Not being terribly busy, Hicks spends time sightseeing and exploring the local cultures. She also tries best to practice what she preaches when confronted with anxiety and depression at Camp Casey in South Korea. Her innate interest in Buddhism helps her connect with lamas and nuns as well as other Europeans and Americans interested in Buddhist practices. This brings her a measure of peace and acceptance of her singlehood and loneliness.
Sedate in pace and tone, the memoir explores not just the psychological challenges endured by soldiers and their families that result from multiple deployments, but also exposes the attitudes of military top brass when it comes to understanding mental illness and trauma among army personnel. With its patriarchal norms of masculinity and rampant homophobia, the military comes across as a lumbering behemoth with one leg enmeshed in the past. Hicks’s candid description of her own struggles with anxiety and depression and her exposing of attitudes within the military makes this memoir an illuminating read.
Takeaway: A serene memoir about counseling US military personnel and families.
Comparable Titles: Sally Wolf’s Life of a Military Psychologist, Marjorie Morrison’s The Inside Battle.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
So it goes for this lost generation in Howse’s sweeping novel, an incisive slice of life whose slices are wide-ranging and generously proportioned—even if the lives itself, for those living them, too often feel fraught and small. As Nadia and co. face upheaval but still strive to “to patch a happy ending on a dubious beginning, to make a quilt from rags” and seize those moments when “the wager [of life] seemed a relatively cheerful proposition”—usually with family, friends, a cat named Cosmos, or for pregnant Nastya, the possibilities of a “home-in-the-making” with Girogi, a police detective who volunteers amid the horrors of the Chrernobyl evacuation zone.
Fascinating characters like that populate Howse’s story, though its heart is Nadia, yearning to go to Moscow and college, and enduring disasters, both incidental—a car accident, “blowup”s that occur “on a geographic scale”—and world-shaking. Howse’s novel is dense and detailed but alive with feeling, insight, and Nadia’s stirring, stinging, poetic thoughts. It juxtaposes in-depth, almost reportorial portraiture of a society’s decline with the fresh exuberance of youth, plus the terror and possibility of what might come next, when history itself—Nadia often notes the sites of massacres and tragedies—offers little reason for optimism. Still, Nadia offers reason for hope.
Takeaway: Intimate epic of coming of age as the Soviet Union collapses.
Comparable Titles: Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry’s The Orchard, Artem Mozgovoy’s Spring in Siberia.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Billy is the classic flâneur who follows metaphorical breadcrumbs from the universe as he searches for answers: a flying car driven by a dead chauffeur, a frat party where he meets a beautiful superhero, and a friendly basketball that follows him, among many otherworldly incidents. This lends a mythological tone, akin to Perseus finding a goddess-given shield to help him win a battle. The whimsicality provides an atmosphere of both timelessness and humor. Meanwhile, Juliano is an expert at recounting basketball games, play-by-play, demonstrating with passion and precision the healing power of the sport.
The quirky Billy will again prove endearing to readers with his charisma and his casual willingness to follow abstract invitations toward adventure, always seizing upon the positive in the unpredictable. “Billy had to laugh. He was a leader with no followers, a shepherd with no sheep, a general with no army, but that was OK because he had what he needed: a pretty girl and a bar tab.” Such positivity helps him assemble and coach a heartwarming, underdog basketball team to take on the Tar Heels and showcase Andy’s skills. Readers of playful fabulism will eagerly follow the legendary Billy’s unexpected path towards bolstering a worthy athlete.
Takeaway: Wholly unique story of visions, college basketball, and a spirit quest.
Comparable Titles: Melissa Broder’s Death Valley, Charley Rosen’s No Blood, No Foul.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
The collection delves into some dark themes, like abuse, suicidal ideation, and drug addiction. In “Aeternum,” an opiate-addicted narrator fresh off a bender lies on her girlfriend’s front stoop, covered in vomit, seeing herself through her girlfriend’s eyes, while “The Scissors” combines passages from academic research on teen addiction with the story of a teenage addict and the tragic consequences of his choices. Turner doesn’t shy away from gore, occasionally delivering shockingly violent conclusions. However, the collection achieves thematic balance through stories that effortlessly capture the giddy alchemy of romantic love and attraction, particularly in the “Dramatic Effect” series, which sweetly charts the development of a couple from a chance meeting to a committed, accepting—and quirky—partnership.
