King’s memoir, set in British Columbia in the late 1980s and early 1990s, opens in a mall food court, where young King is approached by Pearl, a charismatic deaf woman who’s not shy about striking up a conversation with a stranger. Their chat, at first scribbled on napkins, flows easily, and a friendship blossoms. From there, interest in one another builds quickly, as they strike up a romance and King learns sign language in an attempt to strengthen their connection. When they move together to isolated Bowen Island, though, it becomes clear that Pearl’s increasingly erratic behavior is an indication of schizophrenia.

King tells this emotional story in crisp, quick prose, recounting major events with little transition between one day and the next: “Our lives changed quickly. Pearl moved in with me six months after we met. I reserved a U-Haul truck, collected cartons from the supermarket, and bought Pearl a negligee as a welcome gift.” King omits excessive detail—in about twenty pages, roughly three years’ worth of experiences ( the construction of a house, King’s graduation with a MBA, and the couple’s choice to get married) get laid out, which some readers might find jarring. What matters most, though, is King’s openness about this relationship and his respect for Pearl’s story, right up to its bittersweet finish.

Too many narratives concerned with mental health focus intensely on the disorder itself, forgetting the person who is afflicted with it. Not so, here, as King takes pains throughout to capture Pearl as a vital presence as the couple rough it on Bowen Island, sharing a life of livestock and ferry rides. Readers interested in life with mental health issues can enjoy the insights and slight suspense in this honest story, which closes with a personal letter from Pearl’s family and welcome commentary from King about how a sad ending for some can be a blessed beginning for others.

Takeaway: A love story and memoir that touches on deafness, schizophrenia, and roughing it in isolated British Columbia.

Great for fans of: Marin Sardy’s The Edge of Every Day, Donna McDonald’s The Art of Being Deaf.

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

Click here for more about Love for a Deaf Rebel

Haddad’s moving debut is based on the true story of Nasrollah, a Persian musician returning to Tehran from St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1905, half-way through his studies, to help his father establish musical education in their own country. Struggling to adjust, Nasrollah, who goes by the honorary title of Nasrosoltan, initially worries that his ambitions will be frustrated, but eventually enjoys success as the leader of a military band. When his mentor and professor dies, Nasrosoltan returns to St. Petersburg and meets the elegant Madame Lazar, private music tutor to the Princess Irina, and sets off a chain of events leading to a passionate love affair that crosses class lines, all as revolutionary violence grips Russia.

Inspired by true stories passed down from the author’s grandmother about his grandfather, Nasrosoltan, Haddad’s novel uses fiction to bring life to family history. His portraits of Persian influence on Russian court life at the turn of the 20th century are compelling, and family photographs add a personal touch that readers will appreciate. That history adds power to Haddad’s depiction of Nasrosoltan yearning for the vibrancy of St. Petersburg and his talented peers or his thrill at returning during “babe leto, or ‘grandmother’s summer,’ those rare days that summer’s comforts extended well into the fall.”

As a storyteller, Haddad relies heavily on exposition, with incidents often summarized rather than fully dramatized, and the characters have a habit of recounting anecdotes that are not entirely connected to their development or the needs of the story. This, along with some clunky dialogue—“What have you done? The governor is terribly upset that you escorted Shamsi to Margoon and were alone with her for two nights”—diminish the impact of the narrative. But the plot and tone are quite operatic, which will appeal to readers who enjoy dramatic historical fiction.

Takeaway: A deeply personal historical novel blending music, love, and turn-of-the-century revolutionary politics.

Great for fans of: Vanora Bennet’s Midnight in St Petersburg, Anne Glenconner’s Lady in Waiting.

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

Click here for more about A Hundred Sweet Promises

Meier (The Dung Beetles of Liberia) transports readers back to Jamestown, 1609, in this dramatic historical fiction. Matthew, an English carpenter on the run after assaulting his boss, embarks on the long voyage to Virginia with the hopes of a new beginning with his best friend Richard, an optimistic scholar. Matthew adapts to the harsh environment of the Americas, learning to use a gun and contribute to the settlement, winning favor in the eyes of colony leaders like Captain John Smith. Richard, though, struggles to see Jamestown for anything other than an Eden where he can start a new civilization and spread Christianity to the local Native Americans.

