In a world that’s often busy, distracting, and confusing, Sullivan and Bahr’s inspiring and heartfelt picture book for children feels not only soothing but necessary. The story introduces an idealized realm where everyone is happy and gets along, but only until they experience a “great forgetting”—they “forget how to have fun and be glad” and now spend their days “feeling upset and mad.” Behind the bad vibes is a grumpy insect-looking creature called Pea Brain, who delivers pessimistic thoughts in the form of bubbles labeled with phrases like “nobody likes you” or “you’re not good enough.” This discord prompts the peace-keeping Harmony Animals to seek out the storied Wise One, who summons Chip the chipmunk to “help bring the gloom in the world to an end.”

Despite being a chosen one, Chip experiences relatable moments of self-doubt over what he must do, lamenting the dangers of the journey itself and that he’s not strong enough to defeat Pea Brain. Ultimately Chip embraces his inner power, and in a clever touch literally pops his own negative thought bubbles with the tip of his finger. By drawing attention to the dishonest origins of such harmful inner messages, Chip is able to help others turn away from fear and stay “calm and peaceful and centered.” For most kids, feelings of uncertainty and inadequacy start shockingly young, so this message of mindfulness will help them recognize and overcome these destructive lies.

Wendy Lorenzana’s beautiful, zen-like illustrations seem to glow from within, radiating a sense of possibility and magic. The Harmony Animals’ eyes are wide and expressive and their faces appealingly calm and friendly as they frolic on grassy hillsides and commune with the Wise One, a tree person adorned with leaves and feathery moss. By contrast, Pea Brain’s dark world is filled with people frowning, yelling, and crying. This stark contrast in moods makes it all the more rewarding when the characters’ focus shifts back to spreading love—to others and themselves.

Takeaway: A chipmunk helps people overcome negative thoughts and learn to spread love.

Comparable Titles: Bonnie Clark’s Catching Thoughts, Jennifer A. Swenson’s Chirp!: Chipmunk Sings for a Friend.

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

Click here for more about Chip the Monk

Bose’s ambitious debut crosses centuries and oceans, revealing both the surprising fates of its diverse cast and the horrors of England’s colonial project in India—and its reverberations today.The bulk of the novel takes place in the 18th century, when General Robert Clive, the founder of the Empire in India, engineers through duplicitous means a takeover of Bengal and the beheading of the Chief Minister Mohan Roy. The exciting opening section showcases the escape and revenge of Roy’s daughter, Anjolie, on the money-mad traitor who ensured the British victory, and her embarking to France with Jules, French officer she loves. After they marry, Anjolie adjusts to life among the French and enduring horrific news from Bengal, where Clive, the British, and the East India Company rule with escalating cruelty.

A vital and inspiring heroine, Anjolie vows not to let Clive maintain control over her home—not the house in which she was raised, nor India itself. Bose twines the story of both her years in France, where she’s warned by the former Governor-General of French possessions in India that Clive will “rape and pillage” all he can, with that of Clive himself, a detestable cuckold eager to force local farmers to abandon food crops for profitable opium. “She had never seen anyone so white and whalelike,” Bose writes, of a 15-year-old virgin forced to bed Clive.

Anjolie will have her revenge, an act that will shake both her century and ours. Bose includes chapters set in the Trump era, as an American of Indian descent visits an ancestral home in France, contemplates complex legacies of colonialism and racism, and discovers the story of Anjolie. This is rich material with moral weight, though it diminishes narrative momentum in a book that’s notably long. The prose at times is wordy, and some 18th century dialogue feels quite contemporary, but historical and cultural detail is convincing and the scenecraft is often strong.

Takeaway: Epic historical novel of revenge, love, and Britain’s seizing of India.

Comparable Titles: Sangeeta Bhargava’s The World Beyond, Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies.

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

Click here for more about Arms Wide Asunder

In this no-nonsense guide to driving habits to be avoided, longtime book designer and debut author Reinhardt provides a roadmap for being a safe driver. “It has been 55 years and an estimated one million miles of driving since my last ticket, accident, or fender-bender,” he muses, noting that he is not a professional driving instructor. “Over the years, I have studied the art of driving and have kept notes about the bad driving habits I have seen.” And they are legion: cutting other drivers off, the dangers of rude gestures in the age of road rage, going straight in a turn-only lane, following a car through a red light, backing up on exits, and entering an interstate too slowly among them.

