazed by the instruments and develop a
passion for music that they carry throughout
their lives. Xie’s soft, sketchy artwork nicely
captures the atmosphere of the town, and a
pop of color for the first homemade instru-
ment emphasizes how life changing it is. A
truly inspiring tale, perfect for middle-grade
readers. —Jonathan Khan
Doodles from the Boogie Down.
By Stephanie Rodriguez. Art by the author.
Apr. 2023. 208p. Penguin/Kokila, $20.99 (9780451480651);
paper, $13.99 (9780451480668). Gr. 4–7. 741.5.
In this semiautobiographical novel, readers
follow Steph, a girl from the Bronx who has
dreams of becoming an artist. She has her
heart set on attending LaGuardia, an arts-
focused high school in Manhattan, and with
the support of her teacher Ms. Santiago,
she feels like she has a real shot at being ac-
cepted. The only problem is that her mom
doesn’t want her to attend a public school,
and hasn’t been very supportive of her art.
Even without her mother’s support, Steph
decides to move forward with the process
of applying and hatches a plan to convince
her mom to let her attend. As she carries out
her plan, she learns that to live the life she
wants, she must be truthful to those closest
to her. Rodriguez’s coming-of-age comic is
full of vivid, expressive, and colorful cartoon
artwork that depict what it was like grow-
ing up in the early 2000s. Tweens who are
feeling the pressure and challenges of school,
friends, and family will find Steph’s story es-
pecially relatable. —Michelle Ortega
www.booklistonline.com
The Mighty Bite.
By Nathan Hale. Art by Nathan Hale
and Lucy Hale.
Apr. 2023. 288p. Abrams/Amulet, $14.99 (9781419765537).
Gr. 3–6. 741.5.
Welcome to the Island of Losta Founda,
where supposedly extinct creatures live on.
Trilobite (a marine arthropod from the Cam-
brian era) sets out to be
rich and famous but isn’t
sure how, until he meets
Tiffany Timber, a paleo
newscaster/vlogger with a
ton of followers, who sug-
gests they partner up. Since
Trilobite and his pet Amber
(an ambulocetus from the
Eocene period) are a paleontology treasure,
they’re certain their video content will be so
newsworthy it will break the internet. On
their quest to create groundbreaking content,
they come across a tiny spinosaurus, an ape
god that is part of a violent pantheon, a cri-
noid, a wooly rhino, and the wise but tricky
Opabinia, who becomes their archnemesis as
they enter into a six-round video battle royale.
Hale is mostly known for impressive and
well-researched historical-nonfiction graphic
novels, so this frantically paced fever-dream
project of pure escapism is quite the stray, but
not at all unwelcome. The hand-drawn pen-
and-ink illustrations are deliciously detailed
and painstakingly and lovingly stippled and
crosshatched. The story is silly but moves
along briskly with wonderful humor, and
the cast of predominantly extinct characters
is wholly original. The panels are wonderfully
paced, with each shot as beautifully framed
and expertly lit as the video battles described
within, and the project overall is a mighty un-
dertaking. —Becca Worthington
Parachute Kids.
By Betty C. Tang. Art by the author.
Apr. 2023. 288p. Scholastic/Graphix, $24.99
(9781338832693); paper, $12.99 (9781338832686); e-book,
$12.99 (9781338832709). Gr. 4–9. 741.5.
The term parachute kids refers to immi-
grant children who come to the U.S. while
their parents stay behind in their home coun-
try. Inspired by New York Times best-selling
illustrator Tang’s own child-
hood experience, her latest
graphic novel is about three
siblings trying to make it on
their own in America after
their parents return to Tai-
wan. In 1981, 10-year-old
Feng-Li is at first excited
when her family visits Cali-
fornia for vacation. Her older brother and
sister (Bro and Sis) are as shocked as she is
when their parents tell them that America is
their new home. Only Sis speaks English, and
all three suffer the isolation of a new culture
and language—all without their parents. Tang
tackles the emotional and logistical complexi-
ties that undocumented children face from
the unique perspectives of three siblings rang-
ing in age from 10 to 16. Sis deals with the
stress of being the responsible one and tak-
ing her parents’ place; meanwhile, Feng-Li
struggles to make friends along with Bro, who
is finding that his queer identity clashes with
his Asian culture. They find strength in each
other and eventually discover the joys of their
new home and its promise of a better future.
Tang’s artwork clearly conveys the emotions
of each scene, and readers will find this story
hard to put down. —Bobbie Peyton
Tegan and Sara: Junior High.
By Tegan Quin and Sara Quin. Art by Tillie
Walden.
May 2023. 304p. Farrar, $22.99 (9780374313012); paper,
$14.99 (9780374313029). Gr. 5–8. 741.5.
Popular twin-sister musicians Tegan and
Sara share a fictionalized tale of their early
adolescence in this first book of a planned
duology. Readers follow the girls as they move,
get stuck in separate classes, agonize over new
friends and getting their periods, and discover
their love of creating music. First crushes,
lying to parents, and fearing growing apart
provide tension and are topics that remain
relatable no matter when you grew up. The
authors convert their early ’90s experiences to
modern day deftly, with real photos and info
about the differences at the end. For instance,
Nirvana remains a musical influence, but it’s
now because Mom’s boyfriend Bruce is a fan
rather than the band simply being popular
with kids. The expressive sketchiness of the
art underlines the informal and personal na-
ture of the story while allowing readers to tell
the twins apart at a glance by usually hav-
ing Tegan drawn blue while Sara is red. Fans
of the duo’s work will love this and so will
anyone who understands how awkward and
important junior high can be. —Sarah Rice
Wizkit: An Adventure Overdue.
By Tanya J. Scott. Art by the author.
Apr. 2023. 144p. Atheneum, $20.99 (9781665900836);
paper, $12.99 (9781665900829). Gr. 3–6. 741.5.
Wizkit is a kitten-like wizard and a total
homebody. When she finds herself in a rut, her
teacher gives her an enchanted, animated, and
overdue book (named Book) to return to the
library. Adventure ensues, and Wizkit learns
about being confident and enjoys meeting and
helping new people. This is a great little fantasy
read about not just being yourself but accept-
ing others the way they are, too. The pacing is
nice and even: readers will see Wizkit go from
a wizard in training who uses magic for selfish
reasons, such as to conjure snacks or bewitch
brooms for cleaning, to a responsible wizard
who thinks beyond her own needs. The simple,
stylized drawings let the reader focus on the
characters and Wizkit’s journey with Book to
the library, while dynamic panel layouts make
it so readers can enjoy some background set-
ting in between scenes, too. There aren’t too
many side characters, and all of the speaking
characters are distinct and easy to place and fol-
low in the story. Hand it to any kid who loves
fantasy adventure stories. —Kristina Pino
April 15, 2023 Booklist 37

Youth Nonfiction
Older Readers
From Here.
By Luma Mufleh.
May 2023. 320p. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen, $18.99
(9780593354452). Gr. 9–12. 325.2.
Mufleh recounts her experiences growing
up in 1980s Amman, Jordan, all the while
concealing her sexual identity as a lesbian.
Despite being raised in a privileged house-
hold, Mufleh lacked the luxury to avoid her
country’s misogynistic leanings. Her passion
for sports and education was overlooked by
society’s desire to make her behave “like a
girl.” In order to find refuge, Mufleh emi-
grates to the U.S. to attend university. Her
newfound freedoms convince Mufleh to
remain in a country that is accepting of her
identity, rather than return to one that would
persecute her lifestyle choices. Mufleh details
fears many Arab women commonly encoun-
ter, along with the political issues in her home
country. She methodically shares her struggles
with coming out to her family and coming
to terms with sexual abuse. Readers will ad-
mire Mufleh’s courage to fight for her own
rights and her dedication to helping others,
an example being her nonprofit organization,
Fugees Family. This story is a reminder that
we have the right to live how we want and
love who we want. —Beronica Garcia
Girls Make Movies: A Follow-Your-
Own-Path Guide for Aspiring Young
Filmmakers.
By Mallory O’Meara. Illus. by Jen Vaughn.
May 2023. 144p. Running Press Kids, $17.99
(9780762478989). Gr. 7–10. 791.43.
This bright, breezy, and informative
manual walks young women (or any reader
interested in the nuts and bolts of film pro-
duction) through the tasks involved with
making movies, from hammering out a
screenplay on “day one” to walking the red
carpet on “day five hundred.” The basic
premise is to create a zombie blockbuster,
and the accessible text explains required
production tasks in detail, from casting to
lighting to editing to catering. Would-be
producers are faced with real-life decisions:
Shoot the movie on location or on a stu-
dio lot? Special effects or CGI? Soundtrack
or original score? Readers get sufficient in-
formation to make informed decisions and
are directed to read on or flip ahead based
on their choices. The tone is enthusiastic
and encouraging, interesting tidbits about
groundbreaking women (stunt people, ac-
tors, composers) are sprinkled throughout,
and back matter includes a glossary, list of
films by women directors, and additional re-
sources. There’s neither a table of contents
nor an index, but determined wannabe film-
makers (and browsers, for that matter) won’t
be deterred. —Kathleen McBroom
38 Booklist April 15, 2023
Money Out Loud: All the Financial
Stuff No One Taught Us.
By Berna Anat. Illus. by Monique Sterling.
Apr. 2023. 272p. HarperCollins/Quill Tree, $19.99
(9780063067370); paper, $15.99 (9780063067363).
Gr. 9–12. 332.
Anat, a first-generation Filipina American
and a self-described financial activist, offers a
comprehensive and very en-
tertaining personal finance
guide. Confronted with
her own debt, she was ulti-
mately able to save enough
money to stop working
and travel for a year; here
she simplifies concepts, es-
chewing the typical “male,
pale, and stale” financial advice in favor of a
conversational tone, writing “finance-ese in a
way I could understand.” In addition to cov-
ering the basics (financial habits, aka “Your
Money Story,” as well as budgeting, bank ac-
counts, savings, debt, credit, student loans,
and investing), she explores topics not often
mentioned in other finance books, such as
the financial impact of systemic inequity that
exists for Black and brown folks, advice for
the undocumented, mutual aid funds, land
tax, and socially responsible investing. This is
not a guide that’s meant to be read straight
through but dipped into for topics of inter-
est (there’s no index, but a descriptive table
of contents will help guide browsers). Even
readers under 18 will benefit from the advice
here, since they can get custodial financial ac-
counts. Reading prompts at the end of each
chapter, illustrations, footnotes, a glossary,
and expert advice help round things out. A
refreshing, honest, useful tell-it-like-it-is fi-
nancial guide. —Sharon Rawlins
Middle Readers
Christo and Jeanne-Claude Wrap
the World: The Story of Two
Groundbreaking Environmental Artists.
By G. Neri. Illus. by Elizabeth Haidle.
Apr. 2023. 48p. Candlewick, $18.99 (9781536216615).
Gr. 1–4. 709.22.
Christo met Jeanne-Claude in 1950s Paris
when he was hired to paint her rich family’s
portrait. But that “old style” of work didn’t
interest him: instead he loved transforming ev-
eryday objects by wrapping them in paper and
fabric, a project many couldn’t understand.
Jeanne-Claude understood though, and the
two embarked on wrapping objects together.
“People loved it or hated it. They got it or they
didn’t,” explains Neri, as the book follows the
artists from wrapping small objects to huge
projects, such as the German parliament build-
ing. The narrative stays lively by featuring a
conversation between the artists, showing their
passion for their work and the joy they found
in reactions to it—an afterword explains that
some of these conversations are fiction based
on their ideas (related notes are provided).
Haidle’s watercolors do a striking job of illus-
trating Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s lives and
their work, offering a kind of catalog alongside
the story. Compared to other children’s works
about this duo, this one provides a more, and
welcome, serious-toned look at the artists and
their astonishing creations. —Henrietta Verma
Cities: How Humans Live Together.
By Megan Clendenan. Illus. by Suharu
Ogawa.
May 2023. 96p. Orca, $29.95 (9781459831469). Gr. 4–7.
307.76.
About half the world’s population lives in a
city. To understand what makes them popu-
lar places to reside, Clendenan studies cities
around the world, from past to present, and
imagines what they may be like in the future.
Five thematic chapters, full of engaging facts,
describe city design, transportation, water and
waste management, energy, and food sources.
They progress roughly chronologically while
also considering modern parallels, the effects of
climate change, and accessibility. For example,
the chapter on transportation traces ancient
Rome’s narrow streets for walking to Brook-
lyn’s first bicycle path in the U.S. to Shanghai’s
maglev trains, in addition to describing the
reemergence of pedestrian-focused spaces glob-
ally, bicycle use by commuters in Copenhagen,
and braille assistance for Vancouver bus riders.
Each chapter concludes with emerging tech-
nologies to make cities more sustainable, such
as underground farming and smart streetlights
that can manage traffic and monitor air qual-
ity. A colorful combination of photographs,
cartoon illustrations, and infographics provides
plenty of visuals in this appealing look at hu-
man history. —Angela Leeper
How to Speak Flower: A Kid’s Guide to
Buds, Blooms, and Blossoms.
By Molly Williams. Illus. by Miriam Bos.
May 2023. 120p. Running Press Kids, $14.99
(9780762479177). Gr. 4–7. 302.2.
A book about flowers usually conjures a
scientific study of a plant’s life cycle or tips
on growing seeds to produce flowers. While
this beautifully illustrated offering does fea-
ture opening sections on the parts of a plant,
its life cycle, pollination and the pollina-
tor crisis, the difference between botany and
horticulture, and related terms (e.g., annual,
germination, photosynthesis), its primary focus
is on the “language,” or symbolism, of giving
flowers. Williams acknowledges this practice in
ancient Egyptian, Aztec, and Mayan cultures
and among samurai and Victorian society, and
she presents a modern guide to flower-giving
based on historical symbolism. In individual
chapters, Williams groups flowers by their
association with love, friendship, gratitude,
celebration, and healing. Using a light, con-
versational tone, she describes each flower’s
Continued on p.40
www.booklistonline.com
 Carte Blanche
The Best of Times and . . . Well, You Know the Rest
MICHAEL CART is the author of Young Adult Literature: From Romance to Realism. 4th edition. (ALA Editions, 2022).
T
hank you, Charles Dickens; where would we be without
your immortal lines, “It was the best of times; it was the
worst of times,” for they make a perfect opening to a
column about young adult literature with transgender content
(the best) and the rampant transphobia that is poisoning ratio-
nal discourse in America (the worst). This phobia increasingly
finds expression in anti-transgender state legislation. Consider
that in 2020, some 60 pieces of such legislation were filed; in
2021 the number grew to 131 and through October 2022 to a
disquieting 155, more than at any other point in the nation’s
history. Three months into 2023, the Human Rights Cam-
paign is already tracking 410 LGBTQ+ bills that have been
introduced in statehouses across the country. Of these, 175
would specifically restrict the rights of transgender people, the
highest number of bills targeting transgender people in a single
year to date.
Importantly, an increasing number of these bills deal with gen-
der-affirming health care. According to PBS, in 2023 more than
two dozen bills seeking to restrict transgender health-care access
have been introduced across 11 states. Gender-affirming health-
care providers and parents of trans youth are the primary targets
of these bills, many of which seek to criminalize helping a trans
child obtain what doctors and psychologists widely consider
medically necessary care—but to opponents, such life-affirming
help is widely regarded as child abuse. The youth being denied
access to health care are typically teenagers but not always. Okla-
homa seeks to ban gender-affirming care for patients under 26
years of age, well into adulthood.
How does all this affect transgender and gender nonbinary
youth? A recent Trevor Project survey showed that 85 percent of
them say their mental health has been negatively affected by the
current wave of legislative attacks. I have yet to see such statistics
curb the actions of the state legislators introducing these bills,
which evidences a shocking absence of empathy on their part.
So, where do the books come in? I, and others, have argued
that books have the salutary effect of cultivating empathy in
readers, and while it’s probably too late to introduce those
lawmakers to empathy, it’s not too late to introduce it to teens,
some of whom will grow up to be legislators themselves. Any-
one who has ever read one of my columns will know that I
am a passionate believer in the life-affirming and even -saving
power of empathy, which becomes even more tremendously
important in this situation, since evidence shows that trans
kids who are refused life-affirming care—a direct consequence,
I’d argue, of a lack of empathy—are more likely to become
suicidal. Now, thankfully, we can turn to the best of times, ex-
emplified by the wave of life-affirming books with transgender
content and characters that have been appearing over the past
several years. As a keen (I hope) observer of literary trends, I
www.booklistonline.com
would say without fear of contradiction that we’ve seen the
greatest number of these books since 2012, the year Rachel
Gold published Being Emily, the first novel about a trans char-
acter and written by a trans author.
I’d like to draw attention to four particularly notable YA
novels published so far this year that star trans characters who
are models of empathy. In Michael Gray Bulla’s If I Can Give
You That, the author, himself a trans man, writes of white high-
school senior Gael, who is secretly transgender and whose home
life—not to put too fine a point on it—sucks. But then he meets
Black biracial Declan and, after many vicissitudes, the two form
a loving relationship. Robin Gow offers a moving novel in verse,
A Million Quiet Revolutions, following the story of Aaron and
Oliver, two trans teens whose loving relationship is interrupted
when Aaron’s family moves to New York, and the two decide
to correspond in the style of Revolutionary War soldiers. The
Wicked Bargain, by Gabe Cole Novoa, is a toughie to synopsize;
suffice it to say, it is a combo historical novel and fantasy that
involves teen trans pirate Mar and Bas, himself the son of a pi-
rate, who fall in love, while Mar is dealing with the devil! Finally,
Edward Underhill, who is queer and trans, writes affectingly in
Always the Almost of trans teen Miles, a gifted pianist who meets
a new boy, Eric, who accepts him as he is.
But that’s not all: see also (in alphabetical order by author)
Felix Ever After, by Kacen Callender; Too Bright to See (yes, a
middle-grade novel, unlike the rest, but one too exceptional
not to mention here), by Kyle Lukoff; Self-Made Boys (one of
my top 10 books of 2022), by Anna-Marie McLemore; Beating
Heart Baby, by Lio Min; Birthday, by Meredith Russo; Can’t
Take That Away, by Steven Salvatore; Between Perfect and Real,
by Ray Stoeve; Cemetery Boys, by Aiden Thomas; and Both Sides
Now, by Peyton Thomas. There are many more, not to mention
the wonderful influx of gender-identity-affirming picure books
and middle-grade novels.
While I recommend all of these enthusiastically, I acknowledge
a gaping hole in the list, which is reflective of the overall scope of
trans literature for teens: only one (Birthday) features a trans girl,
the rest are all trans boys. (As a bonus, Ashley Rhodes-Courter’s
picture book Sam Is My Sister also features a trans girl protagonist.)
Interestingly, this imbalance is a historic problem with non-trans-
gender LGB+ books, too; the number of male protagonists far
outweighs the number of female protagonists. It’s only in the last
five or so years that a balance has finally visited and enhanced the
literature. Here’s hoping that transgender lit will follow suit.
For these books to engender the lifesaving empathy they can
offer, they of course need to be in libraries, where teens who
need to see themselves and teens who need to open their eyes to
the feelings and circumstances of their peers can easily and freely
find them.
April 15, 2023 Booklist 39
Continued from p.38
characteristics and symbolism and offers fast
facts. Two additional chapters cover poten-
tial flowers to avoid because of their negative
meanings and harm to pets and humans. Fi-
nal sections include several DIY projects, from
flower arrangement to making homemade pot-
pourri, while interactive quizzes throughout
extend the floral fun. —Angela Leeper
Muzoon: A Syrian Refugee Speaks Out.
By Muzoon Almellehan and Wendy
Pearlman.
May 2023. 288p. Knopf, $17.99 (9781984851987); lib. ed.,
$20.99 (9781984851994). Gr. 5–8. 956.91.
In an inspiring memoir, Syrian refugee
Almellehan tells of how, in 2013, at age 12,
she escaped from Syria to Jordan with her fam-
ily, due to the civil war, and became known as
the “Malala of Syria” because of her efforts to
promote education for youth, particularly girls.
As her family left Syria, all she brought with
her were her schoolbooks—her “most impor-
tant things.” Almellehan vividly describes her
daily life and the conditions in the camps her
family lived in (mice crawling over them while
they slept) until they eventually emigrated to
Newcastle, England. She recounts her often-
frustrating efforts to be allowed to take the
courses that she needed to apply for college.
Although Almellehan’s story invites compari-
sons to Malala Yousafzai’s—and the two even
met and became friends when Malala visited
Muzoon’s camp—Almellehan’s journey and
message is uniquely her own: “People shouldn’t
just learn about us,” she says. “They should
learn from us.” A moving and gripping mem-
oir. —Sharon Rawlins
Unstoppable: How Bayard Rustin
Organized the 1963 March on
Washington.
By Michael G. Long. Illus. by Bea Jackson.
May 2023. 40p. little bee, $18.99 (9781499812060). Gr. 1–4.
323.092.
The 1963 March on Washington and Mar-
tin Luther King’s iconic “I Have a Dream”
speech would never have happened if not for
Bayard Rustin, the individual behind the con-
ception, organization, and management of the
event. Using straightforward prose, this engag-
ing biography effectively
describes how “trouble-
maker” Rustin, inspired
by another troublemaker
named Mohandas Gan-
dhi, successfully organized
peaceful protests against
war, nuclear weapons,
segregated schools, and
housing and employment discrimination. He
feared that his largest undertaking—his en-
visioned March on Washington for Jobs and
Freedom—might get derailed due not just
to political resistance but also to personal at-
tacks because he was gay. Other Black leaders,
including King and John Lewis, supported
Rustin, and the text details Rustin’s extensive
40 Booklist April 15, 2023
preparations: volunteers, advertising, travel
arrangements, first-aid stations, free lunches,
portable toilets, and education about non-
violent protest. The colorful, expressive
illustrations align perfectly with the text and
help convey the enormity of the 250,000-plus
crowd that assembled that day. Back matter in-
cludes recommended reading and an author’s
note (Rustin and about 500 others meticulous-
ly cleaned up the entire parade route afterward
to deter any accusations of disorder). This
standard-length picture book thoughtfully
addresses basic human rights and introduces
young readers to an important behind-the-
scenes hero. —Kathleen McBroom
Yo u n g
The High Line: A Park to Look Up To.
By Victoria Tentler-Krylov. Illus. by the author.
May 2023. 40p. Abrams, $19.99 (9781419756702).
K–Gr. 3. 974.71.
An unusual new park, built on a disused, ele-
vated railway line, opened in New York City in
2009. For many decades, grasses, flowers, and
small trees grew along the tracks running above
certain streets. When people living nearby sug-
gested turning what they called the High Line
into a park, the city agreed. Working creatively,
they turned the 1.45-mile-long space into a se-
ries of places with different purposes. The High
Line has become a destination for people living
in the city and visitors from around the world.
Beginning historically with railroad tracks on
city streets, their elevation for pedestrian safe-
ty, and their eventual abandonment, the text
features the land’s transformation into a park
and the project’s impact. The writer-illustrator
of Building Zaha (2020), Tentler-Krylov first
discovered the High Line while studying ar-
chitecture and urban design in New York. The
text and author’s note are informative, and the
illustrations, watercolor paintings with digital
elements, capture the energy of the city as well
as elements of the park and adjacent neighbor-
hoods. A handsome introduction to the High
Line. —Carolyn Phelan
Ketanji: Justice Jackson’s Journey to
the U.S. Supreme Court.
By Kekla Magoon. Illus. by Laura Freeman.
June 2023. 40p. HarperCollins/Quill Tree, $19.99
(9780063296169). K–Gr. 3. 347.7326.
The daughter of former sharecroppers,
Ketanji Brown Jackson decided to become a
lawyer as a child, watching her father study
for his law degree. In high school, she became
a student government leader. Although her
guidance counselor warned her against aiming
too high, she applied to Harvard, where she
excelled as an undergraduate, and she stayed
to earn her law degree as well. She married a
former classmate, and they have two daugh-
ters. As a lawyer, Jackson worked in many
roles, including public defender, before be-
coming a federal judge in 2012. Ten years later,
the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination as
a Supreme Court justice. Magoon and Free-
man, who previously wrote and illustrated The
Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Lead-
ership, and Legacy (2021), have a good sense of
what will interest their audience and what they
should know about her. With an informative
text and a series of striking digital illustrations,
this picture-book biography offers an appeal-
ing introduction to Ketanji Brown Jackson,
the first Black woman ever to serve on the U.S.
Supreme Court. —Carolyn Phelan
So You Want to Be a Frog.
By Jane Porter. Illus. by Neil Clark.
Apr. 2023. 32p. Candlewick, $18.99 (9781536225136).
K–Gr. 3. 597.89.
Friendly amphibian coach Fabio Frog,
whose goal is to train humans to become
frogs, narrates this tongue-in-cheek guide for
would-be caecilians. Using a 10-point check-
list, he describes expectations regarding life
cycles, jumping capabilities, tongue length,
coloring, habitat, diet, and vocalization. He
also discusses ancient ancestors (some more
than 200 million years old), distinctive spe-
cies (the goliath frog is the size of a rabbit),
and quirky behaviors (most shed their skins
weekly and eat the old one; they have the abil-
ity to breathe and drink underwater through
their skin). Clark’s cartoonish, digital illustra-
tions add humor to the text (a human-size
frog jumps the distance of two city buses) and
make frequent use of graphic conventions
such as speech balloons. Numerous shades
of green are used to great effect throughout,
although the palette is too limited to do jus-
tice to some of the neon-hued species. Filled
with fascinating tidbits that will surely make
their way into playground conversations, this
makes a good choice for fans of Elise Gravel’s
Disgusting Critters series. —Kay Weisman
The Van Buren Sisters vs. the Pants
Police.
By J. F. Fox. Illus. by Anna Kwan.
May 2023. 40p. Kids Can, $17.99 (9781525302480).
K–Gr. 3. 796.7.
This fun, adventurous tale follows two sisters
skirting the expectations of early twentieth-
century women, one pair of pants at a time.
Fox’s whip-smart prose and Kwan’s engaging
full-color illustrations bring the Van Buren sis-
ters, Addie and Gussie, to life. From their early
days raised by a father who loved skiing and
boxing to the advent of the motorbike, the Van
Buren sisters were on the cutting edge. A lesser-
known tale that will remind readers of Amelia
Earhart, the inspiring story coupled with the
curmudgeonly laws will educate young read-
ers as well as keep them on the edge of their
seats. Coordinated endpapers keep the book’s
theme strong from cover to cover, and the final
pages—when the sisters take to the sky—will
have readers’ hearts soaring. A strong addition
to biography collections, pull this out not only
during Women’s History Month but also in
general history classes, discussions of sport and
adventure, and units exploring racing or travel.
Perfect for fans of Mara Rockliff and Deborah
Hopkinson. —Aryssa Damron
www.booklistonline.com

