Openshaw is a seasoned tour guide and veteran travel-television show writer, and his expertise in Italy, art, and Michelangelo in particular shines on nearly each page. Meanwhile, Sam’s sandwich-generation troubles—painful divorce; trying to help his aging parents; maintaining a relationship with his young daughter—has him reeling. His admission, in a seedy Bologna hotel, that he has “no home” suggests Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, while accomplished passages of travel writing bring Italy to touching life.
Sam finds some relief in spirited carousing and a hopeful romance, and his travails are wittily juxtaposed against those of his idol, Michelangelo, though at times the balance between the novel’s three modes favors the informative, as Openshaw digs deeply into Renaissance sculpture, patronage, politics and more, considering theories of why the tomb became something of a footnote. Still, Openshaw’s depiction of Michelangelo as a human being with faults and frailties is fascinating. Michelangelo at Midlife is like a trip to Italy, edifying, informative, and unpredictable.
Takeaway: Surprising novel of art, history, and mid-life crises, including Michelangelo’s.
Comparable Titles: Stephanie Storey’s Oil and Marble, Theresa Maggio’s Mattanza: Love and Death in the Sea of Sicily.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
While Galica writes with a coach’s warm directness, Leap acknowledges the real challenges that can stymie workers’ seeking more. She considers the familiar advice “to align career with your passion” and makes the case that, often, passion isn’t enough. Instead, she argues that playing to one’s strengths and “replacing 'follow your passion' with 'go where you want to contribute'" is crucial, especially for women, who often are made to feel “guilty or uncomfortable switching careers just for passion’s sake.”
Galica backs up insights like that with hard-won wisdom and action steps, engaging reflection exercises, and compelling, on-point testimony from women who dared to leap—and flourish, including heavy hitters like filmmaker Ava DuVernay and celebrity chef Ina Garten. Touchingly, Galica considers the example of her own mother, who over time, unable to let go of “socioeconomic guilt and fear,” resisted making a change, until at last, in her fifties, she followed her joy, her strengths, and her sense of where she wanted to contribute, returning to school and starting fresh. Leap demonstrates that such happy endings don’t have to be put off.
Takeaway: Wise, action-oriented guide for women considering career changes.
Comparable Titles: Karen Arrington's Your Next Level Life, Tessa White's The Unspoken Truths for Career Success.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Tirado-Ryen’s story moves smoothly, traveling between the 2000s and the 1990s, sharing vivid glimpses into the reasons for the near rupturing in the bond between the sisters. While the emotions are resonant, the gentle humor and brisk prose give Two Weeks of Summer an appealingly light touch. All the characters are well etched and engaging, presented with empathy and, at the novel’s best, a plafyul sense of surprise. Scenes of bullying that Kim endured in school and the struggles, in the past, of the sisters’ single mother are memorable and effective.
Tirado-Ryen draws attention to how different people cope differently with grief and loss and though to all outward appearances some seem to have moved on, in reality, they haven’t. Some incidents, including a makeover and a confrontation with a childhood tormenter, play out as expected, but this bright, feel good novel about sisterly love, female friendships, and the meaning of family offers heaps of heart.
Takeaway: Buoyant, well-told story of sisters reconnecting while coping with loss.
Comparable Titles: Claire LaZebnik's The Smart One and the Pretty One, Megan Crane’s Names My Sisters Call Me.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Fanning tugs at emotions from the opening pages showing Silas, a broken man severely down on his luck and anxious about reaching out to his son, and Ellen, who is still reeling from her Lupus diagnosis. They meet aboard the MS Viking after Ellen mistakenly buys tickets for the gay cruise and literally falls into his arms. The budding romance often takes a backseat to the mayhem aboard the ship and complicated but engaging relationships among crew members and other passengers, like Patrick and Kathy Lucey, a brother and sister duo who bicker incessantly.
Fanning has weaved a tale that has it all—romance, humor, drama, mystery, and suspense. Despite Silas and Ellen having a lot in common and enjoying each other’s company, their relationship doesn’t really power a story that instead has at its heart friendships and family bonds. Fanning’s prose and dialogue are crisp, brisk, and incisive, and the characterization is strong in this novel that’s ideal for readers who love diverse casts, surprising connections, and healing relationships, with much comic complication.
Takeaway: Emotional story of healing relationships and being there for the ones we love.
Comparable Titles: Stephen McCauley’s My Ex-Life, Audra North’s Midlife Crisis.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-