Regardless of their subject matter, Turner’s inventive use of language infuses all of her stories. Keeping up with her lively prose, packed with lengthy asides (brackets are often nested within parentheses) and refreshingly offbeat figures of speech, has rich rewards for readers on the wavelength of the “digretch”ions: Turner refers to coffee as “wonderbrew” and strings of Christmas lights as “Jolly Rancher luminescence.” But while Turner’s style is unconventional and occasionally dense, it reliably reveals her diverse characters’ inner worlds, whether they are a child at the beach or a lovestruck commuter. Some elements may be proudly eccentric, but readers will be surprised by how easy it is to connect with its characters as they attempt to know themselves and face their challenges.
Takeaway: Playful, sometimes jolting fictions of the highs and lows of the human mind.
Comparable Titles: Karen Russell, Carmen Maria Machado
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
McGurk crafts a tale that seamlessly weaves together the intricacies of spy craft, personal history, and the quest for truth, its elaborate plot unfolding across multiple time frames and locations. From the turbulent backdrop of Ireland during the Irish Republican Army and British Empire conflict to the orphanage in Alabama where Bree grew up, and finally to the Norwood Agency in Britain, the story navigates through these settings with skillful storytelling, though the timelines require close attention to fully appreciate the unraveling events.
Heredity, DNA tests, and undercover moles resonate, mirroring the spy game, as Bree explores her roots in her ancestral home with fellow spy Dash Heyward, aided by roommate and Head Girl, Ruby. The supporting characters, with their own motives and secrets, add complexity to the tale. As Bree grapples with the embedded tracking device in her neck and questions of trust, the tangled web of relationships, beliefs, and falsehoods keep readers guessing until the final pages, and how to discern intentions while surviving requires every inch of Bree’s focus. The payoff is a gripping tale of espionage, self-discovery, and survival, and McGurk masterfully blends the action, mystery, and character-driven moments together, delivering a worthy sequel that will leave readers anticipating the next installment.
Takeaway: A twisting spy game adventure of betrayal, self-discovery, and survival.
Comparable Titles: Maureen Johnson’s Truly Devious, Marion Blackwood’s The Traitor Spy.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
In “Insomnia,” from a section titled “Mental Collisions,” the speaker stays up until dawn and “watch[es] as the Earth tilt[s] on its axis to reveal the sun’s glory.” At this change in perspective, day is a result of the earth turning rather than the sun coming up. The speaker then asks, “does the sun ever rise?” which is a remark not just on the unsettled self but the unsettled collective—even though humanity has long understood that the sun itself does not ascend the sky, we cannot abandon the myth of sunrise. In Bioku’s hands, though, this inquiry and this turning of perspective on its axis results in a healing liberation.
Bioku spins an elaborate web of self-expression in We Ponder that, despite several one-dimensional poems, is accessible, relatable, and refreshingly bold, particularly for readers seeking poetry about mental illness. Bioku is at her best in this collection in the section titled “Spiritual Remedies,” which is a series of prayer-poems that are brief but often transcendent. As the speaker writes in “Magenta Cosmos,” in the path of God or Creator, the unsettled mind is not one meant to be solved or settled: “grand designs have no negative spaces.”
Takeaway: Dreamy, melancholy poems of spirituality, mental health, heartbreak, and love.
Comparable Titles: Nikita Gill’s “The Truth About Your Heart,” R. H. Sin.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: B
WIth prose touched with poetry and charged with feeling, Coles explores the human condition in literal and philosophical senses as Kanan and Tei uncover secrets about their existence, their history, and the structure of a society whose particulars will keep even seasoned science-fiction readers guessing. As Kanan and Tei find and rely on their talents, they unearth strengths within themselves to determine their own destiny outside of the stations they have been told await them in the future.