The men’s friendship illustrates opposing viewpoints of early settlers’ adjustment to Jamestown. While Matthew hardens to the reality that the settlement is not a promised land brimming with gold, Richard struggles to learn survival skills, falls in love with an Englishwoman, and insists on his mission to “begin the world over again, the way it should be” by spreading “the light of Christianity.” Both men's morals are tested as they face the harsh reality for the unprepared English settlers, striving to find food in a punishing winter. Meier doesn’t sugarcoat the settlers’ attacks against the Native Americans or the retaliations: the brutality of Jamestown life, and the battles between the Native Americans and the English, are deftly laid out with clarity and power, inviting readers to experience them alongside Matthew.

History and fiction blend perfectly in this vivid account of early settlement in an unforgiving new land where morals are tested and sins are committed. Those who grew up learning the stories of Jamestown in history classes will recognize many characters, such as Captain Ratcliffe, Powhatan Chief Opechancanough, Captain Davis, and Sir Percy. Meier provides a detailed map so readers can easily follow along with the characters’ movements.

Takeaway: This well-researched novel of early Jamestown will grab readers seeking a fresh look at history.

Great for fans of: Connie Lapallo, Tony Williams’s The Jamestown Experiment.

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

Click here for more about Bloodroot

Cesarini charts the peaks and valleys of fighting cancer in his powerful memoir. Seemingly healthy before he was first diagnosed in his early ‘50s, Cesarini started writing this day-by-day account of the trial of facing Stage 4 lung cancer in 2019, with a focus on knowing that he must continue to fight-- on choosing to live “rather than accepting a death sentence.” His background, coincidentally in marketing cancer drugs for a major pharmaceutical company, served him well when it came to advocating for himself and making treatment decisions, and as the many photos (and links to musical performances) in the text make clear, community and his passion for music (he plays the french horn) proved key sources of strength.

This diary of his struggle is inspiring in its clear examination of his trials as well as in sharing a spirit of hope. The material can get dense: Cesarini draws on his oncology expertise to explain his medical complications and thoroughly break down the logic of various treatment options, differentiating between CT scans and X-rays, and explaining, in footnotes, how to make sense of terms like “statistically significant.” The journal-style narration (“Sunday, September 8: I feel about the same today as I did yesterday”) conveys the grinding quality of a protracted health crisis but at times may prove monotonous for readers expecting the scenecraft of more polished memoirs. Cesarini’s candid photos throughout invite readers to feel a personal connection–as does his moving closing narration of an imagined vacation with his husband, a memorialization of a trip that Covid-19 made impossible.

Cesarini hoped, in writingSurvival Symphony, to offer hope to lung cancer patients, demonstrating people can live with the disease. In this, he succeeds. He illuminates the urgency of love and community and the importance of being empowered to make effective decisions. Cancer, in his words, “Is not how I’m going to die.”

Takeaway: This detailed memoir of facing cancer offers crucial insights and encouragement to keep fighting.

Great for fans of: Joy Clausen Soto’s Joy, John Kuby’s No Quit In Me.

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

Click here for more about Survival Symphony

In this comic debut, Waymack, clinical surgeon and founder of Kitov Pharmaceuticals, serves up memorable snapshots of his most implausible and amusing moments in the medical field, such as the priceless story of giving mouth-to-mouth to a cherished lab rat. From his first night in emergency room rotation to serving as the lead on an Army burn team in the Soviet Union, he offers entertaining anecdotes from years of experience–and doesn’t shy away from the unpleasant side of medical practice. Reminiscent of diary entries with an emphasis on recording the lighter side of human behavior, the unlikely tales cover both serious challenges alongside the more outlandish memories in an endearing, self-deprecating style.

When recounting the wild events of his first nights in residency, for example, when he still held to the naive belief that “of all the days I will practice medicine, the most insane will be the first,” he fondly recalls the “number-one most used expression” among medical students—“I’ll go get the doctor.” Readers will laugh along at the confusion caused by Waymack’s misinterpretation of an X-ray: A patient’s abdomen appeared riddled with buckshot, and when Waymack, justifiably concerned, asked her when she had been shot, he learned the truth: She had simply enjoyed a dinner of freshly shot squirrel the night before.

