Petunia is a superstar—she keeps her room neatly organized, studies hard for school, and never colors outside the lines. Even when she’s practicing her guitar, she’s careful to play every note perfectly; in fact, Petunia is so conscientious, it earns her the nickname “perfectionist” one day at school, when she overhears two classmates whispering that she’d never want to get messy enough to paint with them. At first, Petunia is proud of that name, but soon the realization sets in that being perfect may be more than even she can handle.

Bader (author of Stella’s Brave Voice) transforms a very real—and often hard to discuss—issue for younger readers into a problem that can be faced and handled in this polished book. Just about anyone can relate to Petunia: she’s desperate to do well and outperform herself in every way possible, but sometimes even the most careful attention to detail doesn’t pan out in the end. When she gets distracted during a music lesson and plays the wrong note, she’s devastated—but her wise teacher quickly turns that mistake into an opportunity, praising Petunia for “create[ing] a brand-new sound” and reminding her that “when we try too hard to be perfect, it’s like our strings are pulled too tight. But if we loosen our strings, Petunia, we can make beautiful music!” That beautiful imagery will resonate with readers of any age.

Ellie Beykzadeh skillfully captures Petunia’s nuanced facial expressions throughout the story, portraying her inner emotions with expressive eyes and subtle hints of movement, and the book’s textured backgrounds give it a warm, tender feeling—the ideal vehicle to teach kids that “nobody expects you to be PERFECT.” By the story’s end, Petunia is savoring the freedom that comes with being “perfectly imperfect” and learning the important lesson of self-love, flaws and all. This is a delight.

Takeaway: Delightful story on why it’s okay to be imperfect.

Comparable Titles: Anna Kang’s It Is (Not) Perfect, Brenda Li’s The Girl Who Makes a Million Mistakes.

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

Click here for more about Petunia the Perfectionist

Observing that “most of their money problems are just like ours,” wealth adviser Gorman probes the financial highs and lows of American presidents in this absorbing debut. From Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s passion for start-up ideas to John F. Kennedy’s penny-pinching, readers will find Gorman’s presidential revelations fascinating, delving into the most intimate of financial woes for powerful public figures in this “intersection where personal finance [meets] history.” She also examines socio-economic trends that have helped—and hindered—economic mobility, including the cost of a college education, healthcare, housing, and more.

Gorman asserts there are valuable lessons to be learned from studying the finances of these larger-than-life men who “started out as ordinary” and modeled some of the best, as well as some of the most questionable, monetary decisions. Many, like Thomas Jefferson, the Roosevelts, and John F. Kennedy, were born into wealth; others rose from poverty. Gorman relays their journeys in detail, sharing Barack Obama’s last student loan payment just eight years before he ran for president alongside Thomas Jefferson’s careless spending and lavish parties that culminated in shocking debt in his later years.

Gorman’s true rags-to-riches president—and one that she names as incredibly successful with his personal finances—was Abraham Lincoln. Unable to afford a college education, he was an enigma in many ways: a voracious reader, with a dislike of alcohol and gambling, who transformed himself into one of the most respected American presidents of all time—all while carefully growing his personal wealth. Examples like those form the basis of Gorman’s financial pointers sprinkled throughout, from her assertion that Jimmy Carter’s consistency with his money makes him an inspiration to the flawed financial decision-making that placed several presidents at risk. She closes with a briefing on the five presidents “to emulate in your personal finances”—and a warning that the American dream may not be as achievable as we think.

Takeaway: Fascinating briefing on the financial habits of America’s Commanders in Chief.

Comparable Titles: Cyrus A. Ansary’s George Washington Dealmaker-in-Chief, Charles Renwick’s All the Presidents’ Taxes.

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

Click here for more about All the Presidents' Money

Bridge, back with his second memoir, after Hope’s Boy, shares his experience working as an attorney for wrongfully institutionalized boys and girls, while reflecting on his own time spent in a “holding facility for foster children” and the trauma of being separated from his mother, starting at age six. Bridge explores his time at Harvard—where he worked "to forget being a boy who had been put in another institution”—as well as his role in one of America's longest-running court cases, against the State of Alabama, when, in his first case as a lawyer, he confronted the state’s Eufaula Adolescent Center for its “long and well-known history of violence” and “history of covering up that violence.”

