Fitzgerald’s first novel, the start of a projected four-book starter, is powered by voice, especially Sylvia’s rococo phrasing (as narrator, her sentences gush from one incisive, surprising phrase to the next) and her friends’ relentless good humor and camaraderie. When Sylvia endeavors to strike her first superhero pose, Celia cracks “I’m getting less super and more of a girdle-model vibe, with a bad case of acid reflux.” Readers who relish the feeling of hanging out with a funny friend group, especially one with a pup, Moondogger, who might be more than he seems, will find much of this series starter a laugh-along pleasure.
That amusing verbosity and depth of character, though, comes at the cost of narrative momentum, as the kidnapping plot doesn’t really get going until over halfway through this quite long book. Before that, the possibilities of superheroics amuse the cast but don’t feel urgent, and chapter-length flashbacks into the friends’ shared history dig into mysteries that simply don’t feel as pressing as the novel’s present. The action, when it comes, is both exciting and pained, superheroics stripped of adolescent power fantasy, for the better.
Takeaway: Funny and intimate superpowered epic of a young woman, her dog, and great friends.
Comparable Titles: Cai Emmons’s Weather Woman, Gail Carriger.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
Immortalised to Death: The Dunston Burnett Trilogy
The unlikely hero of this story (and the forthcoming entries in what promises to be a trilogy) is Dunston Burnett, a retired, middle-aged, awkward bookkeeper. He also happens to be Dickens' nephew, who is summoned by the author's devoted sister in-law, Georgina, after the death of their beloved Charles. What seems to be a natural death is soon revealed to be murder and Georgina wants Dickens' name and reputation protected at all costs. Dunston is charged with identifying his uncle's killer and, almost as important, discovering the ending of Drood.
Squire conjures up an enticing lost world as Dunston, like Dickens himself, heads into high society and opium dens and back alleys. Dunston, a bit priggish at the outset, becomes a character to cheer for as he pieces together mysteries that reveal jolting truths about the very real and the very fictional men at the story’s heart. Secret lives, secret loves, and secrets that were intended to be taken to the grave are uncovered. Dunston grows in confidence at every juncture, and the stage is set for the next books.
Takeaway: Marvelous Victorian mystery centered on the death of Charles Dickens.
Comparable Titles: Heather Redmond’s A Tale of Two Murders; Lyndsay Faye.
Production grades
Cover: B-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Though de Zoysa’s faces are expressive and engaging, even when covered in sores and wounds, the illustrations tend to feel somewhat static, with only minor changes happening between pages, such as the little girl going from standing in front of the blender, to blending up her brain juice on the next page. The text is written in couplets but laid out like prose, in paragraphs, a choice that makes a first-time outloud reading aloud feel a little uncertain, especially as some of the rhymes are theoretical, like thought/start.
Still, Brain Juice is a fun and funny book that will delight anyone who loves gross and icky things. The young girl’s affinity for fruit could even prompt discussions about what young readers would want to eat with brains if they were turned into zombies, or what they’d like in their brain juice if they were a zombie. The simplicity of the narrative allows for repeat readings and the rhymes could make for a fun read aloud. A fresh take on the zombie story, Brain Juice will delight fans of the playfully grotesque … and adults trying to get their little zombies excited about fruit.
Takeaway: A humorous take on zombie lore that promotes healthy eating.
Comparable Titles: Casey Lyall’s A Spoonful of Frogs, Drew Maresco and Dallyn Maresco’s Bites, Frights, and Other Delights.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
Again, Hayes deftly blends the magical and the post-apocalyptic as Zee traverses a fallen Earth 500 years in our future, a world where fairies themselves, here called “orcles,” labor to usher in new life. Zee’s quest will take her to wonderous caves, to encounters with inventive creatures—like the moss-covered Armilandro with “a whole ecosystem upon its back” —and even into face-to-face meetings with forces beyond our understanding. Meanwhile, something blooms in lovely scenes between Zee and Ravaryn, who finds her scars beautiful.