A captivating story of truth, good and evil, and what constitutes being "human", The Limits of My World lives up to its title, revealing that what the protagonists perceive as the parameters of their existence—including creepy inventions like the “butchery curtains”—isn’t the limits of their world at all. For all the provocative ideas and revelations, Coles prioritizes character and adventure, pitting his protagonists against hard choices (“You live skinless or you do not live”) and the most urgent of questions.
Takeaway: Fresh SF page-turner of identity, dystopia, and fighting for one’s place.
Comparable Titles: Brian Everson’s The Warren; Lauren Beukes.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
Witham does a masterful job covering the dirty dealing in artwork through the eyes of Quang and Soong, and even better is his deft portrayal of modern China. He navigates readers through a China still reflecting on its imperial era, even after communism and recent forays into capitalism, where soldiers can sing Bee Gees songs, but to Quang, the last imperial ruler, Empress Cixi, is "still present." Even the Cultural Revolution seemingly didn't erase all vestiges of the royal family, at least in spirit, and Witham’s lovingly penned descriptions of the country hold attention, even when the plot meanders.
Though the focus is mostly on China itself, Witham capably develops agents Ho and Peale as well; they’re an engaging pair, and their sleuthing in China is buoyed by their comfortable rapport. For action fans, there's plenty of martial arts fighting and a particularly well-staged army helicopter extraction scene, and Witham deserves full marks for the offbeat but exciting wind-up. The novel delves into the concept of cultural property, a background against which Witham weaves a plausible and gripping denouement centered on artwork, museum building contractors, and a mysterious drink called Gold Tea. This lands well for fans of impassioned political thrillers.
Takeaway: America and China engage in complex—and deadly—espionage over art.
Comparable Titles: Dan Brown, Sam Christer.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A-
Taylor Street is a worthy setting, equal to the book’s thrilling plot line, where the gritty neighborhood comes alive with colorful characters, whether it’s Beans’s Uncle Skinny, neighborhood bookie Willy the Wiz (replete with black Stacy Adams wingtips), or Pete the Bum, a “bona fide hobo” with serious street cred. Palmer paints the labyrinthine ecosystem of cops, thieves, their all-too-human aspirations and dreams, and their collaborations—said and unsaid, overt and covert—in a realistic manner, and he smartly avoids styling the protagonists as idealistic heroes. Each is a thorough professional, as proud of their skills and exploits as any other on the “right” side of the law.
The brisk pace and mounting tension towards the end will keep readers on the edge of their seats, and once Step’s true intentions are exposed, the stakes grow exponentially higher—with actual lives hanging in the balance. The final resolution adds depth and nuance to the thriller, setting the stage for the next in the series, as Beans and his crew are tasked with avenging a childhood friend’s abuse at the hands of his physical therapist. This is a gripping read with unforgettable characters.
Takeaway: A gang of good-hearted thieves takes on 1980s Chicago.
Comparable Titles: S. A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland, Grace D. Li’s Portrait of a Thief.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
As Rynna and Ted escape the family manor together, they must navigate her pregnancy amid their blossoming relationship, but they soon find themselves plagued by the past: Jason’s ghost is obsessed with possessing his soon-to-be-born son, Robert (“I take what is mine” is his constant refrain), and Rynna can’t shake the nightmares of Jason terrorizing her—both in life and in death. Her relationship with Ted is destructive in its own right: Rynna’s deep insecurity pushes her to pursue marriage with him, and children of their own, despite his fears that their children will inherit his disabling arthritis, and Ted’s manipulative treatment of Rynna echoes her past marriage. Added to the mix is Jason’s ghost, repeatedly threatening to kill Rynna and Ted or steal Robert, and Ted’s memories of his failed relationship with prior girlfriend Sylvia, to whom he’d been “sort of engaged.”