Bridge’s writing is eloquent and impassioned, powered by deep empathy for the victimized children and parents he represents and welcome clarity and precision about the legal complexities. He never shies away from sharing his own life story as a catalyst for his work defending children’s rights, and this conviction serves as a gripping narrative throughline. Poring over files, striving to speak with uncooperative staff members, and suffering through false motions for protective orders filed against him by the state, Bridge details his efforts to stop Eufaula’s “abuse being inflicted on children.” His account of the devastating effects of institutionalization is shocking—and will ring alarm bells for readers.

Through comprehensive details on the history of injustice and legal battles against mental facilities—specifically in Alabama—Bridge constructs a moving story of corruption, abuse, and a hard-hitting call for reform: “The deliberate destruction of childhood would not be blotted out by time,” he writes, “All of it would be condemned. What Alabama had done would be written into history.” Bridge’s most inspiring task is his determination to give silenced children a voice, an opportunity for freedom, and hope for justice. Equally heart-warming and heart-breaking, this is a full circle story of triumph that readers won't soon forget.

Takeaway: Powerful story of justice, for children trapped in a failing mental healthcare system

Comparable Titles: Dorothy Roberts's Torn Apart, Alisa Roth's Insane.

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

Click here for more about The Child Catcher

Cooper follows up Wages of Empire with this deep dive into the personal and political consequences of the First World War. Soldier Evan Sinclair—now grappling with amnesia after his ship heading for home was sunk by the Germans—remains at the heart of the novel, as does his father, Captain Clive Sinclair, whose relentless quest to find his son mirrors the larger search for meaning amidst the chaos of war. As Evan embarks on a journey to rediscover his past, Cooper expertly shifts between the war-torn battlefields of France, Jerusalem’s political intrigues, and the shifting alliances in the Arabian desert.

The novel's strength lies in its intricate, real-life characters and their interwoven stories, offering a fresh perspective on World War I’s lesser-known figures and events. Montagu Walker's sabotage of British efforts in the Middle East positions him as a rival to Faisal ibn Al-Hussein, who seeks British support for Arab independence; in Jerusalem, Anna Spafford shelters fugitives while Guido von List, a cunning envoy of Kaiser Wilhelm, hunts secrets within the American Colony. Clive’s search for Evan leads him to cross paths with the legendary Lawrence of Arabia, while Evan journeys from Lyme Regis to Rosslyn Castle, where his cousin Harry unveils the rich history of the Sinclair family.

Cooper’s meticulous research breathes life into pivotal historical moments, though the weight of detail occasionally overshadows the personal narratives at the story's core. Yet, it is this interplay of grand events and intimate character arcs that makes Crossroads of Empire compelling. The story culminates in a spiritual reckoning, as Evan regains his memories with help from his ancestor, Sir William Wallace, connecting his personal journey to the enduring legacy of fighting for freedom. Crossroads of Empire offers a richly layered narrative that sheds light on the human toll of conflict and celebrates an indomitable spirit of resilience amid overwhelming adversity.

Takeaway: Rich historical tapestry of self-discovery during the First World War.

Comparable Titles: Richard Aldington’s Death of a Hero, Willa Cather’s One of Ours.

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

Click here for more about Crossroads of Empire

Skidmore’s first collection blends nostalgia with finely tuned social commentary and existential exploration. These seven vivid stories come together to offer a multifaceted and occasionally melancholic look at ordinary American lives in the 1970s through the 1990s. Although many of the stories do take place in the titular suburbs, they are not reflective of the stereotypically shallow, bland, uniform location that may come to mind. Instead, Skidmore (author of The Pursuit of Cool) explores deep themes of alienation, self-discovery and self-preservation in a complex social and economic landscape.

Skidmore demonstrates an impressive degree of versatility in his main characters: a freelance artist struggling against eviction, a yuppie on an errand in the rough part of town, a boy who bullies and a boy who is bullied. Despite their circumstantial differences, Skidmore’s incisive narration unites them in their vulnerability to ruthlessly constrictive social norms and tragedies beyond their control. In “Saunter,” Jim, a quirky yoga practitioner on a spiritual quest, pays a steep price for living outside the conformity of what he calls “The Zone,” while in “Life and Death in the American Suburbs,” Geoff is forced to make a dark choice after his father is diagnosed with cancer and needs expensive medication.

