When new student Jack arrives at his first day of elementary school, his conscientious teacher, Mrs. Emerson, is delighted to discover he is an expert on a very important topic: food allergies. “Jack here is going to be our teacher,” she declares, gently encouraging a somewhat reluctant Jack to open up to his classmates about what it’s like living with allergies that can have devastating consequences. “Food allergies are very scary,” Jack warns his class, telling them that when he eats something that he shouldn’t “my face can puff up and turn red” and “I may not be able to breathe, and even worse.”

That warning inspires a barrage of questions from Jack’s classmates, a Q&A approach that Huss and Hamilton-Guarino wisely leverage to drive home critical information to younger readers in this informative debut, which blends important health facts with everyday storytelling and scenes. Beaming from his new friends’ interest, Jack schools them on all the crucial points of food allergies, from emergency treatment to the types of snacks he has to avoid, and the authors give special consideration to the sacrifices Jack has to make that often leave him feeling less than and different from others: “Many kids don’t understand and make fun of me” he explains, conveying his allergies as “not fun and [not] a joke, but it is something I have to do.”

The kids rally around Jack, of course, with a little help from the astute Mrs. Emerson, who uses Jack’s “tremendous self-discipline” as a classic learning example, vowing that “anyone who has that can do anything!” The authors’ bright, bubbly graphics—many of which depict Jack’s schoolmates in various stages of awe at his considerable knowledge—lend a somewhat scary subject a sunny edge that adult readers will appreciate. The book closes with additional learning resources and an entertaining rhyme to help kids embrace food allergies.

Takeaway: Young boy shares the reality of living with food allergies.

Comparable Titles: Katie Kinsella’s I Can’t Have That, I Have Allergies, Stephanie Sorkin’s Nutley the Nut-Free Squirrel.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B+

Click here for more about A Lesson for Every Child: Learning About Food Allergies

From karate to cross country, Dee (author of Freddy the Frog and the Three Wishes) delivers a riotous celebration of all things sports in this entertaining read-aloud. Building on the motto “Learn it, train it. Go on and play it! Time it, work it. Sport it, stay fit,” a group of sprightly dinosaurs frolic, flex, and flourish in their efforts to stay fit, learning new activities that range from indoor classics like shooting hoops in the gym to outdoor bike racing adventures. Dee’s focus is on movement of any kind, resulting in an amusing hullabaloo of the myriad ways that exercise can be enjoyable.

Dee is mindful of diversity throughout this zippy tale—both with her characters and in the sports they love—as the dinosaurs dabble in a brilliantly colorful array of physical activity. Rather than just sticking to the basics, Dee styles them in lesser known but just as robust athletics, like one group’s fun foray into yoga (“Downward dog it. Cat and cow it. Namaste, bend and bow it”) or the humorous renderings of dinosaurs navigating the high seas on paddle wakeboards and kayaks, each sporting a safety vest, of course. Keeping step with Dee’s eclectic choices, David Lock’s lively illustrations showcase dinos of all abilities—including several in wheelchairs—reveling in the joy that comes from a good workout.

The storyline is simple but powerful, and the graphics add a heap of playfulness to the mix: younger readers will delight in Lock’s tiny details, like one dinosaur’s underwater floaties and goggles, or the baseball team’s “dino sox” uniforms. Adult readers will love the selection of ways to stay fit, and Dee offers activities for any season or terrain, but the true moral of the story is to just keep moving—or, in Dee’s inspiring words,” Go on, have fun, and just do it!”

Takeaway: Riotous and encouraging celebration of physical activity.

Comparable Titles: Aly Raisman’s From My Head to My Toes, Rekha S. Rajan’s Can You Dance Like a Peacock?.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Sport It!

This brisk, inviting introduction to Christian Deism, published posthumously, finds Lindell (author of Deism and the Human Jesus) making the positive case for the “natural” and “practical” religion of founders like Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, a belief system rooted in the teachings of Jesus as set down in the gospels, plus human reason. Jefferson argued that the essence of these teachings had been “disfigured by the corruptions of schismatizing followers," and Lindell notes many doctrines that Deists have since the 17th century rejected: “original sin, divinity of Jesus, substitutionary atonement through the death of Jesus, and punishment of non-Christians by torture in ‘hell.’”