The abusive dynamics between Rynna and Ted may be triggering for some readers, but Griffin takes time to explore the past trauma shaping their interactions. That theme of two wounded souls stays center stage throughout, although the character-driven moments are interlaced with chilling supernatural angst that gives the novel some edge. Rynna’s determination to protect her son adds much needed optimism, and, despite an abrupt ending, the epilogue is rewarding.
Takeaway: Love struggles to overcome trauma, past and present, in this dark romance.
Comparable Titles: Nancy Price’s Sleeping with the Enemy, John R. Holt’s When We Dead Awaken.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B
Marketing copy: A
Incorporating elements of mystery, Vespa has written a touching story about the transition into adulthood that pierces the heart while avoiding what Alexandra, one of Maggie’s correspondents, calls “badly wrought sentimental life lesson”s. Vespa creates a memorable group of friends experiencing grief, struggling with their sexual identity, and striving to find acceptance. These include Maggie’s friend Adam Moon, who says to his father “You’d prefer that I was out of my mind, shooting heroin into my arm, or dead, rather than be attracted to guys?” (The response is devastating.) Meanwhile, Maggie works her way through school, takes on odd—and sometimes dangerous—jobs from shady acquaintances, and continues to add friends to her already proudly unusual bunch, whose letters burst with wit and feeling.
Written with empathy plus much snarky, dark humor and razor-sharp dialogue, and always attentive to life as it’s lived in moments of connection, Seven Perfect Days fleshes out its cast in three dimensions as they enter the world, in vividly described locales like Singapore, the Maldives, and the unnamed island. The novel is long, but Vespa keeps it brisk and focused, offering an intricately woven tapestry of friendship, family, and romance.
Takeaway: Sweeping coming of age story full of adventure, romance, and dark humor.
Comparable Titles: Allison Larkin’s The People We Keep, Anne Youngson’s Meet Me at the Museum.
Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
This is a sweet ode to the joy of nurturing animals, though Abel admittedly has her work cut out for her in training Milo, an aggressive alpha dog who the family quickly realizes is a far cry from their previous pet. Abel and Milo's journey through training, asserting dominance, and learning to trust each other is an endearing story of overcoming grief, finding coping mechanisms in the most unlikely places, and the love between a dog and its owner. Abel refuses to give up on Milo, even after being warned of his volatility, writing that she was "determined to save him."
Animal lovers will relish the central role that Abel’s pets play in her wellbeing throughout the narrative, as she goes from adamantly avoiding dog ownership—due to a traumatic experience in childhood, when her father threw her puppy down a flight of stairs—to discovering not just camaraderie, but also healing in the human/animal bond. Abel writes transparently about the struggle to tame Milo, her troubling relationship with her parents, and the supportive nuclear family she establishes as an adult. This compassionately vulnerable memoir is, in Abel’s own words, a manifestation of her “determination to create an environment of unconditional love.”
Takeaway: Touching ode to the bond between humans and pets.
Comparable Titles: Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain, John Grogan's Marley & Me.
Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
With well-chosen data, Siegel demonstrates how countries like The Netherlands have "created a prosperous economy with low unemployment" due to letting employees work fewer hours, though he’s clear-eyed about the practical challenges of fostering such profound change. To that end, he examines historical precedents like the Depression and the women's rights movement, chronicling the many ways employment actually has changed within the past century. The stakes are high, and he’s compelling in his depiction of a potential future where, if American workers continue to work, produce, and consume at the continued growing rate of recent decades, technology and environmental catastrophes will "bring immense destruction.”
Through consistent reiteration of its thesis—"this book looks at a way of dealing with ecological limits that is more politically practical"—even when Siegel entertains oddball hypotheticals like what if helicopters became the new cars, To Save the Earth, Work Less is an urgent, thought-provoking resource that challenges orthodoxies of American workforce, consumerism, capitalism, inequality, and "the law of diminishing marginal utility.” This is a quick, potent read that will spark conversation and provide food for thought on essential questions of the American dream, what it actually means to feel satisfied in life, and nothing less than the fate of the world.
Takeaway: Urgent call to reduce work, consumption, and inequality and save the planet.