Taken together, the stories offer a critical examination of American culture infused with understated, often dark humor that calls out the absurdities of social norms. Ray Ray, the child protagonist in “Space Food,” is made to dress in formal clothes in the stifling heat to visit an elderly veteran who lives in squalid conditions, and in “Hank’s Place,” Bill has learned to beat his corporate warrior boss at his own game by employing his “elliptical language patterns”: “I’m positive about the target date, but I have concerns.” A nuanced balance between critique and compassion, this collection offers readers an insightful, poignant look at American life.

Takeaway: Gritty, vivid stories exploring identity and the constrictions of social norms.

Comparable Titles: RS Deeren’s Enough to Lose, Jamel Brinkley’s Witness.

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

Click here for more about Life and Death in Suburbia

To truly thrive, asserts Pokorny in this intriguing debut, humans must return to their evolutionary roots. In a nod to our earliest days as a species, he frequently uses the symbol of a mammoth as a metaphor for our hardwired need to function as a group, outlining his path to “build[ing] teams that are unstoppable” based on three interconnected foundations: People, Strategy, and Implementation. Good, person-centered leadership is vital, he notes, urging leaders to cultivate their own health habits, but so is an actionable strategy, one that can be executed calmly and in an organized fashion. To succeed in business, he writes, “you must face the good, bad, and the ugly—and evolve.”

It is in his experience-driven, boots-on-the-ground lessons where Pokorny most excels. When it comes to company culture, he notes it’s “a key factor in defining a company’s destiny,” but also acknowledges the difficulties in nailing down such a broad term in the everyday workplace. The answer, he asserts, is paying more attention to human behavior because businesses revolve around it. To emphasize the driving forces behind that human behavior, Pokorny dives deep into Charles Darwin’s theories, maintaining that our “early evolutionary instincts” still apply today, in examples such as the recent international cooperation efforts to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pokorny’s path begins with the individual, but quickly builds to that individual’s role within a team setting, concluding with a blueprint for maintaining stability, identifying and rooting out problems, and, above all, always functioning from a position of “humility and gratefulness.” Businesses succeed, Pokorny declares, when they’re built on the idea that each individual contributes meaningfully to the larger group to realize their full potential. Common-sense advice like that makes this an ideal handbook for leaders and entry level professionals alike.

Takeaway: Common sense business guide based on evolutionary principles.

Comparable Titles: Damon Stafford’s Believe in Better, Herbert N. Casson’s How to Apply the Principles of Evolution to a Business.

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

Click here for more about The Mammoth in the Room

The triumph of good over evil is a classic theme for children’s stories, but the hero often achieves glory through battle. In Kizlauskas’ gripping reimagining of a classic Lithuanian fairytale, a young girl named Mildute saves her family and her kingdom by remaining silent and steadfast. When Mildute’s mother dies, her father unknowingly remarries an evil witch who turns Mildute’s twelve brothers into ravens. Mourning the loss of her siblings, Mildute sets off on a journey to find them, encountering unexpected help from an eagle with an injured wing. Together they climb the mountain where her brothers lived, an arduous trek that takes them twelve years.

At the top of the mountain, the happy family reunion is cut short when one of Mildute’s brothers announces that she has arrived too soon—“The curse was meant to last twelve years, then we would be set free. But if we’re found before that time, we’re doomed eternally!” To spare them this fate, Mildute must take a vow of silence, a condition she readily accepts. Despite this, she manages to lead a productive life, at least until her cruel stepmother tries again to undermine her happiness. Mildute’s resolute response demonstrates the power of unconditional love and staying true to her word, which will show children that fighting is not the only way to be strong.

The richly colored, detailed illustrations will fully immerse readers in this story’s wildly imaginative world. Along her way, Mildute encounters wonderful beings such as white-robed women who ride on the wind and anthropomorphic clouds that help her search for her missing brothers. Everything in this fairytale land seems almost tangible yet glitters with the promise of mystery and magic. No matter how difficult her circumstances, Mildute’s face remains soft and serene, driving home the story’s message about the power of her sacrifice and silent stoicism.

Takeaway: A young girl saves her family by remaining silent and steadfast in this Lithuanian fairy tale.

