Pooler (Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey away from Emotional Abuse) chronicles her son Brian’s tumultuous 23-year struggle with substance abuse and addiction in this emotional memoir. Beginning in his mid-teens, Brian’s life devolves into a cycle of episodic drug use and alcohol bingeing, periods of sobriety, new beginnings, lost opportunities, encounters with law enforcement, and a revolving door in and out of rehabilitation programs. Pooler, a single mother, tries to support Brian and his sister, Leigh Ann; pursue a career in nursing; and tentatively start dating again. When she’s diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, her identity as a caregiver is disrupted, and she gradually realizes that she needs to let Brian find his own path to wellness.

The narrative doesn’t shy away from exploring Brian’s father’s history of alcoholism as well as Pooler’s codependency with her son: “I needed to let go of my need to fix what he could and should do for himself,” she writes. “I continued to enable him, which robbed him of his ability to experience self-empowerment.” The book is primarily narrated by Pooler, but the inclusion of other relatives’ perspectives (filtered through Pooler’s recollections and voice) reminds the reader that addiction affects an entire family. The experiences, behaviors, and feelings of Pooler, Brian, and their loved ones are always at the forefront.

The short chapters and interludes mark the passage of time, introduce new characters, and delve deeper into connections and contrasts in Pooler and Brian’s intertwining stories. These elements are not always in chronological order, which can be disorienting but allows the reader to experience Pooler’s emotional roller coaster. Pooler refers often to her Catholic faith but doesn’t evangelize. An appendix includes concise lessons Pooler has learned, as well as resources for parents. Through telling her own story, Pooler provides a touchstone and plenty of hope for those facing similar challenges.

Takeaway: Anyone who’s seen a loved one wrestle with addiction will appreciate this gripping account of despair, hope, and redemption.

Great for fans of Great for fans of Robin Barnett and Darren Kavinoky’s Addict in the House, Lisa Hillman’s Secret No More.

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

Click here for more about Just the Way He Walked

Paul’s narrative nonfiction debut explores what went on behind the scenes of a young filly’s surprising win at the 1988 Kentucky Derby. Paul gives Winning Colors’s colorful history, from her purchase by billionaire Eugene Klein to the day she won the Derby. Meanwhile, three gamblers—Miami (the author himself), Dino, and Big Bernie—carefully watch her climb to fame, betting early that she’ll win the big race. They risk their lives making the bet in Mexico, where the odds are 50-1 and their payout could financially ruin the cartel-owned track. After they win, the three gamblers must find a way to retrieve their winnings and safely return to the U.S.

Both readers new to horse racing and longtime fans will learn much from this account. Paul explains how Winning Colors’s team prepared her to become a winner, introducing the people involved and toting up the incredible costs of her care and training. He shows how she compared to other horses and why he and his fellow gamblers knew from the beginning she would win. Conversations among Winning Colors’s owners, trainers, and carers (presumably reconstructed or imagined by Paul) bring these characters to life, making readers root for their hard work to pay off.

Paul’s own story adds a wild twist. He emphasizes how complicated race betting can be, digging into minutiae of gambling that rarely get discussed in popular stories. Readers with only a passing interest in these topics will likely feel daunted, but passionate fans of horse racing and gambling will appreciate the author’s deep knowledge of the subject and enjoy the excitement of his Mexico adventure.

Takeaway: Devotees of horse racing and gambling will be entertained by this detail-heavy tale of a daring bet on a long-shot horse.

Great for fans of John Perrotta’s Racetracker: Life with Grifters and Gamblers, Laura Hillenbrand’s Seabiscuit: An American Legend.

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

Click here for more about The Greatest Gambling Story Ever Told

In this wonderfully subversive sequel to Havis’s 1979 middle grade novel Albert the Astronomer, science-minded 12-year-old Albert Bloom wrestles with the responsibilities of approaching teenhood. Albert has always been drawn to the logic and order of astronomy; navigating seventh grade proves to be more difficult than understanding the laws of the universe. In addition to preparing for his upcoming bar mitzvah, Albert is also juggling his relationship with his astrology fanatic girlfriend, Lenora (whose full name is “Lenora Conte who knows everything”), and learning how to stand up to the school bullies with the help of his new friend Raymond. Just as things begin to look up, his father’s health takes a turn for the worse, and Albert has to grow up much more abruptly than he expects.

