Rose’s probing, conversational poems capture, with stinging insight and still-raw pain, a young woman’s disillusionment with a New York life that turns out—in this age of “content,” “hollow consumption,” and “social media debauchery”—not to feel like she had imagined, growing up, gripped by what she now calls the “Carrie Bradshaw Complex.” And yet Frayed Edges finds her hope and her jadedness still facing off against each other. “How many rounds / I wonder, / will it take in the ring / until the hopeless romanticism / knocks me out for good?” she asks in “I [Lupi] Solitari,” which moves from a celebration of “midnight dalliances / with a side of cheap wine” to examine Rose’s most pained but fruitful subject: the self, in all its faintly embarrassing [in]glory.

“But who am I, really?” she continues, with a chiding tone, suggesting there’s something ridiculous in “Writing sonnets of fantasies about fleeting men.” But the last lines offer witty justification: “The vacancy of these pages / need their fix, too.” That’s funny but also revealing. It’s through the creation of art— through poems that dissect life’s messiness and disappointment—that this narrator finds relief, power, pleasure, actualization, and stability. Rose explores pleasures, too, in Frayed Edges, like morning coffee, the revivifying powers of Lucky Strikes, and the “wild and benevolent women” she relishes counting as friends.

But much of this inviting, accessible collection has at its heart Rose’s relationship with writing itself, as poems search for uncompromised truths about the isolation of an artist’s life: “Most importantly, / never trust yourself. / And trust only yourself.” A preface suggests that creating this work has helped the author navigate this world, and the verses throughout seem to capture a mind in playful, urgent self-definitional work that becomes both subject and purpose. “I’m just a dangerously cognizant girl / poeticizing her complaints,” Rose writes, and despite the occasional lumpy stanza she demonstrates the cognizance—plus savvy and self-knowledge and talent for surprise—to make those complaints sing.

Takeaway: Inspired poems of a romantic spirit pitted against New York in the era of content.

Comparable Titles: Kate Baer, Hannah Sullivan.

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

Click here for more about Frayed Edges

White’s ambitious, fast-paced treasure-hunt thriller connects historical fact, violent villains, a mystical beast, and a good-old fashioned treasure hunt. Disgraced Navy honor guard Lieutenant Carter Porter is drunk when Russian mercenaries break into the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel that houses the tomb of Revolutionary War hero John Paul Jones. Carter thinks the break-in is linked to the tattered journal his recently deceased father left him, an heirloom that once belonged to General Horace Porter, a distant ancestor, who delivered Jones’ body from its original resting place in Paris to America. When Carter receives a mysterious letter containing a plane ticket to Scotland and a request to bring the journal, he figures he has nothing left to lose and makes the trip. At the Bonnie Ness Inn, he bumps into 15-year-old motel clerk Hassie Douglass, who is being hounded by the press because she found four gold coins suspected of being from the fabled lost treasure of Loch Arkaig.

Polished, propulsive, and boasting intrigue at every turn, the story reads like a blockbuster cinematic adventure. Hassie and Carter are soon joined by Royce MacArthur, deputy of the Right for Scotland independence movement, who suspects the treasure, given by Spain to fund the Stuart clan’s supplantment of the British monarchy in Scotland, was moved in 1753 and given to John Paul Jones’ father. With Hassie’s knowledge of where she found the coins, Carter’s journal with cryptic clues to finding the elusive treasure, and Royce’s historical information, the trio must find the treasure before the deadly mercenaries chasing them do.

White propels the story through kidnappings, murder, cars being run off the road, the David’s Tower ruins of Edinburgh Castle, the golden relic of an Incan god, and a meeting with Nessie (a name that the creature hates, incidentally). The historical facts blend intuitively with iconic fantasy and amiable characters for a suspenseful adventure worthy of Harrison Ford or Nicolas Cage.

Takeaway: Action-packed treasure hunt with peril and warmth worthy of blockbusters.

Comparable Titles: Preston & Child, Brad Meltzer’s The Book of Lies.

