Soon, Rod’s vigorous workplace sex with fellow drone jock Honey results in the accidental bombing of a Karachi school, and he and Honey are dispatched to Pakistan to kill the target they missed the old-fashioned way: undercover as Canadian DJs eager to discover the local talent. Shallman’s novel is a proudly take-it-or-leave-it affair, though the prose is crisp, the outrages inventive, the sex scenes vigorous, and the surprises, when they come, legitimately surprising, especially an of-the-moment third section in which Rod, from the vantage point of 2024, announces he’s had enough of Shallman and will tell his story himself.
As in the work of Chuck Tingle, the sex is vigorous, graphic, and explosive but always tinged with clever absurdity, though Shallman’s scenes involving torture and his explicit linking of Rod’s desires to “waves of enemy infantry strafed into oblivion” ensures the book repulses more often than it arouses. Witty prose and the wilder twists reward readers on Shallman’s wavelength. One jawdropper: Rod’s unexpected connection with a woman who witnessed the school’s destruction and an audition from a Pakistan man whose talent is the “silent scream” of the vestigial twin visible in his bare chest.
Takeaway: Proudly scabrous and sexually graphic satire of 25 years of American war.
Comparable Titles: Chuck Tingle, Philip Jose Farmer’s A Feast Unknown.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
Though unusual, Sidhartha’s format lends an expressive air to the text, where meditation transforms into a dialogue with the body and readers are encouraged to slow down, listen to their bodies, and embark on an ever-changing journey of self-discovery. Sidhartha probes Hindu precepts, as well as Greek and Roman mythology, for spiritual parallels throughout, delving into specific health concerns in each of his nine stories—concerns that range from weight management to chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart conditions. From the outset, readers are prompted to wholeheartedly commit to self-care, and Sidhartha’s holistic perspective promises the robust lifestyle that is possible when diet, exercise, and mindfulness become the focus.
Sidhartha’s approachable style makes the transition to a healthier lifestyle feel attainable for all readers, and he includes recipes at the end to help readers integrate his principles into everyday life, transforming healthy choices into sustainable habits. Each of Sidhartha’s nine stories illuminate the healing influence of meditation for a host of physical conditions, highlighting the immense, untapped knowledge our bodies hold: “communication between the body’s inner workings and the person living in that body is fundamental to maintaining a healthy relationship with the body” he writes. Readers wishing to take control of their health and pursue overall wellness will embrace this.
Takeaway: Empowering concepts for a lifetime of health.
Comparable Titles: Deepak Chopra’s Quantum Body, Justin Glaser’s Sweat.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
The novel bursts with life and culture. As the masterpiece Teatro Colón opera house is raised in Buenos Aires, and Sofia falls in love with a man and the tango, the powers that be—including commander of the investigative division of the Police of the Capital—jockey for power and wealth, willing to do anything to secure their positions, right up to staging the kind of anarchist violence that they inveigh against. Despite the cruelties of its owner, the brothel affords Sofia an education, disillusioning her in ways that her dabbling with secessionist editorials in anarchist newspapers couldn’t. Her love of the tango inspires the richest prose, and her wiliness powers the plot.
Jakal’s storytelling favors ruminative flashbacks and colloquies that edge toward the explanatory. Scenes and key moments of action tend to be understated, while musings about them later—such as a murderer rationalizing that, since he kills in fits of rage, he “lacked full knowledge of his actions” so they couldn’t be “mortal sin”s. The pacing is uneven, but the politics and culture are vividly drawn, and Jakal lays bare his characters’ hearts.
Takeaway: Historical melodrama of 1900s Buenos Aires corruption and the politics of dancing.
