New Fiction

 The Amateur by Chris Bohjalian

An accident at the golf course cuts short one life and totally upends another. “At fifteen, I couldn’t outdrive the very best men’s players at the club, but I still beat all of them most of the time. My short game was as precise as a drone strike, and I was excellent on the greens.” Mira Winston is an unusually confident and self-aware teenager, and her voice on the page is irresistible. (As we will later learn, the narrator of Bohjalian’s 25th novel is herself the author of 25 novels, so perhaps it’s no surprise her storytelling skills are as impressive as her golfing.) Mira’s fictional memoir revolves around the events of Aug. 3, 1978, at a country club in New York’s Westchester County. It was her senior summer; she was 18 and on her way to Yale in a matter of weeks when a ball she smashed into the practice net went through the mesh and out the other side, hitting and instantly killing a young caddie named Kenny Foster as he was waiting to be called to carry bags. The accident has dramatic results, both immediately and over the next few years: Mira doesn’t matriculate at Yale, she never plays golf again, and in an unexpected twist, it’s revealed to one and all that she’s been having an affair with a man named Theo Catton, who’s her father’s age, and with whom she’s been involved since she was 15. Mira is well aware of the resemblance between her story and Lolita’s—she will later get a line from the novel tattooed on her forearm—but she also now understands that the younger her was sorely misled about her own agency and motivations. As the small-town drama simmers, as Mira and her parents self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, as Mira eventually comes to trial—the story is spun by then as “privileged rich girl with too much attitude recklessly kills a poor student with so much promise”—a marvelous 11th-hour twist and a satisfying denouement lie ahead. It’s hard to think of any reason not to call this a perfect novel: a hole in one.

 Brain Damage by Freida McFadden

A violent attack hijacks a woman’s memory in this novel of domestic suspense. McFadden wastes no time pulling the trigger in this harrowing story that starts with gunfire then swiftly propels readers into a crack tale of secrets and misdirection. Originally self-published in 2016, the book carries the same formidable weight as McFadden’s later novels featuring unsuspecting women who lose their power then fight to recapture it—mostly from men who have betrayed them. That formula perfectly fits Dr. Charlotte McKenna, a 37-year-old dermatologist who isn’t looking for love until the most handsome man she’s ever seen begins to woo her. There are warning signs about Clark Douglas and Charlotte overlooks them to her detriment—but is he a killer? The novel has dual timelines split between events leading up to the day Charlotte barely survives a head wound meant to kill her and the months afterward, when she struggles to reclaim her memory and her mobility. In real life, McFadden is a physician trained to treat brain injuries. Her expertise gives Charlotte’s rehabilitation authenticity, and her writing talent makes it interesting and engaging. As good as that timeline is, readers will yearn to get back to the alternate timeline about who wants Charlotte dead. It’s only a matter of time before Charlotte starts to remember who tried to kill her, and the clock is ticking toward their next attempt. McFadden dishes up plenty of suspects: Charlotte’s secretive husband, Clark; a former patient turned stalker who confronts Charlotte on her honeymoon; and the angry husband of a patient who blames Charlotte for his wife leaving him. Though the story is delicious and dark, McFadden brightens things up with a possible love interest for Charlotte and a surprise ending sure to please the author’s many fans.

 Chasing the Clouds Away by Debbie Macomber

A Seattle woman meets a Chicago businessman as she flies home from a visit to a friend, and her small act of kindness blossoms into more. Maisy Gallagher is barely making ends meet. With her father’s unexpected death a few years earlier, she dropped out of nursing school to help out in the family’s jewelry store, working with her uncle. Her older brother, Sean, also moved back home so he and Maisy could help their mother and their 10-year-old brother, Patrick. When Maisy offers a ride to a rude businessman who sat next to her on the plane, she’s just operating on the kindness her grandmother instilled in her. That businessman, Chase Furst, turns out to be an incredibly wealthy banker; he’s flown into Seattle to make funeral arrangements for his mother, to whom he hasn’t spoken in years. Sparks fly in this gentle and predictable romance that leans heavily on long-distance and class-divide tropes. As with many of the author’s books, Christianity and the characters’ reliance on God’s will—as they wait and see what happens next—play a large part, as do traditional gender roles where women cook, clean, and only work in paying jobs until they have children at home to take care of. The author does offer a lighter touch when it comes to the painful ways alcoholism can destroy family relationships, with an understanding of the regret that can weigh on every family member.