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

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“Embrace the adventure,” ex-Marine James Roslyn advises his brother, Alan, as the two set off on an unlikely quest and fishing trip to find the mysterious reservation village their grandfather, recently deceased, described in a fifty-year-old note James discovered hidden in a Carl Jung book not long after the funeral. That advice could be aimed at readers, too, embarking on this searching, mystic epic from Martin (author of The Flower from the Garbage.) With their grandfather’s ashes in tow, and James’s life in tatters after the breakup of his marriage, the brothers soon discover Aanakwad, “the Village in the cloud,” a sort of Northwoods Bali Hai. They’re greeted warmly by Chief Makwa, whom their grandfather met when both were young, and encouraged to learn from the tribe’s ways: honoring the land, honoring life, and only concerning yourself “with matters of the soul.”

As the brothers embrace their journey, with Alan making a “sacrifice” of his wristwatch and eventually letting years pass, Martin digs deep into the tribe’s beliefs, practices, and history. Martin writes for an audience interested in wisdom and discovery rather than brisk plotting, but he offers strong scenic detail and a storyteller’s flair, even when devoting some fifty pages to the tribe’s origin story. (Martin makes clear that, while sharing some connection to the Ojibwe, Makwa’s tribe is an original invention.)

Among them, James encounters temptation in the beautiful Winona, who can see he yearns to kiss her but warns “I can’t betray my people.” She does, though, encourage him in a quest: to catch Maashkinoozag, the giant muskie fish his grandfather encountered. Martin finds tension and lessons for living throughout, though the novel’s protracted length, unhurried pace, and dreamlike atmosphere will appeal mostly to an audience of dedicated seekers. Garish digital illustrations generated with the aid of AI don’t add much, and their emphasis on lithe nude Native women will further limit the audience.

Takeaway: Searching, epic-length novel of a bereft Marine in a lost indigenous village.

Comparable Titles: Robert Owings’s Call of the Forbidden Way, Carlos Castaneda.

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

Click here for more about The Mighty Esox

This emotionally transparent debut from cancer survivor James captures, with brutally honest storytelling and vivid detail, the powerful feelings and medical procedures that accompany a breast cancer diagnosis. James holds nothing back as she shares her journey to remission, acknowledging the devastation her diagnosis wrought from the start: "May 1, 2017, was the day I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. And I knew then it would scar my memory forever." The account is equally engaging and intense, bursting with optimism even as James delves into the darkest moments of her fight.

From the initial discovery of a lump in her right breast, James recounts in arresting detail how the diagnosis affected her personally as well as those in "the secret society"—the close friends and family members she chose to share the news with and include in her recovery. James also explores the ways she coped, both after hearing the diagnosis and during chemotherapy treatments, methods that included meditation to stop her negative thoughts and visualization of loved ones for strength—“Out of my love for them, I’ll find the courage to go on” she writes.

James makes it clear her suffering has a purpose—to mentor others, drawing on her experience as “a constant reminder that hope, much like joy, is contagious, and hope, in itself, is powerful.” That desire to help is palpable throughout, as James offers readers practical tools, including a “Healing Light Meditation” she created to aid her body’s recovery, as both an audio link and embedded in the text. "Even if I wanted to remain in my old life, there was no way I could. I had changed. The cancer had changed me, and there was no going back" James declares, and that resolve persists through the 247 days from diagnosis to ringing the bell on her last treatment. This will resonate with anyone affected by cancer.

Takeaway: A powerful anthem of hope and perseverance in the fight against cancer.

Comparable Titles: Natalie Holland’s Scarred but Smarter, John Marshall and Liza Marshall’s Off Our Chests.

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

Click here for more about Feisty Righty: A Cancer Survivor's Journey

Dee (Yes, I See You) spotlights the importance of trees in this meditative picture book. The story opens with a sapling, referred to as Small One, who “want[s] nothing more than to commune with everything in its magical world.” The forest animals humor the sapling and its surrounding trees by sitting with them, but when humans arrive in the area, the trees are shocked to discover they aren’t interested in spending time sitting with the sapling—they are too rushed and purposeful to stop and admire the forest’s inhabitants.

Nature is skillfully rendered in this beautiful story. Dee and Kaya Oldaker’s illustrations evoke the serenity and stillness that come with spending time in the natural world, whether that’s the fox resting in a twilight forest or the muted tones of sunlight slanting through the treetops. Humans are pictured first as indigenous hunter gatherers, but Dee goes through the progression from settlers in covered wagons to towns connected by roads to, eventually, the kiss of death for the forest’s inhabitants: once machines are invented “to move and do things faster,” the forest is whittled down to one lone bald cypress tree, starkly isolated by high rise buildings, robots, and spaceships. As the story’s most recent humans finally settle down to spend time with the tree, they reflect on the world’s changes that led to the trees’ near extinction.

