An Alzheimer’s diagnosis can be devastating not only for the individual with the disease, but also for their family and loved ones. In Gerdner and Witter’s heartfelt picture book for young children, a little girl grapples with her grandmother’s cognitive decline and finds ways to enjoy their relationship despite these challenges. Set in a Kingston, Jamaica, neighborhood that bursts with color and life, the story follows the girl and her mother as they help Grandma stay connected to the things she loves, such as picking fruit, going to church, reading her Bible, a grand family dinner, and relishing time with her pet dog, the adorable Calypso.

Told only through pictures, this story is sincere and touching in its message of unconditional love. Despite her struggles, Grandma is treated consistently with kindness and respect, with her daughter and granddaughter assisting her as needed. This offers children a helpful example of how to treat their own elderly relatives. The absence of words will also allow kids to tell the story themselves and discuss what is happening with an adult who can help them fully understand scenes that, while upsetting, have become an increasingly common part of growing up. Still, the mother in the story does explain, with warmth, the hard truth of the grandmother’s diagnosis: that no medicine can cure the disease, and that her condition will get worse.

Amy Bunnell Jones’s vibrant and distinctive images are more than up to the task of carrying this relatable story. Set in the colorful tropical climate of Jamaica, the pictures show Grandma enjoying nature, eating meals with her family, and connecting deeply with those around her. The characters’ emotions are clearly visible on their faces, whether Grandma is grinning broadly while hugging her dog or the little girl is grappling with tinges of sadness over her grandmother’s illness. Overall this book shows the power of love and patience in navigating challenging circumstances.

Takeaway: A little girl grapples with her grandmother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Comparable Titles: Kathryn Harrison’s Weeds in Nana’s Garden, J Elizabeth’s Will Grandma Remember Me?

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

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The third installment of Tansley’s time-crossed, playfully haunted, spookily romantic Unbelievables series (after The Girl Who Saved Ghosts) again centers on young Kat, striving to strengthen her spellcasting while handling AP classes. Between “bizarre ghost encounter”s and a fight with her bestie, Kat re-joins her friend Evan to continue their quest to reunite four families (Langleys, Kingsleys, Radcliffes, and Mallorys) who share an entwined arcane past with their lost amulets—and then defeat the Dark One. After the jolting, soul-claiming events of the second book, Kat and Evan try to assume some measure of normalcy while time-traveling on weekends to Kat’s ancestral Connecticut home, where they train and hone Kat’s powers as the Langley priestess.

Their soul connection, however, adds a layer of confusion to their feelings: is it love or obligation that draws them to each other, and how do they handle the 400-year-old curse of Langley/Kingsley unions? As they uncover clues, sometimes in the form of ghosts, they learn they must first travel to Evan’s ancestral home, Ravenhurst, and fight wraiths and “unbelievables” who travel via shadow. From there, the quest takes them even deeper back in time, which once again involves possessing others’ bodies—always a tricky situation that Tansley keeps fresh and strange. With the help of family and friends, both living and ghosts, the heroes persevere, as Tansley builds to sharp twists and surprises, jolting readers, raising the stakes, and showcasing Kat’s increasing confidence and maturity: “Maybe it’s from seeing so many lifetimes of mistakes,” the era-hopping, legacy-saving hero quips. “I’ve picked up a thing or two.”

Despite the richness of invention and complexity of out-of-time family legacies, Tansley keeps the rules and quirks of this cozily gothic saga’s ghosts, possessions, secrets, time hops, and more crisp and clear, while deftly wringing from them much suspense and surprise. (This time, loyal gargoyles are a highlight.) This entry moves the narrative significantly forward, and the fans will be eager to get to the next.

Takeaway: Sparkling adventure of ghosts, secrets, time travel, and just enough romance.

Comparable Titles: Adriana Mather’s How to Hang a Witch, Kate Anderson’s Here Lies Olive.

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

Click here for more about The Girl Who Loved Ghosts

The sixth collection from Thompson (author of Quickwater Oracles) is a literary mosaic of recollections, vignettes, and retellings of familiar stories, standing as something of a poet’s memoir—part history, part reinvention, part revision of works from across her career. Thompson guides the reader through intimately mundane moments and scenes of epic proportion, from children half-perching on their great-grandmother to spare her their weight to Penelope at her loom, understanding that “When the Hero comes back from her journey / she is in the greatest danger of all.” Each entry stands alone, but the disparate pieces—united in crisp and incisive language and rhythms that suggest the process of breathing—cohere, suggesting Thompson’s journey across changing landscapes and through passing years, from the wonder of childhood to the griefs and triumphs of maturity.

