
Smith deftly blends ongoing tensions between these characters—especially questions of whether the two people closest to Will can ever tell him what they know about his parents’ past—with an exciting plot kicked off by the arrival of a bird-masked swordswoman in the tower who demands that Will hand over a “llave de cristal,” a crystal key. Secrets will spill and new worlds will be traversed, the storytelling always enlivened by the Smith hallmarks of crack dialogue, fun sleuthing and puzzle-solving, a strong throughline of emotion, a swift pace despite the book’s bulk, and a principled refusal to settle for the familiar.
Be ready for memorable beasts, weird magic, and fantasy worlds that are truly fantastic, such as “the glowing path to the Realms of the Dead” or a “crystal mountain rising from a crystal jungle in the center of a crystal island.” For all the wonders, though, the series is also compellingly engaged in Toronto street life and its characters’ very human hearts. New readers should start with book one.
Takeaway: This thrilling superpowered urban fantasy series continues to grip.
Comparable Titles: Lindsay Smith’s Dreamstrider, Robert L. Anderson’s Dreamland.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Curtis breaks this guide into four parts, focusing on growth as "the perpetual finish line." Often drawing on illuminating personal anecdotes, she shares times in her life that pushed her to slow down, breathe, and direct her attention to the situation at hand to successfully come out on the other side, although she acknowledges that outcomes have not always been as easy as she expected. That down-to-earth attitude flavors every page, even when Curtis shares interviews with and advice from renowned business leaders, including Lara Merriken (founder of LÄRABAR), CEO at Overstock.com Jonathan Johnson, and Richard Branson, among others.
Filled with pull quotes and interactive graphics, Choosing Greatness is an engaging resource that invites readers to dig deeper into self-awareness and explore different perspectives on what success really means. Not intended as a short term fix, Curtis’s guide is suggested as a “lifelong companion” to “push yourself one step further, climb up one step higher, and make the choices that will have the greatest impact every step along the way.” Curtis ends each chapter with clear-eyed takeaways, explorative questions for self-reflection, and tasks that will help readers put her advice into practice. Those seeking inspiration on finding and then walking their own paths to greatness, however they define it, will find much to appreciate here.
Takeaway: An informative guide on changing ones' mindset, focusing on growth and choosing greatness.
Comparable Titles: Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead, Luvvie Ajayi Jones’s Professional Troublemaker.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Mimi’s journey is reminiscent of multiple fantasy and fairytale protagonists in a way that evokes nostalgia rather than feeling derivative or overdone. One such moment is her conversation with the caterpillar, when he tells her she can “go this way or that way or sideways” pointing his legs in different directions, a decidedly Wizard of Oz move. An event even earlier in the narrative, when Mimi is bestowed a magical gold baton by the kind maestro, feels appropriately grandiose, marking the true start to our hero’s journey.
With a deft hand, Nicolò Carozzi’s intricate illustrations set the scene and are downright atmospheric. The illustration style itself, with the visible pencil marks and (mostly) muted color palette, conjures the nostalgic visuals that perfectly complement the text, bringing to mind the imaginative worlds and immersive illustrations of Chris Van Allsburg. Mimi’s determined nature and the connections she makes with fellow animals along the way show those who are shy or not quite ready to pursue their dreams just yet that perseverance and teamwork goes a long way. Sprinkled with magic and featuring detailed and immersive colored pencil illustrations, Mimi & the Gold Baton is sure to charm readers young and old.
Takeaway: The enchanting tale of a mouse’s journey to become a “mousetro.”
Comparable Titles: Giles Andreae’s Giraffes Can’t Dance, Kristy Dempsey’s A Dance Like Starlight.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Milligan dubs employees and leaders of the first company, General Light, “Corporate Savages,” while Technical Illuminations and City Public Power are “A Civilized Culture” and “The Emotionally Intelligent.” While the use of savage-civilized language is off putting, Milligan’s careful and often amusing descriptions of the businesses and their interactions with one another do well to illustrate the functional and behavioral differences between toxic and healthy companies. A clear dichotomy is set up between the money-grabbing, emotionally abusive, Machiavellian business on one side and the collaborative, compassionate, and fiscally responsible company on the other.
Readers with experience in the corporate world at every level will recognize these professional personalities and even see themselves in many of them, and while The Corporate Menagerie offers a clear-eyed dramatis personae introducing the kind of people readers are likely to meet, plus a survey of familiar and preventable workplace culture problems, it also shows readers how they deserve to be treated and the kind of behavior they shouldn’t tolerate in their professional lives. Professionals looking for a cohesive, accessible guide to understanding personalities at work will find Milligan’s refreshing debut useful.