Nature lovers of all ages will appreciate the book’s call to action. Dee closes with a plea for readers to plant new trees to change Earth’s current trajectory, as well as interesting facts about the bald cypress tree featured in the book. Careful readers will notice that once the trees are gone, humans must wear helmets to breathe, driving home the responsibility each reader has to save some of “the oldest living organisms on planet Earth.”

Takeaway: Beautiful call to action for young readers to save Earth’s trees.

Comparable Titles: Peter Wohlleben’s Can You Hear the Trees Talking?, Duncan Beedie’s The Lumberjack’s Beard.

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

Click here for more about The Seeking Tree

Patten (author of Whispers of a Gypsy) spins a brooding and twisty tale of New Orleans’s underbelly in the first of his New Orleans Haunts series. John and Wayne Carter—twins growing up in the early 1900s—attend school and spend their free time embroiled in petty theft on dark city streets at night. But when their mother is found murdered and rumored to have been unfaithful, their father, a famous New Orleans musician, withdraws from life, leaving the boys to their own devices. Soon, their father’s choices lead to his murder as well, and the brothers face a lifetime of poverty, with no family to support them.

After seeking help from their nearest relative—a wealthy uncle who wants nothing to do with them—John and Wayne decide to embark on a pickpocketing career to survive. Unfortunately, their first victim is Jacques St. Germain, a mysterious, well-to-do aristocrat who turns the tables on the pair, offering them seemingly endless carnal pleasures in his mansion—as long as they agree to abide by his “house rules.” Bewitched by the decadence at their fingertips, and their endless days of hazy pleasure-seeking (thanks to a drink Jacques insists they imbibe that looks suspiciously like blood), both John and Wayne are soon caught in a web of trickery and enchantments.

Patten is a master at nightmarish buildup, strewing bits of history through the carnage that soon takes over John and Wayne’s lives. The New Orleans streets themselves seem to whisper of murder, vampires, and rippers—those evil, very human men who draw strength from drinking their victims’ blood—alongside a profound exploration of the line humans must cross to truly be considered monsters. Elements of romance and hope intertwine but, in true horror form, the story ends with a disturbing twist that will leave readers questioning everything they’ve read.

Takeaway: Dark and twisty tale of evil stalking New Orleans’s streets.

Comparable Titles: Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, George R.R. Martin's Fevre Dream.

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

Click here for more about BROTHERS OF BLOOD

In this emotionally engaging guide to the precarious art of moving forward, Druck (author of The Secrets Men Keep) shares anecdotes from his personal experience and from clients he has coached to explore the multitude of ways to keep going when life takes a hard turn. Examining the ups and downs of each stage of life from childhood to adulthood, Druck lays out in warm, practical tips and advice to face hardships and roadblocks, touching on, among other urgent topics, growing pains, divorce, the loss of a job, and facing grief and loss. An advocate of the practice of self compassion, Druck emphasizes the inevitability of such challenges, writing "Figuring out how to navigate life’s dark nights—as well as its everyday ups and downs, victories and losses, challenges and opportunities—is part of being human.”

Druck shares the heartbreaking story of the loss of his daughter, Jenna, in the touching opening chapters, demonstrating firsthand understanding of what it takes to find a way to go on—and that we’re all “works in progress.” “When asked how I’m doing,” he writes, “I explain that I’m deeply grateful for the blessings in my life but that ‘I walk with a limp in my heart.’” Other powerful passages cover his work as a grief coach and consultant on the front lines of American tragedies, including attacks of September 11, Sandy Hook, and Columbine. Structured to reflect a chronological progression of a life, with advice and examples keyed to different ages and milestones, How We Go On explores how facing adversity changes as we age, from the “arrogance” and “blind optimism” of youth to developing the “learned skills” and “mature mindset” when “adjusting to the relationship challenges of adult life.”

With clear prose and helpful pointers, Druck explicates many of those skills, covering how to strengthen “your self-care muscles," determine when to leave a relationship, support someone experiencing grief, and much more.

Takeaway: Wise, resonant guide to moving on from life's tragic events.