Countries of the World Series. Bellwether/Blastoff!
Gr. 2–4. (8 new titles)
The Dominican Republic. By Rachel Barnes. 2023. 24p. illus. lib.
ed., $26.95 (9798886871289). 972.93.
Egypt. By Monika Davies. 2023. 24p. illus. lib. ed., $26.95
(9798886871296). 962.
Ireland. By Monika Davies. 2023. 24p. illus. lib. ed., $26.95
(9798886871326). 941.7.
Vietnam. By Monika Davies. 2023. 24p. illus. lib. ed., $26.95
(9798886871357). 915.9704.
The slender volumes in the Countries of the World series offer brief
introductions to nations. In each book, the coverage begins with a
photo of a city or landscape as well as a world map indicating the
country’s location. In short sentences (usually five to eight words), the
large-type text comments on significant features, while the illustra-
tions feature aspects of the land’s climate, terrain, and animals. After
mentioning cultural aspects such as the people’s language, heritage,
religion, food, music, festivals, and popular sports and games, the pre-
sentation concludes with a few fast facts (populations, capitol, etc.)
about the country and a picture of its flag. Brightly colored photos and
design elements appear on every double-page spread, showing varied
views of the land, the people, and their culture. Each book includes a
photo of kids greeting the reader with their version of “Hello.” Domin-
ican Republic offers glimpses of the country’s Carnaval celebration and
students in a classroom: “Hola (OH-lah).” Egypt includes pictures of
Cairo, the Nile, and village boys saying, “Marhaban (mar-HAB-ah).”
In Ireland, photos capture sights such as Dublin, the Cliffs of Moher,
and two children in the countryside: “Dia dhuit (JEE-ah GWITCH).”
Vietnam features five kids sitting on a fence, waving to readers: “Xin
chào (sin JOW).” Short, colorful, upbeat introductions to countries.
—Carolyn Phelan
Deadly Expeditions Series. Capstone/Graphic Library.
Gr. 4–6. (4 new titles)
The Greely Expedition’s Fatal Quest for Farthest North. By Golriz
Golkar. Art by Ana Carolina Tega. 2023. 32p. lib. ed., $27.49
(9781666390629). 919.804.
Henry Hudson and the Murderous Arctic Mutiny. By John
Micklos, Jr. Art by Martín Bustamante. 2023. 32p. lib. ed., $27.49
(9781666390544). 910.92.
The Mount Everest Disaster of 1996. By Cindy L. Rodriguez. Art
by Paul McCaffrey. 2023. 32p. lib. ed., $27.49 (9781666390469).
796.522.
The Tragic Trip of the Donner Party. By John Micklos, Jr. Art by
Daniele Dickmann. 2023. 32p. lib. ed., $27.49 (9781666390704).
978.02.
Not every journey is smooth sailing, as evidenced in the stories
www.booklistonline.com
shared in the Deadly Expeditions series. These narrative nonfiction
graphic novels, each with a different artist, take advantage of the visual
format to share accounts of difficult adventures in history. They refer-
ence historical materials like diaries, photos, and records to help piece
together each journey’s pitfalls, which are often weather-related. The
Greely Expedition’s Fatal Quest for Farthest North shares the struggles of
the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, led by U.S. Army Lieutenant Adol-
phus Greely, just 600 miles from the North Pole. Henry Hudson and
the Murderous Arctic Mutiny likewise tackles challenges of the Arctic,
relating Hudson and his crew’s attempt to find a Northwest Passage
for European trade in the 1600s. The Mount Everest Disaster of 1996,
though more modern, similarly finds adventurers embarking on an
extreme journey riddled with obstacles as they endeavor to reach Ever-
est’s summit. The Tragic Trip of the Donner Party tells probably the most
familiar historical account, the westward trek of the Donners and their
friends and the deadly outcomes of the trip. Each work concludes with
further details of each expedition, a map charting its course, a glossary,
and supplemental resources. —Kelly Ferreira
Econo-Graphics Jr. Series. Cherry Lake. Gr. 4–8.
(8 new titles)
Infographics: Inflation. By Christina Hill. 2023. 24p. illus. lib. ed.,
$30.64 (9781668919231). 332.41.
Infographics: The Stock Market. By Christina Hill. 2023. 24p. illus.
lib. ed., $30.64 (9781668919286). 332.64.
Infographics: Supply and Demand. By Christina Hill. 2023. 24p.
illus. lib. ed., $30.64 (9781668919224). 331.12.
Infographics: Supply Chains. By Christina Hill. 2023. 24p. illus. lib.
ed., $30.64 (9781668919217). 658.5.
The Econo-Graphics Jr. series introduces foundational economic
concepts with an emphasis on infographics. Short, straightforward
text passages begin each chapter to explain the main topic and related
terms. A variety of full- and double-page infographics with crisp de-
signs and real-world examples follow these text passages to illustrate and
reinforce their concepts. Inflation describes how supply, consumer de-
mand, and the cost of raw materials and wages all influence inflation
as well as indices that measure it. The Stock Market gives a history of
Wall Street before looking at the modern stock market, bull and bear
markets, effects of market crashes, and the future of stocks, including
cryptocurrency. Supply and Demand explains the relationship and ul-
timate desirable balance between supply and demand and how factors
such as competition, free markets, surplus, and shortage can affect this
balance. Supply Chains highlights types of supply chains, supply-chain
management considerations (materials, supplier sources, transportation,
etc.), and consequences when this system breaks. Each series installment
incorporates timely references to COVID-19 and how it impacted the
economy (especially the toilet-paper shortage!). A culminating activity
allows readers to test the volume’s economic theories while a concluding
resource list lets them seek out related books and websites. An attractive
and user-friendly approach to studying economics. —Angela Leeper
Leaders like Us Series. Rourke/Discover Library.
Gr. 2–4. (2 new titles)
Grace Lee Boggs. By Karen Su. Illus. by Arlo Li. 2023. 24p. paper,
$8.95 (9781731656032); lib. ed., $29.93 (9781731656308); e-book,
$19.95 (9781731656124). 303.484.
Philip Vera Cruz. By Karen Su. Illus. by Arlo Li. 2023. 24p. paper,
$8.95 (9781731656049); lib. ed., $29.93 (9781731656315); e-book,
$19.95 (9781731656131). 331.881.
The latest additions to the Leaders like Us series give readers a chance
to dig into the stories of two inspiring Asian American figures. In Grace
Lee Boggs, readers meet this Chinese American activist who became in-
volved in many grassroots causes, from affordable housing to civil rights
to women’s rights. The text follows Boggs from a childhood marked by
poverty to her academic successes and long career in community activism.
Philip Vera Cruz looks at an activist from the Philippines, who fought for
farmworkers’ rights in California. The book describes Cruz’s ambition to
be a “Fountain-pen boy” (a scholarship student in the U.S.), the derail-
April 15, 2023 Booklist 41

ment of his plans, and his pivotal role as a union organizer during the
Delano Grape Strike. Both titles touch on the racism Boggs and Cruz
faced during their lives but keep their primary focus on the hard work and
achievements of each. The series features colorful, inviting illustrations
as well as thoughtful front and back matter, which include pre-reading
questions and activities to help readers navigate the text, a time line, read-
ing-comprehension questions, extension activities, and advice on how
to close-read the text. These biographies of relatively unsung heroes are
perfect for history lessons or for those who want to learn more about the
importance of activism and having a voice. —Aurora Dominguez
Making Good Choices Series. Amicus Illustrated.
K–Gr. 3. (6 new titles)
My Friends Are Fighting: Keeping the Peace. By Connie Colwell
Miller. Illus. by Sofia Cardoso. 2023. 24p. lib. ed., $23.95
(9781645492764). 158.2.
My Friend Won’t Talk to Me: Working It Out. By Connie
Colwell Miller. Illus. by Sofia Cardoso. 2023. 24p. lib. ed., $23.95
(9781645492771). 302.34083.
My Best Friend’s New Friend: Feeling Left Out. By Connie
Colwell Miller. Illus. by Sofia Cardoso. 2023. 24p. lib. ed., $23.95
(9781645492740). 302.34083.
He Made Fun of Me: Ignore or Confront? By Connie Colwell
Miller. Illus. by Sofia Cardoso. 2023. 24p. lib. ed., $23.95
(9781645492795). 158.2.
The ball is in the reader’s court in the Making Good Choices series,
which uses fictional narratives and a choose-your-own-path framework
to demonstrate decision-making and interpersonal skills in a variety of
social situations. Young readers will find the scenarios relatable and the
digital illustrations inviting, with their familiar playground and neigh-
borhood settings and racially diverse characters. He Made Fun of Me deals
with bullying, providing opportunities for the protagonist (and reader)
to speak up, lash out, or get help from an adult. Feelings of worry and
anger emerge in My Best Friend’s New Friend, which offers readers the
chance to indulge negative impulses (and then need to apologize) or con-
front the titular situation with bravery and honesty. In My Friends Are
Fighting, a girl tries to mediate an argument between her friends with-
out hurting anyone’s feelings. After accidentally embarrassing his friend
Presley in My Friend Won’t Talk to Me, Joey must decide whether to keep
forcing his apology on Presley or to give her space to work through her
42 Booklist April 15, 2023
feelings. Each book ends with “Think Again” questions, which prompt
readers to consider the text and their choices, as well as to make connec-
tions to making choices in their own lives. Useful SEL tools that allow
readers to face tough choices in a risk-free environment. —Julia Smith
Seedlings: Community Helpers Series. The Creative
Company/Creative Education. PreS–Gr. 1.
(10 new titles)
Coaches. By Laura K. Murray. 2023. 24p. illus. lib. ed., $23.95
(9781640264076). 796.07.
Engineers. By Laura K. Murray. 2023. 24p. illus. lib. ed., $23.95
(9781640264090). 620.
Garbage Collectors. By Laura K. Murray. 2023. 24p. illus. lib. ed.,
$23.95 (9781640264113). 628.4.
Mechanics. By Laura K. Murray. 2023. 24p. illus. lib. ed., $23.95
(9781640264144). 629.28.
These new books in the Seedlings: Community Helpers series present
simple facts about community workers who do various types of jobs.
Each book begins with a page cheerfully greeting its type of worker
with “Hello, [workers]!” The text remains minimal throughout, pro-
viding very basic information about the work that each kind of worker
does and emphasizing how they help others. For example, Coaches
shares that these individuals “lead teams . . . . They help players do
their best.” In Engineers, “Some engineers help make cities. They make
sure homes have lights and water.” Garbage Collectors describes how
these essential workers “work in the heat and cold. They work in the
rain and snow.” Mechanics heads to the auto garage, where people “fix
cars, trucks, and more. They make sure vehicles run safely.” Each book
concludes with gratitude: “Thank you, [workers]!” The short sentences
are easy enough for many beginning readers to decipher themselves.
The photos, while not always exciting, are well chosen and show both
men and women working in all the trades. A labeled photo at the end
of each book shows the worker in action and identifies the gear the
person uses to do their job. Well-suited for preschool or kindergarten
social studies units on community helpers or for young children inter-
ested in a particular profession. —Miriam Aronin
Thinking Critically Series. ReferencePoint. Gr. 9–12.
(4 new titles)
Climate Change. By Carla Mooney. 2023. 64p. illus. lib. ed., $32.95
(9781678204587). 551.6.
E-Cigarettes and Vaping. By John Allen. 2023. 64p. illus. lib. ed.,
$32.95 (9781678204600). 362.296.
Racial Justice. By Olivia Karson. 2023. 64p. illus. lib. ed., $32.95
(9781678204624). 305.809.
Social Media. By Bradley Steffens. 2023. 64p. illus. lib. ed., $32.95
(9781678204648). 302.231.
These newest offerings from the Thinking Critically series offer a
tremendous amount of information packed into concise, formulaic
packages. Each title identifies a controversial issue, provides definitions
and background circumstances to create context, poses three yes-or-
no questions, and then argues both sides, bringing in facts, statistics,
quotes, charts, and diagrams that help analyze the material in support
of one side or the other. Climate Change poses questions about Amer-
ica’s dependence on fossil fuels, who’s responsible for fixing climate
challenges, and how humanity should respond to the climate crisis.
E-Cigarettes and Vaping asks how e-cigarettes affect public health, if
flavoring liquids should be banned, and whether vaping is a safe way
of using nicotine. Racial Justice considers racial bias and its effects on
economic progress, affirmative action, and the criminal justice system.
Social Media wonders about how usage affects youth mental health, if
social media enterprises should regulate speech, and if the use of social
media is addictive. Pages are filled with manageable paragraphs of text
set off by subtitles and graphics; extensive back matter includes source
notes, overarching facts, lists of related organizations and websites, and
suggestions for further reading. These utilitarian guides offer strong
support for student researchers and for educators teaching almost any
aspect of inquiry or the research process. —Kathleen McBroom
www.booklistonline.com