Havis reintroduces readers to Albert in a personal and relatable way that doesn’t feel at all dated, giving a sympathetic view of the struggles of adolescence. As Albert studies for his bar mitzvah, he integrates the theology that baffles him into the science he understands, asking his bemused rabbi, “The laws of physics don’t apply to black holes, and maybe it’s the same about the miracles in the Torah?” He takes a similar approach to emotion as he copes with his father’s illness and death: “Hurt can last as long as time and as far as the universe can be measured.” These analogies are so deeply sincere that they never feel facile or jokey.

Through the more tense moments of the story, Albert’s relationships flourish on the page and give each character depth. Havis never falters as he puts real emotional and practical weight on coming of age. Pre-teen readers grappling with the challenges of adolescence, and especially those trying to find a way through grief, will find comfort in the busy yet reassuring thoughts of Albert Bloom.

Takeaway: Older children trying to understand life’s mysteries will love this sympathetic, complex take on coming of age.

Great for fans of Ali Benjamin’s The Thing About Jellyfish, Michelle Cuevas’s The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole.

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

Click here for more about Albert Down A Wormhole

This atmospheric debut novel draws readers into the Mexican port city of Matamoros, just across the Rio Grande from Texas’s southern tip. It’s 1863 and Matamoros has gained sudden strategic importance for the Confederates, since the Union has blockaded all the Southern ports. Clayton Wilkes, a gambling den owner, con artist, smuggler, and scoundrel, is a plantation owner’s son and apparent Confederate sympathizer, though actually he’s a Union spy. His long-ago love is fellow swindler Allie Stoneman, a Confederate widow who comes to Matamoros to sell her cotton crop. Old feelings resurface between Allie and Clay, but she realizes he’s helping the Yankees and stealthily counters his efforts. A substantial cast engages in double-crosses and side scams against the backdrop of the battle for Texas.

Kahn’s descriptions create urgency and ambiance. Clay’s bar smelled like “tobacco smoke, chorizos grilled in the kitchen by Milagra, his ancient Mexican cook; the sweet perfumed women at the bar, warm beer, burning kerosene and oiled boot-leather.” This poetry only falters during Clay and Allie’s love scenes, which are weighed down by clunkers such as “their mouths met like hungry animals.” The romantic subplot feels hollow in a book full of tragedy, but all the con artistry and the tensions of wartime more than make up for it.

History aficionados will appreciate how well Kahn weaves facts into fiction. Thespian John Wilkes Booth, Clay’s relative “by marriage—or at least by adultery,” is well integrated into the plot, as are various pivotal events. Kahn never romanticizes the war, painting sympathetic portraits of deserters while taking jabs at profiteers. Readers looking for a strong sense of time and place, most particularly Texas history lovers, will find this hits the spot.

Takeaway: Texas history aficionados will love this dramatic tale of love, double-crosses, and sorrow toward the end of the Civil War.

Great for fans of Tina Juarez’s South Wind Come, Edwin Shrake’s Blessed McGill.

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

Click here for more about Matamoros

This uneven first collection from Rio (Dinner with Saucer) brings together five short stories with a dark tinge. The title entry features a man who feels that he’s “forever a tourist on earth,” and whose fiancée’s whereabouts become a cause for concern. In “At Dusk,” a high school student conducts an unsettling interview with an author. The strongest story is the longest, “The Wandering,” whose protagonist is a security guard in desperate need of funds to support the baby he and his girlfriend are expecting. “The Voice Canal” features someone who may or may not be communicating with the dead. In “The Forest Protector,” a mother who self-harms works to protect her comics-obsessed son from the world’s harsh realities.

The translation from Rio’s original Indonesian into English unfortunately has some awkward phrasing and idiomatic missteps. In “Who’s There?”, pouring and drinking liquor is described as a “fluent act,” when it seems the author means “fluid.” Some metaphors are mixed: “But like bubbles that formed as water started to boil, a splinter of truth escaped from his mouth.” Readers might be tempted to stop with this first story and turn their attention elsewhere. The translation errors are less noticeable in other stories, though never completely absent.