Zee’s quest both illuminates how everything has changed in the aftermath of her heroism in the first book, while also plunging deeper into her world’s most unexpected elements, as Hayes springs on her compelling challenges touched with the fae and the mythic. The rest of the cast, though, is engaged in catch-up missions, trying to track down Zee, though those stories all eventually twist. This polished, often gripping fantasy builds to a tantalizing promise of conflicts to come.
Takeaway: Smart, intimate post-apocalyptic fantasy where heroism comes at the cost of a curse.
Comparable Titles: L D Houghton’s Mindfire, Aiden Thomas’s Lost in the Never Woods.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Reminiscent of classic coming-of-age fantasy adventure fare but still freshened up for the era of apps, Magic, Mystery and the Multiverse offers genre-bending for all of its juxtapositioned settings—from medieval-like realms to highly advanced technologically driven worlds—human struggle, and a touch of dystopia and politics. Winter incorporates a world where oxygen is commercialized, and those in positions of power can cast a spell for forced obedience, creating societies where “It’s not safe to think a contrarian thought.” These facets serve as a socio-political commentary challenging a reflection of contemporary and perennial issues, drawing parallels to capitalism, the suppression of speech, and global protests against authoritarian regimes. Amid these, the core of the story remains tethered in a human struggle—Zack's cancer diagnosis.
Although fast-paced, the world-building is meticulous and exciting in the sense that as the story appears to be drawing near its conclusion, the intricate motivations of various characters come to the forefront, driving the narrative's momentum. Opus Die has yet to show himself, the Crimson Censor is still alive, Lord Orator comes with a bargain, and the rest of the ensemble believes Ana may be the key to fulfilling the prophecy. These intricate plot threads keep readers eagerly anticipating the forthcoming installment.
Takeaway: Inventive series starter that joy rides through an unpredictable multiverse.
Comparable Titles: Alix E. Harrow's The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Claudia Gray's A Thousand Pieces of You.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
Bland Loafer
Inspired by a narrow-minded boss in real life who branded McCoy a “bland loafer”—defined as “that rare individual that ‘privilege’ has left in material, philosophical and spiritual shamble”—the novel poses incisive questions about power and culture in America, especially what it means to refuse, in McCoys words, to allow himself to be defined “as someone who others can simply extract labor from.” That’s from Mccoy’s introduction, which illuminates a novel where style submerges plot while offering powerhouse jeremiads against societal injustice and backwardness, against conventional wisdom and racial and class injustice, plus bursts of poetry, Ford’s surging inner thoughts, and debates with frustrated family members.
With subtle humor, principled outrage, polemical power, and an occasional zeal to “turn the anxiety of meaninglessness into courage,” the protagonists and his acquaintances enjoy contemplating the works of history’s greatest minds—Wittgenstein, Kant, and Niebuhr. The result is a highly intelligent, challenging, insightful exploration of history’s missteps and repercussions, and of a world seemingly set up to “crush the spirit of the Bland Loafer.” Readers of searching, discursive literary fiction will cheer as Ford stubbornly trudges after his intellectual dreams against the harsh tide of society.
Takeaway: Searing novel documenting the mind, debates, and outrage of a “bland loafer.”
Comparable Titles: Paul Beatty, Ralph Ellison.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
What ensues, over this epic-length travel tale, is a series of comic misadventures across Southeast Asia, as Parker, born a Christian, faces growing Hindu nationalism in India and a host of surprises abroad, in Malaysia and Thailand, with sharply drawn women he meets on Tinder, a CouchSurfing app, and elsewhere. He works with a woman to establish safe places for cows and street dogs; falls under the spell of social-media religious leaders who make pitches like “Pay only $4,999 US dollars, and liberate your soul”; seeks spiritual breakthroughs in the wrong kind of Bangkok spa; visits a hunter-gatherer tribe in the Malaysian highlands, where he’s mistaken for child-thieving police.