Comparable Titles: Dawn Casey’s Winter Tales, Gennady Spirin’s The Tale of the Firebird.

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

Click here for more about The Twelve Ravens

The most important work of early childhood is play, as kids learn best when they are also enjoying themselves. In Huff’s fun-filled, rhyming picture book, very young learners will gain an introduction to numbers and counting while also having a good time. The story follows ten chickens as they play in their backyard, getting up to a variety of shenanigans such as running from bees, playing baseball, dancing, and even going on a date. One of the most humorous scenes shows two chickens using binoculars to search for Farmer Kevin, who is standing right behind them. At the end of the day, the chickens happily return to their pen.

This book’s appeal stems from the fact that Huff knows her audience. A retired early childhood educator, she has devoted her career to helping children and adults find the joy in learning through storytelling, music, and puppets. Kids will enjoy the onomatopoeia and rhyming, songlike cadence of the prose—particularly the chickens’ nonsensical refrain of “bakk baba bakk baba bakk bakk bakk”— which will help keep them engaged and wanting to return for another read. This is the type of story that can be elevated by the participation of an enthusiastic adult reader, especially one who is willing to get up and dance.

In keeping with the book’s lighthearted nature, Wendy Fedan’s expressive illustrations show the chickens wearing jewelry, playing instruments, and grinning enthusiastically with brightly colored plumes of feathers on their heads. In one scene, two chickens prank another by dangling a spider on a string, which kids will find amusing. The humorous pictures provide easily recognizable scenes that follow the rhymes, allowing even the smallest readers to enjoy a good laugh or two. Ultimately, this delightful story will create a fun bonding experience for adults and kids, who might even find themselves counting and singing along.

Takeaway: Fun-filled introduction to numbers, counting, and chicken chatter.

Comparable Titles: Cate Berry’s Chicken Break, Jo Ellen Bogart’s Count Your Chickens.

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

Click here for more about CHICKEN FUN!

In his hair-raising latest, Thorne (author of Hell Spring) ushers readers on an eye-opening journey into family, identity, and trauma. Nine-year-old Tab Beard hasn’t had the smoothest life; his parents, Tim and Sandra, are fighting, his older brother Jeremy teases him incessantly, and teachers reprimand him for drawing in class. Now, after a mysterious lump appears on Tab’s temple following his run-in with a strange creature in the woods near his home, an eyeless ghost named Roy starts visiting him, claiming he wants to protect Tab—but after Tab foresees his father’s death in a drawing, he isn’t sure what to believe.

Thorne hooks readers with a storm-ravaged opening depicting a family stitched with tension and hardly lets off the gas from there, keeping the pace swift and exciting while actualizing the Beard family’s struggles and Tab’s supernatural habitation in ways that feel relatable and tangible. Though the plot is taxed beyond its natural limits in favor of thematic pursuits—and the third act veers towards the comedic in ways that, for some, will scupper the story’s early promise—the book nevertheless anchors its increasingly outrageous proceedings with an endearingly human focus.

In a twist on the typical possession narrative, Thorne offers a uniquely bizarre vector via Tab’s eponymous third eye, the peculiar bump on his head that’s fueled by his anger and capable of making his most sinister thoughts spring to life. Though some readers will feel its plausibility overly stretched for narrative convenience, it remains a consistently intriguing element, especially when evolving from plot device to a prism through which the novel explores themes of regret, morality, and self-discovery. There’s a lot happening under the hood here—Tab’s burgeoning gender identity, the messy reality of families, living with a chronic illness or traumatic event—but horror fans seeking more than simple spills and chills will be satisfied.

Takeaway: Colorful possession narrative spin with a relatable human heart beating at its center.

Comparable Titles: Ayse Hafiza’s The Ghost in the Window, Nick Oliveri’s Monsters in My Mind.

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

Click here for more about Tab's Terrible Third Eye

Sixteen-year-old Olive’s life comes to a cruel halt when she’s uprooted by her parents from the comfort of a lively Australian city and moved to Buxton, a bucolic village situated in rural Australia. In true teenage angst, Olive is determined to hate Buxton, until she chances upon a karate dojo in the town, discovering that not only can she make a new home, but she can finally carve out a place for herself in the world. Olive’s coming-of-age journey, set against the backdrop of Australia’s lush wildlife and rugged bush, is a rigorous but uplifting journey, one that breaks open distressing secrets while also driving Olive’s discovery of her inner strength and resilience.