This merry memoir delves into more solemn topics as well, covering Waymack’s stint in the U.S. Army and president-ordered mission to the Soviet Union, complete with photographs of the author’s adventures. But, in true Waymack style, he describes being followed by KGB agents and training “Soviet proctologists” to be burn surgeons with an arrestingly light touch. One standout story: Waymack’s habit of posing complex medical questions (““Comrade, what would be a normal white blood cell count for a burn patient in this hospital?”) to the Soviet doctor he suspected was actually a KGB agent. Equal parts incredible and hysterical, this medical mayhem will delight fans of real-life comedy.

Takeaway: A sidesplitting medical memoir, alive with smart comedy and commentary.

Great for fans of: Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor, Doron Amosi’s Tell Me Where it Hurts.

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

Click here for more about Well, Doc, It Seemed Like a Good Idea At The Time!

A mischievous kid who loves candies, pranks, and scary situations, headlines Davis and Bouchard’s spooky Halloween adventure. When his mother reprimands him on the night of his favorite holiday, the young prankster escapes into the forest, where he stumbles upon three scary witches—with green flesh and creepy, curly toes—dancing around a fire. The witches seize the boy and fly him on their brooms and into their kitchen, complete with a burbling cauldron labeled “Wee Ones.” To save himself, the hero challenges his captors to solve a counting puzzle that he’s crafted. The witches will lose all their powers if they can’t answer his riddle—but what if they get it right?

The authors answer that question in a story that, despite some strained rhymes, successfully marries the exhilaration of Halloween scares with a clever math trick. At times the authors’ verbosity slows the clever story. The protagonist responds to the terrors around him—“jars of bulging lizard eyes, and cans of buzzard meat”—with anger rather than terror, exercising a hallucinatory agency in his escapist imaginations, a welcome development reminiscent of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. His confident decision to rely on his wits in the face of danger is exciting (“Quick trickery is my thing!”), though the choice to leave him nameless may limit readers’ ability to connect with him emotionally.

Kody Kratzer's atmospheric illustrations heighten the seasonal and supernatural elements, with rich colors, exciting details (the witches’ jack-o’-lantern smiles!), and occasional bumptious action bringing life to the pages. The art boasts a gratifying intensity, though attentive readers may note inconsistencies in the unnamed hero’s physical depiction—he appears childish in initial spreads while resembling a young adult in the final pages. Nevertheless, those eager for spine-tingling anecdotes, fun riddles, and the general merriment of Halloween will find delight in this wittily imaginative adventure.

Takeaway: An eerie and intellectually interactive Halloween adventure that will please curious readers.

Great for fans of: Emma Yarlett’s Beast Feast, Jennifer O’Connell’s Ten Timid Ghosts.

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

Click here for more about The Witches Three Count on Me!

Centered on magic, inheritance, and prophesy, Armstrong’s enthralling debut fantasy tests the power of good against the power of evil while delving into heady questions of destiny versus free will. Cassius, a prince known for his pure heart and soul, was adopted by King Varimus of Evlontus, already the father of an existing son, Magnus. While the princes were still young, King Varimus managed to save the realms from a powerful evil entity created by the bad choices of the people. Saving the day meant agreeing to let the entity bind with Cassius, though Cassius was able to control the evil. Years later, a jealous Magnus frames Cassius for the king’s murder and then puts him into a deep sleep for years, while Magnus rules the kingdom. But Cassius awakens and, as foretold in prophecy, meets Ellendarra, kicking off a complex battle of light and dark.

Rather than a clear “good guy” or “bad guy,” Armstrong creates characters who are tortured by perceptions of goodness and evil. “Evlontians know that with each act they commit, they empower either the darkness or the light,” he writes, a philosophy that inspires the fear that harboring any darkness inside oneself they must make one evil, as well as the conviction that if a choice benefits the greater good, no matter how evil it may seem, it must still be good. Readers will likely relate to Magnus the most, as his internal conflict and fears make his struggles often seem more difficult than Cassius’s, who literally fights the darkness inside him.

As Cassian armies clash with Evlontians, characters and readers alike will wonder about the nature of prophecy, since each intense battle’s outcome and each character’s choice appears to be already set for them. Armstrong suggests, though, interpretation is everything, and that choice and prophecy can be the same. The detailed, sometimes dense story line and insight into character and history will please fans of thoughtful fantasy.