The author thoroughly proves that common sense isn’t often common, by using data to back up his points. For instance, tailgating (the author’s chief pet-peeve transgression) is among the leading causes of motor vehicle accidents in the U.S., and the top offenders live in Idaho, Georgia, Nebraska, Utah, and Virginia. A more sobering statistic notes that 805 children have died in overheated vehicles since 1998, with 88% of them age 3 or younger. Then there’s the mind-boggling: more than “80% of drivers admit to dangerous behavior while driving, such as changing clothes, steering with a foot, painting nails, or even shaving”—and, of course, the ubiquitous issue of texting.

In addition to offering best practices, Reinhardt also provides sage advice on how to deal defensively with those bent on violating the rules of the road—including by dangerous passing and blaring music so loud it causes the cars around it to vibrate and wearing headphones while driving. The result may avert accidents. Veteran and newbie drivers alike can learn (or re-learn) sensible and safe driving rules designed to keep everyone behind the wheel and inside the vehicle safe.

Takeaway: Sensible lessons on driving safely when everyone else refuses to do so.

Comparable Titles: Hank Wysocki’s How to Drive a Car, Karen Gravelle’s The Driving Book.

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

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This up-close historical tribute from Kelley (author of America's National Treasures: Biographical Sketches of the United States Military Personnel Killed in Action on the Deadliest Day of the Vietnam War) celebrates Maryland’s Jacob Tome School for Boys through the story of its founder, who opened its doors in 1894, and through its class of 1923, on the occasion of the 100-year anniversary of their graduation. Tome, a childless, self-made man, worked diligently to move from modest circumstances to wealthy philanthropist. His lack of education pushed him to build an outstanding preparatory school. Despite his death just before the first class graduated, Tome’s vision for an exemplary school survived. Kelley charts that vision’s reach by chronicling the lives of the 29 young men of the class of 1923 from birth to enrolling to their legacies in the world.

Writing with an informative bent about the history of American education, and a sense of reverence for Tome and the school itself, Kelley transports readers into those “hallowed halls” but also the students’ hearts and minds, as he examines the mixed emotions—nervousness, excitement, uncertainty—they must have felt upon arrival and also their need for an education and to flourish and build community with fellow classmates. Their preparatory work was essential for university admission, though Kelley also emphasizes the other rewards of the Tome experience: “the bonds of friendship forged, the personal growth experienced, and the self-identity realized.”

Kelley writes movingly of each student’s life after Tome, as adolescence churns quickly to adulthood, higher education, a wide range of professions, and family responsibilities. A concluding tour of the now-abandoned original campus is touching, though Kelley leaves the question of how he connects to the school unanswered. Instead, with humility and a touch of awe, he traces the school and Tome’s legacy through the reach and sweep of the class’s impact on the world, making the case that Tome’s “most enduring legacy is the students who benefited from his generosity.”

Takeaway: Touching, informative study of the legacy of the Jacob Tome School’s class of 1923.

Comparable Titles: James McLachlan’s American Boarding Schools William M. Hogue’s The Jacob Tome Institute and its Schools.

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

Click here for more about Reflections On the Class of 1923: The Tome School For Boys, Port Deposit, Maryland

Drawing from Allen Ginsberg’s lines about the work of "eas[ing] the pain of living,” journalist and screenwriter Sklar creates a sensitive, illuminating portrait of his life through loving accounts of the people who have truly moved and changed him, such as his playwright and novelist father, who endured fear and paranoia during the McCarthyite anti-Communist blacklist in Hollywood. In each of the incisive essays that chart his personal and political development, plus those of the U.S., Sklar recounts learning from people who have eased the pain of himself and others, something he strived to learn to do himself as he faced travails of his own, like having his credibility as a journalist questioned after co-writing the script for Oliver Stone’s JFK.

Sklar touchingly relates his friendships with investigative reporter William A. Reuben, a colorful raconteur, editor, and horse racing enthusiast devoted to proving to the world Alger Hiss was railroaded by Richard Nixon and his cronies, and with Nyoko, a Japanese-American woman whose parents were imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II. Sklar charts the lifelong scar this left on the family, resulting in tragedy. Also affecting is his account of the transformative experience of serving as a student volunteer on Daufuskie Island, off the coast of South Carolina, in the late 1960s, when the unique Gullah Geechee culture was already in peril from outsider developers. As the younger Sklar questions what good he can achieve, he also faces immediate crises, like burying a friend who dies of exposure. It’s a harrowing yet intimate account of life and death.