The plot twists in the first two stories are illogical or predictable, and not very memorable. “The Wandering” is more enigmatic and surprising, and readers who reach it will be glad they stayed the course. Though not every story equally demonstrates Rio’s talent and imagination, horror fans will appreciate his willingness to strike out into new territory, away from the genre’s most common tropes.

Takeaway: Patient horror readers will be rewarded by the surprising and satisfying keystone tale in this collection of dark fiction.

Great for fans of Yoko Ogawa’s Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales.

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

Click here for more about Who's There?: A Collection of Stories

Kamhi, coeditor of the arts journal Aristos, follows Who Says That’s Art?: A Commonsense View of the Visual Arts with this pull-no-punches essay collection deriding abstract art and its postmodernist successors. She systematically and thoroughly beats down the idea that anything can be declared art, “from a pile of wrapped candies on the gallery floor [to] a dead shark preserved in a tank of formaldehyde.” She makes a passionate and effective argument that such work is “incomprehensible to the poor viewer” and advocates for representational art to regain its primacy.

Readers who struggle to appreciate some forms of art will sympathize with Kamhi’s difficulty connecting to Pablo Picasso’s sculpture. More controversially, she warns that “a movement has for some time been afoot to hijack art education for purposes of often radical political indoctrination” and scorns abstract art as contrary to “the commonsense attitude that has been a prime virtue of American society.” “What’s wrong with today’s ‘protest art’?” she demands. “Mainly this: it’s long on protest and virtually devoid of art.” Her candid reflections on what she calls “pseudo art” give readers the confidence to make up their own minds about the merits of artwork.

Kamhi writes with vehemence and certainty, and though she may not win over devotees of modernism, readers who find abstract and conceptual art baffling will be thrilled to encounter a kindred spirit. Objectivist thinkers will devour her examination of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of art; however, pop-art lovers will take exception to her harsh views on Andy Warhol and his contemporaries. The book is not illustrated, but Kamhi’s website hosts a resource page with links to all the artwork she cites. This well-researched and thoughtfully written guide is likely too weighty for casual art lovers, but art historians, critics, and artists will enjoy arguing over it.

Takeaway: Artists, critics, and teachers who are troubled by non-representational art will be thrilled to have their opinions confirmed by this clearly argued critique.

Great for fans of E.H. Gombrich’s The Story of Art, Fred Ross.

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

Click here for more about Bucking the Artworld Tide

Keaton packs this sprawling SF thriller full of surprises and tense action. In the year 2102, the theocratic despot Jovian promises eternal life by transferring people’s souls among bodies. To maintain total control, the Church exiles criminals and undesirables (down to left-handed people) to the mines on the planet Eridania. Prisoner Barrabas Madzimure, about to be executed for killing a guard who was raping another prisoner, claims to be Thaniel Kilraven, one of the few who know the Church did not invent transference technology but discovered it on an alien world. Barrabas is brutally interrogated by Church investigator Corvus, who reveals that Kilraven’s family is alive and in Jovian’s custody. After Barrabas foments a prisoners’ rebellion, the chaos allows him to escape on a ship back to Earth, where he allies himself with a group on the margins of society with the dangerous mission of toppling Jovian.

Keaton’s worldbuilding is expansive and effective. The plot provides natural moments of partially explaining the situation on Earth and its history, including Barrabas’s interrogation and his confusion upon returning after decades on a distant planet. Other narrators extend the scope without too much disorientation, though some have few enough chapters to raise questions about the choice. Fans of epic, constantly evolving arcs will be pleased with the multiplying trajectories whose resolutions always propel future events.

The narrative has some unfortunate blips. Having constructed a setting where any body might be inhabited by any person, Keaton twice makes shocking revelations of certain characters’ inner identities, which are hard to reconcile with their behavior. The explication of Jovian’s true motives in a chapter-long “self-righteous soliloquy” is also confounding. Readers who can follow the three-body monte will enjoy the futuristic tough-guy dialogue (“You got some nerve, flarkwad!”), action scenes, and melodrama.

Takeaway: This mix of theology, technology, action, and melodrama gives fans of intricate thrillers much to chew on.

Great for fans of Dan Simmons, James Gunn.