This marriage of new and (revisited) selected work reveals an experienced poet seeking new modes of expression. Meditating on the language to describe a tree, Thompson writes, "Let me grow a word for this." Indeed, her verse is plantlike, establishing deep roots before stretching sunward; the images are verdant if occasionally disorienting. Though the poems’ subjects vary considerably, nature is a prominent throughline—whether recounting personal history or detouring into myth, Thompson’s eye ceaselessly returns to the natural world. "There's a lot I’m skipping," she admits in "The Cabin,” because, relatably, "I want to get to the blue jays." The effect encourages readers to note details, both on the page and in the world around them.

As a retrospective project, memory is another major theme. Thompson’s portrayal is bittersweet. Memory falters and fails in her poems, but it is also carefully excavated and preserved, sometimes remade: Apollo's priestess is suspended between divination and dementia; an anxious child catches her mother’s proud expression; a father's ghost attends his daughter's wedding. The poems illuminate with fairytales and birdsong both what remains and what has been forgotten. “Memory slips away now,” Thompson reflects, “like a fish you see moving under water, sliding past the hook." Tender, reflective, and finely crafted, Journey Bread baits that hook.

Takeaway: Tender poems of personal history, myth, and meditations on nature.

Comparable Titles: Deborah Digges, Theodore Roethke.

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

Click here for more about Journey Bread

This gripping story of Takeshi, a young Japanese soldier who enlists in the Imperial Army with hopes of securing a brighter future for himself and his sister, takes place against the turbulent backdrop of the Second World War, when even a whisper of displeasure about Japan’s imperial family is enough to warrant a beating—or worse. Takeshi, continually reminded of the glory that comes with dying in battle, quickly finds himself entangled in the brutal realities of war amid his unit’s oppressive occupation of Guam. As he grapples with the inhumanity surrounding him, he forms unexpected bonds with the indigenous islanders and uncovers the ancient spirits that protect their land.

Aleja’s narrative entwines historical detail and mystical elements, portraying Takeshi's internal struggle as he is tasked with convincing local healers in Guam to aid the Japanese troops, who are suffering from mysterious ailments. The tension escalates as Takeshi learns that the island’s spirits demand repentance for the soldiers' transgressions, and his superiors' relentless destruction of the locals leaves few healers capable of assisting. Aleja doesn’t shy away from recounting the brutality and violence of the island’s occupation, and the story’s supernatural dimension adds a layer of complexity, with the spirits’ retribution against the invaders a chilling counterpoint to their wartime atrocities.

Takeshi's moral conflict and gradual transformation is both compelling and heartbreaking, shedding light on the human capacity for compassion amidst the horrors of war. The story’s supernatural components take longer to develop, but as Takeshi discovers more of the spirits’ forces, so, too, does his awareness grow that he, and his fellow soldiers, must learn to respect the island—and its people—in spite of their military assignment. The book excels in its atmospheric setting and character development, delivering a thought-provoking read that deftly combines historical fiction with fantasy and cultural exploration.

Takeaway: Haunting journey through the complexities of war, culture, and the supernatural.

Comparable Titles: Christine Kohler, Tanya Taimanglo.

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

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Bareford’s outstanding debut integrates a riveting story of political intrigue into the genuine historical events and social tensions of post-WWI America. Fred Dunn is a traumatized WWI vet working in a government Veteran’s Work Project camp in the Florida Keys when a chance encounter with Cornell students Cindy and Ella embroils him in a dangerous covert political mission to infiltrate a bank vault in Havana. When things don’t go as planned, they must improvise—forcing Fred and Ella on a dangerous journey they must complete before a major hurricane hits the region. As they try to outrun both the storm and their pursuers, they discover that their connection may not be as accidental as they once believed.

Bareford meticulously captures interwar America, immersing readers not just by infusing the pages with an abundance of era-specific cultural references (Betty Boop, “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary,” Clark Gable) but also by making real contemporary events foundational to the story—the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and the Veterans Work Program camps are historically accurate. Many characters are also drawn from Cuba’s history—Ernest Hemingway, Cuban General Gerardo Machado, and gangster Meyer Lansky all figure in, along with many other public figures and private citizens, each identified at the back of the book.