Sklar's prose is dramatic without being florid, and he is careful, as he observes crucial relationships and surveys a fractious half century of American history, to aim his focus on his subjects instead of himself. Instead, he offers exquisite testimony of hard-won victories achieved when we take the time to care for each other.

Takeaway: A writer’s moving personal and political history and a call to ease each other’s pain.

Comparable Titles: Helene Hanff’s 84, Charing Cross Road, June Jordan’s Soldier: A Poet’s Childhood.

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

Click here for more about The Work

This tense and thoughtful thriller, Rohani’s first novel, plunges readers into the secret world of Iran’s nuclear program and the sex lives of mullahs, as an American CIA operative, now past his prime, goes undercover as a Canadian nuclear scientist willing to help build a bomb in a facility just north of Tehran. That operative, Sohrab, is the son of an Iranian woman and one of the agency’s few trained agents fluent in Farsi. A sneaky tip from an Iranian sex worker warning about the efforts of a Pakistani general to furnish Iran with a nuke kicks off the case, which will find Sohrab, posing as George, eventually partnered with her in Iran, as she—Nika— becomes a “temporary wife” bestowed upon George as a gift for his services.

The plot turns on deception, double-crosses, surprise firefights, and the proclivities of the powerful, as Sohrab, in the guise of George, promises Ayatollah Hamshahri a bomb that can devastate an Israeli city, in exchange for cash and access to sex. Glimpses of what Nika and other women endure as temporary wives are harrowing yet handled with an outraged sensitivity. Setting the novel apart from the thriller pack is that author and hero alike possess deep understanding of both American and Iranian culture and practices, making Sohrab’s infiltration not just plausible but illuminating.

Rohani’s dialogue is strong and mostly convincing, and the story’s most engaging moments occur in colloquies, as when Nika reveals her history to Sharob, or when they discuss her options as a “temporary wife” summoned to her master: “I must either submit to him or kill him, and I’m not going to submit to him anymore.” Scenes of action are clear but presented without the flashy brutality of many thrillers. Readers who favor smart thrillers that take the rest of the world seriously—and are frank about the realities of sex work and sex slavery—will find this compelling.

Takeaway: Smart thriller of a CIA agent from two worlds infiltrating Iran’s nuclear program.

Comparable Titles: Ausma Zehanat Khan’s Among the Ruins, Frank Gardner’s Ultimatum.

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

Click here for more about The Midnight Secret of the Mullahs

Frustrated by having his drawing time repeatedly being interrupted to do housework, Billy comes up with a brilliant invention–a robot who can do all the chores he doesn’t want to do so he can focus on drawing–but when things don’t go as planned, Billy learns a lesson about balance and spending time with family. A humorous and heartwarming look at the role technology has in our lives as well as the meaning and value of work, Brainy Billy Builds a Bot uses rhyme and purple sketch-like line art illustrations to win over young readers and caregivers and parents alike.

As is to be expected in a children’s book about building a robot, hijinks ensue, such as Charlie (the robot) breaking things, shoving Billy’s clothes in the wrong drawer, and putting plates in the garbage can. Amidst all the gentle chaos, Billy’s family is supportive, cheering on the friends, and encouraging Billy to keep trying and to keep creating art. Their encouragement is gentle, leaving him room to make his own decisions, a model for letting children learn to problem solve. Through it all, the family is smiling and having fun with each other, even including Charlie the robot.

Billy is a thoughtful, curious, creative, and loving character who is easy to root for, especially as he navigates troubleshooting and figuring out what he doesn’t want to miss out on, like spending time with his family. Maria Gabriella Gama’s line art is minimalist yet immersive, with plenty of details to keep readers engaged, and expressive through character faces and small humorous details like Billy’s dad’s shirt which says “I REPORT TO ME.” A refreshing and heartfelt twist on STEM concepts and family themes, Brainy Billy Builds a Bot will be a welcome addition to home or classroom libraries.