 Preston & Child the Beginning by Pendergast

It only took six months for the life of Special Agent Dwight Chambers to crumble around him. First, he lost his partner, and then, tragically, his wife. Returning to work at the New Orleans Field Office, Chambers is dismayed to find himself saddled with mentoring a brand-new FBI agent—a certain A. X. L. Pendergast. As Chambers tries to pull himself together, his enigmatic and exasperating junior partner pulls an outrageous stunt that gets both of them suspended.  Pendergast welcomes the banishment, because it gives him the opportunity to investigate a peculiar murder in Mississippi that has captured his fancy. Chambers grudgingly goes along. What starts off as a whimsical quest swiftly turns into a terrifying pursuit, as Chambers and Pendergast uncover a string of grisly, ritualistic killings that defy any known serial killer profile. Thanks in large part to Pendergast’s brilliance and unorthodox methods, they solve the case and find the killer… and that is when the true horror begins.

 Land by Maggie O'Farrell

A father and son stumble on an ancient Irish sacred site, with lasting consequences. It’s 1865 when the normally taciturn Tomás reels out of a mysterious wooded copse in rural Ireland, babbling nonstop. He and his 10-year-old son, Liam, have been surveying for the hated British, who need native speakers to learn place names and boundaries from the locals, then render them into English. But now, as he tells his pregnant wife, Phina, and daughters, Enda and Rose, back in Dublin, he plans to give up that job to make “a map of how this land really is, of how it has always been, of what lies beneath whatever order or disorder others might impose upon it.” Oh, and he has taken their life savings to lease land near the copse from a local aristocrat; they will live in a ruined cottage, abandoned years ago during the Great Hunger that emptied the Irish landscape and sent Tomás and Phina as children to a grim workhouse. This is the dramatic premise of O’Farrell’s evocative and impassioned 10th novel. After Tomás’ baffling announcement, the narrative rewinds some millennia to reveal the copse as the source of a spring with magical powers, in which a young girl finds a ring that belonged to her vanished father, the last of Ireland’s original inhabitants. Back in the 19th century, baby Eugene, born in the family’s new home, “is not as other children”; he never speaks and appears to have mystical understanding. He and his siblings, each a skillfully drawn individual, forge separate destinies over the following decades, embodying O’Farrell’s key themes: the conflict between Catholicism and ancient ways, the subjugation of women, the brutality of the English ruling class, the people’s connection to the land. A gruesome exorcism is the first of many disasters that befall the family—so many that only O’Farrell’s pungent reminders of Ireland’s long and tragic history keep the litany of sorrows from seeming excessive. The radiant closing pages offer a measure of relief from the generally dark tone. Steeped in Irish history and folklore, alive with a sense of wonder.

 Mr Beast the Most Dangerous Games by James Patterson

The Games begin in Antarctica, where one wrong step on the ice kills you, and they never let up: Shark water off a remote Chilean island, desert heat that cooks you where you stand, storm-battered peaks, and caves so black you cannot find your own hand. No rescue. No second chances. A billion dollars to whoever is still standing. Then the terrain stops being the thing that can kill you, and the other players start. Alliances turn into ambushes. Trust becomes the sharpest weapon. And somewhere above it all, a hidden voice is watching every move, testing, deciding who deserves to survive.

 The Boy with the Butterfly Mind by Lorelei Brush

A compassionate book about neurodivergence. In Brush’s novel, two parents struggle to cope with their young son’s ADHD. Julie and her husband, Luke, are having difficulties raising their son, Patrick, in their home in suburban Virginia. Patrick is 4 years old, and as Julie says early on, he’s “exuberant…so full of life. Too full.” Patrick has boundless energy, and he’s imaginative and sensitive. But he doesn’t know to control his energy. He has trouble slowing down and listening to instructions, he often knocks things over (or knocks into people) by accident, and he becomes emotional quickly and easily. Patrick is even asked to leave his preschool class because he’s too impulsive. Julie and Luke don’t know how to help their son and find themselves frustrated and overwhelmed. They deal with the issue in different ways, which puts them at odds, too. Julie tries to seek help, researching classes and programs for Patrick and trying to understand more about ADHD and Tourette syndrome, which it seems Patrick may have. But Luke begins to drink more, and he grows so depressed that he’s barely able to interact with Patrick, much less engage with him in healthy ways. In part, this is because Luke feels guilty—he, too, has symptoms of ADHD, although he’s never received a diagnosis, and he fears that he’s somehow handed down faulty genes to Patrick. Eventually, Luke spanks Patrick in a drunken rage, and Julie and her friends organize an intervention. Julie must manage her relationship with her husband, her relationship with her son, and their relationships with each other, all on top of her job as a high school math teacher. The novel offers a detailed, sympathetic look at a young child with ADHD and Tourette syndrome; Brush also shows sympathy for the parents while still being realistic about their difficulties and conflicts. The writing is clear and engaging, and the novel is obviously written with great care and careful research—anyone with an interest in ADHD, or neurodivergence broadly, will find something worthwhile here.