While the main characters are fictionalized composites, they blend seamlessly into the book’s authentic people, places and events, their network of liaisons and motivations adding drama and passion to their nonfictional backdrop. Fast-paced and often racy, with snappy dialogue laced with wry humor, Veterans Key never shies away from the tragedies of the time. Visceral flashbacks of the Great War, brutal political violence, and the heartrending death and destruction that the hurricane inflicts may disturb some readers. Bareford surfaces the human experience within these massive, intractable events, offering an exciting window into the past.

Takeaway: Exciting, immersive political thriller that blends historical fact and fiction .

Comparable Titles: Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth.

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

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Author of The Gingerbread Twins and the duck tale No Wet Feet for Quincy, Hayes opts for a human protagonist in this picture book following young Garrett’s stressful classroom experience in the face of an open-ended assignment: his teacher asks the class to “write a story that comes to mind. Something creative of any kind.” Drawing on her experience as an elementary school educator, Hayes compassionately imagines the at times paralyzing despair students like Garrett experience (whose “brain sees numbers and patterns the best”) when they’re tasked with an unstructured writing prompt. Touchingly, though, Get Out Your Paper also demonstrates the wondrous results that can come from students like Garrett rising to the occasion.

As his peers begin their assignment, Garrett stares at a blank page, unable to think of anything except what he would rather be doing instead of writing, like “science or math” or even unpleasant tasks, like babysitting his younger brother, taking out the trash, or even getting “an itchy red rash”. Steder’s illustrations of these hypothetically more tolerable tasks are expressive, vibrant, and imbued with characteristics of Garrett’s personality. When Garrett starts to panic about his empty page, Steder cleverly draws a scribbling, chaotic landscape of mental claustrophobia that reflects Garrett’s inner turmoil with clarity and empathetic power.

In imagining tasks he would rather be doing, Garrett unwittingly builds a narrative of his own self: a caring, helpful, adventurous son, student, friend, brother, and, most importantly, a “one-of-a-kind” person. Though centered on a seemingly mundane classroom exercise, Hayes’s story packs profound lessons and demonstrates the transformations students experience in their intellectual capacity and self-esteem when they step outside their comfort zones. Young students who suffer from scholastic apathy or insecurities regarding school work will see a kindred spirit in Garrett and may find his unorthodox storytelling refreshing and inspiring.

Takeaway: Fun, inspiring story about a young student finding his voice during a writing assignment

Comparable Titles: Corinna Luyken’s The Book of Mistakes, Jolene Gutiérrez’s Too Much!

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

Click here for more about Get Out Your Paper

Blending self-help, gender studies, a strong dash of satire, Willis offers a sort of emotional and psychological roadmap for men looking for ways to embrace a healthy, forthright masculinity stripped of that term’s worst stereotypical traits (“male hyper-arrogance, male fear of intelligent females, the insane over-emphasis on sports and athletics,” and more) but also unafraid of the “bullies on the left” and a “false narrative of toxic manhood.” Calling for a mindful “traditional masculinity” that is “purged of alpha male worship,” Willis describes two familiar contemporary ideas of manhood that young men find themselves navigating between without guidance: the out-dated norms of the so-called “alpha”s who generally survive by blindly rambling over others, feelings be damned, or the “emasculated,” confused, and often lonely “male nerds, geeks, and good guys” who are in “desperate need” of an alternative.

Willis’s project is to guide readers to a third choice, one that reclaims the best of traditional masculinity, prepares men to meet the obligations of maturity, and prevents “masculine crises”—like porn addiction or inceldom—through rites of passage, actively encourages discussion and contemplation of what it means to be a good man, and more. There’s clear-eyed, inspiring material throughout, though the text is often searching and somewhat arcane, especially as Willis contemplates the urgency of separating from one’s parents before their deaths, “petro males” and their lack of interest in recycling, how the intelligence of “blue-collar men” is often underestimated, or why young men should read Kipling, who is quoted at length. Readers unfamiliar with Scylla and Charbydis will have to Google.