Takeaway: Fantasy readers will find the swords, sorcery, and magical entities they’re looking for in this high-stakes war of good versus evil.

Great for fans of:Michael Swanwick’s The Iron Dragon's Daughter, Eve Forward’s Villains by Necessity.

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

Click here for more about Cassius and Ellendarra

In this new translation of Dante’s complete epic, Davis renders all 100 cantos of the poet’s ascension from Inferno to Paradise in clear, direct prose. He’s committed to ensuring that readers are able, as Beatrice puts it in Davis’s version of Paradise, to “Open your mind to what I now reveal unto you and fix it therein. For knowledge comes from hearing something and retaining it.” To fix meaning in minds today, Davis favors clarity over mystery, the literal over the poetic, offering a Divine Comedy that synthesizes earlier translations, breezily explaining itself at every step of Dante’s journey.

Davis—who has translated classics as disparate as Don Quixote, Gilgamesh, and Le Morte d'Arthur—offers only sparse insight, in a brief introduction, into his sources, methods, or choices. One line, though, captures the spirit of this work: “If any explanations or clarifications are needed, they are embedded in the body of the text, so as not to interrupt the flow of the words.” That approach is exemplified by the moment when Dante and his guide, Virgil, enter a forest in Inferno, and Virgil bids Dante to break a twig off one of the moaning trees. Once the tree speaks, in a lament that Davis captures with some pained power, Virgil doesn’t just point out that Dante should have known from familiarity with Virgil’s work that there was a soul trapped inside—here, Virgil fully cites the source: “[I]f this man could only have believed what he had read described in my verses in the Aeneid.”

Readers seeking an accessible, inviting Divine Comedy will find Davis a welcome guide, despite some flat prose and the occasional tautology. (“Do not marvel if the Family of Heaven is still able to astonish you,” Virgil advises.) The lack of explanatory notes, especially concerning textual issues and the many figures from history and literature who populate Dante’s afterlife, limits this translation’s utility for students, but Davis still offers a clean, approachable rendering.

Takeaway: An inviting prose version of the classic journey from hell to heaven.

Great for fans of: Jason M. Baxter’s A Beginner's Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy, Eric Griffiths and Matthew Reynolds’s Dante in English.

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

Click here for more about The Divine Comedy: The New Translation by Gerald J. Davis

Brill delivers an entertaining caper set in colonial America’s fight for independence in the second volume of his Misadventures of Leeds Merriweather series (after The Patterer). Leeds Merriweather, a journalist and self-proclaimed “wordsmith,” owns a Boston newspaper in 1773–a publication that many colonists deem sympathetic to the Tory cause. When his business debt gets signed over to crown royalists thanks to his best friend’s gambling habits, Leeds is forced to use his press to further the cause of the King, whether he agrees with it or not. Tables turn once his affections are snared by rebel sympathizer Sally Hughes, and Leeds finds himself torn between saving his livelihood or clandestinely using the power of the press to further the Patriot movement.

History lovers will be hooked by Brill’s foray into colonial Boston, especially his portrayal of key battles and memorable strategists who were instrumental in establishing American freedom. Though he takes plenty of creative license in re-imagining significant events, the engaging characters and wry style carry the story line. Brill pairs an amusing satiric style with period appropriate prose, and readers will chuckle at his characters’ catchphrases (“Flog the frog. I’d been had”) and Leeds’s playful narration, such as the barbed “‘Not to overstate the obvious,’ I said, overstating the obvious.” Brill’s sense of play at times flirts with anachronism, as when he concocts a perfectly reasonable justification for Leeds to exclaim “WTF?”

Sally continually risks life and limb in the name of freedom and exhibits plenty of her own gusto, upending mores as the story navigates bordellos and revolutionary politicking. While this power couple has strong appeal, their romance here proves anticlimactic. Still, fans of witty historic adventure will be left wishing for more of Leeds and his covert printing operations–activities that eventually transform him into a “spot-on American.” This bantering account of early colonial freedom fighters and their innovative maneuvers is equal parts rousing and amusing

Takeaway: A playful tale of colonial America, with wry humor and a rebel heart.

Great for fans of: Edward Carey’s Little, Theodore Sturgeon’s I, Libertine.