Franco’s prose and perspective are continually arresting, and the novel bursts with amusing incident and food for thought, especially on the subjects of commodified enlightenment, the exploitation of women and the global poor, and the (hilarious, troubling) flexibility of its narrator’s ideas. But the novel’s length, its anecdotal naif’s-progress structure, and general low stakes mean that it often feels long, lacking a compelling narrative drive. Still, as Parker ducks bees, endures misunderstandings, and encounters (but doesn’t quite suss out) the hypocrisies of rulers and faith leaders, Franco stirs serious, often pained laughs.
Takeaway: Truly funny novel of a South Indian man's journey toward enlightenment.
Comparable Titles: Shashi Tharoor, Anurag Mathur.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
To that end, Kissing Asphalt finds Niami relishing the best that life offers: the food in Iraq, moments of trust and connection with friends and family, the pleasure of buying her first bong with money saved from work at Taco Bell or discovering her rock-star heroes, the Go-Go’s. Niami’s prose is direct and frank, like a friend disclosing intimate truths. She writes of discovering her own sexuality while watching the 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life: “Jo Polniaczek always had me a bit captivated, pondering thoughts a twelve-year-old shouldn’t but often does: sex.”
The book’s heart is Niami’s complex, touching relationship with her mother, plus her two brothers, the oldest of whom Niami didn’t know about until her teen years. Niami shares some hair-raising domestic arguments, but also attests that her mother did her best with limited tools, having come from an abusive home herself. Niami prefers to move to the next incident, whether gutting or charming, rather than dwell on analysis. Her story, though, showcases the power of facing one’s past to take power over one’s life.
Takeaway: Frank, engaging memoir of embracing life despite abuse.
Comparable Titles: R. Layla Salek’s Chaos in Color, Ariel Leve’s An Abbreviated Life.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
The Witchfinder's Serpent
Readers will immediately fall for Goodwin’s entire cast of characters. Nate comes across as an empathetic everyman (in his case, boy) who is racing to save himself and his loved ones from an unimaginable fate with a thoroughly evil actor, Matthew Hopkins aka Malleus Hodge, with dedicated, mysterious Aunt Celia and a-hundreds-of years-old shapeshifting bird as allies. Goodwin’s birds behave convincingly throughout, and his supporting characters ably underpin a tale that blends the spooky pleasures of New England history with a contemporary sensibility that finds words like “doth” amusing. A mysterious serpent bracelet also plays a central role, with the story’s villain determined to steal it and end the lives of everyone good.
Goodwin expertly ratchets up the tension throughout, keeping readers enthralled as they power through the narrative. He makes the unfathomable seem very plausible, with world-building that will easily captivate readers—many who will not know that the witch trials in Connecticut actually preceded the better-known Salem Witch Trials in nearby Massachusetts. His characters also command respect, and the motives of several seemingly innocent players will thoroughly shock readers at the tale’s conclusion. While intended for a YA audience, this lively, well-plotted fantasy thriller will command interest from adult readers as well.
Takeaway: Spellbinding tale of New England witchery with stellar twists.
Comparable Titles: Adriana Mather’s How to Hang a Witch, Sally Green’s Half Bad.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Frank's Shadow
As in many of the best literary fiction novels, McIntyre’s work aims a microscope at its troubled protagonist, relentlessly exposing flaws and confronting prejudices head-on, without sacrificing reality for fancy. Standout scenes include Daniel’s alcohol and Ativan-induced stupor at his father’s funeral service and a young adulthood run-in with law enforcement—an experience that causes him to wonder, as he looks back on it, if it was actually his attempt to “[put] me out of my misery.” Readers will undoubtedly relate to Daniel, at his best and worst moments, due to the palpable humanity McIntyre injects into him via powerful prose and excellent voice curation.