Comparable Titles: Carolina De Robertis’s The Gods of Tango, Lloyd Jones’s Here at the End of the World We Learn to Dance.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: B+
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A-
Blended families, mixed race heritage, and devastating secrets with the power to destroy families punctuate this compelling debut. The Keneally family is richly drawn, their individual narratives bolstering the idea that family is what you make it, as McHugh probes the prejudice, PTSD, and mental illness that haunts their bloodlines. The heavy material is delicately handled, portraying trauma’s ripple effect with a gentle voice, as McHugh writes, when POW Frank returns home at the end of World War II to Winn’s attempts to nurse him back to health, “Mother and son were in need of each other’s love, but the scars of recent years remained for both of them.”
McHugh’s reunions are emotional and moving, while still relatable, and the characters’ family struggles and personal awakenings will engross readers, whether it’s Dot’s mission to protect and empower the First Nations Peoples or Joe’s reflections on the violence of Vietnam: “I believe there is a certain spirituality that transcends death and our understanding of it.” Amid the family saga, McHugh crafts an intriguing mystery centered on war-driven PTSD alongside a reckoning between Dot and her family that, though readers may see it coming, still resonates.
Takeaway: Moving story that interlaces trauma, loss, and family bonds.
Comparable Titles: Claire Lombardo's The Most Fun We Ever Had, Candice Carty-Williams's People Person.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
Through it all, Frost’s voice is engaging, informative, and funny, even punny—one section is titled “Good Things Come to Those Who ‘Weight’”—in the manner of an inviting trainer or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson guiding tourists through a jungle cruise. Johnson, a “paragon of GenX performance,” is frequently cited throughout as a source of inspiration as Frost explains, with buoyant urgency, the essential health and aesthetic impacts of strength training, chief among them the promise of being a “vital second-half performer for up to fifty years.”
Helpful photo illustrations demonstrate some finer points of stretching, squats, planes of body motion, different types of lifting, while Frost offers clarifying insights into the carb and fat impact of energy bars, and much more. He’s crafted a host of mnemonic acronyms (WIFM, DEEP, FITT, MORNINGS) and fresh metaphors crafted not just to inform readers about healthy mindsets and habits but to make sure the info sticks—like any good coach, his voice gets stuck in one’s head. The advice is smartly targeted at men and women both, though the book’s organization is eccentric, with introductory material on the basics (including the advice to consult a doctor before heavy lifting) coming in later chapters.
Takeaway: Rousing guide to strength training for Gen Xers eager for high performance.
Comparable Titles: Wayne Westcott and Thomas Baechle’s Strength Training Past 50, Timothy Caso’s Weight Training for Old Guys.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A
Absence is multi-dimensional in Williams’s collection; on the page, the use of white space allows the size and scope of this absence to expand and contract, all while emphasizing for readers silences and at times snowy landscapes. Crucial bits of language, like the mind of the speaker’s father, at times are missing, and some poems seem to be crumbling on the page, the words like rubble. But even on the metaphorical level, Williams makes absence a living presence: “that missing // painting on the wall // shines its own sun like dirt.” The power of White Doe, though, comes from precision of language and a surprising sense of hope, as Williams captures an awakening in the loss.
Birds, their feathers, and the seeds they collect, along with coyotes, deer, snow, and ice, appear and disappear from poem to poem, contextualizing the speaker and her ailing father in the natural order of life and death. “Word of your passing has reached the tree line,” Williams writes in “Don’t Be Afraid,” “now the animals // sing,” and the loved ones grieve, and the necessary, beautiful cycle continues.
Takeaway: Wintry, feather-soft poems of caring for a parent with dementia.
Comparable Titles: Margaret Atwood’s Dearly, Beth Copeland’s “Falling Lessons: Erasure One.”
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Placing the responsibility squarely on individuals for creating inner peace that sticks, Arnold addresses the stumbling blocks that can get in the way, tailoring her advice to those readers who want a “purposeful, authentic life, rather than merely getting through the day.” The counsel is direct, but supportive, gently challenging stagnant patterns and offering healthy replacements, as in her admonition that readers need to re-evaluate their “relationship with time” and get comfortable with a little friction if they want to grow. She covers the basics invitingly, offering a clear breakdown of her three separate spheres of rooted peace (internal, existential, and relational), but beyond that she supplies readers with an overflow of activities and custom-styled exercises to implement her advice.