 The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst

All the right ingredients combine to create this irresistible cottagecore fantasy. A teenager’s summer job takes a supernatural turn. When rising senior Calisa leaves Brooklyn—sent by her parents, Mom-Kate and Mom-Elise, to work at her great-aunt’s bed-and-breakfast in Vermont—she quickly realizes that the Faraway Inn needs her help. The broken porch, weed-filled garden, and dusty library clearly deserve attention; but, confusingly, Auntie Zee makes it clear she doesn’t want her there. Still, the inn feels like the perfect getaway for nursing her broken heart after a nasty breakup. After a few inexplicable magical events and close encounters with the inn’s quirky guests, Calisa makes some supernatural discoveries that answer her questions and spark further curiosity. But then Auntie Zee disappears, and the inn can’t run without her magical talents. Calisa and the handsome Jack, son of the resident groundskeeper, must figure out how to bring Auntie Zee back without worrying the guests. As it turns out, Calisa’s delicious bakes and Jack’s innkeeping know-how make them the perfect team. The cozy setting of the inn, complete with a grumpy cat named Portia, enriches this supernatural fantasy. As Calisa and Jack restore order and take care of business, kind, caring Calisa’s narrative voice adds humor and energy to the coming-of-age storyline that blends mystery, romance, and fantasy. The magical worldbuilding’s original details, creative characterization, and the charming protagonist who treats others with respect, make this a binge-worthy read. Calisa and Jack present white.

New Nonfiction

 Empire of Ink by Alex Wright

A fresh, often startling account of newspapers’ early years.

Reading all about it, way back when. In this engaging account, Wright, author of Cataloging the World: Paul Outlet and the Birth of the Information Age (2014), writes that 18th-century European printers worked for governments and booksellers, but their colonial counterparts were not just tradespeople but writers, editors, and provocateurs; our Revolution might not have happened without them. It was less our Constitution than two obscure laws that enshrined America’s press. Until tightened in 1909, the Copyright Act of 1790 excluded newspapers, so editors happily plagiarized from rivals and any writing that might entertain readers. The Post Office Act of 1792 provided a massive subsidy. At the time, mailing personal letters cost 6 to 25 cents; a newspaper might cost a penny. During that period, newspapers constituted perhaps 95% of U.S. mail, which reached everywhere, providing an information exchange anticipating today’s social media. Wright concentrates on the 19th century, when newspapers thrived. Many were small-town, one-person operations whose editors relied on scissors and paste, cutting stories from rivals to revise and republish along with local gossip, scandal, advertising, poems, and essays. Advances included making paper from wood instead of rags, which reduced costs by more than 90%. Hand-operated presses of 1800 were replaced by rotary, steam-operated models in the 1830s, 10 times faster, and then by the spectacular 1886 linotype, which eliminated human typesetters. By 1900, journalism became capital-intensive, attracting powerful printer-publishers such as Hearst, Pulitzer, and Newhouse, who soon dominated the industry but also created professional journalism that emphasized accuracy over advocacy and opinion. The first journalism school dates from 1908. Deploring the ongoing newspaper crisis (one-third of them have closed since 2005), Wright strains to find a silver lining, suggesting that the viral dynamics of social media may revive the free-wheeling artisanal industry of the 1800s.