Older Nonfiction
Killing the Wittigo: Indigenous
Culture-Based Approaches to
Waking Up, Taking Action, and Doing
the Work of Healing.
By Suzanne Methot.
June 2023. 160p. illus. ECW, paper, $23.99
(9781770417243). Gr. 9–12. 305.897.
Educator and agency worker Methot
(Rocky Mountain Cree) offers young adults
suggestions for breaking the cycle of inter-
generational trauma (in
Indigenous terms, killing
the wittigo) in order to live
their best lives. Writing
from a trauma-informed
perspective and mind-
fully including triggering
warnings, she provides ex-
amples of colonialism-based
practices that damage Indigenous peoples,
explains how this stress is passed down in
families, and provides some examples of
healing at work. Individual chapters address
terror, anger, grief, and loss (and the impor-
tance of confronting one’s issues); identity
and control (with historical and contem-
porary examples of institutional racism);
isolation, disconnection, and reconnection
(including strategies for getting help); lat-
eral violence (cruelty turned upon one’s own
community); families and relationships (set-
ting boundaries and taking control); disease
and self-care (how toxic stress can lead to
maladies); the importance of telling one’s
own story in order to move beyond the past;
systems and institutions (with emphasis on
how colonialism is used to maintain power
over Indigenous peoples); and how culture
and spirit can promote healing. Black-and-
red line art and graphics—including charts,
graphs, quotations, and poems—serve to
break up the text, and appended websites
and notes provide additional support. While
Indigenous teens are the obvious audience,
this is an eye-opening and important re-
source for anyone concerned with North
America’s colonial legacy. —Kay Weisman
Middle Nonfiction
Any Body: A Comic Compendium of
Important Facts and Feelings about Our
Bodies.
By Katharina von der Gathen. Illus. by Anke
Kuhl. Tr. by Shelley Tanaka.
May 2023. 88p. Gecko, paper, $16.99 (9781776575466).
Gr. 4–6. 613.
This lightweight offering about body
acceptance begins with a few reassuring re-
minders. First, underneath their clothing,
everyone is naked, and second, everyone’s
body is unique—so there are bound to be
all sorts of differences, which, in most cases,
are bound to be really cool. These types of
www.booklistonline.com
Spotlight on Health & Wellness
Art by Kathleen Marcotte, from A Vaccine Is like a Memory, by Rajani LaRocca.
positive messages are delivered through brief
paragraphs grouped into six categories: bod-
ies from the outside, bodies from the inside,
changing bodies, bodies that are changed
(tattoos, hair removal), body difficulties
(pain, illness, disabilities), and bodies and
outsiders (body language, setting limits).
These straightforward informational snip-
pets feature technical vocabulary, celebrate
diversity and inclusivity, and are supported
by bright cartoon illustrations that add
perspective and humor. The book’s intro-
duction states that the material is based on
questions children actually ask, and content
tends to center on physical attributes, with
no mentions of gender identity, consent,
or more sophisticated concepts. Back mat-
ter includes a personal-preference checklist
(“I’m ticklish”; “I like to take selfies”) but no
notes or references. This factual guide in an
eye-catching package will appeal to curious
browsers. —Kathleen McBroom
The Ultimate Human Body Encyclopedia:
The Complete Visual Guide.
By Jon Richards.
Apr. 2023. 160p. illus. Welbeck, $24.95 (9781804535035).
Gr. 3–7. 611.
Providing a thorough overview of the
human body and its many functions, this
encyclopedia begins with a quick introduc-
tion to the body’s core components (cells,
tissues, organs, and systems). It’s then divid-
ed into five major sections related to body
structure, blood circulation and digestion,
nerves and senses, protection and infection
fighting, and birth and aging. Within each
section, double-page spreads cover specific
topics that progress in complexity—for in-
stance, the subject of bones is followed by
information on bone cells, growing bones,
repairing bones, joints, and more. Each
spread resembles DK’s familiar nonfiction
layouts: short, chunked text descriptions and
a variety of photographs and digitally pro-
duced images with occasional parts labeled.
Most of the graphics allow readers to see in
depth and up close how different body func-
tions work, such as how the lungs breathe
in and out and the kidneys filter blood.
The section on protection also includes
information on medicine and surgery break-
throughs, immunizations, and replacement
body parts. An extensive glossary rounds
out this solid life-science reference book.
—Angela Leeper
Youth
Yo u n g N o n f i c t i o n
Eat Your Superpowers! How
Colorful Foods Keep You Healthy
and Strong.
By Toni Buzzeo. Illus. by Serge Bloch.
Apr. 2023. 80p. Penguin Workshop/RISE, $17.99
(9780593522950). PreS–Gr. 2. 613.
Here’s an engaging look at how vari-
ous foods help keep our brains and bodies
strong. Each chapter
groups several fruits and
vegetables by a particu-
lar color, dedicating to
each entry a double-page
spread that contains one
short sentence inform-
ing readers how the food
benefits them physically.
Categories include red and pink, orange and
yellow, green, blue and purple, and brown
and white foods. Cropped photographs of
each food are placed on white backgrounds
and cheerfully enhanced with pen and ink
by adding doodled facial features that give
personality to the many subjects, set along-
side other cartoon sketches, such as a child
diving into a watermelon. Readers will ap-
preciate that alternative fruit and vegetable
options are offered in graphs, showing what
to eat if they don’t like or are not able to eat
certain items—for example, if one wants to
stay hydrated but doesn’t want to or can’t
eat watermelon, cantaloupe is a good al-
ternative. A “Body Chart” is also included,
indicating which foods are good for which
parts of the body. All in all, a great way to
educate and entice children to look at food
in a different way: as a path toward being
“strong, healthy, smart, and full of energy.”
—Maryann Owen
Hope for Ryan White.
By Dano Moreno. Illus. by Hannah Abbo.
Apr. 2023. 32p. Albert Whitman, $18.99 (9780807533543).
Gr. 1–3. 616.97.
When Ryan White was diagnosed with AIDS
in 1984 as a young teenager, he became a pari-
ah, the victim of widespread ignorance. People
wrongly believed that any contact with him
would give them the disease; few understood
that he became ill because of the blood transfu-
sions necessitated by his hemophilia. Thanks to
this misinformation, his middle school barred
Continued on p.46
April 15, 2023 Booklist 43
 Top 10 Health & Wellness Books for Youth
Social Emotional
Spotlight

Learning
through the
T his year’s top 10 list of health and wellness titles, reviewed
in Booklist between April 15, 2022, and April 1, 2023, covers a
wide range of modern physical, mental, and practical challenges.
—Ronny Khuri
Power of Play! Attention Hijacked: Using Mindfulness to Reclaim Your Brain from
Tech. By Erica B. Marcus. 2022. Lerner/Zest, $39.99 (9781728404677).
Gr. 8–12.
Educator Marcus offers advice and information about mindful-
ness, geared specifically toward maintaining healthy relationships
with social media and technology.

Dear Mothman. By Robin Gow. Illus. by Rebecca Harry. 2023.

Abrams/Amulet, $18.99 (9781419764400). Gr. 5–8.
In this affecting novel in verse, autistic trans boy Noah navigates
the grief from his best friend’s death by writing letters to the mythi-
cal cryptid Mothman.

Growing Pangs. By Kathryn Ormsbee. Art by Molly Brooks. 2022.

Random, $20.99 (9780593301289). Gr. 3–6.
Kasey’s OCD manifests at about the same time that her friendship
with her BFF starts to change in this respectfully told, semiautobio-
graphical comic.

The Immeasurable Depth of You. By Maria Ingrande Mora. 2023.

“[A] story about making
friends, stepping out
of a shell, and building
conf idence...”
—Booklist
“A wonderful example
of how to resolve social
snafus through the
power of play.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Peachtree Teen, $18.99 (9781682635421). Gr. 9–12.
Anxious 15-year-old Brynn is overwhelmed by intrusive thoughts
about death, but after she meets the ghost of a drowned girl, Brynn
is determined to discover the truth.
No Matter the Distance. By Cindy Baldwin. 2023. HarperCollins/
Quill Tree, $16.99 (9780063006447). Gr. 4–7.
In this novel in verse, Penny, a sixth-grader with cystic fibrosis,
deals with upheavals in her personal life as a dolphin comes to live
near the dock by her house.
The Hospital Book. By Lisa Brown. Illus. by the author. 2023.
Holiday/Neal Porter, $18.99 (9780823446650). PreS–Gr. 3.
A young biracial girl takes readers through her sudden illness, the
trip to the hospital for surgery, and everything she experiences in
that potentially scary place.
Rising Troublemaker: A Fear-Fighter Manual for Teens. By Luvvie Ajayi Jones. 2022.
Philomel, $17.99 (9780593526033). Gr. 9–12.
In a young readers adaptation of her adult book, Nigerian-born comedian and activist
Jones inspires teens to live fearlessly and demand more by offering forthright advice.

Seeing Gender: An Illustrated Guide to Identity and Expression. By Iris Gottlieb. Illus. by
the author. 2022. Chronicle, $19.99 (9781797211978). Gr. 9–12.
Gottlieb’s updated, appealingly illustrated primer on gender, identity, and sexuality cov-
ers terminology; explains intersectionality, discrimination, and mental health; and more.

Suck It in and Smile. By Laurence Beaudoin-Masse. Tr. by Shelley Tanaka. 2022.

ISBN: 978-1-77278-281-3 Groundwood, $17.99 (9781773068091). Gr. 9–12.
List Price: $18.95 USD This unfiltered look at being an influencer strips away the glamour to show the tolls of
fighting for followers while maintaining overly strict diets and a pristine public persona.
Distributed in the US by PGW:
866-400-5351 We Need to Talk about Vaginas: An Important Book about Vulvas, Periods, Puberty,
and Sex! By Allison K. Rodgers. Illus. by Annika Le Large. 2023. Macmillan/Neon Squid,
$14.99 (9781684492848). Gr. 4–8.
This inclusive and exhaustive puberty guide for vagina owners is welcoming and infor-
mative both in its cartoon illustrations and its conversational tone.

44 Booklist April 15, 2023 www.booklistonline.com


Trade Secrets
My Secret Weapon
By Shelly McNerney
M
y secret weapon in the fight against efforts to censor
students’ access to gender and sexuality information
in school libraries is my sex therapist, Dr. Christina
McDowell.
Dr. Christina’s professional qualifications enable her to speak
intelligently and truthfully, without personal bias, about topics
related to gender and sexuality. Her expertise contradicts the
traditional mythology that many Americans have been raised
to accept: namely, that humans are asexual creatures until (after
age 18) we are kissed by our one-true-love, releasing our fully
formed sexual desires and prowess to mesh perfectly with our
partner’s, whom we will then live with in sexual bliss—no con-
versation required—for the next sixty years.
Spoiler alert: promoting this myth hasn’t resulted in the
elimination of sexually transmitted infections, unplanned preg-
nancies, or sexual violence. But that’s not to say it isn’t powerful;
this myth inhibits the development of positive gender and
sexual identities, and it restricts an inquisitive growth mindset
about how these identities develop over our lifetimes. The myth
also helps label certain gender identities or safely conducted
sexual practices as deviant, or even just outside of the “norm,”
dehumanizing and rendering large segments of our population
vulnerable to multiple types of exploitation.
If this disinformation mythology campaign were related to
heart disease, cancer, or self-harm, there would be an outcry. But
societal messaging that frequently labels gender and sexuality as
taboos restricts such conversations. Research shows that many
people have difficulty talking about sex, even with a trusted
partner. So it’s only logical that we librarians may be uncom-
fortable with the prospect of discussing teen sex with an angry,
pro-censorship community member who is also hurling personal
accusations at us. Accusations designed to ruin us personally and
professionally—accusations that we librarians are pedophiles,
groomers, sexual deviants, and even felons.
School librarians also face an additional obstacle: school ad-
ministrators. Few administrators have backgrounds in library
science, and many view preventing community controversy as
a key job priority. They may encourage, expect, or even force
school librarians to unofficially censor collection development
and book promotions to avoid even the potential of public scru-
tiny and controversy.
Librarianship in this world of pro-censorship politics can
be overwhelming. I’ve struggled to interpret our collection-
development policy, to understand unspoken book-promotion
guidelines, to fully understand what it means to “serve my
www.booklistonline.com
Spotlight
students’ information needs” around gender and sexuality. Dr.
Christina guides my professional journey and eases my distress
by providing biological, psychological, and sociological research
regarding gender and sexuality. I can now do what librarians do
best: provide reliable, vetted information sources that defend
gender and sexuality titles, freeing me from the responsibility of
becoming a human sexuality subject-area expert.
Dr. Christina also models professional conversations, which helps
me identify and overcome my personal conversational “red flags.”
I’m gaining confidence discussing all kinds of gender and sexual
practices (not just those I personally identify with) without shame.
Most importantly, Dr. Christina reminds me that the world of
human sexuality is as vast as human curiosity, and that restrict-
ing access to information doesn’t stop an information seeker; it
just degrades the quality of information they locate. Think of
the difference between Let’s Talk about It and the standard online
porn that teens are using as sexuality research. Which seems safer
to you?
Ultimately, puberty is a biological process that can’t be stopped
just because we adults are uncomfortable with our teens’ emerg-
ing sexualities. My role as a school librarian is not to participate
in the effort to arrest human development. Instead, my ethical
responsibility lies in providing information access that allows
my teens to independently develop their own identities and
decision-making capabilities.
The dehumanizing censorship efforts related to gender and
sexuality titles require new resistance tools, and I hope that this
column ignites a movement toward librarian–sex therapist col-
laborations as an accepted professional development practice.
A list of resources—including scholarly articles, blog posts,
informational texts, podcasts, and documentaries—I’ve been
exploring are available in a Google Drive document here:
bit.ly/3mrtT01. The “research” is fascinating and often fun,
and you just might find personal benefits as well. Let’s ex-
plode the current sexuality mythology and partner with other
information professionals—our sex therapists—to develop
sexual-literacy programming that aligns with our public-health
and information-access missions. We adults deserve healthy,
pleasure-filled sex lives that are informed by safety and consent,
and our teens do too.
A former English teacher, Shelly McNerney now lives her best high-school librarian
life. She hopes her library collection helps her students feel seen and valued. Shelly’s
always grateful to her husband, Charlie, for keeping their lives functional while she’s
lost in another world reading.
April 15, 2023 Booklist 45
 Continued from p.43
him from attending classes. Undaunted, he
Spotlight
and his parents sued the school and—after a
year in and out of court—won, but people
continued to treat him as an outcast until the
family moved away. In the meantime, Ryan
told his story to the media, and it appeared
that there may be hope after all. Though it’s a
bit didactic and largely sidesteps the sad ending
(the author’s note mentions Ryan lived until
age 18), Moreno’s story is clearly written and
straightforwardly deals with Ryan and AIDS.
Abbo’s cartoonlike illustrations are serviceable,
46 Booklist April 15, 2023
though they add little to the text. Back matter
will help adults share the story, which is one
of the few that addresses AIDS for a younger
audience. —Michael Cart
Never Give Up: Dr. Kati Karikó and the
Race for the Future of Vaccines.
By Debbie Dadey. Illus. by Juliana Oakley.
2023. 40p. Lerner/Millbrook, $21.99 (9781728456331). K–
Gr. 3. 572.092.
Dadey profiles Hungarian American bio-
chemist Kati Karikó, whose pioneering
work with mRNA led to the development of
Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna’s COVID-19
vaccines. Born in rural Hungary, Karikó
showed an early interest in the sciences,
emigrated to the U.S. to work at Temple
University after earning her PhD, and ex-
perienced snubs throughout her career from
peers who felt her work would never yield
any useful results. Throughout, Dadey em-
phasizes Kariko’s conviction that mRNA
could be used to teach cells to produce
compounds useful to the body. Oakley’s col-
orful pencil-and-digital illustrations depict
mid- to late-twentieth-century styles and
fashions, lab settings, and include several di-
agrams of mRNA. Some of the illustrations
employ COVID molecule–shaped frames
that allow multiple scenes to be depicted in
one spread, and relevant quotes from Karikó
and other scientists are included in the art.
Generously appended with an illustrated
time line, stages for U.S. vaccine approval,
a glossary, source notes, and a bibliography,
this is a fascinating and up-to-date choice
for primary science, health, and women’s
history units. —Kay Weisman
A Vaccine Is like a Memory.
By Rajani LaRocca. Illus. by Kathleen
Marcotte.
June 2023. 40p. little bee, $18.99 (9781499813265).
K–Gr. 3. 614.473.
Beginning with a brief history of inocu-
lations and vaccinations, this picture book
points out that since the development of
vaccines, they have
protected people from
illnesses such as small-
pox, polio, measles, and
mumps. Next, it explains
that the body’s immune
system fights off diseases
and afterward holds the
memories of previous
viral and bacterial invaders so that it can
deal with them quickly if they return. As
the book’s title indicates, a vaccine gives
the body the equivalent of a new memory,
training the immune system to create anti-
bodies for fighting an infection it hasn’t yet
encountered. Closing with details on the
COVID-19 pandemic, the discussion en-
courages kids to understand that a reliable
vaccine is a powerful, protective, “incredible
scientific feat.” A primary-care physician,
LaRocca has written 10 picture books and 5
middle-grade novels, including the Newbery
Honor Book Red, White, and Whole (2021).
She clearly knows her subject here, and she
explains it in a straightforward, reassuring
manner. Using colors and simplified shapes
to good advantage, Marcotte’s illustrations
are pleasing and often cheerful. The book’s
occasional sidebars offer related facts and
feats, while descriptive lists of germs, vac-
cines, and common infections preventable
by vaccines appear in the back matter. A
lively, informative introduction to vaccines.
—Carolyn Phelan
www.booklistonline.com
Older Fiction Middle Fiction Eden is welcomed at Casa Esperanza, a
food bank and community center run by
Ab(solutely) Normal: Short Code Red. Marisol’s mother. Seeing firsthand how re-

Spotlight
Stories That Smash Mental Health By Joy McCullough. sources like diapers and tampons are prized
Stereotypes. June 2023. 240p. Atheneum, $17.99 (9781534496262). commodities, Eden sews reusable pads and
Ed. by Nora Shalaway Carpenter and Rocky Gr. 4–7. works with Marisol’s sister to draft an initia-
Callen. Sometimes you don’t get it until you get tive funding menstrual supplies in schools.
Apr. 2023. 336p. Candlewick, $24.99 (9781536224146). it. Thirteen-year-old Eden left gymnastics Eden’s mother runs a massive menstrual-
Gr. 9–12. after an injury, and her newfound free time product company and objects to Eden’s
This YA collection showcases 16 short highlights relationships and experiences new friends and political action, which
stories featuring characters with mental- she missed during competitive training raises thoughtful consideration of Eden’s
health conditions. The stories vary in genre (including getting her first period). As she
and setting, from realistic contemporary tentatively befriends classmate Marisol, Continued on p.52
fiction set in the boxing ring to a paranor-
mal high school to a fantasy about a fallen
star. Many entries in the anthology come
in the conventional short-story format, but
some are poetry or comics. The foreword
emphasizes that the anthology includes a
cast diverse in racial, cultural, and gender
identities and sexualities, identities of- Support Social and
ten underrepresented when talking about
mental health. Although all of the stories
spotlight characters who struggle with men-
Emotional Learning
tal health, the stories themselves are not From Self-Awareness to
necessarily about that struggle—they are
about family, friendship, sports, grief, and Responsible Decision-Making
fitting in. Some name specific conditions
and center medication or therapy, while
others do not. All of the contributors have
lived experiences with mental health, and a
short blurb from each writer discusses these
experiences. This collection will appeal to
readers who are struggling with or interest- Building Character
ed in mental health and prefer fiction that (Early Bird Stories™)
is written by someone who has been there. 6 Book Series
—Marija Lukic Grades PreK-3