Comparable Titles: Marisa Renee Lee’s Grief is Love, Bruce D. Perry’s What Happened to You?

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

Click here for more about How We Go On

Lippe’s debut is a clear-eyed and encouraging guide to re-inventing yourself to thrive in changing times, to recharge amid setbacks, to achieve abundance, “explore the full spectrum of your potential,” and build a “personal brand that sustains, never retracts.” She shares her emotional journey of grief after the death of her husband and draws practical insights from the many ways she has reinvented herself and her brand over the course of an impressive career in media and as an entrepreneur. But the heart of Radical Reinvention is Lippe's 8-step Reinvention Toolkit, a tool laid out chapter by chapter with actionable steps illuminated by personal anecdotes, case studies of other "Re-Inventors," and Lippe’s incisive, empathetic insights. From dealing with loss, divorce, job loss, the COVID pandemic, or just wanting a radical change, Lippe makes the case —and shows what it takes—for striving "to always be ready for change.”

The stages of the Reinvention Toolkit (all named “re”s, as in Review, Recover, Reawaken, and more) lay out a clear route to stepping forward, renewed and invigorated, at times when "we retract into our shells when life gets hard.” With a welcome focus on family and supportive relationships, positivity, hard work, self-reflection, and inner work, Radical Reinvention touches on both the personal and the career-oriented, and Lippe’s always frank that transformation takes work, but she is a warm, enthusiastic coach, offering guidance, motivation, and a story that resonates and reflects whatever obstacles readers may be facing.

The reinvention stories come from all walks of life, reporting the experiences of a war hero, a trans social media influencer, a domestic abuse survivor, and more. Above all else, Lippe puts a spotlight on the struggles that can seem to derail one's path and a flexible framework for setting a new course and emerging replenished and rebranded on the other side. This is a powerful and persuasive book about seizing the opportunity to adjust, adapt, and find success while being true to yourself.

Takeaway: Smart, practical guide to reinventing one's life in the face of loss and challenges.

Comparable Titles: Dorie Clark’s Reinventing You, Julia Moulden’s We are the New Radicals.

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

Click here for more about Radical Reinvention: Reimagine, Reset, Reinvent in a Disruptive World

This rousing Christian historical novel, the first in Brouwer’s Last Disciple series, examines the life and labors of the disciple John (as in, “the Gospel according to …”) some three decades after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Jerusalem is a powder keg, with rising tensions among Romans, the Zealots, and other factions, and John and the early Christians are jolted by the murder of James the Just, their leader, by Ananus, the high priest of the Second Temple. With a new Roman governor arriving soon, and nobody certain whether he’ll side with Ananus or the Christians, John must navigate complex political, religious, and cultural politics, seeking aid from King Herod Agrippa II and the alluring Queen Berenice. But an even more pressing mission soon comes to him from a higher power: Mary herself, whom Jesus charged John with caring for from the cross itself. “Go,” she tells John. “Travel throughout Israel and strengthen the churches.”

And so this reluctant leader must face violence, refugee crises, secret meetings, uneasy alliances, threats to those he loves, rebels marching on Jerusalem, and situations so precarious that even Mary edges toward despair, saying “I cannot conceive of what has become of this city, so many seemingly gone mad.” But even in moments of great loss or after incidents of sometimes shocking violence Brouwer shines a hopeful light as his story fills in crucial lost years of the early church. Brouwer’s speculations are both compelling and plausible, and he deftly introduces a fractious Jerusalem and its conflicting factions.

That emphasis on millenia-old politics doesn’t slow down Brouwer’s warm, assured storytelling that offers crisp prose, engaging dialogue, welcome moments of levity, and a vivid sense of life in the desert, both in its harshness—“The sun, reaching its height, struck the rocks and the heat rose to a suffocating intensity”—and beauty, as “the green slopes of the Mount of Olives shimmered in the distance.” Lovers of biblical historical fiction will be transported.

Takeaway: The disciple John must strengthen the church in this engaging historical novel.

Comparable Titles: R.R. James’s The Baptist, Jay Parini’s The Damascus Road.