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

Click here for more about The Printer and The Strumpet

Dunn’s debut novel is a sumptuous sojourn into the grit and glamour of the Roaring Twenties given new life through the lenses of queer identity and the story of the rise of a superstar. Billie, the chosen sobriquet of Lucille Le Sur, one day to become known as Joan Crawford, is a smallish-town girl with a past who only wants to dance on Broadway –and will do anything to get there. Once on the Great White Way, as a chorine in a J. J. Shubert production, she meets Nadine, a fellow chorine with a reputation as a good-time girl and the connections to go with it. As the pair opens up about their pasts and shared experiences, growing intimate, matters like marriages and careers get in the way of what could be, threatening an early closing on their romance.

Rich with atmosphere and stunning detail, the novel offers an intricately imagined love story viewed from the dual perspectives of Billie and Nadine. Without shying away from the realities of the time period–and what women were forced to do if they wanted their chance at fame–Dunn fully immerses readers in the kaleidoscopic headiness of Broadway life during the Prohibition era, as the women both sing and embody the hit song “T'ain't Nobody's Business if I Do.” Fact and fiction are blended together with a seamless ease, inviting readers into the game of untangling which is which.

The novel has some stylistic quirks. The dual-viewpoint narrative’s quick transitions from one voice to another takes some getting used to and may at times throw some readers off, and intermittent bursts of poetry among the prose provide a refreshing (if odd) change of pace. But this story and romance boasts a solid foundation, compelling characters, and prose that brings the Jazz Age–and what queer existence would have been like in that era–to life

Takeaway: A beautifully penned love story that pays homage to the theater and the queer experience in the Prohibition era.

Great for fans of: Laura Moriarty’s The Chaperone, Renée Rosen’s Dollface.

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

Click here for more about For the Love of Many

Weiland-Crosby weaves a moving tapestry of grief, family, and the enduring power of nature in her fanciful debut. Scarlet, a tree sprite, has seen a lot in her fifty years on earth, but she has never met a human until she encounters Finn, an autistic human teenager, seconds before taking his own life. That moment changes everything for both, in ways neither could expect. In their part of the world, the Smis (short for “Southern Maryland in Shadow”) judges all living things when they die, determining whether each soul moves toward the Light or the Dark. Death by suicide, in the Smis’s estimation, means automatic Darkness. But Scarlet is convinced that Finn did not intend to die and begs for a chance to prove it. She is given one year to pretend to be human and prove that Finn’s spirit belongs to the Light.

Audiences will be swept away by Scarlet’s human life as Willow Brook, who learns that fifty years of tree-sprite living have ill-prepared her for love, jealousy, and heartbreak. Her relationship with Finn’s grieving parents will keep readers guessing as to Scarlet and Finn’s fate—expect tears along the way. Weiland-Crosby’s narrative features multiple perspectives, including its eponymous protagonist, Smis, and Scarlet’s tree host, Horace, offering a multifaceted view of characters and scenes. The lyrical style is touched with poetry, providing insight into the world between fairy and human.

At times, that divide seems arbitrary: The afterlife in Scarlet Oak is clearly non-religious, but Christianity and the Christmas holiday are major forces for good in the life of Scarlett and the Smis. The story grapples with mature subject matter—suicide, alcoholism, ableism—but readers should be aware that the depiction of Finn’s autism emphasizes negative effects on those around him. Despite some uncomfortable moments, this rich fusion of connection and resilience will remind readers of their own magic.

Takeaway: Part paean to nature, part family drama, this lyric fantasy examines grief and love in our world.

Great for fans of: Glendy Vanderah’s Where the Forest Meets the Stars, Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

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

Click here for more about Scarlet Oak

First published in 2012, Jean’s hefty (over 600 pages) collection of gentle, nature-minded observational free verse celebrates, among other topics, silence, seasons, spiders, and how “the flute song of the wind/ blows over the green hills.” Unaddressed in these hundreds of short, accessible poems is the title’s cavalier use of a dated term with a history of use as a slur. That’s certain to turn away some potential readers, though a poem called “The Gypsy,” which centers on the possibility (represented by a seagull) of being someplace unexpected tomorrow, suggests that Jean conceives of the term as referring to a general spirit of adventure and curiosity.