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

Click here for more about Transference

Chowdhury’s dense, tense novel follows a man’s desperate attempt to gain power in an unnamed, fictional Latin American country. Plagued by nightmares and memories of his abusive father, Andres Orce defies all odds to outmaneuver his enemies. Fighting against a fascist party in power, a brutal military, and outside interference from global superpowers, Orce pays a heavy price for his activism. An assassination attempt prompts his wife to leave him, taking the 13-year-old twin daughters he adores, but also spurs him into action. Through a series of secret and dirty deals and other skullduggery done “with dark understandings,” Orce pursues a victory for his country and his own healing.

The book is immediately gripping as it focuses on Orce’s horrible nightmares and his relationships with his family and friends. The transition into pure political theater is a jarring one as characters and schemes blur into one another. Chowdhury crafts a startling sense of realism in the parts of the story that deal with policy and politics. However, when he strays away from Orce’s feelings and experiences, the novel becomes dry and didactic. The details of revolution may be irreducibly complex, but when Chowdhury focuses on the fine details of negotiation for chapters at a time, it can be hard to follow.

Some interesting characters, such as an amoral financier named Snell, appear and then disappear. Others receive little development. However, when the book comes back around to Orce and his tragic story, it finishes strongly. The revelation that Orce’s motives are as personal as they are political lends additional depth to his character. The book is stuffed with fascinating economic and political ideas and has a great protagonist, but the extraneous details detract from the drama of its plot as well as the plight of its hero.

Takeaway: Readers interested in the gritty details of revolution will appreciate this story of a rabble-rouser’s personal and political tragedies.

Great for fans of Erico Verissimo’s O Senhor Embaixador.

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

Click here for more about With Dark Understandings

In this exceptional debut memoir, journalist and editor Kramar invites readers fully into her experiences of raising a disabled child, grieving his death, and gradually moving on. In early 1991, Kramar and her aggressive, immature husband, Stan, were expecting a robust, healthy newborn. Instead, little Spenser had a large head perched on a thin body. He was soon diagnosed with Sotos syndrome, a genetic disorder causing physical and cognitive disabilities. While Kramar cared for him and precocious toddler Brendan, Stan withdrew, eventually moving out when Spenser was five. As Spenser grew, he flourished, exceeding doctors’ expectations (but not his mother’s) until his sudden death from undetected lymphoma at age 10, just after Kramar remarried.

Kramar’s initial optimistic outlook on life, including in her work as a civil rights investigator, contrasts with her insecurities and frustrations about raising two boys as a suddenly single working mother. (Her account of Stan’s calculated plan for a divorce—emptying the bank accounts and moving out furniture before presenting his stunned wife with a prepared document to sign—is shocking.) She’s bluntly honest about her mingled feelings of love and despair as she adjusts to raising a disabled child with little support, and later adjusts again to life without him. When a medium tells her Spenser’s spirit wants her to be happy, she resists, writing, “Grief is quiet and peaceful; living is noisy, complicated, and tiring.” But her new husband, her stepchildren, and Brendan help her find a path forward.

Everyone, including Kramar, is shown warts and all. Kramar conducted extensive interviews with Stan, Brendan, and others who knew Spenser, an unusual approach that creates a nuanced portrait. Spenser is never oversimplified into an object of pity or inspirational legend. Readers will close the book feeling fortunate to have gotten to know a gregarious, theater-loving boy who “simply did things his way” and a mother who did the very best she could for a child she deeply loved.

Takeaway: This heartbreaking yet uplifting memoir of parental love and loss will touch the heart of any reader.

Great for fans of Marie Killilea’s Karen: A True Story Told by Her Mother, Paul Daugherty’s An Uncomplicated Life.

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

Click here for more about Searching for Spenser

Doherty, a retired Rhode Island state trooper, recounts his life and career fighting New England’s old-school mobsters in this low-key collection of anecdotes anchored by short historical interludes. Doherty started his career in 1980, but his familiarity with the state’s notorious mobs began far earlier. He had family members on both sides of the law and grew up with an intimate understanding of how men in the mob operate. His career investigating organized crime and public corruption coincided with a sea change in organized crime: the end of old-school, omertà-style loyalty along ethnic and family lines and a new generation of tech-infused criminal entrepreneurship.