Readers unfamiliar with Deism may wonder what, then, is left. “The everyday practice of Christian Deism means following the natural way of love or compassion, for all people,” Lindell writes. He introduces three key ways that Deists “show our appreciation to God for the gift of life”: “(1) by respecting the value of our own life, (2) by respecting the value of life in other persons, and (3) by respecting the value of the natural resources of the Earth on which life depends.” Lindell sources each principle in the gospel teachings—“In the parable of the Good Samaritan, we see two kinds of ‘failure to love’”—and he draws rousing support in well-selected excerpts from Paine and Matthew Tindal, the Enlightenment era English Deist.

Newcomers may find the most powerful material here to be Lindell’s breakdowns, in the second half, of how Deism fits into contemporary life today, especially its calls for loving one’s enemies, practicing mercy, protecting the planet, and taking steps to curb overpopulation. The book’s earlier passages are similarly welcoming, offering compact accounts of Deism through the centuries and of Deists’ understanding of Jesus’s own development as a thinker, leader, and humanist. Even as these accounts find Deists at odds with “trinitarian Christianity,” Lindell resists, in the spirit of a dogma free belief system, any dogmatic approach. Instead, he welcomes readers into the fold.

Takeaway: Welcoming introduction to Christian Deism, emphasizing love for self, others, and God.

Comparable Titles: Kerry Walters’s Revolutionary Deists, Anthony Flew’s There Is a God.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about The Gospel of Jesus

This insightful memoir explores life, death, and the lessons learned from trauma and chaos. As a paramedic and firefighter, Hodges (author of Sweet Twisted Pine) finds a way to shine light into the darkness of death and trauma as she shares the experiences, sometimes wrenching, from her childhood that shaped her beliefs, built life-long friendships, and taught her the importance of living life to the fullest. "This book started out as a series of stories I wanted to capture from my time as a paramedic,” she notes, but in the writing it evolved into something more: “a reminder about all the lessons I learned from the bad things that happen each day and the things we do to cope."

Recounting her childhood wounds of growing up with an abusive, alcoholic father, and her later brushes with near-death experiences, like a pulmonary embolism that caused a heart attack or her surgery for a ruptured duodenal ulcer, Hodges recounts, with candor and self-knowledge, how she moved from living and making decisions based upon fear to using her traumatic life events "to be better prepared for whatever may come.” Through patients, co-workers, family, and friends, Hodges explores "how the ripples of trauma" spread but also her conviction that there is always still beauty to be found in the world. That holds true even as her stories as a first responder touch on harrowing events, from search and rescues at plane crash sites to burning men running through traffic, and more "terrible days in people’s lives.”

With humor, hope, and raw honesty, Hodges explores those days, including stories of patients who recover and those who don’t, and her awareness of "that ticking clock" that looms over us all. "My time around death,” she writes, has “allowed me to build up my defenses against the horrors in our world." Readers will take away the resounding message that no matter what one endures, life offers the choice to hold out for hope until the last breath.

Takeaway: First responder’s memoir exploring darkness, trauma, and the hope in second chances

Comparable Titles: Tim Booth's You Called an Ambulance for What, Janice Hudson's Trauma Junkie.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Shaking in the Forest

Aerospace engineer Rogers (co-author of The Spaceship Handbook) explores some of life's most basic questions from a vantage point vanishingly few humans have enjoyed: from space, a perspective that reveals reality as it actually is rather than how we simply perceive it. Inspired by astronauts’ accounts of the “Overview Effect,” or “the intense, spiritually transformative emotional experience” of seeing Earth (“the sum and container of all known life”) from orbit, Rogers makes the case that, as individuals, we tend to know and value most what we immediately perceive: our selves, our loved ones, our society. That means that our understanding of existence, our “Overview,” “includes other people's indirect inputs,” which can be dishonest—in Rogers’ view, American society has been preyed upon by “a dictatorial government's educational system designed to create an obedient subservient lower class of citizens” that persuades us to “voluntarily give up” freedom of choice.

Rogers calls for readers to experiment with this “Overview” perspective and explore questions of how we understand the world. The book is provocative, sometimes inspiring, but often given to sweeping assertions, conspiratorial thinking, and presumptions of the nefariousness of others. Readers drawn in by the promise of the healing vision of astronauts will wonder how “the overview effect” will help us avoid a “hierarchical authoritarian class-structured trap” or how Rogers, who calls for the questioning of so much, accepts with absolute certainty that leftist protesters are engaged in deliberate attempts to “crash” the economy and “lead you, me, and all future generations into a social chicken farm.”