In contrast to the guidance found in many self-help books, readers will leave Arnold’s doorstep feeling refreshed, respected, and renewed. From her ideas on “dancing with mortality” instead of ignoring it to never being “afraid to stir things up,” Arnold consistently loops back to our ability—and responsibility—to “shake up your world for the good.” We may never be perfect, she comforts, but that certainly doesn’t mean we should allow the status quo to go on forever—instead, we “can generate deep fulfillment and joy on [our] own terms.”
Takeaway: Hands-on, refreshing guide to building lasting inner peace.
Comparable Titles: Nick Trenton’s The Art of Letting Go, Brianna Wiest’s The Mountain Is You.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Mark’s family had moved from a tenant farming community to Montgomery after his father’s death, and his white mother allowed the 14-year-old’s appearance to determine their place in the segregated city. After the board of education expels Mark from a white school, they must relocate to a Black neighborhood, and his mother loses her subsistence job. Mark can deal with the privation—they’d always been poor—but his mother’s worsening porphyria is a constant worry, and while Frederick Douglass High School provides him with a heartening vision of Black community, he remains unsure of where he truly belongs.
Discussions about the drawn-out process of desegregation (an afterword provides helpful details) are deftly woven into Mark’s interactions with family, friends, teachers, and members of his integrated baseball team. Everyone knows they’re living through a major societal shift, and are trying to find—or regain— their footing. Through Mark’s experience on both sides of the racial divide, Knight shows the difference between having empathy and suffering the forced restrictions of segregation. In the process of reconstructing his fractured self, Mark gains the maturity to see that identity is forged from contradictions, and that struggle is another word for life.
Takeaway: Vivid and wise historical fiction about a biracial teen in 1960s Alabama.
Comparable Titles: Phillip Hoose’s Claudette Colvin, Kristin Levine’s The Lions of Little Rock.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
The narrative weaves seamlessly between Zarecki’s cancer experiences, and poignant reflections on the past, though at times the pacing can feel uneven. Drawing on the losses she’s endured, years of measuring up to the challenges of single motherhood, and the profound impact of her mother's illness, she offers readers a raw and unflinching portrayal of love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit. Zarecki describes adopting a mantra to help push through: “I am the storm,” she tells herself when embarking on chemo treatments, but she frankly notes that, at the time, she wasn’t “convinced of that yet.” What sets Golden Scars" apart is that unwavering honesty and vulnerability.
Zarecki lays bare her fears, doubts, and moments of despair with a heartbreaking but candor, from the process of shaving her head with a beard trimmer, to the deeply human moment of beholding her body after surgery, to her struggle to give herself the “grace” to not feel impatient as her “body works to recover from the brutal treatment that coursed through my veins to attack the cancer cells.” Zarecki’s story, told with a confidence she admits not always feeling as she lived it, offers a reminder to embrace our own golden scars as symbols of our courage, resilience, and capacity for healing.
Takeaway: Frank, moving account of surviving breast cancer with love and support.
Comparable Titles: Cara Sapida’s Not the Breast Year of My Life, Terri Sterk’s Thrive After Breast Cancer.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
Lewis (author of Restless) engraves this modern-day fairy tale with a deep sense of regret, from Meg’s debilitating grief to her aunt’s weariness at how to help to her father’s downward spiral when the magic feels impossible. Meg’s teen angst is palpable, as is her internal struggle between what she sees in the world around her and the mystery she senses hovering just out of her reach. Too practical and too wracked by grief, Meg works hard to convince herself that her mother can’t have transcended death to live on Fable Island, despite the glimmering signs that she is part of something much, much bigger than herself.
Part coming-of-age journey and part lesson in grief, Lewis’s tale encourages readers to let go while moving forward. Meg’s relationship with her father—and his failed attempt at reconciliation—is painful to watch, as is her best friend Theo’s quicker grasp of magical thinking, despite Meg’s legacy. After much effort, Meg eventually concedes: “Fable Island may not be real but it exists… It is in the hearts and minds of those who believe.” Lewis delivers a delicate balance between real life and the whisper of magic throughout, building moments of drama and whimsy that will stick with readers long after the last page.