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

Click here for more about The Last Disciple: Crisis in Jerusalem

Markko tells the story of Agape, a Christian hard rock band on fire to share the gospel. Growing from what became known as the Jesus People Movement, Agape was at the birth of Contemporary Christian Music in Southern California in the late 1960s, together with Larry Norman and others. The band took off in a burst of evangelistic energy, growing in musicality and popularity together with the new Church in the Park. Markko traces the band’s development from coffee shops to arenas, a story of Bible study, growing audiences, bassists coming and going, and a horrible car accident. The group broke from Church in the Park following serious accusations of sexual harassment against its pastor Ron Turner, “a living billboard for Jesus.” Agape eventually found itself unable to keep booking gigs and eventually dissolved.

Markko was part of the Jesus People movement—“a unique dispensation of God’s grace telling the world, ‘I am still here. I still love you’”—and music scene as a performer with the All Saved Freak Band, and his intimate knowledge powers this history. His approach is celebratory, not digging deeply into conflicts or controversies, though Markko does history a service through his extensive interviews with participants in the band and others, including Turner, plus photos of the band and its orbit.

Agape was emblematic of the movement, which has often been overlooked in other histories of Christianity in twentieth century America, especially considering how Contemporary Christian Music morphed into worship music rather than evangelistic music. Markko recounts the band’s journey with the tenor of a storyteller spinning a yarn about the old days. He warns us not to expect historical precision, but his excitement about the movement of the Holy Spirit and the proclamation of the gospel is infectious. A reader interested in the history of Contemporary Christian Rock, or the Jesus People movement, will appreciate this lively retelling.

Takeaway: Spirited history of pioneers of Christian Rock and the Jesus People Movement.

Comparable Titles: Richard Bustraan’s The Jesus People Movement, Ed Zipp and Debbie Zipp’s First Love.

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

Click here for more about Genesis of a Genre

Crafted as a response to the works of Yuval Noah Harari, the author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, this impassioned treatise from Welekwe sounds a warning against the possibility of a transhuman future where homo sapiens, fundamentally altered by ever-advancing technologies, may evolve into “a godlike human species in which the traditional categories of ‘human’ and ‘God’ may be obsolete.” Welekwe acknowledges that prescient power of Harrari’s work while assailing what he sees as Harrari’s “obvious rejection and open mockery of God.” To that end, Welekwe offers this book as a corrective, calling for readers who may feel that “something isn’t quite right” in our digital age to reject a possible future as “homo deus” and connect instead to something greater than technology: the God of the Christian Bible.

The title, Homo Novus, refers to an altogether different evolutionary leap, a new species of humanity that believers can join through connection with Jesus Christ. Welekwe draws on a lifetime of work in information technology to discuss issues like the “surveillance capitalism,” bioengineering, cybernetics, and the possibility of the Singularity, all as part of his exploration of bigger ideas, like the illusions of the view of history that humanity is on a path of ascendance. He warns, “Every new invention we pull off just widens the gap between us and the Garden of Eden—the Paradise of God.”

He builds to that argument by considering the relationship between humanity, technology, and God over millennia, often from a Biblical perspective. Christian readers may find his conclusions and explorations of theology persuasive, but in his arguments Welekwe takes faith as a given, offering little to convince readers who don’t already share convictions like this one: “I express this with caution—if faced with a choice between death and loyalty to Christ and His kingdom, one should be prepared to choose death.”

Takeaway: Impassioned treatise surveying humanity’s tech future but calling for a recommitment to God.

Comparable Titles: Jacob Shatzer’s Transhumanism and the Image of God, Craig M. Gay’s Modern Technology and the Human Future.

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

Click here for more about Homo Novus

In Monnerat and Chalkley’s encouraging picture book for young children, a boy named Milo learns the power of feeling many emotions at once. Milo’s mom has signed him up for summer camp, and he wants to be excited but instead feels nervous. His friend Bobby responds by telling Milo how much fun he had at camp last summer, causing Milo to feel misunderstood. As a result, Milo avoids Bobby for a few days, which gives Bobby time to remember his own initial reluctance about camp. He also recalls the pivotal conversation with a counselor that changed the way he thought about feelings that seemed too big to handle.

This is where the book’s one-word title comes into play. Bobby shares with Milo that people can feel more than one thing at a time—for example, he can be excited and nervous at the same time. This realization frees Milo from trying to sort out his conflicting emotions, which he expresses in a relatable way: “When I tell myself to be excited, I feel scared again, which makes me mad all over.” As Bobby points out, kids aren’t typically taught that they can feel many things at once, so this vital lesson will give readers tools to sort through overwhelming situations in their own lives.