Takeaway: A field guide to corporate personalities—and leading a healthy company
Comparable Titles: Michael O’Neill’s The Healthy Workplace Nudge, Susan Hetrick’s Men>Toxic Organizational Cultures and Leadership.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

One of this book’s biggest strengths is the relationship between the father and daughter. While the father shows patience and tenderness toward his child, he clearly has other things on his mind and says more than once that he needs to hurry home for an important work call. This will be relatable for kids and parents, as most families have likely experienced similar moments where the adult must get things done before they can play. Ultimately, the father in this story embraces his imaginary role as the “mighty knight,” which will be rewarding for kids and remind grownups that it’s okay sometimes to put fun first.
Margaret Breen’s warm, homey illustrations burst with both everyday life and, later, the fantastical, transporting readers into the story and capturing something elusive: the imagination unleashed on regular life. Little details like the father’s rumpled shirt, the puddles on the sidewalk, and the changing leaves on the trees ground the story in reality, while others show the girl’s vibrant imagination of herself as a valiant unicorn with a rainbow mane and her father as a knight in glistening armor. In the end, this story will inspire families to seek out their own unordinary adventures.
Takeaway: Vaknin’s imaginative picture book finds a girl and her father making everyday magic.
Comparable Titles: Matt Forrest Esenwine’s Flashlight Night, Samatha Berger’s What If.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Told largely in a loosely plotted linear fashion, and handling topics like abuse with sensitivity, Oliver’s story rings true, especially as he explores “how resilient we are as human beings, but at the same time very delicate.” His love for the mountains comes through in his evocative descriptions, while Gene’s emotional distancing from his mother is described with poignant detail. Her silence about Jacob’s brutal ways is heart-rending. Of the many varied characters, two that linger in the mind are Melissa, the perfect parasite, and Harriet, the snobbish, quirky, tantrum-throwing British writer Gene meets in Australia. Both are finely drawn and surprising.
A major plus point of the narrative is the author’s ability to dramatize travel experiences, like a South American road trip, without sounding like a tourist guide book. Atop a volcano in Ecuador: “Dangling our feet from the back of the car, we strummed our ukuleles and sang songs to the night.” Gene’s search for meaning and purpose is engaging, though his discussions with others on these subjects disrupt the telling of the story. The novel explores these questions most effectively through scene, drama, and the lived experience of the protagonist. At its best, this is an engaging, inspiring story.
Takeaway: An inspiring coming-of-age story of resilience and the joy of the road.
Comparable Titles: Amy Jo Burns’s Shiner, Carol Bensimon’s We All Loved Cowboys.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
The century is Henry’s. Such great expectations can’t work out as everyone hopes, of course. These mentors—including Mrs. Pinckney, the pillbox-hatted proprietor of the titular museum—see in him the chance to improve the world. But Henry must grow up and prove himself: first that he’s not the murderer he’s accused of being when, at age seven, his friend goes missing, and then later, when greatness is expected of him as a healer, that he’s not a fake. Averett conjures surprising trials and choices for his hero, plus some unexpected intimate relations. Often the story considers what it means or costs to heal—including the wrenching question of what responsibility Henry has to one friend who didn’t want his intervention.
This is a heady, at times provocative novel that never settles into predictability or easy answers. The nature of Henry’s healing is resonant: he must read to a patient, connecting with them, a tribute to the power of the written word, which the mass-media explosion of Henry’s would diminish. That’s one of many fascinating threads here, like that museum enshrining the boundless promise of an age long past.
Takeaway: A fascinating novel of healing and mid-century generational promise.
Comparable Titles: Thomas Berger, Donald Barthelme.
Production grades
Cover: B-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
True to form, the plot is alive with action, horses, prospecting, and crimes committed in the name of gathering resources, with a distinction drawn between civilization and the rugged world the protagonists inhabit. McPhilips’s action is sharp and clear, but he also digs deeper, illuminating characters' states of mind, which makes for some beautiful prose. McPhillips’ writing often resembles a kind of oral storytelling, where the plainspoken language, oratorical flourishes, bursts of clarifying history, and stories within stories can make you feel like you’re listening to a fable rather than reading words on a page.
McPhillips covers the history of bushmen and aboriginal peoples in welcome detail, both in introductory material and the story proper. Readers expecting a simple story about three heroes may be put off by the layered narratives, mythic touches, and abundant historical context. But McPhillips's writing will keep adventurous readers hooked, and those who manage to get past the information overload are in for some really interesting facts and stories surrounding Australia’s history. Lovers of Australian history will enjoy this book, which is as informative as it is lively.