Mentioning but not analyzing this cultural evolution, Doherty, aided by author Broadmeadow (Silenced Justice), focuses closely on the colorful characters he encountered over his storied career. Some of these, such as Raymond Patriarca Sr., will be familiar to anyone with an interest in New England’s Mafia families. Doherty expertly depicts the psychology of men steeped in organized crime from their childhood, demonstrating insight and sympathy. The pages are populated with men of inner duality, brutal killers who donated monthly to their churches and cried during their mothers’ funerals, who flagrantly broke the law but respected the troopers who enforced it.

The authors briefly mention big events such as the Rhode Island credit union crisis but don’t discuss them in depth. Without this context, the anecdotes don’t offer much for readers of history. Doherty is a delightful storyteller, but his tales sometimes wander and feel repetitive, and his personal experiences can’t carry 400 pages alone. This memoir is a beach read for true crime fans, less intense than a thriller but with plenty of humor and character to keep the reader entertained.

Takeaway: These loosely organized reminiscences of a Rhode Island state trooper who took on the mob will entertain New England Mafia history buffs.

Great for fans of Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill’s Whitey, Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier’s Crimetown podcast.

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

Click here for more about It's Just the Way It Was: Inside the War on the New England Mob and other stories

An attorney’s quest to overturn a woman’s death penalty conviction leads to an uphill battle in Green’s gripping sixth Innocent Prisoners Project legal thriller (after Justice Delayed). Dani Trumball moves from Bronxville, N.Y., to Stanford, Calif., with her husband, Doug, and children, Ruth and Jonah, after Doug gets a job as dean of Stanford Law School. Dani, an attorney for the Help Innocent Prisoners Project (HIPP), takes the case of Becky Whitlaw, a woman on death row in Texas. After Becky’s three young children died in a suspicious fire, she was convicted of murder. Dani files multiple appeals and searches for evidence that the fire was accidental, but the courts continue to rule against Becky, sometimes with apparent political motivation. When Doug becomes ill, Dani has to juggle her work with guiding her family through a harrowing time.

Readers will appreciate Green’s sympathetic portrayal of Dani as a wife, mother, attorney, and advocate who’s trying to devote sufficient time and energy to every aspect of her life. Even when Dani’s feelings and struggles are highlighted, the depths of her personality remain hidden. Her stoic persona is essential to her functioning both at work and at home, but the reader is never allowed to see all the way behind the mask. However, the characterization is sufficient to carry the narrative, and series readers may gain more of an understanding of Dani’s psyche over time.

Green, an attorney, goes into the details of the difficult appellate process but doesn’t let the story get bogged down, always keeping the human element front and center. Every step of Dani’s work is easily understandable, and the twists and setbacks will keep readers wondering how Dani and Becky can prevail against a harsh and biased system. Fans of legal thrillers that lean hard on compassion for the most vulnerable will be drawn to this novel’s admirable protagonist and fast-paced plot.

Takeaway: This gripping legal thriller about saving an innocent woman from execution will draw fans of capable, compassionate heroines.

Great for fans of Scott Turow’s Innocent, John Grisham’s The Guardians.

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

Click here for more about Burning Justice

Gage’s wonderfully gruesome supernatural suspense debut combines Russian history with vampire lore. In December 1916, Alexandra, wife of Tsar Nicholas II, has “become sickness”—her hemophilia is, in truth, vampirism. Her son, Alexei, is only a half-vampire, but Grigori Rasputin, a disciple of Vlad Drăculea’s teachings, plans to turn him the rest of the way, believing Alexei is destined to lead vampires to global domination. As the serial killer known as the Sleepwalker starts terrorizing Saint Petersburg, the coroner, Rurik Kozlov, knows by the mutilation of the bodies that Russia is facing a supernatural threat. When Prince Felix Yusupov is framed for murdering his girlfriend and goes to Rurik to see her body, he learns of the existence of vampires and Rasputin’s plan to rule the world. Terrified but determined, Rurik and Felix unite to stop the vampires.