Willis assigns some sharp advice to “co-author” Pluck, an “inner voice” who urges readers to “seek the highest internal standards” and offers reminders like “nonconformism is the gateway drug to comfort zone extraction.” There’s truth in that line, which exemplifies the spirit of this impassioned, at-times fusty book that, for all its eccentricities, offers much to consider, such as the importance of respecting family history, taking care of one’s health, maintaining basic civilities, always striving to learn, and not accepting simple ideas about what a man should be.

Takeaway: Impassioned call for a new, un-toxic masculinity.

Comparable Titles: Frederick Joseph’s Patriarchy Blues, bell hooks’s The Will to Change.

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

Click here for more about How to Stand and Pee and not be a Dick about it--Rites of Passage: The Navigation of Masculinity between the Scylla of Radical Feminism and the Charybdis of Toxic Manhood

In the enthralling followup to 1933: The Detective, readers—and a 1980s pickpocket—are plunged into 1938 New York and a twisty, time-bending power struggle between the Time Operations Executive, a mysterious organization employing “commuters” who carry missives back across decades (like “bet New York Yankees”), and the rival org known as the Brotherhood of the Lemniscate Cross. The Executive and the Brotherhood are officially in a détente, and Executive operative Sarah Williams has ingratiated herself with Father Michael, the Brotherhood leader who murdered her parents and is now tasking her with chaperoning children across war-shaken Europe to Switzerland, likely for horrifying reasons. (Something called the Eugenics Research Center is involved.)

The series again offers literate high adventure that demonstrates a clear love of the pulp past, newsreels and radio, and long-gone American vernacular—“You’re not gonna blow your wig again and make tracks again?” Sarah asks Doug, the quick-fingered cardsharp whose displacement from the Reagan era (via the virus that drives the series) offers opportunity for out-of-time confusion, pathos, and comedy. When Doug glimpses a bowler-hatted “commuter,” he thinks he’s “dressed like that band that came out [with] the Specials and the English Beat.”

For all the fun and adventure—the story involves circus life and catacombs, Brownshirts and secret basement lairs—the conflict centers on issues of control and freedom, with Sarah and co. at times wondering what they really know about the Executive. The Executive, they know, wants to change the future; the Brotherhood wants things to remain the same. Doug proclaims he’s “not much of a joiner,” but his discovery of a cause over the novel’s course proves rousing, as a robust set of heroes face questions about who to trust and the possibility that Father Michael is working with a greater threat than they know—and possibly the Nazis, too. Readers who love smart time-travel adventure with found family teambuilding will be eager for the next volume.

Takeaway: Smart, surprising time-travel adventure steeped in 1930s New York.

Comparable Titles: Connie Willis, Roy Huff.

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

Click here for more about The New Rules of Time Travel: 1938 The Deceiver

Ottosen’s first entry in his Mirrin Bank trilogy forges a complex conspiracy following Søren Storm, contractor for the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, his pregnant girlfriend Birgitte Holm, and journalist Kurt Østergaard, whose stepfather shot himself months earlier. When Østergaard stumbles onto a mysterious parchment that leads him to a series of astonishing discoveries, including a previously unrecorded meeting between two old Danish and Mayan kings, he inadvertently uncovers a centuries-old conspiracy, one that Storm is pulled into after learning a dirty bomb may be planned for the anniversary celebration of Queen Margrethe.

Ottosen spends a lot of time fleshing out his protagonists before the threads of the narrative start to converge in this historical thriller, but once the action begins it rarely lets up. As the story unfolds, the conspiracy theory that Jesus Christ fathered a child—who became the Merovingian line of kings in France—becomes a crucial cog in a plot to install Prince Henrik as the new king of Denmark, due to his supposed connection to the Merovingian line. That development connects Ottosen’s story to the Mayan calendar, counting down to Ragnarök—the Norse apocalypse.

Though tangled, the narrative’s myriad pieces eventually come together in a breathlessly thrilling pace, as seemingly trivial details become critical—and the most unlikely conspiracy possibilities become all too real. The final narrative thread belongs to Hans Jensen, an unassuming mailman with deep loyalties to Muslim terrorists. Storm, Holm, and Østergaard all must confront life-risking perils of their own, as they face consequences that suggest the very fabric of the world is in danger. This entry culminates with the trio cooperating with a mysterious counter-terrorism unit, led by surprising figures, to best a shadowy opponent who’s trying to pin the attacks on the royal family on Iran. Ottosen leaves readers with a jolting ending that sets the stage for the next in the series.