Elsewhere, especially when contemplating the universe and existence and encouraging thinking and acting for change, Rogers is clear and inviting. "Knowledge, properly applied, gives you the power to improve the Universe," he writes, and the questions he explores—such as "what is change?", "what is time?", "What is God" or "What role does honor play in today's society?" run the gamut from philosophical to personal to scientific to moral, with answers that often prove resonant. At its best, the book challenges and reveals “the moral stature of the society you live in."

Takeaway: Call for a perspective shift undercut with vague conspiracies.

Comparable Titles: D.E. Wittkower's The Philosopher's Book of Questions & Answers, David Birch's Pandora's Book.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about The Power of the Overview

This semi-romantic, semi-post-apocalyptic novel spins an electrifying tale of love, loss, friendship, and activism in a climate-challenged near future America. Old-flame best friends Tereza and David seek each other's companionship after a deadly “microburst” in a thunderstorm claims the lives of their partners and kids. For eighteen months of loss and loneliness, Tereza sleeps with men to substitute for her dead husband, Luke, while David drinks too much in pursuit of continued fidelity to his dead wife, Anna. Eventually, Tereza comes back to David's life, and they both find what they need to deal with grief.

Marcello's narrative is compelling as it captures these complex protagonists’ raw desperation and need as they face life bereft of their companions. The novel's first half is particularly gripping, with Marcello employing flashbacks with much haunting imagery, enriching the flow of the narrative present rather than disrupting it, and offering an intoxicating take on the storm's aftermath, as Tereza and David are haunted by ghosts of the past. Romance is in question throughout. While Tereza resists the idea of new love, David's feelings are more ambiguous, as he’s harbored a lifelong love for Tereza, which Marcello utilizes to draw a laser-sharp focus on the theme of environmental activism, highlighting how the duo’s unconventional dynamic mobilizes their anguish. Soon, they’re spearheading a sustainable community called Keeping to counter the climate crisis.

While the latter chapters can sometimes feel bogged down by the intricacies of all things Keeping, Marcello resolves the predicament Tereza and David find themselves in with a heart that honors the past while training an eye on a sustainable future. The novel encapsulates this dual focus: "Our decision to build a sustainable community,” one character notes, is about nothing less than “the need for survival, about leaving our children a planet where they can not only survive, but thrive." The Means of Keeping offers something rare in climate fiction: persuasive hope.

Takeaway: Touching story of non-platonic friendship, loss, and grief amid climate disaster.

Comparable Titles: Charlotte McConaghy's Migrations, Meg Little Reilly's We are Unprepared.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about The Means of Keeping

In this comprehensive communications resource for lawmakers and law enforcement officials, Cook, police chief of a Fort Worth suburb, shares through personal experience the importance of communication with the media and strategies for doing so effectively. Delving into the ever-changing avenues through which people receive information (social media, news media), and exploring specialized topics like crisis management and the “organizational commitment” it takes “to fully realize transparency while working with media,” Cook highlights both the why and the how of which build up a positive relationships with reporters, media orgs, and the average citizen. Noting his belief that police officers “have an inherent distrust of the media,” Cook works to demystify the press, making the case that, because media has such influence in communities, “We must work together, even during adverse stories, based on our distinct and important roles.”

This clear and concise guide is an informative resource to building relations with media, while responsibly keeping the public informed. Cook offers easy-to-remember acronyms to help law enforcement communicate, such as FACTS (forecast, assess, coordinate, tell your story and social media) and SOCIAL (strategy, outreach, creativity, inform, actions, and legitimacy). Writing with practical clarity and some passion, Cook tethers the importance of informing the public to communicating effectively with and through the media, highlighting “media terms worth knowing” and the importance of “soft skills” such as “proper etiquette when writing an email” or “having tough conversations with journalists.” The result is a clear-eyed, upbeat communications and public relations playbook, loaded with practical tips and food for thought.