 Two Ships by David S. Reynolds

An exploration of the contending cultures of North and South, long before the Civil War began. At the time of the Civil War, speakers and writers on both sides of the divide were fond of evoking the example of the two ships of Reynolds’ title. One was the White Lion, a British privateer that in 1619 seized a cargo of enslaved Africans from a Portuguese ship and took them to Virginia to be sold as chattel. The second was the Mayflower, which, a year later, brought Puritan colonists to chartered lands in Massachusetts. It’s something of an irony, as Reynolds writes, that the early Puritans “showed little antislavery sentiment,” and indeed, it was Oliver Cromwell who seized Jamaica and turned it into one vast slave plantation. Still, the two colonial regions were very different. As Reynolds notes, borrowing an aperçu from a fellow historian, “the North was a society with slaves, while the South was a slave society.” Drawing in turn on the seminal work of historian David Hackett Fischer, Reynolds charts the differences: The South was governed by the descendants of monarchists, given to a rigid system of social classes and inclined to leisure, while New England was populated by people of a resolutely democratic bent and the firm belief that “the only monarch…was Christ.” (It’s another irony, as Reynolds notes in passing, that both Virginia and the Plymouth Colony were administratively founded by the same man: the British entrepreneur Robert Rich.) The Puritans may have been slow to come around to opposing slavery, but of course they did, setting those two ships on an inevitable collision course. Indeed, as Reynolds also observes, it was the Puritans’ insistence on defending the rights of ordinary people of whatever race that the abolitionist cause flourished, with the Mayflower coming to be seen as “a driver of radical causes.”

 Lightning Beneath the Sea by James M. Tabor

Far more than basic cable. Tabor, author of the pulse-quickening Blind Descent: The Quest To Discover the Deepest Place on Earth (2010) goes deep again—underwater this time—to explore the largely forgotten history of the transatlantic telegraph cable. He’s resurfaced an engrossing tale, with much relevance to our time. At its heart is Cyrus Field, who at age 15 in 1835 ventured from rural Massachusetts to New York City and became, by his early 30s, in Tabor’s words, “one of the glittering metropolis’s richest men” by selling paper. Searching for his “next big project,” Field had a chance encounter with Frederic Newton Gisborne, an English inventor who pitched him the idea of joining the Old and New Worlds by a telegraph line—and carrier pigeons. Gisborne had lost his shirt trying to finance the system, but perhaps Field would be interested? The “sheer improbability” of Gisborne’s proposal attracted Field. And then the millionaire had a better idea: Drop the telegraph line to the floor of the Atlantic. Brilliant, but easier said than done. As Tabor recounts, Field’s ambitious plan stretched over a dozen years, and missions to lay cable ended in disaster. Designing a cable was one thing, but sinking it 10,000 feet into the Atlantic—under extreme pressure, along jagged terrain—was another. Doing so during dangerous storms did not help. Tabor is very good at immersing the reader in the grimy world of marine industrial work: the steam engines, cogwheels, and tons of cable. The cable itself was insulated by a resin called gutta-percha, from trees in Malaysia and Indonesia. Field’s eventual success led him to be celebrated as the “new Columbus,” but as Tabor writes, his cable “remained hidden,” and fame faded. Ironically, he observes, “up to 98 percent of information travels around the planet not on satellites, as many people assume, but through fiber-optic submarine cables that are direct descendants of Field’s transatlantic forerunner.”

 The Traveler by Andrea Wulf

From an early age, it was clear that George Forster possessed a brilliant mind. At just ten years old, he became a botanist when he accompanied his irascible father, Reinhold, on a wild expedition to Russia. By the time he was twelve, they had moved to London and the young boy soon became the breadwinner by publishing translations of the most popular travel accounts of the day. Then, in 1772, at the age of seventeen, George Forster joined Cook’s second voyage, the most daring expedition of the time. The HMS Resolution set sail with orders to find what was then the hypothetical southern continent of Antarctica, stopping at the islands of the South Pacific— including New Zealand, Vanuatu, Tonga, Tahiti, and Easter Island—along the way. The Resolution car­ried the ambitions of the most powerful empire in the world, but Forster brought an understanding that was far ahead of his day. A gifted observer, linguist, artist, and writer, he studied the diverse cultures of the world without prejudice and was one of the first Europeans to talk about universal human rights. Recognized on his return as one of Europe’s brightest minds, Forster used his fame to advocate for freedom and human rights and wrote against empire, white supremacy, and slavery. He admired strong, educated women, even accepting his wife’s independence—and her love affairs. Driven by his passion for equality, Forster would eventually be pulled into the vortex of the French Revolution and live in Paris during the Reign of Terror. Throughout it all, he held close the radical belief that our common humanity is far greater than what sets us apart. The Traveler recounts the remarkable life of this deeply curious and exceptional man who, though largely forgotten by history, truly belonged to the future.