Sarhn, a sensei herself, uses karate as a unifying thread in Olive’s disjointed new life—a life that mirrors her already shaky feelings of belonging, even in her own family: Olive was adopted as a baby, and she’s harbored a sense of being out of place for years. The move to Buxton exacerbates that feeling, until she stumbles onto the dojo, where she uncovers a haven, of sorts, alongside a group of people who quickly become her found family, particularly the kind, strong Sensei Matthew and his adopted son, Boyan.

Just as Olive finally starts to feel like she belongs, Sarhn throws in an unexpected twist in the form of a painful truth from Olive’s past, transforming Olive’s greatest fight not into a karate match against a formidable opponent, but into a metaphorical battle of self-discovery. Sarhn compels Olive to rely on the emotional strength and discipline she’s learned in karate to finally come to terms with who she is and who she can become, a sweet moment of victory that readers will relish being part of. Osu not only captures the struggles of adolescence—both silly and monumental—but also celebrates the victory of forging one's path.

Takeaway: Adopted teen finds karate a catalyst for self-discovery and belonging.

Comparable Titles: Cynthia Hand’s The How & the Why, Jay McInerney’s Ransom.

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

Click here for more about Osu

This inviting, illuminating guide to gut health, the debut from physician Bishara, blends hard-won insight into the role that the gut and its ecosystem of “over a trillion organisms” plays in our overall health, plus clear-eyed advice for the impact of gut bacteria and neurotransmitters on weight loss, stress management, healthy skin, and more. Bishara brings a personal touch to the material by digging, with touching frankness, into her own history with diet, weight loss, and careful intermittent fasting. She also introduces new research and possible upcoming breakthroughs on the topic, including her own discovery of the relationship between the beneficial bacteria Bifidobacteria, common in children but less so in adults, and COVID.

A clear, engaging writer, Bishara keeps the focus throughout on what, for readers, is likely the bottom line: a practical, up-to-date survey of what everyday people should know about the biome in their GI tract. Every surprising gut fact (“the actual surface area of the gut, if completely unfolded” is “as big as a standard-size tennis court”!) is presented in the service of illustrating how the microbes that live there, both beneficial and not, affect health, moods, and more. In short, to-the-point chapters that end with bulleted takeaways, she both examines the problems that a lack of bacterial diversity can lead to or exacerbate: leaky gut syndrome; IBS; skin conditions; cancer development; even the cortisol production that convinces the body it must store fat.

Bishara’s guidance is presented with equal clarity and power. She calls for “a varied diet with an abundance of plant-based, fiber-rich foods that support the growth of beneficial gut strains.” Later, she walks readers through targeted diets and approaches to eating, like controlled fasting, that promotes weight loss, gut health, and other concerns. “Be patient and consistent,” she advises, and a list of Do’s and Don’ts (“Don’t jump off the bandwagon just because you have 1 or 2 bad days”) is smart and encouraging.

Takeaway: Illuminating guide to gut health, packed with practical advice and insights.

Comparable Titles: Kate Scarlata and Megan Riehl’s Mind Your Gut, Ada J. Peters’s My Gut.

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

Click here for more about The Gut Revolution

Laakso’s philosophical debut reflects on the complexity of being a living, breathing being with complex emotions, struggling to find happiness in a world that can be dark and uncertain. “Realising our mortality commonly symbolises a desire to live our life to the fullest,” he writes, “and remembering it often symbolizes regret over not having done so. We never will. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.” Through personal anecdotes of his own struggles—divorce, falling in love, profound grief—and select Buddhist teachings, Laakso inspires readers to connect with the world around them in a deeply intimate way that is often missing from contemporary life.

Years-long studies of Dharma and philosophy clearly shape Laakso’s writing, which takes the form of a gently meandering study on suffering, meaning, and passion. He firmly believes in the communal work humankind must do to achieve happiness, and draws from his home country, Finland, to sift the ideas behind social democracy, reminding readers that “what we collectively believe in has never been unanimous”—but the end goal must be peace, “without the need for violent displays of power.”