Takeaway: Creativity and heart combine in this humorous tale of a boy and a robot.

Comparable Titles: Kim Norman’s The Bot That Scott Built, Ashley Spires’s The Most Magnificent Thing

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

Click here for more about Brainy Billy Builds a Bot

“I needed something bigger than me,” Yokum-Achane writes early in this wrenching yet hopeful memoir. “Something that could make this right. I needed a Savior.” Opening with a raw account of the most devastating loss a parent can suffer, The Believer shares Yokum-Achane’s story not just of persevering in the face of grief, depression, indifferent bad boys, domestic violence, and jail, but also of discovering and holding fast to—and ultimately dedicating herself to stirring that kind of faith in others, too. At her lowest moment—“A cement box. That’s jail in a nutshell”— and after fervent prayer Yokum-Achane felt herself in the presence of something holy. She writes: “‘Erin,’” it sang my name like a beautiful note. “’Why do you not believe my Word?’”

The story that follows finds her embracing what she calls a second chance, humbled and devoted, dedicated to Bible study , the work of “building a relationship with Christ Jesus,” and the understanding that “Jesus sees us as valuable. He did not die for trash; he did not die so we would be stressed out, depressed, and broke.” Such impassioned but conversational testimony powers the book, as Yokum-Achane recounts, in inviting prose, the work it took to put her life on track, including starting and building a medical billing business. She makes clear throughout that faith is no quick fix, and that it, like everything else in life, demands dedication.

In prison, her life is jolted by another revelation, too, when a prison nurse announces that Yokum-Achane’s pregnant with twin girls. Her love pulses through the book, and she writes movingly of parenting but also is quick to offer real talk (“having twins is the definition of exhaustion”). Her depiction of faith as an ongoing relationship where one must ask for forgiveness is powerful, and throughout the book she links her life stories (of loss, of complicated romantic relationships) to scripture and Biblical insights. This straight-talking memoir will appeal to Christian readers who relish stories of faith despite hardship.

Takeaway: Touching testimony of faith and perseverance in the face of the worst.

Comparable Titles: Debbye Turner Bell’s Courageous Faith, Jo Saxton’s The Dream of You.

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

Click here for more about The Believer

This epic-length but human-scaled zombie-pocalypse debut from Csák follows a man and the teenaged girl he’s raised since saving her life as they try to find a new life seven years after “The Breakdown” that upended civilization. Blasting or fleeing ferals when they have to, and bickering in their bus and their motel base when the coast is clear, Cassius—once known as Jack Armstrong—and Abigail have survived long enough in the new Silent Zone world of colonies and mass death to develop conflicting ideas about what survival even means. Abigail wants to help others, to nurture life. Cassius, though, has learned to distrust everyone else and to take on no new responsibilities beyond Abiagil and the seeds, books, and supplies he carries, hoping to start anew.

Puppies, strangers, helping—well, as Cassius says to a third party, ““It’s better if I’m strict than for a mistake to eventually cost her her life.” That division between the protagonists gives fresh resonance to tense but at times familiar zombie-fiction story beats as the duo faces both a host of zombies but also that other wasteland standby: other humans, duplicitous and mad with power, indulging in man-eating and manifestos alike. But there’s hope, too, the form of a pregnant woman who hopes to get to a rumored boat city.

The story moves fast, in episodic story-like chapters, and Csák proves adept at the logistics of this hardscrabble life, at dramatizing philosophical differences through dialogue and choices, at glimpses of wreckage and carnage that stir a despairing awe. The anticipation of violence is more effectively handled than the action itself, which suffers from imprecise prose, and the human villains in the book’s back half won’t surprise readers who have feasted on earlier zombie stories. More interesting are the protagonists and their reluctant companions, figuring out what they’re living for. The dogs, too, are inspired—both the puppy Abigail claims, and the fearsome ferals.

Takeaway: Epic but highly focused and humane story of zombie survival.

Comparable Titles: Brian Keene’s The Rising, David Moody’s Autumn.