Takeaway: A grieving teen undergoes a magical coming-of-age journey.
Comparable Titles: Liz Michalski’s Darling Girl, Alex Flinn’s Beastly.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
The complexities of Irish identity in America during this transformative period take center stage in Fanning’s fiction debut, and through the Farrell family, Fanning showcases the struggles and resilience of immigrant communities as they pursue a fixed identity in a new land. At work, Jimmy navigates the changing dynamics of his community as he transitions from a store clerk to a position on the police force, finding solace in his personal life through Mary Ann, his boss’s daughter. Despite her wealthy upbringing and different worldview, the pair discover inspiration in their shared passion for the arts as a way to navigate life's injustices and tragedies.
Jimmy's eternal love for music serves as his source of comfort throughout the narrative—and the means through which he expresses his identity within the Irish American community. Fanning’s storytelling is introspective and observant, allowing readers to experience firsthand the characters' struggles and triumphs as they navigate a harsh, unforgiving world: early on, John imparts responsibility to Jimmy with a reminder of the sacrifices made for their freedom, stating “ye must know something of the years—aye, and the generations—of pain that stretch out behind us.” This is a skillful and rich rendering of early Irish American life.
Takeaway: Rich narrative of 19th century Irish American life.
Comparable Titles: Kate Kerrigan’s Ellis Island, Kristina McMorris’s The Edge of Lost.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
Wow immerses readers in this jaggy, apocalyptic no-man’s-land, writing convincing characters that vibrate with appeal as they collide with all manner of monsters—both natural and human. Their tenuous hold on life is palpable throughout, and Wow bewitches with their stories before dashing hope in spectacular endings. The terrain here is deadly, no bones about it: take Roofy, who abandons her children to hunt for a better life, only to suffer a shocking attack when she’s at the cusp of controlling her own destiny. Beamo is a force to be reckoned with, winning over Tee with his cunning intellect and street-smart survival know-how, all while romancing Little Bit in an intensely passionate crescendo destined to upset the fragile balance of their alliance.
The characters here are explosive—and their interactions can be blistering even during the best of times—but that’s to be expected in a story where death breathes around every corner and “phantasms [stroll] along the edge of the grave plots in the bright daylight.” Wow draws eerie similarities to the problems plaguing contemporary American society, and the ending smashes expectations while delivering a sliver of hope for a more palatable future.
Takeaway: Brutal, no-holds-barred romp through post-apocalyptic America.
Comparable Titles: G. Michael Hopf’s Seven Days, C. Robert Cargill’s Sea of Rust.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
Theater of Lies urges individuals and institutions to demand and defend something else: truth. Griffith opens with a sweeping—perhaps too much so—history of lies and the manipulation of the public, stretching back to the Garden of Eden, the origins of race as a concept, and Kipling’s insistence on a “white man’s burden.” This material is impassioned and sometimes illuminating, but the discussions are brief for such epochal subjects. More immediately compelling are examples from recent decades, mostly from the U.S. and Canada and many fresh accounts of events readers might not know about, showcasing how “purpose-driven lies and misinformation are produced, staged, and presented.”
With sharp insights, clear and inviting prose, and an upbeat belief in humanity’s capacity to do better, Griffith lays bare the craft and reach of those who lie for profit and power and the failures of mind that inspire their targets not just to believe propaganda but to spread it. Refreshingly, he seems unconcerned with being accused of bias when discussing, say, the “wrecking ball” that is Donald Trump. Instead, he models the healthy habits of thinking and analysis that he urges readers toward in the book’s last third, which encourages standing up for truth, acknowledging one’s own assumptions, and rebuilding trust.
Takeaway: Incisive history of lies and misinformation, and a call to action.