No Perfect Places.
By Steven Salvatore.
May 2023. 384p. Bloomsbury YA, $19.99 (9781547611072).
Gr. 9–12.
When Alex and Olly Brucke’s father passes
away in prison, the twins deal with grief in
their own separate ways. Alex turns to alco-
hol and a toxic relationship, and Olly seeks
refuge in a film project about his family
and in his supportive boyfriend. But Olly is
also keeping their father’s last secret—they
have a half brother, Tyler. After Olly starts Grades 2-5 Grades 4-8
corresponding with Tyler, he delays telling
Alex because she is already having so much
difficulty coping. When Tyler unexpect-
edly shows up and the secret threatens to
be revealed at any moment, the growing
rift between the twins may become un-
bridgeable. Salvatore’s (And They Lived . . .,
2022) contemporary YA deals sensitively
with heavy themes of grief, addiction, and
mental health. Both the main characters and
those whom Alex meets at a support group
for teens with incarcerated parents represent
Grades 4-8 Grades 5-12 Grades 7-12
people from a range of backgrounds with
different identities. This book will appeal to
MK140-0423

lovers of realistic contemporary fiction and

will connect with any reader who has lost lernerbooks.com/sel
someone. —Marija Lukic

www.booklistonline.com April 15, 2023 Booklist 47


Focus on SEL
Bear Is Never Alone.
By Marc Veerkamp. Illus. by Jeska Verstegen. Tr. by Laura
Watkinson.
Apr. 2023. 32p. Eerdmans, $17.99 (9780802856036). PreS–Gr. 2.
Talented musician Bear delights the other woodland creatures with
his piano playing. Eventually, though, he’d like some quiet time to
himself, but his audience insists Bear continue. Even when he flees,
they follow, persistently demanding, “More, more, Piano Bear!” until
Bear’s had enough—and, with a roar, sends them scurrying. All except
book-carrying Zebra, that is, who praises Bear’s music, then offers,
“How about I do something nice for you in return? I’d like to read you
a story.” Initially, Bear’s grumpy and uninterested, but he eventually
reconsiders—“Let’s be alone together.” Enchanting, mixed-media il-
lustrations in black and white with pops of red depict the forest setting
and expressive animals in eye-catching silhouettes; Zebra’s typed-print
stripes make her stand out. Originally published in the Netherlands,
the book features sympathetic, eloquent touches that further illumi-
nate Bear’s sometimes-big emotions throughout. Kids who feel put on
the spot or overwhelmed are sure to find common ground with Bear,
and they’ll appreciate the relief Bear feels when he finally finds a peace-
ful moment and an understanding friend. —Shelle Rosenfeld
Big.
By Vashti Harrison. Illus. by the author.
May 2023. 60p. Little, Brown, $19.99 (9780316353229). PreS–Gr. 3.
Award-winning author-illustrator Harrison paints a striking portrait
of a Black girl standing tall and standing up to the biased judgments
of a world that tries to cut her down in size. As an infant, adults praise
the main character, remarking, “What a big girl you are!” As she grows,
these same words are used to make her feel small. When she gets stuck
in a swing, a teacher admonishes, “Don’t you
think you’re too big for that?!” The child’s pain
and sadness are palpable in the nuanced chalk
pastel and digital illustrations. When she stands
self-consciously in front of a mirror, the sting-
ing words of playground jeers are printed on her
body. At ballet class, her radiant pink leotard
and tutu are muted in a shade of “husky gray,”
and she becomes background scenery. With
mounting anxiety, the young girl grows bigger and more constrained
on each page as she internalizes unsolicited advice and negative com-
ments (“Aren’t you too big to be crying?” “Why can’t you just fit in?”).
Through self-love and self-acceptance, she is able to push out and hold
space for herself. In an intimate author’s note, Harrison shares per-
sonal reflections and her own childhood experiences of sitting “in the
crosshairs of adultification bias and anti-fat bias.” This emotionally and
socially resonant picture book stands out with its exceptional strength,
beauty, and grace. —Linda Ludke
Cloud Babies.
By Eoin Colfer. Illus. by Chris Judge.
July 2023. 40p. Candlewick, $18.99 (9781536231076). K–Gr. 3.
Erin loves to point out “cloud babies,” animals she sees within
cloud formations. When she becomes ill and spends a long time
48 Booklist April 15, 2023
Art by Rebecca Evans,
from A New Day for
Umwell the Gray, by
Nathaniel Jenks.
at a children’s hospital, she enjoys playing the game with the other
kids on her floor. Finally, she returns home and goes back to school,
but when she tries to share the game with her classmates, it doesn’t
go well. The kids seem older now. She stops playing cloud babies,
though it makes her sad. Erin returns to the hospital periodically.
When the class visits her there, they play the cloud-baby game with
Erin and the other patients. Through the game and her classmates’
new understanding of her experiences, she can finally reconnect with
them. Inspired by the illustrator’s family’s experiences of childhood
illness, the story is matter-of-fact, informative, and remarkably up-
beat. The digital art is appealing, and, in creating outdoor scenes, it
incorporates photos of landscapes, clouds, and other elements into
the pictures in a seamless way. Colfer’s introduction offers practical
advice for young patients and their classmates. A heartening, helpful
picture book. —Carolyn Phelan
Goodbye, Balloon.
By Adam Ciccio. Illus. by Magriet van der Berg.
2023. 32p. Clavis, $18.95 (9781605377711). PreS–Gr. 2.
A young girl ties her glittery pink balloon to her bicycle, but it is
quickly taken by the wind. Instead of that being the end of the story,
however, she begins to think of what adventures her balloon might
be experiencing, and to demonstrate the balloon’s change, from then
on it is drawn as a clear, somewhat ethereal outline. In her imagina-
tion, the girl and balloon ride the wind into the mountains and then
even up to the stars beyond. When a storm brings darkness, bravery
sees them through. While the book is not subtle in its messaging,
its gentle tone and soft colors extend the feeling of comfort. Phrases
such as “enjoying every possible moment” and “follow our hearts
to find the right direction” underscore the book’s bibliotherapeutic
purpose. Eventually, the girl knows she must let go of the balloon,
but she likes to think of it as happy and having a new friend to love.
For young children coping with loss or grief, the book provides an
opening for discussion. —Lucinda Whitehurst
I Feel the World.
By Zanni Louise and Ameika Johnson. Illus. by Nina Gould.
Apr. 2023. 32p. Five Mile, $17.99 (9781922677297). PreS–Gr. 1. 152.4.
The authors explain in rhyming couplets that emotions can take on
many “shades, sizes, colours, textures, [and] shapes,” which will be
helpful in beginning a dialogue about feelings between a caregiver and
child. Readers learn that some emotions can be gentle, floating away
after a short time, while some can be prickly, and others tend to stick
around for a long time. “Sometimes, feelings work so hard, protecting
like a bodyguard. Feelings sometimes make me dance. They make me
wear my fancy pants!” And if it all gets to be a bit much, one suggested
remedy is simple: breathe. Throughout the book, colorful illustrations
effectively reveal the emotions felt by a small brown bear while a par-
ent bear looks on with concern. Youngsters will learn that emotions are
OK and should be accepted as an ordinary part of life. Strategies for
dealing with certain feelings will empower children to be in control.
Back matter presents more information about feelings, activities for
understanding them better, and tips for dealing with intense emotions.
—Maryann Owen
www.booklistonline.com
My Elephant Is Blue: A Book about Big, Heavy Feelings.
By Melinda Szymanik. Illus. by Vasanti Unka.
Apr. 2023. 40p. Flyaway, $19 (9781947888418). PreS–Gr. 2.
This picture book dramatizes the kind of depression that can come out
of the blue and ways to make it go away. A young narrator wakes up one
morning to find a comical-looking blue elephant sitting on their chest.
This elephant does not budge. She clings to the child, making it hard for
them to do anything. The elephant doesn’t respond to the family’s plead-
ing to get off, saying she’s comfortable. The mother gets books from the
library, including Sad Elephants for Dummies. The father calls an expert
on elephants. Finally, the parents convince the child to take a short walk,
then a longer one, then to go a family-picnic outing. The illustrations are
brilliant in showing the progression of the child’s moods by having the
landscape change from gray winter to multicolored spring. The elephant
moves off the child, then to their side, finally playing football with them.
The resolution, in which the child learns to live with all the colors of dif-
ferent moods, fits beautifully. —Connie Fletcher
A New Day for Umwell the Gray.
By Nathaniel Jenks. Illus. by Rebecca Evans.
May 2023. 32p. Tilbury, $18.95 (9780884489443). PreS–Gr. 2.
Not only does William live in a gray world with gray thoughts, a
gray sky, and gray clothes, but his aunt suggests that all his moping
will give him gray hair, too. Gray, washed-out watercolors with blue
undertones reflect his ongoing mood, and William’s dark hair and eyes
contrast with the unnatural white of his skin. The dreariness of this
particular rainy day changes when he spies a brown-skinned girl wear-
ing a purple, polka-dotted poncho. When William hesitates (“Um . . .
well”) when telling the girl (aptly named Purple) his own name, she
begins calling him Umwell the Gray. William follows Purple through
the woods and to a beach, and, along the way, she encourages him to
find the beauty, or the “new,” in his surroundings, from falling leaves
to the waves at the shore. In response, the hopeful illustrations depict
more color as William, a healthy pink entering his skin, eventually
finds newness in himself. The book’s intentional ambiguity makes it
adaptable for discussing depression, loneliness, or grief. A good selec-
tion for SEL collections. —Angela Leeper
Percy’s Perfect Friend.
By Lana Button. Illus. by Peggy Collins.
Apr. 2023. 32p. Pajama, $18.95 (9781772782813). PreS–K.
Making a friend is a matter of approachability, but it’s not so simple
if it takes you time to warm up to others. In this story by educator
Art from The Seasons within Me,
written and illustrated by Bianca Pozzi.
www.booklistonline.com
Button, Percy feels alone when he attends a children’s party. He stops
feeling lonely when he spots Miss Petticomb, a pink plush cat, who
he prefers over his peers. When he begins to make her a drawing, the
Spotlight
other children take her from him to a tea party. At first, he is defensive
but soon learns that this is Miss Petticomb’s party—it’s her birthday!
The cheerful artwork warmly depicts a classic preschool classroom in
the middle of open play, and the kids realistically appear in a variety of
skin tones and gender presentations. The large facial expressions nicely
portray emotions, particularly when Percy contemplates how to react
when he learns about the party and comes up with the perfect friendly
solution. This story about making friends, stepping out of a shell, and
building confidence will pair well with Gustavo the Shy Ghost (2020),
by Flavia Z. Drago. —Vivian Alvarez
The Seasons within Me.
By Bianca Pozzi. Illus. by the author.
Apr. 2023. 48p. Penguin Workshop/RISE, $18.99 (9780593522912). K–Gr. 3.
One morning, a little girl wakes up “feeling gray,” a stream of rain-
drops pelting down only on her. Her mother and sibling do not notice,
and despite her mother’s reassurance that the feeling is temporary, the
girl’s sadness continues to grow. The subdued palate of gray, ochre,
and washes of slate blue enhance the feeling of her isolation. On a
day when the storm clouds could not be much darker, the girl finds
a wounded dog, and in it she recognizes a kindred spirit. As she cares
for the dog, the rain ceases, and an autumn sun “[warms their] souls.”
The story’s message of the ebb and flow of feelings and the consistency
of seasonal change is an old one, but here it is rendered with a fresh
tenderness that will appeal to all readers who have found comfort in a
friend when feeling alone. A lovely read-aloud with bibliotherapeutic
potential. —Amina Chaudhri
Way Past Sorry.
By Hallee Adelman. Illus. by Josep Maria Juli.
June 2023. 32p. Albert Whitman, $18.99 (9780807581056). PreS–Gr. 2.
On a class field trip to the planetarium, Kat breaks her promise to
Sage and sits on the bus with Meera instead. Afterward, Kat is sorry,
but Sage is too hurt to forgive and forget. Following a difficult morn-
ing full of regrets and hard feelings, Kat and Sage finally reconnect
at lunch, where Kat listens as Sage expresses her hurt feelings and
Kat explains how truly remorseful she is. Adelman’s latest title in the
Great Big Feelings series offers a believable scenario that highlights
a common friendship issue. Emotions are clearly expressed (“I told
Sage what I knew I did wrong. And promised I wouldn’t make those
mistakes again”) and the situations described ring true. Juli’s cartoon
illustrations feature deeply saturated hues, simply drawn characters,
and unadorned backgrounds. Emotions are conveyed through patch-
es of color on cheeks: red represents hurt feelings or anger, while light
pink signifies happiness. This will be useful for primary classes learn-
ing to identify emotions and understand behavioral consequences.
—Kay Weisman
What Happened to You?
By James Catchpole. Illus. by Karen George.
Apr. 2023. 40p. Little, Brown, $18.99 (9780316506472). PreS–Gr. 2.
Joe is playing in a park when a child approaches with a question.
Joe has one leg, so people are always curious about the missing one.
Basing the story on his own experiences, the author addresses both
sides of the query with humor and empathy. When children first
gather around Joe, he refers to them as Kid One, Kid Two, etc. They
pitch a variety of explanations, most of which Joe considers silly. Did
the leg fall off? Did it fall into a toilet? Did a lion bite him? While
humorous gouache and colored-pencil illustrations of imagined sce-
narios keep the tone light, the message comes through clearly: Joe
would rather get to know the children as people and have them know
him rather than define himself by his disability. As Joe meets Simone,
Yuto, Caspar, Mainie, and Ibrahim, the fact that they all are much
more alike than different is deftly communicated. A helpful note to
adults about how to help small children talk to people with disabili-
ties is included. —Lucinda Whitehurst
April 15, 2023 Booklist 49
Booklist Essentials

When Parents Art from Hurricane Season,

Get Sick by Nicole Melleby.

I
by Julia Smith
n recent years, we’ve noticed an influx of books that portray
children dealing with having a sick parent. The emotional
and practical demands of having a loved one with a mental
or physical illness are complex, and these middle-grade novels
take nuanced looks at kid characters finding inner strength and
external support to weather unforeseen health crises.

Ahmed Aziz’s Epic Year. By Nina Hamza.
2021. HarperCollins/Quill Tree, $16.99
(9780063024892). Gr. 5–8.
Ahmed is in for a tumultuous sixth-
grade year when his family suddenly
moves from Hawaii to Minnesota so his
father can receive lifesaving treatment for
health complications due to hepatitis C.
While Ahmed uses humor to cope with
these circumstances, it doesn’t diminish
their seriousness, making his resilience all
the more admirable.
Auma’s Long Run. By Eucabeth
Odhiambo. 2017. Carolrhoda, $17.99
(9781512427844). Gr. 6–8.
Auma dreams of winning a high-school
track scholarship that will take her out
of her Kenyan village; however, when
her father grows seriously ill with AIDS,
she must decide whether to continue her
schooling or work to feed her family. In
this gut-wrenching look at the 1990s
AIDS epidemic, Odhiambo flawlessly
weaves Kenyan culture with preteen prob-
lems.
Before the Ever After. By Jacqueline
Woodson. 2020. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen,
$17.99 (9780399545436). Gr. 5–8.
Woodson’s poignant novel in verse ex-
plores one family’s struggle to adjust to
life after ZJ’s football-star father begins
having health issues due to head injuries
suffered while playing professionally.
Though the boy initially fights his new
reality, he comes to find much-needed
support in his close-knit community.
Ghosts, Toast, and Other Hazards. By
Susan Tan. 2023. Roaring Brook, $17.99
(9781250797001). Gr. 3–6.
Mo’s mom is having trouble getting out
of bed following a recent divorce, leav-
ing the sixth-grader to take care of her
little sister and worry about being an ad-
ditional burden. When an elephant starts
haunting Mo’s dreams, her search for its
meaning uncovers troubling things about

50 Booklist April 15, 2023 www.booklistonline.com

her new town’s history and offers unex-
pected insight into her family.
High. By Mary Sullivan. 2021. Fitzroy,
$16.95 (9781646031702). Gr. 6–9.
Fourteen-year-old Ceti is a soccer
phenom, but her homelife is incredibly
unstable, mostly due to her mother’s drug
addiction. Told in verse, Sullivan’s novel
offers starkly descriptive images of Ceti’s
mom’s drug paraphernalia and portrays
the desperate pressures this young woman
feels. Her coach and other supportive
adults help Ceti’s story end hopefully.
Hurricane Season. By Nicole
Melleby. 2019. Algonquin, $16.95
(9781616209063). Gr. 4–7.
When Fig’s father’s erratic behavior
prompts her teacher to call Child Protec-
tive Services, the girl feels an inordinate
amount of pressure to prove everything
is okay at home, when it most assuredly
is not. Art becomes a conduit for under-
standing and healing in this emotional
story.
Julia and the Shark. By Kiran Millwood
Hargrave. Illus. by Tom de Freston.
2023. Union Square Kids, $18.99
(9781454948681). Gr. 4–7.
Julia admires her scientist mom, Maura,
but she can’t help noticing her mom mak-
ing some questionable judgment calls
in order to secure funding for a research
project. As Maura’s passion grows into
reckless obsession, Julia struggles to make
sense of her mom’s behavior, which is re-
vealed to be mismanaged bipolar disorder.
Appended with mental health resources.
Life in the Balance. By Jen Petro-
Roy. 2021. Feiwel and Friends, $16.99
(9781250619730). Gr. 4–7.
Life at home is challenging for Veronica,
whose mother is spending eight weeks in
an alcohol rehab center and whose father’s
busy work schedule leaves little time for
his daughter. Eventually, Veronica con-
fides in her best friend and joins a support
group. A clearly written narrative that
avoids suggesting that alcoholism is easy
to manage or to live with.
The Natural Genius of Ants. By
Betty Culley. 2022. Crown, $16.99
(9780593175774). Gr. 3–6.
Harvard is used to finding solutions
for things, but coaxing his dad out of
a depression is proving difficult. The
well-intentioned protagonist is driven to
distraction with anxiety about his dad and
other problems, but the story meaning-
fully examines how to identify the things
in life one can’t control, figure out where
www.booklistonline.com
control can be regained, and find the abil-
ity to forgive.
Patina. By Jason Reynolds. 2017.
Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy, $16.99
(9781481450188). Gr. 5–8.
Patina “Patty” Jones is the fastest girl
on her track team, but an angry outburst
lands her on a relay team to learn to be a
team player. Reynolds reveals significant
stressors in Patina’s life, including having
to live with her aunt and uncle because
her mother lost her legs to diabetes. With-
out ever feeling like an “issues” book, this
title deftly tackles topics like isolation,
living with illness, and losing a parent.
Playing the Cards You’re Dealt. By
Varian Johnson. 2021. Scholastic, $16.99
(9781338348538). Gr. 4–7.
Ten-year-old Anthony “Ant” Joplin has
always been captivated by the game of
spades, and he’s determined to prove his
prowess at an upcoming tournament. But
change lurks in the form of a crush and
puzzling behavior in his father. As obser-
vant Ant awakens to issues of alcoholism,
he is unsure of how best to help the peo-
ple he loves, particularly if they hurt him
in the process.
Red, White, and Whole. By Rajani
LaRocca. 2021. HarperCollins/Quill Tree,
$16.99 (9780063047426). Gr. 5–8.
Already struggling to balance the
American and Indian sides of her identity,
Reha finds her world shattered when her
amma is diagnosed with leukemia. Reha’s
reaction to the devastation wrought by
her mother’s illness is realistic and heart-
breaking, but she also finds strength in
Spotlight
the love and care from classmates, friends,
and family.
The Science of Breakable Things. By
Tae Keller. 2018. Random, $16.99
(9781524715663). Gr. 4–7.
Natalie is convinced that the prize
money from winning a science-project
contest could dispel her botanist mother’s
depression. How? By using the funds to
fly Mom to New Mexico to see the Co-
balt Blue Orchid. Keller crafts a winning
story full of rich characters, heart, and
action that balances the weighty subject of
a child dealing with a parent’s depression.
Where the Watermelons Grow. By
Cindy Baldwin. 2018. Harper, $16.99
(9780062665867). Gr. 4–7.
Amid stifling summer heat, 12-year-old
Della endeavors to come to terms with
her mother’s schizophrenia. While her
dad struggles to keep their North Caro-
lina farm going during the drought, Della
takes on more responsibility for her tod-
dler sister. Yearning for normalcy, Della
seeks out some reportedly magic honey to
cure her mother.
Worser. By Jennifer Ziegler. 2022.
Holiday/Margaret Ferguson, $17.99
(9780823449569). Gr. 4–7.
William Orser is struggling after his
mother experiences a devastating stroke
that leaves her incapable of caring for
him. To make matters worse, his aunt Iris
has moved in and disrupted their calm,
yet insular lifestyle. In an unexpected
move, he joins the Lit Club and makes
new friends, but those relationships are
endangered when the changes in William’s
life become too much to cope with.
April 15, 2023 Booklist 51
 Continued from p.47
privilege, agency, and self-realization. Mc-
Spotlight
Cullough (Across the Pond, 2021) tackles
period poverty with her usual feminist flair,
yet the conversations—particularly those
between Eden and her crush, Will, who is
trans—bring along readers who may be less
familiar with issues around menstrual eq-
uity. Changemakers eager to go against the
flow will appreciate the paths Eden explores
to increased self-awareness, advocacy, and
social activism. —Kit Ballenger
52 Booklist April 15, 2023
The Gray.
By Chris Baron.
June 2023. 304p. Feiwel and Friends, $18.99
(9781250864710). Gr. 5–8.
Thirteen-year-old Sasha deals with general-
ized anxiety and panic attacks, which he has
dubbed “The Gray.” They get worse when he
spends too much time on his electronic devic-
es, so his concerned parents decide a device-free
month upstate with his great-aunt Ruthie will
be a tonic. Sasha disagrees: “This will be the
worst summer ever.” Nevertheless, country,
here he comes. Happily, once there he quickly
makes a friend in Ivy; unhappily, he runs afoul
of a band of bullies, from whom he is rescued by
a mysteriously taciturn, solitary boy named Eli.
Grateful, Sasha tries to befriend the boy, who
is a year older, but is rejected. So he hires Eli
as his bodyguard and agrees to help him at the
horse ranch where the older boy works, trying
to tame a wild horse called—wait for it—The
Gray. Baron’s often-quiet story is well-plotted,
and the characters are empathetic, especially
Eli. The theme, change, is well-handled and
perhaps will change readers as much as it does
Sasha in the end. —Michael Cart
Shannon in the Spotlight.
By Kalena Miller.
Apr. 2023. 272p. Delacorte, $16.99 (9780593486054);
lib. ed., $19.99 (9780593486061). Gr. 4–7.
Twelve-year-old Shannon always enjoys
working behind the scenes at her town’s sum-
mer musical, but she’s mostly there to spend
time with her theater-loving friends. Elise
adores acting and is hoping for a starring role,
while Fatima is taken by the technical aspects
of production. Shannon prefers to be backstage
and assumes that her obsessive-compulsive dis-
order may not lend itself to long rehearsals and
performing to packed audiences, but when the
director overhears her singing, she finds her-
self cast in a leading role, and life gets more
complicated as she navigates a jealous Elise, a
budding crush, family upheaval, and a new-
found love of the stage. Miller spins a winning
story that offers an insightful introduction to
OCD. A diverse cast of friends and family pro-
vides a warm, supportive core to the story, in
which Shannon is allowed to take chances and
make decisions about her therapy and treat-
ment. It’s an inspiration and joy to watch her
step into the spotlight and let her voice truly be
heard. —Emily Graham
Will on the Inside.
By Andrew Eliopulos.
June 2023. 304p. HarperCollins/Quill Tree, $19.99
(9780063228702). Gr. 5–8.
In Eliopulos’ (The Fascinators, 2020) latest,
there are few things middle-schooler Will loves
more than soccer. But his time on the field is
threatened when he discovers he has Crohn’s
disease, like the book’s author. On top of being
incurable, Will’s condition comes with painful,
sometimes embarrassing symptoms and forces
him to find new ways to connect with his peers,
which leads him to begin questioning his au-
tonomy, his place in his family, his sexuality,
and his community’s attitude toward gay peo-
ple. Character-driven with a much-conflicted
narrator, this brings a conversational tone and
a gentle approach to difficult topics while still
clearly depicting the conflict of Will’s frustra-
tion and discomfort. Readers will appreciate the
variety of perspectives from the people in Will’s
life and the empathetic narrator at the helm; the
reality the story reflects will reach a broad swath
of readers, from jocks to gaming nerds to those
exploring religion. Hand to fans of Maulik Pan-
choly’s The Best at It (2019) and Rob Harrell’s
Wink (2020). —Abby Hargreaves
www.booklistonline.com