Takeaway: The wild story of bushrangers from Australia’s gold rush, with an emphasis on history.
Comparable Titles: Jane Smith, David Hill’s The Gold Rush.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: B
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B

Told primarily from Velvet’s viewpoint with interjections from Lynette’s journal, the nebulously era-ed novel draws readers in with a literary cadence made approachable and vibrant by realistic characters speaking in a timeless voice. Velvet’s struggles with how her father’s absence has formed her identity and how her mother’s alcoholism affects her entire life come to life, particularly in interactions with the women who make their lives difficult—Mrs. Evans for Lynette and her daughter, Janet, for Velvet. Luckily, Velvet has quite a few things on her side: From the lessons left to her by her only father figure, the now-deceased Pops, to her best friend and confidante, Mercy, to her grandmother’s quiet love and wisdom.
Of particular note is the care and normalization of Velvet’s faith. She describes herself as a mix between her grandmother’s strain of religious devotion—“God hears me whether I’m sitting in an old wooden pew or right here at this kitchen table”—and her grandfather’s. Her conversations with God will resonate in a simple, honest manner. Her private, prayerful apologies for her mother’s cursing, plus a budding romance with Bobby Johnson, add perfect notes of humor and sweetness to the achingly poignant plot crafted with a lyrical touch.
Takeaway: A poignant tale of growing up with big questions and a heartbroken, yet not broken, mother.
Comparable Titles: Joan F. Smith’s The Half-Orphan’s Handbook, Alex Richards’s When We Were Strangers.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Bianco's approach is, in each crisply told story, to focus first on incidents rather than the protagonist experiencing them, and then building up to an affecting climatic summation. From “Dot,” a sweeping examination of an Ohio woman’s life from 4H to computer programming to divorce from a man who wanted a less ambitious wife: "She somehow survived without anger or regret, and without once considering herself remarkable or entitled to more than the cards of life dealt her." Often, in stories like “That Hoffman Girl,” Bianco guides the reader to inferring the characters’ feelings, a part of solving the riddle of emotions and memory. Since the people and situations feel so real, and since the storytelling is so skillful, this is a pleasure.
Throughout, Bianco’s people seem to be presenting themselves without qualms, asking us to take them as they are. Yet each story also offers reason to doubt this, to pick at the questions that the narrators seem to prefer to leave un-asked. Bianco writes invitingly of experience, survival, and what we tell ourselves about ourselves.
Takeaway: Resonant stories of life as it’s lived, told with welcome empathy.
Comparable Titles: Ann Beattie, Raymond Carver.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
While the poems are galactic in scope, they aren’t out of reach, nor do they lack playfulness. Most are lyrical and abound with wordplay, as in “Dream Data”: “Light is the measure of all matter / and it’s all just a matter of Time.” Bigelow also plays with form and structure, publishing distinct yet aligned collections of poetry that focus so acutely on polarities. Science & Mysticism is, in general, concerned with the melding of just what its title promises, while The Veil’s Cipher focuses on the enigma of time and the struggle of humanity to cope with its own temporality (“I don’t see / a start / or end / to time”).
Still, Bigelow’s heady ideas flow freely across the physical divide between the volumes, the verses within penned in clear, engaging, surprising language. The collections create a oneness that reflects Bigelow’s ideas about the oneness of the universe (“All inhabits / every moment”) that has split itself into varied, seemingly self-contained forms. According to the speaker in “Heirlooms,” as the “rare metals” of existence collide and connect in “intense chaotic energetic refinement,” “we are making jewelry.” Readers searching for a home in the intersection of poetry, science, and spirituality will find one in Bigelow’s debut.
Takeaway: Electric poetry concerning spirituality, quantum physics, and other mysteries.
Comparable Titles: Pattiann Rogers’s Holy Heathen Rhapsody, Sarah Howe’s Relativity.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: B
It's no spoiler to say that Ireland is so wracked with explosive violence or that Frank will be a guiding, paternal figure in Michael’s life—in fact, as McCann makes clear, it will be Frank who eventually impresses Michael into undertaking the 2016 attack. Young Michael faces horrors and loss that will rattle readers, but the tension threading through the collection concerns why his 41-year-old self will eventually attempt a bombing, especially when, early on, an attack tears his family apart.
That story illuminates Michael’s mother’s own secrets and hardiness, her drive to do what needs to be done, no matter how distasteful. Much of McCann unfolds from Michael’s perspective, as he comes of age, grows strong under Frank’s eye, and fights the Russians in Afghanistan with the Mujahadeen. But Benacre’s keenly interested in the context of that life, offering a clutch of stories that read as sharp colloquies between characters facing the news of a changing world—and how they must change with it. Readers see Frank’s response to many epochal events, with the most harrowing on September 11, 2001: “these are the lengths we’re going to have to go to. You get it?”