New Young Adult

 Shadow Reaper by Lynette Noni

A hunter of magic-stealing reapers aspires to find her parents’ murderer in this duology opener from bestselling Australian author Noni. On Elverdine Isle, ellixen is needed to fuel the four obsidian obelisks that protect the city of Aravell from the lethal blackmist. Reapers, who are addicted to this magic, siphon off ellixen to increase their own power—mostly taking from children, who possess more than adults. People need only a drop of ellixen to live, so during the Impartation ceremony, children under age 14 donate nearly all their ellixen to the obelisks, nearly eliminating the risk of a deadly reaper attack. Seventeen-year-old reaper hunter Viridia Solace, who’s pale, with silver-streaked red hair and lavender eyes, learns that Reeve Ashton, part of the elusive Reaper Priest’s inner circle, has been captured. Desperate to confront the Priest and avenge his murder of her parents seven years ago, Viri infiltrates the prison where charismatic “golden-tanned” Reeve is being held. The two have a complex history, and he promises to answer Viri’s questions about the Priest in return for help escaping. Kidnappings, shocking twists, and romance unfold against the backdrop of imaginative worldbuilding, making for an utterly engrossing tale. Noni artfully portrays Viri’s conflicted feelings of attraction to and mistrust of Reeve, who expresses himself with dry wit. Revelations about their past add depth, beautifully heightening their already charged passions.

 Fearless by Lauren Roberts

Bestselling romantasy trilogy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and The Red Queen.  Paedyn Gray and Kai Azer return to the Kingdom of Ilya…  Paedyn has a life-altering choice to make. Whatever she decides will determine her fate—and the fate of those around her—forever.  In the ultimate battle of love and loyalty, who wins?

 In Case I go Missing by R.N. Swann

In this twisty debut, two teens piece together clues left by their missing friend. In their tiny South Dakota town of Richmand, which is best known for its apocryphal gold mines, best friends Sarah Vincenty, Sam Kelly, and Fenny Allen band together under Sarah’s strong direction, catching cheating boyfriends in action and discovering the truth about crimes, like who hit elderly little dog Mr. Puffins with their car. When Sarah goes missing, Fenny (who’s “the getaway driver, or the distraction, or the lookout” of the operation) and Sam (who’s “the brain”) quickly learn that her disappearance is highly suspicious. Sarah is no runaway; she left them a binder entitled “In Case I Go Missing,” complete with a suspect list—but four pages have been torn out. As the pair searches for the truth about Sarah’s fate, they find themselves embroiled in a townwide plot spanning generations. Richmand’s shadowy history may harbor ominous secrets that residents are willing to kill for. Swann’s fast-paced mystery is immersive and tightly plotted, drawing the reader into the fictional town and its cleverly wrought history. The narrative’s emotional depth, exploring themes like grief, addiction, and trauma, should resonate with fans of Megan Lally who appreciate encountering revelations with a tissue at the ready. 

 Ancient History Between Us by Kaitlyn Hill

A college student spends the summer trying to discover herself—and a love she thought was long gone. Camilla Lovett was born on an archaeological dig site in Italy. Twenty years later, she returns to Villa di Bronzo to meet up with her mother and take part in a documentary about its discovery. But Cammie has an ulterior motive for going: She doesn’t know who her father is, only that he was part of the same dig, had a fling with her mom, and “opted out of the very long-term commitment of raising the tiny human they accidentally created.” Armed with her mother’s journal, Cammie plans to retrace the events from two decades ago. But she didn’t plan on facing her own past in the form of Weston Jacobs, former best friend and first love. West and Cammie spent the first 16 years of their lives together, traveling from one dig to another with their archaeologist parents, until the day the white-presenting teens shared their first kiss, and everything blew up. Now, for the first time in three years, they’re in the same place. Initially, Cammie is snarky toward West, and he’s dealing with spiraling anxiety, but they find themselves drawn together. The pacing is consistent, unfolding in a gentle, unhurried way. Hill’s latest weaves adventurous moments into a sweet love story that explores identity, love, and family.

 The Heirs by Faridah Abike-Iyimide

When a billionaire is found dead on his yacht, his teenage children become suspects. Sixteen years ago, billionaire Leontes Button, founder of the global sensation Button Games, a puzzle and toy company, infamously embarked on a test of his provocative theory about nature versus nurture, despite ethical concerns from the scientific community. Button hypothesized that a child taken from an orphanage could be made into a genius. His five “experiments (also known as his children)” unknowingly sealed their fate as babies by crawling toward objects that represented specific fields of achievement. Adopted from countries around the world, they were subjected to tutoring, strictly controlled diets, and countless hours of practice to mold them into true prodigies. Now 17, Fola the Brain, Octavius the Maestro, Bilal the Olympian, Perdita the Artist, and Romeo the Failure struggle to have relationships with their father—or with one another. The siblings reluctantly reunite for Leontes’ annual Prodigy Ball at Button Manor in New York’s Westchester County. But when their father is found dead, all the attendees, themselves included, are suspects. 