Laakso's musings and reflective thoughts will prompt readers to turn within and examine their own fears—of the unknown, the past, and “of ourselves”—while intentionally finding and expressing love. Though asides into his own developed equations for “individual sustainable happiness” distract from the book’s broader themes, his writing is passionate, touching on topics that range from justice to social responsibility, and he urges readers to seek wisdom, lavishly bestow forgiveness, and nurture compassion. The future will be unpredictable, he asserts, but hope, not fear, is the antidote—“together [we] must do all we can to alleviate and dispel [fear] with courage to create hope” he advises. These tranquil introspections on our shared experiences are a soothing reminder of “how rare and fortunate it is to have been born human.”

Takeaway: Philosophical contemplations on the keys to finding happiness.

Comparable Titles: Charles P. Nemeth's Finding Happiness in a Complex World, Shawn Achor's The Happiness Advantage.

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

Click here for more about Familiar Reflections

This heartfelt debut memoir touches on Martin’s tumultuous career in the field of obstetrics and his never-ending fight to prove midwifery an equally sustainable and safe practice in delivering babies during the 1970s and ‘80s. From the first pages, Martin details the exceptional care that midwives offer—often in contrast to the medical system’s more cold and detached policies—while building his history as a practicing physician, always cognizant of his influence on the birthing process. A true champion for midwifery, Martin experiences the highs and lows of fighting for a cause that hospital administrators often vilify: “Maybe someday things will change,” he writes, “all I know is we can’t stop fighting.”

Martin includes both tender and humorous moments that transform this memoir into a warm, intimate encounter, such as when he announces over the intercom in his new practice, “I’m about to take out someone’s IUD, and I have no clamps… how am I supposed to get this thing out, with my teeth?” Even among the barrage of devastating hospital politics that derail his work, Martin is careful to highlight the human side of his career, tackling the most delicate—but weighty—of topics, like his ever-present astonishment at “the miracle of life,” or the many cases of abuse and domestic violence he encountered throughout his years as an OB-GYN.

Martin’s Christian faith plays a foundational role in his work, and he notes the spiritual framework of not just his beliefs, but also his professional decisions, writing that he discovered “peace in the fact that God was in control… [that] being a servant to others was how I wanted to build my practice.” That compassionate perspective serves as his rudder in a challenging field, as he and his nurse-midwife colleagues go on to fight the battle for birth rights on a national level. This is a beautiful tribute to natural childbirth and patient-centered care.

Takeaway: Powerful tribute to natural childbirth and patient-centered care.

Comparable Titles: Ina May Gaskin’s Spiritual Midwifery, Peggy Vincent’s Baby Catcher.

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

Click here for more about In Good Hands

This swift, tense, and surprising international thriller, Shay’s polished debut, centers on Lacey Green, the TikTok detective, in over her young head after she boosts her flagging social-media numbers by exposing, on a livestream, a bizarre Flushing brothel—"a spot-on replica of a 1990s mainland Chinese high school”—that imprisons women and is run by Chinese organized crime. Soon after the story goes viral, Lacey receives an alarming message from her father, warning not to come to Hong Kong, where he lives, as “There are demons here lurking in the shadows.” When Hong Kong police contact her to report her father’s death, Lacey will do whatever it takes to get there and discover the truth—even if this means a team-up with her mother, an indie filmmaker who seems to see the death as opportunity to fund her Cleopatra remake.

A filmmaker himself, Shay excels at twisty plotting, characters who reveal themselves through action and biting dialogue, and scenes that build to hairpin turns, keeping readers on constant edge. The story gets wilder as it goes, especially after Lacey discovers her father was secretly wealthy—and a possible connection between his work for a tech company and reports of a “severe and transmissible atypical neuro-virus” sweeping Hong Kong and apparently pushing people into acts of self-harm. Lacey will team up with Hugo, the son of a cruel star of the Communist party, as they face a secret plot involving mind control.

Shay creates unexpected, button-pushing suspense scenes involving the loss of agency over one’s body, but Lacey’s dark adventure never is especially graphic. The novel’s pleasures come from its relentless invention, the way the conspiracy gets ever bigger, involving AI and the secret history of Hong Kong, with frequent revelations, jolts, and betrayals. The ending satisfies, though readers hooked by the of-the-moment TikTok detective hero should know Lacey isn’t posting much as the people she loves get targeted.