Hopkins’ illustrations use moody, muted hues that complement the subject matter. Many scenes show Milo and Bobby walking along a sidewalk, their confusion or frustration evident on their faces. Some of the most powerful images delve into the characters’ inner worlds—in one instance, Bobby sits dejectedly in a corner while the words “TOO BIG” hover above him, and in another the boys swing from tree limbs while a glowing ampersand bounces between them. The book finishes with activities to help young readers explore their own feelings, making this reassuring story an excellent social-emotional learning tool.

Takeaway: Illuminating story of a boy learning that he can feel many things at once.

Comparable Titles: Britney Winn Lee’s The Boy with Big, Big Feelings, Anna Llenas’s The Color Monster.

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

Click here for more about And

A self-described digital nomad, Howard provides practical advice for caring for feline companions while enjoying traveling the open roads of America in a home on wheels. While the nomadic van life began with horse drawn caravans, the digital age, which allows remote working, has been a boon to van life for people who crave minimalism, sustainability, and environmental consciousness. Retirees, intrepid adventurers, world travelers, families, and counterculture and back to nature spirits have embraced the van life. Howard focuses on those travelers with feline friends, catering to their comfort and safety. He explains budgeting not only for gas, food, and van breakdowns but also for veterinary care, building vans with pet-friendly interiors, maintaining a work-life-cat balance because cats like routine, and the practical legalities for crossing international borders with animals.

“This is the joy and chaos of van life with cats, where the rhythms of the road meet the insistent demands of the domesticated,” Howard declares. Peppered with small nuggets of information, this brief guide delivers user-friendly information on creating a cat-friendly environment with litter box, proper food storage, and stimulating toys—he emphasizes the need for order and cleanliness when making a van a home, plus a harness and leash, first for the “delicate dance” of training, explained in six steps that encourage “paws-itive vibes,” and then for outdoor adventures.

This is a compassionate, frank, and direct resource to give prospective adventurers, especially those with cats, a jumping off point to think about and plan for nomadic van life, with clear advice about what it takes to keep cats safe, comfortable, and healthy, from items like emergency kits with frequently used medications, microchips, and trackers to that most pressing need every cat feels, whether on wheels or not: emotional support. Anecdotes about specific feline travelers, such as Howard’s Nicki and Nora Charles, named for Dashiell Hammett’s Thin Man sleuths, are especially charming.

Takeaway: Brief, informative guide for making a safe van-life environment for cats.

Comparable Titles: Cleveland Amory’s The Best Cat Ever, Christopher S. Wren’s The Cat Who Covered the World.

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

Click here for more about Van Life With Cats

Pettijohn (author of Public Opinion) takes readers on an uproarious, expectation-defying journey through the final year of four high school friends in Tulsa as a playful spree turns deadly. The mission of Jon Ryan, Fonz, Weasel, and Hernandez: to create unforgettable senior pranks that will go down in school history. The first half of the novel is a spirited coming-of-age story, painting a vivid picture of these friends determined to savor their time before graduation in 2006, just before smartphones changed American life. They take turns orchestrating increasingly absurd pranks, from stealing a llama to painting a blue wall…well, a slightly different shade of blue. Their plans go awry when they fall unwittingly into a petty thievery gone wrong, leading to the discovery of not one but two dead bodies, stolen jewels and an angry yakuza gang. The seniors must now decide to either put aside their pranks and do the right but difficult thing—or abandon all morality and save themselves.

Their escapades lead to hilarious and often suspenseful confrontations with their school principal, detectives, a dead history teacher, thieving older boys, and of course their own parents and futures, as their impending graduation is as threatened as their lives. Pettijohn crafts a compelling narrative, with strong scenes and dialogue, that pits these well-drawn friends against real dangers and an array of eccentric characters, while exploring their camaraderie with that bittersweet edge of a time of transition—even without the thriller trappings, after senior year their lives will never be the same.

Pettijohn also captures, with wit and specificity, the cultural moment of Napster, Xanax, MySpace, and the Columbine shootings while finding pathos in the friends’ upbringings and expectations. This blend of sharp-elbowed nostalgia (including a paean to Fuddruckers), boisterous humor, sociocultural realism, and crime story is potent, as Pettijohn explores the underlying themes of friendship, community, youthful recklessness as these four edge toward something scarier than gangsters: adulthood.