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

Click here for more about Welcome to the Silent Zone: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller

Chen’s second Jane Roberts mystery is full of madcap mayhem and a wide cast of characters with seriousness and shenanigans planned for New Year’s Eve. The book starts with the wrong person receiving a request to pick up barrels from the docks of St. Frewin’s Island. The end result leaves a motley crew of Russians and an entitled Texas senator unhappy and the person who was supposed to pick the barrels up beaten and unconscious in the hospital, while Bernie and Geneva, the senator’s assistants, fight over unexpected riches. Not to be outdone, other members of the elite class have their other plans for New Year’s Eve, including a temporary kidnapping and a semi-public shaming that pull in even more nefarious characters.

Readers looking for a lighthearted read will likely find it in this brisk, amusing story that’s heavy on the hijinks but still full of skillful twists, both comic and suspenseful. Public Safety Officer Jane Roberts, her new assistant Israel, and other local law enforcement folks are kind of on the scent, but the abundance of players—and fresh, funny inventions like entrepreneur Gluella’s Lobster Brides! business— provide plenty of red herrings to throw them off the track. Jane’s determined to figure out why Troy was beaten and what a group of Russians is up to, but she’s realistically somewhat overmatched at times when it comes to keeping up with the densely layered schemes underway on a very small island.

With so many intriguing story threads and an extensive parade of characters who each get a crisp, memorable scene or two, readers will have to pay close attention to keep up with Chen’s wild plot. That makes it all the easier to root for Jane and the dazzling untangling that she, Storm, Helen, and Israel undertake to straighten out the whodunits and whodidn’ts.

Takeaway: Public Safety Officer Jane Roberts faces a sprightly, twisty island mystery.

Comparable Titles: Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, Sarah Strohmeyer’s Bubbles series.

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

Click here for more about DON'T TOUCH MY COCKTAIL!

This aching collection from Miller (Hula Girls) shares intimate dispatches from a widower’s life in the aftermath of the death of his wife. “The difference between divorce and death,” Miller writes, “is a closet full of clothes. / Half of everything is still here.” These poems find him still stunned, pushing through his waking hours until bedtime, when he figures “I did enough heart-breaking things / for one day.” His life, like the closets, is still hers, and Miller writes with pained grace and precision about missing laughing in bed or feeling impatient as she told a long story. Poems that capture the disorientation of life without her also toast, often wittily, the couple’s quirks: “It’s a good thing she isn’t here to see it,” Miller writes, of his efforts at handling the complex arrangements that come with the death of a spouse: “As a general rule, / she would not want to trust me / with stuff like that.”

Those lines—direct, unfussy, pared to the bone—exemplify Miller’s approach. Sometimes, he’s conversational, as in these pleading lines addressed to concerned friends and family: “I know. / It’s been almost two years. / I know, I should get out, meet people, travel”. The poetic forms and the accumulation of striking detail over dozens of poems imbue such everyday speech with fresh resonance and weight. Little Known Stories is an immersion in and exploration of grief, and Miller’s too honest—too scrupulous a reporter of experience—to promise the epiphanies of recovery narratives.

The result is a rare portrait of a sort of afterlife, days haunted by an absence. At times the verses find him feeling utterly bereft, as when he wonders “why people want to live so long /after losing what they could not live without.” Celebrating his Lisa—her artistry, her achievements, their shared rituals—seems to help. His portrait of her is as rousing as his unblinking account of grief is wrenching. The richly moving result is both a celebration of love and an act of it, too.

Takeaway: Richly moving, pared-to-the-bone poetry of a widower’s grief.

Comparable Titles: Jacqueline Lapidus and Lise Menn’s The Widows’ Handbook, Katherine Billings Palmer’s I Wanted to Grow Old with You.

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

Click here for more about Little Known Stories, Prose in Format

In this inspiring and open memoir, McKenney reveals a life of accomplishments, all achieved despite feeling at odds with his own “anxious, foot-dragging, drama-queen brain.” Even as he hit milestone moments and achieved success that he felt should set him at ease, McKenney describes being “calm, collected and complete on the outside, and desperately trying to figure out what the hell was wrong on the inside.” Now he wants to rip away that cool facade. Urging readers to see our brains for what they are, he shares anecdotes from the 1940s to present day, charting ever-evolving changes in social climates, business, technology, and the ways it can mold and cultivate a mindset of success.