Even at its most dramatic and played-up, Frank’s Shadow keeps its feet on the ground and delivers a first-rate, incisive, even inflammatory character study that will hook readers from beginning to end. McIntyre, a New York native, paints the New York City of 1998 with a kind of vividness born of authenticity, highlighting its charms and harms in ways that connect Daniel to the place and time, further immersing readers in this engrossing story. Daniel’s pursuit of his own deliverance is earnest and unrestrained, candidly portrayed as he searches for the deeper meaning in his father’s life. This is a triumph of dramatic literature.
Takeaway: An incisive character study set to the throbbing backbeat of ‘90s New York City.
Comparable Titles: Mary E. McDonald’s Small Town Empire, Steven Lomske’s On the Bank of the Chippewa.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: NA
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Called by Another Name: A Memoir of the Gwangju Uprising
Dolinger, with co-author Matt VanVolkenburg, writes that he has set out to honor those killed in the Gwangju Uprising of May, 1980, and their stories come through here with clarity and power. Also clear is the political, cultural, and economic currents, plus the responsibility that Dolinger feels to report what he witnessed—and to give voice to others, especially in light of the disinterest of western journalists.
As a Peace Corps volunteer, Dolinger was ordered to stand down and get out of the city, but his own values simply wouldn’t allow him to do so. Instead, he observed, took photographs (included here), and helped as many citizens as he could as the violence carried on. Now, he works to ensure that the facts are known. Part fast-paced and fascinating memoir, with wrenching accounts of “terror … being rained down from the skies,” and part documentary memorial for the people of Gwangju, Called by Another Name exposes the shocking truth.
Takeaway: Gripping firsthand account of South Korea’s Gwangju Uprising and massacre.
Comparable Titles: Hwang Sok-yong, Lee Jae-Eui, and Jeon Yong-Ho’s Gwangju Uprising, Choi Jungwoon’s The Gwangju Uprising.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
The couple eventually makes a bold, painful decision, one that Noftz wrings for much feeling. After life-changing experiences together, they decide to “[freeze] their love in time” to let it remain as perfect and untainted as possible as they go their separate ways—“so it would live on, long after our goodbye, long after our youth faded.” Of course, the story doesn’t end there, and Vanessa, starting a new life on a horse farm, eventually meets Aubrey, a woman with a surprising connection to Craig. Noftz’s debut is a perfect example of a carefully crafted and continually surprising romantic plot, crossing over multiple seasons of life, drawn from real and poignant emotions that are felt on the page.
At times the matter-of-fact writing and quick pacing of the story come at the expense of the pleasures of lyricism. Still, it's easy to get caught up in these sweeping emotions as it all builds to an urgent choice: should these two rekindle their love and risk tampering its perfection, daring to find out if it can be sustained through all of life’s twists and turns?
Takeaway: Superbly plotted love story of passion, discovery, and reflection, spanning years.
Comparable Titles: Jill Santopolo’s The Light We Lost, Emily Henry’s Happy Place.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
With much of the documentation of his wartime service and imprisonment destroyed by a fire, her hunt is at first slow and halting, until she comes across others doing similar research. Readers interested in personal stories about World War II will be fascinated by Buick's depth of research imagining what her father went through in training, in combat, as a prisoner of war, and being processed back home. Buick notes that she faced a serious generation gap with her father growing up and rarely thought of him as a veteran in the way that soldiers returning from Vietnam were. His alcoholism made him difficult to deal with, though she later came to understand this as a likely coping mechanism for PTSD.
Through her memories of her father's occasional light-hearted stories, documentation and memories from others, and actual visits to sites in Europe, Buick is able to cobble together a likely timeline for her father's experiences. While a full picture is impossible, Buick compensates by imagining likely outcomes and sharing her own feelings about her father, and how they have transformed, throughout the experience of her research and writing the book. The result is another tile in the mosaic of the personal memories and stories of those who shaped history in the war, a generation that's rapidly disappearing. Buick brings that abstract generational reality to life by documenting the mundane, the exceptional, the exciting, and the horrific alike.