Takeaway: A novel in stories tracing the life of a “cleanskin” IRA bomber and a half century of fractious history.
Comparable Titles: Eoin McNamee’s Resurrection Man, Wendy Erskine’s Sweet Home.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
This is upbeat, big-picture science-fiction, alert to the technical complexities of Arroyo Aerospace’s ambitions but not bogged down in them. Martin, a documentarian and author of many nonfiction books, prizes convincing scenes of decision-making and problem-solving. That’s not to say the novel lacks tension—it starts in a 2017 rocked by right-wing militias, with the intelligence agencies sniffing around the Arroyos’ progress. As they prepare the Galaxy Two for launch over the next few years, the family faces the fraught politics of the real world in that era, from the pandemic to election denialism.
Crisp dialogue carries the story, though tense shifts and an expository tone mean the storytelling’s not as polished as it could be. The blunt emphasis on contemporary politics, including a conservative Arroyo sister who initially is kept out of the loop because of her affiliations, will put some readers off, but Martin’s ultimately empathetic with her—and he’s invested in how great things might be accomplished within our current Earthly systems. As their new space age dawns, complete with a space station, the Arroyos explore PR campaigns, private-public partnerships, deals with corporations, and other practical approaches.
Takeaway: This upbeat novel imagines a family-owned aerospace company’s new space age.
Comparable Titles: Daniel Suarez’s Delta-v, Kim Stanley Robinson.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A
The novel is clever and complex—another manuscript, Jillian’s Confession, figures in as well—but easy to follow. It will appeal to readers who love literary puzzles, interlocking portraits of relationships, and playful but dead-serious inquiry into the complexities of love, sex, and family. While the characters all offer their own incisive commentary about the central relationships, Linden leaves it to readers to reach their own conclusions: the William of the play seems intended as enlightened and sensitive yet comes off as controlling and manipulative—if that’s intentional, which author intends it? (Late in the book, Linden smartly upends some assumptions about authorship and perspective, casting a new light on what’s come before–and stirring more questions.)
Dr. Seiden’s lecture notes, meanwhile, gush with comic overstatement about the very works we’re reading (“the most beautiful, tender and erotic in all of literature”) yet also reveal striking insights that enrich the whole. Readers who find such play rewarding will find this novel a fest of ideas, surprises, and consistent sharp, engaging, prose.
Takeaway: A playful meta-novel whose stories within stories examine love.
Comparable Titles: Nicole Krauss, John Barth.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: B
Cunningham laces the novel with a multitude of biblical references, beginning with the first name of the main protagonist, Gideon, and story elements that will appeal to readers of faith, such as the subplot regarding Gideon’s friends and neighbors trying to get him back into the fold of church. The intense thematic references to religion and good versus evil work well with the plotline, and Cunningham faces the era’s true darkness: while Elvira is portrayed as being very beautiful, her beauty includes a dark side, embodied by her brutality towards the family slaves.
The heart of the storyline, though, focuses on the intense horse racing competition between the turfmen and the landed gentry’s devotion to horse racing, especially as Gideon and Sam search for the killer of the Quarles’ former champion racehorse. Alive with vivid historical detail surrounding jockey club dinners and balls during the racing season, Cunningham’s novel also highlights the dangers inherent in the Underground Railroad for both slaves and abolitionists.
Takeaway: An inspirational historical novel of faith, freedom, and horse racing in old Alabama.
Comparable Titles: Geraldine Brooks’s Horse, Katherine C. Mooney’s Race Horse Men: How Slavery and Freedom Were Made at the Racetrack.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: NA
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
Especially in the opening and closing chapters, Bourgault, making his debut, deftly balances the novel’s mix of coming-of-age literary fiction with its exciting supernatural and suspense elements. Scenes with Billie are both charming and unsettling, as Justin at first refuses to ask hard questions about this strange little girl who knows so much about him. The answers to just who and what she is, when they come, are inspired, not settling into any genre convention. She’s an original, like the book itself.
The novel’s middle passages can feel protracted, such as chapters covering the aftermath of a strange accident or a trip to the American Southwest. The Perpetual Now is long, and at times feels like it, though its central mystery and relationships are compelling, and the prose is touched with unfussy observational poetry. “Ferguston sometimes felt like a war-torn city where all the buildings were left standing,” Bourgault writes, capturing a rich sense of place in a line.
Takeaway: A smart, heartfelt novel blending speculative and coming-of-age fiction.
Comparable Titles: Graham Joyce’s The Tooth Fairy, Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
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