Whatever the case, that spirit powers poems like “A Walk Through a Canyon" which finds Jean both ecstatic and contemplative: “in the long time to come, perhaps/ i will remember this is my footprint/ on the red sand, beneath these monoliths of stone/ frozen by time …” Landscape, weather, and time forever reflect each other in Jean’s imagination, a tendency common in dreamy Midwesterners (Jean hails from North Dakota) who have invested years in watching seasons unfold across those limitless heavens. In the playful “White” snow covers trees and ground “as if the sky had fallen down,” while “I Am” finds her engaging in the age-old pleasure of dreaming along with the clouds, which she strikingly likens to “giant leaves / floating across a pond of sky.”

Pleasing imagery appears throughout the collection (“The bush was buttoned up/ with red berries”), even in poems concerning more human topics, such as a grandmother’s mending basket or fleeting memories of youth. Still, the book’s bulk and abundance can overwhelm, with the strongest and most specific poems outnumbered by slighter ones, variations on established themes, whimsical doggerel, and lines whose power is diminished by familiar imagery or inconsistent archaic phrasing, like “’tis” or “thee.”

Takeaway: A lifetime’s worth of warmly observational poetry, focused on time, nature, and arresting imagery.

Great for fans of: Mary Ryan, Ted Kooser.

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

Click here for more about Poems from a Gypsy Heart

Rynerson’s thorough, fierce, nonpartisan attack on contemporary capitalism emphasizes the pernicious influence that corporate power has on the daily lives of average Americans. Comparing the population to the archetypal frog who doesn’t recognize it’s gradually being boiled alive, Rynerson notes that, since the Reagan revolution, regulations on corporations have slowly eroded, allowing them to achieve ever greater profit at the expense of the public, a trend only exacerbated by the globalization of the Clinton era. Without restrictions, “unfettered corporate greed” is unleashed, which leads to corporations corrupting government policy. Rynerson presents an exhaustive list of charges of illegal activity by banks and other companies; he offers evidence of auto companies deliberately stifling innovation; and he charts the alarming history of pharmaceutical companies directly writing legislation to prevent Medicare from negotiating prices for medicine.

Rynerson's arguments prove most persuasive when focused on specific examples of corruption, such as his spirited takedown of the lobbying industry, in which he connects various powerful lobbies to their influence on specific members of Congress. At times, he overreaches, not addressing issues like race and poverty when urging readers to buy electric cars and healthier groceries, or loosely linking the treatment decisions made by oncologists to corruption elsewhere in the medical industry, such as pharmaceutical companies’ efforts to sell opioids. While most of his arguments are easy to follow, they sometimes get swallowed in the avalanche of outrages and references, a tendency that also dulls the righteous power of his anger.

“Unfortunately, corporate control of our nation became complete in 2010,” he laments in a discussion of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which allowed unlimited election spending from wealthy donors. Rynerson makes that case with such clear fury that, perhaps inevitably, the solutions he offers (idealistic fixes like the creation of a new, centrist political party, individual-focused changes like eating less sugar) come up short. Still, Rynerson's passion and outrage raise urgent, thought-provoking questions.

Takeaway: A no-holds-barred attack on unchecked corporate power in American.

Great for fans of: David Dayen’s Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power, Christopher Leonard’s kochland.

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

Click here for more about Unchecked Capitalism is Killing Us!

Landa’s debut novel follows Maia Foster––a 17 year-old cancer survivor raised by her grandmother––as she journeys through the afterlife to save her grandmother’s life. A regular high school student with a crush on a popular jock and conflict with local mean girls, Maia sees her world fall apart when her doctor breaks the news that her cancer is coming back. Then things get strange: She wakes up in the hospital and sees a mysterious man touching her grandmother’s forehead. That stranger Sidney, who looks young but has an air of agelessness about him, hints at knowledge of life, death, and souls, and tells Maia that she has the opportunity to save her grandmother’s life, but for a price. Maia accepts, and together they take a dazzling plunge into the afterlife. But there she loses the medallion that protects her and then, one by one, her senses, all as she discovers that Sidney, her self-proclaimed “caregiver,” hasn’t been completely honest with her.

Featuring an angelic language, death personified, plus demigods and dragon, this coming-of-age story covers a lot of fantastical ground. Lovers of young adult romance steeped in fantastical journeys and coming-of-age themes will appreciate this story, if they’re comfortable with the issues of age, power, and consent that mostly go unaddressed in the budding romance between an underage teen and an apparently ageless being who can read her mind, has observed her since her girlhood, and is described in the narrative as a “man” while she’s referred to as a “girl.”