Takeaway: A daughter’s probing investigation into her father’s World War II experience.
Comparable Titles: Richard Carlton Haney’s When Is Daddy Coming Home?, Jonathan Gawne’s Finding Your Father's War.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
A New Orleans native, Wallfisch’s stories take place for the most part in Louisiana and neighboring states, touching on the region’s political climate, dialects, and history, offering a progressive take on a place where “Republican Roger” brings up Critical Race Theory to “Democratic Dave” by saying “I don’t know what the hell it is. But it’s gotta be bad.” (Dave’s response: “I don’t know what the hell it is, either, but I think it’s probably good.”) Though not every story is memorable, and some edge into caricature, the best of these glimpses into complex American life entertain and provoke with a welcome concision and some striking insights: a white couple seizes their guns when they hear Black protesters in the streets; criminal justice grad students aren’t quite prepared for their visit to a penitentiary; a husband’s rebuke of his wife's stacking of matzos lingers painfully in her heart.
Supplementing Wallfisch’s tone of pained levity are minimalist, line-work illustrations accompanying each chapter heading that relate some aspect of the coming story and add an engaging visual element. The author also includes an interactive social media component to “I Want to Be Alone,” in which characters come up with famous movie quotes to describe the human experience during COVID-19. The collection amuses most as a book to sample over time rather than rush through.
Takeaway: Ironic flash fiction using dark humor to make political, social commentary.
Comparable Titles: Kathy Fish; Tom Hazuka’s Flash Fiction Funny.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
The candid style that Moore uses to recount his own experiences is refreshing, as is his commitment to sharing the history behind marathoning. He chronicles the background of running as an “elitist” sport, covering notables who broke through the barriers—like Marilyn Bevans, the first Black woman to win a United States marathon—and shares his own rules to ensure he feels safe as a Black runner, including only running outside on an actual race day. Moore documents the statistics behind the sport as well, highlighting the shockingly low number of Black marathon finishers both in the United States and internationally.
For Moore, running is a way to challenge himself while connecting to a community—“not just a familiar face but of someone facing an uphill battle alongside me, facing the prospect of failure just as I was.” He details how, thanks to his competitive spirit, he finds and builds that community, even inspiring Black friends and family to take up the sport. Potential long distance runners—and those interested in the experience of Black marathoners—will embrace this inspiring memoir.
Takeaway: Inspiring memoir of competitive long distance running.
Comparable Titles: Alison Mariella Désir’s Running While Black, Meb Keflezighi and Scott Douglas’s 26 Marathons.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: NA
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A
Marcus is up for the challenge, especially after meeting Wes and Trudy, two fellow humans seeking their own paths into heaven. The three immediately bond, and Marcus wonders from the start if there’s sex in heaven, given Trudy’s good looks. That camaraderie serves them well, as their road is decidedly strenuous: from hiking over endless mountains, to navigating a sticky candy land that uses what people are holding onto to keep them imprisoned, to being exposed to their darkest moments on earth, the trio have their work cut out for them. Through it all, Marcus keeps an open mind, a choice that often nets him early wins, even when he runs into his father, who has taken on the form of a sad-eyed armadillo and is floundering in an area called “Stuckees” due to his serious case of “Identity Lock”—an inability to understand viewpoints different from your own.
Lankford gently draws attention to similarly weighty concepts throughout Marcus’s journey, making the novel as philosophical as it is fantastical. There’s plenty of entertainment to keep readers invested in Marcus’s story, though, particularly the fun details about what his life really is like after death: his body doesn’t need to eat or drink (sniffing food instead is always an option for enjoyment) and sex with “virtual bodies” is “Heaven indeed!” This is both immersive and insightful.
Takeaway: Immersive story of life after death, with philosophical leanings.
Comparable Titles: Catriona Silvey’s Meet Me in Another Life, Shehan Karunatilaka’s The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A