Takeaway: Conspiracies, terrorism, and a looming apocalypse unite in this breakneck thriller.

Comparable Titles: James Rollins’s Arkangel, Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon.

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

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A feat of radical self-disclosure, Joy makes frank, funny art out of Too Much Information, covering sex, love, abuse, trauma, motherhood, and music with a let-it-blurt Gen X spirit. Joy notes that her favorite album is Fiona Apple’s brilliant When the Pawn …, whose full title runs over 40 words long, and Joy’s debut echoes that defiant sprawl, sharing Apple’s nervy insistence upon sharing her truth, her way. Hefty chapters, each titled with a M, explore “Manipulation,” “Marriage,” and the centerpiece “Men & Sex.” There, Joy divulges with brisk storytelling and jolting detail the highlights, lowlights, and horrors of “the dumpster fire of my sexual history,” all building to this heartbreaker of a punchline: “The sad fact is I can count on one hand [the partners] who actually got me off.”

Surveying her own life from a healthier, happier maturity, Joy is unsparing when it comes to sharing trials she has endured—rape, addiction, partner violence—and choices she has made. But even when addressing the weightiest topics, like attending a retreat for mothers who have had an abortion, her sharp-elbowed insights, buoyant dark humor, and commitment to empathy and acceptance all cast a spell—reading this is like a long boozy monologue from a funny friend, right down to asides recommending songs (over 700, in footnotes), gushing about Janet Jackson and the trail-blazing magazine Jane, and always cracking jokes.

The too-muchness of it all extends to the word count—this book goes on for days, and the topical chapter structure doesn’t allow for narrative momentum. That’s part of the point, though, as Joy charts her own course in all things. Her taste for lists (including a rundown of years of Halloween costumes, her favorite oldies, what she dislikes about her body, and more) is as engaging as her zeal for truth-telling, and her stories are often moving, especially on the subjects of friends, her children, and accepting others for who they are.

Takeaway: Frank, funny epic-length memoir of sex, motherhood, music, and taking control.

Comparable Titles: Elizabeth Wurtzel; Jerry Stahl’s Permanent Midnight.

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

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Following his saturnalian debut, Corvix, Lind’s sophomore collection resurrects Romantic poetry styles of Keats and Shelley to offer readers a substantive, sophisticated blend of poems with diverse range in subject matter and theme, featuring politically incisive tirades like “Good Morning America” or “Leviathan”—which imagines Oliver Cromwell snarling to today’s leaders “Why are you here, when it is you who have undermined the very principles of the institution in which you sit?”—and bucolic fantasies like “Hellborne Summer” and “Aspens.” Weaved among these disparate yet thematically overlapping poems is a lustful aching for the substance of life that the poems pursue through love, history, mythology, paganism, and the wonder of death.

The title poem is a searching parable in which a man must reckon with his sins before Death brings him finally to eternal rest: “And as I looked down upon my feet, Another body did I see, A body I’d not gleaned before… And the body, it was me.” The middling wood acts itself as a liminal space between life and death and also represents a state of being that is spiritually fulfilled through self-reflection and self-abandonment, and many of the poems survey this philosophical and spiritual territory, though some take a much more direct approach to spirituality, like twin poems “Black Pilgrimage,” and “Stregi,” which with an admiring spirit explore satanic paganism.

Several of Lind’s poems are also concerned with sexuality and love, like “Neolithic” in which a prehistoric human attempts to make a monument to his lover: “The tools that I most needed // I could not find at all, // So today, by torchlight, I drew your likeness // In ochre on a wall.” Others, like “Court of Night,” approach a shimmer of what the Romantic poets achieved in their enduring verses, and to Lind’s credit, beautifully resurrect their tradition in a contemporary context.

Takeaway: Lustful, erudite, inventive poems in a Romantic and pagan vein.

Comparable Titles: Michael R. Burch, George Sterling.

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

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Eglington returns with the second in her Kiara Noir Mother Nature series (after Born Torn), as Kiara prepares to be future queen of the kingdom. Her training regime is intense, but for good reason: not only will she reign over her subjects in the kingdom’s 11 provinces, her powers will also affect the humans living “Topside.” As a rare blood queen, she must learn to control her abilities to draw energy from the earth to harness fire, water, and air through grueling training sessions that leave her exhausted but eager to prove herself.