In raw, honest fashion, A Life's Work explores the highs and lows of life, success, and happiness. Struggling with questions about faith and insecurities while growing up in rural Virginia in the 1950s, McKenney reflects on his youth within the church, in college studying philosophy and law, and checking off the "social norms" such as getting a lucrative career, marriage and children. Through all of these growing pains, McKenney found his ideology constantly evolving, from religious and spiritual beliefs to his ideals of success and happiness. McKenney digs into familial relationships, both of his childhood and of his own making, with four children produced between two marriages. He describes his happiness as a miracle, one that took serious effort: “my life’s work,” he writes, has been “to constantly overrule my mindless brain, uncovering the still, small voice within me that always knows what’s good and right.”

Throughout, he offers demonstrations of how to push back against an unhelpful mind. He covers pivoting and adjusting after career setbacks and changes, a failed marriage, and heartbreaking losses of close friends through self-inflicted tragedy, demonstrating what it took to learn and grow from those impactful experiences and relationships to define his own happiness. The result is a personal, revealing look at one man’s path toward control, understanding, and mindset of peace.

Takeaway: Engaging memoir exploring the urgent life’s work of changing one’s mindset.

Comparable Titles: Deena Kastor’s Let your Mind Run, Elaine Welteroth’s More Than Enough.

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

Click here for more about A Life's Work

Professional YouTuber Kacy Roe returns to her hometown of Tulsa when her estranged father has a heart attack in this polished mystery. She quickly finds herself facing personal and professional crises: she is re-establishing a connection with her father and managing her feelings around old flame detective Robert Stone. Meanwhile, Kacy explores the now-abandoned Camp Mercy and finds a body. This drags her into investigating a mysterious death from long ago, a case that someone will kill to keep closed. As Robert gradually connects the old murder with the new one, Kacy goes along for the ride, despite Rob's wish to protect her while they slowly rekindle their romance.

Goodwin keeps the action moving at a fast pace and achieves a nice balance between the characters' personal lives and an agreeably twisty mystery, making sure the multiple threads are neatly braided together. She has given the book an interesting structure: Kacy and Robert take turns narrating the story, with occasional third-person descriptions, providing deep insights into the cast, though the storytelling requires readers to pay close attention. Multiple viewpoints of the same incidents can at times be a challenge to track, but Goodwin keeps the story lean and the emotions resonant.

Although Goodwin's writing is spare, she doesn’t stint on character development. Scenes between Kacy and her father ring true, as they tentatively try to establish a new relationship in the wake of tragedy. Especially good is the romance between Kacy and Robert, and the dual narration sets readers up to experience their growing passion organically. Goodwin is equally at home with the violent scenes set in rural Oklahoma as well as a series of moving interviews with a stroke victim whose memories are integral to the investigation. Goodwin closes the book with an exciting and cathartic wind-up, leaving readers hoping for a future Kacy and Robert adventure.

Takeaway: Twisty mystery finds a YouTube star investigating a Tulsa killing.

Comparable Titles: Mario Giordano’s Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions, Joshilyn Jackson’s Never Have I Ever.

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

Click here for more about The Body Among The Pines

Gray, creator of Museum Hack, shares strategies for how to schedule, prepare, and host an engaging cocktail party for working adults, as well as enthusiastic insight into why it’s worth doing in the first place, such as strengthening relationships and the pleasure of meeting “awesome people.” Gray’s conversational tone makes a relaxing read out of a potentially stressful situation, demystifying each step of party planning and breaking the process down into three key parts, “The Basics,” “The Logistics,” and “Party Time.” Interviews with successful party hosts demonstrate the possibilities of his techniques, even in small homes and apartments, and charming illustrations break up the manual and keep the tone light. Readers will come away with an in-depth plan to host a soirée and grow a guest list—and also reason to expect it will actually be fun.

Gray’s tone is conversational and light, suiting the subject, and this is an inviting and polished manual for adults looking to expand their network, make new friends, or simply plan a winning get-together. Gray explains the power of positive icebreakers, how to cut off a long-winded guest, and even how to avoid the awkward period when guests first arrive. (The secret? Delegating tasks, as “early arrivals…appreciate the chance to feel useful instead of making idle conversation.”) Other welcome tips include advice for handling kids, breaking up cliques, and this reminder: “As long as the liquor you buy is in a glass bottle and not plastic, it’ll do fine for an adult party.” Gray’s instructions are also straightforward and written in an inviting tone, though at times they can be repetitive—an entire chapter on name badges may be excessive for some readers.