Youth Fiction
Older Readers
All the Dead Lie Down.
By Kyrie McCauley.
May 2023. 368p. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen, $19.99
(9780063242982). Gr. 9–12.
After the death of her mother, Marin is sum-
moned to the sprawling, coastal Maine home
of Alice Lovelace—horror novelist and child-
hood friend of her mom’s—to work as a nanny
for Alice’s daughters. From
the start, Alice’s strange be-
havior, the girls’ macabre
pranks, the harsh seascape,
and the house itself conspire
to make Marin feel less than
welcome. When Alice’s old-
est daughter, Evie, arrives
home from school, seeming-
ly making Marin’s role as nanny unnecessary,
tensions in the house rise along with the num-
ber of grotesque accidents and incidents, and
Marin becomes certain the women of Lovelace
House are keeping some dark secrets. McCau-
ley, who won the Morris for If These Wings
Could Fly (2020), spins a well-paced, atmo-
spheric gothic tale that will attract teen fans of
Silvia Morena-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic (2020).
The cast of characters in this creepy house
evokes both dread and empathy, and a devel-
oping romance between Marin and Evie adds
softness while keeping readers guessing about
how deep family secrets run and who can and
cannot be trusted. A rich, disquieting novel for
fans of horror, fairy tales, and good storytelling.
—Beth McIntyre
Borderless.
By Jennifer De Leon.
Apr. 2023. 336p. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy, $19.99
(9781665904162). Gr. 8–11.
This tense, plot-driven story of a mother
and daughter threatened by gang violence is
De Leon’s second novel, following Don’t Ask
Me Where I’m From (2020). At 16, Maya is a
promising, focused student at Salomé Fashion
Institute in Guatemala City, where her trashion
designs win her a place at the annual fashion
show. First prize could make the dream of hav-
ing her own label a reality. Two weeks before
the show, Maya’s best friend, Lisbeth, introduc-
es her new boyfriend. Maya knows something
is off about him, but she still falls hard for his
friend Sebastian, who seems thoughtful and
supportive. Soon after, Maya’s mother declares
that they must move away, far from the mare-
ros infiltrating their neighborhood. But it’s too
late: Maya witnesses a crime that sends them
fleeing for the U.S. Despite some clumsy writ-
ing, this is recommended for its authentic teen
voice, close mother-daughter relationship, and
especially for its affecting depictions of daily
life in Guatemala and the dehumanizing expe-
rience of entering the U.S. as an asylum seeker.
—Angela Carstensen
www.booklistonline.com
Chasing Pacquiao.
By Rod Pulido.
May 2023. 272p. Viking, $18.99 (9780593526736). Gr. 9–12.
When Bobby’s secret—his boyfriend,
Brandon—gets out, his fears of fallout from
within his disapproving Filipino American com-
munity prove founded, as he becomes a new
target for bullying. To fight back, Bobby decides
to follow in the footsteps of his hero, boxing
legend Manny Pacquiao, and begins training to
box. Joining a dingy gym, he enlists the owner
to help him become more like his idol. In the
process, Bobby learns unexpected but valuable
lessons in the ring. Though adhering to the tra-
ditional themes and structures of stories like The
Karate Kid, Pulido includes unique narrative
details that make this work stand out. The story
deals with social stigmas that affect gay youth
who are out, while also weaving in the econom-
ic inequalities that serve to separate Bobby and
Brandon, despite their love. Most important,
Pulido thoughtfully explores what it is like for
a young person to become disillusioned by a
hero, as Manny Pacquiao has made public state-
ments deriding homosexuals. How Bobby deals
with this reality is the most profound part of his
story. —Reinhardt Suarez
The Cherished.
By Patricia Ward.
Apr. 2023. 336p. HarperTeen, $17.99 (9780063235113).
Gr. 8–11.
Jo has never fit in—not with her tennis-loving
mom and stepdad, nor at school. Perhaps that’s
what drives her to seriously consider the shock-
ing news that she has inherited a farmhouse
from her estranged paternal grandmother, de-
spite the peculiar instructions that accompany
the gift. Though her parents are determined to
sell immediately, Jo insists on joining her mom
on the trip to assess the property, eager to see
her house and possibly convince her mom not
to sell. Ward dresses her novel in the trappings
of folk horror but delivers more of a slow-burn
mystery rooted in family bonds and duty. Yes,
a small, strange town with even stranger inhab-
itants awaits Jo, but horror doesn’t enter the
picture until near the story’s end. The narrative
devotes much more space to fuzzy flashbacks as
Jo puzzles through childhood experiences with
her loving but unstable father, who mixed fairy
tales with increasing paranoia. An oppressive
unease effectively pervades the novel until Jo
at last finds purpose and belonging. Hand to
those who enjoy atmospheric character studies.
—Julia Smith
Every Gift a Curse.
By Caroline O’Donoghue.
May 2023. 432p. Candlewick/Walker, $19.99
(9781536228403). Gr. 9–12.
This is the conclusion to the Gifts trilogy,
which began with All Our Hidden Gifts (2021),
and the stakes are higher than ever for Maeve
and her group of friends (and fellow witches).
After the chaotic closing events at the end of
the previous book, Maeve’s parents have be-
come afraid of her and have stolen or thrown
away all of her witchcraft supplies. But that
hardly matters—Maeve has become profi-
cient at creating her own spells. The return of
maybe-enemy Aaron, no longer a member of
the strict religious cult the Children of Brigid,
means there’s more trouble coming, though he
seems to want to help this time. Add in that the
Children may be kidnapping local teens for ne-
farious purposes, and dangerous magic may be
the only solution. Despite the fantastical back-
drop, O’Donoghue’s characters seem wholly
real in their dialogue and in their personal sto-
ries; Roe in particular has a major victory when
a national magazine genders them correctly.
Buy to finish the series, and eagerly await what
comes next from this author. —Stacey Comfort
Imogen, Obviously.
By Becky Albertalli.
May 2023. 432p. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray, $19.99
(9780063045873). Gr. 9–12.
High-school senior Imogen Scott has always
been a cheerleader for her queer friends and
sister, calling herself their biggest ally, never
missing a Pride Alliance meeting, and support-
ing her best friend, Lili, when
she comes out. Yet Imogen
begins to struggle with her
self-proclaimed straight-girl
identity as she realizes most
of Lili’s new college friends
are LGBTQ. When Imogen
musters up her courage to
visit Lili on campus, she’s
in for quite a few surprises. Upon her arrival,
Lili confesses that she told her friends that she
and Imogen used to date, which Imogen re-
alizes doesn’t really bother her. As she gets to
know Lili’s friends, she realizes they are won-
derful people who bring her into their lives
with no questions asked. As Imogen starts her
adventure on campus, it leads to an eventful
weekend of life-changing revelations, especially
when she meets the kind and confident Tessa.
Imogen is eminently relatable as she reevaluates
an identity in which she once felt so confident.
Albertalli lays out the complicated and beau-
tiful layers that come with accepting personal
change and having the courage to take an hon-
est look at oneself. A masterpiece that will be
cherished by anyone who has felt they might
not belong. —Aurora Dominguez
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Albertalli
is one of the best in the queer-romance
biz, whose presence on best-seller lists and
Netflix attests to her status as a fan favorite.
Julieta and the Romeos.
By Maria E. Andreu.
May 2023. 400p. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray, $19.99
(9780062996541). Gr. 9–12.
It’s the summer before senior year, and Jules
has big plans. She’ll excel in the prestigious
writing program that she’s attending while
working hard to save her family’s restaurant
(and possibly her parents’ marriage). Clearly,
April 15, 2023 Booklist 53
there’s little time for romance, yet she con-
fides in her best friend, Ivy, about potential
boyfriends. Abuela Nélida, Jules’ lovable Ar-
gentinian grandmother, has introduced her
to neighbor Calvin, and Lucas, a childhood
friend who works at the restaurant, is suddenly
an attractive man. Meanwhile, she is getting
to know Ryan, a fellow writer and Ivy’s older
brother. Jules is convinced that one of the three
is the unidentified person posting contribu-
tions to her romantic fiction online, but Ivy is
doubtful. As Jules ponders her future, she turns
increasingly to family and friends in the pres-
ent, always a good place to start. The novel is
lengthy, but the many well-drawn characters
and lively dialogue, along with passages from
Jules’ writing, are engaging. The author of Love
in English (2021), Andreu offers an involving
portrayal of Jules and her summer of writing
and romance. —Carolyn Phelan
The Making of Yolanda la Bruja.
By Lorraine Avila.
Apr. 2023. 352p. Levine Querido/Arthur A. Levine, $19.99
(9781646142439). Gr. 9–12.
Yolanda Alvarez studies the spiritual tradi-
tions of her ancestors under the tutelage of
her paternal grandmother, Mamá Teté. As
Yolanda, who has begun to receive visions,
waits for her full initiation,
she attends tenth grade in
the Bronx, where she leads
the Brave Space club, ten-
tatively flirts with a senior
basketball star, and uses
an implant processor to
more clearly hear the world
around her. When a white,
progressive politician sends his son to Yolanda’s
public high school, where people like Black,
Dominican Yolanda are the norm, Yolanda
tries to give white, smooth-talking Ben the
benefit of the doubt. But though he’s quick
to apologize when he causes harm, his ac-
tions never seem to change. More troublingly,
Yolanda is having increasingly violent visions
about Ben, but how can she warn the people
around her when no one will understand or
trust the source of her knowledge? Magic is
woven into Yolanda’s life and belief system,
though this is not presented as a fantasy. It’s
a sharply rendered portrait of a girl on the in-
tersections who, in learning that the systems
of the world will not protect her, struggles
with when and how to use her voice—and
with how to know when the fight is no
longer her responsibility. Warmly character-
ized, particularly in its intergenerational and
student-teacher relationships, Avila’s striking
debut is not to be missed. —Maggie Reagan
Nigeria Jones.
By Ibi Zoboi.
May 2023. 384p. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray, $19.99
(9780062888846). Gr. 7–12.
Nigeria Jones is the warrior princess of her fa-
ther’s Black nationalist movement, and she has
never questioned her place in that world before.
Her father’s movement is based in Philadelphia,
54 Booklist April 15, 2023
and Nigeria’s life, from her veganism to her ed-
ucation, has always been carefully controlled:
she is a proud Black nationalist who has never
gone to either a public or private school. When
Nigeria’s mother disappears, leaving behind
the movement and her children, Nigeria starts
to question everything about that life. Fur-
thermore, when she finds out that her mother
wanted her to go to school—specifically to a
competitive private school—Nigeria feels com-
pelled to see who she is outside of her father’s
movement. In her newest novel, Zoboi (Okoye
to the People, 2022) takes us on an emotional
journey. Through her titular character, read-
ers are able to traverse the thematic realms of
racism, homophobia, and the assignment of
gender roles. Zoboi’s story unravels the no-
tion that Blackness is a monolith. It is through
this story that we see the multilayered truth of
Black identity. —Nashae Jones
Of Light and Shadow.
By Tanaz Bhathena.
May 2023. 448p. Farrar, $19.99 (9780374389116). Gr. 7–10.
Roshan has always relied on banditry to sur-
vive, using her healing magic to both mend
and harm. As the new leader of the Shadow
Clan since the murder of her adoptive father,
the pressure to prove herself to her crew of
desperate farmers-turned-outlaws is high. In
stark contrast is the life of excess led by the
peri (part-human, part-animal) Rajkumar
Navin, who is gifted with the ability to ma-
nipulate emotions. When a chance encounter
drops the rajkumar in her lap, Roshan kid-
naps him as leverage to regain her people’s
land in an exchange with his grandmother,
Queen Bhairavi of Jwala. Through distinct,
alternating third-person chapters, Navin’s self-
sabotaging behavior is given reason and the
growing attraction between him and Roshan
mutuality—making his untrustworthiness all
the more painful. Roshan’s kindness even in the
face of blood tithes and numerous other po-
litical atrocities is the beacon that allows Navin
to finally see the corruption his own family is
complicit in. A worthwhile fantasy with a so-
bering reminder that those who write history
don’t always tell the truth. —Mahjabeen Syed
A Spark in the Cinders.
By Jenny Elder Moke.
June 2023. 384p. Disney/Hyperion, $18.99
(9781368039918). Gr. 8–10.
In the aftermath of Prince Fael’s search
for a girl who fits a glass slipper, the chosen
bride’s stepsister seeks revenge for a number
of slights, both real and imagined. When the
new princess, Ellarose, is crowned, she finds
that the royal family seems uninterested in
actually running the kingdom of Novador,
and she needs help to ensure the castle and
the kingdom’s subjects don’t starve. Ellarose
turns to her stepsister Aralyn, who was trained
by the best diplomats money could buy, and
Aralyn agrees to help while secretly plotting
her revenge. Things become infinitely more
difficult when Aralyn’s long-lost fairy god-
mother appears, and they learn that Divya,
Ellarose’s other stepsister, is intent on marry-
ing a prince in a deadly rival kingdom. The
godmother sends Aralyn and a captain of the
royal guard off into the mountains to find a
magical weapon that could solve all of their
problems, but is it even real? This unusual
take on the Cinderella story will appeal to
fans of the popular Twisted Tales series. Grab
it for any collection. —Stacey Comfort
A Starlet’s Secret to a Sensational
Afterlife.
By Kendall Kulper.
May 2023. 352p. Holiday, $19.99 (9780823453610); e-book,
$11.99 (9780823455331). Gr. 9–12.
Henrietta yearns to be a famous actress,
and after a rough start in Hollywood, she
refuses to admit defeat and return home.
Meanwhile, upcoming stuntman Declan is
on a mission to find his missing mother after
her sudden disappearance from Hollywood
while avoiding the pressures of his best-
friend-turned-agent. When Henrietta lands a
big role, Declan is assigned to be her “boy-
friend” to help raise publicity for her and the
movie. The two do not get along at first but
eventually realize they each have unique tal-
ents: he is unable to be hurt during dangerous
stunts, and she can talk to ghosts. Together,
they investigate the mysterious disappearanc-
es of several young actresses. Kulper returns
with another gripping mystery novel that also
features romance and action among the glitz
and glamour of 1930s Hollywood. Readers
will find familiar themes of harassment in
Hollywood, hearkening to modern-day issues
such as the #MeToo movement. The mystery
component keeps the pages turning as the
two main characters grow closer and work to-
ward a resolution. —Savannah Patterson
Starlings.
By Amanda Linsmeier.
June 2023. 336p. Delacorte, $18.99 (9780593572337).
Gr. 9–12.
Kit Starling, 17, has always believed her fa-
ther’s parents were dead, but when her father
dies, her paternal grandmother, Agatha, invites
Kit and her mother to visit her in Rosemont,
her father’s hometown, which seems perfect;
even the roses bloom year round. When they
arrive, everyone treats them—particularly
Kit—with deference. But Kit becomes in-
creasingly nervous about an upcoming town
festival—even though she’s not planning to
be there—because the townspeople seem to
think she will. When her mother disappears,
no one will help Kit look for her. As the festi-
val looms, a trusted friend betrays her, and Kit
learns the truth about why she’s being treated
so oddly by everyone in the town. Linsmeier
uses a delicate emotional palette to depict her
plot, beginning with the subdued gloom and
grief surrounding Kit and her mother. The
suspense gradually grows to the nail-biting
climax, and character development is so nu-
anced that the reader, like Kit, can’t trust
anyone. Fans of folk horror will be entranced
by this suspenseful novel. —Donna Scanlon
www.booklistonline.com
 Venom & Vow.
By Anna-Marie McLemore and Elliott
McLemore.
May 2023. 336p. Feiwel and Friends, $19.99
(9781250822239). Gr. 9–12.
Bigender Val lives simultaneously as Valen-
cia, a lady-in-waiting of the nation of Eliana
(inspired by Mexico), and Gael, a boy assassin.
Cade is a transgender prince
of Adare (inspired by Ireland)
who has no interest in taking
the throne but often doubles
for his brother, Patrick. For
years, both Val and Cade
have believed the other to
be responsible for the curse
that enchanted both their
families into sleep, which deepened the ongo-
ing war between Eliana and Adare. Cade has
vowed to protect Gael, not knowing Val is the
same person; Val doesn’t realize that when she’s
fighting Patrick, she’s actually fighting Cade.
Thanks to their concealed identities, the two
trans teens begin to fall in love while not real-
izing that they’re trying to destroy each other.
Val and Cade are incredibly layered, and they
complement each other so well, which makes
it fun to watch their relationship unfold. Both
Cade and Val have disabilities that are interwo-
ven beautifully into every aspect of the story:
Val uses a cane to help support hypermobility
and scoliosis, while Cade uses a staff after a
knee injury. Both of their trans identities and
relevant personal journeys are well written and
add dimension to their romantic relationship.
Enemies-to-lovers romances rarely offer this
much emotional depth, and fans of the trope
will find a lot to love about this coauthored ro-
mantic YA fantasy. —Alaina Leary
HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Anna-
Marie McLemore (Self-Made Boys, 2022) is
a two-time National Book Award nominee
with a cohort of passionate fans. This, their
first book cowritten with their spouse,
piles on the romantic appeal.
Where You See Yourself.
By Claire Forrest.
May 2023. 320p. Scholastic, $19.99 (9781338813838).
Gr. 10–12.
This coming-of-age story for teens who have
to grit their teeth as they pursue their dreams
follows Effie, a determined protagonist who
must decide which college is right for her. As
Effie makes her way through her senior year
of high school, she tests the waters of new ro-
mance, fights with friends, and deals with an
apathetic school administration. Amid all these
changes, Effie must ask herself what she wants.
Forrest’s debut is a mirror for teens with dis-
abilities, highlighting the joys and struggles of
everyday life: Effie, who uses a wheelchair, has
to adjust to new adaptive tech, vocalize IEP
requirements, and just deal with disappoint-
ments that nondisabled student do not have,
like a lack of accessibility at a dream school.
Readers with disabilities will empathetically
recall similar experiences and cheer Effie along
on her journey. With its themes of friendship,
identity, and community, this is an ideal novel
for readers who are readying for college and for
whatever comes next in life. —Rachel Smithline
The Wicked Unseen.
By Gigi Griffis.
June 2023. 288p. Delacorte/Underlined, paper, $10.99
(9780593644102). Gr. 9–12.
Audre is new to town, and things are not go-
ing smoothly. Her family is being treated with
suspicion because her father studies spiritual-
ism and was once a member of the Satanic
Church. And it doesn’t help that Audre is de-
veloping feelings for Elle, the daughter of a
zealous preacher at a local church. When Elle
goes missing and signs of a satanic ritual ap-
pear in the woods, Audre and her new friend
David try to figure out what happened. Their
search leads them to some terrifying conclu-
sions, however, as they realize the real evil
might be much more human than demonic.
Racist cops, religious zealots, misogynists, and
widespread satanic panic all contribute to an
unsafe environment for anyone in town who
is different. In her debut novel, Griffis nimbly
weaves together horror tropes and social com-
mentary to reveal the unsavory underbelly of
religious institutions that gain power through
emotional manipulation and abuse. At times
discomforting and chilling, and at others

Some doors shouldn’t be opened . . .