Tips such as maintaining eye contact during conferences, having a prepared exit strategy, and trying not to “spin” offer clear dos and don’ts for building trust, image management, and moving the “narrative” along during critical moments. Cook acknowledges that media relations can always be tricky, but this guide introduces and explicates actionable steps that bridge the gap between law officials, the media, and the public .

Takeaway: Practical, upbeat guide to media relations and communications for law enforcement.

Comparable Titles: Jane Johnston's Media Relations, Amy Rosenberg's A Modern Guide to Public Relations.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about The Art Of Strategic Communication: A Police Chief's Guide To Mastering Soundbites, Storytelling, And Community Engagement

Arnold tells the compelling story of a 1950s childhood spent in the North East Neighborhood House (NENH) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Offering vital services like “child care, job training, medical and dental care,” and classes in English and citizenship, settlement houses, Arnold notes, emerged during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to help recent immigrants transition to American life. Arnold’s social-worker family moved to the NENH in 1948 when her father became its director. Through vivid recollections and much clarifying historical context, the author paints a picture of life among a diverse community. Her memories range from being a flower girl at a neighbor’s wedding, taking her first train ride, making prank phone calls with friends, to first trying that “exotic foreign food,” pizza.

Arnold’s detailed descriptions of NENH life include charming anecdotes, such as going skating with friends in winter, only to later realize that the sweet liquid given to them by a friend’s grandmother to keep them warm was actually brandy. Arnold also pens a touching paean to her stamp collection, and she fondly recalls her summers at Camp Bovey—a northern Wisconsin escape for NENH children—where she progressed from camper to kitchen aide, crafts counselor, and finally cabin counselor. Moreover, her transition from living in a settlement house to moving to her family’s own house offers insight into how challenging it is for children to uproot themselves from a community and start again.

Settlement House Girl is engaging, tracing Arnold’s growth from a young girl to an adult journeying into being a writer in her later life, but it’s also a valuable contribution to the social history of 20th-century America, offering urban history enthusiasts a wealth of information about the daily lives of families living in mid-century cities. The detailed accounts of Arnold's experiences provide a unique glimpse into the fabric of community life during this era, highlighting the interactions and shared experiences that defined the settlement house environment.

Takeaway: Touching, informative account of life in a Minneapolis settlement house in the 1950s.

Comparable Titles: Ellen Snyder-Grenier’s The House on Henry Street, Jane Addams’s Twenty Years at Hull House.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about Settlement House Girl: Growing up in the 1950s at North East Neighborhood House, Minneapolis, Minnesota

This second entry in Valletta’s Gaslamp Quarter Trilogy, which explores the darkest secrets of sun-drenched San Diego, offers a twisty high-profile procedural investigation into the lurid double homicide of weatherman Carson Wedgeworth, a local celebrity on air weekdays at 5 and 11 for years, and his attorney girlfriend, Isabelle Scaglione, whose body is found abused in a host of vicious ways by someone who, as one cop notes, “attempted to create the shocking image of a naked pale vampire vixen crucified on an altar.” That line captures the spirit of Let Me See Them, which pairs returning detective Kate Delgado and her new partner, Jack Langton, a Vegas transplant with a brilliant smile who at first creeps Kate out by introducing himself to her at her favorite cafe on a Sunday morning.

As that duo learns to work together, Valletta immerses readers in a chilling, complex mystery that will entice lovers of dark investigations, bloody forensic discoveries, and detectives dancing their own backstories. The initial suspects are diverse and intriguing, from deranged fans of Carson to Isabelle’s ex-husband, the couple’s best friends, and more. Sifting through these potential murderers is further complicated by solid alibis, dual identities, DNA evidence, and the pasts of both the detectives and the victims. Isabelle, described by a friend as “a cross between an angel and a devil,” endured “a nightmare of pain and anguish” before her surprise marriage, and that suffering is explored with sympathy. Throughout,Valletta evokes the contrasts of San Diego, from the unhoused to coeds wolfing down burritos to the upper echelons of the real-estate biz.

Expertly paced, with a balance of plot advancement and character development, Let Me See Them will keep procedural lovers engaged. Valletta imbues Carson’s luxurious home with horrific darkness, creating a stark contrast that heightens the prevailing unease, as the detectives face confounding clues, looming threats, and revelations that readers won’t see coming.

Takeaway: Sharply crafted mystery of a double homicide that shakes San Diego.