Takeaway: Sharply funny story of high schoolers whose pranks pit them against the crime world.

Comparable Titles: T. Geronimo Johnson’s Welcome to Braggsville, Amelia Kahaney’s All the Best Liars

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

Click here for more about For What It's Worth

With a hint of whimsy, a dash of adventure, and a plethora of age-appropriate life lessons, Nelson’s fourth novel in the middle grade Pingzi & Benzel mystery (after The Dragon’s Omen) series will be celebrated by young readers and their caregivers. Eleven-year-old Pingzi Po is not only the cousin of the Emperor of the Far East, she’s also the land’s only demon queller, a position she takes quite seriously. She’s accompanied in her duties by her guardian, a Northlander named Benzel of the Wolf, who balances her impulsiveness with a firm, yet gentle hand while she helps him heal the wounds of a lost family—and makes his life more than a little interesting. When word of a new demon queller reaches the Emperor, he sends the pair on a journey to the city of Sheng, in the Feng Shu province, to solve the mystery of the missing dragon’s breath and investigate the newcomer’s claim.

Delicately penned details leading to a joyful, gleeful exploration of the Far East culture lay the foundation for a story that’s lush with life lessons presented in an engaging, light-hearted manner. Themes ranging from accountability to tolerance to maturity are brought to life in Pingzi. When she finds herself disobeying explicit instructions, even though she had the best of intentions, Pingzi is quick to admit fault, explain her actions, and accept the consequences. Her chosen-family relationship with Benzel is gently showcased, directly contrasting the lack of relationship she has with her mother and sisters, thanks to assigned gender roles and outdated cultural mores.

Pingzi’s occasional lapses into wise-beyond-her-years maturity may feel disingenuous to some readers. However, that’s far outweighed by the moments of gentle adult humor (particularly in the sweet exasperation of Benzel) and the book’s innocent, sensitive approach to growing up in difficult times. Readers will find themselves utterly captivated by the vividly drawn characters and lush setting.

Takeaway: Captivating mystery of dragons, demons, and Young Adult life lessons.

Comparable Titles: Darcie Little Badger’s Elatsoe, Cindy Lin’s The Twelve.

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

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With vivid international backdrops and a survival story pulsing with compelling mystery, McKenzie’s debut novel grabs from the start and never lets go. A year after her fiancé Kyle’s sudden death, globe-traveling tech executive Tess Bennett suffers in silence and in noise, frequenting punk shows but not facing her feelings. But then, north of Vancouver, she’s caught up in a terrorist attack. “I kill people, and you’re my paycheck for this week. Do you understand me, Ms. Bennett?” asks her kidnapper. Facing a quick execution, Tess must rely on new acquaintance Dr. Mark Nygaard to escape, and from there the mystery deepens, possibly connecting back to her own painful recent past. With almost no one to trust and her life yet again on the line, Tess, with the help of Mark, must find answers, chasing clues left by the last person she ever expected to hold secrets.

A tight, urgent plot and convincing, well-written characters are the foundation for this powerhouse thriller, which is powered by strong tension, crisp bursts of action, relatable feeling, and a welcome touch of romance. With painstaking attention to detail as the story and heroes race to surprising locales, McKenzie hauls readers along on a memorable, unpredictable adventure whose stakes always feel personal. McKenzie deftly seeds clues, puzzles, and satisfying revelations and twists throughout, never sacrificing forward momentum while bringing readers up to speed—and often upending expectations. Watching Tess and Mike unravel clues involving London dragons and ‘80s pop hits is a pleasure.

“Everything’s a puzzle for you techies. Why can’t you meet at a coffee shop like normal people?” Mark asks, as Tess begins to unravel one of The Unexpected Hostage’s many coded messages. That bantering spirit and the thrill of the chase lift Tess, just as it will readers who relish thrillers with smart characters, take-charge women, and more swords than you might expect in a story about tech companies and coverups. More, please.

Takeaway: Gripping thriller finds a tech exec on the run—and on the hunt.

Comparable Titles: Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me, Rebecca Zanetti.

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

Click here for more about The Unexpected Hostage