A Story about Family, a House, and All the Ways They Can Be Haunted

 “Richly layered. Alluring and deadly.”

— KIRKUS REVIEWS, starred review

“[A] hair-raising supernatural

horror debut. . . . deeply unsettling.”
— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“Teenage [gothic horror] fans

will be eager to read this title.”
— SCHOOL LIBRARY CONNECTION

“Exquisitely disturbing.”
— E M I LY X . R . PA N
NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author

FROM DEBUT AUTHOR TR ANG THANH TR AN

sheisahaunting.com

www.booklistonline.com April 15, 2023 Booklist 55

thrilling and empowering, The Wicked Unseen
will be a popular addition to mystery and hor-
ror shelves. —Rob Bittner
Middle Readers
Bunny & Tree.
By Balint Zsako. Illus. by the author.
May 2023. 184p. Enchanted Lion, $29.95 (9781592703937).
Gr. 1–4.
After a terrifying encounter with a wolf, a
small bunny—white with a blue tail and one
yellow ear, the other lavender—shelters behind
a green-leafed tree. This is no ordinary tree. It
has watched the wolf at-
tack the rabbit colony and
forms its branches into a
towering wolf ’s head to
send the predator pack-
ing. Finally safe, Bunny
asks it for help finding
its now-scattered colony,
bypassing the problem
posed by roots by transplanting the tree into
a small red wagon. Hopping aboard, the two
set off on an adventure that takes them over
land, sea, and air to find the other rabbits. The
feel of this narrative is classic, but the presen-
tation makes it new, wondrous even, as it is
entirely wordless. Color-soaked, full-page il-
lustrations comprise the entire book, filling it
with watercoloresque skies, dramatic silhou-
ettes, and boundless imagination. It subtly tips
its hat to Harold and the Purple Crayon and The
Runaway Bunny in the ways the duo creatively
surmounts obstacles, typically by Tree taking
on different shapes suggested by Bunny: a sail-
boat when met with water, an airplane when
confronted with mountains. Zsako also folds
in visual cues that speak to nature’s life cycles,
season changes, and symbiosis. Beyond that,
the heartwarming friendship between Bunny
and Tree is never once in doubt, and it will
effortlessly gather readers into its embrace.
—Julia Smith
Gnome Is Where Your Heart Is.
By Casey Lyall.
May 2023. 304p. Greenwillow, $19.99 (9780063239821).
Gr. 4–6.
Eleven-year-old Lemon adores Grandpa
Walt and his stories, particularly the tale of
his encounter with an alien named Gnemo, a
three-foot-tall green-skinned creature who re-
sembles a living garden gnome statue. Though
Walt now lives in a retirement home and
Alzheimer’s is taking its toll, he and his grand-
daughter still conspire to prove that he really
did meet an alien some 30 years ago. Lemon
devotes her summer to the project, with help
from BFF Marlo, and Rachel, a science-loving
new friend. Coincidentally, an alien craft lands
nearby, and the girls begin spying on its crew.
While an astounding discovery links their es-
capades with Grandpa Walt’s tale, an alien
encounter places them in grave danger. Readers
who love tales of adventure will enjoy watch-
ing the inventive, intrepid Lemon scheme to
56 Booklist April 15, 2023
outwit the retirement-home nurse, her parents,
and an evil alien, only to find herself in need of
a rescue by her friends, old and new. With an
easygoing mix of idealism, bravado, and wit,
this third-person narrative will entertain many
readers. —Carolyn Phelan
Matteo.
By Michael Leali.
May 2023. 336p. Harper, $19.99 (9780063119918). Gr. 4–7.
Here’s the story: young marrieds Vinny and
Donna Lorenzini urgently want a baby but
are unable to conceive. Desperate Vinny goes
to the majestic oak—that may or may not be
magic—at the heart of Creekside and wishes
for a baby. He then trudges
to the fire station (he’s a
firefighter), only to find a
basket on the steps with a
baby inside. Flash forward
and said baby, now named
Matteo, is 11 years old and
a wannabe baseball player.
Unfortunately, he’s not very
good, unlike his erstwhile best friend, Omar,
on whom Matteo has a killer crush. But that’s
something that no one but his current best
friend, Azura, knows, and the two of them
are now busy doing video interviews with
locals to make a documentary for the town
bicentennial. They’re intrigued by how many
people mention Creekside’s oak tree. With
the stage set, something remarkable begins
happening to Matteo: whenever he lies, tree
bark begins growing on his chest and legs and
leaves sprout from his body, even his nose (eat
your heart out, Pinocchio). Leali (The Civil
War of Amos Abernathy, 2022) has written a
wonderfully cinematic, compulsively read-
able, highly imaginative, plot-rich story with
characters who come alive on the page. Only
the churlish could ask for anything more.
—Michael Cart
Monster Camp.
By Sarah Henning.
May 2023. 368p. Simon & Schuster/Margaret K.
McElderry, $17.99 (9781665930055). Gr. 4–7.
Sylvie loves LARPing as a vampire. It’s a
way for her to feel connected to her mother,
who loved all things monster. This summer,
her father wants her to attend a summer camp
where she can have some “real” experiences,
and when Sylvie chooses a monster LARPing
camp, her dad quickly shuts her down. With
some sly trickery, she plans to sneak her way
into the monster camp anyway, telling her
dad she will be attending the camp next door.
Upon arrival, Sylvie is amazed to see everyone
in elaborate costumes—but soon she starts to
get the feeling that she’s not at an ordinary
camp. It’s time to put her LARPing skills to
the test if she wants to go undetected for a
whole week among real monsters. Henning
has written a fun story that touches on topics
of bullying, friendships, and self-expression.
Readers who are knowledgeable about LARP-
ing as well as those interested in campy horror
will enjoy this title. —Michelle Ortega
Nic Blake and the Remarkables:
The Manifestor Prophecy.
By Angie Thomas. Illus. by Setor Fiadzigbey.
Apr. 2023. 304p. HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray, $19.99
(9780063225138). Gr. 4–6.
In a set of gleefully ingenious riffs on Af-
rican and African American folklore, from
“The People Could Fly” to Wakanda, Thomas
pitches 12-year-old Nic into
a whirl of stunning discover-
ies about her background as
she struggles to understand
her own magical gifts while
rescuing her secretive dad
from the ruthless cops of a
hidden, high-tech Black civ-
ilization (constructors of an
actual underground railroad that inspired the
metaphorical one). Along the way, she meets
family—including an annoyingly stuffy twin
brother—that she never knew she had, and
with him and other allies she faces not only
a band of dangerous, if comically inept, ama-
teur wizards but a host of supernatural foes,
including everything from the Devil’s daugh-
ter (still smitten with her ghostly beau, High
John the Conqueror) to vampires and rouga-
rous. There’s even a bona fide dragon lurking
near the volcano beneath Jackson, Mississippi,
and, adding a generous measure of cuteness
to the cast, a tagalong hellhound pup named
Cocoa. Sober references to lynching, Emmett
Till, and safe behavior while Black in the rural
South give further historical and emotional
depth to this rousing quest tale’s already richly
articulated cultural context. While leading up
to a melodramatic climax, the author folds in
both an ominous prophecy and at least two
surprise villains to juice up interest in sequels.
—John Peters
Nightmare Island.
By Shakirah Bourne.
June 2023. 304p. Scholastic, $17.99 (9781338783575). Gr. 5–8.
From the author of Josephine against the Sea
(2021) comes a new eerie tale. Serenity Noah,
a boisterous 12-year-old, is obsessed with mak-
ing horror movies and is able to hear people’s
musical scores (the “unique soundtrack” that
accompanies every individual). After her
family moves to a plantation where “one of
our ancestors worked,” Serenity’s calm little
brother, Peace, has an unexpected outburst
about seeing ghosts. To help their troubled
son, Serenity’s parents decide to take Peace
to a clinic on Duppy Island (a place named
for evil spirits)—and leave Serenity with her
grandmother. Thrilled by the island’s gruesome
history, Serenity decides to secretly tag along.
Once on the island, she discovers her much-
changed brother, an evil doctor, and creepy
douens (evil, faceless children). It’s up to Se-
renity to save Peace while capturing the perfect
shot for her movie. Bourne’s dark fantasy in-
corporates Afro-Caribbean folklore and utilizes
sound in an original way. Although the plot is
overly drawn out, fans of horror will enjoy the
descriptions of disfigured creatures and their
captivating mythology. —Beronica Garcia
www.booklistonline.com
 The One and Only Ruby.
By Katherine Applegate. Illus. by
Patricia Castelao.
May 2023. 240p. Harper, $19.99 (9780063080089). Gr. 3–6.
In this latest from Applegate, the elephant
introduced in The One and Only Ivan (2012)
gets to tell her life story to friends at the
Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary.
Ruby, aka Duni (her Afri-
can keeper’s name for her)
aka Nya (her birth name),
hates her new nickname,
Tusky. It signals her tusks
are emerging and that she
will soon have her Tuskday,
which is “like a birthday
party, only without the
fun.” There is a deeper reason, though, why
everything about her tusks bothers her, and
when Ruby is visited by the keeper who
helped save her when her mother was killed
by hunters, it stirs memories that she relates
to her friends Ivan, the silverback gorilla; Bob,
the dog; and the leader of her present herd,
Aunt Akello. In the guise of a growing-up tale,
the story leads readers to ponder the ecological
devastation of the ivory trade, the difficulties
of being torn from your homeland at an early
age, and the horrors of many circuses and
zoos. But countering that is also the joy of
friendship, humans’ kindness toward animals,
and the joy of just being a kid, as described in
Ruby’s descriptions of the fun she has during
“pondplay,” “mudfun,” and her “floppy-run.”
For fans of Ivan as well as animals in general,
this is a special sequel. —Karen Cruze
The Remarkable Rescue at
Milkweed Meadow.
By Elaine Dimopoulos. Illus. by Doug Salati.
May 2023. 192p. Charlesbridge, $17.99 (9781623543334).
Gr. 3–6.
Members of the latest litter of rabbits in Milk-
weed Meadow have been brought up with strict
instructions to only commune with their own
kind. Grandmother Sage
survived a harrowing ordeal
when she was young, and she’s
raised inhabitants of the war-
ren to prize their smarts and
storytelling, which help them
survive in a dangerous world.
Butternut is a particularly
anxious bunny (she refers to
her worried thoughts as “mind brambles”), but
she quietly begins to take risks when they are
in service to other creatures, even befriending
other neighborhood animals, including a chat-
ty robin and an injured fawn. But Butternut is
soon faced with a nearly impossible decision
when a life is on the line: follow her upbringing
and make the rational choice or risk her life with
the compassionate one. The sparkling story is
both terrifically funny and quietly contem-
plative, touching on heavy topics with a light
hand and heaps of humor. Butternut narrates
the proceedings at a brisk pace, and the occa-
sional black-and-white graphite-and-gouache
illustrations add appealing visual interest. The
www.booklistonline.com
author has created a beautifully realized natural
setting, and the story takes time to celebrate the
joy in existence without shying away from some
sobering realities of living as a wild creature. A
marvelous reminder of the power in stories and
the thrill in determining one’s own destiny.
—Emily Graham
The Umbrella Maker’s Son.
By Katrina Leno. Illus. by Davide Ortu.
June 2023. 384p. Little, Brown, $16.99 (9780316470872).
Gr. 4–6.
Though the sodden city of Roan has 47 dif-
ferent types of rainfall, from gentle “wibs” and
“gennals” to catastrophic “blanderwheels,” there
are but two umbrella makers since Brawn Indus-
tries, manufacturer of flimsy,
mass-produced throwaways,
has driven out of business
all the artisanal umbrella
makers except young Oscar
Buckle’s struggling single
dad, Bilius. So it is that, after
Oscar finds hints that Brawn
may somehow be causing the
constant precipitation, he bravely sets out into
the teeth of the worst blanderwheel in years in
order to discover the truth. Wonderfully, he
is accompanied by his best friend, Saige, who
uses a wheelchair and proves a determined and
resourceful ally through wild floods and other
deadly hazards, in addition to facing her father,
a Brawn executive with much to hide. The au-
thor’s absolute addiction to editorial footnotes
makes the pacing jerky, but she nonetheless
concocts both an engagingly rich setting (with
mysterious, shrouded elves popping into view
occasionally to add fey touches) and an excit-
ingly dangerous mission with opportunities
aplenty for her two intrepid protagonists to
show their heart, mutual loyalty, and courage.
Frequent illustrations not seen in finished form.
—John Peters
The Unlovable Alina Butt.
By Ambreen Butt-Hussain.
May 2023. 208p. Orca, paper, $12.95 (9781459834910).
Gr. 4–6.
Alina Butt and her family have recently
moved to the UK from Pakistan. Her father
manages a small store, and their family lives
in the apartment above it. Alina is plagued by
typical adolescent worries: being liked, fitting
in, having embarrassing parents, not having
the right material trappings, etc. Most of all,
she is bothered by her last name, which at-
tracts the attention of a bullying classmate.
Alina’s problems are largely self-inflicted. She
has a fun group of friends, a loving family, and
teachers who look out for her. Meanwhile, her
family has to contend with more serious mat-
ters, including her sister being harassed by a
boy. Through a series of events, Alina develops
a sense of perspective that allows her to see be-
yond her own problems. She is an endearing,
spunky protagonist whose personality is real-
istically developed. Ultimately, she learns to
recognize her many good qualities, and all the
issues are neatly resolved. —Amina Chaudhri
The Witch of Woodland.
By Laurel Snyder.
May 2023. 304p. HarperCollins/Walden Pond, $19.99
(9780062836656). Gr. 4–7.
Zipporah Chava McConnell—aka Zippy—
is going to tell you the story of what happened
during the fall of seventh grade, and you need
to understand that this story is “the truth.”
Hers is a tale of strained friendship, question-
ing faith, and personal evolution—not to
mention “The Witch Thing.” Zippy’s family are
“part-time Jews,” but she is a full-blown witch,
and, during the High Holy Days, 12-year-
old Zippy conjures and befriends a winged
girl with whom Zippy shares a magical but
dangerous connection. Zippy’s discontented
self-confidence and emotional journey meld
the burgeoning independence seen in Snyder’s
My Jasper June (2019) with the discomfort of
the unknown in Orphan Island (2017). Here
she offers the Jewish fantasy she wishes she
had in her youth, proffering Zippy’s as one
of limitless pathways through Judaism. Even
with this aim, Snyder ensures readers of all be-
liefs will feel welcome by the novel’s animated
tone and expressive analogies. This lively
middle-grade read offers a spirited explora-
tion of the strength required to know and stay
true to oneself in adolescence. —Kit Ballenger
Yo u n g
10 Cats.
By Emily Gravett. Illus. by the author.
May 2023. 32p. Boxer, $16.99 (9781914912580). PreS–K.
There are 10 cats: 1 white mama cat and
her 9 kittens—2 black, 3 with stripes, 4 with
patches, and so on. But as Mama naps, the kit-
tens get into some nearby cans of primary-color
paint cans, and soon the mischievous furballs
are covered in increasing numbers of red spots,
yellow dots, blue blotches, orange splotches,
and green splats—until the now-multicolored
mama wakes and gives all her kittens a much-
needed bath. Adding to her already impressive
preschool-concepts canon, Gravett does excep-
tionally well here at using delightful images
and a mere handful of words to cover count-
ing, color naming, and color mixing through
a deceptively simple and utterly adorable
pencil-and-watercolor story. It is perfect for a
lap read or an early literacy classroom experi-
ence, and children with longer attention spans
will almost certainly luxuriate in the detailed
illustrations, which possess a searchability akin
to Stephen Savage’s Where’s Walrus? (2011). It’s
a treat to explore the expressions and precious
personalities of these 10 feline friends, from
their playful poses to their itty-bitty, paint-cov-
ered paw prints. —Becca Worthington
100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli.
By David LaRochelle. Illus. by Lian Cho.
Apr. 2023. 40p. Dial, $19.99 (9780525555445). PreS–Gr. 2.
As the title suggests (but the text never ex-
plains), 100 differently colored, sized, winged,
and horned dragons are all named Broccoli.
After a wind blows away half of the dragons
April 15, 2023 Booklist 57
from their mountain-cave home, the story es-
sentially becomes a continuous word problem
that young readers must solve by calculating
the correct number of dragons following such
outlandish events as sailing away to become
professional surfers in Hawaii, starting a heavy
metal band in New York City, flying away to
be fashion-conscious in France, and being
turned into other magical creatures (unicorn,
werewolf, etc.) by a wizard. The calculations
progress in difficulty from subtracting 10s
and 1s to working what amount to equations
that use both addition and subtraction to
handling a tricky zero. In a fun conclusion,
one remaining Broccoli retreats into her cave
for the winter and reemerges with 100 baby
dragons, each featured in its own colorful and
countable box with a unique name—except
Broccoli Junior, who comprises the full-page
finale. Other humorous details throughout
keep the math concepts lively. —Angela Leeper
All Good in the Hood.
By Dwayne Reed. Illus. by Gladys Jose.
May 2023. 40p. Little, Brown, $18.99 (9780316461986).
K–Gr. 2.
Using boisterous illustrations and rhythmic,
rhyming text, Reed (Chicago’s “rapping teach-
er”) and Jose bring readers an endearing story
about a child celebrating Juneteenth for the
first time in his neighborhood. The book cen-
ters on a Black family of four as they walk to
the park to join in the festivities. While Mom,
Dad, and Big Bro are excited about the outing,
Lil’ Bro is anxious about walking around the
neighborhood. A speeding truck and a barking
dog ramp up his concern, but Big Bro is always
ready with a hug and the comforting refrain
“Don’t worry, Lil’ Bro, it’s all good in the hood!”
At last, they arrive at the park, which is full of
happy people and such activities as dancing,
viewing art, waving flags, and eating barbecue.
Lil’ Bro begins to loosen up, and when evening
fireworks startle Big Bro, it’s Lil’ Bro’s turn to
give some comfort. The sweet family dynam-
ics, particularly between the brothers, carry this
story, which is less concerned with Juneteenth’s
history than it is about depicting an upbeat,
modern celebration. —Tiffany Flowers
The Babka Sisters.
By Lesléa Newman. Illus. by Tika
Bobokhidze and Tata Bobokhidze.
May 2023. 32p. Lerner/Kar-Ben, $19.99 (9781728445564);
paper, $8.99 (9781728445571). PreS–Gr. 2.
Prolific children’s book author Newman
has produced another delightfully silly story,
this time about two sisters vying to make the
best babka—a tra-
ditional, pastry-like
Eastern European
Jewish cake. The
adult sisters (or in
Yiddish, shvesters)
are named Esther
and Hester, and they
who live in neighboring houses. While chatting
from their respective porches, they notice that
someone has moved in across the street. When
58 Booklist April 15, 2023
Esther announces her intention to bake the
new neighbor a babka for Shabbat—“After all,
I bake the best babka in the world”—Hester
hops to the challenge of baking a superior one.
A cleverly illustrated page uses sequential spot
art to show the sisters at work in their different
kitchens. Once the baking is done, Esther and
Hester, accompanied by pet cat Lester and pet
pup Chester, carry their babkas to their new
neighbor, an older man fittingly named Sylves-
ter. Delighted by his welcoming committee,
Sylvester diplomatically manages to restore
peace between the siblings. Illustrating the
whole affair is Georgian sister act Tika and Tata
Bobokhidze. Their artwork bursts with color
and joy—and the whimsical touches keep
the competition from seeming too heated.
Back matter includes a babka recipe for those
who want to get in on the fun. This book’s
ingredients of wordplay, dessert, and fam-
ily combine smoothly into a delicious treat.
—Miriam Aronin
The Carpet: An Afghan Family Story.
By Dezh Azaad. Illus. by Nan Cao.
Apr. 2023. 32p. Abrams, $18.99 (9781419763618). K–Gr. 2.
Although it follows a day in the life of an Af-
ghan refugee child, at the center of this poem
is a bright-red carpet, presumably brought by
the child’s family from Afghanistan to their
new home. The focus on the carpet is estab-
lished immediately, with the opening verse
depicting the family of six enjoying their tea
on it. In a sequence of precise yet descriptive
lines, the literal, metaphorical, and imagina-
tive significance of the carpet takes readers
through the ups and downs of the family’s
experience. Each page ends with a variation
on “The carpet is for . . .,” and we see that
the carpet is where they gather to talk, prepare
food, eat, reminisce, play, and dream. Despite
the cartoonish rendering of the characters’
faces, the bold colors and movement in the
illustrations help the narrative establish a lov-
ing family that will thrive because of its close
bond. A thematic pairing for Airana Shaheen
Amini and Christina Maheen Amini’s Baba’s
Gift (2023). —Amina Chaudhri
The Fastest Tortoise in Town.
By Howard Calvert. Illus. by Karen
Obuhanych.
Apr. 2023. 32p. Candlewick, $18.99 (9781536228359).
PreS–Gr. 2.
In this fun nod to Aesop’s fable, a cute tortoise
with an expressive little mouth and extremely
long lashes belongs to a gung-ho little girl who
has signed him up for a race. The girl puts the
tortoise on a training regimen that doesn’t seem
likely to succeed. For example, on Monday, the
tortoise, trying to hurry through the park, is
overtaken by a worm; on Tuesday, by a toddler
just learning to walk; and on Thursday, by a
boy’s remote-controlled brachiosaurus. The girl
encourages the frustrated tortoise to just run
its own race. The race venue is filled with jun-
gle animals, with the tortoise competing in a
group of other slow creatures, including a snail
and a sloth. Though the tortoise wins, readers
may miss the punch of Aesop’s having the tor-
toise pull off an upset victory by sheer plodding
pluck, with the hare losing by arrogance, and
the bracing moral of “Slow and steady wins
the race.” But the vibrant mixed-media illus-
trations enhance the story with comic details.
—Connie Fletcher
I Am a Meadow Mermaid.
By Kallie George. Illus. by Elly MacKay.
June 2023. 32p. Tundra, $17.99 (9780735271371).
PreS–Gr. 2.
A girl who lives on a farm in the plains pro-
claims, “I am a meadow mermaid.” Using her
vivid imagination, she creates an ocean, a suit-
able location for her adventures, by viewing
the meadow’s tall, waving plants as a sea and
herself as a mermaid swimming among the
waves. When she hears a shipwrecked sailor
calling, she rushes to help and finds another
girl, who introduces herself as Milla, sitting
near the road beside her overturned bike.
They play together, braving the rippling waves
of wheat, hunting for treasure, and eating
“cookies shaped like sand dollars.” In bed that
night, the girl dreams of further adventures
with her new friend, “Milla, the prairie pi-
rate.” Poetic in an unpretentious way, George’s
graceful text uses apt imagery and reads aloud
beautifully. MacKay’s artwork, created by
photographing paper dioramas, helps viewers
imagine the meadow mermaid’s moments of
drama as well as her magical surroundings.
The meadow, the sea, and even the air some-
times glow with golden light. This enjoyable
picture book celebrates the power of a child’s
imagination. —Carolyn Phelan
Last Flight.
By Kristen Mai Giang. Illus. by Dow
Phumiruk.
Apr. 2023. 52p. Levine Querido, $18.99 (9781646140862).
PreS–Gr. 3.
Soft illustrations and gentle text movingly
capture a Vietnamese family’s escape during
wartime. The city, the author writes, was once
a bustling song, but in 1975, “the song is end-
ing” as the city falls. A family of eight, based
on the author’s own family, hopes to flee to
America via the father’s employer, Pan Am.
As days pass, booms grow louder, and tear
gas sometimes stings the children’s eyes. Alas,
only one more flight can leave, but there are
strict requirements. Fortunately, Ba’s employer
is able to help the family and many others get
on the plane. Like other passengers, the story’s
young protagonist must say goodbye to every-
thing she ever knew. Combining both personal
family details and fictionalized events, Giang
creates a deeply touching story. Back matter,
including an author’s note and facts about the
flight, adds additional layers and significance.
Phumiruk’s illustrations, created in pencil and
colored with watercolor and acrylic overlays in
Photoshop, capture rich emotions through ex-
pressive eyes and thoughtful contrast between
bright and darkly colored scenes. A tender and
powerful portrait of a harrowing, historic event.
—Van McGary
www.booklistonline.com
 Mr. S.
By Monica Arnaldo. Illus. by the
author.
June 2023. 40p. HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen, $19.99
(9780063003958). PreS–Gr. 3.
It’s the first day of school for the kindergart-
ners in Room 2B, but something’s missing:
their teacher. Some kids rejoice, “No rules!”
Others insist, “Absolutely not!” A sign read-
ing “Welcome to Mr.
S’s Class” leads them to
wonder where he is. But
after noticing the sand-
wich (with googly olives
for eyes) on the teacher’s
desk, they start ponder-
ing what he is instead,
murmuring, “Mister
Sandwich?” Spooked, they become model
students, conducting their own art class, mu-
sic lesson, and storytime. The kindergartners
haven’t noticed the drama that’s unfolding in
the parking lot below their windows, involving
a man’s car, a falling tree, a lightning strike, a
blazing fire, and firefighters. A man wearing a
wet, smoking jacket enters their classroom, in-
troduces himself as the principal, and hurriedly
leaves. Warm, bright, and energetic, the digital
illustrations feature a diverse cast of wide-eyed
children and a weirdly convincing sandwich
teacher. Not mentioned in the text, the park-
ing lot disasters are revealed only when viewing
the illustrations up close, and kids will enjoy
every detail. The tale’s genuinely absurd situa-
tion, the mystery of the teacher’s identity, and
the deadpan storytelling make this a memora-
ble read-aloud choice. A genuinely funny story
that teachers and parents will enjoy sharing
with children. —Carolyn Phelan
Oh No, the Aunts Are Here.
By Adam Rex. Illus. by Lian Cho.
May 2023. 40p. Chronicle, $16.99 (9781797207940). PreS–Gr. 2.
The aunts are marching, and any young
reader belonging to a large or even middle-
size family will know what’s coming. No
fewer than four of them—notably diverse
in race as well as gender—burst through the
door, depicted by Cho in appropriately riot-
ous cartoon illustrations.
The aunts surround
a dismayed child, de-
picted with chubby,
all-too-pinchable cheeks,
before whisking her away
on a sightseeing tour.
Unsurprisingly consid-
ering the author (whose
gems include Why?, 2019; Unstoppable, 2020;
and On Account of the Gum, 2020), events that
night and the morning after then take a surreal
turn involving aunties on horseback, fighting
off a wolf with squirts of hand sanitizer, then
turning into chattering tropical birds to fly
away just as a new slew of houseguests gallops
into view: “OH MAN, IT’S THE UNCLES.”
Along with eliciting universal nods of recogni-
tion as a common family experience, this slots
nicely into themed storytimes with any num-
www.booklistonline.com
ber of like reunions, from John Yeoman and
Quentin Blake’s Meet the Family (2022) to the
Cynthia Rylant/Stephen Gammell classic The
Relatives Came. —John Peters
A Practical Present for Philippa
Pheasant.
By Briony May Smith. Illus. by the author.
Aug. 2023. 32p. Candlewick, $18.99 (9781536228489).
PreS–Gr. 2.
Philippa Pheasant frequently crosses Old
Oak Road and, just as frequently, she is “nearly
knocked pancake-flat” by a fast-moving ve-
hicle. Her letter asking the village mayor for
help brings no reply. But the sight of a crossing
guard helping children cross the road to school
inspires Philippa, who makes herself a similar
uniform and a sign and then helps grateful
animals cross Old Oak Road safely. The news
travels swiftly, and the mayor’s cat, Darling
Treasure, decides to check out the now-famous
pheasant. They are crossing the road together
that night when the mayor, desperate to find
his missing cat, spies Philippa’s sign and slams
on his car’s brakes. Afterwards, he presents her
with a small, official crossing-guard uniform.
The story’s pace is steady, never rushed, but
always gives kids time to explore the details
within the illustrations while the text is read
aloud. The mixed-media artwork places ex-
pressive characters in varied settings and makes
good use of dark and light. With a pleasing sto-
ry and engaging illustrations, this picture book
is a pleasure to read aloud. —Carolyn Phelan
Princess Pru and the Ogre on the Hill.
By Maureen Fergus. Illus. by Danesh
Mohiuddin.
Apr. 2023. 32p. Owlkids, $18.95 (9781771475006). K–Gr. 2.
Fergus’ story follows open-minded, wel-
coming Princess Pru as she decides not to
judge books by their covers—or ogres by their
appearances or general ogreness. When a gi-
ant, stinky, gray ogre moves to an abandoned
cottage on the hill, the kingdom erupts in fear
and anxiety. Even Pru’s royal dads are con-
vinced their new neighbor can’t possibly be
up to any good, and Pru’s initial first impres-
sion of him is less than stellar. But when she
realizes that the ogre’s interrupting her games
and rock-band rehearsals are actually his at-
tempts to reach out and make friends, she
decides to attend a “surprise” he is holding at
his house and convinces her subjects to open
their hearts to his invitation, too. Accompa-
nied with vibrant illustrations in a nostalgic
comic-book style, Pru and the ogre’s story is
one of friendship, being kind to others, and
staying open to meeting new people without
making preconceived judgments. The ogre is
lovable and endearing in his own quirky way,
and readers will root for his and Pru’s new
friendship. —Stephanie Cohen
Summer Is for Cousins.
By Rajani LaRocca. Illus. by Abhi Alwar.
May 2023. 40p. Abrams, $17.99 (9781419757334).
PreS–Gr. 2.
Ravi looks forward to his family’s annual
vacation, when they join his two uncles, two
aunts, and seven cousins, all sharing a house
near the ocean and a lake. Ravi used to be the
youngest child, but now baby Leela has that
role, so Ravi joins
his older cousins for
wading, hiking, mini
golf, biking, nap-
ping, and (on rainy
days) puzzles. En-
couraged by Dhruv,
the eldest cousin and
his favorite, Ravi is finally big enough to plunge
into the lake from the tire swing. The grown-
ups take turns making dinner each night until
the last, when the kids take over for the final
feast, followed by Ravi’s homemade ice cream
(his favorite flavor and Dhruv’s too). Written
in first person from Ravi’s point of view, the
narrative records his activities, thoughts, and
concerns while showing why his extended fam-
ily and this annual event are important to him.
Reflecting the warmth of the text, the digital
illustrations are childlike, expressive, intensely
colorful, and sometimes joyfully chaotic.
While the book is richer for its inclusion of
elements reflecting LaRocca and Alwar’s In-
dian American heritage, it really shines in its
depiction of a happy, extended-family gather-
ing, which is universally recognizable. A fond
picture-book celebration of summer days and
family ties. —Carolyn Phelan
Who Will Win?
By Arihhonni David. Illus. by the author.
Apr. 2023. 32p. Holiday, $15.99 (9780823449484); e-book,
$9.99 (9780823455126). PreS–Gr. 2.
Bear and Turtle prepare to race across a fro-
zen lake. Bear will run between two straight
rows of sticks, while Turtle will swim beneath
the ice. Parallel to Bear’s track, circular holes
in the ice allow Turtle to
emerge for air when the
need arises. The race be-
gins. Bear runs swiftly,
only to be startled when
Turtle repeatedly pops
up through a hole, al-
ways in the lead. At
the race’s end, Bear is
exhausted, though Turtle is barely winded.
Neither are his three nearly identical relatives,
who popped up from the ice, fooling Bear to
ensure Turtle’s “win.” After Turtle reveals the
ruse, all the good-natured competitors share
the prize: a snack of berries. As the narrator
of the framework story concludes, “Bear has
fast legs. Turtle has a fast mind—and a big
family.” Fun for beginning readers, the book
retells an amusing Native American tale with
a satisfying ending, while the expressive illus-
trations help readers visualize the characters
and setting. David, a storyteller and illustra-
tor, identifies himself as a “member of the
Haudenosaunee Kaniekehaka (Mohawk) peo-
ple.” Like many books in the I Like to Read
series, this respectful retelling of a traditional
trickster tale offers a welcome change of pace
for beginning readers. —Carolyn Phelan
April 15, 2023 Booklist 59