Comparable Titles: Mary Robinson's Climate Justice, Naomi Klein's This Changes Everything.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
Blake's love for her work and animals pulses through this memoir that reads like journal entries as she covers "14,000 miles in eight months" as a traveling horse trainer "promoting a kinder method of training." Delving into the development of “Affirmative Training,” her empathetic method, and also how the pandemic changed the trajectory of her life's work, and the "special connection" horses and their humans share, Undomesticated Women offers much that will engage seekers and animal lovers. "Sometimes I refer to myself as a couple's therapist for horses and humans,” Blake affectionately writes, and her stories back this up as she demonstrates a passion for her career path that is infectious and inspiring.
This spirited memoir focuses on travel, human-animal relationships, and what it actually feels like to live an adventurous, nomadic existence. Blake mourns her losses, celebrates her husband, tends to the animals she loves, and frankly addresses issues of mental health—“My depression sat next to me in broad daylight, like an evil twin with poor hygiene”—she writes, as this candid, memorable memoir finds her hitting the road, leaving domesticity in the rearview.
Takeaway: A horse trainer’s intimate nomadic journey through pandemic-era America.
Comparable Titles: Lisa Wysocky's Horseback, Courtney Maum's The Year of the Horses.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
While Joi’s focus is on practical, original steps to organize and perform work anniversary celebrations, the broader theme is the creation or improvement of healthy, “intentional” workplace culture, especially through demonstrating that employees are valued, appreciated, and remembered for their work. "Work anniversaries can play a significant role in helping you craft an intentional workplace culture," Joi writes. Joi likens work anniversaries to birthdays, with the distinction that work anniversaries are to be celebrated inside of the workplace, while birthdays are personal. Touching on the importance of celebrating both in-person and remote employees, the nuts and bolts of how much to spend and how elaborate to get, and the value of framed certificates and other acknowledgements of employees’ contributions, Inspiring Work Anniversaries makes a compelling, positive case for the power of celebrating employee milestones.
A wealth of clear-eyed advice will help avoid awkward scenarios and ensure celebrations for a host of different types of employees resonate, including guidance for honoring remote employees, writing celebratory speeches, and navigating limited budgets. Business leaders looking for a simple way to acknowledge their employees and curate actionable positivity into their workplace culture will find the ideas and advice here inspiring and easy to implement.
Takeaway: The power and practicalities of celebrating employee anniversaries.
Comparable Titles: Donna Cutting's Employees First, Cindy Ventrice's Make Their Day!.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
The dynamic plot, marked by constant shifts in mission objectives, offers continual unpredictability as the scope and stakes—and the playful strangeness of an Earth full of dino-lizards and mega honey badgers—become clear. Jonas's initial objective is to find the all-knowing hermit Siegfried. Persistent bounty hunters Necrat and Tarsus complicate things, relentlessly pursuing Jonas and Siegfried. The narrative gains momentum as Jonas encounters Siegfried, triggering an onslaught by the skeleton god Khapre-Tum’s army on Earth's city of Heliopolis. The revelation that Khapre-Tum plans to unleash a world-shattering weapon on Earth forces Jonas to shift his focus to confronting a literal Demon-god, which of course is a bit much for a first-year agent. Fortunately, in a twist of destiny, Jonas is bestowed with additional power and responsibilities by the celestial being Garud, elevating him to the position of a Savior. It all builds to a high-octane final act of infiltrating the underworld.
The swift resolution of conflicts through Ashtar or Garud's interventions, such as the use of a prophecy, occasionally lessens the tension and challenges faced by Jonas, and the novel’s length is demanding, exacerbated by a tendency to explain in narrative what’s already clear from dialogue. Still, the ending is satisfying, and the narrative's strengths lie in its diverse characters, constant surprises, and jolting reimagination of an ancient Earth.
Takeaway: Wildly inventive SF adventure sending a far-future rookie to a changed Earth.
Comparable Titles: Pittacus Lore’s Ashfall Legacy, Rebecca Coffindaffer’s Throne Breakers.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B+