Takeaway: Swift thriller pitting a Tiktok detective against mind control in Hong Kong.

Comparable Titles: Olivia Blacke’s Killer Content, Chan Ho-Kei’s Second Sister.

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

Click here for more about The Grand Puppet Master

Ryan retells the Battle of Little Bighorn of 1876, also known as Custer's Last Stand, from the point of view of a real soldier in General George Custer's 7th Cavalry. Drawing on records, diaries, and eye witnesses, Ryan pieces together a remarkable work of lived-in history that traces Thomas Patrick Downing's life from his early years in Ireland to his eventual death in battle. Ryan naturally takes some liberties in imagining Downing’s life in the form of a first-person narrative, but he's careful not to get facts wrong while giving the reader a deeper understanding of what this young man experienced—and, in graceful prose, what he may have thought and felt.

Ryan opens Downing's story at its end, with the narrator’s death at the hands of a Lakota fighter. The story that follows is deeply humane and sympathetic for both the rank-and-file soldier and the variety of oppressed peoples encounters. Downing’s narrative covers his birth in the village of Adare in 1856, the reasons behind his family’s emigration, the grueling journey to their new home in Georgia, and how Downing was raised to hate slavery, in part because of the Irish’s treatment by the English. Ryan examines tension and poverty in Savannah during the Civil War era, including a lynching, and young Downing witnesses a speech in which Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens confirms a truth too often obscured: that slavery was the chief reason for secession.

Downing ultimately lies about his age to join the army and is subsequently assigned, among other missions, to rein in Kentucky’s Ku Klux Klan. But when land and gold led the federal government to war against Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and other Native Americans who refused to leave ancestral lands, Downing faces serious doubt about the justice of the cause. This humanizes Downing, especially as readers will understand he will die in a conflict that was largely the fault of greed, poor intelligence, and stubborn leaders. An engrossing historical narrative.

Takeaway: Convincing, compelling narrative of real Irish at Little Big Horn.

Comparable Titles: Sebastian Barry's Days Without End, John Hough, Jr.’s Little Big Horn.

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

Click here for more about The Ballad of Thomas Patrick Downing

The title of this thoughtful account of a life well lived comes from a resonant, relatable memory: young Sohn, his family's first joker “in a generation or two in our family, since the Great Depression and World Wars didn't lend well to laughter,” being dispatched by his mother to “Go help your daddy” with his father’s endless succession of projects and chores around their St. Louis home. “His only interest in bonding involved glue or cement,” Sohn notes, and his efforts at aiding the taciturn veteran tended to result in discord (“You knucklehead!”). This primal scene hints at why young Sohn was freebooting and unambitious, skating through Mizzou “with unbridled enthusiasm for all sorts of tox.” A near-death experience at age 20 turned him around, and soon Sohn enlisted in the National Guard, working to become a geometry teacher and then eventually a doctor, all while backpacking, climbing, and pushing his limits as a triathlon athlete.

With insight and an eye for telling detail (playing in a bluegrass band; a performance as a singing telegram), Sohn recounts his adventures, career shifts, many homes, and establishment of his own family. His youth pulses with Boomer touchstones—parking on dates, “distrust of anyone over thirty,” 1970s hitchhiking, the father who declares, over shoulder-length hair, “Go get it cut or move out.” What startles, as Sohn builds a life of purpose and consequence, is how his abbreviated period of wanderlust continues to haunt him, even as it has become a truism, in the U.S., that young men often take a few years to find a path.

Sohn shares hard-won insight into his times (hippies, he notes, were “people of all sorts with the same flaws shared by ‘straight’ society”) and choices, and later, the opioid crisis and challenges facing physicians, though the amiable telling lacks the narrative tension or momentum of top memoirs. Still, Sohn writes strong, incisive scenes, inspiring moments of self-discovery on mountain peaks and in life itself, and memorable portraits of patients, professors, friends, and more.

Takeaway: Thoughtful account of a shiftless Boomer kid finding himself and becoming a doctor.

Comparable Titles: Luissa Kiprono’s Push, Then Breathe, Jim Merkel’s Growing Up St. Louis.

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

Click here for more about Knucklehead