In prose designed to be read aloud with lurid glee—“The river that slithers below the Carpathian peaks sucks all life and hope into its sinuous network of vessels”—Gage makes a welcome return to vampires that are heartless, cold, and deadly, designed for readers to hate and fear. He adds in giant vampire bats that turn into horrifying Nosferatu, “savage, manlike vampire gods,” on the ground. Readers are immersed in a well researched and turbulent Russia, with instability and looming revolution building tension, and will feel the dangers of walking the darkened streets with a vicious serial killer lurking around the corner. Every train ride, shadow, and moment of eerie quiet perfectly creates a feeling of foreboding.

As the heinous vampires deliver death and destruction, the few characters willing to fight stay strong. The battle never feels entirely lost, and readers will hold out hope for at least a somewhat happy ending. On every page, this supernatural historical delivers abundant thrills and chills.

Takeaway: This wonderfully terrifying blend of bloody history and vicious vampires will hold supernatural suspense fans in thrall.

Great for fans of Sarah Pinborough’s Mayhem, Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian.

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

Click here for more about The Sleepwalker: The Nosferatu Conspiracy, Book 1

Meehl concludes his Blowback time-travel trilogy (after Blowback ’63) with this well-constructed tale about twins Iris and Arky Jongler-Jinks. Their father, Howard Jinks, tries to find his wife, Octavia Jongler, in the past; instead he sends his children to 1894 Paris. There the American teens locate their mother, an astrophysicist who disappeared 18 months earlier while investigating lore surrounding their family’s heirloom English horn, known as the Horn of Angels. Iris’s previous efforts to play the instrument (related in the first two books) accidentally transported Arky’s friend Matt to 1907; then she sent Arky and another pal into the Civil War. Now she, Arky, and Octavia live, work and wait in Paris for the reason they time traveled to be revealed so they can go home. Arky’s skeptical friends, whose memories were wiped, regain them in time to take part in the adventure.

Meehl skillfully depicts Iris’s encounters with 19th-century chauvinism and Octavia’s angst as she struggles with the implications of her experiments and plans involving the instrument. Less believable is the romance between Arky and Chloe, a young ballerina whose mother hopes she will become a courtesan. Arky’s shy thoughts about Chloe, especially when she is posing naked for Edgar Degas, feel a little too coy for a modern teenager, and the villainy of Chloe’s wealthy protector, the ironically named Sansfaute, too loudly foreshadows that subplot’s conclusion.

Paris comes alive as the twins interact with historical figures such as Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and one of the Moulin Rouge’s most unique talents: the famous flatulist Le Pétomane. There’s plenty of excitement as hidden agendas are revealed. Fans of the series will love this final installment, in which adventure is the spoonful of sugar that makes history and science go down easily.

Takeaway: Teens with a yen for historical adventures will delight in this tale of 21st-century American twins visiting 1894 Paris.

Great for fans of Lisa Tawn Bergren’s River of Time series, Julie Cross’s Tempest series.

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

Click here for more about Blowback '94

American-born Chán Buddhist monk Zhi combines rich cultural history and practical advice in this in-depth analysis of the religious and mystical traditions of Chinese Chán Buddhism. Zhi was a college senior studying physics when he first learned about Chán, and he has since devoted nearly 30 years of his life to its study and practice. He charts the complicated evolution and delineation of Chán as a path toward self-knowledge, following Buddhism’s spread from India throughout Asia and the West. He considers how different countries influenced Buddhism, clearly showing how factors such as religious persecution, imperialist expansion, and war led to both the religion’s expansion and divisions between sects.

Zhi successfully tackles the complexity of Chán’s relationship with traditional Buddhism through a systematic, organized approach. Each country’s location, culture, indigenous traditions, and politics historically shaped Chán, which had long struggled to define itself as a purely Chinese expression of Buddhism, distinguished by Confucian overtones and ancestor veneration. Zhi pairs his discussion of Buddhism’s religious institutions with a deep knowledge of individual spiritual practice. His practical advice and well-researched, well-cited cultural histories are equally accessible to readers.

Zhi’s tone is nonjudgemental even as he cautions against distortions of Buddhism, particularly in the market-driven and consumerist West, which often seeks to separate mindfulness from its cultural roots. Readers will be inspired by his encouraging reminders about the objectives of Chán and straightforward guidance on practicing meditation. His succinct explanations for Buddhism-related terms and concepts, extensive footnotes, helpful illustrations, index, and bibliography make this an invaluable resource, highly impressive in both its scope and its complexity. This comprehensive, illuminating guide will benefit both spiritual practitioners and students of world history and religions.