Comparable Titles: Elizabeth Breck’s Anonymous, Curtis Ippolito’s Burying the Newspaperman.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-

Click here for more about Let Me See Them

Lamp’s debut book offers a warm, encouraging companion to those who want to create new paths and possibilities in their lives. A former stay-at-home mom with her two children now grown into adults, Lamp finds herself feeling at loose ends—especially when she moves from her longtime home in Houston to Nashville. Determined to meet the challenges of a new phase of life in a new city, she draws inspiration from Julia Cameron’s (The Artist’s Way) advice to “do the next right thing” and decides that she will summon her courage to “do the next new thing,” committing herself to do a new thing every single day for a year.

Lamp’s new experiences range from slicing up a whole pineapple to taking a sewing class to doing a police ride-along, and she relates their results with charm, humor, and candor. But she doesn’t go on this journey of self-discovery alone: she invites her readers along throughout by offering her own experiences as a jumping off point for theirs. At the end of each section of the book, she makes space for readers to brainstorm possibilities for novel activities in their own lives, offering a variety of ideas and resources for gaining new skills, making new friends, and breaking out of old and often limiting patterns and mindsets.

Lamp’s suggestions and tips are practical and inclusive, encouraging readers to look for small opportunities to broaden their horizons. Though she is positive and upbeat, she is also honest about her experiences, acknowledging that not all of the new things she did had significant or lasting impacts. However, she emphasizes with inviting power the value of trying new things, no matter what their outcomes. Though readers of retirement age may benefit most from Lamp’s reflections on her experiences, all readers can benefit from Lamp’s gentle, supportive push to experience new things in order to grow.

Takeaway: Fun, practical guide to expanding horizons and seizing possibilities.

Comparable Titles: Julia Cameron; Susan Jeffers’s Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Do the Next New Thing

Vincent’s heartfelt follow up to Ugly finds Nic Summers headed to boarding school in Burnside, Oklahoma, to escape the small-minded cruelty of her hometown high school. Sixteen-year-old Nic is gender nonconforming and hopeful this fresh start will be just that—“a perfect opportunity to reinvent myself.” But, while the bigger school affords more opportunities, Nic’s up against the same rigid thinking she’s been tortured by at home, constantly being misgendered and facing rejection, all of which prompts her to wonder why “my mere existence seem[s] to be a problem for some people.”

Nic is still the same lovable, unwavering hero that she was in Vincent’s last book, despite the cost she suffers for simply trying to be herself. That cost is painful to watch, as Nic’s self-confidence—always intimidating for any teenager—takes blow after blow when people around her are unaccepting and judgmental. Things pick up when Nic meets Mack, a cute boy she instantly connects with, until a local bully picks a hurtful way to tell Nic that Mack was a girl when he was younger, leaving Nic to wonder why she didn’t realize he was trans—and how she can make up for the damaging way she handled the news. Nic’s journey is paralleled with Mack’s in many ways, affording the two several beautiful opportunities to explore themselves—and each other—with empathy and warmth.

As always, Vincent handles character transformations brilliantly, touching on their experiences with grace and a deep understanding of gender fluidity. Nic’s evolution at boarding school is a true rebirth, gifting her with gentle, compassionate friends, a chance to explore her love of art (and even apply for a coveted mentorship), and, most importantly, that elusive self-acceptance that helps her grow into a more confident, assertive teen—culminating with their final realization that they’re agender. Readers will be eager for more of Nic in the future.

Takeaway: A gender nonconforming teen comes into their own in this moving story.

Comparable Titles: Mason Deaver’s I Wish You All the Best, Jules Machias’s Both Can Be True.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Uglier

“Sometimes we feel adrift with no control over where we are going,” Tremaine notes in this deeply reflective debut. “It’s as if the puzzle of our life, the mosaic of who we’ve become, has been torn apart.” That metaphor constitutes the framework throughout; Tremaine nurtures readers to explore their “ever-evolving mosaic” as an analogy for life, identity, and self-image, in writing that ripples with empathy for the more challenging moments we all experience. Above all, he urges readers to embrace flexibility when constructing their own puzzles, observing that “life doesn’t hand us a static set of pieces; instead, it offers an ever-shifting array that changes as we do.”