Readers will appreciate how Kiara’s successes often spring from her ability to overcome failure, as when, during her training, she progresses from being set on fire to creating a fire shield and fire hound for protection. Eglington paints her as a flawed hero who struggles with self-confidence even while quickly gaining the expertise she needs to rule; having been raised Topside herself on a Colorado ranch until her recent return to her birthright, Kiara doesn’t always feel at home in her kingdom—no one understands her references to Topside pop culture, she misses coffee terribly, and she hasn’t even mastered stag riding. As she works to learn the elaborate history of her kingdom and the complex obligations of her role, Kiara must also carve out her place within the royal family, among her new baby brother, a dangerously jealous aunt, and her grandmother Etta, the current queen.

Despite the high stakes of Kiara’s training and future, Eglington gifts her with a cheerfully sassy sense of humor that provides a refreshing contrast to the story’s intricate lore, and her determination in the face of uncertainty will inspire readers to follow along as she fights to find a balance among the powers within and around her. Eglington’s ending sees Kiara step into her own, ready for future adventures in the series.

Takeaway: A teenage queen-to-be learns to manage her supernatural powers.

Comparable Titles: B.T. Narro’s The Mage from Nowhere, Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series.

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

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Achebe follows up The Miseducation of Obi Ifeanyi with this lively sequel, tracking the life of Obi Ifeanyi, a man in his 40s living in Houston, who is struggling through the beginning stages of 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic. Obi and his wife Nkechi have been trying to revive their marriage but are now faced with raising their children during a life-changing pandemic, amid escalating racial tensions, while traversing what it means to be Nigerian in the United States. Both Obi and Nkechi struggle with their identities, as Nkechi reflects “there [is] no easy road anywhere,” and Obi worries about their future while trying to make the most of their present.

While Obi and Nkechi navigate their changing environment, readers are transported back to days of panic and seclusion, as the United States—and the world—tries to predict COVID-19’s aftereffects. The Ifeanyis initially enjoy their time working from home, but it soon grows wearisome, as “cabin fever” sets in and the family fights a growing sense of isolation, prompting Obi to reminisce about his upbringing’s communal atmosphere juxtaposed with contemporary life’s remoteness. When Obi’s Uncle Ugo is invited to take part in a film documentary on his experiences during the Nigerian Biafran War, it prompts Obi and Nkechi to draw parallels between their parents’ generation and their own, and they vow to never “dim the light on our children’s dreams.”

Readers may want to start with the first book, as Achebe pulls from his characters’ histories for background, but he includes a mix of contemporary events—including George Floyd’s murder—and a handful of twists to keep readers engaged. The question of what justice should look like pops up throughout, and Achebe capably shows that joy and sorrow are never far apart, as an acquaintance observes “we are all living on borrowed time...try and make the best of every minute.”

Takeaway: A Nigerian American family navigates the COVID-19 pandemic.

Comparable Titles: Nikki May’s Wahala, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah.

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

Click here for more about When It All Falls Down

Sandy, an elf living at the North Pole, takes part in every elf’s favorite pastime during the off season: he whiles away his days fishing with his best friend, a polar bear named Popcorn. But Sandy’s different from the other elves in one very special way—he’s visually impaired, relying on jingle bells in the village to know what time it is and navigating Santa’s streets with the help of the town’s candy cane railing, paired with his stellar memory. Despite his love for home, Sandy craves adventure, and he gets it in spades when Santa’s crew opts to spend their summer vacation in Thailand.

The elves in this story are celebrating a holiday very different from Christmas: they’re traveling to Thailand in honor of Leon’s Day—the halfway mark to Christmas—with plans to assist endangered species at the Kaeng Krachan, Thailand’s biggest national park. Natale employs that decidedly unique elf activity to deliver a feast for the senses in this unconventional holiday picture book, the fifth in her Elf School Is Out! series, after Holly’s Rainforest Adventure. Because Sandy is visually impaired, readers get the chance to experience Thailand the way he does—by sampling its sweet durian fruit, racing through the streets in windy tuk-tuks, and catching the scent of perfumed soaps, all accompanied by his faithful dog, Titina, who guards Sandy’s collapsible cane and helps him navigate Thailand’s busy market streets.