Takeaway: This comprehensive, illuminating book is an essential read for new and seasoned Chán Buddhists and anyone interested in Buddhism, mindfulness practices, or Asian history.

Great for fans of Guo Jun’s Essential Chan Buddhism, Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche’s Sadness, Love, Openness.

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

Click here for more about Exploring Chán

In this blood-soaked fantasy, a professional gladiator seeks fame and glory in the arena, only to be drawn into the deadly machinations of the most powerful people in the city. After achieving the prestigious rank of champion, Cael has finally realized his dream, but he’s also come to the attention of the sadistic Chancellor Rovert Orik, who sees him as a target to be broken and destroyed. Meanwhile, Orik’s wife, Valeina, pursues her own agenda, seeking long-hidden knowledge regarding the uncharted lands beyond the city of Yddinas, and her schemes soon draw in Cael’s disgruntled younger brother, Breilyn. Cael and everyone he loves are caught in the crossfire and must decide where the path of righteousness lies.

Right from the start, Ellis grabs his audience with visceral descriptions of gory combat, depicting Cael as an experienced, merciless warrior who subscribes to a rigorous code of conduct and honor. Unfortunately, Ellis never fully explores the underpinnings of this society or the larger world, leaving the reader with many questions. The existence of a non-human race actively influencing Yddinas through religion is left somewhat nebulous, clearly setting up plotlines for future installments.

Despite the epic scope of this story, it suffers from slow pacing and a lack of a clear plot in the early chapters as scenes from multiple perspectives set numerous elements into motion. Orik is so over the top with his sadism and brutality that he’s almost a caricature: he routinely beats his wife, indulges in cannibalism, and forces others to commit sexual assault. Ellis skillfully draws Cael into a morass of hard choices and hopeless situations, but Orik’s ludicrous excesses make it hard for readers to be fully immersed in the story. Though uneven, this grimdark tale will engage readers looking for a reluctant hero and plenty of splashy violence.

Takeaway: This adventure will appeal to readers seeking a mixture of bloody violence and courtly intrigue.

Great for fans of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy, Matthew Woodring Stover’s Acts of Caine series.

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

Click here for more about The Arena (The Shadow Epics Book 1)

This lengthy but often delightful picture book follows a young boy’s uncomplicated adventure in a magical candy-themed land. After Will listens to his grandmother’s stories about Candy Mountain, he’s woken in the middle of the night by a train conductor who whisks him off to that very place. He befriends another boy named Quinn, and together they tour Candy Mountain, stuffing their baskets and bellies with different types of candies and treats. Eventually they catch the train home, and Will is astonished to awaken with a candy basket by his bed.

Haller’s gentle tale is inspired by stories she told to her grandson. Her vivid descriptions of Candy Mountain―“gumdrops of many colors, candy canes, gingerbread men and women all over the branches of the tree”―will charm young readers, though there are some awkward phrases and repetitions. (By a sign that says “Root Beer Lake,” the boys dip cups in a brown lake. “It was root beer,” the narration explains. “This is root beer,” adds Will.) Cho’s colorful, dreamy paintings of giant lollipop trees and ice cream–coated mountaintops are complex and visually pleasing, but her human and humanoid figures can look stiff, and the small text is sometimes hard to read against the busy illustrations.

Adults will appreciate that the book celebrates and rewards polite behavior; “only good children” can pass through Candy Mountain’s entrance, and when it’s time to leave, Will and Quinn promptly return to the train without complaint, happy to share their loot with each other. Full of wonder but lacking tension, the narrative may not hold young children’s attention for 60 pages, but it’s a pleasant read-aloud if stretched out over several bedtimes. Placid and relaxing, Will’s ramble through Candy Mountain is sure to inspire sweet dreams.

Takeaway: This relaxing journey through a land of treats is a pleasant low-key bedtime story for young children.

Great for fans of Elsa Beskow’s Peter in Blueberry Land, Tomie dePaola’s When Everyone Was Fast Asleep.

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

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