New Children's

The Last Leaf by Ali Pye

When doomsayers dictate disaster, what’s a panicky pup to do? As the first autumn leaf floats onto his nose, Parker treats it like a toy to chase. But more and more drift down, and he begins to fret: “What if the trees ran out of leaves altogether?” He consults the big dogs, who have no answers and seem unconcerned, but the leaves keep dropping. Unnerved, Parker follows the trees “out of the city…and into the forest,” where looking up makes him so dizzy that he keels over. Thoroughly unsettled, he meets a know-it-all squirrel who amplifies his anxiety, followed by more of the same from a bird and a fox. A sudden loud noise makes him sure that everyone was right: “The SKY IS FALLING DOWN!” But it was just a “ground-trembling” yawn, and the source, a kindly bear, helps Parker survive the final lovely leaf fall. They play together as new friends before bedding down in their respective homes, looking forward happily to spring. Well-chosen, often witty words channel Parker’s fears and the other animals’ voices, while an effectively paced arc delivers a sweet ending. Pye’s art, warmed by golden highlights, with noteworthy changes of perspective, successfully blends realism and abstraction. Poignant and funny, this splendid seasonal story conveys reassurance as gently as a falling leaf. 

 Lola Loves Pickles by B. Wellerson

Get ready for a deliciously delightful adventure with Lola, a little girl who absolutely, positively adores pickles! In this charming and vibrant children's book, join Lola as she discovers the joy of her favorite crunchy, tangy snack.Lola loves all kinds of pickles: dill, sweet, bread and butter, tiny gherkins, and giant kosher dills! She eats them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – even on her spaghetti, in her mashed potatoes, and (gasp!) in her ice cream. But one morning, Lola wakes up and discovers something amazing... and a little bit strange. Right on top of her head, a tiny, perfect, crunchy pickle is growing! Soon, pickles are sprouting all over her body – on her ears, nose, chin, fingers, toes, elbows, and knees! Lola becomes a walking, talking, crunchy green bush, making the whole classroom smell like vinegar. She cries, "I don't want to be a pickle plant anymore!" How will Lola become herself again?

 Dill Gets in a Pickle by Danielle Elison Webb

When a young cucumber named Dill hears about a dangerous new craze, he is left with a difficult choice. Will Dill follow the trend and get pickled? Or will he stay out of the brine and find himself in the spotlight?

  The Upside Down Girl by Keith Negley

Despite objections from a growing crowd, a little girl persists in hanging upside down in a tree. Whether they love it or hate it, readers are going to have opinions about this offbeat book. The titular child’s mysterious climb begins on the endpapers, and as she hangs from a branch, people swiftly gather, among them a young boy, the sheriff, and the mayor. They disapprovingly question why she’s in that tree. “It’s not productive!” proclaims a mail carrier. But the girl remains impassive, smiling inscrutably amid the rustling leaves. After the increasingly agitated onlookers insist that she reveal why she’s up there, she gives in, after warning that “nothing will ever be the same again.” Dramatically, their eyes widen, and the mob’s perspective changes. On the next page, they, too, are hanging from the tree. It’s a sly, twisty ending that some will revel in. But readers aren’t let in on the girl’s secret, and not everyone will appreciate that lingering ambiguity. Scribbly multimedia illustrations have an energy reminiscent of Eric Carle’s work, and plentiful white space creates a feeling of gravitas. Refreshing touches of lightness are woven in, too, such as a pup who also ends up nestled in greenery. 

  The Cow in the Dark at Night by Jess Hannigan

While curiosity kills neither cat nor cow, alien abduction is another matter entirely. Something is amiss. It’s nighttime, and the farmer’s prized cow is awake, alert, and wandering the fields. Wholly aware of her situation, this cow has been planning for this moment, determined to discover what secrets exist when the sun goes down. Blithely meandering into the dark, the cow is quickly joined by a reluctantly protective farm cat. Together the two encounter robbers, a vampire, and, ultimately, an alien who abducts them posthaste. After hypothesizing that space must be “where all the night comes from,” the cow is taken to Mars, where she is quickly declared queen. A sly piece of misdirection brings the tale to a chuckle-worthy conclusion. Orange, purple, and green dominate the simple (but never simplistic) art. Hannigan’s illustrations deftly shoulder the book’s visual gags, particularly when it comes to the cat. Skepticism is conveyed with just the merest tilt to the angle of the cat’s eye. Young readers will greatly enjoy their superiority over the cow’s ignorant nonchalance, perhaps screaming instructions on what to do at any given moment. And, like many wise fools, she gets what she deserves in the end.