Still, with fresh suggestions and an inviting tone, Gray fulfills what he promises in the introduction: a complete guide to throwing a networking event. Gray includes an appendix with helpful lists and examples that he introduces throughout the book, and chapter checklists summarizing the big takeaways.

Takeaway: Fresh, helpful guide to the hows and whys of throwing an entertaining party.

Comparable Titles: Mary Giuliani’s The Cocktail Party, Leslie Brenner’s The Art of the Cocktail Party.

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

Click here for more about The 2-Hour Cocktail Party

The fourth in Horn’s Eudora Space Kid series is packed with laughs, cosmic adventure, and even a little romance. Third grader Eudora is at odds with her older sister Molly—who never seems to do anything wrong. Despite her best efforts to walk the straight and narrow, Eudora’s reputation has her locked in as a bit of a troublemaker (her sister lovingly refers to her as a “master of messes”). But when Eudora spies Captain Jax looking down in the dumps one night, she can’t help but investigate—and quickly realizes she needs her big sister’s advice to lend a hand.

Returning fans will appreciate how Horn stays true to Eudora’s quirky personality in this entertaining tale, though she’s treading more grown-up waters this time around. Captain Jax is feeling blue because he can’t muster the confidence to ask Eudora’s teacher, Miss Allison, on a date—a problem that Eudora believes she can solve by proposing the Captain and Miss Allison go on a double date with Eudora and her best friend, Arnold. Eudora, of course, offers to do the asking, and with the help of her sister learns the necessary etiquette to make the date a success. In the process, the story touches on welcome lessons for readers on weightier concepts like self-esteem and the importance of personal choice, as when Miss Allison discovers not just one but two gentlemen are eager for her affections, meaning she must choose which would be the better fit.

Judit Tondora’s black and white illustrations will elicit laughs and draw out the more subtle details of the story, and Horn matches the series’ tone with a light, carefree ending—and fun details that illustrate life in space, like Arnold’s special-delivery blueberries straight from Earth. Readers won’t want to miss this one—in Eudora’s own words, “It’s not every day you get to help the captain.”

Takeaway: Space adventure full of laughs and matchmaking hijinks.

Comparable Titles: Ray O’Ryan’s The Galaxy Zach Collection, Jeramey Kraatz’s Space Runners series.

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

Click here for more about The Greatest Matchmaker in Space! (Eudora Space Kid Book 4)

Russell’s epic debut novel, first of a trilogy, begins a lively science-fiction fantasy set on the planet Sirius, which is wracked by a decade-long war between two races. The dark skinned Zaeds are ruled by faith in their Alpha God, while the treacherous pale Delions depend on their technology to control the planet. When the Zaed queen Mother Hutra has a prophetic dream, it’s interpreted to mean that her royal daughters, 17-year-old Blahom and 13-year-old Katyana, must train to become Warrior Goddesses to help their men, including their saber-rattling brother Vasco, fight the Delions. Pampered court dancer Blahom finds fighting is beneath her, while spirited Katyana embraces her new calling.

Russell’s ambitious story pulses with what readers want from the genre: palace intrigue, family secrets, grueling training exercises, and dramatic events all involving an engaging cast and set against a fresh and vivid alien world. The Delions are not only rumored to have kidnapped Zaed women for a nefarious breeding program, but also possess a device that can transport them to another planet called Earth. After a tragedy involving his wife and unborn child, Vasco plots to attack the Delions and steal the device. Meanwhile, Zaed Lieutenant Kov who escaped from the Delions is acting strangely. And Blahom is preoccupied by two love interests: the intense warrior Jhapalle and Rasheed, the flirty easy-going adopted son of her uncle.

A welcome focus on black characters as the protagonists and heroes, and convincingly detailed rituals and world building overcome minor flaws in storytelling, such as a tendency toward exposition, some uneven pacing, and some plot threads left to be picked up in future volumes. Still, there’s much here that dazzles, and young adult readers and fans of unique fantasy cultures will enjoy this majestic new mythology. QR codes embedded in the text link to additional material available to club members.

Takeaway: Plucky Goddess Warriors defend their planet in this epic debut.

Comparable Titles: Alechia Dow’s A Song of Salvation, Maura Milan’s Ignite the Stars.

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

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