Bailey’s bright illustrations reveal just how exciting life can be for Santa’s little helpers, as the elves and co. jaunt from their snow-topped houses to river boats with monkey guides to an extraordinary national park teeming with unusual animals—who are all more than happy to celebrate Leon’s Day with the group. Natale closes this fun holiday adventure with a list of vocabulary from the story and a Thai recipe for kids to try out with their adult readers.

Takeaway: Santa’s elves take an unconventional approach to summer vacation.

Comparable Titles: Kim Ann’s Where Do Elves Go On Vacation?, Trish Madsen’s 12 Little Elves Visit Colorado.

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

Click here for more about Sandy Senses Adventure in Thailand

College student Addison Morgan is still reeling from losing her sister in a drunk-driving accident when she catches her unfaithful and violent boyfriend, Philip, with another girl. Struggling with dizziness and heartbreaking reminders that it’s her late sister’s birthday, Addison gets behind the wheel and blacks out, running into another vehicle and injuring its driver. Wracked with guilt, she tracks down the driver to apologize and inadvertently makes a new friend, Ami Tant, a girl with whom she finds an unlikely connection: Ami’s attractive older brother Logan, a police officer and student himself, helped Addison overcome a bout of dizziness earlier that day in the school library.

Patterson (author of the Paradise series) delivers a moving, Christian-focused romance with admirable depth and a fine cast of supporting characters—particularly Ami, Logan’s twin brother Nathan, and their parents—who provide much-needed support for Addison as she works to escape her abusive boyfriend. Logan mistakenly believes Addison was drunk when the accident took place, but after getting to know her, he realizes that she was desperately trying to cope with the trauma of her sister’s death. He falls hard and fast for her, though Philip keeps cropping up in the worst ways. As Patterson ratchets up the tension, including a horrific act on Philip’s part that alters Addison for life, readers will ache alongside Addison and Logan as both deal with their complicated realities.

Readers who have experienced intimate partner violence may be triggered by Addison’s trials, but Patterson handles difficult topics with uncommon grace. Both Addison and Logan are forced to make hard decisions, individually and as a couple, as they fight to overcome their tragic past experiences and forge a new path together. Faith-based readers will especially appreciate Patterson’s subtle advocacy of the power of prayer, hope, and conviction in one’s beliefs.

Takeaway: Christian-focused romance that takes on powerful topics with grace.

Comparable Titles: Gina Holmes’s Wings of Glass, Valerie M. Bodden’s Whispers of Truth.

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

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This mystical debut spins a tale of the Ghazalli family: Badr, his parents, and his five siblings, all gifted with special magical powers. When Badr—who can hear others’ thoughts—uncovers a plot by his school’s headmistress, Mrs. BeeZahara, to strip schoolchildren of their magical powers, he enlists the help of his family to stop her. Thus ensues an epic quest and journey into the unknown, as Badr and family navigate treacherous seas, solve intricate riddles, and confront fanciful creatures, all while evading the sinister machinations of Mrs. BeeZahara.

The Ghazalli family forms an engaging base in this fantasy-rich story; each member is a force field of distinctive powers, but they manage to stay relatable at the same time, while working through the issues that so often accompany large families. When an ancestor’s ghost links them to an ancient prophecy, the family must unite to hunt down seven magical stones scattered across the Middle Sea, harnessing their unique strengths to overcome trials by sea, land, and air. The cost if they fail, as in all great hero quests, is perilously high: cosmic peril. But the Ghazallis willingly take on the challenge, working to the refrain of “whatever happens, we’ll make it through as a family.”

The Goshenite immerses readers in the vibrancy of the Middle Kingdoms—and hints at more to come after this first installment in the author's Echoes of Destiny series—while blending evocative landscapes and enchanting magic with the heritage of the Qayrans and Elysians, two bloodlines that merge in the Ghazalli family. A host of AI-generated images add little, making characters who seem singular in the prose look glossily generic, but this debut beautifully balances tradition with innovation, interlacing ancient lore and mystical beings deeply rooted in Arabian mythology—like genies, dragons, and sea creatures—into a culturally rich narrative. As Badr’s mother proclaims, “there’s a time and place for magic,” and readers will find it overflowing here.

Takeaway: Epic family quest rooted in Arabian mythology.

Comparable Titles: S.A. Chakraborty’s The City of Brass, Saladin Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon.

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

Click here for more about The Goshenite