 Screen Time! by Georgie Birkett

A young badger and her parents battle excessive screen use. When Doris was a tiny stripy cub, she loved observing the world around her. She delighted in books, and she imagined she was “Madame Sparkle-Nose” (a fantastic dancer) and “Expert Fancy-Pants” (a makeup artist whose main client was Daddy). But when Doris grows a bit older, she discovers the magnetic pull of screens. She uses Mommy and Daddy’s phones, the tablet, and the television to watch Bertie Banana, her favorite show. The program is available anywhere, anytime. And if Doris isn’t watching it, she shouts with all her might, “BERTIE BANANA!” Daddy decides it’s time for a break. He lets Doris pack her own bag (with everything but a screen), and they go outside to Cheery Woods, where they join other families, and everyone’s imagination soars. Happily, Birkett includes adults in the light admonishment: “And Daddy didn’t look at his phone either!” Screen time isn’t banished, but more breaks to visit Cheery Woods are built in. Direct questions to readers peppered throughout (“What games do you like to play outside?”) provide a greater connection to Doris and will hopefully encourage readers to think about their own digital habits.

 Perfect Enough by Meg Eden Kuyatt

Recently diagnosed autistic girl has something to prove during her first time attending summer camp. Thirteen-year-old Selah had a terrible time before her diagnosis, but now, armed with knowledge and adaptive tools (like earplugs, communication bracelets, and fidgets), she’s determined to succeed at Writer’s Camp. She’s attending with her two dragon-obsessed friends: Rheya, a girl who creates manga, and Brooklyn, a American filmmaker. Camp will be great—she’s got her poetry workshop and a class called Magic and Monsters. There’s even Noa, a delightful, nerdy, autistic counselor, who lives with long Covid and uses a walking aid. She explains problems with the label high-functioning and teaches Selah about spoon theory, a concept that helps disabled people talk about ability and energy limitations. Still, succeeding at camp is difficult. Selah, who must “cosplay as a normal person,” disagrees with the well-meaning adult who once told her autism was her superpower. Former bully Ezra is at camp too; her discovery that he has ADHD doesn’t make his chaotic behavior and rejection sensitivity dysphoria easier to cope with. Deceptively simple, evocative free verse vignettes show Selah learning to redefine success, even as she confronts conflicting access needs. Her love of dragons gives her useful metaphors for her strengths and limitations.

 Griffin Speaker by Jan M. Flynn

When twelve-year-old Rain bonds with the last wild griffin, she has the chance to change her fortune—and possibly her world.  As an orphan on the lowest rung of society, twelve-year-old Rain is destined for a future of hard labor—until she meets a wild griffin and bonds with him. An old law says that bond entitles Rain to an education at the elite Griffin Riders Academy instead of a life in the mines. But Rain’s Rise threatens to topple Griffin Land’s fragile hierarchy, and those at the top are determined to see her fail. So they task Rain with proving herself: Armed with just her wit and accompanied by her best friend and an unlikely ally, Rain must scale the highest peak in Griffin Land and defeat the monster at its summit. Rain’s success could change the world. But with an impossible quest ahead, will she and her griffin even survive?

 Double Crossed by Rebecca E.F. Barone

(Nonfiction. 10-14) A sweeping chronicle of wartime intelligence that balances historical fact, cinematic tension, and human victory. (historical figures, bibliography, endnotes) The dramatic story of the double agents who helped orchestrate D-Day’s success. By the mid-1940s, MI5 agent Thomas Argyll Robertson had created a network of 35 double agents tasked with deceiving the Abwehr, Nazi Germany’s military intelligence organization, in a massive disinformation campaign called Operation Bodyguard. With D-Day only six months away, time was of the essence. This dramatic story of their mission chronicles the rise of four key spies: Yugoslav Dušan Popov, code name Tricycle, a well-connected lawyer; Spaniard Juan Pujol Garcia, code name Garbo, who was a chicken farmer; Russian-born Frenchwoman Lily Sergueiev, code name Treasure, a dog lover with an incredible memory, and German Johann Jebsen, code name Artist, a member of the Abwehr with access to sensitive information. Each has their own story that’s complicated by real-life relationships, personal desires, and the pressures of war. Each spy’s individual voice and thoughts emerge throughout the book thanks to the inclusion of direct quotations. Barone highlights the gender-based discrimination Sergueiev experienced, and the heartbreaking saga of her separation from her beloved dog, Babs. Once the military campaigns begin, the narration alternates among descriptions of battles, intelligence negotiations, and spy activities, sustaining the momentum. Occasional well-chosen black-and-white photographs appear alongside the relevant text, helping readers visualize people and events. Two epilogues detail the aftermath for the Nazis and the double-crossing spies, respectively.