Audio
Adult
Beyond That, the Sea.
By Laura Spence-Ash. Read by Ell Potter.
2023. 12hr. Macmillan Audio, DD (9781250882240).
A story of survival set amid the devastation
of WWII, where the safety of local children
was of such concern that many were sent from
England to America to live until the end of
the war. This episode begins in London as
Beatrix’s parents make the difficult decision to
send their only child away to Boston. Lonely
and afraid, 11-year-old Bea disembarks to a
warm welcome from the Gregorys, her new
foster family. She quickly assimilates into
the household, attending local New England
events and exploring the family cabin and is-
land in Maine, developing lifelong friendships
in the process. Emotions run strong through-
out this novel, keeping the listener wondering
how Bea will adjust after the war when life
returns to normal. At times it seems that her
home-away-from-home has become more
“home” to her than the motherland. Potter’s
rich British accent makes this an easy listen.
—Ardith Eyring
Blaze Me a Sun.
By Christoffer Carlsson. Read by Peter
Noble.
2023. 10.5hr. Books on Tape, DD (9780593611104).
Sweden, 1986. A nation’s identity shat-
tered by the assassination of Prime Minister
Olof Palme, a rural community shaken by a
series of murders. Established criminologist
and award-winning author Carlsson makes
his U.S. debut with an enthralling, nuanced
character study about the potential for dark-
ness that lies in everyone, and the search for
truth, or what we
hold as truth. A
2020 Audie Award
recipient, Noble’s
penetrating grasp
of the minds and
hearts of the char-
acters emerges to
envelop the listener
in fears and uncertainty as a seemingly ordi-
nary existence unravels. At center, Sven, the
policeman unable to save the first victim; Vi-
dar, the son taking on the investigation almost
30 years later; and the narrator, a writer trying
to piece it all together in the present. Noble’s
rhythmic cadence rises as if reaching for hope
and falls back, pondering the unanswerable.
An intuitive control of pauses and silence lets
the moment set in, just slightly, giving way
for his hypnotic voice to again carry the lis-
tener forth. Raw emotions reverberate—the
bewilderment, the anguish, the melan-
choly, the obsession to find a murderer, the
persistence to make sense of everyday lives
and a country changing over the course of
three decades. A slow-burn psychological
60 Booklist April 15, 2023
companion to works by Jessamyn Stanley
and Sonya Renee Taylor. —Van McGary
Earth’s the Right Place for Love.
thriller perfect for fans of Jo Nesbø, Søren By Elizabeth Berg. Read by the author.
Sveistrup, Tana French, and Jane Harper. 2023. 8hr. Books on Tape, DD (9780593677636).
—María del Carmen Cifuentes In this prequel, to 2017’s The Story of Ar-
thur Turluv, Arthur Moses, now at the end
The Body Liberation Project. of his life, recounts growing up in Mason,
By Chrissy King. Read by the author. Missouri in the 1940s and ’50s. Berg revisits
2023. 6.5hr. Books on Tape, DD (9780593671672). this beloved character to share what life was
Author/narrator King presents a passion- like for Arthur and his family, meeting the
ate and frank guide on the importance of love of his life, Nola, and navigating his teen-
body liberation, which moves beyond body age years. Berg narrates her own book as she
positivity and acceptance into wellness that did for the previous look at Arthur’s life and
is truly free from fatphobia, body shaming, as she has done for many of her novels. She
and white supremacy. King encourages lis- reads with emotion and a methodical ear-
nestness. There are no bells and whistles in
teners to embrace their own unique magic,
this production, and while Berg may lack the
which does not depend on the appearance
power of a practiced voice artist, it feels like
of the container for that magic. Moreover, a friend is sitting with you telling this im-
King calls out Eurocentric beauty standards
portant story with true compassion for the
and decries the dominant culture’s treat- characters. Fans of Berg’s books will enjoy
ment of marginalized bodies, particularly
this new look into Arthur Moses’ life and vis-
Black bodies. She presents information us- iting once again with the author in her cozy
ing understandable, accessible language narration. Charming. —Sharon Hrycewicz
while incorporating relatable and at times
humorous anecdotes. Some listeners may Lone Women.
find King’s vocal frying and frequent inflec- By Victor LaValle. Read by Joniece Abbott-
tions distracting at times. At the end of each Pratt.
chapter, King presents questions for readers 2023. 9hr. Books on Tape, DD (9780593611050).
to explore and reflect on, which may be best In 1914 Montana, the government is giving
paired with the text. Nonetheless, the audio- land away to people who can cultivate it. Ad-
book offers plenty of insight into body image elaide Henry, a single Black woman, hurriedly
and social justice and is a thought-provoking moves, by herself, from California to Mon-
Video
Watch
Welcome to Commie High.
2023. 53min. Bullfrog Films, DVD, $350.
The title has nothing to do with communism but refers to the nickname for Com-
munity High School, an alternative public school in Ann Arbor, Michigan that has been
going strong since 1972. This documentary peeks inside Commie High, both present and
past, to spy on classes (called forums), students, teachers, and other
personnel, some of who—like one effervescent septuagenarian English
teacher—have been with the school since the 1970s. Former and cur-
rent students, all of them identified in captions with adults listed by
name and current profession, tell about their experiences and discuss
the school’s philosophy: learn from your community, give back, and
earn credits for work outside school. In its supportive and flexible en-
vironment, teachers are called by first names and students are selected
through a lottery. Play rehearsal for Fiddler on the Roof shows the dedi-
cated drama teacher, who is later recognized as teacher of the year, directing the diverse
cast. Other footage finds an amazingly talented jazz group performing at an auto show
gala and students and teachers going to Detroit to support the Muslim father of a student
who is facing federal deportation. Video clips of students throughout the decades reveal
the school’s welcoming atmosphere and its “quirkiness and willingness to do things dif-
ferently.” Although everything might seem overly casual, the academics can be rigorous
and students graduate with confidence and higher rates of college acceptance than those
in other area high schools. There is much to savor in this inspiring program for students
and educators. —Sue-Ellen Beauregard
YA: Concentrating on an alternative high school, this is a natural for viewing among
teens who will find much to debate and speculate on the merits and possible downfalls of
alternative education. SB.
www.booklistonline.com
tana. She carries with her a large, heavy, locked
trunk; what’s inside remains a mystery to ev-
eryone she encounters. Throughout her life,
Adelaide and her parents have kept the trunk’s
contents a secret, but in Montana, the trunk
is opened and the mystery becomes public
and dangerous. Joniece Abbott-Pratt narrates
with a seamless, familiar style, fitting the set-
ting and time period. Using the third-person
through multiple perspectives, she sounds at
ease telling all spects of the story. With a gen-
tle, melodious tone, Abbott-Pratt is pleasing to
listen to, even through the bleaker aspects of
the story. Without much gore, this story will
appeal to readers of many different genres, in-
cluding historical fiction, westerns, and, most
obviously, horror. Hand this to fans of Josh
Malerman’s Unbury Carol or Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein. —Suzanne Temple
Love & Other Scams.
By Philip Ellis. Read by Jessica Elisa Boyd.
2023. 9hr. Books on Tape, DD (9780593672556).
Twenty-nine-year-old Londoner Cat Bel-
lamy is discombobulated, having suddenly
lost her job, been obligated to move from her
apartment, and chosen to be a bridesmaid
at her rich frenemy, Louisa’s, wedding. It
is no coincidence that Cat, who has a pro-
pensity to pickpocket, has the crazy idea to
steal Louisa’s engagement ring, valued at
10 million pounds. At the Oceanic Hotel,
Jake Marlowe, a handsome bartender and
inconspicuous thief, is charmed observing
Cat’s dexterity. They devise a plan to become
partners in crime and fake a romance to steal
Louisa’s coveted engagement ring. But does
crime pay? Boyd will have listeners engrossed
in this rom-com. She brings authenticity to
the London experience by performing mul-
tiple characters with different voices and
genders in British and American accents. The
combination of Boyd’s quirky flair and Ellis’
candid humor produces a fast-paced, enter-
taining listening experience. The debut novel
is ideal for inspiring reading groups to engage
in thoughtful discussions about expensive
weddings, parental and societal influence,
trust, and deceit. —Vanessa Denby
Off the Map.
By Trish Doller. Read by Sarah Naughton.
2023. 6.5hr. Macmillan Audio, DD (9781250881922).
Carla Black has built a whole life around
traveling. From summer trips with her jovial
dad to wild twentysomething adventures,
she’s always ready to pick up and go. In Ire-
land to celebrate her best friend’s wedding
(a relationship which provides a link back
to Doller’s Float Plan (2021), there’s instant
heat with Eamon Sullivan, the handsome
best man who picks her up to ferry her to
the wedding. She persuades Eamon, a digital
mapmaker, to take the long way there and
let her teach him the ways of the wayward
traveler. Naughton’s narration gives Carla a
spunky bounce that seems fun-loving and
genuine until we encounter Carla’s friend
Anna. The subtle contrast between the two
www.booklistonline.com
Top 10 Relationship Fiction on Audio
T he emotions at play in the relationship fiction titles listed
below come through vibrantly thanks to narrations that
are keenly attuned to their characters’ experiences and the
interactions among family members, friends, and lovers. All
titles were reviewed in Booklist from May 1, 2022, to April 15,
2023. —Heather Booth
Alone with You in the Ether. By Olivie Blake. Read by a full
cast. 2022. 10hr. Macmillan Audio, DD (9781250890726).
Can just six conversations lead to romance? Among a full
cast, Robb Moreira and Sura Siu alternate between protagonists Aldo and Regan’s per-
spectives in this romantic, thought-provoking hit.
Cult Classic. By Sloane Crosley. Read by the author. 2022. 8hr. Macmillan Audio, DD
(9781250856517).
Lola runs into one ex after another before realizing something strange is afoot. Author/
narrator Crosley hits all of the notes of sarcasm and reluctant self-reflection in this de-
lightfully cynical love story.
Honor. By Thrity Umrigar. Read by Sneha Mathan. 2022. 11.5hr. Workman, DD
(9781649040787).
In a remote Indian village, a young Hindu widow has gone public with the heinous
crimes she’s survived. Accents, genders, ages, backgrounds, and emotions abound, but
Mathan embraces diverse characterizations with effortless ease.
How to Fall out of Love Madly. By Jana Casale. Read by a full cast. 2022. 10hr. Books on
Tape, DD (9780593592731).
As millennial women deal with the struggles of modern city life, five talented narrators
keep listeners engaged as the flawed characters struggle toward discovering their self-worth.
Last Summer on State Street. By Toya Wolfe. Read by Shayna Small. 2022. 6hrs.
HarperAudio, DD (9780063209770).
In a stirring, Chicago-set debut, the Robert Taylor Homes are demolished, leaving the
inhabitants wavering between displacement and eviction. Small narrates with unfaltering
precision and respect for her characters.
Listening Still. By Anne Griffin. Read by Nicola Coughlan. 2022. 10hr. Macmillan Audio,
DD (9781250836991).
Morticians Jeannie and her husband have a quiet life in rural Ireland, but some big
what-ifs push her toward a turning-point. Jeannie’s deep emotions and the small town’s
many colorful characters come to life.
Love & Saffron. By Kim Fay. Read by a full cast. 2022. 3.75hr. Books on Tape, DD
(9780593552513).
Two food writers in the 1960s strike up a correspondence that leads to an unexpect-
edly life-changing friendship. The full-cast narration enhances the epistolary format as
letters are exchanged and voices alternate.
Maame. By Jessica George. Read by Heather Agyepong. 2023. 10hr. Macmillan Audio, DD
(9781250880680).
Ghanaian Londoner Maddie is sandwiched between the excitement of her twenties and
caring for her father, who has Parkinson’s disease. Agyepong brings Maddie’s voice to life
and smoothly reads phrases and idioms in Twi.
On Rotation. By Shirlene Obuobi. Read by Mela Lee. 2022. 11.5hr. HarperAudio, DD
(9780063209176).
Among the pressures of med school, parental expectations, and potential romance,
Angie finds herself on a carousel of emotions. Lee brims with energy, embodying Angie’s
resolve and complexity.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. By Shehan Karunatilaka. Read by Shivantha
Wijesinha. 2022. 14hr. HighBridge, DD (9781696611251).
Singer/songwriter and actor Wijesinha presents an utterly stupendous performance.
Maali is granted seven nights to find out how he was murdered in 1980s Sri Lanka and
warn his loved ones of potential danger-by-association.
April 15, 2023 Booklist 61
 women demonstrates that Carla definitely
has a guarded edge to her voice—a trait that
Carla is just coming to understand about
Now Hear This herself. Irish accents are judicious and em-
phasize the rhythm of the diction. Steamy
scenes are well paced, and side characters
Edoardo Ballerini like Carla’s brusque teddy bear of a father
by Heather Booth and his Southern-drawling girlfriend are
vibrant. A rewarding and romantic romp.
—Heather Booth