According to Tremaine, a healthy “puzzle of self” is composed of interconnected pieces—such as professional fulfillment, relationships, and physical health—that all share edges and influence one another, making it crucial to spend time on giving each piece “its due attention and care.” Disruptive habits, mental health issues, and fear can “blur the lines… making it challenging to see the bigger picture we are striving to create.” Tremaine is resolute that any puzzle—regardless of the damage its pieces have sustained—can be repaired, and he offers suggestions like time management, mindfulness, support groups, and more to assist with that healing.

In an effort to give readers tangible takeaways, Tremaine concludes each chapter with reflection exercises guaranteed to inspire readers to not just build and repair their puzzles, but also to engage in constant adjusting and rearranging of the pieces. “Life is unpredictable, and our needs and circumstances change” he writes, a sentiment that echoes strongly in contemporary times. For those who value nuanced guides to making sense of the human experience, this debut will spark an understanding that “each piece [of your puzzle], whether bright or dark, clear or confusing, contributes to the richness and depth of who you are.”

Takeaway: Nurturing guide that presents puzzles as a metaphor for growth.

Comparable Titles: Kristin Neff’s Self-Compassion, James Clear’s Atomic Habits.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Evolving Mosaic

A book so obviously special and powerful that it feels like a gift, Vincent’s Ugly, the first in The Art of Being Ugly series, tells the touching story of 15-year-old Nic, who is negotiating the hazards of small-town upbringing as an introverted, artistic, sensitive soul in a body that defies conventional standards of what a girl is supposed to be. Nic is tall, overweight, not in the gendered interests everyone seems to want her to embrace in order to fit in. Constantly bullied and humiliated for her appearance, Nic has retreated into her art, often featuring dragons, but upsetting the powers that be at her school. Her one friend, Sam, accepts her as she is and is working with Nic to broaden her social circle. Nic both wants this and doesn't—how to connect with others when no one seems capable of accepting her as she is?

But one day Sam, too, is taken from her. Further complicating matters: Nic has told no one that, when she was younger, a friend of the family repeatedly molested her. As she receives just one message from the world—that everything about her is ugly—Nic’s confusion is explored with rare empathy and power. Is she a lesbian? Transgender? Bisexual? Her journey toward understanding and a personal blossoming will involve an overseas trip to visit Sam plus her thoughtfully presented research into other people who have some of the same feelings she does. This brings her to the term "gender nonconformity."

With frankness and wisdom, Vincent has written an inviting, open-hearted coming-of-age story that’s always true to Nic. At no time does Nic mistake people’s cruelty for something that is her fault, and Vincent avoids YA makeover solutions—lose weight, wear makeup, be silly and flirty, or other stereotypical gender expectations. Instead, Nic is always herself, even when she suffers for it. Her steadfastness in knowing that she simply cannot give people what makes them comfortable because it makes her so incredibly uncomfortable is revelatory.

Takeaway: Powerful, touching, and wise story of a gender nonconforming teen.

Comparable Titles: Mia Segert’s Somebody Told Me, Robin Talley’s What We Left Behind.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Ugly

In this gritty, sweeping thriller that’s savvy about power and the law, veteran prosecutor Jake Clearwater (introduced in Cost of Deceit), already juggling a long-distance marriage and a burgeoning career as a criminal law professor, gets roped back into prosecution work when a former colleague requests his return to the Los Angeles District Attorney's office and sweetens the deal by making Jake one of the four members of the DA's Advisory committee, also known as The Elders. Jake is tasked with urgent, high-profile cases that keep the pages turning, including a school shooting where both the child and the parents are being tried, a harrowing child abuse case, and the cold-case murder of a college student found slain in her truck. No longer in” the abstract academic world of criminal law, criminal procedure, and trial advocacy,” Jake now faces his toughest adversaries yet in “the actual world of crimes, motions, and trials.”

Caldwell provides readers with a persuasive, in-depth look at the justice system, plus behind-the-scenes dealmaking at the upper echelons of power. As Jake fights to be heard as the principled new guy on the board, Caldwell builds suspense with convincingly detailed scenes from the life of a trial lawyer. From getting witness accounts and making deals with informants to making sure that those being persecuted are receiving a fair deal, Cost of Malice, for all its sweep and attention to the complexities and breakdowns of systems, boasts ample tension, plot twists, and feeling. Caldwell keeps the focus human, even when the legal wrangling gets complex, especially in the most wrenching of Jake’s cases, that of an 11-year-old who has seemingly been kicked to death.