 Press Start: Super Rabbit Boy Blast Off! by Thomas Flintham

Help! Meanie King Viking is causing trouble out in space! Super Rabbit Boy knows he can stop him. But can he fly a wobbly Level 1 Rocketship, stop an army of space robots, and find King Viking? This latest Press Start! adventure is simply out of this world! With full-color art by Thomas Flintham!

 Dragon Masters: Waking the Rainbow Dragon by Tracey West

Dragon Masters Drake and Ana travel to a new land in search of the Rainbow Dragon! Drake has a strange dream about a Rainbow Dragon trapped in a cave. He wonders if the dream could be real... Is the dragon trying to send for help? Griffith the wizard uses the magical Dragon Stone to find out more -- and a new Dragon Master is revealed! Drake and Ana must travel far in search of the new master and his dragon. But how will they find the secret cave from Drake's dream? And why is the Rainbow Dragon trapped there? The Dragon Masters have a tough battle ahead of them!

 Zoey and Sassafras: Unicorn and Germs by Asia Citro

In the sixth book, an earthquake shakes Zoey's house. Or maybe it's a unicorn-quake? An enormous new friend arrives in a lot of pain, and it's getting worse every day. Zoey must work with her mom and Sassafras to find a cure -- and quickly! Each story in the Zoey and Sassafras series features a new magical animal with a problem that must be solved using science. There isn't a set formula for each book; Zoey sometimes needs to run experiments, while other times she needs to investigate a mystery, and yet other times she needs to do research. Zoey models how to keep a science journal through her handwritten entries in each story. Each story is complete with a glossary of the kid-friendly definitions for scientific terms used. The series highlights child-led inquiry science and the topics covered align with both Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards.

 Dog Man Big Jim Believes by Dav Pilkey

Following his debut in Big Jim Begins (2024), the sunnily optimistic purple cat returns to demonstrate the power of positive thinking, despite the best efforts of his misanthropic cellmate, Grampa. “Just because you believe something doesn’t make it TRUE!!!” snarls Grampa, to which the unfailingly cheerful Big Jim replies, “It does for me.” Once again, Pilkey positions the two cats in comedic counterpoint, using Grampa’s determined negativity to throw into relief Big Jim’s unwavering faith that even “bad luck [can be] a GOOD THING!!!” This is a Dog Man story, and Pilkey accordingly conveys Big Jim’s truth via a madcap plot that finds Big Jim, Grampa, Dog Man, Li’l Petey, Molly the psychokinetic tadpole, and robot 80-HD defending the world against the latest incursion of the terrifying Space Cuties from Space. The mayhem includes some truly inspired Flip-O-Ramas, raining cupcakes, and a fight scene that plays out to lyrics including, “On the First Epic Smackdown…the Cuties gave to me…A punch in my tummy tum-tum” (sung to the tune of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and no doubt soon to be heard on playgrounds everywhere). Pilkey has by now polished his formula, which embeds nuggets of genuinely sweet philosophy in carefully constructed storylines that come across as gleefully anarchic. This outing hits every note, and despite Grampa’s scornful “WHOOP-DEE-DOO,” readers should emerge with an appreciation of Big Jim’s earnest conviction that “it’s about believing in the cupcakes.”

 Pickle Words by April Pulley Sayre

This sweet and spicy celebration of all things pickled is the perfect poetry picture book for foodies of all ages! Open this book to savor a riotous rainbow of pickles. Not just green cucumbers, but yellow peppers, pink cabbages, and purple plums! Pickles come in all shapes and sizes—and so do the words that describe them. Punchy poetry and zesty art tell the story of a diverse community drawn together by their love of pickles. From kosher dills to sweet chutney to tangy kimchi, Pickle Words describes them all in this global tour of pickled foods. Back matter includes the science of pickling, an easy recipe for refrigerator pickles, and a visual glossary of pickles from around the world.