The descent into fantasy is slow and immersive, allowing time for the Maia and readers to acclimate to a convincing world, which helps develop stakes that give the story power. The worldbuilding is strong on both the fantastic and realistic sides, and a moving twist shifts the novel’s focus to familial love and sacrifice rather than romantic love.

Takeaway: Strong worldbuilding and an engaging teen protagonist ground this fantasy in real emotion.

Great for fans of: Archer Lakhani’s The Safekeeper, Neal Shusterman’s Everlost.

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

Click here for more about Vandella

In this empathetic self-help book, Bohlen and his wife, Helen M. Bohlen, offer relationship advice rooted in Christian teachings for spouses of individuals with mental health or addiction issues. Bohlen opens with a relatable and hopeful admission: He and his wife have both faced issues including bipolar disorder, drug addiction, and suicide attempts, but, despite it all, they have survived and thrived as a couple for more than 35 years.

Bohlen points out that it’s actually quite common to love someone with a mental illness, as roughly half of the U.S. population will experience one over the course of their lives. Bohen makes it clear that he’s not a mental health expert, but he establishes credibility with his research and his professional experience with trauma and substance abuse as a teacher for young men at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility. In a nutshell, Bohlen recommends that if “spouses of the mentally ill or addicted can be spiritually strengthened and learn practical things they can do independently, more marriages can be saved.”

This is, of course, easier said than done, so much of the book breaks down specific scenarios that apply to particular sets of circumstances, offering practical steps to navigate these difficulties. This includes understanding a spouse’s emotional triggers, enforcing boundaries, remaining focused on personal goals and dreams, and staying grounded in reality. While Bohlen emphasizes scripture, prayer, and, in a recurring section, the urgency of recognizing the “Spiritual Blessings” of “patiently persevering with your spouse or loved one in partnership with God,” he is adamant that dangerous or abusive marriages should end and that it’s urgent for many couples to seek professional help. “Praise God for inspiring professionals who research and then share what works with those of us who suffer,” he writes. For believers, this book serves as a helpful, faith-based guide for couples seeking to understand and overcome their respective challenges and remain together.

Takeaway: A warm, inviting faith-based self-help guide for married couples facing mental health challenges.

Great for fans of: Mathew S. Stanford’s Grace for the Afflicted: A Clinical and Biblical Perspective on Mental Illness, Catherine P. Downing’s Sparks of Redemptive Grace.

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

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Reyo (Divine Alchemy) illuminates the often complex techniques of achieving healing and self-reflection to secure social and world change in this inviting revision of her 1989 first edition. With a supportive approach, Reyo posits that through inner alchemy, which is “the science of applied consciousness to raise the vibration of the matter that comprises our physical and psychological self into finer states or frequencies,” individuals can connect with something larger, achieve joy and fulfillment, and effect global change. Suitable for intermediate and advanced students of topics like astral realms and “energetic work,” this thorough manual presents immersive exercises to identify and manage the individual self through energy mastery and conversion. These exercises have been crafted to foster exploration of the nature of life, the self, and the soul—and how all of these are bound up together.

Useful in a group setting or individually, Reyo’s emotionally intense practices develop not only familiar energy areas, such as the seven chakras, but also concepts like the twelve dimensional stages of consciousness. Reyo describes the seven fields of energy around the living body and the seven rays or divine flames that imbue all of creation, and she offers practical applications for readers who have achieved transformation or arrived at fresh perceptions, such as composing daily personal affirmations and achieving confidence, control, steadiness, integrity, and divine reflection.

Adding a personal touch, Reyo describes her own journey with energy work, the knowledge she gained from experts in the field, and how she went on to found the Inner Alchemy School of Consciousness in several Latin American countries. Readers on the right wavelength will relish this elegantly designed edition, complete with sophisticated illustrations that convincingly depict difficult to understand concepts. The book is well indexed and catalogued with a glossary and bibliography, making it a valuable reference for seekers of spiritual well-being.

Takeaway: A practical, polished compendium of spiritual exercises for self-improvement and ways to effect global change.

Great for fans of: Anodea Judith's Wheels of Life, Athena Perrakis's The Ultimate Guide to Chakras.

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

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