Comparable Titles: Lee McIntyre’s Post-Truth, Barbara McQuade’s Attack From Within.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
A movie-mad Midwesterner-gone-Hollywood, Little writes in a refreshingly straight-forward style, telling the story of achieving success, first in indies and then at studios, while managing to raise a family and maintain his values. He demystifies the glamor of directing: on a shoot in India, he dealt with lost equipment, a case of dysentery, a hotel room invaded by ravenous feral monkeys, and a sudden flood that nearly destroyed their set and equipment. His accounts of tight deadlines, the pressure to score a hit in three “at bats,” the pressures of financing, and encounters with the likes of Mel Gibson, Sally Kellerman, and Clint Eastwood sparkle with surprise and authenticity. (Tommy Lee Jones turns down a submarine thriller because, Little is told, he always thought of subs “as bathtub toys.”)
Hollywood is a rough-and-tumble town that is not for the faint of heart: “When you’re young, you are invincible and play to win,” he notes, describing risk-taking as an up-and-coming director of action. “When you’re older, you play not to lose.” That’s also true in the executive suites where promises are broken almost as quickly as they are made. A captivating page-turner alive with surprising detail and jolts of wisdom, Still Rolling comes highly recommended for anyone eager to understand how the dream factory actually operates.
Takeaway: A director’s page-turning Hollywood, alive with insight and surprises.
Comparable Titles: Ed Zwick’s Hits, Flops and Other Illusions, Hal Needham’s Stuntman!
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Wrapped in the curl of a giraffe’s neck in summer, tucked into the nest of a dove in spring, or sleeping against a polar bear cub in winter, the children in Sophia Riley’s surreal, whimsical illustrations are coddled by a gentle menagerie that loves and protects them as a parent would. Riley also includes scenes of children swinging with monkeys, holding hands with penguins, and hammocking with owls, which create a visual atmosphere of peace and play that aptly complements the idealized childhood Schwartz imagines in her time-capsule poem. Against Riley’s rosy-cheeked digital renderings, Schwartz’s nostalgic, yearning poem comes to life.
Though Riley’s illustrations and Schwartz’s doting rhymes are engaging for young readers, This Day I Hold Dear sends a message that seems intended more for the adults in Schwartz’s audience than the children. “When I think of the times that have come and gone,” Schwartz writes, “I take a deep breath and try to hold on.” Though comforting for parents, that sentiment may not hit home for kids, but Schwartz’s final words reach the heart of readers of all ages: “Whatever you dream, I want you to know you are loved from your head to the tip of your toe.”
Takeaway: Wholesome story of parents’ desire to preserve their children’s youth.
Comparable Titles: Patrick McDonnell’s Thank You and Good Night, Emily Winfield Martin’s The Wonderful Things You Will Be.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Hadden’s second Ike Rossi novel (after The Victim of the System) dives headfirst into forgotten history from the Second World War, thoughtfully investigating the price of truth and meditating on what it means to be a contemporary American patriot. Despite her training, Amelia knows this mission is over her head; she seeks out the help of Ike Rossi, a long-ago football star now turned private investigator, to sleuth her artifact’s importance—and uncover who’s willing to kill to get it. Thus ensues a brutal game of keep away, with Amelia and Ike pitted against dark forces that will stop at nothing to keep the enigmatic box’s contents hidden.
Hadden writes with noir flair, though Ike’s compassion, no matter the personal cost, forms him into a much different hero than those pulpy PIs of the past. Amelia holds her own—a fierce warrior sworn to protect her country from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. That resolve is tested at every turn, as Amelia and Ike quickly discover a conspiracy being nurtured by the upper echelons of American politics. Hadden deftly probes the limits of patriotism, leaving readers teetering on a knife edge of right vs. wrong—and eager for more Ike Rossi adventures.
Takeaway: Air Force vet and PI race to solve a dangerous conspiracy.
Comparable Titles: Robin James’s Burden of Proof, Iain King’s Secrets of the Last Nazi.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A