T he only difficulty in crafting a list of must-listen audios narrated by Edoardo Ballerini

is choosing just those that fit in this column. He is the voice behind everything from
picture books to the Bible; he’ll also lull you to sleep on the Calm app and engage you
The Porcelain Moon.
By Janie Chang. Read by a full cast.
with today’s topics in The Daily from the New York Times. Listeners will never be let 2023. 11hr. Morrow, DD (9780063072886).
down by a Ballerini narration. With his fluency with multiple accents, simmering tones That some 40,000 Chinese workers arrived
that spiral up in intensity for pulse-pounding anticipation and dulcet ones that soften in France during WWI as “manpower that
into a soothing lullaby, his pacing that is equally precise and artistic, Ballerini is the kind kept the machinery of war running” is virtu-
of narrator that listeners will select regardless of the genre, author, or story line. He’s ally forgotten. Chang’s author’s note detailing
that good; when you pick up a Ballerini narration, you just know you’ll enjoy it. her uncovered history proves as fascinating as
her fiction. Into this setting, Chang introduc-
Beautiful Ruins. By Jess Walter. 2012. 13hr. Harper, DD (9780062201621). es the Deng family from Shanghai and their
This narration of Walter’s tale of love found, lost, and found with a backdrop of old fashionable Parisian antique shop. Propri-
Hollywood won Ballerini his first Audie Award for solo-male narration.
And it’s much deserved for his deft navigation of the book’s various
formats and intuitive character voices, including a brilliantly rendered The Night Travelers.
Richard Burton! By Armando Lucas Correa. Read by Edoardo
Ballerini.
Bewilderment. By Richard Powers. 2021. 8hr. Books on Tape, DD, 2023. 10hr. Simon & Schuster Audio, DD (9781797146232).
(9780593457054). As tensions leading to WWII build, white German
Powers’ probing tale of a father seeking treatment for his troubled son is Ally makes a heartbreaking decision to entrust Lilith,
written without chapter numbers or titles, but Ballerini’s judicious employ- her daughter whose father was Black, to a Jewish family
ment of pacing and intensity variations easily guides listeners though this planning their escape from Berlin to Cuba. As an adult
thoughtful and memorable read. in Batista’s Cuba of 1958, on
the brink of another revolution,
Leaves of Grass. By Walt Whitman. 2020. 4hr. Dreamscape, DD Lilith has built a life with the
(9781662015397). pilot Martin, with whom she
In the early pandemic days, Ballerini offered to read people’s favorite shares baby Nadine. Decades
poems on Twitter to stave off the loneliness of isolation, but it wasn’t his later in Berlin, Nadine, who
was adopted by a German fam-
first encounter with poetry. His performance of this great American poem
ily in the U.S., learns from her
illustrates his prowess with the format. He gives voice to this complicated daughter, Luna, how to uncover
text with precise and impassioned intonation. and reconcile the generational traumas of war, revolution,
A Long Petal of the Sea. By Isabel Allende. 2020. 9.75hr. Books on Tape, and exile. Ballerini is well versed in a range of accents, and
here that facility enables a smooth translation of this conti-
DD, $76 (9780593167984).
nent-spanning drama, with fluid pronunciations of proper
For this lush epic of love, war, and exile spanning six decades and two con- nouns and phrases in German and Spanish. His soft dic-
tinents, Ballerini displays another of his trademark talents: an irresistible and tion conveys an intensity of emotion and can even sound
sustained rhythm that beautifully enhances Allende’s poetic prose. poetic through intuitive pacing and judicious pauses. He
elevates his pitch slightly for female characters, but largely
I Must Betray You. By Ruta Sepetys. 2022. 7.5hr. Listening Library, DD
steers clear of creating character voices and instead takes a
(9780593502297). Gr. 8–11. storyteller’s approach. This works well with the epic scope
Ballerini’s narration illuminates the heightened drama of a teen living in of the novel as Ballerini guides listeners across love and
Ceaușescu’s Romania; his emotional acuity conveys the drama of the era loss, families forged through desperation and necessity,
and the angst of a 17-year-old without overplaying either. and a yearning for connection. —Heather Booth
Paolo, Emperor of Rome. By Mac Barnett. 2020. .5hr. Dreamscape, CD
(9781690587330). K–Gr. 2.
The mix of Barnett’s droll tale of a spunky dog in increasingly outlandish circum- etor Louis lives with his French mistress, his
stances with Ballerini’s understated and realistic narration is perfect for accentuating son Theo, and his niece Pauline. The cousins
the personality of little Paolo. Note Ballerini’s beautiful Italian pronunciation and his are practically siblings despite Pauline’s il-
impressive growls! legitimate birth. In Shanghai, she was more
mistreated servant; in France, she earns her
Stella Maris. By Cormac McCarthy. 2022. 5hr. Books on Tape, DD (9780739368800). autonomy. Theo escapes his arranged mar-
Ballerini has performed on many dual or full-cast performances, but this one, in duet riage by becoming a translator for the Chinese
with Julia Whelan, is a remarkable standout. The difficult text, without indication of who Labor Corps; Pauline must find Theo to avoid
is speaking, is a conversation between a doctor and his schizophrenic and brilliant pa- her own matrimonial shackles. Meanwhile,
tient, with the patient narrated by Whelan. Every intake of breath, cautious pause, hurt Theo’s fallen in love with Frenchwoman
retort, and pained moment of empathy is beautifully and heartbreakingly audible. Camille, trapped with a vicious husband.
A triumvirate narrates: Katharine Chin is a

62 Booklist April 15, 2023 www.booklistonline.com

pensive Pauline, although her unconvinc-
ing British accent is occasionally distracting;
Saskia Maarleveld is a melodic Camille, trying
to stay alive; James Chen makes the briefest
appearances, somberly ciphering Theo’s let-
ters. The entwined history lesson ensures this
dual love story is as illuminating as it is enter-
taining. —Terry Hong
Weyward.
By Emilia Hart. Read by a full cast.
2023. 11hr. Macmillan Audio, DD (9781250880697).
This debut novel by Emilia Hart spans three
generations of women across centuries, each
maligned as witches. In the present day, Lon-
doner Kate escapes an abusive relationship for
the Cumbrian cottage she’s recently inherited
from her great-aunt Violet. As Kate discov-
ers she’s pregnant with her abuser’s child,
she rekindles her love for the natural world,
and delves into a matrilineal family history of
Weyward mothers instilling their daughters
with the strength and independence afforded
them by nature. Interspersed with Kate’s chap-
ters are those of a teenage Violet, and of Kate
and Violet’s ancestor Altha who was tried as a
witch for murder centuries ago. Kate, Violet,
and Altha are each beautifully performed by
different readers, who flesh out our three pro-
tagonists and use different regional English
accents to root each viewpoint and character
in her respective time and place. Those who
enjoy stories of independent women choos-
ing their own reproductive destiny, with a
dash of magic realism, will enjoy Weyward.
—Andrew Cook
Yo u t h
Good Different.
By Meg Eden Kuyatt. Read by Sue Ann Pien.
Apr. 2023. 3hr. Scholastic, DD (9781339004303).
Kuyatt gives listeners an insider’s perspective
on a brain that works differently than “normal.”
Neurodivergent Selah knows that to appear
normal, she has to follow certain rules, but one
day those rules become too much for her, lead-
ing her to lash out at another student. As she
faces expulsion and learns that she is not alone,
Selah also learns to identify what she needs
and stand up for herself in order to achieve
those needs. Pien perfectly narrates this novel
in verse, maintaining the rhythm of the lines
without distracting from the story. The voice
she gives Selah is often slow, quiet, and con-
tained, but listeners will hear (and feel) when
Selah is upset or overwhelmed. Listeners will
relate to this story, whether they see themselves
in Selah’s struggle to fit in or in the actions and
emotions of those around her who try to un-
derstand and support her. —Ashley Young
The Immeasurable Depth of You.
By Maria Ingrande Mora. Read by Elsa
Lepecki Bean and the author.
2023. 9.5hr. Listening Library, DD (9780593740323). Gr. 9–12.
Fifteen-year-old Brynn is banished from her
home—and technology—for the summer and
www.booklistonline.com
is sent to live with her father on a houseboat
in Florida. Brynn’s mother thinks that Brynn’s
severe anxiety and hopeless thoughts are a re-
sult of her fixation on technology and lack of
real friends. Brynn’s obsession with death is
the catalyst for what turns out to be an inter-
esting summer (including a hurricane and a
mysterious girl named Skylar) of self-growth.
Voiced with clipped tones and staccato pac-
ing, Bean’s narration effectively ramps up the
moments Brynn becomes more anxious about
things, toning down and smoothing out her
cadence when Brynn’s anxiety ebbs and she is
calmer and more in control. Bean’s tone ap-
propriately reflects the overall mood of the
story and is convincing and believable, par-
ticularly with secondary characters and their
reactions to Brynn’s anxiety, especially Brynn’s
father. A content warning is read by the au-
thor. —Sharon Haupt
Mama Shamsi at the Bazaar.
By Mojdeh Hassani and Samira Iravani. Read
by Nikki Massoud.
2023. 10m. Listening Library, DD (9780593509036). PreS–Gr. 2.
On her first trip to the busy bazaar in Tehran
with her grandmother, little Samira is full of
excitement and trepidation. “Let me ride on
your back / curled in your chador, / so warm
and so black,” she asks Mama Shams. Despite
her increasingly eager requests to hide within
the warm veiled cloak, Mama Shams responds
with “Na, na, na” and assurances that she will
be fine walking beside her. Massoud’s bright
and youthful tones give Samira a bouncy per-
sonality but still let her worries come through,
because this is a big outing to an exciting new
place. For Mama Shams’ responses, her voice
drops and takes on a wizened, creaky tone
for this no-nonsense but loving grandmoth-
er. Her pronunciation includes slight accent
work and authentic pronunciations of the
words to describe Samira’s vibrant Tehran. An
afterword explains the authors’ intent in shar-
ing the warmth and comfort of the chador to
combat misconceptions about this garment.
—Heather Booth
One Million Trees: A True Story.
By Kristen Balouch. Read by Sara Young.
2023. 20m. Dreamscape, DD (9781666624526). K–Gr. 4.
When she was a child, the author’s family
ventured from their home in California to
Vancouver Island in Canada’s British Colum-
bia to assist in reforestation efforts at a logging
site. There, the children explore the natural
world around them, learn some French and
a little math, and help plant lots of trees. En-
gaging music and well-placed sound effects
throughout match the sparkling energy of
this autobiographical picture book. The au-
dio echoes the print, which sometimes feels
a bit separated on its own, such as in spreads
naming elements of the surrounding world.
Young’s voice is energetic and confident as
narrator and in conversation as ten-year-old
Kristen. She deepens her tone for adults. Seek
out the animated video, also by Dreamscape,
to make the most of this warm and welcom-
ing narration of a rare and notable “regular
person” autobiography for kids that incorpo-
rates ecology, math, language, and the joy of a
job well done. —Heather Booth
Remember.
By Joy Harjo. Read by the author.
2023. 10m. Listening Library, DD (9780593666999). K–Gr. 3.
The audio version of this excerpt of U.S.
Poet Laureate Harjo’s 1983 poem is a straight-
ahead reading in Harjo’s strong, thoughtful
voice. She moves the poem along at a clip that
may feel swift for seasoned listeners of po-
etry, but for the intended youthful audience,
it moves at a pace that will hold a child’s at-
tention. While Harjo’s voice and words carry
significant impact, children will benefit most
by pairing this audio with the print edition
in order to absorb Caldecott Medalist Mi-
chaela Goade’s illustrations, which amplify
the magnitude of this grand, sweeping poem.
Harjo reads her afterword, which explains the
poem’s origins and meaning, in plain but po-
etic language. “We need poems when we lose
something important to us, when we need to
pay attention, or when we need to put some-
thing back together that has been broken. . .
we all need to be reminded to remember.”
A beautiful addition to the growing body of
picture books and audio for children by In-
digenous creators. —Heather Booth
When Clouds Touch Us.
By Thanhhá Lai. Read by Brigid Mai
Khanh Leahy.
May 2023. 2hr. HarperAudio, DD (9780063047037). Gr. 4–7.
Lai’s sequel to the Newbery-honored In-
side Out and Back Again (2011) picks up
two years after Kim Hà arrived in the U.S.
as a refugee from Vietnam. Once again, the
story is told in prose poetry to allow English-
speaking listeners or readers to understand
the flow of Viet-
namese that Kim
experiences as she
continues to acquire
English. On audio,
this thoughtful but
complex writing
style, involving in-
tentionally unusual
phrasing that is both poetic and authentic
to Kim’s verbal understanding of language,
wraps around the listener, helping them hear
Kim’s experience. Sometimes she’s confident
in her English; other times she’s submerged
in her mother tongue. Leahy’s youthful tone
ranges from apprehensive to yearning to joy-
ful. When narrating dialogue, she pitches her
voice higher and employs a snappy tone for
Kim and deepens her voice for her hardwork-
ing mother. For Kim’s American friends and
neighbors, Leahy easily shifts into a quicker
pace with regional American tones, then
shifts again for other Vietnamese refugees.
Middle-graders entranced by Lai’s work will
be eager for this title, and the audio edition
makes it even more approachable. A must-
buy. —Heather Booth
April 15, 2023 Booklist 63
Booklist Backlist Young Adult
Girl from the Sea. By
Molly Knox Ostertag.
MerMay Illus. by the author.
2021. Scholastic/
By Biz Hyzy
Graphix.

M
Gr. 7–10.
erMay is just around the corner, and although this In the wake
neologism typically refers to a month-long celebration of her parents’
during which artists draw new mermaids every day, divorce, Morgan
there’s no reason why you can’t improvise on this trend. You can starts a secret re-
encourage readers to read books about mermaids. You can make lationship with a
a mermaid display at your library. You can even provide drawing selkie who saved
materials and encourage patrons of all ages to create their own her from drown-
mermaids! Let’s get you started with some scaly, slippery, and ing. This expressive
fishy adult and YA books! graphic novel is
both a coming-of-age
Adult and a coming-out tale.
Chlorine. By Jade Song. 2023. Morrow. Mermaid Moon. By Susann
In this unsettling, female-driven work of body horror, a com- Cokal. 2020. Candlewick.
petitive swimmer strives to transcend human concerns and Gr. 10–12.
become a mermaid. When a struggling mermaid discovers that her
The Deep. By Rivers Solomon and others. mother was landish, not seavish, she studies magic and sets out
2019. Saga. on a quest to learn more about her past. Printz Honor–winner
Solomon’s beautiful novella, in- Cokal explores matriarchy and femininity in this literary choice.
spired by a song by the hip-hop Out of the Blue. By Jason June. 2022. HarperTeen. Gr. 9–12.
group Clipping, explores the A merfolk starts fake-dating a heartbroken lifeguard. What’s
world of aquatic beings de- not to love!?
scended from women cast off
Skin of the Sea. By Natasha Bowen. 2021. Random. Gr. 9–12.
ships during the Atlantic
Simi, a Mami Wata, is supposed to collect the souls of those
slave trade.
who die at sea, but the haunting memories of her former life
The Mermaid of Black compel her to save a boy from drowning, setting off a chain of
Conch. By Monique events that threatens all Mami Wata.
Roffey. 2022. Knopf.
Song below Water. By Bethany C. Morrow. 2020. Tor Teen.
When a mermaid is
Gr. 8–12.
caught during a fishing
In this modern fantasy set in Portland, Oregon, Tavia’s siren
competition, a gentle fish-
magic slips free during an altercation with the police, and her
erman who also plays the
and her BFF’s lives are turned upside down.
guitar sneaks her home, away
from the other greedy, lustful
fishermen.
Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters.
By Aimee Ogden. 2021. Tor.com.
This novella, both a dreamy fairy-tale re-
telling and a space opera, emphasizes Hans Christian
Andersen’s themes of choosing between two worlds and
sacrificing for love.
Thirsty Mermaids. By Kat Leyh. Illus. by the author. 2021.
Gallery.
From the creator of Snapdragon and coauthor of the Lumber-
janes series, this buddy-comedy graphic novel follows a trio of
mermaids who swap their tails for legs so they can get drunk on
human alcohol.
Where the Drowned Girls Go. By Seanan McGuire. 2022.
Tor.com
In the seventh book in McGuire’s Wayward Children series,
a mermaid transfers to Whitethorn Institute in a desperate at-
tempt to escape the whispers of drowned gods.
 Take Good Care from

COVER COVER
NOT FINAL NOT FINAL

COVER
NOT FINAL

Scan for
more info
Photo:Lindy Lin

on these titles:
HOW TO BUILD YOUR BEST LIFE
By Liz Moody
Cover to be revealed

Connect with us at librarylovefest.com

for even more reading recommendations!