Justice, compassion, an insider’s knowledge, and a conversational tone power the narrative, as Jake tries to balance between his personal and professional life and morals. The story’s length and richness sometimes come at the cost of narrative momentum, but the court scenes move with brisk authority.

Takeaway: Rich, sweeping legal thriller of a prosecutor striving to do good.

Comparable Titles: Robin Peguero’s With Prejudice, James Chandler’s Sam Johnstone series.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Cost of Malice

Former governor of Puerto Rico Rosselló offers a practical, ultimately hopeful look at what it takes to make real reform possible, as seen through the lens of his own experiences pushing for change, advocating for Puerto Rico statehood, and striving to rebuild in the aftermath of 2017’s Hurricane Maria. The governor frankly acknowledges the controversy, involving an unfiltered series of messages never intended for public view, that led to his early resignation, offering a persuasive mea culpa for some insensitive language while also pushing back against accusations of misogyny, homophobia, and corruption. The incident serves as a case study in a broader argument about key impediments to reform in the U.S., including extreme polarization and a tendency toward dehumanization of political opponents.

Blending lessons learned while fighting for change with a diagnosis of why the American system seems stubbornly stagnant, The Reformer’s Dilemma explores the challenges and political costs of making change, with clear eyes and an emphasis on the practical. The “dilemma” of the title refers to the Catch-22 of those with political power daring to implement novel solutions to entrenched problems: politically, there’s a “crisis if you do, crisis if you don’t,” he notes. With illuminating accounts of a life spent pushing for change in a colonial territory facing rampant debt, a pension crisis, and the no-longer-hypothetical impacts of climate change, Rosselló proves a clear, engaging storyteller, building to a host of takeaways to help other reform-minded politicians maximize their potentially fleeting time with power. (He even draws lessons about crafting a narrative from friendly if frustrating encounters with President Trump.)

Rosselló calls for organizing and empowering a “disjointed middle” into a movement for “rationality, clarity, dialogue, fact-driven approaches, and innovative thinking.” Steps he suggests for making that happen are less convincingly pragmatic than the advice for achieving reform, but he’s convincing in arguing that accepting the status quo only makes things worse.

Takeaway: A Puerto Rico governor’s pragmatic lessons for effective changemaking.

Comparable Titles: Robert B. Reich’s The System, María Padilla and Nancy Rosado’s Tossed to the Wind.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about The Reformer's Dilemma

McCarty’s emotionally engaging debut recounts her story as a first-time mom receiving the life-changing news that her unborn son had a condition called omphalocele, a disorder “in which a baby's organs grow outside of its body.” Starting at the 20th week of her pregnancy, McCarty highlights the harrowing journey of Timothy’s first months in the NICU—and the multiple complications he suffered from endless treatments and surgeries. This heartrending story is a transparent portrait of a life with a “medically fragile baby,” a potent reminder that “everyday moments [can become] infinite miracles.”

As McCarty navigates not only being a first-time parent, but also the myriad medical treatments her son must endure, she’s forced to cope with the well-wishers—or “optimism bullies” as she terms them—and others, who “rel[y] on platitudes and clichés” to make sense of her situation. She acknowledges ways to help as well, encouraging readers to be better listeners and, when all else fails, “if someone is going through a difficult time, give them a small gift” to help ease the pain. McCarty’s advice is a direct line of hope to other parents treading NICU waters, as she offers insight on tapping into God, faith, and prayer for support, while allowing grace when things take a turn for the worse.

This triumphant story of enduring, adapting, and keeping the faith will resonate with any parent, but is particularly meaningful for those whose children have serious medical conditions. In a nod to the exhaustion and time deficits that accompany NICU life, McCarty includes a summary of her main points, along with reference pages, at the end. Her raw honesty is refreshing, and the snapshots of day-to-day living in the NICU invaluable. Readers will immediately connect with this inspiring anthem of a woman who was “utterly broken for a long time… [but] God fixed me… and made me whole by His grace.”

Takeaway: Inspiring memoir that serves as a valuable resource for NICU parents.

Comparable Titles: Sarah DiGregorio's Early, Jennifer Degl's From Hope to Joy.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Click here for more about Infinite Miracles